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BY Emma Roberts PHOTOGRAPHY Silas Fallstich and Heather Daenitz

Have you ever sat in a stupor while drinking California wines, falling in love with the idea of owning a vineyard with your one and only? There is an overpowering feeling of sweetness when I think of living on a farm, growing grapes, working harvest, and sipping wine with my true love. But that all vanishes when you’re living in a city and spending so much time working a corporate job that you don’t have the bandwidth to even contemplate the glory of farming your own land.

And yet, “Wanting to be different than the Jones,” as Anna from Solminer Wine Company puts it, is exactly what she and her husband David are doing. Shortly after getting married, Anna was reminiscing about her native Austrian Gruner Veltliner wines. Not finding many options for this grape varietal in Central Coast California, and feeling ambitious, she and David decided to create wine together.

Beginning in 2012, they purchased their initial land to plant Austrian varieties. It was a small, 12-acre property, and several mentors and vineyard managers encouraged them to be as hands-on as possible. They learned the trade from the help they were getting. Both of their skill sets were beneficial as well—Anna has an engineering degree, and David comes from a musical background. These were instrumental in implementing sustainable and creative ideas.

Through trial and error, Anna and David learned that when you don’t till the ground, it holds the carbon, which helps the soil flourish. They challenge the idea of keeping a “clean” looking vineyard, meaning tilling and stripping

“ everything away, and pose the question: how can a vineyard survive if you remove all the nutrients it needs to develop? When taking them away, it usually means one has to add fertilizer and chemicals to protect it, which makes it less natural. Keeping the microbiol network can help the uptake of the nutrients into the plant.

David and Anna note that when looking at organic fruit, you may find it more sunkissed, not as big, and with a few blemishes. The vineyards have to fight off insects, which builds character. It is a long-term investment to farm organic vineyards—for the plants, and the consumers.

The first time they stood in a vineyard, the manager told them to use glyphosate, which accompanies conventional farming. David and Anna were disillusioned, as glyphosate kills the gut biome of plants, essentially an antibiotic. The pair wanted to use their own homemade probiotics—also known as compost, courtesy of their donkeys (Molly, primarily), dandelions, chamomile, and food scraps. Animal integration is important to them—sheep grazing and fertilizing the land feeds the microbiome in the soil, which will become nutrients for the vines. They want to be self-sufficient in their food system and keep it local. The pair are not trying to cover up anything and are as natural as can be, as sulfur added to wine can affect one’s health. They began certified organic, grew into being biodynamic, and now practice regenerative farming.

“Wine is about passion,” David states. And indeed it is—Anna remembers that her Austrian family had a farming background, which inspired her to start her decades-long project with the love of her life. Some of her most unique wines are Austrian varietals such as Gruner Veltliner, Blaufränkisch, Muscat, and Saint Laurent.

Anna and David’s mission is clear: protect the life in the soil, don’t kill it.

Not too far from Santa Ynez, near Santa Rita Hills, proprietors Sonja Magdevski and Greg Brewer work hard at regenerative farming as well. Having been married six years, they share the same facility, but their brands are separate. Sonja has been making wine for over nineteen years, and has Casa Dumetz, Clementine Carter, and The Feminist Party to her name. Greg has been in the business for thirty years, and enjoys his craft at Brewer-Clifton, Diatom, and Ex Post Facto.

Wanting to keep the highest integrity for their wines, Sonja spends every waking moment thinking about how to make it better. The power couple are especially mindful about shipping costs, labels, and glass bottle choices, because these are things they can control for sustainability. Both enjoy being present and thoughtful in their winemaking, and hope that is translated to the guest. They want the evidence to be in the bottle, and if the consumer is there to taste and learn, hopefully they can experience the care they put into their work.

“Wine is about joy, and about finding pleasure and everyone coming to the table,” Sonja reminds me. She values knowing their farmers and collaborating with their regions. Similar to Solminer, she and Greg have animals in the vineyard to help with the regenerative farming, noting that everything plays a role in the final product. Sonja explains, “If you’re not integrated in the wine making process, then none of it makes sense, as the resulting wine reflects your level of understanding of your grape growing.”

Sonja and Greg’s passion for wine is palpable. “When you open a bottle of wine, you open up a landscape that will never be re-created. Everything that went into that bottle is present in that bottle, and hopefully that is translated without words. That’s the goal—for the wine to strike you with joy,” Sonja states, full of intensity and affection.

Having visited with both couples, the bright future of regenerative farming for wines seems unmistakable. Their fervor and dedication to their crafts speaks volumes, and the glee they sense when the vines get it right proves that they share best practices and want the best for the future. While holding a glass of Solminer Riesling, I reflect on how inspiring the couples are; their love for eachother and for changing common practices in order to give us the best quality wines is so profound.

I smile, and sip a little longer.*