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.
