Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/333548
1 4 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | J u l y - A u g 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m account for 60%. Managing ground water, improving conservation and increasing above-ground storage capacity can mitigate drought loss- es, she said. There is good news, however. North Coast wineries and grow- ers have experienced a second consecutive year of record-setting yields, and consumer demand for wine is strong. "We are past frost season and that required no water for protec- tion, so we are finding our ponds pretty full," said winemaker, Gus- tavo Gonzalez of Mira Winery in St. Helena. "There is also still plenty of moisture in the ground, which means we won't be in a hurry to irrigate. Keep in mind, however, that hydric stress is directly corre- lated to wine quality, and so we are always very careful with our water use, drought or no drought," Gon- zalez said. When the well is dry, Ben Frank- lin said, we know the worth of water. "There is proactive, progressive movement on water," noted Brad Sherwood, community and gov- ernmental affairs manager for the Sonoma County Water Agency. "If we don't implement some type of ground water management plan, the state will come do it for us," he said. While some wells have failed, most are still viable. Frost fears have passed and Northern Califor- nia grapegrowers are participating in public forums on water. Ross encouraged landowners to get even more involved and to team up with tech experts and collaborate on best practices. "A missing element is a commit- ment to protect water rights," Ross said. "In the past, some farmers and ranchers tended to delegate to water districts. They have tended to be disconnected. "Water is what brings us all together," she told conference attendees. "We have to feed 2 bil- lion people. We need it for the $100 billion tourism industry… Having a beautiful state requires a responsi- bility to keep California beautiful." 707 938-1300 WWW.ACROLON.COM ® t8JSFMFTT5BOL5FNQFSBUVSF$POUSPM t'FSNFOUBUJPO4UBUVT'SPN"OZXIFSF t#SJY5FNQ1VNQPWFS5SBDLJOH t&NBJM"MBSN/PUJmDBUJPOT t1SPEVDUJPO4PGUXBSF*OUFHSBUJPO t5FNQ)VNJEJUZ$0/JHIU"JS t&OFSHZ4BWJOH'VODUJPOT POUSPM XIFSF OH O S Brad Sherwood of the Sonoma County Water Agency says the state will imple- ment a ground water management plan if it's not done on the local level. Carlsen & Associates 707-431-2000 "All of the Customer Service from Carlsen & Associates is great. They schedule and provide a maintenance program for all of the equipment. We are very happy with the performance and reliability from all the C&A equipment." Grant Hermann Bennet Lane Winery Calistoga, CA