You can stand by Demeter’s rigorous biodynamic principles, follow homegrown Napa Green’s sustainability standards or focus on cleaner watersheds to make a Salmon-Safe wine.
But the recently launched regenerative agriculture certification in particular has caught on like wildfire. In November, Mendocino Wine Company rolled out a press release announcing its estate vineyards had received a shiny new Tier 3 Regenified certification. A day later, Maker’s Mark announced it would be releasing its first Regenified barrel of bourbon, with 86% of grains sourced from regeneratively certified grains. In 2023, Common Ground, a film documenting the efforts of regenerative farmers, won the Tribeca Film Festival Human/Nature Award. On the poster: rancher and Regenified founder Gabe Brown.
The popularity of this latest certification poses some interesting questions for the beverage industry and beyond: Is the uptick in these certifications ushering in a new shift towards regenerative farming? And, more importantly, is it worth it?
The rise of regenerative agriculture
Though the roots of the regenerative movement trace back to Indigenous communities and other ancient traditions—farmers who listened to the land—Robert Rodale first coined the term “regenerative agriculture” in the early ‘80s, referring to any type of farming that encourages environmental improvement. His research argued that healthy soil is crucial to the quality of our food systems and affects everyone on the planet.
Harvest reflections: How key wine regions view low global production
In the 1990s, Regenified founder Gabe Brown fell into this holistic style of agriculture due to struggles on his North Dakota family farm. The region was plagued by drought, extreme cold and other inclement weather, pummeling his yields and leaving him depressed and in debt.
Something needed to change. He started digging into historical documents written by Thomas Jefferson, an avid agricultural researcher, to figure out how to move away from the common industrial style of farming that had taken over the world. While researching, he documented the process, writing down his trials, discoveries and failures for other farmers to follow. He was surprised at the life that bloomed from the land— the ranch looked revitalized and alive. In 2018, he released a book on his findings, Dirt to Soil.
Still, the regenerative movement remained somewhat of a word-of-mouth trend until 2020, when actor Woody Harrelson released Kiss the Ground on Netflix. The sobering yet hopeful documentary, which follows the work of scientists, agriculturalists (including Brown) and celebrities, considers the dire state of the climate and how dirt can help combat erratic weather and rising temperatures. It was wildly popular. Within two years of its release, the USDA earmarked $20 billion as part of the Inflation Reduction Act to benefit soil health and curb farm emissions.
When Harrelson released the movie’s follow-up Common Ground in late September, he continued the conversation by advocating for regenerative agriculture. Regenified exploded. “Before this summer we were honestly relatively underground,” says Salar Shemirani, CEO of Regenefied. “We didn’t even have a real website until this December.”
