Pomum Receives Organic Certification

Woodinville, WA-based, Pomum Cellars has achieved USDA organic certification for their estate vineyard, Konnowac Vineyard in Wapato, WA.  Because of the expensive and limited farming methods and detailed record keeping required, organic winemaking is rare in Washington.  Because of that, there are roughly a dozen organic vineyards across the state.

Pomum Cellars acquired Konnowac Vineyard in 2019 after working extensively with its original owner since 2008.  Pomum owner and winemaker Javier Alfonso said the original owner generally followed organic practices, but never got certified because of the rigorous requirements.

"It's detailed," said Alfonso. "It requires quite a bit of effort and money, and it's not easy. So, they decided not to do that."

He noted Pomum spent three years after purchasing the vineyard to achieve organic standards.  Meanwhile, Alfonso noted an organic operation has additional risk, since most vineyards need to sell a certain number of grapes to stay in business.  Because of the organic requirements, the grape yields can decrease very quickly and with little warning.

"We also do well at the wineries," Alfonso said. "So, our winery subsidizes the practices at the vineyard. So, we are able to have more flexibility to get away with organic practices."

He noted Pomum is now trying to showcase what it thinks are the exceptional qualities from their organic line of Konnowac Vineyard.  To do so, Pomum is transitioning all of its production to an estate vineyard model, whereby all the wines produced will be sourced from Konnowac Estate Vineyard.

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