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Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery Announces Partnership with Vanguard Renewables
Photo credit: Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery
August 14, 2024
Leon, VA
Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery, one of the most innovative, woman-owned wineries on the east coast, is the first vineyard in Virginia to partner with Vanguard Renewables® to enhance sustainable winery operations. Vanguard Renewables is a leading provider of sustainable food and beverage byproduct and organic waste management services.
Founded in 1982 by French entrepreneurs Jean and Sylviane DeLuc, Prince Michel was purchased in 2005 by current owner Kristin Easter, who assembled an award-winning team to help secure the vineyard’s reputation as an industry leader. Prince Michel has won several awards for its wines, and the property is named a top Virginia winery to visit in numerous industry publications.
Vanguard Renewables partners with food and beverage manufacturers, retailers, and institutions across the United States to recycle inedible and unsalable food material via Farm Powered® anaerobic digestion. Companies work with Vanguard Renewables' in-house logistics team to create a custom organics materials recycling program; whereby Vanguard Renewables combines the food and beverage waste along with dairy cow manure into renewable gas and a low carbon biofertilizer.
The Company handles process byproducts, packaged waste, fats, oils and grease, process water, discards, and many other organic materials through its network of farms, food and beverage partners, and strategic end site and hauler partners. This helps its clients achieve increasingly challenging zero waste to landfill and sustainability goals.
Vanguard Renewables recently announced the groundbreaking for its newest Farm Powered anaerobic digester in the Commonwealth of Virginia, one of several that will start construction or commissioning in 2024 across the United States.
About Anaerobic Digestion
Inedible or unsaleable food and beverage waste from the manufacturing and retail sectors is collected, sorted, depackaged on-site, and combined with dairy farm manure in a sealed biodigester tank. Once combined in the biodigester, microorganisms that naturally occur in manure digest the waste, converting sugars, fats and other compounds into biogas. Harnessing the waste’s energy captures as much as 95 percent of the potential greenhouse gas emissions that would result if food and beverage waste were sent to a landfill or if the farm manure were field applied. The process produces RNG that is upgraded to pipeline-quality gas and injected into the existing pipeline infrastructure on-site, displacing traditional fossil fuels. The biogas is then used for heating and cooling or can be used to make Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for vehicles. The by-products of the anaerobic digestion process include a low-carbon and nutrient dense fertilizer (digestate) that reduces the farm’s dependency on chemical fertilizers, and a dry by-product which is used for animal bedding. When food and beverage manufacturers send their organic waste to a Farm Powered site and purchase the RNG created by their waste to power their plants, they are creating a closed-loop solution that helps to address Scope 1 and 3 emissions in their business practices.
Media Contact:
Billy Kepner
[email protected]
1-607-331-9806
About Prince Michel Vineyard and Winery
Founded over four decades ago by Jean and Sylvan LeDucq, Prince Michel Vineyard and Winery stands as a testament to enduring quality and innovation in the Virginia wine industry. Under the visionary leadership of its founders, the winery gained acclaim for producing award-winning wines that brilliantly capture the essence of Virginia's wine country. Today, as a woman-owned business led by Kristin Easter, Prince Michel continues to honor its rich legacy while embracing a forward-thinking approach. With a dedication to both tradition and cutting-edge techniques, Prince Michel continues to be a leader in the industry, celebrating the heritage and future of Virginia winemaking. This storied winery not only crafts exceptional wines but also offers a memorable experience to its visitors, solidifying its reputation as a premier destination in the Virginia wine landscape.
Media Contact:
Kristie Twomey
[email protected]
1-844-302-4021
About Vanguard Renewables
