Kalleske Wins Australia's Most Prestigious Sustainability Award

Kalleske Wines has been awarded the Banksia Gold Award at the 2015 Banksia Sustainability Awards held on Friday evening in Sydney. This followed on from their category win of the Small to Medium Business Sustainability Leadership Award.

The Banksia Foundation is a well-established not-for-profit organisation dedicated to working with industry and community to focus attention on the recognition of excellence in sustainability. Banksia is a strong and expanding brand and its Awards program, the Banksia Sustainability Awards, are regarded as the most prestigious and longest running sustainability awards in Australia. The 2015 Banksia Sustainability Awards comprise of thirteen category awards and four specialist awards, including the Banksia Gold Award awarded to the best of the best. The Banksia Sustainability Awards reward Australian individuals, communities, businesses and government for their innovation, achievement and commitment to sustainability. 

Tony and Troy Kalleske, founders and co-owners of Kalleske Wines were rapturous with their win: "To win our small to medium business category was amazing but then to go on to win the Gold Award, Australia's highest ranked sustainability award and be named the best of all 59 finalists was an even more incredible, humbling and a somewhat surreal experience".

The certified organic/biodynamic Kalleske Wines was established in 2002 at Greenock in the North-West Barossa Valley. The winery utilises grapes from the family property (established 1853) operated by Tony and Troy's parents, John and Lorraine, and brother Kym. Troy highlighted in their acceptance speech that it was their parents who were pioneers in sustainable organic viticulture and he had them to thank for instilling the virtues of true sustainability that subsequently followed through to their Kalleske Wines business. In presenting their two awards the judges praised Kalleske Wines as a business that demonstrates leadership by fully integrating sustainability principles and practices into its operational activities and reducing the organisation's footprint as well as demonstrating societal value adds through its practices. 

Kalleske are recognised as sustainable pioneers in organic wine, being the oldest and largest certified organic and biodynamic grape-growing and winemaking operation in South Australia. Their farming methods are environmentally and socially friendly. Soils are healthy with no chemical residues, more carbon retention and more biodiversity. It is a healthy vineyard environment for vineyard workers and the naturally made wines are chemical free. Kalleske is economically viable, an important aspect to allow it to be sustainable environmentally. The winery is ultra-efficient in energy and water use. It is a net exporter of electricity and consumes half the industry benchmark for water use. Innovators in the winery, Kalleske utilise smart barrel storage, efficient clarification and cutting edge analysis to reduce energy use, inputs and consumables.

The 2015 Banksia Gold Award continues the recent national and international recognition for the Greenock winery. Kalleske are twice winners of the Sustainability Award, BrandSA Regional Awards (2013 & 2012) as well as Hall of Fame Inductees (2014) and more recently were awarded the 2015 Telstra Small Business of the Year (SA) and Producer of the World’s Best Bio Wine – 2015 China Wine & Spirit Awards. Today, the award winning range of Kalleske wines are exported to twenty markets as well as widely distributed throughout Australia and also at the Kalleske Cellar Door in Greenock.

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