We took our 7.5-month-old son to our family’s vineyard for the first time this weekend (and put our stroller to the test). The vines are bare for winter, but the cover crops are already knee-high, right on cue. Pali’s estate vineyard sits in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, where the soils are especially sandy. Building healthy cover crops here has taken years of steady work. They protect against erosion, return nitrogen to the soil, support pollinators, and increase biodiversity across the vineyard—making the vines more resilient to pests and disease.