Eco-Friendly HALL Wines Earns Gold LEED Certification

by Kendra Bailey Morris on

The first time I tasted HALL Cabernet Sauvignon, I will nibbling a cheese plate bar side at Fleming’s Steakhouse and Wine Bar. After asking our bartender sommelier for his recommendation for a big, hearty red, he poured me a taste of the 2005 HALL Cab. Is that black cherry I’m getting? Or perhaps a little oak mixed with leather and currants? I’m certainly no wine expert, unless you consider drinking lots of the stuff a special skill, yet even I could tell there was something very special about this wine.

HALL wines, which has two wineries, one in St. Helena, California and the other in Rutherford, has not only received exceptional scoring for many of its wines, including 97 points from Wine Enthusiast for the 2006 HALL “Exzellenz” Cabernet Sauvignon, but has just received the prestigious LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification for its Napa St. Helena location making HALL the first winery in California to earn this designation.

With state-of-the-art facilities, including many sustainable design elements such as radiant flooring, solar energy, as well as usage of recycled and local building materials, HALL is leading the industry when it comes to working to solve environmental challenges. Owner Kathryn Hall, whose family has been growing grapes in California since 1972, along with her husband Craig, have made it their personal mission to leave minimal carbon footprints when it comes to the art of great winemaking, establishing them as leaders in environmental preservation.

As Kathryn herself puts it, “At HALL wines, we grow our own grapes and craft our wines, and so we are obligated to ensure the health of the land, as well as that of the greater Napa Valley ecosystem.” Keeping in mind that HALL’s grapes encompass over 500 acres, this is both a great commitment and an accomplishment.

Visitors to the winery can get an up-close-and-personal look at the winery’s dedication to the environment with complimentary LEED® tours being offered each day through the end of August. For those who are unable to make a trip to the winery, visiting HALL online offers a firsthand glimpse (with videos) into the LEED® certification process led by owner Kathryn Hall along with President Mike Reynolds and architect Jarrod Denton.

Yet, for a true taste of what HALL has to offer, both for sustainable wine growing practices as well as the palate, I encourage you to get a bottle for yourself (which can be purchased on HALL’s website or at a variety of wine shops). And, don’t worry, you don’t need to be an expert in order to properly enjoy a glass of their award-winning wines, but it would behoove you to join Kathryn in her vision of an environment supported by earth-friendly wine production.

–Kendra

Solar airship will fly from NYC to Paris

by Katie Hammel on

First, let’s just get this out of the way: it is not, I repeat not, a blimp. Whew! Okay. . . Turtle Airships (a Spanish company that seems to have some intense aversion to the word “blimp”) is working on an airship that will make the journey from NYC to Paris, powered predominantly by the sun.

The top half of the blimp airship will be covered in solar panels that will store energy in batteries and use it to power four electric motors. The craft will also have a biodiesel engine as a back-up so the ship can fly in bad weather and at night. It will be able to take off vertically, land on ground or in water, and travel at around 40 miles per hour in ideal weather (making for a very long Transatlantic journey).

The airship is having a bit of difficulty getting off the ground at this point though, due to lack of funds. Turtle Airships is working on a prototype and hoping that as buzz for the project increases, so will the financing. Once the cash comes in, they say they’re ready for lift-off.

Until then, you can indulge your Goodyear fantasies with Airship Ventures, which offers Zeppelin flights from several California cities, ranging from $199 to $600 per person.

[via Wired]

Justin Timberlake opens eco-friendly golf course

by Katie Hammel on

Justin Timberlake – singer, dancer, actor, restaurateur, golfer, and. . . eco-innovator? That’s right, the guy who “brought sexy back” is also responsible for the first Platinum LEED certified golf course in the United States. The course also received the first Audubon International Classic Sanctuary certification in the U.S.

The Memphis, Tennessee golf course, originally called Woodstock Woods, was set to be auctioned off and turned into a development when JT and partners decided to save it. Timberlake, who learned to golf on the course, invested $16 million into features like irrigation systems that use rainwater to keep the grounds lush and electric golf carts powered by the sun.

The course has been renamed Mirimichi Golf Course and opened on July 25.

The Brando eco-friendly beach resort to open in 2011

by Katie Hammel on

Did you know that Marlon Brando owned (and now his estate owns) an entire French Polynesian atoll 35 miles from Tahiti? Did you also know that Brando dreamed of creating an eco-friendly resort on the atoll? Well both are true, and by 2011 Brando’s dream will be a reality, thanks to Richard Bailey, CEO of Tahiti Beachcomber.

Bailey was a longtime friend of Brando’s and had been working with him on the project before Brando’s death in 2004. Bailey owns four InterContinental resorts in Tahiti and will use some of the same sustainable technology used at those resorts to make sure The Brando has as little impact on the surrounding environment as possible. One technology will use a pipe to bring cold water up from the depths of the sea and use it to provide cool air to the rooms – a practice that will have zero environmental impact.

The resort, which will be the only one on the 13-island chain of Tetiaroa that Brando bought in 1965, will feature 47 luxury villas, each with its own plunge pool, plus a spa, fitness center, and a resort pool. Activities at the resort will include snorkeling, scuba diving, and exploring the nearby islands and Tahitian culture. No word on how much a stay at the luxury eco-resort will cost, but no one ever said saving the environment didn’t come with a price.

[via ShermansTravel]

Element Hotels: made for do-it-yourself foodies

by Kendra Bailey Morris on


Back in 2006, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. made a bit of history when it launched the first hotel brand that requires all of its hotels to pursue LEED certification. Element Hotels, which are designed for longer stays and come complete with multi-purpose, modular furniture, flat-screen televisions and fully equipped ENERGY-STAR appliances are not only aesthetically appealing, but are also about as eco-friendly as anyone can get.

Yet, it’s their flagship culinary program in partnership with Whole Foods that makes a stay at Element Lexington truly value-added, especially for health conscious foodies. Along with the hotel’s many delicious amenities, which include a “Rise” breakfast bar, featuring an array of healthy options from hot sandwiches and smoothies to a complimentary “Relax” evening reception (occurring four nights a week) complete with savory appetizers, beer and wine, Element Lexington will offers Whole Foods cooking demonstrations for its guests right on the premises.

Cooking classes will take place twice a month, and will feature five Whole Foods fresh ingredients or less, so guests will be able to easily recreate these meals back in their rooms. After the cooking class is over, attendees then have the opportunity to purchase a “Meal-in-a-Bag” (for $15.00 or less for two servings) to cook on their own, making both shopping and cooking a breeze. Additionally, guests will get to take home co-branded recipe cards and special coupons to be used at the Bedford Whole Foods. For those wanting to shop for themselves, a special shuttle from the hotel will run several times weekly to the grocery, and for folks that don’t have that kind of time, ingredient order forms will be provided to have groceries delivered and even unpacked in guestroom kitchens.

In keeping with all things organic, Element Lexington has also planted a vegetable garden on the property which boasts in-season delights such as Roma tomatoes, basil, cantaloupe and cucumbers. Produce and herbs from the garden will be used for both Rise breakfast menu items and the Relax evening reception along with the weekly outdoor summer BBQ featuring organic meats, garden burgers and soy hotdogs grilled up each Wednesday by the general manager of the hotel.

Yet, the culinary perks don’t stop here. “Restore”, Element’s on-site organic pantry, offers healthy on-the-fly snacks 24 hours a day, and twice a week guests can ride the hotel’s complimentary shuttle to the local farmer’s market in order to pick up their own produce. And, it won’t be difficult to work off all those calories since Element offers an array of complimentary wellness programs including bikes to borrow, running maps, a full-service fitness center and an all-saline, chlorine-free pool.

Clearly the culinary landscape for travelers is forever changing and evolving, with more of us, especially business travelers, seeking healthier, budget-friendly accommodations that allow for independence along with a sound commitment to the environment. With this in mind, it’s nice to see the hotel industry starting to respond.

–Kendra