We work hard to give nature all the resources it needs to thrive. 

A big part of our sustainability and biological farming practice is compost.

We’ve come to learn through our work with soil specialists, viticultural scientists, Landcare and our local catchment authority, how compost can restore microbial populations.

The bacteria and fungi in compost radically improves the health of the soil and supports the root systems of our vines, amplifying the ability of vine roots to absorb nutrients. 

With more nutrients getting to our vines, the vines are consistently performing better year on year, are more resistant to disease and develop fruit with full flavour and complexity.

Our compost heap typically measures around 300 cubic metres - or 50 full tip trucks.

It consists of grape skins and stalks from vintage, hay, fine wood chips and horse manure. It is turned regularly over 12 months to encourage an aerobic bacterial ferment.

When it is perfectly cooked (yes it gets hot and steamy), it will be full of worms and other critters plus a plethora of diverse microorganisms. We then spread it evenly under vines in the Autumn, to prepare the vines for their long winter dormancy.

This is also the time we sow a green manure crop. Between each row we plant crops such as oats, peas, broad beans and buckwheat. These green inter-row species help to regenerate nitrogen and other essential organic elements in the soil, plus attract favourable insects, birds and other species to provide balance and a biodiversity necessary for a thriving ecosystem.

The biological changes we have seen in the vineyard and the results, have far exceeded our expectations.

The soil is rich and alive, the vineyard retains water to support it through the summer and the vines are healthy and much easier to manage. We have also tracked the level of anthocyanin in the fruit - anthocyanin is the building block of colour and flavour in grapes. We have seen a notable increase in anthocyanin.

As a consequence, our wines are more expressive, more delicious and more decorated with independent critics awarding favourable reviews and gold medal scores to our wines since the mid 2000s.

Water is becoming a more valuable resource and we are very mindful of how we can use water more efficiently and sparingly on the vineyard.

Most of our vines are old enough to now have deep roots and not require frequent watering, however there are some periods over the summer months when irrigation is essential.

Back in 2013, we invested in a recycled water system to support the vineyards, landscaped lawns and gardens across the property, with clean A class water.

The work we have done to improve the soils across the site does mean we rarely need to irrigate but it is good to know the water we do use has been used somewhere else, and the health of our site means there is very little water wastage.