Mushrooms, Permaculture, & Bioremediation Workshop article from SRP Deomocat on Bynum Winery where workshop is happening

Sat Jul 22 00:05:22 PDT 2000

http://www.newslibrary.com/deliverppdoc.asp?SMH=543802

IN TUNE WITH THE VINES 

Published on Sunday, July 2, 2000 
© 2000 The Press Democrat 

By by Peg Melnick
Staff Writer  |  

Davis Bynum is a maestro.
At 75, the balding vintner with chapped, ruddy cheeks walks through his
vineyard imaging a Bach concerto.
While some growers treat their vineyards with pesticides and commercial
fertilizers, Bynum wants to treat his vines to the finer things of life ( this
part was left out of article posted on SR Press Democrat website I put back in
from orginal newspaper article )
This summer Bynum, the owner of his namesake winery, plans to pipe classical
music into his vineyard in the Russian River Valley.

``I haven't figured out quite how to do it, but I'm definitely going to do
it,'' Bynum says. ``Everything I've read about it indicates the vines really
respond ... it makes them healthier.''

Of course vines, like people, have preferences.

``The symphony is going to overwhelm them and rock music they don't seem to
like,'' Bynum says. ``But a Bach concerto is just going to make the best wine,
theoretically.''

Bynum grins.

Call him a transcendental farmer, a man who has raised organic grape
growing to
a high art, a man who sees a vineyard seething with life and vitality ... a
man
convinced vines, like people, are inspired by music.

``I feel very strongly that I can walk through the vineyard and really feel a
kinship to the whole thing,'' Bynum says. ``Just a feeling that you're
preserving nature or that you're shepherding nature.''

For Bynum, the key to success has been obvious.

``Any idiot can make wine but he has to be a tireless idiot,'' Bynum says.
``Winemaking takes enormous work and attention.''

A reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle in his 20s, Bynum worked his first
48-hour day when Harry S. Truman was elected; he decided in his 30s he was
tireless enough to become a winemaker.

Why wine?

``It's sort of like being a printer," he says, shrugging his shoulders. ``The
ink gets in your blood and you can't ever shake that. I was totally turned on
by the process of fermentation and the clarification and aging of wine.

Of course, these days Bynum is ``making wine'' in his vineyard.

``There are so many improvements with the techniques of vine growing in the
last couple decades,'' Bynum says. ``Anybody who doesn't pay attention to his
vines is never going to have the kind of wine that he could have, I don't care
how good a winemaker he is.''

The test lab

An organic grower, Bynum is looking for ways to make a better bottle of wine
outside of the tank. He has a three-acre ``test lab'' at his winery to study
water conservation and insect management, among other organic practices.

The ecology-minded call him a pioneer.

``I just hate it when I see the vineyards, and I won't name names, but there
are some around here that spray their vineyards to death,'' Bynum says. ``I'm
surprised those vines are still alive. I really am.''

At first glance the three-acre spread is a weave of mounds and ditches, rows
upon rows, each a few feet apart. The concept under study is water
conservation. The ditches serve as holding tanks to prevent run off, keeping
the moisture in the ground so irrigation isn't necessary.

Meanwhile the mounds are sprouting a unique food forest with a commingling of
grape vines, pomegranates, Sea berries, and cluster kiwi among other crops. A
buffer of trees -- olive, prune and apple -- surround the food forest.

``I hate to see Sonoma County become just a mono-culture,'' Bynum says. ``I
can
understand people bumping their apples out. It just distresses me to see it
happen.''

Bynum concedes three acres makes not a multi-culture, but he's hoping this
food
forest will inspire other growers in the county to see that they can make a
profit on crops aside from grapes.

As for the mounds and ditches, if the system truly conserves water, Bynum
hopes
to expand it throughout his 20-acre vineyard. Yet another design element Bynum
might expand is the buffer of fruit trees designed to lure troublesome insects
away from the vines.

Bynum's son Hampton, also an inspired organic farmer, initiated the test lab
idea.

``I applaud the winery,'' says Brock Dolman, the director of the Permaculture
Program for Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. He's also a co-founder of the
Town Hall Coalition.

Dolman says he knows of only one other vineyard in Sonoma County that has
developed a Permaculture design (a site of mounds and ditches) like Bynum's,
and it's not associated with a winery.

An organic grape grower for nearly two decades, Bynum says he was deeply
inspired by ``Pleasant Valley,'' a book he read in his 30s about a
self-sustaining farm in Ohio with pristine farming practices.

``I think the book crystallized for me thoughts I might have had on that and
brought it all to a head,'' Bynum says. ``It made me stop and think about
methods of farming. In the garden prior to that I'd use sprays if there were
bugs on the roses or mildew on the begonias. Now I just don't do that. I just
don't think it's necessary."

Weathering wine

It's a good thing Bynum has perspective and gives Mother Nature equal billing
in winemaking. Otherwise he might be distressed that his star winemaker, Gary
Farrell, is leaving this summer to open his own winery.

``It's sort of like losing a family member and having him go off on his own,''
Bynum says, ``but he's going to be consulting with us.''

Farrell, one of the best winemakers in the business, has been on staff for
more
than 25 years. ``Davis is one of the kindest, gentlest most enjoyable people
that anyone can imagine to be associated with,'' Farrell says. ``It's been a
wonderful relationship.''

Farrell says he plans to keep close ties with Bynum as a consultant as well as
a potential partner in future projects.

In addition to producing Davis Bynum wines, Farrell has bottled under his own
name and he has a cult following. In fact, Farrell's star status has raised
the
profile of Davis Bynum wines, particularly its pinot noir.

How will the winery fare without Farrell?

Bynum is upbeat. After all, he has weathered plenty as a winemaker and a
vintner and he has managed to survive.

Transitions are never easy -- but his first had to be the most wretched.

After 15 years at the Chronicle editing Sunday garden stories and other
features, Bynum decided he wanted to spend his days in nature's company. But
making his vision a reality was a terrible strain.

``Both of our kids could have expected a more normal existence than we were
able to give them because of the fact that we were pouring everything into the
winery,'' Bynum says. ``Energy. Money. Everything.''

Hampton was 16 when they began their winemaking crusade and Bynum's daughter
Susan was 13.

``We jumped into a void so to speak and landed on our feet,'' Bynum says.
``I'm
not just proud of myself, but I'm proud of my wife and my kids because the
early years of the winery were really tough.''

Today, the winery is still a family business. Bynum is at the forefront of
finances; Hampton runs more and more of the day-to-day operations; Susan
handles billing and shipping; and Bynum's wife, Dorothy, oversees the
gardening.

The winery produces 14,000 cases of wine each year, specializing in Russian
River pinot noir. The Bynums own and farm 26 acres -- 20 in the Russian River
Valley and 6 in Dry Creek Valley.

``I asked myself if I knew then what I know now, would I have done it,'' Bynum
says, reflecting. ``I think I would have because I was so obsessed with the
concept of making wine.

A smile creeps across his face. ``I'm old enough to know better but I still
love making wine."

Cultured

When you buy a bottle of wine, chances are you pay attention to its vineyard
designation. But did you ever stop to consider whether the vines were cultured
-- whether they were reared on Bach or Vivaldi?

This summer on Westside Road, up on a hilltop, Bynum's vines will begin to
appreciate the finer things in life.
PHOTO: 2 color by Press Democrat

1: Davis Bynum finds a beetle along his Westside Road vineyard. The plants he
is tending to attract harmful insects and their predators, forming a natural
barrier for the wine grapes.
2: The Davis Bynum winery produces 14,000 cases of wine each year. 

Mushrooms, Permaculture, & Bioremediation  September 9 & 10, 2000    

- Charmoon Richardson, event co-ordinator 

Questions? 707-887-1888
                    mycoperm at webtv.net 

Mushrooms, Permaculture, & Bioremediation     

                      Featuring Paul
Stamets 

Learn how to integrate mushroom cultivation into Permaculture gardens
and land restoration projects within the context of a three-acre
Mediterranean Food Forest garden. Hosted by Davis Bynum winery and
Sonoma Permaculture, this knowledge packed weekend course will introduce
participants to several extremely talented mushroom authorities,
permaculturists, and chefs. 

Saturday will feature Paul Stamets of Fungi Perfecti, author of *Growing
Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms*. Paul will discuss both the integration
of edible and medicinal mushrooms into Permaculture gardens, and the
application of higher fungi to habitat restoration & bioremediation
(restoring health to polluted land). Lunch will feature the talents of
Nit Bynum, who will prepare Thai-California cuisine incorporating crops
gardened on-site. The day will end with light foods and a tasting of the
Bynum's award-winning wines. 

On Sunday, Tom Alexander of Bemushroomed, and Charmoon Richardson of
Wild About Mushrooms, will discuss building and operating a small-scale
mushroom cultivation laboratory. There will be a demonstration of
procedures for growing oyster mushrooms, which includes each participant
making & taking home a oyster mushroom kit, which will produce mushrooms
within weeks. In addition, there will be a session devoted to
inoculation of oak logs and wood chips with several varieties of gourmet
& medicinal mushrooms. Relevant educational materials will be provided.
Lunch will include a mushroom cooking demonstration & mushroom-filled
meal. 

Register now. Participation will be limited to allow for individual
contact with the instructors. 

DATE:               September 9 & 10, 2000 

LOCATION:      Davis Bynum winery 
                          8075
Westside Rd.
                          Healdsburg,
CA.   95446 

COST:              $350 (both days)
                          $225
(one day) 

CHECKS TO:   Wild About Mushrooms 

MAIL TO:           Permaculture Weekend
                          PO
Box 1088
                          Forestville,
CA   95436 
(please include name, address, phone, etc.) 

INFORMATION: Charmoon Richardson 
                            707-887-1888
                            mycoperm at webtv.net

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