Regenerative Wine is the GOAT

Raising a toast to those solarpunking vino

If you’ve read SolarPunk Detective you’ll know Inspector Russo loves a drink and his goat Billy.

Regenerative Viticulture champions are combining the two by using animals to help make wine that heals the soil while also tasting delicious.

As documentaries like Kiss the Ground have shown, Regenerative Agriculture is one the best and most scalable technologies to reverse global warming.

It has the brilliant side effect of helping restore the growing power of dirt and bring us healthier, more delicious food.

Regenerative Viticulture is the wine-making part of this way of farming.

It uses natural processes like cover crops, composting and animal grazing to increase soil health and biodiversity. This encourages beneficial insects, reduces or eliminates the use of chemicals and make the wines taste better. 

In the case of Antiquum Farms Oregon it’s also helping fireproof the vineyard too.

The vineyard’s owner, Stephen Hagen, told Oregon Live after wildfires of recent years the price for insurance had gone through the roof. 

This is where his pigs, sheep and goats have come to the rescue.

They keep in check the vegetation that could carry the flames over the firebreak around his farm by nibbling it down so it can do no harm.

Along with chickens they help graze the variety of plants that grow alongside with the vines as well as eat insects, removing the need for pesticide.

The different animals eat specific plants and bugs keeping the ecosystem balanced to produce outstanding wine.

Antiquum is just one example of this growing movement with tomorrow being the 3rd Regenerative Viticulture Conference.

You can do your part to help this movement in the most pleasurable way imaginable, buy wine that has been made using this method.

You can look for wine with the Regenerative Organic Certification. Or if you’re lucky enough to have one, ask your local wine merchant what tipples are being made using this method.

These wines will be more expensive than those made using chemically intensive, monoculture methods.

Stephen Hagen says on Antiquum’s website that for those who can afford it, they’re worth the price.

Some do not see how the use of draft horses, grazing livestock and poultry in the vineyard, or infinite hours of meticulous hand labor can create a wine that is more unique, intense and full of life.  I don’t understand how it couldn’t.

We say, wine that is building a solarpunk future today? We’ll drink to that.

Have you tried regeneratively made wine? Are there any other examples of regeneratively produced products that you think are great? Let us know in the comments below. Cheers!

And…

• Suburban solarpunks who’ve started a solar energy co-op are now crowdfunding to buy an arts centre for their community (pictured above) @ POWER HQ Project

• Buy tickets for the “Get Guerilla Gardening” Book Launch party (and planting!) at The Garden Museum @ Ellen Miles

• Plein soleil - Gilbert Bécaud @ SolarPunk Stories Playlist

Until Next Time

That's all for this update. If you like what we’re trying to do here and know someone else who might do too then please share. 

See you in the sunshine,

Alex Holland

Founder, SolarPunk Stories