Organic Viticulture refers to the cultivation of organic grapes for use in the production of organic wine.
Vital Ingredients For Successful Organic Viticulture
- Terroir (“a sense of place”)
- Healthy “Live” Soil Quality
- Biodiversity
- Cover crops
- A Grower’s Wine
Terroir
Originally a French term, it is loosely translated as ‘a sense of place’ which embodies the unique qualities, and the sum effects of the local environment on the wine. Consider it the fingerprint of a specific wine growing region and the wine that is produced.(More on Terroir >>>)
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Why Billabong Creek?
The Bonic family chose to settle along Billabong Creek due to the ideal conditions for growing high quality grapes.
What makes the region so ideal is a combination of climate and soil, the vital elements required to grow highest quality fruit. The climate in the area is dry which makes the vines less prone to disease. The soil is rich and produces grapes of exceptional characteristics.
Our passion at Organic One is to maximize the qualities of the distinctive soil and climate characteristics to produced the highest quality organic grapes so we can make the best quality organic wine.
Healthy “Live” Soil Quality
At Organic One we view natural soil as a living ecosystem and a healthy ’live’ soil is vital to organic viticulture success. The soil supplies the vine with nutrients and prominent taste characteristics to the grapes.One of the main reasons the Bonic family settled along Billabong Creek is that the soil is clean and more clay-like than sandy. Lighter sandy soils tend to produce grapes with watery thin flavours. The heavier clay-like soil is rich in essential minerals required to grow healthy vines that produce high vibrancy grapes, which in turn produce premium wine.
Enriching the soil is fundamental to organic farming pratices. At Organic One we do this by promoting optimal microbial activity by natural composting, covering crops, using‘vine-friendly’ animal husbandry and adopting biodiversity.
Composting & Microbial Activity
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To replace chemical fertilizers, which are commonly used in conventional viticulture to maximize crop yields at the expense of quality and the natural environment, we create our own special composting mix.
Our specially prepared biodynamic compost mix provides our vines with all the minerals, beneficial microbes and other essential nutrients required for healthy growth.
The vines are energised through the compost, where the microbes convert the compost to food for the soil and vines.
Sheep Husbandry & Microbial Activity
Plants need animals as much as the animals need plants.
We allow sheep to roam free at out vineyards to enhance our vineyards soil quality and health of the vines. As the sheep eat the grass, beneficial microbes naturally multiply in their intestines and pass them out onto the soil, which in turn these microbes mineralise and enliven the soil that the grape vines feeds on.The sheep also nibbles on the vines transferring beneficial microbes their mouths to the vine, which boosts our grape vines immune system.
Biodiversity
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At Organic One we encourage a more natural environment to enhance our organic viticulture practices.
On our vineyards, the vines live in symbiosis with other plants, as well as insects, birds, and other small animals. This “biodiversity” helps regulate our vineyard soil by attracting beneficial insects, spiders and predatory mites, as well as provide shelter and food (pollen, nectar and other bugs), which replaces the need for chemical pesticides or insecticides.
Wildlife Sanctuary
We have created a Wildlife Sanctuary lake environment adjoining our vineyard to attract wildlife. This also energetically enlivens our environmental farming practice as a holistic system.
Wild Growth
As part of our organic viticulture practices, we allow natural wild plants to grow between the rows of our vines. Wild plant growth aids our vines in many ways by…
- Encouraging the natural predators of the vine’s enemies.
- Acting as decoys for anything that preys on the vine.
- Fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere.
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Wild growth can then be ploughed back into the earth as a way of enriching the soil.
To answer the problem of weeds, conventional farmers use chemical weed killers. Our organic alternative is to allow the weeds to grow, and then mow them periodically so that the cut weeds compost back into the ground, thus providing a natural organic nutrition for our vines.
Organic One – A Grower’s Wine
Organic One wine is made from A-Grade Certified Organic grapes grown on our vineyards without using chemical fertilizers, weed killers, insecticides, and other synthetic chemicals.
(See also: Organic Viticulture vs. Conventional Viticulture >>>)
Organic One create individual wines of character, flavour and above all, integrity. Organic One are committed to creating exceptional wines that are a direct reflection of the organic vineyards in which they grow. Only organically grown grapes can express the purity and character that a truly great wine requires.
The “Organic One” Way of Making Super Premium Organic Wine >>>
