Ram’s Gate Winery Earns Regenerative Organic Certified® Distinction, Reinforcing Global Environmental Leadership

(Oct. 20, 2025, SONO­MA, Calif.)—Jeff O’Neill, Pro­pri­etor of Ram’s Gate Win­ery in Sonoma’s Carneros AVA, announces today that the winery’s 28 acres of estate vine­yards have earned Regen­er­a­tive Organ­ic Cer­ti­fied® (ROC™) dis­tinc­tion, one of only 25 winer­ies in the world to achieve this rig­or­ous cer­ti­fi­ca­tion. This mile­stone builds on the momen­tum of Ram’s Gate’s Cal­i­for­nia Cer­ti­fied Organ­ic Farm­ers (CCOF) cer­ti­fi­ca­tion in 2024 and under­scores the company’s deep-root­ed com­mit­ment to envi­ron­men­tal­ly respon­si­ble prac­tices, fur­ther demon­strat­ed by O’Neill Vint­ners & Dis­tillers’ Green Medal Leader Award in 2021 and Cer­ti­fied B Cor­po­ra­tion sta­tus in 2022. 

“Ram’s Gate Winery’s Regen­er­a­tive Organ­ic Cer­ti­fi­ca­tion is an incred­i­ble achieve­ment and tes­ta­ment to the pas­sion and ded­i­ca­tion of our entire team,” says O’Neill. ​“This recog­ni­tion reflects our deep belief that excep­tion­al wine begins with healthy soil, bal­anced ecosys­tems, and a col­lec­tive com­mit­ment to land stewardship.” 

The ROC™ pro­gram, over­seen by the non­prof­it Regen­er­a­tive Organ­ic Alliance (ROA), sets one of the high­est stan­dards in agri­cul­ture today. Build­ing on the foun­da­tion of USDA organ­ic cer­ti­fi­ca­tion, the prin­ci­ples of ROC™ pri­or­i­tize soil health by fos­ter­ing organ­ic mat­ter, increas­ing diver­si­ty, seques­ter­ing car­bon, inte­grat­ing ani­mals, and pro­vid­ing social fair­ness for farm work­ers. This holis­tic approach ensures that agri­cul­ture ben­e­fits both the envi­ron­ment and peo­ple, pro­mot­ing more sus­tain­able ecosys­tems and communities. 

At Ram’s Gate, regen­er­a­tive organ­ic farm­ing is designed not just to pre­serve the land, but to restore and enhance it with every vin­tage. The winery’s approach pri­or­i­tizes build­ing health­i­er soils and more cli­mate resilient vine­yards, lead­ing to fruit that trans­par­ent­ly express­es site, soil, and sea­son. In tan­dem with the winery’s ROC™ recog­ni­tion, O’Neill Head of Sus­tain­abil­i­ty Caine Thomp­son and Wine­mak­er Joe Nielsen launched an ambi­tious agro­forestry ini­tia­tive in March 2025; an approach prac­ticed by a small set of winer­ies across France, includ­ing Château Cheval Blanc in Bor­deaux and Cham­pagne Ruinart. As a part of this ini­tia­tive, the team plant­ed 40 fruit trees per acre direct­ly with­in the vine­yard rows, which will con­tin­ue to improve soil health, increase bio­di­ver­si­ty, and cre­ate a resilient ecosys­tem built to thrive amid the chal­lenges of a chang­ing climate. 

Over the last sev­er­al years, Ram’s Gate has also elim­i­nat­ed all syn­thet­ic inputs and intro­duced cov­er crops to improve soil struc­ture and bio­di­ver­si­ty. Nat­ur­al pest con­trol is main­tained through fal­con­ry and owl box­es, while an annu­al sheep graz­ing pro­gram assists with weed man­age­ment and nutri­ent cycling. Togeth­er, these prac­tices rein­force Ram’s Gate’s com­mit­ment to envi­ron­men­tal stew­ard­ship and cul­ti­vat­ing a thriv­ing, resilient vine­yard ecosys­tem. Ram’s Gate’s 28-acre estate vine­yard has been Cer­ti­fied Sus­tain­able since 2015 and addi­tion­al­ly holds the Cer­ti­fied Fish Friend­ly Farm­ing® designation. 

“From the begin­ning, our phi­los­o­phy at Ram’s Gate has been root­ed in the idea that the best wines come from vine­yards in bal­ance with nature,” says O’Neill. ​“Regen­er­a­tive farm­ing allows us to go beyond organ­ic prac­tices — to not only pro­tect the land but active­ly improve it for gen­er­a­tions to come.” 

To view a selec­tion of images, click here. Pho­tos are cour­tesy of Ram’s Gate Winery. 

About Ram’s Gate Win­ery

Perched atop the rolling hills of the Carneros AVA, where the San Fran­cis­co Bay meets the edges of Napa and Sono­ma coun­ties, Ram’s Gate Win­ery stands as a tes­ta­ment to crafts­man­ship root­ed in respect for the land and a stead­fast com­mit­ment to sus­tain­abil­i­ty. Found­ed in 2011 by Pro­pri­etor Jeff O’Neill, Ram's Gate pro­duces fresh, expres­sive wines that cap­ture the essence and diver­si­ty of Sono­ma County’s most renowned vine­yards. The 28-acre Ram’s Gate Estate Vine­yard is Regen­er­a­tive Organ­ic Cer­ti­fied®, one of the high­est dis­tinc­tions in sus­tain­able agri­cul­ture today, reflect­ing a holis­tic approach that nur­tures soil health, bio­di­ver­si­ty, and eco­log­i­cal bal­ance. This seam­less har­mo­ny between land and craft extends to the winery’s tast­ing room, where guests are invit­ed to expe­ri­ence thought­ful wine­mak­ing, gen­uine hos­pi­tal­i­ty, and ele­vat­ed culi­nary pair­ings. Ram’s Gate Win­ery is open Thurs­day through Mon­day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reser­va­tions can be made online, and walk-in guests are always welcome.