Sustainability
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Our commitment to growing high-quality fruit and making high-quality wine is underpinned by a demonstrated commitment to sustainability. We strive to undertake all our activities in a sustainable way, balancing our economic, environmental, and social responsibilities to minimise our impact on the environment and the community.
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Viticulture and biodiversity
Our business participates in the Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) program to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability for the benefit of the environment, our business, our community, and the Australian wine industry. We demonstrate this by our commitment and compliance to the requirements of the SWA program and legislative requirements to ensure we safeguard the natural environment in which our business operates.
We minimise the use of herbicides and pesticides and promote soil health, biodiversity and water retention using cover crops, grassing over and mulching between vine rows and under vine. Our estate-produced compost is made from our grape marc, spent lees, and cardboard and paper waste. The compost is spread throughout our various vineyards, improving soil health.
We also use cover crops, grassing over and mulching to enhance soil carbon and eliminate erosion. Significant areas at each of our vineyard properties are left untouched and are abundant with native flora and fauna.
At each vineyard property, land is dedicated to enhancing biodiversity and native vegetation to support a healthy ecosystem.
National EcoVineyards Program
EcoVineyards is a regionally based program that helps grape growers to plant cover crops, enhance soil health and increase functional biodiversity in and around vineyards. We were accepted as an ‘EcoGrower’ in the 2023–25 program.
Our project is seeing us develop two grassland areas at our property in Tuerong that are not suitable for viticulture. We are developing these areas into more balanced and diverse ecosystems by identifying and planting a range of suitable indigenous plants to create areas that will enable native animals, birds and insects from the adjacent state park to thrive. We are working with the Willum Warrain Aboriginal Bush Nursery to source the plant material for the project. The Bush Nursery is a 100% Aboriginal community-owned bush nursery specialising in local indigenous plants from the Mornington Peninsula.
In addition to the ecosystem improvements that we are seeking to achieve, we are collaborating with Willum Warrain to celebrate the role and history of indigenous plants in our local environment, enrich the cultural knowledge of our staff, and provide a basis for further engagement and deeper collaboration with Willum Warrain.
Minimal use of machinery
All our vineyards are hand pruned. All our fruit is hand-harvested. We utilise over-row sprayers and trimmers to reduce the number of tractor passes in our vineyards.
Vineyard fixtures from sustainable sources
All vineyard plantings in the last decade have used steel posts, which are also used whenever replacements for existing posts are required.
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Water management
We harvest and utilise rainwater from the expansive roof and gutter systems at each of our properties. We also have in place a recycled water supply agreement with our state government retail water corporation for supply to our property in Tuerong. This recycled water supply is a sustainable alternative water source. At our cellar door, restaurant and bottling facility at our Red Hill property, we have a state-of-the-art wastewater recycling system that recovers wastewater for reuse throughout the building, lawns and vineyard.
IN OUR VINEYARDS
We employ precise irrigation to support water efficiency. Irrigation (volume and frequency) is scheduled throughout the season. The irrigation schedule is adjusted based on visual observations of the vines and local weather forecasts (rainfall, wind and temperature).
IN OUR WINERY
The wastewater at the winery is recycled through eco-sensitive wetlands where indigenous plants naturally treat and recycle the water for reuse as irrigation on the property.
AT OUR CELLAR DOOR, RESTAURANT AND BOTTLING FACILITY
All the wastewater at our cellar door, restaurant and bottling facility is recycled. This includes bathroom wastewater from all areas of the building, commercial kitchen wastewater and bottling washdown wastewater. Our treatment plant produces Class A recycled water that is returned to the building for use as toilet flush water. This Class A recycled water is also used for subsurface irrigation of our lawn and garden areas.
the winery is recycled through eco-sensitive wetlands where indigenous plants naturally treat and recycle the water for reuse as irrigation on the property.
WaterWatch
We have been members of the WaterWatch community program for nearly 20 years. Through the WaterWatch program, we have been monitoring and testing our waterways twice a year. We test for levels of phosphorus, ammonium, oxygen, pH and electrical conductivity. The testing also includes the counting and monitoring of the levels of aquatic invertebrates. This has been a valuable exercise for us to understand the health of our waterways.
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Sustainable and renewable energy
Our solar energy systems
We have solar energy systems at two of our properties. These installations reduce our emissions and reduce our reliance on purchased energy.
The 79.2kW solar energy system at our Tuerong property contributes to the energy consumption of the winery operations. Outside periods of peak energy demand, this system provides sufficient energy for our day-to-day winery operations.
The 99.8kW solar energy system at our Red Hill property contributes to the energy consumption of the bottling, cellar door and restaurant operations.
Purchased electricity is 100% renewable (Red Hill)
The energy retailer that supplies electricity to our Red Hill property only purchases certified 100% renewable electricity through regional Renewable Electricity Certificates (RECs), which are certified and accredited by the International REC Standard Foundation (I-REC). This certified 100% renewable electricity is from renewable sources, including solar and wind. It is a zero-carbon and sustainable way to produce electricity.
Energy-efficient lighting at all of our properties
Our vineyard machinery sheds and the winery buildings enjoy abundant natural light via skylights. Where lighting is used, it is environmentally friendly LED lighting that uses less energy and has a long lifespan. LED lighting is also used throughout our cellar door, restaurant and bottling facility.
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Winemaking and production
Winery designed for maximum energy efficiency
Energy efficient infrastructure, equipment and processes…
The gravity-flow design of the winery (gravity is itself a source of clean energy) is energy efficient. The winery’s barrel storage area is earth-covered; it enjoys stable internal temperatures and requires no energy consumption for temperature control.
The hot water service at the winery utilises environmentally friendly heat pumps that are powered by electricity rather than gas.
Building construction using sustainable materials
The building that houses our cellar door, restaurant and bottling facility at our Red Hill property is built from rammed earth. The many advantages of building with rammed earth include superior thermal mass, temperature and noise control, strength and durability, low maintenance, fireproofing, load bearing and pest deterrence, as well as its beauty and the pleasure of building with a natural and environmentally sound material.
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Packaging and logistics
We partner with like-minded businesses in the procurement of sustainably produced packaging materials and will continue to work with suppliers to achieve the highest amount of recycled content in all dry goods whenever practicable and environmentally beneficial.
Our business is a member of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO). More information about APCO is in the ‘Memberships and programs’ section below.
Glass bottles
The glass bottles we use are manufactured in Australia and contain approximately 50% recycled content. Our glass supplier has committed to 60% recycled content (pre- and post-consumer cullet) for all its glass beverage containers by 2025. The supplier also collects recycled glass from container deposit schemes, which is then processed at its glass beneficiation plant to create its cullet.
Bottle labels
All our bottle labels are made entirely from bagasse. Bagasse, also known as sugarcane pulp, is a by-product of sugarcane and is easily compostable and biodegradable.
Bottle closures
We are currently transitioning all our branded closures to Interpak CapR closures. The CapR closure incorporates a perforated system that enables easy removal of the sleeve, making separation, sorting, and recycling of wine bottles simple and efficient.
Outer packaging
The cardboard cartons we use for packaging finished goods contain 43% recycled content, with the remaining content from FSC-certified sources.
Pallets
We are part way through transitioning to the use of Loscam pallets for the storage and transport of all Kooyong wine in the domestic (Australian) market. Through continuous repair and maintenance, the lifespan of Loscam wooden pallets has improved, greatly reducing the consumption of raw wood. 10% of timber used in Loscam’s repair processes comes from reclaimed pallet boards. 99% of the timber waste from Loscam pallets is reused or recycled for various purposes, such as mulch, etc.
Storage and transport efficiencies
Adjacent to our bottling facility is an onsite subterranean finished goods storage area that enjoys stable internal temperatures and requires no energy consumption for temperature control. We utilise this storage area to minimise unnecessary movement of finished goods, i.e. to and from external warehousing. Also adjacent to our bottling facility is an onsite dry goods storage area, which enables us to minimise the delivery frequency of dry goods.
Whenever practicable, we utilise our own truck for transport between our sites, thus minimising any unnecessary vehicle movement into and out of our region.
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Waste management
Inorganic waste is recycled or re-purposed
When inorganic waste cannot be recovered and/or reused, it is diverted for recycling via a dedicated waste collection contractor.
Organic waste is recycled or re-purposed
Our estate-produced compost is made from organic waste, including all our grape marc, spent lees, and cardboard and paper waste. The compost is spread throughout our vineyard, improving soil health.
Other production-related waste initiatives
We participate in the RafCycle program that sees us gather all the label release liner from our bottling facility. The label release liner is the silicone-coated base substrate (glassine paper) from which wine bottle labels are peeled away during the dispensing process. It is an often-overlooked waste stream. As part of the RafCycle program, throughout the year, the waste is collected and transformed into new label materials, paper or PET products, or other innovative circular solutions. The program diverts waste that otherwise would have ended up in incineration or in landfill, and puts it to work in the circular economy.
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People
Our business complies with all state (Victorian) and federal (Australian) legal obligations regarding workers, including terms and conditions of engagement, data privacy, worker safety and migration law. We have written contracts of engagement for all permanent employees and routinely engaged contractors. As a family-owned business, we have a strong commitment to work-life balance and promote a progressive workplace culture.
We engage labour hire providers to assist us with various viticultural activities, predominantly pruning in Winter and picking during harvest. We only engage labour hire providers that are licenced by the Victorian Labour Hire Authority (LHA). The LHA protects Victorian workers from exploitation by providers of labour hire services, and works to improve the transparency and integrity of the labour hire industry.
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Community
Click here to view more information about our community initiatives and
partnerships. -
Memberships and programs
We participate in two important voluntary programs.
Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA)
Our business participates in the SWA program to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability for the benefit of the environment, our business, our community, and the Australian wine industry.
We demonstrate this by our commitment and compliance to the requirements of the SWA program and legislative requirements to ensure we safeguard the natural environment in which our business operates.
More information about SWA can be found here.
Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO)
Our business is a member of APCO to demonstrate its commitment to the development of a circular economy for packaging in Australia.
We are committed to developing and implementing policies and processes that align with APCO’s vision to keep packaging materials out of landfill and retain the maximum value of the materials, energy and labour within the local economy.
Each year, APCO members are required to submit an APCO Annual Report and an APCO Action Plan.
Click here to view our most recent Report and Action Plan.