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Lallemand group decided in 2006 to put its knowledge and technological assets in microbiology and fermentation for the agricultural world. And so was born the Lallemand Plant Care business unit, which has since grown significantly through the acquisition of companies specializing in plant bio protection and bio fertilization.
Scott Labs provides innovative, cutting-edge technology, products and services to their customers, including Destainex a biodegradable cleaning product developed specifically for the wine industry. Destainex LF saves time, water and energy, improves safety and leads to less wear and tear on equipment. They also offer CleanSkin, the benchmark product for one-process non-caustic cleaning. Read how Judd’s Hill Cut Tank Cleaning Water Use by 66 Percent by using Destainex.
Integrated Pest Management may not sound sexy, but it can be. During this workshop Erik Dodd, Vineyard Manager at Wight Vineyard Management, who has extensive experience with organic viticulture, will mentor another grower who is ready to phase out the use of Roundup. They will explore how to use cover crops, bird boxes, and other IPM strategies to attract the beneficial insects and birds that eat unwanted guests. They will also touch on labor and management costs and considerations.
Erik Dodd | Vineyard Manager at Wight Vineyard Management
Erik Dodd has been farming vineyards in the Napa Valley since 2004. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest with a background in Hydrology and experience as a Backcountry Ranger, he migrated south for an opportunity to work year-round for Wight Vineyard Management and try his hand at the wine industry. Together with his wife, he also owns and operates Hayfork Wine Co., a small wine company producing heritage California varietals and Cabernet Sauvignon from the family’s Lewelling Ranch in St. Helena. Erik’s common sense leadership skills and his love for the outdoors have helped him find natural success as a vineyard manager.
Jesus Hernandez | Vineyard & Grower Relations Manager at Artesa Vineyards & Winery
Establishing its Carneros home in the southern most section of Napa Valley over 20 years ago, nearly 200 acres of Artesa’s 350-acre estate are planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, primarily on hillsides of which are “silt loam” – different from the common Carneros soils known as “shallow, heavy clay” – yielding small, intensely flavored grape clusters. The vineyard comprises a complex series of small blocks where varietals, clones, rootstocks and trellis systems are precisely matched with soils, topography, and sun and wind exposure. Labor intensive viticultural practices, including cane pruning, leaf thinning and hand harvesting have led to healthy, balanced vines that produce fruit crisp and elegant in character, yet distinctly Carneros.
This workshop will explore how to increase biodiversity in and around the vineyard, both below and aboveground. Jo Ann Baumgartner with Wild Farm Alliance, Sam Earnshaw with Hedgerows Unlimited, and Tom Clark with Napa Wildlife Rescue will lead a conversation about how to choose plants and establish insectaries and hedgerows, the benefits of Western Bluebirds and how to support them, and installing and maintaining owl and other bird boxes. A leading Napa Valley grower, Julie Johnson at Tres Sabores, will share how they’ve benefitted from incorporating biodiversity on their property, including sheep, guinea hens, and hummingbirds.
Jo Ann Baumgartner | Executive Director at Wild Farm Alliance
Jo Ann is the author of many publications on the intersection between biodiversity conservation and agriculture, including beneficial birds, the conservation mandates within the National Organic Program regulations, and the co-management of food safety and conservation. Before joining WFA in 2001, she addressed crop, livestock and fiber issues, was senior research editor for a book of California’s rare wildlife species, and was an organic farmer for over a decade. For her Master’s research in Environmental Studies Department at San Jose State University, she studied bird predation of insects in apple orchards. Her undergraduate degree is in Soil and Water Science from UC Davis. Jo Ann is based in Watsonville, CA.
Sam Earnshaw | Technical Service Provider (TSP) with NRCS
Sam is a Technical Service Provider (TSP) with NRCS and is currently working on the design and installation of hedgerows, grassed waterways, filter strips and riparian restoration on farms. He has been planting conservation plantings on farms since 1996 and is the author of Hedgerows and Farmscaping for California Agriculture-A Resource Guide for Farmers.
Julie Johnson | Owner and Winemaker at Tres Sabores
Julie started Tres Sabores in 1999 as a single vineyard estate and soon began making her own wine. She speaks and participates in seminars on the subject of Women in Wine for a variety of clients and at educational venues around the country. She is currently active in C.C.O.F (California Certified Organic Farms), Napa Green, and the Rutherford Dust Society. At the end of the day, she sleeps best if she feels that she has been a thoughtful and energetic steward of the land and has capped off the day with a good glass of wine!
Kelly Mulville is the Vineyard director at Paicines Ranch. For the past 25 years Kelly has managed and consulted with vineyards, farms and ranches throughout the western USA, Spain, Australia and China. In 2012 he was sponsored by government and wine industry organizations to give presentations and workshops on extended-season vineyard grazing throughout Australia and New Zealand. His studies include Ecological Horticulture at UC Santa Cruz, Viticulture at UC Davis and Holistic Management with Allan Savory. His work is focused on combining experience in farming and viticulture with holistic management in order to design and manage more ecologically, socially and economically sound farming practices. This usually involves a considerable amount of help from livestock.
During this panel Matt Pfarr, M.S. Agronomy and Plant Physiology and Technical Manager at Lallemand Plant Care, North America will speak to the brain of the vineyard underground and how to enhance microbial soil health. Leading growers, Ivo Jeramaz, winemaker and Vice President of Vineyards & Production at Grgich Hills Estate, and Greg Gonzalez, Director of Central Coast Farming at Foley Family Farms, will share their experiences using nature-based solutions to increase vineyard resilience, as well as the costs and benefits of phasing out synthetic pesticides and shifting to organic agriculture.
Katherine Cole | Contributing Editor at SevenFifty Daily & Host of The Four Top Podcast
Katherine Cole is a James Beard Award-winning fine wine expert. The author of five books on wine, Katherine currently works across the disciplines of communications, digital media, journalism, and branding. She has been honored with both a James Beard Award and an IACP Award, tapped as a Louis Roederer International Wine Writer finalist, and was named to the “Imbibe 75” list of “the people, places and flavors that will help shape the way we all drink.” As Creator, Executive Producer, and Host of The Four Top, Katherine is deeply involved in the issues that matter most to the wine and food industries. This award-winning podcast, founded in 2016, streams on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your digital audio.
Matt Pfarr | Technical Manager at Lallemand Plant Care, North America
Matt Pfarr is the Technical Manager for Lallemand Plant Care, North America. His role supports the mission of Lallemand Plant Care to bring value to growers through microorganism-based solutions. Matt was born and raised on the fertile soils of the Des Moines Lobe. He gained appreciation for the land from a young age while working as sixth generation on the family farm. This led to a research degree program at the University of Minnesota studying agronomy, agroecology, and plant physiology. After university, Matt was attracted to Lallemand Plant Care as their values align with the modern grower – pride in private ownership with a focus on stewardship for the next generations.
Ivo Jeramaz | Winemaker and Vice President of Vineyards & Production at Grgich Hills Estate
Ivo was born in Croatia to a family of grape growers and as boy he assisted in making wine for his family’s enjoyment. However, he didn’t plan on becoming a winemaker. Ivo earned a master’s of science degree in engineering from the University of Zagreb and dreamed of coming to California to work as an engineer. In 1986, with the help of his uncle, Miljenko “Mike” Grgich, Ivo followed his dream and came to Napa Valley. He quickly fell in love with the scenic beauty of the area and became fascinated with wine making. Ivo decided on a career change and Mike immediately put him to work washing barrels. During his almost-three decades at Grgich Hills Ivo has worked his way up in responsibility, learning the classic style and art of winemaking from his uncle, supported by the tools of science and technology. “There’s nothing in the winery or vineyard that I haven’t done, not just for one day, but really worked at it,” he explains.
Greg Gonzalez | Director of Central Coast Farming at Foley Family Farms
Greg Gonzalez grew up in Oregon, splitting time between Eugene and Junction City where he worked on his family’s 10-acre Filbert farm (hazelnuts). Greg joined Scheid in 2009 as a harvest intern. Eight months later, he was a Ranch Supervisor handling Geographic Information Sciences & Technologies. After spending 12 years with Scheid developing and implementing agricultural technologies, advanced precision viticultural, and mechanization as the Director of Vineyard Operations. March of 2021 Greg accepted an opportunity to lead the farming operations in Santa Barbara County for Foley Family Farms, a subsidiary company to Foley Family Wines.
Lallemand Plant Care | Anne Favre
Lallemand group decided in 2006 to put its knowledge and technological assets in microbiology and fermentation for the agricultural world. And so was born the Lallemand Plant Care business unit, which has since grown significantly through the acquisition of companies specializing in plant bio protection and bio fertilization.
Scott Labs | Domingo Rodriguez
Scott Labs provides innovative, cutting-edge technology, products and services to their customers, including Destainex a biodegradable cleaning product developed specifically for the wine industry. Destainex LF saves time, water and energy, improves safety and leads to less wear and tear on equipment. They also offer CleanSkin, the benchmark product for one-process non-caustic cleaning. Read how Judd’s Hill Cut Tank Cleaning Water Use by 66 Percent by using Destainex.
Advancing Eco Ag | Jenna Sodano
Advancing Eco Ag’s regenerative agriculture systems balance microbial, mineral, and mechanical inputs to consistently improve farm profitability by increasing fruit size, quality, and overall yield. We work with growers to create custom plant nutrition programs that will bring the kind of results that farmers are looking for.
Wilbur-Ellis | Joey Greenberg
Since the beginning, Wilbur-Ellis has prided itself on looking forward. This relentless vision helped them grow into a multibillion-dollar portfolio of four businesses focused on providing the essentials for the world to thrive. It’s this tradition of always staying ahead that will carry us into the future. Their forward-thinking approach to crop protection, nutrition and seed development combines years of service and expertise with the latest technology wherever you are, whatever your needs.
Xerces Society | Madeline Kangas
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. As a science-based organization, we both conduct our own research and rely upon the most up-to-date information to guide our conservation work. Our key program areas are: pollinator conservation, endangered species conservation, and reducing pesticide use and impacts.
Napa Wildlife Rescue | Tom Clark
Napa County Resource Conservation District | Ruby Stahel
Napa Green | Megan Scott
Napa Green serves as a catalyst and facilitator to grow certified sustainable, responsible businesses committed to the environmental stewardship and climate action in Napa County. Our members stand as leaders exemplifying that sustainability and caring for nature and community elevates quality and experience for employees, customers and community, now and in the future.
