Full Belly Files | Regenerative Farming: One Block Challenge Kicks Off in Santa Barbara County

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There’s much to like about how quickly so much of the world is embracing the concept of regenerative agriculture, which aims to farm and ranch in ways that help rather than harm the underlying soils and surrounding ecosystems.

There’s certainly some greenwashing potential amidst all the buzz — that regenerative is more loosely defined that, say, organic or biodynamic, is both what’s powering the wide acceptance and opening the doors for fakers. And plenty of regen farming efforts appear to be more feelgood symbolic than actually impactful in any grand way. But those still matter, if nothing else but to spread the word to diverse demographics.

Few industries have stepped up to the charge as much as viticulture, which is where I first heard about regenerative farming about a decade ago. In recent years, it’s become almost ubiquitous in talks about farming vineyards, and now properties near and far are getting certified by international organizations who encourage and validate as much.

It’s hard to go to any high-quality vineyard now without seeing evidence of livestock, cover crops, and composting — all three of which are critical parts of regenerative farming. Collectively, these vineyard efforts represent significant and sustained progress in making wine grape growing a leader in sustainable agriculture.

Those seeds of change should start to blossom even more around here in 2026, as the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation (RVF) is inviting Santa Barbara County vintners to take part in The One Block Challenge™ (1BC). Though based in the United Kingdom, the RVF launched the first 1BC in Paso Robles last year, and is already expanding efforts to Napa, Texas, South Africa, and New Zealand, with Sonoma and Temecula also in the crosshairs. The goal is to have 10 percent of all vineyards across the world be regeneratively farmed by 2035.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because I’ve written a little bit about this here and here. I’ve also personally joined the Santa Barbara County 1BC steering team in order to get the word out and then track the progress myself, with plans to report on various projects throughout the year.    

So how will it work? Those who decide to participate will implement at least three regenerative practices on a dedicated portion of their vineyard — whether that’s one row of grapes, or an entire block, or 10 acres, or whatever size makes sense. Then, with the help of RVF’s protocols, they’ll track outcomes using simple, observational field tests such as water infiltration, macrofauna counts, and compaction assessments. 1BC participants will also be encouraged to adopt reduced or minimal tillage practices in their blocks while avoiding glyphosate or systemic herbicides in the areas dedicated to the trial.

There is no cost to participate and certification is neither the goal nor a requirement of this effort. Along the way, RVF will host field days to discuss regenerative topics featuring farmers who have used these techniques already and share results as the year goes on.

The first field day will be hosted by Solminer Wine Company on Thursday, February 26, 10 a.m.-noon, at a vineyard in Los Olivos. Participants must register here to get the specific address to the event.

Please spread the word around Santa Barbara wine country o other vineyard owners and managers to help make our county’s inaugural 1BC a success! Click here to sign up!

Garagiste & Easy Street Wine Parties

There are two unique gatherings coming up that are perfect ways to impress your friends by discovering the next new brand, or rare grape variety, or cutting-edge style of wine. Both focus on smaller batch wine projects, and many include the freshest, most innovative vintners in the industry.

The first is the Easy Street Wine Collective, which is a shared winemaking space in Buellton. About 10 of their wineries will be pouring wine and selling bottles during a January 31 open house inside their facility, so visitors can see how the proverbial sausage is made. I wrote a longer story about this here, and tickets can be purchased here.

The second is the much bigger Garagiste Festival: Southern Exposure, which comes to Solvang for the 12th time on February 7, with a rare & reserve tasting event the night before. I also wrote a longer piece about this here, focusing on three wineries pouring for their first time ever: Rooted Vine Cellars, Barieau Wines, and Fate’s Lieutenant. You can see more details and buy tickets here.  

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More Mushroom Parties!

I picked up a literal bucketful of chanterelles from my friend Karl Wittstrom at Ancient Peaks in Santa Margarita this week, the day after hunting for truffles with Austin Hope at his farm in Creston. And that was just days after Pico’s Mighty Cap Mushroom lunch that I heard was a blast. In other words, fungi fun is very much thriving on the Central Coast right now, and here are two more parties to get in on the action.

Los Alamos Mushroom Festival: This is the ninth time that Stephan Bedford hosts an educational and epicurean exposé of the many mushrooms that can be enjoyed from this region and elsewhere. My mushroom buddy and renowned mycology master Bob Cummings will be on hand as well. There will be numerous dishes to try and plenty of wine.

It’s on Sat., Jan. 31, 2-5 p.m., at the Bedford Winery tasting room. It will sell out, so get tickets by calling (805) 344-2107 or emailing tastingroom@bedfordwinery.com.

Gainey Vineyard’s Mushroom & Wine Exploration: Gainey Estate Vineyards is again hosting a Mushroom & Wine Exploration day, which I have written about a few times in the past, like here and here. Bob Cummings will also be on hand here, as will winemaker Jeff LeBard, a mushroom forager of note in his own right. Chef Jake Francis of Valley Piggery will be crafting a three-course lunch, all paired with Gainey and Evan’s Ranch wines.  

It’s on Sat., Mar. 7, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., on Gainey’s courtyard in Santa Ynez. It too should sell out soon, so click here for tickets.