Bee Better Certified Vineyards – AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST – AGInfo Ag Information Network Of The West

Bee Better Certified Vineyards

With California Ag Today, I’m Tim Hammerich.

Some California winegrape growers looking to improve the environment and differentiate their products are looking to a lesser known certification: Bee Better Certified. Offered by the Xerces Society, the certification program is open to all crops, says senior pollinator conservation specialist Jessa Kay Cruz.

Cruz… “I think not surprisingly like each cropping system has some challenges and limitations in order to become Bee Better Certified. So this particular project is funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).”

The project Cruz is referring to there involves certifying vineyards. The hope is this will lead to more bee habitat, and Bee Better Certified wine.

Cruz… “This project is really designed to grow the Bee Better Certification programs specifically in vineyards in California. Trying to look at what are the needs of the vineyards, what are the opportunities? And especially, I think for vineyards here, one of the really unique marketing opportunities – because there is a lot of direct marketing. Where are those marketing opportunities for these growers who are also producers of the product? Where they could have that be better, feel on a bottle of wine so that people really understand how that wine was produced and what went into creating that bottle of wine.”

Growers can learn more about the certification process at BeeBetterCertified.org.