Foundation Viticulture

Foundation Viticulture is a specialist viticulture consultancy led by Nick Dry that plays a national coordination role in safeguarding Australia's grapevine genetic resources and propagation systems. Through Wine Australia-funded programs, Foundation Viticulture leads activities that strengthen the quality, integrity and security of grapevine planting material, helping ensure Australian vineyards have access to healthy, true-to-type and commercially relevant grapevine varieties, clones and rootstocks.

Foundation Viticulture's primary role is coordinating the National Grapevine Collection (NGC), a national initiative that protects Australia's grapevine genetic resources while improving access to high-health planting material. Working closely with grapevine collection owners, nurseries, vine improvement groups, researchers and industry organisations, the NGC program supports the preservation, verification and management of grapevine germplasm, the development of a national certification framework (VitiCert Australia), and the creation of coordinated systems for grapevine collection management and biosecurity preparedness.

Wine Australia invests in Foundation Viticulture to deliver projects that improve grapevine health, varietal identity and propagation standards. Recent initiatives include coordinating the National Grapevine Collection, developing national grapevine certification standards, establishing high-security mothervine collections, supporting virus elimination programs, improving clone and variety identification, and securing long-term preservation of priority grapevine genetics through the Vine Integrity and Security Collection (VISC) program. These activities help maintain access to verified, disease-free planting material and support future breeding, biosecurity and vineyard development efforts.

By providing national leadership on grapevine germplasm, propagation standards and biosecurity, Foundation Viticulture helps future-proof Australia's vineyard resources and strengthens the resilience of the grape and wine sector. Its work underpins vineyard productivity, varietal integrity, disease management and access to improved planting material, supporting the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Australian wine production.