Karl Roberts, of Capella Vineyards on the Mornington Peninsula, has a glass half-full approach

FIRST Karl Roberts noticed early season stress on leaves in a block of pinot noir vines at Capella Vineyard, on the Mornington Peninsula. “We had a few days of excessive heat in the December of 2014 and the leaves were colouring and falling off in one block of pinot,” he said. Next, Karl — the vineyard manager for Capella Vineyard, owned by Handpicked Wines — attended a seminar run by Landcare about regional trials of compost under vines.