Over the past several years, the wine industry has gained a strong sense of responsibility and taken strides toward incorporating sustainable practices into their processes.

For example, back in January 2010, the California Wine Industry established the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing Program. The voluntary certification was initiated by major California winery and grower organizations to demonstrate their industry's commitment to environmentally sound, socially ethical and financially viable business practices.

The Central Coast Vineyard team also created the Sustainability in Practice Certification (SIP), which provides a way for vineyards to verify their attention to integrated farming practices through a commitment to environmental stewardship, equitable treatment and economic stability.

Glass packaging manufacturer, O-I, also recently established environmental sustainability goals in hopes to cut energy consumption by 50 percent and carbon emissions by 65 percent. O-I took the first step toward achieving these goals by conducting a complete life cycle assessment in the packaging sector.

Wine drinkers can also do their part in becoming more sustainable by purchasing wine in glass bottles, as well as recycling the bottles and corks