Wine Decoded hits the Vineyards to talk soil, grapes and vino with Stuart Proud, grower of Wine Decoded’s Bathtub Shiraz Grapes! Look out for wines from this vineyard. Wine Decoded’s and others will be hitting the site soon.
Pic’s courtesy of Stuart Proud
Stu’s Vineyard Philosophy
Our ambition at thousand candles has always been to try and capture the detail of our unique vineyard site in the wines we produce. The aim is to have an extremely healthy and well balanced soil. Soil health is achieved through the balance of physics, chemistry and biology. This enables the vines to better access the required water and nutrients, suppress plant pathogens and allow the vines to increase their root growth.
Understanding how the soil microbes and eco system works below the surface is vital. Having a large and diverse range of beneficial microbes means the system is always in good balance and can better buffer itself against extreme weather conditions such as prolonged hot, dry spells or cold and wet conditions. This management system has enabled us to not rely on herbicides, heavy pesticides and synthetic fertilisers to grow our fruit. We take a holistic approach to managing the vineyards by looking after the soil, the vines and the under vine grasses and clovers.
We want a healthy and diverse system – not a sterile monoculture that exists in many mainstream, conventional vineyards. This biological farming approach has led to the fruit and resultant wines to best express the truth of where they have come from and the influence of the seasons.
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