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4/11/2026
Don't let botrytis spoil the vintage
How Verpixo® is helping protect premium wine grapes at Langhorne Creek, SA.
Protecting valuable grape varieties from Botrytis and Powdery mildew is an important part of producing premium quality fruit at Lake Breeze vineyard, in Langhorne Creek, South Australia.
The Follett family has been growing grapes for more than a century and today manage approximately 109 hectares of vineyards, producing a diverse range of red and white varieties for its established wine business.
Among the property's most treasured assets are its century-old Grenache vines, which remain an important part of the winery's premium wine production.
Tim Follett says maintaining the health and productivity of these vineyards is essential to achieving the fruit quality required by the winery.
"We aim for premium,” Tim said. "We want to be really competitive in the market and produce top-quality fruit and wine."
Achieving that quality requires careful vineyard management, particularly when it comes to controlling fungal diseases such as Botrytis and Powdery mildew.
Tim said, while the area generally experiences less disease pressure than other regions of South Australia, conditions could change quickly and it was important to have a good spray program in place with flexibility to respond to changing weather conditions.
An important part of the program is rotating fungicides from different chemical groups to maintain effective disease protection.
"We feel that the more you rotate, the better overall protection you get," Tim said.
Recently Verpixo® Adavelt® active, from Corteva Agriscience, has been added to the program.
It is a Group 21 fungicide so offered an excellent alternative to the Groups 3, 7 and 11 that had typically been used.
Lake Breeze Wines introduced Verpixo into selected vineyard blocks, concentrating on varieties particularly susceptible to disease and those producing high-value fruit for the winery.
Tim Follett, of Lake Breeze Winery, has introduced Verpixo fungicide for Botrytis and Powdery control in their Grenache, White Frontenac, Chardonnays and higher quality Shiraz blocks.
"Last year we put it through at 80 per cent cap-fall, mainly on our susceptible varieties which have got the higher pressures and are of the most value to our winery," Tim said.
"Our older Grenache vines, White Frontenac, which is very susceptible, our Chardonnays and some of our top Shiraz blocks all received an application of Verpixo."
He said Verpixo has fitted well into the program targeting Botrytis and Powdery mildew, particularly around critical stages of bunch development.
"We also used it in the bunch closure spray," he said.
For the late spray application, timing was particularly important in varieties such as Grenache and White Frontenac, where tight bunches can make it difficult for fungicides to penetrate once the berries have developed.
Botrytis needed to be controlled before it became a problem.
"Once it's in there, it's very hard to get out," Tim said. “You really need to get the fungicide in there at the right stage."
He said the ability to include Verpixo at these important stages has made it a useful addition to the vineyard's disease management options.
"We've come across Verpixo, which seems to work really well in that space."
Alongside fungicide selection and application timing, Tim said spray coverage was also particularly important.
He said Lake Breeze Wines uses an older Hardi Mercury sprayer, affectionately known as the 'Big Mac', which continues to perform exceptionally well.
"We find it works exceptionally well. It really penetrates the canopy without too much overspray," he said.
Around bunch closure, the vineyard applies approximately 500 litres of spray mixture per hectare, adjusting concentration according to seasonal canopy growth.
Spray programs are also adapted to address other disease pressures when necessary, including Downy mildew, although Powdery mildew and Botrytis remain key priorities.
Tim said the importance of effective Botrytis management comes from firsthand experience of how quickly the disease can destroy a valuable crop.
"Some years it can be horrendous. You can basically lose total crops, just overnight," he said.
"In 2011, one day it was looking good, and we came back a day later and basically the whole crop was gone."
Tim said these experiences reinforce the importance of controlling disease before it becomes established within the bunch.
With valuable old vines, susceptible varieties and a strong focus on premium wine production, Tim sees well-timed fungicide applications, sound chemical rotation and effective spray coverage as essential components of vineyard management.
For Lake Breeze Wines, Verpixo has become another useful tool in that approach, helping protect the quality of the grapes that ultimately determine the quality of the wine.
