Grapegrower & Winemaker - March 2017

MARCH 2017

TWE:

Another strong financial performance

Wine screw cap closures: The next generation

Katherine Brown: Family matters

What held

up this year’s

HARVEST?

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contents features 43

Vineyard: Post Harvest

47

Environment

71

Filtration

MARCH 2017

COVER The Shottesbrooke winery, McLaren Vale, has recently been updates to ensure it has the ability to meet market demand well into the future.

Read more from Page 60.

TWE:

Another strong financial performance

Wine screw cap closures: The next generation

Katherine Brown: Family matters

What held

up this year’s

HARVEST?

news

grapegrowing

From the editor .........................................7

What held up this year’s harvest?............27

7

27

The 2017 vintage growing season has been challenging Another shrimp on the barbie?

On the grapevine .....................................8 Movers & Shakers...................................10 Regional roundup ................................... 12

Viticulture app part of award-winning research .........................35 Slow and steady nitrogen management in the vineyard ...................36 The perfect grape supply contract ............40

TWE: Another strong financial performance .............................13

Mellor Olsson Lawyers report on the issues affecting grape supply contracts

London calling for Women in Wine.......... 15

Post-harvest grapevine management ......43

New leaders for Wine Industry Suppliers Australia .....................16 Honour for Halliday, Hancock and Horgan ..............................18

Energising Viticulture: Sam Bowman

Rounding up the nation’s waste ...............47 Better ground water management for aquifer recharge ...........48

regulars 6 What’s online 23 Australian Vignerons:

The Australian Winegrower

64 Ask the AWRI 4 Grapegrower & Winemaker

80 Winemaker of the month 81 Calendar 82 Marketplace classifieds

www.winetitles.com.au

March 2017 – Issue 638

March 2017: Issue 638 winemaking Wine screw cap closures: The next generation..............................................50 Coonawarra: Breaking new ground.........54 Truvée aims to fill the ‘white space’ .........55

Taints in wine .........................................64 It is important to understand the more common sources of taints and take steps to avoid them

66

55

Safety considerations in your wine lab this vintage ..........66

Katherine Brown: Family matters .............68

A team of women has overseen the redevelopment of Truvée

55

Shiraz style celebration ...........................58 Expansions and new partnership for Shottesbrooke ...................................60 Aussies Abroad: James Kalleske ..............62 Managing three harvests each year

Wine Law: Protecting your wine brand .... 76

62

sales & marketing New website for Canberra District wines ...........................78 Social media engagement: Villa Maria #Helptag ..............................79

PUBLISHER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE Hartley Higgins

PRODUCTION Simon Miles

GENERAL MANAGER Elizabeth Bouzoudis

CIRCULATION: Emilie Francis subs@winetitles.com.au

EDITOR Nathan Gogoll editor@grapeandwine.com.au EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Denis Gastin, Dr Steve Goodman, Dr Terry Lee, Paul van der Lee, Bob Campbell MW, Prof Dennis Taylor, Mary Retallack and Corrina Wright EDITORIAL journalist@winetitles.com.au ADVERTISING SALES Nicole Evans sales@grapeandwine.com.au

March 2017 – Issue 638

WINETITLES MEDIA ABN 85 085 551 980 630 Regency Road, Broadview, South Australia 5083 Phone: (08) 8369 9500 Fax: (08) 8369 9501 info@winetitles.com.au www.winetitles.com.au @Grape_and_Wine Printing by Lane Print Group, Adelaide © Contents copyright Winetitles Media 2014.

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5

what’s ONLINE Cork pulled on wine degree Curtin University has discontinued its role in wine education in the region, signalling the end for a Margaret Riverbased winemaking degree and leaving TAFE to run two certificate-based courses with struggling student numbers, reports The West Australian.

CellarHand statement

Who said that?

With his passion and talent for winemaking, excellent leadership skills and highly regarded professional expertise, we are certain that Nigel will build on the excellent foundations of the brand - John Casella, managing director of Casella Family Brands (Page 10)

“Some of you may have recently heard rumours concerning the conduct of one of our former employees, Lak Quach. Sadly, it’s a rumour no more. We were extremely upset, devastated in fact, to recently discover that Lak had engaged in widespread, significant and serious misconduct for the duration of his employment,” CellarHand reported on its website (cellarhand.com.au).

We’re about growing the profitability of our business in every region around the world. The strategy is not chasing case sales, but margin increases… We are not in a hurry. We are being very disciplined with luxury releases across regions and vintages. And we will see exponentially larger returns when we do it right

Treasury legal battles

- Michael Clarke, Treasury Wine Estates CEO (Page 13)

Just weeks after Treasury Wine Estates won a landmark legal battle over the Chinese name for Penfolds, it is once again under siege from a local company looking to leverage off its brand. The latest challenge comes from Ben Fu International Trade, which last week listed on the Shanghai Equity Exchange, an over-the-counter stock market, reports The Australian Financial Review.

Can you make Coonawarra sexy?

How do you make a wine region sexy?

Or does a wine region need to be ‘sexy’ in the first place? That’s a question Andrew Graham has been pondering since a recent trip to Coonawarra – the South Australian wine location which, curiously, seems as fashionable as a politician in a pair of Speedos. Graham explored this topic for his blog, Australian Wine Review (ozwinereview. com.au).

Showcasing our women in wine on such an important international stage is not only good for the advancement of gender equality, it’s good for the entire Australian wine community - Jane Thomson, The Australian Women in Wine Awards/The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society (Page 15)

Spring and early summer of this season have been a complete contrast to the previous season – the hottest on record in 15/16 and one of the coolest in 16/17 - Ian Macrae, CCW Co-operative Limited senior viticulture officer (Page 30)

Within cool climates, where there is a shorter postharvest period, growers may only need a small nutrient application directly after harvest. In warm and hot climates, if the canopy is in good condition, growers should wait to leaf fall before applying to ensure efficient uptake and less loss through leaching due to the longer irrigation period - Sam Bowman, founder of Bowman Viticulture (Page 44)

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.winetitles.com.au/dwn.

6 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Rather than trying to keep up with the hipsters, profound investigation of the past has taken place to continue refining vines and wines for the future - Sue Hodder, Wynns Coonawarra Estate (Page 54) www.winetitles.com.au

March 2017 – Issue 638

from the editor

Nathan Gogoll Editor

Another shrimp on the barbie?

IF YOU’RE READING THIS, then it doesn’t matter if you liked the Yellow Tail Super Bowl ad – or if you were scared of the robot kangaroo named ‘Roopert’.

It doesn’t matter if you were mildly amused or wildly offended by the ad.

And to be honest, the creators don’t even care if you think it sent out the wrong message about Australian wine.

Here’s the reality check. The ad was designed for a particular moment when a lot of people in America (as many as 120 million) would be watching the biggest single-day sport event in that country.

And it was promoting an affordable product that already has a track record of success in the US. So, unless you were watching the first half of Super Bowl LI (that’s 51 in Roman numerals) on a ‘local network’, then you weren’t the target audience.

For the rest of us, even though it was pre-released on YouTube, the only reason we’ve actually taken an interest was because caused a bit of a stir.

If you’re not sure what I’m writing about, you could always jump onto YouTube and search for ‘Yellow Tail Super Bowl commercial’.

Or you could let me fill you in with more details…

Casella Family Brands, which owns Yellow Tail, spent a lot of money (some reports cited $10million) on a 30-second TV ad that kicked off its new US marketing campaign. Apparently it was the first time in 40 years a wine brand had done a Super Bowl TV commercial – the game has been a stronghold of beer commercials.

Some Australians responded with embarrassment on social media.

Some digital media outlets (the likes of The New Daily, Mashable and Pedestrian – never heard of them? Ask a 17-year-old who’s holding a phone) therefore had an Aussie Super Bowl story to run… because mentioning a fun wine ad and quoting a few Twitter reactions is actually a lot easier than writing an article that explains ‘third down and five’ to Australians.

The scenes in the ad were explained as “fun and unconventional” settings for enjoying a glass of wine by the Casella marketing department. The key message was meant to be “that wine is approachable” and “meant to be enjoyed at any fun, casual occasion that’s appropriate for alcoholic beverages”.

Libby Nutt, Casella Family Brands marketing and export sales GM, said: “Research has demonstrated that more and more people continue to reach for wine during this momentous occasion.

Wine sales spike nine per cent the week leading up to Super Bowl, and last year 30 million people, or one-out-of-four viewers, enjoyed wine during the game,” Nutt said.

“The Super Bowl is a perfect time to show that wine belongs at any celebratory occasion.”

An Australian wine promotion during the Super Bowl might be a bit like promoting Aussie lamb chops for Thanksgiving. While it a bit fun and cheeky – it also challenges the convention on the day that sport = beer.

John Casella, the managing director of Casella Family Brands said: “It is a very special moment for us to see our much loved Yellow Tail wine make its debut on America’s biggest stage

alongside some of the world’s biggest brands. When creating the ad we wanted it to be true to who we are. It wasn’t about creating the next highly-produced blockbuster ad, but about being relaxed, down to earth, warm, approachable and fun. Most importantly we wanted it to feel inclusive and ‘for everyone’ – just like our wines.”

Some people have likened the Yellow Tail ad to the 1984 ‘shrimp on the barbie’ Paul Hogan ad. I can see why. While there’s 33 year’s between them, both try to capture something cheeky about being Australian. Perhaps things are changing though, because this time around some of the cringe does relate to the model in a bikini on the beach.

But the ‘cheeky Aussie’ is probably a still a good ‘hook’ for Casella to work around with the Yellow Tail brand. The marketing team has said the Super Bowl ad will be followed by a US campaign that will include in-store marketing, digital and online activations, social media and a consumer contest to win an all-expenses paid trip to Australia.

Really, in the end, it doesn’t matter what people involved in our grape and wine community think about the Yellow Tail ad. John Casella didn’t authorise the expenditure to keep any of us happy – he did it to appeal to a massive US audience that likes football. If the guy in the yellow suit, the girl in the bikini, or the robot kangaroo get remembered at all… perhaps there’s a chance the message of Aussie wine being fun might have snuck through as well.

Enjoy the read.

SEPTEMBER 6-7, 2017 THE VINE INN BAROSSA VALLEY, SA REGISTER ONLINE WWW.WEA.ORG.AU March 2017 – Issue 638

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

7

on the grapevine Wellington Wine Country a winner THE ESTABLISHMENT OF Wellington Wine Country Limited to market wine produced across the greater Wellington region is a brilliant example of regional collaboration with big benefits to all concerned, according to Chris Laidlaw, chairman of the Greater Wellington Regional Council.

“Wellington Wine Country Limited will streamline and strengthen the marketing efforts of wine producers in Gladstone, Martinborough, Masterton, and Kapiti, adding huge value to the

industry and to the region as a whole,” Laidlaw said.

“Integrated marketing will reinforce the image of Wellington region as a place where fine foods and wines stand out as part of the suite of cultural and physical attractions.”

Mr Laidlaw said it had taken something of a leap of trust for many in the Wairarapa, in particular, to recognise that people in markets abroad recognise Wellington as a regional destination.

“Wellington Wine Country Limited

will enable all winemakers in the region to collaborate more effectively under a single banner yet retain their subregional identity, just as St Emilion or St Esteph do, for instance, within the wider Bordeaux region,” he said.

“It will help foreign buyers, who easily confuse the words Marlborough and Martinborough, or who can find the word ‘Wairarapa’ a bit of a challenge to pronounce; and it will help us to market the region as a destination with many options.”

Cathy Gairn named Albury’s NSW woman of the year THE CREATOR OF TUMBAFEST, Cathy Gairn, has been named Albury’s 2017 NSW woman of the year.

Gairn, who owns Courabyra Wines, formed a committee to start major tourism event Tumbafest, fundraised through the Chamber of Commerce, instigated young achiever awards at Tumbarumba High School and is Tumbarumba Vignerons

Association’s vice president.

Tumbafest has been running as an annual festival in Tumbarumba since 1997, and has become a staple in the Tumbarumba calendar, with 2017 marking the 20th year of the event.

The nomination was announced by Greg Aplin, Albury Member of Legislative Assembly, who said the Tumbarumba

resident was “a most deserving winner”.

“Cathy Gairn has been prominent in developing the economic and educational life of Tumbarumba,” Alpin said.

“People like Mrs Gairn don’t do this work with a view to earning recognition and awards, but it is good to share their stories as an inspiration to all.”

Gairn will now head to the state finals.

Judith Kennedy awarded Australia Day honours CEO OF THE ASSOCIATION of Australian Boutique Winemakers (AABW) Judith Kennedy AM has being appointed as a Member of the General Division of the Order of Australia.

“I’ve been working 22 years. This feels really great because it is recognising my work in the industry,” Kennedy said.

“As I said many times the accolade belongs to the people who helped me on the way, I couldn’t of done it by myself.”

The citation for the honour read ‘For significant service to the winemaking industry, and to Children’s health.’

Kennedy founded the AABW in 1996 and has managed its activities ever since.

The association has had an enormous impact on the growth and success of the ‘boutique’ wine industry in Australia and more recently in New Zealand.

Her passionate approach forged the foundation of the Six Nations Wine Challenge in 2003 which enabled Australian wineries of all sizes to stand proudly against their New World peers.

From 2005 Kennedy spent six years as a non-executive director for the Oncology Children’s Foundation where she influenced the expansion of research aimed at childhood cancers.

Kennedy continues to plan for more growth for the association.

Wolf Blass sponsors AFL Women’s League WOLF BLASS HAS EXTENDED its AFL relationship as a foundation sponsor of the AFL Women’s League.

This sponsorship is an evolution of the brands ongoing relationship with the AFL which started in 2015 with Wolf Blass named Official Wine Partner.

“Over the years, our partnership with the AFL has evolved and we envisage that the same evolution will occur between Wolf Blass and AFLW. We are thrilled to be amongst the foundation partners of this exciting, new chapter in sport,” said Angus Lilley, Marketing Director for Wolf Blass.

“Wolf Blass is pleased to be continuing a tradition of involvement with the AFL and we are really proud to be a part of

8 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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this exciting new era of football.”

In addition to the sponsorship, Wolf Blass has signed on Adelaide Crows recruit Abbey Holmes as an ambassador for their upcoming ‘Chase the Finals’ campaign which will send six lucky people attend the four qualifying finals, two semi finals, two preliminary finals and, of course, the holy grail – the 2017 AFL grand final.

“Our brand campaign ‘Here’s to the chase’ celebrates those who boldly back themselves on their pursuit of triumph.

The synergies between AFL and the ‘chase’ is evident throughout the game, from first time players to the teams’ quest to achieve the ultimate goal – a premiership flag,” Lilley said.

March 2017 – Issue 638

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movers & shakers Nigel Westblade joins Peter Lehmann as chief winemaker

CASELLA FAMILY BRANDS has announced the appointment of Nigel Westblade as Peter Lehmann Wines chief winemaker.

Commencing in mid-February 2017, Nigel assumed responsibility for all aspects of wine production across the Peter Lehmann portfolio.

“It is a great honour and privilege to be taking over the reins at Peter Lehmann. I’m looking forward to joining the 2017 vintage and continuing the high quality of wines that the brand is known and admired for,” Westblade said.

“Peter Lehmann’s long-standing relationships with some of South Australia’s most renowned growers means we have access to an outstanding supply of vineyard resources which is every winemaker’s dream. In addition, my family and I are very much looking forward to joining the Barossa community.”

Since graduating from the University of Adelaide with a Graduate Diploma in Oenology, Westblade has garnered exceptional winemaking experience, beginning his career

at Cape Jaffa Wines in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. Four years later, he moved to E. & J. Gallo Winery as a research winemaker where he gained valuable experience in making a breadth of wine styles for specific research projects.

In 2008 he joined Casella Family Brands as a vintage winemaker, while also acting as consultant head winemaker for Weilong Grape Wine Company in China.

To ensure a seamless transition Casella Family Brands is delighted to confirm Peter Scholz will continue as Winemaking Consultant. For Scholz, the 2017 vintage will be his 37th at Peter Lehmann Wines and his Barossa winemaking experience is second to none; dating back to his days with Saltram when he worked with Peter Lehmann himself.

With infinite knowledge across the length and breadth of the Barossa, Scholz will mentor the team to ensure the pedigree of winemaking at Peter Lehmann Wines continues well into the future.

“We are confident that Nigel’s appointment will be a consistent evolution for the Peter Lehmann winery. With his passion and talent for winemaking, excellent leadership skills and highly regarded professional expertise, we are certain that Nigel will build on the excellent foundations of the brand,” said John Casella, managing director of Casella Family Brands.

“I know Nigel is honoured to continue Peter Lehmann’s legacy and we look forward to seeing the team drive the brand forward under his leadership.”

In other news at the winery, Tim Dolan has been promoted to senior winemaker.

Dolan began working with Peter Lehmann in 2011 in a contract position under then chief winemaker Andrew Wigan and became a full-time member of the team in vintage 2013.

Tim’s family connection to Peter Lehmann dates back even further as his grandfather Bryan was the General Manager/ Winemaker of Saltram until 1959, when he employed a promising young winemaker called Peter Lehmann to take over his position.

“Tim has proven himself to be a talented and highly competent winemaker brimming with passion and ideas. We look forward to seeing him flourish in his new role,” said Casella.

Australian Sommeliers en route for wine trip of a lifetime FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS of the inaugural Sommit Scholarship, New Zealand Winegrowers hosted 10 of Australia’s top sommeliers across the ditch for a fortnight recently.

Joined by 20 of their peers from around the world, the Australian scholars were divided across two intensive wine itineraries between January 24 and February 9.

Each itinerary included a one-and-a-half day “Sommit” hosted by New Zealand based Master Sommelier Cameron Douglas and Master of Wine Stephen Wong, targeted exclusively at the interests of sommeliers, and include a deep dive into the little-known, unique aspects of New Zealand wine.

One Sommit was held on Waiheke Island, known as the ‘Island of wine’, situated in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.

Attendees then travel to the ‘aromatics symposium’ in Nelson, before crossing the Cook Strait to Pinot Noir NZ 2017 in Wellington.

Described as “the best Pinot Noir event on the planet”, the sold out Pinot2017 showcased top New Zealand Pinot Noir, and attracted some of the world’s greatest minds and palates,

10 Grapegrower & Winemaker

including Jancis Robinson, Ken Ohashi and Maynard James Keenan.

Following Pinot2017, the second Sommit took place in Wairarapa, and was preceded by a ‘classic reds symposium’ held in Hawke’s Bay, featuring Syrah, Cabernet and Merlot.

The symposium included a full day ‘classic reds masterclass’, showcasing the best examples of these varieties, following specific themes.

“We are delighted to once again welcome such an influential group of Australian sommeliers to the many and varied New Zealand wine regions this month,” said Natalie Corkery, New Zealand Winegrowers Australia Manager.

“Australia is our most mature export market and is ready to further explore the continuing evolution of New Zealand wine.

“Through immersing themselves in our local industry and gaining greater understanding of the premium wines we have to offer, Sommit scholars will be in the best position to transmit this knowledge and passion to their own restaurant customers on their return.”

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March 2017 – Issue 638

Yealands Wine Group appoints new CEO ADRIAN GARFORTH has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of the Yealands Wine Group.

Peter Yealands, founder of the company, said that after a comprehensive international recruitment process, he was delighted to announce Garforth as the incoming CEO replacing Jason Judkins, who had led the company for the previous nine years.

“It was always going to be a challenge replacing someone of Jason’s calibre, however Adrian brings with him a wealth of international business development experience in addition to his globally recognised wine qualifications,” Yealands said.

Garforth has previously worked with Yealands in Europe on a consultancy basis, in addition to working in global wine importation and distribution, consulting to UK restaurants and

developing wine education programmes.

In 1993 he was admitted to the Master of Wine Institute, an accolade held by 354 people globally today. He is currently vice chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine, and will become chairman in 2018.

“I am delighted to be working alongside Peter and his team – the scale of their achievements in their short existence is extremely impressive and their philosophy of producing world class wines sustainably is clearly gaining cut through in the market. I am looking forward to the challenge of expanding the distribution network further,” Garforth said.

He will be based in the Yealands Auckland commercial office, but spend a large portion of his time internationally and across the company’s Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough wineries.

WSET Honours Australian Graduates and Award Winners MORE THAN 500 of the most influential wine and spirits professionals in the world gathered in late January at the historic Guildhall, City of London, to celebrate the annual Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Awards where 21 graduates from Australia were announced as achieving the coveted WSET Diploma.

Two Australian WSET candidates were also honoured with notable awards. Caitlin Parker, sommelier at Rockpool Bar and Grill in Sydney, has been awarded The Laithwaite’s Scholarship, and Ed Merrison from Shoreham, Victoria, was awarded the Fine Wine Partners Scholarship.

Australians made up 21 of the year’s 460 WSET Diploma

graduates and their achievements were celebrated as some of only 9,000 people in the world to have ever held the accolade.

The event also gave a stage to announce the appointment of WSET’s new Honorary President, Steven Spurrier, who will take over from Gérard Basset after three years in the role following the close of the ceremony.

Ian Harris, WSET Chief Executive, said: “The academic year 2015/16 was WSET’s most successful to date, with a record 72,171 exams taken globally, an increase of 17% on the previous year, marking 14 consecutive years of growth. Australia in particular saw strong growth, with candidate numbers up 18% for the period.” ”

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SEPTEMBER 6-7, 2017 THE VINE INN BAROSSA VALLEY, SA

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March 2017 – Issue 638

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

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REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Regional Roundup: Queensland South Burnett is looking to expand Queensland’s presence in Asia INFLUENTIAL HONK KONG wine critic Nelson Sui visited the South Burnett wine region as part of a push to bring the regions wines into Asian markets.

The South Burnett Wine Industry Association (SBWIA) funded the tour with support from Trade and Investment Queensland.

Nelson Sui is the editor-in-chief and CEO of Wine-Luxe, a monthly wine and luxury magazine based in Honk Kong.

Sui spent five nights in the region visiting wineries such as Moffatdale Ridge Wines, Crane Wines, Kingsley Grove Estate and Clovely Estate; staying half a day in each.

Sui was overwhelmed by the wines he tasted, while being diplomatic about his favourites he said the regions Bordello was the best in the world.

SBWIA president Jason Kinsella said he couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome from the tour.

“Hong Kong is a sophisticated wine market, different to china with reds, they are looking for something different,” Kinsella said.

“There’s lots of Shiraz, Chardonnay and Cabernet, but the varieties here are perfect for seafood. Refreshing to drink in a warm climate and Italian varieties good for restaurants.”

Kinsella was offered the opportunity to host Sui while he was in Hong Kong looking for export opportunities.

While speaking to Queensland Trade and Investment about promoting produce into the market the fact that there was no Queensland wine was brought up and the chance for the visit offered.

SBWIA put together an itinerary and

will now be working to capitalise on the exposure, believing South Burnett and Queensland are in a perfect position to capture those markets.

“Our wines suit the warmer climate, that’s part of the reason we were there.

Out wines are suitable for those regions,” he said.

Located geographically in a good spot and now there are direct flights into Hong Kong from the new airport. If we get a call from a restaurant the order can be there within a few days.

Sui will champion the region in his magazine and will make some personal introductions from wineries begin to export into the region this year.

“We want to bring focus to the region that we can all work hard to build on.

I’m a big believer in a rising tide lifts all boats.”

Guarding the industry’s future from the Granite Belt

Caption: Young vines in the ‘vineyard for the future’ at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism, Stanthorpe.

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GRANITE BELT’S VINEYARD for the Future has planted another 34 different varieties and is now just 15 short of the target of 90.

The new additions were put in last December at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism (QCWT) by a group of wine professionals from Sancerre Estate, Jester Hill, Savina Lane, Symphony Hill, Summit Estate and Bent Road Wines, along with volunteers Peter, Sam and Darcy Orr and Jayden Imms.

One of the key outcomes of the project is to trail varieties that might suit Queensland’s unique conditions now and into the future.

“Queensland is so very different from other regions, with summer dominated rainfall a complete roundabout from the south with winter dominant rainfall,” said Peter O’Reilly, QCWT chief executive officer. “Thick-skinned varieties do well, we have Georgian and a number of Italian varieties. Montepulciano is interesting – the French make it into sweet wine, a very nice dry white; thick skin, small berries and a loose bunch.”

Many of the varieties are yet to be propagated to larger trials, to see how they will perform, but the program has the potential to guide the state’s wine industry into the future, with special attention being paid to finding varieties which will offer alternatives in changing climates.

“There are so many we haven’t trialled, www.winetitles.com.au

I’m excited to give them a run to see what works best,” O’Reilly said.

“If we go places now we think we will mirror in 15 years we can get ahead of that climate change curve. If it works we can get ahead of that curve.”

In conjunction with the University of Southern Queensland, plantings could be rolled out across more schools in the state, potentially introducing alternative varieties to future industry leaders. O'Reilly also hopes the stockpile of varieties can act as insurance for the broader industry.

“Where you have disease outbreak, like happened with phylloxera in France.

If something happens there are no nurseries,” he said. “It’s a very remote idea that could happen. But if it does we have isolated varieties and it could save our bacon.”

The project is backed by Wine Australia and aimed solidly towards the future, offering a very slow return on investment.

“It’s not going to be one or two varieties, but 10 or 12 trialled on different rootstocks to get what’s best. The vines are still young and we are going to propagate shortly,” O’Reilly said. “I’m very keen to get into the CSIRO rootstocks and trial those varieties. We want to say these combinations really work well. But what’s critical is wines got to taste good, you can have bulletproof vines but if no one want to drink it.”

March 2017 – Issue 638

Another strong financial performance TREASURY WINE ESTATES announced its interim 2017 financial result in February, with a reported net profit after tax more than double the same period 12 months ago – at more than $136million.

Positive numbers flowed throughout the official announcement and the company’s senior management team was upbeat throughout the investor briefing, with Michael Clarke, Treasury CEO, declaring: “It’s another strong financial performance”.

“I am delighted to report a strong interim 2017 financial result highlighted by further margin accretion, excellent cash conversion and outstanding EPS growth, despite the higher share base. All regions delivered double digit EBITS growth and importantly, growth was delivered sustainably,” Clarke said.

(EBIT = earnings before interest and taxes) Clarke re-stated the position the company is “not about chasing volume”.

“We’re about growing the profitability of our business in every region around the world,” the CEO said. “The strategy is not chasing case sales, but margin increases.

“We could sell a lot more in the current financial year period, if we wanted to. The benefit to the company is not to chase volume and allocate stock across all regions.

“We are not in a hurry. We are being very disciplined with luxury releases across regions and vintages. And we will see exponentially larger returns when we do it right.”

Clarke said Treasury was the number one wine imported into China, “without chasing volume” he stressed, and was hovering around number seven or eight on the Japan wine import rankings.

“You know we don’t want to be announcing we’re still at number eight next year.”

The CEO stressed the strengths of the company remained access to quality winegrapes; quality people; and quality wine.

“We have for many years had great quality wine – it’s our number one strength going forward,” Clarke said. “It starts with great-quality juice… and that’s why we are focussed on getting 4407GGW 2017-02-17T09:42:21+11:00 access to great quality fruit.”

We have for many years had great quality wine – it’s our number one strength going forward. It starts with great-quality juice… and that’s why we are focussed on getting access to great quality fruit.

– Michael Clarke Treasury CEO

“There are two things I always focus on – retention of good people and access to good fruit.”

The CEO said the 2017 Australian harvest was “looking very good, fingers crossed”.

“Our current inventory and non-current inventory is growing – which gives an indication to future sales. We are accumulating more inventory… on which we can achieve higher margins.

“We have a good balance from the Australian 2016 vintage and the US 2016 vintage.

Having focussed on quality supply and supply chain savings since he arrived, Clarke appears to now have advertising and promotion as a priority.

“We are driving consumer conversion through a number of different touch points, from bus stops to magazines, digital and in-store,” he said.

“When we convince consumers to pick up our brand that also convinces our distributors and retail partners to have consumer demand for the product – that’s how we deliver pull-through.

The second benefit for distributors and retailers is improved cash conversion and margin.”

However, further cost savings are still on the agenda.

According to Clarke, a further $100million in supply chain savings will be achieved well before the company’s target date of FY20.

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March 2017 – Issue 638

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

13

news “Most savings come early on… and we will beat those numbers.”

In the US division of the business, Clarke said the strategy was moving from “fixing into growth”.

“I have already been spending a lot of time in the US,” Clarke said. “We have been fixing the portfolio. I feel good about what we’re doing in America and there is more to come The acquisition of the Diageo Wine business on 1 January 2016 has already delivered positive upside to Treasury, despite the significant investment in re-setting the brands as well as addressing unsustainable volume and customer contracts in F16.

“As stated at the time of acquisition, the rationale for acquiring Diageo Wine was to secure increased access to luxury and masstige fruit which would in turn, deliver immediate portfolio mix benefits to Treasury’s US business.”

It seems the most challenging region for the company is the UK/Europe.

“We have challenges, or headwinds, our focus is to manage those,” Clarke said. “We’ve steadily moved luxury and masstige out of Europe to other markets where we can achieve better margins.”

High expectations for the company’s future performance have been boosted by positivity in northern Asia, which has allowed for more strategic portfolio planning and stock allocation.

“We don’t just look six months out, or one year out – we’ve mapped out five years. We know in advance what our margins will look like,” Clarke said. “We’ve got other things we’re busy working on and we’ll be announcing. We’ve mapped things out and we’ve broadened our portfolios.

“We are not going to have a declining business in Australia, its growth with a broadened, higher-profit margin portfolio.”

In the US the focus is also on enhanced margins, by changing the portfolio to have a greater premium focus.

“We have taken out the low-margin, commercial wine; optimised our cost of goods; and walked away from trade spend that chases volume,” Clarke said.

“We are rolling up our sleeves and you can see the results in our profit and loss statement.”

THE NUMBERS Earnings Before Interest, Tax, SGARA and material items (EBITS) of $226.8m, up 58.8% on a reported currency basis.

The company also delivered “outstanding EBITS margin accretion” (accretion = increased earnings on transactions), up 4.3ppts to 17.5% in the first half of the 2017 financial year and up 2.5ppts relative to Treasury’s 2916 financial year EBITS margin of 15.0%, which included six months of the Diageo Wine contribution.

The board declared an interim dividend of 13.0 cents per share; representing a five cent per share increase (+63%) and a 64% payout ratio.

The Australia and New Zealand division of the company reported 13.2% EBITS growth to $53.1m and an EBITS margin of 16.4%, driven by above-category volume growth in Australia (despite reallocating Luxury Australian wine to Asia), outstanding marketing and in-store activation, strengthened customer partnerships and a low cost culture.

Europe reported 34.3% EBITS growth to $23.1m and an EBITS margin of 12.3%, driven by strong customer partnerships, focused brand building investment on core Commercial brand tiers and the acquisition of Diageo Wine.

Asia reported 75.6% EBITS growth to $79.0m and an EBITS margin of 36.2%. Reflecting continued investment in TWE’s business models, customer partnerships and brand portfolio, volume increased strongly and price increases across key

14 Grapegrower & Winemaker

brands delivered positive NSR per case growth.

Americas reported 75.4% EBITS growth to $90.7m and an EBITS margin of 16.0% reflecting the acquisition of Diageo Wine and portfolio premiumisation. During the period, Treasury front-ended a 30% increase in advertising and promotion per case to re-set and refresh its US brand portfolio to position it for growth in both the US and in Asia in the second half of the 2017 financial year. Also included in the first half of the financial year EBITS was a net, one-off $5m benefit, principally reflecting profit on asset sales.

Treasury’s ‘supply chain optimisation’ has delivered cost of goods sold (COGS) savings of $15million in the first half of the 2017 financial year, bringing the total cumulative savings to $56million, driven by realisation of cost reductions and benefits from production asset optimisation. This was partially offset by higher vintage costs from the 2014 and 2015 vintages in Australia and the 2015 vintage in the US. Having commenced a number of supply chain integration initiatives, Treasury is well positioned to deliver run-rate, cash synergies of US$35m by the 2020 financial year.

Treasury targets financial metrics that are consistent with an investment grade credit profile. Treasury balance sheet continues to provide the company with the flexibility to pursue value accretive opportunities for shareholders, with net debt / EBITDAS (adjusted for operating leases) of 1.5x and interest cover of 16.0x.

Continued strong cash conversion of 104% in the first half of the 2017 financial year was driven by TWE’s strong operating performance across all regions and favourable movements in working capital.

FUTURE OUTLOOK The outlook for Treasury remains positive according to Clarke, and the company intends to continue to deliver on its strategy of transitioning from an agricultural to a brand-led, high performance organisation.

Subject to significant fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, Treasury expects the second half of the financial year to be broadly in line with earnings before interest and taxes in the first half.

Beyond the 2017 financial year, Treasury is on track to deliver total, run-rate cash synergies recognised from the acquisition of Diageo Wine of US$35m by the 2020 financial year as well as at least $100m of run-rate COGS savings by F20 driven by the Company’s Supply Chain Optimisation initiative.

Furthermore, Treasury is also on track to deliver a highteens EBITS margin by F18 and at the same time, deliver enhanced value to shareholders via improved Return On Capital Employed.

Michael Clarke commented on Treasury’s future prospects: “Today’s result announcement demonstrates that we are executing on all the initiatives we have communicated to the market and importantly, that TWE is continuing to deliver sustainable value to its shareholders”.

STAFF NEWS In addition to Treasury’s interim 2017 result, Treasury also advised today the appointment of Gunther Burghardt, as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), based in Napa. In addition, Matt Young, Treasury’s current Financial Controller has been promoted to Deputy CFO, based in Southbank.

Michael Clarke will be co-locating between Australia and the US over the next 12 months. On Clarke’s co-location, Treasury’s chairman, Paul Rayner commented: “With a global and highly collaborative management team, I am pleased our chief executive officer is able to spend more time in the US; one of TWE’s regions with the most potential.”

www.winetitles.com.au

March 2017 – Issue 638

London calling for Women in Wine THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN IN WINE AWARDS will partner with Wine Australia to take the 2017 awards to a new ‘Women in Wine’ event set to be held in London in September.

The advisory board of the Australian Women in Wine Awards (AWIWA) has confirmed the partnership will result in an exciting new direction for the awards this year.

A tasting event at Australia House London will take place on Tuesday 26 September to demonstrate the quality and diversity of Australian wines made by female winemakers and wine brands owned by women.

As part of the tasting the announcement of the winners of the 2017 Australian Women in Wine Awards will take place – the first time these awards will have been announced outside Australia. Jane Thomson, founder of the awards, will fly to London to announce the winners and will host this part of the event.

“This is an exciting development for the Australian Women in Wine Awards,” Thomson said. “Showcasing our women in wine on such an important

international stage is not only good for the advancement of gender equality, it’s good for the entire Australian wine community.”

The Australian Women in Wine Awards – which are owned and operated

by The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society – works to celebrate and reward the work of women in the Australian wine community, and community leaders who champion equality and fairness for all sexes in the workplace. Previous winners include Prue Henschke (Viticulturist of the Year, 2016), Rose Kentish, Ulithorne (Winemaker of the Year, 2015) and Iain Riggs, Brokenwood (Workplace Champion of Change, 2016).

The Australian Women in Wine London event will include: • The announcement of the 2017 Australian Women in Wine award winners; • A trade tasting of wineries with female winemakers or owner/operators; and • An evening consumer networking event.

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The tasting will be held at Australia House, in central London, and will aim to draw more than 250 attendees from across the wine trade and media.

Any winery with a female winemaker or owner/operator is invited to be a part of this event. However, it is a requirement that to be included in the event the female winemaker or owner/operator must attend the event to pour their wines.

In good news for marketing budgets, Wine Australia will cover all the costs of the tasting. Attendees simply need to pay to make their own way to London.

This announcement also means that the key dates for the Australian Women in Wine Awards will be changing this year. A further announcement about when entries will open and close for 2017 will be made soon.

To be part of this event please email Emma Symington (emma.symington@ wineaustralia.com) with the following: • The winery/brand name; • The name of the female winemaker or owner/operator attending; and • The number of wines (up to seven).

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March 2017 – Issue 638

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

15

news

New leaders for Wine Industry Suppliers Australia The landscape is changing and we are keen to play an integral role in ensuring the industry can exploit all and any opportunities to improve the capability and competitiveness of Australian grape and wine producers.

THE PEAK BODY representing the grape and wine supply chain, Wine Industry Suppliers Australia Inc. (WISA), has appointed a new chair and vice chair – with two women stepping up into the leadership roles.

Paula Edwards, from Winegrapes Australia Pty Ltd, was voted in as the chair at the February board meeting. Edwards has stepped up from her role as vice chair and replaces David Evans who reluctantly resigned from the board at the end of January.

Kate Bickford, from DW Fox Tucker Lawyers, was endorsed as the new vice chair.

With more than 20 years’ experience in the grape and wine community, Edwards has plenty of industry knowledge to draw upon when strategically guiding WISA. “Set against a backdrop of bubbling optimism across the Australian Wine Community, WISA and its members are committed more than ever to pursuing a collaborative approach across the value chain,” Edwards said.

“The landscape is changing and we are keen to play an integral role in ensuring the industry can exploit all and any opportunities to improve the capability and competitiveness of Australian grape and wine producers.”

Matthew Moate, WISA executive officer, said the mix of commercial and professional experience from Edwards and Bickford, coupled with their industry knowledge, would serve WISA extremely well.

“Having worked with both Paula and Kate on the board over the past 12 months they have demonstrated strong strategic and leadership skills that will serve them well in their respective important new roles,” Moate said.

“It will be a privilege to continue to learn from them as we head into what I expect will be a significant growth phase for the association as we focus on increasing our capabilities in supporting not only our members but the wider industry.”

Evans, while only occupying the role for about 12 months, played a pivotal role in lifting the relevance of WISA as the peak national body representing the suppliers across the Australian grape and wine value chain. Evans reluctantly resigned after a change of employment meant he was no longer working for a member company of WISA. Moate said Evans had the ability and commitment to reach across industry in a collaborative style, which strengthened WISA’s relationships, relevance and standing across the Australian grape and wine community.

“David’s strong collaborative and engagement focus has set WISA on a positive trajectory to add even greater value to industry in the future and we wish him well with his new endeavours,” Moate said.

Penalty rate decision

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WINE INDUSTRY NEWS? Get your daily fix with Subscribe at www.winetitles.com.au/dtn 16 Grapegrower & Winemaker

THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN WINE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION (SAWIA) has reported there will be “no immediate operational impact” for the grape and wine community from the recent Fair Work Commission decision on weekend penalty rates in the hospitality and retail industries.

The decision handed down by the Fair Work Commission has no application for employers and employees covered by the Wine Industry Award 2010. The decision relates only to employees and employers covered by the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2010, Restaurant Industry Award 2010, Fast Food Industry Award 2010, Registered and Licenced Clubs Award 2010, General Retail Industry Award 2010 and the Pharmacy Industry Award 2010.

Meanwhile, SAWIA is working on a more detailed update for its members about the decision and its implications for the wine industry.

However, SAWIA has lodged a separate claim for a reduced penalty rate in the Wine Industry Award 2010, and this matter is yet to be heard. The Fair Work Commission decision will need to be examined and evaluated to determine its relevance to the wine industry claim but if there are grounds for change, this will depend on the willingness of wine industry employers to raise and present direct and relevant witness evidence.

www.winetitles.com.au

March 2017 – Issue 638

Apply for a Wine Australia travel bursary WINE AUSTRALIA is inviting the Australian grape and wine community to apply for a travel and visiting scholar bursary by Friday 7 April.

Applications are accepted for travel that commences between 1 July and 31 December 2017 and bursaries can fund travel, study tours or conferences to develop your professional knowledge and network with the international research community.

Opportunities are also available to bring international experts to Australia to participate in workshops, meetings, conferences, symposia or research projects through Wine Australia’s visiting scholar bursaries.

Liz Waters, Wine Australia’s Research, Development and Extension general manager, said the bursaries provide a professional development opportunity and also encourage recipients to share the knowledge they gain with others in the grape and wine community.

“Participating in professional education programs and learning from others in the international research

March 2017 – Issue 638

community is an important way to supplement existing research and develop the knowledge and skills of our sector,” Waters said.

“We see it as an equally important part of the experience that information gleaned by successful applicants is shared with the rest of our grape and wine community so that everyone can benefit from the latest wine sector R&D from across the world.

“Successful applicants for bursaries will be those who can highlight the opportunity for their own professional development, anticipated benefits for the sector and how the information will be widely disseminated.”

Each year, Wine Australia invests in travel bursaries and in visiting scholar bursaries with applications open every six months.

The application process gives preference to those who are currently making, or who are potentially able to make, a significant contribution to research and the travel must relate to their research interest and expertise.

www.winetitles.com.au

Successful applicants for bursaries will be those who can highlight the opportunity for their own professional development, anticipated benefits for the sector and how the information will be widely disseminated.

Applicants are advised to consult the Australian Grape and Wine Authority Strategic Plan 2015–2020 and the guidelines for both the travel and scholar bursaries when developing their applications, which are available on the Wine Australia website – www. wineaustralia.com.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

17

news

James Halliday, Chris Hancock and Denis Horgan have been presented with ‘life membership of the Australian wine industry’.

Honour for Halliday, Hancock and Horgan THE OU T S TA N DI N G ACHIEVEMENTS of three ‘greats’ of the Australian wine industry have been honoured at a special awards presentation held by the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) in Adelaide late in February.

James Halliday AM, Chris Hancock MW and Denis Horgan AM were named Life Members of the Australian Wine Industry.

Each of the recipients is a household name and their efforts in the nation’s vineyards, wineries, boardrooms and gracing the pages of the most discerning wine publications, have played a key role in creating a vibrant modern industry and brought Australian wines to the attention of consumers around the world.

“This coveted Life Member Award recognises outstanding leadership and contribution to the nation’s wine industry over and above an individual’s career

18 Grapegrower & Winemaker

achievements,” said WFA President Sandy Clark.

“Chris, Denis and James are worthy winners and take their place among other greats including Wolf Blass, d’Arry Osborn, Philip Laffer, John May, Terry Lee, Peter Barnes, Peter Wall and Bill Chambers. The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia is proud to administer this award”, he said.

Halliday, a wine writer and critic, winemaker, and senior wine judge, has written and co-authored more than 40 books on wine. He co-founded Brokenwood in the Hunter Valley in 1970; and founded Coldstream Hills in the Yarra Valley in 1985.

Hancock, Robert Oatley Vineyards chairman, is the only living Honorary Master of Wine. He has worked for the Oatley family for more 30 years, playing an integral role in shaping both their wine styles and worldwide success. www.winetitles.com.au

Hancock has been involved in Australian Wine industry affairs since 1978 with particular emphasis on regulatory and compliance matters. He also served for nine years as a Board member of the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (now the Australian Grape and Wine Authority).

Horgan, founder/owner of Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River, has chaired the Margaret River Wine Products Association and was a long serving member of the Board of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia. Both Denis and his wife Tricia have been awarded Members of the Order of Australia for their contribution to the Australian Wine Industry, as well as life membership of the Margaret River Tourism Association and the Margaret River Wine Industry Association.

March 2017 – Issue 638

Winetitles Media to launch wine industry journals App and digital editions AUSTRALIA’S MAJOR wine industry publisher Winetitles Media has partnered with PressReader, a world leading digital magazine and newspaper content distributor, and will soon launch complete digital editions of the Australian and New Zealand Grapegrower and Winemaker and Wine and Viticulture Journal.

Registered readers will receive email alerts every time a new edition comes out which ensures they never miss a thing.

This new service will enable grapegrowers and winemakers to access the journals in a format they are familiar with – via smartphone, tablet or desktop device.

Once downloaded, the publications can be read anywhere and anytime – even if the reader is offline.

Nathan Gogoll, Grapegrower and Winemaker editor, said readers were increasingly looking for more options for accessing wine industry news and technical information. The early signals of business positivity across the grape and wine community has recently seen an increase in Winetitles Media print subscriptions, and the digital content availability will be an additional bonus for subscribers.

“Registered readers will receive email alerts every time a new edition comes out which ensures they never miss a thing,” Gogoll said.

“The digital editions are fully integrated with social media which enables readers to quickly and easily share content through popular social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

“We look forward to this feature providing us with even more feedback from across the grape and wine community.”

Elizabeth Bouzoudis, Winetitles Media general manager, said both journals had been available online in PDF formats for many years, however, the PressReader digital option offered additional benefits, including a choice of lower-cost annual subscription for those who preferred access to digital versions, as well as ease of purchase of single editions.

“A key benefit for advertisers and readers is that content, including advertisements, will have hyperlink options, which will enable readers to get further information and complete transactions directly from the publications,” Bouzoudis said “It will be extremely valuable for our advertisers – as digital readers will be able to click-through from the advertisement on their device straight to the website they are interested in.

“Accessibility will also increase with audio and translation options to be made available for all articles. These features are in line with current media trends of making content available in as many formats as possible to cater to a very busy but information driven audience”.

Bouzoudis said other Winetitles Media publications will be offered via PressReader, including the 2017 Wine Industry Directory - Buyers Guide which is set to be released for free.

March 2017 – Issue 638

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Save the date: ASVO Mildura Seminar THE AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF VITICULTURE AND OENOLOGY (ASVO) is proud to announce that it will bring together the leaders in data, science, technology and engineering at its annual seminar in Mildura in August. The global technological landscape is changing and the wine industry is responding. Local and international guest speakers will explore the present and emerging opportunities for the wine industry in an engaging and interactive format.

“We’ll be looking at ways to differentiate between competing technologies and examine the practical realities of return on investment as well as debating broader questions about barriers to adoption,” said Brett McClen, ASVO director and Brown Brothers Milawa chief viticulturist.

The seminar program will be headlined by Dr Mike Briers AO, Knowledge Economy Institute CEO; and Dr Maria Paz Diago, of the Institute of Grapevine and Wine Sciences (ICVV) Universidad de La Rioja, Spain. Briers was named in the Knowledge Nation 100 as Australia’s chief evangelist for big

data and the internet of things (IoT) and brings his vision to empower Australia’s food industry to grow its comparative advantage through digital transformation. Diago’s research is focused on the application of new technologies to the vineyard and she will share her insights into digital measurement of yield, canopy porosity, fruit composition and soil mapping and monitoring.

“The Australian wine industry has benefited immeasurably from innovation and technology. The ASVO is tapping into some of the newest local and international research to ensure the ideas and techniques reach the best and brightest thinkers of the wine industry – those who will lead us into the future,” said Mardi Longbottom, ASVO president.

The ASVO seminar will be held across August 2–3 at the Mildura Arts Centre.

Seminar attendees are also invited to join the presenters, ASVO directors and ASVO members for a shared dinner on the evening of August 2.

WineEng 2017: Mark September 6-7 in the calendar THE WINERY ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION is preparing for another annual conference, set to be held in the Barossa in early September.

The conference theme will be ‘production & applied technology’ and the event will be staged at the communityowned Vine Inn at Nuriootpa on September 6-7.

Early bird registrations will be available online via the WEA website www.wea.org.au as of the June 1 Or for those wishing to register earlier please contact Trevor

Celebrating 50 Years of Margaret River Wine

T H E 17 t h I N T E R N AT I O N A L

C O O L C L I M AT E W I N E S H O W

THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY of the planting of the first commercial vines in the Margaret River will take place in 2017 and the region is looking to celebrate in style.

The Margaret River Wine Association is working on a series of events from 16 - 18 November to coincide with the 2017 Gourmet Escape program. The events will be in recognition of 50 years of our modern wine community and our position as one of the world’s most compelling fine wine experiences.

Initial planning is for two key events with the first being a masterclass style Decade Tasting to take place at Vasse Felix; where the first vines were planted by Dr Tom Cullity in 1967. Set in iconic surroundings and carefully curated to tell the unique story of the region and our key varietals of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines will span the five decades of wine production, covering both established pioneers and up and coming brands and will be the most comprehensive review of Margaret River wine to date.

The second event will be a Margaret River Collaborative Cabernet Cuvee Gala Dinner. This event will include an En Primeur auction of a Margaret River Collaborative Cabernet Cuvee and will be held on the Saturday evening of the 2017 Gourmet Escape festival. The extensive menu will be specifically designed to complement some of the finest examples of Margaret River wine.

Work is also underway on a community festival style event in December. Open to one and all it will be a celebration of what so many locals have achieved over the past 50 years.

March 2017 – Issue 638

Leighton via tleighto@bigpond.net.au or 0417 597 956.

Companies interested in exhibiting and /or sponsoring at this year’s event should also contact Trevor Leighton as soon as possible in order to secure their preferred exhibition booth.

This event promises to provide benefits and insight for both winemakers and operational staff, from wineries of all sizes – the WEA works to make sure the content presented is not just aimed at larger wineries and winery engineering personnel.

22nd - 29th May 2017 The ICCWS is internationally recognised as Australia’s foremost show for inspirational cool climate wines. Each year the ICCWS attracts more than 500 wines in up to 42 classes, including new Italian Classes thanks to a recent partnership with the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

ENTRIES ARE OPEN (until Friday 10th March)

- Opportunity for a new audience to taste your wine at our Public Tasting for over 200 discerning guests or at the Awards Dinner.

- Chance to put forward your wines at a Master Class for 30 sommeliers held in Melbourne.

- Benchmark like against like.

Enter online now:

www.coolclimatewineshow.org.au Further information contact:

info@coolclimatewineshow.org.au

www.winetitles.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

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National framework for a strong national voice

The Newsletter of Australian Vignerons

March 2017

A difficult season draws to a close From the chief executive officer’s desk AS WE PULL INTO VINTAGE it is always interesting to look back on a trying year.

I have been working in vineyards for a long time and I can’t remember having any season that was free of serious challenges. From frost, hail storms, ongoing wet weather and the associated disease pressure through to bushfires in some regions, there are always challenges.

Many growers and viticulturists are finding challenging disease conditions resulting from this season’s regular rain patterns. This created high pressure for powdery mildew early on, and downy mildew more recently. The tropical weather patterns later in the season have increased concerns about possible botrytis issues; with some vineyards receiving heavy falls as sugar accumulation increases in fruit.

It has been a consistent message from all regions that the season is generally late.

Most report their fruit maturity is running three-to-four weeks later than in past seasons.

At the time of writing this report some of the earliest fruit was being harvested in the warm inland regions, and the Hunter Valley was well under way with harvest.

One grower told me that on this date last season he had harvested 1500 tonnes of Chardonnay, whereas this year his most mature Chardonnay is currently 9.4 baume.

These observations of fruit maturity fit with earlier anecdotal reports from multiple regions across the nation during

the season about how cold and wet it has been. When visiting Margaret River last year, we were told how everyone was sick of the cold, wet weather, and how bud burst was significantly delayed.

This is an interesting contrast with the Bureau of Meteorology’s recent declaration in its ‘annual climate statement’ that 2016 was the fourth hottest year on record. What wine growers will make of these conflicting observations is anyone’s guess. This shows the difference between a calendar year and a growing season, and how that difference must be borne in mind.

While observations about growing conditions have been reasonably uniform, there is some variation in the status of commercial relationships. The final stage of the season’s labour and effort for those growing fruit is either making their own wine, or the sale of that fruit to a wine company or brand owner.

There has been a real variation in reports from regions about the status of demand and value offered for fruit this season, which probably reflects a volatile wine market.

There are many change factors in play, including the impending reforms to WET rebate, a rapidly expanding Chinese market, growing influence of FTA’s, and the uncertainty with trade unfolding as a result of the Brexit vote and the Trump Presidency.

While there is uniform agreement about slight improvements in demand for wine grapes, this has not always translated

into an increase in price. In some regions process offered for sale under contractual arrangements are lower than the price of the ‘spot’ or annual purchase market, yet the winemaker in question is unwilling to release that fruit from contract. There is more information about contractual considerations later.

DISUNITY AND DEATH This phrase is so often used in politics. It is well understood that political parties, when they are seen by the public as a bunch of squabbling ratbags, will be either unlikely to be elected, or unlikely to be re-elected.

I recall a class of school kids visiting the South Australian State Parliament years ago, and the teacher telling me afterwards how the Year 9 students mimicked the juvenile behaviour they had witnessed in parliament during the bus ride home.

There is little doubt that when negative stories emerge from the wine industry, or when there is a public argument about some issue that might have been sorted out in private, that we are potentially damaging our industry and selling ourselves short as a result.

If disunity is not ‘death’ in the wine industry, it must be a close approximation.

The result of an abject failure to think and act in the national interest was clearly displayed during the WET rebate debate. It is fair to say that if the various

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Australian Vignerons News

players in the wine community – growers, winemakers, regions, warm inland, cool, temperate, brand owners, cellar door operators – had all been willing and able to give a little ground, to act in the interest of the industry as a whole, and to listen empathetically to others in the industry, then this issue might have had an earlier resolution. Instead, as is so often the case with difficult and divisive issues in difficult times, many of us ‘retreated to defend our position’.

It was not until the national, state and regional bodies, with the strong encouragement of Assistant Minister Anne Ruston came to the table and constructively worked their way through the policy and the consequences that various policy positions might have on different parts of the industry that progress was made.

It became obvious that there was no way that any party would be completely free from the pain of adjustment, that reform was unavoidable, and that everyone sharing a little pain is better than an ongoing stalemate, where the eventual pain would be considerable for everyone. This process, and the outcome that resulted, clearly demonstrates what

is possible when people come together and listen, rather than remaining divided and defending an entrenched position; hoping that someone else will blink in a Mexican stand-off.

Perhaps the only issue of major difference between growers and winemakers is the commercial relationship between growers and buyers of wine grapes.

As a national body that represents those who grow and make wine, Australian Vignerons believes that commercial relations between all in the value chain should be fair and transparent. To this end, we strongly believe that the focus of improvements to commercial trade in the wine industry should not be limited to transactions between growers and winemakers, but expanded to include transactions with retailers and distributors as well.

New legislation introduced in November 2016 increases the focus on contracts of sale, and in particular where one party can have a disproportionate influence over another. Australian Vignerons and the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia are in the process of finding out what

impact this new legislation will have on the wine industry as a whole.

It is a strange thing, but many of those who grow wine grapes will spend a great deal of time on working for nineto-10 months of the year, and focus in great detail on pest and disease control, irrigation, nutrition and canopy management but have a very soft focus on the terms of sale contained in the contract.

Typically a contract is only referred to ‘when something goes wrong’, but it underpins the terms of trade between a buyer and a seller. It is therefore very important that the terms of trade are well understood, and that they are clear and reasonable.

Australian Vignerons is grateful to Mellor Olsson Lawyers for providing a lawyer’s perspective on wine grape contracts, which we have included in this month’s update. It is interesting to note not only the content, which challenges many accepted beliefs, but also the way that a lawyer looks at a wine grape contract.

This is definitely worth reading.

Andrew Weeks Australian Vignerons Chief Executive Officer

Export and Regional Wine Support Package Australian Vignerons, along with the Winemakers’ Federation, are the peak advocacy bodies with the responsibility to sign off on the Export and Regional Wine Support package. This will be a combined work with WFA, Wine Australia, The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR), Tourism Australia, and the consulting firm ACIL Allen working together. Having an independent consulting firm is essential not only for their considerable experience in this type of work, but also as an independent voice.

making high value wine, and effective marketing. It is in the interest of every wine grape grower in the country that this program is as successful as it can be, and that it receives input and support from as many regions as possible.

This work is in progress, but it is likely that the work will add stimulus to wine – based tourism on the domestic front, and therefore stimulate regional economies in wine regions; and also as a boost to export programs.

This “whole of industry” focus reinforces the fact that as an industry, growers, winemakers and the numerous allied industries associated with the wine industry will either sink or swim together. This is one of the main reasons for forming Australian Vignerons; to represent “those who grow and make wine”. Australian Vignerons is involved in, and strongly supports the marketing and demand stimulus in the Export and Regional Wine support package. Any regional groups that are yet to register an interest or to get involved are strongly urged to do so.

In the past such marketing programs received only a passing interest from many who are mainly involved in growing fruit, rather than making wine. Make no mistake, for growers to be profitable, wine companies need to be profitable. This means that Australia needs to be selling valuable profitably.

This is not possible without producing high quality fruit,

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There are consultations sessions coming up in different state locations, to engage with regional wine industry bodies across the country to hear their input and find out what they think will be the best way to get “bang for buck” with this rare opportunity.

Australian Vignerons News

Grape supply, winemaking and contract law: The perfect blend

By Mellor Olsson Lawyers AUSTRALIAN WINEMAKING is an iconic production industry with global fame. Many of our wines are frequently recognised among the best in the world. The precursor to the global success of our wines is the production and supply of grapes to these wineries.

Although some wineries have their own vineyards, the vast majority of winemakers in Australia source grapes from independent growers. This relationship is governed by a grape supply contract between the growers and winemakers.

Australia currently suffers from an oversupply of wine grapes; the supply produced by viticulturists vastly exceeds demand from winemakers. This places pressure on the contractual relationships between grapegrowers and winemakers.

The oversupply has placed winemakers in a position of negotiating power, which is increased by their relative size compared to growers. Furthermore, once grapes are harvested, they have a short shelf life during which growers can arrange a sale. Growers are unable to delay the harvest of the grapes once their ideal sugar, acidity and tannin levels are reached, as doing so causes a rapid deterioration in quality. This combination creates an interesting dynamic in the context of grape supply contracts.

Whether written or verbal, every grape supply transaction entered into in Australia is governed by a contract.

Unfortunately, there are some difficulties with grape supply contracts that are particular to this industry.

Purchase agreements are almost always made before the grapes are harvested, and consequently before their quality can be accurately determined. Winemakers that utilise cheaper grapes often enter into short-term contract arrangements as they provide them with flexibility to secure the best grape prices. In contrast, wineries using premium grapes often enter into longterm agreements to ensure they have access to product of a consistently high standard.

The resulting grape supply contract landscape is one filled with confusion, uncertainty, and unbalanced negotiations. The regrettable consequences of this dynamic are numerous and frequent contractual disputes.

PROBLEMS IN THE WINE INDUSTRY Contractual between grape growers and winemakers have been growing in the grape supply industry in recent years. Australian Vignerons has heard numerous complaints of this nature, and the issue has even been the subject of a parliamentary inquiry at a federal level. The disputes continue to raise similar issues regarding the contractual arrangement between growers and winemakers. (The Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport conducted an inquiry into ‘The operation of the wine making industry’ and handed down their report on 13 October 2005)

The two most common and significant issues arising from grape supply contracts concern the quality of the grapes and the price at which they are traded.

The nature of the grape supply industry makes it difficult to have an objective standard by which grape quality is assessed, or a method of regulating the processes that are used. In most situations, grapes are assessed based on appearance and taste. These criteria are inherently subjective, and often differ from person to person, and season to season. The result is uncertainty for growers in terms of what they can expect the quality of their grapes to be graded as, and uncertainty for winemakers in terms of the quality of grapes they are purchasing.

Whilst some supply contracts allow for the involvement of the winemaker in how their grapes are cared for, it does not solve the problem. The consequence being that a large proportion of the disputes that arise in the wine industry relate to the quality of grapes.

Grape prices, and in particular the negotiation process, is another cause of much distress in the grape supply industry.

Again, there is no clear and objective method by which grapes are priced, and in many situations they are determined on a ‘take it or leave it’ basis.

In 2005, the Riverland Winegrape Growers Association noted that difficult financial circumstances for winemakers often lead to situations whereby they cannot afford the price of grapes required under a supply contract and so instead offer a reduced price. Growers often feel they have little choice but to accept the lowered price, or risk not selling their grapes at all.

The determination of these prices often occurs as, or after, the grapes are harvested, so it is difficult for growers to estimate the income they will receive for their grapes. When coupled with the wild variations in prices for essentially the same product, no minimum price protections, and discretion ultimately resting with winemakers, growers are often left vulnerable to the whims of the industry.

Although some grape supply contracts are implemented for an extended period of time, they are often not renewed. This causes a number of difficulties, particularly for growers, who may have invested significant amounts of money to improve technology in reliance on these contracts. By not renewing them, not only are growers put under financial pressure, but the relationship between growers and winemakers is often seriously damaged.

Perhaps most concerning is that despite the issues mentioned above that continue to cause disputes, grape supply contracts rarely contain clauses that adequately govern the method by which the parties resolve these disputes. The consequence of this is that parties face uncertainty, and either allow a breach to remain un-remedied, or turn to litigation to resolve a dispute.

This is not ideal, but is regrettably all too common.

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Australian Vignerons News

By gaining a better understanding of the basic principles of contract law, and where appropriate engaging the assistance of a lawyer, growers and winemakers can begin to remedy these issues.

CONTRACT LAW – THE BASICS Most people know generally what a contract is, but few will actually be aware of the requirements that make a contract valid and legally enforceable. In simple terms, a legally enforceable contract requires the following: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Offer; Acceptance; Consideration; Certainty of Terms; An intention to be bound; and Capacity.

The most basic premise of a valid and legally enforceable contract is that it must be in the form of an offer, and an acceptance of that offer. An offer does not need to be made to a specific person or party, but it does require a definite promise on the basis of specific terms.

An offer can be withdrawn at any point prior to acceptance.

Acceptance must occur by way of a specific statement or action of intent, indicating the party’s willingness to accept the terms of the offer. Acceptance cannot be determined to exist simply on the basis of a failure to expressly reject an offer. At law, a counter-offer is a rejection of the previous offer, and the making of an entirely new offer.

Consideration is a fundamental component of any agreement.

It is what each party gives to the other in exchange for a benefit, for example, payment for goods received, although consideration need not be cash. The courts generally do not concern themselves with whether or not particular consideration is adequate in the circumstances, so long as some form of consideration is given.

The third requirement is that the terms of the contract be sufficiently certain. This includes details such as who the contract is between, as well as more specific terms, for example, a timeframe for when a payment is to occur.

If a term of a contract is not certain, the Court has the power to void that term entirely – and in some particular cases, the entire contract. A common example of terms that are void include ‘agreements to agree’ – for instance, a contract to agree to a price for the supply of grapes in the future. Such a term would likely be found to be invalid and unenforceable.

The final two requirements of a contract largely go hand in hand. The first of these is that the parties to a contract must have an intention to be legally bound by the terms of that contract. It is often an issue that the Court must determine retrospectively based on the circumstances of the arrangement, and in the case of a written contract, it is indicated by the signature of an authorised person. The second is the requirement that the parties have capacity to enter into a contract. Not everyone is legally entitled to enter into a contract, for example, minors (people under the age of 18), and people with a mental impairment of some description. A company, however, does have legal capacity to enter into a contract, subject to the relevant legislation.

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What is often not realised is that a contract does not need to be written for it to be a valid and legally enforceable agreement.

Contracts can be verbal, and in the form of a ‘handshake agreement’ provided the above requirements are satisfied. As a result, the consequences for a breach of a verbal contract are just as severe as for a breach of a written contract – the difficulty is simply in proving the terms of the agreement. Both growers and winemakers should be aware of this when making agreements.

It is also important that growers and winemakers are aware of who exactly a contract is between, and who they can pursue in the event of a breach.

For example, let us assume that Gary Grape is a primary producer of grapes. Vinnie Vine works for a company known as Shiraz Wineries in the Barossa Valley. Gary enters into a contract with Vinnie to sell his grapes to Shiraz Wineries. Gary has a good working relationship with Shiraz Wineries and benefits substantially from their business. Gary and Vinnie, however, do not get along at all. Unfortunately, a dispute arises over the price of the grapes, and Gary wants to commence legal proceedings to recover the money he believes he is owed.

Gary wants to issue proceedings against Vinnie because he believes Vinnie was the one who misled him regarding the price. Unfortunately for Gary, his contract is actually with Shiraz Wineries, and he can only pursue the company for his debt.

This principle is known as the privity of contract - the concept that a contract can only be enforced against the parties to the contract. Generally, Gary will have no recourse against Vinnie, personally. (There are some ways to get around this general rule, so it is important to seek professional advice in these circumstances.) It is an often underappreciated principle of contract law – and one that frequently raises issues for parties wronged by a breach of contract.

Growers and winemakers will also benefit from knowledge of the principle of implied terms. Although a contract should contain specific terms that outline the basis on which the parties conduct business, there are certain circumstances in which implied terms may exist. The most common of these is in a contract for the sale of goods, which is interpreted to contain an implied term that the goods sold are fit for their intended purpose. There can be more elaborate implied terms, such as when a written contract has been entered into by the parties, however the actual business practice differs from this contract.

In this case, the Court will likely read implied terms into this contract to give effect to the actual business practice. It is important to note, however, that parties cannot simply assert that an implied term exists unless it serves a purpose; implied terms are only interpreted by a Court to give effect to the specific terms of an agreement, or the intentions of the parties.

For example, in a written contract it may be apparent that a term is ‘missing’, and that without it the contract doesn’t make sense. In these circumstances, a court will ‘fill in the gap’ with an implied term.

(This article continues on Page 40)

grapegrowing

What held up this year’s harvest?

The 2017 vintage growing season has been challenging; a wet and cold spring season impacted on early shoot development and mild summer conditions, interrupted by regular rain events, has kept growers on their toes. temperatures. Despite all this, many growers are expecting it to be a season that delivers on both quality and quantity.

We’ve asked a group of experts from around the country to comment on what’s

impacted vintage this year and to give us an outlook on what to expect in the coming season.

Marcel Essling, Senior Viticulturist at the Australian Wine Research Institute,

Marcel Essling, The Australian Wine Research Institute senior viticulturist, Adelaide SA:

Andrew Mclean: Casella Family Brands grower liaison officer (GLO), Riverina NSW:

Marty Smith, Absolute Viticulture viticulturist, Launceston TAS:

Essling works as the Senior Viticulturist for the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI).

He came to viticulture through a stint at a Canadian winery in 1999 which prompted a move to Adelaide, SA to undertake further tertiary education and explore a new career.

After managing a vineyard in the Adelaide Hills, Marcel was employed by AWRI as a Technical Officer on a viticulture nutrition project. Since his employment in 2007 he is now in the role of Senior Viticulturist and responsible for managing AWRI’s Agrochemical and MRL database.

Marcel is a member of the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) as well as the Adelaide Hills Viticulture Technical Committee.

Mclean started his viticultural journey with Treasury Wine Estates where he got his first taste for the industry within their graduate program. He then went on to work across both technical and supervisory roles at Penfolds, Wolf Blass and Saltram. Mclean then moved to McWilliams where for two years he was the Riverina vineyard manager and intake manager. It was here that he was able to be innovative in his thinking to encourage a number of successful vintages.

In his most recent role as Casella Family Brands GLO, Mclean has continued to develop his skill of intertwining art and science in the vineyard – something he feels is an important part of working in wine. His favourite part about working within the wine industry is the part he plays in helping to produce a product that can continue to live and breathe a story for years with surprises along the way.

IT’S BEEN A SEASON OF EXTREME, sometimes isolated, weather events – with some vineyards hit hard by storm and hail damage; others contending with floods; and some recording high

THE PANEL OF EXPERTS

Mike Hayes, Symphony Hill viticulturist and winemaker, Granite Belt QLD: Hayes is third generation viticulturist and winemaker. He has made wines on the Granite Belt and in various wine regions around Australia and New Zealand for over 30 years. Mike is known for his passion for integrating viticultural and winemaking techniques. His passion for wine has no bounds with a special place in his heart for the “heart break” grape, pinot noir. In 2012 Mike was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to research alternative varieties in Europe that would suit Granite Belt conditions. He also completed a Masters in Professional Studies specialising in Viticulture and a WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) Advanced Level 3 Certificate in Wine Education

March 2017 – Issue 638

Ian Macrae, CCW Co-operative Limited senior viticulture officer, Riverland SA: Macrae is currently Senior Viticultural Officer for the CCW Cooperative in the Riverland. The cooperative has 550 members producing about 200,000 tonnes for the Accolade Wines Berri winery. Prior to working for CCW, Ian was grape supply and vineyard manager at Kingston Estate Wines. Before moving to the Riverland in 2006, he worked as a viticultural consultant in his own business.

www.winetitles.com.au

Marty established Absolute Viticulture in 2013 in Tasmania. His idea was to combine scientific knowledge with practical management to improve the profitability and quality of Tasmanian vineyards, bringing an innovative consultancy approach to Tasmania. Since that beginning Marty has been involved in projects which have seen a 6% increase in the total planted area of the Tasmanian wine industry and is currently overseeing one of Tasmania’s largest vineyard development projects. Absolute Viticulture works closely with a large proportion of Tasmanian vineyards and wine businesses to achieve best outcomes across the industry.

Colin Bell, AHA Viticulture director and viticulturist, Margaret River WA: Colin Bell is a director and viticulturist at AHA Viticulture in Western Australia. With a background in horticulture, the waves of Margaret River Region drew him to the industry in the late 90’s. Colin’s working life consists of managing vineyards and consulting to wineries and growers. Free time sees him serving as a Board Member for Wines of West Australia and as an Executive Committee Member of Australian Vignerons. Studying at Charles Stuart University, graduating the Future Leaders course and working in New Zealand, Tasmania and South East Australia has widened his understanding of the wine industry. As a viticulturist, he loves to connect the vineyard to the to the whole value chain and in doing so generate profitable relationships for his clients. For Colin, family, the industry and the ocean are all critical, although the order can be challenging.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

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grapegrowing

2016 was the best vintage we’ve had in a while, last was in 1986.

Now 2017 is shaping up to be extremely good as well.

records in Tasmania with yields 30-40% above average.

Due to the large crops, the diligent growers paid a lot of attention to post harvest fertiliser and were rewarded for that this season. The good flowering in the 2015/2016 season resulted in good bunch numbers for this season.

Colin Bell: The Margaret River 2015 spring climatic conditions favoured the development of inflorescence primordia.

The 2016 vintage was not onerous on vine health and subsequently vines went into dormancy with adequate carbohydrate storage. Following strong winter rainfall and resultant cold soils, early vine growth was slow, but fruitfulness was high.

Q. How have different pruning methods shaped the season? gives a national overview while we take a look around the country with Colin Bell in Western Australia, Mike Hayes in Queensland, Marty Smith in Tasmania, Ian Macrae in the Riverland and Andrew Mclean looking at regions in SA, NSW and Victoria.

Question: How did the 2016 season impact on 2017?

Marcel Essling: Generally, the season started cooler and wetter than recent years. Flooding and waterlogged soils in some regions made getting equipment into the vineyard difficult. Growers were forced to alter their spray plans and adapt to higher disease pressure.

Ample soil moisture meant there was plenty water available for shoot growth in areas where the weather warmed up during spring, but short shoot length was observed where the weather stayed cool. Soil moisture also stimulated weed growth and this required management.

The weather also played a role in fruit set and if it was cold and wet at flowering the set is likely to have been poor.

Andrew Mclean: Vintage 2016 was very early throughout NSW, Northern Victoria and South Australia. Extended periods of heavy rain during January in the Riverina slowed ripening, and consequently the same varieties in cooler regions of NSW were harvested at very similar times to the warmer NSW inland regions in what was a very short and condensed vintage.

Although South Australia produced higher yields generally than long term average, fruit was ready for harvest early as well and as a result there was plenty of time for carbohydrate reserves to replenish prior to autumn leaf fall. Very few impacts from vintage 2016 seem to

28 Grapegrower & Winemaker

be showing in vineyards this year, with climatic factors playing a large role down to individual vineyard levels in season 2016/2017.

Mike Hayes: It was a good follow up.

2016 was the best vintage we’ve had in a while, last was in 1986. Now 2017 is shaping up to be extremely good as well.

In 2016 the vines went through harvest beautifully. We had a cool damp spring which put us a bit behind, about two weeks compared to where we were in 2016.

Ian Macrae: The 2016 crop was high in the Riverland, particularly Chardonnay and Shiraz. Shoot fruitfulness was high and the set on these varieties was very good. The Cab Sauv crop was below average due to a poor fruit set, believed to be a result of the competition between vegetative and fruit development processes in this variety.

The 2015/16 season was the warmest on record in terms of the growing heat summation. This resulted in a very early and short vintage, with considerable variety overlap.

A severe burst of heat in the first week of March (seven days greater than 39°C) caused vines to shut down, with ripening virtually ceasing after this time. In some varieties (particularly Shiraz and Cab Sauv), sugar levels decreased after this period of heat.

The extent to which the large crop of 2016 and damage to photosynthetic and other systems affected the potential crop of 2017 was largely dependent on vine post-harvest management and the ability to the vines to restore carbohydrate reserves before dormancy.

The fruitfulness (bunches/shoot) and bunch size this season was generally lower than last season.

Marty Smith: 2016 broke all the www.winetitles.com.au

ME: Theoretically, later pruning leads to later budburst but growers tend to be consistent in their pruning strategies and I’m not aware of pruning trials this season.

AM: Other than the delayed pruning (and hence budburst) due to wet weather, some regions’ varieties are exhibiting lower fruitfulness in the basal and lower nodes. This has resulted in some lower bunch numbers (particularly evident in some hard pruned vineyards) across some varieties. Even though some bunch numbers are slightly lower than last year, bunch size seems to be higher, with yields looking in line with long term average in most vineyards.

MH: Pruned a bit harder to cut the fruit back. I haven’t had to thin as much.

IM: Attempts have been made to delay ripening by late pruning, thereby offering some hope of spreading vintage.

However, while early phenological stages are delayed by late pruning, the impact on the date of harvest appears to be affected very little.

Most growers do not want to delay phenological stage and ripening, unless they are in a frost-prone area. These growers prune early to advance ripening to improve their chances of getting their fruit into the winery early.

MS: We are looking to prune as late as possible in a lot of areas due to frost risk.

We are also experimenting with delaying pruning until almost budburst in the aim to push flowering back a little bit to make the most of the more settled conditions in December.

CB: In response to the declining productivity in spur pruned cabernet sauvignon over the last 5 seasons many blocks have been converted to cane pruning.

The climatically favourable conditions of inflorescence initiation March 2017 – Issue 638

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grapegrowing and development over the past fifteen months, have resulted in cane pruned block setting large crops. Bunch counts in spur pruned blocks are also higher than short term averages, but not as fruitful as cane pruned vines.

Q. What impact did the winter season have?

ME: Ample winter rainfall occurred in many regions. This is positive because it leaches salts from the soil profile. Vines need cold temperatures to go into dormancy and this winter the requirements for dormancy were met.

AM: Most viticultural areas experienced either their wettest or second wettest winter on record. On top of this, wet conditions were experienced at both the end of May and September in these regions, making the completion of pruning quite difficult for many growers.

Most growers finished pruning in a timely fashion, although there were a significant number of blocks in the Riverina that were pruned later than normal, some even post bud burst due to wet ground. Budburst in these blocks occurred a week or two later than the region average due to the late pruning (with a few outliers even further behind due to being pruned post budburst).

MH: Not as much as what I thought.

I thought it would have been worse as there was a bit of later season frost. We have a frost machine that we normally turn on one or two times a year, we had to turn it on nine times this year.

IM: The winter was colder and wetter than average. The wet winter meant that less water needed to be applied than necessary during this period to keep soils moist and for salt leaching. At that time, irrigators were facing the prospects of severe restrictions on water allocations.

The wetter winter was helpful to reduce water use and save water for the irrigation season.

MS: Winter was warmer than average but extremely wet. The main issue was vineyard machinery access for barrel pruning, Klima pruning and herbicide.

We also lost a lot of pruning days to rain.

The wet ground also caused a lot of problems when trying to get early fungicides on.

2016 broke all the records in Tasmania with yields 30-40% above average.

30 Grapegrower & Winemaker

CB: The 2016 winter and spring were more in line with long-term averages and less typical of the last eight years. The spring was cool and overcast with few sunny days which is likely to reduce fruitfulness in 2018. The region received close to 1200mm of rainfall, with lower average maximum and minimum temperatures in comparison to the last 8 years.

Q. Was budburst later than previous years? And was early growth slow because of cooler conditions?

ME: The cooler spring is likely to have delayed budburst or spread it out. There were reports of inconsistent budburst and this can be problematic.

Those buds that have burst grow rapidly when the weather warms up leaving those that are still to burst behind. Regional reports were of vines being between two and three weeks behind last year.

AM: Budburst in our South Australian vineyards was close to normal, being maybe up to a week late depending on variety and region. Riverina budburst ranged from two-to-four weeks later depending on variety, which has continued into flowering. For example, Riverina Shiraz that flowered (E-L 23) on the 26th of October last season flowered on the 15th of November this season.

Due to the wet early spring conditions, lots of growers experienced issues applying their first (and sometimes second) sprays to either some or all of their vineyard, where some experimented with aerial application of fungicides to try and get at least some protection on early growth. As well as being a cooler www.winetitles.com.au

start to the season, full soil moisture profiles meant that soil temperatures were slower to heat up and early growth was quite slow. Generally, the vine growth was very even, producing healthy and uniform blocks for an excellent start to the season.

MH: Bud Burst was seven to eight days early.

IM: Spring and early summer of this season have been a complete contrast to the previous season – the hottest on record in 15/16 and one of the coolest in 16/17.

While the time of budburst was roughly the same as previous recent seasons, all subsequent growth stages slipped progressively behind previous seasons, clearly due to the lower temperatures.

It was clear by about mid-late October from a comparison of phenological records from past seasons on our monitor patches that the season was running about 2-2.5 weeks later than the past four seasons. This difference has been maintained and confirmed by Baume test results. Vintage will start three weeks later than last season.

MS: Budburst was early for us this season (late August) with the above average temperatures over winter. This changed very quickly as a month of cold and windy weather after budburst stunted the vines considerably. We went from two weeks early to three weeks late by the time we got to flowering.

CB: A central Margaret River vineyard in the Wilyabrup area recorded budburst for 2016/17 season at 27 days later in Chardonnay, and nine days later in Cabernet Sauvignon, in comparison to the 2015/16 season.

March 2017 – Issue 638

ME: As discussed above, weather does play an important role in setting fruit and if the conditions are cold and wet when the flowers are out, fertilisation is not as successful as when conditions are warm and mild.

AM: Weather across most regions we work with was generally good for most varieties, barring a couple of exceptions.

Hen and chicken has been observed in a couple of regions in different varieties, but seems to have fallen out of most bunches and yields still seem to look in line with long term average.

Riverina Chardonnay generally seemed to progress slowly through flowering with some blocks being quite variable, causing issues with optimal timing for preventative measures to maintain cover.

Wet conditions in the Hilltops saw downy mildew pressure during flowering which has continued with some further large falls of rain since. The results have seen some early powdery and downy mildew infections on berries and bunches that were lagging behind the majority of fruit and weren’t protected against infection.

MH: Lost half the flowers on our Verdelho. Cool nights aborted some flowering, our tonnage was down 65% of normal but quality was through the roof.

The cool wet spring delayed flowering 10 – 12 days.

IM: Flowering occurred about two-tothree weeks later than recent seasons.

At the time of flowering there were less leaves per shoot than in previous seasons i.e. flowering started at an earlier EL stage as assessed by the number of leaves per shoot.

The concern was that there may be insufficient leaf area and/or excessively vigorous competitive shoot growth to achieve successful pollination.

Fortunately, this was generally not the case. Mild weather prevailed during the majority of flowering and fruit set was generally good, even on Cab Sauv.

MS: The cool/wet/windy spring certainly delayed flowering and that same weather pattern continued through the flowering period. Fruit set is highly variable this year. Varieties like Sauvignon Blanc that flowered midlate December certainly look better than Pinot and Chardonnay that flowered towards the end of spring.

CB: A late budburst and mild spring temperatures delayed flowering. Data from the same Wilyabrup vineyard recorded this season’s EL 23 (50% flowering) at 18 days later in chardonnay and 14 days later in cabernet when March 2017 – Issue 638

compared to last season. In context, the 2016 vintage was one the warmest on record and the 2017 vintage phenological achievements are not greatly out of line with long-term records but are about 14 to 21 days later than the 10 year average.

Q. Summer seems to have been reasonably mild and very wet, apart from the extra fungicide and herbicide applications required, how has this impacted on vine growth/canopy structure and fruit development?

ME: In a typical year, it is the drying out of soils that stops shoot growth and signals the vine to ripen fruit. The high levels of soil moisture seen this season meant few constraints on shoot growth and this required increased canopy management such as trimming.

It is likely that where shoot growth continued late into the season, ripening will be delayed.

AM: Conditions have been variable across lots of viticultural regions, where relative humidity has been at levels in most regions far greater than normally experienced. With good soil moisture profiles to start the season and consequent good canopy growth, the humid (and in some regions wet) conditions and better canopies have created high disease pressure in many regions, particularly for powdery mildew in more susceptible varieties.

In reference to the warm inland regions, the switch between cool conditions (and rainfall in some areas) and the current hot weather means that growers are very carefully monitoring water applications to maintain current fruit quality throughout the current weather event successfully.

Whilst some of the late varieties in cooler regions may run the risk of senescing prior to desired sugar accumulation, overall yields look like they will be in line with long term average and prospective fruit quality looks to be very promising, with the potential of an exceptional year in some regions.

MH: We just got out highest temperature on record, getting above 40 degrees. Average has been, quite warm, slightly below cropping temperature.

Around 34-35 degrees, which is warm for up here. Carried out our normal spray regime, I prefer preventative programs, organic as possible.

As much as you can stay organic you’re doing a good thing, prevention rather than cure.

IM: The summer has been mild and rainfall has been about average. Humidities have been uncharacteristically high for www.winetitles.com.au

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FMR2017CR

Q. What impact did the weather have on flowering?

31

grapegrowing

Spring and early summer of this season have been a complete contrast to the previous season – the hottest on record in 15/16 and one of the coolest in 16/17.

On average cabernet sauvignon crops look stronger than we have seen in recent years. Cabernet Sauvignon crop thinning has been required out in many yards to ensure qualitative specifications goals are going to be achieved.

Q. What impact does a ‘later’ 2017 season have on next year?

the Riverland for summer. The mild and humid conditions have not only favoured diseases such as powdery mildew but also pests. Vine scale, mealy bug and erinose have not been seen in such high numbers for years.

The mild and humid conditions have promoted continued canopy growth, requiring constant trimming to maintain open canopies and direct vine energies into fruit development rather than vegetative growth.

Fruit development stages and ripening is now at least three weeks behind last season.

MS: The good soil moisture from the rain has taken the pressure off irrigation but has produced some very big dense canopies. We will have a huge focus on trimming, lateral removal and leaf plucking from now on.

CB: The Margaret River region has had a milder year in comparison to short term averages. South Western Australia have not received unseasonal rain with observations been close to long term averages. Late summer in the South West is susceptible to northern low pressure systems moving heavy rainfall down the west coast.

Margaret River, Growing Degree Days (GDD) up to 31 January, equated to 910, below the short-term historical mean of 1034 (Witchcliffe station 2005-2016). The coldest season in this data set is the 2006 Vintage, which had accumulated a GDD of 759 up until the 31st January.

Veraison has been delayed in early

32 Grapegrower & Winemaker

varieties, but less so in later varieties.

Margaret River is predicting a later start to vintage and a smaller gap between the harvest of early and late varieties. A more compressed vintage.

Q. If crops are lower this year compared to last year, can you identify specific reasons?

ME: The weather at flowering this year may affect yield but vines can compensate for fewer berries per bunch by increasing berry weight.

IM: The crops are lower than last year.

2016 was a large crop – one of the highest.

The 2017 crop will be lower due to the losses due to a hail storm on the 11th November 2016, lower shoot fruitfulness and smaller bunches.

The effect of these factors has been offset to an extent by a good fruit set and larger berries. Regular rains have contributed to the larger berry size.

MH: Berry size was down. Crop levels were up last year so vines normally have a respite, had a very nice skin to juice ratio.

MS: The poor conditions at flowering have caused a lot of hen and chicken, and shatter, particularly in Pinot and Chardonnay. We’ll be 30-40% down on last vintage which brings us back to average or just below.

CB: Projected yields are generally stronger than the last couple of seasons across the region. Chardonnay yields are more variable as a result of damage by spring storms. www.winetitles.com.au

ME: A two or three week delay to harvest (compared to recent years) is not likely to have much impact on next year.

In most regions, there will still be enough time post-harvest for functioning leaves to store carbohydrate reserves before leaf fall.

One factor from this season that could impact the next is the weather experienced around flowering. If conditions were cool and overcast, inflorescence initiation in next year’s buds will be fewer than if the conditions had been warm and bright.

This will have implications for bunch number per shoot next year.

AM: A later 2017 vintage shouldn’t see too much of an impact on the majority of regions. The main risks tend to lay with the cooler regions and their late varieties where the opportunity for carbohydrate storage may be reduced.

MH: I’m an optimist, I always on the bright side. I’m drawing a long bow here but with climate change we will be slightly dryer, and producing really high quality wines.

IM: The later the season, the later grapes are harvested, the less time there is for carbohydrate restoration. This can potentially adversely affect early season vine growth and early inflorescence development.

MS: The average conditions at flowering will knock around our bunch numbers for next year, particularly in our key varieties of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. That seems a long way away though, need to get this vintage out of the way first!

CB: Likely to have poor fruitfulness due to cool overcast spring conditions.

March 2017 – Issue 638

Impacts of under-trellis cover crops Use of herbicides can be reduced, and excessive vine growth can be controlled. Dr Michela Centinari from Pennsylvania State University reports.

HERBICIDE ALTERNATIVE Herbicides effectively suppress weed growth and are easy to apply. However, repeated herbicide use increases the risks of resistance development. Also, bare soil left exposed after herbicide use or tilling is susceptible to erosion, soil structure degradation and crusting, as well as increased water runoff and leaching of nitrates and pesticides.

One alternative option to the undertrellis herbicide-treated strip is to March 2017 – Issue 638

establish cover crops directly beneath the vines in addition to between the rows, creating a complete floor cover. Undertrellis cover crops could serve multiple purposes, depending on growers’ needs and the cover crops used.

Cover crop species have different degrees of competition with vines for soil resources such as water and nutrients.

For example, annual cover crops tend to be less competitive for soil nitrogen resources than perennial plants because of their shorter growth cycle and less root development. Fine fescues such as Festuca ovina tend to be less competitive than other perennial grasses such as tall fescues (Festuca arundinacea Shreb).

Planting annual cover crops such as buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) or annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) under the vines may eliminate the need for herbicide with little impact on vine size or fruit composition.

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REDUCE EXCESSIVE GROWTH Despite the presence of cover crops between the rows, grapevines can still exhibit excessive vegetative growth in regions with deep, fertile soils and ample precipitation. Large and dense canopies with heavily shaded fruit may contribute to reduced fruit and wine quality as well as an increase in disease pressure. In addition, excessively vigorous grapevines are more expensive to train and manage.

Main and later shoot thinning, multiple passes of fruit-zone leaf removal and hedging are costly management practices often required to improve the light environment for the bunches.

Among the perennial grasses tested, Festuca arundinacea cv. Elite II (a turftype tall fescue) and cv. KY-31 (a foragetype tall fescue), were the most effective in reducing vine vigour and increasing light available to the fruit with minimum impact on crop yield. Creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra) planted under Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the autumn of the second year of vineyard establishment reduced vine size in a favourable way (an average of 26%) and increased sunlight fruit exposure by 35% over a seven-yearperiod compared to herbicide-treated www.winetitles.com.au

Talk to us today if you’re serious about improving the economic performance of your vineyard.

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FMR2017DR

IN COOL-CLIMATE VINEYARDS, time and money spent on canopymanagement – such as shoot positioning and thinning, bunch thinning, leaf removal and hedging – is estimated to be higher than floor-management.

Canopy management, excluding harvest and pruning, takes about 32% of total labour hours compared to 11% for floor management. We tend to forget that floor management also has implications for the vineyard ecosystem, productivity and, indirectly, wine quality.

The main goals of vineyard floor management span from weed control, soil conservation, soil nutrient and water management, to biodiversity improvement. The best floor-management strategy depends on the age of the vine, growing region, soil type and production goals of the grower. Environmental regulations and public perceptions may also influence growers’ choices toward a specific floor-management practice.

The conventional floor-management practice for mature vineyards in temperate regions around the world is a cover-cropped inter-row combined with a vegetation-free area directly beneath the vines to reduce competition for soil resources. The under-trellis area is kept bare using herbicides and, in some cases, by soil cultivation. Several studies conducted across the eastern United States in the past 10 years tested if and which under-trellis cover crop species could be used as an environmentally responsible means to suppress the use of herbicide and as a proactive measure to reduce excessive vine growth through competition for soil resources.

INNOVATION FOR GROWTH

33

grapegrowing strip. (It is important to note that this study was conducted by Dr Tony Wolf at Virginia Tech’s AHS Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center in a research vineyard with high vigour potential. Wolf does not suggest that an under-vine cover crop should be used in young vineyards without knowing the history and vigour potential of the site.)

The growth-suppressive effect of the under-trellis fescue decreased over the years, which suggests that the vines may be able to adapt to the presence of under-trellis cover crops by, for example, relocating absorptive roots to a deeper soil profile. Chicory (Chicorium intybus) annually planted under the trellis of mature, vigorous vineyards in Dr Justine Vanden Heuvel’s Cornell University research plot in the Finger Lakes region of New York resulted in considerably diminished vine size, up to 54%.

When vine growth is vigorous, the balance between vegetative and reproductive growth tends to be below the recommended Ravaz index (crop weight/pruning weight) ratio that ranges from four-to-10 for high-quality wine production. The devigourating effect of the under-trellis cover crops often translated to an increase in crop load (i.e.

Ravaz index) toward the ‘optimal’ values.

Although the reduction in vegetative growth/vine size is usually greater than that of crop yield, growers should take into consideration a potential yield penalty associated with the use of under-trellis cover crops. The reduction in vine size associated with the use of under-trellis cover crops depends on the seasonal weather conditions, soil resources available and nutritional requirements of the cover crop. Vines can also compete with cover crops for multiple resources at the same time, making it in some situations very difficult to separate the effect of moisture versus nutrient competition. In most of the studies conducted in upstate New York, North Carolina and Virginia, vine water status (stem water potential) never reached what we define as a ‘stressful’ value, indicating that under-trellis cover crops were not overly competitive with grapevines for soil moisture under the specific weather conditions of those regions and during the years studied.

At several sites, cool-season grasses depressed grapevine nitrogen levels relative to the under-trellis herbicide strip, which suggests that under-trellis cover crops can diminish vine nitrogen status and thus vine capacity and yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) levels in fruit and must. Low concentration of YAN in musts may lead to sluggish or stuck fermentations.

34 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Establishing a leguminous cover crop under-trellis as a source of nitrogen may improve vine nitrogen status. However, timing and rate of nitrogen release are somewhat unpredictable and are influenced by site and climate conditions as well as management strategies.

Leguminous cover crops often need to be reseeded every two to three years, and they don’t compete well with weeds.

Another under-trellis management option is to leave native vegetation growing under the vines instead of planting cover crops. At several of Vanden Heuvel‘s research sites in upstate New York, native vegetation was allowed to grow under the vines. Compared to an herbicide-treated strip, native vegetation had a variable impact on vine size across sites, from nil effect at one site up to 57% reduction in pruning weight in a young vineyard. Site characteristics, plant material and age – in addition to diverse weed populations at the research sites – may explain the variable impact of native vegetation on reducing vine size.

Costs of under-trellis mowing compare well to the herbicide regime.

Alice Wise, senior viticulture research and extension associate with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, NY, pointed out that, while more growers are interested in under-trellis mowing, a deterrent for its adoption may be the price of suitable mowers. Wise also noted that “under-vine mowing is a viable option for under-vine management, though it is best suited to mature, laser-planted vineyards because of the risk of trunk damage to young vines and crooked trunks”.

ROOT IMPACTS Research on under-trellis cover crops focused more on the manifestations of cover crop/vine competition than on the mechanisms. Understanding how cover crops impact the distribution of grapevine roots and other morphological and physiological root traits may help to reduce uncertainty of vine response to cover cropping.

We found that vines managed with under-trellis cover crops for a short term (three years) and long term (seven years) had a deeper distribution of fine roots, which are responsible for the majority of water and nutrient uptake, compared to those managed with an under-trellis bare soil strip. A decreased proliferation of fine roots in shallow soil layers (0-20 cm) due to cover crop competition may reduce vine access to nutrients, often more abundant in shallow rather than deep soil strata. We also found that vines managed with under-vine creeping red fescue over a seven-year period had a 45% lower absorptive root biomass than www.winetitles.com.au

those growing without under-vine grass.

Surprisingly, despite the shift in root distribution toward low-fertility deep soil and smaller root system, vines growing with under-vine grass accessed enough resources to maintain aboveground vegetative growth, suggesting that grapevines may be capable of acclimating to cover crop competition. This study, however, was conducted during a humid season (rainfall from grapevine bud burst to harvest = 584 mm).

THE COSTS A partial budget analysis was developed for one of the studies on undertrellis cover crops using information gained from the research trial and grower cost estimates (see table “Partial Budget Analysis Comparing Impact of Undervine Groundcover on Yield and Management Costs, 2011-13”). In this study, establishing and maintaining white clover or native vegetation was a cheaper under-trellis groundcover option than repeated soil cultivation or glyphosate applications. However, vines maintained with herbicide (glyphosate) generated the highest revenue because of their higher yield. Thus, the yield penalty associated with vines growing with under-trellis cover crops was the cause of reduced grower’s income.

The decrease in yield of cover-cropped vines was exacerbated by their young age; the vines were four years old when cover crops were established under the trellis.

Also, vigour suppression associated with under-trellis cover crops may result in reduction of costly canopy management operations. For grapegrowers managing vigorous vineyards and interested in reducing pesticide input, complete vineyard floor cover could be a viable option. However, to avoid an undesirable decline in pruning weight, vine nutrient deficiency or water stress, it is recommended that the grower monitor pruning weight and Ravaz index on sentinel vines. It is also important to assess vine nutrient status annually and be prepared to apply fertilizer efficiently, if needed. In a dry season growers should look closely for visual symptoms of vine water stress. To avoid over-devigourating, it may be possible to start with an ‘aggressive’ cover crop and switch after a few years, when vine balance is achieved, to a less competitive cover crop.

Dr. Michela Centinari is an associate professor of viticulture in the Department of Plant Science at Pennsylvania State University.

The references for this article are available online at winesandvines.com.

March 2017 – Issue 638

SINCE ITS LAUNCH, the VitiCanopy smartphone app has been embraced with enthusiasm. The Apple version has been downloaded more than 2000 times worldwide since its release in October 2015, a much-awaited Android version is now available, and response from users has been very positive.

What most pleases Dr Cassandra Collins, however, is that it is doing what it’s supposed to do and more.

“I think we’re coming up with new ways to use it – new approaches to how you can interpret the data and apply that to the management of a vineyard,” Collins said.

The app, which allows users to monitor vines and manage the required balance between vegetative growth and fruit production, is the centrepiece of a fouryear project at the University of Adelaide, funded by Wine Australia, designed to identify the canopy parameters that most accurately indicate optimal vine performance.

Collins is the principal investigator, working closely with Dr Roberta De Bei, the chief investigator and postdoctoral research fellow. Their successful collaboration was acknowledged late last year when they were jointly named ‘researcher of the year’ in the second Australian Women in Wine Awards (AWIWA).

It’s been rewarding if sometimes intense work, with the pair involved in everything from monitoring and measuring in vineyards to making wine and sensory testing.

They ran six trial sites around South Australia and collected some additional data from New South Wales.

The catalysts for the project were a mutual interest in vine balance and canopy management and the right timing. De Bei was involved with the development of an early version of the app with Dr Sigfredo Fuentes and Professor Steve Tyerman in a separate project at the university and saw the potential to do more with it.

And they also bring perspectives from different hemispheres. Collins is a graduate of the University of Adelaide, while De Bei completed her degrees in her native Italy.

Her PhD involved a six-month stint in Adelaide, and she quickly returned.

March 2017 – Issue 638

What continues to emerge from their research is the strong relationship between leaf area, canopy porosity and the quality measures that are linked to colour and other sensory attributes.

“We’ve now got numerous seasons of data from numerous sites and regions; the numbers may not be the same in every situation but the relationships keep coming out,” De Bei said.

“Certain leaf area and exposure levels appear to result in a type of quality.

What you can do is generate a history for your site and test where you are at in the season and what you might need to do to manage it.”

That is where the app has proved so valuable. It allows users to generate images and data from past years to allow comparisons that can support decision making.

“One of the things that needs to happen next is managing all the data the app generates to help users create a history of their vineyards,” Collins said.

“It’s never going to be a tool where you press a button and walk away; you still must use your viticultural knowledge to get the most benefit, and hopefully we can help users with that through extension.”

“The other side of this is that we’re hoping to see a similar approach to estimating pruning weight – capturing the capacity of the vines and what they can deliver for you,” De Bei said.

“Our intention is for that to be an added feature; it just needs more validation.”

AWIWA organiser Jane Thomson said the advisory board felt introducing a research category in 2016 was an important step in the evolution of the awards “as the work of our researchers is so integral to the success of the entire wine sector”.

“Roberta and Cassandra were not only able to aptly demonstrate the impact of their project for our domestic wine community but also the global potential for this app,” Thomson said.

The other finalists in the ‘researcher of the year’ category were Associate Professor Kerry Wilkinson from the University of Adelaide and Dr Dimitra Capone from the Australian Wine Research Institute.

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Viticulture app part of award-winning research

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grapegrowing

Slow and steady nitrogen management in the vineyard A frequently mis-applied nutrient, proper usage requires restraint and commitment. Mark Greenspan reports.

I MAY BE JUST shooting from the hip here, but I’m fairly confident that most vineyards are improperly fertilized with nitrogen (N). Much like water, nitrogen is the one mineral input that seems to be mis-applied to vineyards.

And like over-use of water, over-use of nitrogen can lead to problems with canopy management, fruit and wine quality, and sustainable viticulture.

A NECESSARY NUTRIENT NOT FOUND IN MINERAL SOILS Grapevines, like all plants, require nitrogen to survive.

Nitrogen is a major constituent of amino acids and thus is a component of proteins, both structural and enzymatic.

It is also a major constituent of chlorophyll, which is why plants deficient in it take on a paler green colour, instead of their normal shade of green.

From a practical standpoint, nitrogen availability (or lack thereof) is almost like water to a vine: too much and the vine grows vegetatively.

Too little and the vine can have its growth stunted, fruit ripening slowed and wines potentially deficient in assimilable nitrogen sources for yeast fermentation.

Unlike many of the other macronutrients (including potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus), nitrogen is not contained in the mineral component of the soil. Rocks don’t contain nitrogen.

Nitrogen is released during breakdown of organic matter in the soil, the organic matter coming from plant residues from native vegetation, weeds, crops, microflora, etc. It may also come from breakdown of animal residue, including higher animals, insects and microfauna.

In agricultural systems, it may come from crop and cover crop residue, compost and organic fertilizers, mineral (inorganic) fertilizers and a relatively minor amount from aerial deposition of nitrate.

The atmosphere is full of gaseous N2, but plants cannot assimilate nitrogen in that form. Leguminous plants form synergistic relationships with soil-borne bacteria (Rhizobia), which are able to capture nitrogen gas and form organic nitrogen compounds that benefit the host plants.

This isn’t really the time to go into the nitrogen cycle, but I will go into it briefly because one cannot talk about nitrogen management without at least a cursory background on how nitrogen moves in the environment. As I mentioned, soil nitrogen is primarily stored as organic nitrogen.

It’s easy to tell growers to use less nitrogen. But how can we be more specific than that? First, we can estimate the annual nitrogen budget. We need to replace what is removed by the crop each year.

36 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Plants cannot take up organic nitrogen—they can only take up mineral forms.

Organic nitrogen is turned into mineral nitrogen through a microbial process called mineralisation.

In mineralisation, soil microbes break down the organic matter and release ammonium.

The ammonium can have several fates: it can volatilize, can be temporarily bound to the soil’s cation exchange, be taken up by plants or assimilated by microbes.

Much, however, will be converted to nitrate (with nitrite as a short-lived intermediary) by microbes, which is referred to as nitrification. It’s the nitrate form of N that vines love so much.

Plants can take up both ammonium and nitrate, but most plants, including grapevines, preferentially take up nitrate.

Nitrate levels fluctuate based on the composition of the organic matter in the soil, soil temperature, moisture and activity of soil microorganisms.

High C:N ratios (greater than 20:1) favour uptake of the nitrogen by microbes (called immobilization), reducing the nitrate pool in the soil. Low C:N ratios (less than 20:1) tend to release nitrate from the organic matter and increase the pool of nitrate in the soil.

Other losses of nitrate include de-nitrification, which again is caused by microbes, but by anaerobic microbes under waterlogged, anoxic conditions.

Also, and more commonly, removal of nitrate from the system is through leaching. Nitrate is an anion (negatively charged), so it is not held in the cation exchange sites of the soil and will move easily and readily along with water.

So, herein lies the issue: nitrate levels fluctuate in the soil, both due to mineralisation and nitrification processes, but also because of our fertilization practices.

Vines will take up nitrogen; but if not taken up, the nitrogen does not necessarily stay in the same place. Leaching losses can be considerable in intensively farmed areas.

When nitrate moves past the root zone into the vadose zone (between the roots and the groundwater), it cannot be taken up by plants and eventually reaches the groundwater.

Groundwater nitrate levels have reached unacceptably high levels in many parts of the Central Valley and now may not be used for drinking water.

The California State Water Resources Control Board noted that in 2010, eight percent of drinking water wells exceeded the maximum contaminant level for nitrate.

That’s an important issue in the Central Valley, and proper nitrogen management is of extreme importance there.

For those of us who farm relatively small vineyards in the coastal regions, the issue is of lesser importance, though I frequently see over-use of nitrogen fertilizers and imagine that much of that nitrogen applied never reaches the vine.

In the wet North Coast, much probably reaches streams while in the arid regions of the Central Coast, the nitrate probably remains in the vadose zone for a long period of time, never leaching nor being taken up by vines or other vegetation.

Whatever region one farms in, overuse of nitrogen fertilizers is unsustainable, not to mention financially inefficient.

www.winetitles.com.au

March 2017 – Issue 638

WHEN AND HOW MUCH? It’s easy to tell growers to use less nitrogen. But how can we be more specific than that?

First, we can estimate the annual nitrogen budget. We need to replace what is removed by the crop each year.

Grape composition varies, but a conservative rule of thumb is 1.8kg of N per tonne of grapes harvested.

So, a five-tonne crop will need 9kg of N to replace the amount removed each year.

That assumes that there are no other removals and that the vegetative portions are returned to the soil (though breakdown of woody canes is a slow process).

Ignoring atmospheric deposition, the 9kg of N will be replaced by fertilization and by breakdown of soil organic matter. The latter should not be ignored, though it often is.

Soil organic matter is about five per cent nitrogen, of which a portion of that is mineralized and becomes soluble for plant uptake. A rule of thumb is that about 9kg of N is mineralised per per cent of soil organic matter in the upper 20cm of soil.

That’s a lot, and our one per cent organic matter soil may be able to sustain our modestly producing vines without supplemental N fertilization.

The reality of it, though, is that the process is not perfectly efficient and the mineralisation is not consistent throughout the growing season.

The vine needs nitrogen early in the season, but the cool soil may not be releasing enough N to meet the needs of the vine, so a small amount of N (think about 3.5kg/Ha for coastal vineyards) may be needed to get the vine into a good growth mode.

Also, since we are using drip irrigation in our vineyards, the soil in the middle and between emitters is dry, and the N release becomes very slow in dry soils.

So, some mid-season nitrogen fertilization is often needed, but we usually wait until after fruit set to avoid possible issues with shatter.

I find that, in coastal vineyards, 9kg of mineralized N by rule of thumb is not often enough to sustain the vines, and we usually apply about 11 to 13.5kg (often less but rarely more) N per hectare.

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More than any other nutrient, timing of application is of extreme importance. Small applications, made at various times during the growing season, are almost always better than fewer large applications In higher-production vineyards more nitrogen will be needed but don’t forget to consider the soil organic matter contribution to fertilization needs.

This is especially important in vineyards where compost is applied. I have seen situations where so much compost was applied that the vines became over-stimulated and did not set a decent crop.

Also, if the water supply contains significant nitrate, then that contribution needs to be taken into consideration.

TISSUE TESTING Looking at vines is not enough to determine if nitrogen fertilization is needed.

A uniformly pale canopy is a sign that the vines are nitrogendeficient, but one does not want to wait for a pale canopy to decide when to fertilize.

Soil testing is not a very effective means to determine nitrogen needs because most vineyard soils are not high in nitrogen, though the soil organic matter percentage is important in determining potential mineralisation rates.

Tissue testing is the best way to determine the plant’s nitrogen status.

Alas, it will not tell you how much to fertilize. One must use a nitrogen budget, augmented by iteration, to determine the best annual fertilizer application rate, but the tissue nitrogen status can be used to track whether a vineyard is increasing, decreasing or remaining static with respect to N.

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

37

grapegrowing This is where the iteration comes into play. Add to that seasonal variations that may be affected by drought (less N mineralized), cover crop status and previous yields.

The timing of tissue sampling is fairly standard: samples are taken at about 50 per cent flowering and are collected from leaves opposite the flower clusters.

Many, including myself, like to take another sample at veraison, but the target sample is not the basal leaves, rather the most recently matured leaves on the shoots.

For problem vineyards, a harvest or post-harvest tissue sample may be taken, but an even better sample for N would be the clusters, where juice nitrogen determinations (including oenological relevant assays) can be made.

There seem to be two camps: the leaf blade camp and the petiole camp. Many will take petioles at bloom and blades at veraison.

Personally, I prefer and am more accustomed to petioles, and much of that has to do with their ability to detect potassium deficiencies and excesses, I have found, more sensitively than leaf blades.

But whatever you do, do it consistently and use a lab that you feel confident with.

Also, many people will test for nitrate-N in petioles, which I feel is not very useful. Total N is way more stable a measurement, though high nitrate-N levels in petioles are an indication of high current nitrate uptake, often due to a recent fertilization.

Low petiole nitrate levels do not necessarily mean a nitrogen deficient condition.

I won’t go into the various target levels because it depends on where the vineyard is, its target production level and many other factors, including variety.

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38 Grapegrower & Winemaker

However, for a flowering petiole test, I usually look for 0.9 to 1.1 percent total-N. I can accept slightly lower levels for very high-quality, low-yielding vineyards, and slightly higher levels for high-production vineyards.

But, levels approaching 1.5 percent total-N at bloom are usually indicative of an overly vigorous vineyard.

Levels at veraison should be about 0.1 to 0.2 percent lower than at bloom.

IT’S ALL ABOUT TIMING More than any other nutrient, timing of application is of extreme importance.

Small applications, made at various times during the growing season, are almost always better than fewer large applications, for the reasons stated above about avoidance of vegetative vigour and nitrogen losses due largely to leaching.

I sometimes make a small N application at budbreak for vineyards that have struggled to reach the upper trellis wire.

Then, as the spring gets warmer and we approach bloom and set, I back off.

The second N application is usually made right after set, often guided by the recent petiole sample.

I usually apply less than 5.5kg/Ha of nitrogen at this point, sometimes followed a few weeks later by another application.

A veraison tissue sample will help to guide me to whether or not a post-veraison N application needs to be made. This is true with organic vineyards as well, but I will usually apply nitrogen earlier on them because of the slower release of N. Post-harvest is an opportunity to get some N stored in the wood during the dormant season, but it is only effective if the canopy is in good shape.

A canopy that is senescing will take up little nitrogen, so don’t bother. Any nitrogen that is not taken up may be lost due to leaching, de-nitrification or volatilization.

I would not apply much over 3kg N per hectare post-harvest for the simple reason that the vines will not take up much more in most years, unless the fall weather is unusually warm.

There is a lot more to this than I have covered here, including choice of fertilization materials. But, let me at least mention one thing that is not always thought through: timing of nitrogen fertilizer injections into a drip irrigation system.

As I mentioned earlier, nitrate moves readily with irrigation water, and liquid fertilizer, no matter what the form, will move with the water plume. We want to keep the nutrients where the vine roots will get them.

If we inject fertilizer at the beginning of the irrigation, we may push the nitrogen too low in the profile. This is not a severe hazard if we do short, low-volume irrigations, but long irrigation applications should not have fertilizer injected early in the cycle.

That does not mean at the end of the irrigation application, however. Some water application is needed following injection to flush the materials out of the system and to move the fertilizer into the soil a short distance to avoid volatilization of ammonium and urea-based fertilizers.

The long and short of it is that vineyard nitrogen fertilization should be practiced like vineyard water management: in limited amounts throughout the season. Feed your vines, not the groundwater.

About the author: Mark Greenspan is a Certified Crop Advisor and has completed the Nitrogen Management Training Program through the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Fertilizer Research and Education Program. This article first appeared in the US Wine Business Magazine and is re-published with permission.

www.winetitles.com.au

March 2017 – Issue 638

Product Update

Effective snail control starts now MANY GRAPEGROWERS have had a season long battle with snails this year. Moist soil from irrigation and regular rainfall has provided an abundance of lush green growth that provides perfect conditions for snails.

Autumn rains and the changing season will now trigger even greater snail activity; hence this is the perfect time to implement a vineyard baiting program. Snails are active and feeding but haven’t yet begun to lay eggs.

Snails generally shelter in the vine canopy from late spring through summer to escape the heat. This situation can result in major contamination issues at harvest in wine and table grapes, as well as in fruit destined for drying. Common garden snail (Cantareus aspersus) and the white Italian snail (Theba pisana) are regular culprits; however this varies between wine growing regions. There are as many as five species that cause problems across southern Australia; the small pointed snail (Prietocella barbara) is another example, but in this case the damage is caused through situations such as blocked irrigation sprinklers.

Snails lay eggs from autumn through to spring, with some species laying up to 1500 eggs in small batches throughout the season. Many can live for up to two years. Eggs hatch within two weeks and juvenile snails can grow quickly to join existing populations to feed on new buds and young leaves.

Snail bait is the best form of chemical control, with baits needing to be applied when snails are active and feeding.

Vineyards should be monitored throughout the season to ensure an effective baiting program that is controlling snail populations.

Post-harvest autumn baiting is more effective than a program in spring and summer, despite the fact that snails and their damage are most visible at that time. The aim is to control the population before they lay their eggs; for every snail killed in autumn before it has the chance to lay eggs, thousands can be prevented from entering the vineyard during the next two seasons. Controlling populations now will lower the number left to breed, and hence reduce feeding damage and contamination issues next season.

The choice of bait is critical to an effective result. Firstly, the product must spread easily and evenly across the vineyard to reduce both application time and the need for constant and costly reapplication.

The product must also be attractive so that snails are drawn to it in preference to other food sources, and not left to rely on finding by chance. This is the difference between a true bait and an old-fashioned bran pellet.

The bait also needs to be palatable so that snails will eat enough to ingest a lethal dose. Avoid bran pellets with low quality ingredients and low levels of active ingredient.

The bait must be able to withstand rain then heat then rain again, yet still continue to work regardless of weather. SARDI and other research has demonstrated that commonly used bran pellets have a short lifespan and don’t work after rainfall.

There is really only one choice for an effective snail bait in vineyards; Metarex. Only Metarex has what it takes to control snails when the pressure is on.

March 2017 – Issue 638

Late weed growth needs a plan of attack One of the most talked about topics this year has been weed management.

In many cases, it’s due to growing concern about herbicide resistance in the vineyard. Significant rain events over the recent summer has stimulated this discussion. It has germinated weeds that are creating a problem at an already busy time of year. If you don’t start planning weed control until after harvest then by the time you action the plan, it might be too late.

There is still time to plan your strategy! That way, when vintage is finished you can take quick action to ensure weeds don’t have chance to set seed. After all, stopping weeds multiply is at the heart of every good weed control program.

Non-selective knockdown herbicides provide an effective kill of established weeds. If the vineyard has a history of glyphosate use, then rotating to another herbicide group, such as GRAMOXONE® or SPRAY.SEED®, under vines is a sensible option. Both are non-selective contact bipyridyl herbicides that belong to the Group L herbicide group.

The choice of product depends on the weed species present. GRAMOXONE is an annual grass specialist, whereas SPRAY.SEED, a mix of paraquat (GRAMOXONE) and diquat which does the ‘heavy lifting’ on broadleaved weeds, is more suited to where more annual broadleaved weeds are present.

Being contact herbicides, water volumes and spray coverage are very important as better coverage of the plant with these herbicides gives a higher level of control. Match the water volume to the size and density of the weeds you are targeting. Both GRAMOXONE and SPRAY.SEED should be applied at higher water volumes than systemic herbicides like glyphosate.

The effectiveness of bipyridyls can be improved when they are applied in lower light conditions, such as in the evening. Bipyridyls are rapidly absorbed into leaves, destroying green plant tissue quickly on contact, and the speed of cell destruction can be influenced by the intensity of light. The greater the light intensity, the faster the reaction.

Applying GRAMOXONE or SPRAY.SEED in the evening slows the speed of cell damage and extends the drying time of the droplet on the leaf. The longer drying time allows more time for the active ingredient to be absorbed into the leaf and a slower speed of cell damage can enable better movement of the active ingredient within the leaf. So spray at the end of the day or at night if you can.

An effective weed control strategy to manage herbicide resistance is the ‘double knock’, which utilises two different herbicide modes of action. Generally, it involves applying glyphosate followed by either GRAMOXONE or SPRAY.SEED five to ten days later. It can be a very useful tool, when done correctly. In theory, if any weeds survive or are resistant to the first glyphosate application, they will be controlled by the second herbicide application or ‘double-knock’. Both herbicide applications should be at a full lethal dose rate to control the weeds. To ensure a really good result on difficult to control weeds such as marshmallow, stinging nettle or erodium, the addition of a Group G herbicide spike mixed with the SPRAY.SEED is very effective.

And finally, while they may give perennials like couch and kikuyu a really good knock, GRAMOXONE and SPRAY.SEED will not fully control these grass weeds.

FUSILADE FORTE® or glyphosate should be used in these circumstances.

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

www.winetitles.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

39

grapegrowing

The perfect grape supply contract Mellor Olsson Lawyers report on the issues affecting grape supply contracts. This article continues from the content within the Australian Winegrower pages earlier in this edition.

THERE ARE SOME COMPONENTS that every single contract should have, no matter which industry it relates to, such as clearly defined parties to the agreement, their registered addresses, and the time period to which it relates.

Grape supply contracts specifically have some additional requirements, which are particular to this industry.

A grape supply contract should be balanced so that it benefits and protects both growers and winemakers.

The parties should be happy that the contract adequately gives effect to their intentions, and that their interests are appropriately protected.

To that end, it should not include any unfair terms. Not only will this damage relationships between those in the industry, but the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010) voids any term that is considered to be unfair in a contract for the supply of goods.

Unfair terms can include a term that

A good system for organising paperwork is critical. It is a very costly exercise to pay a lawyer to sort out 20 years of receipts in order to find a particular transaction.

If properly organised files are kept, not only can this cost be avoided, but it may assist the parties to resolve a dispute without the need for litigation, as discussions and transactions can be easily verified by reference to records.

40 Grapegrower & Winemaker

permits one party (but not another) to unilaterally terminate, or otherwise vary, the agreement.

When considering the problems mentioned above, one of the most important requirements of a grape supply contract is that the terms should be as specific as possible.

Doing this helps to ensure that the parties are aware of their obligations.

With regard to the quality of grapes produced, contracts should specify what is required with regard to: • Quantity; • Tonnes per hectare limit; • Purity; • Chemical levels (e.g. baume, pH etc.); and • Condition.

This offers winemakers certainty with regard to the product they will be receiving, whilst simultaneously providing them with protection in the event of unforeseeable circumstances, such as natural disasters.

Similarly, growers benefit from having these terms specifically included as they know exactly what is required of the grapes they produce; they no longer have to fear the goalposts being moved.

In terms of the quality of the grapes, supply contracts should include a reference to how this is determined.

One option would be for the contract to include a term by which the parties agree to engage an independent industry expert to determine the exact quality of the grapes supplied.

This will avoid disputes between the parties in circumstances where there is a disagreement over the quality of the grapes supplied.

Although the parties may not necessarily agree with the expert’s opinion, the specificity of the terms lowers the potential for a dispute to arise, and limits a grower’s reliance on the winemaker’s discretion.

Another term that should be adequately specified is the price at which the grapes are supplied.

Although there may be no clear method for determining exactly what price grapes should be traded at under a supply contract, parties can implement measures by which they are afforded www.winetitles.com.au

protection, limiting the potential for disputes.

For example, the parties could agree to a term that governs how grape quality will affect price and at what quality the purchaser has the right to reject the grapes altogether.

Similarly, the grower can benefit from the inclusion of a minimum price clause, whereby provided the grapes reach a minimum standard of quality, the winemaker will be required to pay a minimum price for them.

By including these clauses, although the price itself may not be specifically calculable, many disputes can be avoided.

With regard to construction of the contract, the choice of words should be simple.

Pa r ties should not seek overcomplicated ‘legalese’ wording, as this discourages transparency in the agreement and between the parties.

If terms of the contract are kept simple and drafted in plain English, the parties are in a better position to understand and comply with their obligations.

With a similar goal in mind, parties should also arrange for any agreement to be governed by a written contract that gives effect to the terms of an arrangement.

Written contracts provide substantially more certainty than verbal contracts, and again, promote transparency and a healthy relationship between the parties.

The final component and arguably the most important clause for a grape supply contract to have is a dispute resolution clause.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION In both personal and professional relationships, disputes inevitably arise no matter how strong that relationship may be. Having a clearly defined procedure by which to resolve these disputes is essential in maintaining the relationship as much as possible.

This is generally achieved through the use of alternative dispute resolution or ‘ADR’. Particularly in the context of an industry with no objective method of determining grape quality, ADR clauses become essential to any contract.

A well drafted contract will include a clearly defined ADR process for the parties to follow.

March 2017 – Issue 638

It provides the parties with certainty and minimises stress.

An ADR procedure can be tailored to suit the needs of the parties, and often includes a series of individual methods of ADR. There are a number of methods that parties can consider, including, but not limited to: • Mediation; • Arbitration; and • Expert determination.

Mediation is the most common form of ADR and is a process that many people are familiar with.

It involves the parties, facilitated by a neutral party – the mediator – negotiating to resolve the dispute amicably. It is a favourable option for many as it involves no obligation, and the parties have control over the exact terms of any resolution.

Arbitration is different to mediation.

The parties appoint a third party to facilitate a resolution, without any negotiation between the parties.

Instead, the arbitrator is given all the facts and evidence and makes an independent decision as to how the dispute should be resolved.

Unlike a mediation, before the arbitration commences the parties agree to be bound by whatever decision is arrived at.

Expert determination is another alternative method that parties can pursue and is similar to arbitration.

The parties appoint an expert in the field of the dispute. The expert then makes a determination based on the facts of the situation.

This determination, much like arbitration, is binding on the parties.

Regardless of which method(s) of ADR are agreed upon by the parties, well drafted contracts with proper provisions for ADR can help to maintain relationships between growers and winemakers.

The strength of these relationships is essential to the long term welfare of the industry and parties should be doing all they can to maintain these relationships well in to the future.

Unfortunately, ADR does not guarantee a resolution and sometimes litigation remains the only solution.

It is important to remember that litigation, by its very nature, is filled with uncertainty.

No matter how strong a particular

party’s case may be, that party will have to appear before the Court and make out their case.

Ultimately this decision will come down to an opinion formed by a judge or a jury.

This opinion can never be predicted with absolute certainty. The only certainty in this entire process is the cost. Litigation is an extremely expensive proposition, with many trials costing in excess of $10,000 per day per party. Those costs are ultimately paid for by a party to the dispute.

In many instances, the losing party is also responsible for 60% of the legal costs incurred by the successful party, meaning that even the ‘winner’ is out of pocket for legal fees.

Litigation is also time consuming and disputes resolved in this manner can become protracted and drag on for years.

This puts the parties under considerable stress and can have farreaching implications on the businesses, but also on the personal lives of those involved.

To avoid the consequences of litigation, any contract should have a clearly defined ADR procedure.

And although it has a place in the

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March 2017 – Issue 638

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

41

grapegrowing resolution process, litigation should undoubtedly be a last resort.

BUT WHAT CAN I DO? Unfortunately, some disputes cannot be reconciled through ADR methods and litigation becomes the only option.

In such circumstances, parties should always seek advice and assistance from a lawyer.

Litigation can be overwhelming and having proper legal counsel to grapple with the issues objectively is vital.

The difficulty faced by lawyers tackling contract disputes is that they often have to attempt to retrospectively assemble the facts, particularly the context in which the agreement was entered into.

This is often a difficult and time consuming process.

Parties can take steps to make the litigation process smoother and less stressful.

Primarily, the first step is to engage a lawyer to draft the contract initially. Whilst template style ‘plug-nplay’ contracts may seem an attractive proposition due to their low cost and ease of creation, they can become particularly difficult to deal with when resolving disputes, as many terms will not be relevant or correctly drafted.

In extreme circumstances, this can cause the entire contract to be void.

In addition, growers and winemakers can take additional steps to help resolve disputes faster and with less stress.

The most important thing is to keep records, or a ‘paper trail’.

Whilst this may not always be the easiest thing for growers and winemakers to do, having records of telephone conversations, meetings or correspondence between parties will ultimately assist in resolving any dispute.

A possible alternative is the use of emails to record correspondence.

Using our example from before, if

42 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Gary thinks he is not being paid correctly for his grapes, in addition or in the alternative to ringing Vinnie to discuss the dispute, Gary can send an email containing the details of his concerns for future reference.

The benefit being that if the dispute progresses to litigation, Gary’s lawyers will have a clear record of his discussion with Vinnie.

Along the same lines, a good system for organising paperwork is critical.

It is a very costly exercise to pay a lawyer to sort out 20 years of receipts in order to find a particular transaction.

If properly organised files are kept, not only can this cost be avoided, but it may assist the parties to resolve a dispute without the need for litigation, as discussions and transactions can be easily verified by reference to records.

Lawyers often also encounter issues regarding timing.

Again referring to our example of Gary, Vinnie and Shiraz Wineries, let us assume Gary has entered into an agreement with Vinnie for the supply of grapes to Shiraz Wineries.

Gary issues invoices for his grapes and is compensated accordingly, but not in the full amount as there is an issue regarding how the parties price the grapes.

Two years go by and Gary has finally had enough. Gary’s lawyer will encounter difficulty in resolving the dispute by litigation as Gary has been accepting of the issue for so long.

It is important that both growers and winemakers raise and resolve any issues that may arise as and when they happen.

One final tip for both growers and winemakers is to maintain good financial records.

This includes both yearly financial statements, as prepared by an accountant, and other financial documents including invoices, receipts, records of cash transactions, bank statements and any

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other financial documents.

Keeping good records assists in establishing a financial position at any given point in time, but also provides a reference point that the parties can use to hopefully work through any difficulties that may arise and potentially avoid litigation altogether.

Each of these tips will not only help your lawyer when commencing legal proceedings, but they will also substantially lower legal fees and make the entire process smoother.

They may also reduce the likelihood of a dispute arising, and assist the parties to resolve disputes without the need for litigation.

WHERE TO FROM HERE? Contracts in general play an important role in the success of any business.

They provide certainty for parties, making them aware of their obligations and entitlements under business arrangements.

When combined with friendly and honest negotiations, and willingness to work together, a contract can be used to promote healthy long term relationships between growers and winemakers.

These relationships are the basis of the industry’s long term sustainability and success.

By strengthening them, growers and winemakers benefit themselves, each other, and the industry at large.

There are, however, no illusions as to the difficulties of drafting an appropriate contract to properly give effect to the terms of an agreement.

To that end, Mellor Olsson Lawyers are more than happy to provide assistance to anyone in need of help with a particular contract, with dispute resolution, litigation or any other legal services that may be required. Please do not hesitate to contact us on (08) 8414 3400.

March 2017 – Issue 638

Vineyard: Post Harvest

Energising Viticulture: Sam Bowman Post-harvest grapevine management

As everybody gets caught up in the whirlwind that is our harvest period and looks forward to a well-earned holiday after the fruit comes off – it is can be easy to forget the importance of post-harvest grapevine management. Sam Bowman reports.

THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS I get asked by growers tend to focus on the issues of timing and amount of nutrient/irrigation application; as well as how important it is to keep a healthy functioning canopy.

Every vineyard is different and there are many external factors which will influence the treatment during this period.

But let’s have a look at some general guidelines for ensuring a fruitful season next vintage.

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO PROPERLY MANAGE YOUR VINEYARD AFTER THE SEASON IS FINISHED? From budburst to flowering, each vine relies solely on stored carbohydrates from the previous season. The majority (50 to 75%) is stored in the roots, where the carbohydrates are stored as starch and as free sugars with the starch stored as granules in the xylem and phloem vessels.

The demand for mobilisation of stored carbohydrates reduces as functioning leaf photosynthesis takes over as the main source of energy production, this occurs around the eight-to-10 leaf stage, which is quite a long way from budburst and a crucial period of early canopy development.

Not only will canopy architecture be determined from the stored carbohydrate reserves - but also bud fruitfulness, flowering and the eventual fruit set are all directly linked with how the vines are handled going into dormancy.

Half of all stored carbohydrates are mobilised in the spring, the buffer that remains stored allows the vine to re-shoot in the event of a frost or a hail event, something we don’t often think about after harvest.

With 16% of total Nitrogen coming from the leaf postharvest, it shows this period can have a huge impact on the following season.

HOW LONG SHOULD I KEEP WATERING AFTER HARVESTING? The answer to this question, again, is different for each vineyard and each region.

I like to water directly after harvest (that day or night depending on whether it was handpicked or machine harvested)

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SWEEPER

• Cleans floors to minimise disease.

• Low cost & efficient to run.

• Can be retro-fitted.

UNDERVINE SLASHING

• For slashing between & around vines & posts.

• Suitable for use on mounded or flat ground.

• Single or double sided.

• Rear or front mounted. • Hydraulically driven.

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McLaren Vale – Phone: +61 8 8323 9001 www.ledgardpruning.com • sales@ledgardpruning.com March 2017 – Issue 638

www.winetitles.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

43

grapegrowing

and then continue to keep a healthy canopy for as long as possible to ensure adequate replenishment of carbohydrates.

Crop load also plays a huge role in determining how long irrigation should be applied to restore reserves: Crop Load – tonnes per Hectare `Irrigation duration 5-10 One week – mostly restored by harvest 10-20 Four weeks

HOW MUCH FERTILIZER SHOULD BE APPLIED...

AND WHEN?

20-35 Six-to-eight weeks

If water is not available after harvest, it should be applied two-to-three weeks before budburst to reduce stress symptoms.

Vines will tolerate this for one season without declining significantly but it’s not a great practice. Keeping sufficient supply in reserve for after harvest, especially in warmer regions is a must.

In cooler climates, where there is a shorter post-harvest

44 Grapegrower & Winemaker

period than warm/hot regions, growers may only need two irrigations and some fertilizer applications.

Those in warm/hot climates will require more nutrient and irrigation after harvesting and will also need to ensure the duration of each irrigation is accurate – to match the vines’ needs and not leach nutrients below the rootzone. Soil moisture probes can assist in this period to ensure water is not used in-efficiently and minimal amounts are applied.

Nutrient removal from the vines will vary based on the region; crop load; soil fertility; and the vine nutrient status during the season.

As mineral uptake is directly correlated with photosynthesis and transpiration, a healthy functioning canopy after harvest is crucial for nutrient replenishment.

Macro nutrients are in higher demand than micro nutrients, but all are essential for a healthy functioning vine the following season. For a vineyard cropping at 10 tonnes per hectare the

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March 2017 – Issue 638

following macro nutrients are removed from the vineyard per tonne of fruit: Nutrient Kilograms removed per tonne harvested Nitrogen 1.5 Phosphorus 0.4 Potassium 3 Calcium 0.4 Magnesium 0.1 This is no ‘one size fits all’ approach either and nutrient additions should be based on nutrient status throughout the season (petioles and leaf blade) and soil tests, but is a good guide to give you a rough idea of what will need to be replace.

Within cool climates, where there is a shorter post-harvest period, growers may only need a small nutrient application directly after harvest. In warm and hot climates, if the canopy is in good condition, growers should wait to leaf fall before applying to ensure efficient uptake and less loss through leaching due to the longer irrigation period.

If water availability is low, there will be limited movement of nutrients through the soil so applications should be postponed until the following season.

WHY WOULD I APPLY FUNGICIDES AFTER HARVEST? Because it has been a high disease-pressure year in most regions (the Hunter seemed to get a well-earned break for a change) the risk of mildews and mites arriving late in the season was increased.

Powdery and downy mildews can disrupt nutrient uptake in the vine and the export of carbohydrates from the leaves. In young vines, infections can greatly disrupt carbohydrate export and also the lignification process in the canes which can lead to susceptibility to frost and cold damage in the winter.

More importantly, the post-harvest period gives rise to the formation of cleistothecia (the over-wintering, spore-forming structures of powdery mildew) which can cause issues in the following season by infecting young shoots.

For regions with a longer period between harvest and dormancy a copper/sulphur spray will reduce the incidence of cleistothecia formation and keep powdery and downy in check.

In addition, this application can also be used to apply foliar

March 2017 – Issue 638

This is no ‘one size fits all’ approach either and nutrient additions should be based on nutrient status throughout the season (petioles and leaf blade) and soil tests, but is a good guide to give you a rough idea of what will need to be replace. fertilizers if direct injection is not an option. If vines are severely infected, more dramatic action will need to be taken to reduce the spore load.

As vines lignify the susceptibility is dramatically reduced so vigilant monitoring after the fruit comes off is the best bet.

WHAT IF I CAN’T DIRECT INJECT INTO MY DRIP SYSTEM OR I DRY GROW? If this is the case, don’t panic. I’m a big fan of post-harvest foliar nutrient application.

The fact you can cover off some end of season fungicide application and add vital macro and micro nutrients in one fowl swoop is a huge bonus.

In this scenario, an NPK for macronutrients and a product like tri-kelp seaweed added for some trace elements with be sufficient for most vineyards.

The chemical cost per hectare will be around $32. Best to get this done close to harvest to maximise leaf uptake. If contract spraying ($60-$80 per ha), this is a pricier option but for owner operators can be a great way to ensure your vines go to bed happy and healthy.

IN SUMMARY With so much of the next season’s crop relying on the management after harvest it is crucial to have a good plan in place to achieve the best results.

Tracking vine performance and tissue testing during the season are just as important as the right inputs after harvest. A little extra work at the end of the season can have a great effect down the track. Happy picking.

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45

MORE THAN JOURNALS As publisher of Australia’s leading industry journals, it would be easy to think we are only ink on paper.

But these are more than journals. They are brands.

Wine industry brands that readers and suppliers trust, quote and repond to. Brands that are growing across all platforms.

It’s become a two way relationship online industry offerings, including search, news, blogs weather, published articles and Directory Buyers Guide.

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Take a new look at Winetitles Media’s services today and ask about our FREE Classifieds offer.

34 th Annua l Edition

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SHOP

2016

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w w w. w i n e t i t l e s . c o m . a u

Rounding up the nation’s waste V I T I C U LT U R I S T S AND WINEMAKERS alike know well the familiar thrill of watching vines develop from the bud-breaking stage through to fruit setting.

The buzz is matched only by the sense of trepidation associated with the desire to produce top-quality Australian grapes and wines.

However, as production cycles pass it’s easy to forget about unused, expired and unwanted agvet chemicals and containers discarded in storage sheds.

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND Agsafe’s ChemClear and drumMUSTER are industry-led programs working towards reducing waste on farms nationwide, helping farmers keep their land clear of unregistered chemicals to ensure the health and safety of families, farm workers and the environment.

Queensland farmers are encouraged to register their unwanted agvet chemicals with ChemClear by April, with collections taking place statewide in June.

Property owners can register old

chemicals online or by phoning the hotline before 28 April and registered persons will be notified of collection locations in their council area in May. Chemical containers displaying the drumMUSTER logo are eligible for free collection and known as Group 1 chemicals.

Agvet chemical containers without the logo or are unlabelled, expired, mixed or from non-participating manufacturers, are designated Group 2 products, incurring a fee per lt/kg for disposal. A quote will be provided when booking Group 2 chemicals.

Empty, clean containers displaying the drumMUSTER logo are eligible for free recycling and Agsafe recommends growers purchase their agvet chemicals from suppliers who stock products with the logo on the container or chemical label.

The plastic is recycled into useful products such as fence posts, drainage pipes, wheelie bins and construction supplies.

Environment

Getting rid of unwanted chemicals safely is easy with Agsafe’s ChemClear and drumMUSTER programs.

Register now online at www.chemclear. org.au or phone 1800 008 182. Find out your closest drumMUSTER collection site by visiting www.drummuster.org.au.

BE CLEAN AND GREEN

disposal tion for agvet chemical recycling and Our programs provide an easy solu

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.org.au 1800 008 182 | www.chemclear.org.au March 2017 – Issue 638

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grapegrowing

How better ground water management for aquifer recharge can benefit the wine industry Climate change and over-extraction of groundwater threaten the long-term sustainability of the Australasian wine industry. However, managed aquifer recharge (MAR) systems are offering growers the potential for more secure and economical supplies. Roger Cudmore, Golder Associates NZ principal environmental consultant, reports.

THE IMPORTANCE OF the wine industry in Australia and New Zealand is readily apparent. According to a 2015 report by Wine Australia, the industry contributes more than $40 billion in gross output to the Australian economy, employing 172,000 people directly and indirectly, many in rural and regional Australia.

Across the Tasman, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research estimates the wine industry directly employs around 7,500 people in New Zealand, generating wages and salaries in the vicinity of NZ$300 million (A$282 million).

Given its economic importance, water is an important focus, given both Australia and New Zealand are vulnerable to water shortages due to increased climate variability and prolonged drought periods.

The industry relies primarily on

48 Grapegrower & Winemaker

groundwater for a stable supply of clean water that needs to be available to ensure vines receive water at precisely the right time to maximise desired grape properties.

Groundwater is an ideal source because it is clean, lacking contamination from insects and algal growth, while also providing a stable and highly reliable source.

In contrast, surface water storage systems are prone to such contamination as well as significant evaporation during dry periods.

It is also becoming increasingly difficult to build surface water storage systems at a scale that provides the vast water storage capacity of groundwater systems.

BENEFITS OF MAR SYSTEMS In Australia, New Zealand and worldwide, the vast stores of accessible www.winetitles.com.au

water within groundwater systems are being depleted by over-extraction for agriculture, industry and for drinking water.

This can be mitigated via Groundwater Replenishment Systems (GRS) that are based on MAR systems, whereby surplus water during wet periods is harvested and used to enhance natural aquifer recharge processes.

The use of MAR systems offers the potential for vineyards and other crops to obtain a secure supply of clean water through long drought periods, and far more economically than can be achieved via dam/surface water storage systems.

In particular, conventional large scale dam/surface water storage type schemes require very high upfront capital investment, and are often uneconomic.

MAR-based systems can also be integrated with existing surface storage infrastructure to enable surplus water March 2017 – Issue 638

during high rainfall periods (typically outside of the irrigation season) to be directed into the aquifer and stored for future use.

Many individual vineyard MAR systems can result in the catchment scale management of aquifer levels that provide base flows in streams.

All of this can occur without the environmental damage associated with traditional schemes and with far greater community buy in.

Australia has many examples of MARtype systems that are predominantly used to manage excess water from mining, urban storm run-off, or recycled water subjected to intensive high-energy based water treatment technology, such as reverse osmosis.

There is an opportunity for the wine and the wider agricultural industry to benefit from such initiatives.

However, there is also the potential sustainable harvesting of surface water flows (during rainfall periods) combined with the use of low energy/ cost infiltration based systems to drive MAR-based water supply schemes.

This provides an opportunity for the wider agricultural sector, including the

March 2017 – Issue 638

wine industry, to gain a more secure and economically viable form of clean water supply.

NEW ZEALAND PILOT SCHEMES In New Zealand, Golder Associates is leading two GRS pilot schemes that are based on MAR systems which have direct application for the wine industry.

In the Ashburton district of the South Island, Golder is overseeing the design and operation of the Hinds/Hekeao infiltration basin based pilot MAR scheme.

A second MAR project that Golder is managing is underway in the Gisborne region of New Zealand’s North Island that can also bring water security benefits to the community of over 40,000 people and the local horticultural sector, including wine producers.

In the first project, the Hinds Catchment on the Canterbury Plains is challenged with some of the worst groundwater conditions relative to declining storage levels and degrading water quality.

To date, well over one million cubic metres of water has been infiltrated to aquifers underlying the basin.

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Following the initiation of the infiltration basin based pilot system, monitoring around the site has clearly shown that groundwater levels are increasing in response and nitratenitrogen concentrations in groundwater are decreasing.

For the second pilot project, a MAR-based scheme is being tested for sustainable managed groundwater levels within the Makauri Aquifer, therefore ensuring the supply of water for intensive horticultural activities and needs of the wider community.

Both projects offer the opportunity for the community and agricultural industry to gain significant insights into the benefits of MAR for long-term sustainability in water management.

For the wine industry, MAR could prove crucial in ensuring the industry’s continued growth by maximising use of our most precious resource.

For more information on sustainable water management, contact Roger Cudmore on +64 3 377 5696 or via email at rcudmore@golder.co.nz.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

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winemaking

Wine screw cap closures: The next generation One of the perceived issues of screw cap closures has been the apparent occurrence of reductive taints, ascribed to a lack of oxygen ingress. Volker Schneider, Martin Schmitt and Rainer Kroeger explain a concept of a new screw cap liner capable of overcoming these issues.

THE QUALITY AND VALUE of fruity white wines strongly depend on their typical varietal flavour. After bottling, the rate, extent, and sensory outcome of wine ageing are primarily driven by temperature and exposure to oxygen.

Depending on oxygen availability, we can differentiate between oxidative ageing and reductive ageing.

For preservation of fruity aroma, the ideal closure would be one allowing as little oxygen ingress as possible. This is one of the main reasons why screw caps have been introduced, in particular those containing a tin/Saran liner. Screw capped wines keep fruity freshness and retain sulfur dioxide (SO2) extremely effectively.

Since the widespread deployment of screw caps, an apparent increase in the occurrence of reductive taints has been observed and ascribed to a lack of oxygen (Limmer 2005). Ground-breaking closure trials by the AWRI in 1999 provided evidence for a tendency: The less oxygen ingress, the more likely the development of reductive character. Reductive wines were described as having a discernable struck flint / rubber aroma in contrast to the more advanced oxidised aromas, lower SO2 levels, and higher browning rates in wines sealed with closures providing a higher oxygen ingress (Godden et al.

2001, 2005, Skouroumounis et al. 2005, Lopes et al. 2009, Ugliano 2013).

The appearance of post-bottling reduction taint is ascribed to the conversion of sulfur containing compounds of low odour intensity into more odour-active volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). Pathways comprise the hydrolysis of thioacetates to thiols (Rauhut et al. 1994), the reduction of disulfides to thiols (Limmer 2005), and a light-induced degradation of methionine giving rise to the formation of methanethiol and dimethyl disulfide (Maujean et al. 1978).

PRE-BOTTLING COPPER ADDITION Some winemakers add copper prior to bottling, expecting thus to

50 Grapegrower & Winemaker

THE AUTHORS Volker Schneider, consulting enologist 55413 Weiler bei Bingen, Germany schneider.oenologie@gmail.com Martin Schmitt, inventor, corresponding author 55595 Roxheim, Germany martin.schmitt@schmittmartin.eu Rainer Kroeger, director R & D, product developer Meyer Seals, 31061 Alfeld, Germany kroeger@meyer-seals.com

mitigate the formation of post-bottling reduction. However, while sometimes this is successful there are numerous drawbacks to this practice. Under conditions of low oxygen ingress, the copper complexes initially formed with VSCs may serve as a latent source of free hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and other odorous VSCs during later storage (Viviers et al. 2013, Franco-Luesma and Ferreira 2016, Bekker et al. 2016). Copper can also affect the varietal aroma profile of Sauvignon blanc and other varieties where poly-functional thiols play a major role in overall aromatics (Ugliano et al.

2011). Furthermore, since copper is a heavy metal subject to legal limits, many wineries are reluctant to willfully add it to wine for health or ethical reasons.

CONCEPT OF A SCREW CAP LINER CAPABLE OF BINDING VSCS IN BOTTLED WINE Considering the problem of postbottling reduction as well as the drawbacks of prophylactically added copper prior to bottling it was reasoned to devise a liner being capable of inactivating VSCs during bottle ageing.

The makeup of this liner has been inspired by the traditional tin/Saran liner but with the tin layer being replaced by an aluminium layer. Furthermore, the new liner contains an additional www.winetitles.com.au

acceptor layer consisting of immobilised copper, capable of irreversibly binding VSCs after diffusion of the latter through a polyethylene layer in contact with the wine. The objective was to entirely relocate the interactions between VSCs and copper as they are known to occur in wine from the bottle into the liner. The result was the patent pending ALKOvin™ liner (Patent No. WO 2015/000901 A1) manufactured by Meyer Seals.

The basic objective of this new liner is to reproduce the effective oxygen barrier inherent in the tin/Saran liner, protect fruity aroma compounds against oxidative degradation, and simultaneously control the concentration of VSCs without copper or reaction products dissolving or getting into contact with the wine.

Figure 1 depicts the makeup of this new ALKOvin™ active liner.

OTR OF THE ALKOVIN™ LINER Prior to any work on wines great attention was paid to the OTR of the new liner. It was ensured in various tests that the ALKOvin™ active liner possesses an OTR indistinguishable from that of the tin/Saran liner. As a consequence, postbottling SO2 losses under the new liner would be comparable to those under the tin/Saran liner.

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ALKOVIN™ ACTIVE LINER IN MODULATING REDUCTION TAINT Based on the encouraging results obtained in our initial study (data not shown), it was decided to have these results confirmed by the AWRI, where a broader study was performed from Sept.

2015 – Sept. 2016.

A commercial Chardonnay wine (free SO2 = 40 mg/L, Cu++ < 0.1 mg/L) was spiked with three different concentration levels of ethanethiol, dimethyl sulfide, and H2S to achieve concentrations corresponding to several times the threshold limit. Methanethiol was present at a level above the sensory perception threshold in the unspiked Chardonnay wine, so this was not adjusted in any of the sample treatments.

March 2017 – Issue 638

AT A GLANCE

Figure 1: Design of the ALKOvin™ active liner adsorbing VSCs in bottled wines.

Table 1: Concentrations of VSCs as affected by ALKOvin™ active liner in comparison to tin/Saran liner in samples spiked at high concentration level after 12 months of bottle storage (upright, dark, at 17°C).

Storage trial conducted in Australia. tin/Saran

ALKOvin®

percentage change caused by ALKOvin®

methanethiol, µg/L

10.13

7.10

- 30.6 %

ethanethiol, µg/L

7.23

3.50

- 51.6 %

hydrogen sulfide, µg/L

2.57

2.67

+ 3.9 %

dimethyl sulfide, µg/L

185.0

226.3

+ 22.3 %

(Full report on the AWRI study is available upon request.)

Figure 2: Mean values for all sensory attributes for Chardonnay after spiking with thiols, H2S and dimethyl sulfide and 12 months’ bottle storage under both tin/Saran (CON VSC1 HIGH) and ALKOvin™ active liner (TEST VSC1 HIGH) liner.

Means found to be significantly different from each other (LSD = 5 %) are marked in bold with *

Table 1 depicts the impact of ALKOvin™ active liner after 12 months of bottle storage as compared to the tin/ Saran liner.

Table 1: Concentrations of VSCs as affected by ALKOvin™ active liner in comparison to tin/Saran liner in samples spiked at high concentration level after 12 months of bottle storage (upright, dark, at 17°C). Storage trial conducted in Australia.

Thiols relevant for post-bottling reductive attributes show a drastic decrease under the ALKOvin™ active March 2017 – Issue 638

liner with the concentration differences generally increasing over time. The complex chemistry involved in the fate and formation of VSCs makes it difficult to explain the lack of effect on H2S and dimethyl sulfide concentrations.

The AWRI trials also studied the impact of the new liner on the concentrations of various precursor compounds, i.e. on sulfur compounds, out of which reductive VSCs develop. Remarkably, concentrations of almost all VSCs measured are lower under ALKOvin™ active liner, as compared to the tin/Saran www.winetitles.com.au

• A n innovative screw cap liner capable of modulating the concentration of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) in screw capped wine has been subjected to performance trials; • The innovative liner includes a layer containing active copper capable of immobilizing VSCs, present in the bottle headspace. Essentially their scavenging by copper takes place within the liner; • OTR of the new liner is indistinguishable from that of a tin/ Saran liner; • Tests have shown that none of the active copper leaches into the wine during storage, even when bottles are stored horizontally; and • In storage experiments performed by the AWRI using commercial wine spiked with VSCs, a distinctive decrease in their concentration was observed in bottles sealed with the active liner, in comparison with those sealed with a tin/Saran liner.

liner. Only H2S and dimethyl sulfide show a deviant behaviour, which cannot be explained conclusively.

The decrease of precursors is caused by a shift in the equilibria established between the primary thiols and their corresponding precursors.

When thiols are scavenged by the new liner, the equilibria favour conversion of the precursors to their primary thiols, resulting in a lower concentration of both precursors and thiols (data not shown).

Sensory evaluation was carried out at the end of the 12 months’ bottle storage using the AWRI’s expert sensory panel.

Figure 2 summarises the attribute scores under tin/Saran and ALKOvin™ active liners for Chardonnay previously spiked with thiols, H2S, and dimethyl sulfide.

The wines stored under the ALKOvin™ active liner exhibited significantly lower perceived levels of reductive aromas such as vegetal and flint. Samples were also presented at a workshop focused on “The impact of packaging on wine development and shelf-life”,(workshop #13 at the 16th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference), where most participants were observed to prefer the wine under the ALKOvin™ active liner .

IMPACT OF THE ALKOVIN™ ACTIVE LINER ON VARIETAL THIOLS OF SAUVIGNON BLANC Varietal thiols of Sauvignon blanc such Grapegrower & Winemaker

51

winemaking 2016. Formation of hydrogen sulfide in wine: Interactions between copper and sulfur dioxide.

Molecules 21 (9): 1214.

Franco-Luesma E., Ferreira V., 2016. Reductive offodors in wines: Formation and release of H2S and methanethiol during the accelerated anoxic storage of wines. Food Chemistry 199: 42-50.

Godden P., Francis L., Field J., Gishen M., Coulter A., Valente P., Hoj P., Robinson E., 2001. Wine bottle closures: physical characteristics and effect on composition and sensory properties of a Semillon wine. I. Performance up to 20 months post-bottling.

Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. 7: 64-105.

Godden P., Lattey K., Francis L., Gishen M., Cowey G., Holdstock M., Robinson E., Waters E., Skouroumounis G., Sefton M., Capone D., Kwiatkowski M., Field J., Coulter A., D’Costa N., Bramley B., 2005. Towards offering wine to the consumer in optimal conditions – the wine, the closures and other packaging variables.

Wine Industry Journal 20: 20-30.

Figure 3: Concentration of 3-MH in Sauvignon blanc under tin/Saran (Control) and ALKOvin™ active (Test) liner at different time points during 12 months' bottle storage.

as 3-MH, 3-MHA, and 4-MMP possess – SH groups and hence are reactive towards copper. Consequently, it was investigated to what extent aroma thiols could become compromised by the new liner.

A commercial Sauvignon blanc wine (free SO2 = 40 mg/L, Cu++ < 0.1 mg/L, no spiking) was bottled and stored as outlined before. Varietal thiols were measured at different time points during bottle storage under both tin/Saran and ALKOvin™ active liner. Figure 3 shows the concentration profile for 3-MH under both liners over a 12-month period. The concentration profiles for 4-MMP and 3-MHA showed similar patterns under both liners.

Evidently, the difference in concentration of the individual varietal thiols under the ALKOvin™ active liner and tin/Saran liners was minimal across the 12 month storage period. The only significant difference was observed for 3-MHA from 40 weeks onwards, with the concentration under the ALKOvin™ active liner being slightly lower than under the tin/Saran liner.

The insensitivity of aroma thiols may seem surprising in consideration of the definite impact of the ALKOvin™ active

liner on VSCs. However, one has to keep in mind that a thiol, prior to interact with the active layer, has to diffuse through a polymer film. Diffusion rate in polymers depends (among other parameters) on the molecular weight of the diffusant. The molecular weights of aroma thiols are distinctly higher than those of VSCs. It is believed that this is the reason for aroma thiols only being marginally influenced by the new liner.

IMPACT OF ALKOVIN™ ACTIVE LINER ON COPPER CONTENT Thorough checks of copper in wines stored under the ALKOvin® liner have shown that no copper leaches into the wine during storage.

THE FUTURE Extensive field trials with leading AUS and NZ wineries are under way to confirm the impact of ALKOvin™ active liner on wines bottled under real world conditions.

Results of the field trial will be published in a future article.

References

Bekker M.Z., Smith M.E., Smith P.A., Wilkes E.N.,

Limmer A., 2005. The chemistry and possible ways of mitigation of post-bottling sulfides. New Zealand Wine 1: 34-37.

Lopes P., Silva M. A., Pons A., Tominaga T., Lavigne V., Saucier C., Darriet P., Teissedre P.-L., Dubourdieu D., 2009. Impact of oxygen dissolved at bottling and transmitted through closures on the composition and sensory properties of a Sauvignon blanc wine during bottle storage. J. Agric. Food Chem. 57: 10261-10270.

Maujean A., Haye M., Feuillat M., 1978. Contribution à l’étude des “goûts de lumière” dans le vin de Champagne. II. Influence de la lumière sur le potentiel d’oxydoréduction. Correlation avec la teneur en thiols du vin. Conn. Vigne Vin 12 (4): 277-290.

Rauhut D., Kürbel H., Dittrich H., Grossmann M., 1996. Properties and differences of commercial yeast strains with respect to their formation of sulfur compounds. Vitic. Enol. Sci. 51: 187-192.

Skouroumounis G. K., Kwiatkowski M. J., Francis I. L., Oakey H., Capone D .L., Duncan B., Sefton M. A., Waters E. J., 2005. The impact of closure type and storage conditions on the composition, colour and flavour properties of a Riesling and a wooded Chardonnay wine during five years’s storage. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. 11 (3): 369-377.

Ugliano M., 2013. Oxygen contribution to wine aroma evolution during bottle aging. J. Agric. Food Chem.

61: 6125-6136.

Ugliano M., Kwiatkowski M., Vidal S., Capone D., Siebert T., Dieval J.-B., Aagaard O., Waters E. J., 2011. Evolution of 3-mercaptohexanol, hydrogen sulfide, and methyl mercaptan during bottle storage of Sauvignon blanc wines. Effect of glutathione, copper, oxygen exposure, and closure-derived oxygen. J. Agric. Food Chem. 59: 2564-2572.

Viviers M. Z., Smith M. E., Wilkes E., Smith P., 2013.

Effects of five metals on the evolution of hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol, and dimethyl sulfide during anaerobic storage of Chardonnay and Shiraz wines.

J. Agric. Food Chem. 61: 12385-12396.

Looking for more articles, visit the Grapegrower and Winemaker article archive at: www.winetitles.com.au/gwm 52 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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March 2017 – Issue 638

The bottle wears innovation

SUPPORTED BY

From the choice of the cap to the label, to the packaging: technology embraces wine, creating tailor-made solutions that will be starring at the new edition of SIMEI@drinktec 2017 Italy and Germany lead the world in the packaging sector in terms of numbers and product quality: a combination that will be shown at SIMEI@drinktec 2017, to be held for the first time in Munich from 11th to 15th September. The packing stage goes from choosing the ideal stopper to the application of the label and the preparation of the packaging itself: each and every element and development imply not only professionalism but the extensive use of technology that enhances every stage of the production process.

A cAp for every tAste

Despite having lost significant shares to other types of closures, cork not only resists, but has been revitalised, betting everything on innovation and the ability to finally eliminate the problem of contamination by trichloroanisole, the molecule responsible for the dreaded ‘corked wine’. Now, as you will see at SIMEI@drinktec, there are, for example, stoppers in pure micro granulate without the addition of synthetic elastomers, or stoppers enhanced by two natural cork washers, treated and guaranteed, that facilitate the development and refinement of medium and long conservation wines (24 to 36 months).

Initially treated with suspicion, plastic or synthetic corks are now universally accepted. Their great strength is that they resemble cork stoppers in shape, size, insertion and extraction but they do not require changes in the bottling lines or in consumer habits.

Screw caps have instead made a comeback. They are very practical closures, for consumers too, although they have created a few more problems in bottling lines, making it necessary to choose specific bottles and add a special capping machine to the ‘line’.

Glass stoppers are the same, even in terms of costs, as good corks, and on some traditional markets they are very much liked by restaurants. Given the high price, however, these stoppers are reserved for high-quality products. In terms of machinery, for these closures too, it is necessary to add a specific capping machine and use specific bottles in the traditional bottling line.

Drying

The next phase in the wine-making industry is that of drying. After capping, the bottles are often very wet because wine (especially in the case of sparkling wines) is bottled at low temperatures, around 3-4 degrees. Hence it is necessary to dry and clean the glass before packaging to eliminate dangerous pockets of water between the cap and the bottle. Some machines, real air conditioners, allow for direct packaging, i.e. the labelling with self-adhesive labels of cold-filled bottles, thereby solving the problem of condensation and avoiding having to store them and continue later. The process consists of three stages: cleaning to remove the residue left by the moulds used in the manufacturing process; cooling with the bottles hit by a rainfall of low temperature hot water (25-30 ° C); drying carried out by means of hot air jets directed onto the rotating bottles.

LAbeLLing AnD cApping

At SIMEI@drinktec there will be innovative ideas for labelling and capping, the last operations carried out on the bottles. In the rotary labelling segment, there are now solutions that can adapt to company expectations, able to compose customised machines that are easy to use thanks to increasingly effective and intuitive hardware and software. You will see how today, in the same machine, traditional labelling systems can be combined with auxiliary systems such as centring devices for the containers, controls for the presence of labels and closure applicators.

For the capping phase, after the closure distributor, either there is a heat shrink closure station for synthetic capsules, or a rotary machine for polylaminate capsules. The modern capping and labelling machines are also able to work on different bottle sizes, from 250 ml to 3 litres.

the worLD of LAbeLs

There are many new things concerning labels, which are the wine’s ID, especially in terms of materials, which will have an excellent showcase at SIMEI@drinktec: from aluminium to classic laid paper, from film to recycled paper, from materials resistant to high temperatures to very fragile anti-tampering materials, including the possibility to use different materials together in the same label. There is also an extensive chapter on the treatments that can give an original character to the packaging, such as plastic coating, lamination, glossy-matt coating, March 2017 – Issue 638

SUPPORTED BY

WORLD LEADER IN WINE TECHNOLOGY 27TH EDITION INTERNATIONAL ENOLOGICAL AND BOTTLING EQUIPMENT EXHIBITION

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11th-15th September 2017 Messe München - Germany

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www.simei.it www.drinktec.com/simei

embossing, die-cutting, and even Braille. As regards the ink, we have progressed from the simple covering property to that of transmitting a particular message, choosing between glossy and matt, photochromic, magnetic, hygrostatic, relief and ecological inks. The conditions of application and use are very different too, with adhesive systems suitable for different surfaces, smooth or rough, extreme temperatures, humidity, and chemical resistance. Finally, the support (liner) is chosen among different options of thickness, weight and readability of the photocells.

enD of Line AnD Logistics

When the bottle is ‘dressed’, it is prepared for shipping. Case packing, today, is automatic, with American-style cartons for bottles and wrap-arounds for bag in boxes and bag in tubes. The closure is often using hot glue and, once closed, the carton is coded with stickers printed in line by thermal transfer and bearing the name of the wine, brand, capacity, bar code and lot or with low and high resolution inkjet in line printing. Palletising is done using the formation of the floor and overlapping, wrapping with film and application of the ‘pallet ticket’, showing information for the tracking and tracing of pallets. The whole process is, today, managed by software interfaced to the management programme, showing how, also in this phase, technology is the key player.

SIMEI@drinktec will be a unique opportunity to see these avant-garde machines at work and discover what the most effective and innovative solutions are for the future of companies who want to be increasingly competitive on world markets.

USEFUL INFORMATION DATES 11-15 September 2017 PLACE Munich, Germany – Messe München Exhibition Centre PARTICIPATION • exhibitors: complete the form and follow the instructions in the section “2017 application form” on the official site www.simei.it/en or apply online on www.drinktec.com/simei • visitors: information in the section “Visitors” on the official site www.simei.it/en

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Coonawarra: Breaking new ground Often seen as a traditional wine region, a few cracks are appearing in the tried and tested methods of the Coonawarra’s historic past with some boundaries being pushed. Wine writer Steve Leszczynski was recently in the region and this is what he found.

I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH to spend a couple of days in the region recently, for the Coonawarra Vignerons Cup, but to also get a feel for what is happening on the ground. Sure, Cabernet Sauvignon is still king, and there is nothing on the radar to blow it out of the water, but a subtle approach from a group of young winemakers, their friends and families, are gradually adding a few more strings to the bow in a bid to draw another level of interest to the region.

CABERNET IS STILL KING The old adage ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ still holds with Cabernet in the Coonawarra. Cropping levels are steady, but in a year when Wynns celebrates its 60th anniversary of the Black Label Cabernet, Sue Hodder said: “Rather than trying to keep up with the hipsters, profound investigation of the past has taken place to continue refining vines and wines for the future.”

Reflecting on the past has allowed Hodder and her team to inform their current winemaking practices and viticultural decisions. Sure, they have new plantings, new rootstocks and various new clones are being used and trialled but there’s much excitement in the air with the anticipated release of a fortified PX from 100 year old vines.

“The fact we can make this style reflects climate change in Coonawarra,” Hodder said.

On the ground, Wynns viticulturist Allen Jenkins has been researching proximal and remote sensing tools for grapevine water using aerial imagery to assess the water and nitrogen status in vineyards. Mapping regions in quick time and ongoing research has enabled more cost effective practices to be put in place. In the long run, this can increase viability and sustainability.

In the winery, Hodder has been finetuning the operation of a new optical berry sorter to understand how to maximise its capability. Nobody, from what I see, is sitting on their hands.

Down the Riddoch Highway and Pete Bissell and Peter Balnaves have just released a new wine aimed for a new market. The Balnaves Etablissement National Technique Amélioration Viticulture (ENTAV) Cabernet and Petit Verdot (85/15) blend has hit the shelves,

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and based on sales, it appears that the decision to branch out from the norm is already paying dividends.

Balnaves planted some of the first of these new clones from France, obtained through the Yalumba Nursery. Currently, two crops of ENTAV Cabernet Sauvignon are in the dirt (338 and 412). A hectare of ENTAV 181 Merlot was also planted.

Balnaves have been making experimental wines each year. Such trials have enabled them to move towards a fruit forward and drink-early style.

“This 2016 release shows off the beautiful blueberry accented fruit seen in these clones,” said winemaker Pete Bissell.

A touch of Petit Verdot from new plantings has completed the blend. The wine was cold soaked on enzyme for 5 days at 10°C then inoculated with BM45 yeast followed by another five days on skins before pressing. Maturation took place in the form of five months in tank and in new Francois Freres large format barrels to give just a little touch of oak.

“We have had a good response especially from younger consumers, so see this wine as something different and an extension of our existing range,” Bissell said. A positive sign.

SIDE PROJECTS Four couples, with plenty of ‘skin in the game’, have collaborated to produce a cider, aptly named, The Cide Project. (The couples are: Joe Corry and his wife Kate; Steven and Emma Raidis; Coonawarra Vignerons’ Jamie McDonald, his wife Sally; as well as Jamie’s parents Peter and Carol McDonald) While Cider won’t drag the hipsters to Coonawarra, it gives another perspective to this region which is perceived as too isolated and a one trick pony with Cabernet as its flagship.

Jamie and Sally moved to Penola after spending a couple of years in London and Sydney. When they moved back to Penola, making their own was high on the to-do list.

The group made a test batch of about 100 litres in 2014 and then 1000 litres in 2015. Production increased furthermore in 2016 with a whopping 25 different apple varieties used. The fire had clearly been stoked, and with demand increasing, another 250 trees were recently planted to assist with the expansion. www.winetitles.com.au

The Cide Project team has had significant sales success. The pop-up launch in Mt Gambier last year was such a hit, Corry raced 50km back to Penola to replenish the eskies and hastily label bottles on the run. Whichever way you look at it, suddenly there are now two examples of real hand-made cider finding a niche in the market without a drum of Chinese concentrate in sight.

A thirst for success has also seen the Cide Project group’s first beer production hit the ground. When appropriate funds are established the team will buy their own equipment. In the meantime, the use of a mate’s facilities in Melbourne has seen a craft beer now sort after in the region. Sales are through various Coonawarra cellar doors and local community events including those in Mt Gambier and Robe. The success of the brew seen on launch proves these creative minds are onto something.

Luke Tocaciu from Patrick of Coonawarra has produced a dry-style cider, far from the sweeter styles he sees in the market. He felt he could do better – and he has.

OTHER GRAPE VARIETIES The more I fossick and that name Raidis seems to rear its head again when talking change.

Barely a hipster, he is a placid and most personable individual. An agitator Steven is definitely not - but he certainly doesn’t lack an inquiring mind.

Not satisfied with his already successful range at Raidis Estate, Steven has been exploring textures and oak with Pinot Gris. Simply called The PG Project, the use of skin contact and oak has been trialled in separate batches. This latest 2015 release sees ten days of skin contact before it’s pressed to barrel where it remained for a year. The wine was then bottled and left for another twelve months before release. Only a small quantity was produced and availability limited, although some has made its way to the Sydney trade scene. Raidis Estate members also get a crack at it as do cellar door visitors.

About the author: Steve Leszczynski is the writer of the Qwine blog.

Email: Qwine@live.com.au March 2017 – Issue 638

Truvée aims to fill the ‘white space’ After acquiring the US-based Diageo brands, Treasury Wine Estates saw the potential for something unique with the Truvée brand. A team of women was formed around to influence every aspect of its redevelopment, and guide into market the products with high appeal to women.

TRUVÉE IS A BRAND DESIGNED to capitalise on what Treasury calls the ‘white space’, by using non-traditional brand marketing to capture the opportunities for growth in the wine category amongst women aged 30-40 years “Truvée goes after a ‘white space’ in the wine category, women under-index in wine consumption, particularly in the 30-40 years age group. At the same time, women are seeking out wine that is more relevant to them for connecting with each other on social occasions,” said Katie Eshuys, Truvée sales.

“There is an outstanding opportunity to develop a wine brand specifically for women – a category that has traditionally been more male dominated.”

Since being acquired by Treasury Wine Estates, the brand has undergone a complete redevelopment, with all aspects of the positioning, wine styles, varietals and packaging steered by a group of seven women, known as the ‘Truvée collective’.

“Treasury has given us free reign to drive this product, we chose the overall look and feel for the packaging, we worked out how to get it down the line efficiently without compromising on style, we created the wine, we worked out what our brand positioning and communication was going to be,” said Kristy Keyte, Truvée marketing.

AT A GLANCE Truvée’s insights • Women continue to provide significant growth opportunities, with 30-40-year-olds seeking out premium wine as a key part of their social occasions.

• More than three quarters (76%) of women around the world believe it’s never been a better time to be a woman – with a trend of women seeking out brands and labels that help them celebrate their achievements.

• Pinot Gris is a $105M varietal growing +16.9% (Australia) • Rose is a $56.4M varietal growing +20.4% (Australia)

Truvée was taken on by Treasury as part of the Diageo wine business acquisition completed in January 2016, and until now had only been available in the USA. “This is the first time that Truvée has been available outside the US; Truvée was originally introduced in the United States in early 2015. We have taken the opportunity of this global launch

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16:28 Grapegrower &25/11/2016 Winemaker 55

winemaking

to refine the Truvée brand in order to ensure its success in all markets,” Keyte said.

The Truvée Collectives goal was to create wines as complex as the women who drink them and wines that they would enjoy, with even the intricate details of the brands communications shaped by the group.

“The way the brand has been developed in particularly unique, and an approach TWE has not taken before. A group of seven women across the business, who might not normally get to work with each other, or might not usually work on brand development, have steered every aspect of the brand,” Eshuys said.

“We’ve developed a wine by women, for women – and we know that women under-index in wine consumption, so there is a great opportunity to develop a brand like this.”

THE ‘WHITE SPACE’ The launch of Truvée in Australia has continued with the theme of a wine brand targeted to women, but it has been refined since the acquisition.

While it was marketed towards women and the sisterhood in the US, the collective was the brain child of Michael Clarke, Treasury Wine Estates’ chief executive officer.

The idea was to build a cross -functional team to harness ideas and exposure from different parts of the business; it was also based on the insight that people who normally don’t work on such projects bring diverse thinking to them.

According to Clarke, the launch of Truvée highlights the significant opportunity for wine brands that appeal specifically to female consumers, while also underpinning the Company’s focus on offering career development for women across the business.

“We saw an outstanding opportunity to offer Truvée to markets around the world, and have taken quite a unique approach to the redevelopment of the brand,” Clarke said.

“We’ve invited a team of women from all parts of the

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business, including finance, supply, marketing and sales to steer all decisions about the brand and its global launch – this is a group that would not normally get to work together on a project in this way. The result is a brand designed by women, for women, and embracing how multi-faceted women are.”

Treasury Wine Estates sees the collective as the perfect team to best understand and relate to a demographic that marketing research is increasingly touting as the new wave of wine drinkers.

The brand direction is in part based on recent consumer and trade insights, as women continue to provide significant growth opportunities and Truvée’s target demographic; 30 to 40 year olds; increasingly seek out premium wine as a key part of their social occasions.

“There is an outstanding opportunity to develop brands with depth and meaning for women, particularly in wine, which is traditionally male-dominated: More than three quarters (76%) of women around the world believe it’s never been a better time to be a women – with a trend of women seeking out brands and labels that help them celebrate their achievements,” Eshuys said.

The marketing will involve an extensive social media campaign along with working with key influencers that resonate well with this target market.

“We want to talk directly to women aged 30-40, and we know that many of these women spend time online be it via social media, blogs and websites such as Mamamia,” Keyte said “I’m thrilled that we are also partnering with Business Chicks. With a shared philosophy of the power and potential of women working together, our partnership with Business Chicks fits hand in glove.”

CAREER DEVELOPMENT Getting women involved across the business who might never usually be involved in this type of project, underpins Treasury Wine Estates’ focus on empowering and supporting

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March 2017 – Issue 638

women to unlock their potential and has provided a unique career development opportunity for those involved.

The way the brand has been developed is an approach Treasury Wine Estates has not taken before, a group of seven women from across the business who don’t usually work on brand development, have steered every aspect of the brand.

“Truvée is a great example of where strong collaboration amongst women, and empowering them to steer a commercial project has delivered outstanding results,” said Eshuys.

“We’ve developed a wine by women, for women and have taken the opportunity of this global launch to refine the Truvée brand in order to ensure its success in all markets.”

The collective was chosen as high potential future leaders from across the Treasury Wine Estates offices and sites, the group knew of each other but some had never formally met and most had never worked together.

“We don’t think there is a wine brand that aims to reflect the complexity of women, and how multi-faceted they are in the way Truvée aims to. We see this as more than just a wine brand – the brand’s philosophy is around celebrating and supporting women to unlock their potential,” Keyte said.

MARKETS AND THE BIG BRAND MODEL Demographics are not the only numbers guiding the brand development, the two wines produced are targeted at capturing the fastest growing varietal trends in Australian wine consumers today.

Pinot Gris is currently worth $10 million a year and grew in value by 16% from last year, while Rose is worth $56.4 million growing at a 20.4% increase from last year.

“In Australia, Truvée will help capitalise on opportunities in two of the fastest growing varietals – Pinot Gris and Rose, which have been available since November with a Truvée Pinot Noir and sparkling varietals to be released this year,” said Kate Hongell, Truvée winemaker.

“My aim is to retain varietal expression in these wines.

This is a very gentle approach with minimal winemaking intervention. This is a style that I believe certainly appeals to women.”

Treasury Wine Estates will release Truvée varietals in other regions across the world in 2017 and 2018, including Europe, Asia and the USA.

We saw an outstanding opportunity to offer Truvée to markets around the world, and have taken quite a unique approach to the redevelopment of the brand.

Taking a multi-regional sourcing approach, the launch reflects the Company’s focus on a more balanced model, and demonstrates Treasury Wine Estates’ ongoing commitment to building global brands of scale.

“We have been focusing on fewer, bigger and better when it comes to marketing, and this has proven to be very effective for a number of our global brands. Truvée is about more than simply marketing to women. There is depth and complexity to how the brand has been developed, and I’ve been thrilled with the quality of the work delivered by the Truvée team of women.

I’m excited about launching this brand across the world,” Clarke said.

In Australia, Kate works with her winemaking and viticulture team based in the Barossa Valley, South Australia, to craft wines with fruit sourced from across South Eastern Australia.

“As this brand has been developed internally, we have found that it has inspired women in our business, from all parts of the globe, to be involved in shaping the launch in their region. So not only is it the seven women of the Truvée Collective that have shaped this brand, but many others from around the world that are getting involved,” Eshuys said.

In Europe, Truvée takes the approach of a Maison, working with producers from leading wine regions to curate the best wines from each vintage in the Truvée house style.

Collaborating with winemakers on the ground in Italy and France, Hongell is integral to selecting the varieties, the vineyards and growers and refining the blends so they are in keeping with the ‘House of Truvée.’

In the US, Hongell works with Winemaker Dana Epperson and Viticulturist Lauryn Meissner to make wines from the Central Coast.

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March 2017 – Issue 638

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Canberra event (from left): Mark Rowley, Wine Australia; Darren Fahey, NSW Department of Primary Industries (based in Orange); Justin Jarrett, See Saw Wines, Orange; Neil McGregor, Yarrh Wines, Murrumbateman; Fiona Wholohan, Yarrh Wines, Murrumbateman; Franks van de Loo, Mount Majura Wines, Canberra; Tracey Siebert, AWRI; and Nick Dry, Yalumba Nursery.

Shiraz style celebration WITH SHIRAZ NOW THE DOMINANT WINE for our largest export market, China, the dark-skinned variety was celebrated at recent NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) industry events

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which highlighted the versatility of new Shiraz clones.

Darren Fahey, DPI viticultural development officer, said 75 select grape and wine community members took part

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in special tasting events in Canberra and the Hunter Valley to explore wine style and the Shiraz clones which are best suited to local wine regions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In a changing climate and ever-

March 2017 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issue 638

evolving marketplace Shiraz clones offer viticulturists flexibility in grape production and the wine making process to deliver different styles which meet market demand,” Fahey said.

“Wine Australia has supported Shiraz clonal trials in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, which explored varietal complexity and regional differences.

“These clones offer viticulturists the opportunity to bring new levels of market interest to their wines and the DPI workshops have encouraged many to consider the diversity and complexity different clones offer when developing Shiraz wines for specific markets.”

Participants investigated the history and diversity of Shiraz clones, and explored the latest research data in using clones to address climate change from Michael McCarthy, South Australian Research and Development Institute viticultural research leader.

Tracey Siebert, Australian Wine Research Institute senior scientist, hit the mark with research results showing how clones affect rotundone levels in wine and how new Shiraz clones can play an important role in managing rotundone levels.

AT A GLANCE Rotundone is the spicy, black pepper aroma favoured in Shiraz, which is found in the skin of the grape, which Shiraz grapes produce at higher levels than other cultivars and workshop tasting sessions put those qualities to the test.

Rotundone is the spicy, black pepper aroma favoured in Shiraz, which is found in the skin of the grape, which Shiraz grapes produce at higher levels than other cultivars and workshop tasting sessions put those qualities to the test.

Participants were able to evaluate premium, single-clonal Australian Shiraz wines, with a good representation of NSW wine, in sessions led by wine writer, Huon Hooke, winemaker and judge, PJ Charteris and Master of Wine, Nick Bullied.

Wine Australia’s Mark Rowley outlined region-specific market analysis of Shiraz in domestic and export market and Nick Dry gave participants advice and recommendations on selecting and growing Shiraz clones based on

In a changing climate and everevolving marketplace Shiraz clones offer viticulturists flexibility in grape production and the wine making process to deliver different styles which meet market demand. his hands-on experience at Yalumba Nurseries.

For more information on NSW DPI tasting events and industry support contact Darren Fahey, darren.fahey@dpi. nsw.gov.au and 0457 842 874 or visit the DPI website, www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/ agriculture/horticulture/grapes

National 03 9555 5500 Email info@grapeworks.com.au

www.grapeworks.com.au March 2017 – Issue 638

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Expansions and new partnership for Shottesbrooke McLaren Vale winery, Shottesbrooke Vineyards, is expanding its footprint in the eastern states by today confirming a new partnership with family-owned wine distributor, The Wine Company (TWC).

JOINING A HOST of other well-known and respected brands within the TWC portfolio, Shottesbrooke’s new venture coincides with the completion of its latest winery expansion.

The recent winery complex transformation has been carried out to ensure longevity and the ability to meet market demand well into the future.

“Each of these things have occurred

60 Grapegrower & Winemaker

with the ultimate goal in mind – our customers – and delivering a high quality, consistent product each vintage.

Our reputation has been built on solid, consistent and elegant wines that are true to their regional heritage, and we are determined to preserve, and build on this into the future,” said Kylie Upitis, Shottesbrooke brand manager.

Combining new technology with www.winetitles.com.au

traditional winemaking techniques, the winery team are able to remain in complete control of each individual parcel of fruit, whilst maintaining the high quality standards.

THE UPGRADE Several areas within the winery were focused on to achieve these goals; including an increased receival area March 2017 – Issue 638

within the winery, adding a new CME crusher, enlarged receival bin and juice drain off options, with the ultimate objective to give quicker, more gentle fruit receival during vintage.

This is especially important during the high and fast intake periods experienced over the past several years.

The fermentation process has been improved with the addition of 6 x 20 tonne and four x 40 tonne Sweeping Arm Fermenters, allowing for more gentle fermentation.

In addition to this, they are emptied via Peristaltic pumps, which is the gentlest technology available when delivering juice to the press.

A new refrigeration plant has been added, along with an upgraded brine system, giving far greater control over wine temperatures and ferments.

A compressed air pump over system has been installed which reduces manual labour within in the winery, and overall stainless steel storage capacity has increased, via the installation of additional tanks, by 1.2 million litres.

“We are extremely excited by these developments, which allow us to move forward with confidence, and will

Each of these things have occurred with the ultimate goal in mind – our customers – and delivering a high quality, consistent product each vintage. assist in the growth of our brand, both domestically and internationally. We are particularly delighted with the new distribution partnership we will undertake with TWC as of March 2nd, as we believe that there is a strong synergy between both of our businesses,” Upitis said.

THE PARTNERSHIP Of the new partnership Hamish Maguire, Shottesbrooke general manager and winemaker, said the company had been seeking a strong distribution partner on the east coast for some time, and had approached TWC with this goal in mind.

“After many years of building our portfolio, we are very excited that our

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March 2017 – Issue 638

brand is now being represented by such an experienced and professional sales force with an outstanding track-record on the east coast of Australia.”

“TWC will play a crucial role in showcasing our brand within Australia’s largest wine market. We see this as a unique opportunity to partner with a likeminded business, and expand our brand presence in the domestic arena.”

Shottesbrooke will be working closely with TWC to ensure a strong, mutually beneficial partnership, providing value to their customers, whilst growing our brand domestically through their wellestablished distribution network.

“The McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills regions are producing some of the best wines in Australia, and the introduction of this well-known boutique brand supports, and enhances, what is now a market leading portfolio.

“TWC welcomes Shottesbrooke on board and we look forward to working with the brand whilst maintaining the reputable position they already hold within the marketplace,” said Peter Yeoman, General Manager of TWC.

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Aussies Abroad: Managing three harvests each year James Kalleske has delivered a number of international medals and trophies for the winery he works for.

And the brand is starting to gain recognition as a quality producer from a region that doesn’t make the headlines. Kalleske works for Hatten Wines on the island of Bali. Yes, the island better known as a cheap holiday destination – where the best-known alcohol product is Bintang. But this winemaking project is no holiday adventure. The winemaker recently got news that Hatten had claimed the ‘winery of the year’ in the Asian Wine Review annual awards, announced in Hong Kong. This award ranked the Bali producer ahead of wineries from China, Japan, India, Thailand, Myanmar etc. Kalleske said the news left him speechless.

Kalleske, who is originally from the Barossa, shares his Indonesian experience in this Q&A with Nathan Gogoll.

Did you study winemaking in Australia?

Yes. After studying a degree in Environmental Sciences majoring in Sustainability at Adelaide University, I moved to Margaret River, Western Australia to be with my partner, where we had two gorgeous girls.

I completed my degree in Oenology and Viticulture with Curtin University in 2012, by which stage I had been in the wine industry full-time for 10 years.

At that stage I was the winemaker for Thompson Estate in Margaret River.

How many Aussie vintages before moving to Bali?

Must have been about 10. Two at Grant Burge in Barossa; one at Houghtons in Western Australia; two at Vasse Felix in Margaret River; one at Cullen in Margaret River; three at Rockfield Estate in southern Margaret River as the winemaker; and one at Thompson Estate as the winemaker.

I was lucky enough to have Bob Cartwright, the man behind Art Series Chardonnay, as my consultant at Thompson Estate.

How did you land the job at Hatten Wines?

While I was very happy at Thompson Estate producing fabulous wine in a brand new, state-of-the-art winery, I was offered the job with Hatten Wines completely out of the blue.

They had their eye on me and my achievements for a while, apparently.

What vineyards are there on the island? How many hectares? What varieties are planted?

Ida Bagus Rai Budarsa, Hatten Wines founder, and APk Bowo, the vineyard manager, supervise the harvest.

62 Grapegrower & Winemaker

There is about 400Ha of vines on Bali Island; 85Ha are used

by Hatten Wines for wine production (40Ha is directly owned by us, and about 45Ha is owned by farmers who supply us under contract). Of the remaining 315Ha, at a guess, about 20 more is used by some smaller wineries to produce local wine, and the rest is for ceremonies.

Traditionally there was just one grape variety here, Alphonse Lavalleé, a red grape used predominantly for Balinese traditional offerings and ceremonies. It’s been in Bali for around 70 years, imported from France.

In 1993, Ida Bagus Rai Budarsa, the owner of Hatten Wines, decided to try and make a Rosé from these grapes. So he hired a French winemaker and they got to work.

Anyway, after about six years they wanted to expand their product range.

After trying traditional (noble) grape varieties in the Balinese vineyards without any luck, Gus Rai travelled all of Java island looking for some local grape varieties, and found just two. Probolinggo Biru, a white grape variety we use to make a methodé traditionelle sparkling brut, and Belgia, another white grape variety related to Muscat Alexandria (Muscat Saint Vallier), which we use to make our white wines and fortified.

A large part of my job has been R&D to improve our current grape growing techniques, and expand our grape variety range so we can expand our wine portfolio.

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March 2017 – Issue 638

I travel the world in search of technical viticultural support I can bring back to Hattens. Particularly tropical areas such as Brazil, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines and India.

Within two years, we will be producing commercial wines from Shiraz, Tempranillo, Rondo, Colombard, Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Blanc.

What are the challenges of growing wine grapes on Bali?

Obvious challenges are fungal disease pressure and bunch rot. We also have high pressure of Esca and other trunk diseases, severe apical dominance and budburst issues (due to the lack of temperature induced dormancy).

We have three harvest cycles per year, so obviously one is in the severe wet season where we receive about 300mm rainfall in the month of harvest.

Having multiple cycles though, has its benefits in regards to winemaking flow and cropping efficiency.

Where do you go for technical support?

There is no technical support in Indonesia for viticulturists or winemakers. All of our R&D is in-house and self-funded.

I travel the world in search of technical viticultural support

I can bring back to Hattens. Particularly tropical areas such as Brazil, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines and India.

For winemaking support, regular visits to Australian technical conferences keep me in touch with helpful individuals and companies.

How are the vintage seasons spread out?

Our local vines are basically on a 120-day cycle (three harvests per year). We prune and then harvest 110 to 120 days later, then manually strip the leaves off the vine, prune and start the cycle again.

Our vineyard blocks are all staggered so that we receive no more than 60 tonnes of fruit in one week, usually every fort night or so throughout the whole year.

In regards to our new vineyards of premium grape varieties, we prune twice per year so we have one vegetative cycle in the wet season, and one fruiting cycle in the ideal dry season.

This is to optimise grape quality, and is the method I learnt from the Thai grape growers and weirdly enough, a German consultant.

Furthermore, we produce a second range of wines called Two Islands. This is 40% of our production.

Here, we import frozen white juice for white wine production, and frozen must for red wine production.

All grapes are imported from vineyards in South Australia, predominantly Limestone Coast, Barossa, Adelaide Hills and Coonawarra. So this is the fourth vintage per year. This is over 1000 tonnes per year in terms of production.

To find out more about Hatten Wines, visit: www.hattenwines.com

FERMENTATION CHARACTERISTICS

ORGANOLEPTIC CHARACTERISTICS

• Alcohol tolerance: up to 16 % vol.

• Wide range of optimal temperatures: 20 - 35°C.

• Very low production of negative sulphur compounds (including SO2 and H2S) and of compounds binding SO2.

• Low nitrogen requirements.

• Masked perception of green characters.

• Moderate volatile acidity production.

• Aromatic freshness and expression of black fruit notes.

• Regular fermentation kinetics.

• Great smoothness of mouthfeel.

• Good malolactic fermentation compatibility.

LAFFORT AUSTRALIA - Tél: 08 8360 2200 - Email: info@laffort.com.au - www.laffort.com

March 2017 – Issue 638

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ask the

Taints in wine EACH YEAR the AWRI helpdesk investigates a range of taints in wines. In some of these cases, the taints cannot be remediated, and the wine is left unsaleable. It is therefore important to understand the more common sources of taints and take steps to avoid them. Some of the more frequent questions asked about taints are answered below.

WHAT IS A TAINT AND HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM A FAULT? A taint in wine is something that comes from outside the winemaking process. Examples include chloroanisoles from corks or smoke taint from atmospheric smoke.

A winemaking fault, on the other hand, is something that originates from within the winemaking process, such as high volatile acidity or oxidation.

IS EVERYONE SENSITIVE TO TAINTS? There is significant variation in peoples’ ability to detect the different taints found in wine. Work at the AWRI has shown that there are many winemakers who cannot perceive one or more relatively common taints. For example, approximately 15% of the population cannot smell chlorophenol in wine, and those that can also vary in their sensitivity towards it.

The ‘Wine Flavour, Faults and Taints’ section of the AWRI website provides a description of common wine taints (and faults) that can occur in wine, including their origin, mechanism of formation and detection threshold. As people vary in their sensitivity and ability to detect many wine faults and taints, the AWRI highly recommends that winemakers refresh their skills in this area from time to time.

HOW DO 2,4,6 TRICHLOROANISOLE (TCA) TAINTS FORM? TCA is one of the most common taints the AWRI helpdesk sees each year. It is a very potent taint that has a strong musty/ mouldy character and suppresses desirable fruit characteristics in wine. For TCA to be formed three conditions must be met: the presence of the precursor 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) or chlorine in general, fungi to convert TCP to TCA, and moisture.

Without one of these conditions, TCA formation will not occur. Chlorophenols are industrial compounds that are now extremely common in the environment through decades of use, mainly as a treatment for wood products. As a consequence, winemakers should be vigilant to ensure mould growth is kept to a minimum on winery walls and surfaces to help prevent TCA formation.

CAN MUSTY WATER TAINT WINE? In short, yes. A number of recent helpdesk investigations have found winery water supplies to be the source of musty taints found in wine. There are several different compounds that can cause musty aromas in water, including TCA, geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol. Through tank and equipment cleaning, the mustiness can be transferred to the wine, with the level of taint depending on the level of mustiness in the water.

Similarly, if musty water is used to rinse or clean oak barrels, then the mustiness can be transferred to the wine stored in these barrels and the barrels themselves. One preventative measure is to install carbon filters on all water sources used within the winery, as well as conducting routine sensory assessments of the winery water sources.

64 Grapegrower & Winemaker

My pump ran dry and now my wine is tainted – is there anything I can do? Taints from burnt out pumps are seen periodically by the AWRI helpdesk. When a mono pump is allowed to run dry, a burning character similar to burnt rubber or smoke can be transferred to wine. The compounds present include a mix of sulfur compounds and smoke-related compounds. Unfortunately, there is not currently a method to remove these taint compounds, so a wine tainted in this way is not recoverable.

HOW CAN I AVOID TAINTS FROM WINEMAKING ADDITIVES AND PROCESSING AIDS? The AWRI helpdesk has investigated a number of cases where winemaking additives and processing aids have been the source of taints in wines. To avoid such taints, it is important that these materials are screened prior to use. In most instances this screening involves a simple sensory assessment that can be performed in the winery. Procedures for screening common additives and processing aids can be found on the AWRI website, as well as details of a testing service offered by AWRI Commercial Services.

The following table is a simple template that can be used for recording sampling and testing requirements for all winemaking chemicals and additives upon receival. Batch numbers should ALWAYS be recorded and holdback samples should be taken at the same time as the testing samples. The holdback sample size should be the same as the testing sample size.

Material

Sampling requirement

Testing required

Holdback sample (yes/no)

L-Ascorbic Acid

200 g per batch

Sensory assessment

Yes

Bentonite

1 kg per batch

Sensory assessment

Yes

Carbon

200 g per batch

Sensory assessment

Yes

Citric

200 g per batch

Sensory assessment

Yes

Gelatine (solid)

200 g per batch

Sensory assessment

Yes

Hose

30 cm per hose

Sensory assessment

Yes

PVPP

200 g per batch

Sensory assessment

Yes

L-Tartaric acid

200 g per batch

Optical rotation and sensory assessment

Yes

Yeast hulls

200 g per batch

Sensory assessment

Yes

For further assistance with taints or any other winemaking queries, please contact the AWRI helpdesk on 08 8313 6600 or helpdesk@awri.com.au.

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March 2017 – Issue 638

New yeast enhances floral aromas DEVELOPING NEW non-genetically modified (non-GM) yeast tends to be a ‘large numbers’ game. Dr Toni Cordente and colleagues at the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) started with approximately one billion separate cells in a quest to find one that could eventually help develop more pronounced floral and rose aromas in wine.

To date they are very much on track, with a commercial yeast supplier exploring the feasibility of propagating and drying commercial quantities of the yeast. The yeast will be tested by the AWRI and collaborating wineries throughout the 2017 vintage. It’s part of a four-year project funded by Wine Australia, that seeks to develop a range of non-GM yeast strains that can enhance wine flavour, aroma or fermentation performance, avoid the generation of faults or help achieve optimal flocculation behaviour.

For Dr Cordente, who has spent much of his time in recent years finding ways to use yeast to prevent problems in wine, such as the distinctive rotten egg smell that too much hydrogen sulfide can

cause, it’s a nice change to be working to create positive attributes.

“One of our aims is to give winemakers new tools so that they can modulate wine the way they want,” he said. “While floral aromas in wine are often derived from grapes, some products of yeast metabolism also contribute to floral/rose aroma. Many wine yeasts produce these compounds at levels below their aroma perception threshold, meaning that their contribution to wine style is minimal.

Finding a yeast that can produce much higher levels of these characters could be very useful.”

The irony is that success was dependent on things appearing to go wrong; Dr Cordente wanted – in fact needed – some of the cells to mutate.

“We selected one of the common neutral yeast strains we have in our collection that ferments well but is not very aromatic,’ he said. ‘We then put a billion identical cells into a solid media that included a toxic molecule, knowing that some of the cells would spontaneously mutate in an attempt to

survive,” Cordente said.

“We knew each of the survivors would have different characteristics and there was a chance some would include the ability to produce the aromas we were seeking.”

Each of the hundred survivors (that’s a ‘success’ rate of 1 in 10 million) was used to ferment a synthetic must that had all of the components of a natural grape must, and around a fifth of them produced enhanced floral aromas. One was chosen to ferment 20 litres of Chardonnay, which was then bottled.

“We then undertook a formal sensory analysis and people picked the enhanced rose and floral aromas straight away,” Cordente said.

Beyond this vintage’s trials, there is also potential to see what can be achieved with the other survivors, which may have very different characteristics. There is no shortage of material with which to work.

More news from Wine Australia is avialable online: www.wineaustralia.com/au/news/

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March 2017 – Issue 638

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winemaking

Safety considerations in your wine lab this vintage Greg Howell, from Vintessential Laboratories, reports on his personal experience with wine laboratory safety requirements.

VINTESSENTIAL HAS BUILT and opened three new wine testing laboratories in the past year – in Orange New South Wales, Hobart Tasmania and the Margaret River region of Western Australia. If our experience is any guide, your lab may be working outside the requirements of the appropriate Australian Standards! A winery laboratory is an integral and important part of the winemaking process and, just as all other parts of winery operations should be safely managed, so should the laboratory. In this article we look at a number of Occupational Health and Safety features that can be used in the safe running of your own winery laboratory. During vintage, have a close look around your lab and observe if you have all these features – if not you might need to consider some future upgrades.

SAFETY FEATURES During the recent construction and fit-out of our new labs we discovered what we had to do to be compliant with certain standards and regulations. In some cases we needed to retrofit, in others we had learnt some lessons and were able to plan better for the safety features that were required.

1. Emergency Shut off valves for Bunsen burner gas We had a new lab built at the Charles Sturt University Orange campus in late 2015 and opened it in early 2016. At completion the University safety officer did an inspection with copies of the Australian Standard AS 2982 Laboratory Design and Construction and AS 2243 Safety in Laboratories in hand. She pointed out that we didn’t have a Gas Emergency Shut-off Valve as required; one was retrofitted promptly.

In late 2016 during the renovation of our new premises in Hobart (previously Allison Laboratories) we were advised by the plumber that we needed an electronic gas shut-off system.

Upon discussing this with the gas inspector, we discovered that this was the inspector’s preferred shut-off system, but was not actually required by the standard. Although an electronic system is a good idea, it was very expensive so we stayed with a ball valve as we were satisfied it was sufficient for our needs. A photo of the lever action ball valve installed for this purpose in our Hobart lab is shown in Figure 1.

Fig 1 Gas shut off valve

66 Grapegrower & Winemaker

2. Safety shower The safety shower we installed in our Orange NSW lab is shown in Figure 2. According to AS 2243 (1): “The following safety equipment shall be available and accessible to users of the laboratory… (a) A permanently fixed, aerated eyewash facility capable of operation in a hands-free mode once activated. (b) At least one safety shower capable of operation in a handsfree mode once activated” The location of the safety shower is important – it should be easy to get to, and importantly checked regularly to ensure that it operates properly.

3. Solvents storage There can be a number of flammable solvents that are routinely used in a wine testing lab. The ones used will depend upon what tests are done and which technique is used to do these tests. AS 2243 (1) specifies the volumes that are required to be kept in a purpose-designed cabinet, typically called a Flammables Cabinet. Figure 3 shows a typical Flammables cabinet.

Other chemicals typically used in a wine lab should also be segregated into their particular class, e.g. Corrosives or Oxidising Agents, and stored accordingly. Most other chemicals normally used in wine labs will not require such stringent containment as is the case with Flammables.

4. Fume cupboard Fume cupboards are a subject on their own. In fact AS 2243 part 8 (1) is dedicated to all aspects of fume cupboard design and usage. One important aspect of placing the fume cupboard in a lab is to ensure that the incoming airflow is not interrupted by drafts from nearby doorways or flows from air-conditioning vents. It is highly recommended that a specialist fume cupboard technician conducts a survey of the device and produces a report to show the airflow meets the standard of 0.5 m/s. Figure 4 shows the fume cupboard we installed in Orange last year.

5. Electrical safety Of course electrical standards are designated elsewhere and the electrician you use should be well aware of them. Relevant aspects for laboratories are covered by AS 2243 part 7.

Some lab equipment items, such as fume cupboards and some ovens, may require 3 phase power or higher capacity circuits - for example we needed to install a 32 A circuit for our fume cupboard in Hobart. It’s a very good idea to ensure this wiring is allowed for in the planning stages of a build.

6. Chemical resistant surfaces Walls, floors and benchtops in a lab should be chemical resistant, impervious, smooth and easy to clean (2). There are numerous ways this can be achieved. It pays to consider what you have, or plan to have, and get ideas and recommendations from suppliers. Chemical resistant paint for walls, chemical resistant laminate for benchtops and sealed commercial lino

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March 2017 – Issue 638

Oenobrands_FinalTouch_A4.pdf Oenobrands_FinalTouch_A4.pdf 1 27/08/2015 1

Fig 2 Safety Shower

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Fig 3 Flammables cabinet

Fig 4 Fume cupboard

for flooring are just some of the materials we have used to meet these needs.

7. Safe working distance in aisles AS 2982 mandates the space between workbenches (2). This varies between 1.0 m and 1.8 m depending on whether the aisle is a thoroughfare and if staff are working on both sides of the aisle. These distances should be incorporated into the design of the workspace and the work benches. There are plenty of winery labs we have seen that are converted offices, storerooms and other hidey-holes, some of which are unlikely to meet this requirement.

Greg Howell founded Vintessential Laboratories in 1995, 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/

Fast, efficient macerations

8. Waste water treatment and permits Although not a safety issue, this regulatory requirement may be relevant to you, depending on which region or state your lab is located. In our new Hobart lab, the previous laboratory business operated from the premises for over 40 years without any waste water treatment system. As new owners with a new testing regime, we were advised by the local authority to install a system to neutralise all aqueous waste. The chemicals that go through a lab are generally very small in volume as compared to a winery, however often they are quite different and may require a permit to be obtained specifically for the lab.

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March 2017 – Issue 638

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Conclusion Vintage is a good time to have a serious look around your wine lab and prepare a list of the safety features that you think are deficient. Some of the main safety features we have had to consider this past year in buildingFinal three new labs have touch Final POP touch is a unique POP issolution abeen unique based solution on naturally based onoccurring naturallymannoproteins occurring mannoproteins that can improve that can theimprove quality the of your quality sparkling of your sparkling wines. Not wines. onlyof can Not it only noticeably can it noticeably enhance the enhance mouthfeel the and mouthfeel tartaricand stability, tartaricbutstability, it also preserves but it alsotheir preserves elegance, their freshness elegance,and freshness and listed above and cover the major requirements the standards Liquid enzyme for color balance.

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winemaking young gun

Katherine Brown: Family matters Katherine Brown was born into the wine industry. After studying marketing at university, she returned to her family’s business to help sell the wine. After more than 10 years in the marketing team, Brown decided to change career – without leaving the family business – and become a winemaker. Daniel Whyntie spoke to Brown about her journey.

WHEN KATHERINE BROWN introduced herself to wine journalist Peter Bourne he noted the last time they had met “you were three feet tall and not wearing at stitch of clothing”.

“The smile went from my face and turned in to absolute red cheeked embarrassment. It was one of those moments when you know you have really grown up inside the wine industry,” said Katherine Brown, assistant winemaker at Brown Brothers.

TREE CHANGE Brown’s childhood probably has every cliché you’d expect from somebody who grew up around a winery: Tasting wine at the dinner table from the age of five; building cubbyhouses in the barrel shed; and ‘helping’ in the tasting room (read eating the cheese and olives on offer for the customers).

But her broader education was

68 Grapegrower & Winemaker

accelerated at the age of 14 when she was packed up from the winery life and sent off to boarding school. After high school, her study continued with a Degree in Entrepreneurship from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, before Brown immersed herself in the world of marketing and brand management.

She began her working life in the coffee industry but it wasn’t long before Brown got her foot into the wine industry door, selling wine in the corporate market and completing a Masters in Wine Business at the University of Adelaide.

“After school and university, studying business and marketing, I still had the passion to be back amongst the barrels, the vines and the people in the cellar door,” Brown said.

“In 2009 I had been working in a citybased marketing role and really started to fill the urge to get my hands dirty and get down to the raw side of the wine www.winetitles.com.au

industry, I just felt that this was the direction I wanted to head.”

So Brown exchanged her corporate attire for steel caps and high-vis and spent a year dragging hoses as a cellar hand back in Milawa, Victoria, followed by vintages in Bordeaux and Champagne.

It was after a big day of harvest in Bordeaux, sitting on a dusty concrete step at the back of the winery (the only place with Wi-Fi), Brown started looking at her options for completing a winemaking degree.

She enrolled in a Masters of Viticulture and Oenology at Charles Sturt University and spent four years juggling study and a fulltime marketing role.

In a mix of fete and good planning, by the time the course was completed, Brown applied for an assistant winemaker role, back where she grew up, at Brown Brothers Milawa.

Brown faced her biggest challenge March 2017 – Issue 638

It was one of those moments when you know you have really grown up inside the wine industry. when she decided to change her career direction at 32 years old.

After working in marketing and climbing up the ranks of the discipline for nine years it was a huge step to move to wine making and starting at the “bottom of the ladder” again.

“Two years later, I am still learning new things in the winery every day and loving it every bit of this challenge. With the change of career, I also make the “tree change” of leaving the city life I had for 15 years, and moving five km down the road from the winery,” Brown said.

“This has made a huge impact life and has increased the juggle between work, social life and family. Biggest thing I miss from the city is Pho… we need a Pho restaurant in Milawa!”

FAMILY TRADITIONS It seems ironic, but Brown’s experiences in Bordeaux and Champagne, surrounded by the traditions that characterise those famous regions, helped to reinforce the importance of her own family business within the wine industry.

“It led me to want to come back to Brown brothers and ensure that we will always be a family-led business,” she said.

“The wine industry is so diverse, there are not many other industries where the same company grows and harvests the primary material, then manufactures to the finished good and then takes those goods and completes the marketing, distribution and sales on it,” she said.

“In my current day to day I say that I “wear two hats”, I am Katherine the winemaker and also Katherine the marketer/brand ambassador. I just have to remember what hat I’m wearing at the time.”

Brown spends about 20 per cent of her time in a ‘brand ambassador’ role, but the priorities of her winemaker role during vintage ensure she is “grounded” at Milawa.

THE WINEMAKER The role change has already been capped by an award - a trophy for the ‘best single varietal red’ at the 2016 Royal Melbourne Wine Awards.

“I won. It was a dream come true and I still have to pinch myself as I think about it. It was with a Nero D’Avola from our Heathcote experimental block. We had March 2017 – Issue 638

the vines in the ground for five years and had only ever got one decent crop from it,” Brown said.

“In 2015 the winemakers handed the fruit into my hands and I went out to show then what I could do with it. After the wine spent a year in old oak I knew it was good, but I had to verbally convince a number of people around me to get that wine in bottle!”

The wine also collected a gold medal at the 2016 Australian Alternative Variety Wine Show in Mildura and now Brown is looking for more trophies, with a focus on alternative and experimental varieties.

Currently Brown is looking after a handful of both traditional and innovative varieties from the Brown Brothers’ King Valley, Heathcote and Murray Valley vineyards as well as some fruit from growers in the Yarra Valley.

“I am excited about making dry Rose for the second year, these is such a great trend in drinking pink. Arneis is a new variety for me to work with and I am currently looking at different style to work with on this variety,” she said.

Brown will also be making Tarrango, a unique Australian grape variety, bred

by CSIRO scientists in 1965 by crossing the Portuguese red grape variety Touriga with the versatile white grape Sultana.

It was developed specifically to produce a light, fresh red wine ideal for summer drinking in the many countries with warm to hot summers. Named after the tiny township of Tarrango in the Mallee district of north-west Victoria, where it was designed to thrive, the vines bear generous crops that ripen late and maintain a fresh acidity.

At one stage in the 1990s Tarrango was one of the most popular Australian wines in the UK market and Brown wants to put her own take on it, building on Brown Brothers’ 30-year experience with the grape.

“I love making this wine; we use a carbonic maceration method to get a beautiful cherry flavour out of the grapes.

This takes hand picking and storage in bins for around 10 days which the grapes create a ferment inside each berry. The finished wine is similar to a light style Pinot Noir, with a burst of wild cherry, it’s the best thing to drink chilled on a hot day after a busy day at the winery,” Brown said.

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young gun

I still had the passion to be back amongst the barrels, the vines and the people in the cellar door.

THE BRAND AMBASSADOR Having studied and worked around the wine trade and within the winery, Brown has a significant understanding of the business as a whole, and this has her well-positioned to setting up to become an industry leader.

In 2009 Brown took part in the Future Leaders professional and personal development program; a combined initiative of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia and Australian Vignerons, facilitated by Wine Australia; and was recently named the chair of the First Families of Wine next generation committee.

“Future Leaders was such a great experience, I learnt so much about the industry but more importantly I learnt about myself, my career goals and how my personal goals work with this,” she said.

“The team that I did future leaders with will be mates for life and I love

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attending industry events and seeing those familiar faces across the room, we have a very special connection that I can’t quite find words for.”

Australia’s First Families of Wine (AFFW) formed in 2009 with the idea that the 12 families would jointly promote their brand in export and domestic markets.

Since then the next generation from each family found that they had a lot in common, and the ‘next gen’ committee soon began, with the aim to foster network links and educate the future custodians of the family wine businesses involved.

“It’s a great privilege to be the next chairperson of the ‘next gen’ group and I look forward to furthering the strength of bonds that the 12 families have created with one another, which only in turn strengthens the whole of the Australian wine industry,” Brown said.

Brown believes family-owned wine www.winetitles.com.au

businesses are crucial to a healthy Australian grape and wine community.

“The families that have built their business and brands for two to five generations are required to stay in family hands for the sake of all Australian winemakers. “Wine should come with a story, a real story about the real people behind it. It should be treated differently to other commodity goods purchased from the supermarket. The Australian wine industry will only maintain its highly regarded global reputation with the support of family wine business,” Brown said.

“If the consumers could understand this, and have this as a greater consideration when making their wine purchasing choices, I’m sure many of us would see a brighter future for recognition of the high quality of wines produced by Australian winemakers.”

March 2017 – Issue 638

Supplier Update

Filtration

Filter press replacement with Zeta Plus™ Depth Filter Cartridges

FILTER PRESSES have long been used by wineries in cellar operations to clarify wine prior to final membrane filtering and bottling.

The filter press format has been popular for many years since it is generally reliable, and the filter sheets contained in them are relatively low cost, commodity items. A filter press is typically composed of a series of stainless steel frames that hold depth filter sheets or pads.

Turbid wine is pumped through the filter sheets, which retain undissolved solids, yeast, most bacteria, hazes, and other turbidity causing components.

However, as wineries modernise and review their operations, with focus on improvements in efficiency and methods of sanitation when preparing wine for bottling, many upgrade the clarification process to include more cost effective, environmentally sealed cartridge filters in place of the filter press.

Deficiencies in the filter press design are well known and include: leakage of wine, exposure of the filter media and product to contaminants in the environment, high labour and maintenance costs, and high capital costs.

by a diatomaceous earth filter. Aging, racking, and the use of fining agents assist in this operation.

Continued clarification by removal of remaining yeast, most bacteria, and haze colloids is then achieved by a filter press or by the Zeta Plus cartridge system. While these operations typically take place in the cellar, final membrane filtration is usually performed in the bottling room.

THE PROCESS

DIFFICULTIES ASSOCIATED WITH FILTER PRESS OPERATION

While wine processes vary according to wine style and preferences of the winemaker, the schematic shown in Figure 1 is meant to serve as a generic process. Primary separation of yeast and undissolved solids is usually achieved

The following difficulties have been expressed by many wineries regarding the operation and maintenance of this style of equipment. Zeta Plus™ Systems are available with eight, 12, and 16-inch diameter cartridges.

March 2017 – Issue 638

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Even new, well maintained filter presses leak some wine along the exposed periphery of the filter sheets.

This wine is usually collected in a tray beneath the equipment and discarded, since oxidation and contamination occurs.

The leakage is accelerated in older or poorly maintained presses where seals are worn or plates are slightly warped, compromising the seals. Wineries have noted wine loss of up to 1%-2% of a given batch — a substantial cost that can be overlooked.

The yearly cost of leakage can be calculated as: litres leaked/hr x hours of operation/week x weeks of operation/ year x cost of wine/litre.

The cost of the wine can be the “in process” cost associated with production,

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winemaking or the opportunity cost (retail price) of losing wine prior to sale in the market.

As anyone who has changed a filter press can attest, the labour required to properly unload, clean, repack, and ready a filter press for the next filter run is substantial.

Estimates range from three man-hours for smaller presses to up to eight manhours (two operators - four hours) or more for larger presses.

Additionally, the awkward nature of the press arrangement and the weight of the individual plates can lead to worker injury during maintenance activities.

The yearly cost of labor can be calculated as: operators required x labor rate/hr x hours required to clean/repack press x number of changes/month x 12.

FILTER CHANGE-OUT Because they are open to the atmosphere, filter sheets installed in a press are typically changed-out based on a fixed-schedule, regardless of the differential pressure across the filter.

Filter sheet change-out is typically conducted after a week of filtration service, although sometimes less.

At that time, many wineries begin to notice mould growth along the exposed edge of the filter sheets and find it prudent to replace them.

However, filtration capacity, as measured by the differential pressure across the filter press, is rarely maximized in this practice.

Filter sheets are essentially removed from service and discarded without using their entire capacity to filter.

CAPITAL COSTS A modern, all stainless steel filter press can cost between $10,000 for a small (40 cm2 x 40 cm2) capacity press to over $60,000 for a larger (60 cm2 x 60 cm2) press.

Additional hardware for automation and hydraulics can add another $20,000 to $30,000 to this cost.

The used filter press market can offer a reduction in this capital cost, but usually at the expense of increased maintenance, and replacement parts costs down the line.

MAINTENANCE With a number of moving parts, o-rings, and gaskets, filter presses require considerable attention to routine maintenance for proper operation.

For instance, each plate in the press typically includes four o-rings that need to be checked at each change-out and replaced when signs of wear are evident.

Additionally, to ensure proper sealing of the filter sheets and to reduce biofilm

72 Grapegrower & Winemaker

build-up, each plate surface should be cleaned thoroughly.

The yearly cost of maintenance can be calculated as five-to -10% of the cost of the press, but can be much higher if the press is older and if other considerations are included such as the labor required and down time of the operation while maintenance takes place.

Since filter sheets are changed-out on a periodic basis without regard to the filtration capacity still remaining in the sheet (as measured by differential pressure across the filter press), partially unused filter sheets are sent to disposal.

This increases the disposal cost.

The yearly cost of disposal can be calculated as: change-outs per month x disposal cost of a change-out x 12.

Even smaller filter presses require a relatively large area for safe operation, including access from all sides and space enough to open the press entirely during maintenance operations.

A 60cm2 x 60cm2 press will typically require up to 10 square metres of cellar space.

THE SOLUTION 3M Purification developed the Zeta Plus™ depth filter cartridge system to address the undesirable aspects that most wineries experienced with filter press operation.

Zeta Plus depth filter cartridges are made with the same high efficiency, high tensile strength filter media as our standard filter sheets for a filter press.

However, the filter sheet media is contained in an easy-to-use cartridge form that is installed in a fully enclosed, sanitary design, filter housing.

The Zeta Plus cartridge system provides the following benefits to wineries: • Zeta Plus cartridges are installed in a totally enclosed, sanitary design filter housing, eliminating wine leakage.

• Zeta Plus filter cartridges can be installed and ready for use in as little as 15 minutes, usually requiring the efforts of only a single operator.

• Since Zeta Plus cartridges are installed in a totally enclosed filter housing and not exposed to the atmosphere, the cartridges can continue to be used until they reach a maximum differential pressure (35 psid), indicating that their useful life has been achieved.

• Depending on the nature of the wine and how well it has been prepared prior to filtration (racking, fining, D.E. filtration), a single set of cartridges can be used for weeks prior to plugging, unlike the filter press, which requires www.winetitles.com.au

frequent change-outs.

• 3M Purification has also developed a warm water regeneration flushing procedure that can further extend filter service life.

• As an example, a California winery has reported average throughputs of up to 190,000 litres per single 12” diameter Zeta Plus™ cartridge.

• For equal flow rates, Zeta Plus filter housings typically require from one half to a quarter of the capital cost required for an all stainless-steel filter press.

• Zeta Plus™ cartridge housings have only three o-rings to maintain, compared to the dozens of o-rings on a filter press. Unlike a filter press, a 3M™ series filter housing is easy to maintain, clean, and operate.

• Unlike filter sheets that are changedout on a periodic basis without regard to the filtration capacity still remaining in the sheet, Zeta Plus cartridges are only changed-out when their capacity is achieved, whether it be two weeks or a month of service.

• Zeta Plus filter housings are very compact, typically requiring only a tenth of the floor space of a comparable filter press. Since the filter media in a Zeta Plus cartridge is stacked horizontally, the design makes much more effective use of floor space.

• The compact nature of the Zeta Plus cartridge and 3M series filter housing design results in much faster sanitation cycles, greatly reducing energy costs.

Because the 3M series filter housing design has less stainless steel than a filter press, it can be brought up to temperature much more quickly and reliably. Additionally, the sanitary design of the 3M series filter housing eliminates dead-legs and other hard to clean areas common in a filter press that are difficult to sanitize correctly.

CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY Although filter presses have been used by wineries for many years, cellar crews have noted significant deficiencies in their design and operation.

The table below summarizes the benefits of the Zeta Plus™ cartridge system versus the use of a filter press for wine clarification.

Zeta Plus™ depth filters are available in 8-, 12-, and 16-inch diameter cartridges Additional factors, such as the sanitary design of the 3M series filter housing concept, the elimination of wine exposure to external contaminants/ oxidation, and the durability of the filter, also favour the use of an enclosed Zeta Plus cartridge system.

March 2017 – Issue 638

For more details on our range of published titles,

or to order, visit winetitles.com.au

or phone (08) 8369 9500

Supplier Update

Separator Technology offers solutions F I LT R AT I O N W I T HOU T Diatomaceous Earth (DE-free) is fast becoming a reality for a leading winery in the Sunraysia through the use of the specially design STS 200 system, supplied by the Australia-owned centrifuge company Separator Technology Solutions (STS).

Stanley Wines, located in Buronga NSW, is a 60,000-tonne cellar owned

by Accolade Wines has achieved what many thought logistically impossible for any large-volume winery by intelligently re-engineering their process to leverage existing gravity and centrifugal technology – headlined by the STS 200 system.

A senior spokesperson from Stanley Wines noted: “A few years back my goal was to remove RDV filtration from site. We were spending upwards of $500K per annum of filter earth. This goal now looks like it may become a reality with the introduction of STS centrifuges and high solids cross flow filtration. Hopefully

this year our perlite and DE expenditure will be zero. All juice clarification at Stanley is now via flotation this is also saving us large amounts of money on refrigeration. The lees from flotation are then centrifuged via the STS centrifuges.

We are getting great results through the centrifuges so far. Initial solids levels are 30% pre centrifuge. Running the machines at two-to-three kL per hour we are achieving outlet NTUs as low as 150 which is clean enough to go straight into the clarified free run fractions for ferment. We aim to get the centrifuge discharges to >90% solids so that this can go straight to waste (this goes to ATP for tartaric acid production).”

Advantages for lees clarification by centrifugation over RDV filtration are obvious: • Lower consumable costs (perlite and filter earth); • Less refrigeration cost as we are not holding juice lees cold for as long; • More timely lees clarification; • Less wild fermentation of juice lees

before clarification is possible; Less dilution; Less oxidation; Less loss; and Better quality outcomes.

Separator Technology Solutions offers regionally-based service and support, staffed by locals, to the major Australian regions covering Riverina, Sunraysia and Riverland areas. And with the newly installed STS 200 at Pernod Ricard Winemakers Rowland Flat, the company is excited to include also the Barossa Valley.

The support team is expanding, as seen with the recently employment of Andrea Birrell in the capacity of service co-ordinator/after-market sales and spare parts. Andrea brings over 20 years’ experience in the Centrifuge Industry to ensure your total experience with STS is handled professionally.

For more information please contact: Ashley Whittington (CEO) 0439 329 997 Mark Geldenhuys (service) 0484 342 614 Andrea Birrell (spare parts) 0429 415 150 • • • •

The market leader overseas returns to home ...

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Represented: in New Zealand by Vintech Pacific Ashley Whittington

Andrea Birrell

Guy Rutledge

STS + 61 3 9016 4330

STS + 61 429 415 150

Vintech Pacific +64 21 783 236

sales_au@sts200.com www.sts200.com

March 2017 – Issue 638

Andrea.Birrell@sts200.com www.sts200.com www.winetitles.com.au

guy@vintechpacific.co.nz www.vintechpacific.co.nz

Grapegrower & Winemaker

75

wine law

Protecting your wine brand LIQUOR WATCH, in June 2004, reported that Reschke, the boutique family-owned winery in Coonawarra, had defeated multinational energy drink giant, Red Bull, in a court battle that lasted four years.

The case apparently began in 1999 when Reschke applied to register the trademark for its wine brand and Red Bull contested it on the grounds that the two trademarks were deceptively similar.

The Reschke trademark – being a logo incorporating the name “Reschke”, and a drawing of a bull – was apparently designed by founder and managing director of Reschke Wines, Burke Reschke, to represent that family’s cattle grazing heritage in the South East of South Australia that began in 1906. The Red Bull log is of two bulls under a rising sun that was registered as a trademark in 1987.

Liquor Watch reported that Burke said: “It’s been a long battle and many times we were tempted to just give up and succumb to the cost and pressure of it all, but I’m glad we held our ground because we’ve grown fond of our logo. Now we can just get on with wine making”.

Red Bull was reportedly ordered to pay costs and the Reschke Bull became a registered trademark.

The “Bull” fight remains an interesting case in point – and illustrative of the need for and benefit of trademark protection.

WHAT TRADEMARK PROTECTION OFFERS Having trademark protection for your brand (including words or logos) means two things.

Firstly, it entitles you to utilise the registered trademarks in association with your wine products – i.e. it allows you to do what you want to do without substantial risk of interference from third parties.

Secondly, it allows you to take steps to stop another producer from marketing wine in breach of your trademark.

There is, importantly, however, no compulsion to take enforcement action although failure to do so may commercially dilute your brand value and ultimately lead to the other producer obtaining a registration through provision of evidence of substantial usage.

The most important thing, ultimately, in my view, is that you have a secure right to sell your product.

Having trademark protection for all aspects of your brand is of course

76 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Wine Lawyer Mark Hamilton

Grope Hamilton Lawyers

It’s been a long battle and many times we were tempted to just give up and succumb to the cost and pressure of it all, but I’m glad we held our ground because we’ve grown fond of our logo.

Now we can just get on with wine making of absolutely crucial commercial importance if and when you intend to sell your brand.

A purchaser is going to pay more if there is a secure right to use the brand.

The brand may well not be saleable without registered trademarks.

FURTHER ACTION In addition to legal action to prevent a breach of trademark under the trademark legislation, for example, by obtaining an injunction from a court to restrain future infringement, it is also possible to seek court protection at common law and under the Trade Practices Act (Commonwealth) (now “Australian Consumer Law”) and the various Fair Trading Acts found in all Australian States and Territories – for false and misleading conduct or “passing off”.

Thus, it is possible to obtain injunctive relief, even if you do not have trademark protection, if you can satisfy the relevant legal requirements. This is essentially to establish “substantial use”.

Action for breach of copyright in relation to the graphical expression of the brand (that is, the label) is also possible.

These images may also be able to be registered as pictorial trademarks.

The main objective of these actions is to obtain an injunction (or an undertaking in lieu of an injunction) to restraining the offending producer from repeating the conduct in the future. www.winetitles.com.au

Because protection of brand value is the commercial objective, it is not so much a case of stopping the sale of the opponent’s immediate product on the market (or in the other producer’s warehouse), but the medium and long term objective of stopping the offending conduct being ongoing.

Often solicitors therefore negotiate “run-off” agreements whereby the offending producer agrees not to repeat the conduct on the basis that it can sell down the existing stock.

Normally, a producer will seek a pretrial injunction to restrain the other producer from selling the product in arguable breach of the producer’s rights, pending determination of the issue by the court.

This is because of the damage which could potentially occur before the matter comes to trial.

In simple terms, to obtain a pre-trial injunction it is necessary to establish, firstly, that one has a serious case to be tried (that is, that you have prima facie prospects of success), and that, secondly, damages would not be an adequate remedy (that is, to establish something like irredeemable damage to your brand or business will occur if the conduct were to proceed until trial).

The price to be paid for a pre-trial injunction is that the producer must give an undertaking to the court that it will pay any damages which the other producer might suffer if it turns out subsequently that there has been no breach of rights and that the pre-trial injunction (that is, inability to sell the product) has caused the other producer financial loss.

It would also be necessary to establish to the court that the undertaking to pay damages is worthwhile – that is, that the party applying for the undertaking has the financial capacity to meet any loss covered by the undertaking. That is, that the plaintiff is not a “man of straw”.

The giving of an undertaking as to damages is something that obviously requires serious consideration.

You can still proceed with an action seeking permanent injunctive relief without seeking a pre-trial injunction if you do not wish to give an undertaking.

In those circumstances, importantly, you should seek an urgent trial.

When the merits of the matter are finally determined at trial (if there has been no subsequent settlement) then the court may, if the producer is successful in March 2017 – Issue 638

establishing its case, grant a permanent injunction preventing recurrence.

It may also make an award of damages (or order an account of and payment of the profits unlawfully received by the offending party) and also may order that the producer’s costs of the action be paid by the offending party.

These costs will always be substantial in a case of this nature.

Having trademarks registered is not in itself an absolute protection as a producer, accused of the trademark breach, can request a court, by way of “counterclaim”, to strike your trademark off the trademark register.

This can office, for example, if your trademark was accepted and registered by the trademark’s office without a court decision – and if there is some basis for arguing that it should not have been registered in the first instance.

This cannot occur if the original trademark application was finally determined on appeal in the Federal Court, that is, that the right to registration has already been the subject of a final court determination on the merits.

KEEPING A CLOSE EYE Many large companies keep watch on

March 2017 – Issue 638

all trademark applications either through in-house legal counsel or through external trademark attorneys.

They attempt to identify at an early stage any trademark applications which might potentially offend against their existing registrations.

This is presumably how the Reschke application came to Red Bull’s attention.

Any such instances identified result in letters being forwarded to the applicants for trademarks with a request that they withdraw or in some way modify the trademark application.

All of this points to the fact that applying for and obtaining trademark protection prior to brand development is the best way to identify and avoid potential problems later on.

Experience shows that one saving grace about litigation over brands is that rarely do matters proceed to trial – that is, that they usually settle quite quickly, and relatively inexpensively in litigation terms.

Prompt, firm legal action usually results in a commercial resolution.

It is vital to act quickly to restrain a brand so that the infringing party does not invest too much time or money in their product making – and thereby

www.winetitles.com.au

All of this points to the fact that applying for and obtaining trademark protection prior to brand development is the best way to identify and avoid potential problems later on. become more determined to fight the issue out.

Mark Hamilton of Grope Hamilton Lawyers provides specialist national legal services to the Australian wine industry. He has a lifetime of wine sector experience through his involvement with Hamilton’s Ewell Vineyards. He can be contacted on (08) 8231 00898 or 0412 842 359 or by email at mhamilton@ gropehamiltonlawyers.com.au. See www. gropehamiltonlawyers.com.au.

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sales & marketing New website for Canberra District wines THERE IS A NEW website for informaion on the 48 wineries and attractions in the Canberra Wine District, packed full of all the information visitors need to visit the regions’ vineyards, restaurants and events.

The new site is the initiative of the Canberra District Wine Industry Association, and showcases their members and partners. The site targets visitors to the region from Canberra and further afield and aims to educate, inspire and provide information in a user-friendly format.

“The Canberra Wine District covers a huge area, from Yass and Murrumbateman, Bungendore, Wamboin, Bywong, Collector and Lake George to Hall, and one vineyard within the boundaries of the ACT,” said John Leyshon, CDWA President.

“With this sort variety, we needed to make sure we showed the depth and distance of the area, the range of award winning wines being made and which vineyards are open for visitors and when.”

Features of the website (www.canberrawines.com.au) include: • An interactive map – which shows all the wineries in the region, restaurants and accommodation; • A tour planner – helping visitors decide where to go and what to see if which part of the district; • A search function which allows you to search by wine variety, district, feature, or winery – catering to a variety

of different users and their planning needs; • Opening times for cellar doors and places to eat; • Wine tours and accommodation in the area; and • Event calendar – with dates for Canberra Wine Week and the Harvest Festival 2017 (March 31-April 9), as well as individual vineyard events throughout the year; Winemakers and vineyards owners are also spotlighted, giving visitors some of the background to their bottle of wine, and how the district has developed over the years.

“The Canberra District is overflowing with vineyards making excellent wines, and we were conscious of the need for anyone thinking of visiting to have as much information at their fingertips as possible before making the trip,” Leyshon said.

“We know that people can have different reasons for coming to visit. They may be looking specifically for Shiraz, or they are curious to know which vineyards are doing new varietals.

“This website has been tailored to provide as much information as possible.”

The website also shows where to eat in the district, and shows everything from where vegetarian or gluten free meals are offered to if there are facilities for children.

“It really is a one stop website for everything you need to plan your day out in the Canberra wine district,” Leyshon said.

De Bortoli Wines wins Asian Success Aspire award EFFORTS TO GROW its export business has seen the familyowned company named the winner of the ‘Asian Success’ category at the AFR & PwC’s Private Clients Aspire Awards.

Victor De Bortoli, executive director of De Bortoli Wines – who manages the business’s export arm, said the award recognised the company’s vision for producing premium wines that reflect their regionality.

“Our philosophy is that great wine begins in the vineyard and should taste of the region where the grapes that made it are grown,” said Mr De Bortoli.

“This is especially prevalent given the increasing global demand for more elegant style wines, such as those from the cool climate Yarra Valley where we have an estate.

“This demand has seen the Yarra Valley listed for the first time this year in Wine Australia’s ‘Top 15 GI Regions’ – the only Victorian region to make the list and number two for average value per litre. We have seen this growth first hand with exports of our Yarra Valley wines growing by 94% in the last year.”

Announced late last year in Sydney, the awards celebrate outstanding achievements made by Australia’s private and family businesses. The quality of the 2016 entrants were as high as ever, as businesses from all of Australia’s major vertical industries presented the solid business practices that successful

78 Grapegrower & Winemaker

companies portray.

As Australia’s seventh largest wine exporter, De Bortoli Wines has experienced an increase in demand for its premium quality wines worldwide, most notably in Asia, where exports have grown 42% since 2014.

With demand so high, the business has seen for the first time the entire stock of De Bortoli’s most premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay – the new Riorret Lusatia Park Pinot Noir 2015 and Yarra Valley Section A5 Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2015 allocated for sale prior to being released to the market.

Established in 1928, De Bortoli Wines is one of Australia’s largest family-owned wineries, exporting to more than 75 countries including China, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Scandinavia; with emerging markets in Russia and the Middle East.

The fourth-generation family wine company, which is today under the custodianship of the third generation, is known for its premium wine, firstly through iconic, award-winning dessert wine Noble One, which was first produced in 1982 at the family’s Bilbul Estate in the Riverina of NSW, where the De Bortoli Wines story began, and then via the success in the Yarra Valley.

The business also has vineyards in the King Valley and at Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley in NSW.

www.winetitles.com.au

March 2017 – Issue 638

Social media engagement: Villa Maria #Helptag New Zealand’s most awarded winery, Villa Maria, has recently wrapped up an interesting social media campaign and are now looking to capitalize on its success.

NEW ZEALAND’S VILLA MARIA launched what could be best described as a helptag, when it delivered the social media equivalent of a telephone helpline, creating the handle #VillaMariaHelpline to engage consumers in digital conversations.

The winery saw a major increase in their audience engagements while the project was live and also delivered a large boost in subscribers across different channels through the campaign.

“We had more than 2200 interactions with consumers across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter from their tricky questions to sharing their love of wine and favourite food matches,” said Di Ruela, senior account manager at Villa Maria.

“The response was overwhelmingly positive and encouraging with over 1.4 million views of our tips and answers.”

The helptag was set up to answer consumer queries about wine pairing or gifting during the festive season.

While the #VillaMariaHelpline was live, Villa Maria followers had access to a team of experienced food and wine experts, headed by Nick Picone, Villa Maria’s chief winemaker, and Robert Baxter, executive chef.

Picone said the company chose to launch the helptag service to ease the fear and anxiety many people have around wine selection.

“We put a lot of effort into the Christmas season and ultimately we aim to impress family and friends,” Picone said.

“But, unless we’re wine connoisseurs, it can be daunting finding that perfect wine to gift or match with food. The Villa Maria helpline has been designed to support New Zealanders with their decision making and ease any stress over the festive season and New Year celebrations.”

MULTI-CHANNEL APPROACH The helptag service responded to tagged wine-related questions across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – with one of Villa Maria’s wine and food connoisseurs responding.

It took a fairly significant team to run the campaign; four winemakers, one chef, one March 2017 – Issue 638

The response was overwhelmingly positive and encouraging with over 1.4 million views of our tips and answers member of the tasting room plus two communications people all contributed.

The project required plenty of planning before it began, as well as the monitoring and rapid-response required while the helptag was ‘live’.

“Every Villa Maria social channel experienced an increase in both fan acquisition and engagement over and above average performance in the preceding period with Instagram showing an engagement increase of 270.4% during the campaign period,” Ruela said.

“The ability to connect directly with new and existing customers was the most exciting part of the campaign for us. Being able to break down barriers about wine and do so in a fun, engaging way and to see that be received was really great.”

The winery has been pro-active in capitalising on the engagement the helptag has presented, using the opportunity to promote other aspects of the business and playing on the bent of the questions to highlight their unique strengths, their compatibility with food and the awards they have won.

“We’re currently trying to identify how best to keep the campaign running and what would be most useful to our audience. It could also be something utilized by our tasting rooms and www.winetitles.com.au

certainly in our restaurants,” Ruela said.

WHAT THE PEOPLE WANTED The most popular questions were about food matches for popular varieties, particularly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; while there were also questions relating to Rosé wines as well as requests for general tips about drinking and cellaring wines.

“Our consumers are really passionate and motivated to learn about wine as well as food matching” Ruela said.

“They found the education and the personal insights and comments from our winemakers and chefs to be useful and inspiring. It’s wonderful to know that our consumers really want this kind of easy and accessible wine knowledge, in a form that is easy to share,” Ruela said.

“We will absolutely continue to look at how we can share these kind of insights and tips with our consumers. Knowing this content is meaningful and relevant to our consumers is really helpful for us in ensuring we can meet their needs and continue introducing them to all Villa Maria has to offer.”

The helptag ran from the ninth of December 2016 to the sixth of January 2017, with a boost in subscribers leading into the holidays.

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79

industry profile

Winemaker of the month: Sarah Pidgeon of our heritage blocks. These old vineyards are always complex, but each one responds differently in the winery and finding the best expression of each of these vineyards is always truly satisfying.

What are you most proud of?

The recent ASVO winemaker of the year award for Sue Hodder and myself is the latest career highlight. It’s a peer reviewed award, based on technical contributions, and it acknowledges the long term nature of understanding wine and regions. There were many strands to that nomination, including working on heritage vine selections, progressing Coonawarra’s single sites, sharing unique flavour and tannin analysis on 60 vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon, work on wine microbes and nutrition, and communication and engagement with schools, students, neighbouring wineries, researchers international visitors who are telling the stories of Australian wine to the world.

Are you confident about the future of the viticulture and wine industry? What gives you that confidence?

Company: Wynns Coonawarra Estate Location: Coonawarra Size: 500 ha of vineyard; 3000 tonnes winery capacity Tell us about your role: Winemaker at Wynns - it’s primarily about flavours, and tasting, all year round. The jobs vary with the seasons and the variety of the work is engaging. During vintage the days are split between the tasting room, checking the ferments and planning the work from there, and tasting in the vineyard, planning the details of harvest.

Can you tell us more about your career in wine so far?

I went to Roseworthy straight from high school, with romantic notions and very little idea of what real winemaking would be like, but I convinced my parents to view it like an arts degree – I could always transfer to a sensible course later on. Needless to say, that never happened, and two years into the degree my parents were as excited about it as I was. It’s been nothing like I’d imagined, but so much better. I did some vintages in WA and overseas, but after 18 years here, it’s true to say that all the defining moments of my career have been at Wynns.

What part of your job do you find most rewarding?

There’s a reason that Cabernet Sauvignon is so widely sought after around the world, when it’s done well it’s just such a great drink. The remarkable and complex Cabernet Sauvignon fruit is what brought me to Wynns, and what keeps me here. Wynns’ vineyards in the heart of the Coonawarra’s terra rossa strip are amazing to work with. Each time we release a new single vineyard wine, it signals that we have unlocked the best of one

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Climate shifts and compressed vintages are shaping the national conversation. The wine community’s ability to focus on tiny flavour shifts shaped by different growing conditions makes us unique. We are proven chameleons, always coming up with ingenious ways to keep growing the grapes we love and making them into wines everyone else loves. At Wynns that has meant reinventing the paradigms of water, pruning, and planting. Knowing more about rootstocks and clones, and ensuring diversity and quality endures. Pushing the boundaries of winery equipment. If you’re prepared to keep challenging and changing, the future is bright.

What are the current challenges you are facing?

Many of our projects are half way through and need time to bear out. Wynns has one of only two vision berry sorters in Australia, and learning how to capture information and get the best out of this important technology is something I’m looking forward to. The new plantings of Wynns heritage selections and new clones are coming to maturity, and finding out more about clones and rootstocks over the next few years is going to be a joy.

Where do you go for support on these issues?

We’re so fortunate to have great knowledge within our own team, and it’s a collaboration in terms of constantly questioning what we’re doing and looking for the next opportunities. Sue Hodder, Allen Jenkins, Ben Harris and Dr Cath Kidman are wonderful resources for Wynns. I’d be lost without the ASVO tech conferences and the AWRI extension seminars, I always get something out of them. Magazines like the Grapegrower & Winemaker are also a great way to stay in touch with the broader winemaking community and issues.

How important is the Grapegrower & Winemaker magazine a source of information?

I think most people enjoy the mix of news and technical issues.

We were just reading about the WFA proposal for changes to the food standards code for water additions. It’s important to know about those kind of things and the Grapegrower & Winemaker is often the best place to find out. And good on you Nathan for setting a 50/50 gender target for your article authorship. What a shame we still need quotas but I agree, we’re not as far along as we should be, how is it still about gender when there’s so much more to diversity than that?

www.winetitles.com.au

March 2017 – Issue 638

calendar

looking back

Australia & New Zealand March 23-9 Apr Taste Great Southern, Various locations in Great Southern, WA, www.greatsoutherntastewa.com

31-9 Apr Canberra District Wine Week, Canberra & Regions, ACT, www.canberrawines.com.au

26 Glenlyon Fine Food & Wine Fayre, Glenlyon Recreation Reserve, Glenlyon, VIC, www.glenlyon.vic.au

31-9 Apr Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Various venues throughout Melbourne & Regional Victoria, VIC, www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au

31-9 Apr F.O.O.D Week (Food of Orange District), Orange & surrounding Shires, NSW, www.orangefoodweek.com.au

April 2 Anderson's Mill Festival, Smeaton, VIC, www.andersonsmillfest.org.au

14 Easter Performances @ Sinclair's Gully, Nortin Summit, SA, www.sinclairsgully.com

7-8 Coonawarra After Dark Weekend, Coonawarra & Penola, SA, www.coonawarra.org

15-16 Campbells Easter Picnic, Campbells Wines, Rutherglen, VIC, www.campbellswines.com.au

7-9 A Little Bit of Italy in Broke, NSW, www. littlebitofitaly.com.au

15-17 Brown Brothers Easter Family Festival, Milawa Vineyard, Milawa, VIC, www.brownbrothers.com.au

7-9 Food Show Christchurch, NZ, www. foodshow.co.nz 8-9 Harvest Festival at Shaw Vineyard Estate & Flint at Shaw Vineyard, Murrumbateman, NSW, www.shawvineyards.com.au

16 Pizzini Wines Easter Sunday Family Day, King Valley, VIC, www.pizzini.com.au 19-23 Barossa Vintage Festival 2017, Various Barossa Valley venues, SA, www.barossavintagefestival.com.au

International March 19-21 ProWein 2017, Düsseldorf, Germany, www.prowein.com 19-21 Superior Taste Awards 2017, Brussels, Belgium, www.itqi.com 19-22 IFE17, London, UK, www.ife.co.uk 19-22 Pro2Pac, ExCel, London, UK, www.pro2pac.co.uk 23-26 Wine Masters Challenge - XVIII World Wine Contest, Estoril, Portugal, www.winemasterschallenge.co.uk

23-27 Estoril Organic Wine Contest 2017, Estoril, Portugal, www.estorilorganicwinecontest.co.uk 28-29 International Wine Tourism Exhibition, Conference & Workshop, Barcelona, Spain, www.iwinetc.com 28-31 Shanghai International Wine & Spirits Exhibition 2017, New International Expo Center, Shanghai, China, www.winefair.com.cn 31 TERROIRS D'IMAGES International Grape and Wine Photo Exhibit, France, www.oenovideo.oeno.tm.fr

April 5-8 Food & Hotel Indonesia 2017, Jakarta, Indonesia, www.pamerindo.com 6-9 VIINIEXPO 2017, Messukeskus, Helsinki, Finland, www.messukeskus.com/sites2/ Viiniexpo/en

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.

March 2007 There is plenty of evidence afoot to say that Riesling is well and truly on the rise in the minds of both consumers and winemakers internationally. According to US retail sales tracking data, Riesling is now the fourth largest selling varietal – with only Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris achieving higher sales growth.

California’s Randall Grahm has announced he is building a 300,000 case Riesling-only wineru at West Richland in Washington – to be ready for the 2007 harvest.

March 1997 The Tasmanian wine industry has developed its own strategy for growth.

The document predicts that by 2006, the volume of grapes produced in Tasmania will increase from 2000 to 8000 tonnes, with the number of vineyards growing from 70 to 100. The industry will also comprise six major wineries and up to 20 small wineries. Strategy Tasmania was launched by Bill Bonde, Minister for Primary Industry, following extensive consultation.

March 1987 The Federal Government’s 20 per cent sales tax on wine is clearly depressing the wine industry’s returns, according to Peter Fisher, Federal Member for Mallee.

He claimed the tax was threatening the unique character of the Australian wine industry. He said the wine and grape industry had been buffeted by unpredictable changes in the market place, including the taxation policy and State Government charges.

9-10 Riesling du Monde 2017, Les Grands Concours du Monde 2017, Pinot Blanc du Monde 2017, Sylvaner du Monde 2017, Gewürztraminer du Monde 2017, Pinot Gris du Monde 2017, Strasbourg, France, www.lesgrandsconcoursdumonde. cominternationalwinechallenge.com

JD = judging date CD= closing date March 2017 – Issue 638

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

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Marketplace

All advertisements also appear on www.winetitles.com.au/classifieds/ Accolade Wines Australia Limited, Aravina Estate, Australian Vintage Ltd, Barwick Wines, Beltunga, Bests Wines Great Western, Bremerton Wines, Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard Pty Ltd, Campbells Wines, Casama Group Pty Ltd, Cellarmaster Group, Charles Melton Wines, Clover Hill Wines, CMV Farms, Coriole Vineyards, Delegats Wine Estate, Delegat’s Wine Estate Limited, DogRidge, Edgemill Group, Fanselow Bell, Five Star Wines, Fowles Wine, Fuse Wine Services Pty Ltd, Gemtree Vineyards, Glenlofty Wines, Harry Jones Wines, Henry’s Drive Vignerons Pty Ltd, Hentley Farm, Hope Estate, Hospitality Recruitment Solutions, Howard Park Wines, Hungerford Hill Wines, Inglewood Wines Pty Ltd, Innocent Bystander, Jack Rabbit Vineyard, Jim Barry Wines, KarriBindi, Kauri, Kingston Estate Wines Pty Ltd, Kirrihill Wines Pty Ltd, Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard, L’Atelier by, Aramis Vineyards, Leeuwin Estate, Make WInes Australia, McWilliam’s Wines Group, Memstar, Mondo Consulting, Moppity VIneyards, Moxon Oak, Nadalie australia, Nexthire, Oenotec Pty Ltd, Options Wine Merchants, Orlando Wines, Ozpak Pty Ltd, Patrick of Coonawarra, Plantagenet Wines, Portavin Integrated Wine Services, R&D VITICULTURAL SERVICES PTY LTD, Robert Oatley Vineyards, Rymill Coonawarra, Seville Estate, Stella Bella Wines, Streicker Wines, The Gilbert Family Wine Co, The Lane Vineyard, The Scotchmans Hill Group Pty Ltd, The Yalumba Wine Company, Tintara Winery, Tower Estate Pty Ltd, Treasury Wine Estates, Turkey Flat Vineyards, Two Hands Wines, Tyrrell’s Wines, Vinpac International, Warburn Estate Pty Ltd, WebAware Pty Ltd, Wine and Vine Personnel International,Wines Overland, Wingara WIne Group,Wirra Wirra Vineyards, Zilzie Wines, Accolade Wines Australia Limited, Aravina Estate, Australian Vintage Ltd, Barwick Wines, Beltunga, Bests Wines Great Western, Bremerton Wines, Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard Pty Ltd, Campbells Wines, Casama Group Pty Ltd, Cellarmaster Group, Charles Melton Wines, Clover Hill Wines, CMV Farms, Coriole Vineyards, Delegats Wine Estate, Delegat’s Wine Estate Limited, DogRidge, Edgemill Group, Fanselow Bell, Five Star Wines, Fowles Wine, Fuse Wine Services Pty Ltd, Gemtree Vineyards, Glenlofty Wines, Harry Jones Wines, Henry’s Drive Vignerons Pty Ltd, Hentley Farm, Hope Estate, Hospitality Recruitment Solutions, Howard Park Wines, Hungerford Hill Wines, Inglewood Wines Pty Ltd, Innocent Bystander, Jack Rabbit Vineyard, Jim Barry Wines, KarriBindi, Kauri, Kingston Estate Wines Pty Ltd, Kirrihill Wines Pty Ltd, Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard, L’Atelier by, Aramis Vineyards, Leeuwin Estate, Make WInes Australia, McWilliam’s Wines Group, created & Consulting, managed byMoppity VIneyards, Moxon Oak, Nadalie australia, NexMemstar, Mondo thire, Oenotec Pty Ltd, Options Wine Merchants, Orlando Wines, Ozpak Pty Ltd, Patrick of Coonawarra, Plantagenet Wines, Portavin Integrated Wine Services, R&D VITI-

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