Montinore Estate
Website: montinore.com
Specialties: Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Müller Thurgau
What unusual items would we find in your compost pile? Composted yarrow, chamomile, dandelion, oak bark , nettle and a lot of chicken poop.
What was the biggest revelation about sustainable practices? That the benefits build upon themselves to create ever increasing positive effects.
Sustainability secret to healthier soil and better wines
Rudy Marchesi, owner of Montinore Estate, takes quality control seriously. In fact, the winery only uses estate grown fruit from its 230 acres of Demeter Certified Biodynamic® vineyards. Marchesi insists he wanted a “method of farming that was healthy to the entire ecosystem – below ground, above ground and the people walking through the vineyard and applying the sprays.”
When Marchesi purchased the Estate in 2001, he found the soil under the vines depleted. In order to restore health, he eliminated herbicides and implemented sustainable weed control through cultivation. Looking below the ground he could see the impact chemical farming had had on the vines and it wasn’t working towards the end he envisioned. Marchesi, believing that healthier vines make better wines, wanted to implement a vineyard approach focused on health and positive impacts, versus eradication.
Marchesi acknowledges that we are far from completely understanding ecosystems – its complexities and interconnectedness. In his experience, impacting one facet of the vineyard often leads to positive effects in another area of the vineyard that was not anticipated.
“It’s like karma,” he remarks. “You have to be good all the time.”
Today, Montinore Estate is brimming with healthy vineyards and gardens, including 22 varieties of vegetables, five varieties of mushrooms, six varieties of fruit and “a world of micro flora and fauna” as well as new wines that reflect what Marchesi and his team are trying to accomplish in the vineyard.
For Marchesi, joining the OCSW program brings “attention to a better way to farm and make wine that not only is better for our environment and the future of our species but provides us a more immediate benefit of higher quality wine – wines that are expressive and a portrait of a place, versus a reflection of what we do in the winery.”
Order Oregon Certified Sustainable Wines
2008 Montinore Estate Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
2008 Montinore Estate Pinot Noir