BLOG — Sustainability

Our composting program is a big part of our sustainability goals, allowing us to ‘give back” to our soils in a very natural way.  Healthy soils lead to healthy vines, and healthy vines produce balanced fruit and vibrant fermentations.

The compost cycle is fundamental to life on earth, and fascinating to understand.  In a well-functioning natural system (somewhat simplified):

• Animals feed off plants.
• Animal waste and other dead plant material are decomposed by microbiology into their raw constituents.
• Another set of microbiology (“humifying” microbiology) then creates short and long chain humus (a clay/organic complex) that serves as a resilient and long term storage of nutrients.
• A further set of microbiology, fed by sugar and other stimulants from plants, then breaks down the humus to release nutrients to feed the plant

This last step is crucial, and is the fundamental difference between natural and conventional farming systems.   Conventional agriculture feeds the plant directly though the use of artificial nutrients (often mined or created as the by-product of industrial processes), bypassing the first steps in the cycle.  While this can be a cost effective practice in the short term, it can do significant environmental damage, including acidifying the soil, breaking down soil structure, reducing soil carbon and increasing the chances of damaging nutrient runoff.  Pre-settlement reserves of long and short chain humus in agricultural soils were quickly depleted, and now generally replaced by artificial substitutes. 

At Yarrh, we’ve gone some way to replicating (and accelerating) the natural nutrient cycle by introducing a composting program.  We use winery waste (eg stalks, skins, seeds from the vintage), manures, straw, green waste and a little clay, to produce a highly humified compost (replicating Steps 2-3 above), then spread this through the vineyard.  This composting process takes about 6 weeks, and first goes through a breakdown process (Step 2) for about 2 weeks, then through a build up process (Step 3) where humus is created, and a stable state reached. 

When spread in the vineyard the cycle continues, with soil macro and micro biology incorporating the compost into the soil and reacting to stimulants from plants to release nutrients (Step 4).  Rather than force feeding the vines, we allow them to decide what they want and when they want it.

We don’t yet have a fully functioning natural system, but the place is certainly looking a lot healthier and happier over the decade we’ve been doing this.  The vines are strong, worms thrive, clovers go mad, and our soil’s water holding capacity buffers us from dry and hot conditions.  We still need to supplement the natural system at times, but at much lower rates than we’d done in the past - mainly a small, well timed shot of nitrogen in late spring when vine demand peaks.

Come out and taste the difference!

After a decade or so of conventional growing (heavy reliance of artificial fertilisers, herbicides, chemical pesticides) we noticed that our soils were deteriorating, and our vines were requiring more and more inputs to stay in shape – we were chasing our tail.

While the dogmatism (and bureaucracy) of pure organic growing didn’t appeal to us, we knew there was much to be learned from more traditional forms of farming, and modern adaptations of these practices.  To my grandfather, a dairy famer in southern Western Australia, recycling manure back onto grazing paddocks was simply the way things were done.

So we spent some time looking at what others were doing in both viticulture and broader agriculture to improve soil health and sustainability.  It’s a jungle (pun intended!) out there!  SO MANY OPINIONS, so little proof, so many with something to sell, but some common themes begin to emerge, and some elemental truths revealed themselves:

• Stop feeding the plant directly, and allow the plant to feed itself
• Nurture biodiversity
• Build your soil carbon (and hence soil structure)
• Intervene only when necessary

Although it sounds simple, this takes a while to work through, and apply to your own land, crop and circumstances.  Goals are one thing, putting practices in place to achieve them is another.   Over a number of years, we put in place:

• Permanent Vineyard Sward – nurture soil microbiology and create a home for “beneficials”
• Composting Program – accelerate the natural carbon cycle, boost soil microbiology, allow the vines to feed themselves, recycle “waste”
• Minimise artificial inputs – reduce impact on soil microbiology and other “beneficials” and improve sustainability by minimising the use of herbicides, artificial fertilisers and harsh pesticides.

The last one seems to be the most controversial – you’ll notice it says “minimise” not “eliminate”.  We now use less than 10% of the herbicide we used to use, mainly to control invasive weeds such as blackberry and serrated tussock (a huge problem for local graziers).  In a dry year, we may use an early season contact herbicide on some blocks to keep competition for resources (water, nutrients) down for the vines.  While this isn’t pure organics, it certainly reduces our diesel use!

It’s been almost a decade since we put these practices in place - so what’s changed?  Has it been worth the effort?   There have been some setbacks (Cabernet DOES NOT LIKE competition for water and nutrients), but on the whole we have seen a huge leap in vine health and fruit quality.  The most visible signs are:

• Vines that find their own balance (fruit/leaf ratio) in any given year – time spent looking after the soil is offset by less time spent mucking around with canopies.
• Vineyard resilience – improved soil structure and water holding capacity means the vines are able to deal with dry spells and hot conditions much better.
• Improved biodiversity – the vineyard is full a bees, moths, bugs, spiders, lizards, and heathy soil microbiology quickly breaks down organic matter.
• More vibrant wines (now we’re getting to the relevance!)– flavours, colour, sugar and acid are coming together earlier, resulting in more flavourful, better balanced wines.

A friend of ours, interested in what we do, said “so if you’re not organic, and your definitely not bio-dynamic, what are ya?”.  I think we’re rational farmers who want to produce the highest quality wines we can, while leaving our soils and farm in better shape for the next generation.  But that’s hard to put into a natty label, isn’t it?

Best way is to come out and taste the difference for yourself.  We love people who care not only how their wine tastes but how its made!

We enjoy growing our own food.   Living and working in the same place (and having plenty of space) makes it somewhat easier for us than for most, but it still takes a concerted effort to make it worthwhile.  This year we grew tomatoes (five months of fresh tomatoes!), cucumbers, zucchini, beans, potatoes, figs, garlic, chillies, spring onions, artichokes, radish, silver beet, lettuce, kohlrabi.

Herbs, too – parsley, mint, basil (fresh pesto!), tarragon, dill, Vietnamese mint, lemon grass, oregano, thyme, sage, bay, rosemary.  What a treat it is to go grab some fresh herbs when cooking, and what a difference it makes to your dishes.  In fact, if you could grow nothing else, herbs are where you get the most bang for your buck.

And finally, chickens.  We’ve kept about four Isa Browns for many years now and the eggs are fantastic.  Not only do chickens recycle your kitchen scraps (can be hard to properly manage in a composting system) into more food, but also produce excellent manure for the veggie patch.

Growing your own food has benefits beyond flavour and freshness:

• You get some good exercise!
• Your more mindful of what is seasonal and cook/eat in a more seasonal fashion
• Your respect for farmers increases, knowing what it takes to grow good food
• You’re more thankful for the range of fruit and veg you can get at your local market/supermarket
• Your ability to pick good produce from bad/ordinary/old/decaying produce increases
• You get closer to the season – you pay much more attention to what’s going on around you – mindfulness…
• You realise how difficult it must have been to live in a truly self-sufficient way, and how hard it would have been to get through winter/spring with a full belly

With the wine, vegetables, herbs, eggs, our own lamb and beef (thanks neighbour Dave!), and olive oil on the way, we’re truly appreciative of the benefits of growing your own.  Now for the orchard….

NM and FW

From our 2012 Newsletter The Tin Shed.  We'd now add "lean", "savoury" and "varietal" to our house style.  The new label has stood the test of time, too:

Things take time in the country.  It takes time to master your craft, know what’s special about your piece of land and where it fits in the local environment. It takes time to know your vines and your vineyard, and how they react to each unique season.  It takes time to listen, learn from others, read and taste extensively and it takes time to develop your own philosophy.

After 15 years, we think we have identified the unique Yarrh style.  A move towards sustainable and organic farming practices combined with winemaking technique refinements including the use of natural fermentation has been fundamental to the Yarrh evolution – the wines are now edgy and elegantly structured.

To match this evolution of style, we re-engaged the original designer of our label, George Macintosh of Some Cowboy. George’s task - refresh the look of Yarrh wines, evolving the brand to reflect the handcrafted, natural, premium products in the Yarrh range.   We think he’s done a great job and we really feel our new brand and label look are worthy replacements.

Each of this Spring 2012 club wine packs contains some wines with the new label.  What do you think?  So far reaction from customer and the broader market has been very positive.

NM