Avenue Vine

The winemaker started its sustainability kick in the 1980s, but with soaring gasoline prices and global warming at the forefront of consumers' minds, Tichenor said the timing is finally right to publicize the brand's earth-friendly reputation.

"We've never gone out to the consumer and talked about what we were doing," said Tichenor, who is based at Brown-Forman's headquarters at 850 Dixie Highway.

The green marketing campaign began earlier this year when Fetzer started putting hangtags on its bottles with the phrase "Do What Comes Naturally" and a description of its commitment to the environment. Next week, it will kick off a "Green Tour" with stops in 30 cities at garden shows and food and wine festivals.

Fetzer Vineyards is an environmentally conscious grower, producer and marketer of wines of the highest quality and value. A process to develop and initiate sustainable business practices was initiated by Fetzer Managing Director Paul Dolan and the Fetzer family in the mid 1980s, when the company began transforming the rustic Valley Oaks Ranch into a world-class food and wine training and education center for the wine trade.

As the organic gardens at Valley Oaks were being developed, the management team learned more about the benefits and sustainability of organic farming practices and conservation techniques and envisioned the potential for these benefits in vineyard management and winemaking. This began a quest to continually improve the winery's energy efficiency, vineyard practices, and sustainability of general business operations. From the time this initiative began in the late 1980s, Fetzer Vineyards has:

~ Become the industry leader in farming grapes organically. Fetzer Vineyards has 360 acres of certified organic grapes. The Fetzer family farms 1,100 acres of certified grapes. Together we are the largest grower of grapes grown organically on the North Coast and are certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).

~ Established company-wide recycling centers. All bottles, cardboard, plastic, aluminum, FAX paper, computer paper, antifreeze, waste oil, fluorescent tubes and glass are now separated and sold to various recyclers.

~ Saved thousands of dollars in dump fees by reducing the amount of material hauled to landfills by 93% since 1991, through company recycling and waste diversion programs. The State of California has recognized these efforts, with Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP) awards for the past seven years. In 1997 Fetzer Vineyards was recognized as one of the top ten recycling companies in the state.

~ Created a large composting program that incorporates all of the stems and seeds from the winery's crushed grapes, known as pomace. This material is composted for more than a year before being spread throughout the vineyards as natural fertilizer and used as mulch around trees and plants throughout the property.

~ Signed a contract in May 1999 with PG&E Energy Services to purchase 100% renewable energy for all winery and visitor center operations. Fetzer is the only winery purchasing 100% renewable (green) energy.

~ Found new ways to reduce energy consumption. Working with Pacific Gas & Electric, a simple insulated concrete wall was devised and built to separate cold stabilizing wine from warm-fermenting wine, resulting in a power bill reduction of $5,000 per month. Temperature tank controls were computerized and upgraded to allow better control and the ability to completely shut off the system as needed. Also, a new natural gas-powered co-generation unit was recently installed in the red barrel room, which produces hot water for the barrel washing operation and electricity for the heating/cooling and lighting of the building.

~ Become the only winery in the United States to buy corks direct from the source in Portugal and ship them in large containers, thereby eliminating packaging. The corks are processed and de-dusted at the winery, imprinted with the brand name, and lightly coated with paraffin/silicone. This hands-on quality control plays a role in reducing "corked" wines and is environmentally friendly.

~ Became the first winery in the United States to create a new and fully recyclable aluminum capsule. These new poly-laminate capsules are now found on all Fetzer Barrel Select and Reserve wines bottled since 1992. New flange-top bottles, introduced on most Fetzer Premium Varietal wines, eliminate the need for capsules altogether.

~ Instituted a policy of using 100% recycled, or post-consumer recycled, paper for all company letterhead, business cards, company newsletter, press releases, toilet paper and paper towels. The winery also uses "earth-friendly" soaps and detergents at the Valley Oaks
Center.

~ Been recognized by the Peregrine chapter of the National Audubon Society for helping to establish a blue heron sanctuary near one of our vineyards located along the Russian River.

~ Support a wide range of organic and farming-oriented organizations, including the Organic Farming Research Foundation and the California Certified Organic Farmers. Fetzer is also a sponsor of the Business for Social Responsibility Annual Conference, the Eco-Farm Conference and the Bioneers Conference.

~ Participated each year in the Russian River Cleanup, an event that draws hundreds of people dedicated to preserving some of the more than 100 miles of the Russian River habitat. The river passes through Fetzer and Kohn properties in Mendocino County before flowing to Sonoma County and into the Pacific Ocean.

~ Created the "Friends of the Oaks" organization. This group of Fetzer employees is dedicated to protecting the existing trees at the Valley Oaks Food & Wine Center in Hopland. The group has pledged itself to the preservation of and education about the valuable trees found in and around Fetzer Vineyards.

~ Established Club Bonterra, an organization of Fetzer grape growers who are dedicated to sharing information about sustainable farming practices. This expanding organization is the backbone of Fetzer's commitment to be growing and purchasing 100% organically grown grapes for use in all of its wines by the year 2010.

~ Finished construction in April 1996, of a new 10,000 square foot administration building in Hopland. The building is one of the world's first large-scale uses of rammed-earth construction and features recycled doors and timber. Photovoltaic panels were added to the building in June 1999, supplying 75% of the building's electricity.

~ Created a natural filtration system for handling winery wastewater in 1998. After three years of study by a UC Davis doctoral candidate, Fetzer's wastewater ponds were converted into a natural system employing gravel and sand filters, and a planted reedbed. Low energy aeration takes place with sprinklers instead of energy-burning equipment. The treated water is used on the winery's organically farmed grapes and landscaping.

~ Initiated a new business program in 1998 to create a triple bottom line at Fetzer: along with economic considerations, impact of any business decision upon the employees and the environment is fully evaluated.

~ Received two awards in 1999 recognizing the winery's work in the area of the environment. Business Ethics Magazine awarded Fetzer their "Award for Environmental Excellence". The US Environmental Protection Agency presented Fetzer with its "Climate Wise" Partnership
Award.

Fetzer will make a $1 donation to the National Arbor Day Foundation for every consumer who visits its booth during the tour, and the company will give away a hybrid version of the Toyota Highlander as part of a sweepstakes.

Fetzer isn't the only company looking to emphasize its green connections. In a story last week, USA Today reported that retailer Home Depot planned to roll out a labeling program called Eco Options for hundreds of products such as all-natural insect repellent and front-load washing machines. A competitor, Lowe's, started offering organic gardening supplies in February. Office Depot is pushing the use of recycled paper products and reused printer cartridges.

Gladys Horiuchi, a spokeswoman for the Wine Institute in San Francisco, said a growing number of California wineries are trying to become more energy-efficient, partly due to the state's growing population and limited natural resources. If two wines share a similar price and quality, she said their environmental reputation could be a tiebreaker.

That's what the folks at Fetzer are betting on. But while Brown-Forman promotes sustainability for all its brands, it doesn't mean that you'll see an organic bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey or an environmentally friendly label on Southern Comfort anytime soon. Tichenor said the marketing message is appropriate at Fetzer because the brand is different from Brown-Forman's other products.

The wine's buyers, typically women in their early 40s, are receptive to the green message, he said. And with an average price of about $8 a bottle, exclusivity and ratings aren't as much of a factor compared to higher-priced brands such as Brown-Forman's Sonoma-Cutrer wine family. The top states for wine consumption also are on the West Coast and in the Northeast, where consumers typically are quicker to embrace an environmental message.

Ann Thrupp, manager of organic and sustainability programs at Fetzer, said the marketing campaign isn't a stretch for the company because few other large-scale wine operations have made the same kind of commitment.

"Fetzer has truly been a pioneer in this whole arena," she said, adding that the company "has always taken this approach as a regular way of doing business."

Fetzer, which joined Brown-Forman in 1992, has been marketing its sustainability connections in Europe for several years. In early 2003, Fetzer announced plans to boost the amount of organic grapes in its wine from 15 percent to about 98 percent by 2010.

Thrupp said last week that the 98 percent organic grape goal won't be possible due to cost and supply issues. Most of Fetzer's grapes come from contract growers. Thrupp also acknowledged that while many wineries are promoting environmentally friendly practices, there is no formal certification process that separates one from another.

"A lot of people want to make the claim that they're sustainable, but it's all a process," she said. "It's very hard to say who's more green than others."

At E. & J. Gallo Winery, spokeswoman Susan Hensley said it has been committed to the environment for more than 70 years. On its Web site, Gallo claims it has "led the way in developing and refining" sustainable practices such as using a minimal amount of synthetic chemicals and pesticides, recycling wastewater and creating wetlands.

Hensley said Gallo hasn't used those practices to market its Turning Leaf brand, which at $7 a bottle competes directly with Fetzer.

"I don't think we've seen anything in consumers' behavior to see that as an advantage," she said of the environmental commitments. "It's always been part of the corporate philosophy versus a marketing strategy."

Tichenor, however, said the new green campaign at Fetzer will help the brand stand out from a crowded field of competitors that also includes Woodbridge and Yellow Tail.

The marketing campaign may even be extended to include environmental information on the back label of each bottle, he said. There also will be information in stores promoting the brand's earth-friendly attitude. One of the tag lines: "As good for the planet as for the palate."

Fetzer’s Envionmental Commitment, download .PDF file–(right click here)

Fetzer’s Organic and Sustainable Winegrowing, download .PDF file–(right click here)

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Source: “Fetzer promotes environmentally friendly practices in marketing wine,” Alex Davis, The Courier-Journal, Brown-Forman, Fetzer, April 26, 2007