Henschke achieves IWCA Gold Membership

Australian six-generation family-owned wine producer gains prestigious

IWCA Gold Member status.

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International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) is delighted to announce that Henschke, a leading prestige Australian family-owned wine business, has achieved Gold Member status by completing their GHG calculation across Scopes 1-3.

Their efforts in ensuring that winemaking operations are powered by, at least, 20% of renewable energy on site and demonstrating a consistent reduction of emissions per litre of wine means that they are amongst the first in the Australian wine sector to gain the highest standards in carbon emission reduction.

Commenting on their new status, fifth-generation winemaker and owner Stephen Henschke said, “We’re thrilled to receive this recognition for our family and team’s efforts. Prue and I recognised that the changing weather patterns experienced through the 1990s were a threat to our ability to continually improve wine quality. With our focus on crafting captivating single-vineyard wines from pre-phylloxera vines, we knew we needed to care greatly for these old vines, and the land they grow in. Preserving precious natural resources, water and soil fertility, has been Prue’s unwavering focus for the past four decades. It has led to extensive work to improve biodiversity and soil health, as well as to gain certification for these sustainable practices.”

His wife Prue, chief viticulturist and owner, said, “With the sixth generation joining us in the business, we’ve embraced the opportunity to be among the pacemakers in the community. This has strengthened our commitment to adopting less-polluting forms of energy with our solar microgrid and to putting downward pressure on our emissions footprint. Completing our GHG inventory with IWCA has been another important step in committing our team and business to the long-term goal of consistently reducing our environmental impact. As caretakers of some of the oldest vines in the world, we want to tread as lightly as possible on our land; land that has been nurtured by six generations of Henschke and is our past,

our present our future.”

“We are delighted that Henschke has achieved Gold membership of IWCA,” said Katie Jackson,

President and co-founder of IWCA. “As one of Australia’s prestigious wine business’, their success

comes to reinforce the presence of IWCA in that country. As vine growers, we are severely suffering from the consequences of climate change, our duty to future generations is to act now. We hope that many more wineries, inside and outside our country, join our cause to accelerate the decarbonization of the wine industry.” The IWCA Annual Report is published each November showcasing members’ individual efforts in their journey to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, giving an exclusive snapshot of how wineries are adopting innovative practices in the face of climate change. It is an essential read for commentators, opinion-formers, buyers, and fellow winery owners who appreciate the real need to tackle the climate crisis in the context of the long-term sustainability of the wine industry.

Join the movement

IWCA actively invites wineries interested in its mission to contact us. The organization is open to any wine company involved in the production process from winegrowing to bottling that believes in taking strategic action to accelerate innovative climate solutions.

About Henschke

Henschke, one of Australia’s oldest family-owned wineries, has been making wine for over 150 years. Established in 1868, Henschke has earned a reputation for high-quality, handcrafted wines through six generations of family grape growing and winemaking tradition in the Eden Valley, Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills. Building on the legacy left by the early generations of the Henschke family, fourth-generation winemaker Cyril Henschke was visionary, pioneering single-vineyard wines—Mount Edelstone and Hill of Grace—from extraordinary old-vine sites in the 1950s; shiraz wines from the Eden Valley that have become an integral part of Australia’s fine wine history. Today, Stephen and Prue are recognised around the world for their exceptional wines, innovation and commitment to sustainable grape growing and winemaking practices. In recent years they have welcomed the sixth generation into the business—Johann, Justine and Andreas—who are carrying on the family tradition. They are mindful of their role as custodians of the Henschke vineyards and their need to nurture them for future generations.

The Henschke family continues to craft wines with a focus on purity and a strong sense of place, leading the way with regenerative viticulture and organic and biodynamic principles. These approaches are complemented by traditional winemaking and careful oak maturation to enhance the wines’ long-ageing potential. Henschke received Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) certification in 2023.