New Zealand Winegrower December 2024/January 2025

Haere Ra 2024 Year in review

BRIght Ideas Next Generation Viticulture

The Profile Ormond Nurseries Thirty

The evolution of a groundbreaking sustainability programme

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COVER PHOTO

Winemaker Ben Leen says the stunning view from Amisfield, at the foot of Central Otago’s Pisa Range, is made even better for “knowing that we’re farming it as well as we can for the future”. Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand turns 30 in 2025, so we talk some of the industry’s inspiring sustainability leaders. Go to page 29.

Regulars Features

Editorial

Sophie Preece

From the CEO

Philip Gregan

BRIght Ideas

Next Generation Viticulture

The Profile Ben and Frances Wickham

Women in Wine Tanya Pouwhare

Wine Weather James Morrison Advocacy Product Recall Plans

Haere Ra 2024

With plenty of good, bad and awesome to reflect on, winegrowers and makers around the country offer some insights into 2024.

Thirty years of SWNZ

When Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand was launched in 1995, the wellbeing of the environment became a thread running through conversations and decisions in the growing, making and selling of New Zealand wine. Thirty years on, the groundbreaking programme is woven into our industry’s DNA, setting it apart from the rest of the wine world.

BRIght Ideas

Transforming canopy management systems to maximise sunlight could increase vineyard profitability without compromising wine quality, say researchers and companies behind the seven-year Next Generation Viticulture programme.

EDITOR Sophie Preece sophie@sophiepreece.co.nz

CORRESPONDENTS

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Emma Jenkins MW

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Published by Rural News Group Ltd under authority of New Zealand Winegrowers Inc. Unless directly attributed, opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of Rural News Group and/or its directors or management, New Zealand Winegrowers Inc. or its constituent organisations. Published every second month. One free copy is mailed to every member of New Zealand Winegrowers Inc, New Zealand Society of Viticulture & Oenology and the New Zealand Vine Improvement Group, and to such other persons or organisations as directed by the owners, with provision for additional copies and other recipients to be on a subscription.

ISSN 1174-5223

“Te toto o te tangata he kai, te oranga o te tangata, he whenua, he oneone.” While food provides the blood in our veins, our health is drawn from the land and soils. This whakatauki, used by Wakatū when talking about being kaitiaki of their land and environment, seems perfect for this edition, with its celebration of 30 years of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ).

It’s a notion echoed by many of the people interviewed for these stories, with their determined drive to grow better, ensuring the longevity of their land and New Zealand’s wine industry. SWNZ has evolved over the past 30 years, with climate and waterways now key elements, along with healthy soils, people and plants. At Wakatū, for example, work is ongoing to transform Tohu’s vineyard and winery into a resilient, low-emissions operation, ensuring long-term sustainability.

Keeping ahead of the curve in terms of the environment has never been more important from a commercial standpoint, as the climate crisis leads to a growing list of requirements from governments, retailers and consumers in key export markets. New Zealand’s wine industry is in a unique position in the face of that rapid change, says New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Global Sustainability Lead Florence Van Dyke. “Customers are asking for a genuine, honest sustainability story, and you are one of the few industries globally that, at a nationwide level, can say that you are walking the talk on this.”

In this edition we look at the evolution of SWNZ and some inspiring stories of kaitiakitanga. These stories will continue throughout 2025, so please get in touch if you have one to share.

This edition also looks back at a year that will be remembered by many for its lovely wines but daunting challenges, with growing uncertainty in markets. It’s been hard to get a solid footing during the past five years, with pandemics, vintage vagaries, cyclones and economic headwinds, but the wine industry has proven itself nimble in a shifting landscape.

Here’s to a wonderful festive season, a rewarding growing season, and a fruitful start to 2025.

Sophie Preece EDITOR

From the Editor Contributors

Toby Buck Toby Buck grew up working in the vineyard, in the cellars and on the bottling line of his family’s wine business, and has fond memories of napping in the fruit bins on his breaks. In the first of our first-person Growing Legacy series, Toby explores 50 years of Te Mata Estate. Go to page 46

Emma Jenkins MW The second Aotearoa New Zealand Chardonnay Symposium in Hawke’s Bay focused on ‘Sense of Place’. Emma Jenkins MW reports back on some of the highlights of the twoday event. In this edition Emma also offers some MW Musings, focused on Sauvignon Blanc.

Go to page 48

James Morrison Frost forecaster James Morrison was nearly finished with this edition’s Wine Weather, when a 17 November frost raised alarm bells in Marlborough. It was a timely reminder of the need for ongoing vigilance in some wine regions, he says.

Go to page 52

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From the CEO

Philip Gregan

A Changing Trade Environment

Did you know that nearly 90% of total New Zealand wine sales occur offshore? That simple number means our wine businesses are the most export oriented of all the global wine industries. It also makes our sector especially sensitive to any changes in the trade rules that govern the access of our wines into international markets.

Fortunately, over the past 40 years we have seen a gradual but steady improvement in the rules governing the access of our wines into the markets that are important to us. Some of those gains have been the result of general improvements in access for all goods from New Zealand, while other developments are more wine specific.

First off the block was Closer Economic Relations (CER), which gave tariff free access for all goods from Aotearoa into Australia. This landmark agreement is still one of the highest quality Free Trade Agreements (FTA) to have been signed anywhere in the world. For our wineries it provided them with the opportunity to compete in a bigger and wealthier market – and compete we did, very successfully, as the position of our wines in that market ably demonstrate.

The steady improvement in access conditions to markets has been one of the foundations on which the growth of exports has been based. Philip Gregan

Over the following years there have been a number of other FTAs that have lowered or removed tariffs and overall improved access – China in 2008, CPTPP, then the UK FTA, and more recently the EU FTA. These agreements, along with others, have all delivered access gains into a range of markets, whether by reduced tariffs or improvements in wine-specific access matters, such as winemaking or labelling rules. Today more than 50% of our exports are into markets with comprehensive FTAs in place.

Beyond the general trade agreements, the landmark wine specific agreement is the Mutual Acceptance Agreement on Oenological Practices (MAA). As well as New Zealand, this agreement has been signed by the United States, Canada, Australia, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Georgia and Uruguay.

This binding treaty-level arrangement means that when exporting to signatory countries, New Zealand winemakers can make wines based on the New Zealand winemaking rules; they don’t have to be concerned with the rules applicable in the importing countries. In short, our winemakers can make the wines the way that best suits their grapes, their vineyard and the season, rather than having to comply with rules that may have been designed for entirely different grape growing conditions. This has been a big plus for wineries, not

the least in the way of cost savings.

The steady improvement in access conditions to markets has been one of the foundations on which the growth of exports has been based. Of course, over the years problems have arisen from time to time. In those cases, such as when companies had trouble accessing the duty-free entry to China, we worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry for Primary Industries, and Customs to address issues. In the final analysis there was also the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to appeal to if a negotiated resolution could not be achieved.

All up, over 40 years the rules-based trade system has worked to underpin the growth of wine exports. But in recent times, things have started to change the global trading system, and unfortunately not for the better.

The referee of the global trading system (the WTO) has lost a lot of its authority, and across the globe there has been a rise in retaliatory tariffs. The US slapped tariffs on imports from China, and put them on steel imports as well. China, of course, imposed substantial tariffs on wine imports from Australia, significantly reducing their wine trade into China almost overnight. It took years for these tariffs to be removed.

Until now New Zealand wine exporters have escaped this resurgence in tariffs. However, wineries now face the potential prospect of tariffs on shipments to the US, if the second term Trump administration delivers on its promise of universal tariff on all imports. At this stage we don’t know if, when and at what level tariffs will be imposed on our wine imports, but if they are this will be a shock for winemakers, because it will be the first time in many years that access into a major market for our wine will have become more difficult and expensive.

That is not good news for an industry that exports 90% of its products. It is certainly not good news for wine exports to the US, which represent just under 40% of the total value of New Zealand wine exports.

Where to from here?

The Advocacy team works hard to monitor and report on market access barriers that can affect our members. In the past few months this has included active engagement on topics like nutrition and ingredient labelling in the EU, sustainability and low/no alcohol wines. If you’ve ever got a question or concern about any of these topics, please get in touch with our team at advocacy@nzwine.com.

At this stage we do not know if, when and at what level US tariffs will be imposed. We are in close contact with the Government on this issue and will be keeping members up to date with news. As global exporters we need a sound, rules-based trading system in place as this lowers risk and provides confidence to invest. Let’s hope tariffs don’t become a contagion, popping up in other markets at the whim of their governments.

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Andy Frost’s Service to Wine

Good things take time, and so it was with Andy Frost’s induction as a New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) Fellow. Andy, who was named a Fellow in 2021 for services to wine research, was inducted in November at the Bragato Research Institute in Blenheim. To read about Andy’s four decades of service to New Zealand wine, weaving science and research into the practical business of growing and making wine, read the December 2021 Winegrower Magazine.

Vineyard Monitoring Report

Lower yields and a reduced grape price for Sauvignon Blanc, along with a 6% rise in operating expenses, saw a major fall in profitability in the Marlborough vineyard model in 2023/2024. The Vineyard Monitoring Report for Marlborough, produced by the Ministry for Primary Industries and NZW, uses financial data from 50 vineyards to create a representative model that tracks trends in revenue, expenses and profitability. The vineyard model’s economic vineyard surplus in 2023/24 was $4,755 per producing hectare, which is slightly higher than 2020/21, but the second lowest operating profit for the model since 2011/12. Morale amongst the survey group was lower than in the past two seasons, influenced by a low yield year, a reduction in grape prices and increased costs, according to the report summary. “The high wine stock levels carried over from the 2023 vintage was of concern to many.” mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/65616/direct

Fizz for Christmas

The 2023 Balvonie Prosecco has been a three-year project for owners Ben and Helen McLauchlan, who have released Marlborough’s first prosecco from Glera grapes, planted in the Rapaura sub-region. “Global prosecco sales have boomed in the last decade,” says Ben. “We wanted to try something different, so we gave it a nudge.” The Glera grapes come from vine cuttings imported from Italy, then propagated by Ormond Nurseries in Marlborough (page 40). Marcus Wickham, Ormond Nurseries General Manager, says after watching the global growth in prosecco sales, they wanted to explore its potential in New Zealand. “I believe Glera is well suited to our growing conditions: the long, cool ripening period allows full flavour development, and the vine is vigorous, producing a good crop load.” Read more about Balvonie in the December 2023 Winegrower.

Board Elections

The recent NZW board elections saw Tanya Pouwhare (page 44) and Tracy Johnston join the board, while Fabian Yukich and Emma Taylor were selected as Chair and Deputy Chair respectively. Committee Chairs are Duncan McFarlane for Advocacy, Tim Nowell-Usticke for Environment (page 24), Michael Henley for Brand, and Tim Rose for Finance.

The board is focused on the impacts of a challenging economic climate around the world. “At the moment, people are struggling,” Fabian says, noting that while New Zealand wine is “holding its own” against a backdrop of declining global wine sales, there has been a reduction in export sales this year. “And when there’s a reduction in sales, there’s a reduction in money that comes into NZW.” The board will consequently need to prioritise its spending. “We need to look at the tools that we’ve got, the resources we’ve got, and say, ‘how can we best serve our members?’”

Despite headwinds, he has faith in the future of New Zealand wine and its appeal to consumers. “Once they try it, it’s so much more vibrant and approachable than what a lot of others have to offer in our main export markets. I think we have got to where we are based on our unique climate and geography, the passion of our people, and the quality of our wines.”

Fabian says there’s plenty more for the board to consider in the coming year, including the ongoing governance review with its focus on representation and levies. He encourages all members to review the information being considered by the working group, emphasising that the outcomes will affect the industry at large. nzwine.com/members/about-us/governance

Central Otago Wine Auction Weekend

EMMA JENKINS MW

Queenstown has added a date to Pinot Noir lovers’ calendars – The Central Otago Wine Auction Weekend. The inaugural Labour weekend event was a collaboration between The Rees Hotel and four local producers – Felton Road, Prophet’s Rock, Quartz Reef and Rippon – plus Martinborough’s Ata Rangi. After a welcoming cocktail party on Friday night, Saturday brought a full day, Pinot Noir-focused tasting at the historic Bannockburn Hall, with a multi-course lunch matched with white wines at the Bannockburn Hotel. Winemakers showed four wines each, built around various themes, including Europe’s influence, the evolution of style, and the impact of vine age. On Sunday, a 300-lot charity wine auction, run by The Wine Auction Room, saw an impressively serious array of New Zealand and international collectible wines go under the hammer, raising money for the Central Otago Pinot Noir Charitable Trust. A five-course degustation dinner at The Rees followed, featuring older vintages and many winemaker anecdotes. A significant number of this year’s attendees have already registered interest for next year’s event, which plans to include a Tasmanian winery.

Andy Frost

Tracy Johnston

Stanmore Farm

Stanmore Farm featured on Hyundai Country Calendar in October, giving insights into the Kāpiti Coast family business supplying commercial vineyards with baby vines. It’s the second wine-related episode in recent months, with Marlborough winemakers Churton profiled in July, with the Weaver family discussing their biodynamic winemaking practices and how they influence their wines. tvnz.co.nz/shows/country-calendar

Sparkling Producer Takes Title

A sparkling wine won Champion Wine at the National Wine Awards of Aotearoa New Zealand. The Vilaura winemaking partnership of Jascha Oldham-Selak and Sanne Witteveen (pictured) made the winning wine, a 2020 vintage Marlborough Blanc de Blanc that Chair of Judges Jane Cooper called “an outstanding example of classically made Méthode Traditionnelle.” The Coterie team won the Everyday Wine Organic trophy for their Zephyr Gewürztraminer 2024, which also won the varietal trophy sponsored by Laffort New Zealand. The Heritage Rosebowl, which rewards wines that have shown a capacity to develop over at least an eight-vintage period, was awarded to three vintages of Isabel Estate Chardonnay.

Conference Scholarship

Organic Winegrowing New Zealand is partnering with the New Zealand Horticentre Charitable Trust to offer up to 10 scholarships for the Organic & Biodynamic Winegrowing Conference in Marlborough on 16-18 June. Conference committee member Amy Hopkinson-Styles says the scholarships are a fantastic initiative enabling smaller growers the chance to travel to and attend the conference, when they might not otherwise be able to. Applications close 13 December. organicwineconference.com/scholarships

Lifetime Achievement

Ormond Nurseries founders Ben and Frances Wickham, climate scientist Rob Agnew, and New Zealand sparkling wine pioneers Daniel and Adele Le Brun were presented Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Awards at The Marlborough Wine Show Celebration Lunch in October. Wine Marlborough General Manager Marcus Pickens says Marlborough is home to many winemakers and winegrowers who have been working hard at their craft for decades. “Alongside them, we have experts in many areas, including the likes of our scientists and horticulturists who have helped along the way, and continue to do so.”

To read more about Rob, who spent more than three decades recording, interpreting and disseminating meteorological data for winegrowers, see the December 2022 Winegrower Magazine. Find a profile on Daniel and Adele, who were named NZW Fellows in 2021, in the December 2021 Winegrower Magazine. And read about Ben and Frances Wickham on page 40 of this edition.

The top award in the 2024 Marlborough Wine Show, sponsored by Quay Connect, went to the Yealands Estate Single Block L5 Sauvignon Blanc 2024. Chief Judge Stu Marfell says Sauvignon Blanc was a standout in the show, both for the new 2024 vintage wines, but also the legacy category. “The quality of the fruit this year was exceptional; as good as it gets for Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.” International Guest Judge Elaine Chukan Brown, from the United States, noted an “elevation of nuance to place, sophistication and quality” in the wines tasted. “What I found especially satisfying was how clear the expression of Marlborough’s various subregions has become.”

Photo Lisa Duncan

Kate Gibbs with son Harry at Stanmore Farm

Upcoming events

To have events added to our calendar contact sophie@sophiepreece.co.nz

Toast Martinborough 19 January

toastmartinborough.com

Festival Road, a picturesque 2.5km stretch between The Runholder and Ata Rangi, will be closed to traffic during Toast Martinborough. Walk the short distance between festival sites, or catch the Festival Shuttle, connecting Martinborough Square and the festival with a hop-on and off bus. Toast Martinborough 2025 boasts new festival hours, from 11am to 7pm, allowing for a lingering evening on Wellington’s long anniversary weekend.

Pinot Noir Workshop 23-25 January

pinotworkshop.com

Rob Walters and Rémi Jacquemain, from Place of Changing Winds in Australia’s Macedon Ranges, are speaking at the 2025 Southern Pinot Noir Workshop, to be held at the Hanmer Hotel in Hanmer Springs from 23-25 January. Discussions include high density planting, canopy management, Poussard pruning, marketing potential, and how to improve the image and sales of New Zealand Pinot Noir domestically and abroad. There will also be a Burgundy tasting, presented by French winemakers, and an Australian Pinot tasting, presented by Steve Flamsteed.

Marlborough Wine & Food

8 February

marlboroughwinefestival.com

Celebrity chef Al Brown and deliciousness influencer Polly Markus, of Miss Polly’s Kitchen, will be firing up food fever at New Zealand’s longest-running wine and food festival this February. Marlborough Wine & Food Festival Event Manager Loren Coffey says Al will work with Regal Salmon, fresh from the Marlborough Sounds, in the always-popular Culinary Pavilion, while Polly will bring the “vibrant energy” that makes her a favourite among food lovers. With more than 30 wineries and 20 food providers, festival-goers will be spoilt for choice when it comes to pairing world famous wines with delectable dishes, she adds. “The classic festival experience is great wine and food. And it just gets better from there as we layer on the entertainment and inspiration.”

Pinot Noir New Zealand 11-13 February

pinotnz.co.nz

The lineup for Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025 just gets better and better, with Eric Asimov – a global authority on wine and Chief Wine Critic for The New York Times – the latest on the list. With more than two decades of experience, Eric will bring his unique perspective, exploring how ‘place’ shapes the identity of New Zealand Pinot Noir on the world stage. Read more on page 13.

Roam Central 2025

15 & 16 February

roamcentral.co.nz

Indulge in a two-day exploration of Central Otago’s wine and food offerings, including an “immersive experience” on Saturday 15 February. Saturday also sees ‘Welcome Dinners’ at Carrick Winery & Restaurant and the Bannockburn Hotel, with Roam Central guests offered an evening of storytelling and connection, and a menu that celebrates the region’s finest produce and wines. Festivities continue on Sunday 16 February, with Amisfield Estate, nestled at the foothills of Mount Pisa, offering guests a behind-the-scenes glimpse into its working vineyard and winery, and a lunch crafted by Amisfield Restaurant Executive Chef Vaughan Mabee. The Finale Dinner will be held at Cloudy Bay, with winegrowers and Weekend Explorer Pass holders coming together to celebrate.

Wairarapa Harvest Festival 15 February

wairarapaharvestfestival.co.nz

The Provincial Insurance Brokers Wairarapa Wines Harvest Festival brings together the region’s finest wineries, along with highprofile restaurants and passionate food producers, for a day of indulgence against a picturesque riverside setting.

Al Brown

Cloudy Bay

North Canterbury Wine & Food

9 March

ncwineandfood.co.nz

Thousands of food and wine lovers will gather at Glenmark Domain to celebrate the harvest in style at the 2025 North Canterbury Wine & Food Festival. Find pockets of entertainment under the oaks, immerse yourselves in conversations about local wine and produce, and fall in love with everything North Canterbury has to offer.

Ripe Festival

22 March

ripewanaka.nz

The Ripe Wānaka Wine and Food Festival will be back at Glendhu Bay in March, with 26 Central Otago wineries combined with an array of delicious food, live music and stunning scenery. The 2025 event includes the new “Wine Walk” series, featuring guided wine tours to meet local winemakers and enjoy curated tastings and food pairings. The Ripe Wine Lounge includes canapés and bubbles on arrival, while the Ripe Long Lunch offers a four-course meal with matching wines.

Organic & Biodynamic Winegrowing Conference

16 -18 June

organicwineconference.com

The Organic & Biodynamic Winegrowing Conference is about inspiring the future of winegrowing through sharing innovation, knowledge and networking. The programme, which will acknowledge the traditions of Matariki and the winter solstice, has themes of under the earth, above the ground, and into the sky – ki raro, ki runga, ki te rangi – with topics including climate change, biodiversity, soil health, biodynamics and regenerative viticulture. Keynote speakers include Joseph Brinkley,

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Director of Regenerative Organic Farming at Bonterra Organic Estates in the United States, and Katia Nussbaum, who, together with her husband Luigi, runs San Polino, a regenerative organic winery in southern Tuscany. The line-up also includes former sommelier Rajat Parr, an organic winegrower who has become a big name in the United States’ wine scene, and Dr Mike Joy, a New Zealand freshwater specialist and advocate.

Grape Days 2025

5 June – Central Otago 10 June – Marlborough 12 June – Hawke’s Bay

Grape Days are funded by the New Zealand Winegrowers’ levy and delivered through Bragato Research Institute. Now in its 17th year, the one-day technical events held in Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough, and Central Otago provide high-level overviews of research with a practical focus to help members apply the findings.

Save the Date – ICCWS iccws2026.nz 25-28 January 2026

Joseph Brinkley

Altogether Unique

Growing the reputation of New Zealand Wine

Felicity Turner

Sommit is back

Nine wine professionals from around the world have been chosen for the New Zealand Sommit event in February. After a six-year hiatus, Cameron Douglas MS and Stephen Wong MW will again host this flagship New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) event, to be held in Gisborne following Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025 in Christchurch. The programme offers an unforgettable New Zealand wine experience, discovering the regions, varieties, landscapes and personalities that make our wine so distinctly New Zealand. Every Sommit event presents a number of diverse and highly-focused flights, targeted to current topics of interest in

the international on-premise. The event is designed as a closed-door, sommelierexclusive discussion and debate, based on flights of wine that adhere to a focused narrative, and encourage conversation about New Zealand wine as a whole.

Australia’s Wine List of the Year

NZW continues to work to strengthen New Zealand’s premium reputation in Australia, and our Australia Market Manager, Cathy Wansink, presented the inaugural award for The Best Listing of New Zealand Wines at Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards in Melbourne in October. Acclaimed restaurant Quay, in Sydney, won the award, from which prior Sommit participants Amanda Yallop (Wine Director for Fink Group) and Shanteh Wale (previously Quay’s Head Sommelier, now freelancing and writing for Wine Pilot and Halliday) hail. More than 350 owners and employees of Australia’s best on-premise venues attended. As a build up to Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025, NZW poured four Pinots for guests at the walkaround tasting that preceded the announcements.

United

States - New York City

The upcoming programme is an intensive masterclass covering Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from limestone; sitespecific wines (across Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Albariño, Chenin, Pinot and Syrah); the ageability of Bordeaux Blends; and smaller-planted varieties. The Welcome Dinner will showcase dedicated flights of sparkling, Riesling and Albariño.

The nine 2025 sommeliers will join the ranks of 114 Sommit attendees, from 18 countries, who have returned to their home nations with a deeper understanding of lesser-known aspects of New Zealand wine. Full bios of the attendees can be found at nzwine.com/en/trade/ tradeevents/sommit/the-2025-attendees.

NZW conducted a signature masterclass in New York city in September, with a theme of New Zealand Reds, led by Jane Skilton MW and Marlborough-based winemakers Beth Forrest from Forrest Wines and Ben Weaver from Churton Wines. A select group of influential trade and media attended, including some of New York’s top sommeliers, from establishments like Eleven Maddison Park and Coqodaq. Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with one sommelier highlighting the speakers’ depth of knowledge, describing the session as “engaging, entertaining, with wonderful insight on the future of New Zealand wines”. A self-pour tasting of New Zealand Whites was held after the masterclass, alongside a lunch catered by one of New York’s certified carbon neutral companies. Finally, attendees participated in a blind tasting challenge, with the top participant winning a magnum of New Zealand Pinot Noir and other New Zealand prizes. Overall, the event left a highly favourable impression, underscoring the appeal of New Zealand wines and solidifying industry connections.

Canada – Vancouver and Victoria

Jane continued her New Zealand wine tour with Chardonnay presentations in Victoria and Vancouver. In Vancouver, she hosted separate sessions for British Columbia Liquor Store (BCLS) product consultants, and top local trade members, spanning sommeliers, wine buyers, and media. “Though we’re privileged to hear a lot of amazing wine professionals in Vancouver at seminars, it was such a nice treat to have one of the most qualified people in the world to talk about the subject,” said one attendee. “The wines shown were stellar as well.” Jane also conducted a specialised session for BCLS buyers, focusing on a line-up of wines submitted by local agents, and available for purchase in the next tender. All sessions were met with enthusiasm, with attendees praising the elegance, complexity and price to value proposition of the wines.

Felicity Turner is Education Manager at NZW

Sommeliers tasting at the Northland Sommit in 2019

Tasting at the New Zealand Wine Stand at Australia’s Wine List of the Year

Jane Skilton MW, Beth Forrest & Ben Weaver present to New York trade & media

Pinot Noir NZ

Charlotte Read is a committee member for Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025, to be held in Ōtautahi Christchurch from 11-13 February. In the final Q&A before the event, she looks at what’s in store for international visitors.

I began noticing Pinot Noir… when I was a student at Otago University, but it wasn’t until I got my first job that I could start to sustain what’s become a lifelong love of Pinot. I was living and working in Southeast Asia and Pinot Noir was a perfect wine to share with local colleagues, who preferred red wine. In the hot climate its lighter bodied style, and ability to be enjoyed on the cooler side, was so welcome, and its floral aromatics and lifted fruit character was so versatile for matching with a dizzying array of local cuisine.

The power of the Pinot Noir conference is… its ability to attract such a high calibre trade and media audience from around the world.

I am looking forward to… rekindling my global industry connections and welcoming those who are making the journey to experience our wine industry for the first time. One highlight will be hearing what New York Times Chief Wine Critic Eric Asimov has to say on his first ever visit to New Zealand. With decades of experience critiquing food and wine, his perspective provides valuable insights to how ‘place’ shapes the identity of New Zealand Pinot Noir on the global stage. Oh and am I looking forward to pairing a hangi with Pinot Noir – that will be a first!

International visitors will… not want to leave after experiencing the manaakitanga of the New Zealand wine industry. I expect they’ll take advantage of the Kiwi summer and explore some of our wine regions, connecting with the places and people that make our famous wines.

New Zealand Pinot is… such a gorgeous surprise that overdelivers every time. I love how it shows its regional typicity so clearly, perhaps more than any other grape that thrives in New Zealand. With a bit of practise, I reckon any attendee will be able to pick our regional characteristics, whether it be the earthy savoury notes of the Wairarapa, the floral and lifted red fruit notes of Marlborough, or the more brooding dark fruited styles of Central Otago, and everything in between.

My favourite quote about Pinot is… Pinot Noir will get you through times of no money, better than money will get you through times of no Pinot Noir.

Research winery trial bookings are open for vintage 2025

During harvest, in-house trials are often overlooked or take up too much valuable time and tank space. That’s where we come in - our team can co-design and carry out complete trials to meet your needs and budget, all conducted from our world-class Research Winery.

Bookings usually fill up fast and V24 had us reach our capacity, so if you have a new technique, technology, ingredient or viticulture practice you’d like to test, contact us to avoid missing out.

Contact our team at winery@bri.co.nz or bri.co.nz/winery-trials

Charlotte Read

Haere Ra 2024

With plenty of good, bad and awesome to reflect on, winegrowers and makers around the country offer some insights into 2024.

Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland

This year Kumeu River Winemaker Michael Brajkovich MW was named 2024 Winemakers’ Winemaker by the Institute of Masters of Wine, and a 2024 New Zealand Winegrowers Fellow. With a lifetime of experience in Auckland wine, Michael reflects on the highs and lows of the year.

The Good After the difficulties of the 2023 season, and the saturated soils from high rainfall, the 2024 season started well, with nice even budburst throughout the vineyards. Things were looking very good, until a short spell of wet and cold weather just on flowering meant that some decrease in yield was certainly to be expected. The rest of the growing season was excellent, with mostly dry and warm conditions. While other parts of the country experienced quite high temperatures, ours in Kumeu were just moderately warm,

Waiheke

Leon Henson, Vineyard Manager at Batch Winery and Auckland’s Young Viticulturist of the Year 2024, looks at the year that was.

The Good Weather conditions this vintage favoured a spectacular ripening period. Rainfall was far below average in January, February and March, with plenty of sun to boot.

The Bad Yields were low, perhaps because of last year’s funny business (Cyclone Gabrielle). Instances of sunburn and dehydration were high – the Batch

and never exceeded 29C. This resulted in very steady and even berry maturation, with beautiful aroma and flavour development right up until harvest.

The Bad Our earlier fears about yield were justified. In Kumeu we were down by about 35%, and I hear similar stories from around the region. Quantities of all our wines will be low this year, but on the positive side the quality across the board is outstanding. So

vineyard team went through exactly 4.5 litres of sunscreen, not to mention the aloe vera gel.

The Awesome Here’s what to expect from the 2024 vintage from Batch and perhaps Waiheke in general: the Bordeaux is inky purple and plummy with bold tannins; the Syrah is perfumed and electric purple with amazing structure; the Chardonnay shows bright citrus flavours and punchy acidity. This was a quality over quantity vintage, so get ‘em while ya can.

far in spring 2024 we have had an excellent budburst and no frost events, so we look forward, anxiously, to a (hopefully) good flowering and set.

The Awesome Chardonnay wines, particularly the Single Vineyards, are shining examples of the Kumeu style. The terroir differences between various parcels are very distinct, really highlighting their individual personalities. Pinot Gris is also very strong this year with high sugar levels, and with some botrytis influence producing rich and textural wines. Internationally, the Chardonnay wines continue to earn outstanding recognition as world-class, and in some respects worldleading. At a time when sales in many wine categories are in decline, it is gratifying that New Zealand wines at the premium and luxury level continue to be in strong demand.

Michael Brajkovich

Chard Farm in Central Otago

Leon Henson

Tairāwhiti, Gisborne

Wrights Vineyard & Winery, with its focus on organic practices, sustainability and community, was a finalist in the inaugural New Zealand Qualmark Wine Tourism Award, presented as part of New Zealand Winegrowers’ Altogether Unique 2024. Geoff Wright looks at some other highlights, and challenges, from 2024.

“From

a small producer’s perspective, and aiming to be competitive in a very competitive market, my big issue is excise tax”

Geoff Wright

The Good Gisborne is now open for business, our roads are open for tourists to come visit our unique region, enjoy our

array of beautiful scenery, native walks and, of course, our big bold beautiful Chardonnays

The Bad From a small producer’s perspective, and aiming to be competitive in a very competitive market, my big issue is excise tax – how every year it increases based on the New Zealand consumer price index. Australia operates a WET rebate of up to $350,000 a year. Imagine if New Zealand producers had access to a similar programme here. This would encourage investment in new technologies, more sustainable practices, and help reduce wineries’ environmental impact and increase efficiency. Our smaller wineries would be more innovative in terms of new styles, packaging or production techniques, and employees of these businesses would receive more competitive pay, in line with the larger wineries’ salaries for key personnel.

The Awesome The 2025 vintage in Gisborne is going to be a cracker. Expect exceptional fruit to come from our wine region.

Geoff Wright

Te Matau-a-Māui, Hawke’s Bay

Kate Radburnd has seen plenty of challenges and triumphs in the Hawke’s Bay wine industry during her 41-year wine career, including the destruction wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle in vintage 2023, and the resilience and recovery of the region in its wake. Looking down the barrel of the 2025 harvest, the F.A.W.C! Hawke’s Bay Legend 2024 reflects on the good, the bad, and the awesome of the year.

“It’s all about raising the awareness, quality and accessibility of New Zealand wine, not just Hawke’s Bay”

Kate

Radburnd

The Good Two things spring to mind when I think about really good things in the past 12 months. The first has been my introduction to Jascha Oldham-Selak and Sanne Witteveen from Vilaura – their

luxury methodé traditionnelle wines are outstanding, and they are rolling out Methode Services, contract facilities for this highly specialist area within New Zealand. It’s great news, with young talent excelling. The second is the release of my daughter’s first wine, 2024 Penelope Rosé, last month. Her talent is now showcased and it’s a delight to work with her.

The Bad The ever-rising freight costs post Covid are out of our control and continually eroding margin. It’s basic stuff, but so very real, that has impacted all markets, domestic and offshore, with uncertainty and disruption I haven’t seen before. It’s one of those infuriating circumstances to me,

where costs rise and performance declines –a lose-lose situation.

The Awesome Hawke’s Bay’s designation as one of the Great Wine Capitals of the World, the latest addition to a stellar line up of Great Wine Capitals. It is such an exciting platform to build so many positive relationships on – education, hospitality, tourism, communications and collaboration with our global Great Wine Capital partners. It’s all about raising the awareness, quality and accessibility of New Zealand wine, not just Hawke’s Bay. This key differentiation should have long lasting positive outcomes for our industry and we need to ensure the potential is maximised.

Kate Radburnd

Wairarapa

As Ata Rangi approaches 45 years of growing wine in Wairarapa, Winemaker Helen Masters explores some of the highs and lows of 2024, including “The Vintage” of the past 30 years.

The Good Wairarapa was blessed with a stunning vintage in 2024, coming in on the back of the heartbreaking 2023. It wasn’t high in yield, but that’s something we are used to here. With superb weather throughout the growing season, resulting in pristine fruit with extraordinary concentration, balance and energy, 2024 is looking to me to be “The Vintage” of the past 30 years.

The Bad The rising uncertainty in the local and international markets, fuelled by high inflation and political instability, coupled with disturbing

Nelson

international crises that we have no power to change.

“Wairarapa was blessed with a stunning vintage in 2024, coming in on the back of the heartbreaking 2023.”

Helen

Masters

The Awesome How lucky we are to be free to farm and make wines that express our place, and to be able to share them with friends and likeminded people all over the world. It’s not something to be taken for granted.

It’s been 51 years since Hermann and Agnes Seifried planted vines in Nelson, establishing what is now the South Island’s oldest wine producer. Their son Chris, who has spent his entire life navigating the vagaries of nature, markets and regulations, says excellent 2024 wines are a welcome boost in tough times.

“After watching friends and colleagues caring for their vines for so many years, it’s devastating to see them have to pull them out.”

Chris Seifried

The Good It’s wonderful to be welcoming so many tourists to our region and cellar doors; they add such a buzz to Nelson and Tasman. The recent developments with the Tasman Taste Trail are bringing lots of locals and tourists out on bikes and offering a great way see the region.

The Bad We feel saddened to see the current market challenges, which we have not seen often in the 51 years our family has been making wine. Wine prices

are being driven down due to global oversupply. Locally, this has resulted in a significant number of Nelson vineyards being removed as commercial reality sets in. After watching friends and colleagues caring for their vines for so many years, it’s devastating to see them have to pull them out. It is, however, supply and demand economics. Currently consumers are the winners, with super wines at really reasonable prices.

The Awesome Vintage 2024! We had

the most amazing harvest with beautiful ripe fruit, and exceptional flavours and acid levels. The weather made for a long, almost casual harvest. This year at Seifrieds we welcomed a great crew of young winemakers from around the world, and they really made harvest a smooth run, with everyone having a great time. Now the ‘24 whites are in bottle we are starting to see some great reviews and awards. We are particularly proud of the Sauvignon Blancs and Gewürztraminer.

Helen Master

Chris Seifried

Wairau, Marlborough

On her return from Wine Spectator’s 43rd Annual New York Wine Experience, Greywacke Winemaker Richelle Tyney looks back at a busy year.

The Good The Greywackers have enjoyed being able to support our international distibutors in person again – travelling overseas and sharing the Greywacke story with fellow wine enthusiasts. We have recently returned from the Wine Spectator New York Wine Experience, where we were honoroured to present our 2022 Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc after being named 10th in the magazine’s revered annual Top Wines list. It was wonderful to see that the appetite for New Zealand wine continues to grow and that consumers are enthused by the calibre of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc being produced today.

The Bad On my travels to the United States, I visited Napa Valley in California and noticed numerous vineyards not being harvested. Is there a global wine crisis happening? I only hope that we ‘down under’ can learn from this, with growers and wineries working together to enjoy another 50 years of Marlborough wine.

The Awesome After three vintages of

Awatere Valley

The Yealands Sauvignon Blanc that won Champion Wine at the 2024 Marlborough Wine Show, sponsored by Quay Connect, was an “exceptional example” of the wine that put Marlborough on the map, says Chief Judge Stu Marfell. In the wake of the success, Yealands Senior Winemaker Anthony Walkenhorst looks back at 2024.

“Good planning for water storage and use is becoming more and more critical for vineyards and wineries.”

Anthony Walkenhorst

The Good The quality of 2024 wines from the Awatere Valley is an absolute standout, following a dream harvest. The fruit came into the winery at a good pace and was super clean and ripe, so there was little need for much winemaker intervention to get the wines through ferment. At our blend tasting for Sauvignon Blancs we were spoilt for

pandemic restrictions and labour shortages, Greywacke – and the Marlborough region as a whole – was grateful to experience a relaxed 2024 harvest. Some say that the 2024 vintage was a once-in-a-lifetime season. Cooler spring temperatures and some

frosty mornings reduced yields, followed by a typical El Niño dry warm summer that meant clean ripe fruit for the taking. We saw a generous depth of flavour across all varieties, but I can’t wait for Chardonnay blending – the standout in my eyes!

choice when it came to selecting our top wines. The Bad Drought conditions over the summer months meant that there was some concern about water supply to vineyards and also to the winery. These dry conditions were great for quality but we did see a reduction in yield this year as a result of a poor flowering as well as a lack of water. These challenges are going to continue into the future so good planning for water storage and use is becoming more and more critical for vineyards and wineries.

The Awesome Winning Wine of Show at the Marlborough Wine Show with the Yealands L5 Sauvignon Blanc is the highlight of the year for Yealands. To be selected as top wine in a year when so many great wines were made is a huge achievement and shows the quality of what the Awatere Valley can produce. The community spirit of the Awatere wine scene is also awesome to be part of; we regularly hold tastings together as well as the traditional pre-vintage BBQ to catch up with everyone before the madness begins.

Richelle Tyney. Photo Jim Tannock

Anthony Walkenhorst

WineWorks

Slowing wine sales have impacts beyond growers and wineries. WineWorks Group Chief Executive Peter Crowe looks at some of those consequences.

The Good We installed a bag-in-box machine in our Marlborough site this year, providing an opportunity to the wider industry to package wine in a different format. Initially focusing on 2 litre (fully recyclable) bags, we expect to see the first brands in market before the end of the year.

The Bad The challenges being faced in wine markets around the world have certainly had a very real impact here: the backlog of stock in export markets, combined with slowing wine sales and general consumer uncertainty, has resulted in lower bottling volumes. These lower volumes have led to two restructures within our business, to match our resourcing with the expected workload.

The disestablishment of a number of roles meant we farewelled friends and colleagues, including some longstanding ones. It has been a difficult process for all in our team, but we hope we are better positioned to meet our clients’ requirements in the future.

The Awesome New Zealand’s two key glass suppliers, Chandler and Visy, both released lighter weight 390g bottle options this year. This innovation offered the wine industry a wider range of options and another tool in the continued project to reduce the carbon footprint of the industry. These bottles have been in market for many months now and we are seeing clients increasingly move to these as their preferred bottle option.

IT WOULD BE STINK IF THESE GOT INTO NEW ZEALAND

The brown marmorated stink bug is a pest that infests homes, ruins gardens, stinks when crushed, and is almost impossible to get rid of. It could also destroy our fruit and vegetable industries. It’s not in New Zealand yet, and we want to keep it that way. So if you see one, don’t kill it. Catch it, take a photo, and call us on 0800 80 99 66.

For more information (including how to identify the bug) visit biosecurity.govt.nz/stinkbug

North Canterbury

Ed Donaldson is Marketing Manager for Pegasus Bay, which is owned and operated by his family, pioneers of the Canterbury wine region. Ed says it’s been a busy year with lots of travel and reestablishing international connections in a post-Covid world.

“The hospitality offering in North Canterbury is at an all-time high.”

Ed Donaldson

The Good Conditions over the vintage were highly favourable, meaning fruit could be harvested without pressure from diseases. Expect some excellent wines from the 2024 vintage. Planning for Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025 is well underway. It will be hosted in Canterbury for the first time in February 25. Most of the groundwork has already taken place.

The Bad Spring frost and poor flowering

Lindsay Hill, co-owner of The Boneline. This follows the unexpected deaths of Jill Chapman of Terrace Edge and Kim Rayner of Torlesse in recent years. All three were industry veterans and are greatly missed. This is the emotional and sadly unavoidable side of a wine region maturing and coming of age.

The Awesome The hospitality offering in

favourite winery. Black Estate retained the incredibly high standard of two hats at the Cuisine Good Food Awards. A New Zealand Riesling from North Canterbury was the highest-scoring wine at the Judgment of London earlier this year. Pegasus Bay Bel Canto received the highest average score of a global selection of wines representing the very best in the world. This prestigious

We guarantee the same

tch directly in to the mu st or rehydrate same resu lt.

Ed Donaldson

Central Otago

Valli celebrated a quarter century of winemaking this year, with the release of its 25th Anniversary Pinot Noir, made in 2022. Jen Parr, who’s been Winemaker at Valli since 2015, reflects on a year of challenges, rewards and rousing community spirit.

“Cliche but true, the more challenging harvests reap the greatest rewards.”

Jen Parr

The Good Although it had its share of challenges, vintage 2024 should be regarded as another fantastic one in Central Otago, with each subregion showing its distinct character and the regional blends looking harmonious. Wine quality across the subregions looks excellent in barrels, with highly structured Pinot Noirs that are finely detailed, concentrated and age-worthy. There is ample discussion globally about the decrease in overall wine sales, which appears to be a consistent trend. However, my international visits saw premium Otago wines in a very positive light. Valli recently

Waitaki

Te Kano Winemaker Dave Sutton looks at an excellent growing season against the pressure of competing land use.

“Like many areas there is significant pressure on winegrowers from competing land use.”

Dave Sutton

The Good 2024 was an excellent growing season with hot, dry and settled summer weather leading to an early harvest of clean fruit. It was the first year since 2021 where botrytis has not been a significant factor in our picking decisions, and the young wines look outstandingly pure, concentrated and balanced.

The Bad Like many areas there is

launched the 5th of our canine charity wines, “Mawson.” This is our first-ever Central Otago Chardonnay, a variety that continues to gain momentum in our region. The Bad Spring frosts, hail and wind impacted some areas, significantly decreasing yields and adding stress to the vines and humans. Water stress was perhaps the most significant we have seen, followed by an unseasonably cold March that felt more like May weather. There were also rain events that challenged picking decisions. The battle against powdery mildew rages on in the region, but with increased success in vineyards and a greater knowledge of how to cope with it (and elemental sulphur) in wineries. At Valli, we harvested over three weeks what we would normally do over five, making logistics

significant pressure on winegrowers from competing land use. The continued expansion of the national dairy herd, high costs of labour and materials, and constantly increasing excise penalties and compliance costs have made winegrowing in the region extremely difficult. Two long established vineyards have been converted to (marginal and heavily irrigated) dairy land, representing a significant loss to our region.

The Awesome The Waitaki brand has had significant exposure in recent times with some outstanding show results for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Support from New Zealand Winegrowers, combined with tireless work from our producers, has helped to spread the message about our wines, and with a spectacular new cellar door in the area there is huge interest and excitement about our region.

extra challenging in the winery. Cliche but true, the more challenging harvests reap the greatest rewards. Some iconic New Zealand restaurants have closed as the recession continues to take its toll, but new ventures are also sprouting up, giving us hope.

The Awesome After 25-plus years of making premium subregional wines at Valli, we have added Pisa Pinot Noir to our repertoire. The next generation of winemakers and growers continues to thrive with new leaders and new brands emerging that are shining a positive light on our region. This will only help continue to build the highquality perception of our wines overseas. Community remains the core value of our region and working together is more rewarding, and more important, than ever before.

Jen Parr

Dave Sutton

23 I SWNZ turns 30

Sustainability in industry DNA

23 I Earthworms Count Nick Paulin’s soil obsession

24 I Great Expectations

Market demand for credentials

27 I Wakatū as Kaitiaki Emissions reduction programme

29 I Growing Better

Ben Leen at Amisfield

30 I The Springs Whitehaven’s wetland restoration

Thirty Years of SWNZ

When Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand was launched in 1995, the wellbeing of the environment became a thread running through conversations and decisions in the growing, making and selling of New Zealand wine. Thirty years on, the groundbreaking SWNZ programme is woven into the story of Aotearoa wine, setting it apart from the rest of the world.

SOPHIE PREECE

New Zealand’s wine industry is in a unique position, thanks to 30 years of SWNZ, says New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Global Sustainability Lead Florence Van Dyke. “Because you’ve done your homework; you are one of the few industries that actually have the stats.”

Speaking at the Wine Business Forum 2024, she noted that the sustainability landscape is shifting faster than ever before, particularly in food and beverage, and particularly in New Zealand’s key export markets, thanks to government regulations, retailer demands and changing consumer preferences. “Customers are asking for a genuine, honest sustainability story, and you are one of the few industries globally that, at a nationwide level, can say that you are walking the talk on this.”

Building SWNZ from the ground up Back in 1994, Dr David Jordan (DJ) was asked to research and report on sustainability programmes around the world, and help develop one for New Zealand’s rapidly growing wine industry. He applauds the

industry bodies at the time – the Wine Institute and Grapegrowers Association – for their foresight, and major companies like Montana and Corbans for supporting the project, knowing that they’d be called on for evidence of environmental rigour in key export markets.

“There are a lot of fingerprints over the development of this programme.”

Dr David Jordan

DJ knew of a “clever, straightforward” Swiss programme that he deemed far ahead of the initiatives he found in other countries, and used it as the basis for SWNZ, initially called Integrated Winegrape Production. He wanted a programme that recognised that wine was already a relatively soft player in horticulture, “giving due recognition to good practices”. He also wanted a “platform for change”, using a scorecard to measure impacts over time, and a framework that encouraged progressive enhancements to the way vineyards were being managed.

Launched in 1995, SWNZ was built from the ground up, using growers to test it and give feedback, ensuring “it wasn’t just hypothetically sensible, but was practically sensible”, DJ says. “So there are a lot of

It’s our duty of care to look after the land

Nick Paulin is a firm believer in the relationship between healthy soils and an abundant earthworm population, and a dab hand at taking a shovel of soil and counting the worms writhing within it.

But this winter, when he sent soil samples from Pyramid Valley’s Mānatu vineyard in Lowburn to Hill Labs, to test for nutrient, pH, and organic matter, he also ticked a new box for an environmental DNA earthworm count, curious to test the new technology. The results were so high that he called the lab to check there hadn’t been an error, but was told triplicate tests showed the same extraordinary result. “It’s a reassurance that we’re on the right track,” says Nick, whose obsession with healthy vineyard soils saw him join the “Soil your Undies” trials a few years back, burying

fingerprints over the development of this programme.”

There were sceptics among the grower groups ground truthing SWNZ, including sustainability naysayers who called it “a load of crock”. But DJ says they turned up to every meeting and provided important feedback in those early days, helping grow buy-in that’s endured and extended over the past 30 years, with 96% of New Zealand’s producing vineyard area now SWNZ certified, and approximately 90% of wine produced in a SWNZ certified facility. There were also critics at the other end of the spectrum, insisting the programme’s bar was too low. But it was important that it be inclusive, not the domain of the highest achievers, while also celebrating ‘heroes’ in the sustainability space, DJ says.

For three decades SWNZ has become increasingly comprehensive, and has evolved to meet changing needs, including the inclusion of requirements covering people, soil, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water and, as of 2025, biosecurity. DJ says it’s long been a global benchmark of successful sustainability programmes, as evidenced by SWNZ Programme Manager Meagan Littlejohn being asked to speak at the inaugural Sustainability in Drinks conference in London in October. “To me, that’s clear recognition of a world class programme that has the enduring credibility and the robustness to evolve.”

underwear under different under row treatments to see which were most destroyed by active and healthy soils.

Nick – who is National Viticulturist for Aotearoa New Zealand Fine Wine Estates, Deputy Chair of Organic Winegrowers New Zealand, and recently appointed as the OWNZ representative on New Zealand Winegrowers’ Environment Committee – says protecting and improving soil is about creating better wines. But sustainability in wine is also fundamental to the industry’s social licence. “That how we farm, how we grow grapes, is going to leave the vineyard in a better place when we started… It’s our duty of care to look after the land.”

left, Nick Paulin checks for earthworms at Pyramid Valley’s

Photo

Mānatu vineyard.

Yealands Estate

A powerful point of differentiation

New Zealand Winegrowers General Manager Sustainability, Dr Edwin Massey, says the 30-year milestone shows the dedication of NZW members to focusing on sustainability “as a point of differentiation”. The industry showed “great foresight” in establishing something that garnered such a high level of buy-in, and has elevated the New Zealand wine brand in export markets, he says. “When I look internationally at other sustainability programs, SWNZ has a very broad focus of inclusivity across our entire industry, right across vineyards, wineries and brands, and even bottling facilities.” The high participation rate differentiates New Zealand wine on the global stage, he says. “I think that has really been a hallmark of the programme, and driven its success over a long period of time.”

SWNZ has worked to continuously improve, and keep up with the “concept of what constitutes sustainability”, Edwin says. In 1995 there was, “quite rightly”, a focus on vineyards, “because at the time, the narrative was all about the concern of potential agrichemical use, not just across the wine industry, but across all the primary sectors”, he says. “SWNZ emerged out of that and we have very robust information processing requirements regarding the spray schedule and members submitting their spray diaries.”

But other key elements of sustainability have since come to the fore. “We’ve really seen, for example, climate change emerge as the dominant focus area in the sustainability narrative,” Edwin says, noting NZW’s goal for the wine industry to reach net zero emissions by 2050. “We’ve also seen a growing narrative about the

potential negative impacts of primary sector production on New Zealand waterways,” he says. “And there’s been a real change in how primary sector activities need to operate to ensure their social licence”.

SWNZ has had a swift evolution to meet that changing landscape, and in 2021 introduced personalised GHG reports, which quantify the Scope 1 (direct emissions) and Scope 2 (indirect emissions) associated with wine production. SWNZ also worked with government agency EECA (the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) on the Wine Decarbonisation Programme, through which Indevin, Framingham and Wakatū received cofunding for energy transition plans, to create concrete steps towards emissions reduction goals.

Reducing emissions in Tohu’s winery and vineyards (see page 27) is about kaikiakitanga, says Dianne Brown, Manager of Wakatū Incorporation’s Whenua Ora sustainability programme. “By joining the EECA wine sector decarbonisation programme, we sought to enhance energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and adopt sustainable practices that would position us to stay competitive and meet shifting consumer preferences and regulatory demands.”

With waterway health another growing concern, Project Raumatatiki was launched in November 2023, to develop a pilot tool to help winegrowers develop individualised Freshwater Farm Plans for vineyards, identifying risks, vulnerabilities and mitigations. In the future, the requirements, currently being revised by the Government, will be included in the SWNZ programme

Staying relevant with SWNZ

“The cost of sustainability is in the now. The cost of not doing anything is in the future,” says Tim Nowell-Usticke, founder and director of WineWorks and the new Chair of New Zealand Winegrowers’ Environment Committee. Tim says what was once a valuable nice-to-have is now an increasingly essential part of doing business in wine. “SWNZ has morphed from being for ‘us’, the Kiwi growers and wineries, to being necessary in the perception of the gatekeepers to the wine drinkers of the world.” That means the industry needs to “pivot” to ensure it remains relevant in market, he says. “We need to morph the purpose of SWNZ to allow us to get used to the question of ‘who is SWNZ for?’ The members or the wine drinkers of the world?”

There are myriad challenges ahead, including the substantial task of tackling Scope-3 emissions, but New Zealand has already come a very long way, says Tim, who’s seen bottle weights plummet from between 645-560g 20 years ago, to 417-390g today “This is not the case in some of our big export markets, where they are starting with heavy bottles, and so the noise from them is loud,” he says. “We should be very proud of the progress we have made.”

as much as possible. “For our members, this will mean minimising costs and providing comprehensive support in navigating the regulations,” Edwin says. “We see this positively, as it offers an opportunity to further enhance our industry commitment to the environment through caring for our natural waterways and the supporting ecosystems.”

Five months later, the New Zealand Wine Roadmap to Net Zero 2050 was launched, to help vineyards and wineries meet the goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Produced in conjunction with EECA and independent sustainability firm thinkstepanz, the Roadmap details the industry’s current GHG emissions footprint and describes key opportunities for reducing those emissions – including improving energy efficiency, moving away from diesel, decarbonising electricity, innovating the value chain, and using carbon removals. The Roadmap offers targets, strategies and timeframes for each decade from 2030-2050, as well as for the Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 (supply chain) emissions.

Karen Orr, EECA Programme Advisor, Sector Decarbonisation, says there’s a “definite need” to get moving with efficiency and carbon reduction actions. “There is an interest within the sector in use of technology and innovation and many are looking to see what the early movers are doing so they can pick up the learnings.”

Meagan Littlejohn presented the freshly launched Roadmap at the Sustainability in Drinks conference, as part of a panel discussion on the Race to Net Zero. The event, with keynote speeches from Jancis Robinson and Judith Batchelar OBE,

Demand for packaging alternatives means WineWorks recently installed a bag-in-box facility. The industry has been open to change and is already out on the “leading edge” when it comes to sustainability, Tim says. “We’ve been leading the way for many years.”

The Environment Committee plans to build on the “things that matter” and lighten the administrative load on members, such as removing duplicate requirements, he says. They will also “grapple with” the coalition Government’s attitude to Freshwater Farm Plans and gene modification, “so our agenda will be full over the next couple of years”.

WineWorks, which is SWNZ certified, started focusing on its environmental footprint more than 15 years ago, when wineries like Yealands were being “loud and proud about their aspirations”, and needed suppliers to be on the same journey, Tim says. The company became net Toitū carbonzero in December 2023, having reduced or eliminated emissions, wherever possible, and purchased carbon offsets for any remaining emissions. “WineWorks has been determined to support our clients achieve their goals.”

Taking steps to become more energy e icient and adopting clever technologies can have plenty of benefits for your bottom line.

EECA provides tools and resources to save energy and lower emissions in New Zealand's vineyards and wineries, helping to future-proof industry.

Get started at eeca.govt.nz/wine

and a panel on ‘Creating Value Though Sustainability’, is clear evidence of the significance of sustainability among key wine influencers globally.

“New Zealand’s wine industry is small enough and nimble enough that we should be able to lead the whole world on being sustainable.”

Belinda Jackson

Meagan says a lot of companies and organisations have a net zero by 2050 goal, but not many industries have developed a full plan. Having an industry-wide Roadmap, including targets between now and 2050, key opportunities to focus on, and concrete steps to get there, “really stood out”, she says. “It’s showing a really nice, unified commitment.” Meagan believes New Zealand is in a good place to meet the growing demands of markets and looming regulations from governments, because SWNZ already collects so much data, “and that’s what a lot of markets are asking for now”.

The challenge and opportunity Three critical trends are growing the sustainability movement faster than ever before, Florence Van Dyke told the Wine Business Forum. The first driver is government regulation. “It’s difficult to overstate how quickly governments internationally are putting sustainability regulation into force,” she said, citing an April 2024 Chapman Tripp report that 80% of New Zealand’s exports by value are now going to countries with mandatory climate-related disclosures in place or looming. Regulations for climate related disclosures, greenwashing, deforestation and modern slavery have been implemented in the United Kingdom and Europe. Climate related disclosures are in the pipeline for the likes of the United States, Australia, Singapore and Japan.

The second driver is demands by multinational corporations, which in many cases are moving faster than government regulations. For example, Tesco, Nestle, Unilever and McDonald’s are asking suppliers internationally for carbon data and carbon reduction plans that reflect sciencebased targets. In the Sustainability Matters November newsletter, Florence noted that many large companies are choosing to apply high European sustainability standards

across their operations globally, to maintain consistency. For example, McDonald’s in China will soon require carbon reduction plans from all its meat and dairy suppliers, including New Zealand exporters.

The third driver is consumer preferences, which continue to “trend towards sustainability”, she told the Business Forum. “The majority of target consumers in New Zealand’s key markets want to purchase sustainable products, but they aren’t necessarily willing to pay for them”. But while cost is still a “huge barrier” to buying sustainably, 50% of those surveyed in New Zealand Trade and Enterprise research said they purchased more sustainable products this year than last year. The biggest consumer trend she notices is a desire for honesty and transparency, “and that’s grown out of an aversion to greenwashing”.

She called on wine companies to take advantage of the industry’s unique position, after 30 years of SWNZ, and to measure sustainability metrics, “so that you’re ready when multinationals and governments come asking for them”.

“The script has changed” when it comes to getting wine into market, says Phil Reedman MW, who had nine years as Senior Product Development Manager at Tesco, sourcing wines for its own-label program, and these

Kaitiakitanga in action: Wakatū’s low emission winemaking journey

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Reducing emissions in Tohu’s winery and vineyards is part of being good kaitiaki, says Dianne Brown, Manager of Wakatū Incorporation’s Whenua Ora sustainability programme. “Our aim is to transform our operations into a resilient, lowemissions organisation, ensuring long-term sustainability while addressing the risks of climate change specific to the Te Tauihu region.”

“Te toto o te tangata he kai, te oranga o te tangata, he whenua, he oneone.”

While food provides the blood in our veins, our health is drawn from the land and soils.

Wakatū, which produces Tohu Wines in Nelson and Marlborough, was one of three companies involved in the Wine Decarbonisation Programme run by EECA (the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) and Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ), to create concrete steps towards emissions reduction goals.

The wineries, which also included big operator Indevin and boutique label Framingham, received co-funding for energy transition plans (ETPs) from an external energy consultant, seeking the best ways to reduce energy demand and move away from fossil fuels and providing a “pathway” to get there.

The programme aligns with Whenua

Ora, which was launched in 2020 with ambitious soil, water, waste and climate goals, “emphasising our responsibility as kaitiaki to reduce environmental impact”, Dianne says. “By joining the EECA Wine Sector Decarbonisation Programme, we sought to enhance energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and adopt sustainable practices that would position us to stay competitive and meet shifting consumer preferences and regulatory demands.”

Wakatū’s ETP, focused on Tohu Winery and four vineyards, looks to shift reliance on fossil fuels to renewable energy sources during the next 10 years. “The ETP provides sufficient information to define what energy and carbon saving opportunities to focus on and what technologies can be used to achieve this,” Dianne says.

The organisation has already started implementing changes, including quick wins with “meaningful results”, such as replacing fluorescent lights with LEDs, using sensor switches, and optimising pump operations to conserve energy.

Other parts of the plan require more significant investment, including the

Wakatū advice for decarbonising

• Start small and build momentum – conduct audits to identify quick wins like switching to LED lights or optimising equipment use – small changes can lead to meaningful results.

• Set clear, measurable goals and monitor progress and adjust strategies as needed.

planned installation of a heat scavenger system, or similar, to replace the LPG boiler, further reducing fossil fuel reliance. The ETP identified diesel use as a primary emission source, and the company is focusing on more efficient vehicle logistics, Dianne says. “Potential future changes include expanding our renewable energy efforts and continuously improving energy management across our vineyards and wineries to align with a net-zero target by 2030.”

There are economic benefits, with reduced operating costs from lower energy consumption creating financial resilience and enabling reinvestment in innovation, Dianne says. “Environmentally, these measures reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance energy security, contributing to our carbon reduction policy. In addition, sustainable practices in water management and regenerative agriculture are yielding positive impacts on biodiversity and land health.”

Read more at eeca.govt.nz/insights/casestudies-and-articles/from-vine-to-greenhow-wakatu-incorporation-is-buildingtowards-a-sustainable-future

• Engage experts and embrace innovation – partner with organisations like EECA to identify opportunities and take advantage of grants and subsidies available for energy efficiency projects.

• Involve kaimahi from the start – staff involvement fosters collaboration, ensuring that sustainability initiatives are embraced at every level.

Tohu Whenua Awa, Awatere Valley

days runs a consultancy business to help Australian wineries and retailers “sell more wine”. In a recent conversation with a British importer that deals extensively with European grocery chains like Aldi and Lidl, the first question was not about price or quality, but firmly focused on sustainability certification, Phil says. He applauds the foresight of New Zealand’s industry in having SWNZ. Others are going to have to “catch up”, he adds.

On the front (and lighter) foot

Lawson’s Dry Hills has been on a steep sustainability climb for the past 11 years, gaining ISO14001 and Toitū ISO14064 net carbonzero certification on top of its existing SWNZ platform. The relentless task of continuously lightening its footprint began with a deep company philosophy of producing wine with care. But in recent years that environmental ethos has proven an economic lifeline as well, as customers increasingly demand sustainability certification, emissions measurement and authentic stories of stewardship.

General Manager Sion Barnsley shares a recent letter from one client in the Northern hemisphere, which lays out an ambition to reduce 45% of its greenhouse gas emissions in supply chains by 2030, compared to 2018. As a consequence, suppliers like Lawson’s are asked to annually report carbon footprints, develop climate targets in line with the 1.5 global warming scenario, and have those validated by Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA), or an equivalent.

On the day we talk, Sion has just submitted two airline tenders, for Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines, which required sustainability certifications. Buyers – from large retailers to small distributors –increasingly require certified sustainability measures or a programme that demonstrates a company’s intentions, he says.

Meanwhile, regulation changes mean market barriers will play a major role in growing sustainability. The European Green Deal, aiming to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, is likely to

mean a competitive advantage for wines that can demonstrate environmentally friendly practices, while those without measurable efforts – including cutting emissions – could face roadblocks, Sion says. New laws will target greenwashing in the European market, meaning glossy green claims will need to be backed by certification.

“We’ve been doing this for 30 years, but what we will do over the next 30 is going to be more important.”

Dr Edwin Massey

Even for a company well on the front foot in this realm, the curve is getting steep. But Lawson’s Marketing & Sales Manager Belinda Jackson says New Zealand has a real opportunity to capitalise on consumers’ perception of a clean, green, lightly footed nation, by following decades of talk with certified walk. “New Zealand’s wine industry is small enough and nimble enough that we should be able to lead the whole world on being sustainable.”

SWNZ has moved quickly in recent years to help arm wine companies for the changing world, including with the emissions reporting requirements now part of SWNZ certification, says Belinda, who was part of an advisory group established to help further develop the resource. Annual personalised GHG reports give wine producers insight into the main emission areas of their business, and how they compare to other comparable operators, as a big first step to recording and reducing CO2 emissions. “Those reports are absolutely fabulous for individual wineries.”

Authentic sustainability credentials open doors in international markets, and put the focus on values rather than price, she adds, noting that wine quality is often the first lever, but shared and authentic sustainability values can be a vital next step in building relationships with trade. This year was Lawson’s 33rd vintage and featured updated labels to add emphasis to core values of

Intel and Insights - IWSR Sustainability

Richard Lee, New Zealand Winegrowers Insights and Intel expert, says results from global drinks data provider IWSR indicate that New Zealand wine has the strongest image association with “wines made in a sustainable way”, compared to other New World wine competitors. However, the research, from the 2023 IWSR New Zealand Wine Brand Tracker, shows that the attribute is not currently a strong driver of sales, ranking much lower than the top drivers such as taste, brand and premium quality. “Sustainability seems to act more as a hygiene factor or

provenance and sustainability. “Featuring the words, ‘certified sustainable and carbon zero’ helps to differentiate the brand and give customers valuable information,” they say.

Fit for the future

“The fact that we’ve travelled down this road of continuous improvement for 30 years is a very, very good indicator of the level of care that goes into the production of New Zealand wine,” says Edwin Massey.

New Zealand wine plays exclusively in the premium market, and consumers are increasingly associating premium products with sustainable production practices. “The transformation of a primary product into a highly valued liquid, which also aligns with consumer values, puts New Zealand wine at the vanguard of primary sector products. I think that’s what makes our wine special.”

Everything done within SWNZ is driven by three key objectives, he adds. One is to meet the need for robust evidence “to prove yourself on the international stage”. The second is wine companies’ social licence to operate, and reducing regulatory costs, “by getting ahead of that curve as much as possible”. The third is providing information back to members. “The SWNZ programme is not just about members submitting information to us, but it’s about us giving them information so they can maximise their efficiency and save in their hip pocket,” he says. “So when you take those three benefits together – markets demanding it, governments requiring it, and sustainability information to ensure efficiency – it really remains the right thing to do for our industry.”

The SWNZ programme will continue to evolve, according to changing values and expectations of the concept of sustainability. “We’ve been doing this for 30 years, but what we will do over the next 30 is going to be more important,” Edwin says. “We know there’s more work to be done, but if we work together, as we have through SWNZ, we can achieve really, really extraordinary things, and we can maintain a leadership position in sustainability as a differentiator for New Zealand wine.”

secondary consumer benefit. That being said, the IWSR 2023 study showed that sustainability is becoming more important in all markets with the exception of the US.” The biggest shift in purchase importance occurred in New Zealand in 2023, the year of Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary floods, Richard says. “Perhaps as the effects of climate change become more front and centre in people’s daily lives, environmental concerns will be more strongly expressed in actual consumer purchase behaviour.”

Farming for the future

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Ben Leen never tires of the view at Amisfield, where audacious guinea fowl strut the grounds against a backdrop of organic vines and the snow-capped Pisa Range. The stunning view from the Central Otago vineyard and winery is made even better for “knowing that we’re farming it as well as we can for the future”, says the winemaker.

It’s Barbecue Thursday, and Ben is eating an ice cream as he talks of a culture of care for the people, soils, vines and wines of the estate. He’s “proud as punch” that that care is rewarded by a long list of accolades, including Riedel Vineyard of the Year at this year’s New Zealand Organic Wine Awards, following the win of Sustainable Vineyard of the Year in 2023, and Vineyard of the Year in 2020 and 2022.

“Knowing that we’re farming it as well as we can for the future.”

Ben Leen

John Darby and his family, who established Amisfield in 1988, chose to follow organic viticulture to protect the longevity and legacy of the land, Ben says. The transition began in 2014, the year he arrived as a cellar hand, with complete BioGro certification in 2021.

Viticulturist André Lategan, who’s lived on the vineyard since 2002, took a staggered approach, watching to see how the vineyard would respond.

As time and trials went on, they found

incremental gains that could be measured, but also a “feeling of knowing that you’re doing better”, Ben says, talking of a sense of accomplishment in seeing the soil and vines grow into balance, while also protecting the people that work there. “Knowing that from that point forward, it was going to be a healthier environment for the staff.”

Organic certification has equivalency with Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand, and both certifications make winegrowers more conscious of water use, carbon emissions and soil health, Ben says. At Amisfield, the last of those pillars has been a key focus in the past 10 years, with long-term trials of subsurface irrigation enabling healthy cover crops

with less competition from weeds, and less water use.

But beyond the soil, there are frequent discussions at Amisfield (perhaps on Flat White Monday and Barbecue Thursday) about the likes of electrification, or using drones to scare birds, saving the diesel used in putting out nets. Those conversations are increasingly typical among other wine companies as well, Ben says. “Everyone just thinks a bit more deeply... It’s not just, ‘should we do this? Yes, or no?’ It’s, ‘what are the implications from an environmental standpoint?’ To have this open mind and this innovative approach to problem solving, without ever taking focus off the goal of growing highquality grapes.”

Engaging Dashwood vineyard

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Premium and award winning Sauvignon Blanc

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Strong water rights for consistent production

Currently leased to a top New Zealand wine company

Great investment opportunity or entry into the wine industry

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Mike Poff I 027 665 5477 mike.poff@bayleys.co.nz

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Ben Leen at Amisfield

1681 Redwood Pass Road, Seddon

Sustainability in action at The Springs

KAT PICKFORD

An ambitious large-scale planting project in the Wairau Valley aims to return farmland to indigenous forest and create a biodiversity hotspot that doubles as a carbon pool.

Whitehaven Wines’ restoration project is expected to take decades to complete, but once finished, the 720-hectare property will be a rare example of podocarp forest in the Wairau Valley, filled with endemic species that date back 80 million years.

Whitehaven Wines Sustainability Manager Josh Barclay says the property will eventually become a carbon sink for the family-owned export company to offset its carbon emissions. However, the project is about “so much more” than a box ticking exercise, he says. “Carbon offsetting aside, the primary motivation for this project was to give something back, to create something that will have a lasting impact for the environment and the people in our community.”

“ As an export company we can’t eliminate all carbon, but we can take responsibility for it.” Josh Barclay

The property, known as The Springs, is located 15 kilometers west of the Wairau Valley township and has been used for sheep and beef farming for the past 150 years. Much of the original vegetation would have been burned off for grazing in the late 19th century, but a few pockets of wetland, riparian plants and slower growing native hardwoods remain, providing a glimpse of what the area would have once looked like.

Spanning from the Wairau Plains to 1,000 metres above sea level, the property provides an exciting opportunity to regenerate a “significant wetland” and podocarp forest, while leaving an environmental legacy for generations to come, says Josh, who is married to Samantha White, the daughter of Whitehaven co-founder and co-owner Sue White. Their vision to be responsible members of the community and kaitiaki of the lands they work on, took on a more personal meaning a couple of years ago with the birth of their son, Arthur. “I fully expect my son to still be planting trees here when

he’s my age,” Josh says.

Whitehaven purchased the property in May 2023 and 10,000 trees have already been planted. Josh has worked closely with the Marlborough District Council and an ecologist and hydrologist to design a planting plan to restore the wetland, and work has already begun collecting seeds from the site and neighbouring properties (page 31). The seeds are taken to Selmes Garden Centre, which is run by the Selmes Garden Trust, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to provide work opportunities for people with disabilities. The team there will propagate the seeds and cultivate seedlings to be planted back in the same area they were sourced from. “Covid hit Selmes Garden Centre pretty hard,” Josh says. “This long-term agreement has provided them with some confidence going forward, in terms of being able to employ more people. It’s a great outcome for everyone.”

Eco-sourcing the seeds was an important factor in the success of the restoration project, as the plants will be better suited to the local conditions and more likely to survive, Josh says. “Using eco-sourced seeds helps maintain the area’s unique characteristics.” Pests preying on native birdlife and plants are a huge issue and something they are working hard to eliminate before planting begins. A pest control programme targeting pigs and goats is already underway and a series of traplines for wild cats, rats, stoats and possums is also being developed.

Beyond the immediate restoration work planned for the wetland and riparian areas, about 50ha has been set aside for vineyard development. Other areas with early pioneering plants, including mānuka and kānuka, have kickstarted the regeneration process naturally, and pockets of hardwood,

including matai, tōtara and kahikatea, will be observed to see if they need any help as they develop into mature podocarp forest.

Whitehaven has been calculating its carbon emissions internally for the past couple of years, while looking at ways to increase efficiencies and decrease its carbon footprint. The company had implemented many positive changes, including a waste reduction policy, planting natives in vineyards to increase biodiversity and having a more balanced approach to vineyard practices to reduce the use of tractors and agrichemicals, Josh says. “The big thing for us is reducing the amount of greenhouse gas we’re producing in the first place – offsetting it is the easy part.”

While Josh hopes the regeneration project will be large enough by 2030 to offset all Whitehaven carbon emissions internally, until then, the company will mitigate its emissions by investing in verified carbon credit projects such as renewable energy generation, forest sequestration and landfill methane capture.

Whitehaven has achieved Toitū carbonreduce and is in the final stages of net carbonzero certification through the internationally recognised climate positive certified organisation, which also facilitates the offset of remaining emissions through verified carbon credits. “As an export company we can’t eliminate all carbon, but we can take responsibility for it,” Josh says. “Having a carbon neutral product shows our customers on the other side of the world, that when they purchase a bottle of Whitehaven Wines, they’ll know we’ve done all we can to produce a responsible, sustainable product.”

This story ran previously in Winepress and has been shared with permission from Wine Marlborough.

Josh Barclay. Photo Jim Tannock

Seeding a dream

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When Malcolm McBride lays a net under a Wairau Valley totara, or gathers kōwhai seed pods straight from the tree, he’s combining two of his passions.

The Selmes Garden Centre Nurseryman owned his own native nursery in Lyttleton for 30 years, and also worked as a learning assistant at Marlborough Boys’ College, which he loved. Now he gets to grow native seedlings for organisations, including Whitehaven Wines, while teaching Selmes’ staff and local college students the tricks of propagation, from seed collection and storage to planting out for the best success.

For the past two years Malcolm and his apprentice Caleb Redshaw have been collecting seed for Whitehaven’s wetland project The Springs, targeting hardy trees that naturally thrive in the Wairau Valley landscape. “Things that are strong and tough and can survive being planted out in the open.” They bring them back to the nursery, where the project becomes a learning tool for staff and students, with Malcolm teaching them tricks of propagation and stratification, in which they emulate nature by chilling some seeds then planting them out in warm conditions, echoing a seasonal shift, or clip the tips of kōwhai seeds to break their dormancy.

The garden centre is run by Selmes Charitable Trust, a notfor-profit organisation which aims to provide work and work experience opportunities for people with disabilities, while also

growing horticulture skills for college students in the region. “It’s really exciting that we are able to see the project going forward, now we are collecting the second lot of seed,” Malcolm says. This summer he will take most of the Selmes’ crew out to see the progress of trees planted out from their efforts.

Josh Barclay, Whitehaven Wines Sustainability Manager, says travelling up to the site with Malcolm and Caleb, and knowing that so many other people are involved in the nursery project, is part of what makes The Springs so special. “The more people involved, and the more good we can do with it, the better.”

Malcolm says Josh knows nature doesn’t always stick to schedule, with the likes of totara trees seeding well every few years, making seed collection hit or miss. But the nurseryman expects natural reseeding at The Springs within three or four years, as wind and birds become part of the project’s success.

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From left, Malcolm McBride and Caleb Redshaw

Next Generation Viticulture

Capture more light to harvest more grapes

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Transforming canopy management systems to maximise sunlight could increase vineyard profitability without compromising wine quality, says researchers. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is coinvesting $5.6 million over seven years in the innovative Next Generation Viticulture programme, in partnership with New Zealand Winegrowers and seven wine businesses contributing cash and in-kind.

Bragato Research Institute (BRI) is contracted to manage and deliver the programme, and Chief Executive Dr Juliet Ansell notes its strong focus on improving vineyard profitability and sustainable winegrowing. “We aim to provide the tools and knowledge for the industry to make better winegrowing decisions.”

Next Generation Viticulture builds on research developed and applied in other New Zealand horticultural crops, including apples and kiwifruit, where canopies are designed to access more sunlight. It will trial several planting and canopy configurations on vineyards throughout Marlborough, building on a two-year pilot project started in 2022. The goal is to maximise light interception by both buds and leaves to increase the number and distribution of high-quality fruiting sites on each vine.

Indevin Director of Winegrowing

Patrick Materman says Next Generation Viticulture aims to make New Zealand’s vineyards more productive, “but at the same time, we certainly need to uphold our very high-quality standards and make sure we’re doing things in a sustainable way”. Margins are becoming tighter, with a rising cost of production not necessarily matched by growth in retail prices. “I think we just always need to be looking at new ideas and

better ways of working.” He says the benefits could go beyond yield, with potential for less disease with a greater spread in the canopy, “rather than having fruit clumped in one small zone”.

BRI Research and Extension Specialist Dr Paul Epee, speaking at the New Zealand Society for Viticulture and Oenology (NZSVO) Technical Workshop in Marlborough in October, said the wine industry cannot stick to the status quo when the whole world is changing. “We need to embrace change, and that is what this programme is all about.”

He and BRI Research Winemaker Ngarita Warden looked at two years of data from a pilot trial site at Cloudy Bay in Marlborough’s Rapaura district. Paul presented vineyard results from the standard three-cane VSP system on the site, as well as the new training systems with six vertical canes, nine vertical canes, and 12 vertical canes, exploring findings on canopy growth, fruit yield, ripening, and juice composition before fermentation. He explained that after two or three years the vine structure will be fully developed at most trial sites, “and that is when we will see how the yield increases more than the control treatment”.

But in the meantime, the results are already quite promising, “because it shows this new training system has great potential”. NZSVO attendees sampled wines from the trial site, made at the BRI Research Winery, with characteristics described by Ngarita. Wine produced from the six vertical cane system and the standard three cane VSP were equally preferred by participants.

On announcing the funding for Next Generation Viticulture, through MPI’s Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said the initiative was about ensuring New Zealand’s wine industry remains a global leader in both quality and sustainability. “This programme will increase productivity and ensure the long-term viability of our wine industry, all while maintaining the exceptional quality we are internationally known for.”

Juliet Ansell says that as the programme develops, BRI will hold regular workshops and field days “to deliver knowledge to the benefit of the wider industry”.

To see results from the pilot trials, go to page 61.

NZSVO – Keeping it Fresh

From emoji-based tastings to vineyard-based robots, and from bag-in-box to low-and-no alcohol wines, the New Zealand Society for Viticulture and Oenology technical workshop held in Blenheim in October stepped the cutting edge of wine science, winegrowing, winemaking, wine packaging and wine retail. Themed Keeping it Fresh, the packed oneday programme, including wine tastings related to each session, included the release of the just-launched Next Generation Viticulture programme. NZSVO committee member Mark Krasnow summed up the power of innovation in an introduction to a session. “New Zealand is famous for fresh wines, but it’s really our fresh ideas that have given us our market share.”

Photo on the left, a Next Generation Viticulture pilot trial. Photo Richard Briggs

A six vertical cane vine in the Next Generation Vineyard programme. Photo Richard Briggs

Point of View

Dr Amber Parker was guest speaker at the 2024 Southern Pinot Noir Workshop in Hanmer, sharing insights on potential impacts of climate change on viticulture, along with adaptation opportunities, particularly with regard to Pinot Noir. Amber, who is Lincoln University’s Director of the Centre for Viticulture and Oenology, shares some of her learnings.

There is no doubt that climate change is creating concern when it comes to the future of grape and wine production worldwide. As I write this, I have just read about climate scientists agreeing we will surpass the +1.5C target and we are likely on track for +2.5C by the of the century. I also presented online this week about cultivar change as an adaptation strategy to climate change at a symposium run by Washington State University, where growers have already made shifts in their cultivars and are implementing strategies to mitigate heat stress.

So what has been going on with our New Zealand climate recently that may affect our grape and wine production?

• Three out of four the most intensive coupled ocean-atmosphere heatwaves on record have occurred in the past seven years: 2017/18, 2018/19, and 2021/22.

• These heatwaves have corresponded to average increases of +1.2 to +1.4C in air temperatures over land and sea surface temperatures.

• Interestingly, two of the seasons (2018/19 and 2021/22) were La Niña years.

At the Southern Pinot Noir Workshop, I spoke specifically about climate change and Pinot Noir production. Scanning the news headlines on this topic, you can find the following impacts outlined:

• Harvest a couple of weeks earlier.

• Opportunity to grow in new areas and develop new flavours.

• Frost, wildfires, water shortage, flash floods, hail, extreme temperatures.

• Not all regions are equal in terms of the effects we may see.

• The next big grape – Chardonnay in Central Otago?

As much as I like a good Chardonnay, and much as the variety may suit Central Otago, these broad-brush statements lack the granularity needed to truly understand the consequences for Pinot Noir production. So what do we know about Pinot production when modelled for future climate scenarios?

“Let’s keep measuring and modelling so we can manage to retain these superstar Pinots long into the future.”

Dr Amber Parker

• We project that Pinot Noir flowering may advance between two to three weeks in our key growing regions under a +4C scenario by the end of the century.

• Projections for the time to a target sugar concentration (the example given of 200g/L) in most current Pinot growing regions in New Zealand will advance by three weeks or more.

• We can characterise the current window when Pinot Noir in Marlborough reaches 200g/L sugar. Under all climate change projections, even those projections in the more modest range of 0.3C to 1.7C by the end of the century, this target will advance outside of the current window.

• The results for these projections was at a 0.05° x 0.05° resolution and we can see that within a region there will still be great variability. This emphasises the need to continue improving on this downscaling component to truly understand changes at the vineyard level.

• Controlled temperature chamber

experiments with elevated temperatures (30/15C day/night compared with 22/15C day/night) applied at veraison have confirmed increases in sugar concentrations. Composition parameters important for quality also changed: anthocyanins decrease with increased temperature and a range of amino acids increased, which are important compounds for wine quality. For example, increased proline can increase perceptions of sweetness, viscosity and flavour while reducing astringency and bitterness.

While this temperature-driven information is a great start, when it comes down to working out how climate change may shape Pinot Noir production, we need to bring together a multitude of factors such as temperature and water deficit (drought context) to deepen our understanding. However, without starting by characterising them individually, it becomes difficult to tease out what is driving what. We also need to consider adaptation strategies that might in part negate these advances, such as canopy management and form, canopy cooling, and delayed pruning.

So is there much to do? Searching a science database for “Pinot Noir climate change”, I uncovered 155 scientific articles, a small quantity relative to the 2,557 available when searching “grapevine climate change”. No, I haven’t read them all (yet), but there is certainly more to discover, experiment and communicate so we can continue to make informed decisions for managing Pinot Noir in the future.

It was a privilege to attend the conference and be involved in tastings of the latest vintages. We are onto a good thing. Let’s keep measuring and modelling so we can manage to retain these superstar Pinots long into the future.

Escarpment

Resistance Revolution

Growing vineyard resilience

SOPHIE PREECE

The import and quarantine of future proofed varieties represents the next generation of grapevine genetics in New Zealand, says Riversun Nurseries Managing Director Geoff Thorpe.

In March this year Riversun received its first consignment of disease resistant varieties (DRVs) from Europe, with attributes that include resistance against downy and powdery mildew.

The DRVs are not derived from genetic modification or genetic editing, but rather traditional breeding methods, expediated by technology that enables swift identification of resistance characteristics in plant DNA. They’re not bulletproof, and Geoff prefers a reference to “resilience” over “resistance”, but they could be a game changer in drastically reducing the need for sprays.

“I think that’s when we’re going to see the significant upswing in interest – when we can get some liquid to lips.”

Jim White

The global wine industry is facing the challenges of climate change amid the growing sustainability demands of consumers, retailers and regulators, Geoff says. “One of the key solutions is genetics… and we’re really excited to be at the forefront of that within the New Zealand wine industry.”

DRVs offer “huge opportunity” says viticultural consultant Dr David Jordan (DJ) describing their potential as “nothing short of phenomenal”. On a recent Riversun research trip, Geoff and DJ saw first-hand how difficult it has become to grow grapes in Europe, with downy and powdery mildew, along with black rot, devastating crops that had been sprayed 20 times. Meanwhile, they saw neighbouring blocks of unsprayed and healthy DRV vines.

Some winemakers in Europe are choosing to only produce DRV derived wines, governments are embracing the hybrid varieties, and DRV grapes have

been officially approved as a blend option in Champagne. In August this year, United Kingdom supermarket chain Tesco launched Tesco Finest “Floreal”, with the hybrid variety name on the bottle. A Decanter review called it a “huge step”, offering “hats off” to the supermarket, while wine writer Jamie Goode commended the “brave move”, reflecting on the potential of DRVs to “massively” reduce the carbon footprint of wine. “Tesco have taken a chance by leading the conversation.”

Growing resilience in New Zealand wine

Cloudy Bay Technical and Sustainable Development Director Jim White was introduced to the potential of DRVs by Cloudy Bay parent company Moet Hennessey in 2022, when he attended a conference in Italy with one of the breeding nurseries involved. “We were able to taste lots of wines for the first time and understand what was happening in this space in Europe.” The wine industry there is leaning into DRVs as it faces increasing pressure to reduce agricultural spraying, Jim says. “They knew that they weren’t going to be able to break that paradigm they found themselves in with diseases like powdery and downy mildew without going down a route of using plant genetics to introduce resistance.”

He has been working with Riversun on its import project for the past two years. Of the varieties planned for import, Sauvignon Nepis is the one he is most eager to see performing. Each new variety needs to be tested in New Zealand conditions, but his “gut feeling” is that Sauvignon Nepis will do well in Marlborough, offering the typicity expected of Sauvignon Blanc from the region, with a level of resistance that would require perhaps just quarter of the current spray programme. “For me it has the most

similarities to Sauvignon Blanc and would be a great easy transition for use as either a blending component or as a standalone wine.”

New Zealand’s wine industry is in the “infancy” of understanding the potential here, says Jim, who spoke about DRVs at Bragato Research Institute’s 2024 Grape Days events. His review shone a light on the opportunities of what he calls a “revolution” in grapevine breeding, and on the widespread acceptance of DRV vines and wines in Europe. What will “really turn the dial” is when people see the vines performing in a New Zealand context and taste the wines they produce, he adds. “I think that’s when we’re going to see the significant upswing in interest – when we can get some liquid to lips.”

Many a slip twixt vine and lip Geoff agrees DRVs are “hugely exciting”, but the process of bringing them into New Zealand is long and expensive, with plenty of potential pitfalls. One of those is the prevalence in Europe of a relatively new virus, grapevine Pinot Gris virus (GPGV), which can spread very quickly. New Zealand is one of the few countries that doesn’t have the virus, and Riversun needs to prove any material proposed for import is GPGV-free.

While Riversun was able to source some GPGV free DRV’s out of California and France, Sauvignon Nepis has had to be “cleaned up” in Italy, he says. This process can take years, but Riversun is hoping to receive ‘clean’ Nepis in February 2025, along with its second consignment of DRV’s. Most of the target varieties have been chosen for their disease resistance, abundant yield, and ability to partner with Sauvignon Blanc. But genetics is a “journey” and the hunt for better options will continue, Geoff says.

There’s another long road after the DRVs

Geoff Thorpe at Riversun Nurseries

arrive, with the first group of imports in quarantine until December 2025, followed by a year of bulking up propagation material for grafting. All going to plan, vines for the first trial sites will hit the ground in late 2026, with commercial volumes available the following year.

Traits that appeal in Italy or France may not translate to New Zealand terroir, including characteristics in the wine, or resistance to the strains of powdery and downy mildew in vineyards here. To add further complication, resistance traits, which can be detected through DNA testing, can be derailed by susceptibility traits, Geoff says. They’re the proverbial bad apple in the breeding barrel and can see a DRV vine decimated by disease. “You can do a DNA test and go, ‘okay, some of the resistance genes are there’, but you still have to do the phenotypic work – that is, test them in vineyard conditions.”

Setting Riversun’s sights on DRVs Hybrids were not on the Riversun radar until August 2022, Geoff says, recalling the reputation for poor quality wines that saw them banned in Europe in the 1960s. But when Jim shared his excitement about the vines and wines he’d seen and tasted in Italy, and asked how to get them into the country, Geoff was intrigued by the pace of innovation in Europe. He began turning wheels to understand the “ecosystem” of DRV breeders around the world, contacting key players and developing relationships.

Between 2003 and 2009, Riversun imported 120 grapevine varieties and clones from around the world. Then the global financial crisis and ‘Sauvalanche’ hit and Riversun put the brakes on imports. However, the work initiated 20 years ago has been a key part of the new vision. “Genetics is a core part of our business,” Geoff says, explaining the importance of longstanding and trusted relationships between breeders and plant propagation licence holders. “They want to know that their materials are well protected by a trusted partner.”

Mauro Negri, who worked at Riversun in Gisborne from 2013 then returned to his home in Italy during Covid-19, has become Riversun’s DRV expert in Europe, attending workshops, extending his understanding of developments in the genetic space, and building relationships with breeders, including Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo in Northern Italy, and ENTAV in France.

Although busy setting up processes and exploring options, Riversun didn’t share its DRV plans until the Vision 40:40 event

it hosted in February 2023 – looking back, and ahead, 40 years. That event included an announcement of the nursery’s plans and was followed by a call for industry support to help secure Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) quarantine space. The positive response, to Riversun and direct to MPI, was fuel to the import plans. Geoff and his wife Anna, a Riversun Director, travelled to Italy and Germany with Mauro in October 2023 to sign licensee agreements. Then in February 2024, Riversun ran a DRV tasting in Marlborough, with 10 key winemakers from major companies. Earlier this year Geoff and Anna returned to Europe to explore the DRV “revolution” with Mauro and DJ, along with Indevin Director of Winegrowing Patrick Materman.

They were “pretty shocked” to see the level of disease pressure they found, Geoff says, describing a warm, humid summer in northern Italy, akin to a hot house, where sprays were not doing enough to stop the spread of “unprecedented” downy mildew pressure. “Everyone you talked to said they had never seen it this bad before.” The picture was no prettier in Burgundy, where 30% of the canopy had been lost to downy mildew, “and they were lucky to have a 30% crop load”. He spoke to someone in the 10th generation of a family winemaking business who hadn’t seen anything like it in 50 years of wine growing. “This is climate change, and it’s having a massive impact in Europe. And yet, you go to these trial sites, and you see some of these DRVs looking as clean as a whistle.”

DJ and Patrick were tasked with providing a selection criteria for the research trip, with strong disease resistance to powdery and downy mildew at the top of the list. They both emphasise that growers

will need to spray DRV vines a few strategic times every year, to reduce the risk of a mutation of the fungus developing and breaching the resistance.

The second target was Sauvignon Blanc compatibility. Because New Zealand’s industry is so heavily reliant on that flagship variety, DJ does not expect novel varieties to “shift the dial” on winemaking here. However, there’s potential to provide a “supporting act”, by bringing in “logical partners” for blending. The selection of DRVs is about playing to New Zealand’s strength, Patrick says. “Its international point of difference around pure aromatic intensity and fresh natural acidity.”

The third major target was that the vines had to have high and reliable yields, in recognition of the spiralling costs of growing wine. “One of the levers we can shift is yield,” Geoff says. They also want attributes like later ripening and higher acid. “In a world of climate change, where the vintages are starting earlier and becoming more compressed, having something which is later ripening and retains the acidity would be a real plus.”

Disease pressure is coming New Zealand, and Marlborough in particular, has been spared many of the blows of climate change to date, thanks to a “Goldilocks window” in its geographic location, Geoff says. “But that won’t last… disease pressure is building.”

Patrick has had 35 years in New Zealand’s wine industry, and has seen spray rounds steadily increase over the past five to 10 years, particularly around powdery mildew in Marlborough, and downy mildew in the North Island. “Spray rounds have crept up from 10 to 15 rounds a season to 15 to 20 rounds.”

Dr David Jordan

DRVs could significantly reduce spray use, cutting the environmental and financial cost of winegrowing, with fewer tractor passes, less labour, and a fraction of the agrichemical applications. Reducing spray requirements is ideal in the face of condensed and early vintages, and the need for pre-harvest spray intervals, Patrick adds. “My view is that you will get pretty solid buy-in from operations or vineyards wanting to reduce spray rounds and have varieties more resistant to disease pressure.” He expects the adoption of novel grape varieties for stand-alone wines to take longer. “That becomes a wider business decision with the need first to establish the consumer proposition.”

From a winemaking point of view, he’s excited to see and taste the results in New Zealand. He expects that some of the varieties they were impressed with in Italy and France will perform even better in New Zealand. “I am always trying to translate what they will taste like grown in New Zealand, and I think the flavours will be amplified.” Looking at genotype is one thing, but the proof is in the phenotype. “Getting them planted and seeing what particular attributes there are when grown in this place.”

Valentin Blattner

Swiss grape breeder Valentin Blattner bred a Cabernet Blanc when he was living in New Zealand in the late 1980s. The white disease resistant variety, a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and resistant vines, is now recognised for its good growing characteristics and high fungal resistance, and is one of the leading DRVs in Europe. But in 1980s New Zealand, when hybrids were being pushed by a few passionate proponents (and shunned by many others) and Sauvignon Blanc was yet to truly hit its straps, little progress was made on Valentin’s dream. He instead returned to Europe, where he further developed that hybrid variety, and several others, says Riversun founder Geoff Thorpe, who met with the breeder on a recent research trip through Europe.

Patrick Materman

Tea time

Replacing sulphur with green tea extract

DR BILLY YANG

Over the years, the use of sulphur dioxide in winemaking has become a complex subject associated with several drawbacks, such as aroma defects and health-related problems. The maximum concentration of SO2 allowed in wines has been progressively lowered by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, while the World Health Organisation has recommended limiting SO2 as much as possible, or even completely, from the treatment of foods.

In New Zealand and South Africa, using tea extracts from Camellia sinensis and Aspalathus linearis to replace SO2 has been conducted in commercial winemaking. New Zealand wine company Loveblock has a Sauvignon Blanc Tee wine made using a green tea tannin-based product (Ti Premium, Vason Enologica, Italy) as the only preservative. Green tea extract is known for its health benefits as well as improving the shelf life of food products due to its high antioxidant activity. Green tea leaves are rich in phenolics, where flavan-3-ols make up to 90% of the tea phenolic content. However, it was unclear how much antioxidant capacity the green tea flavan-3-ols could provide to protect wines from oxidation, and how much the subsequent polymerisation of flavan-3-ols induced by oxidation would affect wine sensory attributes.

A collaboration between the University of Auckland Wine Science Programme, the School of Viticulture and Wine Science at the Eastern Institute of Technology, and the Centre for Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University, investigated the

antioxidant capacity of green tea extract at two rates (0.1 and 0.2 g/L), for their effects on Sauvignon Blanc wine colour stability, phenolic composition, antioxidant capacity, and sensory attributes. Five monomeric phenolic compounds were detected in a pure green tea extract prepared especially for this experiment, and their concentrations ranged in the order (−)-epigallocatechin gallate > (−)-epigallocatechin > (−)-epicatechin > (−)-epicatechin gallate > gallic acid. At the studied addition rates, these green tea-derived phenolic compounds contributed to ~70% of the antioxidant capacity, ~71% of the total phenolics, and ~84% of the tannin concentration of the green tea extract.

The green tea treatments significantly increased the wine’s colour absorbance at 420nm (the yellow colour), tannin concentration, and total phenolic content. At the lower addition rate, the green tea treatment showed a similar antioxidant capacity to an SO2 treatment at 50 mg/L. Meanwhile, increasing the addition rate of green tea extract to 0.2 g/L significantly increased the wine’s antioxidant capacity by 44%. However, when exposed to

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excessive oxygen and high temperature (50C), the green tea treatments exhibited ~29% and 24% higher browning capacity than the control treatment. Thus, the storage conditions are highly critical to wines treated with green tea extracts.

After five months of bottle storage, the sensory study revealed that the green tea and SO2 treatments were quite similar. Therefore, despite producing wines with distinct chemical profiles, using green tea extract to replace SO2 did not negatively impact the perceptible colour and mouthfeel attributes of Sauvignon Blanc wine. Next, we will examine the perceptible aroma and flavour profiles of wines treated with green tea extract for SO2 replacement.

Dr Billy Yang is a Research Fellow at the School of Chemical Sciences at University of Auckland. Dr Victor Ye, Dr Leandro Dias Araujo, and Professor Paul Kilmartin coauthored the report in Food Chemistry –‘Replacing SO2 with Green Tea Extracts in Sauvignon Blanc Winemaking: Effects on Wine Phenolic Composition, Antioxidant Capacity, and Sensory Attributes.’

To read the full study go to doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138976

Billy Yang

Smart Machines

Oxin gains traction in the US TONY SKINNER

Marlborough-based agritech company Smart Machines has reached a significant milestone in its mission to revolutionise vineyard management. The company’s autonomous Oxin tractor recently completed a series of successful demonstrations in the United States, attracting strong interest from major wine producers and marking a key step in its global expansion strategy.

Smart Machines Chief Executive Andrew Kersley says feedback from the US demos has been overwhelmingly positive, reinforcing the company’s belief in the Oxin’s market potential. “We’ve definitely built the world’s most functionally advanced machinery in this space now,” Andrew says. “The overwhelming feedback has been that they haven’t been to many demos that have been able to deliver any proof of functionality or capability that would actually make a difference. It’s validating to hear that we’ve reached the point where we can start integrating this technology into real-world operations.”

The US demonstrations showcased the technology while solidifying critical partnerships. Smart Machines is moving ahead with Pellenc America as its US distribution, service and support partner. While the success in the US is a significant achievement, Smart Machines has also made substantial progress in New Zealand and Australia. The Oxin tractor is now operating in two key regions in New

Zealand, with 19 machines in service.

Andrew highlighted the ongoing development tailored to New Zealand’s specific growing conditions. “We’ve been doing a lot of productive trial work with various customers, which is great. The pathway is looking pretty solid moving forward in New Zealand.” In Australia, the company has been testing Oxin in more extreme conditions, including 45C days and vineyards featuring sprawling canopies. Despite the technical challenges, the trials have been fruitful, particularly with early adopters like Duxton Vineyards. These trials have also opened doors to alternative crop markets, such as almonds and citrus, which face similar labour challenges. “Australia’s proven to be a great testing ground that gives us some good experiences in terms of how we operate as a business outside of New Zealand, but also exposure into some of these other market opportunities, which have much bigger footprints globally,” Andrew explains.

Smart Machines’ innovation was recognised earlier this year when the company was awarded the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Most Innovative Hi-Tech Agritech Solution award. The

accolade not only boosted team morale but also provided important validation as the company continues to raise capital. “As an innovator, you’re so deep in the woods trying to solve problems that there’s not a lot of time to pop your head out and go, ‘look how cool this actually is’,” Andrew says. “This award was a great opportunity for the team to celebrate what we’ve achieved.”

Looking ahead, Smart Machines is focused on scaling up production and securing additional funding to support its ambitious growth plans. The company is exploring partnerships to facilitate global manufacturing and distribution within the core markets of New Zealand, Australia and the US, while also pursuing other opportunities in Europe and South America. With continued strong investor interest and a solid technological foundation, Smart Machines is wellpositioned to expand its reach and continue innovating in the autonomous machinery space, Andrew says. “We’re excited about the future and the opportunities to scale this technology globally, ensuring that it delivers real value to growers around the world.”

The Profile

Ben

and

Frances Wickham

SOPHIE PREECE

It took a hole in the ground and a slurp from the hose to convince Ben and Frances Wickham to buy a block of land on the outskirts of Blenheim. Thirty years, 30 million vines and 300 clients later, the founders of Ormond Nurseries say it was a lifechanging decision, despite a $3 million bonfire during the global financial crisis. “It wasn’t without its challenges, putting it bluntly,” Ben says. “But it’s been a wonderful journey.”

The Wickham’s bold gamble, hard work and extraordinary contribution to Marlborough’s wine industry was recognised at the Marlborough Wine Show in October, with this “powerful duo” awarded a Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement award for 2024. That was a “lovely surprise”, says Ben. “Especially when it was for both of us.”

Ben was studying horticulture at Massey University when he met fellow student and future wife Frances Court, who, it turned out, shared his appetite for a gamble. In 1973 they moved to Nelson, where Ben had a government job as a horticultural advisory officer, before they set off for a year’s travel, including six weeks picking grapes in Australia. When they returned in 1975, ready for a risk, they sold their Nelson house and bought an 8-hectare block of land in Ormond, Gisborne. It had no power, poor drainage and issues with water quality, but Ben dug in, quite literally, while Frances continued her work as a teacher.

He is “a man of action”, says Frances nearly 50 years on, talking of how Ben’s blind faith changed their life course, “from very, very humble beginnings” to founders of one of the country’s leading grapevine nurseries. The gratitude goes both ways, with Ben reflecting on the mammoth role Frances has played in keeping the family and business on an even keel over the past half century. “Without her I’d be history.”

Their son Marcus, speaking at the May launch of a new Ormond Nurseries production facility in Marlborough, says the company’s genesis was in market gardening, with sweet corn, pumpkins and other vegetables sold at the local market. Irrigation changed the outlook, and Ben began grafting kiwifruit vines, including for their own block, as well as propagating persimmons, citrus, nashi and feijoas, along with strawberries and vegetables. “The nursery became quite a big part of the business,” Marcus says. “In 1977 the neighbours started planting grapevines and one of them suggested that Dad try grafting grapes.” Phylloxera was raising its head in Gisborne, “devastating vineyards”, and growers were busy sourcing vines grafted on American rootstocks with resistance to the root-chewing aphid. German wine expert Helmut Becker was visiting New Zealand at the time, and was a fount of knowledge when it came to “all things rootstock and grafting techniques”, Marcus says. “That was a real turning point for the company.”

But there were plenty of ongoing challenges, including Cyclone Bola in March 1988, which flooded the property, decimated that year’s crop, and went on to slowly kill the Wickham’s kiwifruit vines. So when Marlborough Research Centre (MRC) Executive Officer Gerald Hope called Ben in the early 1990s, urging him to consider moving to Marlborough, the “man

of action” was open to the idea. Demand for phylloxera resistant vines had been ramping up in Marlborough, the MRC had some land for lease, and its neighbours at Rowley Crescent had a block available for sale. Gerald helped the Wickhams “join the dots” and Ben came down to check out the site, Marcus says. “Dad turned up, dug one hole, then turned the tap on, had a drink out of the hose, and immediately agreed to buy the block.” That kind of purchase would typically require multiple holes and chemical analysis of soils and water. “Not Dad – he dug the hole, drank the water and pulled the trigger.” Having battled high clay soils, poor drainage and bad water on the Ormond block, “this was like heaven for him”, Marcus says. “It was an easy decision.”

These days wine is a $2.4 billion industry in New Zealand, with Marlborough’s 30,000ha producing more than 80% of the national harvest. But Gerald, speaking at the opening of the new facility, noted that grapes were a relatively small industry at that time, with 280ha of vineyard in Marlborough and $62m in revenue, putting it second to sheep as a regional earner. But it had clear potential. In January 1995 the Wickhams and their four children arrived in Blenheim, where “crazy” levels of orders saw the team grow, along with the complexity of the operation. There was no pocket money for the kids but plenty of work, Marcus says. “They said, ‘if you want to work, we’ll pay you, and if you want to work like an adult, you’ll get paid like one.’”

Over the next 15 years, industry growth surged and the number of grapevine nurseries in New Zealand ballooned to around 35, all competing for a share of the market. “It was a wild ride and it all came to a screeching halt around 2008, Photo to left, Ben and Frances Wickham at the opening of the new Ormond Nurseries facility. Photo Lisa Duncan

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2009,” Marcus says. “That was when the industry hit an oversupply at the same time as the global financial crisis. It was a pretty tough time.” In 2010 Ormond Nurseries had what they refer to as “the $3million bonfire”, sacrificing the vines they could not sell. Many nurseries closed down and the Wickhams struggled to keep their doors open, Marcus says. “It was only sheer grim determination from Mum and Dad and Lorna [Lindquist, nursery supervisor] that they kept things going.”

Frances says in the midst of the GFC “when things were looking absolutely grim”, Marcus and his wife Samantha joined the business, securing its future. “If they hadn’t come on board, we definitely wouldn’t be here… Marcus helped us get through some difficult decisions in that very difficult time.” Ben puts the endurance of the company down to the network of family and staff, calling himself a “cog” in something far greater. “Without the staff and family involved, we would have nothing.”

Marcus had been busy travelling with his Klima automated cane pruning technology, and wanted to spend more time at home with his very young family. Meanwhile his

youngest sister Susie, who had spent 10 years with Lion Nathan as a management accountant, also stepped in to help –initially alongside her day job, then fulltime as the Chief Financial Officer. They knew the business, “built from scratch”, was a large part of Ben’s identity, Marcus says. “It was pretty hard, particularly for Dad, to see it either shut down or turned into another vineyard or sold.” But he admits it was a massive undertaking to take it on. “It’s a pretty big biological beast.” There are myriad variables in the nursery business, and a good reason why there are only three

or four nurseries left in New Zealand. “I knew Mum and Dad had been to hell and back with the company, but I had no idea what was actually involved and the decisions that had to be made.”

Sales began to pick up in 2013, and Ormond Nurseries was dragged “back from the brink of extinction”, says Marcus, who stepped up to General Manager when Ben decided to step down from that role in 2019. The same year Ormond Nurseries bought Villa Maria’s Vineyard Plants nursery in Hawke’s Bay, as well as Vine Test Lab, which it sold on to Hill Laboratories in 2020. The

Ben and Susie Wickham at the opening of Ormond Nurseries’ new facility. Photo Lisa Duncan

nursery purchase, which came with orders but not supply, led to a “purple patch” of demand that the company has worked hard to backfill. They also took on the customers, as best they could, of the highly regarded Auckland nursery Misty Valley when it closed, “which was another hole to fill”.

Now they are focusing on delivering good value to customers, with a great deal of investment in “the back-room stuff” of automation, efficiency and vine health, Marcus says. The latest development, built on 30ha of neighbouring land purchased in March, is a continuation of Ben’s bullish trajectory and Marcus and Susie’s future focus. The Glenmore Farm acquisition – purchased after Ben’s dig-a-hole-anddrink-the-water test passed with flying colours – provides more space for grapevine propagation, and a production facility that amps up the operation’s biosecurity safety and efficiency, and is prepared for future automation.

It’s a long way from growing veges in Gisborne, Ben says, noting that he and Frances are stronger for all the challenges they have faced together. “In hindsight it’s the best thing we have ever done.”

Growing biosecurity

New Zealand’s wine industry has to be prepared for the Covid-19 of vines, says Ormond Nurseries General Manager Marcus Wickham from the company’s new Marlborough production facility. Opened near Ormond’s existing operations, the new site is safeguarded for day-to-day activities, but also for the potential incursion of an industry-threatening pathogen or pest. Marcus says Ormond Nurseries joined New Zealand Plant Producers Incorporated (NZPPI) in 2015, in what was a wakeup call to the risks nurseries pose to biosecurity, as well as the opportunity they have to help protect the industry. It was an “awkward realisation” that led the company to undertake major changes to stay viable and meet its obligations, he says. “We really wanted to be an asset to the country, to the industry and the community, and not a liability when something goes wrong.”

“We really wanted to be an asset to the country, to the industry and the community, and not a liability when something goes wrong.”

Marcus Wickham

The new facility allows them to control traffic, supply vehicles and people coming on and off the site, and creates an “unbroken quarantine” for vines, from the day they are grafted to the day they are delivered. “That allows us to exceed our biosecurity obligations with MPI by quite some considerable way.” The new facility has also improved staff safety, including forklift free zones, and is future proofed for nursery automation. “In many ways this site removes those kinds of invisible anchor chains that have been holding us back,” Marcus says. “We’ve built this facility after almost 50 years of grafting grapevines with the view that we wanted to set the business up to service customers better for the next 50 years. And we can’t wait to get started.”

Women in Wine

Fair employment trailblazer

JOANNA GRIGG

The first thing Tanya Pouwhare does when someone seeking employment steps through her doorway is print out the ‘Know Your Rights’ sheet from the New Zealand Employment Guide. It’s likely that job seekers turning up at Grapeworx don’t realise that Tanya is much more than a friendly face. She is both a prospective employer and an awarded advocate for fair employment. As General Manager of Grapeworx Marlborough, Tanya runs a team of up to 250 staff, working with 119 growers across Marlborough vineyards. As the Deputy Chair and Human Rights Lead at New Zealand Ethical Employers (NZEE), she works at the heart of a membership organisation championing high standards of employment.

“The

vision of putting people at the heart of businesses – ensuring profit without harm – is brought to life by motivated employers who are driving change.”

Tanya Pouwhare

And now she’s joining the New Zealand Winegrowers board, bringing her passion for the industry, and its labour obligations, to the table. Tanya has been elected as a grape grower representative but looks forward to contributing her deep understanding of contracting, labour requirements and “responsible business practices” to the board. New Zealand is well known for world class premium wine, and that quality needs to be reflected in unassailable labour and business practices. “As global demand for our wine continues to grow, so too will the need for rigorous compliance. Given the trade-dependent nature of New Zealand wine, we must stay ahead of ever-evolving standards and regulations to maintain our competitive edge”.

Tanya first felt indignation on behalf

of someone being treated unfairly when she was at primary school in Rapaura. She stepped in and made her point. When she was 17, she wrote a letter to her boss, laying out unfair practices at work. Now she’s made protecting those in a weaker position her career. With maturity, she’s also learnt to pick her battles a bit better, she says. With huge levels of energy and a gutsy ability to learn on the job, Tanya has packed a lot into her life. She left school three months into her sixth form, with a job offer to work in radio, off the back of a summer job with Coastal FM, writing news scripts and ads. A stint at Sounds Radio, rolling out the Breakfast show, was followed with a shift to New Plymouth, as a full-time radio presenter for Energy FM. Through radio, she rubbed shoulders with a quick-witted and sharp-on-their-feet crowd. The likes of Pam Corkery, whom she “adores”, Bill Ralston, and Paul Henry, who taught her to be fearless and confident.

A chance to appear in the Treasure Island reality show, filmed in Tonga, saw her take out the title in the second New Zealand series – the first woman in the world to win a survival reality show. Her love for reality TV blossomed and she moved into a production manager role with Touchdown Productions. “It was great fun working on Changing Rooms, DIY Rescue, Farmer Wants A Wife, and Treasure Island, but my role with Greenstone Pictures got me into more series documentaries, like Crash Investigation.” Tanya helped set up the Australian office for Greenstone in Melbourne and Sydney, then moved to

the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where she spent five years overseeing multimillion-dollar budgets.

In 2018, her family asked her to come home to help with Grapeworx, and the pull was too strong to refuse. “I could feel regret stepping away from my media career, but I don’t, as I had the blessing of having my son and partner, at the time.” Once back in Marlborough she found the family were not quite ready to let her 100% loose on the business, so she had some spare time. She turned her attention to restructuring New Zealand Master Contractors and loved every minute of it. “Master Contractors was created for service providers in horticulture and viticulture around legal compliance but had no direct advocacy role or a framework of employment standards based on ethics,” she says. “I went to New Zealand Winegrowers to see if they would do it, but they wanted a level of separation from contractors.” That forced Master Contractors to do it themselves, “which was a good thing in hindsight”.

Tanya took on the role of Chief Executive in 2018 and, together with board members like Aaron Jay from Hortus, nutted out a plan. The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Organisation for Economic CoOperation and Development Guidelines, all became familiar frameworks for Tanya and the basis for the newly created NZEE, with its mission statement to improve end-to-end quality of employment, to raise standards and create a rights-respecting baseline to level the playing field, so that

Tanya Pouwhare

competitiveness is not at the expense of the worker.

Tanya says current laws help prosecute poor employment practice, but guidance for employers on how to lift the bar was missing. It took almost two years to redesign NZEE, which launched in 2022. In February this year she attended a conference in Berlin, hosted by Global Good Agricultural Practices (GLOBALG.A.P) which is accreditation required of every member of NZEE. The GAP third-party audit scheme has become embedded inside NZEE because it’s required for most wine retailers to export overseas, Tanya says. It is recognised and required by 53 of the big retailers in Asia, Africa, the EU and North America. “It made sense for NZEE to choose an accreditation that was internationally recognised specifically for the value chains in food and agriculture sectors that our members worked in.” The audit involves a process where a private investigator checks the on-the-ground systems and there is a process to continually improve the standards.

Tanya says a focus is on countries that supply workers to New Zealand. “Hurdles

are corruption in other countries; for example, having to pay a bribe to get the job opportunity to be considered to come to here.” While the wheels of government negotiations may move slowly, Tanya is typically impatient to see change in this regard. “I’ve had hard conversations with MFAT to find the right government people to talk to, on responsible recruitment. We don’t want employees having to pay a prerecruitment fee.”

She remained NZEE Chief Executive until July this year, when she stepped down to take up a fulltime role with Grapeworx. She says New Zealand’s wine industry is well protected by NZEE, but everyone needs to be vigilant, recalling the days of labour inspectors chasing vineyard workers up rows. “The easy thing is to ask for the document that shows everyone on the vineyard is legally allowed to work here,” Tanya adds “Growers can be complicit in exploitation, and I know of cash deals out there, which add risk.” On the other hand, she’s still aggravated by a TV news show two years ago that alleged there was exploitation in Marlborough. “While the investigation showed no exploitation was found, the TV show has still not publicly said there was no

exploitation.” At this point, Tanya’s sense of fair play was aroused. “I managed to get them to change their media website to say the allegations were unfounded, but it took two years.”

Tanya credits Indevin as leading the way in supporting NZEE. “This season they require all growers to use NZEE members, and there are 18 in Marlborough and 50 nationwide to choose from, so there is no collusion or lack of choice.” She loves the way that the culture of contractors has changed, with the words fair and equitable being brought into everyday chat. There are only two Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme employers in Marlborough that are not NZEE members, but about two thirds of all RSE employees are within the NZEE umbrella.

In July, Tanya was awarded the New Zealand Primary Industry Team and Collaboration Award, after being nominated by colleagues. Meanwhile, plans are afoot to expand NZEE across all primary industries, she says. “The vision of putting people at the heart of businesses –ensuring profit without harm – is brought to life by motivated employers who are driving change.”

Growing Legacy

Celebrating 50 years at Te Mata Estate

TOBY BUCK

Whenever I present Te Mata’s wines into markets, I often begin by saying that our winery’s story is a weird one. It’s not usual in New Zealand history to be talking about a nineteenth century wine estate, nor a company that’s remained independently owned for so long.

The Buck and Morris families bought Hawke’s Bay’s Te Mata Estate 50 years ago this year, continuing the legacy of New Zealand’s first commercial winemaking endeavour. Now, 132 years after Bernard Chambers planted the first vines, there are new generations stepping into the shoes of the bold, forward-thinking innovators who’ve brought Te Mata this far. All those people were prepared to roll the dice on how much sunshine Hawke’s Bay gets each summer. And all of them held to their belief that fine wine of exceptional quality could be grown on these hills.

“All those people were prepared to roll the dice on how much sunshine Hawke’s Bay gets each summer. All of them held to their belief that fine wine of exceptional quality could be grown on these hills.”

Toby Buck

Planting Havelock North hillsides

Te Mata’s vines were first planted in the 1890s, producing Cabernet, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from sites we still use. A tall pitch-roofed tank room, hewn from matai, was built soon after, with the first official vintage in 1896. “My first clarets are coming along well,” recorded Bernard Chambers in his diary.

Bernard grew up at Te Mata Station, and in the late 1880s travelled across Europe

and the United States with his two elder brothers on a ‘Grand Tour’, that introduced him to the latest techniques of agriculture and horticulture. In 1892 he planted vines on the slopes of Te Mata Peak, on three parcels above the homestead, and started making dry European style reds for export back across the world.

By 1909 Te Mata was a well known brand across the country and New Zealand’s biggest winery, with a focus on barrel-aged Cabernet and Chardonnay. The team making wine then was remarkable: a baker, reputedly a Welshmen, who lived on site to provide food; an English overseer; four Italian staff (the Cacciopoli family from near Sorrento, who still have relatives in Hawke’s Bay); Irish cellar hands; and a Scottish barrel maker.

Like all New Zealand wine enterprises in the early to mid-20th century, Te Mata was affected by the Temperance movement, prohibitive licensing, and the commercial realities of having to constantly pivot and supply markets.

In 1974, when my parents John and

Wendy Buck become involved, along with their friends and business partners Michael and June Morris, they viewed it as a restoration project. There was amazing heritage and proven vineyard sites for Cabernet, but they knew everything needed a lot of work to accomplish their goals.

Bernard was bold, innovative and forward looking, and my parents and the Morrises shared a similar ambitious vision for the place and its red wines, specifically developing a three-phase development plan which only wrapped up in 2019. This included establishing the best red wine fermentation spaces we felt suited the wines we wanted to make. It also meant replanting almost all our sites. The national vine pull in the 1980s forced everyone’s hand in that regard, but Te Mata was already invested in developing new sites with different clonal stocks, soils, and aspects, to enhance our capacity in subregional Hawke’s Bay wines.

Long relationships with tonneliers in France, and experience and experimentation in barrel handling, kept reaping

Toby Buck

rewards, as did the steady exchange of staff between leading wineries in the US, France, Australia and beyond.

Growing up in the vines

While our parents’ generation were getting ahead with manifesting their dream, another generation was growing up in the middle of it, and going on to build their own lives with new kinds of connection to that vision.

Our life as a family was centred around the winery and there was seldom a day off. I don’t mean this in an oppressive way, but vineyards are like orchards and farms. We certainly were emotionally-tied to Hawke’s

Te Mata Estate founder Bernard Chambers and his wife Elizabeth in their Oldsmobile –the first people in Hawke’s Bay with a car. Bernard’s family were known for innovation, with his brother John behind the bobsled course at St Moritz, and the hydroelectric dam at Mokopeka Station, one of the oldest continually operating hydroelectric plants in the world. The Chambers family started a local school and there’s a wing of the Napier Art Gallery named for Bernard Chambers.

Bay and the public success of the wines.

The Ian Athfield-designed house we lived in was a statement of the creativity and daring behind it all. It was also famous for being photographed. I remember being very young, watching Saturday morning cartoons in my pyjamas, and being startled by people wandering past the windows and through the vines. My brothers and I all worked on site as kids, in the vineyards and cellars, on the line bottling, and at the cellar door. I think I was the laziest, and remember playing around at the winery on weekends. When I was 13 or so I recall being quite fond of napping in the fruit bins on my breaks.

As a younger kid I was also sometimes confused about who was in our family and who wasn’t. We’d spend so much of our family time with the team, working or in the smoko room, and I was so used to mum and dad talking with the winemakers or vineyard crew at the dinner table, that I had to have it clarified exactly who was my uncle or aunt.

Te Mata depended on its strong team culture, like a hardworking yacht crew or top rugby team working together. And behind it all there was also a strong and proud sense of independence, of a desire to push ahead and pave a new road for fine wine.

The Te Mata crew in 1913, left, and 2013

My eldest brother Jonathan worked at the winery and overseas for years, and had a reputation for being incredibly hard-working. Now he’s Chief Executive of our largest vineyard site, Woodthorpe Terraces. He and his wife Megan raised three kids in that vineyard and he manages every aspect of the property.

“With successive generations leading it forward we feel spry for a 132- year-old

business.”

Toby Buck

My middle brother Nick is Chief Executive of the winery. He also spent years overseas working at top wine estates and in the thick of commercial wine in London. He’s always maintained a focus on sales, management, and operations –as well as understanding the wider world of wine. He lives in the Te Mata vineyards too.

After a few years in a cottage opposite the winery, working and hosting overseas vintage staff at Te Mata each year, I’m now based in Amsterdam, working across our European markets, the United Kingdom, and smaller markets around that part of the globe.

I’ve been responsible for other markets before, selling our wines into Singapore, Australia and the United States. Over the years I’ve worked in every part of the business, though I’ve a fondness for the packaging and bottling department, having spent many teen summers working in that warehouse with Brian Margetts and Karl

Wills. I know the packaging side of wine isn’t deemed glamorous by many, but in a winery at the deliberately-considered scale of Te Mata, bottling and labelling your own wines in sight of the vineyards is really the crown jewel in the ecosystem. It’s the final step in carrying that ethos of ‘attention to detail’ right through to the customer.

There are elements of that everywhere at Te Mata. At the end of each day all the winery hoses are still coiled in individual tidy spirals. Fiona and Alistair Morris, a daughter and son of June and Michael, are directors of the business, and Alistair is Chair. My mum Wendy, who really did everything that makes the business run, is a director too. Dad stepped back just last year from his role on the board to let me on, though he’s still fairly inseparable from the winery, living on a Te Mata vineyard just a few minutes away.

The winemaking team is led by Phil Brodie, after Peter Cowley’s long time at the helm, and has been assisted for many years by Marty Wallace. Larry Morgan’s

Te

Mata o Rongokako

Te Mata winery is named for the peak above the foothills in which it sits, on the north face of Te Mata o Rongokako. The peak’s name translates to the profile/face of Rongokako - a giant and ancestor of Ngāti Kahungunu.

work as Te Mata’s viticulturist has paved the way for Brenton O’Riley, who now leads the vineyard teams.

A shared legacy

I’m always proud to be able to talk about our family’s story and our winery’s story too. They are peculiar, and all the more interesting for it I believe. It helps people understand the time and commitment behind the wines we make.

I do still ruffle slightly at talk of wine dynasties though. When I think of Te Mata as a ‘family winery’ it’s not my family I’m thinking of. It’s the multiple of generations of Morris, Cowley, Wills and Chambers families, and more; the many families and many teams working more than a century ago in this corner of the world, in these same buildings – their commitment to New Zealand wine.

Maybe we’ve benefitted from the good vintages. Maybe we’ve learnt something from the tough ones too. And with successive generations leading it forward we feel spry for a 132-year-old business.

Te Mata Peak. Photo Richard Brimer

Mastering Wine

Emma Jenkins’ MW Musings

I didn’t know what was in the glass when it was handed to me, but I knew it was something special as soon as I smelt it. Not giving away much at first, it soon bloomed with a kaleidoscopic intensity. The first mouthful was an exercise in tension and minerality, a complex and sublime burst of citrus, smoke, flint and spice that was almost indecently long. It still makes my mouth water just thinking about it some 20 years later.

Didier Dagueneau Silex, from the 2002 vintage, a wine that demanded attention. Not because it was in any way showy but because it was the perfect embodiment of a place, a time, a winemaker. Delicious yes, but the truly thrilling part was the way it opened my mind to possibilities I had never considered about that region; that grape. It’s a wine I always think about when people make patronising remarks about Sauvignon Blanc’s ability to make great wine.

Understanding, and experiencing, great wine matters. It helps us to recognise the benchmarks for variety or region and serves as a beacon for what can be achieved. Great wines inspire, they drive progress and innovation and create enduring legacies in craft and reputation. There are parallels in art or sport, where witnessing greatness creates a sense of wonder at possibility and can spur people on to push their own limits.

Didier Dagueneau’s first wines in the early 1980s were considered wildly

unconventional, so far were they from the rather green and acidic wines of that time. Dagueneau saw them as a return to the formerly age-worthy wines of PouillyFumé and Sancerre, and his unwavering commitment to his vineyard, and vision and skill at translating that terroir into remarkable wines, transformed not only how the global wine community saw those regions but also how his fellow vignerons saw their own potential. To be exceptional you need to be doing something others aren’t. This can be risky, but it is gold dust when it works.

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is New Zealand’s global calling card. Keynote commentators at recent events have emphasised the need and opportunity for premiumisation. We might be only a few

decades in, but the intrinsic quality of our terroir has been recognised. Despite this, bulk wine shipments have grown from 3% to 41% of total production in less than 20 years, a trajectory that is hard to reconcile with premiumisation, let alone greatness. Who are our champions of Sauvignon Blanc greatness? How many are safeguarding its quality and reputation? Certainly some are trying, but their voices are too often drowned out in the commodity clamour. We have the raw material to make thrilling Sauvignon Blanc, but we need to foster the right cultural environment and belief systems so we can create wines that stop people in their tracks and open their eyes to a whole new paradigm of Sauvignon Blanc greatness.

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Chardonnay Symposium

Exploring a sense of place

EMMA JENKINS MW

Following 2023’s inaugural Aotearoa New Zealand Chardonnay Symposium, Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers expanded this year’s event to two days of discussions and tastings centred on ‘Sense of Place,’ the environmental and cultural landscapes that shape wine.

Master of Ceremonies Stephen Wong MW outlined New Zealand Chardonnay’s reputation and potential, urging delegates to use the symposium to connect, share and learn; he also selected eight New Zealand “classic, benchmark and archetypal” wines, which had delegates contemplating diversity via regional and winemaking styles.

Writer and speaker Elaine Chukan Brown opened with a philosophical session drawing upon their upbringing to explain how the place we grow up in shapes us, profoundly influencing how we go on to cultivate and interpret our environment. Culture encompasses people, history, values, expectations and experiences which evolve over time, they said, in turn affecting how we engage with land.

Geologist Brenna Quigley followed, explaining terroir as a complete physical environment, including bedrock, soil, topography, aspect, climate, weather and human traditions, suggesting that understanding geology – the “immovable” component of terroir – helps people become better stewards and communicators of their land, and make wine that transcends “just a drink”. Brenna believes that “tasting terroir” involves recognising textural differences,

such as a sense of linearity or power on the back palate, and that these are influenced by geological characteristics, using geological aspects from Napa and the Cote d’Or to illustrate the perception of terroir in their Chardonnay.

Steve Smith MW offered an impassioned speech on New Zealand’s Chardonnay evolution and likely future, outlining what makes it unique. In his inimitable manner, Jasper Morris MW examined place through the lens of white Burgundy, covering its origins, style and winemaking evolution, including climate impacts on ripeness and picking dates. He amusingly noted how Burgundians will claim their wines faithfully reflect each vintage, all the while describing the tricks they’ve used to balance any extremes. His tasting explored Chablis, Côte d’Or and Mâconnais, before we switched back to Elaine who had chosen a clever combination of four Carneros wines linked either by region and/or producer to illustrate the impact of site, producer ethos and winemaking style.

Elaine believes that most consumers are

Photo by Richard Brimer

seeking simply “a sense of place rather than needing to understand the technicality of place”. Within a whistlestop tour of California Chardonnay’s history and evolution, they noted a striking geological similarity between New Zealand and California, which both have right lateral transverse fault systems of comparable age and size, although within very different environmental and cultural contexts.

Day two took a technical turn, with Braden Crosby, from Bragato Research Institute, leading a panel discussion and microvin tasting delving into key clonal aspects of wine chemistry, regional differences and quality/quantity, and how these considerations might best be navigated by researchers, nurseries and producers.

Regional case studies began with Blair Walter of Felton Road in Central Otago, where increasing plantings are bucking the national trend. Blair discussed how styles have progressed from the early wines that “were a little shrill” to today’s more mineral and restrained wines, which are

appreciated by international audiences. Blair also outlined Felton Road’s ongoing commitment to environmental and cultural sustainability via its B-Corp and International Wineries for Climate Action memberships.

Bell Hill’s Sherwyn Veldhuizen gave a thoughtful, moving reflection on what it took to establish and run her and Marcel Giesen’s tiny, challenging, yet thrilling North Canterbury vineyard, which is right on the limit of cool climate viticulture. “It folds its arms and says, ‘show me what you can do’,” she said. “It demands from you, challenges you and exposes you; it tests you well and you have to earn it… and only then will it unfold its arms and hold you in its warm, white light.” The hard work was evident in the remarkable pair of wines she showed, which displayed almost no colour change despite a ten-year difference in age. Isabel Estate’s Jeremy McKenzie wrapped up with a clear-eyed assessment of the reinvigoration of their Marlborough brand and vineyards, with a deluge of accolades seeing demand outpace supply. Isabel is a rare Marlborough producer pulling out Sauvignon Blanc to plant Chardonnay.

Sam Connew of Stargazer in Tasmania

presented an informative session on the island’s Chardonnays. Its distinctive cool, dry climate delivers natural acidity, low pH, and high flavour intensity with low sugars and yields, commanding premium pricing for both still and sparkling wines. Sam argued that Australian Chardonnay styles are generally more producer-driven, with the possible exception of Western Australia’s Margaret River.

Australian wine tourism expert Robin Shaw encouraged wineries to focus on how they made customers feel, arguing that sensorial and immersive experiences foster lasting memories. Visitors then go home to share these with friends and family, building deeper, more enduring connections to their brands. She offered practical advice on the value of creating memorable experiences that connect visitors to stories and places.

Returning to Burgundy, Jasper provided an overview of its challenges and future prospects, highlighting climate change and socioeconomic pressures, such as pricing and succession planning. With vini/viti adaptations already being made, he felt Chardonnay would likely be better equipped than Pinot Noir to handle warming climates (at least in the short

term) but anticipated style shifts would become apparent first in Chablis and Puligny-Montrachet.

Land cost and succession taxes were frequently driving ownership changes, and talented winemakers were moving to ‘lesser’ areas and producing “wines that make one smile”. Jasper identified emerging “sweet spot” communes and suggested Aligoté was a grape to watch.

Stephen, Elaine and Brenna joined Jasper for a final wide-ranging discussion linking the symposium’s threads. Brenna pointed out that New Zealand Chardonnay didn’t seem to be seeking to emulate places elsewhere, instead searching for its own identity. Elaine felt this was rooted in fruit purity aligned to an electric acid signature, but Jasper thought most consumers, “don’t want to hear about acidity… that doesn’t sound good to them. Instead, tell a story about natural vivacity and vibrancy”. He noted that while wine professionals may grasp New Zealand Chardonnay’s distinctiveness, there was still a need for a clear cohesive message to reach broader audiences adding, to applause, “the wines I’ve tasted this week absolutely deserve that”.

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Wine weather

What’s been going on?

JAMES MORRISON

After a fairly typical first half of spring there has been a noticeable change in the weather across much of New Zealand. Occasional frosts were recorded in most regions through September and into early October. A more unsettled period from mid-October has been quite eventful, with a severe frost in Central Otago on the first weekend in November following a cold southerly outbreak. Rain has been more frequent in other regions, with mean temperatures pushing above average across most of the country. For much of 2024 sea surface temperatures have been indicating a return of La Niña, which would bring higher humidity and an increase in northeast winds. Current weather patterns have shown less certainty and it is now more likely that early 2025 will bring either a weak La Niña or neutral phase. La Niña also has a historical trend of increased tropical cyclone activity north of New Zealand late in summer and the possibility of a humid

and wet period of weather early in 2025 is something to watch out for.

A short history of frost during summer:

Frost fans and helicopters were busy across much of Marlborough on 17 November and although it is getting late in spring for frost, it is worth noting that much of the South Island and even parts of the lower North Island are susceptible to frost right through summer. The next few months are expected to be mild once again and the risk of frost is very low for the summer ahead. Even though frost can be very low on the priority list it shouldn’t be discounted, especially in the South Island and lower North Island.

During summer many of the risk factors for frost still exist. A cold southerly change can be followed by clear dry air that allows the air to cool quickly. Sub-polar airmasses can be launched northwards over New Zealand with upper air temperature similar at times to a winter outbreak. One factor that can prevent temperatures from falling to freezing is the length of daylight. During late winter and early spring the length of daylight and available heating from the sun is significantly less than late December or early January. For example, Blenheim has 12 hours between sunrise and sunset on 1 September and more than 15 hours of available daylight by the first week of December. The period of time where

temperatures are able to cool is reduced. During early spring other risk factors such as cloud cover, upper level humidity, dew points and wind speed all have some influence on night time temperatures. By December all of these factors would need to align to create a significant risk of frost. Central Otago is well-sheltered from the influence of the oceans and being further south has the highest risk of frost during summer. There have been historical examples of temperatures falling below freezing during all months of the year. A recent example was a temperature of -0.1°C recorded near Cromwell on 1 January 2019. The irony being that January 2019 was one of the warmest on record for Central Otago. In Blenheim the mercury dropped to 1.3°C on 23 January 2012.

Historical datasets from NIWA reveal December and January frosts occur over sheltered parts of the lower South Island on a relatively frequent basis. Temperatures below 1°C have been recorded during summer almost every year and several summer frosts were observed, mostly over the lower South Island. Long term temperature records reveal frost or near frost during summer months across some parts of

the North Island as well. These cold summer mornings are becoming less frequent though, as our climate continues to warm.

Outlook for December and January:

Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay

Temperatures are likely to continue to run above average through early and mid-summer. Night time minimums may run well above normal and humidity is likely to be higher at times making for a few uncomfortable days. The increased frequency of northeasterlies may mean a few cloudier days and this could keep sunshine totals close to average.

Wairarapa

Above average temperatures are expected with mild northerly winds. Winds may be lighter than usual at times as northwesterlies become less frequent. Rainfall may be near average through the first half of summer. Sunshine totals are likely to be near average also.

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Temperatures continue to run above average

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for much of summer. Rainfall may be mixed with dry periods especially through December. With an increased chance of low pressure activity later in summer there is the risk of rain events bringing occasional heavy rain.

Marlborough/North Canterbury

Temperatures remain above average through early summer. Occasional northwesterlies may bring a few 30C days, but maximum temperatures may be tempered a little by cooler onshore northeasterlies along the coast. Sheltered inland areas could become very mild at times by early January. Rainfall totals are likely to run close to average but could stay below average through December.

Central Otago

Temperatures are pushing above average. Light northerly airstreams are likely to contribute to warm day time temperatures from mid-December onwards. Rainfall totals are likely to run below average under a predominant northerly flow. James Morrison runs Weatherstation Frost Forecasting: weatherstation.net.nz

Biosecurity Update

Protecting the places that make our famous wines

Genetic diversity and biosecurity – New Zealand’s National Vine Collection

In August, I visited Dr Darrell Lizamore, Principal Research Scientist for Grapevine Improvement at Bragato Research Institute, Lincoln University, to learn more about the National Vine Collection his team manages. I had heard about this collection and its potential for grapevine improvement and biosecurity through my work with the Technical Reference Group for the Grafted Grapevine Standard, so I was keen to visit and hear more about the vineyard.

Darrell explained that this collection has roots going back nearly a century to the government-operated viticulture research station at Te Kauwhata in Waikato. This station trialled numerous grape varieties and shared promising ones with other regions. When the centre closed, the vines were initially relocated to Marlborough, and then, thanks to a proposal by Lincoln viticulturist Glen Creasy, they were moved

to Canterbury. Glen recommended this area due to the lack of phylloxera in Canterbury at the time. Lincoln University became the new custodian of the vines, managing them under contract with New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW).

This

diversity could prove essential if new threats or environmental challenges arise.

On arrival, the vines were divided by health status: those free of disease became the ‘high health’ collection, while those showing potential viral symptoms formed the ‘low health’ collection. The low health vines are located at the far end of the property and in a separate vineyard to prevent cross-contamination.

Today, the collection boasts about 600 unique grapevine accessions, offering genetic diversity for the New Zealand viticulture industry. Some vines are the only ones of their kind in the country, invaluable for research and breeding. Unfortunately, many low health vines suffer from visible viral infections, which complicates management. To address this, Lincoln researchers, led by Darrell, are conducting trials to remove viruses from select vines. Virus removal is challenging due to the specific ways viral infections influence clonal traits, which may even be desirable. Different methods work better for different varieties, so research is needed to refine techniques and determine which viruses should be retained or eliminated for the health of the collection. Alongside virus elimination, Darrell’s team is re-mapping and re-labelling vines to clarify genetic identities. After DNA testing, some vines initially labelled as just “old vines” turned out to be duplicates of other clones already recorded in the collection.

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Jim Herdman

This finding has highlighted the need for strategic management, conserving unique and valuable vines while removing redundancies.

A visit by expert French ampelographers underscored the collection’s value, recommending that redundant genotypes be removed to make room for replications of unique vines. They proposed establishing a dedicated facility similar to those in France, complete with secure access, trained staff, and funding independent of commercial pressures. While maintaining this collection is relatively low cost in relation to New Zealand’s $2 billion wine industry, opinions vary. Some within the industry advocate for keeping only commercially viable varieties, while others, including Darrell, argue that maintaining genetic diversity is vital for industry resilience and long-term sustainability.

This diversity could prove essential if new threats or environmental challenges arise. As Darrell explained, the collection serves as a buffer against potential issues, with its possible range of unique traits leading to disease resistant varieties or characteristics such as varying bud-burst timings. As New Zealand has restricted access to

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international grapevine genetics, this collection could be invaluable, especially with climate shifts creating demand for varieties suited to warmer climates and spring frost sensitivity. It enables industry researchers to explore traits like disease resilience and adaptability in real-world conditions.

One significant future objective for the collection is introducing economically relevant genetic traits that aren’t yet present in New Zealand. Darrell cited the example of Pierce’s disease (Xylella Fastidiosa) resistant vines, developed by United States researchers through crossbreeding with Vitis arizonica. While currently absent in New Zealand, this resistant vine would add a powerful biosecurity asset to the collection, providing an essential safeguard against a future biosecurity threat of Pierce’s disease.

The Lincoln collection thus represents far more than a genetic archive – it’s a vital resource for the future of New Zealand viticulture. This small but diverse vineyard may one day shape the industry’s response to evolving conditions, securing its resilience through the power of genetic diversity.

Dr Darrell Lizamore

On your behalf

Advocacy on matters of vital importance to the industry

James Kane

Product recall – do you have a recall plan for when things go wrong?

We all spend time in our lives planning for when things go wrong. We’ve been part of fire drills and we know when to ‘drop, cover and hold’. The reason we participate is so we know how to respond effectively in a crisis. While wine may be a low risk product, we are not immune to a crisis. This will come at the most inconvenient time and may look like one of the following scenarios:

• Receiving a social media claim that someone has found ‘glass shards’ in a bottle.

• Reports of an unlabelled allergen in your product.

• Receiving lab tests that indicate a chemical contaminant in an entire batch of wine.

• Incorrect labels have been applied for wine destined for export.

No one plans for these to happen, but there is a need for a plan should something occur –from both a business and legal perspective. Wine Standards Management Plan (WSMP) holders and wine exporters are obligated by the Wine Regulations 2021 to carry out a simulated recall exercise for their business (in most cases, this is required every 12 months). A simulated recall includes being able to demonstrate, come audit time, that you have effective traceability and recall procedures in place.

Why simulated recalls are important for wine

A simulated recall is an exercise conducted to test and evaluate your ability to effectively recall a product from the market in the event of a real safety or quality issue.

Recalls are proactive measures taken to ensure you’re prepared for potential real life situations, by demonstrating the effectiveness of your traceability and business systems, not just as a precaution, but as a necessary step towards delivering safer wine to consumers. The benefits of simulated recalls are clear:

• Food Safety: to allow an efficient response to protect consumers and your business from potential food safety risks. This includes identifying the source of contamination, recalling the product, and preventing further distribution of a wine.

• Brand reputation: effective recalls protect your business, brand and maintain consumer trust. Whether it’s a defective product, contamination, labelling errors, or other issues, these can irreparably harm your business and industry reputation.

• Role definition: help identify the roles and responsibilities within your own supply chain.

What does my business need to consider?

A good recall process will place role definition and traceability at the forefront. Every business is different; you may have a commercial chain spanning multiple parties including grape growers, bottlers, brand owners, transporters and other suppliers.

A primary question to ask is who has the obligation to notify and recall the product? Who is best placed to assist across this supply chain? Do all parties understand what is required of them? How do we organise ourselves in the event a recall product has been dispatched for export or has reached retail already?

Help is available

For many this could be the first time interacting with a regulator in these circumstances. Therefore it is essential to familiarise yourself with the required recall documentation and regulator expectations. An obligation exists for WSMP holders to notify New Zealand Food Safety during a potential recall and you will be required to provide a detailed risk assessment form of ‘what the problem is’, ‘what you are doing about it’, and you may receive directions on what you must do next.

New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) acknowledges the importance of this preparation. In November this year, NZW hosted its second annual national simulated recall exercise. This presented a mock wine recall scenario, where participants were invited to identify, trace and recall an affected product and submit it to NZW for feedback. Alongside receiving insights on how best to navigate what can be a high stakes and stressful situation.

If you are a NZW member and were unable to attend we have published dedicated webinar guidance on recall procedure, including mock scenarios for your business to undertake in your own time. Please visit nzwine.com/ members/advocacy/ for further information or contact us directly at advocacy@nzwine.com.

Wishing you all the best as we close in on another busy growing season. James Kane is a Legal and Policy Advisor for NZW

Taking NZ wine to the world: Bringing the world to NZ wine

Sustainability Update

Demonstrating our commitment to the future through climate change mitigation

Dr Edwin Massey

Celebrating 30 years of SWNZ

Our wine industry may be one of the youngest in the world, but sustainability has always been a guiding principle. Right from the start, industry members recognised the extraordinary value of our natural resources and the need to protect them. In 1995, after considerable research, what is now known as Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) was launched. Fast forward almost 30 years and this independently audited programme continues to demonstrate our commitment to a sustainable future.

SWNZ has six different focus areas, including climate change, water, waste, plant protection, soil and people. While these goals align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, SWNZ proudly operates within a context that includes our geography, our environment and the risks that are specific to the New

Zealand wine industry. In short, SWNZ goals encapsulate the areas that are most relevant to our industry and where we have the greatest ability to make a positive impact. Sustainability never stands still and over time SWNZ has evolved in response to new challenges and opportunities. It is almost certain that this evolution will continue in the future.

As one of the first sustainability programmes to be established in the global wine sector, today 96% of New Zealand’s vineyard producing area is SWNZ certified and 10% operates under a recognised certified organic programme. To meet SWNZ requirements members must submit a comprehensive suite of planning documents and other information. This information is verified through independent auditing and shared back with members as individualised benchmarking reports. This robustness,

combined with the SWNZ’s inclusivity, drives continuous improvement across our entire industry, from tiny single vineyard holdings right through to the largest wine companies.

From plants to people, from cellar doors to the vineyard gate and beyond, SWNZ members have played their part in putting sustainability first. Year by year, bit by bit those actions have enhanced our reputation and left our industry, our world and our wine better for it. As we look to begin celebrating SWNZ’s 30-year anniversary, reflecting on our journey and planning for the future, our members’ actions will remain at the heart of all that we do. We know there is more to do to accelerate change. We believe that every little bit counts, and that together we can achieve extraordinary things.

Dr Edwin Massey is General Manager Sustainability at NZW

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Current research projects

Research Supplement

A regular feature to inform and update the wine industry on research projects being undertaken for their benefit. Newly approved projects when available are briefly summarised. Ongoing projects have longer articles that describe progress and what has been achieved so far. When completed, each project report will be shared in full detail in the Research Library on nzwine.com.

Bragato Research Institute leads quality research and innovation that enables the New Zealand wine industry to thrive. They conduct research in-house and collaborate with research organisations throughout New Zealand. The main research provider for each project is listed.

Updates are provided on the highlighted projects in this supplement.

Vineyard innovation

Next Generation Viticulture Programme

Bragato Research Institute

Evaluation of the short-term impact of remedial surgery on grapevine trunk disease and vineyard sustainability

Linnaeus, SARDI, Sutton McCarthy

Potential applications of nanotechnology for wine growing in New Zealand

University of Auckland

Varietal diversification: Cool climate aromatic white wine produced by Marlborough

Bragato Research Institute, EIT, NMIT

Central Otago Pinot Noir clonal trial

Bragato Research Institute, Otago Polytechnic, Riversun Nurseries

Elemental sulphur persistence on grape and mitigation strategies

Lincoln University

Increasing financial sustainability of Chardonnay in Hawke’s Bay through long spur pruning to increase yield

Eastern Institute of Technology

Long spur pruning as an alternative for Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Bragato Research Institute

Genetics for winegrowing

Sauvignon Blanc Grapevine Improvement Programme

Bragato Research Institute, Plant & Food Research, Lincoln University

National Vine Collection virus eradication

Bragato Research Institute

Rapid detection of fungicideresistance in grapevine powdery mildew in New Zealand

Bragato Research Institute

Graft-derived drought tolerance: identifying and functionally characterizing graft-transmitted elements

Bragato Research Institute

Winemaking

innovation

Exploring reductive aromas in Pinot Noir

University of Auckland

Precipitation of calcium tartrate and other compounds in wine

University of Canterbury

Lab on a Chip: Developing diagnostic devices for the wine industry

University of Canterbury

Prevention of quercetin instability in bottled wine

Indevin

Sustainable winegrowing

UV light in vineyards to reduce fungicide dependence

Bragato Research Institute, A Lighter Touch

Microbial community and vine responses to increasing temperatures in the New Zealand context University of Auckland

Evaluating water use efficiency and drought tolerance of various rootstocks grafted to Sauvignon

Blanc

Bragato Research Institute

Fermentation treatments and ageing effects on volatile sulfur compounds, varietal thiols, and other aroma compounds in Pinot Noir wines

Sukhpreet Gill, Rebecca C. Deed, Rebecca E. Jelley, Bruno Fedrizzi

The generation of undesirable offflavours during fermentation and wine ageing pose a challenge to winemakers. These off-flavours, which include unpleasant aromas such as rotten cabbage and rotten egg, can be attributed to volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) and are responsible for 30% of all commercial

wine faults. However, adding to the complexity, low concentrations of some VSCs are now thought to contribute positively to the overall aroma of wine.

The formation of VSCs can be linked to a number of factors, including the use of sulfur in vineyards, whole

bunch fermentation, nitrogen availability, fining agents and wine ageing. Climate change is a major challenge as extreme weather conditions increase disease pressure in vineyards. A growing reliance on and increased used of sulfurcontaining fungicides in vineyards as a result could lead to an increase

in VSC formation. This project, undertaken by Professor Fedrizzi’s research group at the University of Auckland, in conjunction with Bragato Research Institute, is investigating the formation of VSCs in wine produced under different winemaking conditions and subjected to ageing. These findings will contribute to a better understanding of VSC formation and identify possible mitigation strategies.

The first part of this project investigated on the role of elemental sulfur, YAN availability and the application timing of sulfur dioxide (pre and post crushing) and accelerated ageing on the concentration of VSCs. The second project investigated on the role of elemental sulfur, YAN availability and the inclusion of whole bunch in winemaking on VSC formation. These fermentations were undertaken using BRI’s winemaking research facilities. The aroma profile of the finished wines and those subjected to ageing were analysed at the University of Auckland. The third project is underway and is investigating the effect of copper and elemental sulfur on the formation of VSCs. The wines, after accelerated ageing, will be analysed for aroma profile at the University of Auckland.

Fermentations were undertaken at BRI which included the use of elemental sulfur at two levels, addition of diammonium phosphate (DAP) to maintain two levels of YAN, and the inclusion of whole bunch (no addition, low percentage, and high percentage). The wines were aged for zero, one, three or four months at 300C. The wine samples were shipped to the University of Auckland and their aroma profile as well as amino acids, varietal thiol precursors and polysulfides were analysed.

Wine ageing impacts concentration of sulfur compounds

Wine ageing influenced the

concentration of some key sulfurcontaining compounds. For example, the concentration of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) increased significantly during ageing, regardless of fermentation conditions. In the most extreme case, an increase of 3-fold was observed. This VSC is problematic at elevated conditions due to its cabbage or truffle odour above its odour threshold of 10 µg/L. The concentrations of varietal thiol precursor 3-S-glutathionylhexan1-ol (GSH-3SH) and varietal thiol 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (3SH) concentration also increased during wine ageing. On the other hand, the concentration of 3-sulfanylhexyl acetate (3SHA) decreased during this same ageing period. An increase in 3SH (tropical, passionfruit nuances) concentration during ageing has previously been attributed to the hydrolysis of 3SHA (box tree aroma).

Amino acids are important constituents in grapes and are thought to affect the taste and quality of wine. Amino acids play an important role as precursors to aroma compounds such as some esters, higher alcohols, varietal thiols, and VSCs. In this study, the concentrations of isoleucine, tyrosine, threonine, glycine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, histidine, and arginine increased with ageing while that of phenylalanine, tryptophan, and glutamine decreased. The concentration of some esters (e.g. ethyl isovalerate, ethyl isobutyrate, and ethyl-2-methylbutanoate) and fatty acids increased while other esters (e.g. ethyl decanoate and ethyl octanoate), acetate esters (e.g. isoamyl acetate, and hexyl acetate isovaleric acid, higher alcohols and linalool decreased. These aroma compounds are attributed to fruity and floral characteristics.

Residual elemental sulfur and whole bunch fermentation

The wines produced under conditions of high elemental sulfur had a higher

concentration of carbon disulfide and this concentration remained consistently higher during ageing compared its no sulfur counterparts. High elemental sulfur tended to result in higher concentrations of aroma compounds, but this was not observed at all timepoints. A few of the acetate esters (ethyl acetate and beta-phenyl acetate, were present at highest concentrations in wines produced under no sulfur conditions, observed at last timepoint of ageing.

The concentration of varietal thiol precursor Cys-3SH was higher in wines produced with a 75% whole bunch inclusion in fermentation compared to 25% and 0%. The concentrations of diethyl disulfide and ethanethiol were also significantly higher in 75% whole bunch inclusion fermentations when conditions also included high elemental sulfur and high nitrogen. These VSCs are related to each other as diethyl disulfide is the dimer of ethanethiol.

Wine ageing was associated with increased concentrations of many sulfur-containing compounds and other aroma compounds. Whole bunch inclusion in fermentation also resulted in changes in the wine aroma profile. This included the concentration of some VSCs such as diethyl disulfide and ethanethiol which were elevated in wines produced with 75% whole bunch inclusion.

About the project

This collaborative project between the University of Auckland and Bragato Research Institute is investigating the formation of undesirable volatile sulfur compounds under a range of winemaking and ageing conditions. The findings of the study may assist with identifying mitigation strategies in order to reduce the frequency of VSCrelated wine faults.

Investigating alternative training systems to boost vineyard productivity – the pilot phase of the Next Generation Viticulture programme

Dr Paul Epee, Bragato Research Institute

A pilot project paving the way for an innovative research programme

The decline of winegrowing profitability, driven by the sharp increase in production costs, warranted the reassessment of the existing winegrape production system. Between 2015 and 2024, vineyard operating expenses rose by 58%, yet over the same period the average price of a tonne of grape only rose by 17%. In consultation with industry, Bragato Research Institute (BRI) and the Ministry for Primary

Industries (MPI) has partnered with seven individual wine businesses to address these issues through an innovative programme – Next Generation Viticulture (NGV).

During the conception phase of NGV, preliminary research was initiated to investigate how fundamental viticultural principles could be explored to inform and guide developments towards the step change required for future winegrowing in New Zealand. This preliminary work formed the NGV

pilot project. The NGV pilot provided opportunities to engage with the industry, stimulate interest and get buy-in, test the potential of different training systems, and collect new, non-existing data and information to build the NGV business case.

Starting in September 2022, trials were established in three vineyards across Marlborough – one located in the Awatere Valley and two in the lower Wairau Valley – to evaluate seven grapevine training systems including the traditional head-cane

vertical shoot position (VSP) training system, commonly practised on Sauvignon Blanc. Besides Sauvignon Blanc, these training systems were evaluated on two white (Riesling, Albariño) and two red (Pinot Noir, Lagrein) varieties over two growing seasons, beginning in winter 2022.

The objective of this work was to investigate the potential of these training systems to raise productivity by lifting yields with no detriment to quality, and to reduce canopy management operations such as trimming and leaf plucking by growing a less dense canopy. These principles drew on advances in fruit tree physiology from transformational New Zealand research that has recently led to the development of narrow-row, two-dimensional planar cordon apple training systems, which have effectively doubled the productive potential of apple orchards.

This article focuses on the lower Wairau Valley trial site in Rapaura and discusses the effects of these training systems on the vine’s canopy

evolution and vegetative growth between budburst and veraison.

Vineyard description, training systems and measurements

The Rapaura vineyard site is located northwest of Blenheim and was established in the late 2000s. It was planted to Vitis vinifera cv. Sauvignon Blanc grafted on an unknown rootstock genotype. Vines were planted north-south with row and vine spacing of 2.7 m and 1.8 m, respectively, on a deep to moderately deep, sandy loam, well-drained soil. Table 1 describes, and Figure 1 illustrates the training systems tested at the start of the trial in winter 2022. Budburst percentage was assessed by counting the total number of shoots on the vine divided by the retained node number. Exposed leaf area and canopy coverage over time were measured by taking canopy photos on a blue photo backdrop and then using the ImageJ software to estimate the green area. Leaf layer number, exposed leaf area and total leaf area were estimated from canopy photos.

Pre-veraison vegetative growth

The seven training treatments yielded a range of retained node numbers (Table 2). Unpruned vines had the highest retained node number and total shoots but the lowest budburst percentage indicating they were left node numbers well above their capacities. Most nodes that failed to burst bud were located at the lower section of canes (Figure 1 a). This resulted in a less productive area (fewer, weaker shoots with smaller to no bunches) at the bottom section of the vine canopy. This behaviour – whereby most of the growth is concentrated at the upper part of a vertical cane at the expense of the lower part, termed correlative inhibition but often referred to as apical dominance by growers, is a conspicuous feature of grapevines and has been well-characterised on New Zealand Sauvignon blanc. The same process occurred on 4BudSpur vines. Despite having the fourth lowest node load, 4BudSpur vines had the second-lowest budburst percentage (Table 2), attributed to blind nodes appearing at the spur’s

Table 2 Pre-flowering vegetative growth in season 2022-23. Means sharing the same lowercase letter in a column are not significantly different with the Tukey test at p ≤ 0.05.

Table 1 Description of training systems evaluated at the Rapaura site in the 2022-23 season

first and second node positions.

Despite a two-fold difference in retained nodes with 3Cane vines, 2BudSpur and 6VCane vines had comparable budburst percentages (Table 2), indicating that these vines were pruned within their capacities. Correlative inhibition was absent on 2BudSpur and only weakly expressed on 6VCane vines. Therefore,

2BudSpur and 6VCane stood out as potential alternative training systems, for they produced twice as many shoots as the traditional 3Cane training for a comparable budburst percentage (Table 2). However, unlike the 2BudSpur, the 6VCane training had the additional advantages of being extended upwards thus increasing the production potential by growing a larger leaf area and

canopy surface area. Leaf area developed significantly faster on all six alternative training systems compared with the 3Cane, and the higher the node load of the training system, the faster the leaf area development and foliage cover from October to November (Figure 3). Unpruned vines were the fastest, covering 80% of their allocated space on the trellis, followed by 12VCane

Figure 1 Sauvignon Blanc grapevine training evaluated at the Rapaura site –(a) Unpruned, (b) Horizontal, (c) 12VCane, (d) 4BudSpur, (e) 6VCane and (f) 2BudSpur.

and Horizontal. 3Cane had the lowest canopy cover between November and December (27 and 39%), followed by 6VCane (40 and 60%) (Figure 2). By veraison in February, all training systems had achieved similar canopy coverage (Figure 3). Having significantly more retained nodes and shoots than 3Cane vines, the alternative training systems grew more leaves earlier in the season and thus could be expected to capture more sunlight radiation to support early-season vegetative and reproductive growth.

The canopy density of all seven training systems was not very different at veraison (Table 3). The total exposed leaf area was similar

suggesting that the amount of sunlight radiation intercepted at the surface of the canopy was the same across all training treatments, which may be somewhat affected by the existing VSP trellis system and vine management. Despite carrying over twice as many shoots as 3Cane vines, 6VCane and 12VCane vines had the same leaf layer number. However, 3Cane vines produced fewer but more vigorous shoots which were longer, stockier and carried many lateral shoots whereas the other training systems produced shoots of moderate vigour. Therefore, canopy density could be modified by finding combinations of count shoot number (retained nodes) and their spatial arrangement within the

canopy. These variables were further investigated the following season because an open, less dense canopy of less vigorous shoots can eliminate or significantly reduce the number of trimming passes and leaf plucking, as well as directly influence fruit development and disease incidence and risk.

Key takeaways from the pilot project

The NGV pilot project evaluated six alternative vine training systems to the traditional head-cane VSP training system commonly practised on Sauvignon Blanc in Marlborough. These training systems were at the very early stages of development, and as such their properties were

Table 3 Canopy structure at veraison in season 2022-23. Means sharing the same lowercase letter in a column are not significantly different with the Tukey test at p ≤ 0.05.

Figure 2 Canopy density of 3Cane VSP trained (left) and 6VCane trained (right) Sauvignon Blanc grapevines in November 2022.

not fully expressed in the first season of establishment. Nevertheless, the analyses of the effects of these training systems on the vegetative growth between budburst and veraison showed that the 6VCane training system had greater potential than the traditional head-cane VSP training system. The 6VCane training

could accommodate twice as many nodes as the 3Cane training without altering the budburst percentage or creating a denser canopy. This training offered the advantage of capturing more sunlight radiation early in the season, as more shoots developed after budburst, showing potential for higher yields.

However, it also showed some limitations – correlative inhibition and dense canopy – which were further investigated for solutions the following season.

A following article will discuss the harvest and winemaking results from this pilot project.

About the project

Next Generation Viticulture is a seven-year programme that is a partnership between the Ministry for Primary Industries through the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund, New Zealand Winegrowers, and seven wine business co investors contributing cash and in-kind. Bragato Research Institute is contracted to deliver the programme. The programme’s vision is to increase vineyard productivity without compromising wine quality or the environment.

UV light in vineyards to reduce fungicide dependence

Dr Paul Epee, Chris Ireland, Bragato Research Institute

Broad-spectrum fungicide use is on the rise, posing serious risks to biodiversity in vineyards as fungicides kill both target and non-target fungi, and destroy some beneficial species or strains. The grape industry also faces the

challenges of fungicides losing their efficacy or being phased out in the near future, or the pathogens developing resistance. In regions such as Marlborough, where powdery mildew is endemic, growers constantly struggle to keep their vineyards free of the disease.

A new project led by Bragato Research Institute (BRI), in partnership with A Lighter Touch, aims to provide another control option for all New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) members

Figure 3 Canopy development between budburst and veraison. Means sharing the same lowercase letter on the same month are not significantly different with the Tukey test at p ≤ 0.05.

facing a powdery mildew problem. Internationally, UV-C light technology has shown to be a cost effective and environmentally friendlier option to control powdery mildew and this project aims to demonstrate these benefits in New Zealand vineyards.

Benefits of UV-C technology

UV-C light technology offers a multitude of benefits for disease control in plants and especially grapevines, making it an attractive alternative to traditional fungicides. One of the primary advantages is the significant reduction in the use of fungicides, which leads to fewer chemical residues on harvested grapes or juice and wine. It is an environmentally friendly approach as it does not leave harmful residues in the soil or water.

The UV-C method reduces the risk of fungicide resistance, ensuring long-term effectiveness in disease control. It enhances worker safety by eliminating the need to handle hazardous chemicals, and also promotes biodiversity by preserving beneficial insects and microorganisms in the agricultural ecosystem. Additionally, UV-C light technology could be cost-effective over time, as the initial setup costs are offset by reduced chemical purchases and improved crop yields.

How it works

UV stands for Ultraviolet, and C describes the wavelength. UV-A, UVB, and UV-C lights have wavelengths of 315-400, 280-315, and 180-280 nanometres, respectively. UV-C light has a germicidal effect that disrupts the DNA and cellular structures of pathogens such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses, thereby reducing plant disease severity. Research has demonstrated that UV-C light can directly harm plant pathogens and stimulate the plants’ natural defence mechanisms, making them

more resistant to diseases. This dual action of UV-C light not only helps in controlling diseases but also enhances the overall health of the plants.

The UV-C treatment is most effective when applied at night, because fungi have the ability to repair the damage that UV light causes using the blue and UV-A components of sunlight. Recent technological developments in UVC1 light, as well as the development in automated machines, has allowed this technology to become more accessible to winegrowers.

The research project

This project has two objectives: test the efficacy of the UV-C light technology to demonstrate and establish its performance in fighting powdery mildew on Sauvignon Blanc, and its effects on fermentation and wine quality; and develop grower resources that will support effective change in vineyard practice and management to meet economic and sustainability goals.

An efficacy trial on Sauvignon Blanc will be established in Marlborough and monitored over two growing seasons, from budburst through harvest, to assess the performance of the UV-C light technology for the control of powdery mildew against

a standard spray programme. The results of the efficacy trials, along with the winemaking, aroma, and sensory analyses completed in the second year, will be presented and accessible to growers to guide their decision-making about adopting this new technology. Cost-benefit assessments will be conducted for the technology.

This project aims to deliver robust, local knowledge, giving growers comprehensive and objective data so they can make informed decisions. If UV-C is shown to deliver on the potential it indicates, growers will have the know-how and confidence to use this new approach to deliver productivity and sustainability gains.

If the technology is widely adopted, equipment suppliers would also benefit. BRI will use commercially available equipment to conduct the trials, focusing on the interactions between UV light, the plant, and the fungus. Data will be reported based on the treatments applied, such as light intensity, energy, groundspeed, and timing, without endorsing any specific equipment make/brand or configuration. This approach will encourage multiple suppliers to offer machines capable of delivering the reported treatments, fostering competition and benefiting the industry.

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