A passion for sustainability in Sonoma

Lori Bisordi grew up watching her nonno farm their ranch in the Russian River Valley, where they now primarily grow Zinfandel and Chardonnay grapes for wineries such as Martin Ray and Kunde Family Estate.

For the Bisordis it is a beautiful way of life, yet a fragile one.

The 20-year-old and third-generation farmer knows that agriculture these days is often seen by others in a “dim light” — leeches on the environment, especially at a time when water in California is scarce. That’s why when the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission announced that it wanted every vineyard and winery in the region to be certified sustainable by 2019, she persuaded her family to get involved with the program.

“My family has always farmed sustainably but was never certified,” she said. “I saw the sustainable program as a great way to display the hard work of generations of my family. As well as teach others about agriculture, and show that it’s not the perception that they seem to have about it.”

She not only wanted to prove the passion farmers have for producing food, but their dedication to preserving agriculture for future generations. What better way to show their environmentally friendly strategies than through a certification process that requires vineyards’ green efforts to be approved by a third party?

When the Winegrape Commission, a marketing and educational group, started the volunteer program in 2014, 100 percent compliance was a lofty goal. So lofty that it could make Sonoma County the first wine region in the nation to be 100 percent sustainable. Certification costs between $1,500 to $2,000 — a price not every grower wants to incur or can afford.

Yet, the commission is well on its way to reaching its objective. Within the first year, 33 percent of Sonoma County’s 59,772 grape-bearing acres were certified sustainable, said Karissa Kruse, president of the commission.

“We weren’t even focused on certification in that first year,” Kruse said. “When we got the response we did, we were jumping up and down. Growers have really, really embraced this.”

But what does sustainable mean? It’s a word that gets tossed around so often that it’s easy to become skeptical.

Kruse says it’s simple: farming practices that integrate water and energy conservation with minimizing pesticide use and maximizing recycling. Certification requires that an independent auditor comes to the vineyard once a year to check the operation, including the farmer’s records, to make sure the grower is in compliance with these sustainability tenets. It’s being a good steward of the land and a good neighbor, Kruse said. And it’s part of the commission’s 100-year business plan to preserve agriculture in Sonoma County.

“We want to make sure we don’t abuse the resources we have,” said Mike Rowan, who was ahead of the curve, getting his Wine Creek Vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley certified sustainable three years ago. He has been farming in Sonoma County since 1958. “We’re all trying to do better. We’re more cautious about soil erosion. We’re using water as judiciously as possible. If we’re going to preserve the land for future generations, we have to.”

Part of the reason some growers have been quick to embrace the commission’s program is that consumers drink it up — literally and figuratively — and big winemakers like Jackson Family Wines and Coppola will pay more for certified sustainable grapes.

How much more?

“It won’t change growers’ livelihoods,” Kruse said. “But it will help them with the cost of certification.”

Perhaps more important, though, is consumer response. In a recent survey that polled 1,000 wine drinkers across the country, 33 percent said they were more likely to buy or support Sonoma County wines if they were certified sustainable, and 45 percent said it would set those wines apart from other wine-growing regions, Kruse said.

For Rowan, making consumers happy is all part of preserving the land.

“By building a strong brand, we’re helping to keep farmland in farming and keep development at bay,” he said, pointing to the Santa Clara Valley as a cautionary tale. “At one time that valley was some of the richest farmland in California. Look at it now.”

Bisordi believes you can say you’re using sustainable practices until the cows come home, but it’s not enough. The community — and consumers — want transparency.

“Sustainability in this county is important because it shows what Sonoma County agriculture is about — farming for the future,” said Bisordi, a former member of 4-H and Future Farmers of America. “Farming is a huge part of this county, and, just like in my family, has been passed down through the generations. Unfortunately, not a lot of the residents know about agriculture. (The certification) is that key that helps educate people in the community about agriculture, as well as about their local farmers.”

Despite the program’s initial success, Rowan said he doesn’t think the goal of 100 percent compliance will happen overnight.

“Farmers aren’t the type to jump on the bandwagon,” he said. “We are as a group very independent. But being almost 30 percent there is really impressive. I think it’s as good as anyone could have imagined from a first-year standpoint.”