The Next Generation Viticulture (NGV) programme is a seven-year project that aims to help growers improve vineyard profitability through the adoption of innovative, efficient canopy systems that drive cost reductions, improve yield consistency and performance, and advance sustainability, all while safeguarding and enhancing the premium wine quality New Zealand is renowned for.
Seven vineyards are actively involved in the development and trial of new growing configurations, and winemakers ensure that wine style and quality is maintained or enhanced.
The programme builds on concepts developed in the New Zealand kiwifruit, pipfruit and stonefruit industries. It will also leverage Plant & Food Research’s experience with new apple and cherry production systems.
The Government is co-investing $5.6 million over seven years in partnership with New Zealand Winegrowers and several vineyards, which are collectively investing $8.427 million in cash and in-kind.
Government investment will enable research and implementation at a pace and focus that wouldn’t be possible for the industry alone to achieve.
If you’d like to get in touch about Next Generation Viticulture, please reach out to BRI’s Winegrowing Innovation Leader Ross Wise at ross.wise@bri.co.nz.
The Next Generation Viticulture (NGV) Programme made strong progress during Quarter 3 as the season moved from late-summer monitoring into harvest. Across seven trial sites, the team completed end-of-season canopy assessments and maintained regular grape maturity sampling to support consistent harvest decisions and build a comparable dataset across sites and training systems.
The NGV programme continued to make strong technical progress during the second quarter of Year 2. Vineyard measurements across all seven trial sites focused on canopy development, flowering, vine water status, and early yield estimation, with more detailed assessments undertaken at key sites to improve data quality while maintaining cost efficiency. These measurements are building a robust evidence base on how different NGV training systems influence vine growth, water demand, and yield potential.
This quarter saw the completion of the winemaking trials from the 2024-2025 growing season. All trial wines were filtered and bottled, and the sensory and lab analysis was carried out to assess the impact of the NGV treatments on wine quality. Winter pruning measurements were collected, and collation and analysis of data from the Year 1 viticulture and winemaking trials were carried out.
The final quarter of Year 1 of the Next Generation Viticulture (NGV) programme saw the completion of the 2025 harvest. The last of the remaining trial blocks were harvested, and processing and fermentation was completed for all treatments. Following fermentation, laboratory analysis of the wines was carried out, and bottling of the trial wines began. In the vineyard, end of season measurements to assess vine vigour and biomass accumulation were started.
The third quarter of year one of the NGV programme saw significant research activity in all trial blocks. Throughout this quarter, the establishment of new canopy systems continued, while canopy measurements, flowering and fruit set assessments, and yield and grape maturity assessments were carried out. Harvest began in March, with most NGV blocks being harvested before the end of March.
The second quarter of year one of the NGV programme built on the work completed during the Go-Early phase of the project, following the official project launch on 30 September 2024.
This quarter marks the launch of the programme, which was announced by Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and New Zealand Wine on 30 September. Work began setting the programme up between the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Bragato Research Institute (BRI) and work has continued on the field trials and winemaking.
The NGV programme aims to increase vineyard profitability. It aims to create innovative, efficient canopy systems that drive cost reductions, improve yield consistency and performance, and advance sustainability, all while enhancing the premium wine quality New Zealand is renowned for.
The programme is focused on:
Driving cost reductions for New Zealand wine grape growers through reduced labour inputs and tractor passes.
Reducing yield variability by improving vine health, vine resilience, and bud fruitfulness.
Improving sustainability through reduced carbon emissions, improved water use efficiency, and reduced fungicide inputs.
Next Generation Viticulture aims to develop new knowledge that could deliver a range of potential benefits, such as:
Increased profitability from reduced vineyard management costs
Reduced yield variability between seasons, and better yield predictability
Reduced carbon emissions, improved water use efficiency and reduced fungicide inputs
How growers choose to use the new knowledge will be up to each individual business.
The programme will redesign New Zealand’s vineyard canopy management by modifying the grapevine training system to provide benefits for growers. It builds on concepts developed in the New Zealand kiwifruit, pipfruit and stone fruit industries. The programme will also leverage Plant & Food Research’s experience with new apple and cherry production systems.
Most of the programme trials will be undertaken on Sauvignon Blanc grapes based in the Marlborough region. This is due to Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc’s dominant position in the New Zealand wine industry and substantial global demand for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, which will enable a quicker path to impact. The trial will expand to include additional varieties as the programme develops.
Delivery of the programme will be led by New Zealand Winegrowers’ research arm, Bragato Research Institute. Seven vineyards will be actively involved in the development and trials of the new growing systems, and a sensory panel composed of New Zealand winemakers will ensure that wine style and quality is maintained or enhanced.
Ministry for Primary Industries’ is co-funding this project through the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund. New Zealand Winegrowers is investing and supporting on behalf of all members. Five companies are supporting directly, with both cash and in-kind contributions: Whitehaven Wines, Treasury Wine Estates, Indevin, Cloudy Bay and Constellation Brands. Two are supporting with in-kind contributions: Framingham Wines and Stanley Estates.
With the new training system, grapevines will be larger in size (width and height), carry more nodes, shoots, canes and permanent wood. They will also grow larger and less dense canopies that intercept, intercepting more sunlight than conventional canopies. The fruiting zone will be spread out across the whole canopy.
Established grapevines require at least three years or more to adapt to physiological changes such as a new training system. Therefore, the first three years of the programme will test and prove the underlying principles of the new training systems. Over the next four years, the efficiencies of the systems will be established and optimised to deliver the desired outcomes.
Members will be brought along on the research journey, but only at the end do we expect the programme findings to be ready for most of the industry to have the confidence to incorporate them into their business plans and begin implementing the findings themselves.
Next Generation Viticulture is aligned with BRI’s research strategy, including the priority areas of improving vineyard productivity and enhanced financial and environmental sustainability. Next Generation Viticulture is aligned with Bragato Research Institute’s research strategy, including the priority areas of improving vineyard productivity, and enhanced financial and environmental sustainability.
The programme will work alongside the Sauvignon Blanc Grapevine Improvement programme and others looking at canopy innovations.
We know that our Next Generation Viticulture vineyard systems won’t be adopted if they don’t enable winegrowers to prune, spray and harvest. All canopy modifications are being designed to work with existing vineyard equipment and practices. The project team and the investors in the programme will be working closely with technology providers to identify equipment that can help with the transition to and adoption of the new systems.
Reducing vineyard labour inputs and cost is a potential benefit being explored by the NGV programme. There is the potential that labour inputs associated with wire lifting, pruning and other intensive activities can be significantly reduced. The project is tracking the impacts of the new systems on labour requirements.
NGV is about reducing input costs per unit of output and giving growers more control over their yields – a result of improved yield consistency allowing for better planning for vineyard and wineries. In addition, NGV systems would allow for more effective use of land assets, and the potential to expand production either with grapes or alternative crops. Each grower will be able choose how to use any new knowledge for their individual business.
The programme builds on concepts developed in New Zealand and currently being applied in kiwifruit, pipfruit, and stone fruit production where new systems have been developed that maximise light penetration to both leaves and fruit and increase the number and distribution of high-quality fruiting sites on each plant. These systems are being taken up by growers and hugely changing production and revenues.
Horticultural canopy modifications have lowered disease pressure and pruning intensity by reducing vegetative growth. They have also reduced variability in production, with a shift in structure from cane-type to spur-type.
Fruit quality will be monitored at during ripening and at harvest, and wine quality will be assessed through chemical and sensory analysis against the control.
Alongside the canopy management trials, the programme will closely monitor to ensure that water and spray usage does not increase due to the different canopy structures. The goal is to develop canopies that demonstrate improved efficiency in the use of irrigation and fungicide
Government investment will enable this research and implementation to occur at a pace and focus that would not be possible for industry alone to achieve:
Allowing the development of new vineyard systems to proceed quickly enough that vineyards can adopt new, efficient and profitable configurations as they are replanted.
MPI support will also provide impetus for substantial industry collaboration to undertake the research and development at pace and scale. Seven vineyards and wineries will collaborate with NZW to undertake the programme. This collaboration will enable demonstration of new vineyard systems at scale in growers’ own vineyards, which will help provide industry with the confidence to quickly adopt the new practices.
New Zealand Winegrowers Research Centre Ltd, trading as Bragato Research Institute, is a wholly owned subsidiary of New Zealand Winegrowers Inc.
