Viticulture or Gardening? In another age, the Cloudburst vineyard would be described as a wine garden. All the work is done by hand and the only wheels that go up and down the rows belong to wheelbarrows. The work is relentless. The vines are tended along ecological principles and borrow from ideas proposed by Rudolf Steiner, JI Rodale and others who worried about the use of chemicals in farming. Although his practices appear to be from Steiner’s biodynamic playbook, Berliner’s methodologies are quirky and difficult to pin down. For those who believe in verifying work practices, he is an infuriating maverick, but for those who follow philosophy and history, his ideas are a mosaic of works and days going back to the agricultural revolution of the 18th century and Roman times. The Cloudburst vineyard is highly unusual in its size and arrangement. A small postage stamp-sized plot of roughly 1.4 hectares was cleared by hand and then close- planted at 1m x 1m – equating to something like 12,000 vines per hectare. The vertical shoot positioned vines are also trained with extremely low trunks, a vine architecture which is extremely unusual in Margaret River. The vineyard, which is unirrigated, is worked mainly by Will Berliner and a handful of workers who assist him during key periods, especially pruning and harvesting. When walking through the vines, the topsoils are spongy, deep and full of worms. The ground has risen half a metre in 20 years, and the wooden stake trellising has seemingly sunk into the earth. These soils lie above deep, free-draining, gravelly loams. Berliner talks whimsically about the vines and how they interact. He believes that a subsoil ecosystem has been established where the root systems are all interconnected and in conversation with each other. He suggests that when he prunes a vine, the cut is felt by the whole vineyard. Conversely, the growth and ripening of the grapes are an act of unison. These perspectives are seemingly quirky, but they are deeply held views, formed by years of observation, research and nurture. Ultimately Will Berliner’s eco-organic approach is about creating life and energy in his vineyard and his wines. His hands-on work in the vineyard and ability to communicate his purpose has captured the imagination of many fine - wine drinkers around the world. The winemaking is hardly a part of the narrative. It’s all about the vineyard, the root systems and the soils. His approach is informed by his past as much as by the science and philosophies of the present.
182 The Wine Journal – 2023
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