We’ve been trying out some new wine shippers lately – have you noticed?  We like them because they fall right inline with our commitment to sustainability – they’re also easier to pack!

These wine shippers are 100% recycled, 100% recyclable, 100% biodegradable, and 100% compostable – how great is that?  It might be a small effort compared to our big projects like habitat restoration or installing photovoltaic solar panels, but every little bit counts.

Megan Witherspoon, who heads up Wine Conscience, just posted a fantastic write-up on our sustainability practices and how they are largely generational.  By ‘generational’ I mean that being responsible winegrowers and land stewards today is key to the future of our next generation.

We feel that doing things like generating clean solar power, restoring native wildlife habitat, and using our water resources efficiently are all steps in the right direction.

Read Megan’s post “Sustainability as a Family Tradition” here!

Also, check out Megan’s follow up post on Lodi’s green winegrowing program, Lodi Rules for Sustainable Winegrowing.

Girl Scouts are hard workers! (See below for pictures!)

On Tuesday, April 21st, I had the opportunity to work with local Girl Scout Troop #2029 to continue our habitat restoration efforts at our Sandpoint property along the Mokelumne River.

To start off the afternoon, co-host James Jones, Wildlife Biologist from East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), led the Girl Scouts on a nature walk along the Mokelumne riverbank to point out native plant species, owl and wood duck boxes, mature elderberry plants, and a honey bee hive that I hadn’t noticed before either!

With shovels, cartons, and stakes in hand, the Girl Scouts learned how to properly plant a potted elderberry. We worked for about an hour to plant all of the elderberry bushes, but we finally finished.

LangeTwins would like to give special thanks for Troop #2029 and their parents for generously volunteering their time, efforts, and hard work to help with our restoration work along the Mokelumne.  The girls now have a hand in converting an old vineyard and sandy bottom field into a wonderfully biologically diverse riparian habitat area, a significant contribution to the ecological health of our watershed.

A little history on our restoration efforts on the Sandpoint property:

In 2004, we removed the old tokay vineyard that our grandfather planted and decided to embark on a habitat restoration project that would expand the riparian corridor along the Mokelumne.  With our own efforts and the help of a CalFed grant, invasive plant species were replaced by native oaks, wild roses, buckeyes, willows, box elders, and elderberries bushes.

In 2006, LangeTwins was the first signee of California’s first programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement, allowing us to plant the Mexican elderberry bush, host plant of the Valley Elderberry Beetle, a protected plant under the Endangered Species Act.  Had we not been able to work together with our partners, who included EBMUD, Environmental Defense, the Lower Mokelumne River Stewardship Steering Committee, San Joaquin County Resource Conservation District, and US Fish & Wildlife Service, we would not have been able to plant the elderberry bushes and also continue our normal farming operations nearby, due to significant restrictions under the Endangered Species Act.

In the end, the Safe Harbor Agreement was a win-win for both private land stewards and our government agencies, and the result was hundreds of plantings of the elderberry bush, and hopefully the return of the endangered beetle to our watershed.

Again, a big thanks to the Girl Scouts!

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