Grapegrower & Winemaker - June 2016 by Provincial Press Group

JUNE 2016

AWITC preview

WET

Rebate reform

New Zealand vintage report: Quality AND quantity

Don’t give your plants too much to drink. The trick to making money from growing anything is to sell the end result for as much as possible while spending as little as possible in the process.

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contents features JUNE 2016

AWITC & Trade Exhibition Preview

Training, Trellising & Pruning

Vineyard Machinery

AWITC preview

WET

Rebate reform

Crushing

news

New Zealand vintage report: Quality AND quantity

COVER With the focus on the New Zealand vintage this month, we’ve chosen an image of the Opawa vineyard for the cover. These vines are planted on the historic river bed of the old Opawa river. The stony soils are ideally suited for grape vines but not much else.

grapegrowing

On the grapevine .....................................6

From the editor .........................................8 Wine tax changes

Movers & shakers ...................................10 10

New Zealand Vintage Report: 2016 delivers quality AND quantity ........43 Although New Zealand’s vintage has delivered a large quantity this year, the quality has remained high.

Keeping vineyards healthy: Dion Mundy, plant pathologist .................50 New awards celebrate partnerships in wine ............................... 12 National survey reveals damning state of gender equality in the Australian wine industry .........................14 Wine Equalisation Tax rebate: Reform plans ..........................................16

SA Winegrape Grower Summit: Water will be a key issue ........................52 Innovation and sanitisation during dehydration .................................54 Italy is recognised as leading the way in the production of wine made from partially-dried grapes, this article looks at the modernisation of this process.

Back to basics: Managing your trellis system ...................59

regulars 6 What’s online 39 R&D at Work 76 Ask the AWRI Wine Australia for Australian Wine

Understanding costs should be as easy as ABC Adelaide-based business and engineering consultants 2XE have bought to light some valuable news for the Australian wine community’s bottom line. In a recent project, funded by Wine Australia, to undertake a life-cycle cost analysis of wine processing, it revealed the enormous potential of what is known as activity-based costing (ABC) as well as some large holes in just how much many wineries know about what their production costs actually are.

This then highlights where changes to processes could increase profits.

A tailored ABC model was prepared for each winery, showing mean costs per kilolitre (kL) of wine for activities such as bottling, barreling and maturation. The aim was to create an easy-to-use framework that could be customised to suit the needs of each and every wine business.

4 Grapegrower & Winemaker In fact, 2XE CEO Nick Palousis would go so far as to say it is ‘one of the biggest knowledge gaps we’ve seen in the sector’.

Wine Australia is now studying the project report to determine how best to progress the findings. Nick said ABC represented a different way of looking at costs and their implications. ‘Typically a winery would take its balance sheet and look at the things an accountant usually

88 Calendar 89 Industry profile 90 Marketplace classifieds

help wineries target their efficiency projects towards activities that have the greatest opportunity for increasing profit. ‘For example, the total cost per kL of wine pressed is significantly different when comparing different techniques such as basket press, bag-press and screw-press’, the report says. ‘Also, the way a press is used varies the cost of production per kL. For example, a winery with a bag press using automated pressing cycles may use less labour than one that requires continual monitoring and adjustment.

‘Likewise, a winery that can schedule and separate red and white batches on different days can minimise cleaning and increase labour efficiency

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June 2016 – Issue 629

June 2016: Issue 629 winemaking Climate and variety impact on cold soak effectiveness .......................63

Young Gun: Steve Baraglia .................... 74

A trial conducted in 2013 examined the influence of climate and variety on the effectiveness of pre-fermentative cold maceration.

Although his first attempt at making wine could probably be best described as a disaster, Steve Baraglia has managed to cement himself as one of the most promising young winemakers in Australia.

Cool Products at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium ..........67

Modern crusher/destemmers: Emphasis on gentle handling ...................78

Australian wines win big at IWC .............69

Why is a wine bottle the size it is?...........82

business & technology

It’s great in theory: But does ‘lean manufacturing’ match the Aussie culture? ........................70 74

Natural corks with non-detectable TCA guarantee .......................................84 AMORIM HAS ACHIEVED a major technological breakthrough to become the world’s first cork producer to deliver natural cork stoppers to winemakers with a nondetectable TCA guarantee.

sales & marketing McAtamney’s Market Report ...................86 All-conquering Chardonnay

PUBLISHER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE Hartley Higgins

PRODUCTION Simon Miles

GENERAL MANAGER Peter Muscet

CIRCULATION: Melissa Smithen subs@winetitles.com.au

EDITOR Nathan Gogoll editor@grapeandwine.com.au EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Denis Gastin, Dr Steve Goodman, Dr Terry Lee, Paul van der Lee, Bob Campbell MW, Prof Dennis Taylor, Mary Retallack and Corrina Wright EDITORIAL Emilie Reynolds journalist@winetitles.com.au ADVERTISING SALES Maria Stephenson sales@grapeandwine.com.au June 2016 – Issue 629

WINETITLES MEDIA ABN 85 085 551 980 630 Regency Road, Broadview, South Australia 5083 Phone: (08) 8369 9500 Fax: (08) 8369 9501 info@winetitles.com.au www.winetitles.com.au @Grape_and_Wine Printing by Lane Print Group, Adelaide © Contents copyright Winetitles Media 2014. All Rights Reserved. Print Post Approved PP535806/0019 Articles published in this issue of Grapegrower & Winemaker may also appear in full or as extracts on our website. Cover price $8.25 (inc. GST) www.winetitles.com.au

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

on the grapevine what’s ONLINE Demand drop for 3 Oceans WA’s 3 Oceans Wine Company has laid-off non-essential staff as it reconsiders its strategic direction in the face of falling demand in China. Owned by Hebei Qianjin Steel Group, 3 Oceans has retained its winemaking team and will keep the cellar door open near Margaret River, reports Business News.

Seresin joins Louis Latour Biodynamic Marlborough estate Seresin Estate has signed up with Louis Latour Agencies as it seeks to grow its distribution with independent retailers and the on-trade. Seresin, owned by New Zealand-born cinematographer Michael Seresin, becomes the second biodynamic estate in Louis Latour’s portfolio alongside McHenry Hohnen of Margaret River, reports Drinks Business.

Aussie Chardonnay ‘too lean’ Some modern Australian Chardonnay has a leanness that hides its regional typicity according to Larry Cherubino. Speaking at the London Wine Fair, Cherubino said some Chardonnay showed evidence of “a lot of artifice”, with the style pendulum swinging from one extreme of honeyed richness to another of leanness, reports Drinks Business.

Coonawarra aerial assistance Cameras attached to fixed-wing aircraft are providing data to identify canopy temperature – in order to improve water use and wine quality. The project will help researchers learn how to reduce vine water stress, reports The Naracoorte Herald.

Daily Wine News is a snapshot of wine business, research and marketing content gleaned from international wine media sources, with a focus on Australian news and content. To subscribe visit www.winetitles.com.au/dwn. 6 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Wine Australia invests $8.5 million in new projects A DOZEN research and development (R&D) projects will be funded by Wine Australia with $8.5 million to be invested across the next four years. Brian Walsh, Wine Australia chair, said he was delighted with the quality of the research projects that Wine Australia planned to fund through this round. “We look forward to the outcomes contributing to a prosperous Australian grape and wine community,” said Walsh. The 12 projects cover topics including

variety uniqueness, quality and diversity as well as grapegrowing innovations, climate change and sustainability. “Our research partners in these projects include the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), CSIRO, the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA), the University of Adelaide, the Antarctic Climate Ecosystem CRC and 2XE, and we look forward to working with them to deliver strong outcomes for the Australian grape and wine community.”

Entry rules change for Hobart Wine Show THE 2016 Royal Hobart International Wine Show hopes to attract more entries from smaller producers through reduced volume entry requirements. John Ellis, chair of the show’s committee and Hanging Rock Winery managing director, said organisers had “halved the entry volume requirement for interstate entries”. Ellis called the changes “industry leading” as most wine shows (apart from Sydney) require 250 dozen bottles for all classes in stock. “In other words, this is a requirement to show that the particular wine is in production,” he said. “We’ve now halved this requirement for non-Tasmanian entries to 125 dozen for all classes and all wine styles. I believe it provides an incentive for smaller producers in wine growing regions of WA, SA, Victoria and NSW to consider entering a wine show for the first time.”

Tasma nia n Show ex hibitor requirements remain at 25 dozen bottles in stock in all classes. First held in 1975 the Show has grown steadily to become the second largest capital city wine show in Australia. The chair of the judging panel this year will be Louisa Rose of South Australia, winemaker for Yalumba and Hill Smith Family Vineyards. Last year’s Wine Show attracted 927 red wine entries, 588 dry whites and 93 sparkling wines. 120 Pinot Noirs were entered in the show from both Australia and New Zealand. The Royal Hobart International Wine Show is the only wine show in Australia with Certified Quality Management accreditation ISO 9001 which is audited each year and ensures the show is professionally organised, governed, and judged. Entries close in August.

Letter to the editor I AM WRITING regarding the article ‘Next gen sustainable solar wineries’ published in issue 623 of the Grapegrower & Winemaker, written by Ian Jeffery. In this article, data on different wineries around the world with solar energy installations and innovative applications are given. There is no doubt that the wine sector is one of those with greater opportunities for the development of clean technologies. From the humility of our possibilities, we are aware that it is urgently necessary to fight effectively against climate change. Therefore, for years we have a firm commitment to renewable energy and CO2 emissions abatement. As part of our Torres & Earth program (www. torresearth.com/en), we have installed 767.5 kWp of photovoltaic capacity in our wineries in Spain (673 kWp in our cellars www.winetitles.com.au

in Penedès and 94.5 kWp in La Rioja), apart from other applications as a 2.7 MW biomass boiler. These figures are significantly higher than most of the wineries referenced in the article. We are aware that the purpose of the article is not to establish a ranking of the most sustainable wineries, but encourage those who have not yet taken the step to invest in renewable energy. We fully share this goal. We also understand that such data are difficult to collect, and there will be other wineries with remarkable renewable energy facilities that are not mentioned. Our intention is not in any way criticise the article. We just want to inform you with additional information on our cellars. Albert Bel Beneyto Tecnico Cambio Climatico, Barcelona June 2016 – Issue 629

NUFARM’S ORGANIC CERTIFIED COPPER

from the editor

Nathan Gogoll Editor

Wine tax changes I’VE ALREADY WRITTEN thousands of words about the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) and the rebates available because of it. But it seems there are thousands more still to be written. As I tackled the announcements from the 2016 Federal Budget and tried to understand how the changes to the WET Rebate would impact on producers I noticed the mainstream media didn’t really understand. The lack of understanding created a few interesting headlines: ‘Wine equalisation tax rebate reforms a win for industry’ ‘Wine Equalisation Tax to stop flood of cheap wine’ ‘Windfall for Aussie wine industry’ Then I noticed there were some attention seekers who made over-the-top statements: “This could be the death of the cellar door.” “Overnight the Treasurer has breathed life back into the rebate.”

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“This idiocy will put about 80% of West Australian small producers out of business.” In my opinion, the proposed reform can’t be summed up easily in a ‘win’ or ‘lose’ headline, nor does a statement like the “death of the cellar door” add any decent analysis. I would encourage anybody who currently receives any amount of WET Rebate to invest the time to be as informed as possible about what is happening and where their local, state and national representative bodies stand on the issue. And while I can, I’d like to address the conspiracy theorists who have pointed the finger at the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) for supporting “the big end of town” on this. I’ve seen these types of sentiments expressed a few times… “As one of 100’s of small wineries trying to be bankrupted by the WFA, I would like to applaud them for their consistency.” While it’s not my job to defend the peak representative industry body, in my opinion the comments above are unwarranted. I don’t agree the WFA wanted the WET Rebate reform that has delivered in this year’s Federal Budget (and you can check it for yourself by jumping on the WFA website and reading the ‘Pre Budget Submission’… check out Page 15 for the details on the WET Rebate). I haven’t been able to find any reference of the WFA calling for a reduced cap on the rebate. In fact, I have a feeling the differences between what the WFA wanted on WET reform and what the Federal Government was prepared to deliver might have been a factor in Paul Evans decision to leave the top job. But if you need further proof the Federal Government has delivered a compromised version of what the wine and viticulture industry asked for, then you can take a look at the report delivered by the ‘WET Rebate Consultative Group’ that lives on the publications page of www.treasury.gov.au. None of the recommendations from this group included reduced rebate caps (for reference this group included: Tony D’Aloisio, Darren de Bortoli, Rebecca Duffy, Nigel Gallop, Tome Harvey, Robert Hill-Smith, Larry Jorgensen, Anthony Murphy, Roger Sharp and Lawrie Stanford). In fact, the majority of this group rejected the idea of a reduced cap when the idea was presented to them. An extract from the group’s report states: “Material before the Consultative Group showed that the majority of wine producers in Australia claim significantly less than the current $500,000 cap and, as a result, any cap reduction may only impact a relatively small number of larger wine producers. A minority of members raised the option of lowering the cap to better target small and regional producers as one possible way area for consideration by Government for future reform.” It is clear to me the decision to reduce the cap was not made on the recommendation of industry representatives. Perhaps the Federal Government, and its Treasury department, arrived at the reduced cap idea independently. Perhaps there were individuals from outside of the representative bodies who were involved behind the scenes. Why does any of this matter you might be asking? Because, if the Federal Government was prepared to reduce the WET Rebate cap without getting industry consensus, then I don’t think they’ll be worried about cutting it further. In fact, I bet the modelling has already been done on how much the Federal Government can save each year as it phases out the WET Rebate entirely. Would winemakers sit back and quietly accept a WET Rebate wipe out? I doubt that, but they better find a way to get their message through if they want to have any impact on what happens next. Enjoy the read.

8 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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June 2016 – Issue 629

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movers & shakers Seppelt cellar door to stay open

Danial Ahchow, Christian Sim and Adam Carnaby.

A DEAL BEING NEGOTIATED between Treasury Wine Estates and a local family business will see Seppelt’s cellar door remain. Seppelt’s parent company had previously announced it would wind down operations at the cellar door by the end of June 2016. But employees have been given the opportunity to remain at the cellar door as tours and wine tastings are to continue. Great Western Enterprises’ Danial

Ahchow said he and his family were active members of the Grampians community and had a long standing relationship with Seppelt. “Seppelt has always been synonymous with Great Western. Having grown up in Ararat, it’s exciting to be involved in the next chapter of the Seppelt Cellar Door and the role it will play as a tourism destination for the local community,” Ahchow said. Adam Carnaby, Seppelt senior

winemaker, said the announcement was great news for the Grampians region, and Seppelt. “This is something we have been working on for months, so I’m delighted to be able to confirm the news today that the Seppelt Great Western Cellar Door will remain open,” he said. “Furthermore we are excited about the opportunity for our Drives to be used as an avenue for fundraising for the local township.” Seppelt’s Drives are a heritage listed three-kilometre labyrinth of excavated wine-maturation cellars hidden beneath the site. From 1868 out-of-work gold miners began digging the tunnels and continued for more than 60 years. A key tourist attraction for the region, they are the longest underground cellars in the southern hemisphere and provide a fascinating glimpse into Victorian history. Christian Sim, Treasury Wine Estates general manager of regional wines, said “we are looking forward to working with Danial who has demonstrated business acumen, a strong local connection, and great enthusiasm for Seppelt”.

Metals detection – beyond manganese and copper You can’t see metals in your glass of wine, but that doesn’t mean they’re not having an impact. Metals affect wine flavour and texture and can have a major influence on how long a wine will last in the bottle. Understanding the metal levels in your juice and wine allows informed winemaking decisions on additions, processing and packaging. It can also help ensure a trouble-free wine export process. AWRI Commercial Services is now using the latest ICP-MS technology to provide a rapid and affordable measurement of over 20 different metals at once. To send in your wines for some metals detection visit: www.awri.com.au/commercial_services, email commercialservices@awri.com.au or phone 08 8313 6600.

10 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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June 2016 – Issue 629

Woolworths Liquor group changes name ENDEAVOUR DRINKS GROUP is the new name for the Woolworths Liquor Group, a move the company said would help consumers differentiate between its liquor and supermarket sectors. Dan Murphy’s, BWS, Cellarmasters and Langtons fall under the new banner. Rose Scott, general manager

merchandising and marketing, said “the term ‘liquor’ doesn’t fully encompass how our customers feel about our business”. “Liquor is a dated term,” Scott said. “Drinks is more aligned to the social atmosphere our customers want to associate with beer, wine, cider, RTD and glass spirits.

“We need to separate our ownership from the strong customer facing brands that sit underneath it.” As for the choice of Endeavour, Scott said the term reflected the company’s attitude and desire to look for great opportunities. “It’s about the strength of our commitment to keep discovering.”

Constellation NZ welcomes new Managing Director CONSTELLATION BRANDS New Zealand has announced Simon Towns as its new president and managing director, taking the reins from Sam Glaetzer who has been promoted to senior vice president of winemaking and production in the US. Towns, an Auckland native, returned home to New Zealand after serving as senior vice president of strategy and development for Constellation in the US, and leading growth strategies for several food and beverage brands internationally. Glaetzer said both of their promotions and swapping US and New Zealand roles would strengthen ties between the New Zealand business and parent company,

Constellation Brands Inc. “With the growth of our New Zealand business and our commitment to delivering quality and value in every bottle, this change will allow us to further focus our operations on safety, quality and customer care,” Glaetzer said. Prior to Constellation Brands, Towns held senior leadership positions for global companies, leading initiatives such as category growth and price optimisation, as well as overseeing aspects of the wine business from grape sourcing to sales. Towns also served as managing director for a California-based sparkling wine company label, where he was responsible for all aspects of the business,

including grape sourcing, winemaking, production, and sales and marketing. Over the course of three years, he led the business to nearly double production and profit, while maintaining quality. “I’m looking forward to returning home to New Zealand and continuing to build on the fantastic successes that Sam and his team have accomplished for Kim Crawford, Nobilo, Selaks and others,” Towns said. To stay connected to the wine and viticulture industry subscribe to the Daily Wine email bulletin. Subscribe online winetitles.com.au/dwn.

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

New awards celebrate partnerships in wine ENTRY IS NOW OPEN for the national ‘Wine Industry Impact Awards’. The awards aim to celebrate the impact of value chain partnerships on the capability and competitiveness of Australian Wine Producers. The awards will highlight proven practical and implementable concepts, technologies, services and solutions. Each of the awards will recognise both the supply partner and an Australian wine producer. The awards are based on presented case studies across six categories including grape growing, wine making, packaging, distribution & logistics, marketing & communication and tourism. The supply partner and the wine producer are assessed on a criteria focusing on improvements and resulting impact in competitiveness & brand equity and capability of Australian wine producers. Hosted by Wine Industry Suppliers Australia (WISA), the awards are an evolution of the highly-successful ‘supplier of the year awards’ according to Matthew Moate, WISA executive officer. “We saw the need to keep maturing our event and organisation in general to remain as relevant as possible to not only the supply sector that we represent but the wider industry. This new format will be far more industry inclusive, accessible and newsworthy allowing for greater participation and relevant outcomes. “The ‘supplier of the year’ started in 2007 and in what would be its 10th year we thought it was time to continue to evolve the opportunity. We see it as important for our industry to continue to seek improvement,” Moate said. “The previous format delivered value to winners through validating their position in the market and giving confidence to their customers of the quality of their products and services as recognised by their peers. We see that the new format will reach an ever wider audience in our industry increasing the value for all participants.”

This new format will be far more industry inclusive, accessible and newsworthy allowing for greater participation and relevant outcomes. The first point of call for those interested in applying for an award is to download an entry prospectus from the event page on the website (www.wisa. org.au). “The criteria is the same in each category and has deliberately been set quite wide to allow for businesses to approach the awards from their own unique angle,” Moate said. “Each category will have three judges independent of WISA and they will be looking for the most impactful case studies where a value chain partnership has resulted in increased competitiveness and capability of the Australian wine producer.” At the gala awards evening, held at the National Wine Centre in Adelaide on the 20th October, the industry will gather

key industry leaders to create networks to enhance opportunities for a greater sharing of expertise in and between the various regions and business groups represented. Both pre and post event, finalists and winners will be supported with a package to assist in recognising their success. All industry suppliers are eligible and encouraged to nominate with an Australian Wine producer for an award highlighting the success of their relationship and joint impact on the Australian Wine Industry. The event will also play host to the main annual fundraising activities towards WISA’s official charity partner the Leukaemia Foundation and we encourage all attendees to support this worthy cause. We aim to raise $5,000 for the Foundation’s important work in supporting those impacted by blood cancer. “Securing six key award partners for our inaugural event in a relatively short time frame certainly has given us confidence that the new structure is aiming to deliver outcomes that are desirable for all participants be they award finalists and winners, gala dinner event attendees or our highly valued award and event partners. “The gala awards night will be a high value networking opportunity for the whole of industry and is expected to attract a wide range of industry representatives from all fields making a truly inclusive industry event,” Moate said. “Where many events can target a specific demographic of our industry this event is attractive to all participants across the grape and wine sector. With entertainment and wines served with relevance to award finalists along with the opportunity to support a great cause in the Leukaemia Foundation this will be a fun event that people will be talking about.”

Looking for more articles, visit the Grapegrower and Winemaker article archive at: www.winetitles.com.au/gwm 12 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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June 2016 – Issue 629

16/

NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION WINERY ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION

WINERY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT = SUSTAINABILITY • Energy efﬁciency & solar power generation • Understanding the new “Health & Safety at Work” act • Water usage & savings • Refrigeration design & efﬁciency • Alternative hot water generation • Oak reclamation & alternative oak maturation application • Asset improvement & optimisation

J U LY 2 1 - 2 2 , 2 0 1 6 BLENHEIM, NZ

VISIT WWW.WEA.ORG.AU FOR MORE INFORMATION

news

National survey reveals damning state of gender equality in the Australian wine industry THE STATE OF workplace gender inequality in the Australian wine industry has been revealed in a national survey from the perspective of women working in the industry. The survey, the first of its kind ever undertaken, asked the all-female respondents to report on their experience in four key areas (pay; maternity and child care; sexist behaviour in the workplace; and career advancement). Key findings included a significant pay gap with more than 40% of respondents being paid less than their male colleagues. Career progression was also an issue, with 18% (one-in-five) expressing that they do not receive equal career advancement opportunities. A la r m i ng ly, t wo-out-of-t h ree respondents (67%) had experienced sexist behaviour in their workplace, while 25% had received unfair treatment over issues of maternity leave and child care. Jane Thomson, founder of The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society and chair of the Australian Women in Wine Awards, said the picture was “not a pretty one”. “We keep hearing about it anecdotally, but for the first time we now have concrete evidence of the issues women in the Australian wine industry are facing in terms of gender equality,” Thomson said. “Often when chatting informally to women in the industry about their personal experiences they are far less telling.” Thomson said there was pressure among women in the wine industry not to be seen as ‘that girl’ who takes a stand or makes trouble. “However, given the chance to report these things anonymously the true magnitude of the issues has been given voice,” she said. Respondents were given the chance in the survey to expound on their personal experiences and share their stories. These shared experiences, while not quantifiable, are all the more revealing. Anonymous statements from these respondent included: • “I was demoted and treated badly for not being able to continue my duties because of falling pregnant.” • “The GM was always ‘joking’ about his hatred of maternity leave and how women have it easy.” • “I applied for an internal role and was asked if I planned on having children because they didn’t want to

14 Grapegrower & Winemaker

A survey of 279 women currently working in the Australian wine industry, conducted Dec 2015 & Jan 2016.

42%

The positive that comes out of all this is that we now have a measure of the issue and, as a community, we can work together to create solutions.

•

hire someone that would eventually go on maternity leave.” “Males often preferred not to deal with me, and assumed there must be a man of more importance/influence within our company.” “When I was introducing a regional sustainability program for viticulture, it was suggested by a man to hand the program introduction and implementation to another man in our region, as they’d be taken more seriously.” “I was told by male work colleagues that I will do better with certain customers because some male customers like to have a perv”. “I’ve been instructed not to get ‘emotional’ at work if I got angry or disagreed strongly with a male colleague.” www.winetitles.com.au

42% know (or believe) they are paid less than their male colleagues

67% (2 out of every 3) have experienced sexist behaviour in their workplace

1 in 4 have experienced unfair treatment over issues of pregnancy, children and/or maternity leave.

18% (almost 1 in 5) believe they do not receive equal career advancement opportunity

The survey results come on the back of numbers released in 2014 showing that despite graduating in equal numbers from the nation’s tertiary institutions, women still only make up nine per cent of Australia’s winemakers and ten per cent of viticulturists. But Thomson said it was not all doom and gloom. “Before any problem can be tackled it needs to be fully understood,” she said. “So the positive that comes out of all this is that we now have a measure of the issue and, as a community, we can work together to create solutions.” The survey results give even more support to the establishment of the Australian Women in Wine Awards, which had its inaugural year in 2015 and will be running again in 2016. Entries open 30 July. June 2016 – Issue 629

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news

Wine Equalisation Tax rebate: Reform plans Nathan Gogoll reports

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT believes changes to Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) will help the wine industry transition to a stronger, long-term position. Changes to eligibility and reductions in the rebate cap, announced with the 2016 Budget, will reduce the amount of money being returned directly to wine producers and some of these savings will be directed straight to Wine Australia. “The wine industry has called for reform of the WET rebate based on their concern it has moved beyond the original intent and is being gamed by some to the detriment of the wine industry,” said Kelly O’Dwyer, the assistant treasurer and minister for small business. “The wine industry has been a strong advocate for changes to the WET rebate. The Government has listened, consulted and acted,” said Anne Ruston, the assistant agriculture minister. However, the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) and Wine Grape Growers Australia (WGGA) are not pleased to see the WET Rebate cap being reduced. “This reduction will have an economic impact of removing some $300 million over the forward estimates for businesses with significant investment in regional Australia,” a joint statement from the peak industry bodies said.

BACHELOR OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

“With only $50 million back in funds for marketing this reduction needs much greater scrutiny. It is not clear how the proposed reduction in the cap will aid the industry in its recovery after years of declining profits.”

WET REBATE REFORM Changes will not be implemented immediately, but the WET rebate cap will be reduced from $500,000 to $350,000 on 1 July 2017 and further cut to $290,000 on 1 July 2018. The Federal Government also plans to tighten WET Rebate eligibility in order to “deter artificial business structuring and multiple rebate claims”. Tightened eligibility criteria for the rebate will be introduced on 1 July 2019. Specifically, to be eligible for the rebate, a wine producer must own a winery or have a long term lease over a winery and sell packaged, branded wine domestically. The final details on tightened eligibility criteria, including the definition of a winery, will be resolved through further consultation.

FUNDS FOR WINE AUSTRALIA More than $50 million, across four years – beginning on July 1, will be allocated to the Australian Grape and Wine Authority

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www.winetitles.com.au

June 2016 – Issue 629

(Wine Australia) to promote Australian wine overseas and wine tourism within Australia. The Federal Government says the funding increase for Wine Australia is expected to help the wine and viticulture industry make the most of opportunities presented through free trade agreements and will increase current wine exports, which constitute around 60 per cent of wine produced in Australia. Wine Australia has welcomed the news of a $50 million investment in a sector that currently contributes more than $40 billion to the Australian economy. “The grape and wine sector brings together agriculture, sophisticated production and tourism and it is a vital part of the rich fabric of regional Australia,” said Brian Walsh, Wine Australia chair. “We welcome this initiative and we look forward to working closely with the grape and wine sector to design and implement the $50 million support package to help boost domestic winerelated tourism and export assistance. “Wine is a unique, high-quality product created in Australia’s 65 wine regions by highly skilled winegrape growers and winemakers. These new measures will help build regional employment and increase the wine sector’s contribution to the Australian economy.” Under the initiative, Wine Australia will coordinate a range of initiatives to help regional wine producers and exportfocused businesses to continue to grow.

INDUSTRY REACTION While the WFA and WGGA are disappointed with the planned reductions for the WET Rebate cap, the bodies have welcomed the projected $50 million funding boost for Wine

Australia as an opportunity to grow demand and accelerate recovery within wine and viticulture industry. “We are pleased government has listened and responded to our industry recovery strategy and the need to provide these additional funds,” said Tony D’Aloisio, WFA president. The two peak bodies had lobbied the Federal Government on some of the measures announced in relation to the WET Rebate, specifically: • To introduce stronger anti-avoidance provisions to remove access to the rebate from contrived arrangements; and • To tighten the eligibility criteria in line with the rebate’s original intent of supporting producers of branded product who have a stake in the wine industry and removing the rebate for bulk and unbranded wine. But D’Aloisio said the new eligibility criteria should come into effect immediately and not wait three years as proposed. He also said the anti-avoidance measures should also come into effect immediately. “The industry sees removing the claims for bulk and unbranded wine as important drivers to industry’s restructure and we believe these changes need to happen now rather than later to assist in returning the industry to profitability,” D’Aloisio said. “However while we are pleased government has listened and responded to industry’s recovery plan and the need to provide much-needed additional funds for marketing, promotion and regional development, significant questions remain over reducing the rebate cap and the delay in removing eligibility for bulk and unbranded wine.” Joanna Andrew, Wine Grape Growers Australia chair, welcomed the support for the wine and viticulture sector but

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June 2016 – Issue 629

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

news echoed Mr D’Aloisio’s concerns. “Doing nothing was not an option and government has begun a reform process that we hope will translate into better returns for growers and across the supply chain,” Ms Andrew said. The Budget has not removed New Zealand producer eligibility from the separate WET rebate. While the announced changes will also apply to New Zealand claimants, this is another area the Australian industry will continue to pursue with government. Both organisations said they would be consulting their members and state and regional associations on these proposals and continue to engage with the Federal Government. Two of Australia’s largest winemaking companies, Treasury Wine Estates and Pernod Ricard Winemakers, were quick to welcomed WET Rebate reforms announced on budget night. Just after 7pm, the companies issued a joint statement calling the changes “a positive step towards addressing the distortionary impacts and rorting of the current WET Rebate, which has adversely impacted the sustainability and profitability of the Australian wine industry”. “Treasury Wine Estates welcomes the Government’s decision to reform the WET Rebate and to strengthen the integrity of the tax. These reforms are consistent with the Rebate’s original intent and will help address the distortionary aspects of the current system which have done so much damage to the Australian wine industry,” said Angus McPherson, Treasury Wine Estates Australian and New Zealand managing director. “The increased marketing funds to grow international demand for Australian wine is timely, with exports of premium wine growing at record rates, supported by recently signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). However, this is an area where the devil really is in the detail, and we look forward to working with Government to ensure the principle of tighter eligibility for the Rebate is delivered in practice,” said Kate Thompson, Pernod Ricard Winemakers legal, corporate affairs and communications director. Both companies also called for the Federal Government to implement the reforms as soon as practically possible, so that changes to the Rebate can flow through to industry. “Having waited several years for meaningful change on the WET Rebate it is crucial that we now get on with the job of implementation. Whilst a short transition period makes sense, we encourage the government to move quickly to enact these reforms” said McPherson.

ANALYSIS Some of the first expert analysis on the WET Rebate reforms came from BDO, one of the world’s largest accounting and consulting networks. BDO said the negatives of the changes would outweigh the positives. “On a practical level, the cost of wine in Australia will increase as a result of the WET changes as producers attempt to recover costs which they are already failing to meet.” “Although these changes may address concerns larger wine producers have in relation to an oversupply of Australian wine, it is likely that wine producers looking to grow their business will be most adversely affected. “These changes represent a renewed focus on expanding Australia’s reputation for producing high quality wines. The positive effects of the injection of funding for tourism are outweighed by the negative impacts to smaller producers.” Paul Smart, a wine and viticulture industry consultant based in Tasmania, was also quick to apply his knowledge to the WET Rebate changes. “The intention is to reduce the rebate to $350,000 ($1.2 million in gross sales) in 2017, and reduce it further to $290,000 (your first $1,000,000 of sales) in 2018. This is only going to

18 Grapegrower & Winemaker

affect wineries producing more than 2500-ish cases ($400/case), and there are only a handful of brands that are bigger than that,” said Smart. He labelled the tightened eligibility criteria “scary”. “At the moment, every dog and his cat can start a wine label, buy some goon and start claiming WET rebate. The WFA has recognised this and has asked the government to tighten the eligibility of the rule to stop the rorting – in particular, big companies forming small companies to receive the rebate multiple times. “They have done this by changing the criteria to only include: A wine producer must own an interest in a winery and sell packaged, branded wine domestically. “They go further: The requirement to own an interest in a winery ensures that the rebate can only be accessed by wine producers who have a stake in the wine industry. “This approach addresses stakeholder concerns about ‘virtual winemakers’ accessing the rebate. “They have yet to finalise the definition of a winery (I thought it was a place where wine was made?) and are undertaking consultation to get the final details right.” Smart then applied all this information to Tasmania, specifically: “We have about 220 wine brands in Tasmania, and about 20 wineries with a very large proportion using contract wineries. This means that 200 wine brands in Tasmania, all owning vineyards, will not be eligible. This will devastate the industry down here.” Smart estimates 200 out of the 220 Tasmanian wine brands will not be eligible for the changed WET Rebate. “I can understand the tightening of the rules to crack down on the ‘rorting virtual wineries’. But what about the small startups that have no cash, but just a dream and some passion. They will accidentally get caught up in this and suffer. These are not the ‘virtual wineries’ you are looking for. “Early days, but as it stands, a big blow for Tasmania.”

REVISITING WHAT THE WFA WANTED The WFA position on wine industry taxation has been clear: • No overall increase in the total tax revenue from the wine sector; • Keep the WET rebate ceiling at $500,000 but make the following reforms to ensure it continues to support wine businesses and regional communities over the longer term: - Stop the rebate going to unintended recipients and shut down the schemes; - Phase out rebate eligibility for bulk and unbranded wine over four years; - Introduce a level playing field for all rebate claimants and abolish the unfair separate New Zealand producers’ rebate; - Introduce transitional measures including: • Industry assistance for those impacted by the removal of rebate eligibility on bulk and unbranded wine; • Allowing the second rebate on a merger of two entitled businesses to remain with the new entity, phased out at 25% per year; • Return $43.4m of savings from these measures to the industry for the international promotion of our wine; • No use of tax or artificial minimum pricing measures as a lever for health reform, as non-price measures better target hazardous consumption; • Maintenance of the differential tax rates for wine, beer and spirits (i.e. no equivalency) to reflect the significant differences between wine and other forms of alcohol; • Wine to be taxed within the existing WET legislative framework and not an excise-based approach as is the case for beer and spirits.

www.winetitles.com.au

June 2016 – Issue 629

AWITC preview

he Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference and is the premier technical event for the Australian wine industry. Held every three years since 1970, it combines an extensive program of plenary sessions, workshops, posters, student forum and social events with the industry’s most respected and extensive trade exhibition. The program of the 16th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference includes four days of plenary sessions incorporating WFA’s Outlook Conference on Monday 25 July. More than forty workshops are

planned to include something for everyone. Topics will focus on key areas in the grape and wine value chain and include vineyard and winery management, optimising wine ﬂavour, winery engineering and packaging, innovative practices and market development. The Trade Exhibition provides wine industry professionals with the opportunity to network faceto-face, and keep abreast of the latest products and services available for the production of wine.

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See you in July ON BEHALF OF the Planning Committee of the 16th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference and Trade Exhibition, I look forward to welcoming you to Adelaide in July. All signs are pointing towards a positive and successful event in 2016. Registrations are well ahead of where they were at the equivalent time for the past two conferences, sales of space at the trade exhibition are tracking very well, and the number of posters submitted is higher than 2013. I’m particularly excited about some of the features that will make this year’s conference a little different from previous years. First up, the incorporation of WFA’s Outlook Conference into the AWITC will provide a new aspect to the conference. It is becoming increasingly obvious to me that the divide between ‘grape and wine business’ and the technical aspects of ‘grape and wine production’ is an artificial one. Across our industry we need to understand and be talking about the business issues that impact on production and the production questions that underpin business success or failure. This year’s conference will provide the opportunity to have those important conversations. Secondly, I’m delighted that it has been possible to work with McWilliam’s to hold the Maurice O’Shea Award Dinner in conjunction with the AWITC. This prestigious event is always a highlight of the wine calendar and will be a wonderful opportunity to network with friends and colleagues as well as to honour the latest deserving winner of the award. Thirdly, it has been a pleasure to work with Fair Events for the first time on the Australian Wine Industry Trade Exhibition. Fair Events has brought some fresh new ideas to the exhibition that are certain to pay off for exhibitors and visitors. This year’s exhibition promises to be a fantastic showcase of the latest in vineyard, winery and business technologies. Significant effort has been put into greater integration between the conference and the trade exhibition, with dedicated times for delegates to explore the exhibition, shared catering and exhibitors allocated passes to attend conference sessions.

20 The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition

In terms of the program, I’d like to thank the Program Committee for their hard work in bringing together a schedule of presentations that will be diverse, relevant and engaging. From the industry outlook sessions at the beginning of the conference, to Mark McCrindle’s inspiring closing presentation, the conference will cover areas including the search for Aussie terroir, vineyard health and diversity, the Australian wine industry of the future and much more. A wide range of workshops will complement the plenary program, allowing delegates to explore topics of interest in more detail. This year, in response to delegate feedback, the workshop program has been scheduled so as not to clash with the plenary sessions. The opportunity to catch up with colleagues from across our industry is a key reason for many delegates to attend the AWITC. As such, the social side of things has not been forgotten! Aside from the Maurice O’Shea Award Dinner, activities will include pop-up bars and a major networking function in the trade exhibition, an extensive regional tasting and restaurant and bar recommendations. Adelaide is a beautiful city to explore on foot or two wheels, so I encourage delegates to leave time in their schedule for some exercise or a trip to Adelaide’s justly famous Central Market. Follow @the_AWITC on twitter and the hashtags #16AWITC and #AWITCsocial to keep in touch with everything that is going on.

See you in July! Dan Johnson

From Paddock to Freight

Delivering all the right connections The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition | 24 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 28 July 2016, Adelaide Convention Centre Meet and make all the right connections with leading Australian and international suppliers. Find niche solutions for increased productivity and product innovation. Stay abreast of key issues while gaining relevant education to grow your business at the Australian Wine Industry Technical

Conference, and network with your peers at the Maurice Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Shea Award Dinner. The Australian Wine Industry Trade Exhibition allows you to see, touch, feel and experience live working machinery all in one place at one time. AWITE 2016 covers Paddock to Freight and everything in between.

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Planning your involvement The program of the 16th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference includes four days of plenary sessions incorporating WFA’s Outlook Conference on Monday 25 July. A comprehensive workshop program, large poster display, student forum, a variety of social events and the industry’s most respected and extensive trade exhibition (AWITE) will also be available to delegates.

PROGRAM OUTLINE Sunday 24 July

Wednesday 27 July

10am–1pm

Workshops

9am–12pm

Workshops

3pm–6pm

Workshops

2pm–4pm

Session 8: Flavour and its contribution to unique wine

4.45pm–6.15pm

Session 9: Authenticity guaranteed?

6.30pm–8pm

Student forum: In the wine light

Monday 25 July 9.30am–12pm

Session 1: Industry outlook, position and state of play

1.30pm–3pm

Session 2: Industry outlook, position and state of play (continued)

3.40pm–5.45pm

Session 3: What makes Australian wine unique? The search for the Aussie terroir

7pm–11.30pm

Maurice O’Shea Award Dinner (special delegate ticket price $199, normally $247)

Thursday 28 July 8.30am–10am

Session 10: Fresh science B

10.45am–12.30pm

Session 11: Improving productivity and efficiency in the vineyard and winery – smart grape to bottle manufacturing

12.30pm–12.40pm

Announcement of Poster and Fresh science prize winners (prizes sponsored by: The Australian Wine Research Institute, Wine Innovation Cluster, Metabolomics Australia, Chr Hansen, and the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology)

Tuesday 26 July 9am–10.40am

Session 4: What makes Australian wine unique? Terroir continued!

1.30pm–3.20pm

Session 12: The Australian wine industry of the future

11.20am–1pm

Session 5: Changing climate: changing terroir?

3.20pm–4.30pm

Regional tasting

2pm–3.45pm

Session 6: Vineyard health and diversity

4.30pm–6pm

Session 7: Fresh science A

6pm–7.30pm

Networking function in the Trade Exhibition

The program information is correct at the time of writing however, the Conference organisers reserve the right to change the program without notice.

WORKSHOP PROGRAM Sunday 24 July 2016 (morning sessions) • Consumer insights in China • New degrees of freedom: red winemaking with novel maceration technologies • Alcohol-corrected wines: from production to consumption • Barrels on demand: a look at the impact of freshly toasted barrels on wine • Vineyard management to adapt to climate change • Novel yeast for new wine styles • Canopy management using grower-friendly digital tools • The social media minefield: how the small wine business can navigate it • Entwine Australia: demonstrating the Australian wine industry’s environmental performance • Practical applications of oenological enzymes in winemaking • A comprehensive review of the wine and health landscape • Brand bootcamp • The impact of packaging on wine development and shelf life

The 16th AWITC workshop program will feature 39 workshops which will be held on Sunday 24 July and Wednesday 27 July. The workshops are designed to provide an intensive, and in many cases ‘hands-on’ learning experience. To ensure that participants obtain maximum benefit from each workshop, places are strictly limited and maximum numbers vary. All workshops will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

22 The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition

Sunday 24 July 2016 (afternoon sessions) • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Effective and efficient inert gas use in wineries and bottling processes Grapes for style: the impact of berry ripening on wine quality Rootstock development for the Australian wine industry Recent advances in flavour research: new understanding of key volatile compounds and their sensory significance Understanding filtration: insights into filtration and filterability Oxygen and sulfur: a breath of fresh air? Malolactic fermentation: pushing the boundaries to improve strains, reliability and wine quality Get that lab (test) right! Creating product premiums using luxury and design thinking business strategies Alternative varieties: getting it right in the vineyard Moving forward with organic winegrowing Oak options and quality: making the most of your oak budget Grape quality: objective measures and impacts on wine style

Wednesday 27 July 2016 (morning sessions) • Wine clarity: managing hot and cold stability in white wines • Using soil test indicators and petiole sap analysis data to make effective vineyard management decisions • An exploration of Australian and Portuguese vintage and tawny fortified wines • Black pepper flavour in wines from around the world • Future-proofing your viticultural enterprise • Clones for climate change: using current regional climatic differences as a surrogate for climate change • #fizzyrascals: from vine to sparkling wine • Introduction to HACCP food safety for wineries: principles and methods to meet standards’ requirements • Wine taxation update • Lean Production masterclass: taking your business to the next level • Lees: minimising volumes and recovering better juice and wine • Applied science meets wine microbiology: ecology, directed evolution and winemaking • The changing regulatory environment of Australian wine

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Key speakers TERRY ACREE Professor in the Food Science Department at Cornell University. Acree studies the perception of food flavour and its modulation by chemical composition. Over the years Acree has worked to develop two selective and sensitive bioassays for smell: gas chromatography-olfactometry (GCO) and sniff-olfactometry (SO). In addition his laboratory uses chromatography, spectrometry, and sensory analysis to study odour perception and its role in food identity, quality and choice. Acree will address Wine perception and identification on Wednesday in Session 8.

CHRIS BADDOCK General Manager of Pinnacle Drinks, a fully owned subsidiary of Woolworths Liquor Group. Pinnacle Drinks supplies beer, spirits and wine to BWS, Dan Murphy, Cellarmasters, Progressive NZ and Summergate China through owned manufacturing facilities, owned brands and exclusive brands. Baddock will address The future of retail-owned brands and exclusive brands on Monday in Session 2.

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TONY BATTAGLENE Battaglene has had a distinguished career working in the research, policy and agri-political space. He worked as a scientist and economist before moving into a policy role with the Australian Government. After joining the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia in 1999, Tony became a major driver of strategy for the sector. Battaglene will take part in a panel discussion on Performance and projections in our major markets in Session 1 as well as address the Release of the 2016 Vintage Report in Session 2, both on Monday.

SUE BELL Winemaker and director of Bellwether. Bell’s winemaking experience covers both small and large corporate wineries in Australia, the USA and France. Bell is an active wine show judge, a Dux of the Len Evans Tutorial, supporter of regional and national bodies and graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Program. In 2014 she was named the ASVO Winemaker of the Year. Sue will address How can we enhance the uniqueness of Australian wine? on Monday in Session 4.

ROGER BOULTON The Stephen Sinclair Scott Professor of Enology and Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Davis. His current research includes the mechanism of wine oxidation, wireless sensor systems for fermentation monitoring and control and the design of self-sustainable wineries. Boulton’s significant scientific contributions include the introduction of crossflow filtration and density monitoring of wine and beer fermentations, early work on the separation of organic acids, proteins and thiols, understanding of the potassium-pH and co-pigmentation paradoxes in wine, the development of sensors for colour and phenolic composition and the design of the world’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinumrated and self-sustainable winery. Boulton will address Designing the wineries of the future for quality wine production on Thursday in Session 11.

DANNY BRAGER

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The Senior Vice President of Nielsen’s Beverage Alcohol Practice Area in the United States, supporting relationships with Nielsen’s many beer, wine, and spirits clients, as well as with key industry groups and the media. In this role, Brager and his team provide business information, analysis and insights, focusing on the U.S. retail environment and consumers – who they are, what they buy, and why. Brager will address Where are wine consumers going? on Monday in Session 1.

ROB BRAMLEY

PAUL CHAMBERS

Senior Principal Research Scientist with CSIRO Agriculture and is the Site Leader for CSIRO at Waite Campus, Adelaide. He has worked as a soil chemist, on land-use sustainability issues, and since 1996, has had a primary research focus on Precision Agriculture (PA) and the management of variability in agricultural production systems for economic and environmental benefits. He has been a pioneer in the development of Precision Viticulture for winegrape production systems. Bramley will address Vineyard variability and terroir on Monday in Session 4.

The Research Manager at The Australian Wine Research Institute, a position he has held for 11 years, means Chambers supervises research projects that focus on a range of aspects of improving wine yeast and bacterial performance and generating novel microbial strains with improved winemaking characteristics. Chambers will address Microbial diversity at work in vineyards and wine on Monday in Session 4.

ANDREAS CLARK Wine Australia chief executive officer has experience as a diplomat with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra and Brunei and has also worked as a lawyer. Clark will take part in a panel discussion on Performance and projections in our major markets in Session 1 as well as address The Bacchus Project in Session 2, both on Monday.

ED CARR One of Australia’s most decorated sparkling winemakers with 38 years’ experience in the Australian wine industry – 30 of these involved with sparkling wine production. Carr will address The changing landscape for sparkling wine production on Tuesday in Session 5.

KIM CHALMERS Manages the wine operations at Chalmers Wines, making wines from heat and drought tolerant southern Italian grape varieties. Chalmers is also part of the management team of the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show and a casual contributor to various industry publications. Chalmers will address Regional adaptation: alternative varieties in Australia on Tuesday in Session 5.

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BRIAN CROSER

PASCALE DENEULIN Wine Australia’s deputy chairman began his career as a winemaker in 1969. In the early 1970s Brian attended the University of California at Davis for a masters program and went on to establish the wine science program at Charles Sturt University. Croser will address The importance of a sense of place in selling Australian wines on Monday in Session 3.

TONY D’ALOISIO The president of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia is a past ASIC commissioner and chairman and former managing director and chief executive officer of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). Tony is an owner and director of Oakridge Wines in the Yarra Valley. D’Aloisio will give a wrap-up of industry opportunity on Monday in Session 2.

MARTIN DAY Research Scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute. Before joining the AWRI, Day worked several vintages in both northern and southern hemispheres. Day’s involvement in wine authenticity started during his PhD studies in the early 1990s. Day is Chief Investigator in the authenticity projects at the AWRI and recently completed the largest analytical survey of strontium isotope ratios in wine from across Australia. Day will address Measuring up authentication: analytical tools to test wine provenance on Wednesday in Session 9.

A professor and head of the sensory lab at Changins – University of Viticulture and Enology in Switzerland since 2012. Her research interests are wine perception from both consumers and trained panels. Currently, she is working on the concept of minerality in wine. This project aims to define what minerality means, from the point of view of mental concepts, sensory and chemical characteristics. Deneulin will address Minerality in wine on Wednesday in Session 8.

FIONA DONALD Graduated from Roseworthy Agricultural College and the University of Adelaide with qualifications in Oenology and Management. Donald started her winemaking career in 1991. Fiona is currently Senior Winemaker at Seppeltsfield Wines in the Barossa Valley where she has worked since 2009 and is part of the team resurrecting the famous 1888 Gravity Flow Winery. Donald will address Unique Australian offerings beyond the single vineyard on Monday in Session 3.

PETER DRY A viticultural scientist for more than 40 years and author of more than 270 scientific and technical publications, he has a strong commitment to the communication of research and technical information to grapegrowers and winemakers. He is a Fellow of the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology and was the 2014 recipient of the McWilliam’s Wines Maurice O’Shea Award. Dry will address Understanding the components of terroir on Tuesday in Session 4.

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ULRICH FISCHER Born and raised in the Mosel valley in BernkastelKues, Fischer started his career with a two year hands-on apprenticeship in the Mosel and the Pfalz. After graduating from Geisenheim with a B.Sc. in Viticulture and Oenology, he worked with Ann C. Noble and received a M.Sc. in Food Science at UC Davis on time-intensity studies on bitterness and astringency. Returning to Germany he completed his PhD at the University of Hannover on flavour chemistry and sensory properties of dealcoholised wines. Since 1995, Fischer has been based at the Teaching and Research Centre in Neustadt, where he now leads the Viticulture & Oenology Department as Professor of Oenology and Sensory Science. Ulrich will address Terroir in the old and new world – what sensory is telling us on Monday in Session 3.

ROBERT FITCH A leading research scientist in the area of autonomous field robotics. He is interested in systems of outdoor robots and their application to key problems in agriculture and environmental monitoring. Fitch will address Advances in the application of robotics to agriculture on Thursday in Session 11.

JAMIE GOODE UK-based wine journalist, lecturer and consultant. He completed a PhD in plant biology and worked for 15 years as a science editor before switching to wine. Goode will address Do we make too much of terroir? on Monday in Session 3.

STEVE GUY Has worked for some of Australia’s major wine companies, including Seppelt, Wynns, Mildara and Wolf Blass. After nearly twenty years working as a wine chemist and winemaker he joined the Australian Government’s statutory wine authority in September 2000 where he is responsible for regulatory matters and international trade issues. Guy will address Traceable, tested and trusted: ensuring the safety, quality and authenticity of Australian wine on Wednesday in Session 9.

BARBARA HALL A plant pathologist with more than 35 years’ experience in diseases of horticultural crops, and currently works as a Senior Research Scientist within the Horticulture Pathology Group of the South Australian Research and Development Institute. Hall will address Fungicide resistance in Australian viticulture on Tuesday in Session 6.

JOHN HAYES An Associate Professor at Penn State University. He completed a BS and MS in Food Science from Cornell University, a PhD in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Connecticut, and a fellowship in behavioural genetics and addiction at Brown University. Hayes runs a multifaceted research program that applies sensory science to a diverse range of problems, including chemosensation, genetics, and ingestive behaviour, and optimisation of oral and non-oral drug delivery systems. Hayes will address Do you taste what I taste? Why training cannot overcome biological differences in perception on Wednesday in Session 8.

IAN HARPER One of Australia’s best-known economists. He currently serves as a consultant to Deloitte Access Economics. In May 2016, Harper was appointed to join the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia. Harper will address Future competition framework on Monday in Session 2.

28 The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition

PETER HØJ Vice Chancellor and President of The University of Queensland since 2012. Past Managing Director of the Australian Wine Research Institute (1997-2004). Høj will address Scientific opportunities that will disrupt on Thursday in Session 12.

Australian Wine Research Institute, a board member of the Barossa Grape & Wine Association and chair of the WFA/WGGA Innovations Policy Committee. McKinnon will take part in a panel discussion on Performance and projections in our major markets on Monday in Session 1.

LESLIE NORRIS

TIM MERCHANT Chief Technical Officer for YPB Group. Has more than 35 years’ experience working in the protection of intellectual property, including security printing for documents of value and related technologies. Merchant will address An overview of smart packaging technologies and solutions to preserve authenticity on Wednesday in Session 9.

A trained flavour chemist with a passion for healthy natural foods, Norris founded FlavorSense to address the need for ‘fresh-true’ dried natural and organic flavours. Her passion continues around the ‘translation’ of the art and science of food into sustainable nutrition-dense ingredients leading to novel food creation for healthy living. Norris will address Enhancing the experience – the science of food and wine flavour on Wednesday in Session 8.

MICHAEL MCCARTHY

LIBBY NUTT

SARDI Viticulture Research Group Leader. A career-long interest in the use of rootstocks to mitigate abiotic stresses and wine-grape clonal selection has culminated in the release of the SARDI heritage collection of Shiraz clones to industry. The current Wine Australia project ‘Clones for climate change’ that he manages brings together his interest in clonal selection and climate change. McCarthy will address Regional evaluation of Chardonnay and Shiraz clones on Tuesday in Session 6.

General Manager Marketing and Export Sales at Casella Family Brands. She is a passionate marketeer with a wealth of global brand and wine industry experience, having spent many years working in the UK and Australia. Libby is a Board Member of The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia. Nutt will take part in a panel discussion on Performance and projections in our major markets on Monday in Session 1.

MARK MCCRINDLE A social researcher with an international following, recognised as a leader in tracking emerging issues and researching social trends. McCrindle will address Changing times, emerging trends, market opportunities on Thursday in Session 12.

BRETT MCKINNON Global Operations Director of Pernod Ricard Winemakers. McKinnon is a director and member of the executive management committee of Pernod Ricard Winemakers, a director of the

PAUL PETRIE Viticultural Scientist in a joint position between the SA Research and Development Institute (SARDI) and the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI). Prior to starting in the joint role Petrie was the National Viticulturist at Treasury Wine Estates and was based at Penfolds Magill Estate in Adelaide since 2004. Petrie grew up helping his parents establish a vineyard in Canterbury, New Zealand and before moving to Australia he completed a PhD on Canopy Management at Lincoln University, NZ. Petrie will address Practical options to manage vintage compression on Tuesday in Session 5.

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The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition

LOUISA ROSE Has more than 20 years of wine industry experience and has been Chief Winemaker at Yalumba and Hill-Smith Vineyards since 2006. Rose is an experienced wine show judge, chair of the Australian Wine Research Institute, co-chair of the South Australian Wine Industry Council and a member of the South Australian Agribusiness council. Rose will address Australian wine in 2050 on Thursday in Session 12.

HANS SCHULTZ Grew up in the Moselle Valley, Germany, where his parents owned a small family-operated vineyard and winery. He received a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Viticulture and Oenology from Geisenheim, Germany and a Master of Science in Horticulture from the University of California, Davis. Schultz will address The global adaptation challenges for viticulture on Tuesday in Session 6.

MARK SOSNOWSKI Senior Research Scientist at the South Australian Research and Development Institute. Since 2003, Sosnowski has led research on managing eutypa dieback in grapevines. He is currently Chairperson on the International Council for Grapevine Trunk Diseases and convened the 9th International Workshop on Grapevine Trunk Diseases. Sosnowski will address Innovations in the management of grapevine trunk diseases on Tuesday in Session 6.

JOHN SPINK Director of the Food Fraud Initiative at Michigan State University (USA). His MSU Packaging PhD work was on AntiCounterfeit Strategy and his broad research expands from Food Fraud to product fraud related business risks (including Enterprise Risk Management ERM and COSO), and a range of outreach activities that cover policy and trade issues. Spink will address Preventing food fraud on Wednesday in Session 9.

30 The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition

MITCHELL TAYLOR Managing Director of Taylors Wines. After completing his Bachelor of Commerce at UNSW, Taylor moved to London and worked in a large stockbroking firm. In 1988, Mitchell’s passion for the wine industry led him back to Australia. Today, Taylor oversees all aspects of the family business. Taylor will take part in a panel discussion on Performance and projections in our major markets on Monday in Session 1.

REINHARD TÖPFER Head of the Institute of Grapevine Breeding in Germany. He is also chief editor of VITIS Journal of Grapevine Research, associate editor for Theoretical and Applied Genetics and also for Horticulture Research. Töpfer will address Breeding for disease resistant varieties on Tuesday in Session 6.

ANDREW WEEKS

MARK WHITTY Lecturer in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of New South Wales. His research interests include precision agriculture, mobile robots, 3D mapping, image processing. These have been applied in field robotics including current work on yield estimation in viticulture. Whitty will address Next generation yield prediction technologies on Thursday in Session 11.

MARK WILSDON Executive Business Manager at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). He has over 30 years’ experience in the tourism and hospitality sector and has headed up several successful restaurants as a chef and owner. Mark is Director and Deputy Chair of the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania, a member of the Glenorchy Art & Sculpture Park Social Enterprise Committee and a past Vice President of the Alcorso Foundation. Wilsdon will address The future for cellar door, food and art on Monday in Session 2.

GEA Centrifuges for Wineries: The Perfect Fit Big or small, no compromise at all! No matter how big your wine production business has grown, GEA centrifuges always provide the same level of superior process technology. Regardless of volume from individual machines to skid-based solutions, our centrifuges are always fit for your purpose. Whether it’s gentle product handling, hydrohermetic sealing to minimize oxidation or optimized solids concentration, you can rely on the very best from GEA. Phone: 03 8877 9999 | Email: sales.au@gea.com GEA-BE-02-002

Executive Director for Wine Grape Growers Australia (WGGA), following several years as a member of the executive committee. Before working for WGGA, he was employed as the Business Manager for Riverland Wine. This followed a role as the Senior Viticulture Officer for CCW Co-operative, where he was responsible for providing technical support for over 600 grapegrower shareholders in the nation’s largest wine-grape cooperative. Weeks will take part in a panel discussion on Performance and projections in our major markets on Monday in Session 1.

The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition

3M Australia Pty Ltd

Stand 1220 Contact Brendan Rumbel brumbel@mmm.com (02) 9498 9498

A&G Engineering

AMS Instrumentation & Calibration Stand 1006 Contact Dirk Kuiper dirk.k@ams-ic.com.au (03) 9017 8225

Stand 1225 Contact John McGovern john@apjohn.com.au (08) 8563 2178

AB Mauri â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Maurivin

Stand 1255 Contact Tina Tran tina.tran@abmauri.com.au (02) 9888 0249

Abeve

Stand 1155 Contact Scott Kalms scott@abeve.com.au (03) 9432 4014

Agilent Technologies

Stand 1014 Contact Sarah Alexander sarah_alexander@non.agilent.com (03) 9566 1055

Stand 1531 Contact Jim Chronis jim@aimscientific.com.au (08) 8342 5870

Amorim Australasia Pty Ltd

Stand 1018 Contact Tim Stead tim.stead@amorimcork.com.au (08) 8340 9033

Stand 1642 Contact Tom Gallagher sales@agindustries.com.au (02) 6964 3422

A P John & Sons Pty Ltd

AIM Scientific

AMSL Scientific

AMS Instrumentation & Calibration Pty Ltd (AMS) has been supplying calibration equipment and industrial instrumentation to all industries for more than 30 years. AMS has a proven track record of satisfied customers, which we believe is the true measurement of an effective sales / service organisation. The company has its head office in Melbourne and offices in NSW, WA, and QLD and supplies many of their product ranges into New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific region. The company represents some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading manufacturers in their field, including Beamex, Marsh Bellofram, Fluid Components International (FCI), McCrometer, Azbil (Yamatake), Katronic, Interface, Trimec Flow Products, London Electronics, Interface, Process Control, optek, Michell Instruments, HiTech Instruments, Ecom by rbr, Owlstone and several others.

32 The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition

Stand 1619 Contact Andrew Odd aodd@smsl.com.au (02) 9496 1414

Aquila Audax Enterprises Pty Ltd

Stand 1125 Contact Mark Walpole aquila@netc.net.au (03) 5727 1434

Ausperl

Stand 1004 Contact Jessica Nicholson jessica@ausperl.com.au (02) 8318 7823

Australian Society of Viticulture & Oenology

Stand 1046 Contact Chris Waters thermal@teralba.com (08) 8410 9855

Australian Tartaric Products

Stand 1615 Contact Malcolm Douglas malcolm.douglas@australiantartaric.com.au (03) 5029 1450

Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference Inc.

Stand 1301 Contact Chris Day chris.day@awri.com.au (08) 8313 6696

Cold Logic Pty Ltd

Denomination Design Consultants

Stand 1330 Contact Eddie Lane office@coldlogic.com.au (08) 8240 3333

Stand 1337 Contact Emily Venn emily@denomination.design (02) 9281 5533

Diverse Barrel Solutions

Bio Central Labs

Stand 1442 Contact George Dirdan george.d@ipvit.com.au

Blue H2O Filtration

Stand 1345 Contact Stuart Thomson stuart@blueh2o.com.au (03) 9564 7029

CCL Label International

Stand 1336 Contact Nerissa Button nbutton@cclind.com (08) 8562 1300

Chene Australasia Pty Ltd

Stand 1528 Contact Andy Gravier andy.gravier@chene.com.au (03) 9602 4066

Classic Oak Products Pty Ltd

Stand 1002, 1113 Contact Hamish Black hblack@classicoakproducts.com (02) 9986 2277

Cooperages 1912

Stand 1429 Contact Patrick Schwerdt pdschwerdt@bigpond.com (08) 8353 8177

Cpak Distribution Services

Stand 1209 Contact Peter Dunlop pdunlop@classicoakproducts.com (02) 9986 2277

Cold Logic has a proud 30-year history of providing the best refrigeration solutions to the Australian market through leading design and engineering. The company designs equipment to promote longevity and system efficiency, while still being conscious of operating costs. Whether it be a Freon (HFC) refrigeration plant, an environmentally friendly ammonia (NH3) plant or CO2 system, Cold Logic has the ability to design and engineer a solution that will ultimately give consumers the desired results in a cost effective manner. Cold Logic also distribute BrineCool to the wine industry, a leading edge brine that is safe, non-flammable and biodegradable.

Croplands Equipment Pty Ltd

Stand 1527 Contact Kristy Cutts kristy.cutts@croplands.com.au (08) 8359 9300

Deltagen Australia Pty Ltd (Ocean Spa Products)

Stand 1613 Contact Michael Watson michaelw@deltagen.com.au (03) 9801 7133

Duplex Cleaning Machines

Stand 1626 Contact Murray McDonald murray@duplexcleaning.com.au (03) 9482 4900

E.E. Muir & Sons Pty Ltd

Stand 1116 Contact Damian Toon dtoon@eem.com.au (03) 9931 2200

Elisa Systems

Stand 1240 Contact Lisa Blandford lisa.blandford@elisasystems.com (07) 3625 9000

Enoltech

Della Toffola Pacific (DT Pacific)

Stand 1025 Contact Roberto Cea robc@thebeveragefoodgroup.com (03) 9924 4000

Stand 1340 Contact Nicholas Wickham accounts@diversebarrelsolutions.com.au (08) 8386 3270

Stand 1316 Contact Emily Hoskin emily@enoltech.com.au (03) 8786 4390

Enoplastic Australia

Stand 1101 Contact Troy Smith t.smith@enoplastic.com (08) 8347 0455

Ezy Systems Pty Ltd

Stand 1000 Contact Nick Cugura nick@ezysys.com.au (03) 5441 2044

Sustainable Trellis & End/Strainer posts NO Rot / NO Rust NO Chemicals

Ph. 1300 622 906 www.woodshield.com.au The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition

Fischer Australis Pty Ltd Stand 1430 Contact Jurg Muggli jmuggli@fischeraustralis.com.au (08) 9433 3555

with versatile configuration options. Our strength is to supply high standard, tailor made mowing and weeding equipment, to suit individual requirements.

FMR Group

Fischer Australis Pty Ltd is the national distributor of Fischer Mowers & Weeding Systems for Australia, New Zealand, the West Coast of the USA and the South East Asian region. We offer quality conventional and specialised mowing equipment to the wine industry, tree-crop and plantation sector since 2007. The manufacturer, Fischer GmbH is a pro-active, second generation family business that has been established in northern Italy 50 years ago. Fischer is one of the leading, mower manufacturers in Europe, now exporting to more than 45 different countries. We offer comprehensive after sale and technical support. We know our equipment, stock all required spare parts - and are only an email away. On offer is a wide range of mowers and mechanical weeding solutions

Stand 1201 Contact Chris Clifford chris@fmrgroup.co.nz 0435 725 150

FMR Group Ltd is a family owned company located in Marlborough, New Zealand and in Adelaide, South Australia; specialising in the supply of vineyard machinery and equipment solutions to the viticulture industry throughout Australasia. From its beginnings in 1974, FMR Group has been built on a reputation for care, respect and integrity, with a focus on innovation and quality, core values which are applied to all of our business relations including suppliers, staff and customers.

FMR Group offers a complete range of market leading viticulture and vineyard machinery brands to the Australasian viticulture industry which are either designed and manufactured in-house following our passion for innovative design and development, or sourced from one of our exclusive European suppliers. As a specialist, we believe in doing one thing and doing it well. That’s why our sole focus is on providing viticulturists with the very best equipment for mechanising dayto-day tasks.

Fermentis – Division of S.I. Lesaffre

Stand 1156 Contact Celine Rocand crocand.fermentis@lesaffre.fr +33 3 20 81 62 83

Foss

Stand 1229 Contact Nicola Doupe ndoupe@foss.com.au (03) 9565 5516

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GEA Westfalia Separator Australia Pty Ltd Stand 1329 Contact Grace Del Grande grace.grande@gea.com (03) 9463 1999

GEA Westfalia Separator is a global technology leader in the manufacturer of high-performance centrifuges to the wine/beverage/food industry with more than 100 years experience. GEA Westfalia Separator is a market leader in the wine industry and supplies centrifuges for juice, wine, sparkling wine clarification, lees processing and a special process for tartrate stabilisation. Sustainable success is the best basis for long term co-operation; this is why we are consistently working on innovative solutions to strengthen our competitive edge. This approach has made us the global technology leader in mechanical separation technology and we are continually working on keeping it this way.

Grapeworks

Stand 1401 Contact Malcolm Wilson malcolm@grapeworks.com.au (03) 9555 5500

GroGuard Australia Pty Ltd

Stand 1012 Contact Carole Stubbs vines@internode.on.net (03) 9480 1280

Hychem

Stand 1653 Contact Chris Bauer chrisb@hychem.com.au (02) 4646 1660

IMCD Australia Ltd

Stand 1143 Contact Sue Mills smills@imcd.com.au (03) 8544 3162

With

Jacaru Australia Pty Ltd

Stand 1048 Contact Marcus Dehring marcus@jacaru.com (07) 5593 7771

Kurz Australia

Stand 927 Contact Stephen Pratt stephen.pratt@kurz.com.au (02) 8977 7277

Laffort Australia Stand 1011 Contact Tertius van der Westhuizen tertius.vdw@laffort.com.au (08) 8360 2200

Lallemand Australia Pty Ltd

Stand 1249 Contact Angela Massey amassy@lallemand.com (08) 8276 1200

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MEP Instruments Pty Ltd

Stand 1245 Stuart Cragg sc@mep-instruments.com.au (02) 8899 5200

Mettler Toledo

Stand 1319 Contact Nicole Kragten nicole.Kragten@mt.com 0421 131 395

New Zealand Tube Mills Stand 1525 Terry Carter terry.carter@nztubemills.co.nz +64 4568 4079

Pellenc Australia Pty Ltd

Stand 1001 Contact Jean Vittot jean.vittot@pellenc.com.au (08) 8244 7700

PERTEN

Stand 1141 Contact Jeff Rogers jrogers@perten.com (02) 9870 3400

Pneutech Pty Ltd

Stand 1625 Contact Damian Smith damian@pneutech.com.au

Portavin

Since 2009, NZ Tube Mills product development engineers have worked closely with winegrowers and viticulturists to develop ECO TRELLIS ® steel posts and wire clips. Their research involved intensive testing of steel posts used in New Zealand vineyards to analyse success and failure rates in extreme weather conditions and thus determine a safety range for the ECO TRELLIS ® post design. ECO TRELLIS ® offers a complete vineyard trellising solution using posts, clips and strainers as relevant to site location. It’s the perfect system for both new vineyard developments and the replacement of damaged wooden posts.

Oak Solutions Group

Stand 1221 Contact Mark Roberts mroberts@oaksolutionsgroup.com 0409 200 737

Ocvitti Australia Pty Ltd

Stand 1516 Contact Brian O’Malley brianomalley@tpg.com.au 0424 112 120

Oxbo International

Stand 1145 Contact Kathryn Van Weerdhuisen kvanweerdhuizen@oxbocorp.com

Pall Australia

Stand 925 Contact Peter Walker peter.walker@portavin.com.au (08) 8447 7555

Programmed Property Services SA/NT

Stand 1650 Contact Jen Merlo (08) 8168 6040

Progressive Group

Stand 1418 Contact Greg Croke gcroke@progressivegroup.com.au (03) 9872 6811

Redox Pty Ltd

Stand 1254 Contact Debbie Shah debbie.shah@redox.com (02) 9733 3000

Ridgelea Pty Ltd

Stand 1627 Contact David Zerbo david@ridgelea.com.au (08) 8326 8521

Rowe Scientific Pty Ltd

Stand 1617 Contact Carl Casella carl.casella@rowe.com.au (08) 9302 1911

Roxset

Stand 1533 Contact Susan Hutchinson susan@roxset.com.au (02) 9988 4822

Ryset Australia

Stand 1424 Contact John Anzellotti johna@ryset.com (03) 9457 2982

Seguin Moreau

Stand 1010 Contact Graeme Little glittle@seguinmoreau.com.au (08) 8406 2000

Q&L Packaging Machinery

Stand 1325 Contact qpmpackaging03@163.com

Quercus

Stand 1002 Contact Peter Dunlop pdunlop@classicoakproducts.com (02) 9986 2277

QuickLabel Systems

Stand 1017 Contact Laura Doiron ldoiron@astromed.com

Rapidfil Pty Ltd

Stand 1121 Contact Jason Harris jim@rapidfil.com.au (03) 9455 3339

Stand 1233 Contact John Reardon john_rearden@ap.pall.com 36 The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition

Seguin Moreau offers winemakers the highest quality of oak to meet their winemaking requirements, through the supply of oak barrels, vats and alternative oak options to meet both quality and budget objectives. Our qualified team will help and advise winemaker’s of the best oak options available to achieve their winemaking goals. The brand has enjoyed worldwide recognition and international influence since the start of the 1990s. Since 2005, the company has successfully combined its ongoing commitment to sustainable development with strengthening its innovation policy. This is to ensure that it always anticipates the requirements of winemakers throughout the world.

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Saverglass Australia Pty Ltd

Stand 1237 Contact Paul Paleologos pnp@saverglass.com.au (08) 8232 0770

Seasol International

Stand 1016 Contact Craig Brown craigbrown@seasol.com.au (03) 9729 6511

SHur Farms Frost Protection

Stand 1534 Contact Amber Andrade amber@shurfarms.com +1 909 825 2035

Silvan Australia Pty Ltd Stand 1360 Contact Gavin Wheatcroft gavinw@silvanaust.com 1300 745 826

Founded in 1962 by Michael Tricarico, Silvan Australia is devoted to those connected to the land. The Silvan brand has always pioneered superior technology, durability and delivered dedicated support. Silvan and their ‘Big Red Tanks’ have become a constant in the Australian agricultural landscape. The Silvan core values are: Quality, reliability and innovation. These values determine how Silvan operates and a commitment to the success of customers, partners, investors and employees. Silvan embraces change and growth, facing the challenges and opportunities of modern agriculture. More than 50 years later, Silvan are still leaders in the agricultural market and focused on creating a productive future. Silvan products are efficiently distributed throughout Australia and New Zealand via distribution centres located in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Hamilton, New Zealand.

Sphere Foods

Stand 1621 Contact Tim Casper tim.casper@spherefoods.com (03) 9509 0588

The Australian Wine Research Institute

Stand 1137 Contact Linda Bevin linda.bevin@awri.com.au (08) 8133 4300

Vintessential Laboratories

Stand 1425 Contact Greg Howell greg@vintessential.com.au (03) 5987 2242

Vintrace

Toyota Material Handling

Stand 1328 Contact Josh Abra josh@vintrace.com (03) 9015 9625

TracMap NZ Ltd

Stand 1242 Contact Ross Healey rossh@whitesgroup.com.au 1300 559 732

Stand 1313 Contact Anne Brompton abrompton@tmha.com.au (02) 8706 6100

Stand 1554 Contact Hannah Hays office@tracmap.com +64 3 489 2952

Tracmap has been proven to integrate into existing viticulture operations and deliver efficiency. TracMap’s wirelessly integrated in-cab display and cloud based job management software delivers an unrivalled and complete solution for viticultural operations. Easily create and allocate jobs to vehicles from anywhere wirelessly, monitor vehicles in the field in real time, and capture harvest yields and spray records from the vineyard. TracMap’s system is designed to make job management easier, quicker and more accurate. Get vehicles in the correct block, doing the correct job, at the right time, and receive all the data instantly and wirelessly.

V.A. Filtration (SA) PTY LTD

Stand 1320 Contact Matthew Hooper matthew@vafiltration.com (08) 8562 1139

Viniquip International Ltd

Stand 1547 Contact Horst Klos klos@viniquip.co.nz +64 21 588 008

VinPerfect

Stand 1427 Contact Craig Hawkyard chawkyard@vinperfect.com +1 707 252 2155

38 The Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition

Whites Group

Wine Energy

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Understanding yeast opens new possibilities If you think everyday technology is evolving at an amazing pace, then the development of genomic sequencing will really open your eyes. When the first yeast genome was sequenced in the 1990s (it was, in fact, the first non-bacterial organism ever sequenced) it required 10 years of work in 50–60 laboratories at a cost of $70 million.

The driver was two other projects that were taking a systematic look at creating new strains and testing which strains were suited for different fermentation conditions. The quickest and easiest way to get as much information as possible on commonly used strains, so the researchers could work with the most appropriate ones, was to actually genome sequence all of them.

‘We wanted to get all of the information Barely a decade later, the AWRI’s and have it on Principal Research the table to see Scientist – Molecular ‘Up until this study, only a which yeast strains Biology, Dr Anthony few wine strains had been are close to each Borneman, sequenced and not a lot of other genetically, sequenced the first commercial strains.’ which ones are wine yeast genome likely to share in just six months for the same sort of around $30,000. More recently, he and characteristics and which ones are a few colleagues did 212 in less than a very diverse’, Dr Borneman said. ‘We year and for around $500 each. wanted to spread our focus across the breadth of different yeast strains and ‘The cost and amount of effort get some idea of the overall playing required has come down and, as with field.’ computers, the power keeps going up such that the amount of data you get What they found was that the existing is doubling every 10 months or so’, he playing field was pretty narrow. There said. ‘It used to be we were hamstrung was little genetic diversity and high for data; now the limiting factor is levels of inbreeding between the wine people’s time to analyse it all.’ yeast strains. Many commercial strains were virtually identical genetically. The team has analysed enough data, however, to give us a much clearer ‘Up until this study, only a few wine understanding of some of the hundreds strains had been sequenced and not a of different strains of the wine yeast lot of commercial strains. They ended Saccharomyces cerevisiae and up in a very tight little bunch on a how they might be used in breeding family tree. We thought commercial programs and in the winery. strains were likely to be a lot more diverse; but we didn’t see it. So we A four-year project funded by Wine have this very shallow gene pool out Australia has created a greatly there for wine yeast – very inbred, a expanded family tree for S. cerevisiae, very closely related collection of yeast with entire branches that weren’t strains.’ previously known.

June 2016 | www.research.wineaustralia.com

The reason may be that wine yeasts need to be tougher and more stress tolerant than those used in brewing or baking, to cope with the high sugar and acid levels in grape juice, and so only a few naturally survive and thrive. And there is a tendency for breeding programs to only mix established wine yeasts, rather than looking at the potential of other strains. ‘On the strength of our findings we have gone outside wine yeast with our breeding programs and brought in other strains to mate with typical wine yeast’, Dr Borneman said. ‘You have to be careful when working with outside strains because they don’t always deliver in grape juice, but you can breed in some of their interesting characteristics and get the best of both worlds.’ Many of these new strains can contribute different flavour profiles during fermentation. For winemakers, the expanded ‘family tree’ offers the potential to tweak the usual recipe or go for wholesale changes. ‘The message is that established wine strains are very similar, so a change from one wine yeast strain to another that is close by on the family tree might only have a minor effect. ‘Alternatively if you want to see big differences in the winery, you can choose a yeast from a different branch of the tree.’ The results of the genomic study – the ‘family tree’ – can be accessed at www.g3journal.org/content/6/4/957.long

www.research.wineaustralia.com | June 2016

Time to capture new customers How to bring wine to the table

the bigger story. I certainly wouldn’t recommend that we lose that in wine, but it’s almost like we need an entry door for some people.’ Some participants raised concerns about health issues with wine, notably hangovers and allergies, though the data suggests many were over-emphasising problems. Quite often it was more about how much was being drunk than what! Beer and cider drinkers, in particular, also commented that wine was not refreshing enough and couldn’t be drunk quickly enough on a hot day.

Dr Anthony Saliba

Consumer perception defines consumer habit – and the perceptions of wine held by consumers of beer and spirits will directly affect whether or not these same consumers bring a glass of wine to their table. That may sound like a rather simplistic statement, but there is now solid research to suggest that many people who drink alcohol, but who choose not to drink wine would be keen to do so if we can find a way around what they perceive as hurdles. Funded by Wine Australia, Prof Anthony Saliba and colleagues from the National Wine & Grape Industry Centre at Charles Sturt University spoke with 10,000 people across five countries over three years to find out why they are what he terms ‘wine avoiders’. These are not teetotallers; they are people who drink alcohol and may accept wine in certain social situations, such as a small glass of sparkling for a toast, but will usually decline wine in favour of some other alcoholic option. ‘Absolutely everyone we spoke to in some way aspired to drink wine, even the younger groups who we thought would say “we’re just not interested”,’ Dr Saliba said. ‘They said things like “look I’ll get into wine I’m just a bit young for it now. Wine’s something you drink in your 30s. If I go to a dinner party with friends I’d like to drink wine but I don’t know what to choose”. ‘Even people who didn’t like the taste

June 2016 | www.research.wineaustralia.com

of wine wished that they did. They say things like “it looks very enjoyable, very sociable”.’ Perhaps not surprisingly, taste was the most common issue, but the research suggests this was often about lack of familiarity with what is quite a novel taste.

Responses and attitudes were pretty much the same from participants in Australia, the UK, the US and Canada, but there were some differences in India (highlighted in the final report of the research). Significantly, the number of ‘wine avoiders’ was high in all 5 countries, ranging from 23 per cent of the alcoholdrinking public in Canada to 33 per cent in the US. Based on current adult population levels, that comes to 313 million potential new wine drinkers.

‘We showed that wine liking increases Dr Saliba said he wanted to understand substantially over multiple exposures’, what percentage of wine avoiders Dr Saliba said. ‘Even where the wine were out there to see if it was ‘worth was diluted with soda water by 50 per the sector’s efforts’ to tailor something cent, the more specific to their people tasted perceptions. wine, the greater ‘What wine avoiders are ‘I’ve been a bit of an their liking. This saying is that it’s not working. evangelist about this for finding could be We’re not doing what they some years because I’d further investigated want us to do in helping go around to different to assess the them make a selection and wineries and I’d listen robustness and be comfortable that they are to their strategies applicability to choosing something they are around developing new the cellar door going to like.’ brands so they could and other wine steal customers off their exposure contexts.’ next door neighbour A second common issue was difficulty and I thought “why are we moving the in choosing wine, which Dr Saliba finds deck chairs around all the time, why don’t interesting given that ‘the sector goes to we just create new customers”?’ such an effort’. With this in mind, the research also ‘What wine avoiders are saying is that demonstrates how the key findings can it’s not working. We’re not doing what be used to drive a product development they want us to do in helping them make process. New wines were developed a selection and be comfortable that they based on what ‘wine avoiders’ wanted, are choosing something they are going with independent testing validating that to like. they were reasonable prototypes or first attempts. ‘This is a bit of a double-edged sword. I think one of the reasons that the craft For more information about this project beer sector has really grown in recent visit www.research.wineaustralia.com times is the diversity and interest and

The team that genuinely is there to help

The AWRI helpdesk team helping to support our sector The AWRI helpdesk is the go-to place for grapegrowers and winemakers when they need technical help or advice. But who are the people providing the answers? Defining the helpdesk team at the AWRI is rather tricky. There’s a core team of nine, comprising four winemakers (Geoff Cowey, Adrian Coulter, Matt Holdstock and Con Simos), four viticulturists (Marcel Essling, Mardi Longbottom, Paul Petrie and Mark Krstic) and Creina Stockley, who provides support with health matters. But adding to their 200 years of combined experience, they also have access to an expanded advisory team of scientists, engineers and statisticians. ‘As well as our own researchers, on the Waite campus we also have access to researchers from the CSIRO, SARDI and the University of Adelaide’, Mr Cowey said. ‘There’s even an entomology unit here so if there are any weird bugs that come in we can take them down for identification. Plus, we have developed networks and contacts over the years with the Bureau of Meteorology and others.’ Defining the helpdesk’s role is also a moveable feast.

The helpdesk team (L-R): Geoff Cowey, Mardi Longbottom, Marcel Essling, Creina Stockley, Adrian Coulter. Absent: Paul Petrie, Matt Holdstock, Con Simos and Mark Krstic. Photo courtesy Eric Wilkes.

‘We get a lot of standard questions but we also get a few curly ones and they can lead to the development of new methods or research projects. That’s how the AWRI’s Brettanomyces research came about in early 2000s. People were calling us about wines that had unusual bandaid characters and/ or a metallic taste – we weren’t really calling it Brett in those days.

‘Once people started to recognise the problem we The team answers saw an increase around 2000 queries ‘We get a lot of standard in those queries. a year and conducts questions but we also get a After the research 200 investigations few curly ones and they can project began and that stem from lead to the development of we learned more the more difficult new methods or research about Brett, control queries. Samples projects.’ strategies were of grapes or wine developed and can be sent in for disseminated widely. After that, Brett assessment to determine the root levels in Australian wine decreased and cause of an issue, with a formal report so did the number of queries.’ prepared if required for insurance or legal purposes. The helpdesk’s role Other areas where helpdesk enquiries also blurs into broader education and have led to new research include extension work including workshops, the AWRI closure trials, eucalyptus seminars and tastings. The team travels character and smoke taint. Emergency a lot, with two or three events every research is also conducted when major week. issues arise, such as when plastic taints were noted by several producers in ‘Based on what we see and hear 2006. through the helpdesk we also write bulletins, articles and content for the The concept of the helpdesk began from website’, said Mr Cowey. the AWRI’s inception in 1955. Local growers and winemakers would wander Most importantly, the helpdesk also through the door and ask researchers feeds into the AWRI’s research program.

John Fornachon and Bryce Rankine why their wines were cloudy or hazy. A helpdesk service was later offered through the AWRI’s commercial service before finally becoming a separate group in 1998. Today, Mr Cowey and his colleagues provide the two-way link between the grape and wine community and the AWRI’s research teams. The helpdesk team maintains an extensive database, recording every question raised and answer given over the past 25 years. This allows the team to track trends as they occur each month and identify if there are any issues that need to be addressed. This year, for example, with hotter weather creating a compressed vintage, there were numerous enquiries about stuck ferments in March and April. There are no stupid questions. ‘That’s why people feel comfortable calling us’, he said. ‘Even if they fear their question may sound simplistic, they know we’ve probably heard it before and know how to help. Our advice is always impartial and all problems are kept confidential. As a service it’s unique in the world.’

The AWRI helpdesk is funded by Wine Australia and is a free service for producers who pay the Winegrapes or Grape Research levies.

www.research.wineaustralia.com | June 2016

There’s more to trunk disease than meets the eye Research pinpoints effective management strategies strategies developed are effective for the two diseases, and investigating whether things should be done in certain ways under certain conditions. Eutypa and Botryosphaeria have similar epidemiology and work in essentially the same way. Fungal spores infect pruning wounds and if not stopped slowly colonise the wood, causing dieback and eventually death. Different fungi are responsible, but they are related.

Controlling grapevine trunk disease is a pretty simple concept but you have to know a lot of things to do it in the best way and with the least amount of resources. That reality has underpinned more than a decade of research at the South Australian Research & Development Institute (SARDI), with funding by Wine Australia, which considers it a high priority for the sector. Current research, led by Dr Mark Sosnowski at SARDI, a division of Primary Industries and Regions SA, in collaboration with the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre and the University of Adelaide, is investigating whether the same practices can be used to manage the two different diseases that cause dieback in grapevines – Eutypa and Botryosphaeria (colloquially known as Bot). A new three-and-a-half year project beginning next January will take the research further, updating data, ensuring

pruning; without putting anything on them wounds will heal themselves, but it takes some time. So we are looking at how long they are susceptible at different times of the season. ‘The other thing we are looking at is spore dispersal. We are developing methods of spore trapping, and are about to really intensify that in the next project, when we’ll be trying to understand when spores are present exactly and give a clearer picture to growers about when they need to be protecting their wounds, based on spore dispersal.’

The major differences are that you see foliar symptoms before dieback in Eutypa (and thus get some warning) but not in Botryosphaeria, and Eutypa The current body of knowledge about is primarily found in cooler regions. ‘If Eutypa is being consolidated in a Best you draw a line from Orange in NSW Practice Manual, which Dr Sosnowski to Clare in SA, everything above it will will have finished only be Bot whereas ‘If you start protecting vines and available on below it you get from the first year that you the Wine Australia both, with Eutypa prune the vineyard, the website in the middle becoming more and likelihood of having major of the year. more common the disease issues in 10 to 20 further south you He also features years’ time will be very low.’ go’, Dr Sosnowski in an introductory said. video on trunk disease management funded by the SA Central With either disease, the way to stop the region (covering McLaren Vale, Adelaide infection is to apply fungicides directly Hills and Langhorne Creek), which to the wound, but there are a number of can be viewed on the Wine Australia variables – and things do change. website at research.wineaustralia.com/ Dr Sosnowski said the research resources/experiences-with-eutypaprogram was ‘looking at a lot of different dieback/. angles’. One of his key messages is to take a ‘We continue to examine management ‘prevention rather than cure’ approach. strategies, which is prevention of ‘If you start protecting vines from infection and timing of the application; first year you prune the vineyard the after pruning how long have you got to likelihood of having major disease get your protectants on and how long do issues in 10 to 20 years’ time will be they last for? very low’, he said. ‘It’s pretty much an ‘We are also learning about the insurance policy to apply one postsusceptibility of the wounds following pruning spray per year.’

Final reports now available AWR 1203: maximising quality during bulk wine transport DPI 1402 Identifying vineyard and winery management practices that impact on tannin extraction UA 1204: Effective use of interactive media: A pathway for wine brand growth UA 1402: Incubator initiative: Breeding drought and heat tolerant grapevine using epigenetic tools

For more information and to access final reports, visit www.research.wineaustralia.com/completed_projects

Wine Australia for Australian June 2016 | www.research.wineaustralia.com Wine

Wine Australia 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@wineaustralia.com | W: www.research.wineaustralia.com

New Zealand Vintage Report:

2016 delivers quality AND quantity ALTHOUGH NEW ZEALAND’S vintage has delivered a large quantity this year, the quality has remained high, according to Philip Gregan, New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive. “All signs point to a high quality 2016 vintage, which will be larger than last year’s, following good summer weather,” Gregan said. “This is good news for wineries who are looking to replenish stocks, after a smaller 2015 vintage, to meet strong demand for New Zealand wine, particularly in North American markets.” A recent report from Rabobank found production volumes of New Zealand wine grapes were expected to be significantly

higher than in 2015, although the country’s strong export market could balance the difference. “The volume of the 2016 vintage looks like it will be just right – it won’t be too big, yet it also won’t be too small for most companies entering the year with stocks erring on the tight side,” said report co-author and wine analyst Marc Soccio. “Keeping stocks within a manageable range is a perennial challenge for wine producers worldwide and continues to be one of the greatest challenges confronting New Zealand’s wine industry where the potential for large vintage variations – both in terms of quality and quantity – is considerable owing to the country’s cool climate.”

Soccio expected demand to continue this year with the country’s cool climate wine styles and premium positioning still in favour in most major export markets. “There’s little evidence of this trend reversing any time soon. In fact, the growing role women and younger generations play when it comes to purchasing decisions only seems likely to support it further,” he said. New Zealand wine exports rose seven percent to $1.42 billion in 2015 and Gregan said he expected that figure to continue to rise. “The wine industry is on track to hit $2b in wine exports by 2020,” he said.

NORTH ISLAND WAIHEKE ISLAND Patrick Newton, Mudbrick winemaker, said the season started well for Waiheke Island, with warm and settled weather over spring. “This resulted in good fruit set across all varieties,” he said. “December was warm and dry until Christmas when northerly weather patterns became the norm for the rest of the season.

Newton said higher than average rainfall was recorded on Waiheke for January, February and March. “The temperature was also higher than average for the same period,” he said. “Vines continued their vegetative growth throughout the season up until harvest.” Disease pressure was high throughout the season and careful vineyard management was key to growing high quality fruit. “Vineyards on slopes where rain was washed down the hill

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June 2016 – Issue 629

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

vintage 2016 I am sure all winemakers who have taken fruit from Gisborne this year will be ecstatic!

A harvester picking a block at Patutahi Gisborne. CREDIT: Gisborne Winegrowers

fared much better than vineyards on the flats where the soils became waterlogged.” Newton said the first fruit to be harvested at Mudbrick was the Pinot Gris on the 15th of March with the Cabernet Sauvignon being the last on the 21st of April. “Overall the fruit became physiologically ripe at much lower brix than seen before on Waiheke and acid levels were also low across most varieties. It will be a low alcohol year for the island. “The Chardonnay and Syrah are the two standout varieties at Mudbrick for 2016.”

GISBORNE Gisborne has again produced a quality vintage in 2016. Al Knight, Gisborne Winegrower President said it wasn’t the fastest of starts as a second cool spring in row resulted in slow canopy development early on in the season. “The upside was less pressure from Powdery Mildew, which has been a battle over the last couple of vintages,” Knight said. “Varieties that were caught up in the cooler weather at the flowering stage had reduced yield but this was quite variable across the growing appellations of our region. Knight said once the heat came, the vines really kicked into gear growth wise and grower’s canopy management and spray programs were well planned and executed. “Post veraison, the weather continued to hold and but the lingering effects of the cool spring still delayed maturity compared to average years,” he said. “Total Acidity seemed to drop quite early whilst brix levels increased quite slowly. Knight said flavours seemed to come in at a lower brix levels so winemakers had to be tactful about harvesting decisions. “This was made easier by our settled weather during this period,” he said. “I am sure all winemakers who have taken fruit from Gisborne this year will be ecstatic with quality and depth of flavour which has been delivered once again.” Knight commended the region on emphasising its reliability to deliver quality fruit consistently over all varieties. “2016 Chardonnay, Albarino and Chenin Blanc wines amongst others will provide consumers with a real treat showcasing not only our regions varietal diversity but our local winemakers’ flare and funkiness in crafting these wines,” he said.

44 Grapegrower & Winemaker

HAWKE’S BAY Hawke’s Bay grapegrowers and winemakers have been describing the region’s 2016 vintage as “elegant, phenomenal, succulent, exceptional – even the Holy Grail”. With harvest now complete, renowned winemakers have been boldly predicting this year could solidify Hawke’s Bay’s prowess as one of the greatest wine regions in the world. Michael Henley, Trinity Hill CEO and Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers Association chairman, said the Chardonnays have been as good as anything back to 2010. “Our 2016 wines are delicious,” he said. “Our Gimblett Gravels reds are juicy and succulent, soft and rich. The earlierripening varieties – Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Tempranillo – are as good as we have ever made.” Award-winning winemaker Hugh Crichton of Vidal Estate was equally excited about the quality of this year’s yield. “Our Chardonnay blocks were outstanding. It’s early days but things are looking incredible. This year we were able to pick at least a brix earlier than normal and we also experienced our first 100 per cent success rate with natural ferments. The wines will show good natural acidity and flavour at moderate alcohol with real drinkability. Importantly they will age fantastically. “Across all varieties the wines will deliver elegance. On the vines the reds had great flavour at relatively low sugar levels. This will help produce wines with ripe flavour profiles, freshness and moderate alcohols with beautiful balance that for many is the Holy Grail. Many of the great wines of the world possess these qualities.” A long run of warm, dry weather that had the nation talking, has had growers and viticulturists celebrating. From mid-January to mid-March, Hawke’s Bay had optimum conditions, with more than 50 days where temperatures exceeded more than 25C, and very little rainfall. Ollie Powrie, Villa Maria’s national viticulturist, said he has tasted some fantastic 2016 wines in barrel.

Elegant, phenomenal, succulent, exceptional – even the Holy Grail

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June 2016 – Issue 629

“The Merlot Cabernet blends will do well, we’ll see good levels of ripeness and tannin structure. It’s been one of the best Chardonnay vintages for Hawke’s Bay since 2010.” Paul Ham, Alpha Domus Winery managing director, said the 2016 vintage was shaping up to be one of the best yet. “This could be ground-breaking for Hawke’s Bay,” Ham said. “We’ve had a run of exceptional vintages which creates serious momentum for the Hawke’s Bay wine industry. If we have another killer vintage, this will help build our position as one of the great wine regions of the world.” Henley said he was confident the quality of the 2016 vintage will result in greater international recognition. “Having four strong consecutive vintages cements Hawke’s Bay’s pedigree and helps build momentum on the global stage. It shows we are not a one-trick, one-vintage pony, we are masters year after year. Henley pointed to Rabobank’s latest quarterly wine report that documents lower harvest yields for Chile, Argentina and South Africa as providing further opportunities to increase exports. “There are real, and exciting opportunities for Hawke’s Bay wines,” he said. “We are well known in New Zealand and have our sights on that same pedigree around the world.” Trinity Hill harvest. CREDIT: Tim Whittaker Photography

WAIRARAPA Wairarapa winemakers and grapegrowers have reported an exceptional 2016 vintage despite a challenging year. Pip Goodwin, Pallister Estate Wines chief executive, told The New Zealand Herald this year’s crop was “a nice, average yield”. “We had a beautiful summer and even though we’re farmers, we like it dry at this time of year as it is ideal ripening conditions,” she said. The weather had been kind throughout the summer, Goodwin said, and the early autumn was been favourable. Matahiwi Estate has also reported stunning conditions, claiming that the Wairarapa was “smoking hot right now”. “This is thanks to hot, settled weather right up to and through vintage with minimal rain,” the winery said in a post. “The Pinot Noirs loved this and have produced small berries

June 2016 – Issue 629

with consistent bunches and clean ripe flavours. “Both the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris crops have also delivered a fantastic consistent result. “This year we harvested the new plantings of Chardonnay from the home block for the first time.” “Head winemaker, Jane Cooper, is super happy with how these are looking. The Hawkes Bay Chardonnay fruit is the best we have picked so far and we are excited to see how these develop. With all the grapes now in, the hard work begins.” The winery’s harvest reached about 1200 tonnes (including contracted grapes) reinforcing predictions of a big haul for 2016’s vintage.

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Vintage in action at Kaimira Wines.

Ian Miller, Kaimira Wines owner, said 2016 was a one of a kind vintage in Nelson. “There is little scope to compare with what has happened in the past,” he said. “After a relatively cool spring we had and lovely warm, dry period which set things up nicely.” Miller said in February the vineyard recorded 15 days of 30°C, making it the hottest summer on record. “A couple of heavy dumps of rain came and went very quickly with no adverse effects.” Miller described a “near perfect” April, with long periods of sun and light winds to finish off ripening and keep the grapes healthy. “We then had an extended period of fine mild days throughout the vintage itself,” he said. “The wines in tank are looking great and will keep the customers happy.”

At the end of the 2016 vintage the Marlborough Natural Winegrower members (MANA) said they could not be happier with extra care and management in their organic vineyards leading to exceptionally clean, pristine fruit. Anna Flowerday from Te Whare Ra Wines said this year’s vintage had some challenges due pressure from powdery mildew. “But all the extra effort that we put in throughout the season in dropping crop and lots of hand leaf work really paid off and meant that we were picking amazing fruit in pristine condition,” she said. “We are thrilled with the quality of the 2016 harvest.” The 2015/16 growing season in Marlborough was characterised by a warmer than average summer, with the driest growing season recorded in 80 years and an extended drought period up until the end of December. This resulted in very even flowering and bunch set. A touch of rain in January was welcomed and made sure that the vine canopies stayed healthy and active and were able to ripen the grapes fully and with great concentration of flavour. Clive Dougall from Seresin Estate said 2016 was looking to be a significant and exciting vintage. “We’ve nearly finished our 20th Vintage, and my 11th at Seresin and once again have been seeing the resilience that natural winegrowing brings,” he said. “2016 has been a tough year for mildew and botrytis in Marlborough, but the thicker grape skins that evolve due to Organic and Biodynamic winegrowing have been so important in minimising damage to our members’ fruit.” MaNa members said they were consistently at the forefront of innovative organic winegrowing and the quality shines through in their 2016 vintage organic wines. Rhyan Wardman, Giesen Wines Marlborough general manager said there was usually a 30-day window for harvest, however this year was the exception to the rule.

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vintage 2016

The vintage crew at TOSQ Wines. Credit: TOSQ Wines

“We were in this luxurious position, which is unusual in Marlborough, where we could take our time,” he said. Although the usual ‘vintage rush’ ensued, Warden said as time went on “we all got more and more relaxed”. Josh Scott, Allan Scott Family Estate winemaking and viticulture director said the harvest was the best he had seen in 18 years. “The industry has matured enough to only pick what we need, not pick and hope,” he said.

WAIPARA VALLEY, NORTH CANTERBURY Dom Maxwell, Thomas Family Wines winemaker, said the 2016 Harvest was one of extremely good quality across the board in Waipara Valley. “After a slightly later than usual start to the season due to the very cold winter proceeding bud burst we went straight back into a period of warm and very dry conditions through late Spring and early Summer,” he said. “Areas on hillsides or bony soils had to be managed carefully to keep consistent shoot growth. Maxwell said flowering was the quickest they had ever recorded, with hot and settled weather through December resulting in a high number of full set bunches. “January saw the first significant rainfall in the region for some months which led to bunches above average weight,” he said. “We then went through a very dry spell from February through to late May when all grapes were harvested. Maxwell said the winery recorded just 3mm of rain throughout April. “We harvested blocks slightly later than normal but the fruit showed excellent seed tannin ripeness and phenological ripeness,” he said. “Both reds and whites are expected to be of very high quality. It should be a year for producing wines with wonderful age-worthiness. “Our harvest was extended due to the lovely dry spell and low disease pressure. Overall we will see a crop size slightly above average.”

CENTRAL OTAGO Harvest 2016 in Central Otago was the shortest and consequently one of the most intense harvests ever experienced in the region. The growing season started at around the normal time for budburst but due to a period of intense heat there was

48 Grapegrower & Winemaker

an early start to flowering, which was both short and successful. Veraison also occurred at the normal time but was quite protracted which resulted in a spread of ripeness. Overall, the grapes were slower than usual to ripen and then ripened all at once putting a lot of pressure on viticulturists and winemakers. James Dicey, Central Otago Winegrowers Association president said Pinot Noir vines reacted best under pressure. “They seem to throw all of their energy into the grapes when they are under mild duress,” he said. “The growing season certainly delivered the ingredients for this – the driest year in 56 years, lots of wind and then some big drops of rain at some inopportune moments. “As we grow in our understanding of our climate and how our vines relate to it we are gradually getting better at moderating the level of stress the vines receive.” Michelle Dacombe, Misha’s Vineyard viticulturist, said the region experienced strong and unrelenting winds for most of the spring and summer. “With the El Niño weather pattern that we’re experiencing globally, it was predicted that we’d have very strong winds during our growing season – and we haven’t been disappointed,” she said. “We also knew we’d have a dry season and that was certainly the case as well. “Harvest was during April where we had Indian summer conditions with warm, dry and calm days – just perfect!” Disease pressure was evident again this season for some vineyards in Central Otago, with rain at bunch closure sowing the seeds for Botrytis. This meant growers had to be extra vigilant in their cultural management to minimise the incidence of the disease. “Fortunately, a very dry autumn minimised the opportunity for Botrytis to take hold in a significant way,” Dicey said. “Frost is always a threat in Central Otago at any time of the year, and whilst there were a number of frosts throughout the season - including an event on the 2nd of January - none were too significant.” What does all of this mean for the 2016 Vintage? According to Dicey, early indications showed the red wines were looking very good with lots of colour, intense flavours and dense but with finely graded tannin structures and lower acids. “With the whites- careful management around Botrytis and discipline during picking saw a fresh, bright white wine harvest,” Dicey said. “Lower acids will provide a different balance decision this year for wine makers in terms of the sugar/acid balance. “It’s a bit too soon to predict the overall direction of the 2016 Vintage, however early indications are that it will be another stunner for Central Otago wines.”

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June 2016 – Issue 629

grapegrowing

Keeping vineyards healthy: Dion Mundy, plant pathologist If there is one job that requires an enormous amount of patience, then science research is it, as Tessa Nicholson discovered talking to Plant & Food Research’s Dion Mundy. This article first appeared in the April/ May edition of the NZ Winegrower.

Dion Mundy said he has “always worked at the applied end of research”.

50 Grapegrower & Winemaker

IT IS 17 YEARS since Dion Mundy arrived at what was then HortResearch, in what is now known as the wine capital of New Zealand. It was 1999 and Marlborough had less than 4000 hectares devoted to grape vines. The rest of the braided plains were taken up with apples, stonefruit, sheep and crops. A far cry from the sea of posts and vines that greet visitors today. In those 17 years, Mundy has been tirelessly working away in the background helping to come up with ways of keeping grapes healthy and providing tools to prevent vines from succumbing to an early death from trunk diseases. Growing up on the first commercial vineyard in Canterbury, St Helena, he has a natural affinity with the wine and viticulutre industry, although he never contemplated a potential career within it. Instead he completed a Bachelor of Science at Canterbury University and went on to gain his Masters. As a farmer’s son, he wanted to work in the world of horticulture, so when the job came up at HortResearch (now Plant & Food Research) in Marlborough, he jumped at the chance. The first three years saw him work on a major mulching project that resulted in a book that detailed all the trials and results. These days, his main fields of research are in seasonal diseases of grapes such as botrytis and powdery mildew, and long-term trunk diseases such as eutypa and botryosphaeria. “I am a plant pathologist,” Mundy said. “Which means people ring me up when plants are dying and they want to know why.” But coming up with an answer is not always easy, it can take years of detailed research. For example, Mundy’s research into the effects of mechanical harvesting on botrytis incidence in grapes resulted in collecting everything that was removed via the actions of the mechanical thinning and then counting, identifying and labelling each piece. That was hundreds of pieces of minuscule debris, collected from a number of sample vines involved in the research. Projects like these take time, diligence, and of course patience. The end result of that particular research was to provide

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June 2016 – Issue 629

growers with a new tool to mitigate against botrytis – something even Mundy wasn’t expecting. “We were called in at the start because the vines looked awful and people thought they would end up with more disease. We were trying to work out how much disease there was and whether it was going to be cost-effective even to do the thinning. Instead what we found was the thinning reduced disease, not increased it. So we have been able to give another tool to growers – and it’s one that is a non-chemical tool.” That particular discovery was quickly affirmed, within two seasons. Which is quite a short time, considering some of the other research projects in which Mundy has been involved. Take trunk diseases for example. He first became interested in the topic after noticing from the passenger seat of a plane, the number of dead vines and gaps there were in vineyards throughout Marlborough. “It scared me,” he said. His concerns were well founded, as he discovered when he attended an international workshop on trunk diseases in 2003. “I learnt from that workshop that those dead vines I had seen from the air were a result of trunk disease.” With seed funding from the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF), he began some preliminary work trying to identify just what was happening in Marlborough. When he heard that Pernod Ricard were removing a tract of Cabernet Sauvignon vines to replant, he asked if he could check the vine trunks for any signs of disease. “I got out there with my chainsaw and cut 100 grapevines down to see if they had any staining. All 100 did. They were 23-year-old vines and they weren’t being pulled out because the company was concerned about production, they just wanted to change the variety. Which illustrated that the vines can have a certain amount of trunk disease without being affected by it. This is a part of (our research), looking for a balance. Even if the pathogen is there, how do we manage the vine so it doesn’t affect productivity, or spread and propagate within the vineyard? We need to be able to manage what is out there, and find out how to protect the clean material of the young vines coming on.” Sometimes however, finding the resources to undertake research can be as time-consuming as the research itself. “10 years ago we didn’t have any Eutypa lata spores, we literally didn’t have any fruiting bodies from which to extract spores so we could set up experiments. We couldn’t actually test some of the things we wanted to. It took four years of looking, on and off, before we found some fruiting bodies. Things like that can hold research up. “Trunk disease causes damage slowly. But the research is also rather slow because you spend two or three years to set an experiment up and get results. Then the full implications of those results may not be known for another two or three years. We have been monitoring a vineyard here for 10 years to see the progress of the disease, so now we can start to prepare models.” Those 10 years have demonstrated the slow but sure devastation of trunk diseases, Mundy said. One monitored vineyard block has gone from having a small number of dead vines, to a cumulative death rate that means the owners are now looking at removing everything and redeveloping the entire block. “From our models, we would like to be able to tell people that if they currently have a certain percentage of dead vines, and do nothing, then in 10 years’ time they will be facing complete loss of the block. But if they superimpose certain management techniques in the interim, they could achieve a certain different and more positive result. We can do a cost:benefit analysis of management practices to show whether it is worth taking action, or whether they should just order the plants this year to redevelop the block.” June 2016 – Issue 629

This line of research is not well-suited to somebody with a short attention span who wants to see rapid results. “That’s part of the nature of science. If it were easy and quick, people would have done it already. If we are doing new work, new science, then we always have to take that long-term view.” The next step in the field of research, in which Mundy is an ardent believer, is getting the results out to the people, so they can become better at what they are doing – earning a livelihood growing grapes and making wines. “I have always worked at the applied end of the research, so I am looking for solutions for growers and for the industry. That sometimes means seeing what others are doing in other countries, rather than starting from scratch. And in other industries as well. One of the great things about being in Plant & Food Research is we are an integrated horticultural and agricultural research company and there are some really good innovations in other industries. We can look and decide whether we can bring them across into grapes.” From an international perspective, Mundy says he has had some wonderful opportunities to learn through travel, having visited Italy, California and Australia. He’s been fortunate to have funding along the way from NZ Winegrowers, the Ministry for Primary Industries Sustainable Farming Fund, and MBIE Core funding, “Travelling, you gain an appreciation for what we are doing here, as well as learning from what experiences others have to share. I have had some marvellous opportunities in this job to visit so many vineyards, not just here in Marlborough, but throughout the country and overseas.” Proving that patience does indeed pay off.

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

grapegrowing

SA Winegrape Grower Summit: Water will be a key issue THE END OF THE El Niño can’t come too soon, with winegrape growers hoping for it to be replaced with a very wet winter. All major SA wine regions are experiencing a one-in-twenty-year low rainfall event. In the 12 months to the end of April many regions are a long way behind their long term average; e.g. Coonawarra is -152mm (down 27%), Lenswood -308mm (-31%), McLaren Vale -140mm (-31%), Loxton -61mm (-24%) and Padthaway -122mm (-27%). The SA Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources has announced that River Murray water entitlement access holders will receive a minimum 36% of their allocation with the final opening amount to be announced before 1 July. (Source: Bureau of Meteorology Climate Data) “At the same time trading of water between properties in the Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges will commence. So there is a great deal happening on the water front, a great deal apart from rain!” said Peter Hackworth, Executive Officer of the Wine Grape Council of SA (WGCSA), on the eve of the third Annual Winegrape Summit. To assist winegrape growers in their irrigation planning for 2016/17 Wine Grape Council South Australia has assembled a panel of experts to speak at the Summit being held at Adelaide Oval on Friday 17 June. The aim of the panel is to help growers juggling a mix of ground, surface, recycled, town and River Murray water and determining which varieties to prioritise and also strategies for improving soil water retention. One of the key panellists will be Tom Rooney, CEO of water consultancy & brokerage firm Waterfind Holdings, a company that has grown to around 50 staff and has extended its trading to the USA, Canada and China. “While in SA a minimum allocation figure of 36% has been announced, irrigators should be concerned, but not alarmed. Predictions are that if conditions remain very dry (a 90% chance) by year 16-17 end the allocation will be 65% and if conditions are moderate (75% chance) the full allocation will be made,” said Mr Rooney. “In fact SA irrigators are going to be in a more secure position than their

52 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Rainfall variance 2015-16 compared with long-term average

counterparts in Victoria and NSW. Tom Rooney has welcomed the initiative by the SA Government to allow irrigators to carry over up to 20% of their current allocation, or buy up to 20% of their allocation for the 16/17 year. “There will still be some concerns among irrigators that their allocations will be met by the time they need it next summer, but it is now possible for them to go into the new year with at least 20% of their allocation secured and with the knowledge that they will be delivered a minimum of a further 36% in July,” he said. “No doubt it will be challenging for irrigators as significant above average rainfalls are needed to improve inflows, and these do not appear to be on the horizon. Even more important to the volume of water available are some significant weather events such as, a summer rainfall or a cyclone system in Queensland and NSW this coming summer. Without events like this the 17/18 water year could be just as challenging.” The water panel will be chaired by Ticky Fullerton. Many will know Ticky from her nightly ‘The Business’ on the ABC and from her earlier stint on Landline but may not know that she is a published author on the topic of water, Watershed: Deciding Our Water Future, was published just as the millennium www.winetitles.com.au

drought commenced. “Ticky is the ideal person to chair the panel. She knows the topic and knows farmers, but doesn’t have a vested interest and I think that will make for a really informative discussion, ” said Peter Hackworth. Ticky will be directing a diverse panel of water experts and winegrape irrigators, including Tom Rooney. Another will be Will Fargher, former General Manager of the National Water Commission, who recently completed a major project investigating the outlook for water demand and prices in the Murray Darling Basin. They will be joined by grape growing irrigators, Peter Duggin (also Chair of the Renmark Irrigation Trust) and Nigel Blieschke of the Barossa wine producer Torbeck Wines. Peter and Nigel will outline their strategies for water management; Nigel has worked for nearly two decades experimenting and refining systems for building soil water-holding capacity and believes this is an approach that growers must adopt has water prices rise and availability becomes less certain. Registration for the Summit is still open and booking can be made on the Summit website www.sawggs.com.au or by phoning the Council on (08) 8351 4378, or by emailing admin@wgcsa.com.au June 2016 – Issue 629

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grapegrowing

Innovation and sanitisation during dehydration

THE DEHYDRATION OF GRAPES Wilting, raisining, drying and dehydration are all terms used to indicate the same water loss process, but recently Tonutti and Mencarelli (2013) tried to codify the process by defining, with the term dehydration, the loss of water in environments where the environmental parameters are carefully controlled. This is extremely important because any metabolic process, and consequently the modification of the metabolites, closely depends on such environmental factors that in this case are temperature, relative humidity and ventilation. The control of these factors enables us to predict what can happen in the grapes during water loss thanks to scientific results obtained in recent years. Yet this prediction is actually quite presumptuous, since each grape type put in certain dehydration conditions will act in a different way because its formation took place in the field in response to a certain farming environment and therefore it will respond to the dehydration environment in a different way. This is the reason the modelling of this process, from a grape quality point of view, is difficult and becomes almost impossible the longer the process is (because two types of stress influence the berry, water and ageing) and the less accurate the environmental control of the dehydration is. In underground cellar conditions, where everything is controlled, the daily variation is minimal; in drying rooms without control, but conditioned by the external climatic environment, the daily variation in weight loss is extremely variable and this significantly influences the metabolism.

TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY But what is meant by a ‘long process’? Table 1 shows what we consider to be the timing of the process for wine grapes and also the extent of the process, that is to say the quantity of weight lost (mainly water). The values for the extent of the process are not random, because they are the result of observations carried out during the years of experimentation; 10-15% of the weight loss of the bunch is mainly loss of water from the stem, above this value and up to 20-25% the berry begins to significantly demonstrate water stress and modifies its metabolism and therefore the phenolic and aromatic fraction. Above 30% moves towards the

54 Grapegrower & Winemaker

slow death of cells and therefore everything that occurred is photographed in that moment and only chemical degradation phenomena take place. But the temperature, in relation to the relative humidity, plays an important role in these modifications. If we look at Table 2, which shows the air’s water capacity, that is to say the capacity of the air to absorb water vapour (in grams per square metre) of air in the temperature conditions and relative humidity (RH) indicated, and we follow the numbers in bold, we can see that the same extent of water loss can be had at 15 °C and 40% RH (3.2) and at 25 °C and 50% RH (3.4), or at 15 °C and 60% RH (2.1) and at 30 °C and 70% RH (2.1). From a technical point of view it is absolutely true but, from a metabolic point of view, losing water at 15 °C or at 30 °C is completely different, especially when we talk about cellular ageing. The careful maintenance of dehydration conditions is fundamental for predicting a metabolic response, but this careful control is also useful for avoiding the onset of fungal and bacterial diseases on the grapes during dehydration. Table 1. Timing and extent of the dehydration process SPEED of the process • Very fast (5-10 days) • Fast (2-3 weeks) • Slow (4-8 weeks) • Very slow (2-5 months)

EXTENT OF THE PROCESS 10-15% weight loss • 20-30% • >30%

Table 2. Water vapour absorption capacity of the air Temperature °C 10

8.2

9.2

9.9

6.0

7.3

8.0

8.6

10 Relative humidity %

ITALY IS RECOGNISED as leading the way in the production of wine made from partially-dried grapes. The so-called ‘raisining’ process is simply a loss of water from the bunches after harvest. The timeframe between the harvest and the end of the desired dehydration is determined by the producer and varies based on the desired wine style. During this time, the bunch goes through a process of cellular ageing and it is clear that what was once, and is still often today, considered a simple weight loss, is actually a very complex process. In recent years this has been the subject of interesting scientific studies mainly linked to the production of Amarone. The use of ozone (trioxygen, O3) has shown excellent results both in terms of microbial control and economic and environmental sustainability. More detail on the assessments to be made on the air distribution system in order to apply this gas has been provided by Rinaldo Botondi and Fabio Mencarelli from DIBAF-Postharvest Laboratory, Tuscia University, Viterbo.

5.0

5.6

6.2

6.6

6.9

2.7

3.2

3.7

4.2

4.6

5.1

5.5

6.1

2.2

2.6

3.0

3.4

3.7

3.9

4.1

1.8

2.1

2.3

2.6

2.9

3.1

2.1

1.3

1.5

1.7

1.9

0.9

1.0

1.1

1.2

0.5

0.7

SANITISATION OF GRAPES The presence of Botrytis cinerea on grapes subject to the dehydration process is very frequent, since temperatures are often unsuitable, the relative humidity is frequently high and there is not enough ventilation, in terms of even distribution of the air, to avoid dangerous stagnation of humid and warm air. But after Botrytis cinerea fungi may establish themselves, producing oncogenic toxins such as ochratoxin. Therefore the microbiological quality of the starting grapes and the sanitisation

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June 2016 – Issue 629

In large plants, the ozone distribution must be done with several exits positioned in strategic points of the plant, though always on the ceiling. of the dehydration environment are two indispensable points for optimising dehydration. In Valpolicella, in drying rooms for Amarone grapes, 40% of Botrytis is in asymptomatic form, that is to say that the fungus just waits for suitable environmental conditions to develop and, in other areas where drying is totally without control, the situation is even worse. From a study we carried out in Tuscany a few years ago, in a traditional drying room and in a carefully controlled one for the production of Vin Santo, the total microbial load in the former was 2,500-3,000 CFU/m3 whereas the second was 300-350 CFU/ m3, but above all the concentration of fungi was significantly reduced from 2,000 to 100 CFU/m3. If the concentration of microbial flora becomes particularly high, operators may have allergic reactions, which may also develop following the unfortunately frequent use of sulphur bentonite, an anticryptogam wettable powder classified as Xi, an irritant, usable in agriculture under Health Ministry Regulation no. 4425, which is sprinkled on the drying grapes being dried (an inadvisable practice also for the grape quality) in order to contain the fungal development, with a dual antiseptic and drying action. On the other hand, increased consumer attention towards the healthiness of wine, and therefore also the attention of OIV towards all synthetic chemical additives, among them sulphur-based products, has driven research to identify alternative solutions and today the Italian company PC Engineering’s international patent involves a postharvest grape sanitizing treatment called Purovino for the production of sulfite-free wines.

ASSESSMENT OF THE SANITISATION ACTIVITY OF OZONE DURING GRAPE DEHYDRATION In our research activity on the dehydration/drying of grapes, we wanted to assess the sanitisation efficacy of ozone during the dehydration of grapes. A first test was carried out on Pignola grapes, also assessing the more metabolic aspects, and in another test a sweet dried grape wine was produced without the addition of sulfites. A feature of ozone is that, when it reacts, it decomposes without leaving any toxic residue and, unlike for example chlorine or electrolysed water, which may produce trihalomethanes, carcinogenic compounds in reaction with organic matter, ozone does not generally produce such compounds. Many cold storage plants in California have installed equipment that generates a constant low dose of ozone (100 ppb during the day and 300 ppb during the night) resulting in a reduction of the diffusion of grey mould and prolonging the preservation of table grapes for several weeks. It has also been observed that postharvest treatments of grapes with ozone stimulate the biosynthesis of certain phenolic fractions and also act on the cell wall, favouring the extraction of such substances. From tests carried out on Sauvignon grapes, ozone stimulates the glycosidation of aromatic compounds and therefore, during fermentation, these compounds may be freed, increasing the aromatic concentration of the wine. As with all gaseous treatments, the effect depends on the dose and the duration. Concentrations that are too high contain a risk for the operator and are also harmful to grape quality, June 2016 – Issue 629

Using bipyridyls as part of your resistance strategy It appears last month’s column on prolonging glyphosate use in vineyards generated a fair bit of discussion. Many properties are now entering the critical timeline modelled by researchers Paul Neve and Art Diggle, who predicted that after 12 to 15 years of continuous glyphosate use, the probability of resistance would begin to increase. It led to enquiries on herbicide ‘double-knock’ and also the best use of GRAMOXONE® 360 PRO and SPRAY.SEED® under vines. Both are non-selective contact bipyridyl herbicides that belong to the herbicide Group L. Where each one should be used really depends on the weed spectrum. GRAMOXONE 360 PRO is better suited to areas where annual grasses are more prevalent. SPRAY. SEED, which is a mix of the paraquat in GRAMOXONE 360 PRO and diquat, should be used where more annual broadleaf weeds are present - for example capeweed or erodium species. Being contact herbicides, water volumes and spray coverage are very important with these products. Calibrated sprayers with flat fan jets, adjusted to a height that gives a double overlap of the spray at the top of the weeds, are ideal. Spraying pressures should be in the range of 200 to 300 kPa. Select nozzles that give droplets in the 200 to 250μ volume median diameter range at these pressures. Speed of travel should be in the range of 6 to 10 km/hr. Good weed coverage while spraying is essential, so adjust the water volume according to density of weed growth. Interesting results are being seen in broadacre areas where they are noticing improved results when these contact herbicides are applied in lower light conditions, such as just before nightfall. The bipyridyls quickly destroy green plant tissue on contact and the speed of the cell destruction is largely influenced by the intensity of light; the higher the light intensity the faster the reaction. Spraying at dusk does two things; it slows the speed of cell damage and often also extends the drying time of the droplet on the leaf. Longer drying time allows the active ingredient more time to absorb into the leaf. A slower speed of cell damage can enable the active to move more within the leaf. Paraquat has the ability to move down and away from the site of application and while this translocated movement may be small, it can be very important. So spray at the end of the day if you can. It may increase your control over the weeds, for example from five days to six or seven, and the final results will often be better. Bipyridyl’s bind strongly to clay particles in the soil. That’s an agronomic strength because they are deactivated as soon as they contact clay in the soil and provide no residual activity. However, they can also bind to clay particles suspended in the spray solution and this will reduce efficacy. If you can see dirt in your spray water, chances are it will negatively impact on the spray result. Finally, if the intent is to use a ‘double-knock’ as a resistance strategy, both herbicides should be applied at the registered rate to effectively control weeds. Apply glyphosate or SPRAY.SEED first, then wait around seven days before applying the second application of SPRAY.SEED. To ensure a really robust eradication of some difficult to control weeds, such as marshmallow, stinging nettle or erodium, the addition of a Group G herbicide spike mixed with SPRAY.SEED is very effective.

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

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

grapegrowing The late Professor Ferrarini carried out a study on a large drying plant in Valpolicella, highlighting the very poor quality of the air distribution through the platforms with the plateaux (trays) of grapes. The resorting to the use of large ventilators (1.5 m diameter) on the ground, with huge flow rates (7-8.000 m3/hour), has an insufficient capacity to guarantee an even air distribution but causes really inadvisable ‘crosses’ of airflows for an even drying. But also in small tunnels, the problem of air distribution remains. In fact, we can see that, despite the presence of suction fans on one side of the tunnel, the air distribution is uneven, entailing different temperatures and RH at the different heights of the platforms with grapes. In view of a more and more difficult air regulation, therefore, it is important that the line of ozone insertion is connected to the flow of cold air for its distribution inside the distribution channel, taking advantage of the heaviness of the ozone coming out. In large plants, the ozone distribution must be done with several exits positioned in strategic points of the plant, though always on the ceiling. We must consider that, while small dehydration plants can guarantee a certain gastightness thanks to a good thickness of insulation, though not having a barrier against vapour that is to say not being waterproof, in large dehydration plants, especially in open-closed systems like the ones in Valpolicella, there is no 'gas tightness' and also little insulation, hence there could be high leaks of ozone and therefore a reliable alarm system with sensors in various positions is needed.

CONCLUSION

the same applies for long treatment times with moderately high concentrations. The treatment with ozone on Pignola grapes being dehydrated at 10 °C and 50% RH, 1.5 m/sec of air flow, proved to be particularly effective in reducing the microbial load of fungi, bacteria and yeasts from a concentration of 103 CFU (asymptomatic), also using only an initial treatment for 18 hours at 1.5 g/hour, and therefore leading to a 35% weight loss in grapes. The initial treatment followed by a daily treatment of four hours with lower doses of ozone gave the same results from a microbiological point of view, but significantly penalised the phenolic and anthocyanic content. In the other experiment, in collaboration with CREA Velletri, the test was carried out on Grechetto grapes destined to make Cannellino wine and, also in this case, initial and final treatments were done with ozone. The dehydration parameters used were the same and the test lasted 33 days, reaching a drop in weight of about 45%. Also in this test the grapes at the end of dehydration were in perfect condition and, vinified without the addition of sulphur dioxide, gave a final product that was still stable after one year, with a total of 7 mg/l of sulphur dioxide and a volatile acid of 0.51 g/l.

SYSTEM CONSIDERATIONS Ozone is a heavier gas that air and therefore tends to stratify lower down, moreover, it has a short persistence (after acting it rapidly turns into oxygen) and therefore it needs to be constantly supplied to maintain an adequate concentration. It is extremely important, therefore, in both small and large plants, to arrange for the gas to enter inside the dehydration structures, having first carefully measured the air distribution bearing in mind that between the crates there must be a minimum air speed of 0.5 m/s.

56 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Ozone for the sanitisation of grapes may be a valid and healthy alternative to the use of sulphur bentonite when the environmental conditions of the drying environment are not carefully controlled. From the point of view of the plant, especially large plants, there must be a perfect distribution of the gas, an accurate measuring system in different locations, a reliable alarm system and detailed safety signs indicating the risks for the operator, which is why the treatment must be done during the night. For small and medium plants (70-500 m3), built with appropriate insulation and with careful management of the environmental conditions, the treatment is a real and valid alternative with contained costs. Also for old-style drying systems without control of environmental parameters, as is often required by DOC regulations, night treatment with ozone in environments with closed windows can save a large amount of grapes and above all avoid the production of oncogenic mycotoxins.

Acknowledgement This article has been made available in cooperation between Corriere Vinicolo and Grapegrower & Winemaker magazines. Corriere Vinicolo (corrierevinicolo.com), edited since 1928 by Unione Italiana Vini, is the most authoritative magazine of the Italian wine industry. Established in Milan in 1895, Unione Italiana Vini is the historical association of Italian wine firms: its core business, further to a lobbying activity, is focused on high quality services to the wine industry: analysis laboratories, supply chain checkup, SIMEI exhibition, sustainability program Tergeo. Articles shared between the two publications focus on technical and economic issues, in order to give each readership a broader vision both on Italy and Australia/New Zealand.

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June 2016 – Issue 629

Product update

Training, Trellising & Pruning

Easy and efficient post repairs

AS HARVEST HAS WRAPPED UP for another year, many growers will be trawling through their vineyards checking for broken posts. Post replacement or repair must be regularly undertaken to maintain proper vineyard maintenance, but many growers would agree it is usually an arduous and expensive task. Back in 2008, Michael Szewczuk from Riverland Nurseries noticed an increasing number of broken posts and resolved to fix the issue. The laborious process of pulling broken stumps from the group, removing trellis wire and hand pruning the area motivated Szewczuk to think outside the box. “This method was both time consuming and costly,” Szewczuk said. Although his first attempt at reinventing the process was unsuccessful, Szewczuk was motivated to keep trying. “We tried a broken post bored into the ground next to the existing broken post. This once again required a high labour input and was a two person operation.” A year-long trial and error process began. In 2009, Szewczuk said he and his team started to use star pickets but “found they had insufficient structural strength and the process was once again time consuming”. “Then came scrap 50mm pipe and a 50mm angle at various lengths to help support the vine rows containing broken posts,” Szewczuk said. “In the same year we trialled 75mm x 50mm x 5mm x 1metre length iron angle attached with 2 x 100mm tech screws to maintain structural support. “In heavy cropping varieties, for example Colombard which crops at 50 tonne to the hectare, we decided to use a 75mm x 50mm x 5mm x 1 metre angle on every third broken post with star pickets in between.” Szewczuk said he knew they were close to success, but with some slight instability he decided to move the angle to every second broken post, with a star picket in between. “This method then gave us the support needed and was able to stand up to the machine picking, high winds, wind shear and a full canopy with crop both dry and when wet from rain,” Szewczuk said although he had found a successful method of repairing the posts, it was still a two person job, and he was determined to make the process as easy as possible for growers. “This was still a two person operation using a modified post knocker,” he said. “I then purchased an electric demolition hammer that would drive both the star pickets and angles. Szewczuk said he ran the demolition hammer with a large drill tech head from a generator on a quad bike which made it suitable for a one person operation. “The ease of post replacement using the existing broken post is a huge labour and cost saving operation on our properties,” he said. Szewczuk, who manages 80 hectares of vineyard in the Riverland, said due to the current state of the wine grape industry, he was always looking for efficiencies in his management and was keen to help other growers save money and time. “After trialling this product within our vineyards, we are now able to source supply of these angles at a reasonable cost and are offering the angles to other grapegrowers to give them a time and cost effective method for the ongoing problem of broken vineyard posts,” Szewczuk said. June 2016 – Issue 629

Sometimes the simplest things are the best. The idea is simple, but it works. He estimated about an 80 per cent cost reduction for growers who used his method, when compared to full post replacement. “I’ve heard the labour component alone can be between $10$12,” he said. “We alleviate 80 per cent of that.” Szewczuk said he has already been blown away by the response from growers, with many enquiries pouring in from across Australia. The Barmera Agriculture Bureau has also visited Szewczuk to check out his post repair method. “The Barmera Agriculture Bureau came out for an on site visit,” he said. “I pulled a couple of posts that had been in the ground about eight years. There was some rust but they were sealed up and will last another 20 years.” “Sometimes the simplest things are the best,” Szewczuk said. “The idea is simple, but it works.” For more information, contact: Michael Szewczuk from Riverland Nurseries E: mszewczuk@bigpond.com P: +61 408 839 840

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grapegrowing Product update

“The best post in the market” OCLOC PRODUCTS have revolutionised the way vineyards deal with trellis maintenance. Ocloc, by Ocvitti Pty Ltd, has simplified the process of trellis maintenance together with creating significant savings compared to traditional post replacement. Across the past four years they have researched the best of existing designs from Australia and overseas including grower’s input to developing Ocloc A. Ocloc A can be used for general replacement or ‘greenfield’ developments and is made of a recyclable, high grade structural steel with the foremost Galfan anti-corrosion coating to increase post life in our harsh viticultural environments. Richard Leask, from Leask Viticulture in McLaren Vale SA, said he had looked at all posts in the market place… “round ones with plastic clips, big heavy droppers that wreck the harvester rods and wood that is unsustainable and irresponsible to use”. “Ocloc A is, by far, the best post in the market, easier and cheaper than wooden posts to install, they prune well mechanically, pick really well and have a much longer lifespan than anything else out there, in fact, we have been using all the Ocloc products for many years and they ‘just work’ with the added bonus of cutting our trellis maintenance costs in half.” At Kirribilly Vineyards in the Clare Valley, Dick Bryksy said Ocloc had been a revolution. “I manage 14 vineyards encompassing over 600ha and trellis maintenance has been a bugbear up until Ocloc A came along. We have trialled every post, stake and/or dropper available over many years and found that they all have their faults whether they are too weak or rust quickly. “We have found the wire tags break off, lift wires won’t go in or stay in slots, some posts are just too expensive to install when the clips are in the equation that then break, replacing clips ad hoc is expensive plus inserting screws etc. which end up breaking off and puncturing tractor tyres. Ocloc A ticks all the boxes, robust, sustainable, easy to install by hand or machine in all our country, rock or clay plus they are inexpensive, have no need for retrofitting of clips and are flexible yet strong. We have used the other Ocloc products, namely Ocloc X and M, which complement the Ocloc A as a robust, economical and long term fix for vine stakes and posts.”

58 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Most grapegrowers have recognised the need for change and are re-thinking post types with the general consensus being the move to steel is preferred. Prior to Ocloc A there wasn’t a simple post available that growers could ‘set and forget’, rather than being labour intensive with additional clips or too weak for the application. Ocloc A comes with rounded wire slots at 150mm or 75mm spacing’s, allowing for infinite wire positioning, is made from 2mm high-tensile steel, encased within a www.winetitles.com.au

premium Galfan coating, that has proven to be exceptionally resilient across all applications. Ocloc A is a durable, sustainable and uncomplicated trellis post that will outperform any other post available ‘hands down’. Ocloc products are proudly owned, designed and produced in Australia by viticulturists for viticulture. For more information visit www.ocloc.com.au June 2016 – Issue 629

Back to basics: Managing your trellis system THERE ARE MULTIPLE REASONS for training vines onto a trellis, including maximising light interception, reducing labour cost, avoiding delayed bearing, minimising disease pressure and developing a strong, straight trunk. In addition, trellised vines are out of the way of cultivation and other vineyard operations. This report from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln covers what grapegrowers need to know.

MATERIALS As with any type of construction, the foundation is the most important and the best starting point. End post construction of a trellis begins with the end post assembly. This is the one place you should not skimp because it can come back to haunt you later. Soil condition is often a more critical factor in failure of end post construction than the actual material itself. It is essential that the end post assembly be of sturdy material, with some growers choosing at least an 8-inch diameter end post. Use of high tensile, 12-gage steel wire is a must. Lighter weight wire such as that used for electric fencing is not recommended. Breakage during a heavy crop load is almost impossible to repair, and requires significant extra labour, cost and may result in serious crop loss.

Additional hardware needed include springs, ratchets, earth anchors, cross arms, wire fasteners and wire splicers. Some of these are optional while some are a must.

VINE VIGOUR When determining trellis choice predicted vigour must also be considered. Site-specific characteristics that influence vine vigour include soil structure and climatic conditions. A well-designed and properly constructed trellis will produce a large canopy surface area and relatively low canopy density. A good trellis system with a good canopy management system should produce a canopy that has two-to-three layers of leaves and minimal shading. This should result in a top quality crop with high sugar content. But what is the vine vigour potential of a given site? That can be difficult to determine if no previous history is available for the site. But if prior cropping history exists for the site then this could be relative easy. Whether a ‘track record’ for the site is or is not available, it is recommended that soil samples be taken. Test results not only will provide guidance for future fertiliser practice, but also should give a rough idea of the vine vigour potential for the site. Making the correct choice in the first place is easier than making the corrections later on.

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grapegrowing LIGHT INTERCEPTION Many of the ways to get more sunlight to the grape plants and their clusters are by pruning, canopy management, and a north south trellis alignment. A properly constructed trellis also facilitates vine size, structure and canopy management. This makes it easy to see what parts of the vine need to be pruned and to easily see what clusters need to be removed in the cluster thinning process.

DISEASE MANAGEMENT With a vine on a trellis and the proper canopy management, better airflow is established. Reducing its potential disease problems. Furthermore with vines trained on a trellis, the job of weed control under the plants becomes much easier. Vines maybe sprayed more effectively without the concern of herbicide damage to the vines.

HARVEST Choice of a trellis system will be different for grapes that are to be machine harvested, than for those that will be picked by hand. European (Vitis vinifera) cultivars have an upright habit. They need a system that can accommodate this, one that allows easy removal and replacement of trunks in case of winter injury and provides room for vertical training of shoots. Low-wire and mid-wire systems allow for easy implementation of both these requirements. Then the upward growing shoots are then trained between pairs of catch wires on either side of the post to the top of the trellis. This system is commonly called vertical shoot positioning (VSP). After the shoots reach the top of the trellis they then can be trimmed off. This will help prevent shading of the fruit and renewal zone. This type of system can be labour intensive in the positioning of the shoots between the catch wires but does lend itself to mechanical harvesting.

SHOOT POSITIONING In most training systems shoot positioning is as important aspect. In systems that utilise spur pruning the fruiting shoots must be positioned vertically in either an upward or downward

The Ocloc A post in the Battle of Bosworth vineyards, McLaren Vale

manor or in some cases both directions. The goal is to form a curtain of foliage that can maximize light interception and at the same time assure that the basal region is well exposed. This basal region is where nest years wood well being retained for that year’s crop. Good light interception is critical to the quality of the ‘renewal zone’ wood. No more than two or three leaves will need removal. Remove too many and sun exposure can cause damage to the fruit clusters. Without implementation these proper techniques of shoot positioning spur pruning may fail to meet expectations.

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June 2016 – Issue 629

Exploring the potential to breed stress-resistant vines IMAGINE IF GRAPEVINES could remember being stressed and how to respond if it happens again. Early research at the University of Adelaide suggests that this may not be as farfetched as it seems. Previous studies have shown it is possible to ‘prime’ individual plants for specific stresses, such as heat, disease or excessive salt, and that this priming is trans-generational; that is, after one sexual generation new plants become more tolerant to the same stress and even to other stresses. This is known as epigenetics. However, the previous work had only been carried out with plants that propagate via seeds, and not those, like grapevines, that are propagated vegetatively via cuttings. That’s where Drs Carlos Rodriguez Lopez and Roberta De Bei came in. Funded by Wine Australia, they completed a one-year project to test whether a collection of vines showed the same ability to ‘remember’ after being exposed to drought and excessive heat. The short answer was that they did, at least for a short time. “We found that some markers induced by the stress remained one month after the stress was removed,” Lopez said. “Whether the plants were more or less tolerant to heat we don’t know yet because it was a short project. But a memory of the stress was there – and that is significant. We have proof of concept.” Lopez compares the process to vaccinating people or animals, though there is no vaccine. It is all done through epigenetics, whereby external factors cause specific genes to switch on or off, in response to the stress. Importantly, no genetic modification is involved. The plants remain exactly as they were originally. Epigenetics has already been used to create a number of ‘primed’ plants, such as canola that is more efficient at respiration. However, in such cases the memory effect only needs to go through one seed generation.

Our ﬁndings could lead to the production of cuttings that are more tolerant to water and heat stresses, thus reducing costs of irrigation… “What we want ideally is an epigenetic memory that lasts for the life of the plant, which could be a century in vines,” Lopez said. “So it’s not straight forward.” However, the potential for success with vines is enhanced by the fact that grapevines have a high phenotypic plasticity, which means they are known to adapt well to climate and different growing conditions. To fulfil the project objectives a collaboration with Dr Everard Edwards from CSIRO was initiated to collect samples from a glasshouse experiment where grapevines were subjected to water stress, heat stress and a combination of the two. “Our findings could lead to the production of cuttings that are more tolerant to water and heat stresses,” the researchers explained in their final report to Wine Australia. “Thus reducing costs of irrigation and water applied after planting and plant establishment and so lowering the environmental impact of the Australian wine industry.” The proof of concept established through the one-year project will be explored further in a new project, funded through Wine Australia’s recent call for proposals on climate adaptation strategies to manage the impacts of climate change. The final report compiled by Lopez and Bei can be accessed via www.research.wineaustralia.com.

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Vineyard Machinery

Vineyard device saves back, wet feet and time

Chengjin Cao, a fellow student of Mike Liao, tests out the prototype machine.

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LINCOLN UNIVERSITY engineering student Mike Liao has designed a machine to make work easier and more efficient in vineyards. It allows for grape picking, leaf clipping and pruning while sitting down. Mike says the fruiting wire for a viticulture position system defines the position of working. “This wire’s height can vary depending on different type of trellis system,” Liao said. “But one thing most trellis systems have in common is they are relatively low. The working position is usually much lower than an adult human’s comfortable working range. “Thus, the solution – come up with an adjustable chair which hold workers into comfortable position.” Liao said the device is designed to make people’s work easier. However, the side effect of comfortable working is a quality assured working period and better efficiency – in this case by up to 20 per cent in harvesting time. “This device also raises people’s feet from the ground which can be cold and wet. Working with cold and wet feet is not ideal for anybody.” The idea came from his experience in Lincoln University’s vineyard, where he found he suffered from a sore back himself. “I started to wonder if there is something I can do to improve the experience,” Liao said. When the course required he comes up with a project related to agriculture he thought it might be a good chance to do just that. The ‘vineyard assistant device’ took about two months from start to its successful field test in early May. While Liao is not looking to commercialise his device at this stage, it will be making an appearance, along with Lincoln University, at this year’s Fieldays.

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June 2016 – Issue 629

winemaking Climate and variety impact on cold soak effectiveness There is a general perception that pre-fermentative cold maceration or ‘cold soak’ improves colour, enhances fruit characters and provides complexity to red wines. A trial conducted in 2013 examined the influence of climate and variety on the effectiveness of pre-fermentative cold maceration.

PRE-FERMENTATIVE cold maceration or ‘cold soak’ is a commonly practiced red winemaking technique. The technique involves inhibiting the onset of fermentation by holding the must at temperatures typically under 15°C for a period of days. During this period, an aqueous extraction, as opposed to the alcoholic extraction, of compounds from the skins occurs. There is a general perception that a cold soak improves colour, enhances fruit characters and provides complexity to red wines. Anecdotal evidence suggests that cold soaks are best utilised under certain conditions relating to climate and variety, this study is the first of its kind to examine these two variables concurrently. The aim of this research was to investigate the influence of climate and variety on the effectiveness of cold soaking. In 2013, fruit was selected from vineyards in two distinct Western Australian wine regions, Swan District (hot) and Great Southern (cool). The climates of these can be characterised

by mean January temperature (MJT); in 2013 the MJT’s of the regions were 24.9°C and 19.7°C respectively. From each region, 100 kilogram parcels of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were hand harvested. Each parcel of fruit was split into treatments, ‘control’ (Ctrl) and ‘cold soak’ (CS). Each treatment was then divided into three equal lots creating three replicates. The winemaking process was the same for all treatments except the must of the CS parcels were stored at 4°C for 5 days prior to the commencement of fermentation.

Sensory analysis Descriptive sensory analysis was performed at two and at nine months after bottling. Each sensory session was conducted following the same procedure; nine experienced winemakers made up the panel, two replicates were included for each treatment, wines were presented in unique randomised order grouped into regional and variety brackets.

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

winemaking

Hot Shiraz

7.75

6.76

-12.77

7.86

6.72

-14.45

Colour hue T1

0.72

0.77

7.91

Total phenolics (a.u.) T2

Sensory assessment The following figures illustrate the results of the sensory assessment of the treatments at both two and nine months postbottling. Red and blue lines represent Ctrl and CS treatments

64 Grapegrower & Winemaker

0.69

0.75

7.97

42.43

37.48

-11.67

41.25

36.00

-12.74

Total anthocyanins (mg/L) T1

265.32

210.92

-20.5

Total anthocyanins (mg/L) T2

197.89

158.75

-19.78

Control

Cold Soak

% difference

Cool Shiraz

Table 1 shows the colour analysis of the wines at two time periods; two months after bottling (T1) and nine months after bottling (T2). A percentage of difference is used to indicate the degree of influence the cold soak treatment has when compared to the control. Observing a 10% difference between treatments as notable, only differences in hot climate wines were found. Results show cold soaking hot climate Cabernet dramatically increased colour density by 44.81% after nine months in bottle. Cold soak reduced total anthocyanins in hot climate Merlot but colour density was increased. Cool climate Shiraz, Cabernet and Merlot showed little difference between treatments suggesting the influence of climate to be greater than variety when considering colour.

% difference

Colour density T2

Total phenolics (a.u.) T1

Colour

Cold Soak

Colour density T1

Colour hue T2

A simple linear regression provided a 5 – 10% level of significance (P < 0.05 – 0.1) for the sensory data.

Control

Colour density T1

9.11

9.67

6.22

Colour density T2

8.35

8.84

5.87

Colour hue T1

0.56

0.58

3.57

Colour hue T2

0.60

0.62

2.5

Total phenolics (a.u.) T1

39.93

41.08

2.87

Total phenolics (a.u.) T2

35.85

36.70

2.39

Total anthocyanins (mg/L) T1

494.64

491.56

-0.62

Total anthocyanins (mg/L) T2

342.53

341.57

-0.28

respectively. Statistical differences (P value ≤0.05) by attribute are identified by **. Initially, hot climate Shiraz wines without cold soak had greater dark berry aromas, palate length and tannin however these differences weren’t found after a total of nine months in bottle (Figure 1). Cool climate Shiraz showed no significant difference for any attributes over the two time periods (Figure 2). Sensory properties of the hot climate Cabernet were significantly influenced by the cold soak treatment with colour (depth and hue), aroma (chocolate) and palate (weight, texture and length) attributes enhanced by the cold soak and persistent over both sensory sessions (Figure 3). The only significant difference in cool climate Cabernet was CS hue being greater than Ctrl nine months post-bottling (Figure 4). Hue in hot climate Merlot was consistently rated higher in the Ctrl over the two periods (Figure 5). Cool climate Merlot showed stylistic differences initially with cold soak enhancing flavour and texture but less confectionery and red berry aromas than the control. These differences were not observed at nine months (Figure 6). Findings from this study are limited to one growing season.

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June 2016 – Issue 629

Hot Merlot

Control

Cold Soak

% difference

Hot Cabernet

Control

Cold Soak

% difference

Colour density T1

6.74

7.30

8.31

Colour density T1

4.41

5.68

28.9

Colour density T2

6.66

7.41

11.34

Colour density T2

3.95

5.72

44.81

Colour hue T1

0.74

Colour hue T1

0.82

0.73

-10.2

Colour hue T2

Colour hue T2 Total phenolics (a.u.) T1 Total phenolics (a.u.) T2

0.73

0.75

2.76

39.06

37.48

-4.05

Total phenolics (a.u.) T1 Total phenolics (a.u.) T2

0.69

0.74

6.52

32.06

31.01

-3.25

36.96

37.46

1.37

28.67

29.89

4.24

Total anthocyanins (mg/L) T1

310.06

249.07

-19.67

Total anthocyanins (mg/L) T1

255.99

246.73

-3.62

Total anthocyanins (mg/L) T2

263.22

210.19

-20.15

Total anthocyanins (mg/L) T2

171.50

188.82

10.1

Cold Soak

% difference

Control

Cold Soak

% difference

Cool Merlot

Control

Cool Cabernet

Colour density T1

7.91

7.36

-6.95

Colour density T1

8.64

8.95

3.59

Colour density T2

7.05

6.79

-3.76

Colour density T2

8.77

8.07

-8.04

Colour hue T1

0.58

0.60

2.29

Colour hue T1

0.63

0.61

-3.7

Colour hue T2

0.63

0.65

3.2

Colour hue T2

0.67

0.65

-2.26

Total phenolics (a.u.) T1

33.54

33.24

-0.9

Total phenolics (a.u.) T1

34.92

36.20

3.68

Total phenolics (a.u.) T2

29.84

29.94

0.35

Total phenolics (a.u.) T2

32.37

32.31

-0.17

Total anthocyanins (mg/L) T1

418.74

416.70

-0.49

Total anthocyanins (mg/L) T1

429.55

432.45

0.68

Total anthocyanins (mg/L) T2

280.34

266.08

-5.09

Total anthocyanins (mg/L) T2

297.55

295.76

-0.6

To extend this trial for multiple seasons and increasing the number of replicates would provide additional confidence; replicating the trial on a commercial scale is also suggested.

Conclusion Cold soak is not a ‘one size fits all’ technique and is more

effectively utilised under specific conditions. The quality of hot climate grown Cabernet greatly benefits from the application of a cold soak with improved colour and palate structure. Cool climate Cabernet had little change after a cold soak. Shiraz did not respond positively to cold soaking regardless

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winemaking

Figure 1 Effect of both cold soak and time on wine attributes for hot climate Shiraz

Figure 2 Effect of both cold soak and time on wine attributes for cool climate Shiraz

Figure 3 Effect of both cold soak and time on wine attributes for hot climate Cabernet Sauvignon

Figure 4 Effect of both cold soak and time on wine attributes for cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon

Figure 5 Effect of both cold soak and time on wine attributes for hot climate Merlot

Figure 6 Effect of both cold soak and time on wine attributes for cool climate Merlot

of climatic region in which the fruit was grown. The quality of hot climate wines was reduced when treated with a cold soak. In terms of wine style, it was initially observed a cold soak on cool climate Merlot provided palate complexity compared to a fruit forward style without it, however, after nine months there were no sensory differences. The only descriptor that showed significant differences between treatments in the sensory assessment was colour. This study has demonstrated that not all varieties react similarly to a cold soak and the climate in which the fruit has been grown can influence the impact of this technique. Winemakers should consider climate and variety when

66 Grapegrower & Winemaker

practicing this technique to avoid unnecessary inputs for little return on wine quality.

Acknowledgments This study was carried out with the financial support from Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers through their investment body, Wine Australia. The researchers would like to thank Andrew Taylor, Glynn Ward, Kristen Brodison, Karryn Reeves and Rebecca O’Leary (staff at the Department of Agriculture and Food WA) for their valuable assistance.

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June 2016 – Issue 629

Cool Products at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium Curtis Phillips reports on the products that made an impact at the recent Unified Wine & Grape Symposium held in Sacramento, California. Phillips, a graduate of UC Davis; winemaker since 1984; and agricultural consultant since 1979, wrote this feature for the April edition of Wine Business Monthly – it is used here with permission. AT THE RISK OF sounding like a broken record, this year’s Unified Wine & Grape Symposium (UWGS) was well-attended once again with the official attendance pegged at 13,800 attendees, roughly the same as last year. Although there were several parts of the tradeshow floor that had much lighter

crowds than the main hall, the foot traffic in these more outof-the-way corners seemed a tad larger than last year. Even the space in the upstairs landing had moderate crowds every time I checked. It looks like the hawks and coffee bar are working to draw people upstairs.

Laffort Applied Research Cooperative (ARC) Laffort’s Applied Research Cooperative (ARC) was one of the ‘coolest products’ at Unified this year, though it wasn’t on the tradeshow floor nor is it really a product. Peter Salamone, Laffort USA technical manager, hosted a seminar describing ARC at the Citizen Hotel during Unified. ARC is a framework where member-winemakers collectively decide upon an applied research goal and set up commercial-scale experiments in their wineries to attempt to meet that goal. Laffort, in cooperation with ETS Laboratories (which is providing analytical support), is acting as a facilitator rather than as research-director. Ordinarily the rules I impose on myself for this list would exclude the ARC, but I did want to make a special mention of it because sometimes the most significant innovations are social rather than merely technical. I’m pretty old school. I tend to prefer academic research over commercial research, but the gap between academic research and its application is often very wide indeed. What’s cool: The Laffort research Cooperative can be used to help wineries get the most use out of the in-house experimentation (AKA winemaking trials) that they are already conducting on their own by enforcing better experimental design and putting the winery in communication with other wineries looking at the same issues. For more information, contact: Laffort USA, www.laffort.com/en/home-usa.

Lallemand Metschnikowia IFV Gaîa MP98.3 Like most non-Saccharomyces yeast, the Metschnikowia pulcherrima strain IFV Gaîa MP98.3 isn’t intended for primary alcoholic fermentation itself. Instead it is a form of biocontrol for undesired non-saccharomyces yeast, like Kloeckera apiculata, apparently without inhibiting Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The research I’ve seen indicates that the mechanism is unlike the ‘killer’ activity seen in some Saccharomyces strains. Instead, M. pulcherrima produces pulcherriminic acid, which consumes any iron present in the must, thus making it unavailable to the other non-Saccharomyces yeast. What’s Cool: Gaîa MP98.3 A benign yeast that inhibits Kloeckera apiculate growth and acetic acid production and can act as a biological alternative to SO2. For more information, contact: Lallemand, www.lallemandwine.com.

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winemaking Amorim & M.A. Silva: Certified TCA-free Corks There have been several advances in reducing the number of TCA-contaminated natural corks over the past couple decades. All the major natural closure producers have had to be fairly aggressive about the issue even if it seems that there is no single ‘correct’ solution. If James Laube’s recent blog for the Wine Spectator is any indication, it looks like they have had some success (2015 Closure Trends from California, www.winespectator.com/blogs/show/id/52683). At Unified this year, both Amorim and M.A. Silva presented natural cork products that guarantee each individual cork has been inspected for TCA. The important point is twofold: cork inspection has moved from sampling a batch to testing each closure individually, and these techniques are good enough that the cork companies will certify the results.

M.A. Silva: 100% TCA-inspected cork testing method This is M.A. Silva’s process where each individual cork is automatically inspected for TCA. M.A. Silva didn’t give many details about the inspection process beyond stating that it is automated and relies on gas-phase spectroscopy and that it leaves “no margin of human error.” All the same, the ‘how’ is much less important than the mere fact that each cork is being inspected and M.A. Silva is standing behind the results. What’s cool: The technology has advanced so that one can buy corks where each individual cork has been analysed for TCA. For more information, contact: M.A. Silva, www.masilva.com.

G3 Enterprises PetainerKeg™ and Mobile Keg Filling Line

Amorim: NDTECH Corticeira Amorim, based in Portugal, is the largest producer of cork products in the world. At Unified, Amorim presented NDtech, a quality control system that tests each individual cork for TCA. If any TCA remains present in the cork, it is below the detection threshold of 0.5 nanograms per litre. This process is assured through a method of gas chromatography/solid phase micro-extraction. Corticeira Amorim products are distributed in the U.S. by Amorim Cork America and Portocork. What’s cool: The technology has advanced so that one can buy corks where each individual cork has been analysed for TCA. (Read more on Page 84-85) For more information, contact: Amorim, www.amorimcork.com.

Nomacorc NomaSense Polyscan B200 Most people don’t know that Nomacorc is more than just a synthetic closure manufacturer. Its NomaSense line of analytical equipment makes it an important analytical equipment manufacturer as well. The NomaSense Polyscan B200 is just one example. The Polyscan B200 measures all oxidisable components in wine including polyphenols. What’s cool: The Polyscan B200 uses singleuse electrodes to minimize errors due to sample contamination. Data analysis is done via an online interface. For more information, contact: Nomacorc, www.nomacorc.com

68 Grapegrower & Winemaker

G3 Enterprises now distributes the PetainerKeg™ line of recyclable plastic kegs in 20- and 30-litre sizes. These one-way kegs seem to be the direction in which a lot of on-premise, on-tap beverages are moving. The much lighter keg is easier to handle, which may not be much of an issue on the production-end but is becoming increasingly important for on-premise retail. The PetainerKegs are designed for existing filling lines and connected to existing tapping systems. Like any PET container, PetainerKegs are recyclable. What’s cool: This product and service allows wineries to offer a kegged wine without having to invest in their own keg-filler or worry about getting the kegs back from the retailer. For more information, contact: G3 Enterprises, www.g3enterprises.com/ alternative-packaging/petainerKeg.asp.

P&L Specialties Cluster Thruster

Sonoma Cast Stone’s NuBarrel

P&L Specialties’ Cluster Thruster is an oscillating table that helps to even out whole grape clusters and move them forward to feed another piece of crush equipment, like a destemmer, press, must pump or sorting line. I would even consider using a Cluster Thruster between a dump-hopper and a more conventional belt-conveyor just to take advantage of the smoother grape cluster delivery to “downstream” equipment. What’s cool: This is one of the most gentle ways to even out the “dump surges” when moving whole clusters that I’ve seen. For more information, contact: P&L Specialties, www.pnlspecialties.com.

A really cool stackable concrete wine tank that is being sold as a barrel substitute. What’s cool: I really like the cubic shape, thermal properties and the fact one can stack these concrete tanks. Sonoma Cast Stone even put a stack of these on the earthquake shaker-table at the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Centre at UC Berkeley to demonstrate their stability. For more information on Sonoma Cast Stone, contact: Sonoma Cast Stone www.concretewinetanks.com

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June 2016 – Issue 629

The success of Australian wines at the IWC and other leading competitions reﬂects the high regard judges have for our wines internationally.

Australian wines win big at IWC AUSTRALIAN WINES continue to succeed at international wine competitions, taking out the second highest number of awards at the International Wine Challenge and becoming its first non-Italian Gold medal winner of Montepulciano. Australian wines were awarded 815 medals including 80 gold, 375 silver and 360 bronze. This placed Australia second on the leader board of total medals by country, beaten only by France. In a first for the competition, Adelaide Hills’ Bird in Hand and Mr. Riggs were both awarded gold medals for wines made from Montepulciano, making it the first year a non-Italian Montepulciano has won gold. Popular Australian red varieties Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon received the strongest recognition with 51 golds, while Riesling, Semillon and Chardonnay were among the 29 white wine winners. Wolf Blass Wines took home seven gold medals while Penfolds and McGuigan Wines each received five. Wine Australia Head of Market UK and Europe Laura Jewell MW said Australia’s success indicated the strong and ongoing potential for the category around the world. “We are delighted that the outstanding quality of Australian

wine has once again been recognised with significant accolades at the prestigious IWC,” Jewell said. “The success of Australian wines at the IWC and other leading competitions reflects the high regard judges have for our wines internationally, and is a testament to the hard work and passion of our winemakers. “It’s wonderful to celebrate the recognition of our alternative varieties, with the IWC awarding Australian wines made from a wide range of grape varieties and in a variety of styles.” IWC Co-Chairman Charles Metcalfe praised Australia’s success across the broad spectrum of wine styles. “Many producers have been really successful with several different grape varieties, and maintaining consistency across vintages; a phenomenal performance overall,” Metcalfe said. These results follow Australia’s recent success at the Sommelier Wine Awards where Australian wines received 158 awards – including one ‘critics’ choice’ and two ‘food match’ trophies. For more information and the full list of winners, please visit the IWC website: www.digitalnewsroom.co.uk/iwc/2016-t2-australia/

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June 2016 – Issue 629

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

winemaking

It’s great in theory But does ‘lean manufacturing’ match the Aussie culture? Ian Jeffery, a retired wine industry consulting engineer, looks at the benefits of LEAN programs in wineries and analyses international and Australian examples. DESKTOP RESEARCH, discussion and winery visits indicate lean manufacturing (LEAN) has been successfully implemented across numerous Australasian wineries. Anecdotal evidence, unfortunately, suggests LEAN has also underperformed at some wineries. Could the reason for this divergence be cultural and philosophical? LEAN and ‘total production maintenance’ (TPM) were developed initially in Japan for Toyota and associated vehicle component manufacturers. They have evolved internationally into universal across many industries and disciplines. What elements of Japanese culture and philosophy remain integral to LEAN and TPM and impact on their successful implication? The following quote is from a 2013 AWITC workshop presented by Ross Kennedy, CTPM president: “Implementing TPM & LEAN needs an approach that is tailored to suit the specific situation… Added to this we need to understand any unique workplace cultural differences to Japan where TPM & LEAN were developed,” Kennedy said. “We have found for example in Australia there are three main workplace cultural differences when compared to Japan: • We have a multi-cultural workforce; • Our workforce is driven by ‘what’s in it for me’; and • We are good at working around problems rather than addressing their root causes. “As such, to assist with the TPM & ‘Lean’ journey in a non-Japanese workplace we have developed an Australasian version of TPM & LEAN which we call TPM3.” Further investigation reveals some successful wine industry LEAN programs commence with implementation in bottling followed by implementation in the winery at a later stage. Upon reflection this makes good sense. There are numerous successful

70 Grapegrower & Winemaker

brewery and beverage bottling LEAN implementations. There are numerous experienced specialists in LEAN bottling that you can engage when commencing your LEAN journey. From this starting point you can develop a relationship with your LEAN trainers and providers (internal provider or consultant) before commencing LEAN in the winery.

Winery lean programs in international wineries Winery LEAN initiatives have been undertaken by wineries that range from the very largest to ‘iconic boutique’ wineries. Many of these wineries have commenced or focused their LEAN implementation on wine bottling.

Six Sigma Ranch and Winery A small winery hand crafting premium wine’s owned by a retired senior General Electric’s six sigma and statistics specialist. “Working with Six Sigma methods allows us to take a hands-off philosophy, as we only manage the parameters that are critical to the quality of our wines. We know, for example, that if we carefully control the time and temperature of our fermentation, then unnatural additives to our wines are unnecessary.” “The incoming grapes are unloaded on a sorting belt, where we cull clusters that don’t meet the winemaker’s specifications. After sorting, we remove the grape stems in a de-stemmer, and the individual berries are meticulously inspected and sorted on a second sorting belt by a team of half a dozen winery workers.” Six Sigma principles were used to develop a method to ensure sorting is done to a consistent and high standard.

G&J Gallo Gallo is involved in a large ongoing LEAN program. It includes significant staff training in LEAN, development of a team of senior LEAN specialists and an internship programme that includes www.winetitles.com.au

LEAN training. Gallo is reported to have reduced change over times from Gallo manufactured bottles to external supplied bottles from two hours to 45 minutes. In 2015 Gallo reported a 705% ROI (return on investment) from a Gallo Winery spirits making plant LEAN 5S RCM (Reliability Centred Maintenance) upgrade. The upgrade was to the asset management and lubrication system. It involved a survey and rationalisation of all lubricant requirements and lubricant storage upgrade. Lubricant contamination by dirt and water and dirt was identified as a major challenge. Desiccant oil breathers, oil levellers and oil sampling valves were fitted to overcome this challenge and permit oil sampling to be done on the run. This upgrade achieved a 9% increase in overall equipment efficiency, a 16.2% decrease in energy use and 89% reduction in unplanned downtime.

Accolade Wines Accolade’s United Kingdom bottling plant has a successful LEAN program. Accolade is in the process of moving from LEAN ‘imposed by management’ to a culture were LEAN “has evolved to being part of how we do business, owned by the whole work team”. In a 2013 interview Richard Lloyd, Accolade’s global manufacturing director, said his vision for Accolade Park “has always been 100% clear, to set the benchmark for wine packaging and make Accolade Park the best of its kind in the world”. In his words: “Someone has to be the best, why shouldn’t it be Accolade Park?” To help achieve this Lloyd has worked on embedding the five ‘lean principles’ at the core of all activities whilst targeting all employees to be aligned, engaged and empowered to improve the site in every aspect day after day. In November 2012 the site won a ‘leadership and strategy award’ at the UK June 2016 – Issue 629

Manufacturer of the Year awards. In 2015 the site won a ‘world class manufacturing award ‘at The Manufacturer MX Awards. Accolade also won a ‘sustainable manufacturer award’ in 2010.

Other examples A leading US producer of “luxury wines” was highlighted for its LEAN focus in an article on driving winery costs lower by US consultants Tenzing Consulting. The unnamed winery was described as “a leading producer of luxury and lifestyle wines that produces, markets, and sells distinct wines from California, Italy, Chile, and Australia.” Tenzing was hired to assist in rapidly driving key supply chain cost reduction efforts. The project resulted in reduced bottling label costs of 48%, vineyard chemical costs of 15% and POS (point of sale) print of 50%. Tenzing also discussed actions that resulted in the “indefinite deferral of an $8.5 million expansion program”, as explained here: “It has been said that the best way to save money on a purchase is by not spending the money in the first place. That was the case for an $8.5million planned capital expenditure. The winery was considering adding a third production line to their bottling facility. Pressure to provide quick market response for new brands, without disrupting the weekslong production runs for flagship brands, resulted in a proposal to build a new line since it was widely believed that the existing lines were operating at or near capacity. This proposal was given very serious consideration and garnered significant support from marketing and sales until the CFO recommended a closer look at production planning and operating practices. The investigation revealed that unresolved carton quality issues and other sub-optimal practices were resulting in the facility running at rates roughly 30% lower than internal best demonstrated performance showed was possible. The result was the immediate implementation of a Six Sigma quality program and the indefinite deferral of the $8.5 million expansion program.” Desk top research reveals a number of Italian Wineries are using LEAN on their bottling lines. A number report 50 to 75% decreases in changeover times.

Winery lean programs in Australian wineries Information from The Lean Guide, Wine Australia, reveals:

Casella Family Brands “Overall, lean manufacturing has resulted in a more flexible facility with June 2016 – Issue 629

reduced waste and decreased operating costs.” Reductions in cellar operating costs and bottling line costs has resulted in ‘estimated savings close to $2 million per annum in real terms in labour costs alone. An 85% reduction in lost time injuries has been achieved over a fouryear period.

Pernod Ricard Winemakers A two-phase LEAN implementation began with the “execution of 5S across the winery was originally successful and efficiencies were gained for a time. The problem was that this was not sustained and after the initial implementation, the site returned to its previous state”. The second phase “focussed on the ‘people’ side of the operation including: • Developing a business training plan for all staff; • Ensuring everyone was involved and contributing to LEAN; • ‘Selling’ the benefits of LEAN to the workforce; • Providing ownership of LEAN processes; • Making staff accountable for LEAN implementation; and • Regular auditing. In 2015 Jo-Anna Partridge, Pernod Ricard Winemakers Marlborough operations director, reported to Rural Delivery magazine that LEAN management was making efficient use of all inputs and doing everything possible to eliminate waste. A 40 % decrease in energy used in the winery, an 85% decrease in winery waste to landfill, a 15% decrease in winery water consumption and a 28% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions has been achieved since the system was introduced in 2010.

A U S T R A L I A

Treasury Wine Estates The Lean Guide, Wine Australia details the achievements of the LEAN implementation at Rosemount Winery, which is as we all know has now shut down. Dave Williams’ team at Rosemount achieved a 20% increase in tonnes crushed, a 10% decrease in cost per tonne and a reduction of 30% in safety incidents. Treasury has transferred Dave to Matua Winery where his new team are also achieving. “Matua Wines production manager Dave Williams led a team which reduced the impact of wastewater on the environment by 80%, while doubling production for the company, by using a biological treatment plant large enough to handle sewage from a town of 23,500 people,” reported the Marlborough Express. “Treated water from the system was www.winetitles.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

winemaking CTPM and others consultants to assist with implementation. The program was initiated in the home brew kit area of the business first, then expanded to bottling next and then to brewing. Coopers have achieved the following: • Lifted overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) for bottling from 50% to 70% (40% productivity increase); • Lifted OEE for keg beer from 50% to 80% (60% productivity increase); • Grew their share of the beer market from 1% in 1993 to 4% in 2011; • Grew their distribution outside South Australia from 8.5 million litres in 1993 to 40 million litres in 2011; and • Have achieved an average yearly growth from 1993 to 2011 of 17.5%. They plan to grow their market share to 7 to 10% by 2019. The OEE/productivity increases have allowed this growth to be achieved with significantly reduced capital.

CONCLUSION piped to a Marlborough district Council forest, while a jelly-like filter cake, similar to worm castings, was used in the vineyards as a soil conditioner.” In 2013 and 2014 I was given detailed tours of the Rosemount Winery and the Matua Winery, as part of a pair of two-day workshops during which I presented on ‘winery maintenance strategy optimisation’ and ‘reliability centered maintenance’ (RCM). What most impressed me was: • The fast, accurate ‘walk through’ morning communications meetings (based on Continuous Improvement philosophy and building a LEAN culture); • The extremely well-managed winery waste water system that was run to achieve the least impact on the environment; and • Managing to achieve minimum use of chemicals.

De Bortoli Wine Rob Glastonberry details the use of LEAN as an element of De Bortoli’s approach to managing costs, value adding and waste reduction: “In the current market, it is a cruel reality that to improve cash flow, cost reduction and value adding is far less demanding than the extra effort required in selling more wine.” “The challenge to our thinking led us through changing: • Our pH dosing from magnesium hydroxide to lime and then ammonia; • Our 400kW aerators, to 8kW fish stones and then aquaculture leaky hose; and • Potassium hydroxide recovery from wash water.

72 Grapegrower & Winemaker

“The net result of these changes included a $200,000 per annum reduction in power costs, crops valued between $80,000 and $150,000 per annum and a $450,000 reduction of capital deployed to wastewater treatment.” “The effect on profit of cutting $1 of costs is the same as creating $10 of extra sales.” Rob Glastonberry, AWITC 2013

The best way to save money If we return to the statement by Tenzing Consulting – the best way to save money is not to spend it – we find a common achievement of a wellimplemented LEAN program is an increase in productivity (and overall equipment effectiveness) leading to indefinite deferral or elimination of major capital expenditure. Two examples are the indefinite deferral of $8.5 million of capital expenditure, at the US winery described by Tenzing, and the 20% increase in crush tonnage achieved by the former Rosemount McLaren Vale winery. If the Rosemount Winery had been the only production site for a mediumsized wine company it is highly likely this winery would have remained in operation. The increase in crush generated by the LEAN program could have been used to generate significant cash flow from devoting 20% of the annual vintage crush and wine making to contract wine making. The reduction of 10% in the cost of making wine generated by this program would also make a considerable contribution to cash flow and profit. The Coopers Brewery has actively engaged in an ‘Australasian style’ LEAN and TPM program. They have engaged www.winetitles.com.au

A number of wineries both international and in Australia and New Zealand have reported very successful LEAN/TPM implementations. It is great if your LEAN program is successful and delivers the outcomes you desired. If, however, your LEAN program is not meeting your expectations it may be worthwhile implementing an ‘Australasian LEAN’ program designed to suite our culture. There may be value in commencing with a LEAN program in bottling first and then progressing the program to other areas of your enterprise. LEAN programs have significant potential to increase OEE and reduce winery costs by indefinite deferral or elimination of major capital expenditure.

References

Getting TPM & LEAN to Work using the TPM3 Approach, R. Kennedy, Australasian Centre for TPM, 2012. 15th AWITC Analysing Data for a Delicate Finish: Six Sigma Ranch, Vineyards, and Winery www.sixsigmaranch.com & www.minitab.com) How a new Reliability Maintenance Program delivered a 705% ROI, The Reliability Conference, 2016 Factory of the month: Accolade Wines – To the last drop, www.themanufacturer.com ‘Squeezing more juice out of a global winery’s supply chain’, Tenzing Consulting 2016 THE LEAN GUIDE – a primer on lean production for the Australian Wine Industry, Australian Grape and Wine Authority Continuous improvement: a winery case study, D. Williams, 2013, 15th AWITC Adding value in the winery. R. Glastonbury, 2013, 15th AWITC

June 2016 – Issue 629

Product update

Rapid and flexible solution for beverage spoilage yeasts PALL HAS EXPANDED its GeneDisc® product range for process monitoring with the introduction of a new solution for spoilage yeasts. This flexible solution is designed to answer the specific needs of the beverage industries to detect and identify spoilage yeast in a timely fashion.

CUSTOMISED INFORMATIVE METHOD This new solution offers two testing options, with different levels of information, to fit all types of sample and testing strategies. The first one is a yeast screening test. The second one is a yeast identification test for the 12 major beverage spoilage yeast species and genera, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. diastaticus and Brettanomyces bruxellensis.

ACCELERATED DECISION-MAKING For yeast slurry testing and colony identification, results are available in just two hours. To determine the presence of down to one microorganism in the sample, the test is performed in as fast as 30 hours. “Spoilage risk is greatly reduced as users obtain results faster and earlier in their process. As an example, with only two hours from sample to result, breweries can prevent pitching contaminated yeast,” said Sirine Assaf, Pall GeneDisc Technologies director. “In addition, beverage producers including breweries, wineries and wine bottlers can now consider next day batch release controls. Main benefits include total peace of mind, avoiding costly recalls and reducing storage costs.”

FAST CORRECTIVE ACTIONS This informative and rapid solution accelerates root cause analysis when contamination is detected, consequently reducing its financial impact. This easy-to-use solution can be implemented at beverage producers from small to large across different industries and complements the existing GeneDisc solutions for the detection of beer and TAB spoilage organisms. For more information genedisc@pall.com.

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Spoilage risk is greatly reduced as users obtain results faster and earlier in their process. As an example, with only two hours from sample to result, breweries can prevent pitching contaminated yeast. June 2016 – Issue 629

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

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

young gun

Steve Baraglia: A tale of two valleys Although his first attempt at making wine could probably be best described as a disaster, Steve Baraglia has managed to cement himself as one of the most promising young winemakers in Australia. We had a chat to the Clare Valley local about his career with Pikes, starting up his own wine label and the highs and lows of vintage. STEVE BARAGLIA has been surrounded by the wine industry his entire life. Growing up in Williamstown in the Barossa, Baraglia spent his childhood learning the ropes of viticulture on the family vineyard. “I’ve been involved in the industry all my life,” he said. “My family has a small vineyard in the Barossa Valley so I was exposed to grapegrowing at an early age.” Enrolling in oenology and viticulture at the University of Adelaide was a natural choice for Baraglia, who said he settled on a career in the wine industry after a successful stint of work experience in the Barossa. “Picking a career path as a winemaker seemed an easy choice for me as I had been involved in the industry in one way or another for as long as I could remember,” he said. “During high school I completed a week of work experience at a small winery in the Barossa well after vintage was finished. “It really cemented my desire to work in the industry, although I’m not sure I would have made the same choice if the work experience fell during vintage!” Baraglia’s first attempt at making wine actually occurred during his high school years, and interestingly, didn’t even involve grapes. “My first attempt at winemaking was in chemistry class at high school in the Adelaide Hills,” he explained. “As no wine grapes were available during winter our juice of choice was apple and after chaptalisation we had 14 Baume juice. “After inoculation of the juice we had trouble with the ferment dropping temperature as the laboratory was quite cold, our chemistry teacher suggested an electric blanket. We wrapped the ferment in an electric blanket for warmth but the following day when it was checked the temperature was 50˚C. “After reseeding the juice fermented to dryness, the resulting wine was definitely not my finest.” Since refining his winemaking skills at university, Baraglia’s career has been skyrocketing. He landed

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June 2016 – Issue 629

Every vintage is different and with it comes unique challenges but losing someone who was a friend and mentor and whom I had worked with for 10 years has by far been the most challenging. a job as winemaker at renowned Clare Valley winery Pikes and even started up his own wine label, Naked Run Wines. “After completing university I began working at Pikes Wines in the Clare Valley beginning in the cellar and am currently senior winemaker,” he said. “Then in 2005 with Bradley Currie and Jayme Wood (both friends from university) we started a small label called Naked Run.” The brand has been described as an “exciting, young and modern label which sources fruit from two world-renowned regions, the Barossa and Clare valleys”. “There are a lot of similarities between Barossa and Clare, they both have tight-knit sporting communities,” he said. “Barossa is one of the great wine regions of the world but Clare is just as beautiful and not as busy.” It only took a few short years before the accolades began to roll in. Baraglia was a finalist for the Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year award in 2010 and 2012, winning the Sommeliers choice in 2010 and the Supporters Choice in 2012. In 2014 he was also named as a ‘Rising Star’ at the Clare Valley Hall of Fame Awards. At just 36-years-old, Baraglia has already completed 15 vintages, shared between the Barossa and Clare. Together with his family, Baraglia has made the Clare Valley his home. “My wife and I purchased a small vineyard at Sevenhill in the Clare Valley, we grow Riesling, Shiraz and Cabernet,” he said. “My biggest achievement would be having a wonderful wife, three fantastic children and being able to allow them to grow up on our beautiful property at Sevenhill.” Baraglia described Pikes as a “perfect fit” due to his love of working with Riesling, but said his time with the winery has not been without challenges. “In the middle of the 2012 vintage, Pikes senior winemaker John Trotter passed away suddenly and unexpectedly,” he said. “Every vintage is different and with it comes unique challenges but losing someone who was a friend and mentor and whom I had worked with for 10 years has by far been the most challenging.”

Over the years, Baraglia has evolved his winemaking philosophy and said he now focused on producing great fruit through simple practices. “I try to achieve a balanced canopy in the vineyard through a range of techniques determined by site, variety and adjusting to the growing season,” he said. “I like to make wines that showcase their place of origin particularly Riesling, trying to capture what the fruit tastes like in the vineyard and bottling this with minimal winemaking intervention.” It’s no secret the Clare Valley has been famous for producing high quality Rieslings, and Baraglia said he hoped to build on the grape’s celebrated reputation through his career. “I want to promote Riesling as one of the great white wine varieties of the world,” he said. “It is such a versatile variety that can made into a number of styles.” Baraglia said he also appreciated Riesling’s resistance to difficult climate conditions, which he believed to be one of the great challenges for the wine industry in current times. “I think the biggest issue facing Australia is climate change affecting our picking windows,” he said. “Grapes are ripening earlier with vintage being more compact putting pressure on being able to get the fruit into the winery at its optimal ripeness.” Although he described his day to day life as chaotic, Baraglia said on his rare days off he simply enjoyed spending time with his family, gardening and occasionally playing golf. “My average day is hectic both during vintage and outside of vintage,” he said. “During vintage it’s hectic for the usually reasons of fruit, ferments, staff and not enough hours in the day. Outside of vintage it’s hectic for the reason of family commitments, everyday duties at Pikes, Naked Run and managing and maintaining our vineyard.” Baraglia said being familiar with vineyards was the most important advice he could offer young winemakers looking to be successful in the industry. “Understand your vineyards, the fruit coming from them and the wines you are making,” he said. “Be passionate and tell your story.”

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June 2016 – Issue 629

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

ask the KHT deposits and cold stability POTASSIUM BITARTRATE (KHT) is the crystalline substance that drops out of solution when a wine is cold stabilised. However, if cold stabilisation is unsuccessful, wines can end up with KHT deposits after packaging and these represent around 25-35% of the AWRI helpdesk’s haze/deposit investigations each year. So why does this type of deposit continue to be an issue for the wine industry? One reason is that there is no universal definition of ‘cold stability’, so a wine might pass one type of ‘cold stability’ test yet fail another. A second reason is that wines contain a range of compounds that can inhibit KHT crystallisation, and these can change over time, such that they no longer inhibit crystallisation. This can lead to precipitation of tartrates in wine previously thought to be cold stable.

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS ‘COLD STABILITY’? Cold stability can be described as a wine’s tendency to precipitate KHT crystals when exposed to low temperature. Wine tends to contain close to saturation levels of KHT after fermentation and KHT is less soluble at lower temperature (Ribéreau-Gayon et al. 2006). Thus when a consumer places a bottle of wine in a refrigerator, this might decrease the solubility of KHT to the point where it crystallises. Winemakers attempt to prevent this occurring by subjecting wine to some form of cold stabilisation treatment prior to bottling.

WHICH WINE PARAMETERS AFFECT ‘COLD STABILITY’? A wine’s tendency to precipitate KHT crystals depends on the concentration of potassium ions (K+) and bitartrate ions (HT-), but also on other wine compositional parameters, particularly pH, alcohol and the presence of polymeric and colloidal substances. Alcohol decreases the solubility of KHT, while polymeric and colloidal substances, e.g. proteins, polysaccharides and tannins in red wines, can interact to protect against tartrate precipitation. Wine pH is important because it determines the distribution of the different tartrate species that are in equilibrium in wine. In wine, tartaric acid (H2T) dissociates in solution to HT- and tartrate T2- ions according to the following equilibria: H2T ⇌ HT- + H+ HT- ⇌ T2- + H+

Figure 1 shows the distribution of the tartrate species as a function of pH. The maximum concentration of HT- (which can precipitate as KHT) occurs between pH 3.6 and 3.7, depending on the alcohol concentration, and this is the point at which precipitation will be greatest. Consequently, any wine treatments that might change a wine’s pH, such as blending, acid additions or malolactic fermentation, could affect KHT precipitation. If a wine has been ‘cold stabilised’ prior to such treatments, cold stability checks must be conducted again before bottling.

WHY DOES WINE PH SOMETIMES CHANGE DURING COLD STABILISATION? This is a common question, but one that is hard to answer in just a few words. A detailed explanation of this phenomenon is available on the AWRI’s website under the heading ‘Potassium instability’ in the Winemaking/Instabilities section (or enter potassium instability in the search box on the AWRI homepage).

WHAT DOES THE SATURATION TEMPERATURE VALUE FOR A WINE MEAN? The saturation temperature (Tsat) value for a wine is the lowest temperature at which it can dissolve KHT. Observations have shown that crystallisation inhibitors do not affect the solubilisation of salts, so the Tsat gives a more reliable prediction of the long term stability of a wine because the Tsat value doesn’t depend on changes that occur during aging (Ribéreau-Gayon et al. 2006). The lower the Tsat value the more stable a wine is, while a higher Tsat value suggests that KHT precipitation can happen more easily.

WHICH ‘COLD STABILITY’ TEST DOES THE AWRI RECOMMEND? Leske et al. (1996) examined some traditional methods for determining KHT stability, such as refrigeration tests, conductivity tests and concentration product tests. It was found that the 3-day ‘brine’ test, in which a filtered sample of the wine is stored at -4°C for 3 days and then examined for the visual presence of crystals, provided the most reliable results. That is, the ‘brine’ test gave results that corresponded most closely with the stability of wines stored under cellar conditions for one year (Leske et al. 1996). However, in general, the ‘brine’ test, and other similar cold stability tests, only give a picture of a wine’s current stability and not its likely future stability (Wilkes 2014). Consequently, the AWRI currently suggests that the most reliable information about a wine’s tartrate stability is obtained from a combination of the -4°C/3-day ‘brine’ test and the Tsat test, as the two tests combined give an indication of a wine’s current stability and also its potential long term stability. For a more complete discussion on the interpretation of these two cold stability tests, see Wilkes (2014).

References

Leske, P.A., Bruer, N.G.C. and Coulter, A.D. Potassium tartrate—how stable is stable? Stockley, C.S., Sas, A.N., Johnstone, R.S., Lee, T.H., eds. Proceedings of the ninth Australian wine industry technical conference, Adelaide, SA, 16–19 July 1995. Adelaide: Winetitles: 39–45; 1996. Ribéreau-Gayon, P., Glories, Y., Maujean, A. and Dubourdieu, D. Handbook of Enology Second Edition Volume 2: The Chemistry of Wine Stabilisation and Treatments. Chichester, West Sussex, England: Wiley & Sons Ltd: 30; 2006. Figure 1. Relative concentration of tartaric acid species in aqueous solution at different pH values: H2T = tartaric acid; HT- = bitartrate anion; T2 - = tartrate anion.

76 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Wilkes, E. You’ve got to be a hot shot to hit the moving target of cold stability. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (600): 43–46; 2014.

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June 2016 – Issue 629

winemaking

Crushing

Modern crusher/destemmers: Emphasis on gentle handling Lance Cutler reports on the evolution of modern crushing. This article was original published by the US publication Wine Business Monthly and is used here with permission. IN THE PAST, grapes were picked in the cool, early morning hours and rushed to wineries as quickly as possible. After leaving the comfort and safety of their mothering vines, the first thing they encountered at a winery was the crusher/destemmer. This machine ripped the grapes from their stems, crushed them between two rollers, dropped them into a bin and then pumped them to tanks. It was a rude awakening to the winemaking process. In the 80s, most crusher/destemmers copied the old Valley Foundry design, which used augers to convey the grapes to the crusher where they passed through rollers into a cage with holes that turned counter to a helical blade or pronged beaters inside. As grape clusters bounced around in this cage, berries would be knocked off their stems and fall through the holes in the cage where they would be pumped to tanks. Grape skins were torn, juice would run freely, seeds would be exposed (if not crushed), and bits of stem (jacks) chewed up in the process would drop through the holes into the must as the stems travelled out of the cage.

78 Grapegrower & Winemaker

The evolutionary focus on developing crusher/destemmers was to be gentle with the grapes and to remove as much bad fruit and extraneous material as possible. Flat-belted conveyors replaced the auger system to move grapes and gave winemakers the opportunity to sort through them to remove mouldy fruit, raisins and material other than grapes (MOG). This was first accomplished by hand, but more and more is being handled by optical recognition sorters. Inside the destemmers, metal beaters are being replaced by less abusive ‘fingers’ with rubber tips. State-of-the-art destemmers are moving away from blades and fingers altogether, replacing them with oscillating cups that gently remove berries from the stems by inertia. How have winemakers adapted their winemaking techniques to work with the new machines? Do these techniques vary, according to style or variety, and what are winemakers hoping to accomplish when they decide whether or not to ‘crush’ their grapes? Nate Rippey, VP of production at The Vintner’s Group, uses

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June 2016 – Issue 629

a Delta E8 from Bucher-Vaslin. He finds it to be user-friendly with high throughput. It’s reliable, easy to clean and relatively simple to work on. “These days it is very infrequent for a customer to request rollers in the machine. The whole approach is to be as gentle with the fruit as possible,” Rippey said. “White grapes never even go through the machine. They are all dumped directly to the press for whole cluster pressing.” Rippey said he is starting to see more grapes coming in from mechanical harvesters after being run through optical sorters. In those cases, he just receives berries that get dumped directly to fermenters.

GENTLER HANDLING OF GRAPES Patrick Saboe, director of wine for The Wine Foundry, used a Delta E2 before shifting to a Delta Oscillys. “The cage is upright with helical arms. The whole thing oscillates (shakes), and berries fall through holes,” Saboe said. “Berries are cracked but relatively uncrushed. Rollers are post-destem, but we haven’t used the rollers in premium wine production in the last 10 to 15 years. Premium wines use more and more whole berries. To that end, we have different cages with different hole sizes to accommodate larger or smaller sized berries.” Saboe reasons that this gentle handling of fruit is an outgrowth of growers having improved at delivering fruit with solid tannic profiles. “The fruit is more structured, and so winemakers no longer have to extract as much tannin in the winemaking process.” Bill and Dawnine Dyer, winemaking partners for Dyer Straits Wine Co. and active consultants for several other wineries,

talked about modern winemaking techniques that have changed the crushing regimens. “Back in the day when we picked grapes that tested 23° Brix (13 Baume), it most likely included grapes between 21° and 26° Brix (11.75 to 14 Baume),” Dawnine said. “Now with green-thinning, leaf-pulling and experience, we are better able to harvest more evenly ripened fruit. In winemaking, cold soaks and minimizing the shredding of fruit gives us good extraction while avoiding those green and seed tannins that we don’t want.” According to Bill, there is still a time and place for crushing grapes. “There are times when it is beneficial to crack skins on berries. A crusher over an open-top tank can deliver almost completely whole berries. There is no juice to start the fermentation, and with Cabernet, perhaps carbonic maceration is not what you are looking for. I think with Cabernet, broken berries are desirable, especially if you are looking for a more tannic-structured style that is capable of long-term aging.” He also pointed out that while few people are using rollers in their crusher/destemmers, the fruit is still getting crushed. “Nowadays, pumps that move the must serve the same function as rollers in a crusher, and they do it in a more gentle manner.”

FINDING THE ‘SWEET SPOT’ Jared Brandt is co-winemaker along with his wife Tracey at Donkey and Goat Winery. They have a Marchisio destemmer from which the rollers have been removed. Jared said he was trying to keep the berries as intact as possible. To that end he won’t even use a must pump, preferring to move the grapes to tank by conveyor belt.

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June 2016 – Issue 629

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winemaking

Most Donkey and Goat wines are made from Rhône varietals although they make some Pinot Noir as well. They will often use 30 to 40 percent whole cluster in their fermenters. “We will actually chew on the stems, checking the taste. When the tannins are ripe and the under-ripe, ‘green’ tannin flavour has diminished, we’ll use the whole cluster. Whether we use whole cluster or destemmed fruit, we prefer to foot crush in the fermenter because the pressure from foot crushing can’t crack the seeds. We’d like to avoid the bitter tannins from seeds as much as possible.” Brandt is also wary of jacks. He will wrap the last third

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to half of the cage on his crusher, which he said reduces the amount of jacks in his must by as much as 80 percent. He also varies the speed on his crusher. He finds there is a sweet spot for crusher speed for each different varietal that minimizes the amount of jacks. Stephan Tebb is the winemaker for Robert Craig Winery. He has been using the Delta 2 but has switched to the Oscillys because he wants to reduce the amount of ‘jacks’ in the must (‘jacks’ are the end of the stems which the berries are attached to – some say they look like a bit like a weed burr, or ‘jack’). He will use different sized cages, depending on variety; and while he treats varieties differently in the winery during cold soak and pump-over, how they are handled at the crusher is the same. “I have never used crusher rollers on grapes,” Tebb said. “But I do use a pump to get the must to the tanks, which crushes the fruit enough. Not crushing the berries gives me a level of control over extraction. I want to extract as much as I can from the skins and less from the seeds. Being gentle with the fruit and going through a cold soak allows me to do that. I want to deplete the skin tannins and get some seed tannin. If I busted up that fruit in the beginning, I’d be extracting both skin and seed tannin from the get go. I prefer not to do that.” Ed Filice is senior winemaker for Sonoma Wine Company. With decades of experience in the wine industry, he echoed other winemakers. “We are looking for our crusher to separate the berries from the rakus with minimum damage to the berries themselves. We will either spread the rollers to minimize contact or remove them altogether. “The grapes enter the fermenters, looking like ball bearings. We do use pumps to move the must, but these new pumps are also much gentler than the old ones. “The only exception is Cabernet Sauvignon, where we will set the rollers for some minimal soft contact to gently split some skins.” Filice pointed out that most winery practices have moved to gentler handling of the fruit. Pump-overs are no longer performed by shooting powerful streams of fermenting juice through two-inch hoses to plunge the cap down into the must. Instead, juice is broadcast over the cap to keep it moist without disturbing the grapes. Depending on tank size and configuration, punch-downs can be substituted for pump-overs. Filice suspects that the main positive of all this gentle handling is lower solids in the must, insisting that lower solids make better wine.

CONCLUSION When it comes to winemaking, technology is constantly advancing and showing us ways to make better wine. Winemakers are looking to handle their fruit in the gentlest ways possible because they feel this leads to the extraction of finer, more structured tannins, while allowing for richer fruit aromatics and flavours. Moving must with pumps seems to macerate berries enough to get fermentations started, without exposing and cracking seeds as much as crusher rollers. The emphasis on gentle handling of grapes has pretty much made crusher rollers an endangered species. The focus is now shifting to ways to minimize torn stems from entering the must. Along with new technology in the destemmers themselves to reduce the amount of jacks, techniques are moving from manoperated sorting to automated optical sorters. As technology moves forward and field harvesting (in conjunction with optical sorting) becomes more common, the winery crusher/destemmer may follow in the way of crusher rollers and turn into an antique piece of equipment that simply serves to remind us of the good old days.

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June 2016 – Issue 629

Five-yearly AWRI Technical Survey to track changes in practices HOW COMMON are different winery methods for pressing and clarification in Australia? Which different yeasts are being used by Australian winemakers? How widespread is cane versus spur or machine pruning in Australian vineyards? How common are multi-row sprayers of different sizes and spray recovery units? For these and numerous other aspects of Australian grape and wine production there is limited data available on the prevalence of different practices and how they are changing with time. To address this gap, the AWRI will launch in August what promises to be the largest ever survey of practices in the Australian wine sector. It will cover all key aspects of grapegrowing and winemaking and the aggregated results will be a valuable

June 2016 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issue 629

resource for both producers and researchers. The survey results will allow producers to benchmark their practices against regional and national averages and will influence research and development and extension projects. It is intended that the survey will be repeated every five years to track practice changes.

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To encourage participation in the survey, a major prize of a trip to attend the Vinitech-Sifel vineyard and winery equipment exhibition in Bordeaux in late November 2016 is being offered to one lucky survey respondent! (See www.winesurvey.com.au for terms and conditions.) Grapegrowers and winemakers are asked to sign up now to receive the survey in August, by entering their contact details at: www.winesurvey.com.au. The greater the coverage of the Australian wine industry that can be achieved, the more useful the survey results will be â&#x20AC;&#x201C; so growers and winemakers from businesses of all sizes, types and locations are encouraged to take part. For more information, contact Simon Nordestgaard E: simon.nordestgaard@awri.com.au P: 08 8313 6600

Grapegrower & Winemaker

winemaking

Why is a wine bottle the size it is? are making this choice to suit their lifestyle. She says her customers are sophisticated wine drinkers who are savvy about what they want to drink and what they want to pair it with. “The Masterchef effect has shone the spotlight on fine dining at home and digital media has made wine education and food and wine matching that much more accessible,” Wilkie said. “So I would argue the average wine consumer is becoming more sophisticated which will in turn impact consumption trends and a move towards consumers drinking better quality wine, less often.” Wilkie also cited a balance between wine appreciation and consumers health and lifestyle goals as having an impact on smaller format sales. She points out that when two people share a 375ml bottle of wine, it generally falls in line with guidelines that suggest two standard drinks per person maxim. So in addition to being clear about what they want to drink, they want to drink it in moderation and make every glass meaningful. The average wine consumer may not spend $40 on a bottle of wine to enjoy with that mid-week meal, however they will pay $25 for a beautiful half bottle which turns the meal into a food + wine experience. For wine producers, the cost of smaller format packaging can be prohibitive. One 750ml bottle incurs less dry goods cost than four mini (187.5ml) bottles – and Park said “price sensitive consumers have historically been reluctant to pay more, relatively, for less”. However, Park’s discussions with consumers confirm what

JUAN PARK, Wine Intelligence research director, recently opened up the discussion about the size of a standard wine bottle. Park asked whether the wine industry was being innovative enough. Park noted that producers in other categories are already offering more convenient packaging to avoid waste and he argued the wine industry has to yet find a way to satisfy consumers demand for smaller packaging more suited to busy lives. “Traditional 750ml glass bottles might once have been convenient for production reasons – the size may have been equivalent to a lungful of the glass blower; or demand issues – it may have been what consumers drank in one sitting back in the day; but currently its size is generally larger than the typical need of one person,” Park said. “Also, to keep the wine in good condition once opened is undoubtedly one of the main problems facing the industry: at best it means consumers are not having ‘just a glass’ limiting more regular yet moderate consumption, at worst it means that consumers are drinking wine which is far from ideal condition days after it has been opened.” Justine Wilkie, from The Little Wine Room – an online wine retailer dedicated to 375ml bottles, said she has a “loyal and growing number of clients who see smaller formats (375ml, 500ml) as an integral part of their cellar and their weekly wine consumption”. Wilkie believes the consumers who prefer the smaller bottles

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June 2016 – Issue 629

Wilkie has observed and he believes the convenience and portability of small formats will drive demand, particularly given a broader move towards a ‘one-portion’ lifestyle. Wilkie said small formats might continue to rise in popularity if wineries are prepared to educate their consumers on the benefits. “The fixed cost of producing wine in different bottle sizes is the same, in addition to requiring separate labels and box packaging. This cost is set against a smaller volume, meaning the price is comparatively more expensive for consumers – akin to milk, which has a price/volume proposition consumers are more familiar with. “In the same way that wine magnums and even larger formats do not offer economies of scale, as the cellaring potential – let alone the theatre of it – increases considerably, it will come down to educating consumers about the value metrics of smaller formats.” Wilkie agreed with Park that a 750ml bottle is often more than consumers require, but pointed to the additional benefits to buying smaller formats. “These include the fact wine in smaller formats mature faster allowing us to enjoy age on a wine without having to cellar it for five-to-10 years first, and smaller formats provide the opportunity for greater wine experimentation,” Wilkie said. “We have clients who buy an interesting mix of half bottles and host intimate dinner parties, exploring new wines and having a lot of fun in the process.” But Wilkie said smaller format are still rarely available outside of a restaurant setting or from a specialist online retailers, like The Little Wine Room. “A wine retailer often won’t sacrifice shelf space for a

Traditional 750ml glass bottles might once have been convenient for production reasons… but currently its size is generally larger than the typical need of one person. bottle that sells for a 60 per cent premium on a traditional format. In the end this shift will come from consumer demand.” Park said the 750ml bottle will remain the industry standard for some time to come as “its natural ‘sharing’ size is actually perfectly aligned with the typical wine drinking moment – social time with close friends and family”. “However more astute producers will be innovating more in this category, and we can’t wait to see some of the ideas they come up with.”

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June 2016 – Issue 629

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

business & technology

Existing NDtech capacity allows Amorim to reliably scan millions of high-end natural whole cork stoppers on production lines.

Product Update

Natural corks with non-detectable TCA guarantee AMORIM HAS ACHIEVED a major technological breakthrough to become the world’s first cork producer to deliver natural cork stoppers to winemakers with a non-detectable TCA guarantee. (A non-detectable TCA guarantee means that if any TCA remains in a cork it is below the detection threshold of 0.5 nanograms/litre.) Known as NDtech, the cuttingedge technology greatly enhances Amorim’s quality control measures by screening individual cork stoppers on the production line to eliminate the risk of corks contaminated with 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) reaching winemakers. “Until now, no cork producer has been able to guarantee a quality control system for natural cork stoppers that screens corks individually,” said Amorim’s research and development director Dr Miguel Cabral. “We have been working to achieve this goal for several years. Now we can examine an individual cork using sophisticated gas chromatography in just seconds, making the technology practical on a major industrial scale.” Two of the world’s leading wine industry research facilities — Hochschule Geisenheim University

84 Grapegrower & Winemaker

and The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) — have been engaged to independently validate the performance of NDtech. “Amorim’s NDtech has been validated by Geisenheim and we are confident AWRI validation will soon follow, which will make it the only TCA-specific technology to receive validation from both organisations,” said Cabral. “Independent validations of this calibre underline the magnitude of this technological breakthrough.” Previously, gas chromatography examination took up to 14 minutes, making it impossible to use on production lines. Instead, Amorim applied the technology in laboratory-controlled batch testing as part of its quality control measures for the 4.2 billion corks it produces each year — and at the same time worked to improve the technology so it could be used in production. The development of the super-fast NDtech follows a five-year €10 million research and development investment by Amorim and a partnership with a British company specialising in gas chromatography. With incredibly high precision, NDtech can detect any cork with more than 0.5 nanograms of TCA per litre (parts www.winetitles.com.au

per trillion). These corks are removed from the production line automatically. The level of precision necessary to meet this standard on an industrial scale for 100 per cent of the corks examined is astounding, especially given that the detection threshold of 0.5 nanograms/ litre is the equivalent of one drop of water in 800 Olympic-size swimming pools. NDtech is complemented by Amorim’s existing preventive, curative and quality control measures, including the patented ROSA Evolution treatment used during production. As the world’s leading cork producer, Amorim has stood at the forefront of the fight against TCA — a naturally forming chemical compound that is a problem in the packaged food and beverage industries — through the application of rigorous production standards and certified quality control methods. “Amorim has experienced phenomenal growth in demand for natural cork stoppers, with overall wine stopper sales over the past five years increasing from 3 billion to more than 4 billion annually,” said Amorim’s chairman and CEO António Amorim. “This is due, in part, to increasing awareness of cork’s environmental and technical advantages and June 2016 – Issue 629

acknowledgement of the added value that a quality natural cork closure brings to bottled wine. “Now, with NDtech, we have made the world’s best wine stopper even better.” NDtech will initially be applied to Amorim’s top-end natural cork stoppers used on some of the world’s most valuable wine brands. Australian wineries are among the first to be offered corks that have undergone NDtech screening. “The initial response from winemakers has been as positive as we had anticipated, especially given the important role that premium packaging has for fine wine exports to crucial markets such as the US and China,” said Amorim Australasia’s national sales and marketing manager Tim Stead. “This groundbreaking technology presents Australian winemakers with an opportunity to harness the unique benefits of sustainable natural cork knowing that Amorim has examined and guarantees each individual stopper. “The introduction of NDtech after several years of development again highlights Amorim’s tenacious commitment to continually building upon its well-established and industryleading quality control measures.”

June 2016 – Issue 629

Computer-controlled robotic arms automatically transport scanned corks through Amorim’s high-tech production lines.

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

sales & marketing McAtamney’s Market Report

All-conquering Chardonnay Chardonnay has never looked better according to Peter McAtamney, from Wine Business Solutions. But the challenge will still be getting the message out. CHARDONNAY, perhaps more so than any other grape variety in the Australian context, has been through the fashion ‘ringer’. The great success of Australian wine on the global stage during the 1990s was in large part due to the selling of Chardonnay as a popular wine idea. Along with Cabernet Sauvignon it was pitched as the ‘vanilla and chocolate’ of the New World Wine assortment well before Shiraz emerged as the heir apparent to Australia’s winemaking future. Consequently, Chardonnay was grown everywhere. The wines produced from it were not aimed at achieving excellence but being

Finally, the stars have aligned for Australian producers. Both restauranteurs and their customers now have a very clear idea of what the relatively small number of regions where Chardonnay achieves excellence.

86 Grapegrower & Winemaker

consistent, reliable, branded product. This was a masterstroke as, until Australia’s largest producers succeeded in doing this, no one really knew what they were buying when they purchased wine from a supermarket. It enabled Australia to become the dominant supplier to the UK and a force to be reckoned with in many major markets internationally. A consumer then emerged that the Australian wine industry didn’t see coming. She knew what she liked and she knew that it was not heavily cropped, overripe, warm climate, acid adjusted, oak chipped Chardonnay. Kim: “Let’s celebrate, would you like a Cardonnay, Kylie?” Kath: “Stupid girl, Kim it’s not Cardonnay, the correct pronunciation is Chardonnay.” Kim: “Mum, it’s French, the ‘h’ is silent. Back me up here Kylie.” Kylie: “Yeah, she’s right Mrs D. I’ve been to Paris and the ‘h’ is silent. It’s Cardonnay.” Kath: “Well excuse me for living.” People blame Kath and Kim, but the hard truth is that Australia lost 40 per cent of its white wine market to the Kiwis principally because this supermarket Chardonnay just plain didn’t taste very good. After a period of denial, Australia then set about making less ripe styles of Chardonnay with a big emphasis on acidity. Some of these wines were very good but most simply presented as a warm climate attempt at copying New Zealand. By picking earlier and going for greener fruit, Australian producers can achieve the acid profile but not the fruit ripeness needed to make great wine. This couldn’t last. Finally, the stars have aligned for Australian producers. Both restauranteurs and their customers now have a very clear idea of what the relatively small number of regions where Chardonnay achieves excellence. Chardonnay is grown in a very limited

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Region

2016

2015

Margaret River

17.9%

11.1%

CHG 61%

Yarra Valley

8.8%

10.8%

-19%

Adelaide Hills

7.0%

5.3%

32%

Mornington Peninsula

6.8%

5.3%

29%

Tasmania

4.7%

3.6%

30%

Burgundy

4.5%

3.5%

31%

Hunter Valley

4.5%

6.3%

-27%

Chablis

3.7%

5.6%

-34%

Great Southern

3.4%

1.0%

250%

McLaren Vale

3.3%

4.7%

-31%

SEA

2.7%

5.8%

-54%

Orange

2.6%

1.5%

67%

Eden Valley

1.4%

2.2%

-36%

Mudgee

1.4%

1.0%

46%

number of locations in France so why would it be any different here? This is happening at the same time that the best winemakers in those regions are really hitting their straps. What our research appears to show, as it does across for all categories, is that exposure to the best wines globally, in this case white Burgundy, has help people understand quality where each variety is concerned. You can see from the data above, taken from our Wine On-Premise Australia 2016 research, the way in which Chablis listings are dropping off and Burgundy listings are growing showing the shift in preferences from simpler, crisp, acidic styles to more layered, richer and complex ones. You can also see the way in which this change in style preference plays heavily into the hands of Margaret River and well as cooler regions such as the Adelaide Hills, Mornington and Tasmania. Chardonnay is now neck and neck with Sauvignon Blanc again in terms of share of listings. The average bottle of Chardonnay achieves $62 on an Australian wine list compared to just $48 for Sauvignon Blanc. Australian Chardonnay has never looked better as a category. The challenge now is to get that message out to the world.

June 2016 – Issue 629

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looking back 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. 1986 “Since writing the article on the so-called winegrape surplus, I find my meaning has been misunderstood and taken as a suggestion that the use of Sultana should be controlled by Government regulation. I am advocating that the industry should have labelling regulations that will provide better information to the consumer,” wrote David Wynn in the 'Viewpoint'.

1996 Tatachilla Winery has issued a statement announcing that it has no connection whatsoever with the Vales Wines Company which was recently convicted of falsely representing the vintage and description of quantities of bulk wine in contravention of the Trade Practices Act 1974. The Federal Court convicted the Vales Wine Company and two of its former directors on four charges relating to the sale of bulk wine in 1991 and 1992.

2006 Small to medium-sized wine producers were among the major beneficiaries in the Federal Budget. Four words ring loud and clear in the budget - ‘Wine Equalisation Tax Rebate’. The Government almost doubled the maximum claims allowed under the WET rebate scheme.

Australia & New Zealand June 15-18 (JD) Cairns Show Wine Awards Cairns, QLD. www.cairnswineawards.com.au 15-18 New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays Hamilton, NZ. www.fieldays.co.nz 18 Winter Reds Long Table Lunch 2016 Jarrahdale, WA. www.millbrookwinery.com.au

18-19 Yarra Valley's Shortest Lunch Yarra Valley, VIC. www.yarravalleysmallerwineries.com.au 24 Interwinery Analysis Group - Annual Technical Semina Adelaide, SA. www.interwinery.com.au 26-28 Fine Food New Zealand Auckland, NZ. www.finefoodnz.co.nz

July 1-31 Coonawarra Cellar Dwellers Coonawarra, SA. www.coonawarra.org

8-10 The Good Food & Wine Show – Perth Perth, WA. www.goodfoodshow.com.au

1 (CD) Yarra Valley Wine Show Healesville, VIC. www.yarravalleywineshow.com.au

8 (CD) ADELAIDE 2016 Royal Adelaide Wine Show - Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society Wayville, SA. www.thewineshow.com.au

3 (JD) 2016 Melbourne International Wine Competition Melbourne, VIC. www.melbourneinternationalwinecompetition.com

11-12 The Rutherglen Winery Walkabout Rutherglen, VIC. www.winemakers.com.au

International June 15-17 7th TopWine China Beijing, China. www.wineinternationalltd.com 17-18 ENOVITIS in Campo Corato, Italy. www.enovitisincampo.it

21-25 10th American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE) Annual Conference Bordeaux, France. www.wine-economics.org

July 13-15 BevTek China 2016 Shanghai, China. www.chinabevtek.com JD = judging date CD= closing date For a comprehensive list of events, visit www.winetitles.com.au/calendar

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June 2016 – Issue 629

industry profile

Name: Matt Gant Company: First Drop Wines Location: Barossa Size: 300 tonne crush What part of your job do you find most rewarding?

Tell us about your current role: My business partner, John Retsas, and I established First Drop Wines in 2004, born from a desire to make ‘wines to drink, not just appreciate’ at a time when power reigned supreme. We wanted to make wines that showed a sensitivity for site with a sensibility for tradition, whilst reflecting our experiences and passion for innovation. In short, wines with personality and inherent drinkability. That desire continues to drive me today in my main role as winemaker. Whilst the first 10 years has been focussed on defining our portfolio of wines (Shiraz and Spanish varieties from the Barossa, Chardonnay and Italian varieties from the Adelaide Hills, Cabernet Sauvignon and Portuguese varieties from McLaren Vale), the current mission is to refine these expressions.

Can you tell us more about your career in the industry so far? In 1995 I was in my final year of a Geography degree at Royal Holloway, University of London. A wine-fanatical lecturer, Dr Tim Unwin, contrived a course called ‘The Historical Geography of Viticulture’. It included a weekly tasting, which was a bit of a ‘piss up’ for most students and a great way to get Monday nights started! But the course culminated in a two-week ‘field trip’ of Burgundy and Champagne with amazing tastings every day. It was a pivotal time in my life. Inspired by this course and intrigued by the world of wine, I managed to land a vintage job in New Zealand, thanks to the inspirational Brent Marris, and set off to discover more about wine, and found an all-consuming passion. I worked northern and southern hemisphere vintages for a few years, and then completed a post graduate in Oenology at the University of Adelaide. Flying winemaking in Spain followed, before landing a winemaking gig at St Hallett in the Barossa in 2001. St Hallett was an amazing apprenticeship for which I’m ever thankful, but ultimately the opportunity to ‘have a crack’ myself, led me to leave and focus on First Drop in 2007. June 2016 – Issue 629

The creative process of making a social lubricant.

What are you most proud of? Building a sustainable wine business in Australia at a time when the odds have been stacked against us.

Are you confident about the future of the wine industry? The Australian wine industry has never been more exciting and dynamic. The past 10 years has sharpened our resolve and refocussed our energy on best practice and innovation. We’ve never been making more diverse and intelligent wines, driven by small and large wineries alike. With a more balanced fruit supply and a currency more favourable for export, I’m confident of a bright future, if we work collaboratively.

What are the current challenges you are facing? Our main challenge is to continue to dare, to innovate, to push boundaries, now that the tide is turning. We need to push on and find creative, dynamic people to work with us to take advantage of the ever changing landscape.

Where do you go for support on these issues? My business partner. My peers. Industry and non-industry mentors. And of course, the Grapegrower & Winemaker!

How important is the Grapegrower & Winemaker magazine a source of information? G&W is a great resource for keeping up with new research and technologies. It’s full of practical information and insights. Over the years, it’s inspired new ideas and approaches, so I’m always excited to rip the cellophane off the latest issue.

www.winetitles.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

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June 2016 – Issue 629

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