Troon Vineyard , located in the Applegate Valley of Oregon, a Demeter Biodynamic® and Certified Organic, is the first farm in the world and the second winery to receive the Regenerative Organic Certified designation.
You might ask – what does this mean? It’s a holistic process that considers the farm as a whole, and minimizes external intervention. This certification recognizes high standards in soil health, animal welfare, and farmworker fairness. There is no use of chemicals, and a range of naturally produced compost is applied to enhance the microbiome of the soils, resulting in robust plants and gorgeous grapes! Translation – quality wine!
Troon Vineyard – “Farm Like the World Depends on It”
It was great to see the vineyard in action while attending the Wine Media Conference. We got to see a couple of examples of how Troon enhances soil health. In one of the buildings there was a tub of worms hard at work creating enriched soil that will be spread in the vineyard. We also observed the The Growing Solutions© tank, which is used to create an aerated tea compost that gets spread over the vineyard.
What’s the impact on the wine with being biodynamic and Regenerative Organic Certified? These wines are naturally fermented with native yeasts, with no additives, no new oak barrels. These wines are created in a terroir that create fresh, moderate alcohol, and higher acidity wines than found in other places.
Full disclosure, I’m a fan of Troon wines, and was delighted to taste a delightful trio of these fun sparklers. The trio consists of the 2020 Piquette, the Pet tanNat, and 2020Fizzante.
Did you know that Piquette is known as Farmers Wine?
Piquette has been known as frugal farmers fizz – leftover
fruit from the original pressing with added water and sugar. For over 100 years, farmers and workers would make this wine – in their own sustainable way! This 2020 Piquette is made from leftover skins of rosé and white wines. Water is added and maceration takes place overnight. It’s then pressed into juice from stainless steel tanks. This wine is quickly bottled and capped to allow for bottle fermentation. This wine is lovely and fresh with strawberry, floral, and citrus notes. It’s very refreshing due to a nice level of minerality and bubbles.
The 2020 Pét tanNat
is made from Estate Tannat grapes. This very dry sparkling wine is similar to Extra Brut Champagne. It’s yeasty, toasty, and super crisp. The latitude of the location of the Troon vineyard is similar to Champagne and Burgundy which produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The marine sediments in Oregon combined with the cool climate works well for this sparkling wine.
