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Strong increase in quality and yield in Australian viticulture

Conor O'Brien, CEO of Multikraft Probiotics Australia, shares impressive results: The use of Multikraft's biostimulants has resulted in yield increases of up to 35 per cent. This innovation not only improved quality, but also enabled a drastic reduction in the use of fungicides and pesticides on the cultivation areas.
Multikraft has been represented in Australia since 2014. Conor O'Brien is particularly proud of the successful development in Margaret River in the south-west of Western Australia - one of the youngest wine regions in the world, which has achieved international recognition in record time. Multikraft looks after a large number of winegrowers there, including Cherubino Vineyards, Australia's most award-winning winery.

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Multikraft is based in Brisbane on the east coast of Australia. How did you become active in Western Australia?

We have built up an excellent customer base in the avocado, apple and even the country's largest truffle grower with our Western Australia distributor Farmlink. We are always on the lookout for innovative and forward-thinking companies that strive for quality. Our COO Terry Peabody (TJ) and his family are the founders of Craggy Range Vineyards in the prime wine growing region of Hawke's Bay. The winery is ranked among the top ten wineries in the world every year. TJ also introduced me to Larry Cherubino, who runs Cherubino Vineyards in Margaret River, one of Australia's leading wineries. Larry places great emphasis on soil health and allowed us to use multi-vineyard products on half of his land.

What results have you seen?

We had amazing success in the very first year. Although Larry focuses primarily on quality rather than yield, he was impressed by a 35 per cent increase in yield. The quality also increased, but the most important result on the cultivated area was the significant reduction in the use of fungicides and pesticides. The part of the vineyard where Multikraft products were used produced the highest quality Chardonnay of all Cherubino wines this year. The success is also reflected in the awards: At the International Wine Fair, Cherubino was named the best winery in Australia and is the winner of the White Wine Producer Trophy 2023. In total, Cherubino cleared four gold medals, seven silver medals and five bronze medals.

What did the use of Multikraft look like at the Cherubino winery?

We carried out a combination of a replication study and a commercial evaluation on half of the vineyard. One half was treated with Multikraft products and the other half was treated with the standard programme. On the treated side, we opted for a combination of a soil and foliar treatment programme. The aim was to combat both mildew and botrytis. Even with the introduction of our products, we were able to reduce some of the existing inputs so that the costs for the farmer remained the same. We invited the region's leading growers, who were excited about the replication trial, to see the results and now the majority of Margaret River wineries have started their journey with Multikraft.

Are the other wineries also getting good results?

It usually takes a while to see changes and yield increases, but it's something to do with the soil type and conditions in Western Australia that they respond exceptionally quickly to our products. Even vineyards that haven't had a crop for five or ten years have had high yields this year. In another large, highly respected winery, we were given a weak part of the vineyard that never produced more than two tonnes. This year it brought in a harvest of more than ten tonnes. We have noticed that even the blocks that were badly affected by hail are recovering.

Thank you very much for the interesting interview.

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