Energy Savings & Efficiency

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

& SAVINGS

ENERGY EFFICIENCY & SAVINGS

APRIL 30, 2025 | Charles Krug Winery, Carriage House

SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP PILLAR: ENERGY SAVINGS & EFFICIENCY

Making wine is actually quite energy intensive. It takes a lot of refrigeration to cool, ferment, and age wines. A lot of hot water to sanitize tanks, barrels, and bottling lines. Napa Green baselines and tracks the energy use of all of our members. Energy efficiency is one of the quickest ways to cut the bottom line.

We’ve seen a winery that makes 25,000 cases of wine spending $2/case on electricity, and another winery of exactly the same size spending $6/case. That’s a difference of $100,000 a year in electricity costs to make the same amount of wine!

Here are some examples of energy efficiency opportunities in vineyards & wineries:

Go electric – tractors that is. The new electric Monarch Tractors help growers save fuel and costs in the vineyard.
Night-time air for natural cooling in the cellar
Upgrade to LED lighting
Install motion sensors to automatically control lighting
Use skylights and other daylighting
Install VFDs on motors and compressors to phase operation based on demand
Reduce hot water temperature to 120-140 when higher temps are not needed for cleaning
Consistent monitoring & maintenance of equipment
Keeping thermostats locked at efficient settings (68 in winter, 76-78 in summer)
Improve water efficiency – it takes significant energy to heat, treat and transport water