Sustainable Winery or Profitable Business
Tweet Follow @MyAchingHeadYesterday at the Shiraz wine appreciation session at the Cellar Door in the Crown Palladium we had an interesting discussion with Matthew Barry of Mount Avoca about how climate change is affecting business. A prominent theme throughout the session was how climate change has moved picking forward 6-8 weeks over a period of 5-10 years. I asked Matthew after the session how he saw that affecting his business going forward, his answers were very interesting.
He, and the other winemakers were not particularly worried about climate change itself as a threat to their winemaking. They suggested that Australia’s climate has been through a number of changes this century alone and it is up to them to adapt to it. This isn’t to say they aren’t doing their part to reduce pollution and improve the environment though. Avoca Winery has “gone organic”, started mulching it’s vineyards to reduce it’s reliance on water and planted a crop of trees to provide cardboard and mulch to reduce their reliance on external parties. The net result of all of this work, (that has been going on for a number of years) is what would be referred to as a sustainable business. The hippies would applaud these moves as moves toward solving climate change, but Matthew’s focus is far more self-involved. As far as he is concerned, it is good for business.
It just so turns out, that reducing his winery’s externalities makes for better wine which is in turn good for business. Reducing chemicals means there are more earthworms and lady beetles in the vineyard. The soil is more fertile and the yield, although possibly smaller is of higher quality. It doesn’t take a scientist to realise that all of these are signs of improved wine making. It isn’t just the grapes though, every part of the business is being affected. Producing their own cardboard (from recycled cardboard and self-produced woodchips) reduces their reliance on outside packaging companies. Everything has a positive impact on their bottom line.
Matthews other comment was that many wineries are not going towards sustainable because they can’t afford to. However,the ongoing negative affects of pesticides and herbicides on soil quality and crop quality makes him believe they can’t afford not to. Going forward I believe that it is stories like these that will help have a positive effect on global warming and climate change, not advocating change without highlighting economic benefits.
It is clear that we need to solve this problem, but businesses still need to make a dime, and I still want to drink great wine.