Local winery earns Regenerative Organic certification for expanded estate
Announcement follows Booker’s recent acquisition of a 27-acre vineyard from neighboring Caliza Winery
– Booker Vineyard & Winery has announced that its newly expanded estate has been designated as Regenerative Organic Certified, confirming that the property meets global standards for soil health and farmworker fairness. The announcement follows Booker’s recent acquisition of a 27-acre vineyard from neighboring Caliza Winery, which has been incorporated into the existing Booker estate in the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles.
Booker’s original estate was already certified by California Certified Organic Farmers and Regenerative Organic Certified, and these certifications now extend to the newly acquired acreage. Senior Vineyard Manager Hilary Graves said the process to achieve certification for the expanded property was accelerated due to its prior organic farming practices.
“The previous owner, Carl Bowker at Caliza, had been farming these vines organically for several years, and we were able to demonstrate this track record with the certifying bodies,” Graves said. “Additionally, the vineyard is now being farmed by the same team and practices that earned Booker these certifications in the first place. For these reasons, we were able to increase our Regenerative Organic Certified acreage relatively quickly.”
Graves added, “Every vine on the expanded estate now officially reflects the high standards that we set for ourselves when it comes to farming and social responsibility. The first thing I did was tell our whole team, ‘This is yours to take care of and to treat just like our existing estate.’ They were really happy, they didn’t miss a beat, and they rose to the challenge of this new responsibility.”
In addition to the certification milestone, Booker has been named the 2024 recipient of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance’s Environmental Steward Award. The award recognizes “the business that has undertaken the greatest effort to ensure their operations are managed with the best ‘green’ business standards.” The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance announced the award last week.
The Environmental Steward Award highlighted the efforts of Graves and her team in advancing Booker’s commitment to sustainable farming. The award statement noted that Graves’ work had led Booker to California Certified Organic Farmers and Regenerative Organic Certification, halved vineyard water use, and introduced sustainable practices such as sheep grazing, falconry, and drone-based beneficial insect deployment. The statement added, “Hilary takes it to another level by traveling the country, spreading the word that organic and sustainable farming is not only affordable but essential to our survival.”
Booker Vineyard’s commitment to organic farming began in 2006 under the leadership of Founder-Winemaker Eric Jensen. “For every problem, there’s an organic or regenerative solution,” Jensen said. “You have to work and think harder to find it, but that just makes you a better farmer, and a better steward of the land and the community.”
