Meet the Composter: Evansburg Vineyards

Evansburg Vineyards

Nestled in the heart of the historic village of Evansburg, near Collegeville, you’ll find an unexpected business – a vineyard – making delicious wine while implementing sustainable practices.

Owners Yuval Blat and Leli Sarov-Blat, originally from Israel, bought a former horse farm in 2018 to plant the vineyard, and opened their bright, comfortable tasting room just last spring. Their daughter and tasting room manager, Rotem, was eager to help them with their venture and build out their sustainability efforts.

These efforts started in the vineyard with Chardonel grapevines which is a French-American hybrid more appropriate for the cooler Pennsylvania climate. This allows the Blat family to grow and cultivate their vineyard using less pesticides.

Motivated to waste less, Rotem expanded their efforts to the tasting room, where you’ll find clothing merchandise made with 3–5 % recycled polyester and cotton, and compostable plates, utensils, and water cups. They also started composting with Back to Earth Compost Crew!

“If you think of a business as a tiny world, it’s important to do things right,” Rotem said.

She always had an interest in composting, especially having lived in New York City where she was disheartened by the amount and cycle of trash. After moving back home, she saw and quickly learned the amount of waste created by wine production and in getting wine to the table. This was her opportunity to put into place sustainable practices with a greater impact – beyond her personal composting habits and vegetarian diet.

“In this day and age, we can’t afford NOT to be sustainable,” Rotem said, acknowledging that education is key. “It’s important to give back in small ways and take care of Mother Earth.”

Back to Earth Compost Crew recently hosted a Composting Workshop at the vineyard. Participants enjoyed a glass of wine and pizza as they learned about back-yard composting.

Want to support a local, family-run, sustainable business and discover tasty wines right in your community? Visit Evansburg Vineyard https://evansburgvineyards.com/. 

Back to Earth Compost Crew is happy to have The Blat Family and Evansburg Vineyards in our composting community!