Wine victoria
Sustainability & Climate Change
Victorian wine strategy
Sustainability was recognised as one of four key priorities for the Victorian Wine Sector as part of the Victorian Wine Strategy (2025 - 2030).
In Victoria, we recognise climate change is already reshaping wine production, altering vineyard suitability and shifting grape ripening to earlier in the season.
Over the past 40 years, harvests have advanced by 2–3 weeks, affecting grape composition, wine quality and style. Climate change also increases incidence of heatwaves, drought, fires and salinity. Smoke taint from bushfires can have significant impact on grape quality.
New approaches to mitigate the impact of extreme events on grapevine physiology and grape and wine quality have become an integral part of vineyard management in Australia. To remain profitable and resilient, Victoria’s wine industry must continue to adopt new strategies to adapt to climate change.
Wine Victoria supports cross-sector sustainability and climate change adaptation, including projects and trials.
Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) is the recognised certification program for Australian grape growers and winemakers with certified businesses displaying the SWA trust mark. Of 293 SWA members in Victoria, 63% (186) are now certified. Certification demonstrates the business is tackling carbon emissions, improving water efficiency, managing waste and recycling, conserving biodiversity and enhancing soil fertility.
What is SWA?
Sustainable Winegrowing Australia builds on decades of sustainability work across the Australian grape and wine sector. Launched nationally in 2019, SWA created a single framework for grapegrowers, winemakers and wine brands to measure performance, identify opportunities for improvement and track progress over time.
At Wine Victoria we are supportive of our members attaining Sustainable Winegrowing Australia membership, and offer a range of resources and education through the Greater Victoria Regional Program to support adoption.
The Membership Program
- Structured Data Survey
Monitor key Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) indicators.
- Online Workbook
Identify areas for operational improvement.
- Benchmarking
Compare performance against others.
- Progress
Track year-on-year progress against own performance.
We recognise large wine producers often require SWA certification from their growers to meet retailer and export market requirements.
Maintaining access to some export markets depends on continued progress on sustainable practices through certification. Smaller grape and wine producers, especially those experiencing financial challenges, need more support and a stronger value proposition to achieve SWA certification.
Wine Victoria focuses on growing SWA membership and certification for Victorian wine businesses by addressing barriers, building a value proposition for certification and providing expert support and advice.
What is SWA certification?
Certification is the independent verification that a vineyard, winery or wine business meets the Australian Wine Industry Standards of Sustainable Practice.
To become certified, a business must:
- Be a member of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia.
- Complete a one-off certification training workshop.
- Implement and document the required sustainability practices.
- Undertake an independent third-party audit against the relevant Freshcare standard.
- Address any issues identified during the audit.
- Upload its successful audit certificate to the Sustainable Winegrowing Australia platform.
Certification is different from membership because the business’s practices and records are independently audited, rather than only self-assessed. Certification is valid for three years, provided annual Sustainable Winegrowing Australia membership, reporting and payment requirements continue to be met. Certified members may apply to use the Sustainable Winegrowing Australia trust mark.
We encourage Victorian SWA members who are ready for certification to reach out to us to see if there are opportunities to work together at a regional level. Maximising the one-off training investment is important to us.
Wine Victoria will continue to manage climate change and sustainability by working with our key partners in Agriculture Victoria and Murray Valley Winegrowers, as well as working directly with industry on awareness, capability development and strategies including through the Farm Business Resilience Program, Carbon Farming Outreach Program, and Horticulture Industry Networks.
Case studies
Sustainable Winegrowing Australia provides a nationally recognised framework to help wine businesses measure, improve and demonstrate their sustainability practices. Wine Victoria is committed to supporting Victorian members on their sustainability journey through education, regional collaboration and practical, locally relevant examples of sustainability in action. We are proud to celebrate and showcase the achievements of Victorian wine businesses leading the way in sustainable winegrowing.
It is free to register with Sustainable Winegrowing Australia and participation is open to all grape growers, winemakers and wine producers in Victoria. There are three registration options available -
- Vineyard
- Winery
- Wine business *
* Note: a wine business registration is for wine producers who partner with winemakers and grapegrowers to create their wines.
Some winemakers and grapegrowers may find they need to create multiple memberships under one registration to accommodate for their business model. For example, producers who own a winery and vineyard will need a membership for each.
All registrations must be approved by AWRI before participants can commence the membership process. Once approved, registrants will be able to see the steps required to progress.
There are two key information and data components new registrants to complete:
- Data Survey
- Self-Assessment Workbook
The Data Survey captures key operational and sustainability data, while the Self-Assessment Workbook allows participants to review and assess their current practices. Together, these provide a comprehensive view of sustainability performance and indicate readiness to progress towards SWA certification.
Upon completion of these components, an invoice for membership will be issued. Once the data has been submitted and the invoice paid, participants will undergo a final approval process.
Victorian members have the option to elect to be visible via the SWA Member Register.
There are varying membership types and every business is different. See Sustainable Wine Australia's Program Terms for more information. Membership fees are charged annually.
Evidence shows us what’s working and where there is room to improve. Collecting consistent data helps growers track progress over time, compare performance and make more informed decisions about what to focus on next.
Registered Sustainable Winegrowing Australia members who complete the online workbook and rank themselves as a score of 2 or above are ready to enter the process of SWA certification.
To learn more about the certification process, visit the Sustainable Winegrowing Australia website.
