The conference gave growers a chance to look at improving operations while protecting the environment. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE – Lake County winegrape growers are taking important steps toward sustainable farming, resulting in improved operations while helping to preserve the county’s natural resources.

More than 30 representatives of local wineries recently attended the “How Sustainable is Your Winery or Vineyard?” workshop co-sponsored by the Lake County Winegrape Commission and the Lake County Winery Association and presented by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.

Attendees were assisted as they answered questions and rated their wineries and vineyards on a variety of topics designed to help them assess their operations.

Area winegrape growers are taking a leading role in the statewide program, according to Shannon Gunier, executive director for the Lake County Winegrape Commission. Participation locally has been growing.

“More than 70 percent of Lake County’s growers have been involved in clinics to assess the sustainability of their farm operations,” said Gunier.

Growers recognize the potential benefits of participation, said Joseph Browde, project manager for the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.

Participants can see the value in doing the self-assessment of their facilities, he added. “They always come away (from the workshops) with at least one new idea for their business.”

Browde facilitated the seminar along with Andrew Arnold, senior consultant for sustainability solutions firm SureHarvest.

“The topic of sustainable growing is on the rise,” said Arnold.

The workshops allow peers to get together and share ideas for enhancing the quality of their product, improving their practices and helping their businesses to become more efficient, he added.

Meeting at the Big Valley Grange on a crisp fall morning, winery owners and winegrape growers spread out their workbooks and spent nearly four hours on self-assessment packets provided by Browde and Arnold.

Using a specially-designed rating system, participants examined their “sustainability mission, vision, and values,” knowledge of the wine industry, ecosystem management, energy efficiency, water conservation and quality, air quality, material handling, solid waste management, soil management, pest management and ability to work with neighbors and community.

Winery and vineyard representatives defined the workshop as a way to look at improving farming methods.

“What I expected from this seminar was information on how to farm in a more friendly environmental way, which is exactly what we learned,” stated Dana DiRicco, who, along with her husband, Dr. Glenn Benjamin, owns and operates the Elk Mountain Vineyard in Upper Lake. They attended the workshop together.

“The booklet that was given to all participants attending the seminar, ‘The Code of Sustainable Winegrowing,’ was well put together and brought forth practices that could be easily and inexpensively implemented by grape growers,” added DiRicco. “It really gave us a beginning benchmark and a direction for improvement in farming practices.”

Kelseyville grower Walt Lyon agreed. “The workshops help (us) set up ideal goals in trying to work toward improving practices,” he said. Lyon has participated in a couple of the seminars and said he continues to gain new “practical” ideas for environmentally sound winegrape growing.

It has helped him to examine his methods for weed and pest control, water usage, and other aspects of farming. In addition, he said, the booklet not only helps rate the practices and business, it provides many good suggestions and reference materials, said Lyon.

Area growers who embrace the sustainable farming idea stand to “improve the quality of the overall healthiness of their ranches and increase the value of their crops,” thus making it easier to market the crops to wineries in the coming years, DiRicco noted.

Following the workshop, DiRicco and Benjamin put up bat houses and are making owl houses to install in the vineyard and around the ranch.

The statewide program is sponsored by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, a nonprofit representing California’s winegrowing industry, in partnership with many California universities and organizations, such as the Wine Institute.

For more information on the sustainable winegrape growing program, contact the Lake County Winegrape Commission by calling 707-995-3421 or sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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