(August 22, 2024 — Healdsburg, Calif.) Amista Vineyards, located in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County, announced today that it has received organic certification for its Morningsong Vineyard from the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). The award comes as the winery celebrates 20 years as a leader and innovator in Healdsburg’s vibrant wine community, focused on producing a range of sparkling wines and Rhône varietals.
For two decades, Amista has been committed to constantly improving its practices, both in the vineyards and in the wines it crafts, and this organic certification is just its latest achievement. Organic wine is made from grapes that are farmed without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, creating wines that use very few additives.
“After reviewing the CCOF database, I was thrilled to discover that Amista Vineyards is the first and only winery in Sonoma County specializing in sparkling wines made exclusively from organically certified grapes,” said Vicky Farrow, proprietor of Amista Vineyards. “We have always placed a great deal of importance on being sustainable and good stewards of the land, and this was the next logical step. Moving forward, all of our estate wines will be labeled organic. I want to acknowledge and give special thanks to our talented winemaker Ashley Herzberg for her visionary leadership in helping us attain this significant milestone.”
Ashley explains Amista’s goals for the project evolved as they went through the process. “Originally, our goal was to make better wines with native yeast and higher nutrient levels when the grapes came into the winery. We believe that healthier soils produce better fruit, which in turn produces better wines. We also wanted to protect the huge investment we made in replanting over half of our vineyard in 2018. While we have been farming organically for years now, I’m excited to be able to share this news with our customers and those who like to make organic choices whenever possible.”
Amista’s commitment to the environment extends outside of the winemaking process as well. Vicky and her late husband Mike were also part of a group of community leaders that worked to restore Dry Creek and at the same time recreate a vibrant habitat for endangered Steelhead trout and Coho salmon. They built their tasting room with energy efficient insulated concrete forms and added solar panels.
To read more about Amista’s path to organic certification and see photos from the first day of the 2024 harvest, including the team’s “blessing of the grapes” ceremony, visit https://www.amistavineyards.com/blog/Amista-Morningsong-Vineyard-Achieves-Organic-Certification.
About Amista Vineyards
Amista Vineyards, established in 2004 by Vicky and Mike Farrow, produces delectable sparkling wines in the Méthode Traditionnelle and refined Rhône varietals from its certified organic estate in Healdsburg, California. Amista is loosely translated in Spanish as “making friends,” and that spirit is part of the experience awaiting visitors at the winery’s idyllic tasting room in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley. For more information or to book a tasting, visit www.amistavineyards.com.
