Back in newsroom, this time the wet, wild weather had me thinking about the future of viticulture and plant protection. It has been interesting to see a number of commentaries about the oversupply of grapes in New Zealand, at the same as growers are pushing yields and thus using evermore fungicides. In the article I ask if the existing approach of creating and then defending a microbial vacuum is a paradigm past its prime, and how this meshes with a sector that brands itself as sustainable, and where terroir discourses are used to qualify products.
OP-ED: Wine-growers are losing the war on fungi
February 11, 2026