Vineyard Show Guide

Head of Marketing Nick Rainsley explained that the show has provided an opportunity not just to support the industry and allow Hutchinsons’ experts to share up-to-date knowledge and information but to take the time to meet and chat to new growers within a thriving sector.

Hutchinsons has a dedicated, full-time team of vineyard specialists, including Chris Cooper and Rob Saunders, two highly experienced and well respected vineyard agronomists who contribute to Vineyard each month.

“Along with advice, Hutchinsons supplies crop protection products, nutrition and all the sundry products and services needed to manage a vine crop and to do so successfully,” Nick said. “We offer nutrition mapping and management plus soil health and soil management on organic and conventional vineyards, which is critical. Our unique healthy soils assessment looks not just at the chemical make-up of the soil but at its physical attributes to produce a comprehensive guide to how the grower can improve it.”

The vineyard market has clearly grown rapidly over the past decade or so, but Nick believes it has changed in a more fundamental way. “Growers are now more professional and more experienced and are demanding a much higher level of service and support,” he said. “They expect more, and we are here to deliver more.

“While the main change is in the sheer scale of the industry, that more professional approach is also driving things forward. When you have investment in this country from traditional wine areas in France, you know that the game is changing – and we are here to support that.”