Growing Better

“It’s a very exciting time for this way of thinking in agriculture.” Steve recently announced Pyramid Valley’s partnership with Oritain, a forensic science company taking a unique “fingerprint” of each parcel of soil on the North Canterbury vineyard and carrying it through the wines, in the ultimate in track and trace (see page 24). “While we take our cues from older philosophies, it is marrying these cues with innovation, inquisitive minds, modern technology and science that sets us apart,” Steve says.

It’s often seen as a contradiction, he adds. “But the cool thing is that science and technology is going to help the natural world thrive – whether that be in proving that nature has been behind making a wine that comes from this place, or being able to apply our growing approaches in a way that is so smart that nature is allowed to thrive with it.” It’s a symbiosis that can be hard to explain to people, he adds. “And it’s at the core of where I personally sit.”

Tapping into science to harness nature is at the heart of a Bragato Research Institute (BRI) programme working to sequence the DNA of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, looking for patterns of increased natural mutation that may help vineyards respond to future challenges. “Plants have an innate ability to change their own genetics when confronted with an environmental shock, says Dr Darrell Lizamore, who leads the Sauvignon Blanc Grapevine Improvement Programme (see page 28). “If we can use this response to produce vines with different traits, then we could select those better suited to future viticulture.”

Half an island away in Blenheim, plans for the Experimental Future Vineyard include measuring soil carbon capture from grapevines, and assessing how that might shift as the climate changes (see page 26). Damian Martin, Plant & Food Research Science Group Leader Viticulture and Oenology, says the experimental vineyard, which offers researchers the ability to control multiple inputs, including soil type and temperature, will offer a long-term lens to the industry. “Being able to understand how best to grow excellent grapes that allow winemakers to meet their environmental, financial and societal requirements will ensure our wine sector can continue to grow.” Damian notes that New Zealand has always been at the leading edge of grape and wine science, and more recently the focus has moved below ground. The establishment of the BRI has given research a higher profile within the wine industry, “and there are lots of people with lots of questions about their own management”. Extreme variation in climate is also influencing people’s thinking around risk, with the parameters changing year by year, increasing the economic, environmental and consumer imperatives to dig more deeply into science, Damian says.

Just down the road, BRI and an industry working group are trialling an array of canopy designs to “reboot sunshine into wine”, says Cloudy Bay Technical Director Jim White (see page 22). BRI’s David Armour says enhancing fruit quality on the same amount of space, while making inputs, management and labour more efficient, will increase financial and environmental sustainability.

The project was announced at the Beyond Vineyard Ecosystems conference in Christchurch in September, which also married science with nature at every turn, from the kick off keynote address given by regenerative viticulture devotee Richard Leask, from Hither and Yon in McLarenVale Australia, to Dr Sarah Knight – lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at University of Auckland – talking of the valuable dataset gained from five years of samples from two regions and 24 sites, shedding light on vineyard soils and how they interact with vines, ground cover, and climate, in a contemporary (with herbicide) and future (no herbicide and low synthetic pesticide) setting.

Dr Olaf Schelezki, a viticulture lecturer at Lincoln University, says biodiverse ecosystems that break up monoculture have been a “hot topic” for many in the wine industry (see page 80). “This has been fuelled by recently gained scientific knowledge which suggests using plants other than vines in and around vineyards benefits ecosystems by fostering the important soil-food web,” Olaf says. “Benefits include managing insect pests or vectors for viruses, to restoring soil health, increasing water infiltration rates and holding capacities, and better nutrient acquisition.”

Meanwhile, technology is transforming the way winegrowers do business, from robots for scaring birds, to the new “autonomous multi-use, modular vehicle platform” being rolled out by Tauranga-based Robotics Plus in vineyards, the smart (and getting smarter) machines are coming.

Whether it’s modern regenerative farming “building dynamic ecosystems” or using sensors and miniature robotic tractors, “it all ties into the same way of thinking”, says Steve. “Preconceptions about what we have done in the past should be thrown out.”