Regenerative Revolution: Beyond Sustainable in New Zealand

D’Amato & Szabo: Wine Thieves

In this episode, the Thieves explore one of the most important and timely topics in the wine world today: Regenerative Agriculture. “Regen Ag”, or simply RA as it’s often called, has become THE buzzword of the year not just in the wine industry, but in the agri-food sector at large. What is regen ag? It’s a simple question but the answer is anything but. In very basic terms, it’s a system of agriculture that puts in more than it takes out. It’s not about just sustaining what’s already in the soil, but actually replenishing nutrients, increasing organic matter, capturing carbon, protecting water sources, making the crop more resilient to erratic weather events, and especially increasing biodiversity above and below ground, including micro-fauna, all the billions of bacteria and fungi, protozoa and nematodes that live in healthy soil and that are necessary for healthy plants, or in this case, vines. But it’s also the wellbeing of workers and the overall profitability of an operation. What could be more important than this in the 21st century?

But exactly how a farmer goes about implementing regen ag is the more complex question. Unlike organic or biodynamic viticulture, which controls the inputs on a farm – what and how much of anything you can spray on vines, for example, regen ag is all about outcomes. It's not prescriptive; the success of RA is measured not by what you put in, but by what you end up with.

But how do you measure, or even certify, that success? How do you measure wellbeing? How much carbon do you have to capture? How many plants and animals and bacteria do you need to have on your farm to be bio-diverse? The actual yardsticks are hard to pin down. We discuss these questions, and many more, with our two expert guests from New Zealand, a country at the forefront of regenerative agriculture. Joining us is Michelle Barry of the Bragato Research Institute (BRI), the research arm of New Zealand Winegrowers that is leading the charge on researching and implementing and communicating RA, and kiwi master of wine Steve Smith, who's spent his whole life since high school working in the NZ wine industry, co-founded Craggy Range, and is now co-owner of biodynamic Pyramid Valley Vineyards in North Canterbury and Lowburn Ferry in Central Otago, as well as the Smith and Sheth Wine Company. Contemplate the future of winegrowing with us with a glass of responsibly made NZ wine in hand.
This episode was produced with the assistance of New Zealand Winegrowers.