Regenerative agriculture began for us almost as soon as we began working the land.
At first, many of the decisions were practical: reduce unnecessary disturbance, rebuild organic matter, protect water, encourage ground cover and stop treating the vineyard as an isolated crop.
By 2025, we decided to make a much more serious push.
We began working with Jake Corin of Symbiosis Soil Lab on an intensive, science-led programme focused on soil biology and the long-term resilience of the estate. The initial plan spans five years, but we do not think of year five as a finish line. If the programme works, its principles will simply become part of how Standing Fox is farmed indefinitely.
The first season has already given us an encouraging result. In 2026, we recorded an approximately 56% increase in yield from one of our mature vineyard blocks. Jake and his team are careful not to attribute that increase to any single treatment. They see it as an early indication of how the different elements of the regenerative system, including improved soil biology, diverse cover cropping, biological inputs, reduced chemical disruption, water management and close observation, can work together to support healthier, more resilient vines.
This is a significant commitment, both financially and operationally.
We are examining the soil as a living system: its microbiology, organic matter, water, structure and the relationships between plants, fungi and microorganisms. We make and use compost and biological soil applications. Cover crops protect and feed the soil. Prunings and woody material are mulched and returned to the land. Berms help slow water moving down steep slopes.
The work is deliberately site-specific. What helps one vineyard block may not be right for another. Observation and measurement matter more to us than applying a fashionable recipe everywhere.
Alongside this work, we have moved toward organic farming practices and are in the process that we expect will lead to organic certification after the required transition period.
Certification matters because it creates an external standard. But it is not the end goal.
The larger ambition is that the soil becomes more alive, the land holds water more effectively, biodiversity increases, vines become more resilient, and the estate we eventually pass on is in better condition because we farmed it.
Five years is the first plan.
The work itself has no end date.
