What does the future vintage look like?

What does the future vintage look like?

In March 2025, Hill-Smith Family Estates became the first winery in Australia to achieve Gold Member Status with the International Wineries for Climate Action.

They’re one of just 18 wineries worldwide (at the time of writing) to have attained the status, along with both of our other Shareholders – Symington Family Estates and Familia Torres, as well as Miguel Torres Chile and Jackson Family Wines.

Sustainability – inevitably and quite rightly – is a huge part of the modern wine conversation. But what does it mean in practice?

At the Hill-Smith’s Oxford Landing estate, it means creating a sustainable future for the next generation.

 Of course, ‘sustainability’ is such an enormous word and concept that it can be difficult to know exactly how to engage with.

At Oxford Landing it comes down to the three key tenets of ‘People, Place, Purpose’

Place

The huge region in which Oxford Landing sits allows a greater opportunity for positive environmental impact. The family now cares for an ever-increasing amount of over 600 hectares of native bushland – equivalent to 23,000 tennis courts.

Alongside their vineyards themselves, they have restored flora and fauna to the site and the wider area, revegetating what was previously barren land.

In their words, it’s about minimal intervention, maximum attention to detail.

Their short video shares a little more here.

People

The human element of sustainability is often overlooked, but in the small rural community around Oxford Landing, it’s a fundamental leg of the stool.

Their ability to manage a huge vineyard area, on top of their broader conservation and regeneration work is completely underpinned by the team behind it, enabling them to plant over 230,000 trees around the banks of the Murray River.

Meet the people at the heart of their project here.

Purpose

Central to the Hill-Smith family is setting themselves sustainability challenges and holding themselves accountable for achieving them.

Whether that’s achieving net zero by 2050, recycling 100% of wastewater, partnering to restore native bushland, or investing in renewable energy sources to reduce emissions.

In their words ‘it’s not about working against nature, it’s about working with it.’

Learn a little more here.

World leaders in a global sustainability effort

Of course, a single winery is just a drop in the vast ocean of effort required to make the wine industry as sustainable as it needs to be.

Which is why, more than simply concentrating on their own efforts, the Hill-Smith family is calling on the global industry to take meaningful action.

In March they hosted a ‘Future Vintage Virtual Roundtable’ – a conversation to explore what legacy means in the age of climate change.

A fascinating, in-depth discussion between their own Head of Sustainability, Louisa Rose, and senior members of the sustainability and regenerative viticulture movement worldwide.

Watch the whole thing here for a deep dive into our industry’s most important challenge: ensuring future vintages can be explored for generations.