Trefethen Family Vineyards and Earthly Labs today announced a pilot project focused on capturing carbon dioxide emitted from the winery’s fermentations. Trefethen is the first winery to install Earthly Labs CiCi carbon capture technology and the two companies hope the technology, put in place for this year’s harvest, will eventually help more wineries reduce their carbon footprints.
Carbon dioxide is a natural by-product of fermentation and the CiCi technology captures the gas, purifies it, and
stores it as a liquid, which can then be reused in various industrial applications.
Although the carbon dioxide captured during fermentation is not coming from fossil fuels, it acts the same way in the atmosphere. Hailey Trefethen, who leads sustainability programs for her family’s winery commented, “this is a natural extension of our commitment to land stewardship and environmental responsibility. With this technology we are gaining ground in reducing global emissions and the related impacts of climate change. We are making great strides this harvest season and hope the practice will be widely adopted in the future.” Trefethen is certified Napa Green, Certified California Sustainable, and a member of The Porto Protocol, a global consortium of wineries focused on climate change.
The approach developed by Earthly Labs expands on the proven CiCi carbon capture platform, adding new ways to process and scrub CO2 in a winery setting. The size of a large refrigerator, the CiCi system is installed alongside the Trefethen fermentation tanks.
“New climate solutions are needed urgently, but they only work when leaders like Trefethen are willing to pioneer new innovations,” said Earthly Labs CEO Amy George. “We are thrilled to partner with Trefethen to advance climate science and showcase what one winery can do to inspire others.”