Padthaway, at the northern entrance to the Limestone Coast, is celebrating 60 years of grape growing this year. The region’s first vineyard, now owned by Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), was planted in 1964 and is still in production.
Weed control is front of mind for most vineyard owners in Padthaway, which is a mixed farming region, with fencing and hygiene the main tools for preventing people, animals and machinery from spreading weeds from one property to another.
“There are populations of caltrop in Padthaway, and it starts to become a problem where you’ve got sheep entering vineyards, or you’ve got cattle in the next paddock,” said Liz Bryson, agronomist with Nutrien and member of the Padthaway Grape Growers Committee.
“Caltrop isn’t something you want in your vineyard or on any part of your farm, so vineyard owners and landholders are careful about not bringing weeds or any other pests or diseases onto their properties.”
During this year’s harvest, a Padthaway grower didn’t allow a truck carrying grape bins into his property as the wheels were covered in caltrop. “He didn’t allow the truck to enter until every single seed had been picked off. Checking the wheels and tyres of machinery is common practice here,” Liz said.
“And most vineyard owners in Padthaway have fences, which are important barriers to prevent unwanted vineyard entries. We have signs saying, ‘Do not enter: private property’ and similar to deter people from wandering into vineyards without first checking with owners and management.”
Liz said several growers have also set up QR codes at the vineyard entry, linked to check-in forms to capture the details of visitors, which was developed by the son of a local grower.
“The registration process asks people questions like name, business you’re representing, phone number, and if you’ve been in an interstate Phylloxera Infested Zone in the past 29 days,” Liz said.
“I know some registration forms prompt visitors to check their tyres and wheel arches for caltrop, innocent weed and other weeds.
“And a large number of vineyard owners in Padthaway are members of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) so they are paying close attention to biosecurity activities to ensure they meet the SWA criteria, and this includes visitor tracking.”
Padthaway has two cellar doors that host many events – Farmer’s Leap and Landaire – and both have vineyards close to their cellar doors, but vines are fenced off or signs are in place to control visitor movement.
When industry events are being held in Padthaway, biosecurity is front of mind. “We try to meet industry best practice by ensuring cars are not parked on headlands or other grassed areas, and providing footbaths for people to use before vineyard entry,” Liz said.
“When we set up a footbath, we use the Vinehealth Australia Phylloxera Disinfestation Protocol, using a bleach soak for 60 seconds.”
Liz said Padthaway’s proximity to the Victorian border ensures phylloxera prevention is always a focus.
“As a contractor, I stay within the Limestone Coast, and I don’t know any contractors who are moving machinery or vehicles between a Phylloxera Infested Zone and the Limestone Coast. I think most people within the broader industry understand the regulations and the risks,” Liz said.
“For people moving machinery around South Australia, we do have the Naracoorte Heat Shed which is only 30 minutes away from us, which is a great tool for disinfesting machinery.”
“For us, it’s really about keeping weeds, pests, and disease out of our vineyards as pest and disease control is expensive and time consuming – and prevention is always better than cure.”
Liz said another key pest pressure in Padthaway is insects. “We’re seeing a definite increase in weevils, including apple weevil and garden weevil,” she said.
“That could be due to the reduction in use of broad-spectrum insecticides. We’re now using much more selective insecticides so we’re seeing some insect numbers building which we’ll need to address to prevent vine damage.”
Padthaway Grape Growers Association produces an industry newsletter that includes biosecurity information, including reminders for vineyard owners to keep their planting data up to date on the Vinehealth Australia Register.
As part of the Phylloxera and Grape Industry Act that governs Vinehealth Australia’s activities, a register of all vineyard plantings in South Australia is coordinated.
The Vinehealth Australia Register shows that rootstock plantings in Padthaway have steadily increased from 1% in 1994 to 22% in 2024.
“It’s good to see that vineyard owners in Padthaway are planting on phylloxera-tolerant rootstocks, which is an important phylloxera management tool,” said Krysteen McElroy, President of the Padthaway Grape Growers Association and member of the Vinehealth Australia Board.
“Planting on phylloxera-tolerant rootstocks means that if phylloxera does come to South Australia, those vines will survive. It’s a simple way to provide an insurance policy for your vineyard.”
Padthaway’s first vineyard, planted in 1964, is still in production. It’s a 1ha patch of Shiraz on a wide trellis system which is hand pruned and picked for TWE’s Penfolds range of products.
Find out more about Padthaway here.
