home to the rare Kenwood Marsh Check-
Not only does he focus on "clean" wa-
to people," he explains. "It's all part of
erbloom. "And it's one of the few places
ter but on producing "clean" wine that's
the same commitment to sustainability.
in the United States where you have a
low in histamines and sulfites that can
Wine should not only be delicious, but it
forest connected to wetlands. Black bears,
bother those who are allergic to them
should be good for you."
mountain lions, foxes, bobcats and otters
(including his wife). This is achieved by
all visit the pond."
triple hand-sorting of the grapes, main-
his efforts toward "green" winemaking,
taining a clean fermentation environment
Rex adds, "I'm proudest of the wines we
to fill in the wetlands, that wasn't an op-
and monitoring the yeast for stress before
make. And I'm proud of the fact that we
tion for the Rexes. "Our intention was to
they produce histamines.
make them responsibly. We live here.
Though some buyers might have opted
preserve and restore it. The wetlands were
"We've taken this desire of being sensi-
covered with blackberries. We cut them by
tive to the environment to being sensitive
Though he's justifiably pleased with
That's the best part about being a winemaker. You get to live here."
hand, removing all non-native growth."
Adjacent to the 12-acre wetlands are
seven acres of certified organic vineyards
that are inspected every year. The rest of
the land has been left to its natural habitat.
Water conservation has been a priority
for Rex since building the winery. "When
we started, it took 30 gallons of water to
make a gallon of wine. We've gotten it
down to four gallons of water."
This is achieved by using steam instead
of water for cleaning and, most importantly, through a bioreactor constructed
on the hill above the winery. "The bioreactor is a substitute for open pond recycling," Rex explains. "It's the future of
wastewater recycling."
As the wastewater moves through a
series of tanks, bacteria eat all the biofactors. Solids are extracted and separated,
and the sludge provides nutrients in the
compost pile and in the vineyards. "It's
incredibly rich in nutrients."
Rex is now able to recycle 98% of all
the water used on the property and 100%
of the solid waste, an admirable feat.
FALL 2013 • FLOURISH
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