Ducks, wasps and beetles are pioneer viticulturalist Johnathan Grieve’s insect killers of choice in his goal of creating one of South Africa’s first entirely organic wine farms.
A flock of about 40 ducks patrol Avondale, Grieve’s farm in the Paarl area of the fertile Cape winelands, daily picking snails off the precious vines.
Predatory wasps and beetles are released to take care of another pest — mealy bugs.
“I find that making use of these natural predators works much more effectively, and is a lot cheaper,” said Grieve, who no longer uses any chemical insecticides.
He has also cut back on fertilisers by planting legumes and cereals as “cover crops” among the vines to provide natural compost and bind nitrogen from the air into the soil. The plants also suppress weeds and keep the soil moist.
Grieve hopes to phase out chemical fertilisers in two years’ time.
“It just make sense,” he told Agence France-Presse. “Most other people spray their lands dead. Some may describe my farm as messy, but I am very proud of the growth in my vineyards.”
He has termed the method “bio-logic”. It seeks to restore the natural balance in the soil and produce unique, balanced wines.
“At the end of the day it is about costs. This method is more sustainable in the long run, and I also believe it will result in the production of exceptional wines specific to this area.”
A quarter of the 100ha under cultivation in Avondale is already completely organic and produced its first vintage last year.
Grieve plans to turn his entire enterprise completely “green” by 2010.
Su Birch, chief executive of marketing firm Wines of South Africa, says the country has about a dozen wholly organic wine farms, adding that it hoped to have a completely eco-friendly wine industry in the next few years.
“We believe we are the only industry able to achieve this in the near future as it is relatively sophisticated and small. Most other countries’ industries are too large and incohesive and too dependent on fertilisers and sprays.”
About 95% of South Africa’s wine farmers subscribed voluntarily to domestic integrated wine production (IPW) guidelines to green the sector, Birch said.
Plans were afoot to legislate IPW in the next three years, giving South Africa a unique marketing pitch as the world’s sole producer of exclusively “green” wines, she said.
“There is an increased demand for eco-friendly products in the world’s biggest consumer countries. This will eventually also reflect in wine, and we will be first in line to meet that demand,” Birch said.
London-based trend forecaster Crawford Hollingworth recently told a South African wine conference there was a growing market among “premium consumers” for products falling in the category of “environmental and ethical chic”.
Affluent consumers were increasingly basing their purchases on ethical or environmental considerations, he said.
“There is a search for differentiation,” Hollingworth said. “Authenticity is what really counts. Think about nature and biodiversity as two powerful USPs [unique selling propositions].”
Sue Winter heads the Biodiversity in Wine Initiative (BWI) whose members undertake to set aside a portion of their farms for conservation and pledge to remove alien plants from the land.
To date, over 36 000 hectares have been set aside for this, representing 36% of cultivated land in the Cape winelands, said Winter. The BWI has set a goal of 100 000 hectares by the end of 2009.
“Our members are sitting on very valuable land. Not only are they now contributing to conservation but can benefit from a unique marketing opportunity. They are pioneers.” – AFP