As introverts writing about yourself seems such a strange thing to do. I think we have captured the essense of what and why we do; though not in elegant, flowing words. It is us. - jg

Vineyard. Lisa and I purchased the Alpine road property in 2012 to be our home, our winery, and started the process to transform a traditionally farmed Cabernet Sauvignon to one more balanced and ecologically diverse. While our endeavors on 10 acres do not shift the AVA's, state’s, or world’s opinion, in a gentle way, it starts by changing ourselves.

There are many ways to farm, for us it is about balance, organic and biodynamic practices to reduce reliance on chemical fertilizers (and pest control), as well as what ends up in landfills. Like using natural oils to manage pests, and not tilling the tractor rows, as the plants have a natural carbon capture potential and keeps dust out of the air; improving air quality throughout the valley.

Each season we learn a bit more, and enjoy its beauty. Springtime in the vineyard is the best with its leafy new growth, bud break and rows filled with young native grasses, crimson clover, poppies, and other plants (weeds), color, ecological diversity, and the activity of pollinators and wildlife.

In 2023 we added an offgrid mountain vineyard in the Red Hills AVA (Kelseyville, CA) and have been slowly restoring the buildings and vineyard; testing the practices learned in Lodi. We have learned so much about living and farming off-grid. It is amazing how focused you become and aware of your interactions with nature.

Wines. Our wines reflect these values in a natural modern-old world style that produces quieter nonces and low alcohol (9-12% ABV). What went into the making seems so simple compared to the vineyard, I think there are so many contributing parts that are assembled that we don't fully process past the immediate material's impacts. That is improving across communities.

In making. There is no getting around it, wineries use a lot of energy and materials. It is a challenge to work towards lowering our carbon footprint, and we have made a lot of progress. Like solar, reusing barrels to help with forestry preservation, and light weight bottles to lower manufacturing and transport impacts. Even down to the labels which are designed to remove VOCs in coatings, post-consumer paper, and eliminate capsules/foils.

There is still more to be done and learn.