TasmanCrop Met Report Rob Agnew

METREPORT

Table 1: Blenheim Weather Data – August 2020 August August August 2020 2020 LTA compared to LTA GDD’s for month -Max/Min¹ 34.8 183% 19.0 GDD’s for month – Mean² 52.1 146% 35.8 Growing Degree Days Total Jul – Aug 20 – Max/Min 45.3 159% 28.5 Jul - Aug 20 – Mean 78.4 132% 59.6 Mean Maximum (°C) 15.8 +1.6°C 14.2 Mean Minimum (°C) 4.7 +0.8°C 3.9 Mean Temp (°C) 10.3 +1.2°C 9.1 Grass Frosts (<= -1.0°C) 6 4.3 less 10.3 Air Frosts (0.0°C) 1 2.7 less 3.7 Sunshine hours 222.9 121% 184.7 Sunshine hours – lowest 129.2 Sunshine hours – highest 235.0 Sunshine hours total – 2020 1681.6 106% 1588.7 Rainfall (mm) 49.6 80% 61.9 Rainfall (mm) – lowest 4.6 Rainfall (mm) – highest 172.1 Rainfall total (mm) -2020 269.8 62% 433.8 Evapotranspiration – mm 60.3 123% 49.2 Windrun (km) 207.8 89% 233.2 Mean soil temp – 10cm 7.7 +1.1°C 6.6 Mean soil temp – 30cm 9.6 +1.1°C 8.5 Period of LTA August 2019

(1996-2019) (1996-2019)

(1996-2019) (1996-2019) (1986-2019) (1986-2019) (1986-2019) (1986-2019) (1986-2019) (1986-2019) 1941 2011 (1986-2019) (1986-2019) 1969 1990 (1986-2019) (1996-2019) (1996-2019) (1986-2019) 1986-2019) 11.7 34.8

29.6 71.3 14.5 3.0 8.8 13 3 221.9

1788 56.6

435.8 57.2 243.4 5.7 8.0 1

¹GDD’s Max/Min are calculated from absolute daily maximum and minimum temperatures ²GDD’s Mean are calculated from average hourly temperatures

Table 2: Weekly weather data during August 2020 Mean Mean Mean Max (°C) Min (°C) (°C) Deviation 1st - 7th 16.7 6.1 11.4 (+2.3) 8th - 14th 14.7 3.1 8.9 (-0.2) 15th - 21st 14.0 3.0 8.5 (-0.6) 22nd - 28th 15.5 5.1 10.3 (+1.2) 29th – 31st (3 days) 21.6 8.6 15.1 (+6.0) 1st – 31st 15.8 4.7 10.3

August 2020 (+1.6) (+0.8) (+1.2)

August LTA (1986 – 2019) 14.2 3.9 9.1 LTA – Long Term Average Ground Frosts

0 2 3 1

0 6

10.3 Temperature Blenheim recorded a mean temperature of 10.3°C during August 2020, 1.2°C above the long-term average (LTA). The first and fourth weeks of August 2020 both recorded well above average temperatures whereas the second and third weeks both recorded slightly below average mean temperatures (Table 2). However, the final three days of the month were exceptionally warm, with a mean temperature of 15.1°C; 6.0°C above the August LTA. To put the mean temperature of 15.1°C over the final three days of August into context, this is warmer than the LTA mean temperature for November of 14.8°C. Highest ever August maximum temperatures recorded two days in a row

The 30th August recorded a maximum temperature of 21.7°C. This surpassed the previous highest ever August maximum temperature of 21.6°C recorded on 31st August 2006. However, 30th August only held the record for one day as the 31st August recorded a maximum temperature of 23.8°C. The 31st August 2020 is now the warmest August day on

Air Frosts

0 0 1 0

0 1

3.7 Rainfal (mm)

5.4 0.0 22.0 22.2

0.0 49.6 (80%)

61.9 Sunshine (hours)

37.3 57.2 49.8 50.1

28.5 222.9 (121%)

184.7

record for Blenheim over the 89 years 1932 to 2020. To Blenheim was the sunniest town in New Zealand during put the maximum temperature of 23.8°C on 31st August August, 26.4 hours ahead of Richmond, in second place. into perspective, the LTA daily maximum temperature for However, at the end of August 2020 Whakatane had the January is 23.6°C. highest sunshine total for the first eight months of 2020 and

Despite the fact that the second and third weeks of was 87.3 hours ahead of Blenheim. August recorded below average mean temperatures August Rainfall 2020 still managed to become the fifth warmest August 49.6 mm rain was recorded in Blenheim during August, on record for Blenheim. Of the 10 warmest August mean only 80% of the LTA. Total rainfall for Blenheim for the temperatures on record for Blenheim for the 89 years 1932 eight months January to August 2020 is 269.8 mm or 62% of to 2020, eight of those 10 years have occurred since 2005. the LTA of 433.8 mm. This is the fourth lowest January to Frosts August rainfall total on record for Blenheim for the 91 years There were only six ground frosts and one air frost recorded 1930 to 2020. Figure 1 clearly illustrates that Blenheim has in Blenheim during August 2020, well below the LTA. In recorded very low rainfall in five of the eight months so far contrast there were 13 ground frosts and 3 air frosts in in 2020, and slightly below average in August. Only May August 2019. and June recorded slightly higher than average rainfall. At Sunshine the end of August 2020 the rainfall deficit for the first eight Blenheim recorded 222.9 hours sunshine during August months of 2020 was 164 mm. This is the equivalent of three or 121% of the LTA. August 2020 is now the third sunniest months ‘normal’ rainfall that Blenheim has missed out on. August on record for Blenheim for the 91 years 1930 to 2020. Wind Figure 1: Blenheim monthly and cumulative rainfall from Average daily wind run for August January to August 2020 compared to the long-term average 2020 was 207.8 km, with an average wind speed of 8.7 km/hr. The LTA wind-run for August is 233.2 km (1996- 2019). Only eight days during August recorded above average wind-run, 23 days recorded below average wind-run. August 2020 continued the trend that has occurred over the last 10 years, with the vast majority of months recording below average wind-run; i.e. from January 2010 to August 2020 is a period of 10 years and 8 months. Of these 128 months 104 have recorded below average wind-run (81%) and only 24 have recorded above average windrun (19%). Table 3: Summary of winter weather parameters for Blenheim for the five years 2015 to 2020 compared to the long-term average June, July, August LTA 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Mean air temp (°C) 8.6 8.6 9.0 9.0 9.3 9.0 9.5 Mean 30 cm soil temp (°C) 8.0 7.9 8.6 9.5 9.0 8.5 9.2 Number of ground frosts 37.3 41 32 30 36 36 23 Mean ground frost temp (°C) NA -3.1 -2.8 -3.0 -2.1 -2.8 -2.4 Total rainfall 190.5 172.0 150.4 146.6 170.6 194.2 144.0 Total sunshine 498.8 560.4 537.5 504.6 504.8 529.2 510.8 Average daily wind-run (km) 227.9 240.8 229.6 195.1 207.9 208.9 194.6

Winter 2020 Table 3 summarises the main weather parameters over the three winter months of June, July and August for the six years 2015 to 2020 compared to the LTA. All three winter months in 2020, (June, July, August) recorded well above average mean temperatures (individual monthly data not shown in Table 3). The mean winter air temperature of 9.5°C was 0.9°C warmer than the LTA. The winter of 2020 is now the second warmest winter on record for Blenheim (1932 to 2020), second only to the winter of 2013. Figure 2 appeared in Met Report one year ago, but given the very warm winter in 2020 it is worth updating. As shown, Blenheim’s average winter temperatures have warmed dramatically over the past

89 years. The red trend line indicates that Blenheim’s winter temperatures have warmed by 2.03°C over the 91 years from 1930 to 2020. Of the 10 warmest winters on record for Blenheim (1932 to 2020), nine of those 10 years have been in the 21 year period 2000 to 2020. Figure 2: Mean air temperature in Blenheim over winter (June, July, August) 1932 to 2020 and trend in temperature over the 89 years

As a consequence of warmer than average air temperatures Total rainfall over winter of 144.0 mm is 76% of the and lower than average number of ground frosts, the mean LTA of 190.5 mm, slightly lower than in 2016 and 2017. It is 30 cm soil temperature over winter was much warmer than interesting to note that five of the six winters from 2015 to the LTA. Deeper in the profile the soil temperatures were 2020 recorded below average rainfall. As signalled in Met also warm. The mean soil temperature at 1 metre depth Report in the last couple of months, Blenheim needed well for August 2020 was 11.1°C. This is the warmest 1 metre above average rainfall over winter in order to make up for mean soil temperature for August for the 35 years 1986 the lack of rainfall earlier in 2020. This hasn’t happened and to 2020. Along with soils being warmer than normal they many soil types will still be below field capacity going into are also drier than normal at depth. These two factors will the spring. undoubtedly have an influence in driving a fairly early Rob Agnew budburst in 2020. Plant & Food Research / Marlborough Research Centre 23 ground frosts were recorded over winter, compared to the LTA of 37.3. This is the lowest total number of winter ground frosts recorded in Blenheim over the 89 years 1932 to 2020.

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Dramatic Changes Required A Shoot Thinning Trial on High Vigour Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - Part 3 (Final)

Chris Henry of Henry Manufacturing championed a trial last season on vigorous Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc evaluating different shoot thinning regimes on spray penetration for disease control and potential fruitfulness.

”The potential benefits of shoot thinning are well known” says Chris. “Enhanced fruit-set, more balanced vines, easier pruning in the following year and improved disease control are some of the expected outcomes”.

The results are now in (see table below) and the full report can be found on www. henrymanufacturing.co.nz.

The vigorous Lower Wairau four cane Sauvignon Blanc canopy has proven to be a formidable challenge; simply put, shoot thinning alone does not provide solutions to address less than adequate spray penetration, says Chris.

RESULTS SNAPSHOT

Visual No visual difference in canopy between treatments after one month

Leaf density Reduced leaf layer at head for ‘Full Monty’ Reduced leaf layer effect of ‘Full Monty’ along cordon disappeared in 6-8 weeks

Spray coverage

Shoot quality

Powdery Mildew ‘Full Monty’ treatment provided improved coverage, but still not adequate

Early ‘Full Monty’ had improved cane size across the cordon (see graph)

Full Monty treatments were clean at veraison after earlier eradication. Other treatments and control were also low. Control was at 0.6% crop loss.

We used the Point Quadrat Method to determine leaf layer density and Water Sensitive Papers to assess spray penetration.

The results indicate that ‘Full Monty’ treatments had reduced leaf layer in the head and temporarily reduced leaf layer along the cordon. This is supported by the wettable paper results which showed better coverage.

Powdery mildew assessment was disrupted when severe powdery mildew infections were found in the block, suggesting a lack of spray coverage from the seven applications up to that point.

In the head of the vines, on average, there were (approximately) eight shoots in the control plots, six shoots for the ‘grab’ and ‘stop and look’ treatments, and four shoots for the ‘Full Monty’ treatments. The number of shoots along the cordon were similar across all treatments.

The quality of the shoots for all treatments showed a similar pattern of apical dominance with the mid canes being smaller than the others (see graph). However, the early ‘Full Monty’ treatment was consistently higher in average size than all the other treatments.

Unfortunately Covid-19 prevented a yield assessment. ‘Full Monty’ treatments had fewer bunches but we do not know if they were larger and whether the vine is more balanced vine as a result. We will have to look at the vine next year to see.

Influence of shoot thinning on shoot size

(Note: shoots were graded 0.5, 1 and 2 to represent very small, small and productive shoots)

2.0

Control Grab Stop & Look Monty early Monty late

1.5

1.0

0.5

0

1

Head end

2

3 4

Cordon Section

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

5 6

End of cane

More dramatic changes to Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc growing systems (trellising) are likely to be required if disease is to be controlled with softer/other chemistries that require good contact with leaves and bunches.

High vigour Sauvignon Blanc on four cane VSP produces areas of less than optimum fruitfulness in the mid-cane region, and even heavy shoot thinning did not overcome this.

Further research into pruning systems that avoid overlap of shoots is required as well as encouraging the removal of shoots from the head as industry best practice.

Our thanks to Mike Trought, Mark Allen, Jason Flowerday, Fabiano Frangi, (Giesen Wines), Will Greig, James Jones, David Manktelow and others for their contributions.

Henry Manufacturing will sponsor another season of work to find long-term benefits for this sector of the industry, and invite others who wish to contribute to join our team.

Visit www.henrymanufacturing.co.nz Call Chris Henry on 027 294 1490 email chris@henrymanufacturing.co.nz

Vintage 2021

Collective action for vintage workforce

SOPHIE PREECE

TEMPTING KIWIS to trade their big overseas experience for a big Marlborough vintage is just one of the solutions mooted by wine companies as they face a harvest without migrant labour. Wine Marlborough held three vintage 2021 workshops last month, seeking brainstormed solutions to the Covid-19 border closures, which will almost certainly stop the usual flow of foreign workers available for the peak season.

The wine industry’s ability to work together is one of the things that makes it so resilient, says Wine Marlborough advocacy manager Vance Kerslake, who organised the seminars. “You see collaboration and cooperation between companies that are competitors at a level that you just don’t see in other industries.” That allows Wine Marlborough and New Zealand Winegrowers to run seminars where people talk openly about the innovations of their organisation, he adds. “And that is gold right now.”

There were many common themes in the workshops, including employing young adults who’d planned to spend 2021 as a ‘gap’ year or semester overseas. Since they can no longer travel, a season making wine might be an appealing fallback, groups suggested. There was good support for a national advertising campaign, tapping into the power of wine brands and appeal of the regions, to get people around the country excited about a making wine in Marlborough. However, members warned it would need to be managed in an equitable way, ensuring a fair dispersal of labour. “Every wine company needs to embrace it or it won’t work. We have to work collectively and collaboratively on that and that will be the biggest challenge,” said Marlborough

Waipara Hills

Winegrowers chair Tom Trolove, who is managing director at Framingham.

Tertiary education providers were also seen as “an obvious place to look”, he said. “We need to reach out far and wide.” New Zealand wine schools are likely to have more students working vintage, with both NMIT and EIT rolling out new cellar operations courses and adapted programmes. Seminar participants suggested universities could also be called on to extend their Easter break to six weeks, to allow people to work a vintage. The industry could also collaborate with government to build and deliver a “taster course” of what vintage looks like, giving prospective cellar hands an introduction to the work, while giving industry a perfect recruitment tool, winery representatives said.

Collaboration came into several of the ideas, including wineries sharing a workforce, and industry members sharing training courses for new employees. Some groups suggested working with families in Marlborough, offering a five to six week block of work to a parent normally at home with the kids, and accessing the 65+ age group, including those who might normally travel at that time of year.

One group called for a survey, to better understand and identify the labour gaps, and what might tempt people from other regions to move to Marlborough for a short period of work.

Following the meeting, Vance said Wine Marlborough would provide monthly information updates for wineries, including a “progress bar” on vintage 2021 recruitment. He said they were already working on a benchmark of pay rates

Opportunity Knocks The Ministry for Primary Industries is running a marketing campaign for the primary sector for the next two years, called Opportunity Grows Here. New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) has provided content for the wine page (opportunitygrowshere.nz/winegrowing/), which has had nearly 4000 unique views, and has driven traffic to winejobsonline.com and the NZW wine industry careers page (nzwine.com/en/about-us/careers). NZW external relations manager Nicola Crennan says the industry body is committed to developing targeted seasonal campaigns for wine through Opportunity Grows Here. The organisation has also been working with education and training organisations, alongside industry, to ensure pathways are fit for purpose. NZW has reached out to wine regions, to better understand their seasonal labour needs and offer assistance, Nicola says. “What I took from the Marlborough discussion is that even with so much uncertainty, what is certain is that they will come together to find the best solutions.”

and benefits, and also a winery facilitated workshop on working “smarter and leaner”.

The situation will cause many to review their existing systems and processes to ensure more efficiency, he said. “It’s easy to do what we have always done, but innovation and changes tend to come out of challenging situations.” And he is “optimistic” the industry will be sufficiently geared up for the vintage, “because we have time to plan and prepare”. If wine companies can deliver a vintage during an Alert Level 4 lockdown, as they did this year, “then it feels like there’s nothing the industry can’t achieve when it sets its mind to it”.

Filling the void of foreign cellar staff Two thirds of Marlborough’s 2020 vintage workforce were from overseas, with 490 on a working holiday visa and 431 on essential skills. A remuneration survey from this year’s vintage shows 20% of the cellar crew were permanent staff and 14% New Zealanders, underlining the challenge wineries face for Vintage 2021, with New Zealand’s borders closed, says Wine Marlborough advocacy manager Vance Kerslake.

On the other side of the ledger, Marlborough unemployment has “skyrocketed” in percentage terms, with a 50% lift since Alert Level 4 lockdowns, with most of that increase happening in April. But the increase is off a very low base of 2.6% unemployment, and is just 490 people in real terms, says Vance. “The level of unemployment in Te Pā Family Vineyards Marlborough is a lot lower than was projected by various agencies.”

Before Covid-19, Marlborough had around 1000 people registered as unemployed and half of those were not considered “work ready”, he says. In contrast, the 490 newly unemployed can be assumed to be fit for work, so may seek a vintage season, he adds. “And the number may increase when wage subsidies come off.”

Rachel Brown, marketing manager of winejobsonline.com, says jobs adverts are 40% up on this time last year, but that is driven by typical clients gearing up for vintage sooner than usual. “Those jobs would have been advertised, but they are up earlier.” There have also been a lot more users on the site, she says. “And this year, 80% of our users are New Zealand based.” Applicants for the roles, which range from lab and cellar work to general vineyard roles, have not dropped, with a high percentage of New Zealand based applicants.

Wine Marlborough is supporting New Zealand Winegrowers’ (NZW) work with Horticulture New Zealand to advocate for flexibility around visas for people “stuck in New Zealand”, says Vance. NZW is also developing a case for border exemptions for skilled vintage workers, which Wine Marlborough will provide evidence for.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) records show 152 vintage hands and 10 winemakers on essential skills visas for vintage 2020 are still in the country, and if the government extends the visas, those people will play a key role in wineries next year, Vance says. Backpacker numbers are “a bit of an unknown” but INZ records show there were about 25,000 still in the country on June 30, he adds. “We don’t know if any were working in wineries last vintage, and pretty much all of those people are due to depart before the next vintage.”

Meanwhile, Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme workers who wish to continue to work in New Zealand have been allowed another six months on their stay, allowing them to work for the same purpose as they were before Covid-19 stranded them in the country.

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Rest & Recover

Putting on the breaks during vintage

SOPHIE PREECE

ONE OF the major challenges in a six-day vintage week is convincing staff to take a break, says Wither Hills winemaker Andrew Petrie. “The biggest hurdle in our experience was culture,” he told attendees at last month’s Six-Day Vintage Week seminar in Blenheim, speaking of the “work hard play hard” tradition of harvest, including shared stories of endless hours. “That was very much part of Wither Hills and other places I have worked for.”

But he and four other speakers - from Matua, Wither Hills and Delegat - said the benefits of an enforced day off were far reaching, from fewer sick days, near misses and accidents at work, to better decision making, greater efficiency and enhanced succession training. “You are encouraging the rest of your team to step up to those positions – even just for a day,” said Matua’s New Zealand winemaker Spring Timlin.

Wine Marlborough advocacy manager Vance Kerslake said the session had been organised in the wake of a Winemaker Survey sent out late last year, which drew responses from 99 winemakers. Nearly half the respondents reported working more than 85 hours a week during vintage, with 16% working more than 96 hours. Most respondents worked three weeks or more at a stretch during vintage, with 15% working between 36 and 57 plus days in a row.

Vance asked attendees at the seminar to imagine a conversation with a WorkSafe inspector if a staff member suffered an injury or fatality at work, or indeed travelling to or from work. Would they find themselves explaining that the person had worked 84 hours a week for three weeks at a stretch? “How would that sound? How would you feel if that was on the front page of the Marlborough Express?” However, the survey also revealed that several companies in the region capped vintage hours, with a scheduled day off after six or seven days of work, Vance said.

Delegat instigated a seven-day vintage week in 2019, with the eighth day off for all winery operational employees working a 12-hour shift, from winemakers to electricians. Prior to the 2020 vintage they set up an app to monitor outcomes, intending to collect data on fatigue levels and mood before and during vintage, taking into account the days off as well as the impact of three 30-minute rest breaks in a 12-hour shift. Marlborough Winery operations manager Courtney Morse told seminar attendees that operational errors went down 100% in vintage 2020, compared to 2019, and near misses were reduced by nearly two thirds. However, he emphasised that there was more at play than just the breaks, with employees all more alert amid the rigorous Covid-19 rules, and daily tonnage down on expectation, due to the length of vintage. Covid-19 also meant the survey was “torpedoed” in its early stages.

There were nonetheless learnings, said Courtney, talking of the importance of clear communication from the interview stage, as many vintage workers had an expectation of working right through. He also said the roster should be printed and transparent, so it’s clear that everyone working the 12-hour shift is taking the time off, including those in more senior positions. “The shadow we all cast as leaders in our businesses has a massive impact on our teams.”

Delegat increased its staffing numbers to allow for the change which, given the benefits, wasn’t a significant financial impact, but Courtney noted that smaller companies might feel a greater financial burden. However, Stewart Maclennan, a winemaker in the seminar audience, said Saint Clair Family Estate’s six-day vintage roster has the same hours as a standard schedule. “It is just how many people you divide it up by - it doesn’t have to be more hours.”

Spring Timlin and Matua’s cellar manager Lee Williams talked about their company’s six-day vintage week, which has been in place for cellar hands since before Spring joined in 2011 and was expanded to winemakers in 2014. Now, anyone in operations doing a 12-hour shift (or 11 hours under Covid-19 restrictions) has a day off for every six days worked. “The key point is, we want to manage our team’s welfare,” says Spring. “We wanted to help create a work life balance for our team so that we are an attractive employer.” She notes the enhanced mental health and wellbeing of rested employees on a six-day week, as well as a better attitude to work and fewer sick days. Spring said managing fatigue also reduced the risk of accidents in the workplace and enhanced performance. And while there could be a bit of “kickback” from people at the beginning, Matua staff really look forward to the day they can catch up with family, do “little jobs” and recharge, she said. “We say, ‘use that day to rest so you come to work well’.”

Andrew Petrie, along with fellow Wither Hills’ winemaker Patricia Miranda-Taylor, spoke of Wither Hills’ six-day vintage week, which has been extended from winemaking and cellar operations to the viticulture team. Like Matua, staff have one day off for six worked and Patricia said it made an obvious and positive difference to workplace safety and efficiency, with no near misses or accidents in vintage 2020. It also leads to better decision making, workplace wellness and culture, leading to better worker retention, and is about “doing the right thing for

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people”, she said.

Andrew said it was important that everyone knows the situation before they join the team, including those with expectations of uninterrupted work. It’s also key that there are no exceptions, he added. Good transferral of processes and information is “critical” when key staff are taking leave, and the company has developed handover sheets to ensure all the information needed is available. People on a day off are only a phone call away, but transparency of information, clear processes and excellent communication can make for seamless transitions and a cross functional team, he said. “The six-day week is definitely a driver for getting better at processes and planning.”

Key tips • Expectations – ensure you communicate the day off when employing. • Timekeeper - find the right person to create the roster. • Experience - don’t roster too many key people off at once. • No exceptions – senior staff must lead by example. • Consistency - stick to the message; don’t waver. • Communicate – ensure excellent transition information. • Include – invite those rostered off to events or announcements.

Email Invivo & Co Winemaker and Cofounder Rob Cameron for a conversation at v i n e y a r d s @ i n v i v o w i n e s . c o m

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Digi-tools

Catching up on ecommerce capability

Hayden Higgens

THE ONSET of Covid-19 has been a “deeply unfortunate wake-up call” for wine companies with unrealised digital ambitions, says Rabobank senior wine analyst Hayden Higgins. “Executives have given innovation and ecommerce plenty of airtime, but that talk has rarely translated into additional personnel or bold acquisitions.” Hayden is one of the authors of a new Rabobank report on Covid-19 and the US premium wine sector, subtitled ‘building an ecommerce team 101’. It says the crisis has forced wineries, where able, to lean heavily on digital channels for sales, with data from WineDirect for April and May showing direct to consumer sales increased by 340% year on year, while wine.com reported sales up 300% in April, compared to the same month in 2019.

But some wine companies were ill prepared to take advantage of those climbs. “Before Covid-19, many decision makers in the industry had not proactively invested in their digital capabilities and we’ve come across many large suppliers who did not even have one dedicated ecommerce employee, let alone a whole team,” says Hayden. “Looking forward, the expectation is that more people are likely to shop online… What we are signalling is that ecommerce should come more front of mind in terms of investment.”

Smaller companies may not have the resources to create ecommerce channels in-house, but they have a lot to gain from an online presence, with shelf space perhaps elusive in the real world, but more abundant virtually, says Hayden. The report notes that companies can outsource to a third party provider, then bring the tasks in-house once the strategy and platform are established, with marketing, sales, and brand teams ultimately using them to drive sales.

Wineries should focus on building a robust digital infrastructure before they look to innovative ideas, it says. “We find many industry leaders are easily distracted by shinier, sexier topics like social commerce,” says Hayden. “However, we feel most companies will get the most benefit from investing their energy and resources into ‘boring’ tasks, like mapping out the industry and educating their account managers about how to support ecommerce.”

Once that’s done, the ecommerce team “can start to have some fun” with a focus beyond growing ecommerce sales, says Hayden. “The digital environment enables companies to access data, intelligence and brand building opportunities not previously available. And, armed with this information, the ecommerce team should explore how the digital world can enhance sales through more traditional channels and vice-versa.”

Building an ecommerce team 101 – four key steps 1: Map the market - identify which channels are most likely to be successful for the brands, both during the pandemic and once it has ended. Build relationships with key individuals within each ecommerce platform and identify how to support their brands within this environment, says Hayden “In this step, it’s also essential businesses identify data sources for measuring sales within each platform and, if possible, data on how and why consumers shop on the platform. This is essential for measuring progress, setting KPIs and monitoring changes in where and how consumers shop online.” 2: Build the infrastructure - decide which technologies are needed to realise your digital ambitions. “That could include anything from building a platform for ingesting ecommerce sales data to identifying the best platform for their direct-to-customer business,” says Hayden. “It can take months to on-board these kinds of technologies and months to learn how best to deploy them in your business.” This all needs to be undertaken over and above the rest of the ecommerce team’s responsibilities, “so the more support they get, the more able they are to transform and perform simultaneously”. 3: Educate internally and externally – it is crucial the ecommerce team raises awareness of the ecommerce channel with marketing teams, sales teams, senior management, distributors and retailers so they understand how it can best be supported, says

Hayden. 4: Delegate day-to-day digital operations - many of the responsibilities of managing a winery’s ecommerce business should eventually be taken over by existing structures within the organisation. “This transition can take a couple of years, but it is necessary to give scale to your ecommerce operations,” says Hayden.

“Some people refer to this process as building out your organisation’s ‘digital muscles’.”

Content Creator

Boutique Bladen connecting with consumers

FOR THE past six years, Deni Macdonald has photographed enormous royal weddings in the United Arab Emirates, with up to 2,000 women at each. But for the past six months, she’s instead shared harvest, winemaking and family moments from a boutique Marlborough vineyard, giving Bladen Wines a digital boost, just when they need it most. “Everyone was consuming content and so many companies didn’t have people to help them make it, because of social distancing. And I was sitting here with the tools to do so, and nothing but time,” says Deni, who “popped back” to Marlborough for a friend’s wedding earlier this year, then decided to stay as lockdown loomed.

Chris and Dave Macdonald established their vineyard in 1989, four years before Deni was born. When they launched their label, Deni and her big brother Blair became its namesakes. Blair returned to the vineyard last year, and it was always Deni’s dream to come back too, so she is philosophical that a short sojourn has transformed into a career U-turn. “I am just terrible at making those big decisions and love when they are made for me.”

That’s pretty much how she found herself in Dubai when she was 20, having applied for what she thought was a photography job in London, where she was living and working in a wine bar. Ten days later she was flying to an “amazing” new chapter, with studio work soon replaced by freelancing at royal weddings in Saudi, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Paris. “So I basically got offered a job in Dubai trying to find a job in London… Thank goodness I don’t read all the words,” she says with a laugh.

After 10 years away from the Macdonald’s vineyard home, lockdown took some getting used to, particularly given the stress of the vintage. But Deni made the most of it by producing video snapshots of harvesting grapes, a tongue in cheek winemaking demonstration, and plenty of family stories, including an introduction to Blair’s baby son Pat, who arrived in June, just after lockdown ended.

“It kind of started organically, creating content for Bladen through the boredom of having nothing to do,” she says. But it soon became clear it was forging a bond with their customers, backed up by boosted sales. It’s also been welcomed by distributors, says Deni. “They love it. It is removing a cost for them.” Because it was her first harvest in a decade, she wore rose tinted glasses, and the content felt fresh and exciting. And the introduction of Bladen’s second

“Everyone was consuming content.” Deni Macdonald

generation, carrying on their parents’ dream, adds lots of heart to their stories, she says. “People were really loving it.”

She says the appetite for online has definitely gone up under Covid-19, and Bladen is happily tapping into it, with online sales making up for the loss in their on-premise orders. Sauvignon Blanc Day on May 1 was evidence of that, says Deni, who created a mail order email to regular clients, talking of Pat’s imminent arrival, adding one of Chris’s recipes, and celebrating Sauvignon. It went out at 6.30 Friday evening – during Alert Level-3 - and by Saturday morning they had been inundated with orders, far exceeding previous email promotions. Meanwhile, their UK distributor had its biggest month ever during the Covid lockdown, putting in a big order with Bladen, which was followed up a similar story from US and Australia, says Deni.

Bladen hasn’t been sluggish with e-commerce in the past, and has built strong connections direct with its customers, including those who have visited its small, award-winning cellar door, where they are always served by a family member, says Deni. “When people leave they can’t help but feel like they are part of our team.”

Planning Resilience

A guide to protecting business continuity

Mahi Wines

BRIAN DAWSON

AS COVID-19 returned to New Zealand last month, business owners were thinking about the risks to their operation. Those who have put plans in place and built resilience will feel much better prepared that those that haven’t. We work with business owners every day on the future of their business, including what their business could and should look like in five to 10 years’ time, and the actions needed today to deal with the immediate challenges and opportunities ahead. Ensuring business continuity in troubled times requires a multi-faceted approach.

One of the first requirements is emotional resilience - an absolute determination about the future of the business. It requires a clear vision of what success looks like and knowledge that even if the path takes some different twists and turns, or is slower than expected, you will prevail. That’s not to say you shouldn’t be a realist. Some businesses will be left behind in a changed market and smart owners will see that and pivot or move the resources they have to the next business opportunity. Necessity, or indeed desperation, is often the mother of invention. A business that was selling visitor experiences to tourists today can be packaging up their expertise and teaching online what they know about visitor hosting to a worldwide audience next week.

Business Continuity - take home messages • Be ready to adapt • Have a toolkit of actions for good times and bad • Know your cash runway • Hold onto trained staff if you can • Become digitally enabled • Tap into Government funding for business advice

Continuity is being strongly supported in current times by government, and in Marlborough’s case the Marlborough District Council is providing access to business advisory support. In good times, business owners can generally get away with limited planning and budgeting, figuring that the money coming in next month is always going to be a bit more than what is going out. This seat-of-the pants

“Covid-19 has delivered some of the most compressed innovation we have ever seen.” Brian Dawson

approach is simply not going to cut it in less certain times. Help from a business advisory or a much ‘deeper dive’ with an accountant is an important step to ensuring you have in place the series of actions that need to be taken now, or can be taken as earnings tighten and changes need to be made. This toolkit of actions can aid owners’ stress levels significantly as they have the levers to pull as needed, and can put their energies towards improving their offering and finding new clients in a more constrained market, rather than burning up energy with worry.

We are told time and time again that cash is king. Businesses don’t go broke because they run out of profit; they fold because of lack of money. Many businesses that fail are profitable, but failed because they didn’t understand their cash cycle. Stock on the shelf and your debtors’ ledger don’t pay the bill - cash does. Protection and awareness of your cash runway is critical to ensure continuity in uncertain times.

Costs need to be at a minimum, but always with an eye to the future. High performing, fully trained staff are by far your biggest asset and every other cost that can be trimmed should be trimmed before you start looking at your wage bill.

Covid-19 has delivered some of the most compressed innovation we have ever seen. Businesses that had planned to be more digitally enabled over time had to respond to a new way of delivering their products and services. An understanding of Zoom, digital signing platforms, digital meeting software, shopping carts and social media channels will be vital in a world where our delivery model may have to regularly change. Brian Dawson is manager of Business Trust Marlborough, which is able to help businesses access funded support and

connect business owners to a business mentor. For more information, go to businesstrustmarlborough.co.nz

Seek Expertise There’s plenty of support available for businesses wanting to build resilience during Covid-19, says Marlborough Chamber of Commerce growth advisor Kathryn Stewart. Funding is available through the Regional Business Partner Network to ensure businesses can access expertise to help them remain solvent and sustainable, and to thrive beyond Covid-19, she says.

Businesses negatively impacted by Covid-19 may be eligible for funding to access one-on-one advisory expertise in: • Business strategy and continuity planning (continuity creation; scenario planning; diversification) • Finance and cashflow management (integrated cashflow; modelling; assisting with bank re-financing; budgeting and pricing structures) • Health and wellness (resilience capability; stress management) • Human resources and employment relations • Marketing strategy • Digital enablement strategy For more information email kathryn@mcoc.org.nz

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Post Waste

Best practice for piling posts

SOPHIE PREECE

VINEYARDS STOCKPILING unwanted posts need to ensure they minimise impacts on soils and people, says Sustainability Guardians programme coordinator Bridget Ennals. New Zealand Winegrowers has released new Sustainability Guidelines for the storage and disposal of broken copper, chromium and arsenic (CCA) treated posts, which are known to leach heavy metals into the ground, up to 10cm from the post. “Research has also shown that they continue to leach when we take them out of the ground and put them in a pile on bare ground,” Bridget says. The heavy metals do not disperse easily, so stay localised, but companies need to guard against “creating lots of hot spots”, she adds.

One of the key points of the guidelines, developed by a Sustainability Guardians wine industry group, is for vineyards to have a single site for storing vineyard posts, rather than several smaller piles, says Bridget. “If you are going stockpile your posts because you think they may be reused and you don’t want them in landfill, keep them in one spot and one spot only. Don’t move it around.”

Based on 580 posts per hectare across Marlborough’s 27,000 hectares of producing vineyard, the region has around 15 million posts in the ground, and most are CCA treated pine. According to the guidelines, on average 2% to 5% of those are broken each harvest “depending on soil type, soil moisture content and the operation of the harvesters”, resulting in 11 to 29 posts per hectare per year being stored or disposed of.

Photo by Ricky Wilson/Stuff

Plans for a pyrolysis plant in Blenheim didn’t progress, and New Zealand doesn’t have a pyrolysis plant capable of taking posts. There are processes to take unwanted chemicals out of wood, but that technology is neither commercially available nor affordable here, says Bridget. “So at this point of time we have no quick fix. But we can ensure that how we store and dispose of posts is the best practice.”

Vineyard posts can be repurposed by farmers or gardeners, which is how many growers in smaller wine regions deal with breakages. In Marlborough, the scale of post waste is vast compared to the ability of locals to use them, but the Government’s new Healthy Waterways package, which includes fencing fresh waterways, may increase demand, says Bridget. “A lot of farmers will need a lot of posts.” People may feel guilty about resorting to the tip, but if posts cannot be repurposed, it is the “lesser of two evils” as any leachate can be contained, she adds.

The guidelines emphasise that growers must never burn treated wood, which leaches toxic fumes into the environment. And they offer advice for storage, including covering the piles if possible, stacking on an impervious surface, and ensuring the post piles are at least 20 metres from a waterway. Another key mitigation is to reduce the number of breakages by getting good quality posts in the first place, then working with harvest contractors to help protect them “Asking for posts to be supplied dry and just in time for installation is key for new vineyard development,” says Bridget. “Likewise, new posts should be stored dry or covered on an impervious surface to limit leaching and information kept on the length of storage and any rainfall events.”

The Sustainability Guardians group wants feedback from members on the guidelines. “This is a long time coming really – they might not be 100% right but we can change as things evolve,” says Bridget. The group is also working on guidelines around alternatives, including steel, hardwood and plastic posts. They will assess the pros and cons of each, including life cycle analysis and cost, “so people can make an educated decision about which posts they would like to use”. To see the guidelines go to nzwine.com/ cca-treated-posts

Storage guidelines • Store in a well-ventilated area • Keep dry, where possible, from rain and moisture • Avoid storage on bare ground, store on an impervious surface, where possible • Storage area to be located at least 20 metres from waterways • Identify storage areas, dates, and approximate post numbers on

Vineyard Plans

Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa

The first stage of the New Zealand Wine Centre, Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, should be built by June 2021. Marlborough Research Centre (MRC) chief executive Gerald Hope says the Government’s July announcement of $3.79 million in funding followed months of work behind the scenes, “so we want to waste no time getting construction underway”.

Stage one will provide offices, meeting rooms and shared space for wine research institutions and industry to collaborate. When complete, the buildings will cap off nearly four decades since the Marlborough Research Centre was established, says Gerald. The MRC’s work began with Plant & Food Research, later linked with the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT), and more recently has aligned with the wine research facilities of the Bragato Research Institute.

Gerald says the New Zealand Wine Centre will provide integrated facilities for those organisations to work together

with wine industry innovators, as well as with wine researchers from other institutions in New Zealand and from around the world.

NMIT’s director Marlborough, Carole Crawford, says the build will put a new heart into the campus. “Our collaborative approach and response post-Covid has seen a further growth in enrolments and opportunities for tertiary education in the region. With the Government measures to encourage more training, along with the national centre for wine research now underway, this will be a busy and exciting place for students and for Marlborough.”

Once approved, stage two of the New Zealand Wine Centre development will provide a new gateway to the campus through the existing NMIT entrance which will be redeveloped and modernised. Stage three will provide laboratories, offices and future-focussed shared teaching spaces at the campus.

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Graham Norton’s 10 million bottles The relationship between Graham Norton and Invivo & Co hit new heights this vintage, with the TV presenter blending a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc at home in Ireland, while Invivo co-founders Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron assisted from 1,080 feet.

This is the sixth vintage collaboration between Graham and the Kiwi wine company, and over the years Tim and Rob have smelled, swirled, slurped and spat alongside the celebrity, to produce Graham Norton’s Own Sauvignon Blanc. But Covid-19 meant Graham was in lockdown in West Cork in July, so the Invivo crew sent him six Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc samples, along with a winemaking kit filled with beakers, for a virtual collaboration.

Tim and Rob then got up bright and early to ascend Auckland’s Sky Tower, setting up in The Sugar Club to be remote assistants, 18,311 kilometres away and 11 hours ahead of the 9pm blending in Ireland. “It’s a bit early for you guys, everything is going to taste of toothpaste,” Graham Norton told the pair, as well as the audience to his Twitter feed, comparing the two-hour collaboration to “being an air steward who is being talked into landing the plane”.

The business partners are set to produce their 10 millionth bottle of wine this year, having kickstarted the collaboration in 2014, with 14,000 bottles of Marlborough Sauvignon. Rob says they always look forward to the “blending date” with Graham. “It’s like he’s a full-time member of the winemaking team. Graham seemed to dial straight into what was working and what he was after.”

It’s not Invivo’s first virtual blend this year, with New York-based actress Sarah Jessica Parker dialling in for a two-hour Sauvignon Blanc blending session in July as well. Her first Invivo collaboration was a hit, with the 2019 vintage selling more than 400,000 bottles, and taking six gold medals in wine competitions.

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