Several of the region’s wineries are embracing solar power to green their operations and protect the environment. Honig Vineyard & Winery, Peju Family Estate Wines and ZD Wines are three of the wineries at the forefront of Napa’s solar trend. Honig Vineyard and Winery’s system, installed in 2006, consists of 819 200-watt modules mounted on the ground. It saves the winery about $42,000 per year in electric bills. During the course of 30 years, the panels will prevent the emission of more than 7.5 million pounds (3.4 million kg) of carbon dioxide, which is the equivalent of planting more than 34 acres (14 hectares) of trees. In 2006, Peju Family Estate Wines installed 720 panels, covering about 10,000 square feet (929 m2), atop the crush pad, barrel room, tank area and administrative offices of its facility. The system produces about 126 kilowatts, or 36 percent, of the winery’s annual energy. Additional modules are planned for the winery, which produces more than 35,000 cases of wine annually. The winery expanded on its sustainability practices by pursuing and earning Organic Certification for its Rutherford Estate Vineyard from the California Certified Organic Farmers, Santa Cruz, Calif. The certification meets the standards of the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Department of Agriculture National Organic Program. ZD Wines—specializing in pinot noir, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon— installed a 712-module, 125-kilowatt system in February that supplies 100 percent of the winery’s power. Panels are 18-feet (5.5-m) wide and run about the length of a football field. Another effort to green Napa Valley is the Napa Green Certified Winery Program, or NGCW. Earlier this year, Napa Valley Vintners, the nonprofit trade association of more than 300 Napa Valley wineries, launched NGCW to help reduce the carbon footprint of Napa Valley and institute a set of green business practices for winery production facilities in Napa County.

Napa Valley Vintners used the Association of Bay Area Government’s Green Business Program as a template. It puts all the regulatory and compliance pieces, including water and energy conservation, pollution prevention and solid-waste reduction, into a checklist. So far, eight wineries have been certified with many more on the path to certification. Honig Vineyard & Winery 850 Rutherford Road
Rutherford, CA 94573
www.honigwine.com
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Peju Family Estate Wines
8466 St. Helena Highway
Napa, CA 94558
www.peju.com
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ZD Wines
8383 Silverado Trail
Napa, CA 94558
www.zdwines.com
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Napa Green Certified
Winery Program
www.napavintners.com