In partnership with Yalumba Gen

What does sustainable wine mean to you? Do you instantly make the assumption that you will be sacrificing in quality and taste in order to make a better choice for the planet? Are you like my travel photographer friend who refuses to look at a wine list if it contains even one Orange wine?

Like most things in the world of sustainability, organic and sustainable wine has come a long way in recent years so that we no longer have to sacrifice on quality.

Case in point is Yalumba GEN. 

A new sustainably focussed wine

To truly understand sustainable wine’s long journey (and where to go from here), we turn our attention to the visionary behind Yalumba GEN, head winemaker Louisa Rose. She’s an award-winning winemaker, and long-time advocate of quality, sustainability, and food. For 30 years, Louisa has been diligently working to continuously improve practices and lead sustainable winemaking in Australia, well before organic and wine had ever been written in a sentence together. 

Pushing the Boundaries for a Sustainable Tomorrow

When asked about the importance of sustainable winemaking, Louisa speaks with a clear sense of urgency. 

“Pushing the boundaries of sustainable winemaking might be the difference between having a wine industry at all in 2050 or not,” she says. 

The challenges posed by climate change underscore the need for continuous improvement and collaboration. For Louisa, doing the right thing isn’t just about tradition—it’s about making wine in a way that gives back to the land and its community, and can be enjoyed for many generations into the future.

A Legacy Rooted in Nature

“The Hill-Smith Family of Yalumba has been growing grapes, farming land, and making wines for six generations, across 174 years,” Louisa says. 

“This longevity wasn’t achieved by mere chance. It’s rooted in generational sustainability and long-term thinking. Yalumba, established in South Australia’s arid landscapes, has learned to work hand-in-hand with mother nature. We care for our land, treading lightly to protect precious resources and build a future filled with possibilities for our people, our wine business, and the planet.”

Quality, Sustainability, and Uncompromised Taste

Sustainable, organic, biodynamic and ‘natural’ wines have come a long way in recent years, so that now they exist on wine lists of many of Australia’s top restaurants.

“There has never been a compromise in the quality of Yalumba’s wines by working sustainably,” she says. As any good sustainable wine maker knows, the process starts with nurturing  biodiversity in the vineyards.  We use wild yeasts from the vineyard for fermentation, which have only enriched the wine’s character, imbuing it with a unique taste and connection to its origin.

A Personal Connection to the Land

Louisa says a rural childhood laid the foundation for her passion for sustainability. 

“Making wine sustainably is a natural extension of this,” she says. Even in her personal life, she’s dedicated to the Eden Valley, where she cultivates vegetables, plants native trees, and maintains a connection to the land.

Living Sustainably: A Personal Perspective

For Louisa, living sustainably is an evolving journey. 

“Like all our actions and thoughts around sustainability, best practice keeps evolving,” she says. 

From growing her own food to adopting renewable energy solutions like solar power and driving an electric car, Louisa is passionately committed to living lightly.

For her, living sustainably means looking forward, reducing waste, recycling, and continually learning. It’s a testament to the spirit of Yalumba GEN—a brand that’s entrenched in Louisa’s ethos, living and creating consciously, always with nature in mind. Not just crafting wines, but creating a legacy for the future.

Ultimately, drinking planet-friendly wine presents a promise—a promise of sustainability, of unmatched quality, and of a better tomorrow. Remember, you’re not just choosing wine, but you’re also embracing a sustainable future. Cheers to that!

Yalumba GEN’s sustainability credentials:

1. 100 per cent Certified Organic: This commitment means an absolute no to chemical fertilisers, pesticides, or herbicides. Nature is allowed to work its magic, with minimal intervention, delivering wines that are as pure as they come.
2. Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) Certified: From the vintage of 2022, all Yalumba GEN wines have earned this certification. It’s not just a badge—it’s a testament to their unending journey towards sustainable betterment in their vineyards.
3. Wild Fermentation: Yalumba GEN is wild fermented, tapping into the natural yeast from their vineyards to give each bottle its unique flavour. Meaning no unnecessary additives!
4. Recycling & Reusing with Purpose: Leftover stalks, seeds, and skins? These aren’t discarded. They breathe a second life as undervine mulch. Moreover, 100% of the winery’s  wastewater undergoes treatment onsite and is then redirected to their vineyards via irrigation.
5. Natural Biodiversity: With native salt bush planted between rows to maintain the soil’s integrity, and an equal amount of native vegetation preserved or planted for every hectare of vineyard they own, Yalumba GEN fosters an environment where nature thrives.
6. Labels with a Purpose: Every Yalumba GEN label is a symbol of commitment. Made from recycled post-consumer waste and Forest Stewardship Council© certified paper, even the labels ensure that the planet’s wellbeing is kept front and centre.

SHOP NOW:  The entire Yalumba GEN collection is available online, at Dan Murphys, BWS, and other independent retailers.