Carneros, founded in 1987 by Claude Taittinger of the famed Champagne Taittinger, has long used sustainable methods since its inception. The winery eliminated use of chemical insectides in the early 1990’s, followed a few years later by the elimination of chemical fertilizers in 1995. 
Starting in 2005 the winery’s 350 acres, which straddle both Napa and Sonoma counties were converted to organic methods, resulting in the three-year period prior to certification in April.
Domaine Carneros President and Chief Winemaker, Eileen Crane, stated that while the company has always taken an active role in being a healthy steward of their land, the company’s fist priority has also been to produce quality wines. However, she noted “we believe that you achieve this [quality wines] through healthy vines, so becoming organic was a natural evolution for us from the start.
“The organic certification is the result of years of hard work and dedication to the land, and we’re proud to finally reach this point in our farming practices.”
The times are changing, but we’re not sure how much.
Word from the company’s spokesperson is that once the certified organic bottles achieve their fermented goodness (okay so for the bad poetry folks…sometimes we can’t help ourselves) Domaine Carneros will be promoting their wines as organic.
We thought organic was considered a big turn off to connoisseurs of fine wine but are glad to learn that we’re wrong.
Natural Business News 