Year of the Farmer profile

THE philosophy of “farming in a sustainable manner that is environmentally sound” underpins all stages of production at Bress Wine, Cider and Produce. Adam Marks and Lynne Jensen are the owners of the well-known Harcourt business and honour their philosophy by using biodynamic farming practices. “Biodynamic farming requires you to be more proactive than reactive as a farmer, you need to be aware of the environment and the weather, and try and work with, rather than control your environment,” Adam explained.The husband and wife team’s 66-acre property is planted to 18 acres of vines and 16 acres of cider apples and pears.Natural products are used instead of synthetic herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers. Bress also produces its own compost and uses locally sourced worm compost. They exclusively use natural fertilisers and a variety of biodynamic preparations to increase organic matter in the soil.“We believe that building up organic matter in the soil is the most effective way to farm successfully,” Adam said.The biodynamic farming practices extend to the winery, where rather than using cultured yeast the team relies on wild indigenous yeast, which is naturally present on the fruit and in the winery, and natural malolactic bacteria. “We believe this non-invasive approach produces wines that are typical to the place. We also do not filter our red wines or cold-stabilise our white wines.” Lynne and Adam started the Bress brand in 2001 and fittingly chose a proud show chicken as their business logo.Inspired by Adam’s love for showing chickens, which saw him travel to the south-east French town Bourg en Bresse – known for the finest eating chickens in the world – the logo would symbolise the artisan production and traditional methods used at Bress. While they began the brand in 2001 and acquired the former Mount Alexander Winery and Cidery in 2004, Adam’s exposure to the local wine industry began years before.Central Victoria is close to his heart, with his parents owning a property in Fryerstown for almost 30 years.Adam’s first “winemaking experience” began at Harcourt Valley vineyards in the late 80s.The passionate winemaker has travelled the world and formed strong beliefs about the fine art of winemaking. A visit to South America in the late 1990s afforded Adam the chance to witness the detrimental use of agrochemicals, which would later inspire his move to practice more natural ways of farming. Like his French counterparts, Adam believes that certain grape growing regions are better suited to particular grape varieties than others.Accordingly, Bress produces top-tier shiraz, Le Grand Coq Nori, riesling and a dry rosé made from cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc grapes from the Bress Harcourt property.“Harcourt produces very good shiraz and riesling. The granitic soils give rise to a particular soil profile that is conducive to producing top-class shiraz and riesling,” Adam said. From Macedon, chardonnay and pinot noir are produced as part of the Bress label while shiraz, as well as a blended white and red made from European varieties, are produced from Heathcote. A French style cider made in the method of champenoise is also produced by Bress. With more than 10 years of success under their belt, the future is looking bright for Bress and their biodynamic farming practices. “I’d like to think we have got better at what we do because we have worked with the vineyards for a number of years and have a better understanding of how they work and how to get the best out of them. It all starts in the vineyard,” Adam said.