Sustainability
Sustainability – like winemaking – starts with understanding the land.
Winemaker McPrice "Mac" Myers and his team create incredible wines while leaving the land better than they found it. The brand's strong sustainability commitment informs decisions in each vineyard block, where cover crops and composted grape pomace enrich the soil. Crews work in concert with the soil, drawing on organic, biodynamic, and regenerative farming practices to nurture healthy, long-lasting vines. They also employ water conservation techniques, solar power, and clean farming practices that help vines thrive without using herbicides or pesticides.
The McPrice Myers sustainability program extends well beyond land stewardship. Supporting the local community goes hand in hand with protecting natural resources and producing wines rich in style and depth.
Highlights of McPrice Myers’ holistic sustainability program include:
Winery
The McPrice Myers tasting room and the winery are powered by 100% solar energy.
The property guesthouse and a back well operate on a separate power grid.
The new hospitality center and tasting room include repurposed shipping containers.
Vines
Founder and winemaker McPrice “Mac” Myers believes vines are like people. Vines develop wisdom with age, which influences the fruit they produce. Well-established vines create wines that are increasingly interesting and intellectual.
The McPrice Myers Estate Vineyard was planted in 2007 and 2008. The vineyard team aims to produce flavorful, top-quality fruit for decades by using sustainable practices to support the vines.
The team tends to the vines by hand and treats them with care, making decisions tailored to individual grape types and the environments where they grow. For example, Director of Viticulture Aron Nevarez sometimes intentionally creates shatter to keep grenache clusters looser and more colorful.
The occasional use of fungicides (including sulfur and organic materials) prevents powdery mildew, which can form due to thick morning fog and humidity.
All weeding, pruning, shoot-thinning, and other vineyard management practices are done by hand.
Soil
The McPrice Myers team draws on organic, biodynamic, and regenerative farming practices that will keep soils and vines flourishing for decades.
Vineyard crews use pomace – the skins, stems, and seeds left after the winemaking process – as compost, adding rich organic matter that supports biodiversity in the soil.
Crews also plant beneficial cover crops each year. This seed cocktail of rye grass, fava beans, sweet peas, and other plants works like a multivitamin for the soil.
Cover crops and compost add nutrients such as magnesium and nitrogen back into the soil, regenerating the ecosystem and supporting long-term growing power.
Cover crops prevent erosion, and their roots create pathways that channel water deeper into the ground. The plants can eventually be disked into the soil or mowed and turned into soil mulch. Adding this biomass helps the soil hold more moisture.
Diverse cover crops attract diverse pollinators, including bees, butterflies, moths, and more, as well as other helpful insects that keep pests under control.
The vineyard team protects natural resources and promotes microbial diversity by employing no-till practices and avoiding pesticides and herbicides.
The McPrice Myers team is always learning and adjusts its farming practices according to current vineyard research, climate science, and changing conditions in the field.
Water
McPrice Myers crews clean barrels with steam rather than washing them, which saves a significant amount of water.
The team limits water use throughout the production process.
Thanks to deficit irrigation practices, vines are watered only at critical times during the growing season – not on a regular schedule. In years with heavier rainfall, the team irrigates less.
When necessary, vineyards are watered via an efficient drip irrigation system.
A leach field helps the team conserve water and maintain soil nutrient levels in balance. During excess rain, the field captures water from the soil, which is used for irrigation to prevent salts from building up in the soil.
Wildlife and pest management
To prevent damage from leafhopper infestations without using pesticides, the vineyard team releases ladybugs as leafhoppers are hatching.
Beneficial insects serve as a canopy management tool. In years when large canopies form, the team releases double the regular number of insects to help prevent disease.
The vineyard team maintains raptor boxes, providing homes for various raptor species that help control rodents.
We practice predator protection by leaving our native predators to do their job. Four of our team members are trained in humanely capturing and releasing rattlesnakes. When a rattlesnake is in an unsafe area, we can safely and carefully capture it and release it back on the property away from people.
Local bobcats help keep rodent populations in check.
Winery cats wander the property and hunt for mice while providing entertainment and friendship for our team. Say hi to Grayby, our friendly feral!
Community
McPrice Myers earned the SLO County Family-Friendly Workplaces Award in 2023 and 2024 for high-impact practices that increase organizational productivity while supporting employees' and their families' physical and emotional health.
The winery contributes generously to community fundraisers and events.