Sterling Vineyards has long held one of the California wineries’, and Napa Valley’s most novel features, an aerial tram that lifts over 200,000 visitors per year on the Calistoga property, from the winery building below, up to the vineyard grounds on the 300 foot hill. That novelty just became even more novel when the winery recently converted the tram to solar power.
Sterling Vineyards has long been committed to sustainable agricultural practices and operating in the most respectful manner with regard to the interaction of its facilities with the natural Napa Valley environment. Accordingly, converting the tram to run from solar power was a natural step in the progression of that mindset. Sterling Vineyards has a long-standing tradition of environmental conservation, supporting The Land Trust of Napa Valley, launching Sterling Vineyards Made with Organic Grapes, and also maintaining their commitment to the world-wide foundation, 1% For The Planet.
The photovoltaic system that resides on the roof of the Napa Valley winery consists of 336 solar panels and will produce 94,000kWh per year, enough to power the tram’s needs and then some. With the leftover 21,000kWh per year the winery will direct the power toward supporting other power needs on the property such as the holding and blending tanks, fermentation, and the bottling, the storage cave lighting, and the bottling assembly machinery. This should realize a reduction of 33 tons of greenhouse gases per year; the equivalent of planting 11 acres of trees.
