THE first organic vineyard has been officially recognised in Coonawarra following Koonara Wines being certified to Australian Organic Standards.
Despite already practicing viticulture for 10 years, the winery has now gained official certification.
“We have not used any pesticides or herbicides in our Coonawarra vineyards for over a decade as it can rob the soil of nearly all the good micro-fungi,” Koonara Wines owner Dru Reschke said.
“The vineyard is like our bodies, get the nutrition right and it stays healthy.
“That means disease pressure drops and with it the number of sprays needed,” Mr Reschke said.
He said the overall aim was to increase organic material in the soil, as only 1pc extra organic matter will hold an additional 177,000 litres of water per hectare.
“This is why we find weeds actually help, not hinder the vines,” he said.
“The root systems of weeds are usually no more than 30cm deep.
“When they die at the start of summer their roots provide organic straws for oxygen and water to get deeper into the soil, which aids the vines.”
Insects also play an important role in assisting the winery’s biodiversity plan.
“We have identified five wasp and three spider varieties, and even a scorpion fly in our vineyard, which are all completely harmless,” Mr Reschke said.
“These insects feed on our vineyard pests such as vine moth and many of those so-called weeds are also a good food source for them.”
The European Union recently voted to phase out Glyphosate, commonly known as Roundup in Australia over five years with a full ban to be enforced by the end of 2020.
Mr Reschke said according to the international survey of herbicide resistant weeds there are around 103 sub-types and 63 weed species with herbicide resistance around the world.
