SAC 1 Preparation

This interview with Rob Kolkka of Curly Flat, was conducted by Jett Prout in February 2026

Hi Rob, thank you for taking the time to help us understand some of the things that have to be considered as a producer of premium Australian wines.

What do you consider to be the three most important pieces of technology you use in the vineyard on a day-to-day basis? 

Tractors, we can’t do the job without them, power secateurs to prevent RSI while pruning during winter and a spray unit for disease control (unavoidable). The spray unit can pinpoint different zones of the canopy and can apply different volumes of fungicide or foliar sprays.

How has the technology you use for monitoring vine health or grape ripeness changed over the last 10 years? Has it moved from manual 'gut feel' to data-driven decisions, or do you believe that it is important to have a combination of the two?

We’ve trialled the use of camera mounted drones to map foliar moisture in conjunction with a University, but you just can’t beat the good old taste buds and a bit of science when it comes down to it.

The Macedon Ranges is a cool climate, but temperatures are shifting. Is there any specific research or any new practices you use or will be using to mitigate the risks of climate change? 

The climate change is an interesting one when it comes to Pinot Noir. Pinot loves a good hot day but breathes a sigh of relief when it cools overnight. It thrives on the diurnal difference which is exactly what the Macedon Region gives it. 

If the quality dropped off due to increasing temperature, I feel the only option would be to graft over to a different variety more suitable to the temperatures and climate.

Do you partner with organisations like Wine Australia, the AWRI, or local universities on any trials or research projects?

We have worked in conjunction with some Unis’ with research and also training some of our staff I viticulture. A percentage of our income goes to research through government bodies.

How does the vineyard handle organic waste? Can you cycle that back into the production system or are there by-products that can be used elsewhere to reduce waste? 

All winery waste is put into settlement tanks and the overflow, which is basically clean water, goes through a septic filtration system.

The skins and stems go into a composting pile which is rotated several times a year. They’re mixed with a soil and other organic materials and can be put back under the vines as mulch.

In the past, what has been the biggest threat to the vineyard (eg. frost, Phylloxera, Downy Mildew, bushfire smoke)? What was the strategy you used to control it? 

Phylloxera and fire are probably the biggest threats to us. We have used phylloxera resistant root stocker over most of the vineyard.

Phylloxera is transferred by soil and the only way to prevent the spread into the vineyard is to keep people and equipment out. However, that is not always possible.

Any machinery from outside the property needs to be thoroughly cleaned, under and over, even tyre treads. This is done preferably with steam.

People have to use foot bath for boots with bleach to kill any possible transfer.

When you buy a new piece of technology or try a new method, how do you measure its success? Is it purely based on yield, grape quality, or return on investment? 

New equipment is typically purchased to provide efficiency and therefore return on investment would be the measure.

We’ve tried heaps of different pruning methods, specific rows pruned and trained differently can significantly alter both yield and quality. These rows have to be picked separately and processed separately to see what the differences were. In theory the measure would be yield and taste/quality.

What is your point of view on the use of synthetic herbicides and pesticides? Are you moving toward more 'organic' or 'minimal intervention' practices, and, if you are, what is driving that—consumer demand or environmental health? 

We haven’t used the likes of round up for many years and moved to more sustainable products for our own concerns for the environment. We have a bit of a weed problem in some areas of the property mainly because the newest plantings are not able to stand up to the under vine mower (which is used to keep weeds and grasses down around the trunks of the vines).

Herbicides for two to three years is the only practical option in this case,thankfully there are several organic options out there these days.

Do you find that your customers are asking more questions about your sustainability practices? Would this influence the way you manage the land? 

Surprisingly, very few customers ask us about our sustainability practices.

Thank you so much for all your help with this. I am sure my students appreciate their case study coming straight to them from the field.