The Green Vine

The issue of sustainability in the vineyard encompasses a whole host of topics—soil type, soil amendments, pest and weed control, irrigation—that are at the heart of any discussion of conventional vs. organic vs. biodynamic farming practices. No one has definitive answers, and some current approaches look back in time to traditional farming practices as much as forward, especially among smaller and higher-end vineyards and wineries. Twenty years ago, a story about planting by moon cycles wouldn’t be heard at the same cocktail party as one about the latest nitrogen fertilizer. But now, approaches to growing grapes draw from both longstanding traditions and modern research, from both legend and laboratory.

Everywhere you look, walk, or taste in the world of wine, people talk about soil. Wine labels tout the slate, flint, tufa, loess, clay, schist, basalt, Jory, and literally hundreds of specific soil types that give a wine that je ne sais quoi.

As infused as tasting rooms and wine labels seem to be with this mysterious concept of “minerality,” in the realm of viniculture nothing is set, shall we say, in stone. While it’s true that different types of soil hold water, temperature, and nutrients differently—clay holds water, gravel drains quickly, light-colored limestone reflects heat up into the vines—it still isn’t definitively known how much this all affects taste. In a 1986 study, French researcher Gérard Seguin reported: “As our knowledge stands at the moment, it is impossible to establish any correlation between the quality of wine and the soil content of any nutritive element. . . . If there were such a correlation it would be easy, with the appropriate chemical additives, to produce great wine anywhere.”

Since that research, however, there have been many studies on the effects of soil type on the taste of wine. Most interestingly, in 2005 in the journal Water Science and Technology, Australian researchers D. E. Mackenzie and A. G. Christy traced the levels of Baumé and Brix (ripeness and sugar levels), pH, total acidity (TA), and phenolic content (a good selection of the things that determine wine flavor) in relation to soil composition in two riesling vineyards. The study “set out to determine whether or not the chemical composition of soil in a vineyard has any influence on the measurable composition of wine grapes produced.” They found a whole host of interesting tidbits, including that different types of soils decreased or increased total acidity, pH, and Baumé. For instance, increased clay content “decreases pH and increases TA, possibly reflecting the water-providing properties of clays,” and the more calcium and various other minerals available to the plant, the lower the overall Baumé levels.

How does this relate to sustainability? Does it matter if we know whether or not soil composition actually changes taste? The scientists determined that their results “will be useful in developing ‘rules’ to ‘tailor’ wine-grape varieties to vineyard sites, and will assist in managing vineyard soils for optimum performance and quality.” But in a sense, they also realized that they might be creating a monster. Because of all the talk of minerality expressed in wine, some vineyard managers might be inclined to manipulate the soil by adding “super-phosphate and synthetic chemicals, as well as agricultural lime, dolomite, and gypsum,” etc., which may have the short-term effect of improving results but “are known to have long-term harmful effects on the soil.” Mackenzie and Christy express hope that future research will show which “naturally occurring additives are best suited to improving the viticultural performance of soils by providing chemical nutrients in a balanced form to which plants are adapted, and doing this in a sustainable way, without risking longterm detriment to the soil and the vineyard.”

According to Randall Grahm, naturally deep roots and soil type make all the difference: “The possibility of the expression of terroir ultimately comes down to a very basic ratio: the mass (or more likely the overall surface area) of roots relative to fruit volume. The latter characterization may be more apt as soil types like volcanic, schistous, and calcareous, that have a lot of interior surface area, support much larger mycorrhizal populations. The health and overall mass of the mycorrhizal population are undoubtedly a key element in the articulation of terroir.”

Different winegrowing philosophies espouse different ways of “managing” the soil. “Conventional” farming is industrialized, usually large-scale farming that developed out of the Industrial Revolution. It focuses on the isolating of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, (NPK) as elements needed by plants, and synthesizing them for use as “inputs,” or chemical fertilizers, making large-scale agricultural production possible. According to Matthew Scully in his book Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy, worldwide food production doubled four times between 1820 and 1975 as a result. In conventional farming, the idea is that soil needs balanced levels of calcium, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur, and growing crops either adds to or depletes these levels. Therefore, these elements should be replaced in the soil in the form of artificial fertilizers in order to maintain balance. This mode of thinking also sees weeds, insects, rodents, and disease as “problems” solvable by the use of chemicals. But it comes with its own problems: It requires huge amounts of water and energy, for one thing. It can also introduce pests, which are then targeted with hazardous amounts of herbicides and pesticides that can find their way into streams and lakes, polluting the water. And this method depletes topsoil, making it vulnerable to being blown or washed away along with the previously added nutrients.

Following the development of chemicals for use in World War I, an entire agricultural chemical industry grew. The 1909 Haber process was a breakthrough, making use of the reaction of nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas to produce ammonia on an industrial scale. First used in the production of military explosives, it has been employed to produce chemical fertilizers ever since. In the early 20th century, controlling the environment was the popular mindset, and many names of chemical fertilizers or herbicides—Roundup (developed in 1974), Harness, Bullet, Lariat—still speak to an old-school cowboy attitude of farming that is based on the desire for control.

These fertilizers essentially made large-scale farming possible, and their widespread use, according to some, has resulted in the ability to feed the world’s growing population. But there is a tremendous downside: The use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides has been a major factor in environmental damage and depletion of natural soil health across the globe. A 2004 US Department of Agriculture (USDA) study of 43 garden crops from 1950 to 1999 suggested that soil depletion in the United States had led to a loss in the nutritional value of our basic foods over the previous 50 years. Amounts of vitamin A, for example, had decreased by 40 to 100 percent in apples, bananas, broccoli, onions, potatoes, and tomatoes.

When many growers of other crops began transitioning to wine grapes in the 1960s and 1970s, realizing they could make more money, conventional farming was the norm, seen as the key to maximizing production and reducing crop loss. But slowly the industry became aware of environmental issues in the vineyard and the surrounding ecosystems. In Northern California, Frey Vineyards became the first certified-organic vineyard when it joined the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) in 1980 followed by many others throughout the ’80s and ’90s. In Washington, Bill Powers, the 85-year-old patriarch of Powers Winery, was ahead of his time when he started farming organic grapes in 1982. He had started off using chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides in the vineyard, but then he realized his kids were running around among the vines. He didn’t want them breathing the dust from the chemicals or carrying it into the house on their skin and clothes. So he consulted with WSU viticulturist Walter Clore, who helped him navigate the road to chemical-free, productive grape growing. Powers became the first certified-organic vineyard in Washington State in 1990. Recently honored by the Washington Wine Commission for being an organic pioneer, Powers says his vines keep getting better.

Powers was an outlier, and it will take decades for the organic movement to take hold in grape growing on a large scale in Washington. For the most part, small vineyards have been the first to make small changes. Justin Wylie of Va Piano Vineyards in Walla Walla says of his early days of growing grapes on his 20-acre estate vineyard, “I used to spray everything I had. Now it is completely the opposite.” Wylie began working with Rick Trumbull, a soil consultant with a background in the conventional amendments industry who now espouses compost tea over most chemicals. Wylie closely follows the guidelines set out by Vinea: The Winegrowers’ Sustainable Trust, a holistic approach that “employs environmentally friendly and socially responsible viticulture practices that respect the land, conserve natural resources,” and support biodiversity, among other goals. “I have fewer weeds than ever,” he says. “The vineyard is just healthier.” Wylie’s goal is to build a “premium vineyard” that will last for generations, and he feels that the Vinea approach of promoting responsible relationships with environment, workers, and the community is the best way to set the vineyard and winery up for sustainability and success.

In organic farming, amendments such as farm animal manure, bone meal, blood meal, compost, and earthworm castings all are allowed. They contain high amounts of nitrogen, an important element for plant growth, but in balanced ratios with other elements so as not to create runoff of extra nitrogen. Certain organic chemical amendments, such as biosolids (treated residuals from wastewater treatment), are also used but are controversial. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the use of biosolids “is regulated under the Clean Water Act, and is currently subject to concentration limits for the metals arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, and zinc.”

The basic organic tenets show a commitment not only to keeping toxic chemicals out of the vineyard, but to improving the ecosystem through biodiversity and conservation. The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) has set out guidelines for what organic grape growing should look like, and consumers are seeking out these wines through wineries and wine clubs such as the EcoVine Wine Club, which lists these guidelines, based on NOP standards:

• Organic farming helps protect our air, soil, water, and food supply from toxic chemicals and other pollutants.

• Organic grapes are grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fumigants, or fertilizers.

• Organic grapes are never genetically engineered or modified, and [are] never irradiated.

• Organic farming conserves natural resources by recycling natural materials.

• Organic farming encourages an abundance of species living in balanced, harmonious ecosystems.

For many grape growers, organic doesn’t go far enough. Biodynamics is a method of farming that has been attracting winegrowers, in France especially, for more than a decade and has been popular in the farming of other crops for much longer than that. Originally a response to a group of Austrian blueberry farmers who wanted to farm without chemicals, biodynamics began as a set of lectures given in 1924 by Austrian philosopher-scientist Rudolph Steiner (who also established the Waldorf education system). In Steiner’s view, a biodynamic farm “encourages a view of nature as an interconnected whole, a totality, an organism endowed with archetypal rhythm,” according to Demeter International, a certifying organization with a worldwide network of member-inspectors. Paul Beveridge of Wilridge Winery in the Naches Heights AVA (American Viticultural Area) of Washington, says organics is more about what “not to put into the vineyard, while biodynamics is about what should be added to the vineyard to build soil health.”

In biodynamics, vines are planted, pruned, and harvested by sun and moon cycles, as in the Old Farmer’s Almanac, and special preparations containing plants such as nettle, yarrow, chamomile, horsetail, and dandelion, as well as cow manure composted in cow horns, are applied to vineyards to increase healthy microbes and build up the vines’ health and immune systems. As for undesirable plant visitors, in place of herbicides, both organic and biodynamic farming enlist the natural systems of the farm to regulate weeds, by planting cover crops among the rows to help increase nitrogen in the soil and keep weeds at bay.

Instead of using poisons to eliminate nasty bugs such as leafhoppers and glassy-winged sharpshooters and critters like gophers, moles, and grape-loving robins, both organic and biodynamic farming encourage natural predators such as swallows, owls, kestrels, and the like. Animals are important to the biodynamic farm, and some farms employ armies of chickens, goats, and sheep to weed-eat to their hearts’ content. Farmers are encouraged to plant herbs, grasses, and flowers to attract beneficial insects such as bees, spiders, and ladybugs. And according to Wilridge’s Paul Beveridge, it works. He composts and works with green manure (cover crops that are then reworked into the soil); legumes such as cowpeas, soybeans, sweet clover; and nonleguminous crops such as millet, sorghum, and buckwheat. Beveridge also mixes and sprays preparations according to Demeter USA guidelines, following moon and sun cycles. “My vineyard gets more healthy each year as we build the soil,” he says. “The biggest difference I find is that the wines are more aromatic than nonbiodynamic wines I’ve made.” By contrast, conventional farming’s monoculture landscape is relatively bare of trees, bushes, herbs, and grasses, all of which could serve as habitat for a wide range of beneficial animals and insects.

Many winegrowers, including Bill Powers, admit that choosing the right site is all-important when it comes to sustainability. “We have a big advantage being in a desert, where you don’t have to worry about humidity,” Powers says. “And the pests that cause the most problems, the leafhoppers and spider mites, well, they aren’t a problem, because when you stop using chemicals to kill them, you stop killing the good bugs, too.” The natural balance of predator and prey is restored, and overgrowth of harmful insects decreases—not to nil, but to a manageable level.

Admittedly, biodynamics is not every vintner’s cup of compost tea. Many people see it as a pagan-inspired, ritualistic “voodoo-woo-woo” way of making wine. According to Katherine Cole, wine writer for The Oregonian and advocate of biodynamic wine, in her book Voodoo Winemaking: Oregon’s Astonishing Biodynamic Winegrowers, the contemporary revival of the biodynamic movement began in 1989 when French microbiologist Claude Bourguignon produced studies claiming that the soils of Burgundy had less microbial life than those of the Sahara Desert and proposed biodynamics as an answer. After tasting the magnificent wines that are now coming from biodynamic vineyards in that region, including the iconic Romanée-St-Vivant and Clos de la Roche vineyards, many growers began converting to biodynamics themselves. Organic composting may have been enough to heal the soil, but the fact that the famous Domaine Leflaive vineyard did side-by-side comparisons of organic and biodynamic wines and then converted to the latter has transformed the region into biodynamic believers.

But there is a strong streak of mysticism in the method, and some practitioners become true believers while others choose to ignore the more out-there ideas. Renowned producer of certified-biodynamic wines Nicolas Joly lays out some of the fundamentals of Rudolph Steiner’s ideas in Biodynamic Wine, Demystified and other books. He speaks of the four forces of energy—warmth (fruit), light (flower), liquid (leaf), and mineral (root)—mediated by solar forces of levity and earthly forces of gravity. Each plant’s individual form dictates its dominant energy. For instance, because of its broad leaves, small roots, and thin stalks, the bright-green stinging nettle has heat and light energy as its dominant driving forces; a homeopathic spray made from its leaves brings that energy to the vines, “enlivening” them.

These ideas are traceable to the German scientist/philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who looked back to Aristotle’s writings and interpreted them through the scientific knowledge of his own time. There’s much more to Steiner’s fascinating practices and concepts than can be explained here, and the reading is entertaining if nothing else. Might I suggest reading Joly while enjoying a glass of certified-biodynamic Montinore Pinot Gris? (See the “Demeter Certified Biodynamic Preparations” sidebar in the Certifications chapter.)

With the expansion of the Oregon-based Salmon-Safe program, the Washington wine industry is slowly coming up to speed with Oregon and California in sustainable agriculture. Salmon-Safe winegrowing requires that vineyards commit to not polluting ground and surface water that may flow into streams and rivers where salmon live and spawn, thereby helping to preserve salmon habitat. Each vineyard must meet guidelines specific to efficient irrigation and water conservation measures, erosion control, integrated pest management (IPM), and native vegetation and habitat management.

Vineyards across Washington State are gaining their Salmon-Safe certification, including Novelty Hill Winery’s estate vineyard, Stillwater Creek, the first Columbia Valley vineyard to acquire the designation. The 245-acre vineyard is one of the steepest sites in the state, with hills running at 22 percent grade in places. This makes for great drainage, but if herbicides and pesticides are used, they can too easily drain off this large vineyard into ground and surface water that eventually ends up in the Columbia River, just a few miles away.

Other, smaller vineyards are even closer to riparian habitats. For instance, àMaurice Cellars and its neighbor Abeja both have vineyards near Mill Creek, a sensitive watershed east of Walla Walla where historically bull trout, steelhead, and Chinook salmon returned to spawn. The last significant Chinook run was in 1925, but many groups have been working on this project in recent years, including the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, who have attempted to restock this stream.

In 2005, Kooskooskie Dam, about 10 miles upstream from àMaurice and Abeja, was removed, and habitat improvements all along the creek into downtown Walla Walla are ongoing. “We want to get the salmon up to the great habitat at Kooskooskie,” says Brian Burns, project manager for the dam removal project sponsored by the Tri-State Steelheaders fisheries enhancement group. Stewardship Partners, a Seattle nonprofit that helps private landowners restore and preserve their natural landscapes, has produced a handy pocket-sized card listing Salmon-Safe wines, so you can choose one when you are out to dinner at a restaurant or shopping at your local wine shop.

SOME FAVORITE SALMON-SAFE WINES

Buty Conner Lee Vineyard Chardonnay, Columbia Valley

This lush and fragrant Chardonnay explodes with ripe peach and soft spice, and a touch of ginger on the finish for an excellent food wine. Pairs with: Pumpkin soup with nutmeg and crème fraîche.

Novelty Hill Roussanne, Stillwater Creek Vineyard, Columbia Valley

This southern Rhône varietal is usually blended but is a delight on its own. The Stillwater Creek Vineyard enjoys the perfect climate for bringing this warm weather grape to its full potential, showing aromas and flavors of peach and spice, along with a soft mouthfeel that lends a lushness to this dry wine. Pairs with: Roast chicken with preserved lemon.

Abeja Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley

Lively aromas of boysenberry and black cherry are followed by more lush dark fruit on the palate, integrated vanilla and toast. This 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon is grown on Abeja’s estate vineyard on the banks of Mill Creek just east of Walla Walla. Pairs with: Braised lamb shoulder with shaved fennel and white beans.

Pepper Bridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley

This blend, usually made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot, comes from two Salmon-Safe vineyards—Seven Hills and Pepper Bridge’s Estate Vineyard. An incredibly balanced and elegant wine, showing dark plum, toast, coffee, and black cherry flavors. Pairs with: Roast lamb with red wine reduction sauce.

Habitat improvement along a river or stream requires the commitment of everyone along the way. Historically, riverbank neighbors such as wheat farmers, wineries, and orchards used herbicides and pesticides that would end up getting washed into the streams, but that is changing. To date, more than half of the vineyards in the Walla Walla area are certified Salmon-Safe, and the number is growing across the state.

Anna Schafer, winemaker and partner at àMaurice Cellars, says that her family’s commitment to sustainable winegrowing was not negotiable. “Before we planted our vineyard, we just ‘grew dirt’ for two years,” she says, describing the process the vineyard went through to repair damage done from wheat and pea rotation on the land—and to gain Vinea and Salmon-Safe certification in 2006. The vineyard’s manager, Ken Hart, who manages several vineyards in the area and is a big proponent of sustainable winegrowing practices, worked to improve the soil by adding compost, compost teas, soft rock phosphate, kelp, and other organic matter to bring it back into balance. “We agree that making sure the vineyard doesn’t disrupt or pollute our water system is essential to making our industry sustainable, and to making great wine,” says Schafer. “We are proud that we are a part of the solution and are creating a sustainable vineyard for the future.”

Dry farming is a relatively new trend in grape growing and an old trend in agriculture. Once, farmers—and grape growers—planted their crops and hoped for rain. Now, irrigation taken from streams and rivers brings water, but with climate change and the many environmental problems surrounding water usage, and since grapes don’t need much water, some vineyard managers are trying to avoid watering at all, in order to encourage the vines’ roots to extend deep into the soil for sustenance and to develop healthy mycorrhizal (fungi) populations, on the vines’ roots, which helps facilitate mineral absorption. The Deep Roots Coalition of Oregon is a group that encourages dry-farming techniques, following the lead of French wineries such as Burgundy’s renowned Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, which does not irrigate vines after they are established. This method ensures that the vines grow slowly and develop long roots, and is more in tune with the natural cycle of weather, which founder John Paul of Cameron Winery feels is what is missing when vines receive regular water. At the moment, the Deep Roots Coalition has 17 members: Anderson Family Vineyard, Ayres Vineyard, Beaux Frères, Belle Pente Vineyard, Brick House Vineyards, Cameron Winery, Crowley Wines, Evening Land Vineyards, Evesham Wood Winery, Eyrie Vineyards, Illahe Vineyards, J. Christopher Wines, J. K. Carriere Wines, Matello Wines, Patricia Green Cellars, John Thomas Winery, and Westrey Wine Company. These wineries are committed to exploring the benefits of dry farming, with the goal of producing wines as great as the best in Burgundy.