A review of the farming philosophies and viticultural practices of Collective To Kalon (Oakville AVA, Napa)

I have been casting around for an obvious way to reference the land that is the combination of the historic To Kalon vineyard and the Stelling Extension, a task made more difficult in light of a judge’s ruling reserving the use of the words To Kalon and To Kalon Vineyard to Constellation Brands. I cannot use Historic To Kalon because it is not expansive enough and Historic To Kalon + Stelling Extension is too bulky. I have instead settled on the term Collective To Kalon, a term which preserves the singularity of the land while acknowledging the fact that a number of entities ply their trade on that hallowed ground. 

As I mentioned in my most recent post, a Decanter article on To Kalon Vineyard achieving organic certification alerted me to the fact that I had not discussed farming practices at Collective To Kalon. I correct that oversight in this post.

To Kalon Vineyard

The Constellation Brands portion of Collective To Kalon has been farmed sustainably for a number of years under the Napa Green certification regime. The vineyard map is reproduced below.

According to the previously referenced Decanter article, Constellation has been hard at work over the past three years readying the To Kalon Vineyard for organic certification. Constellation currently manages 497 acres of the Collective and, of this, a total of 331 acres have attained organic certification (CCOF). Younger vines and buffer blocks remain uncertified at this time. The first vintage of organic fruit will come with the 2023 harvest.

As a part of its certification pursuit, Constellation purchased six Monarch tractors to deploy in its vineyards. The Monarch is the "world's first fully electric, driver-optional smart tractor," offering electrification, automation, and data analysis on a single platform thus allowing farmers to "practice sustainable farming while increasing efficiency and maximizing profitability ..."(Donna Loughlin, impgr.com).

Macdonald Vineyard

Macdonald Vineyard is organic- (CCOF) certified. Graeme Macdonald is responsible for vineyard management and winemaking. He subscribes to what he calls natural farming, a requirement, he says, for getting natural flavors out of the grapes:

• Integration of plants into the environment
• Minimal tractor use to minimize compaction
• No fertilizers -- planting of Fava beans between rows
• No roundup
• Minimal canopy management (only one trellised block in the vineyard)
• Creation of their own compost on site.

The vineyard is oriented NE - SW which allows fuller access to the morning sun and limited access to the searing afternoon sun. Vines are 20-, 40-, and 60-years old with the youngest vines California-sprawl-trained and the oldest head-trained. Graeme is able to get away with minimal canopy management because, he says, the California sprawl creates its own balance. The trellised vines are planted at 1089 vines/acre while the rest of the vineyard is planted to 565 vines/acre.

The vines are all Cabernet Sauvignon: Clone 4 on 110R rootstocks for the younger vines and St. George for the older vines. The trellised vines are irrigated once or twice per growing season while the older vines are dry-farmed. Yields on the vineyard are between 1.5 and 2 tons per acre. Damaged vines are replaced using massal selection of the To-Kalon clone.

Beckstoffer to Kalon

The Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, illustrated graphically in the map below, is located on the western edge of the Oakville AVA. The table below the map shows the distribution of varieties and clones in the vineyard today. The current distribution was arrived at in a replanting program that was rolled out between 1994 and 1997.

Table 1: Distribution of Varieties and Clones in Beckstoffer to Kalon Vineyard

Variety	Clone	Rootstock	Acres	Cab S. %	Cab Fr%
Cabernet Sauvignon	4	039-16	37.9	48
	357	039-16	31.92	31.92
	7	039-16	4.3	6
	6	039-16	4.29	5
CS total			78.41	100
Cabernet Franc	1	039-16	4.63		100

According to information gleaned from Beckstoffer Vineyards, the soils are 60% Bale loam and 40% Bale clay loam. These soils provide quality drainage and adequate rooting depth as a result of loam in the first 24 inches and a gravelly loam in the subsequent 24 inches.

Vineyard management is the purview of the Beckstoffer team (the winemaker has responsibility for pick date and yields) and they have opted for the following management configuration:

Trellis System:      Vertical shoot positioning
Row Orientation:  Northwest by Southeast
Vine Spacing:        82% 6 x 7 (1037 vines/acre)
                               18% 8 x 7 (778 vines/acre)
Pruning:                Spur-Pruned to a bi-lateral cordon system

In the current partnership model, the winery is responsible for yields and harvest timing while Beckstoffer is responsible for all other aspects of viticulture. The vineyard is managed sustainably. The overall approach to vineyard management in the Beckstoffer sphere of influence is illustrated in the chart below.

Compiled from screen grab from beckstoffer.com

Andy mentioned that they will be initiating a replanting of the vineyard, an effort that will unfold over a 10-year period. He will be replacing the current rootstock -- 039-16 -- with a UC-Davis-developed derivative with the nomenclature GRN 1 and GRN 3. The current rootstock is too vigorous and is not as nematode-resistant as he would like. The nematode problem in the vineyard results in production levels of 1.6 tons/acre in some areas versus an average of 3.5 tons/acre overall. The replacement rootstock has lower vigor, higher nematode resistance, and a higher level of Phylloxera resistance.

The replanting plan is complex and will require some pain-sharing among the fruit purchasers. Andy's plan is that when a buyer's plot (or portion of a plot) is designated for replanting, his/her neighbor will be asked to share a portion of their fruit with the affected party. The upshot of this plan is that both parties will be subjected to reduced grape totals until that replanted plot becomes productive again (3 - 5 years in Andy's estimation, 5 - 7 years in mine).

Opus One

The estate currently owns and operates four vineyards, totaling 169 acres (68.4 ha), in the AVA.  The first acquisition was the Q Block (35 acres (14.2 ha)) of the famed To Kalon Vineyard from the Robert Mondavi Winery in 1981. This was followed by the acquisition of the 50-acre (20.2-ha) River Parcel in 1983, the Ballestra Vineyard (49 acres (19.8 ha)) in 1984, and the To Kalon K Block (48 acre (18.4 ha)) in 2008.  The To Kalon pieces of the estate are shown to the left of Highway 29 in the map below.

Source: Opusonewinery.com

In 1995 the Q Block was replanted with low-yield, high-density, phylloxera-resistant rootstock.  The density of the re-plantings was five to six times higher than is normal for Napa but was pursued in order to produce smaller berries with resultant higher skin-to-juice-ratio which, in turn, would translate into more intense flavors and aromas. Overall vine density ranges between 500 and 2400 vines per acre.  Vines are spur-pruned with new plantings going to Guyot.

Opus One has been operating under the Napa Land Certification for a while but has gained the new Napa Green Certification in 2022. The Napa Green Certification extends beyond the Napa Land constructs to incorporate a number of Regenerative farming practices to include climate action, regenerative farming, and social equity.

Source: Opus One

According to Angela Muscarella, Production Manager, the transition to the new regime has been "very smooth."The estate has been experimenting with biochar since 2015 and that has been a great help in adjusting to the standards. They had their first successful biochar-producing burn in 2018 and in 2020 used an air burner which "left them with an essentially smoke-free burn."

Detert Family Vineyards

This estate is located on the eastern benchland of the Mayacamas Mountains and is divided into east, west, and south blocks.

The estate is farmed conventionally but is practicing organic and sustainable techniques.

UC Davis

The UC Davis Oakridge Station is comprised of two vineyards: South Station and Old Federal Vineyard.  A few Napa brands have access to the fruit from the latter.

UC Davis plots indicated with black ovals

Vineyard management practices at these vineyards will not be consistent due to the experimental nature ot its raison d'etre.

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The foregoing is summarized in the chart below.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme