They’d always dreamed of owning a home in Italy, but opening a restaurant there was never part of the plan.
01.09.2023 - 14:43 / matadornetwork.com
It’s no secret that California is home to some of the best and most picturesque wineries in the country, but it’s also home to some of the most sustainable vineyards that treat the environment with care while producing world-class wines.
Low-impact harvesting is beneficial for both the soil and grapes, while solar panels and other forms of sustainable energy reduce a winery’s carbon footprint. Wildlife conservation is another important aspect of sustainable winemaking. Establishing green corridors for animals to access water and planting vines around trees, rather than cutting the trees down, goes a long way toward maintaining a healthy ecosystem.
These and other practices are becoming standard across California, and seeing just how they’re doing it makes for the perfect wine-focused road trip.
Start your trip in San Luis Obispo on California’s central coast. The region has cooler weather that leads to refreshing red and white wines (most notably using chardonnay and pinot noir grapes) with a higher acidity than you find in warmer areas.
Founded more than 35 years ago, Baileyana Winery is a mainstay of winemaking in the Edna Valley. The winery makes a small amount of syrah, rosé, and sparkling rosé in addition to its main focus: a range of cool-climate chardonnay and pinot noir. Baileyana has been SIP (Sustainability in Practice) Certified since 2008, and prides itself on making wine in a way that respects the environment, the surrounding wildlife and plantlife, and the workers who tend to the vineyards.
On your visit, don’t leave without booking a tasting unlike any other. Located in the historic Independence Schoolhouse, Baileyana’s tasting room gives guests an experience that combines history with flavor and views of the Santa Lucia Mountains. On select days you can pair your wine with food from local food trucks, and on non-food truck days, you’re welcome to bring a picnic lunch.
Baileyana Winery: 5828 Orcutt Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
About an hour and a half north of San Luis Obispo in Soledad, Wrath Wines is one of the most iconic properties in the Santa Lucia Highlands. Producing site-driven pinot noir, chardonnay, syrah, and sauvignon blanc, this small and limited-distribution winery packs a powerful punch when it comes to flavor – and, of course, sustainability.
Wrath pays careful consideration to the kind of packaging it uses. The winery doesn’t treat its wine with harmful contaminants, and generally takes a holistic approach to growing grapes and making wine. To preserve the local ecosystem, Wrath has developed a certified sustainable farming program designed to protect the environment and create wines tailored to the region in which they’re grown. Of the property’s 80 acres, 60 are planted
They’d always dreamed of owning a home in Italy, but opening a restaurant there was never part of the plan.
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