A Love Letter to our Land

Margaret Duckhorn didn’t speak about sustainability as a strategy. She spoke about home.

For more than four decades, she helped shape Duckhorn Vineyards with a simple belief: the land and the community are never separate. To care for one is to care for the other.

“This valley is our home,” she said. “We live here. Our children live here. We recognize the importance of taking care of this remarkable place, and of giving back to the community that has given us so much.”

It wasn’t something she announced. It was something she lived, quietly and consistently over time.

Today, that same spirit carries forward across Duckhorn. In the way we farm. In the way we partner with growers. In the way we invest in the people and places that make Napa Valley what it is.

On Earth Day, and every day, it’s a reminder that stewardship isn’t a moment or a message. It’s a responsibility we continue to grow into.

Duckhorn Vineyard's Land Stewardship & Sustainability: Key Facts at a Glance

• Certified Sustainable Vineyards: 100% of Duckhorn Vineyards’ estate properties are certified sustainable through California Certified Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW) and the Napa Green Certified Vineyard program.

• Estate Acreage & Biodiversity: Across seven estate vineyards in Napa Valley, Duckhorn preserves dedicated natural wildlife corridors, native oak woodlands, and insectary borders to encourage beneficial predators rather than synthetic pesticides.

• Water Conservation & Precision Drip: Utilizes advanced evapotranspiration sensors, soil moisture probes, and pressure chambers (leaf water potential monitoring) to apply water only when vines need it, drastically cutting irrigation usage across dry summer months.

• Soil Health & Cover Cropping: Annual planting of multi-species cover crops (legumes, crimson clover, wild oats, daikon radish) between vine rows to prevent soil erosion, naturally fix nitrogen, aerate dense clay/volcanic soils, and sequester atmospheric carbon.

• Owl Boxes & Natural Pest Management: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) relies on hundreds of installed barn owl and songbird nesting boxes across estates (including Three Palms and Marlee’s Vineyard) to naturally manage gophers, voles, and vineyard pests without chemical rodenticides.

• Solar & Clean Energy: Winemaking facilities in St. Helena utilize rooftop solar installations to generate clean on-site renewable energy, powering temperature-controlled barrel cellars and fermentation tanks.