Organic winegrowing begins with a simple principle: care. Care for the land, for the vines, and for the people who tend and drink the wine. It means farming without synthetic chemicals - no herbicides, no systemic fungicides - and focusing instead on living soil, biodiversity, and resilience. Biodynamics takes this further still, working with celestial rhythms, compost preparations, and a holistic understanding of vineyard ecology.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, these practices resonate deeply. This is a country rooted in environmental consciousness and Māori values that honour interconnectedness between people and place. That’s why organics here is more than a certification - it’s a movement.

According to the 2025 New Zealand Winegrowers Sustainability Report, 16% of New Zealand wineries now hold organic certification, including many of the country’s most celebrated producers. In Central Otago, that number jumps to 30%. These figures reflect more than consumer trends; they speak to a growing awareness within the industry that organic practices not only protect ecosystems, but also lead to better wines.

“You can feel it when you walk the rows,” says organic pioneer Bart Arnst. “There’s a spring in the ground. The vineyard has give.” It’s a sentiment echoed by Clive Dougall of Deep Down Wines: “Today’s drinkers want transparency and honesty. They want wines that tell a true story. That’s us.”

At its heart, organic wine is about growing with intention - and Aotearoa is a place where that intention runs deep.

There was no shortage of technical expertise at the conference - but the talks that lingered longest were the ones that moved from soil to soul.

Day One began with a ‘mihi’: a gesture of welcome and respect. Then moved swiftly into deep waters: the roots of regenerative certification, economic benchmarking, the moral logic of organic branding. Dr André Leu reminded everyone that integrity begins long before the label. Rajat Parr, the celebrated winemaker behind California’s Phelan Farm, urged us to grow with purpose, not pressure. “Purpose-driven winegrowing matters more than ever,” he said.

Panels pulsed with real-world friction - how to do better, how to fund it, how to sustain the energy required for the long game. Jeremy Hyland shared how mindset, more than machinery, is what transforms a vineyard. Dr Mary Retallack introduced Australia’s EcoVineyards programme, showing how biodiversity builds resilience, not just yield. Joseph Brinkley from Bonterra in California spoke of scaling regenerative organics with integrity. And Marta Mendonça of Porto Protocol asked us to rethink water not as a resource, but as relationship.

By Day Two the Conference was deep in root zones and aquifers, following experts like Peter Espie, Mike Joy, and Charlotte Tomlinson across the invisible architecture of soil systems and water flows. But then came a shift: Katia Nussbaum wove philosophy and ecology into a poetic vision of winegrowing in Montalcino. Rajat Parr returned, this time not with a résumé, but a reverence - for wildness, for experimentation, for the coastal chaos of Phelan.

And as the stars rose above the Matariki Organic Feast, we were reminded that wine is not just a product. It’s a conversation. An exchange full of care, and a sacred act of growing, making, and sharing.

By Day Three, conversations turned to what comes next. Not just in terms of trends - but transformations.

There was talk of AI and hybrid vines, climate data and packaging futures. But there were also quieter provocations: about native insects, vine consciousness, and the possibility of awakening not just in the land, but in ourselves.

This wasn’t a conference about compliance or certification. It was a gathering that asked: what kind of growers do we want to be? What kind of ancestors?

The answers aren’t simple. As one speaker noted, organic winegrowing is not the easy road, it’s the attentive one. It asks for more from the grower, the winemaker, and the drinker. But increasingly, the rewards are tangible: in soil that breathes, in vineyards full of life, in wines that hum with character.

Stephen Wong MW noted this shift in his recent Real Review tasting panel: more and more of Aotearoa’s top estates are turning to organic practices - not just for ethics, but for excellence. “There’s a common philosophical thread,” he said. “Organic farming and top quality often go hand in hand.”

This September, Organic Wine Week (15 - 21 September 2025) offers another opportunity to celebrate that connection: between place, practice, and pleasure. Between what’s grown and what’s shared.

Because at its best, organic wine doesn’t just taste good, it feels good. It tells a story of care. Anika Willner summed it up: “if this conference showed us anything, it’s that New Zealand is uniquely placed to keep writing that story - together, and with intention.”

With thanks to Anika Willner, and to Lisa Duncan Photography for the images