SWR Member Spotlight: Lightweight bottles at Wirra Wirra Vineyards
“Wirra Wirra” is an Aboriginal word meaning “amongst the gum trees,” and that is exactly where you’ll find Wirra Wirra Vineyards, nestled in South Australia’s McLaren Vale region. Bought and rebuilt by Greg Trott in the late 1960s, the winery is best known for its Church Block wine, a blend of cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, and merlot.
McLaren Vale is widely regarded as Australia’s most environmentally sustainable wine region, and Wirra Wirra certainly upholds this reputation. Long before ‘sustainability’ became a mainstream concept, Trott championed responsible farming and land and water management. Sustainability remains a foundational value for the winery.
Over the past few decades, Wirra Wirra has made significant progress in areas such as decarbonisation, organics and biodynamics, biodiversity, wastewater treatment, and more. However, the work is ongoing, notes Emmanuelle Walton, the winery’s health, safety, and environment manager. “We remain committed to learning, improving, and doing our part—because caring for the land means ensuring it thrives for generations to come,” she says.
Packaging is another key focus for the winery, and it was the SWR’s Bottle Weight Accord that initially piqued their interest in joining the Roundtable.
This year, Wirra Wirra is launching a new lightweight proprietary bottle that will reduce carbon emissions through lighter glass without compromising the iconic look and feel of the bottle, as well as its quality and integrity. The new lightweight bottle lowers glass weight from 547g to 410g—a 25% reduction—cutting bottle production CO₂ emissions by an estimated 68 tonnes annually and reducing overall winery emissions by an estimated 10%. The winery has also transitioned Church Block cartons to a fully recyclable option with a lower carbon footprint, reflecting an ongoing effort to reduce impact in practical, measurable ways.
“Sustainability is a journey, and we know there’s always more to do,” says Walton. “This is just one step, but we hope that by sharing what we’re doing, we can contribute to a broader conversation about how the industry can keep evolving to meet the challenges ahead.” Read more about sustainability at Wirra Wirra here.
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