Vine & River

In the 9th Vine and River episode, Lenka Davis talked to Sam Bilbro, the managing partner and winemaker of Idlewild Wines and Overshine, based in Healdsburg. Together, they explore the topics of growing up in the winemaking family and challenges and rewards of growing Piemontese varieties in Sonoma County. Sam opens up about his farming philosophy and practices, which can be summed up as non-dogmatic, soil-health-forward.

In the seventh episode of Vine and River podcast, we sit down with Ted Lemon at his Pivot Estate in Sebastopol. Ted carries a rare string of accomplishments. From being the first American who became the vigneron at an estate in Burgundy (and this is a rare sight to this day), Ted led the team at Domaine Guy Rulout from 1982-1984 and worked for A-grade Burgundy domaines, such as Domaine Georges Roumier, Domaine Dujac and Domaine de Villaine, among others. But perhaps the largest accomplishment of all is Ted’s and his wife Heidi’s longitudinal work with Littorai wines, both here at the Pivot estate, and having profound impact on his growers in other sites. For a long time, Ted has been a beacon of alternative farming, admired broadly in the wine industry and harnessing awards, such as SF Chronicle Winemaker of the year. Together, we talked about the big picture of agriculture, while bringing a few tangible experiences of running a farm in conjunction with natural cycles.

In the 5th episode of Vine and River podcast, we welcome Darek Trowbridge of Old World winery and Soil Carbon Management Company. Darek’s training in Viticulture started in his early adolescence with his uncle, Lee Martinelli – of Martinelli Winery; which prompted getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Fruit Science from Cal Poly and Master’s Degree in Agricultural Chemistry with specific focus on Enology from Fresno State. More than a decade ago, to revive the centennarian vines of his great grandfather, Darek started making a Regenerative Composted Mulch, which was was a part of his Biodynamic and Regenerative farming regimen. Together, we opened the topics of mycorrhizal fungi, soil microbiome and regeneration.

In the third episode of Vine and River podcast, our guest is Jason Haas, Proprietor and General Manager at Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles. Jason oversees winemaking, marketing, very lively social media, award winning blog, sales, and distribution of the company. In 2022, Tablas Creek received Next Wave Award by VinePair for Winemaking Team of the year, largely due to Tablas’ sustainability efforts which include use of alternative packaging. In the same year, Jason Haas was also named a Food & Wine Drinks Innovator of the Year , due to Tablas Creek’s commitment to Regenerative Organic Certification. Together, we will talk about the certification, the reasoning behind its pillars, as well about Tablas Creek’s water minimizing and dry farming efforts.

In the first episode of Vine & River podcast, we interviewed Garrett Buckland, partner at Premiere Viticulture. Garrett is a longtime board member of Napa Valley Grapegrowers, founding member of the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation. He serves on the Groundwater Sustainability Plan Advisory Committee, and worked on the Napa River Historical Ecology Project. In addition, Garrett has converted hundreds acres of vineyards from conventional to organic farming, and in 2023, he received the Napa Valley Grower of the Year award. In this interview, we explore why and how water is needed in the vinegrowing, how to make most of the water available, and how to protect its integrity throughout the farming practices.