Acclaimed journalist and wine writer Jancis Mary Robinson currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times along with her own website recently took a look at farming and what it means to farm like there is no tomorrow, the answers really do lie in the soil.
“The American ROC certification (Regenerative Organic Certification™), launched in 2020, is more demanding because it’s even more wide-ranging, and requires a commitment to organic farming. It also requires integrating animal welfare and livestock operations, where appropriate (it can be applied to a wide variety of products – not just wine), as well as the social aspects of sustainability (looking after the workforce and so on). These aspects are encompassed by the ROC certification, whose motto is ‘farm like the world depends on it’. So far the only wine operations to be fully ROC-certified are Domaine Bousquet in Argentina, Troon in Oregon, and Bonterra, Neal, Sominer, Tablas Creek and Truett-Hurst in California.”
Napa Valley’s biodynamic winegrowing pioneer Mark Neal’s Howell Mountain estate winery achieved Regenerative Organic Certified® as recognized by the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA) in November 2022. The ROA was established in 2018 and is today considered the highest level of certification. There are only five vineyard estates worldwide that hold Regenerative Organic Certified® status and Neal Family Vineyards now represents the first Napa Valley vineyard to receive this certification.