Using native habitat to boost the populations of insect predators in South Australian vineyards is the aim behind a new initiative.
The EcoVineyards Program incorporates native insectary plants to create biodiverse ecosystems in and around vineyards. The two-year program involves 24 grape growers from eight major wine regions including Kimbolton Wines’ Brad Case and Nicole Clark.
The Wine Grape Council of SA is leading the initiative in partnership with Retallack Viticulture, after receiving grant funding through the federal government’s national Landcare Program.
Wine Grape Council of SA business manager Lisa Bennier said the program was designed to strengthen the wine regions of SA.
“We’re rolling out 24 tailored native insectary demonstration sites in collaboration with our carefully selected EcoGrowers,” she said.
“We aim to demonstrate that increasing the resilience of our vineyards naturally will in the long term save growers time and money through reduced reliance on chemical pesticides and improved soil conditions. The program also has the potential to provide tourism benefits to the wine regions through the aesthetic impact the native plants will have when positioned alongside our world-class vines.”
Dr Retallack said the program would provide valuable habitats for good bugs and microbats, which feed on economically damaging insect pests including light brown apple moth, which causes an estimated $18 million damage to fruit each year and predisposes berries to botrytis and other bunch moulds, costing a further $52 million.
“This is all about building resilience into our production systems, and not having to intervene by using chemicals in the vineyard on a regular basis,” she said.
The Wine Grape Council of SA will host a series of workshops for the selected EcoGrowers and other grape growers keen to learn more. The first workshop is taking place in McLaren Vale tomorrow.
“We have had an enormous amount of interest in the program as every industry globally looks at ways to reduce its environmental impacts,” Ms Bennier said.
19 November 2019 – The Advertiser
Paula Thompson, Regional Editor
30/11/2019 at 12:25 PM
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Paris from Amore Woodfired Pizza Ovens cooked up a storm last Friday night at our first "A Taste of Italy" event in Cellar Door.
The night was a celebration of all things Montepulciano along with our newly released Fiano. The star of the night was our sparkling Bella Monte paired with the dessert pizza of nutella, fresh berries & cream.
Our new large lawn game, Connect 4 proved a big hit with both the young and young at heart. Live artist, Craig James played all our favourite tunes and had the Cellar Door pumping and guests pulling on their dancing shoes!
Watch this space... we had so much fun that we will have to do it again soon!
10/11/2019 at 9:34 AM
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Our new release 2016 Kimbolton Cabernet Sauvignon picked up a trophy for "Best Cabernet Sauvignon" at the recent Winewise Small Vignernon Awards 2019.
The classic varietal characteristics of blackcurrant and bay leaf show out clearly in this intense, balanced wine with very fine, persistent tannins. A vibrant red to enjoy over the next 5-7 years. (Winewise Magazine, Sept 2019)
"The trophy for the Kimbolton Cabernet Sauvignon further confirms our view that Langhorne Creek is a very under-rated cabernet region," said Lester Jesberg (Editor, Winewise Magazine)
Available online or in Cellar Door
23/10/2019 at 2:58 PM
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Langhorne Creek winery Kimbolton has been recognised in the Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Awards. Kimbolton was awarded the Architecture & Landscape award for their innovative new cellar door built out of repurposed shipping containers.
The awards were announced on Friday September 20 at a luncheon hosted by the South Australian Wine Industry Association.
Designed by architect and builder Damien Chwalisz to sit in a shady woodlot overlooking the family’s vines, the building’s interior manages to be cosy and welcoming but within a robust hard wearing envelope.
The winery is family owned by Nicole Clark and her brother Brad Case “This is a very exciting moment for us. When we set out to build our first Cellar Door, we never anticipated the response that we have had since opening the doors in December last year,” Nicole said
“We’re very humbled to be recognised with this award. We think our Cellar Door design is unique and it’s great to have that affirmation from others within the wine industry.”
The Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Awards celebrate innovation and excellence in wine tourism. Seven categories of awards are open to all wineries in South Australia to acknowledge innovation and excellence in wine tourism and recognise commitment to providing leading wine tourism experiences.
The Great Wine Capitals Global Network is a Network of ten major global cities that aims to encourage travel, education and business exchanges between the prestigious wine regions of Adelaide/South Australia, Bilbao/Rioja, Bordeaux, Lausanne, Mainz/Rheinhessen, Mendoza, Porto, San Francisco/Napa Valley, Valparaiso/Casablanca Valley and Verona.
21/09/2019 at 2:45 PM
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There’s no better feeling than walking into a place that you’ve never been to before, and thinking to yourself “aaaahhh, it’s even better than I could have imagined”!
That’s how I felt walking into the new Kimbolton Wines cellar door. As soon as you step inside, you develop tunnel-vision and all you can see is the stunning vineyards stretching out in front of you. The crew at Kimbolton clearly know how good they’ve got it, since the cellar door is designed to make the most of its unique surroundings.
01/06/2019 at 11:58 AM
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Join us at the Cellar Door for a lazy Sunday afternoon of wine, seafood and live music to celebrate the launch of our new flagship, The Rifleman Chardonnay.
Sunday 16th June 2019 - 12pm - 4pm.
Enjoy a glass of The Rifleman Adelaide Hills Chardonnay on arrival, followed by carefully matched seafood pairings and be entertained by local artists, Strum, a funky acoustic duo playing a mix of new and classic tunes.
Tickets $60 per person.
Book Online: www.trybooking.com/BCUOK
29 Burleigh Street, Langhorne Creek, SA 5255
cellardoor@kimboltonwines.com.au or phone 08 8537 3002
27/05/2019 at 2:20 PM
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The Kimbolton team have survived their first Easter in their own Cellar Door and celebrated in style. Kimbolton ran a colouring in competition in the weeks leading up to Easter, announcing the winner on Sunday 21st April, congratulations Abi.
They also ran a guess the numer of Easter eggs in the jar comptition, and Clare got to take home the 131 eggs.
The celebrations also included an Easter Egg hunt on Sunday morning, and the launch of their Kimbolton Kids tasting plate, along with a free handmade Chocolate Raspberry Truffle with a glass of the Kimbolton Bella Monte Sparkling Montepulciano.
23/04/2019 at 10:21 AM
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Sorry we have to ask. You need to be 18 years old or over to enter.
