Coonawarra Vineyards Soil Carbon Project

The Coonawarra Vineyards Soil Carbon Project is a soil organic carbon sequestration project located approximately 10 kilometers north of Penola in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. Registered on November 8, 2024, the project covers 52.11 hectares of land managed by Treasury Wine Estates Vintners Limited (TWE). The project area sits squarely within the renowned Coonawarra wine region, an area celebrated globally for its premium viticulture, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon.

The project operates under the 2021 Soil Carbon (Measurement and Models) methodology. This framework rewards landholders for increasing Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stocks through changes in land management. Unlike traditional grazing projects, this project likely applies these agricultural methods to the inter-row "alleys" between vine rows. The registered activities, including the use of legume cover crops, pasture rejuvenation, and the application of gypsum and nutrients, are designed to improve soil structure and build carbon stocks without disrupting vine health.

The environmental context is defined by the region's distinct "Terra Rossa" soil, a rich, reddish clay loam sitting atop a limestone base, which is the hallmark of the Coonawarra strip. The area experiences a cool maritime climate with a winter-dominant rainfall averaging between 585mm and 650mm annually. The application of gypsum is particularly relevant here for managing soil stability, while legume cover crops serve a dual purpose of nitrogen fixation for the vines and carbon sequestration in the soil.

This project appears to be a component of Treasury Wine Estates' broader corporate sustainability strategy, which includes targets to reach net zero emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030. Given the relatively small project size of 52 hectares compared to TWE's vast holdings, this site likely serves as a high-fidelity pilot or demonstration block to validate carbon "insetting" or credit generation within a viticultural system before potential wider rollout.