Sustainability is a catch-all term that’s tossed around casually to refer to just about anything even remotely related to climate action, resource conservation, and land stewardship. But for Martin Reyes, MW, and the panel of winemakers that joined him for the “Napa Valley’s Green Scene” session at SommCon in San Diego in September, achieving sustainability requires taking concrete steps with the intention of ensuring the viability of the planet, the
broader community, and the wines that are grown and produced in Napa Valley well into the future.

A man of many talents and founder of his own consultancy, the Reyes Wine Group, Reyes is an industry leader. In addition to his professional accomplishments and the many hats he wears,
which include joining importer WineWise as partner in 2022, he’s a passionate advocate for climate action and the cofounder
of the Napa RISE event series, which has elevated the discussion around sustainability initiatives in Napa Valley to new heights.

The session opened with an impassioned plea by Reyes to budding activists: “Start a study group so you can relearn together and climb on the shoulders of those like our panelists, who are leading the charge.” From there, each panelist spoke about their work while reinforcing their message through the wines they presented.

Trois Noix

First up was Jaime Araujo; the founder of Trois Noix, whose name means “Three Nuts” in French and newly-elected board member of Napa Valley Vintners, she views wine as a catalyst for social change. Trois Noix is a Certified B Corp, which means that its practices have been assessed across five categories: governance (which concerns
accountability and transparency); worker welfare; community welfare; environmental stewardship; and customer impact.

“Being small makes it easier to track the requirements for B Corp, and we work on it every single day,” she said. “We query vendors about what they are doing; we’ve moved to cotton instead of tree paper labels; and [we’ve] addressed bottle weights and other aspects of packaging.” For instance, she recently packaged a Sauvignon Blanc in recycled bottles from Conscious Container. Such efforts are key
when it comes to “being proactive for the future of our planet and . . . prioritizing what matters most in our climate-action efforts,” she told Reyes.

The Trois Noix 2021 Muir-Hanna Vineyard Chardonnay, hailing from Napa’s Oak Knoll District, was powerful, with tropical-fruit intensity. Grower Bill Hanna, a direct descendant of naturalist John
Muir, is currently working to introduce regenerative farming to the historic designated vineyard.

Jackson Family Wines

As the man responsible for “turning the ship” of farming at Jackson Family Wines in Napa Valley, winemaker (and Slow Food activist) Chris Carpenter oversaw the certification of hundreds of estate acres
by California Certified Organic Farming (CCOF) in 2022. He spoke passionately about the failure of chemical fertilizers, which have merely served as a Band-Aid on depleted soils: “Chemical inputs end
up in the groundwater, the lakes, and the oceans,” he pointed out. “The results are pollution, pests, and vine diseases.”

He believes that vineyard health can be restored by keeping the soil in a vegetative state with plants that feed it: “The job of the
farmer is to harvest energy, which is the symbiosis of plants and microbes.” Carpenter presented the producer’s 2019 Mt. Brave Cabernet Franc. Made from Mount Veeder fruit grown above the
fog line, it exuded lavender and violets; bright, focused notes of mulberry and black tea; and restrained tannins. “Quality has gotten better since the conversion,” he said. “It’s got to make economic sense to convert and follow the regenerative path.”

Grgich Hills Estate

Ivo Jeramez’s stewardship of his family’s Grgich Hills Estate, where he is vice president and winemaker, has made him one of Napa Valley’s most trusted sources for insight into organic practices and
regenerative organic certification, which the winery achieved in 2023.

Grgich Hills is a veritable case study in the economic benefits of organic farming: “The current yearly cost of farming a single acre of
vineyard in the Napa Valley is $15,000 on average, while our costs are $11,000 per acre,” Jeramez said, resulting in savings of more than $1 million every year. “On top of that, our yields are above average as well”—depending on the variety, he can produce 0.5–1 ton more fruit than is standard in the region. Of course, the resulting wines are also far above average: The Grgich Hills 2018 Yountville Cabernet Sauvignon was fresh and red-fruited, with a sublime balance between umami and oak.

Elizabeth Spencer Winery

Cabernet Sauvignon from a block adjacent to the Grgich vineyard in Yountville was presented by Sarah Vandendriessche, winemaker for Elizabeth Spencer, which is owned by the Boisset Collection.

Vandendriessche, who has been with the winery since 2010, works with consulting winemaker Heidi Peterson Barrett in the cellar while coordinating all the sustainability initiatives for Boisset’s California
estates. She has a committed relationship with their farmers: “We’re working with growers that are increasingly becoming certified. In terms of agriculture, the wine industry is small, but we’re highly visible. We are a bullhorn of the green message, and we should be putting our money behind our messaging,” she said.

The Elizabeth Spencer 2018 Yountville Cabernet Sauvignon represents a major milestone for the brand, which was
established 20 years prior to the vintage in 1988. Though built to age, it uses a relatively high percentage of neutral oak, which has long been a marker of the winery’s house style. After five years in the bottle, it was still deeply saturated, showing wellknit, muscular tannins and varietal typicity, including dried herbs and a savory finish.

In his closing comments, Reyes left the room with an upbeat and hopeful attitude. “We are making a great product in Napa Valley, and we can [make it even better] by including more people who have agency in our discussions, by focusing on climate action, and by calling for action,” he said.

“We can do more by asking where our food comes from and by making diversity a priority. These are the ingredients for action.
We need to focus on that power and ride the groundswell of momentum that brought us together here today.”