We recently visited Roebuck Estates, a sparkling wine producer with multiple sites across Sussex, who are currently transitioning their vineyards to more ecological practices while still producing high quality grapes. Roebuck use Sectormentor to track progress of the transition and monitor vine health across their multiple sites.
Managing the transition to herbicide free with Sectormentor
In the last few years, Roebuck have eliminated their use of herbicides on all of their sites which has resulted in a dip in vine vigour and lower yields. Jake told us that this has been a challenging time for the Roebuck team, as they haven’t been able to accurately predict their yield estimates due to the changes in vigour.
“We’re really in a bit of a transition phase where my calculation from lag phase and veraison to harvest hasn’t worked. Looking back, what the actual calculation was versus the weights at lag phase to what they were when we picked them has declined massively. It is, and it will kind of even itself out. The vines will find a balance again. By our management methods, and by our pruning methods, we will find a happy medium for them.”
This transition is being monitored by the Roebuck team in Sectormentor. Jake tracks charge counts and shoot numbers across blocks, comparing the data year on year to see how the vines are responding to the changes they’re making on the vineyard. Jake uses the Bunch Weights Report to visually demonstrate the drop in yield across the transition years. The data they’re logging is helping Jake to manage expectations around yield while monitoring vine health, and therefore ensuring quality grapes.
‘We’re able to visualise and create a picture of what’s actually going on in our vineyards and individual blocks. It’s better than what we would do on a generic spreadsheet; the report output is very good, and it’s visual. I can use it for Board presentations or team day presentations, I think it’s really helpful and, you know, useful.’
“It’s quite interesting to see how our bunch weights at lag phase and veraison have decreased over the years; and the relationship between the bunch weights at lag phase and harvest was really interesting for everyone to see. Visually, it’s quite powerful, we can say ‘look, this is what we’ve done, we’re in our third year of no herbicide, and this is the effect of what has happened.’”
The Roebuck team are also using Sectormentor to track changes in soil health. Jake notes that they’ve already seen a definite increase in earthworm activity since moving to organic fertilisers and eliminating herbicides; a measurable win for their soil health.
Tracking and evidencing increasing biodiversity on-site
In parallel to their transition away from herbicide use, Roebuck have begun extensively monitoring on-site biodiversity with their in-house ecologist, Matt Howard. The move away from herbicides has already paid dividends in terms of biodiversity: rare plants like the Common Spotted Orchid, typically only seen in the neighbouring ancient woodland on the Little Brockhurst site, have begun migrating onto the vineyard floor.
Matt is using Sectormentor to track these changes in biodiversity; He plans to GPS tag and log detailed survey data for all the habitat boxes and Reptile Refugia mats he uses to monitor species, like the slow worm and common lizard. This saves him time, compared to writing in a notebook and transferring data to a separate spreadsheet, and ensures the biodiversity data is robust and comparable year-on-year.
This eco-system data helps the vineyard team to make management decisions:
“We’ve got between 60 and 70 species within the vineyard… If I survey next year, and we’ve only got 25, we have done something seriously wrong with our management practices.”
One of Matt's Reptile Refugia mats, due to be GPS located in Sectormentor
“We believe here at Roebuck estates that if we’ve got a healthy environment, a diverse environment around our estates, it’s only going to benefit what’s going on in the vines and what fruit we’re producing.”
Tracking disease, targeted spray programmes and saving money
The Roebuck team also use Sectormentor to track disease observations and pest traps, like the Brown Apple Moth, across the vineyards. This means that the team can have an idea of any problem areas, and the reasons behind their underperformance. Jake also notes how this saves money:
“I think it genuinely does save money… We’re in a position where we can identify where disease is, so we can implement a specific spray programme for that area and not have to worry about other parts of the vineyard. This saves us money on inputs.”
The convenience of having Sectormentor data to hand
With multiple sites, a team of staff, and numerous ongoing experiments, a central data platform has been supportive for Roebuck’s operation.
“We don’t realise how much we use it, because it’s just become integrated into our vineyard routine… The fact that everyone can input data from where they are… and it’s instant! The team is out in the field logging changes and observations, and I can look at it when I’m at the desk immediately and start to make decisions about management.”
Jake also notes that, having instructions in the app that you are able to view when logging data or soil tests, means that he feels confident that the data being collected is standardised and is consistent.
“Everyone’s doing it the same. So the data is as robust as possible.”
A huge thank you to Jake, Matt, and the whole Roebuck team for sharing their journey with us. Their dedication to using data to drive regenerative decisions is a powerful example of what is possible in the world of English sparkling wine.
If you want to learn more about Sectormentor and how it might support your operation, get in touch at info@vidacycle.com.
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