Pine Ridge Vineyards

Fish Friendly Farming, a program run by the California Land Stewardship Institute, plays an important part in our commitment to sustainable farming. Our Fish Friendly Farming practices help conserve and improve the natural creek banks along the property, preserve wildlife habitats, attract beneficial insects, and protect local watersheds from pollution.
We take critical steps to prevent silt and fertilizers from entering local watersheds. All loading areas are contained within specially designed areas to avoid harmful inputs and runoffs.

Olive trees and the tall tufts of grasses bordering Olive Pond Vineyard provide an excellent habitat for beneficial insects such as ladybugs. They feed on detrimental insect populations that, left unchecked, could do great damage to the vines.

Barn owls play an important role in controlling gophers and other rodent populations that damage vines. We install owl boxes, and in exchange, the owls diligently patrol the vine rows, keeping them naturally rodent-free.

Erosion Control, Soil, Health, and Cover Crops

We diligently make efforts to retain soils and reduce erosion by winterizing our vineyards. Practices include the use of straw wattles, straw mulching, grass seed, and ground cover, as well as the maintenance of drainage systems.

Each fall we sow vineyard rows with cover crops as protection from soil erosion. These crops also act as “green manure,” improving soil health through beneficial nutrients. Our vineyard roads are wetted down with organic wetting agents as an effective way to control road dust during the dry season. Vine rootstocks are matched to specific soil types to minimize depletion of soil nutrients and to increase grape quality.

Irrigation

We employ drip irrigation to minimize and control water use and vine canopy growth, which helps reduce diseases and ensures small berries and concentrated flavors. Solar metering devices closely monitor water levels in soils and vines and allow for more efficient irrigation practices. Sensors present in each vineyard tell us how much water the vines use (evapotranspiration) so we know exactly how much water we need to apply. Where possible we irrigate at night to avoid water evaporation.