Is Napa Green just greenwashing?

What does “green” mean to you on a wine label?

Napa Green is a certification organization founded in 2015 and has been an independent non-profit organization since 2019. About a third of certified Napa Green vineyards use Roundup or other synthetic herbicides, because “green” in this context does not mean organic.

Napa Green caused a stir when it announced that its members would have to phase out Roundup by 2026. Mark Neal, who has been organically farming in Napa Valley for 40 years, scoffed.

“Napa Green has taken a stance: You can’t use Roundup, but if you have a certain percentage slope, you can use Roundup,” said Neal, who owns Neal Family Vineyards and sells grapes he grows organically to 95 wineries. “That’s a lot of marketing. They market it like you have to get rid of glyphosate, but you don’t. People come to my winery and ask why I’m not Napa Green. People think that means you’re growing organically. But that’s not the case.”

So what does the “green” in “Napa Green” mean?

According to the press kit, social equity, justice and inclusion are the most important aspects of Napa Green. Anna Brittain, CEO of Napa Green, confirmed this, saying: “We view social sustainability as fundamental to everything else.”

“With Napa Green, it’s difficult to use a name to clearly express what the organization does,” Brittain told Wine-Searcher. “The name was developed in 2014. When it was originally developed, the focus was on environmental erosion and water control. Our focus is on sustainability.”

But the name remains “Green,” which leads me to the question: Is this greenwashing?

“To me, ‘green’ is about the soil, water and air and what we leave behind for the next generation,” said Martha Barra, whose vineyard in nearby Mendocino County has been certified organic since 1988. “Social justice is fine. But you don’t build soil that is organic. Ban Roundup by 2026? Oh my God. That makes me laugh. What happens between 2024 and 2026? How many gallons of Roundup are used? To me, that’s dishonest.”

I couldn’t find a survey that asked people what “green” means. But I could find reasons why people buy organic food. A 2016 Pew Research Center study showed that 76 percent of Americans buy organic produce to “get healthier food,” while 33 percent said to “help the environment.” It’s not about taste; 59 percent said organic and conventional fruits and vegetables “taste about the same.” Pew didn’t ask about social equity or inclusion.

I have a theory about this. The wine industry tends to lean left at the lower (non-owner) levels. In Napa County, democratic socialist Bernie Sanders won the 2020 Democratic primary against incumbent President Joe Biden. (I’m not criticizing this because I also voted for Sanders; journalists are left-leaning too.) More than twice as many Napa residents voted Democrat as Republican. This was one of many years—including 2024—when the country is nearly split in half, but California is not and Napa County is not.

But as past polls have shown, wine – the only alcoholic beverage – sells almost equally well among Democrats and Republicans, so it seems foolish for wineries to assume that all of their customers have the same interests.

My point is: I don’t know if there are any polls on this, but my guess is that Napa Cabernet fans in Texas who buy something with “green” on the label are probably a lot more concerned about herbicides than social justice.

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Wine-Searcher had an article on this very topic in July, mocking consumers who don’t want pesticides. Our headline: Social Justice: Wine’s New Organic. Our editorial: “Remember when organic wine was what your mustiest hippie friends served at their tofu-laden potlucks? Today, organic viticulture — or at least paying lip service to ‘sustainable farming practices’ while secretly spraying your vineyards with Roundup — is a must for anyone who wants to be taken seriously in the premium wine sector.”

Tod Mostero, director of viticulture and winemaking at Dominus Estate, says social justice is fundamental.

“When I talk to consumers or colleagues, I always talk about the definitions of these things: organic, regenerative, sustainable,” Mostero said. “When we talk about the environment, sometimes there’s this idea that there’s nature and there’s humans. But we can’t separate humans from nature. Humans are such an important part. In this aspect of sustainability, we have to take care of the people who work on our farms. When we talk about sustainability and we look at the organic part, we look at waste management, water conservation and social health. That part of social health: diversity, inclusion, that’s so important because people are the ones doing the waste management and water conservation. If they’re not doing well in their communities, the other parts of the pillar fall apart.”

When I said the word “green” gets stuck in my throat, Mostero said, “I feel like something that is ‘green’ is a little loose today. There is no real clear agreement on what that means today. Because of the bad actors and because of these terms, we all suffer a little today. There are organic farms that may not do as much for the environment as another farm that sticks to its values.”

In fact, there is a movement against organic farming in California – and it coincides with Napa Green’s change of course.

According to the USDA, there were 17,445 certified organic farms in the U.S. in 2021, a 23 percent increase from 2016. Total acreage planted with organic crops grew even more, by 34 percent over those five years. California is by far the leader in organic, with more than 3,000 organic farms, 17 percent of the nation’s total and more than twice as many as the second-largest state, Wisconsin.

To me, that’s a sign that more Americans want organic food. The Hill claimed in 2020 that 90 percent of organic consumers do so to avoid pesticides. And it’s not just Democrats—it’s Republicans who are leading the fight to keep raw, unpasteurized milk legal: They’re even willing to risk listeria to avoid chemicals.

But while organic acreage grew across the country, it declined 16 percent in California between 2019 and 2021. I don’t track other crops, so I don’t know why.

“I went to a wine store in Nashville that has an organic section. But if you turn the labels over, there’s no certification on them,” Barra told Wine-Searcher. “We’re not honest. The excuse that there’s too much paperwork or it costs too much, I don’t think is credible. If you’re committed, you have to go through the certification.”

Neal said that Napa Valley vineyards that are not organically farmed are, on average, only 17 years old.

“A guy said to me the other day, ‘I can’t get past 15 years,'” Neal said. “How does that help with carbon sequestration if you rip it out every 15 years?”

Napa Green’s Brittain says, “Names aren’t perfect. A lot of people ask, ‘What does green mean?’ People ask, ‘Do you mean organic?’ I think consumers are looking for quick cues. A lot of evidence suggests they want to support values-driven companies. In our industry, we need to appeal to younger drinkers. We need to bring people to the table who are deeply committed to sustainability and social issues. We talk a lot about purchasing power. They actually boycott companies when they find out they’re being lied to.”

That’s true, but the biggest product boycotts in recent years have come not from younger Democrats but from Republicans angry about Target and Bud Light’s commitment to social justice.

“I think we need to help people think beyond organic,” Brittain said. “Organic is just a small piece of the puzzle. Organic just means not using synthetic pesticides. People don’t realize it’s a government program, so it’s open to lobbying. What organic is has changed over time. You can do organic and have terrible water use and not take care of your people and still do organic.”

As Kermit the Frog said, “It’s not easy being green. (Unless it is.)”