Monarch butterflies are in drastic decline and habitat loss is the number one cause. You can make a direct difference. For every bottle of Merlot sold, Coffee Pot Cellars will donate milkweed plant seeds (Asclepias syriaca) to those who wish to restore monarch butterfly habitat and enhance their pollinator gardens.

Milkweed (Asclepias spp.) plays a critical role in the monarch life cycle as they are the only plants that serve as food for newly hatched caterpillars. In fact, the monarch population has declined by >80% within the last two decades. Scientists estimate that over 1.3 billion stems of milkweed (Asclepias spp.) will need to be restored for the species to bounce back (reference: Environ. Res. Lett. 12 (2017) 074005). Each caterpillar needs the sustenance of half to a full plant to turn into a butterfly so this project is bound to make a conservation difference. Over 4,000 bottles of Merlot have been sold since August 2018 and that translates to many thousands of seeds planted in pollinator gardens throughout Long Island and New York State. 

So stop by our tasting room, where there is a human-sized monarch butterfly painted on the wall by famed artist Kara Hoblin, pick up your milk weed seeds (while supplies last) and pose with your bottle of Merlot while looking like the butterfly you are helping. Then delight as your garden attracts these beautiful creatures while helping to complete their reproductive cycle during their annual migration north from Mexico each summer.

#MerlotforMonarchs