Recently I had the opportunity to attend a workshop on Regenerative Organic Farming at Solminer Vineyard in Santa Ynez, hosted by the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation. This meeting brought together many land stewards, vineyard managers, winemakers, media, and curious locals to learn more about Regenerative Organic Farming through a program dubbed “The 1Block Challenge” that is being launched in Santa Barbara County this year to encourage grape growers to start, or in our case, continue to further implement, regenerative organic farming practices on their land.  

 Regenerative organic farming is something that has been at the forefront of my mind for many years, and the more I have learned about it, the more excited I have become about the benefits of this style of farming. This was something that I first discovered when I came across the short book (manifesto) by Masanobu Fukuoka, The One Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming. I was amazed to learn about the benefits of this style of farming, which, ironically, is basically just a return to pre-industrialized farming. It eliminates the use of all synthetic products (man-made chemicals) in the form of herbicides, fungicides, insecticides – basically all the “-cides” – as well as fertilizers and other inputs. There is no tilling of the earth (soil), at least not on a regular basis, because the other big focus here is the health of the soil. Allowing cover crops to grow, and not plowing them under, gives the root systems a chance to become well-established, which, in turn, encourages biodiversity under the ground, creating healthy soil full of microbes, insects, earthworms and more.  

 Of course, farming organically is great and something that we have been doing at Pali Vineyard for many years. And similar to regenerative farming, organic farming also eliminates the use of synthetic inputs, and produces a crop free of chemicals and heavy metals, which is better for us to consume (vs “conventionally farmed” products). But, as I have learned in recent years, regenerative farming goes much further (and without the hocus pocus of biodynamics!). By putting a major emphasis on the health of the soil, not tilling and disturbing the soil and roots below, we can actually combat climate change through carbon sequestration. This means that the more land that is farmed this way, the more CO2 will be pulled out of the atmosphere and locked into the soil through the plant’s natural respiration process. So not only are we creating healthier products to consume, but we are also able to help Mother Earth!  

 The more I have learned about this style of farming, the more it just makes sense. It also reduces the amount of work done by tractors, cutting back on fuel consumption, emissions and operating costs.  

 And then, of course, there are the photo ops. I mean who doesn’t love photos of those adorable farm animals in the vineyard – something we haven’t implemented yet, but hopefully will soon, as this is another aspect of regenerative farming.  

Over the recent years I am very proud to say that I have helped lead Pali Vineyard further into regenerative organic practices. And while we are not fully there yet, we have made huge strides each year. 

And to prove this to the world, we are currently in the process of obtaining our CCOF certification (for organic farming) which will then allow us to become Regenerative Organic Certified within the next couple of years.  

 Always looking to improve, excited to be able to make a meaningful difference in our wines, our land, and most importantly, our planet.  

Regenerative Organic Farming, an ancient practice, is, and will be, a major key to improving the health of our planet, for the benefit of all man (and woman) kind.