Earthworms Do Double-duty at Fetzer Vineyards
Author: Robin Shreeves | Published: December 25, 2016
Last month, I had the privilege of moderating a panel at the Net Impact Conference on sustainability in the beverage industry. Encouraging information was shared that day about how the wine, beer and spirits industries are working together on issues like supply chain sustainability and responsible, recyclable packaging.
Josh Prigge, director of regenerative development at Fetzer Vineyards, was one of my panelists. As he was telling the audience about some of Fetzer’s specific sustainable initiatives, two things caught my attention: his use of the term “regenerative sustainability” and the winery’s new regenerative, wastewater decontamination process that uses earthworms.
I wanted to know more, so I spent some time talking to Prigge about how they both play out at Fetzer.
What is regenerative sustainability?
“We’ve really been trying to lead the way for sustainability in the wine industry,” Prigge said. “We have been for decades. In the ’80s we went 100 percent organic with grapes. In the ’90s we were the first to use 100 percent renewable energy. We were also the first to report and track greenhouse gas emissions.”
All of those practices are considered sustainable, but Fetzer Vineyards wanted to go further.
“Over the past couple of years our corporate strategy has been to move beyond sustainability and become regenerative,” Prigge said. “Instead of just trying to reduce negative impacts, we try to create positive impacts.”