Vote for your 2026 winners

Can a traditional Santorini crop help the island’s increasingly hot and dry vineyards hold on to precious moisture and remain viable for future generations?

Funding requested: £5,150 in Year 1 (plus £5,150 in Year 2 and £5,150 in Year 3)  

Length of project: 3 years

Detailed summary: Santorini is becoming hotter and drier, putting its historic vineyards under growing pressure. Artemis Karamolegos Winery wants to test whether planting Santorini fava beans between the vines could help growers continue producing healthy grapes in these increasingly difficult conditions. The three-year trial will cover 2.8 hectares, split equally between fava and bare-soil comparison plots. The fava will be cut and left on the ground as a natural mulch, rather than harvested. Regular testing will show whether it helps the soil retain more water, provides nutrients for the vines and protects grape quality and yields. If successful, the winery will extend the approach and share the findings with growers across Santorini.

Can a new vineyard be designed with trees, native plants and wildlife habitats built in from the start?

Funding requested: £8,000 in Year 1 (plus £4,444 in Year 2 and £3,556 in Year 3)

Length of project: 3 years

Detailed summary: Carinus Family Vineyards want to set aside 0.43 hectares of a new vineyard for permanent natural habitat. This will include a 0.18-hectare area planted with indigenous trees and renosterbos (native ‘rhinoceros bush’), alongside 0.25 hectares of corridors planted with fynbos, the distinctive native vegetation of the Cape. Working with experts from Stellenbosch University, the team will connect pockets of natural habitat across the new vineyard and create food and shelter for birds, insects and pollinators. The aim is to show how a productive vineyard can be designed with nature built in from the beginning.

Which plants should grow between the vines to protect the soil, hold on to more rainwater and reduce the need for mechanical weeding? 

Funding requested: £5,120 in Year 1 (plus £2,360 in Year 2)

Length of project: 2 years

Detailed summary: Château Saint Estève d’Uchaux want to find out which plants can grow between the vines, protect the ground, help rain soak into the soil and reduce the number of times machinery passes through the vineyard. The first year will establish a detailed picture of the soil across its 36-hectare organic estate. The second will trial different seed mixtures across four to six hectares, comparing them with plots managed using the estate’s existing approach of natural grass cover and mechanical weeding. The estate will pay for all labour, vineyard work and soil treatments itself, and share the findings with other local growers.

Can healthier soils and winter ground cover help a seventh-generation Cahors grower prepare her family vineyard for a hotter, drier future? 

Funding requested: £14,000

Length of project: 1 year

Detailed summary: As the seventh generation prepares to take responsibility for her family estate, Juliette Baldès wants to accelerate Clos Triguedina’s transition towards regenerative viticulture and prepare the vineyard for a hotter, drier future. The project will create a 1.5-hectare demonstration vineyard, plant 500 metres of native hedgerow and establish habitats for birds, bats and insects. A new no-till seeder will allow winter cover crops to be planted with minimal soil disturbance. The estate currently establishes winter cover crops across around 20 of its 79 hectares and aims to extend this across the whole vineyard. Clos Triguedina will fund half the cost of the seeder and share its experience and results with neighbouring growers.

Can a 400-metre Mediterranean hedgerow help restore wildlife corridors lost to wildfire and major infrastructure development in southern France? 

Funding requested: £2,840 

Length of project: 1 year 

Detailed summary: Following devastating wildfires in 2025 and the planned construction of a new high-speed railway, Domaine Félines Jourdan want to help wildlife move safely between the remaining natural areas around its vineyards. The project will plant a 400-metre hedgerow of Mediterranean trees and shrubs, including almond, pomegranate, mastic and dog rose, alongside a newly replanted piquepoul vineyard. The hedgerow will provide food and shelter for birds, bats and beneficial insects, while helping rain soak into the ground and providing shade as the climate becomes warmer. 

Can a new piece of equipment help English vineyards keep more moisture in the soil, reduce tractor passes and leave flowering plants in place for longer? 

Funding requested: £5,000 

Length of project: 1 year 

Detailed summary: Exton Park want to purchase a roller crimper, a piece of equipment that flattens cover crops into a protective mulch instead of repeatedly mowing them. The team will compare roller crimping with conventional mowing across different vineyard blocks, measuring tractor hours, diesel use, soil moisture and the number of flowering plants and insects present throughout the season. The mulch created by the roller crimper is expected to help protect soils from drought and reduce evaporation during hot weather, while allowing flowering cover crops to remain available to pollinators for longer. Exton Park will share its findings with the wider English wine industry through Sustainable Wines of Great Britain and on-farm demonstration events.

Can three neighbouring wine farms restore 11 hectares of one of South Africa’s rarest habitats and inspire others across the Swartland to join them? 

Funding requested: £19,500 in Year 1 (plus £19,000 in Year 2 and £15,000 in Year 3) 

Length of project: 3 years 

Detailed summary: Zwartwater (on behalf of the Swartland Ecological Network), AA Badenhorst and The Sadie Family Wines have joined forces to restore around 11 hectares of Renosterveld, one of South Africa’s rarest and most threatened natural habitats. The project will create nurseries for local plants, collect seed from the remaining natural vegetation, clear invasive plants and reconnect isolated habitats across the three farms with nearby protected areas. The team will also train local restoration crews and create a practical plan that other landowners can follow. The long-term ambition is for more farms to join, gradually creating one connected network of natural habitat across the Swartland. 

2,000 years of winemaking. One new corridor for wildlife.

Funding requested: £10,500 in Year 1 (plus £1,700 in Year 2 and £1,280 in Year 3)

Length of project: 3 years

Detailed summary: Winemakers have farmed the famous Abtsberg vineyard since Roman times. Now Maximin Grünhaus wants to give a small part of it back to nature, creating a 220-metre wildlife corridor linking woodland above the slope with the River Ruwer below. The project will replace a small area of vines with 29 native trees, 588 shrubs and 750m² of wildflowers, providing food and shelter for birds, bees and butterflies, while helping protect nearby vines from increasingly common spring frosts. The estate will continue funding and maintaining the corridor long after The Wine Society’s support ends.

How much space should a vineyard give back to nature? Radford Dale wants to restore 10% of its farm to rare fynbos, creating a thriving sanctuary for wildlife.

Funding requested: £12,000

Length of project: 1 year

Detailed summary: As Elgin's only organically certified vineyard and cellar, Radford Dale Organic is working towards becoming a WWF Conservation Champion. The project will restore two hectares of Critically Endangered Elgin Shale Fynbos, clear invasive plants that block natural water flows, plant a 150-metre habitat hedge and create new homes for birds, pollinators and other wildlife. Funding will also help turn vineyard waste into compost and mulch, returning nutrients to the soil instead of sending them to waste. The aim is to show that even a small working wine farm can make nature a central part of its future. 

A three-year trial exploring whether maple trees and wildflowers can attract beneficial insects that help control pests and reduce the need for chemical sprays in the vineyard.

Funding requested: £5,000 in Year 1 (plus £5,000 in Year 2 and £5,000 in Year 3)

Length of project: 3 years

Detailed summary: San Polino want to plant 17 to 20 maple trees through 4,000m² of vineyard, with a two-metre-wide island of wildflowers beneath each tree and biodiversity corridors connecting them to the surrounding woodland. The project is designed to attract beneficial insects and mites that naturally feed on vineyard pests. Working with researchers from CREA, Italy’s leading agricultural research body, the team will monitor insects, vine disease, grape quality, spray use and soil health over three years. The aim is to understand whether encouraging these natural predators can help reduce the use of chemical sprays, while maintaining healthy vines and high-quality grapes. 

Can bringing more trees, shrubs and wildlife back into a vineyard help it cope better with drought, heat and wildfire?

Funding requested: £9,986 in Year 1 (plus £9,174 in Year 2 and £13,477 in Year 3)

Length of project: 3 years

Detailed summary: Sumarroca want to create a network of wildlife corridors linking forests, streams, ponds and vineyards across its estate. The project will plant 50 trees and 500 native shrubs, install bat boxes and monitor birds, bats, insects and other wildlife over three years. Working with biodiversity scientists from the University of Barcelona, the team will study whether these changes help create a vineyard that is better able to cope with drought, heat and wildfire, while also supporting more wildlife. The aim is to create a practical model that other growers in Mediterranean wine regions can learn from. 

Can a vineyard be designed around nature from day one, rather than trying to add it back later?

Funding requested: £8,150 in Year 1 (plus £5,600 in Year 2 and £3,900 in Year 3)

Length of project: 3 years

Detailed summary: Thymiopoulos plans to expand the existing Aftorizo vineyard within a 0.97-hectare woodland-edge site in Naoussa. Not all of the available land will be planted. Some will remain untouched to preserve existing trees, wild fruit trees, natural vegetation and habitat corridors. Rather than clearing the site and imposing a standard vineyard layout, the team will first map its natural features and then design the vineyard around them. Funding will support habitat protection, living groundcover, biodiversity monitoring and measures to improve water infiltration and prevent soil erosion. The aim is to build regenerative principles into the vineyard from day one, working with the soil, water, vegetation and wildlife already present on the site. 

Can a vineyard turn its own waste into a natural liquid fertiliser and eventually eliminate the need for synthetic fertilisers?

Funding requested: £7,300

Length of project: 1 year

Detailed summary: Tierhoek want to establish an earthworm tea farm using materials already produced on the estate, including grape skins and stems, prunings, fallen leaves, hay and chicken manure. The resulting liquid fertiliser would be applied regularly throughout the vineyard, reducing reliance on purchased fertilisers and creating a more circular farming system. The project will monitor soil nutrients, vine nutrition and fertiliser use through twice-yearly soil and leaf analysis. The long-term goal is to replace synthetic fertilisers with nutrients produced entirely on the farm, while sharing the lessons learned with other growers 

Can 600 metres of wildlife-friendly fencing unlock the restoration of native vegetation around a young Yarra Valley vineyard? 

Funding requested: £4,640 

Length of project: 1 year 

Detailed summary: Tillie J Wines is working with the Yarra Ranges Council's ‘Ribbons of Green’ programme to restore native vegetation around Granite Springs Vineyard. The programme will provide hundreds of locally native trees, shrubs and grasses free of charge, but first the site needs around 600 metres of fencing to protect the young plants from deer and livestock. In other words, funding the fence unlocks the wider restoration project. The new corridors will create habitat for native birds, small native bats and beneficial insects. Tillie also plans to work with BirdLife Australia to monitor wildlife before and after planting. 

Soil life and the precious resource of water. Can a layer of straw keep vineyard soils cooler, hold on to more water and protect life beneath the surface? 

Funding requested: £7,550 

Length of project: 1 year 

Detailed summary: Weingut Jurtschitsch want to purchase a specialised straw mulching machine that spreads a protective layer of straw between vineyard rows after cultivation. The project builds on trials already underway in their historic Heiligenstein vineyard, where soils covered with straw were measured at around 22°C compared with 30°C for neighbouring bare soils. The team will monitor soil moisture, temperature, earthworm activity, vine growth and grape quality to understand whether straw mulching can help vineyards better cope with prolonged drought and heat. If successful, the approach could be rolled out across the estate and shared with other growers facing similar climate challenges.