If you thought organic wine was just a trend, we have the evidence to prove otherwise. It seems that organic is here to stay when it comes to the world of grape juice, with one of Western Australia’s biggest vineyards announcing its plans to move into organic certification.

40-year-old local vineyard Voyager Estate has revealed that 40 hectares of its vineyards (that’s nearly one third of the winery’s Stevens Valley vineyards) are now certified by Australian Certified Organic (ACO). In the next three years, Voyager plans to have its remaining vines transition into the same certification.  The move reflects the family-owned estate’s passion for sustainable farming, and follows on from their embrace of renewable energy, recycling, land rehabilitation, and its 100% carbon neutral stance.

“We’ve come a long way since my father, Michael Wright, settled on our special site in Stevens Valley,” says owner Alexandra Burt of the news. “The transition from patches of bare dirt to established vineyards of beauty and quality has given us the opportunity to craft wines of uncompromising precision and elegance that tell the story of this place. He would be proud to see us taking this next step to organic certification, having come so far along the path already.”

And it’s not just locals who are impressed by the eco-friendly move. Manager Steve James says a recent visit from French scientist Claude Bourguignon confirmed that the estate and its ability to produce quality organic wine impressed the visiting researcher. “It was great to hear an internationally renowned expert, endorse our commitment and shift to organics and identify our soils as amongst the best he has seen during his visit to Australia,” he says, “I know the hard work is going to pay off in terms of the potential for our wines to get better and better.”