Mr. Riggs is a long-time champion of sustainability when it comes to grape growing and wine production.
Improving the environment is an underlying principle that guides all practices from vineyard to bottle. This extends from our own sustainable practices in our own vineyards, right through to winemaking and packaging, setting the example for all of our suppliers along the way.
For example, in establishing the Mr. Riggs vineyards at Kangarilla more than 20 years ago, extensive tree plantings have now taken hold to create a biodiversity corridor and habitat bank for a range of native fauna and beneficial insects, all of which provides more resilience to harmful disease at the same time as reducing reliance on the use of harmful chemicals. In addition, maintaining a permanent cover crop between rows of vines enhances both vine and soil health as well as providing resilience against any potential soil erosion or degradation.
This commitment is being further driven by our pledge to become a certified member of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, which is Australia’s national sustainability program for grape growers and winemakers. Mr. Riggs is now proudly certified, which means that all of our production is guided by and conforms to the Australian Wine Industry Standard of Sustainable Practice for both Viticulture and Winery.
This system is externally audited and certified to provide independent assurance to our customers. Furthermore, membership in Sustainable Winegrowing Australia requires ongoing reporting of key metrics such as water and energy consumption, chemical usage, waste minimisation and biodiversity conservation. Our targets for sustainability improvement will see the business seek to maintain regional-leading environmental performance relative to our scale through ongoing benchmarking of key metrics.
Mr. Riggs wines that bare the Sustainable Winegrowing Australia trust mark are your sign of assurance that the grapes are sourced from environmentally certified vineyards and made in similarly certified wineries to help safeguard the natural environment in which the wine industry in McLaren Vale thrives.
