Wines made with intention, not intervention
Every decision we make — from how our growers till the soil to what goes into the bottle — is guided by a single question: what is the most honest, least harmful way to make wines that taste, smell, and feel amazing on your palate? The answer has shaped our winemaking philosophy that we’re proud to share, taking the sustainable practices we employ and actually defining them. You deserve to know exactly what’s in your wine, and full transparency is at the heart of why we do what we do. More than a buzzword, sustainability is a philosophy that we believe makes better wine for a better world.
What’s in our wine?
Our wines contain just three ingredients: responsibly grown grapes, native & ambient yeasts, and minimal sulfites. Nothing else.
Zero Sugar
All of our wines are completely dry, free from sugar that adds calories and masks mediocre wine quality.
Vegan-friendly
Because our wines are unfined and unfiltered, there are no animal by-products used in our winemaking techniques.
Barrel-aged
Aging our wines in oak barrels lends more character and texture, but never overpowers the most important part: the fruit itself.
In the vineyard
Hand-farmed, start to finish
We hand-prune, hand-harvest, and hand-sort rather than relying on mechanical harvesting. Tractors are used only for transport — never for the heavy tillage or mechanical picking that compacts soil and stresses vines. The result is a gentler footprint on the land and a careful eye on every cluster.
Minimal tilling — only 4 inches
Our grape farmers till only the top four inches of soil, and only once every three years in most vineyards. Conventional operations till a full foot down, annually. Our approach prevents erosion and leaves root systems and soil structure intact.
Cover crops do the heavy lifting
Cover crops stabilize soil, control erosion, fix nitrogen naturally, support composting cycles, and maintain populations of beneficial insects — spiders, pollinators, and others that keep the ecosystem in balance.
Dry farming when possible
In strong rainfall seasons, we forgo irrigation when possible. Dry farming stresses vines beneficially, concentrating flavors and producing higher-quality fruit — while conserving water the land doesn’t need us to add.
In the winery
Unfined & unfiltered
No animal by-products — no gelatin, egg whites, isinglass, or chitosan. We let wines settle naturally, preserving every particle of flavor and texture. This also means that our wines are 100% vegan-friendly!
Native yeast, always
Every fermentation starts with the wild yeast living in the vineyard and floating naturally through the winery. We never add commercial yeast — which means each vintage ferments based on the vineyard, not a lab.
Steaming barrels, not rinsing
We steam-clean barrels rather than water-rinsing them — using approximately 20 times less water per cleaning cycle.
No PVPP — no microplastics
PVPP is a synthetic plastic polymer used to clarify wines. We don’t use it, so our wines contain zero microplastics whatsoever.
Lighter glass bottles
We choose lighter-weight glass to reduce raw material use and lower the carbon footprint of every case shipped.
No ozone sanitation
Ozone is used to sanitize hoses and equipment in many wineries. As a ground-level oxidant it poses environmental risks. We don’t use it.
In the cork
Real cork is a 100% renewable resource, harvested without harming the tree. We use only natural cork — never composite plastic corks — because the closure is part of our commitment to materials that come from and return to the earth.
A note about sulfites
Sulfites have an undeserved reputation. The truth is that sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is one of the oldest and most effective tools in winemaking — occurring naturally as a byproduct of fermentation and used thoughtfully by winemakers for centuries. We add the minimum effective level of sulfites to our wines, measured carefully in parts per million, because we believe in making wines that reward patience as much as they reward an early opening.
A minimal addition of SO₂ makes that possible, without compromising what’s in the glass. For comparison, we use about half the standard amount of sulfites compared to other producers.
Sulfites are…
Antioxidant
Protects wine from oxidation, preserving fresh fruit character and color over time.
Antimicrobial
Inhibits unwanted bacteria and wild spoilage organisms without affecting flavor.
Age-worthy
Gives wines the stability to develop complexity in the bottle over months and years.
Naturally Present
SO₂ is a natural byproduct of fermentation — present in every wine, even “sulfite-free” ones.