The Dirt

RSVnapa is a second-generation, family-owned and operated vineyard and winery guided by the principle that the craft of winegrowing begins with the care of the soil. Every vine for every wine was planted by RSVnapa with every vineyard certified* organic. One could say that RSVnapa is beyond organic. Since 1991, RSVnapa has been practicing the “whole farm” philosophy of interrelationships based on Rudolph Steiner’s 1928 lecture “Agriculture.” This approach addresses the damage done by modern, mechanized farming to heal an ailing earth, tapping into the rhythms of nature, encouraging natural processes to grow balanced wine grapes that require little more than attentiveness to craft into expressive, vibrant and living wines.

RSVnapa approaches the cellar with purist sensibilities. Winemaker Jeff Virnig provides the accumulated knowledge of nearly 40 years in the RSVnapa cellar and vineyards, crafting wines that are true to variety and place. The guiding principle that “wine is not an athletic event” has allowed RSVnapa to maintain a house style of elegance, balance and finesse. RSVnapa does not submit wine for review by score-centric critics, because to taste wine in a competitive atmosphere, without food on the table, rewards muscular wines that shout while ignoring well-crafted wines of subtlety and grace that compliment the table… attributes that define the fine wines of RSVnapa.

Nature hates a monoculture. RSVnapa’s vineyard land is primarily about grapes, but we also leave dozens of acres fallow with permanent wild areas and natural habitat for beneficial insects and predators. We want to take advantage of nature’s checks and balances to do the work for us. But more than that, RSVnapa is inspired by the historical farm.

Wilding Farm, acquired at the beginning of 2023, will become the epicenter of our activity after selling the winery in the Stags Leap District. A successful integrated farm models itself on nature with the right number of animals to balance the resources within a closed-loop, sustainable system. Sheep frolic all winter long in RSVnapa’s organic Capa Vineyard, noshing on the lush, nutritious green cover crops that grow between the vines; doing the work of a tractor and returning nutrients to the soil for the vines to enjoy. After birthing lambs in the spring, they have their wool sheared before the arrival of the heat of summer. The fleeces are scoured, carded and spun into beautiful, soft, naturally-colored wool on turn of the century machinery at the Yolo Wool Mill… and in the fall, a few grace our table. It is the cycle of life. The sheep reduce tractor use, enrich the soil, keep us warm with their wool and nurture us at the table.

We also want a farm whose produce informs the style of wine. Historically, wine was about the agrarian experience where the regional produce defined the wine; where food and wine grew up together with natural synergy. We hope to discover what wine varieties and style best express our farm and which wines have a natural affinity for the produce, meats and cheeses we will produce on our little piece of planet Earth. I am more optimistic now than I have been in years. The journey is just beginning.

*RSVnapa’s vineyards are certified by C.C.O.F. – California Certified Organic Farmers. As of the 2013 vintage RSVnapa no longer uses the trademarked words “Demeter” or “Biodynamic” – no matter, RSVnapa has not changed farming philosophy.