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PREVIOUS WINELAND ARTICLES   |   WINELAND HOME Graham Beck Wines Viticulture Project: Satellite technology taken to new heights by Maryke Hörstmann Precision viticulture with the use of satellite technology has been taken to new heights in the South African wine industry with a project undertaken by Graham Beck Wines in conjunction with Agri Informatics, a leading consultant. The team involved in this high-tech project (front from left): Johan Wiese, Pieter Ferreira, Francois Knight and Marco Ventrella, with Gary Baumgarten and Leon Dippenaar standing. According to well-known terroir consultant Francois Knight, this project is meaningful, not so much in the multi disciplinary technology utilised over the last eighteen months, but that this technology has locally been taken further than ever before. His company has been involved with over 60 similar projects in the Western Cape, but this one is unique because the terroir analysis has been combined with infrared satellite images to bring the current performance of the vineyard in connection with the environmental factors such as soil, climate and topography. Francois and the Graham Beck team gave WineLand a view of the new world of viticultural intelligence unlocked by this project. Other members of the team include Pieter Ferreira, Graham Beck Robertson’s cellar master, Gary Baumgarten, general manager at Graham Beck Wines, Johan Wiese, viticultural consultant, Marco Ventrella, viticulturist for Graham Beck Wines, and Leon Dippenaar, who was a former viticulturist with the group. Leon will continue to be involved as VinPro consultant. This technology enables the producer to define every nook and cranny of the farm in terms of aspect, micro-climate, soil characteristics and the cultivar that would best fit the location. By defining the building blocks of terroir in such a way, guesswork and expensive mistakes can be avoided. According to Knight, New World wine countries such as South Africa can’t afford to attempt to understand their terroir though centuries of trial and error. "With this technology we can understand our terroir in a short time and produce according to it." He says one of South Africa’s selling points in the world wine market is its biodiversity, but that it isn’t yet fully optimised. This management tool has been used on all the Graham Beck farms - Graham Beck Robertson (Madeba), Bellingham in Franschhoek (Graham Beck Coastal) and Schoongesig and Vredenhof close to Somerset West. Marco Ventrella showed how the results of the study are now used to take strategic decisions about which sections of blocks to press together, or in which sections to adjust the irrigation. The most important advantage, however, lies in optimal block planning and placement of cultivars made possible with this system. Agri Informatics specialise in a GIS (Geographical Information System) based analysis of the complex interaction between the environment and crops. Simple maps of the farm are used to draw a detailed analysis of the micro climate. Ideal block borders are drawn according to a variety of critical variables. A soil map can also be drawn up, describing soil qualities such as the acidity level, clay content, water retention ability and depth. The result is a map that shows the ideal block design, row alignment, root stock, cultivar, plant spacing and trellis system. The suggested irrigation system is then presented to an irrigation engineer. The meso-climate of the farm is also compared to other wine regions, locally and internationally. These analyses form the basis of precision viticulture. Arial photography or satellite images can also be incorporated in the system. Users can recall any GPS coordinate on the farm with the click of a mouse, ensuring that observations in vineyards can easily be brought in connection with the terroir factors. One of the many advantages is that the performance of vines can be corrected. This means that top quality grapes from a specific vineyard can be identified to make specific wines - a possibility gaining new meaning in the light of legalising vineyard wines according to the Wine of Origen system. The cost of such an analysis amount to a fee less than the development cost of a quarter hectare, according to Knight. For more info, please contact Francois Knight on 083 658 7776 or digitalterroir@mweb.co.za.

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