The Lodi Rules for Sustainable Winegrowing are California's first
sustainable winegrowing standards that are designed to lead to
measurable improvements in environmental health of the surrounding
ecosystem, society, and wine quality. To become certified, a third
party organization, Protected Harvest, examines our vineyards and
practices to ensure we meet all requirements of The Lodi Rules for
Sustainable Winegrowing.
The Lodi Rules program differs from organic in four ways:
The Lodi Rules program is more comprehensive. Organic
winegrape growers comply with farming standards dealing
with pesticide and fertilizer use (farming inputs) and soil
management. The Lodi Rules farming standards not only
address those important issues but also viticulture, water
management, management of the farm ecosystem, pest
management, and human resources.
The Lodi Rules farming standards are regionally specific
and designed for Lodi vineyards. This specificity allows
them to target environmental issues important to growing
winegrapes in Lodi. In contrast there is only one set of
organic standards for all crops throughout the entire US so
they are not as targeted.
The Lodi Rules measures the environmental impact of all
pesticides, both synthetic and organic, used in the vineyard
and puts a cap (threshold) on how much can be used.
Organic does not put a limit on the amount of pesticides
used. The only requirement is they must be approved by
the National Organic Standards Board for use on organic
farms.
There is no three year waiting period to be certified under
The Lodi Rules as is required under organic certification.