Green Efforts
Being "green" is not just a trendy-hip thing these days. Offering mother earth a friendly helping hand is becoming a necessity as the world population steadily increases, as does our waste production both in trash, and waste water. Here at Kuhlman Cellars, being green is very much part of our daily business. Everything from the plates we serve our Chef prepared food on, to the machine we use to sanitize our tanks, they are very earth friendly. Below is a list of things we do to maintain our steady track in keeping our planet happy.
Compost bin:
As you walk from the parking lot to the tasting room, you might notice the large compartmented wooden box sitting to your left near our garden, this is the compost bin. Grass clippings, leaves, paper products, leafy greens, crackers, and fruits all go into the bin and are 
eventually naturally broken down to be used for landscaping in the garden, flower beds and we will use what we have available for the vineyard. We chose compostable trash bags for daily use in the tasting room, to minimize plastic waste. Utilizing the compost bin enables us to use sugarcane food plates, paper menus, and napkins on a daily basis with little guilt.
Rain capture and grey water system:
The rain gutters on the roof of the winery, as well as the drains in the cellar floor, divert water through an underground piping system to the pond located at the northeast corner of the property. This is a very low tech and efficient means of moving water. Here is a fun fact... One inch of rain captured via our rain gutter system, translates to approximately 10,000 gallons of water collected. Whoa!
The pond:
Our pond, once full, will be a peaceful retreat, an oasis if you will for guests to admire, and it will eventually offer irrigation capabilities for our vineyard, landscaping and garden.
Glass and cardboard recycling:
We simply could not call ourselves earth friendly if we did not practice good old fashioned recycling. All of the empty wine bottles, wine boxes, and basically all glass and cardboard products are recycled using two recycling centers located in both Johnson City, and Fredericksburg, TX.
Hot Cart:
This machine is actually one of my favorite gadgets we have at the winery. Instead of using chemicals and excessive water to clean our tanks and cellar floor, we use a hot cart. This device utilizes water heated to 185 degrees and a high pressure stream to
clean and sanitize. This is not only better for the environment, but also for us humans as well.
Wine shipping boxes:
The boxes we use for shipping our wines are made in California using solar energy.
Basically, the boxes are produced using a green method, and they can also be recycled after the wine consumer receives their wine. How is that for helping out the environment?
It is a great responsibility to be gentle with our loving mother earth, all it takes are a few extra steps in the daily routine to help keep waste to a minimum. Please feel free to ask us anytime about our green habits at Kuhlman Cellars, we are always more than happy to share our practices with each and every one of you.
Cheers to Vina Vita, the wine life.