Gusbourne: Award winning vineyard embraces technology & sustainability
Joining ‘the World’s Best Vineyard’ list, Gusbourne is proactive in its approach to technology and leveraging these tools to produce using regenerative practices.
One of the world’s best vineyards.
Gusbourne is a well-known English wine producer. With the estates’ favorable climate soil types, Gusbourne quickly established itself as one of the UK’s premier sparkling wine producers. The vineyard has two distinct vineyard locations:
- Gusbourne Estate, a 64-hectare vineyard in Appledore, Kent led by Jon Pollard
- Selhurst Park Estate, a 32-hectare vineyard in West Sussex, led by Adam Foden.
In 2024, Gusbourne ranked in the top 50 on ‘the World’s Best Vineyard’ list. For a business that is barely 20 years old – this is an impressive accomplishment.
What technology does one of the world’s top vineyards use?
The team is piloting two different vineyard management systems. The Kent vineyard is working with Moosle and the West Sussex operation is working with the Farmable vineyard management app.
Adam Foden has been the Vineyard Manager at Selhurst Park Estate for the past 10 years. Beyond using Farmable for data management, he is using a Sencrop weather station and Sectormentor for disease pressure monitoring.
Farmable for vineyard management
Adam Foden uses two of Farmable’s software products in his daily management work at Gusbourne. Farmable PRO, for field notes, spray applications and real-time product inventory. He also uses Farmable Teams & Timesheets to handle time-tracking for his team members.
In the first season using Farmable for data management, it is immediately clear to Foden that the #1 benefit of using technology is time saved.
“I’ve cut-out the middleman on paperwork and allowed people who are better suited to be out in the field, to get back to their work”
The Farmable app automatically creates GlobalG.A.P. compliant spray records which Foden can access from his phone any time he needs. This also reduces the workload to keep compliant with Sustainable Wines of Great Britain, which is of high importance to the Gusbourne team.
Foden himself finds that he saves time not only on paperwork but also in the daily communication required with his team members,
“Spray operators can actually understand what they are spraying from the app - and that saves me 30 minutes of standing with operators explaining what they need to do.”
The team at Farmable has focused on the product’s user-friendly design so that it can be easily used by both permanent staff and temporary workers. Foden shares that he already observed the Teams & Timesheets module was very easy to use with new, temporary staff.
“Exceptionally easy to onboard new people to have accurate and quick time keeping”
In the end, this adds up to more time saved; for Adam, the temporary workers, spray operators and anyone working with administration tasks. It’s a win-win.
How does the technology at Gusbourne support sustainability?
1. Farming in a sustainable way underpins Gusbourne’s approach. Using digital tools supports this mission in a few practical ways.
2.The Sencrop weather station integrates with Farmable and can be used to calculate Delta T to aid management decisions in optimizing weather related spray conditions.
3. Easy access to historical data will enable Vineyard Managers like Adam Foden to make adjustments to plant protection products used over time, ultimately reducing chemical applications.
4. Organized data in a vineyard management tool makes the compliance requirements for sustainability certification easier and less time-consuming to fulfill.
Conclusion
With a progressive approach to technology and strong commitment to regenerative farming, it’s no surprise that Gusbourne has quickly risen to be globally renowned.
As a detail-focused producer, the team is set up to control all aspects of the wine making and grape growing process.
“Having good data to work with helps us in our drive to improve and finesse all aspects of the way we work,” concludes Foden.
Working in a nature-first, sustainable way, Gusbourne is able to offer a world-class sparkling wine from a regenerative vineyard in the heart of Britain.
If you’d like to visit Gusbourne or book a tour, you can learn more about their experiences online.
If you would like to learn more about Farmable and their offering for vineyard management and orchard management, visit www.farmable.tech.
