April 6, 2016

Fetzer Vineyards Announces Installation of Regenerative BioFiltro BIDA® Water Filtration System, Using Worms & Microbes to Treat Winery Wastewater

Leading Regenerative Business Is First American Winery to Use Innovative Water System at Scale

MENDOCINO COUNTY, April 6, 2016 Fetzer Vineyards, a leader in regenerative winegrowing, is revolutionizing the way U.S. wineries conserve water, announcing today that it will install the BioFiltro BIDA® System at its Mendocino winery. In doing so, Fetzer Vineyards will become the first American winery to use the innovative, closed-loop biological wastewater treatment system to process 100% of its winery wastewater. Powered by billions of earthworms working rapidly in concert with beneficial microbes, the BIDA® System will begin processing Fetzer Vineyards’ wastewater during the 2016 harvest season, accruing energy savings up to 85% over current wastewater treatment technologies and optimizing water conservation measures in support of the fight against climate change.

“It’s essential that we constantly ask ourselves if there is a better, more efficient and more regenerative way to approach our business, including the way we work with water,” said Giancarlo Bianchetti, CEO of Fetzer Vineyards. “BioFiltro offers a compelling process that aligns with our business goals as well as our overarching objective to leave the world a better place than we found it.”

Implementing the BioFiltro BIDA® System

BioFiltro’s patented BIDA® System is a passive aerobic bioreactor that catalyzes the digestive power of microbes and selected species of red earthworms to naturally remove up to 99% of contaminants from Fetzer Vineyards’ wastewater, in as little as four hours. The chemical-free system consumes significantly less electricity than traditional wastewater treatment technologies like aeration ponds, which require constant electricity to pump and circulate water. The BIDA® System works efficiently year-round in spite of seasonal fluctuations in wastewater flow like those seen in the wine industry, and generates compost-enhancing castings from worm digestion, returning nutrients to the soil.

Working with Worms to Fight Climate Change

Global studies show that water scarcity and water stress are increasing, and as much as 15% to 35% of human withdrawals of water for agriculture are considered unsustainable.1 Achievement of climate change-related commitments like those made at last year’s Paris Climate Conference (“COP21”) will require that businesses strategically manage their water footprints for maximum efficacy while mitigating negative impacts. Natural, regenerative solutions such as the BIDA® System offer a new paradigm for water treatment systems, delivering closed-loop mechanisms that efficiently process

wastewater on site and restore it to beneficial use, without significant energy output or emissions.

Innovating Towards Water Positive Operations

“Innovating to naturally manage our water footprint is an important step in our journey to become Water Positive, essential to our goal of Net Positive operations by 2030,” said Josh Prigge, Director of Regenerative Development for Fetzer Vineyards, who recently advocated for carbon-neutral winegrowing practices on a global scale at COP21. “With this new system we’ll treat some 15 million gallons of water a year, with significant efficiency gains—and bring things full-circle with enhanced compost for our soils and clean water for vineyard and landscape irrigation. It’s a win-win.”

Research shows that a majority of global consumers, and especially Millennials, support companies that are committed to minimizing environmental impacts and that prioritize sustainable approaches to operations.2 To share more about its water initiatives, Fetzer Vineyards developed a new page on its website containing facts about agricultural water use and details about the company’s water policy support. Visit fetzer.com/water for more on Fetzer Vineyards’ water initiatives, including its adoption of BioFiltro’s BIDA® treatment system and its support for water conservation research and advocacy through collaborations with groups like the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) and Ceres’ Connect the Drops, both of which were commended for their water policy efforts at the White House Water Summit on Building a Sustainable Water Future in the United States on March 22, 2016.

1 Source: UNWater.org: World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Water Facts and Trends

2 Source: 2015 Nielsen Global Corporate Sustainability Report

About Fetzer Vineyards

A pioneer in regenerative winemaking, Fetzer Vineyards continues its legacy of hard work, rebellious thinking and crafting wines that make a difference. Since its founding in 1968, Fetzer Vineyards has consistently developed and implemented practices that are environmentally friendly, socially

responsible and ultimately regenerative, becoming the world’s largest winery to receive B Corporation certification, in 2015. B Corp certification standards, developed by the non-profit B Lab, are widely recognized as the highest standards for social and environmental responsibility in business. Ultimately, Fetzer Vineyards strives for the perfect relationship between land, climate and vine to regenerate communities and bring wines of remarkable quality and character to the table. Fetzer.com

About BioFiltro

BioFiltro is an international wastewater filtration company with subsidiaries operating in the United States, New Zealand, and Chile. Its patented BIDA® System catalyzes the digestive power of microbes and worms to naturally remove up to 99% of contaminants from liquid waste in 4 hours. As a chemical and sludge free system that consumes up to 95% less electricity than traditional wastewater technologies, the BIDA® System enables clients to not only significantly reduce wastewater management costs and environmental footprint, but also showcase their commitment to sustainability. The BIDA® System is currently operating in over 130 plants worldwide and has filtered more than 27 billion gallons of sanitary and industrial organic liquid waste. BioFiltro has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Thomson Reuters, and won the Global Clean Tech Open in Silicon Valley in 2011. BioFiltro.com

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Media Contact:

Courtney Cochran | Fetzer Vineyards 707.670.0268

courtney.cochran@fetzer.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dec. 7, 2015

Fetzer Vineyards Joins World’s Leading Regenerative Wineries at COP21, Groundbreaking Climate Change Conference in Paris December 7, 2015

Leader in Regenerative Winegrowing Is Among Five Wineries Presenting Solutions for Achieving Climate-Neutral Wines

MENDOCINO COUNTY, Dec. 7, 2015 – Today Fetzer Vineyards will be among five wineries worldwide and the only US winery sharing key successes and ideas for working towards a carbon-neutral future at Caring for Climate, the official Business Forum at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (“COP21”), presented by the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”). The largest winery in the world to achieve B Corp Certification earlier this year, Fetzer Vineyards will address topics at what is expected to be the largest-ever climate change conference including zero-waste business practices, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and initiatives that will enable the Winery to achieve its goal of net-positive operations by 2030.

“Climate Action in a Bottle Red, White or Rosé?” will be the only seminar on the topic of wine

presented at COP21’s Business Forum. Fetzer Vineyards, the first winery in the world to receive Zero Waste certification and diverting 98.5% of all waste from landfill, was invited by the United Nations to share more on its forward-thinking practices following the Winery’s achievement of B Corp status.

Nearly 700 participants are expected to attend Caring for Climate, a multi-stakeholder platform for dialogue and action among businesses, investors, civil society, the UN and Government officials, with the UN Secretary-General participating in key aspects of the event.

“The wine industry is uniquely positioned to tell the story of climate change, because wine grapes are dependent on specific climates and regions for the growing of quality fruit, making vineyards especially vulnerable to a warming climate,” said Giancarlo Bianchetti, CEO of Fetzer Vineyards. “In addition to measures we take in our vineyards to mitigate the effects of climate change, we aim to constantly

improve our environmental measures, from energy initiatives enabling us to be the first winery in

California to operate on 100% renewable energy, to farming measures that have made us the largest

organic winegrape grower in the U.S. certified by California Certified Organic Farmers.”

Josh Prigge, Fetzer Vineyards’ Director of Regenerative Development, will discuss ideas for measuring, reducing and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture and winery operations at Caring for Climate alongside other sustainable leaders from the wine industry. Also appearing in the seminar are Valentina Lira from Concha y Toro, Jean-Guillaume Prats of Moët Chandon Estates and Wines, Alice Tourbier of Château Smith Haut Lafitte and Robert Eden of Château Maris. Niclas Svenningsen, representing the UNFCCC Secretariat, will moderate the seminar and panel discussion to follow.

“It’s an honor to be a part of this incredible program, whose topic—working towards making climate- neutral wines a reality on a global scale—underscores our ethos as a Winery, and what we’ve been

working towards since our founding in 1968,” said Prigge. “We began reporting greenhouse gas emissions to the Climate Registry in 2005 and have reduced our emissions over 50% in the years since.

I’m looking forward to sharing lessons from this initiative and others, as we all face the same challenges in moving towards climate-impact neutrality and, ultimately, net positive operations.”

Caring for Climate Business Forum is an initiative of Climate Neutral Now, UNFCCC’s vehicle for engaging all parts of society to take action to become climate neutral by measuring, reducing and offsetting their climate footprints. Caring for Climate takes place concurrently with COP21, the larger climate conference, where UN negotiations aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate for the first time since UNFCCC was founded in 1994, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C.

For more information on Fetzer Vineyards’ regenerative strategy and initiatives, please visit fetzer.com/commitment. Follow the Winery @FetzerWines on Twitter and at Facebook.com/Fetzer to learn more about the latest developments in regenerative and climate-neutral winegrowing.

About Fetzer Vineyards

A pioneer in regenerative winemaking, Fetzer Vineyards continues its legacy of hard work, rebellious thinking and crafting wines that make a difference. Since its founding in 1968, Fetzer Vineyards has consistently developed and implemented practices that are environmentally friendly, socially responsible and ultimately regenerative, becoming the world’s largest winery to receive B Corporation certification, in 2015. B Corp certification standards, developed by the non-profit B Lab, are widely recognized as the highest standards for social and environmental responsibility in business. Fetzer Vineyards strives for the perfect relationship between land, climate and vine to regenerate communities and bring wines of remarkable quality and character to the table.

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Media Contact:

Courtney Cochran | Fetzer Vineyards 707.670.0268

courtney.cochran@fetzer.com