Down to Earth Wines

Lavineyard Farms
Just outside Redding in the tiny town of Whitmore, the family-owned Lavineyard Farms produces its Italian varietal wines using organic farming methods. Additionally, they reuse crushed grapes as fertilizer. In addition to sampling the wines, visitors can pick over 140 varieties of lavender, the largest collection in the Western U.S.

Frey Wines
Thirty years ago, Frey Wines became the country’s first biodynamic and organic winery. Today many other winemakers in Mendocino County have followed suit. Visit this trailblazing winery and taste a wide variety of reds and whites made with sustainability and taste in mind. The wines are also vegan and gluten-free.

Go Green in Sierra Foothills
With more than 70 wineries, the vintners of El Dorado County are putting the Sierra Foothills on the oenophile map. With a nod to sustainability, Golden Leaves transitioned from conventional farming to no-till, glyphosate-free and bee-friendly farming. Winemaker Frank Hildebrand takes a low intervention, biodynamic approach to creating wine at Narrow Gates Vineyard, while Chateau Davell uses no pesticides or chemical fertilizer in the field and bottles its wine with recycled labels and Rain Forest Alliance-certified corks.

Sustainable Sonoma
In Sonoma, join a tractor tour at the Benziger Family Winery to get an up-close view of the biodynamic wine-growing process. Continue with a wine-tasting tour visiting Hamel Family Wines, Abbot’s Passage, Bartholomew Estates and Gundlach Bundschu, all of which farm using organic and biodynamic practices. Grab bottles of sustainable, organic and biodynamic wines to take home at Valley Bar + Bottle or Darling Wines, both located on the famous Sonoma Plaza.

Madera Wine Trail
If you think Yosemite is only about its iconic park, think again. Madera County is one of the oldest wine-growing regions in the country. Today many vintners are using sustainable practices. Idle Hour Winery works with sustainably grown grapes and uses natural yeasts and gravity flow in its winemaking process. Last year Quady Winery became a Certified Sustainable Winery, and San Joaquin Winery’s founder, Steve Schafer, advocates for sustainable practices with the California Association of Wine Growers.

Certified SIPs in SLO
Plan a day of sustainable sips right outside San Luis Obispo. California’s newest AVA, the SLO Coast AVA, has many wineries designated SIP (Sustainability in Practice) Certified using independent third-party verification. Visitors can easily taste five of these wineries just outside of town. With views of the Edna Valley, Wolff Vineyards is a sustainable stunner. At Tolosa Winery, don’t miss the stainless-steel Chardonnay. Chamisal Vineyards is the second-ever SIP-certified winery, and Claiborne and Churchill Winery are hidden gems tucked into a pretty hillside.

Urban Winery
Centralas is an ecologically focused winery in the heart of Los Angeles. The owners make all their decisions with the goal of protecting and/or benefiting the environment, working with local farmers to make their wines. Most of its wines are certified organic or biodynamic and dry-farmed. The winery is leading the trend to list all ingredients in the wine on its labels for total transparency, and bottle using glass that is 30-50% lighter than average to reduce the carbon footprint to get the wine to your table.

Naturally Palm Springs
After a summer of visiting natural wineries in Europe, John Libonati and Chris Schutte decided to open hypen- in Palm Springs. The shop is dedicated to connecting oenophiles to the world of natural wines and the top winemakers crafting these sustainable sippers. Try unique and affordable wines like the Zurlie Rosé Pet-Nat or the Terres De Roa Lunaire 2018.

Eco-Friendly in Temecula
Temecula Valley has crafted wine for over 50 years, and its vintner community is taking steps to ensure that the local wineries embrace sustainable practices. Robert Renzoni Vineyards is the only 100% solar-powered winery in Southern California and manages the vineyards only with organic materials. Foot Path Winery is the valley’s vegan winery making unfiltered and unadulterated wine with organic grapes. Vindemia Winery uses sustainable growing methods without pesticides, and Lorenzi Estates prunes its vines to reduce the need for water.

Quigley Fine Wines
Unlike many wine shops, Quigley Fine Wines in San Diego directly imports the wine they sell. For each bottle, they share the story of how the wine was made, how the grapes were raised and the family and winemaker behind the label. The majority of wines sold come from vintners using organic or biodynamic processes. An in-store tasting room helps acquaint wine lovers with the small producers the shop highlights.

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