Busy as a Bee

By Sarah Murdoch Oregon winemakers are sourcing grapes from vineyards prioritizing healthy ecosystems– long before the wine reaches your glass. This month’s Pollinator Week (June 22-28) provides a wonderful opportunity to learn more about bees and the role they play in wine. Grapes are magical little machines whose blooms contain both male and female reproductive parts, making them self-pollinating and reliant on wind and gravity rather than bees. Although bees aren’t necessary for grape production, they’re vital to vineyard ecosystems. Bees pollinate flowers and clover between rows to improve soil health, supporting the overall biodiversity of the vineyard. Their presence signals a balanced, healthy ecosystem. MEET THE BEE GIRL Equally remarkable is the bee itself; melittologist Sarah Red-Laird has devoted most of her life to bees.  A self-described wild child who felt calm only when outdoors, splitting her childhood between Ashland and Alaska, she “

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