The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) recently released the 2025 California Wine Community Sustainability Report, which finds that sustainability is being implemented at broad scale across the state, with approximately 70% of California wine grape acreage certified to a sustainability program and more than 90% of California wine produced in a certified sustainable winery.
Published every five years, the report draws on aggregated vineyard and winery performance data and provides an update on CSWA’s education, outreach, certification and partnership efforts. The latest findings document measurable progress since the 2020 report, including improvement in 65% of the vineyard sustainability criteria evaluated and 53% of the winery criteria.
“Sustainability has long been part of the heart of California wine, and this report shows how that commitment is translating into meaningful action across the state,” said Allison Jordan, CSWA executive director. “We are proud of the progress growers and vintners have made to conserve natural resources, strengthen their communities and build more resilient businesses, while continuing to look for ways to do even better.”
Sustainability Participation Continues to Grow
Participation in sustainability assessment has continued to expand across both vineyards and wineries.
Since 2021, growers farming 2,745 vineyards covering more than 350,000 acres have used the California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing to assess their operations. That represents a 19% increase in participating vineyards and a 34% increase in acreage.
During the same period, 282 wineries producing approximately 210 million cases annually have used the Code to assess their operations, representing a 23% increase in winery participation.
The report’s appendix includes aggregated data for the 144 vineyard and 105 winery best practices in the Code, which helps California winegrape growers and vintners evaluate their sustainability performance and identify practical opportunities for continued improvement.
Measurable Progress Across Vineyards and Wineries
As participation has grown, the data also show meaningful improvement in how sustainable practices are being implemented across vineyard and winery operations.
Vineyard sustainability performance improved in 65% of the evaluated criteria compared with the 2020 report. Highlights include:
- Soil health: 99% of growers allowed resident vegetation to grow in the vineyard, used cover crops and/or applied compost to encourage nutrient cycling and protect soil structure.
- Energy efficiency: 97% reduced energy use through water-pump improvements, one of the largest energy-saving opportunities in vineyard operations.
- Pest management: 85% used cultural practices to manage pests naturally and reduce the need for pesticides.
- Water efficiency: 83% used micro-irrigation systems that enable targeted irrigation and more efficient water management.
Winery sustainability performance improved in 53% of the evaluated criteria compared with the 2020 report. Highlights include:
- Sustainable business strategy: 98% integrated sustainability into their business strategy.
- Water efficiency: 97% measured and monitored water use to manage it responsibly.
- Energy efficiency: 96% conducted an energy audit of their winery operations within the past five years to identify savings, control costs and improve operational performance.
The report also demonstrates the ways growers and vintners are supporting employees, neighbors and local communities:
- Neighbors: 100% of growers provided neighbors with contact information and responded to community concerns.
- Contributions: 97% of vintners volunteered or made other contributions to enhance their local communities.
- Wildlife: 94% of growers allowed resident or native vegetation to grow near local waterways, helping protect water bodies and surrounding habitats.
- Employees: 90% of vintners encouraged employees to recommend ways to improve operational efficiency and sustainability.
Expanding Tools, Education and Industry Engagement
Supporting that progress is an expanding network of tools, education and outreach designed to help growers and vintners put sustainable practices into action and continue improving over time.
From 2021 through 2025, CSWA expanded its efforts to help vineyards and wineries document, measure and strengthen their sustainability performance. Key accomplishments included the launch of the California Vineyard and Winery Climate Action Toolkit and publication of the fifth edition of the California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing. To date, more than 19,300 participants have attended CSWA educational events.
CSWA also broadened access to California wine sustainability information through an updated Sustainable Winegrowing Ambassador Course, a redesigned CSWA website, a website highlighting California wine’s sustainability milestones and a consumer-facing certification website.
The report also reflects several important milestones, including CSWA’s 20th anniversary in 2023, the 15th anniversary of Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing and the 10th anniversary of the California Green Medal Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership Awards.
“These programmatic accomplishments and industry-wide implementation and certification of sustainable practices demonstrate meaningful progress toward CSWA’s vision of vibrant businesses, stronger communities and a healthier environment,” Jordan said. “They also underscore the California wine community’s leadership and resiliency in addressing today’s most pressing sustainability challenges.”
