Drought Tolerant Rootstocks
Currently we are seeing an increased interest in “drought tolerant rootstocks.” For the benefit of context, we are defining “drought tolerant rootstocks” as those that are most likely to out-perform the current mainstream rootstocks used in NZ today (2025). It is challenging to collate sufficient information on how these rootstocks perform in New Zealand due to several factors: there are limited commercial plantings of these rootstocks within New Zealand from which to draw information, and New Zealand wine regions are not yet, on the whole, experiencing on-going drought conditions.
As our customers look towards a future where water use and availability may be restricted, we are seeing an increase in demand for these rootstocks. Within time, and with more trial work and planting, we will have more information available about how these rootstocks perform locally and regionally.
During the early period of the development of the New Zealand wine industry, early ripening rootstocks have been favoured. This means rootstocks with Riparia parentage have been favoured as they typically aid in earlier ripening in a cool climate:
Rootstocks with Riparia parentage include:
Riparia x Rupestris crosses:
3309
3306,
101-14
Swartzmann
Riparia Gloire x Belandieri crosses:
5c
S04
As harvest dates in New Zealand creep forward with climate change, the later ripening rootstock varieties are now being looked at with more interest. The characteristics of later ripening and drought tolerance tend to go hand in hand, or at the very least have a loose correlation.
While there is little information available on how these rootstocks perform in New Zealand conditions, we have compiled a summary of each variety we have available. This has been put together from feedback from our growers, anecdotal information from other wine growing regions and literature that can be accessed by searching online. As more information becomes available, we will add it to this page.
BRI planted a rootstock trial in Marlborough in 2022. ONL donated the bulk of the vines for this project. We encourage you to follow this great BRI initiative.
We strongly encourage you to do your own research on these varieties in conjunction with the conditions of your own unique vineyard. Please note that we have limited availability of the rootstocks outlined below as we continue to grow this category. We are happy to work with potential trial partners in exchange for information that we can pass on to our customers and growers.
ONL® is moving to increase both supply of drought tolerant rootstocks as well as our understanding of how they perform in New Zealand conditions so that we can pass this information on to our growers. Watch this space.
Drought Tolerant Rootstocks Available
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Rupestris is a parent rootstock to many rootstock crosses, but it can also be used on its own as a rootstock. It grows wild in the deserts in Texas. The word “Rupestris” is a Latin word that means “of rock” or “rocky.” This describes the conditions in which it grows in the wild. For this reason, many drought tolerant species have Rupestris as a parent.
At this stage, there is very little data available on the performance of this rootstock in local conditions.
What the literature says about Rupestris:
Medium-high drought tolerance
Low-medium wet soil tolerance
Medium-high salinity tolerance
High vigour
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Rupestris X Berlandieri
Paulsen 1103 is the most commercially available rootstock ONL has available outside of the more common varieties.
Commonly used in North America and Australia for high-quality wine making, it is considered a “good allrounder” for their conditions when making high-quality wines. There is limited data on its performance in New Zealand, but the early indications are that it is performing well in local conditions and it looks to be likely to become a mainstream rootstock variety for the New Zealand wine industry.
What the literature says about Paulsen 1103:
Medium-high drought tolerance
Medium-high wet soil tolerance
Medium salinity tolerance
Medium-high vigour
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Berlandeiri x Rupestris
There is very little data available about its performance in local conditions, but it is considered a good drought tolerant rootstock for high quality wines in Australia and the USA.
What the literature says about Richter 110:
High drought tolerance
Low-medium wet soil tolerance
Medium salinity tolerance
Medium vigour
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Berlandeiri x Rupestris
There is little available data on its performance in local conditions. This rootstock seems to be less favoured than R110 for quality wine making in Australia and USA due to less drought tolerance, more susceptibility to wet soils and higher vigour.
What the literature says about Richter 99:
Medium-high drought tolerance
Low wet soil tolerance
Medium salinity tolerance
Medium-high vigour
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Berlandeiri x Rupestris
There is little available data on its performance in local conditions.
What the literature says about 140 Ruggeri:
High drought tolerance
Low wet soil tolerance
Medium-high salinity tolerance
High vigour
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Riparia x Belandeiri x Rupestris
We have limited data on its performance in local conditions, but it seems to grow well, and it is well suited to New Zealand conditions.
What the literature says about Gravesac:
Medium drought tolerance
Medium wet soil tolerance
Low salinity tolerance
Medium vigour
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Berlandeiri x Riparia
This has the same parentage as S04 and 5C, with some anecdotal reports of it being very resilient in drought conditions in New Zealand. This is the most common rootstock used in Germany.
What the literature says about Kober 5BB:
Medium drought tolerance
Low wet soil tolerance
Medium salinity tolerance
Medium vigour
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Berlandeiri x Riparia
There is very little data available on its performance in New Zealand conditions. This rootstock is proven and selected in limestone soil conditions. It has the same parentage as S04 and 5C.
What the literature says about 420A:
Medium drought tolerance
Low-medium wet soil tolerance
Low salinity tolerance
Low-medium vigour
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Riparia x Belandeiri
There is very little data available on its performance in New Zealand conditions. The parentage is the same as S04 and 5C, Kober 5BB and 125AA.
What the literature says about Telekei 8B:
Med-high drought tolerance
Low- medium wet soil tolerance
Unknown salinity tolerance
Medium vigour
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Riparia x Belandeiri
There is very little data available on its performance in New Zealand conditions. The rootstock has the same parentage as 5C, S04, Telekei 8B and 5BB. Some German literature suggests that it has a higher drought tolerance and vigour than Kober 5BB.
What the literature says about 125AA Kober:
Med-high drought tolerance
Medium-high wet soil tolerance
Unknown salinity tolerance
Medium-high vigour