30 invitees from around the world were invited to North Canterbury where they were paired into groups with winery staff and family members. Each group was assigned a task such as shoreline, river or game hunting and given 24 hours to forage, gather and hunt an edible bounty. This was then collected and presented at Pegasus Bay Winery where a group of NZ’s best chefs prepared dishes paired alongside our...
Vigneron's Diary
Sustainability Stories - Animals
Animals are an important and integrated part of vineyard life at Bellbird Spring. On Block Eight we have chickens, ducks, quail, (and seasonally graze sheep). On the Home Block we fatten Dexter beef for our own consumption. Raising these animals provides a personal connection with our land.
The sheep graze the vineyard once the nets are off, and again when the spring growth begins. They do an excellent job of tidying up the grass and weeds. This is no effort for us and also saves fuel use and the risk of soil compaction that we would otherwise face if using the tractor....
Sustainability Stories - Grape Marc Compost
At the end of vintage we are left with a rather large pile of grape marc (stems, skins, seeds). What could be seen as winery waste is in fact burgundy coloured gold for us at Bellbird Spring.
The marc, along with old bales is layered up into a big, vegetative lasagne which quickly becomes a hotspot for hungry microorganisms. These bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes consume what they can and obtain energy by oxidising organic material. The oxidation process heats up the compost pile within days. A steaming and spectacular sight on cold winters morning. The heap is turned and monitored so that come spring, we are...
Forage North Canterbury
We’re a bit delayed in sharing our participation in this event that happened earlier this year but we thoroughly enjoyed being involved and felt it important to digitally document.
Winefolk Long Lunch
In May we enjoyed a long lunch just down the road at Glenmark Station. The event was styled and organised by Winefolk and the food was prepared by Alex Davies.
It was a wonderful afternoon and the food and wine matches were superb. Most of the food was locally grown and Bellbird Spring’s own poultry featured on the menu too. It was a pleasure to meet a lot of new faces and to work alongside a talented bunch of Canterbury suppliers.
A big thank you to Weka Pass Railway, Winefolk, Alex Davies Chef, Taken by Charlie Rose and Cakes...
Vigneron's Notes
May 05 2016
Bellbird Spring has joined a burgeoning list of New Zealand vineyards making the change to organic, wine production.
The, family-owned vineyard has announced it has been certified as organic by BioGro, New Zealand’s leading organic certification agency. They are one of seven certified organic vineyards in the Waipara Valley.
It is a labour of love for Guy Porter, the vineyard’s owner, grower and winemaker, who has long practiced organic viticulture as a way of promoting sustainability. “I think certification will give customers the assurance that comes with an independently certified endorsement,” Mr Porter says. “We are really excited to be...