Sustainability at Dineen Vineyards

 “Dineen Vineyards is a family enterprise that we want to pass down to future generations. To do that, we farm with minimal input from chemicals & pesticides AND we focus on soil health. In 2002, when establishing Dineen Vineyards, we were concerned about soil legacy effects from chemicals used in the 1950’s & 1960’s. We tested soils and had no residual effects, but we committed to constantly improving it. From great soils come great grapes and wine, that is our mission.” - Pat Dineen, founder

Sustainability has long been infused into the Dineen Vineyards culture and business practices. Sustainable winegrowing means farming that is environmentally and socially responsible, while remaining economically viable. For us, being sustainable isn’t about checking the boxes, it’s a practice of intention and commitment to constant improvement.

At Dineen Vineyards, sustainability is a team effort and everyone’s ideas have made a difference helping us to be more and more green. We take this approach because we take the long view - to preserve this land for our business for future generations of our family, and to ensure that the families of our employees are nurtured through their generations.  It is the right thing to do.

Here are just some of the things we do to benefit our land, our neighbors, and the planet:

• Fruit Quality: We aim to produce the best quality of fruit possible because we care about our farm, the grapes we product & our customers.
• Soil conservation: Healthier soils will produce better quality grapes and therefore better wine. We improve our soil by natural methods, such as cover crops and the use of compost. We aim to reduce the use of herbicides and avoid synthetic fertilizers.
• Water Conservation: We regularly monitor soil moisture, the plants and the weather and irrigate the vines only when needed. We also ensure that run-off doesn’t create issues for surrounding community.
• Vineyard Management: We continually improve farming practices to make them more environmentally sound, socially just, and economically viable; for example, reducing tractor passes.
• Safe Pest Management: We monitor block by block to catch any issues before they have a chance to progress and utilize integrated pest management to encourage natural predators.
• Social Equity: We consider quality of life issues for our team and neighbors in the community. This is one of the most important aspects of sustainability for our operation. We have a great team and we provide them with a work environment that is safe and fun. We are proud to have continuity of our people from year to year!

Dineen Vineyards is among the first in the state of Washington to have our Estate Vineyards certified under the rigorous standards of Lodi Rules. This certification signifies a third-party audited commitment to rigorous, scientifically sound sustainable winegrowing covering over 100 sustainable practices. As an operation, we were pretty far down the path of being sustainable and certification mainly required documenting our practices. Lodi has certified nearly 1,300 vineyards and 55,000 acres. For more information, please visit lodirules.org or click HERE to read the FAQ about Lodi Growers.

Dineen Vineyards will be able to label our wines as Certified Green under the Lodi Rules starting with the 2020 vintage. A wine must contain 85% Lodi Rules certified Grapes to bear the Lodi Rules Seal.