Ethical farming is everything to DORVAL. We want you to know what you are consuming.
Strong environmental and farming ethics are the driving forces at DORVAL Estate Winery and DORVAL Vineyard Ranches.
Ethical farming, organic farming or regenerative farming are not just slogans to us. They are our way of thinking and our way of life. Ethical farming helps protect the environment, public health, plant and wildlife welfare. By practicing regenerative farming we are able to establish and sustain vibrant sub-ground and above ground ecosystems while allowing native species, insects and other wildlife to co-habitate with our vineyards.
Dry farming and relying on environmental ecosystems is natural for grapes. Going back to the Roman Era; Romans head trained their vines which means they didnt have expansive trellis systems designed to maximize yield like modern times. As it turns out, head trained or (Goblet Trained) vines can reduce water use, increase quality and reduces yield due to its natural growth patterns. Our Mourvèdre and Red Zinfandel are head trained as are several other varietals. The varietals not head trained are high density planted with only 3.5 feet between each vine which allows us to minimize vine growth and enhance wine quality.
Head or goblet-style training made sense for the early Californians between the 1850s and the 1920s because of the intrinsic “small vine” factor of this style of grapevine husbandry. That is to say, vines with, say, no more than 6 to 8 spur positions have less vegetative growth, and thus require little or no irrigation — a big advantage during an era requiring dry farming, especially in lower vigor sites such as the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, or shallow, gravelly benchlands in Napa Valley or Sonoma County.
At the same time, the small vine configuration of head training has proven equally successful in higher vigor sites in Lodi, which historically have always had more access to water via furrow irrigation from canals fed by the Mokelumne River, as well as by dint of higher water tables. The “self-regulating” nature of small, head-trained vines has also worked well in Lodi’s numerous heritage vineyards, dominated by deep (i.e., no hardpan, even at 30- to 50-foot depths), well-drained, sandy loam soils.
We can only hope that the world will see the necessity for organic plant farming and appreciate the ways of the old. It is better everyone.
What is Sustainable Wine Grape Growing?
At its core it means not using any synthetic inputs, chemicals and using natural inputs to increase organic matter. There are three basic approaches to growing wine grapes: conventional, organic and biodynamic. All three can fit under the umbrella of sustainable wine grape growing. The three approaches have certain characteristics in common. All use labor and energy as inputs. They all require land clearance to establish a vineyard. Practitioners of each type are proud of the way they farm and feel it is the best way to farm. And they all have resulted in grapes that were made into award-winning wines as well as forget table ones.
Furthermore, all three approaches recognize the importance of healthy soil for a successful farm. The three approaches differ significantly as well. Conventional viticulture involves the use of both synthetic and naturally derived soil amendments, nutrients and pesticides.
Organic and biodynamic viticulture prohibit the use of any synthetic nutrients or pesticides, and both require soil building through addition of organic matter, using practices like cover cropping and compost additions.
Bio dynamic farming differs from the other two in requiring practices and inputs outlined by Rudolf Steiner in a series of eight lectures in 1924. For example, a grower must use nine plant-derived “preparations” in crop management. Most are added to the composting process, and the others are mixed with water and sprayed onto the crops. Animals must also be a part of the farming operation.
It is worth noting that biodynamic and regenerative organic farming were developed over 100 years ago. It was not until mechanicalized mass produced farm production took over farming. While mechanical use and synthetic inputs have made it easier and more profitable, consumers have just become sicker and overweight. DORVAL is aggressively trying to go back in time to natural practices and letting nature do its work.
