Amid the sweeping heat, irrigation lines, and industrial-scale production of South Australia’s Riverland, Ricca Terra’s Rudi Vineyard stands out as a future-facing farm with its feet firmly in the soil. Founded by Ashley Ratcliff, the vineyard was first planted in 2004 and now spans 16 hectares, home to a kaleidoscope of Italian, Iberian and other alternative grape varieties that have turned this site from “price taker to price maker.”
“Ricca Terra in Italian means ‘Rich Earth’, and that is exactly what we have,” Ratcliff says. While most of the Riverland sits on light, sandy soils, the Rudi Vineyard is dug into terra rossa – red earth over limestone – in a channel east of Barmera known as the ‘Golden Triangle’. “A place where the highest quality of horticultural produce could be found in the region,” he notes. “The tight and hungry soils do not allow for the production of high-yielding crops, rather high-quality.”
Varieties include fiano, nero d’Avola, vermentino, grenache blanc, albarino, lagrein, montepulciano, arinto, and trebbiano — alongside high-density olive trees, prosecco (a.k.a. glera) and even merlot. Many are planted on Ruggeri rootstock for drought tolerance. “There is a patch of fiano, greco, montepulciano and lagrein that has been top-worked onto chardonnay (which is grafted on Ramsey rootstock),” adds Ratcliff.
“Our management of soil health is very simple,” Ratcliff says. “We apply every year composted organic cattle manure … We also, where applicable, plant cover crops to increase the soil organic matter.” This minimal-input approach is balanced by attention to fruit quality, with the Rudi Vineyard standing out in the region for utilising hand pruning and using a select harvester. Grapes are chilled immediately after harvest and transported to their destination wineries in a refrigerated truck. “We believe our attention to detail – ensuring grapes are delivered to wineries in the best possible condition – ensures the making of great wines.”
The Rudi Vineyard has also become a site for hands-on viticultural research. “We have undertaken a number of extensive trials on the drought performance of the different Italian grape varieties we grow,” says Ratcliff. “Nero d’Avola can produce a commercial crop in arid conditions with 50% of the water application normally used for other grape varieties (in particular French varieties).” Combining variety selection, drought-tolerant rootstocks and under-vine mulch, the vineyard is showing a pathway forward for farming in an increasingly warm climate – not just in the hot and dry Riverland, but also in other wine regions grappling with climate change, Australian orotherwise. Ratcliff is happy to share his hard-earned knowledge. “All of my trials have been published,” he says with pride.
With olives now planted among the rows and vegetable crops planned, Rudi Vineyard is embracing a return to mixed horticulture. “We want our farms to resemble the bygone era of mixed horticulture farming, which we believe is more sustainable, marketable and exciting,” Ratcliff says. This diversified horticultural model is mirrored by a diversification of destinations for the vineyard’s grapes – rather than using all of the fruit for his own Ricca Terra label, Ratcliff shares the bounty with producers like Kangarilla Road, Witches Falls, Little Victories and Other Wine Co.
“My favourite story is the time I was publicly singled out for planting alternative grape varieties,” recalls Ratcliff. “This happened in a seminar in the Barossa nearly 20 years ago. Today, that person had to sell his vineyard, and we continue to perform.” The ridicule that Ratcliff has had to endure in the past has slowly transformed into recognition, and the rude health of both Rudi and Ricca Terra as a business in the face of tough headwinds – a shrinking wine market, climate change, tariffs closing off traditional export avenues – vindicates Ratcliff’s positions.
In the end, the philosophy behind the Rudi Vineyard is simple: listen closely to the land, the climate, and people. “Overall, I feel our approach to listening to the noise of industry, government and consumers has allowed us to be in the position we find ourselves in today. Climate change was always going to be an issue. Younger drinkers looking for wine styles that their mum and dad didn’t drink was going to be obvious, and backing a region (Riverland) that one day would find itself in no man’s land was the right thing to do.”
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