New Zealand's wine industry is hoping to improve its environmental credentials over the next few years, by improving organic grape production among growers.

The new initiative is being led by Organic Winegrowers New Zealand (OWNZ), which hopes that 20 per cent of New Zealand's vineyards will be organic by the year 2020.

This is a bold move by the industry and may provide the country's vineyards with a unique selling point to differentiate produce from Burgundy and Bordeaux wines such as Le Pin, Palmer and Corton Charlemagne.

OWNZ chairman and winemaker James Milton is under no illusions about the enormity of the task. "It will be a giant step towards enforcing our very precious environmental image to wine connoisseurs all over the world," he explained.

Caine Thompson, viticulturist at wine producer Hawkes Bay, added that his firm has been attracted to the natural approach to growing, which requires higher levels of monitoring and visits to vineyard blocks.