At Hafner Vineyard, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do from our solar array and electric tractor to the packaging choices we make. Recently, you may have noticed that our Chardonnay bottles look a little darker. That’s because darker glass contains more recycled content, helping us reduce our carbon footprint by using fewer raw materials and less energy. We’ve long sourced American-made bottles to cut transportation emissions and support domestic manufacturing, and we’re also exploring lighter weight bottles to further lower shipping impacts. Since 1982, our Chardonnay has stayed the same. Now, the only difference is that the bottle it comes in is better for the planet.

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We are always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint, so this year, we tried something new: we chipped the vines when removing a block of vineyard instead of burning them. The idea is simple: by chipping and incorporating the material back into the soil, we sequester the carbon in the ground instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.  We’re hoping it’ll have long-term benefits for the vineyard and for the climate.

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We’ve been doing some things in the vineyard that I’m very excited about in our continuing efforts to reduce our carbon footprint. Our biggest investment is an all-electric tractor made by Monarch. The first job for the Monarch was one that I was not anticipating. We converted a block of cordon pruned vines to cane pruned and needed power in the vineyard, so the electric tractor acted as a generator.

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We received our Climate Adaptation Certification from the California Land Stewardship Institute. The result is a comprehensive plan specific to Hafner Vineyard that demonstrates how to look at various ways we can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, sequester carbon and promote climate resilience. An exciting result from the report is that we are already carbon negative, sequestering more CO2e than we emit thanks to leaving oak woodlands untouched, vineyard practices of seeding a cover crop, sourcing local and renewable clean energy and more. 

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Although we have 96 acres of vineyard planted, we have 150 acres in the hills that we leave for the wildlife. This was a decision made by Grandmother and Grandfather and one that successive generations have continued. We know critters are around, but they sure keep a low profile. The best potential sightings are either early in the morning when we arrive to work or later in the evening. When we do spot a wild animal, we feel like we’ve won the lottery. It is an honor for us to share this ranch with them.

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