GOING Green NAPA VALLEY BUSINESS SPOtLIGHT by the Napa County Green Business Program Alpha Omega Winery Alpha Omega Winery, one of Napa’s newest boutique wineries, is surrounded by vineyards, mountains and refreshing fountains. The beauty of the setting inspired Alpha Omega’s owners to infuse sustainable practices into its cultivation, wine production and hospitality. First and foremost they incorporated many stateof the-art energy- and waterefficient design features into the winery remodel; they continue Sustainability Control panel for the Lyve Wastewater Management System From vine to bottle, the making of Silverado Vineyards’ exquisite wine depends on the experienced hands of a strong community 54 www. n A PAVA L L E Y L I F Emagaz ine .com to upgrade as new technology becomes available. Eric Sklar, Alpha Omega Co-Founder, is most proud of the winery wastewater system called the Lyve System. Relatively new technology in 2009, the Lyve System from New Zealand processes Alpha Omega’s domestic and winery wastewater into reusable clean water. The treated wastewater exceeds California state quality requirements and can be applied directly to the vineyards without any concern. In 2013, Alpha Omega retrofitted all of the fluorescent and metal halide lighting at the winery to LED lighting developed specifically for companies and municipalities by Sensity Systems and financed by P3GM. Combined with a data network, the lighting sensors can detect CO2 levels in the air as well as identify inventory in winery cellars through embedded video capabilities. The LEDs also have dimmers that dilate the lights based on activity or set time schedules, with an overall improved quality and saturation of light. The LED conversion is expected to eliminate 90,858 pounds of CO2 greenhouse gases per year from the environment. To learn more about Alpha Omega visit www.aowinery. com. For more information on the Napa County Green Business Program visit www. greenbusinessca.org or contact Danielle Schmitz at dschmitz@ nctpa.net. Good wine is about people, from every hand that helps create our Cabernet Sauvignon to every current and future friend who lifts a glass of our wine around the dinner table. We would not be Silverado Vineyards without a strong community, which is why the Miller family, who owns the winery, feels so strongly about being a good neighbor. Of course that starts with how we go about our daily tasks. Our entire estate is sustainably farmed: 15% is farmed organically; 70% is Certified Napa Green; 50% is preserved in the Land Trust exclusively for open space and agriculture use. Our solar panels power 40% of the winery. We are proud of these accomplishments, but they are just the beginning. We know we can and will do better. For us, sustainable is not simply a farming method, it is an approach to all of our activities. It is the driving force behind everything we do to ensure that this winery and estate are here for generations of our customers, neighbors and the Millers to enjoy. Silverado Vineyards is a proud sponsor of “Sustainable Life” in NVL Magazine 6121 Silverado Trail • (707) 257-1770 • www.silveradovineyards.com
NVLife_SeptOct_2013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above