The theme of this year's Down to Earth Month is especially compelling for us at Flying Goat Cellars because Norm & I (Kate) have been beekeepers since 2012. Our 13 year journey of beekeeping has brought us into a whole new world of awareness in our garden, home and sourced vineyards. Furthermore, I worked in the pioneering health food industry in the late 1970s, and I've been a sustainability minded locavore ever since. 

Come by the Tasting Room on April 26 and learn more about what we're doing toward sustainability at Flying Goat. We'll have a demonstration bee hive and educational information on beekeeping. 

Saturday, April 26, 1-4pm
Flying Goat Cellars Tasting Room
1520 E. Chestnut Ct, Lompoc

Our featured wine this month is 2017 Goat Bubbles Blanc de Noirs from Ampelos Vineyard, which has biodynamic, organic and sustainable vineyard certifications. This bubbles is one of six expressions of award-winning méthode champenoise sparkling wine that we handcraft at our own facility. Winemaker Norm Yost is the OG of sparkling wine in Santa Barbara County, launching his first vintage in 2005. Flying Goat Cellars is celebrating it's 25th Anniversary this year. Join in the fun! 

Read below to learn more about the CA Wine Institute's sustainability campaign and what Flying Goat Cellars is doing toward that end all year long. 

California Wine Institute

The California wine community’s longstanding dedication to sustainability is something to celebrate — and the state’s winegrowers will be doing just that during the 14th annual California Wines Down to Earth Month in April. The campaign highlights California’s leadership in sustainable viticulture and winemaking through environmental stewardship, economic impact, social equity and community engagement.

In a recent poll of U.S. wine trade members by Full Glass Research, 70% of participants reported an increase in wine trade interest in wines produced with climate-beneficial practices.

“Sustainability matters to wine consumers across the globe, which is why California’s wine community has worked so hard to become a world leader in sustainability and developed into one of the U.S.’ most highly value-added agricultural sectors,” said Robert P. Koch, president and CEO of Wine Institute. “With our innovation advancements and continued sustainability expansion, we are proud to tell consumers, if they are buying a California wine, they are very likely purchasing a certified sustainable wine.” 
Read More Here

Flying Goat Cellars

At Flying Goat we're sharing some of our efforts toward sustainability. We proudly source from regenerative and sustainable vineyards and have sustainable practices in the cellar and tasting room. We practice backyard beekeeping, drought tolerant gardening and vermiculture, while living in an eco-friendly geodesic dome. We also live and work in the City of Lompoc, which is known for its sustainable energy, water, wastewater and recycling investments. The City of Lompoc was green before it was cool!

In particular, all of our wines produced from Ampelos Vineyard offer the trifecta of sustainable, organic and biodynamic certifications for vineyard practices. We our honored to feature these wines in our portfolio of both sparkling and still wines. All of the vineyards we source from offer some sustainability practices, some with certification and others without due to the prohibitive cost of certification. 

In our beekeeping role we are proud to hosts the Lompoc Valley Beekeepers Association monthly meetings at our Tasting Room. Lompoc Valley Beekeepers Association (LVBKA) is a community organization that brings together passionate beekeepers in the Lompoc Valley. As a group we offer bee extractions and education for the community. Our demonstration hive is frequently at demonstrations to delight children of all ages.The group of beekeepers are unpaid volunteers who remove swarms as a community service. LVBKA also seeks to help others learn more about honey bees and those interested in beekeeping become established and responsible apiarists. Some members participate in community education programs and can bring an observation hive into a classroom or to a club meeting.

LVBKA is involved in community education through Allan Hancock College courses and encourages anyone interested in bees (regardless whether you'd like to be a beekeeper) to consider taking one of the AHC classes. LVBKA has members who are trained and experienced in the removal of swarms and established hives from a variety of different venues. If you'd like to become a beekeeper, LVBKA can mentor you as you learn to be a responsible beekeeper. Members have access to a library of books, magazines and videos that are available for loan.

“Down to Earth” is the annual CA Wine Institute campaign that "highlights California’s commitment to sustainable viticulture and winemaking through environmental stewardship, economic impact, social equity and community engagement." Flying Goat Tasting Room Ambassadors recently received certificates in the CA Sustainable Winegrowing Ambassador Course and they look forward to sharing their knowledge and the company’s best practices with you.

The 3 E's often used to explain sustainability are:

1. Environmentally Sound: This is what usually comes to mind when you think of sustainable agriculture; e.g. drip irrigation, cover crops and solar panels.
2. Socially Equitable: This is all about taking care of your people and community, e.g. making the area where one does business a better place and improving employees' lives.
3. Economically Sound: Economic sustainability is often overlooked but equally important. If one can't stay in business, then their operation will not be sustainable!

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