The new members span Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Kings County and join nearly two-hundred and fifty other SIP Certified businesses across California and Michigan.
“Seeing the growth of our membership and enthusiasm for the program develop and expand is truly a win for not only our program, but for sustainability efforts across all industries,” says Program Director Beth Vukmanic, “With increased consumer demand for transparency and sustainability, SIP Certified ensures a level of accountability modern consumers expect.”
The SIP Certified program operates with the values of:
- Social Responsibility – Competitive wages, medical insurance, training, and education.
- Water Management – Reduced/recycled water in the vineyards and winery.
- Safe Pest Management – Introduce beneficial insects, attract raptors, and plant enriching cover crops to keep vineyards healthy.
- Energy Efficiency – Alternative fuels and energy sources like solar and wind; minimal tractor usage; enhanced insulation in winery.
- Habitat – Create wildlife corridors and preserve open space.
- Business – Ethical practices; treat employees and community with care and respect.
- Always Evolving – Evolve as new science, technology, and research becomes available.
Matt Brady, winemaker of Samsara Wine Co is enthusiastic about their newly certified winery, “Samsara is really excited to be a new winery member of the SIP Certified program! Santa Barbara is the birthplace of the US environmental movement, and as a Santa Barbara based winery we feel a strong commitment and obligation to maintain practices that align with our deeply held personal and community values of environmental stewardship.”
To learn more about the program, visit www.sipcertified.org.
About SIP Certified
Sustainability in Practice (SIP) Certified is one of the wine industry’s oldest and most important third-party assessment programs. It utilizes a block-to-bottle, integrated approach to management, enabling farmers, wineries, and winemakers to preserve the environment and protect human resources. SIP Certified boasts strict, non-negotiable requirements and standards based on science, expert input, independent verification, transparency, and the absence of conflict of interest. SIP Certified launched its pilot program in 2008 with 3,700 acres of vines between Monterey and Santa Barbara counties. Today, there are 42,000 acres of vines in California and Michigan, five wineries, and more than 49 million bottles of wine that have been SIP Certified.