At Madson, we believe that in order to produce great wines, one must understand the soils that lie beneath the vines and the climate that surrounds them. Only then can one understand the fruit, to make thoughtful decisions about farming and harvesting. Without quality wine grapes, the vinification is more about hiding mistakes in the vineyard than it is about expressing the vineyard to its fullest potential. With this in mind, Madson has made an effort to lease vineyards and carry out all farming practices instead of buying fruit. We do not directly own our vineyards but we farm all of our vineyards by hand or we consult local Santa Cruz Mountain growers through their viticultural practices.
As a standard, all of the vineyards that we work with have been converted to 100% organic practices. Thus, we only use ecologically based pest controls and biological fertilizers including animal waste and nitrogen fixing cover crops to help regulate and maintain the health of soil microbes. Many of our vineyards were not organic prior to our adoption; we find that motivating vineyard owners to adopt organics is more rewarding than merely searching for growers who already understand its value. However, organic agriculture does not encompass all of the solutions for responsible agriculture and we believe that we must look beyond the organic system to improve our surrounding ecosystems and communities.
Regenerative agriculture is a holistic farm system that enriches and sequesters carbon dioxide in soils, increases biodiversity, and improves watersheds. While organic agriculture ensures a healthy crop for anthropogenic purposes, organics does not necessarily mean that the surrounding ecosystems and soils are improved. With an evolving climate, we believe that agriculture must evolve to not only take care of the people who consume the products but also take care of the environment and the atmosphere.
We understand that our farming practices directly impacts the surrounding ecosystems and therefore we take great responsibility for our decisions. There are 4 major factors we evaluate for each of our agricultural decisions:
1) What will the effect be on biodiversity of flora and fauna in the vineyard?
2) What will the effect be on soil structure and green house gas sequestration into the soil or emission into the atmosphere?
3) What will the effect be on surrounding anthropogenic communities?
4) How can we farm the best grapes to benefit the fermentation and the finished wine?
As a standard, all of the vineyards that we work with have been converted to 100% organic practices. Thus, we only use ecologically based pest controls and biological fertilizers including animal waste and nitrogen fixing cover crops to help regulate and maintain the health of soil microbes. Many of our vineyards were not organic prior to our adoption; we find that motivating vineyard owners to adopt organics is more rewarding than merely searching for growers who already understand its value. However, organic agriculture does not encompass all of the solutions for responsible agriculture and we believe that we must look beyond the organic system to improve our surrounding ecosystems and communities.
Regenerative agriculture is a holistic farm system that enriches and sequesters carbon dioxide in soils, increases biodiversity, and improves watersheds. While organic agriculture ensures a healthy crop for anthropogenic purposes, organics does not necessarily mean that the surrounding ecosystems and soils are improved. With an evolving climate, we believe that agriculture must evolve to not only take care of the people who consume the products but also take care of the environment and the atmosphere.
We understand that our farming practices directly impacts the surrounding ecosystems and therefore we take great responsibility for our decisions. There are 4 major factors we evaluate for each of our agricultural decisions:
1) What will the effect be on biodiversity of flora and fauna in the vineyard?
2) What will the effect be on soil structure and green house gas sequestration into the soil or emission into the atmosphere?
3) What will the effect be on surrounding anthropogenic communities?
4) How can we farm the best grapes to benefit the fermentation and the finished wine?