Perennial vines remain in place for years, but that does not make a vineyard a static system. What grows between the rows, how the soil is disturbed, and how water and nutrients are managed all shape vine performance. In this video, vineyard manager Greg Pennyroyal explains how Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula, California, is changing those relationships.
A conversion across different vineyard blocks
Wilson Creek owns about 60 acres of estate grapes and manages roughly another 100 acres at different stages of conversion to regenerative practices. That staged process is useful because it allows the team to observe how individual blocks respond rather than assuming one treatment will suit every soil, variety and water situation.
Cover crops between vine rows are a central tool. They can protect the surface, support insects, add root diversity and provide organic material, but they also need active management in a dry climate where competition for water matters. The vineyard’s task is to build biological activity without compromising the vines or creating operational problems.
Judge the system by measured outcomes
Pennyroyal presents the vineyard’s experience and management philosophy; the video is not a controlled trial proving that every practice will work in every vineyard. Useful indicators include infiltration, soil cover, plant tissue results, pest pressure, water use, yield, fruit quality and the full cost of management.
The strongest lesson is the value of a monitored transition. Perennial farming gives managers time to learn from repeated seasons, refine species and timing, and connect soil changes with vine and wine performance.