The application of AgriSea helps Vilagrad Vineyard grow healthier vines and riper fruit.
As a 5th generation winemaker at the prestigious vineyard Vilagrad in the Waikato, Jacob Nooyan has seen the vineyard go from strength to strength. However, eight years ago the vineyards vines were struggling. They stuck to the traditional path and did the required soil and foliar testing and would apply fertiliser to beat the problems, but the vines were still having a hard-time.
Weather in the Waikato can be dry, and the vines need to be watered and fed the nutrients they need in order to produce a ripe and ready to ferment crop. Jacob had heard about AgriSea and their seaweed foliar spray and decided that it would be a good idea to give it a try.
A stickler for trying things in the vineyard and the winery, Jacob made sure he kept a control row of vines in order to compare the results from the vines sprayed with Foliar Nutrition.
“You could see the difference in the vines and the leaves in particular. The leaves went from a yellow colour to a very dark green. They were shiny and looked healthier.”
Jacob says it was surprising how quickly they noticed the changes in the vines. He had expected that changes might take months, but the results came much sooner.
“Two to three weeks was all it took to see the results in the colour of the leaves on the vines after we had sprayed the seaweed.
We are wanting to get more photosynthesis happening so that we get a healthier vine and healthier fruit. This benefits the fermentation process. We have very successful ferments that do not stick because we have got the nutrition right at the vine. AgriSea has a lot to do with that.”
Jacob says “coming up to harvest we will spray the vineyard with AgriSea. It is like Red Bull for the vines, giving them a real push to ripen the fruit.”
For Vilagrad, the healthier vines mean that the fruit, at harvest, is riper than the control row. The vines also have increased carbohydrate reserves helping them get through winter and more nutrients and micronutrients are available at the start of the next season helping them get off to a really good start.
Overall, Jacob believes the application of the AgriSea products is helping the vineyard produce healthier fruit which is translating into better wine in the bottle.