EXPLAINED Regenerative viticulture
Six months ago most of us had never heard of regenerative viticulture, but today the phrase seems to be on the lips of progressive wine-growers everywhere. There’s a dedicated new organisation, which aims to help wine producers reverse climate change impacts in viticulture through regenerating their soil ecosystems, encouraging biodiversity and minimising their carbon footprint.
The brainchild of Stephen Cronk, owner of Maison Mirabeau in Provence, The Regenerative Viticulture Foundation (RVF) is described as a connector, and a conduit of learning. Cronk refers to the approach as a ‘toolbox provided by nature’ and a ‘framework of ideas’.
After witnessing extreme weather events ranging from exceptional frosts to the worst forest fires in living memory in the years he has owned Mirabeau, Cronk feels that one of the most important ways we can fight climate change is through ‘unlearning’ current approaches to land stewardship. ‘This is a critical moment for the planet,’ he says. ‘We can’t carry on in the same old way. We need a paradigm shift in how we think.’
Globally, in 2020, 7.3m ha of land was planted to vines for all purposes (OIV, April 2021), compared to about 1.6bn ha of cropland in all (UN FAO, 2019). Estimates suggest that less than 20% of the vineyard area is farmed ‘sustainably’ (standards vary widely), some 6% organically (2019, OIV September 2021), and ‘less than 1%’ biodynamically (RVF). Regenerative viticulture techniques can be adopted by any vineyard, whatever its current status.
So, what’s different? The main difference between regenerative viticulture and other agricultural approaches is the focus on the soil. ‘Understanding of soil life is relatively new,’ Dr Jamie Goode of wineanorak.com explains. ‘Conventional viticulture is based on an old-fashioned idea of ecology that says the vine is the only organism that matters. Conventional viticulture is “input-heavy”, focusing on what is above the soil, rather than what is happening below it. We need to see vineyards as agro-ecological systems. If you have soils that work, you have to put less in.’
With regenerative viticulture you’re looking at a biodiverse environment. Essentially, it’s about understanding what has been lost from the ecosystem to stop it functioning at the highest level, and working to put it back. It’s unlike more conventional approaches, which deplete soils, and unlike sustainable viticulture, which has a neutral effect. It’s still a new discipline, hence the importance of producers working together and learning from those who are further along in their journey, says the foundation.
Some producers are bringing animals into the vineyard. Mimi Casteel at Hope Well in Oregon’s Willamette Valley has experimented with sheep that graze cover crops, and chickens that control pests.
One of the challenges has been to find the best ways of putting carbon into the soil. ‘Agricultural soils across the planet have lost 70%-80% of their organic matter, so you need to jump-start the ecosystem,’ she says. Her answer has been to use biochar-fed pigs. Biochar, a charcoal-like substance, increases the fertilising effect of the pigs’ manure, and improves their digestion. ‘After we brought in the pigs, the water-holding capacity of our vines went up exponentially in just one year – and we had some of our best-ever fruit.’
Transitioning to regenerative viticulture takes time, and changing practices can increase costs. It takes between four and 10 years to get to the point where the ecosystem is stable, according to those who have done it.
But the end result is a resilient vineyard. ‘There’s an initial investment, but so many advantages when you get there,’ says Casteel. ‘I was considered a lunatic when I first started. Now my phone rings off the hook, because wine-growers have seen the effects on our vineyards.’