19 Dec Sustainability and Green Design at Texas Vineyards

David Kuhlken from Pedernales Cellars and Gary McKibben from Red Caboose Winery join Shades of Green Radio hosts in the KOOP studios on Thursday, December 22^nd at 1:00 p.m. on 91.7 FM and streaming live online at  www.koop.org.  They’ll be talking about sustainability and green design at Texas Vineyards.

David Kuhlken is co-founder and winemaker at Pedernales Cellars, a Hill Country vineyard served by 3 generations of the Kuhlken family.  Their family has lived in Texas for over 6 generations.

The cellar and case storage facility at Pedernales Cellars are all cooled using a ground loop geothermal cooling system that cuts in half their energy consumption for maintaining the climate in the production space.  Most of the bi-products of the winemaking is composted and re-used at the vineyard in the spring.

The land has enabled Pedernales Cellars to make incredible wines, and they are committed to good land management and stewardship. Heather Kuhlken has been working to revitalize the landscape of the 150-acre winery estate by removing cedar overgrowth and invasive plant species. These steps have led to the re-establishment of seeps and springs that had previously been lost.  The work has helped to make a better habitat for the native Hill Country wildlife on the property.

Gary McKibben, owner and architect at Red Caboose Winery.  The people at Red Caboose Winery are interested in more than traditional winery design.  Red Caboose Winery incorporates sustainability design principles, including: gravity wine flow, solar PV electricity panels on roof, geothermal chilling and cooling, capturing rainwater from our roof for irrigation, and using sustainable materials. All of these fundamental design principles translate to energy efficiency and cost savings.