Did you realize that St. James Winery practices sustainability every day?
In celebration of Earth Day, here’s a list of how our partner Public House Brewing Company and the team at St. James Winery take care of the planet we call home.
- Recycle – cardboard, plastic, glass, aluminum
- Solid waste from both businesses used as compost in the vineyards
- Transition to LED lighting last year throughout both the winery and brewery
- Electricity 208V 3 phase minimum through production facilities for energy efficiency
- Insulated piping for glycol refrigeration system in the winery for energy efficiency
- Vinwizard adjusts pump speeds depending on demand (Artificial Intelligence for energy efficiency)
- Use of a fine-tuned irrigation and soil monitoring system so we use less water in our vineyards.
- Beehive addition to our vineyard perimeter and adding three to four more this year. They help pollinate our cover crops
- Wildflowers and other natives planted (cover crops) in order to encourage diversity of insect populations in the vineyard area to help with compaction, pests and some for aiding nitrogen levels in the soil
- All wine tank bottoms filtered/reclaimed and solid waste composted to avoid stressing water treatment facilities
- Vineyard pruning and hedging equipment redesigned to do two rows at once – lowering diesel usage
- Using UTVs instead of trucks in order to reduce carbon footprint (less gas) to transport crew and equipment
- New tractors run in economy – using half the diesel trucks for certain jobs
- High-efficiency boiler in the winery cellar and bottling room
- Move to aluminum cans for the brewery for better recyclability
- Spent grain for cattle
- Insulated tanks in the brewery
- Reclaim water from heat exchanger for brewing water
- Low-pressure boiler in the brewery – sized appropriately for energy efficiency
- All to-go materials for food from the brewery are recyclable. Just say no to styrofoam
To continue the work of preserving the cultural and environmental sustainability of our community we formed the Friendship School Foundation. Through our partnership with this foundation, we are able to invest in and work to sustain the cultural heritage of our vineyards, our craft and our community. We love the land we work and practice sustainability wherever we are able to.
The above list are just a few of our sustainability efforts today and with the help of our foundation, we are always investigating how we can do even more. So, the next time you lift a glass of your favorite St. James Winery selection know you are supporting a Missouri winery and craft brewery, its community and our shared environment. Cheers!
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