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KEYSTONE — According to Frisco Wine Merchant owner, Susanne Johnston, vineyards that are given the care of sustainable agricultural practices yield a better product.
Yet the revolution has not yet taken hold of the industry altogether, simply because it is more difficult to maintain.
For consumers, there is a higher price to pay because of the greater risk involved and manpower needed, along with the cost of certification. Yet Johnston believes it is warranted.
“If you are able to make the choice and do have the disposable income, you should look for small, sustainable farms,” she said.
Sustainable farms use the practice of cover cropping, growing plants like lavender or mustard seeds between the grapes to replenish nutrients in the soil or soak up excess water, and natural pesticides, as “a part of working with (the land) as opposed to controlling it,” she said.
Cover crops were formerly looked down upon because they didn’t look neat. They were thought to take away from the “pristine rows of vines with nothing growing in between,” said Stephen Gonda with the Republic National Distribution Company.
Gonda will present a wine seminar called A S.O.B. Tasting (Sustainable, Organic, Biodynamic) on Sunday for the Wine, Jazz and Art Festival in Keystone. During the seminar participants will get a chance to taste the “green” wines while learning about the farms their grapes were grown from.
A farm is defined sustainable if it limits its use of chemical pesticides, recycles and is generally ecologically sound. Organic takes it a step further by not using any chemical pesticides or fertilizers and the ultimate, biodynamic, is a system all its own.
Gonda describes a biodynamic farm. “If you have a hundred acres, 40 acres would be the vineyard. The rest would be a working farm with animals that will eat the grasses; use that for manure. You’re building a completely enclosed ecosystem, completely self-sustaining. Everything is put back into nature and comes out of nature.”
Many sustainable farms utilize hawks nests or other birds to control larger pests and introduce positive insects, or ones that keep away or prey on the bugs with a negative effect to the farm.
Johnston said several wineries are moving toward sustainability, but stopping there.
“A lot of people are going to farm sustainable because they believe in it,” she said. “They are not going to go full organic because if they have a flood of locusts, they are going to save the farm.”
A study from the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance in the June 2007 Wine Spectator magazine states that 33 percent of California’s wine-growing acreage is reducing its use of chemicals and assessing the sustainability of its farming practices.
Yet California’s certification process is not as sophisticated, so only organic farms are recognized on the label, not ones using sustainable practices. According to Johnston, a buyer of California wine only has to find out where it came from to know just how green it is.
Oregon is recognized as a leader in sustainable farming practices within wineries. According to Wine Spectator, 23 percent of Oregon farms in 2006 were certified organic.
In Europe, with the French at the lead, the idea of sustainable agriculture is not a novel concept.
“M. Chapoutier has been doing it since the ‘50s,” Johnston said.
“In Europe they’ve had hundreds of years with land doing the same thing growing grapes.”
Leslie Brefeld can be reached at (970) 668-4626 or lbrefeld@summitdaily.com.
Yet the revolution has not yet taken hold of the industry altogether, simply because it is more difficult to maintain.
For consumers, there is a higher price to pay because of the greater risk involved and manpower needed, along with the cost of certification. Yet Johnston believes it is warranted.
“If you are able to make the choice and do have the disposable income, you should look for small, sustainable farms,” she said.
Sustainable farms use the practice of cover cropping, growing plants like lavender or mustard seeds between the grapes to replenish nutrients in the soil or soak up excess water, and natural pesticides, as “a part of working with (the land) as opposed to controlling it,” she said.
Cover crops were formerly looked down upon because they didn’t look neat. They were thought to take away from the “pristine rows of vines with nothing growing in between,” said Stephen Gonda with the Republic National Distribution Company.
Gonda will present a wine seminar called A S.O.B. Tasting (Sustainable, Organic, Biodynamic) on Sunday for the Wine, Jazz and Art Festival in Keystone. During the seminar participants will get a chance to taste the “green” wines while learning about the farms their grapes were grown from.
A farm is defined sustainable if it limits its use of chemical pesticides, recycles and is generally ecologically sound. Organic takes it a step further by not using any chemical pesticides or fertilizers and the ultimate, biodynamic, is a system all its own.
Gonda describes a biodynamic farm. “If you have a hundred acres, 40 acres would be the vineyard. The rest would be a working farm with animals that will eat the grasses; use that for manure. You’re building a completely enclosed ecosystem, completely self-sustaining. Everything is put back into nature and comes out of nature.”
Many sustainable farms utilize hawks nests or other birds to control larger pests and introduce positive insects, or ones that keep away or prey on the bugs with a negative effect to the farm.
Johnston said several wineries are moving toward sustainability, but stopping there.
“A lot of people are going to farm sustainable because they believe in it,” she said. “They are not going to go full organic because if they have a flood of locusts, they are going to save the farm.”
A study from the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance in the June 2007 Wine Spectator magazine states that 33 percent of California’s wine-growing acreage is reducing its use of chemicals and assessing the sustainability of its farming practices.
Yet California’s certification process is not as sophisticated, so only organic farms are recognized on the label, not ones using sustainable practices. According to Johnston, a buyer of California wine only has to find out where it came from to know just how green it is.
Oregon is recognized as a leader in sustainable farming practices within wineries. According to Wine Spectator, 23 percent of Oregon farms in 2006 were certified organic.
In Europe, with the French at the lead, the idea of sustainable agriculture is not a novel concept.
“M. Chapoutier has been doing it since the ‘50s,” Johnston said.
“In Europe they’ve had hundreds of years with land doing the same thing growing grapes.”
Leslie Brefeld can be reached at (970) 668-4626 or lbrefeld@summitdaily.com.
Wine in the blood
• Wine sommelier and general manager for the Outpost restaurants at Keystone Tracey Hammond had a close encounter of the celebrity kind to kick-start her career in wine.“I was 18-years-old working in Boston, helping to open a restaurant for my best friend. I had never opened a bottle of wine; I didn’t know anything, just what kind of flavors I liked.”
She was shown how to open it and ushered over to the table she would be serving.
“It ended up begin Julia Child. Since that day wine has been a passion for me.”
• “I guess I’m kind of lucky my mother was German. For me it’s not unusual to drink wine with a little water with food. From high school through college I was always working in restaurants, managing restaurants. Wine is a big part of that.
“It’s a fascinating subject. It’s one of the few fields you will never know everything about because it changes every year. It’s one of the most fun things I can thing of — it’s alcohol, it’s associated with a good time. If you think back to a special occasion ... you can look back and remember the wine.”
Stephen Gonda, wine specialist with the Republic National Distribution Company
• After years in the restaurant biz, Susanne Johnston, sommelier and owner of the Frisco Wine Merchant, moved out to Napa Valley to immerse herself in the world of wine.
“It’s a very fun thing to do to sell wine and support the artistry and small farms. It’s something that has always intrigued me.”
10th Annual Wine, Jazz and Art Festival
SATURDAY • 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Wine Seminar: Around the World with White Wines at the Pavilion at Keystone. Tickets are $10.
• Noon to 6 p.m. Food and art show in River Run
• Noon to 4 p.m. Kids activities in the Gold Bug parking
• 12:30-1:30 p.m. Wine Seminar: A Piedmontese Purusal: The King of Italy at the Pavilion at Keystone. Tickets are $10.
• 1-5 p.m. Grand Wine Tasting in River Run. Tickets are $40 for one day or $75 for two
• 1-2:15 p.m. Lisa Bell on the Events Plaza Stage
• 2-3:15 p.m. Tony Gulizia on the River Run Stage
• 2:45-4 p.m. Flux 5 on the Events Plaza Stage
• 3-4 p.m. Wine Seminar: New Zealand A Rising Star in the Wine World at the Pavilion at Keystone. Tickets are $10.
• 3:45-5 p.m. Isidro Trio at the River Run Stage
• 4:30-6 p.m. Lannie Garrett at the Events Plaza Stage
SUNDAY
• Noon to 6 p.m. Art and food in River Run1
• Noon to 4 p.m. Kids activities in the Gold Bug parking lot
• 12:30-1:30 p.m. Wine Seminar: Champagne & Sparkling Wine at the Pavilion at Keystone. Tickets are $10.
• 1-5 p.m. Grand Wine Tasting in River Run. Tickets are $40.
• 1-2:15 p.m. Chuck Lamb Trio at the Events Plaza Stage
• 2-3:15 p.m. Pockit at the River Run Stage
• 2:45-4 p.m. Sheryl Renee at the Events Plaza Stage
• 3-4 p.m. Wine Seminar: A S.O.B. Tasting (Sustainable, Organic, Biodynamic) at the Pavilion at Keystone. Tickets are $10.
• 3:45-5 p.m. George Whitesell & His Allstars at the River Run Stage featuring Jill Watkins
• 4:30-6 p.m. Dotsero at the Events Plaza Stage
