Sustainable Winegrowing

Tolosa practices scientifically based sustainability practices in their vineyard and winery. To summarize - sustainability is a comprehensive program that encompasses hundreds of the best management practices in the winery, vineyards, employees, and with neighbors.

   The 3 E’s of Sustainability:
   Environmentally friendly
   Equitable, Socially 
   Economically Feasible

  • Solar Powered Facility.
    • In August 2009 Tolosa converted to solar electrical generation with SunPower Corp. This system will provide the winery’s electrical energy for the next 25 years. 
  • All of Tolosa’s Vineyards are SIP Certified, demonstrating Sustainability in Practice; click here to view the vineyard certification facts.
  • All winery waste including grape seeds and skins is recycled, composted, or otherwise recovered.
  • We use vineyard tools with tractors designed to do multiple tasks at the same time. This minimizes the number of tractors traveling through the vineyard and significantly reduces fuel, soil compaction and erosion.
  • We utilize cover crops that reduce erosion, build soil fertility, and provide habitat for beneficial insects.
  • We have integrated pest management practices in place that carefully monitor the balance of insects, soil fertility, soil moisture, and vine health to minimize the waste of energy and chemical inputs. These practices make use of natural predators to control insect pests, and even weed species in some cases (we actually release a specific beetle which eats the seeds of star thistle.) We also utilize non-pesticide management methods, like using the Vine Mealybug’s own pheromones in small playing-card size clips hung on the vines, to confuse them during mating and as a result lowers their populations.
  • Every drop of water that we use in the winery is recovered and biologically processed until all the water is utilized a second time through the drip systems to water the vineyards.
  • All the vineyards are irrigated with low volume, low pressure drip irrigation placed at each individual vine to minimize the waste of water and maximize uniformity of vine growth.
  • Root stocks are chosen for the vines to resist insect and disease issues while minimizing any chemical or energy inputs.
  • We use low-risk fungicides in protecting our crop from fungal diseases. For example paraffin-based stylet oil (an organic product) is one of the many effective ways we control powdery mildew.
  • In the month of June, just after the young clusters have gone thru bloom and set, the leaves around the clusters are removed and the growing shoots are positioned upwards to passively minimize botrytis and mildew pressure, which reduces the number of protective sprays and increases the effectiveness of those sprays when required.
  • We leave wildlife corridors and erosion offsets along creeks, with native plants remaining in place.
  • Our winery’s refrigeration lines, hot water lines, exterior wine tanks, walls, roof and doors are completely insulated. The wine industry’s most efficient presses and refrigeration equipment were built for Tolosa. Our night time sensors monitor the temperatures inside and out, utilizing nature's cool night air with a series of automatically opening vents in the ceiling and low maintenance fans in the walls. Each and every permanent wine vessel in the winery is individually controlled with their own thermostat to minimize lost energy.