Elite Traveler Summer 2021

SPOTTSWOODE One of the most idyllic wineries in the Napa Valley, Spottswoode is 50 years old this year, and environmental leadership is part of its history. In 1985, it was one of the first wineries in the valley to farm organically, was certified organic in 1992, and is now certified biodynamic (a holistic form of farming), too. Bird boxes and insectaries dot the vineyards. Beth Novak Milliken, the second generation to run the family winery, nurtures the winery’s land and workers (while still making elegant great wines), but also sees the importance of being part of local and global initiatives like International Wineries for Climate Action. Since 2007, Spottswoode has given more than $800,000 to nonprofit organization 1% for the Planet. Milliken also believes obtaining certifications are essential to make sustainability efforts more transparent for consumers. Last year, it became the first Napa winery to achieve rigorous B Corp certification, which measures both a company’s environmental impact and what it is doing for workers and the community. spottswoode.com

CHÂTEAU SMITH HAUT LAFITTE

In 1990, ex-Olympic skiers Florence and Daniel Cathiard spotted run-down Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Bordeaux from a helicopter and bought it. Since then, they’ve banished chemicals from the vineyards, relying on natural herbal medicines for the vines (phytotherapy), and fight pests through sexual confusion, a way of disrupting the mating of harmful insects. Horses, not tractors, plow between vines to save fragile soil areas. And that’s not all — they’ve been leaders in the region in creating an entire ecosystem. An energy self-sufficient underground ‘stealth cellar’ for the estate’s second wines relies on geothermal and solar power. And who says recycling is dull? At the estate’s Sources de Caudalie vinotherapy spa, founded by daughter Mathilde and her husband, discarded grape seeds and vine cuttings turn into lauded beauty products. Most intriguing is the winery’s carbon-capture system, the world’s first to recycle the CO2 released by fermenting grapes into bicarbonate of soda. That got the Cathiards an invite to speak at COP21, the UN’s 2015 Climate Conference in Paris. smith-haut-lafitte.com

Photos Thomas Heinser, Jean Barge, Daniel Cathiard