Peter Mondavi’s Sustainability in Napa and Lyndon Rive’s Solar City

As John and Mike debut an hour-long format for “Green is Good,” they welcome legendary winemaker Peter Mondavi and Lyndon Rive of Solar City.

Peter Mondavi

Mondavi, responsible for the Charles Krug brand, has been practicing sustainable winemaking techniques in Napa Valley for years. The company harvests its grapes with as much natural control as possible, and has refurbished original Charles Krug-built buildings on the winery site.

“‘Sustainable’ is starting to become the norm [in the Napa Valley]. The Napa River is coming back to life again,” Mondavi proclaims, in response to his green practices. “It’s an evolution. We were looking at organic techniques and learned together.”

Lyndon Rive

Rive got into the solar business to help speed up the adoption rate of solar energy.

“We asked our customers, ‘What’s preventing you from going solar?’ The number one reason was the upfront costs,” Rive recalls. “We focused on reducing the cost, but that wasn’t enough. That’s when we invented the solar lease program.”

The homeowner can now put a solar system on the home without making the huge investment. The idea is to bring this technology and clean energy to as many consumers as possible with as few challenges as possible.

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