Niven Family Wine Estates, producing True Myth, Tangent, Baileyana, Zocker, Trenza, and Cadre, has participated in SIP Certified since the pilot year in 2008, certifying both their vineyards and wines. We asked them how sustainability helps improve their farming practices and how they communicate their dedication in the market.
Where do you use the SIP Certified seal?
We communicate that we are SIP Certified Sustainable on multiple items: labels, all in store point of sale (neckers, case cards, etc), websites, sell sheets, presentations, etc. We use the actual SIP Certified seal on a select number of SIP specific materials: a cone shaped necker and a SIP sell sheet that spells out all the ways that we maintain our certification.
Do you talk about your sustainable practices in your marketing materials and/or on your website?
Yes, we have a whole section on each of our websites that covers our SIP Certified sustainibility.
How do you incorporate sustainability into your company culture and training?
- We incorporate under the vine cultivation on over 250 acres to eliminate the need for herbicide applications and thus decrease worker exposure to these materials.
- We employ the use of livestock to manage riparian areas in and around the vineyards that become overgrown. This eliminates the need to control these areas with herbicides or put workers in contact with poison oak.
- We employ the use of Tule ET irrigation sensors to give us actual water usage in the vineyard, which helps us manage our water resources more accurately.
- We have weekly tailgate meetings with our supervisors to focus on safety related issues that are relevant to the duties being performed in the vineyard at that time.
- We have key supervisors attend outreach programs on new local policies and IPM related updates.
- We reach out to our neighbors whenever we change any of our farming practices that might impact them.
- We only haze birds for bird control in areas that are not socially sensitive (i.e. not near homes, tasting room, wineries, schools, etc.).
- We have weekly meetings with supervisors to go over worker complaints or suggestions.
Has your sustainable certification given you opportunities or advantages in the market?
Certification has definitely given us some advantages and opportunities in the market. Forward thinking restaurants and retailers are definitely looking for wineries that are dedicated to preserving and protecting natural and human resources. SIP Certified could be the difference maker when a buyer is considering our wines for their establishment. SIP Certified also opens up opportunities with accounts that go out of their way to help the consumer recognize that a certain wine is certified under one of the main eco-friendly programs (Organic, Biodynamic, and SIP). We see our SIP Certified wines receive a special notation on wine lists or a special recognition on the shelf. This definitely helps and speaks directly to the consumer.
Share a few pictures showing how you use the SIP Certified seal in your marketing materials.
This necker has been very helpful to us in store to help communicate everything that SIP means to us. The cone shape helps provide more room to display more information than most neckers are able to do!
