Anne Hugger
Anne Hugger
Main Expertise
- Regenerative viticulture
Language(s)
- German
- English
- Spanish
- Italian
- Portuguese
Based in
Germany
Contact
Main Challenges for farmers transitioning
- The felt uncertainty of the transition itself – new ways, new practices and new mindsets are in the beginning often frightening
- The perceived Financial costs: in the beginning it looks like a mountain with high transition costs and potential yield declines during the first years of transition.
- Time constraints: required to learn and implement regenerative practices.
- The transition itself does not necessarily fail, but it is often delayed or postponed and pushed away because of these barriers.
Success stories
Viticulture is currently facing a major crisis. In the region of my last farm in France, many vineyards are being removed, and it was heartbreaking to see piles of uprooted vines. At the same time, I reflected on how we cultivate wine today in vast monocultures with endless rows of vines. For me, this is not what a vineyard should be. A vineyard should be a living landscape that is integrated with its region and the surrounding nature. We have both the opportunity and the responsibility to restore biodiversity and work with local ecosystems instead of clearing landscapes to establish yet another monoculture.
One principle you wish more people understood
- One of the most valuable lessons for me was holistic management, not only focusing on the farming operation itself, but also on the people involved. How do you include everyone? How do you translate the farm manager’s vision into daily practices for the people working in the field? Getting everyone on board is just as important as implementing regenerative practices.
- I also learned a great deal about compost and compost tea, especially their microbiological benefits. One of my training farms strongly believed in these practices, and I even analyzed two different compost they made, which gave me valuable practical insights.
- Another important takeaway was the potential of cover crops between vineyard rows. When adapted to the local climate and soil conditions, inter-row vegetation offers enormous opportunities to improve biodiversity, soil health, and to give something back to the ecosystem within vineyard systems.
“Regenerative agriculture means remembering that we are part of nature ourselves. Only by understanding ecosystems again can we learn to live in harmony with them”
— What regenerative agriculture means to me
What you would say to future students of the agronomist program
Always ask questions. Don’t hold back, even if you think your question might be obvious. Stay curious and don’t be afraid to challenge existing ideas. I also recommend having a small personal project that you can proactively discuss with your host farmer. Build personal connections and spend as much time as possible talking with farmers, learning about their experiences and stories, there is so much knowledge to gain from them. Finally, being able to focus specifically on viticulture was incredibly valuable because it allowed me to immediately translate regenerative principles into practical applications for vineyards. To have a personal focus on a certain production model/ field in regenerative agriculture helps you to focus and dive deeper into your passions.
My future ambitions after this training
- My main ambition is to actively contribute to the transformation of viticulture by helping create biodiverse vineyard ecosystems that are adapted to their local environment, so that vineyards once again become true “wine gardens.”
- In the near future, I would like to contribute on several levels. I would love to collaborate with the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation by helping develop a handbook on regenerative viticulture. I am also very excited about the One Block Challenge, where winegrowers dedicate a small section of their vineyard to regenerative practices to learn through experience. Creating this momentum in regenerative viticulture is something I would be proud to be part of.
- At the moment, I am working in the wine trade and wine bar until the end of August.
- After that, I would also like to gain additional practical vineyard experience, potentially working with Mimi Casteel.
- In addition, I am already advising a winery on its regenerative transition and plan to continue supporting its development.
Learn Directly from the Experts
Meet this agronomist in our Regenerative Agronomy Training.
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