Welcome to the blog of Johnathan Grieve.
I am the proprietor of Avondale wine estate, and pioneer of the BioLOGIC® approach to sustainable viticulture. The transformation of Avondale from over-used and abused land into a thriving, robust vineyard ecosystem has been a personal learning journey of more than a decade long. This blog is where I share some of what I have learnt about promoting life on our farm and the wonderful impact this has had on our handcrafted premium quality wines.
Johnathan Grieve
Natural Fermentation Creates A Slow Holistic Evolution
Avondale is farmed organically and biodynamically. No chemicals are used in the vineyards or in the cellar, nor are chemicals added to the grapes when they arrive at the cellar. All our fermentations are spontaneous and natural caused by the unique yeasts present on the grapes.
Nutrient Density Is Critical To Both Plants And Humans
Nutrient density simply means the level of nutrients in our food sources. At Avondale we take a particular interest in the nutrient density of the plants and soils as they are the fundamental building blocks of the food we serve and the wines we make.
Beauveria Bassiana – Broadspectrum to be used with focus control
Beauveria Bassiana is a broad spectrum fungi which is most often found growing in soils. This fungus is utilised as a biological pest control measure specifically targeting insect pests, such as red spider mites, termites, aphids, thrips and ants. At Avondale we use Beauveria Bassiana to control our ant populations in a very focused manor.
Responsible water use at Avondale
The drought has major effects on faming on all fronts and Avondale is no exception to this.
However through foresight and respect for our natural resources we are currently having minimal detrimental consequences.
Beneficial bacteria can tackle the worst grape diseases
With our commitment to organic and Biodynamic farming, and to preserve our healthy vineyard ecosystem, we’ve turned to biological controls in order to avoid fungicides. Nature provides alternatives in the form of various strains of beneficial bacteria, such as Bacillus amyloliquifaciens and Bacillus subtilis, which are highly effective at preventing common, threatening fungal infections.
2018 is a Year of Special Moon Events
When it comes to the energies and rhythms of the moon, 2018 is certainly going to be an exceptional year. Many of you would have been aware that January 2018 was a rare Blue Moon month, with two Full Super Moons – and the last on the 31st of January pulling out all stops as a Super Blue Blood Moon!
Beneficials to beat Bollworms
In this third article in our series about using beneficials to solve challenges naturally and avoid harmful chemicals in the farm environment, we look at solutions for a common problem – bollworms. A bollworm is not a worm, but the larvae (caterpillars) of a number of different moth species. Voracious eaters, they do give farmers a real hard time.