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GRAPEGROWING Winemaker Interview Joy Andersen How Snoqualmie reduced water, electricity and transport usage By Laurie Daniel A n Idaho native, winemaker Joy Andersen fell into the wine business. After earning a degree in chemistry in 1980 from the University of Washington, she worked as a fruit researcher for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Wenatchee, Wash. When Andersen lost her job in 1981 because of budget cuts, she took a part-time position as a harvest technician at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville. ���At the time, I really didn���t know anything about wine,��� Andersen says, but she did know about fruit maturation, and the job put her chemistry degree to good use. She went on to work at Ste. Michelle���s Columbia Crest winery, and when the company bought the Snoqualmie Vineyards brand in 1991, she was named winemaker. A proponent of sustainable and organic practices, Andersen chairs a Washington wine industry program called Winerywise, a guide to sustainable winery practices. Winerywise provides an online, interactive guide for wineries to evaluate their practices against industry sustainability standards. (See ���Winerywise: a grass-roots effort��� on page 70.) Wines & Vines: Snoqualmie is pursuing both sustainable and organic practices in the vineyards and winery. Why both? Joy Andersen: Continuously improving our practices to enhance quality and sustainability has long been rooted in the management of Snoqualmie and our vineyards. Taking a balanced approach, we strive to reduce our impact on the environment while maintaining high-quality yet affordable wines. Considering this strategy of continually improving practices, we found it a natural extension to venture into organic production and winemaking to learn what aspects of this option are beneficial. W&V: Is there any conflict between sustainable and organic practices? 68 W in e s & V i ne s JANUARY 20 13 Winemaker Joy Andersen had a background in chemistry when she joined Chateau Ste. Michelle (owner of Snoqualmie Vineyards) as a harvest technician in 1981. Andersen: Managing practices to improve sustainability is a dynamic and continuous process���a journey, if you will, balancing all aspects to assure future needs can be met. Employees meet monthly to communicate progress on sustainable practices that we have implemented, and as a forum to promote actionable ideas between teams to continue to improve further practices. One such idea we acted on, to help reduce solid waste from our lunch room, was to supply dinnerware and flatware instead of paper and plastic products; of course, this means some lucky employee gets assigned weekly to do the dishes each day. Managing practices to achieve organic certification is a regimented and inspected program allowing for no synthetic inputs or processes���a destination, if you will, to as natural an outcome as possible. Some aspects of both management options are interchangeable, but not all. While organic certification addresses organic system practices, the long-term effect of those practices on the environment and sustainability is not often addressed. For example, tilling for weed control is an allowed organic practice but can lead to soil compaction, erosion and higher costs, so it may not be the most sustainable practice. W&V: Please describe some of the sustainable practices that Snoqualmie has been pursuing. Andersen: In the vineyards, we use cover crops to reduce soil erosion and improve soil fertility; we practice water conservation techniques including drip systems and soil-moisture monitoring; we employ environmentally friendly pest controls like soaps and oils applied with efficient