Winepress - May 2020

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF WINE MARLBOROUGH

ISSUE NO. 305/ MAY 2020

COVID HARVEST

VINTAGE DELIGHT

Photo: Jim Tannock

wine-marlborough.co.nz

PRUNING SOLUTIONS

SAUVIGNON BLANC DAY

10

this issue...

REGULARS

FEATURES

3 4

10 Harvest 2020

20 22 24 26

Cover:

Editorial - Sophie Preece

From Wine Marlborough Vance Kerslake Forgotten Corners - Pyramid Farm Generation Y-ine - João Corbett Biosecurity Watch - Jim Herdman

10

Marlborough wine companies are counting their luck, after harvesting the 2020 vintage amidst a national lockdown. But the vintage will be remembered for more than winery bubbles and Covid-19 precautions, with excellent fruit in the tank.

17

16 Pruning Tactics

Industry News

Pruning Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc immediately after harvest can substantially extend the pruning season, with no increased risk of trunk disease. That’s one of the findings in a fact sheet on pruning options under a labour shortage.

20 Pyramid Vines

Mark Allen gives guidance on how to

prune using the four-cordon, long-spur method. Photo Jim Tannock. See page 16

22

Developing a bespoke vineyard on the award-winning Pyramid Farm is a “once in a lifetime opportunity”, says viticulturist Richard Hunter.

Winepress May 2020 / 1

For Expert Viticultural Property Advice

Helen Woodward

ALEXANDER HAYWARD LTD

Resource Management Consultant

Registered Valuers, Property Consultants, Arbitrators

and monitoring needs

Specialising in all aspects of Vineyard and Winery Valuation, Including Specialist Plant and Machinery Contact: Dave Stark Lex Hayward

For all your resource consent application

Water-Discharge-Land Use For Experienced, Local, Prompt Service

Dip VFM, FNZPI, AAMINZ

Experienced in all South Island Wine growing Regions

Ph 03 5789776 Fax 03 5782806

Contact Helen at

B Ag Com, FNZIV, FNZPI

Email: h.woodward@xtra.co.nz

Level 1, 20 Market St, BLENHEIM email valuations@alexhayward.co.nz

Mobile: 0272 111154

Winery Solutions Speciality Services •

Our local project design & service team is highly experienced in the wine industry and critical temperature control

•

We work directly with you and your business to design a system that meets your needs and budget requirements

•

As Marlborough’s authorised Daikin specialist we can provide inverter chillers with outstanding performance, superior flexibility and energy efficiency.

Want to learn more? Give us a call today.

03 578 0030 2 / Winepress May 2020

www.martella.co.nz

1 Freswick St, Blenheim

General Manager: Marcus Pickens 03 577 9299 marcus@winemarlborough.nz Editor: Sophie Preece 027 308 4455 sophie@sophiepreece.co.nz Advertising and Subscriptions: Sarah Linklater 021 704 733 sarah@wine-marlborough.nz Wine Marlborough Board: Ben Ensor ben.lisa@clear.net.nz Beth Forrest Beth@forrest.co.nz

From the Editor IT’S AN ill wind that blows no good and the perfect time for a pithy proverb.

Because while Covid-19 has indeed been a very ill wind, pummelling our economy, shaking our way of life and giving the wine industry a fraught harvest and uncertain sales trajectory, it’s come with unexpected good.

Covid-19 cannot be thanked, of course, for the glorious harvest weather and beautiful fruit, which mark this vintage as one of the best. But it did shine a light on the resilience, adaptability and great heart of Marlborough’s wine industry, which took a deep breath, assessed its options, looked after its people, then got on with the business of vintage. “If you didn’t panic; if you weighed up your options and proceeded calmly, then you could make the most of an extremely good harvest - one of the best we’ve had,” says Dog Point viticulturist Nigel Sowman in this month’s vintage review.

Callum Linklater callum@csviticulture.co.nz Jack Glover jack.glover@accolade-wines.co.nz Kirsty Harkness kirsty@mountbase.co.nz Nick Entwistle nick@wairauriverwines.com Stuart Dudley (Deputy Chair) stuartd@villamaria.co.nz Tom Trolove (Chair) tom.trolove@framingham.co.nz Tracy Johnston Tracy@dayvinleigh.co.nz Jamie Marfell Jamie.Marfell@pernod-ricard.com Designed by: Blenheim Print Ltd 03 578 1322 Disclaimer: The views and articles that are

expressed and appear in Winepress are entirely those of contributors and in no way reflect the policy of the Marlborough Winegrowers. Any advice given, implied or suggested should be considered on its merits, and no responsibility can be taken for problems arising from the use of such information.

This document is printed on an environmentally responsible paper, produced using elemental chlorine free (EFC), third party pulp from responsible sources, manufactured under the strict ISO 14001 Environmental Management System and is 100% Recyclable.

Ballochdale Estate’s Garry Neill had yet to harvest a grape when the country was faced with Level 4 lockdown, and the wine industry considered the implications of a harvest hibernation. It would have been an unfathomable blow for both Ballochdale and Marlborough’s economy, says Garry. Instead, New Zealand Winegrowers convinced the Ministry for Primary Industries that vintage could be conducted safely, and wine and contracting companies did everything they needed to comply, he says. “I was really impressed with the way everyone just bloody well did it.”

The companies he worked with were “fantastic”, bringing in their own machines to harvest his Awatere Valley Pinot Noir. “They rose to the occasion and everyone seemed to know what to do,” says Garry, who set himself up in a deck chair above the vineyard (see photo) with a two-way radio and binoculars.

With harvest over and fruit in, the wine industry is now looking at selling wine in a drastically different market, with no post-vintage global travel to take wines to the world. Instead it’s webinars, Zoom meetings, live Instagram feed, virtual tastings and direct to customer sales. That’s a route digital gurus have long promoted, but sometimes adaptation only happens under pressure. “I think the future is going to be very virtual,” says Huia’s Claire Allan on page 13. “It could be stressful finding the right sales channels, but is a great catalyst for change.”

Because, of course, every cloud has a silver lining.

SOPHIE PREECE Winepress May 2020 / 3

PROTECT

From Wine Marlborough VANCE KERSLAKE

THERE IS a little-known committee called the Marlborough Labour Governance Group (MLGG). It normally meets a few times each year to bid for a share of the annual Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme (RSE) cap increase. With low unemployment and the wine industry growing, this has been fairly straight forward - but this is not a normal year.

Over the past few months, the MLGG has been working tirelessly, meeting weekly and sometimes daily, to ensure Marlborough has the workforce you need for winter pruning. We have been lobbying the government and advocating for sensible, pragmatic decisions, with some successes along the way.

The group is chaired by Marlborough Winegrowers grower representative Guy Lissaman, with elected representatives from the Marlborough RSE group - Aaron Jay (Hortus) and Tanya Pouwhare (Grapeworx). Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens and I (Wine Marlborough advocacy manager) work closely with Immigration New Zealand, the Labour Inspectorate and the Ministry of Social Development, who are also members of the governance group. The group has been closely tracking RSE worker numbers and location, identifying opportunities for displaced Kiwis to work in the industry, lobbying for flexibility for vintage workers to stay on for winter pruning, and requesting information about pruning options.

There are a lot of RSE workers in New Zealand who are ready, willing and able to work. Summer workers unable to return home can continue working until September 25.

Many winter RSE workers were in other regions and the government has recognised these are essential workers and will allow them to move regions under strict travel conditions.

However, there is going to be a shortfall in the number of RSE workers available this winter. We do not know the exact gap, but even if we have the usual numbers, there will be an experience gap. Many of the summer workers will be learning pruning techniques and may not have experienced a Marlborough winter before. When the borders open, workers will return home - tropical cyclone Harold caused extensive damage in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga in April, and workers will be anxious to see their families.

Locals are a very important part of the workforce, and even more so this year. You can help reduce the

4 / Winepress May 2020

RSE shortfall by utilising more local staff than normal.

Contractors are advertising for staff and will be employing locals as soon as the alert level allows. The industry can provide work opportunities for many local people who have been displaced from their jobs, and the MLGG is exploring options to train locals. This should be announced by the time you read this column.

Marlborough has many vintage workers on temporary work visas. We lobbied for greater flexibility for vintage workers who may wish to stay on for pruning. It was great news that vintage staff can change the work they are doing for their employer and remain in Marlborough. The MLGG is also advocating for ‘backpackers’ - people on working holiday visas - to be allowed greater flexibility.

Through our work with New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW), the Bragato Research Institute (BRI) released information about different vineyard management and pruning options to consider (pg17). Wine Marlborough also co-funded a video on spur pruning (pg16), which BRI released in late April.

Lastly, a word about compliance. As we’ve all experienced, there are many more rules and regulations to comply with under Covid-19 alert levels. In addition to those new requirements, all the same old rules about visa conditions, minimum employment standards, and health and safety still apply. The Labour Inspectorate will be out doing checks this winter. Marlborough has built an enviable reputation for compliance and we all need to maintain those high standards (pg9).

These are unprecedented times and for Marlborough’s vineyards to be pruned effectively this winter, we all need to be flexible and work collaboratively. The Marlborough wine industry, our RSE and vineyard contractor colleagues, local workers, council and government agencies all have roles to achieve this.

PROTECT

Roundwood Limited Suppliers of Quality Roundwood Contact:

Grant Cathcart

PHOENIX

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Warm and Chilled Glycol Systems Design & Build Mechanical Services Heat Recovery Systems S/S Wine and Juice Lines Water Treatment and Filtration

fax 03 313 3767

021 177 2669

mobile 021 511 460

Marlborough wine industry”

Phone 03 313 8339

roundwood@mcalpines.co.nz

“Over 15 years experience serving the

WWW.PHOENIXMECHANICAL.CO.NZ

Start fresh with

DIGESTER

Reduce overwintering disease by recycling crop waste » Digester stimulates naturally occurring soil microbes that rapidly decomposes crop residue back into useful nutrients and humus » Speedy decomposition removes the overwintering disease inoculum

25 25 years

» Available from leading Horticultural Suppliers.

1994 – 2019

Call 0800 116 229

BIOS 011 Digester Advert Half Page Landscape Update.indd 2

biostart.co.nz 10/2/19 5:10 pm

Winepress May 2020 / 5

MET REPORT Table 1: Blenheim Weather Data – April 2020

Temperature

April April 2020 April Period April 2020 compared to LTA LTA of LTA 2019 GDD’s for: Month - Max/Min¹ 116.7 106% 110.4 (1996-2019) 99.0 Month – Mean² 120.1 106% 113.5 (1996-2019) 99.0 Growing Degree Days Total Jul 19 - Apr 20 – Max/Min 1374.0 102% 1342.6 (1996-2019) 1532.0 Jul 19 - Apr 20 – Mean 1423.0 104% 1374.2 (1996-2019) 1532.0 Mean Maximum (°C) 20.1 +1.3°C 18.8 (1986-2019) 18.4 Mean Minimum (°C) 7.6 -0.4°C 8.0 (1986-2019) 8.1 Mean Temp (°C) 13.8 +0.3°C 13.5 (1986-2019) 13.2 Grass Frosts (<= -1.0°C) 2 1 more 1.12 (1986-2019) 0 Air Frosts (<0.0°C) 0 - 0.15 (1986-2019) 0 Sunshine hours 233.4 123% 190.4 (1986-2019) 211.2 Sunshine hours – lowest 92.1 1938 Sunshine hours – highest 238.5 1958 Sunshine hours total – 2020 983.3 108% 913.7 (1986-2019) 1044.2 Rainfall (mm) 24.2 47% 51.7 (1986-2019) 80.2 Rainfall (mm) – lowest 0.6 1992 Rainfall (mm) – highest 173.0 1962 Rainfall total (mm) – 2020 44.2 24% 185.4 (1986-2019) 186.6 Evapotranspiration – mm 81.9 130% 63.2 (1996-2019) 58.1 Avg. Daily Windrun (km) 226.2 104% 218.3 (1996-2019) 167.8 Mean soil temp – 10cm 11.2 -0.9°C 12.1 (1986-2019) 13.2 Mean soil temp – 30cm 12.1 -2.5°C 14.6 (1986-2019) 15.1 1 ¹GDD’s Max/Min are calculated from absolute daily maximum and minimum temperatures ²GDD’s Mean are calculated from average hourly temperatures

Table 2: Weekly weather data for Blenheim during April 2020

Mean

Mean

Mean

Maximum Minimum

Rainfall

Sunshine

(mm) (hours)

1 – 7 April

19.8

(+1.0) 9.3 (+1.3) 14.5

(+1.0)

0

46.7

8 – 14 April

19.1

(+0.3) 8.9 (+0.9) 14.0

(+0.5)

9.2

53.5

15 – 21 April

19.3

(+0.5) 5.5 (-2.5) 12.4

(-1.1)

13.8

57.9

22 – 28 April

21.3

(+2.5) 7.5 (-0.5) 14.4

(+0.9)

1.2

56.2

29 – 30 April

22.5

(+3.7) 4.5 (-3.5) 13.5

(=)

0

19.3

(2 days) April 2020

20.1 (+1.3°C) 7.6 (-0.4°C) 13.8 (+0.3°C) 24.2 (47%) 233.4 (123%)

Long-term Average 1986-2019

6 / Winepress May 2020

18.8°C

8.0°C

13.5°C

51.7 mm 190.4 hours

April’s mean temperature of 13.8°C was 0.3°C above the long-term average (LTA). The data in Table 2 indicate that all four weeks in April recorded above average daily maximum temperatures. The final 10 days of the month produced some stunning daytime maximum temperatures in the lower 20’s, well above the April LTA maximum of 18.8°C. So much so that the last day of April produced the warmest maximum temperature for the month of 23.4°C. However, while the days were warm the overnight minimums in the second half of April were well below average. With warm days and cool nights the daily range in temperature during April of 12.5°C was 1.7°C greater than the LTA. Sunshine April recorded 233.4 hours sunshine, 123% of the LTA. April 2020 is now the fifth sunniest April on record for Blenheim, for the 91 years 1930-2020.

Daily average sunshine during April 2020 was 7.78 hours; this is an extra 1.43 hours each day compared to the LTA. Total sunshine for Blenheim from January to April 2020 is 983.3 hours, 108% of the long-term average of 913.7 hours (1986-2019). This is the sixth sunniest January to April on record (1930-2020). Sunniest on record is 2019 with 1044 hours.

Rainfall April recorded 24.2 mm rain, 47% of the LTA. So far in 2020 all four months have recorded well below average rainfall totals. January (0.2 mm), February (8.6 mm), March (11.2 mm) and April (24.2 mm). Total rainfall for Blenheim from January to April 2020 was 44.2 mm, 24% of the LTA. This is the third lowest total on record for the 91 years 1930-2020). Lowest total was in 1939, which only recorded 20.8

mm. It is interesting to note that of the 10 lowest January to April totals on record over the last 91 years that five of the 10 lowest totals have occurred since the year 2000. At the end of April 2020 central Marlborough is still in the grips of a drought. Although there was some rainfall in Blenheim in April the deficit only worsened.

Average rainfall in Blenheim for the four autumn/ winter months May to August is 62 mm. In order for the current rainfall deficit to be recovered over the next four months Blenheim would need to receive 101 mm rain each month. Given that this is highly unlikely to happen it is probable that Blenheim will go into the new season in September with a continuing rainfall and soil moisture deficit.

Wairau water consents in 2019 and 2020 There was a marked contrast between the 2019 and 2020 seasons with regard to the shut off of Wairau River Class A water consents. Data supplied by Val Wadsworth at Marlborough District Council details that in 2019 “Wairau consents were shut off on 1 February and continued to be off until 8 March 2019, with the exception of one day, a total of 35 days. A couple of good rain events in March 2019 then meant there were no further substantial restrictions.

This year (2020) the dry period started later, after that good December rain put some base flow into the upper catchment. Consequently restrictions were nearly a month later kicking in, and then some very small rainfall events in the headwaters just kept flows above the threshold. There were three short shutoffs in 2020 totalling seven days; 28-29 February, 15-17 March, 20-21 March”. Figure 1 displays the Wairau River flow at Barnetts Bank for the period January to March 2019 (black line) and 2020 (red line).

Long-term average (LTA) – 1986-2019 The rainfall data for the 2019-20 season (Table 3) clearly indicate that it was a season of two halves. September to December 2019 recorded slightly above average rainfall

whereas January to April 2020 recorded well below average rainfall. Three of the eight months of the 2019-20 growing season recorded mean temperatures that were above average, four months recorded below average temperatures and one was equal to the average. However, despite only three months being above average, the overall average for the season was 0.24°C above the LTA. This was due to the fact that November and February recorded mean temperatures well above their LTA, whereas the months with cooler than average temperatures were not so far below their LTA. Total growing degree days for the 2019-20 season (black line) were slightly above average (Figure 2). However, the GDD total was well below the GDD totals recorded in 2017/18 (1519.6 = 116%) and 2018/19 (1464.7 = 111%). The GDD lines for those two seasons stand out as being much warmer than any of the other seasons in the period from January to April.

Yield components of Marlborough Sauvignon blanc at harvest in 2020 The three yield components that combine to produce the final yield of a vine (or block) at harvest are: bunch number per vine, berry number per bunch and average berry weight.

Plant & Food Research has been monitoring vines on four Marlborough Sauvignon blanc vineyards since 2005.

The yield components at harvest in 2020 on these four vineyards were as follow: The period of bunch initiation for most Sauvignon blanc for the 2020 vintage occurred in November and early December 2018 (15 months before harvest). Temperatures over much of this period were below average. A cooler than average bunch initiation period led to bunch numbers across the four blocks at harvest in 2020 being between 77 and 96% of the long-term average (LTA) (Mean=87%).

However, warm temperatures in November and early December 2019 when the vines were flowering led to above average berry numbers per bunch; between 112 and 157%

Figure 1: Wairau River flow at Barnett Bank; January to March 2019 and 2020

Winepress May 2020 / 7

Table 3: Monthly weather summary for Blenheim, for the 2019-20 growing season in comparison to the long-term average

LTA 19/20 LTA 19/20 LTA 19/20 LTA 19/20 LTA 19/20 LTA 19/20 LTA 19/20

Rain Rain Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean Mean GDD GDD ET ET Sun Sun Max Max Min Min

Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Total Mean % of LTA or deviation

mm mm °C °C °C °C °C °C mm mm hours hours 52.5 63.4 16.2 16.2 6.0 5.9 11.1 11.1 (=) 55.9 47.8 71.9 75.6 193.4 215.4 57.8 28.0 18.3 18.4 7.8 7.0 13.1 12.7 (-0.4) 104.4 95.4 102.4 103.5 230.8 250.5 49.6 42.6 20.0 22.2 9.5 11.2 14.8 16.7 (+1.9) 145.4 201.9 123.0 134.0 241.4 272.8 48.1 91.2 21.9 21.5 11.7 11.9 16.8 16.7 (-0.1) 216.7 208.2 140.3 140.1 250.6 272.6 44.5 0.2 23.6 22.9 12.9 12.2 18.2 17.5 (-0.7) 255.8 236.4 143.9 133.9 263.5 245.0 47.7 8.6 23.2 24.9 12.5 13.5 17.9 19.2 (+1.3) 226.2 267.4 114.1 140.3 229.4 270.9 41.5 11.2 21.5 21.4 10.6 9.6 16.1 15.5 (-0.6) 199.3 170.6 99.5 104.2 230.4 234.0 51.7 24.2 18.8 20.1 8.0 7.6 13.5 13.8 (+0.3) 110.4 116.7 63.2 81.9 190.4 233.4 393.4 269.4 1314.1 1344.4 858.3 913.5 1829.8 1994.6 20.5 21.0 9.9 9.9 15.18 15.42 68%

+0.5°C

of the LTA across the four vineyards (Mean=131%). Berry size was well down on normal across a range of varieties and locations. Average berry weights were between 83 and 99% of the LTA across the four vineyards (Mean=88%).

Berry weights have been below average in 2019 and 2020, presumably as a result of very low rainfall in January and February 2019 and 2020.

The combination of the three yield components led to average bunch weights being between 101 and 130% of the LTA across the four vineyards (Mean=116%). Yields per vine were between 74 and 109% of the LTA across the four vineyards (Mean=94%).

Rob Agnew

=

+0.24°C

102%

106%

109%

Figure 2: Normalized Growing degree days for Blenheim: days above (+) or below (-) the long-term average for the period 1 september to 30 April

Plant & Food Research / Marlborough Research Centre

Looking for post harvest supplies?

Weed Control

Pruning Supplies

Vineyard Hardware

Horticentre TasmanCrop

Laurin Gane 027 4873153 Aaron Carter 027 6887493 James Moselen 027 6887492

RENWICK STORE | 03 572 5164

8 / Winepress May 2020

|

EDUCATE

Labour Compliance

Hortus harvest at Windrush before Alert Level 4. Photo Richard Briggs

Continued vigilance required VANCE KERSLAKE

MARLBOROUGH HAS built an enviable reputation for compliance with labour laws and we all need to maintain those high standards. There are many more rules and regulations to comply with under Covid-19 alert levels, but all the same old rules about visa conditions, minimum employment standards, health and safety still apply.

Whether you employ staff directly or use contractors, it is important to ensure compliance with all labour laws.

The New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) Covid-19 web page will keep you up to date with practical tips and advice for vineyards and wineries on managing Covid-19. The rules for different visa types are changing all the time so check the Immigration New Zealand (INZ) website (immigration.govt.nz/ about-us/covid-19) for the most up to date information. If you are employing people from overseas, always check their eligibility. VisaView is an online tool provided by INZ for employers to check if a person is allowed to work in New Zealand.

There are a range of helpful resources to assist you with compliance. New Zealand Winegrowers produce the Working for You Guide and, with WorkSafe, have prepared a guidance document called Working Well: Health and safety in your vineyard and winery. There are also a series of templates including a Seasonal workers employment agreement template, Contract agreement for the supply of labour between contractors and growers, and a quick reference guide on

employment conversations with labour supply contractors.

Whatever contractors you work with, it’s important to ask questions and the Working for you guide and Checklist for engaging contractors can help you with questions to ask your contractor so you can be confident their workers are being treated fairly.

It can be difficult to tell if a contractor is legitimate or not. If you use verified contractors and make the effort to check their practices, talk to their staff, and sign a contract, chances are you’ll be in the clear. Verified contractors are ones who have gone through an independent audit process.

Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSE) go through a rigorous process to become accredited as RSE. They must be in a sound financial position, have good workplace and human resource practices, their accommodation is inspected and they must provide pastoral care for workers. The initial audit is pretty much gold standard, and it’s valid for two years. Afterwards, an RSE contractor is only audited every three years. But a lot can happen in a business in three years. Mergers or acquisitions can occur, key staff might come or go, growth might put pressure on systems and processes that worked fine for a smaller business. So it’s a good idea to check compliance, even with an RSE contractor.

New Zealand Master Contractors Inc (NZMCI) is another verification system. Members of NZMCI must demonstrate they are financially viable, comply with relevant New Zealand employment legislation and have good employment practices. An

NZMCI auditor conducts a full audit to GlobalGAP and GRASP standards every year.

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has a list of most RSE employers on their website and NZMCI lists their members on their website. MBIE also publishes a list of companies who have been found to be in breach of employment obligations and may be subject to stand down periods affecting their ability to hire migrant workers. Check these lists and ask around to make sure any contractor you are thinking of engaging will be good for your business.

While standards in Marlborough are high, we have to be vigilant to maintain these standards. It is tempting to think it can’t happen here, but it does happen elsewhere in New Zealand. Joseph Matamata was found guilty by a jury in the High Court at Napier of 10 charges of trafficking people and 13 charges of dealing in slaves. The offending occurred between late 1994 and April last year and involved 13 victims. According to the Crown case, Matamata would take workers to orchards or work sites and receive “bags of cash” as payment for their work, but would never pass it on to them. Each slavery charge carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison while the human trafficking charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison or a $500,000 fine. Matamata has been remanded in custody for sentencing.

Vance Kerslake is advocacy manager at Wine Marlborough

Winepress May 2020 / 9

PROTECT Becon Brae Vineyard in the Upper Omaka Valley. Photo by Kevin Judd

Vintage 2020 Excellent fruit from extraordinary vintage SOPHIE PREECE

MARLBOROUGH WINE companies are counting their luck, after harvesting the 2020 vintage amidst a national lockdown. However, the vintage will be remembered for more than winery bubbles and Covid-19 precautions, with a benign season delivering excellent fruit. “If you didn’t panic; if you weighed up your options and proceeded calmly, then you could make the most of an extremely good harvest one of the best we’ve had,” says Dog Point viticulturist Nigel Sowman.

On March 23, wine operations were categorised as essential businesses by the New Zealand Government, allowing the industry to operate through Alert Levels 3 and 4, contingent on strict criteria. Countless employees were sent home, and rigorous measures were put in place in vineyards, transport, accommodation and wineries, says Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens.

“People took it incredibly seriously. They recognised the privileged position the wine industry was in, and the risk of it being shut down at any time,” he says. “The adoption of new ways was swift and extreme and, as it turns out, incredibly effective. People were kept safe, the grapes got off the vines, through the presses and into their tanks and barrels, and it sounds like the quality of fruit is incredible.”

Nigel says it was a vintage of two halves for the company, with the “very labour intensive” process of hand picking Pinot Noir and Chardonnay largely completed by a full complement of staff, before Covid-19 changed the face of Marlborough’s harvest. When New Zealand went into lockdown, Dog Point retained six vineyard staff, plus

10 / Winepress May 2020

Nigel, with everyone living on the property, either in their own houses or in luxurious accommodation at The Bell Tower. “What we ended up with was a very small, tight-knit team,” says Nigel. The winery crew, including Nigel’s wife Kathy, were also living on the property, all part of the same isolation bubble. “There were 17 of us that made this harvest go smoothly to capture the quality.” They also relied on Focus Labour Solutions, which runs “an amazing ship”, says Nigel. “They could guarantee the isolation procedures for all their pickers and had five teams available for us.”

Dog Point founder Ivan Sutherland was a steady hand at the helm throughout, and resolved that they needed to continue hand picking, staying true to the ethos of Dog Point, while showing commitment to the sustainability of contractors, says Nigel. “He made a decision that instead of panicking, to be very calm about what we did.” With fantastic weather, clean and beautiful fruit, and good protocols, there was no reason not to hand pick, he says.

“And we have been able to do it extremely efficiently, keep people employed, and stay true to our same quality levels.”

He admits if the lockdown had occurred in a year like 2018, when disease and weather pressure made for incredibly complex harvest conditions, the industry would have struggled to get through. Instead, they had beautiful conditions, with a long dry season, slightly cooler towards the end, resulting in a slightly longer hang time. “When the season is fractionally later, you can develop maximum flavour in your grapes.”

Spy Valley chief winemaker Wendy Stuckey says

PROTECT

Brilliant season for wine industry Marlborough received just 43mm of rain between December 21 and April 21, compared to 185mm in a normal year. And most of that rain fell late in the piece, between March 26 and April 18, says Rob Agnew from Plant & Food Research Marlborough.

However, vines fared far better this season than the summer of 2019, when a similarly low amount of rain fell in January and February. In 2019, Wairau River water restrictions kicked into place on February 1 and ran through until March 8, with the exception of one day. That resulted in crippling water stress in some vineyards, and growers trucking water to parched vines.

Rob says the main reason the 2020 season did not suffer the same water stress was the big dump of rain between December 16 and 20, 2019, which ensured plants, soils and waterways were more resilient to the subsequent dry patch, long as it was. The Wairau River was only off for seven days this season, says Rob, noting that the industry ”dodged a bullet”.

Growing degree days were well above average, but lower than the previous two years, which Rob describes as having delivered “pretty brilliant, out-of-the box” summers. The 2019/2020 summer, from the second week of December through most of January, was cooler than average, he says. However, temperatures in February were well above average, ensuring a good start to ripening.

March was slightly cooler than average, but with warm days and cool nights, and almost no rainfall. This was good

news for grape growers, because it allowed fruit to ripen in ideal conditions without any disease pressure from botrytis bunch rot. The lower night temperatures would have helped to retain acids, which is part of the magic of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

Plant & Food Research’s four long-term Sauvignon Blanc monitoring blocks indicate that berry size this year was a lot smaller than average, as was the case in 2019, which Rob surmises was due to the dry weather during January and February, and running into March this year.

A big dump of rain in late December or early January can result in big berries, “and the opposite is also true”, he says.

Bunch numbers were also down this year, due to cool temperatures in late November 2018, when the 2020 bunches were initiated. However, warm weather in late November and early December 2019 saw excellent flowering for Sauvignon Blanc, so berry numbers were well up on average, resulting in final yields being average, or close to it.

Looking forward to next vintage, Plant & Food’s Sauvignon Blanc yield prediction model - based on temperatures from November 10 to December 10, 2019 shows 2021 bunch numbers should be well up on 2020.

“March was slightly cooler than average, but with warm days and cool nights and almost no rainfall.”

Windrush Harvest - Photo Richard Briggs

Winepress May 2020 / 11

PROTECT

Covid-19 made for extraordinary vintage that no one foresaw, “but we got through it”. After the stress of awaiting confirmation that harvest would go ahead, then complexity of operating under strict MPI protocols, they’re now sitting pretty, with quality fruit happily fermenting. “Overall it was a pretty amazing harvest,” says Wendy of the season, with dry sunny days that resulted in very little botrytis, even on the Riesling. The company could have done with a little more rain, having had sporadic access to irrigation later in the season, but the age of Spy’s vines, planted in the early 90s, made them more resilient to the dry, she says. “Their roots are down reasonably deep.”

Spy Valley was picking Sauvignon Blanc for its low alcohol Easy Tiger range before the lockdown intentions were announced, as well as Pinot Noir from the Omaka Valley. “Then we got the call to say that we were going straight to Alert Level 4 and thought ‘Oh my God, we have all this wine in our cellar. How can we just walk away?’” It was an emotional 24 hours waiting for word on the wine industry’s ability to continue harvest, as they ran through the potential scenarios, from leaving fruit on the vines this season, to harvesting at the end of lockdown, she says.

After the wine industry was deemed essential, there were “sighs of relief”, followed by long days of meetings to work out how the company would tackle it. “It was amazing really,” she says, in between tasting ferments at the end of harvest. “We had a good team (we’re only small here) and it was quite incredible how everyone coped with it and got down to work.” That includes a few overseas interns in their early 20s, with wildly different expectations of what their Marlborough vintage would offer them. They had “no social

Spy Valley’s 2020 harvest

12 / Winepress May 2020

life” but the bond in the winery was strengthened, she says.

The team was physically and emotionally worn by the vintage, Wendy says, happy to have seen the support team members offered each other. But they also all considered themselves lucky to not be shut up and home 24 hours a day, she adds. “I’m not sure how people have managed that.”

And at the end of it all, the quality of the wine has “shone through”, Wendy says. The Pinot Noirs have “amazing colour and concentration”, along with good sugar levels. “I think they will be pretty strong wines.” Chardonnay is strong, and Sauvignon Blanc is also looking “really good”, with fruit in from their own Waihopai Valley vineyard, and from the lower and central Wairau. “That means we have lots to play with, she says, noting the thiol-driven wines this vintage, “which is good to see”.

With the harvest over, the company is now looking at the challenge of selling wines, with planned trips to markets now shelved, and digital interactions being explored. In late April, Wendy took part in a virtual tasting with their US distributor, which attracted 1500 people to their screens to hear about the wines and ask questions. “We are trying to find innovative ways to get our wines out there,” says Wendy. “And hopefully the tide turns pretty quickly and we can get back to what we do.”

Whitehaven’s chief winemaker Peter Jackson says people totally embraced the rules and regulations around Covid-19 during the harvest. “Now that we are through and on the other side, I just have to say how indebted we are to our staff, who understood and followed all of the guidelines strictly,” he says. “They stuck to their bubbles, observed physical distancing - there was a lot for them to take in and

PROTECT

The Huia bubble Mike and Claire Allan had to let their vintage crew go under Alert Level 4, in order to comply with strict government stipulations around isolation. With their family home just metres from Huia’s vines and winery, they instead secured their own bubble of three and got to work, slowing harvest to manage the process.

Their daughter Sophie says working in isolation with her parents was a special experience, and they made sure it was fun. “It was how my older sister and I grew up… We did a lot of work and would follow dad chatting around the winery. It was really nice to connect again, on that level.”

Sophie has been in and out of the winery her whole life, and from the age of 14 has helped out for vintage in her school and university holidays, as much as she could, says Claire.

“There’s quite a lot of experience up her sleeve.” But the 2020 vintage was going to be Sophie’s first one experiencing the entire process, “and it certainly turned out that way”.

Sophie did a 21-day Outward Bound course (outwardbound.co.nz) in February, before returning to her parents’ Rapaura home for vintage, fit and ready to plunge right in.

Prior to that she’d spent five years at university in the capital, which

also proved useful preparation for the extraordinary vintage, say Claire. “We found that Sophie is really fit after living in Wellington, running up and down hills. That was incredibly handy.”

The Allans had already handpicked more than half their grapes when wine was made an essential service. After that, a separate harvest bubble picked the fruit, with Huia choosing a machine harvest because of the difficulty of retaining physical distancing during hand picking. Claire says the truck drivers who came in were highly respectful and made it easy to maintain distancing and other safety requirements. “It was about having the right protocols in place.”

And it was a kind vintage for lockdown, with “balanced beautiful fruit” and no sign of botrytis. It is an “incredibly good” year for Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, says Claire. In fact, it’s “an incredibly good everything year”.

Sophie studied commerce and the arts at university, and finds that academic knowledge overlays her innate understanding of the wine industry. That’s

been useful at Huia, from branding to business savvy, and a better understanding of the people who drink wine. Those skills will be put to good use as the boutique company looks at selling wine in a dramatically adjusted market, says Claire.

Travelling in and out of New Zealand to take wines to market is off the table, as the “skies have a bit of a break”, she says. Instead, she has been using Zoom and live Instagram feed to share Huia with their distributors.

“I think the future is going to be very virtual,” she says. “It could be stressful finding the right sales channels, but is a great catalyst for change”

Sophie Allan

Winepress May 2020 / 13

PROTECT

Matt Sutherland in the Dog Point vintage bubble.

Photo Jim Tannock

process and they did an amazing job for us.”

The standard of interns and vintage workers also impressed Peter. “They are really professional and know what they are doing – it makes the whole machine work smoothly and we are very grateful to them.” Given the number of international workers who arrived in Marlborough before harvest – some from countries such as Italy where Covid-19 was rife – the fact no cases were detected within wineries was astonishing, he says. “It shows the guidelines were followed… It’s quite phenomenal that we didn’t get cases here and that is a real credit to the wineries, the industry and the people involved.”

Rose Family Estate winemaker Nick Entwistle says great fruit made for happy workers in the 2020 vintage, setting the tone for positive - if unusual - winery work. “Not having disease or rain pressure made things a lot easier,” he says. “The sun was shining every day and people were turning up to work happy.”

Poor quality fruit makes for much more work in a normal vintage, but would have been far worse if layered on the pressures of a Covid-19 harvest, he says. “If there was average quality fruit it would have been hard to keep people motivated.” Instead, they had sunny days, cool nights, low disease and good crop levels, with the ability to “pick and choose” throughout harvest.

Nick says the fruit had “really nice balance” this year.

Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris volumes were back up to average and Sauvignon Blanc was at average yields, or above average on some blocks. The conditions enabled a longer ripening period, resulting in good fruit from blocks that had struggled in recent years.

Operations in the winery were adapted to meet Level 4 criteria, but the existing procedures - required for British Retail Consortium (BRC) certification - meant the changes were not extreme, Nick says. However, the extra care and attention required of every person had unexpected consequences in terms of work ethos, he says. “We were asking so much of them, and subconsciously some of that

14 / Winepress May 2020

translated into the way people were working in the winery.”

People were looking out for everyone else and working under pressure, and that meant “people were here for business”, he says. “We had a really good group of people and a great team vibe, with everyone really committed.”

Staff were given a few days off at the start of Easter, but lockdown conditions meant they were eager to get back to work, he says. “Vintage was a nice distraction for us.”

Nick, who is also a Marlborough Winegrowers board member, said the industry was lucky to have New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) and Wine Marlborough advocating for them at Government level when the country approached Alert Level 4, reassuring the Ministry for Primary Industries that the sector could operate safely as an essential provider.

The guidance subsequently given by NZW was well received by companies, Nick says. “It set the tone for what their expectation of us as members was.” And the industry responded in all the right ways, putting in place the checks and balances required, he adds.

Marlborough Mayor John Leggett praised the local wine industry for successfully handling the 2020 vintage under extreme circumstances. “Wineries had to adopt stringent health and hygiene regimes, particularly as they were managing local and overseas vintage workers, harvest crews in the field and transport operators. Some local staff

Dog Point Vineyard's Murray Cook with hand picked Sauvignon.

Photo Jim Tannock

have been isolated from their families for the duration of vintage,” he said, as harvest drew to a close. “Everyone has been under huge pressure to get the grapes in, aware that a Covid-19 outbreak could knock down the workforce at any moment.”

It was to the industry’s credit that harvest was completed without incident “and, by all accounts, it’s a highly successful vintage”, he said. “Wine is a very substantial contributor to the overall prosperity of Marlborough so I’m relieved that this is one Covid bullet that we’ve managed to dodge.” Wine accounts for a fifth of the local economy “and when the vintage goes well, it’s good news for our whole region” he added.

PROTECT

Physically distanced, socially connected SOPHIE PREECE A bustling Marlborough harvest was perfect distraction from the threat of Covid-19, says a Rose Family Estate vintage worker from the United States. “It’s been really great,” says Hannah Hercher of St Louis. “To be quite honest, we were so busy with vintage that I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it.”

Hannah arrived in New Zealand in February, in order to get in a month of travel before heading to Blenheim in early March for vintage. When she’d left her St Louis home, only a few US cases of Covid-19 were publicised, and it seemed a problem contained to China, says Hannah.

“I was excited about starting work at Wairau River and about travelling to New Zealand, and I didn’t give it much thought.”

By the time she reached Blenheim, the virus was more prevalent in the US, but “it still felt like a very far away thing”, she says. “When we went Level 2 and then very quickly to Level 4, that’s when it really felt like it arrived here.”

Hannah believes the “family atmosphere” of Rose Family Estate meant all vintage workers felt secure, “because they have made it very clear to us that they are here for us”. The company found its vintage workers appropriate accommodation, did their grocery shopping and ensured they stayed in touch with family back home.

“It’ been really great and they’ve done a great job on their part to diminish the fear that comes with something like this,” she says. “I think what has made it easier for me, and definitely easier for my parents, is that things are better here in New Zealand than back home… I felt very safe here.”

But adapting to a Level 4 vintage was a big challenge, especially in the cellar, where Hannah swiftly realised how much she’d relied on other people in the past. Many of the jobs usually done easily by two people had to be done by one instead, in order to maintain a 2-metre gap between workers at all times.

She says the company has worked to keep overseas interns employed and supported until they can get home.

With her own flights booked for May, and a winery job waiting for her in the Napa Valley, she is looking forward to leaving, while aware that Covid-19 has painted a different picture in the US, “and people are in a lot more dire straits”.

Speaking during post-vintage Zoom drinks, Hannah says the experience has been a strange one, including the lack of a proper party to wrap up all the hard work. “That’s been a kind of a bummer, but on the bright side of things, winery staff have been closer because we have not been able to spend time with anyone else.” Vintage 2020 has been “very enjoyable, even considering all the strange circumstances”, Hannah says. And the wine at the end of it all is looking excellent, she adds. “From everything I have heard, this has been one of the best vintages in terms of wine quality, so it’s all been worth it.”

Winepress May 2020 / 15

PROTECT

Long Game Spur pruning a sound solution for pressured winter season SOPHIE PREECE

LONG SPUR pruning could be a useful stopgap measure for Marlborough vineyards this winter, says viticultural advisor Mark Allen, in a video guide created for the industry. “We know we are faced with a unique challenge as the wine industry grapples with the consequences of closed borders and fewer experienced return winter pruners,” he says.

The numbers will be improved with summer workers on extended visas and locals taking up the opportunity, but there will be a reduction in skill levels, he adds. Combine the need for training with an increased minimum wage, “and it will lengthen the pruning time and cost to complete the region’s vineyards”.

Mark has spent the past eight years running trials on several Marlborough blocks, assessing the efficacy and yields of spur pruning to various degrees, from the lightweight ‘mothball’ option - with a barrel prune and manual tidy up - right through to the ‘full monty’, where a vine is barrel pruned then manually tidied, decluttered and trimmed, retaining two long spurs in the head.

He began the work in order to develop an alternative pruning system to the four cane one typically used in Marlborough, allowing for more mechanisation, possible AI assist and less labour requirement. And it’s an easier handson job, says Mark. “With this spur pruning method, the vine can be done by one person and it’s all cutting through one year wood - so far less physically demanding - and is set up in a very regimented pattern.”

New Zealand Winegrowers, Wine Marlborough and the Bragato Research Institute commissioned the online guide to the pruning technique, with Mark demonstrating and discussing the potential future consequences of using spur pruning this season. In the video he discusses the importance of setting up one, two or three year cycles on the cordon, with long four-budded spurs. The buds are strategically placed along the cordon at 170mm to 200mm apart. The grower then ends up with the same bud number, if not slightly more, as they would have on a four cane vine, he says. “Fundamentally, you have the same number of buds, but you are putting them in a different place.”

The new pruning system could be a stopgap measure

16 / Winepress May 2020

Mark Allen gives guidance on how to prune using the four-cordon, long-spur method. Photo Jim Tannock

“Fundamentally, you have the same number of buds, but you are putting them in a different place.” for a single year, with spurs left on the head of the vines for replacing canes the following year. “Then you just cut the cordons off next winter, which can easily be done with a Klima,” he says. “It’s very easy to go back to conventiontal pruning.” However, some growers may consider future proofing for labour shortages. “If you look outside winegrowing, at the likes of the apple industry, you see they changed their thinking from big free-standing trees, which are costly to manage and pick, to the trees they have now, which are 2 metres wide, 3m high, espaliered and regimented. It reduced their cost and enabled mechanised picking.”

Spur pruning in Marlborough can create more of a problem with mealy bug, but a good spray programme should allay those concerns, he says. However, he does anticipate resistance from growers who don’t see cordon pruning as right for Sauvignon Blanc, and are worried about crop levels. “But if done properly, there is no impact on yield,” he says, referencing trials blocks in Central Otago, Nelson, North Canterbury and Marlbrough.

“It needs to be looked at as an alternative simplified pruning system for now, and even a future strategy, because we know we can get the same yields, and it can be done quicker and for less cost than conventional Klima cane pruning.” The main motivation this season is the fact that it is so easy to teach and supervise, says Mark. “They don’t have to be that strong or that skilled. Its’ a very straight forward system”.

PROTECT

Prime cuts Pruning research brought to the fore SOPHIE PREECE

PRUNING MARLBOROUGH Sauvignon Blanc immediately after harvest can substantially extend the pruning season, with no increased risk of trunk disease.

That’s one of the findings complied by the Bragato Research Centre (BRI), in a fact sheet on pruning options under a labour shortage.

As the country heads into winter with its borders closed and vineyard labour impacted, the fact sheet looks at the options and potential consequences of spur pruning (pg16), combined mechanical and spur pruning, and extending the pruning season by starting earlier and finishing later than typical.

“The findings show that you can prune in early autumn with no increased risk of GTD infection.”

BRI brought together relevant and up-to-date research from industry partners, including findings that pruning Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc immediately after harvest can extend the pruning season by as much as 25%, reducing the labour demand.

In colder regions like Marlborough and Central Otago, leaf senescence is observed as the fruit ripens, with little post-harvest carbohydrate accumulation. So while early pruning is not recommended in warmer regions where post-harvest photosynthesis is important for the accumulation of carbohydrate reserves - Marlborough growers are able to get cracking sooner. “Research has shown that early season cane pruning (10 days post harvest) has no adverse effect on Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc yield or carbohydrate reserves in the vine trunk,” the fact sheet explains. “The same is thought of early season spur pruning.”

Furthermore, recent trials from the Vineyard Ecosystems Programme indicate that spores for fungal grapevine trunk diseases (GTD) - Botryosphaeria and Eutypa dieback - are lower earlier in the pruning season.

“The findings show that you can prune in early autumn with no increased risk of GTD infection, if there are no rain

Photo Richard Briggs

events,” the fact sheet states. However, prompt protection of pruning wounds is still necessary, and sap flow may displace initial applications.

When talking of late season pruning, the paper notes that it can delay budburst, mitigating spring frost risk. However, “late pruning delays vine phenological development and may result in inadequate soluble solids accumulation by harvest”, it warns, noting a greater risk in cooler grape growing areas, or in seasons with a later harvest. “Risk associated with autumn rainfall and botrytis due to a longer hang time is also a consideration.”

BRI chief executive MJ Loza says even before the wine industry was announced as an essential service on March 23, the BRI looked ahead to what members would need heading forward. They sought insights from industry contacts across the wine regions, including growers, and large and small wine companies, and were given “a steer” to look at pruning options in a labour shortage, and options for mothballing vineyards, if needed.

The guide was pulled together swiftly, but with some companies choosing to prune early, it was out just in time, MJ says. The BRI will update information as required, and is inviting industry feedback in order to find the gaps in the research knowledge base. That could lead to research programmes going forward, enabling the industry to learn from this experience. Some of that feedback is already being put into action, with the BRI developing a calculator that will enable growers to plug in their specific details and compare potential costs and yields under different pruning scenarios.

Find out more at nzwine.com Search 'pruning' in the members section of nzwine.com for: • BRI fact sheet • Video on how to prune using the four-cordon, longspur method • Fact sheet on mothballing vineyards • Fact sheet on spray applications, to protect pruning wounds on dormant vines Winepress May 2020 / 17

GROW

Sauvignon Blanc Day Making Marlborough Gold SOPHIE PREECE

Clyde and Helen Sowman enjoy Sauvignon Blanc Day at Walnut Block

HAVING A comedian on crew came in handy at Rose Family Estate this Sauvignon Blanc Day, with the release of an Ezra Pound parody. “Home grown stimulator; ask the waiter, to serve it cold; to serve it cold,” sang local talent Jono Enwistle, against a backdrop of vintage. Marketing manager Ang Wilson says the social media post was part of keeping Marlborough’s wine industry relevant, vibrant and fun. “We really have to keep evolving and remembering that we are fresh and bright and New Zealand.” And celebrating Sauvignon Blanc should come naturally, she says.

“People are making fantastic other varieties, but this runs our industry.” It is, in the words of Jono, “making liquid gold; making Marlborough gold”.

They were one of many online on May 1, when wine companies around the country and wine lovers from around the world paid hashtag homage to the variety that made New Zealand wine famous. Allan Scott Wines released the world’s first Marlborough 2020 Sauvignon Blanc, fresh off the block, in a video that ended with the wine poured over Josh Scott’s head. The winemaker says it’s his favourite variety, “the backbone of Marlborough”, and absolutely worth celebrating. The company is running dry of its 2019 Sauvignon Blanc, after a 18 / Winepress May 2020

93-point score in Wine Spectator saw exports boom. That makes the early release - just 23 days after harvest excellent timing, says Josh. And 2020 is looking like a cracking vintage, he adds. “We will talk about it because of Covid, but we will also talk about it in quality sense.”

Sauvignon Blanc accounts for 73% of New Zealand wine production, and more than 5 million glasses of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc are enjoyed around the world every day. They’re just some of the golden numbers released by New Zealand Winegrowers in the lead-up to Sauvignon Blanc Day, as it invited everyone to the virtual party. “The aim is to get everyone raising a glass to toast New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, no matter where they are in the world.”

Wine Marlborough was also determined to create a “virtually perfect” Sauvignon Blanc Day, with food matches from Marlborough Wine & Food Festival partners and chefs including Peter Gordon - video posts from wine maven Yvonne Lorkin, and a bright array of Sauvignon photos and bite sized stories. Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is a social extrovert, said Wine Marlborough’s general manager Marcus Pickens in the leadup to the day. “Announcing itself with an exuberant aroma, then holding the

audience’s attention with every bright sip.”

Anna Flowerday of Te Whare Ra was also busy singing the praises of Sauvignon Blanc - “to give it that time in the sun” - while also applauding its champions in the hospitality industry.

“I think it’s something we should all stand up and be proud of, and jump up and down about.” Anna says Te Whare Ra has used the lockdown to connect better on social media, and share the stories of their wine, season, philosophy and motivations. The posts are interesting and engaging, designed to make sense to normal people, who buy, drink and love Sauvignon, she says. When it comes to the 2020 vintage, Anna calls it “out of the box” with a long warm summer of “Goldilocks conditions” – not too hot and not too cold. “2019 was obviously outstanding and I think ’20 is a lovely follow on from that.”

The region makes a Sauvignon Blanc that cannot be grown anywhere else in the word, says Clyde Sowman of Walnut Block, who was part of a Sauvignon hoorah from Organic Winegrowers New Zealand. “While there are other fantastic styles of Sauvignon Blanc, there is nothing quite like Marlborough’s.”

EDUCATE

Home Gourmet Restaurant dining at your kitchen table SOPHIE PREECE

Photo Richard Briggs

LIZ BUTTIMORE had barely revealed plans for Alert Level 3 ‘Arbour at Home’ when the bookings started pouring in.

“We hoped to do 16 to 20 serves per night, and we’ve already sold out for the start day,” she said, just hours after alerting Marlborough that the vineyard-based restaurant was geared up for the new iteration of Covid-19 restrictions.

Arbour can’t open its doors under Level 3, so she and chef Bradley Hornby are offering the Arbour experience at home. “All our flavour tricks, local produce and food styling tips enjoyed with your nearest and dearest in the safety of your own home,” she said in the announcement. “You will not have to do any peeling, chopping or prep dishes. Your role is to plate the dishes for service and swan out to the table looking fabulous.”

Liz says the concept has been developed from roles she and Bradley have had in a “previous life” including preparing food for luxury lodges, where they enabled guests to ‘create’ dishes of exceptional quality with a little assembly, some elegant garnish work and all the credit. They were saving Arbour’s unique take on that for retirement, but a pandemic seems like a good reason to bring it forward, Liz says.

She was not surprised by the demand after “50 million ADVANTAGES OF FLEXI TANKS • • • • • • • • • •

Closed storage, no external contamination, no pests and low maintenance Best value bladder on the market Safe - tank is fully enclosed 10 Year manufacturers warranty Up to 20 year life expectancy Consistent water quality Made by Labaronne CITAF the French company who invented the Flexi Tank 60 years ago Minimal ground works required and rapid installation No security fencing required Storage options for grape marc leachate available

years” in lockdown, because when they revealed plans for Arbour at Home for the last Level 3, there was a “huge uptake” from people wanting to stay home while retaining some normalcy. They didn’t have a chance to roll those plans out, and she’s looking forward to getting the Arbour kitchen cranking.

So are her guests, with at least one virtual dinner party planned. Grape grower Tracy Johnston says the Arbour dinner was about adding a “new twist” to her online catchups while supporting the restaurant they love. “I prompted friends to all book Arbour dinner for the same night so we can cook and eat dinner together – via Zoom. I expect there is going to be some healthy competition around plating up to resemble Bradley’s instructions and some fun with wine matches based on the stash in the cupboard.”

While those ‘guests’ are working with what they have in the cellar, Arbour’s three course dinner, house baked bread and petit fours come with wine matches set by Liz, who is encouraging diners to purchase them in advance, online from local wineries. Liz and Bradley have also offered an easy checklist to other restaurants wanting to work within the restrictions of Level 3.

SERIOUS WATER STORAGE

Needing Water storage for your crops and livestock?

Flexi Tanks NZ offers a range of water storage bladders that store from 1,000 litres to 2 million litres, ideal for Horticulture, Viticulture, Agriculture, Construction, Irrigation and Fire fighting

Andre Meier | P 027 7063633 | E Andre@flexitanksnz.com | W flexitanksnz.com Winepress May 2020/ 19

CELEBRATE

Forgotten Corners Rolling with the bunches at Pyramid Farm From left, Chris, Julia, Jess, Ellie and Richard Dawkins.

Photo Scott Hammond/Stuff

SOPHIE PREECE

DEVELOPING A bespoke vineyard on an award-winning Marlborough farm is a “once in a lifetime opportunity”, says viticulturist Richard Hunter. He’s working with the Dawkins family to establish a 44 hectare vineyard at Pyramid Farm, with a “jigsaw” of blocks to follow the rolling hills of this Avon Valley property.

The site is unique, the soil is healthy, and the stakeholders are devoted to the property and its biodiversity, Richard says. That led to a decision at the start of the process that they’d not recontour the land for the sake of neat and tidy north-south rows. “I am fortunate enough to develop a vineyard on a site with beautiful soil. I have absolutely no right to drive a bulldozer through this terroir and ruin decades of good farming.”

The Dawkins family farms sheep and cattle, integrated with forestry, plentiful native plantings, vineyards, and their Pyramid Apiaries beehives. “We farm trees, bees, poos and wees”, Chris Dawkins told the judges in the 2019 Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards, who awarded Pyramid the Supreme Award.

Waste not want not

It’s a far cry from the rundown property his late father Jack bought in 1954, alongside the Avon, Tummil and Waihopai rivers, with shoddy soil, scarce water, bedraggled fences and somewhat sickly stock. More than 65 years on, Pyramid stands as testament to the hard toil of Jack, Chris and his wife Julia, and of their four children, two of whom live and work on the land with their own families.

Regenerated native bush flourishes along the Avon River, where the Dawkins have an 8ha QEII covenant, and native species have also been planted around dams, boosting biodiversity and protecting the soil. Mixed species forestry covers 15% of the farm, with pine, eucalypt, poplars, Californian redwoods, Tasmanian blackwood and other species used as shade for stock, as erosion control on steep country and around waterways, and for harvest on continuous rotation, while also supplying waste wood to a family-run firewood business. Judges in the Environment Awards commended Pyramid’s economically and environmentally viable operation, calling it a model for other farmers.

Winery waste monitoring has started and if you’re unsure of your reporting requirements, the Council’s monitoring team can help.

Contact Rachel Neal about our winery waste monitoring programme, whether you operate under the permitted activity standards or a resource consent.

Rachel Neal Monitoring Programme Co-ordinator

DDI: 03 520 7400 I M: 021 382 453 monitoring@marlborough.govt.nz

www.marlborough.govt.nz

20 / Winepress May 2020

GROW

Pyramid already has a 50ha vineyard development, which is leased out, but the new development is another level of diversity for the farm, says Chris. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It helps in succession planning, with four sons all pretty passionate about the property. It also spreads your risk and ties in with our philosophy of making the best use of every land type.â&#x20AC;?

The land set aside for grapes was productive for grazing sheep, but with limited financial returns, he says. While grapes offer better profits and opportunities for family employment, the development brief given to Richard Hunter was to ensure the vineyard was compatible with the livestock and forestry operations, and aligned with the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision for Pyramid, including soil conservation.

Chris and Richard decided early on to avoid any recontouring of the rolling country, 250 metres above sea level. They studied aerial photos of Bordeaux, Burgundy and California, finding row orientation prescribed by the natural lay of the land, not governed by uniformity. That gave them further confidence in their plan, which has been able to progress slowly through the Covid-19 shutdown, with work such as constructing fencelines and drains considered part of the farming operation. Richard hopes to do more of the development this month, with the land ready for planting in August.

Following the landâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contours may have been an easy decision, but it made for a far more difficult task. Richard walked the site repeatedly over a two month period in the planning phase, moving markers each time to find the best line for vines and machinery. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I walked it as if I was basially driving a tractor,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how we laid the blocks out, with each rowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s orientation following the contour, so you can drive a tractor safely.â&#x20AC;? The end result looks like a jigsaw, he says of seven blocks heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s designed, none of them square, in an array of orientations, from north to south, east to west, northeast to southwest and northwest to southeast.

That plan protects the land and also offers a greater diversity of flavour profiles, says Richard. But it also requires careful canopy management, recognising the different levels of sun exposure on each block, and thought

put into where the fruiting wire should be positioned on each. The development is also an opportunity to future proof against climate change, he says.

Irrigation submains will go beyond the rows and cross the headlands, in order to water beneath fence wires and enable native plantings. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On a traditional irrigation system you run to the final row and then stop. For the sake of an extra 11m we go to the fenceline and can run irrigation down it, which makes it much easier to plant natives.â&#x20AC;? They have worked with Marlborough irrigation company SWE to ensure the best irrigation solutions for the property, with subsurface irrigation at a depth that feeds vines but not weeds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am totally fed up with watering weeds,â&#x20AC;? says Richard. Any vineyards planted now need to be future proofed for the next 40 or 50 years, including ways of managing without herbicides, he adds. As well as reducing weed health, the subsurface irrigation will reduce water use and rid the vineyard of irrigation wires, enabling better undervine mowing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But the main thing, and the biggest luxury I have, is I can open a gate and let in 500 or 800 sheep, and that is like gold.â&#x20AC;?

Richard and the Dawkins are working to develop a sheep system in the vineyards, with each of the seven blocks to be split into zones for grazing. The vineyard will use Eco Trellis steel posts, and they have asked the company to develop the capacity to clip sheep wires on, â&#x20AC;&#x153;so at certain times of the year we can let a lot of sheep into a small area for a dayâ&#x20AC;?, says Richard. The ovine grazing and leaf plucking wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen until year three, when the plants are well established, but the plan is part of the integration of vineyard and sheep farm. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chris doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get as excited about vines as he does about sheep,â&#x20AC;? says Richard with a laugh.

Luckily, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s excited enough for both of them, talking of this complex operation as his â&#x20AC;&#x153;priorityâ&#x20AC;? project. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It challenges you in a lot of ways, but we are going to be planting vines in beautiful soils, so we are getting things off to a good start,â&#x20AC;? Richard says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I will never get another chance like this.â&#x20AC;?

DESIGN MARLBOROUGH SPECIALISE IN PROVIDING ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SERVICES â&#x20AC;&#x201C; RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE.

Residential New Buildsâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;&#x201A;Alterations & Additionsâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;&#x201A;Commercial Designâ&#x20AC;&#x201A; StaďŹ&#x20AC; Facilitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x201A;â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;&#x201A;Building & Construction Consulting

Winepress May 2020 / 21

EDUCATE

Generation Y-ine João Corbett spreads the word on organics KAT DUGGAN

JOÃO CORBETT has long been passionate about biodiversity in the vineyard, seeing it as an opportunity to increase vine health, while improving soil quality. The viticulturist and estate manager at Seresin Estate in Marlborough says an interest in organics was forged during his university years in Brazil, along with a fascination with biology and diversity “and how they work together”.

After 16 years learning amid the vines, including two spent immersed in the biodynamic practices of Seresin, João was set to be one of the keynote speakers at the inaugural Australasian Symposium for Vineyard Greening in Christchurch this July. The conference, organised by Lincoln University with the support of the Bragato Research Institute, has been postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions, but João is looking forward to eventually sharing his insights with like-minded people, as well as those interested in developing more biodiverse vineyard operations. “I think this is a fantastic opportunity to just spread the word out there.”

The team at Seresin are very much focused on biodiversity in the vineyard, resulting in an all but selfsufficient operation, João says. “We have a very full-on approach with biodiversity.” Seresin’s 82 hectare property has 52ha planted with vines and 3ha in olives, as well as livestock that are rotated through all the blocks and paddocks, he says. “That’s as well as a veggie patch, which we

22 / Winepress May 2020

grow to make the (biodynamic) preparations and some food for us as well.” The philosophy is to produce as much on estate as they can, with only a few inputs sourced elsewhere, “which is pretty much just sulfur that we need to spray the canopies with, and seaweed”, he says.

“Everything else is grown here.”

The diversity of organisms in the vineyard in the form of cover crops, biodynamic preparations and livestock, as well as the vines, enhances natural processes and interactions, João says.

“It brings more and more diversity and having those vines in a more broad connection with the environment, it’s definitely creating a lot of resilience against diseases and pests.” Along with developing resilience, biodiversity in the vineyard can also improve drainage, soil water holding capacity, organic matter and nutrient cycling, he adds.

Born and raised in Brazil, João studied agriculture engineering in his home country, beginning his working career there with table grapes. In 2007, he moved to New Zealand to work in the wine industry, immerse himself in the culture and learn a new language.

He has spent time between the two countries ever since, taking his role at Seresin Estate in 2018.

Throughout his career, an interest in biodiversity and organics has been a constant, and something he

“We have a very full-on approach with biodiversity.” has continued to learn about. “Back in 2009 or 2010, there were not a lot of people working with organics.

They couldn’t actually see much of a difference or benefit about it,” he says. “Now I can see we have enough technology and knowledge to put this practice together and to have biology helping us control disease and improve quality and at the same time creating a much more beneficial and diverse environment.”

3

4

PROTECT

SUPPLIERS OF: n Vineyard posts & strainers n Quality timber products n Utility buildings - designed for your needs n Locally owned n Working towards the betterment of Marlborough

TOP DEALS ~ TOP SERVICE 163 Hammerichs Road, Blenheim Ph 03 578 0221 Fax 03 578 0251 sales@rapauratimber.co.nz

PCL AD Winepress 2016.pdf

1

15/07/16

3:21 PM

PROVINCIAL COLDSTORES LIMITED

Agriculture and Viticulture Machinery Sales & Service Specialists

Let us take care of all your controlled Temperature storage requirements: ◆ Custom controlled area ◆ Approved Transitional Facility for unloading of Imported Containers

C

M

◆

Over 60,000 cubic metres of storage spread over two sites.

CM

◆

Chilled storage available during vintage for handpicked grapes.

MY

◆

Sophisticated monitoring equipment ensures your product is kept at the optimum temperature.

◆

We could lease you a small room for your exclusive use to suit your particular temperature requirements (0 o C to + 30 o C).

◆

We store bottled wine, barrels of wine and new plants

◆

Individual rooms available to grow new budwood.

Y

Call us now and ensure your Croplands sprayer and your wind machines are booked in for their winter servicing.

CY

CMY

K

We provide NZ’s first and only testing facility of vineyard sprayer nozzles.

SERVICE: Les Boyte on 027 572 8787 | les@agrivit.co.nz SALES: Jeremy Watts on 021 446 225 | jeremy@agrivit.co.nz

29 High Street, Renwick 7204, Marlborough 03 572 8787 | info@agrivit.co.nz | www.agrivit.co.nz

awaiting the opportune time to plant.

“the coolest place in Marlborough” Old Renwick Road, Blenheim Tel: 03 578 2648 Fax: 03 578 2546

www.provincialcoldstores.co.nz

Gouland Road, Spring Creek. Tel: 03 570 5944 Fax: 03 570 5955

Winepress May 2020 / 23

CELEBRATE

Biosecurity Watch Biosecurity doesn’t stop with harvest JIM HERDMAN

THERE IS a change in the season, and we are moving into pruning.

Now that harvest is over and most of you will have had time to take a breath, it is a good time to think about vineyard biosecurity and undertake some planning to ensure your vines are protected as much as possible from an unwanted incursion of pests or disease. Good biosecurity practice also contributes to your ongoing disease and pest management programmes.

We are also still seeing the devastating effects of Covid-19 as it spreads around the world, and can already take many lessons learned from this disaster and apply them in a biosecurity context.

The biggest lesson learned is to be prepared and not to be complacent don’t think that it can’t happen to you or your industry. Having good plans in place and acting early is essential in preventing or combating a biosecurity incursion. It is also about a collective team effort - not only protecting your assets and livelihood, but also protecting your neighbours and your region’s profitability, jobs, and community.

Some of the key steps to effective biosecurity planning are as follows: • Promote vineyard biosecurity to ensure your staff and contractors are trained, engaged and know what to look for. Install appropriate

signage and make awareness material available. Make biosecurity an agenda item at team meetings, and use the resources available from New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI). Encourage staff to get involved and ask questions.

• Manage your visitors and restrict access to designated carparks and areas necessary to the purpose of their visit. Brief them on expected biosecurity risk management procedures - you can even include this with a health and safety briefing. You should include a signin procedure and undertake any mitigation procedures that may be necessary like cleaning gear and equipment. Make staff and visitors feel like health and safety and biosecurity are business as usual and not an imposition. The more people get used to the process the more they will come to expect it, and the safer your asset will be as a consequence of increased awareness.

• Put in place a vehicle management system that takes into consideration biosecurity risk. Keep records and ensure you know where vehicles and machinery have been before they arrive in your vineyard. Inspect and thoroughly clean them. Seek assurance from your suppliers that

new machinery is clean and has been treated if sourced from overseas.

Good cleaning and maintenance schedules not only protect your vineyards, they also take care of your capital assets and make them more cost-effective in the long term.

• Install and maintain a wash-down facility that is accessible before entering the vines. Ideally, a washdown facility should be situated on a concrete pad and the runoff should be controlled into a sump. A highpressure wash-down hose should be available along with a water blaster, steam cleaner and compressed air if possible, to ensure thorough cleaning practices occur.

• Check tools and equipment and see to it that they are well maintained, cleaned and sanitised. Put in place work practices that reduce the chance of spreading pests and diseases around the vineyard or into other vineyards. Once again, good maintenance practices not only have a biosecurity outcome but may also result in increased productivity and reduced costs.

• Think about vineyard surveillance and develop a year-long programme that not only monitors pests and diseases that are present, but also makes staff aware of the potential risks of exotic organisms. It is

IF YOU SEE ANYTHING UNUSUAL

CATCH IT . SNAP IT . REPORT IT .

Call MPI biosecurity hotline 0800 80 99 66 24 / Winepress May 2020

PROTECT

possible that the next big threat to the industry may already be here, undetected and increasing in size.

Good surveillance programmes are crucial to prevent the spread of established pest organisms and are also vital in the control/elimination of exotic unwanted organisms once they have arrived.

• One invasive pest that may become more noticeable at this time of the year is the harlequin ladybird, already present in New Zealand and now known to be in all winegrowing regions. You may notice it as it seeks shelter for the winter and aggregates in buildings or machinery for the winter season. New Zealand recommends killing overwintering harlequin aggregations with a contact insecticide, to ensure they are not able to return to the vineyard come spring. Overseas, the harlequin ladybird has been shown to be able to cause taint to wine if it is caught up with grape bunches at harvest.

• Manage the risk that biological material poses by ensuring that new vines are certified to the Grafted Grapevine Standard and inspecting new vines for symptoms of pest and disease before planting. Think about other materials that may cause a biological risk like grape marc, compost, hay, manure, and mussel shell and record any movement or disposal of these. Assess your storage facilities and ensure that you are not compromising your vines by storing risky material.

• When acquiring stock for winter grazing and/or leaf plucking, inspect the stock before entry into the vineyard. Ensure good stock health by drenching and quarantining if appropriate. Check with regulating authorities for any controls that might exist in your region for things like Chilean needle grass. Be aware there may be withholding periods before the stock can be sent to slaughter, and consult the NZW Spray Schedule for more information. Stock health is everyone’s responsibility - if you see something that needs attention, take

care of it or inform someone who can.

New Zealand is lucky to have good border control and a large moat that protects us from many biosecurity threats. We all must play our part in whatever way we can to protect our

“The biggest lesson learned is to be prepared and not to be complacent.”

primary industries from biosecurity incursions.

If you see anything usual in the vineyard, remember to Catch it, Snap it, and Report it – call the Biosecurity New Zealand pest and disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66, and get in touch with the New Zealand Winegrowers biosecurity team (biosecurity@nzwine. com).

Winepress May 2020 / 25

PROTECT

Industry News Lockdown land Marlborough’s wine industry is attracting interest from returning expat Kiwis, and investors looking for better returns, says Mike Poff from Bayleys Marlborough. The viticulture and wine sector agent has seen a boost in interest since the Covid-19 lockdown, thanks to the wine industry being an essential service, enabling it to harvest an excellent vintage.

“We are seeing increased enquiries through expat Kiwis looking to come home, and looking for lifestyle properties, including vineyards,” he says.

“There have also been a lot of investors from around New Zealand - people who have money in the bank and are looking to place that money into secure investments.” Some see the wine industry as a way to get “solid returns” and to own “good secure assets in a stable industry”, Mike says. “We also have dairy farmers and property developers looking at money sitting in the bank.” Rather than depressing the market, Covid-19 is “spurring people on”, he adds. “I have a list of buyers who are out there and they are very active.” That comes at a time when many older vineyard owners are looking to release assets, or hand on to the next generation, Mike says. The better the productivity the more interesting the investment, with most people expecting between 7% and 10% returns, he says. “The bottom line is it comes down to profitability - return of investment is the focus.”

Mike says the quality of the fruit from the 2020 vintage gives Marlborough’s wine industry a strong product to take to the market, which will help the property market. While being forced to shut down over harvest would have been “catastrophic” for the wine industry, “working through lockdown and becoming an essential industry has totally held the value of property”.

Most Trusted Wine Brand Villa Maria Estate has been voted as the Reader’s Digest Most Trusted New Zealand Wine Brand for 2020, taking the title for the third time in the past five years. Villa Maria’s CEO Justin Liddell says the award is great reinforcement of consumers’ affinity for Villa Maria. “We are New Zealand family-owned and have been part of the Kiwi wine lover’s repertoire for almost 60 years, and this is something we’re immensely proud of. This trust in the brand suggests consumers will continue to turn to Villa Maria for world-class wines fitting for all occasions for many years to come.”

26 / Winepress May 2020

Wine Marlborough Update VANCE KERSLAKE Covid-19 has been the focus of our work for the last two months.

Meanwhile, some more prosaic but important things continue in the background. The Marlborough Environment Plan decisions were released over several days in late February 2020. The Environment Court extended the appeal period to May 8, 2020. No appeals had been lodged at the time of writing, but we expect there will be appeals. Our team of experts will be advising us, and Marlborough Winegrowers will consider joining any appeals that affect our members.

The Marlborough District Council is developing an economic recovery plan. Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens is on the steering group and we are also involved in the wider consultative group. The plan is an opportunity to influence things such as regional workforce redeployment, regulation relaxation, or targeted government financial support. This will be the plan that government departments refer to for guidance on economic impact, industry needs/opportunities, and prioritisation of needs across Marlborough.

GROW

Sheep measles linked to Marlborough vines BRENDA WEBB Marlborough leads the South Island in sheep measles, mainly due to dogs being allowed in vineyards, says Dan Lynch, project manager with Ovis Management. “We have an ongoing issue, primarily in Marlborough, where lambs graze in vineyards close to town, where dogs exercise,” he says.

“Our statistics show that while in the rest of New Zealand cases are declining, in Marlborough they are static… That is of real concern.”

Dogs can ingest sheep measles by being fed (or scavenging) raw sheep, goat meat or offal, or raw supermarket meat. The tapeworm eggs then pass into their faeces and are ingested by sheep grazing in the vineyards. While sheep measles is not harmful to humans, it causes lesions in sheep meat, which can mean the meat is downgraded or condemned. “It’s a very serious issue and one that is worse in Marlborough because of lambs grazing in vineyards,” Dan says.

In 2017, 68 farmers in Marlborough were contacted about the issue, and only 32 in Southland, which produces a quarter of New Zealand’s lambs, during the same period. Dan says farmers and hunters should and generally do have a strict monthly dosing programme that includes a targeted sheep measles tapeworm.

“New Zealand farmers have done an amazing job, but unfortunately with lambs grazing vineyards in the town areas it has presented a whole new issue.” Dan says all raw sheep or goat meat must be frozen or cooked before being fed to dogs, and dog owners living near vineyards are encouraged to visit their vet to ensure their dog is regularly treated. “The pills are available and aren’t expensive and the local vets and vet nurses in Blenheim have considerable knowledge on this subject.”

Grow your career online > Bachelor of Viticulture and Winemaking (Level 7) > New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture Viticulture Fruit Production (Level 4) > New Zealand Certificate in Cellar Operations (Level 3)

Start in May with tailored and online course options, a campus with world-class facilities, research vineyard and the opportunity to rub shoulders with scientists at the Bragato Research Institute.

All located in the heart of New Zealand’s wine industry.

Carbon Zero New Zealand Winegrowers has committed to the goal of New Zealand’s wine industry being net carbon-zero before 2050. The pledge was made at the end of 2019 and is a representation of the evolving sustainability initiatives that are already taking place within the New Zealand wine industry. “New Zealand wineries and growers have a vital interest in protecting and sustaining our vineyards for future generations,” says New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW)

nmit.ac.nz/viticulture

Winepress May 2020 / 27

EDUCATE

chief executive Philip Gregan. “The commitment to carbon neutrality prior to the New Zealand 2050 regulatory deadline reflects this.”

Work being done by the organisation includes a Climate Change Mitigation Programme, to support members through the transition to a zero-carbon economy.

It also includes improvements to the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) scorecard, to better enable measurement of industry progress against greenhouse gas emissions, and a Bragato Research Institute Climate Change Research Programme, to provide guidance on adjusting vineyard practices in response to the changing climate.

See more about New Zealand Winegrowers Sustainability focus on Climate Change at nzwine.com/en/ sustainability/focus-areas/climate/

Huia

Winemaking course continues at NMIT Winemaking has been put on ice - quite literally - at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, as tutors and students adapt to Covid-19 restrictions.

The viticulture and winemaking school harvested and froze fruit the day before lockdown, so they can to continue hands-on work when they are back on site, says NMIT winemaking tutor Ngarita Warden. “When we come back to face-to-face classes we’ll make both a white wine and a red wine together as a class project, rather than individual microvins.” They left Riesling grapes on the vine, and hope to pick them after lockdown for a late harvest style, which they will also make as a class.

NMIT wine tutor Nadine Worley says it has been a “crazy vintage” for everyone, including second year students doing their first commercial vintage.

“A few students out on winery placement have had some disruption, but most have done really well with the extra challenges,” she says. Nadine would typically visit the students at wineries during the harvest, but the Covid-19 lockdown made that impossible, “so we have been keeping in touch via email and the odd phone call”.

Finn Horsfield found himself more challenged at Marisco vineyard than he would have been in a normal year, and relished the opportunity. “I got to do a whole lot more stuff than I would have if we’d had more people there,” says the second year NMIT student, speaking after his final shift in late April. Some of Marisco’s overseas staff flew home when Covid-19 became a global concern, leaving two thirds of the crew to manage the vintage, all working within social distancing rules in a new paperless system. Finn says the fruit coming in was “near perfect” and the experience “really, really good”.

With vintage over he will now do part time vineyard work at Marisco’s sister vineyard Leefield, while doing his coursework online. “I worked the whole summer at Leefield, so know my way around,” he explains. It’s the kind of learning he loves about the NMIT course, which is fully embedded in the wine industry, and a full contrast to “the standard uni experience”, says Finn.

28 / Winepress May 2020

Whitehaven boosts hospitality sector A Marlborough wine company is “paying it forward” to the hospitality businesses it connects with, while celebrating frontline staff in the Covid-19 crisis. Whitehaven Wines plans to divert a portion of its travel budget into $10,000 worth of vouchers from local restaurants and cafes, to be gifted to people in the local community, targeting frontline staff. “The plan is to buy vouchers from these businesses when they open - local companies we know and who have supported us in the past,” says Whitehaven’s founder and managing director Sue White. “This will hopefully generate some form of income for them on day one.” She calls it a way “to pay it forward and thank frontline staff who have provided services and help to us all through the lockdown”.

Recipients will include medical and rest home staff, supermarket staff, rubbish collectors and courier drivers who have worked through Alert Level 4. The hospitality businesses can also suggest “local heroes”. Whitehaven is encouraging other wineries or businesses to do something similar, or come up with their own ways of supporting local businesses.

INTRODUCING

TECTONUS

STORAGE TANK SEISMIC HOLD DOWNS A STATE OF THE ART EARTHQUAKE PROTECTION DEVICE

SIGNIFICANT COST SAVINGS NO ADDITIONAL WALL THICKNESS REQUIRED

ACHIEVE “R” FACTOR OF 1.0 AND HIGHER NO DEVICE REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT

EASY INSTALLATION (NEW & EXISTING) SAVE ON FOUNDATION COSTS

PROTECT YOUR ASSETS & BUSINESS. LONG TERM. — Tectonus storage tank hold downs are performance tested and certified for multi cycle performance. Contact our team to learn more.

INFO@TECTONUS.COM

0800 866 871

Orchard-RiteÂŽ Wind Machines Plan your servicing

Now is a good time to plan your Orchard-Rite wind machine servicing.

If you need information about recommended servicing to ensure efficient running of your machine and protection of your crop, please contact your local Fruitfed Supplies store.

Please note Fruitfed Supplies is following government guidelines for operation during Covid-19. For more information on our current protocols, please visit www.pggwrightson.co.nz/Covid19/Latest-News Image is for illustrative purposes only.

Our Customer Terms of Trade/Sale located at www.pggwrightson.co.nz apply to the sale of products and services listed here unless specified otherwise.

Fruitfed Supplies is a trading division of PGG Wrightson Ltd