Sustainable Farming
The general concept of sustainability is a complex subject, often touching on issues of environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. It is a reality to be reckoned with in many industries and, by the potentially global nature of its reach, in one way or another will affect all 6 billion people on the planet.
In the world of winemaking today,
sustainable farming is an increasingly popular practice, though not
yet universal. To many, it is a new field. But we are quite
familiar with it. For decades, farming sustainably has played an
essential role in Chateau Montelena's modern history, supporting
our goal to achieve excellence in winemaking. We are proud to say
that, and we would like to share our views on this important topic
with you.
Balance and Longevity
Sustainable farming is our modus operandi, and consists of
natural practices designed to maintain a healthy balance in the
vineyard. Vineyard Manager Dave
Vella says, "It begins and ends with the health of the soil,
achieving and maintaining balance in nutrients, minerals, and
microbial life. The ideal result is a healthy grapevine with
controllable vigor." While this may be the objective of anyone who
farms wine grapes, the difference is how, and how long, we have
gone about accomplishing this.
Many of the vineyard blocks turned over to Dave, and which we
farm today, had been replanted in the early 1970s, when owner Jim Barrett acquired and
revitalized the Estate. Their sheer productive longevity in
delivering grapes that could be transformed into world class wines,
year after year, bears testament to how successfully they are
farmed.
The Value of Observation and Experience
We have learned that paying attention pays off. Throughout each
year - together, Dave and Winemaker Bo Barrett have spent 67 years on
the Estate - we test and profile each block to track its
vine-growing capabilities. "Feed the soil, feed the plant," says
Dave. But since Montelena Estate is a complex system, no one
solution will work everywhere.
For example, nutrient levels and water holding capacity vary
greatly among the three soil origins that comprise the Estate
vineyard: volcanic, alluvial, and sedimentary. These areas are, in
turn, crisscrossed by 5 different classified soil types: Bale,
Cole, Cortina, Pleasanton, and Kidd. Add a topographic variation,
like an elevated hillside or a level valley floor location, and you
have a three-dimensional decision matrix. Once we understand each
particular site, we can proceed to sustainable grape growing.
Properly Farmed Soils and Vines
At the most basic level, wine grape growing consists of plant
nourishment and protection from disease and pests. Our sustainable
farming protocol calls for avoidance of any chemical fertilizers.
We use a mixture of chicken manure and compost made with the
previous season's pomace - seeds, stems, and grape skins left after
crushing. We use ladybugs to combat unwanted pests, and a French
plow to keep the vineyard clean and free from weeds.
We also analyze our soils to determine if there are areas that
need application of minerals and nutrients. Even here we do it in a
natural way. One example is by planting clover, which is a very
effective nitrogen-fixing plant species that can replenish this
essential element. Canopy management and organic fungicide
application help us control mildew. Mowing and tilling plants
underground in the late spring reintroduces organic matter to the
soil. Even the compound we apply to roads that intersect our
vineyard blocks, in order to control dust, is an environmentally
neutral, non-toxic substance.
Water management at Montelena Estate is critical, considering
both our responsibility to conserve where possible and also to
optimize plant health. We utilize deficit irrigation methods,
watering new vines to get them established, or replenishing water
to vines that show signs of undue stress during heat events (It is
okay to stress a vine with water, but not with nutrients). Finally,
our conversion to 100% solar power in 2007 represented a major
commitment to working with the assets that Mother Nature provides
us - in this case, sunlight - in order to be self-sustaining.
Our View to the Future
We constantly experiment to discover improvements in the
vineyard. New rootstock and clonal selections, closer vine and row
spacing, and vertical trellising systems have all emerged from
these efforts. We have learned from experience that achieving
excellence in the vineyard will lead to excellence in the
bottle.
