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 "GROWING GREEN" Oregon's winemakers are stewards of the land with a collective passion for growing fruit and making wine in a sustainable manner. Indeed, an impressive percentage of Oregon’s vineyard acreage is certified as sustainable, organic or biodynamic. Even among the many Oregon vineyards that aren't officially certified, sustainability is both a priority and a lifestyle. And the benefits are two-fold: the practices are gentle on the earth and many winemakers believe they result in brighter, more flavorful wine that better reflect the characteristics of the land from which they are grown. List of Sustainable, Organic or Biodynamic Producers Below are organizations associated with Oregon’s sustainable wine industry. No doubt, you’ll be hearing about them for many years to come-especially as they relate to Oregon wine. Oregon Certified Sustainable In partnership with certification agencies throughout the state, the Oregon Wine Board will create a unifying platform and certification logo to help consumers easily identify and purchase sustainable wines. The brand is “Oregon Certified Sustainable” (OCS) and the effort will launch in late 2008 with the goal to communicate these practices in an understandable manner, highlight shared principles among the various certification philosophies and forge relationships with consumers who make environmental awareness or action a priority. Oregon Certified Sustainable, or OCS, will not recreate the wheel for certification, but rather offer wineries currently holding and maintaining one of the certifications the chance to use the OCS brand on their label. This logo guarantees that the wine in that bottle was made using responsible agriculture and responsible winemaking, both certified by an independent third party. Demeter Certified Biodynamic In a word, biodynamic farming is rigorous. It means growing grapes and making wines completely free of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. A step further than organic, Biodynamic farming means managing the entire farm (or vineyard) as a living organism, with a high degree of self-sufficiency. The Demeter Association is the world’s leader of Biodynamic certification and awareness. It has a long history of promoting sustainability, dating back to 1928, when it was founded to support and promote the Biodynamic agricultural methods of Rudolf Steiner. The U.S. Demeter Association certified its first farm in 1982. LIVE, Inc. Low Input Viticulture & Enology, Inc (LIVE, Inc) is a program that certifies vineyards for following international guidelines for environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic accountability. LIVE, Inc. also provides education and resources to winegrowers interested in sustainable farming. Oregon Tilth Certified Organic Many of Oregon’s wineries are certified organic through Oregon Tilth, which has been a leader in certification since 1974. Oregon Tilth is an internationally recognized organization of organic farmers, gardeners and consumers who are dedicated to biologically sound and socially equitable agriculture. Their goal is to educate people about the need to develop and use sustainable growing practices that promote soil health, conserve natural resources, and prevent environmental degradation while producing a clean and healthful food supply. Salmon-Safe Founded in 1995 by an Oregon-based river and native fish protection organization, Salmon-Safe has become one of the nation’s leading regional eco-labels. Erosion and runoff from hillside vineyards can bring silt into streams, reducing the ability of native salmon to survive. That’s why Salmon-Safe has partnered with LIVE, VINEA, and Oregon Tilth to work with pioneering wine grape growers to protect Oregon’s important salmon watersheds. Since first certifying vineyards in the Willamette Valley more than a decade ago, Salmon-Safe has certified 110 Oregon vineyards representing a third of Oregon’s wine grape acreage. Look for the Salmon-Safe label on wine and you’ll know that your purchase helps keep rivers clean so that salmon can spawn and thrive. Vinea, The Winegrowers' Sustainable Trust The Winegrowers Sustainable Trust is a voluntary group of winegrowers who have embraced environmentally friendly and socially responsible viticultural practices. Their mission is to develop a sustainable vineyard management program that will be internationally recognized for its strict environmental standard and high quality farming practices. 
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