Blaine Brazil and Jim Rickards and J. Rickards Winery
Tell us about the sustainable and eco-friendly practices at the vineyard: We employ a number of sustainable winery and vineyard practices including:
- Mulching and composting of vineyard pruning and mowing between the vine rows
- Cover cropping native grasses, clover, wild mustard, and wild radish
- Recycling 100 percent of the winery’s wastewater through “Sanitation In Place”
- We capture water from property with two maintained on-site ponds which attract native wildlife, waterbirds, and birds of prey
We encourage natural predators of potential vineyard pests by providing Bluebird boxes, Tree Swallow boxes and Barn Owl boxes. We are part of an annual Barn Owl Maintenance Program (BOMP) affiliated with Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue.
Tell us about the varietals you make: We produce an Old Vine Zinfandel and a Reserve Old Vine Zinfandel from our Brignole Vineyard, planted in 1908. We also produce four additional proprietary Zinfandel labels. Other reds include Grenache, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Reserve PS, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve Cabernet and four blends. For white, we focus on Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Muscat Blanc, Semillon, Viognier, and one white blend.
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