Paso (CA) wineries celebrate Earth Day with festival (SLO County Tribune)

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Paso wineries celebrate Earth Day with festival
Janis Switzer

Posted on Fri, Apr. 20, 2007

This weekend will mark 37 years since the first Earth Day helped awaken awareness about environmental protection. Central Coast wineries and growers are celebrating that milestone with the first Earth Day Food&Wine Festival on Saturday in Paso Robles. More than 30 wineries will participate.

While many wineries that have adopted environmentally friendly growing practices are small or medium-size operations, some of the area’s largest have been leading the cause for years.

Embracing eco-friendly practices

Meridian Vineyards, one of the largest wineries in Paso Robles with production of nearly 800,000 cases a year, has been a leader in sustainable “best practices” for over a decade.

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Meridian owns and manages more than 4,500 acres in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Across those vineyards, the winery has hundreds of owl boxes to control rodents; it has carefully planted cover crops to reduce soil erosion; and it uses only “reduced-risk” pesticides when problems arise that can’t be controlled naturally. Meridian also has systems that retain rainwater, as well as a way to reclaim wastewater for irrigation.

For its efforts, Meridian has received Waste Reduction Award Program awards from the California Integrated Waste Management Board for the last three years.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/102/v-print/story/21704.html

Related background article:

Vineyards team up for sustainable growing

The Central Coast Vineyard Team, which is planning the Earth Day Food & Wine Festival, is a group of vintners and olive producers who strive to improve and increase sustainable farming practices in the county.

At Saturday’s event, area chefs will use locally grown and raised fruits, vegetables and meats for meals that will pair with wines produced with sustainable methods, said Kris O’Connor, executive director. The group hopes the event will inform consumers about how sustainable agriculture benefits the land and the consumer.

“We’ve never had a community event like this,” she said. “We really wanted to connect people with their food source.”

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/102/v-print/story/21705.html