At age 25, after graduating from Stanford University, Judy Jordan launched J Vineyards with some help from her father, Tom, founder of Jordan Vineyard and Winery. Beginning as an early Sonoma County sparkling wine producer, Jordan spent nearly 30 years building the impressive J Vineyards portfolio before selling to the EJ Gallo Company in 2015. Among her many mentors, she regrets that none, during the 1980s, were women.

After the sale, Jordan was in a position to enjoy the fruits of her labor, but chose a pursuit with purpose. Rooted in gratitude for all that the wine industry had given her, she formed WG Edge (Women Gaining an Edge) to grow the next generation of women in agriculture through a “village” of teachers, mentors and sponsors. Beginning in 2019, the initial group, including many women of color, are gaining leadership development through a local college and various community mentors.

With a philanthropic spirit and keen business mind, Jordan established Geodesy (G-Odyessy) wines and directs 100 percent of the profits to fund WG Edge. The business of Geodesy began after she and her team acquired iconic vineyards like Sage Ridge in the Napa Valley and Oregon’s Chehalem Mountain and Eola Springs. In part, she chose Oregon in an effort to get out of her comfort zone. She now owns all three vineyards and produces enough fruit to source out to other winemakers.

Jordan has assembled a team that includes, among others, winemaker Megan Baccitich, who worked at Paul Hobbs for more than a decade, and vice president of Winegrowing, Scott Zapotocky, a veteran of both Paul Hobbs and J Vineyards. Together, they strive to set the highest standard with their three wine releases.

Using vines planted in 1972, Baccitich sees age as a factor in the salinity and bright acidity of the 2018 Geodesy Eola Springs Vineyard Chardonnay ($75). She explained that daytime temperatures remain higher in Oregon and the evenings don’t cool like the Russian River Valley. The result, in her words, are “sun-kissed phenolics.”

From vines planted in the late-1960s by Oregon wine legend Dick Erath, the 2018 Geodesy Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountain Vineyard ($80) comes from three different clones that are harvested the same day, whole-cluster pressed and co-fermented in open top concrete fermenters. Jordan spoke of a balanced acidity in this vintage with fleshy fruit flavors of cherry and spice throughout.

Despite steep, rugged terrain and an abundance of rattlesnakes, Baccitich referred to the elevated Sage Ridge Vineyard, located above the Napa Valley, as the most dynamic site she has ever worked with. At J Vineyards, Judy worked with 26 different vineyards and described Sage Ridge as her all-time favorite.

A cabernet sauvignon-dominant blend that pays homage to the site, the 2017 Geodesy Sage Ridge Vineyard Red Wine ($175), is aged 20 months in 100 percent French oak to produce red fruit and floral aromas, soft tannins and complex flavors indicative of a classic wine.

Geodesy provides an opportunity to give back, enjoy special wines and support young women pursuing careers in agriculture.

The views expressed in this column are those of Lyle W. Norton.

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, Calif. — This story was originally published by CalMatters

California’s air quality board voted today to call for a near-complete ban of agricultural burning by 2025 in the San Joaquin Valley, one of the most polluted regions in the country. 

After a four-hour hearing and more than an hour and a half of debate, the air board unanimously approved a resolution directing air board staff to work with the local air district to phase out nearly all burning over the next four years. 

The phase-out will mostly affect owners of vineyards and orchards who will have to grind up vines, trees and other waste and mix it into soil, or haul it to composting and biomass facilities.  

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Growers told the air board that they already struggle to get contractors to chip their waste, and could have trouble paying for the pricier alternatives. 

“A small farmer is last in line to get the work done because grinders can’t afford to lose out on the large scale acreage,” Stan Chance, an almond grower near Turlock, told the board at Thursday’s meeting. “The impact on me this last year was having to delay planting a whole year waiting for equipment to show up. That’s a whole extra year without the ground producing income.” 

Air board staff estimated that between $15 million and $30 million per year in additional state, federal and local funds might be needed to cover the cost, and the resolution acknowledged the need for federal and state money to fund alternatives. 

Samir Sheikh, executive director of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, said his district already bans most agricultural burning, but acknowledged that there’s more work to be done. He called the new efforts, which are unique to the San Joaquin Valley, “a bold strategy” that he hopes will become a model for the rest of the state.

“As you’re aware, our region does face some of the most difficult air quality challenges anywhere in the country,” Sheikh told the air board. “We’re going to really need your assistance as we move forward.”  

Environmental justice advocates and local residents said that for communities breathing the smoke, four years is too long to wait. Smoke aggravates asthma and other respiratory problems.

“This law was instituted back in 2003. So really, we’ve had 17 years to get this done. I think that’s basically called procrastination,” Peter Dorian, a Fresno resident, said during public comment. “What we breathe has to take precedent over anything else.” 

Typically, agricultural burning falls under local air district control. But in 2003, a state law authored by then-Sen. Dean Florez, a Democrat from Shafter, called for phasing out burning in the San Joaquin Valley by 2010.  

Because of loopholes in the law, however, the air board has granted the district several extensions to allow burning of some materials — including vineyards and some orchard material. 

The air board had a lively debate about the 2025 deadline and tightening the language of the action to make sure it is enforced.

“Without that clear line of what we can do, then we’re going to get right to the end of 2024 …  hearing ‘You know what, we just need two more years,’” said board member Nathan Fletcher, a San Diego County supervisor.

“I think we need to have a sooner target than 2025. Many people have been waiting for this,” added Davina Hurt, a new board member who represents San Mateo County cities on the Bay Area’s air district board.

But the board decided to allow some burning until 2025, provided that the district adheres to the state’s recommendations. These include accelerating the phaseout of certain crops, starting with large growers, and setting targets for tons of material to be burned during that time. Only diseased plants and beehives, as well as some weeds, may be exempted.

The resolution couches the board’s instructions as commitments to “partner with the District to improve readiness to reduce burning” and “support” for the local air district to prepare a plan by the end of August to accelerate the phaseout. 

But air board Executive Officer Richard Corey said the 2025 deadline was “firm.” 

“If there’s a problem, I will be back in front of the board. I will not be waiting for an annual report if things are going off the rails,” he said.  

Florez, now an air board member, called on California Gov. Gavin Newsom to fund burning alternatives in the state budget. “We’re really going to need the governor,” he said. 

The decision is one of the first acts of California’s powerful Air Resources Board with three new members and under the leadership of new Chair Liane Randolph, who was formerly a member of the California Public Utilities Commission. 

“It’s important to recognize that we can’t instantly reverse decades of poor decisions and environmental racism in our role as regulators implementing state and federal law,” Randolph said. “But we must recognize that communities of color have a range of views and concerns. And we cannot fail in our efforts to listen to, engage and to work towards equitable solutions as best we can.”

Agricultural material is burned throughout California on days when the air is clear and the weather is less likely to let smoke linger.

Growers pumped an average of six tons of fine particles per day into California’s air in 2017, and more than a third of that pollution came from burning in the San Joaquin Valley. 

Cynthia Pinto-Cabrera of the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition called for warning residents when agricultural burns are occurring. “It’s essential for residents to be able to properly prepare and protect themselves,” she said.

Since hitting a low point in the early-2010s, agricultural burning has increased in the San Joaquin Valley to about 600,000 tons a year due to droughts and closure of biomass facilities that burn waste. 

The almond grower, Chance, said that although he doesn’t think the valley is ready to ban all agricultural burning, he can see the difference the rules have made.  

“On a clear day, I can see Half Dome and Yosemite Valley from my farm. I don’t want that view to ever go away.” 

Vineyards in Hemel en Aarde are carving out a global reputation among wine lovers seeking a fresh, distinctive flavour.

South African wine maker Anthony Hamilton Russell samples a young Chardonnay inside his barrel room at his 52 hectares wine farm in Hemel en Aarde, on 23 February 2021. Picture: MARCO LONGARI/AFP

AFP

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HEMEL EN AARDE – Heaven and Earth – that is the name in Afrikaans for this valley nestled between arid mountains and the cool ocean, a location that makes it a paradise for winegrowing.

Not for nothing are vineyards in Hemel en Aarde carving out a global reputation among wine lovers seeking a fresh, distinctive flavour.

Winemakers here do not try to imitate the big European names, which can often be a stifling benchmark.

Instead, they produce wines with a strong South African identity – wines whose savour tells the story of their distant birthplace and bring with them the heritage from the first Huguenot plantations in the 1600s.

“We are not really New World and not Old World,” said 35-year-old winemaker Emul Ross, flanked by his boss Anthony Hamilton Russell.

“We are not trying to be Burgundy, we are closer to that style of pinot noir than New Zealand or Oregon, which have more sweetness, more fruit.”

Russell bought 52 hectares of land from his family in the early 1990s.

The estate produces a red and a white wine from Burgundy grape varieties of eastern-central France.

The soils have high clay percentages, similar to those in Cote de Nuits, and “in blind tastings sometimes, our wines are thought as Burgundian,” said Russell, despite very different climatic conditions.

At the end of his vineyards are a few fynbos, or local shrubs, a cliff and then the Atlantic, close to its dramatic confluence with the Indian Ocean.

“I like to think there is nothing between us and Antarctica. Very clean air,” said Russell.

In the middle of the golden-green Chardonnay vines, dozens of workers in overalls move forward, expertly snipping bunches off the plant and taking boxfuls to a tractor.

Weeds grow between their feet.

“No herbicides. If it’s bare ground, it’s dead ground,” said the elegant 58-year-old Russell, sporting a large cream-coloured Indiana Jones-style brimmed hat.

Harvest this year has been late, taking place in southern hemisphere’s early autumn.

NO CHEMICALS, NO CHEATING

For South African winegrowers in general, it has been a terrible year, marked by the coronavirus pandemic and several government-imposed national bans on the sale of alcohol.

But Hemel en Aarde has suffered less than others, thanks to its reputation for quality – firmly established abroad – and less dependence on volume compared to other regions.

Pascaline Lepeltier, a French sommelier based in New York, said the region had enjoyed “spectacular success” thanks to “fresh, fine wines that are less orientated towards exuberant fruit and strength”.

She singled out their choice to respect the environment and limit additives – the key to “the true shine of a terroir”.

Chris Alheit, a mischievous 39-year-old winemaker donning a T-shirt and dark shorts, is another local celebrity.

When he talks about wines, he speaks enthusiastically about a “real Cape identity, a South African DNA”.

“We are not trying to copy a French wine,” he smiled, slipping in a few words of the language he gleaned during harvest on the old continent.

His Chenin, a white grape variety characteristic of the western France’s Loire Valley, is of great purity.

His exported cuvee, Cartology, aims at a broad swathe of the market for wines that are easy to drink and suitable for most palates.

At 6 am, the sky turns pink. Alheit brings boxes to be loaded into a refrigerated truck. Birds chirp away, bringing a joyful lightness to the repetitive noise of pruning shears.

“The big sprint is finished already,” he says, of the annual task of figuring out the right moment to harvest.

“I already have plenty of good acidity, not too much sugar. Now I need a little sex appeal, to add some curves.”

Chenin gives a vast palette, from very dry to tropical.

“I don’t want my wine to be a pineapple bomb,” he says, in a burst of laughter.

No irrigation, no chemicals and no cheating – his wine is “natural” even if he is reluctant to have it classified as such.

“For a wine to grab your imagination, as it should, it needs to be pure. If you sense dishonesty, it becomes less exciting,” he says.

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Virtual technology makes factory equipment acceptance tests effortless at EMS Group USA

COVID-19 changed many things about the way wineries do business. Staff shortages jeopardized production, and tourism restrictions threatened sales. Wineries rushed to implement worker safety and leaned into technology solutions like automated equipment, mobile field software, e-commerce, and virtual tasting rooms.

Winery suppliers also felt the impact and likewise turned to technology. One ingenious solution is the virtual factory acceptance test (FAT) implemented by EMS Group USA, a division EMS Group, SpA.

In the pre-COVID world, when a winery purchased container and handling equipment from EMS Group, two or three people would travel to the manufacturing factory in Italy to validate that equipment was built to their specifications and ensure everything worked as expected. But in a COVID world, traveling internationally came to a halt.

Customer demand is paramount at EMS Group, and rapid, efficient response is the organization’s motto. As technology is the heart of all EMS Group equipment, it was natural that they turned to their internal high-tech team to develop an alternative to the essential FAT process when the pandemic struck.

“We want to ensure that people purchasing equipment have confidence their machine is as they ordered it,” says Beth Zarnick-Duffy, EMS Group USA Executive Sales Director. “We want them to know everything is ready to roll after the final fine-tuning at the factory. Since EMS is the leader in automated packaging equipment, it was natural for us to use technology to conduct a virtual FAT to show that the equipment is operational and ready to be delivered to our clients’ facilities.”

Much like wineries, the EMS technology team turned an in-person experience into a virtual one. Through the use of multiple cameras clients can easily examine the motors, electrical wiring, check connections, and all other aspects of the static verification process of the FAT. From cell phones, to body-worn 360° view cameras, to mounted DSLR cameras, operators on-site in Italy put the equipment through its paces in real-time interface with stateside customers. These static and dynamic reviews of the equipment allow the customer to see in detail any aspect of the machine they want, from electrical cabinets to safety tests – EMS Group takes the time to clearly go through every aspect the customer wants, with time for questions and clarification along the way.

As part of the virtual FAT, wineries ship raw materials to Italy in advance. These are used in all aspects of testing the equipment during the dynamic testing. They will see their products being used in order to validate specific production cycles. The on-site team runs through safety tests, such as ensuring the machine’s e-stops work, lock-out-tag out and any other safety operations the client would like to see. The customer virtually walks through their punch list and checks off each item.

“One benefit of virtual FATs is that the customer can have 12 or 13 people attend,” says Beth, “including technical experts who wouldn’t normally travel. Everyone can interact, ask questions, and share documents, drawings and schematics to confirm it matches what they ordered. EMS also records the FAT so that the customer can share with other team members that were not present, or if they simply want to go back and see a particular point again, they have it.”

Vimal Narayan, Operations Manager at Bogle Vineyards, says that “2020 has been a challenging year. Living in a virtual platform makes it difficult to do traditional FATs on new equipment acquisitions. However, the EMS team made this process run effortlessly. They were very responsive to our requests and questions during the qualification. EMS has been a great partner and will play a critical role in supporting our growth here at Bogle Family Vineyards.”

Technology introduced a new dimension of real-time troubleshooting to the FAT process — the ability to increase the eyes on these enormous pieces of equipment from a world away. While nothing replaces being hosted by the EMS Group in Italy and being immersed in Italian culture, food and wines, EMS Group USA anticipates using a hybrid of virtual and on-site FATs in the post-COVID world and wouldn’t be surprised to have their clients requesting both.

For more information, visit the EMS Group website or contact Beth Zarnick Duffy, Executive Sales Director, directly at [email protected].

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