Troon Vineyard - Druid's Fluid White, Applegate Valley, Oregon, USA (2020)

Troon is only the second winery in the world to be ROC Certified Regenerative in addition to being Certified Demeter Biodynamic.

Regenerative work stipulates organic and biodynamic farming first (to attain ROC certification, the winery must be certified organic and biodynamic first). Once those practices are well established, Regenerative farmers seek to farm the soil rather than the plants that grow above: the thought here is that the soil is akin to the human “gut biome,” which affects the health of the entire being that the gut supports. Another very important and relevant factor is to aid in carbon-sequestration, making the environment carbon-negative as well as self-sustaining. Practices like growing specific cover-crops, grazing animals and “no-till” (not tilling any of the ground beneath the vines or crops) all contribute to a regenerative environment.

With high-elevation and an arid climate southern Rhône grape varieties are much better suited here than the typical Pinot Noir, Chardonnay or Pinot Gris that one might have come to expect from Oregon. 

Winemaking is similarly carefully thought out. Grapes are hand-picked and field-sorted by the crew that tended to them all season long. Fermentations are always spontaneous and ambient. No new oak or additives are used, save for a tiny amount of SO2 at bottling. Amber wines (skin contact/”orange”) are now being raised in clay amphora; other vessels include cement and old French oak.