Grapegrower & Winemaker - October 2014 by Provincial Press Group

OCTOBER 2014

PJ CHARTERIS: WIHN ero3+

GoPro ION BLACK EDFRITOM

CAMER A

Lessons in flying solo

WINE SHOW SEASON: How do we ‘improve the breed’?

USA TODAY:

Where did it go wrong?

WINE LANGUAGE

Keep it simple for consumers

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October 2014: Issue 609

Contents features 46

Pests & disease

Bird control

Harvesting

Winery design & construction

Refrigeration

Yeast & enzymes

news

winemaking

On the grapevine

PJ Charteris: Lessons in flying solo

My view: Virginia Rawling

Roundtable: Wine show season

Microbial origins of wine aromas: Higher alcohols & volatile phenols

Regional Roundup: Canberra District

Movers & shakers

How did it all go wrong in the USA?

Young gun: Troy Kalleske

It‘s time to check your refrigeration plant

Managing nitrogen nutrition

Commercial glycosidase enzymes & aroma

grapegrowing

sales & marketing

Justin Jarrett: Working with 15 wineries

104

Wine aroma chemistry

Research in living colour

Yarra Valley: Rockstar vines

Ben Rose: Spray regime

Bird netting: We address the common concerns

JUNE

Secondary market focus: Wickman’s Fine Wine Auctions

business & technology 106

Résumé writing: Stand out from the crowd

2 014

People in research: 36 Dr Justin Cohen 24 “Then instead of returning to the US, to work in corporate management for a hotel group as planned, I accepted a scholarship to undertake a PhD in wine marketing.

OCTOBER 2014

cover

“It’s where I first connected with Professor Larry Lockshin (Pro Vice Chancellor for Strategic Coordination andA Head of Marketing at University of South Australia) and his research group.”

Cohen said he happily made the jump.

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

regulars

“We’re a great team. My focus is particularly managerial, it’s my job to solve problems and come up with ways to overcome hurdles that crop up with such projects.

5 What’s online Wine show judging – action “Working in108 emergingLooking markets like China from the Barossa Wine back now is really exciting, because we are getting past people just espousing their Show. Photo: Barossa 109 Advertiser thoughts and feelings. Our EBI team is index actually doing the research in country. We Grape & Wine Association. PJ Charteris: Responsible for the wine marketing can make arguments claims about 110 and Marketplace classifieds After completing his PhD, Dr Cohen moved to Europe to work in the Master Vintage program, which is an EU-funded Master of Science program (MSC) for oenology, viticulture and wine business.

Win

Lessons in flying solo

GoPro Hero3+ Edition

Black WiNe shoW seasoN: do we ‘improve the breed’? Dr Justin Cohen, Research Fellow, EhrenbergHowBass Institute for Marketing Science WiNe LaNGUaGe Usa today: camEra from

Where did it go wrong?

Keep it simple for consumers

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

component and research supervision, Dr Cohen said that after two exciting years of delivering education and conducting research across numerous European markets he was ready for the next challenge - at the Australian Centre for Retail Studies, a specialised retailing centre at Monash University. “I focussed my energy on commercial research and strategy implementation for property groups, retailers and brands,

market dynamics founded in data and not just conjecture.”

“Working in emerging markets like China now is really exciting.” Dr Cohen is also enjoying the growing interest and research competition in wine

In this issue October Publisher and Chief Executive Hartley Higgins Managing EDITOR Elizabeth Bouzoudis EDITOR Nathan Gogoll editor@grapeandwine.com.au Editorial advisory board Dr Jim Fortune, Denis Gastin, Dr Steve Goodman, Dr Terry Lee, Paul van der Lee, Bob Campbell MW, Prof Dennis Taylor and Mary Retallack Editorial Stephanie Timotheou Advertising Sales Chas Barter sales@grapeandwine.com.au Circulation: Melissa Smithen subs@winetitles.com.au Subscription Prices Australia: 1 year (12 issues) $77.50 (inc. GST) 2 years (24 issues) $145 (inc. GST) New Zealand, Asia & Pacific: 1 year (12 issues) $110 (AUD) 2 years (24 issues) $210 (AUD) All other countries: 1 year (12 issues) $174.50 (AUD) 2 years (24 issues) $339 (AUD) Students (Aus only): 1 year (12 issues) $66 (inc. GST) Winetitles Pty. Ltd. 630 Regency Road, Broadview, South Australia 5083 Phone: (08) 8369 9500 Fax: (08) 8369 9501 info@winetitles.com.au www.winebiz.com.au @Grape_and_Wine

AS WE are in the middle of ‘wine show season’ I thought it would be a good time to get some feedback from winemakers about the show system. I asked them to be honest in their assessment – and they haven’t held back. Take this from Tom Carson, commenting on what frustrates him most about wine shows… “Inconsistent results based on primarily non-rotation of senior judges who refuse to move on and are out-of-touch with the current forefront of Australian winemaking and philosophy. Shows should have standards that no judge has more than five years without a break.” Well there’s a bit of policy advice for every wine show committee to consider. And what about this from John Griffiths, on how much wine show results make him think about his own winemaking styles… “They don’t. We realise the criteria for wine show judging doesn’t equate to what people like to drink or the type of wine styles we make here in the Swan Valley”. No wonder John doesn’t enter many wine shows. This month we’ve also heard from a wine show organiser. Virginia Rawling’s office became the headquarters for the Australian Cool Climate Wine Show back in 1999 after the local agricultural society cancelled the wine section. Together with Ken Helm and Duncan Leslie, Virginia has helped create an industry-driven show. It’s a small show with arguably a much brighter future than many of its

bigger cousins. Why? Because it targets a smaller selection of producers and has a tighter focus. It’s an example of the wine show evolution taking place. Speaking of things evolving, does the industry have to change the language it uses? Young Shi, the managing director at China’s Taste Spirit Wine Academy, thinks it does. Especially for markets where English isn’t the first language. Most consumers, according to Young, actually have 'oenophobia' – meaning they are actually afraid of talking about wine. Scary thought. We’ve also identified good communication skills as one of the key tools for a grapegrower to possess. Justin Jarrett, who grows lots of grapes in Orange, says you have to get to know more about who you supply to and which labels your grapes are going into. “Some of the winery contacts you only meet two-or-three times each year, but you have to make sure you have meaningful conversations when you do see them,” Justin said. There’s loads of other topics in this edition that should start conversations. If you’re starting them on social media, please keep us in the loop. We’re now on Twitter… @Grape_and_Wine Enjoy the read. Nathan Gogoll Editor Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker editor@grapeandwine.com.au

Contributors

Printing by Lane Print Group, Adelaide

Ben Rose says it takes a good winegrower to be survive a tough season and not be impacted by disease.

Read his spray regime advice from Page 48.

Karl Forsyth says it’s time turn your attention to your refrigeration system to make sure it is ready and for vintage. He outlines a series of maintenance tasks to help improve the reliability of your system. Full report from Page 85.

on the grapevine NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show celebrates 23 years THE 2014 NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show celebrated its 23rd year with an increase in entries and a rise in gold medals awarded. More than 600 entries were received from 101 small producers who crushed a maximum of 500-tonnes each year. Mike De Iuliis of De Iuliis Wines, in his first year as chairman of judges, was impressed with the overall quality of entries. “It’s very satisfying to see the spread of gold medals and trophies across so many NSW regions and the diversity of style as winemakers explore their regional expression, especially with Shiraz,” he said. The gold medal wines were awarded across seven regions including the Hunter Valley, Canberra District, Hilltops, Orange, South Coast, Central Ranges and Tumbarumba, while silver medals

extended to the Southern Highlands and Mudgee. De Iuliis said the strength of the state’s wines was demonstrated in the Semillon, Shiraz and Chardonnay classes, but was pleased to see others lifting the standard. “It was great to see the Hilltops region yet again producing some really good Cabernet,” he said. “We also saw the continuing rise of Canberra District Riesling and the steady performance of alternative varieties such as Tempranillo, Barbera and Arneis.” Grapegrower & Winemaker congratulates all the winners including Mount View Estate which received the Winetitles best boutique white wine of show for its 2013 Reserve Chardonnay. Photos from the show can be found on Page 18.

Wine Australia tasting hits highest attendance LAST month Wine Australia hosted its largest event in Japan with more than 450 guests attending its annual tasting in Tokyo. The event for sommeliers, retailers, wine educators and media saw 18 Japanese importers showcase 300 Australian wines from 48 winemakers. A seminar held in conjunction with the tasting was led by three Wine Australia A+ Trade Specialists, Satoshi Tonooka, Yayoi Hayashi and Reiko Hoshino, who shared their perspectives and tactics for successfully engaging restaurants and retailers. “Securing the largest turnout we’ve ever had demonstrates the renewed excitement and interest in Australian

wine in the Japanese market,” Hiro Tejima, Wine Australia regional manager for Asia said. “The Japanese wine trade is turning its focus to Australia and it’s important we continue to promote the diversity in style and price points of Australian wine.” Tonooka, Hayashi and Hoshino guided groups on a walking trail where 60 guests were taken on themed tours of the tasting to learn more about Australian wine and how to share its story with their customers. Held at the start of the northern autumn, the timing of the event preceded peak wine consumption in Japan.

Flagship wine promises longevity GRANT Burge has released its 19th vintage of Meshach Shiraz, sourced from vineyards close to 100 years old. The name honours Grant’s great grandfather Meshach William Burge, who himself was nearly 100 years old when he passed away in 1942. “This flagship wine is close to my heart, not only because of its iconic status and exceptional qualities, but also for historic reasons,” Grant Burge said. “My great grandfather The Grant Burge 2009 Meschach Shiraz.

was a central figure in establishing the Burge family’s winemaking tradition. When he was 11 years old he moved from Wiltshire, England, with his family to the Barossa where they established a thriving viticultural wheat and sheep property near Lyndoch.” Meshach Burge lived to be 99, “so what better name for a long-living wine”. The wine has already received a gold medal at the Sydney International Wine Competition. It has been cellared for five years before release. The 2009 harvest came on the back of lower than average rainfall during the growing season and while this wine is balanced and elegant, the lack of rain contributed to the concentration of flavour in the grapes.

what’s online Murray Valley winegrape prices drop 20 percent This year’s Murray Valley winegrape harvest produced 10 percent less fruit than last year’s vintage and suffered a drop in value by more than 20 per cent. The 2014 Wine Grape Crush survey report released in September confirmed a harvest of 413,000 tonnes worth $129m, compared with last year’s 458,000 tonnes valued at $165m, reports the Weekly Times.

Bulk wine exports blamed for O-I glass production cut and job losses A production cutback by glass firm Owens-Illinois (O-I) has been linked to more Australian bulk wine being exported and bottled overseas. The US-based company has announced 60 jobs are to go in its Adelaide firm as it reduces operations from two furnaces to one and says wine industry production is a factor. Figures from the Australian Grape and Wine Authority showed a six percent drop in exports last year, reports the ABC.

Streamlining wine regulation could save ‘millions’ Streamlining the international requirements that Australian wines must meet has the potential to save growers and winemakers millions of dollars. Tony Battaglene, Winemakers' Federation of Australia strategy and international affairs general manager, said moves to deliver savings are well underway following strong support for change at the fourth APEC Wine Regulatory Forum – the first to be held in the Asia Pacific region, reports Winebiz.

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

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

my view The origins of the Cool Climate Wine Show When the local agricultural society cancelled the wine section, Virginia Rawling rolled up her sleeves and organised her own event. The Australian Cool Climate Wine Show manager reflects on the show’s growth and the quality of wine from cool regions. IN THE late 1990s, when I was growing grapes and producing wine under the England’s Creek label, the Yass Agricultural Society decided not to continue with their wine section. After much discussion, and quite a few glasses of wine, my winemaker friends, Ken Helm, from Helm Wines, Duncan Leslie, from the Murrumbateman Winery, and I thought we should continue with a local show and where better than the centre of the local industry at Murrumbateman. My home office and I were co-opted to organise the first Murrumbateman Cool Climate Wine Show in 1999, I still can’t quite recall how that happened, and the rest, as they say, is history. Our first event attracted 99 entries. As I write this, we are in the middle of processing more than 600 entries received for this year’s Australian Cool Climate Wine Show (ACCWS) and sample bottles are arriving from producers across the country, ready for judging. We are now at full capacity for our venue and, as we want to continue to grow, we are already discussing options for the future. This year there are more Tasmanian entries than previous years. Tasmanian producers have always done well with their cool climate varieties, at the 2013 show, five of the 11 trophies were awarded to producers from the Apple Isle, including best wine of show, won by the '13 Riversdale Estate Cygnus Riesling. There was a time many thought a wine industry in our region might not be possible. At the same time the first vines were being planted in South Australia in the 1840s, the first wines of this district were being produced from vines grown on a property called Baltinglass, about two kilometres from Gunning (between Yass and Goulburn). According to Brian Johnston and Janet Johnson’s Wines of the Canberra District, by 1874 there were 48 acres planted to grapes across 12 vineyards as well as three licensed brandy stills in the Yass area. But by the turn of the century, the wine industry here had all but disappeared and it wasn’t until 1971 when Dr John Kirk planted vines on the family’s Clonakilla property, and commercial production began a few years later, the potential from a century earlier would start to be realised. Not long

6 Grapegrower & Winemaker

after, three more local vineyards came into being: Doonkuna (now Eden Road); Helm Wines; and Broughton Park (now The Murrumbateman Winery)... and the region was once again on its way. The climate here was a challenge then, and still is today. Low rainfall and high evaporation requires irrigation during summer, especially for newly-established vineyards. Every seven-or-so years we encounter damaging, late-spring frosts and/or autumn hail. But we continue. Our love for cool climate wine, our suitable land, plentiful water supply and the dry, cool autumn weather means Murrumbateman winemakers continue to accrue great show successes, both nationally and internationally. (Trophies including the Jimmy Watson Memorial and Douglas Lamb Trophy and best Australian Riesling at the Canberra International Riesling Challenge have all made their way to the region). While our local flagship varieties are Shiraz and Riesling, and Clonakilla’s Shiraz Viognier is undoubtedly the district icon, the trophy and award success has been shared across a broad spectrum of varieties. Looking back across 15 years of the ACCWS, I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved. I am still the manager of the show and Duncan Leslie is still our chief steward. Ken Helm continues as chair of the Canberra International Riesling Challenge (CIRC), launched at our first 1999 Awards Presentation Dinner. Ken, Duncan and I also ran the Hyatt National Riesling Challenge (later the Canberra International Riesling Challenge) for some years. With Ken’s drive and passion for Riesling, it gained huge support and so Duncan and I have concentrated our efforts on growing the Australian Cool Climate Wine Show. Through the wine show, local producers are given the opportunity to benchmark their wines against similar products from across the country. Young winemakers continue to be trained through our assistant judging program. We have developed a significant wine show management program, a computerbased program which processes the increasing number of entries received for the show. Each year, local growers are encouraged to help steward at the show and this gives them access to the tastings and opportunities to discuss techniques www.winebiz.com.au

SHOW TIME: Virginia Rawling with some of the entries for this year’s Australian Cool Climate Wine Show.

with other growers and judges from across Australia. Although we get many entries from large wine producers, we also concentrate on the small boutique wine producer, offering a supportive and very friendly opportunity for them to enter the show system at a reasonable cost. We have had quite a few novice show entrants who have won trophies. No mention of the show should go without credit to the significant assistance and advice received from our judges and notably, the contribution made by our earlier chairs, Gerry Sissingh, Karl Stockhausen and Don Young who guided the committee on best show practice. There are still many challenges ahead not only locally, but for cool climate wine regions across Australia. To be successful, we need to support and encourage the younger generation of winemakers and viticulturists in gaining the knowledge they will need to continue to produce outstanding cool climate wines. October 2014 – Issue 609

roundtable

Wine show season It seems not all wine shows would earn a gold medal This month we asked four winemakers to share their thoughts on the wine show system: Tom Carson from Yabby Lake/Heathcote Estate in Victoria; John Griffiths from the Faber Vineyard in Western Australia’s Swan Valley; Drew Tuckwell from Printhie in Orange, New South Wales; and Sarah Crowe from Victoria's Yarra Yering. Which wine shows are most important to your wine brand? Tom Carson (TC): In Australia, Melbourne and the National are the two top shows for us, followed by the Chardonnay Challenge, Brisbane and Sydney and occasionally Adelaide. Internationally we have entered over the years, but this year we only entered the International Wine & Spirit Competition. John Griffiths (JG): We enter the Western Australian wine shows – Swan Valley, WA Boutique, Qantas Wine Show of WA and Perth Royal. Drew Tuckwell (DT): The Orange Regional Show, mainly because it only takes in the local wines, and the NSW Wine Awards because there’s a provincial focus and probably more than any other show, if you do well, you do get acknowledged and it offers a marketing extension. Sarah Crowe (SC): We have two brands, Yarra Yering and Warramate, and the importance of wine shows is vastly different for each. Warramate retails for $25-$30 and competes with many brands for shelf space, positive wine show results are seen to assist sales at that price point. Regional shows and capital city shows, as well as any with a ‘cool climate’ angle are considered. Yarra Yering has a strong reputation and, traditionally, wine shows haven’t been used to help promote the brand. Having said that, we recently entered the 2012 Dry Red No1 and 2012 Dry Red No2 into the new VIC100 Wine Awards and were very pleased both were successful. This type of regional show is what’s most important for Yarra Yering.

Do you budget for wine show entry fees each year? TC: We only enter a few shows per year and for me it depends on who is on the judging panel as to whether we enter or not. So it changes year-to-year, but normally about three-tofive shows per year. We don’t budget specifically, but take the money from our marketing funds. JG: It costs us more than $2000 each year to enter the WA shows, including the wine we send. DT: We are strategic about it because it is a part of our marketing spend. We don’t see value in sending off a whole bunch of wines in hope we ‘jag’ a medal, that’s not a sustainable or valuable use of our money. If one of our wines does well in the Orange show and the NSW Wine Awards we might punt it into a couple of other shows and I think that helps back up the work of the local show. SC: We don’t have a budget specific to wine show entries, it comes under promotional activity. It is a fairly minimal annual spend. October 2014 – Issue 609

TOM CARSON The Yabby Lake general manager/winemaker was the youngest chairman to preside at The National Wine Show in Canberra. He’s also a panel chair at The Royal Sydney Wine Show and a member of the Qantas wine panel. Since graduating from the Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1991, Tom has made wine in the Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, Burgundy, Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Heathcote. During his 12 years at Yering Station, the winery won ‘international winemaker of the year’ at the 2004 International Wine and Spirit Competition in London. In 2002, Tom was named the dux of the Len Evans Tutorial which marked the beginning of his wine judging career.

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newsroundtable

JOHN GRIFFITHS Established Faber Vineyard, in Western Australia’s Swan Valley, in 1997. Another Roseworthy Agriculture College graduate, John has completed more than 30 vintages in wineries across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, California and WA. His main interests lie in making the wines that typify the Swan Valley, particularly aromatic, full-flavoured Verdelho and warm, richly-flavoured red wines. John has been responsible for many gold medal and trophy wining wines, including the 1998 Tucker Seabrook Perpetual trophy and the MacQuarie Bank Perpetual trophy for best wine of the Royal Sydney Wine Show in 1998, 2000, and 2003.

Has the number of wine shows you enter changed across the past five years? TC: Yes, we are more selective about which shows we enter. JG: The number is getting smaller because it has become too expensive and some shows are not significant. DT: It has evolved since I started at Printhie seven years ago.

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8 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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We were operating on the system of hoping for a medal, but we have changed to target which wines are sent to which shows. SC: Yes, we’re entering more, because the previous winemaker was not fond of them.

Do you enter international competitions? Why/why not? TC: Yes, for the UK market. JG: No. We don’t export much, and international shows are too expensive and complicated to devote our resources to. DT: We have done in the past, but we are not huge exporters and our biggest market at the moment is China. It can be horribly expensive to enter shows in Europe, but you do get good value if your wine does well. SC: Not recently. But we have a strong export push, so perhaps we should.

What do you value most about the wine shows you enter? TC: Strong judging panels, excellent and robust results for all exhibitors. We know our wines are benchmarked against the best when they are judged by the best judges. JG: Benchmarking. And we know that when we enter our ‘home’ show we are supporting our local association, the Swan Valley Winemakers. DT: I think the wine show ethos of years gone by ‘better the breed’ has gone. We enter shows which have the potential for the most marketing return. SC: An independent, quality assessment of the wine.

What frustrates you most about wine shows? TC: Inconsistent results based on primarily non-rotation of senior judges, who either refuse to move on and are out-oftouch with the current forefront of Australian winemaking and philosophy. Shows should have standards where no judge has more than five years without a break. If we are to keep the panel dynamic and current we need to encourage new blood at all times. It is imperative we have a constant renewal and changing of the guard. When l arrived as chairman at the NWS in 2008, one judge was proud of the fact it was his 32nd consecutive year at the show, l found that rather depressing. www.winebiz.com.au

October 2014 – Issue 609

JG: Poor judging, especially when it comes to less common varieties like Verdelho. So few judges have any genuine awareness of the characteristics of Verdelho, young or aged. Also, the strong sense of fashion in judging, for example, the preference for cool climate Shiraz over warm climate Shiraz. Wines aren’t being judged on merit alone, but on preconceived notions. The shows run by the agricultural societies tend to use the leftover wine, as well as the exhibitor tastings and presentations, for their own purposes instead of benefiting the industry and the exhibitors. The requirement for six bottles per entry is ridiculous and primarily designed to provide stock, free of charge, to these organisations. DT: All shows have their idiosyncrasies, but most are well organised and well run. You can always criticise things from a distance, but it’s important to get involved before you have your say – and that’s part of the reason I’m a judge. Wine shows have got to evolve and some are already doing so, some a lot faster than others. But some have become dinosaurs, they are basically a revenue stream for agricultural shows and I think they are dying, slowly. SC: It’s frustrating to see companies waste valuable promotional dollars entering wines that will never ‘jag a gold’ and so is the idea that a bronze medal is considered worthless. A wine doesn’t receive a medal just for being commercially sound and showing up, it needs to have an extra something to move into bronze status.

Have you ever helped out as a wine show steward, associate, judge or worked on a wine show committee? TC: Yes, all of the above. It was really through the Len Evans Tutorial that l got a few invites to major shows, such as Sydney and the National. Is was about getting your name out there amongst the shows and being put forward as someone who needs to be given a chance. If you are interested in judging it is best to apply to the Len Evans Tutorial and do the Advanced Wine Appreciation course at the AWRI, write to the shows, even do a year of stewarding to get in and get to meet the people running and judging at the shows, making connections with the people at the show will assist. Just writing a letter sometimes is not enough. JG: Yes – to all the above, on many occasions across 30 years. DT: I’ve been judging for the best part of the past 10 years. I’m trying to do three shows a year and this year I have helped at Cowra and the NSW Wine Awards. I find it is a really valuable exercise as a winemaker and I think of all the people who judge it would have to be the winemakers who get the most out of it. You get great exposure to what wine is out there and that’s my main drive to be involved. SC: Yes, so I know judges are not only there to find the best wines, we also have a responsibility to the exhibitors to award appropriate points to non-gold medal wines.

What has been your biggest wine show success story? TC: The 2013 Jimmy Watson Trophy, for our 2012 Yabby Lake Block 1 Pinot Noir, followed closely by the 2004 international winemaker of the year at the IWSC. I remember after the IWSC win in 2004, and a few glasses of wine, I ended up on Melbourne breakfast radio, with Red Symonds on the ABC, that was challenging… JG: There have been many… the Tucker Seabrook Caon trophy for Houghtons was big, I still remember my first medal October 2014 – Issue 609

DREW TUCKWELL Drew’s first vintage was 1993, working as a cellarhand at Brokenwood in the Hunter Valley. He had so much fun he returned in 1994 and gave up a career as a graphic designer. After the 1995 vintage in Chianti Classico in Tuscany, he returned for a vintage at Brown Brothers in north-eastern Victoria. In 1996 he headed back to Tuscany before attending the University of Adelaide for his formal oenology qualifications. After four years in Adelaide and vintage work with Wirra Wirra in McLaren Vale, he settled in Mudgee NSW for seven years before moving to Printhie in Orange.

for a wine from grapes I planted myself, and seeing clients receive an award for the first time is great. DT: It’s funny that coming from a region known for its whites, it has actually been for our Shiraz. We got a couple of trophies and a bunch of medals for the 2010 Mt Canobolas Collection Shiraz. And it was the same for the 2011 Shiraz from a tough year. It was pretty pleasing to know you could make a good wine from a dog vintage. But I’m still chasing success for our Chardonnay and Riesling. SC: When I was winemaker at Bimbadgen for three years, all the wines we produced received medals – after a long, dry spell on the show circuit.

How do wine show results impact on your winemaking styles? TC: Not at all.

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

news JG: They don’t. We realise the criteria for wine show judging doesn’t equate to what people like to drink or the type of wine styles we make here in the Swan Valley. DT: Not unless I’ve been involved in the judging. Reading the results doesn’t have any impact, but if you have been involved in the benchmarking there is more impact. It has made me look at our Chardonnay, in particular. SC: Not really, consumer acceptance of the wine is most important.

How do wine show results impact on your marketing efforts and sales targets? SARAH CROWE Sarah began her wine industry career in 2001 with Brokenwood in the Hunter Valley, initially working in the vineyard. By 2004, she was the Brokenwood assistant winemaker. Her international experience includes harvests in Oregon in 2004 and 2006, and the Rhone Valley in 2008. In 2009, Sarah was the recipient of the Hunter Valley Wine Industry Association’s Hunter Legends ‘rising star of the year’ award. This lead to a new job opportunity with Swish Wine. In 2010, Sarah joined the team at Bimbadgen, and three years later joined Yarra Yering.

TC: Big trophies mean sales, which is primarily why we enter, to assist in the sales and marketing of our wines. JG: We don’t over stress wine show results in our marketing, rather we see the occasional mention as adding to the evidence of our quality. We certainly never show lists of results or rarely talk about anything other than significant trophy wins. DT: To get our attention as potential exhibitors, a wine show has to be able to offer us something – if we win a trophy or a gold medal we are looking for exposure. And the NSW Wine Awards give us that; it takes the wine to the market for you. We don’t enter our wines all over the place just to stick a bunch of medals on our bottles. SC: Minimally.

Gerry Ryan to spend big at Mitchelton GERRY Ryan has announced a $22 million investment into developments that will enhance the Mitchelton estate and boost the level of tourism services in Victoria’s Nagambie region. The development will enhance the winery’s growing reputation as a food and wine destination, which has been on the rise since Ryan purchased the estate from Lion Nathan in 2011. Ryan, who also owns Jayco Australia, said the $22 million investment is part of the family’s ongoing development in the Nagambie region, and would include: • A 70 room hotel and day spa at Mitchelton Wines Estate, valued at $12 million; • Development of a chocolate factory at Mitchelton Wines Estate, valued at $2 million; and • A Nagambie Lakes Leisure Park residential style development with 90 cabins, valued at $8 million. “Nagambie is already growing as a tourism destination, attracting visitors interested in water sports, wine, equine and cycling and with the further investment, we’re looking to ensure that growth continues into the future,” Ryan said. “Mitchelton Wines has been a beacon for Victorian wine tourism and a core of the Nagambie township for 40 years. The development of the 70 room hotel,

10 Grapegrower & Winemaker

day spa and chocolate factory on site at Mitchelton will position the winery as a leading destination for tourists.” The investment will provide a significant boost to Nagambie’s tourism offer, attracting local, interstate and international visitors to the region, as well as providing significant employment opportunities for the area. The announcement comes at a crucial time for the town, after the introduction of the Nagambie Bypass in mid-2013 diverted substantial traffic flow on route to Shepparton. The announcement follows the recent www.winebiz.com.au

news that Mitchelton has joined the national concert series A Day On The Green, with the first show featuring Jimmy Barnes and The Living End in December. The River & Ranges Winery Ride featuring the Australian riders of the Orica-GreenEDGE cycling team (also financially backed by Ryan) will be held in November. The first grapes were crushed at the Mitchelton winery in in 1973, the cellar door complex, designed by renowned Australian architect Ted Ashton and complete with a 55 metre tower, was officially opened in 1974. October 2014 – Issue 609

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REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Regional Roundup: Canberra District Stephanie Timotheou

There’s plenty happening in the region where distant views of the Snowy Mountains form a picturesque backdrop to many of the vineyards.

O’Leary picks up the Stodart Trophy THE Nick O’Leary 2013 Shiraz was awarded the historic Stodart Trophy at the 2014 Royal Queensland Wine Show, as well as two other trophies for best red and best Shiraz of show. The coveted award follows one of the best vintages Nick O’Leary, owner and winemaker, has experienced since 2002 in the Canberra District. “We had no days over 40C in summer and we had a nice, even ripening,” he told the ABC. “Many days were in the mid to late 20s with cool nights and breezes coming through.” PJ Charteris, Royal Queensland Wine Show chief judge, together with his team of expert judges tasted more than 2000 wines from 270 Australian wineries before they crowned Australia’s best. Charteris praised the Nick O’Leary 2013 Shiraz, saying it was a finer, elegant Shiraz which was fruit focused. “Nick O’Leary is a talented young winemaker and certainly one to watch,” he added. At each wine show there’s always one particular trophy winemakers want to take home and at the Royal Queensland Wine Show the Stodart Trophy is the one. “It’s a great thrill for me but it’s also great for the Canberra District and all the wineries around here as well,” he told the ABC. “There’s no doubt we’re going to see a lot more awards given out to Canberra District wines over the course of the next few months.” The Stodart Trophy was established in 1970 when the late Len Evans persuaded Toby and Kay Stodart, business people and food and wine aficionados, to award a trophy to encourage the industry. Each year it’s awarded to the best young red wine of show.

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2014 Rieslings revealed HELM Wines has released four different styles of Riesling from the 2014 vintage, a passion for the variety stemming from the Helm family’s German heritage. Ken Helm, director and winemaker, says the company has increased its Riesling plantings in Murrumbateman to keep up with demand. “We have planted another hectare of the Pewsey Vale selection from the Yalumba Nursery, trellised on VSP with 2.5 by 1.5 spacing, spur pruned,” he said. Australia is currently the second-largest producer of Riesling in the world with 4000ha of plantings, second to Germany with 22,000ha. “The plantings have been reduced to only the best sites where high-quality wines can be produced,” Ken said. “New plantings need to be carefully considered so we stay with the best regions, soils and climates for premium production. I expect, as the demand continues to grow for wine, Riesling prices will continue to rise as there are not enough vineyards and grapes to meet the demand. In the past three years we have seen prices for a bottle of premium Riesling go above $50 and I expect this will continue.” Domestic sales of Helm Riesling have rapidly increased in the past eight months – across cellar door, restaurants and independent specialist liquor stores – which Ken believes paints a “rosy picture” for the future of Australian Riesling.

Calling Victorian and SA producers The Grapegrower & Winemaker team is on the hunt for Victorian and South Australian stories to include in Regional Roundup in the coming months. We’re looking for people with an interesting story to tell and topics could include unique inventions, special celebrations, interesting educational or marketing projects, recent workshops/field days or international ventures. If you have any ideas, please send them to s.timotheou@ winetitles.com.au as soon as possible with ‘ROUNDUP’ in the subject line. We look forward to hearing from you.

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REGIONAL ROUNDUP Halliday rates Clonakilla ‘top’ Shiraz Viognier MURRUMBATEMAN’S Clonakilla has claimed the ‘best Shiraz Viognier’ title in the recently-released 2015 edition of the James Halliday Australian Wine Companion. Tim Kirk, chief executive officer and chief winemaker, says the score of 98 for the 2013 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier was testament to the extraordinary potential of the Canberra District and Shiraz. “Each year James tastes more than 10,000 wines and to score 98 out of 100 is remarkable and such an honour,” he said. “It just confirms what we have believed for some time now – the Canberra District is one of the great Shiraz regions of this country.” The Halliday review of the wine described “spicy red fruits” that dance around “darker fruits and the fine tannins have an altogether different feel to those of the other two ’13 Shiraz wines”. Twenty-three years ago Kirk visited the Rhone Valley, tasting the Shirazbased wines of Cote Rotie and Hermitage, and remembers this was a turning point. “I thought if I was ever able to produce wine from our humble vineyard at Murrumbateman that got close to that level of complexity, refinement and

EARLY DAYS: The Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier co-ferment begins. Photo: David Reist.

beauty, I would be a very happy man,” he said. “I was very fortunate my father John

had planted some Viognier at Clonakilla in the 80s.”

Pinot project gets people hands on JEIR Creek Winery in Murrumbateman has been getting consumers involved in a Pinot Noir project in recent years, giving their biggest fans the chance to be hands on throughout the production process. Rob Howell, managing director and senior winemaker, says the project gathers between 10 and 20 participants each harvest and gives wine lovers an idea of the life of a grapegrower and winemaker. “In keeping with our basic philosophy to provide an interesting destination for wine lovers and to have a fairly

unique experience, we offer tours and involvement in winemaking and grapegrowing as well as the traditional tastings and sales,” he said. “A recent innovation is the public involvement in our “little piece of Burgundy”, named because it has the same configurations as traditional Burgundian Pinot Noir vineyards, with close planting (10,000 vines per hectare), unilateral spur pruning , a very low fruiting cordon, and dramatic bunch thinning.” Howell said all work is done by hand and participants visit the vineyard to

weed, tie down canes and lift wires. Towards the end of March, moving into early April when the fruit is ripe, they have the opportunity to get involved in the wine production, from handpicking to foot crushing. “After bottling, the people who helped make the wine are given the opportunity to purchase a bottle or two of the small production.” Howell hopes to continue offering this experience in the future to assist wine lovers in understanding and appreciating the work that goes into producing wine.

Father and son duo launch a ‘Super Tuscan’ blend JOHN Leyshon, boutique winemaker and Canberra District Wine Industry Association president, has released a new label which takes its name from the street where his family grew up and where the winery and vineyards are located. Leyshon has been involved in the Canberra District wine industry since 1997 as a partner and winemaker at Little Bridge Wines, but has been working on the Mallaluka label and range of wines with his son across the past 12 months. The 2013 Mallaluka Cabernet/Shiraz/ October 2014 – Issue 609

Sangiovese blend takes inspiration from Leyshon's 2008 visit to Tuscany. “I have long been a lover of Chianti and planted five rows of Sangiovese among the Cabernet, Shiraz and other varieties when I set up the vineyard in 2004,” he said. “While in Chianti I tasted a variety of the so-called ‘Super Tuscans’ and found many of them to be excellent wines, so I planned to experiment with my own. “Sam and I decided to experiment with Cabernet as part of the blend with Shiraz and Sangiovese - and after countless www.winebiz.com.au

combinations we decided on equal parts of each variety.” Leyshon said the Canberra District was producing some great Sangiovese. “The variety does very well here and more plantings and graftings of this variety are happening in the district. It appears the wine drinking public, particularly the younger and more adventurous ones, are looking for different and interesting wines. Sangiovese is a different and interesting variety in Australia and the ‘Super Tuscan’ blend is showing a great deal of promise.” Grapegrower & Winemaker

news

Wine language:

Consumers want you to keep it simple The language used within the wine industry can be a barrier for consumers and the risk of confusing them and losing them is real. Last month Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA) and the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) engaged Viona Young from The Drinks Academy, Simon McMurtrie from Direct Wines Ltd and Young Shi from China’s Taste Spirit Wine Academy, for a webinar on wine language. Stephanie Timotheou reports on the expert advice. AUTOLYTIC, barnyard, cassis, chewy tannins, cigar box, extracted, flabby and round. We know what we’re talking about, but have we managed to tell the average consumer anything at all when we use this sort of language? It turns out telling the story about the wine, rather than using industry-standard lists of specifications and descriptors, has more impact. Simon McMurtrie, Direct Wines Ltd global chief executive, is responsible for a business that sells more than 50 million bottles of wine each year to more than a million customers. He said the company’s goal was to ensure the language used about wine helped people enjoy it more. “Consumers are more interested in learning about the people involved in the wine rather than the technical side of it,” McMurtrie said. “For us, communicating is about who made the wine, which grapes they used and where it was made.” He said taste preferences for most consumers come from their heart, not in their head. These consumers are more likely to remember a story, and feel a connection, than relate to detailed descriptions of the winemaking methods and flavour profile. “Try to paint a picture, so the consumer can physically imagine being there,” McMurtrie said. “If the person you were trying to communicate with hasn’t understood what you said, or isn’t keen to try the wine, you have failed.” Young Shi, Taste Spirit Wine Academy managing director, based in China, explained when the complexity of translation is involved, wine language becomes a little like the Da Vinci Code to most consumers. “It’s far beyond anyone’s understanding and is tough to crack,” Shi said. As a wine taster, judge and sommelier, Shi knows that wine language used across the world is complicated and scares consumers away. “We need to overcome that communication barrier

14 Grapegrower & Winemaker

and make our wording simple, light and fun,” Shi said. “If you look at wine’s history, it was created for enjoyment. It was never meant to confuse people.” Most consumers, according to Shi, have 'oenophobia' – meaning they are afraid of talking about wine. There are two elements to this fear factor, the first belongs to a perception that wine knowledge is out of their reach, and second, they are scared to make mistakes when talking about wine. “Our mission is to change people into 'oenophiles', so they come back and explore more,” Shi said. “It doesn’t matter how it tastes, or whether it’s full or medium bodied,” she said. “Some consumers may talk about the flavours they like but when you start using complicated terms it makes them afraid.”

Consumers may talk about the flavours they like but when you start using complicated terms it makes them afraid. All this, according to Shi, has helped reinforce a current retail trend – people with limited knowledge about winemaking tend to select wine at the bottle shop from the items that are ‘on special’. Her key message is that descriptive words (including ‘crisp’, ‘lifting’, ‘linear’, ‘wet dog’ and ‘minerality’) are meaningless to most people and, whether they are used by the winemaker on the back label or the sommelier at your table, they don’t help sell the product. Jude Mullins, WSET international development director, says the Trust’s goal is to help its students communicate with consumers in the most effective www.winebiz.com.au

way possible. As a result, WSET students learn about the fundamentals of tasting wine and discover what most consumers want to know if they’re visiting a bar or shop. As students learn about flavour and aroma characteristics they also learn how to describe the differences through common language. “For us, this is a structured way of generating a complete and detailed description of wine and a common language to communicate about wine with consumers,” Mullins said. It is clearly important for people who work at the consumer touch points to know what they’re talking about before they can engage positively with a potential wine buyer. The Woolworths Liquor Group training division turned to The Drinks Academy earlier this year, to better equip employees with product knowledge and customer service skills. This academy has a team of training specialists across the country and is headed by Viona Young. “We established the academy to assist with our aspiration of telling the stories of the brands we represent,” Young said. “People can have all the wine knowledge in the world but if they can’t hold a good conversation, we’re in trouble.” All employers under the Woolworths Liquor umbrella complete the WSET course, but Young said people skills are just as important as wine knowledge. “This is critical. You must be able to ask open-ended questions and enough of them to ascertain what kind of person they are,” she said. “Questions like ‘what brings you here today?’ or ‘what sort of wine do you drink?’ will allow you to figure this out.” Another important skill is being able to listen intently. Young said people who shop at Dan Murphy’s and BWS are generally choosing wine from one varietal they know and trust, and complex wine language is of no value to them. October 2014 – Issue 609

LANGUAGE BARRIER: Do industry terms overcomplicate the message for consumers at the point they are purchasing? Photo: ©Denis Raev/123rf.com.

“What we can do is introduce them to different brands within that varietal or slight variations. We can have a more complex conversation with those who are keen to try different things but it doesn’t mean they want to stray too far or feel comfortable talking too complexly.” The Drinks Academy has joined forces with suppliers to assist with training

and has a team across the country that offerone-on-one training with a focus on wine. “It’s all about solution-based selling,” Young said. “We need to find out what our customers want and if we don’t know that, we can’t sell anything.” The take-home message from the WCA webinar was to use simple stories

– do whatever you can to make sure each consumer ‘touch point’ for your wine has somebody talking about wine’s story rather than its specifications. For more information about Wine Communicators of Australia visit www. winecommunicators.com.au or email comms@winecommunicators.com.au.

2014 EDITION OUT NOW! PRINT and ONLINE To order your copy Call +618 8369 9522 VISIT www.olivebiz.com.au MEDIA

INDEPENDENT & AUSTRALIAN OWNED

October 2014 – Issue 609

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

movers & shakers Two new Chinese distribution deals TWO separate wine companies have announced new Chinese distribution deals. Australian Vintage Limited has teamed with COFCO Wine & Spirits Co, while Wine Insights, the owner of the Beelgara wine brand, has signed an agreement with Manassen Foods Australia, part of the Bright Food Group. The Australian Vintage agreement will see its core brand McGuigan Wines become a strategic partner within a new international wine division of COFCO. “There is currently an opportunity for Australian wine in China and it’s one of the most exciting emerging markets for the global wine industry,” said Neil McGuigan, Australian Vintage chief executive officer. Meanwhile, Peter Toohey, managing director of Wine Insights, said his

company had worked closely with Manassen Foods, and the parent Bright Food Group, to develop a range of Beelgara Wines for Chinese consumers, mindful of the subtle taste, style and packaging cues. “It is our intention to work closely with the Bright Food Group to build the Beelgara brand into one of the top five Australian wines sold in China over the next three years,” Toohey said. Under the terms of the agreement, Beelgara will sell directly to Bright Food in China with Bright Food taking the Beelgara wines to market through its distribution business, ‘Joymax’. Manassen Foods will market and promote the brand through multiple distribution channels, leaving Wine Insights to focus on wine quality, production and logistics.

Hill Laboratories appoints new manager

New WGGA executive committee member BEN Rose has been appointed as the new greater Victoria and Tasmania representative on the Wine Grape Growers Australia (WGGA) executive committee. Vic Patrick, WGGA chair, said it was positive news for the organisation after the loss of Kym Ludvigsen, the previous representative for these regions. Rose, a viticultural consultant with more than 15 years’ experience, has expertise in a number of areas from

economics and business through to the technical dimensions of viticulture. He founded Performance Viticulture almost 20 years ago and still has an active involvement with his family vineyards. “I am very pleased to have been asked to join the WGGA,” Rose said. “The industry is in need of all the support it can get right now and I am very happy to provide my support in this role on the executive committee.”

Lowe Wines goes ‘in house’ MUDGEE’S Lowe Wines has announced it will focus on servicing its customers directly through its own NSW sales team. David Lowe, owner and winemaker at Lowe Wines, said the brand had worked with Vines to Venues for a number of years and had experienced steady growth through this partnership. “They have laid a solid groundwork for us to follow,” he said. “Our new sales team comprises experienced wine people who look forward to working closely

with our customers.” Lowe said the team will not only focus on sales, but will be able to implement a range of communications strategies. “The sales team will help educate the supply chain about organic winegrowing, the Mudgee region, NSW wine and offer a complete experience,” he said. “We are becoming a more integrated business – owning our own vineyards, winery, cellar door and now distribution means we are well positioned to meet our customer requirements.”

Akarua buys more vineyard CENTRAL Otago-based winery Akarua has announced the purchase of two established vineyards, a 26ha vineyard in Bannockburn and 15ha in Lowburn which takes Akarua’s total vineyard holding to 100ha. Matt Connell, Akarua winemaker and general manager, was pleased with the purchase and to have access to more estate-grown fruit. “We are particularly looking forward

16 Grapegrower & Winemaker

to exploring the subtleties and nuances of sub-regional blends and the development of further single vineyard wines,” Connell said. David Skeggs, managing director at the Skeggs Group Limited, said the company had been looking to purchase vineyards in the area across the past two years. “We are very pleased to be able to secure these two notable sites in Central Otago,” Skeggs said. www.winebiz.com.au

NEW FACE: Dr Bart Challis has joined New Zealand’s Hill Laboratories.

HILL Laboratories, New Zealand’s leading analytical testing lab, has appointed Dr Bart Challis as its new agricultural divisional manager. Dr Challis brings 16 years of international experience in the fields of life science and biotechnology to the company. After completing a PhD in microbiology with the University of Otago, Dr Challis moved to the UK to begin his career in sales. Adding management experience to his scientific background, Dr Challis moved to the Netherlands a year later where he undertook the role of brand manager for life science company Invitrogen. He later worked as general manager for Active Motif in both Belgium and the US. Most recently Dr Challis was chief commercial officer at Active Motif’s Southern California headquarters where he managed international subsidiaries in Europe and Asia, as well as global operations, business development and sales. In his new role at Hill Laboratories, Dr Challis will lead a team of 30 people responsible for delivering agricultural testing services for the country’s farmers and growers. “I look forward to providing leadership to Hill Laboratories’ agricultural division, helping to keep the company on its impressive growth course since its inception three decades ago,” he said. “I am excited to bring my international experience back to this country and hope to use everything I have learned to drive Hill Laboratories’ success forward globally.” October 2014 – Issue 609

PANORAMA the new vine trimmer from Pellenc

A rotating blade trimmer that offers performance and reduced maintenance: • Trim at a rate of up to 10km/h with no jamming! • Pellenc blades can be changed in 1 minute and operate at a high rotational speed for a clean cut. • Unobstructed row visibility. • Wide range of settings for working effectively and efficiently in all vineyard configurations. Alternating cutter bar models also available. For more information: Pellenc Australia 14 Opala St, Regency Park SA P 08 8244 7700 F 08 8244 7788 E admin@pellenc.com.au

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news A

People & places -

NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show C

B A. Lucy Maddox of Madrez Wine Services, Alicia Wadsworth of East Coast Hotels, Nick O’Leary of Nick O’Leary Wines and Jeff Byrne of Agnew Wines judging the Sauvignon Blanc class. B. Janine Whitfield, Leigh Bart and Nikki Patten, of Forbes, with Peter Jones, of Dubbo, tasting the Spanish and Italian varieties on offer. C. Ian Bart, Andrew Kerr and Paul Bennett, NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show committee members, on steward duty. D. Alistair Lunn, NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show president and committee member, and Ben Shepherd, Biota Restaurant sommelier.

E. Mark Lyell, Louise Dwyer and Paul Baker of Forbes. F. Phil Squire, Christine Davies and Andrew Cogswell of Forbes. G. Chris Cannon and Natalie Walker, of Forbes, with Carla Andrew, of Dubbo. H. Deb Pearce, NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show panel chair and media consultant, judging the Shiraz class. Photos: Andrew Kerr.

F 18 Grapegrower & Winemaker

G www.winebiz.com.au

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news

People & places - Hill of

Grace restaurant launch

A. H enschke winemaker Stephen Henschke officially opening the restaurant at the newly refurbished Adelaide Oval. B. A delaide Oval chief executive officer Andrew Daniels and Adelaide Festival Centre chief operating officer and chief financial officer Carlo D’Ortenzio.

C. V islex owner Traci Ayris and SA Life Magazine editor Jacqui Harbison. D. M C for the night Michael Keelan, Henschke winemaker Stephen Henschke and Hill of Grace Restaurant head chef Dennis Leslie during the Q&A before the official opening. E. C lever Little Tailor’s Alister Robertson and Radpublic director Louise Radman. F. A delaide Oval chairman John Olsen AO and Henschke winemaker Stephen Henschke. G. N ational Wine Centre of Australia general manager Adrian Emeny and Restaurant and Catering SA chief executive officer Sally Neville.

E G

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www.winebiz.com.au

October 2014 – Issue 609

Social media insight into the US market Alder Yarrow is widely-accepted as the pioneer of wine blogging and his Vinography blog is one of the internet’s most highly-rated. While he has about 10 years’ experience telling people about wine and industry trends, he recently chose to ask a question instead. “OK all you wine people, why is it, do you think that Australian wine has suffered so much of a downturn here in the US, and what can they do to regain their footing?” Yarrow asked. Facebook was the medium of choice – and there was plenty of advice on offer, from a broad cross-section of American consumers, bloggers, trade representatives and winemakers.

done with that’ attitude referring to all, or most, of Australia.”

Nannette Eaton

(advanced sommelier and wine educator, St Helena, California)

(Wine Harlots blog - http://wineharlots.com/wordpress/)

“Maybe a little marketing? In the last few years I don’t think I’ve received more than a couple of bottles of Australian wine.”

Jason Carey (based in Korea, originally from New York)

“The really interesting new producers are not being imported in any substantial way. Hopefully they will be soon. These new producers eschew the formulaic Aussie wine show palate wines and are striking out on their own. There are many cool wines and always have been. I think the overly clean, science-based winemaking that made clean, but dull wines is also responsible. I think at the high end, it was ruined by the Parker and critics scores for the over ripe and extracted wines, then on the lower end there was the Yellow Tail phenomenon at the same time. There have always been wonderful wines but the overall perception over here is a mess and needs to be re-booted which is what I think is going on right now. The good ones have always been there… but I think that many wine lovers lumped them all together as giant Shiraz Bombs no matter what the wines were, and unfairly perhaps turned away from the other stuff they might have loved.”

William Allen

(winemaker, Two Shepherds, Healdsburg, California)

“I was completely shunning Aussie wine until a few articles by Elaine Brown, and a few good examples by Garagiste Wine. Like to see more of the less-extracted wines make it here.”

Scott Barber “Parker, Dan Philips, a string of rough vintages and the exchange rate have done their damage but Wine Australia has been doing a very good job educating about Aussie wine beyond syrupy Barossa Shiraz. Many importers like Negociants USA, Old Bridge, Epicurean and others are bringing in a lot of cool things from Down Under. Unfortunately, the country has been stigmatized like German Riesling was by Liebfraumilch or Rosé by White Zin. Those stereotypes can be hard to crawl out from without dedicated somms and retailers coercing/forcing the wines into the glasses of the public.

Alana Gentry (wine blog: http://girlwithaglass.com/blog/)

“There was a glut of bulk wine, i.e. grower problem. That is why, I’ve been told by growers, it will take a bit to turn it around. I also spoke at a private international wine conference where the Aussie business folks seemed focused on figuring out what wine drinkers want instead of what wine can be produced well. "

Peter Anastopulos (wine sales representative, Woodside, California)

“What I think is most damming for Australia is that it’s perceived change will happen when e 8 8 x 1 8 5 _ GGW 1 2 0 1 3 - 0 3 - 2 0 T 1 5 : as 5 8a :wine 2 5 factory. + 1 1 : 0I think 0 the corporate giants allow more diversity of varietals and work (winemaker, Ladd Cellar, Sonoma & Russian River Valley) towards more natural winemaking even though that is risky.” “More stylistic diversity would have helped avoid the ‘I’m

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October 2014 – Issue 609

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

news

THE QUESTION: Alder Yarrow has prompted significant online debate about Australian wine in the USA.

Anthony Ambrosini (sales and communications associate, Divine Wine Emporium, Niantic, Connecticut)

“I find Spain is treated the same way despite markedly different styles. Coonawarra Cabernet, Hunter Valley Semillon, Clare Valley Riesling and the 'stickies' all have a certain distinctiveness that the masses and the geeks alike can appreciate. Wine Australia does a good job and is a solid resource, but I think education in the local markets at all tiers of the industry in the US is important. I feel like we should just be able to push a giant reset button and reintroduce Australia’s regions and styles.”

Cabernet and Cabernet blends to start with and expand from that. I also really like their whites, Semillon could do very well here and has done decently in area’s such as Washington State. I have not seen a big downturn in consumer requests for Aussie wines. If you listen to the 'wine writers' you’d think the Aussie's just make crap, but that’s not what I have seen and tasted.”

Chuck Hayward (Australian & New Zealand wine buyer/educator, JJ Buckley Fine Wines, Oakland, California)

Gence Alton

“The real reasons are wide and varied and too detailed and complex for a small comment on Facebook but I would make a few points. 1) The Aussie wine market ‘suffered so much of a downturn’ for those who were not invested in it. Those who cared about the category and the US market had less of a downturn because they worked the category. Our sales never declined during ‘the malaise’. 2) The wine biz needs someone to pick on and the Aussies were the category of the moment. Lately, writers prattle on about Aussie 2.0 and how the wines are better and now its Bordeaux’s turn to get trashed. 3) While the gatekeepers and journos trashed the category, consumers still maintain a largely positive attitude towards it and that has been maintained all along during ‘the malaise’. Perhaps it is the fact that consumers created a populist groundswell of demand that has pushed Aussie wines to a level of broad acceptance that has led many in the industry to trash the category?”

(account manager, WineBid.com and instructor, Napa Valley Wine Academy, San Fran Cisco Bay Area)

James Silver

Tina Caputo (editor-in-chief, Vineyard & Winery Management Magazine, Santa Rosa, California)

“Too much promotion of ‘cheap and cheerful’ wines came back to bite them.”

Kim Kulchycki (wine and food marketer, Berkeley, California)

“Australia did a great job branding themselves… right into a corner. Australia is now in the minds of American consumers $5-$8 Shiraz with critters on the label. Pairs well with Outback Steakhouse. What can they do? They will have to completely re-invent themselves.”

“Critteritis!”

(general manager, Bonny Doon Vineyard, Santa Rosa, California)

Jeffrey Hall (wine specialist, BevMo!, Orange County, California)

“I think Australia makes some of the best wines in the world right now, yes, they are new world but they do seem to have something for just about everyone. Importers need to hire some good people who know what their customers want and what they can be introduced to also. It is very hard to just try and foist Aussie Barbera (or any other lesser known grape) on people and tell them it’s the next 'big' thing. I would try and get more

22 Grapegrower & Winemaker

“I think we’re missing the bigger picture here. It has much less to do with individuals, critics, or even wine types and quality. It is all about selling 'prestige'. As the economies faltered and the exchange rates tightened, it became apparent that Mr and Mrs Consumer preferred to spend their money on the 'tried and true', the 'local' and the 'prestigious'. They turn inward when faced with tougher buying decisions. Though the best-known Aussie brands are all of those things in their home country, what prestige does the 'typical' US consumer place on a purchase of a Penfolds?

www.winebiz.com.au

October 2014 – Issue 609

Not as much as on Stag’s Leap, Jordan, or a Newton. Failing to sell the prestige versus value, rather than value for value's sake, sent consumers running back to domestic products."

Peter Anastopulos (wine sales representative, Woodside, California)

“I get the picture every winemaker is educated in a very similar manner, in essence uses the same textbook, which produces uniformity. In France and the US winemakers are more departmentalised to region or learn on their own which produces a variety of wine styles. I believe consensus is the enemy of originality and unique wines keep us interested.”

Tim Vandergrift (consulting to the beverage industry, White Rock, British Columbia)

“To me there is a much more succinct flaw in Australian wines: those available to consumers in the US lack a sense of authenticity. The majority of Australian wines are made by just a few corporate wine giants that are run by boardroom types who wouldn’t know brix from a brick and base every decision on sales numbers for the current quarter. Let the garagistes and the little guys into the market and watch interest, and eventually prestige. return to the category.”

Thomas R. Riley (blogger at http://thegrapebelt.com/, WSET Diploma student, Alameda, California)

James Silver (general manager, Bonny Doon Vineyard, Santa Rosa, California)

“While France is the epitome of a prestige purchase, and Italy demonstrated that later on into the 70s, 80s and 90s, Australia has not been able to suggest, except with price, that they are a prestige purchase (to the US consumer). If Australia is guilty of conformity in their winemaking it is highly ironic because they are the least conforming people I can think of."

Lisa Mattson (marketing and communications director, Jordan Vineyard & Winery, Santa Rosa, California)

“Yellowtail effect. Too many Aussie wineries jumped on that train at a time when American palates were becoming more sophisticated and began to turn up their noses at cheap plonk. The only way to regain their footing is what the sub regions are already beginning - showcase the wines that demonstrate quality winemaking and a sense of place."

“I tasted plenty of good wine in Australia last year but too many of the brands never cross the water. I think those authentic smaller producers, as Tim suggested, would really change some minds.”

Scott Barber (advanced sommelier and wine educator, St Helena, California)

“There are plenty of great Aussie wines available but it would be silly for a sommelier or retailer to invest too much in them because the consumer demand is virtually non-existent. I think there’s something to the idea that Australia isn’t really associated with ‘prestige’. It’s not supply, it’s demand. I could write an amazing all-Aussie without even touching Barossa Shiraz but that would be way more controversial than an all Jura or all Sherry list. As long as people think Oz is all critter wines it won’t change. People just have to make the call to list things like Brokenwood Semillon, Tahbilk Marsanne and Jansz bubbles and then sell them.”

AGL 2015 AGL Wine Excellence Scholarship. AGL Energy Limited supports and recognises winemaking talent.

Are you a NSW winemaker? Enter the 2015 AGL Wine Excellence Scholarship and you could win a scholarship to Europe or North America.

We supply the grapes. You supply the wine.

AGL owns over 100 acres of vines in the Hunter Valley producing chardonnay, semillon, sauvignon blanc and verdelho. If you qualify, grapes from these vines will be yours to produce wines which will be entered into national wine shows. We’ll even pay your winemaking, transport and bottling costs. Points will be awarded on the basis of medals and trophies, and the winemaker with the most points wins.

The prize.

AGL will provide the winning winemaker with a funded scholarship to travel to Europe or America to further enrich and strengthen his or her viticultural and oenological knowledge. For details of our past winners and guidelines please visit our website and agl.com.au/winescholarship.

Interested? For more information contact Alison Crocker, Community Relations Manager, for details on how to enter the 2015 AGL Wine Excellence Scholarship and all the terms and conditions.

Email acrocker@agl.com.au or telephone 0428 027 714. October 2014 – Issue 609

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

O C T O B E R 2 014

Grape composition helps reveal wine flavour and quality potential Sauvignon samples from South Australia had just been bottled, with berry sensory analysis done, and wine sensory analysis to come. The ultimate aim of this 4.5 year project will be to accurately link wine sensory data to specific grape measures.

The chemical composition of the humble winegrape could one day soon help Australian winemakers better predict and plan for flavour outcomes in the vineyard, as well as create a more transparent measure for quality assessments. Two major research projects, one being undertaken by CSIRO and the University of Adelaide, and the other by the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) in collaboration with Accolade, are investigating grape quality and flavour measures, with funding from AGWA. CSIRO project leader and research scientist Dr Paul Boss said the data for the first vintage in 2013 had been collected, small lot wines assessed, and the wines from the second vintage involving another 25 Cabernet

“We want to develop models to allow the prediction of wine sensory properties from grape composition. Such measures will aid in the streaming of fruit and harvest scheduling to allow the consistent production of wine styles,” Dr Boss said. “Into the future, the ability to measure flavour potential in grapes will allow the development of strategies to optimise this quality attribute in the vineyard and ultimately lead to the production of grapes with a specific wine style in mind.” The AWRI project, is titled Assessment of relationships between grape chemical composition and grape allocation grade, is also investigating grape chemical composition. AWRI Research Manager and project leader Dr Paul Smith said the AWRI project, which started in January 2013

and is due for completion in June next year, had assessed 180 batches of Cabernet, Shiraz and Chardonnay grapes in 2014 from across nine regions. “The project is assessing a range of measurable chemical compounds in grapes. The aim is to find measures, independently or in combination, that are able to differentiate between grape grades,” Dr Smith said. The outcomes of this research could then allow for a series of scientifically tested and objective quality measures that are linked specifically to grape grades, to be available for roll out across the wine industry. “The project is significant to grapegrowers because it relates to confidence and transparency about the quality grade for their grapes,” Dr Smith said. “For both growers and winemakers, objective chemical measures can provide specifications that allow the most value to be achieved from grapes. “For winemakers it is significant because such measures offer the opportunity to stream fruit to maximise its value and minimise risk related to loss of value, for example by including higher value fruit with lower value fruit. It will also allow winemakers to choose fruit that relates best to a desired wine style.”

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

Researcher in focus: Dr Ashlea Doolette Answering the questions for this article from Montpellier in France, University of Adelaide research fellow Dr Ashlea Doolette had to resist the temptation of exploring nearby cobbled alleyways to share a little of her passion for all things science and soils. Dr Doolette was visiting southern France to attend the PSP5 2014, the 5th International Symposium on Phosphorus in Soils and Plants, a multidisciplinary gathering of plant nutritionists (plant physiology, genetics and systems biology), agronomists, ecologists, biogeochemists and soil scientists from around the world. On the symposium agenda, and the 4th Sustainable Phosphorus Summit, which Dr Doolette also attended, was current research investigating phosphorus limitations in many agroecosystems and terrestrial ecosystems, as well as the current global concerns about Phosphorus sustainability. Dr Doolette has dedicated her early career to the role of Phosphorus (P) in agriculture. She completed a Bachelor of Science (honours in environmental biology), and her PhD in soil science focusing on solution 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and organic P cycling at the University of Adelaide (UoA). She then went on to accept a post doctoral position, again at UoA. “I was attracted to soil science because it combined my interest in chemistry and the environment,” Dr Doolette said. “My research career on phosphorus has largely been based on using NMR-based techniques for determining phosphorus speciation in soil and so far has focussed exclusively on cropping systems.” But she’s now turning her attention to the wine industry, with her first stand-alone research project recently

being granted funding under the pilot Incubator Incentive project (see following page). “These techniques have been applied successfully to crop residues and manures but as far as I am aware these techniques have not been applied to analyse vines, thus incorporating phosphorus speciation into considerations of phosphorus cycling (P-cycling) in wine production,” she said. “In terms of P speciation it will be interesting to investigate if there are any similarities between the flows of P within cropping systems with those in a vineyard given the two agroecosystems are quite different.”

“I was attracted to soil science because it combined my interest in chemistry and the environment.” The project is titled Phosphorus speciation in waste biomass streams: Working towards closing the P loop in wine production. “The main objective of this project is to establish a thorough understanding of the flux of phosphorus forms in wine production systems,” she said. “Although little phosphorus is contained in the final product (wine), vines require and take up substantial quantities of phosphorus, much of which ends up in the waste biomass streams of prunings and marc. “In theory, it should be possible to ‘close the P loop’ in wine production systems.” Dr Doolette said closing the ‘P loop’ could provide a direct (though small) economic benefit to wineries and grape growers by removing the need for phosphorus fertiliser. “But also, more importantly, closing the ‘P loop’ would provide an important demonstration of commitment

Dr Ashlea Doolette

to sustainability principles and environmental and social stewardship, as the sources of phosphorus fertiliser are non-renewable and its exploitation is politically sensitive.” Although the gross fluxes of phosphorus (i.e. total amounts of P) in wine production systems were reasonably well established, Dr Doolette said, little was really known of the chemical speciation in these fluxes and the project could help deliver this information. “Closing this knowledge gap is crucial since soil phosphorus fertility is predominantly controlled by phosphorus speciation rather than total amounts,” she said. “In particular, this project will establish the chemical composition of phosphorus in the main waste biomass streams of prunings and marc, providing information that can be used to develop better management of these streams in terms of their ability to be used as an alternative source of phosphorus when returned to the vineyard.”

Dairy and food industries offer solutions to improve wine business A new report for the Australian wine industry suggests Australia’s fast moving consumer goods industry could offer the solutions wineries need to cut costs and improve efficiency. Adelaide-based business and engineering consultancy, 2xe, produced the report, titled Process efficiency in winery operations: A broad review of potentially beneficial techniques and technologies. The report is one of three projects 2xe has been funded to deliver in the area of wine process efficiency, by the AGWA. James McIntyre, 2xe project consultant, said the final report includes a range of case studies and the results of a threemonth investigation of the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, such as dairy, brewing, fruit juice, and other industries. “The FMCG industry has successfully adopted production efficiency as a

cornerstone of business practice and this allows the industry to remain competitive and prosper, in local and global markets,” Mr McIntyre said. The investigation also produced some unexpected results for the 2xe team. “We started the project thinking we could find some real technology gamechangers for the wine industry… that ‘magic bullet’ solution… but we came to realise the real areas the wine industry needed to change was the business focus,” he said. “The wine industry is well-advanced in terms of technology but where it falls down is the understanding of what drives business performance.

employed in the wine industry. “There are some large companies that are leading the way in developing whole business efficiency, such as Pernod Ricard, and some really outstanding small-to-medium wineries who maximise efficiency to meet their unique output and needs,” he said. “There are others, however, who need to evolve if they want to survive in today’s business climate – and those changes don’t necessarily mean huge costs in time or money.

“It was in comparing the management practices of successful FMCG businesses against the wine industry that the gaps began to show.”

“Changes as simple as creating performance metrics across the business, can offer a better understanding of resource use and processes employed in the business to show areas of waste or unnecessary costs or delays… it can and has saved hundreds of thousands for some wineries.”

Mr McIntyre said they also came to realise the wide diversity of practices

The final report is available on the AGWA website.

Pilot scheme plants seed for future wine research discoveries A new pilot seed-funding initiative launched in July by the AGWA and the University of Adelaide Wine Future research network could be the genesis for Australia’s future wine science breakthroughs. The Incubator Initiative is designed to provide small grants for early career researchers (ECRs) to explore grape and wine research. Research projects with a specific regional focus and that encourage regional engagement are also favoured as part of the Incubator Initiative funding requirements. Australian Grape and Wine Authority Senior R&D Program Manager Liz Waters said a pilot was being conducted with the University of Adelaide this year, prior to introducing this initiative to multiple research organisations. Five projects received funding of about $10,000 each in 2014-15, they are:

•

Dr Julie Conduit and Dr Carolin Plewa: Wine industry RD&E developing partner co-creation capabilities.

•

Dr Roberta De Bei and Dr Carlos Rodrigues Lopez: Breeding drought and heat tolerant grapevines using epigenetic tools.

•

Dr Ashlea Doolette: Phosphorus speciation in waste biomass streams: Working towards closing the P loop in wine production.

•

Dr Richard Muhlack and Dr Philip Kwong: Improving vineyard water efficiency by addition of biochar derived from grape stalks and vineyard prunings.

•

Dr Michelle Walker and Dr Tommaso Liccioli: Mapping of genes responsible for yeast-derived modulation of colour in model red wine.

University of Adelaide Oenology Professor Vladimir Jiranek said the typically limited track record of ECRs and the shortage of preliminary data that shows a project is likely to succeed, make such early stage projects hard

to fund through traditional funding schemes. “With the incubator scheme we hope to capture these new and ideally interdisciplinary ideas, as well as the enthusiasm and in-kind time contribution of the applicants. In this way the average investment of $10,000 per project represents excellent leveraging of levypayer and federal funds. Professor Jiranek said regional organisations would become important partners of this funding program, providing not just the research ideas but also helping with technical support. “Individual regions can often have unique issues and hence research problems that might not get addressed in the broader research activities of larger projects,” he said. Dr Waters said the Incubator Initiative would also address succession planning in wine research – encouraging early career researchers to move to or stay in grape and wine research.

Spray droplets map path to better protection University of Queensland researchers have collated and mapped tens of thousands of spray droplets across grapevine canopies to help the Australian wine industry maximise coverage and reduce environmental risks associated with agricultural plantprotection products and machines. The project is titled ‘A generic approach to improving spray coverage’ and is funded by AGWA. University of Queensland (UQ) senior research fellow Andrew Hewitt and senior research scientist Chris O’Donnell are leading the project, which is in its second year. Dr Hewitt said the spray accountancy data would support the development of modelling tools to show how sprayer setup affects spray delivery for a wide range of conditions. It could also help address regulatory concerns related to spray drift.

with a virtual box around the grape canopy,” he said. “Spray coverage on upper and lower leaf surfaces, as well as different regions in the canopy were sampled using a custom-made leaf washer that attaches to leaves. “The number of droplets per square centimetre was determined using photographic paper collectors at different canopy regions. “Tall towers measured the airborne spray in and above the canopy using monofilament line which is a very efficient collector of spray droplets. Deposition on the ground below the canopy was measured with petri dishes. Drift deposition downwind of the crop was measured using Mylar cards.” Dr Hewitt said tens of thousands of samples were generated for three spraying systems: •

“This sort of data will allow the industry to negotiate more favourable regulations in the future than would be developed without such data, as assumptions would otherwise be made for overseas worst case risk assessment scenarios,” Dr Hewitt said.

a reference baseline sprayer with deflectors for targeting spray towards the lower canopy region and setup for the canopy height. International standards require that a reasonable worst-case baseline be established for such studies and the axial fan airblast sprayer baseline for this work was based on various grower surveys;

A wide number of spraying systems, already in use in the wine industry, have been tested as part of the project.

•

a multi-fan sprayer for directing the spray downwards and sideways toward the canopy; and

“We aimed to account for 100% of the applied spray through complex sampling

•

an electrostatic spraying system for charging droplets for attraction to the canopy.

An electrostatic spraying system is part of a trial looking at the efficacy of Australian spray machinery and spread of products.

The data is still being interpreted but Dr Hewitt said trends suggest spray efficiency varied among the application systems. “Initial inspection of spray deposition on targets did not reveal the high coverage from the electrostatic system so a high resolution image analysis system was developed to ‘see’ the small droplets, revealing very high levels of coverage,” he said. “All of the systems gave good spray coverage on the canopy. The main differences were in losses to the ground and as airborne spray losses. “The electrostatic system allowed the use of a lower application volume rate, thereby reducing runoff from leaves and losses to the ground below the canopy compared to the higher volume airblast application system.” For a full version of this article, please visit research.agwa.net.au.

Final reports now available: DPI 1001

Tannin Structure Function Relationships – A Foundation for Understanding Mouthfeel Perception

CSP 0904

Advanced grapevine genetics for varietal improvement

CSL 1002

Sustainable Recycled Winery Water Irrigation based on Treatment Fit for Purpose Approach

FU 1101

Rapid measurement of sulpher dioxide in the winery

CSP 1002

Delivering chloride and sodium excluding rootstocks for quality wine production

CSL 0901

Vineyard Irrigation – delivering water savings through emerging technology

GWT 1319

Travel to attend the SenseAsia 2014 The Asian Sensory and Consumer Research Symposium

UA 0901

Understanding and leveraging the marketing opportunities of engaging wine buyers through virtual communities and other e-based sales channels

2XE 1303

Process efficiency in winery operations: a broad review of potentially beneficial techniques and technologies

grapegrowing

You need to get to know your GLO Justin Jarrett has no worries growing grapes for 15 different wine producers and adjusting what he does in the vineyard to suit the wine label each parcel is destined to be bottled under. JUSTIN Jarrett remembers his last ‘normal’ season in Orange like it was yesterday. The trouble is, it wasn’t yesterday… it was actually back in 2010. Since then, the region has been wet (2011); promising then wet (2012); brilliant then even wetter (2013); and frosty to start, then warm, then wet (2014). To really rub it in, the 2013 and 2014 rain fell in February and March when, according to 120 years of records, it should have been the area’s driest months. Jarrett and his wife Pip both grew up on the land and both have qualifications in agricultural science, but they had nothing to do with vineyards before they bought their own in 1995. Nothing except admiring vines on a trip to Europe. Fast-forward almost 20 years and their core business is managing their 170 ha of vineyard in Orange. The Jarretts are one of the larger growers in the region, only Cumulus and Angullong have larger vineyard holdings, but Jarrett points out the five largest growers represent 80 per cent of the region’s total planting. Jarrett runs a dedicated benchmarking program for each block, with the poorest performing either dropped or the vines pulled or re-grafted. He said right now they are moving into a major phase of change and at least one paddock will have its vines pulled and they won’t be replaced. “I think during the next five years we are going to have to be even harder on our standards,” Jarrett added. “Yield mapping is another key tool in our quality program as it helps us identify the blocks that just aren’t delivering.” The experience with yield mapping started out with infrared aerial photography to identify the potential higher and lower yielding areas. He said it was fantastic to get a snapshot but you had to be careful interpreting the data – especially if the photo was taken on the back of a 40C heat wave, as it was one year. “We’ve put the same yield mapping technology you see in broadacre headers into use, with a set of scales weighing everything as it goes across the boom. It took some support from Bernd Kleinlagel at Advanced Technology Viticulture and some tricky logarithm calculations to give us an accurate, live tonne per hectare figure,” he said. “Using that information we are trying to be more consistent across the whole vineyard and we can increase or decrease the bud numbers to change the yield accordingly. It’s all about aiming for consistency. Although, in the back of my mind is the idea that complexity in wine probably has a lot to do with complexity in the vineyard – but that’s an internal debate I’ll keep having.” Jarrett said his vineyards are planted in mostly red-basalt soils and it is a soft system. “In a normal year we might have to add some zinc, boron and manganese but not much else”. “The major trick here is the water-holding capacity of the vines. Particularly when we do get all that rain we really have to focus on our Shiraz, for example, to try and slow it down, and that entails juggling the herbicide program, cutting under the vines and pruning,” he said. “Then in the drought it is hard to maintain our type of soils and as our irrigation only comes from dams when they run out

28 Grapegrower & Winemaker

HIGH STANDARDS: Justin Jarrett has 170 hectares of vineyard in Orange, NSW.

things became very tough.” Some of the changes Jarrett is considering include switching from Cabernet to Sauvignon Blanc and introducing Tempranillo and Malbec. Another variety he is keeping an eye on is the Austrian variety Grüner Veltliner, which has been performing in cool climates here in Australia. “Of course you can put in all you want, but when it comes to selling it you have to have a winery that wants to come along for the ride,” he said. Jarrett currently supplies 15 different wineries. Hang on. How many? “It’s not actually that difficult, certainly not an impossible task. The key thing is to know what the winery wants – what their price point is, what cropping levels they want, which wine your grapes are going into – all those things you have to be constantly talking about,” Jarrett said. “For example, I’ve just had the guys from Casella here. I know what price point they are offering and I know the grapes are going into Yellowtail, so I’m not going to be trying to be asking for lots of extra money for those grapes. But vice-versa, I’ll also talk to clients who are producing an $80 bottle of Shiraz and we will be talking about how I’ll be working really hard, leaf plucking and all sorts, to make sure those grapes meet the standard required.”

www.winebiz.com.au

October 2014 – Issue 609

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grapegrowing

Of course you can put in all you want, but when it comes to selling it you have to have a winery that wants to come along for the ride Jarrett says he gets positive responses from his key contacts by being positive and creating good, ongoing dialogue. “I couldn’t think of anything worse than being a GLO and going from farm-to-farm and having every grower whinging and complaining at you. I think you have to aspire to what your winemaker is aspiring to. We’ve got our own small label and that helps us enormously when it comes to a GLO coming to us and saying ‘cool climate Cabernet is on the nose with consumers’ we have some idea of whether it’s full of shit or not.” After vintage Jarrett tries to visit every winery he supplies to, and aims to taste as many of the wines made from his grapes as possible – which, of course, offers another opportunity to talk directly to the winemaker. “Some of the winery contacts you only meet two-orthree times each year, but you have to make sure you have meaningful conversations when you do see them,” he said. When it comes to tackling the idea of meaningful conversations, Jarrett has an industry-wide “bug bear”… the discussion about regions “sticking to what they do best” (and as the NSW/QLD representative on the WGGA executive

committee, he’s in a good position to have observed – and joined in – a few of these conversations). “We all agree on it, but there’s still Sauvignon Blanc from McLaren Vale and Merlot from Clare and a long list of others. What’s the point of these wines? We need to get rid of these areas of oversupply, but it’s a really hard conversation to have. There will always be a place for small guys to make 60 cases of something different, but when the larger wineries are still producing 10,000 cases of something their region doesn’t do well, it is only going to end up discounted and by the time it reaches the consumer it’s not doing the industry any favours. We need to be able to have a mature discussion about this.” This level of mature, whole value-chain thinking is increasingly important for every grapegrower. “It is not just your GLO you need to get to know better, you have to know what end product you grapes are going into. If you are supplying a wine that sells for $4.99 you can’t realistically expect $1000 per tonne. "You have to adjust how you are growing grapes to the end product, which would be my advice to everybody,” Jarrett said.

Manage environmental stress GRAPEGROWERS can boost a crop’s ability to cope with environmental conditions with an effective and naturallyoccurring product that can be included in existing spray programs and tank mixes, and which leaves no white residue on fruit at harvest. Australian plant-management technology company Agricrop is supplying the horticulture market with Photon 500SG, based on dicarboxcylic acids – naturally-derived plant compounds that stimulate the crop’s own defences against heat, moisture and chilling stress, enabling higher yields and better quality produce. Kerrie Mackay, Agricrop product marketing manager, said Photon was an innovative alternative to sunscreen, being absorbed by the plant and triggering the plant’s own defence mechanisms, and leaving no surface residue. “Photon effectively prepares the plant before the onset of environmental stress – resulting in more vigorous crop growth and productivity. It works systemically, causing a biochemical response in the plant’s stress sensors, so it can

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react more quickly and effectively to environmental conditions that negatively impact on growth,” Mackay said. “Photon can reduce the impact of climatic stress – maintaining crop health and productivity in adverse conditions.” Photon has proven its efficacy and crop safety in four years of comparative trials in Australia and overseas. Mackay said Photon was now in its third season of commercial use in Australia, receiving praise from growers for protecting foliage, flowers and fruit. “The high quality water-dispersible granule is used on grape vines at a very low rate of 4gms per 100 litres, so is easy to mix, handle and store, providing very cost-effective plant stress management," Mackay said. "With no known compatibility issues and used in similar water volumes to insecticide and fungicide applications, Photon can be conveniently applied as part of normal spray programs and in growers’ existing tank mixes.” “A lead time of five days is ideal for the plant to fully respond to Photon 500SG to minimise the impact of stress. Grapegrowers are advised to begin application between bloom and capfall, continuing to apply Photon every 21 days until just before harvest. It is important to apply in sufficient water for uniform coverage of foliage, with a surfactant (preferably non-ionic or organo-silicone adjuvant) to spread Photon over the surface of leaves. “Maximum protection is reached with a second application, with the product remaining effective for up to 21 days. So a season-long program is recommended to maintain ongoing productivity. Agricrop encourages to apply Photon early, to prepare their crops for the season’s stress events. With no withholding period, Photon can be applied as a foliar spray until just before harvest.” For more information, contact: Agricrop P: (07) 3348 4113 E: sales@agricrop.com.au

www.winebiz.com.au

October 2014 – Issue 609

Using smarter technology for precise agriculture. Farming, the biggest job on earth.

How does one of the oldest professions in the world remain modern and up to date? In the case of agriculture, farmers have done a terrific job of incorporating new technologies into their daily operations. State of the art technology is helping to ensure crops can grow healthier, yield more and reach their full potential. Using technology to grow smarter, with help from BASF, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hands.

thebiggestjobonearth.com.au

grapegrowing

Identification of aroma compounds by gas chromatographic analysis Using a gas chromatographic method (GC-MS-analysis), Italian researchers Maria Gabriella Barbagallo, Antonio Pisciotta and Filippo Saiano found it was possible to determine the volatile constituent of an odorous flower from Vitis vinifera varieties growing in Sicily. More than 50 compounds were identified and the technique allowed them to determine that sesquiterpenes, as well as monoterpenes such as limonene and cymene, were the principal components. The odour-profiles also allowed them to distinguish between variety groups, or even single varieties. WINE aroma chemistry has been meticulously studied over the past few years, and several researchers have identified many volatile compounds found in grapes and wines of different cultivars. A previous report focused on the olfactory properties and on the identification of character impact odorants attributable to the cultivar (Sánchez-Palomo et al. 2010). Although the release of volatiles, including aliphatics, terpenoids, and phenylpropanoids, from anthers and/or pollen has been reported (Dobson et al. 2000), the chemical composition of the flower volatiles of Vitis vinifera, which are responsible for its odour, has not been substantially investigated until recently (Buchbauer et al. 1994a; 1994b; 1995; Lücker et al. 2004). Low molecular-weight terpenoids, which include a large array of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and norisoprenoids, are commonly found as volatiles emitted from the flowers, fruits, and leaves of plants (Schrader and Berger, 2001). Grapevine flowers produce numerous sesquiterpenoid volatiles [e.g. (E)--caryophyllene, -humulene, (+)-valencene, (E,E)--farnesene, and (-)-7-epi--selinene], presumably as attractants for pollinators (Buchbauer et al. 1994a; 1995; Martin et al. 2009). The sesquiterpene valencene is a major volatile emitted from the flowers of white and red varieties of the grapevine Vitis vinifera L. (Buchbauer et al. 1994a; 1994b; 1995). In this study, we have provided qualitative 'odour profiles' in order to obtain more information about the aroma of grape flowers. We report the results of a head space SPME study as a useful tool (short sampling time, small sample amount, and no use of solvents) for an early and preliminary characterisation of volatile compounds.

NEW STUDY: Flower aroma compounds have been used to distinguish between variety groups and even single varieties.

MATERIAL AND METHODS Grape inflorescences from eight varieties were collected in 2012 from vineyards located in the Marsala area (West Sicily 100 m a.s.l.). All vines were subjected to the same trellis system, pruning method, and cultivation practices. The eight selected varieties were six white: Inzolia, Catarratto Comune, Grillo, Zibibbo (syn. Muscat of Alexandria), Sauvignon Blanc, and Fiano; and two red: Frappato and Cabernet Sauvignon. At full flowering development stage (BBCH 67), three whole inflorescences per replicate (three) and per variety (eight), each with the same light condition and shoot position, were collected from nine different vines. The selected inflorescences were placed in 250 mL vials with silicon septa and stored at 4C until analysis. Preliminary experiments (data not shown) were carried out

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October 2014 – Issue 609

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grapegrowing Table 1 – Percentage of compounds divided in sesquiterpenes, monoterpenes, ketones and esters cultivar compounds

Grillo

Zibibbo

Cabernet S.

Frappato

Sauvignon B.

Catarratto C.

Fiano

Inzolia

percent

(-)--caryophyllene

9.0

7.7

21.0

21.1

18.5

36.1

14.2

8.4

(E.E)--farnesene

10.4

7.7

14.6

9.0

12.1

15.7

27.2

45.2

(E)--farnesene

41.0

45.2

2.5

7.4

6.7

13.9

12.1

17.8

-humulene

3.1

4.5

3.7

3.3

4.2

5.0

5.1

2.9

-selinene

4.5

4.4

0.0

4.3

3.6

8.7

10.5

3.9

7-epi--selinene

11.4

11.3

17.6

20.2

19.2

3.1

0.0

4.4

(+)-valencene

15.6

16.0

25.3

32.0

27.9

4.3

0.7

6.1

sesquiterpenes

monoterpenes -trans-bergamotene

1.2

3.0

0.0

2.0

2.2

5.2

5.0

p-cymene

0.8

0.6

4.8

0.2

2.4

4.4

7.2

2.3

limonene

1.7

1.1

3.5

0.7

1.7

3.5

5.8

1.0

0.7

0.2

3.2

1.4

1.0

2.5

8.8

1.3

0.6

0.0

0.6

0.3

0.5

0.6

3.3

1.5

ketones 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one esters ethyl benzoate

to select the coating of the fibre and its thickness, as well as to identify the most appropriate conditions, such as the length and temperature of the exposure in the head space over the sample. These experiments were mainly designed to enhance the volatilisation of compounds from the matrix while preventing their decomposition, and to optimise the gas-fibre equilibrium. Before use, the selected SPME fiber, which was coated with divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/ PDMS, 50μm, Supelco), was conditioned for two hours at 250C in the inlet of a gas chromatograph. Analyses were performed on the sampled whole inflorescences that were placed in a 250 ml glass vials sealed with a silicon septum. After 60 minutes of equilibration at 25C, the SPME fibre was inserted in the silicon septum with the help of a manual holder system. After five minutes at 25C, the SPME fibre was recovered and immediately inserted into the injector port of the gas chromatograph, allowing for one minute desorption at 250C. Three replicates of each sample were analysed.

CHROMATOGRAPHIC PROCEDURES A GC instrument (Agilent 6890) equipped with a mass selective detector (Agilent 5975) was used for the chromatographic analyses. A fused silica capillary column Carbowax (30mm length, 0.25mm internal diameter, and 0.25 μm film thickness; Supelco) served as the stationary phase. The injector was used in splitless mode and had a temperature of 250C. Experimental chromatographic conditions were as follows: Helium carrier gas at 1 mL min-1; and an oven temperature program with a five minute isotherm at 40C followed by a linear temperature increase of 4C min-1 up to 200C, where it was held for two minutes. The MS scan conditions were: source temperature 230C, interface temperature 280C, EI at 70 eV, and mass scan range 33–350 amu. A commercial library (NIST05) was used interactively with the MS data for compound identification. Standards, required to confirm some assignments, were obtained from Fluka and used without further purification. The relative proportions of the essential oil constituents were expressed as percentages obtained by GC-MS peak area normalisation, with all relative response factors being taken as one. A hierarchical cluster analysis based on Euclidean distance matrices with the Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Averages (UPGMA) was performed using R version 3.0.1 (R Core Team, 2013).

34 Grapegrower & Winemaker

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 1 shows the principal constituents found as the average of the three replicates. The percentage of the relative standard deviation was always < 10 per cent. It is well known different extraction techniques could result in different quali-quantitative extract compositions and because of the equilibrium nature of the SPME method the GC-MS profiles do not immediately correspond to the composition of the detected substances in the sample or in the head space. Our goal, however, was to take advantage of the ability of the SPME method to extract/concentrate both low and high-eluting components, allowing for comparisons of the chromatographic profiles for different samples under similar experimental conditions. The research shows the clear identification of four groups of varieties according to their different aromatic compounds: 1st Group (Grillo-Zibibbo (syn. Muscat of Alexandria)): Grillo and Zibibbo are characterised by the prevalence of (E)--farnesene (exceeding 40 percent), low values of (-)--caryophyllene (less than 10 percent), and modest values of valencene and 7-epi--selinene (Table). 2nd Group (Cabernet Sauvignon-Frappato-Sauvignon Blanc-): Cabernet Sauvignon and Frappato show similar profile. They are characterised by the presence of (in order of increasing value): (EE)--farnesene, 7-epi--selinene, (-)--caryophyllene, and (+)-valencene. These account for 78.5 percent and 82.3 percent of the total compounds in the two varieties, respectively. Sauvignon Blanc has more 7-epi--selinene and (+)-valencene than Cabernet Sauvignon. Even if Cabernet Sauvignon is located in the same group, it shows additional compounds, such as 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, p-cymene, limonene, and -transbergamotene (Table). However, a prevalence of (+)-valencene has previously been reported (Martin et al. 2009). 3th Group (Catarratto C.): Catarratto Comune is represented by the prevalence of (-)--caryophyllene (36.1 percent), (EE)-farnesene (15.7 percent), (E)--farnesene (13.9 percent), -selinene, and -humulene. Its profile was qualitatively close to the 4th group, but it differed quantitatively (Table). 4th Group (Fiano-Inzolia): Fiano and Inzolia are both characterised by the dominance of (EE)--farnesene, though at different percentages. Particularly, Inzolia is characterised by the prevalence of (EE)--farnesene (45.2 percent) and (E)--

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October 2014 – Issue 609

farnesene (17.8 per cent), followed by (-)--caryophyllene, (+)-valencene and -trans-bergamotene. Fiano is the variety with the greater diversity of compounds, having (EE)-farnesene (27.2 per cent), (-)--caryophyllene (14.2 per cent), (E)--farnesene (12.1 per cent), -selinene (10.5 per cent), p-cymene, limonene, -trans-bergamotene, -humulene and the highest presence of 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one (8.8 per cent) than the other varieties (Table 1).

CONCLUSION The technique we used (SPME GC-MS analysis) was useful in distinguishing between different odorous profiles and, therefore, enabled the discrimination of the grape varieties we examined. The results showed the predominant flower aroma compounds can be used to distinguish between variety groups, or even single varieties, growing under identical conditions. It is interesting to note the similar aroma profiles between Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc (Bowers and Meredith 1997), and between Grillo and Zibibbo (syn. Muscat of Alexandria) (Di Vecchi Staraz et al. 2007). Further studies are needed to expand both the varietal data set and the list of known aroma compounds to additional contribute to our knowledge of variety behaviours and how external factors (such as climate, vineyard management, etc.) can impact the composition of flower aroma profiles.

THE AUTHORS: Maria Gabriella Barbagallo, *Pisciotta Antonino and Saiano Filippo. Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences Università degli Studi di Palermo Viale delle Scienze, Edificio 4, Ing. 4 - 90128-Palermo *corresponding author

REFERENCES:

Bowers J.E.; Meredith C.P.; 1997: The parentage of a classic wine grape, Cabernet Sauvignon. Nat. Genet. 16, 84-7. Buchbauer, G.; Jirovetz, L.; Wasicky, M.; Herlitschka, A.; Nikiforov, A.; 1994a: Aroma of white wine flowers. Z. Lebensm Unters Forsch 199, 1–4. Buchbauer, G.; Jirovetz, L.; Wasicky, M.; Herlitschka, A.; 1994b: Headspace analysis of Vitis vinifera (Vitaceae) flowers. J. Essent. Oil Res. 6, 313–314. Buchbauer, G.; Jirovetz, L.; Wasicky, M.; Nikiforov, A.; 1995: Aroma from red wine flowers. Z. Lebensm Unters Forsch 200, 443–446. Di Vecchi Staraz, M., Bandinelli, R., Boselli, M., This, P., Boursiquot, J. M., Laucou, V.; 2007; Genetic structuring and parentage analysis for evolutionary studies in grapevine: Kin group and origin of the cultivar Sangiovese revealed. J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci. 132, 514-524. Dobson, H.E.M.; Bergstroem, G.; 2000: The ecology and evolution of pollen odors. Plant Syst. Evol. 222, 63–87. Lüker, J.; Bowen, P.; Bohlmann J.; 2004: Vitis vinifera terpenoid cyclases: functional identification of two sesquiterpene synthase cDNAs encoding (+)-valencene synthase and (-)-germacrene D synthase and expression of monoand sesquiterpene synthase in grapevine flowers and berries. Phytochemistry 65, 2649-2659. Martin, D.M; Toub, O.; Chiang, A.; LO, B.C; OHSE, S.; LUND, S.T.; Bohlmann, J.; 2009: The bouquet of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon) flowers arises from the biosynthesis of sesquiterpene volatiles in pollen grains. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 106(17), 7245–7250. R Core Team; 2013: R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL http://www.R-project. org/. Sánchez-Palomo, E.; Gómez García-Carpintero, E.; Alonso-Villegas, R.; GonzálezViñas, M.A.; 2010: Characterization of aroma compounds of Verdejo white wines from the La Mancha region by odour activity values. Flavour Fragr. J. 25, 456-462 Schrader, J.; Berger, R.G.; 2001: Biotechnological production of terpenoid flavor and fragrance coumpounds. In: REHM, H.J. (Eds.): Biotechnology, 10, 373-422, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim.

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

grapegrowing

Dr Mandy Walker’s expertise in molecular biology and genetics has led her to discover one of the genes which controls the red colour in grape berries. Photo: Carl Davies, CSIRO.

Grape research in living colour DR MANDY Walker lives life in full colour. Her love of the countryside, experimenting with natural dyes and her mother’s artwork propelled Walker on a journey to discover what makes life, particularly plant-life, colourful. “Colour has always fascinated me. Ever since I was a young girl I wanted to understand how colours behaved. I even started a colour chemistry club in high school,” Walker said. This drive to understand what made colour colourful led Walker to study biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics at the Australian National University gaining first-class honours and successfully cloning the vermillion eye colour gene from vinegar fly (Drosophila). “I remember going into the lab on the weekend to check whether my experiment to locate the vermillion gene had worked. This was a clever type of experiment used to locate genes in Drosophila in the early years of molecular biology. I cried with joy when I saw that I had successfully isolated the gene. That was the start of my addiction to discovery. I knew something that no one else in the whole world knew.” Walker’s expertise in molecular biology and genetics has led her to discover amazing things about colour, including one of the genes which controls the red colour in grape berries. This has allowed breeders to select for colour preference at the seedling stage before the vine even fruits. Other projects Walker has worked on since joining CSIRO as a research scientist include investigating berry texture compounds, such as tannins, to understand how they are synthesised in the fruit, and most recently she’s lent her skills to identifying tools and techniques, such as genetic markers, to breed better rootstocks that meet Australian industry requirements in a changing climate. Wanting to understand how the world works also brought CSIRO postgraduate researcher Dr Amy Rinaldo to science. Rinaldo first met Walker during her undergraduate years when she undertook a summer studentship with CSIRO hunting for genetic markers for cherry colour.

36 Grapegrower & Winemaker

When the red colour gene is switched everywhere in the grapevine plant even the roots turn red. Photo: Carl Davies, CSIRO.

“Not many people in Australia realise that cherries come in two colours – we’re so used to seeing only the red cherries,” Rinaldo explains. “I didn’t know cherries also come in a blush colour, like a dusky pink, until I started my summer project with Mandy”. Rinaldo and PhD student Jess Parker showed that expression of one gene responsible for synthesis of colour correlated with fruit colour in a population of 60 trees. Amy also found a mutation in a candidate regulator gene which also correlated with fruit colour. “It was incredibly exciting identifying a part of the genetics responsible for anthocyanin biosynthesis in just 10 weeks. Science usually takes a lot longer.” “It wasn’t like a Eureka moment; science doesn’t happen like that. Its little step discoveries which gradually build to the end result.”

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October 2014 – Issue 609

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Annual Ryegrass resistance to glyphosate has been confirmed in Australian vineyards with the numbers of resistant populations growing rapidly in recent years. Also of concern to growers should be the confirmed case last year in a Western Australian vineyard of a population of Annual Ryegrass that was resistant to both paraquat and glyphosate. For many years these non-selective herbicides have been the foundation for under vine weed control; they are simply too valuable to lose from our farming systems. According to researchers from the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI), the vineyard had a history of both glyphosate and paraquat use in an adhoc manner over approximately 20 years. That is, they sometimes sprayed glyphosate and they sometimes sprayed paraquat, but did not follow a particular strategy. They generally sprayed a narrow strip directly under the vines and left about 2 metres of inter-row unsprayed. Spraying was usually undertaken in spring and the weeds were generally sprayed two or three times, depending on the season. When examining the case, the researchers surmised that spraying a narrow strip of weeds in the row of vines actually produced a variable rate. The weeds directly under the nozzle were getting a very high dose, while the weeds on the edge of the spray pattern received a very low dose. Spraying in spring also meant they sprayed large plants; creating shading issues and meaning a very high rate would be required to be a full lethal dose. Spraying a narrow strip also meant that if there were survivors, they were surrounded by thousands of un-sprayed plants with which they could cross pollinate, making it very easy to share resistance genes around. As stated by AHRI, it really was a “perfect storm!” What this tells us is that a glyphosate/paraquat resistant Annual Ryegrass population has evolved in a vineyard situation, and growers can use this example to implement sound strategies in their own programs. According to AHRI, the strategy for now is: • Yes, herbicide rotation is still a good idea; • Yes, the double knock of glyphosate followed by a paraquat product such as GRAMOXONE® or SPRAY.SEED® is still a good idea too; this will continue to work well in the vast majority of paddocks for some time yet. But, keep in the forefront of your mind that herbicide rotation and/or the double knock are not the total answer. You must have non-herbicide weed controls in your system as well. Herbicide rotation is not integrated weed management; it is only a small part of a bigger package. When planning your weed control, valuable tools to decrease the resistance risk include: • Adoption of non-herbicide practices, for example mowing, mulching, tillage or strategic grazing, so that you enter spring with low weed numbers; • Ongoing attention to weed control escapes using a range of measures to prevent them from setting seed; • Ensuring machinery and any stock going into the is vineyard “clean” (in particular, limit visitor vehicle movement); • Using cover crops to compete with weeds; and • Strategic use of a much more diverse range of herbicide Modes of Action, including residual herbicides. When you do use a double knock, make sure you use a full glyphosate rate followed by tillage or a full label rate of SPRAY.SEED or GRAMOXONE.

Vine Talk is compiled by Dave Antrobus, Syngenta Solutions Development Lead dave.antrobus@syngenta.com 0429 133 436 38 Grapegrower & Winemaker

These purple grapevines were used to understand how the red colour genes work. Credit: Carl Davies, CSIRO.

After graduating and taking some time out to travel, Rinaldo returned to the CSIRO labs to undertake her PhD research, investigating the possible link between colour and flavour. “Working with Mandy again was excellent. She was a great role model, supportive and helped me develop as a scientist,” she said. Amy identified one flavour difference, the flavour compound linalool, which was consistent across the three varieties: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. This suggests there is little direct link between grape colour and flavour. Linalool, responsible for citrus and tropical fruit flavours was found at higher levels in white grape ferments, which were influenced by light. Each grape cultivar has a unique set of genes responding to the environment to produce luscious fruit for winemaking. The colour of the fruit may provide a different 'light' environment within the berry by altering a few flavour and quality characters for the berry. However the major differences between wines are the result of careful selection of cultivars over many thousands of years, terroir, different winemaking practices and our perception of the wine. “It has been a great privilege working with Amy and seeing her develop as a scientist,” Walker says. “The skills she has developed over the years, both in the lab and in communicating her work to a broad audience, will hold her in good stead in the future”. You can find out more about Rinaldo and Walker’s research at https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/search?q=mandy%20walker

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October 2014 – Issue 609

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Yarra Valley: Talk about the

complete package The Yarra Valley, has everything going for it. Verdant, rolling hills dotted with architecturally distinct wineries, along with fine wines, fine dining and proximity to the city of Melbourne, writes Meininger’s Felicity Carter.

one of his kitchen cupboards, to remind him each day of the greatness he aspires to. Webber is not the only one who saw the Yarra Valley’s suitability for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Domaine Chandon was established here in 1986 by Moet & Chandon, after it recognised the region’s potential for high quality sparkling wine. And Yering Station, the most historic property in the region, makes a highly-regarded Pinot Noir – and a notable Shiraz Viognier. These two faces of Yering Station highlight the diversity of the Yarra Valley region, which produces not only Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Shiraz, but also Bordeaux blends and – more recently – Italian varietals such as Arneis and Nebbiolo. The great diversity partly arises from the Yarra’s terroir, and partly from its history. And while the wines are generally too exuberant to merit being called ‘Old World in style’ as many winemakers here like to claim, the general elegance of Yarra Valley wines defy the cliché that Australian wines are big, robust and fruity.

VINOUS CAMELOT STEVE Webber, De Bortoli wines chief winemaker in the Yarra Valley, has a memorable turn of phrase. “That’s a rock star,” he says, pointing at a vine. “And that’s a rock star,” pointing at another. What about that one over there, sitting in the middle of a row? Is that a rock star? “No,” he says. “But it will be.” Webber, a renowned and energetic winemaker who married into Australia’s De Bortoli wine dynasty, founded their Yarra Valley Estate in 1989, drawn to the valley by its potential for Pinot Noir. So smitten with the grape is he, that every time Webber drinks a great one, he puts the empty bottle on top of

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Yering Station looks the very model of an ultra-modern property, with stone pillars grouped around a pool of water. Inside the restaurant is a wall of glass with an unobstructed view over the Yarra Ranges, while the ceiling is curved and beamed like an oak barrel. Everything is manicured and sleek, down to the contemporary sculptures throughout the building. But this property, now owned by the Rathbone family, was first developed by the Ryrie brothers in 1838. In 1850 they sold the property to a Swiss settler, Paul de Castella, who planted it with vines that came from Chateau Lafite. Within 20 years, the region was covered in vineyards – largely thanks to Swiss immigrants – and local wines were winning honours at the 1889 Paris Exhibition. Wine historian John Beeston wrote the influence of the de Castella family and that of Baron de Purys, a Swiss aristocrat who founded Yeringberg, was so great that “their fond memory would linger as a kind of vinous Camelot”. Yet less than 60 years later, the Yarra Valley’s vineyards and wineries had all but vanished. In 1921, vineyard and winery workers at Yeringberg downed tools, the last in the region to do so. Normally wine regions in close proximity to cities flourish, because they have a natural market on their doorstep, especially an area as pretty as the Yarra Valley. But in the 1850s Victoria had a gold rush, sending Melbourne’s population from almost nothing to around one million people, creating an urgent demand for market garden produce, dairy and sheep. And the elegant wines no longer suited contemporary tastes, which were turning to fortified wines and beers. Dairy farming gradually took over the region; today, artisanal cheese making remains an important feature of the region. Wine didn’t return until the 1960s, when a small group of enthusiasts such as Bailey Carrodus and John Middleton – both doctors – arrived. Middleton, in love with Bordeaux, planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot; his Mount Mary Quintet remains one of Australia’s top wines. The wineries founded in the 1960s are storied names today: Yeringberg, Fergusson, Seville Estate, Warramate, St Huberts and Chateau Yarrinya (now De Bortoli). But it was in the 1980s when the big investment money began to arrive. First came Tarra Warra in 1982, founded by the Besen family. When eminent wine writer James Halliday founded Coldstream Hills winery with wife Suzanne in 1985, it created a wave of interest in both Pinot Noir and the region in general. Moet & Chandon arrived in 1986; then came the De Bortoli and McWilliams dynasties, and Yering Station was replanted.

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October 2014 – Issue 609

Between 1990 and 2000, more than 40 new wineries were established, some by ‘Fitzroy farmers’ – cashed-up doctors and lawyers from Melbourne. The big companies came too, first Southcorp and then its new owner, Foster’s, which bought prestige properties like Coldstream Hill and St Hubert’s. The acquisitions continued during the first years of this century, with the bakery/restaurant/café winery Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander opening in the town of Healesville in 2004. Today there are nearly 100 wineries. A new generation of young winemakers – Mac Forbes, Bill Downie, and Gary Mills – have also flocked to the region to make their mark, producing a new wave of exciting styles and varietals, from Arneis to new expressions of Pinot Noir.

TERROIR DIVERSITY The Yarra Valley can produce both notable Pinot Noir and notable Shiraz because it’s a large area – approximately 50km by 40km – with a diversity of soils and microclimates. There are sedimentary soils, volcanic soils, deep basalt soils and two hills of granite. The climate is variable, with some parts receiving plenty of spring rainfall while others thirst, plus warm days and cool nights. “This region is an odd one, because it seems to be able to successfully ripen varieties that shouldn’t ripen in the same region,” says Dave Bicknell, Oakridge Wines chief winemaker and CEO and a producer of notable, Burgundianstyle Chardonnay. “We have relative proximity to the ocean 45km away, and we’re on the doorstep of the Dandenong Ranges, so we get cooler aromatic winds coming out of the mountains at night time.” So the Valley gets great diurnal variation, from 25C during the day, falling to 2C at night “When we go higher, the temperature gets cooler quickly. At every 100m elevation, it’s a degree cooler.” Bicknell says many winemakers have come to believe the Yarra Valley is a collection of sites, rather than a homogeneous wine area. He does add, however, that if one thing is constant across the region, it’s the acidity. Those dry facts don’t convey the beauty of the region, with its rolling green hills, its pretty historic towns, charming dairies, bucolic B&Bs and an animal sanctuary – kangaroos can be seen around dams and water holes at dawn and dusk. And if you’re not lucky enough to see a kangaroo, you might spot an international celebrity. And all of this is just a short drive from Melbourne, a fact that the wineries take full advantage of – there are cellar door restaurants, winery tours, music festivals, education centres, and picnic baskets available to be enjoyed on rolling winery lawns. Another draw is Tarra Warra winery’s Museum of Art, one of the most significant collections of contemporary art in Australia. So, at first glance, the Yarra Valley should be one of the easiest places in the world to build a thriving wine business. But, as always in wine, things aren’t that simple.

AN EXPENSIVE LOCATION The very diversity of microclimates and wine styles can make communicating the region difficult. “It’s a real challenge,” says Bicknell, trying to articulate a core regional identity for consumers can be “a nightmare”. And while the ‘dress circle’ Victorian wine regions – those tourist areas in close proximity to Melbourne – attempt to distinguish themselves from the general Australian category by presenting themselves as cool climate fine wine, they’re subject to the same pressures as the rest of the Australian category in the traditional export markets of the UK and the US. “It’s frighteningly expensive to grow grapes here,” says Webber. “It involves hand picking, hand sorting and all those production costs. Everybody’s trying to reduce the production costs because the pressure to produce wine for nothing is October 2014 – Issue 609

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grapegrowing increasing, particularly in the UK, where we’ve made an art form of giving wine away.” But the local market isn’t picking up the slack, despite the fact that the Yarra Valley not only produces some of Australia’s most venerated wines, but its wines are championed by notable wine authorities, such as Nick Stock and James Halliday. Or that Yarra is also known as the incubator for some of the country’s most exciting winemakers, from Tom Carson to Mac Forbes. Unfortunately, Australia’s mineral export boom has seen the value of the dollar soar. Australian wines have become more expensive abroad – and international wines cheaper inAustralia. Melbourne sommeliers have been some of the quickest to take advantage of this new wave of imports and there are now significant Melbourne and Sydney wine lists that offer no local wines at all. And while the Yarra Valley on a good day looks as lush and pretty as any European landscape, it is still subject to the harsh realities of the Australian landscape. Water, for example, is at a premium, and when the rains fail to arrive, drought becomes a significant problem. So bad was it during the drought years of 2003 to 2009, that Melburnians who saw neighbours watering their lawns or washing cars were known to report them to authorities for wasting water. “Reports suggest Australia is headed for another big dry period, which could pose a problem for the Yarra Valley,” says Jeni Port, wine writer for Melbourne’s The Age newspaper, adding that buying water costs around $2000 a megalitre at the peak of the last drought (and some producers may need 10 to 20 megalitres). She adds that climate change is also a significant issue. Smoke taint is another. The Yarra Valley is not immune to bushfire: the plumes from the 2007 fires could be seen from space, while the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009 encroached on three fronts. When the smoke

cleared, 173 people had died in Victoria, and a number of wineries – including Domain Chandon, Yering Station and St Huberts – had lost fruit to spot fires. Smoke gets into the grapes’ skin, where it can hide and emerge later as bitter, campfire flavours. “As they discovered in 2007, you may think you don’t have smoke taint, but after bottling it can appear and become a real problem,” Port says. And, of course, tourist numbers fall dramatically after natural disasters, which can hurt local businesses badly. But there are small signs that Yarra Valley wines may begin to gain traction again in the export markets. Firstly and most importantly, the overvalued Australian dollar has been dropping dramatically, easing price pressure. The Wine Spectator’s Harvey Steiman wrote in January 2014 that he’d first detected signs of a renaissance in 2013, and that he now believes the upswing is real. Tastings in the US are attracting far more attention, and sommeliers and wine importers are opening their doors to Australia once again. And the wines they’re most interested in are the modern style of crisp, elegant wines of the kind the Yarra Valley produces. “I’ve always believed that Australia simply made too many good wines to be out of fashion for long,” he wrote. “Now it seems like the upswing is on its way.” Webber never doubted for a moment that the more elegant Yarra style of wine was Australia’s future. He’s still pointing at his vines, declaring this one a rock star, that one a potential rock star. And that old, gnarly vine in the middle of the row? Webber smiles. “No,” he says. “That one’s a porn star.” This article first appeared in Meininger’s Wine Business International.

New fungicide ticks the box for Adelaide Hills grower THE flexibility of the new DuPont Talendo fungicide made it an excellent fit in the spray program last season for Brenton Willsmore at Kerbrook in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. “It ticks all the boxes for us and gives us flexibility which is what I look for,” Willsmore said. “I work very closely with Farmer John’s and our agronomist always keeps us up to date with what is new and available. I liked the idea of Talendo because it gave us a big window to use it. From after budburst to prior to harvest because of the shorter withholding period. I sat down with the agronomist and went over our previous year’s spray program and Talendo fitted the bill really well. We cut some of the other products out and substituted Talendo in.” Willsmore said they had 17 ha of vineyard planted to Shiraz, Cabernet, Merlot, Riesling and Chardonnay. “We supply to Treasury Estates,” he said. “All our fruit goes to them and we’ve been contracted to them since we started. Grapes from the red varieties are used to supply some of the higher-end Penfolds wine labels.

42 Grapegrower & Winemaker

“We know which product it is going to, which helps us manage our vineyard,” Willsmore said. “That is one of our strengths, we are lucky, we do get our GLO’s (Grower Liaison Officer) and the winemakers out here and they are interested in working with us.” He said Powdery mildew could cause problems in the vineyard and was of particular concern two years before, during the wet 2011 season. “I probably didn’t put the emphasis on my spray program. I was spraying every 12 to 14 days and didn’t put enough thought into, not only the amount of chemical I was going to use, but to have it on hand. We ran into a bit of strife with both powdery and downy mildew and we couldn’t access the chemicals that I wanted to use to control it so I had to use what was available. Therefore we had, probably, a bit more disease in the vineyard than I would have liked.” Last year he bought stocks of Talendo fungicide at the start of the season to ensure it was on hand when needed. “I did three sprays of Talendo under the recommendation of the agronomist,” Willsmore said. Two of www.winebiz.com.au

the sprays were applied early in the season one after another, to achieve maximum protection and the third late in the season to take advantage of the shorter withholding period of the product. “My Chardonnay, which is the lower block, always gets powdery mildew in one area or another. I closed my sprays up and was operating at a seven-to-ten day spray interval, depending on the weather. I didn’t find any powdery this year,” Willsmore said. “I know that you have your five percent tolerance with powdery, but as soon as your GLO sees it, obviously the alarm bells start to ring. I just used Chardonnay as the example because it gets it easier than any of our other varieties, so we aim for a zero tolerance on powdery, especially, because prevention is better than cure. In the Hills we always get the wet, dewy nights. Even in December and January, you get wet, dewy nights, so powdery is always an issue.” Willsmore said he would definitely use Talendo again this season and likes to try new products as they are coming through the system. October 2014 – Issue 609

grapegrowing

When the going gets tough Anyone can manage a vineyard in low pest and disease pressure years, but Ben Rose says it takes a good winegrower to be able to come through a tough season and not be impacted by disease. EVERYBODY remembers the build up to the 2011 vintage for high-disease pressure year, but since then some growers have become complacent. There has been some powdery mildew in some regions each year, and little downy mildew early, but very little botrytis activity. However, the 2014 season ended up being one where disease pressure, particularly for botrytis near harvest, was high. There were many blocks rejected due to high botrytis levels expressed on split berries (greater than three or five percent) with very obvious mycelium, or as a latent or ‘slip skin’ which was less obvious until bunches were touched. Pro-active pest and disease management appears to be becoming a thing of the past. While the expense of pest and disease control continues to increase, there is also pressure to reduce vineyard management costs. However, the reactive approach, 'I will do something when I see a problem', also carries high risk, particularly for downy mildew and botrytis. The best option is a combination of both measures, proactive and reactive, using the best-available information when it comes time for decisions to be made. This year, I believe many growers could be excused for thinking flowering botryticide was not required, as the best available information suggested a dry end to the season, and in some areas it was. Let’s take a look at downy mildew. This should not be viewed as a way to reduce a potential high crop load into something less (which is an excuse I have heard many growers use); it is unpredictable and carries high risk. Downy mildew can be controlled easily once a primary infection occurs. It pays to remember the 10:10:24 rule for a primary infection… 10mm of rain, greater than 10C in a 24 hour period, which more specifically requires wet soil for at least 16 hours, three-to-five millimeters of rain or irrigation and greater than 10C. Once you see lots of oil spots, the secondary infection (greater than 95% humidity, greater than 13C with four hours of darkness and wet leaves for two-to-three hours) can be very difficult to control. Most of the products available for downy mildew control can only be used twice during a season, so what to do when you have 10 primary infections in spring? A pro-active approach requires canopy management (specifically, keeping it open) and the use of the right chemicals at the right times (generally, prior to an event to minimise the risk of infection). If a proactive approach cannot be undertaken, the fallback is a reactive

OIL SPOT: Downey mildew infection. Photo: James Hook.

approach, and given time constraints some growers may opt for a reactive approach from the start. But, if the reaction is not quick enough (generally oil spots appear within two-to-five days from a primary infection) it may be too late. Take another example, Botrytis. A latent infection of botrytis can occur anytime between flowering and harvest. The infection can enter through damage to the skin of the berry, and will sit dormant until the prevailing weather conditions promote expression. Normally, this is when the sugar level reaches 12 Baume and the weather is warm and wet or humid (right before harvest). Once an infection occurs it is extremely difficult to contain, so this is a case where prevention is far better than trying to control an outbreak. There are some products which effectively mask or hide the infection, by reducing the appearance of mycelium on the grapes, which results in apparent disease control… but it is still present in the berries. With the high cost of prevention and control, it is important to get the basics right. Good vineyard and canopy management is crucial – allow airflow through the vineyard and the grapevines. All too often I see vineyards with tall grass in the mid row during high pressure disease periods (and in some I see tall weeds under the grapevines too), which severely restricts airflow in the vineyard. Dense and unmanaged canopies contribute further to increase disease risk. Dense wind breaks around vineyards also minimise airflow and increase disease

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44 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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Zinc deficiency

Manganese deficiency

Iron deficiency

Magnesium deficiency October 2014 – Issue 609

BUNCH ROT: Botrytis cinerea mycelium growth.

SLIP SKIN: Botrytis cinerea as a latent infection.

risk. Pest and disease control relies on the ‘four T’ approach (and applies for all spraying, whether commercial, biodynamic or organic). • TARGET: Ask yourself what you want to do. Are the conditions likely to be conducive to infection? • TREATMENT: What treatment will you use? Is canopy management an option? Will you apply a pro-active, preventative spray (pre-infection) or a re-active, control spray (post-infection)? • TIMING: Each pest and disease has a lifecycle; we try to prevent the lifecycle from starting, or interrupt the lifecycle once it has started. The lifecycle can be weather dependent (as for downy mildew). There may also be higher risks of infection at different stages of the season. For example, early-season powdery mildew prevention is critical; botrytis and downy mildew prevention is critical at flowering; while

bunch closure is also a critical time for Botrytis prevention. • TECHNIQUE: This must be dynamic and will depend on the pest/disease. Canopy management will work early, but is difficult later in the season. Spraying can be effective, but is dependent on correct rates, correct water volumes and correct ground speed for good penetration. To make sure the ‘four T’ approach works, you must understand each pest or disease you try to control. There are lots of good books on pest and disease control and a lot of information available on the internet. Think about how to best make use of the ‘four T’ approach and you will reduce cost, risk and heart burn this season. For more information, contact: Ben Rose P: 61 (0)418 86 773 E: ben@performanceviticulture.com.au

Softer, Stronger, longer • Soft on beneficial insects • Strong on LBAM • 21 day residual efficacy For more information call 1800 700 096 www.dowagrosciences.com.au

®™ Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow.

October 2014 – Issue 609

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grapegrowing

Quick advice for a slow-moving pest Michael Nash, South Australian Research and Development Institute entomologist, looks at some of the smaller problems causing trouble in vineyards around the country. SNAILS continue to be a minor problem in viticulture with four exotic pest species causing issues in Australia. Across mainland Australia the white Italian snail and the vineyard snail (hereafter referred to as round snails) are most prevalent, while the common garden snail is widespread in Tasmania. Damage in ‘normal’ seasons is to buds and newly-developing shoots in cool, moist weather conditions. In extreme cases, damage to leaves of susceptible varieties may limit the amount of sugars produced and delay harvest, but generally, snails only pose a threat at harvest due to contamination of fruit. This article presents basic information derived from other industries and insights for grape growers aiming to control pest snails. Snails are hermaphrodites; hence both mating individuals can produce eggs that are laid in batches into moist soil. All snails have the ability to delay breeding when conditions are dry, so lifecycles are often delayed until the second season when adults breed during winter. Common garden snails can take two years to reach maturity, depending on available calcium. Although all snails require moist environments to feed and breed, each has specific biology (Table 1) that determines when they are active, what time they breed and when they are most likely to pose threats. Snail activity should be monitored in the vineyard before any bait application to give an estimate of densities and behaviour. This needs to be after nocturnal activity on moist mornings in areas where they seek refuge, such as the base of trunks in/under guards. Guidelines developed for the grains industry suggest placing a 10 square centimetre quadrat on the ground to count all live snails within it (see Bash’em, Bait’em Burn’em for details). However, snail behaviour in response to environmental conditions often sees them aggregate on posts and move up into vine canopies; so direct searching of vine canopies can be highly effective later in the season. Recent monitoring of round snails in grain crops indicates movement onto the ground when relative humidity is above 90 per cent, even when temperatures are >40C, thus it is suspected snails will move under vine canopies even

46 Grapegrower & Winemaker

during the summer when the soil is moist (i.e. after irrigation). However, summer movement has not been strongly associated with feeding. Generally the practice of shaking vines to dislodge individuals from the canopy in the summer will see snails respond by moving back into the canopy without feeding. Baiting success is highly dependent on environmental conditions and snail activity, hence the need for monitoring to determine when individuals are actively feeding.

Pest & Disease

CHEMICAL CONTROL: BAITS Baiting is still the most effective chemical control method, with adults more easily controlled than juveniles. Control should be before snails move into the vine canopy seeking either improved food quality or in response to changes in the weather. The recommendation is to apply baits after opening rains from March onwards, before egg laying during the winter. Timely bait application should limit the build-up of populations that will move into canopies the following spring. More than 40 molluscicide bait products are registered for use on the Australian market, however only seven are registered for use in viticulture. Products either contain the active ingredient metaldehyde (Meta, Metarex, Pestmaster, Slug Out and Slugger) or iron EDTA complex (Multiguard). Both are recommended as part of an integrated pest management approach due to no reported impacts on beneficials. Iron phosphate (e.g. Ferramol) is accredited under NASAA guidelines for use in organic systems, however is not registered for use in viticulture nor is as effective as similar products containing iron ETDA complexes. Metaldehyde is better suited to warmer conditions with recent research indicating baits are broken down by temperature, microbial activity and moisture, with cheaper bran-based products (Meta) having the shortest environmental life (1-2 weeks). Under wet conditions (> 10mm rain) this efficacy is reduced further. Overseas, 30mm was shown to decrease metaldehyde effectiveness and more recent Australian trials under summer temperatures (>40C) indicated www.winebiz.com.au

efficacy declines rapidly. In the same trial, Multiguard’s (six percent Iron EDTA complex) efficacy was not influenced by temperature, but a 50 per cent decrease in control of white Italian snails was observed where pellets where exposed to >10mm rainfall. Reduced efficacy of Multiguard has been recorded with spring applications in Australian citrus. Weather conditions inf luence the environmental breakdown of metaldehyde and iron EDTA products, with the metaldehyde products made using flour extruded under high pressure (Metarex) lasting longer (i.e. 3-4 weeks) under moist conditions. Bait application must coincide with periods of high feeding activity, which is under moist but not excessively wet weather. Control efficacy often varies due to an interaction between multiple factors that influence both the chance of a pellet being encountered by an individual snail and then that individual actually consuming a lethal dose of active ingredient. At present, manual shaking of vines is being employed to get snails onto the ground before baiting in clumps October 2014 – Issue 609

around the trunks. Because snails are not thought to be feeding on the ground during late spring/summer when this treatment is employed, this practice is not recommended. Further, metaldehyde is toxic to dogs, so placing baits in piles increases the likelihood of collateral damage. To ensure adequate chance of encounter by snails, baits must be broadcast at a rate that ensures >50 pellets m-1 when individuals are actively feeding. So if there are 100,000 baits per kilogram of product, five kilograms need to be applied per hectare. Where severe infestations occur (more than 80 snails per square metre), then rates need to be increased accordingly to ensure enough bait is available for consumption. Recommendations for overseas state “application rates in bait pellets per unit area should in general exceed the estimated numbers of pest molluscs”, however up to 27 snails have been killed by one pellet. The determinants are a complex matrix of individual, bait and environmental factors that influence baiting performance that, with the exception of uniformity of bait distribution and field degradation of active ingredient are likely to be species specific.

At A glAnce: • Snail damage in ‘normal’ seasons is to buds and newly developing shoots in cool moist weather conditions. • All snails have the ability to delay breeding when conditions are dry, so lifecycles are often delayed until the second season when adults breed during winter. • Snail activity should be monitored in the vineyard before any bait application to give an estimate of densities and behaviour. • Pest control strategies can only be based on a sound biological understanding of the pests and the systems in which they reside.

stubble); • Baits per unit area; • Application rate (dependent on population density); • Uniformity of distribution (spreader performance/calibration for specific bait type); • Proportion of bare ground; • Ingestion of lethal dose; • Palatability of bait; • Product formulation; • ‘Hardness’; • Field degradation (e.g. fungal antifeedant effect, loss of physical integrity); • Quantity of bait; • Bait size; • Kilograms per hectare; • Adequate active ingredient; • Formulation; and • Field degradation (possible factors; temperature, UV, moisture, microbial).

CHEMICAL CONTROL: COPPER • • • • • • •

These factors are listed: Chance of encounter; Level of individuals’ activity; Weather; Life-stage/physiological/species; Attractiveness of bait; Product formulation; Alternate food (green plant and

Copper sprays are often applied for the control of snails; however the active ingredient has to be absorbed through their foot to cause mortality. Generally sprays act as a repellent because individuals do not like to crawl across areas treated recently to avoid contact with irritants, such as metal salts.

We heard it through the grapevine mildew is one of the many worries in the vineyard. “Powdery With Mycloss Xtra I feel confident, even with the adverse weather conditions, I have now waved that worry away.” ™

Phil Dolan, Kimberley TAS

has consigned it to a worry of the past with effective control “ofLegend one of the more difficult diseases we have to contend with. ” ™

Ian MacMillan, Tinlins Wines, McLaren Vale SA

• Excellent control in all weather conditions • 14 days withholding period • Vapour activity • Legend – Group 13; Mycloss – Group 3 For more information call 1800 700 096 www.dowagrosciences.com.au

®™ Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) or an affiliated company of Dow.

October 2014 – Issue 609

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

grapegrowing Table 1. Known biology of pest snails Common name

Species

Size (mm)

Optimum °C [activity]

Moisture required for activity

Soil conditions

Rainfall(mm)

Number of eggs / pair

Life span

White Italian snail

Theba pisana (Müller)*

10-30

19?[?-44]

1-5mm rain

Sandy alkaline High calcium

300-450

678-3050

Upto 2 years

Vineyard snail

Cernuella virgata (Da Costa)*

10-20

1-5mm rain

Sandy alkaline High calcium

300-450

upto 3240

Upto 2 years

Small pointed snail

Prietocella barbara (L.)*

8-10

1-5mm rain

>500

upto 800

Upto 2 years

Common Garden snail

Cantareus aspersus (Müller)* (Syn. Helix aspersa)

25-40

800-1500

5000 when farmed

3-5 years

5-21

Loam pH 7.5-8 High calcium

? denotes estimation

The copper complex Escar-go (Copper Silicate and Acetic Acid) is registered for use during vine dormancy to control snails. Trials in both WA and Victorian canola crops using copper silicate applied as a spray failed to reduce small pointed snail populations. The use of copper silicate sprays applied during winter would not limit snail infestations of vine canopies at harvest. Copper (e.g. Bordeaux) applied as a fungicide does limit snail population, so copper fungicides need to be considered as part of an integrated control snails. In theory timing of bait application to coincide with a copper fungicide application should improve efficacy of baiting, however a trial using copper cuprous oxide applied to wheat at grain fill, which reduced slug populations in the canopy by 50 per cent, did not improve the efficacy of baiting applied directly after that application. Trials looking at the interaction between fungicides and baits specific to viticulture are needed. The use of caffeine has been considered to control snails, but like copper sprays, high concentrations are generally needed, and vine damage can occur when these are above 5 per cent. It is not recommended to use un-trialled sprays applied to the canopy in an attempt to exclude snails due to plant damage and unknown residue limits effecting end products.

BARRIERS Snail aversion to movement across irritants such as wood ash, salts and various metals, including copper barriers leads to barriers being proposed to prevent snail movement into vine canopies. Copper bands could prevent snail movement into orange tree canopies for up to two years, although efficacy was dependent on band type. Reinvading populations of vineyard snail were reduced from 80-per-vine to 40-per-vine in one row where vines were banded with commercially available copper tape. Copper silicate granules applied to the base of vine trunks failed to reduce common garden snails in vine

48 Grapegrower & Winemaker

canopies and copper silicate sprayed onto citrus trunks failed to act as a barrier. The use of copper acting as a barrier to prevent snail movement into vine canopies is not a cost effective solution, but other materials may provide a solution.

CULTURAL CONTROL Cultural control provides an important component of an integrated approach to snail control. Cultivation between vine rows will limit moist refuges and food resources, as will the removal of broadleaf weeds. Thus removal of food resources at ground level through the winter will help limit populations and improve the efficacy of baiting.

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL Encouragement of generalist predators, such as flatworms and nematodes, within the vineyards will help limit snail populations, but will never eliminate snails. Native species of nematode have been found to burrow into snails and release bacteria with mortality greater than 90 per cent observed in laboratory trials within 10 days of the nematodes being placed with snails, but commercialisation is yet to be successful. Trials of an exotic parasitic fly from Spain for the biological control of pointed snails in grains met with limited success. Snails are preyed upon by variety birds such as starlings, crows and all forms of poultry, but ducks or geese are not recommended in home gardens due to trampling and fouling of vegetables. Ducks have been suggested for the control of aquatic Golden Apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata) in Asian rice paddies stocked at a rate of five-to-10 per hectare, with a cross between Khaki Campbell and Mallard showing the greatest preference for feeding on snails reducing densities from five, to less than one per square metre. Ducks feeding on snails under vines would be unlikely to soil grapes, so would be well suited as a biological control in organic viticulture once feeding preferences were worked out. www.winebiz.com.au

CONCLUSION Pest control strategies can only be based on a sound biological understanding of the pests and the systems in which they reside. The need is to combine current control strategies (chemical, cultural and biological) with new strategies, such as those being developed for other agricultural industries. Snail control needs to be proactive with this autumn’s snail population being next harvest’s problem. Baits should be spread under vines from March onwards when snails are actively feeding, while the floor is relatively bare and free from green weeds that act as alternative food to bait. Maintaining low snail populations over the winter by removing weed hosts and follow up baiting may be needed. Copper sprays, used as fungicides, will help limit snail populations being more cost effective than those applied solely as a molluscicide. Trying to control populations in the canopy prior to harvest is too late; the best you can hope for is keeping them out of the bin. Snail control is a numbers game so keep at it with a variety of control methods. For more information contact: Michael Nash P: 61 8 8303 9537 E: Michael.Nash@sa.gov.au

REFERENCES:

“Bash ‘Em, Burn ‘Em, Bait ‘Em. Integrated snail management in crops and pastures.” Lenard E., Baker G., Hopkins D. (2003) Adelaide, SARDI. http:// www.grdc.com.au/uploads/documents/Snails%20 BBB.pdf “Snails - pests of viticulture” Fisher D., Learmonth S. (2007) WA Department of Agriculture and Food http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_assets/ content/hort/vit/pw/snails.pdf “Snail monitoring in vineyards – getting started “ Lush A. (June 2008) The Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker Pg. 34 http://www. lushlogic.com.au/sg_userfiles/Feature_article.pdf “Crush snail problem with targeted approach: Moist season increases risk of pest damage” Nash M., Thomson L. (January 2012) The Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker Issue 576 Pg. 26-28

October 2014 – Issue 609

Disrupt mating season to reduce pesticides for two years after implementing mating – who has been involved with mating THE light brown apple moth (LBAM) disruption pheromones, but have since disruption in Australia since its inception. is a serious pest across Australia. stopped due to consistent, very low However, synthetic formulations of the Shin-Etsu is the original manufacturer LBAM numbers. Using mating disruption sex pheromone of LBAM, when applied of Isomate branded products and the pheromones at De Bortoli Wines fits well over a large area, results in confused products are now sold under their own with our biological farming philosophy, male moths that struggle to find a female brand name. During a recent visit to giving us a target-specific control of a – resulting in very few fertile eggs being Australia, Senoh explained that Shinsignificant pest. laid. Etsu MD LBAM dispensers release “The pheromones allow us to use The mating disruption of the LBAM pheromone equivalent to thousands of broadleaf nitrogen fixers in our interuses an imitation of the female moth’s female moths. row without concerns we will create an pheromone, or chemical sex attractant, “It is vital that the dispensers are overwintering site for LBAM. Pheromones and results in a drastic reduction in adult placed in the field before the emergence reduce our need for botrytis chemical LBAM numbers within the treated areas. of moths. When you are too late and skip control and they remove a chemical from De Bortoli Wines in the Yarra Valley has controlling the first flight of moths, the the tank mix around flowering. We can been using mating disruption technology population of the next generation becomes also increase pheromone density on the with success according to Rob Sutherland, higher,” Senoh said. “It may become too vineyard edge or in problem varieties its viticultural manager – responsible for high to control by mating disruption only. and decrease density in central blocks or 240 hectares of vines at the Dixons Creek A late placement of dispensers will lead less susceptible varieties. After four years and Brooklands properties. to poor results and is not recommended. of using mating disruption pheromones “We have been using the mating The release rate of pheromone from the I have no hesitation in recommending disruption pheromones since 2010 across dispensers depends on temperature. The their use to control LBAM for the entire all our vineyards in the Yarra Valley. The release of pheromone from the dispensers season.” pheromones are attached just prior to in early spring is very limited because of budburst and provide LBAM protection lower temperatures in spring. Therefore, To get the best results out of mating for the entire season – no overspray the early placement of the dispensers will disruption, it is important to have the has been required,” Sutherland says. not mean ‘waste’ of pheromone.” dispensers in the field early, according 3 3 9 1 4 _ v 2 _ C R T 1 4 S u mi t . p d f Pa ge 1 2 / 0 9 / 1 4 , 1 1 : 1 8 AM “We continued LBAM trap monitoring to Hiroyuki Senoh from Shin-Etsu Japan

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PHOTO COMPE TITION Submit your healthy vines and vineyard photos to win one of 2 prizes Winner: 1 x GoPro Hero3+ camera and winning photo will appear on the front cover of the Grapegrower & Winemaker January 2015 issue 10 additional finalists: Each will receive an Adama branded RM Williams vest

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To enter you must be a Grapegrower & Winemaker subscriber. Email your photo with your name, address and contact number to: journalist@winetitles.com.au. Use the subject line: Adama/GW Photo Comp. Photos must supplied in a jpeg format and be a minimum of 300dpi and 5MB in size. To subscribe and for full terms and conditions visit www.winebiz.com.au/gwm Terms & conditions: the competition will consist of 11 prizes. The first prize is a 1 x GoPro Hero3+ Black Edition camera, retail value of $529 inc GST as at 15/9/14. 10 additional finalists will receive an Adama branded RM Williams vest (either the Wilpena or Patterson creek styles) valued at $99 inc GST each (as at 15/9/14) to the size and style specified. In the event the Wilpena Creek and/or Patterson Creek vests cannot be supplied in the sizes requested, alternative RM Williams styles will be supplied with similar values. The competition will be open to all new and existing Australian subscribers to the Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker. The winners must be able to provide an Australian based delivery address for delivery of the prizes. Employees, contractors or family of Winetitles/Ryan Media and Adama Australia Pty Ltd are not eligible to enter the competition. The prizes offered are not redeemable or transferable for cash. The 1st prize winner and finalists will be judged by a Winetitles panel based on photo submissions that depict healthy vines and/or vineyards. The 1st prize winning photo will be featured on the cover of the Grapegrower & Winemaker January 2015 edition. The copyright of the entire photo prior to entry must be held by the entrant or the entrant must have written authority to submit the photograph for the competition. It is the responsibility of the entrant to seek all permissions required for the image to win under the entrantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name, and for the display and publication of the entry. Winetitles reserves the right to request evidence of such authorities or consents. By entering the competition entrants agree to provide Winetitles with permission to use the images for the competition and other print and online media as required. Entries will be sent to Winetitles Pty Ltd and remain the property of Winetitles Pty Ltd. Competition start date will be the 6th October 2014. Final date for competition entries to be received will be 30th November 2014. For full terms and conditions visit www.winebiz.com.au/Adama-GW-Comp-TCs.

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52 Grapegrower & Winemaker

How much do viruses in your vines cost you? In July, the Barossa Grape and Wine Association, brought experts together for an intensive workshop for grapegrowers and viticulturists on ‘grafting and replanting vineyards’. In this report we look at Nuredin Habili’s presentation on grapevine viruses. WHAT is a virus? A virus is a piece of replicating genetic material (DNA or RNA) protected by an encoded coat protein (CP) that lives within the infected host cell. Viruses can cause disease by disturbing the normal metabolic pathways of the cell. Unlike most cellular pathogens, which are unable to enter the cells and thereby can often be controlled by spraying, viruses, being a host cell tenant, cannot be controlled by spraying. We make use of the chemical properties of viruses in order to develop diagnostics kits for their identification. The CP is used to immunise animals and produce antibodies which are then used in diagnosis based on the serological properties of viral protein. We also make use of its genetic makeup of RNA or DNA to produce specific primers for virus detection by an assay called ‘polymerase chain reaction’ or PCR which was invented in early 1980s. Nowadays, for virus testing, Waite Diagnostics makes use of the better reproducibility, robustness and sensitivity of PCR and has stopped using ELISA as we experienced a lot of false positive results. Besides, unlike PCR which can cover reliable and sensitive detection of more than 15 viruses as well as phytoplasmas and Pierce’s Disease, ELISA can satisfactorily detect two

viruses with high reliability (GLRaV-1 and GLRaV-3).

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF GRAPEVINE VIRUSES Out of 65 viruses so far detected in the grapevine, only about a dozen are considered to be economically important. Depending on the variety and even the country, the impact of a specific virus may vary. GVA is symptomless in Chardonnay or even in Cabernet Sauvignon, but when it is grafted with the Shiraz bud wood a disease known as Shiraz Disease appears down the track. In McLaren Vale, six years after grafting Shiraz onto GVA positive Chardonnay a yield loss of up to 98 per cent was recorded (Figure 4). It is not surprising that while GVA causes Shiraz Disease in Australia as well as in South Africa, its impact in Germany is trivial (Ipach, U., 2012, personal communication). We know at least three strains of GVA are present, and it appears the most severe of these (strain II) occurs in Australia as well as South Africa (Goszczynski and Habili, 2011). Viruses which have been given demerit points of six and above are the most threatening ones and must be watched for (see Table 1). GFkV which may be

Table 1. Economic impact of grapevine viruses Virus

Economic impact (1-10)1

Notes

GLRaV-1

Inferior wine quality

GLRaV-2

Affects grafting

GLRaV-3

Inferior wine, spreads Mild LR group

GLRaV-4

GLRaV-4-5

GLRaV-4-6*

Not Known

GLRaV-7*

Not Known

GFkV

Not Known

May affect grafting

GLRaV-4-9

Mild LR group

GVA

Shiraz Disease

GVB*

Corky Bark

GRBaV*

All over the USA

GVCV*

Not Known

Mid-west of the USA

1The demerit points given to viruses show the degree of the impact of each virus on vine: 1 = nil; 10 = highest economic impact; LR = leafroll *Not detected in Australia www.winebiz.com.au

October 2014 – Issue 609

Figure 2: Testing for viruses using ELISA. Out of 96 samples loaded in this ELISA plate only five samples were positive for GRLaV-3. Figure 1: Cane scrapings containing a high dose of phloem-limited viruses are used in the extraction of RNA and DNA for virus detection.

associated with graft incompatibility must not be present in any rootstock variety sourced by the industry. However, anecdotal evidence suggests GFkV, which is routinely detected in Pinot Noir clone 777 and in Merlot clone D3V14, does not have any adverse effect on top-working. Grapevine varieties differ in their tolerance to viruses, which means vines may be inundated with viruses yet not show any symptoms (for example: Viognier clone 1968/CX/Montpellier; Bonfiglioli et al., 1999). When it comes to top-working an important factor to keep in mind is the degree of tolerance of vine varieties to viruses.

Generally, non-Vinifera rootstocks and most white varieties are symptomless to viruses, while reds show a range of sensitivity. Shiraz, which is the most popular red variety, is also the most sensitive to viruses showing severe symptoms (see Figures 4 and 5). On the other hand, Cabernet is more tolerant to viruses than Shiraz (Figure 5). By a careful look at Figure 5 one can deduce if a Chardonnay vine is infected with GVA (no symptom) it can be grafted with a bud wood from Cabernet Sauvignon or Grenache (no symptom), but not with Shiraz or any other variety positioned on the far right of the figure.

Figure 3: Testing Cabernet Sauvignon samples for Grapevine virus A (GVA). White PCR bands are shown by the arrow on the top row indicating a positive signal. Out of 60 samples tested in three rows, 29 samples were positive.

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Figure 4: Shiraz top-worked on GVA infected Chardonnay became unproductive at McLaren Vale, South Australia, 2012, and had to be removed.

Insidious viruses in healthy looking vines are those which cause problems following top-working.

VIRUS PROFILE OF A VINE HELPS IN A CLONAL IDENTIFICATION When a virus finds itself into a new vine following grafting or via an insect vector (usually mealybugs) it will remain in that vine for generations. This feature will become a benchmark for the identification of the vine if it is somehow selected as a ‘desirable’ clone (Bonfiglioli et al., 1999). For example, clone D3V14 of Merlot always comes with GFkV and GRSPaV. If a local clone of Merlot is tested positive for these two viruses, most probably its clone is D3V14. Another example is Cabernet Sauvignon clone SA125, which is marked by having these three viruses: GRSPaV, GVA and GLRaV4-9. Most grapevine clones have GRSPaV as a background virus and we haven’t noticed any problem associated with this virus even after grafting. Over hundreds of years of viticultural practices including vine propagation and

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Figure 5: A spectrum showing the position of grapevine varieties relative to their tolerance to viruses. Very sensitive vines show most severe virus symptoms.

grafting, as well as natural spreads by insects, viruses have settled in vines in various combinations which can vary from one variety to the next. Here, we present some data on virus combinations observed in three premium wine varieties in Australia: Chardonnay: In one case study, 58 samples of Chardonnay sent from a single grower in Victoria were analysed for 12 viruses (Habili and Randles, 2002). Of these, 48 per cent had only one virus (GRSPaV) while the rest had other viruses either singly or as mixed virus species (Figure 6). A desirable source of Chardonnay has only GRSPaV, a virus which keeps coming back even after its elimination by tissue culture. However, while the plants are maintained in a greenhouse they will remain virus free (Habili et al., 2014). As can be seen (Figure 6) 11 per cent of these vines contain GVA without showing any symptom. However, if Shiraz is grafted over them, a steady deterioration of the

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54 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Shiraz vines will follow which may take up to six years (Figure 4). Cabernet Sauvignon: The load of viruses detected in Cabernet Sauvignon, the second most popular red variety after Shiraz, was even more alarming. More than 60 per cent of the 327 samples tested were carrying three or more viruses. This clearly shows a genuine vine certification program has not been implemented in Australia. An ideal program will elevate the rate of 28 per cent for GRSPaV in the pie (Figure 7) to at least 80 per cent, while reducing the rate of additional viruses present in the source blocks. Shiraz: Being a sensitive variety to viruses, Shiraz works as a self-indicator. This means growers are reluctant to select propagating cuttings from a virus-infected Shiraz canopy which often carries unlignified wood. This is probably why the presence of three and more viruses in this variety is 33 per cent

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Figure 7: Virus profiles in Cabernet Sauvignon samples.

Figure 6: Viruses detected in various combinations in Chardonnay samples sent from the same grower in Victoria.

as compared to 61 per cent in the more virus-tolerant, Cabernet Sauvignon (Figures 7 & 8).

STRATEGIC PLANTINGS Growers can make use of the high susceptibility of Shiraz to viruses, by planting a few vines of this variety around the blocks of virus-tolerant white varieties as a means to warn them of a virus outbreak following an invasion of insect vectors. If, for example, the block is planted with Chardonnay, which does not easily show virus symptoms, the buffer Shiraz vines with its spectacular symptoms (Figure 4) will certainly inform growers of an imminent outbreak. How many vines per hectare should be tested before topworking? Ideally 0.24 per cent of the vines in a varietal block should be randomly selected for testing. One 20cm cane from each of five vines will make one composite sample. The canes should be selected from the middle to bottom of the shoots which have the longest internodes. Five canes each with two internodes or three buds will be enough to send to the lab for testing.

CONCLUSION Before making decisions on purchasing established vineyards make sure the contract is subject to a recent virus health report, in which PCR has been used and the report clearly indicates that at least the following viruses were not detected in the vineyard: GLRaV-1, -2 and -3, GVA, GVB and GRBaV. Fortunately, to this date, two of these, GVB (associated with corky bark) and GRBaV, have not been detected in Australia.

Figure 8: Virus profiles in Shiraz samples (total number of samples =138; V = virus)

For more information contact: Nuredin Habili Waite Diagnostics, The University of Adelaide P: 61 8 8313 7426 E: nuredin.habili@adelaide.edu.au

REFERENCES:

Bonfiglioli, R. Habili, N. Rosa, C. and Symons, R. H. 1999. Viognier: Its viruses and its clonal identification. The Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker: 424 23-26. Goszczynski, D. E. and Habili, N. 2011. Grapevine virus A variants of group II associated with Shiraz disease in South Africa are present in plants affected by Australian Shiraz disease, and have also been detected in the USA. Plant Pathology 61: 205-214. Habili, N. and Randles, J. W. 2002. Developing a standardised sampling protocol for consistent detection of grapevine viruses by the PCR assay. The Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker 464: 88-92. Habili, N. Wu, Q. Davies, R. Malk, H. N. and Randles, J. W. 2014. Evidence for the natural spread of Grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus in South Australia. 11th Australasian Plant Virology Workshop, 13-15th August 2014. Brisbane, Australia.

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Stuck in the net:

The benefits of bird netting Bird netting can be a tricky topic for grapegrowers to tackle because the characteristics and benefits can be Bird hard to understand and measure. Control From estimating costs, to questions about installation and storage, Grapegrower & Winemaker has sought answers to the most common questions and concerns. If you are considering bird netting, this article will provide knowledge to assist in making important choices. The costs involved outweigh what we think is an acceptable loss. Brent Ettridge (BE): “If your nets are going to last you 10 or 15 years, over time they will pay for themselves.” Phillip Meehan (PM): “This depends entirely on the size of the vineyard. A rule of thumb would be – if it’s more than 20 acres it’s probably not worth netting. In short, for an annual outlay of $1600 applying and retrieving nets, with a further capitol cost of $10,000 amortized over 10 years results in annual cost of about $2600 to net 10 acres. This saves us at a very minimum 4 - 6 tonne of fruit with a value of $9000 – in some years a lot more.” Everything you need to know about bird netting (EYNTK): “If nets are stored and treated with care, the life should range from five to more than 15 years, depending on the grade of net.” Greg Hobbs (GH): “Until you put the nets on you are only guessing how much of your crop has been taken by birds. I remember when Chris Ringland first got his nets next door; he said he expected it to take about five years to cover the costs. Well it ended up being more like a season-and-a-half.” Managing bird damage to fruit and other horticultural crops (MBD): “Exclusion netting using drape-over or permanent nets has high up-front costs but may be appropriate where highvalue crops are at risk of widespread damage. If maintained, netting with ultraviolet stabilisers can provide between five and 10 years of protection. The decision to net is mainly an economic one. Will the increase in returns from excluding birds be beneficial over the life of the netting? As an example, costbenefit analyses on vineyard netting suggest that drape-over nets are cost-effective when damage is consistently greater than

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56 Grapegrower & Winemaker

At A glAnce: To get a broad view on this topic Grapegrower & Winemaker has spoken to Brent Ettridge, Vine Nets Australia managing director; Phillip Meehan, Heathcote’s Meehan Vineyard; Greg Hobbs, Hobbs of Barossa Ranges; and consulted publications from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (Managing bird damage to fruit and other horticultural crops) and Vine Nets Australia (Everything you need to know about bird netting).

10 per cent and permanent nets are cost-effective when damage is over 25 per cent. The value of the crop and the practicalities of netting must be considered.”

We don’t know how to calculate the cost-per-hectare, so we don’t know how to budget for nets. PM: “Ask your supplier – netting costs about $3000 an acre with application costs of about $100 an acre.” EYNTK: “Suppliers of vine nets generally offer a free estimation service. As there are many variables in each particular situation, it is difficult to accurately estimate quantities. When comparing quotes to cover a particular area, be sure that the square metres of netting are the same in all quotes. Many quotes have been accepted based on total price for a particular area, only to discover that insufficient coverage has been allowed for by the cheapest quote. It is advisable to compare your quotes on the basis of price per square metre.” To calculate an approximate cost for your budgeting requirements simply work out: ‘length of netting x width required x cents per square metre’

We’re also worried about all the extra costs of clips, caps and repairs. BE: “A lot of vineyards don’t actually require any clips or caps. The nets are usually put out when the canopy is fully developed and it holds the net up. Most nets are also made with extra width to stretch out past the base of the vines and will actually be held in place by what’s growing in the mid row. The ongoing costs are minimal compared to the savings you can make.” PM: “I’ve been netting for more than 12 years, the best method

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October 2014 – Issue 609

of securing nets is to tie them at the base of vine posts. As far as post caps are concerned, we have actually removed them. The roughish post end prohibits net ‘slip’ from wind and assists in reducing net movement.

We are not surrounded by bushland, so we don’t think there are many birds here. BE: “It can be hard to tell if birds are going to be a problem or not. Natural food sources vary from year-to-year, so the distance birds travel to feed also changes.” GH: “In 2014 we had 10 rows of Viognier without nets and six rows with nets. There was a lot more fruit from the six rows with the nets, it was nearly double what came from the 10 rows without nets. I assume the bird damage was worse in 2014 because of the large bushfire that spread across the Eden Valley in January. I guess the fire took away natural food sources for the local bird population.” PM: “You only need to look at the migratory patterns of the Silvereye, and the habitual ‘stripping’ conducted by Sulphur Crested Cockatoos to realise this doesn’t matter.”

Our vineyards are located in a densely-planted region, so we are not isolated enough to worry about bird damage. BE: “We’ve seen people use their nets as extra insurance, in some cases we know that people don’t put them out every year, even though they have them.” PM: “There may be some truth to this – the more vines concentrated in a given area do tend to spread the loss.”

Our losses seem to be restricted to end vines and outside rows, so we don’t need to net multiple rows. BE: “Some growers do keep their costs down by only covering smaller areas of their vineyard, one strategy we see in use is netting the vines closest to the bird habitat areas.”

We pick earlier (or we have early ripening varieties) so our vines aren’t targeted. BE: “The timing of your grape varieties can also work in your favour, we know lots of growers have a mix of early and lateripening grapes and this does give you the flexibility to use the same nets in different locations in the same vintage – you can swap them around your property.” PM: “I’ve seen many under ripe bunches ‘pecked’ or stripped by cockies.”

We don’t have extra time during vintage to spend putting nets out and bringing them back in. BE: “I do understand this concern, particularly when it comes time to bring the nets in while people are already busy with vintage. But you can lift the nets up to give the hand pickers access to the vines and come back later to remove them. Sharing the NetWizz is also quite a popular idea, it is feasible to share the machinery cost and the work with October 2014 – Issue 609

your neighbours. Of course, you can also outsource the job to contractors as well.” EYNTK: “Equipment on the market is specifically manufactured for the purpose of applying and removing the netting. Two of the products available on the market are the NetWizz and Netmaster. Both work in a similar way. Netting is wound onto a simple spindle in a criss-cross pattern like a ball of string. If the netting gets caught, a sensor automatically stops the spindle, preventing tearing. The sensor automatically adjusts the spindle and winding speed to maintain a constant incoming net tension.”

We don’t know which birds we are targeting. BE: “You are taking a pretty big risk, when it comes to damage, if you don’t know which birds are in your area. In Western Australia we find the little Silvereyes are a problem, while in other areas it can be cockatoos, twenty-eights (Port Lincoln Parrots) and other parrots. You need to match your nets to the smallest birds in your area, so hole size is important.” EYNTK: “Experience has shown that a 15mm x 15mm diamond mesh, or 17mm hexagonal mesh is small enough to prevent silvereyes and all other birds from getting into the vines. While nets with larger meshes are generally cheaper and will be effective on starlings, parrots or crows, smaller birds may be able to push through.”

We can’t afford to buy new machinery that is only used two days each year. GH: “My advice for growers considering netting would be to team up with your neighbours to buy the tractor-mounted machinery required to put the nets out and bring them back in and to share the labour costs of hiring people because you will need help to do the job.” PM: “Do what we do – four of us share the equipment.” BE: “It is feasible to share the machinery.”

We’ve heard nets are easily damaged and we’re worried about how we store them. PM: “We store our nets on pallet racking in one end of the machinery shed. Nets do tear easily, however with careful use I expect to get 10 years out of them.” BE: “The level of damage does depend on how you treat your nets. Like any piece of equipment, if you treat it well it will last well. It is important to store nets out of direct sunlight and where they won’t get wet. Heavier nets are less susceptible to tearing, but they do cost more. Nets can be repaired fairly easily, you can patch small tears with twine or even cable ties, and there are netrepair kits available. The life of the net all comes down to how you treat it.” EYNTK: Where possible follow these steps: • Ensure nets are dry before rolling up; • Store in a dry, ventilated area out of sunlight; and • Store in a vermin proof area.

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Scare them away with a predator kite BIRDS are a major pest in vineyards across Australia. They can be disastrous just before harvest when they find your fruit irresistible and also cause problems at budburst, when they sit on the wire and break away newly-formed buds. Nets are the most effective method for controlling damage, but are also the most expensive alternative. The remaining techniques provide only limited control, but combined together can create an effective bird control program. Ryset has offered the Vinetech Gas Gun for many years, but has recently introduced a range of predatory bird kites to the bird control portfolio – stocking the America-made Jackite designs of bird kites/windsocks that depict a bird-of-prey in flight. They beat their wings and bank on the air to emulate a real bird. The birds are made of a non-fading, water proof and tear resistant material called Tyvek. Nathan Dewar from Upper Nugumby Vineyards in the Yarra Valley, trialled the very first Jackite two years ago, then came back and ordered another three for last season. “We manage 25 hectares of vines and now rarely use nets,” Dewar said. “We find a combination of the Vinetech gas gun, balloons and now the Jackite gives us the flexibility to manage our bird problems. "We are using the Peregrine Falcon and find it particularly

effective for Rosellas, Lorikeets and Indian Mynas. It is easy to use, easy to move and flies in even the lightest of winds. "We use a six-metre pole, which we mount to the top of our three-metre high trellis posts. We move it from block to block and it works a treat.” The most-feared predators in the Jackite range are the Peregrine Falcon, Osprey and American Bald Eagle. The design of the kite generates sufficient lift in light breezes, and the swivel mounts allow it to turn endlessly without twisting the line. The expandable, tapered telescoping fibreglass pole allows the kite to be raised and lowered as required or be quickly put down in strong winds or storms (you can see the kites in action online - just type ‘Jackite flying YouTube’ into you search engine). Tests in California vineyards showed one kite protected up to six acres of vineyard. If used properly they can be stored and used over a number of seasons.

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

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October 2014 – Issue 609

Australia’s largest contract grape harvester When it comes to mechanical grape harvesting, there aren’t many people who can boast as much experience as Penola’s Scott Messenger.

Harvesting Scott Messenger, the founder of S&R Enterprises in Penola, South Australia, has more than 25 years of experience in the viticulture industry. His Messenger Grape Harvesting business has a fleet of 19 machines, which makes it the largest contract harvester in Australia. S&R also manufactures one of Scott’s own innovations – the ‘MOG’ Remover, which takes out ‘Matter Other than Grapes’ from the grape sample. “It’s a product I invented in about 2001. It came mainly through necessity, 10 years ago we were working around minimal pruning practices and the amount of dead wood was holding up the whole process down the line at the winery,” he said. The MOG removal process uses rubber ‘fingers’ to tumble bunches, as they move from the existing conveyor, across a series of shafts all turning in the same direction, which collect grapes and smaller bunches while discarding the MOG. The system operates on a variable incline that can be changed ‘on the run’ by the operator. The MOG Remover is extremely effective in older vineyards where there’s lots of dead wood, but also very effective in removing vine canes and leaves. Scott's design can be manufactured to fit any harvester with a discharge conveyor including Gregoire, Upright, URM Vinestar, Braud, Nairn, Korvan, Pellenc, Burnley, Picrite, AGH, Tow Behinds and more. “It’s just a product there was a need for, and there have been a couple of upgrades along the way. I have sold them all around the world and installed 99 per cent of them myself,” he said. The feedback from those using Scott’s MOG Remover, shows how valuable the invention has been. One grower in Griffith NSW said “without a MOG Remover my grapes would have been rejected due to MOG levels”. Another from SA’s McLaren Vale reported that “savings in MOG related penalties, paid for the MOG Remover in the first season”. While an Adelaide client spoke of the scale of the problem Scott’s invention was helping to alleviate… “I’ve seen MOG destroy $20,000 worth of crushing equipment”. Scott, originally a diesel mechanic, October 2014 – Issue 609

now leads his own manufacturing and engineering plant with eight full-time employees and more than 50 people during the peak of harvest season. His team delivers innovative designs for harvesting and follow-up with quality service. Since Scott bought the harvesting business from his uncle Don, the majority of the contract work has been carried out across SA’s South East, but there are also contracts in SA’s Riverland as well as in Victoria and NSW. S&R Enterprises has a large workshop and the repairs and maintenance side of the business employs mechanics, welders and machining exports on site, as well as a full-time panel beater. The workshop is a key part of the Messenger Grape Harvesting business, but it also supports a broad range of external clients with full harvester reconditioning and the availability for collection all available. “We’ve got a lot of experience refurbishing and updating machinery and we offer that service to all our clients. A lot of our support comes down to knowledge and that relies on experience, I’ve been working around harvesters my whole life and I’m still learning,” Scott said.

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“I believe this is the reason we’ve been able to grow the business, we know our machines back-to-front and we look after them from our own shop – but our support is never more than a few minutes away during vintage. We take the service side of things very seriously, because we know we need to be reliable to get the job done. We also have a seven-seat plane for moving parts and people around in a hurry, and it becomes my main work ute during vintage.” Scott’s contracting harvester fleet is mainly made up of Australian-built URM Vinestar machines, American-made Korvan machines, as well as a couple of modified Burnley harvesters out of Adelaide. “Most of our machines we have modified – actually none of them are stock standard. People ask me ‘what harvester is the best?’ Well, the answer depends on the yields and the terrain you are working with and I tend to adapt the best of what I find to all of my machines, so there’s always a bit of evolution.” For more information, contact: Scott Messenger P: 61 413 458 740 E: messengergrape@gmail.com

Grapegrower & Winemaker

grapegrowing

Schedule for irrigation success Stephanie Timotheou

IRRIGATION scheduling could save the wine industry thousands of dollars each year by determining the correct frequency and duration of watering vines. The aim is to apply enough water to fully wet the plant’s root zone while minimising over-watering and allowing the soil to dry between watering to allow air to enter the soil and encourage root development. But the art of irrigation scheduling is to do this without stressing the plant – unless that’s the desired outcome. This is the message Noel Johnston conveyed to grapegrowers at a water budgeting seminar hosted by GWRDC Regional and the McLaren Vale Grape and Wine Tourism Association (MVGWTA) in June. Johnston is the principal of Adelaidebased Irrigation Management Training (IMT) and has been in the irrigation industry for more than 30 years. He offers expert training in irrigation management to enhance on-farm irrigation and production practices in agricultural industries. According to Johnston, in order to develop an irrigation schedule a grower must have a planting plan, readily available water figures within each unit, flow rate and pressure for each unit and flow rate and pressure at the water source. “Once you have this information, similar irrigation units and crop types can be grouped together to form irrigation shifts,” he says. “But each shift must have similar plantings, soil types and irrigation systems for it to work effectively.”

BENEFITS OF SCHEDULING There are many economic, environmental and agronomic benefits of irrigation scheduling. Economic benefits include control over yield and quality, a decrease in input costs and the ability to irrigate more area with the same amount of water. Environmental benefits comprise the prevention of drainage to ground water, no wastage of fertiliser, minimal land degradation, the conservation of water and the prevention of algal blooms. “It can save you a substantial amount of money in the long term and assist growers in becoming more environmentally friendly which is an important thing in today’s society,” Johnston said. Agronomic benefits include the

60 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Vineyard Technology

EXPERT: Noel Johnston from Irrigation Management Training met with growers from the Adelaide Hills, Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale to discuss the importance of irrigation scheduling.

reduction in under-watering and stress, a controlled application of stress, the matching of water needs to crop growth, better use of rainfall events, reduced soil management issues and the measurement of controlled leaching events.

DANGERS OF NOT SCHEDULING Johnston says the biggest danger of not scheduling is over- and under-irrigating your vines, as well as salinity damage. “This can cause many issues such as water logging and reduced health, unnecessary pumping, water costs and excess drainage water among others,” he said. “In addition to this, an increased ground and salt water discharge is likely to occur if you don’t schedule your irrigation.” Under-irrigating can also lead to uncontrolled plant stress, nutrient deficiency and salt damage among others. Salinity is an important factor in determining many aspects of the chemistry of natural waters and of biological processes within it. According to Johnston, poor distribution uniformities (DU) cause wet and dry www.winebiz.com.au

spots in the soil. DU is a measure of how uniformly water is applied to the area being watered (expressed as a percentage) and is often calculated when performing an irrigation audit. “Dry spots will be under-watered which therefore causes plant stress and direct salt uptake and wet spots will be over-watered causing saturated soil profiles and water tables to rise.” He said existing soil salinity needs to be monitored to determine leaching percentage.

WHEN TO IRRIGATE: DETERMINATION THROUGH PLANT, SOIL AND CLIMATE The decision of when to irrigate is determined by how quickly the plant uses water from the previous irrigation. Johnston said there are a number of factors that affect crop water use and not all of them can be easily controlled. “There are direct and indirect methods of determining when to irrigate – direct methods are plant-based and soil-based and the indirect method is climate-based,” he said. October 2014 – Issue 609

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grapegrowing It can save you a substantial amount of money in the long term and assist growers in becoming more environmentally friendly which is an important thing in today’s society Plant-based methods are direct measurements of how stressed the plant is. This can be determined by the use of phytomonitoring sensor systems which takes note of fruit size, stem diameter, sap flow, temperature and humidity. “It’s also important to watch your plants for tell-tale signs of water stress. Under normal conditions, rolled leaves and wilting are obvious signs your vines are stressed,” he said. “Re-irrigation should occur well before these signs of stress as the soil is too dry once these symptoms are visible.” Soil-based determination is dependent on the placement of soil monitoring sites. Johnston says equipment is site specific and needs to take into account wetting patterns, emitter location and distribution uniformity. “Sites which should be avoided include outside rows, wheel tracks, disturbed soil, stunted or sick plants, poor sprinkler distribution uniformities and shallow water tables.”

There are many pieces of equipment and methods available to determine whether or not to irrigate based on the soil in the vineyard. These include: • Digging holes; • Tensiometers (vacuum gauge tensiometer or handheld meter tensiometer); • Resistance blocks (gypsum blocks or granular matrix blocks); • Capacitance probes (permanent or portable); • Heat dissipation probes; • Time domain reflectometers; and • Testwells. Alternatively, using climate to help determine crop water requirements relies on using weather station evaporation readings as well as FAO 56 Crop Coefficients. This can be done by Evapotranspiration (ET) – a measure of the amount of water vapour that returns to the air in a given area. “It combines the amount of water vapour returned through evaporation

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(water leaving the earth) with the amount of water returned through transpiration (water leaving plants) to arrive at a total for the area,” Johnston said. According to Johnston, there is no single answer on how much water a grower should apply to his or her crop, but there are many factors to consider. These include leaching, irrigation system distribution uniformity, application rate and hours of irrigation. Designing a schedule can be complex but Johnston recommends growers to take into account variations in crop types, irrigation systems and soils. “If you aim for a best fit irrigation management program then scheduling should be a breeze.” For more information contact: Noel Johnston P: 61 (0)468 426 964 E: irrigationmt@gmail.com W: www.irrigationmanagement.com.au

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October 2014 – Issue 609

Prepare for vintage Frank O’Riley, Pellenc Australia’s technical director, says timely and thorough maintenance before vintage, should ensure minimal downtime during harvest. O'Riley has covered the main areas you need to closely consider. HARVESTING HEAD Preparation of the head should begin by running all operating parts, to inspect for incorrect or defective components. Any doubtful or worn parts should be replaced. It is more cost effective to replace or repair components at this time, rather than face a breakdown in the ‘heat’ of harvest. A thorough clean is also a wise move before commencing any further maintenance. Experience has shown that the final clean of machinery at the end of vintage is often very basic, normally carried out by tired workers glad to see the last grape picked.

CONVEYOR BELTS (OR BUCKETS) Begin with a thorough inspection of conveyor belts, as these can be sent off for repair whilst any other maintenance takes place. Look for burning on the back surface caused by slipping drive rollers; all cleats should be inspected for tearing (most can be re-welded satisfactorily); and side ribbing, if fitted, should be checked. Joiner cleats can also be a source of problems, and these must also be checked. The wire used to join cleat halves should be replaced each season. All running surfaces and housings in which the belts turn should be examined for wear. Instances have occurred where incorrectly folded cleat joiner wires have worn through the sides of stainless steel conveyor housings. Following re-installation of belts, they should be correctly aligned and tensioned.

CONVEYOR AND ROD POST BEARINGS As these components operate in wet, acidic and abrasive conditions, it is unusual to find bearings which have survived a complete vintage without some internal damage. Again, the cost of replacing all of the bearings within a harvesting head is normally minimal compared with the lost time and frustration of a bearing failure during the harvest.

HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS Hydraulic oil should be changed at the manufacturer’s recommended intervals, along with any filters fitted. Particular attention should be given to hydraulic hoses. These are often overlooked, and damage such as rubbing, bubbles, swollen crimp ends or loose fittings, can result in oil contamination. Hose clamps and cable ties, which are used to prevent hoses from moving, should be checked and replaced if loose or broken.

CHASSIS/FRAME MEMBERS AND DRAWBARS These items should all be closely inspected for cracking or distortion, as the stresses imposed on framework, particularly on steep slopes, can be quite severe.

SELF-PROPELLED OR TOWING TRACTOR These units should be fully maintained to the manufacturer’s recommendations, with particular attention to the hydraulic system notes above. Items such as tyres, engine oil and filters, engine coolant, radiator cleanliness, fuel filters and chassis lubrication, all require close inspection. For more information, contact: Frank O’Riley P: 61 8 8244 7700 E: admin@pellenc.com.au October 2014 – Issue 609

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

winemaking PJ Charteris:

Flying

solo

Peter James (PJ) Charteris has earned plenty of respect across Australia and New Zealand, the sort of respect that would land him any senior winemaker job he put his hand up for. The problem for any wineries searching is that he’s doing his own thing. Nathan Gogoll reports. ALTHOUGH he’s still in his mid-40s, PJ Charteris has been working in the wine industry for more than 30 years. He started out in the early 1980s in New Zealand, with Waikato’s Vilagrad… got up to plenty of mischief in the Barossa during his days at Roseworthy Agricultural College… has worked for Lindemans Hunter Valley, Rouge Homme in Coonawarra, Tim Knappstein in the Clare Valley and Penfolds… all while managing to squeeze in vintages in Oregon, California and the Rhone Valley.

And all of this before he even started to make a huge impact at Brokenwood in the Hunter Valley. Today, he’s working on growing his own tiny winemaking business. “I keep thinking about what Jeff Goldblum’s character said in Jurassic Park about ‘chaos theory’, I reckon I know what he’s talking about,” PJ said. “I’m busy kid-farming and grape-farming.” PJ thinks the term owner/winemaker offers a unique “management paradigm”. “With a bigger winery you have all the support behind you, but stepping out on

your own you realise that winemaking is a pretty broad term – it covers everything from what’s growing in the mid-row, to having to deal with the retailers or restaurateurs who you are trying to sell your wine to, and all the way through to chasing a fridge mechanic and trying to motivate your staff. “I always really appreciated the support around me when I was with Brokenwood, but these days Christina and I, we are the whole support crew. I’ve found that I can run on a lot less sleep than I used to and I find myself

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October 2014 – Issue 609

STUNNING SETTING: Two views of the Winter Vineyard, which supplies the premium Charteris Pinot Noir.

wondering where all my spare time for ‘wining and dining’ has gone. “I’ve had to learn the finer points about taxation and make sure that I am getting the most out of our bookkeeping and accounting… something a lot of winemakers will never have to worry about. I’ve learned a lot about myself, how I want to do business and where I want to go. We are going to wholly and solely focus on quality.” There are two main elements to the brand values of Charteris Wines. First, there’s a huge focus on quality. And secondly, it’s all about the people and the places. “By jumping off the cliff and doing it ourselves – and it was a big leap of faith – we focussed our thinking on doing what we knew we could do best. Production is very small, just 1000 cases, and we are pretty happy with what the Charteris brand represents about me and I hope that is something our customers appreciate. “I think our vineyard sites have given us something quite individual, but the terroir can’t be expressed without the input of the people involved. I think my background has given me the ability to see the uniqueness of a site, but you’ve got to remember that terroir is nothing without the human interaction. So the story within all of that is exciting and hopefully people are looking for something more than just a good taste in their mouth when they pick up one of our bottles.” October 2014 – Issue 609

RUNNING HIS OWN BUSINESS At first glance, PJs work commitments actually make it look like he has a very sexy lifestyle. He’s based in the Hunter and regularly flies ‘across the ditch’ to spend time with his grapes and wine. In between trips away he looks after his kids, has a few clients in the Hunter he consults to and helps out at wine shows. However, he’s prepared to tell you that it’s not all smooth sailing. “The staff, well that’s just Christie and myself… and we’re not paying ourselves yet. We’ve done everything out of our own back pocket and we’ve learned you can do as much forecasting as you like, but things always cost more and always take longer,” PJ said. “The focus on quality can be tricky, financially. And there’s always that old line to remember… if you want to make a small fortune in the wine industry, just start with a large one. Of course, there’s also plenty of business nitty-gritty to take care of, everything from pressing the flesh in Sydney to help drive sales, through to book-keeping. “I remember I took one look at MYOB and thought ‘this thing is a wall of madness’ so I was able to talk to people about it and ended up checking out a cloud-based system called Xero which has been a revelation. This thing is just amazing, it spits out the reports I want to see and being cloud based I’ve got someone who sits at their desk, wherever www.winebiz.com.au

MEP

instruments The right chemistry.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

winemaking they want to be and works on it for me. I can take photos of all my credit card receipts and email them through and everything reconciles.” PJ travels to New Zealand about 10 times each year to manage the whole production process. “At different times I spend a bit longer over there. I try to do a longer trip in July or August where I can get the pruning done and prepare the wines for bottling. I’m there for the critical points. Then at harvest time I like to be there to see the fruit ripen, to choose the picking dates and to be there as the ferments go through.” The winemaking is carried out at Maude Wines, and PJ works closely with Dan and Sarah-Kate Dineen. “I’m really lucky to have mates in Dan and Sarah who I can work with. It just wouldn’t be possible without those guys. They are just as excited about making great wine as we are.” PJ is a good communicator, a peopleperson. He thrives on teaming up with people who share his passion.“The wine industry network is pretty unique, that’s one of the nice things about it.” At home in the Hunter Valley, PJ consults to a range of smaller producers. There are five clients in total and the

work varies from complete oversight of vineyards, vintage and blending through to support work done purely at the tasting bench. This gives PJ a chance to mix with the producers in their vineyards and keep up his connections in the Agnew winery (formerly Poole’s Rock). But you won’t find his name on the back labels of his clients wines. “For the strength of each brand, my advice to my clients is to make it all about them and their personality. That also gives people more ownership.” Knowing that PJ is steering his own small business toward success must give his clients a lot of confidence. “I think it was Phil Ruthven, way back in 1998 at a Tech Conference in Sydney, who had been contracted to work on the 2025 vision for the industry, who said we were going to see a polarised industry with the big winemakers able to operate to an economy of scale which would leave the small producers forced to do premium. We probably haven’t got the whole way there yet, but I think consumers have to take a look around, get in and make the most of it right now. The small guys are doing great things and not always at high prices.”

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October 2014 – Issue 609

WINE SHOW SUPPORT With an impressive wine judging résumé, PJ is a sought after on the show circuit. “I’m actually doing quite a bit at the moment, I tried to cut it back when the kids came along, but when I ended up as the chair of judges for the Royal Queensland people must have thought ‘Charteris is back’ and the phone started ringing again.” PJ is also chair of judges at the NSW Wine Awards and will takes over as the chair in next year’s Hunter Wine Show. “I try to keep it to five shows per year. These days the shows have great teams behind the scenes and that does help to make the time spent more fun and enjoyable. And as a judge you have to put your own self-focus to the side, to not only pick out the things that you really enjoy personally. “One of the really cool things about the Australian wine industry is that we are literally awash with quality wines. "There is just so much lovely wine out there at the moment and, as a result, wine show judging has become more difficult because you have to have a lot broader focus across all the different wine styles being done so well. "This means winning a gold medal is a pretty big deal these days. We’ve just got heaps of great wine, it’s awesome. I’ve just seen a Shiraz Touriga blend in the judge-off for the best wine of show, which says a lot of the strength and diversity of the industry.”

A WINEMAKER IN THE VINEYARD The four wines in the Charteris line

October 2014 – Issue 609

up all rely on unique vineyard sites. PJ works with Blair and Estelle Hunt who grow Riesling at Bald Hills. It is 0.7Ha of what PJ describes as “meticulous vineyards that tend to make beautiful wine”. “There’s something about New Zealand and Riesling, the variety has an affinity to the place just like it does in Clare, Eden Valley and Great Southern in WA. There are a lot of different places across ‘NZ’ where there is interesting geology that works so well for Riesling. As a result a lot of the wine has a beautiful, crystalline nature and for me, I can see the influence of the schist or the granite, or whatever else is going on from the soil.” PJ’s premium Pinot Noir comes from a tiny little patch of vines known as the Winter Vineyard. “It is our singlevineyard Pinot and we produce between 250 and 300 cases each year. I’ve worked in that vineyard a fair bit, I prune it myself and I’m starting to see the results of all that hard work. “When you look at it from a purely business point of view I could probably be doing something better with those two weeks, but it has been really important part of the journey for me to be connected with that patch of dirt at that time of year, and to see how managing the pruning has an influence all the way through to the winery – so how could you put a value on that?" An additional parcel of Pinot Noir has been sourced because PJ and Christina wanted a wine to open at home, any night of the week. “I didn’t make any Pinot from 2011, the quality just wasn’t up to it, and Christina

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and I had been drinking through a lot of the museum stock from 2010 and I tried to say to her that we probably should find something else – that we should stop drinking the profits. She just looked at me and said ‘why don’t you make something that I’ll enjoy drinking all the time’.” So along came the ‘vin du chais’ (house wine) in the form of the 2012 Charteris Central Otago Pinot Noir. “I’d like to know what the guys in Burgundy drink on a Tuesday night with pizza, if they even eat something like pizza? Well for us, we’ve got our ‘house wine’ for those Tuesday nights.” His Chardonnay is supplied, certified organic, by Steve Green. “The vineyard manager, Blair Deaker, is a vineyard artist. To run such a beautiful, healthy, pristine vineyard by organic principals says a lot about his skill. I’m really happy that Steve is willing to have me as one of his customers.” That statement right there nails the Charteris brand values to the vineyard post. “I visit the vineyards often, but the guys who manage them for me are all doing a great job.” His former boss, Iain Riggs, says one of PJs best attributes is “getting the best out of people, he loves his team”. This ability holds his young business together.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

winemaking

Microbial origins of wine aromas: Higher alcohols and volatile phenols Russell Moss presents the second article from a three-part series examining fungal and bacterial origins of wine aromas. WHEN the winemaker typically thinks of volatile phenols, usually the first compounds to come to mind are 4-EP and 4-EG, which produce an unpleasant 'band-aid' or 'barnyard' like aroma. However, there are volatile phenols which are intrinsic to the aroma of some wines, such is the case with 4-vinylphenol/4-vinylguiacol which provide Gewürztraminer with a carnation and clove like aroma. In terms of sensorial impact, higher alcohols (fusel alcohols) in distillates are a major concern. These compounds can provide the consumer of the distilled product with an unpleasant 'solvent-like' aroma. In wine, these compounds can produce a pleasant earthy/mushroom aroma which is commonly associated

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Figure 1 Formation of higher alcohols from nitrogenous amino acids (adapted from Margalit 2004)

with wines made from botrytis affected fruit. Also, fusel alcohols can contribute positively to the aroma of an aged wine.

Higher alcohols Alcohols (a chain of carbons and hydrogen with at least one –OH group) are classified as higher alcohols when they have more than two Carbon atoms (Jackson 2008, Zoecklein et al. 1999). 'Fusel oil' is the term given to all the higher alcohols present within a wine (Boulton et al. 1996). The German word 'fusel' literally translates to 'rot gut' or 'bad liquor'. Although most higher alcohols are a by-product of fermentation by yeast, some are found in the grape and are sustained through the fermentation process (e.g. 2-ethlyl-1-hexanol, benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, 3-octanol and 1-octen-3-ol). The straight chain higher alcohols are considered to have the most significant sensorial impact (e.g. 1-propanol, 2-methyl-1propanol (isobutyl

alcohol), 2-methyl-1-butanol and 3-methyl1-butanol (isoamyl alcohol) (Pretorious and Lambrechts 2000). Yeast commonly synthesize the following higher alcohols during normal fermentation: isoamyl alcohol (solvent-like odour), active amyl alcohol, isobutyl alcohol and 1-propanol, listed in descending concentration. The function of these alcohols is currently unknown (Boulton et al. 1996, RibereauGayon et al. 2006). These higher alcohols are mostly produced from the deamination of nitrogen from amino acids, for example, arginine, which has a free -amino group. In contrast, yeast cannot cleave the aromatic ring around the nitrogen atom in other amino acids, such as proline (Klingshirn et al. 1987, Garret and Grisham 1999, Salmon and Barre 1998). The biochemical pathway for the creation of fusel alcohols is similar to the formation of amino acids, such as leucine and valine, aside from the last few steps.

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The transformation from amino acid to fusel alcohol occurs by way of the amino acid becoming a keto-acid (a molecule that has a carboxyl and ketone group). Then, the compound is debcarboxylated to form an aldehyde and reduced by NADH to form its corresponding alcohol (Figure 1). The subsequent reduction of aldehyde into alcohol maintains the redox balance within the cell (Margalit 2004, Pretorious and Lambrechts 2000). If nitrogenous compounds are lacking in the must (i.e. ammonia or free amino nitrogen), the yeast will be forced to scavenge nitrogen from available amino acids and the transamination process will leave behind fusel alcohols as a by-product (Boulton et al. 1996, Margalit 2004, Ribereau-Gayon et al. 2006, Webster et al. 1998). The converse is also true: an excess of nitrogen leads to less formation of fusel alcohols (Aragon et al. 1998). The formation of higher alcohols does not always require an amino acid precursor. For example, -Ketoisocaproate forms as a reaction between -Ketobutyrate (a product of pyruvate) and acetyl CoA. This product is a precursor to leucine and isoamyl alcohol (Ribereau-Gayon et al. 2006). Anabolically formed higher alcohol from sugars can occur during fermentation using the aforementioned pathways (Boulton et al. 1996). Hence, chaptilisation can increase fusel alcohol concentration (Klingshirn et al. 1987). Roughly 35 per cent of the fusel alcohols found in wine come from glucose (Zoecklein 1999). As the amino acid content of a juice rises, the concentration of catabolically formed higher alcohols increases (e.g. those formed through the Ehrlich mechanism), which spurs a

corresponding decrease in anabolically formed higher alcohols (Giduci and Zaomonelli 1993). Higher alcohols are also produced by spoilage yeast and bacteria, which cause off-aromas. Noble rot can lead to the formation of 1-octen3-ol, which creates a pleasant mushroom odour due to the enzymatic degradation of linoleic acid. Higher alcohols generally have little influence on the sensory impact of table wines. However, their impact is much greater in products of distillation (Boulton et al. 1996). The high molecular weight of fusel alcohols gives them higher boiling points. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain a temperature of around 80C ±5C during distillation to attain ethanol. If the temperature surpasses this range, a distillate of concentrated fusel oil may result. Higher alcohols may be most fully appreciated in fortified wines such as Port (Pretorious and Lambrechts 2000). Although it varies based on aromatic intensity, the impact of higher alcohol on the sensory characteristics of table wine may be limited. If harvest rains dilute the must, then the aromatic intensity will decrease, and the impact of fusel alcohols will increase (Ribereau-Gayon et al. 2006). Straight-chain high alcohols have a low threshold of detection. At low concentrations (< 0.3g/L) they can contribute to the complexity of wine aroma (Pretorious and Lambrechts 2000). However at higher concentrations, they can be overpowering. Likely, the most significant aspect of higher alcohols is their function in the formation of esters. Fusel alcohols affect wine aging by undergoing esterification with organic acids. However, the pace of these reactions is slower than the esterification that

occurs during fermentation. Therefore, it takes a prolonged period of bottle aging before these tertiary bottle esters can become perceivable (LaGuerche et al. 2006). Higher alcohols may account for half of aromatic constituents in a wine and can even contribute a unique herbaceous aroma (Jackson 2008). Boulton et al. (1996) claim a low fusel component in dessert wines results in a thin and simple product. Some higher alcohols are derived from phenolics, such as 2-phenylethanol, or phenethyl alcohol. Although this alcohol is not generally classified as a higher alcohol, many believe it should be considered as such, as it is highly aromatic and causes a rose-like scent (Boulton et al. 1996). Aside from phenethylethanol, most higher alcohols will have an unpleasant odour at high concentrations. Winery practices can influence the rate of higher alcohol formation during fermentation. Elevated fermentation temperatures, the encouragement of an aerobic environment, excessive turbidity within the must, chaptalisation, and fermenting within pressure tanks all encourage the production of higher alcohols. An increased pH will also result in larger amounts of fusel alcohols. Conversely, the addition of SO2 suppresses fusel alcohols (Zoecklein et al. 1999). The concentrations at which yeast form higher alcohols is dependent upon the genus, species and strain. Although yeast manufacturers claim their strains produce fusel alcohol, this may not be of consequence to the winemaker. The level of higher alcohol is generally so low in table wine that it is unnoticed; a concentration high enough for perception may be found off-putting (Boulton et

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winemaking al. 1996). Regardless, studies show the strain of yeast significantly impacts the amount of higher alcohols produced (Antonelli et al. 1999, Mateo et al. 1991). Herraiz et al. (1990) noted a marked difference in higher alcohol production among apiculate yeast when compared to S. cerivisiae. Yeast that carry out a portion of alcoholic fermentation (e.g. Kluyveromyces thermotolerans) produce more fusel alcohols than the more robust fermenters such as Schizosaccharomyces pombe. This suggests more fusel alcohols are found in wines produced from wild fermentations. Similarly, the same is likely true in wines where the commercial yeast used includes a blend of a nonsaccharomyces species, which partly ferments the must before the fermentation is taken over by a saccharomyces strain (Boulton et al. 1996).

Volatile phenols We normally think of phenolics as major contributors to a wine’s mouthfeel and colour. However, the phenolics in the grape are a source of hydrocinnamic acid esters. These esters, most importantly ferulic and coumaric acid esters, can be synthesised into volatile phenols by yeast. There are two “classes” of phenols. There are the vinylphenols (4-vinylphenol [4-VP] and 4-vinylguaiacol [4-VG]) which are found in white wines and there are the more commonly discussed ethylphenols (4-ethylphenol [4-EP] and 4-ethylguaiacol [4-EG]) which are found in red wines. These compounds are found at low concentrations and have a very low sensory threshold. Volatile phenols are associated with aromas described most commonly as 'medicinal',

Table 1: Sensory threshold of volatile phenols in wine (Lambrechts and Pretorius, 2000) Compound

Sensory threshold in wine (µg/L)

4-vinylphenol

770

4-vinylguiacol

440

4-vinylguaiacol + 4-vinylphenol [1:1]

752

4-Ethylphenol

605

4-Ethylguiacol

110

4-Ethylphenol + 4-ethylguiacol [10:1]

369

'barnyard', 'sweat' and 'animal'. The most common culprit of the production of these compounds is the Brettanomyces and Dekkera species of yeast (Pretorious & Lambrechts, 2000). However, it should be noted that 4-vinylguaiacol is not always considered a fault, as in Gewürztraminer it is associated with clove/spicy aroma. 4-vinylphenol is responsible for a carnation like aroma in Gewürztraminer (Stefanini et al. 2000). This component of the varietal aroma of Gewürztraminer is likely due to an unusually high quantity of ferulic and coumaric acids present in the juice of this variety. The volatile phenols are always found together in wine (i.e. a wine with 4-VP will also have 4-VG). The sensory threshold for the combination of vinylphenols is over twice that of the ethylphenol s (table 1). Volatile phenols are microbial derived products formed from odourless precursors which are present in all grapes (ferulic and coumaric acids). It was assumed that lactic acid bacteria were culprits for the production of off volatile phenol aromas in wines. However, it

has been demonstrated that off phenol aromas are more likely to arise from Brettanomyces/Dekkera (Chatonnet et al. 1995). S. cerevisiae can produce the vinylphenols through the decarboxylation of cinnamic acids (coumaric or ferulic). Coumaric acid is decarboxylated to form 4-VP and ferulic acid forms 4-VG. This decarboxylase activity of S. cerevisiae is why these vinylphenols are intrinsic to the varietal aroma of Gewürztraminer. This formation of vinylphenols can only happen during alcoholic fermentation and will not continue to occur while the wine is stored on yeast lees. Brettanomyces/Dekkera (Brett) is the microbe which produces volatile phenols of most concern to makers of red wines, 4-Ethylphenol and 4-Ethylguaiacol. Brett can infect wine at any part of the winemaking process, but is most notably an issue during barrel aging of wines, as the microorganism can be found up to 8mm deep in the wood (Malfeito-Ferreira et al. 2004). Brett has the same decarboxylase activity previously mentioned and can synthesise vinylphenols. However, Brett further reduces the vinylphenols by a vinylphenol reductase to form the more odiferous ethylphenols that we associate with this wine fault. Brettanomyces contaminations are most easily avoided by judicious hygiene, including sulphuring red wines to >0.5 ppm of free molecular SO2 during barrel aging after the completion of malolactic fermentation. All of the methods for barrel cleaning currently available to the winemaker will not sanitise the barrel and cannot completely remove Brettanomyces from the crevices within the wood. However, ozone and steam may delay the onset

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of infection by killing the yeast on the surface of the wood and significantly reducing some of the population in shallower areas of the stave (up to 2mm). It is for this reason that sensorial monitoring of barreled wine is of utmost importance. If one detects Brettanomyces, one can minimise the impact by removing the wine from the vessel and topping it up with sulphur to a free molecular SO2 of 0.5 – 0.8 ppm and undertaking sterile filtration on the lot (Braulio et al. 2011). Dosing the wine with Dimethyl dicarbonate prior to bottling if the infected lot is to be blended with uninfected wine will further protect the wine from potential spoilage in bottle (Renouf et al. 2008). Currently, there are few methods for the winemaker to “clean up” 4-EP and 4-EG in a wine after a Brett infection. The most promising low cost method is through fining with yeast lees (Chassagne et al. 2005). However, more high tech/high cost methods have also been developed such as a procedure using reverse osmosis/adsorption (Ugarte et al. 2005) the use of esterified cellulose as a filtration medium (Larcher et al. 2012) and using a molecularly imprinted polymer (Garde-Cerdan et al. 2008).

Conclusion Wine is commonly referred to as a 'complex matrix'. By breaking wine down into its fundamental components, we can begin to understand how to better manage our vineyards and wineries to attain the wine styles that our markets desire. Higher alcohols and volatile phenols could be considered a fault or aromas that are intrinsically valuable to our wine style, depending upon what we are trying to achieve. It is crucial to understand how these compounds arise and how vintners can manage them effectively and efficiently.

Works Cited Antonelli, A., Castellari, L., Zambonelli, C., & Carnacini, A. (1999). Yeast influence on volatile composition of wines. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 47, 1139-1144. Aragon, P., Atienza, J., & Climent, M. (1998). Influence of clarification, yeast type and fermentation temperature on the organic acid and higher alcohols of malvasia and mascatel wines. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 49(2), 211-219. Boulton, R., Singleton, V., Bisson, L., & Kunkee, R. (1996). Principles and Practices of Winemaking. New York City: Springer Science and Business Media inc. Braulio, E., Martinez, M., Rubires, X., Yuste-Rojas, M., & Torres, M. (2011). Applie wine microbiology. In Molecular Wine Microbiology (p. 349). San Diego: Academic Press. Chassagne, D., Guilloux-Benatier, M., Alexandre, H., &

Voilley, A. (2005). Sorption of wine volatile phenols by yeast lees. Food Chemistry , 39-44. Chatonnet, P., Dubourdieu, D., Boidron, J., & Lavigne, V. (1993). Synthesis of volatile phenols by Saccharomyces cerevisiae in wines. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 62, 191-202. Garde-Cerdan, T., Zalacain, A., Lorenzo, C., Alonso, J., & Salinas, M. (2008). Molecularly imprinted polymerassisted simple clean up of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole and ethylphenols from aged red wines. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture , 396-400. Garret, R., & Grisham, C. (1999). Biochemistry. Saunders College Publishers . Giduci, P., & Zaomonelli, C. (1993). Increased production of n-propanol in wine by yeast strains having an impaired ability to form hydrogen sulphide. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 44(1), 123-127. Herraiz, T., Reglero, G., Harraiz, M., Alvarez, P., & Cabezudo, M. (1990). The influence of the yeast type of culture on the volatile composition of wines fermented without sulphur dioxide. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 41, 313-318. Jackson, R. (2008). Wine Science: Principles and Applications. London: Elsevier. Klingshirn, L., Liu, J., & Gallander, J. (1987). Higher alcohol formation in wines as it relates to particle size profiles of juice insoluble solids. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 38(3), 207-210. LaGuerche, S., Daupin, B., Pons, M., Blancard, D., & Darriet, P. (2006). Characterization of some mushroom and earthy off-odors microbially induced by the development of rot on grapes. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 54(24), 9193-9200. Larcher, R., Puecher, C., Rohregger, S., Malacarne, M., & Nicolini, G. (2012). 4-ethylphenol and 4-ethylguaiacol depletion in wine using esterified cellulose. Food Chemistry , 2126-2130.

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winemaking Malfeito-Ferreira, M., Laureano, P., Barata, A., D’Antuono, I., Slender, H., & Loureiro, V. (2004). Effect of different barrique sanitation procedures on yeasts isolated from the inner layers of wood. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 55, 304A. Margalit, Y. (2004). Concepts in Wine Chemistry (2nd ed.). (J. Crum, Ed.) San Francisco: The Wine Appreciation Guild. Mateo, J., Jimenez, M., Huerta, T., & Pastor, A. (1991). Contribution of yeasts isolated from musts of monastrell grapes to the aroma of wine. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 14, 153-160. Pretorious, I., & Lambrechts, M. (2000). Yeast and its importance to wine aroma: a review. South African Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 21 (special issue), 97-129. Renouf, V., Strehaino, P., & Lonvaud-Funel, A. (2008). Effectiveness of dimethyldicarbonate to prevent Brettanomyces bruxellensis growth in wine. Food Control , 208-216. Ribereau-Gayon, P., Dubourdieu, D., Doneche, B., & Lonvaud, A. (2006). Handbook of Enology: The Microbiology of Wine and Vinifications (2nd ed.). West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Salmon, J., & Barre, P. (1998). Improvement of nitrogen asimilation and fermentation kinetics under enological conditions by depression of alternative nitrogenassimilatory pathways in an industrial saccharomyces cerevisiae strain. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 64(10), 3831-3837. Stefanini, M., Malossini, U., & Versini, G. (2000). Clonal selection through the study of agronomical and aroma variability in two Gewurztraminer populations. VII Interional Symposium on Grapevine Genetics and Breeding (pp. 747-755). Acta Horticulturae. Ugarte, P., Agosin, E., Bordeu, E., & Villalobos, J. (2005). Reduction of 4-ethylphenol and 4-ethylguaiacol concentration in red wines using reverse osmosis and adsorption. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture , 30-36. Webster, D., Edwards, C., Spayd, S., Peterson, J., & Seymour, B. (1998). Influence of vineyard nitrogen fertilization on the concentration of monoterpenes, higher alcohols and esters in aged riesling wines. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 44(3), 275-284. Zoecklein, B., Fugelsang, K., Gump, B., & Nury, F. (1999). Wine Analysis and Production. New York City: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

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Could Merlot be Orange’s premier red variety? IT HAS been 10 years since the comedy ‘Sideways’ was first screened and the characters Miles and Jack set out across Santa Barbara’s wine country. The movie has, anecdotally at least, left a lasting impression on consumers thanks to one scene where the boys are heading out for dinner and Miles is adamant… “If anybody orders Merlot, I’m leaving. I am NOT drinking any f…ing Merlot!” A decade later the debate goes on. Did the movie have much to do with falling Merlot sales? Here in Australia there has also been plenty of discussion about whether we have matched the right Merlot clones to the right locations. In Orange, Printhie Wines grows Merlot in their Phalaris vineyard, next to the winery at an elevation of 620 metres, north-west of Mount Canobolas. “Merlot is potentially one of the Orange wine region’s best red varieties,” said Ed Swift, Printhie viticulturist and co-owner. “The Printhie Merlot comprises two clones; the Q45-14 and 8R. These are newer generation clones to Australia, while D3V14 is the dominant, more widely planted clone. “We were looking for clones with better fruit to vine balance with moderate yields,” Swift said. “Our findings are that these two early ripening clones are proving to be well suited to the cooler climes of Orange.” Nick Dry, from the Yalumba Nursery, explains the Q45-14 Merlot clone was sourced from Sidney, Canada in 1990, yet originated in Italy. It produces smaller bunches and overall lower yields compared to other clones. “In internal Yalumba winemaking trials this clone has tended to produce more complex, structured and tannic wines,” Dry said. The 8R clone was sourced UC Davis in California in 1991, but was originally selected in Argentina. It has tended to produce moderate yields and ripens early. The winemaking trials at Yalumba have shown 8R tends to produce “more aromatic, softer wines”. Meanwhile, D3V14, which was imported into Australia in 1965, is currently the most widely planted Merlot clone in Australia. Dry says its performance has been “serviceable” but it has been criticised for its "inability to consistently produce premium quality”. “Anecdotal evidence would suggest that D3V14 needs to be picked comparatively riper than other clones to ensure there is adequate seed and skin ripeness. This often results in simple, sweet berry flavours. If picked unripe it can produce unattractive stalky, green characters.” Swift says his team carries out a careful pruning regime to ensure that the Merlot vine vigour is balanced. Their Merlot was planted in 2002, so the winery is starting to see the benefits of the maturity of the vines. “The variety’s ability to ripen, even at the cooler, higher elevations, helps ensure consistency across vintages. The wine shows complexity with good aromatics, bright varietal flavours and fine fruit tannins,” Tuckwell said. Justin Jarrett, who also grows Merlot in Orange, said he’s seen better results at higher altitude. “We can control the vigour and deliver good fruit, but back out in the market that doesn’t mean a thing. Merlot my well be what we should be known for, but I’m not sure that means anything to the consumer,” Jarrett said. “What we really need is a movie telling all the Americans to drink lots more Australian wine.”

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Barossa biodynamic producer sets the bar This month Stephanie Timotheou catches up with Troy Kalleske who runs his family wine business. The Barossa winemaker discusses his career journey. PERHAPS it's all the vintages he’s completed and the extra pressure of running a business, but Troy Kalleske could hardly believe he's still considered a ‘young gun’. At just 36, his list of achievements is longer than many industry veterans.

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With 17 vintages already under his belt, he’s got great experience, and as a young man with plenty of energy he’s determined to enhance his family business and pass it on to the next generation. Growing up in Australia’s most famous wine producing region, and within a family who has been growing grapes for about 140 years, gives a winemaker a fair head start. But Troy’s passion for winemaking sparked during high school when he had the opportunity to produce a small batch of wine, in the Faith Lutheran College's fledgling wine program, and when he grabbed work experience placements at Penfolds and Tarac Technologies. “I was always good at science, but growing up on a farm I also had an interest in agriculture,” Troy said. “As a young’un I knew I didn’t want to be stuck in a lab, or be a farmer, and winemaking presented great opportunities.” After finishing school he studied at the University of Adelaide, graduating with a bachelor of agricultural science (oenology) degree in 1999. After a year trying to get his foot in the door, he was accepted into the Southcorp graduate winemaker program and worked across Seppelt Great Western, Penfolds, Seppeltsfield and Lindemans Karadoc wineries. “I completed my first proper vintage during university with Rolf Binder and Christa Deans at the Veritas Winery in the Barossa,” he said. There have also been stints as a vintage winemaker at Miranda Barossa and Kendall Jackson’s Vinwood Cellars in Sonoma, California. All of this was valuable preparation for what he plans to be doing for the rest of his life – running the family business and creating fine wine from the best-quality fruit the home blocks can produce.

Working for myself gives me lots of freedom in regards to winemaking, however having your own business means winemaking is only part of the picture and there are many other aspects that keep you occupied – some extremely satisfying but challenging at the same time. “University teaches you the theory and the standard winemaking procedure, but a lot of what I do today has come from what I’ve seen others doing – as well as my own experimentation and trial-and-error,” he said. “Working for myself gives me lots of freedom in regards to winemaking, however having your own business means winemaking is only part of the picture and there are many other aspects that keep you occupied – some extremely satisfying but challenging at the same time.” Troy uses traditional winemaking techniques and the winery is certified organic. There’s no yeast inoculation, no malo-lactic culture added, no additional tannins or enzymes used in the winery. “And none of our wines are fined,” he said. “Our reds are matured in barrel at the two o’clock position – a technique Penfolds still use today, but I’m not aware of any others.” He was also a big believer in “minimal technology, maximum outcome” and no-doubt the practices in the family vineyards – where the oldest vines date back to 1875 and grapes are grown organically and biodynamically – have shaped this approach. “I think many of the modern technological additives are an unnecessary adjunct,” he said. “Equipment wise, our wine

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ON THE RISE: Troy Kalleske has been able to draw on six generations of his family vineyard experience to help shape his own winemaking style.

is made traditionally – destemmed into an open fermenter, pumped over, pressed and racked to barrel for maturation.” While the Kalleske winery hasn’t been decked out with the most-advanced technology, there is one piece of modern equipment that takes pride of place in the lab – an Oenofoss analyser, purchased in 2007. “This was the first Oenofoss unit in Australia and it’s been a great investment,” Troy said. “At a press of a button and using no lab consumables, the unit accurately gives you sugar, malic and so forth, allowing easy monitoring of fermentation.” Troy has earned plenty of recognition for his wines, both at home and abroad. He is one of the youngest ‘Barons of Barossa’, winner of the V-know Peoples Choice Australian Young Gun of Wine, twice finalist in the Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year awards, and past recipient of the Barossa Winemaker of the Year award. There have also been international trophies, including three from the 2012 London International Wine Challenge (including the international biodynamic wine of the year for the 2011 Clarry’s GSM). “This was particularly pleasing given the challenges of the wet 2011 vintage,” he said. The success hasn’t changed him, he still suits up with his mates in the local basketball competition, heads to the Greenock Lutheran Church on Sundays, and volunteers to help organise the Marananga Wine Show. He’s also a family man; married to Sally and a proud dad to Olivia and Johann. “While we are a sixth generation vineyard we are only a first generation winery. At the end of my career I hope to be able to pass the winery to the next generation – as a brand and a business that is respected by industry, the trade and consumers,” Troy said. October 2014 – Issue 609

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An evolving China market: Thirst for Australian white wine Researchers Mushui Huanmei Li and Paul van der Lee write red wine has historically dominated Australian exports to the Chinese market but as it develops white wine is increasing its share, particularly in provinces where wine knowledge and wine penetration is greatest. FROM January 1 to May 31 import clearances of bottled Australian wine into China were 10.6 million litres valued at A$65 million. All wine volume and value data throughout this article – which provides an insight into the geographical variation in Australian white wine penetration based on the most recent import data – are for bottled wines. Graph 1 shows the top 15 provinces and cities importing Australian wine both in volume and value in the period under discussion. It can be seen Guangdong Province and Shanghai are the top two destinations of Australian wine, recording 3.4 million litres and 2.1 million litres respectively. The total amount to these two destinations accounts for almost half the wine imported from Australia. There is not much difference in import volume between destinations such as Shandong and Jiangsu provinces and Beijing, all recording around 0.7 million litres, ranking third, fourth and fifth in terms of import volume and value. It is worth noting the import value of Shandong is marginally higher than Jiangsu and Beijing, indicating the higher average import price for Shandong Province. Tianjin with 0.5 million litres A$3.1 million is ranked sixth. In destinations such as Sichuan, Zhejiang and Fujian

76 Grapegrower & Winemaker

At A glAnce: • Guangdong Province and Shanghai are the top two destinations of Australian wine, recording 3.4 million litres and 2.1 million litres respectively in the first five months of the year. • Australian wines imported to China are dominated by reds, with volume accounting for 90 percent and value for 89 percent. • Shanghai with 0.32 million litres, valued at $A2.03 million, is the number one destination for Australian white wine. • With the development of wine education Chinese consumers will demand a greater range of different wine styles, opening up opportunity for white wine exports to grow.

provinces, the level of Australian wine imports is similar, all slightly above 0.3 million litres. Total value of wine imports in Sichuan is obviously higher than the value in Zhejiang and Fujian, indicating its higher average import price. Australian wine exports to the remaining six provinces are less than 0.2 million litres, with the highest 0.19 million litres being in Liaoning Province and the lowest – 36,000 litres – in Chongqing. Australian wines imported to China are dominated by reds, with volume accounting for 90 percent and value for 89 percent. Graph 2 shows 10 percent of white wine volume represents 11 per cent of value, indicating the average price of white wines is marginally higher. The skewed proportion between red and white imported from Australia to China is related strongly to perception of

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October 2014 – Issue 609

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Graph 2. Percentage of Red and White Wines in Volume and Value Graph 1. Australian Bottled Wine Import to China in Volume and Value (2014/1/1---2014/05/31)

Graph 4. White Australian wine proportion in province and cities in China - comparison with the national average ratio for Australian white wine (January 1 to May 31)

Graph 3. White wine import from Australia (2014/1/1-2014/5/31)

grape wine in China, with red colour representing luck, fortune, prosperity, health and wealth. However it may also reflect the limited promotional effort devoted to white wines and suggests potential for intensified promotion of Australian whites in Chinese markets. This would be a valid marketing strategy, if the red/white ratio is likely to become more balanced as the wine knowledge grows among Chinese wine consumers and China evolves towards a developed wine market consumption profile. So it is interesting to discover which provinces are the destinations importing more white wines and the destinations where white wine accounts for a larger-than-average share. These insights are revealed in Graph 3 and Graph 4 respectively. Graph 3 shows the top 13 destinations importing Australian white wine. In the period from the January 1 to May 31 only 1.1 million litres of Australian white wine was imported to China, valued at A$7.08 million. Shanghai with 0.32 million litres, valued at A$2.03 million, is the number one destination for Australian white wine. The second largest is Guangdong, whose importation of Australian white wine is obviously less than Shanghai, with approximately 0.18 million litres, valued at A$997,000. In terms of value, Shandong with total value of A$783,000 is the third largest wine destination for Australian white wine. In terms of volume, Tianjin with 140,000 litres is a bit higher than Shandong, which with 98,000 litres is in third place. It can also been seen from Graph 3 the average price of white wine imported from Australia to Liaoning Province is the highest, at A$23.60 per litre. Each of the remaining seven destinations imported less than A$322,000, with the highest Jiangsu Province of A$279,000 and the lowest Hainan province at A$95,000. Comparing Graph 1 and Graph 3 it can be seen the provinces and cities with a high penetration of Australian white wines have the highest penetration of imported wines

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generally â&#x20AC;&#x201C; wines which are priced at the higher end of the market. It is easy for people in these provinces/cities to access imported wines and people in these locations are familiar and confident with the imported whites and selection of white wine brands so it is no surprise most Australian white wines go there. The high quantity of white wine imports to these destinations might be explained purely by the higher market share of imported wine generally in these destinations. However Graph 3 only presents the top 13 destinations of Australian wine white in terms of value and volume. In order to understand the complete scenario of Australian white wine performance in China markets, it is worthwhile checking what destinations have a higher-than-average Australian white wine proportion in China markets. The result of that analysis is shown in Graph 4. Graph 4 shows the proportion of Australian white wine penetration in all the destinations (23 in total) in China in comparison with the national average level of Australian white wine penetration. There are 10 destinations in China with higher-than-average white wine penetration, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Shandong Province, Tianjin, Zhejiang province, Henan Province, Hubei Province, Guangxi Province and Yunnan Province. Tianjin and Yunnan provinces stand out as exceptionally high, where the proportion of white wines from Australia account from 22.5 percent and 22.7 percent of total bottled wine respectively. However, except for Tianjin the other three destinations in the top four destinations where Australian bottled white wine import has a higher-than-average proportion including Hubei, Yunnan and Zhejiang provinces shown in Graph 4 are not listed in the top five destinations importing Australian white wine in terms of volume and value shown in Graph 3. Some of the possible explanations for the higher share of white wine in Australian imports into some provinces are:

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• • • • •

Cuisine differences between provinces; Demographics; Wine knowledge; Promotion of white wine; and Stage of wine market development. Cuisine could be an influencing factor. Seven out of 10 of the provinces/cities with higher-than-average proportions of white wine penetration are either in coastal areas or Southern China – the exceptions being Beijing and Henan and Shaanxi provinces. Coastal areas or southern China have customs of eating seafood and light flavoured dishes. Consequently, the reasons why these destinations show a high white wine proportion may be due to their cuisines and lifestyles. However, this explanation is somewhat arbitrary. Take Yunnan Province for example. Its cuisine or ‘Dian Cuisine’ is characterised by fresh, fragrant, sweet aftertaste, moderate sour and hot with ‘mouth numbing’ taste, similar to Sichuan cuisine or ‘Chuan Cuisine’. But the proportion of white wine share is around 10 percent below average in Sichuan province. This suggests other factors such as the demographics of wine consumer groups (age, sex etc.), level of wine knowledge and role of white wine in promotional activities can also contribute to white wine consumption. Thus, more research is needed to discover the reasons behind the success of white wines in these destinations. The most developed wine markets are included in the 10 higher-than-average proportion white wine destinations in China.

This observation supports the hypothesis as wine markets become more developed the share of white wine increases towards that observed in typical mature wine markets. Consequently it is argued one of the primary explanations for the disproportion penetration between red and white wines in China is the underdeveloped wine drinking habit and the associated limited knowledge about wine. It is reasonable to anticipate with the development of wine education in China, Chinese consumers will demand a greater range of different wine styles, thereby opening up opportunity for Australian white wine exports to China to grow. These 10 destinations in China share some common cultural, tradition and policy characteristics but all have their distinctive characteristics showing more receptiveness and therefore growth potential for Australian white wines. At this stage, the Australian wine industry could adopt a first mover advantage strategy for developing the white market segment in China. It would be important to educate consumer palates for Australian white wines. Those provinces/cities with a higher ratio of importing Australian white wine could serve as important platforms for the promotion of Australian white wine in China. The authors: Mushui Huanmei Li is a PhD student at the University of Adelaide, doing research on industry clusters and Entrepreneurship in the Australian wine industry. Paul van der Lee is an Adjunct Lecturer, Master of Wine Business program, at the University of Adelaide.

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ask the Export focus on residual metals IN MARCH 2014, Wine Australia issued a warning to wine exporters regarding increased scrutiny of manganese, iron and copper levels in wine by Chinese authorities. Since then, the AWRI helpdesk has received a number of queries from grapegrowers and winemakers concerned about manganese in grapes and wine.

What is the Chinese regulation around manganese in wine and is it a concern? The Chinese government has begun enforcing mandatory upper limits on residual manganese (2 mg/L) in wine as well as copper (1 mg/L) and iron (8 mg/L). Relatively little is known about typical manganese levels in wine and its sources. As of August 2014, the AWRI has analysed more than 2000 Australian and international wines for manganese. Some important trends in the data have been observed. First, a wide range of manganese levels is observed for both Australian and international wines, which may reflect the wide range of manganese levels in soils throughout the world. Second, about 25% of all wines analysed exceed the 2 mg/L limit, with higher average manganese levels seen in red than in white wine. This is likely due to the extraction process during the fermentation of red wine releasing more manganese from the grape skins and flesh. However, no significant differences are seen among varieties of red and white grapes. Initial studies do suggest average levels can change from vintage to vintage, perhaps due to changes in rainfall and other environmental conditions, and some regions are more prone to high levels than others.

My grape buyer is restricting the number of mancozeb applications I am permitted to use. What is the reason for this? Mancozeb is the only active constituent registered in Australia with a manganese component. The winery may be concerned that the application of mancozeb would contribute to the manganese level in wine. One published study from Sicily (La Pera et. al. 2008) found fungicide treatments with mancozeb did increase the level of manganese in wine. The wines treated with mancozeb in the study, however, did not exceed the Chinese maximum residue limit (MRL). To understand the contribution of mancozeb to manganese levels in wine, the AWRI fermented grapes from the 2014 vintage with known mancozeb applications and analysed the resultant wines. No relationship was found between the number of mancozeb sprays and manganese levels seen in the wine and none of the 36 wines tested contained manganese in excess of 2 mg/L. Conversely, the AWRI has tested wines which exceeded the 2 mg/L limit which had not received any mancozeb treatments, suggesting other factors such as soil type may be more important.

If I meet the recommended withholding period for mancozeb use, will that ensure my wines are below the limit for manganese? No. Withholding periods for mancozeb have not been developed with the aim of managing manganese content in grapes and wine. In any case, mancozeb sprays do not seem to be the main contributing factor to final manganese concentrations. Instead, soil and other environmental conditions are likely to have the greatest influence.

LAB TEST: An Atomic Absorption Spectrometer is used to analyse for manganese at the AWRI. Photo Eric Wilkes.

to see if they could remove manganese from wine. To date none has shown a satisfactory impact on reducing the level of manganese in wine. Some commercial operators are offering processing treatments to remove manganese from wine, but independent testing has not been conducted of these processes. Work at the AWRI is continuing to assess a range of possible processing and fining options.

How can I tell if my wine will meet the requirements? The current recommendation is to test all wines destined for export to China for copper, iron and manganese.

How are samples analysed for manganese and other metals? Wine and juice samples can be analysed for metals including manganese by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) or Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy (ICPS). AWRI Commercial Services and other Australian laboratories offer rapid analysis of metals in wine or juice. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to note that analysis of juice will not necessarily provide an accurate prediction of metal concentrations in final wine, due to concentration effects during the winemaking process. For this reason, finished wines should always be analysed before export.

Want to know more? For more information, please contact Dr Eric Wilkes, Group Manager - Commercial Services, on eric.wilkes@awri.com.au, Creina Stockley, Health & Regulatory Information Manager on creina.stockley@awri.com.au or Steve Guy, General Manager, Regulatory Services, Australian Grape and Wine Authority on steve.guy@agwa.net.au.

Reference Are there any treatments available to remove manganese from wine? The AWRI has tested a number of wine fining treatments

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La Pera, L., Dugo, G., Rando, R., Di Bella, G., Maisano, R., Salvo, F. (2008). Statistical study of the influence of fungicide treatments (mancozeb, zoxamide and copper oxychloride) on heavy metal concentrations in Sicilian red wine. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A, 25(3), 302-313.

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October 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issue 609

Independent investigation announced by the WFA THE Winemaker’s Federation of Australia (WFA) has appointed a retired Supreme Court judge to carry out an independent investigation into how and why the McLaren Vale Grape Wine & Tourism Association was provided a redacted version of an independent assessment of wine industry programs – instead of the complete Aus-Qual report. A redacted document (with one paragraph and a letterhead edited out) was provided to the McLaren Vale association on Friday 5 September. Neither the WFA board, nor Paul Evans the CEO, authorised the edits. Evans explains, the document “was sent to the McLaren Vale Grape Wine & Tourism Association at about 1pm . An email from the CEO was returned to me at 2.07pm. I didn’t read that reply until about 3pm and I phoned him back at about 4pm to let him know we had made an error and an apology was given and the full document was sent immediately. It is fair to say as soon as I was aware I reacted immediately, it was taken to my president straight away and it was dealt with by the board as soon as possible”. The WFA board asked Tony

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D’Aloisio, as president, to examine the circumstances of the incomplete report further, speak and provide due process for those involved, explain what occurred in relation to the covering letter and report back to the board on what action WFA may need to take. “Given the closeness of WFA to the events, I have decided to seek an independent review. I have appointed The Honourable David Bleby QC, recentlyretired judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia, to examine the matter and provide his report.” The terms of reference for Bleby’s report are, as follows… In relation to the covering letter to the Aus-Qual report prepared for WINEC: Examine the events relating to the provision of the covering letter and differences between the original and copy provided; Speak to those involved and as he deems necessary to others; and make all such other enquiries as he sees fit. Bleby has been asked to provide his findings on what occurred and present recommendations on what actions WFA should, or may, need to take including

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any improvements in processes. Bleby will complete his report as quickly as possible and the WFA board will meet to consider it and advise members of the outcome. “In the meantime, while this review is under way, it is not appropriate for us to be providing public commentary," D’Aloisio said. In the week following the sending of the redacted audit, which is now the matter under investigation, the WFA board approved an Entwine Australia application from the Sustainable Australia Winegrowing McLaren Vale program. (Entwine Australia is a national environmental assurance program that provides Australian winemakers and wine grape growers with formal certification of their practices according to recognised international standards.) The short time frame between the redacted document and the Entwine approval has drawn speculation from social media commentators, but Evans said the two matters are unrelated. A more in-depth article can be found online at grapegrowerandwinemaker. wordpress.com.

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winemaking

Modern design based around traditional winemaking If you’re going to build a brand new winery, it’s handy to have a pair of qualified engineers in the family. But even then, it’s important to get the right support for your building project.

Winery Design & Construction

WHEN American’s Jim and Pam Lambert decided to invest in the Australian wine industry about a dozen years ago, they found themselves in a partnership in an existing Barossa wine company. Today, they are watching on eagerly as their new winery, located within their own vineyards just outside Angaston, is built. The new Lambert Estate facility is a 500-tonne winery being built on a ‘green field’ site ready for the 2015 vintage. The winery features a 900 square metre vintage cellar with open fermenters arranged to be gravity fed from the crusher. There is a 350 square metre, covered receival area, 700 square meter barrel store, 600 square meter finished goods storage area, along with a laboratory and additional amenities. The design has catered for a 2000 square metre ‘suspended slab’ that will house the cellar door facilities and has provisions for a commercial kitchen and function centre. It is a big project for a small winery. Even though Jim has an extensive engineering background, the winery sought project management assistance. Angus Russell, from the Bonacci Group, was engaged to offer practical and commercially-aware advice, to deliver effective winery design and support the construction process. “Angus and I worked really well together,” Jim said. “Between ‘Gus’ and I, there are probably not many building projects where the owner and the consultant had such strong engineering knowledge.” Angus completed his civil engineering degree in 1995 and spent the following three years working from the Bonacci Group’s Sydney office as a structural engineer. He has experience working alongside his father, Stuart, in Orange and together they worked on several wine projects including the 10,000tonne Cumulus Winery (formerly Cabonne) and the Charles Sturt University’s production winery.

WINERY CREW: Kirk, Dorado and Vanessa Lambert.

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October 2014 – Issue 609

“He’s very talented,” Jim said. “He knows a lot of things about a lot of what we have needed to cover. You certainly wouldn’t find many people with his breadth of knowledge.” Jim, who was born on a farm in Wisconsin, has a bachelor degree in civil and environmental engineering and a masters degree in structural engineering. His first job out of college was writing computer programs for use in analysing and designing large commercial and government structures, such as skyscrapers and bridges. Through his expertise he worked his way up to a position as Vice-President of a research and development group, which designed CAD/CAM and application software at General Electric. And while he worked in the technology industry for many years, it was always in the back of his mind to “get back to his roots” as a farm boy. Kirk Lambert, Jim and Pam’s son and Lambert Estate winemaker, also had mechanical engineering qualifications before the wine industry grabbed his attention. He’s pretty impressed with the size of the new facility he will be working from. The floorspace of the new winery will be about three times bigger than the site Lambert Estate has been leasing, in Tanunda. “There are some similarities to a couple of the newer wineries in the Barossa, Torbreck and Two Hands. But our receival area is inside and gives us great access straight to our fermenter space – a row of six-tonne fermenters which are matched to fill our two basket presses,” Kirk said. “We will be able to drive the harvester straight out of our own vineyards and into the winery – you can drive the tractor straight in. It is pretty exciting to have something purpose-built for the job we want to do.” Kirk’s wife Vanessa, who has a hands-on role in the winery, said the design process did feel a bit overwhelming at times,

LARGE SCALE: Jim and Pam Lambert at the new winery.

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winemaking “you have to make sure everything has been set up the right way, but it is great to have Jim and Pam invest in the future of the business”. Jim and Pam bought the Angaston property, home to the new winery, in 2003 and have already made significant improvements to it. They have re-trellised the original vines, installed a state-of-the-art gravity-fed irrigation system and increased the plantings to 10 different varieties. A new winery will complete the picture. “We’ve always liked the romance, but also the efficiency, of locating the winery within the estate vineyards,” Jim said. “There will be a great view from the cellar door, up on the second storey. We visited a lot of other wineries and people were always talking about their amazing views, but when we had a look they mostly had really small windows that didn’t really make the most of it. But we’ve changed the design of our windows to make the most of the view. “The whole building fits in very comfortably to the site and we’ve worked really hard on that.” The winery has been built to blend into the existing environment, its ‘L shape’ has allowed for large gum trees to be retained and the building will be cut into the slope of the rolling hill side location, which not only allows for a gravity-fed design, but has insulation benefits as well. And Angus has been on board to help “do it all”. “The huge balcony will be pretty speccy and there is a glass floor that will expose the barrel store to the cellar door. But there’s also functionality,” Angus said. “It has some classic gravity-flow elements, the crusher is positioned over the fermenters and there is easy access from the fermenters to the basket presses. We set the functional requirements, we

developed the ‘shell’ and then we got the architects to ‘gift wrap’ it.” All the winery details of the new Lambert Estate winery were organised before engaging the architect support of Paul Gillet, who has significant wine industry design experience – having worked on the National Wine Centre and Yalumba’s Signature Cellar. Jim said the whole process has bene a big learning experience, but the “biggest thing – probably 10 times bigger than anything else – has been dealing with approvals”. “The blessing of a few delays along the way has been that Angus and I have been able to further improve the design to find more efficiencies – we’ve had time to work on every detail.” “We will be recycling our waste water, treating it and shandying it into our irrigation water – both for the vineyard and the lawns of the cellar door. Every light will be an LED and we think our power consumption will be pretty low. The only area we won’t be self-sufficient is the electricity supply, but we will look at solar down the track.” Angus is clearly focussed on ‘attention to detail’, but insists this does have lots of benefits. “If you can get in early to deliver all the elements that have longer lead times you can deliver the project on time. When you start to work with people you always find the project gets bigger, but not just the floorspace, your power requirements, wastewater treatment, all your services always end up being bigger.” Angus said he’s never helped on a winery project where the building got smaller. The Lambert family is looking forward to moving in and growing their business from their big, new facility.

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09:28 October 19/09/2014 2014 – Issue 609

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s time to check your refrigeration plant Refrigeration

With winter well behind us and warmer weather on its way, now is the perfect time to think about getting your refrigeration system ready and tuned-up for vintage. Not sure where to start? Karl Forsyth, senior engineer at The Australian Wine Research Institute, outlines a series of maintenance tasks that may help improve the reliability of your system when you need it most.

THE best place to start is to go out and have a good look over your refrigeration system. Take note of as much system information as you can, such as compressor run hours, any system alarms or faults and current temperatures. This information may help with troubleshooting in the event of a system failure later in the year. While you are looking over the refrigeration plant, ensure that there are no obstacles or obstructions that might restrict good airflow around condensers, fins and fans. Remove any items that may have been placed nearby, such as stacks of pallets or empty grape bins. If your system is near vegetation, trim away any overhanging tree branches or other obstructions. Are there any other obstructions that might impede air flow? If your system is under cover, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth having a think about airflow around the condenser.

October 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issue 609

Are there ways in which this could be improved? In some cases, where significant obstructions still remain, you may like to consider moving the system to a more appropriate location. Once you have removed as many obstructions as possible, have a look over the surface of the condenser to see if it is clean. Often, the small condenser fins become blocked with dust and insects. If the condenser is dirty, it is worth requesting your service technician clean it prior to vintage.

System shutdown In recent years, with electricity price increases, more and more wineries have been turning their refrigeration systems off during winter to save on energy costs. This may be an effective cost saving strategy, however, before switching your system off it is a good idea to consult

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either your refrigeration system manual or your refrigeration supplier to enquire about specific procedures for plant shutdown and start-up. In some cases, shutting the system down may have unintended consequences and it may be more appropriate to simply change the temperature settings so that the system runs infrequently, rather than completely switching it off. If a refrigeration system has been dormant for a few months, it is best to consult the system manual to ensure that correct operating procedures are followed when re-starting. In particular, some systems require the compressor oil heaters to have been energised for a number of hours prior to start-up. This will help prevent excessive contamination of lubricating oil with refrigerant that can lead to damage to compressors on start-up.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

winemaking If a refrigeration system has been dormant for a few months, it is best to consult the system manual to ensure that correct operating procedures are followed when re-starting. If in doubt on how to start-up your system, consult your service provider for advice.

Checking or adjusting brine While looking over the system it is worth paying some attention to your brine. Begin by checking brine levels in the holding tank. If the system has been off for an extended period of time and the brine has been allowed to warm up, some of the ethanol may have begun to evaporate and consequently you’ll have less brine in your storage tank than you imagined. If this has happened, you will no longer have the freezing point suppression that you desire. Pure ethanol solutions evaporate significantly when warmer than 13C. While most brine solutions contain only 20 per cent ethanol with the remainder made up of water and some propylene glycol, which retards the evaporation of ethanol, it may still be prudent to limit the maximum temperature of your brine tanks to less than 13C. In most wine regions this will not be a problem during winter months, even if the system is switched off, but moving into spring and summer, ambient temperatures may rise above this level and ethanol may begin to evaporate. While checking brine it is worth considering if your current solution meets the requirements for the safe handling and storage of flammable liquids. According to AS1940 (The Australian Standards for the Storage and Handling of Flammable Liquids), ethanol solutions greater than 24 per cent ethanol may be classified as flammable. Given that a 24 per cent ethanol water

solution has a freezing point of only -10C, it may be tempting to increase ethanol levels above the flammable limit. A better strategy is to use a mixed brine solution, often containing propylene glycol as well as water and ethanol. These mixed solutions have lower freezing points and lower flammability. Prior to making any changes to your brine system it is worth having your current mix analysed. Wilmar BioEthanol provides a free brine analysis service. Please refer to its website: http:// www.wilmarbioethanol.com for more information and sampling instructions.

Pump maintenance Most winery refrigeration systems employ a number of different pumps to move the brine either around the winery or between the brine storage tank and the chiller. These pumps can be quite large and use significant amounts of power. Refrigeration plants usually come with a built-in temperature probe at the brine inlet to the evaporator. In some wineries, the pump between the chiller and brine tank is set to run permanently so that the temperature at the built-in probe is representative of the temperature in the brine tank. This is not a recommended set-up, due to the unnecessary energy use. Instead it is recommended that another temperature probe be added to the brine tank itself so that the pump does not need to run continuously. It should be noted that under intermittent operation, the pump will still have to be run for a period before the compressor starts up and after it stops to avoid freezing at the evaporator. It is worth checking the operation and control

logic of the brine pump before vintage to ensure that it is programmed and running as efficiently as possible. Large pumps are also used to circulate brine through the winery. Brine should not be circulated around the winery at higher pressures than necessary or through vessels where it is not needed as this can result in increased pumping requirements and heat gains, both of which lead to additional energy consumption. Various control systems are likely to be in place at your winery. For example, commonly there will be a variable speed drive on the brine reticulation pump with speed control based on a brine line pressure measurement. It is worth checking that this pump does change in speed when there are different levels of demand for cooling in the winery and that it doesn’t run at full speed the whole time.

Conclusion Finally, it is a good idea to check over your maintenance records and make sure that your system is being maintained according to the supplier’s directions. Preventative maintenance, especially during the cooler months, should help to ensure that you have fewer coolingrelated problems during the peak of vintage. For further maintenance advice or ideas on how to improve the efficiency of your refrigeration system, please refer to the AWRI’s Improving Winery Refrigeration Efficiency handbook and the refrigeration case studies available at: http://www.awri.com.au/commercial_ ser v ices/process-opt i m isat ion/ refrigeration/

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October 2014 – Issue 609

Cold Logic celebrates 30-year anniversary FROM humble beginnings, Adelaide-based Cold Logic has grown to become a market leader in industrial refrigeration for the food, wine and beverage industry. “Jeff Cannan and David Lane started Cold Logic in 1984 with two panel vans and a bunch of tools,” said Eddie Lane, Cold Logic director of sales and marketing. “Industrial Refrigeration Services, which later became Cold Logic, was born to provide industrial refrigeration services to the beverage, food processing and cold storage industries throughout Australia. Our technical director Brad Semmler was the first apprentice in the business 27 years ago, with the managing director Jeff Cannan notching up 30 years of service. “At Cold Logic, our employees are loyal, service focused and passionate about what they do. We’ve constructed 280,000 square metres of cold storage facilities. That’s the equivalent of 14 Melbourne Cricket Grounds.” Cold Logic is a manufacturer, supplier, contractor and service provider of industrial refrigeration solutions. The award-winning business celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. “Our growth in the early days came on the back of the success of the Australian wine industry,” Lane said. “Typically, more than half of a winery’s power is consumed by a refrigeration system. This demand has been a catalyst for our growth. We’ve now diversified with a focus on delivering green energy efficient refrigeration solutions.” Cold Logic’s client list includes major companies such as Pernod Ricard Winemakers, Coopers Brewery, Thomas Foods International, Arnotts and JBS.

“Our partnerships are pivotal in the growth of the business,” Lane said. “From day one, Cold Logic has been committed to delivering quality refrigeration services to our clients. Without refrigeration, major manufacturing processes, such as bottling and packaging, stop. Cold Logic continues to play an important role for the food and beverage industry. We’ve developed our strategy for sustained growth over the next five years and aim to reach an annual turnover of $25 million by 2020. “Currently, 60 per cent of our clients are South Australian based, while 40 per cent of our clients are interstate. Cold Logic is keen to continue its expansion plans through the eastern seaboard.” Cold Logic manufactures all its refrigeration equipment on site at its Port Adelaide headquarters. “We have a full fabrication workshop and design facility and also, offer a full fleet of service people on the road,” Mr Lane said. “At a time when the local manufacturing industry is stalling, we are providing meaningful employment and keeping talent here in South Australia.” In its 30 year history, Cold Logic has refrigerated 7.9 billion bottles of wine and constructed 280,000 square metres of cold storage facilities. The industrial refrigeration specialist has offices in Adelaide and Melbourne and employs 47 staff nationally. For more information, contact: P: 61 8 8240 3333 E: solutions@coldlogic.com.au

08 8240 3333 winesolution@coldlogic.com.au www.coldlogic.com.au

Design - Install - Preventative Maintenance - Service October 2014 – Issue 609

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New Mallee winery refrigeration support centre IN AUGUST, Oomiak Refrigeration opened its Mallee Customer Support Centre in Mildura to provide refrigeration services across the Riverland and Sunraysia. The Mallee Service Centre is led by Geoff Keegan, Oomiak’s experienced customer support manager (pictured). Keegan is a qualified refrigeration technician who has many years experience working on a varied range of refrigeration systems. As a Mildura local, a significant amount of Keegan’s time has been spent on winery refrigeration where he has managed the successful delivery of a variety of projects. Keegan’s approach is built upon developing a solid knowledge of customers’ systems and operating needs. “Understanding the wine manufacturing process and the operating environment is essential in the delivery of our services in line with the needs of each client,” Keegan said. A key focus over the next few months will be preparing for pre-vintage maintenance of winery refrigeration equipment. Pre-vintage maintenance

involves a detailed testing process where operational as well as safety settings are tested. The nature of these works is geared to ensure compliance and to protect the reliability and integrity of refrigeration plants in line with the demands of vintage. From their new Mildura workshop, Oomiak will be able to provide the following services: • Routine and preventative maintenance; • Emergency and breakdown response; • Chiller hire for either short or long term; • Compliance audits; • Compressor overhauls (screw and reciprocating); and • Project solutions, engineering and consultancy. Oomiak engineering resources located in Adelaide and Melbourne support the Mallee team. The Mallee centre extends and compliments Oomiak’s support centres in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Rockhampton. Oomiak provides services across Australia and is highly experienced in both Freon and Ammonia applications. In addition to the

Mallee, they are proud to be servicing winery clients in the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and Yarra Valley. For more information, contact: Geoff Keegan P: 1300 731 699 E: geoff.keegan@oomiak.com.au

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October 2014 – Issue 609

Are you paying for extra voltage?

VOLTAGE Stabilisation technology has been around since 1936 in the UK. The process ensures a dead flat voltage profile, harmonising 3-phases and bringing voltage down to an appropriate level are key to making business power use more efficient. Voltage stabilisation is greatly beneficial when the electricity supply to your site is at a much higher voltage than is needed, resulting in excess energy being consumed and higher energy bills. Voltage stabilisation works by stabilising the incoming energy at a voltage that is best suited to your application without compromising the supply. One of the reasons voltage stabilisation is so effective is because the average voltage supplied from the Australian national grid is 242volts (and this can vary between 216volts and 253volts) whereas the nominal Australian voltage is actually 230volts. As an example, if your incoming power is 245volts and the optimum voltage for your business is 225volts, why are you paying for the additional 20volts that you don’t need. SCE Energy is the main distributor and installer of voltage stabilisation technology in Australia. Their systems allow businesses to access optimum voltage and benefit from the greatly-reduced maintenance costs as electric motors and lights last longer and computerised equipment runs without a glitch. The voltage that is supplied to any firm in Australia is rarely even and clean. Voltage can rapidly change in minutes and seconds by as much as 10 volts up and down. There can be as much as a five-volt difference between the 3-phases. Voltage stabilisation can be set to bring the incoming voltage level down to a flat 220 volts with none of the spikes and drops that can cause havoc to business. The likely savings that can be achieved for a firm is possibly as high as 18 per cent in extreme cases however; most often the savings are greater than 10 per cent. Despite recent small reductions in the cost of electricity the long term trend remains up. The price rises over the past five years have been astronomical in some cases. When a business can refine its incoming electrical supply to near perfect as possible there are tremendous savings that can be achieved. Once a business has installed the marco-energy saving technologies like voltage stabilisation the next step is to look to lighting systems as a major energy cost centre.

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winemaking

Energy efficient project at St Hallett WHEN the St Hallett winery, in the Barossa, went looking for efficiencies in energy consumption, management turned to Tri Tech Refrigeration for support. Tri Tech is a market leader in industrial and commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning systems across Australia and New Zealand. St Hallett installed a Mycom screw compressor fridge plant in late 2013, in preparation for the 2014 vintage. The new plant replaced a Freon plant and Tri Tech engineered it to suit the available space.

Robert Asbroek, from St Hallett, said Tri Tech were very easy to deal with, “which gave us the confidence to proceed – all questions, planning and drawings were supplied and returned with detail”. “We were very pleased with the level of communication, detail, completed installation and the sales service. The plant runs very efficiently - smart engineering with VSD’s on the fridge plant and the cooling tower. The plant has certainly delivered on expected savings and with the increase in winery throughput those savings have continued to increase.” Tri Tech can save you time and money by supplying a complete solution – from design, engineering, custom manufacturing, installation and commissioning, all the way through to aftersales support. Tri Tech was able to install a new refrigeration unit at St Hallett that cut the energy intensity for the winery significantly, from more than 240kWh/kL to 150kWh/kL, which represents a reduction in energy intensity of 37.9 per cent. The average price of electricity for St Hallett Wines for June 2014 for $0.2905/kWh (excl. GST). Considering this price, the 77,881kWh electricity saving across a nine-month verification period would have reduced the site electricity costs by more than $22,600. The experienced Tri Tech team includes design and project engineers; drafting, installation and technical specialists; as well as fitting, machining and welding tradesmen. The team operates from offices in Adelaide and Mildura, supported by the high-tech manufacturing facility located in Melbourne. This facility produces the smallest cooling unit through to large skid-mounted industrial systems. Tri Tech can manage large-scale projects, and a team focused on delivering effective results to all our clients - large and small - on schedule and on budget. Asbroek said he would have no hesitation recommending Tri Tech to other wineries. “They have good service technicians and engineers to back up the whole team,” he said.

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October 2014 – Issue 609

winemaking

Chill some wine with MTA AFTER a long growing season, the last thing a winemaker needs is unreliable processing equipment to bring their product to market. While MTA Australasia Pty Ltd (MTA) does not claim to be an expert in the winemaking field, the team are experts in the design and manufacture of process water chillers which are ideally suited to the cold stabilisation process during fermentation. There are many manufacturers and producers of water chillers in the market today, but few genuinely focus on the industrial process market. So what are the major differences between a process water chiller and a chiller designed for air conditioning applications? Well for one its reliability – typically a process chiller will operate in high ambient temperatures, up to +50C and offer flexibility in the operation. Most air conditioning chillers will have a narrow range in operating chilled water temperatures, typically from +5C to +15C, whereas process chillers need to operate and handle water temperatures approaching +30C and as low as -20C brine. Process chillers are also typically designed around 24-hour, seven-days-per-week operation, which offers increased reliability. When wineries are looking to purchase a water chiller there are a number of factors that need to be considered, not just the price, to ensure you are getting the right chiller type for the right application. To make sure you are comparing apples with apples, here are some of the key considerations: • Is the chiller capable of operating at high ambient conditions at my design water temperatures?

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

• What chilled water temperature range can l operate the chiller at? • Are the components of the chiller easily and locally available? • What after sales service backup and technical support does the manufacturer offer? MTA has been in the business of designing and manufacturing industrial process chillers for more than 30 years, and has been operating in Australia for 15 years. MTA has a sizable number of its chillers in winery applications all around Australia and has recently released an expanded range of its base model, the TAEevoTech which now covers refrigeration capacities from seven to 166kWR with low water temperature and high ambient versions. For further information, contact: MTA Australasia P: 1300 304 177 E: sales@mta-au.com

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October 2014 – Issue 609

Yeast & Enzymes

Managing nitrogen nutrition to optimise the aromatic profile

The work of nine French researchers is helping winemakers better understand the role Nitrogen plays during fermentation. The impact of Nitrogen on yeast metabolism has been studied in great detail by Denis Caboulet, Amélie Roy, Marie Agnès Ducasse, Philippe Cottereau, Dominique Solanet, Laurent Dagan, Anthony Silvano, Anne Ortiz-Julien and Rémi Schneider. Introduction The nitrogen in musts is an essential element that enables yeast to complete fermentation. This element is involved in the yeast metabolism, permits the synthesis of biomass and involved in the enzymes and membrane transporters necessary for the functioning of the yeast. Consequently, it impacts on both the kinetics and the completion of fermentation (Sablayrolles et al. 1996). Furthermore, the metabolism of nitrogen, and in particular that of amino acids, generates the formation of many aroma compounds involved in the aroma matrix of wine: higher alcohols and their acetates. The yeast metabolism also influences the revelation or preservation of certain aroma precursors of an amino nature (cysteinylated precursors of varietal thiols and the precursor of dimethyl sulphide), and, thus, the nitrogen composition of the must can modify the aroma profile of the wine. The use of complex or organic nutrients, such as Fermaid O®, has also been shown to influence the formation of aroma compounds when used during alcoholic fermentation.

AROMA COMPOUNDS RESULTING DIRECTLY FROM NITROGEN METABOLISM Higher alcohols The metabolism of amino acids (anabolism and catabolism) by yeast leads to the formation of higher alcohols. These compounds are abundant in wine (from 400 to 500 mg/L in total), as in all fermented beverages and most distilled liquors. In wine, they are largely dominated by 2- and 3-methylbutanol, propanol, 2-methylpropanol, butanol, pentanol, 2-phenylethanol, methylthio propanol (methionol), tyrosol and tryptophol (Baumes 1998). When more than 1 g/L in total of these compounds October 2014 – Issue 609

are present, with the notable exception of 2-phenylethanol, they are considered aroma faults, while at optimal levels of 400 to 500 mg/L, they have a positive impact (Etiévant 1991). The formation of higher alcohols, linked to nitrogen metabolism, is strongly influenced by the nitrogen composition of the must. The catabolism of amino acids by the yeast leads to the formation, by decarboxylation and then reduction, of the a-ketonic acids resulting from the transamination of the amino acids. The anabolism of the same amino acids also leads to the formation of a-ketonic acids from the sugars. The regulation of this metabolism is very complex and it appears that the nitrogen composition of the must is an essential factor. On the macroscopic level, a nitrogen deficiency leads to the accumulation of a-ketonic acids and, therefore, the corresponding higher alcohols. The presence of amino acids in large quantity induces the retro inhibition of the anabolic pathway, and therefore the decrease of higher alcohols, and activates the catabolic pathway. The production of higher alcohols varies according to the yeast strain, and more precisely how the yeast utilises amino acids and to its requirements in total nitrogen. However, it seems that the differences are faint in the absence of a nitrogen deficiency (Jiranek et al. 1995). It also appears that the numerous factors that lead to a rapid rate of alcoholic fermentation (AF) are also favourable for the production of higher alcohols. These factors include growth elements, high turbidity, aeration of the must, high fermentation temperature, high pH and high CO2 pressure, but the interaction among these different factors remains difficult to understand.

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winemaking compounds in abundance. If higher alcohols are more likely to be considered as unfavourable to wine aromas, ethylic esters or the acetates of higher alcohols constitute the large part of the aroma buffer of wines, as defined by Ferreira (2012). They bring what the technologists call the “vineuse” (winey) note resulting from their interactions. Individually, they bring more fruity notes, from white-fleshed to red fruit, bananas or pineapple. Of these two families – ethylic esters and the acetates of higher alcohols – the acetates are the compounds most related to nitrogen metabolism (Baumes 1998) in as much as they are formed by the yeast through the acetylation of the previously described higher alcohols (via the S-acetyl-coenzyme A). However, the biogenesis of the ethyl esters from fatty acids also involves the presence S-acyl-coenzyme A, whose production is essentially regulated by the lipid metabolism, but also by the nitrogen metabolism. In terms of regulation, it seems that for the acetates the availability of higher alcohols is more important than S-acetylcoenzyme A. On the other hand, the activity of acetyltransferase remains essential, which explains the variability among yeast strains observed in oenological conditions. However, for the ethyl esters of fatty acids, S-acyl-coenzyme A is clearly the essential factor, and the conditions that slow the rate of AF seem to favour the activity of the fatty acids and their ethyl esters: strict anaerobiosis, low turbidity and lower temperature.

AROMA COMPOUNDS WHOSE FORMATION IS REGULATED BY THE NITROGEN METABOLISM Varietal thiols Varietal thiols result mainly from cysteinylated or glutathionylated precursors. Characteristic of Sauvignon Blanc

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APPLICATION IN OENOLOGY MODULATING THE ESTER PROFILE BY ADDING NITROGEN Given the links that exist between the metabolism of nitrogen and the production of esters, the use of nitrogen additions to modulate those aroma compounds was studied extensively. According to the most recent research (Charrier et al. 2007), it appears that adding nitrogen to the vine through foliar spraying – a practice recommended for varietal thiols – is not able to significantly or systematically change the quantity of ethyl esters. However, with this technique the levels of the acetates of higher alcohols are increased from 50 per cent to 100 per cent. When foliar spraying is compared with adding ammonia salts in the winery (to obtain the same level of assimilable nitrogen), adding ammonia salts is shown to be less effective, as the increase in acetates never exceeds 50 per cent. These studies provide interesting results initially, but do not take into account the eventual effect of a nitrogen demand that varies depending on the yeast strain, and the possibility of correcting the nitrogen composition of the must through the utilisation of organic nitrogen nutrients rich in amino acids. This was the focus of recent research carried out in partnership between Lallemand, NYSEOS and IFV on Sauvignon, Vermentino and Mourvèdre rosé wines. Overall, the study showed that adding nitrogen or organic nutrients, such as Fermaid O®, to musts that did not have a nitrogen deficiency (about 150 mg of Nass/L) is even more effective on the acetates of the higher alcohols as, intrinsically, the yeast nitrogen needs have been met and the organic amino nitrogen is channelled into the ester production pathway.

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wines (Dubourdieu et al. 2009), they are found in wines from numerous other varietals to which they confer their specific citrus or passion fruit notes when in sufficient quantity, as in Colombard wines, for example, or fruity notes that bring freshness in lower concentrations, as in Melon B wines, for example. The precursors are originally derived from amino acids or peptides. They are transported in the yeast, where the splitting reaction occurs via the C-S lyase activity of the yeast. The regulation of the amino acid and glutathione transporters, at least in part responsible for carrying the varietal thiol precursors into the cell, interferes with the biosynthesis of varietal thiols. It has been shown, notably, that the catabolic repression of ammonium on the biosynthesis of the general amino acid permease (GAP) transporter leads to the release of fewer varietal thiols in wines (Subileau et al. 2008).

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The case of varietal thiols is even better documented, and, in the production process, the nitrogen status of the vine is the first point to examine. In the absence of hydric constraints, soil amendments allow greater biosynthesis of the precursors of cysteinylated thiols in the grapes (Choné et al. 2006). More recent experiments with foliar spraying with urea have produced even more interesting results (Charrier et al. 2007). Indeed, this treatment, after véraison and eventually combined with spraying elemental sulphur, can triple and even quintuple varietal thiol levels in the wines without increasing the yield, vigour or problems with grey rot (Botrytis cinerea) on the grapes. This increase is more likely to result in a better conversion of the thiol precursors into thiols than the increase in the levels of precursors in the grapes identified by Lacroux et al. (2008), according to current knowledge. During fermentation, it has been shown that excessive ammonium at the beginning of AF limits the release of varietal thiols by the yeast (Subileau et al. 2008). The explanation

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October 2014 – Issue 609

The solution for reliable fermentations The solution for reliable fermentations The solution for reliable fermentations

Lallemand offers a range of FERMAID 速速 products Lallemand offers offers aa range range of of FERMAID FERMAID速 products products Lallemand providing solutions for nutritional good practices providing solutions solutions for for nutritional nutritional good good practices practices providing to promote yeast growth, while optimizing to promote promote yeast yeast growth, growth, while while optimizing optimizing to the sensory impact of fermentation. the sensory sensory impact impact of of fermentation. fermentation. the Lallemand Australia Pty Ltd | 23-25 Erudina Ave, Edwardstown, SA 5039 Australia Tel: +61 8 8276 1200 | Fax: +61 8177 1802 | Email: australiaoffice@lallemand.com Lallemand Oenology: Natural Soultions that add value to the world of winemaking

winemaking for this phenomenon lies in the catabolic repression by ammonium of the synthesis of the amino acid transporters in fermenting yeast, which also limits the arrival of thiol precursors of the cysteinylated type, and, consequently, their intracellular conversion into volatile thiols. This observation, made in the laboratory as well as on the pilot scale, has led to the implementation of a strategy for nitrogen nutrition during AF, such as Fermaid O®, which favours the addition of amino nitrogen at the beginning of AF and ammonium later. As with the acetates of higher alcohols, it also appears that the yeast/nutrient pair must be carefully selected, taking into account the demand for nitrogen by the yeast utilised to adapt the nitrogen nutrition with the aim of achieving the desired wine style.

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Conclusion

Dubourdieu, D., and T. Tominaga 2009. Polyfunctional Thiol Compounds. In: V. Moreno-Arribas, and C. Polo, ed. Wine chemistry and biochemistry. Springer. 275.

During alcoholic fermentation it has been shown that excess ammonia (e.g DAP) at the beginning of fermentation limits the entry of certain aromatic precursors into the yeast cell. The expression of volatile varietal thiols is thus reduced. It is therefore recommended to implement a nitrogen nutrition strategy at the beginning of AF which favours the addition of organic nitrogen (Such as Fermaid O®), rather than ammonium salts. The focus of recent research carried out with Lallemand in 2013 on Sauvignon, Vermentino and Mouvedre demonstrated that adding organic nutrients, such as Fermaid O® (aminonitrogen source) to musts that did not have a nitrogen deficiency (approx 150mg/L YAN) increased the concentration of acetates of higher alcohols. The amino nitrogen was used by the yeast for the production of esters. Nitrogen is an essential element required for complete fermentation. It is however, becoming more apparent that it has a tremendous impact on the aroma profile of wine.

About the authors Denis Caboulet (1), Amélie Roy (1), Marie Agnès Ducasse (1), Philippe Cottereau (2), Dominique Solanet (2), Laurent Dagan (3), Anthony Silvano (4), Anne Ortiz-Julien (4) and Rémi Schneider (1, 3). 1 Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin, UMT Qualinov, Domaine de Pech-Rouge, 11430 Gruissan, France 2 Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin, Domaine de Donadille, 30230 Rodilhan, France 3 Nyséos, 2 place Viala, 34 060 Montpellier, France

References

Baumes, R. 1998. Les constituants volatils du stade fermentaire. In: C. Flanzy, ed. Oenologie, Fondements Scientifique et Technologiques. Paris: Tec & Doc Lavoisier. 183-202. Charrier, F., A. Pain, T. Dufourcq, R. Schneider, and J. L. Berger. 2007. Effets technologiques comparés d’une pulvérisation foliaire d’azote à la vigne et d’un ajout de sels ammoniacaux au moût en cave. Vine and Wine World Congress. Zagreb: OIV. Choné, X., V. Lavigne-Cruège, T. Tominaga, C. van Leeuwen, C. Castagnède, C. Saucier, and D. Dubourdieu. 2006. Effect of vine nitrogen status on grape aromatic potential: Flavor precursors (S-cysteine conjugates), glutathione and phenolic content in Vitis vinifera L. cv. Sauvignon Blanc grape juice. Journal International des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin. 40(1):1-6.

Escudero, A., E. Campo, L. Farina, J. Cacho, and V. Ferreira. 2007. Analytical Characterization of the Aroma of Five Premium Red Wines. Insights into the Role of Odor Families and the Concept of Fruitiness of Wines. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 55(11):4501-4510. Etiévant, P. 1991. Wine. In: H. Maarse, ed. Volatile Compounds in Foods and Beverages. New York. Dekker Inc. 483-546. Ferreira, V. 2012. Bases moléculaires de l’arôme du vin. Arômes du Vin. Toulouse / Zaragoza. 5-6. Jiranek, V., P. Langridge, and P. A. Henschke. 1995. Amino acid and ammonium utilization by Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine yeasts from a chemically-defined medium. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture. 46(1):75-83. Lacroux, F., O. Tregoat, C. van Leeuwen, A. Pons, T. Tominaga, V. Lavigne-Cruège, and D. Dubourdieu. 2008. Effect of foliar nitrogen and sulphur application on aromatic expression of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Sauvignon Blanc. Journal International des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin. 42(3):125-132. Loscos, N., M. Ségurel, L. Dagan, N. Sommerer, T. Marlin, and R. Baumes. 2008. Identification of S-methylmethionine in Petit Manseng grapes as dimethyl sulphide precursor in wine. Analytica Chimica Acta. 621(1):24-29. Sablayrolles, J. M., C. Dubois, C. Manginot, J. L. Roustan, and P. Barre. 1996. Effectiveness of combined ammoniacal nitrogen and oxygen additions for completion of sluggish and stuck wine fermentations. J. Ferment. Bioeng. 82(4):377-381. Ségurel, M. A., A. J. Razungles, C. Riou, M. Salles, and R. L. Baumes. 2004. Contribution of dimethyl sulfide to the aroma of Syrah and Grenache Noir wines and estimation of its potential in grapes of these varieties. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 52(23):7084-7093. Subileau, M., R. Schneider, J.-M. Salmon, and E. Degryse. 2008. Nitrogen catabolite repression modulates the production of aromatic thiols characteristic of Sauvignon Blanc at the level of precursor transport. FEMS Yeast Res. 8:771-780.

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October 2014 – Issue 609

When it comes to fermentation, Lallemand has solutions.

O ENSURE COMPLETE AND REGULAR FERMENTATION, THE MUST REQUIRES AN APPROPRIATE NUTRITIONAL, PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL BALANCE THAT LETS THE YEAST MULTIPLY AND THRIVE.

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The effect of commercial glycosidase enzymes on the aroma of Gewürztraminer and Riesling wines Danie Malherbe, Virginie Moine, Amanda Kramer

THERE are many compounds responsible for the final aroma and flavour of a wine. One group of compounds, the monoterpenes, play a major role in the aromatic profile of grape varieties such as Muscat, Riesling and Gewürztraminer imparting a floral and fruity character to wines. The principal monoterpenes associated with wine aroma are geraniol, linalool, nerol, citronellol and -terpineol. Their aromas and thresholds are listed in Table 1. Monoterpenes exist in grapes and wine in two forms: a free form that is volatile and aromatic and a bound form (monoterpenes bound to sugar molecules) referred to as glycosides. These glycosides are non-volatile and non-odourous and therefore do not contribute to wine aroma or organoleptic quality. There are two types of glycosides: mono-glycosides (the monoterpene is bound to only glucose) and di-glycosides (the monoterpene is bound to glucose and one of three sugars – arabinose, rhamnose or apiose). Di-glycosides are more common in Vitis vinifera. The enzymes responsible for breaking the bond between the monoterpenes and the sugars are called glycosidases. They

Table 1. The principal monoterpenes found in wine with their aromatic descriptors and sensory thresholds. Adapted from Ribéreau-Gayon et al. 2006. Varietal character. In: Handbook of Enology volume II 2nd edition Terpenol

Aroma

Threshold

Geraniol

rose

130 μg/L

Linalool

rose

50 μg/L

Nerol

rose

400 μg/L

Citronellol

citronella

18 μg/L

-Terpineol

lily of the valley

400 μg/L

include ß-glucosidase, -arabinosidase, -rhamnosidase and ß-apiosidase. Breakdown of the sugar moieties is sequential, meaning that the latter three glycosidases must act first to remove the terminal sugar before ß-glucosidase can act to remove the glucose molecule from the monoterpene. Glycosidases exist in grapes and yeasts but they are not very active under winemaking conditions. However, fungal glycosidases are active under winemaking conditions and those derived from Aspergillus niger are used in winemaking. Glycosidases are

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October 2014 – Issue 609

produced by A. niger as side activities of pectinase production and are therefore always commercially available as a pectinase / glycosidase mix. Recently, researchers have obtained very promising results with immobilisation of glycosidases onto acrylic beads (4) and on alginate-chitin and chitosan-chitin (5). Immobilisation allows for the use of glycosidases in a pure form, use at a lower concentrations and enzymatic action is easily terminated with the use of bentonite. This article reports on a winery trial conducted during the 2014 southern hemisphere harvest in South Africa on Gewürztraminer and Riesling. The aim of the trial was to compare a new and improved enzymatic formulation by Laffort with the old formulation and a control that received no enzymatic treatment.

EXPERIMENTAL LAYOUT Gewürztraminer and Riesling wines from the 2014 harvest were chosen for the trial. The wines were fermented in stainless steel tanks and remained unsulfured on yeast lees. Samples were collected in 750ml bottles within two weeks of the wine completing primary fermentation. For each wine, six bottles were collected and the trial was conducted in duplicate. Two bottles served as controls, two were treated with 5g/hL Lafazym Arom OF (old formulation) and two were treated with 5g/hL Lafazym Arom NF (new formulation). Each bottle received 40 mg/L potassium meta-bisulphite and was homogenised before enzyme addition was made. The wines were kept at room temperature for approximately eight weeks. After eight weeks the concentrations of 12 of the major monoterpenes found in wine were measured by GC- FID and the wines were subjected to informal sensory analysis.

Figure 1. Average values of duplicate treatments of 3 individual volatile monoterpenes produced above their sensory thresholds and total concentration of the 12 volatile compounds measured in the Gewürztraminer wine (Alc. %: 13.68, RS: 2.68 g/L). Enzymatic contact time: 8.5 weeks

Results and discussion In the Gewürztraminer the GC-FID analysis indicated a significant increase in 11 of the 12 compounds measured compared to the control wine. The biggest increase was observed in the Lafazym Arom NF treatments. Figure 1 demonstrates the increase in three compounds that were produced above their sensory threshold. Total volatile monoterpene concentrations are also indicated and include the values of all 12 compounds measured. Note that due to the relatively high concentrations of geraniol found in wines compared to other monoterpenes, the geraniol and total monoterpene value have been scaled by a factor of 10.

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winemaking

Figure 2. Average values of duplicate treatments of two individual volatile monoterpenes produced above their sensory threshold and total concentrations of the 12 volatile compounds analysed in the Riesling wine (Alc. %: 13.26, RS: 3.73 g/L). Enzymatic contact time: 8 weeks

Informal sensory analysis revealed significant organoleptic differences between the wines. Both the enzyme treated wines were noticeably ‘fruitier’ than the control with the Lafazym Arom NF wine showing the most intensity, specifically a heightened expression of lychee character. It also had greater mouthfeel with a slight bitter after taste. It should be noted that the dosage and contact time used in this trial are in excess of that normally recommended by Laffort. Trial rates were purposefully chosen to demonstrate the power of using glycosidases to increase wine aroma. It can therefore be concluded that the increase in aroma in the case of the Lafazym Arom NF was excessive and that a lower dosage of enzyme should be used for a contact time of eight weeks. Alternatively, the same dosage may be used with shorter contact time. Regular organoleptic monitoring of enzyme treated wine is recommended. In the Riesling, the GC-FID analysis revealed no statistical differences between the 12 compounds analysed. However, informal tasting revealed significant organoleptic differences. The Lafazym Arom OF treatment was described as having increased aromas of rose, violet and jasmine compared to that of the control. The Lafazym Arom NF treated wine was described as being the most intense, especially in rose aroma, and as having the greatest mouthfeel and longest finish. Similar results were found in a 2014 French trial comparing the old and new formulations of Lafazym Arom with a control on 2013 Chardonnay wine. No statistical differences were found on analytical results measuring monoterpene concentrations, however, a formal sensory analysis by a trained panel revealed significant taste differences and Lafazym Arom NF treated wines were found to be the preferred wines (Figure 3). These results indicate that glycosidase enzymes have an effect on a much larger group of volatile compounds in wine other than just the monoterpenes analysed in these two trials. In a recent publication, the authors found an increase in 33 of the 40 volatile compounds analysed after enzyme treatment of a Muscat wine. These volatile compounds include alcohols, terpenes, norisoprenoids, phenols and lactones.

CONCLUSION It is clear from the data presented that the use of commercial glycosidase enzymes can increase the aromatic potential of certain white grape varieties. In general, floral aromas are amplified and it is therefore important to only use this type of enzyme on wines where such a profile is desired. Grape varieties such as Muscats, Gewürztraminer, Riesling and potentially Viognier will benefit with treatment. Glycosidase enzymes will also have an effect on Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc since

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Figure 3. Tasting results from a trial performed on a 2013 French Chardonnay wine. Trial was conducted in 750 ml bottles with a free sulfur dioxide adjusted to 40 mg/l over a period of six-and-a-half weeks (44 days). The enzymatic action was stopped with the addition of 10 g/ hl Microcol Alpha bentonite. A formal sensory analysis was performed by nine tasters. The wines were tasted blind and scored from one to 10 with 10 being the highest score. It is clear from these results that the enzyme treated wines are preferred to the control wine. The two lower dosages: three and four g/hl of the new formulation Lafazym Arom are the two preferred wines, thus indicating an improvement in enzymatic formulation. Trial was conducted by Génerale d’Oenologie, France

they both contain monoterpenes, however, treatment may lead to uncharacteristic aroma profiles unless carefully managed. For this reason, it is recommended to treat only a portion of the final wine with glycosidases as the source of immediate aroma. It should be kept in mind that non-odorous glycosides in wine are also released from their sugar molecules over time via acid hydrolysis. It is one of the reasons why wines produced from these grape varieties have the ability to retain freshness and fruity characters for many years. However, if a fresh and fruity early release wine is the objective, then a larger portion of the final blend may be treated with enzyme to enhance aromatics and possibly consumer acceptance. The use of glycosidase enzymes is also a very powerful tool in sub-optimal vintages where fruit character is lacking in the wine. It enables a winemaker to increase the quality of the final product despite the vintage variation. High glucose concentrations have an inhibitory effect on glycosidase activity in wine; as such enzyme treatment should be considered post primary fermentation. Typical sulfur dioxide levels in wine will not disrupt glycosidase action. Enzymatic activity must be terminated with addition of 10-20 g/hL bentonite when the desired profile is achieved. Contact time should be three-to-eight weeks and will be determined by enzyme dosage, temperature and organoleptic monitoring. The term monoterpenes used in this article includes monoterpenes and monoterpene alcohols (monoterpenols).

References

Canal-Llaubères, R-M. 2010. Enzymes and wine quality. In: Managing wine quality Vol. 2. Woodhead Publishing, 93 – 132. Grimaldi, A. 2006. Characterisation of glycosidase enzymes of wine lactic acid bacteria. Ph.D. thesis – University of Adelaide. Ribéreau-Gayon, P., Glories, Y., Maujean, A. and Dubourdieu, D. 2006. Varietal character. In: Handbook of Enology II 2nd Edition. Wiley, 205–230. González-Pombo, P. Farina, L. Carrau, F., Batista-Viera, F. and Brena, B.M. 2014. Aroma enhancement in wines using co-immobilised Aspergillus niger glycosidases. Food Chemistry 143: 185–191. Romo-Sanchéz, S. Areévalo-Villena, M., Garcia Romero, E., Ramirez, H.L. and Briones Pérez, A. 2014. Immobilization of ß-glucosidase and its application for enhancement of aroma precursors in Muscat wine. Food Bioprocess Technol. 7: 1381-1392.

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October 2014 – Issue 609

AROM

FRESH

MAXIMUM AROMA PROTECTION

sales & marketing

Bedford and Phoenix announce amalgamation plan TWO of South Australia’s leading disability organisations with significant involvement in the wine industry, Bedford Group and Phoenix Society, have announced plans to join forces. The amalgamation would create the second largest Australian Disability Enterprise, delivering employment to more than 1300 people with a disability across 14 sites as well as offering school-to-work transition, day options, housing and nationally accredited qualifications to hundreds more people with a disability. Both organisations offer de-labelling, re-labelling and over sticker options as well as promotion packing and gift packaging services to the wine industry. The Bedford Group operates from two Adelaide suburban sites, while the Phoenix Society recently invested $250,000 in upgrades to its wine operations at its Elizabeth plant, 30 minutes from the Barossa, to double its

wine services business. The Phoenix investment has delivered lean manufacturing processes which improved space utilisation and productivity. A new four-head labeller has increased productivity by almost 40 per cent and the biggest innovation has been to design a unique re-pack line which has seen growth from three pallets a day, to more than 20 pallets supporting Vinpac, Taylors and Grant Burge. “Bedford and Phoenix have more than 120 years of combined experience and credibility in changing lives for people with disability. We are passionate about what we do, and we do it well,” said Sally Powell, Bedford chief executive officer. “To ensure that we can continue to be here for people with disability and their families, the Bedford- Phoenix amalgamation will create a stronger organisation that is better able to provide

Bottling, Labelling & Technology

high quality services for the long term. “It’s the right decision to ensure we can continue to offer the experience and expertise that new entrants to the

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October 2014 – Issue 609

market will struggle to match.” Paul Stevenson, Phoenix Society chief executive officer, said the amalgamation represented the bringing together of two like-minded organisations. “The culture, heritage and brands of both organisations – Bedford and Phoenix – will be preserved in the amalgamation and our employees, staff and stakeholders will notice little or no change,” he said. “The amalgamation will allow us to introduce new and improved facilities and work environments, develop our professional capabilities and offer more choice and even better outcomes for people with disability. "We want to ensure we are here for the long haul for people with disability and their families. They know us, they trust us and they need us to continue to care.” Following approval by the board of Bedford Group, the proposed amalgamation will now go to a vote of Phoenix Society members at a special meeting to be held on Thursday 16 October. If approved, the amalgamation is expected to be complete by early 2015.

Why are Bedford and Phoenix amalgamating?

October 2014 – Issue 609

The introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is going to bring about significant change. While it means more choice for people with disability and their families, it also means dramatically increased competition in the sector. The two organisations want to ensure they continue to support people with disability and their families into the future. Therefore, they are joining forces to grow into a stronger organisation that is better able to provide high quality services for the long term.

When will it all happen? The amalgamation needs the support of both organisations and the Australian Government, specifically the Department of Social Services, to proceed. Following approval by the board of Bedford, the proposed amalgamation will go to a vote of Phoenix Society members at a special meeting on 16 October and will require a 75 per cent 'yes' vote.

What does this mean for staff/ employees at both Bedford and Phoenix and the number of sites? This is an opportunity for the organisations to introduce new programs and services, improved facilities

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and work environments, develop the professional capabilities, and offer more choice and even better outcomes for people with disability. It would create the second largest Australian Disability Enterprise in Australia, with 1300 employees across 14 sites in metropolitan Adelaide, rural South Australia and NSW allowing the provision of a broader variety of employment options, services and support for people with disability.

Will workers have more or less choice when it comes to employment options? This will unequivocally result in giving people more choices in the kind of work they want to be involved in whether it be commercial packaging, manufacturing, hospitality, horticulture, asset management, embroidery; the list goes on.

What will it be called? The culture, heritage and traditions of both organisations will be preserved in the amalgamation and you will notice little or no change. Bedford and Phoenix will keep their individual names and branding. However, in future years a single brand will emerge.

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sales & marketing

Wickman raises a glass to the fine wine market Transport & Freight

The Australian secondary wine market appears well serviced by a few big players, but one family business – Wickman’s Fine Wine Auctions – is building a big following. Stephanie Timotheou caught up with auctioneer Mark Wickman and discovered how he channelled his love of fine wine into a successful wine auction website.

FOUND a couple of layers on a pallet tucked away at the back of the warehouse you need to rid? Or are you in the market for a back-vintage wine to make a big impression when you next visit your interstate distribution team? Wickman’s Fine Wine Auctions has assisted people with these types of requests for more than 10 years, turning a local online site into a nationwide business used by winemakers, sommeliers and wine collectors. Operating out of a suburban-Adelaide storage facility, owner and auctioneer Mark Wickman holds about a dozen online auctions each year, selling up to 3000 bottles of wines at a time, and takes pride in finding new homes for hidden treasures. The idea for the business has its origins with the fundraising efforts of Mark’s son, Kane, about 12 years ago. To reach the goal he set out to achieve for his son, Mark created an auction website using his computer programming skills and phoned hundreds of wineries to ask for donations. “I got such a wonderful response from the wineries and we sold every single bottle,” he said. Twelve years later Kane, at 20, still has a role to play – working alongside his father to dispatch the wines after they’ve

been auctioned. Since beginning the business in 2003, Mark has built a strong rapport with clients, including large wine businesses, winemakers and importers. Some of these industry clients are working on their own private collections (both buying and selling) while others are looking to clear stock as they prepare for their new releases. It’s one thing to gain a great relationship with suppliers, but Mark said knowledge of the target audience was equally as important. “Wickman’s Fine Wine Auctions is not for the person who only drinks wine as an accessory to a Sunday barbeque,” he said. “It’s for people who highly engage with their wine collection, wine is a passion for them and they are always on the lookout to unearth a new wine experience. We aim to attract the person who appreciates wine at many different levels, not the average drinker.” He said there are a lot of winemakers, lawyers, doctors and business owners purchasing from the site and he aims to ensure the products he lists have an element of rarity or exclusivity. Perhaps the best example of an exclusive wine sold was a bottle discovered in an Adelaide Hills cellar at Wairoa, a 19th

New logistics control centre for CHEP Australia A NEW national ‘logistics control centre’ will help CHEP improve its service delivery. Peter Mackie, CHEP Pallets global group president, recently opened CHEP Australia’s logistics control centre at Erskine Park, NSW, where detailed real-time information can predict up to three hours in advance whether a delivery of CHEP equipment will be impacted by events in the network. “Using our data, network knowledge and logistics management expertise, the CHEP Australia team has designed a sophisticated logistics management system that will improve the level of service we provide our customers,” said Mackie.

The new control centre not only provides a greater level of network visibility, it features mechanisms to help manage issues as they arise. If a delivery is impacted by issues such as traffic congestion, the system triggers an alert which assists the team in proactively managing the situation. In the event of a delay, the team is significantly better enabled to quickly contact customers with a new expected delivery time. In Australia CHEP products help the wine industry at various stages of the production process, from harvesting activity through to providing pallets for the distribution of the finished product. Pallets, bins and load containment products are provided across wine

growing and processing regions including the Barossa, Clare Valley, Coonawarra, Margaret River, Hunter Valley, Yarra Valley and Tasmania. In New Zealand, CHEP supplies widely to wine growers and companies, predominantly in the Marlborough and Hawkes Bay regions. Phillip Austin, CHEP Australia & New Zealand president, said resources and expertise are devoted to network planning, efficiency and safety to ensure CHEP equipment is where it needs to be, when it needs to be there. “The Logistics Control Centre enables us to offer the personal service of a smaller operator with the benefits of larger logistics provider."

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October 2014 – Issue 609

Mark said he “handles all our wines Century house which was once a school. with kid’s gloves; it’s very important they As well as the wine style and vintage, are always at the right temperature to the wine label also had the name of the ensure they are kept in the most pristine vigneron and the vineyard’s location – condition possible”. Sir Thomas Elder, Brighton. Elder was “When there is an overflow of wines, one of the founders of Hardys Tintara the stock is redirected to other wine and was a well-known name in the South logistics firms around Adelaide where Australian wine industry. The wine sold it’s palletised and kept in temperature in July for $1011. controlled bulk storage until sold.” The quality of wines being offered by While the business is busy chasing Mark has been endorsed by purchases premium Australian wine, Mark has an made on behalf of the Len Evans eye on opportunities for growth, including Tutorial. This time last year Iain Riggs, potential international ventures. He’s chairman of trustees for the tutorial, optimistic about the future, with hopes for turned to the independent wine auction expansion into other states and countries house for hard-to-source, old Australian in the coming years. wines. Riggs purchased a 58-year-old “I have already started tentatively Lindeman’s Coolalta, a 1965 McWilliam’s looking at Melbourne and Sydney as Mount Pleasant OH Hermitage Shiraz, a sources of processing and holding wine 1966 Penfolds Bin 426 Shiraz Ouillade but in terms of auctions I am not looking and a 1969 Woodley’s Burgundy. at doing more than one per month. We’re Excellent service has driven word-ofMark Wickman formed Wickman’s Fine Wine also continuing to work on our software mouth recommendation for the business, Auctions 12 years ago and hosts auctions that development and infrastructure in regards and there is now a strong national sell anywhere between 2000 and 3000 bottles of ultra-premium wine a month. to our website so that’s going to keep on network of both buyers and sellers. expanding to include more useful and “Recently we had a collector in WA informative content for wine collectors.” who was moving to Canada for work Auction websites for New York, London and Hong Kong could and he provided us with more than 3000 bottles to sell,” he also be an option for Wickman’s Fine Wine Auctions. “Basically said. “We arranged to pick up the wine, palletise it, bring it to wherever there is a hub we want to target it,” Mark said. “We’re Adelaide, inspect it, put it up for auction and it all sold.” also looking at sourcing old wine from overseas but we have The standard of service extends to the care taken with each many government restrictions that need to be worked on first.” bottle. The storage facilities are temperature-controlled and

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business & technology Résumé writing: Stand out from the crowd This month’s Winejobs article looks at résumé writing and how that piece of paper can help sell yourself to potential employers. Stephanie Timotheou got the scoop from Treasury Wine Estate’s Cameron Fitzgerald and CozWine’s Ryan Dahlitz on all there is to know about presenting the perfect résumé. A RÉSUMÉ is the first point of contact an employer has with you and is used to sell yourself in the corporate world. That’s why it’s important to ensure it gives the reader a clear idea of the sort of person you are, what you hope to achieve throughout your career and the training and education you’ve had to help get there. According Ryan Dahlitz, from wine recruitment firm CozWine, a résumé should highlight your experience, qualifications and skills, organised in a way that’s easy to understand and follow. While it may seem obvious to some, Dahlitz recommends including your full name and contact details to ensure an employer can get hold of you if they are interested to find out more. Your fixed address, correct phone numbers (landline and mobile) and email address should be listed at the top of the page for quick and easy access. Other important things to list while keeping it clear and concise are:

At a glance: • The perfect résumé should include fundamental information such as your career objective, employment history, training and education and at least three referees. • Keep your résumé between three and five pages. • List any hobbies or sporting activities to give the reader an idea of the sort of person you are away from the office. • Avoid using graphics or fancy layouts as this can distract the reader and looks unprofessional. • Your potential employer will spend between 30 and 60 seconds scanning your résumé so it’s important to ensure the formatting is simple and easy to follow.

• Your career objective: This tells potential employers the sort of work you are hoping to do. Dahlitz suggests being specific and realistic about what you want and tailor the objective to suit each employer or to target the role you are applying for; • Your employment history: Start from the most recent job and work backwards. Include the title of the position, the name of the organisation and the location. Describe your work responsibilities with an emphasis on specific skills and achievements; • Your education and training: Name the institution or training provider, the resulting qualification or skills obtained and the date the qualification was obtained or when the training occurred; • References: Dahlitz suggests listing at least two referees along with their contact details; and

• Additional information: This includes memberships for professional institutes, organisations you are a member of (volunteer work or sporting clubs etc.) and specific licences or permits applicable to the industry. When listing your employment history, a summary of responsibilities and tasks performed is only recommended for the past 7-10 years. Any relevant positions held after this period should be listed without explanation. Dahlitz says if additional information is required for these positions, a brief summary (2-3 lines maximum) is acceptable. In most cases you only have seconds to catch the reader’s attention before they move on to the next applicant, so the words you use and how you present them are critical. To set yourself apart from competitors, Dahlitz suggests the following: • Use headings, bullet points and sub-

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October 2014 – Issue 609

headings to allow the reader to scan your résumé; • Include a cover letter and highlight in bold any specific skills and qualifications you want to catch the reader’s eye. You could also use this method in your résumé, but not too often; and • Continuously update your information to ensure you haven’t left anything important out. Cameron Fitzgerald, Treasury Wine Estate’s (TWE) lead careers business partner, manages the company’s recruitment function which provides support for Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Europe. He scans anywhere between 20 and 300 applications per job vacancy, depending on what the role is and where it’s located. When asked what he looks for in the perfect résumé, Fitzgerald said it is important to capture the employer’s attention at a first glance. “It must be clear and concise and must also have a bit of white space, not an abundance of text on a page. You don’t want the message to get lost” he says. When recruiting, Fitzgerald particularly looks for résumés that point to the candidate’s achievements more-so than responsibilities. “We want to see a clear snapshot of how someone may have progressed in their career,” he says. “We also want a quick, concise view of how October 2014 – Issue 609

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they can move through roles and once we’ve made that initial assessment, we start looking for the person who’s got a clear understanding of the business or industry and someone who’s done their research on the job they’re applying for.” Another thing he looks for is the way a candidate communicates, which he says a recruiter can pick by the words used throughout the document. Recruiters are trained to quickly summarise a person’s relevance to the role they’re applying for. Fitzgerald says the team at TWE spends an initial 30 to 60 seconds looking at a résumé and will then make a judgement call on if they need to explore the candidate further. The recruitment team then screens shortlisted candidates that need further investigation and picks a selection of people who match the criteria. When asked what job seekers shouldn't do, Dahlitz said a reader doesn’t want to know details about your health, religion, nationality, marital status and age, and his biggest tip for people seeking a job www.winebiz.com.au

in the industry is “never lie or embellish the truth”. For Fitzgerald, one of the biggest “no-nos” among others is to send a résumé that’s longer than four pages. “Nobody has the want or need to read through 10 or 12 pages of a résumé, so keep within a three to four-page limit,” he says. He describes a résumé as an initial sales document that makes the reader want to know more. “It’s going to get you in a position where you can communicate with the decision maker and talk to them about things that weren’t listed in your initial sales document.” He also recommends simple formatting without the use of colour or pictures. “This is the biggest thing that would turn me off – stick to black and white so you don’t take the attention away from the information that’s relevant,” he says. Fitzgerald’s best advice to those seeking a job or change of scenery in the industry is simple: Be able to clearly articulate the complexity involved in working in the wine industry. He says while this doesn’t purely relate to résumé writing, people can start this process to give them a better understanding of what recruitment agencies look for in a potential employee. “This is the one thing we are often in search for, particularly in a large organisation like TWE that has an extremely complex structure.” Grapegrower & Winemaker

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looking forward 2014

looking back

Australia & New Zealand

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

October

October 1984 Australia risks losing its world leadership in grapevine research and development because Government support has been cut – and in some cases withdrawn completely, according to internationally recognised Australian viticultural scientist Brian Freeman. Freeman, of the New South Wales Agriculture Department, predicts the effects of severe cutbacks in vine research will be felt in the nation’s vineyards in about three years.

October 1994 Southcorp Holdings believes its wine division could have sold between 30 and 40 per cent more wine during the 1994 financial year if it weren’t for unseasonal weather which resulted in a shortage of cask wine for the domestic market in the latter half of the year. The company said this shortage caused Southcorp Wines to miss out on a further $5 million on its profit before interest and tax of $61.8 million. This profit was up from $45.7 million in the previous year. Overall sales for the wine group rose 11 per cent to $352 million while international sales increased 34 per cent to $106 million.

October 2004 Riverina producer Casella Estate won the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for its premium Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 in class 19 at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show. According to chief winemaker Alan Kennett the win reaffirms the dedication of Casella’s winemaking team to producing quality wines under each brand. “It is an enormous credit to the skill and dedication of the Casella team that we have been able to produce such a variety of top-shelf wines,” Kennett said. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon will only be released domestically as part of a premium range under the Yellow Tail label toward mid-2005.

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15-16 (JD) Geelong Wine Show Geelong, VIC. www.geelongwineshow.com.au 16-17 (JD) New England Wine Show Glen Innes, NSW. www.newenglandwineshow.com.au 16 WISA Supplier of the Year Awards 2014 Adelaide, SA. www.wisa.org.au 17-19 Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations Coonawarra, SA. www.coonawarra.org 17-19 The Good Food & Wine Show – Brisbane, QLD. www.goodfoodshow.com.au 17 October-2 November Orange Wine Week Orange, NSW. www.tasteorange.com.au/ wineweek.htm 17 Seminar on Riesling Excellence Canberra, ACT. www.rieslingchallenge.com 18-21 (JD) 2014 Australian Small Winemakers Show Stanthorpe, QLD. www.asws.com.au 18 Avoca Cup Races – Pyrenees Region, VIC. www.countryracing.com.au 18-19 Murrumbateman Field Days Murrumbateman, NSW. www.mfdays.com 18 Riverland Wine & Food Festival Riverland, SA. www.riverlandwine.com.au 20 (JD) Daylesford Wine Show – Daylesford, VIC. www.daylesfordwineshow.com.au 20 Stonier International Pinot Noir Tasting (SPINOT) – Melbourne, VIC. www.stonier.com.au

21-22 (JD) Australian Sparkling Wine Show Marysville, VIC. www. australiansparklingwineshow.com.au 21 NSW DPI Grapevine Nutrition Workshop – Canberra, Murrumbateman, NSW. www. awri.com.au/industry_support/coursesseminars-workshops/events 22 Prowine 10th Anniversary Celebration Prowine, SA. www.prowine.com.au 23-25 Australian National Field Days Orange, NSW. www.anfd.com.au

November 1-2 Toast to the Coast Festival Geelong Region, VIC. www.toasttothecoast. com.au 1-30 2014 Sculpture in the Vineyards Hunter Valley, NSW. www. sculptureinthevineyards.com.au 2 Geographe Crush Wine Exhibition Bunbury, WA. www.wineandfood.com.au 2 Hunter Valley Uncorked Balmoral Balmoral, NSW. www.winecountry.com.au 3-5 (JD) Air New Zealand Wine Awards Auckland, NZ. www.airnzwineawards.co.nz 5-7 (JD) Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show Mildura, VIC. www.aavws.com 8-9 Out of the Barrel Weekend Langhorne Creek, SA. www. langhornecreek.com

International October 19-23 SIAL Paris France. www.sialparis.com 23-26 Wine, Food & Good Living Finland. www.messukeskus.com 24-27 MEGAVINO Brussels, Belgium. www.megavino.be

29 October-2 November EXPO DRINK & WINE – Bucharest, Romania. www. targdevinuri.ro 29-30 Vinisud Asia Shanghai, China. www.vinisud-asia.com JD = judging date CD = closing date

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

October 2014 – Issue 609

FIND YOUR SUPPLIER QUICKLY WITH OUR October 2014 Advertiser List Supplier A B Mauri Adama Australia

Page 99

Supplier JMA Engineering

37,50

Kauri Australia

Page 81 66,73,75,77

Aggreko

KLIMA

AGL Energy

Laffort Australia

101

Agnova

Lallemand Australia

AJL8 Enterprises

Ledgard

Amertec

MEP Instruments

Aust & International Agri Exchange

110

Mr. Nozzle

Australian Tank Insulation

MTA Australasia

Australian Tartaric Products

Nutri-Tech Solutions

Oblomov Trading Co

Oomiak

Barrel Finance & Logistics BASF

31,33

93,95,97

Bayer CropScience

Organic Crop Protectants

Benchmark Label machine

110

Pacific Laboratory Products

Bibber International

110

Pastro Custom Ag

Biocontrol

Pellenc Australia

17,19

Bonacci Group

Phoenix Society of South Australia

102

Braud Australia

Plastic Precise Parts

Bruce Gilbert Vine Grafting

110

Rapidfil

Cavin Tonnellerie

Recochem

C E Bartlett

Ryset (Aust)

Cold Logic Crown Sheet Metal

40 64,110

S&R Enterprises (SA) 70

SCE Energy Solutions

CRT

Spagnolo Engineering

Della Toffola Pacific

112

Stoller Australia

Deltagen Australia

106

Streamline Cartons

110

Dow Agro Sciences

45,47

Syngenta Australia

Dupont

29,53

Tri Tech Refrigeration

FDPI Spares & Maintenance

Vine Industry Nursery Assoc

110

Fineweld Stainless Steel

Vine Sight

110

Fischer Australis

Vinewright

110

FMR Group

Viniquip

103

Gori Australia

105

Whitlands Engineering

Groguard Australia

Wine Storage Options

104

IMCD Australia

Winery Technologies Aust.

Iseco Engineering Services

Wine Tech Aust 2015

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

October 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issue 609

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

109

Marketplace

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

VINEYARD REMOVAL / RE-WORKING

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

brucethegrafter@gmail.com www.brucethegrafter.com

• Providing professional services in Vineyard Removal with rates per Ha. • Tom & his team have gained a high reputation in all regions Australia Wide.

Vine Industry Nursery Assoc.

www.vina.net.au

Tom Stephens 0428 443 263

Vine / Tree Guards Cane Support Tabs

Bench Mark label Machine Lightly used Australian made BenchMark label machine that labels any round product both front and back. Normally retails for $6500 will sell for $3500neg. Uses self adhesive labels on a roll. Ideal for wine bottles can label up to 700-800 bottles/hr. Comes with original instruction manual.

Contact Trevor Spurr

0400 297 959 or email tjspurr@netconnect.com.au

65 x 65 x 480 Most popular vine size

95 x 95 x 300 2 Lt Milk carton size

• Pulling vines is the sole business for Vine Sight.

75 x 75 x 400

Staple around for bushier trees 75 diameter x 420

• Low cost protection against spray, rabbits, wind etc. • Long field life of18 months plus • Available in white poly coated cartonboard • Suit vines, trees, olives, citrus etc • Supplied flat in boxes • Just square up and ready to go • Comes with indent cane holder

Streamline Cartons

www.vinesight.com.au

ARE YOU STILL REQUIRING CELLAR HANDS for the 2015 VINTAGE? The popular WINE EXPERIENCE INTERNATIONAL Program enables young people, from many countries, who are wishing to gain an opportunity to acquire additional practical experience towards their Career objectives. These qualified young people are seeking a period of about three months work and are available for the 2015 Vintage. We can supply your international employees with the correct procedures to obtain their visas and advise telephone numbers. For further information contact:PO Box 3093 KEW, Victoria 3101 Ph (03) 9818 2395 – FAX (03) 9818 7255 Email: auintagx@bigpond.com Web: www.agriculturalexchange.com

Ph 1800-227866 Fax (08) 8260 2387

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

www.streamlinecartons.com.au sales@streamlinecartons.com.au Supplying vine growers for the past 12 years

e tag

Vin

201

Qualified vintage staff?

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

03 9455 3339 • www.rapidfil.com.au

08 8374 0077

info@bibber.com.au

www.bibber.com.au 110 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winebiz.com.au

October 2014 – Issue 609

Don't rely on what you hear on the grapevine Comprehensive and up-to-date grape and wine industry resource We’ve been doing this for over 30 years Includes snapshot of the industry thorough annual statistical overview Now available in PRINT and ONLINE! • 7,000 Industry listings • 9,000 Personnel • 3,100 Wineries • 4,800 Wine brands • 1,500 Grapegrowers • 2,200 Buyers’ guide listings • 280 Distributors & retailers • 180 Writers & media

PLUS

NEW 2014! FACEBOOK & TWITTER account listings

+ Statistics + 2013 Overview + Calendar of events + Wineshows + Courses + Organisations

If you’re involved with any facet of the industry, The Directory is an invaluable reference for sourcing information

PROVIDING SOLUTIONS TO THE WINE INDUSTRY

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

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

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