Fetzer Vineyards, the largest winery in the U.S. certified as a B Corporation and a leader in regenerative winegrowing, announced it has achieved Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) for all of its Mendocino County vineyard holdings and winery. Fetzer Vineyards is the world’s largest winery to obtain ROC certification, and is the third winery to certify to the standard, which publicly debuted in 2020.
“We need to diminish, if not entirely eliminate, the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers that raise our GHG emissions, harm our biodiversity, contaminate our air and waters, and damage our communities,” says Joseph Brinkley, director of regenerative farming for Fetzer Vineyards, whose role includes advocating for healthy soils legislation and advancing the company’s position on climate policy generally.
“The science supports the abundant connections between soil health and carbon storage, climate resiliency and healthy food systems—and regenerative organic farming is at the heart of this. At Fetzer Vineyards, we plan to continue building on what we’re doing at home, in our supply chain, and at the advocacy table to help advance a positive future for climate-smart agriculture, as we continue to drive scalable solutions to the climate crisis.”
Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) is a revolutionary new certification for food & beverage, textile and personal care industries that assures shoppers certified farms and products meet the highest standards environmentally, ethically and socially. Certified at the ROC Silver level, Fetzer Vineyards has demonstrated adherence to rigorous standards across the program’s applicable pillars – soil health and social fairness – and committed to ongoing improvement, a core requirement of ROC certification.
Established in 2017 by a group of farmers, business leaders, and experts in soil health, animal welfare and social fairness—including Dr. Bronner’s, Patagonia and the Rodale Institute—the nonprofit Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA) aims to repair a damaged planet and empower farmers and eaters to create a better future through adoption of regenerative organic farming.
“ROC was created because regenerative organic agriculture has the potential to address many of today’s pressing problems, including the climate crisis, factory farming, and fractured rural economies,” said Elizabeth Whitlow, executive director of the ROA. “If we adopt regenerative organic practices on more farms, we’ll see improvements to soil health, the well-being of animals, farmers, workers, and the climate itself. I applaud Fetzer Vineyards’ achievement of ROC Silver, which is challenging for any farm and especially so given the size and scale of Fetzer Vineyards’ farming and winery operation,” she concluded.