Secret of Success
One vineyard has made pesticides a thing of the past, encouraging biodiversity and making better wine in the process.
The problem with growing award-winning grapes is that bugs appreciate them too. But using pesticides does not just get rid of crop-eating insects; it kills off other wildlife and can damage soil fertility and pollute underground water sources.
That is why at Shafer Vineyards in California’s Napa Valley, chemicals have been made a thing of the past. Since the 1980s their grapes have been cultivated using sustainable, pesticide-free farming practices.
With a jungle of crops planted between the vines, biodiversity is encouraged so that predatory bugs like spiders keep the pests under control. The Shafer team is now seeing evidence of a direct link between earth-friendly farming and a better tasting glass of wine.