New Paraquat Coverage from The Guardian Shows EPA Not Following the Science; Here One in Eight Acres of California Wine Grape Vineyards Sprayed With this Poisonous Pesticide Causing Parkinson's

This week The Guardian has been running a three article series on paraquat, written by Carey Gillam, a veteran journalist whose coverage of the Roundup trials and glyphosate has been internationally acclaimed. 

Now Carey is back with an in-depth three part series (exhibiting her excellent gumshoe detective research capabilities once again) on the equally unfathomable Parkinson's denial that has plagued paraquat users for decades, as regulatory agencies failed to follow the science connecting paraquat to Parkinson's.

Some of the latest research and expert testimony comes from California's own Beate Ritz, a German born UCLA scientist who has extensively studied the use of paraquat in California's Central Valley. I wrote about Ritz's research here and her appearance in a German TV show from DW on this topic.

The Guardian had to say about Ritz and other scientists, who...

"said that the EPA had looked at 26 epidemiological studies in its assessment of paraquat and Parkinson’s and all but two of them found positive associations between the pesticide and the disease. Yet the EPA downgraded most of those studies, focusing on those that did not find an association, the scientists said."

The last of the three new articles sheds light on new efforts to get the EPA to ban paraquat in California. 

I'm republishing a blog post [originally published last year] that shows where in the California wine industry paraquat is being used. Kern, Monterey and Fresno counties top the list. 

A further note: when I first published the original post below I included the name of the grower in Monterey county who was the biggest user in the county. I almost never publish the names of anyone using toxics, but that time I did. I quickly got an email from a family member of that person, saying the grower had stage 4 cancer and would I please remove their name (which I did). Data is real.

And full disclosure: In July I started writing for Carey's environmental journalism site for EWG–The New Lede.org. Here is a list of the articles I've written there so far. 

Source: Tracking California (DPR Data)

NOTE: The data below from 2018 is still the most current aggregated data available from DPR, which says 2019 data should be available soon.

California winegrowers used 75,329 pounds of paraquat dichloride on 75,463 acres of wine grapes in the state in 2018, according to the most recent data compiled by the Department of Pesticide Regulation. The deadly pesticide, linked to Parkinson's disease, was applied to 13 percent of the state's 590,000 acres of wine grapes.

This map show exactly where it was sprayed. 

NOTE: I first wrote about paraquat use on this blog five years ago in 2017. 

What is most surprising is that paraquat is not just sprayed in the Central Valley. Coastal counties are also big users with Monterey County topping the list of the biggest in 2018.

By 2019 that had changed with Kern County in the lead. Here are the 2019 standings from DPR data. 

Should you think twice about buying that non-organic supermarket wine? 

CENTRAL COAST 2018

• Monterey County | 18,810 pounds on 28,004 acres

• San Luis Obispo | 3,235 pounds on 2,790 acres

CENTRAL VALLEY 2018

• Kern County | 11,441 pounds on 9.282 acres

• Fresno County | 10,163 pounds on 9.658 acres

• Merced County | 9,099 pounds on 6,613 acres

• San Joaquin County | 6,033 pounds on 5,255 acres

• Stanislaus County (Modesto area) | 3,173 pounds on 2,388 acres

HEALTH RISKS AND A NEW WAVE OF COURT CASES 

While paraquat and associated drift have been studied by UCLA epidemiologists and shown in dozens of studies to be linked to Parkinson's disease, the poisonous chemical, banned in Europe, is about to get its moment in the spotlight as new plaintiffs file suits against its Swiss-headquartered, Chinese-owned agrochemical giant manufacturer. Paraquat, known as Gramoxone, is manufactured in England, where its use is banned.

The U. S. Right to Know group, which followed the Roundup cases, has set up a new center for tracking these cases and the science linking paraquat to Parkinson's. It's called the Paraquat Papers.

As in the Roundup cases, lawyers have found evidence that Syngenta, which manufactures paraquat, knew of the herbicides's extreme toxicity and failed to adequately protect consumers who used the product. 

Law firms are actively seeking plaintiffs for new lawsuits. 

One important development fueling these suits is the testimony of a former Syngenta toxicology scientist, Jon Heylings, who for years tried to convince the company to increase the amount of an emetic (a substance that makes humans vomit) so that it would be harder for people to swallow a fatal dose, but the company did not act on his recommendations. 

A U.S. law firm representing U.S. plaintiffs contacted him and Heylings released internal documents collected from years of work on the subject. See more coverage from The Guardian and Beyond Pesticides here.

Jon Heylings

Writing in the New York Times last year, Jane Brody interviewed Parkinson's expert Dr. Tanner, a neurologist and environmental health scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, who told her, "In 2017, it [Parkinson's] resulted in about $25 billion in direct medical costs and another $26 billion in indirect costs, she said." Experts have called Parkinson's a man-made epidemic.

UCLA epidemiologist Beate Ritz, who testified as an expert witness in the recent Roundup trials in California, did some of the pioneering research linking paraquat use in agriculture to Parkinson's in California. Her research focused on Fresno, Kern and Tulare County residents. (For other NYTimes coverage, click here.) 

Ritz studies: 2011 and 2009 

Quoted in a 2016 article in the New York Times, Ritz said, "It’s a poison, and we really shouldn’t be using this as an herbicide in the way we do."

SUSTAINABLE UNDER CSWA?

So the question might be: is paraquat banned in the Wine Institute's sustainability program, CSWA? And the surprising answer is no. Paraquat is not encouraged, but it is permitted (with justification on why it needs to be used). The question is: why?

(Other sustainability programs do not permit its use. These include Napa Green, and, as of December 1, 2020, SIP Certified.)

Another question: why is the EPA still allowing its use? 

Wine growers in the EU may not use it.

Sonoma's Organic Side Growing: Jackson Family Converting 663 Acres to Organics and Bedrock Plans to Certify 111 Acres

The CCOF website now lists "new applicants" who are officially in transition to organic certification.  (Previously the CCOF website listed only certified entities.) So we now can see coming attractions.

Notably two large Sonoma wineries are on the list as of 2022 and officially on the three year path to organic certification.

• Bedrock - 111 acres, Glen Ellen

• Jackson Family - 663 acres, Santa Rosa

• Sophie James - 5.5 (Phil Coturri client), Petaluma

I have reached out to Jackson for more details and will share them here.

Trendspotting: Organically Grown Black Box Wines (from Gallo) Show Up on Whole Foods Endcaps

Following up on the story I wrote for Wine Business back in late July, Whole Foods is indeed selling the new organically grown Black Box wines from Gallo. Here they are at the Temescal Whole Foods store in Oakland.

From that story: 

“Black Box is testing a lineup of wines made with organic grapes,"  E. & J. Gallo Senior Director of Marketing Adrienne Daniels said. "We are testing with retail partners who are respected in the organic space. The test includes four wines – all from Italy – a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio, a Chardonnay, and a Cabernet Sauvignon with an SRP of $25.” 

They are all IGT bulk wine imports from Italy.

Another Wine "Discovery" at Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting: Eyrie's Pinot Meunier

Amy McCandlish Esper,
national sales manager
at Eyrie Vineyards

As I walked away from the Eyrie table after sampling two Eyrie Chardonnays, Amy McCandlish Esper, national sales manager at The Eyrie Vineyards, reminded me there was one more wine I needed to try: their 2018 Pinot Meunier. I am eternally grateful. 

This ethereal, light bodied wine, used to be produced in tiny lots (100 cases?) and now there are 356 cases which means you can actually buy some. Just $45. 

It's a perfect wine for Thanksgiving, IMHO. Delicate flavors of wild berries, with a tangle of bright flavors, and no aging required. 

While the Chardonnays and the Pinot Noirs and the Pinot Gris and the sparkling wines and the old vine wines can tempt and distract you, do not lose focus. Pinot Meunier is a lovely ticket to somewhere. 

Wine "Discovery" at Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting: Hermann J. Wiemer's Incredible Rieslings

Fred Merwath, Hermann J. Wiemer
head winemaker and vineyard manager

One of the best tastings of the year is always the Wine & Spirits magazine Top 100 tasting in downtown San Francisco. Held on the fourth floor of the Metreon, overlooking SFMOMA and the park below, it pairs exhilarating views with exhilarating wines from 100 producers around the world. Of those, roughly a third - or 36 - are from the U.S. And of the U.S. producers, roughly a third are featured in this year's Slow Wine Guide USA (which was recently featured in the San Francisco Chronicle).

Some of these illustrious producers are further afield than my regular travels take me (since I mainly travel to California and Oregon), so it was a huge pleasure to meet and taste and talk to the folks from Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard in upstate New York. 

Head winemaker, vineyard manager and co-owner Fred Merwath, who has worked at the winery for more than 20 years, was there pouring with co-owner Oskar Bynke. 

Wiemer officially retired in 2007, after handing over management to Merwarth, his apprentice, who became a co-owner in 2003. In 2021, Wine Enthusiast named Merwath Winemaker of the Year, a title never before bestowed on a New York winemaker. 

I did not know these things before writing this post. Mostly I was just wildly interested in meeting and tasting this producer's wines since Merwath and Wiemer have been pursuing biodynamic and organic wine grape growing in this region, where this has been a very big challenge for dozens of producers. (Plus, my sister lives in nearby Ithaca). 

Only one certified organic producer exists for (solely, vinifera) wine grapes in New York–Farrm Wine on Long Island–where proprietor Rex Farr has grown apples, pears and peaches organically since 1990 and only recently ventured into wine grapes. He grows 8 acres of Bordeaux varieties. He's certified organic. (Though he says he farms biodynamically, he is not Demeter certified.) Though laudable for being local, the wines are not submitted to major wine critics.

At Wiemer, on the other hand, they grow 90 acres of Alsatian varieties (vinifera only), and say biodynamics makes the difference in being successful. 

"It is easier for us to farm biodynamically rather than organically," Merwath said as we chatted briefly at the Wiemer table, sampling the glorious Rieslings he was pouring. The extra sprays help the plants become healthier and more resilient in the face of disease pressure, he said.

Oskar Bynke and Fred Merwath, co-owners

That glorious bit included the stunning $39 Wiemer HJW 2020 Riesling, from vines planted in 1977. Only 185 cases are made. And the $32 Dry Reserve 2020 Riesling, too, which was equally delicious, in a wholly different way. Both are cluster pressed and vinified solely on native yeast. 

While I was standing there, who should come along but my (and everybody's) pal Chris Sawyer, who was equally impressed with the quality of these outstanding wines. That got Chris started on a story I can only start, not finish, as the conversation did not conclude, but it more or less had something to do with Antica planting the Wiemer clone on Atlas Peak in Napa. To be continued. Someday.

Anyway, as you seek out winter wines for holiday meals, gift giving or festivities, you would be wise to seek out Wiemer's. For Californians used to outrageous wine prices, these are especially compelling. 

Here's the other outstanding wine they were pouring at the event. 

Photo by Chris Sawyer

One last note: just because I only write here about producers with certified organic or biodynamic vineyards, Wiemer is officially on the path to organic and biodynamic certification. It's already converted 33 acres to BD farming to date. I'll raise a glass to that.

Into the Weeds: Definitive CBC Documentary on Roundup Court Cases Playing Online Through Oct. 16

The Green Film Fest is screening INTO THE WEEDS online through Oct. 16. The CBC produced film is an authoritative documentary chronicling the Roundup trials and community responses to glyphosate based herbicides from public health toxicology experts, entomologists, victims and the legal teams behind the court cases. 

It's not just great science and legal reporting–it's a compelling, engaging film. 

Online tickets for streaming (good through Oct. 16) (From that page, click on "Select a screening.") I think this is the only way currently to see the film in the U.S. 

 

Highlights:

• The sheer amount of evidence unearthed from the Monsanto Papers and how AI was used to find the most incriminating statements from Monsanto officials

• The response to aerial spraying of Roundup from Canadian indigenous tribes

• An interview with IARC toxicology expert Chris Portier

• A summary of animal and human studies of Roundup

• The personal story of DeWayne Lee Johnson, the Bay Area school groundskeeper who was the first to successfully sue Monsanto for failing to disclose the risks using the product poses

• Insider interviews with the lawyers who collaborated on the winning trials where juries found for the victims

• Scientific commentary from entomologists on insect populations and how they are declining

• A look at how glyphosate goes into the food supply 

It's a most impressive film. 

You can get an online ticket but only until the festival ends, and then view it on your laptop, phone, or other device. 

(Canadian viewers can stream it at https://www.cbc.ca/passionateeye/episodes/into-the-weeds.)

The only update is that the text at the end of the film is out of date. Thousands of plaintiffs have not settled their cases and Monsanto has won several recent cases. On the other side of the fence, the EPA has been ordered to reassess its evaluation. 

More on recent cases here: https://careygillam.substack.com/p/roundup-litigation-at-turning-point

2022: Six Wineries in Napa Plan To or Have Certified Organic Vines - Clif Family, Kongsgaard Top the List with Stag's Leap and Brand Officially Now in Transition

Wineries in Napa continue to certify their vineyards organic at a record rate in 2022 with more prestigious brands achieving certification this year. 

2022 to date = 280 new estate acres either certified or in transition*

Clif Family/K&G - 89 acres (Oak Knoll)

Kongsgaard - 18 acres

Elusa Winery - 4.7 acres

One Hope - 4 acres

CORRECTION 

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars - 153 acres is officially IN TRANSITION as of this summer, according to the CCOF website

Brand - 12 acres are also officially in transition.

Organic certification requires a three year transition to achieve certification. 

The CCOF website has a new policy of listing new applicants now. In the past, the website only listed those who had completed certification.

---------------------------------------

*This list includes only wineries. Additional acres were also certified by growers.

Organic Vineyard Rockstar Phil Coturri's 70th Birthday Party Raises Funds for Mayacamas Volunteer Fire Fighters

Phil Coturri and Arden Kremer

The lawn was filled with gray hairs wearing tie dye teeshirts, kids played in the (organically farmed) vine rows, and partiers sipped rosé flowing from taps at Phil Coturri's 70th birthday bash Sunday in the heart of Sonoma's oldest wine growing region on Denmark Road.

Coturri, longtime organic champion and grower to the stars, marked his 70th birthday with a community oriented birthday concert and feast featuring the Dave Nelson Band in concert, with great food from Valley in Sonoma. A silent auction at the event raised more than $6,000 for the Mayacamas Volunteer Fire Fighters.

Organic since 1979, Coturri and his Enterprise Vineyards company have converted more than 800 acres of vineyards in Sonoma and Napa to organic farming and certification. [In 2022, Mayacamas Olds joined the company as COO to oversee day to day operations.] Among Coturri's clients are the 70 acre Oakville Ranch in Napa, where coveted grapes go into 100 point wines, and the giant 55 acre vineyard replanting project at Mayacamas on Mount Veeder completed last year. Coturri has helped more than 35 clients adopt organic farming. Among them: Amapola Creek, Kamen Estate, Lasseter Family, Laurel Glen, Repris, Rossi Ranch, Steel Plow, and Stone Edge. He has also sold grapes to Bedrock and Harlan Estate.

Closer to his home terrain, he was a primary force for creating the Moon Mountain District AVA. 

Sunday was no time to talk and talk about accomplishments, though. It was time to visit, enjoy, drink wine (the fine wines from Coturri's Winery Sixteen 600), and listen to two great bands-State Fair and Dave Nelson Band. 

State Fair

Phil's signature Winery Sixteen 600 teeshirts honor his
passion for the Grateful Dead and a love
of California's free spirits 

Coturri's known for his devotion to the Grateful Dead, and it was only fitting to have Dave Nelson play. Nelson was part of that scene as an early collaborator with Jerry Garcia, and one of the founders of the New Riders of the Purple Sage, a legendary band that included many Grateful Dead musicians.

Rocking out with Dave Nelson and fans

Sam Coturri, master of ceremonies, podcaster,
and chief host at Winery Sixteen 600 and its 
Tasting House in downtown Sonoma

Great eats from Valley in Sonoma

Volunteers manning the Silent Auction booth

Blankets with Stanley Mouse images
made for Winery Sixteen 600. Mouse
is a famous illustrator who was
responsible for the Grateful Dead's
cover art and posters

Gundlach-Bundschu Certifies 264 Acres Organic in Sonoma

One of the state's oldest wineries, Gundlach Bundschu, certified 264 acres of vines, olive trees and fields organic, receiving final approval July 23, 2022. The brand's home page is communicating the news to consumers.

The winery was originally located in San Francisco, making fortified wines and bulk wines, until the 1906 earthquake. The family has continuously operated the winery for six generations. Today the company makes 10 estate grown wines ranging mostly from Bordeaux varieties to Burgundy and beyond (Zinfandel) in Sonoma.

[Company spokespeople have not yet responded to requests for details on how many acres are planted to vine, but if it's 264 it is likely the second largest organic estate in the county. Currently, Ridge is the largest, with 266 acres. Donum Estate has 165. Benziger, EcoTerreno and Hamel all have about 100 acres each.]

Abbot's Passage, another brand from the Bundschu Company, certified 40 additional acres at 777 Madrone Road in Glen Ellen in early August of 2022. It makes wine from its old vine Zinfandel estate but buys most of its grapes from growers in California.

Sonoma Valley has been an organic hotspot in Sonoma, with multiple wineries focusing on organic or biodynamic wine grape growing. It was also one of the earliest grape growing regions in northern California. 

Producers with certified organic estate vines include Bartholomew Estate, Benziger Family Winery, Hamel Family (100 percent organic), Idell Family, Lasseter Family, (100 percent organic), Westwood and Phil Coturri's A Deux Tetes and Winery Sixteen 600 (100 percent organic).

Central Coast Certified Organic Acreage Skyrocketing: Up 2,204 acres (2020-2022)

The Central Coast is now the epicenter of the biggest growth in organically certified vineyards, with more than 1,444 acres of acres newly certified in 2020, 2021 and through Oct. 4 of 2022. 

That's in addition to Scheid Vineyards in Monterey County which has announced they're transitioning 3,000 acres to organic certification. They completed certification on their first blocks in 2021 and now have 760 certified acres of vines. 

Adding their vines to the Paso and SBC vineyard acres below makes the total for the Central Coast's new organic acreage 2,204 acres. 

To put that in context, Napa and Mendocino each have roughly 4,000 acres of organic vines. 

PASO ROBLES LEADING GROWTH

The largest increase was 472 planted organic acres at the Miller Family's huge French Camp vineyard (1,700 planted acres total) in the Paso Robles Highlands District in 2020. They subsequently announced the launch of their new organically grown wine brand, Reciprocity Wine, this week.

That makes them the second largest organic production vineyard, after Scheid, in the region.

Though that is remarkable, it is also significant to see how much fine wine players throughout the region are gaining ground, outpacing increases in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino by far. That's due in part to the (relatively) cheaper price of land in the Central Coast.

The fine wine vineyards in Paso added 300 acres in 2021 and 90 acres to date in 2022 for a total of 390 + 472 = 862 acres.

2020

French Camp - 472 acres

2021

• Adelaida - 160 acres

• Booker - 60 acres

• Law Estate - 80 acres

2022

• Jada Vineyards and Winery - 59 acres 

• Old Oak Vineyard (grower) - 31 acres

Certified Winery

In addition, Tablas Creek, one of the largest organic and biodynamic producers in Paso, certified its winery so it can make certified wines (and bottle label them) from organic vines. They will be labeled with Regenerative Organic Certification.

Castoro Cellars

Already the biggest organic grower and vintner in Paso with 1,400 certified organic acres, Castoro is in the process of converting 200 more acres near Creston. Its wines are already certified "Made with Organic Grapes."

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY - STOLPMAN AND SEA SMOKE LEAD GROWTH WITH THE HILT NOT FAR BEHIND

The most remarkable story in SBC is that Stolpman, once an organic scofflaw, is newly certified, so consumers can be sure the winery's organic claims are now valid. It is also the largest organic vineyard owning vintner now. 

Total of all newly certified organic vines in SBC is 582 acres (2020, 2021 and through Oct. 4 in 2022).

2022

Ballard Canyon

• Stolpman - 181 acres

• Jonata - 80 acres

Santa Ynez 

• Baseline (Turning Tide) - 10 

Vintner Alisa Jacobson has just certified the first of her two estate vineyards. Baseline, which she planted, completed the process. She is also getting her 17 acre Mora vineyard certified as well and has distribution deals for wines "Made with Organic Grapes" with Whole Foods.

2021

Sta. Rita Hills

• Sea Smoke - 170 acres (recertified)

In addition The Hill, a partner of Jonata, has 200 planted acres in Sta. Rita Hills, that are in transition to organic certification. 

Santa Maria Valley

• Presqu'il - 73 acres

2020

Sta. Rita Hills

• Donnachadh - 40 acres 

Santa Maria Valley

• Tres Hermanas - 28 acres