Sustainability
With 130 years of winemaking history behind us, Château Tanunda understands the role of sustainability as a core of longevity and quality in winemaking. As a family owned estate, we are committed to leading the wine industry in sustainable practices in all aspects of our production and estate to ensure the future of the Château and the Barossa for generations to come.
Minimizing our intervention practices locally has been an ongoing concern for the team at Château Tanunda who is always looking into ways to reduce our carbon footprint. We are proud to say that today the Château recycles 100% of its water and is powered by 100% of renewable energy thenks to solar panels! We are constantly working on ecological ways to improve the soil health of our vineyards and maximize our water use efficiency.
- Australian Wine Industry Standard of Sustainable Practice - April 2023
- Environmental Management Standards system ISO14001 - April 2023
In the Vineyards
Drip Irrigation: All four sites are drip irrigated which provides us with the most control over water management. Each vine has its own dripper, targeting the base of the vine to ensure minimal wastage. We have soil moisture probes in our vineyards measuring moisture content so we are only watering when the vines need it.
Conscious Spraying: Our growing period sees minimal interference with foliage control. We only apply minimal fungicide sprays (less than 10 applications per season) and keep our pesticide use to an absolute minimum.
Soil Testing: We conduct regular soil tests to uncover exactly what our sites are in need of and distributing those specifics accordingly, ensuring no wastage and unlocking full block potential. We are doing this not only in younger vineyards, but in the rejuvenation of old vineyards that are 50, 100 and 150 years of age.
Cover Crops: During our dormant period, all our vines are hand pruned. The cane prunings are mulched back into every other mid-row, while the opposite mid-rows are cultivated with clover, barley, vetch and the like. This adds structure, prevents erosion, delivers nitrogen and attracts beneficial insects.
In Our Winery
Solar Power: Our winery is now powered by solar, bringing our total solar production area up to 250kW which covers our site’s daylight energy requirements on average.
Conscious Chemistry: We choose cleaning chemistry that is kinder to the environment, removing the need for water intensive rinsing protocols.
Conscious Water Consumption: We use non-potable water for our general washdown, along with water efficient pressure-washers and nozzles.
Cellulose-Based Additives: We choose cellulose-based additives that inhibit tartrate crystallisation, instead of using traditional cold stabilisation which is energy-intensive. This greatly reduces refrigeration demand and electricity consumption.
On a more global scale, the launch of our Gulfstream brand was set to rise awareness around global warming and its critical impact on coral reefs around the world notably on the Great Barrier Reef in Austrlia and in the Bahamas for which the brand is raising funds in partnership with the Reef Restoration Foundation and the Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation.
