NEWS
Getting down to business
Nathan Jilbert is always thinking about how he can do things “better, quicker, cheaper” on the block.
manage because it’s a small patch.
split when it rains.”
“I love the industry. My grandfather
Nathan started with a vertical
was a dried fruit grower, so it’s in my
trellis system, with a plan to retrofit
blood. But for me it’s not a lifestyle –
swingarms later if needed with
although hopefully one day it will be.
cashflow from his first crop.
“For the time being, I need to have a
“Our first crop in 2018 yielded just
business mindset and maximise all of
over 10 tonnes, but summer pruning
my resources.”
and crown picking was a slow and
Vine Nursery, and is involved with
Nathan put in the research time to
expensive process, mainly because we
other local businesses.
find the right variety, needing it to
Bringing business strategy into the vineyard comes naturally to Nathan, who also works full time as a human resources manager, runs Sunraysia
Nathan began developing his own dried
fit the criteria of “consistent yields,
weren’t able to penetrate the canopy easily to see what needed to be cut or
bulletproof, easy to grow”.
picked,” he said.
1.5 hectares of Sunglo vines at his
“I had recently been licensed to grow
In an attempt to mechanise and reduce
property in Cardross, Victoria.
Sunglo in my nursery, so I knew all
grape vineyard in 2016, planting about
He had his business hat on right from the word go. “It had to be dried fruit because I’m time poor – I can’t be out in the vineyard all the time,” Nathan said. “It also needs to be easy for me to
8 VINE MAGAZINE
about the variety itself – although it was still fairly new and not many
labour requirements and costs, Nathan installed some secondhand trellis heads. They set up his crop well
people had it,” he said.
for 2019.
“But the research told me it was a
However, Nathan’s young vines had
consistent and heavy bearer,
been working hard and he could see
produces very high quality fruit, usually
they were a bit “clapped out”. So he
dries a lighter colour, and doesn’t
got some advice to start a fertiliser