Cline Cellars in Sonoma, Ca.

We are proud to be a Certified California Sustainable Vineyard and Winery. The program acknowledges a long-term commitment to continual improvement in the field of sustainable winegrowing and business practices, from grape to glass.

Soil manager Bobby Cannard and Fred Cline are extremely dedicated to sustainable practices. Nothing is more important than how we treat our vines. The wine we make is a direct result of what we put into the ground.

The Green String farming method developed by Fred and Bobby is a system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. These methods minimize pollution from the air, soil, and water, and optimize the health and productivity of soil, plants, animals and people. We make every effort to reduce soil erosion, and other harmful ecological footprints. Our self-nourishing system of minimal human intervention yields excellent quality crops.

Cover crops feed the soil; a wide mix of plant types are chosen specifically to produce soil-enhancing organic material. Cover crops are folded back into the soil while providing nutrition to our wooly weeders. These practices stimulate a living soil, a rich system where our vines can form deep roots.

We grind our own volcanic rock, then spread the crushed cinder onto the soil. Having a wide spectrum of mineralogy, these cinders provide our vineyards with a complex array of nutrients and trace minerals. We take these extra steps to make sure our vines have all the necessary components to build fullness of character in our wine.

In 2005, Cline was one of the first wineries to fully adopt solar energy. In 2018 we upgraded the original array with the latest technology, designed to offset 100% of our winery’s electrical consumption. Producing 586,000 kWh per year, our goal was to be energy independent. Our commitment to sun power also spares the air 436 metric tons of CO2 annually and is equivalent to removing over 1 million miles of driving each year.