Healthier Wine Series Part 1: Sustainable Farming

This kicks off a multi-piece story on eco-friendly vineyard management and winemaking practices. We will look at three main practices; Sustainable, Biodynamic, and Organic. With this piece we will look at the farming practice known as Sustainable; and several regional Sustainable programs including: LIVE, Lodi Rules, Salmon Safe, and Fish Friendly.

To put it simply: Sustainable agriculture is an economically viable, socially supportive and ecologically sound process. Sustainable farms have the flexibility to choose what works best for them. They generally recycle, conserve energy and water, and use renewable resources when possible. They minimize the use of chemical products, preferring to manage nutrients with cover crops, and compost, and control insects with native birds and beneficial insects. If they need to use chemicals to deal with a problem they choose the least toxic option.

The U.S. Congress defines Sustainable Agriculture as:
Sustainable agriculture is an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having site-specific applications that will, over the long term:
• Satisfy human food and fiber needs
• Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which
the agricultural economy depends
• Make the most efficient use of non-renewable resources and on-farm resources
• Integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls
• Sustain the economic viability of farm operations
• Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole

There are no national standards, but there are some regional and local certification programs. In Oregon and parts of Washington certification comes through LIVE and IOBC and California vineyards are certified through Lodi Rules. Benzinger has created its own sustainability program with the goal of having all of its 50 growers certified by 2008.

A non profit group promoting sustainable viticulture, LIVE (Low Input Viticulture & Enology) has the primary goals of:
· To see the vineyard as a whole system
· To create and maintain a high level of quality fruit production
· To implement practices that reduce reliance on synthetic chemicals and fertilizers with the goals of protecting the farmer, the environment, and communities at large
· To encourage responsible stewardship of the land, maintain natural fertility and ecosystem stability
· To promote sustainable farming practices that maintains the biological diversity of the whole farm.
LIVE is the first organization in the United States to be certified by the International Organization for Biological and Integrated Control of Noxious Animals and Plants (IOBC).

Lodi Rules is a regional program that raises the bar for vineyard health by requiring growers to use a variety of sustainable growing practices and addressing impact of pest control.
Sustainable wineries include: Domaine Serene, Ponzi Vineyards, Williamette Valley Vineyards, and many others. Always check with your local retailer or the wineries website to see which of the specific wines from a vineyard are Sustainable.

Salmon Safe is a farming process, started in Oregon and has now grown to include Washington, which encourages the minimizing of chemical products used on a farm or vineyard. Very similar to organic, but with the specific goal of having the least impact on the aquatic ecosystem of Salmon. This certification takes place primarily in the Northwest United States and is acquired by a farm or vineyard only after they have completed an in depth review of the farming practices. This review includes walk-through assessments, review of growing practices, use of synthetic and natural fertilizers and pest control, notification of changes to farming practices and/or crop changes during the year. Once a farm/vineyard is certified they are allowed to use the Salmon Safe logo. To keep their certification farms must be reviewed a minimum of once a year.

Salmon Safe wineries include: Argyle, Domaine Serene, Evasham Wood, King Estate, Sokol Blosser. Always check with your local retailer or the wineries website to see which of the specific wines from a vineyard are Salmon Safe.

Fish Friendly Farming covers the water-sheds of Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma, and Solano counties in California. Each vineyard develops it’s own conservation plan that then must be approved by three governmental agencies: National Marine Fisheries Service, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the County Agricultural Commissioner. Photo monitoring of the property is set up and each property is required to recertify every five to seven years.
Fish Friendly Wineries include: Clos du Bois, Fetzer, Rodney Strong, Simi, as well as others. Always check with your local retailer or the wineries website to see which of the specific wines from a vineyard are Fish Friendly.

LIVE and IOBC wines can be labeled as such if 97% of the grapes are certified, with Lodi Rules at least 85% of the grapes are certified. On wines without certification, a description of specific farming practices may be included, such as “sustainably farmed” or “naturally farmed”.
With Salmon Safe wines you can look for there logo, with Fish Friendly Farming there currently is no logo, although a winery can use the text “we participate in Fish Friendly Farming” or “vineyards certified in Fish Friendly Farming”.

In general, Sustainable practices currently have no uniform labeling practice to indicate what farming practices are being used. The ATF does regulate what is put on a wine label and therefore if a practice is indicated on the label you know it has been verified. The many regional sustainable programs can be labeled according to their guidelines. Alternatively many vineyards and wineries may combine practices of one or more of the eco-friendly techniques and forgo labeling there wines in any way.

For more information please visit:
LIVE
IOBC
Lodi Rules
Benzinger
Salmon Safe
Fish Friendly Farming

Thad Norlinger

-Cellars Wines & Spirits