HARVEST IN HARMONY

Dr. Marcus and Rebecca Porrino are licensed Naturopathic Doctors practicing general family medicine at their clinic in Sonoma since 2008. They received their doctorates from the National University of Naturopathic Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, Oregon, the country’s top Naturopathic medical school.

In California, Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) are licensed to diagnose and treat illness; similar to an MD, who practices as a general practitioner or family practice doctor. NDs can order laboratory tests, imaging and utilize these tools, as well as an extensive history and physical exams, to diagnose and manage illness. NDs use a small formulary of medications when needed, but prefer less invasive methods first.

• Taking time with patients allows for better health care. • The body is capable of healing and self-regulating. Give it support to do so. • Doctor and patient are partners in the healing process. • All aspects of the patient’s life matter: diet, lifestyle, relationships, and spirit. • Natural medicine, from nature, is less invasive, therefore should be used first whenever possible. • Prevention is good medicine.

• GI Issues, IBS, Food sensitivities • School and Sports Physicals • Fertility and Hormone Support • Men’s Health (prostate and sexual health) • Women’s Health (annual exams, PAPs, gynecology,

HPV alternatives, etc) • Adjunctive Cancer Treatment Support • And Much More!

Absolutely. We have good relationships with many of the physicians in Sonoma and Marin counties. We believe in a team approach. We will refer to a specialist when we feel it is necessary.

“I have been sick for 25 years, since the removal of my thyroid. After 6 months working with Dr. Rebecca, I have felt better than I had since I was a teenager. —TR, 60 years old, Sonoma I probably would never have gone to a naturopathic doctor if i hadn’t been referred by friends. I am so glad I took the leap. —HB, Petaluma I was taking 7 medications — including 2 infusions every month — for my rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. I am down to one medication, I have lost 80 lbs, I no longer have “flares”, I eat better and feel better than I ever have before. —DT, Suisun City I am off my Lipitor. I never liked that stuff. Thank you Dr. Marcus for creating a program for me that keeps my cholesterol in check. —JB, Napa After years of prescriptions, over-the-counter sprays and pills, i finally have the tools I need to manage my allergies without them. Thank you, Dr. Marcus. —TS, Sonoma “I feel as though I am well taken care of here. I don’t feel rushed.” EQ, Sonoma “I really feel at ease in your hands.” —DM, Sonoma “Thank you, Dr M., for all your wonderful help and thoughts for when I was going through my cancer surgery and treatment.” —AH, Petaluma “You are the first doctor that has touched me in many years. Thank you for taking the time.” —DO, Rohnert Park “Wow. That was the most satisfying medical experience i have ever had. Thank you.” —LO, Sonoma “Thank you. I feel a sense of direction. I am so glad I decided to come in.” —LM, Calistoga “I feel as though I am well taken care of here. I don’t feel rushed.” EQ, Sonoma “My digestion has been awful since my gall bladder surgery. No one had any solutions for me until i came here. Now I can manage it myself.” DA, Sonoma “For years, I have been looking for someone to look after me and my family with a philosophy of health and prevention. Someone who knows about nutrition and natural medicine, isn’t quick to grab the prescription pad…Glad we found you.” —OW, Napa”

September is crush season for winemaker Jason Jardine, below, of Hanzell Farm & Vineyards. Located high in the Mayacamas, the sustainably-farmed winery has views across Sonoma Valley.

a historic winery perched high on the edge of the Mayacamas just outside downtown Sonoma, says that even after decades of experience with making wine, the energy of harvest season is unlike anything else he’s experienced. “It’s probably the most special time of year for me, when we’re all standing around the fruit that’s just come in, asking, ‘How does it taste? What tank is this going to go into? Are we going to do this Pinot whole-cluster?’ That’s when 99% of the winemaking is done, standing around in that circle.”

The team standing with Jardine in that circle is doing more than upholding tradition, however. Jardine is also a visionary organic farmer applying holistic practices to make the land healthy for food crops and livestock as well as grapes. The amount of old-school Sonoma winemaking history at Hanzell makes for an unlikely pairing with this cutting-edge approach—after all, it is a risk to change the way you farm 70-year-old vines. The de Brye family, which has owned the winery since the 1970s, is so committed to history that they haven’t changed the style of the wine labels in years. And yet, in another sense, Jardine’s goals are fitting, for the winery has always been ahead of its time. The landmark boardand-batten barn, for example, built by industrialist James D. Zellerbach in the late 1950s, contained all sorts of new technology for its era, including some of the earliest stainless steel wine tanks and one of the first on-site laboratories for analyzing wine chemistry.

Jardine built his career in organic farming and grape growing first in Oregon, where as 21-yearold newlyweds, he and his wife, Ali, were able to purchase a small property (they almost decided to plant blueberries instead of grapes). Later, he worked as a winemaker in Napa and Sonoma, not far from where he grew up outside Lodi. He arrived at Hanzell in 2014 with a dream of transforming the use of the land, operating in the tradition of such visionaries as author Jack London, whose 1910-era experimental farm is just a few miles up the valley. Jardine says it’s important to know that the level of sustainability achieved at the farm has its roots in traditional farming. “We’re not just some hippies up on the hill, doing this new thing that no one’s heard of before. We’re preserving history and really trying to honor it,” he says.

The diversity of species and opportunity for change were apparent when Jardine first arrived. Less than a quarter of the winery’s 200 acres are planted with grapes, and wildlife—deer, coyotes, turkeys, hawks—is all around. “Here, every small

Jardine, above, and his wife farm several vegetable patches at the winery, which yield several thousand pounds of food a year. They’ve also experimented with grazing geese in between vineyard rows to boost production.

The winery’s chickens and sheep graze on cover crops grown in the vineyards, and their manure fertilizes the soil. “When you get the whole picture of so many diverse species, you can’t go wrong,” says farm manager Brandon Brédo. “They all have different jobs.” The farm’s ten American Guinea hogs, below right, help with fire supression by eating underbrush and turning over the soil with their hooves.

block of vineyard is isolated by these large areas of forest. You just feel like you’re not just in a vineyard, but that you’re part of the environment. You feel a responsibility to take care of the oak trees that are next to the grapes, and the bay laurel… It just opens you up to thinking beyond the vineyard,” Jardine says.

For Jardine and his colleagues, thinking beyond the vineyard means that grapes are just one of many living things the farm supports, and each of those living things, both cultivated and wild, has a role to play in balancing the farm’s overall output. Hanzell is home to 150 farm animals, from chickens and geese to pigs and sheep. The sheep and fowl, under the care of farm manager Brandon Brédo, are pastured in the vineyard several months of the year, where they can eat grasses and bugs and fertilize the vineyards with their manure. Two guardian dogs, Radley and Scout, protect the livestock from

hawks and coyotes as they work through the rows.

The pigs are put to work primarily as fire suppression pigs: They eat through the underbrush in the oak woodlands, turning over the earth with their snouts as they forage for acorns and grubs, and tromping down small twigs with their heavy hooves. “The animals are all doing different jobs,” says Brédo. “It’s like there’s a partnership. Like, the pigs will be rooting in one area, and there’ll always be three or four chickens hanging out with the pigs, because without the pigs, the chickens wouldn’t be able to get at those grubs or those seeds. It’s all of these sweet, interesting things that you pick up when you spend day after day with these animals.”

The animals are just one aspect of the farm’s overall green transformation. Over the past seven years, Jardine has worked with viticulturist José Ramos to change over the vineyards to organic production, and to stop tilling in between the rows. The mat of dried grasses on the floor of the vineyard helps protect the vines from heat, and not turning over the soil preserves microbes and helps sequester more carbon. “We have these massive cover crops that we crimp down, and that’s conserving a lot of moisture,

Right, farm manager Brandon Brédo with livestock guardian dog Scout. Below, the winery’s new outdoor tasting platforms were built with lumber milled from trees that were removed for fire safety. The tasting area overlooks the historic Ambassador’s Vineyard, planted in the 1950s.

Viticulturist José Ramos has farmed at Hanzell since 1975. He was excited for the transition to organic, no-till grapegrowing.

protecting and putting armor on the soil,” explains Jardine.

No-till farming and regenerative agriculture are buzzwords in many vineyards around Sonoma County, but only a few can apply these methods to the degree that Jardine and Ramos are. “If we can make these adjustments that benefit the soil biology, benefit the wildlife and the longevity of the vines by creating a healthier environment—I mean, I just don’t get why you wouldn’t want to do it,” says Jardine.

For Ramos, who arrived at Hanzell in 1975 and raised his three children on the property, the switch to organic, no-till viticulture was welcomed. “I was so happy—it’s good for the ground, it’s good for the vines. To leave more grass, the vines say thank you. It’s like raising a little kid, you have to give them what they love,” says Ramos. Jardine calls Ramos Hanzell’s Zen master, a repository of 40-plus years of working knowledge of the land. Ramos knows intuitively when there’s something that needs attention in the vineyards, for example, and weeks ahead of time can predict the start of harvest down to the day.

The 2021 growing season has brought challenges at the winery. With low winter rains, the annual cover crops grew more slowly, which meant less natural forage for the farm’s livestock. Brédo had to bring in extra feed and adjust the grazing schedule in the vineyard blocks. Due to drier weather, the fruit set was excellent—but in April, a problem with a well pump meant that the winery was without irrigation for over two months. Going completely without water during late spring and early summer would have been a five-alarm emergency in many vineyards, but Ramos and Jardine were able to take the setback in stride. “I told everyone, ‘This is the test,’” says Jardine. “This is what we prepared for; this is why we farm the way that we farm. The vines should be able