Napa Valley's green credentials - some facts about the Agricultural Preserve
- Napa Valley is the nation's first Agricultural Preserve
- Established in 1968 by the Napa County Board of Supervisors and the planning commission, it protects most of the land from development
- Because of the price of land, and the value of winegrapes, agriculture in the Napa Valley almost exclusively means grapegrowing
- The Napa Valley Vintners, (NVV)nonprofit trade association (established in 1944), played a big part in the Agricultural Preserve
- One of its core missions, adhered to by its 550+ members, it so “preserve and protect the Napa Valley.”
- Napa Green was established to inform, educate and support members with the implementation of sustainable vineyard and winery practices
- The NVV & Napa Green were recently awarded the Governor’s Award for Environmental and Economic Leadership in Sacramento last December
- Since its inception in the early 2000s, more than half of all vineyard acreage in Napa County (25,000 acres) has been certified and more than 80 Napa wineries have enrolled
- Napa Valley, which accounts for 16% of the vineyard in California is responsible for 40% of all sustainable winery certifications statewide
- Napa Green Certified landowners are committed to active restoration projects and have helped restore more than 20 miles of riverbank in the Napa River Watershed
- Vintners are ensuring that more than 75% of any waste generated by their operation is diverted from landfills
- Napa Green Certified wineries implement more than 100 measures, going beyond regulatory compliance, to achieve certification