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Sustainable Winegrowing

Over the years, McIntyre has helped “write the book” on conscientious, sustainable, “farming for the future” grape growing…
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Certified Sustainable

Steve McIntyre helped “write the book” on sustainable winegrowing in the Santa Lucia Highlands appellation. The McIntyre family has been farming in a responsible, sustainable manner long before such practices became vogue. While they grow grapes organically and biodynamically for several wineries and apply many of these techniques to their entire operation, they prefer to farm in a “sustainable system.” A sustainable system is much broader, more comprehensive, bigger “carbon footprint” program than an organic system – carefully taking into account everything that happens in and around the vineyard . Sustainability is a self correcting discipline that not only impacts the environment but society (their employees) and the bottom line as well.

There is much debate in the wine industry regarding various “going green” business models. On the grape growing side, one emerging “farming for the future” trend is “sustainable viticulture.” And while “sustainability” may seem a new buzzword to some, to the Central Coast Vineyard Team it is a subject into which they have already invested well over a decade. And those years of hard work are about to pay off as they launch the first-ever process aimed at actually testing and certifying vineyards on the Central Coast as being “sustainably farmed.” Steve McIntyre is a founding member and long time contributor to CCVT.

The non-profit CCVT group has painstakingly created rigorous rules and protocols, putting real meaning, real teeth into “sustainability.” A pilot program to test and certify volunteer vineyard properties is currently underway. McIntyre Vineyards will be among the first to be officially certified “sustainable.”

CCVT’s members believe that sustainability rests on the principle that the needs of the present can be met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Specifically, the goal of sustainable viticulture is to integrate environmentally sound practices, social equity, and economic feasibility into decision making on a system-wide level. As such, it is a more encompassing, “bigger picture” philosophy than site-specific terms such as “organic” and “bio-dynamic.” Basic key components of sustainable winegrowing include natural conservation, human education, water quality protection, erosion control, habitat restoration and conservation, cover crops, and safe and efficient use of soil amendments.

As early as 1996, this local grower group pioneered the innovative “Positive Points System,” a 1,000 point self-assessment used to evaluate over 30,000 vineyard acres since its inception. As a tool, the PPS helped educate and guide hundreds of growers towards adopting practices that protect both human and natural resources. In 2002, the CCVT members actively discussed the possible shift from self-evaluation to third-party certification. From dialogue came action and in 2003, a group of dedicated growers and advisors met regularly to develop a set of farming standards that ensure environmentally conscious, economically feasible, and socially equitable farming operations. Over a period of almost four years, they completed the standards and incorporated hundreds of comments from an extensive “peer review” involving governmental, environmental, social, agricultural, and academic representatives. Many diverse experts and groups, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the California Audubon Society to name but a few, provided input and affirmation. With the standards ready, the certification program was ready to launch.

Prior to the 2009 harvest, it was McIntyre’s turn to submit the copious documentation required on every aspect of its farming practices and face the independent auditor responsible for maintaining the strict new “sustainability” standards. Thanks to McIntyre’s two decades history of careful, conscientious stewardship of their Santa Lucia Highlands’ vineyard, they passed with flying colors. The McIntyre estate holds "certified sustainable" status from  both the CCVT's SiP program and the statewide CSWA. More information on Sustainable Winegrowing and the work of the Central Coast Vineyard Team is available at www.vineyardteam.org

Sustainability Case Study:  Cover Crops

Cover crops have been used for decades and their use in “permanent” agriculture such as vineyards has expanded significantly recently. It is probable that the majority of vineyards in the state are now using them to some extent or another. Despite their widespread use, most growers do not utilize them in a permanent manner. Many elect to plant them on an ongoing, yearly basis and then incorporate them into the soil by means of cultivation in order to increase organic matter and/or nitrogen levels. While this practice is certainly beneficial, it fails to fully take advantage of all of the benefits of cover crops; from a “carbon footprint” perspective, it arguably takes more carbon to implement then one receives as a benefit.

 Monterey Pacific, our farming company, manages 7,300 acres of vineyards in Monterey County  -  all of which are farmed with permanent cover. Our cover crop system is unique in that the process and its numerous benefits were discovered by serendipity. Doesn’t it always seem that the most elegant and robust solutions are discovered in this manner! I will endeavor to take you thru this process of discovery to hopefully demonstrate the beneficial subtleties of this unique sustainable system.
 
In 1985 while farming a hillside vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands that contained permanent cover crop for erosion control, I asked myself this question: “why is this volunteer cover crop comprised of entirely native grasses while the seeded cover crop I was trying to establish in a vineyard down on the valley floor was full of undesirable broadleaf weeds?” Harry Agamalian, the local UC Extension weed expert, pointed out that broad leaf weeds will not germinate in the shade. I decided to reduce the number of times I mowed the cover crop in order to provide more shade to inhibit the germination of broadleaf weeds. However, we still mowed at least 3 times a year (spring, summer and fall) like most growers, to keep things neat and tidy.
 
Then, in the spring of 1994, while mowing a Merlot block, we needed to reassign the tractor to catch up on our mildew spray program after a storm had come through. Consequently, only half of the Merlot block was mowed while the other half was not. When we returned to finish the mowing 3 weeks later, we discovered that the vines in the portion of the block where we had not mowed had 4-5 inches more shoot growth than the section we had mowed. Here in Monterey County with our infamous wind and super long growing season, anything you can do to speed up the process (especially with young vines) is important. Additionally, this discovery inferred that the cover crop had affected the vineyard microclimate by reducing the wind velocity, thereby increasing the ambient air temperature within the vineyard. This is an important discovery in an area that often times could use more heat.
 
We had learned that cover crops reduce dust and erosion, increase ambient air temperature, reduce soil compaction by increasing soil tilth, increase organic matter, and provide an environment for beneficial insects. Additionally, recent research has shown  permanent cover crops increase soil populations of Mycrorizhi and other beneficial bacteria and fungi, which are extremely important to overall plant health and well being.
 
So how do we establish and manage this cover crop to maximize its benefits and sustainability?
 
When we establish a new vineyard in virgin, previously unfarmed pasture land, we don’t need to plant a cover crop as there is sufficient seed already in the soil and surrounding vegetation to inoculate the entire block without assistance. Certainly, this is the most desirable establishment scenario. However, in a previously cropped site (especially row crops), we need to provide some assistance.
 
The first year we plant Merced Rye every other row within the block. We selected this perennial as a result of Australian research that showed this cultivar could provided a beneficial allopathic property (reduce the germination of other grasses and broadleafs in close proximity) to possibly reduce weed control costs during the establishment phase. We use a band of contact herbicides down each vine row during the growing season to protect young vines from weed competition while establishing cover crop.
 
We do not mow this cover crop until late July or early August (we now mow only once per year) in order to insure that the seeds are properly mature (so that they might germinate next winter to reestablish cover crop next year) and to derive all of the benefits previously mentioned above. We plant the “other” row the following year to complete the establishment process. In order to fully mature the seed AND to prevent the cover crop from competing with the vine for precious soil moisture in a very arid region (less than 14 inches of rain annually), it is extremely important not to mow this cover crop before the “boot stage” of growth (when the seed head first emerges) that occurs in April/ May. Mowing before the boot stage is what we do when we mow our lawns at home. The grass will continue to grow and utilize water. If you wait until after the boot stage, the perennial will not grow any longer and will not compete with vines for water. Grass cover crop systems are also “drought obligate” – if they do not receive irrigation or rainfall prior to the boot stage, they will dry out and turn brown. But just like your lawn, once water is reapplied, it turns green again. Drought obligate cover crops will not re-grow when additional water is applied after the boot stage.
 
Another aspect of certain grass cover crops that one needs to understand in this system of sustainability is the term “daylight obligate.” Once the day achieves a certain length (May/ June), the mature seeds will not germinate until the days are shorter (in the fall). This mechanism insures that seeds in this arid environment will not germinate during the summer when there won’t be any rainfall to sustain them. Additionally, this mechanism insures that our cover crop will not grow adjacent to vines that are receiving drip irrigation during this timeframe.
 
Over a period of 4-6 years, the native grasses in the area will repopulate vineyards farmed under this system resulting in a grass culture not unlike those we see on the gently rolling hills throughout the Central Coast. The native grasses grow to a perfect height, generally 2 to 2.5 feet, and provide all of the benefits that a grower could ask for in a sustainable crop culture.
 
As you can see, there is a much more to cover crops than meets the eye!
 -          Steve McIntyre