Sunday, August 31, 2014

Harvest Beauty Shots, Continued - Brosseau Vineyards

Limestone and a cool climate conspire to make Brosseau Vineyards (near Pinnacles National Monument) one of California's great spots for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Copain, Fulcrum, Testarossa and now - the newly launched Brosseau Wines - make wine from it.

The vineyard was just certified organic in 2013. It's one of the very few certified vineyards in Monterey County.

Here's a shot from Fulcrum Wines' Facebook page of harvest at Brosseau this week.



Friday, August 29, 2014

Grape Love at El Jabali

Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards in Sta. Rita Hills posted some beauty shots from its Pinot Noir harvest last week. Enjoy.




El Jabali was planted by the legendary Pinot pioneer Richard Sanford in 1983. It is the oldest certified vineyard in Santa Barbara County.

Pesticides: Spotlight on Chlorpyrifos, an Old School Organophosphate Whose Time Has Come - And Gone

Today Pesticide Action Network's leading a twitter storm in a campaign to get this dangerous pesticide out of California farmlands. It's a widely used organophosphate, a group of chemicals that have been proven to cause harmful effects in numerous scientific studies - and it's being targeted by PAN in part because children are the most at risk.

More than 1.1 million pounds of chloropyrifos were used in California agriculture on 1 million acres in 2012, according to state figures. What's worse, a lot of that was applied near schools.


The wine industry was responsible for 52,341 pounds on 28,359 acres.

The worst offenders? (These are for wine grapes only.)

• Kern County
24,997 pounds on 13,293 acres

• Monterey County
5,532 pounds on 3,355 acres

• Madera County
2,514 pounds on 1,338 acres

• Fresno County
1,653 pounds on 920 acres

There are many other (nonorganic) products on the market that are far less toxic for growers to use.

Monterey teachers groups have asked the California Dept. of Regulation to take action.

The state of California has the power to stop the use of this pesticide, which has already been banned from home use (because so many studies have documented its harmful effects). Encourage them to stop dragging their feet - and protect kids from harm.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

IN PHOTOS: Harvest 2014 Continues..."The Gardener's" Love Affair

How a Pinot Noir winemaker, in this case, Suzanne Hagins, of The Gardener (sister label of Horse & Plow) defines happiness….


…with beautiful grapes from Robert Sinskey Vineyards...

This year marks a decade of The Gardener making a Pinot Noir from Sinskey's Carneros grapes. 

RE: The HuffPo Bronco Wine Brouhaha - People Look for Wine's Dangers in All the Wrong Places

The recent brouhaha over Bronco Wine's mechanical harvesting raised a ruckus in social media and media circles recently. The Wine Spectator weighed in with an overview of why people think cheap wine must have a flaw.

Similar themes - in Wired.com articles on the themes of wine additives and ingredient labeling - have cropped up recently.

The political clout of the wine industry is hard to fathom in this day and age where everyone is reading food labels and trying to out-organic each other on the foodie front. The wine industry's tooting its horn for "being a food" at the table yet hiding its 25% non-California origins on most bottles labeled "California wine." (Are the grapes from China yet, or still the usual suspect -Chilé?)

But the real wine flaw is in the vines, not the wines. 

In response to the Wine Spectator article, I posted the following comment, which is the same information published in my Biodynamic wine apps in the section on Pesticides. Here's the real danger in wine.

---EXCERPT---

These statistics come from the latest California Pesticide Use Report issued in 2012. 

Thanks to Susan Kegley from Pesticide Research Institute for her help in highlighting the chemicals of major concern.

Bird and Bee Toxins

Boscalid: bee hazard, possible carcinogen
53,340 pounds a year over 239,940 acres

• Chlorantraniliprole: bee hazard
3,877 pounds on 52,626 acres

Imidacloprid: kills bees and birds
44,040 pounds spread on 189,885 acres

Methoxyfenozide: kills bees and birds
28,711 pounds spread on 139,978 acres

Carcinogens - Probable and Possible

1, 3 Dichloropropene: probable carcinogen
666,004 pounds on 2,648 acres

• Mancozeb: developmental toxin and probable carcinogen
9,482 pounds on 6,465 acres

Oxyfluorfen: possible carcinogen
71,267 pounds on 181,160 acres

Pendimethalin: possible carcinogen
142,253 pounds on 68,146 acres

Neurotoxins

Chlorpyrifos: neurotoxin
52,341 pounds on 28,359 acres

• Glufosinate ammonium: neurotoxin 
70,701 pounds on 114,000+ acres

But Wait There's More...Much More

• Paraquat dichloride: acutely toxic; suspected endocrine disruptor
99,172 pounds on 112,926 acres

Roundup: kills microbial life in soil
646,014 pounds on 431,891 acres

For the complete list, click here (and then, in that document, scroll down to "Wine Grapes.")

Pre Plant Vineyard Fumigation

The most intensive and highly toxic applications are applied when vineyards are replanted. 

In organic or Biodynamic farming, the vines are pulled out and replanted after the field lies fallow - a process which takes three years. 

Some chemical farmers, who don't want to wait, pull out the vines and then basically nuke the soil - killing every type of living organism in it. They treat the soil not as a living system but as a sterile planting medium. To do this, they apply:

1,3-Dichloropropene: probable carcinogen; produces birth defects in lab tests
2011: 446,349 pounds over 1,624 acres

---

So no - the wine industry isn't exactly making California vineyards a good, safe place to be. The chemicals wind up in the air, water and soil. And, as we see from numerous university sponsored health studies, in human beings, as well.

For anyone who wants to see what is being applied in their area, the State Dept. of Public Health and the California Environmental Health Tracking Program publish the California Agricultural Pesticide Mapping Tool which allow you to map pesticide use for wine grapes in all of the growing regions in the state. To see the maps, go to http://www.ehib.org/tool.jsp?tool_key=18. It's only showing 2010 data now (but is schedule to update to 2012 in the near future).



(Tip: if you find the tool isn't working well, try using it in Chrome or IE. I did not get results when I was using the Safari browser).

For more information on disease impacts in wine country, including geeky data on cancer and asthma rates, you can also take a look at the Environmental Health Tracking Program web site.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Sorting Grapes? There's a Tool for That: Lemelson's, One of a Kind "The Enterprise"

No running up and down ladders constantly during grape sorting at Lemelson...no sirree. The Oregon winery, founded by offspring of one of the country's more prolific inventors, came up with this very unique contraption. See it in action here.

They call it, endearingly, "The Enterprise."

 

The contraption was created in 1999 by "the crazy welder guy" Steven Cornish, at the request of winery owner Eric Lemelson.

A crew of 8 can ride on board, as the forklift delivers yellow bins to them on the "craft." The crew sorts grapes on the shaker table; the conveyor belt sends them to the on board destemmer - and the grapes (all organically grown) head directly into the fermentation tanks.

Nothing like it.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

IN PHOTOS: Crush At Preston Farm and Winery in Healdsburg

Making wine at Preston…(see the photos from their Facebook page)…looks like good fun. Here's an arty composition featuring G r a p e s.


Monday, August 25, 2014

Wine Geek Chic - Even Eyrie's Vintage Pickup Truck Ages Well

Eyrie's got historic bona fides in spades already - as (now famously) the first Oregon Pinot in Willamette Valley (when it was thought completely nutty)...maker of ageworthy wines (tasting room visitors can routinely taste library wines)...choice terroir (from the largest lava flow in the world)...and the old time-iest wine web site ever (complete with downloadable order form for buying wines, which you then mail or fax to the winery). But wait - there's more. 

Here are pictures of the winery's pickup. The same pickup truck is still in use...40 years later. It's got a name, right? Ma Joad (of Grapes of Wrath fame). 

1974
2008

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention it - after 48 years of farming organically, Eyrie decided it was okay to get certified. Six of the 2011 and 2012 wines are from the "in transition" vines; the 2013's will be officially from the officially certified era.

Oregonians: Get Ready to Visit The New Brooks Winery

Brooks Winery's gotten a total makeover - a new winery.

The Amity, Oregon producer - specializing in Riesling and Pinot Noir - has built a new home, just up the street from the old one on a country lane.

The new location is among the vines, so you'll be able to enjoy tasting with a view of the vines. See the winery's construction process in the online photo album.

Wine Club members will be celebrating with a Sept. open house and screening of the new wine documentary, starring Brooks (in part) American Wine Story.

To plan your own visit, click here.

Brooks's Biodynamic estate vineyards produce 3 Rieslings, a Pinot Gris and its Rastaban Pinot Noir.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

So Long Ceago

Jim Fetzer
Sadly Ceago has announced its closing. Proprietor Jim Fetzer has decided to retire. His son Barney Fetzer will continue to farm the vineyards. But no more Ceago wine will be released after mid Sept.

You can read more about it in the Press Democrat article here or in the Lake County News here.

Fetzer, formerly president of Fetzer Winery, when he and his siblings ran the Mendocino wine giant in the 1980's and early 90's, started Ceago and moved it to its current Lake County location, hoping to pioneer a resort and development on the lake shores. It was the only boat-in winery in California.

In addition to his wine industry contributions to organic farming, in particular, and his commitment to putting Lake County on the map, he was known at Bonterra/Fetzer - as well as at Ceago - for the beauty and beautiful places he created. At Bonterra today, one can still enjoy the legacy of gardens, garden structures and the winery barn he and his collaborators (including biodynamic consultant Alan York) leave behind. While the public can't visit these areas, trade and press visitors can, as well as those who work on the sites.

You can, however, still see the beauty at Ceago - at least for a few more weeks.

Friday, August 22, 2014

New Winery and Tasting Room for Lodi Area, Spanish Wine Champs Bokisch Vineyards

Mark and Liz Bokisch celebrate their new winery (after 13 years of renting space)
Bokisch Winery has some big news - they're moving into their own winery - a first. In addition to lots of space, it will also feature a new tasting room. Read the details here.

Bokisch specializes in Spanish varietals, making organically grown Albarino, Garnacha (what the French call Grenache) and Graciano (in addition to nonorganically grown wines).

Winemaker Mark Bokisch is half Spanish and spent summers in Spain as a child. In the U.S. he worked briefly at Joseph Phelps before discovering the price of vineyards in the Lodi region. The Bokisch's began planting Spanish varietals in the region, which had led to a blossoming of Albarino and Grenache in the area.

Bokisch now oversees 2,500 acres of vineyards in Lodi, including 84 of its own organic estate vines.

For more on the wines, click here.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Wine Marketing - Truthiness Sells

Ron Washam, author of the laugh out loud Hosemaster of Wine blog, is out with another slash and burn post about, this time, a very deserving target - wine marketers, those purveyors of bland statements who do indeed, as, he says, rely "on the consumer’s ultimate ignorance about wine, and their insecurity about their wine knowledge."

While I have more than a few thoughts about this wine marketing subject, having read hundreds of wine websites in the writing of all of these apps about organically grown wines, Washam's are much funnier than mine. So, go read "The Hosemaster's Guide to Wine Marketing."

Beware - you may find yourself LOL.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Syrah That's a Steal - 2010 Qupé K & L Wines Special Release Syrah - Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard - $19.95 a Bottle

I don't often recommend specific wines. But in this case, I'll make an exception as this wine is, pardon the cliché, one of the steals of the year.

I don't know how they do this, but K &L Wine Merchants in partnership with Qupé, puts out a 100 cases of this K & L Sawyer Lindquist Qupé Syrah for only $19.95.

Bottled under the QupĂ© label the regular Sawyer Lindquist Syrah lists for $45 and sells at retail for around $34+. This is the wine Eric Asimov, New York Times wine writer, and a select few from New York wine shops, found to be the best Syrah from California back in January of this year. For the 2010 vintage. The Sawyer Lindquist QupĂ© Syrah.

Last year, I bought just one bottle - to test it out - and by the time I realized how fabulous it was, there was no more left. Boo hoo. Suddenly, it reappeared (a year later now) on the KLWines.com web site.

I just - happily - ordered a case. If you're feeling the days of summer waning, and looking forward to some delicious reds for the fall and winter season, your ship has just come in. If you're luxuriating in the final throes of BBQ season, ponder no more. 80 cases left. Hop to it.

Note: In addition to its wine CV, this Syrah is Biodynamically grown and is made without any additives, save sulfites, as a Biodynamic® Wine.

Into the Juice: Jump into Grgich's Annual Grape Stomp


The drought has moved up harvest, the blessing of the grapes at various wineries - and the start of Grgich Hills' grape stomp. Typically started on Labor Day and running through Oct., this annual $30 experience got an early start this year. You can now take yourself, family and friends to Rutherford to stomp away.

The fee gets you a three wine tasting, stomping and a personal teeshirt featuring your own footprint in grape juice. (And of course, the juices at Grgich are all organic.)

Monday, August 18, 2014

Mendocino Wine Competition: 2014 Organic Winners

Mendocino's often brags about its organic bona fides - 4,000 acres, or approximately one quarter of its vineyards, are certified organic. It's largely due to the fact that the county is home to the biggest market for organically grown grapes in the country - Bonterra, the organically grown wine giant that makes 350,000 cases a year, supplying supermarkets and wine shops across America with at least one, reliable source of organically grown wines.

(The giant brand has distribution due to the fact that it's own by Fetzer, which also appears on almost all grocery story wine dept. shelves, due to its large scale production and distribution).

But the organic culture (and viticulture) that spawned Bonterra spread in littler labels. Growers opened up their own wineries (Barra, Girasole, McFadden, Testa). Fetzer family members (who were also Bonterra founders) kept their vineyards after selling off the wine brand and continued to make wines under new names (Jeriko Estate, Paul Dolan Vineyards, Saracina). Others simply started their own brands - a few of which have become classics. Handley Cellars comes to mind.

All this makes Mendocino's annual wine competition one of the more interesting small events of the years for those who are interested in organically grown wines. Annually the event surfaces some of the best, little known wines from the region's producers, from the underdog McFadden Vineyards, whose Late Harvest Riesling got a double gold (yet another arrow in its impressive quiver of awards), to the prized, old vine, organically grown, historic Charbono (now selling for $40 a bottle) from a fourth generation Italian producer.

Here's a list of the 2014's organic winners - listed by award level. A second list - of wines by varietal - follows, along with a list of the award-winning wines by producer.

Note: I will mention a few of my personal favorites here for the record, if you're buying. My picks are starred.

For the full list, including vintages and prices, click here.

Double Gold

Late Harvest Riesling, McFadden Vineyards*

Gold

Charbono, Testa Vineyards
Chardonnay-Estate, Handley Vineyards
Gewurztraminer, Handley Vineyards
Pinot Noir-Estate, Jeriko Estate
Pinot Noir-Filigreen Farm, Paul Dolan Vineyards* (Biodynamic vines)
Rosé-Pinot Noir, Handley Vineyards*
NV Sparkling Wine-Brut Rosé, McFadden Vineyards*

Silver

Cabernet Sauvignon, Barra of Mendocino
Chardonnay, Saracina
Pinot Blanc, Girasole
Pinot Noir, Naughty Boy Vineyards
Sangiovese, Barra of Mendocino
Sauvignon Blanc, Frey Vineyards
Sauvignon Blanc, Paul Dolan Vineyards
Sauvignon Blanc, Saracina
Sparkling Wine, Brut Cuvée, McFadden Vineyards*

2. BY VARIETALS

• Cabernet Sauvignon

Silver
Barra of Mendocino

• Charbono

Gold
Testa

• Chardonnay

Gold
Handley-Estate

Silver
Saracina

• Dessert

Double Gold
Late Harvest Riesling, McFadden

• Gewurztraminer

Gold
Handley

• Pinot Noir

Gold
Jeriko Estate
Paul Dolan Vineyards

• RosĂ©

Gold
Handley Cellars

• Sangiovese

Silver
Barra of Mendocino

• Sauvignon Blanc

Silver
Frey Vineyards
Paul Dolan Vineyards
Saracina

• Sparkling Wine

Gold
Brut Rosé, McFadden Vineyards

Silver
Brut Cuvée, McFadden Vineyards

• Zinfandel

Gold
Saracina

3. BY PRODUCER

Barra
• Cabernet Sauvignon, Silver
• Sangiovese, Silver

Frey Vineyards
• Sauvignon Blanc, Silver

Girasole
• Pinot Blanc, Silver

Handley Cellars
• Chardonnay-Estate, Gold
• Gewurztraminer, Gold
• RosĂ©, Gold

Jeriko Estate
• Pinot Noir, Gold

McFadden Vineyards
• Late Harvest Riesling, Double Gold
• Brut CuvĂ©e, McFadden Vineyards, Silver
• Brut RosĂ©, McFadden Vineyards, Gold

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Just Gimme Some of That Old Time Dry Farming: Napa-ites Say It Produces Better Wines

The Drought: What It Means for Winemakers

If you're in agriculture, right now you're all about knowing how to deal with the drought. For the past several years, water's been a particularly hot topic in ag circles - and top of mind for grape growers.

Until the early 1970s, all of Napa's vineyards were dry farmed. But when giant alcoholic beverage corporations "discovered" Napa Valley in the 1970's and started buying and running wineries, corporate owned wineries started demanding higher yields and began farming marginal areas. The result? Miles of black plastic tubing sprouted in vineyards from the valley floor to the mountain peaks. Water use shot up.

In addition, phylloxera (a vine killing disease) swept over the vineyards not long after. Some vintners see a connection to irrigated fields, which discourage vine depth (as vines seek water near the surface) and the disease's spread. Phylloxera can't reach the deeper roots, but it can devastate the shallow ones. Some growers with deeper vines survived the epidemic. Most growers replanted.

Today, irrigation is not a dirty word, but it's certainly not as likeable as "deficit irrigation," for instance. Sprinklers are, of course, passé (but still used by some old timers - even in Napa). Drip is here to stay. But smart growers are reconsidering. Will they get the water at the levels they've used in the past? Can they use less water? Should they use less water?

Is Dry Farming The Answer?

Organic farmers, with higher levels of organic matter in their soils, are already one step ahead in the coming era of water cutbacks because their soils retain water more readily. But they and their nonorganic peers may be using more water than they need to, say Napa's dry farming all stars.

Last week a few of the county's leading vintners - including organic veteran Frog's Leap (who've been dry farming for decades), French-owned Dominus (which waters only 2.5% of their vines) - and others offered their dry farming experience and knowledge to their fellow grape growers.

Frog's Leap winemaker and proprietor John Williams and other vintners say yes, dry farming saves water, but, equally as important, they say dry farming produces better grapes.

Grapes ripening on the vine at Frog's Leap
Williams and Frog's Leap vineyard manager Frank Leeds were the featured leaders of a dry farming afternoon workshop at the Napa Valley Grapegrowers' Organic Winegrowing Conference that drew more than 100+ attendees to visit two of Frog's Leap's dry farmed vineyards (both in St. Helena) - the historic Rossi Ranch (on Highway 29) and the White Barn vineyard (on Sulphur Springs Ave.).

In addition to quality concerns, yields are often commonly top of mind for growers and wineries. Leeds, Williams and three dry farming panelists addressed crop yields as well as quality issues - and many other related topics - in the in-depth tour, panel discussion and Q and A.

Rory Williams at Rossi Ranch explains Frog's Leap's dry farming practices
On the Valley Floor: Rossi Ranch

At the first stop - Rossi Ranch - Williams and his son Rory Williams and Leeds and his daughter Lauren Pesch divided the group into four smaller ones to tour the vineyards, explaining how dry farming techniques were used on the historic, 52 acre property to grow both head trained and trellised vines and in newly planted areas as well as existing 60+ year old Riesling and old vine Napa Gamay vines.

"We do hand shovel water to the baby vines and work to get their vines to go as deep as possible from the beginning," said Rory (whose tour I went on), "but just in the beginning."

Though the soil types ranged dramatically from loose, valley floor loam (home to the Riesling as well as Mourvedre, Carignane, Charbono and more) to heavy, adobe clay (planted to Sauvignon Blanc) close to the river, none were hard as a rock - despite three years of drought conditions.

Sloping Bench Land: White Barn Vineyard

After the walk and talk at Rossi Ranch, participants traveled by bus to the Sulphur Springs road location and reconvened on chairs in the Garden family's White Barn vineyard, planted to Zinfandel, which Leeds and Frog's Leap have farmed since the late 1990s. Said Leeds, "we've been growing our Zinfandel in this White Barn vineyard site since 1997. We're getting 5 tons to the acre and that's after dropping a lot of fruit."

From L to R: Dry farming panelists Mike Chelini from Stony Hill,
John Williams (standing), 
Tod Mostero from Dominus, and
Stu Smith from Smith-Madrone 
"I can't even tell you the problems when we first came here," said Williams. "We had rot problems, we had uneven ripening problems. We had dehydration. Disease was setting in. This was thought to be a vineyard that was going to have to be replaced.

"We're coming up on 40 years now and we don't see any problem with 40 more."

Williams led a panel discussion on dry farming techniques, joined by two panelists from mountain vineyards - old timers Stu Smith from Smith-Madrone Vineyards and Mike Chelini from Stony Hill - and Tod Mostero from Dominus who farms on an alluvial fan. (Of this list, only Frog's Leap is organic).

Stu Smith, Smith-Madrone Vineyards
"We find that we get smaller berries by dry farming," Smith said. "Dry farming gives us a better juice to skin ratio. Plus, I am only secondarily a farmer [and primarily a winemaker]. I farm for the wine."

Mostero says Dominus irrigates just 2.5% of its vines. "We keep irrigation to a minimum," he said. "There's a lot of fast moving water in an alluvial fan. We have water flow throughout the summer, running through our soils. We have underground rivers on the property where we've planted riparian rootstocks."

"Clearly one size doesn't fit all," Williams commented.

Frog's Leap's dry farming essentials - sprayer, cultivator and spader
Describing his own wine grape growing history in Napa Valley, Leeds said, "I've been farming for 30 years and I've never used irrigation. I've never use herbicides or pesticides. And we don't water vineyards.

"I was very lucky that the techniques that were used all throughout the 30's, 40's, 50's and 60's were passed on to me," said Leeds, whose uncle Roy Chavez (1917-2012) was a Napa grower during those decades. "The grade sprayer and the spader - and that cultivator right there - that cultivator will replace irrigation. 

"If you want to invigorate your vineyard, that (the cultivator) is the way to go to make it look like an irrigated vineyard.

Leeds noted that the site had plenty of soil moisture despite three years of drought.

Ears perked up when Leeds said that the state paid 70 percent of the costs for his vineyard equipment because the new equipment had smog control (while the earlier equipment did not). The equipment was purchased with funds from the California Air Resources Board's Carl Moyer Grant Program

On a final note, Williams said dry farmed vines produce more balanced grapes which in turn makes for better wine.

"We get beautiful flavors, dead right - for two reasons -  one, the vines are fully hydrated and they've regulated their own growth. The other thing is, from a winemaking point of view, you've got a smart grapevine."

The grape roots, he said, are "where all the information is, in these last two or three root cells. They run the hormonal cycles of grapes."

Growth and ripening and other aspects of development are both regulated by these cells, he continued.

"That message comes from the roots. If your roots are constricted or living in a false environment of fertilizer and water, they don't know to send the message to the grapevine saying 'Let's go, the soil is drying, the temperature of the soil is warming up. Now's the time to ripen our fruit. Now's the time to produce flavor. Now's the time to produce color.'"

Williams blamed irrigation (and synthetic fertilizers) for making grapevines dumb. "If you have dumb grape vines - and we believe that's what results...you get a grapevine that has no idea what time of year it is, what the temperature of the soil is, what the moisture content of the soil is, what the pheromones and the fungi in the soil are saying…it has no idea of what's going on.

"It's not just about hydration and fertility and vigor management," Williams said. "It's this knowledge that comes from the deep connection to the soil - and the hormonal cycles that come out of that."

----

Note: Paul Franson also wrote an article about the event for Wines and Vines. See his coverage here.

For more on dry farming wines overall, see CAFF's web site here. The Caff.org web site also lists a number of wines from dry farmed vines, including some from organic vines.

Wine Lands Beckons Aug. 8-10 at Outside Lands: Check Out the Organically Grown Options

Heading to Outside Lands this weekend for music and more? This hip gathering in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park promises to be a star-studded event once again with bands on five stages, sketch comedy and a new track called "Gastromagic."

More than 36 wineries will be pouring at the event. Check out the organic among them:

100% Organic Brands 
(Make only organically grown wines; you don't have to wonder which wine is or isn't)

Long Meadow Ranch, Napa

Famous for their Sauvignon Blanc...

• Preston Farm and Winery

If they're pouring their Organic Syrah (unlikely since it's a very limited production wine), do not miss it. But whatever they have, enjoy…this winery is one of the organic rock stars when it comes to land, farming and wine.

• Robert Sinskey Vineyards, Napa

Famous for their Pinot…and they make a coveted RosĂ©…(you should be so lucky as to find it at this event)...

Wineries with Some Organically Grown Wines
 (Ask the winemakers what's what - some wines are and some wines aren't)

Calder Wine Company

Rory Williams makes a limited production Riesling from a historic, organic vineyard in Napa…and he'll be pouring it at the event…the vines are 60+ years old and still going strong…and they're dry farmed, to boot...

• QupĂ© 

Known as the Masters of Syrah…but their Biodynamic stuff is the expensive stuff they're best known for, but they make a 5+ organically grown wines as well…

• Verdad

Their prized Albarino and RosĂ© will be poured. Both are lovely and worth seeking out…and both are from Central Coast Biodynamic vines...

Other Brands
(Wineries that sometimes make 1-2 wines from organic or Biodynamic vines)

• Bonny Doon (makes a white Rhone blend)
• Broc Cellars (variable; may have one)

Monday, August 4, 2014

Is There a Bird Friendly Wine in Your Future?

Traveling in Wine Country, you may have seen signs for Fish Friendly Farming…but Bird Friendly Farming? Not so much. In fact, not at all.

Julie Johnson of Tres Sabores (left) with Julie Jedlicka
(right),  NSF Fellow and UC Berkeley postdoc researcher
However, new standards for a potential Bird Friendly vineyard designation are in the research phase, according to NSF Fellow Julie Jedlicka, a U. C. Berkeley postdoc researcher who specializes in understanding bird-vineyard relationships and the benefits some birds can offer wine grape growers. 

Jedlicka announced the potential for such a program, appearing in a joint presentation with Tres Sabores vintner Julie Johnson at the Napa Valley Grape Growers' Organic Winegrowing Conference July 29 at Inglenook Winery in St. Helena.

While bird habitat has been drastically and negatively impacted by the conversion of open space to vineyards, a few vineyard owners are doing all they can to create bird-friendly environments, harnessing the power of flying friends to combat predatory bugs and to kill sharpshooters, carriers of the dreaded Pierce's disease.

Who are the feisty foes who fend off sharpshooters? Are they raptors? Or other big, vicious birds? No. They're bluebirds. 

Jedlicka's research helped Spring Mountain Vineyard, located on an 845 acre property in Napa, reduce its blue green sharpshooter population, responsible for the rampant spread of Pierce's Disease, to zero after three years of bird box use. 

At Jedlicka's suggestion, Spring Mountain's vineyard manager and his crew installed 700 bluebird boxes in 2007. By 2010, they had no more sharpshooters. The bluebirds had done their job. Or rather - the boxes had. Providing bluebird boxes increases blue bird populations by as much as 1000%. In areas without boxes, the number of sharpshooters can be 3.5 times as great.

In 2011, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center helped to create a Bird Friendly Coffee designation. The requirements are that coffee be shade grown (to protect trees) as well as organic. 

Jedlicka's exploring the possibility of a new designation, Bird Friendly Wine, and is researching the criteria to include in such a category under her NSF research grant. 


While all birds aren't welcome in vineyards (starlings, blackbirds, robins and house finches are all considered vineyard pests, eating valuable grapes), bluebirds, swallows and owls all have impacts that vineyard owners applaud. They eat insects or sharpshooters - not grapes. 

For more about Jedlicka's research, click here.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

A Day at Martian Ranch and Vineyard

Revised July 6, 2016

Planted four years ago, Martian's 20 acres of vineyards were certified Biodynamic earlier this year. This lovely Santa Barbara County winery, located in the funky chic town of Los Alamos, is a great place to visit - make sure to call ahead if you want a tour of the vines. I recommend it, as you'll see a lot more of what makes these wines so special.

The winery makes 12+ wines (in the appealingly priced $20-35 range) - all from estate vines. The vineyards are located in a beautiful little hidden valley around the corner from the winery, with spectacular views of the mountains to the east.

I visited recently and had the pleasure of not only tasting all of the wines but also of getting a vineyard tour with Nan Helgeland, the proprietor.

Martian's wines are wonderfully fresh and alive (all are vinified solely on native yeasts and many are made without added sulfites) and have gotten rave reviews from the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle.

As a final inducement to trying them, I will mention that the shipping costs are very reasonable - just $10 a case to ship within the state California - and you can get a mixed case (so you can try an assortment of wines).  If you are the kind of person who's not really sure there's such a thing as terroir, these wines will turn your head around. If you're already a terroirist, you'll be wowed.

Although it's a cliché to say a wine is food friendly, that term truly applies to these wines.

Here's what Martian makes:

Rhone Wines

Whites
Grenache Blanc
Viognier

Reds
Grenache (done two ways)
Mourvedre
Syrah (done two ways, including a light version and a bigger, richer version)

It also makes a rosé.

Spanish Varietals

A white - Albarino
A red - Tempranillo

(Philippe Armenier, the original vineyard consultant and former Martian Ranch winemaker, planted these Spanish varietals with great success at Verdad's Biodynamically farmed Edna Valley Sawyer Lindquist vineyard, too - where they have been producing acclaimed wines as well.)

About 20 percent of what grows on the 20 acres of vineyards is sold to other wineries including Ampelos, Labyrinth, Lumen, and Ojai.

Helgeland has an organic vegetable garden on the property for employees to raise food for their own consumption. And she has plans to add a few cows to the mix, as well - growing to a herd of 10 over time.

Enjoy these photos from my visit in mid July.

The winery's located on Alisos Canyon Road, about a 10 minute drive from
101 in Los Alamos
You can't miss "the sign."
The footbridge to the winery
The tasting room and winery
Nan Helgeland giving visitors a tour

Weddings and other gatherings are now possible, thanks to
the addition of commercial kitchen facilities inside
Call ahead to make arrangements for a vineyard tour - it's a
spectacular site a 5 min. cart drive from the winery in a hidden valley.
Helgeland plans to add cows next year and work her way up to a
small herd of 10.
Vineyard views
You won't be wineless on the vineyard tour - a
cupholder in the cart carries your glass
Think this is a beautiful place to spend a day? Join the wine
club and you can reserve it for a day (sorry, no swimming, but the
shade's great for a picnic...and those views...and let's not forget the wines)

Post script: since my original visit, the new vineyard consultant is Philippe Coderey, formerly of Chapoutier in France. Eric Bolton, formerly assistant winemaker, has been appointed as the new winemaker.