Making Biochar in the Vineyard

Napachar is a young company based in Napa, California with the mission to replace burn piles with biochar kilns throughout Napa and Sonoma County.

We use flame-cap kilns (Ring of Fire and Utah Big Box) to turn the woody waste of vineyard management (vines pulled for replacement, vine prunings, adjacent forestry slash) into biochar right on site, where it can be immediately reincorporated into the vineyard soil.

In our first year of operation, we processed the pulled vines from 45 acres of vineyards, producing approximately 60 tons of biochar (280 cubic yards). Perhaps just as importantly, we operated at a slight profit while pricing our service competitively with wood chipping. 

In this presentation, we will share data and learned efficiencies from our first year of operation. Our hope is to inspire copy cats such that on-site biochar production spreads like low-intensity forest-fire throughout the woody-debris-rich areas of the world.

Keywords: Flame-cap kiln, On-site biochar production, Vineyard waste, Regenerative agriculture, vineyard biochar, ring of fire kiln, big box biochar kiln