Should our wine district become organic?
It’s a fairly contentious topic, so not unexpectedly, when Sue McLeary asked this question of some of the region’s winemakers, there was a full range of views.
Photo by Pete Monk.
As the region’s first certified organic winery owner, Kaye MacAulay has a unique perspective. As well as setting up certified Organic Vynfields Estate vineyard with her late husband John Bell, Kaye was CEO of Bio-Gro and on the Organic Aotearoa Board at the time.
“Of course I believe the wines of this region should be organic and ideally bio-dynamic. In fact all New Zealand produce should be. It would be a massive value-added international advantage”.
Currently, virtually all vineyards are independently audited and certified as Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand, a programme run by the Wine Institute of New Zealand.
This provides a solid, rigorous and externally audited international platform for New Zealand wines. Seven percent are certified organic.
While many wineries are comfortable with the Sustainable Winegrowing quality standard, others want to differentiate their wines through their own environmental programme and achievements. Some want that differentiation to be region wide.
Our not-particularly-scientific survey is to get a sense of the regional view. Overall, most Wairarapa vineyards are moving in an even-more-sustainable direction, if not fully organic. Many said they are “moving towards organic or bio-dynamic practices but not necessarily accreditation”.
The Elder Pinot, just out of Martinborough, is broadly typical of many smaller-scale vineyards. Co-owner Margaret Hanson says “At this stage we are focusing on being as sustainable as possible: minimising chemical use, minimising irrigation, creating our own power (solar and wind), planting native trees and participating in local initiatives like predator-free.
“We tried to go organic a while ago but after three years our vineyard just wasn’t coping with the grass in spring. Everything else was fine.
“Now we just do one light herbicide spray in spring, which is enough to check the grass growth and let the vines get a head start. We may try again as the vines age,” she says.
Similarly, David Iggulden (Hamden Estate) says “we are not moving towards these accreditations, but are becoming increasingly light-handed in our spray applications.
“For example, we use seaweed fertilisers, sheep for leaf-plucking and under-vine control. Personally, I don't want to be applying any more sprays than are necessary for financial, environmental and health reasons”.
Roger Parkinson established Nga Waka Vineyard in 1988, bringing a relatively long-term perspective. “We are accredited with Sustainable Winegrowing, and prefer to focus on sustainability as part of a national programme.
“There are some practices that are approved organic that I don’t consider to be sustainable and vice versa. We are probably going to need a whole suite of new practices and technologies to deal with climate change and I doubt many of the potential candidates would be approved under the organic banner,” he observes.
Fleur Nicol, Matahiwi Wines, says “from a sales perspective it is a nice-to-have. Consumers ask more about sustainability than organics. Some are happy to pay a premium, but our experience is most would rather pay for a 'better' wine than organic”.
On the other hand, many of our vineyards have embraced organic status.
Pete Monk, Ata Rangi’s General Manager, says, “We wholeheartedly back a regional stance on organic certification. It would be an excellent positioning statement and a valuable point of difference to assist our messages and presence.”
He acknowledges the Wairarapa has “a dry climate that makes organics relatively easier to achieve than other regions and it’s not so big as to make full certification of all parties unachievable.
No-one has done it before. So there is merit in being the first ever to achieve full organic status for an entire region. But cost may be burdensome for very low production wineries”.
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Larry McKenna (Escarpment) has formed a clear view over 30-odd years of winemaking. Escarpment operates several vineyards around Martinborough, with 30ha of accredited organic Bio-Gro certified vineyards, including the home Te Muna Road block.
Larry says “The next step for us would be bio-dynamic and/or carbon zero. I think carbon zero is a real opportunity if we are comfortable with organic status only”.
Palliser Estate is among the larger, well-established Martinborough wineries, and currently in year 2 of a 3-year conversion programme to Bio-Gro organic certification. This covers 25 percent of the company’s vineyards, in several sites around the wine village.
General Manager Pip Goodwin says “We aim to be 100 percent organic by 2025”.
Devotus is a passionate-about-Pinot Noir vineyard, at 3ha boutique in scale and aiming for organic status. As far as Don McConachy is concerned, he works with nature in both the vineyard and the winery, so going organic is a no-brainer.
“Round-Up doesn’t get anywhere near our vineyard. It takes more time and effort, but we control weeds and under-vine growth with sheep and careful driving with our 1955 Massey Ferguson discs” he explains.
Roundup - technical description Glyphosate – features prominently in these discussions, sharply dividing opinion. Organic supporters call it as “a destroyer of micro-organisms in the soil”, while others say it’s essential to control weeds. There is little common ground although most vineyards are reducing its use, playing safe and reducing costs.
Compliance costs were mentioned by everyone. It’s a critical factor for the region’s many small-scale vineyards, where the owner does everything. Costs are described as a barrier for many, and just another cost of doing business by others.
Barriers are basically time and money: time for increased paperwork, more staff-time needed in the vineyard and the office, the cost of compliance auditing.
Ultimately, does the question all come down to consumer demand?
Martinborough Wine Merchants say “usually it’s the millennials who ask for organic and/or natural wines. But they generally won‘t pay more than $25”. That consumer response is not unusual, in New Zealand and offshore.
Ata Rangi reports increasing market feedback that organic certification is more relevant, desirable, a positioning advantage and necessary to stand out, particularly in the premium end of the market. In some markets, it is becoming a significant element in purchase preference.
Larry McKenna says “I’m sure the wine trade/gate keepers are very aware of the marketability of organic wine. The most important factors are quality and price as far as consumers are concerned but beyond that it’s all about brand and its positioning. Organic status is a crucial positioning statement for the Escarpment brand.
Kaye MacAulay believes “to be the first organic-certified wine region would be an amazing opportunity for the Wairarapa; a genuine value-add. It would be huge for international acceptance”.
The last words go to Larry McKenna: “I believe organically grown wines are not only healthier but taste better, have better longevity and certainly have less impact on the environment. It’s the whole stewardship thing.
“The best thing the Wairarapa can do to enhance its image and reputation is to be the first wine district in New Zealand – and possibly the world -- to be 100% organic”.
“We are farming not just growing grapes”
Dry River Wines General Manager Wilco Lam responded with this thoughtful summary of the issues and future as he seems them.
We are in the sustainable programme and in conversion to Bio-gro, and should receive full certification by the 2020 vintage. We have been applying Biodynamic preparations on the vineyard, as well as working with the Biodynamic calendar since 2013.
With high scrutiny on farming systems these days due to their environmental impact, I believe this is one of the most important issues we must face as an industry.
Water is on par with that too, but with the nursery industry not supplying drought-tolerant rootstocks winegrowers are held hostage and cannot improve there. At Dry River we are dry farmed, and certainly have our own challenges.
Things like organic and biodynamic farming call not just for a change in thinking about chemical input. It demands a re-think of farming strategy.
This includes soil health, carbon sequestration, carbon emissions, and general health of the farm. We do that via ideas we steal from “regenerative farming” principles. This mostly focuses on soil health.
Plant and crop health are achieved by rethinking our natural habitat, environment and growth cycles of plants, pests and diseases… and our tolerances for these things.
It is quite amazing to look back and see how our mindset has changed in the last seven years. The type of problems we feel that are trivial versus important now are very different to the past.
We understand deeply that we are farming, not just growing grapes for wine. So things like “looks” and “do what the neighbour does”, or “it is what we always did” are not part of our thinking anymore.
We are on our own discovery and coming to our own conclusion what is best for our farm, our wine, our business and our people. It is a more holistic, all-encompassing approach.
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