Sustainable Practices Adopted by Sonoma

County Wineries

Presenter: Nikki Yaffe

Co-Presenter(s):
Alyssa Joyner, Paula Frassinetti, Alexis Jimenez

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 19-20

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Martha Shott

Department: Mathematics

Abstract:
Viticulture is a major industry in Sonoma County that has had negative impacts on the environment. For this reason, the majority of wineries in the county have adopted sustainable practices. The focus of our study is to discover which of these practices are most common. This will illustrate the accessibility of environmentally-friendly practices for winegrowers not currently using sustainable methods. We will collect our data by researching individual Demeter-certified Biodynamic wineries in Sonoma County and tracking their practices. We expect using cover crops and composting to be the most common practices used by these wineries. Sonoma County’s sustainable viticulture practices can be used as an example for other winegrowers.