Grapegrower & Winemaker - February 2015 by Provincial Press Group

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from the editor

Nathan Gogoll Editor

There’s a new world somewhere, they call the promised land I CAN only imagine the determination Tom Angove had when he worked to develop the wine cask, or, as he preferred to call it, the wine soft pack or bag-inbox. It was 1965. Despite all the nostalgia about the ‘swinging 60s’ it wasn’t exactly a progressive moment in Australian history… The Seekers’ I’ll Never Find Another You was topping the charts; Dawn Fraser had just been banned from all amateur competition for 10 years; women weren’t allowed in public bars in Queensland; and police had raided a Melbourne bookshop and seized copies of The Trial of Lady Chatterley. Yet from this time and from the sunbaked Riverland, came an international innovation. Tom’s son and successor in the Angoves wine business, was just 18 at the time. John couldn’t have asked for a better mentor than his father. But not every aspiring winemaker, vineyard manager or CEO is lucky enough to have their own mother or father as their mentor. Even within strong family businesses sometimes the parents aren’t around anymore as a sounding board, or shoulder to lean on. I happened to meet Eliza, Angela and Nicholas Brown from All Saints Estate while they were in the Barossa in 2014, “getting away” from their daily duties to meet with their mentor. The three Brown siblings represent a branch of the fourth generation of a significant Aussie wine family, but since their father died in 2005, they’ve had to look around for extra wine business advice. Which is why they were meeting with

Brian Walsh, he was helping them to look at the structure of their business. Eliza called it a “three-day retreat”. “We went to Brian because he can offer an overall view on our business direction, brand, business structure and refining our wine styles,” she said. “Brian brings clarity to a decision we need to make, but doesn’t tell us what to do. It’s a fine line of giving pros and cons of all situations, also conscious of having a backup plan if the decision doesn’t go as planned. “We particularly love his very dry sense of humour. “Brian is, of course, paid for his time which we negotiated upfront. We prefer to have face-to-face meetings, which have been sporadic over the past year due to schedules but over the next 12 months there will be more structure involved.” Eliza said she has dealt with different mentors, depending on the situation, since her father hasn’t been around. Some have not been the right fit, while others were incredibly helpful, like “one of our current advisors Dominic Pelligana from KPMG Melbourne, who has built his reputation around family business”. “If you don’t look around for alternative points of view you end up with quite a stale view of the world,” Eliza said. It’s almost been 50 years since Tom Angove received a letter to confirm the patent for his bag-in-box. The world’s a different place now. We’ve got 5 Seconds of Summer belting out She Looks So Perfect on digital radios instead of The Seekers’ harmonies on the wireless; the sporting controversy of the day involves

peptides and sports scientists, not a ratbag stealing a flag; the ‘schoolies’ event on the Gold Coast is presenting Queensland authorities with lots more headaches than letting women into the front bar ever did; and apparently three million copies of the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy have been sold in Australia and the movie is out. Move over Lady Chatterly. But where’s the modern Australian wine invention making its mark around the world? Perhaps it’s being doodled into a vintage-intake notebook at the moment, or maybe there’s a young winemaker waiting for the right time to tell her boss about an idea she has. And while I think about the ‘right time’, how did the Brown siblings originally get connected with Brian? “We have always admired Yalumba and the Yalumba story, I had met Brian through the Future Leaders initially,” Eliza said. Well guess what? The Future Leaders is about to kick into gear again. The program is currently seeking applications from people “with open, creative, inquisitive minds; early to mid-career emerging leaders who have demonstrated their commitment to the wine sector’s success; innovators, collaborators and game-changers who not only ask the questions but seek the solutions”. If you’re a potential game-changer, or if you know one, you’d better check out www.futureleaders15.com. Enjoy the read. Nathan Gogoll Editor

Contributors

February 2015 – Issue 613

Sharon Nagel spent 25 years writing for the French wine trade journal ‘La Journée Vinicole’, in this report for Concours Mondial du Sauvignon she examines how evolving Sauvignon Blanc flavour profiles might broaden its consumer base. More from Page 48.

www.winebiz.com.au

Neil Scrimgeour, senior scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute, has studied what informed decisions winemakers can make, when processing grapes, to achieve specific targeted tannin levels in their finished wines. His report starts on Page 61.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

contents features 35 57 64 69 82 83 84

FEBRUARY 2015

Vineyard machinery Yeast, enzymes & ferments Analytical services Refrigeration Bottling, labelling & packaging I.T. & software Winejobs

Cover It’s been 50 years since the first patent for a bag-in-box wine package was registered. We look across the industry and back through time on the impact the wine cask has made. More details from Page 10.

news

grapegrowing

Letters to the editor ...................................6

The alternative path isn’t always easy street ..................................22

Crowd-funded winery extension ................7 Sarah Collingwood, Four Winds business manager, explains how the Canberra District winery paid for extensions through crowd-funding.

Movers & shakers .....................................8

Jumping on the bandwagon when new varieties are introduced into Australia can cause headaches in the vineyard if you don’t do your homework.

50-year milestone for bag-in-box ............10 The idea of getting lots of wine to a consumer in a way that overcame oxidation issues was a big deal for the wine industry 50 years ago. There’s every indication it will keep being a big deal well into the future.

Economic impact of Eutypa Dieback.........26 The best management strategy appears to be to actively manage the disease, even with increased annual expenses, since it results in improved return on initial investment.

Shiraz in a future climate ........................30 Australian wine export growth ................ 15 Regional roundup: Western Australia .......16 R&D@Work ............................................18

Trials on the phenological development of the vines under a future climate scenario have shown temperature will be more influential that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

Young Gun: Smart + sustainable Jana Shepherd .........32 Risky business: Quad bike safety relies on the right attitude .............35

regulars 6 What’s online 18 R&D@Work JUNE

2 014

People in research: Dr Justin Cohen

50 Ask the AWRI “Then instead of returning to the US, to work in corporate management for a hotel group as planned, I accepted a scholarship to undertake a PhD in wine marketing. “It’s where I first connected with Professor Larry Lockshin (Pro Vice Chancellor for Strategic Coordination andA Head of Marketing at University of South Australia) and his research group.”

After completing his PhD, Dr Cohen moved to Europe to work in the Master Vintage program, which is an EU-funded Master of Science program (MSC) for oenology, viticulture and wine business. Responsible for the wine marketing component and research supervision, Dr Cohen said that after two exciting years of delivering education and conducting research across numerous European markets he was ready for the next challenge - at the Australian Centre for Retail Studies, a specialised retailing centre at Monash University.

Cohen said he happily made the jump.

“I focussed my energy on commercial research and strategy implementation

86 Looking back 87 Marketplace classifieds

Dr Cohen continues to work closely with Larry and Armando, particularly on the current China projects.

“We’re a great team. My focus is particularly managerial, it’s my job to solve problems and come up with ways to overcome hurdles that crop up with such projects. “Working in emerging markets like China now is really exciting, because we are getting past people just espousing their thoughts and feelings. Our EBI team is actually doing the research in country. We can make arguments and claims about market dynamics founded in data and not just conjecture.”

4 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Dr Justin Cohen, Research Fellow, Ehrenberg Bass Institute for Marketing Science

Beginning with a childhood spent at Cape Cod in the United States to a career that spans Europe, Australia and now Asia, for Research Fellow Dr Justin Cohen it’s been a journey inspired by great food and wine experiences.

85 Advertiser index

“Working in emerging markets like China now is really exciting.”

Dr Cohen is also enjoying the growing

www.winebiz.com.au

February 2015 – Issue 613

February 2015: Issue 613 winemaking Effects of oxygen exposure during pressing and juice/wine handling ............ 41 Effective management of oxygen during winemaking can improve fermentation efficiency, help create diverse wine styles and minimise reductive off-flavours.

Aussies abroad: Chris Chen .............45

Managing wine quality with a newly-selected, robust and original wine bacteria .............................64 Improving refrigeration efficiency and reducing electricity use .....................70 Refrigeration: Energy saving tips .............73 Top tips: Barrel-to-bottle hygiene .............75 Radical development in testing for Brett ...78 New machine offers lightweight tank cleaning ........................80

Sauvignon Blanc: Upwards and outwards to appeal to a wider audience ................48 Just chips and gravy, or a bigger issue?...52 52

How should Australian wine producers and the representative bodies respond to ‘Barossa Shiraz Flavoured Gravy’?

sales & marketing Latest filling technology ...........................82

business & technology Why move to the Cloud? .........................83 WineJobs: Five signs you are interviewing a liar .....................84

Organic yeast: a tool for premium wine production .......................57 New tool sheds light on relationship between grape and wine tannins ............ 61

PUBLISHER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE Hartley Higgins

PRODUCTION Simon Miles

MANAGING EDITOR Elizabeth Bouzoudis

CIRCULATION: Melissa Smithen subs@winetitles.com.au

EDITOR Nathan Gogoll editor@grapeandwine.com.au EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Dr Jim Fortune, Denis Gastin, Dr Steve Goodman, Dr Terry Lee, Paul van der Lee, Bob Campbell MW, Prof Dennis Taylor and Mary Retallack EDITORIAL Emilie Reynolds journalist@winetitles.com.au ADVERTISING SALES Chas Barter sales@grapeandwine.com.au February 2015 – Issue 613

WINETITLES PTY. LTD. 630 Regency Road, Broadview, South Australia 5083 Phone: (08) 8369 9500 Fax: (08) 8369 9501 info@winetitles.com.au www.winebiz.com.au @Grape_and_Wine Printing by Lane Print Group, Adelaide © Contents copyright Winetitles Pty Ltd 2014. All Rights Reserved. Print Post Approved PP535806/0019 Articles published in this issue of Grapegrower & Winemaker may also appear in full or as extracts on our website. Cover price $8.25 (inc. GST) www.winebiz.com.au

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

letters to the editor MIS misconceptions cleared up

what’s online Wine industry oppose MPI proposal MARLBOROUGH’S wine industry will be the worst-affected wine region if a proposal to increase regulation fees by $2.9 million (A$2.7m) goes ahead, according to Steve Green, New Zealand Winegrowers chairman. The Ministry of Primary Industries announced a proposed $12.8m increase in fees for all of New Zealand’s primary industries to maintain food safety and protect New Zealand from biosecurity risks. Green said it was “manifestly unfair”, reports The Marlborough Express.

Winemakers forced to innovate to chase premium market A NEW Rabobank study on the premium wine market has found many producers are struggling to take advantage of the growing demand for top quality wine. But with so many producers seeking to capture the premium market, winemakers must rely on regional identity and their ability to tell the story of their wine, in order to stand out, reports the ABC.

CSU’s winery future uncertain CHARLES Sturt University’s (CSU) Wagga Wagga winery could close, with a review of commercial operations due for completion at the end of February. The university said it was pulling out of commercial grapegrowing, with vineyards in Wagga and Orange to be removed after the coming harvest. Paul Dowler, CSU’s executive director of finance, said a small number of growers have been told they need to find another place to crush their grapes, reports the ABC.

.com.au Australia’s wine industry portal by Winetitles Australia’s wine industry portal by

Winetitles

Daily Wine News is a snapshot of wine business, research and marketing content gleaned from international wine media sources, with a focus on Australian news and content. To subscribe visit www.winebiz.com.au/dwn.

WE NOTICE in your December 2014 edition you give space to Leo Pech to express his opinions. While he is an elder of our industry, often his opinions do not reflect the reality of the day. One of Pech’s opinions concerns Managed Investment Schemes (MIS) and he draws a number of conclusions which we disagree with again. We have done so previously in your magazine when Pech has been given latitude to express his views which we believe are incorrect and after raising over $200 million in agribusiness investment (not only in vines) we collectively believe we understand the MIS business and what drove investors. The MIS debate can be divided between the real businesses and the tax schemes. Both of our groups run real agribusinesses and have for over 20 years. Pech draws a parallel between the introduction of the accelerated depreciation schedules in the Tax Act in 1993 and the introduction of MIS schemes in 1998. Both authors of this letter had vineyard MIS schemes in the market long before 1998 and used considerably more sophisticated financial packaging techniques than just accelerated depreciation to offer the opportunity to a wider audience to become grapegrowers. Most importantly, our growers own their land with their fellow investors and the majority of failed schemes were just rental arrangements.

Unsatisfactory response GOOD for you on questioning the Minister for Agriculture on why the board of AGWA was hand selected by him (December 2014, Issue 611), instead of accepting the choices of the industry representatives. In my view the response you got was totally unsatisfactory. If this government is serious about saving money (as they say they are) why did they spend many thousands of dollars on the exhaustive selection process when they could have simply made a few phone calls – as they did in the end anyway? What a waste, and what a joke… Greg Howell Vintessential Laboratories

These investors were induced to invest in the wine industry as a result of over enthusiastic announcements from the mid 90s to the early 2000s by both peak industry bodies and listed wine companies. The granting of 15-year grape sales contracts from major wine companies was a key ingredient to this investment by non-traditional grapegrowers. Whilst many MIS scheme operators have disappeared leaving a trail of misery for their ‘investors’ (usually the tax schemes) the authors of this letter have separate MIS operations that have continued and through careful management have survived the vagaries of the wine industry and the problems we regularly faced with industry people with the same misconceptions and bias that Pech certainly has. The key is that our groups are still here today, working hard to better the wine industry and hopefully, as vineyard values and income return to normal, provide our long-term investors with economic returns (this has not occurred in the past seven years). Pech at least offers sage advice to growers whose properties are not viable as more of these growers will need to either exit or look at alternative crops to gain some return on their assets. Chris Day, FABAL Group, and Ron Collins, Blaxland Wine Group

Correction OUR December edition (Issue 611) featured an article titled Co-inoculation with yeast and lactic acid bactiera (Page 77-82). One of the co-authors was Guillaume Antalick, who is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) at Charles Sturt University, based at Wagga Wagga. However, this research was completed before Antalick joined the NWGIC. The Grapegrower & Winemaker apologises for not correctly acknowledging the university where this work was designed, funded and performed; the Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin at the Bordeaux University, France.

my view

Crowd-funded winery extension Four Winds Vineyard is a 33-acre vineyard and 1500-case winery in the Canberra District. It is family owned and run. When the family decided to extend the winery in time for the 2015 vintage, they investigated crowdfunding options. Sarah Collingwood, Four Winds business manager, explains how it all worked. WE LAUNCHED a crowd-funding project through the website pozible.com in October 2014. The aim was to raise $21,635 in 30 days. This money would go toward extending our winery before the 2015 vintage. I am happy to say that we made our goal and the winery extension has been completed. Running the crowd-funding project was fun at the same time as testing our nerves. Crowd-funding is popular with gaming and technology industries, but we hadn’t seen a lot of projects come out of the Australian wine industry. The exception to this was young winemakers crowd-funding their trips to undertake vintages overseas. We figured that it was worth trying crowd-funding as we were in the position of many small businesses; raising funds up-front to expand. Crowd-funding would essentially allow us to pre-sell ‘rewards’ to supporters and use the funds to extend the winery before the 2015 vintage. There are different websites that host crowd-funding projects. We investigated a couple of the larger ones; Kickstarter and Pozible. We used the Pozible platform as careful reading of the fine print found that Kickstarter did not allow alcohol to be offered as rewards. An important part of our crowdfunding project was that it was all-ornothing. We either made it to the financial goal, or, if we didn’t make it none of the pledges were charged to supporters and we ended up with nothing. The research on different types of projects showed that the all-or-nothing projects had the highest chance of success. The Pozible site allowed us to set up our own page with a video, information and background on the project. We thought about how we wanted to use this space and tell our story. Many of our supporters would be existing contacts and friends, but there would be some who had not heard of Four Winds Vineyard before and we wanted them to be excited about our project. All the advice we received from those who had run projects previously said that an important part of the crowd-funding site was the video. This gave us a chance to talk about us, what we have been February 2015 – Issue 613

THE TEAM: The key people at Four Wines Vineyard are (from left) Jaime Crowe, Bill Crowe, Sarah Collingwood and John Collingwood.

doing, the future, what the project was about and how funds would be used. We aimed to keep this engaging and under two-and-a-half minutes. We were lucky that we had put together videos before and were able to shoot and edit these ourselves. We wanted to keep the cost of getting the project up and running down, so it didn’t set us back from the start. Another important part of the project was the rewards for support. We had a range of rewards from $5 through to $3000. We put together a blend of wine that was only available to supporters of the project, making it exclusive and tangible. For the larger pledges we offered private winemaker dinners and parties. We were sorry the Pozible site didn’t allow wine to be shipped internationally without the relevant local liquor licence. Our winemaker, Bill Crowe, is from Napa Valley, California and we have settled on putting together something fun when these international supporters come to visit. A lot of work went into the preparation for the project’s launch. We compiled budgets, put together the video, nailed down rewards, put together images and copy. www.winebiz.com.au

When it came to promotion, we had no doubt the majority of support would come from those who already supported us. After we launched the project online we made sure everyone knew about it through our mailing list, social media, media releases and printed material in the cellar door. We had been warned about a ‘lull’ midway through the 30 days of the project. We noticed this break in momentum after a great start. Although social media and our mailing list were our best promotional tools, we were careful that we didn’t spam these groups with details and reminders about the project. We wanted to ensure that one project didn’t tarnish any long-term relationships. Fortunately the lull ended and with a week to go the momentum built again and we made it to our target with 43 hours to spare. Using crowd-funding to extend our winery has been a great experience. We can’t wait for our new winery space to be put to use during vintage. The winery opening party to thank our supporters will be in February and we look forward to delivering this special blend as we couldn’t have done it without our 133 supporters. Grapegrower & Winemaker

movers & shakers Stuart McNab leaves TWE after 20 years STUART McNab has announced he has stepped down from his position as chief supply officer at Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) after 20 years with the company. McNab joined TWE, under a previous ownership structure and trading name, as a vineyard manager in Victoria before moving to South Australia to progress his career. Working for Southcorp Wines, Fosters and TWE, McNab represented the business across many industry committees and held the position of president of the South Australian Wine Industry Association. Mike Clarke, TWE chief executive, said he was thankful for McNab’s dedication. “I would also like to thank Stuart McNab for his many contributions to the business over the last 20 years, and for his personal support to me over the past

Stuart McNab leaves TWE to pursue other opportunities.

10 months,” Clarke said. “His deep wine knowledge, significant technical expertise and industry experience, along with his enormous commitment to our business will be missed and I wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.” A TWE statement said McNab was leaving to explore other opportunities

and his final day with the company would be Friday 27 February. Bob Spooner, former chief executive of Hovis in the UK and former chief supply officer at Premier Foods has been announced as McNab’s replacement. Experienced in leading supply chains across a diverse range of industries, Spooner is expected to work across Treasury’s winery and production facilities throughout Australia, New Zealand, the US and Italy. Clarke said he was “delighted” to welcome his former colleague to the TWE team. “Having worked with him before at Premier Foods, I know first-hand of his extensive experience in building highly efficient supply chain operations and I look forward to him bringing those talents to Treasury Wine Estates,” Clarke said.

Barossa Shiraz wins best new world wine book

Barossa Shiraz: Discovering the tastes of the Barossa’s regions is up for two international awards at the Grapes by the Sea Festival in June.

BAROSSA Shiraz: Discovering the tastes of the Barossa’s regions by Thomas Girgensohn has been announced as the Australian winner of best new world wine book and best wine book at the 2015 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Barossa Shiraz will now compete with winners from other countries in the same category to be crowned ‘best in the world’ at the Grapes by the Sea Festival in China in June 2015. Girgensohn’s book explores the relationship between the flavour of a wine and its origin by investigating the Barossa’s defining grape, Shiraz. Barossa Shiraz divides the Barossa into 11 sub-regions, each with its own terroir, to examine major wineries and their characteristics.

A first in the world of publishing, Girgenshohn said he was inspired to write the book after noticing differences in wine flavour and structure depending on which area in the Barossa it was from. “I tried to find out more about it, but there was nothing written,” Girgenshohn said. “However, when I talked to the winemakers, they all acknowledged such differences so I decided to research it in more detail and the outcome was this book.” Girgenshohn said he chose to focus on Barossa Shiraz because it “is internationally the most important wine region of Australia and Shiraz is the most important grape variety.” Barossa Shiraz was published by Adelaide-based Wakefield Press.

Galafrey Wines named next in line to 2014 Royalty of Riesling crown KIM Tyrer from Galafrey Wines was recently crowned the next in line to the Royalty of Riesling title at a special presentation. The second generation winemaker and Galafrey Wines chief executive said Royalty of Riesling aims to promote and celebrate the Great Southern as a premium Riesling wine growing area. Following its inaugural success last year, Royalty of Riesling was extended in 2014 to include vineyards across the Great Southern. Points received by Great Southern wineries for their Riesling at Qantas Wine Show of WA, Royal Melbourne

8 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Wine Awards, Perth Royal Wine Show, and International Riesling Challenge were tallied up to determine who has the most-awarded Riesling. “We worked hard at Galafrey during 2014, so it was a great feeling that a small producer like us can do so well,” Tyrer said. As Mt Barker Wine Producers Association (MBWPA) president, Tyrer said it felt a bit strange receiving the award, but Galafrey had a very successful year which included receiving a gold medal at the 37th Qantas Wine Show. “As far as Great Southern wine producers winning trophies – we don’t

www.winebiz.com.au

mind who wins, as long as it is someone from the district that will help us to promote it,” Tyrer said. As a friendly way of competing against local wineries, Tyrer said Royalty of Riesling enabled industry members to learn more about what others were doing in the vineyard. “Our aim is to encourage more entries from Great Southern wineries and to continually make the event bigger and better,” Tyrer said. To find out more about this award, and for a complete overview of the Great Southern region, visit www.mountbarkerwine.com.au.

February 2015 – Issue 613

New First Families of Wine chairman ROBERT Hill-Smith, Yalumba’s chief executive officer, has been announced as the new chairman of Australia’s First Families of Wine (AFFW), taking over from Mitchell Taylor. The forth chairman of the initiative, which was founded in 2009, Hill-Smith said he planned to lead AFFW back to the USA and Canada with 13 events already planned. “We will be blazing a trail to put Australian wine back into their drinking repertoire by celebrating our quality, history and diversity,” Hill-Smith said. “Australia’s finest wine has a definite opportunity there and we want to bring it back into fashion and sustain our proposition.” Hill-Smith his first task as chairman was to increase consumer demand for fine wines in Australia and overseas. “Internationally, we are looking to align ourselves with a program of events that will support the recent investment of Wine Australia in the USA and Canada, particularly at the Vancouver Playhouse, and put Australia’s best wines back into the drinking repertoire of all wine enthusiasts,” he said. “The time is right for us to show our commitment to that

Griffith winery changes hands

AFFW NEW CHAIRMAN: Robert Hill-Smith plans to increase the demand of fine wine in North America.

market and be there in person to tell our stories, make a lot of noise and have some fun. We’re going in, firing on all cylinders.”

PRIVATELY owned Southern Estate Wines Australia (SEW) has completed its acquisition of a 20 million litre Griffith winery asset. The Original Cinzano, Cranswick and The Wine Group site has been acquired by SEW to support the growing company and expand bulk wine offerings. Andrew Dal Broi, SEW executive director, said the facility would ramp up production to his global customer base while maintaining a low-cost, efficiently run operation that over delivers on diligent customer service. “We’re fortunate enough to have largely maintained the strong team of people who worked at the winery in Griffith,” Dal Broi said. All of our staff have a long history and experience in the industry from our winemakers through to the key support staff.” Dal Broi has extensive domestic and global wine industry relationships that underpin the strategic purchase of the Griffith winery asset.

The National Wine Industry Supplier Trade Show Wine Industry Suppliers Australia Presents

Tuesday July 14 - Thurs July 16, 2015 Goyder Pavilion, Adelaide Showground, SA

The Australian wine industry’s premier tradeshow will return to Adelaide in a dynamic new format in 2015. WISA will deliver a different experience, targeting those in the industry with a direct operational focus.

Over 50% of Space Booked

The event will showcase leading industry suppliers and be complimented with seminars, workshops, social and networking events. Workshop Titles Include... • Social Media • The Future of Wine Retail • Emerging Markets • War Stories • Wine Tourism • Our Future Generation

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www.winetechaustralia.com.au Space Filling Fast Secure Your Site Today Contact Vicki at Kym Jones Exhibitions P: 08 8297 1688 E: vicki@kjex.com.au or Matthew Moate (WISA Executive Officer) P: 0409 783 221 E: eo@wisa.org.au

February 2015 – Issue 613

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

news

50-year milestone for

bag-in-box The bag-in-box has squeezed a lot out of its first 50 years in the wine industry. From the tricky stages of early development and subsequent achievements in tap technology; to the roaring sales success of the 1980s; through changes in size and packaging to represent a more premium product. Chateau Carboard, this is your life. Nathan Gogoll reports. WHILE the technology wasn’t necessarily a world first (in Europe they were already putting vinegar into a bag inside a box) the idea of getting lots of wine to a consumer in a way that overcame oxidation issues was a big deal for the wine industry. It all started with Thomas William Carlyon (Tom) Angove, the Angove Family Winemakers managing director, in South Australia’s Riverland in the 1960s. Apparently his 18-year-old son, John, told his father nobody would buy wine in a cask, but Tom persisted anyway. “I remember well dad bringing home a prototype of his new idea,” said John Angove, current managing director of the family business. “It was the thought of trying to sell wine in a plastic bag that caught my mind. The word ‘cask’ had not been coined for the package at that stage and dad was always opposed to the use of the word cask in this context. A cask was a wooden vessel for wine. He always referred to it as either soft pack or bagin-box. “He was very determined and saw the brilliance of the airless flow concept and so was not to be side tracked.” John remembers the trials his father carried out. “There was no smart filling equipment for the bags at the time and so he devised a one-gallon header tank that was filled to the exact one-gallon mark and then free run into the bag that was already inside the cardboard box. It was a slow, tedious process. “Early bags were not multi-laminates as they are today and oxygen permeation through the plastic gave the product a short shelf life.

10 Grapegrower & Winemaker

FATHER AND SON: John Angove remembers when his father Tom (inset) carried out his first trials. www.winebiz.com.au

February 2015 – Issue 613

“Dad worked with plastics experts to create laminates to reduce the oxidation factor. “The early concept also did not include a tapping device. The wine was poured from the top with the flexible plastic collapsing onto the surface of the wine in the bag, hence the airless flow. Leaking bags from faulty welding was a never ending problem and a leaking bag at the top of a pallet often caused the whole pallet to be damaged. These problems continued for many years as the technology of the pack slowly improved.” None of the difficulties of development could dent Tom’s determination. It was rewarded with a ‘letter of patent’ in April 1965. “Dad was the first to see the concept for a wine package,” John said. “The original idea was to offer something different to the half-gallon glass flagon. This was a heavy, ungainly and difficult-to-dispose-of unit. He was also keen to get a gallon of wine to the consumer as cheaply as possible, so it had more of a commercial driver than today which is very much more focussed

towards a convenience package. “We were first to market in 1965, and then discontinued in 1972. We then waited until the technology caught up with the needs for wine in such a package and then re-entered the market with our Paddle Wheel brand in 1984. This brand and package has now been discontinued as we focus all our efforts on our premium wine from McLaren Vale and the Riverland in glass.” The package has evolved from these early days, from an great concept with a fair share of problems, to what is now a highly-technical, tapped convenience pack. “There is certainly a degree of pride in what dad did with the idea, and that today the fundamental concept is able to be found in nearly every wine market in the world,” John said. “I suspect that dad would not have foreseen such an outcome to his early tinkering.” The development of the early prototypes took a positive turn thanks to tap technology. Penfolds introduced its ‘Tablecask’ in 1967, which was a plastic bag inside a barrel-shaped keg

that featured a tap designed by Victorianbased inventor Charles Malpas, who had been the Australian agent for an English company with a vinegar container with a similar tap. Ian Hickinbotham, Penfolds’ Victorian manager at the time, worked enthusiastically with Malpas, but the company he worked for chose not to do more with the new packaging options. When wine writer Max Allen interviewed him for The Australian newspaper in 2012, Hickinbotham said “it was a very interesting period for me, but frustrating”. He left the company not long after. When Kim Brebach wrote about Hickinbotham for his Best Wines Under $20 website in 2013, he speculated that Penfolds management was more concerned at the time with dwindling sales of its Royal Reserve Port. “Hard to believe, he couldn’t get anyone there to see the potential of the idea,” Brebach said. That left the door ajar for another significant wine industry identity, David Wynn, who picked up the developments

ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S GREATEST INVENTIONS Before the 1960s, bulk wine was sold to the consumer in half-gallon (two-litre) glass flagons. The flagons broke easily and exposed wine to the air once they were opened, so the Australian wine industry began looking for a better alternative. The credit for inventing the wine cask should be shared amongst a number of contributing wine companies. However, the first to market a cask was Angoves from Renmark in South Australia, led by Tom Angove in 1965. The initial version was a container with a four-litre inner sack that collapsed around the remaining wine as portions were withdrawn. It had a resealable plastic spout, allowing the wine to stay fresh for much longer than bottled wine. The public responded positively to ‘booze in a bag’, which was economical and easy to carry around. The wine cask was further improved in 1967 when Penfolds, in association with Diemoulders, produced the Penfolds Table Cask. The improved version had a resealable tap instead of a spout. Some of the credit for developing the dispensing tap also goes to Wynss, who release their version of the wine cask in 1969. The wine cask allowed people to buy larger quantities of wine at a time, save money on bulk purchase, and transport more wine easily. It introduced wine to a mass market and played a major role in the success of Australia’s wine industry. Snippet from Australia’s Greatest Inventions, by Lynda de Lacey. February 2015 – Issue 613

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news IMPORTANCE TO GROWERS

RIVERLAND GROWERS: Anthoney and Brenton Fenwick.

With four generations of grape growing in his blood, Brenton Fenwick knows a thing or two about the wine industry. Based in South Australia’s Riverland, grapes have been growing on the Fenwick family property for nearly 100 years with Brenton Fenwick carrying on the tradition from his father Anthoney, grandfather Frank and great-grandfather William. His Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz go into making cask wine at one of the local wineries in the region, along with fruit from many neighbours. He says his family is a classic example of how the cask wine industry has a multigenerational storyline. “We grew up with it – mum and dad always had a cask at home; they still do. It’s been a very important part of our family business for years, and that of a lot of the other families in the region,” Mr Fenwick said. “While the cask itself hasn’t changed much over the years, the packaging and the wine certainly has; it probably needs a bit of a freshening up in the marketplace because there would be people who don’t really understand how good some of it is. “I’d be surprised that if you poured some wine out of a cask into a nice looking bottle, whether some people could tell the difference. Changing peoples’ perception and making casks cool again might be a bit of an industry challenge.” With 11 hectares of fruit, “it has been tough going for the industry of late in the current economic climate, some people do look at alternative varieties and have had varying degrees of success but it’s got to be worth your while to grow it,” Mr Fenwick said. “For me, I would have to further manipulate the vines, looking at the inputs like water and fertiliser, and then you’d have to look at the canopy, rootstock and the age and variety of the vines, and hope you have the right mix to make something really special.”

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of Malpas and Hickinbotham. In 1970 he bought the exclusive rights to the ‘Airlesflo’ tap and went to market with it. From there, the wine cask was not just a success story for Wynns Coonawarra Estate it become an Australian icon. The one-gallon package developed into both four and five-litre options and steadily gained popularity, to the point where bag-in-box sales in Australia were greater than bottled wine sales by 1981. In March 1984, Robert Hill Smith took the idea of the two litre premium, varietal cask to the Yalumba board. In an extract from the Yalumba & Its People book, Hill Smith claimed if he goes “to the grave having done many things wrong, [he] can at least have on [his] headstone; R.W. Hill Smith, who introduced the premium two litre varietal cask to Australia”. “The bag-in-the-box, or Chateau Cardboard, had made a big impact on wine consumption in Australia though the late 70s,” Hill Smith explained in Yalumba & Its People. “Yet, at the same time, the philosophy of our directors at the time was not to get involved. “When I took over as marketing manager in 1982 or 3, it became obvious to me that as a shareholder, director and marketing manager we had a huge capital investment that wasn’t being efficiently utilised. “I thought we could work up something that was visually premium, taste premium and priced premium. “So we launched it and, to be frank, we’ve never looked back. “We passed our 12-month projections in four months. It was exciting. So all-inall, it was a very positive entrepreneurial action for our company, and reconnected us with a lot of lapsed users who were no longer drinking Port or Sherry, but wanted to drink good wine.” Today, there are 14 SKUs in the Yalumba cask collection, and other wineries have followed its lead into the two-litre package. The family-owned, Angaston winery maintains a 56% percent market share of this segment and sales have recently been showing positive growth. John Angove said it is interesting to look at the impact of the different size packages. “The larger sized bag-in-box unit has in the past perhaps devalued ‘premium’ wine and the move to smaller sizes I think is a move to counter this image issue with the package,” John said. “The two-litre and possibly the three-litre bag-in-box units may be an alternative to bottled wine, but I think there is still a fairly strong reliance on convenience that keeps the bag in box unit in the market place.” February 2015 – Issue 613

Questions about the future of the bagin-box and how important it will be in the future of the Australian wine industry divides opinion. A few years ago, not long after bottled wine sales climbed back in front of the wine cask sales, Jeni Port wrote with great insight on topic for The Age. “We don’t rely on the four and fivelitre cask the way we once did, although we are still deeply attached to the twolitre bag-in-the-box,” Port wrote. “The cask drove the dramatic rise in white wine consumption in this country during the 1980s. It broadened our minds and it even performed the not insignificant miracle of turning beer drinkers into wine drinkers. But above all, it made wine egalitarian. Everyone could afford a box of fruity moselle. "And to think there were doomsayers in the 80s who worried that we would be stuck in a never-ending loop of cask wine, never stepping off into more expensive, better quality bottled wine. “Well, we did that in 2005 when bottled wine (helped considerably by a flood of cheap cleanskins) outsold cask wine for the first time since 1981. The following year, Foster’s started reducing production of its four and five-litre casks,

If demand was there for quality wine in a cask, then that would be a magnificent thing. Environmentally it is better than bottles. Scandinavians lead by example. They are willing to purchase quality wine in casks and not be blinkered by preconceived ideas. taking a whopping one million litres out of the market. "Back in 1983, the then managing director of Hardy Wines, Wayne Jackson, suggested the cask had been the catalyst and vehicle for rampant price competition, which had led to a rash of wine company takeovers (he counted 32) from the time it had been introduced. "At their height, casks represented nearly 70% of wine sales in Australia. While the essential ingredient in the cask - the grape - rose (and sometimes, fell) in price, producers couldn’t pass price rises on to the consumer for fear of losing market share.” Today, you can buy a four-litre cask of Coolabah Crisp Dry White for $14.99. Port reported that in 1986, a four-litre cask of Coolabah Chablis was $8.20. By way of comparison, a carton of Australian been cost about $15 or $16 in 1986 and you’d

be doing very well to purchase a similar ‘slab’ for less than $40 today, which represents a price jump of 62.5% for beer, compared to a lesser increase of 45% for the cask wine. Port quoted Robert Hill-Smith on the division of the cask wine market. “One is the bulk, generic, price-driven convenience market, and the other is the market we sit firmly in, which is the varietal, bottle-quality, premium-in-price cask, which is often more expensive than buying wine in glass. “Our interest in maintaining our position in the varietal, premium twolitre pack has not diminished.” Port indicated most producers are now concentrating considerable money and effort into bottled wines priced between $10 and $20. “The move goes with the industry’s desire to no longer be riding on the back of cheap, cheery chug-a-lugs,”

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news

CASK HALF FULL: Brett Proud, a Riverland grower, believes the bag-in-box should have a bright future.

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she said. “Australian wine wants to grow up and so does the drinker. “Still, there is a soft place in many a wine drinker’s glass for those soft, fruity wines you pour from a tap. “Personally, I can’t imagine tiring soon of Yalumba’s two-litre Merlot, or Banrock Station’s two-litre Cabernet Merlot for the same price. They have more character and flavour than some others masquerading in bottle. “And then there’s Morris pressingsstyle dry red, the first cask red with real guts. It has a rare loyalty among cask drinkers. “The Morris four-litre pressings-style cask – there’s some Shiraz and a bit of Ruby Cabernet in there – must be close to 18 years old. It’s all grown up to be sure, but I don’t think we’ll be outgrowing it just yet.” An interesting point of view has been put forward by Brett Proud, a third-generation grapegrower from the Riverland who, together with his partner Sandra and his two brothers Andrew and Philip, operates the 150 hectare Sherwood Estates vineyard at Loxton North, producing around 3000 tonnes that end up as both bottled and cask wine. “If demand was there for quality wine in a cask, then that would be a magnificent thing. Environmentally it is better than bottles. Scandinavians lead by example. They are willing to purchase quality wine in casks and not be blinkered by preconceived ideas.” With this sort of thinking, perhaps the 50th birthday is a chance to look toward a bright future, rather than a downhill run to retirement for the bag-in-box.

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Value of Australian wine exports rises “It’s encouraging to see the value of Australian wine exports in positive growth for the first time since 2007 and increasing demand for our premium wines was a major contributing factor to that growth,” Clark said. “We’ve seen rises in wine exports in all premium price segments: the $7.50$9.99 price segment increased by five per cent to 15 million litres and by 15 per cent in the $10.00 and above segment to 17 million litres.” Clarke said the ultra-premium above $50 segment grew 55 per cent, hitting a record $107m. “While the segment only accounts for 0.8 per cent of the total volume, it contributes eight per cent of the total value of bottled export,” he said. Wine exports in the above $10 were at $356 million, just below the record high of $371 million set in September 2007.

Key figures, by region: AUSTRALIAN wine exports recorded growth for the first time since the 2007 global recession, according to the latest Wine Export Approval Report released by the Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA) in January. Australian wine export volume increased by 1.9 per cent to 700 million litres and the total value increased by the same rate to $1.82 billion. Across the past year, Australian wine has been exported to 121 destinations by 1,329 exporters and in contrast to 2013, the majority recorded volume growth. The increase in volume was aided to some degree by the depreciating Australian dollar but a huge Spanish crush in 2013 put downward pressure on bulk wine prices which continued to decline by two per cent to $0.99 per litre. Bulk wine export volumes however increased by eight per cent to 402 million litres. In contrast, the average value of bottled wine exports grew seven per cent to $4.85 per litre, the highest it’s been in a decade and driven by both demand for Australia’s premium wines in North America, Europe, and much of Asia and a decline in bottled exports under five dollars per litre with more wine shipped in bulk containers to be bottled in-market. Andreas Clark, AGWA’s acting chief executive, said the premium price segments saw the strongest growth throughout the year.

February 2015 – Issue 613

UK AND EUROPE The UK remains Australia’s biggest export market by volume dominated by bulk wine exports that are destined for Europe. Total volume increased by 4.5 per cent to 249 million litres. In 2014, Australian wine exports to Europe increased by four per cent to 361 million litres valued at A$581 million. This increase was driven by bulk wine exports, up eight per cent to 294 million litres, while bottled wine exports declined by 11 per cent to 67 million litres. Despite this decline, the average value of bottled wine exports increased by six per cent to $4.25 per litre.

UNITED STATES Two consecutive record domestic harvests have reduced the demand for imported wine in the US. Total Australian wine exports declined by nine per cent to 164 million litres valued at A$423 million. The decline in exports was mostly seen in the lower price segments, a reflection of the large US harvests. Bulk wine exports declined by nine per cent to 54 million litres and bottled wine exports under $2.50 per litre declined by 79 per cent to 3.1 million litres. However growth continued in the higher priced segments for the third consecutive year. The US emergence

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from recession and more buoyant stock markets mean wine consumers may have greater purchasing power to spend more on premium wines, a category that was hit hard during the recession. Exports above $10 per litre increased by three per cent to 1.6 million litres while exports in the A$7.50-$10 segment also increased by three per cent to 2.6 million litres.

CANADA With a relatively small domestic wine industry, Canada relies heavily on imported wines and Australia was a major source of bulk wine for the market increasing by 48 per cent to 31 million litres during 2014. However the average value of Australian bulk wine declined by eight per cent to A$0.82 per litre, likely to be the result of price competition with European and US producers. Bottle exports weakened down three per cent to 30 million litres but average value rose by two per cent to $5.22 per litres.

ASIA The austerity measures introduced by the Chinese Government in late 2012 had the biggest impact on the Chinese imported wine market across the past two years. In 2014 however, total Australian wine exports increased by eight per cent to 40 million litres valued at A$224 million. In volume terms, bottled exports have almost recovered to the levels recorded before the full effects of the austerity measures took hold. The $2.50-$5 segment was the key driver of the turnaround increasing 15 per cent to 20 million litres. More than 90 per cent of Australia’s ultra-premium wine exports (above $50 per litre) were exported to Asia and total exports to Asia (excluding China) increased by seven per cent to 36 million litres valued at $299 million. Average value of exports to Hong Kong grew 43 per cent to $14.57 per litre and exports in the ultra-premium segment grew 127 per cent to $52 million. Exports to Singapore rose 37 per cent to $59 million and exports in the ultrapremium segment grew 123 per cent to $12 million. Malaysia also performed strongly up 33 per cent to $35 million with exports in the ultra-premium segment rising 60 per cent to $10 million.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Records, celebrations and big plans in WA From breaking records to celebrating longevity, Emilie Reynolds takes a look at what’s making news in Western Australia.

Record numbers at Margaret River wine show THE Vintage Cellars Margaret River Wine Show attracted a record number of entries in November, with 739 wines on display. Philip Rich, chairman, and his fellow judges including international guest James Lawther MW praised the high quality of the wines, awarding 447 medals with 57 gold, 102 silver and 288 bronze. Representing Margaret River wines’ commitment to quality, over 60 per cent of all entries were awarded a medal, including 99 per cent of all commercial exhibitors. Deep Woods won best red wine of show with their 2012 ‘Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon, while Vasse Felix’s 2013 Heytesbury Chardonnay topped the class of best white. Julian Langworthy, Deep Woods Estate chief winemaker, said local recognition for his winery’s successful red was particularly rewarding.

“The Margaret River Wine Show is the most gratifying — being judged along with all our peers,” he said. The award for most successful exhibitor went to Evans &Tate and Voyager Estate nabbed the international judge’s award with their 2013 Project 95 Chardonnay. Philip Rich said while the wine industry and consumers would focus on the high number of golds awarded to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet blends and Chardonnay, the classes were so impressive that he suggests also trying the silver medal wines in these categories. “This year we were also very impressed with the Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blends ranging from lighter, fruit driven unwooded styles to the richer and still well balanced barrel fermented wines that certain producers are making,” Rich said. “These varieties and blends scored well achieving 11 Gold medals.”

Rich said the 2012 and 2013 vintages were very strong across the board and 2014 was “well placed as another terrific vintage”. “I look forward to seeing more of them next year when I return for my third and final year as Chair,” Rich said. Edward Tomlinson, wine show chairman, said the show was a logistical triumph with a record number of entries. “We reintroduced the non-judging role of chairman of judges to Philip Rich and in a further effort to foster judges from the local wine industry added two additional associates to the judging team,” Tomlinson said. “The top wines they teased out over the two days of judging would hold their own in any company.” All results from the 2014 Vintage Cellars Margaret River Wine Show are available from the Association’s website www.margaretriverwine.info.

Swan Valley celebrates 180 years of winemaking THE Swan Valley celebrated its 180 year anniversary of winemaking in 2014, making the region the oldest in Western Australia and second oldest in Australia. The Swan Valley and Regional Winemakers Association commissioned author and journalist Mike Zekulich to write a book on the history of the region, focussing on the people, pioneers and families who created ‘the spirit of the swan’. With the first commercial vintage released in 1834 by Thomas Waters of Olive Farm, the Swan Valley is characterised by many family owned wineries, each with its own interesting story. Spirit of the Swan – 180 Years of Winemaking in the Swan Valley is a

coffee table style book of 124 pages and recounts of the lives and backgrounds of the people who have contributed to the valley over 180 years. The book includes historic photographs of the Swan Valley and the people who have shaped the past and continue to shape it today. Duncan Harris, president of the Swan Valley and Regional Winemakers Association, said the future remains bright for wine producers in the Swan Valley. “Winemakers are planting some new wine grape varieties and seeking new markets both within Western Australia and overseas,” Harris said. “We are excited about the future of the Swan Valley, and the world class

The Swan Valley celebrated their 180th year of winemaking.

wines that are produced, we are looking forward to the next 180 years of fine wine production.”

Barton Jones Wines eco-friendly cellar door AFTER more than three years in the making, Barton Jones Wines has announced their new cellar door, located in the heart of the Geographe region, will open next month. Largely built by owners Jackie Barton and Adrian Jones, the new food and wine facility has been constructed using

16 Grapegrower & Winemaker

natural and recycled materials including more than 300 locally grown straw bales and more than 19 tonnes of natural lime render. “We have been building the Barton Jones cellar door over the past three years, doing much of the work either ourselves, or with the help of local contractors, the www.winebiz.com.au

aim being to create a really unique and natural environment to showcase wine,” said Barton. “The aim has been to provide a building which is sympathetic to the environment and a quality venue for the community to showcase local produce, art and events in addition to learning February 2015 – Issue 613

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Barton Jones Wine launch new eco-friendly cellar door in the heart of Geographe.

about regional wine styles,” Barton said. As well as being used as a venue

for small weddings and private events, Barton and Jones plan to host a number of

food and wine based events throughout the year with a strong focus on locally sourced produce to complement their range of wines. “We are so excited to finally open the doors later this year,” said Barton. “We are really pleased with how the building is shaping up and we already have some bookings in the diary for 2015,” Barton said. Owners of their Donnybrook property since 1999, Barton and Jones have been producing wines at their 36-year-old boutique vineyard for the past 10 years. “We are not just hoping to provide a space for tourists and locals to enjoy local wine and produce, but to attract new guests to the region through hosting events.”

WA release 10-year strategic plan THE WA wine industry released a 2014-2024 Strategic Plan which outlined specific focus areas and initiatives to ensure success. The document was a culmination of a seven month collaboration between regional associations, Wines of WA, Perth NRM, WA’s Department of Agriculture and Food and the Grape and Wine

Research and Development Corporation (now AGWA). Nigel Gallop, Reference Group chair, said the strategic review has been “a highly constructive process of engagement with the industry in shaping our future.” Outlining 10 strategic focus areas, the plan was broadly grouped into four

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themes including industry structure and funding; market demand and consumer engagement; research, development and extension; and regulation and social responsibility. Gallop also mentioned the importance of the export market to Western Australian wine producers. “All roads lead to Asia," he said.

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FEBRUARY 2015

Rootstock research: increasing productivity and profitability of delivering impressive returns. “This rootstock analysis demonstrates the valuable role R&D plays and should give levy payers confidence in the value of their levy investments,” Minister Joyce said. “It’s important to measure the outcomes of R&D investment to ensure levy payers and our grape and wine sector realise tangible benefits, such as increased profitability and productivity. Every dollar invested in winegrape rootstock-related research generates $11 in return to users of rootstocks across the Australian wine industry according to an independent assessment commissioned by the Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA). An independent cost–benefit analysis (CBA) of 26 research projects found the major benefits of rootstock use include improved resilience against soil-borne pests including phylloxera and nematodes, improved water-use efficiency, reduced potassium and salt uptake, and enhanced vineyard establishment and production. In a media release, Minister for Agriculture, The Hon. Barnaby Joyce MP, said research and development (R&D) in Australia’s rural sector had a long history

“Across the country, about 31 per cent of our grapes are planted on rootstocks, with the top three varieties being Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Further uptake of the research could deliver substantial benefits to many of our wine grape growers. “Together with the Australian Government, AGWA is focused on increasing demand, capability and competiveness in Australia’s $3.4 billion wine sector,” Minister Joyce said. The 26 research projects previously funded by AGWA, through sector levies and matching contributions from the Australian Government, represent an investment of $19 million in present value terms.

profitability of more than $260 million by 2040 to grape growers who use rootstocks, AGWA’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Andreas Clark said. “Previous R&D in this area has developed several new, commercially available rootstocks and has helped us compile detailed information on other rootstocks available in Australia,” Mr Clark said. Vineyard Manager at Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Ben Harris, said rootstocks play an important role in his vineyard. “Rootstocks provide improved biosecurity from potential infestation, optimise wine quality and canopy balance, as well as manage different soil depth and type. “With climate variation in mind, we’re trialling many rootstock combinations aimed at providing not only high-quality grapes, but also drought tolerance, flexibility in growing season length and ripening diversity,” Mr Harris said. The analysis was undertaken by an independent agricultural and resource economic analyst. For more information on rootstock use visit research.agwa.net.au.

It’s estimated they’ll deliver additional

Australian Grape and Wine Authority, Industry House cnr Botanic & Hackney Roads Adelaide SA 5000 PO Box 2733 Kent Town SA 5071 | T: 08 8228 2000 | F: 08 8228 2066 | E: research@agwa.net.au | W: research.agwa.net.au

Researcher in focus: Cory Black Cory Black can be forgiven if wine science wasn’t the only thing getting him excited last month. After four years learning the craft of cricket umpiring (a field many would consider more baffling than his day job as a synthetic chemist) he was appointed to stand in his first two matches on the hallowed turf of Adelaide Oval. Cricket has been a lifelong passion and one he badly missed during two years of postdoctoral research in Europe following PhD studies (in supramolecular chemistry synthesising novel coordination polymers) at the University of Otago in his native New Zealand.

commercially available starting materials, a skill that has transferred to my role at the AWRI for producing compounds present in grapes and wine.” Promoted to Research Scientist in 2011, Cory’s primary responsibility is the preparation of character impact compounds found in wine that provide flavour, aroma or texture. These are often the starting points for projects that require pure analytical standards to identify and quantify compounds in grapes and wine.

Wine is a more recent interest, however, and Cory admits he hadn’t given it more than a passing thought until the AWRI advertised for a new postdoctoral research fellow in early 2010.

Synthesising these compounds, which generally are not available through chemical supply companies, is also important for studies looking at how compounds form or change during winemaking and in bottle, and for assessing the sensory significance of compounds identified in wine.

“My wife and I were looking to move back closer to home to start a family, and Adelaide appealed in this regard,” he said.

Recently he’s also been increasingly involved with the analytical and sensory side of flavour chemistry via a project focusing on in-mouth flavour release.

“It was only when I started working in the area that I began to appreciate the complexity of wine science and to enjoy the resultant challenges.

The volatile compounds that impart desirable fruity and floral characteristics in wine are often also present as nonvolatile precursors that slowly break down with age.

“By surrounding myself with wine experts at the AWRI I’ve also been able to develop my own palate to the point where I’m now on the Quality Tasting Panel. This helps further my knowledge of wine, which I then apply to my research.” His previous research in areas as esoteric as metallo-supramolecular chemistry and metal-organic frameworks also proved surprisingly relevant. “Throughout my study and postdoctoral research I needed to synthesise numerous organic compounds, many of which are not present in nature,” he said. “Although this may seem miles away from anything wine related, it required the ability to build molecules from

“It was only when I started working in the area that I began to appreciate the complexity of wine science...” However these same precursors can be broken down in our mouths through the action of enzymes present in saliva, thereby releasing the volatile compound from a sugar or amino acid, resulting in an aroma that can be detected by our noses through retronasal perception.

Cory Black.

which compounds are present in high enough levels to be perceived, as well as determining which enzymes are responsible and why some people can detect this release while others can’t.” Cory says there’s still much we don’t understand about how wine flavour and aroma compounds work in combination with each other, and he believes it’s an area ripe for further exploration. He also has a scientist’s interest in wine faults and taints.

“We’ve recently demonstrated this with both isolated extracts from wine as well as synthesised precursors,” Cory said.

“We now have a good understanding of which compounds are responsible for most undesirable aromas but as yet there isn’t a satisfactory solution for amelioration of a finished wine without negatively impacting on the more positive attributes,” he said.

“It’s an exciting area of study, very much in its infancy in wine research, and we’re still working on finding out

“I believe there’s potential for more research in this area, which could result in significant savings for the sector.”

Innovative winemaking technologies improve process Early results from a project investigating novel red wine maceration processes are looking to deliver promising results to the Australian wine sector. The project, coordinated by the Tasmanian Institute for Agriculture (TIA) and titled, Improved red wine process efficiency and product quality through enhanced phenolic extraction by Controlled Phenolic Release (CPR) and ACE maceration, is funded by the Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA). Project leaders, Dr Anna Carew and Angela Sparrow from TIA are excited by the results from the first year of the three year research project. Ace Maceration Accentuated Cut Edges (ACE) maceration is a technique where grape skins are cut into small pieces, increasing the length of broken skin edges from each grape berry. “Following this process, phenolic pigments (colour) and tannins leak from the broken skin cells of the grape and enter the fermenting wine more rapidly and efficiently than with the conventional method of crushing red wine grape, which simply splits open the berry,” Angela said. The skin cutting technology was initiated at TIA in 2011 during Angela’s PhD candidature, extending the work to include semi-commercial trials in 2013. “At a blind tasting the wines were assessed by the winemakers involved and ACE maceration was found to improve overall wine quality by an average of 35 per cent.” In 2014, cap management options for ACE wines were examined aiming to eliminate daily plunging of the cap and reduce the tank space required for fermentation. “ACE ferments were pressed off the pomace cap early and fermentation was completed as for white wine. “We were delighted to find that Pinot Noir ‘ACE’ wines pressed off early had greater floral and fruit aromas, and we

attribute this to the retention of volatile compounds in the enclosed fermentation chamber”.

understand how sensitive the system is and if different process parameters are more effective.”

Together with industry collaborators, a commercial cutting device has been developed and will be trialled at four commercial wineries during vintage 2015.

While Dr Carew concedes there is a lot more research needed on the sensory quality of wines from higher temperature extraction with CPR, she can see possibilities for greater winemaker control in the winery.

“The simplicity of the application has been well received by winemakers, as the ACE device can be incorporated into commercial systems without modifying existing wine-making equipment”. Controlled Phenolic Release A second processing technology under investigation by TIA involves thermal processing of crushed and destemmed grape must by microwave heating, followed by managed hold time for rapid and effective phenolic extraction. This Controlled Phenolic Release (CPR) was originally developed with a peak must temperature of 70°C and 1 hour hold time. TIA Research Fellow, Dr Anna Carew explains “we were reluctant to vary from 70°C as it is high enough to break plant cell walls and inactivate most polyphenolic oxidases, and lower than the temperature where some tannins start to degrade. “However, it’s pretty important for us to

“Our research shows two different ways of reaching the tannin ‘sweetspot’ for Pinot Noir of around 1.5 g/L. You could either apply CPR at 80°C and hold for a half hour, or at a lower temperature you would need around 2 hours hold time.” Industry Support Throughout the process, the TIA team have been well supported by industry collaborators in Tasmania and Victoria. A/Prof Dugald Close, TIA Deputy Director, has seen a positive reception in Tasmania and said “winemaking research has to be at the front edge, we really won’t see breakthroughs unless researchers are prepared to try things that are very novel. “Our industry collaborators in this research provide critical support in terms of fruit and winery access, talking with our researchers about what is practical and putting their palates on the line to taste the wines TIA researchers produce.”

Future Leaders returns in 2015: Be Next leadership potential. Over the past ten years, the program has produced 75 alumni from the grape and wine community. People with the skills to ‘be next’ and contribute to the future success of the Australian wine community are invited to apply for Future Leaders 2015, the grape and wine sector’s leadership development program. Funded by the sector and coordinated by the Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA), Future Leaders will be offered to 15 applicants with open, creative, inquisitive minds who are earlyto mid-career and already demonstrating

The succesful applicants will commence a six-month program in June, including four face-to-face sessions across the country. Applications close Friday 13 March 2015. Future Leaders is supported by AGWA, Wine Grape Growers Australia and the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia. For more information visit www.futureleaders15.com.

Wine awareness growing in China Wine awareness in China continues to grow at a rapid rate and Australia must ensure it positions itself as a premium rather than commercial producer.

expected level of repurchase, suggesting that consumers who try Australian wine like it and buy it again. The research showed that having tried a wine previously is the most important element driving the choice of wine on-premise, followed by wine and food matching and the recommendation of a dining companion. Waiters or sommeliers have negligible impact.

This is the key finding from Wave 3 of the AGWA-funded China Wine Barometer project, recently completed by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science at the University of South Australia. Investigators Dr Armando Maria Corsi, Professor Larry Lockshin and Dr Justin Cohen report a noticeable increase in consumer awareness in wine in little more than a year since the completion of Wave 1. “Chinese consumers have more ideas about wine now compared to a year ago,” Dr Corsi said. “Even the commercial perception is going up, but not as much as the premium, and that is important.

aware of their own industry.” For the second time Ningxia, which is considered China’s premium wine producing region, was included in the research, and this time it exceeded Bordeaux in terms of consumer awareness.

“In terms of how Australia is perceived, in the first wave we probably would have said we were on the border between premium and commercial, but last year there was a slight increase in terms of the premium, which is a good sign.”

“China doesn’t yet have a high premium perception. Most people know it makes more commercial wines, but they do recognise wine is made in their country. It’s something we have to consider for the future because it’s not just about competing with other imports.”

Dr Corsi notes, however, that other nations are in a similar boat and it’s important for Australia to communicate the right messages and to stay away from price-based promotions.

Sicily, Provence, Burgundy and Loire all showed marked growth in terms of consumer awareness, with Bordeaux, Barossa Valley and Napa Valley declining.

“We also cannot ignore the fact that demand for imported wine is falling (though Australia’s decline is modest compared with Old World producers) and the Chinese are becoming more

Positively, Australian wine is recognised as fashionable, easy to drink and palatable, with red wines available in popular varieties. Australia is also securing a higher than

Dr Corsi said growing consumer interest highlighted the need to expand sales and marketing efforts beyond fine dining restaurants and to look at the potential in Tier 2 cities such as Chengdu, Shenyang, Wuhan, Hangzhou, and Chongqing, rather than just the obvious targets of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. “I wouldn’t say Tier 1 cities are saturated but they are more consolidated, so trying to break through and change perceptions about what is good wine and who makes it can be quite hard,” he said. “Focusing on Tier 2 or even Tier 3 cities means moving into newer territory where wineries have the chance to write the book of what makes a good wine and set expectations for future consumption.” The full report of Wave 3 will be released in the near future. Wave 3 built on Wave 1, and includes specific findings about on-premise purchases. The investigators recently completed data collection for Wave 4, which (like Wave 2) has a similar focus on offpremise purchases.

Final reports now available: 2XE 1302

A simple guide to LEAN for the wine industry

NWG 1201

Assessment of Fungal Rots of Grapes and their impacts on Wine Quality

USA 1201

Understanding Chinese sensory preferences for varied wine styles and the language used to describe them

UA 0903

Mapping the influencers along the wine industry supply chain

GWR 1308

Cost benefit analysis of winegrape research, development and extension

Travel reports are also available on the AGWA R&D website: research.agwa.net.au

grapegrowing

The alternative path isn’t always easy street Jumping on the bandwagon when new varieties are introduced into Australia can cause headaches in the vineyard if you don’t do your homework. Nathan Gogoll did a little bit of digging after hearing some juicy rumours on the grapevine. NERO d’Avola is popular with sommeliers because they can put on their sexiest Sicilian accent and have some fun when they serve it. The variety was also a huge hit at the 2014 Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show (AAVWS), where it made an impact on Jancis Robinson’s Italian correspondent Walter Speller. The judges comments from the AAVWS did little to quell the excitement for the variety. “Every wine in the class looked like Nero d’Avola, considering the first commercial wine available in Australia was 2009. Nero d’Avola is getting a lot of interest from grapegrowers and winemakers, justifiably so, as it seems to suit various Australian regions. Watch this space.” Kim Chalmers, director of her family’s Chalmers Wines, got to evaluate that bracket of wines. “I judged that class and they all looked varietal and I know Walter Speller, the International Judge at the show, was really impressed”. Yet for all the enthusiasm for the final product, there are some murmurs that it frustrates vineyard managers. There have been reports of failed top-working from one big company in a premium region along with the occasional story of poor fruit set and even vine deaths just a couple of seasons after they were planted. However, those who might be facing inconsistent results with this variety weren’t as forthcoming with information as those who’ve found no issues. Brad Hickey, the man from Chicago who has found himself growing grapes and making wine in McLaren Vale for his Brash Higgins label was happy to share his good news.

“I walk through the vineyard every day and see no issues at all,” Hickey said. “It is a really heavy producer, so we drop about a third of the fruit to achieve the style of wine we want, medium-bodied. It is a very Sicilian-style climate we’ve got down here in McLaren Vale.” The similarities to the native terroir might give McLaren Vale an advantage over other Australian regions. It’s certainly working well for Hickey, who has three acres of the stuff, one patch that was established in 2009. The fourth vintage of the Brash Higgins Nero d’Avola (from 2014) was bottled in December. “We’ve been fortunate, but we’ve heard about viruses being a problem,” Hickey said. “Obviously, we did our homework, including compatibility tests with the Shiraz that we grafted on to. “It is the same as any horticulture, you have got to look at what the climate is like. Nero doesn’t need much water and doesn’t buckle under heat. The ease we’ve had, makes us think we’ve got it right here in McLaren Vale. “It is sad to hear there might have been some problems, so we will keep watching very closely.” Tracing the history of the variety in Australia does reveal it hasn’t just been a matter of controlling the crop level to make great wine. Kim Chalmers actually knows a fair bit of the story, because it was her family who originally brought it to Australia in 1998 and waited for it to be released from quarantine in 2001. “It came out of quarantine late because it was hard to propagate,” Chalmers said.

At a glance: What is Nero d’Avola? This variety is one of several from Southern Italy that are of interest to winemakers in warm to hot conditions. As more grapegrowers and winemakers become concerned about climate change they are increasingly looking for wine varieties from Southern Italian Regions rather than the cooler North. Nero d’Avola is favoured in warmer climates for two reasons. Firstly as a late ripening variety the critical last month of maturation is more likely to be after the hottest part of summer. Steady ripening in this last few weeks of the growing season is a major factor in wine quality.

22 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Secondly the variety seems to be less susceptible to berry damage during heat waves. I believe this variety has a huge future in Australia. It is suitable for most of the warmer areas of this country and will quickly break out from its current habitat of mainly McLaren Vale in South Australia. A possible limitation of the variety is its susceptibility to fungal diseases so that it may not do well in regions where there is rain at harvest time. Notes from Darby Higgs, www.vinodiversity.com

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February 2015 – Issue 613

We have it grafted to Ruggeri at Barmera on some heavier soil, we also do some organically on a sandy ridge, and we have no problems whatsoever with it. We are pretty happy with how it all looks. “But came through the virus tests clean.” Chalmers said her father, Bruce, who is a renowned nurseryman, would have never recommended Nero d’Avola for top-working “because of the issues he had with grafting and propagating”. However, experiments and patience have prevailed. Ashley Ratcliff, from the Riverland’s Ricca Terra Farms, said he has worked with the variety for eight years and has used a lot of trial and error to learn how to successfully manage Nero d’Avola. “We’ve learned a lot by experimenting and that’s how we found out which rootstocks worked best,” Ratcliff said. “We have it grafted to Ruggeri at Barmera on some heavier soil, we also do some organically on a sandy ridge, and we have no problems whatsoever with it. We are pretty happy with how it all looks.” There is now more than 50 tonnes of Nero d'Avola being grown in the Riverland, including some from the earliest plantings in South Australia. And Ratcliff doesn't want to let the McLaren Vale mob let you think they've got the only ideal place to grow it. “The biggest challenge is to try and hold it back,” Ratcliff said, although extreme heat can also burn the fruit. February 2015 – Issue 613

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

grapegrowing At a glance: More about Nero d’Avola Synonym: Calabrese, Calabrese Nero, Calabrese d’Avola, Calabrese Dolce, Calabrese Pizzutello, Calabrese Pizzuto;

Bunch: medium, of pyramidal form, short and stumpy or long, winged, semi-compact;

Commonly mistaken for: Sangiovese;

Berry: Medium dimensions, ovate; thick skin of uniform dark-blue colour, covered by high bloom;

Origin: Its commonest synonym is Calabrese, which suggest its cultivation in the Calabria region (South Italy), but historically there is no proof of its presence in this region, in fact the origins of this variety are uncertain. Nero d’Avola is one of the best red grapevine varieties in Sicily. This variety is cultivated only in Sicily, around the provinces of Trapani, Agrigento and Palermo; Agronomic and environmental aspects: The production is good and consistent. This variety typically grows in hot climates, prefers sandy and hilly soils and can give good results in dry and low-medium fertile soils. In Italy traditional ‘bush-vine’ training systems are used, also the VSP training systems, such as the double or single cordon with 1 or 2 buds per spur. It needs shoot thinning during the growing season to balance the canopy; Diseases, pests and disorders: Susceptible to powdery mildew; medium resistant to the others pests; Growing Tip: half-open, cottony, of whitish green colour; Leaf: medium size of blade, pentagonal shape, three-lobed. Has a U or V shaped petiolar sinus, superior side sinuses are U shaped, but not very deep. The profile is undulating, with revolute edges;

“We can’t grow it the same way as we treat other varieties in the Riverland and, for example, it gets no water between flowering and veraison. This year we will plant some on its own roots and see how they perform and see if it’s another way we can control it.” Yet, more recent testing has shown Nero d’Avola isn’t as clean as the virus tests from the quarantine period suggested. “We suspect they were there in the background and the less-advanced testing almost 14 years ago missed them. But we don’t know if it could have contracted the viruses since being released,” Kim said. “And we’ll never know, because the original source block is gone.” Another complicating element of the Nero d’Avola story in Australia has been propagation which has by-passed the requirement to pay royalties for proprietary clones. Some growers suspect cuttings have been collected from their vines in secret night-time raids. “I guess it’s part of the problem when people ‘jump on the bandwagon’,” Kim said. “When dad was running the nursery he had his experience that he could hand on to anybody who wanted to plant out a vineyard, he understood the issues Nero d’Avola has and was always willing to give people all his advice.” The commercial Chalmers Nero d’Avola vineyards are located in Heathcote, Victoria, on east facing slopes that range from 150

24 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Vegetation growth habit: Erect; Vigour: High; Average bunch weight: Medium-large (180-450g); Average bunches per shoot: One or two; Available Clones: MAT 1, selected by Matura Group, Italy; Wine characteristics: Nero d’Avola can be used to make a wide range of styles – base wine for blending, rosé wine and fullbodied wine; the last one is generally the best wine style for this variety, characterised by a very intense cherry red colour, with an intense bouquet of spices, hazelnut, raspberry, with good tannins and well-balanced; it develops very well with barrel ageing. The wine is also dry, alcoholic, with a good body and acidity. In Italy it is used to blend or can be bottled as a stand-alone varietal. (information from the Chalmers Nursery, no longer trading)

to 225 metres in elevation (there are much smaller plantings in the Merbein vineyards, near Mildura, as well). “We’ve got one patch in a hard site where it’s on the top of a hill and we’ve seen it have more struggles and some bunch inconsistency, but we’ve learned not to push it as hard there, we keep the potassium up, spur prune it and have a different irrigation plan,” Chalmers said. “Then we’ve also got it growing in beautiful sandy soils where it gets plenty of sunshine and it’s happy. “With Nero, you need to do rigorous homework. “We’ve been able to turn around one site, we’ve persisted and we’ve now got really healthy wines and making great wines. “I know Coriole have managed to overcome some issues with straggly vines and it’s all part of a really positive story.” Ratcliff doesn’t shy away from the fact Nero d'Avola is not the easiest variety to grow, and he's pretty sure this would have fuelled the negative rumours, but he says it’s far from impossible. “Any variety can be hard to get good results from, especially if you don’t choose the right site and you don’t put some thought into it,” Ratcliff said. “I’ve also heard about some problems with top-working, but I don’t think it’s a problem with the variety, if you put it onto something dirty you will have trouble and that applies to any variety.”

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February 2015 – Issue 613

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grapegrowing

Economic impact of eutypa dieback The economic impact of yield reduction and shortened vineyard life, as well as the benefits of two management options for Northern California, has been investigated by Michael J. Sipiora and Steven Cuellar. Their report, recently published by Wine Business Monthly in the US (used with permission), contains valuable information for Australian growers who want to evaluate the costs of eutypa dieback. EUTYPA dieback is a serious grapevine trunk disease and is a major concern wherever Cabernet Sauvignon is cultivated. The economic impact can be severe, and in this study its impact on Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Napa Valley was approximated. In this study, a net present value approach (NPV) was used over a 25-year vineyard lifespan. The economic impact of yield reduction and shortened vineyard life, as well as the benefits of two management options (active management and retraining), was determined. If the disease is not controlled, the economic impact is estimated to be more than $16,000 per acre. Replanting a vineyard after 20 years, due to large incidence (greater than 40 per cent infection) results in a loss of more than $20,000 per acre. Given that the presence of eutypa and other trunk diseases is ubiquitous in Napa, vineyard managers must actively adopt management practices and apply fungicides to protect vineyards. Active management (AM) results in

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26 Grapegrower & Winemaker

THE RESEARCHES: Michael Sipiora has more than 20 years of experience in the wine industry as a viticulturist, vineyard manager, oenologist and researcher. He has extensive international experience, having worked in California, Spain and Chile. He is currently the regional viticulturist at Treasury Wine Estates in Napa. Steven Cuellar is professor and chair of the department of economics at Sonoma State University and senior research economist at Sonoma Research Associates.

The best management strategy appears to be to actively manage the disease, even with increased annual expenses, since it results in improved return on initial investment. a loss of more than $4,300 per acre or 15 per cent of NPV if this cultivar is not susceptible to the disease. Another management option, retraining of suckers on infected vines after 18 years of production, will result in a loss of more than $5,800 per acre. Grape prices would have to be increased from three to 19 per cent in order to offset losses due to eutypa. The results show that the most significant effect that eutypa may have on vineyards is a shortened vineyard lifespan. The winegrape industry in Northern California is an important sector of the economy. This is especially true for Napa County where the winegrape industry is the centre of the local economy. The most important grape variety planted in Napa County is Cabernet Sauvignon. It is the most widely-planted variety in the county, with 19,079 bearing acres as of 2012 (Table 1), which represent more than 50 per cent of the total vine acreage in the county. The estimated farmgate value of this variety in Napa County was more than $361,000,000 in 2012. Wherever Cabernet Sauvignon is grown, from Australia to South Africa, viticulturists have reported considerable www.winebiz.com.au

economic losses due to eutypa dieback disease, which is caused by a fungal pathogen which infects pruning wounds and later causes dieback of cordons and the trunk (Siebert, 2001; Van Niekirk et al. 2003). This varietal is considered to be highly-susceptible to the disease, and losses can be significant. The purpose of this study was to estimate the potential economic losses due to this disease for Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Napa County. A recent study of the impact of grapevine leafroll disease on Cabernet Franc vines in the Finger Lakes region of New York employed a net present value (NPV) approach to determine economic losses over the lifespan of a vineyard infected or not by disease (Attalah et al. 2012). The same approach was adopted for this study. This approach is useful to determine the economic impact of eutypa due to reduced production and shortened lifespan of vineyards.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The production and cost assumptions used for the models were taken from a recent publication by the University of California Cooperative Extension on the cost to establish and produce Cabernet in Napa County (Cooper et al., 2012). February 2015 – Issue 613

Table 1. Napa County Cabernet Sauvignon crop statistics for years 2002 to 2012 Tons Harvested

Year

Bearing Acres

Average Tons/Acre

Weight Avg Grower Returns Avg Price

Average Revenue/ Acre

Crop Value Napa County $361,638,200

2012

71,470

19,079

3.75

$5,060

$18,955

2011

50,847

18,849

2.70

$4,660

$12,571

$236,947,020

2010

55,752

18,426

3.03

$4,453

$13,474

$248,263,656

2009

55,537

18,219

3.05

$4,773

$14,550

$265,078,101

2008

43,527

18,122

2.40

$4,780

$11,481

$208,059,060

2007

58,405

17,993

3.25

$4,302

$13,964

$251,258,310

2006

56,247

17,709

3.18

$4,126

$13,105

$232,075,122

2005

69,326

17,008

4.08

$3,970

$16,182

$275,224,220 $167,335,980

2004

42,385

15,917

2.66

$3,948

$10,513

2003

49,624

14,573

3.41

$4,011

$13,658

$199,041,864

2002

40,647

12,981

3.13

$4,020

$12,588

$163,400,940

Avg

53,979

17,171

3.15

$4,373

$13,731

$237,120,225

Compiled from Napa County Crop Reports (2002 - 2012) Table 2. Cost, production, revenue and financial assumptions for models. PRODUCTION1 Planting density

7x4

Vine training

Bilateral cordon, spur pruning

Trellis

VSP

COST1 Planting cost (per acre)

$37,347

Annual production cost (per acre)

$5,659

REVENUE

Grape price (per ton)

$5,000

Average yield (tons per acre)

3.00

FINANCIAL

1 2 3

Discount Rate

7.37%

Vineyard Life Cycle

25 years

Production and cost assumptions from Cooper et. al., (2012). Revenue assumptions taken from Table 1. Financial assumptions from Attalah et. al., (2012).

The total cost to establish a Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard over a three-year period is more than $37,000 per acre, and the annual operating cost used for this study is more than $5,500 per acre. The annual revenue generated was calculated using a yield of three tonnes per acre, which is the average yield per acre for Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Napa between 2002 and 2011 (Table 1) and the weighted average price for Cabernet Sauvignon in 2012 of $5,000, taken from the Napa County Grape Report for 2012. The financial assumptions used for the models were the same as those used by Attalah et al. (2012) in their study on the effects of leafroll disease on Cabernet Franc grown in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The lifespan of the vineyard was 25 years, and the discount rate used to calculate net present value (NPV) was 7.37 percent (Table 2). The basic models for the effects of eutypa dieback for susceptible varieties, like Cabernet Sauvignon (no control), and non-susceptible varieties, like Merlot (healthy), on vineyard production versus vineyard age were taken from a previous study by Munkvold et al. (1994). The yield-per-acre data was normalised as a percentage of maximum, which was considered to be three tonnes per acre (Figure 1). In addition, the effects of three different management scenarios – active management, retrain and early replant – on NPV were determined. In the active management scenario (AM), annual costs were increased by five per cent due to different pruning practices (Gu et al., 2005, Weber et al., 2007), and additional fungicide

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grapegrowing

Year-by-year vineyard yield as a percentage of maximum (three tonnes per acre) for each of the five management scenarios.

Table 3. Net present value of different scenarios (per acre) Healthy

No Control

Early Replant

Retrain

Active Management

$36,108

$20,046

$15,416

$30,229

$31,781

$(16,062)

$(20,692)

$(5,879)

$(4,327)

-44%

-57%

-16%

-12%

$(306,446,898)

$(394,782,668)

$(112,165,441)

$(82,554,833)

NPV

Loss

Percent Loss

Regional Loss (25 yrs.) $19,079

Results 1. All positive NPV, so it is a good investment even with presence of Eutypa 2. Active Management (additional 5% annual costs) is best option 3. Early replanting (20 years) is worst scenario; it is important to get 25 years out of vineyard 4. No control will still provide positive NPV, eventhough production declines markedly 5. Retraining vines will extend life of vineyar, and reduce losses significantly if done well 6. Potential huge economic impact on regional level

application and control were considered to be 90 per cent effective. The second management option, named retraining (RT), involved retraining trunk and cordons from sucker left on trunk (Photo 1); retraining increased annual operational costs by 10 per cent for two years for cutting and removing infected trunks and cordons and retraining suckers, plus it resulted in slight production loss during retraining (Figure 1). In the replant scenario (RP), the vineyard was removed, after 20 years of production, when annual production was 40 per cent lower than the maximum of three tonnes per acre, and the vineyard was replanted the following year.

28 Grapegrower & Winemaker

RESULTS All scenarios, even no control of eutypa, have a positive NPV, demonstrating the good return on investment of planting Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa County (Table 3). If Cabernet Sauvignon were resistant to this disease, like several other varieties, then NPV would be more than $36,000 per acre. However, Cabernet Sauvignon is susceptible to the disease, and no control would result in a 44 per cent loss of investment or more than $16,000 per acre. Furthermore, if growers opt to replant in 20 years instead of 25 years due to eutypa infections, reducing yield by 40

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percent, then NPV would be reduced by 57 percent. Clearly, the largest potential economic impact of Eutypa is shortened vineyard lifespan. Growers can choose to actively manage the disease by altering their pruning method, delaying pruning and applying fungicide or pruning wound treatment. If these vineyard practices increased annual operating costs by five per cent and resulted in 90 per cent efficacy, then the economic loss would be reduced considerably, and NPV would be more than $31,000 per acre (Table 3). Growers also have the option of not actively managing the disease annually and retraining infected vines when they are about 16 years old. This practice increases annual costs by 10 per cent for approximately two years, with accompanying yield losses; however, since yields return to near maximum shortly thereafter and vineyard lifespan is maintained to the end of the 25-year lifespan, then NPV is more than $30,000, which represents a 16 per cent loss compared to a nonsusceptible variety. The best management strategy appears to be actively managing the disease, even with increased annual expenses, since it results in improved return on initial investment. On a regional scale, the economic impact of eutypa dieback is quite significant. The economic loss to growers of having to actively manage the disease is estimated to be more than $82,500,000 across the next 25 years. However, this is preferable to the economic impact if all Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa County required early replanting - which would be almost five times as high, or almost $395,000,000 across the next 25 years. Grape prices could be raised in order to offset losses due to each management scenario. Grape prices would have to be raised between three and 19 per cent to obtain a similar return on investment as non-susceptible or healthy Cabernet Sauvignon (Table 4). And grape prices would have to be three-to-five per cent higher for Active Management or Retrain scenarios, respectively. The results show that growers who opt for the no control scenario would have to raise grape prices by 15 per cent to obtain a similar return as disease resistant vines or 19 per cent if they

February 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issue 613

Table 4. Grape price increase required to pay for lost revenue due to Eutypa Healthy

No Control

Early Replant

Retrain

Active Management

$5,728

$5,938

$5,244

$5,174

$728

$938

$244

$174

15%

19%

Price Per Ton $5,000 Raise ($/ton)

Percent increase

Results 1. Active management would require a 3 percent increase in grape prices to achieve NPV of healthy treatment 2. Replanting a vineyard in 20 years instead of 25 years would require a 19 percent increase in grape price

Clearly, the largest potential economic impact of Eutypa is shortened vineyard lifespan. Growers can choose to actively manage the disease by altering their pruning method, delaying pruning and applying fungicide or pruning wound treatment. If these vineyard practices increased annual operating costs by five percent and resulted in 90 percent efficacy, then the economic loss would be reduced considerably. are required to replant before a 25-year vineyard lifespan.

CONCLUSION The potential economic impact of eutypa dieback in Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Napa County is very serious.

February 2015 – Issue 613

Economic losses are due to reduced production and shortened lifespan of vineyards. Shortening the lifespan of vineyards is viewed as the greatest impact that eutypa may have on Cabernet Sauvignon grown there.

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Management practices that prolong the life of the vineyard can significantly reduce losses and improve returns on initial investments, even if annual operational costs are increased by five per cent.

References

Atallah, S. S., M. I. Gomez, M. F. Fuchs and T. E. Martinson. (2012). Economic impact of grapevine leafroll disease on Vitis vinifera cv. Cabernet Franc in Finger Lakes vineyards of New York. Am. J, Enol. Vitic. 63(1): 73–79. Cooper, M.L., K. M. Klonsky and R. L De Moura. (2012). Sample costs to establish a vineyard and produce winegrapes: Cabernet Sauvignon. North Coast Region–Napa County. U C Coop. Extension. p. 19. Gu, S., R. C, Cochran, G. Du, A. Hakim, K. C. Fugelsang, J. Ledbetter, C. A. Ingles and P. S. Verdegaal. (2005). Effect of training-pruning regimes on Eutypa diebackand performance of Cabernet Sauvignon grapevines. J. Hortic. Sci. Biotech. 80(3): 313-318. Munkvold, G. P., J. A. Duthie and J. J. Marois. (1994). Reductions in yield and vegetative growth of grapevines due to Eutypa dieback. Phytopathol. 84(2): 186-192. Napa County Crop Reports (2002 to 2011). Napa Agriculture Commissioner. http://www.countyofnapa. org/AgCommissioner/CropReport/ Siebert, J. (2001). Eutypa: The economic toll on vineyards. Wines and Vines. April: 50-56. Van Niekirk, J., P. Fourie and F. Halleen. (2003). Economic impact of Eutypa dieback of grapevines. Wynboer. http://www.wynboer.co.za/ recentarticles/1203eutypa. php3 Weber, E., F. P. Trouillas and W. D. Gubler. (2007). Double pruning of grapevines: A cultural practice to reduce infections of Eutypa lata. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 58(1): 61-66.

* FIGURES CONTAINED WITHI THIS REPORT ARE IN US DOLLARS.

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grapegrowing

Shiraz in a Future Climate What phenological development impacts will a future climate scenario have on vineyards? Dale Unwin, Karl Sommer and Rachel Kilmister, from the Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Mildura; together with Mahabubur Mollah, Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Horsham and Everard Edwards, CSIRO Plant Industry, Adelaide investigate. GRAPE phenology has been modelled across the globe to determine the role climate warming plays in altering production. The use of vintage records to predict the response of grapevine phenology to increasing air temperatures has suggested winegrape harvest date has advanced by up to 9.3 days per °C (Petrie and Sadras, 2008). More sophisticated analyses, including other climate factors and changes in viticultural management, have established only part of this change has been due to warming, with an advancement of three days per °C being more likely (Webb et al. 2012). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded climate warming has occurred over time, and this warming is anthropogenic, with carbon dioxide production being the single largest cause (IPCC 2013). Of the potential impacts of climate change on viticulture, the primary concern of the industry to date has been the increase in temperature, largely

ignoring the potential direct impact of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (eCO2) on grapevine performance. A field experiment was established in the Sunraysia region of Victoria in July 2013 to determine the direct effect of atmospheric warming (Warming) and eCO2 on field grown vines. Sixteen 5.5x4.8x2.4 m (LxWxH) open top chambers (OTC) were treated with combinations of active heating and increased atmospheric CO2. The work examined vine growth, carbohydrate status, canopy physiology, nutrition and productivity, with a particular emphasis on phenology. The experiment consisted of five treatments: 1. Control; non-chambered. 2. OTC; chamber control. 3. OTC with >550 ppm [CO2] (eCO2) 4. OTC with + 2 °C (Warming) 5. OTC with >550 ppm [CO2] and + 2 °C (eCO2 & warming). Each one was replicated four times in a randomised design. Each OTC enclosed

three mature commercially grown Shiraz vines and a fan unit with a ducting system delivering high-volume, low-velocity air circulation. The Warming treatments incorporated a series of finned heating elements in the fan unit, heating the air before it was expelled through 100 mm ducts facing the ground (Sommer et al. 2012). The eCO2 was introduced into the OTC using two horizontal fumigation tubes spaced at 800 mm within the canopy at a height of 1.3 m. A CO2 sensor at 1.7 m controlled the concentration of CO2 gas within the chamber. Treatments were started immediately prior to budburst in the 2013/14 season. Elevated heating was maintained at all times (24 hours per day, all year round) and provided approximately 2°C of

Fig. 3. Phyotosynthetic assimilation under saturating light of leaves on Shiraz vines, grown under ambient temperature and ambient CO2 (chamber control), elevated CO2 and ambient temperature (eCO2), elevated temperature and ambient CO2 (Warming) or elevated CO2 and elevated temperature (eCO2& warming). Fig. 1. Chamber performance over a seven day period at veraison in 2013; a) air temperature and b) atmospheric CO2 concentration within the upper canopy.

Fig. 2. Key phenological dates for Shiraz vines under ambient temperature and ambient CO2 (chamber control), elevated CO2 and ambient temperature (eCO2), elevated temperature and ambient CO2 (Warming) or elevated temperature and CO2 (eCO2& warming); a) anthesis, b) veraison and c) harvest.

30 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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Fig. 4. Leaf transpiration of Shiraz vines, grown under ambient temperature and ambient CO2 (chamber control), elevated CO2 and ambient temperature (eCO2), elevated temperature and ambient CO2 (Warming) or elevated temperature and CO2 (eCO2& warming). February 2015 – Issue 613

warming (Fig. 1a), whereas elevated CO2 was applied during daylight hours to achieve 650 ppm during those periods (Fig. 1b). The temporal variation in CO2 concentration compared favourably with that of a Free-Air CO2 Enrichment system (FACE), such as AgFACE at Horsham, Victoria (Mollah et al. 2009). As the experiment was only established at budburst in 2013, no impact of treatment on budburst was expected or seen. However, the timing of anthesis and veraison were both affected by the treatments with the onset of anthesis occurring in the eCO2 & warming treatment approximately three days before the other treatments (Fig 2). Harvest date, determined as 25°Brix total soluble solids (TSS) concentration, was advanced by over two weeks in the two warming treatments (Warming and eCO2 & warming). TSS rose by over 5 °Brix within a week in these treatments (data not shown) resulting in TSS at harvest being higher than intended. Both treatments were harvested on the same day at 29.3 and 28.7°Brix for the Warming and eCO2 & warming treatments, respectively. There was no effect of eCO2 on harvest date. Although not formally assessed, leaves were retained longer in autumn in the warming treatments, with green leaves still present in June, but no leaves present on the control vines. Light saturated leaf photosynthesis (Asat) was higher in the eCO2 treatments throughout the season (Fig. 3) than non-eCO2 treatments. This response is typical of short-term exposure to eCO2, but some degree of acclimation is often observed in plants exposed to eCO2 over longer periods, due to down-regulation of photosynthesis. Data from the next season will confirm if the increased rate of photosynthesis is sustained or if it will revert to a similar level as the control within an eCO2 environment. Another common feature of C3 plants, like Vitis vinifera, grown in eCO2 is reduced stomatal conductance (Ziska and Bunce, 2006), which was observed (data not shown) and resulted in reduced transpiration from the leaf (Fig 4). In contrast, warming resulted in a small increase in transpiration, with the effects of eCO2 & warming being additive. The phenological development of the vines under a future climate scenario was affected by temperature more so than the atmospheric carbon dioxide level. Elevated Asat and the lack of photosynthetic acclimation is likely to have increased vine carbohydrate storage. Even in the absence of other effects, this has the potential to affect vine vigour in subsequent seasons.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was funded by the grape growers and winemakers of Australia and the Australian Government through the Australian Grape and Wine Authority (formerly Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation).

February and March present some of the toughest spraying conditions for Australian vineyards! Conditions are hot and it’s often windy. Working in favour of growers however is that it’s not too long until harvest and it’s really just a matter of staying on top of things. Spray programs for the most damaging pests and diseases like Downy Mildew, Powdery Mildew and Botrytis have generally been implemented and the dry summer conditions keep disease largely at bay. It’s not uncommon though for the weather conditions to change temporarily. A storm front can roll in, the heavens can open up, and 25mm or 50mm of rain can germinate weeds or cause a short-term disease or pest or issues that need to be dealt with. This can be extremely challenging because the conditions inevitably return to hot days that are difficult for spraying. Two main factors influence spray results at this time of year; temperature and relative humidity. In very warm conditions spray droplets can dry very quickly. For example, evaporation approximately doubles when temperature increases from 10°C to 20°C, and again when the temperature changes from 20°C to 30°C. Relative humidity (RH) is the other major factor. Low RH causes a fast decrease in the size of spray droplets due to evaporation of water in the droplets. Evaporation doubles when RH drops from 95 per cent to 85 per cent, 85 per cent to 70 per cent, 70 per cent to 45 per cent and 45 per cent to 0 per cent. In hot, low RH conditions, many small droplets simply never hit the target. Smaller droplets also dry more quickly on the plant surface and many active ingredients in their dry, crystalline form cannot move into the plant. Fine nozzles that emit small droplets, give good coverage, and deliver results in the low temperature and high RH conditions of winter or early spring, will generally be unsuitable and underachieve in the hot and low RH conditions of summer. Key messages for summer spraying are: • Higher water volumes are your ally at this time of year. • Use drift reduction nozzles and make sure your spray pressure is adjusted correctly to minimise emission of small droplets. • While you’ll need to achieve full coverage, minimising the distance from the spray nozzle to the target will minimise the amount of time droplets are in the air before they contact the plant. • Use spray adjuvants, approved for use with the specific product being applied, to reduce evaporation of airborne spray droplets. These adjuvants will keep droplets intact so they will travel further and last longer on the target.

References Mollah MR, Norton RM, Huzzey J 2009. Australian grains free air carbon dioxide enrichment (AGFACE) facility: design and performance. Crop & Pasture Science 60, 697 – 707.

• And finally, the Delta T Conditions for Spraying chart is an excellent tool and an absolute must for decision making at this time of year..

Petrie PR, Sadras VO. 2008. Advancement of grapevine maturity in Australia between 1993 and 2006: putative causes, magnitude of trends and viticultural consequences. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 14: 33–45. Sommer KJ, Edwards EJ, Unwin D, Mazza M, Downey MO. 2012. Strategies to maintain productivity and quality in a changing environment-Impacts of global warming on grape and wine production. Final Report to the GWRDC. Webb LB, Whetton PH, Bhend J, Darbyshire R, Briggs PR, Barlow EWR. 2012. Earlier wine-grape ripening driven by climatic warming and drying and management practices. Nature Climate Change 2: 259–264. Ziska LH, and Bunce AB (2006) JIL Morison and MD Morecroft eds. Plant responses to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide. Plant Growth and Climate Change (Blackwell Publishing Ltd: Oxford, UK) pp. 24.

February 2015 – Issue 613

Vine Talk is compiled by Dave Antrobus, Syngenta Solutions Development Lead dave.antrobus@syngenta.com 0429 133 436

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young gun

Smart + sustainable Jana Shepherd JANA Shepherd, an environmentally savvy viticulturist, lives on a farm in the Eden Valley with her husband and two kids… plus two dogs, two pigs, two sheep, 15 ducks, 32 chooks, an abundance of kangaroos, a visiting family of emus and the odd koala. When she’s not tending to the needs of the menagerie, Shepherd works as Treasury Wine Estates’ (TWE) regional viticulturist for Central SA (Barossa, Clare and Eden Valley), Riverland, Sunraysia and Western Australia. As well as overseeing the viticultural technical program for the company’s Central SA vineyards, Shepherd is in charge of prioritising research and trial initiatives, undertaking assessments on yield estimation, fruit quality, soil management, grapevine health and environmental monitoring with a strong focus on the GIS mapping programs for the region. Growing up in the Barossa, Shepherd developed an interest in the wine industry at a young age. “In high school, my summer jobs started with apricot cutting in the Riverland and Barossa. I eventually progressed to grapepicking, vine training, irrigation repairs and any other odd jobs in the vineyards,” she said. “In 1997 my family decided to establish a vineyard at Moculta,” she said. Soon after, Shepherd completed one year at Adelaide University studying a bachelor of agricultural science, before kicking off her career with a hands on approach. “At the end of first year I got a job with Wolf Blass completing

32 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Viticulture can be fun too! Often it is seen as the poor cousin to the glamorous world of winemaking but it’s a great industry to be involved in and people are passionate about what they do. grape sampling for vintage. At that stage the company collected all the growers’ maturity samples using contractors. I had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.” Embracing an opportunity which allowed her to study and work simultaneously, Shepherd decided to leave university after her first year. “Sitting around in lectures was not for me and I quit university and landed a full time job at Farmer Johns in Nuriootpa. While there I started studying a bachelor of applied science: viticulture through Charles Sturt University,” she said. “Two years later a job for a regional technical officer came up at Southcorp, now Treasury Wine Estates. “The rest, as they say, is history.”

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February 2015 – Issue 613

Since then, Shepherd has completed 12 vintages within South Australia’s Central Region (Barossa, Clare, Eden Valley, Waikerie) and participated in the Barossa - Rhone exchange in 2008. The exchange gave Shepherd the opportunity to spend a month experiencing a Rhone Valley vintage as well as a visit to Treasury Wine Estates’ Castello di Gabbiano in Tuscany. “There is a wealth of opportunity in the viticulture industry, it has given me so many opportunities,” Shepherd said. “I can’t think of too many jobs that have as much variety. Not only are there challenges of the vineyard – growing quality fruit and environmental conditions but you are exposed to other fields as well. From examining soils and their properties, native vegetation, water resources, machinery, GIS applications and continuous improvement and technology. "Not to mention the interaction and access to a wide range of research activities.” Shepherd said her commitment to environmental innovation in viticulture has been a rewarding journey. “I am quite passionate about the environment and so one of my best achievements would be introducing recycled water to use at our Stonewell Vineyard in the Barossa,” she said. “Also, working with ‘Trees for Life’ to create bush management plans for our Central Region sites. Land that was unsuitable for vineyards has been direct seeded or planted with tube stock and now provides a habitat for endangered native wildlife.” Shepherd’s passion for adopting environmentally-friendly options doesn’t stop at work, she and her family live a sustainable lifestyle on their 75-acre Eden Valley block. “We are fortunate to have the opportunity to try lead a more self-sufficient lifestyle. Raising our own livestock, and growing and making as much of our own food and household products as possible.” Shepherd and her family have spent hours restoring the native vegetation on the property, planting almost 2000 trees with ‘Trees for Life’. “We took part in the carbon offset program too, resulting in an additional six hectares of direct seeding,” she said. After 12 years in the industry, Shepherd said she has occasionally struggled with adapting fast-paced technology changes involved with some aspects of her job. “We have progressed from using yield monitors with no visual screen, to control boxes with flashing lights and rugged computers,” she said. “Today, we are using technology from broad acre framing. We source a vast array of technology already in use by other industries but our main issue is ensuring these programs are suitable for viticulture use along vine rows.” All challenges aside, Shepherd said it was an exciting time to be a viticulturist and dismissed a stereotype that it was less important winemaking. “Viticulture can be fun too! Often viticulture is seen as the poor cousin to the glamorous world of winemaking,” she said. “There are so many wonderful and different technologies that we are able to utilise in the field and they are developing at a rapid rate. “It is a great industry to be involved with – people are passionate about what they do and more than happy to share and learn from each other.” Recently graduating from the Barossa Next Crop Program, Shepherd is currently participating in the inaugural AGWA mentoring circle in the Barossa and said her future opportunities were endless. “Given the diversity of the role the future is full of possibilities, whether progressing within Treasury Wine Estates in a management position or developing a consultancy business.” February 2015 – Issue 613

INNOVATIVE LIVING: Jana Shepherd finds time to live sustainably at home while still pushing for environmental solutions at work.

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on the grapevine From the Twittersphere: #v15 TRENDING NOW Schild Estate Wines @SchildEstate 22 Jan

Spied a few loads of grapes around the Valley today. Looks like some guys are going. Good luck all. See you on the other side #v15 Drayton’s Wines @draytonswines 22 Jan

A busy first day of harvest with the last bins on their way in. More Chardonnay & some Semillon up tomorrow #v15 Grant Burge Wines @GrantBurgeWines 22 Jan

#v15 has begun! The team have been working since 2am crushing #Barossa #Chardonnay! GO @GwynOlsen 21 Jan

I do like having a cellar hand who is also a barista. Day One of #v15 - 3 loads Chard, 1 Pinot Noir. #gameon Andrew Hanigan @DerwentEstate 21 Jan

I spy with my little eye . . . #V15 - in between the hen and chicken. Sally Scarborough @scarboroughwine 21 Jan

The first fruit for the 2015 vintage has just been picked. Exciting stuff. #V15 Andrew Margan @andrewmargan 20 Jan

Can machinery catch a disease? I think everything in the vineyard is broken down! #v15 #notthevintageofthecentury James Estate Wines @jamesestate 20 Jan

Another cracking nights harvest. Great flavour, great acid, great interest. #upperhunter #hunterwine #vintage15 #v15 Bespoke Hunter @rowenahawkins 19 Jan

Excited to see so much Vintage action in the #huntervalley #v15 good luck everyone, may the weather gods be good to you Adam Holmberg @holmberg_adam 19 Jan

Rain rain go away and come again another day, preferably in about 6 weeks #V15 Henry Crawford @Henry4PM 18 Jan

and we’re away!! #v15 is officially go! Expect #randomtweet at random hours for the next 2 months! Helen McCarthy @BarossaHM 15 Jan

Saw the first truck loaded up with 9 very full grape bins this arvo. I’m guessing 3T plus in each of those suckers #v15

34 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Mixed messages to growers in the use of quality measures IN MAY 2012, The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), The National Measurement Institute (NMI) and Wine Grape Growers of Australia (WGGA) invited stakeholders of the grape and wine sector to participate in an online survey about the use of winegrape quality measures in the Australian industry. The aim, according to Lawrie Stanford, WGGA executive director, was to better understand how, what and why grape quality measures were being used. An interpretation of the survey findings, in respect the use of such measures, separates out their use for the purpose of wine processing compared to their use for winegrape price setting. “The interpretation provided here is WGGA’s and is based on a non-expert understanding of the measures reported – it may therefore be arguable,” Stanford said. “Nevertheless, it seems apparent that there are mixed messages in the value the industry puts on objective measures, demonstrated by the way they are used for winemaking versus their use to reward the desirable characteristics winemakers seek and hence, their production.” The survey found the top six measures used for winemaking accounted for roughly two thirds of the responses on measures used for winemaking. “It is notable that the top three measures used for winemaking were ranked lower for use in price-setting,” Stanford said. “Hence, while they were the most valued for winemaking they did not seem worth rewarding to incentivise them.” Three winemaking measures, ranked

It is notable that these measures are subjective rather objective and prone to variable reporting and interpretation and are therefore prone to disputation between the buyer and seller. fifth (yield), sixth (diseases/pests) and seventh (MOG) were ranked very high for price setting well above their value for winemaking. “Presumably, this is because these measures are used to reject fruit – reinforcing the earlier observation that rather than being used to incentivise desirable quality attributes, the price setting measures are predominantly used to reject and discount undesirable attributes.” In contrast to the mismatches noted in the foregoing, two measures in the top four of those valued for winemaking were closely matched by the frequency in which they are used for price setting namely, taste and visual assessment. “However, it is notable that these measures are subjective rather objective and prone to variable reporting and interpretation and are therefore prone to disputation between the buyer and seller,” Stanford said. ”All in all, this analysis suggests that price signals for desirable grape attributes are far from consistent with quality objectives that are trying to be achieved in winemaking and will, at best, be confusing to the grower trying to deliver them.”

Rising temperatures cause grapes to ripen early GRAPEGROWERS in Canberra have been expecting the earliest vintage on record, according to the CSIRO. Rising temperatures across southern parts of Australia have contributed to grapes ripening earlier, and the trend is likely to continue. Ken Helm, Murrumbateman winemaker, said he witnessed his earliest flowering when it began back in November and attributed this to the warm weather. “You have to go and say that we are seeing a definite increase in temperatures across the climate and that the vines are responding.” Embarking on his 39th vintage, Helm said he was concerned cool climate www.winebiz.com.au

winemakers would continually have to adapt to a warmer climate. “I think that we’ll be looking at some difficulties with maintaining the quality and we’ll have to start thinking about switching varieties perhaps,” Helm, said. A decade ago, Dr Leanne Webb, CSIRO plant research scientist, predicted that southern Australia would begin to see grapes ripen earlier than expected. “We’ve attributed at least a third of the response for driving this early ripening is to the warming and drying climate that we’ve been experiencing in southern Australia,” Webb said. “Given that projections are that climate will be warming further, we expect that this pattern will continue.” February 2015 – Issue 613

Risky business:

Quad bike safety relies on the right attitude Vineyard Machinery

Quad bikes have become the number one cause of death on farms, outranking tractors, light aircraft and animals in Australia. Of the 15 recorded quad bike fatalities in 2014, 12 occurred on farms, with a further two involving cases on public roads where quad bikes were turning into or out of a farm. In New Zealand, quad bikes accounted for 28 per cent of all work related farm deaths with four confirmed fatalities and two still under investigation in the past year.

Emilie Reynolds reports. THE FACTS THERE were 220,000 quad bikes in Australia in 2014 but despite an increase in farmers switching to side-by-side vehicles (SSVs) Dr Tony Lower, director of the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety, said safety problems would not be resolved overnight. Lower said quad bikes gave the illusion of stability but were prone to rollover due to their narrow wheelbase and high centre of gravity. “There were at least 86 injuries serious enough to be reported in the media in 2014, with many likely to be life changing, including spinal and brain injuries,” said Lower. “All of these incidents have a huge impact on individuals, families and communities”. Overall, 60 per cent of deaths and 41 per cent of quad bike injuries involved rollovers. “This reinforces the need for design improvements to reduce the risk of death and serious injury when quads roll. When they do [rollover], they kill and maim people”. “More needs to be done to enhance the safety of quads already in operation across Australia, while at the same time there is a responsibility for operators to ensure the safe use of the vehicles. “By addressing the design and safe use of quads in tandem, we could make a significant impact on these horrific statistics.”

“Quad bikes play an important role in agriculture but in recent years the number of deaths and injuries associated with their use has increased significantly,” Wundersitz said. “The design makes them likely to roll over on steep or uneven terrain. “Carrying loads, passengers and uneven, sloped terrain also contributes to quad instability,” she said. Wundersitz said an analysis of WorkCover SA data for injury claims 2001-2013 found quad bike injuries to workers have cost approximately $5.6 million. “The majority of the quad bike related claims were from the ‘Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting’ industry with 69 per cent. Within this industry division most claims were for general farm hands with 30 per cent, followed by fruit and

THE RESEARCH Professor Raphael Grzebieta from the University of New South Wales’ Transport and Road Safety Research (TARS) has been assessing the design of quad bikes in order to reduce the number of fatalities. While Grzebieta’s Quad Bike Performance Project has not yet been completed, it aimed to develop a consumer safety rating system for quad bikes. “Like stars on cars, stars on fridges, there’ll be stars on quads,” Grzebieta said. “So the consumer who goes into a shop is able to assess, okay, which vehicle is probably going to give you the best stability, dynamic handling and crash-worthiness. “Certain vehicles perform better than others, and so we want to then provide a benchmark.” While still in its preliminary stages, a research project from The University of Adelaide’s Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR) aimed to determine crash characteristics and injury risks of quad bike use in South Australia. Dr Lisa Wundersitz, project manager, said early findings suggested quad bikes were used for bird scaring, spraying weeds, planting and trimming, checking irrigations and personal transport in vineyards. February 2015 – Issue 613

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

grapegrowing AT A GLANCE: Quad bikes • 15 deaths on Australian farms in 2014, eight deaths on New Zealand farms. • High risk of rollover due to high centre of gravity • Straddle seating • Handlebar steering • Four low pressure, high floatation tyres • Helmet strongly advised in all circumstances • Children u16 should not ride quads • Unsuitable for passengers • Unable to safely carry loads

Side-by-sides • One death on Australian farms in 2014, unverified if any deaths on New Zealand farms • Lower risk of rollover due to even centre of gravity • Bench or bucket seats with seatbelts • Steering wheel • Four or more low pressure, high floatation tyres • Helmet worn based on risk assessment by driver • Children u16 able to ride as passengers • Tray back for carrying loads

Knight said quad bikes caught many people unaware because of their ease of use and misleading apparent stability. “It has to be a discussion about what level of risk is acceptable, the appropriate ways quads can be used and what could be done to mitigate and prevent harm.” Knight said although roll bars and improving stability were possible solutions, the study found attitudes of retailers and manufactures were powerful influences among quad bike customers. “The industry’s role in advocating injury prevention and safety activities was minimal, despite being important to ensure the safety of those using quad bikes,” she said. Knight said car makers had vastly improved the safety of their vehicles and it wasn’t beyond quad bike manufacturers to deal with instability problems, give the bikes anti-crush devices and instigate a safety rating system so farmers knew what they were buying. “What was very clear from our work was that farmers and pastoralists needed to have a trusted independent source of information about quad bike safety,” said Knight.

IN THE VINEYARD

vegetable farmers with 22 per cent of claims,” Wundersitz said. “Four per cent of quad bike related injury claims within the agriculture industry were for vineyard workers.” A study from James Cook University led by Professor Sabina Knight and Associate Professor Richard Franklin, has found many farmers did not know who to ask about the dangers of quad bikes or how to lessen them. “There is a lot of misinformation out there,” said Knight. “Some farmers believed that horses were the most dangerous form of transport on the farm, followed by two-wheeled motorbikes, followed by quads.” “In fact it’s completely the opposite. Agriculture is Australia’s most dangerous industry and quad bikes are predominately associated with serious injury and death,” she said.

While developed as a recreational vehicle, quads have become widely used on Australian farms because of their ability to operate in a range of conditions without leaving a ‘footprint’. “Quad bikes are regarded as an essential part of many vineyards providing a low impact environmentally respectful platform for performing a variety of essential tasks,” said Martin Borgas, work health safety coordinator for Kingston Estate Wines. According to a 2014 report by the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety, the most popular use of quad bikes on Australian farms has been inspecting and supervising. However, spraying weeds and attaching loads has also been common practice, causing concern for some experts. “From a safety view it’s important to note that quads were actually not designed as a work vehicle, a much safer option (with seatbelt worn) are side-by-sides,” Lower said. “SSVs can carry passengers and safely carry a load such as spray tank - unlike quads as well as provide sun protection and sometimes protection against whipping from vines - if a canopy or screen is fitted.”

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February 2015 – Issue 613

Although some growers argued SSVs were too large for row spacing, Lower said most were only about 30cm wider than a quad so there was not a big difference. Daniel Habermann from Barossa Growers said he preferred to use an SSV over a quad bike for spraying and trimming. “We do have a quad, but we also have a Polaris Ranger, which is like a buggy more than a quad. It is much more universal, and much safer as you have a full roll cage, seat belts, and foot controls. It seats up to three legally,” Habermann said. “It’s very good on fuel and compaction. We put a 400lt tank on the tray, and an electric pump and could spray 50ha on 35lt of diesel.”

FROM THE MANUFACTURER David Hann from ScootAround Sales and Hire in South Australia said quad bikes were not inherently dangerous, but can present risks if riders neglect to follow safety instructions. “99.9 per cent of people involved in incidents were not following manufacturer’s recommendations,” Hann said. “It’s represented that riders should wear the correct safety gear, gloves, helmets and goggles all over the bike.” Ease of accessibility to difficult areas and the ability to manoeuvre through rows with a softer footprint in wet, damp and foggy conditions attracted growers to quad bikes, according to Hann. He noted the major risks of using quad bikes in a vineyard were “not having correct training, not following manufacture’s recommendations and not wearing correct safety gear”. “My brother-in-law is a farmer, not many of them wear helmets. Going two-up on them is something that’s not recommended by manufacturer.” Hann said people often thought the seat was big enough for more than one person, leading to injury.

February 2015 – Issue 613

“They think they can do whatever they like on it and when something bad happens, they blame the bike,” he said. “I have been selling them for 12 years and none of them have tried to kill me.” Hann said quad bikes and SSVs are capable of speeds between 50 and 100km/hr, depending on the model but the introduction of speed keys and seatbelt interlocking meant some Polaris bikes limited the top speed to 24km/hour when the seatbelt was not engaged. Hann said the Sportsman Ace ATV with a roll cage, single seat and steering wheel was a safe alternative to the traditional quad bike.

At a glance: A look at the differences between quad bikes and SSVs Be safe on quads • Choosing whether the quad bike is the safest machine for the job • Fit a Crush Protection device to prevent injury during rollover • Only operate bikes that are in good repair. Do a preoperation safety check, especially brakes and tyre pressure • Only ride a quad bike if you have been properly trained • Do not let anyone under 16 years old operate a quad bike of any size • Do not carry passengers • Making sure that the quad bike is not overloaded • Only ride the quad bike on farm tracks and areas that have been identified as safe • All operators are to wear a helmet

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grapegrowing AT A GLANCE: Safety recommendations from Farmsafe Australia INC and WorkSafe NZ. Safe Work Australia - QuadWatch statistics • 15 quad bike related fatalities in 2014. • 21 quad bike related fatalities in 2013. • 19 quad bike related fatalities in 2012. • 20 fatalities in 2011. • Between 2001 and 2012, there were more than 170 quad bike deaths.

It’s not rocket science, people should wear helmets to minimise the risk. “It was specifically designed to address the issues people have with ATVs,” he said. “The market is shifting towards SSVs with straddle seats and handle bars, where a passenger sits beside you in a roll cage. It’s more like a ute.” Hann said customers are educated about important safety features before they complete their purchase. “I show them how to use controls and emphasise that they need to read owner’s manual. Polaris provide safety DVD with every bike that’s sold,” he said.

NEW ZEALAND’S ZERO TOLERANCE Leading the industry in perseverance towards quad bike safety, New Zealand safety officials have fined famers who refused to follow strict guidelines when riding their quad bikes. A Marlborough farming couple were fined $40,000 ($A37,000) for not wearing helmets while operating their quad bikes late last year. WorkSafe New Zealand inspectors gave the couple multiple warnings to wear helmets, but they continued to be noncompliant, resulting in a prohibition order. After being spotted once again without helmets and with two small children on the bike, the couple were each charged with failing to take all practicable steps to ensure their own safety by wearing a helmet and failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of others. Each charge had a fine of $10,000. Judge Tony Zohrab, who presided over the case, said the message needs to go out to employers in the work place that they need to take all reasonable steps to prevent injury and potential death. “It’s not rocket science, people should wear helmets to minimise the risk,” he said.

However, this was not the first hefty fine handed out in New Zealand over quad bike safety. A Martinborough vineyard was charged more than $36,000 (A$33,000) in 2012 after a contract worker was injured in a quad bike incident. The injured worker was one of two passengers sitting on the rear of the quad bike and as it drove forwards, he fell under a wheel of a trailer it was towing, breaking his arm. Dave Hulston, Wairarapa service manager, said the circumstances of the incident directly breached a critical piece of advice provided by the quad bike manufacturer and the quad bike harm reduction program. “These machines were not designed to carry passengers, the owner’s manual states clearly never to carry passengers and the same statement was on a mudguard notice, yet it appeared carrying passengers was common practice at the vineyard,” Hulston said. Although the vineyard changed its procedures since the incident and specifically prohibits carrying passengers, Hulston said if the company had met it’s obligations in the first place, the worker would not have broken his arm. “The Ministry would take enforcement action wherever it finds breaches,” he said.

PLAY SAFE, WORK SAFE Farmers choosing quad bikes should follow some basic safety rules which could be life-saving, according to Wundersitz. “While our research indicates that helmets are not popular among riders, they can significantly prevent serious head injuries,” she said. “It’s also important to check that tyres are inflated correctly according to manufacturer’s recommendations and make sure that attachments and loads comply with the specifications in the operator’s manual.” Wundersitz warned quad bike riders to stay away from steep slopes or rough, uneven ground as it could be risky. “Also, don’t let children ride adult-sized quad bikes, manufacturers warn that they are not designed for the use of persons aged under 16 years,” said Wundersitz. “And alcohol and quad bikes do not mix.” Lower recommended growers complete a training course to ensure a safe quad bike experience through harvest season. “Given the high number of casuals at harvest – it would be best workers did not use them unless they were fully trained and that was verified,” Lower said. However, he reiterated his opinion of SSVs being the safer option. “Overall safety risks on quads are much higher than on SSVs which could have implications for staffing at peak periods,” Lower said.

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February 2015 – Issue 613

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grapegrowing Product Update

Dust suppression solution POLO Citrus Australia is an Australian owned company that has been the leader in dust suppression products for the mining and extractive industries for more than 20 years; they have a large customer base including the major players in this market segment. With the design and testing of their new product Road Con finalised, the results of the new product across several different locations across Australia has been exceptional and beyond the Polo Citrus expectations. Following the completion of the trials at various sites, the product went onto the market with gusto and the feedback from the clients was all favourable. Predominately developed for the extractive industry, Polo Citrus was looking further for this product and turned to the grain industry. After getting the players involved, Polo Citrus completed trials at several grain loading terminals for the 2013/2014 grain harvest where trucks and machinery are at the most active and cause havoc with airborne dust covering the sites. The companies were looking for a product that could stop the dust going airborne and to also have a relatively dust free site which would protect their finished product from dust contamination; dust control was also vital for the safety and wellbeing for all employees and visitors to the site. Control site dust emissions also had a positive impact on protecting company assets and equipment. As these initial trials were a huge success, the companies rolled out orders nationally for Road Con for the 2014/2015 three-month harvest period. With just one application this product will see the threemonth harvest period though to completion. With great success and positive feedback gained from the grain industry, Polo Citrus wants to give the same services to the viticulture industry. With the summer months upon us the benefits of having a dust free environment for this industry is vital. From the main entrance driveway where presentation is imperative and with customers travelling this area, the last

thing you would want is bellowing dust clouds upon arrival consuming vines and grapes near the driveway area. Other areas that would benefit would be the graveled areas around process areas where traffic is constant. Dust from vehicles entering or leaving the processing areas can have a detrimental effect on the final processed product. Also, apart from processing areas, the main access roads to and throughout the vineyard where dust will also have an effect on the growing product, would greatly benefit from the use of Road Con. With its ease of application and price structure Road Con is an ideal product for the wine industry. Either applied via a water truck or simply from the back of the ute, with a dribble bar that can be supplied, Road Con can be used in its concentrated form for the best longevity of the product or mixed at a dilution rate of 50:50 mix with water for a lesser effect. At $1.00 per litre is a very suitable product for the viticulture and wine industry. For more information contact Polo Citrus Australia P: +61 3 9364 9700 www.polocitrus.com.au

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February 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issue 613

winemaking

Effects of oxygen exposure during pressing and juice/wine handling Martin P Day, Simon Schmidt and Eric Wilkes, from The Australian Wine Research Institute, have found effective management of oxygen during winemaking can improve fermentation efficiency, help create diverse wine styles and minimise reductive off-flavours. MANY different approaches to oxygen management are currently in use in Australian winemaking but scientific understanding of oxygen management has focused on the postfermentation phases of the winemaking process. The effects of oxygen management earlier in the process, from crushing through fermentation, have not been well understood but are likely to have a profound effect on the final wine. An AWRI project, launched in 2013, aims to investigate effects of early oxygen exposure, develop tools for monitoring oxygen exposure and provide practical advice on methods to introduce oxygen during winemaking. This article presents results from a pilot-scale winery trial that investigated the effect of passive oxygen additions during white winemaking, i.e. the oxygen that gets into wine during pressing and handling but is not actively bubbled into the juice or ferment. By separating the very early oxygen exposure that occurs at pressing from the later exposure which happens through the different ways of handling juice or wine after pressing until the end of fermentation, it is possible to understand at which stage oxygen has the greatest effect. In the trial two pressing modes (inert and aerobic) and two forms of post-pressing handling (reductive or oxidative) were used to create four distinct wines, allowing the effects of oxygen timing to be closely examined.

Figure 1. Dissolved oxygen during an inert and an aerobic (or normal) press run.

EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP This trial was carried out using hand-picked Chardonnay grapes from the Barossa which were whole-bunch pressed using a Bucher-Vaslin XPF50 Inertys® press (three tonnes per load), as described below. After pressing, juices received a standard addition of 35 mg/L CO2 in the press holding tank before transportation to the the Hickinbotham-Roseworthy Wine Science laboratory at the University of Adelaide. Juice was cold settled then racked into 500 L temperaturecontrolled tanks before inoculation. Ferments for each treatment in the trial were conducted in triplicate. Pressing: The first two juice lots were made in ‘inert mode’ in which the membrane press was configured to draw in nitrogen gas rather than air as the membrane deflated; the press was also sparged with CO2 gas, prior to and during loading. The other two juice lots were made in ‘aerobic (or normal) mode’ allowing ambient air to be drawn in as the press membrane deflated. The dissolved oxygen (DO) profiles inside the press during the two modes of operation are shown in Figure 1. It can be seen that ‘normal’ pressing introduces massive quantities of oxygen into the juice in comparison to inert pressing. These measurements were made using a DO datalogger temporarily fixed near to the press’s juice channels.

February 2015 – Issue 613

Figure 2. Flow chart of experimental set-up

This type of device is typically used by hydrographers gathering data from the ocean, rivers or even waste-water lagoons. Handling: After pressing, one of each type of juice (inertlypressed or aerobically-pressed) was handled reductively and the other two juices were handled oxidatively. Overall, this resulted in four different treatments, from the four possible combinations of pressing and handling: inert-oxidative, inert-reductive, aerobic-oxidative and aerobicreductive (Figure 2). Reductive handling was achieved by blanketing the source and receival tanks during transfer or racking operations with either dry ice or an inert gas mixture (40% CO2 in 60% nitrogen). This handling regime was continued from the initial filling of the press holding tank until after post-fermentation racking, at which time 60 mg/L SO2 was added.

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Figure 3. Somers’ white wine phenolic indices for the four wines. Treatment codes: Inert-Red and Inert-Ox are inertly pressed and reductively or oxidatively handled. Aero-Red or Aero-Ox are aerobically/ normally pressed and reductively or oxidatively handled.

Figure 4. Accelerated browning test (55°C for 8 days) measured with A420, higher values indicate higher potential for browning

The ullage was minimal but the tank headspace was regularly sparged with inert gas to maintain a headspace oxygen concentration below two per cent air saturation. Conversely, the oxidative handling regime did not involve any use of inert gas until after the post-ferment racking. After post-ferment racking the four treatments were handled identically, with all subsequent operations carried out in a standard reductive manner under inert gas cover.

PHENOLIC DIFFERENCES The first indication that there were real differences in this experiment came from Somers’ white wine phenolic measures, which showed that the total phenolics and total hydroxycinnamic acids were highest in the inert press treatments and lowest for the aerobic press treatment (Figure 3). Wines with higher levels of phenolics and hydroxycinnamic acids may have potential for improved texture, as a recent study demonstrated that wines with added phenolics received higher sensory scores for texture (Gawel et al. 2013). Even more interesting is that the type of handling had an influence on the phenolic content of the inertly-pressed juices but not the aerobically-pressed juices.

ACCELERATED BROWNING TEST Another difference between the wines was found after the assessment of their tendency to undergo oxidative browning. This was done using a simple accelerated browning test (Singleton and Kramling 1976) which compares the absorbance at 420 nm (A420) between wines which are either saturated with air or flushed with nitrogen gas and then stored at 55°C for eight days and assessed using simple colour measures. The results of this test on the four wines are shown in Figure 4 which plots the per cent increase in A420 caused by the excess of oxygen. It is clear that wines made from inertly-pressed juices have a greater potential to brown than normally-pressed juices. This highlights the balance that has to be considered in protecting a juice to retain fresh aromas versus the increased potential for browning.

SENSORY OUTCOMES The wines were bottled under controlled DO pick-up conditions six months after fermentation and descriptive sensory analysis was conducted by a trained panel of tasters at the AWRI six weeks after bottling.

42 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Figure 5. Plots of significant sensory attributes (P < 0.1). (Least Significant Difference values (LSD) are the smallest difference between treatments for them to be noticeable with a probability of 95%.)

Attributes where the panel found the most significant differences among the wines are shown in Figure 5. The results show that the inert-reductive treatment was significantly higher in ‘floral’ and ‘confection’ aroma, and lowest in ‘yellow colour’ compared to the other three treatments which did not differ significantly from each other in the two aroma attributes. However, for ‘acid’ taste, the aerobic-oxidative treatment was rated lowest, while for ‘yellow colour’ the inert-oxidative and the aerobic-oxidative treatments were rated significantly higher than aerobic-reductive, and significantly lower than inert-reductive. The sensory data were also analysed statistically to separate out the effects of press mode and handling mode. This showed that pressing had a larger effect on the sensory perception of the attribute ‘confection’ while the attributes ‘acid’ and ‘citrus’ were more affected by the handling treatments. While the sensory differences observed at this time point are relatively small, when considered in conjunction with differences found in the chemistry of the wines, they suggest

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winemaking there was more benzaldehyde (‘marzipan’) and benzylmercaptan (‘struck flint’). Sensory results, however, do not reflect a higher ‘flint’ character in the reductively handled wines, most likely because the levels of benzylmercaptan are very close to the aroma threshold.

CONCLUSIONS

Figure 6. Partial Least Squares analysis (PLS) biplot of significant volatile compounds (red dots) and sensory attributes (blue text)

that more significant differences may appear as the wines develop.

LINKING AROMA COMPOUNDS TO SENSORY ATTRIBUTES Aroma compounds which contribute positive characters, such as the fruity and floral esters, the varietal thiols and volatile acids, were analysed after fermentation and stabilisation. A series of aldehydes and other aromatic compounds which contribute to the ‘oxidised’ aroma of wine were also analysed along with amino acids which are potentially their precursors, giving a total of 72 analytical parameters and eight sensory attributes to analyse. A data reduction technique known as partial least squares analysis (PLS) was used to understand both sets of data, and the results are shown in Figure 6. Looking at how the individuals from each treatment group together and their relative positions on the plot, it is possible to describe the horizontal axis, Factor-1, as the ‘pressing axis’ and the vertical axis as the ‘handling axis’. A lot more of the initial variance is represented by horizontal axis, showing that pressing has a bigger impact on both chemistry and sensory than handling. Wines from inertly-pressed grapes showed higher concentrations in some ethyl esters and medium-chain volatile acids as well as total phenolics. These wines should display some fruiter notes and may develop enhanced texture. The wines from aerobically-pressed grapes had higher concentrations in the varietal thiols, different medium-chain volatile acids and ethyl esters. The volatile sulfur compounds hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and methanemercaptan (MeSH) were also higher in wine from aerobically-pressed grapes giving them a potentially more reductive character. This is directly opposite to the situation seen in red wines (Day et al. 2013) and has been confirmed in laboratory experiments. Fewer chemical attributes were affected by the handling mode of wines. For wines handled oxidatively there was greater influence from 2- and 3-methylbutanoic acid (‘sweaty/cheesy’) and hexyl acetate (‘sweet/perfume’) while for reductively-handled wines

44 Grapegrower & Winemaker

The different oxygen levels that occurred in this trial arose simply through pressing and handling operations – no active oxygen additions were conducted. The choice of pressing mode and the extent to which juice or wine was protected from oxygen during handling were both shown to affect a wine’s final chemical composition and sensory characteristics, in this particular case potentially affecting floral and citrus characters. For juices prepared through normal (i.e. aerobic) pressing, no significant differences were introduced through the choice of handling method. This seems to suggest that, at least for Chardonnay, there is little need to invest so much time and money protecting juice and fermenting wine from oxygen, if it has been produced through aerobic pressing. Other white varieties may behave differently so caution should be used before throwing out the dry ice altogether! On the other hand, if a juice is produced by inert pressing then sufficient phenolics remain to be affected by further oxygen exposure during normal handling. Inertly-pressed juices therefore need continued protection through reductive handling, if oxidation is to be avoided. Having observed and quantified the chemical and sensory differences that occur through passive oxygen exposure in this study, trials during the 2015 vintage will focus on making deliberate but controlled oxygen additions during fermentation which have potential for greater impact on wine style.

Acknowledgements This project is supported by the Australian Grape and Wine Authority, with matching funds from the Australian Government. The authors would also like to thank Tscharke Wines and Yalumba Nursery for help with logistics. Colleagues at the AWRI (Alice Barker, Dimitra Capone, Mike Coode, Esther Kristianto, Natoiya Lloyd, Wes Pearson, Mango Parker and Marlize Viviers) are thanked for their technical involvement.

References

Day, M.P., Viviers, M.Z., Kassara, S. and Smith, P.A. 2013. Post-bottling effects of early oxygen exposure during red winemaking. Beames, K.S., Robinson, E.M.C., Godden, P.W. and Johnson, D.L.(eds.) Proceedings of the 15th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference, 13-18 July 2013 Sydney, NSW. Urrbrae, SA: AWITC Inc.: 270 p. Gawel, R., S. C. Van Sluyter, P. A. Smith, and Waters, E J. 2013. Effect of pH and Alcohol on Perception of Phenolic Character in White Wine. Am J. Enol. Vitic. 64 (4) : 425–429. Singleton, V. L. and Kramling, T. E. 1976. Browning of White Wines and Accelerated Test for Browning Capacity. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 27 (4): 157–160.

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February 2015 – Issue 613

Swiss mission for an Aussie winemaker CHRIS Chen is an Aussie bloke currently working in Switzerland. He has viticulture and oenology qualifications, has work at Mountadam Vineyards in the Eden Valley and for Pierro in WA. And he’s an interesting example of an Aussie winemaker working abroad. Chen is working for Weingut zum Sternen which is a 552-year-old wine company, which also has a big vine nursery and he thinks a few of the Swiss grape varieties he’s been working with might be of interest in Australia. When the Grapegrower & Winemaker caught up with him, he was battling at a German language school in Berlin “getting beaten down over my poor grammar skills by the teachers”.

QUESTION: HOW DID YOU END UP WORKING IN SWITZERLAND AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE? Chris Chen (CC): My mum’s parents migrated from Switzerland, so my mum still has Swiss citizenship and consequently my brother, sister and I also have citizenship. Dad used to say it was him and the dog who were the only non-Swiss members of the family. My mum’s cousins have vineyards in

Switzerland and on the odd occasion we use to receive a carton of wine from them so this sparked my interest in both wine and Swiss wine at a very young age.

Q. SO THERE’S A LOT OF FAMILY CONNECTIONS TO SWITZERLAND AND WINE? CC: My grandfather was a chef in Switzerland he worked and trained

with some of Europe’s greatest chefs, becoming quite famous in his own right in Australia during the 60s, 70s and 80s. Charles, my grandfather, worked with Len Evens on occasion and cooked for the Queen. I learnt many things from my Grandfather about flavour and harmony in food and wine. This really cemented my decision to

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winemaking be a winemaker and also I received a very Swiss culinary/cultural upbringing which meant it was a very important place for me.

Q. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR WINE AND VITICULTURE EXPERIENCE? CC: In 2003 I worked a vintage at Franz Josef Mathier in Salgesch in the Valais Canton of Switzerland. It was the hottest vintage in decades so really a great experience. During my school and university holidays I had worked for Peter Althaus at Domaine A in Tasmania. Peter is also Swiss and also from the same canton where I am now working. The winemaker at the time, Velten Tiemann organised the vintage with Mathier for me as he had worked there 15 years earlier and believed I was too soft and a vintage climbing the steep vineyards of Switzerland was just what I needed. At Franz Josef Mathier I was completely shocked at the huge array of microclimates in such a small area and high quality of the grapes. I had never worked so hard in my life, I was working the normal long hours of vintage but as it was a very old cellar it was extremely manual work. Despite being fed and watered very well by my boss’ mother, I would wake up religiously at 3am every night scoff a

block of Lindt chocolate and then drop dead in bed again. I knew that I would be back. I then went back to Australia and started my Masters in Oenology, having previously finished a Bachelor of Agricultural Science, Viticulture at Adelaide, while working at Mountadam. In 2006 I went back to Switzerland to study French and work again at Franz Josef Mathier during the summer to learn more and also prepare for vintage at Chateau Beychevelle, where I had to speak French. After Beychevelle I worked in Margaret River for five years, and from time-to-time I received job offers from Switzerland. Now I really regret not accepting them. Also during this period I spent a European summer working at Cheval Blanc in the vineyard seeing how they operate. While on holiday with my Dad in July 2011, looking for wines to import from Europe to Australia, I was offered a position with Weingut zum Sternen.

Q. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR CURRENT ROLE? As it turns out Andreas Meier, the owner of Sternen ,was planning a major redevelopment of his winery and had also entered into discussion with a neighbouring village about turning their current co-operative into a more professional wine brand which would be made at Sternen.

So I raced back to Australia packed up my things and started in September 2011. So, I have now been at Sternen for three years. The new venture with the neighbouring village, the old co-operative, is called Besserstein Wein. So I am employed by Weingut zum Sternen and also make Besserstein wein and wein for two other neighbouring co-operatives. Weingut zum Sternen has been making wine in the same location for the last 552 years.

Q. WHAT LANGUAGE ARE YOU USING? CC: I am working in the Swiss German part of Switzerland in the canton of Aargau, approximately 20 minutes from Zurich. Each canton has its own dialect and can be so different it really is a different language. I speak as much of the local dialect as possible and when my vocabulary doesn’t stretch far enough I revert back to High German. I also use French on occasion when we have apprentices from the Swiss Romand (French-speaking cantons). Learning the languages has been very tough and extremely tiring at times and now I am suffering at German school here in Berlin because I have a mixture of Swiss German and High German much to the disgust of my Berliner teachers but I throw in as much Swiss German as possible so as not to sound like a German.

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February 2015 – Issue 613

winemaking

Sauvignon Blanc: Upwards and outwards to appeal to a wider audience Sharon Nagel reports for Concours Mondial du Sauvignon SAUVIGNON Blanc is as elusive as it is ubiquitous when it comes to pinning down the reasons for its indisputable commercial success and popularity with consumers. Marketing experts and industry commentators the world over are at a loss to explain how the French-born varietal soared to international stardom. What they do agree on, however, is that evolving flavour profiles emerging from the leading producer countries are maintaining interest in the grape and helping to broaden the consumer base. Larry Lockshin, professor of wine marketing and head of the School of Marketing at the University of South Australia, is the first to admit that the global infatuation with Sauvignon Blanc is baffling: “No one seems to be able to explain the success of Sauvignon blanc. I think Sauvignon Blanc has been a fad that developed further into a fashion (more stable) because of its fruitiness. No one seems to be able to explain why it has taken off and semisweet Rieslings have not.

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“The grapes are closely related genetically also to Muscat. If we knew how to measure this and forecast, we would be in high demand... “I think the evidence points to New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc being the turning point of flavour plus some residual sugar compared to the French versions. “And then the style has been copied by many other regions”.

SOUTH AFRICAN RENAISSANCE One such region that has followed New Zealand’s lead is South Africa. Emerging out of economic sanctions, the birth of the modern wine industry witnessed many misguided viticultural choices that were dictated by issues other than quality focus. According to leading South African wine authority Michael Fridjhon, genetically compromised plant material, unsuitable vineyard locations and over-cropping were among the initial factors that undermined South Africa’s ability to produce quality Sauvignon Blanc.

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February 2015 – Issue 613

However, improvements in all of these areas and input from enthusiastic wine makers has led to what Oz Clarke has called the “renaissance of Sauvignon blanc in South Africa”. The country is now recognised for its broad-ranging array of Sauvignon Blanc wines, opening up whole new avenues of market development.

FIVE DIFFERENT STYLES Charles Hopkins, cellar master at De Grendal Wines, near Cape Town, is a strong believer in the cultivar’s potential to appeal to a widening audience. “I’m a huge fan of Sauvignon Blanc. It’s the most progressive and most researched variety. “In my 26-year career of wine making in South Africa, plus time spent in Bordeaux and California, I’ve experienced amazing research on the aromatic compounds specifically of Sauvignon Blanc." Charles believes there are five styles of the varietal coming out of South Africa today, two of which have volatile flavours: “The whole debate about what is the preferred style among consumers involves understanding the volatility of the aromatic components.”

VOLUME AND PRICE DRIVE POPULARITY South Africa is an essential driver of Sauvignon Blanc’s rise to prominence in the UK market, believes Natalia PosadasDickson, commercial buyer at Enotria Winecellars. “The popularity of a particular grape variety stems from volume and price. Only South Africa and Chile have the economics to deliver both. They took a leaf out of New Zealand’s book and saw they could offer the same but at better value.” Historically, the Sancerre appellation was significant in the British market and it may still be influencing preferred taste profiles: “Even if British consumers did not know that Sancerre was made from Sauvignon Blanc, they still remember and enjoy the taste. Sancerre was considered to be for snobs because of its price tag but once you put a varietal name on it, it becomes successful.” Posadas-Dickson refutes the idea that New Zealand was pivotal to Sauvignon’s commercial success in the UK: “New Zealand cannot deliver varietal character or price and distinctive varietal character on the nose is important for consumers. Acidity and freshness – recalling the flavour of beer – are also key components.”

NZ BROADENING RANGE OF FLAVOURS Sauvignon Blanc trailblazer, New Zealand, is evolving its range of wines due to a more mature approach to the variety and of course to pre-empt consumer fatigue. New Zealand’s proposition is in no way one-dimensional and market commentators have picked up on the variety of flavour profiles now available. “There is certainly more than one style of Sauvignon Blanc coming out of New Zealand today. If you think they are all about gooseberry and green pepper think again,” states Will Lyons, wine columnist for The Wall Street Journal. “I have noticed what I would describe as four different flavour profiles: a dry style, those with lots of citrus and tropical notes, some that are more herbaceous in character and lastly the oaked Sauvignon which has a softer, rounder, character.”

In the Napa Valley, the cultivar is increasingly being considered as ‘serious’ and less of a cash crop. Journalist Lettie Teague wrote in The Wall Street Journal earlier this year: “More and more top Napa winemakers have been sourcing (or planting) the best vineyard sites for Sauvignon Blanc, experimenting with fermentation techniques and sampling clone types. “The result is a group of much more ambitious—and ambitiously priced—wines, with some bottles fetching well over $100… [this] wave of ambitious Napa Sauvignons is garnering praise in high places.” France is also a purveyor of top-end bottlings. However, these tend to be labelled as appellation wines and it is difficult to measure how much the varietal or the appellation are acting as buying cues. In the global range of Sauvignon wines available, France also provides dry alternatives to many New World offerings and their residual sweetness, allowing the category to appeal to different consumer profiles.

OFTEN IN THE TOP THREE All of these factors will help sustain the momentum for Sauvignon Blanc sales and allow it to continue to gain traction. In key export markets around the world, the varietal is often cited as one of consumers’ favourite wines. In the UK, figures released in September this year by the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) show that Sauvignon Blanc was one of the top three grapes chosen by consumers, alongside Pinot Grigio and Merlot. In the US, market research also shows that Sauvignon blanc is one of the varieties most enjoyed by consumers whilst in China, the world’s fifth-largest market for wine, it ranks third amongst the top five grapes for varietal awareness according to data published by Wine Intelligence. The UK analysts also noted this year that Sauvignon Blanc is becoming increasingly popular with consumers in the three Scandinavian markets that are Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and is closing the gap on Chardonnay.

VERSATILITY In many of these countries, wines are drunk on their own. One of Sauvignon Blanc’s great assets is that it has the ability to show well on its own or with food, as an appetiser or with an entire meal. This versatility should ensure its continued success, but there are other factors: “There are big brands behind the varietal and they will continue to spend money because Sauvignon Blanc is a variety that is easy to identify,” stresses Natalia Posadas-Dickson. Referring specifically to New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Will Lyons waxes lyrical: “At their best these are enormously consistent, easy to understand, crowd-pleasing wines at a decent price. “What I love about them, and I think others do, is their marriage between intense aromatics and bright, zippy acidity.”

Concours Mondial du Sauvignon www.cmsauvignon.com

TRADING UP Extending the range of flavour profiles is one way of ensuring long-lasting popularity of Sauvignon Blanc, another is offering consumers the chance to trade up. February 2015 – Issue 613

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Avoid mousy, off-flavours Many winemakers are experimenting with new techniques in white winemaking such as high grape solids ferments, extended lees ageing, higher pH with minimal sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxidative ageing and minimal clarification or filtration. In many cases the aim of these practices is to produce white wines with more texture. While these changing practices have resulted in some great successes, they also come with some increased risks. The incidence of both ‘Brett’ and mousy characters in white wines submitted to the AWRI helpdesk is on the rise. Common questions about mousy off-flavour are explored below. WHAT DOES A MOUSY WINE TASTE LIKE? The flavour of mousy wines has been described as the aroma of caged mice; it is also similar to certain cracker biscuits and beers. Adding a spoonful of uncooked jasmine rice to a glass of wine can replicate the character. The mousy character in wine is generally not perceptible as an aroma; it only becomes obvious after a wine is swallowed. This is because the compounds responsible are only aromatic at neutral or higher pH levels. In wine, which has low pH, the compounds are in acidified non-aromatic forms. When you swirl the wine in your mouth, the pH increases and the compounds return to their aromatic form; you then begin to ‘smell’ the character back through your mouth into your nose. If a wine is mousy, there can often be other off-aromas present such as volatile acidity (vinegar) that might suggest there is a problem with the wine. If you suspect a wine is mousy, a simple test is to dip your finger in the wine and rub onto the base of your palm or the back of your hand. The contact with skin will increase the pH of the wine and allow you to smell the character on your hand if it is present.

IS EVERYONE SENSITIVE TO MOUSY CHARACTER? About 30% of the population (this includes winemakers) cannot perceive the mousy character at all. There is also a wide range of sensitivities among those that can identify the character. Some people see it straight away with the flavour persisting for minutes afterward. For others it may take more than 30 seconds before the character even becomes apparent.

WHAT COMPOUNDS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MOUSY OFF-FLAVOUR? Three related compounds are responsible for mousy off flavour: 2-ethyltetrahydropyridine, 2-acetyltetrahydopyridine and 2-acetylpyrroline.

WHAT CAUSES MOUSY OFF-FLAVOUR? There are two origins of mousy off-flavour: 1. Microbial origin. Most strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) including Lactobacillus hilgardii, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus brevis and Oenococcus oeni (Costello et al. 2001) and the yeast Dekkera/Brettanomyces can produce the character. Production is favoured in high pH wines with high solids and high nutrient loads and with oxygen exposure. 2. Chemical origin. Through hyperoxidation, when hydrogen peroxide is used to remove SO2 from juice or wine. Recent research also suggests formation is possible via the Maillard reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars during

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extended wine ageing (Künzler and Nikfardjam 2013). This may be particularly relevant to wines made with high solids or extended lees ageing and/or stored with low levels of SO2.

CAN MOUSINESS BE MEASURED? Unfortunately there is no routine method available to measure the level of mousiness in wines, and thus it is also not currently possible to determine a sensory threshold for mousiness. Winemakers should be aware of their sensitivity to mousy character and if not very sensitive, seek out others who can perceive the character to taste their wines.

CAN MOUSY WINES BE TREATED? There are no verified ways to remove the character, other than attempting to blend it away. If the character was produced by microorganisms then it is important to sterile filter the wine to make sure no additional mousy character will be produced. High additions of SO2, particularly in white wines, can mask the character, but the character is likely to be observed again over time as the SO2 level drops.

HOW DO I GET THE TEXTURE IN WINE WITHOUT THE MOUSE? When targeting texture by extracting macromolecules from grapes, lees ageing, using high pH regimes or oxidative handling, wines are at greater risk of microbial contamination. Extra attention should be paid to microbial control through rigorous hygiene and targeted use of antimicrobial agents such as SO2. More regular tasting during wine ageing, by tasters known to be sensitive to mousy character, should also be employed. For more information regarding mousy off-flavour, please contact the AWRI helpdesk on winemakingservices@awri.com. au or 08 8313 6600.

References

Costello, P.J., Lee, T.H., Henschke, P.A. Ability of lactic acid bacteria to produce N heterocycles causing mousy off-flavour in wine. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. 7: 160–167; 2001. Künzler, L. Nikfardjam, M. P. Investigations into the formation of 2-acetylpyridine and the mousy off-flavor in wine. Mitteilungen Klosterneuburg, Rebe und Wein, Obstbau und Früchteverwertung 63 (4): 187-198; 2013.

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February 2015 – Issue 613

Online purchases more popular than cellar door AROUND one-in-five regular wine drinkers in Australia have bought wine online recently, making online sales more popular than direct purchases from the cellar door for the first time, according to a new report by Wine Intelligence. The Wine Intelligence Australia Internet and Social Media Report 2015 found online wine shoppers tend to be men who are engaged wine drinkers. They are more likely to be either the wine consumer segment named ‘adventurous connoisseurs’, a category of higher-spending, knowledgeable wine drinkers with a genuine interest in exploring the category; or the more valuedriven, ‘mainstream bargain hunters’, who are typically older, very frequent and experienced wine drinkers who know what they like and seek good value. The report examined how Australian wine consumers were buying wine online, as well as how wine drinkers have engaged with online content about wine. The report explored developments in consumer technology that influenced how people learn about wine, including how one-in-five wine drinkers now searched for information about wine using a mobile or tablet; as well as the use of apps for wine has increased substantially, now reaching 17% of wine drinkers compared with just 2% in 2012. Natasha Rastegar, a member of Wine Intelligence’s senior management team who leads the office in Sydney, said the growing use of the online world for wine in Australia was primarily based on a consumer need for pricing transparency. “The main reason people shop online for wine is due to the expectation of price discounts and therefore better value for money,” Rastegar said. “However the research does reveal interesting ways to engage consumers online beyond price. We see that the main way wine drinkers actively engage with wine on social media for example are to post pictures either enjoying a wine moment or wines they are drinking, or to enter competitions. Furthermore, recommendations on social media can have a particularly strong influence on the wine purchase decisions of younger drinkers.” The data in the report was sourced from research carried out among 1006 consumers in 2014 and 769 in 2012, who were selected to represent the make-up of regular wine drinkers across Australia.

WineTech and the future of wine retail THE Wine Industry Suppliers Australia (WISA) will host WineTech, the National Wine Industry Supplier Trade Exhibition, from 14–16 July at the Adelaide Exhibition & Events Centres’ Goyder Pavilion. Alongside the exhibition will be a commercial-content program for wine industry professionals. WISA has announced Sam Willard, from the Woolworths Liquor Group, has been confirmed as a key note speaker. “Sam has almost 20 years’ experience in the hospitality and wine industy. He heads up Dan Murphy’s Connections program, which allows the retailer to meet customer demands by offering a wider range of products specifically from the boutique end of the market” said WISA Executive Officer, Matthew Moate. “This seminar will offer a unique insight into the changing technology available to wine producers to market and sell their products.” The seminar forms part of a content program covering wine tourism; industry succession planning; export; and marketing topics. Bookings and pricing for the seminars will be available in the coming months. For more information about WineTech 2015 visit www. winetechaustralia.com.au. February 2015 – Issue 613

For further information, please contact Kauri AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 AUS Fax: 1800 127 609 Email: winery@kauri.co.nz

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NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE NZ Fax: 04 910 7415 Website: www.kauriwine.com

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Just chips and gravy, or a bigger issue? How should Australian wine producers and representative bodies respond to ‘Barossa Shiraz Flavoured Gravy’ and chips with ‘Hunter Valley Chicken, Lemon & Thyme’ flavours? Nathan Gogoll has spoken to a range of people about the issues of regionally-branded, non-wine-related sales and marketing issues. WHEN ‘Chargrilled Beef & Riverina Merlot’ gravy is poured onto mum’s Sunday roast, there probably wouldn’t be a second thought given to whether or not the product really did contain Merlot from that region. But if you tracked back to the supermarket isle when this product was placed into the trolley, there’s a good chance the regional branding did have an influence on the purchasing decision. “Consumers are likely to seek out and pay more for products containing specialised gourmet ingredients,” said Rod Sims, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman. Which clearly explains the motivation of the marketing and development team at Gravox when they developed a range of gravy which includes Chargrilled Beef & Riverina Merlot, Lamb

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& Barossa Valley Shiraz as well as Cracked Pepper & Barossa Valley Shiraz products. However, the disconnect between the consumption of a product, where the regional brand means very little; and the point of purchase, where it means a lot, doesn’t sit well with key wine industry figures. Margaret Lehmann said it is an “inappropriate use” and “annexation of the cache attached to a strong regional brand”. “When you look at the gravy, they might really have Barossa Shiraz as an ingredient but how ‘Barossa’ is it if there’s just four percent in that packet? The name is clearly being used as a trigger-point selling tool,” Lehmann said. Online promotion of the Gravox gravy includes statements like this… “Did you know that our new Premium Range is made using local Australian ingredients? Our Cracked Pepper & Barossa Valley Shiraz Gravy incorporates Shiraz from the Barossa Valley, one of Australia’s oldest wine regions, boasting more than 160 wineries!” Clearly, the history of the region and it’s successful winemaking industry is important, but does not relate in any way to the gravy itself, rather to the “premium” claim the product makes. For the record, Gravox is currently produced by Cerebos (Australia) Limited at Seven Hills in Sydney’s west. Other brands Cerebos include Riva coffee, Fountain sauces and marinades, Saxa salt and pepper, Foster Clarks custards and Snak Pack, as well as Tandaco coatings and stuffings. Steve Guy, Australian Grape & Wine Authority’s general manager – regulatory advice, said AGWA had received some comment from the industry on this range of Gravox products. “Provenance claims for foods, other than wine related products, would not normally be the responsibility of AGWA. However in this case, given the origin claim relates to the wine used as an ingredient, AGWA has consulted with the Gravox parent company Cerebos to verify the GI claim. Cerebos have provided us with evidence that the wine is as claimed on the package,” Guy said. But Gravox is not the only brand associating itself with wine regions, everything from Coles Made Easy casserole kits to Red Rock Deli potato chips and Laucke Flour Mills ‘home baker products’ have been packaged with obvious links to well-known wine regions. The Coles Made Easy casserole kits offer “a classic Frenchstyle dish... tender beef slow cooked for three hours with bacon, pearl onions, mushrooms and an exquisite Barossa Valley Shiraz Sauce”. Laucke Flour Mills’ Barossa Sourdough Rye option from a range of ‘home baker products’ offers a “unique recipe” that

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February 2015 – Issue 613

It’s one of the things that ‘sticks in your craw’. Those people aren’t putting anything back into the place they are making money from by trading under the name. “celebrates the pioneer heritage of the famous Barossa Valley in South Australia”. But this type of marketing has not been restricted to food products, there is a Barossa house design option from Porter Davis Builders and regionally-branded gaming room options at the Adelaide Casino. The ‘lifestyle’ range from Porter Davis Builders includes the Barossa “a home of comfort and convenience”. The marketing spiel for this house layout merges design features and regional experiences… “we think your home should feel comforting, every day, year round and hope that you feel exactly that as soon as you walk in the Barossa door. We think there’s plenty of room for you and your family in the Barossa, with two floors, four bedrooms and an entire downstairs living room plus games room upstairs. A private study, as well as an extra lounge room completes the Barossa experience”. Jan Angas, whose Barossa property Hutton Vale is home to wine, lamb and produce businesses is far from impressed with the builder’s Barossa option. “There is no way you can build a house somewhere else and say you are having a Barossa experience, that takes all the element of the place away from the name and, again, it just

becomes an adjective and it’s lazy marketing, jumping on the hard work that has been done within the Barossa instead of working to grow your own brand value,” Angas said. The Adelaide Casino is also home to regionally-branded gaming rooms, as well as one that shares its name with Australia’s most famous wine. Margaret Lehmann said she wasn’t convinced there was as much positive association available to the casino as some other examples, “other than perhaps being able to tap into something like the ‘Barossa… Be Consumed’ tourism campaign”. “The wine industry needs to obsessively guard these things because businesses will appropriate the names but never give anything back to the community it belongs to,” Lehmann said. “It is one of the things that ‘sticks in your craw’. Those people aren’t putting anything back into the place they are making money from by trading under the name.” A 2014 newspaper advertising campaign raised awareness of the casino’s regional names for the first time, and several people took the matter up with Stephan Knoll, the State Member for Schubert, whose electorate includes the majority of the Barossa Geographical Indication. “I enquired about it at soon as I saw it advertised,” Knoll said. “It turns out the casino has a McLaren Room, a Grange Room and a Barossa Room and they’ve had these for about 20 years – we just didn’t know about them,” says Knoll. “There are about 160 trademarks for various use of ‘Barossa’, but the thing is you can’t defensively apply for a trademark just to prevent it being used.” It is hard for people within the wine industry to accept the loose use of regional names, because they are subject to such rigid GI regulations, so Knoll decided to engage with other key

Tough times are good times to build competitive business brands For over 50 years Grapegrower & Winemaker has built wine industry supplier brands and businesses. Now more than ever, the imperative is to maintain your market presence in PRINT and ONLINE. So for your next branding or “call to action” advertising campaign, you can trust Grapegrower & Winemaker as the leading industry magazine with the recognition and a committed subscriber readership, to target your market.

Call Chas Barter today to discuss your next branding and advertising campaign plans. T: +618 8369 9513 F: +618 8369 9559 E: sales@grapeandwine.com.au W: www.winebiz.com.au

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So this brings to the fore the need to have more legislated protection. Barossa Shiraz Gravy, there’s the example, is that the best we can hope for? It clearly shows the Barossa name has value but we didn’t do all the work of adding value to that name for it to be used as an adjective. It’s a noun, it’s our noun, it’s our place. stakeholders in the region to work out his response. A meeting with representatives from Regional Development Australia Barossa, the Barossa Grape & Wine Association, Tourism Barossa Incorporated and the Barossa Council helped to “come up with a bit of a game plan”. The casino’s Barossa Room offers more than 160 gaming machines and table games and “whether you’re after a big night out or a quiet day, the full service bar and cafe means it is a great place to socialise, relax and game” according to the website promotion. There’s also a Grange Room, the home of Adelaide Casino’s VIP table game players. “Legally, the casino can use the name Barossa,” Knoll said. “The only thing that would prevent them from doing so would be if someone already had a trademark for ‘Barossa Room’ that related specifically to gambling. Because you can’t prevent it we thought we should engage with them for some positive PR. We are thinking about ways we could encourage the casino to get a Barossa wine list together, or to promote some local produce. We figure the best way forward will be to work together.” But will this satisfy the Knoll’s constituents? “There will probably be some hard-liners who will want the whole room shut down, but I think there will be many members of the community who will be happy to see something positive come about,” Knoll said. Meanwhile, a Penfolds spokesperson said… “Penfolds keeps

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a continuous global watch on all products which detects and reports on attempts and misappropriation. Penfolds protects its rights vigilantly and has in place multiple, dedicated processes to combat counterfeiting and fraudulent mimicking of our brand and products”. Where the regional names carry positive marketing pull, there will be products across all fields that position themselves to take advantage. Which, in essence, is the reason the Barossa Trust Mark has been developed. The Barossa Trust Mark is a mark of aspirational standard set by the Barossa region. It provides a guarantee and assurance of quality. It is founded on five value pillars: • Origin. A sense of place; • Integrity. A sense of purpose; • Quality. A sense of ambition; • Environment. A sense of responsibility; and • Community. A sense of belonging. Granted under licence, the Trust Mark is awarded to Barossa products and experiences that demonstrate exemplary achievement and distinction across these five areas of value creation. Which means the Barossa Trust Mark becomes an assurance the food, wine or tourism offer meets a standard of excellence. “The difficulty with the Barossa Shiraz gravy is that, just like the Appellation system in France, provided it is what it says on the label there is nothing to prevent it,” Jan Angas said. “The problem is you can’t mandate quality. And that’s where the Barossa Trust Mark is a great initiative, because it will help to raise the standards. Margaret Lehmann said the Barossa Trust Mark would soon become “a very important public statement that a genuine Barossa product can attain.” “It says ‘you can trust this as being true to the Barossa’. It is about authenticity and integrity and it can be applied to everything from a loaf of bread to a $700 bottle of wine.” Lehmann said she was reminded of the initial discussions about protection for the use of Champagne. While one part of the protection required was straight-forward for the ‘name’ of the region and for wines made from that region, the tricky part came in the restriction of the winemaking method ‘Champenoise’. “I do remember seeing a ‘Barossa’ mettwurst that had been made in Perth, and part of the consideration is whether the name is appropriate if the product is made to an old Barossa recipe,” Lehmann said. The ACCC recently ruled on a similar situation to this, in relation to Maggie Beer Products’ place of origin representations on the labelling of Maggie Beer branded Ice cream (all flavours), Aged Red Wine Vinegar, Extra virgin olive oil and Rosemary and verjuice biscuits. Maggie Beer Products cooperated with the ACCC’s investigation and, as part of the undertaking, has amended its labelling so that the place of manufacture for products made outside of South Australia is made clear to consumers. Maggie Beer Products has removed its original tagline ‘A Barossa Food Tradition’ from its logo so as to satisfy the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) interpretation of provenance in food labelling. Products previously were labelled ‘Made in Australia’ with the Maggie Beer logo and tagline, ‘A Barossa Food Tradition’ and ‘Maggie Beer Products: 2 Keith Street, Tanunda, South Australia’. Four product lines of about 200 Maggie Beer Products are made interstate. The four product lines are the ice cream (Victoria), Rosemary & Verjuice Biscuits (Victoria), Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Victoria) and Aged Red Wine Vinegar (Queensland).

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February 2015 – Issue 613

Misleading representations about the origin of products to capitalise on this demand undermines the integrity of credence claims which are relied on by consumers. Maggie Beer said that when the ACCC drew to her attention that it believed consumers may be misled by the labels on the four product lines, she decided to modify all labels on all 200 products with added information on the state in which each product is made. “I fully support the ACCC’s interpretation on provenance in food labelling,” Maggie Beer said. “All four of these products originally were made in South Australia but, as Maggie Beer Products grew to supply larger markets, we were unable to find suitable South Australian suppliers for four of our product lines. In these four instances our labels, while fully compliant with Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) labelling laws, did not reflect the ACCC’s interpretation of provenance in labelling. “We acted immediately when the ACCC drew this to our attention. Maggie Beer customers can be 100 percent sure on the provenance of the food that we offer. I apologise to anyone who may in the past have been misled in any way. It’s the last thing I would want to do.” When explaining the ruling, ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said, “consumers are often willing to pay premium prices for local products and businesses are following consumer demand by stocking local goods.” “Protecting the integrity of credence claims made about food products is a priority enforcement area for the ACCC,” Sims said. “The Barossa Valley is a nationally recognised premium food and wine destination, and businesses in that region use place of origin claims to promote or distinguish their product from others in the market. “Misleading representations about the origin of products to capitalise on this demand undermines the integrity of credence claims which are relied on by consumers.” Jan Angas said those companies using the name of a region to promote products like gravy was “a bit of a back-handed compliment”. “It shows the regional names have value associated with them. The trouble is if we don’t have any parameters to ‘own’ our regional brands and we’re open to see the names exploited,” Angas said. “So this brings to the fore a need to have more legislated protection. Barossa Shiraz Gravy, there’s the example, is that the best we can hope for? It clearly shows the Barossa name has value but we didn’t do all the work of adding value to that name for it to be used as an adjective, it’s a noun, it’s our noun, it’s our place.” Angas said the Australian wine industry “was dragged, kicking and screaming” into tight Geographical Indexation, yet today “there wouldn’t be anyone in the industry who doesn’t see the way it supports them”. Angas said there must be more done to protect regional brands. “It is not going to be an easy one to solve but in France and Italy they are 20 years ahead of us, so there’s no reason we couldn’t catch up quickly,” she said. “The biggest loser in all of this is the consumer, there is no way someone who chooses gravy because of this marketing that will taste the product and link it in any way to the enjoyment of a glass of great Barossa Shiraz.” February 2015 – Issue 613

SUBMERSIBLE STAINLESS STEEL

WINE HEATERS

• Keeping tanks of wine warm for MLF or stuck ferments • Warming tanks prior to bottling or inoculation • Warming Pinot vats after cold soak (a portion of juice must be removed and warmed so as not to cook skins)

Wine proof submersible heaters to be fully submersed in tanks of wine. 2.3 kw (single phase) $1380 plus gst (Plus freight costs from NZ)

• heats 1000 litres by 2.3 degrees per hour

8 kw (3 phase) $2250 plus gst (Plus freight costs from NZ)

• heats 1000 litres by 8 degrees per hour Heaters are placed about 2/3rds of the way down the tank and they heat gently by convention. Cannot be put in lees Queries to Mat Donaldson +6421848 024

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Orders to Di Burgoyne +64274 333194 dburgoyne@xtra.co.nz Grapegrower & Winemaker

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Tax-efficient structuring essential for importers SALES of imported wine in Australia have enjoyed a period of substantial growth over the last decade. However, with competition in the wine market intensifying, there is increased pressure driving down prices and thus profits. In this market, where every dollar counts, it is essential to operate with an efficient business structure that keeps transactional and tax costs to a minimum. Where a business involves importing wine into Australia, consideration needs to be given to the application of Australian Wine Equalisation Tax (WET), Australian GST, Australian income tax and income tax levied by the country of export - with a view to deferring those taxes where possible and taking advantage of any exemptions, credits and rebates for which the business is genuinely eligible. Winemakers exporting to, or importing into, Australia, therefore need to ask: • Can you defer or obtain an exemption from transactional taxes on importing wine into Australia? For example, is it possible to defer Australian GST on import under the Deferred GST Scheme and can WET on importation

be eliminated by “quoting”? What are the implications of quoting on subsequent dealings?; • Are you eligible for the WET rebate for wine sold in the Australian market? The rebate is not necessarily restricted to Australian entities or Australianmade wine; • Can a New Zealand winemaker bring forward their claim for the WET rebate, instead of having to wait until the end of the year to receive the rebate in NZ?; and • Are you required to pay income tax in Australia and the country of export? To avoid paying “double tax” in Australia and the country of export, can you obtain a credit in one country for income tax paid in the other? Obtaining a credit can be tricky for companies with shareholders located outside the country of incorporation (and tax residence). In most cases, business structures will not be set up with tax considerations in mind. Accordingly, there can real benefits in getting a legal adviser to review the business’s existing and proposed arrangements. The lawyers at Finlaysons have assisted a number of winemakers

and importers to identify opportunities for minimising transactional and tax costs, including: • Australian winemakers growing grapes and making wine in New Zealand or other overseas countries, and then importing the wine into Australia; • Australian winemakers contract manufacturing wine in New Zealand or other overseas countries, and then importing the wine into Australia; and • New Zealand and other overseas winemakers importing into Australia. At the end of the day, tax costs are borne by all businesses within the wine industry, whether those businesses are large industry players or boutique or family run businesses. Reviewing those costs is no easy task but can certainly provide a real competitive advantage to importers and winemakers in an otherwise tough market. For more information, contact: Michael Butler from Finlaysons Australian Wine Lawyers P: +618 8235 7407 E: michael.butler@finlaysons.com.au

Product Update

Vintage forklift tipping solution THE A.I.M. Forward Bin Tipper is the ideal choice for transferring bulk produce or product from a wide variety of different sizes of timber or plastic bins. It has a capacity of onetonne and is robustly constructed for years of service in the most demanding of production environments.

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The tipper quickly and easily mounts on any standard forklift. Simply slide attachment onto the tines, insert rear lock bins and connect auxiliary hoses. No rotating bars or rails are required on bins, allowing for standard bins to be used throughout all operations. The tipping operation is smooth and fully controllable; allowing excellent visibility and a better regulated tipping area. It is also gentler on the bins and produce than sideways rotating systems. A.I.M. Tippers can easily handle stacked bins; allows for bins to be picked from stacks and restacked tightly side by side. A.I.M. Sales also distributes plastic Megabins across Australia and is able to offer very competitive pricing for any quantities of vented or solid bins. These bins have become the industry standard ‘pallet bin’ in Australia. The company is also the importers of the Hydralada Elevating Work Platforms into Australia. These are recognised as the best elevating work platform in the world for orchard or forestry work. For more information contact A.I.M. Sales P: +61 2 6964 4688 E: info@aimsales.com.au

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February 2015 – Issue 613

Organic yeast:

a tool for premium wine production Carsten Heinemeyer & Dr Silke Boeffel 2B FermControl GmbH

THE natural or organic wine production has increased alongside rising consumer awareness and demand. The reasons leading Yeast, wineries around the world have chosen to Enzymes & follow the organic route, whether they choose Ferments to promote this on the final product or not, extend beyond an ethical belief, through a conviction to produce a higher-quality product. What role do organic yeasts play in this and what advantages do they offer? Today, organic products do not merely belong to a ‘niche market’ but they are synonymous with quality in production and practices. Well-known international wineries from France, Italy, Germany, such as Domaine Chapoutier, Château Latour and Bassermann-Jordan, as well as many across the New World are looking for organic solutions as they no longer want to use synthetic fungicides and herbicides in the vineyard. This extends to the use of organic solutions during winemaking, where these wineries also wish to omit the use of synthetic products. To satisfy this increasing demand, new organic yeast products are appearing on the market.

The launch of the new EU Law for biological wine production in 2012, and the adaption of this law in New Zealand (and soon in Australia), has accelerated the development of these products. The EU Bio Law no. 834/2008 stipulates very clearly how organic yeast products must be produced to be in accordance with this law.

ORGANIC YEAST IN DETAIL The first question one might ask is what organic means in terms of yeast. The organism itself is of course of biological nature. So, where does the difference lie between conventionallyproduced yeast and organic-certified yeast? The first difference can be found in the raw materials used to grow or ferment the yeast. Conventional yeasts are grown on sugar beet or sugar cane molasses from conventional agriculture and with liquid ammonia derived from fossil fuels as the nitrogen source. A lot of additional substances, which are not from natural sources but of synthetic chemical origin, are also used. For example, some vitamins and minerals such as magnesium and zinc are used to enrich the mineral content of the media during the production.

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winemaking Table 1: Production of conventional versus organic yeast – a comparison. Organic and conventional yeast – a comparison Comparison of process

Conventional yeast

Organic/BIO yeast

Molasses, conventional but also GMO derived

Organic molasses

Nitrogen source

Ammonia of petro chemical origin

Organic cereals organic soy bean

pH regulation

Acid, e.g. SO2 Sodium hydroxide

Not necessary

Vitamines and minerals

Synthetic vitamines Anorganic salts

From organic corn or soy bean

Emulsifiers and preservatives

mono & diglycerides E471 Sorbitanmonostearat E491

Organic vegetable oil

2x Persistent and difficult to degrade

Raw material for further organic products

Sugar source

Washing and disposal

To facilitate the drying process of conventional yeast, and to increase their shelf life, synthetic emulsifiers and stabilisers are used. These substances, usually mono- and di-glyceride (E471) or sorbitanmonostearate (E491) – are required to be declared on the product packaging. In contrast to this, for organic-certified yeasts and yeast products used for organic wine production only raw materials derived from organic agriculture are permitted. This means alternative sources of nitrogen, vitamins and trace elements had to be found. In addition to this during the drying process of organic yeast the use of emulsifiers and stabilisers is not allowed, therefore a new drying technique had to be developed, which prevented damage to the yeasts and their capacity to

Picture 1: Comparison of foam production between a conventional (Lalvin EC1118) and an organic, emulsifier-free (ViniFerm Cool White) yeast strain.

conduct fermentation. A positive side effect was this new method can also be used on yeast strains that were previously not accessible to conventional drying methods, which opened the door for certain wild-type strains of yeast. Due to the absence of emulsifiers and stabilisers, foam production during rehydration of the yeasts is significantly reduced which clearly facilitates a better handling of the yeast (Picture 1). Of course due to the special requirements – in terms of raw materials used, the absence of synthetic substances and the special gentle drying process – the production of organic yeast is more expensive than the production of conventional yeasts. In the past organic products for wine production often had a negative reputation for not having the same functionality and reliability as conventional products. However, improved production techniques and extensive practical trials comparing conventional versus organic yeasts have shown that this is no

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February 2015 – Issue 613

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Graph 1: Fermentation curves and sensory evaluation of conventional and organic yeasts in a Pinot blanc (source: thesis of R. Federer, 2012, U. of Applied Sciences Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany). Sensory evaluation was conducted in a blind tasting (1= unpleasant, 6= excellent).

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Graph 2: Fermentation curves and sensory evaluation of conventional and organic yeasts in a Pinot noir (source: Study at Badischer Winzerkeller, 2012, Germany). Sensory evaluation was conducted in a blind tasting (1= unpleasant, 6= excellent).

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longer the case. A thesis at University of Applied Sciences in Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany in cooperation with Badischer Winzerkeller in Germany supported this paradigm change. Different yeast strains (organic yeasts verses internationally well-known standard yeasts) were compared with regards to their fermentation dynamics and sensory characteristics. Further trials where performed during vintage 2012/2013 in Germany and South Africa. Graph 1 shows the fermentation curves in a Pinot Blanc with 13.1% v/v and both fermentation curves run parallel, which indicates the fermentation dynamics and reliability of both yeast strains (ViniFerm Cool White and Lalvin EC1118) are comparable. A similar result (Graph 2) was shown for fermentation in a Pinot Noir wine at 13.8% v/v. The sensory evaluation of these wines was conducted by six trained wine tasters early in the following year. In blind tastings both organic yeast strains were rated better than the standard yeast.

CONCLUSION We can conclude the use of organic yeast today shows no disadvantages for wine production. Organic yeast is www.winebiz.com.au

equal when it comes to fermentation dynamics and is often better in a sensory assessment. Because of the special production methods, organic yeast made in accordance with EU Bio Law no 834/2008 not only provides advantages to consumers, but also to winemakers in terms of marketing and positioning of their premium wines: • Organic yeast is free of petro chemical and synthetic chemical substances; • All raw materials are derived from controlled organic certified agriculture; • The wines are free from allergens and contain no-hidden preservatives or emulsifiers; and • As a result the wines show a very natural and competitive sensorial character. It can therefore be concluded that the use of organic yeast for wine production is more and more becoming the gold standard for premium wines in Europe. For more information on ViniFerm Yeast and other organic winemaking products contact Kauri Winemaking Innovation Aust Phone: 1800 127 611; NZ Phone 0800 528 749 Email: winery@kauri.co.nz February 2015 – Issue 613

New tool sheds light on relationship between grape and wine tannins Neil Scrimgeour, Paul Smith, Keren Bindon and Eric Wilkes The Australian Wine Research Institute

THE concentration of tannins in red grapes is an important factor in defining the colour and texture of red wines. These compounds are present in the pulp, skins and seeds of grapes, but the degree to which they are extracted during the winemaking process can vary significantly, according to: • ferment temperature; • yeast strain; • maceration techniques; and • co-fermentation. It is also clear that, when it comes to grapes, not all tannin is equal; skin tannin is more extractable than seed tannin, for example. Only a small proportion of the overall tannin present in grapes is accessible, in practical terms, depending on the part of the berry that the tannin resides in and the winemaking methods employed to extract it.

February 2015 – Issue 613

Currently available methods for analysing grape tannin are aggressive, but do provide a good indication of the ‘total potential tannin’ available within the grapes. However, the extraction environment that is present during winemaking is much milder and this typically leads to a lower concentration of tannins in the finished wine. The ratio of skin tannin to seed tannin in grapes is an important factor in determining the degree of difference that is observed. The application of a ‘wine-like’ extraction method for measuring grape tannins provides a much stronger indication of the amount of tannin that is likely to be extracted during winemaking.

UNDERSTANDING TANNIN EXTRACTABILITY Previous

research

studies

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have

shown that the way grapes are prepared can have an impact on the tannin concentrations measured. Highpowered homogenisation equipment is powerful enough to break up the skins and seeds and enhance the extraction of tannins, prior to measurement. Highly alcoholic extraction media, such as the 50% ethanol solution typically used to measure grape phenolics and colour, can also enhance this effect. This results in measured levels of seed tannin being unrealistically high and makes it very difficult to predict eventual wine tannin levels. The AWRI recently carried out a study to assess the impact of sample preparation and extraction solvent on measured grape tannins, using two different methods (Figure 1): 1. The standard industry method -

Grapegrower & Winemaker

winemaking 50% acidified ethanol extraction of grape homogenate. 2. A new ‘wine-like’ extraction method which involves gentle crushing of 50 g grapes and extraction in a 15% ethanol, pH 3.4 medium. The grapes were vinified using a standardised winemaking procedure in

triplicate 1 kg lots and the wines produced were analysed for tannin using standard wet chemistry methods and the AWRI’s methyl cellulose precipitation (MCP) assay. A total of 39 batches of 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz grapes at different ripeness levels, from various regions within Australia, were analysed.

Figure 1. Experimental approach for comparing grape tannin levels extracted with two different methods.

Grape tannin concentrations measured using the 15% method were strongly correlated with the tannin levels seen in the wines, with the actual concentrations being very similar. Grape tannin concentrations measured using the 50% method were poorly correlated with the tannin levels seen in the wines, with the actual concentrations found in the wines much lower than those indicated by the grape analysis. When the data generated by the 50% method were analysed on a varietal basis, there was a reasonable correlation between the level of grape tannins and the resulting wine tannins, even though the concentrations of grape tannin were significantly higher than the concentrations of wine tannin. This ‘total potential tannin’ indicated by the 50% method does not represent a realistic expectation for the tannin concentration in the finished wine, but it does provide a benchmark that can be used to compare grape tannin potential between different varieties, regions and vintages. The difference between the 2013 Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon data in Figure 2 suggests that the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes had a higher proportion of seed tannin, resulting in a greater difference in concentration between grape and wine tannin. The extractable tannin data in Figure 2 show large differences between regions, with Riverland grapes exhibiting the lowest extractable tannin and McLaren Vale grapes showing the highest tannin. As the grapes with the highest extractable tannin were also the ripest, in terms of Brix, it is likely that this is primarily due to a higher concentration of skin tannin in the McLaren Vale samples.

DEVELOPING A PRACTICAL EXTRACTABILITY MEASUREMENT TOOL

Figure 2. Correlation of grape tannin and wine tannin, measured using two different extraction methods.

62 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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AWRI Commercial Services has built a calibration model for extractable grape tannins (Figure 3) using UV-Vis absorbance values at three specific wavelengths (280 nm, 320 nm and 520 nm). The relationship between tannin concentration measured using the reference MCP assay and that predicted using spectral data is strong, with the calibration model showing a standard measurement error of 0.18 g/L total tannin. The ability to generate extractable tannin data for grapes has been incorporated into the AWRI WineCloud, in time for use during vintage 2015. The WineCloud now allows users to measure both the ‘total tannin potential’ and extractable tannin components simultaneously, as well as the total February 2015 – Issue 613

Figure 3. Comparison of grape tannin concentration measured using reference MCP assay and predicted using UV-Vis spectral data.

anthocyanins and phenolics in grapes. The WineCloud also provides the opportunity for producers to measure tannins, colour and phenolics in wines using their own UV/Vis equipment and compare a range of attributes in grape and wine samples against an extensive

database of samples from around the world.

BENEFITS OF MEASURING EXTRACTABLE TANNIN An understanding of the concentration of extractable tannin in grapes can provide

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winemakers with the information they need to make informed decisions for the processing of grapes and achieve specific targeted tannin levels in finished wines. For example, for grapes with a high level of extractable tannin, adequate extraction may be obtained through a short skin-contact period; whereas for grapes exhibiting a relatively low level of extractable tannin, extended maceration time or the use of targeted yeasts, known to increase tannin extraction, may be required. This innovative new tool can be used to inform wine producers on the best approach to processing grapes and allow: • more efficient viticultural management and improved harvesting logistics; • more objective fruit grading and allocation; • enhanced ferment management to achieve desired tannin and colour profile; and • better understanding of factors influencing wine colour development and stability. The WineCloud is a subscriptionbased service. For more details, please contact AWRI Commercial Services at commercialservices@awri.com.au or on (08) 8313 6600.

NATURAL YEAST OPTIMISATION

SUPERSTART® Blanc

February 2015 – Issue 613

SUPERSTART® Rouge

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winemaking

Managing wine quality with a newly selected, robust and original wine bacteria – omega™ THE quality of wine is the main objective of winemakers. With this in mind, the use of Analytical selected wine bacteria Services is a tool that lets winemakers master the malolactic fermentation process. Across a four-year period, the Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin (IFV), in partnership with Lallemand, developed a robust and versatile new lactic bacteria which, when integrated into the winemaking process, supports the qualitative efforts made upstream from malolactic fermentation. This newly selected wine bacteria, O-MEGA™, is very resistant and increases the security of having a safe and complete malolactic fermentation, as well as offering numerous advantages in terms of effectiveness and sensory impact. In this report, Vincent Gerbaux and Carole Briffox from IFV Beaune in France have teamed with Lallemand researchers

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Magali Deleris-Bou, Sibylle KriegerWeber and Anthony Silvano, to present the main steps involved in the selection process, followed by the oenological and sensory benefits of this new wine bacteria.

THE SELECTION PROCESS The objective of the selection process is to develop a new wine bacteria that meets the following specifications: • Rapid onset and realisation of malolactic fermentation within a wide range of physicochemical conditions, including pH and alcohol; • Low production of volatile acidity (VA), associated with limited degradation of citric acid; and • Capable of being produced in the lyophilised form, for use in direct inoculation without rehydration. First, the IFV in Beaune put together a collection of lactic bacteria. Corresponding to the specifications initially established with Lallemand, the bacteria were sampled during malolactic fermentation in white, rosé and red wines, in a variety of regions in France, and across different vintages. To avoid duplicates, only one or two strains were isolated from each of the vats sampled. The samples were stored at -80°C. This collection formed the basis for the research and included 208 lactic bacteria strains from the Oenococcus oeni species. The selection process was carried out in the laboratory on rosé wine with the pH adjusted to 3.2 and the wine was refrigerated after alcoholic fermentation, then divided into 125 mL aliquots and

inoculated with the lactic bacteria. The malolactic fermentation activity of each of the 208 selected bacteria was determined, as well as for four commercially selected bacteria used as the control, for comparison purposes. At the end of malolactic fermentation, the key parameters were analysed, including acetic acid level, colour and aroma. Combined with the kinetics of malolactic fermentation, this analysis led to selecting the five best-performing O. oeni strains in the collection. They are all distinct genetically, both among themselves and compared to other selected bacteria already on the market. Production trials (e.g., testing resistance to lyophilisation, yield, etc.), carried out by Lallemand, eliminated two of the strains. The wine bacteria 1, 2 and 3 were then produced in the lyophilised form in a pilot production to test their oenological capacities. The IFV then carried out laboratory trials on rosé wine for these three new biomasses. The wine was divided among 750 mL bottles and the different physicochemical properties (e.g., pH, alcohol and temperature) were adjusted. Each biomass was rehydrated in chlorine free water and inoculated with the wine bacteria at a rate of two million cells per milliliter. As show in Figure 1, in each of the limiting conditions the bacteria strain 3 performed the best compared to strains 1 and 2. Selection 3 showed the fastest kinetics at pH 3.1 and tolerated the highest degree of alcohol (15% by volume) and the lowest temperature (15°C). Upon analysis, selection 3 also presented the lowest level of citric acid degradation

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FIGURE 1. Time required to achieve 90% malic acid degradation www.winebiz.com.au

February 2015 – Issue 613

(15% of the initial level) and the lowest level of VA at the end of malolactic fermentation (0.21 g/L of H2S04). It was therefore chosen for continued testing, and the new semi-industrial production was called O-MEGA™.

OENOLOGICAL AND SENSORY BENEFITS The oenological attributes of O-MEGA™ were first defined in the laboratory by the IFV on a red wine and on a rosé adjusted to different physicochemical conditions (pH, alcohol,

FIGURES 2A, 2B AND 3. Effect of ethanol content on achievement of malolactic fermentation.

FIGURE 4. Effect of pH on bacteria implantation and duration of malolactic fermentation in rosé wine.

FIGURE 5. Effect of temperature on malolactic fermentation kinetics using OMEGA in rosé wine.

February 2015 – Issue 613

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temperature and SO2 level). For a given wine must, the only parameter to vary was the wine bacteria used to inoculate it after alcoholic fermentation. O-MEGA™ was compared to the other final strains selected, selections 1 and 2. Figures 2 and 3 present the trials on red and rosé wines, where the only parameter to vary was ‘degree of alcohol’. It appears that O-MEGA™ is: • Little affected by the concentration of ethanol in a range of 11% to 15% by volume; and • Capable of carrying out malolactic fermentation, even in extreme levels of ethanol (17% by volume). Figure 3 shows that the duration of malolactic fermentation is lengthened by only five days when the degree of alcohol rose from 13% to 15% volume. In addition, O-MEGA™ completed MLF in less than two months (56 days) even in conditions that are very limiting for lactic bacteria (17% by volume). O-MEGA™ also demonstrates effectiveness in low pH conditions as shown in figure 4. In a trial conducted on rosé wine, the results show the good implantation of the biomass, even with a pH of 3.1. The malolactic fermentation kinetics are also little affected by these conditions, with O-MEGA™ completing malolactic fermentation in 18 days, compared to 11 days with a pH of 3.5. This new selection also demonstrates very good tolerance to low temperatures. Figure 5 shows a trial on rosé wine conducted by the IFV at three temperatures. O-MEGA™ is capable of multiplying and carrying out malolactic fermentation within a short time with the three variables. At a cool 14°C, it took only 19 days to complete malolactic fermentation. The characterisation of this strain at the laboratory level allowed us to see the performance of the O-MEGA™ wine bacteria in a wide range of conditions. Trials were conducted in wineries by Lallemand and its partners on white, rosé and red wines in varied and limiting conditions. Another interesting characteristic of this wine bacteria lies in the weak degradation of citric acid, resulting in low VA and diacetyl (lactic and buttery notes) production. The production of the acetic acid measured after malolactic fermentation is directly related to the metabolism of citric acid, as is the production of diacetyl. Through the action of citrate lyase, this pathway is initiated: the oxaloacetic acid produced is decarboxylated into pyruvate, from which different reactions begin (see figure 6). Grapegrower & Winemaker

winemaking

FIGURE 6. Citric acid metabolism in Oenococcus oeni (Bartowsky 2004).

FIGURE 7. Citric acid metabolism of O-MEGA™ compared with 3 commercial strains in a Pinot Noir wine (initial level of citric acid 0.35 g/L; analysis before bottling).

• A small portion can lead, through reduction, to D-lactate, but it is weak as it needs nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH); • Another pathway via ethanalthiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) and acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) leads to the synthesis of fatty acids that are themselves used for the phospholipid membrane pathway. This is predominant in optimal growth conditions (when the pH and temperature are favourable, notably); • Pyruvate is also used for the synthesis of acetoinic molecules, including diacetyl, the most oxidised of these molecules that can be successively reduced to acetoin then butanediol. In limiting growth conditions, this pathway is favoured because the formation of these molecules is considered to be a cell detoxification process that must eliminate excess pyruvate. It is involved in multiple

66 Grapegrower & Winemaker M333_DMA35_2010_BRIXBAUME_59x272Strip.indd 1 11/02/2014 14:05

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i nt r a c el lu l a r pH-r e g u l at ion mechanisms; and • For every citric acid molecule consumed, it is accepted that an average of at least 1.2 acetic acid molecules are formed. This is behind the little increase in VA, which is produced during malolactic fermentation. Citric acid degradation generally begins during mid of malolactic fermentation and continues after malolactic fermentation; the other pathway for VA production is the metabolism of residual sugars, which depends on pH and occurs only after the end of malolactic fermentation (Lonvaud et al. 2010). Usually, selected wine bacteria can consume more or less citric acid, and onset of citric acid degradation varies from strain to strain, impact the production and final quantity of diacetyl and acetic acid. A limited degradation of citric acid was part of the specifications February 2015 – Issue 613

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winemaking for the new IFV/Lallemand selection. This oenological property was verified over the various trials. As we can see in Figure 7, the consumption of citric acid by O-MEGA™ is nearly zero, as the residual citric acid level was equivalent to when malolactic fermentation was blocked. As for the control bacteria, they consumed nearly half of the citric acid present in the medium – the same behaviour as the other three strains studied (the average is shown on the graph). The consequence of this very low level of citric acid degradation is the very low level of acetic acid production, and therefore very low VA levels. Figure 8 shows that the wine that carried out malolactic fermentation with O-MEGA™ has a VA level equivalent to the wine that did not carry out malolactic fermentation, while the wines where the selected wine bacteria carried out malolactic fermentation present a significantly higher level of VA. The choice of wine bacteria is therefore a key parameter for managing the diacetyl content in a wine. O-MEGA™ lets the winemaker avoid these buttery and lactic notes. The work on the characterization of O-MEGA™ also confirmed that this wine bacteria does not have the capacity

to produce p-coumaric acid, a precursor for ethylphenols. Indeed, Burn and Osborne (2013) reported that certain strains of O. oeni have the capacity to degrade hydroxycinnamic acids and their tartaric esters, which increases the quantity of ethylphenol precursors in the wine and can lead to higher levels in the presence of Brettanomyces bruxellensi. It is therefore essential when selecting a new wine bacteria to ensure that the strain does not have the capacity to increase the level of these precursors and can thus be qualified as ‘phenol negative’.

CONCLUSION O-MEGA™ is a robust and versatile new wine bacteria, capable of carrying out malolactic fermentation in a short time in a very broad spectrum of limiting conditions. Numerous trials carried out in the laboratory and in the winery show its remarkable capacity in a broad range of uses, including white, rosé and red wines: • pH ≥3.1; • Degree of alcohol <16% by volume, even 17% vol if the other factors are not limiting; • Total SO2 ≤50 mg/L; and • Temperature ≥14°C.

This new wine bacteria also appears to be resistant to polyphenols and has the capacity to degrade important levels of malic acid (6 g/L) like lower levels (1 g/L). Easy-to-use O-MEGA™ is ready for direct inoculation with no rehydration (it is an MBR® wine bacteria) and implants with no difficulty whatever the time of inoculation: in co-inoculation, early inoculation or sequential inoculation. It also offers major sensory advantages because it degrades very little citric acid, producing little volatile acidity and diacetyl. Furthermore, in regards to rosés and red wines O-MEGA™ has little impact on wine colour. The first trials have shown the new IFV selection would in fact limit the loss of colour in rosé wine often observed during malolactic fermentation, and it preserved the colour in red wines more than other selected bacteria.

References

Burns, T., and J. P. Osborne. 2013. Impact of malolactic fermentation on the color and color stability of Pinot noir and Merlot wine. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture. 64(3):370–377. Lonvaud-Funel, A., V. Renouf, and P. Strehiano. 2010. Microbiologie du vin - Bases fondamentales et applications. Tec et Doc, Lavoisier.

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February 2015 – Issue 613

Improving refrigeration efficiency and reducing electricity use THE price of electricity has risen more quickly than the cost of most other winemaking inputs in recent years, and refrigeration is by far the largest user of electricity in the majority of wineries. Refrigeration Consequently, improving refrigeration efficiency will result in an immediate improvement to the financial bottom line. In response to this opportunity, a practical spreadsheetbased software tool, the AWRI Refrigeration Demand Calculator, has been developed, and is available to all Australian wine producers from the AWRI website. The purpose of the calculator is to allow wine producers to model, analyse, understand, and better manage their refrigeration demand with a view to reducing the amount of electricity used, and thus the amount of money spent on electricity. Resources and expertise are readily available to wine producers to manage efficient refrigeration supply and plant capacity. However, working with collaborators through its Riverina and Hunter Valley regional nodes, the AWRI identified that efficient management of winery refrigeration demand and

February 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issue 613

associated heat transfer efficiency was an area where further understanding was required to achieve reliable efficiency gains. The AWRI Refrigeration Demand Calculator was developed by Dr Richard Muhlack at the AWRI Riverina node and was built primarily using data from the 2013 vintage. The data were accessed by working closely with three large wineries in the Riverina, and three medium-sized wineries in the Hunter Valley via the AWRI Hunter Valley node. Interestingly and perhaps surprisingly, only one of the wineries involved had a dedicated power meter on their refrigeration plant. This meant that the other wineries had no way to measure how much money they were spending on refrigeration or to assess the impact of any changes to their plant or practices. It is suspected that this is the case for the majority of wineries in Australia. Data supplied by the company with the dedicated power meter allowed a more detailed and accurate model to be built. Validation of the model was carried out after the 2014 vintage with collaborating wineries supplying crush figures for red and white grapes and data on electricity use. For the winery with the dedicated power meter, the calculator was able to predict the amount of electricity used up to the post-

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winemaking AT A GLANCE: The AWRI Refrigeration Demand Calculator What is it? The AWRI Refrigeration Demand Calculator is a spreadsheetbased tool for analysing and managing winery refrigeration demand.

How does it work? The calculator allows producers to enter grape intake and production data to simulate refrigeration demand across their entire annual production cycle. Users can assess the impact of factors such as cellar storage and cold stabilisation temperatures, fermentation conditions, climate, brine temperature, tank size and insulation on refrigeration demand and energy costs.

How much does it cost? The AWRI Refrigeration Demand Calculator is free to download for Australian wine producers.

How do I use it? An example spreadsheet and a user guide with detailed instructions are available to help you get started.

What if I need help or have feedback? Please contact Peter Godden on 08 83136600 or peter. godden@awri.com.au with any queries, comments, or suggestions regarding the calculator.

vintage period when the validation was performed, to within five per cent of the actual usage. Refrigeration is shared between many operations in wineries, and until the availability of this tool it was difficult for wine producers to know the relative importance of different aspects of their winery systems. With the calculator, producers enter grape intake and production data to simulate refrigeration demand across the entire annual production cycle, and can include data to customise the modelling for their own winery set-up and winemaking techniques. Factors taken into account when calculating refrigeration demand, energy use and energy cost include: • cellar storage and cold stabilisation temperatures; • fermentation conditions; • fermenter and storage tank size and shape; • climate and solar loading;

• brine temperature; • the presence or absence of insulation and insulation rating; and • tank orientation and different types of heat exchangers. The impact of wine-to-wine heat exchange for energy recovery during cold stabilisation can also be assessed. In many wineries there is also the potential to save a substantial amount on the total electricity bill, by avoiding punitive tariffs which exist in many electricity supply contracts. Depending on the contract, such tariffs might commence as soon as an agreed threshold is exceeded, and remain in place for the remainder of the billing period. Audits conducted by the Riverina node identified one case where such tariffs accounted for approximately 15% of the total annual electricity charge. In such a case, improving scheduling of refrigeration to avoid exceeding such thresholds has obvious financial benefits.

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February 2015 – Issue 613

winemaking Another tool developed at the Riverina node is the AWRI Ferment Simulator. The Simulator incorporates a function where wine producers can model their refrigeration usage against forecast temperatures for all active fermentations, allowing total refrigeration demand to be accurately predicted, and compared against contracted supply for the same period. If, for instance, a heatwave is forecast which might lead to above-contracted electricity demand, a ‘what-if’ function in the Simulator allows users to assess the amount by which fermentations would need to be cooled before the heatwave, to avoid exceeding the threshold. The AWRI Refrigeration Demand Calculator can be downloaded for free from the AWRI website at: http://w w w.aw ri.com.au/indust r y_suppor t/winema k ing _ resources/refrigeration-demand-calculator/downloads/ The calculator is provided as an unlocked Excel file (compatible with Office 2007 onwards) and the source code is also unlocked, allowing wine producers to interface directly with internal systems for automatic data acquisition if desired. A user guide and an example spreadsheet are available from the same page on the AWRI website. However, every winery is unique, and it should be noted that the information presented in these resources is intended as a guide only and should not be relied upon or extrapolated beyond its intended purpose, and that an experienced engineer or contractor should be engaged before major changes to winery infrastructure are made. The current refrigeration project drew on the AWRI’s existing capability in best practice refrigeration operation and engineering simulation.

rental 100 kW to 3,000 kW Chillers Process Refrigeration Water and glycol application Flexible Application High Efﬁciency

Additional refrigeration resources, including the reference guide Improving Winery Refrigeration Efficiency and associated case studies, can be found on the AWRI website ( ht tp://w w w.aw r i.com.au /com mercia l _ ser v ices/processoptimisation/refrigeration). The AWRI’s previous work in this field also led to the development of a Research to Practice training module, which has been presented in several wine regions around Australia. That module has now been expanded into a workshop based on the new calculator which was presented seven times in three states and via a webinar during the first six months of 2014. The webinar recording is available from the AWRI’s webinar page.

Acknowledgements This work was supported by Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers through their investment body, the Australian Grape and Wine Authority, with matching funds from the Australian Government. The AWRI is a member of the Wine Innovation Cluster in Adelaide, South Australia. The AWRI gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the wineries that collaborated on this project. For more information, contact: Peter Godden Manager - Industry Engagement and Application E: peter.godden@awri.com.au This article was first published in the AWRI’s Technical Review no. 212, published October 2014.

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February 2015 – Issue 613

Refrigeration opportunities to save costs WINERY refrigeration systems account for up to half of a wineries total power use and also provide the greatest opportunity for cost savings. The following energy saving tips focus on brine (ethanol) based systems though the principles are similar for glycol-based systems.

OFF PEAK POWER • Depending on your contract details with your energy supplier, power when used in off-peak times can be purchased for less than half the full tariff rate. Typically, these off-peak times fall between 11:00 pm and 9:00 am (daylight saving 10:00 pm – 8:00 am) weekdays and all weekend; • With some business contracts, off-peak is the ideal time to set the refrigeration system to chill the brine as much as possible. Off peak is also a good time to chill down barrel storage sheds (even if this is a separate air conditioning system) and wine in tanks if they have brine jackets. The thermal mass of barrels and wine tanks means that if they are chilled below their normal set points at night time, then the more expensive day time cooling may not be required, especially if the building has sufficient insulation; and • Your refrigeration system also runs more efficiently during the cooler night off-peak tariff times.

INSULATION

Maintenance Programs, Repairs & Spare Parts

• Heat Exchangers • Separators • Homogenisers • Valves • Pumps

• Greater operating efficiencies and energy savings can be achieved by ensuring all brine tanks and circulating lines are well insulated. If lines are icing up on the insulation it is a good indicator that the insulation is not adequate; • Alternatives to copper and PVC for brine lines are Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or Polyethylene. These products have very low thermal conductivity characteristics and smooth bores to improve flow rates. Cost savings when using these products can be made by reduced insulation requirements and less energy required for pumping brine; and • Foil insulation is a cheaper temporary option to the more effective foam clad insulation and if the tanks are exposed to solar radiation then heat reflective paint is also beneficial.

BRINE AND BRINE STORAGE • Ensure brine is at its maximum allowable strength and there is sufficient volume to cover peak demand while taking full advantage of the off-peak power to super chill brine. Products such as Alcool LF can be used to gain lower temperatures; • If possible use two brine storage tanks. The refrigeration plant draws from the brine return tank as it is more efficient at extracting heat from warmer brine. The refrigeration unit then discharges the refrigerated brine to the other tank where it is circulated throughout the winery; • Use a Variable Speed Drive (VSD) on your circulating pumps that’s linked to a pressure transducer. This means the pump February 2015 – Issue 613

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will ramp up automatically as more tank brine valves are opened or a heat exchanger is in use. As the demand drops (valves are closed) the pressure in the brine system builds up so the pressure transducer then sends a signal to the VSD to ramp down speed. This system not only reduces energy use it also reduces the risk of brine jacket ruptures from brine pressure build up. This should reduce power use by up to 50%; and • Automating your tank farm cooling system does have a considerable up-front cost but will save you time and improve efficiencies.

MAINTENANCE • Keep condenser coils and fins clean to maintain heat transfer efficiency; • Ensure air can flow freely around air-cooled condenser coils and the refrigeration plant to remove heat build-up; • If using a cooling tower keep it serviced regularly to reduce the risk of Legionella disease and to minimise water use; • Set brine temperature to work load requirements throughout the year, keeping in mind that the system becomes comparatively more inefficient and costly to run as the temperature is set lower; and • Ensure brine solution is at the maximum allowable concentration.

TANK COOLING • Vertical cooling jackets are more effective than wrap around jackets as they promote thermal mixing and they also work with different tank volumes; • If the tank is not insulated then it is worth using foil insulation to cover the exposed section of dimple plate.

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February 2015 – Issue 613

Top tips: Barrel-to-bottle hygiene THERE are various steps that make up the winemaking process. From harvesting to vintage to storage, there is a sequence and technique to producing a good bottle of wine. Every winery will differ slightly in its process Tanks to achieve their required end result. However, what every winery does have in common is the necessary step of wine barrel cleaning. Each winery can differ in its barrel or tank cleaning methods, yet the way this cleaning is carried out can have a “domino effect” and impact on other areas of the winemaking process. The significance of wine barrel cleaning to the rest of the winemaking process is largely due to the barrel or tank playing an important role in taste, bacteria safeguarding, fermentation and storage. These are all crucial elements to the winemaking process. Whatever vessel a winery may use, whether it’s an oak barrel or tank, there are key ways wineries can ensure barrel to the bottle hygiene during key winemaking phases.

DEEP RE-HYDRATION OF THE BARREL Traditional processes of re-hydrating wine barrels usually consists of using large amounts of water to flush, rinse and clean. However, that process, particularly if chemicals are used, leads to other concerns for wineries such as environmental damage and water wastage. Using large amounts of water may wet the surface of the oak, but it will not allow for a full re-hydration which requires getting deep within the pores of the wood. This deep hydration is what is needed for barrel to the bottle hygiene. Oak like any other wood is very porous. This allows the oak to essentially act like a ‘sponge’, soaking in left over wine and dirty water. When old wine is trapped within the pores of the oak, this can be mixed with a new batch of wine, which can alter the balance the winemaker intended for the flavour. For example, the old wine could add too much acidity to the new batch, leaving it with the possibility of tasting too sour or sharp. It is the opening up the pores which allows for old wine to be released and tartrate crystals to be melted. Therefore, in order to properly re-hydrate and deep clean a barrel, a property such as high temperature steam vapour of at least +180 degrees Celsius is needed to open up the pores of the

oak. This allows for the conditioning properties of steam to seep into the pores and sanitise the barrel from the inside out.

SAFEGUARDING STORAGE AND FERMENTATION PROCESS For many wineries, the ageing and fermentation process are two of some of the most important phases in winemaking. During this time, the taste of the wine is developed and decisions about what vessel to store wine in are made depending on the intentions of the winemaker. Although a tank isn’t porous, like an oak barrel, tanks can also place your wine at risk for bacteria and spoilage. Brettanomyces, or brett, is a slow growing yeast. When we are ageing wines for long periods of time in tanks, the risk of brett increases. The risk of brett may not be caused by the by product of the oak, unlike what can occur with barrels, but bacteria can still cling to the walls of storage tank.

SANTISING WINEMAKING EQUIPMENT One of the most common ways that brett is spread to cellars is through contaminated equipment. Whilst brett can form in barrels, brett can spread through unsantised equipment. Winemaking equipment, including crushers and bottling equipment are at risk of harbouring brett and contaminating new batches of wine. Due to the ‘domino effect’ unsantised equipment creates, it makes it one of the mains reasons why brett is hard to

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STEAM CLEAN: A high-temperature steam, used during the cleaning process, can kill all bacteria.

eradicate. For example, by disinfecting your barrels, you are safeguarding the wine from developing brett, but by santising your equipment, you are ensuring that any brett contamination that may have been overlooked with a previous batch, doesn’t continue to contaminate a new batch. Sanitsing wine equipment can be achieved through using the same steam vapour that can be used for oak barrels. When looking for the right steam generator, the best value for money is to ensure that it can clean not just barrels, but also clean vats, tanks, bottling lines and equipment. One of high temperature steam’s key benefits when used as a cleaning process is its ability to kill all bacteria.

At +180 degrees and above it kills brettaomyces and any other volatiles in seconds. To ensure better bang for your buck, when investing in barrel hygiene, ensure the wine barrel cleaning method chosen has the ability to provide a deep re-hydration and the ability to santise all winery equipment, not just barrels and tanks. This is how to achieve a complete barrel to the bottle hygiene. For more information, contact: Murray McDonald from Duplex P: +61 425 817 022 E: comms@duplexcleaning.com.au

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February 2015 – Issue 613

winemaking

Radical development

in testing

for Brett A new way to test for commonly occurring organism Brettanomyces bruxellensis (Brett) has been launched in Australia. Emilie Reynolds reports.

DEVELOPED by Invisible Sentinel at the request of American winemakers, Jackson Wines, the Veriflow Brett system provides winemakers with an in-house test which delivers a result in hours. Although winemakers often test for Brett, the previous options have been time consuming and expensive, according to Andrew Odd, Australasian Medical and Scientific Ltd (AMSL) Scientific Division manager. “Our visit to Griffith recently turned up that Brett was a major concern, so much so that winemakers were intervening whether they had Brett or not. This involved adding sulphur dioxide or sterile filtering, or even pasteurisation,” he said. “The problem with these treatments was they both cost money, and have the potential to reduce the quality of the wine.” Odd said intervening before a problem occurred was unnecessary and affected the quality of the wine.

IN THE WINERY: Joanna Lanford tests for Brett at Opus One.

“You lose some of the complexities of the wine by intervening when you don’t have to,” Odd said. “It can be detrimental to the quality of the product, winemakers don’t want to worry about anything happening to the wine, so they do these processes just in case whether they need to or not.” Odd said the Veriflow system allows winemakers to screen for the organism and only intervene when Brett was detected. “The testing process was simple, saved time and produced a better quality wine,” he said. Odd said the Veriflow testing process was designed to be user-friendly for winemakers and provided results in four hours as oppose to 14 days with traditional methods. Joanna Lanford, Oenologist at Opus Winery in California, said Veriflow had been a great addition to their quality control regimen.

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February 2015 – Issue 613

“I found it very easy to use and we enjoyed being able to have results on our time schedule, being able to perform a molecular analysis in our own lab has been exciting and a luxury,” Lanford said. Benjamin Pascal, chief business officer for Invisible Sentinel, manufacturer of Veriflow Brett said the system changes the way quality is maintained in the winery. “We designed the test alongside winemakers at Jackson Family Wines in Sonoma California and following an extensive validation across their wineries and central laboratory, we demonstrated a 7.5X increase in sensitivity over competing molecular methods and 100 per cent correlation to standard levels of volatile phenols at high concentrations of Brettanomyces,” Pascal said. “Veriflow eliminates the sample preparation associated with other molecular technologies, improves consistency of results, significantly reduces the capital expense, and is deployed directly at the winery.” Pascal said Veriflow was developed in conjunction with JFW to build a game-changing diagnostic that would meet the demands of a winemaker. “Our technology has already had a major impact on the food safety industry allowing groups to increase their accuracy and time to results. “We used a lot of our knowledge in dealing with complex environmental matrices to facilitate our development of Veriflow,” he said. Pascal said the global reception for Veriflow has been positive with winemakers noting the speed and accuracy of test results. “Winemakers in the United States, New Zealand, Chile, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France have realised they can build

Our technology has already had a major impact on the food safety industry allowing groups to increase their accuracy and time to results. accurate trends about Brett that are specific to their winery,” he said. Pascal said Invisible Sentinal were listening to winemakers and always looking for ways to improve. “The level of enthusiasm amongst the wine making community has prompted us to develop additional targets on our system. “Mid-year, we will release additional wine spoilage tests to further support quality maintenance in the winery.” Nick Picone, senior winemaker at Villa Maria said prior to working with the Veriflow system, he tested for Brett by routinely agar plate culturing each of their red batches every six weeks on cycle. “We also use PCR in conjunction with plating to confirm a positive result or when assessing wine to use for topping and finished blends to determine final filtration specifications. We didn’t PCR in house so all we had to do was send the samples away to a lab which in itself was fairly easy,” Picone said. Although Picone said using Veriflow could be “a little tricky” compared with plating, he was impressed with the speed of the results. “There are multiple steps with micro pipetting involved but the results are back so much faster, several hours versus one week,” Picone said.

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February 2015 – Issue 613

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winemaking Product Update

New machine offers lightweight tank cleaning SPRAY Nozzle Engineering and Gamajet have teamed up to offer the latest in lightweight tank cleaning technology, called the EZ-8. Dirk LaBrooy, Spray Nozzle Engineering operations manager, said the the EZ-8, also referred to as the Gamajet VIII, was designed with ergonomics in mind. “This nozzle provides the same high-impact clean as traditional, larger wine tank cleaners – but is lighter, shorter, and narrower, making it perfect for either fixed or portable tank cleaning applications,” LaBrooy said. “The EZ-8 makes for a viable alternative to heavy impingement machines, or time and chemical consuming spray balls and it makes a safer alternative to costly manual tank cleaning, with the inherent confined space entry safety issues. “Compact and efficient, the EZ-8 uses 80% less water, takes 75% less time, and allows for space saving, while maintaining maximum impact. “Like all Gamajet machines, the VIII is fluid-driven, eliminating the need for external power sources.” Spray Nozzle Engineering has a Gamajet product for

WINE BARREL CLEANING High and Low Pressures

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February 2015 – Issue 613

Like all Gamajet machines, the VIII is ﬂuid-driven, eliminating the need for external power sources. tanks. The largest tanks at the winery range in capacity from (240,000 to 2.46 million litres) and can be up to 13 metres in diameter. Cleaning requires removal of tartrate build-up, wine concentrate, and polyphenolic residue. Lack of value, affordability, and performance were the main issues Putnam was experiencing with the inferior rotary impingement machines. Fed up with constant maintenance and time-consuming rewashes of approximately 200 tanks, he decided to purchase a Gamajet machine. A Gamajet EZ-8 was specifically configured for the application, with proper pressures and flow for maximum cleaning performance. After operating wash cycles with his new Gamajet, Putnam noticed an exceedingly better performance in the same amount of time it was taking him to clean his tanks with the previous cleaning method. He reported improved removal of tartrates, less occurrences of re-cleaning, less water usage, less time spent cleaning, and fewer breakdowns resulting in less maintenance expenses. For more information contact Spray Nozzle Engineering P: +61 3 9583 2368 or 1800 NOZZLE E: sales@spraynozzle.com.au

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sales & marketing Product/Services Update

Bottling, Labelling & Packaging

Latest filling technology

NEW patented technology from GAI S.p.A. out of Italy has caused a flurry of action from other manufacturers as they research alternative options to keep up with the latest filling technology. GAI was founded in 1946 in Pinerolo, near Turin in Italy’s north east, by Giacomo Gai. The family values of the company remain, that its real value lies in the quality of the people who work in it, and that the most important form of training is the example. Yet the business has stayed in-step with the times and changing needs of the market. As a result, GAI maintains a leading role in the industry, even as trading conditions for their clients have become more difficult. In 2013 it developed an electro-pneumatic valve that has been a revolution for bottling lines. This patented valve (doc. n° TO2012A000869) can work both sparkling and still products. It functions anywhere between zero and eight bar of pressure with a level adjustment from 25 to 100mm from the top of the mouth. Filling level is highly precise and oxidation is minimal. One of the major benefits of this new technology has been the improved productivity performance with sparkling products. There are already several electro-pneumatic monoblocs are in operation in the United States and Europe, others are currently being installed, and lots of interest from potential users. Additional features of the GAI equipment include: • The ability to set all working parameters from the control board, making it possible to easily change from one product to another one in a very short time;

82 Grapegrower & Winemaker

• Easy and safe sterilization thanks to the dummy bottle (patented) with automatic positioning; • A double line with low closure, which offers advantages both for the filling precision and for the degassing. This project took two years of research and development and is an example of the company’s ability to find and develop new technology to broaden its product range and capture new markets. For example, the company’s traditional clients in the wine, oil and spirits have been joined by the beer industry as products have been developed for both micro-breweries and other brewers considering handmade products. Today, GAI offers a wide range of beer bottling machines across the United States and Canada. In addition to the North American market, this monobloc has gained approvals also in Italy and Europe, where we are witnessing a development of breweries still managed directly by the brew masters. GAI produces around 1,000 automatic bottling machines every year. Each is assembled in series, with specifications adjusted according to the particular requests of each customer. With 70 per cent of the machines exported, the company makes sure it teams with importers who can offer prompt response and technical support. In Australia and New Zealand, GAI products are available through Viniquip. For more information: P: +64 9 578 3740 E: info@viniquip.co.nz

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February 2015 – Issue 613

business & technology Why move to the Cloud? I.T. & Software

innovation, marketing and expanding into new markets.

Cloud computing uses less electricity and reduces your carbon footprint. By using the Cloud and sharing infrastructure instead of managing your own, you get economies of scale while also saving on energy use. According to Google, a switch to Cloud computing for office applications alone will save between 68-87% on energy use, compared to managing the applications internally.

RECOVERY

SOFTWARE UPDATES

There are thousands of secure data centres with teams of people in place to ensure uptime, reliability and redundancy. Your risk of data loss from a computer crash is practically zero. By leveraging the Cloud you no longer need complex disaster recovery plans. The Aberdeen Group found that businesses which used the cloud were able to resolve issues in an average of 2.1 hours, nearly four times faster than businesses that didn’t use the cloud (eight hours).

Cloud computing vendors such as VINx2 provide all the server and backend maintenance themselves including security and regular software updates. This frees up your reliance on IT staff to manage traditional computer infrastructure. Updates to VINx2 for example are all part of the subscription and are installed for you.

Joshua Abra, VINx2 Winery Software managing director, has more than 10 years’ experience helping wineries transition to the Cloud using VINx2. He offers the top reasons it makes lots of sense to move to the Cloud.

IT TOOK us some time to move to the Cloud for our own internal systems but we’re glad we did. Now we’re helping wineries of all sizes make the transition to VINx2. For a number of years we used accounting software configured on a PC within our own network. When travelling we weren’t able to get access to key accounting information to answer even the simplest of billing inquiries. You may have the same problem when visiting a distributor, customer or custom crush client. It’s often critical to get your hand on account status, inventory levels, wine composition and analysis in order to make decisions and close deals. The Cloud gives you that advantage. When Xero, a Cloud based accounting package, was launched we didn’t take too much convincing to move all our accounting needs over to their platform. Now we have anytime access to our information and can effortlessly link accounts with our CRM and Quoting tools all of which are Cloud based. A quote can now be delivered to a customer in minutes instead of half an hour. It was one of the best decisions we made. Here are out top reasons you should make the switch:

WORK FROM ANYWHERE In the wine industry it’s common to have staff on the road. Imagine being able to quickly and easily check your bulk and bottle inventory levels from your tablet or enter a sales order on the spot with confirmation emailed directly to the customer. With the Cloud all you need is a device like a tablet and Internet access and your staff can work from anywhere. This flexibility improves productivity as your road warriors can access information wherever they are.

ZERO CAPITAL COSTS

SECURITY

Cloud applications are typically payas-you-go instead of capital intensive software purchases. Businesses get a lower start-up cost and predictable operating expenses. According to a 2013 US study by Microsoft Trustworthy Computing, 70 percent of SMBs have reinvested money saved as a result of moving to the Cloud in areas such as product development,

More than 8,000 laptops are left behind in just seven of the largest US airports each year. That can have a huge financial impact but when everything is stored in the Cloud you’ll only have to replace the device and not the data. According to Microsoft, 91 percent of SMBs said the security of their organisation had been positively impacted with Cloud adoption.

February 2015 – Issue 613

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

www.winebiz.com.au

LOWER PEOPLE COSTS Good IT people are expensive. According to the Microsoft study, SMBs that leverage the Cloud spend half the time managing IT and a saw 50 percent reduction in internal IT resources. With staffing costs always a large item on your balance sheet this saving can be better invested into your marketing budget.

BETTER COLLABORATION Using VINx2 as an example, winemakers are able to communicate in real time to growers using email alerts as fruit is weighed at the winery. Sales orders can instantly be emailed to customers confirming their purchase and purchase orders centrally managed for any vendor inquiries. Custom crush clients can log-in and view their own winemaking history instead of phoning or emailing your staff freeing up valuable time. For more information contact VINx2 P: +61 3 9111 0020 Or visit www.winery-software.com

Grapegrower & Winemaker

business & technology

Five signs you are interviewing a liar YOU have 12 interviews lined up across two days. Pressure to find an employee who is smart, capable and a good fit for the team is mounting. Plus, the last guy you hired turned out to be a hack and you can’t risk the same mistake. How can you set apart genuine candidates from dishonest time wasters? Smoking trousers aren’t the only indicator that someone might be lying to you. There are a number of clues you can look for to assure you’re not being taken for a ride. Telling the truth is easier than lying, according to Simon Allan, founder of leading recruitment agency, Mondo Search. “Lying makes people feel uncomfortable,” Allan said. “Telling the truth is easier because the truth gives you a memory and an experience to discuss.” Allan has compiled a list of things to look out for when interviewing a potential employee. “In my 20 years of headhunting experience I’ve realised that just looking at a resume or listening to someone will not necessarily always give you a good understanding of the individual.”

BUILD A BASELINE Knowing how someone honestly reacts to a question is the first step in being able to tell when they lie. Vanessa Van Edwards, behavioural investigator, said it was a good idea for interviewers to begin by chatting casually about the day and asking easy questions. That way an assessment can be made as to how the

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candidate naturally answers, and also how nervous they might be. This is called the ‘baseline’, and can be compared later to the candidate’s behaviour when placed under pressure to expose dishonest cues.

THE PINOCCHIO EFFECT Bill Clinton famously touched his nose 88 times during the interview in which he was accused of having an affair with Monica Lewinsky. It was an action that set off radars of lie detectors everywhere. Scientists have since discovered that a ‘Pinocchio effect’ naturally occurs when someone is lying. “Studies show that children often cover their mouths when they lie, and as adults we actually often briefly touch our nose,” said Allan. “This is because we have glands at the end of our nose that secrete a chemical and make our nose feel itchy when we feel uncomfortable so the Pinocchio story may have some truth behind it.”

FOLLOW THE EYES Often considered the most obvious non-verbal clue that someone might be lying, Allan said it is important to watch the candidate’s eyes throughout the interview. “Watch whether their

Here, you’ll always come first.

eye blinking is increasing or if they are avoiding eye contact,” Allan said. Alternatively, Body language expert Dr Lillian Glass said because people are so aware that the eyes can reveal mistruths, liars often counter this by staring at you and not blinking at all. “Con men especially can overcompensate and stare at people longer than usual, often without blinking at regular intervals,” said Glass.

BODY LANGUAGE When someone begins to feel uncomfortable, there can be an instant change in body language, according to Allan. “They may start to feel nervous about lying and you can see the changes straight away,” Allan said. “If they are crossing their arms and legs or sitting backwards, it may suggest that they are feeling uneasy about what their saying.” As well as sweating profusely, Glass said people instinctively cover vulnerable body parts when fibbing because they feel threatened, “I often see people using their hand to cover the throat.”

VERBAL CLUES Despite the various body language giveaways, Verbal clues are still regarded as the best way to catch out a liar, especially in job interviews. Allan said people can often become evasive and dismissive when being dishonest. “They might avoid answering or try to think of responses that don’t actually address the question to confuse you.”

DW Fox Tucker is a new full-service commercial law firm, established by the former partners of the respected South Australian teams of Donaldson Walsh and Fox Tucker. Our people have advised many of the leading names in Australian wine, across all areas of business. But if there’s one thing we specialise in, it’s putting clients’ needs first. So whatever your business or commercial objectives, don’t hesitate to contact us. At DW Fox Tucker, you’ll matter most.

84 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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L14, 100 King William St. Adelaide SA 5000 p: 08 8124 1811 e: info@dwfoxtucker.com.au

dwfoxtucker.com.au

February 2015 – Issue 613

FIND YOUR SUPPLIER QUICKLY WITH OUR February 2015 Advertiser List Supplier

Page

Supplier

Page

A P John Coopers

Landmark Harcourts

A.I.M Sales

Ledgard

Adelaide Airsports

Liftek

AMSL Scientific

Mat Donaldson Heaters

Auspack

MEP Instruments

Australian Tank Insulation

Mirco Bros

Bird Gard Australia

MTA Australasia

Braud Australia

Oblomov Trading Co

Bruce Gilbert Vine Grafting

Pacific Laboratory Products

Cambridge & Co

Polo Citrus

Chalmers Vineyards

Rapidfil

Crown Sheet Metal (NZ)

Ryset (Aust)

Della Toffola Pacific

Spagnolo Engineering

Deltagen Australia

Spray Nozzle Engineering

Diverse Barrel Solutions

Streamline Cartons

Duplex Cleaning Machines

Taylors Engineering (Blenheim, NZ)

DW Fox Tucker

Temperature Technology

Eppendorf South Pacific

Tri Tech Refrigeration

FDPI Spares & Maintenance

University of South Australia

Fineweld Stainless Steel

Victus International

Fischer Australis

Vine Industry Nursery Association

FMR Group

Vinewright

Graphic Language Design

Viniquip

Groguard Australia

Vinx2 Winery Software

Hydralada (NZ)

Whitlands Engineering

Iseco Engineering Services

Wilmar BioEthanol (Aust)

WINEfile

51, 58, 59, 81

Winequip

WineTech 2015

JMA Engineering Kauri Australia Laffort Australia

61,63

13 45, 87 29

AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND GRAPEGROWER & WINEMAKER *Australia's largest circulation wine industry trade magazine celebrating more than 50 years of publication. *Now available online to all subscribers. *All Marketplace adverts also appear on Winebiz Classifieds * For advertising enquiries please call Chas Barter on 08 8369 9513, c.barter@winetitles.com.au

With Wine File... • • • • •

Winery records are easy to create and maintain Winery records are completely auditable Additives can be tracked to the material batch level Augments HACCP/Standard Operating Procedures Your NZ WSMP record keeping needs are met

These are just some of the reasons why Wine File is the winemakers choice for winery record keeping in Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

February 2015 – Issue 613

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

calendar

looking back

Australia & New Zealand

We step back in time to see what was happening through the pages of Grapegrower and Winemaker this month 10, 20 and 30 years ago.

February

February 1985 The national Farmers Federation has expressed ready willingness to assist wine grape growers in initiating antidumping procedures in respect to EEC wine being imported into Australia. David Dean, UFS Horticultural executive officer, said at a meeting with the executive director of the NFF, John Whitelaw, in Canberra, undertakings had been given that the NFF was vitally interested and concerned with developments in the horticulture sector, particularly the precarious nature of wine grape growing, including cheap imports and increasing farm costs.

February 1995 Wine industry members located around Western Australia’s Manjimup, Pemberton and Northcliffe shires voted on a name by which their region will now be known to the rest of the world. At a special meeting held last year, the local industry resolved by majority vote to endorse ‘The Warren Valley’ as its regional name. The preference stems from towns’ inclusion in the Warren district and electorate, named after the nearby river and its watershed, the Warren River.

February 2005 Consumers place more importance on the price and grape variety than on the region and brand when purchasing wine, according to a University of South Australia study. The research, which uses data based on people’s actual wine purchases, is the first of its kind to be undertaken in the world, according to lecturer and PhD student Wade Jarvis from UniSA’s School of Marketing. “This behavior based data enables us to look at what people are actually doing in the market, whether they are buying by brand name, style, region, grape variety or price,” Jarvis said.

15 Declaration of Vintage Tanunda, SA. www.baronsofbarossa.com 20-22 Canberra Food & Wine Expo Canberra, ACT. www.foodandwineexpo.com.au 20-22 2015 Cellar Door Wine Festival – Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide, SA. www.cellardoorfestival.com

28 February-1 March NSW Wine Festival Sydney, NSW. www.nswwine.com.au 28 February-29 March Taste Great Southern Various locations in Great Southern, WA. www.greatsoutherntastewa.com

27 February-15 March Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Melbourne and Regional Victoria, VIC. www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au

March 1 Porongurup Wine Festival Ironwood Estate, Porongurup, WA. www. ironwoodestatewines.com.au

7 Taminick Cellars Vintage Long Lunch Booth Taminick Cellars, Taminick, VIC. www.taminickcellars.com.au

7 Leeuwin Concert Series Leeuwin Estate Winery, Margaret River, WA. www.leeuwinestate.com.au

8 Peninsula Piers & Pinots Flinders Foreshore, Mornington Peninsula, VIC. www.mpva.com.au

International February 17-20 The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowwood Napa Valley California, USA. www. winewriterssymposium.org

19-21 Texas Wine & Grape Growers Association Annual Conference & Trade Show Texas, USA. www.txwines.org/conference

18-21 ExpoVin Moldova 2015 Chisinau, Moldova. www.vinmoldova.md

21-23 Golositalia&Aliment Brescia, Italy. www.golositalia.it

19-22 RendezVino Karlsruhe 2015 Karlsruhe, Germany. www.rendezvino.info

24-27 ENOMAQ Zaragoza, Spain. www.feriazaragoza.com

24-27 TECNOVID 2015 Zaragoza, Spain. www.feriazaragoza.com

March 4-5 2015 Wineries Unlimited Richmond, Virginia, USA. www. wineriesunlimited.com

14 Meininger's International Wine Conference Düsseldorf, Germany. www.meiningersconference.com

JD = judging date

For a comprehensive list of events, visit www.winebiz.com.au/calendar

86 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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February 2015 – Issue 613

Marketplace

All advertisements also appear on www.winebiz.com.au/classifieds/

WINE PRESS SERVICING • Preventative maintenance & breakdown repairs for all makes and models. • 24/7 coverage during vintage • Large inventory of spare parts. • Membrane replacement. • PLC upgrades and design improvements. Electrical & mechanical expertise.

03 9455 3339 • www.rapidfil.com.au

VINE GRAFTING

Quality Grapevines

Bruce Gilbert 0428 233 544 Brian Phillips 0417 131 764 fax 03 5025 2321

Paul Wright PO Box 180 Mt Pleasant South Australia 5235 Ph 08 8568 2385 www.vinewright.com.au

brucethegrafter@gmail.com www.brucethegrafter.com

BIRD NETTING • Permanent canopy or throw over net • Fully UV stabilised • Cable, wire and all canopy supplies in stock

Vine Industry Nursery Assoc.

OBLOMOV TRADING CO.

www.vina.net.au

PO Box 207, Rozelle, NSW 2039 Phone (02) 9555 4987 Fax (02) 9810 1130 e-mail: sales@otcobirdnet.com.au

Visit our website at: www.otcobirdnet.com.au

NANGKITA- FLEURIEU PENINSULA 106.7 Acres- 43.2 Ha

1 To advertise in this space, contact... Chas Barter on (08) 8369 9513 or

Award winning vineyard • 38 Ha planted to established and productive vines. • Contract with premium winery. • Excellent irrigation bore quality and quantity. • Exceptional presentation. • 2 storey spacious home 4 or 5 BR’s with substantial shedding. • Inspection will impress, strictly by appointment • Information memorandum with T & C available

c.barter@winetitles.com.au

Marketplace

Registrations of Interest close 26th Feb 2015 - Option for 2015 vintage revenue to be included RLA: 102485 simon.mcintyre@landmarkharcourts.com.au ADELAIDE OFFICE 08 83599017 LandmarkHarcourts.com.au

February 2015 – Issue 613

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

POWERFUL. 95% reduction processing time* 83% reduction in power consumption* 23% reduction in wine losses* 21% reduction in labour requirements* *Roget, W. Benchmarking a continuous tartrate stabilisation system. Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker (585): p. 106; 2012.

With over 40 years of innovation and technology in winemaking solutions, our inline on-demand continuous tartaric stabilisation and filtration systems are providing significant savings across the board. Ask us how.

www.dtpacific.com | ph: +61 3 9924-4040 | fax: +61 3 9924-4041 | info@dtpacific.com | twitter: @DellaToffolaPac