Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/137110
GRAPEGROWING Jay Somers, winemaker and owner of J. Christopher Wines in Newberg, says: "Our situation is a little different than many of the wineries involved in that we built a new facility in 2010-11 that is very energy efficient. We have underground barrel caves that require no heating or cooling. The building is of concrete construction with a layer of insulation inside of two slabs; that is very efficient. We run minimum heat during the winter to maintain about 50oF inside the building. A 10-K solar system creates more power every year than we use. We have not paid a power bill on the main building since the solar went in. That is my greatest success." Several other wineries shared their success. Brown mentions implementing a way to track energy usage. PetersonNedry cited change from 850-gram to 550-gram bottles, cross-flow filtration as a substitute for pad and diatomaceous earth filtration, and expanding keg distribution of wine to restaurants to minimize packaging. Eric Lemelson, owner of Lemelson Vineyards in Carlton, Ore., talks about raising awareness of sustainability with the winery staff and offering cash incentives for going to more fuel-efficient vehicles. 62 p r acti c al w i ne ry & v i ne yard J U LY 20 13 Hallie Oteiza, sales director for Soter Vineyards, also in Carlton, states, "We have a second solar panel installation in 2012 on a second building to double our solar electricity generation while increasing production by 40%." She notes an emphasis on local sourcing, offering Planet Oregon (a good, sustainable Pinot Noir priced at $22) and practicing the three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), with an emphasis on the first. "We pledge $1 for every bottle sold in Oregon to the Oregon Environmental Council, which safeguards the health of Oregonians by working for clean air, clean water and healthy food from local farmers," adds Oteiza. Katie Wilson, media marketing manager of A to Z Wineworks/ REX HILL in Newberg, says, "We doubled our tank space since last harvest, requiring 1,000 feet of additional piping, which we have insulated to ensure good thermal efficiency. Additionally, we purchased both a large chiller and heater with variable speed drives to allow us to control energy consumption based on demand. These changes afford us greater efficiency with less wine movement while also increasing wine quality. Though some of our greatest improvements were made right after A to Z purchased REX HILL in 2007, we continue to improve as we grow and decreased our percentage 1 and 2 emissions an additional 11.06% between 2009 and 2011." CRC program issues While CRC members appear committed to the cause, significant challenges were noted. Brown would like to see metrics for Scopes 1 and 2 emissions refined to apply to the wine industry and better carbon bookkeeping. Lemelson notes glass as the No. 1 user of energy and source of pollution. In contrast to Stoller and J. Christopher, Lemelson's winery was designed in 1998 without consideration of carbon emission mitigation. But even Somers has some issues. For example: "The existing buildings on our property are on a separate electrical meter and therefore (stupidly) cannot use the excess power from my solar panels. We tried to get this to work, but Portland General Electric said no." He would also like to "assess energy consumption in the vineyard and our driving practices for wine delivery." Being green requires green. PetersonNedry cites the difficulties with making capital investments in the face of