Registration is now closed, but if you want to attend, please contact Shelly at [email protected] or 828-406-9484.

Join WFA for an interactive field day at the Grgich Hills Estate American Canyon Vineyard, the largest of their five vineyards.

Grgich Hills Estate Winery celebrates the role biodiversity plays in growing wine grapes. Rather than eradicate all pests, they seek to keep them in check with the use of Barn Owl and songbird boxes. They also keep the ground covered in between vine rows, mow cover crops rather than tilling, and leave roots other than vines for pest voles to eat.

Agenda:

8:30 am - 9:00 am

• Registration Opens

9:00 am - 12:00 pm

• Ivo Jeramaz will discuss the Grgich Hills operation and his farming and wine-making philosophy.
• Jo Ann Baumgartner of Wild Farm Alliance (WFA) will cover the pest control benefits of Western Bluebirds and other avian species.
• Brian Fagundes of WFA will share how to support many beneficial birds with native plants that they prefer.
• Prudy Foxx of Foxx Viticulture will speak on holistic, proactive vineyard management practices, including use of natural seaweed, biological sprays, and applied nutrient additives that support vine immunity and vineyard soil health before disease issues set in.
• Steve Matthiasson of Matthiasson Wines, who is also a viticultural consultant with Premiere Viticultural Services, will speak about soil and vine health and habitat for pest management.
• Lucas Patzek of the Napa RCD will discuss how they assist farmers with floral plantings for pollinators, tree plantings for birds and other wildlife, and carbon farm plans for climate resiliency, which can include riparian restoration, windbreaks and hedgerows.
• Xeronimo Castaneda of Audubon California will speak about using GPS to track where Barn Owls hunt on the farm and in the surrounding landscape, and what that means for vineyard management.
• Jaime Carlino and Laura Echávez, of Cal Poly Humboldt’s Barn Owl Research Team, will discuss Barn Owl natural history, nest box occupancy, populations, and ability to decrease rodents in Napa Valley vineyards.
• Wendell Gilgert, Stewardship Ecologist, Point Blue Emeritus, will lead a walk while discussing bird-friendly farming and indicators of land health.

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

• Catered Lunch (included with ticket purchase)

This event sponsored by:

     

With additional support from Strong Foundation for Environmental Values and California Natural Resources Conservation Service.