Australian Wine Industry Stewardship (AWIS)
Download AWIS ‘Plain English’ Fact Sheet (41 KB)
The Australian wine industry, as with many other Australian industries, trades on a reputation of being ‘clean and green’. Despite the considerable amount of environmental management activity already occurring in the Australian wine industry, a national framework is needed that enables the industry to demonstrate its environmental stewardship ethic. Australian Wine Industry Stewardship (AWIS) will provide a framework to allow the industry to concisely and conclusively demonstrate that WINE AUSTRALIA is an environmentally-responsible brand.
Industry-wide stewardship programs already exist in other wine producing countries, including Sustainable Wine New Zealand, South Africa’s Integrated Production of Wine and California’s Sustainable Winegrowing Practices. AWIS is the national industry’s response to the challenge laid down by our competitors, and to the increasing demands by retailers, governments and investment houses for proof of good environmental performance. It will also provide an indication of those areas that the industry could focus on to deliver real improvement in the condition of the Australian environment.
Grapegrowers already provide assurances to the wine companies that they supply by completing spray diaries or by providing information to wine company representatives at grower meetings and vineyard visits. AWIS will take this one step further by trialling a one-page spray diary insert that will ask a few questions about the grapegrower’s environmental stewardship activities. When returned to the winery, this information can then be used by the wine company to respond to emerging environmental assurance requirements in their markets.
Please click on the links below for further information on the AWIS Programme:
