With a changing climate, viticulture is becoming an increasingly important part of the matrix of British crop production. A warming climate coupled with a soil structure often similar to that of Northern France has seen increased planting of grapevines. These British vineyards are primarily for the production of still and sparkling white wines. British vineyards producing a high-quality grape harvest is one of the driving factors behind increasing international recognition for high-quality British wines. 

It is this passion to produce high quality grapes to support the industry's position as a high-quality product, which leads the British viticulture industry to strive to find more sustainable ways to grow grapes. The sustainability and environmental responsibility of the industry is integrated into the marketing position of the finished product, great tasting locally made wine.    

As success of wine production leads to scaling up of production area, growers are looking for ways to maintain this environmental sustainability whilst supporting their larger operations and vine growing infrastructure. It is this balance between intensification and sustainability where biological products from Andermatt play a role to support the viticulture industry to produce high-quality, fresh grapes suitable for premium wine production.  

Andermatt are a global producer of biological and sustainable solutions, relied upon as part of an integrated cropping system around the world. Our global footprint allows us to work within grape producing systems around the world from South African Chardonay to Argentinian Malbec, American Pinot Noir to Italian Pinot Grigio. Whilst climate and pests may vary around the world where grapes are grown, Andermatt work with local experts to support growing healthy grapevines more sustainably. 

Management of pest insects in vineyards

Best practice for pest insect management starts with insect monitoring using pheromone traps. Accurately identifying which pest insects are present within a crop, and correctly identifying when an action threshold has been reached ensures efficient use of insecticides. Whether it is a pheromone trap for moths or cup traps for Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), traps offer a low-cost field-specific data point to guide decisions.   

A range of insect pheromone traps are available for pest moths including Eupoecilia ambiguella, Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM, Epiphyas postvittana) and Lobesia botrana. Refill packs of sticky inserts and pheromones are also available so that the plastic red delta traps can be reused for multiple seasons. For monitoring Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD, Drosophila suzukii) cup traps such as Drosal Pro and DrosoTrap are used to hold liquid attractant such as DrosaLure 2.0 which attracts both male and female flies.  

Delfin®

A biological insecticide targeting a wide range of Lepidoptera caterpillars. Sprayed onto the apple trees, Delfin® has to be ingested by the pest insect. Authorised to be applied throughout the apple growing season, it offers flexibility for se in an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program against a range of caterpillar pest species.  

Advantages of integrating Andermatt products into your vineyard system: 

Sustainable nutrient management in vineyards

Nutrition management is central to growing healthy grapes. The use of liquid fertilisers can however rely on synthetic fertilisers, the production of which is highly energy dependent and requires materials sourced from mining or petroleum. Natural, often organically certified, alternatives often however don’t have the control and flexibility in their content to provide what the crop ideally requires. The Vertilizer® range of liquid fertilisers solves these issues. Sustainably manufactured from plant waste streams, no mined minerals or petroleum is used in their manufacturing. They are however customisable, allowing the flexibility and control of different NPK ratios to be supplied. As well as Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K), the Vertilizer® range also includes a Calcium (Ca). In addition, the Andermatt fertiliser range also includes an elemental Sulphur (S) fertiliser Bio-Sulphur®, again offering a more sustainable options for commonly used essential grape growing tools.       

Reducing plastic use in viticulture

It is not only in our fertiliser range where Andermatt are helping the wine industry reduce its need for petroleum derived products. BioSpiral® vine guards and BioTie® binding tube take products vine growers are familiar with and source them more sustainably. More sustainable options can therefore be adopted without any change to behaviour or disruption to growing practices. Both BioSpiral® vine guards and BioTie® are made from PLA (polylactic acid), a maize derived polymer which behaves similarly to normal petro-plastic. The difference being however that PLA degrades to water and carbon dioxide after use rather than persisting in the environment for hundreds of years as petrol-derived plastics do.