Judging Vines by Their Colors

The rains of El Niño haven’t quite begun in full force, but by mid-December, our Estate vines are starting their days shrouded in Carneros fog.

Their leaves are days away from falling completely, and it’s now, in this time between seasons, that we’re seeing on of the most fascinating aspects of viticulture: leaf color.

Above, on the left, are Grenache Blanc vines; on the right are Durell Clone Syrah. Together they create the most vivid picture of varietal distinction on our estate, as if an artist ran out of red ink halfway up the vineyard.

It’s one of the many reasons we love having a number of different varieties planted within the 26 vine acres on our estate – seeing each grow distinctly and bear its unique fruit.

Fish Friendly Farming

“Sustainability” is often a difficult word to define, particularly in a place so land-focused as Sonoma Wine Country. To sustain something is to keep it going — in ecological terms, it means working with our resources in a way that means they aren’t rapidly depleted. It means honoring the place that grows our precious vines. It means caring about the fellow living things depending on the Ram’s Gate Estate for life.

Sustainability is a topic that’s hugely important to us — both as a winery and as a part of the Sonoma County Winegrowers. As a community, we’ve committed to being the first 100% certified sustainability wine region in the nation by 2019, and we couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this opportunity.

That’s one reason why we’re thrilled to announce that the Ram’s Gate Estate is now a certified Fish Friendly Farming® site. 

Fish Friendly Farming® is a process of certification for agricultural properties managed in a way that restores fish and wildlife habitat and improves water quality. This is especially paramount based on our location, so close to the San Pablo Bay and with our own Tolay Creek bordering the property.

The certification process was informative and helpful as our wonderful Vineyard Manager Ned Hill and his team at La Prenda Vineyards Management received great validation of their efforts. “The certification was a way of documenting current practices,” says Cameron Smith, a member of the La Prenda team, “and making known practices which would improve land management and water quality.”

“Fish Friendly” practices are those which protect the fish living in our surrounding water bodies, especially the threatened and endangered species. For our vineyard team, this means restricting the use of harmful chemicals and preventing topsoil erosion from redirecting or clogging streams.

To learn more about the Sonoma County Sustainability plan, we recommend these articles:

Sustainability | Sonoma County Winegrowers Website

“Sonoma County wine growers set goal of 100% sustainability” – SF Gate

Cheers,
Ram’s Gate Winery