SIP Certified Welcomes New Members to Its Growing List of Sustainable Vineyards and Wineries

SIP (Sustainability in Practice) Certified recently welcomed over fifteen new properties to its family of sustainably certified vineyards and wineries. The new members span Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Kings County and join nearly two-hundred and fifty other SIP Certified businesses across California and Michigan. 

“Seeing the growth of our membership and enthusiasm for the program develop and expand is truly a win for not only our program but for sustainability efforts across all industries,” says Program Director Beth Vukmanic, “With increased consumer demand for transparency and sustainability, SIP Certified ensures a level of accountability modern consumers expect.” 

The SIP Certified program operates with the values of: 

• Social Responsibility – Competitive wages, medical insurance, training, and education.
• Water Management – Reduced/recycled water in the vineyards and winery.
• Safe Pest Management – Introduce beneficial insects, attract raptors, and plant enriching cover crops to keep vineyards healthy.
• Energy Efficiency – Alternative fuels and energy sources like solar and wind; minimal tractor usage; enhanced insulation in the winery.
• Habitat – Create wildlife corridors and preserve open space. 
• Business – Ethical practices; treat employees and community with care and respect.
• Always Evolving – Evolve as new science, technology, and research becomes available.

Matt Brady, winemaker of Samsara Wine Co, is enthusiastic about their newly certified winery, “Samsara is really excited to be a new winery member of the SIP Certified program! Santa Barbara is the birthplace of the US environmental movement, and as a Santa Barbara-based winery we feel a strong commitment and obligation to maintain practices that align with our deeply held personal and community values of environmental stewardship.” 

For new member Bon Niche Cellars in Paso Robles, owner Melani Harding explains, “It’s important to me to be a conscientious member of our community, and the SIP Certified program is a comprehensive process that demonstrates our dedication to people, our land, and our vines. Our customers are excited for us to have achieved this certification, but it’s been our neighborhood that has been most appreciative. We had a small SIP celebration with them to share what the certification means, and they are all thankful that we are striving to protect our shared resources.”

SIP Certified’s enrollment period for 2022 opens on December 1, 2021. For more information on how to certify your vineyard or winery or to learn more about the program, please visit www.sipcertified.org.

ABOUT SIP CERTIFIED

Sustainability in Practice (SIP) Certified is one of the wine industry’s oldest and most important third-party assessment programs. It utilizes a block-to-bottle, integrated approach to management, enabling farmers, wineries, and winemakers to preserve the environment and protect human resources. SIP Certified boasts strict, non-negotiable requirements and standards based on science, expert input, independent verification, transparency, and the absence of conflict of interest. SIP Certified launched its pilot program in 2008 with 3,700 acres of vines between Monterey and Santa Barbara counties. Today, there are 42,000 acres of vines in California and Michigan, five wineries, and more than 49 million bottles of wine that have been SIP Certified.