What to Know About Regenerative Farming and its Impact on Grape Growing
REGENERATIVE FARMING is about the land and the animals, of course — but it’s also about the people. Jordan Lonborg, the vineyard manager at Tablas Creek, thinks the social aspect of regenerative farming doesn’t get talked about enough and points to how the agricultural approach was founded on a concept of soil health, as well as animal and social welfare. “It’s really one of the main
TABLAS CREEK PASO ROBLES, CALIFORNIA
WHAT IS REGENERATIVE FARMING?
kills the soil’s microbiome because of the sun hitting it.” In the world of regenerative farming, Whitlow says, “a very di- verse cover crop in-between the perennial vines” is “one of the most important tools” for soil health. Cover crops help prevent soil from drying up, give grazing animals a place to deposit nutrient-filled ma- nure, and attract beneficial insects that prey on pests. GRAZING ANIMALS Animals can be hugely beneficial to soil by “adding fertility to the land” and “controlling the weeds,” Whitlow says. In the case of vineyards, having smaller animals like sheep and chickens roaming the land can help as they graze the cover crop and fertilize the soil with their nutrient- rich urine and dung. They also help activate the soil’s microbiology with their saliva, plus they help keep pests at bay by pecking at bugs. SOCIAL FAIRNESS Another important, often overlooked, aspect of regenerative farming is the treatment of farm workers. Farms that are Regenerative Organic Certified are required to pay laborers a fair wage based on the cost of living where they’re based, and there are measures in place for farm workers to report harassment and ensure they’re being treated fairly. As Whitlow says, “how the farm workers are being treated is just as important as how the soil is being treated.” 4 3
The Regenerative Organic Alliance defines regenerative agriculture as “a collection of practices that focus on regenerating soil health and the full farm ecosystem.” Elizabeth Whitlow, executive director of the ROA, adds that it’s “a holistic approach to farming that is site specific.” When applied at a particular site, the approach should be “appropriate to that farm’s context and where that farm sits on this planet,” taking into account its “specific conditions, climate, and cultural practices,” she says.
photographs courtesy of Tablas Creek
reasons why we went down the road for certification with Regenerative Organic Certified,” he says, adding that the certification from the Regenerative Organic Alliance requires farms to pay workers a living wage. That amount is determined by MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, which generates figures based on various expenses including housing, medical, and childcare costs by area. “We do everything we can to get to that number,” Lonborg says, so that everyone at the Paso Robles vineyard is paid a living wage. Tablas Creek has also embraced the sense of community that comes with an emphasis on social welfare. That translates to more communication in the form of staff meetings with all of the vineyard crew, and adopting “a collective mindset rather than having a handful of people dictating what needs to be done in the vineyard,” according to Lonborg. “They are in the vines every day, day in, day out. They touch every plant on the property,” the viticulturist says of the vineyard workers. “It’s kind of crazy not to take into account their observations. So part of this regenerative mentality is listening.”
As well as taking care of the people working on the land, the animals that tend to it are at the core of Tablas Creek’s soil-fertility program. Sheep graze the land, cleaning up any of the plants on the ground that need to be dealt with, Lonborg says. The vineyard’s cover-crop program is also essential to optimizing soil health, and strives for a diversity of plant life to attract pollinators and beneficial insects. Beyond the farm, the winery has taken steps to minimize its carbon footprint, such as packaging its wine in lighter bottles to reduce weight during shipping — with an annual production of between 12,000 and 15,000 cases of its red, white, rosé, and dessert wines, Lonborg says it’s made “a considerable impact.” Tablas Creek also captures and recycles its gray water; Lonborg notes that “wineries use a ton of water, whether that’s for cleaning barrels or cleaning tanks,” and by pumping that water into a series of ponds, they can reuse it for a variety of purposes, like hydrating the compost pile, extinguishing biochar kilns, and keeping dust at bay outside. It’s just another example of how the company has embraced the biodynamic principle of a closed-loop system.
THE ESSENTIALS
DITCHING PESTICIDES “We don’t believe it’s regenerative to apply pesticides and herbicides and synthetic fertilizers,” Whitlow says. “Those are typically proven to kill the soil microbiome.” Instead, regenera- tive farming is about nourishing soil health, which Whitlow compares to the microbiome in our gut. Instead, effective pest manage- ment can include integrating graz- ing animals and insects that like to eat pests. COVER CROPS & NO TILLING In conventional vineyards, there can be “very old-school” thinking that “the floor of the vineyard should be clean, cultivated, tilled, clean of weeds,” Whitlow says. “But what happens when you do that is you’re exposing the soil and that basically 2 1
This page, top to bottom: The Tablas Creek cellar team. Every animal plays a part like these grazing in the vineyard. Three tiers of Tablas Creek blends. Opposite page: The Tablas Creek vineyard team.
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ISSUE 01
TRACING THE WINE WORLD’S NEW REGENERATIVE PATH
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