E.&J. Gallo Winery

Viticulture

• Tissue analysis determines fertilizer use, are goal is to grow a balanced vine and to avoid overfertilizing
• Proper site selection, right variety in the right location
• Rootstocks matched to site characteristics

Soil Management

• Permanent cover crops maintained between vine rows in all vineyard
• All streams have setbacks with planted buffer strips

Vineyard Water Management

• Soil moisture and plant water status is monitored weekly during growing season.
• Irrigation scheduling is based on evapo-transpiration
• Deficit irrigation is used
• Tertiary treated wastewater used for irrigation on two of our vineyards.

Pest Management

• IPM is practiced on all ranches including vineyard scouting, encouraging natural predators for pest control, disease modeling. Pesticide application based economic thresholds.

Wine Quality

• The Winery has developed standard work practices to improve wine quality.
• The Winery is also certified ISO9001 and ISO14001
• Vineyard managers collaborate closely with winemaking on hitting style targets with regular winemaker visits to vineyards and wine tastings

Ecosystem Management

• 50/50 Giveback Program: For every planted acre of vineyard in Sonoma County that Gallo owns, one acre is set aside for wildlife habitat
• 16 acres of vineyards were removed and new wetlands created at our Laguna Ranch which borders the Laguna de Santa Rosa

Energy Management

• The E&J Gallo Winery (Healdsburg) participates in the PG&E demand curtailment program, where customers commit to reducing demand during peak events from PG&E.
• Over the last few years, the winery has completed tank insulation, motor efficiency and variable-frequency drive retrofits, and lighting retrofit programs with associated rebates from PG&E
• In 2010, the Winery is participating in the Retro-Commissioning Program offered by PG&E
• The winery installed power-monitoring software to monitor and reduce loads at peak demand times
• The Barrel Cellar brings in night air during cool evenings to avoid an additional load on the chillers
• Interior processing building lighting is energized through the use of motion sensors
• During harvest, the majority of work is performed between 8:00pm and 4:30am, thus reducing peak energy demands and reducing traffic during peak commuter hours
• Replaced lighting in ranch shop with energy efficient fixtures and added motion sensors

Winery Water Conservation And Water Quality

• Winery waste water is used for irrigation on the Frei vineyard
• The Winery is investing in improved waste water treatment technology so the waste water can be better used by the vineyards for irrigation

Material Handling

• Transportation of Finished Case Goods to distribution center maximizes the use of back hauls to reduce one way hauling
• All agricultural chemicals and petroleum products are stored within double containment

Solid Waste Reduction And Management

• The Winery’s bottling operation is a near-zero waste operation, recycling plastic stretch wrap, cardboard and glass. The Winery also recycles all metals, label backing and capsules reducing landfill waste
• Universal waste disposal sites on each ranch
• All vineyards have recycling programs in place

Environmentally Preferred Purchasing

• The Winery actively communicates the Sustainability Policy to major vendors and engages them on sustainability matters
• Vendors on-site must comply with our environmental and sustainability practices and are aware and knowledgeable of our Sustainable Management System

Human Resources

• Both the vineyards and the winery have implanted Behavioral Accident Prevention Programs to reduce workplace injuries

Neighbors And Community

• The Winery does not allow truck traffic after 10pm and before 7am out of respect for property neighbors
• The Winery does not allow truck idling during harvest for more than 5 minutes
• The Winery engages neighbors during non-standard activities (e.g Sunday grape receiving during harvest)
• The Winery participates in community activities such as the Dry Creek Valley clean-up and the Sonoma County United Way Campaign, as well as offering Salvation Army / Goodwill pick-up days at the winery to encourage giving to those organizations.
• Vineyard managers maintain constant contact with key neighbors
• All vineyard neighbors have contact information for vineyard managers

Air Quality

• Vines are chipped and incorporated in the soil instead of burning
• Replaced 10 old diesel pumps with newer more efficient and less-polluting pumps
• The Winery does not allow truck idling during harvest for more than 5 minutes