Podcast “Vine & River” is hosted by wine director, author and Russian Riverkeeper board member, Lenka Davis. "Vine & River" aims to be a free educational resource for both the local and global farming community interested in water-sensitive, environmentally conscious farming.
With this podcast, we are honoring the legacy of Paul Dolan, long-time Russian Riverkeeper board member and pioneer in California’s organic, biodynamic and regenerative viticulture movement. Paul was a voice of intelligence and reason, urging others to “Farm Like the Planet Depends on It."
Paul showed us that it is possible to employ farming practices that reduce the environmental pressure and pollution vineyards put on and in our rivers, and groundwater. He freely shared his expertise with the goal that farming better contributes to a better harvest and better environment. In this spirit, Russian Riverkeeper is starting a series of conversations with leading viticulturists and farmers on the confluence of viticulture and water.
If you enjoy the podcast, please, consider donating at russianriverkeeper.org (http://russianriverkeeper.org) to help us fulfill our mission.
In the 9th Vine and River episode, Lenka Davis talked to Sam Bilbro, the managing partner and winemaker of Idlewild Wines and Overshine, based in Healdsburg.
Together, they explore the topics of growing up in the winemaking family and challenges and rewards of growing Piemontese varieties in Sonoma County. Sam opens up about his farming philosophy and practices, which can be summed up as non-dogmatic, soil-health-forward.
18 Feb 2025
Ep. 8: Martin Bernal Hafner of Alta Orsa
In the 8th episode of the Vine and River podcast, host Lenka Davis visits a young vigneron, Martin Bernal Hafner, who leads the small team at Alta Orsa winery. A native of Colombia, Martin’s winemaking experience spans three continents, including work in Mendoza and the Northern Rhône with the respected producer Chapoutier. Currently, Martin makes wine and co-farms the Alta Orsa property nestled in the hills around Hopland. From the very beginning, Martin Bernal Hafner, Roger Peng, and Ricardo Garcia shared the vision of putting farming at the heart of Alta Orsa’s philosophy. Martin opens up about challenges of farming a site with dense plantings, handling vine trunk disease, logistics of using sheep to graze the vineyards and other environmentally thoughtful activities he is implementing at Alta Orsa.
21 Jan 2025
Ep. 3 Ted Lemon of Littorai
In the seventh episode of Vine and River podcast, we sit down with Ted Lemon at his Pivot Estate in Sebastopol. Ted carries a rare string of accomplishments. From being the first American who became the vigneron at an estate in Burgundy (and this is a rare sight to this day), Ted led the team at Domaine Guy Rulout from 1982-1984 and worked for A-grade Burgundy domaines, such as Domaine Georges Roumier, Domaine Dujac and Domaine de Villaine, among others. But perhaps the largest accomplishment of all is Ted’s and his wife Heidi’s longitudinal work with Littorai wines, both here at the Pivot estate, and having profound impact on his growers in other sites. For a long time, Ted has been a beacon of alternative farming, admired broadly in the wine industry and harnessing awards, such as SF Chronicle Winemaker of the year. Together, we talked about the big picture of agriculture, while bringing a few tangible experiences of running a farm in conjunction with natural cycles.
17 Dec 2024
Ep. 6 Don McEnhill of Russian Riverkeeper
Russian Riverkeeper executive director Don McEnhill shares insights on the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board order linking vineyard farming to river water quality protection.
19 Nov 2024
Episode 5: Darek Trowbridge of Old World Winery
In the 5th episode of Vine and River podcast, we welcome Darek Trowbridge of Old World winery and Soil Carbon Management Company.
Darek’s training in Viticulture started in his early adolescence with his uncle, Lee Martinelli – of Martinelli Winery; which prompted getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Fruit Science from Cal Poly and Master’s Degree in Agricultural Chemistry with specific focus on Enology from Fresno State. More than a decade ago, to revive the centennarian vines of his great grandfather, Darek started making a Regenerative Composted Mulch, which was was a part of his Biodynamic and Regenerative farming regimen. Together, we opened the topics of mycorrhizal fungi, soil microbiome and regeneration.
15 Oct 2024
Episode 4: Morgan Twain Peterson of Bedrock Wine Co.
In the fourth episode of Vine and River podcast, I welcome Morgan Twain Peterson, MW. Morgan is the owner and winemaker of Bedrock Wine co, a winery based in Sonoma dedicated to preserving and rehabilitating old vineyards across California. Morgan arrived at this mission after spending childhood and adolescence in the winery and between the vines farmed by his father, Joel Peterson, and after harvests that spanned California, Australia and Bordeaux.
Morgan is also the co-host of Bedrock wine conversations podcast and co-produces Bedrock wine co. YouTube channel, where he shares his viticultural / winemaking knowledge with the public.
The external validations of the value of Morgan’s work are numerous, I will only highlight that Bedrock was named a Winery of the year in 2020 by Antonio Galloni and in 2017, Morgan became a Master of Wine, one of two most prestigious titles in the world of wine.
17 Sept 2024
Episode 3: Jason Haas of Tablas Creek
In the third episode of Vine and River podcast, our guest is Jason Haas, Proprietor and General Manager at Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles. Jason oversees winemaking, marketing, very lively social media, award winning blog, sales, and distribution of the company.
In 2022, Tablas Creek received Next Wave Award by VinePair for Winemaking Team of the year, largely due to Tablas’ sustainability efforts which include use of alternative packaging. In the same year, Jason Haas was also named a Food & Wine Drinks Innovator of the Year (https://www.foodandwine.com/drinks/drinks-innovators-of-the-year-jason-haas) , due to Tablas Creek’s commitment to Regenerative Organic Certification.
Together, we will talk about the certification, the reasoning behind its pillars, as well about Tablas Creek’s water minimizing and dry farming efforts.
13 Aug 2024
Episode 2: Mark Greenspan of Advanced Viticulture
The second episode of Vine and River podcast introduces Mark Greenspan PhD, the partner and viticulturist at Advanced Viticulture. Of the many accomplishments and credentials in the viticultural field, notably, Mark holds an M.S. in Viticulture and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering, from UC Davis. In addition to his academic achievements, he he holds Certified Crop Advisor and Certified Professional Agronomist certifications, and is a licensed Pest Control Advisor. Mark has been a member of the American Society of Enology and Viticulture for decades and has served as their president in the past. And when Mark is not busy with Advanced Viticulture, he also writes highly insightful viticultural columns for Wine Business Monthly.
We opened the subjects of water needs of the vine, how they are related to yield and quality, and how to use available vineyard technology to supply those needs in the correct time - and save both the environmental cost of pumping and using unnecessary water, and the financial resources needed to do so,
12 Jul 2024
Episode 1: Garrett Buckland of Premiere Viticultural services
In the first episode of Vine & River podcast, we interviewed Garrett Buckland, partner at Premiere Viticulture. Garrett is a longtime board member of Napa Valley Grapegrowers, founding member of the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation. He serves on the Groundwater Sustainability Plan Advisory Committee, and worked on the Napa River Historical Ecology Project. In addition, Garrett has converted hundreds acres of vineyards from conventional to organic farming, and in 2023, he received the Napa Valley Grower of the Year award.
In this interview, we explore why and how water is needed in the vinegrowing, how to make most of the water available, and how to protect its integrity throughout the farming practices.
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