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Jackson Family Wines Earns Regenerative Organic Status

Some 663 estate acres are now Regenerative Organic Certified, roughly doubling the valley's certified total.

Jackson Family Wines Earns Regenerative Organic Status
Photograph by Brocken Inaglory / via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

NAPA VALLEY: Jackson Family Wines has achieved Regenerative Organic Certified status across its Napa Valley estate vineyards, covering about 663 acres and making it the valley's largest ROC producer. The milestone roughly doubles the valley's Regenerative Organic Certified acreage.

The recognition applies to the company's vineyards rather than the winery or finished wines, spanning areas such as Oakville, Rutherford and Howell Mountain. ROC fruit will flow through the portfolio, including labels such as Cardinale, Mt. Brave and Freemark Abbey.

The 663 certified acres span Oakville, Rutherford and Howell Mountain.
Photograph by Brocken Inaglory / via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The 663 certified acres span Oakville, Rutherford and Howell Mountain.

The certification process began in 2024, but regenerative practices including cover crops and no-till management were in place earlier, and the company achieved organic certification for the vineyards in autumn 2023. It is part of a long-term plan to farm all of the company's vineyards regeneratively by 2030.

Regenerative farming is the best methodology to not only achieve these two incredibly important maxims, but it has also enhanced wine quality beyond our expectations.

Regenerative Organic Certified builds on organic certification with additional standards for soil health and farmworker fairness. For wine drinkers, the seal will not appear on bottles: it certifies the vineyards, not the finished wines. The company says the value is in the farming itself, with Carpenter reporting that wine quality has risen even as volumes held steady.

Jackson Family Wines achieving Regenerative Organic Certified across its Napa Valley estate vineyards is a powerful demonstration of what leadership looks like at scale.Christopher Gergen, CEO of the Regenerative Organic Alliance

Gergen added: "We hope their commitment inspires more growers and wine producers in Napa Valley and beyond to see regenerative organic agriculture not simply as a set of practices, but as a pathway toward a more resilient future for farming."

Jackson Family Wines aims to farm all of its vineyards regeneratively by 2030.
Photograph by Brocken Inaglory / via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Jackson Family Wines aims to farm all of its vineyards regeneratively by 2030.

Winemaker Christopher Carpenter said the company's Napa estates have seen volumes hold steady while wine quality rose, countering the worry that organic farming means inferior wine or smaller crops. No-till soil management improves the soil's water retention, adds to carbon sequestration and safeguards the fungal networks that supply nutrients to the vine, he said.

As farmers it is our responsibility to maintain the health of the land we farm for the long term and to recognize the downstream effects we have on the Napa Valley community. Regenerative farming is the best methodology to not only achieve these two incredibly important maxims, but it has also enhanced wine quality beyond our expectations.Christopher Carpenter, winemaker, Jackson Family Wines

The announcement lands during a bruising stretch for the industry. Oversupply, weak demand and tariff fights have forced closures and layoffs across California wine country this year. Jackson Family Wines is betting that regenerative farming delivers both environmental and business resilience: an investment in farming practices that promise to hold up when weather and demand are both volatile.

Filed under: Wine Industry, regenerative agriculture, certification, jackson family wines, sustainability

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Tom Beckett
Wine Industry reporter
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