The Ross Hill vineyard in Orange. Ross Hill Wines

The Orange region’s Ross Hill, which claims to be Australia’s first certified carbon neutral winery, has won a new award for sustainability.

The International Cool Climate Wine Show has bestowed its inaugural Excellence in Environmental Sustainability Award 2025 on Ross Hill.

Ross Hill was registered in 2014 by NCOS, the National Carbon Offset Standard, an initiative of the Australian Government, launched in 2010. It’s now called Climate Active.

The standard requires organisations to measure, reduce and then offset their greenhouse gas emissions to achieve carbon neutrality.

Margaret River’s Cullen winery is also carbon-neutral, but it’s rare in the wine industry.

The judges of the new award (who included Hayley Purbrick of Tahbilk, itself a leader in environmental sustainability) praised Ross Hill Wines for its comprehensive approach, noting regenerative viticulture practices such as cover crops and sheep grazing, reduced reliance on chemicals, closed-loop composting, and a commitment to low-input, environmentally responsible winemaking.

Their findings concluded:

“Ross Hill Wines’ dedication to pesticide-free farming, composting and regenerative practices makes them a standout in sustainable winemaking.”

Ross Hill’s owner James Robson said:

“We took the award submission seriously and this recognition means a lot. It’s vital the wine industry takes sustainability seriously, because wine quality is inseparable from the health of the environment.”

James also praised the collective effort of the Orange wine region:

“Our region is leading the way in carbon neutrality, organics and regenerative farming. It makes us very proud.”

I caught up with James at the recent Domaine Wine Shippers trade tasting in Sydney. James is the second-generation owner of Ross Hill, which was established in the Orange wine region by his parents in 1994.

James said:

“I’m an environmentalist, but it all started with my father, who was focused on no pesticides or insecticides, solar power, controlling water use, etc. We have 40 kW of solar, and I don’t know why more wineries don’t have solar. Wineries are a beautiful business to rely on solar. They do use a significant amount of electricity, and they don’t use a lot at night.”

He said that Ross Hill being serious about the environment was a key factor in his winemaker since the 2024 vintage, Chris Jessop, coming on board.

“We were certified carbon neutral by NCOS in 2014, but there was no interest back then. Now we are seeing so much interest in it—from government and industry organisations but most importantly from the consumers.”

At the DWS Trade Day, a chardonnay masterclass was conducted at which Ross Hill’s 2021 Eastern View Chardonnay was served. This fine wine has taken four years to fully emerge from its shell, coming as it does from a cool vintage and a cool site. It’s from an east-facing section of Ross Hill’s Griffin Road vineyard, a section that avoids the hot late afternoon sun. You can taste the coolness in the wine, which is fresh, delicate and youthful. A wine of tension and vitality, which can’t be made every year.

“We’ll release the 2023 next year,” says James, “but there was no 2022, or ’24.”

So there it is. Sun good for solar energy. Sun in late afternoon not so good for fine wine!