JoieFarm is a 5-acre property located on the Naramata Bench in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. In 2007 we planted our farm over from apples and pears to Gewürztraminer and Moscato Giallo, a clone of yellow Muscat from the Northeast of Italy. The vines will be in production in time for the 2009 vintage. With our home block we have chosen to take a long-term approach to the health and sustainability of our property. We are interested in building the property literally from the ground-up and establishing long-term resistance to pest and diseases within our vines. We have embarked on our vineyard project with a preventative approach, focused on soil.

The superiority of grapes grown in well-maintained soils seems clear to us at JoieFarm. Simply put – soil that is rich in organic matter is able to avoid erosion and sustain diverse life at a microbial level. A lack of soil life means the soil will lose its capacity to directly trap, mineralize and store adequate levels of nutrients in stable humus. Instead, this will have to be done through the addition of inputs. A well-balanced soil produces drought and disease resistant plants able to produce balanced, flavourful grapes. We see ourselves as “soil farmers” rather than “grape farmers.” Moreover, as winemakers who now grow grapes, making better wines is inextricably linked with our own sustainable growing practices.

Soil maintenance is an age-old practice that is founded on the basic logic of “nutrients out/nutrients in.” Cover-cropping with perennial white clover helps us to both fix nitrogen and control moisture within the vineyard. Companion planting oats and beneficial flowers, within our tractor alleys, allows for a diversified area for beneficial insects above ground and helpful microbial life, below ground. By alternating our mowing schedule, mulching under the vines, composting our winery waste and then spreading it back into the vineyard we are able to remediate our soil after years of conventional agriculture in this area. As our vines grow into production we aim to compliment our soil conditioning with a canopy management approach that will take advantage of the constant afternoon breeze we see on the Naramata Bench. This will allow us to use minimal, but well-timed, sulphur in the vineyard for mildew control, replacing the need for constant chemical spray cycles.

In planting our vineyard in the spring of 2007 we learned that viticulture is not a textbook practice, it is a process of constant observation. In order to do so it requires that we walk our vineyard on a daily basis so that we can respond most effectively when a problem is in its beginning stage rather than waiting until it becomes full blown. This dedication to site-specific problem solving coupled with constant research and reading allows us to achieve a balance between respecting old-world agricultural approaches and being open to modern technology which makes vineyard work easier and often more effective.