® ur 100% Biodynamic gardens are a critical Fruit Trees part of farming here on the Quivira Estate. Planted along the perimeter of the gardens you’ll At the heart of Biodynamic farming is the see an abundance of pear, apple and peach trees. Ocommitment to create a diverse, self-sustainable estate The majority of the fruit trees have been chosen that focuses on the health and vitality of the soils in our from the Ark of Taste list. While we help to preserve vineyards and gardens. We believe this gives our wines these exceptional heritage varietals, the fruit the fullest expression of the exceptional Dry Creek from our trees will be featured at estate dinners, Valley terroir. sold at local restaurants and grocers and used in our preserves which are available in the Tasting About Biodynamic Farming Room. To learn more about Ark of Taste, visit www. At its simplest, Biodynamic farming uses the energies slowfoodusa.org. that create and maintain life to establish a rich, healthy, self-sustaining biodiversity. On our estate, this means Flowform Water Feature treating the soil as a living organism and working to & Garden Pond keep the vines and the soil in balance. One of the most striking features of the Quivira gardens is the intriguing flowform water sculpture Sustainable Farming is a widely used term with no and pond found in the center of the garden area. official legal definition. Flowforms are not only aesthetically pleasing, they Welcome Organic Farming is growing plants without the use also serve a vital purpose. By design, flowforms use of synthetic insecticides, fungicides and fertilizers. opposing vortices and rhythms to both oxygenate to the the water and enliven and improve the overall Biodynamic Farming feeds the soil, keeping it health of the water and the pond. vital and healthy with complex organic preparations. Quivira Gardens Biodynamic is 100% certified organic, but also taps Our flowform has seven separate stages, divided into the earth’s natural cycles to achieve balance into three distinct areas. The top and bottom areas between the soil and the plants. are vigorous forms with cascading water, while the middle is a slow rhythmic area. This combination of If you would like to learn more about Biodynamic slow and vigorous movement of the vortices and farming principals, we offer various books in the tasting the cascades creates a more dynamic state. room on the subject. We use these same principles of rhythm and vortices Spread out before you on our one-acre garden you will find 120 to enliven the water used within our Biodynamic Prep Tower, raised garden beds, fruit trees, a bee hive, a 1/3-acre chicken which sits just beyond the flowform water feature. coop and run, a greenhouse, the Biodynamic prep tower and the flowform water feature that feeds our garden pond. Biodynamic Prep Tower We have chosen many plant varieties from the Ark of Taste list of All of the Biodynamic preparations for our gardens and endangered foods threatened by industrial standardization (part vineyards are prepared in the Prep Tower. Here we brew many of the Slow Food USA movement) to preserve these exceptional specialized teas from the plants in our garden that are applied heritage varietals. We invite you to enjoy a leisurely stroll through throughout the year in the vineyards. The vessels we use to the gardens and enjoy the seasonal beauty of Biodynamic dynamize many of our Biodynamic treatments are located farming in action. Visit the Tasting Room after your tour to explore within the tower as well. This process involves stirring a very products produced from our gardens and orchards. small portion of an application such as horn manure or silica into rain or well water and spreading the dynamized mixture Garden Beds to the soils of the garden and vineyards. The 120 raised garden beds you see are a constantly changing landscape. Seasonal plantings are rotated with fallow beds to Bee Hives ensure the soil remains healthy and vital. Our plantings are open- We keep one of our bee hives here in the garden, to encourage pollinated which enlists the bees help to ensure pollination and pollination of our open-pollinated produce varieties. We also allows the seeds to be collected and reused. The gardens are keep bee hives out near the goat pen and under the fig tree in fertilized with compost and Biodynamic prep solutions produced our Sauvignon Blanc vineyard. Our hives are Biodynamic and here at the estate. replicate a bee’s natural environment by using only natural The fruits and vegetables grown in the garden are featured at our products, encouraging the comb to be created as it would wine club dinners, sold at local restaurants and grocers, and used be in the wild, and by being stationary to give the bees a to produce a variety of products available in our Tasting Room. permanent home. With bee colonies threatened throughout A number of beds are used to cultivate plants that become part the world, we consider it vital to help support their continued of our vineyard preparations. Nettle, yarrow, chamomile and health and survival. The bees play a valuable role in pollination dandelion, among others, are added to our compost and applied throughout our estate, and the honey from these hives is in the vineyards as a tea. The specific properties of these plants destined for the Tasting Room, where you can purchase help the roots, leaves and fruit of our vines achieve a natural jars to take home. For more information on our hives, visit balance. Nettle, for instance, helps counteract the adverse www.themelissagarden.com effects of too much sun exposure in the vineyard. Chicken Coop Restaurant Markers for Our guests often comment on the exceptional living the Healthcare Foundation conditions of our chickens, who are allotted a full 1/3 acre to You will notice a number of signs throughout the garden roam and enjoy the beautiful Dry Creek Valley weather. Our featuring local restaurants and food purveyors. These signs chickens’ eggs are used for estate events and are sold to local indicate the beds selected by local chefs in support of the restaurants and grocers. Chicken manure is an important Healthcare Foundation of Northern Sonoma County, which part of our composting program as well. In keeping with provides high-quality, affordable healthcare to those in need the Biodynamic theme of diversity, we have many different here in Sonoma County. breeds, including: Black Frizzle Cochin • Antwerp Belgian • Black Tailed White In exchange for a donation to the foundation, Quivira has Japanese • White Laced Red Cornish • Buff Japanese committed five beds to each participant to contract grow the Black Cochins • Golden Polish • Dominiques produce of their choosing. Twice a week, Quivira delivers fresh Cuckoo Marans • Partridge Rock • Silver Laced Wyandottes organic produce for chefs to incorporate into their seasonal specials. We encourage you to support these restaurants and Composter food purveyors during your stay in Sonoma County Wine Country. Behind the Chicken Coop is a small composter, a nod to the nearly ½-acre, 200 yard compost pile we maintain out near Cow Horns the vineyards. Compost plays a vital role in our farming. We As you wander through the gardens, look for the marker that incorporate the dry waste from the grape harvest, chicken indicates where cow horns are buried in the soil. The use of cow and goat manure and garden clippings into our compost, as horns is one of the best-known (but perhaps least-understood) well as organic cow manure purchased locally. components of Biodynamic farming. Hollow horns from female cows are packed with manure or ground quartz (silica) and buried Greenhouse at the equinox. The horns’ shape energizes the mixture within Our greenhouse is an active place throughout the year. Using and, when unearthed in the Spring, the contents have achieved the year round warmth of the greenhouse, we are able to raise a remarkable bacterial activity. The cow horn contents are starter plants from the open-pollinated seeds that we collect dynamized in water in the Prep Tower and applied to the vineyards, and save throughout the year. Thus, the greenhouse is the restoring the health and vitality to the soil and grapevines. seasonal source of renewal and new growth for our gardens. "At Quivira, we pursue a sustainable, holistic approach to growing grapes in an effort to craft truly distinctive wines that speak to our unique Dry Creek Valley terroir. Our deep commitment to this goal runs parallel to our commitment to take care of the environment and give back to our community.” – Pete Kight, Owner, Quivira Vineyards & Winery
4900 West Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, CA 95448 p 800 292 8339 f 707 431 1664 quivirawine.com
Tentative Seasonal Vegetable List:
Plant Type Plant Variety Growing Season winery KALE Tuscan Dinosaur All Year Ursa Red Russian All Year Siberian White Russian All Year ONIONS Ailsa Craig White Spring Sweet Red Spring ARUGULA Sylvetta Wild Spring / Summer chicken run BEANS Runner Spring / Summer French Spring / Summer PEAS Snap Spring / Summer CUCUMBERS Lemon Spring / Summer Soyhu Green Spring / Summer GARLIC Inchelium Red Spring / Summer Italian Lorz Spring / Summer KOHLBABI Dyna Spring / Summer SQUASH Costata Romanesca Zucchini Spring / Summer Black Beauty Spring/Summer/Fall Butternut Summer/Fall Kobocha Summer/Fall Red Kuri Summer/Fall CHARD Bright Lights Rainbow Spring/Summer/Fall LETTUCE Amish Deer Tongue Red Spring/Summer/Fall Amish Deer Tongue Green Spring/Summer/Fall Romaine Spring/Summer/Fall SPINACH New Zealand Spring/Summer/Fall White Summer / Fall
Red Summer / Fall garden picnic area CORN Sweet Summer/Fall EGGPLANT Snow White Summer/Fall Rosa Bianca Summer/Fall PEPPERS Hinkelhatz Hot Pepper Summer/Fall California Bell Summer/Fall POTATOES Rose Finn Fingerling Summer/Fall All Blue Summer/Fall ROOT VEGETABLES St. Valery Carrots Summer/Fall Dragon Carrots Summer/Fall Yaya Carrots Summer/Fall Bulls Blood Beet Summer/Fall TOMATOES Valencia Summer/Fall Brandywine Summer/Fall Orange Oxheart Summer/Fall WATERMELON Moon and stars Summer/Fall BROCCOLI Di Cicco Winter Purple Sprouting Winter CABBAGE Cairo Express Winter Savoy Winter CALIFLOWER Purple Cape Winter
Garden Beds Restaurant Markers for the Healthcare Foundation Cow Horns Fruit Trees Flowform Water Feature & Garden Pond Biodynamic Prep Tower Bee Hives Chicken Coop Composter Greenhouse