Wine Industry Partners

BWI Producers

BWI Member and Champion producers are leading the South African wine industry's commitment to sustainable production by adopting and showcasing biodiversity best practice. Participating producers are guided through the implementation of the Biodiversity Guidelines through a development of a farm specific management plan and ongoing free advisory support from the BWI team and assisted with building a biodiversity story into their winery identity.

Look out for BWI Champions and Members under Media Resource Centre
Also look out  for Wine brands that tell Conservation Stories

The Integrated Production of Wine Scheme

The BWI works closely with the wine industry's environmental certification scheme, the Integrated Production of Wine (IPW). We have developed a comprehensive set of Biodiversity Guidelines that is integrated into the guidelines for sustainable production as provided by the industry's IPW scheme. Furthermore, all BWI producers must comply with the requirements of the IPW scheme as a minimum criteria for particpating in the BWI.

IPW provides an industry wide minimum environmental benchmark - ensuring legal compliance as a minimum standard and continued improvement through a process of ongoing self evaluation and independent verification.

South Africa was the first country in the world to adopt an industry-wide system to promote sustainable grape growing and environmentally sound cellar practices, with the Sustainable Wines South Africa seal having been launched in 2010 - as part of the South African wine industry's ongoing industry wide committment to providing a traceable guarantee of sustainable environmental production.
 

Biodiversity as a unique selling point in Brand South Africa

The BWI continues to work closely with Wines of South Africa (WOSA), the industry's generic export marketing body, and producers themselves to  incorporate our unique biodiversity into a unique selling point for Brand South Africa.  Thus giving South Africa a competitive marketing advantage and point of differentiation in the global wine market.
 

Wine Tourism - developing biodiversity wine routes

The BWI encourages wine tourism routes to establish unique product offering where visitors are exposed to both the wine and the biodiversity experience of each participating producer. Guides from the local community conduct tours of the natural vegetation, communicating the producer's story and the role of biodiversity conservation in sustainable wine production. Creating biodiversity wine routes is an opportunity to create sustainaed employment, skills and training and develop a new ecotourism angle for South African wine tourism.