Is it possible to make great California wine in an unfriendly environment? Not according to Hall St. Helena, the first winery in California to achieve Gold LEED Certification.

LEED is an internationally-recognized green rating system that measures how well a building or community does in its efforts to save energy and water, reduce CO2 emissions, improve environmental quality and show leadership in the stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

Hall won the prestigious award from the U.S. Green Building Council for its sustainable design and practices at its facility in Napa Valley. Among the features recognized:

“¢ Radiant Floors Allowing for Precision Winemaking and Maximum Energy Efficiency:

Radiant flooring allows HALL to control the facility’s temperature while conserving energy. This technology, accomplished by running cold or warm water through the floor slab, provides a energy efficient and stable storage and production environment.

“¢ Solar Energy:

The sun provides more than 35 percent of the energy needed to power HALL St. Helena. Solar photovoltaic cells (solar panels) on the roof tops of the barrel cellar and fermentation building convert sunlight directly into electricity. Approximately 42,000 square feet of solar panels span the St. Helena winery roofs.

“¢ Local Building Materials:

More than 10 percent of materials used to build the facility were extracted, harvested or recovered, as well as manufactured, within 500 miles of the project site.

“¢ Recycled Building Materials:

More than 10 percent of the materials used were made with recycled content.

“¢ Water Conservation:

Drought-tolerant plant species were selected for the winery landscaping which will reduce the demand for irrigation by more than 50 percent. In conjunction with this, all of the landscaping and vineyards are irrigated with recycled water. A 40-percent reduction of building water has also been achieved through the use of low-flow water outlets without compromising performance.

Cheers to Hall and its owners, Craig and Kathryn Hall for achieving their vision.  To celebrate this accomplishment, HALL is offering complimentary LEED tours daily at 11am through the end of August. Call 707.967.2626 to reserve your spot.

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