Written by Tyrrel Myburgh, 5th generation farmer at Joostenberg in Paarl, explains the ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ of Organic Farming on his farm.
Organic Farming on Joostenberg
We started our organic journey in the early 2000’s. It’s a decision we don’t regret and it has been a deeply rewarding experience. We are often asked what organic farming means and why we do it. In this article I have answered a few of these questions and shared some of the reasons why we took this path.
What does organic wine farming and winemaking entail?
In the winery, the main difference with organic winemaking is that the allowable sulphur dioxide levels are lower than the legal levels in conventional wines (this doesn’t mean that all conventional wines have high sulphur levels). Other differences include the prohibition of processes such as juice concentration and alcohol removal. Also, the use of certain commonly used winemaking additives are not allowed such as di-ammonium phosphate (used as a yeast nutrient) and polyvinyl polypyrrolidone or PVPP (used to remove colour compounds from white wines). In general the organic winemaking process relies on less additives and processing aids.
Simply put, organic farming methods prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers and encourage practices that increase the fertility and vitality of the soil and the environment. The basic theory is that an environment that includes healthy soil and a diverse population of life forms is beneficial to vine health. The vine should be able to extract all the necessary nutrients and minerals from the soil (because the soil is healthy). In an environment that supports a large and diverse population of species there is less chance that any one species will dominate and become overly harmful.
How does the consumer know that Joostenberg wine is truly organic?
Some wineries claim to farm organically but choose not to have their practices certified. In order to protect the term “organic” and give our customers the assurance that our claim is legitimate we follow the certification route. We decided to “walk the walk” before we “talked the talk”. We abide by EU and US regulations and are certified by an internationally recognised auditing company, Control Union Certifications. The proof is on our labels.
EU Organic Certification Logo
Why all the effort?
One of the beauties of wine is that it is made from one ingredient, grapes, and the origin of these grapes has a very fundamental influence on the taste of the wine. Historically the world of fine wine has been about emphasising the link between site (terroir) and wine. At Joostenberg we believe this link is key to the production of authentic and delicious wines. Better soil leads to better grape growing conditions and tastier grapes and this in turn results in tastier wine.
Symbiosis
A significant portion of a vines nutrient and mineral needs are absorbed via symbiotic relationships that vines have with micro-organisms in the soil. An example of this is a mycorrhizal association where vine roots supply a soil fungi with organic molecules, such as sugar, and the fungi supplies the vine with water and minerals it has extracted from the soil. It is hugely beneficial if the soil in which a vine grows hosts a large and varied population of life forms and organic farming encourages this. Conventional grape growing commonly depends on weed killers (such as Roundup) and pesticides which decrease levels of soil life over time.
In his book “The Hidden Life of Trees”, Peter Wohlleben describes how trees in a forest can support each other by sharing nutrients, via their roots, during stressful times. This can occur between different species of trees. I’m not sure if grape vines do this, I like to think they do and it is a fascinating topic.
Humus or Soil Organic Matter
Increasing the organic matter content of the soil is encouraged in organic farming and we do this in many ways e.g. by planting cover crops between our vines during winter, by adding compost to the soil, using straw as a mulch (especially our young and very old vines) and by grazing our vineyards with sheep during winter (they add manure while they graze). Although the scale of grazing in the vineyards is insignificant at the moment, as the size of our herd increases this will become an important part of our vineyard program. Higher levels of organic matter lead to, amongst other things, improved soil aeration, water retention and drainage. In the light of global warming and the prolonged drought we recently experienced, improved water retention is a significant factor.
Old vines mulched with straw
Can you taste the difference between organic wine and conventional wine?
This is a tricky question. The world of wine is all about an almost infinite amount of taste sensations – different varietals, vintages, sites and winemaking styles. This is the beauty of wine. On top of this you get badly made wines and well-made wines, no matter if they’re conventional or organic. I don’t think anyone can identify an organic wine simply by sniffing and sipping!
Do we think that our wines taste better since we’ve converted to organic farming methods? Oh yes! The natural acidity levels in the grapes are higher, and the flavours are more intense. This carries into the wines, resulting in more flavour, often at lower alcohol levels.
The route we have taken is allowing us to constantly improve the quality and authenticity of the wine we are making and we are fortunate to be able to play a small role in combating environmental degradation. Sometimes it can be difficult to balance idealism and commercial realities. The necessary pursuit of profit margins can clash with “pro-environment” decisions that are often long-term in nature and seemingly expensive. Luckily our desire to do the right thing and our ambition to make the best possible wine from our little piece of earth align perfectly!
Tyrrel Myburgh on Organic Farming at Joostenberg
Written by Tyrrel Myburgh, 5th generation farmer at Joostenberg in Paarl, explains the ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ of Organic Farming on his farm.
Organic Farming on Joostenberg
We started our organic journey in the early 2000’s. It’s a decision we don’t regret and it has been a deeply rewarding experience. We are often asked what organic farming means and why we do it. In this article I have answered a few of these questions and shared some of the reasons why we took this path.
What does organic wine farming and winemaking entail?
In the winery, the main difference with organic winemaking is that the allowable sulphur dioxide levels are lower than the legal levels in conventional wines (this doesn’t mean that all conventional wines have high sulphur levels). Other differences include the prohibition of processes such as juice concentration and alcohol removal. Also, the use of certain commonly used winemaking additives are not allowed such as di-ammonium phosphate (used as a yeast nutrient) and polyvinyl polypyrrolidone or PVPP (used to remove colour compounds from white wines). In general the organic winemaking process relies on less additives and processing aids.
Simply put, organic farming methods prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers and encourage practices that increase the fertility and vitality of the soil and the environment. The basic theory is that an environment that includes healthy soil and a diverse population of life forms is beneficial to vine health. The vine should be able to extract all the necessary nutrients and minerals from the soil (because the soil is healthy). In an environment that supports a large and diverse population of species there is less chance that any one species will dominate and become overly harmful.
How does the consumer know that Joostenberg wine is truly organic?
Some wineries claim to farm organically but choose not to have their practices certified. In order to protect the term “organic” and give our customers the assurance that our claim is legitimate we follow the certification route. We decided to “walk the walk” before we “talked the talk”. We abide by EU and US regulations and are certified by an internationally recognised auditing company, Control Union Certifications. The proof is on our labels.
EU Organic Certification Logo
Why all the effort?
One of the beauties of wine is that it is made from one ingredient, grapes, and the origin of these grapes has a very fundamental influence on the taste of the wine. Historically the world of fine wine has been about emphasising the link between site (terroir) and wine. At Joostenberg we believe this link is key to the production of authentic and delicious wines. Better soil leads to better grape growing conditions and tastier grapes and this in turn results in tastier wine.
Symbiosis
A significant portion of a vines nutrient and mineral needs are absorbed via symbiotic relationships that vines have with micro-organisms in the soil. An example of this is a mycorrhizal association where vine roots supply a soil fungi with organic molecules, such as sugar, and the fungi supplies the vine with water and minerals it has extracted from the soil. It is hugely beneficial if the soil in which a vine grows hosts a large and varied population of life forms and organic farming encourages this. Conventional grape growing commonly depends on weed killers (such as Roundup) and pesticides which decrease levels of soil life over time.
In his book “The Hidden Life of Trees”, Peter Wohlleben describes how trees in a forest can support each other by sharing nutrients, via their roots, during stressful times. This can occur between different species of trees. I’m not sure if grape vines do this, I like to think they do and it is a fascinating topic.
Humus or Soil Organic Matter
Increasing the organic matter content of the soil is encouraged in organic farming and we do this in many ways e.g. by planting cover crops between our vines during winter, by adding compost to the soil, using straw as a mulch (especially our young and very old vines) and by grazing our vineyards with sheep during winter (they add manure while they graze). Although the scale of grazing in the vineyards is insignificant at the moment, as the size of our herd increases this will become an important part of our vineyard program. Higher levels of organic matter lead to, amongst other things, improved soil aeration, water retention and drainage. In the light of global warming and the prolonged drought we recently experienced, improved water retention is a significant factor.
Old vines mulched with straw
Can you taste the difference between organic wine and conventional wine?
This is a tricky question. The world of wine is all about an almost infinite amount of taste sensations – different varietals, vintages, sites and winemaking styles. This is the beauty of wine. On top of this you get badly made wines and well-made wines, no matter if they’re conventional or organic. I don’t think anyone can identify an organic wine simply by sniffing and sipping!
Do we think that our wines taste better since we’ve converted to organic farming methods? Oh yes! The natural acidity levels in the grapes are higher, and the flavours are more intense. This carries into the wines, resulting in more flavour, often at lower alcohol levels.
The route we have taken is allowing us to constantly improve the quality and authenticity of the wine we are making and we are fortunate to be able to play a small role in combating environmental degradation. Sometimes it can be difficult to balance idealism and commercial realities. The necessary pursuit of profit margins can clash with “pro-environment” decisions that are often long-term in nature and seemingly expensive. Luckily our desire to do the right thing and our ambition to make the best possible wine from our little piece of earth align perfectly!
Best regards
Tyrrel, Anette and the Joostenberg team.
winery@joostenberg.co.za / tyrrel@joostenberg.co.za / anette@joostenberg.co.za
www.joostenberg.co.za