WATER EFFICIENCY

& SAVINGS

WATER EFFICIENCY & SAVINGS

APRIL 29, 2025 | Charles Krug Winery, Carriage House

WATER SAVINGS & EFFICIENCY Agenda

8:00 am

Registration opens

9:40 am

Breakfast break w/Sponsor Bingo

10:10 am

Official Welcome & RISE Leadership Award

11:15 am

Break

11:30 am

Asking the Critical Questions Forum: “Is Water the Solution to Heat Stress?”

12:45 pm

Lunch & Wine

Workshop 1: Understanding Water Use

Two parallel workshops. Spend 30-35 minutes at each workshop, then groups will switch.

 

Transform your water management through proven metering and monitoring strategies. This hands-on workshop equips you with immediately applicable tools and systems, from installing meters to leveraging data (e.g. Badger meters, meter.me, Lumo). Industry leaders will share how their data-driven approach has led to measurable results – from rapid leak detection to irrigation optimization. Leave with concrete strategies and tools to improve your water monitoring systems, establish usage baselines, and achieve measurable water savings in the vineyard and winery.

 

Action Opportunities:

  • Install and leverage water metering
  • Implement regular monitoring protocols
  • Set specific water reduction targets
  • Develop leak detection procedures
  • Optimize the timing & amount of irrigation for water efficiency & grape quality
Water Meter

Three speakers coming soon.

Workshop 2: Mentorship Results: Transitioning to Dry Farming with Pine Ridge Vineyards & Dominus Estate

Two parallel workshops. Spend 30-35 minutes at each workshop, then groups will switch.

 

Through Napa Green’s innovative RISE mentorship program, Pine Ridge Vineyards has begun their transition to dry farming, benefiting from the support of Tod Mostero, winemaker at Dominus Estate. This workshop will walk through the step-by-step process of designing and implementing dry farming systems in vineyard replants. Learn how strategic decisions – from soil preparation to row orientation to pruning – create the foundation for successful dry farming. Vineyard Director Gustavo Aviña will share insights on deepening root systems and building resilience, including compelling initial results that have led Pine Ridge to commit to dry farming for all future replants.

 

Action Opportunities:

  • Leverage Napa Green’s network for mentorship
  • Evaluate vineyard sites for dry farming potential
  • Develop replanting plans to optimize water independence
  • Consider the importance of decisions like rootstock, layout, trellising
  • Implement soil management techniques that enhance water infiltration & retention
  • Develop a long-term transition plan for existing vineyards
Dry farming

Speakers

Tod Mostero

Director of Viticulture & Winemaking at Dominus Estate

Director of Viticulture and Winemaking, the French connection runs strong through Mostero, who studied in Bordeaux and trained at Château Haut-Brion, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix. He worked with Baron Philippe de Rothschild in the Languedoc and at Almaviva in Chile before returning to his native California to join Dominus Estate in 2007.

 

“Christian Moueix has been my guide throughout my career and has been my greatest example of a perfect winemaker. He is clear, precise and is profoundly attached to the vineyard. He has guided me from the beginning.”

Josh Widaman

Estate Winemaker at Pine Ridge

After 20 years producing highly rated Napa Valley wines, Josh Mendoza-Widaman found his way back to the Stags’ Leap district as head estate winemaker for Pine Ridge Vineyards. Josh is known for his experienced, luxury-minded palate that has produced 90+ ratings on over 90% of all wines made in his career, including Wine Spectator’s #1 Wine of the Year in 2016 with Lewis Cellars. He now oversees Pine Ridge’s estate vineyards, most notably producing elegant and expressive Cabernet Sauvignon.

Gustavo Aviña

Viticulture Director at Pine Ridge

Gustavo Aviña, viticulture director at Pine Ridge Vineyards, grew up helping his father farm tomatoes in Mexico. When he and his wife came to the United States in 1988, Gustavo began working with some of the finest vineyard management programs in Napa Valley.

 

Since 2003, Gustavo has worked intimately with every Pine Ridge Vineyards estate property. He and his team understand the soils and climates of the winery’s vineyards in five different appellations: Stags Leap District, Howell Mountain, Oakville, Rutherford, and Carneros.

Marquee Keynote: California's Water Story - Past, Present, and Future with Mark Arax, Author of "The Dreamt Land"

Join acclaimed journalist and storyteller Mark Arax as he unravels the complex tapestry of California’s relationship with water. Drawing from his celebrated work “The Dreamt Land,” Arax brings to life the historical decisions, political forces, and unfolding stories that are shaping our state’s water management. Arax will dive into the critical context behind today’s water challenges, and future considerations and opportunities for agriculture and viticulture. As a native son of the Central Valley whose own family story is intertwined with California agriculture, he offers unique insights into the complexities of water rights, usage, and stewardship. His perspective will inspire thoughtful consideration of water’s future in our changing climate.

 

Action Opportunities:

  • Understand the forces shaping current water policies
  • Identify patterns of water management success and failure
  • Prepare for the Groundwater Sustainability Plan and how it will influence water management
  • Evaluate vineyard management strategies to build resilience to cycles of drought, heat stress, and rapid & intense rain events
  • Think big picture about how forests and grasslands are impacting groundwater storage and availability
Mark arax

keynote

Mark Arax

Journalist and author, “The Dreamt Land”

In the world of journalism, Mark Arax stands out as a rarity. On one hand, he is a skilled investigative reporter who unearths secrets from the depths of shadow governments. On the other hand, he is a gifted writer whose feature stories and books are distinguished by the “poetry of his prose.”

 

Mark digs deep in the dirt of the Golden State, finding tragedies hidden from most Californians. With equal passion, he chronicles the plight of both farm workers and farmers. His stories on the land are told from the close up of a native whose own family narrative is found in the same soil. His grandfather Aram’s first job in America was picking the fruits and vegetables of the San Joaquin Valley; his father, Ara, was born on a raisin farm outside Fresno.

 

“It is Arax’s personal connection to the land,” the review noted, “that pushes his collection past mere reportage to a high literary enterprise that beautifully integrates the private and idiosyncratic with the sweep of great historical forces.”

 

Mark’s newest book, The Dreamt Land, is being hailed by critics as one of the most important books ever written about the West.

 

“The Dreamt Land is the book Mark Arax was born to write. Nuanced, deeply researched, and profoundly personal, it offers, through its history of agriculture in California, a deep dive into the soul of the state,” said critic David L. Ulin. “Arax knows the territory; he has written about rural California for many years. This is his crowning achievement, a work of reportage that is also a work of literature. It belongs on the short list of great books about the state.”

 

A top graduate of Fresno State and Columbia University, Mark left the Los Angeles Times in 2007 after a public fight over censorship of his story on the Armenian Genocide. He has taught literary non fiction at Claremont McKenna College and Fresno State University. The father of three children, who lives on a suburban farm in Fresno.

Asking Critical Questions Forum: Is Water the Solution to Heat Stress?

As extreme heat events become more frequent and intense, the wine industry faces a critical dilemma in water management. This forum will explore the rising use of water to buffer heat stress and prevent crop loss. Join globally renowned water scientist Jay Famiglietti, whose groundbreaking satellite research has transformed our understanding of water availability, UC Davis viticulture expert Dr. Beth Forrestel, whose cutting-edge research explores climate adaptation in vineyards, and Philippe Coderey, an esteemed winegrower and Biodynamic and regenerative vineyard consultant. 

 

They will debate crucial questions: If we’re going to use water for heat stress, what are the most efficient approaches and tools? How does groundcover impact heat absorption and radiation? How do we balance immediate heat mitigation with long-term water conservation? What are win:win water-smart strategies that both protect against heat stress and strengthen agroecosystem resilience?

 

Action Opportunities:

  • Evaluate proactive versus reactive heat stress strategies
  • Develop water and heat management plans
  • Assess vineyard vulnerability to extreme heat events
  • Understand the role of groundcover and both below- and aboveground biodiversity in mitigating heat stress
  • Consider emerging tools such as biological products to buffer heat stress
Irrigation

speakers

Dr. Jay Famiglietti

Global Futures Professor, Arizona State University; USask GIWS Executive Director Emeritus; Previously NASA JPL Senior Water Scientist

Jay Famiglietti is a Global Futures Professor in the School of Sustainability, in the College of Global Futures at Arizona State University. He is Professor Emeritus from the University of Saskatchewan, where he was Executive Director of the Global Institute for Water Security, and where he held the Canada 150 Research Chair in Hydrology and Remote Sensing. He is currently advising the Silicon Valley tech startup, Waterplan, after serving as its founding Chief Scientist. Before moving to the University of Saskatchewan, he was Senior Water Scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology; he was a professor in Earth System Science and in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Irvine; and he was a professor in Geological Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin.

 

Famiglietti and his research team use satellites to track changing water availability, and they pioneered the methods to detect groundwater depletion from space using the NASA GRACE mission. They have been working for many years towards improving hydrological prediction in climate models like those used in the IPCC. This work has driven Famiglietti’s interest in corporate water sustainability and stewardship, innovations in financial tools and data-driven reporting platforms, and international water diplomacy.

Beth Forrestel, PhD

Asst. Professor of Viticulture & Enology at UC Davis

Elisabeth Forrestel studies the phylogenetic and functional basis of drought and heat responses in grapes, and ways to mitigate climate change impacts in viticulture. Her work includes incorporating monitoring technology in vineyards and using remote sensing data to help paint a fuller picture of the environmental factors that most significantly affect plant growth, berry chemistry and, ultimately, wine quality.

Philippe Coderey

CO FOUNDER & OWNER at TRADITIONNAL & BIODYNAMIC VINEYARD CONSULTING

Philippe Coderey comes from a very long line of vine growers and farmers in southern France and Switzerland. His last name finds its roots in the old French verb ‘codurer’ – which meant to cultivate vineyards. His ancestors were named after their vocation during the 11th century. He grew up on the family vineyard in Provence, France and was fortunate to be exposed to traditional viticulture techniques through elders of the family. 

 

He worked with his father from a young age and by the time he turned 15, he was familiar with all traditional vineyard operations from plantation to pruning and through harvest. He attended a viticulture/oenology boarding school in Provence from 1977 to 1981. He finished his oenology education at the University of Burgundy in Dijon. 

Final speaker coming soon.

Sustainable Services & Tools sponsors

HotSpot AG is a farm management tool, developed to simplify irrigation and help growers comply with ever-changing regulations. Created by a fourth-generation farm family, HotSpot AG is engineered to solve the problems farmers face in real time with an interface that is accessible by any smartphone, tablet, or computer. From these devices, you can monitor aspects such as flow, pressure, filter, soil moisture, incoming power usage, well level, reservoir level, pump status, along with current weather conditions such as wind speed, wind direction, temperature and humidity, solar radiation, and rain collection. With HotSpot Ag, you can also control the opening and closing of valves, turn on and off pumps and engines used to power pumps and wind machines, and inject fertilizers with their top-of-the-line fertigation system. All control functions can be remotely used at the touch of a button or scheduled for future use with HotSpot Ag’s intuitive and easy to use scheduling tool. With three California locations and supporting over 100 ranches in 17 different counties, HotSpot Ag has a way to fill the monitoring and/or automation needs of all growers.

Napa Green is a global leader in sustainable winegrowing, setting the highest bar for sustainability and climate action in the wine industry. Napa Green facilitates systematic soil to bottle certification for wineries and vineyards, and provides the resources, tools and connections to continuously level up leadership. In 2021, Napa Green was the first sustainable winegrowing program in the world to redevelop Vineyard certification standards to focus on climate action, regenerative carbon farming, and social equity. In 2022, Napa Green and community partners launched a first of its kind, six-event Climate & Wine Symposium (Napa THRIVES now RISE) with over 65 speakers and 600 total guests.