Our farming ethos is to create a healthy and vibrant estate where our vines, our animals, our gardens and waterway, and our people, can thrive. Emphasis is placed on the integration of crops and livestock, recycling of nutrients, soil maintenance, and the health and well-being of the animals, the farmer, the farm, and the earth. All are integral parts that make up the whole. The balance achieved on our farm can be experienced in our wines.
Farming in the Dry Creek Valley began more than 150 years ago and vineyards followed soon after. Attracted to the beautiful and fertile landscape, early settlers planted their annual crops on the valley floor and grapevines on the rocky hillsides. Dry Creek is a very unique appellation because of its well defined geographic boundaries that include mountains to the north, beautiful red soil benchlands to the east and west, and a large opening on the southern side that allows cool air to flow from the mountains in the mornings, and a reverse flow moving from the Bay upwards into the valley in the evenings. Zinfandel has always been the star varietal, thriving in this unique microclimate.
Our estate is certified organic and Biodynamic. Biodynamic agriculture views the farm as a self-contained, self- sustaining ecosystem responsible for creating and maintaining its individual health and vitality without any external or unnatural additions. It is an integrated farming system that addresses the health of the entire property, and it represents the highest paradigm of sustainable farming.
Coho salmon and steelhead trout are like canaries in the coal mine because their sensitivity to adverse ecological conditions make them an early warning system for deterioration in watersheds. When the fish population suffer, it is a symptom of greater problems in the surrounding eco-system. We are working with government agencies and NGOs to restore the portion of Dry Creek that flows through our estate.
The Dry Creek Habitat Enhancement Project is an incredible opportunity for willing property owners to partner with us to improve habitat for endangered species, improve the health of the environment and the watershed, and support a stable water supply for the entire North Bay.
Having animals on the farm not only delight our guests, they also are important contributors to the farm. During the late fall and winter, the sheep mow the fields and grape rows, eating the cover crops and depositing fertility as they go.
