The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) has officially launched a new logo that identifies wines from the state that are “Certified Sustainable California.”
The logo is a certification program that provides verification by a third-party auditor that a winery or vineyard implements sustainable practices and continuous improvement, according to the CSWA website.
Beginning with the 2017 vintage, qualifying wineries may use the logo on bottles to inform consumers of their certified status, the company says. Wines made in certified wineries with at least 85 percent of grapes from certified California vineyards meet the requirements for logo use.
In an interview with CSWA, Claudio Ponte, Managing Partner of early-logo adopter Ponte Winery, speaks on how consumers may view the new logo: “With consumers today, every small brand is subject to doubt, particularly a product that goes inside your body. People rightfully need to be suspicious that what’s in the product is what you say. If a company is willing to put themselves through an audit, that resonates with consumers. Not all consumers, by any means, but enough to make it worth the effort.”
As U.S. consumers pay more attention to what they put into their bodies, it’s natural for Americans to ask the same questions about the wines they drink.
In a recent interview with Cheers, CSWA Executive Director Allison Jordan spoke about how sustainable winemaking helps the entire industry.
