Poly-Natural: Cutting plastic waste under the vines
When you think about the sheer numbers of plastic ‘bread bag’ clips, metal twisty ties and cane clips littering vineyards, it is a worrying thought.
Simon Yarrow says a sentiment heard at the recent WineTech conference in Adelaide was “New Zealand can do it, why can’t Australia?” That speaks volumes, he adds. “There’s definitely a perception that New Zealand’s WineTech is advanced.”
Simon says events like WineTech – both trade exhibition and conference - provide opportunities for New Zealand businesses to network with key players in the Australian market to build new commercial opportunities. “Importantly, they also create opportunities for businesses to collaborate. It’s powerful to see a connected ecosystem of WineTech businesses, growers, investors, researchers, government agencies and more come together to support one another.”
Industry tech events are also a good opportunity to understand the market and glean insights into existing technology
“These could be potential competitors or potential collaborators. They also help startups to identify what solutions are required by the industry,” says Simon.
He notes that New Zealand’s wine technology innovators are focused on adding value through the entire journey of grape growing and winemaking, starting in the vineyard, whereas Australian innovators at WineTech 2022 had a strong focus on winery technology.
One of the most exciting Kiwi participants was Cropsy, which has created a digital eye mounted on a tractor to help wine growers capture valuable data on every single plant growing in a vineyard, says Simon. “By understanding how many grapes are on the vine, they can plan for how much vat space they’ll need to allocate out for example. Cropsy deployed a new unit in Adelaide with a customer while they were visiting for the conference.”
Innovators are creating solutions for a range of challenges including climate, water and labour shortages, says Simon. “A key focus is creating technology that produces higher quality wine, as that’s our point of difference as a nation. We’re not necessarily going to outsell on quantity compared to other markets, but we can pride ourselves on our high-quality products.”
Kiwi wine technology businesses need to be global in their outlook from day one, he adds. “The New Zealand market is small. Before they spend any money they have to ask themselves if it’s a big enough problem to solve. Scaling these technologies and maximising their return for New Zealand by going global makes them more commercially viable and therefore more effective for our wine sector.”
