Our commitment to sustainability at Baker Lane Vineyards is rooted in the fact that it is our home, but first and foremost we believe that it is simply the right thing to do. It started with our efforts in developing the vineyard. Our hillside site, with its Gold Ridge sandy loamy soil, has proven to be an exceptional vineyard location, but one that posed numerous environmental challenges. Creating an elaborate property-wide system of drains, a highly engineered sedimentation basin and carefully sequenced ground cover plantings are all integral parts of an effort to keep erosion out of the delicate riparian corridor below our Estate vineyard. This kind of resource management may seem extravagant but it doesn’t make sense that environmental stewardship (and the long-term and multi-faceted savings it avails) be done on the cheap.

We’ve taken the same approach with every aspect of our property, including our comprehensive solar installations, uses of recycled and sustainable materials, and not the least, the organic farming practices that we utilize in the vineyard and orchards. We believe that it is a privilege to have landed here amidst the natural splendor of western Sonoma County, and that even as we have transformed much of our immediate landscape, it is our explicit responsibility to do so in a way that preserves for generations to come the sensitive natural balances that make it such a beautiful place.

Now that we’ve moved past the initial phase of establishing our vineyard and domestic environments, we have broadened our commitment to sustainability and the pursuit of the finest and most distinctive wine expressions possible. In the process, we’ve learned that farming and winemaking are transparent disciplines, and we’ve had our share of illuminating missteps. Now, though, with five harvests under our belt though our path has become much clearer.

A conclusion that we’ve reached is the need to do whatever we can to control our destiny. A second is that we are best served to work with and accept the rhythms

of nature as much as possible rather than bang against them. Upgrading our wine production efforts by moving to Vinify Wine Services, a state of the art facility in Santa Rosa, has provided an essential qualitative upgrade. Nothing, though, has advanced our efforts more than the decision to work with Greg Adams, M.Sci (beyondthevine.com). He is a highly experienced and gifted vineyard consultant whose guidance has raised the bar for our viticultural aspirations.

Greg is working with us to convert our farm to bio-dynamism, an exciting and humbling process that is lending a holistic approach to the quest for balance with our agricultural goals. Greg’s oversight, in conjunction with the steady and attentive vineyard management from Arturo S. and Jr. Robledo (of AMR Management), has helped us make great leaps in fruit quality and produced a deepened understanding of the nuances of our vineyard sources.

Ably augmenting Greg's contributions are the efforts of Sean Brennan, our assistant vineyard manager. He has extensive knowledge of bio-dynamism and his system management oversight and attention to detail are essential features of quality control at Baker Lane.

The Ramondo Vineyard
Working with the vineyard of Sue and Stan Ramondo, our neighbors on Baker Lane, has also allowed us to both expand the sources of our fruit and the qualitative oversight of it. Their property, the only other significant vineyard on Baker Lane, is a scant quarter mile east of our us. We had tasted and admired several wines produced from their fruit in the past, so we didn’t hesitate when the opportunity to work with their vineyard arose. They have approximately 4 acres of Pinot Noir, and 1.25 of Syrah, and both varietals excel at their site. In assuming agricultural responsibility for the vineyard, in particular working hard to control the yields, we’ve concluded that this is an outstanding addition to the Baker Lane portfolio.