#113 - The Regenerative Organic Vineyard Pioneering Rhône-Style Wine

Episode Highlights:

• 🌱 Pioneering Rhône grape varieties here in the US

• 🍇 Becoming the first Regenerative Organic Certified® vineyard

• 🧪 Launching a nursery to grow better vines and accelerate domestic adoption

• 🌿 How organic and biodynamic laid the groundwork for regenerative

• 🐑 Grazing sheep to boost soil fertility and water retention

• 🍷 Bottling 29 different wines a year, the way nature intended

• 🥂 Growing their “Wine Club” to 11,000 members

• 📦 How DTC makes up 50% of their volume, but 80% of revenue

• 💡 Using “neighborhood” blends to help other growers transition to organic

• 🌍 Collective strategies to scale consumer demand for regen-certified wine

• Don’t have time for the full episode? 😵‍💫 

• Check out the recap! 🙃 

• Everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes. 🥳

🔥 What Does ‘Regenerative’ Really Mean? with Anthony Corsaro

Let’s be honest…

Even with all of its incredible promise, certain aspects of ‘regenerative’ are a hot mess right now.

In the CPG world, maybe the biggest challenge we face is:

👉 The inability to uniformly define, validate, and label ‘regenerative’ as a product-specific claim.

There is a lot of conversation and many opinions on how we can make that happen.

But sometimes, I feel like we’re just talking in circles, and maybe it doesn’t even matter?

So I was excited when someone like Justine Reichman, who is not working on these sorts of topics every day, validated that she sees the same issue as a conscious consumer.

I’m grateful she had me on to discuss this important topic and a few others!

🌱 Whole Foods Market and Mad Agriculture Launch National Effort to Wild U.S. Farmland

• Whole Foods and Mad Ag launch biodiversity highway initiative connecting farms and wildlands to restore native ecosystems, improve soil and water health, and build climate resilience across U.S. farmland — starting in Wisconsin’s Lowery Creek Watershed.

• Backed by $1M in co-investment, the program promotes perennial crops and regenerative practices as a scalable model for future food system infrastructure — with support from leading brands like Applegate, OLIPOP, Bob’s Red Mill, and more.

• The initiative anchors Whole Foods’ 2024 Impact Report, which details major sustainability milestones including 301 certified regenerative products, 34M pounds of food donated, and continued leadership in pollinator protection and emissions reduction.

🫒 California Olive Ranch has become the first North American olive oil producer to receive regenerative certification from A Greener World, marking a major step forward in sustainable farming. Alongside peers like Enzo Olive Oil and McEvoy Ranch, the brand is proving that soil-first practices like cover cropping, composting, and precision irrigation can boost resilience, improve quality, and future-proof olive production. (Forbes ↗)

👏 Hickory Nut Gap co-owner Jamie Ager has entered the NC-11 Congressional race, bringing his fourth-generation farming roots and regenerative business experience to a campaign focused on service, pragmatism, and rural revitalization. Ager aims to bridge political divides in Western North Carolina by championing working families, sustainable agriculture, and community-driven solutions. (Smoky Mountain News ↗)

🌾 Wildfarmed and TRIBE have expanded their regenerative oat bar lineup with three new flapjack flavors now available in the UK exclusively at Sainsbury’s, marking their first major retail launch. Made with 100% regeneratively grown oats, the bars aim to bring climate-smart snacking to the mainstream while supporting soil health, biodiversity, and low-impact farming. (Kamcity ↗)

🌿 Regenerative agriculture is taking root in the wine world, with top vintners in Europe and the U.S. adopting soil-first practices like no-till farming, cover cropping, and animal integration to grow healthier grapes and craft more expressive wines. As interest in climate-resilient vineyards grows, regenerative wine is emerging as the next frontier — promising better flavor, fewer additives, and a deeper commitment to land stewardship. (Worth ↗)

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