On this episode we’re going to talk about some of the problems with organic viticulture. And I know this may be shocking coming from me, but yes, organic has issues.
That doesn’t mean organic viticulture is bad, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it, and that doesn’t mean it’s pointless. On the contrary, I’ve never been more committed to organic viticulture as the best form of viticulture, and I believe literally every vineyard should be farmed organically.
But there will be no green-washing in this episode.
To make the organic future of wine a reality we have some problems to solve. And we’ll never solve them by pretending they don’t exist. We need to honestly and openly discuss our own failings so that we can learn how to improve and find solutions.
So I’m incredibly grateful to my guest for this episode, Leigh Bartholomew, for being willing to openly discuss some of these issues with me.
Leigh has an incredible resume that includes work at some of the most revered and renowned wineries around the world. She’s a leader in the Oregon wine industry, and She’s been a viticulturalist for decades, with an enormous amount of experience working in vines around the world.
Leigh openly and intelligently articulates many of the less than perfect realities and compromises of organic and biodynamic viticulture, while at the same time aspiring to continue to farm organically. She simultaneously acknowledges the challenges and points the way toward solving many of the problems she brings up.
Leigh is my hero. It takes courage to come on the Organic Wine Podcast and talk about the problems with organic. So many great questions still remain for us to answer, and this conversation with Leigh Bartholomew provides the foundation for beginning to answer them.
https://dominiowines.com/
https://www.resultspartners.com/
Sponsor:
https://www.centralaswine.com/
Doug & Andrew Becker - Montpelier Vineyards, Vermont Organic Wine
Eric Shatt - Redbyrd Orchard Cider & Cosmic Connections
Brian McClintic - Rethinking Wine, Letting Nature Lead
Drew Herman - Microbial Democracy for a Healthy Vineyard & World
Michael Juergens - Developing Bhutan’s First Ever Wine
Tim Graham - Local & Wild Fruit with Left Bank Ciders
Greg La Follette - How Wine Is Made In The Vineyard
Brady Shepherd - Mortgage Banker for Vineyard Real Estate
Bardos Cider - Gleaning Fruit From Abandoned Orchards
Gabriela Fontanesi - Vineyard Worker & Force of Nature
Organic Sucks & Natural Wine Will Save The World
Jack Sporer - Fres.co Wine and Magnolia Wine Services
Darek Trowbridge - Old World Winery, Soil Carbon Management Co., & Pastoral Winemaking
Jerry Eisterhold & Jean-Louis Horvilleur - TerraVox, American Native Wine Grapes in Missouri
Ian Thorsen-McCarthy
Jason Kesselring - The Only Vitis Riparia Vineyard in the World
Martha Stoumen - How To Make Natural Wine
Stephen Hagen and Andrew Smith - Antiquum Farm & Grazing-Based Viticulture
Christopher Renfro - The Two Eighty Project
Is The Cost of Organic or Biodynamic Certification Worth It?
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