What would happen if we brought some of the most thoughtful growers together — n
What would happen if we brought some of the most thoughtful growers together — not to compete or compare, but to listen, share, and learn from one another?
On January 22, 2026, the Ungrafted Farming Conference hosted four panels exploring soil health, cover cropping, plant sap analysis, and animal integration in the vineyard, with some of the most committed and curious farmers working today. Here is a (very) condensed version of the day.
[00:00] Welcome — Icy Liu @icy_liu_ Opening remarks and a reading from Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass
[00:02] Introduction — Paul Wasserman @paulbwasserman How a group of obsessive farmers accidentally created a conference
[00:04] Panel 1: “Foundations of Vineyard Health and Effects on Wine Quality” with Cyril Courvoisier (Cornas, France) and Thomas Bouley (Volnay, France) Moderated by Paul Wasserman & Icy Liu
Thomas Bouley @thomasbouley1 — Thomas is a fourth-generation vigneron who took over in 2002 and completely transformed his approach to soil health. Thomas shares his early misconception that poor soils make great grapes, what changed his mind, and why he distinguishes between vigor and vitality. Topics include grinding versus burning pruning canes, late hedging, and 23 years of patient observation.
[00:11] Cyril Courvoisier @domainecyrilcourvoisier — Cyril shares how planting on abandoned land with 70-year-old forest led him to discover the power of wood chips and straw mulching, and how that completely changed his approach to soil biology, mycorrhizae, and more.
[00:17] Panel 2: “Let Vines Vine: Cover Crops, Balance And Adaptation In A Variable Climate” with Dr. Dylan Grigg @gdylla (Barossa Valley, Australia) Moderated by Paul Knittel @paul.knittel and Icy Liu
Dr. Dylan Grigg @gdylla — Dylan is a viticulture consultant and grower with over 25 years of experience across Australia and Spain. He breaks down the three types of cover crops (green manure, permanent regenerating, and specialist), carbon to nitrogen ratios, seeding methods, species complexity, and why a beautiful cover crop can quietly be stealing from your vines.
Green manure vs. permanent regenerating vs. specialist cover crops
Pioneer species and degraded soils
Carbon to nitrogen ratios and the 60/40 cereal to legume blend
Seeding depth, broadcasting vs. direct drilling
Why complexity brings resilience — but also why only a few species tend to dominate
Six years of building a seed bank from 0.5% organic matter up[00:26] Panel 3: “Vine Health & Nutrition and Effects on Wine Quality” with Tomoko Kuriyama-Bott (Chanterêves, Savigny-lès-Beaune, France) and Philine Isabelle Dienger (Barolo, Italy) Moderated by Icy Liu
Tomoko @chantereves & Philine @az._agr._philine_isabelle
A fascinating and cutting-edge panel on what is actually happening inside the plant itself. Tomoko gives a crash course in redox chemistry and pH, explains the redox cross, and walks through how the Nutriscope scanner and Nova Cropp lab analysis work in practice. Topics include:
Why pH alone is no longer enough — and why redox changes everything
How plants spend up to 80% of photosynthesis energy maintaining EH/pH homeostasis
The oxidative burst and what copper spraying really does to a vine
Why iron and manganese are almost always deficient, and why foliar feeding works better than soil fertilizers
The Fenton reaction and why bare soil is the worst outcome
Fresh cow dung, sheep dung, and urine as reducing agents
How to reach the humus threshold for no-till — and why Tomoko and Philine are going carefully at 25% no-till for now[00:46] Panel 4: Holistic Vineyard Management with Alice Anderson (Âmevive Winery, Santa Barbara, USA) Moderated by Christina Rasmussen @christinarasmussen_ @littlewine.io and Icy Liu
Alice walks through the practical realities of holistic vineyard management and animal integration — the beauty, the heartbreak, and the biology behind it all. A genuinely joyful and honest conversation about working with animals to build living soils.
Sheep — saliva enzymes, photosynthesis stimulation, timing grazing with understory growth
Pigs — Kune kune breed as obligate grazers, year-round vineyard presence, electric fencing essentials
Chickens — low commitment entry point, scratch behavior, mealybug control, when to take them out (bud swell and fruit set)
Ducks — snail and slug hunters, nitrogen-rich poop, the Turkey roosting trick
Cows — best used outside the vineyard for compost
Goats — a caution
Barn owls — 3,000 to 4,000 rodents per year per box
Western bluebirds — 400,000 insects per year, effective against sharpshooters and Pierce's disease
Bats — grapevine moth, budworm, 30% of body weight in insects per hourThank you to @beckywasserman.co for sponsoring the conference.
