Melka Estates has become a member of 1% for the Planet, contributing a minimum of one percent of our gross revenue annually to environmental organizations that we feel are in line with our beliefs, such as climate change, safeguarding marine ecosystems and wildlife conservation.
Porto Protocol
An international non-profit institution with hundreds of members committed to mitigating climate change. The collaborative nature of this Green initiative is what drew Melka Estates to join as it was founded in the wine industry and has spread across all affiliated channels.
Carbon Footprint
As part of the commitment to reduce our emissions, the team at Melka has made the decision to change the glass used for bottling which will carry a reduction of 25-30% of our carbon emissions. 68% of the wine industry’s carbon footprint comes from glass packaging and transport compared to 15% from grapegrowing and 17% from winemaking.
Solar
The energy demands of a winery, tasting room, offices and vineyard are clearly very high. The parcel that is home to both the Melkas residence and the winery, has been using solar since 2014 when their home was built. While the existing panels were enough to cover all of the energy demands of the residence, vineyard and some of the winery needs, installation of 146 panels at the winery will generate enough power to offset consumption by 107.1%, and offset 1,400 Tons of CO2 – which is the equivalent of planting 21,007 trees.
Charging Stations
The Melkas have long believed that it is important to practice forward thinking when it comes to decisions for the winery that demonstrate our philosophy and commitment to environmental impact. There are currently three EV charging stations on property and more will be installed should the need arise.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Our goal is to create 3 initiatives per year that we can tackle by creating change or undertaking the research needed to deploy solutions. For example, vineyards will see more eco-friendly farming by using animals for cover crop which will give nutrients to the soil. We will also be looking at strategic ways to reduce water usage at the winery or incorporate ways for our treated winery wastewater to be utilized.