KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Thanks to a decision by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA), a pilot program will assist four to six “small acreage” winegrape growers in Lake County with achieving sustainable winegrowing certification for their vineyards.

A workshop for interested winegrape growers is scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the Lake County Winegrape Commission office, 3895 Main St.

Growers who would qualify as “small acreage” (10 to 50 acres of vineyards) and who are able and willing to meet the obligations and prerequisites are invited to participate, according to Paul Zellman, education programs director with the commission.

The Feb. 11 workshop is intended to be an orientation for the participants, said Zellman. It will outline the program, how it will run and the deadlines involved.

“It will be a great opportunity to ask questions and to meet the other participating growers,” he said.

The deadline for registration for the orientation meeting is Feb. 4.

To register or to inquire about the program, call Zellman at 707-621-2668 or send him an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Additionally, interested growers must complete and submit an application form to CSWA by Feb. 11.

The winegrape commission is providing an application form and a step-by-step checklist for growers who are interested.

In the past, the cost and time commitment of sustainable winegrowing certification process may have kept growers with small operations from participating in the certification program, said Zellman.

“In discussing the issue with the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, we decided to develop a pilot certification project for small growers. The goal is to seek ways to save costs while fulfilling the certification requirements,” he said.
 
For this pilot program, the Lake County Winegrape Commission will work with the CSWA to cover 75 percent of the cost of certification for qualifying participants.

To qualify, said Zellman, a grower must complete a self-assessment, meet a minimum score for certification prerequisite criteria, complete an action plan for improvement, and, when finished, be audited by an independent auditor.

“We plan to work with the auditor and the growers to minimize audit time for the group,” Zellman added.

The certification process starts with a grower’s decision to certify an entire vineyard or portion of his/her vineyard, according to the step-by-step checklist compiled by CSWA.

The next to steps involve submission of the application form and attendance at the orientation workshop.

Growers will then need to complete or update the Sustainable Winegrowing Program self-assessment, either by accessing the online system, using the hard copy workbook, or with help at the Feb. 11 meeting.

Following completion and submission of the self-assessment, growers will be able to obtain a report comparing their practices with regional and statewide averages. This will assist them with identifying and prioritizing areas where improvements may be made, the CSWA checklist states. Growers can then develop action plans pertaining to their vineyards.

Additional steps toward certification include preparing for an onsite audit, conducting the audit, reviewing the audit report and completing any corrective actions.

Once the requirements are met, the auditor will recommend certification and supply a report to the CSWA who will determine certification status. One complete audit cycle is a three-year program, Zellman noted.

Questions about certification may be directed to CSWA Program Manager Jodi Wilson. Contact her by phone at 415-356-7544 or by email, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

For more information about the Lake County Winegrape Commission’s workshops and other events, visit the Commission’s website, www.lakecountywinegrape.org .