For those of us who are producing a product or service using sustainable measures, we are doing so because we believe it is the RIGHT thing to do. There are environmental reasons that drive our choices, not financial ones. Most recognize that making these better choices has an added cost associated with them. We are willing to pay this extra cost because we believe it is the right thing to do. Most of us do not do it as a marketing tool to sell more or at a higher price, even with it costing more to produce.

However, marketing research on retail and consumer preferences suggest a different story. Most retailers DO charge more for sustainable products because they are also trying to provide a sustainable service to be able to provide those products. That has become a successful approach for food retailers like Whole Foods and Wild Oats. Consumers know going into those stores that they are going to pay more for a better product and better service.

These days we all hear expressions like ‘organic’, ‘sustainable’, and ‘salmon safe’ used more and more often, but what do they really mean?

In Oregon, as in other states, these terms all signify a level of certification one must earn in order to use them in affiliation with a vineyard, farm, or other endeavor.  These terms carry a lot of weight because of the work involved in earning and keeping them, and should not be used frivolously.

Youngberg Hill farms organically and we are certified LIVE.  This means that we are recognized to have fully organic and earth-friendly practices from harvest to market, including pest control, crop gathering, and grape processing.

When you see the insignia for Oregon Sustainable, you can trust that a bottle of wine marked as such was produced using responsible agricultural and wine-making practices.  This is also a responsibility we take seriously at Youngberg Hill, because the earth stands to benefit or suffer from our choices.

Because we are in the Pacific Northwest, we have an additional responsibility to one of our greatest resources, wild salmon.  Salmon Safe is another certification we hold at Youngberg Hill.  We were certified Salmon Safe in 2005 after completing a long and rigorous examination to make sure that all farming activity that influences water, both above and below ground, did not cause harm to salmon or their environment.

Salmon are a valued natural resource of our area; therefore, we have an innate desire to preserve them and their natural habitats.

But in many ways, this certification is much bigger and broader than salmon. By following the practices and restrictions laid out in the Salmon Safe certification, we are protecting what is even a more valuable resource – WATER.

When we view holistically what actions we take to qualify for Salmon Safe certification, we are really acting in a way that protects everything that is associated with the natural resource of water. And when we protect that natural resource, we are protecting every life form that depends on water, including us.

We must provide and protect a natural and safe source of water for ourselves and all life forms.

Anything that pollutes our water resource puts all in jeopardy.  This not only pertains to industrial processes, but also sod farms, rose beds, golf courses, vegetable gardens, lawn services and so on.  All hazardous chemicals currently being sprayed on lawns, crops, Christmas trees, hazelnut orchards, and grass seed fields are not only killing our soils, but are also leaching into our natural water resource and poisoning it.

It is up to all of us to pay better attention, and homage, to mother nature. 
When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.  ~John Muir

The smell, texture and look of the vineyard soil at Youngberg Hill is simply beautiful.        But as beautiful as it is, there is sometimes the need to fertilize the soil. To do it organically, we use compost materials. You can buy compost or even ‘certified organic material’, but I am somewhat skeptical of certifications. So we decided to start developing our own compost at Youngberg Hill. This requires diligent animals. We board horses during the summer on our pasture, but horses do not leave the most beneficial manure. Cows do!

We could have gone to an auction and picked up a couple of feeders, but that would have been too easy and not nearly as entertaining. And we wanted to find a more unique and engaging breed.

We discovered that several of our vineyard-owning friends raise Scottish Highland cattle. This breed is very distinctive, docile, comfortable around people, and cute. Our friends Jill and Brian O’Donnell, who own Belle Pente, had a young female that they were willing to part with.

On the day we had scheduled to pick her up, Brian informed me that they had not yet separated her from her mother. This was going to be interesting. When we arrived with our trailer, she was frightened and angry about the impending relocation. Keep in mind this young female weighed about 800 pounds. As we were coaxing her into the trailer, she bolted, almost tore a hole in a nearby car with her horn, and drug me about 30 feet before she stopped and noticed her “cargo.” My butt still hurts.

Since that day this cow has found Youngberg Hill to be a happy home and is thought to be as lovable as a lapdog by all who come up to visit. She is a rare beauty and a great listener!

Each year since 2003, when Youngberg Hill started farming organically, we have seen the grape vines become healthier. The canopy is easier to manage, the vines maintain through the season better, they respond better to pruning and cropping, and they resist pests and mildew more vigorously. Organic farming allows the vines to do what they naturally know to do. They do not stress as much (except in a natural way during ripening, which is when they need to stress a little.)  As a result, the fruit that is produced is richer, more flavorful, and of a higher quality. That higher quality includes a higher nutritional value.

As part of our overarching desire to farm responsibly and reduce our carbon footprint here at Youngberg Hill, we consider our organic fertilization and soil replenishment an opportunity to reduce our impact on nature.  And Beauty is pretty proud of her role as well!

The next time you come and visit us, be sure to stop and visit the cows, and become a part of the organic cycle that is Youngberg Hill.

There are several methods to try to deter these hungry migrants; firing propane cannons, hire-a-hawk and vine netting are common anti Starling practices here in the valley.  Youngberg Hill has traditionally favored a more natural approach by playing recordings of Starlings in distress and predatory raptor calls as a deterrent.

In 2010 the invasive flocks devoured over 30% of our organic crop.  After working so hard to nurture the vines all year this was a devastating loss.  As a sustainable grape grower, our primary goals is to farm in a harmonious way with the true native species of plants and wildlife that make up our hillside habitat.

We are always looking for more natural solutions, and in the coming weeks I’ll be asking friends of both Oregon native birds and Youngberg Hill wines to for some special help.  For some of these solutions we will need your help on actual ecostytem enhancement projects at Youngberg Hill.  For others we will be asking you to make helpful Starling deterring choices for your own backyard habitats.

Together we can work to rebuild our native bird populations and start at restoring a natural balance.

Let us know what you think by commenting below.

We often catch glimpses of the Bald Eagle family that resides in the woods along the vineyard’s edge, and each time I see them I am reminded that there is a natural order to the foothills’ ecology.  Other common sights are Great Horned Owls, Red Tailed Hawks and Kestrels.  These raptors are the vanguard of nature’s balance, and not only enrich our lives with their beauty but also play an important role in reducing the damage done each year to our organic grape crop by preying on non-native Starlings.

European Starlings were first introduced in North America in the late 1800s by well-meaning immigrants who sought to bring with them the familiar sights of their homeland.  What started as an innocent release of a small flock into Central Park has now grown to a population of nearly two hundred million nationwide.  This explosive population growth now causes serious crop losses for both Oregon vineyards and of even greater concern is the Starlings’ disastrous effect on native bird populations.  Regional wildlife scientists are unanimous in their conclusions that the European Starling invasion is taking a dramatic toll on native Oregon birds such as the Western Bluebird, Crested Woodpecker, Northern Flicker and Cassin’s Finch.

This spring I’d like to explore this problem with you and also will be asking for your help in coming up with some solutions that will both help our local bird population and help us keep more of the grapes we work so hard to grow at Youngberg Hill.

Be sure to Like, Comment, and Share this with your friends – and stay tuned for part two.

There is much more to pruning than just cutting off old growth. We are also “training” the vine in the shape of a “Y” that will provide balance, maximum energy flow, and strength to the vine. We do this by the selection of two of last year’s shoots to be the current year’s fruiting cane. These two shoots make up the top part of the “Y”; the stock is the bottom. The right shoots must be kept to provide the optimal energy flow through the vine and into the fruit.

The fruiting cane is that from which the new shoots grow that develop the fruit. Not only are we pruning for the current year’s crop, we are also pruning to leave spurs for the next year as well. In doing so, we are continuing to train the shape of the vine as it grows from year to year.

Red wines typically will be racked on other occasions during wine aging depending on the preferences of the winemaker and the grape varietal.  After wine has finished secondary (Malolactic) fermentation converting malo acid to lactic acid, wines may be racked again to further clarify the wine by taking the wine out of barrel, cleaning the barrel of the lees, and then putting the wine back into barrel.  (Lees are the sediment in the wine left over from the first racking and may contain attributes that may improve or not improve wine quality.) This is the point at which the artisan hand of the winemaker comes into play.  Knowledge of the  fruit from a particular vineyard, knowing the age of the vines and impacts of terrior, understanding the specific nuances of that vintage, and how the wine is aging in barrel; all play in the decision of whether to rack or not.

Then there is the final racking, moving the wine from barrel into tank for settling before bottling. To learn more about racking and how it translates into the development of the wine, come to Youngberg Hill.

We are often asked whether wines should be decanted or aerated before drinking. My answer is that it depends on the age of the wine, the vintage, the wine-making style, the varietal, etc. etc. etc. So let’s discuss some criteria for treating wine to a little air and the benefit of doing it different ways.

While air (oxygen really is our interest here) exposure during the wine-making process is typically not encouraged, a minimal amount of air exposure while the wine is in the bottle helps the wine to age. I won’t go into all the details here, but the important thing is that a little air goes a long way. That is why cork (and now screw caps) are preferred over other enclosures. They let in just enough air for the wines to age gracefully.

While we are on the subject of older/aged wines, let’s address the need to decant. As the wine ages, the tannins soften and become more integrated through the wine, the fruit characteristics become more subtle and become more integrated with the more earth based characteristics. Over a period of 10 to 20 years, this process takes place slowly and at different times depending on the vintage, the varietal, and the oak. After the first 10 years or so, the wine has been isolated from any extremes (hopefully) and is fairly quiet, as in being asleep, although still alive. When opening it up and taking that first sip, the wine may seem wanting and not revealing itself. If you wait several hours, the wine will begin to wake up and begin to reveal its characteristics; to come alive. That is where decanting can be beneficial. By decanting, the wine is exposed to more air, more quickly, so what may take several hours setting in the bottle now only takes an hour.

Why not use an aerator for the same task? While the two process accomplish the same thing, they do it in very different ways. Decanting is relatively delicate and allows the wine to take in air at its own rate. Aerating is much more aggitative and forces air interaction with the wine much faster. That kind of aeration can be beneficial to a young bottle of wine. When young wine, not yet laid down to age, but made to age, is opened; it too may seem quite unrevealing and hard to express itself. While leaving the bottle open for a while or decanting will help, aerating will open up the wine much faster. The caution with a young wine is this; if it is a good quality wine that has some age-ability to it, it will benefit from the aeration and the wine will be good throughout the bottle. If it is a lessor quality wine intended to drink now, then aerating might tend to cause the wine to lose its liveliness before the wine is drank.

Leave us a comment to let us know your thoughts on whether you think it’s right “To Air or not to Air”.

First, growing grapes and making wine naturally is not a marketing ploy. It is the right thing to do. It is better for the earth. It is better for the plants. It is better for the quality of the grapes. It is better for the wine. It is better for the consumer drinking those wines. So why wouldn’t you produce wine this way.

Second, we are trying to produce distinguishing wines from the hundreds that are available. We believe the best way to do that is to produce wines that most reflect the place where the grapes were grown. That is the one element no other producer can duplicate. Our wines are one of a kind.

Third, at Youngberg Hill we celebrate the differences of where the fruit is grown on our hill and from vintage to vintage. While there is consistency from year to year in how we grow the grapes and make our wines, and therefore, the underlying characteristics of our wines; every year’s wines will demonstrate the unique characteristics of that growing season. And each section of our vineyard brings forth distinct characteristics year over year that makes the wines produce from those different sections of the vineyard distinguish themselves.

As a grape grower and winemaker, it is the most challenging and most rewarding aspect of our work. Much like raising children, every child is different and being  raised in similar and different circumstances, therefore, every child is unique and must be parented uniquely. And of course, each child will grow to be a completely unique adult. That is both the challenge and the reward. At Youngberg Hill our passion is to have the opportunity to start with natures beautiful ingredients, to nurture them, to keep them safe, and to provide for them all they need.

 What do you like most about your favorite wine?