Sustainability

Sustainability is best defined as the capacity to endure and to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. It integrates three main goals - environmental health (minimal and safe chemical use), economic profitability (being profitable), and social and economic equity (being a good neighbor and employer).

With people paying attention to labels such as sustainable, organic and biodynamic, wineries are starting to incorporate these practices into their every day farming. We, at Woodward Canyon Winery, have been utilizing sustainable practices at the winery and in our Estate Vineyard for years. In fact, Rick was one of the pioneers in the Walla Walla Valley when it comes to sustainable farming. 

In 2004, Woodward Canyon was a founding member of VINEA, the Walla Walla Valley Winegrowers Sustainable Trust. VINEA is an organization made up of volunteer winegrowers and wineries that have embraced the concept of “ecologically sound, economically viable and socially supportive.” VINEA has also partnered with Oregon LIVE for third party certification. LIVE is a not-for-profit organization that provides education and certification for vineyards.

In February of 2008, after a two year certification process with VINEA and LIVE, we were certified sustainable by the International Organisation for Biological Control. The IOBC was established in 1955 to promote the use of sustainable, environmentally safe, economically feasible and socially acceptable control methods of pests and diseases of agricultural and forestry crops. This organization sets the protocols from which LIVE draws its standards. Additionally, LIVE applies with the IOBC for international endorsement each year.  

Here are just a few ways that we are sustainable at the winery and in the vineyard.

• Up in the vineyard we utilize all organic fertilizers and chemicals. We also re-introduce natural cover crops back into the vineyard and hillside as we try to prevent erosion. We use drip system watering to help reduce the amount of water that is wasted to evaporation.

• At the winery we are using eco-friendly wine bottles for roughly 90% of all our wines. These bottles are lighter, take less energy to produce and are less expensive to ship both when empty and filled. We have also joined forces with the Walla Walla Wine Alliance and ReCORK by Amorim in recycling all of our used corks. We’ve also offer a location where our customers are able to drop off used corks for recycling.

• And the socially supportive runs true for all the employees. Everyone receives sick and vacation leave, along with medical and other benefits.  Family is always stressed to come first no matter what. And if you’re from the Walla Walla Valley you’ve probably heard about our pizza lunches, which we’ll sometimes whip together for the employees or other events. For me, pizza lunches are one of my favorite perks to working at Woodward Canyon, though the access to good wine isn’t too bad either!

We will always strive to be sustainable at the winery, however I’m curious what your thoughts are on the whole sustainable movement? When you’re looking for that bottle of wine for dinner - does wine with the ‘sustainably farmed’ or ‘organically farmed’ label entice you to buy?

Spring has finally sprung!

OMG! Spring has finally descended on the valley. It is gorgeous and sunny out and I don’t know about you all but it’s a sight that couldn’t have come soon enough! I was starting to think that Mother Nature had taken a permanent vacation and wasn’t going to be around this year. But she’s back and so is my sunshine! And it couldn’t be soon enough for the valley and the grapes. I spoke with Rick the other day and he was thinking that we’re a couple of weeks behind schedule in the vineyards. It will be interesting to see how it plays out for the vintage. Of course, a week or so of hot weather and we could be all caught up. It’s funny how weather will play such a huge part in the wines we produce.

Darcey is excited because we finally have flowers in the garden again. She’s been busy outside, pulling up weeds and trimming bushes. As I sit here and write this I see bees pollinating the bushes outside the window. Ahh … I love spring. Now I’m not the gardening-type person. Anyone who knows me at all, can vouch for the fact that I can kill anything green and alive in a matter of 5 days. And the thought of going outside and working my hands in the dirt to grow something that will essentially just die in weeks makes me turn a bit green myself. But that doesn’t mean that I do not love spring time and all the flowers that it brings. Nothing makes me happier than looking at freshly bloomed flowers, well except for the fact that I did not plant them myself.

Everyone at the winery is getting ready for Spring Release weekend. It always seems to get here quicker than we expected. But we love it because it usually signifies the start of the busy season. This year we will be releasing our 2006 Estate Red. It has already received great reviews from both Wine Spectator (91 pts) and Wine Enthusiast (95 pts). This is another great showing from our Estate Vineyard, which is Certified Sustainable, Salmon Safe, LIVE and Vinea. The vineyard has been certified sustainable by the International Organisation for Biological Control (IOBC). The IOBC was established in 1955 to promote environmentally safe methods of pest and disease control in plant protection. The vineyard is also designated as Salmon Safe. This wine is 100% from the Estate Vineyard making it a designated Salmon Safe wine. The ’06 vintage is already showing great! Here’s an excerpt from Rick on the tech sheet.
“The vintage of 2006 gave perfect physiological ripeness. As might be expected with such low yields, the resulting wine is concentrated with generous black fruit and cassis. A breadth of spices and vanilla from new oak integrate beautifully with firm merlot dominated fruit. A nose of roasted game, ripe fruit and shaved chocolate develops in the glass; the color is reddish purple. A soft, generous texture transitions to a supple, balanced mouth feel; the finish is rich, layered and long. In this wine I am again able to perceive an “expression” or “sense of place” from our Estate Vineyard and I love that! With proper cellaring, this wine should age for ten years.”

We are also excited with the possibility that our new Reserve Building will be finished in time for Spring Release. We will still be doing the majority of our tasting in our production building, but we will be offering a special tasting of our 2006 “Old Vines” Cabernet, for an additional tasting fee, in the Reserve Building. We don’t usually taste our “Old Vines” since the production had dropped so low, but we thought this might be a fun time to break it out. Swing by and taste this limited wine and get yours before it’s all gone.

If you’re in town early for Spring Release and don’t have plans yet for Thursday, April 30th, swing by The Marcus Whitman and join Rick and Marty Clubb from L’Ecole #41 at their winemaker’s dinner. It should be a great dinner with two of the pioneer wineries in the valley. The dinner looks to be fantastic and of course they’ll be pouring some great wines! Reservations are required, (509) 525-2200.

If you haven’t heard, we are running a ‘Celebrate Spring’ sale online and in the tasting room. It’s our way of saying thank you to our customers. We are offering a 15% case discount on whole and mixed cases on everything except for our “Old Vines”, large formats, etched bottles and older vintages. This is a limited time offer so don’t miss out!

Well I’m off to go and play in the sunshine a bit before it returns to hiding behind the clouds. Gosh, could this weather be any more perfect?!? The only thing that would make it better would be pizza from our wood-fire oven. I’m gonna have to see if I can’t talk Rick into firing it up and putting on one of our Woodward Canyon pizza lunches. Enjoy your day! Come say hi to me in the tasting room next time you’re in the area!

Cheers,

Shari / Woodward Canyon