The Sonoma County Harvest Fair in partnership with the Sonoma County Winegrowers has selected Duff Bevill of Bevill Vineyard Management as the 2018 Sustainable Farmer.

Duff Bevill has been farming wine grapes in Sonoma County for over 35 years. He arrived in Dry Creek Valley in 1973 at the age of 22 for a summer job working with Joe Vogensen at his local vineyard management company. In that position, Duff became acquainted with many older farmers in Dry Creek Valley, who taught him old timers’ wisdom and self-reliance.

A strong proponent and early adopter of sustainable farming, Bevill was involved in early programming with the California Association of Winegrape Growers that would become the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance in 2003. “Before the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission was formed, Nick Frey and I drove down to San Francisco to meet with CAWG and about 10 other growers to talk through sustainable practices,” says Bevill. “Once the program launched, we visited all the AVAs and helped farmers assess their own practices so they were ready when the certification programs became available for sustainability.”

In 2014, Bevill Vineyard Management became one of the first Vineyard Management companies in Sonoma County to have 100% of their clients certified sustainable. Around that same time, he posed a question (or a challenge) to the new President of Sonoma County Winegrowers, Karissa Kruse: How can we get the Governor of California to recognize the efforts of Sonoma County growers’ sustainable practices? This question led to many discussions that ultimately culminated in the unprecedented commitment and 5-year journey for Sonoma County Winegrowers to certify 100% of vineyards in Sonoma County sustainable in 2019.

“Sonoma County Winegrowers, along with the Sonoma County Harvest Fair are proud to honor Duff Bevill with this award,” said Kruse, “Duff has not only been a catalyst in advancing sustainable winegrowing in Sonoma County, but a tremendous supporter of our organization, community and continuing efforts to promote and protect the resources of Sonoma County grape growers for generations to come.”

Duff Bevill and his wife Nancy own and lease a total of 80 acres of their own vineyards in the Dry Creek and Russian River valleys. The Bevill family lives in the heart of Dry Creek Valley, surrounded by vineyards.

Duff will be celebrated during the Harvest Fair Annual Awards Night to be held September 30 at Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. A limited number of tickets are available at HarvestFair.org or at the Harvest Fair Box Office located at 1350 Bennett Valley Road in Santa Rosa.