My Favorite Sustainable Winery: Halter Ranch

I got really lucky and Chuck introduced me to Paso Robles pretty early on in our relationship. We both discovered Halter Ranch Winery while we were there on our first trip together. The wines are truly incredible and then when speaking to the staff during our initial tasting, I got even more excited about the winery.

When driving up to the tasting room I noticed raptor boxes peppered throughout the vineyard and that between the vines, a healthy amount of weeds and greenery were growing- this immediately said to me that they refrain from spraying with any sort of pesticide or herbicide. The staff confirmed that the winery was SIP certified (learn more here) and furthermore, they have a rain capture system on site and chickens in the nearby barn that eat the bugs. The person pouring our wine pointed out to a massive oak away in the distance. This was the Ancestor Oak- one of the largest Coastal Oaks on record and for which their most popular red blend is named.

We briefly chatted about another winery in the area, Justin Vineyards, and how when they moved into their current location, there was a lawsuit and outrage as they cut down over 15,000 oaks trees- some of them old oaks. Halter Ranch seemed to be doing the opposite of that. It turns out, much to my delight, that the owner is Hansjörg Wyss is a billionaire philanthropist who focuses on conservation, believing that conservation is vital to restoring the health of our world- and I wholeheartedly agree with him. How exciting to learn when billionaires use their wealth for good.

Since first visiting Halter Ranch, they have become Certified Organic at the Paso Robles location and opened up two more locations. One is located in Temecula, California and the other in Fredericksburg, Texas. I highly recommend visiting them if you are ever in one of these areas and tasting my top favorites- their Effervescent Rosé, Picpoul Blanc, Libelle and Ancestor. You won't be disappointed.

More about Halter Ranch here.