WILDER, Idaho — Idaho has one of the fastest-growing wine regions in the country. But at one winery, nestled in the rolling hills of Wilder, they're taking a little bit more time and effort to create some exceptional wines focusing on sustainability.
At Kerry Hill Winery, they say their passion for wine is being infused into the care of the vineyard every day.
"If you have a winery, people want to know your stories. I thought, ok, I'm going to do this all-natural. I want to have the best vineyard I can," said Mindy Mayer, the owner of Kerry Hill Winery.
Kerry Hill's efforts have been recognized with a very special certification. The winery held the LIVE certification, which can be awarded to growers in the Pacific Northwest, from 2020-2022. The Wilder winery is working on renewing that certification for 2024.
"LIVE is a nonprofit organization. We support environmentally and socially responsible winegrowing practices in the Pacific Northwest. We do this through certification as well as educational programming," Isabelle Tobe, LIVE's Communication Coordinator, said.
Tobe adds the certification was officially created in 1997 when vineyards were looking for a way to certify their work.
The LIVE guidelines and standards are backed by science. A group of international sustainability researchers verifies their practices. Tobe said that any time LIVE wants to change its standards, like adding or removing an allowed pesticide or fertilizer, it has to be tested by researchers. Any product that is LIVE certified is also "salmon-safe" and "bee-friendly."
"We define salmon safe as how we can best steward our lands to protect watershed health that protects salmon," said Brian Muegge, the Farm Program Manager for Salmon Safe.
This includes techniques like managing water efficiently, erosion prevention, and pesticide reduction.
"We have about 90 chemistries that we've identified, which are deleterious for watershed health and salmon. So, as a grower you opt into not using those," Muegge added.
It's a choice that is an investment for growers and producers. Opting out of using some of these pesticides and fertilizers can be a lot more expensive.
Specifically, at Kerry Hill, they use various techniques to encourage the natural species to work in harmony with the winery, including owl boxes, bat boxes, raptor poles, and bee boxes. The owl boxes and raptor poles support birds of prey that will eat rodents. The bat boxes will help limit bugs and the bee boxes encourage pollination.
There's also an acre and a half of land dedicated to native plants to support a variety of pollinators.
"It's a lot of extra work. I'm crazy. I don't know how else to put it," Mayer laughed.
They say their labor of love extends into the treatment of the vines as Mayer also keeps sheep. When those sheep get sheared, Kerry Hill keeps some of the wool and puts it around the vines' roots.
"There are three things this is good for. This is good for retaining moisture, number one. Number two, it's antimicrobial. And number three, it will reflect (sunlight) up and help the grapes ripen faster," Mayer elaborated.
Mayer said people love it when she tells them about all the different methods Kerry Hill uses in its vineyards.
"Katherine Cole is a wine writer. And she has a quote that says, 'wine is the gateway drug to environmentalism'," mentioned Tobe.
"It really is a cool intersection to be at, with sustainability in the wine industry. Consumers are already interested and intrigued by the growing of grapes and land practices already...So it's a great opportunity to start talking about environmentalism and climate action," Tobe said.
Kerry Hill is one of three LIVE members that have held this certification in Idaho. Bitner Vineyards and 3100 Cellars are the other two. Across the Pacific Northwest, those numbers are higher, with 329 vineyards and 34 wineries LIVE certified.
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