Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand

Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) is a certification programme led by New Zealand Winegrowers that sets a sustainability framework for the country's wine industry. It covers both vineyard and winery operations, assessing performance across six focus areas: Soil, Water, Plant Protection, Waste, People, and Climate Change. The programme is designed for grape growers and wine producers who want to demonstrate credible, independently verified sustainability practices.

To become certified, members complete an annual online submission and undergo regular on-site audits carried out by an independent verification company. Vineyard members must also submit a full spray diary each season documenting all agrichemical use, which is reviewed for compliance with approved product lists and usage rules. Where practices fall short of best-practice standards, members are required to address corrective actions within a set timeframe. Wine produced entirely from SWNZ-certified vineyards and wineries is eligible to carry the SWNZ logo on the bottle.

SWNZ certification is recognised by New Zealand Winegrowers as meeting the industry's sustainability policy requirements, alongside other programmes such as BioGro-NZ and Demeter. Membership provides access to benchmarking reports, guidance for continuous improvement, and market credibility with sustainability-conscious buyers both domestically and internationally.