VINEYARD PRACTICES
Temple Bruer has long held to the philosophy that responsible farmers (of which winegrowers are merely one example) should aim to minimise chemical inputs into our environment. This philosophy was put into practice in the early 1990's, when conversion to fully certified organic grapegrowing practices commenced. Today, all of our plantings are certified as A-Grade Organic by the Australian Certified Organics (ACO).
Plantings in the older portions of the Temple Bruer Vineyard began in 1973, with an area of 8 hectares being planted over a period of nine years. Newer plantings commenced in 1994 on an adjoining block. By the year 2004 it was obvious that the commercial value of the original plantings were becoming limited as the yields were decreasing anually and the quality of the fruit was also reducing. Temple Bruer now only crops the newer vineyard consisting of 16 hectares planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot fruit along with some Grenache and also white varieties including Verdelho, Chenin Blanc, Viognier and Riesling.
The newer plantings were established on narrow (2 m) row spacings using the Smart-Dyson trellis, a trellis system which is efficient in maximising the interception of sunlight. Organic grapegrowing principles prohibit the use of synthetic chemicals so a permanent sward is established along all vine rows, which maintains a healthy environment within vineyard soils. Only organic fertilisers are used. Temple Bruer prepares its own compost (about 100 tonnes per year) which is made from grape seeds and skins, grass, hay and yeast lees from the fermentations. Wood shavings from barrel recycling are added. Ocassionally other sources of plant material are included, for example, the mulched tree loppings from power line clearance as supplied by local contractors.
Above: The Smart Dyson trellis system