Hawkdun Rise Vineyard & Accommodation has achieved the Sustainability standard in our Vineyard and our long term aim is to keep it as sustainable and footprint-free as possible.

Recycle, Reduce, Reuse –  We have seriously reduced the amount of waste we generate here and we have a recycling programme which includes all plastics, tin cans, cardboard, paper and glass. This is all recycled at Wastebusters in Alexandra on a regular basis.

Keeping it Local – We endeavour to use locally grown products, in order to support our local community and to cut down on the travel distances and costs. Most of our food is sourced locally & where possible organic. We use “Jeymar” products for our bathrooms they produce an exciting range of natural handmade products, shampoo, conditioners, hand crèmes soaps. Etc.

Energy Efficiency – Hawkdun Rise is fully insulated and has double glazed windows which cut down on unnecessary electricity consumption. We are in the process of increasing the insulation in the ceiling space.

We have a policy of changing all light bulbs from standard issue bulbs with energy efficient ones as they fail, and have outdoor sensors to ensure that they do not remain on unnecessarily during daylight hours.

Our Backyard – At Hawkdun Rise we are lucky to have a wonderful vegetable garden which John loves to work in and loves to share his organically grown vegetables with guests and the neighbours.  We have tomatoes and potatoes from the garden usually right through to September. Plenty of other vegetables are frozen for off season use. All suitable material from the property is composted and returned to the garden where possible. We have free range chickens which roam around and enjoy most of our food scraps. They provide most of  our egg requirements for the year.

Our Vineyard – We mulch all pruning’s to produce humus for the soil, and have installed an overhead sprinkler system to encourage grass growth during the season. This is regularly mown to produce mulch for the soil. We have temperature sensors at the top and bottom of the vineyard. There are shutoff valves on the top 27 sprinklers. This enables us to frost fight at the bottom with all the top valves in the “off” position, thereby saving large amounts of water. The few chemical containers we have are recycled at Wastebusters Alexandra. John is our licensed chemical applicator. The only chemical we use is a very light application of Glycosphate under the vines 3 times a year.

Keeping it Clean –  Here at Hawkdun Rise, we use some ENJO products & the Eco range of cleaners, which have no nasty chemicals. This enables us to reduce chemicals in the air and those entering into our septic sewage system.