Wine lovers sip to save the capercaillie

But a radical conservation project begun by an emigr vintner is helping to save Scotland’s most threatened bird from extinction and fund conservation measures to boost its numbers.

Capercaillie Wines, one of Australia’s newest and smallest wineries, is donating nearly 20 per cent of the price of every case of wine sold in Scotland to saving the majestic black woodland grouse, in a deal struck with Wine Importers Edinburgh and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Scotland.

Formed in 1995 and named after the UK’s largest grouse species, the company is owned by Alasdair Sutherland, who emigrated to New South Wales at the age of ten in 1966 after growing up in Gifford, East Lothian. His father, a GP in Haddington, decided on the flip of a coin to move down under for a new life in a similar small practice.

After 25 years in the wine trade, Mr Sutherland bought the vineyard nine years ago, deciding on the company’s name after reading an article about the capercaillie in an edition of Scottish Field magazine.

Having drawn on memories of his native country’s natural heritage to find a fitting moniker, it was not until early last year that the idea came about to help conserve the endangered species.

He told The Scotsman: "About 18 months ago we were back in Scotland on a whirlwind tour with Wine Importers Edinburgh. Sadly, the only two capercaillie we saw were stuffed. We were obviously well aware of how serious this bird’s position is as a species in Scotland.

While we were in Aviemore and the Cairngorms it became apparent there was little likelihood of us ever catching up with one in the flesh."

At the time, another Australian wine company was donating a percentage of the takings from one of its products to conservation projects to save the koala, which gave Mr Sutherland the idea of helping the capercaillie.

He said: "I thought there were all sorts of things I could give money to over here in Australia, but the more we heard and read about the poor old capercaillie - we thought that if we can give a bob or two back to organisations like the RSPB, via their members or by other means, then that would make us really happy. I am really chuffed, because it is a little way of putting something back into my history."

Mr Sutherland added: "While I believe that the numbers are now on the incline, rather than the decline, we know that this species is not out of the woods yet, so to speak, and don’t want to see it go to the point of becoming extinct again, like it did in the 1800s."

The most recent survey of capercaillie numbers in Scotland revealed the dramatic decline in the bird’s fortunes had been arrested, with numbers rising from a mere 1,000 in the 1999 census to 2,000 today.

It means that, although previously saddled with the title of "bird most likely to become extinct in the next 15 years", the capercaillie may now finally be able to break free from the group of critically endangered species and thrive again in its native Scotland. Conservationists have warned, however, that the battle to prevent the species going the way of the dodo is still not won, and much work remains to ensure it flourishes over the next decade.

Billy Bell, of Wine Importers Edinburgh, who has been instrumental in arranging the charity donations through the sale of the wine, said: "Alasdair is very involved in conservation up in the Hunter Valley just north of Sydney, where the Capercaillie vineyard is based.

"After seeing a similar scheme for the koala, Alasdair wanted to know if there was anything similar we could do over here.

"We thought the distribution of Capercaillie could be done directly through RSPB.

"We contacted the RSPB and said we would allow them to purchase in cases of the wine at what are effectively shipping costs and to pass on the retail margin that they would be making if they were a shop, to their members. This is where the contribution comes from. It is about 20 per 120 case of 12 bottles, and this goes directly to conserving the capercaillie."

The wines are available to both members and non-members of the conservation organisation, which can be contacted via the internet.

Alison Connelly, the senior marketing officer with RSPB Scotland, said: "Alasdair didn’t like the idea that his winery was doing well and yet the namesake wasn’t. With Wine Importers Edinburgh and Capercaillie Wine, we have managed to work out this mechanism whereby if people buy this wine through us there will be a donation made specifically for capercaillie conservation.

She added: "Already, we have produced positive results. This scheme has helped fund a new post of assistant capercaillie conservation officer, who works with landowners and forestry companies and agencies to further the vital work in Speyside and Morayshire. It has allowed us to extend the contract of this person beyond the original terms and is directly helping us to understand more about preserving this wonderful species."