Posted by Gavin Robertson on August 23, 200750 CommentsPrinter Friendly
Mendocino County in Northern California may be heralding the eventual return of organic and sustainable viticulture in the United States. Approximately one third of California’s certified vineyard acreage is located here. Growers and winemakers from the region have embraced the combinations of tradition and technology which enables certified organic wine to be delivered to our providores, restaurants, and tables. For more than twenty years, Edward and Deborah Wallo have raised organically certified vines in the Yorkville Highlands. They established their organic winery and Yorkville label as early as 1994 and have since received numerous awards for their distinctive Bordeaux blends and varietals.
Q: Which elements of your backgrounds led to the wine industry in general and organic production in particular?
A: My wife, Deborah, and I didn’t set out to get into the wine industry. In short, we fell absolutely in love with Mendocino County during our first visit and immediately began looking for a little piece of it to call our own. Knowing a fair bit about wine, it wasn’t too large a leap to be attracted to various properties that had small vineyards. So upon securing a ranch with a small vineyard on it in Yorkville nearly 20 years ago, it was really an evolution of expanding the vineyard from one varietal to eight varietals, then opening a tasting room in the middle of the vineyard to expanding production to the point where Yorkville Cellars wine is now more broadly available.
Regarding organic production, when we took possession of the original vineyard, it had recently been certified organic. It appears that it was among the first dozen or so vineyards in the state to be certified organic. It was an easy decision and felt natural for us to continue this practice as we expanded the vineyards by three-fold. In brief, while I was an international marketing executive and we lived abroad in five other countries we enjoyed a lot of opportunity to tramp through old world vineyards. As it turns out by using carbon dating they know that wine is at least 7,000 years old. So by our reckoning, for 6,950 years all wine was made from organically grown grapes. And clearly some excellent wine was produced. Thus growing organically is not the new, rocket science sort of thing; it is merely growing the traditional way and with the absence of unnecessary, synthetic or petrol chemical products.
Q: Can you recall your initial impressions of Yorkville’s potential as a wine region and perhaps describe how these have been further influenced by time and experience?
A: Our initial impressions were largely based on the climate and geology, which combine favorably in terms of vineyard selection. We appreciated lean soils, and the fact that Yorkville’s elevation and position supported healthy air circulation and perhaps less humidity than surrounding locations. There was always some realisation of the potential for microclimates in this area. Vineyards are sited across a range of altitudes and there are differences in proximity to the coast. Both factors contribute to a variability of heat summation within the Yorkville appellation. Most of these impressions continue to resonate, particularly as they reveal themselves through our wine. As dedicated growers, we continually seek to capture and positively accentuate the uniqueness of our terroir. This depends upon developing an appreciation for this region, along with our commitment to select and manage those varietals and rootstocks best suited for each site.
Q: Organically labeled wine was quite marginal when you commenced producing grapes in the Yorkville region. From a commercial perspective, a commitment to organic methods might have been perceived as an additional risk. What feedback did you receive from industry sources and others around this time?
A: Basically for the first 15 years or so, the comments were negative. Yes, it was seen as higher risk. Yes, it cost a great deal more. And yet there was no real market for the product. But things have turned around a bit. On the plus side there are now exponentially more customers interested in products made with organic methods so that is good. Unfortunately in the case of many fruits, vegetables and other products a premium is typically charged to help cover the extra costs. In the wine business, possibly because it is a processed product, I’m not aware of any wines charging a premium for their brand. The business is so competitive with producers from around the world all trying to get the consumers’ attention, it puts downward pressure on the pricing.
Q: Given that organic viticulture is probably more challenging than consumers might estimate, which marketing approaches (yours and others) have been most successful in promoting the benefits of organic wine?
A: It always gets down to education. There is just so much confusion around growing sustainable, wine made from organic grapes, organic wine with no sulfites added, biodynamic, etc. It’s fair to say that we’re always trying to explain the differences and help people through the fundamentals. It certainly didn’t help that the wine industry was forced to put “contains sulfites” on the back label. We’re the only country in the world with that as in most other countries they’ve decided that it would confuse customers. Unfortunately, many people incorrectly believe the organic has something to do with no sulfites when the real issue is more in the vineyard.
Q: Have you experienced many opportunities to provide mentorship or assistance to other vineyards or growers who might be considering their options with respect to organic certification?
A: No. Not really much more than occasional casual or informal conversations. I think that is because Mendocino County has always been the leader of organic vineyards and there is a large group of very experienced and knowledgeable farmers here. I helped put together a booklet with a lot of facts about Mendocino organic vineyards that is available through the Mendocino Winegrape and Wine Commission. In short, 18% of the vineyard acreage in Mendocino County is certified organic compared to 2% in the state of California. In Napa, the figure is 5% and in Sonoma just 1%.
Q: To what extent do organic production methods necessitate additional vineyard employees throughout the year?
A: Grapes are relatively easy to grow organically. Really our main challenge is reducing the competition for nutrient under the vine rows by eliminating grasses and weeds. Since being certified organic means choosing not to use industrial herbicides (like Round-Up), this is mainly done the old fashioned way, by hand. That means considerable amounts of extra hours in the vineyard and represents the most significant extra cost of growing organically.
Q: Have you experienced any discrepancy between your label’s most successful offerings and those you have personally been most satisfied with?
A: I can immediately think of one situation. One was when the 1998 vintage was generally panned by the press, particularly as not as good as the 1997 or 1996 vintages. Yet I thought up to that point some of our 1998 wines were the best we have produced.
Q: How far and wide is Yorkville Cellar’s wine distributed?
A: Yorkville Cellars wine is now more broadly available, albeit in limited quantities, in about 15 states. Of course, we also regularly ship wine directly to customers in 28 states.
Q: How is this year’s fruit shaping up?
A: We had a great start to the season and limited amounts of rain so it looks like it will be a terrific year, but as they say, “it ain’t over, till the grapes are in the barn.” That’s because really the last month or so (Sept. and Oct.) is the most critical time period as to how weather can affect a vintage. All farmers have their fingers crossed during that period.
Q: What plans do you hold for the future?
Yorkville Cellars has been the only Californian winery to grow and then produce each of the main seven varietals traditionally grown in Bordeaux as a separate bottling each vintage. They are: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. We also produce a blend of the two whites, called Eleanor of Acquitaine. And a blend of the five reds, called Richard the Lion-Heart. Most wine drinkers haven’t heard of couple of these varietals. However, we’re going one step further and will soon be adding our Carmenere, which also was planted in Bordeaux but even more obscure. These days the ones you’re more likely to see come from Chile, where it was planted by mistake as they seemed to have thought it was primarily Merlot from Bordeaux.
Organic Guide wishes to thank Edward Wallo for generously sharing his time and insights. To find out more about Edward and the fine organic wines his company produces, please visit Yorkville Cellars.
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I love Mendocino County.
Nice interview – cheers!
My wife and I discussed doing something similar to Edward and Deborah here in the Hunter Valley in Australia. About 10 years ago, when we first talked about it, with some good fortune we probably could have made a go out of it. However, property price increases over the last 10 years have made owning my own vineyard an unobtainable dream. I have a great deal of respect for those who have gone out and done it.
Your subject makes a good point. Nowadays we’re obliged to distinguish products with an organic label. It wasn’t so long ago that organic was the default position. Things do change, however, I’m not sure whether we’re likely to experience a return of sustainable viticulture. Good interview.
We took a vineyard tour across Argentina and Chile two years ago. A decent percentage of their wine is organic. Unfortunately most of it gets sold on their local markets.
Great interview. I will keep my eye open for Yorkville next time I visit California.
We had some Californian organic wines shipped up here to Vancouver last fall. It was great and we’re hoping to do the same real soon. I’ll visit the website referenced and check it out. Thanks Gavin.
I tend to disagree that organic wines are priced to match their standard equivalents. Perhaps this is the case in California?
Anyone see the Russel Crowe film where he goes back to the vineyard where he grew up as a kid. There’s a frenchman who tends the vines and keeping all the good stuff for his own label or whatever. At some point this crusty old frog starts to disparage American wine….he describes it as Hawaiin punch. I was almost asleep but woke up then nearly fell out of my chair laughing.
No need to scoff at Hawaiians. Try the Ulupalakua Red with a slab of steak.
Aloha.
Hey TS don’t sell out on those dreams. Don’t know about the Hunter’s Valley but you might look at getting a place in Argentina or South Africa.
I did a web search and they seem reasonably priced.
Next time you interview an organic winemaker, ask them to describe some of the techniques which distinguish their operation. Where do they source their yeasts, finings etc, which types of preservative are used.
My experience is that organic wine tends to be a little more expensive, but I prefer to drink a quality wine than compromise for the sake of a few dollars.
Interesting to hear Edward’s thoughts – someone who is passionate about organic production methods AND wine.
Gavin I wish you could interview my organics. We produce cheeses in a small Asaa cooperative and are certified under EU admin regs for organic production. Please contact my mail at the above.
Fine wine, fine country, fine people – enjoyed that – thanks!
I had no idea that 18% of the vines in Mendocino County were certified organic. I bet it wasn’t like that even ten years ago.
I like the point made that wine has been made for thousands of years without all the nasty chemicals todays mainstream guys seem to want to include. Let’s get back to nature.
Wonder if changing weather patterns will influence our wine regions in coming decades.
I was intrigued by the Chilean mistake with regards to the Carmenere. When was this discovered? Presumably not during the wine glut of the late eighties.
To Edword
Get cred wif a labl/Ay is not hapn for me/ Organic wine to buy the smoothest rt/Foto displays be carming vibe/
We’re considering organic certification for our apple and pear orchard but have been warned by an expert that our trees may have a shorter productive lifespan. This doesn’t sound intuitive. We wondered if there was any such risk with grapevines.
I now have the urge to visit Yorkville and sample some of your organically certified reds.
Or Hawaii to taste juicy steaks and Upakualupa!
Well done guys!! Nice to read about pasionate folks involved with organic agriculture. Good description.
Hoky
I have no idea what you’re on, but I suspect it’s not red wine.
Hasn’t anyone told you that solvents are bad for you?
Artie
Cool interview
Don’t forget to visit the Frey family vineyards in California. They’re part of the foundation for organic wine production in this country.
You guys are interest to me. I have grapes in backyard. How do I make it into organic wine?
It’s still difficult, if not impossible to obtain organically certified wine at your local cellar. Seems like online ordering is the only option for most of us. Unfortunately this is not as pleasurable as browsing among the bottles in an old fashioned shop.
TS
Viticulture’s no hobby for the uninitiated. We tried to get something going in Blenheim, NZ. Three consecutive failures and we walked away a lot poorer for the exercise. Fortunately most of the costs were recovered by an appreciation in land values. It’s crazy, but now there’s people attempting to make it on half acre parcels of land. Can be a dreamers game, always has been.
Three cheers for Yorkville’s organic vineyard. Hip hip hooray!
Ulupalakua aint organic.
Yes – nice interview
6,950 years without using chemicals in wine production is good enough for me. Isn’t it interesting that, in many respects, the current wine growing generation think they know better than those that have gone before them.
Small brands within wine, and more generally food, are far more efficienct at creating value. The large producers realise this, hence their desire to acquire established niche brands. Unfortunately, what they do with these brands post-acquisition is often responsible for destroying the value that had previously been created.
It is the timeless traditions embodied in Yorkville that make it the product and brand it is today. Things might not be quite as efficient as they are at your large commercial producers, but my goodness the quality embodied in the Yorkville product is nothing short of sublime. I highly recommend Yorkville’s product to anyone who seriously enjoys fine wine made according to traditional principles.
What does tradition mean when people talks about wine?
Tradition to me means applying the best of human knowledge and understanding acquired over time and applying it to today’s setting.
Mendocino is the best region in the world for wine – just my 2c
I agree – I love the subtlties of the region
Alex
Mendocino might be good, possibly even excellent, and it gains considerable esteem through recognising and supporting its organic producers. Declaring it to be the best region in the world seems a touch exaggerated. A tuppence rejoinder.
I was interested to read your article in light of visiting a friend who’s inherited several acres of vines. Not sure of the species but there’s no chemical input and the wild turkeys get whatever the pig misses.
I’d always suspected that organic was just another means for wine experts to snob at the public. I enjoyed the article particularly the straightforward question and answer format. I’m happy to know a tiny bit about organic wine and hope to try some in the future.
Recommend this book for everyone interested in wine:
“The Perfect Glass of Wine…how one man searched the world for heaven in a bottle” by Ben Canaider. Vintage Books 2006.
Siimon,
Roast turkey, pork, and organic wine. Sounds like a decent living.
Flapjacks and maple syrup for dessert. Got a road map?
I did a wine tasting course at polytech last year. The instructor said that organic wine was becoming very popular with drinkers but was still marginalised by the so called experts. I’d like to try some organic wine and make my own opinion. So far I’ve had only the occassional bottle and they were good but nothing out of the ordinary. They were inexpensive bottles so I didn’t really expect them to stand out.
I like a wee sip before bed.
If so many people care about organic wine, why is it so difficult to find in your average bottleshop?
Opskill,
Sorry about your situation particularly if you were trying to grow something nicer than the standard sauv blanc from the region. Nothing wrong with a half acre vineyard?
Love to learn more about organic wine if possible.
Hi Eddie, I’m living in Monteray County now helping with my 3 grandchildren, I was telling my daughter about you and your wife having a vineyard so we looked you up, very impressive. She is a food and beverage manager at a small private golf course here and she is thinking of putting your wine on their wine list. How are you and the family? I pray this note finds everyone doing well. take care Sharon