Happy Earth Day! Just in time for this terrestrial celebration, we are excited to announce that Jackson Family Wines was recently named the 2016 recipient of the prestigious California Green Medal Leader Award for sustainable wine growing leadership.

The Jackson Family Wines’ Sustainability team proudly accepting the honor: (L-R) Suzi Redlich, Sabrina Sihakom, Carolyn Wasem, Katie Jackson, Galen McCorkle, Julien Gervreau Photo © Robert Holmes

Now in its second year, the prestigious Green Medal Award was developed to recognize California vineyards and wineries excelling in sustainability in four categories. The Leader award is given to the vineyard or winery that best demonstrates excellence in balancing the three E’s of sustainability: environmentally sound, socially equitable, and economically viable. The three other categories include the Environment Award, Community Award, and Business Award. The Leader category is the exemplary achievement in all of the three categories.

Katie Jackson (Jackson Family Wines) accepting the 2016 California Green Medal Awards with: (L-R) Lucas Pope (Halter Ranch Vineyard), Jason Haas (Tablas Creek Vineyard), and Dirk Heuvel (McManis Family Vineyards) Photo © Robert Holmes

It is an honor for us to share in these awards with fellow industry vintners and winegrape growers dedicated to protecting and enhancing the environment and our local communities. Recipients of the additional categories include: Halter Ranch Vineyard (Environment Award), Tablas Creek Vineyard (Community Award), and McManis Family Vineyards (Business Award).

The awards are presented by California Sustainable Wine Growing Alliance (CSWA), California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG), Wine Institute, Lodi Winegrape Commission, Napa Valley Vintners, Sonoma County Winegrowers, and The Vineyard Team (SIP Certified). Entries were judged by a panel consisting of industry and sustainability experts from organizations such as UC Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Wine Business Monthly, and many of California’s premier wine commissions such as Sonoma County Winegrowers and Napa Valley Vintners. Recognition from these honored peers strengthens Jackson Family Wines’ position as a leader of environmental stewardship and business innovation in the wine industry.

The Leader award is a testament to our commitment to investing in the health of our lands, the quality of our wines, and the well-being of our people and communities to cultivate a thriving future for generations to come. Since crafting our first bottle of Kendall-Jackson in 1982, our multi-generational family business has been distinguished as one of the world’s leading wine companies, producing the highest quality wines from certified sustainable coastal vineyards. We were an early adopter of healthy land management practices, and began reducing pesticides and using drip irrigation far ahead of industry peers. We have reduced our total water use by 31% since 2008 and have become the US Wine Industry’s largest solar producer. These are only a few examples of the incredible effort that has been done so far.

Though it is an honor to win this award, our work is never finished. You read our 2015 Sustainability Initiatives, and there is plenty more to come. We invite you to continue with us on this journey as we strive for quality, innovation, integrity, respect, leadership, and passion in all that we do to make Jackson Family Wines the best wine company in the world!

–Sabrina Sihakom, Sustainability Program Coordinator