Page 39 - Sonoma County Gazette - January 2020

By Margie Nelte-Johnson GUEST COLUMNIST
Happy New Year Gratonians! Jennifer Butler is on family vacation and has asked me to write this month. Many of you know me as I have lived in town for 27 years. I am extremely interested in environmental sustainability and also work in a winery. No, that is not an oxymoron.
Wineries and vineyards surround us in West County, and they are actually one of the most conscientious, neighborly and ecological farm industries these days. I have seen the posts on Nextdoor and read them with one eye open and a grimace on my face, like driving by a car accident. Listening to the angry mob shaking their rakes and shovels. “They are hiring illegal immigrants!” “They are spraying glyphosates!” “They are ripping out the apples to plant greed grapes!” “Stupidvisors are in the pockets of trillion-dollar wine racket!”
So, in 2020, let’s dispel a few of those old thoughts.
First, grapes are a crop. They are grown by farmers who are businesspeople. Businesspeople who need to make money to put food on their tables and support their families. Grapes have not forced the apples out of town.
Starting as early as the 1960’s the competition from the Sacramento Valley began because they could produce more apples at a lower cost. Urbanization drove land prices higher and higher, and then in 1990 there was the Alar (chemical) scare that that nearly shut down the apple industry overnight. It has been a natural progression. Remember prunes that were replaced by apples?
In 2014, the grape growers in Sonoma County made a commitment to ensure every vineyard was certified sustainable by 2019, putting us on the global map as leaders in sustainability. Today, over 99% of vineyards have been certified from a third-party auditor.
In order to be considered a “Sonoma County Sustainable Vineyard” they must have their vineyard first assessed and then certified sustainable by one of four California sustainability programs. This means the program must measure the grape-growers commitment to being socially responsible
- in how they work with their employees, neighbors and community,
- environmentally conscientious with their farming and winery practices
- and economically viable as a business.
They must also create an annual farming plan for each vineyard that includes
a focus on continuous improvement to ensure sustainable practices continue to evolve each year. Not all bad, right? At least it is a step in the right direction...
I am nostalgic and not one who loves change, but very realistic. So I walked downtown to do a little “Girl on the Street” reporting and talked to a couple of family owned wineries’ tasting rooms, Bowman Cellars, and Paul Mathew Vineyard to see what their environmental practices are.
Kate and Alex Bowman practice sustainability as it seems to be in their west county core belief. Alex was proud to tell me about his keg system that they pour all of their tasting flights from, eliminating the need for extra packaging. Kate told me about their locally sourced grapes from organic farms and their “growler system” that allows club member to have their bottles of Rosé refilled. They use compostable bamboo serve ware when they have events with food trucks, and non-disposables for dining on site.
Down the street at Paul Mathew, Barb Gustafson briefly told me about their all native and natural wines. She said that they solely use SO2 (Sodium Dioxide) in their wine making process and use minimal packaging.
I asked them if they knew about G.A.S.P., Graton Against Synthetic Pollution which held an informative meeting in December and information can be found online at: gratongasps.com/
I believe that we should all work hard to be informed before spouting off inflammatory statements on the interwebs. Be informed about the food and beverages that you are buying. Support our local farmers and buy locally and organic. Support our apple growers (the Walkers) and cideries; Ace, Horse and Plow, and Golden State. Vote with your dollar.
Love where you live and be gentle with your neighbors.
Our ONLINE Edition is UPDATED all month @ SonomaCountyGazette.com
1/20 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 39