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Listen to the recordings from this half day event on how to incorporate climate action and regenerative agriculture in wineries and vineyards.
Thank you to our exclusive event sponsor International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA).
International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) is a collaborative working group of environmentally committed wineries focused on a science-based approach to reducing carbon emissions across the wine industry.
Sponsors for this event include all of IWCA’s California Gold and Silver Level Members.
In 2022, Northern California experienced record-breaking extreme heat, with temperatures exceeding 115° in some areas, threatening and destroying significant areas of wine grapes. With climate change, high heat and drought will occur with increasing frequency and intensity. This salon will explore ways to plan for and reduce these climate impacts, from rootstock, compost & biochar, row orientation, and trellising at replant, to shade cloth and canopy management, to irrigation and misting.
Matt Brain, Winemaker at Alpha Omega, will moderate a conversation with Tod Mostero, Director of Viticulture & Winemaking at Dominus Estate, sharing recent approaches to replanting for dry farming, and their use of misting; Steve McIntyre, Founder & Owner of Monterey Pacific, will share their work on regenerative farming, including the benefits they’ve seen over seven years since applying compost & biochar; and Beth Forrestel PhD, Asst. Professor of Viticulture & Enology at UC Davis, will share her research and perspective on vineyard management in the face of extreme heat events.
This Salon will discuss tough questions: Are there temperature tipping points where misting is our only tool, and what are the water use ramifications? How do we use a conservation lens to achieve varying winemaker goals? How do we shift away from creating weak vines that require excess irrigation, to minimal water use that strengthens the relationship of vine to place?
Tod Mostero |Director of Viticulture & Winemaking at Dominus Estate
Director of Viticulture and Winemaking, the French connection runs strong through Mostero, who studied in Bordeaux and trained at Château Haut-Brion, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix. He worked with Baron Philippe de Rothschild in the Languedoc and at Almaviva in Chile before returning to his native California to join Dominus Estate in 2007.
“Christian Moueix has been my guide throughout my career and has been my greatest example of a perfect winemaker. He is clear, precise and is profoundly attached to the vineyard. He has guided me from the beginning.”
Matt Brain | Winemaker at Alpha Omega
Winemaker Matt Brain, possessing a master’s degree in biosciences and a background in process engineering, brings naturalist philosophies and highly technical abilities to winemaking at Alpha Omega where he began as Associate Winemaker. After leaving a successful career in the Toronto area to pursue his dream of winemaking in California, the Ontario, Canada native joined Phase 2 Cellars, a custom winemaking operation in San Luis Obispo, for the 2006 harvest. Matt was quickly promoted to supervise cellar operations for the facility’s premium label, Tolosa, while receiving mentorship from some of the most renowned and respected professionals in California.
Matt earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in biosciences at Sam Houston State University, where he was a decathlete. He also earned a winemaking degree from UC Davis and held winemaker titles at prominent California wineries and winemaker/lecturer positions with Enology and Viticulture programs at both Cal Poly and Fresno State universities. He partnered with The Vineyard Team, which promotes sustainable winegrowing, as a Sustainability Auditor and continues to educate as a Podcast Host for the organization. Matt’s passion for the environment benefits Alpha Omega, where the land and winery are both Napa Green certified and the Vineyard Management team practices sustainable farming.
Steve McIntyre | Founder & Owner at Monterey Pacific
In 1982 Steve McIntyre received his master’s degree in enology from California State University, Fresno. In 1982 he and his wife Kimberly moved to Carmel Valley, California to develop Galante Vineyards and Winery. In late 1983 Steve took a position with Smith & Hook Winery in Soledad, Calif. as an Assistant Winemaker, later returning to his agrarian roots to become viticulturist in 1985.
In 1992 Steve and Kimberly founded Monterey Pacific, Inc., a viticulture management and development company, which rapidly grew from 432 acres to become the 5th largest vineyard management company in the U.S. at over 17,000 acres.
In 2002, along with partners Mike Filice and Eric Laumann, Steve cofounded the Monterey Wine Company in King City, California. This12,000 ton state of the art custom wine processing facility developed a reputation for first class customer service and technological prowess. Among its many notable accomplishments MWC was the first commercial winery in the US to introduce Flash détente to the wine industry.
Steve and Kim founded McIntyre Vineyards on 1998 and produce small lot, handmade wines from their Estate Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. They have a Tasting Studio in The Crossroads Shopping Center in Carmel and are developing a Hospitality Center at their Estate Vineyard on River Road near Gonzales.
Steve received the Wine Grape Grower of the Year from the California Association of Wine Grape Growers in 2013.
Steve is an appointed member and past chairman of the CDFA Pierces Disease Board, Chairman of its Product Development and Research Screening Committee(s); a member of the California Association of Wine Grape Growers, a graduate of Class 21 of the California Ag Leadership Program, previously a board member of the Big Sur Land Trust and currently serving as a board member of the Salinas Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency. Steve and Kim have 3 children and reside in Salinas, California.
Beth Forrestel PhD | Asst. Professor of Viticulture & Enology at UC Davis
Elisabeth Forrestel studies the phylogenetic and functional basis of drought and heat responses in grapes, and ways to mitigate climate change impacts in viticulture. Her work includes incorporating monitoring technology in vineyards and using remote sensing data to help paint a fuller picture of the environmental factors that most significantly affect plant growth, berry chemistry and, ultimately, wine quality.
Winemaker Michael Silacci has been at the helm of Opus One Winery for more than 20 years. He’s worked globally and acted locally, including serving as President of the Napa Valley Grapegrowers. Silacci is a tireless advocate for climate health and sustainability, including ensuring Opus One became the first estate certified under the new Napa Green Vineyard program, and recently becoming a member applicant to International Wineries for Climate Action.
Michael Silacci | Winemaker at Opus One Winery
Michael Silacci did not know what he wanted to be when he grew up. So, he took a couple of years to travel through Asia and Europe to window-shop for a profession. When he arrived in France, his knowledge of French was limited to “bon voyage”. Someone suggested that if he wanted to eat well, speak French, and earn some francs, he should harvest grapes. Two-hour lunches and fine wine were all it took to lead him down the path to winemaking— and a life spent walking among the vines.
Assuming full responsibility for all aspects of vineyard management and winemaking, Michael was named Winemaker at Opus One in May 2003. He has been at Opus One since March of 2001, first serving as Director of Viticulture and Enology.
Prior to his current appointment, Michael spent six years as winemaker at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, one year as winemaker at King Estate in Oregon, and six years at Beaulieu Vineyard as enologist and viticulturist. He has also made wine in France and Chile. He holds a master’s degree in viticulture from U.C. Davis in addition to under-graduate degrees in enology and viticulture from U.C. Davis and the Université de Bordeaux.
Embracing a holistic vision of winegrowing as the ultimate expression of terroir, Michael ensures that the connection between viticulture and winemaking at Opus One is seamless, reflecting the philosophy of founders Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Robert Mondavi.
Opus One produces ultra-premium wines at its Napa Valley winery in Oakville, California. The 2019 vintage was released on October 1st and is distributed in all 50 U.S. States and 90 countries worldwide.
Anna Brittain | Executive Director of Napa Green
Anna Brittain is the Executive Director of Napa Green. Anna has worked locally, nationally and internationally on environmental management and policy with organizations ranging from the environmental economics think tank Resources for the Future in Washington, DC to the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Hanoi, Vietnam. She has spent a decade facilitating and growing sustainability in the wine industry, with an expertise in communications and certification standards. Anna has served as a lead sustainability consultant with Ontario Craft Wineries, Sustainable Winegrowing British Columbia, Crimson Wine Group, the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, and individual wineries including Benziger Family Winery and Seghesio Family Vineyards. She has helped lead the growth of the Napa Green program for over six years, and stepped into the position of Executive Director of the now independent non-profit in fall 2019. Anna has a Master’s of Environmental Science & Management from the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara and a BA in Political Science and Environmental Studies from Williams College.
We will close out the 2023 RISE Climate & Wine Symposium with a dialogue on the state of wine industry sustainability. The aim of the RISE Symposium is to accelerate sustainability and climate action, and focus our sites on critical issues, opportunities, resources, and partners. Now how do we turn aspiration to action and impact, growing regional resilience and longevity while also leveraging our powerful platform to motivate global progress on all six pillars of sustainable winegrowing leadership?
Master Sommelier, Andrea Robinson, will lead a conversation about the State of Sustainability. Esther Mobley, Senior Wine Critic for the San Francisco Chronicle will share her thoughts on the future of the Napa Valley and the steps necessary to remain in the global spotlight; Will Drayton, Director of Technical Viticulture, Sustainability & Research at Treasury Wine Estates, will share an international perspective on wine industry sustainability, including the evolving landscape and mandates of Environmental Social Governance (ESG); Kia Behnia, owner of Neotempo Wines & KiaTra Vineyards, will share some cutting edge approaches to sustainable winegrowing, including glass and packaging innovation; and Marlen Garcia, Youth vs Apocalypse Community Education Organizer, will share her perspective on the urgency of the climate crisis, particularly for Gen Z.
Andrea Robinson | Master Sommelier
Andrea Robinson is a world-renowned Master Sommelier who takes the seemingly daunting subject of wine and food, and brings it down to earth for all to understand and enjoy. Robinson, one of only 26 female Master Sommeliers in the world, couples this distinction with a strong culinary pedigree as a graduate and former Dean of the French Culinary Institute, and the winner of three James Beard Awards. In addition, she has been widely featured across leading national television networks and publications as the “go-to” expert for all things wine. She and her husband John live in Napa Valley.
Esther Mobley | Wine Critic at the San Francisco Chronicle
Esther Mobley is the wine critic at the San Francisco Chronicle. Prior to joining the Chronicle in 2015, she was an assistant editor at Wine Spectator magazine in New York, and has worked harvests at wineries in Napa Valley and Argentina. She was the 2019 Feature Writer of the Year in the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards.
Find her work at: http://sfchronicle.com/wine
Will Drayton |Director of Technical Viticulture, Sustainability & Research at Treasury Wine Estates
Will Drayton is the Director of Technical Viticulture, Sustainability and Research at Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), one of the world’s largest wine companies. Will has been with TWE since 2008, beginning in viticulture at Etude Winery and has held many positions within the viticulture and winemaking groups.
In his current role, Will guides TWE’s US sustainability efforts in addition to technical and scientific aspects of winegrowing in California. He serves on the committee that guides the Sustainable Wine Roundtable, Chair of the PD-GWSS board for the CDFA and board member of the Los Carneros Water District.
Will holds a Master’s degree from UC Davis in Horticulture and Agronomy and undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge. Will resides with his young family in Sebastopol, CA.
Kia Behnia | Co-Owner, Neotempo Wines & KiaTra Vineyard
Kia is a technologist turned vintner – Kia and his wife Tracy have owned and operated KIATRA vineyard since 2011. From the beginning the idea was to combine organic and biodynamic methods with the use of precision farming technologies to continuously improve quality of the fruit while reducing the impact on the environment and reduce the use of critical natural resources. KIATRA vineyard is now under the stewardship of Phil Coturri and his highly skilled team at Enterprise Vineyards to combine their organic and regenerative growing experience with Kia on precision farming practices such as smart irrigation and computer vision for crop evaluation and all electric Monarch tractors for a diesel free future.
Kia and Tracy are launching their new wine brand NEOTEMPO wines which has a commitment to bringing to market many innovations from ‘dirt to glass’ for lowering carbon emissions and building a playbook on climate resilience.
Mr. Behnia is a frequent industry speaker at industry events and active in participating and leading industry wide initiatives for the adoption of new technologies.
Prior to his time in Napa, Kia held senior executive roles at public and private large scale enterprise technology companies – Splunk, BMC Software, IBM/Tivoli, and Marimba.
Mr. Behnia has 28+ years of industry experience in IT Operations, cloud platforms, enterprise mobility and digital transformation. Mr. Behnia holds a B.A. degree in Computer Science from University of California at Davis.
Marlén Garcia | Executive Director at Earth Uprising International
Marlen Garcia is a student at the college of agricultural & environmental sciences and the college of letters & science at the University of California, Davis (Wintun Land). When she moved away from home to attend college, she learned about the climate crisis and environmental injustice. Ever since she learned about such matters and came to understand the ways the climate crisis impacted her and her communities, she has devoted much of her time and efforts learning, sharing her learnings, and advocating for environmental and climate justice—thus she joined YvA as a Community Education Coordinator. Environmental justice to her means: “caring, protecting, and loving of all that makes up our environment. It’s the restorative actions and healing of the damages we already made to all that makes up our environment. It’s maintaining and sustaining our love, care, and just treatment towards all that makes up our environment even after we heal. It’s keeping all that makes up our environment healthy for EVERYONE in an equal and just way!”
International Wineries for Climate Action | Julien Gervreau
International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) is a collaborative working group of environmentally committed wineries focused on a science-based approach to reducing carbon emissions across the wine industry.
Sponsors for this event include all of IWCA’s California Gold and Silver Level Members.
Agrology | Holly Nuss
Agrology is a leading climate tech start-up and Public Benefit Corporation with a mission to help farmers adapt to and beat climate change with real-time analysis and predictive insights. The Agrology platform consists of climate and carbon monitoring systems, both based on ground-truth data and machine learning. The Agrology Climate Monitoring System delivers predictive insights and warnings, up to three days in advance, for wildfire smoke taint, extreme weather, soil conditions, pest and disease emergence, and irrigation. Agrology’s Carbon Monitoring System tracks soil carbon sequestration in real time, quickly detecting carbon loss via carbon dioxide emission events. Agrology customers include Braga Fresh, The Duckhorn Portfolio, Boisset Collection, Dana Estates, Emeritus Vineyards, Jordan Vineyards and Winery, Joseph Phelps Vineyards, Langtry Farms, Lawrence Vineyards, Mission Hill Family Estate Winery, Renteria Vineyard Management, Signorello Estate, Silver Oak Vineyards, and numerous specialty farms. Agrology is the winner of two highly selective National Science Foundation SBIR Awards, a 2023 WINnovation Award, and is a recipient of a USDA Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant. Agrology has offices in Alexandria, Virginia, and Sonoma, California, and can be found online at Agrology.ag.
DIAM | Kevin Andre
Diam Bouchage has always been an innovative company; every year, it allocates a substantial budget to research and development.
In 2003, the company began investing in a revolutionary, patented process, called the DIAMANT® process that uses the properties of supercritical CO2 to extract the volatile compounds of cork and eradicate the molecules responsible for giving a taste to the wine, especially those causing “cork taint”.
Twelve years later, the company made yet another breakthrough in major technological progress with the launch of Origine by Diam®, a closure that reconciles science and nature, integrating a beeswax emulsion and binding agent composed of 100% plant-derived polyols.
MCE | Chris Kubik
MCE is a not-for-profit, public agency that has been setting the standard for clean energy in California since 2010. MCE offers 60-100% renewable power at stable rates, significantly reducing greenhouse emissions and reinvesting millions in local programs. MCE provides electricity service and innovative programs to more than 580,000 customer accounts and 1.5 million residents and businesses in 37 communities across four Bay Area counties: Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, and Solano.
Napachar | Eric Mayer
Founded in eastern Napa county, Napachar converts woody waste from vineyard management and local forest fuel-reduction efforts into Biochar, one of the richest soil amendments and most stable forms of carbon capture available today. By making our biochar with portable kilns on site in the vineyard and forest, we reduce transportation costs and emissions, and offer a drop-in replacement for burn-piling and wood-chipping. Additionally, our kilns are substantially lower polluting than these alternatives, producing almost no smoke and releasing a tenth of the CO2. Our resulting product is ready for incorporation into vineyard soil, where it serves as an organic tool for holding onto water and nutrients in the soil and encourages increased growth and crop production, with no detriment to the quality of the fruits.
Scott Labs | Zack Scott
Scott Laboratories is the leading supplier for the North American wine and specialty beverage industry. For 90 years Scott Labs has been a trusted resource for the community while bringing the most innovative technology, products and services to the industry. Scott Laboratories has a diverse portfolio including yeast, fermentation nutrients, enzymes and processing aids, microbial control, corks, crush pad equipment, filtration systems, crossflows and pumps. Scott Laboratories is proud to be a Certified B Corp™, joining the global community of businesses that are leading the movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. Whether it’s your first year or your 9th decade doing business with us- you have a friend at Scott Labs.
Solectrac Electric Tractors | Steve Heckeroth
Solectrac is the first American company to commercialize electric tractors through direct sales and its growing dealer network. Solectrac climate smart electric tractors are zero-emission, quiet and powerful and benefit not only the environment but also the health of the agricultural work force by eliminating exposure to exhaust and reducing noise. Solectrac tractors can be charged from the grid or renewable energy sources, need less maintenance, and provide high torque at low speeds.
As a Certified B Corp since 2019 Solectrac continues to maintain the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability. Since becoming a subsidiary of Ideanomics in 2021, Solectrac has been growing fast and adding new dealerships to its expanding network to provide sales and service to customers. In 2022, the company opened a new 36,000 square foot production facility in Windsor, California and soon added a second assembly center in North Carolina to serve east coast customers.
Solectrac is part of Ideanomics, (Nasdaq: IDEX), which is a global business headquartered in New York that is accelerating the commercial adoption of electric vehicles. Solectrac received the Solar Impulse Foundation Efficient Solution label in 2020, was the recipient of the WINovation award in 2021 and the World Ag Expo Top-10 New Product Winner in 2022. For more information, please visit www.solectrac.com.
The Clean Burn Company | Eric Carlson
Full service Wildfire Fuel Reduction and Forest Debris Management.
With their mobile burn process, The Clean Burn Company is able to perform most burning services where the piles are; eliminating the need to dismantle and manage each part of the tree separately. They manage all parts of a tree in one process.
No hauling, no chippers, no piles of flammable material left behind.
Verallia | Félix Lamolinerie
As the European leader and the world’s third largest producer of glass packaging for beverages and food products, Verallia wants to redefine the way glass is manufactured, reused and recycled, to make it the most sustainable packaging material in the world.
With 32 glass plants, 3 decor plants and 8 cullet (glassware) processing centers in 11 countries, they manufacture 16 billion glass bottles and jars each year to supply 10,000 companies, from local family producers to major international brands.
Their global network helps them provide their North American customers with customizable, eco-friendly and high-quality glass solutions. From the East Coast to the West Coast of the USA and Canada their team will support you in all your beverages glass packaging projects. With nearly 200 years of experience in glass manufacturing, they offer to North America market a unique approach based on sustainability, innovation, customer experience and high-quality products.
Napa Green | Megan Scott
Napa Green is a global leader in sustainable winegrowing, setting the highest bar for sustainability and climate action in the wine industry. Napa Green facilitates systematic soil to bottle certification for wineries and vineyards, and provides the resources, tools and connections to continuously level up leadership. In 2021, Napa Green was the first sustainable winegrowing program in the world to redevelop Vineyard certification standards to focus on climate action, regenerative carbon farming, and social equity. In 2022, Napa Green and community partners launched a first of its kind, six-event Climate & Wine Symposium (Napa THRIVES now RISE) with over 65 speakers and 600 total guests.
