Виноградник в Напе: фермер Фрэнк Лидс выращивает урожай без полива уже 25 лет

In California’s Napa Valley, where summer drought and water scarcity have long shaped the way vineyards are managed, one grower chose to work with the land rather than depend on irrigation. Frank Leeds spent decades cultivating wine grapes using a traditional dry-farming approach, allowing winter rain to replenish the soil and encouraging vines to reach deeper for moisture. His methods reflected an older style of Napa viticulture that had become less common as irrigation spread across the region. According to Growing Produce, Leeds had been dry-farming his family’s ranch for about 25 years by 2009, reflecting his long-standing use of the practice rather than the full duration of his later vineyard management. At the time, dry farming was being used across roughly 250 acres of organic wine grapes. The publication reported that the approach could save as much as 16,000 gallons of water per acre compared with light irrigation. Applied across 250 acres, that figure would represent as much as 4 million gallons of potential annual water savings, although this is a calculation based on the reported per-acre estimate, not a measured saving from all of Leeds’ vineyards. An old Napa tradition Leeds’ approach was rooted in family history rather than a modern response to climate change. His grandfather bought the family ranch in 1926 during Prohibition, and the property had never been irrigated. His uncle Roy Chavez taught him techniques used by earlier generations of Napa growers, a tradition influenced by farming practices brought to California from Spain and Italy. Leeds began farming the family ranch in 1984 and later became responsible for vineyard operations at Frog’s Leap Winery. Rather than relying on irrigation, Leeds managed the vineyards through a combination of traditional cultivation practices. He used cover crops and compost and paid close attention to planting density and rootstock. In the case study of his farming methods, Leeds explained that he cultivated his older vineyards about every two weeks during certain periods of the growing season. These practices were intended to help the vines make effective use of the moisture available in the soil while maintaining the health and structure of the vineyard. Saving water by working with the soil For Leeds, saving water began beneath the vines. Dry farming depends on the soil’s ability to capture and retain seasonal rainfall and on vines being able to access that stored moisture during the dry summer. Soil structure, depth, drainage and root development can therefore determine how well a vineyard can withstand long periods without supplemental irrigation. Research published in Science of the Total Environment offers field evidence for the importance of rooting depth during drought. Researchers studied young and mature Istrian Malvasia grapevines growing in karst soils in north-eastern Italy during a dry growing season, using oxygen isotopes to trace the sources of water taken up by the vines. They found that deep roots enabled the vines to access more stable water sources during summer, while the roots could also shift between shallow and deeper soil layers depending on rainfall and soil conditions. The study found that the vines avoided severe water stress despite the dry conditions and did so without supplemental irrigation. The research was conducted in a different climate and soil system from Napa Valley, so it does not directly measure Leeds’ vineyards. But it helps explain the principle behind dry farming: when seasonal rainfall is stored in the soil, a vineyard’s ability to access that moisture below the surface can become crucial during the dry months. In California’s Napa Valley, where summer drought and water scarcity have long shaped the way vineyards are managed, one grower chose to work with the land rather than depend on irrigation. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons. Leeds’ work became increasingly relevant as California faced repeated droughts. During the severe drought of the early 2010s, he described dry farming as a “forgotten art”, noting that many Napa vineyards had historically been cultivated this way before irrigation became widespread. He estimated that much of Napa’s valley floor had enough rainfall for the practice, provided the soils and vines were suitable. Napa County officials have also pointed out that dry farming can succeed on some vineyards, depending on rainfall, soil conditions and moisture retention. For about a quarter-century, this method helped him grow grapevines without using a resource that was plentiful in Napa during the winter but became harder to rely on in the dry season. His experience offers a practical lesson with current relevance: saving water can mean using existing rainfall more efficiently.