Happy New Year 2025!
Co-owners Tom Croghan & Polly Pittman
Just as we aim to farm in the service of nature, we seek to farm in the service of our community. In the spirit of reporting to our community “shareholders,” I offer this 2024 review. It’s lengthy, but there is much to report: a fantastic harvest, widespread recognition of our environmental approach, and the slow emergence of plans for our next chapter.
2024 Vintage in Review
Most vintages in the mid-Atlantic are a struggle, characterized by too much or too little rain, late frost, and excess humidity. The most recent season wasn’t one of them; we had a spectacular vintage.
After a very wet winter, the mostly dry season offered the calm, smooth rhythm we hope for (but never plan for). With plenty of chill hours, bud break began mid-April at 76-degree days, marking the first time since 2021 that vine phenology was in sync with the rest of the ecosystem. Over the next few weeks, temperatures dipped below freezing four times, but the wind machines limited frost damage to small areas of the West Vineyard. Nature hinted at authority, keeping us alert and thoughtful, but we avoided crushing blows.
Nearly perfect bloom weather meant an excellent fruit set. Record hot, dry weather during June and July limited disease pressure and sped the march toward ripening. Veraison appeared on July 15, the earliest ever. Two inches of rain over the next week refreshed the vines, the cover crops, and their human tenders to make a solid push to harvest.
Nighttime temperatures also dropped as low as the mid-40s, rising into the 70s in the afternoon during mid-August and early September. This diurnal variation is perfect for ripening, slowing sugar accumulation and evaporation while promoting flavor and phenolic development.
Sauvignon Blanc grapes on their way to the press.
We started picking the Sauvignon Blanc on the north slope of the East Vineyard on August 26 and quickly moved through the remaining Sauvignon and Chardonnay, finishing on August 30. The Sauvignon Blanc acids and flavors held up admirably despite the excessive heat of the summer, making this vintage our best ever. The Chardonnay was somewhat less resilient but still excellent. We wish we had more volume, but the vines are recovering from three years of significant frost damage from 2020 through 2022.
After a week-long break, we leisurely picked 2.5 tons of Cabernet Franc from the swale in the South Vineyard. We took this fruit directly to the press and fermented it in stainless steel to make an exceptional Reserve Rosé, one of our most sought-after wines.
The vendanges peaked on Thursday, September 12, when an early nor’easter started moving up the east coast from Florida. The team harvested 23 tons in an extraordinary effort, picking from dawn to dusk over six days. The last fruit arrived on the crush pad at noon on Tuesday, September 17, one hour before thirteen days of rain began. Kurtis and Katie then wrapped up the season with two weeks of 16-hour days in the cellar.
Cabernet Franc hanging on the vine.
Part of the harvest team after the last block of grapes was picked.
Overall, we harvested 39 tons of outstanding fruit. While about 12% less than the 2023 vintage record, the balance and quality could not have been better. In many ways, the 2024 vintage demonstrates that luck is the confluence of preparation and opportunity. The vines tolerated the drought because of the increasing soil organic matter, the transition to Guyot Poussard pruning, and a knowledgeable, committed team willing to put the mission before themselves.
With the satisfaction of having outrun the rains, the 2024 vintage offered a happy break from the usual chaos of the growing season, evoking Johannes Linstead's Between Tears. It allowed us to stretch our skills in new ways, fusing a decade and a half of growing and winemaking experience with the complexity and diversity of the natural world to create the signature harmony, balance, and depth we seek. The result is perfectly summarized in Emmanuel Pahud and Jacky Terrasson’s elegant Aprés un Rêve (after a dream).
Thumbs up to a great vintage.
New Threats and Old
While it was a lovely vintage, it still brought worry. Two new threats arrived at Dodon this year. Both can devastate a vineyard and are typically treated with intense insecticide applications. In each case, we’ve opted for a different path.
Spotted Lanternfly, or SLF, is an invasive planthopper that feeds on sap, robbing the plant of essential nutrients. While it can feed on many trees, its preferred hosts are the invasive Ailanthus trees, also known as Tree-of-Heaven, and grapevines. Adults are active in August and September during the harvest, swarming into some vineyards by the millions. In many cases, wine quality is compromised. Sadly, in some instances, SLF takes enough nutrients that the vines cannot survive winter dormancy. One colleague in Pennsylvania lost 35 acres of vines early in the SLF epidemic.
Recent research has shown that birds and other SLF predators leave them alone when they have fed on Ailanthus but eat SLF when they feed on different plant species. We have thus aggressively eliminated Ailanthus trees around the vineyard, hoping that natural predators will substantially reduce the SLF population size. When we found adult SLF almost exclusively on dead or dying Ailanthus in August, we left them in anticipation of cutting down those trees in December, thus allowing us to eliminate any SLF egg masses laid in the upper branches.
Discolored grape leaves can be a symptom of Pierce’s Disease.
We’re also taking a landscape approach to reduce the impact of another new arrival—Pierce’s Disease, or PD. PD is a bacterial infection caused by Xylella fastidiosa and spread by leafhoppers such as the broad-headed sharpshooter. Xylella and sharpshooters are commonly found in our region, but infection in grapevines has been controlled until recently by cold winters, which limited bacterial survival in the vines.
The conventional approach to treating established Xylella infections is vine removal and intensive insecticide applications during May and June when sharpshooters are active. But as my colleague Sam Droege of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bee Lab reminds us, we can’t spray our way out of an endemic condition.
Just as with humans, the crucial step in controlling the consequences of any infection, in this case, Xylella, is to ensure healthy plants that are resilient to disease and the conditions that aggravate it. Xylella infects the xylem, the plant’s vascular structure that carries water and nutrients from the roots to other tissues. Plants with robust immune systems – for example, with plenty of phytonutrients like Vitamin C – living in healthy soil with aggregate structure to store water will tolerate infection. This is likely why we did not observe the typical signs of Pierce’s Disease until the extreme drought conditions of last summer, while many of our neighbors observed signs and symptoms much sooner.
As with Ailanthus, we are modifying the landscape outside the vineyard to reduce the spread of PD. Broad-headed sharpshooters prefer wetland habitats like the area that connects the South and East Vineyards. To make this area less hospitable to sharpshooters and Xylella, we’re removing invasive and dominant plant species, like mugwort, multiflora rose, and native grape vines, and replacing them with aromatic mints, such as bergamot, elderberry, and willow. The result will benefit the environment and the vineyard while also providing edible plants that we plan to use for non-alcoholic beverages, herbal teas, and medicinal purposes.
Spotted Lanternfly found on Ailanthus tree trunk.
I want to recognize the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Spotted Lanternfly division and the team from the Integrative Ecology Lab at Temple University for helping to scout and develop an eco-friendly approach to what could be a damaging SLF infestation. We also thank Sam Droege and my colleagues Paulo Pereira and Emmanuel Bourguignon from the Living Vineyards project for their help envisioning the wetland restoration project.
For most sectors, environmental challenges loom on the horizon. But for wine growers, they are here. One example is the recent story of our colleague Stephen Cronk and his wife, Jeany. They sold their Information Technology business in London and moved to a Provence vineyard. Since purchasing the property west of St. Tropez in 2019, they've contended with severe frost and wildfires. (If you look through the charred timbers in the linked picture, you can see how close a 2021 fire came to their home.)
Stephen recently sent even more devastating news about their “nightmare” 2024 vintage, including frost, hail, rain during the harvest, flooding, and mudslides resulting from wildfire-induced vegetation loss in the hills that abut the vineyard. Stephen’s vintage summary for the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation, an organization he founded in response to concerns about his property's resilience, is included in RVF’s December newsletter.
In the Anthropocene, every region and every person faces new climate risks every year.
Other News
Hannah, Eleanor & Kurtis celebrate the end of a busy harvest season!
Babies and Such: On the human front, we were thrilled that, right after the summer bottling, Dodon team members Kurtis and Hannah welcomed their first child, daughter Eleanor. Kurtis was back by harvest, ready to lead the cellar work. Then, as we settled the last 2024 red wines into their barrels for the élevage, my son, Ian, and his wife, Michaela, welcomed their son, Kepler. Both babies are happy and healthy, bringing us additional joy. In between, Katie and JJ got married.
White House Initiative: In June, we joined the White House’s America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge, becoming the first vineyard operation in the United States to do so. Led by Sara Gonzalez-Rothi, Senior Director for Water Quality (and a Dodon wine club member!), this partnership of 235 organizations seeks to preserve and restore freshwater ecosystems that provide us with food and water, protect our community from floods and storms, and offer a source of recreation and beauty. We are honored to be part of this extraordinary group of committed environmental leaders.
Wine Enthusiast Nomination: In September, Wine Enthusiast magazine announced that Dodon was among five nominees for its American Winery of the Year Award. As a relative newcomer, being included among legendary Napa Valley wineries like Schramsberg Vineyards is humbling. The winner, La Crema, is owned by the Jackson Family, founders of the International Wineries for Climate Action with Familia Torres. Jackson Family participates in the Porto Protocol’s Living Vineyards project, which I help lead. We salute the Jackson Family team and their work to ensure a better environment.
While our nomination was nominally related to our sustainability practices, as highlighted by Civil Eats, it truly reflects the team's commitment, dedication, and passion. Regina creates the collective effervescence that unifies a talented group to achieve shared goals that are collectively bigger than us. Katie’s critical thinking solves seemingly intractable challenges. Hannah’s grace, elegance, and wine knowledge make our service sparkle. Roberto’s persistence, enthusiasm, and devotion inspire all of us during summer’s dog days.
Promotion: Changes to the vineyard team have become a regular occurrence this time of year. I’m excited to announce that Kurtis will become Dodon’s winemaker in the new year. During his two years as Assistant Winemaker, Kurtis has demonstrated the initiative, determination, curiosity, and independence to take on this new role. He is also an extraordinary team player, eager to learn and contribute to all aspects of the business, including hospitality and financial management.
Couscous & Quinoa, Dodon’s KuneKune Vineyard pigs.
Pigs (yes, really): We’ve added Quinoa and Couscous, Kune Kune pigs from New Zealand, to the vineyard team. With weak neck muscles that prevent them from nibbling on leaves and fruit, Kune Kunes (pronounced Koonie Koonie, meaning “fat and round” in Māori) will graze the vineyard during the growing season to control weeds and add diversity to the soil microbiome, complementing the sheep droppings. Their short, upturned snouts also limit rooting and soil disturbance. And their gregarious disposition makes them great companions for the guard dog Willa, the ewes, and, of course, us humans!
New Evidence on Effectiveness of Agroecology: I have discussed our agroecological practices in a prior post, Farming in Service of Nature. At the time, these measures had solid experimental support, especially from the Jena Experiment, but their application in our vineyard was based mainly on intuition, listening to nature, and anecdotes. It’s reassuring that new research in real-life settings is validating our decisions. In a study in two Italian vineyards, researchers found that cover crop height is inversely proportional to fungal pathogen dispersal. A second study from Mendoza demonstrates the benefits of spontaneously growing grasses and forbs on carbon storage and biodiversity in row middles, albeit in a very different climate from Dodon’s.
Wine and Health: My past work in mental health policy has followed me into the world of wine. I have stepped down after a decade as Chair of the Maryland Wineries Association Government Affairs Committee. This year, I was asked to join the WineAmerica Board of Directors to advise the organization on health issues. Alcohol, in general, and wine, in particular, have complicated effects on health. Assessing these effects with any precision is difficult. I enjoy working on these kinds of questions.
In December, a committee convened by the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine released its most recent evidence review, which Felicity Carter nicely summarized in the trade press. Sadly, mainstream journalism has rejected the conclusions of the world’s most objective, apolitical, authoritative scientific body. Continuing to report that alcohol consumption in any amount is detrimental to health ignores the possibility that wine with dinner likely poses little risk for most people, and it may bring benefits to our health, which, as the World Health Organization reminds us, goes beyond disease prevention to include one’s wellbeing.
The Next Chapter
The wine industry may be at the forefront of the climate catastrophe, but all agriculture is approaching the firing line. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report “State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture,” agriculture’s current industrial model is destroying itself and us with it. The report details the alarming damage to the biodiversity that sustains crop production. It describes our reliance on an increasingly small group of species, the destruction of habitat and land-clearing, and the unsustainable use of resources. And this is just the consequence of biodiversity loss. Extreme weather, drought, rising temperatures, and degraded soil add to the challenge.
The magnitude of the challenges ahead of us is daunting. The possibility of the food system collapsing is increasing, yet our political leaders have failed to act. Experts proposed a national food policy a decade ago. In 2019, the Eat Lancet Commission created a “planetary health” diet to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve health. Still, we have yet to produce a national or state food policy or to incorporate climate change into our national dietary guidelines.
Without political leadership, businesses and individuals are trying to implement the necessary changes. Doing so will be more complex and challenging than it should be without public leadership. Only the government can coordinate and finance an effort of this size and ensure the benefits and costs are equitably distributed. But, as Paul Hawken writes in The Ecology of Commerce, “The promise of business is to increase the well-being of humankind through service, creative invention, and ethical action.” We must still do our part.
At the Vineyard, the “triple aim” approach I proposed two years ago has served us well as a roadmap. Over the past decade, we’ve used the planetary boundaries framework to enhance biodiversity, reduce eutrophication and pollution, and remove carbon dioxide from the environment. We’ve been transparent when reporting our successes and failures.
In this context, we have begun to plan new farming operations to create a sustainable food source. While still in the early phase of the new project, which I call the “Do Your Part Initiative,” here are five key components of the vision that Polly and I have developed:
Converting the tree plantings to the north and east of the East Vineyard to a silvopasture that combines the benefits of trees and hedgerows with grazing.
Adapting the current grazing areas to silvopasture by planting 350 apple trees will also allow cider production.
Adding a “potager” or chef’s garden in the bowl between the winery and the South Vineyard will create what we hope will become a beautiful entrance to the winery that produces food.
Developing a “food forest” garden west of the Sauvignon Blanc blocks (West Vineyard), including picnic areas for our Wine Club Members.
Establishing a nonprofit “Learning Center” to provide apprenticeships for beginning farmers, bring together established fruit and vegetable producers to create new markets, and educate the public and policymakers about agroecology.
We would welcome your input as we continue to shape plans. We are most excited about crafting a vision of what a just, ecological society could look like. It’s doing our part.
As always, we are deeply grateful for your support. Happy New Year!
