September 2026 | Issue #3
From the Ground Up
Cultivating innovation. Rooted in sustainability.
Spring has sprung, and with it is a visible shift across Victoria. The vines have begun moving again, groundcovers are responding, insects and wildlife are becoming more active, and vineyard and winery workloads are building.
It is a useful time to think about the living systems that support our wine businesses.
Biodiversity is one part of that picture, and natural capital broadens it further, recognising the value held in soil, water, vegetation, habitat and the ecological processes that underpin production.
People are part of the picture too. As activity increases (spraying, mowing and machinery use in the vineyard, even preparing the winery) it makes spring a good time to revisit the everyday practices that keep people safe.
This edition looks at what it means to care for the productive landscape as a whole: building biodiversity, understanding natural capital and making safe work part of the way we operate.
Hayley Purbrick
Sustainability & Innovation Lead Wine Victoria
From Good Practice to Recognised Progress
McLaren Vale growers share how the Sustainable Winegrowing Australia program helps businesses understand and demonstrate their progress across biodiversity, natural resources, workplace practices and business resilience.
Useful Places to Start
Looking to take the next step? These resources can help you explore biodiversity, assess current practices and find relevant support.
Case Study: Creating a Living Under-Vine System
De Bortoli Wines in the Yarra Valley trialled native groundcovers beneath the vines alongside multispecies midrow cover crops to reduce persistent weed pressure, improve soil health and create a more balanced, biodiverse vineyard ecosystem. The trial highlighted the value of patience, preparation and careful weed management, finding that fewer species, smaller trial areas and sowing in defined rows could make establishment and ongoing management easier.
Three Quick Reads
From emerging research priorities to natural capital and workplace safety, these three reads highlight some of the broader issues shaping the future of grape and wine businesses.
#1 Future Ready Agriculture Research and Innovation Strategy
Out now.
#2 National Safe Work Month
Explore resources to help prepare your workplace.
#3 Australian Grape & Wine’s Position on Natural Capital
Read the industry position.
Coming Up
22 September, 2026
Heathcote Winegrowers Association Viticulture Field Day
Vineyard Grafting & Replacement | Colbinabbin, Victoria
TBC October, 2026
Enhancing Vinyard Health
Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority | Nagambie, Victoria