It’s not unusual for sheep to be meandering through vineyards during the cooler months when vines are dormant, as I (right) found out myself in Marlborough last year. They help keep the vineyard clean, preventing the vegetation around the vines overgrowing, and some vintners may even make a little extra cash selling the wool.

A new star in the making, currently rising through the ranks of the global wine industry, is the Babydoll sheep. Miniature in size, this old and rare English breed have been taking over from the regulars in vineyards throughout California and New Zealand.

Peter Yealand, owner and founder at Yealands, New Zealand, believes it’s environmentally and economically sensible: “Mowing the lawns at a 1,000 hectare vineyard uses a fair bit of fuel so we’re looking to these miniature sheep to help out.” Yealand previously experimented with Guinea Pigs, which were doing a fantastic job until the Hawkes discovered them to be an easy catch.

In California, the Navarro Vineyards and Winery have also enjoyed the benefits. Winemaker Sarah Cahn Bennett claims “They not only get rid of the weeds and grass between the rows, but they also eat the suckers at the bottom of the vines [referring to green shoots that come up on the plants in the spring] and we’d have to get rid of those anyway.”

View original article from reuters.com here.