Local Wineries using Green Technology

A few local wineries have been using techniques to become, as they say, "Carbon Neutral". They strive to prove to their customers that their wine is not contributing to the destruction of the planet.

"It's going to be increasingly important for consumers to know that the wines they choose are participating in the green revolution that our planet is going to have to go through to survive," said Robert Nicholson, principal of Healdsburg wine consulting firm International Wine Associates.

Paul Dolan's Parducci Winery in Ukiah, CA declared itself the nation's first carbon neutral winery in early 2007. But over the next two and half years, while many wineries rolled out various green initiatives, none of the more than 6,000 U.S. wineries followed suit. With the new interest in preserving the environment, many large businesses such as Walmart and Sams Club have been inquiring with their suppliers about the environmental impact of their products and what they are doing to become more sustainable. But corporations like these wineries, have nothing to worry about. They use various technologies at their winery. After accounting for the solar panels, which eliminate the need for an estimated 350 tons of greenhouse gases, and the vineyards, whose growth sucks an estimated 1,063 tons of carbon from the atmosphere, the winery sought to offset nearly 2,000 tons of emissions that remained by paying money to programs that have a beneficial impact on the atmosphere.