At the close of 2012, Three Sticks Wines received Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing status from the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA). CSWA is a San Francisco-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization created by the Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers. The organization’s mission is to promote the benefits of sustainable winegrowing practices, enlist industry commitment, and assist in implementation of the Sustainable Winegrowing Program. It promotes vineyard and winery practices that are sensitive to the environment, responsive to the needs and interests of society-at-large, and economically feasible to implement and maintain.
“I’m very proud of our team for their due diligence in going through this important process, and honored that we’ve been recognized for their efforts by CSWA,” said proprietor Bill Price. “Achieving certification is a parallel track to everything we do here – it’ an ongoing process of pursuing excellence. While we have always focused on sustainable farming, the guidelines set forth by CSWA make us better winegrowers and citizens, which leads to improving the quality of life in our community and the quality of our wines.”
CSWA developed its third-party certification program to increase the sustainability of the California wine industry by promoting the adoption of sustainable practices and ensuring continual improvement. The goals of the certification program are to enhance transparency, encourage statewide participation and advance the entire California wine industry toward best practices in environmental stewardship, conservation of natural resources and socially equitable business practices. Certification is based on self-assessment on 227 best practices using the Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices Workbook, and then confirmed by a third-party audit.
To learn more about CSWA third-party certification program, visit http://www.sustainablewinegrowing.org.