Skip to main content
Currently Reading
California s droughts sometimes make better wine - but they re bad for the industry overall. Here s why
California s droughts sometimes make better wine - but they re bad for the industry overall. Here s why
What the extremely dry conditions may mean for the harvest season ahead, in this week s Drinking with Esther newsletter
FacebookTwitterEmail
Burned grapevines at the Silverado Trail on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020 in Calistoga, Calif.Paul Kuroda / Special to The Chronicle 2020
This year is shaping up to be a very dry one in California. Coming off of an already-dry 2020 the third-driest year on record since 1895 the state has gotten only a fraction of the precipitation it would need to replenish water supplies. Even with some possible rain on the horizon soon, experts say it’s unlikely to make a difference in the overall situation.
How a tiny urban vineyard in San Francisco is trying to transform California wine
The Two Eighty Project wants to be a vehicle for social justice, not just tasty Pinot Noir
FacebookTwitterEmail
1of3
Christopher Renfro and Jannea Tschirch tend to vines at the 280 Project vineyard.Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
2of3
Christoper Renfro with daughter Ahmarie, 3, at Alemany Farm.Stephen Lam / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
3of3
Christopher Renfro with his daughter Ahmarie at the 280 Project, a vineyard inside Alemany Farm that he farms with partner Jannea Tschirch (second from right).Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
On a lush, overgrown hillside overlooking Alemany Boulevard and Interstate 280, Christopher Renfro is growing a tiny, but potentially important, vineyard.
Behold: The Monarch - Ag s First Electric, Self Driving Tractor That Makes Organic Farming Even More Eco-Friendly
A new tractor just hit the market and it promises to revolutionize it with the same savvy as anything on Elon Musk s plate.
For years I and many others have haunted viticulture equipment shows (including EcoFarm and Unified Symposium) looking for the electric tractor of our dreams. There have been minor forays into the category, but none had the power, versatility or intelligence to be the Holy Grail.
That s all changed with the introduction of the new Monarch tractor, which debuted on local TV news this week. See the video news story here.
Left to right: Mark Schwager, president, Carlo Mondavi, chief farming officer, Praveen Penmesta, CEO, Zachary Omohundro, CTO
A compact, smart, electric tractor has been on the wish list of sustainably-minded winegrowers the world over. With no significant advances in tractor technology for more than a decade, the arrival of the Monarch tractor represents the missing link needed to fast track the integration of precision agriculture and address the growing labor challenges confronting the wine industry.
After spending five long years in development at Motivo Engineering and almost two years in trials in Northern California, the Monarch electric tractor (e-tractor) which takes its name from Carlo Mondavi’s sustainability initiative the Monarch Challenge, made a quiet debut at the Unified Symposium in early 2020.