Blog
Sonoma’s Une Femme Wines wins national sustainability award
Une Femme Wines, a Sonoma-based sparkling wine brand, is making waves far beyond the vineyard, as the women-founded business has been honored with the prestigious 2026 Keggy Award, a national recognition from Free Flow Wines that celebrates the brand’s massive impact on environmental conservation.
The achievement represents a major win for the local environment.
Through its innovative reusable wine keg program, Une Femme has successfully diverted more than 50,000 glass bottles from the waste stream. By swapping traditional glass for stainless steel kegs — each replacing 26 individual bottles — the winery has slashed carbon emissions by an impressive 76 percent compared to standard bottle service, according to representatives of the winery.
-
Stacey Allen
Une Femme’s co-founder, Jen Pelka, who runs the business with her brother Zach Pelka. (Courtesy of Kayla Schwab)
Stacey Allen
1 of 2
Une Femme’s co-founder, Jen Pelka, who runs the business with her brother Zach Pelka. (Courtesy of Kayla Schwab)
Expand
For head winemaker Evyn Cameron, the mission starts with the very soil of Sonoma.
“Exceptional wines begin in the vineyard,” Cameron said, noting that the brand sources exclusively from “Certified Sustainable” vineyards. “Farming practices that promote healthy soils and thriving ecosystems produce better fruit. This allows us to intervene less in the winery, producing wines that are both distinctive and responsibly made.”
The “Certified Sustainable” seal, which is issued by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, covers multiple aspects of a winery’s operations, from utilizing Integrated Pest Management to greenhouse gas emissions to providing employee educational benefits, officials said, adding that sustainability encompasses the same environmental concerns as organic and biodynamic practices, but it also accounts for the winery’s role in the community.
Une Femme Wines partners with “Certified Sustainable” family-owned vineyards in Napa, Sonoma, and Lodi, California.
The community impact of this green approach is significant — by prioritizing infinitely recyclable aluminum cans and reusable kegs, Une Femme is addressing one of the wine industry’s largest environmental hurdles: packaging waste. This commitment ensures that as the brand grows, its footprint remains small, protecting the natural beauty of the region for future generations.
“Packaging is one of the biggest environmental levers a wine brand can pull,” Thomas Hartman, chief operating officer said. “We’re proud to be recognized for building a business that considers its impact every step of the way.”
As Une Femme continues to expand its presence in stadiums and hotels nationwide, this local success story serves as a model for how the wine industry can toast to a more sustainable future — one keg at a time.
Une Femme started as the house pour at the Riddler, an all-women-funded champagne bar with locations in San Francisco and New York City.
After experiencing challenges tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, founders and siblings Jen and Zach Pelka closed both Riddler locations, but Une Femme Wines, which was founded in 2019, continued to grow.
To learn more about the business, visit, unefemmewines.com.
You can reach Staff Writer Emma Molloy at emma.molloy@sonomanews.com.
