The Terroir-Country Project: Supporting Biodiverse Multifunction Winescapes through Indigenous Partnerships

Mapping, measuring, and analysing the impact of established biodiversity practices at Lot 50 to develop a model for biodiverse multifunction winescapes to be implemented across Australia.

Project summary

Terroir and Country are both grounded in deep relationships with land, climate, and tradition. This project will bring ancient ways of understanding land and land use in Australian Aboriginal cultures into dialogue with traditional practices related to terroir management in the French and global wine industry. The team will map, measure, and analyse the impact of established biodiversity practices at Lot 50K, a bicultural ecological and cultural regeneration project near McLaren Vale, to develop a model for biodiverse multifunction winescapes that can be implemented across Australia.

What are we interested in?

Terroir and Country are both underpinned by concerns for the earth, climate, biodiversity, and traditions. In the current climate crisis, it is essential that we mobilise all available knowledge, including agroecological, multicultural, and experiential perspectives, to minimise the monocultural pressures exerted by winescapes and preserve environmental and functional biodiversity for future generations.

The goals of our project

This project will correlate the conceptual frameworks of Terroir and Country to offer new approaches for considering our input and impact on the environment in more holistic, interconnected ways. By studying emerging bicultural biodiversity corridors in wine regions and supporting knowledge exchange for future ventures, the project will demonstrate how winescapes can become multifunction spaces with advantages for both Terroir and Country.

Outcomes / activities

Mapping, measuring, and analysis of biodiversity outcomes at Lot 50K. This will be developed into reports, co-authored publications, scholarly outputs and biocultural restoration collaboration with other wine regions and traditional custodians.