Anyone interested in transitioning their vineyard or farm to regenerative organic or biodynamic practices has a new resource that’s free and easy to use.
Craig Camp, a long-time wine writer and general manager of Troon Vineyard in southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley, is hosting a new podcast called “Troon Talk” that discusses these farming practices in depth. Camp uses Troon’s certification by Demeter Biodynamic in 2020, followed by its recognition as Regenerative Organic Certified in 2021, as the primary example for how to succeed. The podcast is free and ready for download on Apple, Spotify and everywhere else podcasts are available.
Troon Talk covers topics relevant to biodynamic and regenerative organic farming at an intermediate level. Camp and his guests dive into topics such as farming soil in addition to plants (including a discussion about carbon farming and no-till viticulture), composting and how to create biodynamic preparations. Though the focus of the podcast is on agriculture, there are episodes for other wine professionals as well. One episode covers the importance of indigenous yeast in winemaking; another discusses holistic wine sales and marketing.
Despite its name, Troon Talk is about more than the work being done Troon Vineyard. In one episode, Camp interviews Andrew Beedy, considered one of the nation’s leading experts on biodynamic and organic farming. For a future episode, Camp will speak with Sheila Foster, executive director of the Biodynamic Demeter Alliance. The podcast will also expand beyond the wine industry soon to cover vegetable farming, raising animals and similar topics.
Camp sees Troon Talk as an important part of the company’s mission. “Communicating what we do is part of our farming because part of our goal is to convince other people to farm this way,” he said. “We can’t change the world with what we’re doing on our 100 acres, but if we can convince others to farm biodynamically or regeneratively, that’s how you change the world.”
Though he’s written and made videos about these topics for years, Camp is excited to be creating the podcast because they’re so accessible. Episodes automatically download to people’s phones or tablets. They can listen to them in the car, while working their vineyard rows or fields, or wherever they happen to be.
Camp’s goal is to release podcasts every two weeks through the end of the year. More details are available on the Wine Camp website.
About Troon Vineyard: Troon Vineyard is a certified Biodynamic and Gold Regenerative Organic Certified diversified farm in Southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley. The company’s mission is to naturally craft wines designed to bring pleasure to your life and reflect the terroir of where they are grown. Troon’s exclusive focus is on biodynamically grown grapes from France’s Rhône Valley and Southern France. The winemaking team works with twenty of these varieties to craft still and sparkling wines using minimal intervention practices.