Innovation and Sustainability in the Santa Maria Valley
Presqu’ile Winery and Vineyard maintains a “stewardship of the land’ while producing world class wines
By Mike Danahey
At Presqu’ile Winery and Vineyard, co-founder and President Matt Murphy said preserving, protecting and enhancing biodiversity of the land is always front of mind.
“The only way to make world-class wine is to grow world-class grapes, which requires an open-minded approach to how we manage the totality of our land, not just our vineyard acreage,” Murphy said.
As such, when preparing to plant its vineyards in 2008, Presqu’ile discovered the Sustainability in Practice (SIP) program, which provided a set of sustainability guidelines that meshed with the business’s values and ideas on how those behind the Santa Maria Valley, family-owned operation wanted to interact with the land. The vineyard has been SIP certified since 2010.
“SIP Certification takes a holistic approach to agricultural operations, from the vineyard to the production facility, down to the wellness programs and benefits we provide our employees,” Murphy said.
Earning and maintaining the certification is a rigorous process. It requires third-party audits of key criteria, including water and energy conservation, social equity and pest management, to name a few factors, Murphy said.
Current Presqu’ile sustainability practices include:
• SIP certification: SIP certification addresses the three P’s of sustainability – people, planet, prosperity – ensuring both natural and human resources are protected.
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM): The vineyard usies bird lasers, thus eliminating the need for plastic bird netting in the vineyard, deploys beneficial insect releases and holds raptor perches and owl boxes, all of which naturally help control vineyard pests.
• Cover Crop Management: Alternate row cover crops with a certified organic cereal row (barley, oats, wheat) planted for soil-building and microbial activity, while a Central Coast Standard legume row (beans, vegetables) promotes stronger root activity and greener composting later in the season.
• Grazing Animals:
o Kune Kune pigs graze in the vineyards to help fortify the soil ecosystem and reduce manual inputs for vineyard floor management.
o A goat herd grazes non-vineyard acreage, providing brush control, fire safety and the addition of more biodiversity outside of the vineyard.
o Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) protects goats and pigs from natural predators.
• Energy Efficiency: A solar field provides 95% of the power needed for the winery. This past winter, Presqu’ile constructed a solar powered barn/vineyard shop. The business uses a Monarch electric tractor which is charged via batteries charged by the solar array at its ag barn.
• Water Management: Soil Moisture probes help measure when water is necessary, and the on-site weather station measures PET (Potential Evapotranspiration).
• Habitat Creation: Avocado trees, truffle orchards, an on-site organic garden and planting of natural plants and crops help with pest control, biodiversity and habitat management.
All told, Presqu’ile is close to its goal of being net zero (carbon emissions). Its 774-panel solar farm produces nearly 500,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. This is an offset equal to the annual energy use of 45 average homes or 80 gas-powered cars driven for a year, Murphy said.
“The electricity generated by our solar array has provided a 90% reduction in our demand on the grid,” Murphy said.
In addition to the winery’s solar array, Presqu’ile recently completed a solar powered ag barn, partially offsetting its electricity needs for that facility, which includes charging an electric tractor.
Since 2007, Presqu’ile acreage has more than doubled to 585 acres of agricultural diversity, including sustainable vineyards, fruit and vegetable fields, avocado groves, oak trees, and open space, Murphy said.
The 73-acre estate, Presqu’ile Vineyard, remains the heart of the property. Currently being redeveloped are 57 acres of new vineyards on recently acquired adjacent properties, bringing the total vineyard acreage to 130.
“We are also proudly home to a new organic one-acre vegetable and herb garden that we use exclusively for our chef-curated seasonal mezze picnic menus,” Murphy said.
Presqu’ile also plants almost two dozen acres of avocados. In 2022, it planted 12 acres of avocados and will plant 11 new acres in 2023.
Santa Maria is home to the most delicious strawberries in the world, so Presqu’ile partners with neighbors who grow berries and vegetables on approximately 85 acres, Murphy said.
“Stewardship of the land has always been of the utmost importance to our family,” he said. “We will not be the last people over the course of human history to put this ground to use.”
That being the case, Murphy said it is critical to protect this land and the natural resources provided by it for generations to come.
“Sustainability was more than a decision for us,” he said. “It was the foundation of how we wanted to operate our winery. Presqu’ile has long held that thoughtful and minimal intervention is the key to crafting elegant and expressive wines, so sustainability is integrated into everything we do, from the soil to the cellar.”
Presqu’ile is dedicated to crafting exceptional, cool-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah in Santa Barbara County. For information, go to https://presquilewine.com.
