Sustainability
"As a family making our living from the land, our decision-making has always been grounded in our responsibilities to both the environment & people". Hamish Rose
Recognising that pastoral farming was not the best fit for our land was the first step towards growing grapes. From land to table, Rose Family Estate is committed to not just mitigating but positively impacting our environment and people. We know that to do this requires creative thinking, innovative solutions and action. It needs to be a way of life.
We know the journey won’t always be an easy one, but we’re committed to doing our part towards creating a better future. Our sustainability initiative is founded on three pillars:
Certified sustainable wine growers
Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand certification programme (SWNZ) is an industry-wide
certification programme led by New Zealand Winegrowers. Wine made from 100% SWNZ-certified vineyard and winemaking facilities can display the SWNZ logo on the bottle. This is your guarantee of sustainable production from grape to glass.
Rose Family Estate is 100% certified under this scheme.
packaging
Glass bottles, with packaging and transport, represent a whopping 68% of a typical wine producer’s carbon emissions. For over 15 years we have used the lightest available NZ made glass. The next step is utilising 390gm bottles vs an industry average of 550gm – there’s almost a 30% reduction in weight and significantly reduces our carbon emissions.
New Zealand boasts a very respectable glass recovery rate of 75%, and the ability to recycle back into glass containers onshore – an example of the circular economy in action.
PLASTICS RECYCLING
The plastic we generate from wine bottle packaging is recycled into slipsheets, and used for shipping wine without pallets around the world.
The remaining soft and hard plastics are recycled into vineyard posts. To learn more visit FuturePost.
Vineyard Agri Chemical containers are recycled through the Ag Recovery programme. The collected plastic is made into re-usable products such as underground cable cover and building materials.
CLIMATE CHANGE
We continue to measure our in-house emissions and take action to mitigate and reduce these.
A great example is the use of frost fans instead of helicopters to protect our vineyards from frosts in the growing season. Automation means the fans work only when required ensuring efficient diesel consumption.
ENERGY
100% of our electric energy comes from renewable sources, Including solar, geothermal, hydro and wind.
Our supplier Mercury Energy has :
- 9 Hydro stations on the Waikato river
- Recently built New Zealand's largest wind farm
- Operates five geothermal plants in New Zealand
Water
We use technology to measure, monitor and reduce water use in our vineyards. Telemetry, drip line irrigation and pressure bomb testing allow targeted, data driven decision making and precision application across 500ha of vineyards.
Winery water consumption is closely monitored and all waste water is processed by our state-of-the-art treatment system. Treated water is clean enough to be returned to the land. In fact, we are finalists in the 2025 Marlborough Environmental Awards for our Liquid Waste Management.
Plant Protection
We use cultural control methods such as pruning techniques and open canopies as the first line of defence against pests and disease. Where chemical sprays are necessary, an adherence to best practice, coupled with world-class data transparency, forms the core of our strategy.
The 15,000+ riparian plants we have planted along our river boundaries and waterways are an ongoing project. We increase the area each year and includes restoration of a wetland at our Hillock’s Road vineyard.
Riparian planting allows natural filtering of run off water, provides habitat for endemic species of birds, insects and water life, re mediating and supporting the ecosystems.
Soil
Regular soil testing leads the decision making for the seed mix used inter-row in our vineyards. Feeding the soil, with nitrogen providing plants, alleviating soil compaction with tap roots and flowering species to feed beneficial insects and bees are just some of the benefits of this practice. The tall cover provided aids moisture retention over Marlborough hot, dry growing season.
Ethical Procurement
To ensure all the products and services we procure are aligned with our Procurement Policy – we undertake Sedex audits. This helps us to measure and maintain high standards of labour, health and safety, environmental performance, and ethics within our operations.
people
Our most valuable resource is our people, we want to ensure our business has a positive impact on all employees and our customers; and to be a business of choice for workers. We continually strive for a reputation for excellence.
community engagement
To continue, long-term partnerships with charitable organisations working to enhance our community.
Governance, Ethics & Communication
We endeavour to instil an ethical and impact-conscious culture of accountability through excellent governance and communication.
We have aimed to align our sustainability strategy with the
United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, safeguard the planet, promote prosperity through gender equality and education and ensure peace. This allows us to find ways to contribute that fit our capabilities and aims.
