How Penns Woods Winery Is an Eco-Friendly Operation

It’s no secret: we revere the land at Penns Woods Winery. It’s from our fertile soil that great grapes—and great wine—spring forth. We do this by working in concert with the climate, pruning with the utmost care and harvesting by hand.
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We pride ourselves on being eco-friendly throughout our entire operation, too. This is important to our entire team, and we’re committed to growing that initiative not only to nurture the environment but also to give back to the community that supports us. Here are a few ways we’re working in concert with Mother Nature—and keeping the recycling man busy.

In the Vineyard

• During the crush, we collect all the skins and stems to use as mulch. This organic, nutrient-rich mix is spread between the vines and gives back to the soil. It’s a constant life cycle that we implement all year long—we store what we don’t immediately use in bags to ferment for future use.
• Our vineyard manager and assistant winemaker Davide Creato tends a wonderful organic veggie garden in the vineyard. That seasonal produce is distributed free to our staff, and the surplus is brought to the tasting room for our customers to take and enjoy.
• We gather rainwater runoff into big barrels and use that to water Davide’s garden.
• Even our customers’ leftover food items are separated from other trash!

At the Tasting Room

• Our staff no longer sips from plastic water bottles. We’ve gone to a Brita filtering system and now we eliminate using at least 240 plastic water bottles each month, more during special events.
• Instead of plastic, the staff is now rocking aluminum water bottles in keeping with our fresh-water policy.​
  
• Used wine bottles and corks are also recycled—plus our guests are welcome to take them home and utilize them for crafty pursuits.

Throughout the Company

• We’ve upped our recycling game in every Penns Woods Winery area. You’ll see us recycle plastic, glass and cardboard everywhere you go. We take seriously the opportunity—and responsibility—to improve our environment in our offices and on our land.

We invite you to join us in our quest to be completely eco-friendly. When you’re visiting, please make ample use of our trash and recycling bins. After you enjoy a picnic on our bucolic grounds, bring your refuse to the Tasting Room for environmentally sound disposal. We’re in this together!

Penns Woods Winery is a family-run Pennsylvania winery. With more than 40 years of experience in the wine business, winemaker Gino Razzi and his daughter, Carley Mack, produce award-winning wines from Pennsylvania-grown grapes. Penns Woods wines can be found in restaurants throughout Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs. Stop in to your local state store and pick from a limited selection of wines, or visit our tasting room for the full offering. The tasting room in Chadds Ford provides an all-around vineyard experience and hosts live music, food and wine pairings and other exciting events each weekend. Score Penns Woods Winery news in your inbox by signing up for our newsletter today!

--Nina Malone

Photography: Alexandra Whitney Photography