At a Glance: Sustainable Wine at MacRostie

• Regenerative farming focused on soil health and biodiversity
• Cover crops, composting, and biochar to improve vineyard resilience
• Reduced synthetic inputs and herbicide minimization
• Owl boxes, insectary rows, and sheep grazing for natural balance
• Crafting Sustainable Sonoma Wines with long-term stewardship

At MacRostie Winery and Vineyards, sustainability isn’t a marketing phrase; it’s a responsibility. From our estate vineyards in the Petaluma Gap to our coastal sites along the Sonoma Coast and in the Russian River Valley, we farm with a long-term vision: to leave our land healthier with every vintage.

What Makes a Winery Sustainable?

For us, sustainability means improving the vineyard ecosystem over time, not simply maintaining it. Rather than focusing only on reducing inputs, we practice regenerative agriculture, an approach centered on soil health, biodiversity, and long-term resilience.

Healthy soils support balanced vines. Balanced vines produce wines that express their site more clearly. That connection between farming and flavor defines our philosophy.

Regenerative Wine: Beyond Organic and Sustainable

Consumers often wonder about the difference between organic vs sustainable wine and now, regenerative wine.

• Organic farming focuses on eliminating synthetic chemicals.
• Sustainable farming varies by program and standards.
• Regenerative farming actively restores soil, increases biodiversity, and strengthens ecosystems year after year.

At MacRostie, regenerative practices include planting diverse cover crops, minimizing soil disturbance, composting vineyard materials, producing biochar from prunings, encouraging beneficial insects and birds, and using rotational sheep grazing to naturally manage vegetation.

These practices build soil organic matter, improve water retention, and reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers and herbicides.

Why Biodiversity Matters

A vineyard is far more than rows of vines – it is a living, interconnected ecosystem. At MacRostie, we actively cultivate biodiversity to help our vineyards thrive naturally and sustainably.

We plant native hedgerows and flowering insectary rows to support pollinators and beneficial insects that contribute to ecological balance. Owl and bluebird nesting boxes encourage natural predators that help manage gophers and vineyard pests without relying heavily on synthetic controls. During the growing season, carefully managed sheep grazing reduces the need for tractor passes, lowering diesel use while naturally managing vegetation.

Together, these practices create a healthier vineyard environment and reflect what Eco-Friendly Winemaking truly means: working with nature to build resilience, rather than relying solely on intervention.

Does Sustainable Wine Taste Different?

A common question is: Is sustainable wine actually better?

Sustainability alone doesn’t guarantee quality. But healthy vineyards consistently produce more balanced fruit. When vines grow in living soils with deep root systems and natural nutrient cycles, they ripen more evenly and require less intervention.

The result is wine that feels vibrant and expressive of place. Our Chardonnay captures coastal freshness and tension. Our Pinot Noir reflects nuance and vineyard character.

Sustainability enhances authenticity.

Sustainable Wine in California: A Long-Term Commitment

Sustainability in California winegrowing is evolving rapidly. Many wineries are moving beyond compliance-based programs toward regenerative practices that address soil carbon, water conservation, and biodiversity.

At MacRostie, this is not a short-term initiative. It is a multi-generational commitment to strengthening our vineyards with every season.

As one of the wineries advancing sustainable farming in Sonoma County, we believe producing Sustainable Sonoma Wines means investing in the land for decades — not just vintages.

Experience It for Yourself

If you’re visiting Sonoma County, we invite you to experience our vineyards and sustainably made wines firsthand.

Taste how thoughtful farming translates into vibrant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Walk through vineyards where biodiversity thrives. See how regenerative agriculture shapes the wines in your glass.

Great wine begins with healthy land — and that’s something you can taste.

Interested in wines grown with intention?

Explore our current releases or join our Wine Club for access to limited-production Chardonnay and Pinot Noir crafted from our sustainably farmed vineyards.

In the few short years since we unveiled the debut wines from our Nightwing Estate Vineyard in the Petaluma Gap AVA, Nightwing has rapidly emerged as one of California’s most acclaimed and exciting young Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards. Earning across-the-board rave reviews from critics and numerous mid-90-point scores, it has exceeded all expectations and validated our belief in the remarkable quality of the site and its potential to become one of California’s greatest cool-climate vineyards.

Wind to Wine in the Petaluma Gap

Understanding why Nightwing Vineyard is so extraordinary begins by understanding the Petaluma Gap appellation (AVA), which only earned official AVA status in 2017. While the AVA may be new, among winemakers who focus on cool-climate grapes it has long been viewed as one of California’s top regions for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It is also a region that our Winemaker Heidi Bridenhagen has worked with for many years and is so passionate about that she currently serves as President on the Board of Directors of the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance. The slogan for the AVA is “Wind to Wine,” and for good reason. The Petaluma Gap benefits from a wind gap in the coastal mountain range that funnels cooling breezes and fog east from the Pacific Ocean through Petaluma and south to San Pablo Bay. These persistent afternoon breezes result in lower yields and generous hangtimes, enabling flavors and fruit characteristics to fully develop, while creating beautifully balanced wines of uncommon depth and distinction. Though the AVA spans more than 200,000 acres, only about 4,000 are planted to vines spread across more than 70 vineyards.

Nightwing Takes Flight

In 2017, when Heidi and our founder, Steve MacRostie, first saw the unplanted land that would become Nightwing Vineyard, they both immediately recognized the site’s incredible untapped potential. “Great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay land in California is becoming more and more rare and Nightwing is Pinot and Chardonnay nirvana,” said Heidi, who personally selected Nightwing’s nine clones of Pinot Noir, nine clones of Chardonnay, and seven rootstocks. In partnership with Atlas Vineyard Management, which farms the nearby Gap’s Crown and Sunchase vineyards, Heidi oversaw the design and planting of Nightwing, which features numerous elevations, exposures and soil compositions. To take full advantage of this diversity, the vineyard was planted as a mosaic of 35 blocks featuring 44 acres of Pinot Noir and 30 acres of Chardonnay, with planted elevations reaching heights of 1,400 feet. “When we planted Nightwing, we leaned into the site’s natural diversity by planting multiple block and clone combinations,” said Heidi. “Today, several of those small blocks are the source for some of our most sought-after wines, including Nightwing Calera Clone Pinot Noir, Swan Clone Pinot Noir, and our Nightwing First Flight Pinot Noir.

About the Name Nightwing

We called the vineyard Nightwing in honor of Vernon Morelli, the property’s original owner and a WWII pilot who built a landing strip on the site. We also selected the name as a nod to the Petaluma Gap’s many indigenous birds. There are over 200 species of birds native to the Sonoma region, and some migrate in huge flocks at night. While we serve as caretakers of the vineyard by day, the name Nightwing acknowledges the many birds who watch over the land after dark, including the majestic Night Heron.

Experiencing Nightwing

Since we only occasionally host events at Nightwing, we unveiled a special experience last year to spotlight the vineyard and to help our customers forge a deeper connection with this exciting site and its wines. Focused exclusively on 90+ point wines from Nightwing, our 2-hour Nightwing Food & Wine Experience is a must for anyone who loves great food and wine pairings. The experience includes a flight of acclaimed current releases paired with caviar, local artisan cheeses and cured meats, as well as barrel samples of yet-to-be-released vintages from Nightwing. During the tasting, which features a delicious array of single-vineyard and single-clone bottlings, our Wine Ambassadors share stories about Nightwing, its history and what makes it such an extraordinary source for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

“Great vineyards are like great wineries,” added Heidi. “When properly stewarded, they evolve, mature and get better and better with age. Nightwing is on an extraordinary trajectory with the potential to become one of Sonoma’s grand cru-caliber vineyards.”