LAKE COUNTY – Organic growing and sustainable farming methods are taking root and expanding in the local wine industry.

Organic practices and sustainability, with similar objectives, are not new concepts to Lake County winegrape growers – many have been certified for a number of years.

However, global interest in the movement is rapidly spreading to the winegrape industry; and in Lake County, the number of organic grape acres is increasing steadily.

Nearly 500 acres of vineyards maintained by 17 growers are certified organic while an additional 700 acres are considered “in transition,” according to statistics released by the Lake County Winegrape Commission. Organic vineyard practices must be maintained for a transition period of three years before certification is complete.

“Going organic” is not an overnight process, and growers can be discouraged by obstacles to achieving organic certification.

“Barriers to transition can be divided into economic, technical and personal reasons,” said Randy Krag, Lake County Winegrape Commission board member and a farmer of 35 acres of orchard and vineyard in Witter Springs.

In addition, he works as vineyard operations manager for Beckstoffer Vineyards, Red Hills, where approximately 600 acres of organically farmed wine grapes are produced.

Winegrape growers contemplating organic certification for their vineyards recently met with producers who have practiced organic growing and others who have acreage in transition.

Organizers of the meeting, including Krag and Commission Executive Director Shannon Gunier, invited winegrape growers to discuss concerns about organic growing, tour organic vineyards, and build a network.

“Growers tend to listen to other growers more than people trying to sell us stuff or tell us how to grow,” Krag told meeting attendees.

The outdoor meeting and vineyard tour took place at the Elk Mountain, Upper Lake, ranch of Dr. Glenn Benjamin and Dana DiRicco Benjamin who have nearly 28 acres of organic grapes.

The Benjamins explained to the group of 25 at the meeting that they were encouraged to keep the vineyard and to “go organic” when they purchased the ranch a few years ago.

This year, Dana Benjamin told the group, they were able to sell their grapes because of the organic certification. Wineries they approached indicated they would not buy unless the grapes were organic.

The marketability of organic wine grapes makes it worthwhile to get certified and stay in compliance, growers who have organic product told the group, echoing the Benjamins’ comments about the wineries’ desire for organic grapes.

“There are more organic niches now. More and more people are looking for organic fruit,” said Dave Downey of Downey Management.

As a consultant who has worked with organic wine grapes for 15 years, Downey attended the meeting at the Benjamin ranch to answer questions and provide information during the horse-drawn wagon tours of the vineyards. He added that there is a high demand for organics and that producers of organics are getting buyers for their grapes much earlier than others.

“A growing organic winegrape industry in Lake County provides economic support to all the organic producers in the area, even to the growers of crops besides grapes,” Krag said when asked about the benefits to the area. “Wineries need a dependable supply of high quality fruit. For several reasons, Lake County offers the dependability and the quality, along with the assurance that it is produced organically.”

Establishing and maintaining organic practices can be costly and labor-intensive, as well as involving good management and documentation.

Documentation is important, and any grower wanting to be certified must go through the process of completing an “OSP,” or Organic System Plan – much like a business plan – “but it is worthwhile,” organic inspector Lars Crail told the group.

Crail is a Lake County farmer who grows organic fruit as well. He conducts inspections for the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and has facilitated workshops in the area to help farmers complete their OSPs, the first step in the process of becoming certified by CCOF.

During a recent workshop, Crail advised farmers on completing an application and discussed some of the technical aspects of their plans. He emphasized another point made during the Upper Lake meeting of growers: “If you are transitioning (to organics) find someone who has gone through the process.” Getting advice and information from other growers is as beneficial as information that can be obtained from the CCOF, he added.

Grape growers are hoping to reap the benefits, and networking can help, commission board member Krag believes.

“I hope market demand and price will be greater for organically grown wine grapes than for conventionally grown fruit,” he said. “I believe that organic farming practices have the potential to be more environmentally sustainable. For me, sustainability has always been a strong motivation for what I do on the land, and organic practices mostly fit that paradigm. Certification becomes important to the grower who is expecting the (type of) market response I mentioned.”

The Lake County Winegrape Commission continues to plan grower meetings to facilitate discussion about organic winegrape production and other matters that impact the area.

For more information on grower meetings and commission activities, visit the commission’s Web site, www.lakecountywinegrape.org.