New Zealand husband and wife pioneers in biodynamic winemaking
There's been a push for eco-friendly wine production in recent years, but one family-run winery in New Zealand has been doing it for three decades
Around the globe, New Zealand wine lovers might be hoarding bottles with the news that the country's 2015 grape harvest is 27 per cent lower than last year's. One of the worst hit is sauvignon blanc from the famed southern region of Marlborough, according to the industry's national organisation, New Zealand Wine.
Wine is big business - it's New Zealand's sixth-largest export. The shortage is prompting some wineries to advertise for tonnes of grapes to meet quotas.
But not all winemakers are in panic. On the North Island, by the farthest stretch to the east, Millton Vineyards & Winery often struggles with meeting global demand. But that's to be expected from a family-run winery.
"An estate where you grow, make and bottle, they're getting very few and far between," says Annie Millton of the Gisborne winery that she launched with her husband James more than 30 years ago.
The Milltons have always set their own pace. From the beginning, the pair rejected the standard way of growing grapes with chemicals and other artificial practices that boost crops.
"People thought we were mad," says Annie.
Rather, the Milltons have embraced the biodynamic way. In simple terms, this is organic agricultural practices underpinned with a holistic spiritual, ethical and ecological approach. Spearheaded by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (of the alternative Steiner schools) in the 1920s, biodynamics recognises that every activity affects the land as a whole. The aim is for a diversified and ecologically balanced property. Preparations are made from natural ingredients like fermented manure to nurture soil and crops. The cycles of the moon are taken into account when planting and harvesting.