Our Estate and the Importance of the Ecosystem

Our Estate Pest Control Crew on Guard!

Our Estate Pest Control Crew on Guard!

Sustainability

At Hayes Family Wines we are taking sustainability seriously. That includes all aspects of our site and our broader business. The Vineyard, the Winery, our use of chemicals, recycling, fuel usage, our footprint is being reviewed, assessed and improved. It is an ongoing process as we strive to improve and make a difference with each passing year.

Organics Is Just the Beginning

Our Estate Vineyard in Stone Well in the Western Barossa Valley has been farmed organically for many years, but recently we took the steps to be Certified. We saw this as an important step for both the vineyard and the winery. But this is just one step.

Estate Vineyard Ecosystem

The Broader Ecosystem

What we have discovered is that it is important to take a holistic approach to our site. We have raptor perches (to attract the local populations of hawks and eagles), Indian runner ducks to control the ear wigs, snails and other pests and bat boxes to provide a safe home for our local population of small bats of various species (a natural insect predator). Importantly for our traditional monoculture crop, we plant and encourage natural plant species around the property and in the vineyard rows.

Work in Progress

We have spent a lot of time and effort on our vineyard and winery, but we have much to do. The process continues and will be ongoing. For the next twelve months we will have a strong focus on improving our processes for recycling our waste water and increasing our capacity to capture our own generated solar power. The improvement of organic matter will continue to be a key focus as we seek to help our vines cope with the challenging weather we continue to face.