Kemal ÇELİK
Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University
The concept of regenerative agriculture (Regenerative Viticulture) is an evolution of traditional farming that science has focused on in recent years for increasingly degraded agricultural areas. It reduces the use of water and other inputs while preventing land degradation and deforestation. While making agriculture more productive and profitable, it protects and improves soil, biodiversity, climate resilience, and water resources. Within the scope of regenerative agriculture, regenerative viticulture is a work currently being carried out in Anatolia—where viticulture culture is gradually weakening—and represents an achievable dream that adorns the life scenarios of those trying to escape urban life! Emerging with the philosophy of sequestering atmospheric carbon ($C$), helping mitigate the impacts of climate change and global warming, and contributing to the improvement of the natural environment, the purpose of this viticulture method is to move away from chemical-based monocultural farming that damages the soil and local ecosystems. We will see regenerative viticulture gain more importance in the near future as the only vineyard model based on the carbon cycle that maximises the vine’s ability to absorb $CO_2$ from the atmosphere and store it in the soil, benefiting the land and supporting biodiversity. Placing great emphasis on sequestering soil carbon through various techniques, particularly cover crops and allowing chickens and sheep to roam and graze between the vines, this method highlights the enhancement of biodiversity and the enrichment of vineyard soil health. At the same time, by encouraging polyculture and the development of surrounding forests, it enables the cultivation of vines, dwarf fruits, and vegetables without irrigation or tillage. Plus, its visual beauty is an added bonus! Imagine it!
In terms of a holistic vineyard method, the regenerative approach aims to continuously and specifically improve the condition of the resource base through the equality of plant and soil life. This approach increases organic matter and water retention capacity while improving soil health. As the only approach aiming to minimise non-farm input costs, we can also say it is the most modern way to objectively measure the health of vineyard soil. Wine experts and scientists believe that regenerative viticulture is inherently a phenomenon of focus and a complete agricultural ecosystem compared to the principles of biodynamics and permaculture practised for decades. Regenerative viticulture is not just a natural approach focusing solely on the grape; it is the greenest path to quality grape production, closely linked to the health and fertility of the soil. Also vital for climate change and the planet’s health, regenerative viticulture will contribute to viticulture by addressing certain issues that, by definition in natural viticulture functions, can lack academic knowledge and traditions. The importance of objective standards will emerge, and soil health will become the central component of viticulture practices. In this context, there will be an integrity for regenerative viticulture in the near future that is robust, analysable, buildable, and measurable.
Reducing the current use of pesticides and herbicides in vineyards is an unavoidable necessity. Considering that some pesticides used in agricultural production are carcinogenic and affect the nervous system, especially when viewed from a holistic perspective, the specific emphasis placed on soil carbon sequestration technically separates regenerative viticulture from biodynamic and organic farming. This means using nitrogen-fixing plants as cover crops and/or companion plants. The addition of animals such as chickens or sheep produces manure necessary for soil enrichment—an organic fertilizer that also contains essential bacteria. No-till or low-till practices also help maintain soil quality. Ploughing and removing other plants next to the grapevines is taboo in this system; chemical inputs like synthetic fertilizers have no effect in the long term on enriching the soil or maintaining its positive qualities to produce great wines. While biodynamic and permaculture practices introduced a holistic perspective based on soil health over a decade ago, they expressed that the soil is a placenta or matrix, causing many life forms to emerge within it as a living organism greater than the life it supports. Now, the soil itself is dying, and it is a completely meaningless death! Therefore, we must have a regenerative viticulture, carbon sequestration, and an all-encompassing new perspective on the soil, opening the door to the application of objective standards in viticulture, including certification programmes. Moving forward from this point within the scope of the Ida Vineyards project, we can already say that Mount Ida’s viticulture culture will be reshaped under regenerative viticulture with current and scientific data, and the method will provide various contributions to the region’s viticulture heritage and socio-economics.
