Treasury Wine Estates (TWE)

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) is one of the world's leading premium wine companies, with iconic Australian brands including Wynns Coonawarra Estate and Penfolds. As a major vineyard owner and wine producer, TWE collaborates with Wine Australia and research organisations to evaluate and adopt innovative technologies that improve vineyard productivity, sustainability and resilience across the Australian grape and wine sector.

TWE contributes commercial vineyard expertise, trial sites and heritage plant material to industry research programs. Through its partnership with CSIRO and Wine Australia, TWE is helping develop next-generation grapevine varieties that combine disease resistance, drought tolerance and climate resilience with the quality characteristics required for premium wine production. This work aims to reduce reliance on fungicides, improve vineyard sustainability and future-proof Australian vineyards against climate and disease pressures.

TWE has also partnered with Wine Australia and other organisations to evaluate emerging vineyard technologies, including autonomous machinery. A 14-month trial of a SwarmFarm unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) in Coonawarra assessed the potential for autonomous vineyard operations such as inter-row slashing. The trial demonstrated that autonomous systems can safely navigate vineyard environments and highlighted opportunities to improve labour efficiency, data collection and sustainability outcomes. However, technical limitations, including overly sensitive obstacle detection, frequent stoppages and maintenance challenges, demonstrated that further development is required before the technology is commercially viable at scale. The project provided valuable insights into the future role of robotics and automation in Australian viticulture.

By bridging research and commercial application, TWE helps ensure that new technologies, vineyard practices and planting material are assessed under real-world production conditions, accelerating the adoption of innovations that benefit the broader Australian grape and wine sector.