The Guardian of the Vines: "Nature has a profound impact on our passions" with Nigel Blieschke.
“My early experience didn't excite me about being a sheep farmer. I love farming, but I wasn't gonna be a farmer.”
Instead, Nigel Blieschke’s upbringing in the isolated and remarkable landscape of the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, partnered with his Grandfather's interest and care for the natural environment, shaped his interest in native vegetation.
"My Grandfather, he knew every plant and bird. He was a big influence on us as young kids.”
This interest would lead Nigel to enrolling in Natural Resource Management at university.
(That’s right, he’s our 2nd guest in recent weeks that studied that exact degree!)
After finding himself unfulfilled in a role in rural merchandising, Nigel enrolled in a Graduate Certificate in Viticulture.
“There was a demand for a lot of new people to come into the viticulture side of things and there was a real buzz around Australian wine. And I happened to be studying with some of the great Australian winemakers that are now top of the industry.”
At the time in the early 90’s, Australia’s wine industry was only just beginning to enter a period of significant growth.
“In the 90s, a new era, there was a lot of young winemakers going to Europe and started making some really great wines that really caught the attention in the UK particularly.”
To even the average wine aficionado, Australia is regarded as producing some extraordinary wines that mix it with the best.
“There were wines that the rest of the world hadn’t seen. But we started at the bottom and worked our way up and are now very successful across the spectrum of wine styles.”
Photo credit, Image supplied by Nigel Blieschke
Today, as the Chief Viticulturist at Torbreck Vintners in the Barossa Valley, Nigel passionately works from the ground up to ensure the vines are healthy today and for the future.
“We've got these old vines, they’re world heritage. So we're very mindful that we are kind of custodians of these old vineyards.”
“But my one core thing was to make sure that we looked after the soils and the vines the best we could so that they are there for the next generation. They can still live for 300-400 years, no problem.”
Nigel has been recognised as a 2023 Syngenta Growth Award winner in the Sustainability - Advisor category. He described it as an ‘honour’ and an important recognition for the viticulture industry more broadly.
"Acknowledging the efforts in sustainability is a positive step for the agriculture industry."
Listen to Nigel’s podcast episode on your favourite podcast app, or in the link below.
Nigel Blieschke is a 2023 Syngenta Growth Award recipient, in the category of Sustainability Advisor. “The goal of the growth awards is to recognise growers and advisers who are making a difference to the Industry through leadership, best practice and innovation”.
Nigel’s story is one of several we are sharing in partnership with Syngenta Australia, where we are featuring the stories of the 2023 Growth Award recipients. You can learn more about the Syngenta Growth Awards and the 2023 recipients HERE.