Most red-blooded outdoor enthusiasts know and love Clif Bar & Company products, including CLIF BAR(R), LUNA Bar(R). These and other Clif portable, nutritious and organic foodstuffs are staples in the diet of the average rock climber, mountain biker, hiker, or otherwise athletically inclined outdoors(wo)man. Somewhat lesser known (perhaps not for long) is the Clif Family Winery & Farm, which was established by owners Gary Erickson & Kit Crawford in 2004 in the Napa Valley (though the Farm was purchased in 1997). Both companies are named in honor of Gary’s father Clifford, from whom Gary inherited his passion for the outdoors. Gary’s interest in wine emerged from his cycling trips through Europe, and he and Kit both share a passion for nature, for connecting with the source of our foods, and for slowing down to enjoy food and drink with family and friends. These values are reflected in both of their businesses, and are the driving force behind their goal to produce sustainable and organic wines.The mission of Clif Family Winery & Farm is “to craft unique, regional wine and foods using practices that care for the earth; to support growers who use sustainable, organic farming methods; and to contribute to a more vibrant, healthy food community.”
Clif Family Winery & Farm does not currently grow any of their own winegrapes on their farm. The Farm is currently raising chickens, turkey, and a variety of fruits and vegetables, all organically farmed, hand-picked, and tended by bio-diesel farm vehicles.  Clif plans to plant their own 100% organically-grown grapes on the property in the future, but in the meantime they source their fruit from vineyards in the Napa Valley & the North Coast.Â
Clif Family focuses on 4 areas of sustainability:
Sustainable Food & Farming: Supporting growers who practice sustainable and organic farming methods. In 2008, 30% of Clif fruit was sourced from certified organic vineyards. Clif plans to grow this percentage in the coming years, and their winemaker Sarah Gott is also planning to work with Clif growers to develop a set of comprehensive sustainability guidelines. These guideliness will consider water conservation & energy conservation, pest management & biodiversity, air quality and human resources practices.
Environmentally Friendly Packaging: Reducing waste in packaging by using lighter glass, fewer components, and recycled materials.  In 2008 Clif reduced the weight of their wine bottles and developed a relationship with ReCork America to recycle their extra corks.Â
Renewable Energy / Carbon Neutral Footprint: Climate neutralizing the business’ s energy use. In 2008, Clif purchased carbon offsets to counterbalance the 144 tons of CO2 emitted through their operations, travel and wine shipments. Clif also developed the innovative Green My Shipment software to allow customers to purchase offsets for their wine shipments (click here to read my related post “Offset Your Wine Shipping Guilt”.)
Meaningful Partnerships: Supporting non-profit organizations the promote family farms, conserve wildlife habitat & biodiversity and promote recycling and waste reduction. Current partnerships include the California Alliance of Family Farms (CAFF) and NativeEnergy.
Clif Family Winery & Farms is a very young business, so it is great to see that they are building sustainability into their business from the very beginning. Their love of the outdoors and their appreciation for nature’s bounty is reflected in their wines from start to finish. I recently had the opportunity to sample several Clif Family wines, but before jumping into my tasting notes, a few reflections on the information above:
- It is great to see that Clif is working with their growers to develop requirements around sustainability. This will provide an excellent opportunity for grower education, and my hope would be that the growers embrace sustainable and organic viticulture throughout all of their vineyards (beyond the acreage farmed for Clif).Â
- I am also glad to see that Clif is approaching sustainability very holistically, considering all parts of their supply chain and calculating their environmental impact from vine to consumer.
- As Clif has set specific goals around reducing the impact of their packaging, I was a bit surprised to find that at least one of their wines (the Climber White) is closed with a screw cap. I hope that they consider going back to the traditional cork closure, which has significant environmental benefits (see my related post “Cork- The Endangered Environmental Ally”).
2008 The Climber White: a white blend composed primarily of Sauvignon Blanc (88%), with 4% Muscat, 3% Riesling, 3% Chardonnay and 2% Chenin Blanc blended in. The wine was 100% stainless steel fermented with no ML.
When we first opened this wine it was WAY too cold, and the aromas and flavors were pure sauvignon blanc– citrus, grass, honeydew and grapefruit. As the wine warmed up, the muscat and riesling started to break through, adding nice nectarine, honeysuckle and apricot notes. The wine is crisp and refreshing- great for a hot summer afternoon, but don’t drink it too cold!
2006 The Climber Red:Roughly equal amounts of Zinfandel (32%), Syrah (28%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (25%), with 11% Merlot and 4% Petite Sirah blended in. All grapes were sourced from Somerston Vineyard, which has a cool micro-climate due to its elevation of 1,000-2,500 feet.
This wine came across to me as very new world zin-esque: cherry jam with raisin, wintergreen and pine notes. It had dusty tannins and a little bit of heat, but pretty well balanced considering the 14.7% alcohol. Overall this wine was tasty but relatively one-dimensional. It was definitely not subtle or particularly complex, and maybe a little overpriced at a suggested retail price of $17.
2006 Gary’s Improv Napa Valley Syrah:100% Syrah, aged for 20 months in 25% new French oak and 75% used French & American Oak. The grapes were sourced from Page Nord Vineyard, a “Fish Friendly Farming” certified vineyard farmed using sustainable practices.
This was a high octane red with 15.4% alcohol and an inky, concentrated purple color. This will likely not be helpful to readers, but this wine smelled to me exactly like the maple & thyme biscuits that I make for Thanksgiving. The nose also had hints of milk chocolate and green olive. The flavors were of chocolate cake batter, black cherry and spice, with a pretty smooth finish.
I still have one more bottle of Clif Family wine that I haven’t opened yet: the 2006 Kit’s Killer Cab– look for a future review of this wine!
To date I have written about several regional efforts to improve vineyard environmental practices through localized standards and certification programs.   They key benefits to such a regional approach are that the standards can be built to address the specific concerns and challenges of the particular region, and they can unite a group of vineyards & wineries at the local level towards a common cause. In addition, these standards are in some ways more flexible and encompass a broader definition of “sustainability” than is contemplated by standards for certified organic viticulture.
John and I recently had the pleasure of sampling the 2007 LangeTwins Generations Petit Verdot / Petite Sirah. You will likely not be surprised to learn that, in lieu of sending hard copy paper tasting notes and other information, they sent the files on a re-usable USB drive.  Unfortunately, though I really enjoyed the wine, my dog ate my tasting notes. Lucky for you, my husband is much more diligent– 
