Sustainability

A disciplined approach to viticulture and winemaking, grounded in accountability and continual improvement.

Sustainability at Penley is not a claim—it’s a system, independently audited through Sustainable Winegrowing Australia and embedded across vineyard and winery.

The SWA program is the Australian wine industry’s national standard for sustainability, covering everything from water use and energy efficiency to soil health, biodiversity, waste management and community impact. Certification requires ongoing reporting, detailed self-assessment, and regular third-party audits against the Australian Wine Industry Standards of Sustainable Practice—ensuring that sustainability claims are not just made, but verified. 

For Penley, this is about more than compliance. It’s about long-term stewardship of Coonawarra’s terra rossa soils and the ecosystems that support them. The program provides a clear framework for continual improvement, helping the team refine how they farm, how they make wine, and how they think about their footprint.

As winemaker Kate Goodman explains, “Great wine starts with a healthy vineyard. Sustainability isn’t an add-on—it’s fundamental to everything we do.”

Through SWA certification, Penley tracks and benchmarks key environmental metrics, from water consumption to emissions, ensuring transparency and accountability at every stage. It also enables the use of the SWA trust mark, a signal to customers and partners that the wines are produced with verified sustainable practices and a commitment to continuous improvement. 

The result is a philosophy where quality and responsibility are inseparable—where caring for the land is not just good practice, but essential to crafting wines of depth, character, and place.

Or, as Kate puts it: “If you want to make great wine for the future, you have to protect what makes it possible.”

Sustainability extends beyond the vineyard. Lightweight bottles reduce freight impact, while labels are printed on responsibly sourced paper stocks—small, deliberate choices that collectively lower the footprint of every bottle.

Considered design plays a role here. By refining materials and reducing excess, Penley ensures that each element serves a purpose—balancing environmental responsibility with the weight, texture and presence expected of a premium wine.