Established in 1970, Brokenwood Wines has evolved from a weekend venture for self professed hobby winemakers into one of Australia’s most reputable wine labels.
Brokenwood was founded by a trio of Sydney-based solicitors – Tony Albert, John Beeston and James Halliday – who paid a then record price of $970 per acre for a 10-acre block in the foothills of the Brokenwood Ranges.
In order for Brokenwood Wines to remain competitive in the market place, enhance company environmental credentials and satisfy the dynamic nature of consumer and stakeholder demands, a number of innovative initiatives formed part of a company-wide strategy to make improvements to production and processing techniques in both viticulture and winemaking.
In 2012 Brokenwood Wines received a grant from the Australian Government’s Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program to support implementation of a number of energy saving technologies with an anticipated reduction of 60 per cent in annual electricity costs.
The technologies implemented included upgrading the old refrigeration plant which accounted for 66 per cent of overall energy use with a more efficient unit, replacing halogen lighting with more efficient induction units in the winery and warehouse, and installing voltage optimisation.
Brokenwood has also undertaken a number of research and development projects aimed at increasing efficiency and enhancing quality of the end product. These include trialling a new winemaking juice settling technique known as “flotation” aimed at reducing waste and electricity consumption, whilst at the same time resulting in improved juice clarification pre-fermentation.
In addition, Brokenwood conducted trials on wine spoilage parameters and its relation to quality and various oak barrel fermentation options. Also included in R&D is the trial of new spray application techniques and plantings in various vineyard locations across Australia in order to optimise quality and enhance product development.