Our Commitment to Tomorrow

SUSTAINABLY GROWN WINE

OUR COMMITMENT TO TOMORROW

When our family arrived at Bethel Heights in 1977 we found a flourishing ecosystem in place: healthy living soils, a stream running through a shady ravine fed by a pure clean spring, and a rich diversity of flora and fauna with which we try to live in peace.  Above all else we seek to grow our grapes and make our wine without diminishing the vibrant life of this place.

Twenty-five acres at Bethel Heights are set aside as a natural wooded riparian area.

We maintain a permanent green cover in the vine rows to build healthy soils, to sequester carbon, to mitigate erosion, to retain moisture, to promote maximum biodiversity above and below ground, and to allow the unseen mycorrhiza beneath our feet to thrive and continue their symbiotic relationship with our vines.

We have farmed without herbicides since 2009, without tilling the soil since 2012, and without any synthetic inputs whatsoever since 2019.

In the winery we are transitioning to significantly less carbon-intensive packaging, and significantly less water and energy use.  Solar panels installed in 2010 provide 60% of our energy needs.

We recognize that we owe our success in all our endeavors to the people who work here, in the vineyard and in the winery, and we strive to share our success in a just distribution of benefits.

Certifications

We know of no certification program that encompasses everything that matters for the future of Bethel Heights, for our community, and for the planet, but we choose to certify what we can, to provide some assurance to our customers.

Organic

Bethel Heights Vineyard and Justice Vineyard are certified organic, sealing our commitment to farming our crop without any use of synthetic chemicals.

Live Certified

Bethel Heights Vineyard and Justice Vineyard have been LIVE Certified since 1997.  Ted Casteel of Bethel Heights was one of the founders of LIVE, which requires a comprehensive certification of the whole farm, not just the crop, based on continual reduction of off-farm inputs by reliance on natural processes. LIVE winery certification requires reduction of energy and water consumption in the winery.

Salmon Safe

Bethel Heights was one of the first vineyards to be certified Salmon Safe in 1997, representing our commitment to protect clean water and maintain riparian buffer zones in our agricultural landscape.

Oak Accord

The Willamette Valley Oak Accord

In 2017 Bethel Heights became one of the founders of the Willamette Valley Oak Accord, bringing together private landowners around a commitment to protect and restore some of the last remaining oak habitat in the Willamette Valley.