The Soil and the System: Examining the Transformative Potential of Regenerative Viticulture in England

Résumé fourni par la source

ABSTRACT Regenerative viticulture has become increasingly prominent within the English wine industry as a flexible framework for ecological sustainability, promoting soil health, biodiversity and reduced chemical use; it is often presented as a pragmatic alternative to the perceived rigidity of organic and biodynamic certification. This paper examines why English wine producers have adopted regenerative viticulture and explores the forms of knowledge and legitimacy that shape what counts as regenerative practice. Building upon existing literature, it advances a three‐pronged conceptual framework synthesising corporate, individualistic and transformative orientations of regenerative agriculture. Drawing on participatory observation, a producer survey and semi‐structured interviews, the paper analyses how soil is understood and valued, the appeal of operating outside formal certification, and the role of empirical proof in constructing legitimacy in the absence of institutional standards. The analysis indicates that these dynamics intersect to produce unintended consequences. Primarily, the absence of certification has meant that laboratory testing and data tools, particularly for understanding soil microbiomes, have been appropriated as outward markers of credibility. The discussion explores the ways in which this emphasis on scientific measurement works to marginalise experiential and embodied ways of knowing, tracing both the pressures that lead producers to discount their situated observations in favour of externalised standards of proof, and the uneven and incomplete ways in which this process unfolds. The paper concludes that regenerative viticulture in England emphasises farm‐level autonomy and ecological practice, yet reproduces existing epistemic hierarchies and offers limited engagement with transformative interpretations of regeneration.

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