My guest for this episode is Zac Brown of Alderlea Vineyards in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Zac grows an array of grapes in his vineyard, some that he has to spray multiple times every year, and some that he doesn't really have to spray but chooses to once per year. Zac grows resilient wine grapes (some PIWIs), side by side with more common vinifera, and he has direct comparisons between their resilience and performance in many ways. His findings are striking: the resilient hybrids out-perform vinifera in every measure, including fungal resistance, drought resistance, recovery from extreme heat and cold, and productivity... and the hybrids don't need to be sprayed to do this.
In addition to talking about the viticultural advantages to growing resilient grape varieties, we discuss wine making techniques for working with specific resilient grapes. Like any grape, they can make beautiful wine but each variety requires its own specific care in the winery to elicit its best flavors. Zac had some great insights for making wine with the varieties he grows.
Zac is at the forefront of a revolution - the dawn of the ecological era of viticulture, guided by biology. His mixed vineyard provides a great example of a way that the larger wine industry may begin to transition to a kind of wine that can withstand climate change... and be interesting, indigenous, and delicious.
https://www.alderlea.ca/
Support this episode by subscribing via patreon.
If you'd like to sponsor an episode, please contact Adam at:
connect@organicwinepodcast.com
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?
Martin Bernal-Hafner - Alta Orsa
Sandor Katz - The Art Of Wild Fermentation
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL