CSWA Publications

California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance Publications

Program Brochure

• California's Sustainable Winegrowing Program brochure -An overview of the California Sustainable Winegrowing program (SWP).

  

Grower & Vintner Educational Handouts

Economic Tools

• Cost & Benefits of Sustainable Winegrowing: Economic Assessment Tool - a four-page information guide to CSWA’s Economic Tools for assessing the costs and benefits of sustainable winegrowing.

• Top 62 High Impact Practices - This document identifies which sustainability practices have the highest impact on the triple bottom line (i.e., vibrant businesses, healthier environment, and stronger communities and workforce). 

• The Value of Sustainable Certification - A handout on the benefits of Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE) for growers and vintners and marketplace drivers for certification.

Risk Mitigation

• CSWA Environmental Compliance Tool - This tool is intended to help winegrape growers and vintners understand which environmental permits and licenses apply to the vineyard and/or winery and provides background information and resources to determine next steps to comply with relevant permits and/or obtain licenses. These permits and licenses apply to areas such as water quality, water supply, air quality, and hazardous materials and wastes. 

• A Winegrowers' Guide to Navigating Risk - Learn how sustainable winegrowing practices can help to mitigate risk in the vineyard, winery and marketplace. Thank you to the USDA Risk Management Agency for helping to fund this project. 

• Earthquake Preparedness- Learn how to prepare your winery or facility and your employees for an earthquake to mitigate risks.

• Fire Preparedness - This short checklist includes the top steps to take to reduce the risk of fire on your property and how to prepare your vineyard or winery staff in the event of a fire. View the education video HERE.

• Guía de Viticultores para Navegar el Riesgo - Aprenda cómo las prácticas vitivinícolas sostenibles pueden ayudar a mitigar el riesgo en el viñedo, la bodega y el mercado. (Download the Spanish Language version of the Risk Guide)

Water Use Efficiency

• Integrated Water Quality Management Tool - This interactive online tool is designed to help California wineries identify and address their water management needs. A recording of a webinar held May 13, 2021 where the tool is introduced, is available to watch.  
• Additional CSWA Winery Water Tools & Resources
• Recording of State Water Board’s Winery General Order Webinar
  
  

• How to Conduct an Irrigation Uniformity Test - Learn how to conduct a distribution uniformity (DU) test with just a few simple tools and learn about the many benefits of conducting regular DU field tests.
  • Watch the Importance of Distribution Uniformity Video HERE.
  • Watch the How To Conduct a DU Test Video HERE.
  • Download the Field Data Sheet template HERE. 
    
    

• Cómo llevar a cabo una prueba de campo de la uniformidad de distribución de riego en viñedos- Este folleto ofrece una breve descripción de cómo realizar una prueba de campo de uniformidad de riego para determinar con cuánta uniformidad se está aplicando el agua a las vides.

• CSWA Sustainable Water Management Guide for Small Wineries - This resource for small wineries provides a set of tools to achieve goals for sustainable management of winery source water and process water. 

•  Comprehensive Guide to Sustainable Management of Winery Water and Associated Energy - This very comprehensive guide provides a set of tools to achieve goals for sustainable management of all aspects of winery water use in larger wineries. Download worksheets after reviewing the Guide here: AVF-Worksheets. 

Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Footprints

• California Wine's Carbon Footprint - A summary of the results and recommendations stemming from a study of California wine’s carbon footprint.

• DNDC Greenhouse Gas Modeling for California Vineyards - A short description of a new online tool to help calculate GHG emissions from your vineyard soil through a computer model based on DNDC (DeNitrification-DeComposition).

• Vineyard Management Practices and Carbon Footprints - A short summary of the key management practices that influence carbon sequestration and GHG emissions in the vineyard.

• California Vineyard Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Assessment of the Available Literature and Determination of Research Needs - A summary report of a literature review used to determine what was known about California vineyard GHG production and sequestration potential.

Biodiversity

• Biodiversity Conservation Practices in California Vineyards: Learning from Experiences - A guide to provide insights and information that can be used to promote biodiversity through vineyard operations.

• Planting Hedgerows on North Coast Vineyards - A factsheet about the multiple benefits of hedgerows that includes a list of plants appropriate for the North Coast. 
  

Other

• California Winegrowers Cultivate Healthy Soils Webinar Reocrding - December 3, 2020
  
  In celebration of Healthy Soils Week the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers hosted a webinar. Watch the recording and learn about the latest soil research and hear firsthand how the state’s winegrowers are implementing sustainable practices. Bibliography for Dr. Kerri Steenwerth’s presentation
   
• COVID-19 Harvest Protocols Workbook (from July 7, 2020 webinar co-hosted by California Sustainable Wine Alliance, California Association of Winegrowers and Wine Institute
  
   
• Consumer & Trade Perceptions of Sustainable Wine - Wine Intelligence & Full Glass Research - June 2020- Hear why communicating about sustainable practices is important for an ever-growing segment of wine buyers and consumers. Two of the top experts in wine industry research presented new data and insights from recent consumer and trade research on perceptions of sustainable winegrowing, certification and practices. A survey and focus groups (conducted by Lulie Halstead of Wine Intelligence) explored national and international consumer perceptions. Christian Miller of Full Glass Research explored similar perceptions among the trade through focus groups and a survey of the Wine Opinions Panel. This webinar concluded with tips on communicating sustainability to trade and consumers.
  
  
  • Full Webinar Recording
    
  • Lulie Halstead's Presentation
  • Christian Miller's Presentation
  
  
• Consumer Perceptions of Sustainable Winegrowing Research - Wine Intelligence - June 2019 - CSWA and partner organizations from New York, Oregon and Washington commissioned Wine Intelligence to conduct research on consumer perceptions of sustainable winegrowing. The research indicated high interest in purchasing sustainably produced wine in the future, a favorable perception of sustainable certification programs and certification logos, and a willingness to pay more for sustainably produced wine, particularly by Millennials and Gen Z. 

• CSWA Research Shows Sustainability A Growing Factor in Wine Trade Purchasing - Research, commissioned by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA), shows that a majority of the U.S. wine trade considers sustainability when making purchasing decisions and expects demand to increase over the next decade.

• Tips for Communicating Sustainability - A short guide developed by communications experts and gatekeepers about how to effective communicate your sustainability efforts.

• Understanding Adoption and Impacts of Sustainable Practices in California Vineyards - An interpretation of a 2008 survey of the California wine industry, which aimed to identify motivations and constraints for the adoption of sustainable practices, perceived impacts of the practices, and the effectiveness of the Sustainable Winegrowing Program (SWP).

Link to water tool: https://www.cswawatertool.org/

Link to more CSWA Winery Water Tools & Resources: https://library.sustainablewinegrowing.org/browse?aud=2&topic=14

Link to recording of State Water Board’s Winery General Order Webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU9m4wLDlP8