June 8th, 2010

In a ceremony held at the East Bay Municipal Utility District's (EBMUD) headquarters in Oakland, Captain Vineyards and 6 other local businesses were recognized in the inaugural presentation of awards to WaterSmart business customers. Captain Vineyards was the only business recognized that had no association with a city or branch of government.

As the first green winery in Contra Costa County, Captain Vineyards qualified as a WaterSmart Business by using just 253, 572 gallons of water for personal and vineyard use in 2009. That number represents a savings of over 67% when compared to the amount of water consumed by a vineyard of similar size that uses traditional, non- conservative methods.

Captain Vineyards largely attributes the water savings to its technique of "dry- farming." Dry farming is unusal. While there is an overall trend towards using less water in California, dry farming refers to a practice of relying most heavily on natural annual rainfall for growing grapes. Traditional grape growing methods often call for over 20 gallons of water to produce a single gallon of wine. Captain Vineyard's method of slow drip irrigation has trained their vines to grow much deeper into the soil and consume less water.

In addition to dry farming, Captain Vineyard's use of organic compost and mulch on top of the soil has allowed for increased water retention within the soil.

Captain Vineyard's recognition as an EBMUD WaterSmart Business showcases how good water management can translate into big savings that help both their bottom line and the environment. In addition to recognition at the board of directors meeting in Oakland, Captain Vineyards is a certified WaterSmart Business until 2012, and will be recognized in EBMUD industry and stakeholder reports during the Fall of 2010.

After completing 7 weeks of intensive classes and passing a comprehensive final exam, Susan Captain and Captain Vineyards was certified as a Bay Friendly Landscape Professional on May 3rd, 2010. The Bay Friendly program is a holistic approach to landscaping that works in harmony with the natural conditions of the San Francisco Bay Watershed.  Bay Friendly practices foster soil health, conserve water and other valuable resources, while reducing waste and preventing pollution.

After much collaboration with local artist, Anna George of Lafayette, Captain Vineyards is pleased to present its new wine label. Anna used a painting  to develop our Label.  It includes  Pear, winegrapes, lots of fresh colors and more. The pears represent the town of Moraga and it's tradition of producing gorgeous pears. The addition of wine grapes on the label combine to produce a label that is meaningful for our wines. We hope you will enjoy the beauty of the art on the label when it goes into production later this summer. 

On March 31st, 2010, Sustainable Contra Costa County presented Captain Vineyards with an award certifying them as a green winery.

Captain Vineyards is the first vineyard in Contra Costa County to be recognized as a Green Winery.

A local newspaper, Lamorinda Weekly, recently included Captain Vineyards in two articles.

The first recognized the recent harvest of grapes at the vineyard and the amount of community involvement in the growing process.

Click this link to read about it! A Perfect pairing with the community, read about it in the Lamorinda weekly — September 30, 2009

The second recent article highlighted Susan Captain's Vineyard Management Program. 

Click this link to read about it! Teaching Vineyard Management classes in Moraga  —-January 20, 2010

Captain Vineyards was recently featured in the Harvest 2008 issue of Edible East Bay Magazine. 

In the article "The Hidden Vineyards of Lamorinda" written by Mark Middlebrook, Captain Vineyards is highlighted as the largest vineyard in the Lamorinda area.

Click Here to read the story

Special thanks to Web Master Ron Chung for his development and design of the Captain Vineyards website. Ron and his family have been part of the Captain family and friends long before the vineyard was even installed. Ron and his wife, Jen were at our first harvest and continue to show an interest in our growth!

David Captain's photo of Susan Captain in the fields during harvest was recently selected by the California Farm Bureau as the 1st place winner of their photo contest. 

The Farm Bureau published the photo, along with a write up on Captain Vineyards in the 2007 January/ February issue of their "California Country" Magazine. The write up is included below:

"A well-thought-out plan cannot even begin to describe the vision that Susan Captain had when she set out to create a vineyard on 2 1/2 of her family's ~ 5 Acres of Land.  Creating a vision of beauty and function.  Along with a real-life, hands on venue for the entire family on the property, was her goal.  This busy mother of four took college courses and traveled throughout Europe to learn about the viticulture methods and integrate varieties.  The results of her hard work were captured on the first day of their first harvest by Captain's 17-year-old-son, Joseph, and resulted in a first place win in the Family on the Farm Category"