Vineyard Team Hosts Third Annual Event Attended by Members of Congress
Katy Budge
 
TEMPLETON, CALIFORNIA -- Central Coast Vineyard Team (CCVT) recently hosted what has evolved into an annual event -- a Walking Tour of local vineyards attended by Congressional and state officials, agency representatives, and members of the local viticulture community. Each year, the Tour is held at different CCVT-member vineyards, and demonstrates a variety of sustainable agriculture practices in place at the host vineyards.

This year's 3rd annual event was held August 5 at R. Mondavi Winery's Cuesta Ridge Vineyard in Santa Margarita, California, and among those in attendance were Congressional Representatives Lois Capps, Sam Farr, and Mike Thomas, as well as staff from the offices of Representative Bill Thomas, Assemblyman Abel Maldonado and State Senator Jack O'Connell. Other agencies represented included the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Pesticide Regulation, Cachuma Resource Conservation District, San Luis Obispo County Agriculture Commissioner, and UC Cooperative Extension.

"This has evolved into a great event that allows winegrowers and legislators to exchange ideas in an informal atmosphere," said Kris O'Connor, Executive Director of CCVT. "It creates the possibility for meaningful dialogue between people that otherwise might never even meet each other. We're also able to showcase the important work we're doing to the people who are in a position to provide us funding and legislative support."

Nurturing communication has proven a successful core strategy for CCVT. The group's regularly scheduled "Tailgate Meetings" - recently expanded to include Spanish speaking meetings -- have gotten growers and vineyard personnel together in the vineyard for hands-on demonstrations and face-to-face discussions about everything from beneficial pest identification, to sulfur application, to irrigation. CCVT membership is not required to attend the meetings, and this inclusive approach has allowed CCVT to dramatically expand its base.

"We're bringing in a whole new type of grower now," said O'Connor, "some that perhaps aren't as far on the sustainable curve as those we saw at the beginning. This group is pushing the envelope and getting people taking about what is sometimes uncomfortable, but we're also providing them with the information they need to make changes and voluntarily adopt sustainable practices that will benefit their vineyard and their bottom line."

Congressman Farr echoed the importance of including economic benefits in the concept of sustainability. "To preserve agriculture," said Farr, "we're going to have to keep it economically viable. We have to prove that to urban California, and I can think of no better industry to do that than this one." Of CCVT's efforts, he said, "I really think you're on the cutting edge here in terms of making farming practices sustainable."

Karen Ross, President of the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG), agreed. "I think we're going to be a model for other agricultural crops, and in some cases we already are." She also noted that California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) recently launched a "Buy California" campaign that specifically targets developing not only an economic linkage between urban and rural California, but also a mindset that gets people thinking about the importance of agriculture and open space to their communities.

In looking to the future of agriculture, Congresswoman Capps said, "I would hope that one day these practices aren't called 'Best' Management Practices but 'Standard' Management Practices -- that some day we'll look back and see that what used to be the pioneer group is now the standard bearer."

CCVT Walking Tour attendees observed several Best Management Practices (BMPs) being used at Cuesta Ridge Vineyard, including the use of goats as a low-impact and cost-effective weed control method, and an experimental trial of a clay powder spray that may prove a deterrent to glassy-winged sharpshooters, one of the vectors of the destructive Pierce's Disease now threatening the California wine industry.

Another BMP used at Cuesta Ridge was the use of soil pits and soil mapping in the initial vineyard development. The extensive research done at the site revealed that a quarter of the vineyard did not require special soil work, providing a win-win in terms of development costs and habitat preservation. "We were able to use 'precision agriculture' as a BMP," Cuesta Ridge Vineyard Manager Neil Roberts explained to the group.

Robert Mondavi Winery (RMW) also recently finalized a groundbreaking "Safe Harbor Agreement" at Cuesta Ridge, a contractual agreement with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) whereby a landowner agrees to retain, create, and/or improve habitat for endangered species. Under the agreement, RMW is enhancing a stretch of riparian habitat for the California red-legged frog (the famed frog of Mark Twain's story), and two rare species of birds - the least Bell's vireo and the Southwestern willow flycatcher. The agreement keenly illustrates R. Mondavi Winery's proactive approach to stewardship.

"Currently, our population of red-legged frogs is zero," explained Robert LaVine, Director of Grower Relations for R. Mondavi Winery, "but we knew if we improved the health of this creek -- where previous activities had degraded it - we could find ourselves with potential habitat for red-legged frogs." Nationwide, Safe Harbor Agreements have been struck with several hundred landowners on approximately two million acres of land. However, the Mondavi arrangement marks only the third in California and the first ever for a vineyard.

Roberts and the Cuesta Ridge staff are also working with biologists on a long-term water quality study and an exhaustive biological inventory of the vineyard, studies which will provide solid, base line information about how BMPs are affecting habitat.

"Anecdotally, we know sustainable practices have a positive effect on diversity," said O'Connor, "and this will give growers information to help them with their practices." Roberts added that "we're learning a lot out here, and we're anxious to share it with regulators and other growers. We have no desire to keep it to ourselves."

For more information about CCVT -- a non-profit collaborative partnership of growers, wineries, consultants, researchers, and environmental professionals - or their award-winning diagnostic Positive Points System, contact O'Connor at (805) 434-4848. Currently, CCVT membership represents over 35,000 acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara Counties, as well as new members in San Benito, Santa Cruz and Los Angeles Counties.