Jordan Lonborg wants to revolutionize how the viticultural world defines success. As Vineyard Manager at Tablas Creek Vineyard, he's challenging the traditional concept of a vineyard as a neatly groomed monoculture. Instead, Jordan and the team at Tablas Creek see the land as a thriving, interconnected ecosystem—a living organism where biodiversity reigns.

“The hard part for some property owners is adjusting this idea of aesthetics,” says Jordan. "You need to be okay with it looking a little bit more shaggy. That's what a beautiful property should look like rather than this perfectly manicured system. When I walk into a vineyard that doesn't have weeds under the grapevines, I'm nervous.”

“There isn't a moment in the year when you come onto the property and it's not teeming with life.”

Tablas Creek employs a herd of 300 sheep to graze during the winter months. They have beneficial insectaries planted around the property, with that acreage increasing on a yearly basis. There isn't a moment in the year when you come onto the property and it's not teeming with life.

The diversity of species on the land not only enhances ecosystem health, it also attracts and provides for the beneficial insects that prey on their leafhopper pests. Tablas Creek is an organic, biodynamic vineyard. And while there are some organic pesticide options for leafhoppers, those products are broad spectrum and will also kill the beneficial bugs. As much as possible, they let the natural enemy insects keep the leafhoppers in check.

This kind of vineyard management harkens back to an earlier time. Jordan says that much of France and the viticultural world moved to a monoculture system 100 years ago. They eradicated all the hedgerows and all the land went to grapes. “It's fascinating to see them come here and how jealous they are of what we have and what we've preserved. There's this big push in the original grape-growing regions of the world to move back to that diversity.”

Learn more about diversity at Tablas Creek Vineyard and hear about the importance of landscape composition and configuration for pest control from Nate Haan, professor at University of Kentucky in the video below: