sustainability charter
At Radford Dale we care deeply about the wellbeing of our people and community, and the environmental footprint we leave.
we're on a mission to share our passion for wine thoughtfully and responsibly.
We prioritize generational sustainability, integrating it into every decision and action.
We believe in enriching our terroir, safeguarding our planet's future, supporting thriving communities, nurturing a dedicated workforce, and upholding ethical governance practices. The spirit of custodianship guides all our endeavors; we are steadfast in our identity and dedicated to sustainable, long-term thinking.
Our approach values restraint, revealing rewards over time as we care for our land, craft, and the future opportunities for our people, brands, and businesses.
For us, sustainability isn't just a narrative but an inherent part of who we are — a commitment to bringing together people, planet, and profit for enduring success and shared prosperity.
seals of approval
“As a society and an industry, we’ve been pretty complacent about the environment – and much of what is out there is greenwashing and chest beating. Rather, we need to be authentic. We have a responsibility to ourselves and to our community. We don’t believe we are perfect and to become fully sustainable will take time, years, but we must make a real effort to embrace change, commit to the process and do it."
Alex Dale
Founder of Radford Dale and Co-founder of Organic Wines South Africa
our four pillars of sustainability
viticulture
Preparing our land for future generations
We strive to leave a legacy enhanced by natural resources for future generations. Our stewardship ensures that we pass on our lands in better condition than we received them, preserving and enriching our environment while producing wines of outstanding quality.
This includes organically-certified, regenerative viticulture for all the vineyards we own and organically-certified winemaking for all wines made from Radford Dale Organic in Elgin (as certified by EcoCert). In the long term we aim to extend that certification to the Stellenbosch winery too.
Eco practices
Minimizing consumption of what we cannot replenish.
We recognise the critical importance of the fundamental yet finite resources essential to life. Our pledge is to protect these resources by preserving what we have, regenerating where possible, and minimizing consumption of non-renewable resources.
We are gradually introducing lightweight bottles (410g and below) across ALL our ranges to comply with the Sustainable Wine Roundtable Bottle Weight Accord, as well as recyclable packaging materials throughout. We are well established members of the IPW (Integrated Production of Wine - the South African environmental sustainability scheme), and possess the 'Integrity & Sustainability' seal on our wines, accredited by the Wine Certification Authority. Finally we installed Solar energy at the Radford Dale Organic cellar mid 2024, to take us 100% off the Eskom grid.
Our people
Creating a fair and enriching culture for our workforce
We aim to create leaders at all levels who are passionate about and knowledgeable in the business of wine. This approach not only fosters expertise but also ensures that the team is motivated to excel and share their enthusiasm with others.
Treating our employees ethically is crucially important and we've been certified members of WIETA (the Wine Industry Ethical Trading Association) since 2010, a code which promotes fair business practice, no unfair discrimination and the right to a healthy and safe working environment.
our peoples' people
Creating opportunties for our employees' dependents.
Apartheid may have ended three decades ago, but there remains much social inequality, and a deeply sub-standard public educational system in South Africa.
That’s why Radford Dale set up the Land of Hope Educational Trust. Established in 2007 the direct and sole beneficiaries of this Trust are the previously disadvantaged individual employees of Radford Dale and their children and dependents.
IPW
The South African wine industry has taken the lead when it comes to ecological and environmental regulation, thanks to the IPW scheme.
Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) is a voluntary environmental sustainability scheme established by the South African wine industry in 1998 of which Radford Dale is a fully accredited member. There are annual self-audits and periodic independent external audits.
wieta
Since the South African constitution arrived at the dawn of democracy in 1996, regulations, conditions and working practices have been finely tuned to protect the rights of all workers, including those in agriculture.
Radford Dale is a small, privately owned winery and a tiny speck on the agricultural landscape of South Africa. But, to borrow from Shakespeare, “though we be but little, we are fierce”. In everything we do, we maintain our morals and promote ethical, common-sense practices.
We learned about the concept behind WIETA (Wine Industry Ethical Trading Association) towards the end of 2010, while researching Fair Trade and similar accreditation organisations. The Fair Trade model – probably the most widely known internationally – doesn’t necessarily fit well with all types of ownership and all organisations. In our case, we felt that WIETA bore more relevance to what we do and how it impacts our team.
sustainability seal
Another exciting development for the SA wine industry (since 2010) is the new sustainability seal on eco-friendly local wines. If you see that seal on a bottle, it means the Wine Certification Authority, appointed by the Department of Agriculture, certifies that:
The vintage, variety and origin on the label are correct.
The wine has been produced sustainably, in an earth-friendly manner.
The wine can be traced all the way from the vine to the bottle.
The wine was bottled in South Africa and is 100% South African!
Social upliftment - land of hope trust
Apartheid may have ended a quarter of a century ago, but there’s still much social inequality in South Africa. That’s why Radford Dale set up an educational trust for its Previously Disadvantaged Individual employees.
The Trust is called Land of Hope and it’s an optimistic, positive instrument that facilitates a brighter future for the children and dependants of our Previously Disadvantaged Individual team members. Simply put, profits generated from sales of the Land of Hope wine range, fund this Trust.
