Vinewise, the Washington Guide to Sustainable Viticulture, is an online, interactive guide of business and viticulture topics created by and for Washington state wine grape growers and vintners to determine and assess their current viticulture management practices against industry standards of sustainability. 

NEW to Vinewise! Vinewise goes "LIVE"!

WE HEAR YOU! Your Vinewise tool will now be even more valuable and useful.  You have been asking about "certification" for Vinewise.  And so as not to duplicate industry efforts, to work with the strengths of the Vinewise educational program and to work with a well-known and well-organized partner, Vinewise teamed up with LIVE, a non-profit that offers third-party certification through the International Organization for Biological Control. LIVE is the first organization in the U.S. to be certified by the IOBC, which promotes the use of sustainable, environmentally safe, economically feasible, and socially acceptable control methods. LIVE also partners with Salmon Safe, an organization dedicated to restoring and maintaining healthy watersheds. Salmon Safe certification is included with LIVE.  Just like Vinewise, these programs aim to provide a solution for wine grape growers that are economically viable, socially responsible and environmentally sustainable.

Vinewise has already completed a gap analysis and will merge the LIVE components into Vinewise by late May.  For more information on LIVE or to get a headstart you may go to: www.liveinc.org

LIVE program objectives for a sustainable viticulture that match Vinewise:

To see the vineyard as a whole system To create and maintain a high level quality fruit production To implement practices that reduce reliance on synthetic chemicals and fertilizers with the goal of protecting the farmer, the environment, and communities at large To encourage responsible stewardship of the land, maintain natural fertility and ecosystem stability To promote sustainable farming practices that maintain biological diversity in the whole farm

Sustainable viticulture ensures...
economically viable, socially supportive, and ecologically sound businesses for growers and vintners in Washington state.

With the Washington state wine industry growing rapidly, ensuring the future of the industry and growers’ and vintners’ businesses is increasingly important to everyone.  The Vinewise guide provides growers and vintners with the tools to evaluate their business practices to ensure those practices will carry them into the future.

The Vinewise Guide is a series of three self-assessment evaluation forms for grape growers and vintners, covering specific sustainable viticulture and business topics.

1. Checklists
2. Self-Evaluation Form
3. Action Plan

Vinewise includes 16 topics, but will cover additional topics as needed or identified by the industry.

• Business Plans        • Human Resources             • Vineyard Establishment
• Marketing Plans      • Soil & Site Properties         • Pest Management
• Contracts              • Soil Surface Mgmt            • Water Management
• Lending                 • Soil Management
• Crop Insurance       • Vineyard Site Selection
                
NEW Topics loaded:
Community Neighbors, Viticulture, Whole Farm Ecosystems

 Vinewise was developed by the Washington Association of Wine
   Grape Growers to address the rapidly growing Washington wine
   industry and to ensure its future.