What is regenerative viticulture?
Regenerative viticulture restores and enhances soil health to create a biodiverse, climate-resilient vineyard ecosystem.
Regenerative viticulture is regenerative agriculture as it relates specifically to the farming of Vitis vinifera grapes for wine production. It is based on the understanding that the health and fertility of soil is the foundation for life above and below ground and that it is the most important component of healthy terroir.
The idea of terroir is at the heart of regenerative viticulture. Recent studies have confirmed that capturing and expressing the sense of place in a wine is closely interlinked with a living and healthy soil microbiome in the vineyard.
What is regenerative agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil, increasing biodiversity above and below ground, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting carbon sequestration, and increasing resilience to climate change.
There are generally considered to be fundamental principles of regen ag:
- Minimise disturbance of the soil (no-till)
- Keep living roots in the soil all year round (this holds the soil together reducing soil erosion on slopes in heavy rains; feeds the soil microbiome all year round; helps with stopping the soil from being compacted)
- Grow a broad diversity of plants to provide habitats for beneficial fauna to help keep pests and diseases in check (for vines which are perennial plants, the diversity is to be found both in growing different varieties/clones of grapes and also sowing cover crops, wildflowers, planting trees, reinstating hedgerows, etc.)
- Keep the ground covered (if not with living plants then with mulches which help retain moisture and ameliorate soil temperatures during heatspikes)
- Integrate animals (for vines this is often sheep, but can also be chickens, cows, geese, ducks)
A study of 229 academic journal articles and 25 practitioner websites, published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (2020) identified the following most common elements of “regenerative agriculture” as mentioned in the definitions given:
| Element included in definition of “regenerative agriculture” | Journal articles that mentioned (N = 229) | Practitioner websites that mentioned (N = 25) | Process / Outcome? |
| To improve soil health (e.g. structure, soil organic matter, fertility) | 40.50% | 86.40% | Outcome |
| To increase biodiversity | 21.50% | 45.50% | Outcome |
| Integration of livestock | 19.00% | 40.90% | Process |
| To improve ecosystem health (including ecosystem services) | 17.40% | 31.80% | Outcome |
| To increase carbon sequestration | 17.40% | 63.60% | Outcome |
| To improve the social and/or economic wellbeing of communities | 17.40% | 40.90% | Outcome |
| To improve water health (e.g. hydrology, storage; reduce pollution) | 14.90% | 45.50% | Outcome |
| To maintain or improve farm productivity | 14.90% | 22.70% | Outcome |
| Use no synthetic pesticides | 12.40% | 18.20% | Process |
| Reduce tillage (or no-, minimal-, conservation-) | 11.60% | 40.90% | Process |
| To create a circular system and/or reduce waste | 11.60% | 4.50% | Outcome |
| Use crop plant diversity (including intercropping) | 9.10% | 13.60% | Process |
| Use compost, mulch, green manure, or crop residues | 9.10% | 27.30% | Process |
| Use cover crops | 8.30% | 36.40% | Process |
| Use organic methods | 8.30% | 13.60% | Process |
| To improve food access and/or food security | 8.30% | 13.60% | Outcome |
| Focus on localism and/or regionality | 5.00% | 0.00% | Process |
| To reduce greenhouse gas emissions | 4.10% | 13.60% | Outcome |
| Restore natural habitats | 2.50% | 4.50% | Outcome |
| To improve food safety | 1.70% | 4.50% | Outcome |
| To improve animal welfare | 0.00% | 13.60% | Outcome |
How is regenerative agriculture different to organic agriculture?
Regenerative agriculture shares and extends many of the principles of organic agriculture. Organic agriculture is a system that excludes the use of synthetic (artificial) fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides on soil and plants. Regenerative agriculture targets the repair and regeneration of soil and associated ecosystems. By focusing on soil, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting carbon sequestration, and increasing resilience to climate change, regenerative practices surpass simple sustainability and use agriculture as a means to improve and enhance the natural environment. There may be climates and crops where full organic practices are not possible or economically viable, but where regenerative principles can make an enormous difference to the improvement of soil quality.
How is regenerative agriculture different to biodynamic agriculture?
Biodynamic agriculture is a holistic approach to farming focused on fostering living soils, biodiversity and natural balance in ecosystems. Regenerative viticulture shares similar objectives in promoting an ecological view of farming with the natural environment, but without the emphasis typically given to specific treatments, spiritual, cosmic, human or social perspectives.
How can I be involved?
- Join the mailing list to receive our monthly newsletters
- If you are a grape grower, use our RV Guide which will take you through a questionnaire based on the practices we think are useful in farming vines regeneratively. You’ll discover new ideas. At the end, tick the box to be included in our map so that other people know you are interested in regen. NB you don’t have to be doing lots of regen practices yet
- If you are a grower, consider starting a local group or forming a One Block Challenge community, as it’s a great way to get local support, share knowledge and get started without betting the whole farm on regen
- If you are a journalist, please write about regen. If you need info, contact us and/or check out our toolbox. It has all the same info as our RV Guide but you don’t need to have a vineyard to use it
- If you’re a sommelier/importer/retailer, be curious about the supplier’s environmental credentials. Take a look at our map of producers interested in RV
And of course you can follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Be part of the discussions.
What is the Foundation's approach to certification?
The Regenerative Viticulture Foundation exists to promote regenerative viticulture and assist growers everywhere in becoming regenerative. The Foundation does not have a certification process because we want growers to be able to approach regenerative viticulture as far as each individual vineyard permits, recognising that not all holdings are homogenous. The Foundation therefore seeks to provide the evidence, resources and experience to enable viticulturists to begin their journey towards regenerative farming without any requirement for third party validation. Further information can be found on our certification page.