48 | Healthy soils key to quality grapes H & H Contracting transports most of the Marlborough Grape Growers Co-Operative’s grapes to the winery. H&H Contracting T T Virginia Wright CONTRACTING It is six years since Yvette Herd with her husband Tim, and her brother Jim Hagen with his wife Kristy, took over the family viticulture contracting business from their parents Chris and Marilyn Hagen. Formerly CJ Hagen Limited, the company was set up in the mid-80s working in the grain industry, but it slowly evolved into its current form supporting the viticulture industry. H & H Contracting transports most of the Marlborough Grape Growers Co-Operative’s grapes to the winery. They also have a lot to do with making sure there is a quality crop to harvest in the first place, and in recent years they have gone one step further, focusing on soil health with their own sauvignon blanc blocks. “The work we’ve done on our own vineyards’ soil health is really paying off and we’re looking forward to sharing it, while the main part of our business is doing the mechanical work in the vineyard. The technology’s improving all the time, and we regularly invest to make sure we keep up,” says Yvette. It starts with spraying the new shoots once they have emerged, then keeping the rapidly growing vines tidy with regular trimming as the spray programme continues. A leaf plucker plucks the leaves off from where the newly forming grape berries are growing, which helps both with ripening and with getting the sprays into where the fruit has set. A ‘collard’ is used to blow high-pressure air around the berries, keeping them clear of all the ‘trash’, like flower caps, or any dead leaf material. As the berries ripen and swell to form the bunches of grapes we are all familiar with, keeping them clean helps keep the rot at bay and to ensure the quality of grapes harvested remains high. Yvette and Tim’s focus on soil quality began when they were working in the 30-year-old sauvignon blanc block they purchased from Yvette’s parents. “The vines weren’t producing very well, so we started getting advice from soil scientists. We did some deep ripping and started putting on more soil-friendly biological products to help stimulate the soil health,” says Yvette. “We’re keeping the soil alive essentially by putting on things like Biochar and very finely ground calcium in liquid form, which opens up the soil profile and lets it breathe, and we’re spreading compost under the vines as well. We want to get the biology working, the bugs working,” explains Tim. Soil that was hard and compacted with few signs of life is now easy to work and full of worms. Cover cropping in between seasons no doubt plays its part too, as the strips between the vines are planted with things like fava beans, mustard, grasses and lupins to name a few. These are then mulched and put under the vines to feed back into their health and play their part in those blocks being among the highest producing in the district. “We’ve had feedback from the winery that the grapes are good quality and we can see that on the vine too,” says Tim. Jim and Kristy Hagen followed the same soil-focused principles with equally good results when developing their new block of sauvignon grapes. H & H Contracting say they would like to work with any clients who have problem soil or who are interested in improving their soil, whether they’re starting a new vineyard or working with one that is long-established. It is all part of their expertise and focus on getting it right every step of the way from soil health to harvest, which feeds into the quality of the Marlborough sauvignon blanc enjoyed around the world. agraforum.co.nz 0800 488 118 Soil compaction sorted Improve water holding capacity Higher brix earlier Increased tonnage Natural fungus and insect control Frost protection Proud to be associated with H&H Contracting. Viticultural Solutions OFFER Marlborough Grape Growers Cooperative and Hagen & Herd - Proud industry partners
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