Leading viticulture authority Jamie Goode has slammed the insistence of some regenerative bodies on growers also being organic. Speaking this week in Roussillon at a forum hosted by regenerative winemaker Domaine Lafage, Goode said, “If we tie regenerative viticulture to organics, it’s finished… It will be a small, fancy club for people to feel good about themselves. It’s bullshit. The ROC [Regenerative Organic Certification] approach is nonsense.”
His comments highlight a growing rift in the fledgling regenerative movement between the biggest US certification body, ROC, and others over the issue of whether producers need to be certified organic first (as under ROC rules) before being regenerative. Domaine Lafage is the latest prominent producer to have instead chosen regenerative certification via non-profit A Greener World, which does not require growers to be certified organic. Other bodies including Regenified and Napa Green similarly to do not demand organic conversion.
Regenerative viticulture has attracted huge interest over recent years, especially in California. It focusses on improving soil health and the soil’s level of organic matter, using methods including cover crops, mulching, integrating of grazing animals in the vineyards, and not tilling the soil.
In January 2025 the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation (RVF) launched its One Block Challenge in Paso Robles, where growers try farming just one block or row regeneratively to see how it works. That has attracted significant interest, with around 50 local growers taking part in the trials. The RVF has set a target of 10 per cent of viticulture becoming regenerative by 2035.
Last week’s forum was addressed by RVF trustee Justin Howard-Sneyd MW. The RVF is agnostic on the role of organic certification, though Howard-Sneyd told attendees that “In some regions organic makes sense, in others it just doesn’t.”
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