Aug 18 2014
HALL Wines, a premier portfolio of luxury wineries and tasting rooms located in Napa Valley, has been awarded LEED® Gold Certification established by the U.S. Green Building Council for its HALL St. Helena modern Tasting Room and high-tech Production Facility.
This accolade is the second LEED® Gold award for the HALL Wines St. Helena property which was previously recognized as the first winery in California to earn LEED Gold for its fully sustainable production facility in 2009.
From left: David Horobin, Board Member, U.S. Green Building Council Redwood Empire Chapter; Jarrod Denton, Lead Architect, Signum Architecture; Kathryn Hall, Vintner/Owner, HALL Wines; Mike Reynolds, President, HALL Wines; Craig Hall, Owner, HALL Wines; Steve Leveque, Director of Winemaking, HALL Wines; Ann Nevero, Mayor, City of St. Helena, California. (PRNewsFoto/HALL Wines)
"The entire vision for this effort was attached to the idea of being green and environmentally responsible," said HALL Wines President Mike Reynolds. "Craig and Kathryn chose to pursue sustainable farming and building certifications that have become the hallmark for leading our day-to-day operations and high-tech winemaking efforts."
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the preeminent building ratings program that is the nationally accepted benchmark for the construction, design and operations of green buildings. Buildings are certified based on achieving superior performance in the areas of energy efficiency, sustainable site development, water efficiency, construction waste management, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
"Buildings are a prime example of how human systems integrate with natural systems," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. "The HALL Wines project efficiently uses our natural resources and makes an immediate, positive impact on our planet, which will tremendously benefit future generations to come."
To meet the precise requirements to become LEED® Gold certified, HALL Wines included many sustainable design, environmental, architectural and innovative elements and practices within the plans including:
- Storm Water Design: Quantity control resulted in a 63.74% decrease in storm water runoff
- Materials & Resources: 11% of materials used in construction came from recycled materials
- Water Use Reduction: The design team was able to document a 38% reduction in water usage
- Energy: The project optimized energy performance at every phase, having 46.97% energy cost savings which is significantly above the standard California Energy code requirements
- Water Efficiency: Water efficient landscaping including the use of recycled water injected under the event lawn area (no aeration). 100% of water used in wine production is recycled and used for vineyard and landscaping irrigation
- Innovation: Innovative and state-of-the-art technology was included in the pre- and post- development plans, some of which are new to the wine industry
Jarrod Denton, with St. Helena based firm Signum Architecture, was the lead architect on the project. Denton assisted with utilizing innovation credits that provided renewable energy systems with savings of over 15%, (46.37% by cost), as well as a comprehensive approach to capture and treat storm water runoff. Additionally, an exemplary performance innovative credit was awarded for providing this project with an increase in open space by 50% (local zoning requires 25%).
Additionally, HALL Wines director of winemaking Steve Leveque has helped implement an innovative landscape into the high tech production facility attached to the Tasting Room. Specific additions include Optical Sorter technology, HVAC Control systems, Pond Variation systems, Gravity Flow production systems, Tank Cooling systems and the addition of automated spectrophotometers.
HALL extends their environmental responsibility to their general operations by recycling and using recycled materials for direct-to-consumer wine in recyclable products, 70% post-consumer recycled material in shipping boxes and 100% post-consumer recycling in its bottle carriages. Additionally, all marketing collateral is printed on 100% PCR materials that are 100% recyclable.
HALL Wines owns over 500 planted acres in Napa County, Sonoma County and Mendocino County that include five California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) Estate vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Counties.
For more information, please visit www.hallwines.com.