This Earth Day we invite you into our property to experience a portion of who we are at our core. One of four founding pillars of Balsall Creek is Responsibility. From the start we have felt this term deeply encompasses more than just sustainability practices, focusing both on our duty as a company to be responsible to our consumers, as well as to our vineyard, this stunning region, and the earth.
While it’s far from uncommon to have sustainability practices in the Willamette Valley, here are the ways we strive to go beyond the expected:
FARMING
— Our 20-acre estate vineyard is dry-farmed and hand-harvested, keeping machinery out of the property as much as possible, and reducing water consumption.
— The vineyard is farmed using organic practices and is both LIVE and Salmon Safe Certified. Our farming practices are a mark of regenerative and herbicide-free farming, and the certifications mark ecologically rich acreage within the property and keeping our water runoffs clean.
— We have a full-time vineyard steward on staff to execute regular tending to the grounds and vines.
— In addition to grapes, we annually plant and tend a full vegetable garden which promotes sustainable farming and water recycling. The garden supports farm-to-table meals at the Estate House.
— There are bee boxes and wildflowers planted along the northern side of the property qualifying the vineyard as Bee Friendly Farming Certified. This certification marks our effort in protecting, preserving, and promoting pollination.
ENERGY
— We have a 150 foot solar field on the property, and additional panels on the equipment shed that, when combined, can produce more energy than the Estate House consumes.
— There are two electric car charging ports in the parking lot that provide free charging to our customers while onsite.
ANIMALS
— This winter we utilized seasonal grazers for the first time, and we will never go back! Seasonal grazers are sheep and goats that visit the property and provide a multitude of services: they expertly manage vineyard floors, significantly reducing the risk of fires, they aerate the vines and rows to prevent against fungal pressure, they provide natural fertilizer which improves the soil health, and using them reduces fuel consumption and our carbon footprint.
— We have an owl box and are installing raptor posts on the property which will assist in natural management of critters as well as protect the vines and fruit from birds.
PRODUCTION
— We have never used capsules on Balsall Creek bottles making for less shipping emissions and trash created from the product.
— We use Diam corks which are a composite product made from leftover standard cork material.
Notably many of these efforts overlap, and they should because they share a common goal of environmental responsibility. What’s additionally amazing about these efforts is that they encourage us to be more engaged with the land. Farming, gardening, growing – they have all become family activities filled with joy and pride.
