Sustainability

Preservation and Environmental Stewardship

Preservation and environmental stewardship were important to George Vanderbilt and continue to be a priority on his estate today.

In our vineyards, rows of grass between the vines prevent soil erosion from reaching our creeks and lakes. We irrigate with water from nearby Long Valley Lake. To help reduce waste, we recycle all of our cardboard, plastic, glass, paper, and steel.

Near the Winery, a nine-acre, 1.7 megawatt system that includes more than 7,000 solar panels helps offset estate energy usage. Grape byproducts such as crushed stems and skins are used for mulching and compost. Retired barrels become planters and cork recycling receptacles across the estate or are repurposed as wine racks to display our wines in retail locations.

Cork Recycling at Biltmore

Natural cork is a sustainable, regenerating product which make natural corks the most sustainable wine closure on the market. Cork forests are threatened by the influx of alternate wine closures such as screw caps and synthetic corks. Cork forests have a large positive environmental impact, so keeping them sustainable is important to us.

Our partner in recycling is Cork ReHarvest with Cork Forest Conservation Alliance. They are a non-profit organization committed to educating the world on the importance of using and recycling natural corks. Learn how they recycle cork at their website.

Feel free to drop off all corks (natural and synthetic) at any of the following locations:

Gate House Gift Shop, located at Biltmore’s entrance*
Biltmore Winery
All estate restaurants
Grove Arcade in Asheville, North Carolina
World Market stores in North Carolina

*No estate admission required.

You can also mail used corks to:
Biltmore Estate Wine Company
Re: Cork Recycling
1 North Pack Square
Asheville, NC 28801