Phylloxera is a louse that feeds on a vine's roots, debilitating the vine; the only organic solution is to replant with resistant rootstocks. We sunk into a funk when we first discovered this lousy pest in Anderson Valley in 1993. Today, most of Navarro's fields have been replanted and have returned to full production. The combination of better clones, new rootstocks and solar-efficient trellises has raised wine quality, which is probably most noteworthy in our recent Première Reserve Chardonnay bottlings. In 1996 we terraced the hillside above our prized Hammer Olsen Chardonnay vineyard and planted four highly-regarded Burgundian Chardonnay clones, each one with slightly different characteristics. Beginning in 2000, we replanted two lower fields utilizing the three clones that have produced excellent wine in our chilly Philo vineyards.

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