BIODIVERSITY IS AT THE FOUNDATION OF BIODYNAMICS
Less than half of our 85-acre estate is planted with grapevines. We also have working vegetable gardens, fruit and nut trees, olive groves, insectaries, wetlands, riparian areas, woodlands, and cow and sheep pastures. This diversity of plant and animal life contributes to the overall health and richness of our estate and we do everything we can to promote those attributes.
SOIL HEALTH
We revitalize vineyard soil through a variety of Biodynamic practices, including the planting of cover crops and the application of biologically rich compost. The compost is made entirely from recycled winery waste that is mixed with the manure of our estate cows.
One important aspect of Biodynamic farming is its commitment to not only healing the soil, but also improving its health year after year. Healthy soils allow roots to fan out and grow deep, providing a better balance between the root system below and plant growth above.
COMPOSTING Self-contained system: Recycling all we can
We recycle all of our organic material from landscaping, grape growing, and winemaking, and put it back into the soil through composting. The goal is to restore the land with the same nutrients that were expended through farming. In Biodynamics, this is called creating a closed nutrient system.
Compost We make compost from our own recycled organic matter because it contributes to the individuality of this estate and the wines we make here. We spread the compost about once a year, usually in November – the most active time for root growth.
One handful of well-made compost can contain billions of microscopic organisms of up to 100,000 different types. We think of these microbes as our own personal chefs in the soil. They break down and absorb organic nutrients in the earth and combine them with the volcanic minerals in our soils to make a one-of-a-kind gourmet dish for our plants and vines.
Get this: one handful of well-made compost boasts millions of microscopic organisms of up to 100,000 different types. That adds up to as many people as there are on the planet! Think of these microbes as our own personal chefs in the soil -- they break down and absorb organic nutrients in the soil and combine it with the volcanic minerals in our soils to make a gourmet dish for our plants and vines. While small in stature, these microorganisms significantly influence the distinct flavors in our wines by creating character in the soil.
Bug Cities and Highways: If you build it, they will come (and stay) Since 1987, we’ve practiced natural pest control on Sonoma Mountain. The elimination of pesticides was achieved largely through the planting of three wildlife sanctuaries, also known as insectaries (land devoted to plants that attract beneficial mites, bugs, butterflies, birds and small animals that prey on pests harmful to grapevines), as well as wetlands, gardens and cover crop rotation.
The more than 50 types of plants in our insectaries represent three main families—sunflower, carrot, and legume. All three provide food and shelter for the insects we need in order to have a balance of predator and prey.
Well-planned communities have solid infrastructures, and the same is true of Biodynamic farms. To keep the good bugs moving around our estate, we supplement our insectaries, or “bug cities,” with corridors of plantings (“bug highways”) that are attractive to insects and that move them to all areas of our vineyards.
Early on we hired an entomologist to identify the diseases and pests on this property. Then we hired a horticulturist, who was knowledgeable in viticulture, to help us create three insectaries full of plants that would attract the predators (good bugs) that would eat the bad bugs living here.
BENEFICIAL BIRDS
The estate is home to a melodious songbird population, including bluebirds that feed their young the eggs and larvae of harmful insects. We have built numerous owl, blue bird and hawk boxes to control gophers and other rodents, and bat houses to attract the night flyers that feast on countless insects in the air and on the ground.
COVER CROPS
Our vineyard team plants a variety of cover crops to replenish the land, combat erosion, control vine vigor and discourage weeds. Depending on the block, these include mustard, annual rye grass, zorro fescue, blando brome, rose and crimson clover, mustard, Austrian winter peas and bell beans, oats and wildlife sanctuary plants.
WATER RECYCLING
On our estate, we recycle more than three million gallons of wastewater a year through an innovative natural wastewater recycling system that we pioneered in 1997.
Our water recycling system starts with a collection pond where bacteria and microbes begin the job of purification. From there, the water flows via gravity into our wetlands, where the impurities in the water are further broken down. Reeds and other plants pump oxygen into the water along the way. This purified and oxygenated water then flows into a second holding pond, where we store it until it’s needed for irrigation.
LIVESTOCK Our mowers and weeders
In addition to grapevines, our estate is also home to cows. Flower and Daisy, plus our recent addition, Poppy, make three, and all contribute to the biodiversity on the property. They’re not only great mowers, but also they give us manure for our compost. Manure helps to increase the health and vitality of the soil—a fundamental component of terroir.
Sheep are also an important part of the ecosystem here at the ranch because they naturally mow the cover crops and grass between the rows in addition to providing natural fertilizer. Beyond all this, they cause much less soil disruption than their mechanical counterparts. Seven new lambs joined our happy flock of woolly weeders this spring. These new additions bring the total number of sheep on the property to 45.
