Troon Vineyard: A Study in Sustainability

This Southern Oregon winery is working hard to meet consumer demands for environmental stewardship and transparency.

Today’s wine consumer is placing new demands on the wine industry that reflect broader trends in consumer preferences and societal needs. For many, sustainability and environmental responsibility, transparency and authenticity, health and wellness, and meaningful experiences are becoming greater priorities when making purchasing decisions. All these things combined may seem like a challenge for many wineries to achieve, but Troon Vineyard in the Applegate Valley in Southern Oregon is making a go of it, believing that “having it all,” may, in fact, be possible. 

The Transformative Years

Troon Vineyard was established in Southern Oregon by Dick and Virginia Troon, who planted vines in 1972, when it was just a cattle grazing property. In 2016, Craig Camp, a veteran fine wine professional, came to Troon Vineyard as general manager. With more than three decades of experience in every aspect of the wine industry, from importing, exporting, and distribution, to sales and marketing, viticulture, and winemaking in Italy, Napa Valley, and the Willamette Valley, Camp brought plenty of expertise to Troon. In 2017, Texas natives Dr. Bryan and Denise White purchased the property. 

Troon Vineyard was not in good shape when Camp and the Whites arrived. But Camp had a vision: to be biodynamic, and “organic just comes along for the ride,” he says. “As soon as I began to understand the vineyard and its problems, I believed that biodynamics would provide the framework and discipline to bring our soils and this farm back to life.”

Over the past six years Camp has replanted all 50 acres of vines on the 100-acre property. Within the first three years, Troon Vineyard received both organic and Demeter Certified biodynamic certifications for the vineyard and the winery. In 2020, they were alpha testers in the Regenerative Organic certification and were certified ROC in 2021. In 2022, Troon received the Gold ROC Certification, the highest level of certification, signifying the accomplishment of all three ROC pillars (farm, animal, and human). 

“The primary reason for biodynamic farming was wine quality in the beginning,” Camp explains. “But as our practice of biodynamics has matured, its meaning has grown and become more complex. Biodynamics, along with the regenerative organic certification, includes your farming and your involvement with the earth, the environment, and our people. We see our practice as intertwining all of these aspects.”

Today Troon Vineyard is a special place filled with passionate, experienced people. In addition to the Whites and Camp, the Troon team includes Garett Long, director of agriculture, who is a farmer and soil scientist with a Master of Science in Soils & Biogeochemistry from UC Davis, and winemaker Nate Wall, who also holds his master’s degree in science.

In the Vineyard

At Troon Vineyard, the concept is to bring in as little from the outside as possible. Instead, they do everything they possibly can on the property. “Life begets life and the more diversity in the vineyard creates an equilibrium,” Camp explains.

Diversity in the vineyard includes a food forest consisting of edible flowers, fruits, berries, herbs, and trees. This food forest mimics a forest ecosystem which captures sunlight at different layers. Long explains that the food forest allows for “interaction on the farm that we can cultivate.”  

There is also a vegetable garden and a greenhouse. In the greenhouse, nasturtium brings in healthy bugs like ladybugs, who in turn attack bad bugs like aphids. There is a pond with fish and frogs which attract ducks and geese whose feces adds to the organic material of the vineyard. 

There are sheep, chickens, and dogs on the property, as well as owls and hawks who hunt rodents. Troon also sources manure from the organic dairy farm next door. There is a fertility barn that houses vermi (worm) compost that is used to make teas that can be put through the irrigation system or sprayed. This infrastructure enables Troon to be one of the only farms making their own biodynamic preparations.  

Practicing biodynamics and regenerative organic farming has been “an evolution with a level of faith of the unknown,” explains Camp. But soil health is microbiology, which is the essence of biodynamics. “When you have soil health, you have plant health,” adds Long. “And plant health means fruit health.” 

In the vineyard, the red grapes, except for Syrah and Negrette, are head-trained. For new vines, Troon has its own rootstock and propagates its own vines. Cover crops include radish, mustard seed, oaks, and peas for biomass. In addition, the Daikon radish is a beneficial deterrent to insects due to its spicy taste. In the established vines, the permanent cover crop is a diverse mix with perennials. The vineyard is mowed but there is no tilling in the vineyard, allowing water to be absorbed into the soil, building structure. The concept is to feed the system, not destroy it. 

In the Winery

This concept continues in the winery. Gas is not used as it is not needed to make the biodynamic preps and, with no tilling, there is no need for a tractor. But, while biodynamic farming is an old way of farming, Troon is not afraid of technology. They have some electronic machines, including gators, utility cars, and electric ATVs. And, with the recent addition of solar panels on the property, Troon will bring in 153 kilowatt hours of solar array, enabling them to cover all the power needs of the entire winery.

Troon is looking to produce wines with clean fruit profiles that express the terroir. As a result, they have been moving away from using wood in the winery, looking instead for fermentation and aging vessels that help develop texture and aromatics, such as amphorae, which they introduced in 2021. Clay has different ions than the lees in wine and, as a result, the wine in amphora constantly moves creating a unique texture. Troon has also recently started working with pure concrete as it allows the level of oxygen exposure they want, while maintaining a steady temperature. 

For white wines, the grapes are always whole-cluster pressed and held in stainless steel for storage overnight. However, fermentation does not take place in stainless steel. Instead, amphorae, concrete, or neutral barrels are used. Red wines are also made with lots of whole-cluster in open-top fermenters outdoors. When heat is needed, the fermenters are moved into the sun and when cool temperatures are needed, the fermenters are moved to the shade. For Syrah and Mourvèdre, a reductive environment is not desired, so wood vessels are preferred as they breathe better. Troon uses upright wood tonneau for both fermentation and aging.  

The Wines

It might not be possible to fully understand the complex systems in nature, but once the wines of Troon are tasted, it becomes clear. The wines capture what is in the vineyard. Native yeasts are used for fermentation and there is no fining or filtering. The wines are all fresh and textured with great acidity, but each wine is distinct. 

Troon grows Rhône grape varieties, including Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Mourvèdre, and Syrah, as well Vermentino (known as Rolle in France). Troon also produces pét-nat sparkling wines, as well as Pétette, their own creation, which blends their pét-nat with piquette, made by adding water to the grape pomace to referment.

Beyond the juice itself, Troon is an equally environmentally conscious company when it comes to packaging. All wines are in bottles made from the lightest glass produced in Oregon. Troon uses a Diam Origine cork made with beeswax and not microplastics, and does not use foil capsules. In addition, Troon’s labels are made from remnants of sugarcane and cotton production, and boast designs from a local artist. Transparency is also a central tenet of the winery. The back of each label offers an ingredient list: simply, “Estate Biodynamic Organic Grapes, minimum effective sulfites.” Curious consumers can also take advantage of a QR code that brings guests to a page that includes technical details of the wine, winemaker notes, nutritional values, and video wine tasting notes. 

What’s To Come

Troon Wines is currently producing 6000 cases of wine annually and it will be another four years until they are in full production. In addition to adding solar panels, Troon opened a farmstand in 2023 where they sell the fruits and vegetables grown on their property. Troon has also started making vinegar in a biodynamic closed-loop system, and is planning to produce cider from the apples grown on site.

“We hope to show other wineries and farms of all types that farming this way is practical and profitable,” says Camp. “As we learn and grow, we make mistakes that we can share with others, so they don’t make those same mistakes. Biodynamics is truly a community with everyone sharing their experiences to help others move forward. No one farm is a model, but just a piece of the puzzle we are all trying to solve.”