Some wineries embrace environmental friendliness in their farming practices because it is the fashionable thing to do.
Others embrace it because it is the right thing to do.
Eric Lemelson entered the wine business with a set of core values from his environmental background and longstanding commitment to Oregon. Those values help guide his decision-making at all stages of viticulture and winemaking.
Lemelson Vineyards has farmed its vineyards organically from the beginning, in part because of Lemelson’s belief in organic farming. Knowing that great wines ultimately come from healthy vineyards, he sensed that grapes would develop their full flavor potential from vineyards managed without synthetic chemical inputs and with the use of techniques and practices that support living, healthy soils.
In this view, synthetic chemicals are solutions that may make farming less expensive and labor intensive in the short term, while often damaging the complex biological relationships that support healthy vines over the long term.
“Our intention,” Lemelson says, “is to allow you to experience the pure, expressive flavors of our Pinot Noir and other wines, unclouded by homogenizing influences, while we work to protect the beautiful gift we’ve inherited that is a small bit of Oregon.”
