This October has been designated as Sustainability Month at WineGB, a time to celebrate progress, share knowledge, and empower UK vineyard owners and winer producers to take meaningful action for the planet.   As part of this month of action WineGB have developed a social media campaign under the hash tag #31daysofsustainability.

This got me thinking…could I write a list of 31 ‘sustainable actions’ we have made at Albourne Estate since we started?  It was easier than I thought.  Grouping these into 6 key areas we have indeed taken 31 (more in fact)  small and large actions over the last 15 years which progressively keep us moving in the right direction and I believe is cause for some celebration.

We can’t sit back however, there is always more to learn and ways to improve how we do things.   An interesting debate is the trade-offs we make and whether we have the right knowledge and information to make the optimum decisions.  For example, some actions that reduce carbon emissions or increase carbon sequestration, may not neccessarily be optimum for biodiversity.  Which is more important?  The likely answer is that it is all a balance, which is how we treated it when we came to our woodland tree species choices.   Certainly, more open debate and discussion regarding trade-offs and options will be of significant value going forward for the industry and as such I welcome initiatives like the Regenerative Viticulture Foundation 

31 Sustainable Actions Achieved 

CARBON EMISSION REDUCTION

1. Our Winery uses 100% renewable energy (and has done since our first vintage in 2013). This is in part supplied by our own array of 159 solar panels which generate over 37,000 kwH per year.
2. We reduced the electricity consumption in our Winery by 50% since 2015 by changing our winemaking practices
3. We moved from screw caps to ‘carbon neutral’ natural cork across all our wines
4. We removed the neck foils from our sparkling bottles
5. We print all our labels on recycled paper
6. We select the lightest weight bottle option readily available for our still wines (which is 395g). As reference, the Sustainable Wine Roundtable’s (SWR) Bottle Weight Accord aims to reduce the average weight of 750ml still wine bottles to below 420g by the end of 2026.
7. We use carbon neutral unbleached bamboo toilet paper in our toilet facilities from Naked Paper
8. We reduced annual diesel consumption by reducing tractor miles in the vineyard through careful use of tractor passes and equipment

WASTE REDUCTION

9. We wrap our bottles in colourful recycled tissue paper & use paper bags. No plastic bags.
10. All the empty bottles, cardboard and plastic generated from our on-site sales and wine production is collected separately and sent for recycling via a local re-cycling waste management company
11. We compost our small amounts of food waste on-site
12. We actively monitor our monthly water use to help us identify areas of reduction
13. We launched the first Sussex Vermouth as a means of finding a home for batches of wine that were not suitable for blending into our sparkling or still wines. Rather than disposing of this wine, we found it was perfect base for making a delicious Vermouth so reducing our waste wine levels.
14. We collect, separate and recycle our vineyard waste via a certified farm re-cycling scheme.
15. We use Miniml eco-friendly refillable cleaning products and hand soaps in our Tasting Room

SOIL HEALTH

16. We maintain year-round grass cover in our alleys and headlands to reduce soil erosion and compaction and help build and protect soil organic matter levels
17. Every year, we graze sheep in the vineyard over winter to control ground cover and provide manure
18. We have reduced our use of herbicide via ‘light’ under vine cultivation and under vine strimming
19. We have built our soil organic matter levels through mulching vine prunings in the alleys, planting high biomass ‘green manures’, maintaining grass cover and applying compost and organic soil improvers. Our regular soil testing regime has shown that our OM levels increased between 2020 and 2023 from 2.5% to 3.3% (+0.8 ppts), sequestering carbon and encouraging soil micro-organisms
20. We monitor our Soil Health through bi-annual indicator checks. The best indicator of a healthy soil is biological activity.   So one check we do is an earthworm count.  Their abundance and diversity are excellent indicators of soil health. A healthy soil should have a variety of earthworms, including surface dwellers, topsoil worms, and deep-burrowing worms.  And once every 3 years we undertake soil testing that includes Microbial Activity measurement – invisible to the naked eye.  When last measured in 2023 it was at Moderate to High levels.
21. We minimise our use of additional soil nutrient applications via regular and detailed GPS soil nutrient mapping

BIODIVERSITY

22. We encourage biodiversity by leaving set aside areas and buffer strips along water courses, in vineyard corners and on unused strips of ground within the vineyard. In these areas, which cover nearly 3 ha of our estate, wild grasses and flowers are left to grow without mowing all season and no inputs are used.
23. The balance of the estate that is not planted to vines or woodland is managed as permanent grassland under a very low input scheme with delayed cutting which maximises opportunities for flower growth and biodiversity.
24. We also manage approx. 2,500 meters of hedgerows – producing a written hedgerow condition report with a plan for repairing and maintaining their ongoing health
25. We have owl boxes in place to support our local barn owl visitors

CARBON SEQUESTRATION

26. In 2015 we planted 260 native woodland trees which now form an attractive woodland area at the top of our vineyard
27. In 2025 we planted a further 3,500 native woodland trees under the England Woodland Creation Offer Scheme. Over the next 50 years these trees will remove over 1,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere contributing to the essential reduction in greenhouse gasses on this planet.

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

28. We source all our cheeses and charcuterie for our food boards from local Sussex producers
29. We provide free use of our Tasting Room space to our local women’s business group
30. We work in partnership with local food vendors and chefs to bring you our Friday Night Supper Clubs all summer long!
31. We collaborate with other tour and experience providers to bring new experiences to Albourne Estate e.g. Electric Bike Tours and Bee Keeping
32. We support local community and nature based conservation through charitable donations