Raquel Kallas leads Massale selection revival in New Zealand viticulture

"People are finding that it produces much more complexity in the wines because of the diversity of the parent material," she says, having spent several months this year exploring vineyards and nurseries in Italy and France.

New Zealand vineyards have predominantly been planted with clonal selections, where all vines are replicates - clones - of a single individual with desirable traits.

Raquel says clones offer the benefit of uniformity and predictability, but with massale selection cuttings are taken from healthy, varied vines of the same variety, "fostering vineyard resilience and producing captivating wines".

Natural Selection NZ will offer "bespoke" massale selection projects, says Raquel, who proposes a minimum of three years of observations before final selections are made, to ensure any recognised advantages are related to the plant's genotype rather than seasonal effects.

She also wants to "cast the net widely", asking clients to identify peers they admire in other regions, so she can approach those growers to source budwood.

"That way we may be able to capture genetic changes from across the regions. Because most of the plantings around the country are clones and not very old, we are working from a fairly uniform base. We need to go interregional to maximise the benefits in our New Zealand context."

Once harvested, the Grafted Grapevine Standard-compliant budwood will be sent to one of the four Viticultural Nursery Association members to produce GGS-certified vines.

Meanwhile, Raquel will return to Europe in July to attend the OIV International Ampelography Course to advance her grapevine identification skills.

naturalselection.co.nz