Small scale viticulture

Tillie’s vineyard practice has been informed by her viticulture work in the Yarra Valley and experience with businesses including Giant Steps and TarraWarra Estate. For her own Tillie J project, she has managed a small block of Pinot Noir at Yarraloch Vineyard in Gruyere, giving her the opportunity to manage fruit from soil through to bottle.

How might I work closely with the vines and trial vineyard practices myself?

For a small grower-maker, a small block is a practical way to learn. Tillie manages about one acre of closely planted Pinot Noir on a steep, east-facing slope at Yarraloch Vineyard in Gruyere. The scale lets her follow the fruit from soil through to bottle and see how each vineyard decision affects the vines. She can trial practices herself, adjust them season by season and learn from the results, without a complete vineyard-system overhaul. Her work doesn’t depend on expensive implements or major infrastructure, so what she learns on one block can be applied by other small growers.

Tillie J is a relatively small producer who has looked after a number of leased vineyards without investing in expensive implements. She has learnt that cover cropping is an easy to sew and maintain approach with very little equipment, an open mind and the use of stuff you have around you. Tillie takes a hands on approach to preparing the ground with a close mow, weighs out the seeds and sews them by hand, tickling them into the ground with whatever is available - as simple as dragging an old farm gate behind the tractor!  Lots of things work and can do the job at a low cost.

It seems obvious now but when growing an under vine sward. It’s important to keep in mind that you’re watering an extra system (vine and sward) when irrigating. Tillie saw a hot start to the year in 2025, so she applied a huge amount of water to the vineyard during this time. The vines still struggled and despite being confident with her irrigation infrastructure she believes the demand for water on the under vine growth may have taken away from what the vines received. 

Tillie has shown that cover cropping can be done cheaply and easily on a small block. The next opportunity is to work out how to keep an under-vine sward without it competing with the vines for water, so that groundcover supports water retention instead of adding to demand in hot seasons.