Radford Dale is a business. But it’s also much more than that. Our “business” is also a way of life, a team, a common ethic and a set of values. As much as we avoid competitions, medals, trophies and the craving for status that seems to drive many egos in our industry, we do want official recognition for other aspects of our daily interaction with the land, its people and the planet.

But unless you open yourself up to the critical scrutiny of an independent accreditation agency or auditor, how can anyone be sure that you’re walking the ethical-winery walk?

To prove that we are, we set ourselves targets in four critical areas (we call it our Sustainability Charter): the Environment (Viticulture and general Eco practices), Ethics (our people), and Social Upliftment. Some of these topics are becoming trendy, and are being used in a tokenistic fashion to sell wine, but not by us. We’ll stick to these principles when the next vogue appears and the less serene move on to greener pastures.

To sum up, we aren’t rebels, but we do have a cause. We do everything we do because we believe it is right, not because it’s politically correct, fashionable or expedient. This philosophy is the mirror image of our natural approach to winemaking, and it all comes down to being real. If you care about such things and if you enjoy our wine, then you’ll know what that means. For real.