Sustainability

As an intergenerational farming family, the MacDonald’s know that looking after the land and keeping it healthy, is the key to ensuring it will be there for generations to come.

A proud member of Sustainable Winegrowers NZ

Pa Road is a proud member of Sustainable Winegrowers New Zealand (SWNZ), which has one of the most scrupulous sustainability programmes in the world. We always aim to go over and above our commitments to SWNZ, so we have implemented a range of measures that return and increase nutrients in our soil, and are committed to the sustainable and smart use of one of our most precious natural resources – water.

Inter Row Planting

Inter-row cover crops are 'non cash crop' plants, flowers, and sometimes edible crops, that are planted inter-row to support soil vitality, encourage good insects that perform biological controls on insect pests, and increase biodiversity in the vineyard. Each winter/spring, we seed a new plant mix which can include a range of cover crops like broad red clover, strawberry clover, Huia clover, chicory, Phacelia, Plantain, Sheep's Burnett, Wairau Lucerne, and common vetch.

Woolly friends

In winter, we have about 3,000 sheep grazing our vineyards. This helps support the local industry and brings several sustainability benefits. Sheep act as natural lawn mowers, reducing soil compaction compared to heavy machinery. This gives the soil a break and improves its health and regeneration by adding carbon and potassium-rich manure, which acts as a slow-release fertiliser.

Healthy soil, delicious wines

During the annual grape harvest, we spread the leftover grape skins (marc) back over the vineyards. This reduces waste and returns nutrients and antioxidants to the soil, improving soil health. We also mulch pruned vine cuttings into the soil, which helps regenerate the soil by retaining nutrients and is more sustainable than burning the cuttings. Mulching between the rows also helps limit disease pressure.

"Our wines come from New Zealand's most renowned growing region: Marlborough. Where the high sunshine hours and cool nights create wines that are pure fruited, crisp, refreshing, and oh-so-moreish."