JTC Viticulture | Vineyard Management Marlborough

Development

Our machinery contracting services start with the initial ground work, preparing the land for your vineyard.

We cultivate, rotary hoe, chisel plough, rock rake, rock picking, disc and level the land to give your vineyard project the best possible start.

Vine Stripping at Pruning

Cane pruning has in the past been a labour intensive and expensive operation requiring staff not only with skills but with muscle.

At JTC viticulture we are committed to new R&D and as part of that process we fully investigate any new viticulture developments. We have worked with the developers of the Klima machine over recent years as part of our R&D program.

Mechanical stripping by Klima machines is practised on all our managed vineyards, after our extensive trial work showed a considerable cost saving.

The Klima machine is tractor mounted for ease of entry into and exit from the row, added to that as the machine is in front of the driver there is excellent vision of the machine operation. This reduces wire breakage and plant damage. Ideally the vineyard trellis for this machine needs to be robust and well maintained.

Klima Stripping

Spraying

With a fleet of two twin row herbicide sprayers and four fungicide crop sprayers, we can cover the ground quickly. Three of our crop sprayers are the latest technology shrouded sprayers that can recycle excess spray back to the tank. The shrouded system not only recycles up to 25% of the chemical mix early in the spring when the growth is low, but probably most importantly shields the spray nozzles and dramatically reduces spray drift.

All our staff are “Grow Safe” certified with “Approved Handler” certificates.

Canopy and Vineyard Sward Management

JTC viticulture recognises how crucial canopy management is in preventing disease and to maximise flavours in the vineyard. Generally on the Wairau Plain our vineyards can be excessively vigorous and require careful management to turn the leaf growth into an advantage.

Leaf Plucking

- with our two “ state of the art” , Gregoire leaf pluckers, one of which is a twin row unit, we can leaf pluck over the fruit zone to achieve a result nearly as good as hand plucking, at a fraction of the price and with minimal damage to the fruit.

Trash Blowing

- recent research has indicated that sticky caps and leaf trash in the developing bunch may encourage botrytis. Utilising a pulsed air Collard leaf blower at late flowering, the bunches can be cleaned of any potential disease material.

Trimming

- regular trimming is essential to control vigour, with three over the row trimmers we can quickly cover the area and provide a well groomed result.

Mowing

- most vineyards require three mows over the growing period. Our mowers eject the grass under the vine row where maximum benefit can be gained for organic matter accumulation.

Seeding

Most Marlborough vineyards are now grassed down to help reduce vigour and improve the organic matter of the soil, we can sow your chosen permanent seed mix or annual cover crop with our specialist between the row seed drilling equipment.

Fertiliser Spreading

We recently made another addition to our Fertiliser Spreading fleet with a new purpose built spreading truck. We now have a larger capacity to enable a timely addition of your fertiliser requirements.

Our fertiliser spreaders are fitted with a “Transpread “computer, the spreader can distribute any solid fertiliser efficiently and precisely. We also have our own truck and trailer unit with a loading conveyor for the largest jobs.

The spreaders can be set up to broadcast or band spread under vine. Band spreading is an excellent option for nitrogen applications during the growing season.

Our viticulture team can also provide independent fertiliser recommendations and advice on soil and petiole testing

Harvesting

Harvest is a critical time of the year; it can be a time of unrelenting pressure and stress, it is essential to harvest at exactly the right time to make sure fruit flavours and quality are optimised. We have the machine power and experienced staff ready to cope with any situation that may arise.

Our sister company Vintage Harvesters Limited is the harvesting arm of our operation. We pride ourselves on our organisational ability, we run two 12 hour shifts of experienced drivers and support staff for the five weeks of harvest . We utilise the latest real time GPS and i-Pad technology for tracking our harvesters and relaying job specifications to our drivers. Weather conditions naturally play an important part on how the harvest progresses, having nine harvesters gives us real picking power when needed.

Our fleet of harvesters is one of the largest in the district with nine modern self-propelled Gregoire machines. Six of the machines have a single on board bin with a side boom for filling travelling gondola’s that then tip into waiting bulk trucks. This configuration is the most efficient harvester system.

For that premium wine vineyard we also have three machines equipped with de-stemming technology. Gregoire have developed the new “Cleantech Vario” which incorporates a roller de-stemmer in conjunction with a rotary screen to produce an even cleaner sample. We were very pleased to be selected by Gregoire of France to help develop and trial this new technology; we have run de-stemming machines over many harvest seasons and have had very favourable comments from winemakers.

Our harvesters are backed up with a fleet of gondolas and trucks, our operation is fully supervised by very experienced senior staff to ensure your grapes are properly harvested and delivered safely to the winery.