Winepress THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF WINE MARLBOROUGH
ISSUE NO. 320 / AUGUST 2021
FLOOD DAMAGE
SUBSURFACE IRRIGATION
ORGANIC SYMPOSIA
FROST WATCH
Photo: Jim Tannock
wine-marlborough.co.nz
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this issue...
REGULARS
FEATURES
3 4
10 Flood Pains
6 22 24 26 28
Editorial - Sophie Preece
From The GM Marcus Pickens Tasman Crop Met Report Rob Agnew Generation Y-ine - Jess Wilson
Much of the region’s vineyard area escaped last month’s floods unscathed, but some growers are grappling with the labour intensive work of clearing, repairing, replanting and rebuilding infrastructure.
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18 Organic Symposia
Biosecurity Watch Sophie Badland Industry News Wine Happenings
Nearly 200 wine industry representatives – conventional, organic and biodynamic - flocked to the Organic Winegrowers New Zealand Winter Symposia late last month, to hear about partnering with nature to improve financial and economic sustainability.
20 Frost Watch
Cover: Haysley MacDonald contemplates the damage at te Pā vineyard in the Lower Wairau, following a major flood in July. Photo by Jim Tannock. See page 10
Each spring is a period of anticipation and anxiety for most New Zealand grape growers, says Dr Mike Trought, one of the speakers at an upcoming Bragato Research Institute Frost Education workshop.
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Winepress August 2021 / 1
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General Manager: Marcus Pickens 03 577 9299 or 021 831 820 marcus@winemarlborough.nz Editor: Sophie Preece 027 308 4455 sophie@sophiepreece.co.nz Advertising and Subscriptions: Sarah Linklater 021 704 733 sarah@winemarlborough.nz Wine Marlborough Board: Anna Laugesen Anna.laugesen@xtra.co.nz Ben Ensor ben@mcdonaldtextiles.co.nz Beth Forrest Beth@forrest.co.nz Callum Linklater callum@csviticulture.co.nz Gus Altschwager gus@akwines.net Jamie Marfell Jamie.Marfell@pernod-ricard.com Kirsty Harkness kirsty@mountbase.co.nz Nick Entwistle nick@wairauriverwines.com Tom Trolove (Chair) tom.trolove@framingham.co.nz Tracy Johnston Tracy@dayvinleigh.co.nz Designed by: Blenheim Print Ltd 03 578 1322 Disclaimer: The views and articles that are
expressed and appear in Winepress are entirely those of contributors and in no way reflect the policy of the Marlborough Winegrowers. Any advice given, implied or suggested should be considered on its merits, and no responsibility can be taken for problems arising from the use of such information. This document is printed on an environmentally responsible paper, produced using elemental chlorine free (EFC), third party pulp from responsible sources, manufactured under the strict ISO 14001 Environmental Management System and is 100% Recyclable.
From the Editor JONO FREW clearly recalls the day he and his twin sister chased their father’s spray truck across a paddock of barley, carelessly “running into the mist”. That’s one of the many memories he has of being up close and personal with agrichemicals throughout his childhood. He also clearly recalls the moment a few decades later, when – by then a spray expert himself - he returned from a day distributing a broad spectrum insecticide to hold his new-born son, skin to skin. Last month Jono told attendees at the Organic Winegrowers New Zealand (OWNZ) Organic Symposia in Marlborough about his transformation from chemical champion to big picture regenerative farming coach, from oblivious to
“As well as looking at lessons of organic conversion, this edition delves into some of the impacts of the recent floods in Marlborough” open minded. That transformation has seen him move from defending extractive farming to extolling the virtues of extensive mixed species cover crops, and the ability to increase resilience, profitability and peace of mind, “and for me all of those things are connected”. Jono’s talk at the symposia, Creating resilience by partnering with nature, set the scene for a day of presentations focussed on change. Some of that change was about the process of conversion to organics, with learnings shared and myths dispelled. There was also the task of effecting change on soil health, by “building the house” of soil biology, and by creating cover crops that serve to change the monoculture of vineyards. Changing consumer behaviours was also on the table, with the impact of Covid-19 on buying patterns benefiting organic wines, according to data sharing by Organics Aotearoa New Zealand. But there are other changes in the wind too, as consumers come to expect organics as a bare minimum, with Master of Wine Stephen Wong warning that being organic is an entry fee to certain wine markets, but not a passport. As well as looking at lessons of organic conversion, this edition delves into some of the impacts of the recent floods in Marlborough, and looks forward at the frost season, thanks to some wisdom from Dr Mike Trought. It also tests the waters of the Three Waters Reforms and meets Marlborough’s 2021 Young Viticulturist of the Year, who’ll compete for the national title later this month.
SOPHIE PREECE
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From the GM In response to the flood MARCUS PICKENS
DEALING WITH urgent responses is something that, sadly, Wine Marlborough and New Zealand Winegrowers are getting very experienced at. There have been a number of responses we have had to react to, and you can guarantee that if there has been a sizeable environmental impact from events such as an earthquake, flood, fire or biosecurity incident, there will be a response team assembled, even if it isn’t obvious. If it is in Marlborough, Wine Marlborough will be involved, and last year I undertook a course in Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS), to ensure we are well prepared. New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) also have good skills in this area, led by Biosecurity and Emergency Response team general manager Sophie Badland. The most recent response was following the significant rainfall event and subsequent floods that affected the West Coast, Tasman, and Marlborough on July 17 and 18. During the event, it was essential to stay informed, with information from news articles, social media, Civil Defence emergency alerts, and contact from others. I also kept a very close watch on the Marlborough District Council (MDC) river flow website page all Saturday afternoon, and had a number of calls to and from the Ministry for Primary Industries and MDC. On Sunday the visual assessment began, with a brief car trip around areas I could access. Due to road closures, this was mainly limited to the central Wairau Valley, where I was surprised to see little water on vineyards. But phone calls to others around the region confirmed that in fact there was a huge amount of water on vineyards all over the region and areas of damage. By Monday morning we had assembled our response team, comprised of myself, Nicci Armour and Sarah Linklater from Wine Marlborough, and Sophie Badland and Jim Herdman from the NZW biosecurity team. Jim went to the Emergency Operations Centre to get information and provide updates – they supplied images of their flyovers, which helped us assess the impact, and also took on board our requests from members for assistance. By mid-afternoon we had designed and sent a survey to members, to give us a handle on the extent of impacts. Those most impacted probably didn’t have time to fill this in, but it nonetheless proved useful. Along with the 4 / Winepress August 2021
other intelligence being gathered, we began to narrow the net on where the worst impacts had occurred. They ranged from significant damage to vineyards and infrastructure caused by huge volumes of water rushing across exposed vineyards near rivers, slips and damage to stop banks, debris covering large areas in amongst the trellis, silt everywhere, and significant amounts of water pooling on vineyards. I saw many of these examples first-hand through the week. A key role we play is to inform local and central Government of the impacts on our sector. That included showing examples of damage to the Hon. Damien O’Connor (Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Minister of Agriculture, Minister for Biosecurity, Minister for Land Information, and Minister for Rural Communities) who visited the region early on in the week of the response. Good has come of this, with the instruction to prepare flood recovery information and push on with the assembly of volunteer groups, and potentially a taskforce to work on the clean-up of badly affected properties. To find out more on this check at bit.ly/3rEgU9M Together with the Bragato Research Institute, we staged a webinar, and thanks go out to Dominic Pecchenino and Warwick Bruce for their practical contributions. A recording of this will be available in via our WineMail e-newsletter. We always learn from these events and will debrief in due course, to ensure we are ready if and when we have to do this again. It is also worth acknowledging the excellent work of the Marlborough Civil Defence Emergency Management team, who play a critical role in helping our community with response and resilience. They were fantastic to work with – open in sharing their information, and interested in our intel – all to help Marlborough get back on its feet as quickly as possible. From major earthquakes to a global pandemic, Marlborough’s wine growers, companies and suppliers are always quick to step up to the challenge and roll out solutions. We’re seeing the same response and resilience in the wake of the floods, as our industry gets down to the business of repairing, pruning and preparing for the next growing season.
GROW
RSE Relief New Zealand’s wine industry has welcomed an announcement that from September onwards, Recognised Seasonal Workers from Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu will no longer be required to complete MIQ in New Zealand. Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens says Marlborough’s industry has struggled through low labour levels since border closures last year, and the announcement couldn’t have come soon enough. “Grapevine pruning has been a huge challenge this year, only exacerbated by last month’s floods, with labour intensive repair work underway on top of annual – and vital - vineyard work,” he says. “Knowing we will soon have access to greater numbers of Recognised Seasonal Workers (RSE) workers is an enormous relief.” In a post-Cabinet media briefing at the beginning of August, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said 150 workers were being brought in to New Zealand every 16 days, but the change to quarantine-free travel would open up for many more. There were approximately 7,000 RSE workers in New Zealand right now, down on the 10,000 typical for the peak summer period. The Prime Minister said the decision was possible because New Zealand is Covid-free, as are the Pacific Island nations they are working with. There would be extra assurances put in place, such as pre-departure testing, on-arrival testing and some mitigations at the early period of the workers’ arrival, alongside their employers, “to ensure we do indeed have Covid-free workers”, she said. New Zealand Winegrowers said in a letter to members that the labour shortage issue had been a very important priority for the organisation. “We have been working with the Government for some time, alongside our counterparts in the horticulture industry, to ensure we can meet our industry’s need for skilled workers.” “We are pleased the Government has responded so positively to the proposal we put forward to them, and believe today’s announcement provides greater certainty for our industry as we plan for vintage 2022 and beyond.” Full details were yet to be released at the time of printing, but will be covered in the September Winepress.
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MET REPORT Table 1: Blenheim Weather Data – July 2021 July July 2021 2021 Compared to LTA GDD’s for month -Max/Min¹ 20.3 +11.1 GDD’s for month – Mean² 33.8 +10.3 Mean Maximum (°C) 14.3 +°C Mean Minimum (°C) 3.3 +°C Mean Temp (°C) 8.8 +°C Ground Frosts (<= -1.0°C) 14 0.9 less Air Frosts (<0.0°C) 9 2 more Sunshine hours 186.1 115% Sunshine hours – lowest Sunshine hours – highest Sunshine hours total – 2021 1476.6 105% Rainfall (mm) 143.6 230% Rainfall (mm) – lowest Rainfall (mm) – highest Rainfall total (mm) – 2021 425.0 116% Evapotranspiration – mm 33.5 92% Avg. Daily Windrun (km) 196.4 87% Mean 9am soil temp – 10cm 6.5 +1.5°C Mean 9am soil temp – 30cm 8.3 +1.1°C
July LTA
Period of LTA
July 2020
9.2 23.5 13.2 2.7 8.0 14.9 7.0 162.5 119.6 230.8 1405.6 62.3 9.9 174.1 367.6 36.3 226.8 5.0 7.2
(1996-2020) (1996-2020) (1986-2020) (1986-2020) (1986-2020) (1986-2020) (1986-2020) (1986-2020) 1996 1952 (1986-2020) (1986-2020) 2014 1998 (1986-2020) (1996-2020) (1996-2020) (1986-2020) (1986-2020)
10.5 26.3 14.0 2.9 8.5 14 6 172.8
1458.7 16.8
220.2 39.3 194.7 5.6 8.1
¹GDD’s Max/Min are calculated from absolute daily maximum and minimum temperatures ²GDD’s Mean are calculated from average hourly temperatures Rainfall Total rainfall in July of 143.6 mm was 230% of the long-term average (LTA) for July of 62.3 mm (1986-2020). This is the fourth highest July rainfall total on record for Blenheim for the 92 years 1930 – 2021. The most recent year to have recorded a higher July total was 2008 with 152.6 mm (3rd highest). July 1948 recorded 165.9 mm (2nd highest). The highest total of 174.1 mm was recorded in July 1998.
While the July 2021 rainfall was the fourth highest July total on record there are 22 other months that have recorded higher totals, over all months, in the 92 years 1932 – 2021. The most recent month with a higher total was February 2018, which recorded 181.4 mm. Total rainfall for January to July 2021 of 425.0 mm is 116% of the LTA of 367.6 mm. At the end of June, Blenheim still had a rainfall deficit for the first 6 months of 2021. However, the high July rainfall total has recovered the deficit and Blenheim has moved into a rainfall surplus situation; i.e. above average rainfall for the first 7 months of 2021. Rainfall totals and flooding Given the widespread flooding that occurred in Marlborough on the weekend of the 16th to 18th July, readers may be interested to see some of the rainfall totals that were recorded at weather stations operated by both Plant & Food Research (PFR) and the Marlborough District Council (MDC). Table 3 has the total rainfall for July as well as the rainfall recorded on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th July, when most of the rain associated with the flooding was recorded. The PFR weather stations are all in close association with vineyards in the
Table 2: Weekly weather data recorded in Blenheim during July 2021 Mean Mean Mean. Diff. Rainfall Sunshine Wind-run Total Total Max Min (mm) (hours) (km) Ground Air Frosts Frosts 1-7 July 14.2 0.7 7.5 -0.5 10.6 50.7 219.0 6 4 8-14 July 12.8 -0.5 6.2 -1.8 0 59.9 209.9 7 4 15-21 July 14.7 7.1 10.9 +2.1 100.8 19.9 211.3 1 1 22-28 July 14.3 5.3 9.8 +1.8 31.8 32.4 163.1 0 0 29-31 July 17.3 4.5 10.9 +2.9 0.4 23.3 155.3 0 0 1-31 July 14.3 3.3 143.6 186.1 196.4 2021 +1.1 +0.5 8.8 +0.8 230% 115% 87% 14 9 LTA July 1986-2020 13.2 2.7 8.0 62.3 162.5 226.8 14.9 7.0 6 / Winepress August 2021
Wairau and Awatere valleys and are therefore mainly in the lower rainfall areas in Marlborough. The MDC weather stations are much more widely spread around Marlborough, mainly in association with river catchments and many of these stations receive much higher rainfall totals. The MDC rainfall data are sourced from the Environmental Data pages on the MDC website. These pages provide a wide range of up to date environmental data for Marlborough. An excellent resource that MDC is making freely accessible to the wider community. https://hydro.marlborough.govt.nz The data in Table 3 highlight the markedly differing rainfall totals from the weather stations around Marlborough. The Seaview Awatere valley weather station recorded 65.1 mm in July, which was 129% of its LTA. Seaview almost always records lower rainfall than both Blenheim and further up the Awatere valley. The Blenheim and Brancott weather stations usually record very similar rainfall totals as shown, even though they are 11 km apart. There is a marked rainfall gradient from south to north across the Wairau plains over a relatively short distance. The Pauls Road Rapaura weather station is only 500 m from the Wairau River. It recorded 190% of the Brancott rainfall total during July. These two stations are only 7.3 km apart. The Upper Wairau Valley weather station recorded 361.0 mm for July (304% of its July average, 2012-2020). This station is located on a vineyard 11.5 km west of Wairau valley township and only 450 m from the Wairau river. The MDC weather stations also exhibited marked variation in rainfall totals during July. Some massive rainfall totals were recorded over the 16-17 July rainfall event. A number of the MDC weather stations in Table 3 are in the catchment of the Wairau River and rivers that feed into the Wairau. The very high rainfall totals on 16-17 July help to explain why the Wairau river experienced such a massive flood. Rainfall and volume of water 1 mm rain equates to 10,000 litres of rain water falling on one hectare of land. Therefore 100 mm of rainfall is 1 million litres of water per hectare. Marlborough is approximately 1.1 million hectares in size. Let’s assume that over the two days 16-17 July that average rainfall over Marlborough was 100 mm. That would equate to 1.1 trillion litres of water falling over Marlborough in two days. That is enough water to fill an Olympic width (25m) and depth (2m) swimming pool 22,000 km long! Historical Wairau River floods There was a lot of information in the media regarding the flooding in the middle of July, with some reports saying that it was “the worst flooding ever recorded in Marlborough’s history”. To be honest I think that statement was written by someone with little knowledge of historical flooding in Marlborough and damage caused by previous floods. I came across a very interesting paper titled “Flood frequency
Table 3: July 2021 rainfall totals from a number of Plant & Food Research and Marlborough District Council weather stations Weather station Rainfall (mm) location 1 – 31 July PFR Seaview Awatere 65.1 PFR Blenheim 143.6 PFR Brancott 145.9 PFR Renwick 171.8 PFR Upper Awatere (Top end Marama Road) 172.2 PFR Lower Waihopai 188.5 PFR Rarangi 202.9 PFR Pauls Road Rapaura 277.6 PFR Upper Wairau Valley 361.0
Rainfall (mm) 16 – 17 July 39.4 80.2 65.8 79.3 112.1 92.3 117.4 148.9 198.7
MDC Flaxbourne River 75.3 42.0 MDC Waihopai River 149.5 66.8 MDC Picton 251.8 148.3 MDC Waikakaho 294.5 171.1 MDC Branch River 321.0 142.2 MDC Rai Valley 443.6 213.0 MDC Keneperu Head 460.8 271.0 MDC Wakamarina 461.6 274.0 MDC Onamalutu 525.3 319.7 PFR – Plant & Food Research. MDC Marlborough District Council analysis for the Wairau River, Marlborough. Journal of Hydrology (NZ) Vol. 33 No. 2, 1995”. The paper was written by Brin Williman who for many years was a rivers engineer with the Marlborough District Council. This paper has a lot of information regarding the size of historic floods in the Wairau River from 1868 to 1991. It contains a table that ranks 33 floods from 1960 to 1991. Table 4 summarises the biggest of these floods.
Table 4. Wairau at Tuamarina annual flood estimates Date Flow Ranking (m3/sec) (1960-1991) 10 July 1983* 5000 1 22 October 1983 4400 2 02 April 1975 4000 3 01 June 1962 3600 4 17 September 1970 3150 5 *Breakout and overflows of 800 m3 need to be added to the July 1983 flood, thus giving it a total of 5800 m3/sec To my knowledge, MDC have not published any information regarding the size of the flood on Saturday 17 July 2021. However, unofficial data from their website indicated that the Wairau River peaked at 6040 m3/sec. This volume would surpass the 10 July 1983 flood of 5800 m3/sec by 4%. The July 1983 flood was initially estimated Winepress August 2021 / 7
at 7765 m3/sec. However, this estimate was later revised downwards to 5800 m3/sec. The paper goes on to state “Blenheim and the Wairau Floodplain have experienced at least one damaging flood every decade since European settlement.” And also “the February 1868 flood was extremely large with water from hill to hill across the plain” This flood was prior to any river control work which started in the 1870s.
Table 5: Maximum, Mean and Minimum temperatures for the two halves of July and deviation from the long-term average Temperature
Max (°C)
Mean (°C)
Min (°C)
1 – 15 July
13.7 (+0.5)
6.9 (-1.1)
0.1 (-2.6)
16 – 31 July
14.9 (+1.7)
10.6 (+2.6)
6.3 (+3.6)
Temperature The mean temperature for July of 8.8°C was 0.8°C above the LTA. The data in Table 5 and Figure 1 clearly indicate the marked difference in the daily minimum temperature in the first half of July compared to the second half. The daily maximum temperature was a lot more stable than the daily minimum.
Figure 1: Daily maximum, mean and minimum temperatures during July 2021
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Frosts July recorded 14 ground frosts and 9 air frosts, almost the same as the LTA. All 14 ground frosts were recorded in the first 15 days of July 2021. 7 July was the only day to not record a frost. In the middle of July it appeared as if Blenheim was heading for a record number of July frosts, as by the 15th the number of ground frosts had already equalled the total number in July 2020. While the 16 days from 16 to 31 July did not record any ground frosts, some days came close to a frost. Four days recorded grass temperatures between 0 and -1.0°C; i.e. not below the threshold of -1.0°C, which is the temperature necessary for a ground frost to be recorded. The coldest ground frost of -6.5°C was recorded on the 5th July 2021. This was the coldest ground frost since 29 July 2017. The coldest air frost of -3.1°C was also recorded on the 5th July 2021. This was the coldest air frost since 16 August 2011; i.e. it’s been 10 years since Blenheim experienced such a cold air frost. Sunshine 186.1 hours sunshine were recorded in July, 115% of the LTA. By the middle of July it appeared as if July 2021 was heading for a record high sunshine total. However, the second half of the month put paid to a very high total. Total sunshine from 1 to 15 July was 111.5 hours (32.9 hours above the LTA). Total sunshine from 16 to 31 July was 74.6 hours (9.3 hours below the LTA). Blenheim was the sunniest town in New Zealand in July 2021 with 186.1 hours sunshine, followed closely by Whakatane with 182.1 hours and New Plymouth with 180 hours. However, Blenheim is currently only in third place for total sunshine hours from January to July 2021. At the end of May New Plymouth was 56.4 hours ahead of Blenheim. However, Blenheim is slowly pegging back New Plymouth’s lead. At the end of July New Plymouth was 38.5 hours ahead of Blenheim and Whakatane was in second place only 4.4 hours ahead of Blenheim. Wind July 2020 average daily wind-run was 196.4 km. This was 87% of the July mean (1996-2020). . Only 8 of the 31 days during July recorded above average wind-run. Many days recorded far lower than average wind-run. The least windy day during the month was 22 July, which only recorded 76 km wind-run, one of the least windy days in 26 years 1996-2021. Rob Agnew Plant & Food Research / Marlborough Research Centre
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Flood Impacts Big job ahead for watertrampled vineyards
“It’s a hell of a mess and particularly in some places.” Haysley MacDonald THE STOP bank at Bandillero I vineyard in the Wairau Valley has done its job for 20 years, keeping the river out of its rows. But when 6,000 cumecs of water tore down the Wairau River in mid-July, 100 metres of the safeguard failed, allowing flood waters, sediment and forestry waste to charge through the vines. “Basically, the water came in with all of its trash and everything it had with it,” says vineyard manager Dominic Pecchenino, equating 6,000 cumecs with 6,000 tonnes per second hitting the stop bank. In the water’s wake, the vineyard was left a “mess”, with posts, vines and wires gone in a small portion of the block, and a bigger area hit by debris along the vines and sediment underfoot, which will also require a clean-up. Dominic says that work is intensive and “hands-on”, at a time when labour is already scarce. The flood was reportedly the biggest ever recorded in Marlborough (see Flood Plains sidebox), and saw a State of Emergency declared on July 17, and in place until July 28. Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens says it appears most of the region’s vineyard area got through the event unscathed, despite images that show large tracts of vineyards submerged. “In many cases the water pooled and then dispersed just as quickly,” he says.
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However, a journey around vineyards five days after the flood, when Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor visited the region, revealed the more severe impacts being faced by some growers, Marcus says. “There are some people grappling with clearing, repairing, replanting and rebuilding infrastructure, just when they need to focus on the business of pruning.” Dominic says the energy of the river caused it to change direction, so it hit the stop bank head on. That is both the beauty and the problem with braided rivers, he says. “Every flood the river changes a little bit… It just so happened that the main flow of the river actually turned into my stop bank.” At the time of writing, Dominic was assessing the cleanup of the vineyard and restoration of the stop bank, which was built in 2001. “I have a lot of work to do. It’s a matter of getting it done on time and making sure we are ready to go.” He is gutted, but philosophical about being hit by such a rare event. “I know what I gotta do and I know what is ahead of me,” he says. “We have been farming there for 21 years and never had any damage.” Over in the Waihopai Valley, Leefield Station suffered serious damage to some lower terraces, after the Waihopai River swiftly changed course, tearing through a 10 to 15-hectare block of young vines. Owner Brent Marris says
Check machinery now Flood affected growers around the region will be dealing with damaged frost fans, irrigation pumps and other machinery, washed away, or hammered by water and laden with silt, says viticulturist Dominic Pecchenino. “ And the silt goes everywhere.” Dominic, who was one of the presenters in a Bragato Research Institute flood webinar in late July, urged growers to check all their equipment now, because access to parts and labour will be delayed due to Covid-19. “Don’t wait until you need to use it,” he said. Dominic also told the webinar audience that his priority in the wake of flood damage is still pruning rather than clean-up, with labour prioritised to do the necessary winter work. The Marlborough District Council says people in the primary industries sector who need further information or assistance repairing damage and cleaning up can visit bit.ly/StormEventMPIInfo
10 / Winepress August 2021
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“The size of this change in water flow did catch us unawares and shows you how strong nature can be, when it deals its hand.” Brent Marris the area had yet to have trellis and posts installed, and he is certain the whole lot would have been washed out had that infrastructure been in place. The river had suddenly moved from flowing eastwest to flowing south-north when it jumped its banks, says Brent, considering it a saving grace that it ran in the same direction as vineyard rows beyond that young block, rather than across them. So, while they still have debris to clear from the canopy, “it could have been a hell of a lot worse”, he says. “We probably got off rather lightly when water flowed through the vineyard. But we had an area quite substantially gouged out and we’ll have to reinstate that.” The flood also knocked out the water main servicing the whole of Leefield Station. Brent says the change was very rapid, noting that over at Marisco’s Waihopai Vineyard, which lies to the north and within view of Leefield Station, a crew was moving his mobile River Hut from the edge of the Waihopai. “The guys were ankle deep in the process of towing it out, and within 10 to 15 minutes they were thigh deep.” On that site, the damage was negligible once the river route was restored and the water receded. “Just 24 hours later, when the river was
back within the banks, you would have thought the lawns had just been mowed. It was absolutely incredible,” he says. Back at Leefield, bulldozers arrived by the end of the week, pushed the stones up and redirected the water back to the channel. “The next process for us is reinstating the water mains and land we’ve lost, then replanting the vines. We will also be constructing a stop bank,” says Brent. The company, which has been at pains to future proof for climate change, had already been in the process of river retention work, “chipping away at self-management and controlling our destiny”, says Brent. “But the size of this change in water flow did catch us unawares and shows you how strong nature can be, when it deals its hand.” Haysley MacDonald grew up knowing how strong nature can be, and when floods threatened the family’s Lower Wairau property, they would head to higher ground. But he’s never seen anything like the impact of the July floods, which saw raging waters top the stop bank and flood his te Pā vineyards, leaving deep layers of silt and waste wood among 20 to 30ha of vines, as well as posts broken by floating logs. “It’s fair to say a big chunk of that will come from forestry,” says Haysley, frustrated that a vineyard
The lower river terrace below Wairau Valley township, has all recently been developed for grapes, says Marlborough District Council hydrologist Val Wadsworth. “It has always been floodable, it is within the mapped flood hazard zone, and relies on an old stop bank system for protection.” He says it appears there were breaches at the top end of that area. “It all went under water in July 1983 too, but of course was all just pastoral grazing land back then.”
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neighbouring the ocean has been struck by logs, branches, roots and sediment washed down from distant hills. “Water we can handle. It’s the crap that comes with it - the logs, the slash and the sedimentation- that’s what kills it.” As soon as they were able, Haysley’s crews started pumping out the water, night and day, then started the task of clearing the detritus from the vines, which reached the fruiting zone, indicating the height of the flood waters. “It’s a hell of a mess and particularly in some places,” says Haysley, who has teams using stripping machines to lift the wires and clear them out. “It’s a bloody nightmare.” Meanwhile, the sediment, which in some cases is above the 30cm irrigation wire, will likely have to be worked into the ground. “I have been brought up with the floods all my life,” says Haysley. “But this time it was close to breaching the banks.” He wants the Marlborough District Council to spend more time and money at the Wairau Bar, ensuring the flow of flood waters to the ocean isn’t impeded. “It’s getting better, but still not enough.” Rose Family Estate had a veritable lake form on one of its new vineyard developments between Hillocks Rd and SH1, with water up to post height. But chief executive Lindsay Parkinson says the vineyard flooding was a result of water “gently banked up from the Spring Creek side”, rather than the “raging torrent” of the Wairau River. It rapidly drained away over the next few days, leaving very little damage, if any, in its wake. The estate’s home vineyards on Giffords Rd escaped the flood unscathed, although there was a tense wait to see if the water would breach the Wairau River stop bank. Lindsay
The Wairau River at State Highway 1, with the Wairau Diversion going off to the left, Lower Wairau to the right, Morrins Hollow floodway area centre top, and Spring Creek township top right. Photo Peter Hamill/MDC
12 / Winepress August 2021
says for the Rose family, including his wife Pip and parents in law Phil and Chris Rose – founders of Wairau River Wines – the flood bought back “pretty fresh” memories of 1983, when they were forced to evacuate their Rapaura homes as the waters breached the river protection. Damian Martin, science group leader - viticulture and oenology - at Plant & Food Research, says wet conditions can increase the risk of root disease like blackfoot, but the vines themselves can survive being under water for three to four weeks in winter. “In the old days in Europe people would flood vineyards if they could, to kill phylloxera,” he adds. “So, they can sustain quite a lot of time under water.” Viticulturist Ivan Sutherland cannot “foresee any major problems” in Marlborough’s wine industry as a result of the recent floods. “Grapes can withstand wet conditions, particularly in winter when they are in dormancy for a while,” he says, noting that as long as the water clears relatively quickly, the vines prove impervious. Ivan, coowner of Dog Point Vineyards, has seen a multitude of climatic conditions over the past four decades growing grapes in Marlborough, including the 1983 flood. “I have seen vines immersed in water before,” he says. The Marlborough District Council has done an “excellent job” of flood protection works, which proved their worth during the recent emergency event, he adds. “It was great to see how the main stop banks held.” However, in recent years the wine industry has “pushed the boundaries” in terms of Marlborough’s plantable area, with vineyards “right up the valley and by the river”, he says. “So, you would have to expect that there’s an extra added risk in terms of climate – whether that’s floods or frosts.”
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Flood Plains Last month’s flood, while dramatic and destructive in some areas, seems only “marginally bigger” than the 1983 Wairau flood, says Marlborough District Council hydrologist Val Wadsworth, who is awaiting “the final numbers”. In 1983 the flood breached the stop banks at Conders Bend, freeing the flow into the Renwick lower terraces, and also broke banks at Tua Marina, where it flooded the township, and at the State Highway 1 bridge, flowing south through Spring Creek township and into the Grovetown and Jones Rd area. No one knows how July’s flood compares to the 1868 and 1923 Wairau floods, before formal records or stop banks, but in 1868 ‘“a gentleman from the country” reported to the Marlborough Express looking down from above Blenheim to see what seemed “one vast sheet of water”, says Val. The July 2021 storm event resulted largely from northerly rain in the Richmond Range, filling tributaries on the Northbank from the Waikākaho to the Goulter river. In 48 hours, the hills received a total of more than 325mm. However, Val says the more pertinent timeframe for a Wairau flood is peak rainfall within a nine to 12 hour period, and from the evening of July 16 to the morning of July 17, the Richmond Range received around 16mm an hour for 11 hours. That saw the river levels rise to around 6,000 cubic metres per second (cumecs), but the flood was “well contained” within the council’s own flood bank system, which extends from the Waihopai down to Cloudy Bay, he says. That’s despite the stop bank network containing 10% more volume of water in the flood than its design capacity of 5,500 cumecs. The flow did overtop the banks in some places and there were a couple of breaches, where the bank broke, he adds. “Whenever you get a flood that big it may find a weak point.” There was also a “big boil hole” at Morrins Hollow near Spring Creek, where the water was tracking down under the stop bank and eroding on the other side, he says. “It put a lot of water through that boil hole but the bank didn’t actually breach.” Many of the damaged areas are within the 50 year flood hazard zone, Val notes. “Much of the land planted in grapes in the Wairau Valley was riverbed when I was a kid.”
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Three Waters Reform Change in the pipeline TONY SKINNER
MARLBOROUGH GRAPE growers are nervously watching the Government work through the introduction of its Three Waters Reform programme, with concerns about the loss of local control over future water allocation. At the end of June, the Government announced the decision to create four sizeable publicly-owned water entities that would take over the role of public water providers from the 67 councils across the country. While the details are currently being ironed out, with the Government keen to lock down the fine print by the end of September, the reforms have met vocal opposition across the country from councils anxious about losing influence in local decisions. The reforms are also concerning Marlborough grape growers fearful that water allocation decisions made outside the province will stifle the future growth of the wine industry. No one understands Marlborough’s water considerations like those that live here, says Wine Marlborough general manager Marcus Pickens. “And that’s both in terms of responsibility and need. Some people forget that locals care more about their own resources than anybody else, both in making economic use of them and the conservation aspects. We’ve found that through and through with our growers - they care about the environment.” Marcus believes there is already a considerable drive across Marlborough to make the wine industry more sustainable in its use of water. Growers are introducing
new efficiencies and technologies all the time, including increased use of subsurface irrigation and water storage options. Taking the oversight and management of such issues out of the South Island is widely regarded as “farcical”, he says. As mayors gathered in Blenheim for the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) Conference on July 15, many expressed frustration at the uncertainty created by the reforms, including whether the Government would allow councils to retain the right to opt-out of the scheme. Announcing an additional $2.5 billion Government support package for the sector, aimed at ensuring no local authority was materially worse off financially due to reform, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern acknowledged the uncertainty that the “once-in-a-generation changes” were creating. “We understand that you will want assurance that communities have a voice in the system and influence over local discussions that impact directly on them,” she said. “We all want to get to a position of certainty on all this by the end of September this year. I am confident that by that time, we will be able to sign off on the boundaries of the four entities, along with other key design principles, and with your help begin the serious work of establishing them.” Speaking at the conference, Marlborough Mayor John Leggett welcomed the support package. Still, he argued that it needed to be “embedded in a commitment to partnership and a pathway to resolve the aspects that impact on
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individual councils”. In early July, the mayor issued a statement that set out his concerns about the lack of detail being made available to councils as part of the Three Waters Reform process. The statement said that the MDC had invested heavily in its own three waters infrastructure over many decades, while the bulk of proposed capital expenditure over the next ten years was into Marlborough’s water services. “As a result of our continued funding, we generally have very good three waters infrastructure,” the mayor said, while stating his opinion that the opt-out option was worth considering. During a panel on the Three Waters Reforms during the LGNZ conference, Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta acknowledged that many were sceptical about the nature of the reforms and the potential loss of local influence over future initiatives. “It’s important [to acknowledge] that local voices matter and that we’re not turning away from local; we’re tuning into local and using this opportunity to transform what that could look like with you.”
Water woes Growers in Marlborough are warily eyeing freshwater management changes in Hawke’s Bay that have been running concurrently with the Government’s Three Waters Reform work. Nigel Sowman, a viticulturist at Dog Point Vineyards, says under the changes, outlined to the public in May 2020, future water allocation would be based on an average annual amount as measured by water meter data in the ten years before 2020. Dog Point is a member of the Southern Valleys Irrigation Scheme (SVIS), and Nigel says the potential unreliability of water meters currently monitoring SVIS water usage means that approach could damage the region’s grape growers. “In the event of future reform, and water is allocated to individual properties, is the water reform data going to be based on well usage or Southern Valleys water usage? Suppose it’s based on Southern Valleys water usage. In that case, the accuracy of the councils individual property metres is questionable – we have had meters that have been failing or under reading for several years. So how does that affect the amount of water allocated?” However, the Marlborough District Council (MDC) disclosed to Winepress Magazine that it understood that SVIS “will stay with the council and not transfer to a new entity as part of the water reforms”. Nigel notes that wine companies continue to expand into farmland throughout Marlborough, so advocates of further growth will hope water irrigation schemes stay out of the crosshairs of central Government reform.
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H20 Under Subsurface water savings SOPHIE PREECE
“Our main goals were to reduce water and to reduce weed growth and competition.”
OPTIMISED IRRIGATION schedules have been an unexpected outcome of Pernod Ricard Winemakers’ subsurface irrigation trails in Marlborough. “In subsurface, we can irrigate all the blocks above ground at night and we can irrigate all the subsurface blocks during the day, when they are not having direct evaporation loss,” the company’s Wairau Valley site manager, Matthew Murray, told the audience at Grape Days in Marlborough in June. Meanwhile, the company had fewer weeds to deal with, and reduced water use on one of its Brancott Rd vineyards by 10 million litres in the summer of 2021, compared to 2020, thanks to a 40% reduction in water on blocks with subsurface irrigation. Matthew presented data from two years of trials in Marlborough, where he is in charge of 26 irrigation systems across 1,600 hectares. The trials cover five sites, including two sites with young Chardonnay vines, but the data presented was largely from Sauvignon Blanc on the company’s Kaituna Estate Bedford Rd organic block, along with a vineyard on Brancott Road. In both cases, ageing infrastructure required irrigation replacement, affording the opportunity to retrofit new above ground and subsurface systems on the established vineyards. “Our main goals were to reduce water and to reduce weed growth and competition,” Matthew told the audience at Grape Days, explaining a target of 30% less water irrigated. “Some of our major concerns included root intrusion and blockages over time, as well as whether young vines can access the water.” The durability of the systems will take longer to ascertain, but the first two years of work have given him confidence in the health of new plantings in a subsurface situation, as well as the ability to reduce water and weeds. At Brancott, with 28ha of subsurface irrigation comprising six out of 10 blocks - water savings were “yard level”, with 10m fewer litres of water overall, he says. At Kaituna Estate, subsurface blocks received 30% less water than the above ground blocks, but the water saved was rapidly redistributed around the rest of the vineyard. Yield data showed comparable crop levels at Brancott’s above and below ground irrigation blocks. At Kaituna, the subsurface blocks yielded lower than the above ground 16 / Winepress August 2021
counterpart, but stem water potential monitoring indicated less water stress in the plants watered beneath the ground, says Matthew, who is putting the crop difference down to frost damage. The company will continue to evaluate the subsurface trials already in, while putting in more subsurface irrigation on new developments and retrofits. He plans to trial midrow subsurface irrigation, and to look at a Pinot Noir trial block, assessing water savings and water deficit. “We are continuing to try to conserve water overall, and this is one of the ways we are doing that.” Mark Krasnow of Thoughtful Viticulture also spoke at the Marlborough Grape Days event, discussing the findings of subsurface trials run as part of the Bragato Research Institute’s Vineyard Ecosystems Programme. He told attendees that the trials in Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough, which distanced subsurface irrigation from the vine trunk, resulted in less undervine vegetation with no significant reduction in yields. “The real difference, and the really exciting difference for me, is we are just moving where those weeds are... We're moving them from where they are difficult to control to where they are easier to control. Thats the huge benefit.”
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Grape Days Number crunching emissions SOPHIE PREECE
IF YOU can measure it you can manage it, Meagan Littlejohn told audiences at Grape Days in June. The Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) team leader explained the motivation and implementation of revised SWNZ questionnaires, previously known as scorecards, including a “brand new focus area” on climate change. Those on a carbon reduce or carbon neutral programme with a verified carbon company, such as Toitū Envirocare, will not have to duplicate that information, instead providing the name of the company they are accredited with and their total carbon footprint.
verified company, there are steps you can take.” SWNZ will never be a carbon certification programme, NZW general manager sustainability, Dr Edwin Massey, told the audience. But getting a “snapshot” of industry emissions, along with the ability to benchmark year on year, will be “critical” to helping the industry achieve its target of being carbon neutral by 2050. The revised SWNZ questionnaire also captures information on total waste to landfill, which has easily identifiable emission factors, so is relatively easy to track, said Meagan. It will also require members to provide
“Even if you are not with a verified company, there are steps you can take.” Those without certification will be asked about their key sources of emissions, said Meagan. Sprays and fertiliser are a big part of the picture, but that information is already captured through GrapeLink. So the questionnaire will instead focus on capturing emissions through the key energy sources of diesel, electricity and petrol, including that used by contractors. New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) has produced a fact sheet with guidance on recording diesel use, which can be as simple as looking at financial records and extrapolating emissions from expenses. “We are also asking about any other initiatives or strategies you are implementing to try and minimise your carbon footprint,” said Meagan. “Even if you are not with a
information on water storage, posts and replacement posts, and grape marc spread to land. From 2021, every member will receive a benchmarking report, so they can assess their water use, carbon emissions and waste stream against others in the same region, providing a good signal if practices need to be reviewed. It will also benchmark against the previous year, as an “objective guide” to whether the operator is moving in the right direction, said Meagan. All 2021 audits will focus on education rather than enforcement of new SWNZ requirements, she said. Find more information on the NZW members site at nzwine.com
WE’RE ON THE SEARCH FOR GROWERS OF SAUVIGNON BLANC, CHARDONNAY, PINOT GRIS & RIESLING FOR 2022 & BEYOND All enquiries welcome Contact David Clouston 021 527 550 | dave@tworivers.co.nz Winepress August 2021 / 17
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Organic Symposia Knowing your nitrogen SOPHIE PREECE
AFTER 12 years of life lessons about organic vineyard conversion, Nigel Sowman has come up with three keys to success. Nitrogen management, a considered substitution programme, and substantial trial areas are not what springs to mind for many, with weed control a typical preoccupation, the Dog Point Vineyards viticulturist told nearly 200 attendees at the Organic Winegrowers New Zealand (OWNZ) Organic Winter Symposia in Marlborough late last month. But weeds can be seen, while an imbalance of nitrogen and carbon is more insidious, only revealing itself when the damage is already done, he said. That’s one of many lessons he’s learned since 2009, with the transition of 270 hectares of vineyard to BioGro Organic certification. “We have had a lot of success with our conversion process over the years, and we’ve also had our fair share of failure,” said Nigel. One of those failures – a dramatic reduction in yields on a block in the third year of conversion – was bewildering, given the success of another block converted in the same way over the same seasons. But while the conversions were identical, the two vineyards had a different backstory, with one an existing Dog Point block, where Nigel had been pulling back on synthetics and using alternative inputs for some time. The other was a new purchase, and he relates its decline to a nitrogen imbalance in the soil. “Nitrogen management is the hardest part of organic conversion,” he told the audience. Nigel and other practitioners said it is common for vineyards to thrive in the first few years of conversion, then take a dive in the third. Nigel now believes that is because adding nitrogen in a conventional setting starts “shutting down” the natural nitrogen cycle in the soil, because it is no longer necessary. When that “tap is turned off” under an organic regime, not only is the ability to naturally cycle 18 / Winepress August 2021
Anna Dunne and Nigel Sowman at Dog Point Vineyards with a buckwheat cover crop that attracts a parasitic wasp to target light brown apple moth. Dog Point started interrow planting in 2006, three years before organic conversion.
nitrogen disrupted, but so is the carbon, which will have adjusted in relation to the applied nitrogen, Nigel said. “If you cannot get that nitrogen cycle working again… it’s two years and then downhill.” He suggested that those looking to convert their vineyard start pulling back on nitrogen inputs well before they start, and instead “supercharge” the soil with microbial inoculants and foods, to put the block on the front foot in an organic regime. He also recommended a substitution programme, tapping into the plethora of organic products available to enhance soil and plant health, and tackle pests and disease in the vineyard. However, Nigel and others speaking at the symposia emphasised that organic fruit was more resilient than its conventional counterparts, while cover crops consistently “pay dividends” in the management of pest insects. His final piece of advice was that anyone talking of trial sites for organic ensure they are looking large. If there’s only one spray machine for a block, for example, that whole block should be converted, rather than organics receiving a small slice of the action. Dog Point Vineyards chose to go 100% from the start, so there was a full commitment to conversion, helping build a culture around the change, said Nigel. “Buy-in is easy when there are no other options.” The Organic Symposia, which was also held in Central Otago and Hawke’s Bay, included presentations on cover cropping, soil health and the growing science around vineyard biodiversity, as well as sessions on sales statistics for organic wines, market insights and natural winemaking. It drew a diverse crowd, including plenty of conventional viticulture practitioners. “I originally thought I would be preaching to the converted,” said Nigel after the event, delighted to see so many people there who have yet to “dip their toes in organics”.
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Winepress August 2021 / 19
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Frost Watch Look out, look out, Jack Frost is about MIKE TROUGHT Immigrants Vineyard Photo NZW Inc
EACH SPRING is a period of anticipation and anxiety for most New Zealand grape growers. They anticipate the forthcoming season and the development of the vines, while at the same time worrying about potential spring frost damage. Understanding the processes leading to frost damage, and how vineyard management may minimise the damage, is essential to minimising the risk of crop loss. Frosts experienced in Marlborough are almost exclusively radiation frosts. On a clear night, the earth surface radiates energy at approximately 113 Watts/m2, with the result that after sunset the earth cools at about 2 degrees Celsius per hour, until the dew point is reached. Once the dew point is reached, cooling slows to about 0.5oC per hour and if nights are long enough, a frost is likely. The intensity of a radiation frost depends on the degree of cloud cover (clouds reduce radiation loss to 10Wm2), the time between sunset and sunrise, the temperature at sunset, calm conditions, and the dew point. In contrast to radiation frosts, advection frosts, which generally do not occur in Marlborough, are the result of cold Katabatic winds from mountains or the Antarctic. However, cold southerly winds can result in low temperatures at sunset, which, if the wind drops and clouds clear can turn into severe radiation frosts. The damaging frost of September 17 2002 was the result of a combination of events. A strong cold southerly (it was 6°C in Kaikōura at 4pm) turned into a radiation frost by 10pm, causing an approximate 30% loss of yield in 2003. This event, and
subsequent rapid increase in grape prices and vineyard planting, in part contributed to the over-production experienced in 2008 and 2009. Frost injury occurs when cell solutes freeze and ice crystals rupture cell walls. The degree of damage to the plant depends on the proportion of the tissue that is injured and increases as the duration of injurious temperatures increase in intensity. A dormant bud, with no free water in the tissue, will tolerate temperatures of -14°C (see table 1). As buds develop in the spring, and once green tissue is showing, the temperature at which injury is observed increases. While water generally freezes at 0°C, the dissolved solutes in the grape cells generally lowers the critical freezing point with the result that a grapevine can tolerate temperatures of -1o°C to -2o°C. Other factors that influence the response to potentially damaging temperatures include grapevine variety. For example, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with an early budburst, are at greater frost risk than Sauvignon Blanc. Likewise, water has the potential to super-cool (remain liquid at sub-zero temperature). The BRI Spring Workshops presence of iceMike Trought is one of the nucleating bacteria on speakers at the Bragato vine tissue may reduce Research Institute Frost the ability to superEducation workshop being cool. Differences in held in Marlborough on populations of bacteria August 23. The workshop Table 1 Critical temperatures (oC) causing bud damage in spring will include information Pinot Noir Concord 50% damage on grapevine susceptibility (Gardea 1987) (Johnson and Howell 1981) to frost, a lesson in frost Growth stage 50% tissue death No damage Wet Dry forecasting and frost types, the Dormant -14.0 - impact of climate change on Scale crack -5.5 -9.5 frost risk and climate based First swell -4.5 -8.0 case studies of the Spring 2020 Green swollen -3.4 - -3.5 -7.0 frosts. The workshop costs $25 Shoot burst -2.2 -1.0 -3.0 -6.0 per person. For information on First leaf -2.0 -1.0 other BRI Spring Wokrshops Second leaf -1.7 -1.0 go to page 26 Fourth leaf -1.2 -0.6
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“Other factors that influence the response to potentially damaging temperatures include grapevine variety.” Mike Trought on individual shoots may explain why some shoots are damaged while others on the same vine remain healthy after a frost event. There is no perfect method of frost protection; being prepared for an event will minimise damage. Management starts with choosing low risk sites, emphasised by W.J. Humphries, who in 1914 said, “the best time to protect an orchard (or vineyard) against frost is when it is being established”. Once the vineyard is established there are a number of actions which when used together can help. These can be divided into passive and active actions. Passive actions: 1: Make sure all equipment is checked and functioning. Thermometers should be calibrated to 0°C by immersing in water with ice melting. 2: Bare ground is warmer during the day and re-radiates more energy at night, with the result vineyard temperatures can be 1 to 1.5°C warmer than those with vegetation, which acts as an insulation layer. Keeping the grass short helps, but it needs to be well maintained. Cultivating and rolling alternate rows (which also means half the mowing) may be a good compromise. 3: Where vines are spur pruned, late pruning will delay budburst, making vines less vulnerable to frost on a particular date. Alginate gels, applied six to 10 weeks before budburst have been shown to delay budburst and provide some protection. However, they are not widely used and need further research in our conditions. 4: Removing shelter belts (or the lower branches), to facilitate air movement and prevent cold air ponding. 5: The coldest air is close to the ground. Lifting the fruiting wires may help as the temperature increases at about 0.2°C per 10cm. Active actions: 1: The most widely used active frost protection in Marlborough are wind machines and helicopters. Both rely on bringing warm air from the inversion layer above the vineyard down to vine height and need to be started before the critical temperatures are reached. As a general rule, the maximum that the air temperature can be increased is about 50% of the temperature difference between the 2 meter and 20-m levels. As a result, they are not very effective if the inversion layer is small, and the shaking may even increase damage caused by ice nucleation. A detailed knowledge of the vineyard topography is valuable to ensure wind machines are installed in the correct position within a vineyard. Where helicopters are used, slow passes (2 to 5 metres/s) should
start on the up-wind side of the vineyard. Lights should be used to define hazards and thermostatically controlled lights help define problem areas. Likewise, sufficient fuel should be stored to ensure wind machines can be kept operating. 2: Overhead sprinklers probably provide the most reliable form of protection. Heat is gained as water begins to freeze (the latent heat of freezing releases 80 cal g-1). Vulnerable tissues will develop a layer of ice which, providing free water continues, will maintain the tissue temperature at a tolerable 0°C. It is important that water coverage is uniform and sufficient water is applied during and after the frost event to maintain a free water surface surrounding the tissues. If ice is allowed to dry, the temperatures will fall rapidly to below 0°C and tissues will be killed. It is important to start watering at the right time. Under dry conditions, the first application can drop the temperature below the current air temperature, potentially causing damage. However, starting too soon can wash the vines and ice-nucleating materials, inhibiting the formation of the protecting ice shield. While under-tree sprinklers have been reported to provide a temperature lift in Florida, the well water used in the experiment was 20°C Research at Lincoln University reported little benefit in fruit orchards at Lincoln. 3: Diesel stack heaters can provide protection to limited areas. While expensive and labour intensive to use, the heat generated provides some radiant heat but also induces circulation of the air over the vineyard, bringing down the inversion layer. Many small heaters are preferable (generally 150 to 200 heaters), preventing the rising warm air “punching” a hole in the inversion later. Regardless of the frost protection systems used, it is important that they are well maintained and checked out before the frost event. Dr Mike Trought has spent the past 35 years undertaking research, extension and consultancy for the Marlborough, New Zealand and international wine industry. He is a Fellow of New Zealand Winegrowers and a Member of the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame
Further reading: Trought MCT, Howell GS, Cherry N. 1999. Practical considerations for reducing frost damage in vineyards. researcharchive.lincoln.ac.nz/handle/10182/4236 Andrew R, Pecchenino D. 2009. Frost control in New Zealand vineyards. nzwine.com/media/3459/frostcontrol-low-res.pdf
Winepress August 2021 / 21
CELEBRATE
Generation Y-ine Marlborough’s Corteva Young Viticulturist of the Year BRENDA WEBB
“Trunk disease, given many vines in Marlborough are getting to 20 or 30 years old, is a huge issue.”
JESS WILSON reckons she has the best job in the world. The 29-year-old Whitehaven viticulturalist loves the variety her role involves, satisfying both her love of horticulture and science, enjoyment of dealing with people and a good balance of indoor and outdoor work. Last month Jess took the title of Corteva Marlborough Young Viticulturist of the Year, following a competition that saw her tested on everything from trellising and irrigation to her interview and speech skills. During her secondary school years, Jess didn’t really have any idea what career path she wanted to take, only that she didn’t want to be stuck in an office. Growing up south of Auckland at Waiau Pā, any free weekends, after school time and school holidays were spent working in her parents’ hydroponic lettuce and herb farm. While she insists that was to earn pocket money, a love of horticulture was obviously sparked. “Mum and I went to Lincoln during the holidays and I saw the viticulture and oenology degree – the winemaking side appealed to me because I’d loved chemistry and so I enrolled,” she says. After finishing her degree, she emailed many companies, but it was Whitehaven’s viticulturist Sioban Harnett who gave her the opportunity. “She gave me a summer job and then I went on to do a harvest in the winery.” It wasn’t until Jess had completed her honours degree at Adelaide University that she decided to go down the viticulture route rather than winemaking, having mentally debated between the two. “There were bits of both jobs I really enjoyed, but the viticulture aspect finally won out,” she says. Returning to Marlborough, Jess did a two-year graduate programme with Delegat. The programme covered all aspects of viticulture, including irrigation, young vine training, pest disease monitoring and trunk disease. Jess also did a harvest in Oregon which she loved. “It was fantastic – they really are kindred spirits over there, but what I noticed was how small scale it was compared to
Jess Wilson
22 / Winepress August 2021
here,” she says. “Everything is done by hand. It was a great learning curve.” With fond memories of her days at Whitehaven, where Sioban was her mentor, Jess was delighted when a fulltime job became available with the company as assistant viticulturist. She had two years in that role before stepping up to viticulturist after harvest last year, when Sioban left the company. The biggest change Jess has noticed in her time in the industry has been the increased interest in soil health through planting cover crops and a genuine shift towards recognition of the ecosystem – industry wide. “It used to be that people would maximise the land, start with a clean slate, take shelter belts out and level the ground,” she says. “Now I think people are looking at working with the land and trees in a more sensitive way rather than the monocultural aspect of the past in trying to use every available piece of land.” Jess cites Whitehaven’s new development in the upper Wairau Valley as a good example of minimal earthworks and only some trees removed. “We’ve tried to work with the shape of the land and have left lots of trees, especially the big old macrocarpa,” she says. “We’re also implementing different technology such as eco trellis, plastic posts and subsurface irrigation.” Being a viticulturist in Marlborough meant the bulk of Jess’s work was always going to be with Sauvignon Blanc,
CELEBRATE Second place went to Jessica Martson from Villa Maria
Third place went to Tahryn Mason from Villa Maria
but luckily Whitehaven grows enough other varietals to keep her interest piqued. “Sauvignon grows incredibly well here but we grow Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Riesling and we are talking about Alberino and Syrah too,” she says. Last year’s growing season was worrying, with frosts, but the two issues Jess sees facing the industry going forward are trunk disease - very relevant as she wrote her thesis on grapevine susceptibility to eutypa dieback - and labour. “Frost is what it is and we’ve put more frost fans in in frost prone areas. But trunk disease, given many vines in Marlborough are getting to 20 or 30 years old, is a huge issue - and of course the ongoing labour shortages,” she says. Jess loves her role and feels she still has a lot to learn which is why she enjoys being in Marlborough, with its collegial environment. “Everyone is so willing to share information – there are no secrets here,” she says. “I still have so much more to learn and I love learning.”
Jess Wilson in the Hortisports
Jess will go on to represent Marlborough at the National Final, to be held at Indevin’s Bankhouse Estate in Marlborough this year on August 25, competing against winners from Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, North Canterbury and Central Otago. A Vit conference and Field Day will be held on August 26, visiting vineyard trials and looking at innovations for the future, followed by the Awards Dinner.
Winepress August 2021 / 23
PROTECT
Biosecurity Watch
Our National Plant Health Lab: The Importance of PHEL and Post-Entry Quarantine SOPHIE BADLAND
THE NEW Zealand Winegrowers biosecurity team recently visited the Ministry for Primary Industries Plant Health and Environment Laboratory (PHEL) and Post-Entry Quarantine (PEQ) site in Tāmaki, Auckland. As New Zealand’s national plant health reference lab, this facility provides essential biosecurity services to New Zealand and is a core part of the biosecurity system, with over 50 specialist science and technical staff currently employed. As the needs for PEQ and biosecurity diagnostic and surveillance services grow, the current facility is rapidly becoming obsolete and no longer fit-for-purpose. This article outlines the core services provided at the PHEL, the PEQ testing carried out and the challenges and solutions proposed for ensuring the future of plant health in New Zealand. Plant Health Lab The PHEL is internationally accredited and is responsible for the identification of all suspect exotic pests and diseases affecting plants in New Zealand, with immediate functions in the border and post-border parts of the biosecurity system. Specialist staff include those trained in mycology, bacteriology, nematology, virology, entomology, and botany. The PHEL staff also provide scientific advice to other areas of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), including surveillance, response, compliance and trade-related programmes.
sectors as potentially high-impact. In a biosecurity response, the diagnostic capability of PHEL is essential to determine the extent of the incursion and affected host plants. For example, during the myrtle rust response, the lab observed thousands of images, and received hundreds of samples for diagnostic testing. Samples were handled in biocontainment and examined for the presence of spores. Molecular testing was carried out, and throughout the initial response over 1,200 plants (from 30 different species) were confirmed as myrtle rust positive. Surveillance services MPI operates several post-border surveillance programmes for high-impact exotic pests such as fruit flies, invasive ants, saltmarsh mosquitoes, Asian gypsy moth, and brown marmorated stink bug. Samples from the post-border trapping networks are sent to PHEL for identification – each year the entomology teams process over 6,000 submissions from fruit fly traps alone. If any exotic pests are detected, a response is likely to be initiated, and PHEL staff are deployed along with a mobile laboratory, to assist with identification and provide science advice at the field sites. Post-Entry Quarantine The PEQ greenhouse facility at the PHEL site is the highestlevel containment greenhouse in New Zealand, known as Level 3B. The role of these greenhouses is to facilitate the importation and release of disease-free plants, which allows industries to grow new cultivars and improve on current plant varieties.
Diagnostic services
Pre-determined testing
Plant samples with suspected exotic pest or disease symptoms can be sent into PHEL to be tested, often at no cost (except postage/courier) to the person supplying the sample. PHEL staff continually update their knowledge about emerging exotic threats and the risk they pose, and regularly develop new tests for notifiable organisms, emerging risks, and pests or diseases identified by industry
Nursery stock material imported from overseas is grown and tested in the PEQ greenhouses before being released to industry. Pre-determined testing is carried out to confirm that the material meets the conditions specified in the Import Health Standards (which dictate the biosecurity conditions under which a commodity can be brought into New Zealand), and is free from harmful pests and diseases.
IF YOU SEE ANYTHING UNUSUAL
CATCH IT . SNAP IT . REPORT IT . Call MPI biosecurity hotline 0800 80 99 66 24 / Winepress August 2021
PROTECT
This is usually done via a combination of approaches, such as visually using microscopy, or using molecular or DNAbased testing and assays. PEQ inspection service A small team of four quarantine officers are trained to inspect new plant material in post-entry quarantine facilities. This role is important to detect any regulated pests once the material has arrived in New Zealand and verify the effectiveness of any phytosanitary treatments carried out prior to export from the country of origin. An initial inspection happens when the plant material arrives at the border, and then a minimum of two further inspections are done while the plants are growing in the PEQ greenhouses. The timing of these can be variable depending on the season when the plants arrive; inspections are done when at least 50% of the plants have leaves. The quarantine officers can direct treatment for fungal or insect infections if necessary, and follow-up inspections may be necessary prior to final biosecurity clearance being granted. If the plants are found to be infected with a regulated organism, the importer will have the option of treatment (if possible), reshipment to country of origin, or destruction at their cost. Looking ahead Currently, demand for space in the MPI PEQ greenhouses well exceeds availability – there is a four-year waitlist for space to bring new consignments into the country. The lab
itself is also extremely busy with large demands on staff time, especially when multiple biosecurity responses are occurring, and urgent response is crucial. MPI recently developed an indicative business case for the construction of a new facility which has been approved by Cabinet, and MPI is now in the process of putting together a more detailed business case for funding. This is a significant undertaking with a high cost involved. New Zealand Winegrowers strongly supports this work and has been involved in stakeholder workshops looking at the possible location and design of a new facility. It is critical that the wine industry can continue to bring in safe, high quality grapevine material to enable future resilience against biosecurity threats, changes in market demand and climate change. As a brand new facility is likely several years away, some temporary greenhouses will be constructed at the Mount Albert Research Centre in Auckland to alleviate the issues with PEQ space in the interim. MPI expects bookings for this to open during 2022. Remember – if you see any suspicious pests or disease symptoms in the vineyard, take a photo and call the Biosecurity New Zealand pest and disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66. You can also contact the New Zealand Winegrowers biosecurity team on biosecurity@nzwine.com for advice or with questions about importing.
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Winepress August 2021 / 25
Industry News Regenerative viticulture workshop New Zealand Landcare Trust (NZLT) is holding a regenerative viticulture workshop in Blenheim on August 17, with a series of speakers discussing soil health. Keynote speaker Jono Frew, founder of Natural Performance, will discuss how regenerative agriculture principals can be used in viticulture, including keeping the soil covered, enhancing the microbiological ecosystem, biological linkages, humus formation, water holding capacity, nutrient storage capacity and carbon sequestration. Hamish Stace, of Kiwiseed, will discuss plant diversity and the Soil Matters crew will discuss soil analysis tools. Wendy Sullivan, Marlborough catchments coordinator for NZLT, says the workshop began filling up quickly, signalling the strong interest in regenerative viticulture. “Overall, in all primary industries, people are having an increased interest and desire to restore the quality of our waterways, increase carbon sequestration in soils, reduce 2020 Corteva Young Viticulturist of the Year, Rhys Hall
Rebecca Lawrence from Soil Matters with William Grigg at Meadowbank Vineyard
greenhouse gas emissions and increase biodiversity, in a compatible productive system,” she says. “The term regenerative viticulture or agriculture is so broad, there is a bit of confusion on how it fits into conventional land management… I think both farmers and viticulturists are already applying many of the techniques that are termed regenerative.” She says the purpose of the workshop is to bring together experts and resources “so that land managers can learn new techniques and information, which hopefully provides them with different options in managing land”. Tuesday August 17, from 1.30-4pm, at Hunter’s Wines, 603 Rapaura Rd. For more information or to register, go to nzlt.infoodle.com/f/RegeneratingVineyardSoil
Corteva Young Viticulturist National Final An expansion of the Corteva Young Viticulturist competition calendar will see the addition of a viticulture conference and field day on Thursday August 26, following the National Final at Bankhouse Estate on August 25. The conference is entitled Toitū & Technology - Preparing for the Future, and will include discussions around climate change and how the wine industry can reach carbon zero by 2050. It will also explore new technologies and innovations geared up to help the industry thrive. Morning presentations from Toitū Envirocare, Greystone and Cropsy Technologies will be followed by a field trip to look at results from BioStart soil trials, a Klima pruning machine, a tour around Ormond Nurseries and the latest from Ecotrellis. The awards dinner for the 2021 Corteva Young Viticulturist of the Year will be held at the Marlborough Club Rooms on the evening of August 26. For more details and to purchase tickets, go to nzwine.com/young-vit-awards-dinner
Wine Business Forum New Zealand Winegrowers is holding a Wine Business Forum in Wellington on November 17, with a day-long conference to focus on the business of wine. New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) general manager marketing Charlotte Read says the line-up of speakers will help NZW members better understand “rapidly changing global trends” and have the opportunity to learn from each other’s business experiences via case studies.
Spring Workshops The Bragato Research Institutes is holding a series of Spring Workshops in Marlborough in August and September: • Frost Education - Monday August 23 • Weed Management - Tuesday August 31 • Grape Yield Analyser: Growers Workshop Yield Prediction - Tuesday September 7 For more information go to nzwine.com/members/research/ 26 / Winepress August 2021
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GRAPES WANTED
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CLASSIFIEDS
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The end of Wine of the Year New Zealand Winegrowers has announced that they will no longer run the New Zealand Wine of the Year competition. Charlotte Read, New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) general manager marketing, says the end of NZW’s role with the competition heralds an exciting new phase for the organisation, supporting activities that benefit more of the membership, while fulfilling many of the strengths of the wine competition. “It’s time to reposition what we do to meet the changing times and to better fulfil our members’ needs.” Charlotte says a comprehensive survey on the competition, including 50 one-on-one interviews, found there was limited support for the event – “which we had already seen through reduced entries over the past five years”. But there was strong support for an industry celebration, the ability to benchmark against peers, and the knowledge sharing that resulted from wine judging. “We believe there is a better way to deliver on these priorities rather than holding the competition,” says Charlotte. NZW will now hold an annual awards dinner to celebrate all aspects of the industry, to be held on the evening of November 17 following the Wine Business Forum in Wellington. It will also extend the scope of its annual Blind Tasting and to continue its sponsorship of varietal member initiatives, such as the Southern Pinot Workshop and the New Zealand Syrah Workshop.
Export Essentials New Zealand Trade and Enterprise is holding a two-day Export Essentials for Wine workshop in Marlborough on August 10 and 11. The in-person workshops are designed to help those wanting to get into export, as well as those already exporting who want to achieve better results, prepare for new international markets, and be heading in the right direction for future growth. The programme consists of two full-day workshops delivered in person and one 90-minute follow-up session. Tuesday 10 and 11 August, from 8.30am to 5pm each day.
Employment Matters Sick leave
The minimum sick leave entitlement increased from five to 10 days per year from July 24. Employees will get the extra five days at their next entitlement date. To read more about what the change means, go to employment.govt.nz/ about/news-and-updates
Winepress August 2021 / 27
Wine Happenings
A monthly list of events within the New Zealand wine industry. To have your event included in the September Wine Happenings, please email details to sophie@sophiepreece.co.nz by August 20. Due to uncertainty around Covid-19, there may be changes to some of these events. For more information, please use the contact supplied or email sarah@winemarlborough.nz
AUGUST 10-11 Export Essentials Workshop NZTE 16-18 Spray Days Marlborough (Blenheim) 17 Landcare Trust Regenerating Vineyard Soils field day. Hunter’s Winery, 1.30-4pm (see page 26) 18 Pinot Noir Day #lovenzpinot 19 Spray Days Marlborough (Awatere) 23 BRI Frost Education Workshop - nzwine.com/members/research (see page 20) 25 Corteva Young Viticulturist of the Year National Final 2021, Bankhouse Estate (see page 26) 26 Toitū & Technology viticulture conference and field day (see page 26) 26 Corteva Young Viticulturist of the Year 2021 National Final Awards Dinner 30 Entries open to the 2021 Marlborough Wine Show, sponsored by QuayConnect 31 BRI Weed Management Workshop - nzwine.com/members/research SEPTEMBER 3-5 Yealands Classic Fighters Omaka 2021 - classicfighters.co.nz 7 BRI Grape Yield Analyser Growers Workshop -nzwine.com/members/research 8 2021 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year Marlborough competition 9-10 The Whole Bunch, Christchurch - pinotnz.co.nz 17 Entries close to the 2021 Marlborough Wine Show, sponsored by QuayConnect 20 - 26 Organic Wine Week - organicwinenz.com/
Regan Vit Workshop - August 17
28 / Winepress August 2021
NZSVO Technical Workshop - October 21
Organic Wine Week - September 20-26
Supporting New Zealand wine growing from the ground up
Become part of New Zealand’s centre for wine education and research The Marlborough Wine Research Centre resides in New Zealand’s largest wine growing area. Local wine producers, winegrowers, key industry players and NMIT Marlborough have come together to create the country’s centre for winemaking and viticulture. NMIT Marlborough offers an on-site research vineyard, wine sensory room, two laboratories, technology transfer theatre and micro-vinification unit, providing our viticulture and winemaking students with a world-class learning environment and opportunities to connect with all facets of the Marlborough Wine Research Centre. On-going collaborations with on-site industry partners including the Bragato Research Institute (BRI), Marlborough Research Centre (MRC), Wine Marlborough and Plant and Food Research ensure NMIT viticulture and winemaking programmes remain on the cutting edge of industry research. Developed in consultation with key industry players, NMIT Viticulture and Winemaking programmes are tailored to the needs of the wine industry. These can be delivered at the workplace, online or at the Marlborough Campus. Programmes include:
> Primary Industries (Level 2) with Viticulture strand
> New Zealand Certificate in Primary Industry Skills (Level 2), designed to help students gain practical skills and knowledge for entry level roles in the viticulture industry.
> New Zealand Certificate in Cellar Operations ONLINE (Level 3)
> New Zealand Certificate in Cellar Operations (Level 3) teaches the hands-on basics of winemaking and finishing procedures during a winery harvest while Level 4 students further develop these skills on placement. > New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture Production (Fruit Production) Viticulture (Level 4) provides viticulture industry-based individuals with the skills and knowledge to supervise winegrowing operations.
> New Zealand Certificate in Cellar Operations (Level 4)
> The three-year Bachelor of Viticulture and Winemaking (Level 7) is available to students interested in a more in-depth understanding of wine and viticulture and can be studied on-campus or online nationwide.
> New Zealand Certificate in New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture Production (Fruit Production) Viticulture (Level 4)
Touch base with us today to discuss upskilling your team with one of our tailor-made courses or programmes.
> Bachelor of Viticulture and Winemaking (Level 7)
nmit.ac.nz/winegrowers-hub Winepress August 2021 / 29
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