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Set up for sustainability at Anderson Winery and Vineyard
At Anderson Winery & vineyard we established our vineyard in 1992 as dryland. We chose our vineyard site specifically to be able to do this (soil with good water holding capacity etc).
Not irrigating means we get a much lower yield of grapes than most vineyards, but as well as being good for the quality of the grapes (less water = lower yields = better quality), it also conserves a precious resource – water.
Since 2007 (the peak of the drought) we have started cultivating between the rows of our vines, which helps any rain soak into the soil and penetrate more deeply into the rootzone rather than running off. Thus the water that is available is optimized.
In the winery we are also mindful of our water usage, and our entire winery water supply comes from on-site rainwater tanks.
The winery itself is made entirely out of insulating panels (affectionately known as the 'giant esky'), which keeps it cool in summer and warm in winter and minimizes the need for heating and cooling.
Our wine is made organically (not certified) with minimal additives.
We are also experimenting with new grape varieties and evaluating our current plantings for their capability to cope with warmer, drier conditions. Throughout the drought we have found that our Durif has performed a lot better than our Shiraz, and so we have recently grafted over a quarter of our Shiraz to Durif, and plan to do more.
We have also planted small amounts of Tempranillo and Saperavi which look promising so far. Both are red grapes - Tempranillo comes from northern Spain, and Saperavi from Georgia (bordering Turkey on the Black sea).
