Going green inside the wine business

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>> Sumi: Meet Jonah Beer assumed spelling.

>> Jonah: That cash flow is --

>> Sumi: He's in charge of business operations at Frog's Leap Winery located in the Bay area's scenic Napa Valley. The vineyard is known for its crispy Sauvignon Blanc's and earthy Zinfandels but now they're getting attention of a different kind, as one of the first wineries in the U.S. to go Green. Beer says their motivation to be Green isn't for the publicity or even to save the planet but rather to help their bottom line.

>> Jonah: It just makes sense financially and fiscally it makes sense. And what people start to realize as they get into the business model is that the first 5 years of operating an organic vineyard from an upstart position are more expensive, but after you get past that hump you've got between years 5 and maybe year 60 as long as that vineyard will live where you're operating at an efficiency of about 95% less inputs into the vineyard than a conventionally formed vineyard.

>> Sumi: Today the winery is operating without using fossil fuels. In 2005 they flipped the switch on solar putting 1,000 voltaic panels on land that wasn't being used, their total cost $600,000. Now the installation is saving the vineyard $50,000 a month in electric bills and helping the environment at the same time.

>> Jonah: We're producing enough electricity to power about 150 homes. And over the 30 year life of this system we will reduce CO2 emissions by about 1,600 tons, that's the equivalent of not driving 4 million miles in your average car.

>> Sumi: In 2007 Frog's Leap completed their new hospitality center it was the first building in Napa County to be LEED Certified. LEED, which stands for Leadership and Energy and Environmental Design, is an organization responsible for setting standards on eco-friendly construction. The process, says Beer, was a challenge.

>> Jonah: They take a look at everything from site selection to the use of natural light to the use of materials. You have to make sure you're dotting your I's and crossing your T's.

>> Sumi: In the end getting the LEED certification costs the winery 5% more than going without it. Frog's Leap is also committed to sustainable farming and it starts with a technique called dry farming. In essence it's growing the vines without the use of a costly irrigation system just rain water and what appears to be dry land really isn't.

>> Jonah: We've turned what it would be just soil into a sponge and that sponge will soak up the winter rainfall and it's gonna slowly give it back to the grapevine over the course over the year. This is the key to farming for flavor as I like to call it sometimes where we're gonna transfer this moisture into those grapes and ultimately into the wine in your glass.

>> Sumi: Beer says all the Green practices are helping Frog's Leap be more sustainable, but at the heart of it is the ability to produce flavorful wine.

>> Jonah: Almost everything that we do inside this kind of Greener sustainable sphere is aimed at influencing improving wine quality.

>> Sumi: A smart business decision but also good for the environment. I'm Sumi Das reporting for BNET.

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==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====