How ducks are being used to keep your favourite wines ‘organic’
When you think of the important elements needed in order to produce award-winning, organic wine, the last thing you may consider are the role ducks may play. Yet, at Angove Family Winemaker’s vineyard in the McLaren Vale, the resident ducks are considered very special staff members. Ones that are so important, that the owners of the 130-year-old, multi-generational wine company consider the Indian Runner Ducks an integral part of the family, and the winemaking process. “Our ducks are released every day in our Warboys Vineyard at McLaren Vale,” says Richard Angove, Joint Managing Director of Angove Family Winemakers and 5th generation winemaker. “The sight of the waterfowls waddling out of their specifically designed ‘Duck Hotel’ is guaranteed to bring a smile to all visitors’ faces, but they also play a very important role in our vineyard. The ducks keep the snail population under control without the need to use pesticides on the vines.” With the help of their feathered employees, Angove have been able to continue their commitment to sustainability at all levels and maintain their Certified Organic status. “We are unable to use traditional chemicals to control weeds in the vineyard, so instead we need to resort to manual removal for young vines, or mechanical removal and under-vine mulching in the older more established vineyards.” “The snails used to crawl up into the vine canopy and munch away on the young green shoots of the developing leaves and grapes,” continues Angove. The (human) team had removed more than 400kg of snails from the vineyard… Read More
