Keeping Sheep in Vineyards After Bud Break

(Wines&Vines) - The Napa Valley Grapegrowers held its seventh annual Organic Winegrowing Conference on July 25, attracting growers and suppliers from far beyond the Napa Valley to discuss the latest findings, products and practices for sustainable and organic grapegrowing.

The event was held at Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery in St. Helena, which was a pioneer in adopting organic farming of grapes. Winery president Beth Novak Milliken said that the company started using organic practices in 1985 because, “It was the right thing to do. We grow in a residential neighborhood, and we did it for neighbors, ourselves and our staff.”

Speakers covered items from practical to esoteric. Grapegrower Ted Hall of Long Meadow Ranch Winery set the stage by countering the usual negative view of organic farming—not using synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers—to a positive view of organic as a system that considers farming in a holistic manner. “Using chemicals has unintended consequences,” he pointed out.

Hall added, “We farm organically because it results in higher quality at lower cost—especially if considered over a long term.” He claimed that organic vineyards could have twice the lifespan of those farmed with chemicals.