Date: Wednesday, April 2
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Medlock Ames, Healdsburg
Cost: $40 (Includes coffee, pastries and lunch)
Join the North Coast Soil Hub, UC Organic Agriculture Institute, Medlock Ames Winery, Sonoma Vineyard Technical Group, and Napa Green for a half day workshop to build community and advance our shared understanding of how to improve soil health and biodiversity in North Coast vineyards. The Symposium features a grower panel on transitioning to regenerative practices, science talks on integrated sheep vineyard systems and soil health evaluation, and resources for supporting wildlife habitat and biodiversity. The 5th Annual Soil Symposium will be a critical opportunity to build resilience and strengthen connections in the face of change. Free hedgerow tour at Ridge Vineyards to follow – please register separately for the tour.
Speakers
Ames Morison developed an interest in wine and agriculture from an early age. He was fascinated with fine wine and came from a family of farmers, which kick-started his career in farming when he joined the Peace Corps in Guatemala as an agricultural educator. During this time he worked with the local communities to reconnect with traditional farming methods which instilled his belief in diversified agriculture for a more balanced and sustainable future—for both crops themselves and the land’s overall well-being. He graduated in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in Ancient History from Tulane University and continued his education in viticulture and enology at UC Davis in 1997.
After transitioning from teaching, Ames worked in enology and production at a number of wineries across Napa and Sonoma. These combined experiences pushed him into the direction of founding Medlock Ames with his best friend and former classmate from Tulane, Chris Medlock James. Together, they identified Bell Mountain Ranch as the site to develop their winery and organic vineyard at the crossroads of Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill and the Russian River Valley. Ames planted the 55 acre vineyard and supervised the winery’s construction that was completed by the 2003 vintage.
Natalie Winkler has 15 years of experience working at California wineries in both vineyard management and winemaking: Windsor Oaks, Mill Creek Winery, Westwood, Salvestrin, and Michel-Schlumberger. At small estate wineries in Napa and Sonoma, Natalie has farmed vineyards in St. Helena, Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Sonoma Valley.
On the winemaking side, she has worked international vintages in Bordeaux, Spain, and Australia. She has also been privileged to apprentice with renowned winemaker David Ramey.
Natalie co-founded Roots Vineyard Consulting with viticulture mentor Philippe Coderey. Together they work with vineyards across California specializing in organic, regenerative and biodynamic farming.
Currently Natalie is the estate viticulturist and winemaker for Michel-Schlumberger in Healdsburg, California. She is very keen on precision farming as the key to premium winemaking. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Political Science, a Master’s degree in Viticulture and Enology, and a PCA license.
Nicole Dooling and Michael Frey are the 2nd generation operators of Mariah Vineyards, Zero FoodPrint member and Savory Institute’s first Land-to-Market Verified vineyard. Managing the coastal mountain vineyard using organic and climate-beneficial farming practices, they are dedicated to helping expand regenerative viticulture.
Noelymar (Noely) Gonzalez-Maldonado is a USDA-ARS ORISE postdoctoral researcher with Kerri Steenwerth and Amisha Poret-Peterson (USDA-ARS, Davis, CA). Noely earned her B.S. in Agronomy at the University of Puerto Rico- Mayagüez. Then, she earned a M.S. in Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University, and Ph.D. in Soils and Biogeochemistry at UC Davis. Her expertise includes soil biogeochemistry, soil microbial ecology, and rural sociology, with a focus on soil health. Currently, Noely is working on AI and machine learning applications to study the functional role of the soil microbiome in vineyard soil health.
Since 2017 Tommy Fenster has been conducting research quantifying the potential ecosystems services provided by regenerative agriculture, with carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and the impact of regenerative management on profitability key aspects of his research. His background spans field experience from working with over 100 different farming operations to advanced modeling and producer/stakeholder engagement. Tommy earned his MS in Biology from Cal State East Bay in 2021, working as a researcher with the Ecdysis Foundation, the Oikawa Lab at Cal State East Bay, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. His research focused on regenerative management in commercial almonds orchards and using eddy covariance to compare carbon fluxes in working rangelands with and without compost applications. Tommy is currently a PhD Candidate (graduating 2025) in the Horticulture and Agronomy Program at UC Davis, working as a researcher with the Gaudin Agroecology Lab and the Ecdysis Foundation. The goal of his PhD research is to rigorously evaluate the environmental and economic outcomes of integrating sheep grazing on commercial vineyards with different management legacies along the conventional-regenerative gradient.
Dr. Kelsey Brewer is an interdisciplinary agroecologist and soil biogeochemist aiming to develop meaningful design and management applications that improve the long-term stewardship of our working lands. He holds a Ph.D. in Soils and Biogeochemistry from UC Davis with an extensive background in ecological farming, farmer technical assistance, research, education, outreach, process-based modelling, and resource conservation planning. His technical expertise includes soil management, grazing management, circular resource management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and food systems. In addition to his scientific appointments, Dr. Brewer also has over 15 years of experience as a mixed vegetable farmer in small-scale, biodiverse, and urban agroecosystems.
Dr. Nicholaus Madden is a soil scientist who started working part-time for Vineyard Soil Technologies in 2013 and joined full-time in October 2017. Since that time, he has profiled over 8,000 soil pits in Napa and Sonoma counties alone. Nicholaus has a B.S. in Hydrology, a M.S. in Agronomy with an emphasis in International Development, and a Ph.D. in Biogeochemistry. Nicholaus was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer from 1997 to 1999 and served as an Agricultural Extensionist in Honduras focusing on soil conservation. After receiving his Ph.D. in 2010, Nicholaus worked for seven years managing USAID (United States Agency for International Development) agriculture projects in the Middle East and Central Asia. Before joining Vineyard Soil Technologies, Nicholaus was Chief-of-Party for a USAID project in Afghanistan focused on rebuilding the Afghan agriculture extension system.
