Santa Rosa, Calif.—The Sonoma County Winegrowers group announced April 22 that the owners and managers of more than half of the county’s nearly 60,000 acres of vineyards have completed a sustainability self-assessment.

The winegrowers group is leading an effort to see all of the county’s vineyard acreage certified as sustainable by 2019. It would be the first wine region in the nation to do so. In January, the group released its first progress report on the project and stated 43% of the county’s 59,218 vineyard acres had been self-assessed with 33% certified as sustainable by a third-party. A self-assessment is the first step toward earning a sustainable certification by groups such as the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.

According to an announcement released by the winegrowers group, the self-assessed acreage has increased to 58% or 34,346 acres that are now in the process of earning certification. “I am really proud of the strong early support we have received from growers throughout the county to make our sustainable efforts and goals a reality in the very near future,” said Brad Petersen, the vineyard manager at Silver Oak Cellars and chairman of the Sonoma County Winegrowers board of directors.