This ac hievement reinforces HALL Wines’ steadfast commitment to sustainability following HALL St. Helena’s LEED® Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council in July 2009 and HALL's organic farming certification by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) in March 2010.
BRIT presented its first International Award of Excellence in Sustainable Winegrowing to HALL Wines of California at the fourth annual Fête du Vin Wine Dinner and Auction Fête du Vin Wine Dinner and Auction on Friday, October 8, 2010. Kathryn Hall, who founded HALL Wines with her husband, Craig Hall accepted the award at the black-tie affair, where guests enjoyed a festive evening featuring fine wines, haute cuisine, and spectacular silent and live auctions. Proceeds from the Fête benefit BRIT and advance its mission to conserve our botanical heritage.
As an international institute, BRIT created the award to recognize the viticulturists (winegrowers) and viniculturists (winemakers) throughout the world who reflect BRIT's core principles of conservation, sustainability, and wise stewardship of the land. "The award presentation will enhance BRIT's annual celebration of the natural connection between botany and wine growing," said S. H. Sohmer, Ph.D., FLS, BRIT's president and director."We are delighted to present BRIT's inaugural award to HALL Wines, a most worthy recipient." "We are pleased to be recognized for our accomplishments in sustainability," said Kathryn Hall. "And, we applaud BRIT for raising awareness of the importance of employing sustainable practices in the wine industry."
Kathryn and Craig Hall made it a long-term mission to become a leader in earth-friendly California winegrowing and serve as stewards of the land. HALL St. Helena is the first LEED® Gold Certified Winery in the State of California, making HALL Wines a pioneer in the use of green buildings in the wine industry. HALL St. Helena maintains one acre of solar panels on its roof and uses 100% recycled water throughout its processes. HALL further extends their environmental responsibilities to their general operations via the use of bio-diesel in their farming equipment in addition to their fish–friendly farming techniques, which aids to protect the waterways and sustain and support the environment. Furthermore, all of HALL estate vineyards are enrolled in the Napa Green program, the wine industry’s most comprehensive “best practices” in land-use and wine production focusing on building environmentally sound, sustainable practices.
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About BRIT
Established in 1987, BRIT is an independent, nonprofit, international, botanical resource center based in Fort Worth, which opened to the public in 1991. Its mission is to conserve our botanical heritage by deepening our knowledge of the plant world and achieving public understanding of the value that plants bring to life.
BRIT catalogs the plant life on Earth and has conducted extensive research in Texas and in tropical rainforests in the Philippines, Costa Rica, and currently in Peru and Papua New Guinea. It is a primary plant information center for scientists and professionals and a primary plant interpretation center for all interested in learning more about the plant world.
With a collection of more than one million dried plant specimens representing much of Earth’s plant diversity, BRIT's herbarium is among the largest in the United States and is the largest herbarium not part of a university, botanical garden, or natural history museum. BRIT's library houses more than 100,000 volumes of books, periodicals, and journals from more than 100 countries.
BRIT will move in 2011 to its new $48 million, 70,000-square-foot headquarters, for which it is seeking the LEED® platinum certification. The Sustainable Sites Initiative™ (SITES™) has selected the landscape of BRIT's headquarters as one of the first to participate in a new program testing the nation’s first rating system for green landscape design, construction, and maintenance.
More about BRIT at www.brit.org
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