Grapegrower & Winemaker - January 2015

JANUARY 2015

n

Wild weather

n

Corporate social responsibility

n

Understand your distributor contract

n

Whack of the dragon’s tail

Support your vines with Syngenta’s proven performers.

Syngenta’s viticulture products are the pick of the bunch.

Featuring smart technology and proven chemistry, the Syngenta viticulture range manages disease and insect damage more effectively, which helps you produce a more successful harvest.

Talk to your local distributor today about Syngenta’s solutions.

For further information please call the Syngenta Technical Product Advice Line on 1800 067 108 or visit our website at www.syngenta.com.au.

The information contained in this document is believed to be accurate. No responsibility is accepted in respect of this informa ation, save those nonexcludable conditions implied by any Federal or State legislation or law of a Territory. ® Registered trademark of a Syngenta Group Company. AD13/829

from the editor

Nathan Gogoll Editor

A successful 2015 – it’s up to you SOMEBODY recently asked me when I was going to write an article that would turn the wine industry around. Sheesh, talk about pressure.

I’m no orphan when it comes to wishing there was a silver bullet solution, but I think we all understand it’s going to take a lot more hard and smart work, as well as bucket loads of patience, to improve profitability for grapegrowers and wineries.

But it brings me to a question… should I put all my efforts into providing you with information, or should I be looking to offer more inspiration? The best answer I’ve got is to strive for a mixture of both. Because information can be inspirational, while inspirational stories can also provide plenty of information.

So that will be my theme for our coverage in 2015 – to inform and inspire the industry. It might sound high and mighty, but it just means I need to keep identifying problems and offering potential solutions.

So I’ve got my challenges for 2015.

The industry has plenty to face as well.

But sometimes, because we’re involved in agriculture there are things that pop up you just can’t do anything about.

Our spring weather report has plenty of examples… everything from frost to hail. Emilie Reynolds’ regional wrap-up begins on Page 19.

And just before we sent this edition to the printer, we watched nervously as a number of fires burned across Victoria and two sparked in South Australia’s Eden Valley. It worried me, because one of the Eden Valley fires came very close

to some of the most valuable vineyards in Australia – Henschke’s Hill of Grace and Mt Edelstone.

Prue and Stephen Henschke, together with their family and staff, dedicate lots of time and plenty of resources to getting the best out of these old gem vineyards (literally gems – Edelstone is a translation from the German ‘edelstein’, meaning gemstone). So to think Shiraz, dating back as far as the 1860s, could have been lost to a fire on day when the temperature only reached the low 20s, was a worry.

Stephen Henschke, spoke to ABC Adelaide’s breakfast program the morning after the fire and explained “a pretty scary day”.

“It was one of these situations where it was a fire ban day but it was relatively cool, very windy and very gusty. When this fire started it was very close to our Mt Edelstone vineyard, probably less than a kilometre away and near the Hutton Vale property, it just took off like a rocket.

“Within half an hour it had burnt past our winery.

“Fortunately Hill of Grace was over the other side of a hill, probably two or three kilometres away from the fire.

“Thankfully we had the fire bombers out quite quickly, the CFS crews came in from everywhere and all the local farmers were there with their ute packs and things. And they all did an almighty job.

“We’re somewhat shaken and stirred, but we survived.”

A good pinch of luck, right there.

And survival. Good news.

While we are looking at positive news, I want to congratulate Ann Killeen, whose winning photograph is featured on our front cover this month. Ann, an amateur photographer, took the shot at Victoria’s Rutherglen Estate vineyard in the early hours of the morning.

“It was worth getting up before dawn to get the photo,” she said. “There is a big irrigation dam at the back of the vineyard that gets some amazing fog. I was standing at the top, looking down on the dam.”

I was really impressed with the response to our Adama-sponsored cover photo competition. We asked for shots of your healthy vines and received more than 160 entries from right across Australia and New Zealand.

Our top 11 shots were shared on Facebook and received a huge amount of support. Ann’s photo was my personal pick and also the crowd favourite with more than 230 likes. The photos from the other finalists can be found on Pages 30 and 31.

Thanks to everybody for getting involved. Don’t forget you can send through feedback and ideas any time via the email address, below.

Enjoy the read.

Nathan Gogoll Editor Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker editor@grapeandwine.com.au

Contributors University of Adelaide grapevine virologist Dr Nuredin Habili, together with his colleagues, has developed an anti-virus program. Habili reports on the process and its benefits from Page 34.

34

January 2015 – Issue 612

72

www.winebiz.com.au

Greg Howell from Vintessential Laboratories, is one of our regular contributors and in this issue he explores the restrictions governing sugar content on labels bound for China. His report starts on Page 72.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

3

contents features JanUaRY 2015

39

Vineyard machinery

63

Yeast & enzymes

72

Laboratory equipment & services

79

Materials handling: winery

80

Bottling, labelling & packaging

82

Legal

news

Cover Ann Killeen captured this photo of Victoria’s Rutherglen Estate vineyard, in the early hours of the morning. Her image was the winner of our Adama cover photo competition.

n

Wild weather

n

Corporate social responsibility

n

Understand your distributor contract

n

Whack of the dragon’s tail

More details on Page 30.

grapegrowing

On the grapevine .....................................6 Taking charge of our future, together.........7

Wild weather set to impact on Vintage 2015 ......................18

Tony D’Aloisio, Winemakers Federation of Australia president, uses this My View column to repeat his call for industry unity to ‘take charge of our future’.

Variable weather across spring and early summer brought early budburst to most regions, as well as a mix of risks – everything from frost to hail.

7

18

People & places: Movember ....................27 Adding more layers to Shiraz ..................28 Roundtable: Benefits of industry education programs .....................8

Barossa winemakers and grapegrowers recently had the opportunity to taste a selection of wines made from heritage shiraz clone vines.

We’ve asked a selection of emerging industry leaders to give us their thoughts on the different education programs they have participated in.

Photo competition finalists .......................30

New crop of leaders ............................... 12 Movers & shakers ...................................13 Regional roundup: Tasmania ...................14 Run Rabbitts run .....................................16

With more than 160 quality entries, selecting the best photos was not easy.

International grapevine root symposium ......................................32 Everard J Edwards, from the CSIRO, recently attended the first International Symposium on Grapevine Roots, held in Italy. He has summarised the event in this report.

Grapevine virus elimination .....................34 Nuredin Habili reports on the process and its benefits.

regulars 6 What’s online 23 Wine Grape Growers Australia 38 Ask the AWRI 4 Grapegrower & Winemaker

85 Looking back 86 Advertiser index 87 Marketplace classifieds

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

January 2015: Issue 612 winemaking International collaboration in tannin research .......................................45

Another whack of the dragon’s tail ..........72

Scientists are working to unravel the link between tannin structure and their extraction during winemaking.

Winery waste helps save energy and supply key ingredients ..................... 76

Corporate social responsibility .................48 Young Gun: Gwyn Olsen takes on world .......................................52 52

This winemaker landed her first job at a French winery after running her application through an auto-translate website.

Problems with sugar content on labels for China

Dangers in the Winery: Carbon dioxide and other gasses ............79

sales & marketing Major contract for Phoenix Society ..........80 80

Social media: Measuring return on investment ...............................55 One of the key things, as with all marketing, is setting your objectives first. Work out what you want to achieve, then you can plan how to do it and set goals to measure how well you are doing.

The Phoenix Society, a leading South Australian social enterprise, has entered into a partnership with specialist Barossa wine packaging company Vinpac.

Along came the cider ..............................59

business & technology

Let’s make cider, what could possibly go wrong? ....................... 61

Make sure you agree with your agreement ......................................82

Norman Lever, Alepat Taylor senior winemaker, takes a look at the potential issues winemakers need to be aware of if they are contemplating making cider.

Wine bacteria to control volatile phenols and brettanomyces .........63

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 January 2015 – Issue 612

In an ideal world, the relationship between a winery and its distributor involves healthy interaction between the key people on both sides and delivers commercial success to both parties.

How to: write a stand-out job description ........................................84

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

SUBSCRIPTION PRICES Australia: 1 year (12 issues) $77.50 (inc. GST) 2 years (24 issues) $145 (inc. GST) New Zealand, Asia & Pacific: 1 year (12 issues) $110 (AUD) 2 years (24 issues) $210 (AUD) All other countries: 1 year (12 issues) $174.50 (AUD) 2 years (24 issues) $339 (AUD) Students (Aus only): 1 year (12 issues) $66 (inc. GST)

Grapegrower & Winemaker

5

on the grapevine Kate Harvey appointed to new AGWA role

what’s online Curtin University scraps winemaking degree THE only undergraduate winemaking course in Western Australia has been scrapped due to falling student enrolments. Curtin University’s viticulture and oenology bachelor degree, based at its Margaret River campus, provided students with hands-on skills in winemaking and boasted a 92 per cent graduate employment rate. However, only 11 new students enrolled in 2014, reports the ABC.

Report slams trade’s influence on policy THE industry’s ability to shape alcohol policy nationally and globally needs to be “curtailed” because of a fundamental conflict of interest, according to a recent study. Published in the journal PLoS Medicine, the study claimed that lobbyists within the alcohol trade in Australia and the UK were hampering efforts to curb drinking rates, despite levels of consumption having dropped, reports The Drinks Business.

AGWA releases discussion paper on five-year strategic plan THE Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA) has released a paper to stimulate discussion with levy payers ahead of developing a 2015-2020 ‘strategic plan’. Brian Walsh, AGWA chair, said Australia had the resources and capability to be recognised as the world’s pre-eminent wine producing country.

Walsh said AGWA’s two strategic priorities should be to increase demand; and to increase the sector’s competitiveness, reports Winebiz.

.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.

THE Australian Grape and Wine Authority recently announced Kate Harvey had been appointed to a new leadership role.

Harvey said she was excited to commence her new role as general manager of corporate affairs and strategy on 1 January 2015.

“This new role provides a great opportunity to engage more deeply with our grape and wine community and ensure that our activities are delivering benefit to them,” she said.

Harvey’s background in research, development management, corporate affairs and strategy would allow her to work across the business to help deliver value for stakeholders.

“We’re very pleased that Kate has agreed to take NEW ROLE: Kate Harvey. on this key business-integration role,” said Andreas Clark, AGWA acting chief executive officer.

New haze-preventing enzymes in Australian winemaking A PROTEASE enzyme mixture known as Proctase has been approved by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), confirming the enzymes can be used in Australian winemaking for wines sold domestically or imported to New Zealand.

The approval provides the wine industry with an alternative to bentonite – the clay commonly used to remove haze-forming proteins from white, rose and sparkling wines.

While effective at removing proteins, the use of bentonite often resulted in significant wine losses.

Dr Dan Johnson, The Australian Wine Research Institute’s (AWRI) managing director said the result stemmed from sustained industry investment in

fundamental research and industryrelevant development.

“It is very exciting that the first practical, economically viable alternative to bentonite has now cleared the final regulatory hurdle for use in Australia,” Johnson said.

Dr Paul Smith, AWRI research manager said he is looking at building on current success.

“The team at AWRI is continuing to investigate several additional promising alternatives to bentonite,” Smith said.

Winemakers interested in tasting the three commercial-scale Proctasetreated wines and their bentonite-treated equivalents, or in trialling Proctase during the 2015 vintage are encouraged to contact the AWRI.

Château Tanunda beats US wines for Top 100 Value rating CHÂTEAU Tanunda’s 2012 Grand Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon has been featured in Wine Spectator’s 2014 ‘Top 100 Values’ from around the world, listed as the second best value wine of Australian and New Zealand.

Selected from more than 18,000 reviews, the Australian Cabernet Sauvignon has done well to achieve a high rating in the US, where Cabernet Sauvignon is the most popular red wine.

Harvey Steiman, who reviewed the wine, said Cabernet has been coming on strong in Australia.

“This firm, focused and juicy version from the Barossa, the home of big reds, delivers with black cherry, orange

peel and black tea flavours. Drink now through 2020,” he said.

John Geber, Château Tanunda Proprietor, said the winery had a successful 2014 and was looking forward to the future.

“To have achieved such a high standard of international recognition for our iconic Barossa winery with a Top 100 Values listing and having our 100 Year Old Vines Semillon served to world leaders at the G20 Summit as well as winning Australian wine producer of the year at the 2014 Berlin Wine Trophy brings us proudly into 2015 and our 125th year anniversary celebrations,” Geber said.

my view Unity is key when tackling industry issues When Tony D‘Aloisio, Winemakers’ Federation of Australia president, made the opening speech at last year’s Outlook Conference he spoke to the topic of the event, ‘taking charge of our future’.

AN IMPORTANT pre-requisite to our industry taking charge of its future is unity; acting with one voice putting positions which improve industry settings.

Important as the wine industry is for regional employment and exports, it is relatively small when compared to other industries and it is quite fragmented. To be effective, unity or a united voice is the only way we can succeed on these issues.

The merger of the Wine Australia Corporation and Grape & Wine Reasearch & Development Corporation (GWRDC) is a significant rationalisation much needed and it required a united approach to get both sides of politics to support it.

The four bodies (Winemaker’s Federation of Australia, Wine Grape Growers Australia, Wine Australia Corporation and GWRDC) worked together to achieve this outcome with extensive industry input.

The memorandum of understanding put in place between WFA and Wine Australia evidenced greater cooperation and direction specifically on international marketing and market access. We developed and costed a very significant marketing program over the next three-to-four years which is now with the Australian Grape & Wine Authority (AGWA).

WFA is a federation with large, medium and small committees, and each group having four board positions plus an independent chair who does not have a casting vote. Decisions need at least nine votes. I took over as president two years ago and can speak first-hand about how it operates. In that time we have dealt with many issues. All decisions have been by consensus. No formal vote has been needed and subjects like the WET rebate, the codes of conduct with retailers and growers, and how to address the oversupply and so on. Yet these issues, and many more, have been progressed against the yardstick of what is in the industry’s best interests.

The ‘expert review’ and ‘actions for profitability’ across supply and demand, health and alcohol, oversupply, and supermarket power were debated and subjected to input from other wine organisations and members and nonmembers. The result is an important blueprint for restoring profitability.

January 2015 – Issue 612

And there is unity and support in the implementation of those actions.

The WFA submissions to Wine Australia on marketing campaigns recognise marketing needs to be targeted so fine wine leads the way, but there is a distinct place and future for commercial wine.

This marketing is not going to happen without funds. The Federal Government has made it clear it will not provide additional funds to supplement industry resources for AGWA without off-sets from within the industry. WFA has been united in seeking an additional $25million across four years using the proposed WET rebate savings as offsets.

Now, I don’t want to be misunderstood.

I am not saying there is total unity across industry or within the wine bodies. Nor am I saying there is no disagreement on issues. Necessarily, in taking positions, not everyone will agree.

But there is evidence of a growing spirit of compromise and consensus.

A growing spirit of putting the best interests of the industry ahead of short term self-interest and ahead of sectional interest. A spirit that if your view does not get up, it is for the greater good of the industry to support the position reached.

But it is important to pause here, and remind you how hard achieving change can be... even with a united voice we may not achieve what we set out to do. Let me illustrate that with the recent AGWA appointments. The chair was appointed with support of the WFA and WGGA as set out in the legislation.

In relation to the board, however, the Minister rejected the industry-based selection process set out in the legislation and proceeded to appoint his own board.

We now have an acting board until 30 June 2015. Here we have a situation where there was industry unity in the formation of AGWA. There was unity in the process for appointment of the directors and united industry input through selection of those on the selection committee.

So, this is an example to remind us how hard it is to achieve change even when that unity or united voice is enshrined in legislation. It still did not win the day.

Despite disappointment the industryendorsed process was not followed, the appointed AGWA board now in place does www.winebiz.com.au

WFA PRESIDENT: Tony D’Aloisio

have our support and we look forward to working with it during its tenure. We are getting on with the job of working with and supporting our statutory authority and the new leadership including the difficult task of getting much needed additional marketing money for it.

Unity or a united voice in putting a position is delivering results. Yes, we can and need to do better and we will occasionally get a set back where the process the industry advocates is not followed. Overall, the effectiveness of a united voice is clear.

Our challenge now is to continue to build industry unity and present a united voice on issues.

To that end, over the coming months WFA will continue its drive to secure much-needed additional marketing funds for AGWA in the order of $25 million over four years.

Similarly it will continue to implement, debate and refine its other actions to improve industry profitability and continue to engage government.

And with a view to further improving industry unity and advocacy to government, I will write to each of my counterparts of the wine industry bodies to explore with them a meeting of leaders – a summit, if you like, at the end of vintage 2015 to focus on how we can be more effective in achieving results on those issues we agree on and avoid setbacks. We have extensive plans, or a blueprint, on the actions needed. How can we be more effective in implementation?

In short, see if we can accelerate the process which already has momentum, of acting with a united voice as part of taking charge of our future.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

7

roundtable

The benefits of industry education programs This month we’ve asked a range of emerging industry leaders to give us their thoughts on the different leadership and education programs they have participated in: Daniel and Fiona Habermann, grapegrowers from the Barossa; Corrina Wright, Olivers Taranga winemaker, McLaren Vale; and Adam Wadewitz, senior winemaker at Shaw + Smith, Adeliade Hills.

Other than formal education, what industry education programs have you participated in?

Fiona Habermann: Both Daniel and I were involved in the inaugural Barossa Next Crop program, that ran in 2011.

Corrina Wright: The Len Evans Tutorial (2005), the Advanced Wine Assessment Course (2003) amd the Lorenzo Galli Wine Scholarship (2011).

I have also been a part of ‘non-industry’ leadership programs. A scholarship from The SA Food & Beverage Fund put me through the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course (2012), and a scholarship from the Industry Leaders Fund put me through the Melbourne Business Schools Leadership 21 program (2014). As part of Innovate SA (when it was around) I was able to take part in a Business Strategy for CEO’s course that was very useful (2012). I have also taken part in a number of Family Business

Australia courses on Succession Planning (2013) and Financial Literacy for Small Businesses (2014).

Adam Wadewitz: The Advanced Wine Assessment Course (AWAC) and the Len Evans Tutorial. [Wadewitz was the jointdux of the 2009 tutorial]

Why did you nominate to be involved?

FH: I was a committee member of Grape Barossa, and took part to broaden our business ideas. It put us in a room with 20 other people learning about issues that were important to all of us.

Daniel Habermann: We were keen to be involved with something that was trying to get the younger growers together. If you look at something like succession planning, it’s something a lot of us have to deal with but can be touchy, so it is good for the young guys to have a chance to talk about it together.

CW: I can’t remember if I nominated for the Future Leaders, as we were the first round, I think they just chose us.

I nominated for the other grants as I wanted to improve my business and leadership skills outside the industry, and I didn’t want to burden my company with the cost of participating in these programs, so I thought I would apply for some grants instead. I applied for the LET and Galli Tutorial because I am a wine glutton and needed to learn more.

AW: For the tutorial, I’d been working at Brokenwood around Len and Riggys and had heard about the wines involved and I thought ‘wow, I’d love to just get in’.

The AWAC was a chance to do something really objective and away from the winery, tasting blind is always a good thing.

That program is pretty well recognised as a good learning experience that offers you really valuable feedback.

Daniel and Fiona Habermann: Sixth generation custodians of Habermann’s Höhe, the property established in 1846 (höhe is German for heights). The Habermann family grows premium wine grapes for Barossa labels. Together with their three children, Daniel and Fiona manage 50 hectares of vineyard, as well as the property’s fat lamb production, and have diversified their operation with a 30Kw SunFarm.

They are always striving, always thinking outside the box. Both were participants in the 2011 Barossa Next Crop Program (which provides the region’s upcoming generation with critical business and leadership skills) and have both served on the Grape Barossa committee, the peak grower body for the Barossa.

8 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

roundtable

Corrina Wright: After growing up and working in her family vineyards in McLaren Vale, having a father in the industry, and working in various cellar doors in the area, it was a natural progression for Corrina to develop a passion for winemaking. Corrina enrolled in a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Oenology) in 1993. This coincided with Corrina convincing her grandfather and her uncles to let her have some fruit from the Oliver’s Taranga vineyard and working with local Chapel Hill winemaker, Pam Dunsford, to produce a small scale wine. Oliver’s Taranga was born. In 1997, Corrina was granted a scholarship from Southcorp Wines and Adelaide University to study for a year at the University of CaliforniaDavis. She graduated from the prestigious Len Evans Tutorial in 2005, and continues to judge at numerous wine shows around Australia. Corrina serves on a number of industry boards and her commitment to the wine industry in Australia was rewarded with a position on the inaugural ‘Future Leaders-Succession for the Australian Wine Industry’ program in 2006.

Where you nervous about participating?

FH: Yes, unsure what to expect.

DH: Public speaking was the big one for me. Everyone had to speak, you couldn’t hide, and it’s something I’m not very good at. But I now have the tools to help me when needed.

CW: Not really. The Future Leaders group was awesome. Some of them I knew beforehand, but we all got to bond really strongly over the year we were together. I was nervous at the LET as I wanted to make sure I made the most of the opportunity, and soak it all up.

I also made lifelong connections and judge around the traps with many of my fellow graduates.

The Galli Tutorial was about learning more about Italian varietals, which was super awesome and not nerve wrecking at all. The AICD Company Directors course was a bit overwhelming with all these high-flying bigger business peeps attending, but I muddled through. The Leadership 21 course was excellent, and has made a new network of entrepreneurial business owners that I will definitely tap into.

AW: I was very, very nervous about the Len Evans Tutorial, but less so about the AWAC which is more about getting down to the nuts and bolts of sensory evaluation. The tutorial is run by people with such great experience and knowing you have to stand up and back up what you have to say was daunting. You are also thrown in with the other scholars who you don’t know, so you get through January 2015 – Issue 612

to the first break and look at each other and say ‘what have we got ourselves into here?’.

What surprised you during your participation?

FH: Leadership values and innovative thinking are two big areas that have been a constant focus since the course.

Business in the digital age, i.e. social media, we’re on Twitter now and stay up to date with what’s happening with other growers, wineries, reps both in Oz and overseas.

DH: I found out I didn’t have to be overwhelmed by the industry leaders, they actually want feedback from growers like us.

CW: I was a little surprised, and I am still surprised, about the lack of diversity in our industry. Everyone is the same age, wearing the same suit... did I say that out loud? Participation in ‘outside’ industry courses helped with expanding my world view and business skills and network more than I thought it would.

AW: The thing I liked was the level playing field. You take your sense of smell and taste and you have to be objective. I found that really enjoyable.

Did you make new connections to your industry peers through your involvement?

FH: Yes, many in our industry and from other industries, food chain thinking relevant to all businesses.

DH: Definitely.

CW: My Future Leaders group now www.winebiz.com.au

hangs out together on many boards, industry committees, etc. around the traps and use each other as sounding boards for our own businesses and ideas.

The newer courses are a bit more bonding

Gardners Bay 584 Silver Hill Road “Elsewhere Vineyard” in Tasmania This very picturesque vineyard will provide you with a lasting lifestyle. Originally planted 30 years ago with some recent plantings, there is also plenty of scope for further expansion.

Vastly improved by the current owner, the vines comprise of a majority of Pinot Noir & Chardonnay, as well as Riesling, Sylvaner Gewürztraminer & Pinot Meunier. Total area under vines is 12 ha. The property as a whole covers 31.78 ha (78.5 ac) on 2 titles. There are gorgeous views over the valley, the mighty Huon River and the surrounding hills. Central on the property is the 1965 character filled farmhouse which provides a comfortable home with 3 brms & an open plan living.

For Sale Price By Negotiation Over $1,250,000 View

www.harcourts.com.au/THH5685 Karl Gallienne P 6264 0000 M 0400 500 527 E karl.gallienne@harcourts.com.au 18 Main Street Huonville Tasmania

Grapegrower & Winemaker

9

newsroundtable

Adam Wadewitz: One of Australia’s brightest winemaking talents, joined Shaw + Smith as senior winemaker in 2013. He has worked in the Adelaide Hills, Werribee, McLaren Vale, and the Hunter Valley in addition to stints in France, Chile and the USA. Across the past six years he has made a reputation for himself in Great Western at Seppelts and Best’s where he vinified the 2012 Jimmy Watson Winner, the 2011 Best’s Bin 1 Shiraz. Adam’s CV is an enviable one: He was joint Dux of the Len Evans Tutorial 2009; Gourmet Traveller WINE Winemaker of the Year Finalist 2010; Young Gun of Wine Finalist 2011; and has judged at the prestigious capital city wine shows of Melbourne, Sydney as well as Canberra, where he is currently a panel chair.

than ours was, as they all get to go away and camp in the outback together.

AW: You get to see people from all walks of life… journalists, sommeliers, growers and winemakers. You are brought together for a pretty collegiate reason and you build relationships. Stuart Halliday and I ended up travelling to Burgundy and the Northern Rhone together, that’s not a friendship I would have without the connection at the tutorial. If you’ve got that group of people who’ve had an experience together you end up discussing all sorts of current issues each time you re-connect.

Did you connect with industry mentors?

FH: We met the representatives of most of our industries organisations.

Peter Hackworth in 2011 headed the wine grape council SA, we crossed paths with him since the course, very approachable.

AW: For me, the course gave me more confidence to talk on a level playing field with people like our GLO and the winemakers we work with.

CW: Yes, many.

Do you feel you have a broader understanding of the industry as a result of your involvement?

FH: Definitely, food chain thinking.

Understanding the pressure the high dollar puts on exports, we can’t just leave our business as getting grapes over a weighbridge, and you have to understand the big picture as well.

DH: Yep, that was the main thing for us. And you learn that communication is so important in business.

CW: Yes.

10 Grapegrower & Winemaker

AW: Definitely. My experiences gave me more respect for other aspects of the industry. When you are taking part in these programs, the more heads you have around, the more light you can shed on different topics. And the chance to try the very top wines of the world, you can’t replace the context that gives you.

What opportunities have you been presented with since your participation?

DH: I’ve become a member of the Grape Barossa Committee, and made a presentation to industry peers on water usage/best practice.

CW: I was already on the MVGWTA Board at the time, but since then have been on the ASVO Board, WFA Small Winemakers Committee and SAWIC (the SA Wine Industry Council – SA Government and industry).

AW: I got invited to a lot of wine shows and I’ve ended up being a panel chair at Melbourne and judging at the national show in Canberra. There have been many opportunities to give something back, and you do feel a bit like you owe a debt to the organisers because you’ve been given such an extraordinary experience.

Do you feel more confident about the future of the Australian wine industry as a result of your participation?

FH: The lower dollar is helping.

DH: Yes, in the Barossa we have the quality and we’re starting to get rewarded for it. We’ve been able to keep in touch with our local leaders who we know are out there doing their best for us. www.winebiz.com.au

CW: Hmm. Bit of both. Participation has helped me define my business and how I want it to be and how it remains relevant, so I feel confident in my own branding and business and story.

Exposure to the industry outside your own box, and to the general business environment, makes you realise that it is really tough out there.

I am sure that the investment in the connections made between the Future Leaders groups will pay the industry back a million times over. It all takes time though. But without those connections, it would be an even greater uphill battle for the industry, I believe.

AW: There has never been a more exciting time for Australian wine. We’ve got a better understanding of selecting the right patch or dirt for the right variety and clone, we’ve got more knowledge about the winemaking process than ever before and we also have more insight into what is happening with sales. So we’ve never had a better understanding within the industry than what we have now.

Would you recommend the program to others?

FH: Yes, encouraged many of the second batch ‘crop’.

DH: Yes, definitely. Especially the younger generation coming through.

CW: Yes. Always should be striving to improve yourself and learn more, and if your company or business can’t afford to send you to courses, etc. make it happen for yourself by chasing grants or the like.

AW: I think both the AWAC and the LET are well worth having a go at. If you are passionate about wine, then you need to follow that passion.

January 2015 – Issue 612

BRAUD W O R L D ’ S #1 *

A full visibility - Night harvesting

OPTI-GRAPE System

RTS-Row Tracking System Option available on std information screen, showing which rows have been picked, Via “free to air” GPS, hence eliminates need for spotter, Day or night

New 9090XD 35% fuel saving

N EW

• C-bus electrical system • Common rail diesel • Auto engine idle • Auto level • Row Tracking T System

GOLD MED AL, SITIVI - 201 3

Gentle air cushion (white arrows) blows away Petiole, Botrytis grape, and all other Mog Only full juicy berries fall past air cushion and into bin

MODEL-VX7090 SERIAL NO - 665013001

Year 2010 Eng hrs 1871 Head 1320

HARVEST READY! $302,500.00 INC GST

MODEL-SB65 SERIAL NO

MODEL-G9-.320 SERIAL NO

-669003007

- VF9ACVAAH11509001

Year 2002 Eng hrs 5089

Year 2010 Eng hrs 2791 Head 1487

HARVEST READY!

HARVEST READY!

$120,000.00 INC GST

$264,000.00 INC GST

Model -G152

MODEL-G120SW SERIAL NO

SN- VF96152ES11509006

2011 build. First Vintage 2012 Engine hours 982 Head hours 382

-VF9G1200T03509003

HARVEST READY!

HARVEST READY!

$225,000.00 INC GST

$93,500.00 INC GST

Year 2002 Eng hrs 3209 Head hours 2059

A

U

S

T

R

A

L

I

A

Totally Australian owned

Adelaide Ph (08) 8139 7250

Ring Ashley or Angelo for demonstrations or any participating New Holland dealer. www.braud.com.au Ashley Barratt – 0419833606 Narracoorte – (08) 87620123

*SP-only

BRAUD

news

A new crop of leaders A NEW regional mentoring program has kicked off in the Barossa and McLaren Vale designed to encourage strong industry networks and connections and strong regional businesses.

Mentoring is one part of a suite of AGWA activities aimed at introducing the Australian wine industry’s next generation of leaders to the latest in strategic and leadership thinking and the most recent research findings.

Funded by the Australian Grape and Wine Authority, the new mentoring program was developed in collaboration with the Barossa and McLaren Vale regional associations and a world-recognised mentoring consultant, Dr Ann Darwin.

Program Manager Anne Duncan said the mentoring program was launched in late August and was designed to support wine industry businesses and encourage adoption and adaption of research findings (a strategic goal) in regional areas.

Supported by the program’s two facilitators, Anthony Scholz in the Barossa and Sami Gillian in McLaren Vale about eight local grapegrowers and winemakers from each region will participate in the inaugural program.

Duncan said it’s hoped the mentoring circles would better encourage innovative business practices and the adoption of new research and development findings.

“We want to develop a network that offers participants not just personal and professional growth but also acts as a knowledge-sharing platform that encourages critical thinking and promotes innovative business practices,” Duncan said.

In addition to the mentoring program, AGWA also recently hosted its first Alumni Symposium on September 30 and its second annual Post-Graduate Development Day on September 24.

The Alumni Symposium, held in Adelaide, welcomed over 40 graduates from various leadership programs including Future Leaders, the Australian Rural Leadership Program, Nuffield Australia, Next Crop and Next Bunch and Barossa Future Leaders and Barossa Young Ambassadors.

“We want to continue to grow the skills that come from participating in these leadership programs, as well as strengthen and encourage further networks and connections across the industry,” Duncan said.

“The full-day program saw participants introduced to ‘the science of leadership’ through experts Darren Hill and Dr Jason Fox and design-thinking for business, through Dr Sam Bucolo, from the University of Technology, in Sydney.

“We also introduced findings from research invested in by AGWA, delivered through a series of lightning talks concentrating on the benefits of research to business and the industry.”

“We wanted the participants to walk away with some of the new thinking that will support their businesses and a prosperous Australian wine industry.”

AGWA’s Post-Graduate Development Day saw around 35 PhD, Masters and current Honours students participate in the Adelaide workshop, with a focus on career and communication advice and skills.

Program Manager Adrian Loschiavo said the aim of the annual event was to offer communication and personal career advice to the current crop of student researchers, many of them completing AGWA-funded research for the grape and wine industry.

“The program was facilitated by agricultural career development expert Jeanette Long, with recruitment expert Geoff

12 Grapegrower & Winemaker

FUTURE LEADERS 2015 Future Leaders is a professional and personal development program that creates a network of confident, committed individuals who will “be next” and contribute to the future of Australian wine success.

Future Leaders identifies 15 innovators, collaborators and game-changers in the grape and wine community to participate in an intensive development program that will build their knowledge of the sector and expand their leadership skills.

Who is this program for?

Future Leaders 2015 is looking for individuals with open, creative, inquisitive minds; early to mid-career emerging leaders who have demonstrated their commitment to the wine sector’s success; innovators and collaborators who ask the questions and find the solutions.

How can applications be made?

Online applications from people looking to develop their leadership skills and strengthen their wine networks will be welcomed from 5 January 2015 at www.futureleaders15. com.au Future Leaders is a combined initiative of the Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA), the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) and Wine Grape Growers Australia (WGGA).

Lucas also providing some excellent career and communication advice to participants.”

The agenda included presentation and public speaking skills for delivering research outcomes, as well as resume and interview techniques.

“The day concluded with a dinner and guest speaker Ashley Ratcliff, Oxford Landing Viticulture and Winery Manager with Yalumba Wine Company – talking about his own unique experience and achievements in the industry,” Mr Loschiavo said.

“Ultimately, we hope to use the day as a way to offer professional communication and presentation skills they may not have had access to before, but to also encourage them to stay involved and see the potential of a long and productive career with the Australian wine industry.”

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

movers & shakers Pellenc says goodbye to industry legend LOUISE Fraser, Pellenc Australia’s managing director, announced her resignation from the company in December. After 23 years with Pellenc, Fraser said she was sad to be leaving the company and appreciated her time there.

“I have enjoyed every minute of the

23 years I have spent with the company,” she said. “I have enjoyed building relationships with all of you and hope that we will still be friends and take this opportunity to thank you for supporting me over the years.”

Jean Vittot has been announced as

Fraser’s replacement, effective 1 January 2015.

A qualified manager with international experience, Vittot worked in the US for seven years prior to joining Pellenc.

“I wish Pellenc Australia every success in the future,” Fraser said.

Wine Australia’s new gem THE vacant position of Wine Australia’s UK and Europe regional director, one of the organisation’s most important in-market positions, has been filled with the appointment of a master of wine who has been working for Tesco.

Laura Jewell brings significant commercial experience, complemented by in-depth wine knowledge, to the position left vacant by the sad death of Yvonne May in September 2014.

Previously Tesco’s category product development manager for wine, Jewell has overseen its wine portfolio across 11 markets. She has close to 25 years’ experience in the sector and attained her master of wine qualifications in 1997.

“I’ve dedicated my career to wine and worked across many different parts of the value chain,” Jewell said.

“I’ve always found Australian wine to be of consistently high quality and the diversity of Australia’s 65 wine regions is an incredibly exciting story to tell.

Wine Australia’s new UK and Europe regional director, Laura Jewell.

has in the UK and European markets.”

Andreas Clark, Australian Grape and Wine Authority acting chief executive officer, said Jewell would commence on 23 February 2015.

“Laura is well-known and highly regarded by her peers in the wine trade community,” Clark said. “The UK remains our largest export market and Laura will be a strong advocate for Australian wine, leading our team in London and driving efforts to maintain our market share and remain competitive. This appointment is fantastic news for Australian wine.”

Jewell’s appointment followed the recent appointment of Stuart Barclay to the Market Development general manager role.

“I can’t wait to get started and work with Australian wine brands and exporters on a calendar of innovative events and initiatives for local trade and consumers that builds on the solid reputation that Australian wine already

Accolade and Grant Burge reach sale agreement ACCOLADE Wines and Grant Burge Wines have reached an agreement on the acquisition of the Barossa family brand and business, along with the Krondorf Winery.

Rumours of the deal have been circling the industry since late October and the two wineries confirmed they were in “exclusive discussions” in mid-November. No details about staff impacts or the Illaparra winery upgrade plans, for a significant upgrade to the Tanunda site, were made available with the announcement.

Grant Burge Wines sold significant vineyard holdings in recent years, to pay down debt, and has leased them back to secure the grape supply.

When the news of the Accolade discussions broke in November, Grant Burge told The Australian he first went hunting for an investor earlier in the year.

The deal brings a significant Barossa brand into the Accolade stable, alongside the likes of existing regional brands like Banrock Station, Riverland; Houghton, January 2015 – Issue 612

Swan Valley; Leasingham, Clare Valley; Brookland Valley, Margaret River; Yarra Burn, Yarra Valley; House of Arras and Bay of Fires, Tasmania; as well as Mud House and Waipara Hills, New Zealand; and Geyser Peak, California.

A statement from Anita Poddar, Accolade’s head of global external affairs – based at Reynella, said the company was “excited by the opportunity to build on the domestic strength of the brands and grow Grant Burge Wines internationally through its distribution network which spans 112 countries”.

Grant and Helen Burge, who founded their winery in 1988 but draw on generations of Barossa winemaking heritage, said they were “looking forward to working closely with Accolade” and seeing their trophy-winning portfolio becoming “more widely known and appreciated outside of Australia”.

The agreement is subject to certain third party conditions, which if met would see completion of the acquisition in early 2015. Terms of the agreement will remain confidential. www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

13

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

It’s all happening in Tasmania From world-class events to exciting scientific discoveries, the Apple Isle has been a hub of recent activity.

Emilie Reynolds takes a look at what’s making news in Tasmania.

Tasmanian viticulture fellowship winner announced JAMES Aubrey from Hill Smith Family Vineyards was announced as the fourth recipient of the $10,000 Don Martin Sustainable Viticulture Award, provided by the Alcorso Foundation.

Aubrey, a technical officer and viticulturist at Jansz Parish Vineyard, will undertake a study tour of Germany’s Mosel region, as well as visiting Burgundy and Champagne in France, with a focus on viticultural research, specific to cooler climates.

As part of the fellowship, Aubrey will also meet with researchers at Geisenheim University, Reims University and the Jules Guyot Institute of Vine and Wine, where he will be able to discuss topics including environmental stress, sustainable production, grapevine physiology, biocontrol and technology transfer.

A former chef, Aubrey said a decade of working in the hospitality industry inspired him to pursue a career in wines.

“Working in restaurants gave me a lot of exposure to wine. After working in hospitality, I was looking to retrain and go to university, getting into the wine industry seemed like a logical progression,” Aubrey said.

“I began working in the industry in 2007, and then in 2008 began my degree in viticulture at Charles Sturt University which I have just completed.”

Aubrey’s application focused on the northern winegrowing regions of Europe

STUDY TOUR: Don Martin Sustainable Viticulture award winner James Aubrey.

for ideas to improve Tasmania’s cool climate viticulture areas specialising in Riesling, Pinot Noir and sparkling wines.

“I had planned to apply on completion of my degree, so I had a few years to think about my application and formulate a strong idea.”

Aubrey said he wanted to be involved in the development and improvement of the Tasmanian wine industry and was particularly interested in the state’s cool climate wines.

“I hope with my travels and the fellowship that I will be able to form some good contacts and get a good insight into the European wine industry, with a particular focus on cool climate wine production,” he said.

To assist his research, Aubrey also planned to attend the ninth International Cool Climate Symposium hosted in Brighton, England. Aubrey thanked the Alcordo Foundation for their support of the fellowship.

Australia, Victoria or Western Australia but TasInvest really opened her eyes up to what Tasmania’s wine culture had to offer.

“The Chinese people always hear about Australian wine from popular regions like Margaret River and the Barossa Valley; Tasmanian wine is mostly unheard of so it was a good opportunity for us to have a first-hand experience.”

Anderson said the wine tours were well-received by delegates who enjoyed the unique tasting Tasmanian wine.

“They were small, newer wineries and because of the cooler climate - the taste of the wine is really refreshing, I tasted a couple of wines that were really

beautiful,” she said.

Anderson said it was clear the Tasmanian Government made an effort to engage with Chinese investors by providing details of all the wineries for sale and opportunities to invest in the wine.

“Within a week people wanted more information about the opportunities available in Tasmania,” she said.

“I think Tasmania has a lot more opportunities than other states as it is still starting to catch up, so this is a good time to invest into it. Personally, I would like to go to Tasmania again shortly to have an opportunity to look at it more closely.”

TasInvest 2014 a success THE Tasmanian Government hosted more than 275 high-powered Chinese and international business delegates at an investment summit in November.

TasInvest 2014 presented potential investors with the opportunity to gain insight into Tasmania’s wine industry.

June Anderson, AusAsia Investment manager, said she was impressed with the Tasmanian hospitality.

“It was a fantastic event, a great opportunity for the Chinese people to understand the different types of wines available in different areas,” she said.

Anderson said Chinese people visiting Australia would usually expect the best wineries to be located in South

14 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

REGIONAL ROUNDUP House of Arras trumps wine show

Tassie hot spots FINDINGS from new research show Tasmanian grapegrowers could gain access to several prime untapped locations.

A study by the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture identified growing potential in the Dorset region, the Upper Derwent Valley and the Central Midlands due to increased irrigation.

Dr Reuben Wells, Ag Logic principal, said increased availability of irrigation as a result of the expansion of the South-East Irrigation Scheme would allow development of crops that were not previously feasible.

“Tasmania has a large amount of area which has potential for viticulture, but there aren’t any vineyards there to demonstrate this,” Wells said.

“The study was designed to give potential investors more detailed information about suitable sites.”

Wells said although frost was a threat to winegrape crops, other aspects of the local climate made the region suitable for their development.

The Tasmanian wine industry hoped the findings boost investor confidence to develop new vineyards and more processing facilities across the state.

David Sanderson, Wine Tasmania’s industry development and extension officer, said there was no reason the state could not grow as an investment location.

“We’ve got irrigation infrastructure and we’ve got a growing reputation as a tourism and food and wine destination,” Sanderson said.

THE Royal Hobart International wine show celebrated 40 years in November with the help of almost 2,000 entrants.

House of Arras won the Claudio Alcorso trophy for best Tasmanian wine with their EJ Carr 2002 Late Disgorged, which also topped the classes of best Tasmanian sparkling wine and best sparkling wine.

Ed Carr, House of Arras chief sparkling winemaker, said he was elated to see sparkling wines commended so highly at

Tasmania’s preeminent wine show.

“It’s always an achievement to be recognised at Australian and international wine shows but to win three trophies in the home state of House of Arras is a huge honour,” Carr said.

Stefano Lubiana Wines won the award for best Tasmanian white wine with their Stefano Lubiana Wines 2012 ‘Estate’, while Home Hill Wines took out best Tasmanian red wine with their Home Hill Estate Pinot Noir 2012.

Hobart hosts world TASMANIAN food and wine received international praise after the gala finale to the year-long Restaurant Australia campaign was held at Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art in November.

More than 80 high-profile food and wine experts from around the world flew to Hobart to taste a selection of the finest Australian wines at Tourism Australia’s ‘invite the world to dinner’ event.

Sommeliers Amanda Yallop from Quay, Banjo Harris Plane from Attica and Rockpool’s Sebastian Crowther worked with Wine Australia to develop a wine list that complemented the menu created by chefs Peter Gilmore, Ben Shewry and Neil Perry.

Andreas Clark, Wine Australia’s acting chief executive officer, said the 21 wines matched to an extensive menu showcased the quality, diversity, provenance and personality of Australian wine.

“We’re a proud partner of the Restaurant Australia campaign, the food and wine offering in Australia is truly

Also manufacturers of

• S G Spur Pruners • Single Side Pruners • Vine Cane Sweepers • Hydraulic Power Packs • Double Acting Cutter Bars

world-class. We get wonderful feedback from international guests who visit our wine regions as part of our official visits program,” Clark said.

“Not only do they comment on the quality of Australian wine but also the warm hospitality of the people behind the wines and the quality of the food they’ve had throughout their visit.

“This event was an opportunity to get some of our premium wines in the hands of the world’s most influential food and wine professionals on a much broader scale.”

It got the nod from James Halliday, who said, “the magic that defied belief was the virtually simultaneous service of 260 plates onto the table, done so deftly you were unaware of it. The wine service was equally perfect.”

The event also received global accolades with Adam Liaw, Sydneybased cook, TV presenter and American Wall Street Journal columnist, describing it as a “feast for the ages”.

SUMMER TRiMMing

AUSTRALIAN MADE PRUNERS

For further information visit our website at www.spagnolo.com.au or contact: Ph (03) 5021 1933 Fax (03) 5021 5233 Email sales@spagnolo.com.au Mildura Victoria Australia January 2015 – Issue 612

Summer Trimming • Smooth cutting action • Unique quick-change blade system • Sizes available from 600mm to 2100mm • Cutter bars can be used for summer trimming and winter pruning

www.winebiz.com.au

Vineyard & Orchard Sweepers • Single and double sided • Spring-loaded head enables it to glide around posts and vine trunks.

• Optional hydraulic lift, tilt and side shift cylinders.

• Ideal for cleaning up uneven terrain • Durable powdercoated finish Grapegrower & Winemaker

15

news

Run Rabbitts run ROHIN Rabbitts has a rightful claim as Sydney’s mostcelebrated fine wine sales representative after he was named the NSW Liquor Stores Association’s wine representative of the year a fifth time in November. It was also back-to-back honours for the Samuel Smith & Son area manager.

Despite his previous awards Rabbitts was not expecting the back-to-back success, saying just within Samuel Smith & Son itself there was strong competition.

“I had some fierce competition from my colleague John Webeck at the very least,” he said. “With such strong nominations from the retail trade from rest of the suppliers, just to be nominated is humbling. This year they made it even harder in having to sit through a 45-minute phone interview with the Executive Director LSA NSW, Michael Waters.”

Rabbitts career in wine sales began straight out of school at his local bottleshop. “I knew absolutely nothing about wine, but they put me through some basic wine training and my interest grew from there. It’s funny, I’ve always liked the Yalumba Signature and I remember saving up in those early days to take one home and I loved it.”

From his local Liquorland, Rabbitts moved to the Harbord Beach Hotel and spent five years there before grabbing a job with Southcorp.

“When I first started on the road, most retailers had to buy a pallet at the start of the month to secure a good deal. The older guys were using pagers and phone booths. We were doing deals like 16-plus-one and its now eight-plus-one.

“So much is changing so quickly, it is one of the most enjoyable and most challenging aspects of fine wine sales at the moment. It’s important to focus on the basics, have a consistent and regular call cycle and be sure you add value at every call.

“If you don’t know the answer to something, don’t make it up, tell them you don’t know. If you promise something make sure you deliver on your promise and be sure to follow up in a quick and efficient manner.”

He said the increased competition had been one of the biggest changes. “There are a lot more guys out there and the smaller brands are having trouble getting into the majors. You need to be conscious of not offering something that will sell out before

TOP REP: Rohin Rabbits, from Samuel Smith & Son, with Mal Higgs, NSW Liquor Stores Aassociation committee member.

the next order, you need to be able to keep the supply up. And you need to be genuine.”

Rabbitts said he represents the entire Samuel Smith & Son portfolio – the entire Yalumba stable plus everything from Coopers beers to Vasse Felix premium Cabernets – to the northwest sector of Sydney.

“I cover Mossman to Brooklyn and it’s so diverse. On the coast, Sauvignon Blanc is still going strong. With the reds, I’m seeing an uptake on Grenache and Grenache-blends, Tempranillo too. There is a bit of an uptake on Riesling which is nice to finally see, and Vermentino to a lesser extent.

Rabbitts said he gets to hit the road with a winemakers a couple times a year. “It is a great opportunity to just spend some time with them in the car and ask lots of questions, the retailers always have lots of questions as well. Sometimes it helps sell the wine, too. I’ve been out with a bottle of wine and had a little bit of success, but as soon as the winemaker – who is more immersed and passionate about the product – pours the same wine all of a sudden there are more sales.”

Fraser McKinley is the 2014 Young Gun of Wine THE 2014 Young Gun of Wine Awards were presented in early December.

The 12 finalists hailed from Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia and the Young Gun of Wine title was claimed by Fraser McKinley, Sami-Odi winemaker based in the Barossa.

Nick Stock, the chief judge, said “these winemakers are as diverse a group as you could hope for and the level of creativity, talent and courage underpinning them shines an exciting light on the future of great Australian wine”.

“Above all though, it’s the assured

16 Grapegrower & Winemaker

confidence that really sets this group apart, reflecting a groundswell of ownership as they stake their rightful claim on the future shape of the Australian wine offering.”

Event founder Rory Kent noted, “from 12 finalists, we have four trophy winners, a sign that it was a very even field.”

The awards and winners were: • Best New Act, Adrian Santolin (Santolin, Yarra Valley) • People’s Choice, Ben Chipman (Tom Foolery, Barossa) • Winemaker’s Choice, Brendan Keys (BK Wines, Adelaide Hills)

www.winebiz.com.au

• Young Gun of Wine, Fraser McKinley (Sami-Odi, Barossa) Reflecting on his win, McKinley was enthusiastic about the winemaking talent coming up through the ranks.

“It’s been an extremely flattering and humbling experience, given the company of finalists, to be named amongst them let along being named winner of the Young Gun of Wine award,” he said.

Stock said there could not have been a more deserving winner.

“A winemaker that has interpreted his surrounds very carefully, intelligently and with soul – the humility and sense of respect he exudes is profound.”

January 2015 – Issue 612

Cycling for Teen Rescue Foundation

A SMALL group of cyclists, all working within the Australian wine community, recently completed a cycling adventure; the Wine Peloton’s seven peaks alpine ascent challenge.

Victoria’s ‘seven peaks’ is considered the toughest non-competitive cycling challenge in Australia. The team rode more than 650km and climbed up 13,000 vertical metres across seven consecutive days from 30 November to 6 December.

The Wine Peloton took on the seven peaks to raise funds for the Teen Rescue Foundation, established by wine writer Tyson Stelzer.

“I’m pretty sure we’ve tipped over the $40,000 mark,” said Drew Tuckwell, Printhie winemaker and Wine Peloton event organiser.

“It was a fabulous event. For keen cyclists it’s the experience of a life time and there were 12 of us, a great group who had a lot of fun.”

Tuckwell was lucky to get back on the bike for this event, after a nasty crash a month before the event.

“I had a stack descending a local hill and ended up having surgery on both my arms. The surgeon was a mate of mine and I told him he had to get me back on the bike within 30 days, he got me back in 17.”

The injuries didn’t stop Tuckwell from going hard during this event, clocking a top speed of close to 90km/hr on one descent.

“The best cyclist was Stuart Cameron, the owner of Grapeworks, he was first to the top of every climb. But every time he would head back down the hill to where the back markers were and he rode back up with them, encouraging them. I’ve got to take my hat off to him, that pretty January 2015 – Issue 612

much summed up the spirit of the event.

Tuckwell said the first instalment of this event was a success and he looks forward to doing it again.

“We had a diverse range of partners on board and that made it feel like the wine community had really come together for this cause. And we need to, I feel that we all have a responsibility to be more proactive when it comes to teen alcohol abuse, so I’m keen to keep this event going because the problems aren’t going to be solved in just one year. I’m hoping to lock in the second event and make sure it becomes an ongoing thing with even bigger and better fundraising efforts.”

While working as a high school teacher Stelzer came to know the stories of under-age alcohol abuse first-hand.

Every week in Australia, one teenager between the ages of 14 and 17 dies as a result of alcohol abuse. Rates of drinking at harmful levels among 12-17 year olds have doubled in the past two decades.

The Teen Rescue Foundation has been established as a charitable institution to actively discourage and reduce harmful alcohol use and its consequences among teens. The foundation provides financial support for Australian organisations which offer front-line initiatives in situations in which teens consume alcohol, as well as organisations which offer education for teens and their families relating to the dangers of teen alcohol consumption.

“Any suggestion that the solution to Australia’s under-age alcohol abuse problem is increased alcohol prices through inflated taxation is grossly misinformed,”Stelzer said. “Nor is the solution as simple as scare-tactic advertising campaigns. www.winebiz.com.au

“After two decades working with teenagers and parents in school and church settings, I am convinced that the solution begins at home, in creating a positive culture of respectful use of alcohol at the right time, in the right place and at the right age.

“Many Australian families are looking for basic strategies and principles to help them in encouraging a responsible attitude toward alcohol among their teens. Some good resources are available online, but more printed educational materials are required.”

WINE PELOTON AND TEEN RESCUE PARTNERS: Platinum: Wine-Ark, Tonnellerie Saury.

Gold: Printhie, DeBortoli, Vasse Felix Wines, Swinging Bridge Wines, Clonakilla Wines, The Orange Wine Region, Lallemand, VINx2 Software, Tonnellerie Ermitage, Frankie & Harry Wine Bar, Della Toffola Pacific, Grapeworks, Impresstik Labels, eCellarDoor, Enoplastic.

Silver: Classic Oak Products, Finlaysons Lawyers, Gaetjens Langley, AP John Coopers, Longfellows Insurance, Angullong Wines, Castagna Wines, Homestead Estate, Greenacre Wines, Billy Button Wines, Logan Wines, Innocent Bystander.

Bronze: Define Wine Communication, Pellenc, Collotype Labels, Rorschach Wines, Glaetzer-Dixon Family Winemakers, Ross Hill Wines, Kilchurn Wines, Douglas Lamb Wines, The Staff of the AWRI, National Wine & Grape Industry Centre, Oak Solutions Group, Vinum.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

17

grapegrowing grapegrowing

Wild weather set to impact on Vintage 2015 Variable weather across spring and early summer brought early budburst in most regions, mixed with the risks of frost damage and disastrous hail storms. Emilie Reynolds spoke to grapegrowers across Australia and New Zealand to report the best and worst cases of the weather set to impact on the approaching vintage.

NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA

Craig McIntyre, SES deputy region controller Murray Region with Wentworth Mayor Don McKinnon inspect storm damage. Tornado damage around north Gol Gol. Photo credit: Sunraysia Daily

New South Wales and Victoria were hit by hailstorms in October. Although grapegrowers in Orange escaped with minimal damage, some in Murray Darling lost everything.

MURRAY DARLING Sunraysia was affected by a severe tornado in November, estimated to have caused more than $6 million damage to winegrapes.

The New South Wales Government declared the storm a natural disaster after it ripped through properties in Gol Gol North, Buronga, Mourquong, Curlwaa and Coomealla, wiping out over 30,000 tonnes of the 2015 harvest.

Tony Mangan of Bolder TM wines in Mildura, described the storm as “horrific”.

“I’ve been a winegrower for 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.

Although Mangan’s crops were up to 35 per cent affected, he considered himself luckier than others.

“I’ve lost around 900 tonnes but we’re still looking at the figures, I know some growers in Buronga who were 100 per cent affected,” he said.

Mangan said there would be ongoing consequences from the damaging hail storm.

“A lot of people don’t factor in how this storm will affect next year’s growth, chances are there won’t be any fruit on the vines next year either so it’s like a double whammy,” he said.

18 Grapegrower & Winemaker

“They can tell you approximate costs of damage, but really, you have to double that. With all the damage to posts and the full redevelopment cost of reposting, it can be four or five times the work of replanting because there is more to replace.”

Loans of up to $130,000 will be available from the New South Wales Government for growers impacted by the storm.

Brendan Hedger, Far West Local Health disaster manager, said he hoped the relief helps people move forward.

“We’re hearing stories of people having difficulty concentrating and worrying about what the future holds for them,” Hedger said. “In a lot of situations, businesses have been devastated and some people could be in dire straits for two seasons in-a-row, given the damage that has happened to some of the vines.”

Mangan said there was every chance he would be unable to grow next year due to the extent of damage from the hail storm.

“I have a gut feeling we won’t grow a crop next year.”

Growers wanting to apply for loans from the districts of Neilpo, Tiltao, Dean, Wentworth, Mourquong, Gol Gol, Cliffs, Paringi, Thitto and North Cowl within the County of Wentworth should contact the Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au.

ORANGE In Orange, growers were lucky to escape serious damage after an October storm saw the region flooded with rain.

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

Tom Ward, Swinging Bridge Wines’ owner, said despite the storm, they experienced limited hail damage.

“The storm came at an early stage and all the vines have recovered, we saw no damage to inflorescences except if they had been removed, but it was mainly leaf shredding,” he said.

While Orange’s crop prediction was still average-to-high, some shoot thinning was required due to the warm November weather.

“The vines are tending to be about two weeks ahead of normal, as temperatures have been three-to-four degrees above the average.”

Ward said the lack of rain had not been problematic due to plenty of subsoil moisture.

“We will be looking to start doing some leaf plucking over the coming weeks depending on the block and the variety. This season has much potential.”

SOUTH AUSTRALIA Dry conditions in South Australia had mixed vineyard results across spring. There were devastating frosts in the Barossa, while the Adelaide Hills experienced flowering at unusual times.

BAROSSA The initial outlook for the Barossa was very positive, after a wet winter. Unfortunately, dry conditions in August and September lead to what has become a familiar threat of spring frost.

Adrian Hoffmann, from Ebenezer’s Dimchurch Vineyard, said his sub-region has now been affected by frost for five consecutive years.

“Barossa has seen quite a bit of frost this year, but it wasn’t as bad as last year,” he said.

Hoffmann said frost usually affected low lying areas of the Barossa, but this year stretched across the whole region.

“Growers who have never been affected were getting frosted this year,” he said. “I know some growers who have lost 100 per cent of their crops in the northern Barossa to frost, it’s been quite devastating.”

Hoffmann said the installation of frost fans helped his crops battle through the dry weather.

“We put in half a million dollars on frost mitigation and have lost half as much as last year, they paid for themselves so we are looking at installing more to cover a few gaps we noticed,” he said.

Despite ongoing frost issues, Hoffman said the outlook for the 2015 Barossa harvest was far from bleak.

“Some people who haven’t seen spring growth for five or six years are carrying a crop this year,” he said. “From a Barossa standpoint, I’d say we’re going to be down on average tonnage but hopefully that swings around and those who were below average last year can produce a good crop.”

e responsibilities?

Do you fulfil your quality assuranc cling and disposal. agvet chemical recy Our programs provide an easy solution for

Origi nally , ma and f ture ull-b odied barn with yard aro comp lex ea mas and a r thy Now, finish dry a . nd cl Perfe ean ct drum condition ...

MU for

STER

.

On our websites you can locate your nearest drumMUSTER collection site with an interactive map. You can also find out the status of the next ChemClear collection in each state. It’s quick and simple.

1800 008 707 | www.drummuster.com.au 1800 008 182 | www.chemclear.com.au January 2015 – Issue 612

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

19

grapegrowing ADELAIDE HILLS Rainfall since the beginning of September had only been 35% of the long term average in the Adelaide Hills with unseasonably warm spring conditions, according to Richard Hamilton, Adelaide Hills Technical Committee chair.

“Fortunately, a cold winter with good rainfalls filled soil moisture profiles by the end of August,” he said.

Hamilton said the dry, warm conditions lead to an uncharacteristic flowering schedule.

“Last year was the first season on record with Chardonnay flowering in October; this season it was not only Chardonnay, but also Cabernet Sauvignon flowering in the earliest areas in October.”

Hamilton said growers managed to achieve good canopy sizes, despite the region experiencing unusually dry conditions for the past three seasons.

“Almost all vineyards had supplementary irrigation installed this year,” he said.

“Favourable conditions at flowering have resulted in a good set of early varieties with expectation of at least average crop yields, with some varieties having the potential for slightly above average yields.”

Although there were some instances of poor set in the Cabernet family (particularly in Cabernet Franc), Hamilton said it was likely crops would be closer to average than last season.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Entopia Vineyard at Swan Valley. Photo credit: MADCAT Photography

Grapegrowers in Western Australia endured both ends of the spring weather spectrum. Hailstorms caused havoc in southern WA while Swan Valley enjoyed warm weather and “spectacular growth”.

$200,000 in retail sales.

“Obviously we won’t know the exact figure until we do our yield estimates for the harvest,” he said. “In saying that the vines may recover and push out a bit of extra weight or tonnage.”

PEMBERTON

SWAN VALLEY

A severe hailstorm struck southern parts of Western Australia in October, with crops across Frankland River and Pemberton hit hardest.

Jacob Longwood, Bellarmine Wines vineyard manager, told the ABC although the hail only lasted seven minutes, severe damage was caused to the Pemberton property.

“When the hail was coming down it seemed really serious, I haven’t seen anything like it for a very long time in Pemberton,” he said. “All you could hear was crashing on the roof from the large hailstones, about three centimetres in size.”

Although the area had been expecting bad weather, Longwood said the storm hit fast and hard causing extensive damage to the vineyard.

“The vines were hit and some shoots were severed and knocked off, definitely not a majority of them but it has done enough damage that you can see bruising of the shoots with the naked eye,” he said. “The inflorescences have been hit and essentially knocked off the growing bunch.”

With the vineyard located directly underneath the storm front, Longwood said all of the crops were affected equally.

“We were about 25 to 30 per cent affected or lost,” he said.

Longwood said the damage could cost him upwards of

Further north, a wave of warm weather saw grapevines in Swan Valley start flowering earlier than usual.

Temperatures in September and October were on par with the long term average; however August saw the minimums and maximums up at least two degrees on the averages.

Duncan Harris, Swan Valley and Regional Winemakers Association president, said the crops were on track to be between two and three weeks earlier than normal.

“Some people may be picking the 2015 vintage grapes in 2014,” he said.

Verdelho vines were usually the first to break during spring but burst earlier than normal this year.

“The budburst means the growing phase is earlier at all Swan Valley vineyards,” he said. “Growth has been spectacular meaning it’s been a busy time for vignerons to keep their vines in shape.”

Harris said grapegrowers were hoping to avoid any heatwaves.

“It’s really crossed fingers and hopefully most of the vineyard misses any hot weather spells of over 40 degrees before New Year, like we experienced last year,” he said. “We’ve have fantastic past vintages so we’re all feeling fairly fortunate in the Swan Valley,” he said.

20 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

MILES AHEAD

THE RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

Over 20 years of proven hands free growth straight to the wire, with quick and easy assembly using our Zip-Safe seal. It’s no wonder GroGuard is Australia’s biggest name in vine establishment technology.

Designed and manufactured locally for Australian conditions, our legendary strength and reliability is backed by a 3-year guarantee.

Contact your local rural store or

freecall 1800 644 259 www.groguard.com.au

grapegrowing QUEENSLAND

Symphony Hill Pinot Noir under hail nets. Photo credit: Mike Hayes

High temperatures across Australia benefited some growers in Queensland and those set up to handle the warm weather were expecting spectacular harvests.

GRANITE BELT Dry conditions spread across Queensland’s wine districts could mean grapegrowers produce the “vintage of the decade” according to Mike Hayes, Symphony Hill Wines viticulturist and winemaker.

“Relatively warm nights ensured that flowering was completed throughout all varieties within seven days and fruit set was outstanding, with millerandage and coulure not a problem,” he said.

Hayes said the installation of frost fans reduced the issue throughout southern Queensland, however the on-going dry

conditions were dangerous for growers.

“The threat of severe drought in some regions is inevitable,” he said.

Hayes said South Burnett and the Granite Belt both received hot October nights and above average daytime temperatures through spring.

“I think if it remains dry this could be the vintage of the decade, so to speak, with all parameters pointing to outstanding quality,” he said.

“The hail has been so far non-existent and let’s hope that it remains that way. I see nothing but positive times ahead for the growers that have a water supply, beyond 2015 it’s anyone’s guess but let’s pray for solid winter rain in 2015.”

Southern Queensland’s dry conditions were expected to last until mid-2015, according to Hayes.

NEW ZEALAND Although New Zealand recovered well from a long frost season, the dry conditions have growers worried about drought conditions extending into summer.

MARLBOROUGH Spring weather in Marlborough has been very dry, with slightly above average temperatures and record-breaking sunshine hours, according to Rob Agnew from the Plant and Food Research division at the Marlborough Research Centre.

Agnew said although the spring months have been warmer on average, the temperatures have oscillated up and down with warm weeks followed by cooler ones.

SUPPORT ON OFFER The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) released an online factsheet to help growers prevent and recover from excess hail damage to grapevines. In summary, the report said growers need to assess vine damage as soon as possible after the hail event and choose an appropriate vineyard management strategy that aligns with the visual symptoms observed in each vineyard. AWRI said growers should contact their insurer and arrange for a formal damage assessment as soon as possible. Growers without hail damage insurance should still assess crop loss and damage in a formal manner, in case other relief measures are made available. AWRI advised growers to collect photographic evidence of damaged vines throughout each affected vineyard.

The full document is available to be downloaded from the

22 Grapegrower & Winemaker

“There have been many cool nights from mid-September through until December, with the result being vineyards had a longer period of frost fighting than is normally experienced in Marlborough,” he said.

“We saw flowering of Sauvignon Blanc in late November, early December 2014 which was approximately five to seven days behind 2013.”

Agnew said Marlborough recorded the highest total sunshine hours and lowest average rainfall in 85 years, which caused concern for the region.

“At the beginning of December 2014 Marlborough is staring down the barrel of a serious summer drought,” he said.

AWRI website.

Matthew Hutchinson, MGA Insurance broker, said crop insurance for vineyards generally cover fire, malicious acts and impact but could be extended for hail and/or frost cover.

“Most policies allow the insured to select the level of cover required by adjusting the amount per tonne to be insured, that way a grower could select to insure their full retail cost of the fruit, or reduce the cover (and premium cost) to insure only the cost of production,” he said.

Hutchinson advised grapegrowers to be aware of the exact method used by the insurer to assess claims, apply excess and determine loss of yield.

“Organising cover through a qualified insurance broker can allow the client to make sure they are being guided in the most suitable path for them.”

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

Your Vineyard Your Voice

The Newsletter of Wine Grape Growers Australia

January 2015

National oversight of Australia’s grapevine genetic resources proposed A meeting of germplasm stakeholders, convened by WGGA in November 2013, kicked off a process designed to reach an industry decision about managing grapevine genetic resources into the future.

This followed the release of a GWRDC-funded report titled Review of grapevine germplasm collections in Australia (GWR 1112) which was the latest in a succession of reports over the years about the state of Australia’s foundation genetic assets and recommendation for their management, about which no industry decision had been made. Hence, WGGA’s interest in facilitating a decision.

With support from the then GWRDC, a working group was formed to make the business case for future management of these resources. This working group produced a draft proposal that went out to full industry consultation in September 2014.

The final proposal was then referred to the Joint Policy Forum (WFA and WGGA) which recommended it to the respective executive committees for support. Both organisations supported the proposal albeit with some caveats on the detail.

With the time and resources available to the working group, it did not arrive at any definitive answers regarding a management system. Rather, the working group made the case for a process to ensure the complexity of issues would be given due consideration, to enable a final answer. While some of the detail in the proposal was questioned in the consultation phase, WGGA believes the proposed process is a responsible approach that will consider both the concerns raised during the consultation phase as well as the issues not fully explored, to arrive at a position acceptable to industry.

The proposed process can be summarised, as follows: 1. On a precautionary principle, halt the deterioration of the existing genetic resources while rational decisions are made on longer-term arrangements; 2. Prepare the way for an effective national management structure to be devised; and 3. Find solutions that will be responsive to prevailing realities as well as future possibilities.

Proposed elements of this process that will ensure delivery of these objectives include: • National strategic oversight and coordination of entities currently managing the assets; • Testing, maintenance and auditing of the existing collections in order to halt their deterioration and to prepare the way for future management; • Creation of a national committee and project manager to oversee the process. It is envisaged this would be hosted within AGWA; • Public access to collections that serve planting requirements; and • A grapevine register in order to know what resources exist in Australia.

The proposal now sits with AGWA for it to evaluate the merits of the case and its proposed role. It can be viewed at http://wgga. com.au/policy/germplasm.

Control weeds, manage glyphosate resistance glufosinate ammonium 200 g/L Use Exonerate® to control grass and broadleaf weeds in vines all season long.

adama.com

Level 1, Industry House, National Wine Centre Cnr Botanic and Hackney Roads, Adelaide, SA 5000 Telephone (08) 8133 4400 Fax (08) 8133 4466 Email info@wgga.com.au Website www.wgga.com.au

1

WGGA News

WGGA Grower Seminar explores innovation WGGA conducted a grower seminar in November titled ‘Survive the present and innovate for the future’. While recognising that 2015 was likely to be another year of low profitability, the seminar topics attempted to highlight the positive role that innovation could play in a brighter future.

In WGGA’s view, innovation is not receiving the attention it deserves as an agent for turning the industry’s fortunes around.

In current industry thinking, boosting demand is the dominant strategy. WGGA’s view on the role of innovation does not deny that boosting demand is necessary but asks whether it is sufficient, particularly for improving the market prospects of commodity-grade fruit and wine which under the terms of the demand initiatives in the industry, will rely on ‘pull-through’ from the potential success of marketing the premium end of the business.

The seminar presentations can be viewed on WGGA’s website at www.wgga.com.au. What follows is a brief description of the messages delivered on the day.

Louisa Rose, AWRI Chair, tackled the concept of innovation.

Louisa made the distinction between inventions, or the creation of a new ideas, compared to innovation which is the use of such ideas to deliver their benefits.

In this sense, innovation is a process and a discipline that can be learnt. The implication is that each and every business and organisation can, and probably should, inculcate processes to objectively create innovation rather that treat it as inspiration brought about by the imaginative, creative few.

Two key elements in ‘how to’ innovate were noted as collaboration and the multidisciplinary nature of innovation.

Disappointingly, Australia ranks poorly in terms of the degree to which firms collaborate with research institutions – at 33rd in the world. The multidisciplinary nature of innovation refers to a broader base than just science and technology. Innovation can be in economics, management systems, social systems, resources, infrastructure and possibly more.

2

Jeff McDonald, from the SA Riverland and a director of an organisation called Collaborative Farming Australia (CFA), spoke about the role business models can play in reducing the cost of primary production. A case study he presented ably demonstrated this. Jeff’s business model reflected the view expressed by many individual business operators ‘that costs had been screwed down as much as was possible’. Building on this however, the CFA model emphasises the role of scale in achieving lower costs by individual businesses combining operations to achieve the required scale.

Key elements of collaborative farming includes concepts like refocussing from a reliance on longer-term returns from the farm’s eventual sale to the value which can be extracted in the here-and-now from its operations, employing people with specialist skill sets the individual business operator might be expected to be across (jack of all trades but master of none), and including independent thinking in the business’ decisionmaking processes.

Prime importance however was put on the role of emotion and personalities of the business owners given collaboration between people is central to the business model. The wrong emotional or personality characteristics may preclude some people from success in this type of model.

After presenting to WGGA last year, Shane Tremble, Woolworths Liquor Group head of corporate development, again provided fascinating insights into alcohol beverage trends.

Key trends identified by Shane included the decline in overall and per capita alcohol consumption, the emerging and gamechanging role of online and digital purchasing, and more demanding consumers who increasingly cross-shop brands and for whom traditional retail offers are no longer satisfying.

Shane related, from Australian Bureau of Statistics data, that cider has been a stand-out sales success (from a low base) over the past five years, with an annual rate of growth of 18% in absolute terms and 16% in per capita terms while wine lagged

WGGA News

this result with 0.1% growth and a 1.5% decline respectively. It was also related that for Woolworths, 20 of the top 200 lines in 2013 (or 10%) didn’t exist five years ago but new lines had accounted for 50% of their sales growth.

Woolworth’s contribution to the innovation story came in the form of a new sales channel called ‘Connections’, which allows customers to browse through the entire product range of a participating winery. This is achieved by small and independent suppliers using simple, purpose-built technology to access Dan Murphy’s online sales outlets. A kicker is the opportunity for in-store placement of the best performing products showcasing this way.

The final speaker, Rob Hunt, talked about the benefits of objective grape standards and the role they could play in price discovery. Hunt stated the wine industry is possibly the final major sector of agriculture not to use objective standards for supply and price discovery. Rather, subjective assessments prevail.

This contrasts with the livestock industry which has an entirely objective measurement program to improve the red meat-eating experience for the consumer and hence, promoting the product.

Rob presented an example of a system of measures for wine grapes and outlined the benefits for growers and wine companies as well as the commitments required of them through such a system.

Stop preSS: time period for resolving disputes through the Code extended As part of a wide-ranging review of the Australian Wine Industry Code of Conduct (the Code) to make it more effective, an amendment has been agreed between WGGA and WFA that will assist growers in disputing final prices they feel are unfair.

available to effectively mount and resolve a dispute under the Code’s time stipulations. It is considered that growers, being more often the disputing party and with fruit in jeopardy while the dispute awaits resolution, were at a particular disadvantage.

A review, within which this amendment has been agreed, is currently being undertaken by the combined WGGAWFA Code Management Committee (CMC) which among other things, is charged with monitoring the effectiveness of the Code.

The amendment will apply for the 2015 harvest onwards.

The amendment deals with a concern, expressed by growers, that during the busy harvest period, time is not

The Code currently stipulates a 14-day period from the time the dispute is notified by the disputing party, for the parties to come to a mutually agreed outcome. The change will now allow for a mutually agreed outcome to be reached 60 days after the notification, if the notification is lodged before April

30. April 30 is taken to be a date that covers by far the majority of notifications that may occur ‘during the harvest period’.

It should be noted the other provisions for disputes over winegrape price remain the same and for complete clarity should be read from part 3.1 of the Code.

Further announcements and information can be found on WGGA’s website (www. wgga.com.au), WFA’s website (www.wfa. org.au), the Australian Wine Industry Code of Conduct website (www. wineindustrycode.org) or in the wine industry media.

3

WGGA News

What’s missing here?

Australia’s wine sector has a highly-creditable research program into the link between grape characteristics and wine, or objective measures. It is even acknowledged world-wide.

AGWA’s Research Program 3 proclaims the value to improved products and processes is “in the vineyard... by ...establishing objective measures of grape quality... required for more precise specifications of supply arrangements and more streamlined processing of fruit at the winery”.

There are 14 current projects being funded under the heading “Objective measures of quality and assessment systems” with at least half of them relating to grapes. For example “Assessment of relationships between grape chemical composition and grape allocation grade” (AWR1202) and “Grape quality parameters that influence wine flavour and aroma” (CSP 1201).

The value of the research is well understood in the industry.

AGWA’s preface to Program 3.1 puts it as “being able to objectively define and measure grape and wine quality, beyond the basic parameters of sugar, acid and colour... as ...essential to being able to manage and improve products and processes”.

A preliminary report by the research team for project CSP 1201 develops the theme further. They note grape composition has a “profound influence on wine style and that the volatile and semi-volatile compounds in wine, which are predominantly responsible for wine flavour and aroma, are primarily determined by grapes, not by the winemaking process”. Therefore, objective measures of grape attributes, that would allow the prediction of wine sensory characteristics, have a very valuable role to play in “improve[ing] our ability to efficiently grow grapes to suit desired wine styles”.

Finally, winemakers use objective measures in winemaking, albeit the objectivity may still be under development through research projects like those mentioned in this article.

But there’s something missing here. While researchers are busy working on such measures, and winemakers value them for winemaking processes, wine companies do not appear to be incentivising them through payment systems for winegrape purchases.

The point needs to be made that growers are in business

Are you using the Australian Grape and Wine events Calendar Do you know about the Australian Grape and Wine Events Calendar? It is an online resource that acts as a single goto point for all Australian wine industry events. It has been developed by the National Wine Extension and Innovation Network (NWEIN), and is hosted by AWRI. It is feely accessible online at www.grapeandwineevents.com.au.

It is a valuable way to search upcoming events or check conflicting dates when planning your next event. The more it is used this way – the fewer will be clashes between industry events.

and just as in any supplier-customer relationship, if you want something, you have to pay for it.

The assumption the research work is being conducted for the benefit of the winemaker and not the grower, is revealed in the words of the CSP 1201 project report where it says “such measures will aid in the streaming of fruit and harvest scheduling to allow the consistent production of wine styles suited to consumer groups.” Fair enough, it is not up to researchers of winegrape objective measures to determine how the winemaker targets these attributes but you have to wonder, in the case of purchased fruit, what is the assumption about how the message gets through to the grower? Is it moral persuasion (eg “quality is the path to competitiveness”), or threats, or contracts?

How about price as the instrument? Researchers are doing their job, how about wine processors doing theirs and incentivising the quality they desire.

Think of the advantages of making a financial link between the supplied and required inputs. They include matching supply and demand (ie balance in the industry – ‘more precise specifications of supply arrangements’ as we heard earlier), efficiency (reduced processing costs by incentivising better quality fruit and less of the costly converting of sow’s ears to silk purses as well as fewer costly product failures due to untargeted inputs), a meaningful dialogue between grape producer and processor (better industry relations), and higher returns (higher quality and rewards for all).

WGGA Associate Members

WGGA proudly acknowledges its associate members: AHA Viticulture

PFG Australia

Belvino Investments

Retallack Viticulture

Gaetjens Langley

River Murray Training

Lallemand Oenology

SCE Energy Solutions

National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA)

Vine Sight

Performance Viticulture

Woodshield

Vitibit

WGGA incorporates a life member category A motion to incorporate an Honorary Life Member category in the WGGA Constitution was passed at its 2014 AGM and Leo Pech from the Barossa Valley was awarded the honour. The award to Leo was well deserved after more than 50 years of selfless service to the Australian winegrape growing community.

If you would like to nominate a grower for Honorary Life Membership in 2015 email us at info@wgga.com.au.

Take Control iprodione 500 g/L Protect your fruit against late season grey mould.

4

adama.com

people & places

Regional Movember rivalry A GROUP of particularly dodgylooking winemakers, sales representatives and cellar door staff members gathered from across the Adelaide Hills, Barossa and McLaren Vale on the final day of ‘Movember’ to have some fun and raise funds for men’s health causes.

The party was hosted at the Adelaide Hills Wine Centre, at the Hahndorf Inn, and a range of prizes were handed out for the best facial fuzz.

“It was an awesome day,” said Jack Simmonds, Hahndorf Hill Winery brand ambassador and Movember event organiser. “There was lots of wine donated

so we raised money through silent and old school auctions. We even organised a barber so the wives and girlfriends could make a small donation to get their Mo-man looking normal again.”

The awards for the best moustaches included: • Best Merv Hughes, won by Marcus Hofer of Lloyd Brothers; • Best Zorro, won by Jack Simmonds, Hahndorf Hill; • Best Tom Sellick, won by Matt Caldersmith, Hardys; • Best freestyle and best mo of show, won by Greg Clack, Chain of Ponds.

Jess Buckmaster from the Adelaide Hills Wine Centre with Greg Clack, Chain of Ponds.

Ebony Young with Shane Harris, K1 by Geoff Hardy.

The judges, including Rob Gibson from Gibson Wines (centre) compare notes.

Rob Oien from the Adelaide Hills Wine Centre with Jack Simmonds, Hahndorf Hill Winery

The Eagle....

Judy’s Kites latest design in birdscaring kites, scaring birds since 1990.

Joe Petrucci, Sabella Vineyards

Dan Eggleton, Seguin Moreau

· Cost effective · environmentally friendly · low maintenance · AustrAliA’s FAvourite birdscArer!

For sales/brochures/dealers contact Judy’s Kites 36 Herrick Street, Sellicks Beach, SA 5174 P 08 8556 3030 M 0408 815 094 F 08 8557 4113 e judy@birdscarers.com.au

Hamish Lawrie from Deviation Road January 2015 – Issue 612

Marcus Hofer of Lloyd Brothers www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

27

grapegrowing

Adding more layers to Shiraz Nathan Gogoll reports

BAROSSA winemakers and grapegrowers recently had the opportunity to taste a selection of wines made from heritage Shiraz clone vines, originating from some of the oldest Shiraz vineyards in the world.

A once-off tasting was held in early December to showcase new clones that will add greater diversity and character to Australia’s vineyards and wines, or as Chris Rogers from the Barossa Grapegrowers Vine Selection Society put it – to add some extra items to the Shiraz “spice rack”.

The Selection Society, which trades as Barossa Vine Improvement, has been associated with clonal selection since 1967 and continues to be a key supplier of high-quality VINA accredited clonal material to the Australian Wine Industry.

The heritage clones tasting showcased wines made in 2013 from eight new South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) Heritage Shiraz clones, as well as the wellknown 1654 clone as a comparison.

The selection of these clones began back in 1986, brought about by the vision and collaboration of industry stalwarts Ross Heinze, Richard Cirami and Michael McCarthy in conjunction with state vine improvement organisations.

McCarthy, SARDI Viticulture principal research scientist, was thrilled to see the scientific trial now turning into an industry reality.

“It’s been a long time coming but it was worth the wait,” he said. “The many years of testing, and the quality of the wines we have made from these clones, are proof in the pudding that it’s worth capturing the unique genetics of these old vineyards, some of which date as far back as the 1840s. I’m proud of the results we have achieved”.

Chris Rogers, St Hallett Wines viticulturist and Barossa Vine Improvement committee member, acknowledged McCarthy’s dedication and vision to highlight the need for clonal diversity in Shiraz, as well as his commitment to the trial for nearly 30 years.

“Mike has been the driving force behind bringing these heritage clones to growers, and ensuring that we recognise the opportunities that ongoing clonal selection can offer the wine industry and the Barossa,” Rogers said. “It’s also a fascinating journey that merges science, history and human endeavour which we can share with the world via the wines we make”.

The commercial release of these unique clones represents a significant step forward in Shiraz clonal development in Australia, having been selected entirely for quality attributes from some of the oldest vines in world. The development of

these new clones also represents progress on an important goal of both preserving and expanding unique vine genetics in Australia.

In 1986, approximately 150 of the oldest Shiraz vineyards in the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek regions were identified and assessed for clonal selection potential.

Ross Heinze was instrumental to this project, working at the time for Penfolds Wines, and also serving as chair of the South Australian Vine Improvement Committee. The criteria established for this selection work was; a) vineyards greater than 60 years of age planted on their own roots, b) vines ‘standing out’ for good bunch composition and trueness to type, c) vines showing healthy and consistent leaf condition and no virus symptoms. Richard Cirami, Senior Research Officer with the SA Department of Agriculture, led local vine improvement committees in the selection of vines in 1987-88 from these three regions, and cuttings were harvested in the winter of 1988 from selected blocks and vines.

In the 1990’s came an increased interest in premium quality Shiraz which led to the search for new selections with other desirable attributes such as smaller berry size, higher Baume, and especially higher colour and phenolic concentration. There was also a growing concern over the narrow genetic base of Shiraz vineyards due to large plantings of predominantly clone 1654. The underlying philosophy to re-examine all Shiraz selections was therefore to widen the genetic base available.

Whilst the 1993 data showed no significant yield or maturity differences between these selections, there was evidence of subtle differences.

With all this in mind, McCarthy revisited the trial in 1996 and undertook sampling of 77 Shiraz selections at the Nuriootpa Viticultural Research Centre to assess berry size, Baume, anthocyanin and phenolic content and concentration.

In 1998, after assessing these selections over three consecutive vintages, 10 of the original 40 old-vine selections were singled out based on consistency from season to season for Baume, colour and phenolics.

These 10 selections were DNA tested and confirmed as Shiraz, and were PCR virus tested and found free of GVA, GVB, Fan Leaf and Leaf Roll viruses. Therefore these selections had consistently shown good colour, phenolics and maturity without excessive berry size, and had excellent virus status. Cuttings were then taken from the virus tested vines and propagated, at which stage they were referred to as SARDI 1 to SARDI 10. They were planted in extension rows at the Nuriootpa Viticultural

Table 1. SARDI Heritage Shiraz Clones - Origin and Vineyard Age Clone

Region of origin vineyard

Planting year of origin vineyard

SARDI 1

Langhorne Creek

1960*

SARDI 3

McLaren Vale/McLaren Flat

1840’s

SARDI 4

Barossa Valley/Kalimna

1935

SARDI 6

Barossa Valley/Light Pass

1926

SARDI 7

Barossa Valley/Moppa

1910

SARDI 8

Barossa Valley/Nuriootpa

1900

SARDI 9

Barossa Valley/Kalimna

1925

SARDI 10

Barossa Valley/Stockwell

1907

*There were very limited +60yr old vine plantings in Langhorne Creek in 1986

28 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

CAREFUL SELECTION: Mike McCarthy, SARDI Viticulture principal research officer, and Chris Rogers from the Barossa Grapegrowers Vine Selection Society.

Research Centre in 2001, and later biologically indexed for virus as part of a GWRDC funded project. This testing led to the elimination of clones 2 and 5 due to leaf roll symptoms.

Shiraz clone 1654 was also planted in the extension block for comparison. The remaining eight clones consist of one from Langhorne Creek, one from McLaren Vale, and six from the Barossa Valley. In 2006, the first A-grade source area vineyard of all 8 clones was planted at Bethany in the Barossa Valley.

Subsequent to discussions saw the Barossa Grapegrowers Vine Selection Society took up the opportunity to undertake further research on these SARDI Shiraz clones, in addition to making these unique clones commercially available to the wine industry. Through 2012 and 2013 the society repeated DNA and virus testing on the extension block, which confirmed the previous DNA and virus status. Berry sensory assessment was undertaken in 2012, and then for the 2013 vintage in collaboration with SARDI, the BGVSS invested in comprehensive wine quality assessment on all 8 clones (and 1654) from the extension block via small-lot winemaking and sensory analysis at the Australian Wine Research Institute.

Through all this work, a new generation of grapegrowers and winemakers have greater access to high quality unique genetic material originating from old vines with known health and quality characteristics, which in turn offers greater diversity, sustainability and character to our future vineyards and wines.

“With vine improvement on a national level, funding does seem to ebb and flow, but the Barossa Grapegrowers Vine Selection Society has been managed very well which has allowed for projects like this,” Rogers said. “We’ve been able to get the Australian Wine Research Institute to make the wine and carry out the sensory analysis, which represents an investment of $25,000.”

Rogers said the sensory analysis was important to take the understanding of the clones “beyond the raw data”.

“There has been a lot of awesome work done over the years and we are very fortunate that SARDI and Mike McCarthy have kept at it,” he said.

“The source blocks now supply reasonable amounts of material and there are more of them coming on line. We’ve been through a very rigorous process of testing for viruses all the way through to analytical testing of finished wines.

“Interest is strong, as you generally find with something new or different, but in many ways we’re probably already spoilt for choice with Shiraz clones. However, the heritage clones are looking at different nuances rather than something spectacularly different.”

Barossa Vine Improvement, as exclusive suppliers of A-grade cuttings of these SARDI Heritage Shiraz clones, is proud to showcase what these clones can offer.

January 2015 – Issue 612

Ensuring vines are in good health with sufficient water leading up to, during, and after a heat wave is important, especially if crop protection products are to be applied.

Healthy vines are better equipped to fend off pests and diseases, which are largely opportunists that take advantage of a weakened, more susceptible host. Heat stress of the vine canopy can cause the natural defence of the plant to be below optimum, while at the same time increasing the risk of phytotoxicity and other harmful impacts of sprays. Some formulation types (e.g. EC and WP formulations) are worse than others and are especially severe when sprayed in, or leading up to, very hot and humid conditions A lot of products used in the vineyard also rely on healthy plants to assist with their performance, either with movement of the active ingredient into or within the plant, or, so that the plant has an active metabolism for the product to function properly. An excellent example is the poor performance of glyphosate on weeds stressed by hot dry conditions.

The evaporative cooling effect of transpiration is how vines regulate a lot of the heat load. If there isn’t enough available soil moisture when hot conditions occur, transpiration is restricted and the impact can be severe.

Each vineyard will be managed differently when it comes to irrigation, target yield, and ultimately, the quality of the grape. However, the principles to protect any vine from extreme heat can be applied to any situation.

Being forewarned is being forearmed. Monitoring the weather forecasts for upcoming temperatures and conditions should be a daily routine. The ‘Meteye’ BOM site provides an excellent seven day weather forecast system.

Making plans well in advance will pay dividends. Often it takes a few days to irrigate all blocks on a property. Prioritising which blocks receive water, or providing all blocks with some moisture will be important decisions to make in the days leading up a heat wave. Don’t let it be a case of too little, too late!

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

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

29

photo competition

Adama photo competition finalists

WINNER: Ann Killeen, Rutherglen Estates.

OUR Adama cover photo competition called for shots of healthy vines and we were overwhelmed by the response. With more than 160 entries of across Australia and New Zealand, the task of selecting the finalists was not easy.

However, we narrowed it down to 11 finalists and shared these on Facebook to get some audience participation. There was a clear favourite, which is now sitting proudly on the cover – and has seen Ann Killeen win a GoPro Hero3+.

But we thought the 10 finalists were of such s t a nd a r d, we’r e bringing them to you here in print.

Cong r at u lat ion s to all t he finalists, who each receive an Ada ma-bra nded RM Williams vest for their efforts.

other high

Lori-Ann Shibish - Entopia Wines, Swan District, Western Australia

Melissa Crow - Barwite Vineyards, Upper Goulburn, Victoria.

Candice Bianchini - the family farm at Yenda, Riverina, New South Wales.

Michael Griffith - Brown Brothers Vineyards, Tasmania.

Steve Sanders – Domaine Chandon Strathbogie Vineyard, Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria.

George Dajczer - Andrew Peace Wines, Swan Hill, Victoria.

30 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

Kathy Drogemuller - Paracombe Wines, Adelaide Hills, South Australia.

Colin Free - Swan Hill Wine Region, Victoria.

David Bryant - Serafino Wines, McLaren Vale, South Australia.

Matthew Bailey – Taltarni vineyards, Pyrenees, Victoria.

Exid

Nail Clip

Screw Clip

Specially developed for the viticulture industry to provide positive wire-to-post fastening.

• Clips are moulded from polyethylene UV stabilised plastic capable of resisting temperature extremes.

• Screws are protected by a high durability coating for longer life.

• Available in single or double ended clips.

• By design, the load is carried by the screw rather than the clip.

• Screw pull-out loads far exceed those of nails and staples.

Cost-effective wire-to-post • Screws can be driven into softer timbers without pre-drilling.

• Posts are not subjected to hammer shock when screw driving. fastening using the successful Vini Clip System.

• Clips also available for nailing if preferred (recommend nailgun for best results).

All Products Proudly

Automatic Flusher Valve for Irrigation Hose

- Australian -

Incorporating Spiralfast™ Tension Ties.

Available in three sizes to fit Israeli & Australian 17mm and 13mm dripper irrigation lines.

Scare-Away Cannon STILL FRIGHTENING BIRDS AND PESTS AWAY BETTER THAN EVER

Our SCARE-AWAY Cannons frighten bird and animal pests from fruit, vegetable and grain crops by means of harmless, automatic, thunderclap explosions.

Our double Shot model complete with piezzo ignition system, operates in all weather conditions and provides extra loud explosions. The SCARE-AWAY Cannons are an all steel construction, portable and operate on LP GAS. Visit our website to view information on other models available and for prices and free literature. Alternatively contact us direct on our toll-free number. Dealer enquires are invited.

Water exits here

NATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR:

E.H. CAMBRIDGE & CO

Now you can allow air to evacuate from your dripper system and automatically shut off when the water reaches them. When water pressure is turned off the valve automatically opens, allowing flushing and drainage of lines. Also can be wedged open for power flushing.

1800 888 137 or (08) 8391 1688

61 2 9482 5663 • ppp@tpg.com.au Now available from our New Zealand agent, Amacron Ph 08 00102253 January 2015 – Issue 612

3 Diagonal Road, Mt Barker, SA 5251

CALL US ON TOLL FREE

Email: sales@ehcambridge.com.au • Web: www.ehcambridge.com.au

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

31

grapegrowing

International grapevine root symposium Everard J Edwards, CSIRO Agriculture Flagship research team leader, based at the Waite Campus in Adelaide, works on various aspects of grapevine physiology; including root growth, root function and rootstock physiology. He recently attended the first International Symposium on Grapevine Roots, held in Italy.

He summarises the event here.

THE symposium took place over three days, from October 16th to October 18th included a technical tour of local vineyards and wineries, at the Vivai Coorperativi Rauscedo in northern Italy.

There were 30 international speakers and nearly 40 poster presentations across six themes: • Grapevine rootstocks: origins and future; • Grapevine roots: interactions with natural factors and agronomic practices; • Root molecular biology; • Roots and vine mineral nutrition; • Modern methods for vine root research; and • Vine root system diseases and compatibility problems.

The opening lecture, by Diego Tomasi of CRA-VIT, Conegliano, Italy, emphasised the need for accurate knowledge on biomass allocation between root and shoot and how management systems affect this.

For instance, through the use of pit excavations, they have observed that minimally pruned vines have fewer roots, whereas moderate water stress results in a greater number of roots, but at the expense of reduced shoot biomass.

Tomasi also discussed effects of planting density, soil compaction and water-logging, concluding that vine balance requires getting the right root system as well as the right shoot management.

The first session focussed on rootstocks, featuring talks from France, Slovenia, Canada, Hungary and Italy.

The keynote speaker, Natalie Ollat of INRA in Bordeaux, provided a historical overview of Phylloxera, the origin of rootstocks (with a key input from England!) and noted that more than 90 per cent of the world’s vines are grafted to only five rootstocks.

This is a significant risk to viticulture worldwide and demonstrates the ongoing need for new rootstock breeding, whilst also providing an opportunity to develop rootstocks more suited to certain environments.

The second session included talks from South Africa, Australia, Spain, Italy and Chile. Esther Hernández Montes described a study of the response of root

32 Grapegrower & Winemaker

The keynote speaker, Natalie Ollat of INRA in Bordeaux, provided a historical overview of Phylloxera, the origin of rootstocks (with a key input from England!) and noted that more than 90 per cent of the world’s vines are grafted to only five rootstocks.

At a glance: The symposium featured 30 international speakers and nearly 40 poster presentations across six themes: • Grapevine rootstocks: origins and future; • Grapevine roots: interactions with natural factors and agronomic practices; • Root molecular biology; • Roots and vine mineral nutrition; • Modern methods for vine root research; and • Vine root system diseases and compatibility problems.

respiration to irrigation, finding that root respiration was higher in soils with high moisture contents.

Over a full season they found that 15 per cent of all the carbon fixed through photosynthesis was lost through root respiration alone.

The final session of the first day examined root molecular biology in vines, with two of the five talks being Italian, demonstrating their strength in this area.

The range of techniques being utilised by the speakers assured the listeners that grapevine root biology was not lagging behind other areas of biological science in this regard.

With effects of rootstock on berry transcriptome and metabolome, changes in rootstock transcriptome in response to drought and effects of drought on the shoot transcriptome all being described in a range of studies. www.winebiz.com.au

The first day of the symposium ended with a visit to Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo (VCR), the nursery co-operative, whose plantings dominate the local area. VCR has a production capacity of 60 million grafted vines per year, offering over 4,000 rootstock:scion combinations and has a presence in over 30 countries worldwide.

VCR have also registered more than 300 original clones and have made a number of scion crosses, some of which were tasted by the symposium attendees at a wine tasting.

The following day began with a session on vine nutrition, where Marcus Müller described his PhD work at the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre in Wagga Wagga.

He examined then interaction between nitrogen supply and irrigation level on nitrogen in the xylem sap preand post-veraison, finding that nitrogen concentrations in sap post-veraison were only around 20 per cent of pre-veraison, despite continued berry requirements for nitrogen.

The following session focussed on methods for vine root research, an area that the author knows only too well is fraught with difficulty.

Techniques described included whole root system assessment, using an air-spade to expose roots followed

by LIDAR characterisation, rhizotrons, mini-rhizotrons, microtomography (CAT scan) of vines to examine embolisms in the xylem vessels, and combining sapflow and eddy-covarience measures to examine root and stem water dynamics.

The final session of the symposium was centred on root diseases, included Phylloxera and nematodes, as well as diseases not prevalent in Australia.

This session was followed by a visit to the Friuli Colli Orientali region in January 2015 – Issue 612

the foothills of the Alps, but close to the Adriatic Sea, with hills that have been terraced over centuries of vine growing.

The third day of the symposium was a technical tour around the Prosecco DOCG region, including visits to two wineries and the unique vineyards of Torri di Credazzo.

The trip was funded by a travel grant from the Australian Wine and Grape Authority and CSIRO. Australian contributions to the symposium were significant, with two oral presentations: 'The effects of sustained deficit irrigation and re-watering on root production and turnover in warm climate viticulture', by Edwards EJ, Pearce A, Lawlor AF, Pech J, McCarthy MG & Tyerman SD; and 'Effect of N and water supply on xylem composition in Semillon and Riesling', Müller MC, Smith JP, Clark A & Holzapfel BP. There were also three poster presentations: 'Rootstock conferred vigour is a driver of crop water use efficiency', by Edwards EJ, Boettcher A, Colins MJ, Clingeleffer PR & Walker RR; 'Investigating the genetic mechanisms of salinity tolerance in grapevine rootstocks', by Dunlevy J, Blackmore D, Walker RR, Edwards EJ & Walker AR; 'Controlled root environment rhizolysimeter – development of a new facility for studying grapevine responses to soil temperature', by Smith JP & Holzapfel BP.

January 2015 – Issue 612

Report show research offers returns for grapegrowers A report, from the Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA), released late in 2014 demonstrated an $11 return for every dollar invested in new and improved rootstocks for winegrape growers.

A cost/benefit analysis of 26 research projects found the major benefits of rootstock use include improved resilience against soil-borne pests, improved wateruse efficiency, reduced potassium and salt uptake, and enhanced vineyard establishment and production.

Barnaby Joyce, Agriculture Minister, said research and development (R&D) in Australia’s rural sector had a long history 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,” 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.

“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.”

www.winebiz.com.au

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 2014 present value terms.

It’s estimated they’ll deliver additional 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,” 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.”

The Australian Government is expected to provide about $11.5 million in matching funds to AGWA for R&D in 2014–15.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

33

grapegrowing

Grapevine virus elimination by Waite Diagnostics: Road testing a rapid anti-virus program Nuredin Habili, Qi Wu and Rodney Davies have developed an anti-virus program for Waite Diagnostics and the School of Agriculture, Food & Wine at the University of Adelaide.

Habili reports on the process and its benefits.

OF THE 65 viruses so far detected in the grapevine, only about a dozen are considered economically important.

The most recent of these is a DNA virus known as Grapevine red blotchassociated virus which has been detected in the United States, including in the blocks of the Foundation Plant Material Services of UC Davis ( h t t p: // u c a n r. e d u / b l o g s / b l o g c o r e / postdetail.cfm?postnum=9386).

This virus has the potential to reduce berry sugar by a factor of five Brix.

When a virus is transmitted to a new vine following grafting or via an insect vector (usually mealybugs) it will remain in that vine for decades.

Over many centuries, viticultural practices as well as natural spread by insects have introduced a range of

The whole of the cleaning up exercise will take over eight months to complete. An extra two months is needed to grow plants in the greenhouse. viruses into the propagating material of various varieties.

Since viruses live within the host cells, their control by conventional spraying is difficult.

Even hot water treatment, by immersing dormant cuttings at 50°C for 30 minutes, has proven ineffective.

This popular strategy has routinely been used to combat wood fungal pathogens, bacteria (for example crown gall) or even phytoplasmas (for example Australian grapevine yellows) in dormant grapevine cuttings.

Figure 2: This image shows the results of a PCR test where white bands indicate virus infected plantlets. Four out of a total of 14 plantlets were positive here.

Figure 1. A miniature vine in tissue culture.

A single leaf was detached for virus testing (arrow).

34 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Figure 3: Virus eliminated plants in the final stage maintained in a greenhouse. Plants in the background which are covered with perforated plastic sleeves are at an earlier stage. All tested viruses present in these plants have been removed. www.winebiz.com.au

An early approach to elimination of grapevine viruses from source material was to grow plants at 37°C for up to a year followed by the removal of shoot tips for rooting.

Since the time-consuming biological indexing was the only diagnostic technique available at the time, the total exercise could take up to four years.

Even after all these years it was not known whether any recalcitrant virus species was still present.

We now know that grapevine viruses differ in their resistance to heat. For example, Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3) thrives in Vitis vinifera cv Shiraz in the tropical viticultural region of Thailand (Habili, unpublished).

Cell division in the grapevine shoot tip is usually faster than the replication of viruses in this zone, a difference which is highly noticeable at higher temperatures.

We not only take advantage of this situation, but also treat the shoot tips with an anti-viral drug (AVD) in vitro for the complete removal of the virus.

This anti-virus program unwittingly removes any other pathogen including those removable by the hot water treatment (referred to above).

The drug used in our chemotherapy exercise was first developed to control cold and flu viruses.

We introduce the AVD into the culture media only after the shoot tips are well established at 25°C. Then the growing tips are transferred to a medium containing a specified amount of the AVD at 30°C for 40 days.

Here, we perform thermotherapy and chemotherapy simultaneously.

At the next step the temperature is raised to 35°C for up to 30 days.

After a further sub-culturing into rooting media the plantlets are tested for target viruses by RT-PCR (Figures 1 and 2).

Any positive plants will be discarded and the negative plants will be subdivided January 2015 – Issue 612

and transferred to rooting media for multiplication and further analysis down the track.

The whole of the cleaning up exercise will take over eight months to complete.

An extra two months is needed to grow plants in the greenhouse (Figure 3).

So far, we have successfully eliminated the following viruses from a number of exotic grapevine varieties: Grapevine virus A, GLRaV-1, GLRaV-2 and GLRaV-3.

These precious varieties are gaining momentum in the Australian viticultural industry.

We have re-introduced them as ‘clean sources’ into the market.

Italian scientists (e.g. Dr Franco Mannini: imannini@ivv.cnr.it) have provided evidence that after virus removal the wine quality was considerably improved as judged by blind tasting.

In the past, our benchmark for removing viruses was a virus known as Grapevine rupestris stem pittingassociated virus (GRSPaV).

This virus is present in almost 95 per cent of Australian vines and since it is recalcitrant, it is the last virus to be eliminated in our virus elimination program.

These days we tend to ignore this

In the past, our benchmark for removing viruses was a virus known as Grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus (GRSPaV). This virus is present in almost 95 per cent of Australian vines and since it is recalcitrant, it is the last virus to be eliminated in our virus elimination program. virus, because virus eliminated plants become re-infected with GRSPaV once they are planted in the vineyard.

This situation is known to occur in Australia.

We believe a strain of this virus called Syrah Decline (SyD), which may be associated with an incompatibility

problem in grafted Shiraz vines, must be removed.

We do not know if this strain (GRSPaVSyD) has the potential to invade vines after they are introduced to the field or not.

If you are an importer of a niche variety and this has been found to be infected with viruses, or if you are interested to ‘clean’ your own variety we have a rapid and reliable anti-virus program for you.

We can remove the viruses from your grapevine variety.

All we need is access to a few growing tips.

For more information on the protocol to submit samples for virus elimination by tissue culture visit our website here: ht tp://w w w.ag w i ne.adela ide.edu.au/ facilities/wdiag/services/ For more information, contact Nuredin Habili.

E: nuredin.habili@adelaide.edu.au P: +61 8 8313 7426 Acknowledgement: Thanks are due to Dr Ian Dundas, University of Adelaide, for critically reading the manuscript.

Proven Sound Technology ThaT rePelS BirdS Our Clients tell us: “Bird Gard is very cost effective”. Peter Ceccato SA “there was rarely a Silvereye to be seen”. Spike Fokkema WA “crows and starlings are a thing of the past”. David Handyside SA “almost 100% protection”. Denzil Mortimer VIC “it was like a miracle”. Mike Verco SA

SAFE AND UNIQUE PEST CONTROL SYSTEMS ...using the latest acoustic and laser technology!

• Searchable • Easy to use • Wine industry personnel ONLINE PHONEBOOK VISIT www.winebiz.com.au/widonline to Access* *Wine Industry Personnel Phonebook available only to those who have purchased the Wine Industry Directory (purchase includes annual subscription to WID Online) Published by:

PROVIDING SOLUTIONS TO THE WINE INDUSTRY

To order your copy: Phone: +618 8369 9509 Email: orders@winetitles.com.au Visit: www.winebiz.com.au

Ph (+61-7) 5443 6344 Fax (+61-7)5443 9879 www.birdgard.com.au email: birdgard@birdgard.com.au PO Box 737 Cotton Tree Qld 4558 Australia ABN 38 088 248 275

January 2015 – Issue 612

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

35

people & places

Seppeltsfield grand opening THE opening of Seppeltsfield Winery’s $3million cellar door redevelopment took place on November 21, with more than 500 guests in attendance.

The event featured Merrick Watts as master of ceremonies; a Welcome to Country by representatives of Ngadjuri traditional land owners; an official ribbon

cutting by SA Premier Jay Weatherill; performances by the Marananga Brass Brand, Scottish Pipers, German dancers and Spanish Flamenco; and fireworks.

The redevelopment has seen expansive changes to the courtyard, cellar door (originally a Seppelt wine bottling hall) and a new on-site restaurant, FINO At

Seppeltsfield – which boasts four dining zones and a 140 seat capacity.

In his speech, Warren Randall, Seppeltsfield managing director, referenced the Seppelt family’s legacy and how the winery was “now back to where she belongs, as Australia’s iconic wine estate”.

A

B

C

A. S PEECH: Warren Randall, Seppeltsfield managing director, spoke passionately about the redevelopment.

B. INTERIOR: A big crowd filled the cellar door and restaurant space.

C. P ROUD MOMENT: Fiona Donald, Seppeltsfield senior winemaker, and Warren Randall, Seppeltsfield managing director.

D. A LL SMILES: Nigel Thiele, cellar door manager, stands in the new mezzanine area that overlooks the receveloped cellar door and FINO restaurant.

D

E. C ELLO SOLO: Nathan Waks, Seppeltsfield director and former principal Cellist of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, played a composition on an 18th century (1723) Cello in a private showing for VIP guests.

F. A LFRESCO: The crowd gathers before the ribbon cutting ceremony in the new courtyard.

G. BIG FINISH: Fireworks capped a remarkable evening.

H. N EW DIGS: David Swain and Sharon Romeo behind the bar at their new restaurant.

I. B IG WIGS: Seppeltsfield directors with the SA Premier. (From left) Carl Lindner, Premier Jay Weatherill., Warren Randall, Nathan Waks and Randolph Bowen.

36 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

E

F

G

H

I

January 2015 – Issue 612

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

37

ask the

Effects of hot and dry conditions Hot and dry conditions have been experienced across many Australian wine regions in recent years, resulting in a number of questions to the AWRI helpdesk.

I’m concerned a dry soil profile has limited grapevine shoot development and forecast hot and dry weather will lead to sunburn in grapes. Is there anything I can do?

All grape varieties are susceptible to sunburn to some degree.

Exposure to high temperature events after veraison may cause the most damage (due to development of skin pigmentation) but pre-veraison damage can lead to berries drying up to form hard ‘pebbles’. The outermost berries on a bunch are most susceptible. The period of exposure required for sunburn is relatively short. In the vineyard, a temperature of 40 to 43°C at the berry surface for just five minutes can cause sunburn of Chardonnay berries at full maturity and the maximal level of damage will be reached after four days. Inappropriate canopy management or water stress that leads to reduced shoot vigour and leaf wilting can result in excessive bunch exposure and berry damage.

Using irrigation and nutrition to establish and maintain a leaf layer around bunches is the best strategy to prevent sunburn. If it is too late for this, work in the Hunter Valley and Riverland with vineyard sunscreen products has shown some promising results. It is important to contact your winery or fruit purchaser before using a sunscreen.

Sunburn causes varying degrees of damage to grapevines, ranging from brown lesions on berries to shrivel/drying of whole bunches. Skin damage caused by sunburn may lead to invasion by secondary fungi responsible for bunch rots.

The impact of sunburn on grape composition will depend on the extent of browning and off-flavour development and the degree of invasion by secondary bunch rots. It will also depend on the variety. Though all varieties are susceptible, some are more susceptible than others, e.g. Chardonnay, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Steps that can be taken to avoid or minimise sunburn include: • Good bunch exposure management through choice of appropriate trellis, row orientation, and canopy management; • Irrigation to fill soil the profile before the onset of heatwaves; and • Planting of varieties with lower susceptibility to sunburn.

What other impacts on grapes are there from hot and dry conditions?

For a variety such as Shiraz, that is susceptible to shrivel, elevated temperatures are likely to result in increased levels of shrivel. Warmer conditions during the latter stages of ripening advance the onset of cell death in the berry pulp and increase the rate of shrivel.

Shiraz grapevines respond to warmer conditions by increasing the size of their stomata. This provides a mechanism to protect the plant from heat damage. The maintenance of high stomatal conductance and evaporative cooling are important mechanisms that protect, within limits, Shiraz canopies from heat damage. However, this cooling mechanism will only work if water is available to the vine.

Higher temperatures have also been found to delay the onset of anthocyanin accumulation in Shiraz and Cabernet Franc cultivars which could have consequences for colour/alcohol balance. Adaptation strategies to promote the onset or rate of

38 Grapegrower & Winemaker

BURNT: Grapes affected by varying degrees of sunburn.

colour accumulation such as water deficit established shortly before veraison could partially restore the balance.

What is causing my grapes to ripen earlier – climate or vineyard management?

Increased temperatures and reduced soil moisture both contribute to earlier ripening. Warming has been found to advance grape development through the earlier onset of budburst and flowering while the periods from flowering-to-veraison and veraison-to-harvest have been found to remain largely constant.

A decline in soil moisture content can affect ripening through at least two different mechanisms. Firstly, drier soils are associated with the production of the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) in vine roots. The movement of ABA from roots to shoots signals the shoots to stop growing and the ripening processes to begin. Secondly, dry soils are likely to warm more rapidly, advancing budburst in spring and subsequent growth stages.

For more information about hot and dry conditions, contact the AWRI helpdesk team.

E: viticulture@awri.com.au Ph: +61 8 8313 6600

FURHTER READING

Bonada, M. Sadras, V.O. Fuentes, S. Effect of elevated temperature on the onset and rate of mesocarp cell death in berries of Shiraz and Chardonnay and its relationship with berry shrivel. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. 19 (1): 87-94; 2013.

Crothers, N. and Downey, M. Effect of sun exposure on Chardonnay grapes and wines. Aust. Vitic. Jan/Feb, 19-20; 2006.

Greer, D. and La Borde, D. Sunburn of grapes affects wine quality. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (506): 21-23; 2006.

GWRDC Managing Grapevines During Heatwaves factsheet available from http:// www.gwrdc.com.au/tools-resources/factsheets-other-resources/ Nuzzo, V., Genovese, M., Shackel, K. and Matthews, M. Preliminary investigation on sunburn in Chardonnay. Proceedings of the 16th International. GiESCO Symposium: July 12-15, 2009: 183-187; 2009.

Petrie, P.R., Sadras, V. Advancement of grapevine maturity in Australia between 1993 and 2006: putative causes, magnitude of trends and viticultural consequences.

Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. 14: 33-45; 2008.

Sadras, V. Montoro, A. Moran, M. Aphalo, P. Warming enlarges stomata in Shiraz.

Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (584): 41-41; 2012.

Sadras, V. Moran, M. High temperature disrupts anthocyanin: sugar balance in reds. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (578): 30-31; 2012.

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

Bordeaux trade show Vineyard Machinery

Vinitech-Sifel is an equipment trade show for the grape and wine production sector held biennially in Bordeaux. Simon Nordestgaard, Australian Wine Research Institute senior engineer, attended the most recent edition of this event in December 2014. He reports on the show awards and the innovations he observed.

THERE were 850 exhibitors occupying 6.5 ha of exhibition space; equipment for every aspect of grapegrowing, winemaking and packaging was on show. Exhibitors had many large pieces of equipment on show covering their full portfolios.

Approximately 85% of attendees were French, but the event was marketed as an international event and most official information was also published in English. There was also generally someone at most stands who spoke reasonably good English.

In addition to the trade exhibition, there were talks, workshops and forums held in parallel. Innovation is a term that is used very heavily by the organisers. The centrepiece of this is the innovation awards. Suppliers nominate their products and these are then judged by an expert panel and the winners announced two months before the exhibition in order to promote the event.

INNOVATION AWARDS There were 61 nominations for an innovation awards at Vinitech-Sifel with the 19 products listed in Table 1 ultimately receiving awards from the judging panel.

January 2015 – Issue 612

Figure 1: View after entering the exhibition (a one kilometre walk to the other end).

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

39

grapegrowing Table 1: Innovation award winners Award type

Company

Product

Special Jury Prize

Duvigneau & Fils

Mini-digger with pile driver

Gold Awards

Pellenc

Easy Turn steering system for grape harvesters

Amos Industrie

Calibaie grape grader

Souslikoff & Cie

Guidalex orchard inter-vine tool chassis with automatic row guiding and depth adjustment

Inozy

Smart Glass for controlling the transfer of liquids

Léger

EcosatelYt inter-vine hoeing machine

Bouyoud Distribution

Hygromax barrel room humidifiers and control system

Still

Igoeasy automated forklift truck guidance system

Egretier Jean Michel

Mini-Sillon intervine carrier

Bucher-Vaslin

Inertys inert gas pressing application for red wine

DGC Vins

Superheated water barrel cleaning and sterilising process

Fourage-Cti

Multi-function smart pump

Herti

Vinstar Smart screw cap closure

Lamouroux

Barilav rotary barrel washer

Process 2 Wine

Web and mobile wine production management application

Vicard Tonnelleries

Eco3 barrel

Vinea

Ceramic toasting of wood for wine maturation

Wines & Tools

D30F Wine Line winemaking input dosing pump

Pellenc

Easy Safe Wash hydraulic opening system for grape harvester washing

Silver Awards Bronze Awards

Commendations

*Further details on all products listed can be obtained from the exhibition website: http://vinitech.fr/en/Innovations-and-news/Innovation-Awards/Palmares-2014

(Further details on all products listed can be obtained from the exhibition website: http://vinitech.fr/en/Innovations-andnews/Innovation-Awards/Palmares-2014) The Special Jury Prize was won by a mini-digger with pile driver produced by Duvigneau & Fils (Figure 2). This device is used for trellis installation in vineyards. The system is automated with GPS guidance. It enables an operator to work alone and reduces the strenuousness of the task. It drives the posts, decoils the trellis wire and hammers nails pneumatically.

The gold medal for vines, orchards and vegetable farming went to Pellenc for their grape harvester Easy Turn steering system (Figure 3). This innovation enables the harvester operator to move to the adjacent row without any special manoeuvring.

The gold medal for wine was won by the Calibaie grape grader from Amos Industrie (Figure 4). This device grades grapes on size, and is based around the assumption that smaller grapes are higher quality. Grapes larger than the set roller gap

travel across the top of the roller drum, while smaller grapes fall into the roller drum at the top and fall out as the bottom.

It is intended by the manufacturer that this device be used after sorting with the existing Tribaie density bath based sorting system (there are approximately 85 Tribaie systems installed worldwide but none in Australia).

The silver medal for wine went to the Smart Glass from Inozy (Figure 5). This device is essentially an automated sight glass. It detects changes in the liquid phase (e.g. juice/wine vs water, juice/wine vs lees, juice/wine vs air) using impedance spectroscopy and wirelessly turns a pump off when the change is detected (wireless signal works to a distance of 100 metres).

AUTOMATED SORTING TECHNOLOGIES Many other pieces of sorting equipment were on show including both in-winery and on-harvester systems.

There were high-end in-winery optical sorters and lower-

NEED NEW PRUNING MACHINERY? Summer Trimming Sweeping

Undervine Slashing Australian Made

LEDGARD Pruning Systems

McLaren Vale – Phone: +61 8 8323 9001 www.ledgardpruning.com sales@ledgardpruning.com 40 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

Want to see what the G9.330 can do for you?

Between January and March 2015, the brand new fully spec’d Gregoire G9.330 will be on tour in NSW, Vic and SA to demonstrate the considerable advantages it offers to growers and contractors.

Five Gregoire Select dealers have been appointed as your first point of contact for all new and used Gregoire sales across Australia. All other Gregoire dealers will still provide fast parts supply and excellent after sales service.

PFG Australia’s Lee Seatter continues to coordinate and manage the Gregoire operation and share his expertise.

For more information about Gregoire G9 demonstrations, contact your local Gregoire dealer or call 1800 228 824.

Lee Seatter Australasia Viticulture Manager

Serafin Agpro: Griffith, NSW Darryl Serafin: 0419 687493 Date: First week of February

Vinetech Engineering: Waikere, SA Ben Stephen: 0439 666500 Date: Early March

Vinetech Engineering: Padthaway, SA Ben Stephen: 0439 666500 Date: Mid March

GFT Sales & Service: Mildura, VIC Shane Gillies: 0448 064866 Date: Mid February

GFT Sales & Service: Renmark, SA Shane Gillies: 0448 064866 Date: Mid-late February

Call today for a viewing or demonstration!

www.gregoire-australasia.com.au

Free Call: Lee Seatter 1800 228 824

grapegrowing

Figure 3: Pellenc Easy Turn steering system for grape harvesting machines.

Figure 2: Duvigneau & Fils mini-digger with pile driver.

7a

5a

Figure 4: Amos Industrie Calibaie grape grader.

5b

Figure 6: Braud New Holland Optigrape system with air-cushion sorting

Figure 5: Inozy Smart Glass, (a) sensing unit, and (b) pump controller.

priced mechanical sorting equipment – particularly roller sorting tables (often packaged with the newer gentler vibrating destemmers).

On-harvester, Pellenc has offered an on-board Selectiv’ Process vibrating destemmer and roller sorting table for several years now and version two of this was on display.

Braud New Holland also exhibited the on-harvester Optigrape air-cushion sorting system that won the gold medal for innovation at the SITEVI exhibition in Montpellier in 2013 (Figure 6).

Figure 7: (a) Concrete egg, (b) Wooden egg (stainless steel and plastic eggs were also available)

VESSEL/TANK DESIGN While there were no innovation awards relating to vessel/ tank design, there was a huge range of vessels on display at the exhibition. These included numerous variations in shape, material, colour and automation features. The variations in vessel shape were particularly interesting. There were truncated conical tanks in the style of traditional wooden fermentation vats that are said to assist in the breaking up and spreading of the cap during plunging or pump-overs.

There were also many egg-shaped tanks (Figure 7) - built to

VINEYARD CANE RAKES • Very efficient at raking canes and debris • Rake and mulch in one pass • Single or double sided with swing back protection system

An innovative solution for processing pruned canes from the vineyard floor

42 Grapegrower & Winemaker

7b

SUPERIOR HEDGING SYSTEMS

 Hedger Bar Systems  Cane Rakes  Masts and Mounting Systems Designed and manufactured in AUSTRALIA

by Whitlands Engineering Call 1800 702 701 for a colour brochure/DVD or to find your nearest dealer

www.whitcovinquip.com.au www.winebiz.com.au

• Affordable modular system - add as you go • Available in four lengths and multiple configurations • Medium or heavy duty • Between the post and minimal pruning systems • Easy mounting to tractor with hydraulic masts • Versatile – Use or pruning or trimming • Robust construction, low maintenance The extra edge in productivity and canopy management

January 2015 – Issue 612

VINE TRIMMER Perfection in the vineyard SUMMER IS HERE AND VINEYARD CANOPIES ARE GROWING RAPIDLY...

BUT DON'T PANIC. FMR Group in Mount Barker SA is your supplier of a huge range of premium quality, German engineered vine trimming equipment.

DESIGNED AND BUILT TO LAST! The Double In-Row Vine trimmer with adjustable lower boards, hydraulic width adjustment and board angle, main mast angle and fantastic shoot lifters for the best result.

Need a special cutter board length? We offer a range to suit all Australasian vines.

All controlled from an electronic joystick in the cabin...makes the job not only clean and fast but easy on the operator too.

LOOKING SHARP The ERO blades is made from specially hardened stainless steel and honed to a razor edge.

The blade is designed to reject a wire and also to create a suction so that small shoots are effectively removed and cut not pushed aside Long lasting, self cleaning and easily maintained

TALK TO US TODAY TO CONFIGURE YOUR VINE TRIMMER TO SUIT YOUR VINEYARD!

VITICULTURE. IT’S ALL WE DO. AUSTRALIA: 1800 269 773 OR VISIT WWW.FMRGROUP.NET.AU | NEW ZEALAND: 0800 367 583 OR VISIT WWW.FMRGROUP.CO.NZ

grapegrowing the golden ratio and said to result in automated lees mixing.

Hearing the various claims from suppliers about vessel design made me feel that the mixing patterns in different tank shapes are not well understood and this is an area that might benefit from further research.

VISITS TO BORDEAUX CO-OPERATIVES

On the day prior to the Vinitech-Sifel trade show I visited three large co-operative wineries in an effort to learn a little more about how wine is produced in France in larger wineries and if there is anything that might be relevant to large Australian wineries. As an indication of scale, two of the co-operative wineries each produced 150,000 hL per year (i.e.

20,000 tonne crush) and the third produced 70,000 hL per year (i.e. 9,300 tonne crush).

The percentage of red wine produced ranged from 55-80% at the different cellars (the remainder being white and rosé). As an indication of price point, the export manager at one co-operative noted that their wines were mainly sold for €2-4 per bottle.

Wine from the co-operatives was being sold in a range of ways, including bottled and bag-in-box wine under their own or other labels, bulk wine sold locally and abroad, and even wine sold per litre at the cellar door.

Outlined below are a few points relating to topics I discussed with co-operative staff during my visits.

The vast majority of grapes were being machine harvested.

At one co-operative winery they estimated that 50% of this was now performed by harvesters with on-board destemmers.

This is quite different to Australia where on-board destemmers have not really been adopted for commercial wine production. Notably yields at the co-operatives’ vineyards were quite low.

At one co-operative the average yield was estimated to be only 60 hL/ha (i.e. 8 t/ha).

All three co-operative wineries had thermovinification systems of some description. These were both a means of managing diseased fruit and also achieving more rapid extraction and efficiently managing limited fermentation tank space. At two of the co-operative wineries, grapes were heated via a tube-in-tube heat exchanger, while at the third they were heated using an immersion system.

Liquid thermovinification (heated grapes going straight to the press) and solid thermovinification (several further days of skin contact following heating) were generally being employed simultaneously. The relative proportion of solid and liquid thermovinification was largely dependent on tank availability. Around 10-15% of the red grape intake was being thermovinified at two of the co-operatives where the process was discussed in some detail.

This wine was then being blended with traditionally fermented wine. The winemakers indicated that this fraction worked well for their blends, but if the fraction of thermovinified wine was too much higher, the overall style would no longer have been what they were aiming for.

The winemaker at one winery indicated that they had experienced issues with colour stability when employing thermovinification, but in contrast the winemaker at another winery told me that they had no issues with colour stability as a consequence of their use of oak and micro-oxygenation.

While it is probably fair to say that thermovinification wasn’t necessarily seen as producing an extremely high quality product, it was definitely a seen as a very useful tool for part of the harvest.

There is scope in Australia for more research and development on a broad range of rapid extraction technologies for red wine production. While there are a number of issues that need to be managed in order to preserve quality and achieve desired wine styles, the increased efficiencies that are possible are massive, particularly if it is possible get to the point of liquid red ferments.

As in Australia, the use of cross-flow filtration for lees was topical. The technique had been recently adopted or was being trialled by all three co-operatives. It was principally being used for cold settled juice lees, however, one of the wineries also had a cross-flow system designed for heavy wine lees and another winery was trialling that same system.

CONCLUSION Vinitech-Sifel is an interesting event to visit, with a broad range of equipment on show that is not displayed at Australian trade shows because of the much smaller market for winery equipment in Australia.

During visits to co-operative wineries around Bordeaux the prevalence of thermovinification equipment and its use by these wineries as a tool to manage disease and achieve efficiencies through more rapid extractions and faster turnaround of tanks was notable. There are opportunities for the Australian wine industry to investigate a broad range of rapid extraction technologies in an effort to improve red fermentation process efficiency.

Acknowledgements Thanks go to Samuel Plumejeau from Bucher-Vaslin for organising visits to the Bordeaux co-operative wineries, and to Marie Blackford from the ISVV (Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin, University of Bordeaux) who interpreted for Nordestgaard on these visits. Thanks also to Sandra Trew who organised two other winery visits.

44 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

winemaking

International collaboration in tannin research Scientists at the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) along with collaborators from the USA, UK and Australia are working towards unravelling the link between tannin structure and their extraction during winemaking and red wine quality.

TANNINS are important quality indicators in wine, and understanding their extraction during winemaking and how they contribute to final wine quality is an ongoing area of interest for winemakers and scientists alike. The composition and content of tannin in wine is primarily determined by the interactions of grape tannin, as it is extracted from the grape berry, with other compounds to form wine tannin, polymeric pigments and colloids. The interaction of tannin with salivary proteins in the mouth forms the basis of astringency, which plays a significant role in wine quality. The role of tannin structure in these interactions is one of the main questions in tannin research and presents a significant challenge given the complexity of tannin structure.

Scientists at the DEPI, Mildura, have been conducting Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA) funded research into tannins for a number of years and have adopted a fundamental approach to unravelling the link between tannin structure and interactions during winemaking and in the final product. By isolating known structures of tannins, DEPI scientists have been able to investigate how tannins interact with individual components of the wine and how these interactions are influenced by changes in the wine matrix. This has enabled the scientists to tease apart the complex variables that influence tannin interactions. This, in turn, will allow for a better understanding of the individual factors, both in the vineyard and during winemaking, which can be manipulated to have a direct and significant impact on wine quality.

Because the structure of tannins in grapes and wine is so complex, DEPI scientists have been collaborating with researchers from Washington State University (USA), Constellation Brands (USA), University of Sheffield (UK) and the Australian Synchrotron in the hope of improving industry’s understanding of the role of tannin structure to facilitate the continued improvement of red wine quality. These collaborations provided DEPI scientists Dr Rachel Kilmister and Peta Faulkner with the opportunity to use a suite of powerful analytical techniques to isolate and structurally characterise unique tannin structures and to further investigate how these differences in structure determine how they interact.

Collaborations between DEPI and Dr James Harbertson, research oenologist at Washington State University, and Dr Mark Kelm, research chemist with Constellation Wines, resulted in the development of a method for the separation and isolation of tannin polymers of increasing size and further separation of isomers based on structural differences. These structures, once thoroughly characterised, resulted in further collaborations with Dr Nigel Kirby, from the Australian Synchrotron, where the powerful small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) beamline was used to analyse the isolated tannins.

SAXS is a unique tool which uses x-ray scattering to generate three-dimensional models of tannin, giving a better understanding of their shape in solution. Overall tannin January 2015 – Issue 612

Figure 1. 3D models of tannin polymers from dimer to octamer (left to right) generated from small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) data by MASSIVE software.

polymer shape is important in terms of wine quality as it governs the ability of a polymer to interact with other components.

Being able to determine tannin shape in solution, and to manipulate this solution to imitate different wine conditions (e.g. changes in pH, ethanol content, sugar concentration, the presence of anthocyanins and other macromolecules including polysaccharides and proteins) is what makes SAXS such a powerful tool for understanding interactions of tannin with other compounds in grapes, during fermentation and in the wine, as well as the final wine astringency.

Ms Faulkner used both SAXS and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to investigate the structure of isolated tannins as part of her Honours project through the University of Adelaide last year. Pictured above (Figure. 1), 3D models generated from the SAXS beamline software (MASSIVE) show the shape of tannins in water. Ms Faulkner recently received an AGWA travel grant to present this work at the American Society of Enology and Viticulture conference in Austin, Texas in June of this year. She presented alongside both Dr Kilmister and Dr Harbertson in a session which showcased the collaborative work.

The ability to isolate thoroughly-characterised tannins to be used as tannin standards has provided the opportunity to start investigating specific interactions. Dr Kilmister and Dr Harbertson collaborated on a series of experiments to investigate how differences in polymer size effects precipitation related to astringency. One of the main findings of this work was the increase in the effectiveness of tannins to precipitate protein with increasing size. Their findings indicate that for smaller tannin polymers their size plays an important part in their ability to precipitate proteins and therefore their ability to contribute to the astringency, while for larger polymers, astringency related interactions are more likely to be determined by tannin concentration. These observations tell us that tannin size distribution is an important consideration for determining astringency and the use of total tannin measures for predicting astringency in wine.

Further to this work, Dr Kilmister has also completed collaborative investigations with Dr Robert Falconer, a senior lecturer at the University of Sheffield (UK), to determine

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

45

winemaking how different wine matrix factors (e.g. pH, temperature and ionic strength) influence protein-tannin interaction. By using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), Dr Falconer and Dr Kilmister were able to investigate how these changes may impact on perceived astringency in a model system.

Cross-agency collaborations will continue into the future as DEPI scientists work towards filling some of the gaps in our understanding of grape tannin structure and how this influences tannin extraction into wine and how tannins interact with other compounds to impact on wine quality; how tannin structure influences different astringent parameters of ‘mouthfeel’; and the degree to which tannin structure effects interactions between tannins and anthocyanins that are important for wine colour and ageing stability.

Figure 2. Dr Robert Falconer, Sheffield University, processes isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) samples at the DEPI laboratories during his collaborative exchange in May 2013.

For more information, contact Peta Faulkner E: peta.faulkner@depi.vic.gov.au

New trade tasting and business conference AUSTRALIA Trade Tasting is a beverage trade tasting and business conference being launched to promote sustainable growth in the independent Australian beverage industry.

It aims to bring wineries, breweries, distilleries, importers, wholesalers, retailers and beverage media companies together to learn, source and grow.

The organisers believe Australian producers, and international brands looking to expand in Australia, need of a dynamic business event that provides them with the opportunity to learn from experienced industry leaders, connect with new distribution contacts, and share their latest products and services. Australia Trade Tasting is a unique business-to-business trade tasting where retailers and distributors come to source new small and medium sized wineries for their portfolio.

In order to maintain a high calibre group of visitors, only specialist industry importers, distributor, and retailers (as well as some of the most influential industry bloggers, columnists and journalists from Australia) have been invited to attend the event. Australia Trade Tasting is spread out over four days and two cities. In addition to the trade tastings in Melbourne and Sydney, two separate full day business conferences will

be held in Melbourne to educate visitors on the latest sales, distribution and marketing strategies being used by industry leaders in the market today.

Wineries looking to expand distribution and build brand awareness are invited to connect with leading Australian media contacts and market makers at Australia Trade Tasting.

Australian beverage professionals looking to distribute, work and expand in the USA should take note of the USA Market Conference Day. One keynote speaker for the US focus has already been anounced; Brian Rosen, who co-owned and operated America's largest grossing independent retail store.

For more information about how you can get involved with the Australia Trade Tasting events, visit www. australiatradetasting.com.

2015 Australia Trade Tasting events: • Monday, August 31, 2015 (Melbourne Trade Tasting) • Tuesday, 1st September, 2015 (Australia Market Conference Day) • Wednesday, 2nd September, 2015 (Export Market: United States Conference Day) • Monday, Sept 7, 2015 (Sydney Trade Tasting)

WANT A BARREL CLEANING MACHINE THAT ACTUALLY PAYS FOR ITSELF? Our machines prolong the life of your barrels by up to 25%.

For a medium sized winery, if each barrel received 2 more years to its life span, your machine would have paid for itself.

Kills Brett

No Chemicals

Re-hydrates

Produces +180OC Steam

GET A FREE ON-SITE DEMO TODAY

1300 577 722

info@winebarrelcleaning.com.au

46 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

WE MAKE THE WINE Novozymes Vinozym® Ultra FCE Boost your whites’ quality with our new FCE Liquid formulation for white maceration & clarification Novozymes Vinocrush® Classic Enhancing yield and improving extraction

ZY VO M

ES

NO

Novozymes Vinoclear® Classic Improving clarification and flotation

Y

Q

U A IT L

Rethink Tomorrow

Novozymes is the world leader in bioinnovation. Together with customers across a broad array of industries we create tomorrow’s industrial biosolutions, improving our customers’ business and the use of our planet’s resources.

With over 700 products used in 130 countries, Novozymes’ bioinnovations improve industrial performance and safeguard the world’s resources by offering superior and sustainable solutions for tomorrow’s ever-changing marketplace.

Read more at www.novozymes.com/wine

Nationally Distributed by

Melbourne 59 Banbury Rd Reservoir Adelaide 12 Hamilton Tce Newton New Zealand 3M Henry Rose Place Albany Auckland www.winequip.com.au

INNOVATIVE

WINE

Ph 1300 882 850 Ph 08 8365 0044 Ph 0800 699 599

TECHNOLO

winemaking

Good corporate social responsibility can boost your bottom line Nathan Gogoll reports

AT A gLAncE: To succeed in sustainability, companies should consider this five-part approach: 1. VISION. Be clear and actionable 2. ENDORSEMENT. Get adoption and action from senior leadership 3. STRATEGY. Focus on outward messaging and consistent cause messaging 4. ACCOUNTABILITY. Use key performance indicators, internally and externally 5. MEASUREMENT. Quantify program outcomes and return on investment

JOHNNY Gorman, Nielsen director of shopper practice, has recognised that a company dedicated to making a positive social or environmental impact also creates goodwill for its reputation, and this contributes positively to brand health and performance.

According to Nielsen’s corporate social responsibility survey, three in five Australian consumers think more highly of a company that supports worthy causes and more than half feel increased loyalty to that brand.

This loyalty also appears to convert to action when it comes to buying decisions.

One in two consumers said when buying a product or service from a company it is very important to them that the company shows a high level of social and or environmental responsibility and a third of Australians buy from companies for this reason each month.

Andrew Kay, Wirra Wirra Vineyards managing director, said this should be a big focus within the wine industry.

“A lot of the big players have resources to throw at sustainability, lot of smaller guys don’t actually need to do a lot to improve. And it’s those in the middle that are battling the most to get their heads around it and work out what to do and how.

FINEWELD STAINLESS STEEL Manufacturers of Quality equipment for the Wine Industry > Storage and Settling Vats > Variable Capacity > Transportable Tanks > Grape Receival Bins > Conveyor Systems > Installations > Valves > Manways > Fittings

www.fineweld.com.au 48 Grapegrower & Winemaker

17 TOVA DRIVE PO BOX 2030 CARRUM DOWNS VICTORIA 3201 Ph: 03 9775 0339 Fax 03 9775 0338 Email: info@fineweld.com.au

VALUES: At Wirra Wirra it’s all about play.

“But at the heart of it all, you have to have a belief you are doing something good.”

Kay said the wine industry is one of the hardest to differentiate your brand in. He sees this as a challenge to sustainably drive a brand culture and strategy to make it stand out from the crowd.

“At Wirra Wirra, the team has accepted and joined in the biodynamic practices of our vineyards, and the culture that has built helps us retain staff and has helped us become an employer of choice.”

Kay quotes a line attributed to Peter Drucker, an American management consultant, educator and author, “culture eats strategy for breakfast”.

“At Wirra Wirra it’s all about play… play safe, play fair, play together… and we like giving back and getting involved.

“It is hard to own something different in this industry… just about all the wine being made is of very high quality and even if you have a history that dates back to the 1880s there will be someone else down the road who has been doing it since the 1870s.

“But you can own your culture. We are really lucky Greg Trott started something at Wirra Wirra, but it’s something you have to invest in.”

Kay said it might sound a bit wanky, but the investment grows “exponentially”.

“Our reputation, as far as a great place to work, has spread far and wide. There are family values as well, when I joined there were a lot of young families and we started doing two Christmas parties – one for adults and one for the kids.

“We’ve done all sorts at the kids parties and I dress up as Santa… I’m pretty sure most of the kids think I’m just the guy who gives them a present each year, rather than someone who works with their parents.”

Kay also pointed out that he doesn’t know of any other business that gets swamped with requests for donations the way wineries do. “We help out with the Women’s and Childrens Hospital and the Joanna Briggs Foundation. Through our ‘growers club’ we also donate wine to the grower’s charity of choice.”

Ashley Ratcliff said Yalumba and Oxford Landing had always been good at doing fun, team building events like their staff vintage cricket tournaments – but things stepped up a gear with the recent Oxford to Oxford challenge.

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

LOTS OF FUN: The Wirra Wirra team lines up for their Melbourne Cup event.

“We always had those things there to improve the team moral. And you just can’t measure moral, it’s not a tangible that you can give a score out of 10. But you can feel when its good, or when the team is down.

“What ended up being a really good outcome of Oxford to Oxford was the cross-pollination that happened between our different departments – it wasn’t the original intention, but became a really valuable part of it.

“It was a common cause; we found that most people knew somebody close to them who had been touched by cancer.

A poll of more than 30,000 consumers across 60 countries found almost 30 per cent had bought a product or service from a company supporting a worthy cause – even though it was slightly more expensive.

We offer Premium Insulation Services to wineries Australia wide.

When it comes to insulation services we are the name to trust throughout Australia.

We have the affordable solutions for your winery and offer a range of options including: • Wine tanks • Brine tanks and brine lines • Vessels • Refrigeration units • Insulation and sheet metal fabrication • FREE Quotes available For further information, please contact Kauri AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 AUS Fax: 1800 127 609 Email: winery@kauri.co.nz

January 2015 – Issue 612

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

334 Hanson Rd Ph: (08) 8244 0011 Wingfield 5013 Fax: (08) 8244 0091 Email: ati@senet.com.au Sam’s Mobile 0417 864 018 www.australiantankinsulation.com.au

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

49

winemaking A lot of the big players have resources to throw at sustainability, lot of smaller guys don’t actually need to do a lot to improve. And it’s those in the middle that are battling the most to get their heads around it and work out what to do and how.

And the idea of a bike ride from the winery to the vineyards had always been around.

“There was a downside of losing a couple people close to me through cancer, but a big upside of our fundraising going to subsidise the programs the Cancer Council runs to support patients from the country.

“We had 19 teams who ran auctions, concerts, talent shows and all sorts. So we ended up with the local community involved.”

What Yalumba and Oxford Landing have done is merge their culture building with their social responsibility. The motivation for a winery to have ‘more involved’ staff members is to have this enthusiasm put to use on engagement with customers.

“Our social responsibility probably didn't start with the end user, the consumer, in mind,” Kay said. But to begin with social responsibility in any area needs “drivers within the business” according to Kay. “It also needs honesty behind it, so it grows organically.”

It would all fall apart if the winery didn’t practice what it preached.

“The members of our Bellringers club feel really connected.

It’s the same with our growers. We are growers as well, so we know how hard it is to make a buck. We treat them with respect and loyalty. We know they want more information about the state of the industry, the business and how export markets are going… we sometimes assume they know all that, but often they

50 Grapegrower & Winemaker

don’t. We’re very lucky, for a business our size our growers get to see a lot of our winemakers. I’ve always struggled to understand the disconnect between grapegrowers and winemakers, it just shouldn’t exist. Our relationships are based on trust and honesty and that sees you through most issues.”

The Neilson research showed consumers are willing to support a brand because of its green or social credentials and two in five Australians will pay a premium to do so.

In fact, when Nielsen conducted its research in February and March, 2014, it polled more than 30,000 consumers in 60 countries and almost 30 per cent bought a product or service from a company supporting a worthy cause in the past month – even though it was slightly more expensive.

“We have seen growth in grocery products with clear positioning around the environment,” Gorman said.

“Nielsen research reveals household cleaning products with eco labelling saw a 14.2 percent increase in value sales when compared to a year ago. And shoppers are paying on average nearly $2 more per litre for eco-friendly dishwashing products.”

If they are prepared to pay a premium for cleaning product, it would seem fairly logical this would translate across to a product aimed at consumption for pleasure.

“More and more consumers expect corporations to be socially responsible. It enables you to differentiate your brand and effectively create shared value by marrying the appropriate social cause to your consumer segments,” Gorman said.

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

More and more consumers expect corporations to be socially responsible. It enables you to differentiate your brand and effectively create shared value by marrying the appropriate social cause to your consumer segments.

“Opportunities to go green exist in any category, but you need to understand your brand’s core equity to determine how far you can credibly stretch into the space. A keen focus on your most passionate, and profitable, consumer segments is also vital. While many consumers may perceive sustainable products to cost more, you need to understand your optimal price point and the impact on volume and profit.”

Wirra Wirra Vineyards has also developed a strong reputation around its care for the environment. “It has really just evolved,” Kay said.

“We started out with a wastewater project and a grant for a dam extension about a decade ago; about eight years ago we started with biodynamics and Richard Wellsmore was trained up, became a real ambassador and brought that knowledge into the business. It was six years before we had our certification and during that time we were working on compost systems, recycling, more improvement to our wastewater treatment and even got a grant to install a solar system.”

Kay said things didn’t necessarily happen within a grand, master plan, “but they evolved as the business found good ideas to chase up… all of a sudden we had chickens running around and eating our leftover food scraps and we were fencing off parts of the vineyard to run sheep in”.

“When it came to biodynamics we became fairly prominent in the region for that approach and we ended up being contacted by all sorts of people who wanted to come and see what we were doing, or bring groups through,” he said.

Where the environmental sustainability and team culture intersect has seen positive results across a range or areas, from the coverage generated by the media, to the way the trade pass on their excitement to their customers. “Our sustainability becomes a draw card," Kay said.

“There has been a lot of interest from the trade and media, so we have worked out that our viticulture presentations need to become part of how we speak to all these different people.

We get varying degrees of support for the biodynamic approach, but where there is more agreement from everyone is about the benefits of using less chemicals in the vineyard.

“We haven’t ‘rammed it down the throats’ of our growers, but we support them if they show an interest. And it has taken a long time to get to this point where we have released biodynamically-grown wines.

“Ultimately, we’re looking at how to get the best from our vineyard at the same time as making sure the site will still have healthy vines in 100 years’ time.

“A decade ago, if we were talking about viticulture at Wirra Wirra, the vineyard guys and maybe a couple of the winery guys would have been involved, but now all sections of the business are engaged.”

This includes the cellar door staff, and when the biodynamically-grown vines can be seen from the tasting bench, the explanation of what is happening in the vineyards has become part of the conversation with the customers as well.

January 2015 – Issue 612

For further information, please contact Kauri NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE NZ Fax: 04 910 7415 Email: winery@kauri.co.nz

www.winebiz.com.au

AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 AUS Fax: 1800 127 609 Website: www.kauriwine.com

Grapegrower & Winemaker

51

young gun

Young winemaker Gwyn Olsen at the top of her game

Gwyn Olsen takes on world She landed her first job at a French winery after running her application through an auto-translate website and duping the business into believing she spoke the language - welcome to the life of Gwyn Olsen.

Emilie Reynolds caught up with the ‘2014 Young Winemaker of the Year’ to chat about wine, fitness and her deep love of pies.

IF YOU saw her CV you would have never guessed that Gwyn Olsen came pretty close to failing viticulture at university. At the top of her game at just 31 years of age, the winemaker and general manager of Hunter Valley’s Briar Ridge Vineyard has a long list of achievements.

Dux of the elite Australian Wine Research Institute’s Advanced Wine Assessment Course, Olsen also won the Marshall-Flannery trophy for ‘best current vintage Semillon’ and was recently crowned Gourmet Traveller’s ‘2014 Young Winemaker of the Year’.

Not to mention she smashes out the odd triathlon in her spare time.

As a child, Olsen grew up in Tembagapura, a small mining town in West Papua, Indonesia. She spent her early years building dams, hiking through rainforests and helping out in local indigenous villages.

52 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Developing a love of science at a young age, Olsen initially enrolled in a biochemistry degree at New Zealand’s Otago University. There, she made the realisation that she could never envision herself as a biochemist, and decided to pursue an interest in oenology.

“We were studying a lot of fermentation kinetics and photosynthesis at the time so I thought I would see if I could make a career out of that,” she said. “I enrolled into winemaking at the University of Adelaide and thankfully was accepted.

“I thought it would be fun and I liked the idea of the varied, physical nature of the work as well as the ability to travel to work vintages in different parts of the world. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but have loved my chosen career path ever since.”

Olsen went on to complete a postgraduate diploma in oenology at the University of Adelaide (following her completion

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

I thought it would be fun and I liked the idea of the varied, physical nature of the work as well as the ability to travel to work vintages in different parts of the world. I had no idea what I was getting myself into but have loved my chosen career path ever since. of a bachelor of science in biochemistry) before landing her first job as an entry-level cellarhand; cleaning tanks and water blasting floors.

“My first ever job in a winery was in the south of France. I managed to get offered the job after putting my application letter through an auto-translate website. I arrived and could not speak a word of French. Talk about putting yourself in the deep end,” she said.

Breaking language boundaries, Olsen stayed on to complete her first post-graduate vintage at Domaine Preignes Le Vieux, in France’s Languedoc region.

Since then, she has completed a further two vintages in France including St Emillion and Burgundy, as well as five at Auckland’s Villa Maria, one in Yarra Valley and three in Hunter Valley, where she currently resides.

As the winemaker and general manager of Briar Ridge, Olsen has responsibility for all winemaking, style direction, quality and portfolio.

“From a winemaking point of view, I oversee the process of fruit right through to bottle, which means I am responsible for picking decisions, winemaking decisions and then packaging.

Thankfully, we have a great vineyard team at Briar Ridge who are responsible for growing the great fruit from our estate vineyard, as I came pretty close to failing viticulture at university,” she said.

“As general manager, I am responsible for the day to day running of the business. Our cellar door, wine club and wholesale staff report directly to me.”

While a good balance between work and life may be hard to achieve, Olsen made it sound easy. Outside of work, Olsen said her biggest passions in life were keeping fit and eating good food. If she wasn’t riding her bike, or dipping her feet in the ocean, you would probably find Olsen indulging in her favourite pie or donut.

“I love to eat and inherited a love of pastry, butter and cream from my dad,” she said. “My colleagues actually started a ‘pie count’ on a whiteboard to keep tabs on me. A steak, bacon and cheese pie is my personal favourite.”

Despite her love of rich food, Olsen obviously wasn’t weighed down when she completed her first amateur triathlon this year.

“I also finished my first half marathon,” she said. “I enjoy running and spend a decent chunk of my running time with a close friend, there’s a lot of time to talk when you are running 21kms,” she said.

“Swimming and bike riding are also part of the fun and I’ve just started yoga for a bit of variety and because my mother told me to.”

Along with completing a half marathon, Olsen cited her biggest achievement’s this year as winning the MarshallFlannery trophy for best current Vintage Semillon at the Hunter Valley Wine Show with her Single Vineyard Dairy Hill January 2015 – Issue 612

For further information, please contact Kauri NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE NZ Fax: 04 910 7415 Email: winery@kauri.co.nz

www.winebiz.com.au

AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 AUS Fax: 1800 127 609 Website: www.kauriwine.com

Grapegrower & Winemaker

53

young gun

Semillon and being awarded as Gourmet Traveller’s ‘2014 Young Winemaker of the Year’.

“It was an absolute thrill to be recognised and chosen for the award based on the wines I have made over the past few years at both McWilliams and Briar Ridge,” she said.

Despite all her achievements, Olsen said overcoming stereotypes has been one of her biggest challenges.

“The fact that I am young and female seems to lead people to assume I am not the winemaker in charge of the winery whether it be the delivery truck drivers, or the look of shock on a customer’s face when it is pointed out, or visiting sales reps.”

“I remember one wine trade fair where I was pouring wines and talking to consumers about the wines and vineyards, alongside the other winemakers from various brands, when a person turned to me and said: ‘You are by far the most knowledgeable promo chick I have ever seen’ - I was gobsmacked.”

So what’s next for a winemaker who has won awards, completed triathlons, and broken stereotypes?

“World domination! Kidding… kind of,” she said. “Hopefully I can make a lot of good booze and continue to enjoy doing it.”

Olsen said she endeavoured to make the best wines possible, with a strong sense of place and an even stronger drinkability.

“I want to be an active part of our collective wine industry that works together to make sure that people are drinking great Australian wine because they want to, and that they are seeking them out to drink,” she said. “To help ensure that our industry remains collaborative and constructive and to be part of an industry that remains at the forefront of both wine style and quality.”

As far as projects on the go, Olsen said Briar Ridge Vineyard was going through a full re-branding process.

“It’s been a great opportunity for me to get involved in the final packaging of the wine. We kept a lot of the historical elements such as the Briar Rose as an integral part of the brand and made changes to bring the labels into a more contemporary style,” she said. “We are working hard to re-establish the brand and grow steadily over the coming years by moving Briar Ridge back to 100 per cent Hunter Valley fruit.”

Olsen said the best advice she could offer aspiring winemakers was to find great mentors, and listen to them.

“There is a wealth of knowledge and passion in our industry, and having a group of varied mentors who are willing to provide advice, criticism and openly share their wisdom is the most valuable resource I had when I started out in my career,” she said. “My mentors who have helped shape my career into what it is today are still an active part of my life, and I am thankful for all of the advice, knowledge and wisdom they continue to share.”

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 54 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

Social media:

Measuring return on investment Nathan Gogoll reports

TO REALLY understand your return on investment, you actually have to start right back at the beginning – with your social media strategy. If your social media presence lacks strategy, it’s going to be hard to measure anything beyond time or money against a number of followers.

Rebecca Dolan has dedicated her PhD studies to this area and she said if you don’t have a well-planned, well-resourced strategy then you’re probably not going to look past the number of ‘likes’ anyway.

“I’m finding a lot of wineries are not aware of, or don’t understand, what the strategy of their social media presence is.

I think they should still be there, because people will get to see them, but if you don’t have a good strategy and you have a real mix of content going up, then it could be better to scale back and put an honest message out that ‘we’re really busy and don’t get much time to spend here’.

“A lot of people are using Facebook measurements, which does have an ‘engagement rate’. The thing is, a lot of the time a high engagement rate doesn’t link to any kind of sales activity, unless it is linked to an exclusive type of sale or invitation.”

But on the back of good planning, you can start to find out more about your engagement and potentially even the impact this is having on sales.

A lot of the time a high engagement rate doesn’t link to any kind of sales activity, unless it is linked to an exclusive type of sale or invitation.

At a glance: If you have a social media strategy you can: • Use different tools to gauge engagement; • Start discussing return on investment; • Budget for advertising in this space; • Incorporate ‘calls to action’; and • Grow your mailing list.

“If you really want to be fully informed, that relies on trawling through data, like I’m doing with my PhD. But you have to work out what measures matter most to you and whether you want to increase your ‘like’, increase your page impressions, or find out whether people are arriving at your cellar door have found out about you from social media.”

When US-based Wine Business Monthly tackled this issue in its December edition, it put Karena Breslin, Constellation Brands’ vice president of digital marketing, in the spotlight.

She had just discussed her experience with measuring digital marketing efforts at the 2014 Wine Industry Technology Symposium.

“Oftentimes the ROI metric has been absent from marketing conversations, and for many, many years, it’s been masked by metrics such as impressions, CPMS, click-through reads and whole host of other metrics that are out there today,” Breslin said. “But ROI no longer gets to be absent from the table. It needs to be front and centre in our conversations as we determine which avenues we should place our marketing investment.

Want to try something new this vintage?

Premium alternative variety grapes for sale from Chalmers, 2014 GT WINE Viticulturists of the year. 2015 vintage fruit, from both Heathcote and Merbein, available in lots from 200kg to 5+ tonnes.

Nero d’Avola, fiano, sagrantino, vermentino, sangiovese, moscato giallo, montepulciano, aglianico, negroamaro, schioppettino, greco, picolit, refosco, nosiola, prosecco, malvasia Istriana, arneis, lagrein, nebbiolo & more...

January 2015 – Issue 612

www.winebiz.com.au

Enquiries or orders: Kim Chalmers 0400 261 932 kim@chalmerswine.com.au Grapegrower & Winemaker

55

winemaking

But ROI no longer gets to be absent from the table. It needs to be front and centre in our conversations as we determine which avenues we should place our marketing investment.

DEDICATED RESEARCH: Rebecca Dolan’s PhD is dedicated to understanding what value social media delivers to wine brands.

“At Constellation it is. It’s front and centre for us.”

Breslin discussed some startling facts: there are 80 million digital consumers who spend 22 hours a week on digital media – more than any other platform: these consumers are 50 percent more likely to interact with brands online, wine is talked about 63 times every minute, and 78 per cent of consumers say that brand posts on social media influence their in-store purchase behaviour.

Since doubling its social media efforts, Constellation has driven an addition US$42million of retail revenue, Breslin said.

“Our consumers live in a digital world, so that’s exactly how we’re connecting with them. No matter where they are, we’ll make sure their journey leads to us.”

However, it’s not the number of likes or followers that drive that return, Breslin said. It’s more about finding the right consumer and targeting a specific segment to influence and change purchasing behaviour. “This takes time. We all know that social media is an ongoing commitment.”

Constellation research showed the greatest increase in transactions occurred nine months after someone became a fan. “So it was evident that ongoing interaction, that ongoing

56 Grapegrower & Winemaker

engagement, was critical to our success in terms of driving our business forward.”

Steve Goodman, the senior marketing lecturer at the University of Adelaide Business School, said Facebook metrics give people great data and have their own ‘engagement’ measure – which for them means someone has liked, shared or commented. “But engagement is a much more complex issue and something academics, including us, are now defining, conceptualising and theorising.”

“At the moment it is at a practical level ‘likes’. But this doesn’t really give much beyond the old advertising thinking of ‘well they still see it in their feed’, so maybe going to engagement might be asking too much.”

“The fact is organic reach as a brand, those who like you see your post in their feed, is only about two per cent, so not huge reach. But getting people engaged, commenting, sharing, tagging friends becomes about a relationship with your supporters.”

Goodman backed Dolan on the importance of strategy.

“One of the key things, as with all marketing, is setting your objectives first. Work out what you want to achieve, then you can plan how to do it and set goals to measure how well you are doing. Otherwise social media for a brand can become a ‘time black hole’, one that you never get back out of.”

The extent the wine industry talks among itself on social media is probably evidence of a fairly widespread lack of strategy, according to Goodman. “In a lot of cases it is, more so where brands don’t have clear objectives about what they are trying to achieve.”

The University of Adelaide Business School is preparing to tackle the task of working out what sales can be directly attributed to social media engagement.

“We are about to run the quantitative phase of research where we look at the orientation of the communication and then how consumers feel about the brand, their likelihood of purchasing – and even if it increase their ‘sensory desire’ of wanting to know what the wine tastes or smells like.”

Mike Zittritsch, from Wine Sense Marketing, said wineries would be keen to have more insight into what impact their social media efforts were having on sales, because there’s one

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

One of the key things, as with all marketing, is setting your objectives first. Work out what you want to achieve, then you can plan how to do it and set goals to measure how well you are doing. ambition most wineries share: to increase direct sales. But while it’s still difficult to track, his social media strategy advice is to use your presence to build a loyal database.

“In my opinion, engagement secondary,” Zittritsch said.

“Social media needs to be looked at as a lead-generating mechanism first and foremost. 90 per cent of the posts and tweets a business generates should be geared towards making people take action. Make them click on something and if they do, be sure that the click takes them to a page with a strong call to action.”

He said the other aim of the remaining 10 per cent should be given over to engagement, but this still needs to focus of building your mailing list. “Too many wine brands are simply trying to engage and aren’t spending enough time generating leads with promotions or opt-in forms which will lead consumers to their website or allow them to leave their email address so they can be kept in the loop,” he said. “Engagement helps with this but it’s not what the focus should be on. It should be on trying to turn those likes and clicks into leads.”

Zittritsch said a wine brand can directly attribute sales to social media efforts by using this as an entry point. “A brand’s direct-to-consumer sales channel could very easily be built through social media,” he said. “Facebook has evolved from a social platform into an e-commerce platform in the past year and the brands that have recognised this are benefitting big time. With the right tools and smart targeting, selling directly through Facebook is easier than ever, especially for a wine brand.” And while there are fees associated with getting your brand out to a new audience via Facebook ads, there is no commission to be paid on the sales it generates. Zittritsch believes that, if used effectively, Facebook can be one of the most cost-efficient paid traffic networks.

However, Dolan suggested a the balance of 90/10 call to action against engagement ratio might be a little too heavily geared one way. “People already see more than enough ads on

Facebook, so you can’t afford to make your posts look like ads.”

However, Dolan said you could aim to deliver news updates with a sales hook set within them. For example, the announcement of a new release wine might focus on the vintage conditions or wine review and be supported by the details on availability.

“I think it is definitely possible to make Facebook fans think they are being treated as special customers by offering exclusive content and prices or early access to the wines. But you don’t want to bombard them,” she said.

There are now more than 15 million brands across the globe that use Facebook and more than 50 per cent of social network users interact with brands via social media. While these are huge numbers, Dolan said they need some perspective. “The passive, or dormant, observers make up 95 per cent of all your audience. The challenge is to move them up to become ‘engagers’.”

Dolan said there are three main categories of social media users: • Those who consume your content, but don’t do anything in response; • People who contribute by clicking ‘like’ or ‘favourite’; and • The most-involved who actually help create your content by commenting and sharing.

In her research, Dolan has conducted focus groups and surveys targeting Facebook ‘fans’ of wine brands and she has actually found people aren’t ‘friends’ in order to get product information, they want to interact with the people behind the brand.

“The most successful companies on Facebook are those that step out from behind their logo – real success on Facebook happens when real-life situations are mirrored,” she said.

“The personality of the brand should come through with each post. Wine brands can also change things up once in a while and share details about their experiences and everyday

The Cellar-Mate can’t make the coffee...

But it can automatically fill tanks, rack tanks, fill barrels, empty barrels, prepare blends, fill tankers, feed filters, carry out pump overs, fill flex containers...

There is a better way!

Call us ge to arran o a dem

Telephone 03 9455 3339 Fax 03 9459 5232 Email: rapidfil@rapidfil.com.au Web: www.rapidfil.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

57

winemaking Facebook has evolved from a social platform into an e-commerce platform in the past year and the brands that have recognised this are benefitting big time. With the right tools and smart targeting, selling directly through Facebook is easier than ever, especially for a wine brand. life, regardless of whether it is brand or wine related.

“Entertaining pictures, photos, memes and videos are also what encourage Facebook users to ‘share’ a post with their friends, which then increases the brands’ reach.”

Dolan said you should also be careful to channel your content around the wine, rather than the lives of the people or the family behind the brand. “It has to have some kind of link back to the wine and the winemaking process because your customers don’t want to follow your personal family blog.”

Dolan recommends gathering ideas from businesses with shared values.

“The Facebook ‘page admin’ allows you to pick five pages to get updates from. If you know there are brands with similar personalities you can engage with them and get ideas from them.”

This might have the added benefit of putting some of your engagement numbers into perspective.

“I think in the next five years there will be more and more

opportunities for wineries in the direct-to-consumer market,” Dolan said. “The key is to think about all of your customers in the same way, you need to think about the people on Facebook the same as those who arrive in your cellar door – they already have some sort of relationship with your brand.”

But Zittritsch said you have to be careful not to replicate the experiences from one touch point to another, especially when it comes to social media content that can easily be found on the brand’s website. “People aren’t on social media to buy, but people will respond to a well-targeted bargain on social media,” he said. “You should give them something that makes them feel special and that the offer they see on their Facebook feed is unique to them. And if someone takes the time to click on your post, you better be sure that the click takes them somewhere relevant. The wine industry is in a great position to build their database and sell at the same time if they’re willing to offer the best price possible, exclusively to their social media fans.

“Eventually you want to work them through a wellconstructed sales funnel and get them to be regular purchasers – on social media and in the cellar door. If you invest the time and energy to do this properly, your own online sales channel will be one of your best.”

Recently Constellation spent roughly $200,000 on the Facebook campaign, which resulted in a sales lift of $1.3 million – a return on investment six times the original spend.

Constellation Brands, as one of the largest wine companies in the world, has the resources to devote time and serious effort to social media. But what Constellation has proven is that it is possible to see some return on a social media investment. For the small winery owner, the return may not be as large, but a return can be made.

Storage - Fermentation Stainless and Mild Steel Fabrication

TANKS & CATWALKS Jury Road, Berri SA. Ph 08 8582 9500 Ivan 0429 697 219 Mark 0408 822 434 jma@jmaeng.com.au www.jmaeng.com.au

58 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

Along came the

cider AT A gLAncE:

Experiments and trials should be carried out so a winemaker can understand the broad range of style and options when it comes to: • Sugar level – dry, medium dry, off sweet, sweet, very sweet; • Tank ferment or barrel ferment; • Cultured yeast or wild yeast; • Lees contact or fresh and clean; • Malo lactic fermentation; • Artificially carbonated or bottle conditioned; • Cloudy or filtered; membrane filtered or pasteurised; • Blending – apples and/or pears, different Varieties, tannin; • Fining – bentonite, gelatine, egg white etc.; • Real fruit or concentrate; • Alcohol level; • 750mL or 300mL bottles; and • Cork or crown seal.

Nathan Gogoll reports

THE number of wine producing companies making cider just a few years ago could have been counted on one set of hands according to James Adams. Today, you only need to visit a handful of cellar doors to uncover a range of small batch ciders being made by winemakers.

“We’ve seen an explosion… a massive jump in the number of producers,” said Adams, who is a winemaker at Hewitson, creator of the Adams Orchard ciders, a cider judge and All about cider blogger.

Adams said the increase in popularity of cider across the country has not left Aussie wineries behind.

“Within the wine industry there’s a real culture of knockoff drinks, and it’s no longer just about pouring a plain old beer, people are looking to try something different, so they are looking at more craft beer and getting into boutique cider as well.”

But the interest isn’t limited to tasting a few different styles. Adams said he doesn’t know a winemaker who isn’t January 2015 – Issue 612

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

www.winebiz.com.au

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

Grapegrower & Winemaker

59

winemaking There’s a lot of competition now, every man and his dog is now making some and a lot more people want to get on board, but they don’t know a lot about what they’re doing. genuinely interested in other forms of alcoholic beverages. And this curiosity is enough to attract them to dabbling in a new, unexplored product.

“Right now we have a totally different, new, exciting and innovative picture with countless wineries jumping in and making some cider,” Adams said.

“It’s also a pretty convenient thing to have your cider in the cellar door where people have tried a couple wines and are looking for a palate cleanser.

“They might sit down and relax with a cider and take a four pack home with them.”

Adams estimates there are between 10 and 15 wineries involved in the production of “commercial style” ciders in large volumes.

“Probably the most successful is Napoleone from the Punt Road winery in the Yarra. Their slogan is ‘cider crafted by winemakers’.”

He said it was a lot harder to put a figure on the number of winemakers who, like himself, have focussed on traditional and experimental styles to sell through cellar door and small, independent retailers.

“I’m making real cider that’s oxidative, cloudy, has a bit of oomph. It’s hand-made, is stored in barrels and goes through malo. It’s the cider making where the reigns are let loose,” Adams said.

“There are wineries doing this sort of thing, usually as cellar door exclusives. A lot of them you don’t hear about unless you stumble across them, but there are definitely some hidden gems.

“There’s a lot of competition now, every man and his dog is now making some and a lot more people want to get on board, but they don’t know a lot about what they’re doing.”

Where do winemakers turn to for advice?

“Sometimes to me. I get a lot of people ringing and emailing me.”

He said one of the problems facing winemakers is the perception that if you’re already making white wine, then cider is going to be a walk in the park.

“It is similar, to a degree, but you are playing with different acid to start with and there are different approaches to sulfur required. There are also technical aspects of balancing the sweetness.”

Adams said you have to respect the key ingredient has a “completely different juice composition”. And his advice is to use “lots of trial and error”.

And to make sure you get on top of “the technical side of things, particularly sweetness and acid”.

“The nitty gritty of cider making is somewhat a diverse and endless affair to say the least,” Adams said. “Wineries have the equipment, technology and resources to make quality cider.

But what I mean by this is cider making is in all correctness, a traditional product. Traditionally it’s made with a hands-off approach, requires little or almost no energy input and variable in its results.”

Adams said wineries are fairly well equipped with the facilities to process apples and pears, apart from the milling.

“The pressing of the fruit is often carried out in larger basket presses. Membrane presses which are found in wineries are also commonly used. Other essential factors like electricity, water, forklifts, manpower, pumps and pomace removal are all unlimited in a winery setting.”

After pressing, stainless steel tanks with temperature control

60 Grapegrower & Winemaker

systems are often used for fermentation, which help produce a cool ferment to ensure fresh and aromatic cider. Wineries also have access to barrels which can be used as either a fermentation or storage vessel. Post ferment, filtration, carbonation and bottling can either be done on site, or trucked to the nearest bottling plant for quick and swift bottling. The cider made in a winery can have a turnaround from raw fruit to bottled cider in around a month or so.

“There’s some literature that will help, but nothing Australiabased where we really only have access to dessert apples rather than cider apples,” Adams said.

But he does stress that a winery will need a mill, because despite what the commercial labels tell you, there’s no cider actually made from ‘crushed’ or ‘squashed’ apples, they are ‘milled’.

“You actually need a mill to create the pomace. But once you have milled it everything else in the winery will see you through.”

But it is also easy to approach apple growers that have excess stock and order thousands of litres of juice. Or to start from concentrate, which Adams is dead against.

“I’m a big campaigner against concentrate. We need to be promoting cider made from Aussie-grown apples. These days there are all sorts of products out there labelled as cider and some of these are actually wine. The president of Cider Australia is trying to get this rectified, but it’s hard. I’ve had wine writers like Mike Bennie and Max Allen keen to find out more about this issue.”

If you end up with something you are really happy with, you will probably be looking for a sales outlet. “And then you are going to have to do your research, because there’s plenty of stiff competition,” Adams said.

“You should benchmark and get a feel for the market. But be wary, there’s a perception you can make some money from cider – but it’s tough.”

Adams said the consumers interested in traditional and experimental cider are already enjoying craft beers and textural wines.

“I’ve got my cider into some really cool, supportive places like Blackhearts & Sparrows in Melbourne and Fix St James in Sydney. I’m working with people who understand my cloudy, dry, barrel-aged style.

“Ciders made from wineries, I believe, have huge advantages marketing wise.

“The ciders are somewhat riding the coat tails of the parent wine company, which in turn gives the cider precious exposure.

In the case of an average consumer trying to decide between two ciders in a bottle shop, the more recognised, trusted and consistent brand will always win out.

“Wine producers have these characteristics, hence giving their ciders a real free kick, in terms of market share and exposure.”

Adams said it’s pretty natural for winemakers to show some interest in making cider. Of course the growth in popularity with consumers must also be pretty appealing to a wine business that could see an easy avenue to diversify.

“Straight off the bat, winemakers love to make booze. It’s in their DNA, it’s their life and their passion,” he said. “They have the attention to detail, the growing knowledge and the constant battle to scratch the proverbial itch, which helps make good and innovative examples of cider.”

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

Let’s make cider, what could possibly go wrong?

Norman Lever, Alepat Taylor senior winemaker, takes a look at the potential issues winemakers need to be aware of if they are contemplating making cider.

WITH the rapid rise in the consumption and market share of cider and perry as well as the associated increases in production and producers, there are a lot of producers going into this with the mindset that it should be simple and easy, or that it is ‘just like making white wine’.

Unfortunately, there are some hidden pitfalls in apple and pear (members of the pome fruit family) juice fermentation and handling, which can lead to disaster.

Winemakers are already aware that grapes (and other fruit) usually harbour microbes that at some stages are symbiotic while at others, destructive. However, they may be unaware of exactly which microbes apple and pear fruits harbour.

The principal acid in pome fruit is malic acid, from the Latin malus (apple). In German, it is even called apfelsaure (apple acid). This, as winemakers are well aware, is the principal food of Oenococcus Oeni (formerly known as Leuconostoc Oenos), the bacteria responsible for the malo-lactic fermentation in wine.

However, that bacteria is only one of a very large family of lactic acid bacteria of the family Leuconostoc and whereas winemakers have studied the behaviour and control of Oenococcus Oeni, there may be an assumption of its nonexistence in pome juices or lack of awareness of the lactic acid bacteria that are endemic to them and not all cider is made by winemakers.

Pome fruit play host to a wide range of lactic acid bacteria and while they don’t normally pose a problem early in the season (autumn), as time from picking increases so too do the potential problems. In one sample sent to a leading wine industry laboratory, analysts working with the senior oenologist were able to identify the existence of a range of lactic January 2015 – Issue 612

acid bacteria including Leuconostocs Fallax, Mesenteroides, Pseudomesenteroides and two strains of Weissella.

While none of these bacteria are harmful to humans, they are a major cause of product spoilage.

Apples and pears are seasonal fruit and therefore the fruit used to produce the ‘fresh juice’, many cider makers insist on using juice supplies from ‘controlled atmosphere’ storage.

This may have come from fruit kept in cold storage for many months and during that time, as some of these bacteria are psychrotrophs and thus are not inhibited by the temperature, the lactic acid bacteria count has been steadily increasing.

Pome juice from fruit crushed late in the year can show a significant increase in pH from the same fruit crushed earlier in the year and a significantly higher bacteria count as well.

When this juice is then fermented, the combination of lack of preservative, high pH and temperature as well as ready access to a food source allows these lactic acid bacteria to rapidly and rampantly multiply.

Were they to completely consume the all acids they are able to, that might then be the end of the story. However, most cider is sweetened post-ferment with juice or concentrate, which then provides further food for the lactic acid bacteria as would acid adjustment at that stage with malic or citric acid.

Some of these lactic acid bacteria, such as Leuconostoc Mesenteroides, can also produce by-products such as viscous polysaccharides and other compounds that cause problems with filtration and blocking (often irreparably) of sterile membrane systems, as well as cause product hazes. This can often cause a ‘clean’, low turbidity cider or perry, stored for even a short while and assumed to be ready for packaging, to block membranes during the process.

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

61

winemaking

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

62 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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

Some of these lactic acid bacteria are remarkably durable and can survive all but the most aggressive clean-inplace treatments and reproduce at an alarming rate in a suitable media.

The erroneous assumption, commonly made throughout the industry, that cross-flow filtration is equivalent to sterile filtration further contributes to the problem, as does the fact that many of these lactic acid bacteria are extremely resilient and durable and can even form colonies inside filtration equipment and hoses, infecting not just the pome fruit products but wines as well.

In addition to the bacterial spoilage, the metabolising of the acids results in an increase of pH which reduces molecular SO2 and thus may make the environment more hospitable to yeast growth. This has been observed to have a compounding effect and has caused some single-use plastic kegs to catastrophically rupture (explode) in storage.

Some of these lactic acid bacteria are remarkably durable and can survive all but the most aggressive clean-in-place treatments and reproduce at an alarming rate in a suitable media. Some have been observed to be resistant to DMDC (dimethyl dicarbonate) and while Oenococcus Oeni can be inhibited with a little free SO2, these bacteria will tolerate quite high SO2 levels. They are also facultative anaerobes, so can grow without dissolved oxygen and under inert gas coverage.

They may also establish colonies in bulk liquid transport tankers or transfer pumps and hoses, infecting clean product.

These problems are not observed in products made from concentrates (unless infected by contact with other product or equipment) due, presumably, to the osmotic pressure of the concentrate at 70° Brix and the stresses of the concentrating process. Some juice producers membrane filter their product to reduce bio-load. Unfortunately, the bacteria can be introduced later, during transport, if tanker compartments aren’t properly sanitised.

It might therefore be prudent for producers to assume the presence of these bacteria if they are unable to plate the product to check and to consider implementing a range of precautionary measures including; • Thorough and comprehensive verifiable cleaning (ATP swab) of all plant and equipment, especially cross-flow filters and tanks; • Consider pasteurising or membrane filtering the base juice before fermenting; • Treat juice with Lysozyme before fermentation or sweetening; • Pay close attention to juice and finished product pH; • Maintain 0.8mg/l molecular SO2 from after ferment through to packaging; • Treat product with a Pectolytic enzyme with strong BetaGlucanase activity prior to filtration; • Verify filterability using a filterability index rather than turbidity/NTU; • Utilise true sterile filtration such as in-line 0.45µm and 0.22µm after cross-flow filtration; • Clean and sanitise all equipment that has been in contact with product immediately; • Contain and immediately clean up all product spillage; and • Verify tanker compartment and manifold sanitation before loading product for transport Hopefully, combining awareness with controls will result in improved product quality and reduced spoilage risks in these products.

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

Wine bacteria to control volatile phenols and brettanomyces Yeast & Enzymes

Lallemand researchers have teamed with development and technical experts to look at strategies to protect against the production of volatile phenols by Brettanomyces.

In this article Sibylle Krieger-Weber, Magali Deleris-Bou and Ann Dumont look at the control of fermetnation to prevent the growth of Brettanomyces.

FROM the vineyard to the bottle, every step of winemaking impacts the quality in the wine. Climate change also affects the quality of grapes, especially the sugar levels and pH, and, consequently, winemaking conditions must adapt. The increase in sugar levels and pH also influence the micro-organisms present on the grapes and, of course, the yeast and bacteria populations.

The interactions between these micro-organisms are very complex and winemakers must manage alcoholic and malolactic fermentation taking into account the evolution of grape ecology under these new conditions. The growth of one of the yeasts, Brettanomyces, is considered a contaminant and must be controlled. This article explores a natural way to control Brettanomyces yeast and the volatile phenols they produce, with selected wine bacteria used to conduct malolactic fermentation.

SUPERSTART

AT A gLAncE: Secure, fast and complete alcoholic and malolactic fermentations, combined with early stabilisation, help preserve the quality of the wine and limit the residual nutrients that Brettanomyces utilises to survive and develop.

BRETTANOMYCES – A RECURRENT CULPRIT Brettanomyces/Dekkera yeasts are well known wine spoilage micro-organisms that can damage wine quality, from increasing haziness to producing volatile phenols – aromatic compounds associated with medicinal, band aid, barnyard, horsey and mousy off-odours (Fugelsang et al. 1993, and Heresztyn 1986).

R

NATURAL YEAST OPTIMISATION

SUPERSTART® Blanc

January 2015 – Issue 612

SUPERSTART® Rouge

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

63

winemaking

Figure 1. Crucial stages of winemaking when Brettanomyces is most often detected.

Controlling the precursors of volatile phenols and the growth of this spoilage yeast in the winery is a major challenge, as it can develop even in difficult conditions, such as high alcohol, high pH, nutritional depletion, high sulfur dioxide (SO2), etc.

Although Brettanomyces can be detected at any stage of the winemaking process, it is typically detected after alcoholic fermentation and before spontaneous malolactic fermentation or during barrel aging (Figure 1).

The off-odours are caused principally by 4-ethylguaiacol (4-EG) and 4-ethylphenol (4-EP). With Brettanomyces, these compounds are principally produced during the biotransformation of the hydroxycinnamic acids, p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid, which are precursors naturally present in grapes in the bound or free form. Only the free form is used

by Brettanomyces. The transformation of these free precursors into 4-EG and 4-EP (figure 2) occurs in two steps: first with the cinnamate decarboxylase enzyme, followed by the vinylphenol reductase enzyme.

Several factors influence the concentration of these precursors, ranging from the varietal, to viticulture conditions (hot climate, cold climate) and winemaking practices. According to a recent study by Schopp et al. (2013), Brettanomyces bruxellensis can metabolise only the free form of p-coumaric and ferulic acids.

Figure 2. Ethylphenol production.

In fact, any conversion of coutaric acid (in the bound form) by the cinnamyl esterase enzyme, to p-coumaric acid (in the free form) by other wine micro-organisms (Figure 2) can contribute to the increased production of ethyl phenols by B. bruxellensis (Osborne et al. 2013).

It is interesting to note that Brettanomyces is not the only micro-organism that can produce volatile phenols. Some lactic acid bacteria, such as Pediococcus and Lactobacillus (Couto et al. 2006) are also naturally able to produce volatile phenols from free hydroxycinnamic acid (p-coumaric and ferulic acids).

Similar results were observed with some strains of Lactobacillus plantarum during research by Fras et al. (2014).

A recent study by Osborne et al. (2013) showed that certain wine bacteria of the Oenococcus oeni species can metabolise coutaric acid into p-coumaric acid, through the action of one of their enzymes, cinnamyl esterase (Figure 2), thereby increasing the levels of the volatile phenol precursors available for Brettanomyces.

SELECTED WINE BACTERIA AGAINST BRETTANOMYCES The first step to controlling Brettanomyces is respecting winemaking best practices. It is important to have an integrated strategy that takes into account the interdependence of diverse wine parameters, such as grape quality, SO2, pH, wine temperature, nutrients, oxygen, barrel condition and oenological practices. Good cellar hygiene, reducing the lag phase between the end of alcoholic fermentation and the beginning of malolactic fermentation, and early stabilization, along with proper SO2 dosage, greatly minimise the risk of microbial spoilage. The winemaker’s strategy to limit the risk of developing Brettanomyces has three key factors: the presence of precursors for volatile phenols, the growth phases of Brettanomyces and the wine conditions. Selected wine bacteria can prevent Brettanomyces development by taking into consideration these three aspects.

PREVENTING THE PRESENCE OF PRECURSORS FOR VOLATILE PHENOL

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

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

Barossa wineries, please contact Stiller Coopers 0421 359 065

64 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Burns et al. (2012) investigated the capacity of wine bacteria (O. oeni and L. plantarum, including selected bacteria) to degrade hydroxycinnamic acids bound to tartaric ester present in the wine into the free form, the precursors for volatile phenol production by Brettanomyces. The trials were done in Pinot Noir wine inoculated with selected wine bacteria, and the results compared to a control sample in which malolactic fermentation was blocked.

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

Table 1. Hydroxycinnamic acid concentration in samples of Pinot Noir wine four weeks after inoculation with different selected wine bacteria

PN4TM

Caftaric acid

Coutaric acid

Caffeic acid

p-coumaric acid

Ferulic acid

23.2  0.4

6.6  0.1

2.4  0.2

0.9  0.1

3.5  0.2

Lalvin 31

24.1  1.3

6.9  0.4

3.0  0.1

1.0  0.1

3.3  0.3

O-Mega®

25.0  2.2

7.0  0.6

2.6  0.5

0.8  0.3

4.2  0.5

AlphaTM

25.8  1.3

7.1  0.3

2.4  0.1

0.6  0.1

3.8  0.1

Control without MLF

25.1  1.1

6.8  0.5

2.2  0.2

0.9  0.3

4.1  0.3

®

The researchers assessed the concentrations of hydroxycinnamic acids (esterified and free) after malolactic fermentation. The variation in the concentrations of hydroxycinnamic acids indicates whether the wine bacteria can degrade certain acids, and make them available to the Brettanomyces for the production of volatile phenols.

They found that some strains of O. oeni wine bacteria clearly have the capacity to increase the level of coumaric acid (free form) in the wine and thus generate an increase in the level of ethylphenols in the presence of Brettanomyces.

This study sheds new light on the metabolic pathway of certain O. oeni strains which possess the cinnamyl esterase enzyme and can degrade coutaric acid into coumaric acid, for example.

Following these observations, we sought to characterize all our selected wine bacteria. The results presented in table 1 show there is no change in the concentration of the hydroxycinnamic acids (both bound and free) in the wines inoculated with our bacteria compared to the control wine, where malolactic fermentation was blocked.

Thus, our selected wine bacteria could not degrade coutaric acid into coumaric acid, or any other bound hydroxycinnamic acid, which is the origin of the volatile phenol precursors

responsible for the development of the off-odours associated with Brettanomyces. This led to the conclusion that the cinnamyl esterase enzyme, which is responsible for producing p-coumaric acid from coutaric acid, or any other free hydroxycinnamic acid is absent from our selected wine bacteria, which means that we consider them to be “phenol negative”.

The complete list of our selected wine bacteria characterized as phenol negative includes Lalvin VP41®, PN4™, Beta™, Alpha™, Lalvin 31®, O-Mega®, which are all in the species O. oeni, as well as our Lactobacillus plantarum V22™. Therefore, the winemaker can choose one of these bacteria for malolactic fermentation at no risk of producing precursors to volatile phenols.

FAST MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION AND NO LAG PHASE The utilisation of a selected yeast and proper yeast nutrition ensures the rapid onset, effective and complete alcoholic fermentation, which, as we know, is part of an integrated strategy to prevent the development of Brettanomyces. Yet that does not guarantee results. The period from the end of alcoholic fermentation to the start of malolactic fermentation is particularly conducive to the development of Brettanomyces:

œnologiee

œnologiee

naturee

naturee

ricerca innovación ción

ricerca ción innovación

i n n o v a t i o n

TANIN / TANNIN

TANIN / TANNIN

i n n o v a t i o n

TANIN nce VR SUPRA®Élégance

TANIN VR COLOR® OR®®

TANIN SPECIFIQUE DE LA VINIFICATION DES VINS ROUGES

STABILISATION DE LA MATIÈRE COLORANTE NTE

USAGE ŒNOLOGIQUE

USAGE ŒNOLOGIQUE

1 kg

1 kg

January 2015 – Issue 612

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

65

winemaking

FIGURE 4. Ethylphenol levels after malolactic fermentation in a Cabernet Franc (France) FIGURE 3. Microbial population and ethylphenols in Cabernet Franc wines (France) at the time of co-inoculation

the wine is not protected by SO2, there are still some nutrients available to the spoilage yeast, and competition from other wine micro-organisms is hardly a threat, as the yeast has finished and is dying off and the indigenous lactic bacteria are not yet established. The use of selected wine bacteria is a solution to shorten the time lapse between alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation and thereby prevent the development of Brettanomyces. Early inoculation with the wine bacteria, either right after alcoholic fermentation or in co-inoculation (24 hours after inoculation with yeast), has proven to be a simple and effective method for preventing the development of Brettanomyces. In a study by Pillet et al. (2007), a Cabernet Franc from the Gironde region of France underwent co-inoculation trials with Beta™ that ensured rapid malolactic fermentation.

The analysis of the trial results led to an interesting discovery: the population of the non- Saccharomyces yeast (later revealed as Brettanomyces) was significantly lower in the samples of co-inoculated wine, as shown in figure 3. During this trial, it was observed that the co-inoculation prevented Brettanomyces development and, consequently, volatile phenol production.

During a co-inoculation trial on a Cabernet Franc must (in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France), compared to a spontaneous malolactic fermentation wine, co-inoculation once again resulted in lower ethylphenol levels. The level of 4-ethylphenol is eight times higher in the control wine compared to the co-inoculated wine, and 4-ethylguaiacol is four times greater (figure 4).

To prevent the development of Brettanomyces and the problems associated with this micro-organism the winemaker can use not only co-inoculation, but early or sequential

World Class Yeast Innovation

Through our Maurivin and Next Generation range of active dry wine yeast, complemented with our Mauriferm fermentation aid range, AB Mauri delivers consistently high quality fermentation products to the global wine industry. > THE ART AND SCIENCE OF WINEMAKING

maurivin.com

+61 (0)2 9888 0249 ian.walsh@abmauri.com.au

66 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

TABLE 2: Volatile phenol production in Pinot Noir wines (Burgundy, France) after malolactic fermentation induced by inoculation with wine bacteria versus a control wine which underwent spontaneous fermentation.

CELLAR REGULATED AT 18-19ºC

CELLAR REGULATED AT 14-15ºC

Control*

Bacteria 1

Bacteria 2

Control*

Bacteria 1

Bacteria 2

58

16

13

124

31

27

Time required for MLF (days)

Volatile phenol level (μg/L) 4-ethylguaiacol

404

8

7

551

20

15

4-ethylphenol

870

17

9

1119

46

32

Visual quality

5.6

6.0

6.0

6.0

5.1

5.1

Aroma quality

3.8

5.1

4.7

3.4

4.8

5.0

Taste quality

3.8

4.9

4.3

3.5

4.9

4.5

Average sensory score (on a scale of 1 to 10)

Overall quality

3.4

4.7

4.3

3.5

4.9

4.5

Intensity of animal defect

3.8

0.7

0.9

4.4

0.4

1.0

*Not inoculated with lactic acid bacteria

inoculation with wine bacteria right after AF. In a study

by Gerbaux et al. (2009) in a Burgundy Pinot Noir, it was shown in laboratory and cellar trials that early inoculation with wine bacteria, right after alcoholic fermentation, was useful in controlling the proliferation of Brettanomyces. The pH and temperature can negatively impact the onset and progress of malo lactic fermentation, and increase the risk of producing volatile phenols. Launching malolactic fermentation by inoculating with selected wine bacteria, instead of relying on the spontaneous onset, avoids exposing the wine unnecessarily to the risks of developing Brettanomyces, which are particularly high during the period preceding malolactic fermentation. The results presented in Table 2 show that malolactic fermentation began much sooner in the wines inoculated with two different

January 2015 – Issue 612

wine bacteria, which contributed to a shorter duration for the process and significantly reduced the concentrations of volatile phenols. The data from inoculation trials, done at two different cellar temperatures, were compared to the data from the control wine, which underwent spontaneous malolactic fermentation.

In all probability, the greater the risk of Brettanomyces growth, the earlier the wine should be inoculated with malo lactic bacteria.

CONCLUSION Winemakers now have more information on the best way to prevent – and even treat – Brettanomyces contamination in wines. Inoculation with selected wine bacteria to induce and accelerate malolactic fermentation has been shown to

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

67

The complete range of quality Erbslöh products is now available through Victus International, to meet your highest quality demands in beverage technology.

Please contact us for all sales, technical enquiries and support on 1300 VICTUS (842887) Trenolin® Frio DF

Effective enzymation already as of 5ºC.

Oenoferm® Freddo

White wine yeast for the aroma-promoting cold fermentation.

Vita Drive F3®

Yeast activator for increased yeast performance.

Litto Levure

Oenological yeast.

Granucol®

Specialty activated carbon powder.

Cellu Fluxx®

Specialty filter celluloses.

Na Calit®

Evanulated kentonites.

Kupzit®

Innovative copper citrate preparation.

Victus International

37-39 Aberdeen Road Altona VIC 3018

T: 1300VICTUS(842887) F: +613 93150066 Contact: sales@victus.com.au www.victus.com.au

be an effective means to prevent contamination. We know that inoculating the wine with a dose of >106 cells/mL of selected wine bacteria will stop the growth of this spoilage yeast. Managing the winemaking process through secure alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation is a good starting point to prevent the development of undesirable indigenous flora. It is very important to carefully choose the selected bacteria based on its capacity to inhibit the production of free hydroxycinnamic acids, such as p-coumaric acid, precursor to volatile ethylphenols by Brettanomyces. Lallemand wine bacteria, including Lalvin VP41®, PN4™, Beta™, Alpha™, Lalvin 31® and O-Mega®, which are all in the species O. oeni, as well as our Lactobacillus plantarum V22™ do not have the cinnamyl esterase enzyme that leads to the transformation of this precursor in the free form, making it available to Brettanomyces. We call these Lallemand wine bacteria phenol negative.

Moreover, appropriate inoculation strategies (co-inoculation, and early or sequential inoculation right after alcohol fermentations) have been shown to be effective tools to prevent the development of Brettanomyces. By choosing a phenolnegative wine bacteria and by carefully selecting the timing of inoculation with this bacteria, the winemaker can adopt an even more effective strategy to protect against the production of volatile phenols

by Brettanomyces.

REFERENCES

Burns, T. R., and J. P. Osborne. 2013. Impact of Malolactic Fermentation on the Color and Color Stability of Pinot noir and Merlot Wine. Am. J. Enol.

Vitic. 64(3):370-377.

Couto, J. A., F. M. Campos, A. R. Figueiredo, and T. A. Hogg. 2006. Ability of Lactic Acid Bacteria to Produce Volatile Phenols. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 57:166-171.

Fras, P., F. M. Campos FM, T. Hogg, and J. A. Coutu.

2014. Production of volatile phenols by Lactobacillus plantarum in wine conditions. Biotechnol Lett.

36(2):281-285.

Fugelsang, K. C., M. M. Osborn, and C. J. Muller.

1993. Brettanomyces and Dekkera: Implications in winemaking. American Chemical Society Symposium Series. 536:110-129.

Gerbaux, V., C. Briffox, A. Dumont, and S. Krieger.

2009. Influence of inoculation with malolactic bacteria on volatile phenols in wines. Am. J. Enol. Vitic.

60(2):233-235.

Heresztyn, T. 1986. Formation of substituted tetrahydropyridines by species of Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus isolated from mousy wines. Am. J. Enol.

Vitic. 37:127-132.

Osborne, J. P., S. Chescheir, and D. Philbin. 2013.

Impact of Oenococcus oeni on wine hydroxycinnamic acid content and production of volatile phenols by Brettanomyces. Proceedings ASEV 2013 National Conference: Oral Presentation Abstracts (research reports).

Pillet, P., E. Dessup, and E. Rémond. 2007. Préserver les arômes fruités du vin : nouveaux enjeux dans la gestion de la fermentation malolactique. Partie 2/2 : La co-inoculation en levures et bactéries lactiques : préserver les arômes fruités et lutter contre les contaminations de type Brettanomyces. Revue des Oenologues. 124:1-3.

Schopp, L. M., J. Lee, J. P. Osborne, S. C. Chescheir, and C. G. Edwards. 2013. Metabolism of nonesterified and esterified hydroxycinnamic acids in red wines by Brettanomyces bruxellensis. J. Agric. Food Chem.

61:11610-11617.

What yeasts are responsible for your natural ferment?

NATURAL, spontaneous, wild and un-inoculated are several terms used to describe a wine fermentation that has not been inoculated with a commercial yeast strain. The population of yeast species is dynamic throughout an un-inoculated fermentation due to the range of initial microflora present and changing conditions as the fermentation progresses.

The yeast population is most diverse for the first few days of fermentation, after which S. cerevisiae tends to dominate as alcohol levels increase.

The Australian Wine Research Institute’s Commercial Services is now offering a new service (developed by AWRI Principal Research Scientist Dr Anthony Borneman) which uses nextgeneration sequencing technologies to provide information about the dominant yeast species present in ‘natural’ ferments.

January 2015 – Issue 612

SECURE AND HIGHLY EFFICIENT

This service will provide insight into the micro flora present during fermentation that may contribute characteristic flavours to wine.

The genomic DNA is extracted from a ferment sample provided by the winery. Certain sections of the DNA are amplified and then sequenced which then provides information about the species present.

Results from the analysis will provide a list of the yeast species present in the sample and approximate proportions of different species.

The AWRI Commerial Services currently has an introductory offer for this testing, and further discounts apply for bulk sample submissions.

For more information. contact Dr Tina Tran at the AWRI E: tina.tran@awri.com.au P: +61 8 8313 6600 www.winebiz.com.au

Wide range of applications • Low pH (≥3.1) • High alcohol (≤16%) • Cold temperature (≥14°C) Fast MLF Kinetics • Suitable for limiting wine conditions • Suitable for white, red and rosé wines Very late consumption of citric acid: • Very low production of volatile acidity • Very low production of diacetyl

Selected by Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin

Lallemand Australia Pty Ltd 23-25 Erudina Ave, Edwardstown, SA 5039 AUS Tel: +61 8 8276 1200 | Fax: +61 8177 1802 Email: australiaoffice@lallemand.com Lallemand Oenology: Natural Solutions that add value to the world of winemaking Grapegrower & Winemaker

69

winemaking

Partnership to shed light on mystery of wild ferments WINEMAKERS will gain new insight into the microorganisms in their ferments thanks to a new partnership between the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) and the University of New South Wales’ Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics.

Grapes are transformed into wine by an entire ecosystem of yeasts and bacteria, whose composition has a huge impact on the quality of the final product.

In many cases these microbes are ‘wild’, coming from the local environment and appearing naturally in the fermentation once the grapes are crushed.

However, like any wild creature, their appearance and behaviour can be erratic, and their overall role in defining regional character of wine largely remains a mystery.

To delve into this mystery, a technique known as metagenomics will be applied to analyse wild wine ferments from around Australia, allowing the identity of all the yeast and bacteria present in the fermentations to be mapped using their unique genomic signatures.

Dr Dan Johnson, Managing Director of the AWRI said, “the Ramaciotti Centre’s

expertise in genome sequencing and the AWRI’s extensive knowledge of wine microorganisms will be an unbeatable combination in this cutting-edge area of wine research”.

“The important positive impacts of yeast and bacteria on wine flavour are well known, but until now, the tools to characterise entire regional populations have simply not existed.

Professor Marc Wilkins, Ramaciotti Centre director, said he was excited to apply the cutting edge genomics techniques to a project of benefit to the Australian wine industry.

“Metagenomics will allow, for the first time, an understanding of the ecosystem of yeast and bacteria in Australian wine production and how that works as part of a successful ferment,” Wilkins said.

Knowledge gained from this work will allow winemakers to take full advantage of local wild yeast and bacteria. It will also enable new yeast and bacteria strains to be developed, drawing on existing regional diversity and the AWRI microbial germplasm collection assembled across the past 50 years.

Rapid Wine Analysis Megazyme have now teamed up with Awareness to offer a full wine analysis package...

Spectro-Photometer

Auto-Analyser

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

70 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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

Contact Michael Watson at Deltagen for further information

DELTAGEN A Member of the Marigot Group

www.winebiz.com.au

Australia

Deltagen Australia VIC (03) 9801 7133 Email: michaelw@deltagen.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

For further information, please contact Kauri NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE NZ Fax: 04 910 7415 Email: winery@kauri.co.nz

AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 AUS Fax: 1800 127 609 Website: www.kauriwine.com

winemaking

Another whack of the dragon’s tail Problems with sugar content on labels for China Laboratory Equipment & Services

Greg Howell, from Vintessential Laboratories, explores the restrictions governing sugar content on labels bound for China. It’s an issue that has been complicated by the use of antiquated testing methods by the Chinese authorities.

AS A wine export destination, China appears very attractive: a huge and growing middle class, increasing disposable income and an emerging interest in Western culture – including wine.

However, cracking the ‘Middle Kingdom’ is not as easy as it seems. First a very low limit on manganese was announced early in 2014, and now restrictions governing the sugar content on labels, complicated by the use of antiquated testing methods by the Chinese authorities, has caused more headaches for still wines exported to China. In particular the use of a reducing sugar test by the Chinese, rather than the enzymatic test for glucose and fructose as commonly used in Australia, as well as the need to place a statement about sugar levels on labels are the cause of these problems.

RECENT AGWA ADVICE The Australian Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA) recently sent two urgent notices to exporters about issues with sugar

content label statements for wine destined to China. On the latest advice dated 17 October 2014 it recommended that “… to minimise the potential for compliance problems wine labels must include a descriptor such as ‘Dry’, ‘Medium Dry’, ‘Sweet’ etc.”

It also stated that, “given the difference in sugar testing methods between Australia and China the inclusion of the actual sugar level may present significant compliance problems in China”.

At first glance this does not appear to be a big problem, however there is a whack in the dragon’s tail and it is this: Sugar content is tested by the Chinese authorities using older methods that can produce results that differ greatly from the more modern methods used in Australia, and the Chinese do not allow any tolerance for variation between these test results.

CHINESE REGULATIONS The Chinese regulations state that a still wine must either have a statement such as ‘Dry’ (up to four grams per litre of sugar) or ‘Semi Dry’ (between 4 and 12g/L of sugar); or the actual sugar content on the label. Please note a different classification is in place for sparkling wines.

The latest AGWA advice is that it is best to use the relevant statement (e.g. ‘Dry’ or ‘Semi-Dry’) rather than placing the sugar content on the label (e.g. 2.5g/L sugar).

According to Steve Guy, AGWA compliance manager, there

Manage Brettanomyces bruxellensis in-house Proactively test for and manage BRETT, using Veriflow® technology - bringing same-day analysis to your vineyard.

RESULTS IN UNDER

4

“Game Changer In The Vineyard: Streamline The Process With Molecular Diagnostics” Forbes magazine

Talk to us today about BRETT management 72 Grapegrower & Winemaker

HOURS New Zealand

Australia P 02 9882 3666 E amsl@amsl.com.au W www.amsl.com.au

www.winebiz.com.au

P 09 259 4062 E nzms@nzms.co.nz W www.nzms.co.nz

January 2015 – Issue 612

are two reasons why it is best not to place the actual sugar content on your labels: 1. There is no tolerance for differences between your sugar results and those of the Chinese testing authority, as there is for alcohol (which has a tolerance of +/- 1% v/v).

2. The Chinese authorities use a reducing sugar test rather than the more commonly used enzymatic test for glucose and fructose.

NEW CATALOGUE OUT NOW! Download our latest Edition 10 catalogue filled with laboratory and testing products to help you get the job done.

REDUCING SUGAR TESTS A relatively simple (and now well known) test for sugars was determined by Dr Fehling in the mid-19th century. This involved an oxidation/reduction reaction involving copper (II) salts in alkaline solution with some sugars. The sugars that reacted in this test became known as ‘reducing sugars’. The popular Clinitest tablets use this chemistry in a simple way to check the level of reducing sugars.

This technique of reducing copper (II) salts by sugars in a titration with Fehling’s reagents was further improved by the English chemists Lane and Eynon in the 1920s, although this is still a labourious and cumbersome technique. In the mid20th century Dr Rebelein from Germany further improved the reducing sugar test, this technique is now known as the Rebelein titration.

Using the Rebelein (or Lane and Eynon) reducing sugar test will typically give a result of 1 to 2g/L for dry wine. This figure will include the non-fermentable pentose sugars.

These reducing sugar tests are not the most accurate and are certainly not the easiest or most efficient to perform.

Or call us for your copy and special pricing.

“A proudly 100% Australian owned company, servicing scientific laboratories since 1987.”

ENZYMATIC TESTS Importantly, part of the reducing sugars – the fermentable sugars glucose and fructose, can be very accurately measured by enzymatic analysis. It is crucial to know the level of these sugars accurately because of their potential influence on the microbial stability of the wine. For example, yeasts such as Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces can grow and metabolise glucose and fructose at levels less than 2 g/L. So the enzymatic test for glucose and fructose is very popular in the New World.

This is because it is easier and quicker to perform, and more precise, with better repeatability data than the reducing sugar tests.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TEST RESULTS Vintessential Laboratories is ISO 17025 accredited for sugar testing by both enzymatic and reducing sugar techniques, although we mainly use enzymatic testing for the reasons stated above. An analysis of our results where both tests were performed on the same wine for multiple wines over the past 2 years shows that there is an average difference between the two techniques of 1.8 g/L, the reducing sugar test result always the higher. The smallest difference was 0.7 and the highest 3.4 g/L. This suggests that the level of pentoses (the non-fermentable sugars) varies between wines, and more importantly can give a large difference between the tests of up to 3.4 g/L. That is, there can be up to 3.4 g/L difference between the current test methods used in Australia and that used in China, for the same wine.

During fermentation all the ‘fermentable sugars’ can be consumed; using the modern technique of enzymatic analysis, a level of <0.10 g/L is commonly cited as a dry wine. However there will always be some left over pentose sugars that have not been fermented - importantly these are not measured by the modern enzymatic technique, but are measured by the older reducing sugar tests.

So herein lies one problem: The same wine may end up legitimately with say 3 g/L for sugars by the enzymatic test but get 5 g/L by the Rebelein test. Due to there being no tolerance for January 2015 – Issue 612

REF:212

www.winebiz.com.au

x/marketing/advertising/212.Grape.Growers.1.12.14

Grapegrower & Winemaker

73

winemaking difference in sugar contents, the enzymatic test results should therefore not be used for label purposes for China.

PROBLEMS NEAR THE LABEL LIMITS As mentioned, the Chinese authorities require either a sugar content (e.g. 2.5 g/L) or a sugar statement (Dry, Semi-Dry etc.). AGWA have recommended that the sugar content not be included on the label; we strongly concur.

However there is an issue with the use of the statements, particularly where sugar levels are close to the boundary between styles (Dry is less than 4 g/L, Semi-dry is 4 to 12 g/L).

The Chinese regulations also allow the acid level to be taken into account – this makes the situation even more complex.

Please refer to the Export Market Guide for China from AGWA for details.

As an example, if your wine has a reducing sugar content of say 3.8 g/L as determined by an Australian ISO 17025 accredited lab, it follows that you would choose the descriptor ‘Dry’ for the sugar statement. However due to inbuilt uncertainties in test methods there will always be some variation between repeat tests within the same laboratory. A typical uncertainty for the Rebelein test is around 0.5 g/L. This means that we could get 3.8 or 4.3 g/L and this is still within the acceptable tolerance for this test method. This demonstrates the lack of precision of this method, and why we don’t rely upon it.

This is the difference within one lab – commonly called repeatability. Statistically there is always a larger difference between 2 different labs – known as reproducibility.

The reproducibility for this test between Vintessential and the Chinese lab could be at least 0.5 g/L. So for the wine in the example above with (3.8g/L) the Chinese may get 4.3 g/L. According to ISO 17025 rules, this is entirely acceptable.

However it would mean that the Chinese would deem the wine to fit into the ‘Semi-Dry’ category and your wine would not meet their regulations.

In these circumstances you would have the options of: • Labelling the wine as ‘Semi-Dry’; • Checking the acid level to see if ‘Dry’ is still valid; • Blending the wine to a lower sugar level; or • Not exporting that wine to China.

CONCLUSION For successful and stress free exporting to China, we offer the following recommendations: 1. Wine bound for China should be tested for sugar content using a reducing sugar test by an accredited laboratory; and 2. If your reducing sugar result is close to a limit defined by the Chinese regulations, e.g. ‘Dry’ at 4 g/L sugar, then consider taking other options.

References

AGWA Export Market Grid for China, www.wineaustralia.com Steve Guy, personal communication Iland, P; Bruer, N; Edwards, G; Caloghiris, S; Wilkes, E; Chemical analysis of grapes and wine: techniques and concepts, 2nd Edition, Patrick Iland Wine Promotions Pty Ltd, South Australia, 2013, p 66 Zoecklein, B.W; Fugelsang, K.C; Gump, B.H; Nury, F.S; Wine Analysis and Production, Aspen Publishers Inc., New York, 1995, p 91

Greg Howell is the founder and Managing Director of Vintessential Laboratories. He can be contacted by email on greg@vintessential.com.au.

More articles on related topics are available on the Vintessential website: www.vintessential.com.au/resources/articles/

Finish MLF fast & before AF with Viniflora ® NoVA ™ • NoVA™ manages MLF in must before alcoholic fermentation with 4 main benefits: • • • •

Rapid conversion of malic acid No VA produced from sugars during this early MLF Fruit flavours are intensified Creates low sulphite wines

• The Lactobacillus plantarum strain was selected in partnership with Stellenbosch University

FROST

• NoVA™ does not produce biogenic amines

INNOV EW PRODUCT ATION LEADE RSHIP

Available in ANZ for vintage 2015 from Chr. Hansen PL

CONTACT US Amanda Tanga +61 418 142 982 auajt@chr-hansen.com

74 Grapegrower & Winemaker

&

2014 ASULLIVAN WARD N

• NoVA™ is ready for convenient direct inoculation

www.winebiz.com.au

WWW.CHR-HANSEN.COM/WINE

January 2015 – Issue 612

Product Update

Manage MLF faster than ever with Viniflora® NoVA™ Sofie M.G. Saerens1, Nicolas Prost 2 , Miquel Iribarren3, Laurent Hubert4, Nathalia Edwards1, Kristine Bjerre1, Mansour Badaki1, Lars Bo Corfitzen1, and Jan Hendrik Swiegers1 1 Chr. Hansen, Wine Innovation Department, Denmark; 2Chr. Hansen, Food and Beverage Division, France and 3Chr. Hansen, Food and Beverage Division, Spain and 4Chr. Hansen, Commercial Development Wine, Denmark

VINIFLORA® NoVA™ was launched

by Chr. Hansen in France and Spain in September 2014 with great success.

The goal was to improve malolactic fermentation (MLF) in no/low sulfite wine making in warm climatic regions.

Winemakers in warm climatic regions often meet difficulties when it comes to MLF. Indigenous flora in the grape juice may start MLF before and during alcoholic fermentation and spoil the wine, resulting in higher volatile acidity and/or unpleasant flavor production.

This becomes an even bigger problem when no or low sulfites are used at the start of fermentation. On top of that, the malic acid concentration is very often too low in these wines for Oenococcus oeni to complete MLF. It is known that a malic acid concentration below 1 g/L can result in a stuck MLF. Therefore, Chr. Hansen developed a new tool to manage MLF in no/low sulfite wines in a fast and safe way: Viniflora® NoVA™.

Viniflora® NoVA™ is a Lactobacillus plantarum strain to be used in reverse inoculation in grape juice, before alcoholic fermentation. This is revolutionary for the wine world, with major benefits for the winemaker. Reverse inoculation of Viniflora® NoVA™ in grape juice ensures: • A fast and safe MLF before and during beginning of alcoholic fermentation, with no volatile acidity production; • Bioprotection of the wines by A.

A U S T R A L I A

A U S T R A L I A

reduction of spoilage microorganisms due to competitive exclusion; and • Optimised fruit expression in the final wine.

The Lactobacillus plantarum strain is inoculated in the grape juice, 24 hours before yeast inoculation. This will ensure a completed MLF before or during alcoholic fermentation. The L. plantarum strain is homofermentative in grape juice conditions, and will therefore consume malic acid completely without any volatile acidity production. Viniflora® NoVA™ has also multiple enzymatic activities resulting in higher fruit flavour production which increases the overall aromatic profile of the wines.

With Viniflora® NoVA™, the first MLF in France was achieved at the start of September, a world’s first. Figure 1A shows the MLF performance of Viniflora® NoVA™ in a Merlot wine from Languedoc, France: 2 days after Viniflora® NoVA™ inoculation, MLF was completed.

Another example from Terra Alta, Spain is shown in Figure 1B where MLF was performed in Merlot within four days after inoculation of Viniflora® NoVA™.

Viniflora® NoVA™ is a perfect tool when winemakers need a fast and safe MLF, without being concerned about spoilage or stuck MLF. With Viniflora® NoVA™, the development of a no/low sulfite wine range can now be achieved with the benefits of producing clean and more aromatic intense wines.

B.

1 1

Figure 1. MLF performance of Viniflora® NoVA™. Yeast is inoculated after 24h (1 in square). A. Languedoc, France: Merlot with pH 3,5; 0 ppm SO2 and 1.8 g/L malic acid, B. Terra Alta, Spain: Merlot with pH 3.65; <10 ppm SO2 and 1.5 g/L malic acid.

January 2015 – Issue 612

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

75

winemaking

Winery waste helps save energy and supply key ingredients WHEN Australian Tartaric Products turned on their grape marc boiler in 2013 the plant, located near Mildura, instantly gave up its position as the Sunraysia’s biggest gas consumer. By the time the 2014 vintage arrived the plant’s entire energy requirement was being produced on-site.

The boiler has delivered big savings at the plant through reduced gas and electricity supply costs, as power is now generated by using the steam which is essentially a by-product of the boiler.

The plant burns about 45,000 tonnes of grape marc each year, currently all supplied from within the Sunraysia area.

“The grape marc we’re burning for the boiler has already had the spirit and the tartaric removed,” said Ben Manfield, Australian Tartaric Products general manager. “And the biomass boiler ash is also going back into other agricultural products.”

“It’s a closed circuit. The products we extract are largely sold back to the

Get all your wine analysis gear from one supplier Titrators, pH Meters, Refractometers Spectrophotometers Plasticware, Glassware Reagents, Chemicals Hydrometers & Thermometers Cer tified Traceable Standards WINE INDUSTRY

LABORATORY CATALOGUE

Get your free copy at

www.pacif iclab.com.au www.pacif iclab.co.nz

wineries that supply the original waste and the large wineries like the idea of that minimal footprint and loop. We not only put those products back into the industry but we can produce them using the energy provided by the waste as well.”

Australian Tartaric Products is able to burn grape marc in its biomass boiler, which in turn generates the power used to extract useful products from other winery waste streams, including winery sludge, lees and used filter earth.

Australian Tartaric Products is Australia’s only manufacturer of natural tartaric acid, and also produces food grade spirit. The facility processes considerable volumes of Grape Marc, Grape lees, centrifuge desludge by-products created from the wine making process, producing a completely natural product from material, which would otherwise go into landfill. The company collects waste from across the Sunraysia, Riverland, Riverina and Barossa Valley wine growing regions.

The tartaric acid produced is sold mainly to Australian wineries, with smaller quantities taken up by pharmaceutical companies and food manufacturers. Food grade spirit is also sold both to Australian wineries and into international markets for wine fortification and Brandy production.

“Within the Australian wine industry we are the market leader for tartaric acid supply,” said Manfield. “Our customers like that we have Australian made material that is produced from winery waste. We are working to raise our profile on the back of this.”

One of the new products offered by Australian Tartaric is a liquid tartaric acid, a pre-mix variation of the traditional crystalline form. It has been taken up by a couple of larger wineries looking for options in this area. Other products

supplied include citric acid, Rochelle salt, ammonium tartrate, metatartaric acid and potassium tartrate.

The Australian Tartaric plant is a big energy consumer, running 24-hours-perday, seven-days-a-week. This means the installation of the biomass boiler has been a significant achievement.

The carbon footprint of the plant has been reduced by about 10,000 tonnes per year since the biomass boiler was installed.

By producing most of its own energy from the new plant, ATP expects to save $1.5 million a year on the cost of gas it previously used to run its boilers, and another $1.5 million on oil and electricity bills.

The investment was supported by a Victorian Government Regional Development grant of $1.8 million as well as a Federal Government AusIndustry grant of $1.71 million.

“Being such a high-capital item it will be slow to return on the investment, so the grants were important. It has allowed us to secure our future,” Manfield said.

The factory has a 20-year history of innovation and ongoing development. In fact, to have the process of distillation and tartaric acid recovery powered by waste grape marc is a first for Australia.

“We are growing with the industry.

We are employing extra staff since the boiler was installed, probably six-orseven overall,” Manfield said. “We have lots of different jobs available, across a range of skill areas. And we are playing a role in the waste disposal solutions the industry requires.”

The plant at Colignan is 40-minutes south of Mildura and employs 40 locals; it was established by the Randi family of Italy in 1991, who have a number of similar operations both in Italy and America.

Looking for more articles, visit the Grapegrower and Winemaker article archive at: PACIFIC LABORATORY PRODUC TS

1800 723 405 - 61 3 9845 0300

76 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au/gwm www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

»Spa & Wellness for Your Pipettes« Look after your pipettes before and after vintage > Eppendorf offers pipette maintenance, calibration and adjustment services for all brands of pipettes > Trade-in or Trade-up your old pipettes for new models with the Eppendorf Trade-in program > Receive a 20% discount off your next pipette calibration or maintenance by quoting LQH2014 on your next decontamination form* * Valid till March 31st , 2015, visit www.eppendorf.com.au for forms

www.eppendorf.com Eppendorf® and the Eppendorf logo are registered trademarks of Eppendorf AG, Hamburg, Germany.

All rights reserved, including graphics and images. Copyright © 2012 by Eppendorf AG.

winemaking Product Update

Information in the palm of your hand AS A result of the worldwide success of the free winemaking calculation application OenotoolsTM, Oenobrands has now released a new version that is even more comprehensive, fast and easy to use, while still free of charge. More than 10,000 winemakers (and growing) across 60 countries are now using this application, which was recently awarded an innovation prize.

After the success achieved in the field of smartphone and tablet applications, Oenobrands releases Oenotools 3.0, which has been totally redesigned and packed with new functions.

Oenotools allows winemakers to: • Calculate how much of an oenological product must be added whether it is powder, liquid or gas; • Determine the amount of sulfur to add based on its type in order to obtain a specific concentration of total, free or active SO2; • Convert measurement units into those commonly used by winemakers (litres to gallons, brix to sugar concentration, etc.); • Establish the conditions and flow of nitrogen diffusers for de-oxygenation or de-carbonisation; • Calculate how much liquid CO2 or dry ice to add to cool harvested grapes; • Calculate sugar or alcohol enrichment; and • Calculate acidity correction for acidification or de-acidification.

To make the application even more user friendly, Oenobrands worked in collaboration with Olivier Zébic’s consultancy agency to develop Oenotools 3.0. This new version simplifies the navigation between different functions and enhances the tool with new features, now allowing winemakers to: - Calculate refrigeration needs at each winemaking step; - Determine flow rate and duration of refrigeration as well as the final temperature obtained; and - Rapidly determine tank volume based on form and size.

Oenobrands innovates oenological products for today and tomorrow. Its constant search for integral solutions allows it to create products that meet the demands of winemakers, merchants and consumers alike.

In a growing but fast-changing sector, Oenobrands, supported by its international parent companies (DSM Food Specialties and Anchor BioTechnologies), develops a range of oenological products including enzymes, yeasts, yeast-derived products and bacteria. With its highly qualified, multidisciplinary team, Oenobrands offers winemakers unique, targeted solutions that work in synergy. Oenobrands sells brands including Anchor, Fermicru, Fermivin, Fermichamp, Extraferm, Maxaferm, Claristar and Rapidase, Natuferm, In-line Ready and Final Touch POP across five continents through a professional distribution network.

More information is available on the Oenobrands website, www.oenobrands.com.

TempReport™ Data logging is now so much easier!

NIP PROBLEMS

The T-TEC RF data loggers stay in fridges, freezers, coolrooms, refrigerated trucks and send automatically to your PC screen. Actual temperatures available anytime.

IN THE BUD WITH OUR

PETIOLE TESTING Vintessential’s petiole testing gets to the root of any nutrient problems with your vines before it’s too late.

Call Vintessential now on 1300 30 2242 or email info@vintessential.com.au for a free petiole sampling pack.

Temperature Technology

T H E R E I S A N A R T T O G O O D W I N E. A N D A S C I E N C E. J000308

78 Grapegrower & Winemaker

J000308_Vintessential Petiole Grapegrowers.indd 1

263 Gilbert Street Adelaide SA 5000 www.t-tec.com.au

www.winebiz.com.au

22/10/12 2:50 PM

tt Ph: 08 8231 1266 Fax: 08 8231 1212 sales@t-tec.com.au January 2015 – Issue 612

Materials Handling – Winery

Dangers in the Winery: Carbon dioxide and other gasses

WINERIES can pose unique problems when protecting workers from dangerous atmospheres. From the moment the first grapes of the new vintage arrive, to the time you tuck the wine away in barrels, care must be taken to protect workers from potential hazards.

Specific areas of concern within a winery include pits, sumps, storage tanks as well as fermentation rooms, barrel cellars as well as bottling rooms.

The main gas hazards include carbon dioxide, oxygen displacement, hydrogen sulphide, sulfur dioxide, ethyl alcohol, and carbon monoxide.

During the active fermentation process, concentrations of carbon dioxide within the headspace of a fermenting tank may reach levels approaching 100% by volume.

The danger with this type of build-up includes the displacement of oxygen and the potential asphyxiation of workers as well as the dangers of being exposed to high concentrations of carbon dioxide for an extended period of time.

Currently, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration time weighted average for carbon dioxide is 5000ppm (0.5% by Vol). In addition, during the active fermentation process, closed buildings require monitoring of the atmosphere for carbon dioxide and oxygen levels before entering as concentrations may exceed safe levels.

In addition to carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide is also present at wineries. Sulfur dioxide is primarily used as an anti-oxidant at low levels to inhibit yeast and mould growth. Sulfur dioxide is also used to sterilise the empty wine barrels to prevent the growth of yeast and mould. In the event that leaks occur from the sulfur dioxide dispensing equipment, monitoring instruments can quickly warn workers before sulphur dioxide levels become dangerous.

When cleaning wine tanks of settled residue, it is not uncommon to encounter levels of ethyl alcohol approaching the Occupational Safety & Health Administration time weighted average of 1000ppm. Portable gas detection instruments can easily monitor levels of ethyl alcohol within this range ensuring compliance and worker safety.

Confined spaces in wineries such as pits, sumps and tanks containing wastewater may harbor not only combustible gas and oxygen deficiency but may also contain dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide as well. High levels of hydrogen sulfide not only desensitise a workers sense of smell but, in high

concentrations, contribute to respiratory damage and can be potentially fatal.

According to the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, the eight-hour time weighted average for hydrogen sulfide is 10ppm. Levels of greater than 100ppm are considered immediately dangerous to life and health.

Carbon monoxide may also pose a concern in wineries. If petrol or diesel powered generating equipment, vehicles or forklifts are used in warehouses, exhaust containing high levels of carbon monoxide can build up creating potential hazards for employees.

But what can you do to prevent workers from exposure to these hazards? In addition to establishing a solid confined space and atmospheric safety policies, there are gas-sensing instruments available for use in wineries that can be easily configured to meet each winery’s specific needs.

Single gas personal portable instruments are also available to detect oxygen content, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulphide and are available with an optional vibrating alarm for use in high noise environments.

For more information about these types of sensors, contact GasTech Australia.

P: 1800 999 902 E: info@gastech.com.au

NEED A TIP? AIM Forward Bin Tippers Are the solution for tipping safely & efficiently. Quick & easy attachment for any forklift.

Megabin The quality plastic cubic bin for your handling & storage needs.

Available as Vented or Solid Bins.

Manufactured in Australia Designed for harsh conditions

P 02 6964 4688 E info@aimsales.com.au W www.aimsales.com.au January 2015 – Issue 612

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

79

sales & marketing

Major contract for Phoenix Society Bottling, Labelling & Packaging

The Phoenix Society, a leading South Australian social enterprise, has entered into a partnership with specialist Barossa wine packaging company Vinpac.

THE new partnership will see Phoenix carry out secondary packaging of wine which includes; over labelling services, tissue wrapping and other varied activities for Vinpac on behalf of its winery clients.

Paul Stevenson, Phoenix chief executive, said the strategic partnership with Vinpac was an example of how Phoenix offers local solutions for companies seeking to align services to the demands of their customers.

“Phoenix is delighted to have extended their partnership with Vinpac to deliver the specific needs of the wine industry,” Stevenson said. “We have the facilities at our Elizabeth plant to carry out the work to the required standard, in a time orientated cost effective way.”

Phoenix Society has invested $250,000 in upgrades to its operations at Elizabeth, in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, in a major boost to productivity.

“We have almost doubled our wine services business in a short period of time and are fast becoming a leading player in wine packaging and labelling here in South Australia,” Stevenson said. “Part of our upgrade included the purchase of a new four head labeller, which has increased our productivity by

37.5%, and the design of a unique re-pack line. We designed and built a one-off repack line which has increased our capabilities by 766%. Where we were once able to get through just three pallets a day, now we are moving through 23 pallets easily with the new re-pack line.”

David Hutton, Vinpac general manager, said it was a win-win situation for both companies.

“Phoenix is service orientated, quality assured and has the advanced manufacturing capabilities to assist us in delivering this important part of our services business,” Hutton said. “It’s our philosophy to support local manufacturing as well as to recognise and act upon our social responsibilities where ever we are able. The Elizabeth plant is conveniently located to us and a gateway to our Barossa Valley operations.”

Stevenson said forging strong partnerships with business was an important step forward in Phoenix’s growth plan.

“Phoenix is a cost effective, professional and reliable partner for any business large or small,” Stevenson said. “Our focus is to provide greater economies of scale for businesses seeking to outsource work, even better services and more meaningful employment, support and training for people with a disability”.

Wine Packaging & Customised Labelling Phoenix is a major supplier of services to the Wine Industry in South Australia.

Precise Labelling & De-Labelling Over Labelling Medal Application Neck Ta T gging Hooding Clean Skin Precision Labelling Gift & Promotional Packaging Repacks

Shortt Ter tT m Stora r ge ra Tax T ax Bond ondeed Storra age

Contact Brenton Matheson on 0408 807 390 for a Quote today! www.phoenixsociety.com.au phone (08) 8152 2400 talktous@phoenixsociety.com.au 80 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

We have almost doubled our wine services business in a short period of time and are fast becoming a leading player in wine packaging and labelling here in South Australia.

Wine packaging activities undertaken by Phoenix Society include: • Labelling; • De-labelling; • Medal application; • Neck tagging; • Hooding; • Promotional packaging; and • Tax bonded store.

About the Phoenix Society With an annual turnover of around $16 million, Phoenix is a leading South Australian social enterprise employing almost 500 people with a disability. Its operations are located at Torrensville, Gepps Cross, Elizabeth, Whyalla and Mawson Lakes and include a range of services from product assembly, packing and labelling, light engineering and wine services to print and mail, lotteries, component manufacture and industrial sewing.

About Vinpac Vinpac International supplies specialist wine bottling, winemaking, laboratory and warehouse/despatch services

January 2015 – Issue 612

to wineries throughout Australia. Located in the heart of South Australia’s major winemaking districts, the Barossa and McLaren Vale, Vinpac is a fully-integrated packaging company.

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

81

business & technology

Make sure you agree with your agreement Legal

In an ideal world, the relationship between a winery and its distributor involves healthy interaction between the key people on both sides and delivers commercial success to both parties. Nathan Gogoll reports.

TROUBLE can arise where the relationship is not founded on a clearly understood contract that both parties agree to. Tim Duval, from DW Fox Tucker Lawyers, suggests that there are a number of things that the owners and managers of wineries should do to ensure that their distribution agreement works effectively.

The first step it to understand the different types of distribution agreements and select the model that best suits your operation. Consider, for example whether full distribution model or sale on consignment model would achieve the best outcome. Additionally, you need to determine the commercial terms of the agreement, such as how and when payment will be made, whether the agreement is an exclusive agreement, and the agreed territory for distribution. Both parties need to understand and agree on these terms from the very beginning.

Well thought out performance criteria are also important to include. For example, it may be a good idea to incorporate

sales targets and budget targets in to the agreement, as these targets can offer triggers for re-negotiation or a release of the parties’ obligations if one party’s performance is substandard.

Duval advises that “ideally, the distributor will present a contract to a winery, and the winery is then given time to review its terms and conditions.

At this time you might get an accountant and a lawyer involved to make sure the structure will work and that your interests are protected.”

“There probably are small producers who would say ‘I’m just a little guy, what power do I have to change anything in this?’ But if you would like to request any changes that would make the contract work better for you, there is no harm in asking. If it’s a good match between the winery and the distributor, there will be room to negotiate. For example, you should provide the length of time in advance that the parties are required to give notice to terminate the agreement.

Here, you’ll always come first.

ADVICE: Tim Duval, DW Fox Tucker lawyer.

If problems do occur, a shorter notice period will suit the producer, but the distributor likely wants more time.”

“If you are worried that something doesn’t seem quite right, the first thing you can do is talk to your peers, but be careful of terms that are confidential,” said Duval. You may also consider engaging a lawyer to advise on and negotiate with the distributor on problematic terms. However, this can be difficult in existing agreements, and of

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.

COMMERCIAL | DISPUTES | INSOLVENCY | TAX IP | WORKPLACE | PROPERTY | INSURANCE

82 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

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

dwfoxtucker.com.au January 2015 – Issue 612

TIPS TO IMPROVE CONTRACTING AND AVOID DISPUTES The following tips have been provided by the office of the Australian Small Business Commissioner. If you need help with dispute resolution you can contact the Australian Small Business Commissioner on 1300 650 460, at enquiries@asbc.gov.au or visit www.asbc.gov.au/resolving-disputes.

1. Know who you are dealing with.

Look behind the business name, check references and meet with them. Ensure the person you are dealing with has the authority to enter into and amend contracts.

2. Communicate goals and expectations.

Make sure your employees know and understand the goals and values of your business and what is expected of them. Make sure they are aware of the scope of their authority to enter into or amend contracts on your behalf.

3. Put agreed work in writing at the start.

Your agreement should outline the goods/services to be provided, any quality and quantity specifications, the price or basis for calculating charges, payment terms, timeframes, delivery terms, etc.

4. Agree dispute resolution processes.

An agreed process, included in your written agreement, will allow for disputes to be dealt with quickly and cost effectively, and you will be more likely to preserve the business relationship.

5. Get advice before you sign.

Don’t rely on what the other party says, a contract is legally binding and you should get professional advice before you sign.

We suggest asking your lawyer to colour-code the rights and responsibilities of each party.

course it is simpler and cheaper to get advice at the beginning of the agreement, rather than when something has gone wrong.

If something does go wrong, depending on the relationship between the winery and the distributor, you may be able to have an informal discussion to resolve issues, or you may need to rely on a formal review process. Duval said a clearly written review process in the distribution agreement can provide peace of mind if the relationship deteriorates.

“A lot of ‘goodwill’ goes into the establishment of a winery and distributor relationship. There are ways for both parties to support one another, and it is best to set out your expectations clearly from the beginning. Having said that, there is only so much that can actually be built into the contract, the rest has to be come from good commercial management and communication. A contract that is 50 pages long that overstates the complexity of the relationship may mean that neither party actually reads it properly and could miss important details. An concise agreement of around 10 pages, drafted in simple language should be achievable in many circumstances – and it can even be shorter.

Duval suggests that “when you first flag an interest with a distributor, ask January 2015 – Issue 612

6. Estimate the costs.

Provide a quote. If you charge for services on a time basis make sure you keep a work sheet detailing the time spent and a description of the work done.

7. Document changes.

Write down any agreed changes, such as quantity or timeframes, and attach to the original agreement. At a minimum email the agreed changes to the other party.

8. Manage the contract.

Once signed, don’t put the contract in the bottom draw and forget about it. Check it regularly to make sure you and the other party are meeting the requirements. If you have any concerns, raise them early.

9. Get help if you need it.

Some jobs are complex or involve large sums of money. Project management for these jobs can be complicated and sometimes risky. If you don’t have strong expertise in project management, consider hiring an expert.

10.Communicate early and often.

Communication must be clear, transparent and frequent to make sure everyone is on the same page. If issues arise address them straight away, don’t leave it to develop into something more serious.

them to send through their terms and conditions. If you can discuss the details from the start, the contract will be all the better for it. And talk to your accountant early on, discuss how to manage cash flow needs and payment terms as most wineries tell me, every expense feels like it comes at vintage time.”

Even if things look really bad, and you are thinking about terminating a contract, Duval recommends that you reflect on the reasons for initially entering the relationship, and what has changed. “One thing to consider is that the grass isn’t always greener and poor sales figures could actually reflect the state of the market,” he said.

But if it does come time to break up, a good contract will clearly spell out the process for terminating the agreement.

Another issue that may affect wineries engaging the services of a distributor is the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA). It is common for a wine producer to deliver their product to a retailer or provide their wine to a distributor before they receive full payment. In such circumstances, the winery usually seeks to retain title to the wine until payment is received (often referred to as a Romalpa clause).

However, since the introduction of the PPSA, there are a number of things that www.winebiz.com.au

can go wrong and result in the winery losing both the wine and the money owed to them. Under the PPSA, these “retention of title” supply arrangements need to be registered on the national Personal Property Securities Register in order to offer the winery protection. If the purchaser of the wine becomes insolvent, and the winery has not registered the retention of title on the PPS Register, they will likely lose out to secured creditors in establishing who owns the wine or proceeds of sale.

“There is a cost of registration, but it is not overly expensive. If your supply contract is carefully prepared you can register the security interest to cover a continuous supply to a particular party, or on a more basic level for individual sales,” Duval said. “Registering your interests is an easy way to have peace of mind. However, it is the winery that is responsible to register and have the admin processes in place. It can be easily done, but does need to be prioritised.

These can be areas that cause wineries headaches, especially small producers where lots of different tasks fall to just one or two people involved. But with a little bit of homework, and perhaps the right piece of advice, you can work towards better outcomes and improved trading relationships.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

83

business & technology BROUGHT TO YOU BY

WHERE TO START: Draw out a good plan. Pic from Wavebreak Media Ltd, 123RF.COM (2)

Emilie Reynolds reports

How to: write a stand-out job description THERE has been an article circulating the internet recently, which discussed the influx of ridiculous and over-complicated job titles. A lifeguard position had been advertised as a ‘wet leisure attendant’, while a vacant spot in a local school canteen called out for an ‘education centre nourishment consultant’.

There had even been a case last year where Naked Wines advertised for the position of ‘customer happiness manager’, exactly what role had the company been filling? Well, it’s all right there in the title.

While it could be easy for employers to embellish job titles to make them sound more appealing and exciting, Jane McNeill, director of Hays in New South Wales, believed a simple approach would be best.

“The job title needs to be written in a way that would attract the interest of candidates in a language that is honest and easy to understand,” she said.

In short, practice saying the proposed title to yourself a few times. If you aren’t clear what it means one you’ve heard it, perhaps it’s time to reign in the creative license.

TAKE TIME TO PREPARE Researching the job would allow an employer to advertise for the position, not an individual in the position.

“To write a good job description you need to sit down with the hiring manager and firstly establish what duties and responsibilities are involved in the job,” McNeill said. “You should describe both the duties or tasks, as well as the expected outcome or result that the incumbent is required to produce.”

Any training and development offered by the company should be also be assessed by employers and highlighted in the description.

“Candidates should be aware of career development opportunities and pathways that could be open to them,” said McNeill.

BEGIN WITH A DETAILED SUMMARY McNeill said it was important to be detailed and include every task, no matter how small.

“Do not be tempted to gloss over tasks for fear that they may appear menial; it is important that the job description

84 Grapegrower & Winemaker

accurately reflects the reality of the job you are recruiting for and what tasks you need the incumbent to perform,” she said.

“Often job descriptions will include 30 or more tasks, some also include an indication of how much time should be dedicated to each aspect of the role or task.”

Would heavy-lifting be involved? Would they need to operate machinery or attend after hours events? Filling the profile with detail could make it more appealing to potential applicants and Nick Slape, Yalumba People Department manager, said the more interest in the role, the better. “It’s about reaching a wider potential market,” he said. “If someone responds to the advertisement, it gives us an opportunity to engage with that person and expose our brand and style to them.”

LIST THE KSA’S Better known as knowledge, skills and abilities, this section should make up the bulk of your job description. KSA’s give potential applicants an idea of the level of experience, training and education you’re looking for.

McNeill said the more facts, clarity and context you could provide in the job description, the better.

“List the skills and competencies the incumbent must possess in order to successfully do the job and go into more detail about the position where appropriate,” she said.

Would the position require a university degree? Six years on-the-job experience? Fluency in French? Write the KSA’s carefully and truthfully to avoid disappointment on either side.

BE HONEST Employers should be open about the position on offer to ensure potential applicants feel confident enough to apply.

McNeill said employers should include information about the organisations culture so candidates could consider whether they were a ‘cultural fit’ with the vacant position, and if they would suit the team and the company’s way of operating.

“If the job description will be given to interested job applicants, ensure that the content sits in line with the company’s employment brand,” she said.

“Lastly, if the salary is not included a salary range should be specified as well as an outline of any other benefits.”

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

calendar

Australia & New Zealand

looking back

January

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.

22 (JD) The South Coast Wine ShowUlladulla, NSW. www.southcoastwineshow.blogspot.com

24-25 Crush Adelaide Hills Wine & Food Festival Adelaide Hills, SA. www.crushfestival.com.au

February 2-5 (JD) Macquarie Group Sydney Royal Wine Show Sydney Olympic Park, NSW. www.sydneyroyal.com.au/wine 6-7 Mornington Peninsula International Pinot Noir Celebration Mornington Peninsula, VIC. www.mpva.com.au 7-8 Love Langhorne Creek Langhorne Creek, SA. www.langhornecreek.com 13-15 (JD) Easter Show Wine Awards Auckland, NZ. www.wineshow.co.nz 13-15 Festivale 2015 Launceston, TAS. www.festivale.com.au

14 Marlborough Wine & Food Festival Blenheim, NZ. www.wine-marlborough.co.nz 15 Declaration of Vintage Tanunda, SA. www.baronsofbarossa.com 20-22 Canberra Food & Wine Expo Canberra, ACT. www.foodandwineexpo.com.au 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

January 1985 Clare winemaker and doctor, John Wilson has now firmly declared his Polish Hill Rivery winery to be a non-smoking zone, and believes that this move is a first in Australia. From now on all maps and tourist literature that advise his times of openings for tastings, will also point out that it is a non-smoking winery; visitors will be reminded of that fact from the front gate in. Wilson says the idea of visiting a winery is to evaluate the wines with a view to making a well-considered purchase.

There are some who take it seriously; others have no idea. Included in the latter group are those who imagine that they can make their assessment with a glass in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

January 1995

International January 22-25 World Wine Meetings Barcelona Barcelona, Spain. www.wwm-barcelona.com

27-29 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium California, USA. www.unifiedsymposium.org

February 11-14 BioFach Germany 2015 NĂźrnberg, Germany. www.biofach.de 13-15 Washington DC International Wine & Food Festival, Washington, USA. www.wineandfooddc.com 14-15 Boston Wine Expo Boston, USA. www.wine-expos.com/boston 14-15 Chisinau Wines & Spirits Contest Chisinau, Moldova. www.vinmoldova.md 17-20 The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowwood Napa Valley California, USA. www.winewriterssymposium.org 18-21 ExpoVin Moldova 2015 Chisinau, Moldova. www.vinmoldova.md

19-22 RendezVino Karlsruhe 2015 Karlsruhe, Germany. www.rendezvino.info 19-21 Texas Wine & Grape Growers Association Annual Conference & Trade Show Texas, USA. www.txwines.org/conference 21-23 Golositalia&Aliment Brescia, Italy. www.golositalia.it 24-27 ENOMAQ Zaragoza, Spain. www.feriazaragoza.com 24-27 TECNOVID 2015 Zaragoza, Spain. www.feriazaragoza.com JD = judging date

For a comprehensive list of events, visit www.winebiz.com.au/calendar January 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issue 612

www.winebiz.com.au

Over two decades, only the finest grapes were selected for the production of the Roseworthy Brandy. The brandies were produced as an integral part of the wine technology teaching program at Roseworthy under the guidance of winemaker and spirit production officer, Alex Sammut. Now, the old Roseworthy Agricultural College distillery is closed and the last brandy made there was ceremoniously launched in Adelaide on December 1 as a special, limited release bottling in an elegant 500ml imported Futura bottle and specially designed label.

January 2005 Asia is the next frontier for Australian winemakers but they need to work hard and smart to achieve results in the major regions such as China, Japan and India.

Mark Bedingham, Asia, Japan and Australasia region managing director of Moet Hennessy Asia Pacific, said while Australian wineries have been successful in south-east Asia, they have missed opportunities in the rest of Asia, especially Japan. Bedingham said Australian wine accounted for just four per cent of wines imported into Japan in 2003, and was being overshadowed by French, Italian and other old world wines.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

85

FIND YOUR SUPPLIER QUICKLY WITH OUR January 2015 Advertiser List Supplier

Page

A B Mauri

66

JMA Engineering

A.I.M Sales

79

Kauri Australia

Adama Australia

Supplier

23, 24, 25, 26

Laffort Australia

Page 58 49, 51, 53, 59, 64, 70, 71 63, 65, 67

Adelaide Airsports

27

Lallemand Australia

69

AMSL Scientific

72

Ledgard

40

Australian Tank Insulation

49

Liftek

79

Australian Trade Tasting

56

Mat Donaldson Heaters

62

Bibber International

87

MEP Instruments

75

Bird Gard Australia

35

Mirco Bros

44

Braud Australia

11

Oblomov Trading Co

87

Bruce Gilbert Vine Grafting

87

Pacific Laboratory Products

76

Cambridge & Co

31

PFG Australia/Gregoire

41

Chalmers Vineyards

55

Phoenix Society of South Australia

80

CHR Hansen

74

Plastic Precise Parts

31

Della Toffola Pacific

88

Rapidfil

Deltagen Australia

70

Rowe Scientific

73

Drummuster

19

Ryset (Aust)

33

Duplex Cleaning Machines

46

Spagnolo Engineering

15

DW Fox Tucker

82

Streamline Cartons

87

Eppendorf South Pacific

77

Syngenta Australia

2

FDPI Spares & Maintenance

50

Temperature Technology

78

Fineweld Stainless Steel

48

Victus International

68

Fischer Australis

13

Vine Industry Nursery Association

87

FMR Group

43

Vine Sight

87

Galli Estate

87

Vinewright

87

Goulburn Terrace

87

Viniquip

81

Groguard Australia

21

Vintessential Laboratories

78

Harcourts Huon Valley

9

Whitlands Engineering

42

Hydralada

39

Winequip

47

57,87

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

Winebiz Calendar

Australia’s most comprehensive list of wine industry related local and international events and courses – available online FREE! Search for conferences, trade shows, competitions, courses, festivals & Australian & international wine shows.

www.winebiz.com.au/calendar 86 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

January 2015 – Issue 612

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

BIRD NETTING

Quality Grapevines

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

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

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

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

Certified Biodynamic Grapes for sale

Chardonnay, Marsanne Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon up to 5-10 tonnes each variety Low yields, hand picked, quality fruit Nagambie Lakes GI

Vine Industry Nursery Assoc.

GALLI ESTATE WINERY

Wine Grapes For Sale – Harvest 2015 Port Phillip (Sunbury) & Central Victoria (Heathcote) Regions. Low Yielding Vineyards Varietals: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon.

Details upon request Contact Office: 03 9747 1444 e: vineyard@galliestate.com.au

www.galliestate.com.au

www.vina.net.au

VINE GRAFTING

VINEYARD REMOVAL / RE-WORKING • Providing professional services in Vineyard Removal with rates per Ha. • Tom & his team have gained a high reputation in all regions Australia Wide.

• Pulling vines is the sole business for Vine Sight.

Tom Stephens 0428 443 263

0439 963446

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

brucethegrafter@gmail.com www.brucethegrafter.com

www.vinesight.com.au

e tag

Vin

5

201

Qualified vintage staff?

Talk to us!

www.bibber.com.au January 2015 – Issue 612

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

87

Marketplace

08 8374 0077

info@bibber.com.au

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