Left: Proprietor Robert Rex in the aging room of Deerfield Ranch Winery. Top right: The Kenwood Marsh Checkerbloom. Bottom right: Metal
giraffe sculptures stand on the "island" of solid ground in the middle of the Deerfield Ranch wetlands.
And the grapevines are thriving. In a conventionally farmed
vineyard, he explains, vines have to be replaced every 17 to 20
to sleep," McBride says.
Having spent 35 years in the wine industry, McBride has
years due to plant decline. Biodynamic vineyards, by contrast,
embraced the changes at Benziger. "For me, it's a very passion-
are still productive at age 50 or even 70.
ate pursuit."
"There's a depth of flavor in the grapes that you can't get
And he's convinced that more wineries will pursue biodynam-
from younger vines," McBride adds. "We're also building spirit
ic farming and other green practices, both to preserve resources
and harmony into the wines."
and to produce better wines. "Conventional farming is going to
Biodynamic practices force the roots of the vine to go deep –
sometimes 25 feet or more.
The result, McBride explains, is "terroir – the taste of place
have to go by the wayside."
Just down the road in Kenwood, Robert Rex is practicing
his own brand of sustainable winemaking. The proprietor of
when the roots reach the regolith (the soil layer below the top-
Deerfield Ranch Winery, Rex has been making wine for over 40
soil and the subsoil). You're extracting the highest concentration
years, since he first started out in a basement in Berkeley. He
of micronutrients in the soil."
and his wife, PJ, moved to Sonoma County in 1982, and in 1999
Precious resources such as water are treated as carefully as
they bought the property behind their home with plans to build
the soil. All wastewater is recycled for irrigation using a series of
a winery. Though their home address is in Glen Ellen and the
holding ponds.
winery sits in Kenwood, a short hiking path over the hill con-
Wines are aged in 28,000 square feet of caves dug into the
hillside, a more environmentally friendly practice than an airconditioned warehouse. The temperature remains constant at 59
degrees. "We're creating an environment that's more conducive
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FLOURISH • FALL 2013
nects the two properties, giving Rex one of the sweetest commutes around.
What enchanted Rex about the 47-acre property was its diversity, including the remains of an ancient wetland area that's
