Dry Farming: What is it and Why Should We Care?

In recent years, dry farming has because a buzz term in the wine industry. Wine grape growers and other viniculture professionals understand the purpose and value of dry farming, but many casual wine enthusiasts don't, and we should. You may think that unless it affects the taste or price of your favorite vintage, you really don't care how the grapes are grown. Good news! Dry farming wine grapes directly impacts the price and quality of wine that ends up in the bottle.

Dry Farming 101

As a movement, dry farming is relatively new in American viniculture, but the practice is as old as wine itself. In Mediterranean regions, wine grapes and olive trees have been dry farmed for many centuries.

Put simply, dry farming is growing a crop with only the rainfall that's available. In zones that receive adequate amounts of moisture during growing seasons, dry farming is a natural way of growing crops, but many regions that are famous for growing wine grapes, such as California's Napa Valley, are also famous for receiving little if any rainfall during the summer months. Raising wine grapes without supplemental irrigation was practically unheard of in the U.S. a decade ago, but today the Napa Valley region alone has more than 1000 acres of vineyards that are dedicated to dry farming.

Dry farming is considered a sustainable agricultural practice because it doesn't deplete water resources which can already be lacking in dry, grape-growing regions. The practice does require specific methods of soil tillage and mulching that keeps moisture in the soil and directs rain water into a series of levees and ponds until the water is needed later in the season.

Benefits of Dry Farming

For the wine enthusiast the most important benefit of dry farming is probably the improved taste. Dry- farmed wine grapes are thought to produce wines that have deeper, richer flavors - literally not "watered down" by irrigation.

Labor costs for dry farming can be high, but in many cases they are not as high as the price of irrigating grapes. The end result may be a better and less expensive product.

Of course, dry farming is better for the environment, and all consumers should care about that. Vineyards that practice dry farming and other methods that decrease water usage are saving millions of gallons of water every year. That means more water for consumer use and for crops that cannot be dry farmed.

Dry Farming Taste Test

If you're not convinced that dry farming is worth the hype, invite a few of your wine-loving friends over for a blind tasting. Select a dry-farmed bottle (look for the term on the label) and a regular bottle of the same wine from the same region and see if your guests have a preference. No matter what the results, it's a great excuse for a wine tasting and you may just find a new favorite vintage.

Resources:
A View from the Rittenhouse: Sommelier's Talk
Greenopia: The Best Dirt on Dry Farming
USA Today: Some Wine Grape Growers Turning to Dry Farming Methods