Vermentino regeneratively grown by Vino Farms in Lodi’s Clements Hills AVA for AVIVO Wines.
Ridgely Evers—called “Ridge” by friends, family and colleagues—is excited by the two latest releases under his AVIVO Wines label:
• 2022 AVIVO Ledbetter Family Lodi White ($20), crafted entirely from Vermentino grapes grown on an ultra-sandy riverbend bench site in Lodi‘s Clements Hills appellation.
• 2021 AVIVO Ledbetter Family Lodi Red ($20), consisting almost entirely of Sangiovese (with a smattering of Syrah) grown in even deeper sandy loam soils typifying the river banks on the east side of Lodi’s Mokelumne River AVA.
Mr. Evers, who owns the Healdsburg, Sonoma County-based DaVero Farms & Winery, has moved away from varietal identification on his AVIVO labels for primarily the following reason: He is making an aggressive pitch for the veracity of responsible farming; something affixed prominently on the front labels of the AVIVO wines as “Regenerative Farmed.”
Also on the labels, the farming method shares equal billing with the fact that the wines are grown by Lodi’s “Ledbetter Family.” The Ledbetters own Vino Farms, one of the region’s largest and most important winegrowing management companies.
Ridgely Evers in Vino Farms’ Biodynamic-grown Vermentino block.
Everything the Ledbetters grow is certified by LODI RULES for Sustainable Winegrowing. For Evers’ AVIVO wines, however, Vino Farms VP/Partner Craig Ledbetter goes one step further, farming his family’s Vermentino and Sangiovese blocks under Biodynamic Certified guidelines set by Demeter USA.
Why Biodynamic? There are tons of literature on this specific type of
