Parducci

What Are We Doing To Become America's Greenest Winery?

Sustainable Farming Practices

Parducci’s Certified Vineyards

To Parducci, "Family Farmed" means quality and sustainability. Family farmers are responsible stewards of the land, protecting it for current and future generations.

As of 2008, 100% of Parducci’s estate vineyards are certified organic. The partners’ family-owned vineyards are certified Biodynamic®, Organic or Fish Friendly Farming.
 

Local Family Farms

We make wine with grapes from our vineyards, as well as from other family-owned and farmed Mendocino vineyards. Many of the family farmers delivering grapes to the winery today are the children and grandchildren of those who brought Parducci their grapes in the 1930s.

If you stand on the top peak of our winery rooftop (not recommended, for safety reasons) you can see 90% of our family farmed vineyards. Buying local supports our agricultural community on a direct, local level. And because the grapes don’t have to travel far, we have more control over quality and burn less fossil fuel.

Parducci assists our local family farmers to pursue certification. Today over 75% of the grapes brought into the winery are certified Biodynamic®, Organic or Fish Friendly Farming.
 

In Our Vineyards

Walk through our vineyards and you’ll find a scene quite different from conventionally farmed rows of chemically-treated vines standing in bare soil. Sustainable farming means working with, not against, nature. As you wander between our rows of vines, you’ll find a vibrant living community.

• Parducci uses natural amendments such as animal manure and byproducts of winemaking (pomace) rather than man-made fertilizers to return nutrients to the soil.
  • We annually compost 2.1 million pounds of pomace (grape seeds, stems and skins) recovered from the winemaking process.
• Cover crops, such as clover, oats and bell beans, are planted between vineyard rows to enrich the soil and prevent erosion.
• Manual and mechanical methods are used instead of chemicals for weed control.
• Parducci encourages non-toxic methods of regulating vineyard pests by creating wildlife corridors and encouraging natural predators in the vineyard. Owl boxes provide nests for owl families that feed on vine-damaging rodents. A single owl can eat 50 lbs of gophers in a season. Parducci creates insectaries (bug farms) to attract beneficial insects and installs bird boxes to house insect predators.
• Biodiesel is used to power winery equipment such as vineyard tractors and water pumps. Biodiesel is a biodegradable, non-toxic, renewable resource with lower emissions than petroleum diesel.
• We avoid the use of pollutants that harm the environment and deplete the soil such as toxic- synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, bioengineering, ionizing radiation, and GMOs.
   

Learn More About Sustainable Farming Practices...

• Fish Friendly Farming – farms working with fish (not putting them on the dinner table)
• Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW) – advancing the California wine industry toward better practices in environmental stewardship
• California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) – keeping subtle hints of Round Up out of your favorite Pinot Noir since 1973
• Demeter USA (Biodynamic) – systems thinking farming (some call it organic plus) that encourages you to keep goats!

Learn More About Local Family Farmers...

• Mendocino Winegrape and Wine Commission – info on Mendocino County winegrape growers and wineries
• Mendocino County Farmers Market Association - great resource of Mendocino County farmers
• Why support family farms?
• Find a family farmer near you
• Find local & sustainable food near you