call it what you will,
but winegrowing is still farming

We say winegrowing, rather than grape growing, because all of our vineyard farming practices revolve around wine quality.

Our goal each year is to grow the best wine possible, given our site and the peculiarities of that particular growing season. Naturally, some years will be better than others, but for the most part the wonderful soils and climate of Sonoma Valley enable us to consistently grow outstanding wine year after year.

While the natural wonders of Sonoma County provide the environment, or terroir as some might say, it still takes a lot of hard work and careful management to produce great wine. For us, much of the joy of owning a vineyard comes from all that hard work, with the wine coming directly from our land and the work of our hands (and sore backs, at times). We feel fortunate to have a vineyard that we can manage ourselves. This enables us to guide the vineyard on a vine-by-vine basis for optimum quality and consistency.
T

he vineyard is right outside our door, adjacent to the fruit and vegetable garden that feeds us and above the water table for the deep well that provides our drinking water. That alone is reason enough to be very careful about any materials we might apply to the vineyard, such as fertilizers or pesticides.

Our guiding philosophy is to minimize external inputs (materials) to our vineyard. When we do need fertilizer, pesticide or other materials, we try to use only organic or natural materials. While we have chosen not to pursue formal certification as an organic vineyard, our operation meets all of the requirements for an organic vineyard - because it just seems like the right thing to do.


For a closer look at our Farming Practices, check out John’s Blog.


Specific practices in irrigation, grapevine nutrition, pest management, and weed control continue here