Chapter 6: Supply Chain Case Studies
6.4 Organic wine case study – Changing the world one bottle at a time
David and Rebecca are champions of the organic, landcare and sustainable agriculture communities. Environmental sustainability and stewardship are paramount to them. They are often called upon by these communities to speak on sustainability issues. Whilst profit is necessary, farming is a lifestyle choice for them. A later life venture, they commenced growing vines organically in the Margaret River area in 1990s. The farm is located in a bushland setting, chosen for its aesthetic and wildlife appeal. David, an engineer in his previous occupation, applied his impressive experimental learning style to the operation.
Their decision to farm organically was influenced by David’s involvement in solar energy development in Australia in the 1970s and 80s. They didn’t set out to be organic growers but discovered that there was no reason for them to use chemicals. One of the first organic vine growers in the region, they learnt through experimentation. Their convictions have influenced not only their farming methods but their whole farm approach involving rehabilitation of the creek line, creation of buffer zones and wildlife corridors. They have won environmental awards for their on-farm environmental management.
They undertook the BestFarms EMS training but felt that their system to manage and record environmental issues was already sufficient. Only one farm production issue seems to be beyond their extensive capacity and that is the spread of kikuyu grass.
They felt that their NASSA certification adequately communicates their efforts towards sustainability to their buyers. They don’t see the need for another environmental certification label on top of the NASSA label but they do support a system of formal accounting of the environmental impacts of production and think that this would be helpful. They oversee and manage the whole production process. They work in collaboration with a winery in the Margaret River area and also store their wine at a nearby warehouse. Many of their sales are by mail order and they maintain a close relationship with their mail order buyers through web updates and invitations to open days.
They also distribute through a number of liquor outlets in the South West and Perth as well as Victorian outlets (distributed through their Melbourne based son) and an outlet in Canberra. They also make efforts to maintain relationships with these retailers.
They make significant efforts to communicate their interest in sustainability through their products. This includes the use of pictures of natural landscapes and images on their labels, a website which tells their story, of which sustainability is a major focus, and they have a significant presence in the WA sustainable lifestyle community. This loosely refers to the network of people that are concerned with food sustainability in Perth. Mostly concerned with organic food, it includes organic farmers, retailers, caterers, consumers and consumer groups such as Slow Food. This network was observed as a functioning community during this study. They have held organic and sustainable information days at their farm aimed at educating people about organic farming and caring for the environment. They have formed a partnership with the a local NGO and were listed on the NGO’s eco-friendly wine list.
Retailers interviewed said that key values that attracted buyers were the organic and locality (Margaret River) values. Consumers interviewed specifically on this product associated organic wines with a lack of preservatives or other additives added to the wine post-harvest. Whilst some mentioned the absence of chemicals during production, the focus on additives appeared more important to potential consumers of this product. Consumers interviewed on this product did not pick up from the label that the wine was produced in an environmentally friendly manner and some did not immediately notice that it was organic. About half of these consumers said information related to environmentally friendly production on the label would make a difference to them. When asked about what values of this product would influence their purchasing they stated locality (it is labelled as Margaret River wine), price and environmentally friendly. Organic production is also clearly a primary reason for choosing this wine over other available wines.
Figure 11 overleaf shows the potential transfer of values from farm to consumer. It is suggested that when purchased directly from David and Rebecca (e.g. through mail order), it is more likely that the environmental values are transferred to the consumer. Purchasing directly brings the consumer in contact with the product website which promotes the goal of environmental sustainability. In contrast, retailers interviewed did not convey any interest in the environmental values of the product.
However despite this, the environmental sustainability values did reach the consumers even when they went through the retailers who did not hold these values. This is likely to be a result of the labelling and marketing program used by David and Rebecca, as well as the organic certification.
Figure 11: Transfer of environmental and other sustainability values in organic wine case study
Product statistics
Retail price = $18 to 25/bottle