SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 19, 2002 / FW/ -- Vineyards in the heart of California's wine country, including Napa, Sonoma, El Dorado and Mendocino counties, now use compost made with food scraps from San Francisco's finest restaurants to improve soil quality and grow better grapes for the production of fine wines.

"We have to give back to the soil," says Linda Hale, Vineyard Supervisor for Madrone Vineyard at Domenici Ranch in Sonoma County. "The benefits that we will reap are incredible."

Giving back is a primary goal of an unusual program that diverts kitchen trimmings, plate scrapings and other compostable material from fine restaurants, hotels, markets, delis and coffee shops. Over 1,400 food-related businesses and thousands of San Francisco residents provide food scraps and other compostable material as part of the program. These source materials create a very a diverse feedstock that includes everything from crab shells and cantaloupe skins to steak bones and half eaten sandwiches. The result is especially rich compost, perfect for reconditioning soils after harvest.

Compost made from the food scraps of San Francisco restaurants is a beautiful sight in the eyes of vineyard managers. "We are trying to enhance the soil microbial growth and by adding compost we can achieve that," says Hale. "We can also increase the availability of nutrients in the soil for the uptake of the plant. We can do this by adding this very rich compost. Finally, we like to use organic material to increase the soil tithe and porosity."

Clarence Jenkins, owner of Madrone Vineyard Management in Sonoma County, says, "You can't shortchange the soil. The Norcal compost is a very good product and is very cost effective. We get better soil structure and eventually because of that structure we will get better plants."

The Organic Material Review Institute, a nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to publish and disseminate lists of materials allowed and prohibited for use in the production, processing, and handling of organic food and fiber, analyzed the finished compost and determined it appropriate for use on organic farms.

Everett Ridge Vineyards & Winery, an organic vineyard in Healdsburg applied the compost to its soils in October. "It is some of the best stuff I've ever seen," says Darek Trowbridge, Vineyard Manager at Everett Ridge. Trowbridge appreciates the "very diverse feedstock used to produce the compost."

Remi Cohen, Winegrower, at Bouchaine Vineyards in Napa, says, "The compost supplies our vineyards with organic matter and macro and micro nutrients such as potassium, nitrogen and other humic and folic acids - organic acids that the grape vine needs."

"Composting is much better than inorganic fertilizers," Cohen says. "We by far prefer compost because it is not toxic to the soil. Fertilizer often contains inorganic salts, which can create toxicity in the soil and sometimes render plant nutrients unavailable. Also, organic material can help aerate the soil and help retain water in the soil, all things that are very valuable to a grape farmer."

The compost program is made possible through the efforts of three companies. Golden Gate Disposal & Recycling Company and Sunset Scavenger Company collect the food scraps and other compostable materials. Jepson Prairie Organics, (www.JepsonPrairieOrganics.com), a modern compost operation located outside Vacaville, California, receives the materials and produces the finished compost.