Greenopia released its updated list of the most sustainable U.S. wineries this week with some big changes from last year’s rankings. The wineries, rated on factors including transportation, growing practices, transportation, building logistics, and packaging, performed better than ever, and for the first time, two wineries took the top rating of four leaves.
Benziger and French Rabbit share the top spot, with both wineries scoring four out of four leaves (last year, Benziger scored two leaves and French Rabbit scored three). French Rabbit is, according to Greenopia, “the one vineyard who has put together all the pieces of the green puzzle” thanks to its biodynamic farming techniques, TetraPak packaging (which we delved into recently), and thorough environmental reporting. Benziger also features a selection of biodynamic and organic wines. The winery received kudos for natural cork-bottled wines, green building practices, and stringent environmental reporting.
At the bottom of the rankings, Greenopia lists perennial favorites like Yellow Tail (no organic or biodynamic wines, synthetic cork on bottles), Stag’s Leap (minimal environmental reporting), and Charles Shaw (grapes grown and processed far from the bottling plant).
Cheap wine enthusiasts need not despair, however–the ultra-tasty French Rabbit wines retail for under $10. And as we recently discovered, organic wines are a bargain more often than not.
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the early-rate deadline, May 3.
