Articles

Articles and blogs relevant to regenerative viticulture.

Vidacycle RV series #3: Abby Rose in conversation with Mary Retallack

We’re excited to share our third conversation from the new season with the amazing Mary Retallack. Mary is an agro-ecologist with many years of experience working & applying an ecological approach to viticulture, with a particular interest in native insectary plants and their potential in biocontrol. Mary runs her own small vineyard and consultancy Retallack […]

Video from IMW Symposium ’23

90 minute video of our ‘Farming for the Future’ panel – widely held to be one of the stand-out sessions of the IMW Symposium. 04 mins 50 secs Justin Howard-Sneyd MW‘Does viticulture have a problem?’, proposing that solutions lie in adopting RV practices 19 mins 40 secs Mimi Casteel4.5 billion years of evolutionary history, with […]

Decanter article on Regenerative Viticulture

If you’re wondering how regenerative is different to conventional, organic and biodynamic grape growing, look no further. Rupert Joy’s ‘Down to Earth’ report covers it all: what’s wrong with the way we’ve been farming grapes for decades, what regen does differently, who’s doing it and what certification schemes are out there. A must read.

August newsletter

Includes links to the latest controversy – carbon insetting. Plus a funded programme in the USA building a contintental-scale soil carbon inventory, acoustic probes for listening to earthworms in the soil, contour farming and much more

VidaCycle Regenerative Viticulture Series #3: Abby Rose in conversation with Sérgio Nicolau

We’re excited to share another conversation from the new season – the brilliant Sérgio Nicolau, fifth generation regenerative viticulturist and agronomist in Portugal. Sérgio has turned his family’s vineyard from conventional to organic, and in the last few years transitioned to fully regenerative. He has had great success with his cover cropping to improve water […]

VidaCycle Regenerative Viticulture Series #3: Mimi Casteel in conversation with Abby Rose

New conversations with brilliant viticulturists, to discuss regenerative experiments on the vines – successes, failures & learnings along the way. The first conversation of the new season is with Mimi Casteel, one of the trustees of the RVF. Mimi grew up working on the vineyard and winery of her parents, Bethel Heights, before studying forest […]

July newsletter

Catch up with what we’ve been up to recently – and what’s caught our eye. Includes videos of the Groundswell sessions on RV, a simple factsheet on how carbon is sequestered in the soil, information on the EcoVineyards scheme in Australia, Rodale Institute’s summer events in the USA and more…

Becky’s Blog: UK regen viticulturists’ farm visit, Harrow & Hope

June saw the first of what we hope will be many RVF farm visits. The truly generous folk at Harrow & Hope in the UK invited 20 regen-minded vineyard owners and managers along to check out what regenerative viticulture looks like on their farm. When we finally stopped debating, we had a tour with Harrow […]

In depth article on what the RVF is all about

‘RVF looks to shake up winemaking’ by Richard Siddle in The Buyer, June 2023. Stephen Cronk sets out what the organisation is all about and the steps it has already taken to get wine producers and growers around the world looking to farm and manage their vineyards differently

The secret life of fungi in vineyards

Beneath our feet lies a complex underworld kingdom. Soil is the foundation that allows viticulture to be possible and fungi keep this network alive. Aliya Whiteley’s potted history of fungi in vineyards, as published in RVF founding supporters Berry Bros and Rudd’s No.3 magazine page 16-17

June newsletter

We dish the dirt on dirt, in particular soil health and how mycorrhizal fungi can improve drought resistance

Old Vine Registry

This crowd-sourced global database of living historic vineyard sites has been set up to increase awareness of old vines. From a regenerative viewpoint, old vines are great as they are so much more resilient and don’t need irrigation.

Berry Bros & Rudd rethinking their relationship with soil

One of our founding supporters on their commitment to nature-beneficial practices and their support for the RVF. Having been around for 325 years, they are used to taking a long-term view

Proposed new RV courses

The University of Wales Trinity St. David’s in Lampeter has been working on the establishment of an Academy of Food, based on the Lampeter campus, for over 12 months. The focus of the potential facility will be to create a hub for sustainable food production in the area; combining spaces for artisanal producers and a […]

RVA’s conference on soil biology

This conference from our friends at the Regenerative Viticulture Association brought us a really deep dive into what’s happening underneath your feet in your vineyard. If you want to know how the vines get their nutrients from the soil without chemical fertilisers, watch the video of the conference. Jeff Lowenfels (2hr10min into the video) is […]

Organic mulches as an alternative for under-vine weed management in Mediterranean irrigated vineyards

Under-vine weed management treatments compared: The researchers found that the mulches increased grape yields and reduced maximum soil temperatures. A 15cm mulch is an expensive input, but may reduce tractor passes in seasonal floor management and water usage due to reduced evaporation.

May Newsletter

If you are on our mailing list, look in your inbox for our May newsletter. It’s full of forthcoming events and news. We have a new Programme Director, two new Founding Supporters and links to resources on bees, wildflowers and under-vine mulches. For something for you ears, don’t miss the podcast on soil health indicators. […]

Farming in service of nature

Tom Croghan of Dodon Vineyard explains how they use the tools of agroecology to regenerate the soil: limiting tillage, applying organic amendments, incorporating indigenous microorganisms from the surround forest and using grazing animals. They have discarded the either/or mentality to find values-driven, integrated solutions that benefit the environment, the community and their company. An excellent […]

The Noble Ouessant – vineyard sheep du choix?

Wendy Outhwaite of Ambriel Vineyard in West Sussex reports on her experiences of using the Ouessant – a hardy dwarf sheep from Brittany – in her vineyards. We’ve been winter-grazing sheep in the vineyard for about a decade. Here’s what we discovered. Breed As our vineyard in West Sussex has stunning views over the South […]

The World Soil Imperative: What If They Planted A Garden And Nothing Grew?

Veteran Forbes journalist Louise Schiavone responds to the the 2022 World Soil report by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization with its clear warning that we need to focus on building soil organic carbon stocks by switching to regenerative farming practices, and the importance of bringing these practices into the wine world.

The effectiveness of tillage and cover crops

Alistair Nesbitt reviews a recent paper studying the effects of growing cover crops and avoiding tilling on a range of different soil types to determine the effect on carbon storage in the soil

Deploying Sheep in the Vineyard

Research from UC Davis Ph.D. candidate and agroecology researcher Kelsey Brewer indicates that sheep grazing can enhance carbon sequestration and improve soil health, microbial biomass and nutrient content in vineyards.

The secret science of why biodiversity is key to regenerative viticulture

Our friend Abby Rose at Vidacycle talks about the highlights of a 4-part webinar series with Dr. Christine Jones, hosted by US-based cover crop supplier Green Cover Seed

Regenerative agriculture needs a reckoning

Why avoiding uncomfortable conversations about equity, race, and access threatens to spoil a nascent movement’s environmental promise