Managing Mildew with Light
At Bien Nacido Vineyard, the pursuit of quality doesn’t stop once the scores are in.
When you manage a vineyard known for high-scoring wines, it would be easy to protect what’s already working. But Vineyard Manager Greg Gonzalez sees success as a reason to keep pushing forward.
“For us, always evolving means being relevant,” he says. “If you stop evaluating and improving, you stop moving forward.”
That mindset led Bien Nacido to implement UV-C light technology to manage powdery mildew—an innovation aimed at improving both wine quality and sustainability.
Powdery mildew is one of the most persistent challenges in winegrape production, often requiring repeated fungicide applications throughout the growing season. UV-C light disrupts the DNA of the mildew fungus, preventing it from reproducing—without chemical sprays.
Clients had long emphasized their desire for cleaner fruit with fewer chemical inputs. But until recently, managing mildew at scale without traditional materials wasn’t realistic. Greg had evaluated similar technologies before and found most weren’t ready for commercial vineyards. This time was different.
Once the system was running, the impact became clear. UV-C units move through the vineyard every four days, delivering consistent treatment. Instead of reacting to mildew risk, the team now has a reliable system in place. That consistency changed how they farm.
With mildew control running automatically, the crew can focus more intentionally on botrytis timing, nutrition programs, and mealybug management. Work that once required four employees is now managed with two, allowing the rest of the team to focus on other projects.
By harvest, the results were clear: cleaner fruit, fewer inputs, and stronger fruit retention. In its first full-scale season, Bien Nacido reduced fungicide use by roughly half.
“Less intervention allows the site to shine,” Greg says. “We want Bien Nacido to express itself.”
For Greg, evolution is not defined by any single innovation. It’s about continually improving how the vineyard serves its people, its partners, and the land.