Tiki Wine & Vineyards has become New Zealand’s first vineyard and winery to receive regenerative certification from A Greener World, earning international recognition for an approach grounded in kaitiakitanga.
The North Canterbury producer received the certification after six years of regenerative farming. The independently assessed programme recognises farming practices designed to improve soil health, biodiversity and resilience to climate change.
Founder Royce McKean said the certification affirmed Tiki’s belief that vineyards should be farmed in partnership with nature.
“I think it reinforces that we always knew the way to farm was to do so with nature and not against it. And you’re going to have a lot more success, you’re actually going to grow better quality food. You’re going to do that for time and memorial really.”
McKean believes regenerative methods could be adopted more widely across New Zealand’s primary industries, strengthening the country’s food production and export sectors.
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise welcomed the certification as a positive development for the country’s agricultural exporters.
“We understand how important kaitiakitanga is and I think the world is slowly catching up to how important kaitiakitanga is in not just food production but also in the value you can get from exports,” says Jeremy Gardiner, NZTE Head of Māori Export Customers.
Kaitiakitanga at the heart of Tiki
Kaitiakitanga underpins Tiki’s operations and reflects a commitment by founders Royce and Sue McKean to care for the land while producing food and wine.
McKean learnt the value from his mother, Sally Hariata McKean, who is of Ngāti Uenuku Kōpako, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāi Te Rangi descent.
The A Greener World certification recognises Tiki’s efforts to leave its land in better condition for future generations. NZTE sees the achievement as part of a wider shift in international markets, where environmental credentials are becoming increasingly important to buyers.
“I think that the market is telling us that these things are important and if you really want to get the value out of our products then we have to start moving towards those things.”
What makes a farm regenerative?
A Greener World assesses how farms apply regenerative principles and measure their environmental progress.
At Tiki’s vineyard, those practices include planting between vine rows to improve biodiversity and soil health. The wider property also incorporates fruit and vegetable gardens and livestock, with plans to introduce chickens.
McKean said the transition was not difficult because many regenerative principles were straightforward and aligned with the long-term interests of the land.
“I think with a lot of this stuff, it’s not actually particularly complicated, you know intuitively that what you’re doing is right or what you’re doing is wrong for the long term benefit of your land.”
A possible path for New Zealand farming
McKean is encouraging other businesses and households to learn about kaitiakitanga and experiment with regenerative practices.
“I just really want to encourage others to read on it and look at it, or even have a go at it in your own backyard. You’ll find that it’s not particularly complicated and it’s something that’s relatively intuitive, you’ll derive a lot of enjoyment from it and ultimately, you’ll end up with some good food.”
NZTE says demand from some overseas markets is creating an export opportunity for producers that can demonstrate credible regenerative practices.
Gardiner said those practices could increase the value of New Zealand exports while also improving the health of the country’s productive land.
“I think definitely in some of our markets the move towards regenerative is an important export step but also for our own production systems, making sure we’ve got great quality production, and we leave the whenua in a better state is a good practice anyway.”
