This project is improving drought resilience across South Australia’s wine regions by helping grape growers better understand soil health, irrigation management and precision viticulture. Through practical workshops, demonstration activities and technology-based monitoring, the project is supporting growers to make more informed decisions that improve soil function, water-use efficiency and vineyard resilience under increasingly variable seasonal conditions.

Project description: 

The Adelaide Hills, Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale wine regions are collaborating to improve grower knowledge and adoption of practical drought resilience strategies for vineyards. The project combines soil health education, precision agriculture and peer-to-peer learning to help growers build healthier vineyard soils, improve irrigation management and strengthen long-term business resilience.

Across the three regions, growers are participating in in-vineyard workshops focused on soil composition, nutrient management and soil amelioration techniques that improve grapevine health and water-holding capacity. The project also supports the McLaren Vale Irrigation AgTech Trial through aerial flyovers and spatial data analysis, helping growers better understand vineyard variability and use irrigation technologies more effectively. In addition, a Community of Practice is being established to support peer-to-peer learning, enabling growers to share experiences and build confidence in responding to climate variability and drought.

Key achievements and results: 

Growers across McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills have participated in a series of practical workshops focused on improving soil health and building drought-resilient vineyards. Workshops delivered by soil biologist Dr Mary Cole explored soil biology, beneficial microbes and practical approaches to increasing soil water-holding capacity, while a hands-on compost tea field day demonstrated techniques to support soil biological activity and improve long-term soil resilience.

The project has also strengthened the McLaren Vale Irrigation AgTech Trial through two AirborneLogic flyovers completed at key grapevine growth stages. The resulting NDVI imagery has improved understanding of vineyard variability and plant stress, helping growers use aerial imagery alongside on-ground observations to support irrigation planning and improve water-use efficiency.

Project achievements to date include:

• Delivered soil health workshops across McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills, attracting more than 110 grape growers and industry participants and receiving strong positive feedback.
• Conducted a practical compost tea field day demonstrating techniques to support beneficial soil microbes, improve soil biological activity and strengthen vineyard resilience.
• Completed two aerial flyovers of the McLaren Vale Irrigation AgTech Trial, providing spatial data to improve irrigation decision-making and identify variation in vine vigour and plant stress.
• Combined technology-based monitoring with practical, on-ground demonstrations to help growers translate complex soil and irrigation data into management decisions that improve drought resilience.