Episode 42: Regenerative Viticulture
“In the winters when we have heavy rains like we’ve been having this year, a healthy soil is one that infiltrates all that water”
“If we are talking about regenerative, we are talking about the ecosystem as a whole—in the region that I’m in, the North Coast, that comes out as cover cropping and no till. If you use these together, then your goal is to improve the soil structure and soil health by the bioexudates from the different cover crops that glue the soil together into aggregates. ”
A conversation with UCCE Viticulture Advisor Dr. Chris Chen (Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino Counties) and soil scientist Noelymar Gonzalez-Maldonado (UC Davis) about regenerative viticulture, soils, and climate resilience in vineyards. Released February 24, 2023.
guests on the show
Dr. Chris Chen
Dr. Chris Chen is the University of California Cooperative Extension Integrated Vineyard Systems Advisor for Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino Counties. Dr. Chen graduated from UC Davis with an M.S. in Viticulture and Ph.D. in Horticulture and Agronomy with specialization in Viticulture. His scientific expertise with grapevines and vineyard systems is related to abiotic stress tolerance, particularly with respect to excess heat and extended drought. Dr. Chen also has expertise in wild and cultivated grapevine rootstocks, focused on abiotic stress and salinity tolerance. Dr. Chen has researched the efficacy of shade nets as heat-damage reduction tools for wine grapes at the UC Oakville Research Station in Napa Valley and worked on numerous field-based projects across California ranging from Delano and Paso Robles to Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties. Learn more on Dr. Chris Chen’s website and follow him @GrapeAdvisor.
Noelymar Gonzalez-Maldonado
Noelymar Gonzalez-Maldonado is a soil scientist and doctoral candidate in the Soil Biodiversity and Health Lab at UC Davis with an M.S. in Soil Science from The Ohio State University. She is a UC Davis Professor of the Future and Western SARE Graduate Research Grant recipient. Gonzalez-Maldonado conducts research and extension to quantify indicators related to soil health and regenerative agriculture in vineyard systems throughout the Napa, Paso Robles, and Lodi viticultural regions. Her research is comparing and contrasting concepts of soil health and tradeoffs between soil health and vineyard production in key viticultural regions across California. Her expertise is in soil ecology, health, and biodiversity with experience working in soils across the U.S. As an advocate and emerging leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as science communication, Noelymar Gonzalez-Maldonado co-founded the Women in Ag Science Collective. Follow Noelymar @noelymarg.
