So…what the heck is responsible hedonism?!

Diana standing on a rock in front of the Pacific ocean in a blue tank top and black shorts

It’s about enjoying things and having a good time, but not at the expense of what’s important. In our personal lives, that means:

  • Occasionally mixing up low-ABV cocktails
  • Actively lowering our carbon footprint
  • Avoiding plastic wherever and whenever we can.

We wanted to create a wine company that embraces this philosophy – one that’s dedicated to responsibly making tasty, fun-loving wines. This means:

  • Incorporating sustainable practices into all areas of wine production
  • Doing what we can to lessen our environmental impact
  • Being fully transparent so we can be accountable to all of you.

 

Beach Cleanups

Living so close to the Pacific means we see the impact humans have on our oceans every day. So, we do what we can to keep these turquoise waters clean and help restore this damaged and fragile eco-system. Right now that means beach cleanups anytime we go to the beach, but in the future we want to support groups that remove plastic from the seas and promote biodiversity.

Doing beach cleanups on your own?
Tag us on Instagram and tell us allllll about it! @ResponsibleHedonistWines

 

Rethinking OUr merch

Images of Sustainable Naturally Made Materials

We found out awhile back that the fashion industry made up 4% of global emissions in 2018 and that a lot of the plastic in the ocean actually comes from our clothes. We live by the ocean and see trash wash up all the time. So, we thought long and hard about what we put in our shop and how to go about it.

  • Each item in our shop is made on-demand and fulfilled as locally as possible. This allows us to avoid overproduction and textile waste and lower the carbon footprint.
  • Our printing partner’s state-of-the-art tech creates almost no wastewater and uses less energy.
  • We’ve also selected items with recycled materials and natural fibers, whenever possible, and left all the details up so you know exactly what you’re getting.

 

lowering our emissions

We think about our CO2 emissions allll the time and ways we can reduce them, which is one of the reasons we work with organic, sustainably farmed grapes. Studies have shown that the vast majority of a winery’s emissions come from glass bottles and transporting wine.

So, you won’t find any:

You will find that we:

  • Use wine bottles made right here in Aotearoa New Zealand from recycled glass
  • Use biodegradable materials whenever possible for our cases and packaging
  • Offset our emissions whenever we fly or send wine overseas
  • Keep things as local as possible here, so we have less to offset when we send wine overseas

Brown and green upright wine bottles

 

We’re still working on…

Diana pruning grapevines in winter in a purple coat and red hat

  • Completing a Life Cycle Assessment for our wines
  • Reducing plastic wherever we can because microplastics literally keep us up at night, and we’ve found plastic is in everything from screw caps and corks to fermenters and labels. It’s an issue the wine industry is still trying to figure out, and we’re working with our suppliers to find solutions and will keep you updated.
  • Joining groups like 1% for the Planet in dedicating 1% of our profits to environmental causes such as beach and ocean restoration, native tree replanting, and re-wilding Aotearoa New Zealand. 
  • Ensuring the our grape growers and suppliers pay their workers a living wage and treat them with dignity and respect. We’ve gotten verbal assurances and feel really good about who we’re working with, but we’re looking into ways to verify this is happening IRL.