There are lots of them, and wineries who have done the work to become certified deserve to be acknowledged for those certifications.

But what do they mean? It depends which one.

The many sustainable certifications are a sea of confusion. They acknowledge movement in a sustainable direction combined with a commitment to continue on that path. They are not saying who has been farming without synthetics, and whether or not they are real stewards of the land.

We’ll explain lots on certifications. A very important one to ConsciousWineries comes from Demeter, which certifies for Biodynamic® wine and vineyards.

In the meantime, here’s an alphabetical listing of certifiers and certifications. The listings below are links to their websites. We will add our perspective on each as we go along…

CCSW–California Certified Sustainable Winegrowing
CCOF-California Certified Organic Farmers
Demeter USA
Fish Friendly Farming
Food Alliance
LEED–Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design
LIVE–Low Input Viticulture & Enology
Lodi Rules
Napa Green
OCSW–Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine
Oregon Tilth
Organic Wine
Organic Wine in Canada
Salmon Safe
Stellar Certification Services
SIP–Sustainability in Practice
Some basics on a few International Certifiers

The Green Wine Confusion Helper is here to help. Check it out!