Agrovista is gearing up to provide more agronomy advice in the growing sector of viticulture with the appointment of junior agronomist Ellie Purvis.
The viticulture sector has increased rapidly in the past 10 years, but especially in the last five, acknowledges Agrovista fruit team technical manager Alex Radu.
Up until now, Agrovista’s fruit team, in particular Fokion Chatziavgerinos, has provided advice to vine growers in addition to fruit crops, alongside consultant Penny Meadmore. Agrovista is delighted to have Ellie join the team to support a larger number of farmers in future, Alex says.
Fresh from working at the award-winning Gusbourne vineyard in Kent while pursuing a master’s degree in viticulture and oenology at Plumpton College, Ellie is looking forward to the challenge of expanding Agrovista’s advice in the sector.
English wine is at an exciting stage in its development, she says. “There are plenty of interesting things going on with still white wine and English sparkling, while growers are starting to produce red wines as well, which is exciting to be part of.”
The influence of ‘terroir’ – the combination of soil, climate, topography and microclimate in the area grapes are grown – and how that combines with management practices to impact the final product particularly intrigues Ellie.
Her MSc dissertation explored the impact of different management practices on moth diversity in vineyards. “I found some quite rare moths in the middle of vineyards, which you wouldn’t expect. And because vineyards have a lot of unmanaged areas like interrow spaces, headlands, hedgerows and often areas of woodland as part of the estate, there are a lot of interesting possibilities for biodiversity and ecosystem services,’ she says.
That’s leading the sector to lean towards regenerative viticulture, she suggests, which she is excited by. “There seems to be more of an open mind in this country than perhaps in some of the large scale and more commercial operations in other countries.”
Ellie is looking forward to building on her personal development by adding BASIS in December, which will be followed by a FACTS qualification. In the meantime, she will be field walking with fruit team colleagues to gain more experience, focusing on viticulture with a view of expanding the business footprint in the sector.
“Ellie, alongside the experience she has already gained in viticulture, is the perfect fit for the team, with her enthusiasm and can-do attitude to helping others,” Alex says. “We look forward to working with her in the south, alongside continuing to work with Penny advising growers in the north.”