As one of its many sustainability initiatives, Yealands Estate use a breed of miniature babydoll sheep to graze the grass between the vines. Yealands is fully accredited through the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand programme.
A record 99.7% of all wines entered in this year’s Air New Zealand Wine Awards have been sustainably produced. Across 16 different classes, 1,420 wines entered in the awards have been produced either under the New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand certification programme, or another recognised organic or biodynamic certification. The total number of entries is 1,424.
Philip Manson, General Manager Sustainability for New Zealand Winegrowers, is proud of the high number of sustainable entries into this year’s awards. “I’m delighted that so many New Zealand wineries have voluntarily embraced the principles of sustainable wine production. It’s great to see that so many of our members are committed to delivering world-class wine to consumers in a way that enables our natural environment, the businesses and local communities to thrive,” says Manson.
The Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand programme is based on standards that encourage members to reuse and recycle materials and waste where possible. This helps to lessen the impact that the sector has on the environment, and ensure that international guidelines for sustainability practices in the vineyard and winery are met.
Judging for the 2015 Air New Zealand Wine Awards takes place from 2 to 4 November in Auckland. The gold medal winners will be announced on 10 November, and the acclaimed trophy winning wines will be revealed at a black-tie dinner in Nelson on 28 November, attended by New Zealand’s top winemakers and industry professionals.
The Air New Zealand Wine Awards celebrate excellence in New Zealand winemaking and are widely considered to be the country’s most prestigious wine competition. New Zealand Winegrowers, the national organisation for the country’s 1,600 grape growers and winemakers, has owned and organised the competition for 40 years.
For more information visit www.airnzwineawards.co.nz
