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CLIFF OHMART Vineyard View Measuring Sustainability Highlights ing and tracking practices. Furthermore, all of the existing sustainability certification pro- T grams (such as Lodi Rules for Sustainable Winegrowing, Sustain- ability in Practice, Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing Program, National Organic Program and Biodynamic Farming) are practice-based. University and government programs designed to improve environmental and social conditions on and off the farm also are based on implementing what have been labeled best management practices, or BMPs. In all cases, the un- View video in the Wines & Vines Digital Edition. Speaking from Bokisch Vineyards, Lodi, Calif., Cliff Ohmart discusses measuring sustainability. derlying assumption is that the practices being recommended and implemented are improving one's sustainability perfor- mance. Once practices are implemented, however, very little if any follow up measurements are made to find out if, in fact, these practices are having the benefits attributed to them. During the past few years, sustainability proponents have shown increasing interest in measuring the outcomes of practices as a more direct way to gauge sustainability performance. Mea- surements used to quantify this performance are called perfor- mance metrics. Winegrape growers already use some performance Find Irrigation Equipment & Suppliers Online www.winesandvinesbuyersguide.com he wine community has embraced the concept of sus- tainability like no other cropping system. Since the early 1990s winegrowers and winemakers have been committed to moving along the sustainability continu- um, from less sustainable to more sustainable. For the most part, progress has been measured by implement- • Vineyard sustainability proponents are interested not just in growers using sustainable practices, but also in measuring the outcomes of those practices. • To gauge sustainability performance in water use, for example, a grower should measure water use over time in relation to crop yield and quality to verify improvements. • While California and national systems of performance metrics are being developed, great variability is expected between diverse vineyards. All parties should take care not to put too much value on individual numbers. metrics, such as yield per acre and cost of production per acre. Wineries track cases of wine produced, the cost of production per case and numbers of cases sold. However, while these are impor- tant, there are many others that could be used as well. A change in approach Measuring performance rather than tracking practices is a change in approach to determining levels of sustainability. For example, if we implement practices to improve water-use ef- Full Service Wine Compliance Licensing & Permits ABC & TTB 707 • 963 • 9733 www.divinecompliance.com Wines & Vines sePTeMBeR 2011 61