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Bill Holt grew up in Oklahoma. His family was in the agriculture business and he has always loved farming. Many years ago, Bill and his wife bought the piece of property that they now call Uvas Creek Vineyards. The land that they bought had been a vineyard, planted by previous owners in the 1900’s. Then, after World War II started, the men of the family went off to war so the dad decided to rip the vineyard out and plant walnuts. When Bill bought the land, it was full of decaying walnut trees and everything was over-grown. Bill and his wife first built their home there. Later, they decided to re-plant vineyards. |
 Grassed vineyard with buffer strips next to Uvas Creek |
| Bill has been farming the land full time for the last 19 years, harvesting and selling the grapes. They first started with the lower part of their property and now have added two more areas. He recently bought Sycamore Creek vineyards, bringing his total acreage to about 69 acres, all planted in vineyards. With the newly purchased winery, he will also be able to make his own wine and sell to the public. Bill has always been very active in improving his properties. Beyond installing best management practices to protect water quality, he has been enhancing habitat for birds and wildlife. | |
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Under his management, there are now many more birds including quail and a large raptor population. There are also a large variety of mammals including bobcats. He has maintained the trees on the outskirts of the property by trimming them and making sure all the branches are kept healthy. He uses the trimmings as mulch in the rows of the vineyard. Bill grows grass in between the rows and then scatters straw on top. The straw holds the grass in place and is less likely to move with any overland flow. It also holds the water in place very well. |
| Bill uses a benching system where that he has steep slopes around the property. The benches are planted with grasses, trees, and vines so that, when the rain comes, it collects there first and then get soaked into the ground instead of flowing downhill quickly. Similarly, Bill manages the runoff from his road by making sure that any runoff flows into the grassed area surrounding it. In that way, no sediment from the road can flow off site. |
 Grassed planted benches |
 Runoff from graveled road flows to grassed areas |
Using this trio of best management practices, the benching, grassedvineyards, and buffer strips, the water is usually stopped, and any remaining water is filtered before leaving the property. It has worked well for him and has significantly reduced runoff from the property.
Bill says that he first heard about the water quality classes through the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau and decided that he had better take them. Bill says that what he found was that he was already doing these practices but that there were areas where he could improve – and he has now put those improvements into place. In addition, he continues to look for opportunities for improvement. Overall, Bill is doing an outstanding job in protecting water quality and the environment by protecting the habitat and keeping water on his property and out of the creek! |
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