"WAITER! - THERE'S A WASP IN MY WINE"

While Carmel Valley's Heller Estate does not float wasps in their premium wines, rather than employing chemical sprays they do release predatory wasps on the vineyards to keep the undesirable insect population away. These tiny wasps (not the human-biting species), attack, for example, the eggs of the leaf-hopper s which are so destructive to grapes. To provide a home on the vineyards for these natural predators, the vineyard has planted French prune trees around the property in which trees these wasps flourish. Predator mites are also released into the vineyards to pre upon other destructive vine-damaging mites.

This is the opening act to the drama of organic farming, as practiced by Heller Estate.

Among the ambitious program's recently undertaken by the vineyards (most notable, the "marriage of art/sculptures and wine", special musical soirees, etc.), the project of organic farming has been given priority and, as a result, all of the grapes grown on Heller Estate have now been CERTIFIED 100% ORGANIC - apparently, only one of the very few vineyards in California so officially certified.

To receive official certification for organically grown grapes, the vineyard must adhere to strict organic farming methods, such as:-

1. Pest management control, as mentioned above - not using any pesticides or unapproved organic chemicals for insect control.
   
2. For soil management, no herbicides are employed, and the desired results are accomplished by using the organic matter left following the crushing an pressing of grapes, which is then spread in the middle of the vineyard rows, in order to build the matter content of the vineyard soil.
3. Weed management, is controlled by planting cover crops, which also provide an effective habitat for other beneficial insects, such as vineyard spiders.

While implementing these methods are costly and labor intensive, the philosophy of the vineyard is that they are contributing not only to the ecology and environment, but alsoo to wine consumer's health, in particular, concerns about pesticide residues in wines.

Is short, they are producing chemical-free grapes, without pesticides nor herbicides. They believe that, in the long run, they shall produce even better quality fruit and healthier vines, which live longer - certainly a sound, additional investment.

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION:


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