Eco-Friendly Winery
In an effort to reduce our carbon footprint and help reduce our impact on the environment, DeRose Winery has made several significant accomplishments over the years.

Dryfarming
Ever since 1851, the Cienega Valley property has been employing dryfarming in its vineyards. While about half of our vineyards have always been dryfarmed, the other half had always been irrigated; “had” being the key word there. In the late 90s we began to slowly reduce the amount of water given to our younger vines. After a decade of this practice, we were able to convert 100% of our vineyards over to dryfarming, greatly reducing our impact on the underground water supply.

Vineyard Practices
A little over a decade ago, we began to practice non-till farming in our vineyards. This simply means we do not disc our fields, rather we mow the native grasses that naturally occur in the vineyard. This reduces loss of organic material in the soil from tilling, moisture loss due to increased evaporation on bare soil, and also decreases the potential for introduction of invasive plant species, keeping the native flora intact.

About the same time, we also began to analyze our spraying programs and use of pesticides/herbicides; albeit it has always been minimal. We began using organic products that allowed us to replace harsher materials. Also, we began examining the vines’ nutritional needs, because with proper vine nutrition, they can use their own defense mechanisms to ward off pests and diseases.

Winery Practices/Packaging
We purchased a steam generator in 2007 in an effort to reduce water usage. This allows us to clean all of our tanks and equipment using steam, and to sanitize without using any chemicals. In doing so, we’ve reduced the amount of water usage by several thousand gallons a month. This is something that not even the common household can claim!

In addition, we recycle all glass from our tasting room, and all cardboard and paper materials generated from packing and office materials. We’ve begun switching to lighter-weight glass to reduce the amount of glass required during bottling by 40%. Our labels and boxes are printed using soy-based inks. We even have a water dispenser in our tasting room to eliminate plastic water bottles.

Solar Powered 2010
DeRose Winery is completely run off the grid!  We installed 8,000 square feet of solar panels on our winery’s roof to make us the first winery in San Benito County to be completely run by solar power. In addition, DeRose has made several lighting changes, installing timers and replacing inefficient equipment to further reduce its power usage. Our goal is to not only be run entirely by our solar grid system, but to generate enough power to feed back into the grid and eventually become carbon neutral. Click on this link and see the power we are generating.

Future Plans
Rainwater Harvesting
We eventually plan to take advantage of our rainy seasons, capturing the rain water that falls on our roofs, and storing it for usage in our facility.

Re-usable bags
We plan on having re-usable bags in place in the near future, and will be offering a discount for bringing your own bags for purchases.