There is a new pragmatism to sustainable winemaking in Victoria in 2026, one that is measurable and tailored to the region. You will find vineyards and wineries with an eye on emissions, biosecurity, the health of their soil and using less water and energy, all in readiness for more extreme weather.
The following guide puts the main practices in context, from what implementation means in the Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula to how you go about getting your Sustainable Winegrowing Australia certification. See certified sustainable vineyard operations in practice. I am Beatrice Hollowbrook; my time in Victorian regional tourism has taught me that the most credible sustainability claim is the one visible in the power bill, the cellar or out in the paddock.
A Shift in Victoria
Wine businesses here are done with vague environmental pronouncements and are putting action on paper. It is common for a grapegrower or winemaker to put a number to his carbon footprint, waste, soil condition, water and energy use in order to determine where to put his money.
Such planning is part of the industry’s wider remit under the One Grape & Wine Sector Plan, the Growing Victorian Wine into the Future Program and the Victorian Wine Strategy 2025–2030. Sustainability is being given its due alongside productivity, workforce issues and market access.
2026 Brings Change
For one thing there is better record-keeping. Instead of a muddy notebook in the ute and what one can remember, a vineyard will have figures on diesel consumption, spray and machinery records, fertiliser, soil moisture and irrigation.
Wineries are scrutinising hot-water systems, refrigeration, pumps, packaging and grape marc as well. The reasoning is sound: efficiency trims operating costs as much as it does the environment. There is no need to view sustainability as some noble expense, when it can be the kind of farm improvement the accountant has little quarrel with.
Market expectations are another factor. Certification prompts a business to put forward its environmental, social and governance credentials because a retailer or hospitality buyer will want to know if workers are treated with fairness and how the grapes were put in the ground.
Earning Trust Through Certification
The framework offered by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) allows a Victorian operation to put evidence behind its good intentions in the form of documented targets and independent review. For those wanting more detail, Wine Australia has official guidance for the Australian grape and wine sector.
How The Scheme Works
In practice, a business will measure up to the programme’s requirements in a review of its performance, people and community involvement and environmental management. Whether the applicant runs a winery, vineyard or both will dictate the work. One might produce energy bills, training and staff procedures, emergency plans, chemical and irrigation records or notes on soil management. This is not about making a property out to be a spotless laboratory but to identify risk and show what is actually happening so performance can be improved.
An independent audit is key to the process. As the costs and timing for an audit are subject to change, it is wise to check with SWA before making any public claims or putting down budget.
More Than a Marketing Tool
Do not confuse certification with slapping “eco-friendly” or “natural” on a label; such terms are open to interpretation. A certified entity will tell you the scope of the certification and the standard it is held to.
It is a mistake to think certification equates to zero impact from a vineyard. Land, fuel and materials are still employed in farming. What certification demonstrates is that the business is on top of those impacts within a recognised framework.
Vines and Soil
You cannot have sustainable viticulture without the foundation of good soil. It will hold water, see off dry spells and limit erosion while the vine grows.
Victoria is not monolithic. Rainfall, the lie of the land, the age of the vines and the type of soil all come into play. A site in the Yarra Valley is not going to be run like a drier inland block, and any advice to the contrary is about as useful as a hat with nothing underneath it.
Building Soil Carbon
To put more carbon in the soil a grower will leave living groundcover and cut back on disturbing the earth for no reason, and return organic matter of the right sort. Composted grape marc, if applied at the proper rate, can serve as a good source of organic material. The use of under-vine cover, mid-row cover crops and native grasses will shield the soil from the rain and put an end to bare patches. Yet these are not without cost; they put vines in competition for water, making it necessary to keep a close watch, in dry springs and summers at any rate.
Decisions on salinity, organic matter, nutrients and pH ought to be informed by soil tests. One should not mistake a thick green expanse for a healthy one if it is depleting soil moisture or giving a vineyard pest a home.
Limiting Compaction
There is only so much the soil can take before heavy machinery has compressed its pores and impeded root growth and infiltration. The remedy is to plan traffic lanes, stay off wet ground and make fewer passes with the equipment.
In my experience, when I started to look more closely at what goes on in the vineyard I was inclined to think the pruning, spraying and harvest were the things that counted. But some of the less conspicuous calls are of equal import. To wait for a block to dry out before driving over it is to forestall damage that would be there for more than a season.
Then there is soft pruning. It is good for the longevity of the vine as it preserves the sap flow and avoids large wounds. You have to be consistent and well trained at it, but an older productive vine is worth having for the resilience and quality it brings.
Grazing, With Some Guardrails
One can put livestock to work on selected vineyard cover in controlled fashion between the right times and do away with some mowing. Provided the timing is such as to leave the soil structure, trunks, irrigation and the vines themselves unharmed.
But it is no set-and-forget affair. Put hungry animals on wet ground with young vines, toxic plants and a broken fence and a neat plan is all of a sudden rough as guts. There needs to be supervision, records and exclusion zones.
Water And Energy Done Right
Irrigation choices in the vineyard have a bearing on the health of the vine and regional water demand, so that is where water-efficient winemaking starts. At the winery end of things, one can lower energy bills and water use with more efficient pumping, heating, cooling and cleaning.
It is better to measure an improvement than to put stock in a guess. A winery that has an idea of why and where it is using water will spot waste in short order, unlike one that just instructs its people to “use less”.
Precision in Irrigation
Rather than go by the calendar, a grower might let soil moisture monitoring dictate irrigation in the root zone. Block history, evapotranspiration figures, the weather and what one sees in the vine are all part of the equation.
Take rainfall: 1 mm over a hectare is 10,000 litres of water. So a 10-hectare block with 5 mm of useful rain is looking at some 500,000 litres, though how much the vines get out of it is down to distribution, runoff and what the soil can hold.
Drip systems and separate zones offer more control, as do pressure tests and checking for leaks. Filters, emitters and valves should be seen to before the season gets away from you. In a calm week a blocked line is just farming; come the heat and smoke it is character building.
Making the Winery More Efficient
Pumps in good order, automated controls, insulation, solar, heat recovery and variable-speed drives are among the technologies at hand. Where the process allows, pump filtration is a way to have cleaner water.
Teams would do well to put a figure on energy by activity. The load is different for hot water, bottling, crushing or wastewater treatment. A baseline tells you if an upgrade is justified. A 20-kW pump left running for five hours will consume 100 kWh before other losses are factored in. An adjustment to the system or a new pump can put a dent in that. Whether it is a saving in the end is a calculation, not a given, depending on the site and tariffs.
Carbon Footprint
A wine business’s carbon footprint is made up of everything from the diesel in the vineyard and the electricity in the winery to glass, cartons, freight, fertiliser and the cellar door.
“Carbon neutral” is not something to be taken on trust, even if a search for Carbon-neutral wineries Victoria turns up results. See if the claim extends to packaging and transport and if reductions were made prior to offsets.
Offset After Measuring
For an estimate of emissions from fuel, freight, inputs and the like, a carbon calculator will do. But the data has to be sound, which means production volumes, invoices and fuel records count.
The sensible approach is to establish a baseline and cut what can be avoided, then replace what is inefficient and sort out logistics before you treat residual emissions in a credible way. Offsetting a footprint that has not been properly measured may give you a fine report but does nothing for the problem at hand.
One should pay close mind to the packaging. Emissions are put under pressure by a host of factors, from the weight of the bottle and its recycled content to cartons, closures and how far they have to be moved. While a bottle of lesser heft will lessen the toll of freight, it is imperative that the selection does not compromise what the customer expects in terms of quality and shelf life.
Climate And Risk: Being Prepared
To be resilient in the face of climate change is to make provision for an array of risks, be it heatwaves, drought, frost or hail, as well as intense rain, bushfire smoke, disease and any break in supply. A vineyard with resilience has put in place a number of sensible safeguards; it is not a matter of one clever ploy.
Victorian enterprises would do well to have biosecurity and emergency protocols that are more than theoretical. A plan confined to a folder is no more use than a raincoat you have left behind in a downpour.
Dealing With Extremes
In their planning for the way conditions are changing, growers will look at rootstock that resists disease, irrigation capacity, shade, row orientation and site selection. Professional counsel is called for on rootstock given the interplay of soil, water, varieties and pests.
Then there is the question of harvest timing and vine recovery, which can be impacted by drought and heat. Early growth is vulnerable to frost and heavy rain brings with it erosion and a greater chance of disease. Teams who monitor regularly can take action sooner, when the means at hand tend to be less costly and dramatic.
Biosecurity
Procedures here might entail records of plant material, staff instruction, keeping machinery clean and making sure contractors know where they are to drive and what equipment needs to be put through its paces between properties. Unusual symptoms must be reported without delay.
For bushfire preparedness there is smoke detection and weather alerts along with unambiguous evacuation plans. Fire danger or a road closure may dictate changes to access at the cellar door over summer. Travellers are advised to see what the local situation is before they set out and to stay out of closed off areas.
What Is Done In Victoria Will Vary
You will find sustainable winegrowing is not uniform across the state. The topography, the soil, the climate and even the number of visitors will determine what makes sense in a given region.
So from the tasting room bench sustainability is not always apparent. Put some specific questions to the staff and abide by the rules of the property; after all, a vineyard is not a theme park with some added gravel.
| Region | Practical focus | For the visitor |
|---|---|---|
| Yarra Valley | Rainfall, erosion and energy use | Plan on more time to get from one cellar door to the next and have a driver |
| Mornington Peninsula | Water efficiency and low-impact tourism | See to your booking and remain on marked ground |
| Central Victoria | Drought and machinery | Distances are longer and mobile signal is not to be counted on in spots |
| North-East Victoria | Heat and fire readiness | Make sure of the summer fire conditions first |
A Day Out
With only 24 hours it is better to stick to a compact region than to try and cover half of Victoria with a full boot and a playlist to keep spirits up. The car is the way to go from Melbourne, or perhaps a private transfer or tour; do not expect public transport to bring you to every vineyard and taxis are thin on the ground away from the larger towns.
Have a sober driver in mind and put in for two or three cellar doors, allowing for lunch. Find out if they hold Sustainable Winegrowing Australia certification and what has been the most effective of their water or energy projects. One is likely to learn more from such answers than from the greenery depicted on a label.
Do check opening times and parking arrangements in advance, especially in the run up to harvest or when there is severe weather. Some places have uneven terrain or will not admit large vehicles and want a booking.
Starting A Certified Operation
Those in the market for a certified operation should start with an internal review of a practical nature. One does not want to be left with a mountain of paperwork that is impossible to locate by vintage, or put forward new claims and equipment without first getting a handle on how things are performing. That is the objective.
Since workloads and the cost of certification will be dictated by the size of the property, its records, the scope and what an audit demands, it is prudent to put together a budget for staff hours, data gathering, any improvements in the offing and an independent view of things. Make sure SWA can verify the present programme requirements.
This Farm Checklist is there to be used
- Put down figures for water, electricity, fuel, fertiliser, chemicals, packaging and waste.
- Get a map of the soil types, where the drainage and erosion risks lie, the irrigation zones and any biodiversity.
- One should be reviewing the health of the soil, carbon levels, cover crops and composted grape marc as well as under-vine cover.
- Do an inspection of the pumps, emitters, filters and wastewater systems for leaks in the irrigation.
- Establish some targets, be it for emissions, energy or the number of passes with machinery and water retention.
- All the while document safety, biosecurity, emergency contacts and the procedures of contractors and worker training.
- Have the evidence to hand for a certification review and make an annual comparison of progress.
What Catches Growers Out
The trouble is often with records. A business might be conducting itself sensibly enough but have no way of showing who did what, when, or the outcome of it. Then there is the error of taking a programme from a neighbour without due regard for local conditions; regenerative vineyards call for decisions made on site. What is a good cover crop in one type of soil will be too much of a competitor in another. The same goes for livestock grazing which could do damage in one block while being fine in another.
For those starting out, measure first rather than undertake a wholesale rebuild. Water, fuel, energy and soil are good places to begin. Pick an improvement that can be put to the test and then easily accounted for.
Frequently Asked Questions
I would put these questions to anyone making a sustainability claim before I took it at face value. They deal with the realities of a Victorian vineyard in terms of cost, climate, water and what “sustainable” actually means.
Is one required to have Sustainable Winegrowing Australia Certification?
Not at all. It is a voluntary matter, though customers and retailers are likely to put more store by an environmental and social record they can recognise. Be forthright about whether the business is certified, part of a programme or just following sustainable practices in Victoria.
Does the word sustainable equate to organic?
No, the two have different systems and requirements. A sustainable operation may take an integrated view of things: monitoring the soil, managing pests in a targeted way, seeing to worker welfare and the bottom line, and irrigating efficiently. Inquire as to what standard is behind the claim.
Are chemical use and sustainability incompatible in a winery?
Not necessarily. Some will employ pest management to spare the beneficial organisms and avoid superfluous applications. But when it comes to the choice, storage and application of chemicals and the safety of workers, current professional and legal standards must be observed.
Can one put faith in a carbon-neutral claim?
Not always. Look at how the claim has been measured, what has been done to reduce emissions and how the rest are handled. A carbon plan of any credibility will lay out its footprint instead of making empty green promises.
When to make a visit?
There is harvest and a change to the cellar-door in autumn, winter tends to be wet and quiet. Spring will have its share of frost risk despite the growth in the vineyard and summer can be hot and busy with the odd bushfire closure. See to your bookings and access on the day and do not go into a closed or fire zone.
Towards a More Resilient Future in Victoria
Sustainability is simply good management for the better wine businesses in Victoria: it means lower emissions, efficient equipment, sound biosecurity and open communication. You do not need to make a show of it any more than you would cleaning a filter that is blocked, yet both can put a season right.
The question for the visitor, the winemaker and the grapegrower is a straightforward one: what has been put to the measure, what is better for the wear and what is to come? With that sort of practicality the regions are better placed to see off whatever the weather has in mind and put out a good wine for the community.
