Grape marc can be used for cattle feed, fuel, hand sanitiser, grape seed oil, or even to make grappa. But the challenges that come with these solutions are the ability to cope with a raw material that arrives all at once, the transportation requirements, and the money & time to set up a facility big enough to cope. A logistical nightmare.
At Wholesale Landscapes we believe in being resourceful and making the most of what we have been given, so we would like to share a way in which you can repurpose your grape marc to benefit your vineyard’s soils.
Return your grape marc to the land
As caretakers of our land, it is our job to replenish the soil to build up organic matter and be sure there are enough nutrients to aid in the growth of vines.
Repurposing your grape marc to blend with one of Wholesale Landscapes base media means you can significantly cut down the environmentally hazardous properties of the grape marc and can feed it back to the vines as a compost which will increase the organic matter of the whole surface area and replenish the soil.
“We recommend in addition to your annual under vine compost spreading, to blend your grape marc with our Viticulture bark fines or sawdust media to reduce acidity and broadly spread to increase organic matter over your whole vineyard as a soil supplement.” – Caleb Hughes, Wholesale Landscapes
Nautilus Estate have utilised viticulture fines from Wholesale Landscapes as a carbon source in their grape marc compost for three seasons. “The reliable supply of a uniform aged bark fine product has been very helpful in the resulting compost quality with more rapid integration and homogenising with undervine soil.” – Mike Colins, Viticulturist, Nautilus Estate Marlborough
By doing this you will be able to see
- increased microbial activity
- increased organic carbon
- improved water retention
- and an overall increase in the health of your soil.
Radio New Zealand (RNZ) shared an insightful article about the uses of grape marc back in April 2021, specifically how grape marc can be resourced within our world-renowned wine regions. “For Marlborough, where a 50,000 to 70,000-tonne tsunami of grape marc builds from March to the end of April each year, it’s been a cause for court cases and academic research. It’s all about soil health. Better soil means healthier vines and more grapes. Spreading grape marc increased the organic carbon in the soil of one vineyard from around 3.8 percent to 5.4 percent.”
This is the perfect time to consider repurposing your grape marc. So if you have any thoughts or questions on the use of grape marc and how it can be resourced at your vineyard, send through your details and we’ll be in touch.
