Grapes, vines, wine ....and guinea pigs?

When you think of sustainable wine production, guinea pigs probably
aren't the first thing that spring to mind. Yet at Yealands Estate,
that is exactly what is grazing between the vines.

Maverick winery owner Peter Yealands, a long-time advocate of
sustainability, has spent the last few months farming guinea pigs in a
trial to keep the grass - and exhaust emissions - down at Yealands
Estate in Marlborough.

This latest experiment is one of his many innovations and part of
Peter's mission to create New Zealand's first fully sustainable vineyard
and winery.

Peter originally introduced sheep to graze between some vines on the
1,000 hectare estate. For a while this was effective in managing pest
plants and weeds, reducing the need for fertiliser and mechanical
mowing.

"The sheep were great until they developed a taste for the vines and
grapes - for which I don't blame them!" says Peter. "We tried applying
organic sprays to the grape canopies to stop the sheep eating the vines
and grapes - but of course that was counterproductive in terms of
reducing fuel emissions.

"Unlike sheep, guinea pigs are no threat to vine growth due to their
small stature. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. The
critters graze and breed with very little sleep, and eat a surprising
amount of grass for their body size, though it is still too early to see
if they would ever be viable on a commercial scale."

The Yealands Estate vision is one of best practice from the vine to the
bottle.

"I don't see the sense in doing something half right particularly where
the environment's at stake," he says. "Whether it's our state-of-the-art
green technology, or a more basic method of reducing emissions in the
vineyard, we never waver from this commitment."

It is this commitment to the environment that is attracting attention
from consumers and distributors in New Zealand and around the world in
markets that now include Australia, Canada, the United States, the
United Kingdom and Europe.

"Overseas buyers are looking for a point of difference and they've told
us loud and clear that it's our commitment to sustainability," Peter
says. "Since we launched in August, we've already sold most of the
300,000 cases from our first vintage, which we are pretty pleased
about."

Guinea pigs are just one of many green innovations at Yealands Estate.
Other techniques include pioneering the use of GPS tracking devices to
increase efficiencies in tractor work throughout the vineyard, solar and
wind power in the winery, using pine oil as a herbicide, harvesting
storm water to irrigate the vineyards and developing more than 20
wetland areas at the Estate to preserve native species and attract
native birds.

Peter is now asking New Zealanders to share their green ideas via
www.mygreenidea.co.nz for the chance to win $50,000.