Living a longer, healthier life is a goal most of us share. Achieving this objective usually means adopting lifestyle habits that foster adopting an improved diet, more exercise, and reduced stress.
The Good Life Wine Collective of Yountville in Napa Valley, the parent organization of award-winning wineries Jessup Cellars and Handwritten Wines, has initiated a proactive role to establish a work environment that actively encourages good health and longevity. To this end, the organization aims to be the first winery to earn Blue Zone® certification.
What is a “Blue Zone”?
We often hear or read about special pockets of the world where citizens stay healthier and live far longer than the average population. In these regions, a higher percentage of people survive past the age of 100 than in other areas.
One study, spearheaded by best-selling author Dan Buettner, has identified five locations in the world where people historically live the longest and remain the healthiest. These unique locations are Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California, USA.
The geographic areas mentioned have been dubbed “Blue Zones®” or areas where life expectancies are predictably longer.
Identifying the “Blue Zones”
This concept of Blue Zones evolved from demographic work by Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain, outlined in the Journal of Experimental Gerontology, that identified Sardinia as the region of the world with the highest concentration of male centenarians. More areas became recognized for longevity.
Blue Zones® is now a trademark of Blue Zones, LLC, and reflects the lifestyle and the environment of the world’s longest-lived people.
Further to their study, Dan Buettner’s team investigated behaviors contributing to longevity and identified nine of these, now known as the Power 9®.
Behaviors considered part of the Blue Zones’ lifestyle include:
- Move naturally: stay active.
- Purpose: have a plan, “Why do I wake up in the morning.”
- Downshift: reduce stress with meditation, prayer, or relaxation activities.
- 80% Rule: Eat only until 80% full, no more.
- Plant Slant: Reduce meat consumption and focus on vegetables.
- Wine: Moderate alcohol consumption; no more than 1-2 glasses of wine per day with meals or socially.
- Belong: Participate regularly in group activities, particularly faith-based.
- Loved Ones First: Prioritize the welfare of parents, partner, and children.
- Right Tribe: Participate only in social networks that support healthful behavior.
Apply Blue Zone Practices at Jessup Cellars
Jessup Cellars, one of the best wineries in Yountville, has formally adopted the concept of Blue Zones and a healthier lifestyle with the same zeal they apply to world-class winemaking.
To earn Blue Zone Certification, the Jessup Cellars Team has created a Blue Zone Committee with representatives from each Yountville winery department. The Group meets bi-weekly to set guidelines and measure progress toward implementing the Power 9 behaviors.
Here is a list of actions the Committee has proposed to heighten the Yountville winery’s compliance:
- Offer financial well-being tools
- Offer a paid-time-off policy that encourages and supports employees to take time off
- Offer Employee Assistance Programs
- Provide self-monitoring equipment (i.e., blood pressure, glucose testing)
- Provide on-site biometric screening for employees
- Offer weight-management and nutrition coaching
- Organize or promote a workshop that supports leaders in connecting with their personal well-being and influencing a well-being culture in the organization
- Establish a campus-wide tobacco-free worksite
- Provide showers and changing facilities with lockers to employees
- Ensure that at least 25% of meeting rooms, workstations, and private office furniture provide flexibility to stand or sit while working
- Provide secure bicycle storage
- Provide walking and/or biking workstations
- Designate a space in the office where employees can downshift
Visit Jessup Cellars, a Healthy Lifestyle Proponent
Proactive Jessup Cellars, one of the best wineries in Yountville, offers award-winning wine varietals and blends for tasting. Tasting sessions include food bites in a relaxing atmosphere surrounded by professionally curated artworks at their Yountville Tasting Gallery.
Jessup Cellars’ award-winning Tasting Gallery is at 6740 Washington Street, Yountville, CA.
You may make your reservations to sample the Jessup Cellar wines by visiting the Yountville winery’s website.
If you have questions or special requests, you can leave a message on the Contact Us Form, and one of the Jessup Cellars professionals will contact you promptly. Or you may phone the Jessup Cellars Tasting Gallery at (707)-944-5620.