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Winery Feature: Torch Cellars

By
Taylor Chalstrom | Editor
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Mark Welch, co-owner and winemaker at Torch Cellars, has worked in wineries across the world to perfect his own wines (all photos courtesy M. Welch.)

Torch Cellars co-founder Mark Welch had worked in multiple vineyards across the globe all his career before finally opening his own with longtime friend Greg Jelstrom. A dream come true, Welch and Jelstrom made it their mission to “craft elegant, limited-production wines that will delight the most discriminating wine enthusiast.”

Welch, who is also a certified PCA, worked his way up through the wine industry in all facets, from the field to the winery to teaching, and finally back to the winery. By the early 2010s, Welch and Jelstrom were making wine by hand as a side project and bottling their first Zinfandels. Jelstrom, like Welch, came to enjoy winemaking, and the two became business partners to form Torch Cellars.

Torch Cellars is located in western Paso Robles within San Luis Obispo County and produces from grapes grown in vineyards in the Willow Creek, El Pomar and Templeton Gap regions. Location, which includes factors like soil type, weather and aesthetic, is everything to Welch for a winery, and it played into the search for Torch’s home on the Central Coast.

Welch sat down with Grape & Wine to share his experiences working across the industry up to Torch’s inception and beyond.

From left to right, Tempranillo, Rosé and Cabernet Sauvignon options from Torch Cellars. Welch said his grandmother, an artist, created the logo he’d eventually use for Torch, which takes inspiration from the Mayan sun.

Q. How did you get your start?
I’m from Visalia originally. I went to Cal Poly [San Luis Obispo] for crop science. Two years into my agronomy class, I had Viticulture 1 and Viticulture 2. I enrolled in those. At this time, Cal Poly did not have a wine and viticulture program so a few professors with vision created a “Wine Marketing Certificate Program” in the early 1990s through the university’s extended education teaching program, which I participated and graduated. It was the beginning of what Cal Poly has now in the wine and viticulture program.

At that time as a student, I worked and was enrolled at the university yearlong. Professor Paul Fountain oversaw the teaching vineyard. Paul asked me, “I need someone to run the vineyard (Trestle Vineyard) for the summer.” I volunteered, so that’s how I got started.
The winery that was processing those grapes for Cal Poly was Wild Horse Winery and owner Ken Volk, very famous winemaker. I wanted to learn more about the winemaking process. Fast forward, after I graduated Cal Poly, I ended up going to work for Wild Horse in Templeton, Calif. I spent three years learning the wine business. At this same time, I was introduced to the music business and managed, marketed and toured with musicians for the next six years. That was fun and very educating; however, I decided to follow my passion and get back into the wine business. I went back to Cal Poly and enrolled in the master’s program for plant protection science.

Welch typically ages his wines 18 to 33 months in either French Oak barrels or a combination of French Oak and American barrels.

After graduating, Cal Poly Crop Science Department offered me a position to lecture classes and manage the vineyard along with all the permanent tree crops That’s where I met Dr. Keith Patterson, a very famous viticulturist. Keith took me under his wing… and I ended up teaching there for the next 10 years as a lecturer.

At that time, we developed the wine and viticulture program at Cal Poly. We were the first ones to develop it. I was on the ground floor.

In 2012, we had a department head change… I decided to retire and move on. Following my interest to travel and work abroad, I ended up doing grape harvest in Switzerland along Lec léman (Lake Geneva), and subsequently accepted a cellar hand position in New Zealand for the next three seasons working for Constellation Brands. After moving back to San Luis Obispo, I went to work for Midnight Cellars in Paso Robles. That’s where I started the brand, Torch Cellars.

Welch and his girlfriend, Alta, pouring wine at an event.

Q. Where did the name ‘Torch’ come from?
Torch was my nickname I was given while working at Wild Horse Winery. Ken Volk named me “Torch”. We were working in the sun so much, I looked like a surfer guy. “You’re a torch,” he said, and that’s the name.

Q. To you, what makes Torch Cellars unique?
Location has everything to do with it. On the west side of Paso, the soils are very chalky (we call them calcareous), they are old seabed soils, and the weather, of course, the day and night temperature fluctuations, those have a lot to do with the flavor of the grapes, we say.

Welch takes pride in his unique style of winemaking.

At Torch Cellars… my winemaking style is a combination of various techniques. We have seven guys that make wine down here, and all of us might use the same grapes but we don’t necessarily use the same yeast, barrels and/or aging techniques. It’s like a chef, for example, like you’re making a pizza and I’m making a pizza; we all use dough, but it’s how you make it.

I think the things that stand out for anybody making wine is your label. The brand has to be the one that kind of stands out and makes it unique. You need to have a story behind it. I think it makes it a lot more interesting when people ask about it.

I went around the world where I’ve seen a lot of different winemaking techniques and I apply them to my winemaking style.

There’s not only one way to do things. That’s kind of where you stand out between you and the next guy.

Welch makes red wines in a “Bordeaux style,” using the five primary reds from France: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.

Q. Tell me about some of those grapes and wines you produce at Torch.
I make red wines in a “Bordeaux style,” meaning I primarily use the five primary reds from France: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.

I always liked Cab, and I always liked Syrah, and I ended up blending this Cab-Syrah-Tempranillo, and that’s kind of my flagship. That’s my reserve. It’s always been Cab, Tempranillo and Syrah.

I love Tempranillo, it is a favorite variety I use as a standalone variety and blend. Tempranillo is from Spain, and I use a combination of American and French Oak barrels, age 33 months. It’s kind of earthy, it’s got the other elements that Cab doesn’t have or Syrah. Of course, it’s the major variety out of Rioja, Spain. I produce the wine over here and kind of do it in a different style.

I typically age 18 to 33 months in 50% New French Oak. Rhône-style wines (Syrah, Grenache) use much less new Oak (33% new French Oak) and only 18- to 24-month barrel aging.

Grenache is the workhorse of the Rhône Valley [in France], so I also do a little Grenache Rosé.

There’s about a handful of us that make Chardonnay on the west side of Paso, and it’s in a Burgundian style… meaning barrel fermented, barrel aged and sur lie aging (the process of letting white and sparkling wines mature and age on top of spent yeast and other particulate matter.) Typically, no more than five to six months in barrel before bottling. In Europe, winemakers use traditional winemaking techniques centuries old handed down by generation where in New Zealand) we use the same concepts but more mechanized and larger quantities.

Q. What’s the tasting experience like at Torch?
Everything is in the wine cellar itself, which is kind of unique. You have to have an appointment, we come in, we do the tastings, and you’re in the cellar, you see the tanks, we do some barrel tastings.

Most people are just in the tasting room, they just don’t get to see the owner. They get to see everybody else. So, it’s just with me.

Q. Separate from Torch Cellars, what’s been your personal mission as a winemaker?
Travelling really opened my eyes to traditional winemaking. My main objective with that was to just learn as much as I could and try to bring as much of that knowledge back here and try to train people.

I don’t know if I really have a mission; I just know I want to try and make the best wine I can, and I like being a PCA.

Q. Does being a PCA help when being a winemaker?
Six months out of the year I work in the wine side and the other six months I work as an independent pest control adviser (viticulture consultant). It does help me. I get questions on both sides all the time.

I’m trying to help growers be efficient. I get called all the time. It’s been a learning process.

Q. What does sustainability mean to you?
There’s a pest side, soil side, water side and people side. So, all those things taken into consideration, when we farm, sustainability is using the least of all your inputs to create a product.

I tell everybody, you’ve got to farm the soil, not necessarily just the plant because it is what’s in the soil that translates into the wine.

https://torchcellars.com/

https://torchcellars.com/

Defend Against Cybercrime

By
Catherine Merlo | Contributing Writer
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Ransomware and business email compromise usually happen because people click on a malicious link or PDF file (photo by C. Merlo.)

In the world of cybersecurity, they’re called “bad actors,” and they’re not just attacking corporate giants, retail chains and school systems. They’re targeting ag-related businesses too.

Criminal hackers are looking to breach your network, steal your data and compromise your operations. They can hold you hostage, denying you access to your own files unless you pay a hefty ransom. It’s not a question of if but when a cybercrime will occur, experts warn.
“It doesn’t matter what the business is or its size, the threats are very real,” said Doug Davidson, director of technology for GBQ, which Forbes lists as one of America’s Best Tax and Accounting Firms. “Today, 25% of all crime is cyber-related.”

Is your farm or winery vulnerable? If your business uses email or smartphones, it is. If your employees handle payroll, inventory, shipments and customer transactions online, it is. If your wine club conducts business via the internet, you’re at risk. In fact, anything attached to the internet is vulnerable to a cyberattack.

The primary motivation for attacks continues to be overwhelmingly financially driven at 95% of breaches, reported Verizon in its widely read 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report. It also noted the most common form of attack is ransomware, followed by business email compromise (BEC).

“Ransomware continues to be a major threat for organizations of all sizes and industries,” said Verizon.

The three primary ways in which attackers access an organization are stolen credentials, phishing and exploitation of vulnerabilities, the report added.

Threat Risks
As vineyards and wineries increase their use of technology, they must be aware of the security controls they have in place, said Melissa DeDonder, senior manager and director of external IT consulting for Pinion, a national food and ag consulting and accounting firm.
As examples, she pointed to chemical applications in the field, temperature settings during fermentation, humidity in warehouses, all increasingly controlled by automation. Further, there’s third-party risk, where processes such as sales orders and distribution are handled through digital avenues. A customer relationship management system, with customer names, addresses, phone numbers and credit card information, is also vulnerable.

“Can your system be broken into?” DeDonder asked. “What are the risks or breaches that can happen there? How are you securing that data?”

Layers of Prevention
There are several layers of cybersecurity, but the most basic prevention starts with recommendations from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the nation’s cyber defense agency and national coordinator for critical infrastructure security.
“Using strong passwords, updating your software, thinking before you click on suspicious links and turning on multi-factor authentication are the basics of what we call ‘cyber hygiene’ and will drastically improve your online safety,” CISA said. “These cybersecurity basics apply to both individuals and organizations.”

Beyond that, business owners should know what software, hardware and important data they have. That includes computers, printers, routers, security cameras and smartphones.
“We find that most organizations don’t know what they have or where it is,” said GBQ’s Davidson. “If you don’t know what you have, you can’t protect it.”

Another cyber defense is to back up data regularly, FBI agent Brad Swenson told attendees during a “Cybersecurity 101” seminar at World Ag Expo in Tulare, Calif. last February.
“Keep three copies of your data,” Swenson said. “Two of them onsite should be on two different computers, so if one crashes, you still have another. One copy should be out in the cloud or offsite. You can put it on a hard drive and put it in a safety deposit box at the bank.”

“My No. 1 cyber protection advice is to educate your employees,” says Pinion’s Melissa DeDonder (photo courtesy Pinion.)

Swenson also urged people to be careful about what they post online. Bad actors “use that information against you,” he said. “They do their research, figure out who you are, what makes you tick, then use it against you.”

Businesses should also fight cybercrime by adopting a security framework, Davidson said. He likens that to a playbook of controls put in place to identify what you have and what needs to be done to protect it.

One available framework comes from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This government agency has developed the Cybersecurity Framework to enhance the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure. The framework integrates a set of industry standards and best practices to help organizations manage cybersecurity risks. It’s free and accessible at nist.gov/cyberframework.The

Human Element
Unfortunately, businesses’ biggest cyber threat often lies close to home. Verizon’s 2023 report found that 74% of all breaches include “the human element,” with people being involved either through error, privilege misuse, use of stolen credentials or social engineering.

For many businesses, that weak link is employees, especially those who unknowingly click on a link or open a PDF file that contains malware, or malicious software, which allows hackers in.

IT security expert Doug Davidson says 25% of all crime today is cyber-related (photo courtesy GBQ.)

“My No. 1 protection advice is always to educate your employees,” said Pinion’s DeDonder. “Ransomware and BEC happen because employees, executives or owners click on something.”

Cybersecurity training teaches people what to watch out for, whether it’s a malicious email link, PDF file or website. And once-a-year training isn’t enough, added DeDonder.
“It’s got to be constant and repetitive.”

Among other cyber-hygiene practices DeDonder advocates are patching, or updating, your system and backing up critical data you and your business can’t afford to lose. Then test your online security controls that are in place.

“And make sure you have enough of a technology budget to protect your business,” she said.

Reporting Cybercrime
If your system has been compromised, you should contact the FBI, according to Swenson. He advised victims to start with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.iC3.gov. The site offers a complaint form that, once filled out, will be routed to the appropriate FBI field office so the agency can start taking action.

If a cybercrime involves a financial theft, “the quicker you can notify us, the quicker we can take action to stop that money movement,” Swenson said. “If you let us know within 72 hours of a fraudulent wire transfer, we have mechanisms in place to halt it. In the instances I’ve seen, the money gets returned.”

While Davidson recommends anyone who’s had a cybercrime event to report it to the FBI, he believes the first person you should call is your attorney.

“An attorney can help do some of the investigative work under privilege,” he said. “Then call your insurance carrier if you have cyber liability insurance.”

Bottom line: Be suspicious. Be careful what you download and what you share. Make sure your business has controls in place to detect, respond to and recover from a cyber threat or actual event. Don’t let bad actors catch you unprepared.

Cybersecurity Terms to Know

Hacking: Attempts to intentionally access or harm information assets without authorization by circumventing or thwarting logical security mechanisms.

Ransomware: A type of malicious software that threatens a victim by destroying or blocking access to critical data or systems until a ransom is paid.

Business email compromise: A type of cybercrime where the scammer uses email to trick someone into sending money or divulging confidential company information.

Spoofing: When someone disguises an email address, sender name, phone number or website URL, often just by changing one letter, symbol or number, to convince you that you are interacting with a trusted source.

Phishing: A targeted attempt to obtain sensitive data by duping victims into voluntarily giving up account information and credentials.

Data Incident: A security event that compromises the integrity, confidentiality or availability of an information asset.

Data Breach: An incident that results in the confirmed disclosure (not just potential exposure) of data to an unauthorized party.

Malware: Any malicious software, script or code run on a device that alters its state or function without the owner’s informed consent.

Sources: Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report; FBI.gov; Microsoft.com

FBI’s Cyber Safety Tips

The FBI is the lead federal agency for investigating cyberattacks and intrusions. Here are some tips the FBI offers to protect yourself from cybercriminals:

Keep systems and software up to date and install a strong, reputable anti-virus program.
Be careful when connecting to a public Wi-Fi network and do not conduct any sensitive transactions, including purchases, when on a public network.

Create a strong and unique passphrase for each online account and change those passphrases regularly.

Set up multi-factor authentication on all accounts that allow it.

Examine the email address in all correspondence and scrutinize website URLs before responding to a message or visiting a site.

Don’t click on anything in unsolicited emails or text messages.

Be cautious about the information you share in online profiles and social media accounts. Sharing things like pet names, schools and family members can give scammers the hints they need to guess your passwords or the answers to your account security questions.
Don’t send payments to unknown people or organizations seeking monetary support and urging immediate action.

 

Even sophisticated field equipment should have cybersecurity controls in place, experts say (photo by C. Merlo.)

‘Touch-Free’ Vineyard Proved Concept

By
Vicky Boyd | Contributing Writer
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Garrett Van Brocklin, a sales technician for Clemens Vineyard Equipment Inc. in Woodland, Calif., uses a Clemens Shoot Thinner for canopy management on a high wire vineyard at the UC Davis, Oakville Station in Napa County in 2021 (all photos courtesy UC Davis.)

Prompted by labor availability and ever-increasing labor costs, winegrape growers have increasingly turned to mechanization, first with harvest and then with other cultural practices.

The move didn’t come overnight and has been more of an evolution, said S. Kaan Kurtural, founder of Kurtural Vineyard Consulting in Davis, Calif. In addition, a fully mechanized production system isn’t for every grower, and they must weigh their production practices before making the jump.

But Kurtural has proven it can be done, whether growers are planting a new vineyard or wanting to convert over an older one.

For more than 20 years, he has studied mechanized winegrape production first at California State University, Fresno, and then at UC Davis, until earlier this year. One of the most recent projects he led was establishing a “touch-free” experimental winegrape vineyard at the UC Davis Oakville Station.

“15 years ago, there wasn’t a lot of economic necessity to do mechanized practices,” Kurtural said. “However, grape prices have not changed in the last 25 years. Now it’s become a necessity, and there’s been a change in the ways vineyards are planted and farmed.”

Controlling labor costs has become a focus as state minimum wages increase annually. That’s because labor tied to pruning and harvesting account for more than 80% of overall vineyard labor costs, according to research conducted by Kurtural and several colleagues.
George Zhuang, UCCE viticulture advisor in Fresno County, conducted four studies in 2019 that estimated the costs and returns of establishing and producing winegrapes in the southern San Joaquin Valley. The research, which looked at nearly complete mechanization, involved four varieties: cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, rubired and colombard.
Based on the studies, fully implemented mechanization reduced production costs from $3,000 to $2,500 per acre, or 17% less.

Because the studies were completed four years ago, Zhuang said he couldn’t help but expect the savings to be even more today with the state’s annual increase in minimum wage.

“If you still use my numbers, the savings have jumped from $500 to at least $700,” he said.

Aiding the transition are the growing number of U.S. equipment manufacturers that have developed machines to box prune vines in one pass, Kurtural said. Many European machines, on the other hand, are designed more for the VSP (vertical shoot-positioning) trellis system and only prune on one plain.

Trellising is Key
Choosing the proper trellising that provides 360-degree machine access without cross arms or wires getting in the way is key to making full mechanization successful, Kurtural said.
Other factors to consider include topography, cultivars, rootstocks, vine and row spacing, irrigation systems, climate and yield potential. Cultivars that can be trained to have straight trunks and lateral cordons lend themselves to mechanized management. In addition, those with strong basal bud fruitfulness, such as chardonnay and cabernet, are better suited to mechanized management than varieties like Thompson seedless with lower basal bud fruitfulness.

In several trials, the single high wire trellis system performed the best, reducing labor costs by more than 90% and increasing fruit yields without reducing quality. Known by other names, including high-cordon machine pruned, the system involves training bilateral cordons on a single wire about 60 to 72 inches off the vineyard floor. Canes are allowed to flow over the sides to create a kind of parasol over the fruiting zone. The leaves don’t totally block the sun, instead acting like a sun screen to filter rays that hit the fruit.
The single-wire system isn’t far removed from the California sprawl, where bilateral cordons are topped by a single catch-wire, and canes are allowed to sprawl over the sides to create a canopy covering the fruiting zone. Where the single-wire system differs is it lacks extraneous wires that may interfere with mechanical pruning blades, saws or sickles.
The single-wire system also elevates fruit higher off the vineyard floor, minimizing damage from spring frosts that are colder closer to the ground. Recent UC research led by Kurtural also has found the system protects fruit from heat waves or increasing temperatures by keeping it farther away from heat radiating from the vineyard floor.

The VSP system, on the other hand, uses a fruiting wire about 36 to 40 inches from the ground. Three to five additional movable wires allow for shoot training. The fruit is exposed to the sun, making it prone to sunburn. The lower fruiting wire also makes buds and new leaves more susceptible to spring frosts.

While the California sprawl system works for mechanization, cross arms with two catch wires can cause big problems for mechanical pruning or shoot thinning.

In addition, the single-wire system typically helps balance canopy size with fruit load without affecting grape quality. In fact, Kurtural said, the new systems actually enhance desirable chemical components such as anthocyanins within the fruit.

“We initially started work to see if [full mechanization] would be economically profitable for the grower,” he said. “Once we established that, we noticed that the quality was much higher at the farm gate. In the end, the wine was preferred by taste panels as well.”

Mechanical Pruning
Along with harvest, dormant pruning is one of the most labor-intensive and costly cultural practices tied to winegrape production, according to Kurtural’s research.

Over the years, he and his colleagues have found that mechanized box pruning, where bearing spurs are pruned from the top, bottom and sides, mostly closely resembles hand pruning. The initial prepruning pass leaves a box with dimensions ranging from about 4 to 6 inches wide and about 4 inches tall.

Because mechanical pruning is not selective, follow-up mechanical shoot thinning after bud break and the danger of frost has passed helps achieve the desired shoot density.

Making the Switch
Zhuang, who cooperated with Kurtural in some of his previous trials, said nearly all new vineyards being planted in the south San Joaquin Valley are on single high-wire trellises.
“It’s very obvious right now based on my observations that all of the new plantings of winegrapes are on single wire or high quads shooting for 100% mechanical pruning,” Zhuang said.

Because yield is the top goal of south San Joaquin Valley producers, he said shoot thinning and leaf removal aren’t that popular.

Payton Hoover, a parts manager with Vmech, of Fresno, drives a tractor that pulls a Vmech Chariot with dual precision pruners for pruning on high wire vineyards at the UC Davis Oakville Station in Napa County in 2021. Westside Equipment acquired Vmech in June 2023.

Zhuang was part of research with Kurtural in 2019 that examined the feasibility of converting a hand-pruned San Joaquin Valley vineyard to mechanization. The 20-year-old head-trained merlot vineyard was planted on traditional trellising that involved two eight-node canes laid on a catch wire in opposite directions and two eight-node canes attached to a 66-inch-high catch wire. Although the system could be mechanically harvested, it didn’t lend itself to mechanical dormant pruning or shoot removal.

As part of the trial in the Madera vineyard, they converted 8 acres of vines to a cordon-trained spur-pruned California sprawl system or a bilateral cordon-trained mechanically box-pruned single high wire system. Of the two, the single high wire proved more successful for mechanical pruning in the San Joaquin Valley, where more than half the state’s winegrapes are grown.

Retraining the vines also resulted in yields and fruit quality as good or better than from hand-pruned vines. Once the project was completed, the vineyard owner converted the remaining 45 acres of vines to the single high-wire system.

But Zhuang said there is a caveat when converting vines to a new trellis system.
“We see a lot of those old vineyards in the south San Joaquin Valley have a lot of trunk disease, so there’s a lot of dead arms,” he said. “Typically, we don’t recommend growers convert those vines because diseases like Botryosphaeria and Eutypa will come back and impact your new vines.”

But if the vineyard is relatively healthy without a lot of dead arms, Zhuang said it would be a good candidate for conversion.

The Biopesticide Revolution: Opportunity Knocks for Growers and Investors An Interview with Innovator Pam Marrone

By
Pam Strayer | Contributing Writer
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Pam Marrone, innovator and pioneer of biopesticides, is a proponent of non-chemical pest control methods (all photos courtesy P. Marrone.)

A successful entrepreneur and pioneer in biopesticides, Pam Marrone is the co-founder and executive chair of the Invasive Species Corp. and Invasive Species Foundation. A thought leader with deep experience in the ag biologicals industry, she successfully brought multiple science-based products to market and scaled two agbio companies from founding to a consistent high growth revenue stage.

Marrone also mentors entrepreneurs and promotes education on ag biologicals through speaking and writing.

In 2010, she won an IPM Innovator award from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and recently served on DPR’s committee on Sustainable Pest Management, creating a new roadmap and recommendations. She also serves on the board of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research.

In 2019, BioAg World honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution in Biopesticides.

Pam Marrone believes bioherbicide production is the next key opportunity for biological pest control.

What are biopesticides?
They’re naturally occurring microorganisms like bacteria and fungi and some extracts of plants and other natural materials that are nontoxic to humans and the environment.
And how do you find them?

Microorganisms live everywhere, outdoors in the soil, on flowers, on your body, on your feet, and so you literally can find them anywhere. Companies looking for and developing new drugs look to the rainforest, and for areas of high biodiversity to find new drugs. It’s the same with things that kill pests.

So you look for areas where there’s a little battle going on between the different microbes, and the ones that win out tend to be the ones that probably have pesticidal properties. A dry creek bed, where it’s wet part of the year and dry part of the year, so the microbe has to be pretty tough to survive the different conditions.

How did you get started in this field?
I was actually hired to start up a new program at Monsanto in the 1980s, looking for nonchemical ways to control pests.

I was given pretty much free rein, and I set up a national products screening program, like we’re doing now at Pro Farm Group (the new company name, after the sale to Bioceres Crop Solutions), just screening microbes looking for ways to control pests. And that was great fun.

We screened over 100,000 microorganisms, looking to control pests, plant pathogens and weeds. And Monsanto decided they were going into genetic engineering of crops, and so that’s what they wanted me to switch to, and I really preferred screening the microbes. I fell in love with that.

Then I got a call from a Danish company, Novo Nordisk. They were looking for someone to start up a new company, looking for testing microbes against pests. And I said, ‘Wow, that’s exactly what I want to do,’ so I left Monsanto and started up Entotech here in Davis, [Calif.]

And then they sold us to a large competitor in 1995. And that’s when I started AgraQuest, which I left in 2006, and then started up Marrone Bio Innovations in 2006.

Where did you find the organisms in these products?
We found the Bacillus in Stargus® in a rice field in northern California. Grandevo®, which we licensed from USDA-ARS, was found under a hemlock tree in Maryland, and we discovered Venerate® from a Buddhist Temple garden in Japan.

Are growers using these products and find them effective?
Yes they are, and our products have grown quite rapidly. But it is important to know how best to use them as they are not curative synthetic chemicals and need to be applied before the buildup of the pest or pathogen.

Are there alternatives to glyphosate yet?
Not yet on the bioherbicide side. The products for organic growers are typically burndown and need to be reapplied, like those from capric and caprylic acids by Certis and Westbridge.

What are the next problems you’re hoping to solve to help growers?
I was working on three products for weed control while leading Marrone Bio. Bioceres has indicated it wants to complete their development.

In the new company that I recently co-founded, Invasive Species Corporation, we are setting up a bioherbicide screening platform. There are very few bioherbicides out there because chemical herbicides are so inexpensive. It is just very technically challenging to find a bioherbicide that will compete. But those types of grand challenges are what I like to tackle, and I am convinced with the new scientific tools we have today our team can quickly find some effective and cost-effective bioherbicides.

Winery Feature: Smith-Madrone Vineyards

By
Taylor Chalstrom | Editor
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Vines are planted in Smith-Madrone’s vineyards on slopes with varying sun exposure depending on variety.

Nestled high up in the Spring Mountain District of California’s northern Napa Valley, Smith-Madrone Vineyards is unique in many ways when it comes to growing grapes and making wine.

There aren’t many wineries in the state that sit at around 2,000 feet of elevation, and certainly less that are dry farmed like Smith-Madrone. Winemaker Stu Smith, who studied viticulture and enology at UC Davis and founded the vertically integrated operation with brother Charles, considers winegrapes grown in the mountains to have character, flavor and interest, qualities that convinced him to plant in Smith-Madrone’s location. The winery’s name comes from Smith’s last name combined with the name of the predominant tree on the ranch, the Madrone, an evergreen with a red-brown trunk and branches. The operation is dry farmed and since 2017 has received little to no irrigation.

Today’s winegrape industry sees much of its product grown in the Valley, but before this practice took off, Smith said grapes were mostly grown in mountainous regions and takes pride in the location he’s been fortunate to produce in. He also acknowledged major differences in growing on a mountain vs. in a valley, including the ability to use certain equipment, water availability, permitting and surrounding wildlife among other challenges.
Smith-Madrone currently produces wine grown from grapes of Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot varieties.

Smith sat down with Grape and Wine to share his experiences at Smith-Madrone from 1971 to present day.

Vineyard Inception
The history of the property goes back to 1880, when George Cook planted a fair number of olive trees and cleared the forest to plant a vineyard. He then went to San Francisco and applied for the Homestead Act and was granted the property.

That vineyard was abandoned around that time, Smith said, as were most of the vineyards in the mountains, as a result of grape phylloxera, a root-feeding insect.

Smith visited the property when it had regrown into a forest and closed on it in 1971. In June of the same year, he acquired a logging permit to reclaim the vineyard from the forest and start planting.

“We had to clear the vineyard, we had to pick up all the rocks and the roots,” Smith said. “Just smoothed it out, we just picked up, picked up, picked up.”

In 1972, planting started. “We planted five acres each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling,” he said, although the vineyard’s current acreage no longer consists of Pinot Noir as it was phased out and grafted to Chardonnay in the 1980s.

Stu (left) and Charles (right) Smith of Smith-Madrone Vineyards take pride in their unique method of grape and wine production (all photos by Matouš Forman.)

A Unique Approach to Grapes and Wine
Grapes
Vines are planted in Smith-Madrone’s vineyards on slopes with varying sun exposure depending on variety. Smith noted this orientation heavily contributes to wine quality as different varieties grow best with more or less sun exposure.

“The Chardonnay, which was Pinot Noir at the time, was planted out in front of the winery, and it went around a slope,” he said. “It was a northeast-facing slope, and it would get the least amount of direct sunlight because it would be a fairly obtuse angle for the sun. I decided to plant the Pinot Noir there because Pinot Noir needs less sun than anything else.
“Just across an avenue was an area that was facing more east,” Smith continued. “I put the Riesling there because it needed more sunlight than Pinot Noir.”

The vineyard also has a flatter portion with good sun exposure to the southeast where Smith planted the Cabernet Sauvignon.

Stu Smith examines vine leaves in one of the vineyard’s dry farmed blocks. Drip irrigation is installed to get the vines through their first year and left in the field afterward if needed.

The original vineyard was hand-watered in its first year and dry farmed in subsequent years, and any new plantings have followed suit with this strategy. Dry farming as a technique has been discussed within the ag industry due to recent severe drought years in California and certain crops being tolerable to it, but the practice is still infrequently used.
Drip irrigation wasn’t common practice either when Smith initially planted, so the intention from the beginning was to dry farm, and for the most part, the vineyard has stuck to it. Drip was installed in the vineyard later but ripped out in the mid-1980s. However, due to drought concerns, any new planting in the vineyard today, Smith said, has drip installed.
“When I say dry farming, we’re not 100% anal about this,” Smith said. “Unlike back in the mid-80s with the drought, we didn’t and aren’t going to tear out the drip irrigation this time around because we just don’t know what climate change is going to bring us.

Smith-Madrone Vineyards is nestled high up in the Spring Mountain District of California’s northern Napa Valley at around 2,000 feet of elevation.

“We don’t have a lot of water, and we have to be very careful about what we do have, but a number of our blocks haven’t had water [applied] in many years.”

As with the orientation of the vineyard and its varying sun exposure, Smith believes this water strategy contributes to grape and wine quality, noting the vines go from a vegetative cycle to a ripening cycle in a more natural fashion. “The vines understand what’s going on,” he said.

It should be noted that these methods produce a smaller crop all around with a different fruit set, but that is exactly what Smith is striving for. “We don’t want big, fat, juicy, watery [grapes],” he said. “We want small berries that struggle to exist and have lots of concentrated flavors.”

Smith-Madrone currently produces wine grown from grapes of Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot varieties.

Wine
Smith-Madrone follows what Smith called a “Eurocentric” approach to winemaking, which believes in good acidity, balanced complexity, finesse, elegance and flavor layering. By definition, if any one of these pillars is more dominant than another in the final product, the wine is considered “singular.”

“What we want is all kinds of interesting flavors that balance one another and create a wine that is hedonistic,” Smith said, stressing the goal is not to make a Pepsi or a Coca-Cola but rather an end product that is more refined.

In terms of why Smith-Madrone produces their current selection, which includes Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot, Smith said it is mostly a matter of preference and the ways in which the winery has been able to advance its wine composition over the years.

Smith takes pride in the experience Smith-Madrone offers to visitors, who can visit with him and Charles directly during tours. The two brothers share decades of combined viticulture and enology experience.

Stu Smith shares his knowledge of viticulture and enology with a visitor from the Czech Republic.

“You’re having a tour and tasting with a person who’s been doing this for decades and can answer almost any question out there that someone has,” Smith said, “and that is something you cannot get at most larger wineries. Any questions you want to ask, we will stay with the group or the person until they’re done asking questions and we will give the very best straight scientific answer that we know.”

The bulk of the winery is nestled against an alley of olive trees and overlooks most of the Chardonnay vineyard and the floor of the Napa Valley. “The property is beautiful,” Smith said.

Sustainable Story Series: Part 1 Planting Trees with a Bottle of Wine: Social Responsibility in the Wine Industry

By
Whitney Brownie | Vineyard Team
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By opting for a sustainably produced wine, wine enthusiasts are enforcing the socially responsible practices the wine brand engages in (all photos courtesy Vina Robles.)

When thinking about sustainability, people often focus on environmental practices. Heightened concerns over resource issues such as water quality and availability, greenhouse gas emissions and soil nutrient depletion have inspired consumers to seek out businesses that use practices that are less demanding on and harmful to our blue planet.
While combating climate change and environmental degradation are certainly good enough reasons to support sustainable agricultural systems, many consumers will be pleasantly surprised to learn that sustainability goes beyond protecting the ecosystem. Sustainability puts a heavy emphasis on social equity. If you are wondering what it means for a business to practice social responsibility, look no further than the sustainable winegrowing industry.
The sustainable winegrowing community knows that people are our most valuable resource. Within the business, this includes the people who plant, care for, harvest, crush, ferment, bottle and pour the wine. Outside the business, it means the larger social systems in which the business exists, including neighbors and communities. Sustainable winegrowers put conscious care into protecting human resources.

In the eyes of many Americans, being a good employer is one of the most important attributes of a responsible company (Cone Communications 2017). Sustainable winegrowing businesses invest care and resources into their workforces by offering fair wages and benefits, safe and ethical working conditions, regular safety trainings, opportunities for education and emphasizing diversity and inclusion in their hiring processes. By creating an environment that encourages wellbeing and development, these companies foster strong, dependable workforces.

77% of consumers are motivated to purchase from companies committed to making the world a better place (Aflac CSR Survey 2019). There are several ways a business can use its resources to give back and in turn support the people and communities who make its success possible.

Sustainable winegrowers stay engaged and in tune with their communities by creating communication plans and participating in community forums. They give back to their communities through charitable donations including volunteer time and funds to local organizations. Many brands invite communities to their farms to participate in events designed to educate the community on resource issues and sustainable farming practices. Consumers can support these virtuous endeavors by choosing to shop their values and buy from a business that does good.

All of this is great news for the nearly 46% of U.S. regular wine drinkers who say they will always choose a sustainable wine when given the choice (IWSR 2022). The mindful shift toward supporting sustainable businesses and products has been observed over the past several years (Simon-Kutcher & Partners 2021; NielsenIQ 2021). IWSR’s latest findings from tracking consumer interest and attitudes toward alternative wines shows that the proportion of regular wine drinkers who are even willing to pay more for wine that was made sustainably has significantly increased over the past year (IWSR 2022).

By opting for a sustainably produced wine, wine enthusiasts are enforcing the socially responsible practices that the wine brand engages in. They can enjoy the good feelings that come from knowing they are supporting a company that treats its employees with care and respect and extends their good work to uplift their community.

Conscientious consumers can look for wine labels that showcase their social responsibility right on the label. For example, consumers of Vina Robles’ the Arborist Red Blend can feel good knowing they are helping plant trees with every bottle they purchase of this dynamic red blend.

Socially Responsible Sustainability in Action
In 2017, a unique partnership was formed between Vina Robles, a SIP Certified sustainable winegrower in Paso Robles, Calif., and two non-profit environmental conservation organizations: One Tree Planted and the Arbor Day Foundation. This partnership is a natural extension of the winery’s passion for trees and sustainable viticulture. Vina Robles has created a wine to embody these organizations’ shared belief that planting trees is the key to preserving our planet.

The oak tree depicted on the bottle’s label represents the Legacy Oak, an oak tree that took root on Vina Robles Estate’s Jardine Vineyard over 300 years ago.

The wine itself is dedicated to the winery’s founder, Hans Nef, and is named for the arborist who saved the tree from its declining health in 2014.

The trees planted through this partnership have been planted all around the world. “Our current tree count is over 35,000 trees,” said Alyssa Krichevsky, director of marketing at Vina Robles. “We hope to bring more attention to the work and host our own community event in the future.”

Socially responsible initiatives like Vina Robles’ the Arborist program allow consumers to contribute to a greater cause while they enjoy a glass of wine. This is a win for the brand, consumers and planet.

If your wine business practices social responsibility and other sustainable practices, share this valuable information with your customers. Communicating your business’s care for social issues is a great way to capture the attention of the 70% of consumers who want to know what the brands they support are doing to address social and environmental issues (Certus 2019).

Helping wine consumers understand specific sustainable practices can also increase a winery’s sales (Kathleen Kelley, The Pennsylvania State University, 2021).

In a recent study, two of Pennsylvania State University’s Kathleen Kelley’s colleagues, Michela Centinari and Justine Vanden Heuvel, determined that under-vine vegetation, or cover crops, can prevent erosion and soil runoff, nutrient leaching and excessive vine vegetative growth. Kelley wondered if promoting this sustainable farming practices could be part of a marketing strategy to sell more wine.

To test this theory, Kelley sought to characterize several wine consumer groups that were “likely” to sample wine from vineyards using cover crops. The findings, published in the International Journal of Wine Business Research, found 72% of 956 wine consumers from the mid-Atlantic region surveyed were willing to pay $18.99 for a 750-ml bottle of wine, which included a $1 surcharge to cover associated sustainable production costs including cover crops. Additionally, 26% indicated they would be willing to pay $20.99.

Vina Robles serves as a socially responsible wine brand through their partnership with environmental conservation non-profits One Tree Planted and the Arbor Day Foundation, allowing consumers that purchase bottles to contribute to a sustainable cause.

It’s important to note for the participants in Kelley’s study, simply hearing a wine brand acted sustainably wasn’t enough; it was learning the importance of specific sustainable practices that increased customers’ willingness to pay more for a sustainable wine. As Kelley said in her ‘Cover crops make vineyards more sustainable; strategy can be marketing tool’ article, “…in today’s world, sustainability can mean almost anything, and we’re seeing a consumer group that wants to be educated and wants to know exactly what is going on with sustainable wine production. So, being descriptive about what it actually means to include cover crops in a vineyard is a way to be attractive to them.”

We know that the proportion of regular wine drinkers willing to pay more for sustainable wine has significantly increased in the past two years. Vineyard Team’s Executive Director Beth Vukmanic said, “Wine brands have the opportunity to create an emotional connection with their customers by sharing stories about the specific things their brand does to be sustainable and why those practices are important.”

Don’t miss the next issue of the Sustainable Story Series to learn how one Paso Robles winery designed their entire operation to help protect California’s top resource concern: water.

Nutritional and Ingredient Labeling Changes for U.S. Wine Exporters to Europe

By
Pam Strayer | Contributing Writer
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Wine Market Council research investigated how often consumers of wine view ingredient lists on bottles that have them (courtesy Wine Market Council, Ingredients & Nutrition Labeling Research 2022.)

The European Union (EU) has a deadline of Dec. 8, 2023 to add nutritional and ingredient labeling to wine, information that will be displayed on the bottle in the form of a QR code. Labels will list both ingredients and processing aids, said Monika Christmann, the former head of the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), at the recent American Society of Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) conference held in Napa.

These QR codes will apply to any wines imported into the EU from the U.S. (or elsewhere).
The EU looks to OIV to set the standards. OIV rules require a unanimous vote to create standards, ensuring all 51 member countries (not including the U.S.) are aligned.
“As of December this year, we have to not only put on the calorie stamp, but also the question of what is an additive and what is a processing aid on the label,” Christmann said. This is problematic because the industry has repeatedly told consumers wine is natural, she said.

One-third of consumers that at least sometimes review nutrition labels on alcoholic beverages including wine are checking for calorie content (courtesy Wine Market Council, Ingredients & Nutrition Labeling Research 2022.)

“For too long, we have told the consumers wine is a natural product,” she said. “And now we have to explain why we are using techniques. So that’s a little bit of a homemade problem.”

It may also impact the way wines are made, she said, as producers will need to state additives and processing aids on the QR code and may modify winemaking practices to omit listing additives they previously used.

The industry lobbied for QR codes rather than bottle labeling nutritional and ingredients information.

Nutritional and ingredient labeling to wine, information that will be displayed on the bottle in the form of a QR code, will soon be required under new EU rules.

“If you’re an exporter, you’re going to have to have different labels for the EU than you will in the U.S.,” said Michael Kaiser, executive vice president and director of government affairs for the wine industry lobbying group Wine America.

In the U.S., the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) announced last fall that mandatory nutritional labeling in wine is coming, but experts are unable to predict when this might happen or when research for rulings will begin.

What Do Consumers Want
Christmann said consumers will be interested in statements about additives, and one of the most common is acid additions. “…what is the consumer going to say about it? Are they accepting that? Do they really like that?…that will impact our winemaking dramatically in the future.”

In 2022 the Wine Market Council in the U.S. surveyed 1,000 wine consumers in the U.S. to better understand how consumers view wine labeling. The survey found 52% of respondents were looking for nutritional info.

Wine Market Council research showed consumers generally expected wine to have more sugar than it does.

That ties into trends in both the U.S. and the EU, where consumers are seeking greater transparency about food and beverages they consume. Kaiser said the lack of transparency can be a turnoff for the market segment the wine industry is most rapidly losing (younger drinkers), and he added it could be a factor in the trend toward forgoing alcoholic consumption altogether or switching to non-alcoholic beverages.

In a 2023 survey, Wine America found 63% of its member respondents were opposed to disclosing ingredient information. In addition, 80% of wineries responding expressed negative feedback about the prospect of the U.S. following the EU example of requiring QR codes.

Dietary Concerns Decreased After Reading Nutritional Labeling
That does not align with what consumers want, according to Wine Market Council research which found the slight majority (52%) were looking for nutritional info. The most sought-after data was calories. In addition, 28% were looking for added sugar. Another 11% looked for data on carbohydrates. Women were more likely to look for sugar content (31%) than men (23%).

Presented with a generic nutritional wine label, showing 123 calories, 4g of carbohydrates, 1g of sugar and 0g of fat and protein, consumer reactions were varied.

Overall, consumers generally expected wine to have more sugar than it does.

On the caloric scale, 47% had a positive reaction to the statement that the wine had 123 calories, 17% a negative reaction and 36% were neutral.

The study looked at consumer perceptions of which alcoholic beverages had the most calories, carbs, sugar and artificial ingredients. 47% thought wine had sugar and 22% thought wine had carbohydrates.

After seeing the sample labeling information, their reactions changed. The highest positives were that 63% had a positive reaction to the labeling that showed there was only 1g of sugar and 74% had a positive reaction to the 0g fat label.

The study respondents were split 50/50 between core wine drinkers (once per week or more often) and marginal wine drinkers (less than once a week). The respondents were 60% female and 40% male. One-third were 21 to 39 years of age, one-third 40 to 59 and one-third 60 and older.

Additional Wine Market Council research in the U.S. showed consumers do not feel comfortable with listed ingredients with chemical names. The study found the QR codes were more popular with the younger generation of consumers.

Tips for Managing Vine Nutrition in Vineyards

By
Tian Tian | UCCE Viticulture Farm Advisor, Kern County
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Understanding vine nutrient status and determining nutrient needs are as important as fertilization itself (all photos by T. Tian.)

Proper nutrition management allows vines to grow healthy canopies and produce fruit with desirable quality. Fertilization is used to correct nutrient deficiency and improve vine productivity. Even in vines without foliar symptoms, growers may fertilize as a routine practice to compensate nutrient loss at harvest and prevent nutrient deficiency. As a result, sometimes managing vine nutrition simply means applying fertilizers. I would argue that understanding vine nutrient status and determining their nutrient needs are as important as fertilization itself.

Grapevines have lower fertilization requirements than many agricultural crops. Overfertilization does not offer many benefits from economic or vine productivity points of view. Instead, it could compromise vine balance, decrease fruit quality and negatively affect the environment. Let’s use nitrogen (N) as an example here. Excessive N additions lead to jungle-like canopy with limited light penetration and air circulation, increase disease pressure and negatively affect fruit quality. Excessive amounts of nitrate in the soil also increase the risk of groundwater and surface water contamination.

Supplying vines with ample but not excessive nutrients is easier said than done. In this article, I will start the story with summarizing previous work on whole vine nutrient budget and then extend the discussion to determining vine nutrient requirements and fertilization.

Whole Vine Nutrient Budget
Studies were conducted under field conditions in California and Oregon and in potted systems in South Africa to track nutrient uptake, movement and distribution among vine organs at different phenological stages.

In terms of macronutrients, annual growth is a strong sink for N, phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) between bud break and veraison. Required nutrients of shoots, leaves and clusters can be obtained from two pools: nutrients remobilized from permanent organs and those taken from soil. In mature vines, up to 50% of N and P in new growth can be supplied by the stored reserve in trunks and roots. On the other hand, less than 15% of K, Ca and Mg are remobilized from the reserve, since only a small percentage of those nutrients can be recycled during leaf fall. Clearly, nutrients obtained from the soil still account for a large portion of required nutrients, even in the mature vines. Young vines have less nutrient reserve than older vines, and thus rely more on nutrients supplied by root systems. Nitrogen uptake peaks between bud break and bloom, while uptake of other macronutrients usually reach the max between bloom and veraison. Nutrient uptake also takes place after harvest when nutrients are available in the soil and weather conditions are favorable.

In terms of macronutrients, annual growth is a strong sink for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium between bud break and veraison.

The uptake and distribution of micronutrients is less understood as compared to macronutrients. Dr. Paul Schreiner, scientist at USDA-ARS, studies the budget of micronutrient in young and older ‘Pinot noir’ vines in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. In young vines, boron, zinc, manganese and copper were taken between bud break and harvest, with the peak of uptake occurring between bloom and veraison. The uptake and allocation of micronutrients appears less consistent in mature vines.

Please note that research findings reflect vine nutrient budget under specific conditions and should be interpreted with caution. Factors like soil nutrient availability, irrigation practices, rootstock and scion combination and weather conditions have large impacts on nutrient uptake and allocation. Clearly, vine nutrient demand varies between vineyards. So, how should one determine whether fertilization is needed at a specific site?

Determine Nutrient Requirement of Vines
Nutrient analyses of leaf blades and leaf petioles at bloom and veraison are indicators of vine nutrient status. Many testing labs provide the comparison of leaf nutrient concentration to the normal range for each nutrient.

We recommend growers not relying solely on numbers on lab results to make fertilization decisions. First, variability in vine nutrient requirement is expected between vineyards and across seasons. Even if the tissue nutrient concentration of a vineyard is slightly below the given normal range, it does not mean vines surely experience nutrient deficiency. Second, normal ranges of leaf nutrients are estimated in experiments where vines received a specific nutrient at different rates and had its concentration over a wide range of leaf tissues. Given the difference in experimental setup, the normal range determined can vary between studies. Thus, the normal range for nutrients should be used only as references when it comes to interpreting vine nutrient requirements. Historical nutrient data, vine growth and production goals are important to consider. For example, fast-growing canopies may have lower leaf N concentration, especially in newly expanded leaves, but does not mean that vines require N fertilization. Instead, rapid shoot growth often indicates ample N and water availability in the soil.

Even if the tissue nutrient concentration of a vineyard is slightly below the given normal range, it does not mean vines surely experience nutrient deficiency.

Fertilization
In vineyards where fertilization is needed, growers and CCAs often ask me about the amount, formula and application timing of fertilizer. Rather than providing generalized answers for those questions, I would like to share some tips. Please feel free to reach out for questions related to your vineyards.

About 3 lb N, 0.5 lb P and 5 lb K are removed from a vineyard with each ton of harvested fruit. Many would use those numbers to calculate how much fertilizer is needed to compensate the loss during harvest. In reality, supplementing vines only with nutrients removed from the vineyard may not be sufficient. For instance, data from western Oregon showed that young ‘Pinot noir’ vines acquired 12.5 lb N, 3 lb P and 25 lb K per acre via uptake with the crop level at 2.0 ton/acre.

Compost is an affordable, slow-releasing fertilizer. Applying compost in the spring supplements vines with nutrients, boost soil microbial activity, improves soil water penetration by aggregation and enhances water holding capacity. Increasing soil organic matter is good practice for soil health in general.

Soil pH plays key roles on nutrient availability. Most nutrients become more available in soils with neutral pH. Regular soil sampling and testing can help with managing and adjusting soil pH if needed.

If nutrient deficiency is observed late in the season, immediate fertilization may not alleviate the symptoms. It is because the period when nutrient deficiency becomes evident would not be coincident with the period when nutrient uptake peaks. Making applications at the right timing in the following season may be more effective on correcting deficiency.

Even though vines obtain nutrients mainly from the soil by roots, foliar application can be an additional tool to supplement vines with nutrients. In the past, we successfully increased fruit N at harvest in wine grapes by applying urea to foliage between fruit set and veraison. Foliar application of P and Mg was found to reduce leaf symptoms in wine grapes. Some PCAs suggest foliar Ca and Mg sprays between bloom and veraison can increase berry firmness and reduce powdery mildew occurrence in table grapes.

Applying fertilizers in small doses may improve fertilization efficiency in vineyards with shallow root systems. Theoretically, frequent fertilization with lower doses allows roots to better catch nutrients and reduce leaching.

References
Araujo FJ and Williams LE. 1988. Dry matter and nitrogen partitioning and root growth of young field-grown Thompson Seedless grapevines. Vitis 27:21-32.
Conradie WJ. 1980. Seasonal uptake of nutrients by Chenin blanc in sand culture: I. Nitrogen. S Afr J Enol Vitic 1:59-65.
Conradie WJ. 1981. Seasonal uptake of nutrients by Chenin blanc in sand culture: II. Phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium. S Afr J Enol Vitic 2:7-14.
Schreiner RP, Scagel CF and Baham J. 2006. Nutrient uptake and distribution in a mature ‘Pinot noir’ vineyard. HortScience 41:336-345
Schreiner RP. 2016. Nutrient uptake and distribution in young Pinot noir grapevines over two seasons. Am J Enol Vitic 67:436-448

Protecting Vineyards: The Importance of Animal Deterrent Products for California Grape Growers

By
Taylor Chalstrom | Editor
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Protecting Vineyards: The Importance of Animal Deterrent Products for California Grape Growers

California’s rich agricultural landscape is renowned for its vineyards and the exceptional wines they produce. However, the success of these vineyards often faces a significant challenge in the form of wildlife intrusions. Animals like deer, birds and rodents can cause substantial damage to grapevines, resulting in decreased yields and compromised grape quality.

To mitigate this issue, California grape growers should incorporate animal deterrent products into their vineyard management practices. These products not only safeguard the integrity of vineyards but also contribute to sustainable farming practices and protect the local ecosystem.

Mitigating Losses
Grapes are a valuable crop for California growers, and protecting vineyards from animal damage is crucial for ensuring a successful harvest. Animals, especially deer, have a voracious appetite for grapevines, consuming leaves, buds and even ripening grapes. This herbivory can lead to significant yield losses and damage the overall quality of the grapes by defoliating young vines. According to UC IPM Guidelines, deer can stunt, distort or kill plants by repetitive browsing, and bucks can sometimes scar bark on trunks and lower limbs when they rub their antlers.

Animal damage can also cause grapevines to become diseased or infected. Some bird species can peck at grapes, leading to wounds that can become infected and lead to rot, while other species can remove the entire grape and even puncture lower grapes with their feet, according to UC IPM Guidelines. Ground squirrels cause a myriad of damage to vineyards in general, including but not limited to direct feeding on grapes, trunk girdling, chewing of irrigation lines, and root damage, which can lead fungal pathogens to infect trees. Rabbits can also chew on bark and clip young branches in search of buds and/or foliage.

This damage in vineyards can result in substantial economic losses for grape growers. By employing animal deterrent products, such as visual and audio repellents, chemical repellents and physical barriers, grape growers can significantly reduce the economic impact of animal intrusions, ensuring a better return on their investment.

Visual and audio repellents like scare devices work by scaring animals like birds away from the grapevines using flashing lights, loud noises and other stimuli (UC IPM notes these devices haven’t yet been found to deter ground squirrels.) Mylar streamers and “scare eye” balloons are common visual repellents and bird bombs, shell crackers, gas cannons and electronic stress calls are common audio repellents. UC IPM has various recommendations for each method but recommends monitoring bird response to stimuli as the effectiveness of a single stimulus will likely wear off over time depending on how long birds have been feeding in a given vineyard. The quicker a visual or audio repellent is implemented, the more effective control will be.

Chemical repellents like fumigation and baiting can deter squirrels and other small vertebrates. Make sure to read label instructions and UC IPM Guidelines to determine usage restrictions.

Physical barriers such as fences and netting, prevent animals from accessing the grapevines altogether. Woven-wire fences and electric fences are especially effective for deterring deer, but they must be tall enough for effective deterrence. UC IPM Guidelines state electric fences are less expensive to install but more expensive to maintain over time. Rabbit fencing can be installed along the bottom of deer fencing if both animals are an issue, but the severity of the rabbit problem and size of the vineyard may dictate only the deer fence being necessary. Netting works well against birds but is one of the most expensive options for deterring them.

When choosing animal deterrent products, growers should consider several factors, including the type of animal they want to repel, the size and layout of their vineyard, and their budget.

Protecting Biodiversity
The use of animal deterrent products in vineyards goes beyond protecting grape crops and financial interests; it also contributes to the preservation of biodiversity and the overall health of the ecosystem. When animals like deer, birds and rodents consume grapevines, they disrupt the natural balance of the local flora and fauna. By employing animal deterrent products, grape growers can create a harmonious coexistence between their vineyards and the wildlife surrounding them, allowing native plants and animals to thrive.

Many animal deterrent products are designed to be environmentally friendly and safe for wildlife. For example, bird netting is made from recyclable materials and can be reused for several years. By investing in these products, California grape growers can protect their crop without harming the animals that live in the surrounding area.

Compliance with Environmental Regulations
California has stringent regulations in place to protect the environment and wildlife. Grape growers must comply with these regulations to maintain their operating licenses.

Incorporating animal deterrent products into vineyard management practices demonstrates a commitment to environmental stewardship. By adopting these measures, growers show their dedication to preserving wildlife habitats, preventing potential conflicts between agriculture and nature, and maintaining a sustainable balance.

California grape growers face numerous challenges, including wildlife intrusions that can jeopardize the success of their vineyards. Employing animal deterrent products is an effective and environmentally conscious approach to mitigate these challenges. These products help preserve grape crops, reduce economic losses, protect biodiversity, encourage sustainable farming practices and ensure compliance with environmental regulations.

Hawk and Horse Vineyards Combines Unique Traditions with Biodynamic Farming

By
Pam Strayer | Contributing Writer
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Hawk and Horse Vineyards Co-Owner Tracy Hawkins describes the acreage as having “phenomenal red volcanic soils and unlimited potential.”

Hawk and Horse Vineyards embodies three novel traditions: ranching in Lake County and the area’s unique horse-riding traditions, the Red Hills AVA with its unique “Lake County diamonds” and biodynamic farming. These make it an utterly unique producer of fine red wines. Add to that the presence of one of wine’s most famous winemaking figures, Richard Peterson, and the Boies-Hawkins families’ many branches, and you have a powerful combination of influences and a winery making award-winning red wines.

Located in Lower Lake, the site consists of 1,380 acres, of which 18 are planted to wine grapes (16 to Cabernet Sauvignon, one to Cabernet Franc, and one to Petit Verdot).
The winery is co-owned by Tracey and Mitch Hawkins. Grape & Wine spoke to co-owner Tracey Hawkins about the winery’s history and focus.

When did you begin to grow wine grapes and make wine?
My family, namely my stepfather, David Boies, purchased 960 acres of land on the Mayacama Mountain Range in Lower Lake in the mid-1980s (another 340 or so acres were purchased later.) David wanted a property where he could make a dream of growing quality California Cabernet Sauvignon come true. He also wanted a ranch which could be a retreat for our large extended family to meet and celebrate together. David was not limited in his search by geography or cost. He wanted land that could be self-sustaining, beautiful and could grow quality wine grapes. When we found this land, which had been a renowned Arabian horse breeding facility in the 60s and 70s, it had all of those things as well as the historic horse facility and homes.

There was no such thing as “Red Hills AVA” at this time, but we knew this was a site with phenomenal red volcanic soils and unlimited potential. Biodynamic and organic farming protocols enable us to develop that potential in harmony with nature. By farming in harmony with nature, we bring forth the true essence of this most magical place.

Hawk and Horse Vineyards Co-Owners Tracey (left) and Mitch (right) Hawkins. Tracey believes anyone that wants to can take advantage of farming biodynamically (all photos courtesy Hawk and Horse Vineyards.)

You’ve chosen to farm organically and biodynamically. What attracted you to those practices?
When we started to convert 15 acres into vineyards, we chose a site up at 2200 feet elevation on Mayacamas Mountain Range, and in doing that, I just couldn’t go for some of the advice, putting up plastic all over where you’re going to plant and then pump some chemicals in there to kill everything. And I just can’t think of doing that.

We were told by so many people that even just being organic was the kiss of death. People told me, “No one can do it.” The winemaking course I took at UC Davis was not very favorable toward organic and made it sound like you can’t really produce quality in that way. First of all, in the farming protocols. And then secondly, in the winemaking protocols. But that’s clearly been proven wrong, not just by us, but by a whole movement of wineries and grape growers and things.

We became certified organic by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) in 2004 and biodynamic by Demeter USA in 2008.

We had one person who was one of the big commercial vineyard managers, the type of person who would manage a vineyard for an absentee vineyard owner. He told us that he’d done organic and the vines just died because he [mistakenly] thought that organic just means you do nothing. It couldn’t be more different from that. In organic, the thing is that you do nothing with synthetic chemicals.

Bird boxes and Scottish Highland Cattle are all part of the biodynamic sphere that makes up Hawk and Horse.

Biodynamics is a step beyond organics. What appeals to you about farming biodynamically?
What I love about biodynamics is the thinking of what then can you do? Biodynamics gives you this whole plethora of tools to use. It’s not just clean and ecofriendly but actually regenerative. When we started doing biodynamic, regenerative wasn’t even a thing. It wasn’t even really thought of commonly.

I was also raising a young daughter and had studied a little bit about biodynamics. I can’t even remember the moment in time when I realized biodynamics was where we wanted to go or how I even found that there was an organization called Demeter that was encouraging and promoting and educating people in this way, but all the things came together sort of magically. Fast forward to today, and we have this amazing and beautiful ecosystem up there. We’re producing fantastic wine grapes that make wine that’s just off the charts.

You’ve also kept alive some of the ranching and horse-riding traditions Lake County is well known for.

When David purchased the ranch, it came with a couple of horses. Whenever I could, I would visit and ride. I rode mostly bareback and had no formal lessons. I read equestrian books and magazines and just rode the trails for fun. Now horses are a daily part of family life. They are used to riding our fence line on the ranch, so they have a practical use. They are also our rodeo partners and beloved family pets.

As our children grew, riding horses became a family activity. I decided that it looked too fun to not participate. So, I began to take lessons, along with my daughters, from local rodeo legend Helen Owen of Owen Ranch in Hidden Valley. The rodeo community is strong in Lake County and it is very family oriented. This is a very blessed lifestyle for families, and we do not take a moment of it for granted. Having animals on the ranch enlivens the land and enriches our lives in many ways.

Hawk and Horse Vineyards is located in Lower Lake, Calif. and consists of 1,380 acres, of which 18 are planted to wine grapes.

How do you sell your wines?
We sell over half of our wine direct to consumer through our wine club and a VIP buyers list, and then the rest through high-end restaurants and a few Mom and Pop wine shops in key areas.

Over the years, we’ve realized there are a few key markets. I think most of the small family held wineries find this to be true; you find your niche. For us, it is geographical as well as for people looking for exquisite wines, but also people who are environmentally conscious, which is becoming more and more prevalent. Certain markets have just really resonated. For some reason, we sell a lot of wine in Florida, we sell a lot of wine in Las Vegas on the strip, believe it or not. Las Vegas has become a more modern, unique and interesting place and a foodie heaven with great chefs.

After nearly 20 years of organic and an almost equal number of years in biodynamic, what observations do you have about this type of farming?
I would say, generally, it’s not as hard as people might think. It’s not. It’s definitely hands-on. It’s definitely labor-intensive. But I think it’s not as hard as people might think. The other thing that I would say is it’s more resilient. In 2007, there was a big frost in Napa and Lake counties early in the growing season, and overall, California had a big loss in production that year. But we had an increase because we came through after the frost almost immediately, like the very next day, with a silica infused tea, which we use. We sprayed that on the vines as a foliar applicant, and literally some of the leaves, the burn that freeze looks like on the tendrils, literally unfurled, and some of the pieces that were burned beyond repair fell off and a new leaf grew. It was just incredible.

What advice do you give others when asked about your farming practices?
What I would like to say about organic and especially about biodynamic farming is the protocols are available to anybody. You don’t have to be Demeter certified to have access to these wonderful tools. So, I would say first of all, anybody that wants to know more, give us a call.

You’ve also had the benefit of working with one of the greats in California winemaking, Richard Peterson, as a consulting winemaker. What was that experience like?
In the early days of our project, we interviewed consulting winemakers. And we worked with a few. But what Dr. Peterson brought to the project was something like magic, a place where science and poetry meet in winemaking.

Dick studied food science at UC Berkeley, so he had the science background. But he also has an impeccable palate.

Dick taught us more about viticulture and winemaking than we could have ever imagined not knowing if that makes sense. We learned about balancing wine in the vineyard. Though it is commonly said “wine is made in the vineyard,” Dick taught us how to balance sugars and acidity, even in tough growing years, and how to harvest at the best possible moment to minimize or eliminate intervention in the cellar. He had the rare gift of understanding the earth and vines as well as the winemaking process.

We had an instinct or sense of what we wanted to craft from our land. Dick taught us how to make the decisions, based on science, to bring that instinct forward, resulting in the very best our land had to offer. He didn’t just tell us what to do. He took the time to teach us.
Dick is that sort of rare, gentle, patient teacher who draws the answer from you even when he knows the answer and it would be easier for him to just tell you what to do.

Dick taught us about balance and subtlety. He would say a wine is great when nothing sticks out. He taught us about spoilage, how it is formed and how to prevent it in harmony with nature (the key is balanced pH.) He settled family debates about when to harvest, how much to water, blending and more.

Over the years, Dick became far more to our family than just a consulting winemaker. Our family will always cherish memories of visiting his and Sandy’s Christmas Tree Farm at their home in Napa the first weekend after Thanksgiving to purchase our tree, sip hot cider, work jigsaw puzzles, and bring home a little mistletoe. When Dick and Sandy sold that home a few years ago, we were touched and honored to have been given two giant wooden candy-canes that once decorated his place for the holidays.

Dick is an icon with a heart of gold. He never sought the limelight but was happy to see those with whom he worked and mentored succeed.

I recommend his book, “The Winemaker.” It is an absolute must-read for anyone who loves wine, life, history or a good story.

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