Wine Camp

Wine Camp

By Craig CampScienceHealth & FitnessNutritionArtsFoodNature
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Wine Camp episodes

  • The Whole Farm Includes the Workers with Hannah Thorning

    Welcome to Troon Talk, where we dig deeply into biodynamic and Regenerative Organic Certified™ farming and winemaking from Troon Vineyard in Oregon’s Applegate Valley. Two years ago, we became the 2nd Regenerative Organic Certified™ winery in the world when we achieved our silver certification. This year we became one of four farms globally to achieve Regenerative Organic Gold Certification. Achieving gold certification requires not only agricultural certification but an independent social welfare certification that examines all aspects of the welfare of all the humans on our farm.

    The Equitable Food Initiative carried out the social welfare certification process, and Troon's assistant winemaker Hannah Thorning, our guest today, led the team here at the winery. This was a complex, demanding but worthwhile process as we explored communication on our farm. Even on small teams, these issues can be complicated. Hannah led her team through a series of workshops that explored how we communicate between the various teams on our farm. Our group that underwent this training represented roles in every aspect of our farm. Though we are a small property and company, this self-examination was enlightening. Hopefully, the lessons learned will help us to be proactive in making Troon a rewarding place for people to work and grow.

    The concept of the farm as a whole is fundamental in biodynamic agriculture. That whole includes soil, plants, animals, microbiology, wildlife, and people. In this episode with Hannah Thorning, we discuss attaining certification from EFI and becoming Regenerative Organic Gold Certified®.

    Hannah Thorning - [email protected]

    Craig Camp - [email protected]

    Troon Vineyard

    Equitable Food Initiative

    Regenerative Organic Alliance

    24 min
  • Introducing the Troon Talk Podcast
    Introducing the Troon Talk Podcast Series on Wine Camp

    I am pleased to introduce our Troon Talk podcast series focusing on the team’s work at Troon to create a genuinely regenerative farm. As general manager of Troon Vineyard in Oregon’s Applegate Valley and the author of this website, I am excited to be able to present the thoughts and knowledge of a creative group of innovative farming and winemaking professionals via these podcasts.

    We have a story to tell at Troon Vineyard. We are going to tell it here. The explosion of podcasts is overwhelming, but we have a unique and important story to share, as our mission exceeds the boundaries of our small farm. That vision goes beyond naturally crafting exceptional wines, as our mission is to change the world — or at least to be a small part of that change. The slogan of the Regenerative Organic Alliance is “farm like the world depends on it.” It does, and we do at Troon Vineyard.

    As committed as we are to biodynamic regenerative organic farming and winemaking, what we do on our 100-acre farm will not change the world unless we convince other farmers and winemakers to adopt that same mission. Also, we must convince wine consumers that wine crafted with quality, place, and planet in mind is worth the search. Those are the missions of this podcast.

    I have been sharing my thoughts about wine online for two decades at Wine Camp. Since 2016 my writing has been focused on our journey at Troon Vineyard as we transformed this special vineyard into the biodiverse, regenerative farm it has become today. Now, in addition to my writing, we will add this podcast, along with our Vimeo and YouTube video libraries, to better share our progress toward true regenerative agriculture. We aim not only to convince but to convert.

    At Troon Vineyard, we are certified Organic, Demeter Biodynamic®, and Regenerative Organic Certified®. What does all of that mean? In the simplest terms, Organics tell you what you can’t do. Biodynamics works with a framework of natural rhythms and proactive probiotics, the Biodynamic Preparations, to feed the life in your soils. Regenerative Organic certification starts with organic certification and then goes far beyond to include no-till agriculture, human and animal welfare, and the requirement to show that you are just not hurting the environment but actually making it better. Most of all, biodynamics and regenerative organic are not simply sustainable, a term the greenwashers hijack. It is not enough to sustain the status quo. We have to actually improve our farms and soils, which, of course, will also improve our wines.

    The goal of this podcast is not to present wine or regenerative agriculture 101 courses. We will delve into some of the more technical aspects of our farming and winemaking. In the show notes for each episode, there will be links and email addresses where you can reach out with even more detailed questions. Sharing what we have learned is the foundation of regenerative agriculture.

    We will be posting new episodes every two to three weeks. Upcoming podcasts will include:

    • Winemaker Nate Wall on native yeasts fermentations (which was released today)
    • Farmer Garett Long on no-till agriculture and carbon sequestration
    • Director of Sales Nate Winters on the markets for natural wines
    • Assistant Winemaker Hannah Thorning on the Equitable Farm Initiative and the Regenerative Organic Gold Certification
    • Farmer Garett Long and Biodynamic Consultant Andrew Beedy on the Biodynamic Preparations
    • Winemaker Nate Wall on making Amber or “orange wines”
    • Viticulturist Jason Cole on dealing with red blotch virus in the vineyard
    • Farmer Garett Long on integrating livestock in the vineyard and on the whole farm
    • Winemaker Nate Wall on making Pét Nat sparkling wines

    For more information or suggestions for topics you would like to learn more about, please email me at Craig Camp

    Visit our website at Troon Vineyard for an overview of our farm and winery.

    The Home Page of the Troon Talk Podcasts can be found here.

    5 min

About Wine Camp

From the publisher's feed

Troon Vineyard is Oregon's only Demeter Biodynamic® and Regenerative Organic Certified® winery and farm. Our Troon Talk podcast episodes explore our voyage to farm like the world depends on it and to…