Nature and nurture join forces at Forest Edge Vineyard, a micro-sized winery on a 45-acre site in the foothills of Oregon’s Cascade Mountains where Ron Webb and Jan Wallinder churn out “extraordinary everyday wine.”
I was intrigued by this phrase and by the couple’s commitment to farming by the principles of Permaculture, a design system co-founded in 1978 by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. Permaculture design consists of assembling components into a pattern that will benefit life in all its forms. While organic and biodynamic methods are gradually taking root in viticultural circles, Permaculture is infrequently mentioned.
Ron Webb’s interest in all things growing began in the late 1970s when he completed Master Gardening training through Oregon State University. In 1982, he was part of the first full-blown Permaculture Design Course in the United States. For Ron, a minister by training, Permaculture is a framework for expressing his philosophy of life.
“I became convinced that the earth is God’s and we are merely tenants. As tenants, we are responsible to the owner for how we treat the land. Our [society’s] current view, that land is a commodity to be used and abused as it suits our purposes, seemed to fly in contradiction to that view.”
Ron and Jan weren’t thinking wine in the early 1980s when they settled in the Willamette Valley AVA, now a premier wine region especially prized for Burgundian-style Pinot Noir. The couple’s overriding goal was to live sustainably. But they soon recognized the Jory silty clay loam and south-facing slopes rendered the site perfect for grapes. They started by planting easily adaptable Chardonnay on the land sloping slightly to the west and the more “persnickety” Pinot Noir sloping slightly to the east to maximize the morning sun. They also grow and vinify Léon Millot and Gamay.
Living sustainably pervades every aspect of managing their land.
“Our home and buildings have been sited to be a part of the landscape and designed to be energy efficient and sustainable. Most of our farm is mixed age, mixed species forest which we manage using the criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).”
Their apples and pears (for hard cider) and grapes are grown and processed onsite. They use organic methods—copper at certain points in the growing season, but also organic sprays and mineral oil, cinnamon oil, biologicals and botanicals as needed—and minimize inputs in the winemaking process. When they need to intervene, they use winemaking products that are Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI)-listed whenever possible. They use and reuse neutral oak barrels, among other reasons, to reduce the impact on oak forests. Wine labels are printed on recycled paper, and the ink and adhesive are both “green” products. They use corks from FSC-certified forests.
Moreover, Forest Edge belongs to corkreharvest.org. Corkreharvest is a program for recycling used natural wine corks. The collected corks are shipped to Western Pulp and Paper in Eugene, Oregon, where they are ground and used in making “pulp” shippers for wine bottles. The wine shippers they use—Vintner’s Choice—are made from 100% recycled paper (minimum 99% post-consumer). They also take their wine bottles back, so they can reuse them and thereby reduce their carbon footprint.
Pricing is an essential part of their commitment to sustainability and what they mean by “extraordinary everyday wine”—a product that is approachable and affordable. They sell their wine locally and direct to consumers. To save costs and further reduce their footprint, they dispense with capsules after corking the bottles.
Ron and Jan are currently in the process of placing a working lands easement that will protect their land as sustainable farm and forest land in perpetuity.
I caught up with Ron recently when he was taking a break from chores around the farm.
What is “extraordinary everyday wine”? Is there any contradiction?
Our goal is to demystify wine and get more people drinking wine on a regular basis. We are working with nature to make extraordinary everyday wine and playing with words there—updating the vin ordinare concept to being good wine every day. We are bringing ordinary wine up a few notches.
How would you define your winemaking style?
I would say our style is Permacultural/Burgundian/Oregonian. We are basically estate grown, so for us it all begins in the vineyard. We established the vineyards to allow the vines to develop as naturally as possible. We gave them a trellis to climb on. We let them grow amongst themselves. We minimally prune to mimic browsing. We let the native vegetation in the aisles grow to provide habitat for beneficial insects. And we try to “listen” to what the vines are telling us and let them direct the wines we make each season.
Stylistically, we follow a Burgundian approach, filtered through a Willamette Valley foothills terroir. At harvest, we destem and lightly crush the grapes and cold soak from two to seven days. We then press the Chardonnay into neutral oak barrels. We barrel ferment for both primary and secondary fermentation and barrel-age sur lees for a minimum of two years. After cold soaking the Pinot Noir, we ferment in totes and press into neutral oak for secondary fermentation. The wine is aged sur lees in barrels for a minimum of two years.
Our hard cider is made in the Méthode Champenoise [traditional method]. We also produce Chardonnay as a sparkling wine using this same method. Right now, we’re getting ready to disgorge a sparkling rosé. We’re a two-person operation—we do everything by hand. We average 500 cases a year—more some years, fewer other years.
Why don’t we hear the term “Permaculture” more often in connection with winemaking?
It’s a puzzle. Younger practitioners are using the term “regenerative agriculture.” In the early ‘80s, when I took Permaculture design courses, it was just beginning to develop as a philosophy and practice. It was debated at the time whether Permaculture should have certifying requirements. It was decided it would develop on its own, so it has no real certifying body. Biodynamics has a certifying agency [Demeter]. USDA is a certifying agency for organic.
How does Permaculture contribute to soil health and ultimately grape quality?
One of the best definitions of terroir—ecology of a wine – is an interrelated environment where the grapevine is cultivated for the purpose of making wine. This definition includes the cultural and social milieu in which all that takes place. This includes the people as well. For better or worse, we are part of the terroir. In the vineyard, we try to have the native vegetation be part of it – grapes are introduced into the native soil. We manage those elements so that everyone benefits from the relationship. For me, Permaculture is more of an overarching design principle. Permaculture can bring in other things, like organic and biodynamic. These concepts can be used under the broader umbrella of Permaculture design. They are not mutually exclusive.
What have been the benefits of Permaculture to you and to others?
Permaculture has informed and guided us throughout our farming odyssey. We employed permacultural principles when we were looking for land. We used those principles to determine how best to integrate ourselves into the land that we chose (and that chose us). We have relied on Permaculture to guide us in winemaking and marketing decisions. Using permacultural principles, we have been able to develop a sustainable viticultural and oenological approach that allows us to live successfully for the long term on a particular piece of planet earth.
What has been your greatest success?
What are the keys to your success?
The key to my success is having met and married my wife. Having a partner who shares your vision and your commitment is critical to the process of implementing that vision over time—especially a vision that is not mainstream. Mutual respect, cooperation, communication and enjoying working together are some of the keys to our success.
What have been the major challenges
you’ve faced?
Like many small farmers, making enough income from farming—especially in the beginning—can be a challenge. Usually, someone needs to work at another job to make the farm viable.
When we bought our land, it was undeveloped—which was one of the attractive aspects of it. The challenge has been developing and implementing the diverse elements of our vision in some sort of order over time. Having an overall plan/vision and keeping that in mind through the ups and downs has been both a challenge and a boon.
In terms of wine, the challenge has been sticking to a scale of production and marketing that is sustainable for us. The temptation is to grow—to increase production, increase marketing efforts, increase distribution, etc. These are all reasonable things, but aspects that would strain our commitment to appropriate scale sustainability. Economy of scale means there are only two of us, and this is as much as we can do. This is the key to sustainability for us.
What lessons have you learned by having a sustainably managed vineyard?
One of Bill Mollison’s quips is that modern agriculture is based on thoughtless and protracted labor, and Permaculture is based on thoughtful and protracted observation. What I would add to that—from my years of sustainable vineyard management—is that it takes thoughtful and protracted labor to implement the thoughtful and protracted observations.
Would you do this again, and why?
Yes. What gives us joy and challenge and satisfaction is giving concrete expression to our vision of living sustainably with all the other inhabitants—feathered, furred, leafed—of the land we call home. Would we do some things differently? Certainly. But the overall vision and process has been an ongoing blessing—however disguised at times.
Tasting notes
2014 Chardonnay, 14.1% alc., $13 – Fresh and crisp, ripe red apple and apple blossom on the nose, lemon peel on the finish. Medium acidity. Bronze winner in both the 2017 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition and 2017 Cascadia Wine Competition.
2015 Pinot Noir, 12.9% alc., $15 – Subtle and fruit-forward, red and sour cherry on the nose, strawberry on the finish with a hint of forest floor. Medium acidity. Smooth tannins.
© Linda Whipple, CSW. All rights reserved.