Food & Wine USA - (10)October 2020

58 OCTOBER 2020

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Earth, Wind & Wine

Mimi Casteel digs

(literally) under the

surface of how wine

grapes are grown.

By Oset Babür

HAVING GROWN UP at Bethel Heights, her family’s

vineyard in Willamette Valley, it’s unsurprising that

wine is in Mimi Casteel’s blood; after cultivating a

background in forestry and ecology, an overarching

reverence for land and for preserving ecosystems in

winemaking became equally part of her DNA. At

Hope Well, Casteel practices regenerative farming,

abstaining from tilling the land or using traditional

irrigation techniques and avoiding the creation of

what she calls “laboratories” out of natural ecosys-

tems. “We’ve done that for centuries now,” Casteel

says, “to our great peril.”

F&W: What drew you to

regenerative farming?

MC: The wounds of the

natural world have always

haunted me, but I’m an

optimist. I believe we have

the capacity to recreate

functional ecosystems

on working lands, and in

doing so, we can produce

enough food, fiber, and

wine to feed the world

on less acres than we’re

currently using and also

stop the destruction of

natural habitats. For me,

we wouldn’t have to be

as concerned about the

health of our food if the

model was based on

WINES TO TRY

2019 HOPE WELL TUESDAY’S CHILD

PINOT NOIR ROSÉ ($42)

Light, transparent ruby in hue, this is one of

the two Pinot rosés Casteel makes. Like the

rhyme (“Monday’s child is fair of face; Tues-

day’s child is full of grace”) the wine is grace-

ful—but also spicy and intense, as rosés go.

2018 HOPE WELL CHARDONNAY

EOLA–AMITY HILLS ($75)

Taut and precise, this refined white has a light,

lees-y aromatic note and expressive, lingering

pear-citrus flavors. It’s hard to believe it’s only

the second vintage of Casteel’s Chardonnay

from her estate vineyard.

2018 HOPE WELL PINOT NOIR EOLA–

AMITY HILLS ($75)

Despite the modest alcohol level (12.7%), this

graceful Pinot comes from a concentrated

vintage, and that shows in the wine’s intense

dark cherry and rhubarb aromatics and firm,

fine tannins.

how ecosystems actually

function.

F&W: How does that play

into wine, and your wine

specifically?

MC: Well, the process

has to be the same in the

winery and the vegetable

farm. With wine, for terroir

to be true, the connection

to land has to be really

pure and altruistic. You

really have to reexamine

our concept of taking care.

As for my model, I’m very

small production, and

I’m kind of anti-social! I

didn’t want to open a tast-

ing room; I don’t want a

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