The South Australian Wine Industry Association (SAWIA) has announced the winners of the 2019 Environmental Excellence Awards.
The winners are Yalumba Family Winemakers, Deviation Road, Pernod Ricard Winemakers, and Treasury Wine Estates.
In presenting the awards, which in 2019 had a theme of ‘Leadership’, SAWIA chief executive Brian Smedley commended the entrants and noted the strength of all the applications. “All entrants have undertaken significant efforts towards environmental sustainability with impacts beyond the company gate,” Smedley said.
“These awards recognise and celebrate the achievements and innovations of South Australian wine companies in good environmental practice, and provide leadership and inspiration for others to benefit from improved environmental management.”
In the viticulture category, sponsored by Primary Industries and Regions SA, the winner was Yalumba Family Winemakers for its work on projects including the establishment of innovative mid-row saltbush plantings, mulching vineyards to achieve a 25% reduction in water use, and native mallee scrub revegetation. SAWIA also awarded Yalumba Family Winemakers the South Australian Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism – Cellar Door Experience Award, for more information see below.
In the small-medium winery category, sponsored by Green Industries SA, the winner was Deviation Road for its environmental initiatives that have delivered achievements in energy and water use reductions of up to 90%, elimination of winery tank cleaning chemicals, and integration of sustainable building design and eco-tourism.
In the large winery category, sponsored by Tarac Technologies, dual winners were announced in two sub-categories.
For climate change mitigation, Pernod Ricard Winemakers was awarded for its environmental stewardship program which will enable them to achieve 100% renewable sources for supply of its electricity this year, and their community-facing program on circular making, also known as repurposing.
For climate change adaptation, Treasury Wine Estates was awarded for its plan and actions in response to climate change that include investment in collaborative research and implementation of strategies in response to extreme events, water scarcity and vintage compression, as well as halving energy and water use intensity, and achieving solid waste-to recycling rates in excess of 96%.
“These initiatives are examples of the wine industry’s good record in environmental stewardship that contributes towards South Australia’s clean and green reputation,” Smedley said.
Smedley also acknowledged the generous support of the sponsors for the 2019 awards: Tarac Technologies, Primary Industries and Regions SA and Green Industries SA.
Entry forms for the SAWIA Environmental Excellence Awards for 2020 will be available from early November.
The SAWIA Environmental Excellence Awards Program aims to recognise and raise the profile of SAWIA members that go above and beyond the basics of environmental management systems, by demonstrating leadership in adopting substantive and quantifiable improvements in areas of energy and carbon, land and biodiversity, water and waste.
The Program also helps to identify the current environmental issues facing the wine industry and Australia, and the mechanisms used by those organisations to address those issues.
During the Annual SAWIA lunch at the National Wine Centre, Adelaide, Yalumba Family Winemakers were also awarded the South Australian Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism – Cellar Door Experience Award.
The Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Awards celebrate innovation and excellence in wine tourism throughout the ten greatest wine regions in the world. The Cellar Door Experience Award recognises Yalumba for its commitment to offering exceptional wine tourism options in South Australia.
Tourism is a major focus for Yalumba. Over the last two years Yalumba’s cellar door has seen double-digit growth in visitation and an increase in spend on premium experiences.
“We’ve recently made significant changes to our tourism offerings at Yalumba to keep up with the expectations of our guests,” said Yalumba wine room & events manager Sally Johnson.
The Yalumba wine room has a collection of diverse offerings for guests including complimentary wine tasting, curated tasting flights, artisanal Barossa tasting plates and a variety of unique, informative tours.
“Our tours have been curated to show guests the real stories behind this historic winery. There truly is something for everyone,” said Johnson.
“It’s great to be recognised as leaders in environmental excellence and tourism in our region and our state,” said Yalumba managing director Nick Waterman. “Tourism is a focus for many wineries and the competition is only getting stronger”.
In more good news from Yalumba Family Winemakers, managing director Nick Waterman was voted in as president of SAWIA.
