Wine production can be a dirty business.
It’s not just the use of synthetic agrochemicals and herbicides; it's the removal of natural habitat for vineyard planting, the stripping of the soil, the intensive use of limited water resources—virtually everything associated with large-scale, single-crop production.
Since the early 2000s, California winegrowers have been working toward more sustainable solutions, coming up with ways to both protect and enhance the environment and the community at large while still producing grapes of the highest quality. Today, around 65 percent of California’s vineyards have been third-party certified as sustainable, meaning they are both ecologically and community-friendly.
(Courtesy of @hobowinecompany)
Close to 70 percent of those—2,634 vineyards across 251,687 acres—have earned their certification from the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW) program, and each year, they award the most inspiring vintners and growers among their ranks with California Green Medal Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership Award.
This year, all four winners came from Northern California, making the decision as to where to go the next time you’re in Wine Country or buying a bottle at the shop (brick-and-mortar or online) a no brainer.
Here they are: the most outstanding sustainable winegrowers of 2026.
This article is part of 7x7’s sustainability series, a collaboration with Bay Area-based media company NextGen Purpose, a global network for anyone who cares about nourishing people and the planet. Catch this month’s companion piece—a deep-dive conversation with the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance—on their podcast Essential Ingredients on Spotify, Apple, or anywhere you get your podcasts.
Leader Award: St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery
(Courtesy of @stsupery)
The top prize in California sustainable winegrowing is the Leader Award, given to a vineyard or winery that excels in environmental protection, social equitability, and economic viability. With their climate action leadership (they’ve reduced emission almost 50 percent since 2021!), their 56 percent decrease in water use, and their efforts to maintain natural habitat on 1,000 of their 1,600 acres of Napa Valley land, St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery was a 2026 shoe in.
“Sustainability is a core pillar of our winery’s foundation, and we continue to enhance that commitment every year,” says St. Supéry CEO Emma Swain. Indeed, it’s not just to the landthat the winemaker is committed to being good stewards. As a founding member of the North Bay Zero Waste Collective, they’ve dramatically reduced their own footprint and now serve as a regional recycling hub that’s diverted more than 590,000 pounds of material from landfills since 2024.
Beyond that, “we have an ongoing staff carpooling incentive, provide the land at our Dollarhide Ranch for an employee co-operative garden, and broader community involvement in a number of charitable organizations,” Swain continues. “St. Supéry employees also contribute bi-monthly to the Napa Valley CanDo Food Project, and the winery serves as a food donation collection hub as inspiration for our neighbors to participate in this important community effort.”
// St. Supéry’s tasting room is open daily from 10am to 5pm at 8440 St. Helena Hwy. (Rutherford), order from their online wine shop at stsupery.com
Environment Award: Clif Family Winery & Farm
(Courtesy of Clif Family Winery & Farm)
The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance chose Clif Family Winery & Farm as the winemaker most committed to maximizing environmental benefits through the implementation of sustainable practices. The B Corp has converted to renewable energy sources (their goal is a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030) and set aside more than 250 acres of their 281-acre estate as natural habitat.
“We believe that great wine depends on healthy soils, thriving ecosystems, and strong communities, so caring for the land is inseparable from making exceptional wines and foods,” says Clif Family director of operations and sustainability, Sarah Richmond. In the vineyards themselves, the company has switched to drip irrigation and regenerative practices like no-till farming, sheep grazing, and cover crops that help to strengthen the health of the soil.
And while this award focuses on Clif Family's positive ecological impact, community commitments like the Sip & Support program, which diverts 20 percent of all tasting room and food truck sales on event days to local nonprofits, are also key to the winery’s larger vision of resilience and equitability. Stewardship “is built into every decision we make because it's rooted in the values our founders Kit Crawford and Gary Erickson established from the very beginning,” Richmond says. “That philosophy guides everything from how we farm and source our ingredients to how we package our products and support our community.”
// Clif Family Vineyard & Farm’s tasting room is open daily from 10am to 5pm (until 7pm on Wednesdays) and complimentary tastings are available every Tuesday at 709 Main St. (St. Helena), order from their online wine shop at cliffamily.com
Community Award: Ironstone Vineyards
(Courtesy of @ironstonevineyards)
Long-term sustainability relies not just on sound environmental practices, but on community investment as both an employer and a neighbor. Multigenerational winemaker Ironstone Vineyards in the Sierra Foothills has championed groundwater conservation and riparian restoration since the 1940s. But they’re also deeply committed to their workforce, with programs like bilingual safety training and team building that have resulted in employees who stick around, some for over 50 years.
The winemakers have also raised more than $1.2 million for youth agricultural programs, and it’s the entire community (including other wine producers) who reaps the benefit of their efforts in integrated pest management and biodiversity, including the planting of native oaks that help to mitigate rising temperatures.
// Ironstone’s tasting room is open Thursday through Sunday from 11am to 5pm at 1894 Six Mile Rd. (Murphys), order from their online wine shop at ironstonevineyards.com
Business Award: Hobo Wine Company
(Courtesy of @hobowinecompany)
Santa Rosa’s Hobo Wine Company picked up the final Green Award in 2026—the Business Award—which is given to the vineyard or winery that best demonstrates smart, sustainable business practices through "efficiencies, cost savings, and innovations.” Since its founding in 2002 by winemaker Kenny Likiprakong, Hobo has been a leader in waste reduction, using reusable kegs instead of bottles for some of their wine, incorporating lower-impact packaging across their supply chain, and composting the organic byproducts of production. They operate on 100 percent renewable energy, have achieved net-zero kWh per case, and use far less water than the industry average.
In addition to sourcing the majority of their grapes from certified organic vineyards, Hobo also prioritizes fair employment practices in everything from wages and PTO to shared meals. Since 2018, they’ve donated almost $300,000 to nonprofits like 1% for the Planet and The School Box Project.
// Hobo Wine Company’s tasting room is open by appointment, Monday through Friday, from 8am to 4pm; 412 Timothy Rd., Ste. C (Santa Rosa), order from their online wine shop at hobowines.com
