Wente Vineyards certified Bay Area Green Business

San Francisco, CA, May 5, 2010 - This month The Restaurant and Catering with Wente Vineyards, based in Livermore Valley, received the Bay Area Green Business certification, appropriate given the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day this year. The certification is awarded to businesses in the Bay Area, which go beyond complying with environmental regulations to conserve resources and prevent pollution. Some of the program standards that wineries have to meet to receive the certification include: tracking and reducing use of energy and water, reducing and recycling of solid waste, reducing use of chemicals and encouragement of employees and other wineries to keep 'greening' their business.

127 years of sustainability

Since establishing their eponymous winery in 1883, the Wente family has been dedicated to sustainable winegrowing for five generations, and today this practice also extends to the family's hospitality facilities: The Event Center, The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards, The Course and The Concerts at Wente Vineyards.

'We are very proud of having achieved the Bay Area Green Business certification. It's a token of my family's dedication to sustainable farming and estate management through five generations, says Carolyn Wente, Vice Chair and Fourth Generation Winegrower.

At Wente Vineyards, sustainable winegrowing integrates three main goals: environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. In many ways this approach goes beyond that of organic farming by focusing on the long-term sustainability of the entire environment, watersheds, habitats and ecosystems within the entire operation.

Farming for the future

In the early 1990s the family created their 'Farming for the Future' Program, the purpose of which was to enhance the well-being of employees, the local community and the global environment. In addition to sustainable winegrowing, the program also includes other estate operations. The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards uses locally sourced (within 100 miles as a rule of thumb) sustainably raised produce, fish, game and meat as well as ingredients from its own estate garden, overseen by a trained master gardener. The award-winning Greg Norman designed  Course at Wente Vineyards has achieved the designation as a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" for its strong commitment to protecting wildlife, reducing chemical use, and conserving water. And the family also has undertaken a major oak lands restoration, led by Chairman and Fourth Generation Winegrower Eric Wente where native acorns are gathered on the estate, planted to grow seedlings and protected until the trees are fully established.

“Our vineyards are our heritage. That's why we want to produce exceptional wines with the least environmental impact, and create vineyards that will endure and thrive,” explains Karl Wente, Fifth Generation Winegrower and Winemaker.

About Wente Vineyards

The country’s oldest continuously operated family-owned winery; Wente Vineyards is led today by the fourth and fifth generations of the Wente family. All of the wines within the Wente Vineyards portfolio are estate grown, crafted by Fifth Generation Winemaker, Karl Wente from estate vineyards in Livermore Valley and Arroyo Seco. Located just east of San Francisco in the historic Livermore Valley, Wente Vineyards is recognized as one of California’s premier wine country destinations, featuring wine tasting, fine dining and championship golf. For more information, visit www.wentevineyards.com. For photography or interviews, please contact Kimberly Charles, Charles Communications Associates press@charlescomm.com or 415-701-9463 (WINE).

For more information about the Bay Area Green Business Program, visit http://www.greenbiz.ca.gov/index.html