Some Winemakers Gave Up on Organic Farming Amid Wine Industry Woes

Lately, some winemakers are choosing to sustain their business over sustaining the environment.

In , a pair of Marlborough’s largest wineries have abandoned organic farming and gone back to conventional cultivation practices, according to a report by The Press , a daily newspaper in Christchurch. Indevin and Vinarchy will use synthetic pesticides and fertilizers in their vineyards, with the former rolling back organic practices at about 250 of its 320 acres, while the latter is reverting 200 of its 370 acres to conventional farming practices.

The vineyards in question were acquired when Indevin and Vinarchy each bought out other brands and inherited the organic plots. And both companies made the decision that organic didn’t make economic sense when conventional farming could increase