REGENERATIVE ORGANIC FARMING AT BOOKER
“As farmers, we have an opportunity to heal the planet and to turn back the clock on climate change.” - Hilary Graves.
We are proud to share that our 60-acre estate was officially designated as Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC™) starting in the fall of 2023, following certification from California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) in 2021. These milestones are the culmination of our sustainable farming journey that began nearly 20 years ago. “Regenerative viticulture draws inspiration from nature,” says Farmer-Winemaker Eric Jensen, who founded Booker Vineyard in 2001. “It takes organic farming a step further to create a discernible improvement to the ecological and social function of the farm and community. This is something we’ve always strived for at Booker.”
Soil health is a driving aspect of Regenerative Organic Certified®. Soil health practices required by ROC™ include cover cropping, composting and limited tillage. By layering on ROC™ to Booker’s organic certification, Vineyard Manager Hilary Graves was ultimately able to meet an even higher standard that reflects her agricultural ethos.
“I believe that farmers have more power than any other occupation to efficiently capture carbon and hold it in the soil,” Hilary says. “We grow plants, and plants take carbon out of the atmosphere and move it to their roots, so we have this immense opportunity to help offset climate change.”
This is why we maintain a healthy cover crop and avoid frequent tillage at the Booker estate. These practices include working with a local herder whose sheep graze on our winter cover crops. “The sheep enable us to enjoy the benefits of a robust cover crop—including nitrogen fixing and carbon capture—without compacting the soil and burning fossil fuels to run a tractor-mower,” Hilary says.
"Everything we make starts out as a raw agriculture material, but our team has the talent and passion to turn it into this magical thing." - Hilary Graves
Regenerative organic agriculture is a collection of practices that focuses on regenerating soil health and the full farm ecosystem. Our ROC™ certification affirms that our vineyard meets not only the highest standards in the world for soil health, but also farmworker fairness.
Farmworkers are skilled professionals whose work is sometimes underappreciated,” Hilary says. “On a broader level, food security is a matter of national security, which is why the farmworker profession is something to respect and take seriously. This starts with a living wage and a dignified working environment.”
For Eric, ROC™ ultimately reflects a commitment to seeking the better way in all aspects of farming: “For every problem, there’s an organic or regenerative solution. 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.”
While Eric began practicing organic farming in 2006, he eventually saw the merit of seeking official certifications as a means to reinforce Booker’s dedication to wellness and transparency. This led to the CCOF certification, followed by ROC™.
Any form of chemical poison, pesticide, herbicide or fungicide is disallowed at the Booker property. All soil amendments are certified organic and come from natural sources. We also employ biodynamic practices as an added means to stay in unison with the environment and its natural cycles, and the vineyard and winery are both powered by solar energy.
These practices not only foster a healthy ecosystem, but also elevate the experience of Booker wines. “What I see from these practices is that the wines have a more precise sense of place over time,” Hilary says. “I believe that this signifies a quality difference as the wines reflect the place they came from more and more as time goes on, and they become even more identifiable as coming from the Booker estate.”
Our estate in Paso Robles boasts several unique tasting rooms—from limestone caves to indoor-outdoor terraces—we offer an array of different settings to fit your every mood. We are operating by reservation only at this time.