Viticulture - Drayton's

Question 1

What is the nature of Drayton’s (5)

Answer 1

• Family owned and operated business founded by one of the Hunter’s pioneering winemaking families over 150 years ago (6 generations), however moving towards private ownership - currently owned by John and Greg
• Drayton’s growing of grapes is based on primary production
• hinges on long term investment taking up to 10 years to break even
• Has 150 acres of vines
• The system of growing the grapes and producing wine is highly labour intensive and highly mechanized

Question 2

What is the spatial distribution of Draytons

Answer 2

• 555 Oakey Creek rd, Pokolbin Hunter Valley
• At the foot of the Brokenback Ranges
• 33S, 151 E
• New World
• 1.5 hours from Sydney

Question 3

What are the ecological dimensions (4)

Answer 3

• Biophysical Restraints/ aspects (Topography/soil, climate)
  (pest and disease, rainfall)

Sociocultural (tourism, demographics)

Human Impacts on the environment (water intensive, pesticides and fungicides

Ecological sustainability

Question 4

In ecological dimensions what are the environmental constraints(4)

Answer 4

• Topography/soil
• Climate
• Pest and disease
• Rainfall

Question 5

What are the biophysical factors (Topography/soil) of Drayton’s ecological dimensions

Answer 5

Topography/ Soil
- The land is undulating - enabling ideal 5% slope
- Sloped topography allows goof sun exposure, increased drainage and airflow and minimal erosion
- planted trellises along the contours to reduce erosion and increase infiltration of run off

Soil
Inherently nutrient poor soil
- white prefer more nutrient rich soil therefore planted on the more ideal alluvial clay based soil on the flats produced by run off
- Red grapes prefer stressfull conditions and is planted in the volcanic soil on the slops, which is nutrient deficient has nutrients have been leached out

Question 6

What are the biophysical factors (climate) of Drayton’s ecological dimensions

Answer 6

Climate - main factor which determines the quality of the harvest and terroir
Ideal
- Mediterranean
- 30-50N/S
- 1200mL rainfall
- temp 10-20
- high sunlight

Drayton Climate
- Quasi Mediterranean
- 8.5 hours daylight
- 750mm - inadequate
Hence irrigation is required
- DFW uses drip irrigation system using water from their 2 onsite dams, rain tanks and Private Irrigation District.
PID - enables use of the Hunter River Water Supply - however costly ($10 million to build connecting system and $450 per ML)

La Nina

Question 7

What are the biophysical factors (climate - La Nina) of Drayton’s ecological dimensions

Answer 7

La Nina has resulted in drier and warmer conditions across winter and cooler and above average rainfall in Summer
- Has disrupted natural harvest cycles at DFW
- Caused vines in the winter to still be active (producing leaves) when they should be in their dormant phase
- moved DFW 2022 vintage back a fortnight as the low temperatures slowed the ripening process
- In 2021 and 2022 La Nina resulted in consistent heavy downpours in Summer restricting access to vineyard
- rainfall split up to 25% grapes and adds disease pressure as they take up moisture (therefore they had to handpick produce to determine the best quality)

Question 8

What are the biophysical factors (pest and disease) of Drayton’s ecological dimensions

Answer 8

◦ Diseases (powdery mildew, bunch rot) and pests (rust mites, vine moth) mean the vines need to be sprayed every 10-14 days with expensive chemicals (diphane).
◦ Rose plants are put at the end of each row to detect diseases first (They are very sensitive to diseases so if they die it’s a early detection of diseases)
◦ Phylloxera pest which feeds on the roots of grape vines absorbing its nutrients –> DFW grafted 30% of their total grape vines with American root stock which has natural resistance to Phylloxera
- Phylloxera caused $23.1 billion in damages in agriculture across NSW

Question 9

What are the biophysical factors (rainfall/weather) of Drayton’s ecological dimensions

Answer 9

◦ Heavy rain encourages mould, mildew and bunch rot and dilutes sugar and flavour meaning lower quality wine.
◦ Rain during harvest makes mechanical harvesting makes mechanical harvesting difficult, meaning expensive (and slow) hand pickers need to be hired, however handpicking is gentler on the fruit
◦ Too much rainfall brings the vintage forward  vintage = starting bottling process, makes them starting the bottling process earlier to prevent bunch rot
◦ Not enough rainfall means irrigation is necessary which increases costs for the business

Question 10

What are the socio-cultural factors of Drayton’s - ecological dimensions (3)

Answer 10

• Drayton’s location draws tourist due to cellar doors, wine festivals, concerts (Day of the green,splendour in the grass), golf courses and famous restaurants, acting as a tourist attraction for Sydney siders and overseas
• Close proximity to freeway and transports makes the area easily accessible and the growth of tourism he led to a repaid expansion of infrastructure to accommodate
• demographic changes leading to an increas of DINKS also leading a demand for luxury goods

Question 11

Example of Hunter Valley events

Answer 11

Day of the green,
splendour in the grass

Question 12

What are the human impacts on environment Drayton’s

Answer 12

• Reducing biodiversity/ monoculture
• Agrochemicals
• Water intensive
• Energy intensive

Question 13

What are the human impacts on the environment (monoculture)

Answer 13

• Cleared 60 hectares of land to cultivate vine
• reduced biodiversity establishing a monoculture
• increased vulnerability of the ecosystem therefore more venerable to pest and disease

Question 14

What are the human impact on the environment Drayton’s (water intensive stats) (3)

Answer 14

◦ 10.5L of water is used to produce every 1L of wine (including cleaning, irrigation and produce packing)
◦ 6-7L of water is used per hour for 8 hours a week for drip irrigation per vine when needed
◦ Irrigation can cause soil erosion and when it rains the resulting run off can end up in waterways, increasing sediment and salinity problems
- High water uses causes strain on water resources

Question 15

What are the human impact on the environment Drayton’s (agrochemicals)

Answer 15

◦ Drayton’s uses the pesticide Dipel, and copper and sulphate sprays with kill both the target and not target pests (reducing biodiversity)
- chemicals can be carried into nearby waterways as run off when it rains (Hunter River)
- sulphate and copper is toxic to marine life in high concentrations
- eutrophication

Question 16

What are the human impact on the environment Drayton’s (energy intensive)

Answer 16

◦ High amounts of energy usage (uses 4 times more power during vintage)
◦ Average electricity bill for Drayton’s is $120, 000 a year; around $20, 000 a month during vintage. This is due to refrigerators and machines needed 24/7 for about 5 weeks
- Large green house gas emission and air pollution
- sustainable measures (solar panels and new insulation)

Question 17

What are the ecological sustainability methods at Drayton’s (4)

Answer 17

• Renewable energy
• Stelvin cap
• Waste management
• Recycled Materials

Question 18

What are the ecological sustainability methods at Drayton’s (Renewable energy)

Answer 18

Solar panels
- largest in the Hunter region
- save $20, 000 per month and the business is energy neutral when not in vintage
- 200kW system
- hopefully influenced surrounding wineries to adopt sustainable measures

Renovation
- Added more energy efficient refrigerators
- Added insulation in the roofs so less energy is loss when cooling

Question 19

What are the ecological sustainability methods at Drayton’s (Stelvin Cap)

Answer 19

Stelvin Cap
- Replaced Corks as they become increasingly more unsustainable
- Cork oak trees take 9-12 years to grow back
- increased production of corks due to romanticized image (13 billion demand)
- Corks are less effective wine stoppers as they are porous and make wine oxidize faster
- Corks more expensive ($1 vs 2c)
- Drayton’s make stelvin cap out of recycled aluminum which can be recycled indefinitely - reducing landfill

Question 20

What are the ecological sustainability methods at Drayton’s (Waste)

Answer 20

Closed the waste loop
- using the leave and stem waste and processing it back into the soil while tilling as they act as organic fertilissers
- Also feed organic waste to DFW cows where their waste is also used as soil fertilizer

Question 21

What are the ecological sustainability methods at Drayton’s (recycled materials)

Answer 21

recycled material
- used recycled rainwater caught in water tanks used for irrigation
- recycled cardboard from Malaysia for packing
- Buys glass from American company O-I which is recycled
- DFW don’t have punts at the bottom of the glass to reduce wasteful material

Question 22

What are the internal and external linkages and flows

Answer 22

• People
• Ideas
• Goods
• Services
  PIGS

Question 23

What are the internal linkages of goods

Answer 23

• The assemblage process of producing the grapes to the finished product of wine.
• The flow from primary, secondary and tertiary industry of producing wine
• “vine to wine”

Question 24

What are the internal linkages of Ideas

Answer 24

• 3 owners/ managers
• John Daryton (management/market ideas) contributes financial ideas that deal with accounting, advertising, pricing and budgeting. - has developed an extensive price range of wine starting at $15 (new generation range)
• Greg Smith and Max Drayton (Viticulturist) makes decisions about the amount of pruning, fertilisation, irrigation and spraying of the vines - due to weather he decided to move vintage later by 2 weeks because of a cooler summer - decision to hand pick as opposed to machine is based on the belied that it gives them “more control” and better product
• Jenny (John’s daughter) contributes ideas about labelling and graphic design

Question 25

What are Internal linkages of people

Answer 25

-44 people are employed full time at Drayton’s in areas such as the cellar door, sales and marketing,, winery, administration, bottling

Question 26

What are the internal linkages of services (4)

Answer 26

• Cellar door including wine tasting and selling = attracts the flow of external people with 25% f visitors from Sydney
• School field trips
• Education for customers at the cellar door
• ‘Adopt a vine scheme’ where it cost $200 per year for people to buy a vine and take care of it they then receive wine concessions and accommodation discounts in the Hunter Valley

Question 27

What are the external linkages/ flows of goods (7)

Answer 27

• They use water from the Hunter River through the
• they sell 90% of exports to China
• Oak barrels from US or France
• Stelvin Caps from Sydney
• Corks from Portugal/ Spain
• Selling of goods externally: online 10%, cellar door 45%, export 30%, wholesale 15%
• ACL glass from Adelaide + premium bottles imported from Italy

As consumption patterns shift and there is an over saturation of wine Drayton’s aims to create external linkages in the form of new customers(people) by producing a high quality good which is not mass produced

Question 28

What are the external linkages and flows of ideas (5)

Answer 28

• Greg Smiths ideas from education from university (technology, more scientific methods analysing colours and settling agents)
• OIV international, wine Australia (Label integral program
• The New world has enabled the ability to utilise tech in more liberal more to winemaking, creating new ideas and opportunities e.g. refrigeration using stainless steel fermentation, chemical additives and internet sourced weather and climatic info
• Increasing pressure for ecological sustainability has influenced internal operations e.g. Drayton’s use solar panels, water tanks , cover crops
• Ideas of Stelvin screw caps instead of corks because of costs and better for environment

Question 29

What are the external linkages and flows of people (2)

Answer 29

• Backpackers for pruning and picking = cheap labour, however the limited during covid and local pickers were needed
• ## external consumer (people) changing consumer preference = increase young female markets

Question 30

What are the external linkages and flows of services (3)

Answer 30

Drayton’s is connected to the external ‘hype’ associated with wine production and wine appreciation
- Hype from the Hunter Valley areas including music events (Elton, Johns, Beach Boys) the popular annual festivals such as “Jazz in the Vines”, “Lovedale Long Lunch’ and “ Shakespeare in the Vines”
- Also has several renowned restaurants such as Roberts, Chez Pok and Peppers

Question 31

List the effects of global changes that impact Drayton’s Family Wines (6)

Answer 31

• Climate Change
• Sustainability
• Opening Asian markets for wine
• Technological trends in New World
• Globalisation
• Inflation - cost of living

Question 32

How does climate change impact Drayton’s (4)

Answer 32

• increase in the intensity of droughts over past decade, cause Hunter wine prices to drop by 20%
• hotter weather and more extreme storms will increase loss of yields,
• possibly wipe out 80% of Australia’s wine production as large agricultural zones become too hot and too dry
• brings vintage earlier january rather than Feb

Question 33

How does Sustainability/organic impact Drayton’s

Answer 33

• Revolution with consumers demanding the less chemical and pesticides be used, encouraging vinyards to switch to more environmentally friendly pest controls e.g. copper sulphate
• Australia only occupies 2% of the world’s production of organic wines
• increase use of green power and awareness of water wastage = 800 solar panels = saves $83, 000 a year
• drip irrigation

Question 34

How does inflation / cost of living impact Drayton’s

Answer 34

• wine glut/ wine recession created by an oversupply of European wines since the GFC causing consumption levels in Europe to fall
• Drayton’s shifted it exports towards the opening asian markets with 90% going towards China due to expanding and wealthier middle class, and other 10% to Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore
• Asia represents 40% of Drayton’s wine sales, where they had to change their production flavour to Chinese taste with corked red wines being most favorable = grafted new red wine varieties e.g. Tempranillo

Question 35

How does the global changing taste impacted Drayton’s

Answer 35

• increase desire for quality over quantity wines, due to increased education of consumers = Australia preferring the $15 bottle with growth x3 than the $10 bottle
• DRayton’s has specialized in producing quality wines by increasing hand picking rates by 65%
• Changing tastes had catalysed the young female market which prefers sweeter wines
• Hence drayton’s created ‘Tinkled Pink’ which is a best seller and ‘ Hunter Blue”

Question 36

How does technology impact Drayton’s

Answer 36

• there has been a shift in using capital intensive advanced technologly to produce higher quality and larger quantity products
  Drayton’s use
• refrigeration systems to better mimic the climatic conditions found in the Old World
• fermentation vats and chemical additives to control the flavour of the wine and allow for modifications e.g. pink and blue variants Hunter Blue
• Automated bottling line has allowed for investments in hyper efficient state of the art botting machines, high production capacity and highly automated labeling and packaging machines, decreasing production time
• development of the stelvin cap has enabled the business to reduce wastage and effectively response to shortage in corks