Tag: sustainable

To produce truly great wine you need to appreciate the soil from which the grapes grow. You must also respect the culture of region and embrace the heritage that has enabled the fruit to ripen. These five wineries have done just that and are worth your time.

Benziger Family Winery

For more than 30 years Benziger Family Winery has farmed its 85-acre ranch on Sonoma Mountain. Only 35 of these acres are planted with vines. The rest of the estate is used for biodiversity to create a polyculture. Besides insectaries, gardens, sheep and cattle pastures, and more than 800 olive trees, there are two wetland areas used for water purification.

This year, St. Francis Winery & Vineyards celebrates its 45th anniversary as a producer of luscious, fruit-driven wines that demonstrate the unique and diverse characteristics of Sonoma County terroir. Since the founding of the vineyards and winery in 1971, St. Francis has enjoyed an enviable reputation for its distinctive wines and commitment to the land where the winegrapes are grown.

Known for elegant, balanced wines handcrafted from grapes grown in its three Walla Walla estate vineyards, Pepper Bridge Winery was the state of Washington’s first gravity flow winery and first to receive sustainability certification.

The winery was founded in 1998 by the visionary team of engineer-turned- agriculturalist Norm McKibben, Anheuser-Busch veteran Ray Goff, and third-generation winemaker and viticulturist Jean-François Pellet.

Aptly named "Etude" after the classical music term for a focused study or technical exercise to perfect technique, Etude Wines is dedicated to mastering the craft of winegrowing. The winery was founded more than 30 years ago on the belief that great wines are grown and not made. This philosophy continues today with Winemaker Jon Priest and Associate Winemaker Rob Fischer.

Long before grapevines were planted on the hilltop at Buttonwood Farm Winery & Vineyard, it was home to horses, goats, and chickens; trees bearing fruit, nuts, and olives; and gardens filled with vegetables, herbs, and flowers. And long before the words "sustainable" and "organic" were part of the common vernacular, they were ardently practiced here.

The farm has been operating since the 1800s. Buttonwood Farm—named after the buttonwood, a sycamore tree native to the area—was purchased by Betty Williams in 1968.

Adam Satchwell came to the Leelanau Peninsula in Michigan and became the winemaker for Shady Lane Cellars in 2000. Before he knew it, he had become an active participant in the region’s effort to make wines the industry would notice (and applaud) on a global level. Since then, Shady Lane has won numerous Gold medals and Best of Class awards in many national and international wine competitions.

When Paula and Steve Black founded The Four Graces in the Red Hills of Dundee, Oregon 10 years ago, they set out to make rich, complex wines that elegantly express their unique terroir. For their estate vineyard, they purchased a remarkable 110-acre parcel planted with mature Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Blanc vines: the Red Hills’ three top-grown varieties.