Sustainability is a journey, rather than a destination…

At Rob Dolan Wines, we are taking small steps every day in our continuous journey.  Being members of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia helps us highlight where we can improve and we then implement small changes where we can.

Vineyard

Raph Michael has been working on our small, home block vineyard to convert it to organic.  He has implemented using Slasher which is an organic herbicide.  For the growing season 2024/25, Raph is planning on using a mulch to reduce weed growth.  This will reduce the number of sprays we need to do which reduces our diesel usage due to less tractor work.

In 2023, we registered our Racecourse Vineyard with Sustainable Winegrowing Australia.  Courtney has been busy getting together the data required for reporting which is the first step in our sustainability journey with this vineyard.

Winery

In the winery, we made the decision to bottle our Trellis and Vine range in carbon reduced (lightweight) bottles.  We aim to bottle True Colours in carbon reduced bottles, starting with the 2020 True Colours Casa di Rosso.  Our True Colours labels contain 25% recycled material and we are investigating a 100% recycled paper option.  Our screwcaps are made produced with a lower carbon footprint.

We have applied for an audit so we can become Certified Members of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia.  The audit will take place in late September/early October.

Winemaking is a water intensive business due to the amount of washing that needs to occur.  From our reporting with Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, we highlighted wastewater and water usage reduction in our Sustainability Action Plan.  We have seen a reduction in both our water usage and wastewater output due to a number of small changes.

We diverted our night rainfall to the dam on our site.  This water can be used to water our small, on-site, vineyard.  We attached high pressure nozzles to our water hoses which reduces the amount of water needed to clean our winemaking equipment.  The added bonus is it also reduces the amount of time we need to clean.  We instituted strict timings on our barrel washing to reduce both water usage and wastewater.

To reduce energy consumption, we invested in a faster, more energy efficient must pump and a smaller compressor for our cross flow filter.  We also replaced low efficiency lighting in the winery and offices with less energy intense options.

Cellar Door

In the cellar door, we are using BottleCycler to crush our bottles.  This reduces the original volume of the glass by up to 80%, so we can store up to five times the number of bottles in the same amount of space!  Reduced glass volume results in fewer trucks, smaller trucks, less fuel, less CO₂ pollution and less noise pollution. BottleCycler recycles the crushed glass into new containers so nothing goes to landfill.

Everyone making small changes to help us achieve our sustainability goals.  We have a committed team and enjoy listening to the suggestions on how to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.  If you have any top tips, let us know!