Sustainability' is a buzz word at the moment, but it can be thrown around like popcorn at the movies. These 'kernels' of information are priceless to consumers, yet continue to fall through the cracks of our understanding. I want to get a bit serious and clear here about certain practices in this industry, like weed control, which are common knowledge, but not often understood. Practices which hold viticulture back from true sustainability: protecting the environment, supporting social responsibility, maintaining economic feasibility and producing high quality wine.
At the height of spring growth, it is easy to tell the vineyards using herbicides and those that do not. It’s the pale yellow runway strip of ground along the vine rows that give it away.
Not all vineyards use herbicides, however as strong as the trend towards a chemical-free vineyard is, the push against change is firmly grounded in traditional agriculture and well, it comes down to dollars.
Spreading a layer of mulch along the vine row is super effective, if you don’t mind growing it, cutting it, baling it or the laborious work of laying it out along the rows.
Under vine weeding machines are fabulous, but are expensive to purchase, operate and maintain. Raising animals (like sheep) to graze the vineyard during winter costs feed, medicine and labour, not to mention the land you need to rotate these ruminants. For most, it’s far more cost effective and easier to spray herbicide, despite the health risks. According to the Australian Wine Research Institute’s Mark Krstic, “Glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide in the Australian wine industry”.
Glyphosate, like most herbicides, is designed to kill plant life. The problem with using it though, is that humans and animals contain DNA that is made up of the same four building blocks as plants.
In October 2018, Cancer Council Australia called on the body which regulates agrichemicals (APVMA), to conduct a review of glyphosate after a jury in America found that Roundup had contributed to a school groundskeeper's cancer.
People ask 'why do grapevines not die when herbicide is sprayed?'. This is a great question! Vines are sprayed during the winter dormancy period when root and shoot growth is not active. Usually injury to the vine occurs when glyphosate accidentally comes in contact with green (active) tissue. That said, the chemical remains in the soil and can seep into the root zone with the help of rain or irrigation and can lock-up nutrients in the soil.
At the height of spring growth, it is easy to tell the vineyards using herbicides and those that do not. It’s the pale yellow runway strip of ground along the vine rows that give it away.
Not all vineyards use herbicides, however as strong as the trend towards a chemical-free vineyard is, the push against change is firmly grounded in traditional agriculture and well, it comes down to dollars.
Spreading a layer of mulch along the vine row is super effective, if you don’t mind growing it, cutting it, baling it or the laborious work of laying it out along the rows.
Under vine weeding machines are fabulous, but are expensive to purchase, operate and maintain. Raising animals (like sheep) to graze the vineyard during winter costs feed, medicine and labour, not to mention the land you need to rotate these ruminants. For most, it’s far more cost effective and easier to spray herbicide, despite the health risks. According to the Australian Wine Research Institute’s Mark Krstic, “Glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide in the Australian wine industry”.
Glyphosate, like most herbicides, is designed to kill plant life. The problem with using it though, is that humans and animals contain DNA that is made up of the same four building blocks as plants.
In October 2018, Cancer Council Australia called on the body which regulates agrichemicals (APVMA), to conduct a review of glyphosate after a jury in America found that Roundup had contributed to a school groundskeeper's cancer.
People ask 'why do grapevines not die when herbicide is sprayed?'. This is a great question! Vines are sprayed during the winter dormancy period when root and shoot growth is not active. Usually injury to the vine occurs when glyphosate accidentally comes in contact with green (active) tissue. That said, the chemical remains in the soil and can seep into the root zone with the help of rain or irrigation and can lock-up nutrients in the soil.
Hugh and I have pursued improvements in fruit quality and vineyard health from the very first day we set foot on our vineyard.
The farm itself had been well run before our take over in 2016, however agricultural methods used had been very traditional, with a focus on chemical inputs. Initial soil tests revealed the ground was compacted, certain macronutrients were excessive, whilst micronutrients were scarce and there was a lack of biodiversity in the vineyard. In the five years we have been here, we've turned that all around. We've focused on soil health and remediating the vineyard from the ground up. The benefits of eliminating the use of harmful chemicals, via biological alternatives, far outweigh the costs.
Consumers are growing more wary of not only where their food comes from, but more importantly, 'how it is grown'. Quality wine is not possible when fruit quality is compromised by chemical use. In 2016, a study published in Food Chemistry Journal*, revealed that fruit harvested from grapevines, treated with glyphosate, were chemically altered and “treatment with glyphosate may affect fruit metabolism and nutritional value”.
The intensity of what we do to achieve quality, safeguard the environment and the social responsibility we have to our customers is 100% worth it. Quality does come at a price, but it is not extraordinary.
For Hugh and I, the decision to not use herbicides or pesticides on our vineyard was a very simple one to make. This land we care for, this vineyard, is for the next generation and the one after that. Whatever we do today will impact the future of our daughter and her children, so every decision is always made with that in mind.
