Winerywise™, a grant-funded interactive online guide, is ready to transform Washington wineries into efficient meccas of sustainable enology and business practices.

Winerywise™, the Washington Guide to Sustainable Winemaking Practices, addresses a wide spectrum of sustainable winemaking practices and business topics including water management, site development and energy efficiency.

Starting off as a grassroots effort in 2007, Winerywise™ was created as a sister project to Vinewise®, but instead focused on developing sustainability in the winery and the winemaking process. In today’s fast-paced, growing wine industry, Winerywise™ was the answer to keeping Washington wines and wineries environmentally, socially and economically viable.

In 2010, Winerywise™ received the Washington State Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant through the Washington Wine Industry Foundation for nearly $130,000 which allowed development of a site, creating state benchmarks while also planning three informational sessions introducing the online guide, which are scheduled for this summer.

The first session will take place at Walla Walla Community College July 25 from 2 to 4 p.m. Subsequent sessions will be held at the Grandview Campus of the Yakima Valley Community College July 26 from 9 to 11 a.m. and Chateau St Michelle Winery in Woodinville July 31 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Winerywise™ not only acts as a learning and evaluation tool to help wineries achieve sustainable business practices, it also includes concurrent information used for third party certifications with organizations including Low Input Viticulture and Enology (LIVE) and Salmon-Safe.

Additional support for Winerywise™ is provided by the Washington State Wine Commission, the Washington Wine Technical Group, the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers, and Washington State University.

For more information and to register please visit www.winerywise.org