Ep. 23: Jason Haas – Partner & General Manager at Tablas Creek Winery ||
Wine is more than just any libation, it’s an experience steeped in history. It’s part of ritual and beliefs, it ties us with friends, family, cuisine, and for many – with their lineage. From the highest-end vintages that are matured & aged for decades, to the low-end box of wine at the corner store costing a few bucks – this cold fired fermenting extends a full spectrum of offerings that now accounts for a $62B domestic industry. The success of the industry is tied to its ability to differentiate those offerings throughout that spectrum. From the region it’s from, to an elevated production approach, to the aging process, or its unparalleled cuisine connection that helps develop an ecosystem of aficionados that have become increasingly interested in each of all of these unique factors further connecting the consumer with their drink of choice and its affinities – it matters in wine.
Producing Châteauneuf-du-Pape style Rhone wines native to the Southeast Corner of France, today we welcome Partner and General Manager of Tablas Creek Winery Jason Haas to Sourcing Matters. Situated squarely between San Francisco & Los Angeles, Jason’s family began their California winery in 1989 using elevated practices that focused on Organic and regenerative in effort to benefit their soils, and the flavor of their wines. Now, producing 360,000 bottles a year of biodynamic and diverse vitas – Tablas Creek has established themselves as a desired brand that engages consumers and progresses the industry through their commitment to producing world-class wine.
@TablasCreek
Joining for episode 22 of Sourcing Matters we welcome Dave Herring: Executive Director at Wolfe’s Neck Center; and Fiona Wilson, Chair of the Board at Wolfe’s Neck, and ED at Center for Social Innovation and Enterprise, Asst. Prof. at UNH’s Paul College of Business.
Along with the UN and Ernst & Young – Volkert Engelsman and the team at EOSTA have levered the Nature & More framework to prove healthier & cleaner food has greater value than the cheap stuff. The pilot program has been labeled “True Cost Accounting for Food, Farming & Finance”. We learn that French Government has calculated a 54b Euro impact of externalized costs from contamination on the water supply and environmental impact tied to conventional food production. More over, the UN calculates $2.8 Trillion of environmental externalized costs and $2.1 Trillion in social damage tied to extractive models of agriculture. Engelsman explains that’s about the equivalent of the total revenues of all food products from around the world. “The report makes clear that organic food is not too expensive, but rather conventional food is too cheap.” – details Engelsman.
Today I’m joined by two knowledgeable thought leaders pioneering a better food movement sprawling from coast to coast, and everywhere in-between. On episode 18 of Sourcing Matters Wendy Millet – Director of Tomkat Ranch research center, and Jill Isenbarger – CEO of Stone Barns Center discuss all important topics ranging from circular economies, holistic management, food & Agtech, and more which have begun casting a long shadow over a quickly changing domestic food landscape. 
The goal of this agricultural research and educational epicenter in West Chester NY is to cast a large shadow on consumers and producers alike through better connecting more to natural order through the food we eat. There are many challenges of this type of agritourism on a working farm, but Jack takes them all in stride – stating: “We can only look ahead. If people engage in food; if they ask for, and demand more – we can change the food system together.” Algiere continues, “Where do we learn this stuff? On the small, beautiful farms we can all access.”
Spawned by the influence of his wife, Brett’s interest in food and agriculture has percolated into the creation of this TechStars vertical dedicated to the future of food and proper resource management in feeding ourselves on a shrinking planet. New England’s facilitator of a new Food Economy, Lauren Abda joins the conversation as a first time co-host.
During a 35 minute chat, host Aaron Niederhelman discusses with Thiboumery a wide variety of subjects including the current state of the industry, bioregions for economic growth, new competition from plant-based cellular meat products and growth plans to scale Vermont Packinghouse’s honed process. Thiboumery explains that he’s “a recovering academic who decided to get my hands dirty in meat processing”. A deep thinking student of the game, Arion has a vision for the future of the American food system with a more engaged consumer who eat less meat, but better of it. Have a listen, and learn why modern processing committed to transparency and provenance is cornerstone to feeding a shrinking and resource challenged world.
Beginning with the quality of taste of their products, Tim Joseph has become more than just a student of the game in differentiating their products through elevated production standards. Maple Hill Creamery has become a market leader in advancing consumer awareness in all food animal production. Simplifying the messaging that focuses on the personal benefits of investing in the animals and their living environments has seemed to resonate with more. Now, leveraging that with extensive research into growing consumer’s interest in their food and the mirroring of the success witnessed in other products categories like beer, wine, coffee, sweets and savories – Joseph and his growing but never compromising dairy believe they’ve just scratched the surface on an increasingly crowded yogurt shelf.
The organic matter and bugs in healthy topsoil hold 10X the volume of water as conventionally treated agricultural lands, never-mind dormant desert soils lacking thriving biology needed to maintain living plants that were once so important in feeding the pastoral animals. Collectively, and not unrelated – they no longer exist together. Removing animals, and categorical poor agricultural tilling & irrigation practice result in lesser ecological vigor in the once living soils of the global grasslands. This has resulted in epic topsoil runoff, loss of fresh water storage, excessive carbon release and a lack of sequestering capacity. A grand scale squeezing of the once massive grasslands sponge creates further dystopian scenarios for any of those animals that remain disconnected as a broken links in the chain. Representing 60% of the earth’s land cover, what we’re realizing is that grasslands are set to change all of our in-connected existence – including that of a stable environment for us all – unless we begin to give them their due. Furthermore, as slash and burn practices destroy much of the ecologically sensitive tropical forests and forest land, and more folks enter the fossil fuel burning lifestyle – we’re going to need a broader solution with fast acting results. The exciting part of Allan’s plan is the remediation to an unbalanced system is pretty straight-forward, and the unintended consequence leads to a cleaning a food system and improved human and animal health.