Greener Business Alliance Project Case Study 10

While some details may have changed since this case study was undertaken, the principles and the positive outcomes, both financial and environmental, remain the same and are transferable to any business.

Wirra Wirra Winery

Company profile

Wirra Wirra is located at McLaren Vale, South Australia and is supplied with fruit from:

• company owned and managed vineyards at McLaren Vale (70 acres) and Finniss (70 acres)
• vineyards of approximately 25 grape growers in the McLaren Vale district (who supply approximately 70% of the grape yield used for production).

Manufacturing processes

The major varieties of grapes grown by Wirra Wirra are Shiraz, Cabernet, Semillon, Viognier, Merlot, Riesling, Petit Verdot and Chardonnay. Current production is approximately 2500-3000 tonnes of grapes per year or approximately 100,000 cartons of bottled wine.

The wine making operations on-site include crushing, draining and pressing of grapes, fermentation, racking and cleaning of the wines.

Wirra Wirra’s aim is to supply premium quality wines to a select market. To achieve this, they plan to limit production in the next few years to ensure that the wine quality is maintained.

Link to Yalumba

All wines are produced at the McLaren Vale winery and then transported in bulk to Yalumba at Angaston for bottling and packaging. The finished product is supplied to Negoticiants (Yalumba), which distributes the wine to outlets throughout Australia.

Action undertaken

An eco-efficiency audit was conducted at Wirra Wirra in March 2002 that inspected and reviewed the company facilities and activities. This included assessment of the:

• supply chain (transportation and logistics)
• inputs including energy usage (electricity, gas), and water usage
• outputs including waste generation, and products

The main objectives for future development and implementation by Wirra Wirra were:

• reduced water evaporation
• reduced energy consumption
  

The following table provides a summary of the Action Plan.

AREA	ACTION	POTENTIAL BENEFITS
Cooling tower control	Install variable or two speed fans controlled on basin water temperature.	Reduced electricity consumption.
Overchill fermenters	Run refrigeration plant at night when ambient temperature is lower.	Reduced electricity consumption.
Pump controls	Install variable speed drives.	Reduced electricity consumption.
Landscaping	Plant drought tolerant species.	Reduced water consumption.
Warehouse lighting	Switch off lights when day lighting is sufficient.	Reduced electricity consumption.
Water treatment	Install water treatment plant.	Reduced groundwater usage and improve irrigation water quality.
Stormwater run off	Install diverter valve.	Reduced water treatment requirements and energy usage.
PVC products	Investigate use of alternative products.	Reduced emissions/recycle products.
Capsules	Investigate use of short capsules.	Reduced raw materials/reduce waste materials.

Project outcomes

As a result of the project Wirra Wirra has received direct cost savings and identified the following specific outcomes:

Environmental benefits

Reduced groundwater usage and improved irrigation water quality.

Economic benefits

Installation of a water treatment plant has resulted in estimated monitoring and recording cost savings of 25%.

Other issues that have arisen include:

Wirra Wirra have received direct cost savings by installing a water treatment plant. In addition by using a local soil supply company Wirra Wirra is currently recycling all their grape marc - after treatment it is put back into company and grower vineyards.

Being involved in the GBAP was a good opportunity for the company to discuss issues relating to ecoefficiency.

This page was last modified 23-10-2007