Sokol Blosser Becomes Certified B Corp

DAYTON, OR--(Marketwired - Apr 22, 2015) - Sokol Blosser Winery, one of Oregon's oldest yet most innovative wineries, is now a Certified B Corp.

The winery joins the prestigious community of 1,200 companies from more than 121 industries in 41 countries that have also achieved this high honor. As a Certified B Corp, Sokol Blosser uses the power of its business to solve social and environmental problems.

"We are proud to be recognized for the contributions we make to our environment, employees and community," says co-president and CEO Alison Sokol Blosser. "We have always strived to be leaders in sustainable practices and are advocates of third-party certification for transparency and accountability. Becoming a Certified B Corp gives us the framework and language to show how our business and operations are positively impacting the world in addition to making world-class, fabulous pinot noir."

Sokol Blosser is widely known as a leader in sustainability in the Oregon wine industry, achieving its first environmental certification in 1996 for its farming practices. For many years, the winery has evaluated its business success through a holistic approach to managing its bottom line: the triple bottom line -- people, planet and profit. Achieving B Corp certification further establishes the winery's commitment through measurable high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. To achieve this certification, the winery underwent a rigorous evaluation by B Lab, the nonprofit that certifies and supports B Corps. It was determined that Sokol Blosser's farming and winemaking practices; employee compensation, benefits and training; supplier and community relations and other general business practices met the comprehensive standards to merit B Corp certification.

The winery publishes an annual sustainability report, which covers many of the elements of its B Corp assessment, as an honest recap of the business' achievements and challenges in sustainable practices. View the 2014 Sustainability Report here.

About Sokol Blosser Winery
Nearly 45 years ago, before there was an Oregon wine industry, the Sokol Blosser family began growing grapes and creating exemplary wines. Located on a certified organic 86-acre planted vineyard in Oregon's Dundee Hills sub appellation, Sokol Blosser consistently captures the terroir of the region as expressed through the brilliance of its estate fruit. The winery produces pinot noir, pinot gris, chardonnay, riesling and small quantities of single block pinot noirs under its Sokol Blosser brand name, as well as a white blend, red blend, pinot noir and sparkling wine under the Evolution brand name.

Now guided by sister and brother co-presidents, Alison Sokol Blosser and Alex Sokol Blosser, along with brother and chairman of the board Nik Blosser, Sokol Blosser Winery is entering a new millennium of winemaking, hospitality and sustainability. Please visit http://www.sokolblosser.com to learn more.

About B Corp
Certified B Corporations meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, legally expand their corporate responsibilities to include consideration of stakeholder interests, and build a collective voice through the power of the unifying B Corporation brand. As of May 2014, there are more than 1,200 Certified B Corporations from over 121 industries and 41 countries, representing a diverse multi-billion dollar marketplace.

About B Lab
B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement to redefine success in business so that all companies compete not only to be the best in the world, but the best for the world. B Lab drives this systemic change through a number of interrelated initiatives: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations to make it easier for all of us to tell the difference between "good companies" and good marketing; 2) passing legislation to accelerate growth of social entrepreneurship and impact investing (24 states have already passed benefit corporation legislation); 3) developing B Analytics, a customizable platform for investors to benchmark and report on the impact of their global equity portfolios; and 4) providing free, powerful tools for businesses to measure, compare and improve their social and environmental performance (more than 16,000 businesses use B Lab's free B Impact Assessment). For more information, visit www.bcorporation.net.