Regenerative Agriculture

  On January 19th I published Types of Wines on the different farming and processing practices -- organic, biodynamic, natural, etc. Well, here's a new one (to me), and sounds like maybe the best of all. 

  I first heard about regenerative agriculture from a recent article in the Wine Spectator (possible paywall).

  In a bid to stand out in the market and do something good for the land we depend on, a few California wineries have been certified for regenerative agriculture. These are Tablas Creek in Paso Robles (San Luis Obispo County), Solminer in Los Olivos (Santa Barbara), Bonterra in Ukiah (Mendocino), and Truett Hurst near Healdsburg (Sonoma). Also in Sonoma County, Medlock Ames and Beltane Ranch are practicing regenerative farming techniques -- not sure if they're officially certified. I expect there are other wineries in the process of investigating or implementing.

  Regenerative farming has to do with improving soil: better health, more biodiversity, and, for the farmer, the promise of more production. Most of the practices are old, but have often been replaced by mono-cropping, chemicals, and overwatering. Regenerative farming makes nutrient-rich healthy soil the old-fashioned natural way. It's a long-term process. 

  There is overlap between regenerative, organic, and sustainable farming. The rules for regenerative ag don't seem to be as well-defined as organic certification. This is a farming company's take on the difference between organic, and sustainable, and regenerative agriculture practices.

  Now that all of Sonoma County has gone sustainable, could regenerative agriculture be next? Many in the industry are seeing this as the logical next step.

Whole Foods' take on regenerative ag
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