Q: Can climate change alter the taste and quality of wine?
D.C.: Of course! Mother nature dictates everything we taste in the glass. Every year, every growing season, every aspect of winemaking is dictated by what happens from budbreak to harvest of a grape cluster. If it is cold and wet, then that will impact flavor development and increase disease pressure. If we have below average rainfall during the growing season and extended periods of high temperatures, then we see impacts on flavor development, berry size, color, and phenolic ripeness. It is part of what makes the wine industry unique and challenging. No two years are the same. And I think that will only get more extreme in the coming decades.
Q: How are you and your team of winemakers at the four different PlumpJack Collection of Wineries in Napa Valley preparing for the inevitable change in climate?
D.C.: I think we need to take a hard look at the varietals we are working with and potentially replanting our existing vineyards to varieties that can deal with little to no water and extreme heat. Cabernet Sauvignon is king in our portfolio, but it may not be well-suited for all appellations in Napa Valley. We may find that Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Calistoga and Pope Valley is just too hot for example.
Danielle at 13th Vineyard on Howell Mountain.
Q: Can you explain the differences between biodynamic, organic and natural wines? What of these practices do you ascribe to? Why?
D.C. These three words used in the wine industry; biodynamic, organic, and natural all have a similar concept. The grapes and resulting wines are made without using pesticides, chemicals, and other non-natural additives. There are actual guidelines and regulations in terms of certified biodynamic and certified organic grapes. There is no legal definition of natural wine. For CADE specifically, our estate vineyard follows the certified organic guidelines for growing grapes. We feel growing grapes as certified organic best suits our own philosophy around minimizing our impact on the environment. We only use things found from nature in our vineyard, such as clove oil and orange oil for weed and pest management respectively. In conjunction with our LEED Certified Gold Winery, we are doing what we can to minimize our carbon footprint on the environment. We hope to be growing grapes and making wine in Napa Valley for many decades to come!
Q: What sort of methods or practices is CADE doing in reducing its environmental impact and does any of this directly correlate with the winemaking outcome?
D.C.: With the acquisition of 13th Vineyard in 2016, we are slowly but surely transitioning that 82-acre estate to certified organic farming. It takes at least three years to become certified organic and we hope to have our accreditation by 2023. I am also looking into ways of reducing our water usage during the winemaking process.
We need water to make wine. So, I am looking into more efficient ways of sanitizing tanks, washing/cleaning barrels, and timing of irrigation in our vineyards. A lot of what we do in winemaking is about cleaning/sanitizing. A dirty winery can have an impact on what you taste in the glass. We don’t make vinegar, we make wine. We also don’t want the wine to taste like a band-aid or barnyard (think Brettanomyces, a yeast that causes these aromas in wine). Lastly, I think the timing of when we irrigate our vineyards will be key the coming years. We need to understand exactly what a grapevine needs, when it needs it. It is no longer acceptable to irrigate a vineyard once a week because “that is how we always do it.” If the vine doesn’t need it, then don’t waste the water. But if a vine really does need water, then let’s figure out what time of day is best, for how long, and with what frequency during the week. I believe we are getting close to having those answers.
13th Vineyard on Howell Mountain.
Q: Are there any new groundbreaking sustainable practices that you’re looking to accomplish at CADE?
D.C.: CADE is already on a short list of LEED certified Gold Wineries in California. And we are very proud of
that fact. I am focused right now on reducing our CO2 emissions even further. I think one of the easiest things we can do right now is change our fleet of vehicles and tractors to electric. The technology is coming our way quickly and I would like to be able to say that I drive an electric truck and all our tractors we use in the vineyard are electric. I think we can also increase our solar capacity. We have solar panels on our roof at CADE already. Let’s expand that capacity to charge our electric tractors and potentially run completely off the electric grid. The CO2 that we produce during fermentation is also an area I think we should be seriously dealing with. UC Davis is doing a lot of research on CO2 capture. Taking the carbon dioxide naturally produced during fermentation and turning it into calcium carbonate (Chalk). It would be something that could maybe, just maybe, start to tip the scale towards reducing our carbon footprint on the world.
Danielle’s Holiday Gift Pick
CADE Gift Set
This gift set showcases the range of Danielle's enormous talents as well as the quality of the vineyards we work with.