Wine & Viticulture Journal Summer 2023

SUMMER

• Trends in the composition of Australian wine: titratable acidity and pH

• Canned wine - looking for a silver lining

• Impact of climate change on Pinot Noir berry and wine quality

• Towards net zero: how the finance industry is supporting growers

• Tasting: $30-$50 Australian and New Zealand Pinot Noir

Established 1985

Published quarterly

PUBLISHER: Hartley Higgins

GENERAL MANAGER: Robyn Haworth

EDITOR: Sonya Logan Pvh (08) 8369 9502 Fax (08) 8369 9501 Email: s.logan@winetitles.com.au

EDITORIAL ADVISORY PANEL: Gary Baldwin, Peter Dry, Mark Krstic, Armando Corsi, Markus Herderich

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Roberto D’Ambrosio

Florian Bahut

Calanit Bar-Am

Eveline

Bartowsky

Marion Bastien

Tony Battaglene

Emanuele

Boselli

Rachel Boyd Darren Burke

Caterina Capri

Luciano Caravia

Justin Cohen

Justine Cohen

Angelica Crabb

Irene Diti

Rob Dolan

Peter Dry

Gavin Duley

Tomasso Frioni

Alessandra

Garavani

Matteo Gatti

Peter Godden

Rachel Gore

Jose-Maria Heras

Kieran Hirlam

Brooke Howell

Denny Hsieh

Jo Marsh

Mark Krstic

Stefano Poni

Julie Rynski

Carla Scotti

Neil Scrimgeour Nathalie Sieczkowski

Cecilia Squeri

Liz Waters

Luke Whittle

Eric Wilkes

Cooper Wolfden Amir Zanj

ADVERTISING SALES: Ph (08) 8369 9515 Fax (08) 8369 9501

Lucianne Baillie Email: l.baillie@winetitles.com.au

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION: Tim Coleman

CREATIVE SERVICES: Tim Coleman

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

One-year subscription (4 issues) Australia $58.50 (AUD)

Two-year subscription (8 issues) Australia $110.00 (AUD)

To subscribe and for overseas prices, visit: www.winetitles.com.au

Published by Winetitles Media ABN 85 085 551 980

ADDRESS: 630 Regency Road, Broadview, South Australia 5083

TELEPHONE: Ph (08) 8369 9500

EMAIL: General info@winetitles.com.au

Editorial s.logan@winetitles.com.au

Subscriptions subs@winetitles.com.au Advertising l.baillie@winetitles.com.au

WEBSITE: www.winetitles.com.au

Printed by Lane Print, Adelaide, South Australia. ISSN 1838-6547

Printed on FSC Certified Paper, manufactured under the Environmental Management System ISO 14001, using vegetable-based inks from renewable resources.

Conditions

The opinions expressed in Wine & Viticulture Journal are not necessarily the opinions of or endorsed by the editor or publisher unless otherwise stated. All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher.

All material in Wine & Viticulture Journal is copyright © Winetitles Media. All rights reserved.No part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic, or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, the publisher will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions, or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published.

Cold bursts, damaging winds, flooding and even snow — this spring has sure been one for the record books for much of Australia’s grapegrowing regions! As transitions go, this year’s shift from winter to summer has proceeded at an almost glacial pace (pun intended). As I write these words in late November, summer seems a whole continent away despite it officially beginning in days! The temperature here in Adelaide can barely manage a couple of days in the 20s or (if we’re lucky) the 30s at the moment before dropping back to 20 degrees or less, with likely rain as well.

Hans Mick, my colleague and editor of the Grapegrower & Winemaker, sister publication of the Wine & Viticulture Journal, returned from Milan just a few days ago after attending the International Enological and Bottling Equipment Exhibition (SIMEI) and barely noticed a change in climates!

With reports of mildew in some regions on account of the weather, it’s going to be interesting to see how the conditions are going to impact flowering and ripening should they persist for too much longer.

I had the pleasure of attending the Australian Society of Viticulture & Oenology’s Awards for Excellence on 16 November (see this issue’s ASVO column on page 8 for all the winners). As usual, it was a great event – held in person for the first time in a couple of years to the delight of attendees. This year’s awards had a new MC in Associate Professor Armando Corsi from the University of Adelaide, assuming the role from long-time host Peter Hayes. Armando, who, like Peter, has authored many articles in the WVJ over the years, demonstrating his prowess in wine marketing is matched by his MC skills, so much so that I suspect he’ll be asked to do the job again.

I was delighted to accept an invitation by the ASVO to interview the winners of the Viticulturist of the Year and Winemaker of the Year (no, I won’t spoil the surprise by mentioning their names here in case you haven’t yet heard) as well as new ASVO fellow

Russell Johnstone for the ASVO’s podcast series. Keep an eye on Winetitles Media’s socials and our e-newsletter Daily Wine News for confirmation of when those podcasts will be available to listen or watch.

For many of you, this issue will be the last before vintage ’23 gets under way so enjoy the read before you get your hands dirty.

Just some of the highlights of this issue include: Tony Battaglene’s final column as chief executive of Australian Grape & Wine (page 8); Part 1 of an analysis by the Australian Wine Research Institute which provides a snapshot of the trends in Australian wine composition (page 20); regular contributor Rachel Gore lays out the differences between the in-tank sparkling wine methods carbonation and charmat (page 25);in a second contribution, the AWRI reveals the outcomes of a series of studies that explored the reason why some canned wines have been affected by reductive characters (page 28); I chat with two producers – one in Australia and one in New Zealand - who have undergone the organic certification process and report on what they’ve learned through their respective journeys (page 35); ahead of the Pinot Noir Celebration due to be held on the Mornington Peninsula in February (see page 11 for further details on that one), researchers report on a project they undertook in the Adelaide Hills which provides some insight into the potential impact of climate change on the quality of Pinot Noir from steeply sloping sites (page 42); this is complemented by the results from our tasting of $30-$50 Australian and New Zealand Pinot Noir (page 75); and we bring you the first of a series of articles that we’ll be publishing throughout 2023 which will look at some of the mechanisms and methods that will drive the wine industry to reach its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 – the first of these is by NAB, one of the biggest providers of loans to Australia’s agri-business sector, which outlines how it aims to support growers in achieving this target (page 69).

WINE STOCKS

WINE STOCK LEVELS UP AFTER CHALLENGING GLOBAL CONDITIONS

Despite a drop in wine production in 2021-22, Australia has recorded an increase in its national wine inventory for the second consecutive year, Wine Australia’s Production, Sales and Inventory Report 2022 has revealed.

The report confirms the impact across the production chain of the significant headwinds the Australian wine sector has faced over the past two years, including high tariffs on bottled Australian wine imported to mainland China, the impact of the global freight challenges, and the aftermath of changing consumer habits during the COVID-19 pandemic, all coming at the same time as a record-sized vintage crush in 2021 and a near-average crush in 2022.

Peter Bailey, Wine Australia’s manager of market insights, said the report provided an indication of the sector’s position and was based on survey responses from some of Australia’s largest wine producers.

“Based on responses to the survey, total Australian wine production in 2021-22 is estimated to be just over 1.3 billion litres, which is a 12 per cent reduction compared with last year," Bailey said. "There was a greater reduction in the amount of red wine produced compared with white, which saw its share of overall production reduced to 55% compared with 58% last year.

“Total sales — domestic and export combined — were reported to be down by 9% to 1.06 billion litres. This has led to the national inventory rising for the second year in a row.

“Combining the figures from last year and the findings from this year’s survey, the national inventory is estimated to sit at 2.27 billion litres. While some of this is necessary to replace stocks drawn down over the previous years when we didn’t produce enough wine to fulfil demand, the national inventory is now estimated to be above its long-term average,” he said.

The Production, Sales and Inventory Report 2022 indicates that the national stocks-to-sales ratio for white wine has likely remained static compared with 2020-21 at 1.52, while for red wine it is estimated to have increased by 35% in 2021-22 to 2.77.

“Wine inventory levels fluctuate during the year, generally being at their maximum

just after the new vintage (before any of that vintage has been sold), then depleting over the next 12 months as wine is sold, to be at a minimum just before the next vintage. However, transportation challenges in getting wine to market is reported to have had a flow-on effect, with wine production capacity expected to be further constrained ahead of vintage 2023 as a result of the higher-thanaverage inventory,” Bailey said.

The Production, Sales and Inventory Report was developed from responses to an annual survey by Wine Australia and covered an estimated 77% of total wine production but it is not representative of smaller wine business models.

The full report can be downloaded at www. wineaustralia.com

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

SIGNIFICANT AND COMPLEX HEADWINDS CONTINUE TO TEST SA WINE INDUSTRY

An analysis of a recent annual survey of South Australian wine businesses has shown that business confidence is at its lowest point in the six years since the survey has been conducted.

The 2022 South Australian Wine Industry Snapshot, a collaboration between Bentleys SA and the South Australian Wine Industry Association (SAWIA), provides an overview of the state’s wine industry each year, including positive and negative impacts, business sentiment, business and staff wellbeing, innovation and evolution.

“Wine businesses identified significant and complex headwinds, including high yields

and subsequent oversupply, partly due to the exceptional 2021 vintage; putting pressure on the 2022 and now 2023 vintage where lack of facilities and storage are both concerns,” said Tim Siebert, partner at Bentleys SA.

“A significant number of lost or ceased grape contracts represent a major market change and a considerable risk to the industry. We heard stories of grapes left on the vine this year and indeed fear that the issue is only just becoming clear.”

Other core contributors to the decline in business confidence included the rising costs of business and inflation, such as freight and energy and labour shortages. Another factor was the over-saturated domestic market due to the lingering effects of the punitive China wine duties that have continued to contribute to a surplus of red wine, only some of which has been placed in other markets; some is simply unsold.

Brian Smedley, chief executive of SAWIA, said a key challenge for the South Australian wine industry was attracting suitable or experienced staff to work in the industry.

“Labour availability remains challenging in almost all occupations in the wine value chain,” he said. “Location and housing are also limiting issues, but to attract and retain labour, businesses will need to assess their attractiveness as an employer and ensure they remain alert to the competition and changing market conditions."

Smedley said improving profitability while maintaining market share was a key issue for many wine businesses. With the loss of sales to China, a change in focus was required to look for sustainable growth in wine markets as part of an appropriate geographic expansion strategy using existing or new markets. Furthermore, working collaboratively with industry bodies and government in targeted trade activities was beneficial.

The full report can be found at www.bentleys.com.au or www.winesa.asn.au

CONTAINER DEPOSIT SCHEMES

WINE BOTTLES IN PROPOSED EXTENSION OF NSW CONTAINER DEPOSIT SCHEME

A planned expansion of New South Wales container deposit scheme (CDS) Return and Earn to include glass wine and spirits bottles has been described as “ill-informed” by the NSW Wine Industry Association (NSW Wine)

which it says would cost the state’s wine producers more than $30 million a year.

In October, NSW Minister for Environment James Griffin announced public consultation had begun on the proposed expansion, which he claimed would see up to an additional 400 million eligible bottles recycled each year, including 233 million glass bottles.

“We already accept beer, cider and a range of other beverage containers through Return and Earn, and now we are looking to include glass wine and spirits bottles and larger drink containers,” Minister Griffin said.

“The total lack of engagement from the NSW EPA and Minister Griffin is very disappointing,” said NSW Wine president Mark Bourne. “This ill-informed proposal, after zero consultation with industry, does not outline in any way how it will further drive a circular economy and has family-owned NSW wineries footing the bill to the tune of over $30m per year”.

He said the cost came on the back of four very difficult years, with the industry battling the effects of drought, bushfires and smoke, COVID-19 shutdowns, floods and crippling export tariffs into China.

“Make no mistake, jacking up costs for wine producers in the Hunter, Riverina, Southern Highlands, Orange, Mudgee and beyond — the majority of them small and medium sized family businesses — will send some of them to the wall,” Bourne said.

“To be clear, NSW Wine supports efforts to improve recycling, but expanding the scope of the CDS to include wine bottles just doesn’t stack up on any level. For example, why is the Government whacking one of our great export industries and regional employers with a giant tax when its own research tells them a fourth kerbside bin for glass, which is being rolled out in Victoria, delivers greater environmental benefits? And where is the data in the consultation papers outlining the true cost to NSW winemakers, which NSW Wine estimates to be over $30m per year,” he said.

The consultation period ended on 2 December 2022.

GRAPEVINE DISEASES

RED BLOTCH ARRIVES IN AUSTRALIA

Grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV) has been detected for the first time in Australia in grapevine germplasm collections in Victoria and Western Australia in one table grape variety and six winegrape variety/clone combinations.

Classed as a high priority plant pest for the viticulture industry, GRBV was also found in South Australia.

The detections, which were revealed by Australian Grape & Wine (AGW) in September, resulted from routine screening for a range of viruses and follow up tracing,

not as a result of visual symptoms.

GRBV is not reported to cause vine death, nor does it pose a threat to grape or wine consumers.

However, it has caused significant economic impacts to the North American wine industry due to lower yields, delayed maturity and reduced quality.

Symptoms that may indicate the presence of GRBV include irregular red blotches across the leaves or reddening of veins, which generally start to appear in autumn.

AGW said it was working closely with state government biosecurity departments to understand where the virus is in Australia through tracing and testing and to determine the potential impact for industry including for the propagation sector.

A set of Q&As was made available through Vine Health Australia to help growers and winemakers understand the GRBV detections. The Q&As can be found on Vine Health Australia’s website: www.vinehealth. com.au

A fact sheet on GRBV is available from Australian Wine Research Institute’s website which outlines the impact of the virus, symptoms, spread, management and diagnostics: www.awri.com.au WVJ

2022 Awards for Excellence winners announced

By Brooke Howell, President, Australian Society of Viticulture & Oenology

Members of the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology and the wine industry celebrated the 10th annual ASVO Awards for Excellence at the National Wine Centre on Wednesday 16 November. Established in 2012, the ASVO Awards for Excellence promotes industry excellence, fosters leadership, and encourages innovation and sustainability in the Australian wine industry.

and wine sector. Nick’s project will lead to the availability of planting material with pathogen and genetic integrity, is founded on best practice, is innovative and provides a platform to communicate the importance of germplasm and high-health planting material to the Australian grape and wine sector.

“It’s a proud and humbling moment to be nominated and ultimately win this award,” Nick said. “Bringing the National Grapevine Collection to fruition is a culmination of learning through many phases of my career. I’m excited to be able to promote the message and objectives of what should be an integral part of Australian plant health integrity in years to come and provide security for our industry.

winemaker. Building on her experience, Sarah completed international harvests in both Oregon and the Rhone Valley. After 12 years in the Hunter Valley Sarah made the move to the Yarra Valley, joining the team at Yarra Yering in 2013 to focus on one single iconic vineyard site. The vineyard is central to wine quality and Sarah considers the Yarra Yering vineyard to be the best she has ever worked with. Now in the role of winemaker and general manager, Sarah hopes to continue to build on the reputation started in 1969 with the first vineyard plantings at Yarra Yering.

2022 VITICULTURIST OF THE YEAR: NICK DRY

Nick Dry is a well-known name in Australian viticulture having spent more than 20 years working with grapevine rootstocks. He has an extensive knowledge of variety, clone and rootstock performance, along with an intimate understanding of grapevine trunk diseases, grapevine viruses, germplasm management and nursery practices and was awarded the Gourmet Traveller WINE Viticulturist of the Year in 2019. After 10 years with Yalumba Nick established his own consultancy business, Foundation Viticulture. As a consultant, Nick has been involved with a diverse range of projects including developing planting and redevelopment strategies, working on propagation supply chain strategy and technical communication projects. Nick is currently engaged by Wine Australia as the National Grapevine Collection coordinator.

Nick’s nomination focused on his role as coordinator of the National Grapevine Collection. The concept of germplasm management is not new, however the concept for the National Grapevine Collection is an example of innovation in the Australian grape

“It’s an honour to be nominated alongside two outstanding viticulturists in Chris Rogers and Richard Leask. Their valued, wide-ranging contributions to the industry and the respect they enjoy within our tight knit community makes this award feel even more significant,” Nick continued. “I would also like to thank all the viticulturists I have learned from and worked alongside since the beginning of my career. The success of the Australian wine industry is in no small part due to the collegiate atmosphere of those who work within it and I’m proud to be a part of it. Finally, I’d like to thank the ASVO for the high calibre technical resource, support, networking and advocacy they provide to all of us within the sector.“

Since arriving at Yarra Yering Sarah has been named both Gourmet Traveller WINE and James Halliday’s Winemaker of the Year. Yarra Yering has received James Halliday’s Winery of the Year and Wine of the Year, as well as The Real Review’s Winery of the Year.

The committee commented Sarah showed an extremely high level of industry commitment and leadership. Sarah’s work across multiple regions making great wine, as well as leadership and industry responsibility (Len Evans Tutorial board, wine shows) is amazing. Sarah’s application contained a clear narrative around the development of Yarra Yering and implementation of vineyard management and winery operations to improve wine quality, profitability and sustainability

“It is a great honour to be named ASVO Winemaker of the Year for 2022. Previous award winners and finalists include many of my mentors, Australia’s finest winemakers and good friends. These are all talented people who selflessly share their knowledge for the greater good of our industry and their local communities,” Sarah said.

2022 WINEMAKER OF THE YEAR: SARAH CROWE

Sarah began her wine career with vineyard work in the Hunter Valley and within three years had become Brokenwood’s assistant

“I hope to be known as someone who also contributes to enhancing the fabric of our industry alongside them. We are a small vineyard and work within a small but dedicated team at Yarra Yering and therefore this recognition from the broader wine community is heart-warming and industry participation will remain a priority of mine,” she said.

2022 WINE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

AWARD: DARREN FAHEY

The Wine Science and Technology Award was introduced this year and recognises the work of inspiring individuals working in wine science, wine laboratories, technology, engineering and education/extension.

The ASVO board was keen to recognise the many ASVO members who work in roles that are less visible, but still bring a range of skills, qualifications, talents and experience to the wine community.

Darren has led numerous applied demonstration and scientific trials to drive practice change and realise adoption across the wine industry in his role as development officer for the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Darren’s contribution to the wine industry is extensive with a multitude of projects, events, workshops, presentations and publications over the last five years that have raised awareness, educating and adoption.

The committee remarked that Darren demonstrated his contribution through onthe-ground action, implementing best practice and encouraging its uptake by contractors and wineries, a high level of education work in the industry and clear engagement with the ASVO values at a personal level through the level of volunteering and activities undertaken.

“I’m thrilled to receive the inaugural ASVO Wine Science and Technology Award. However, in my mind the real winners are the growers and winemakers who have listened and learned along the way, implementing and changing practices to benefit their businesses, their environment and the wine industry based off the many trials, workshops and masterclasses that I and the team have delivered over the years while working at NSW DPI,” Darren said.

THE DR. PETER MAY AWARD: SAREL MUNITZ

The Dr. Peter May award was introduced in 2018 to honour the late Dr. Peter May who was the foundational editor of the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research (AJGWR). The award is presented to the authors of the most cited original research paper published in the AJGWR over the previous five years. Dr. Sarel Munitz, from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, received the award in absentia for his team’s paper:

Munitz, S.; Netzer, Y. and Schwartz, A. (2017) Sustained and regulated deficit irrigation of field-grown Merlot grapevines. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 23:8794. doi: 10.1111/ajgw.12241.

“It is a great honor for me to receive the ASVO Peter May Award,” Dr Munitz said. “After conducting field trials over more than 12 years, it is highly satisfying to know that my work has impact on both researchers and wine industry.”

of Grape and Wine Research 28:70-74. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajgw.12517

VITICULTURE PAPER OF THE YEAR: MATTHEW AYRES

Each year the ASVO recognises authors of exceptional research articles published during the prior 12 months in the AJGWR for their potential impact on the industry.

This year the Viticulture Paper of the Year was awarded to Matthew Ayres, from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), for the paper:

Ayres, M.; Billones-Baaijens, R.; Savocchia, S.; Scott, E. and Sosnowski, M. (2022) Critical timing of fungicide application for pruning wound protection to control grapevine trunk diseases. Australian Journal

OENOLOGY PAPER OF THE YEAR: MARCOS BONADA

The Oenology Paper of the Year was awarded to Dr Marcos Bonada, also from The South Australia Research and Development Institute, for the paper:

Bonada, M.; Catania, A.; Gambetta, J. and Petrie, P. (2021) Soil water availability during spring modulates canopy growth and impacts the chemical and sensory composition of Shiraz fruit and wine. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 27: 491-507. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajgw.12506

For more detail about the award winners and the ASVO Awards for Excellence, visit www.asvo.com.au.

FELLOWS OF THE SOCIETY

Two new Fellows, Prue Henschke, and Russell Johnstone, were announced at the annual general meeting of the ASVO on the 14 November.

The selection of Fellows is always challenging as there are many ASVO members who have greatly contributed to both the ASVO and the wider industry. This year was no different, with a particularly high standard of candidates.

The purpose of the honorary membership category of Fellow of the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology is to recognise the exemplary contributions by members to the Society and to the discipline and/or profession of viticulture and/or oenology.

Prue Henschke

Prue became a member of the ASVO in 1981, soon after its inception, and has been a strong and professional contributor to the

association and the Australian wine industry ever since.

After graduating in science from the University of Adelaide she spent two years at the Geisenheim Institute in Germany where she worked in the institute’s vineyards and laboratories as an assistant to the late Dr Helmut Becker. The areas of study in which Becker had made major contributions — an understanding of phylloxera and the importance of vine breeding — became passionate interests that Prue has pursued throughout her career.

Prue’s most significant and recognised contribution to the Australian viticultural industry has been in the field of vine improvement. The South Australian Vine Improvement Society was established in 1975 and Prue quickly recognised the potential benefits of the scheme to the wine industry. She is a former chair of SA Vine Improvement and in that role successfully sought investment by Wine Australia in a national germplasm collection to include certified varieties, clones and rootstocks. She is currently the chair of the Adelaide Hills Vine Improvement group. Prue has always worked assiduously to put the meaning of ‘improvement’ back into vine improvement, believing strongly that vine improvement groups should be responsible for the acquisition and conservation of superior germplasm, as well as the commercial activity of producing and selling high health status planting material. Her family vineyards have also provided sites for some of the improved material now available to Australian vignerons.

Prue’s contributions to the ASVO include involvement in seminars and workshops, particularly in relation to grafting in the 1990s and early 2000s when the many pitfalls of this important technique were less well understood. She has also been actively involved in the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference planning and program

Russell Johnstone

Russell Johnstone has been a strong contributor to the Australian grape and wine industry since the late 1980s. Russell completed his Bachelor of Science at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand in 1978, and began his career in Australian viticulture in 1984, joining Yalumba as its vineyard nursery manager. In 1986 he went on to be vineyard manager for St Hallett Wines.

In 1991 Russell was appointed the inaugural AWRI/CSIRO viticulturist. He established the foundations for the viticulturist role at the AWRI, in particular agrochemical management in viticulture. This role has since been assumed by a succession of key viticulturists including Alex Sas, Sally-Jean Bell and Marcel Essling. During his time with AWRI Russell commenced a program for a Masters degree focussed on assessing grape quality in the vineyard, an area which remained a key focus throughout his career.

In 1994 Russell was appointed senior viticulturist at Orlando Wyndham. As Orlando transitioned to Pernod Richard, his roles evolved from senior viticulturist to group viticulturist to strategic and innovative viticulturist and, finally, to environmental sustainability manager in 2011. During his time with Pernod Ricard, Russell oversaw many key innovations including the implementation of standardised 2.5-tonne picking bins, RFID tagging of bins and weighmaster logging and the collection, coordination and standardisation of grape quality measurements. This included the automation of grape sample processing via the Catdan process. Russell has also been intimately involved in NIR/FTIR implementation in the Australian wine industry, the assessment of latent botrytis and was one of the initial thought leaders in establishing the original Wine Carbon Calculator.

Following his time at Pernod Ricard, Russell went on to start his own wine industry consultancy, Winecycle, in 2013. Winecycle focussed on performance improvement across the wine lifecycle and value chain, with a specific emphasis on overall environmental performance management, management of vintage, winery performance, packaging performance and wine performance in the supply-chain.

Russell has been a true inspiration for many aspiring viticulturists and wine industry researchers throughout his career.

Russell has been a member of the ASVO since 1995 and served on the ASVO board from 1999 until 2009. During this time, he was treasurer for four years (2003-2006) as well as vice president in 2002 and president in 2009.

NEW PRESIDENT AND CHANGES TO BOARD

At its annual general meeting on 14 November the ASVO announced that regional directors Andy Clarke, Alana Seabrook and Nadja Wallington had been re-elected unopposed and that Jeremy Dineen would join the board as regional director for Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania.

Andy Clarke was elected president, following in the footsteps of Brooke Howell who served in the role for three years and will remain on the ASVO board as a director. Clarke thanked outgoing director Richard Fennessy who has made a significant contribution to the board over two terms (four years).

The ASVO board members for 2022-23 are:

Eveline Bartowsky General Director

Andy Clarke Regional Director, VIC

Katie Dunne General Director

Jeremy Dineen Regional Director WA, QLD & TAS

Mike Hayes General Director

Brooke Howell General Director

Alana Seabrook Regional Director, SA

Vanessa Stockdale General Director

Nadja Wallington Regional Director, NSW

Chris Waters Executive Director

committees where her views and experience have been highly valued.

The ASVO announced two new Fellows in Prue Henschke (left/top) and Russell Johnstone

Connection to place a central theme of Pinot Noir Celebration 2023

The Pinot Noir Celebration Australia returns in February 2023 with a full program of technical, philosophical, cultural and stylistic themes to generate insightful conversations about Pinot Noir as a wine, a variety and, for many, an obsession.

The guest list includes Australian and international thought leaders, scientists, sommeliers, journalists, makers, market analysts, growers and many more.

For Pinot Noir producers, the 2023 event will provide ample opportunities to network with trade and media, share learnings and taste through more than 150 Pinot Noir wines from Australia and around the world.

Editor of the European wine magazine Falstaff, Anne Krebhiel MW, will explore Pinot Noir beyond the bounds of Burgundy and introduce us to the wonders of lesser-known European Pinot Noir wines during her keynote address on Friday 10 February.

Australian-come-Burgundy negociant Jane Eyre will extend an international perspective of Pinot Noir through her experience of crafting a successful wine business in Beaune in a session about ‘Wines and The Stories that Inspire’ with Phillip Rich and Richard Hemming MW.

International and local wine media will be capturing the stories of Australian Pinot Noir as we connect with a deeper sense of place and talk about stylistic fingerprints we have seen emerge in Australian Pinot Noir producing regions over recent years.

The stories we tell will extend to the technical expressions of Pinot Noir wines in multiple hands-on, small group seminars and workshops designed to give participants practical tips and instructions for how we navigate the impacts of climate change, robotics and automation, scientific discoveries and consumer market dynamics.

Climatologist and atmospheric scientist Dr Greg Jones will head a panel discussion about ‘Custodianship and Our Changing World’. This session will explore how viticulturists can prepare for the long-term environmental and climactic changes anticipated and what the potential impacts are on the flavour and structure of Pinot Noir wines.

Guests will also have the opportunity to look up and beyond the here and now with program contributions from soil scientist Dr Dylan Grigg,

The Pinot Noir Celebration Australia also welcomes the contribution of Wurundjeri elder David Wandin and the Alaskan wine writer, philosopher and Unangan-Sugpiaq and Inupiaq woman Elaine Chukan Brown. Elaine and David will invite us to look back in order to move forward in a way we can all develop more thoughtful connections to deep history and place.

The serious and cerebral session themes will be perfectly balanced with a good dose of celebration through two spectacular lunches and convivial evenings including a night at one of the Mornington Peninsula’s iconic seaside venues.

All ticket holders will need to select a workshop and a seminar on Day 2 of the program so be sure to read through the program and presenters to find out how you would like to explore your love for Pinot Noir.

To find out more and to purchase your ticket to the Pinot Noir Celebration Australia, go to www.pinotcelebration.com.au

the AWRI’s managing director Dr Mark Krstic plus notable technology and science leaders Adam Hall, David Gerner and Dr Simon Nordestgaard.

Is it time for the Australian wine industry to embrace advanced grapevine breeding methods?

By Tony Battaglene, Chief Executive, Australian Grape and Wine Incorporated

It’s time we started to question some of the conventional wisdom and looked at innovation as a way of driving our sector forward. Climate change is having a significant impact on the global grape and wine sector. We are seeing earlier and more compressed vintages, more extreme weather events, and a warming of temperatures. These are all leading to management changes in both the vineyard and the winery. Overlaying these physical changes are the megaconsumer trends that are demanding more

sustainable production patterns. These trends are changing consumer attitudes to many previously held beliefs.

Solutions with a trend toward a sustainable and agrochemical-free agriculture and production chain are needed. Technological advances in plant genetic engineering, coupled with the sequencing of the grapevine genome, has enabled new techniques that can rapidly be used to enhance positive characters in grape vines and wine.

Changing consumer attitudes have led to a

number of regulators reviewing their existing food regulations for genetically modified (GM) food. The debate around the definitions for GM food and whether these are fit for purpose since the emergence of a range of new techniques for genetic modification has the potential to dramatically change the landscape for grape and wine production internationally.

New Breeding Technique (NBT) foods are at an early stage of development. Currently, there are no NBT foods in the food supply in Australia and New Zealand. The majority

In his final column as chief executive of Australian Grape & Wine, Tony says it’s time the Australian wine industry had a debate on whether to take advantage of technological advances in plant genetic engineering that its competitors are already leveraging.

of GM foods in Australia and New Zealand are from GM crops grown overseas. Various food ingredients from these crops (e.g., oil, flour, sugar) are used in processed foods, some of which are imported into Australia and New Zealand. Foods derived from these GM crops must be approved and listed in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code before they can be imported here. Imported food that contains GM ingredients must also comply with the GM labelling requirements (see below). Only three GM crops (canola, cotton and safflower) are approved for growing in Australia (by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator). No GM crops have been approved for growing in New Zealand.

In Australia and New Zealand all GM foods must undergo a safety assessment by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), before they can be approved. This assessment allows FSANZ to ensure GM foods are as safe as other foods already in the food supply. Approved foods for sale that are GM or contain GM ingredients must be labelled with the statement ‘genetically modified’. On packaged food this statement would appear next to the name of the food or next to the specific GM ingredient in the ingredient list.

If the food is unpackaged, the information must accompany the food or be displayed with the food. The labelling requirement applies to food produced in, or imported into, Australia and New Zealand.

Certain GM foods or ingredients are exempt from labelling. For example, GM flavourings that are present in food in a concentration of no more than 0.1% are exempt from the labelling requirement.

In February 2020, FSANZ commenced work on a proposal to amend the definitions for ‘food produced using gene technology’ and ‘gene technology’ in the Code (Proposal P1055). The first of two rounds of public consultation was for eight weeks and closed on 3 December 2021. FSANZ invited interested parties to comment on its proposed approach to:

• revise and expand the process-based definition for ‘gene technology’ to capture all methods for genetic modification other than conventional breeding

• revise the definition for ‘food produced using gene technology’ to include specific product-based criteria for excluding certain foods from pre-market safety assessment and approval as GM food; Foods that do not meet all relevant

exclusion criteria would still require an application to FSANZ.

A second public consultation was scheduled for 2022.

Internationally, our competitors are already permitting grapevines using these techniques. This improves their environmental footprint and enhances quality as we enter an environment where agri-chemicals are becoming more and more restricted in their use.

If these techniques are permitted under regulation and treated differently to ‘traditional’ genetic modification techniques it will provide significant opportunities in the areas of:

• levels and cost of agricultural inputs (e.g., plant protection products, fertilisers), use of natural resources, development of more resilient varieties (e.g., to environmental or specific geographical conditions and plant diseases and pests), capacity to support local agricultural solutions and reduce costs and time in plant breeding

• innovation and research in agri-food systems, as well as in bio-based and biotechnology industries, will benefit from a framework providing legal clarity and a more adapted regulatory environment for plants produced by targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis

• impacts for organic and GM-free agriculture and their premium retail sector (e.g., due to compliance, certification and segregation costs).

The grape and wine sector has always respected and adopted innovation while respecting its traditions and needs to seriously consider where its future lies.

It is time we had a debate within Australia on this issue.

“The debate around the definitions for GM food … has the potential to dramatically change the landscape for grape and wine production internationally.”

Food Standards Australia New Zealand is proposing to update the definitions of ‘food produced using gene technology’ and ‘gene technology’ in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to accommodate food produced using existing, emerging and future genetic technologies.

Science and technology evolve to give growers more weapons against fungal diseases

By Dr Liz Waters, General Manager Research, Development and Adoption, Wine Australia

With a third consecutive La Niña event forecast to bring wetter and cooler conditions to south-eastern Australia over the coming months, it’s an opportune time for grapegrowers to review and assess their preparedness for outbreaks of fungal diseases.

Fungal diseases such as powdery mildew, botrytis bunch rot and downy mildew are estimated to cost the Australian grape and wine sector — which is dominated by European cultivars that have little or no resistance to these pathogens — more than $200 million a year through yield losses and reduction in berry quality. With a heavy reliance on fungicides for disease management in vineyards, fungicide resistance is increasingly becoming a management issue for grapegrowers across the country.

In a context where there is also increasing market and consumer pressure to use less chemicals and farm more sustainably, as well as increasing costs and supply chain issues associated with chemicals, this is a concerning development.

Research to counteract the growing problem of fungicide resistance has generally taken two different approaches: breeding of more disease-resistant vines, and enhanced testing and monitoring systems that can diagnose resistant outbreaks early and enable better informed spraying and management decisions to maximise the effectiveness of treatments. Wine Australia is a partner in the recently funded Cooperative Research Centre for Solving Antimicrobial Resistance in AgriBusiness, Food and Environments (CRC SAAFE), which is geared towards the latter, more holistic approach. Work on fungicide resistance in grapevines will continue in CRC SAAFE and benefit from collaboration with other sectors and multiple disciplines.

Recently, agtech innovations have added to the arsenal of weapons at growers’ disposal. With support from Wine Australia,

environmental impacts.

Ben Thomson of Best’s Wines has been trialling and demonstrating the use of the Smart Apply canopy sprayer technology, developed by Smart Guided Systems, in the Grampians region. The sprayer uses LiDAR laser scanning to accurately measure grapevine canopies and automatically adjust spraying to reduce waste, chemical costs and environmental impacts.

Further afield, Saga Robotics, a Norwegian firm, is trialling an autonomous application of UV light treatment for powdery mildew, which has been shown to have success in eliminating mildew spores without chemicals. And in the US, AI combined with phenotyping is proving highly accurate in early identification of spores.

With Australian grapegrowers using more agroecological practices in their vineyards to find a beneficial balance between viticulture and the environment, disease-resistant vines offer a longer-term solution. Years of grapevine breeding by CSIRO and research partners overseas to identify disease-resistant genes that offer vines protection from specific pathogens and genetic technology advances have led to DNA marker-assisted breeding

that is reducing the time needed for trials and outcomes.

Disease-resistant hybrid vines in NSW planted several years ago as part of the CSIRO program have performed well over the wet seasons of the past couple of years. Wine Australia will continue to support this foundational work, which will be increasingly important in the context of climate change and the environmental imperative to farm more sustainably.

While there will likely always be a need for some agrochemicals in the arms race against a wide range of pests and diseases that continue to evolve, science and technology are providing alternatives that, used in combination with common sense management and farming practices, can be highly effective in reducing the development of fungicide resistance.

Growers need to be vigilant and respond quickly to outbreaks as well as assess the value of varieties that are naturally more resistant to fungal infection and understand how to reduce the risk of fungicide resistance through the use of a mix of fungicides.

Ben Thomson (left), managing director of Best’s Wines, and Wine Australia program manager Dave Gerner, with the Smart Apply canopy sprayer technology, which accurately measures grapevine canopies and automatically adjusts spraying, reducing waste, chemical costs and

Beyond glutathione Protecting wine aroma and colour using a unique glutathione-rich inactivated yeast

By Florian Bahut1, Marion Bastien2, Jose-Maria Heras3, Eveline Bartowsky4 and Nathalie Sieczkowski2

Wine oxidation is a concern for every winemaker. Traditionally, sulfur dioxide is used to manage oxidation, but with increasing interest in reducing the use of SO2, natural alternatives are being sought. Glutathione, a tripeptide which is formed through the natural metabolism of yeast, is a potent antioxidant. Inactivated yeast rich in glutathione offer a non-chemical means to manage grape juice oxidation.

OXIDATION MECHANISMS THROUGHOUT WINEMAKING

Oxidation in oenology is a big word that covers many different dimensions, from the colour of a wine through to its aromatic composition to its longevity. It could be defined as “all the chemical or physical reactions happening in a must or in a wine in the presence of oxygen”. Managing oxygen is still challenging, so most of the solutions to

reduce oxidation are dedicated to neutralising or minimising the first oxidation product, the quinones that are oxidised polyphenols.

Indeed, quinones in wine are involved in many reactions leading to the accumulation of aldehydes (source of off-flavours), the first steps of wine browning and are involved in the trapping of varietal thiols (Figure 1).

Traditionally, sulfites (such as SO2) are used as the main antioxidant compound

to reduce quinones back to polyphenols, but other compounds naturally present in wine are also able to trap quinones and thus minimise the oxidative damage. One of the most abundant and known of these compounds is glutathione.

GLUTATHIONE IN WINEMAKING

Glutathione is a tripeptide, which contains three constitutive amino acids: glutamate,

IN BRIEF

■ With the growing trend towards reduced use of sulfur dioxide in winemaking, other methods of managing oxidation are being sought.

■ In its reduced form, glutathione, a tripeptide, can scavenge quinones responsible for browning and aroma loss due to oxidation mechanisms.

■ Although pure glutathione cannot be used in winemaking, inactivated yeast rich in reduced glutathione are approved for use.

Figure 1. Quinones at the centre of the main oxidative damage to the wine. The objective in using inactivated yeast naturally rich in glutathione is to compete with aroma compounds that could bind to quinone, notably nucleophilic addition, thus leaving the aroma compounds free to contribute to a wine’s sensory qualities and minimise wine oxidation (adapted from Oliveira et al 2011).

■ A new inactivated yeast naturally enriched with reduced glutathione was trialled on rosé for its effectiveness against oxidation and aroma compound loss.

1Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comté, AgroSup Dijon, PAM UMR 02.102 Equipe Physico, France

2Lallemand SAS, Blagnac, France

3Lallemand Bio Spain

4Lallemand Australia

cysteine and glycine. It is formed through the natural metabolism of yeast. In wine, glutathione can be present in a reduced (GSH) or oxidided form (GSSG). Glutathione is important in winemaking in its reduced form because it can scavenge quinones responsible for browning and aroma loss due to oxidation mechanisms (Lavigne et al. 2007).

It is well known that GSH is a more potent antioxidant than ascorbic acid (Antoce et al 2016), but there are still some uncertainties when applied in commercial winemaking (Schmidt et al. 2020). In addition, pure glutathione cannot be used in winemaking according to FSANZ and OIV regulations.

However, inactivated yeast rich in GSH are approved for use in winemaking. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) has recently adopted and incorporated a monograph (OIV-OENO 603-2018) on inactivated yeasts containing glutathione into the international oenological codex. These yeasts are also authorised in the EU (EU 2019/934).

THE GENESIS OF A SPECIFIC INACTIVATED YEAST RICH IN GLUTATHIONE

Empirically, ageing on lees produces wines with better oxidative stability. This is attributed to the oxygen consumption and the release

by yeast of many beneficial compounds (e.g., lipids, polysaccharides, peptides). The use of inactivated yeast can mimic ageing on lees since they can exhibit antioxidant properties without microbiological risks.

Several studies have shown that inactivated yeast containing glutathione are more efficient in preventing oxidation than GSH (Andújar-Ortiz et al. 2010, 2014, Comuzzo et al. 2015, Rodríguez-Bencomo et al. 2016, Pozo-Bayon et al. 2009, RodríguezBencomo et al. 2014, Gabrielli et al. 2017). More recently, it has been confirmed that inactivated yeast release a large amount of peptides with antioxidant potential which co-accumulate with the glutathione (Bahut et al. 2019). Thus, it is apparent that it is a combination of the GSH with peptides and nucleophilic components present in the inactivated yeast that are protecting wine aroma compounds.

A specific inactivated yeast (SIY) that has a high glutathione content is produced when a specific wine yeast strain is subjected to a process that ensures the synthesis of glutathione by the yeast and its accumulation in its reduced form in the yeast biomass before inactivation. A new specific inactivated yeast (SIY GPlus) with innovative metabolic characteristics has been developed. The large number and diversity of compounds released

by the SIY have numerous winemaking implications, in particular on oxidative stability. This natural oenological tool is an alternative to traditional antioxidants.

IMPACT ON WINE QUALITY

Protection of wine colour

A comparative trial was set up at the experimental winery of the Centre du Rosé (Provence, France) on a pilot scale using a Syrah-Grenache rosé must obtained by direct pressing to investigate the impact of SIY GPlus on rosé wine colour. Different must treatment strategies were evaluated at the time of clarification. The addition (30g/hL) of SIY GPlus was compared with a traditional specific inactivated yeast rich in glutathione (SIY G) and an untreated control. Wines were made under standard conditions and the different treatments were monitored until bottling. In particular, the colour was evaluated, and the results of the analyses are shown on the rosé wine colour chart in Figure 2. The lowest orange shade, considered to be higher quality, was obtained with the early treatment of SIY GPlus.

Protection of aromatic compounds

The positive impact of SIY GPlus was also observed on wine aromas. Numerous trials were carried out during white winemaking,

Figure 2. A comparative trial of the application of different inactivated yeast (SIY G, SIY GPlus [marketed as Glutastar]) at the time of clarification of a Syrah-Grenache rosé must (Provence, France).

notably on Sauvignon Blanc. This grape variety is ideal for studying the oxidative stability of aromas, as thiols are key markers of oxidation.

One trial conducted in the Loire Valley (France) evaluated the impact of SIY GPlus (30g/hL) added to a Sauvignon Blanc must before a cold juice stabulation of eight days at 4°C. The winemaking process was the same and the aromatic compounds were analysed in the bottled wine. The results, presented in Figure 3, demonstrate the protective effect of SIY GPlus with varietal thiol levels higher than in the untreated control.

Another trial conducted on a Sauvignon Blanc (Loire Valley, France) evaluated the impact of the addition of SIY GPlus (30g/ hL) to free run juice at the press. The aroma index measured in the bottled wines based on Odour Activity Value (aroma compound concentration relative to aroma compound sensory threshold) (Figure 4, see page 18) shows that SIY GPlus provided better preservation of aromatic compounds and a higher vegetal thiolic perception as well as more citrus compared to the control.

Another trial with SIY GPlus was undertaken in Chardonnay at the Institut Universitaire de la Vigne et du Vin (IUVV, Burgundy, France) in the context of decreasing the use of SO2. Grapes were

harvested by hand and 2.5g/hL of SO2 was added in the free run juice at the press. After a cold settling (24 hours at 15°C), 2.5g/hL of SO2 addition (‘Full SO2’) was compared to SIY GPlus at 30g/hL (‘Half SO2 + SIY Gplus’) and a control with a half dose of SO2 (‘Half SO2’). The alcoholic and malolactic fermentations were managed in the same way and a sensorial analysis was conducted on bottled wines. As presented in Figure 5 (see page 18), the wine with half SO2 and SIY GPlus addition was significantly less reductive, less vegetal and exhibited more fruit and floral aromas. In addition, the total SO2 content in the final wines was divided by two for half SO2 treatments (19mg/L) compared to full SO2 (41mg/L).

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE BEHIND SPECIFIC INACTIVATED YEAST

Metabolomic studies of different types of inactivated yeast to understand the mechanisms of protection

In the past, traditional chemistry and analytical methods were used to detect and quantify various groups of compounds such as sugars, proteins and lipids. More recently, new methods have been developed to target all the compounds present in a yeast cell or matrix, rather than a single target compound. Metabolomics makes possible

the simultaneous analysis of all metabolites present and, subsequently, can be classified according to their element composition (C, H, O, S and N) and chemical families (sugars, proteins, lipids) (Figure 6 B and C, see page 18). Metabolomic analysis has been performed in collaboration with the PCAV team at the Institute of Wine and Vine, Dijon, France.

Metabolomics is a powerful tool that finds relationships between chemical composition and specific activity, such as antioxidant activity in our example. First, metabolomics analyses showed vast differences between various types of inactivated yeast based on both the yeast strains used and the culture conditions during production. SIY GPlus, marketed under the name Glutastar, exhibited an exceptional abundance of CHONS compounds. Further research showed that these compounds are related to peptides containing cysteine residues. These peptides are potent antioxidants as they have a free sulfhydryl function, such as glutathione.

The traditional DPPH antioxidant assay has been recently modified to measure antioxidant capacity in a wine like medium (Romanet et al. 2019). This assay has been applied to different samples of inactivated yeasts (Figure 6A, see page 18) and it showed two main results. First, the

Figure 3. Application of SIY GPlus (marketed as Glutastar) before a cold juice stabulation of eight days at 4°C compared to a control with no addition – thiol analysis in bottled wines (Sauvignon Blanc, Loire Valley, France).

antioxidant capacity of inactivated yeast is related to the absolute concentration of GSH and, secondly, the abundance of CHONS (thus peptides containing sulfur) appears to promote better antioxidant capacity.

Thus, it is the combination of a high natural GSH concentration and the unique peptide content in the inactivated yeast that protects wine against oxidation and preserves important varietal aroma compounds, thus confirming those original observations from the early-mid 2000s.

SUMMARY

Even though it is well known that glutathione (GSH) can protect wine against oxidation and aroma compound loss, its use in a pure form is not permitted in winemaking (FSANZ and OIV regulations). SIY GPlus, an inactivated yeast naturally enriched with GSH and other active compounds, offers this protection through both the presence of GSH, a trap for quinone, and with other active compounds (unique peptides, etc.) as traps for free radicals. Finally, implementation of SIY GPlus (Glutastar) at the earliest stages of the white or rosé vinification process ensures an improvement in wine quality by preserving colour and aromas throughout the process and through to bottling. This natural oenological tool can be an alternative to traditional antioxidants, thus enabling a reduction in chemical inputs.

Figure 5. A comparative trial of the application of different levels of SO2 with and without SIY GPlus (marketed as Glutastar) in the pre-fermentative stage in a Chardonnay (IUVV, Burgundy , France).

Figure 6. (A) The antioxidant capacity estimated using the DPPH assay for different inactivated yeast from traditional (control) to Glutastar; (B) Mapping of the unique chemical molecules released by a traditional inactivated yeast; and (C) Glutastar in a model solution and detected by high resolution mass spectrometry (Bahut et al. 2019, 2020).

Figure 4. Application of SIY GPlus (marketed as Glutastar) in the free run juice of the press compared to a control with no addition – aroma index based on Odour Value, analysis in bottled wines (Sauvignon Blanc, Loire Valley, France).

Antoce, A.O.; Badea, G.A. and Cojocaru, G.A. (2016) Effects of glutathione and ascorbic acid addition on the CIELab chromatic characteristics of Muscat Ottonel wines. Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia 10:206-214.

Alfonzo, A.; Prestianni, R.; Gaglio, R.; Matraxia, M. and Maggio, A. (2021) Effects of different yeast strains, nutrients and glutathione-rich inactivated yeast addition on the aroma characteristics of Catarratto wines International Journal of Food Microbiology 360:109325

Andújar-Ortiz, I.; Rodríguez-Bencomo, J.J.; Moreno-Arribas, M.V.; Martín-Álvarez, P.J. and Pozo-Bayón, M.A. (2010) Role of glutathione enriched inactive yeast preparations. Instituto de Fermentaciones Industriales CSIC, 1-8.

Andújar-Ortiz, I.A.; Chaya, C.; Martín-Álvarez, P.J.; Moreno-Arribas, M.V. and Pozo-Bayón, M.A. (2014) Impact of using new commercial glutathione enriched inactive dry yeast oenological preparations on the aroma and sensory properties of wines. International Journal of Food Properties 17:9871001.

Bahut, F.; Liu, Y.; Romanet, R.; Coelho, C.; Sieczkowski, N.; Alexandre, H.; Schmitt-Kopplin, P.; Nikolantonaki, M. and Gougeon, R.D (2019) Metabolic diversity conveyed by the process leading to glutathione accumulation in inactivated dry yeast:

A synthetic media study. Food Research International 123:762-770.

Bahut, F.; Romanet, R.; Sieczkowski, N.; SchmittKopplin, P. and Nikolantonaki, M. (2020) Antioxidant activity from inactivated yeast: Expanding knowledge beyond the glutathione-related oxidative stability of wine. Food Chemistry 325:126941

Bahut, F.; Silvano, A.; Sieczkowski, N.; Coelho, C.; Nikolantonaki, M.; Schmitt-Kopplin, P. and Gougeon, R. (2019) Originalité d’une nouvelle levure inactivée spécifique au service de la stabilité ozydative des vins blancs et rosés. Revue des Oenologues n°173, October.

Comuzzo, P.; Battistutta, F.; Vendrame, M.; Páez, M.S.; Graziano, L. and Zironi, R. (2015) Antioxidant properties of different products and additives in white wine. Food Chemistry 168:107-114.

Gabrielli, M.; Aleixandre-Tudo, J.L.; Kilmartin, P.A.; Sieczkowski, N. and du Toit, W.J. (2017) Additions of glutathione or specific glutathione-rich dry inactivated yeast preparation (DYP) to Sauvignon Blanc must: Effect on wine chemical and sensory composition. South African Journal of Enology and Viticulture 38(1):18-28.

Lavigne, V.; Pons, A. and Dubourdieu, D. (2007) Assay of glutathione in must and wines using capillary electrophoresis and laser-induced fluorescence detection. Changes in concentration in dry white wines during alcoholic fermentation and aging. Journal of Chromatogr. A 1139,130-135.

Oliveira, C.M.; Ferreira, A.C.S.; De Freita, V. and Silv, A.M.S. (2011) Oxidation mechanisms occurring in wines. Food Research International 44, 1115-1126.

Pozo-Bayon, M.; AngelesAndújar-Ortiz, I. and Moreno-Arribas, M.V. (2009) Scientific evidences beyond the application of inactive dry yeast preparations in winemaking. Food Research International 42:754-761.

Rodríguez-Bencomo, J.J.; Andújar-Ortiz, I.; Moreno-Arribas, M.V.; Simó, C. and González, J. (2014) Impact of glutathione-enriched inactive dry yeast preparations on the stability of terpenes during model wine aging. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 62:1373-1383.

Rodríguez-Bencomo, J.J.; Andújar-Ortiz, I.; Sánchez-Patán, F.; Moreno-Arribas, M.V. and Pozo-Bayón, M.A. (2016) Fate of the glutathione released from inactive dry yeast preparations during the alcoholic fermentation of white musts. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 22:46-51.

Romanet, R.; Coelho, C.; Liu, Y.; Bahut, F. and Ballester, J. (2019) The antioxidant potential of white wines relies on the chemistry of sulfur-containing compounds: an optimized DPPH assay. Molecules 24:1353.

Schmidt, S.A.; Bekker, M.Z.; Sanders, R.; Cuijvers, K.M.; Kulcsar, A.C.; Capone, D.L.; Puglisi, C. and Jeffery, D.W. (2020) There’s something about glutathione. Technical Review 246:5-12.

Trends in the composition of Australian wine 1990 to 2021

Part one: Introduction, titratable acidity and pH

By Peter Godden1 and Eric Wilkes2

This article provides an update to previously published analyses of trends in Australian wine composition and is presented in three parts. Part one, published here, focusses on titratable acidity and pH. Part two will cover alcohol and glucose plus fructose concentrations, while part three will include free, total, and bound sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations and the ratio of free to total SO2, as well as overall concluding remarks. Parts two and three will be published in future issues of Wine & Viticulture Journal.

IN BRIEF

■ Packaged wines are submitted for analyses to Affinity Labs, the commercial arm of the Australian Wine Research Institute, to ensure they comply with the import and export requirements of destination countries.

■ Periodically, the data from these analyses are mined to examine the compositional trends in Australian wine.

INTRODUCTION

Since its establishment in 1955, the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) has accumulated a large body of knowledge on the composition of Australian wines. This includes a database of analytical results dating back to 1984, resulting from fee-for-service analyses of wine samples submitted to Affinity Labs (formerly AWRI Commercial Services, formerly the AWRI Analytical Service). That database represents a possibly unique resource in world terms and is periodically mined to examine compositional trends. Collated data have previously been published for mean alcohol concentration and mean SO2 and volatile acidity concentrations (Godden 2000 and the 2003 and 2004 AWRI Annual Reports). In addition, Godden and Gishen (2005) presented data for an extensive range of compositional variables in white and red

wines, including comparative data regarding Australian state and grape varietal trends, and that analysis was extended up to the 2008 vintage by Godden and Muhlack (2010). To mark the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the AWRI, Godden et al. (2015) extended the data series to wines from the 2014 vintage, and the current publication extends it further by adding data for the vintages 2015 to 2021.

Data for the vintages 1984 to 1989 (1984 to 1994 for glucose plus fructose), which have been discussed in previous publications, are not republished here. Primarily, this is to increase the clarity of the plots for the most recent vintages. It also recognises the comparatively low sample numbers and consequent higher levels of uncertainty in the data for those earlier years.

Consequently, data from the analysis of 85,448 wines are included here: 35,871 white

1Arrivo Wine, PO Box 151, Aldgate, South Australia 5154

■ The focus of the latest examination was on titratable acidity, pH, alcohol, glucose plus fructose concentrations, free, total and bound sulfur dioxide concentrations, and the ratio of free to total SO2

■ These latest analyses will be presented across three separate articles, with the first of these articles, presented here, focusing on titratable acidity and pH.

and rosé wines (with rosé wines included from 2004 onwards) and 49,577 red wines. A total of 7212 white and rosé wines and 14,604 red

2The Australian Wine Research Institute, PO Box 197, Glen Osmond, South Australia 5064

Contact: Eric.Wilkes@affinitylabs.com.au

wines from the most recent vintages were added to the data set reported by Godden et al. (2015). As with the 2015 publication, all additional data were generated from packaged wines which were submitted for analyses required to comply with the import and export requirements of destination countries. The new data includes multiple vintages of a broad cross section of Australian wines from commodity to icon status and producers of all sizes, with a wide geographical and varietal spread. Up to the 2003 vintage, the data includes both domestic and exported wines.

While representing a wide cross-section of wines from producers in all states of Australia, the sample of wines analysed cannot be considered perfectly representative of Australian commercial wine because it is a self-selected sample of wines submitted by clients of Affinity Labs and represents only exported wines from 2004 onwards However, while Godden and Muhlack (2010) noted that the dataset was somewhat skewed towards higher priced wines and towards smaller sized wine producers, that appears to be increasingly less so over time. Data added for the 2015 paper and for the current publication includes an increasing proportion of commodity and entry-level wines from most of Australia’s largest wine producers, as well as from thirdparty exporters. Therefore, due to the size and geographical spread of Affinity Labs’ client base and the number of wines analysed, the data are considered in all probability to be strongly representative of trends in the composition of all Australian wine.

DATA PRESENTATION

The data are presented in two formats— interval plots and box plots—with the plots for white and rosé wines shown in green and

the plots for red wines shown in red. The interval plots show the mean of the data for each year, plotted as a line joining the means, together with vertical error bars to indicate the standard error for a 95% confidence interval. In the box plots, the centre horizontal line marks the median of the data for each year. The upper edge of the box represents the third quartile (below which 75% of the data resides), with the lower edge representing the first quartile (below which 25% of data resides), calculated according to the method of Tukey (1977). The ‘whiskers’ (the vertical lines extending above and below the box) show the range of observed values that fall within 1.5 IQR (Interquartile Range) beyond the box, where IQR is defined as the absolute value of the differences between the values of the two whiskers. Values beyond the whiskers (outliers) are shown as circles when they fall outside of 3.0 IQR beyond the box, with darker circles indicating overlapping results.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The plots presented here summarise the analytical results recorded in the database when they were generated in mid-2022. New analytical results are continually added, especially for the most recent vintages and, consequently, some results for individual analytes presented here differ slightly from those in previous publications, without impacting the overall trends. That any such differences when additional data are added are so marginal, might reinforce the representative nature of the overall data set.

For each compositional variable, plots are presented for white and rosé wines combined, and for red wines. Data for rosé wines were first included in this series by Godden et al. (2015) from the 2004 vintage onwards. The

proportion of rosé wines included in the data presented here for white and rosé wines is 8.13% compared to 7.08% in 2015. This represents a notable change in the nature of samples submitted for analysis compared to data presented in 2005 and 2010, from which the very few rosé wines which had been analysed at those time-points were removed, and reflects the dramatic growth in the rosé category internationally in recent years (Peres et al. 2020).

TITRATABLE ACIDITY

Titratable acidity at pH8.2 (TA) is a measure of all the acids that are present in the wine, chiefly tartaric, succinic, malic and lactic acids. TA is a good indicator of the amount of acid present in grapes as well as wine and is, therefore, often used to monitor the degree of ripeness of grapes, with TA decreasing with increasing ripeness. TA also affects the sensory properties of wine and, in some circumstances, might be used as a quality control measure to detect wine spoilage when volatile acids may be formed. TA can be adjusted by winemakers through the addition of allowable acids, which are purified from grapes, or by the addition of allowable mineral salts, such as potassium carbonate, which have the effect of reducing TA.

The mean and the distribution of TA concentrations in white and rosé wines remained largely stable between 1990 and 1995, and then again between 1996 and 2010, with no apparent effect from the inclusion of rosé wines from 2004 onwards (Figures 1a and 1b). However, from 2010 the mean values fluctuated markedly up until 2016, with a low of 6.25g/L in that year, followed by a steady increase to a high of 6.53g/L

Figure 1a. Mean titratable acidity concentration at pH8.2 in white and rosé wines 1990-2021 (rosé wines included from 2004 vintage onwards).

g/L, pH 8.2

Figure 1b. Median (horizontal line) and distribution of titratable acidity concentrations at pH8.2 in white and rosé wines 1990-2021 (rosé wines included from 2004 vintage onwards).

TA g/L, pH 8.2

in 2020, with corresponding shifts either upwards or downwards in the distribution of concentrations, but without marked changes in the makeup of those distributions Comparison of the distributions of TA in rosé wines and white wines showed that the average TA was approximately 0.4g/L lower for rosé wines than white wines (data not shown). Previous papers in this series have stated that of all the compositional variables discussed, TA is the one over which the winemaker has the greatest control. However, that does not appear to explain such shifts in the distributions year to year, and it is possible that increasing climate variability is responsible for the comparatively high degree of variability seen since 2010.

If that were the case, similar year to year trends might also be expected with red wines. However, while year to year variability in TA concentrations has also increased markedly in red wines (Figure 2a), little relationship is seen between the trends for red wines and those for white and rosé wines. Of note is a marked above-trend increase of mean TA in red wines

in 2018. That 2018 was a high TA year is confirmed by Cowey (2018), which indicated that during the 2018 vintage acid additions often resulted in a rise, instead of a decrease, in pH and a much higher TA than expected. This observation was attributed to markedly higher-than-usual potassium concentrations in fruit that year.

As demonstrated in Figure 2a, mean TA concentration in red wines increased steadily from 5.8g/L in 1990 to 6.49g/L in 2007, before a general downward trend became established. As with white and rosé wines, those upward and downward trends were mirrored by corresponding year-on-year shifts in the distribution of concentrations and were most likely winemaker driven according to the desired wine styles of the day. However, winemaking intervention seems unlikely to solely account for the substantial year-toyear variation seen on the downward trend since 2008. It is noted that while there is only an indirect relationship between TA and pH, no corresponding year-on-year variability is seen in the pH data presented in Figures 3

(a) and (b) and 4 (a) and (b). While it is not possible to state definitively the cause of the recent year-on-year variability in the formerly comparatively stable measure of TA, in the absence of other explanations, increasing year-on-year climate variability may be a contributing factor.

PH

The measure of pH is one of the most important analytical measurements in grapes and wine for several reasons. It provides a good indication of the degree of ripeness of grapes, has an important effect on the metabolism of microorganisms in wine and influences the flavour, colour, mouthfeel, and physical and microbial stability of wine. Lowering pH increases the proportion of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the ‘free’ form as opposed to the ‘bound’ form, and it is the free form which confers the greatest microbial and antioxidant ability (Boulton et al. 1996). Wine pH can be adjusted to some extent by winemakers through the addition of organic acids, such as tartaric acid to lower pH, or by the addition of

6.2

6.0

TA g/L, pH 8.2 5.8

6.4 1990 2000 2010 2020 Vintage

Figure 2a. Mean titratable acidity at pH8.2 concentration in red wines 1990-2021.

Figure 3 (a). Mean pH values in white and rosé wines 1990-2021 (rosé wines included from 2004 vintage onwards).

10

5

0

15 1990 2000 2010 2020 Vintage

Figure 2b. Median (horizontal line) and distribution of titratable acidity concentrations at pH8.2 in red wines 1990-2021.

Figure 3 (b). Median (horizontal line) and distribution of pH values in white and rosé wines 1990-2021 (rosé wines included from 2004 vintage onwards).

Figure 4 (b). Median (horizontal line) and distribution of pH values in red wines 1990-2021.

allowable mineral salts, which increase the pH.

Godden et al. (2015) noted an apparent trend of rising pH in the more recent vintages of white and rosé wines but found no statistically significant differences between the means. However, with increased sample numbers for those vintages, and the consequent reduction in statistical uncertainty, that upward trend to a peak pH of 3.31 in 2014 is now confirmed, but with a fall in subsequent years (Figure 3a). As with previous analyses, the markedly low pH in 2009 remains an outlier, probably due to the low sample numbers available for that vintage and the consequent large error. For this reason, that data point may probably be discounted. It should be noted that although upward and downward trends are apparent in the mean pH of white and rosé wines, with a slight upward shift in the distribution of pH values in rosé compared to white wines (data not shown), the quantum difference between vintages is small, with a difference of 0.08pH units covering the range for the averages in the entire data series between 1990 and 2021. As such, this is a stable measure, as illustrated by the distribution in Figure 3b, with only minor shifts up or down in the entire distribution year-on-year.

The story is different with red wines, with the steady upward trend in the mean pH continuing from that noted in the 2005, 2010 and 2015 publications, to a peak of 3.6 in 2016, with a downward trend becoming apparent in subsequent years. Likewise, the 2010 and 2015 papers in this series noted a marked narrowing of the distribution of pH

concentrations up to the 2014 vintage, but that trend has also reversed since 2015, with a greater number of outlier wines at the lowest end of the distribution (Figure 4b).

The trend to higher pH in red wines seen from 1990 to 2016 probably reflects winemakers’ choices, because higher pH results in wines which are ‘softer’ in the mouth, with higher perceived viscosity and lower perceived acidity (Gawel et al. 2014). However, at the same time, higher pH also increases the risk of wine instability, particularly microbial instability, largely through reducing the proportion of free SO2 Therefore, Australian winemakers who are choosing to increase the pH of their wines should be aware of the increased associated risk of microbiological spoilage and oxidation, especially considering the downward trends of total SO2 concentrations in both white and rosé wines and red wines, which will be presented in part 3 of this article.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was supported by Australian grapegrowers and winemakers through their investment body Wine Australia, with matching funds from the Australian Government. The AWRI is a member of the Wine Innovation Cluster in Adelaide, South Australia.

The authors thank Affinity Labs for access to the database and for extracting the raw data, Anne Lord and Rosanne Dunne from AWRI Information Services for help with literature searches, and Geoff Cowey, AWRI Senior Oenologist, for supplying reference

material and for discussion of the data. Ella Robinson is thanked for editorial assistance.

REFERENCES

Cowey, G. (2018) Ask the AWRI: Winemaking with high pH, high TA and high potassium fruit. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker 657:80-81

Boulton, R.B.; Singleton, V.L.; Bisson, L.F. and Kunkee, R.E. (1996) Principles and practices of winemaking New York, USA: Chapman and Hall

Gawel, R.; Day, M.; Van Sluyter, S.C.; Holt, H.; Waters, E.J. and Smith, P.A. (2014) White wine taste and mouthfeel as affected by juice extraction and processing. J. Agric. Food Chem 62:20,008–20,024

Godden, P.W. (2000) Persistent wine instability issues. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker 443:10–14

Godden, P.W. and Gishen, M. (2005) Trends in the composition of Australian wine 1984–2004. Blair, R.; Francis, M. and Pretorius, I. (eds.) AWRI: advances in wine science: commemorating 50 years of The Australian Wine Research Institute. Glen Osmond, SA: The Australian Wine Research Institute: 115–139

Godden, P.W. and Muhlack, R. (2010) Trends in the composition of Australian wine 1984–2008, Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker 558:47–61

Godden, P.W.; Wilkes, E. and Johnson, D. (2015) Trends in the composition of Australian wine 1984-2014. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res 21(S1):741–753

Peres, S.; Giraud-Heraud, E.; Masure, A-S. and Tempare, S. (2020) Rosé wine market: Anything but colour? Foods 9(12):1850

Tukey, J.W. (1977) Exploratory data analysis. Reading, Massachusetts, USA: Addison-Wesley.

Under pressure Tank method sparkling wine production

By Rachel Gore, Director, Free Run Consulting Email: rgore@freerunconsulting.com.au

There are many different ways to create bubbles in wine. Some are quite simple while others are more complex. Each method results in a different carbonation level and, ultimately, a different style of sparkling wine.

The degree of carbonation in sparkling wines directly affects our perception of their taste. The higher the pressure, the finer the bubble. The sensation that carbonation in wine gives to the consumer is why carbonation matters. The bubbles cause a physical stimulus in a wine drinker’s mouth and can make a wine taste crisper and more refreshing. Because carbon dioxide is soluble in wine (as it is in water), all wines contain some dissolved carbon dioxide.

A wine bottled with <1 additional atmospheres of pressure where bubbles appear on the sides of the bottle or glass when the wine is opened is termed ‘beady’. A wine with 1-2.5 atmospheres of pressure that is slightly sparkling is termed ‘semi-sparkling’ and a wine that has 3 or more atmospheres of pressure can be labelled a ‘sparkling’ wine.

In this article I will focus on the differences between the sparkling wine processes achieved in tank i.e., carbonation vs charmat.

CARBONATION METHOD

The carbonation method simply takes a still wine and carbonates it with carbon dioxide in a pressurised tank. The wine is then bottled under pressure.

Carbonation occurs when carbon dioxide dissolves in an aqueous solution. However, carbon dioxide doesn’t easily dissolve under everyday conditions. To make this happen, manufacturers need to increase the pressure of the vessel the liquid is in and keep it at a low temperature. Under these conditions the liquid is able to trap carbon dioxide molecules, making it fizz.

When carbon dioxide dissolves in a solution, water and gaseous carbon dioxide

react to form a dilute solution of carbonic acid. This reaction is reversible which means it can go forwards and backwards. When sparkling wine is in a sealed bottle, the high pressure inside the bottle forces the chemical reaction in the forward direction, forming carbonic acid. The forward reaction continues until the concentration of the reactants and products no longer change. In other words, when the two chemical reactions are in equilibrium. Once you open the bottle, the pressure is released which shifts the chemical reaction backwards. The dissolved carbon dioxide starts coming out of the solution forming bubbles which release the carbon dioxide into the air. The escaping carbon dioxide lowers the carbon dioxide in the wine and because of this lower concentration, the carbonic acid turns back into carbon dioxide and water. The result is a new equilibrium.

Below are two methods used in the wine industry today to achieve carbonation.

Membrane contactors

Membrane contactors have been around since 1992 and were developed for the perstraction (membrane extraction process where two liquid phases are contacted across a membrane) of substances from liquids. The technology allows the implementation of liquidliquid, liquid-gas or liquid-gas-liquid separations (Sengupta et al. 1998). The main component of the system is a hydrophobic, porous, hollow, fibre membrane system that allows only gases like oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide in their gaseous phase through the membrane barrier of micro pores.

Membrane contactors facilitate mass transfer between two fluids. For wine gas management, wine flows on one side of the membrane and a gas (or vacuum) flows on the other side. Wine doesn’t pass through the membrane because the membrane is hydrophobic and has very small pores (0.03um).

The method of introduction of CO2 with membrane contactors is quite different from other carbonation techniques. It involves bubbleless diffusion. There have been suggestions that this technique results in bubbles that are finer and more like those in bottle fermented sparkling wine than with other in-line carbonation methods, however, this is questionable. While there may be bubble differences immediately after carbonation using a membrane contactor compared to other in-line carbonators, it seems likely that the bubble dynamics will be the same after CO2 equalises in bottle for weeks or months prior to consumption.

Using the membrane contactor system a winemaker is able to control the gas concentration simultaneously with recirculation in the tank, in transfer from one tank to another or directly in-line with

Rachel walks readers through the differences between the carbonation and charmat sparkling wine methods.

the bottling. With this tool, it is possible to adjust the exact amount of carbon dioxide, either decreasing or increasing the concentration, by reducing up to 95% of the initial oxygen and nitrogen concentration in one passage at 25°C wine temperature. At lower temperatures the efficiency is reduced (Schmidt and Waidelich 2007).

Sparging

This process involves very fine bubbles of an inert gas being bubbled through the wine. Wines are sparged with gas either via a gas line connection to a valve at the bottom of a tank, via a submersible bubbler or in-line during a wine transfer between tanks or during tank circulation. The gas is injected under pressure into the wine and for best results the liquid should be under slight pressure. Turbulence increases contact of the wine with the sparging gas and therefore increases sparging efficiency.

The gas-liquid interface is critical in the process of sparging wine, and a high surface contact area can be achieved by dispersing very fine bubbles of gas throughout the liquid. The small bubble size is achieved using stainless steel sinters connected to a gas line. Sinter sizes can vary from 2-100um. Wilson (1985) showed that sinter pore size influences sparging efficiency with 2um being more efficient than 15um at the same gas flow

rate, presumably due to smaller bubbles being released with the 2um sinter. It is unusual then that the 15um sinter tends to be the most commonly used in the wine industry. This may relate to difficulties in achieving sufficient gas flow rate through finer sinters either due to the size of the pores or clogging of those pores. Sinters do have some advantage over membrane contactors for gas adjustment. They are much cheaper to buy and can work with turbid wine.

CHARMAT METHOD

This method of sparkling wine production was first patented by an Italian, Federico Martinetti, in 1895, and it was, unsurprisingly, known as the metodo martinetti. In 1907, after some tweaks and development, it was patented again in 1907 by a Frenchman from Bordeaux, Eugène Charmat, which is where it gets one of its modern names. It’s also referred to as cuve close (in French), the tank method, granvas (Spanish) or autoclave (Italian).

In Champagne (and other premium sparkling wine) production areas, the still base wine undergoes a second fermentation in bottle. This fermentation (and subsequent ageing) can be anywhere from 15 months up to many years. Vintage Champagne is required to spend a minimum of three years in bottle.

Charmat is a method used for creating sparkling wine where the base wine undergoes its primary fermentation in stainless steel tanks, creating fruity still wine with relatively low alcohol. The wine is then moved to a pressurised stainless-steel tank called an autoclave where it will undergo secondary fermentation.

This secondary fermentation is known as ‘Pris de Mousse’, or the ‘formation of bubbles’, and is a very important step whether it is done in bottle or in a pressurised tank.

The main aim of the secondary fermentation is to obtain a sparkling wine with about six bar of pressure at 10°C. At the start of secondary fermentation, an initial concentration of around 1-2 million live yeast cells/ml of wine are required to breakdown 24g/L sugar. This consumption of sugar is accompanied by an increase in alcohol levels of between 1.2% to 1.4% by volume, with a final concentration of carbon dioxide of between 10-12g/L.

Base wines are usually made from dry white wines but also with rosé or even red wines. For a successful secondary fermentation, various wine parameters must be met:

• pH >2.9

• free SO2 <15mg/L

• temperature >10°C

Malolactic fermentation can be used in the base wine to assist with deacidification.

In the case of potentially unstable base wines, suitable fining products must be used followed by tartrate stabilisation in order to prevent the crystallisation of potassium bitartrate or calcium tartrate, as these may cause serious problems later.

In most cases, careful filtration may be carried out after stabilisation in order to ensure the wine’s clarity. During the stabilisationfiltration stages of the base wine, care must be taken to minimise oxygen exposure.

The preparation of the yeast culture for the secondary ferment is critical in the success of the fermentation. Secondary fermentation is re-fermentation. The base wine, with its 11-12% alcohol by volume, its low pH and SO2 content make it a lot more hostile than grape must. In the case of Charmat, the secondary fermentation happens in a pressurised tank, so the presence of CO2 and pressure prevents yeast growth. The selection of a yeast strain intended for secondary fermentation

is

“…sinter pore size influences sparging efficiency with 2um being more efficient than 15um at the same gas flow rate… It is unusual then that the 15um sinter tends to be the most commonly used in the wine industry.”

fundamental. The yeast culture is prepared in several phases: Phase 1 – the rehydration and protection of the yeast Phase 2 – the ‘yeast starter’ phase, lasting 12-24 hours helping the yeast acclimatise to the alcohol Phase 3 – the ‘multiplication’ phase lasting around three days which helps the culture propagate in order to obtain an active fermentation.

Secondary fermentation generally takes place at 12-25°C over approximately 10 days. Ageing is not always practised but where it is desired, it takes place in a tank fitted with an agitator and the duration depends on the character of the sparkling wine desired. Stabilisation by refrigeration at -2°C may either be on the base wine or at this stage. The wine is filtered at low temperatures and then transferred, under pressure, to a buffer tank preserving the dissolved carbon dioxide. The dosage liqueur is now added to the tank if required. The quality of the end product

depends heavily on the attention paid to the preparation of the dosage liqueur. This liqueur can be made with cane or beet sugar dissolved in the base wine, MCR (rectified must concentrate) or perhaps some ‘reserve’ or high-quality wine.

Bottling is carried out at the same pressure with the bottles then corked, caged and labelled.

Wines made using the Charmat method have a distinctly fresh, fruit-driven character with stronger secondary or yeasty flavours — especially those fermented for a shorter time. The bubbles are typically larger and coarser than the bubbles found in traditional method wines and while bottle fermented sparkling wine can vary across individual bottles, those made in the Charmat method will be uniform across the batch.

Some may argue that the tank methods used to make sparkling wine that have been discussed in this article are of a lesser quality than sparkling wine made using the traditional method, but while the process is more

affordable (and therefore more popular with lower quality wines), they are still methods than can be used to make premium sparkling wines.

REFERENCES

Blank, A. and Vidal, J-C. (2012) Gas management by membrane contactor: ester and higher alcohol losses, and comparison with porous injector in Proceedings of 34th World Congress of Vine and Wine at Porto.

Nordestgaard, S. (2018) Gains in speed, labour and gas consumption for winemakers. Aust.NZ Grapegrower Winemaker 648:61-67.

Sengupta, A.; Peterson, P.A.; Miller, B.D.; Schneider, J. and Fulk Jr, C.W. (1998) Large-scale application of membrane contactors for gas transfer from or to ultrapure water. Separation and Purification Technology 14( 1-3):189-200.

Schmidt, O. and Waidelich, G. (2007) Neues Verfahren zur optimierung der gehalte an gelösten gasen im wein sowie der alkoholreduzierung. In: Proceedings of the Intervitis Interfructa Congress for Process control Poster Presentation.

Wilson, D.L. (1985) Sparging with inert gas to remove oxygen and carbon dioxide. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker 256:112-114.

DIRECT PITCH !

Fermentis E2U™ yeasts are so efficient and secure that you can pitch them directly. You save time, gain comfort and act green, consuming less water and energy. If you prefer, you can choose to rehydrate them beforehand: we guarantee the same final results.

For details and to purchase, visit fermentis.com or get our App

Canned wine Looking for a silver lining

By Neil Scrimgeour, Kieran Hirlam, Denny Hsieh, Eric Wilkes and Mark Krstic, Australian Wine Research Institute,

Box 197, Glen Osmond, South Australia 5064

While wine packaged in cans is a fast-growing segment of the global market with strong consumer appeal, some canned wines have been affected by ‘reductive’ characters. A comprehensive series of studies investigated the reasons behind this phenomenon and explored a range of mitigation options to ensure the ongoing success and growth of wine in this packaging format is supported.

INTRODUCTION

Canned wine is one of the fastest growing segments in global wine consumption, with the current global market estimated to be worth AUD$130 million and worldwide sales predicted to grow with a compound annual growth rate of 5-10% over the next five years (Research and markets report 2022) Consumer interest in this category, especially with millennials, continues to thrive due to factors including value for money, packaging design, convenience and perceived sustainability.

The current size of the Australian domestic market for canned wine is approximately $12 million in annual sales, with the growth in canned wine (at 12% per annum) outperforming bottled wine, which has relatively flat growth at 0.4% (IRI report 2022). The growth of canned wine has slowed in recent years in Australia, partly due to increasing competition in the category from hard seltzers and other RTD products.

During the last few years, it has become very clear that some wines packaged in cans are particularly susceptible to the formation of ‘reductive’ characters within three to six months of packaging, with the main culprit being hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which can impart a ‘rotten egg’ aroma (Allison et al.

2020). This can result in wines being rejected by the consumer and products being recalled from the market, so it is an issue that poses a significant risk to the reputation of Australian wine.

SHELF-LIFE ISSUES DRIVE NEED FOR COMMERCIAL STUDY

Aluminium beverage cans contain a protective barrier film that is applied to the inner surface of the can body and lid. This is typically a water-based epoxy coating, designed to keep the product from being in contact with the aluminium can surface. Compared with other beverages, such as beer and soft drinks, wine is a relatively aggressive matrix due to its low pH and the presence of sulfur dioxide (SO2). This means that a thicker barrier film is typically applied to cans that are destined to be filled with wines.

The extent of the shelf-life issues experienced by commercial canned wine products, however, made it clear that a better understanding of the chemical pathways involved in H2S formation in this format was required. With this in mind, the AWRI set up a commercial study to investigate the true extent of the problem in canned wines, identifying the key risk factors and to develop practical industry solutions. The study included a

IN BRIEF

■ Packaging wine in cans provides a range of benefits including convenience, value and appeal to younger consumers.

■ Some wines packaged in cans have been affected by ‘reductive’ characters, predominantly caused by hydrogen sulfide (H2S), shortening the effective shelf life and posing a risk to the ongoing success of this packaging format.

■ A series of trials were conducted to understand the importance of individual wine attributes in determining the risk of H2S formation in canned wine.

■ High concentrations of copper and chloride can lead to increased aluminium concentration and this accelerates the formation of H2S.

■ Use of a PVI/PVP co-polymer to remove copper and decrease the risk of aluminium migration from the can into the wine was found to be effective in delaying the onset of H2S production in canned wines.

■ Selecting wines that have lower risk factors for H2S formation is also important in minimising the risk of H2S formation and extending shelf life.

PO

consortium of wine producers and suppliers, based both in Australia and the USA.

A detailed series of trials were carefully designed to understand the importance of individual wine attributes on product shelf life and how these factors could be better controlled to mitigate the risk of H2S formation. Consortium members were asked to supply existing examples of commercial canned wines, as well as those that were earmarked for future release in this format, in order to understand the real-world impact.

BENCHMARKING OF COMMERCIAL CANNED WINES

Samples of 16 commercial canned wine products were monitored over a five-month period for concentrations of aluminium, free and total SO2 and H2S. The free SO2 concentrations in the wines were fairly typical for wine products that had been packaged within a six-month period (minimum 9mg/L, maximum 29mg/L, average 17mg/L).

Most of the wines experienced a significant increase in aluminium concentration postpackaging (Figure 1), despite the presence of the protective barrier film on the internal surface. This is not a problem that is unique to wine products; benchmarking of other canned beverages indicated that aluminium concentration increases can occur in other drinks, such as cider and kombucha.

Australian wines typically contain, on average, around 300µg/L and 700µg/L aluminium for red and white wines respectively (Wilkes 2018). Despite the increases in aluminium concentration seen in canned wine products during this study, none of the wines exhibited aluminium levels anywhere near the international limit of 8000µg/L, with concentrations well below levels considered to have negative health implications.

Scanning electron microscopy and subsequent x-ray analysis of sections taken from the body and lids of significantly affected commercial canned wines indicated evidence of pitting on the inner surfaces, providing a pathway for the migration of aluminium into the wine (Figure 2).

A review of the corrosion chemistry of aluminium indicated that the pH, copper and chloride concentration in certain media could lead to pitting in aluminium (oxide) surfaces. It is presumed that this corrosion chemistry is a driving force in the increases in aluminium concentration seen in commercial canned wines, despite the presence of the supposedly protective barrier film on the inner surface of the cans.

Figure 2. Evidence of pitting on the inner surface of the can lid for a commercial wine product: (left) low magnification image, showing multiple pitting sites; (right) high magnification image, showing close-up of pitting sites.

Aluminium in its elemental form (i.e. oxidation state of zero) is known to react with SO2 to form H2S. This provides a chemical pathway for H2S formation that does not exist in wines packaged in glass bottles. Trials at the AWRI have shown that aluminium ions (i.e. in salt form) do not contribute to the development of ‘reductive’ compounds, confirming the importance of the wine/aluminium metal interaction.

The canned commercial wines showed significant variation in the concentration of H2S over the five-month period (Figure 3), with some exhibiting levels significantly higher than the nominal aroma perception threshold (1.11.6µg/L). An informal sensory assessment of these commercial wines was also carried out after five months, with a number of the products exhibiting ‘rotten egg’, ‘sulfurous’, ‘vegetal’, ‘rubbery’, ‘garlic’ and ‘onion’ aromas, depending on the wine product matrix.

The potential impact of increased aluminium concentration on the quality of canned commercial wines was, unfortunately, difficult to predict. This was due to variations in can filling practices, variable headspace volume (ullage) in canning production runs and differences in wine attributes. It is also difficult to predict the potential release of free H2S in commercial wines during storage (irrespective of the packaging type), resulting in no direct correlation between aluminium concentration and H2S concentration.

UNDERSTANDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ‘REDUCTIVE’ COMPOUNDS

In order to better understand the role of the individual wine attributes in the development of H2S in canned wines, a series of benchscale experiments were set up in glass ampoules, using commercially-available wines and elevated temperatures to accelerate the resulting reactions. These experiments showed that:

• high copper concentration (>0.2mg/L) can lead to significant aluminium increases and speed up the formation of H2S, especially in a low oxygen concentration environment

• the presence of chloride at relatively high concentrations (>100mg/L) can increase aluminium concentration and, consequently, H2S concentration

• the presence of aluminium (metal) accelerates the formation of H2S levels

• the onset of H2S formation can be delayed if the copper concentration is significantly decreased, even when aluminium (metal) is present

• the impact of aluminium on H2S formation is lower when pH is higher and SO2 concentration is lower.

Concentration of H2S (µg/L)

Canned wine product

Figure 3. Concentration of H2S in 16 different commercial canned wine products (a to p) after five months. The aroma perception threshold range for H2S is 1.1-1.6µg/L (shown as a dotted line).

ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MITIGATION STRATEGIES FOR DECREASING H2S FORMATION

Based on this, a mitigation strategy targeting the removal of copper from the wine prior to canning was formulated. Through a series of bench-top trials, the most effective method identified involved the use of cross-linked (poly-vinyl imidazole/polyvinylpyrrolidone [PVI/PVP]) co-polymers to scavenge the copper species. These types of polymers are commonly used for the removal of heavy metals from wastewater and were approved for use as processing aids in Australian wine production in 2018.

Trials to assess these products involved the addition of co-polymers to wine samples at the supplier-recommended dose rates, with nitrogen gas used to purge the treatment vessel, both before and after filling. Samples were stirred for three hours before removal of the co-polymers using a 0.2µm regenerated cellulose filter. Analysis was carried out using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to determine the concentration of various metals in treated and untreated samples.

A detailed benchmarking trial incorporating a series of 38 commercial wines (19 red and 19 white wines) treated with two commercially-available PVI/PVP co-polymers highlighted the impact of the treatment on

copper concentration. Copper concentration decreases were in the order of ~60% and ~30% for white and red wines, respectively (Figure 4, see page 33). Both products showed high selectivity for divalent and trivalent metals (such as Fe2+ and Fe3+) in both wine types, including naturally-occurring levels of aluminium.

The treatment of wines with PVI/PVP co-polymers was shown to decrease the risk of the corrosion process occurring at the aluminium (oxide) surface and subsequent migration of aluminium into the wine after canning. To date, this appears to be the most effective method for delaying the onset of H2S production in most canned wines. This appears to be a particularly effective treatment as some of the copper removed is often bound to naturally-occurring sulfides, and its removal therefore decreases the residual pool of sulfides in the wine and the potential risk of their release at a later time.

EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF TREATMENT STRATEGIES ON CANNED WINE SHELF LIFE

A series of nine commercial wines provided by the consortium members were screened, treated with PVI/PVP and packaged using the AWRI’s small-scale packaging facility. Chemical and sensory analyses were then carried out over a six-month period for the candidate

wines (both treated and untreated). A sub-set of three of these wines was also packaged into cans with an alternate barrier film for comparative purposes.

This trial showed that the risk of reductive characters in canned wines can be minimised if wines with a low risk profile are pre-selected according to the known risk factors. This can be combined with treatment using a commercial cross-linked polymer prior to canning to decrease the risk of aluminium migration into the wines and the subsequent formation of H2S.

In general, the treated wines showed lower increases in aluminium and H2S during the six months after canning (Figure 5a) (Figure 5b, see page 34). Overall, resulting H2S concentrations were lower than seen in previous benchmarking studies on canned wines.

Sensory evaluation of these wines was carried out using the AWRI’s technical quality panel who assessed colour, aroma, flavour and evidence of any taint/fault. Each pair of wines (control vs treated) was assessed using a compare-and-contrast method. This evaluation showed comparable quality ratings for the control and treated wines, with no obvious taints or faults attributed to the PVI/PVP treatment process (Figure 6, see page 34).

FUTURE WORK

This body of work has highlighted that wine products are notoriously challenging to package into cans. Using cans with a thicker barrier film weight will decrease the risk of aluminium migration and subsequent formation of H2S, but it does not resolve the problem for all wines. Careful pre-selection of wines so that the risks from copper and chloride concentration, pH and SO2 levels are low, can decrease some of the risk of negative sensory outcomes with canned wines. When combined with the use of cross-linked polymers (to remove copper and any bound sulfides) these approaches have been shown to be effective tools in extending the shelf-life of canned wines.

During this study, a parallel body of work commenced to develop a simple laboratory test that can be used to assess the potential impact of different wines on aluminium migration from the inner can surface, and therefore predict likely issues with H2S formation. This involves the creation of aluminium coupons from the inner can surface and coating them with an inert polymer-based film prior to immersion in a test wine matrix at elevated temperature. Once this method has

Figure 4. Percentage decreases of copper concentration observed in white wine treated with four PVI/PVP cross-linked polymer products, relative to the original base wine concentration. Individual results for each wine are indicated by circles, and the mean result is shown by the X in each box. The boxes represent the spread from the first quartile to the third quartile of the data, with the horizontal line within the box representing the median value. The ‘whisker ’ lines above and/or below each box extend as far as the minimum and maximum values measured, excluding outliers.

Figure 5b. Changes in H2S concentration relative to the concentration at the time of canning in control and PVI/PVP-treated wines over 0-3 months and 3-6 months from canning.

been properly established, it will be validated prior to being made available commercially. The outcomes from the consortium study will shortly be published in a technical guideline document for industry practitioners. A high level summary is already available through the Wine Packaging Guideline document issued by Australian Grape and Wine Inc. (September 2022). Some of the recommendations delivered by this body of work have also been incorporated into the handbook ‘The Winemaker’s Guide to Wine in a Can’ (WineTech 2021).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Matched funding for this work was provided by Food Innovation Australia Limited, Industry Growth Centre for Food and Agribusiness. The AWRI’s communications are supported by Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers through their investment body Wine Australia, with matching funds from the Australian Government. The AWRI is a member of the Wine Innovation Cluster in Adelaide, South Australia. Ella Robinson and Marlize Bekker are thanked for their editorial assistance.

REFERENCES

Allison, R.B.; Sacks, G.L.; Bandic, L.M. Montgomery, A. and Goddard, J. (2020) Research focus: The chemistry of canned wine. Appellation Cornell. Available from: https://grapesandwine.cals. cornell.edu/sites/grapesandwine.cals.cornell.edu/ files/shared/images/Research%20Focus2020-1%20 Final.pdf

Global Canned Wines Market Report 2022: Increasing Demand by Millennials - Forecasts to 2027 – Research And Markets report. Available from: https://www.researchandmarkets.com/ reports/5415551/canned-wine-market-size-shareand-trends

IRI Market Edge Liquor Weighted Market, MAT to 06/02/22. Available from: https://www.iriworldwide. com/en-au/insights/publications/australian-liquortrends

Australian Grape and Wine Inc. Wine Packaging Guidelines (September 2022). Available from: https:// www.agw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ Packaging-Guidelines_Final-August-2022.pdf.

Wilkes, E. (2018) Metals in Australian wine. AWRI Technical Review 233: 5-9. Available from: https:// www.awri.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ Technical_Review_Issue_233_Wilkes.pdf

WineTech (2021) The Winemaker’s Guide to Wine in a Can.) Available from: https://www.awri. com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/winemakersguide-to-wine-in-a-can.pdf

Organic viticulture’s time to be more sustainable is nigh thanks to technological advancements

By Sonya Logan

Although there is an obvious overlap between organic and sustainable viticulture, the former is not necessarily sustainable. While being organic eliminates the use of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides — common goals in sustainable farming — the fact that more vehicle passes are often needed to manage weed control in particular somewhat offsets the objective of sustainability programs such as Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) of lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

However, the prospect of an everincreasing number of lightweight, batterypowered and unmanned vineyard machinery will soon address this, and at the same time make organic viticulture more economically sustainable.

Adelaide Hills-based Sidewood Estate achieved organic certification through NASAA for its winery vineyard, located just outside of the township of Nairne, at the end of 2021. Sidewood’s consulting winemaker Darryl Catlin explained the decision to seek certification signalled the winery’s desire to dip its toe into organic management, having already become members of the wine industry’s SWA program. One of four vineyards owned by the winery dotted throughout the Hills, the all-Shiraz plantings at the winery were prime candidates for this initial foray into organic management as the warmest of all the sites.

Catlin said little changed in the management of the vineyard during the in-conversion period due to existing SWA

accreditation, the main exception, not surprisingly, being weed management.

“We’ve always operated our vineyard sustainably. But we’ve also had minimal input where we can. That’s pretty well been applied since we had the vineyard. We’ve always used sheep in the vineyard, we’ve always tried to do things where we don’t have to run a mower over it or run an extra tractor pass,” Catlin explained.

With the move to organic certification, weeds went from being managed with the use of sheep and a single spray of herbicide under vines to requiring multiple passes with a tractor.

“The thing about being organic is that the alternatives at the moment are nowhere near as effective as conventional methods and they

Organic viticulture is a significant step towards sustainability however it’s not always sustainable, especially if more tractor passes are needed to control weeds. But advanced vineyard machinery should soon turn the tide.

Sidewood Estate’s consulting winemaker Darryl Catlin (left) with senior winemaker and site manager Henry Borchardt in the winery’s organic vineyard near Nairne in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills.

require a greater number of tractor passes. You have to use more diesel to be organic,” Catlin remarked.

But he was quick to add that technology advancements would soon see the tables turned.

“There’ll be a tipping point when machinery will be lightweight, they won’t use diesel, they’ll use solar power [and] they’ll be able to operate quietly and unmanned 24/7. That’s when I think everything will go organic. We don’t quite have those options yet, but the machines are coming that will enable those outcomes to be achieved, and then organic becomes sustainable.”

Catlin said innovations such as lightweight, electric tractors and unmanned precision machinery would also result in organic management becoming financially more sustainable as well as being better for the environment.

“I once had an argument with a German producer who told me that [going organic] totally make sense from a financial perspective. But over there you’re talking about vineyards that are on 10-degree slopes that you can only work by hand and the wines command $50 to $100 a bottle. And they have subsidised working conditions.

“The European Union subsidises the wages of vineyard workers [through its Common Agricultural Policy which provides subsidies to farmers]. When labour is cheap and you can command a certain price per bottle, then organics is achievable. It’s when you go into an Australian setting and the vineyards are large, the climate is cool and damp, you’ve got greater disease pressure, you can’t use humans to do the work and the mechanical means are not quite there yet that it becomes problematic.

“For a particular bottle of organic wine, you might only be able to get $25 or $30. That means you have to perform everything in the vineyard mechanically where you can.

“I think the first thing will be the evolution of the battery-powered tractor,” Catlin continued. “But I honestly think we need to move away from tractors which compact soils. If we can get something that’s more lightweight and can do multiple passes, that’s where we can really make some progress. It’s going to be baby steps but we’re on the road.

“People say organics is here and now and maybe it might be for certain industries. For viticulture, I don’t think we’re there yet

economically. But the tipping point is coming.”

David Babich, chief executive of Babich Wines, agreed with Catlin’s assessment that organic viticulture’s economic and environmental performance will be aided by advancements in machinery.

“It [organic viticulture] is really suited to mechanisation and if they can be battery operated, without a driver, and the machines can be quite small to get rid of compaction… You’ve got machines like vacuum cleaners that will vacuum-clean your house when you’re not there and you’ve got lawn mowers that’ll do your lawn. The beauty of vineyards is that there are waypoints at every post. So, you could run little machines down a row that can mow grass or cut weeds. And they could do it 24/7. But we don’t have that gear at the moment. I think it’s around the corner though and it will really suit organics, especially given the requirement for weed management,” David Babich said.

Babich Wines started its organic wine journey more than 15 years ago in Marlborough, achieving certification at the beginning of 2009 for its Headwaters vineyard which was planted three years earlier. Prior to that, in 1995, the company’s Irongate Vineyard was the first in New Zealand to be independently certified as sustainable by Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand.

Babich Wines owns 14 vineyards in total — one at its head office in Auckland, five in Hawke’s Bay and the remainder in Marlborough — totalling around 500 hectares of vines. And a portion of its Tetley Brook vineyard in Marlborough is also certified organic, which produced its first official organic crop in 2022, with a third vineyard due to produce its first certified vintage in 2024.

With an interest in sustainable viticulture dating back to the early 1990s, David Babich said he and his late uncle Joe Babich were “key drivers” in establishing the Headwaters vineyard on organic principles.

“I remember us talking in 2006 after we’d bought the land that we intended to plant to grapes in and Joe saying, ‘Why don’t we do this organically, we’ve talked about that for some time, here’s the opportunity?’ We agreed that if we wanted to know more about the process, the best way to do that is just to start doing it and learn on the job.

“We’d been operating in a sustainably certified manner for a long time,” David Babich continued. “We’d read a fair bit that said

organic grapes look after themselves, are better than conventionally-managed grapes as they have thicker skins and so on. But how do you optimise that? What’s the husbandry differences between that and conventional viticulture? And what are the commercial realities of both?

“We were also interested in bringing an organic product to market and we ended up bringing five or six to market because it wasn’t just Sauvignon Blanc; there was also Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Albarino, Gruner Veltliner and Chardonnay in the same vineyard.”

Babich said the Headwaters property had proven to be a suitable vineyard for organic viticulture, particularly as fruit tends to ripen early.

“What we typically find is that it’s our earliest vineyard. You want your organic stuff coming on early because later on in the season there’s greater frequency of rain. The vineyard is also low cropping. It’s on very stony soil. It’s actually an ancient riverbed so it’s a lot like the Gimlett Gravels which makes it low cropping, but it brings out a lot of flavour.”

David Babich said the company was surprised at just how well the grapes in the

Babich Wines chief executive David Babich

We’re

Headwaters vineyard had responded to being organic.

“The thicker skins and the resilience [to diseases]….We’ve had years that have been challenging weather wise, and the organic vineyard has stood up as well as the traditionally-operated vineyards that have had all the protection applied during bunch closure and so on. And they have not been collapsing like we might have suspected they would. So that’s been a very positive surprise,” he said.

Darryl Catlin admitted it was too early for Sidewood Estate to realise the full benefits of organic management at its winery vineyard.

“We’ve seen what we think are improvements in the vineyard. But I haven’t done any testing to confirm anything concrete. So far, it’s all been about looking at the fruit that’s coming in and tasting the wines. Anecdotally, I’ve seen the vines calm down a little bit, but some of our vineyards have probably been treated with a bit too much love and need a little bit more toughness brought into them.”

With Sidewood yet to bottle its organic Shiraz, Catlin said it was also too early to tell whether organic certification had “paid off” from a financial perspective. Although the wine will be bottled under an organic label, its pricing and distribution were still being finalised.

By virtue of being further down the road of their organic journey than Sidewood Estate, Babich Wines has had time to determine whether its endeavours have been worthwhile overall and is in no doubt it has. However, the financial benefits still remain unclear.

“Certification has certainly been worthwhile. For us it’s a small cost in the overall scheme of things, but I do accept it’s not that way for smaller guys. The smaller you are, the higher that cost in percentage terms. Over the 13-14 vintages we’ve produced organic fruit, plus the three years prior to certification while the vineyard was in conversion, I don’t know whether commercially organics has been a good deal for us or not. I haven’t added it up. For a while there we were making more organic wine than we were selling. I wouldn’t want to add up the premium that we were incurring to blend away what we weren’t selling. More recently, we’ve got a better balance. But we are pretty committed to it. It doesn’t all have to be financial benefits. It might just be you like having products that are more aligned with your values. We

have no intention of decreasing what we’re doing. In fact, we’re increasing what we’re doing organically and that might make the commercials easier. In for a penny, in for a pound,” Babich said.

However, Babich said it was unlikely the winery would seek organic certification for all its vineyards.

“We like the mix of having organic and conventional. If we could run our vineyards so that the organic vineyards cost the same as conventional we’d probably be more inclined to convert more vineyards to organic. But the reality is we’ve got a lot of wine to sell and we

grapes are ready to pick, you’ve got to pick them. You wouldn’t want 500 hectares needing to be picked tomorrow. So you’ve got that risk profile to consider.

“By 2024 we’ll have three organic vineyards. By then we’ll be able to see if the market is ready to accept that much organic wine and, if they are, then we will look at converting another vineyard or another block.”

can’t put all our wines in the ultra premium zone,” said Babich, alluding to the fact that the higher inputs required for organic viticulture necessitates that the wines be sold at a higher price than their conventional counterparts.

“And the market [in that higher price bracket] is too small for our volumes.

“If we could bring the cost down of organics, it’d be more compelling. But then you’ve also got to be mindful of risk management; you don’t necessarily want all of your eggs in one basket. Not that organics are going to fall over as far as consumers go. But if you had a very bad year, would the organic vineyard be okay? It might be

but you still have a lot of picking pressure. When organic

“We like the mix of having organic and conventional….If we could run our vineyards so that the organic vineyards cost the same as conventional we’d probably be more inclined to convert more vineyards to organic… But then you’ve also got to be mindful of risk management; you don’t necessarily want all of your eggs in one basket.”

- David Babich, Babich Wines

Babich Wines latest organic release onto the Australia market - the Babich Family Estates 2022 Marlborough Organic Rosé.

When asked about the hardest aspects of going organic, David Babich said providing a product at a competitive price was among the contenders.

“The cost of producing an organic wine is definitely higher. And the cost side is driven higher predominantly by weed management because you can’t use herbicides, the lower crop loads that you harvest by bringing the grapes in earlier, and the smaller grapevines generally because they haven’t had a bunch of fertiliser thrown at them. All that drives a higher cost of goods [than conventionallymanaged fruit] which is probably in the vicinity of 25-30% higher. You then have to put those higher costs in the context of where your wine sits in the marketplace.

“Using the Australian market as an example, if you’re north of $20 or $25 for a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, you’re probably accessing a pretty small part of the market. But if you can come in under $20, then I think that product would work there.

“The commercial reality is you have to access the mass market, not 2% of the market. You’ve probably got to try and access 25-30% of the market for Sauvignon Blanc and that might be in the $15 to $20 segment. Getting that right in each of the markets our organic products are in is important.”

The additional work involved in managing an organic vineyard was another challenge.

“The vineyard requires its own machinery — you can’t share it with other vineyards that are traditional. You’ve got to have good operators who can run cultivating machines without knocking over grapevines. You’ve got to run lower crops, you’ve got to leaf pluck a lot more to ensure the grapes dry out; there’s a lot of husbandry involved in it.”

This had been compounded in recent times due to a lack of labour, David Babich said.

“Right now there’s a shortage of labor and we’ve got labour-intensive vineyards. That doesn’t really help. But I think that’s a shortterm issue,” he said.

a factor that was exacerbated if there was a desire for the wines to be exported.

Although Sidewood’s production is heavily focused on the domestic market, export markets are increasingly being pursued, Catlin said, with wine currently shipped to the UK, US and Canada among other markets. Whether the organic Shiraz is ultimately exported remains to be seen, but if that move is made it will likely mean that additional requirements in some importing countries will need to be met before it can be sold as organic in those markets.

“The US is quite strict in terms of what organic means to them; sulfur dioxide can’t be added. That’s different from Japan and other countries. That’s probably the most frustrating thing about organic certification is that you have to pay extra to get someone to certify you to be in Europe or Japan or wherever. Different horses, different rules. It’s a really fragmented and uncoordinated system.”

David Babich said the biggest lesson his company had learned from its original foray into organic viticulture at Headwaters vineyard was to delay its implementation until the second year after planting.

Managing the compliance needed to achieve and maintain organic certification was another challenge, Babich said.

“There’s a lot of compliance running a winery anyway, like health and safety compliance. These days, we have someone who just manages compliance. And organic compliance is one of those compliance subsets. It fits into the bucket with all the other compliance matters.”

With 95% of its production exported to around 60 markets, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and China, meeting the specific requirements of some markets before its organically-labelled wine can be sold in them is another job for Babich’s compliance manager.

Darryl Catlin agreed that establishing compliance with organic standards was among the hardest aspects of certification —

“In our newer organic vineyard we’ve run it conventionally for the first year. What we’ve noticed with organic viticulture is there’s not a great deal of certified-organic ground fertiliser available. You can apply foliar sprays of organic fertiliser, but it’s hard to come up with a volume of organic product that you’d put onto the ground for the plants to call upon. So, the plantings end up being smaller; you don’t get them up big and fast which is what would happen in a traditional vineyard where you can pour a bunch of superphosphate on it and get it revving.

“One of the issues that vines are faced with if you run them organically from day one of planting is the weed competition really sets them back. And the weeds are hard to control because you’ve got to cultivate them while you’ve got these little plants in the ground that can get whacked by the cultivator.

“What we’ve done is we get the vines up to the wire in year one traditionally and then we convert. Once they’re up to the wire, there’s a bit more wood on the vine. And we tend to stake them as well so there’s something for the cultivator to bounce off and go around the plant. So, it turns into a four-year conversion period instead of three.”

Babich Wines started its organic wine journey more than 15 years ago in Marlborough, pursuing BioGro certification for its Headwaters vineyard. The winery now produces seven organic and vegan certified, with its number of certified-organic hectares set to expand by 50 per cent by 2024, at which point Babich Wines will have three certified vineyards.

“The thing about being organic is that the alternatives at the moment are nowhere near as effective as conventional methods and they require a greater number of tractor passes. You have to use more diesel to be organic.”

- Darryl Catlin, Sidewood Estate

Can climate change impact Pinot Noir in South Australia? And what can we do about it?

By Gavin Duley1,2,* and Emanuele Boselli2

While previous studies conducted in Australia on the impact of climate change on wine quality have taken place on relatively flat sites in warmer regions, this study took place in a cool-climate Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir vineyard. It provides some insight into the potential impact of climate change on winegrape quality from steeply sloping sites on a variety that is well-known for its sensitivity to heat.

INTRODUCTION

Climate change has become an increasingly urgent issue, with bushfires and droughts becoming increasingly common across the world over the past few years. This obviously has the potential to impact viticulture, and indeed viticulturists have been among the first to notice the impact on their crops (Jones et al. 2005, Sadras & Soar 2009, Sadras & Moran 2012).

Our research focused on the impact on Vitis vinifera Pinot Noir berry and wine quality, in part due to the importance of the grape to the wine industry in cooler regions of Australia such as the Adelaide Hills, and in part due to its well-known sensitivity to hot climates. The study examined wine colour in particular as this is often used as a proxy for wine quality by both consumers and critics. The importance of colour for Pinot Noir wine quality is debatable, however, and this attitude is slowly changing (Goode 2015, Merkytė et al. 2020).

It is critical that the wine industry has an understanding of how climate change will impact wine quality. Previous studies have

been undertaken, but most previous studies have been conducted in greenhouses (Kliewer 1970, Kliewer & Torres 1972) or on flatter sites in warmer regions (including work by my co-supervisor Victor Sadras) (Sadras & Soar 2009, Sadras & Moran 2012). This study examined Pinot Noir in a cooler, steeply sloping site using the in-situ over-the-vine heating equipment described in Sadras and Soar (2009). It was originally published as Duley (2021).

Unlike previous similar studies, such as Sadras & Soar (2009) or Sadras & Moran (2012), this study was conducted on a hilly site in a cool climate region. This provides some insight into the potential impact of climate change on such premium wine regions, and on the impact of steeply sloping sites on wine quality.

In addition, we have more recently started work on a research project looking at tailoring winemaking methods for disease-resistant hybrid grape cultivars. We will discuss these briefly in the discussion section, since these cultivars are often more tolerant of climate

IN BRIEF

■ The potential impact of climate change on a premium cool climate wine region was examined.

■ Warmer temperatures will lead to a breakdown in the link between sugar and anthocyanin accumulation, and will impact the colour of berries and wines.

■ Such impacts are very site specific, and differences in colour and phenolics were noted due to small-scale differences in terroir factors such as climate, soil, and aspect.

■ Suggestions are made for potential adaptions to climate change, including the use of disease resistant hybrid grape cultivars.

1School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Waite Campus, The University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, South Australia

2Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, 39100 Bozen-Bolzano, Italy

*Current address: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, 39100 Bozen-Bolzano, Italy

C

Figure 1. a) Passive heating panels set up in the Lenswood vineyard, 29 August 2013, showing top of slope. b) Passive heating panels set up in the Lenswood vineyard, 6 February 2014, showing the canopy in relation to the heating panels. c) TinyTag sensor inside weather-proof housing, showing its location immediately beneath the canopy, 12 November 2013. Source: Duley (2021).

extremes and thus could potentially form part of the industry’s response to climate change. They have also enabled the expansion of vineyards into colder regions, including parts of Scandinavia. While such cultivars have had a poor reputation for quality, much work has been done over past decades and many of the newer cultivars are capable of producing relatively high-quality wines.

METHODS

Vineyard trial

The vineyard site where the study was conducted was an irrigated, commercial vineyard site owned and managed by Henschke near Lenswood, South Australia. The trial plot was set up in Vitis vinifera Pinot Noir clone D5V12 vines planted on a northeast facing slope at 536 metres above sea level. The soil is a sandy loam over light sandy clay, which is overlying silt and mudstone with quartz inclusions. The soil is free draining with low moisture retention, and is high in iron and copper. The soil depth varies from the top to the bottom of the slope, but is 1.5m deep on average (C. Markby 2021, pers. comm.).

The climate is mild by Australian standards, with an average low of 4.2°C and an average high of 26.1°C across the growing season (October-February), and temperatures from 6.0°C to 30.6°C throughout the year (Australian Bureau of Meteorology weather station 023801; note that daily temperature recordings ceased in 1999). The study was carried out over the course of two growing seasons (October 2013-February 2014 and October 2014-February 2015). Poor weather conditions in the 2014 harvest led to low yields and uneven ripening, which complicated the interpretation of results.

The experiment used a passive, overthe-vine heating system devised by Sadras and Soar (2009), which are effectively small passively heated greenhouse-like chambers that surround the vines (Figure 1 a and b). These increased the day-time air temperature, but had minimal impact on the night-time temperatures. Grape clusters were located above the chambers, but experienced the air-heating effects caused by the chambers. These were set up to cover

treatments of six vines, with a gap of one row of vines between the treatments. Controls were six vines in a row without heating chambers. Temperature and relative humidity were logged every 15 minutes using TinyTag sensors (Figure 1 c).

Winemaking

The poor harvest meant that winemaking was not possible in the first year. Grapes were harvested from all heated treatments and controls at between 24 and 25°Brix. Winemaking was carried out using 1.5 litre Bodum French Press coffee plungers, as per Dambergs et al. (2012) and on the advice of T. Licciolo (2014, pers. comm.). Each heated treatment or control was split into three 1.3 kilogram replicate ferments, 50 parts per million of potassium metabisulfite was added, the berries crushed manually in plastic bags, and the ferments inoculated with 0.5 grams/L of EC1118 yeast. The wines were pressed when less than 1g/L of sugar remained using the coffee pot plunger, bottled and allowed to settle, then rebottled with a further 50ppm of potassium metabisulfite.

Vineyard

Analyses

Berries were sampled regularly over the course of the maturation period, and measured for total soluble solids (TSS), pH and titratable acidity (TA). Anthocyanins and total phenolics were measured via spectrophotometry using a modified version of the Iland technique (Iland et al. 1996, 2004), and colour was quantified using CIELab via spectrophotometry.

Wines were analysed using Somers Analysis to determine total phenolics, total anthocyanins and colour density (Somers 1971, Somers & Evans 1977, 1977, Mercurio et al. 2007). Colour was again assessed using CIELab via spectrophotometry (Ohno 2000, Liang et al. 2011).

Statistical analyses were carried out using GNU R, SAS StatView (SAS, Cary, NC, USA), and Microsoft Excel.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This study demonstrated that the passive heating system worked effectively in a steeply sloping vineyard. There were interactions between the location on the slope and the thermal regimes. The seasonal average temperatures differed by 1.6°C at the top of the slope, and 0.2-0.4°C in the middle and bottom of the slope. The differences in seasonal maximum temperature differed by 9.8°C at the top of the slope, 18.9°C in the middle and 13.3°C at the base of the slope. These differences are similar to projections for climate change in Australia (Hughes 2003, Hallett et al. 2018). Consequently, the heated treatments ripened ahead of the control treatments, as was expected (except for the base of the slope in 2014). There were also differences due to the location on the slope, which will be discussed later in the article.

The data from both seasons on grape traits and TSS were pooled and analysed. The relationship between TSS and berry anthocyanins was of particular interest (Figure 2). Similarly to the results described by Sadras and Moran (2012), there appeared to be a lag phase followed by a linear phase in which TSS and anthocyanins increase roughly in parallel, with a break point at 10.6 ±0.7°Brix. Most critically, however, the heated treatment had a lower level of anthocyanins for the same level of TSS than the control. This suggests that warmer temperatures had broken the link between sugar and anthocyanin accumulation.

Differences between the heated

Figure 2. Scattergraph of bilinear model of total soluble solids (TSS) versus colour. The blue solid line is the piecewise regression, and the blue dotted line shows a bilinear model with the break point at 10.56 ±0.6705 °Brix. Source: Duley (2021)

treatment and control were visible during grape development, with the heated control experiencing véraison earlier than the controls: véraison occurred on approximately 8 January in the heated treatment and approximately 22 January in the unheated control (see the photos in the supplementary materials to Duley (2021)). As noted earlier, the heated treatments were quicker to ripen and to achieve the target sugar levels. This is critical, because the elevated temperatures created by the heating panels in this study are likely to be seen in Pinot Noir growing regions across Australia and globally. It suggests that the wine industry will need to find solutions to the dual issue of increasing sugar levels and poorer colour in Pinot Noir grapes and wines. Possibilities include changes to viticultural and oenological methods (van Leeuwen et al. 2013) or expansion into regions previously considered too cold for red wine production (including higher altitude areas). It is also possible that consumer preferences may adapt to favour the styles of wine produced under climate change conditions (van Leeuwen et al. 2013).

However, the differences observed were somewhat less clearcut in the experimental wines produced in the 2015 season. Wine colour was measured using CIELab (Figure 3, see page 44), and the lightness (L*) parameter was significantly different between levels on the slope, with the middle of the slope producing wines that were somewhat

lighter than the top or base, but not between the heated treatment and control. However, wines from the heated treatment were redder (higher a*) and more blue (lower b*) than the unheated control wines. Wines did not vary in a* based on location on the slope, but were more blue (higher b*) at the top of the slope, with b* increasing going up the slope. Thus, it seemed that wines from the heated treatments would be bluer and redder (i.e., more purple) than wines from the unheated controls, but that they would not necessarily be lighter — in contrast to the results expected based on berry analysis.

The Somers analysis data was influenced by both the treatments and the location on the slope. The heated treatment showed higher levels of total phenolics and total anthocyanins but were lower in colour density than the unheated controls. The effect of the location on the slope was greater than that of the treatments, however. The base of the slope showed the highest level of total anthocyanins and total phenolics, followed by the top, with the middle of the slope showing the lowest levels. Colour density was highest at the top and base of the slope.

The importance of phenolic compounds, such as tannins and colour compounds, for wine quality has long been noted (Dambergs et al. 2012). Colour is an important factor for determining consumer acceptance of a wine (Parpinello et al. 2009, Dambergs et al. 2012), and it has been suggested

Figure 3. Top row: Effects of the location on the slope on wine versus CIELab colour parameters; Bottom row: Effects of passive heating treatments and control treatments versus colour parameters. Significant differences were observed with heating for CIELab parameters a* and b*, and with slope position for b*. Three readings were averaged for each sample from three replicate ferments (n = 3). Error bars show +/-1 standard error of the mean. Source: Duley (2021)

previously that cool climates favour colour development in red winegrapes such as Pinot Noir (Kliewer 1970, Kliewer & Torres 1972, Yamane et al. 2006, Mori et al. 2007, Sadras

& Moran 2012). This study observed the same decoupling of sugars and anthocyanins in cool-climate Pinot Noir that had previously been observed in warm-climate Cabernet

Franc and Shiraz (Sadras & Moran 2012). Differences in wine composition only partly reflect differences in berry composition (Bindon et al. 2008, Bonada et al. 2015). That

Broadcast on Daily Wine News, social media and more!

Adding to your staff?

the wines produced in the heated treatments were more purple (redder and bluer) than the wines produced from the unheated controls might be explained by the higher levels of total phenolics found in the heated treatments. Such changes in wine colour may be likely under climate change scenarios (Hughes 2003, Hallett et al. 2018). Bonada et al (2015) also found that wines from heated treatments were redder, but in their study the wines were more yellow (less blue) and darker than the unheated control. In both cases, these colour differences may be due to differences in tannin levels. Boulton (2001) observed that studies on co-pigmentation had found that tannin additions could shift wine colour towards blue, which would agree with the findings of this study. The cause of the differences in total phenolics is harder to explain, since total phenolics are likely more influenced by solar radiation than by temperature (Nicholas et al. 2011, Song et al. 2015). However, Nicholas et al. (2011) found that vineyards that had experienced cooler temperatures during the previous autumn produced wines with higher levels of total phenolics, which suggests that the relationship between soil and air temperature are more complex than currently understood.

Of interest was some observations regarding differences due to the location on the slope. Differences in ripening had been already observed by the vineyard management team (C. Markby 2021, pers. comm.), and was confirmed by this study. In the 2015 season, the control vines were harvested seven days ahead of the control vines at the base of the slope and two days ahead of the vines in the middle of the slope, and this same pattern was also observed in the heated treatments.

This suggests that the warm air (including warm air generated in the heating panels) was transported up the hill and may draw cooler air into the bottom or middle sections. This demonstrates the natural warming effect of sloping sites. The warming effect of sloping sites has long been known by vignerons, but there has been little study of this effect in the scientific literature, though it is discussed in Gladstones (2011) and Gladstones (1992). Such sites are generally chosen for their resistance to frost and their direction towards sunlight (e.g., north-facing in the southern hemisphere). However, it is also suggested that other factors as well as temperature

would change with location on the slope, such as UV levels and soil depth. This study was not able to measure these directly, but such factors may be of interest to future studies in intra-vineyard terroir variability. While this was, in essence, an incidental finding of the study, it is interesting and certainly warrants further formal study.

It has long been known that differences in vineyard site, including differences within a particular vineyard, can influence wine quality and character (van Leeuwen et al. 2004, Van Leeuwen & Seguin 2006, Hong 2011, Nicholas et al. 2011, de Andrade et al. 2013, RoullierGall et al. 2014, Roullier-Gall et al. 2014). Both the wine CIELab and Somers data show that site, including the related minor differences in temperature, may be highly important to determining wine colour and phenolic contents.

IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE

While viticulture faces challenges due to climate change, there are a number of possible responses that could help to ameliorate these problems. From this study, it seems likely that climate change will affect wine quality and character, and that these impacts will be highly site dependent. Such changes may influence consumer acceptance of the wines, though this was beyond the scope of the study. Consequently, this article will suggest some potential adaptations that might be useful under the kind of climate change scenarios modelled by the Lenswood-based heating chamber study. Such suggestions are necessarily somewhat speculative but are based on existing research. These suggestions are separate from the heating chamber study but complement it.

Such adaptions include planting in cooler climate regions, such as at higher altitude or further south (southern hemisphere)/north (northern hemisphere). These options have been explored in new viticultural regions as diverse as Sweden, the UK and Hokkaido, Japan. Equally, many regions have explored the use of heat and drought tolerant cultivars from hotter regions of Italy, Spain and Greece, such as Assyrtiko and Nero d’Avola. Neither would be suitable analogues for Pinot Noir, however, but other cultivars that may appeal to Pinot Noir enthusiasts such as Nebbiolo, Nerello Mascalese and Xinomavro could be trialled. New viticultural methods can also

allow for the continued use of traditional varieties in premium regions, and grapevines have anecdotally been observed to be able to acclimatise to hotter climates to some extent. Another possible adaptation that may suit some winegrowers is the use of disease-resistant hybrid grape cultivars (DRHGCs). Modern DRHGCs, sometimes called PIWI grapes (from the German ‘pilzwiderstandsfähige rebsorten’, i.e., ‘fungus resistant grape varieties’), have been bred to avoid many of the problems that plagued earlier DRHGCs (Salmon et al. 2018, González-Centeno et al. 2019, Bavaresco & Squeri 2022). Many such cultivars have been bred to tolerate extreme climates, albeit currently mostly extreme cold climates. There is potential in the future to breed DRHGCs using drought-tolerant species such as Vitis cinerea (Engelm.) Millardet that are more tolerant of hotter climatic conditions (Catling & Mitrow 2005, Poudel et al. 2009); there is also potential for breeding within Vitis vinifera, particularly using autochthonous cultivars from hotter regions. It is also worth noting that climate change will likely lead to environmental conditions in some regions that favour the development of pathogens (including fungal diseases), such as increased humidity (Töpfer & Trapp 2022). This may necessitate two or more additional sprays per season, which could increase costs by 20-50%. The use of DRHGCs may alleviate the need for excessive use of pesticides in response (Francesca et al. 2006). The latter point is of economic significance for grapegrowers, particularly when producing grapes for value wines.

Nonetheless, many DRHGCs have unusual chemical compositions, and this can affect wine quality and character in undesirable ways (Martinson & Sacks 2019). Future research will focus on winemaking methods that optimise the production of high quality wines from DRHGCs and minimise the impact of such undesirable characters. Much work has already been done, and some methods have been suggested that have potential to produce high quality wines from DRHGCs (Teissedre 2018). Nonetheless, problems remain. In particular, DRHGCs are often low in tannins and high in proteins. The high proteins means that tannins, including exogenous tannins, precipitate rapidly out of the must, and the resultant wines lack astringency (Martinson & Sacks 2019). New winemaking techniques

could address problems such as this and ensure that DRHGCs have a place as part of the response to climate change.

Ultimately, producers of both classical Vitis vinifera and DRHGCs will need to find appropriate responses to mitigate the increasing issues brought by climate change. Responses that are sensitive to vineyard site, cultivar and climate will likely be necessary.

SUMMARY

The study found that the increased temperatures considered likely under most climate change scenarios would influence berry and wine quality in cool-climate Pinot Noir. As per Sadras & Moran (2012), it was found that the higher temperatures broke the link between colour and sugar accumulation in berries, and that berries were lighter in colour under warmer conditions. This did not entirely carry through to the wines produced from the heated treatment grapes, which were not noticeably lighter in colour, but were more purple in colour. The steeply sloping nature of the vineyard site used for the

study, representative of many such premium vineyards in hilly regions, also allowed for some interesting observations regarding the impact of steep slopes on grape and wine character. This also emphasised the fact that any impacts on grape and wine quality will likely be very site specific.

Our current research focus has shifted to the use of DRHGCs for sustainable viticulture, with particular emphasis on the novel winemaking methods that will be required to best suit the unique chemistry of these cultivars. DRHGCs offer a potential tool for adaptation to climate change. Their disease resistance will be invaluable as climate change increases the incidence of disease in vineyards. Additionally, DRHGCs can be bred that are able to better tolerate the warmer climatic conditions expected under climate change. Other potential adaptions exist, including growing more heat tolerant Vitis vinifera cultivars and adapting viticultural methods to deal with the hotter climate, as well as shifting to cooler regions.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Henschke, particularly Prue Henschke and Craig Markby, for allowing use of their vineyard for my experimental setup. Thanks also to my supervisors Professor Dennis Taylor at the University of Adelaide and Dr Victor Sadras at SARDI. At the University of Adelaide, I should also thank Dr. Cassandra Collins, Dr. Roberta De Bei, Luciano Caravia Bayer, Ben Pike, Phillip Earl and Jeff Borges, and at SARDI I should also thank Dr. Martin Moran. Funding for the project was received from a University of Adelaide scholarship and Wine Australia.

REFERENCES

de Andrade, R.H.S.; do Nascimento, L.S.; Pereira, G.E.; Hallwass, F. and Paim, A.P.S. (2013) Anthocyanic composition of Brazilian red wines and use of HPLC-UV-Vis associated to chemometrics to distinguish wines from different regions. Microchemical Journal 110: 256-262.

Bavaresco, L. and Squeri, C. (2022) Outlook on disease resistant grapevine varieties. BIO Web Conf. 44:06001.

Bindon, K.; Dry, P. and Loveys, B. (2008) Influence of partial rootzone drying on the composition and accumulation of anthocyanins in grape berries (Vitis vinifera cv. Cabernet Sauvignon). Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 14:91-103.

Bonada, M.; Jeffery, D.W.; Petrie, P.R.; Moran, M.A. and Sadras, V.O. (2015) Impact of elevated temperature and water deficit on the chemical and sensory profiles of Barossa Shiraz grapes and wines. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 21:240-253.

Boulton, R. (2001) The copigmentation of anthocyanins and its role in the color of red wine: a critical review. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 52:67-87.

Catling, P.M. and Mitrow, G. (2005) The dune race of Vitis riparia in Ontario: Taxonomy, conservation and biogeography. Can. J. Plant Sci. 85:407-415.

Dambergs, R.G.; Sparrow, A.; Carew, A.L.; Scrimgeour, N.; Wilkes, E.; Godden, P.; Herderich, M. and Johnson, D. (2012) Quality in a cool climate — maceration techniques in Pinot Noir production. Wine and Viticulture Journal 27.

Duley, G.P. (2021) The impact of temperature on Pinot Noir berry and wine quality in a steeply sloping cool climate vineyard in South Australia. Vitis 60:169178.

Francesca, S.; Simona, G.; Francesco Nicola, T.; Andrea, R.; Vittorio, R.; Federico, S.; Cynthia, R. and Maria Lodovica, G. (2006) Downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola ) epidemics on grapevine under climate change: grape disease under climate change. Global Change Biology 12:1299-1307.

Gladstones, J. (1992) Viticulture and environment. Winetitles, Underdale, South Australia.

Gladstones, J.S. (2011) Wine, Terroir and Climate Change. Wakefield Press, Kent Town, South Australia, Australia.

González-Centeno, M.R.; Chira, K.; Miramont, C.; Escudier, J.-L.; Samson, A.; Salmon, J.-M.; Ojeda, H. and Teissedre, P.-L. (2019) Disease resistant bouquet vine varieties: assessment of the phenolic, aromatic, and sensory potential of their wines. Biomolecules 9:793.

Goode, J. (2015) The rise of the lighter-coloured red wine. Jamie Goode’s Wine Blog.

Hallett, C.S.; Hobday, A.J.; Tweedley, J.R.; Thompson, P.A.; McMahon, K. and Valesini, F.J. (2018) Observed and predicted impacts of climate change on the estuaries of south-western Australia, a Mediterranean climate region. Reg Environ Change 18:1357-1373.

Hong, Y.-S. (2011) NMR-based metabolomics in wine science: NMR in wine science. Magn. Reson. Chem. 49:S13-S21.

Hughes, L. (2003) Climate change and Australia: Trends, projections and impacts. Austral Ecology 28:423-443.

Iland, P.G.; Bruer, N.; Edwards, G.; Weeks, S. and Wilkes, E. (2004) Chemical Analysis of Grapes and Wine: Techniques and Concepts. Patrick Iland Wine Promotions, Campbelltown, SA, Australia.

Iland, P.G.; Cynkar, W.; Francis, I.L.; Williams, P.J. and Coombe, B.G. (1996) Optimisation of methods for the determination of total and red-free glycosyl glucose in black grape berries of Vitis vinifera. Aust J Grape Wine Res 2:171-178.

Jones, G.V.; White, M.A.; Cooper, O.R. and Storchmann, K. (2005) Climate change and global wine quality. Climatic Change 73:319-343.

Kliewer, W.M. (1970) Effect of day temperature and light intensity on colouration of Vitis vinifera L. Grapes. Journal of the American Society for Horicultural Science 95:693-697.

Kliewer, W.M. and Torres, R.E. (1972) Effect of controlled day and night temperatures on grape colouration. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 23, 71–77.

van Leeuwen, C.; Friant, P.; Choné, X.; Tregoat, O.; Koundouras, S. and Dubourdieu, D. (2004) Influence of climate, soil, and cultivar on terroir. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 55:207217.

van Leeuwen, C.; Schultz, H.R.; Garcia de Cortazar-Atauri, I.; Duchêne, E.; Ollat, N.; Pieri, P.; Bois, B.; Goutouly, J.-P.; Quénol, H.; Touzard, J.-M.; Malheiro, A.C.; Bavaresco, L. and Delrot, S. (2013) Why climate change will not dramatically decrease viticultural suitability in main wine-producing areas by 2050. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110:E3051-E3052.

Liang, Z.; Sang, M.; Fan, P.; Wu, B.; Wang, L.; Yang, S. and Li, S. (2011) CIELAB coordinates in response to berry skin anthocyanins and their composition in Vitis. Journal of Food Science 76:C490-C497.

Martinson, T. and Sacks, G.L. (2019) Flavor Challenges of Breeding Disease-Resistant Grapes Using North American Vitis spp. Appellation Cornell Research Focus 2019-4.

Mercurio, M.D.; Dambergs, R.G.; Herderich, M.J. and Smith, P.A. (2007) High throughput analysis of red wine and grape phenolics: adaptation and validation of methyl cellulose precipitable tannin assay and modified Somers color assay to a Rapid 96 Well Plate Format. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55:4651-4657.

Merkytė, V.; De Matos, A.D.; Longo, E.; Betnga, P.T. and Boselli, E. (2020) Cyclic proanthocyanidins in Pinot Noir wine. Italian Journal of Food Science 32.

Mori, K.; Goto-Yamamoto, N.; Kitayama, M. and Hashizume, K. (2007) Loss of anthocyanins in red-wine grape under high temperature. Journal of Experimental Botany 58:1935-1945.

Nicholas, K.A.; Matthews, M.A.; Lobell, D.B.; Willits, N.H. and Field, C.B.,(2011) Effect of vineyardscale climate variability on Pinot Noir phenolic composition. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 151:1556-1567.

Ohno, Y. (2000) CIE fundamentals for color measurements. Presented at the NIP & Digital Fabrication Conference, Society for Imaging Science and Technology, pp. 540–545.

Parpinello, G.P.; Versari, A.; Chinnici, F. and

Galassi, S. (2009) Relationship among sensory descriptors, consumer preference and color parameters of Italian Novello red wines. Food Research International 42:1389-1395.

Poudel, P.R.; Mochioka, R.; Beppu, K. and Kataoka, I. (2009) Influence of temperature on berry composition of interspecific hybrid wine grape Kadainou R-1 (Vitis ficifolia var. ganebu × V. vinifera ‘Muscat of Alexandria’). J. Japan. Soc. Hort. Sci. 78:169-174.

Roullier-Gall, C.; Boutegrabet, L.; Gougeon, R.D. and Schmitt-Kopplin, P. (2014) A grape and wine chemodiversity comparison of different appellations in Burgundy: Vintage vs terroir effects. Food Chemistry 152:100-107.

Roullier-Gall, C.; Lucio, M.; Noret, L.; SchmittKopplin, P. and Gougeon, R.D. (2014) How subtle is the ‘terroir’ rffect? Chemistry-related signatures of two ‘Climats de Bourgogne’. PLoS ONE 9: e97615.

Sadras, V.O. and Moran, M.A. (2012) Elevated temperature decouples anthocyanins and sugars in berries of Shiraz and Cabernet Franc: Thermal decoupling of anthocyanins and sugars. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 18:115-122.

Sadras, V.O. and Soar, C.J. (2009) Shiraz vines maintain yield in response to a 2-4°C increase in maximum temperature using an open-top heating system at key phenostages. European Journal of Agronomy 31:250-258.

Salmon, J.-M.; Ojeda, H. and Escudier, J.-L. (2018) Disease resistant grapevine varieties and quality: the case of Bouquet varieties. OENO One 52:225-230.

Somers, T.C. (1971) The polymeric nature of wine pigments. Phytochemistry 10:2175-2186.

Somers, T.C. and Evans, M.E. (1977) Spectral evaluation of young red wines: Anthocyanin equilibria, total phenolics, free and molecular SO2, ‘chemical age’. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 28:279-287.

Song, J.; Smart, R.; Wang, H.; Dambergs, R.G.; Sparrow, A. and Qian, M.C. (2015) Effect of grape bunch sunlight exposure and UV radiation on phenolics and volatile composition of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Pinot noir wine. Food Chemistry 173:424-431.

Teissedre, P.-L. (2018) Composition of grape and wine from resistant vines varieties. OENO One 52:211-217.

Töpfer, R. and Trapp, O. (2022) A cool climate perspective on grapevine breeding: climate change and sustainability are driving forces for changing varieties in a traditional market. Theor Appl Genet.

Van Leeuwen, C. and Seguin, G. (2006) The concept of terroir in viticulture. Journal of Wine Research 17:1-10.

Yamane, T.; Jeong, S.T.; Goto-Yamamoto; N., Koshita, Y. and Kobayashi, S. (2006) Effects of Temperature on Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Grape Berry Skins 6.

Artificial Intelligence and yield in viticulture Pathway to digital transformation

By Justine Cohen1* and Dr. Calanit Bar-Am2#

Artificial Intelligence (AI) yield prediction is a new field that combines viticulture and data science with machine learning to present a yield prediction. Yield prediction has evolved from yield assessment to yield forecasts. Wine enterprises utilise yield forecasts generated using database or spreadsheetbased modelling of phenological and empiric data. The motivation for understanding yield outcomes is to reduce uncertainty and increase operational efficiency through the wine business ecosystem.

Cloud-based processing power and big data, combined with the machine learning of AI, have enabled the field of artificial intelligence yield prediction to evolve. Digital transformation of wine businesses through the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI will be a necessity to survive in the digital future. Supply chains optimised by artificial intelligence will assist in achieving sustainability goals through reductions in resource use and increased efficiencies.

Significant real and perceived constraints to AI adoption have emerged, evidenced through the low rate of adoption in the Australian wine industry. This is despite the opportunity and availability of various AI-powered platforms, including pre-trained options. The digitised and artificial intelligencebased vertically integrated wine supply chain of the future will utilise AI in all aspects of its supply chain. The focus of this article will be on the application and adoption of AI yield prediction in viticulture.

Yield outcomes over time have evolved from assessments to forecasts and, now, to prediction. A yield estimation comprises small-scale based observations of grapevine phenology and physiology at key points during the growing season, combined with empirical

experience of viticultural techniques and levers.

Yield assessment does not require the processing of robust and comprehensive data, whereas both yield forecasts and yield predictions do. Assessment is insufficient and inefficient in today’s operating environment. The imprecision of assessment leads to many uncertainties, thereby increasing risk. Yield forecasts address this imprecision and risk with statistical modelling of multiple sets of data.

Yield forecasts require robust, site-specific yield assessment comprising a low number of well understood indicators that can be clearly analysed and modelled (Laurent et al. 2021) These datasets include yield assessment data; operational data including pre-season determinations on yield such as quality requirements, vine nutrition and irrigation; data on external constraints such as weather; and temporal data for historical comparison and statistical validity. The higher the accuracy required, the greater the inputs required. This time and resource-consuming process has a cost payoff that depends on a sizable scale of economies. This is due to the large datasets required for yield modelling and the skilled labour resources involved in producing reliable results (Arab et al. 2021). A yield forecast and a yield prediction differ because a forecast is a range of values, whereas a prediction is a single expected value (Laurent et al. 2021)

AI yield prediction’s single yield value outcome is reached by using machine learning (ML) processes and deep neural network models applied to big data (Abbaszadeh et al. 2022). In this scenario, big data required for AI yield prediction is organised data analytics engineered from all available datasets connected to yield outcomes in viticulture, plus outcomes in the subject vineyard. The big data

¹Australasian program manager ²Chief Operating Officer Trellis AI

originates from legacy yield forecast data, real yield measurement data, phenological data, and extraneous datasets such as weather. This data is used to develop algorithms. A collection of algorithms underpins an AI model.

Within a sizeable viticultural AI model are crowd data algorithms from multiple sources and regions. The machine learning process uses ‘clever’ algorithms that adapt from patterns in big data, continually updating the AI yield prediction as new input data is received (Sirsat et al. 2019). This is how machine learning improves AI yield predictions over time. The large data stores required for IoT data and predictive analyses are cloudbased storages called ‘data lakes’. To manage this data to its best advantage requires clouddatabase administrators, data engineers for data ingestion into data lakes and pipeline configuration into data warehouses, with data analysts to design meaningful business analytics (Microsoft 2021). Further processing prior to data ingestion is required when output from providers is in flat file format, that is .csvbased files.

The detailed construct of AI algorithms, AI models and deep learning (DL) is outside the scope of this article. Microsoft posts that describe the structures, setup and data science of AI start-ups on its Azure platform are located on the company’s blog, including a vine-to-wine platform (Svarzenberg 2022). A viticulture-based journal article is the 2021 review evaluating AI learning algorithms and model types, together with big data sources in Viti-viniculture (Newlands 2021). An Agri-food Experiment Ontology (Muljarto et al. 2017) resource description framework is then applied to construct a vineyard value-chain with data sources and data export paths. A cloud-data based AI interpretation of this construct is shown in Figure 1.

The authors describe the application and adoption of artificial intelligence to predict winegrape yields.

Digital transformation of vineyards starts with connected solutions of networked IoT. Data from IoT in the vineyards contributes to yield forecasts, assists with reducing vineyard uncertainties, and maintain optimum vineyard health. If IoT data is uploaded to a predictive AI platform, it can assist with training an AI algorithm by increasing the number of patterns in the data to improve a yield prediction. IoT examples include proximal sensing using computer vision that assesses yield through regression analysis of calibrated yield per vine segment.

An Australian study, using bunch numbers for approximately 60% of the calculation and 20% berry count and 20% berry weight, has evolved into a collaboration between the CSRIO and Wine Australia to create the Winegrape yield forecasting tool (Edwards et al. 2020). The yield impact of trunk disease can also be assessed through some computer vision software (Bonneau et al. 2017). However, a significant margin of error exists due to leaf occlusion, and it is only providing a yield assessment, as opposed to a yield prediction (Íñiguez et al. 2021). Geofencing each vine can provide a detailed profile of a vine over the season and harvest but has the disadvantage of being resource-heavy on data processing capabilities. Wine businesses are collecting large libraries of data that need to be managed (OIV 2021). De-siloing the data and empowering the resulting data with meaningful analytics for business optimisation is part of a successful digital transformation strategy. Data is now a strategic asset that can be monetised and must be maintained (Woerner et al. 2022). When combined with

expert knowledge, a powerful vineyard value chain is created.

Drivers for adoption of AI in a wine business include as a component in driving sustainability goals; reducing wasted resources; optimisation of yield, maturity and harvest; and a digital transformation strategy. AI’s predictive viticulture and data optimisation capabilities are important tools in a wine business’ arsenal to assist in achieving sustainability goals (Bonneau et al. 2017).

The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) states that the main goals behind digitalisation are efficiency, productivity, transparency, value proposition and sustainability (OIV 2021), The COP26 conference in Glasgow endorsed global net zero emissions to limit further global warming (UNFCC 2022). The Australian Government published a pathway to achieve this goal, ‘The Australian Way to net zero 2050’. A component of this plan is unlocking growth of priority technologies to drive down costs and reduce emissions (PMC 2021). The CSRIO’s recent paper, ‘Our Future World’, cites seven global megatrends, one being AI and advanced autonomous systems, and a second being the rapidly growing digital and data economy (Naughtin et al. 2022). The CSIRO paper highlights the growing portfolio of new possibilities that AI provides. In viticulture, predictive AI can now be used during the berry maturity phase to give early season predictive harvest dates. A sustainable harvest is grape berries that are picked at the optimal harvest date at the optimal maturity (Fernandez Martinez et al. 2011). Reducing wastage, a key tenet of sustainability goals and necessary

to achieve net-zero emissions, can be improved by AI optimisation of supply-chain resources. This stage of digital transformation begins as winegrapes move from harvest to crush and ferment processes. A review by Dressler and Paunovic (2021) investigates the digitisation of grape harvesting for SME wineries, with their findings outlining a roadmap for digital transformation. Uptake of AI technologies has increased 12% in one year, according to this year’s McKinsey worldwide Applied AI survey, with agriculture being one of the most impacted industries. Leaders across all industries reported cost reductions and revenue increases resulting from AI implementation (Chui et al. 2022). This is one reason why a digital transformation strategy is a key component of a corporate strategy suite.

A viti-viniculture digital transformation plan that includes AI yield prediction, maturity prediction and supply chain optimisation will be able to embrace the next stage of transformation, that being the digital twin. A digital twin performs like a simulator, replicating real-world conditions, and allows work to take place digitally before any physical action or process is undertaken. Leaders report that utilising a digital twin’s digital business replication in real time results in stronger financial performance (Abraham et al. 2022). A digital twin is the foundation for future decades that will embrace the enterprise metaverse — a fully digitised, end-to-end solution that replicates continuously in realtime (Abraham et al. 2022)

Predictive capacity and AI is stage five out of six stages in a company’s digital transformation, according to the ‘Industrie 4.0 Maturity index’ (2017). A recent study of South Australia’s wine industry found only 8% of wine businesses have adopted any form of predictive capacity or AI in their business, showing the rate of AI adoption in Australia’s wine industry is still in the early adoption phase of the technology curve (Siebert 2021). The potential for future growth in AI is high, with the worldwide vine and wine sector ranking average uptake compared to other sectors (OIV 2021). However, Australia’s lagging investment in research and development could impact the growth of AI development (Naughtin et al. 2022). Constraints to adoption of AI include financial constraints, an unwillingness to embrace the possibilities of AI and/or

transformation strategies; lack of trust in AI and related perceived increase in risk; a lack of human resources for re-platforming; and poor data history. Financial constraints during poor industry-specific economic conditions, as in Australia’s post-China wine industry (Wine Australia 2021), are impacting any new uptakes. Strategically, it makes sense to investigate possible savings across all areas of the business because, as mentioned previously, AI implementation has shown to be a beneficial technology for cost reductions. Difficulty in building stakeholder trust in AI can impede AI adoption. Real and perceived issues behind this lack of trust include unproven value, model opacity, model drift and inadequate model boundaries. Assurance that an AI model is compliant, representative, reliable and value-adding is required (Someh et al. 2022).

In a study of AI adoption in Burgundy, France, a lack of trust was strongly related to an increase in risk and associated with lack of organisational readiness (Atwal et al. 2021). A lack of human resources to replatform for future-readiness is an argument that diminishes the resulting flow of personnel to higher-valued activities that machines replacing people creates (Woerner et al. 2022).

Failure to adapt to the digitisation of the future, including AI, could endanger the longevity of wine businesses (OIV 2021). Poor data history impedes AI implementation but does not render it unusable. Crowd data trained, industry-specific algorithms now exist for viticulture that allow a quick launch of AI predictive platforms. To achieve a higher level of predictive accuracy, it will require accurate current season data inputs, training the algorithm ‘on the-job’.

In summary, the application and adoption of yield predictive viticulture is part of a larger process of digital transformation. AI yield prediction — a single yield value outcome reached by ‘smart’ numerical algorithms as part of an AI model — is an integral component of the digital value chain that begins with connected solutions of networked IoT. The digitisation process continues up the value chain with maturity prediction and harvest optimisation capabilities. When combined with expert knowledge, a powerful vineyard value chain is created.

Data is now a strategic asset that can be monetised and must be maintained, with

cloud-based solutions a future certainty. Sustainability goals, resource optimisation and digital transformation are key drivers for adoption of AI capabilities. Key constraints to adoption are financial due to the current poor economic conditions, an unwillingness to

Sensing Applications: Society and Environment 22:100485. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j. rsase.2021.100485

Atwal, G.; Bryson, D. and Williams, A. (2021) An exploratory study of the adoption of artificial intelligence in Burgundy’s wine industry. Strategic Change 30(3):299-306. https://doi.org/10.1002/ jsc.2413

Bonneau, V.; Ramahandry, T.; Probst, L.; Pedersen, B. and Dakkak-Arnoux, L. (2017) Smart vineyard: Management and decision making support for wine producers (Digital Transformation Monitor, Issue. EuropeanCommission. https://ati.ec.europa.eu/ sites/default/files/2020-06/Smart%20vineyard-%20 management%20and%20decision-making%20 support%20for%20wine%20producers%20 %28v1%29.pdf

embrace AI technologies, a lack of trust in AI and associated perceived increase in risk, and lack of human resources for change.

Quick launch AI platforms now exist to help businesses over the initial data hurdle that used to impede AI adoption. Failure to adapt to digitisation trends and implementation of a digitised and artificial intelligencebased, vertically integrated wine supply chain could endanger the future longevity of wine businesses. The pathway to digital transformation has become easier to navigate.

REFERENCES

Abbaszadeh, P.; Gavahi, K.; Alipour, A.; Deb, P. and Moradkhani, H. (2022) Bayesian Multimodeling of deep neural nets for probabilistic crop yield prediction. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 314:108773. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j. agrformet.2021.108773

Abraham, J.; Cruz, G.; Cubela, S.; Lajous, T.; Rowshankish, K.; Tiwari, S. and Zemmel, R. (2022) Digital twins: The foundation of the enterprise metaverse (McKinsey Digital, Issue. McKinsey.com. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinseydigital/our-insights/digital-twins-the-foundation-of-theenterprise-metaverse

ACATECH (2017) Industrie 4.0 Maturity Index. Managing the Digital Transformation of Companies. Acatech.de. https://www.acatech.de/wp-content/ uploads/2018/03/acatech_STUDIE_Maturity_Index_ eng_WEB.pdf

Arab, S.T.; Noguchi, R.; Matsushita, S. and Ahamed, T. (2021) Prediction of grape yields from time-series vegetation indices using satellite remote sensing and a machine-learning approach. Remote

Chui, M.; R, T. and Yee, L. (2022) McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2022: Applied AI (McKinsey Digital, Issue. McKinsey.com. https://www. mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/ our-insights/the-top-trends-in-tech?stcr=613FE23AE9 8C418CBE93BE4DBC78149A&cid=other-eml-dre-mi pmck&hlkid=99b90857c8c94d95a7ab1e8da9eb1c 51&hctky=13854796&hdpid=5e35bc7f-b307-4c92ab71-80ba80d27f04

Dressler, M. and Paunovic, I. (2021). Sensing Technologies, Roles and Technology Adoption Strategies for Digital Transformation of Grape Harvesting in SME Wineries. In Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity 7:123-123: MDPI AG.

Edwards, E. J.; Thomas, M.; Gensemer, S.; Lagerstrom, R.; Khokher, R.; Liao, Q.; Sun, C.; Wang, D.; Hargrave, C. and Ralston, J. (2020). New nondestructive technologies for simultaneous yield, crop condition and quality estimation (Rural R&D for Profit Program, Issue. C. A. Food. https://www.csiro.au/en/ work-with-us/ip-commercialisation/Marketplace/Nondestructive-grapevine-yield-estimation

Fernandez Martinez, R.; Martinez-de-Pison Ascacibar, F.J.; Pernia Espinoza, A.V. and Lostado Lorza, R. (2011) Predictive modelling in grape berry weight during maturation process: comparison of data mining, statistical and artificial intelligence techniques. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research 9(4):1156-1167. https://doi.org/10.5424/ sjar/20110904-531-10

Íñiguez, R.; Palacios, F.; Barrio, I.; Hernández, I.; Gutiérrez, S. and Tardaguila, J. (2021) Impact of Leaf Occlusions on Yield Assessment by Computer Vision in Commercial Vineyards. Agronomy 11(5). https:// doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11051003

Laurent, C.; Oger, B.; Taylor, J.A.; Scholasch, T.; Metay, A. and Tisseyre, B. (2021) A review of the issues, methods and perspectives for yield estimation, prediction and forecasting in viticulture. European Journal of Agronomy 130:126339. https:// doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2021.126339

Microsoft (2021, 11/5/2021). Master the basics of

“Reducing wastage, a key tenet of sustainability goals and necessary to achieve net-zero emissions, can be improved by AI optimisation of supplychain resources.”

Azure: Data Fundamentals. Microsoft.com. Retrieved March 2022 from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/ users/23110622/collections/0kjyh8rn5gdrjj

Muljarto, A.R.; Salmon, J.-M.; Charnomordic, B.; Buche, P.; Tireau, A. and Neveu, P. (2017) A generic ontological network for agri-food experiment integration – application to viticulture and winemaking. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 140: 433-442. https://doi.org/https://doi. org/10.1016/j.compag.2017.06.020

Naughtin, C.; Hajkowicz, S.; Schleiger, E.; Bratanova, A.; Cameron, A.; Zamin, T. and Dutta, A. (2022) Our Future World: Global megatrends impacting the way we live over coming decades. https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/ data/our-future-world Newlands, N. (2021) Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics in Vineyards: A Review. In: Grapes and Wine. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99862

OIV (2021) Digital trends applied to the vine and wine sector: A comprehensive study on the digitalisation of the sector (OIV Digital Transformation Observatory Hub, Issue. I. O. o. V. a. Wine. https:// www.oiv.int/public/medias/8593/digital-trends-appliedto-the-vine-and-wine-sector.pdf

PMC (2021) The Plan to Deliver Net Zero: The Australian Way. Commonwealth of Australia Retrieved from https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/ default/files/October%202021/document/the-plan-todeliver-net-zero-the-australian-way.pdf

Siebert, T. (2021) South Australian Wine Industry Snapshot -2021. South Australia Wine Industry Association (SAWIA). https://www.bentleys.com.au/ wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021-SA-Wine-IndustrySnapshot-WEBSITE.pdf

Sirsat, M.S.; Mendes-Moreira, J.; Ferreira, C. and Cunha, M. (2019) Machine Learning predictive model of grapevine yield based on agroclimatic patterns. Engineering in Agriculture, Environment and Food 12(4):443-450. https://doi.org/https://doi. org/10.1016/j.eaef.2019.07.003

Someh, I. A.; Wixom, B.H. and Beath, C.M. (2022) Building AI Explanation Capability for the AI-Powered Organization (RESEARCH BRIEFING, Issue. M. I. o. Technology.

Svarzenberg, A. (2022, 11 August 2022). #StartupsOnAzure – Trellis delivers accurate forecasts for agriculture supply chain resilience. Microsoft.com. Retrieved 1 September 2022 from https://startups.microsoft.com/blog/startupsonazuretrellis/

UNFCC (2022) COP26 Together for our Planet UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), Glasgow. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/cop26

Wine Australia (2021, 03 Feb 21) Australian wine exports slow due to China tariffs. Wine Australia. Retrieved 23 Mar 2021 from https://www. wineaustralia.com/news/media-releases/australianwine-exports-slow-due-to-china-tariffs

Woerner, S.L.; Reynolds, P.; Harte, M. and Weill,

P. (2022) Replatforming: Securing Board and Top Management Team Buy-In (RESEARCH BRIEFING, Issue. M. I. o. Technology.

Woerner, S.L.; Sebastian, I.M. and Weill, P. (2022) Develop Ten Capabilities to Accelerate Digital Transformation (RESEARCH BRIEFING, Issue. M. I. o. Technology.

*Justine has been involved in the Australian wine industry for 28 years as coowner of Malesco Wine Broker, a successful international wine company involved in international and domestic trade. She is currently participating in the Women in Wine Diploma of Digital Technologies with Flinders University.

#Dr. Calanit Efrat Bar Am specialised in the economics of climate change and sustainability and has 25 years of broad global business experience in the water, tech and industrial sectors. She has a BA in economics and MBA, both at Tel-Aviv University and a PhD in Economic-Geography at UC Davis. Her academic research focuses on climate change, the wine industry and sustainability At Trellis AI she focuses on adoption off Artificial Intelligence platforms by food and beverage companies.

Optimising vineyard efficiency through interrow floor management

The case of a non-irrigated organic Barbera vineyard in northern Italy

By Caterina Capri1, Matteo Gatti1, Alessandra Garavani1, Cecilia Squeri1, Irene Diti1, Roberto D’Ambrosio1, Tomasso Frioni1, Carla Scotti2 and Stefano Poni1

Floor management in organic viticulture plays a key role in weed suppression and improved soil health by minimising the use of tillage and herbicides. Any resident vegetation or sown cover crop can also provide moderate competition for water and nutrients between adjacent vines. A four-year study was conducted in a non-irrigated, organically-managed vineyard in north-east Italy comparing five floor management treatments to test and recommend effective inter-row tillage/grassing combinations that regulate vine balance, maintain yield, and improve grape composition.

INTRODUCTION

Vineyard floor management has proven to be a potentially efficient practice to reach multiple goals such as improved weed management, soil health and conservation, and reducing soil resource availability to control vigour, concurrently achieving better indirect control of some diseases and positively influencing vine balance, grape composition and fine wine appreciation (Steenwerth and Guerra 2012). The four main soil management practices available today— that is, tillage, grassing (either native resident vegetation or sown cover crops), herbicides and mulching—have been the object of many comparisons under different environments and vine varieties (Abad et al. 2021, Ferreira et al. 2020). While tillage and herbicideinduced bare soil are increasingly stated as traditional and quite harmful techniques for the environment, end-users and consumers, cover crops and mulching have gained a lot of credit as more sustainable practices, especially in an organic farming scenario (Diti et al. 2020). However, floor management of organic vineyards sited in temperate and Mediterranean areas subjected to summer drought and high-temperature peaks clashes with the forbidden use of herbicides and the quite common trait of unfeasible or highly restricted use of irrigation water (Doring et al. 2019). Under

such circumstances, the adoption of full tillage with any inherent disadvantage is still widespread. Potentially, a solution is seen in floor management techniques deriving from different combinations of the four basic practices varying in space (e.g. each row vs alternate row patterns), time (i.e. permanent or temporary grassing) and/or type (i.e. grass and cover crop floristic composition and different termination methods).

Within this context, the goal of this four-year study was to test and recommend effective inter-row tillage/grassing combinations to regulate vine balance, maintain yield and improve grape composition in a non-irrigated organic Barbera vineyard.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The trial was conducted over four seasons (2017-2020) in a non-irrigated Barbera vineyard grafted onto 420A established in 2001 in the Colli Piacentini wine district, in north-west Italy. The vineyard is located on a south-facing versant at a moderate longitudinal slope (5%), with north-south oriented rows and vines trained to a singlecane vertically shoot positioned Guyot trellis at a spacing of 2.4m x 1m (inter- and intra-row) for a density of 4166 vines per hectare.

A randomised complete-block design with four blocks each containing one replicate per

treatment was used. Every treatment x block combination was applied on a 200-260m2 area (28-36m length and 7.2m width) in which four representative vines were identified and assumed as sub-replicates for the entire trial duration.

IN BRIEF

■ Adoption of grasses and cover crops is often regarded with apprehension given they can compete with vines for soil water and nutrients, while full tillage of inter-rows with its inherent disadvantages is still widespread, especially in temperate and Mediterranean areas.

■ There is a lack of knowledge about the volume of soil cover crop coverage needed to be the most effective in regulating vine balance, maintaining yield, and improving grape composition while reaching multiple other ecosystem goals.

■ A four-year study was conducted in a non-irrigated, organically managed vineyard in north-west Italy comparing five inter-row floor management treatments.

1Department of Sustainable Crop Production, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, Italy 2I.Ter Soc. Cooperativa, Via E. Zacconi 12, 40127 Bologna, Italy

Five inter-row treatments corresponding to different land cover levels were tested as permanent grass (PG, 75%), tillage (T, 0%), alternate tillage and permanent grass every second mid-row (AGT, 37.5%), a variant of to the previous treatment where the tilled midrow was used for growing a temporary winter cover crop terminated in spring (AGC, 46.9%) and temporary grass (TG, 41.7%) where grass was disked post-harvest (mid-October) until natural growth resumption in late winter (midFebruary) (Figure 1).

In all treatments, under trellis weed suppression was achieved every season by repeated tillage on a 60cm wide soil strip after budburst, at berry lag-phase and post-harvest. Among treatments, only PG had already been established at the end of the training period (2003). In T, the inter-row was spaded three times per year to limit native grass development. Finally, in ACG a cover crop mixture was sown in the fall with the following composition: Lolium multiflorum (20%), Triticosecale (15%), Avena sativa (15%), Secale cereale L. (13%), Vicia sativa L. (10%), Pisum sativum arvense L. (10%), Onobrychis viciifolia (5%), Trifolium incarnatum (4%), Armoracia rusticana (4%), Brassica alba (2%), and Brassica juncea (2%). The cover crop was then mowed around flowering and swards were left in place with a combined mulching and green manuring function.

Floristic assessment

Assessment of floristic composition in the inter-row space in PG, T and AGC and identification was made according to Italian Vascular Flora (Abbate et al. 2001) and abundance according to soil coverage in respect to other species was defined in three classes as less than 50%, 50-75% and more than 75%.

Soil profile and analysis

The vineyard soil is characterised by silty alluvial sediments dating back to the middle to upper Quaternary period and deposited on a paleosurface highly representative of the first terrace of the Emilia Romagna hills. Soil organic matter (SOM) was assessed before treatment application as well as at the end of the four-year experiment. Sampling points located in the alley between two adjacent rows were identified and drilled down to 0.30m depth then, the 0-0.15m and 0.15-0.30m soil depths were represented, and soil organic matter (SOM) was determined by elemental analysis. Soil bulk density in the 0.10-0.20m layer was also assessed at the end of the trial.

Vegetative growth, yield components and grape composition at harvest

In each season, four representative shoots per treatment were removed at veraison when

vegetative growth was almost complete. Then, all main and lateral leaves were counted, and their area was measured. Leaf area per vine was subsequently calculated by combining the mean leaf size and the corresponding node number, while keeping separate main and lateral wood contributions.

One-year-old pruning mass was recorded at winter pruning separately for main and lateral canes. Source-to-sink vine balance was calculated as leaf area-to-yield ratio.

Harvest was performed in the first part of September in all four years when, in the standard soil management treatment (PG), grape maturity showed TA ≥ 8.5g/L and TSS was 23-24°Brix. At harvest, yield per vine and cluster number per vine were recorded, and mean cluster mass calculated accordingly.

A three-basal-cluster sample was taken from each tagged vine, cluster compactness was expressed as the ratio of total berry fresh mass to rachis plus the total main shoulder length ratio. Before crushing, from each three-cluster sample, 10 berries were collected and their skin was carefully removed and lyophilised for the determination of anthocyanins and phenolics. A second subsample of 50 berries was used to determine the concentration of anthocyanins and total phenols. Finally, the remaining samples were crushed, and the must composition was determined according to standard methods.

Figure 1. Five inter-row treatments tested as: (A) permanent grass; (B) tillage; (C) alternate tillage and permanent grass every second mid-row; (D) a variant of (C) where the tilled mid-row was used for growing a temporary winter cover crop terminated in spring and (E) temporary grass.

Table 1. Leaf area components per vine (main, lateral, total) and winter pruning weight components per vine (main, lateral, total) recorded over four years (2017–2020) on the field-grown cv. Barbera grapevines subjected to different inter-row soil practices.

Treatment (T) Main leaf area/ vine (m2)

Lateral leaf area/ vine (m2)

Total leaf area/ vine (m2) Main pruning weight/vine (g) Lateral pruning weight/vine (g) Total pruning weight/vine (g)

PG 1.58 c 0.22 c 1.7 c 307 b 32 c 339 c

T 2.1 a 0.5 a 2.6 a 440 a 105 a 545 a

AGT 2.06 ab 0.27 b 2.33 b 364 ab 79 ab 443 b

AGC 2.03 ab 0.32 b 2.35 b 377 b 80 ab 457 b

TG 1.9 b 0.37 b 2.17 b 359 b 65 b 424 b F-prob ** ** ** ** ** ** TxY ns ns ns ** ** **

Table 2. Yield components, cluster characteristics and vine balance given as leaf area-to-fruit ratio recorded over four years (2017–2020) on the field grown cv. Barbera grapevines subjected to different inter-row soil treatments.

Treatment (T) Clusters/shoot Clusters/vine Cluster weight (g) Berry weight (g)

Yield/vine (kg) Cluster compactness (g/cm)

Leaf areato-yield ratio (m2/kg)

PG 1.4 20 165 b 2.01 b 3.31 b 15.1 0.51 b T 1.5 19 202 a 2.23 a 3.84 a 17.5 0.68 a AGT 1.5 20 178 b 2.02 b 3.56 ab 14.7 0.65 a AGC 1.4 19 211 a 2.22 a 4.01 a 16.8 0.59 b TG 1.5 19 213 a 2.24 a 4.05 a 16.8 0.54 b F-prob ns ns ** ** ** ns ** TxY ns ns ns ns ns ns ns

Statistical analysis

Data were subjected to a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) assuming vineyard floor management and the year as the main and the random factor, respectively. In the case of significance of the Fisher test, means were compared by the SNK test, at p < 0.05. Finally, year-round soil cover crop coverage (%) resulting from the different tilled/grassed combinations in the five treatments was correlated with vegetative and productive features, and with must composition parameters.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

With all the treatments sharing the same under-the-row management (light tillage for periodic weed removal), inter-row management affected leaf area per vine which, for data pooled over the four years, was the highest for T (2.6m2), lowest for PG (1.7m2, i.e. 35% less) and intermediate for the remaining soil treatments (Table 1). The same order of differences was found for total pruning

weight per vine and its components (main and lateral pruning weight) although the latter was curtailed in PG by 70% compared to T.

Starting with very high uniformity in cluster number per plant (19–20), T, AGC and TG treatments had the highest yield per vine, setting around 4kg to correspond to 16.7t/ha (Table 2). Conversely, in PG and AGT, yield reduction vs the T treatment was 14% and 9%, respectively. Interestingly, the relative variation among soil treatments of the two yield components of berry and cluster weight was essentially the same.

Leaf area-to-yield ratio (i.e. vine balance) showed that the highest amount of source per unit of crop was reached in T (0.68m2/kg) whereas the most source-limited treatments were PG and TG. This is particularly interesting when observing that both AGC and TG had a leaf area-to-yield ratio almost identical to PG (Table 2) yet achieved 20% higher yield.

The floristic composition assessed in PG, T and AGC showed that the number of grass species was highly reduced in the grass

regrowth detected in the tilled plots, namely, 34, 35 and 13 species were described in PG, AGC and T, respectively. Moreover, this latter treatment totally lacked some families (e.g. Boraginaceae Juss, Brassicaceae Burnett, etc.) while Polygoneaceae Juss was the most abundant with the Rumex L. to prevail, a species known for flourishing in disturbed environments.

Pre-trial SOM at 0-0.15 and 0.15-0.30m soil depth intervals was 2.17% and 1.7%, respectively (data not shown). Vineyard floor management influenced SOM in the 0-0.15m layer varying between 2.2% (PG) and 1.6% (T) (Figure 2A). Topsoil layer SOM was not increased in AGT and AGC as compared to T, whereas a slight increase was recorded for TG which aligned with PG. Conversely, a quite mild treatments effect was observed at 0.15-0.30m depth as boxes are generally overlapping. Although soil bulk density was not assessed pre-trial in PG, end of the trial readings showed its value significantly reduced in T, AGC and TG when compared with PG and AGT (Figure 2B).

In terms of the main effects of different floor management treatments on the final grape composition (Table 3), for data pooled over years, PG had the highest total soluble solids concentration (TSS, 24.2 Brix) and AGT the lowest (22.1 Brix), while PG reached the lowest (8.42g/L) titratable acidity (TA) level mainly due to the low concentration of malic acid (1.38g/L). Must potassium (K+) concentration, determined at harvest, was rather uniform across treatments, but for AGC (1165mg/L) showing a reduced K accumulation in the berries especially when compared with PG (1475mg/L). The proposed hypothesis is that the temporary winter cover crop drained some potassium from the soil, rendering it unavailable for uptake by grapevine roots. Finally, similar values (>160mg/L) among treatments were found for yeast available nitrogen (YAN) but for PG being close to the 100mg/L threshold at harvest.

Regardless of season, PG stood out as the most efficient in colour accumulation especially when compared to T (1.19 and 0.77mg/g, respectively). Scoring 0.93mg/g TG was the only closest treatment to PG. The total phenolic concentration closely mirrored the pattern just

described for total anthocyanins concentration ranging between 1.79 (T) and 2.41 (PG) mg/g.

When year-round soil cover crop coverage (Scc, %) resulting from the different tilled/grassed combinations in the five treatments was correlated with pruning weight/vine, leaf area/vine, and yield/vine (Figure 3A) it was apparent that the two vegetative variables yielded a very close correlation (R2 = 0.93 and 0.85, respectively), whereas the correlation was looser for yield/vine (R2=0.21). From the results obtained, it can be stated that, in this trial, the progressive increase in ground cover negatively influenced vegetative growth, while it had a modest effect on production. In fact, pruning weight was reduced by 38% at 75% S cc vs. 0% S cc of the T treatment, whereas yield/vine was curtailed by 15% only in PG vs. T. Correlating year-round soil cover crop coverage (%) with TSS, TA, total anthocyanins and phenolics (Figure 3B) showed that the two phenolic maturity variables, i.e. total anthocyanins and total phenolics, had a quite close linear correlation vs S cc (R2 = 0.79 and 0.90, respectively), whereas the correlation was less tight for TSS and TA (R2 = 0.52 for both).

Figure 2. Box plots of (A) soil organic matter and (B) soil bulk density values determined on soil samples taken at 0–0.15m and 0.15–0.30m depth for each treatment combination (n = 20). Samples are representative of end-of-trial situation (January 2021). Each box contains the middle 50% of data values and the median is marked with a horizontal line across the box. The lines either side of the box show the range of the lower (Q1) and upper (Q3) quartile of data values. Vertical bars protruding from the box indicate minimum and maximum values, whereas x is the data mean.

Figure 3. Panel A: linear regressions of soil cover crop coverage (%) vs. total pruning weight/vine, total leaf area/vine, and total yield/vine. Each data point is the mean pooled over years (n = 4). Linear model equations were y = −2.6276x + 549.28, R2=0.93 (○); y = −0.0112x + 2.699, R2=0.85 (•); y = −0.0058x +4.054, R2=0.21 (▲). Panel B: linear regressions of soil cover crop coverage vs. TSS, TA, total anthocyanins and total phenolics. Each data point is the mean pooled over years (n = 4). Linear model equations were y = 0.00218x + 22.07, R2=0.52 (○); y = −0.088x +9.22, R2=0.52 (▲); y = 0.00531x + 0.712, R2=0.79 (•); y = 0.0079x + 1.72, R2=0.90 (▲).

CONCLUSIONS

The main objective of this study, carried out in an organically managed vineyard, was to test and validate floor management treatments capable of minimising well-known disadvantages of either tillage or native vegetation, while focussing on a balance between the two techniques with variations in space and time. This happened under the same under-the-trellis management (i.e. tillage), thus emphasising the role of inter-row soil management. High expectations from the AGT strategy were partially disregarded, as this treatment was set at almost intermediate position between the two extremes, without assuring any significant marginal gain. Conversely, modulating PG into TG via a temporary removal of the resident vegetation in the fall and AGT into AGC by growing a winter cover crop terminated in the spring as green manuring, gave the highest yield at adequate technological and phenolic ripeness. Moreover, TG also assured higher YAN levels for more regular must fermentation which is particularly interesting for certain types of wine (e.g. sparkling), whereas AGC proved

to be effective at mitigating K+ accumulation in berries.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank Chiara Azzali, owner of Tenuta Pernice farm, and her co-workers for allowing experimental plots and assisting during the four-year-trial. Research carried out within the PRO-VITERRE project (Grant no. 5004519) and VinCapTer project (Grant 5015583) operational groups was funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region under the Rural Development Program (2014–2020).

REFERENCES

Abad, J.; Hermoso De Mendoza, I.; Marín, D.; Orcaray, L. and Santesteban, L.G. (2021) Cover crops in viticulture. A systematic review (1): implications on soil characteristics and biodiversity in vineyard. Oeno One. https://doi.org/10.20870/oeno-one.2021.55.1.3599

Abbate, G.; Alessandrini, A.; Conti, F.; La Posta, A.; Ronchieri, I.; Tartaglini, N.; Blasi, C.; Anzalone, B.; Ballelli, S.; Banfi, E.; Barberis, G.; Bernardo, L.; Bocchieri, E.; Bonacquisti, S.; Bovio, M.; Brullo, S.; Dominici, E.; Foggi, B.; Galasso, G.; Gubellini, L.; Lattanzi, E.; Lucchese, F.; Medagli, P.; Mossa,

L.; Oriolo, G.; Poldini, L.; Prosser, F.; Raffaelli, M.; Raimondo, F.M.; Santangelo, A.; Scassellati, E.; Scoppola, A.; Siniscalco, C.; Spampinato, G.; Tilia, A.; Tornadore, N.; Valsecchi, F.; Viciani, D.; Vidali, M. and Wilhalm, T. (2001) The Italian vascular flora database. Ital. Bot. 33:417–420.

Diti, I.; Legler, S.E.; Caffi, T.; Rossi, V.; Canali, G.; Bosso, A.; Cancila, E.; Anelli, S.; Trioli, G.; Kleshcheva, E.; Gatti, M. and Poni, S. (2020) A new integrated approach for management of soil threats in the vineyard ecosystem. Catena 195. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.catena.2020.104788

Do ̈ring, J.; Collins, C.; Frisch, M. and Kauer, R. (2019) Organic and biodynamic viticulture affect biodiversity and properties of vine and wine: a systematic quantitative review. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. https://doi.org/10.5344/ajev.2019.18047

Ferreira, C.S.S.; Veiga, A.; Caetano, A.; GonzalezPelayo, O.; Karine-Boulet, A.; Abrantes, N.; Keizer, J. and Ferreira, A.J.D. (2020). Assessment of the impact of distinct vineyard management practices on soil physico-chemical properties. Air Soil Water Res. 13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178622120944847

Steenwerth, K. and Guerra, B. (2012) Influence of floor management technique on grapevine growth, disease pressure, and juice and wine composition: a review. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. https://doi.org/10.5344/ ajev.2011.10001

Development of a semiautomated undervine slasher

By Cooper Wolfden1 and Amir Zanj2*

INTRODUCTION

Weeds are of particular concern to agriculturalists from all industries, including wine producers, as they compete with target crops for space, shelter, thermal protection, water and other nutrients1. Not only does this mean that profits are lost through decreased crop yield and the implementation of weed management solutions, if weeds are rampant within fields, money is spent fostering the growth of these weeds when using soil additives and watering the target crop with the intent to maximise target crop quality. It is therefore apparent that an effective weed management solution needs to be utilised within the agricultural industry to increase the efficiency of crop growth.

According to Bekkers2, one method that has been widely used for weed control is to plough under vines. Whilst this method is successful at removing weeds, there are several drawbacks associated with this practice2, including soil erosion, nutrient loss

and potential damage to vines.

Another method to remove crop competition is the use of herbicides. One of the most widely used herbicides in the wine industry is glyphosate3. Glyphosate4 poses significant health risks to people who handle it, spray it or encounter it3. It is currently unknown whether the use of herbicides during the growth stages of crops pose health risks to the consumer post-production. However, the health risks posed to those who handle it are significant enough to see it banned in some communities worldwide5. Additionally, the use of chemical herbicides reduces the quality of the final product and they can tamper with the ecological balance of a vineyard5

Chou6 proposed suitable selection of cover crops beneath vines will result in a secondary crop that minimally competes with the target crop for water and nutrients, while continuing to compete with weeds. This offers an effective weed management solution that does not contain the drawbacks of the previously

discussed solutions with one caveat — if cover crops are left unmanaged, they too will grow excessively and begin to compete with vines. It is therefore necessary to manage cover crops.

Mowing is a simple solution to keep cover crops at optimal size; however, performing this task in vineyards is proven to be highly challenging7. The current solutions for mowing vine undergrowth are mainly associated with implementation of heavy-duty (mechanical impact system) slasher systems8. While mechanical impact systems are effective in their simplicity, there are common issues among them limiting their operational speed. Also, the excessive care required to not damage any vines while operating the systems can require hiring specialist drivers which leads to increased operational costs.

Recently, introducing touch sensors to slasher systems has demonstrated promising results in minimising the mechanical impact; however, this not-yet-reliable technology

1Research Assistant, Advanced Control Lab

2Lecturer, Director of Ag. Tech. Mechatronic, Advanced Control Lab College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia *Corresponding author: amir.zanj@flinders.edu.au

A research team from Flinders University has developed, with the assistance of funding from Wine Australia and in collaboration with Ledgard Pruning Systems, a prototype for a semi-autonomous undervine slasher

has introduced new speed restrictions to the system due to its open loop implication.

The main goal in this project was to develop a closed loop, semi-automated slasher system that successfully fulfils all the market requirements (not requiring a specialist driver, operating at modulated speed and not damaging young vines while remaining costeffective). For such a system, it is important to reliably localise vines beforehand and execute continuous real time path planning. This allows separation of the sensing mechanism from the mechanical actuation, leaving the speed of actuation solely as a function of its mechanical (or electrical) power. By doing so, not only can the operational speed be modulated according to the situation, but also optimised plant matter area coverage would become achievable through path planning. The benefits that such a system would bring to this sector would justify its market compatibility through more efficient performance, reduced crop damage and dramatically reduced labour cost.

DESIGNING SENSING MECHANISM

As already stated, to attain closed loop performance, reliable vine localisation is required. The harshness of a vineyard environment, including unreliable weather conditions, uneven terrain, variably sized vines and inconsistent intra-row spacing, make vine localisation an incredibly challenging task. The harsh conditions make implementation

of common sensing options, such as vision or ultrasound, impossible, thus limiting the sensing options to mechanical touch. The intrinsic characteristics of a soft touch sensor, such as being independent of environmental changes and have the capacity to mechanically detect vines, makes it extremely effective despite the harshness of a vineyard environment. A fit-for-purpose soft touch sensor, shown in Figure1, was designed and prototyped for this project.

Figure 2 presents the first prototype of the proposed sensor assembly. Thanks to precise designing, this prototype fulfils all requirements by recording the vine deflection through encoder pulses, automatically resetting (both mechanically and electronically), and only operating in a single direction due to how its sense rod is connected. The proposed sensing mechanism is capable of reliably detecting the size and position of the vine trunk.

With such a vine sensing mechanism, the system only knows a vine's position relative to itself. For this information to be useful, vines must be localised respective to an inertial coordinate. Therefore, the system must localise itself to be able to track the positions of vines as the system moves through the vineyard.

SYSTEM LOCALISATION

As mentioned in the previous section, instantaneous localisation of the mechanical touch is required to successfully execute the vine sizing and positioning. Precise localisation is also a necessity for other parts of the system such as path planning and actuation control, to be explained later. Although there exists a variety of solutions for localisation in different systems (including Ultrasonic, GPS, IMU, Image and LiDAR Localisation), only a few solutions seem suitable for vineyard applications due to the existing challenges mentioned earlier. Among the feasible options, it seems LiDAR provides the best solution that serves the purpose of this project. LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that emits infrared light pulses to precisely calculate the distance to an object based on the speed of light. It works almost independent of operational conditions and requires minimum computational cost while delivering maximum reliability (due to its simplicity)10

In this project the LiDAR model RPLidar A1, presented in Figure 3, was used. This

Figure 1 Exploded view of the sensing mechanism

Figure 1. Exploded view of the sensing mechanism.

Figure 2 Sensing mechanism mounted to the system Figure 2. Sensing mechanism mounted to the system

model is an affordable option, commonly used for prototyping due to its well tested software libraries that make its implementation straight forward. In the current prototype, the LiDAR is mounted vertically level with objects in the environment, as shown in Figure 4. The offset of the LiDAR base station from the base of the slasher mechanism can be accounted for in software, allowing the system to operate normally regardless of where the LiDAR is mounted.

PATH PLANNING

With the system position now being localised, and the vine position and radius recorded, optimal path planning is required for the system to avoid any detected vines. Real-time path planning was implemented in this project over a more traditional path optimisation approach as it is computationally lighter while guaranteeing the control system will always have a position to reference, rather than needing to interpolate from each generated point to a corresponding position. The proposed path planning algorithm is presented in Figure 5 (see page 64).

Figure 6 (see page 64) shows a graphical view of how each parameter is used to plot a path plan around a given vine. The vine is the smaller circle in the centre, the slasher deck is the larger circle moving around it, and the green line is the proposed path plan the

Figure 4 LiDAR mounted to the chassis

Figure 3. RPLidar A1

Figure 4. LiDAR mounted to the chassis.

Figure 3 RPLidar

Lag Offset Piston Length Localized Position Slasher Head Position Start Vine Position

(x) Plot Equation (h, k, r) Vine Radius (r) (y) r(t)

Figure 5. Path planning diagram.

2.5 Desired Y

0.5 2

-2-1.5-1-0.500.511.52 SlasherHeadX 1.5

Figure 6. Plot of y against x with a vine (h,k,r) at (0,2,1).

Figure 8. System block overview.

Start

e(t) < -Min Value True Relays Retract False e(t) > Min Value True Relays Extend False Relays Off

Figure 7 Control System diagram

slasher deck should take. Accordingly, if the control system can hold the centre position of the slasher deck on the green line, a safe, contact-free slashing would be achieved by the system.

CONTROL SYSTEM

With a suitable path plan generated, the control system directly operates the slasher in accordance with the planned path. Varieties of sophisticated control systems exist that can easily serve the purpose; however, considering the degree of freedom of the system under investigation, as well as the limited capacity of the on-board computing system, implementation of such state-of-theart control systems would not be justifiable for such an application. Furthermore, given a high level of simplicity is desired by the end user, using a complex control system would turn the entire system into a black box, not a userfriendly system for the end user. Considering this, a simple three-state control system with hysteresis was proposed for this project, which is presented in Figure 7 (see page 60).

With the system operating accordingly, the slasher deck can avoid the detected vine without any direct contact. Also, given there is no speed dependency for this actuation relative to vines, the actuation speed is only limited by the hydraulic unit power and the software speed which are far beyond the expected requirements. This also adds the capability of speed modulation slashing, which removes the requirement of a constant operating speed.

SYSTEM INTEGRATION

Each of the previously discussed elements have been brought together to form a complete system. This section will explain the process of how each of these elements have been combined and the effectiveness of the complete system.

The system block overview, seen in Figure 8, shows how each sub-system ‘block’ connects to the system. When the system runs, the sensing mechanism localises the position of a given vine. The vine position is used to generate a real-time path around the vine, which updates as the system continues

to move. The planned path is used by the control system, which generates a suitable control signal. The control signal moves the slasher head by either extending or retracting the hydraulic ram of the slasher, causing the slasher head to move proportionally. The length of the hydraulic ram is used by the control system and path planning to form a closed-loop system.

SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

The system performance was evaluated and verified in a controlled environment. The test environment consisted of three PVC pipes (Figure 9, see page 66). The radii of each of these pipes, from left to right, were 55mm, 22.5mm, and 40mm, and the spacing between them was 1.8m and 0.9m, respectively.

The presented performance clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm. In all three runs the executed simple control system succeeded in keeping the slasher deck (green line) as close as possible to the planed path (pink line). It may be noted that the slasher

head path does not exactly follow the planned path between the vines. This is because the slasher head's maximum position is less than the planned path, thus even though it is fully extended, it is mechanically limited and cannot match the planned path.

The runs also show that the slasher head path becomes straighter the faster the system runs. As stated earlier, this is due to the limited hydraulic power available in this test setup, which is mandated by lab safety regulations.

Regarding the sensing mechanism, the performance indicates the proposed sensing system, although made from plastic components, is fully capable of detecting the correct vine positions across each run. However, the vine sizing appears to shrink as the system speed increases. This could be due to movement of the PVC pipes during the operations.

Overall, it is evident that the developed semi-automated slasher has successfully fulfilled all the requirements and objectives of the project. For the current prototype, the system’s digital twin has also been executed (Figure 10). The digital twin enables real-time monitoring and control of the system which proves the capability of using the current system in a fully autonomous operation. In the proposed design, for very low additional cost, an observer operator can take control of the system and remotely manoeuvre through critical situations, while receiving real-time feedback from the system. The implementation of this system requires a low-

performance computer (running opensource software) and any kind of control interface, such as a keyboard or joystick. This is a simple, cost-effective way to control the system remotely, and it can be used solely for monitoring and mapping in situations where manual control is not appropriate.

CONCLUSION

This project provided a semi-automated, soft touch, under-vine slasher that can successfully avoid vines. The proposed system fulfils the market requirement of an easy-to-operate, variable speed, effective and affordable under-vine slasher. Along with the original requirements, the system also provides a way to remotely monitor and control the prototype slasher in real-time. This could be used to track vine growth over a period, or manually actuate other attachments. The benefits that this system could bring to the sector are a reduced cost of operation due to not requiring a specialist driver, more efficient crop management due to more flexible operating speeds, and reduced crop damage due to less aggressive vine contact. Along with all of this, the system remains costeffective, making it applicable in many areas of this sector.

We are currently looking for an investor to commercialise this project.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research was supported by funding from Wine Australia. Wine Australia invests

in and manages research, development and extension on behalf of Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers and the Australian Government.

REFERENCES

1Samad, A.; Trognitz, F.; Compant, S.; Antonielli, L. and Sessitsch, A. (2017) Shared and host-specific microbiome diversity and functioning of grapevine and accompanying weed plants. Environmental Microbiology 19(4):1407-1424.

2Bekkers, T. (2012) Managing weeds without herbicides: Six options for commercial organic grapegrowers. Wines & Vines 93(9):61.

3Van Bruggen, A.; He, M.; Shin, K.; Mai, V.; Jeong, K.; Finckh, M. and Morris, J.(Jr) (2018) Environmental and health effects of the herbicide glyphosate. Science of the Total Environment 616:255-268.

4Susaj, L.; Susaj, E.; Belegu, M.; Mustafa, S.; Dervishi, B. and Ferraj, B. (2013) Effect of different weed management practices on production and quality of wine grape cultivar Kallmet in NorthWestern Albania. Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment 11:379-382.

5Agence France-Presse 2019) Germany to ban use of glyphosate weedkiller by end of 2023. The Guardian, Australia.

6Chou, M.-Y. (2018) Vineyard floor management in the Finger Lakes region: Physiological and microbial perspectives.

7Lee, J. and Steenwerth, K. (2011) Rootstock and vineyard floor management influence on ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ grape yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN). Food Chemistry 127(3):926-933.

8Wolf, T. and Giese, G. (2020) Floor Management Strategies for Virginia Vineyards, Petersburg: Virginia Cooperation Extension.

Figure 9. System performance visualization: Run A 1k/h, Run B 1.5k/h, Run C 2k/h. Figure 10. Using remote operation to control the system while monitoring changes.

Run A Run B Run C

Figure 9 System performance visualization: Run A 1k/h, Run B 1.5k/h, Run C 2k/h

Peppery and elegant Schioppettino

By Jo Marsh, Winemaker/Director, Billy Button Wines, Alpine Valleys, Victoria

To produce its range of wines, Billy Button Wines works with a number of local

Alpine Valleys, one of whom made the decision to plant Schioppettino

commercial crop in 2015.

What drove a Welshman to plant Schioppettino in Victoria’s Alpine Valleys? Brian (Bri) and Linda Lewis bought the ‘old Bailey’ vineyard in 2006. At the time, demand for Alpine Valleys fruit was nearly non-existent, so Bri decided to change things up and take a punt on some unusual varieties.

Alongside Fiano, Tempranillo and Pinotage (his personal passion project), he decided to try a couple of rows each of the Friulian pair Schioppettino and Refosco (dal Peduncolo Rosso) after being given a bottle of Bressan Schioppettino by Mark Walpole.

The Merriang South vineyard is at 260m elevation on red clay loam soils with some underlying rock. Grafted rootlings on 101-14 rootstock were purchased through Chalmers Nursery in 2013 and the first (semi) commercial crop was harvested in 2015. The 365 vines are planted in three-metre rows with a north-south orientation. Initially, the vines were set up for spur pruning, however we found this gave quite inconsistent cropping, so this has since been re-worked to arched cane which has provided better consistency.

Schioppettino is the last variety to flower (January here) and usually starts varaison after we start harvesting Chardonnay from the same vineyard. Several times, we have almost given up on our chances of ripening it in a season, but it always manages to achieve ripeness. Fruit-set is easily the biggest challenge with the variety as any cold, windy and/or rainy weather around flowering results in very poor fruit-set. Changing the pruning to arched cane appears to have lowered the incidence of aborted berries and provided a more consistent fruit-set and crop.

The variety seems to be very resistant to mildew with no incidence of downy or powdery mildew observed yet, despite some very cool, wet vintages lately. As it is such a late-ripening variety, low levels of botrytis have occurred in the wetter years.

I remember a pre-vintage BBQ at Bri’s house in January 2015 where he had organised some Italian examples of Schioppettino and Refosco for tasting. “I don’t have the time or resources to do both this year, so I’m going to focus on the Refosco and not bother picking the Schioppettino,” he said. Well, you can imagine my response. Needless to say, the

in

growers

Victoria’s

vines which yielded their first semi-

The Schioppettino vines that provide the fruit for Billy Button Wines varietal. The vines were initially set up for spur pruning but it was felt this resulted in inconsistent cropping. They’ve since been reworked for arched cane pruning which has provided better consistency.

Schioppettino was definitely picked. The last fruit of the vintage, 950kg arrived at the winery and, at the time, we had basically no idea about the variety – we could not even pronounce it properly! We opted for whole berry, natural, open ferment and within a few days, as the fermentation kicked off, the winery was filled with the aromas of black pepper. It was at this point our excitement in the variety really kicked in. That wine, from the first crop, still looks fabulous.

We haven’t changed our winemaking too much since this original vintage. We continue to ferment with whole berries but now like to precede this with a three-to-four-day cold soak and non-inoculated fermentations. We have not undertaken whole bunch inclusion as we feel the variety naturally has enough perfume, and the peppery character may become

Schioppettino

overwhelming if whole bunch was utilised. It would be great if we had enough volume to experiment and create more options, but with only 0.5-2 tonnes per year we cannot afford this luxury. Our fermentation regime just involves open small fermenters with a twice-daily hand plunge. When the fruit finally comes in, the weather is usually quite cool to cold, so our ferments do not generally get over 25°C. We leave the wine on skins for a further two to three weeks maceration until we feel the tannin structure is where we like it to be. Harvest Baumes have ranged from 12.4-13.9 across vintages with final alcohols 13.4-14.2 %.

Schioppettino is such an elegant variety with beautiful red fruit and perfume characters with fine tannins; we want to try and preserve this so we avoid oak (both new and old) and

prefer to store the wine in Flexcubes as they allow the wines to respectfully mature with a small increase of oxygen. This form of maturation is key to much of our winemaking. Bottling takes place after nine months and the wine is released after another 12 months. We think peak drinking for this variety (or our version of it) is between five to 10 years.

What we love about the variety is the very high natural rotundone levels — you actually can taste it in the fruit. It has much higher levels than Shiraz from the same region in the same vintage. As with Shiraz, peppery characters are dependent on vintage conditions and much less apparent in warm years. We find the tannin structure to be elegant and, even compared to Refosco, we feel it has more layers and a tannin structure that provides extended ageing potential, although to be honest, both are downright delicious.

We think the variety is well suited to cooler climates as it does not have high levels of acid like other Italian varieties (e.g., Sangiovese, Nero d’Avola). Having said that, acid/pH balance is always much better than Shiraz! In cool years it can be challenging to ripen as it is always one of the last in the winery, however we’ve found we can make lovely balanced wines at 12-12.5 Baume in cooler years.

It would probably also go well in moderate climates, perhaps making a slightly richer wine but may not have the hallmark pepper characteristics of the variety.

By Peter Dry, Emeritus Fellow, The Australian Wine Research Institute

BACKGROUND

Schioppettino (skee-op-eh-tee-no) was first mentioned in the late 19th century in Friuli (near Udine) in Italy as ‘Ribolla Nero’. DNA analysis has since revealed that it is not actually a black variant of Ribolla. The variety had almost disappeared by the early 20th century after Friuli was hit by phylloxera but was revived in the 1970s due to interest in indigenous varieties in the region. It was included in the list of authorised varieties for the Udine province in 1981 and achieved DOC status in 1987. In 2016 there were just 87 hectares plated in Italy, entirely restricted to Udine. Schioppettino is used in the DOCs

of both Colli Orientali del Friuli and Friuli Isonzo where it may be blended with Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso. It is also used in IGT Venezia Giulia. Schioppettino has almost disappeared in neighbouring Slovenia where it is known as Pocalza or Pokalza. It is a recent import to Australia with just three known producers in the Heathcote and Alpine Valleys regions.

VITICULTURE

Maturity is mid to late. Bunches are medium to large and well-filled with medium berries. Yield is moderate. It is reported to have average susceptibility to fungal diseases

but is prone to poor set and sunburn.

WINE

Schioppettino wines are generally mediumbodied with good colour, firm tannins and fresh acidity. Descriptors include perfume, fruity, spicy and peppery. Like Shiraz, this variety is naturally high in rotundone.

For further information on this and other emerging varieties, contact Marcel Essling at the AWRI (marcel.essling@awri.com.au or 08 8313 6600) to arrange the presentation of the Alternative Varieties Research to Practice program in your region.

WVJ

Husband and wife Glenn James and Jo Marsh, co-owners of Billy Button Wines and senior winemaker and chief winemaker, respectively.

Supporting winegrape growers in their transition to a low carbon economy

By Julie Rynski, Executive - Regional & Agribusiness, Australia, National Australia Bank

Just like sustainability issues are influencing decision-making in the wine industry, capital is also becoming ‘carbon conscious’ in the finance industry. There is now greater scrutiny around banks’ approach to climate change, with regulators evaluating how banks manage climate change financial risks while investors are setting more stringent emissions thresholds for their investments. Following her colleague Drew Bradford’s presentation to the 2022 Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference, Julie highlights the role the finance industry is having in encouraging agribusinesses to help decarbonise the world.

The Australian wine industry is an important part of Australia’s agricultural production as well as our hospitality and tourism industries. Like any part of the agricultural sector, it’s also not immune to challenges. From droughts, floods, fires, and labour shortages to China’s decision to impose large tariffs on bottled Australian wine imports in 2021, the industry knows how to pivot and innovate.

One of the biggest shifts and opportunities is the transition to a lower carbon economy and building resilience to climate change. We know sustainability and climate change is top of mind for many of our customers, our people, our stakeholders and the communities in which we operate.

It matters and it matters to us at NAB that we lead by example.

That’s why we’re working closely with our customers to understand where they’re currently at and what support they need to transition. There are opportunities for producers in the agricultural sector to set sustainability goals and demonstrate their credentials to capture new markets, and we’re here to help. Our focus is on supporting our customers to transition to a more sustainable and resilient future, with long-term profitability and success. We’re partnering with key industry organisations that strengthen our sustainability capabilities and understanding, because we know solving complex societal problems means working together.

In July, we commissioned new research revealing the economic opportunity in Australia’s transition to a net-zero economy by 2050. The research, ‘All Systems Go’ by

Deloitte Access Economics, found around $20 trillion will be invested in Australia’s economy out to 2050, regardless of whether we transition to net zero. However, to achieve our targets, this $20 trillion will need to be spent differently and the Australian economy must be structurally different to ensure we are best placed to emerge as a standout economy in a low emissions world.

‘All Systems Go’ pinpointed four economic systems that must become low emissions for a successful transition: energy, mobility, raw material manufacturing, and food and land use. Today, they represent around 90% of Australia’s emissions. This research reiterates that transformation to net zero is one that Australia can afford and the clear commercial opportunity for Australian businesses.

We’ve also partnered with research organisations like CSIRO and various Cooperative Research Corporations and universities.

To help winegrape growers make better business decisions, NAB (along with the Australian Wine Research Institute and the Queensland University of Technology) supported the Food Agility Cooperative Research Centre to develop an industryspecific Resource Intensity Score to link sustainable farming practices, including water use, energy use and carbon emissions, to financial performance.

Our partnership with Melbourne Business School (MBS) is about upskilling our people so they can have more informed customer conversations. All our agribusiness bankers will undergo climate training in a new course NAB developed in partnership with MBS. So

far, 50 agribusiness bankers have completed the training and we’re aiming to have them all trained by the end of 2022. We want our bankers to be knowledgeable so they can support our customers and communities to make well informed decisions about investments that will drive the right financial and Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) outcomes.

While there are risks that can be managed, there are also many opportunities emerging that our customers are looking to capitalise on. A good example of using finance to pursue ESG goals is the bank’s Agri Green Loan pilot. The projects that are eligible for this loan type must drive improved environmental

outcomes like building climate resilience, decarbonising farm production, or increasing sequestration which, in turn, increases productivity and profitability.

A NAB Agri Green Loan can help agribusiness customers invest in a range of eligible on-farm practices and projects, and implement sustainable on-farm practices and technologies to build resilience to climate related risks.

Among the customers in the wine industry who we’re working with to help lower emissions is Tahbilk Winery, Victoria’s oldest family-owned winery. Tahbilk is an industry leader when it comes to environmental protection and sustainability. Now in its fifth generation under the Purbrick family, Tahbilk was one of the first Australian wineries to be certified carbon neutral at both an organisation and product level.

With the help of three NAB Agri Green Loans (under the pilot), Tahbilk is continuing to build on its sustainability credentials. One of its biggest projects is the installation of 300kW of solar panels across three sites to reduce grid energy consumption by 39% and reduce its bills in the process.

Carbon initiatives are a huge component of Tahbilk’s sustainability credentials, with the winery certified carbon neutral in 2013, and it continues to reduce its reliance on offsets through projects like the solar panel installations.

Land and property management techniques play a role too; reducing the use of pesticides is a cost-saver, but it also minimises Tahbilk’s carbon footprint by cutting out the emissions used in producing, transporting and using the pesticides.

Key to enabling the reduced use of pesticides, Tahbilk is cultivating different species of flowering plants in and around vine blocks. Other initiatives include establishing wildlife corridors and protecting wetlands.

We’re also investing in market-leading technology — we’ve partnered with DownForce Technologies to remotely measure the historical and potential soil organic carbon levels across several of our customers farms. This type of technology has the potential for our customers to be more targeted in farmland management activities and interventions to improve soil organic carbon, to increase their productivity and resilience to drought, but also potentially participate more safely in the carbon markets when they better understand their historical low levels of carbon and future potential top levels.

We know innovation in this space is critical, so we’re funding customers who have developed innovative technologies that help to address climate change. For example, agricultural firm and NAB customer Agrimix has developed a new legume pasture with researchers from James Cook University. The drought-resistant pasture can help greenhouse gas mitigation by drawing more carbon out of the atmosphere and storing it in the ground. Research also suggests it can reduce the methane production from cattle, sheep and goats.

There’s a lot of exciting work happening across the industry. This is an ever-evolving space where we’re all continuing to learn and grow. It’s vital

A marketing framework for achieving sustainable NOLO growth

By Justin Cohen, Senior Marketing Scientist, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, University of South Australia

The growth in no and low alcohol products presents an opportunity for the Australian wine industry. But where do wineries start in terms of deciding what to offer drinkers interested in purchasing wine in this category? Justin offers some guidance.

No and low alcohol (NOLO) is an emerging subcategory getting a lot of attention in the wine industry and the broader alcohol category. This is being driven by technical advancements, perceived consumer demand and a desire for businesses to unlock growth. For an emerging area, there is a lot of great work emanating from Australia. Dolan (2021) provides a great synopsis on research for motivations for and barriers to NOLO wines. Looking at the broader alcohol category and from a global perspective, Distill Ventures (2022) released a report that aggregates several statistics and forecasts about the value of the NOLO subcategory in the US, Germany and Japan suggesting there is also a potential opportunity in export markets as well.

Wine Australia, the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), South Australia’s Department of Primary Industries (PIRSA), other industry bodies, wine researchers and industry stakeholders are gearing up to conduct R&D that will support the Australian wine industry’s technical, regulatory and market development capabilities in the NOLO subcategory. The outcomes of these efforts will provide welcome knowledge to those thinking of creating NOLO wines and support brands already operating in this space.

This article uses my experience working with brands on their growth from a marketing perspective and, as always, is based on the framework for sustainable growth of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science (Sharp 2010, Romaniuk and Sharp 2016).

SUCCESS OF THE NOLO SUBCATEGORY IS PREDICATED ON INCREASING THE NUMBER OF BUYERS

Marketeers with more traditional, nonevidence-based training tend to favour strategies that focus on loyalty and targeting

Whilst there is a demand for NOLO products, the opportunity for scalable growth comes from orientating NOLO wines to current wine buyers and alcohol category buyers rather than just those who do not consume alcohol or require lower alcohol products.

specific segments deemed to be of the greatest value. These decisions can be based on maths that work out, but the reality is that achieving those sales are not plausible. Growth will rather come through increasing penetration (the number of buyers). Cohen and Dawes (2022) illustrate key growth principles in the Australian alcohol retailing context for those interested in a short, contextspecific illustration.

For large-scale wine brands that already have high penetration, embarking on a NOLO strategy can make sense as it creates an opportunity to expand their customer base if they are already maxing out their penetration among wine buyers. However, there is a more significant opportunity to orientate an existing wine portfolio to the broader alcohol market before moving onto the development of NOLO stock keeping units (SKUs). It is important to understand that most people buy from a repertoire. This is also evident when looking at the buyer behaviour of alcohol subcategories. Distill Ventures (2022) highlight that 83% of consumers switch between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Whilst China is not currently a viable market for Australia, research conducted there proves this point

well. Cohen et al. (2018) showed that a typical alcohol drinker consumes about 2.5 types of alcohol a year. Therefore, whilst there is a demand for NOLO products, the opportunity for scaleable growth comes from trying to orientate NOLO wines to current wine buyers and, more broadly, alcohol category buyers rather than just those who do not consume alcohol or require lower alcohol products. We need to develop strategies to get NOLO wine into all buyers’ repertoires and this will be predicated on how successful brands and the broader industry are in building relevant memory structures associating NOLO with key purchase and consumption occasions.

WHILST THERE ARE PERCEPTUAL ISSUES, THE BIGGEST IMPEDIMENT IS THAT BUYERS DON’T THINK

ABOUT NOLO

Corsi et al. (2022) qualitatively investigated attitudes towards NOLO in the Australian market. Their work will be very useful in guiding the efforts the broader industry aims to focus on in improving Australia’s capability in the NOLO subcategory. Whilst I agree there are perceptual problems that need to be worked on, over time, technical improvements and production experience

will ameliorate these issues. In my opinion, the bigger marketing issue is that beverage buyers simply don’t think about NOLO as a subcategory when they have a potential category need. Therefore, adopting the Mental Availability framework (Romaniuk and Sharp, 2016) is critical for growing the NOLO subcategory.

export markets if the regulatory environment can be satisfied. This is an opportunity to reach a wider buyer base. Another interesting question that needs investigation is where NOLO products should be placed in a wine or alcohol retailer. I would suggest that rather than, or in addition to, having a NOLO aisle/corner, NOLO products could be placed within their competitive full alcohol landscape. This gives them a greater chance of getting noticed and purchased by those who may trial a NOLO product with the strategic goal of adding NOLO to their repertoire. A buyer on a specific shopper mission to buy a NOLO product may seek out the NOLO section, but there is a much more scaleable opportunity present where buyers of alcoholic versions of those products will be shopping. Brands should also be mindful of the damaging impact of price promotions and should not see this is a sustainable tool for growing the adoption of NOLO wines (Cohen 2021b).

BEING DISTINCTIVE IS THE KEY TO GETTING NOTICED

what the higher penetration varietals and styles are in their markets of focus and try and align their NOLO development with these. Whilst the NOLO category looks attractive in terms of its rapid growth, it is starting from a small base. Brands should not ignore their top selling, full alcohol SKUs. If the building blocks of your business start to falter it will be challenging to allocate investment to develop and build the NOLO subcategory.

REFERENCES

Cohen, J.; Driesener, C.; Huang, A.; Corsi, A.M. and Sbalchiero, F. (2018) We need to be thinking about all alcohol drinkers in China. Wine & Viticulture Journal 33(2):60-61.

Cohen, J.; Driesener, C.; Huang, A.; Lockshin, L.; Corsi, A.M.; Bruwer, J. and Lee, R. (2019) What brings a Chinese alcohol drinker into the category. Wine & Viticulture Journal 34(1):67-68.

Cohen, J.; Driesener, C.; Huang, A.; Lockshin, L.; Corsi, A.M.; Bruwer, J. and Lee, R. (2020) The mental availability of different countries of origin in China. Wine & Viticulture Journal 35(1):68-69.

Research must be done to identify what the key buying and consumption occasions that resonate with the largest buyer bases in Australia and key export markets. This work has previously been done in China, supported by Wine Australia (Cohen et al. 2019, 2020). The work has been mainly reported at a Country-of-Origin (COO) level, but it was also validated for application at the subcategory level.

It is critical that we obtain a behavioural understanding of what consumption/purchase occasions will have the highest penetration and prioritise communications strategies around connecting NOLO with these buying occasions. Working on fixing the perceptual issues matter but shifting perceptions will take time and it’s likely those with initial NOLO experience are from a smaller base of the heavier buyers. The biggest opportunity will come from getting thought of more often by the many more lighter buyers which illustrates how the principles of the laws of growth underpin mental availability.

THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPAND DISTRIBUTION, BUT PLANNING IS REQUIRED TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR LOCATION IN STORE/ONLINE

Cohen (2021c) is a summary of the key principles of Physical Availability. There should be opportunity to range NOLO, or at least the no alcohol range of wines, in an expanded number of sales channels within Australia and

Distinctive Assets (Romaniuk, 2018), the non-brand name elements that help your brand stand out, are a critical piece that ties together your communication and distribution efforts. For more specific examples of how these can be used in wine, please refer to Cohen (2020, 2021a). Brands will have a greater chance of NOLO success if they launch brand extensions with a focus on retaining the distinctiveness of their alcoholic versions whilst clearly demarcating that these new products are NOLO. Strategies to create new brands will have an even bigger challenge as there will be additional costs in managing and marketing a new brand that has no awareness in the market. Whilst this may be seen as a risk reduction strategy to avoid negative spillover from perceptual issues, the fact that NOLO is not being thought of is a far greater impediment to growth than the perceptual issue. The wine category can learn from the success of other zero alcohol brand extensions that have retained the distinctive assets of their alcoholic versions.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

Innovation in NOLO will be led by advancements in technical capability and the success of the production outcomes. However, varietals and styles should be driven by what has mass appeal to buyers. This means that success will be predicated on launching NOLO SKUs that will appeal to occasional and infrequent buyers. Brands need to understand

Cohen, J. (2020) Change isn’t always a good thing: using distinctive assets to improve marketing strategy. Wine & Viticulture Journal 35(4):62-63.

Cohen, J. (2021a) The challenge of making your wine label distinctive. Wine & Viticulture Journal 36(2):64-66

Cohen, J. (2021b) Avoid marketing pitfalls so you can invest in sustainable growth. Wine & Viticulture Journal 36(1):73-74.

Cohen, J. (2021c) There is more to sales strategy than just distribution. Wine & Viticulture Journal 36(3):71-72.

Cohen, J. and Dawes, J. (2022) Marketing is fundamental for SA businesses. Business SA https://business-sa.com/about-business-sa/mediacentre/a-fundamental-of-growth-for-south-australianbusinesses

Corsi, A.M.; Dolan, R.; Goodman, S. and Pearson, W. (2022) Exploring the attitudes and expectations of Australian drinkers and non-drinkers towards Low and No-Alcohol (NOLO) wines. Wine & Viticulture Journal 37(4):70-72.

Distill Ventures (2022) One for every occasion. Distill Ventures Spotlight Report https://distillventures-uploads.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/ dv-spotlight-doc.pdf

Dolan, R. (2021) Health, wellness, mindfulness, Dry July, or just a fad? What’s motivating us to try NOLO wines. Wine Communicators of Australia Newsletter, August, pp1-3.

Romaniuk, J. (2018) Building Distinctive Brand Assets. Melbourne, Oxford University Press.

Romaniuk, J. and Sharp, B. (2016) How brands grow: Part 2. Melbourne, Oxford University Press.

Sharp, B. (2010) How brands grow. Melbourne, Oxford University Press.

“We need to develop strategies to get NOLO wine into all buyers’ repertoires and this will be predicated on how successful brands and the broader industry are in building relevant memory structures associating NOLO with key purchase and consumption occasions.”

How will the current economic climate influence wine consumption?

The extreme and rapid negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy in 2020 has been well documented. Economies around the world were hit with high unemployment rates as whole industries were shut down over night. As a result, many governments implemented stimulus packages to weather the storm and help their citizens to, at least financially, survive the pandemic. These vast economic movements — first decline, then swift rebound — has meant that world economies have had a hard time adjusting to unprecedented and quickly changing conditions.

CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS IN KEY MARKETS

This yo-yo of economic performance has caused inflation to rise steeply in many markets, as consumers spent their funds on goods rather than services, and the cost of those goods has increased due to the global shipping issues and the conflict in Eastern Europe. Figure 1 (see page 74) shows how inflation has reached levels of at least 6 per cent in all four of the key markets analysed (which represent 80% of Australian wine sales). In addition, annual GDP growth is much less than inflation and is on a downward trend. One of the positive factors is unemployment which remains low at around 3.5% in Australia, the UK and the US.

One method to temper inflation is for central banks to raise interest rates. Raising interest rates can cool down an overheated economy by making saving look more attractive, loans less so, and decreasing disposable income — thus bringing down demand for goods and services. During COVID-19, and the most

recent years before it, interest rates were at historical lows in key markets. The response by central banks in the markets shown in Figure 1 has been fairly unified, quickly raising interest rates (to an average of 2.8% across the four markets, as at October 2022) in order to bring down inflation as quickly as possible.

HOW DOES INFLATION AFFECT THE PRICE OF WINE?

Can we expect the same price increases in wine as other goods? The data from Australia so far points to ‘no’. Figure 2 (see page 74) shows the percentage increase compared to the same quarter in the previous year of wine, beer, spirits and ‘all goods’ sold in Australia. While there is a lot of variation, the change in price has stayed within a predictable level, except for spirits in 2008 (as a result of the introduction of the alcopop tax), and ‘all goods’ in the most recent quarters. Importantly, it seems that the alcoholic categories have not risen in price along with the rest of the goods in the economy.

This may not always be the case; price increases could just be delayed in wine compared to other goods as there is only one grape intake per year. The cost of producing wine is growing as the cost of inputs — labour, packaging, energy — increases, and some of this cost may eventually be passed on to the consumer.

Multiple studies are showing that lowincome consumers are disproportionally trading down as prices rise. IRI reports that in the United States FMCG stores in low-income areas are seeing more consumers trading out of ‘indulgence’ categories, such as candy, seafood and energy drinks.

Another study, also from the US and conducted in July 2022, stated that 20% of those earning more than $100,000 per year said they drank more alcohol in the past month, while only 12% of those earning less than $50,000 reported doing the same. In fact, 37% of those in the lower income bracket drank less alcohol. The study also presents the view that the continued strong spending by high income earners is so far masking the decline in consumption by low-income earners. But if the financial well-being of all consumers keeps declining, premium categories will also start to be affected.

In the US on-premise, a quarter of consumers have reported going out less often than usual in the past three months, with the primary reason for doing so being cost of living increases and higher prices. Seven in 10 consumers have noticed price increases in bars/restaurants and a third of these consumers have been purchasing less drinks and visiting the on-premise less often (CGA).

WHAT IF A GLOBAL RECESSION DEVELOPS?

As central banks increase interest rates, the danger is that demand will be suppressed so far as to throw economies into recession. In Australia, it has been 22 years since these levels of interest rate increases have been experienced, hitting the bank accounts of homeowners very hard and pushing down consumer confidence (IRI MarketEdge). In the US, they have already had two quarters of negative economic growth. The World Bank has released a study indicating that central banks are expected to raise interest rates to 4% by 2023, and yet inflation is only expected

to be curtailed to 5% by these moves. In order to bring inflation back to an ideal level, an additional increase of two percentage points could be needed — and they project that this will dampen global GDP growth to just 0.5% in 2023.

So how isolated is wine consumption from the effects of a recession? Looking at IWSR data for US wine consumption during the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis (GFC) could give some clues.

Figure 3 reveals that during 2008 the volume of wine consumption in the US grew by 1.1%, while value declined by 1.5%. However, value made a strong rebound in the subsequent years, growing by 8% in 2011, while volume made a more gradual recovery.

The decline in the value of wine consumption was driven by a sudden drop in the growth of premium wine (US$10 per bottle and above). In 2007, before the GFC hit, the volume of premium wine consumed grew by 9%; this fell to a decline of 1% in the next year (see Figure 4). However, the growth of premium wine recovered relatively quickly, growing by 13% in 2011, nearly as much as it grew in 2006. This indicates that, while premiumisation might take a temporary hit, it tends to recover quite quickly once the recession has passed.

In contrast, the growth rates of commercial wine hardly changed during this period. IWSR reports that commercial wine tends to stay on its growth trajectory during recessions. What remains to be seen is how commercial wine will grow during any potential recessions in 2022-23 as it has been on a downward trajectory, declining by 2% on average per annum in the past five years.

One positive outcome from all this economic turmoil is that the Australian dollar has fallen in value compared to the US dollar, and this is good news for Australian wine exporters. A lower exchange rate means that Australian wine will be more competitive in overseas markets.

Figure 1. Annual GDP growth, inflation, interest, and unemployment rates in key markets. Source: TradingEconomics, as at October 2022.

Figure 2. Consumer Price Index, Australia – alcoholic drink categories versus all goods. Source: Australia Bureau of Statistics

Figure 3. Year-on-year growth rates of US wine consumption by volume and value. Source: IWSR

Figure 5. Retail USD per bottle. Source: IWSR

Figure 4. Year-on-year growth rates of premium and commercial wine in the US. Source: IWSR

Bringing poise to $30-50 Pinot Noir

DARREN BURKE WINEMAKER

VITICULTURE

The estate-grown block that provides the fruit for this wine is located on Founds Rd on the Bellarine Peninsula, approximately 6km south of the township Portarlington and 6km east of the township of Clifton Springs.

The rows run north-south and the vineyard is slightly south facing which is very rare on the Bellarine Peninsula. The soil comprises 10cm of dark grey volcanic clay, then a further 20cm of medium clays with basalt gravels. The following 60-90cm continues with further clays and gravel.

The period from October to April in 2020-21 was warm and mostly dry, reflecting the cool maritime climate of the region. November, December, January and February all had the odd day in the mid 30°C range, however the monthly means were around 22-24°C. We had modest rainfall in November and December with a good downpour of 40mm in late January setting the vines up for a perfect ripening season with little or no rainfall again until late March.

The Pinot Noir vines were planted in the late 1990s so have a vine age of around 25 years now. The clones of Pinot Noir are 115 and MV6. The trellis system adopted is VSP and the vines are currently spur pruned to two buds. The target double-bud spurs is 14-16 per vine, leading to a target yield of around 2.0-2.5 tonnes per acre. In 2021, the yield for the 115 was 2t/ac and the MV6 a miserly 1.2t/ ac.

Rows are 2.5m apart and vines 1.5m apart. In the 2020-21 season little irrigation was required to maintain vine vigour and health.

Sustainable practices are typically being followed, for example utilising the use of marc compost under vine as required.

Looking forward, this vineyard will undergo some significant re-working with planned conversion to cane pruning in the next two years.

WINEMAKING

The Pinot Noir is machine picked with a super modern Pellenc tow-behind harvester

with on-board sorting. As a result, the fruit comes into the winery in great condition with the bins occupied only with whole berries and a small amount of juice with little to no MOG. The fruit is simply weighed and tipped directly into fermenters ranging in size from one tonne to five tonnes. Predominantly indigenous ferments are encouraged with the occasional trial batch of inoculated fruit.

Total time on skins would be around 1015 days. Some batches are held at around 20-25°C for ferment to promote fragrance and freshness, while the remainder would generally get up to around 28-30°C.

Batches are either pumped over or hand plunged once per day when the cap is up.

When dry, ferments are pressed off with the free run kept separate from the pressings. Generally, they are recombined at final blending time for the finished wine.

Post press, the wine is settled for a number of days then cleanly racked to 300L French oak barrels, 20% of which are new. Malolactic fermentation occurs in barrel (combination of natural and inoculated). Post malo, the wine is sulfured, generally around July.

The wine is topped monthly, then after around 10 months in barrel is blended, filtered and bottled. Typically, the wine is released after 12 months in bottle.

MARKETING

The Leura Park Pinot Noir is a premium brand in our range. It is sold mostly in Victoria on and off premise outlets with a small amount exported to Singapore pre- COVID-19.

We also have an active and productive mail order and online sales component to the business.

The label, apart from mandatory requirements, has been unchanged for the last 10 years!

Leura Park Estate winemaker Darren Burke.

VITICULTURE

The fruit for the 2021 Black Label Pinot Noir was sourced from a premium single vineyard in Yering, located within the Yarra Valley. 2021 is widely regarded as one of the best Yarra Valley vintages, with cool temperatures allowing slow, consistent ripening of the Pinot Noir, producing perfumed fruit with fine-lined acidity — ideal for current consumption and cellaring.

The Yering vineyard is somewhat of a warmer site within the Yarra and naturally produces a bigger, richer style of Pinot with more structure. The viticulture and winemaking are all about balancing the production of a bigger, richer style of Pinot while still maintaining the elegance that is synonymous with the variety.

We look for some lignification of the stems and phenological ripeness of the seeds, without the sugar levels getting out of control. We find we achieve this at around 13 Baumé (vintage dependent).

WINEMAKING

The fruit is hand harvested. Upon arrival at the winery the grapes are destemmed only to retain whole berries before being put through a two-day cold soak to extract rich aromatics and colour along with delicate tannin extraction.

The wine goes through open-pot fermentation with gentle twice daily pumpovers. Fifty per cent of the pots are inoculated and the other 50% go through a ‘wild’ fermentation. The hard pressings are kept separate from the free run wine. The free run is matured in French oak hogsheads for nine to 10 months with 30% being new French oak from a selection of four different cooperages.

The goal with this wine is to let its bold primary fruit and structural tannin shine. In recent times we have changed our pump-over regime. The longer pump-overs take place prior to and during the initial phase of fermentation. After the first third of fermentation the pumpovers essentially become almost non-existent as the aim is just to wet the cap of the ferment. This has resulted in the wines being much more elegant.

DOLAN DIRECTOR ADRIAN SANTOLIN CHIEF WINEMAKER YARRA VALLEY, VICTORIA

MARKETING

The 2021 Black Label Pinot Noir is part of our bold ‘Black Label’ range. Unique and lesser-known varietals are given their place in the Rob Dolan Wines line-up amongst the Black Label range of wines, which are perfect for the adventurous wine drinker. The 2021 Black Label Pinot shares a label among other varietals such as Arneis and Savagnin

and appeals to the wine drinker that wants to branch out and try wines that are given a different approach from vineyard to winery.

The Black Label wines are primarily sold through wine bars and restaurants throughout Australia. We have recently been having export success with the Black Label range.

The Rob Dolan Wines Black Label Pinot Noir is also delicious chilled.

ROB

Director of Rob Dolan Wines, Rob Dolan

VITICULTURE

The grapes for this wine came from three different vineyards:

• The Launceston City vineyard - located at the top of hill in the middle of Launceston. The vineyard blocks are 140 metres above sea level and have a gentle slope of 6%. This is a high density vineyard with vine spacings of 0.5m. Vines are grown in a shallow, rocky soil where they develop a balanced canopy. The fruit comes from more than 65 different Pinot Noir clones.

• Ninth Island Vineyard block D16 - this Pinot Noir block is clone 115. The vineyard block is at 80m.above sea level. The block is located just 600m from the Tamar River on a gently slope of 11%. With vine spacings of 1.35m, the soil is a brown dermosol on basalt colluvium.

• Pipers Brook Vineyard - the two blocks from where we take fruit have narrow row spacings of 1.8m and are grown on a low trellis. The blocks are at 80m above sea level and contain 35-year-old vines that are non-irrigated and have developed a natural balanced vine canopy. This is a

special clone selection from where we are propagating our new developments. They are on gentle slopes of 8% and 4%. The soil is a red ferrosol on tertiary basalt.

The blocks have a target crop of 5-7 tonnes per hectare. The crop is adjusted before veraison to one bunch per shoot, removing agglomeration and fruit on short shoots.

The irrigated vines at Launceston City and Ninth Island receive around 15-20% of evapotranspiration as a reference but this is monitored. Pipers Brook is a dry grown vineyard. All blocks are cane pruned leaving less than 15 buds per kilogram of pruning weight. Shoot thinning is done on young shoots (+/- 50-100mm) to stimulate an adequate shoot spacing and regulate shoot competition. Main diseases are downy mildew and late season botrytis.

A gentle leaf pluck is done manually on basal leaves on the morning side of the canopy a couple of weeks before veraison.

The fruit is hand picked which allows us to do another quality control on our product and select only the bunches that have the standard quality.

WINEMAKING

Fruit was harvested by hand and chilled overnight in a cool room before whole bunches were carefully destemmed to keep berries intact.

Following approximately seven days of cold soaking, fermentation via a combination of wild and inoculated yeast took place in small open vats, with an average of 1015% whole bunch included in the ferment. A combination of hand plunging and pumping over was employed throughout fermentation. The resulting wine was gently pressed in our basket press and the individual parcels aged on lees in French oak puncheons in our cool underground cellars for nine months. Around 25% new oak was used for maturation. It was bottled under screw cap to preserve intensely perfumed aromatics and expressive fruit.

We had some fairly large changes take place around six years ago, both in viticulture and winemaking, which saw a shift in our approach towards Pinot Noir. Since then, recent years have seen a subtle evolution in our practices which have been more about responding to what we have learned from our vineyard sites. This has seen us pick earlier on some sites, change the amount of whole bunch in other sites, change how extractive our cap management is for some blocks, and the list goes on. In this way we have seen our winemaking become more tailored to individual parcels to try and give the best expression of these unique sites.

MARKETING

Pipers Brook Estate Pinot Noir is an icon and one of the most popular of our releases. It’s released with priority to our wine club and premium wholesale customers with limited availability in export markets if available after satisfying our local allocations.

Pipers Brook winemaker Luke Whittle.

Australia and New Zealand battle in $30-$50

Pinot Noir tasting

By Sonya Logan

Thirty-two wines – including nine from New Zealand – were entered in our recent blind tasting of Pinot Noir with recommended retail prices of between $30-$50. The regions represented by the Australian entries included the Adelaide Hills, Geelong, Canberra, Tasmania, Bellarine Peninsula, Orange, Yarra Valley, Strathbogie Ranges, Coonawarra, Mornington Peninsula, and Ballarat.

The panellists for the tasting were winemakers Peter Leske, from Revenir winery, in the Adelaide Hills; Clare Dry, from Seppelt; and Hylton McLean, from Honey Moon Vineyard, also based in the Adelaide Hills.

Peter Leske commented on the diversity of colour in the wines in the tasting, saying, “If you had a line up of lots of other varieties you wouldn’t see such diversity of colour”.

Also commenting on the colour of the wines, Clare Dry said the tasting had highlighted how important it was not to judge Pinot Noir by its colour.

“There were some really intense wines with very pale colour and, conversely, some of the wines that were very deep in colour lacked the nuance and varietal character you want to see in a Pinot Noir,” she said.

Dry said the tasting had also demonstrated that winemakers were endeavouring to add complexity to Pinot Noir.

“You want to see a lot of layering and complexity and some of these wines have done a great job with the use of whole bunch and stalks; and it’s really well integrated. The oak has been bang on with some of them too along with the tannins and the flow.

“Some of the wines perhaps had too much whole bunch and not enough fruit intensity to carry it, especially with some of the older wines,” Dry continued. “There’s some really lovely wines in here.”

Leske said that there was the odd wine in the line-up that was either a little advanced for its age or surprisingly unadvanced, but agreed some were “really lovely”.

“Some of the ‘20s, in particular, are just at that nice point of being ‘drink now’.

“Some wines had really lovely complexity — whole bunch characters and berries as well as oak and a bit of age; restrained but complex drinks.

“There was generally more tannin than I expected which is a good thing because over the last few years there’s been a move towards delicacy in Pinot and I don’t think Pinot should necessarily be delicate. I think they need tannin; they should have some age-worthiness about them.”

Referencing the wines he regarded as being advanced for their age, Leske admitted that it wasn’t always possible to make Pinot that ages.

“Really good Pinots should be hitting their straps and be lovely at two years but should still be fine after four or five years. The serious Burgundies don’t hit their straps for two to three years.

“In some years it is hard to make Pinot that ages – it just doesn’t want to; no matter what you do, after two years they start to trail off,” he conceded, although he didn’t think this applied to any of the vintages represented in the tasting.

Hylton McLean said the better wines in the tasting had “both flavour intensity and layers of flavour combined with quite a satisfying tannin structure which gave you a nice lingering, drying finish”.

Noting the range of styles in the tasting, McLean said this was likely influenced by the fact that Pinot is a notoriously difficult variety to grow and make a good dry red table wine from because of its sensitivity to climatic conditions, and the various clones likely to be represented in the line-up.

“We don’t know what clones these wines were made from so that’s another complex ingredient in trying to make a good Pinot. Matching clones to site is a real hit and miss exercise,” he said.

The three panellists agreed the top wines in the line-up were the 2021 Leura Park Estate Pinot Noir, 2021 Rob Dolan Black Label Pinot Noir and 2021 Pipers Brook Estate Pinot Noir.

Tasting panellists Clare Dry and Peter Leske and (right) Hylton McLean.

LEURA PARK ESTATE

2021 PINOT NOIR

Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria 12.5%v/v

RRP$48.00/bottle

Best of tasting: Mid scarlet in colour with a brick red hue. Initially quite closed but complex nose of cherry juice, herbs, some oak and a touch of nice flinty sulfide poking through. Soft, supple and full flavoured palate of ripe cherry flavours and classic powdery tannins; nice amount of flint and stalky characters coming through; good fleshy, spicy and herbal characters. Sweet midpalate backed by a good long palate structure. “Well made and varietal; lovely wine,” noted one taster.

ROB DOLAN WINES

2021

NOIR

BLACK LABEL PINOT

Yarra Valley, Victoria 13.0%v/v

RRP$28.00/bottle

Best of tasting: Mid scarlet in colour with a brick red rim. Good, sweet, obvious Pinot Noir nose featuring intense cherry aromas, mulberry leaf and cedary oak; confit and herbs also apparent. Rich and sweet early on the palate; good blend of red berries and savoury herbs; attractive cedar/vanilla oak. Good structure and tight acid. Velvety, powdery tannins. “Long flavours just carry the acid and tannin,” noted one taster. “Quite Burgundian looking,” wrote another.

PIPERS BROOK VINEYARD

2021 PIPERS BROOK

ESTATE PINOT NOIR

Pipers River, Tasmania 13.5%v/v

RRP$50.00/bottle

Best of tasting: Light garnet in colour with a scarlet hue. Lots of lovely whole bunch characters on the youthful nose which is powerfully herbal and spicy; ripe cherries, ripe plums and violets along with some flint, wet cement and oak. Big ball of whole bunch characters in the mouth where more cherry fruit can be found; palate is layered with stalk influence driving the length but not dominating; cedary oak and velvety tannins. Good structure and intensity and will probably age well. “Showy but well done,” one taster described the wine overall. “Very well made, fresh and tight with plenty of layers,” noted another.

BARRISTERS BLOCK

WINES 2022 PINOT NOIR

Adelaide Hills, South Australia

13.5%v/v

RRP$30.00/bottle

Intense colour of bright ruby. Clean, fresh, simple but attractive nose of cherries, plums and red currants; slight spiciness; touch of stalkiness adds depth. Sweet, dense core of fruits on the palate including cherries, blueberries and plums; gentle but slightly sappy tannins; cedary oak; slight bitterness on the finish. “Reasonable intensity and depth but lacking some layering/ complexity,” noted one taster.

“Very fresh and young,” wrote another.

Crafted

From design through to final production, our experienced craftsman take pride in creating closures that are as unique as your wines.

closures of excellence

CLYDE PARK ESTATE

2021 PINOT NOIR

Geelong, Victoria 12.5%v/v

RRP$48.00/bottle

Pale scarlet in colour with a slight brick red hue. Intense oak and herbs on the quite stalky nose along with some mint/menthold; strawberry and violet notes also evident along with dry hay and cherry stone. Ripe strawberries on the palate which has a juicy intensity and distinct herbal edges; slight savoury/ developed flavours; soft tannin. “Reasonably well made but fruit is lacking vitality,” concluded one taster. “Lacking freshness,” agreed another.

NOIR

New South Wales / Canberra District 12.5%v/v RRP$30.00/bottle

Slightly advanced colour of light red with some brown hues. Nose features lifted, varietal notes of hay, compost, sweet organics and intense sweet berry fruit, including Morello cherries and ripe strawberries, and some herbs. A faint caramel note is also evident. Palate is leaner and drier than the nose suggests; lacks some vibrancy and depth of fruit. Low in acid. Some chewy tannins and herbs on the finish. “Starting to show some age already,” noted one taster.

Tamar Valley, Tasmania 13.0%v/v RRP$42.00/bottle

Youthful colour of mid garnet with a slight ruby hue. Big, sweet, oaky and minty nose which features ripe cherries and some earth, herbs, rhubarb notes. Rich, quite plump palate of plummy ripe fruit and rich cherries. Mint and herb characters echo the nose. Full-flavoured, rich oak drives the mid palate. Velvety tannins. Fine acidity although perhaps slightly raspy. Drying and stalky finish. Good length. “Good depth of colour but a touch over-ripe and lacks some nuance,” concluded one taster. “Good intensity

Victoria 13.5%v/v RRP$50.00/bottle

Very light scarlet in colour with pale brick red hues. Lovely beguiling nose clearly showing evidence of lots of bunch work; intense aromatics of strawberry, cherry, ripe plum and flint. Palate has great density of flavour and layering –bunch characters apparent but are not overwhelming. Good strawberry fruit and soft, ripe plum favours along with some herbs and oak. Slight stewed fruit flavour. Very soft tannins. A touch short. One taster thought the wine was slightly swampy, saying, “There are some nice aspects to this wine that didn’t quite come together”. “Lacking

Mid scarlet in colour with a slight brick red hue. Ripe cherry and strawberry notes on the slightly dusty nose along with aromas of dried cherry, roast cherry tomatoes, tomato leaf, herbs, a touch of earth and a lick of oak. Palate is quite full, has a tight structure and generous stalky/herbal fruit. Fresh acidity which is perhaps a little bit low and savoury tannins. “Good –will age,” noted one taster.

“Good ‘Pinosity’ but lacking some vibrancy,” concluded another. “Simple, ripe and soft with some freshness of flavour,” wrote another.

LARK HILL 2021 REGIONAL PINOT

PONTING WINES 2021 MOWBRAY BOY PINOT NOIR

YES SAID THE SEAL 2021 PINOT NOIR Bellarine Peninsula,

JACK RABBIT VINEYARD 2021 PINOT NOIR Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria 13.7%v/v RRP$48.00/bottle

Our techical expertise, innovation and attention to detail are what sets us apart. With our state of the art facilities your creative options are endless.

closures of excellence

ROSS HILL 2021

PINNACLE SERIES

PINOT

NOIR

Orange, New South Wales 13.7%v/v

RRP$50.00/bottle

Deep garnet in colour with a youthful hue. Complex, interesting and quite ripe nose of violets, plums and cherries with some earth and slightly toasty oak; vanilla/panforte note also apparent; hint of herbs. Lovely rich palate with layers of red and plummy fruits. Dusty oak and chewy and grippy mid-palate tannins. Tight acid. “Great intensity and structure to age,” concluded one taster. “Pinot Noir in the Grenache spectrum; jubey, dense and tight,” added another. “Lacks some ‘Pinosity’; too ripe and luscious – want to see more grit,” said yet another.

RAPAURA SPRINGS

2021 SINGLE VINEYARD SOUTH BROOK VINEYARD

PINOT NOIR

Marlborough, New Zealand 13.5%v/v

RRP$50.00/bottle

Deep garnet in colour with a slight ruby hue. Peculiar and intense nose of dried herbs and sweet spice aromas along with ripe red fruits and stewed plums; minty/menthol note apparent. Full and quite luscious palate featuring plummy fruit and layers of red fruits. Hint of menthol/ eucalyptus. Quite oaky. Drying tannins. “Slightly peculiar flavours but good intensity,” summarised one taster. “Looking for more varietal character; big, ripe and oaky,” noted another.

WIGNALLS 2021 SINGLE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

Great Southern, Western Australia 14.0%v/v RRP$42.00/bottle

Mid scarlet in colour with a brick red hue. Intense, sweet fruit on the nose, including cherries and plums, along with herbs, spices and rhubarb. Attractive palate which is sweet early before spice and herbs kick in; a full mid-palate flows to slightly chewy tannins. Nice red fruit flavours with a touch of leather. Nice depth. Good length. “Good fruit intensity with some complexity,” noted one taster. Another taster felt the wine had prematurely aged.

FORREST

WINES 2021

PINOT NOIR

Marlborough, New Zealand 13.0%v/v RRP$35.00/bottle

Very deep ruby in colour with a slight purple hue. Brooding, spicy, toasty/ smoky nose which is somewhat onedimensional; violets and intense red fruit characters evident. One taster thought the nose was quite savoury, noting characters of roast beef and piquant cherry juice. Palate is dense, oaky and herbal with flavours of ripe cherries and sweet spice. “An intense wine but with a slight peculiar dried herb character,” concluded one taster. “A riper style lacking some vibrancy and nuance,” noted another taster, adding “unsure about the ageability of this

FOWLES WINE 2021 ARE

YOU GAME?

PINOT NOIR

Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria 13.6%v/v RRP$24.00/bottle

Light scarlet in colour with orange hues. Fragrant cherry and plum characters on the nose along with some enticing stalky menthol notes, red currants, sweet vanilla/ spice, herbs and a smoky note. Good flow and tension on the palate which has good, even, moderate herbs and spices in keeping with the nose. Fruit spectrum is a touch stalky and lacking. “Well made but the fruit could have been a touch riper when picked to add some more depth and dial back the whole bunch character,” noted one taster. “Understated but balanced – a good drink,” concluded another.

Trusted

closures of excellence

Trusted by Australia’s finest wine producers to provide unique closures of distinction. Our complete in-house manufacturing facility ensures your peace of mind at every step.

BLACK GRAPE SOCIETY 2021 THE MASTER PINOT NOIR

Central Otago, New Zealand 13.0%v/v RRP$35.00/bottle

Deep ruby in colour with a vibrant ruby hue. Nose is quite intense, inky and oaky with dark cherry and violet aromas. Vanilla spice and plum cake also apparent. Very intense spicy cherry, red and plum fruits on the palate; “a big ball of fruit before fresh acid and savoury tannin prevail”, one taster described the palate. Good length. Vanilla finish. “A riper style reminiscent of a New Zealand example,” concluded one taster, adding, “Looks more like a lean Shiraz – hard to pick varietal characters”. “Intense but not as complex as it could be,” noted another taster.

NOIR

Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria 13.7%v/v RRP$40.00/bottle

Light scarlet in colour with a brick red hue. Slightly stewed and medicinal nose which is looking prematurely aged but some lovely varietal character still apparent; light strawberry note with a woody/oaky aroma. One taster thought the nose was “vaguely reductive and oxidative at the same time”. Palate is less intense than the nose suggests and is somewhat savoury; cedary oak flavours combine with cherry stone, spices, stalkiness and some herbs and spices. Soft tannins; one taster said the tannins had a “fantastic shale-like quality”. Prematurely aged.

DIGIORGIO FAMILY WINES 2021 KONGORONG PINOT NOIR

Limestone Coast, South Australia 13.5%v/v RRP$35.00/bottle

Light garnet in colour with a youthful ruby hue. Perfumed nose of ripe plums, cherry, confit, spice, grenadine and slightly smoky oak with red currant undertones. Palate oozes fruit: cherries, plums, berries. Soft, velvety tannins give savoury, tannic length. Good structure. “A bigger style that is pretty well made,” concluded one taster, adding, “Still showing varietal character but would like a bit more nuance and less influence of oak.” “Slightly simple,” noted another. “Nice structure and intensity,” said yet another.

QUEALY WINEMAKERS 2021

BREAM CREEK VINEYARD 2021

TUSSIE

MUSSIE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 12.9%v/v RRP$48.00/bottle

Light red in colour with brown hues. Spicy light fruit on the slightly dull nose along with earthy, minty and herbal characters; cedary oak evident. Nose is similar to the palate –slightly dull, chewy and extracted with earthy and herbal notes and light spicy fruit. Unripe tannins. One taster thought the fruit might have been picked too early.

PINOT NOIR Tasmania 14.0%v/v

RRP$45.00/bottle

Light ruby in colour with a deep scarlet hue. A moderately intense nose that draws you in featuring cherries, violets, herbs, menthol, vanilla, spice and confit. Sweet, rich and full on the palate which oozes fruit, including red fruit, and has a savoury element. Touch of herbs. Soft, perfectly-weighted tannins. Warm finish. One taster felt a menthol note sat over the top of the palate and detracted from the vibrancy of the primary fruit. “Young and classy,” noted one taster. “Good fruit [but] slightly simple and lacking structure,” noted another.

FOWLES WINE 2021 LADIES WHO SHOOT THEIR LUNCH WILD FERMENT PINOT

closures of excellence

QUEALY WINEMAKERS

2021 MUSK CREEK

VINEYARD PINOT

NOIR

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 12.6%v/v RRP$48.00/bottle

Light brick red in colour. Oak seems to dominate the nose of this wine at the expense of the interest and charm; slightly stewed red fruit characters along with notes of compost and herbs. Palate is tight, dry and oaky at the beginning and end; some chewy fruits and nice tannins somewhat overwhelmed by herbal notes.

CLYDE PARK 2020

PINOT NOIR

Geelong, Victoria 12.5%v/v RRP$48.00/bottle

Light scarlet in colour with a brick red hue. Nose is almost completely savoury with little primary fruit apparent; stewy red fruit and herbs slightly discernible. One taster thought the nose was a good amalgam of aged, bunch and berry characters. Stewed cherries also apparent on the soft, sweet, fleshy and spicy palate which is also somewhat herbaceous and sappy. “Still holding together, but lacking some vibrancy,” concluded one taster. “Nice balance and stage of development; drink now and enjoy,” said another.

D’ARENBERG 2020

THE FERAL FOX PINOT NOIR

McLaren Vale, South Australia

(Fruit source: Adelaide Hills, South Australia) 13.5%v/v RRP$34.00/bottle

Light brick red in colour. Rhubarb, cherry, ripe plum and distinct herb flavours on the nose along with a slight cedary oak note; menthol from stalks initially detected. Palate has good flow and vibrancy with the acid pulling it through. Well-handled oak with lots of flavour including herbs, straw, strawberries, earth and leather. Fresh acidity and a nice lick of savoury tannin. “Really well made and definitely hanging on well,” concluded one taster.

RRP$48.00/bottle

Light brick red in colour. Somewhat simple nose of sweet fruit, including ripe plums and stewed red fruit, oak, spices and mint; a strong whole bunch signature apparent. Some age evident on the palate which is on the leaner side but flows well. Soft and fleshly yet a little hollow and short. Some red currant fruit flavours showing along with a touch of stalkiness. “Well made but lacking some depth; picking the fruit a touch later could have helped,” concluded one taster.

Marlborough, New Zealand 13.5%v/v RRP$45.90/bottle

Deep to mid ruby in colour. Closed, brooding and somewhat green nose; aromas of Christmas spice, vanilla, plums, cherries and violets along with smoky oak. Excellent depth of flavour on the palate but is rather overwhelmed by smoky oak. Touch of plum flavour and stalkiness. Soft tannin. “Lacks some structure and freshness,” noted one taster.

Refined

LEURA PARK ESTATE 2020 PINOT NOIR Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria 12.5%v/v

RAPAURA SPRINGS 2020 SINGLE VINEYARD LIMESTONE TERRACE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR

closures of excellence

At Interpack, our state of the art in-house manufacturing facility combined with our expert craftsmen, produce innovative solutions for all your closures. From exquisite muselets through to crown seals, beverage and wine closures.

WIGNALLS 2020

SINGLE VINEYARD

PINOT

NOIR

Great Southern, Western Australia 15.1%v/v RRP$36.00/bottle

Light garnet in colour with a brick red hue. Ripe cherry, rhubarb, confit and stalkiness on the nose along with some herbs and vanilla spice. Attractive palate with generous flavour in the red fruit spectrum; some oak spice also apparent. Velvety tannins albeit drying on the finish. Chewy structure. Slightly herbal finish. “A whole lotta wine,” concluded one taster. “Oak starting to dominate but overall still pretty good,” said another. “Nice fruit and some complexity,” said yet another.

YES SAID THE SEAL

2020 PINOT NOIR

Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria 13.5%v/v RRP$50.00/bottle

Light brick red in colour. Flinty reduction on the quite layered and complex nose along with cherries and ripe plums. Soft, silky palate which has good varietal notes and great tannin. One taster thought the wine was not ageing well while another concluded that in spite of its pale colour there were a lot of redeeming characters about it and was well made.

ROB DOLAN WINES

2020

WHITE LABEL

PINOT NOIR

Yarra Valley, Victoria 13.0%v/v RRP$38.00/bottle

Light brick red in colour with a brown rim. Somewhat simple and spicy nose of ripe plums, some berries and herbs and leather. One taster also detected a rubbery sulfide character. Palate has good flow and is better than the nose but fruit is a little stewed; good herbs and spice. “Good savoury structure with tannic length – drink now,” noted one taster. “Secondary characters starting to permeate,” noted another.

TWO DEGREES 2020

PINOT NOIR

Central Otago, New Zealand 14.5%v/v RRP$42.00/bottle

Mid ruby in colour with a dark red brick hue. Intense cherry and beetroot on the nose combined with stewed plums, spice, earth, vanilla, herbs and hints of oak. Nice whole bunch notes flow onto the palate which has an early ball of fruit upfront leading to a savoury, slightly chewy and herbal mid-palate. Primary fruit is quite plummy and a touch stewed. Touch of beetroot. Nice velvety tannins. Good length of flavours. Slightly alcoholic finish. “Not a shy wine but falling away,” concluded one taster. “Good density,

PINOT NOIR

Marlborough, New Zealand 13.4%v/v RRP$49.99/bottle

Mid ruby in colour with a dark, brick red hue. Rich, dark cherries, ripe plums, vanilla and confit on the sweet, spicy nose together with oak and a hint of herbs and mint. Rich red fruits on the dense palate which is slightly extracted but has good length of flavour. Soft, powdery tannins. “Some more varietal notes from stalk and bunch influence would have elevated this wine,” noted one taster,” adding, “well-made but drink now”. Another taster questioned whether the wine had the structure to age any further.

GIESEN 2019 SINGLE VINEYARD CLAYVIN

FORREST WINES

2019

TATTY BOGLER

PINOT NOIR

Marlborough, New Zealand (fruit source: Waitaki Valley) 13.5%v/v RRP$45.00/bottle

Dark brick red in colour with a brown hue. Very spicy and herbal aroma; touch of coffee and leather. “Quite stemmy,” noted one taster. Savoury palate which is somewhat developed for its age and very herbal, green and stemmy; notes of leather and compost also apparent.

GIESEN 2019 ORGANIC PINOT NOIR

Marlborough, New Zealand 13.0%v/v RRP$39.99/bottle

Mid ruby in colour with a garnet hue. Cherry, rhubarb and sweet spice on the nose along with some oak spice, herbs and mint. Good flow onto the palate which is dense and chalky yet fleshy; lacks some freshness. Flavours of ripe plums and cherries but overall lacks some fruit. Tannins are soft and powdery and add length. “Heading into secondary characters but still a lovely wine; don’t leave in the cellar too long,” concluded one taster, while another noted, “will age”.

NINTINGBOOL 2018

PINOT NOIR

Ballarat, Victoria 13.8%v/v RRP$35.00/bottle

Dark scarlet in appearance with a brick red hue. Nose is on the riper spectrum and features confit, cherry and berry aromas, ripe plums, leather and some herbs; slight smoky note. Palate is a bit fresher than the nose and has a good intensity of fruit, again, in the riper spectrum; cherry and rhubarb notes evident along with some herbs, complemented by some lovely tannins. “Nose lets this wine down but the palate ups the ante with great intensity, layering and tannins,” concluded one taster.

HONEY MOON VINEYARD 2018

PINOT NOIR Adelaide Hills, South Australia 14.3%v/v RRP$48.00/bottle

Mid garnet in colour with a brick red hue. Slightly advanced aromas of cola, confit, earth, herbs and menthol; some ripe cherries apparent. Nice, full, soft palate with lots of grainy tannins but lacks complexity; fruit looking a bit tired.

CHARLES RUEBEN ESTATE 2018 IAN’S RESERVE PINOT NOIR

Coal River Valley, Tasmania 13.8%v/v RRP$39.00/bottle

Dark garnet in colour with brick red hues. Spicy cherries, violets and oak on the nose. A somewhat divisive wine for the panellists as one thought it had good flavour intensity and length and a nice tannin structure. The other two tasters felt Brett had over-powered the wine and diminished its nuances and depth, noting 4EG and hints of 4EP on the nose and savoury and barnyard characters on the palate.

Advancing oak barrel performance — barrel hacks that create opportunities

WHAT ARE ELEVAGE-BARRELS?

Elevage-Barrels are larger sized, longlife barrels that are more flexible, efficient, economical and low carbon. In contrast to traditional methods, Elevage-Barrels reimagines barrels by separating and recombining oak and oxygen to deliver the same functionality and much more. By adding oak to the wine, not wine to the oak, all the new oak is exposed to all the wine all of the time over the entire barrel life.

WHY ARE ELEVAGE-BARRELS DIFFERENT?

Winemakers get new barrel oak every vintage and are able to adjust their new oak intensity needs from vintage to vintage to integrate desired oak nuances. Additionally, a choice of slow, pre-set oxygen transfer rates (OTR) give consistency from barrel to barrel and better balances the oak-OTR axis. This

results in faster, more effective maturation cycles, ensuring barrels are next-vintage ready, with no angel’s share topping required, reducing free sulfur dioxide (FSO2) issues and making it easier to create a more robust FSO2 average.

Elevage’s innovative barrel uniquely combines oak and oxygen flexibly with precision and is able to economically accommodate various wine grades to target a wider range of popular market price points.

WHY ELEVAGE GUARANTEES PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGES?

Being more versatile and durable, ElevageBarrels are easily integrated into existing barrel programs with proven quality, cost and winery decarbonisation advantages. With a choice of 1kL to 2kL sizes, advantages include the litre output cost being three times lower, the carbon footprint being five times lower,

existing cellar space increasing 50%, effective barrel life being seven times longer, with less waste compared to traditional barrels.

Every ten 1kL Elevage-Barrels (or five 2kL barrels) avoids harvesting an extra one hectare of aged oak forest that has been growing and sequestering carbon for 175 years.

HOW ELEVAGE AIDS PROGRESSIVE WINEMAKERS?

Winemakers have greater control and added flexibility and simplicity. Elevage-Barrels provide proven barrel hacks that aim to evolve the future of wine ageing and maturation by targeting lucrative market sweet spots, speaking to customer needs, with performance guarantees improving productivity (safer with easier handling, cleaning and maintenance), sustainability and reducing risks.

For further information email hello@elevagebarrels.com or visit www.elevagebarrels.com

Botrytis control in vines just got an upgrade

Nufarm’s all new circuit breaker for botrytis is now registered as an Australian Certified Organic (ACO) allowed input.

Registered for the control of botrytis and powdery mildew in the one spray, Nufarm Intervene offers growers:

• brand new mode of action for the Australian market (Group 19)

• an ACO certified allowed input (ACO Cert. No. 11540)

• nil withholding period — low residue profile enables flexible positioning*

• nil marking on fruit

• suitable for use in IPM programs.

“I can highly recommend Intervene to other growers and viticulturists,” said Jenny

Venus, viticulturist for Brad Case Contracting. “It’s a product that’s easy to use and gives us everything we want in an effective botryticide, along with the flexibility of a late season application.

“The fact that it also controls powdery mildew is what really makes it stand out for us. Intervene is definitely going to be part of our program next year, and I think it’s going to be positioned very strongly in the market for other winegrape growers as well,” Venus said.

*Please consult your AWRI Agrochemicals booklet (‘dog book’) for export wine withholding periods.

Jenny Venus, viticulturist for Brad Case Contracting.