Sustainable Wine growing on the Up and Up

Sustainable winegrowing is all about adopting a holistic approach to production that evolves the environmental aspect of the craft. It looks at how to better use energy and water to create efficiency, support regions and communities, and establish businesses that are resilient and thriving. It differs from organic and biodynamic practices, which look specifically at environmental management, in that it takes a broader view to improve social and economic performance.

The Sustainable Winegrowing team have been very busy over the last two months, supporting members entering their annual sustainability data metrics and completing their online workbooks. The data entered will be used to create benchmarking reports for members as well as regional and national reports. The team are very pleased that more than 125 businesses have joined the program since 1 July 2021, including 100 new vineyard sites and 25 wineries.

The team presented a webinar on 5 August, with updates from the three partner organisations Australian Grape & Wine, Wine Australia and the AWRI. The webinar covered information on the global environment and Australian policy developments, a marketing update and technical aspects including certification, membership types and use of the trust mark. If you didn’t have a chance to catch it live, the webinar is available now via the AWRI’s YouTube channel.

For more information about Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, visit sustainablewinegrowing.com.au or contact the AWRI helpdesk team on helpdesk@awri.com.au. You can also sign up to a short email series to help you get started with membership.

• Topics:

• Wine / Viticulture
• Rural Roundup
• Sustainability