A Napa Valley businessman has laudably developed and patented a first aid/cooling station for farmworkers. The portable trailer offers pop-up shade, water, etc. and we hope it will catch on with vineyard owners and managers, even if their only motivation is avoiding litigation.

We’d like to point out, however, in the summer of 2009 a local grower – George Donati of Pacific Vineyard Company, a CCVT member and Sustainability in Practice Certified™ grower — was ahead of the curve and launched what we think is a better version. Yes, we may be biased, but have a look at page 3 of this CCVT newsletter. The overhanging cover of the portable trailer offers far more shade coverage, plus “trash and recycling containers, as well as a bucket with chlorine water so workers can sanitize their shears during breaks.” Also, in keeping with Pacific Vineyard Company’s longtime attention to the social part of the sustainability equation, the trailers are available for workers at all times, not just when the rising mercury triggers compliance with OSHA rules.