I NEED This: Painting of Amigo Bob Graces Wine Bar at Frog's Leap

150+ Wines! Rhone Rangers Tasting This Weekend in Sonoma

A certain contingent of Rhone Rangers have been stalwart fans of certified organic and biodynamic farming since the group started, with these producers punching above their weight (percentage wise) when it comes to how they farm (and get certified, too). From Cowhorn, Lindquist Family (formerly Qupe) and Tablas Creek's estate wines to newer entrants like Troon, the force is strong. 

This Saturday, the Rhone tribe will descend in Sonoma for their annual grand tasting, celebrating Rhone pioneer Steve Edmunds at a dinner Friday night (hurray, I'll be there and writing about it), and then pouring 150+ wines on Saturday at Cline.  

Come to the dinner to hear remarks from Bill Easton, Bob Lindquist, and Randall Grahm as they pay homage to Edmunds, one of the earliest to work with and recognize the quality of grapes from Rhone growers in the Sierra Foothills.  

Here are the folks with organic certified estates to look for:

• Lasseter Vineyard

Early under the spell of their organic rockstar vineyard "manager" Phil Coturri, this producer started planting Grenache. Lured by the promise of making amazing Syrah, they planted a new vineyard, with Coturri, in the Moon Mountain District AVA. See what happened next.

•  Ridge Vineyards

They make a Lytton Springs grown estate Syrah blend with Grenache and Mataro. Hopefully they will be pouring it.

• Winery Sixteen 600

Grenache, Syrah... and...more Grenache...this organic powerhouse winery has it all. (If we are lucky maybe they will break out the A Deux Tetes wines, too.)

Those who buy organic grapes:

• Two Shepherds

Makes a Vermentino and a Picpoul from the former Windmill vineyard (Steve Matthiasson got it going) in Solano County. And a carbonic Carignane from Trimble Vineyard in Hopland. And an orange wine from organic vines in Lodi. You can also check out their sparkling orange wine in cans.

Not certified but iconic and organic in the vines: 

• Terre Rouge

This was the year I finally got to meet Bill Easton and to taste the wines. Yowsa. What a treat. 

Hope to see you there. Ticket info. 

SLO Coast Winemakers Raise the Central Coast's Biodynamic Bar, Buying Bassi Vineyard and Making Outstanding Wines

It's every winemaker's dream to buy a vineyard of their own, and now Gina and Mikey Giugni have done it. And what a vineyard–Bassi is 30 acres of vines near Avila Beach that feels like nature. The whole property is 112 acres. (You can read more about it in the SF Chronicle.)

Owned previously by Mike Sinor, a renowned local vintner, it has been well cared for and last year, under his ownership, it was farmed according to organic and biodynamic practices 9but not yet certified0.

Gina Giugni grew up in a certified biodynamic family in the Sierra Foothills–her parents' winery is Narrow Gate in the El Dorado AVA–and until this year, she farmed a five acre property she leased in nearby Edna Valley (where climatic conditions are quite different from coastal Bassi). She launched her own label Lady of the Sunshine in 2017, making Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Chene, sourcing only from certified organic or biodynamic vineyards.

Gina with biodynamic compost

I visited with Gina last August for Slow Wine Guide, touring the Chene vineyard (certified biodynamic) and tasting with her at the winery where she and Mikey (his label is called Scar of the Sea) make their wines in an industrial park in San Luis Obispo. The winery is also certified biodynamic which enables her to label some of her wines "Biodynamic Wine," a very high standard. 

A "Biodynamic Wine" means the grapes are biodynamic, the wine was made in a certified biodynamic winery, and that nothing, save up 100 ppm of sulfites, can be added to the wine. 

Only a few producers in the biodynamic community meet this standard. 

In California, that's AmByth Estate (natural wine) in Paso, and Frey Vineyard (no added sulfites) in Mendocino as well as Narrow Gate. Lindquist Family, while still sourcing from certified biodynamic vines (at Martian in Los Alamos and from Christy & Wise just west of the Santa Rita Hills AVA) is still making wines the way it did previously but has dropped winery certification over complications from its shared facilities. 

In Oregon the list includes Brick House, Brooks, and Maysara in the Willamette Valley and Cowhorn and Troon in southern Oregon. Wilridge in Washington is another. 

The new Bassi vineyard owners plan to certify it organic and biodynamic, I look forward to seeing those labels on more of their wines.

It's great to see people who know what these standards mean taking it to heart. May it continue.

PS Slow Wine also awarded Lady of the Sunshine with its highest accolade–a Snail.

From Oakville to Calistoga, Napa Vintners Certified 265+ Acres Organic In the Past Year

You might be seeing more CCOF signs on Napa roads.

Between June 1, 2023 and June 1, 2024, Napa vintners certified 265 acres of vines organic.

• Larkmead certified the largest number – 116 acres – in September of 2023 – in the Calistoga AVA.

• Kelham Vineyards certified 48.5 acres on June 10, 2023 in the Oakville AVA.

• White Rock Vineyards (off the Atlas Peak road) certified 36 acres March 4, 2024.

• Baldacci Vineyards certified 25.3 acres in April of 2024.

• Corison certified 19 acres on June 12, 2023 in Rutherford and St. Helena.

• Darms Lane, April 9, 2024, 13 acres in Oak Knoll District.

• Fantesca certified 8.65 acres on Oct 11, 2023 in the Spring Mountain District.

In addition, Markham announced on Earth Day that it is certifying its 15 acre Hopper House vineyard organic.

A Special Callout to Oakville: Becoming an Organic Cluster

Kelham Vineyards is part of a growing organic cluster in Oakville. As you can see in their map above, Kelham is one piece of a jigsaw puzzle of certified organic estates. 

Many of the surrounding wineries are also certified organic.

For more on Oakville's growing number of organically grown vineyards, and other organic topics in Napa, visit our new substack newsletter (!) at organicallynapa.substack.com. 

Some posts are free; others require a nominal monthly fee. 

Regenerative Viticulture Field Day is THIS FRIDAY June 21 with U.C. Davis and Other Sponsors

I am looking forward to this as it features some of the USDA funded Climate Smart Ag projects I wrote about last year. Looking forward to hearing how they are coming along. The public is invited.

PREVIOUS ARTICLES

• USDA Climate Smart Ag Grant Funds Five Year, $2 Million Soil Carbon Inventory Project for Fine Wine Producers

Local soil samples and computer algorithms will model soil carbon parameters and pinpoint changes, advancing research by reducing the cost of soil carbon sampling with low cost modeling methods based on large datasets.

• New Tech: Two Soil Carbon Measurement Startups Get a Boost from USDA Climate Smart Ag Grants

USDA funds startups trying to increase and lower costs of soil carbon measurement methods. 

UPDATE

I wrote two articles about this event that have now been published. Find them on Grape and Wine and another on Wine Business.

NEW: You Can Now Subscribe to Pam's Published Articles (Beyond the Blog Posts)

A few people have asked me to create a feed for all the articles I write for publications (i.e. not just the blog).

So at long last, here we go! Signup for free.

https://pamstrayer.substack.com/

P.S. I will be upgrading the way to subscribe to the blog with ANOTHER substack, FYI, just for the blog posts.