Take the Course to Help You Talk About Sustainability

According to a recent study, Americans are planning on traveling more than ever this summer and are opting for road trips and weekend getaways. With stops in wine country, these travelers are looking for feel good experiences and educational tastings. Training staff and using the learnings of the SIP Smart course will not only aid staff in educating guests, but also provide experiences that convey your brand’s commitment to sustainable practices.

The course walks through the basic principles of SIP Certified and includes interactive exercises and videos. This education empowers employees to speak with confidence about sustainable winegrowing. We asked past participants in the course-  If a customer asks what SIP Certified means, what's your answer? Justin Trabue, hospitality supervisor at Ancient Peaks Winery’s answer was a concise breakdown of the program, "Being SIP Certified means you are providing competitive wages, medical benefits, and education. Taking environmental responsibility of the land through stewardship, integrated pest management, water conservation and more. Budgeting is the final piece to certification."

For Paige Schoppe, tasting room lead at Chamisal Vineyards, her favorite aspect of talking about SIP Certified is, “Knowing that this keeps us accountable for our actions,” and adds that being being SIP Certified means, “we are doing our part to leave a minimal footprint and practice sustainability across all of our company- production and tasting room”

Aside from talking about SIP Certified to customers, the course can spark creativity and produce show and tell type content in the tasting room and beyond. For Kendall-Jackson, this type of experience is manifested in a garden that showcases different aspects of their sustainability efforts, a sensory garden, and culinary features like chickens and bees.

Continuing education is an important aspect of the SIP Certified program and this SIP Smart course is a great way to get your staff up to speed about your sustainability efforts.