OUR LIVING LANDSCAPE
Developments in viticulture from Akaroa beginnings to Waipara today
Four highly qualified and experienced speakers presented this series of stimulating talks culminating in the M J Barnett Memorial Lecture on Thursday 15 August 2019.
[one_half]
Venue
The Winter Speaker Series 2019 venue was The KIOSK, Christchurch Botanic Gardens.
There is plenty of parking available.
Talks start promptly at 7pm.
Admission prices
$5 per talk for CHS members and students
$10 per talk for non-members
[/one_half]
[one_half_last]
[/one_half_last]
Thursday 16 May 7pm
Rupert Tipples
Developments in Canterbury viticulture from Akaroa beginnings in 1840 to Waipara today
Rupert Tipples retired at the end of 2014 but is Honorary Associate Professor of the Department of Land Management and Systems, Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce, Lincoln University. He was one of the three authors of ‘Canterbury Grapes & Wines 1840-2002’ along with the late Dr David Jackson and Danny Schuster. He was responsible for the book’s historical chapters. In them he presented the history of grape growing and wine making in Canterbury from 1840-2002.
This Canterbury history began with the settlement of French migrants brought by the Comte de Paris to Akaroa in 1840, but which never extended from Akaroa to the rest of Canterbury. After explaining why the initial Akaroa plantings did not develop and the lull in viticultural activity until the 1970s the account turns to the events of the 1970s. David Jackson and Danny Schuster, who came into contact at Lincoln College, planted their first experimental vineyard on one of the campus research farms in 1973. From those trials significant growth in the industry in Canterbury and particularly at Waipara took place.
Dr Tipples was our first speaker in the Winter Speaker Series. You can listen to a podcast recording of his talk here: Developments in Canterbury viticulture from Akaroa beginnings in 1840 to Waipara today
Thursday 13 June 7pm
Steve Wratten
Biodiversity in the vineyards in Waipara
Steve Wratten is a Professor of Ecology at Lincoln University, Principal Investigator in the Bio-Protection Research Centre, and a visiting professor at Charles Sturt University, Australia and at the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, China.
Professor Wratten is a world-leading researcher in agro-ecology, with a focus on the biological control of pests. He has pioneered the use of non-native and endemic New Zealand plant species in agriculture to enhance insect pest control and in this way reduce insecticide use. The methods developed by his team and trialled in the Waipara wine-growing region in Canterbury, New Zealand are now in use in every vineyard region in New Zealand and Australia, as well as regions of the United States and Europe.
Professor Wratten has published more about 400 journal articles, 8 books, 90 book chapters, and has supervised more than 80 PhD students to completion. He has published papers in high-profile journals, including Nature, Ecology, Ecology Letters and Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. In 2014, he was named among the top 10 authors in the centenary editorial of the international journal Annals of Applied Biology. Prof Wratten has contributed 38 papers to this journal since its inception. He is an exceptional communicator of science and is frequently invited to speak at international conferences and workshops. He also writes for print media in New Zealand, including The Press.
Thanks to Plains FM 96.9 who recorded and broadcasted Steve’s talk. You can listen to a podcast of his talk here: Biodiversity on the vineyards in Waipara
Thursday 11 July 7pm
Peter Almond
Soils and viticulture of Canterbury
Peter Almond is a soil scientist and geomorphologist who specialises in understanding the patterns of soils in the landscape, and how those patterns influence land use. His research interests include soil erosion, natural hazards (earthquake and liquefaction), past climate, soil formation and nutrient cycling, and soil hydrology. His research expertise has seen him involved in a number of soil surveys for viticulturists in North Canterbury and elsewhere in the country.
Thursday 15 August 7pm
MJ Barnett Memorial Lecture
The M J Barnett Memorial Lecture was established to honour the memory of one of New Zealand’s most distinguished horticulturists, Morris John Barnett MBE, AHRHS, AHRIH (NZ) who died in 1964. Mr Barnett was superintendent of Parks and Reserves for 17 years. On the passing of the Domains act in 1946 (which saw the control of the Botanic Gardens and Hagley Park vested to the Council), he became Director of Botanic Gardens, Parks and Reserves, a position he held until his retirement in 1955. The CHS instituted the memorial lecture in 1965 to perpetuate his memory.
Danny Schuster
Danny Schuster has had a wide range of experience as a lecturer, viticulturist and winemaker in the South Island and as a vineyard and wine consultant to several vineyards on Waiheke Island and at Matakana. He has won awards for New Zealand Pinot Noir at the National Wine Competitions with 1982 and 1984 vintages.
Danny is a consultant to many top wineries in the Napa Valley, California as well as wineries in Tuscany and Sicily. In 2002 he was awarded a permanent display in the Smithsonian Institute of American History, Washington DC for his contribution to the evolution of the modern wine industry in California. In 2008 and 2011 Danny was the recipient of the Lifetime Contribution to New Zealand Wine award given by the New Zealand Hospitality Industry and the Chefs Association.