Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/561374
WATER-SAVING EQUIPMENT In addition to changing their practices, many winemakers and growers purchased new equipment to help with their conserva- tion efforts. Nearly 68% of survey partici- pants bought new water-saving equipment during the last three years. Flow meters topped the list at 45.83%, followed by barrel cleaning systems (43.75%), weather stations (36.46%) and soil mois- ture probes (36.46%). (Charts 4 and 5) J u s t o v e r 2 7 % o f respondents also signed up for monitoring ser- vices to assist in water conservation. (Chart 6) Vine water use monitor- ing accounted for 68.18% of new services, followed by soil moisture monitoring (61.36%) and weather moni- toring (52.27%). (Chart 7) Forty percent of respondents reported that they are planning to add new water-saving systems in the next 12 months. (Chart 8) PROOF IN NUMBERS Thanks to water-saving measures taken during the last three years, participating vint- ners and growers reported impressive reduc- tions in their water usage. More than 27% said they've cut back by 11%-20%, while 25.56% reported using 6%-10% less water. A healthy 17.29% reported water-usage reductions of 21%-25%. (Chart 9) No one knows if the drought will continue into 2016, but if it does, it appears that Cali- fornia's wineries and vineyards will be well- positioned to ride it out. s California's drought continues to make headlines, water conserva- tion has become top-of-mind for the state's grapegrowers and winemakers. To find out more about how they've responded to the situation, Vineyard & Winery Management conducted an online survey, asking California wine producers and grapegrowers about the water-conservation measures they've adopt- ed over the last three years. M o r e t h a n 1 6 8 r e s p o n s e s c a m e i n f r o m a c r o s s t h e s t a t e , w i t h p a r t i c i p a n t s o w n i n g v i n e y a r d s i n Napa (44.12%), Sonoma (33.82%) and Mendocino (14.71%) counties, the Central Coast (13.97%), and many other Califor- nia wine regions. According to the sur- vey results, nearly 89% of respondents took steps in the last three years to reduce their water usage. (Chart 1) Of those that did not implement new water-saving measures during that time, most reported that they took conserva- tion action in previous years, and did not feel that further cutbacks were necessary. INSIDE AND OUT Water-reduction measures were taken in both the vineyard and winery, with 18% reporting winery-only cutbacks, 32.67% reporting vineyard-only measures and 49.33% making changes in both areas. (Chart 2) When asked about specific areas in which changes were made, 76.6% of respondents cited vineyard irrigation, while more than 58% made changes to cleaning and sanita- tion practices and 53.19% used less water for landscaping purposes. (Chart 3) Winery & Vineyard Water Conservation Survey California vintners and growers report significant cutbacks in water usage 5 2 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | S e p t - O c t 2 015 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m