Green Inside And Out: In 1995, Fetzer completed construction on a 10,000 sq foot administration building made almost exclusively of recycled materials. The building is one of the world’s first large-scale uses of rammed-earth construction and 100% of energy used is from renewable resources such as solar, wind and geothermal energy.

Green Packaging: Fetzer wine bottles are made from 35% post-consumer recycled glass and our case partitions use 100% recycled material. Waste Reduction: Through company-wide reduction efforts, Fetzer has reduced its waste to landfills by 96% since 1990. Saying No to CO2: By using biodiesel fuel in many of their trucks and tractors, they have reduced carbon dioxide emissions by about four metric tons a year. Harnessing the Sun: Atop Fetzer’s bottling facility is one of the wine industry’s largest solar array, which is capable of generating 1.1MM kilowatt hours of clean energy — equivalent to planting nearly 200 acres of pine or fir forest. Growing Green: Every one of the approximately 1,800 acres they farm is certified free of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers.

Water Conservation and Quality: Since 1999, Fetzer has reduced water usage by 24% or 8 million gallons annually — enough for 63 US families for an entire year.

Biodiversity: Fetzer utilizes a range of cover crops and promotes biodiversity in the vineyards and landscape.

Carbon Footprint: Fetzer wine bottles use lightweight glass, which reduces our carbon footprint by 14%.

I think we should all try a bottle of Fetzer Chardonnay this week and raise a glass to these efforts.