Located along the Russian River watershed in Ukiah, CA, where sprawling woodlands, cover crop, and rolling hills of vines meet at equilibrium, is the dark horse of the wine industry. Paul Dolan & his two sons have created a foundation for a new breed of wine grape cultivators by replanting a 65-acre vineyard with drought-resistant rootstocks and cuttings from varietals that compliment the terrain and climate. Dolan practices the use of biodynamic farming to procure environmental, economical, and social sustainability and produce the deepest (undiluted) flavored grapes.
Biodynamics is an approach to agronomy that harmonizes on creating a balanced ecosystem through the vitality of the Earth itself, thus creating a self-reliant farm.
California agriculture accounts for 12 percent of greenhouse gases. Burning fossil fuel and decomposing organic soil matter produce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O), greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change when they get trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere, warming its surface.
Dolan reduces CO2 and N2O emissions by allowing sheep to graze in the vineyard, enriching soil with natural fertilizer, and he limits the number of insects and other vineyard pests without using pesticides.
“Since the 1850s, Americans have relied increasingly on diverse energy sources rather than human power to produce their food and forest products. These relatively cheap and abundant supplies of fossil fuel have been substituted for human and draft animal energy,” says David Pimentel, professor at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University.
The property encompasses not only 65-acres of vines, but a 75-acre woodland, a 20-acre pasture for Dolan’s sheep and cows, and a grove of hundreds of olive trees, along with cypress, legumes, herbs and flowers scattered throughout to biologically enhance the space and capacity in which the natural ecosystem on his ranch operates.
Dark Horse Ranch reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 9 kilograms of CO2 for every unused gallon of diesel fuel.
Dolan plants cypress trees along the edge of his vine blocks to provide a home and a vantage point for owls to prey on gophers and small rabbits, meanwhile bats from the woodland feed on mosquitos.
He also created what he refers to as a "bug farm" using herbs like lavender, sage and vetch to attract predator insects to feed on other vineyard pests.
On a fall morning several years ago Dolan’s son reached down, not for a cluster of grapes, but for the compost layered a top the soil, saying, “It’s like gold.”
The video above explains the process and benefits of using female cow horns for special biodynamic practices.
dolan Fills cow horns with female cow manure or crushed quartz crystals and buries them in his garden. This is just one of the ways Dolan capitalizes on enriching his Vine's soil with microbes, fungi, and the vitality of the Earth to create a balanced ecosystem for his grapes to thrive.
Rainwater is collected and funneled through each level of the flow form to create a river-like vortex to combine 100 gallons of water with the materials extracted from the cow horns. the mixture created is sprayed over the soil and the leaves of Dolan's vines replacing the use of harmful petrochemicals.
“We’ve found that there’s 30 percent more nutrient available in biodynamic compost than there is in conventional or organic compost,” Dolan says, and “there’s 100 to 1000 times more microbial activity inside of the biodynamic compost.” The higher activity of soil organisms accelerates the turnover of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.
Dolan's great-grandfather was wine legend Pietro Carlo Rossi, an immigrant from a small village outside Turin, Italy, who founded the Italian Swiss Colony Winery in Asti, California. As a fourth-generation grape grower, Dolan relies on his natural aptitude for farming - not an arsenal of petrochemicals - to control pests and replenish the soil - all while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner is the inspiration for many of Dolan’s farming practices. “Unlike humans who have emancipated themselves from their space, meaning we go inside when it is too hot or too cold, the [vines are] out here always aware of the rhythm and nature of the space in which [they are] exposed,” Dolan says.
By planting cover crops such as clover, vetch, bell beans and oats between vineyard rows Dolan extracts nitrogen from the air, and attracts beneficial insects, while limiting the erosion of mountain soils during heavy winter rains.
Combining cover crop or low-till farming with practices like enriching the soil with manure sequesters carbon dioxide, and without the use of tractors and other equipment Dolan eliminates his use of fossil fuels.
By enhancing his vines’ ability to find nourishment through communicating with the species around them in a balanced ecosystem, Paul has created self-sufficient crops that don’t rely on the farmer.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating the industry’s deepest flavored grapes is what makes Paul Dolan a true dark horse.
Credits:
Miranda Squires