Lachie Thomas
He’s the brains behind the next generation of sustainability that’s unfolding at a winery in north-east Victoria.
“Carbon hunter” has a good ring to it but it’s just not sciency enough to cover what Lachie Thomas does to make Tahbilk (tahbilk.com.au), the oldest family-run winery in Victoria, one of the first naturally net zero wineries in the world. So he’s called an environment and vineyard research analyst.
“Tahbilk is on the front foot with sustainability,” says Thomas. The Purbrick family who owns the winery began revegetating wetlands on the estate – which sits on the Goulburn River 90 minutes from Melbourne – into a native eco trail in the 1990s. The plants have sequestered 97 per cent of the winery’s carbon output but carbon credits were needed to offset the rest. Thomas’s job has been to catch that last three per cent. “This September, we expect an audit to show we’re capturing and storing more carbon onsite than we create. To be certified climate positive without credits is next-generation sustainability.” Extra carbon credits will be donated to other community businesses.
Thomas is excited about the technology that’s changing winemaking. “I could talk all day about these sensors for water efficiency that clip around the vine to measure minute changes in trunk diameter. We can see exactly when vines are drinking so we can irrigate without wastage.”
Ask about the winery’s restaurant and you’ll find out about hyper-local ingredients and the heat-reflective rocket paint on the roof (NASA uses it to keep shuttles cool). “We’re analysing the footprint of everything across the winery, vineyard and business… from the energy it takes to make the glass of every bottle down to the average two days a bottle of white sits in your fridge at home.”
Thomas is still up for getting dirt under his nails. “We’re planting another 20 hectares of grey box, yellow box and red gum eucalyptus – they sequester a lot of carbon for a long time – and 20 acacia species for biodiversity.”