PERC honors Fisher Vineyards with 2024 energy award

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) presented Fisher Vineyards in Santa Rosa, California, with the 2024 Energy for Everyone Hero Award for Fisher’s use of propane in a variety of applications at the vineyard.

With the award, PERC is recognizing propane users that have chosen to adopt clean energy solutions and celebrating their commitment to improving their communities and businesses.

Mike Newland, director of agriculture business development for PERC, led a ceremony that featured Fisher Vineyards CEO Rob Fisher as well as Trent Nagata of Blue Star Gas, the propane provider that brings expertise in backup power generation, and Colin Sueyres of the Western Propane Gas Association.

“Propane provides a cleaner, more affordable and more reliable energy source for multiple applications,” Newland said during the award presentation. “Its ability to provide reliable power, independent of the electric grid, is particularly important here in California where both planned and unplanned power outages negatively impact crops and businesses.”

Mike Newland of PERC, left, and Rob Fisher of Fisher Vineyards (Photo by LP Gas staff)

Rob Fisher and his sisters, Cameron and Whitney, are second-generation owners of the winery. Prior to the award presentation, Rob and Cameron took guests on a tour of their Calistoga Estate winery. Rob shared how it uses propane to power fans in the field for frost prevention. It also uses propane, across two locations, for backup power generation, water heating, material handling and its HVAC systems.

“They also rely on propane to maintain refrigeration and barrel-aging process, the preparation of the grapes, storage in the fermentation tanks,” Newland says. “And when the California wildfires threaten this area, Fisher Vineyards chose to expand the use of propane with the addition of their 150-kW propane generator system through PERC’s Double Propane Farm Incentive Program.”

Upon accepting the award, Rob Fisher described propane as reliable, efficient and clean. He also recognized Blue Star Gas for its role in helping Fisher Vineyards establish the winery’s backup power system. Blue Star Gas and Fisher Vineyards have partnered for the past five years.

“It’s everything that we need,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot of really challenging years. We hope for easier years going forward. I know we’re set to face those challenges for many years to come.”

LP Gas will have full coverage of Fisher Vineyards’ use of propane in the July issue.

Last month, PERC also presented Broward County Transit in Florida with a 2024 Energy for Everyone Hero Award.