Christian Cain - Perennial Grazing

Regenerative Viticulture with Contract Grazing of Vineyards & Orchards

Christian Cain does contract grazing for vineyards and orchards in Northern California with sheep and goats with his company Perennial Grazing.

“We are members of natural communities: what we do to them, we do to ourselves. Only by nurturing them can we nurture ourselves. Palates link cultures with landscapes and moderating the impacts of palates on human and environmental health will require changes in the kinds of foods [and wines!] we produce and consume…”

That’s Fred Provenza and others from the article titled “Is Grassfed Meat and Dairy Better for Human and Environmental Health?” 

I love that statement that “palates link cultures with landscapes”

In this episode I speak with contract grazer Christian Cain about the work that he does with his company Perennial Grazing in Northern California. You’ll discover, as I did, that Christian is a very thoughtful person who was inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka and Alan Savory, among others. So we discuss not only the practical considerations that will be very valuable everyone who is planning or considering working with a contract grazer, but also we dig into how regeneration of a landscape with well managed animals actually works. What should you expect when working with a contract grazer? How much does it cost? Will my vineyard benefit from grazing? Christian answers these questions and more. This is packed with juicy insights and important information for anyone who wants to integrate grazing animals in their vineyard or orchard, or for anyone who wants to learn about soil health and how beyond organic, regenerative viticulture translates into more delicious wine. 

https://www.perennialgrazing.org/

Reid Griggs et al:

Sources and Assembly of Microbial Communities in Vineyards as a Functional Component of Winegrowing

”The microbial ecosystems within vineyards exert critical influences on grapevine health and wine quality.”

Here's the completely useless French study on drought tolerance of various varieties of grapevines, used erroneously to suggest hybrids have poor drought tolerance:

Quantifying the grapevine xylem embolism resistance spectrum to identify varieties and regions at risk in a future dry climate

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