New Vinehealth Australia Board member Brooke Howell understands vineyard pressures. Her first job after graduating from the University of Adelaide’s Bachelor of Viticulture in 2010 was a technical position at Yalumba, in a very wet season.
“Being a wet year, there was a lot of disease pressure, and I was thrown into the deep end which was a bit of a shock,” Brooke said.
“I was dealing with botrytis mainly in that first year and then the next season we were challenged with frost. I feel like I got the whole gamut of climatic challenges in my first few years which was stressful, but a great way to learn.”
Originally from a broadacre farm on the Eyre Peninsula, near Cummins, Brooke is now the Senior Viticulturist at Jim Barry Wines in the Clare Valley.
“With recent vineyard acquisitions, Jim Barry’s vineyard holdings are significant and span 18 different properties. My role is more strategic where I’m overseeing our vineyards, overviewing all of our programs and thinking about what we can do differently and more efficiently, while still maintaining yield and quality targets,” Brooke said.
“My current objective for this year is to get us accredited with Sustainable Winegrowing Australia. The business has also undertaken the carbon audit process, so I’m currently looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprint in the vineyard to meet our targets.”
Brooke has always had a passion for learning and completed an MBA in 2021 and AICD’s company director’s course in 2022.
“I decided to do an MBA to learn more about other aspects of business, such as strategy, marketing, sales and finance. I completed the company directors course because, at the time, I was the President of ASVO, so I wanted to broaden my knowledge about governance.
“It was a valuable course, as we implemented some changes at ASVO based on my learnings, particularly in the area of policies and systems.”
Brooke applied for the Vinehealth Australia Board to give back to the grape and wine industry in an area she is passionate about – vineyard sustainability and biosecurity.
“I attended a Vinehealth phylloxera simulation several years ago and went on a Phylloxera Immersion Tour to the Yarra Valley too. Those experiences have triggered me to think we should be doing more about phylloxera awareness and prevention,” Brooke said.
“I want to put forward a grower perspective on the Vinehealth board. Having worked across multiple regions, I have a lot of experience in vineyards, and I’ve had many conversations with people about biosecurity.
“In South Australia, there’s complacency around phylloxera because we don’t have it here. We need to work hard to put phylloxera risk front of mind because it will have a huge economic impact if it occurs in SA. We need to ensure growers are doing their bit with farm-gate hygiene and that we are supporting them to keep their vineyards healthy.”
