FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOUR WINE
You’ll see several logos on Ambar’s website and on our wine labels. Here’s a quick guide to what they mean.
Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC)
This is the certification we’re proudest of, because it’s the highest standard. “Regenerative” goes beyond “sustainable” because regenerative practices improve soils and sequester carbon. Regenerative practices include minimal or no tillage, planting a cover crop, and adhering to all organic regulations (no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides). ROC has three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. We’re currently certified at the Silver level because we have a few newly-planted blocks that require some tillage so the young vines can complete with the cover crop. When we reach full no-till Ambar will achieve Gold status. Unlike most other certifications, ROC includes a social equity component to insure that everyone who works our land receives a living wage.
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF)
This stands for “California Certified Organic Farmers” and is the same thing as USDA Organic. We use the CCOF logo because CCOF is our certification agency. Organic certification means no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides are used at Ambar.
LIVE stands for “Low Impact Viticulture and Enology.” This certification is specific to the Northwest. LIVE certification includes Green, Yellow and Red Lists. On the Green List are biological pest controls (the sort of interventions allowed in an organic vineyard). If interventions on the Green List don’t work, there’s a Yellow List of “less bad” interventions that may be allowed, including synthetic pesticides and herbicides, depending on the pest and the extent of the problem. LIVE’s Red List includes chemicals banned because of health and safety concerns. Because of Ambar’s ROC and CCOF certifications, we never use anything on LIVE’s Yellow and Red lists.
Through a partnership with LIVE, many LIVE-certified vineyards are also certified Salmon-Safe and Bee Friendly. Salmon Safe is designed to reduce runoff and improve water quality. Since we don’t irrigate at Ambar, and don’t use any synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides, we easily qualified as Salmon Safe.
Bee Friendly Farming Certified
A Bee Friendly certification requires that at least 3% of a vineyard is planted with a diverse cover crop that includes flowering plants that support pollinating insects, birds, and mammals. We easily qualified as Bee Friendly because of our cover crop. However, we want to do more. This year we planted 100+ native flowering shrubs at Ambar to support pollinators.
Dry Farming
This logo means that Ambar’s vines are not irrigated. Dry-farming of wine grapes is preferred because dry-farmed vines (and their biochemical partners, mycorrhizal fungi) send their roots and tendrils deeper into the soil than irrigated vines. Deep-rooted vines produce more concentrated flavors and a finer expression of terroir.
