Organic Wines
We are proud to announce that our vineyard and winery are now Certified Organic (ACO no. 10945IC). Therefore all our wines as from vintage 2009 will display the Certified Organic bud-logo. Check out all our wines here.
WHY ORGANIC?
A. What is organic wine?
Organic products are grown and processed without the use of synthetic chemicals, fertilisers or GMO's. In order to guarantee that products are organic, they need to be certified. In our case, we use Australian Certified Organic (ACO) which conducts two audits each year, one for the vineyard and one for the winery. The audits are very thorough and the following are just a few examples of various procedures that have to be monitored: the compliance of input materials, quality assurance procedures, recall protocol and all relevant documentation etc.
In addition, the potential impact of possible pollution from neighbouring properties (airborne as well as water run-off) is evaluated each year. We are currently the only certified organic wine producer on the Mornington Peninsula.
B. Reasons why we produce organic wine
Health
At present, the number of agrochemicals registered for use in Australian viticulture is well in excess of 100. They comprise of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides (including systemic) and plant growth regulators. We only use 2 fungicides to control mildew (organic permissible sulphur and copper) and we find that there is no need at all to use any additional chemicals. In addition to that, all inputs in the vineyard and winery are GM (Genetically Modified) free.
Organic classed wines are not allowed to exceed 0.10 gram per litre of sulphur; the legal maximum limit in Australia is 0.35 gram per litre. The lower permissible level in organic wines reduces the chance of nasty side effects such as headaches. We only use PMS (224) as preservative; it is Potassium based (rather than Sodium) with a reduced likelihood of blood pressure elevation.
Concern for the environment
With organic practices, methods are used to minimise pollution of air, soil and water. About 35% of our property is non-productive bushland which contributes to a sustainable operation. You can often quickly "recognise" a conventional vineyard by the fact that herbicides have been used to spray under the vines. It results in a tidy looking vineyard, but with often a completely "dead" strip of soil under the vines.
Potential to enhance wine flavour
We mow under the vines (rather than spray) and in addition to that, the vines are fed composted manures instead of chemical fertilisers. Both of these actions can moderate the grape yields and as such lead to a greater flavour concentration in the fruit.
Family roots
Gerard was born and raised on a dairy farm. No chemical inputs were used at all on the farm with the exception of limited synthetic fertiliser to augment the manure. When we moved into the wine industry, we observed that generally speaking the usage of chemicals (in particular in the vineyard) was rather high. Over the years, we gradually reduced and often phased out many chemicals. Surprisingly enough, we noticed that we have less disease problems by doing so! This has most likely to do with the fact that biological cycles can be disturbed by chemically targeting a specific issue.
In conclusion, although it has been quite a lengthy process (4 years), we feel that it has been well worth it!