PMW employs a variety of sustainable, organic and biodynamic winegrowing methods in its vineyards. This is in keeping with PMW's minimalist approach of fermenting their wines naturally so as to preserve the unique flavors and aromas characteristic of the vineyard site. PMW looks for farming practices that create lasting conditions for growing the highest quality grapes and that conserve resources, sustain the land and are environmentally safe for their employees, children and neighbors.

As a guide, we turn to a document prepared by the Napa Sustainable Winegrowing Group called Integrated Pest Management: Field Handbook for Napa County.

The State of California defines Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as: "a pest management strategy that focuses on long-term prevention or suppression of pest problems through a combination of techniques such as monitoring for pest presence and establishing treatment threshold levels, using non-chemical practices to make the habitat less conducive to pest development, improving sanitation, and employing mechanical and physical controls. Pesticides that pose the least possible hazard and are effective in a manner that minimizes risks to people, property, and the environment, are used only after careful monitoring indicates they are needed according to pre-established guidelines and treatment thresholds."

For PMW, initial pest management decisions begin in the planning stage, long before any vines are planted. We space and orient rows relative to the land contour and prevailing wind to provide maximum air circulation, which diminishes spore deposition and insect cover. In addition, the vines are trained and thinned to present maximum exposure to moving air.

A cover crop planted between vine rows aides in insect control, first by providing habitat that is more attractive to potentially destructive insects than the grape vines, and second by attracting desirable (beneficial) insect species. Clover, poppy, and other plant species are allowed to grow and flower, and mowed only when a fire hazard threshold is reached.

Historically, many of PMW's IPM practices have resulted in multiple benefits. For example, water conservation decreases the cost of irrigation, controls erosion, and assures that pesticides do not move off-site in solution or are absorbed on soil particles. These practices have resulted in a lower rate of pesticide use at much lower frequencies than might otherwise be expected.