De Bortioli Wines come with a long history of family, food and grapes. In the 1920’s, Vittorio and Giuseppina De Bortoli left the beautiful alpine foothills of Italy’s north and arrived in the fertile Riverina region in New South Wales. Through ‘hard work, self-sufficiency, determination and vision’ they achieved their dream of owning their own land and making wine. Thereby establishing a lasting legacy. That legacy now extends to vineyards in the Yarra Valley, Riverina, King Valley, Heathcote and the Hunter Valley.
The De Bortioli family believe that the future lies in looking after the health of our soils and plants and carefully managing our precious water resources.
The vineyard at Yarra Valley
De Bortioli Wines believes in leaving a legacy for future generations. And so we come to trees! The De Bortioli family have generously purchased 200 trees for our friends in the Flowerdale district of Victoria (nestled between their Heathcote, King Valley and Yarra Valley vineyards). The trees were planted by Steve and Heather Joblin, who are both long time members of the Flowerdale Landcare Group.
Fifteen Trees and the Joblins have been planting trees together since the aftermath of the 2009 bushfires. In fact, Fifteen Trees largely came about as a response from those Black Saturday fires.
Trees for bees!
As the owners of the property, we have an interest in beekeeping. A decision was made to undertake a project named Trees for Bees. In this project, we’ve been replacing the non-indigenous Tasmanian Bluegums with indigenous Red Box, Yellow Box, Grey Box and Red Stringybark. We have also been planting ground flora and sub-canopy species. These species will provide a diverse range of local plant species for local wildlife and great nectar sources for the bee hives.
The corridor effect will be increased by shifting a fence further into a paddock, taking in relatively unproductive grazing areas. As this project is taking place relatively late in the planting season, the need for watering the seedlings to assist establishment is likely. An 800 litre fire appliance on the back of our ute has served the purpose.
Thank you De Bortoli Wines for contributing to our work here in the hills of Flowerdale.
Steve and Heather Joplin | Flowerdale Landcare
It is through big hearted companies such as De Bortoli Wines, that we can help revegetate our unique and precious Australian landscape and support those who are doing the hard work to look after this land.
Sláinte – Colleen
According to Sustainability Victoria, the average Australian lifestyle produces 15,000kg of carbon per year. If that sounds like a lot, it is! Over its lifetime, a tree can collect and store 268kg. This means, we each need to plant 58 trees per year to bring our individual carbon production down to zero. A little tricky for most of us to do in our own backyards, and this is where ‘A Subscription for the Planet’ comes in.
For hotels, embracing sustainability can strengthen brand loyalty, enhance their reputation, and help differentiate them in a competitive market. In this way, sustainable initiatives are not just good for the planet – they also make strong business sense, creating a win-win for hotels, their guests, and the communities and ecosystems they support.
There’s something quietly powerful about a person who decides, on their own, to do something good for the planet. No fanfare, no corporate mandate – just a simple choice to put a few trees in the ground. When hundreds of individuals make that same choice, something remarkable happens. Native forests are restored, wildlife corridors are rebuilt, and community groups across Australia get to do the work they love. So if you’ve ever purchased trees through Fifteen Trees, thank you.
