In recent years, consumers and businesses alike have become more conscious of environmental sustainability and consumer health than ever. As we witness the steady growth of organics consumption, many socially conscious enterprises are adopting growing and processing practices that not only improve the healthfulness of their products but also help to sustain the environment for future generations.
In Napa Valley, home of Hill Family Estate Winery, experimentation and implementation of “natural farming” practices is a growing desire. Under the direction of the family patriarch, Doug Hill, and staff, their Yountville vineyards are running a groundbreaking experiment on reducing the use of synthetic chemicals used to protect the grapevines from damaging pests and mildew.
How Does Natural Farming Differ from Organic Farming?
Natural farming is a practice intended to duplicate the ways Mother Nature herself maintains and replenishes soil without using synthetic materials. Natural farming is primarily designed to foster soil health in the quest to eliminate materials and activities that harm the millions of tiny beneficial organisms that live in the soil. These organisms have a symbiotic relationship with the vines. In a vineyard, these microorganisms help the vines take in necessary nutrients in exchange for the excess carbohydrates the vines produce during photosynthesis.
How Does Hill Family Estates Approach Natural Farming?
By experimenting only with natural soil amendments, the Hill Family Estate initiative has already produced positive results. Natural amendments that target resisting powdery mildew, a particularly damaging condition for grapevines, have been successful. The test block where these experimental practices are being applied continues to show remarkable vigor.
Current Status
Early conclusions indicate that Natural Farming can become a sustainable approach that will yield substantial benefit to the soil, our workers, and our families.
While natural farming is still in the experimental stage, the development of the natural amendments on a broader, more economical scale is still in its infancy. Likely, as more vineyards and farms adopt natural farming practices, the demand will increase, and the economies for more efficient volume production will improve.
Hill Family Estate’s Farming Practices
One of the best wineries in Yountville, which is situated at the heart of Napa Valley, Hill Family Estate is a highly successful, vertically integrated, family-owned winery. The company’s longstanding expertise focuses on creating award-winning wines from the most environmentally positive and sustainable vineyards.
Building upon Doug Hill’s four decades of vineyard management experience, the Hill Family has created one of the best and most popular wineries in Yountville and Napa Valley.
While some wineries and vineyards are satisfied with the same methods and processes each year, Hill Family Estate’s expert vineyard managers continue to “push the envelope” to discover better, more ecologically positive ways to produce the grapes for their outstanding wines.
For more information regarding Hill Family Estate’s philosophy and culture, visit their website.
And, even during the current pandemic, you may visit Hill Family Estate, one of the leading Yountville wineries, by scheduling an appointment in advance.
Call Hill Family Estate at (707)-944-9580.