What if the secret to a better glass of wine started not with the grape, but with what’s living beneath your feet? I recently had the pleasure of attending CWES, where I met the remarkable team behind AniChe Cellars — and walked away with a new-to-me concept I haven’t been able to stop thinking about: regenerative viticulture.
About AniChe Cellars
“AniChe Cellars is a boutique family-owned winery nestled in the Columbia River Gorge in Underwood, Washington. Founded in 2009 by Rachael Horn and now run alongside her daughter Anaïs Mera, this multigenerational operation is uniquely led by an all-female winemaking team. They specialize in small-batch, European-style blends that honor the natural variations of each growing season with minimal intervention.”
It has been a family business throughout, with Anais’s brother Che being intimately involved in non-winemaking activities, along with many cousins.
The name AniChe itself tells the family story — a blend of Anaïs and Che.
Their wines are quite wonderful. One of my favorites was their Sirius 2024, which is 80% Barbera and 20% Dolcetto. It was lovely.
So What Exactly Is Regenerative Viticulture?
Great question — I had to ask, too! According to AniChe, “regenerative viticulture is a holistic approach to grape-growing that goes beyond farming organically to actively restore the environment. It focuses on rebuilding vineyard soil health, increasing biodiversity, and sequestering carbon to reverse climate change, transforming the vineyard into a self-sustaining, resilient ecosystem.”
Think of it this way: organic farming says “do no harm.” Regenerative viticulture says “let’s actively make things better.”
What Does “Regenerative” Actually Look Like in the Vineyard?
Here’s where it gets really interesting! Regenerative growers use practices like:
– Cover cropping — planting vegetation between vine rows to attract beneficial insects, build soil nutrients, and prevent erosion
– Composting — returning organic matter to the soil instead of relying on synthetic fertilizers
– No-till farming — leaving the soil undisturbed to protect its microbial life (those tiny organisms are doing *a lot* of heavy lifting)
– Hedgerows and habitat corridors — creating homes for birds and insects that naturally keep pests in check
The result? Soil that’s alive, complex, and resilient — better able to handle drought, disease, and the increasing pressures of climate change.
Why Should Wine Lovers Care?
Because healthy soil makes more expressive wine. When vines have to work a little harder — reaching deeper into living, mineral-rich soil rather than being propped up by synthetic inputs — they develop more complexity. The wines from regeneratively farmed vineyards tend to have a stronger sense of terroir (tair-WAHR), the French concept of “place” that you can actually taste in the glass. It’s the difference between a wine that just tastes like “wine” and one that tastes like somewhere.
Who’s Leading the Charge?
The Regenerative Viticulture Foundation is at the center of this growing movement. Their mission: to “empower vineyards to adopt practices that restore the land and strengthen the future of wine growing.” They have an ambitious goal — to see 10% of the world’s vineyards farmed regeneratively by 2035. That’s a meaningful slice of the global wine industry, and momentum is building.
Major producers are joining in, too. Jackson Family Wines has committed $2.5 million to a regenerative viticulture program across their 14,000-acre operation, already reporting improved soil structure and greater water retention at transitioned vineyards.
And, of course, there’s AniChe Cellars, from whom I discovered the term and concept.
What I’m Taking Away
Meeting the AniChe Cellars team at CWES was one of those happy surprises that reminds me why I love the world of wine so much — there is always something new to discover! Regenerative viticulture is still a relatively young movement, but the passion behind it is contagious. I’m excited to keep following these pioneering winemakers and see where this journey leads.
Want to explore wines from a small, passionate producer — and learn more about what makes each one unique? An in-person tasting or virtual tasting is a wonderful way to do exactly that. Let’s set one up!
Cheers!
