Sustainable farming at Benovia
Call us lucky to live, farm, and make wine in Sonoma County where natural beauty and agricultural diversity make it hard not to be environmentally conscious.
But it’s going to take more than luck to keep it that way.
“We practice sustainable farming,” says vineyard manager Chris Kangas, “and that means we are environmentally sensitive and socially responsible when it comes to grape growing.”
Benovia is farming 72 acres of vineyards on three incredible sites within Sonoma County.
Fifty of those acres were just planted in the last three years. With vineyard development behind
us, we’ve turned our attention to farming and the responsibility that comes from being stewards
of the land.
Leading Benovia’s sustainable farming program, Chris is well aware of the old axiom
that great wines can only come from great vineyards. At the same time, he understands that farming practices, even by a winery as small as Benovia, can have a huge impact on
the future.
“We embrace our role as custodians of the land and seek to integrate environmentally
sensitive practices into all aspects of our wine growing,” says Chris.
Our sustainable farming program includes:
• Composting
We utilize organic mulch/fertilizer for improving soil health and build organic matter.
• Cover Crops
Each fall we seed our vineyard rows to prevent erosion and improve soil structure.
• Soil Management
We match rootstock with varietals to prevent soil nutrient depletion, and utilize no-till farming
to retain carbon and avoid soil compaction.
• Beneficial Insects
We encourage the presence of beneficial insects to prey on vineyard pests.
• Owl Boxes and Raptor Roosts
We have erected 10 owl boxes to encourage native barn owl populations as predators for
gophers and moles.
• Water Conservation/Dry Farming Techniques
Careful irrigation practices allow us to control vineyard canopies which ensure small berries
and concentrated flavors that yield the highest quality fruit. We allow for many vineyard
blocks to be nearly dry-farmed as part of our efforts to conserve water.
• Erosion Control
Each fall we “winterize” our vineyards to prevent erosion. This involves the use of cover crops,
straw mulching, installation of water bars on roads and maintenance of drainage systems.
• Frost Protection
We use wind machines instead of water, a dwindling natural resource, to ward off frost.
Benovia winery owners Joe Anderson, Mary Dewane and Mike Sullivan embrace the concept
of sustainable farming at all of their vineyards but have taken it a step further by farming the
Cohn Vineyard organically, without the use of even limited herbicides and pesticides.
By farming with integrity and sensitivity to the environment, Benovia is expressing its
responsibility to its neighbors, as well as future generations. It’s also making a commitment to
customers, who care about how grapes are grown, where their wine comes from and how it’s made.
Benovia Survey
A big “thank you” to everyone who responded to the customer survey a few months ago. The
survey helped us learn more about our customers, enabling us to serve you better.
As an example, 78 percent of the respondents said sustainable farming was “somewhat important” to “very important” to them. So we thought you would like to know what we are doing in the areas of sustainable and organic farming.
Over the weeks and months to come, you will see other developments resulting from your
answers to the survey.
Some years nature smiles at you like the 2007 vintage. Some years nature says “okay that one was easy now try this”, and if you rise to the challenge, you make wine that is every bit as good—and in some instances better.
In the 2008 vintage we endured 28 days of frost, rainfall well below average, and extremely high winds during flowering. All of these factors resulted in nature doing crop thinning for everyone.And because nature did crop thinning from the beginning of May the resulting yields were low, in some cases from 40 to 60% below normal.
Lower yields turned out great for the wineries because the stressed vines produced grapes with tremendous power, color and outstanding potential.
The wines of the 2008 vintage will impress you with their power and the Benovia wines will impress you with both their power and balance.
Last year we wondered if any of our Benovian friends would be interested in learning how to plant a vineyard. Much to our surprise, many of you were.
In May, about 50 people showed up to help us plant the new vineyards at the winery. And, we commemorated their work with nameplates next to the vines each person planted.
Missed opportunity? Not yet. This spring we will plant the last of the vineyards here on the winery property. And we will be offering the same “plant the vineyard” program.
We start the day with three seminars. In the first, Tucker Catlin will take you through the steps needed to create a vineyard. It’s a complex task that is made a little more understandable with his expertise. Next, Daniel Roberts, Ph.D., will teach the critical factors in selecting and farming Pinot Noir. Finally, James Stamp, Ph.D. will teach you about root stock and how to correctly plant vines. We received rave reviews from last year’s participants about the value of these seminars.
From the classroom to the vineyard.
We’ll take our newfound knowledge out to the vineyard, where each of you will plant vines under the direction of James Stamp and our vineyard manager, Chris Kangas. And, like last year, we will put a permanent plaque near the vines you plant to salute your labor.
Finally we will head back to the winery for lunch, and of course, Benovia wines. We should finish around 2:30 p.m., leaving you the rest of the day to explore wine country.
Date: Saturday, May 1. The cost is $50 per person and we will refund that charge if you purchase a case of wine at the event.
To register, e-mail Bob@benoviawinery.com or call at 707-526-4441.
Barrel Tasting Weekends
March 6–7 & 13–14 | Benovia Winery
www.wineroad.com
This is the only time that Benovia sells futures of its wines. Come taste the 2009 vintage still
in the barrel, along with the newly released 2008 vintage. While you are in wine country
you can visit over 100 other wineries also participating in Barrel tasting weekends.
World of Pinot Noir
March 6 | Shell Beach, California
www.worldofpinot.com
An event focused only on Pinot Noir featuring very good seminars and wine tasting. Located
in the beautiful Central Coast area, right off Highway 101 and on the ocean.
Family Winemakers of Califronia
March 14 | San Diego, California
March 16 | Pasadena, California (trade only tasting)
Family Winemakers is a great organization focused on small, family owned wineries in
California. A great chance to taste and discover many different wines.
Benovia Winery Open House
April 17 | Benovia Winery
This is your chance to pick up spring release wines and taste all of the current wines. As always,
there will be delicious appetizers. We love meeting our customers, so come on by.
Pinot Days
June 26 | San Francisco, California
This may be the largest Pinot Noir tasting in the world. If you love Pinot Noir this is as close to heaven as you can get. Well over 200 wineries participate and they all are
pouring only Pinot Noir.
Please watch for future events at the winery on cooking and photography.