Woolridge Creek Winery

Founded in: 1978
Website: wcwinery.com
Specialties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Viognier, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Tempranillo.

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Certification Creates a Community Dialogue about Sustainability

The “path of least resistance” is how Kara Olmo, co-owner of Wooldridge Creek Winery, describes sustainability. Olmo and husband Greg Paneitz joined Wooldridge Creek as partners in 2002, but Ted and Mary Warrick had been farming with a low input system philosophy since the vines were planted in 1978. The team farms 56 acres of old vines in the Applegate Valley, a growing region in Southern Oregon.

For Wooldridge Creek, sustainability is not only a vineyard practice but a way of thinking holistically about your business model and your values.

“This process has made us pay more attention to what we’re doing and how we are spending money,” Olmo says. “How our decisions in the winery affect our business, and how our business partner decisions affect our community. We have rethought our business relationships, our glass supplier being one example. Where does it come from, what are the human conditions/working conditions and output control/pollution issues where it’s made and the impact of the transport to our winery? Heavy glass doesn’t make an impact on our product but cost to the environment is high. We’re seeking the lowest impact possible.”

Olmo says that OCSW helps her communicate the complicated world of certifications to an ever-growing number of curious visitors and tasters.

“Customers were coming to us on a regular basis and asking us questions about our farming efforts,” Olmo says. “We needed a clear answer that our consumers could depend on, and the OCSW certification program gave us the clearest path to communicate to our customers our commitment to our land.”

Going through the certification process opened a dialogue and information exchange with other growers and winemakers on new tools and techniques that could be implemented to improve upon sustainable practices, according to Olmo.

“By just being part of a larger group interested in these issues, we are identifying ways to improve and do things easier,” Olmo says. “When you combine your property with hundreds of other properties, you can start to see the potential huge, long term impact on the state and environment.”

Order Oregon Certified Sustainable Wines

2008 Wooldridge Creek Chardonnay
2008 Wooldridge Creek Malbec
2008 Wooldridge Creek Merlot
2008 Wooldridge Creek Rosé
2008 Wooldridge Creek Syrah
2008 Wooldridge Creek Tempranillo
2008 Wooldridge Creek Warrick White
2008 Wooldridge Creek Zinfandel

2009 Wooldridge Creek Chardonnay
2009 Wooldridge Creek Rosé
2009 Wooldridge Creek Viognier
2009 Wooldridge Creek Warrick White