Underground Resistance: How NZ’s Winegrowers Are Turning Challenge Into Opportunity

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By Jo Burzynska

Tuesday Sep. 09, 2025

Viva

Black Estate's three vineyards are farmed organically, biodynamically and regeneratively.

In challenging times, Jo Burzynska finds optimism in organic wines.

At a time when New Zealand’s winegrowers are facing extreme conditions – from climate change to declining wine consumption – you might expect most wine conferences to unfold under a dark cloud. Yet it was quite the contrary at this

This gathering of the naturally inclined highlighted how much there is to celebrate as Aotearoa gears up for Organic Wine Week (September 15-21). In the past four years, the value of New Zealand’s organic wine sector has grown 13.5% to a record $78.3 million. There are now 116 organic wineries – up 13% since 2021 – with 16% of wineries now having at least one certified organic label. This Organic Wine Week, New Zealand will take a major tasting of its organic wines to Australia for the first time.

Organic wines are grown and made using only natural inputs, with no synthetic chemical additives permitted. Biodynamics goes further, viewing the vineyard as a complete ecosystem, working with lunar and planetary rhythms, and using specific plant, animal and mineral preparations. A growing number of producers guarantee this through official organic or biodynamic certification. Both differ from Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ), which now covers 98% of New Zealand’s producing vineyard area, which allows certain synthetic inputs when justified by evidence.

Do organic/biodynamic wines taste better? Evidence from my Viva Top 50 Wineries suggests this may well be the case: almost three-quarters of this year’s winners made all or some of their wines from organically grown grapes. Given that organic and biodynamic growing require meticulous vineyard work, at the very least it suggests these wines are made with considerable care.

Felton Road biodynamic winery, Central Otago.

Many of the country’s most respected wineries are now organic or biodynamic, such as Bell Hill, Felton Road, Fromm and Rippon. It’s an approach often adopted primarily for quality, and from a growing conviction that wines have a better chance of reflecting their distinctive place when you work with, rather than against, the natural environment.

Natural wines are part of a similar trend. While there’s no agreed definition or certification in New Zealand, they’re generally understood to involve minimal winemaking intervention, with few or no additives, little to no fining or filtration, and minimal overt oak influence. In my view, natural wines should also be organically farmed. While most New Zealand examples are, it’s not guaranteed.

Beyond organics

As evidenced by the breadth of topics and environmental initiatives covered at the OWNZ conference, many organic winegrowers are looking to go beyond simply eschewing synthetic chemicals. Multiple paths are being explored to reduce their wider environmental impact.

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One hot topic is wine packaging. As noted by Marta Mendonça, of the Porto Protocol – an international wine-industry non-profit that shares practical climate solutions – it’s the single biggest contributor to wine’s carbon footprint, with impacts also spanning water use, waste, chemical load and biodiversity loss. The industry is responding with lighter-weight bottles and by putting more quality wines in bag-in-box and cans, both of which now offer improved performance. As reuse beats recycling, Mendonça highlighted that reusing a wine bottle 20 times can cut carbon and water footprints by about 80%. New Zealand’s successful swap-a-crate beer model could even be extended to wine if the industry and consumers get on board.

“We need more than standards now,” argued Regeneration International’s Dr André Leu, part of the growing regenerative agriculture movement. “It’s the answer to climate change, environmental degradation and health problems,” he said, defining regenerative agriculture as systems that measurably improve the environment, soil, plant and animal welfare, human health and communities. It’s an approach we’ll likely see more of here in wine with the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation’s launch of the “one block challenge” in New Zealand this year, encouraging vineyards of any persuasion to trial regenerative practices on a small area and track changes in soil health.

Subterranean revolution

A focus on soil health is where the organics movement began – and it’s now the locus of excitement, as growers grasp how underground life shapes quality in the glass. Soil scientist Dr Peter Espie described how the symbiotic relationship between vines and the fungal and bacterial microbes in the soil can increase wine quality, making the soil microbiome “the future of fine wine”.

Soil scientist Dr Peter Espie. Photo / Kerrie Waterworth

Nurture a diversity of plants in a vineyard and you’ll nurture a diverse microbiome that feeds and protects the vines, explained Dr Charles Merfield, of the BHU Future Farming Centre. It’s the polar opposite of the past ideal of a weedless vineyard growing only vines. In Italy, Katia Nussbaum, of San Polino, has been practising “viti-forestry” to this end. She has planted trees within her vineyards to encourage fungal networks that deliver nutrients back to the vines, reducing the need for fertilisers. “It feels like the microbes’ voices are beginning to be heard. It’s their MeToo moment!” she said. “Working with these silent connectors gives me hope, and that hope lies under our feet.”

Emerging from underground, the current mainstream economics of organic wine appear a little disheartening. Joseph Brinkley, of pioneering Californian organic winery Bonterra – which released its first certified organic wine in 1992 – was frank: “Organic isn’t the cheapest or easiest path to the most profit.” Organic wine production can be more costly, and many drinkers are not prepared to pay a premium. Many shoppers who buy organic dairy and produce don’t carry that over to wine, notes Brinkley, perhaps due to romantic notions of winemaking.

Here in New Zealand, organic vineyards make up 6% of the country’s land under vine, an area that has slightly decreased. Some larger players are stepping back from organics, likely due to lower profitability in the current tough times. Nevertheless, more small producers are embracing organics, and internationally organic wine is growing while the overall wine market is in decline.

As it’s young people who appear most interested in organic wine, the future looks brighter. Brinkley noted that younger drinkers are more likely to care how wine is made, with Millennials and Gen Z in particular showing a strong preference for organic wine in the US.

An issue looming large over organic wine is the Government’s proposed Gene Technology Bill. Alistair Shawn, of Organics Aotearoa New Zealand, warned it poses “an existential threat” to the country’s organic producers, jeopardising access to export markets that have zero tolerance for contamination. Professor Jack Heinemann, a molecular biologist and genetic engineer at the University of Canterbury, stressed how easily a genetically modified yeast created outside containment facilities could contaminate wine if the bill passed. “None of our major trading partners have legislation this lax,” Heinemann stated. “In my opinion, the bill is wrong not just for New Zealand but for the world.”

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Such challenges aside, optimism pervaded the conference – and New Zealand’s organic wine community more widely. As OWNZ chair Clive Dougall noted: “This could be a moment where our wines stand out in a crowded marketplace. Organic wine consumption is growing, defying the trend of declining wine sales, with a market of people seeking a genuine story coming from producers who care.”

Organic introductions

Dip your toes into organic wine with these delicious, well-priced examples:

Windrush Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024

With its notes of blackcurrant bud, green herbs and lime, this is classic Marlborough sauvignon, but with extra savoury interest and texture from some wild ferments and a portion matured in old oak. $26.50 from Glengarry Wines Victoria Park and windrushorganic.com

Zephyr Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2024

Perfumed, fresh and pure, Zephyr’s Gewurztraminer is redolent of rosewater, musk and spice over fruit reminiscent of lemon curd. Some was fermented on skins in amphora for extra aromatic intensity which, combined with a small portion in old oak, has imparted lovely texture. $27.99 from Moore Wilson, Regional Wines and Glengarry

Aard Nouveau Hawke’s Bay 2025

A brand-new release from a brand-new label, made by the younger generation at Hopes Grove Wines. Certified organic and using biodynamic practices, it’s a bright, juicy, berry-fruited Hawke’s Bay take on nouveau, made from Syrah and Chardonnay fermented together. $35 from aard.co.nz

Organic Wine Week: September 15-21

For a full organic wine immersion, look out for events during Organic Wine Week. These range from special promotions to educational sessions that raise awareness about organic wines. One highlight is Down to Earth, held at The Sapphire Room, Ponsonby Central, in Auckland on Tuesday September 16. It’s the largest public tasting of New Zealand organic wines, poured by the people who make them. “It’s a fun, walk-around tasting, offering a unique opportunity to taste and learn about the importance and quality of organic wine, as well as its positive impact on people and the environment,” explains OWNZ’s Naomi Galvin.