Gallery: Vineyard animals - Unlikely helpers

Vineyard animals, Babydoll sheep — Both Kunekune pigs and babydoll sheep are able to graze in the Yealands vineyards all year round, because these breeds are too small to reach the grapes! Previously, Yealands tried using giant guinea pigs in their vineyards, but sadly they were hunted by local hawks.

(Image credit: www.yealands.co.nz)

As growing numbers of wineries around the world consider the merits of organic and biodynamic principles, many are deploying vineyard animals to help fight weeds and pests without the use of chemicals...

Vineyard animals – Unlikely helpers

Sheep

At Two Paddocks Vineyard, owned by Sam Neill in Central Otago, sheep are used as weed control.

Llamas

At Terra Noble Wines, in Chile, llamas are used to keep things tidy in the vineyards.

Armadillos

Armadillos are found in Bodega Chacra's vineyards in Patagonia. They eat pests and worms and have returned to the vines following efforts to introduce sustainable farming, according to the winery.

Sheep

English sparkling wine producer Nyetimber borrow sheep in January for their West Sussex and Hampshire vineyard sites. They help in the vineyards until the end of February, when they return to their farms for lambing season.

Kunekune pigs

Peter Yealand, of Yealands Wines in New Zealand, has been experimenting with different animals for a while. As well as babydoll sheep (next), he uses Kunekune pigs for weeding, which eat vegetation without excessively digging up the ground, like other breeds.

Geese

Geese are found in vineyards in a range of locations, from the UK to California to Chile. They are also used for weed control in the vineyards.

Yealands babydoll Sheep

Both Kunekune pigs and babydoll sheep are able to graze in the Yealands vineyards all year round, because these breeds are too small to reach the grapes!
Previously, Yealands tried using giant guinea pigs in their vineyards, but sadly they were hunted by local hawks.

Dogs

Where there are sheep, there are often sheep dogs. At Navarro Vineyards, there are dogs to help herd the sheep do their weeding, such as Border Collies, and ones to protect the sheep from predators, such as Great Pyrenees.

Chickens

Chickens are used in a number of vineyards to combat weeds, cutworms and other insect pests that would harm the vines.
At Quivira Wine, amongst others, the chicken manure is also used in the compost soil, as part of their organic farming.

Falcons and hawks

Gallo Family Vineyards and Cakebread are among the wineries using falcons or hawks to ward off starling birds, which were eating their grapes – whilst at the same time, not disturbing the local area or nature.

Hawk kite

It's not technically a living creature, but Pewley Down Vineyard in Surrey uses an ingenious hawk kite to scare away predators.

Bobcats

Bobcats, similarly to the hawks, are used at Navaro Vineyards to keep away pests that may eat the grapes or damage the vines, such as jackrabbits and gophers.

Bears

Had enough of vineyard helpers? Here's an unwitting villain...At Kettle Valley Winery in British Columbia, bears eat the grapes. According to winemaker Bob Ferguson, they tend to go for Merlot grapes but dislike the Gewürztraminer.Find more vineyard pests here.

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Ellie Douglas is digital editor at Decanter.

She has worked at Decanter since 2013, when she joined as editorial assistant, then moving to the web team as assistant web editor in 2015.

Over her years at Decanter, Ellie has helped to significantly grow Decanter’s social media presence and with the launch of Decanter Premium in 2017.

She holds her WSET Level three in Wine, and in 2018 was shortlisted for PPA Digital Content Champion of the Year.