Wine & Viticulture Journal - January/February 2017

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 · Volume 32 Number 1

industry sustainability

• Tony Keys: The terror of terroir • Wineries demonstrate leadership in environmental excellence • Lifting the lid on government support to EU wine producers • Passing on a wine business your kids want to own • Tasting: Fiano

Hardworking, and ever reliable.

With best in class botrytis protection.

Nothing comes close to the long lasting efficacy of Teldor, making it ideal to launch a robust, preventative spray program.

As well as protecting against botrytis, it prevents laccase and polysaccharide formation, so there’s no adverse impact on fermentation or the wine’s taste.

Soft on beneficial insects (when used as directed), and with no known cross-resistance, you can trust Teldor.

And it’s compatible with a range of Bayer and other complementary products.

For your crop protection needs, Bayer’s got you covered.

Speak to your agent today, or to see our full range of viticulture products, visit crop.bayer.com.au/grapes

Bayer CropScience Pty Ltd ABN 87 000 226 022 Level 1, 8 Redfern Road Hawthorn East VIC 3123, Australia crop.bayer.com.au Technical Enquiries: 1800 804 479 enquires.australia@bayer.com Teldor®, Basta®, Movento®, Scala®, Prosper® and Flint and Device® are Registered Trademarks of the Bayer Group

Teldor is part of Bayer’s integrated Viticulture range

IN THIS ISSUE

C O NN ET W E N S T S

V I T I C U LT U R E

R E G U L A R F E AT U R E S

8 WINE AUSTRALIA (ANNE DUNCAN): Future Leaders 17 – looking for those ready to be next

38 Critical timing for application of pruning wound protectants for control of grapevine trunk diseases

9 WFA (TONY BATTAGLENE): Industry must demonstrate its credentials in rejecting the misuse of alcohol

42 Evaluating spray drift and canopy coverage for three types of vineyard sprayers

10 ASVO (MARDI LONGBOTTOM): Advanced Wine Assessment Course scholarship, wine show judge register and Mildura seminar

47 Drosophila suzukii: a growing global menace

11 KEY FILES (TONY KEYS): The terror of terroir

EVENTS

16 International Trade Fair for Winemaking and Bottling Technology 50 ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES: Harslevelu WINEMAKING

18 CATHY HOWARD: A 17-year winemaking partnership taking Australian Cabernet to the world stage

BUSINESS & MARKETING

52 Lifting the lid on government support to EU wine producers 56 Passing on a wine business that your kids want to own 61 Shiraz – An Australian love affair 63 Consumption occasion affects how Chinese consumers buy wine 65 Wine’s apparent neglect of marketing

24 Winery wastewater treatment – vintage stuff

68 Wine consumers’, restaurants’, and wineries’ perspectives of wine on tap - an examination of a current trend

27 Recent innovations in wine presentation 30 Biodynamic wine production making a difference 32 AWRI REPORT: Building resilience in the face of a changing climate

WINE TASTING

76 Fiano

E N V I R O N M E N TA L S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

35 Rising electricity prices make reducing energy a nobrainer no matter the size of winery

V3 2N 1

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

3

Established 1985 Published bi-monthly

Sonya Logan, Editor

Publisher: Hartley Higgins General Manager: Elizabeth Bouzoudis Editor Sonya Logan Ph (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 EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE Lauren Jones, Write Lane CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Shaun Allan Kym Anderson Matthew Ayres Tony Battaglene Carl Behnke Regina Billones-Baaijens Richard Bund Jonathan Cahill Justin Cohen Armando Corsi Shawna Dominelle Gary Dorr Anne Duncan Connor Ferguson Salena Franchitto Brian Freeman Geoff Furness Andrew Hewitt Cathy Howard Kate Howell Hans Jensen Dan Johnson Glen Kelly Judy Kelly Tony Keys Mitch Laginestra Mark Ledebuhr Paul Le Lacheur Helen Lewis Mark Lewis Paul Lewis Mark Lloyd Larry Lockshin Mardi Longbottom Michaela Nuebling Chris O’Donnell Ella Robinson Rory Roten Mark Rowley Sandra Savocchia Eileen Scott Mark Sosnowski Paul Wright Advertising Manager: Nicole Evans Ph (08) 8369 9515 Fax (08) 8369 9529 Email n.evans@winetitles.com.au Production and Design: Luke Westle Subscriptions One-year subscription (6 issues) Australia $77.00 (AUD) Two-year subscription (12 issues) Australia $144.00 (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 and Fax Ph (08) 8369 9500 Fax (08) 8369 9501

Email

General info@winetitles.com.au Editorial s.logan@winetitles.com.au Subscriptions subs@winetitles.com.au Advertising widsales@winetitles.com.au

V

intage 2017 is a go! And, if we can go by the Twitter hashtag #V17 (probably as good a barometer as any), first out the blocks this year was Harris Organic, from Western Australia’s Swan Valley, picking Madeleine Angevine, an early ripening grape from the Loire Valley, on 5 January, destined for an aperitif. Runner-up (although could be knocked out on a technicality) was Andrew Thomas Wines in the Hunter Valley, harvesting Semillon for verjuice on 6 January. Coming in at third and fourth were fellow Hunter Valley compatriots Tyrrell’s Wines and Margan Wines, picking on the 13 and 15 January, respectively.

For those sneaking a glance at this issue in between breaks in the harvest or indulging in some reading before #V17 comes to a vineyard near you, welcome to the first issue of the Journal for the year.

As has been customary for our January-February issue in recent times, this issue is themed around Industry Sustainability, both environmental and financial. The first to address this theme is Mitch Laginestra of GHD Pty Ltd, who takes a swing at winery wastewater treatment, offering some suggestions on how best to treat the stuff, weighing up the pros and cons of the various methods available (page 24).

The AWRI chips in with a look at the outcomes of a three-year extension project aimed at delivering targeted technical information to the wine industry about greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

Early in the New Year, yours truly

visited Kay Brothers, in McLaren Vale, and Pernod Ricard Winemakers, in the Barossa Valley, to find out what environmental measures the companies had introduced that led to them being winners of the large business and small-medium categories of the South Australian Wine & Brandy Industry Association’s 2016 Environmental Excellence Awards, respectively. Both these wineries attest the rising price of electricity has made reducing energy costs an economic ‘no-brainer’ (page 35).

The Journal’s focus on sustainability also takes in financial considerations, and to this end we’ve got two articles that touch on this topic. The first prompts the Australian wine industry to question its financial sustainability in the context of its competitors, particularly those in the EU, by estimating the amount of government support received by grapegrowers and winemakers in the region (page 52). The second article explores some ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ and other points to consider with the aim of ensuring family-owned wineries can pass on a wine business that their kids want to own.

And, in light of Wine Australia’s recent announcement of a $5.3 million research and development project to investigate how Australia’s terroirs influence Shiraz wine styles and quality, be sure to read Tony Keys’ column who questions whether efforts to focus on terroir actually lead to more Australian wine being sold.

I trust this issue brings you plenty to sink your teeth into when #V17 permits.

Website

www.winetitles.com.au Printed by Lane Print, Adelaide, South Australia.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!

ISSN 1838-6547

www.facebook.com/WineAndVitiJournal

Conditions

@WineVitiJournal

The opinions expressed in Wine & Viticultue 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 © Winetitels 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 published will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions, or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published.

Cover: Ben Heide REGULAR FEATURES

News 6 Wine Australia 8 WFA 9 ASVO 10

4 www. wi n e t i t les.com.au

Tony Keys 11 AWRI Report 32 Alternative Varieties 50 Varietal Report 72 Tasting 76 WINE & V ITICULTUR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

fine grain barrels

For further information, please contact Kauri AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 Email: info@kauriwine.com

NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE Website: www.kauriwine.com

N E W S

S N I P S

WFA BACKS TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) has welcomed the announcement

by Federal Trade Minister Steve Ciobo that the Government will proceed with ratifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2017 despite newly sworn in US President Donald Trump’s decision not to ratify it.

WFA said the TTP promised great opportunities for the Australian wine sector.

Tony Battaglene, chief executive of WFA, commended the efforts of the Government in pursuing its program of trade liberalisation.

“The TPP offers tremendous opportunities for our sector and the promise of wealth creation in regional Australia as well as to the national economy,” he said.

“This is the first agreement to specifically address significant non-tariff trade barriers restricting our export growth as well as promoting significant opportunities within the region. It also provides a template for future agreements.”

He said ratification of the agreement would send a strong message on the importance of the TPP and WFA called on all parties to get behind the free trade agenda.

WINE INDUSTRY WELCOMES CHANGES TO WET REBATE REFORMS Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers received an early Christmas present at the beginning of December when the Federal Government, following months of consultation with industry, announced various changes to the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) rebate that will come into force from 1 July 2018.

In its May 2016 Budget, the Turnbull Government announced reforms to the WET rebate, including changes to the eligibility criteria, designed to honour the scheme’s original intention of supporting small wine producers in rural and regional Australia. However, some of the reforms created concern in many sectors of the industry.

Following a national consultation process with the wine industry after the relesae of the 2016 Budget, the Federal Government announced further changes to the WET rebate scheme.

First, the proposed requirement that winemakers must own or have a longterm lease over a winery to qualify for the rebate was dropped. Instead, winemakers must now own 85% of the grapes used to make the wine at the crusher and maintain ownership throughout the winemaking

6

www.win eti tl es .c om.au

process. This change should ensure wine producers that don’t not own physical assets, such as a vineyard or winery, but own a brand remain eligible to claim the WET rebate.

Secondly, the annual rebate ‘cap’ will remain at the current level of $500,000 until 1 July 2018 before dropping to $350,000.

In its 2016 Budget, the Government had announced the WET rebate cap would be reduced from $500,000 to $350,000 from 1 July 2017, and to $290,000 from 1 July 2018.

As announced in the Budget, the rebate will be limited to branded packaged wine in containers not exceeding 5 litres.

To encourage more wine tourism, the Government also announced up to a further $100,000 per annum will be made available to producers who exceed the rebate cap through a new wine tourism and cellar door grant. The eligibility criteria to qualify for the new grant will be finalised following further consultation with the industry.

“We have listened carefully to industry and tailored the package so wine producers who build brands, invest in regional communities and create local jobs are the beneficiaries of the rebate, and not the traders and major retailers,” said Minister for Revenue and Financial Services Kelly O’Dwyer.

Adelaide-based legal firm Finlaysons said the new eligibility requirements will likely be audited carefully by the Australia Taxation Office.

“Of particular concern will be whether winemakers can prove they maintain ownership throughout the winemaking process, especially where grapes of various winemakers are ‘pooled’ during that process. Although winemakers who have their wine contract-processed should qualify for rebates, the ATO will likely look closely to ensure the winemaker controls the production process, such as by providing clear specifications. Well drafted contract-processing agreements will be vital,” a spokesperson for Finalysons said.

The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) welcomed the reforms of the WET rebate.

“The return of integrity to the WET rebate was the main consideration for WFA. The measures announced today deliver on that need,” said WFA chief executive Tony Battaglene.

“WFA is very pleased that the Government has reconsidered its decision to reduce the WET rebate cap to $290,000, announcing it will maintain the cap at $350,000. This rebate is critical to rural and W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

regional communities and jobs, as well as future investment and growth.

“The announcement of the $100,000 grant scheme, focusing on investment at the cellar door and supporting regional growth is also a very positive outcome for small and medium winemakers and reflects industry calls for a re-focus of investment at the local level.

“Critically, the deferral of the rebate reduction to 1 July 2018 will allow the industry more time to adjust,” Battaglene said.

Australian Vignerons (AV) also welcomed the changes.

“The industry has changed since the inception of the WET rebate, and the change to a $350,000 rebate cap, along with possible access to a $100,000 grant recognises this,” said Australian Vignerons chief executive Andrew Weeks. “The concern about the need to own a winery has been noted, and the changed eligibility settings, such as the requirement to own 85% of grapes at the crusher, are a better fit for an increasingly flexible, innovative and value-driven wine industry.”

AV noted the consultation process had not been easy given the diverse and widelyspread wine community and the many ways that tax policy and the rebate impacted it.

Wine Victoria chair Damien Sheehan commended the “Government’s commitment to deliver crucial reforms on the WET rebate that balances the objectives of much needed support for our members while also preventing access to the rebate from those rorting the system”.

“We are particularly pleased to see Assistant Minister Ruston has recongised the diversity of the Wine Victoria membership and has delivered eligibility reforms that will work for our small, medium and larger producers – most of whom operate their businesses in regional Victoria,” Sheehan said.

He added Wine Victoria recognised the announced reforms may initially have some adverse impacts on some members of industry, but said an industry focussed on branded product and the organisation’s strong advocacy on ensuring positive state and federal policies in tourism, export and research and development would enable companies to adjust and be more profitable.

Wines of Western Australia (WoWA) said, “Everything in the revised policy is focussed around returning the rebate to its original intent and the Government has absolutely nailed it. We look forward to continued discussions over its implementation, V32N1

N E W S

the $50m Wine Tourism and Export Development Fund and future taxation reviews.”

Murray Valley Winegrowers (MVW) looked forward to the latest WET rebate reforms delivering better prices to growers.

“With these changes, coupled with an improvement in export sales and tightening of grape supply in Australia, winegrape growers look forward to significant increases in grape prices,” said executive officer Mike Stone. “Growers often have been told by wineries that grape prices would be higher but for the abuse of the WET rebate system. Steps have now been taken to stamp out the abuses, so logically growers can expect higher prices as a consequence.”

POSSIBLE APRIL WIND UP FOR AUSTRALIAN VIGNERONS The national peak body for Australia’s grapegrowers, Australian Vignerons (AV), may be forced to wind up as early as April if it doesn’t experience a significant increase in membership.

As reported in the November-December issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal, AV revealed at its annual general meeting in late November that a decision about its viability would need to be made by 30 June. However, the organisation has since advised this could be as early as April.

“While this situation has been made clear for the past 12 months, Australian Vignerons is now suggesting a date. If there has not been a significant increase in membership by April this year, it is highly

likely that the national peak body will be forced to wind up,” said chief executive Andrew Weeks.

“This would mean the loss of the ability of most of the wine industry stakeholders to have a voice with the Federal Government.

It would also risk losing the voice that growers have in regard to commercial trading issues, management in biosecurity issues, and input into how the compulsory research and development levies that they contribute will be invested,” Weeks said.

The organisation has written to stakeholders stating that unless support is forthcoming the board will have no alternative but to start the wind-up process.

Wine Grape Growers Australia was formed over a decade ago to provide a national voice for Australian grapegrowers.

It has recently undergone a structural reform and change to its trading name to Australian Vignerons to ensure its relevance to industry stakeholders. The changes to membership, board and structure proposed in a new constitution received unanimous support when offered to members at a special general meeting in September 2016. However, this support has not been reflected in increased membership outside of South Australia and Western Australia.

TWO NEW APPS FOR INDUSTRY The Australian Wine Research Institute has released the online version of its Ferment Simulator that allows winemakers to track ferments online and identify problem ferments earlier.

Also manufacturers of

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

S N I P S

The Ferment Simulator app stores all ferment-related data and uses algorithms to predict the progress of each ferment recorded. Warnings are given if ferments are running faster or slower than initially predicted, allowing winemakers to take actions early. The app also incorporates a modelling function, giving winemakers the option to test various actions online before making changes in the winery.

Hosted on the AWRI’s WineCloud platform, the Ferment Simulator app is available free to all Australian wine producers. Users can register to access the app at www.thewinecloud.com.au.

Meanwhile, a new smartphone app that helps grapegrowers measure the water status of their vines is being trialled across Australia.

The portable viticultural tool has the potential to help grapegrowers make improved water management decisions for their vineyards.

Grapegrowers use a thermal camera attached to their smartphone to take images of the canopy of the grapevine.

The image is analysed by the app, which calculates the vine water status.

The app, developed by the University of New South Wales, is being tested by 15 vineyards in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania for the rest of the growing season with their feedback helping to inform the further development of the technology.

The aim is to release the final version of the app later in 2017.

WVJ

SUMMER TRiMMing

AUSTRALIAN MADE PRUNERS

For further information visit our website at www.spagnolo.com.au or contact: Ph (03) 5021 1933 Fax (03) 5021 5233 Email sales@spagnolo.com.au Mildura Victoria Australia V3 2N 1

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

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

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

• Optional hydraulic lift, tilt and side shift cylinders.

• Ideal for cleaning up uneven terrain • Durable powdercoated finish

www.winetitles. com . au

7

WINE AUSTRALIA

Future Leaders 17 – looking for those ready to be next

By Anne Duncan, Global Knowledge + People Development, Wine Australia

A

pplications for Future Leaders 17 are now open to those who are ready to be next in leading our grape and wine community to future prosperity.

Australia’s wine sector has grown up a lot in the past few decades. Like the changing palate of wine drinkers around the world, the urge to broaden our horizons and take things to the next level has never been stronger. Much the same as a complex and lively blend, we’re getting better with age and we’re more in demand with each year that passes.

We’re not, however, immune to the significant challenges of the future, and the biggest risk to our grape and wine community may not be what you think.

It’s not the effect of climate change, the fluctuating fortunes of the Australian dollar or the instability of the global economy that pose the biggest risk to our community.

What could bring our sector to its knees is a drought… a leadership drought.

A dry spell of talented leaders ready to take our sector forward is a significant threat in the highly competitive international and domestic wine markets.

We’ve got to be sure our next crop of leaders can weather any season and be the catalysts for driving innovative thinking.

Over the past decade, Future Leaders, funded by Australian Vignerons, Wine Australia and Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, has helped the Australian wine community prepare for the challenges of tomorrow by building the capabilities of the next generation of leaders today. Our 91 Future Leaders alumni include winemakers, grapegrowers and viticulturists, business managers and marketers, suppliers and researchers, all of whom have already demonstrated the

SEARCH N W 8

WID16_Directory buyers guide 43x185.indd 1 www.win eti tl esonline .c om.au

Graduates from the last Future Leaders intake. strong leadership and vision required to position Australia as a fine wine leader on the global stage.

This year, Future Leaders has been reshaped and aligned; it will preserve traditions and, at the same time, cultivate the future. It focusses not on where we are currently, but where we need to be tomorrow.

In a dynamic and evolving sector, Future Leaders 2017 will explore new avenues in business, marketing and governance, and we’ll also look at how global economics will shape the future.

We’ll look at new technology, how we amplify the innovative thinking that already exists in our sector, and we’ll learn contemporary approaches to people development and commercial success.

Participants will hear from some of Australia’s best speakers on topics such

as innovation, leadership and culture, and they’ll connect with people from across the grape and wine community, including our Future Leaders alumni.

In short, while our Future Leaders program carries the same name, the 2017 vintage will be quite a different blend.

If these early tasting notes of our Future Leaders 2017 program have you intrigued, then head to www.winefutureleaders.com to find out more about the program and how to apply. If you know of someone who you think is ready to be next, tap them on the shoulder and encourage them to put in an application.

We’re looking for people who are ready to be challenged, ready to be part of Australia's grape and wine future, ready to step up.

Are you ready to be next? #FL2017 www.winefutureleaders.com WVJ

Online Buyers’ Guide Equipment, Supplies & Services for the wine & grape industry

www.winetitles.com.au/guide W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

26/11/2015 11:27 am V32N1

W FA

Industry must demonstrate its credentials in rejecting the misuse of alcohol

By Tony Battaglene, Chief Executive Officer, Winemakers’ Federation of Australia

I

n 2017 one of the biggest threats facing Australia’s winemaking communities are the anti-alcohol lobbyist groups. These groups continue to use their significant resources to pressure governments to introduce population-wide controls on alcohol consumption. Their efforts are not focussed on targeting the specific problems of alcohol misuse, but rather introducing a blanket approach to reduce overall consumption. The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) and our members strongly believe that alcohol misuse can only be effectively addressed by targeted actions and policies – not by imposing ineffective industry-wide taxes, prohibitions or regulations.

Australian winemakers are passionate about their products. They go to great lengths to ensure their wines are the highest quality possible and are innovative in developing new tastes and styles for the market, including lower alcohol choices.

They do not, in any way, condone or support the misuse of alcohol. Winemakers can demonstrate their credentials in this area, but must continue to keep pace with community expectations around health outcomes.

WFA is committed to promoting the National Health and Medical Research Council’s advice that the safest option for women is to abstain from drinking alcohol if they are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding. To help promote this message to the public, WFA has worked with DrinkWise towards a goal of 100 per cent uptake of pregnancy warning logos on all Australian wine products for retail sale.

A 2009 review of food labelling law and policy recognised that any decision to introduce mandatory health warning messages on the labels of alcholic beverages must be made in the context of existing measures by governments to informs consumers about the health risks of consuming alcohol and would need to consider any international trade obligations and implications.

WFA remains committed to promoting the voluntary uptake of the DrinkWise V3 2N 1

logo and advisory label and makes it freely available to the industry. WFA believes the best way to achieve positive health outcomes is through outward-focussed consumer campaigns that raise awareness and seek to change consumer behaviour.

WFA acknowledges the research that suggests labelling alone will not change behaviour, but rather it forms part of an integrated public health strategy mix, including broad public education and awareness compaigns.

The Federal Government is supportive of the efforts of the alcohol industry to adopt voluntary labelling and is continually looking to evaluate the uptake to make a decision on whether to adopt a mandatory labelling scheme. Yet, conversely, the anti-alcohol lobby groups would like to see mandatory labelling as a first step to more and more mandatory controls on alcohol. and implications. Labelling measures need to be integrated with other public health strategies, including broad public education and awareness campaigns.

The review recommended that a suitablyworded warning message about the risks of consuming alcohol while pregnant be mandated on individual containers of alcoholic beverages and at the point of sale for unpackaged alcoholic beverages as support for ongoing broader community education.

Furthermore, the Government has acknowledged industry initiatives to implement voluntary labelling schemes and stated its intention to provide the alcohol industry a two-year period (until December 2013) to adopt voluntary initiatives for pregnancy labelling on alcohol products before considering regulation. Since then the Government has undertaken one review of the uptake of the voluntary schemes and is about to commence a second in early 2017. State and Federal health ministers will then assess industry efforts to voluntarily adopt pregnancy labelling later in 2017.

WFA will be reinvigorating its Responsible Winery Initiative in 2017, focussing on best-practice at cellar doors, W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

and adoption of the pregnancy logos remains a key part of this initiative. WFA will continue to work closely with DrinkWise and major retail outlets in 2017 to promote awareness of the logos in a point-of-sale campaign that will also include cellar doors.

WFA has also conducted an independent audit which showed 90 per cent of Australian wine stock keeping units (SKUs) in the top 75 per cent of the market, across a range of packaging types, had incorporated the logos. This shows continued improvement over previous audits. WFA is targeting the remaining wine producers in the top market bracket that have not yet incorporated the warning messages into their labels to encourage faster adoption to achieve a 100 per cent uptake. WFA will also work with state and regional wine associations and their members to increase the use of the pregnancy logos across all market segments.

This voluntary action by the wine industry demonstrates the benefits of industry and government working together to achieve a positive outcome through a voluntary measure, without the costs and burden to industry of regulatory red tape.

The contuining improvement in uptake shows the wine industry's commitment and support for this initiative.

WFA believes our results and the results from the Government audit will show continued improvement and clearly demonstrate that mandatory regulation is unnecessary. Failure to convince the Government of the effectiveness of our initiative would inevitably lead to mandatory pregnancy warning labelling, resulting in the first step towards draconian antialcohol policy measures.

As an industry, we need to constantly demonstrate to Government and consumers that we are encouraging responsible consumption of our products and that we are not only meeting public expectations in this area but exceeding them.

WVJ

www.winetitles. com . au

9

A S V O

Advanced Wine Assessment Course scholarship, wine show judge register and Mildura seminar

By Mardi Longbottom, President, Australian Society of Viticulture & Oenology

I

n 2015, the ASVO announced the introduction of the Advanced Wine Assessment Course (AWAC) scholarship with support from the Australian Wine Research institute (AWRI) and made possible through sponsorship from Seguin Moreau Australasia. The scholarship is designed to support applicants who have the potential to become wine show judges to develop the sensory analysis capabilities and the vocabulary to judge wine in Australia at an elite level.

In 2016, two ASVO scholarship recipients attended the AWAC: Richard Fennessy, wine and grape research officer with Western Australia’s Department of Agriculture and Food, and Stewart Byrne, assistant winemaker with Josef Chromy Wines, in Tasmania.

Fennessy reported that AWAC was one of the most valuable courses he had participated in, giving him the skills and confidence required for him to facilitate tastings in his research work.

Byrne attended the 41st AWAC in November 2016. His AWAC experience gave him skills and knowledge to use throughout his career in the wine industry for which he reported being “incredibly fortunate”.

“I strongly encourage all aspiring show judges, or individuals looking to refine their tasting skills to apply,” Byrne reported. “This course is both unique and without equal. The AWRI has now spent nearly 25 years modifying and refining the AWAC course to become what it is today: professional, efficient, comprehensive and world class. Other wine-producing countries should be envious of what Australia has, and this is being reflected in the increasing numbers of internationally-based applicants and attendees.”

The ASVO will call for AWAC scholarship applications in July 2017 for the AWAC to be held in November 2017.

ASVO WINE SHOW JUDGE REGISTER In response to a request from several wine shows, the ASVO maintains a register of wine show judges that is available for use by wine shows when sourcing and selecting suitable judges. In 2016, the ASVO updated the online wine show judge register to improve its functionality and to enable the monitoring of wine show judges’ professional development. The

register of judges provides details including their background, training and judging experience in regional, niche, capital city and international shows and now also recognises the additional professional development of judges who participate in the AWRI Advanced Wine Assessment Course and the Len Evans Tutorial. The ASVO Wine Show Judge Register currently contains details of 218 current and prospective wine show judges.

The ASVO Wine Show Judge Register can be accessed by anyone in the wine industry. An online application allows individuals to create an account and enter their details quickly and easily.

We encourage all judges who wish to have their judging experience and training records on the register to complete the wine show questionnaire accessible at www.asvo.com.au MILDURA SEMINAR – SAVE THE DATE The ASVO will present a seminar in Mildura on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd August 2017. Watch out for the announcement of our international speakers and the full program in the coming weeks.

WVJ

Stewart Byrne (left) and Richard Fennessy during the Advanced Wine Assessment Course they recently completed thanks to a scholarship provided by the ASVO.

10

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

K E Y

F I L E S

The terror of terroir

By Tony Keys

What real benefit does sense of place bring to wine?

Wine Australia has announced a $5.3 million research and development project that will investigate how Australia’s terroirs influence Shiraz wine styles and quality which deputy chair Brian Croser has described as "the most exciting and insightful research project I have seen undertaken in the Australian wine community in my 40-year involvement". But will knowing more about terroir really lead to more wine being sold?

T

erroir, sense of place, regionality, marketing, fiction, fact and bullshit.

How much do each of these – which are hard separate - influence the price of wine?

In reality, is it not the price per bottle that really counts and transcends all the chatter about sense of place, region or terroir?

Regionality is about pride: “this is where I live, raise my family, work my land, make my wine and I damn well want the world to know how good this region and its wine is”.

Recognition for wine producing regions can be traced back to ancient times but considering resin, gypsum, lead, lime, lye-ash, marble dust, myrrh and a host of other substances were added to the wines produced, the provenance of those vineyards is muted. Of course, wine had a spiritual aspect to it back then too, as referred to in this extract from an article in the New York Times, 30 January 2009, by Alexander Nazaryan: “The Greeks taught us plenty about philosophy, government and art. And we can learn from their drinking, too.

They loved wine, yet knew that its consumption must be carefully controlled.

V3 2N 1

The fermented grape was an exalted, mysterious object.”

So what real benefit does sense of place bring to wine in its entirety?

Personally, I think there is very little benefit, but there are many counter arguments and I will come to some of them shortly.

Kate is a personal friend who is highly intelligent, articulate, runs her own business, is a mother and enjoys wine.

Asked what she bases her wine buying on, she replied: “The quick, easy answer would be, I either try something new based on the label or I go for something I’ve tried thanks to recommendation from someone else.

Once I find something I like, I just tend to stick to it until someone shoves something else into my hand and I think - oooh, that’s nice!”

Another friend and knowledgeable wine consumer, Peter, said: “It seems to me to boil down to how serious you are about wine to be interested in its regionality.

Certainly for the options games, enthusiasts seek out such wines while still sometimes considering the blends as worthwhile inclusions.

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

And we can’t say that blending is a recent thing because other than Penfolds, many of our premium wines, even in the ‘50s and ‘60s, were multi-regional blends.

Moreover, in those days, they made plenty of Claret, Burgundy, Chablis and Hock, all of which were made to a cellar style.

“So I suppose what I feel I’m really saying is that the majority of wine consumers probably don’t care about the region as long as they like it, while us few enthusiasts prefer to see wines from definite regions, but won’t knock back a [Penfolds] Grange, Bin 707, etc.”

While I don’t have proof I estimate 85 per cent to more than 90 per cent of people who enjoy a glass of wine think along the same lines as Kate, and the few think as Peter does. Which raises another question, if that is the case, why the constant discussion about sense of place or terroir?

Part of the answer is undoubtedly economic, but just how economic? Does not ego play a very large part? To be proud of one’s possessions is also an attitude that stretches across the millennia.

Owners of vineyards are happy to boast of the respect their wines generate even

www.winetitles. com . au

11

K E Y

F I L E S

if they are not involved in any way with their production. What they will do is talk about that special place or, put another way, bullshit on about just how good their piece of dirt is. With climate change rapidly changing the landscape, it is blowing apart the boasting, but keeping large egos down is hard work.

Jerry Lockspeiser has been involved in the UK wine trade for many years.

Currently, he is chair of Off Piste Wines and an opinion piece writer for Harpers. He is quite direct in saying for 99 per cent of consumers region does not matter a jot in their purchase decisions. He softens this by saying unless the region happens to be the brand then the region becomes crucial if they perceive it to be. He defines this further: “A more analytical answer is that it depends who the producer’s target customer is. Your [TK] questions can’t usefully be answered uniformly for all wine drinkers. For those interested in how and where things are made then, yes, it attests, but as you suggest they are a tiny part of the total market. However, they might be a very big part of the target market for a specific winery whose business plan is clearly targeting that group of consumers and the kind of retailer they frequent (assuming they have a business plan which is by no means a given).”

Consumers thinking of countries as regions or brands has a sense of the ridiculous, but what about the broad acceptance of Australian wine in the UK, or the cover-all New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in Australia or sparkling wine in many countries simply referred to as Champagne? In the minds of many consumers, countries can be brands and regions also. Rioja is as complicated as any region but in the UK many consumers just think of Rioja as a soft red wine. As Lockspeiser puts it: “When mass market consumers buy Rioja or Cotes du Rhone they are not buying because they have a deep understanding of the regions' specificity, but because the words represent a style of drink they like. Accolade Wines’ research a few years ago showed that over half those buying Rioja didn’t know it was a place.”

Larry Lockshin, head of the School of Marketing at the University of South Australia Business School and a Professor of Wine Marketing at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, has put forward some figures which go some way to backing my own argument:

12

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

“Research I have done in the past showed that first domestic consumers choose red/white/sparkling and grape variety, then key in brand for wines under about $18 and then look for region/ wine style above that price point. There is a difference between low and high involvement consumers, where for low involvement consumers fewer are used; it’s a simple process. High involvement consumers (about 30 per cent of Australian wine buyers) use more complex cues, especially combining cues: grape variety, region, brand.

"When mass market consumers buy Rioja or Cotes du Rhone they are not buying because they have a deep understanding of the regions specificity, but because the words represent a style of drink they like.

Accolade Wines’ research a few years ago showed that over half those buying Rioja didn’t know it was a place.”

- Jerry Lockspeiser, Off Piste Wines “We’ve done some work overseas in Europe, US (two are several years old: USA and UK) with China more recent. We find the high/low involvement difference, but fewer buyers are high involvement in most of these countries: • USA, about 12 per cent • UK about 15 per cent • France about 10 per cent.

“The price points where high involvement kicks in are also lower in most of these countries due to lower tax rates and more supermarket competition.”

Despite the overwhelming evidence pointing to the majority of consumers around the world not being interested in a defined sense of place that is smaller than a region or country, there is a huge push in Australia to promote region, sense of place and terroir.

At the 2016 Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference guest speaker Jamie Good, from the UK, along with Brian Croser, chair of Wine Australia, expounded the benefits of promoting terroir, and sense of place. Goode said: W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

“If we divorce wine from a sense of place then what we’re left with is a commodity. This can leave wine very vulnerable to other drinks. Even if most consumers can’t tell the difference between wines from one place and another, as long as one person can see it, it exists...as long as one does then it’s a unique product that has characters that are unique because it came from some place. It matters that someone experienced knows. That validates the notion of terroir.”

It appears Goode is saying wine is not a commodity, but what else is it? Does he and the likes of Mr Croser wish to bring back the spiritual, mystic aspect that wine held in ancient times? What is wine apart from fermented grape juice mostly sold in a glass container?

Goode likened the absence of terroir to a gallery full of fake paintings. If it is known the paintings are all fake, would anyone want to go and view them? Using the same analogy, how many people attend galleries or museums to view paintings? Probably about the same proportion who are interested in defined regions, sense of place and terroir.

Croser picked up on the Wine Intelligence brand health data for Australian wine in eight export markets, explaining how Australia had a very poor perception of quality among consumers in our export markets.

Have Croser and Goode hoodwinked Wine Australia? Not according to Andreas Clark, chief executive of Wine Australia (WA): “It’s an interesting question and one that’s hard to answer in a couple of lines if you want to do any justice to the depth of thinking required. You’ve raised valid points and ones we’ve had to consider carefully both when we developed our five-year strategic plan, and when we determined what our marketing approach would be to support that plan and how we would engage the wine trade, influencers and consumers with the Australian wine message to increase the demand and the premium paid for all of our wines.

“Our strategic plan is built on our strongly held belief that Australia’s wines are underrated and undervalued in the international marketplace and we want to change people’s opinions as a precursor to changing their behaviour.”

It’s a fair statement and one we would expect from WA. It’s also backed by recent export figures (see Table 1).

V32N1

K E Y

But getting down to basics, it’s all about money. How can Australia create the eminence of Bordeaux or Burgundy, resulting in mega bucks being achieved for its wines? One expects exports at $10 per litre ($90 case) and above offer a good return to the producer, before marketing and promotion expenses. The total of $555 million for exports about A$10 represents around a quarter (in value) of Australian exports, which is good news for that sector but volume wise there is a huge amount going overseas at much lower price points.

Says Clark: “I wouldn’t argue that potential profit margins are generally higher at the premium end but, like any business, profitability depends on commercial acumen and making informed decisions right along the value chain from the price paid for your fruit to the market demand for a particular variety or style.

“Take Shiraz as an example. There is a strong premium paid for Australian Shiraz. In the bulk market, Shiraz prices are 30 per cent higher than dry red. In export markets, a bottle of Shiraz has an average value of 26 cents per litre FOB higher than dry red (a premium of 4 per cent). Furthermore, in the domestic market, an average bottle of Shiraz retails for an additional $1.74 per bottle. These premiums in the different Shiraz markets deliver approximately $80 million to Australian wineries annually.”

Lockshin says research carried out several years ago showed higher prices are necessary for small and medium wineries, but lower prices can be profitable for big companies. Supermarkets quickly worked out that a popular brand of wine with a low price moves off a shelf several times faster than an upmarket sense-of-place offering, hence putting greater money through the cash register at the end of the day or week and generating more profit for shareholders.

Retailers do not lack passion when it comes to wine but hold a more practical view. Peter Nixon is the fine wine buyer at Dan Murphy’s: “Varietal combined with region or merely country of origin are seen as wine style navigational tools by consumers e.g., Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc equals crisp, zesty and intense, Barossa Shiraz equals generous, spicy flavoured red wine.

“For this very reason we have been successful in revitalising the Australian Chardonnay category by (initially) aligning it with a single region - namely Margaret River; a region seen as premium in the V3 2N 1

F I L E S

Table 1.

Value Nov 2015Oct 2016

Added value

Growth rate

$10.00-$14.99 $15.00-$19.99 $20.00-$29.99 $30.00-$49.99 $50.00-$99.99 $100.00-$199.99 $200.00 +

$169,412,167

$30,058,878

22%

$84,156,581

$16,306,487

24%

$79,257,743

$22,130,182

39%

$52,576,873

$20,510,560

64%

$127,980,745

$27,107,558

27%

$10,980,730

$1,484,112

16%

$30,753,401

$1,251,061

4%

Total above A$10

$555,118,239

$118,848,837

27%

Price segment (A$/litre)

“Despite the overwhelming evidence pointing to the majority of consumers around the world not being interested in a defined sense of place that is smaller than a region or country, there is a huge push in Australia to promote region, sense of place and terroir.” minds of [Australian] consumers and capable of producing a modern style of Chardonnay with broad appeal.

“More recently, in the commercial wine space, we have seen wine style called out on the front label, either overtly, e.g., crisp and zesty SSB, big and rich Shiraz etc., or via brand names that reflect style, e.g.

‘Butterball’ Chardonnay.”

Lockshin quotes current research in Australia on how retailers decide which wines to stock: “They all claim to focus on taste, often tasting potential new wines against wines from similar regions and price points. At low price points it is the brand that takes most of the shelf space, but something that tastes good (to the buying team) can push its way in.

"At higher prices regions seems to triumph over brand. Retail buyers will choose a new brand or less known one from a well-known region than the opposite. The few exceptions would be very well known brands, like Penfolds, where the region would not drive the stocking decision.”

Penfolds is a conundrum. On one hand it blows the concept of sense of place, even regionality, apart. Penfolds Grange is Australia’s highest priced offering, the 2012 going on sale for $850 a bottle, the W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

only sense of place on the front label being Australia. Various comments on brands and Penfolds from the people I spoke with for this article included: Andreas Clark: "Brands do ultimately have responsibility for telling their own wine story and selling their own wines, and there are brands whose reputations are bigger than the regionality of their individual wines, but these brands are few."

In reply to the question, is not Penfolds more important than the regions the wines come from? Lockshin said, “For this brand yes.”

To the same question, Andrew Caillard, MW Fine Wine Principal, Endeavour Drinks Group (EDG) and Langton’s, said: “Penfolds is an important Australian wine brand. Its success has paved the way for other producers, particularly in export markets. From an EDG point of view, Penfolds is one of our most important brands and we put great effort in our selling campaigns across our banners including Dan Murphy’s, Dan Murphy’s online, BWS and Langton’s. Nonetheless, Penfolds is increasingly using regionality to define and build its stories. Cross regional styles is another story of regionality.

The development of Bin 798 RWT, Bin 150 Marananga, Bin A Adelaide Hills, Magill Estate etc. show that regionality is important to Penfolds just as much as its history and winemaking style.”

John Clark, chief executive of Vinomofo, said: “Penfolds is one of the very few brands within the world wine market that has been able to transcend a region whilst maintaining a premium price and appeal.”

Mike Hall, chief executive of UK based MWH Wine Merchants, said: “It is a very powerful brand.”

At this point in the article I think it is fair to say it’s established there is a price division where region or sense of place comes into play. Being generous and putting a percentage figure of 20 per cent www.winetitles. com . au

13

K E Y

F I L E S

of consumers who care, what about the remaining 80 per cent?

There is a train of thought that by lifting the awareness of Australian regions globally it will also lift the price of wine and possibly sales. One can see the logic but what are the practicalities? Said Andreas Clark: “Australia is a vast country and the differences in climate, terroir and altitude across our wine regions mean that it’s virtually impossible to tell an Australian variety story in any sort of meaningful way without also talking about regional diversity and the impact of terroir.”

There are more than 60 regions in Australia. How many will have any significance to consumers?

Lockshin says only three regions are well known across Australia in general: Hunter Valley, Barossa Valley and Margaret River. He points out the state variability with wine stores stocking more local wines and regions, i.e., McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills in South Australia, and Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula in Victoria Caillard diplomatically points out that some regions have a greater impact than others then brings in other regional attractions, such as tourism, food culture and point of difference, to his discussion.

There is no denying these factors, but what are the merits of sticking to region as a tool to sell wine?

Lockshin quotes from a study that he has been involved with on Chinese buyers who purchase imported wine (as well as domestic): “For them, country of origin comes first along with the grape colour. Because Cabernet and Bordeaux were the original imported wine, these two factors are best known. Only about 55 per cent of Chinese buyers of imported wine are even aware of Barossa. And our other regions are much less known.

“Australia is known as a wine producing country by over 75 per cent, while France is over 95 per cent. Obviously we are selling lots of wine to China, so knowledge of Australia is growing, and some of our brands may be better known than the country or especially the region.”

Andreas Clark believes leading with Australia’s best and focussing on its finest wines will, “have a halo effect and help these influencers reappraise our wines across all price points. We see this in the marketing strategies of successful brands with a range of products – including wine, cars and fashion – where companies lead

14

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

with their best to build brand awareness, aspiration and loyalty. Our role is to help the global wine trade and, in turn, wine consumers see beyond a perception of a homogenous Australian Shiraz or a ‘typical’ Australian Chardonnay.”

One can see the logic but as Lockshin points out the top 20 Australian producers are responsible for more than 90 per cent of wine production. They cannot afford to sell only high-priced wines. He argues low-priced wines pay for the overheads and make mid-priced wines profitable and high priced wines very profitable. Here is the

“…terroir is an unfamiliar term to people beyond those in the wine world. However, these influencers are critical to enhancing the perception of Australian wines and cementing our reputation as a producer of fine wine.”

- Andreas Clark, Wine Australia twist, “small producers need to do pretty much the opposite,” he adds.

There is common agreement that there is no single approach that will reconcile popular requirement and the somewhat academic approach to wine. There is also agreement the divsion between the two groups is heavily weighted to the many who care little about wine but enjoy drinking it.

Which brings the article back to why Wine Australia is committed to spending a large amount of money on promoting region and sense-of-place wines. Explained Andreas Clark: “You’re right that for the most part, perhaps with the exception of the ‘wine connoisseur’ consumer, terroir is an unfamiliar term to people beyond those in the wine world. However, these influencers are critical to enhancing the perception of Australian wines and cementing our reputation as a producer of fine wine. We need to reignite the enthusiasm for our wines amongst those sommeliers and wine trade who still think Australia is only capable of ‘sunshine in a bottle’ or big and bold Shiraz.”

Clark’s last comments are ironic as retailers (Nixon, Dan Murphy’s) are finding out that big and bold Shiraz on the label does in fact sell wine. Consumers are W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

seeking less information but more honesty, more plain speaking. Which perhaps means those such as Goode and Croser with their elitist approach to wine are driving Wine Australia in the wrong direction regarding consumer preferences.

Professor Lockshin presents a middle of the road approach: “To sell higher-priced wines, the answer is yes, because the trade expects it. We have to remember that France has pushed regions for half a century and it shows.

Now that there is so much competition in each export market, consumers actually know fewer regions from imported wines, because there are so many competing for mental market share. My view is that Wine Australia should provide funding to regions that are well-organised to promote themselves overseas, but it would be best if there was at least a five-year plan and the ending required a multi-year commitment.

This has a high likelihood of long-term success.”

In response to the question about whether Australia should promote region and sense-of-place wines, Caillard said: “Yes, of course. At Dan Murphy’s/Langton’s we have a strong belief that regionality is important for the wine industry. We have regular deep dives into Australia’s wine regions to seek wines with strong regional authenticity and definition.”

Said Vinomofo’s John Clark: “I see Wine Australia’s job as a whole is to get people drinking Australian wine, it’s the role of regions and producers to promote themselves beyond that.”

A major part of Australian wine's success in the UK in the 1980s and ‘90s was the use of varietals on the label.

Consumers found it easier to grasp Pewsey Vale ‘Eden Valley’ Riesling rather than Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Kabinett. There was some confusion over Vale and Valley but the consumer pushed that aside and focussed on Riesling, many unaware Goldtröpfchen was a Riesling wine.

Which raises the question, should not Wine Australia continue this established practice of varietal success?

"Often we do lead a conversation on a particular variety or varieties, but it’s important that we highlight the nuances of Australian Shiraz or Chardonnay, for example, by promoting the different expressions of those varieties that are found across regions and terroirs,” Andreas Clark said” Said Lockshin: "This is becoming an important question. Overall I am thinking, V32N1

K E Y

yes, as more Fiano for example is planted, and retailers like and stock it, more people will taste and promotion can have an effect.

But there needs to be enough available in the market to make promotion worthwhile.

In our Institute research, we talk about mental and physical availability. You need both to be successful. Can’t have one only and sell products.”

John Clark: “Not at this stage.”

Mike Hall: “Personally I am dead against odd grape varieties in Australia; it’s all vanity. I would stick to Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz.

Forget Merlot.”

Jerry Lockspeiser: “Should Australian wineries as a whole champion regionality?

There may be generic support to promote regionality from Wine Australia but given my other points, very few consumers give a damn, so the question for an individual business is what will work for them. I do not deride the work of generic bodies at all but I do think individual businesses should not assume they can surf on the crest of that wave - they have to understand the harsh realities of whichever consumer and retailers' ties they want to succeed in and fly their own brand in those areas.”

Having established there is possibly some use to be found in promoting regions but not as much as some advocate, apart from people involved in the industry such as Croser or deeply into wine like Goode and a few extremely interested consumers, what use can sense of place be? Perhaps as a hook for sommeliers or independent wine stores that hand sell more wine?

Caillard agrees but maintains there are some consumers who wish to understand wine in a deeper and meaningful way. He adds, “Place is not a bad thing, it’s just not understood or valued by the general consumer.”

Lockshin also agrees there is a hook and place is important for higher-priced wines. Research he has started in the US is showing the US trade knows little about Australian wine regions, such as Margaret River. Lockshin says, “They will taste and like an expensive wine, but find it hard to remember enough details when going out to sell it.”

It appears the die is cast and Wine Australia will continue to promote sense of place, region and terroir, holding onto the belief if they can get consumers to better understand Australia from a geographical

F I L E S

point then the reputation of Australian wines will lift as will price.

Andreas Clark says the rise in exports over the past year is not all down to favourable foreign exchange movements.

This he backs with an analysis by the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation1. He points out it’s a long game, “as a roadmap for not just the next five years, but for the next generation of Australian grapegrowers and winemakers.”

We can only hope he is right, but feel at the end of the day the lack of consumer interest and price will override the dreams of the few.

Wine industry commentator Tony Keys has spent more than 30 years in the wine industry including the retail sector in the UK and roles with the Australian Export Council and the Australian Wine Bureau in London. He is author of The Key Report, a weekly report containing news, views, analysis and opinions on the wine industry: www.thekeyreport.com.au 1 https://www.efic.gov.au/education-and-tools/ presentations-publications/2016/global-economyand-the-outlook-for-australias-wine-industry/

WVJ

The best place to sell your wine industry products and services BUY • SELL • NEW • USED

Ba listi sic n 100 gs are %F REE

Winetitles Classifieds offers direct links between wine and viticulture industry buyers and sellers across various categories.

For Sellers: ü Saves time and easy to use – Free registration and create listings in minutes ü Connect directly – Target wine industry professionals who are ready to purchase ü Basic listings are 100% FREE – Keeping advertising costs on budget ü Enhanced feature listings are available, which will also appear in Daily Wine News – Australasia’s leading wine industry’s e-newsletter ü Huge exposure – Winetitles Classifieds has a direct link from www.winetitles.com.au which receives nearly 70,000 page views per month and over 12,000 Daily Wine News readers

www.winetitlesclassifieds.com.au is simple to navigate with specific categories that make posting and searching a breeze Wine Jobs | Grapes & Bulk Wine | Used Barrels | Used Equipment | Real Estate | Services and Supplies

ü No registration required ü Specialised categories allow quick and easy searching ü Absolutely 100% free to use

created and managed by

V3 2N 1

For Buyers: ü Fulfil your needs at the right price

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

15

A

The international event of reference for w technology is becoming increasingly glob

t less than a year away Technicians, winemakers, USEFUL INFORMATION from the 27th edition of consultants and professionals EN V E W N TS S SIMEI, due to be held in the industry will be able to DATES th th 1 to 15 September 2017 meet and discover all the latest 11-15 September 2017 ch, already over 140 news in the industry, the result PLACE ors have confirmed their th of research and experimentation, The 27 edition of the International Trade Fair for Winemaking and Bottling Technology Munich, Germany ation. This demonstrates theth true foundations of an th part of an internationalisation p be held from 11 to 15 September 2017 in Munich as Messe München Exhibition Centre MEI is the world leader in industry where “technology” is alongside drinktec. chinery and equipment the key. It is no surprise then if PARTICIPATION or theThe winemaking and this edition too will be staging 27th edition of the International Trade Fair for Winemaking and Bottling Machinery is bringing • exhibitors: complete the in form USEFUL INFORMATION more and more confirming its international success industries and thatexhibitors, taking the Innovation Technology The organisers of SIMEI, the world’s leading event for and follow the instructions in the and Award, bottling machinery and equipment orgaan exhibitor or a winemaking visitor a recognition that the EE VV EE NN TT SS E V E N Tform” S section “2017 application on DATES nised byaway the Unione Viniall since 1963, are in already discover theVini latest news the for t less than a year fromUnione theItaliana a unique opportunity.

Italiana reserves the official site2017 www.simei.it/en 11-15 September USEFUL INFORMATION which takeof place from working on due the to 27th edition, industry, thewill result research and 27th edition of SIMEI, companies that stand out for th or apply online on experimentation, the true foundations be held from 11th11-15 to 15September September 2017 in Munich, Germany.

The the DATES of an industry where “technology” 2017 in Munich, already more than PLACE he first time, the 2017 development of exclusive patents. key words, as always, will be innovation and technology. www.drinktec.com/simei 11-15 September 2017 is the key.

It is nostarting surprise thatthe this 140 exhibitors have confirmedinnovations their Numerous on the agenda, with Munich, Germany – Messe München Exhibitio will be held together with edition SIMEI from will be incorporating participation. Thislocation. demonstrates In 2017, the event willofmove Italy, where • visitors: information in the PLACE c, which turn isworld leading Astoin previous editions, the Innovation Award, that in SIMEI is the leader itawill return in in the 2019, Germany, to Technology forge a fruitful anda Munich, Germany – Messe section “Visitors” on the official site PARTICIPATION recognition thatwill the Unione Italiana machinery and equipment sector for n the beverage and liquid SIMEI@drinktec also befair mutual synergy with drinktec, the international trade München Exhibition Centre • www.simei.it/en exhibitors: complete the form and follow the Vini companies This that stand the winemaking and bottling industries beverage andan liquid foodreserves industryfor equipment. ctor, and this willfor bring opportunity for highoflevel in theand section “2017 application form” on the out for the development exclusive and that taking part as an exhibitor or a PARTICIPATION The of Fair Bottling Technology will The 27th 27th edition edition of the the International International Trade union, which enhances the complementarity of Trade the two Fair for for Winemaking Winemaking and Bottling Technology will be o the visitor attention potential professional development.

The patents. will be of a unique opportunity.

• exhibitors: complete from 11-15th 2017, ininsectors, Munich, an project or apply online on www.drin held from 11th to 15thSeptember September 2017 project Munich as as part part of ofwww.simei.it/en an internationalisation internationalisation events, createsbe aheld unique platform that crosses both alongside drinktec. alongside drinktec. the first time, the 2017 edition the form and follow the stomersForand markets. simei offering operators and visitors the best of technology all isinstructions another initiative promoted will be held in conjunction with in the section round.

SIMEI will also be implementing the proposals of • visitors: information in the section “Visitors” o ors will therefore be able to by“2017 theapplication Unione Italiana drinktec, which in turn is a leading he form” on Vini that, organisers of the leading for organisers ofSIMEI, SIMEI, the world’s world’scentre leading event eventthe for drinktec, creating aheunique and specialised for site www.simei.it/en different production areas USEFUL INFORMATION USEFUL INFORMATION event in the beverage and liquid food winemaking winemakingand andbottling bottling machinery machinery and and equipment equipment the official www.simei. during thesite trade fair, will be wine sector covering over 20 thousand square metres.

As organisedby bythe theUnione Unione Italiana Italiana Vini Vini since since 1963, 1963, are sector, and this will bring SIMEI to theorganised it/en or apply online on xtensive showcase.

DATES DATES is customary, itare will gather the operators forwill wine tealready working on best the edition, which take already working on the 27th27th edition, which will take place introducing visitors to a quality attention of potential new customers www.drinktec.com/simei 11-15 September 2017 11-15 September 2017 2017 The from 11th 15thSeptember September 2017ininMunich, Munich, Germany.

The ting this partnership, strengthening its potentia chnology willfrom be to11-15 exhibiting machines andGermany. equipment rs, onand the other hand, willwhoplace GY markets. Exhibitors will therefore selection of Italian wines and key keywords, words,as asalways, always,will willbe beinnovation innovation and and technology. technology.

PLACE PLACE looking for information the best solutions • visitors: in the for companies”. for the production, conditioning, storage, bottling and to optimise byproduction Numerous Numerousinnovations innovationson onthe theagenda, agenda, starting starting with with the the be able to their exploretime different Munich, Germany –– Messe München Exhibition Munich, Germany Messe München Exhibition Centre products through guidedCentre tasting section “Visitors” on the packaging of location. wine, fromwill logistics services.

In move Italy, where location.spanning In2017, 2017,the theevent event will move from fromto Italy, where an extensive PARTICIPATION PARTICIPATION part inareas twointrade fairsshowcase. at ititwill willreturn returnin in2019, 2019,to toGermany, Germany, to to forge forge aa fruitful fruitful and and official site www.simei.it/en SIMEI has always been the only internation and sensory training •• exhibitors: complete form the exhibitors: complete the theanalysis form and and follow follow the Visitors, on the other hand, will be synergy mutual mutual synergywith withdrinktec, drinktec,the the international international trade trade fair fair me time.

This agreement reference dedicated to operators and “This between thefood Unione Italiana Vini and instructions in '2017 application instructions in the the section section “2017 application – compan able to optimise their timeagreement by taking for industry forbeverage beverageand andliquid liquidfood industry equipment. equipment. This This union, union, sessions.

Taste education form' on the official site www.simei.it/en or form” on the official site www.simei.it/en or wine sector. This role was confirmed in 2015 Exhibition Centre –theAntonio Rallo, which enhances complementarity of two which enhancesthe complementarity of the theChairman two events, events, n Simei partand in twodrinktec trade Munich fairs at the same time. apply online apply online on on www.drinktec.com/simei www.drinktec.com/simei through sensory analysis – will creates a unique platform that crosses both sectors, offering creates a unique platform that crosses both sectors, offering sence of top international players and several of the SIMEI Unione Italiana Vini, explained - is part of This agreement between and es the complementary operators and the best of operators andvisitors visitors thea best of technology technology all all round. round. the •• visitors: information in section 'Visitors' visitors: information in the the section “Visitors” "SIMEI is biennial event: of buyers visiting from the US, Australia, Chile an internationalisation project and stems from the need become the tool to stimulate the Unione Italiana Vini that, during drinktec enhances the complementary SIMEI SIMEIwill willalso alsobe beimplementing implementing the the proposals proposals of of drinktec, drinktec, on on the the official official site site www.simei.it/en www.simei.it/en of thenature two of events, showing Brazil and Tunisia.

The growing number of vis offer showing advantages usersand from both worlds, SIMEI creating unique specialised centre for the wine sector creatingato a2017 unique and specialised centre for the wine sector the trade fair, will be introducing the two to events, edition will be held in and spread awareness and covering over 20 thousand square metres.

As is customary, covering over 20 thousand square metres.

As is customary, last edition, held as usual in the Fiera Rho exh and drinktec, creating synergies of obvious interest.

Our visitors to a quality selection of Italian operators and visitors the best that ors and visitors the best SIMEI is awine biennial event: that are fundamental ititwill for technology who international point willgather gatherthe thebest best operators for wine technology who will willbe SIMEI SIMEIcompetence has always always been been the the only only international point of of Munich, while in 2019 itdiffewill trehas inand Milan, Italy, provides further confirmatio operators will have a operators new pole to explore wines products through guided technology can offer.

SIMEI will be be reference beexhibiting exhibitingmachines machinesand andequipment equipment for for the the production, production, reference dedicated dedicated to to operators operators and and companies companies in in the the wine wine hnology can offerregular at 360 the 2017 edition will be to a moderate approach to Here, 31,000 professional trade visitors from rent specialised markets and other sectors of the beverage industry, tasting and sensory analysis training creating an exclusive held in and Italy again " conditioning, bottling packaging of conditioning,storage, storage, bottling and packaging of wine, wine, sector. sector. This This role role was was confirmed confirmed in in 2015 2015 by by the the presence presence of of s. SIMEI will creating spanning logistics to services. spanning from logistics to services. top international players and several delegations of buyers top international players and several delegations of buyers tries came together with over 600 high profile thereby reaching newfrom visitors and buyers.

The public and sessions.

Taste education – through hub of the be winemaking industry over held in Munich, while drinking, a philosophy that the visiting visiting from from the the US, US, Australia, Australia, Chile, Chile, Spain, Spain, Brazil Brazil and and companies. sensory analysis – will become the tool area of more than square training drinktec will therefore meet our operators that usive an specialised hub20,000 of operators aspect is in fact one of in 2019 it will beVini held ““This Tunisia.Unione The growing growing number number of visitors visitors to the the last edition, edition, Tunisia.

The of to last Thisagreement agreementbetween between theUnione Unione Italiana Vini and in the Italiana and Italiana Vini has promoted stimulate and Rho spread awareness metres, celebrating thealways excellence of its have stood out in the field of wine technology. heldto as usual usual in in the the Fiera Fiera Rho exhibition exhibition centre in in Milan, Milan, Munich Exhibition Centre –Antonio Antonio Rallo, Chairman key held as centre Munich Exhibition Centre –Italiana Rallo, Chairman emaking industry over the Unione Vini’s Italy from the beginning. moderate approach to thereof. drinking, a 31,000 exhibitors.

Italy,aprovides provides further confirmation thereof.

Here, 31,000 ofthe the Unione Italiana Vini,explained explained isagain partof of anrepeaItaly, further confirmation Here, of Vini, part Once again, therefore, SIMEI will be a hig SIMEI will return toUnione Italy Italiana in 2019 with the--isidea ofan of more than 20,000 focus areas organisation professional trade visitors from 90 countries came together offer internationalisation projectin andthe stemsfrom fromthe theneed needto to offer professional trade visitors from 90 countries came together internationalisation project and stems philosophy that the Unione Italiana Technicians, winemakers, international event both in termsVini of technology with over over 600 600 high high profile profile exhibiting exhibiting companies. companies. advantagesto tousers usersfrom fromboth bothworlds, worlds,SIMEI SIMEIand anddrinktec, drinktec, with advantages has promoted beginning. consultants and professionals theof the trade fair, with the aim of ning, with afrom verythe diverse and complete range metres, celebrating the increating creating synergiesof ofobvious obviousinterest. interest.Our Ourregular regularoperators operators synergies industry will be able to meet andwill Once again, therefore, SIMEI will be a high profile will have a new pole to explore different markets and other Once again, SIMEI will be a high profile international have a new pole to explore different markets and other and events able to show operators, visitors an SIMEI 2017 SUPPORTED BY nce of its exhibitors. AWAITING holding different sidereaching events for international event in terms technology and has training, visitors event sectorsof ofthe thebeverage beverageindustry, industry,thereby therebyreaching new visitors both in terms of best technology and training, with a diverse sectors new market theboth that of the industry to offer. withcomplete a very diverse completeand range of products and andbuyers. buyers.The Thepublic public and drinktec operators will therefore and rangeand of products events able to show and and drinktec operators will, therefore, debate, training and information As in previous editions, SIMEI@ AWAITING SIMEI events ablevisitors to show operators, world field of of meetShow ouroperators operators thatYou havealways always stood out inthe thefield operators, and the worldvisitors marketand thethe best thatmarket the meet our that have stood in The 2017 Simei Road begins. will find usout at: drinktec will also provide an opportunity for the real and constant the best has thatto the industry has to offer. the wineuseful technology.

SIMEIwill will return toItaly Italy in2019 2019 with industry offer. wine technology.

SIMEI return to in with the China Brew & Beverage: Shanghai, 11-14 October 2016 forthis high level professional development.

SUPPORTED BY ADVOCACY idea ofrepeating repeating this partnership, strengthening itspotential, potential, idea of partnership, strengthening its AITINGThe SIMEI 2017 SIMEI@drinktec Road Show: ADVOCACY development ofaspect the industry.

ADVOCACY alwayslooking lookingThe forthe the bestsolutions solutions forcompanies”. companies”. always for best for training is in fact one of the

SIMEI@drinktec 2017: EXCELLENCE ON SHOW

A

ADVOCACY

SIMEI SIMEI is warming up its engines.

The The international event of reference for wine technology technology is becoming increasingly global

ADVOCACY

T

Braubeviale: Nuremberg, 8-10 November 2016

Enomaq: Unione Italiana Vini’s key focus areas EI@drinktec RoadSaragozza, Show: Intervitis: Stuttgart, 27-30 November 2016 4-17 February 2017

AWAITINGin SIMEI 2017 AWAITING SIMEI 2017 organisation trade fair, with the aim

willDecember of course be a space Saragozza, 14-17 February 2017Bordeaux,There Vinitech: 29 of Nov-1 holding different2016 side events for

for conviviality and education debate, training and information useful : Düsseldorf, 19-21 March 2017Saragozza, Enomaq: 14-17 February Braubeviale: Nuremberg, 8-102017 November 2016 Braubeviale: Nuremberg, 8-10 November 2016 Braubeviale: Nuremberg, 8-10 November 2016

TheSimei SimeiRoadshow Road Showbegins. begins.You Youwill willfind findus usat: at: The ProWein: Düsseldorf, 19-21 March 2017 to London, foster the responsible development of the industry.

Intervitis: Stuttgart, 27-30 November 2016 and London Wine Fair: 22-24 May 2017 Intervitis: Stuttgart, 27-30 November 2016 Intervitis: Stuttgart, 27-30 November 2016 Verona, 9-12 April 2017 There will of course aof space for Vinitaly: Verona, 9-12 April 2017 Vinitech: Bordeaux,consumption 29 Nov-1 Nov-1 December Decemberbe 2016 moderate wine Vinitech: Bordeaux, 29 2016

mber 2017

en - Germany

Wine Fair: London, 22-24 May 2017

London Wine Fair: London, 22-24 May 2017

www.simei.it www.drinktec.com/simei

www.w i n tletiestl.c esom.au .c om.au n eti 16www.wi 1

Vinitech: Bordeaux, 29 Nov-1 December 2016 conviviality and education to foster the Enomaq:Saragozza, Saragozza,14-17 14-17February February2017 2017 Enomaq: Saragozza, 14-17 February 2017 Enomaq:

thanks to the Sensory Bar. This responsible and moderate consumption

LondonWine WineFair: Fair:London, London,22-24 22-24May May2017 2017 London Wine May 2017 London of Fair: wineLondon, thanks22-24 to the Sensory Bar.

This is another initiative promoted by www.winetitles.com.au 11 www.winetitles.com.au

WINE && VITICULTURE VITICULTURE JOURNAL JOURNAL NOVEMBER/DECEMBER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 2016 WINE

ULTUR URE EJO JOUR URNNA JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017 WWI NI NE E&&V VI TI TI CI CULT A L LNO V EMBER/DEC EMBER 2016

V31N6 V31N6

V32N1 V31N6

wine bal

SUPPORTED ADVOCACYBY

will project

SUPPORTED ADVOCACYBY

ADVOCACY

on Centre

ADVOCACY

WORLD LEADER IN WINE TECHNOLOGY

e instructions official site nktec.com/

on the official

WORLD LEADER TH 27TH EDITION IN WINE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL ENOLOGICAL AND BOTTLING EQUIPMENT EXHIBITION

al, always

nal point of nies in the by the preTH EDITION l delegations 27 27TH e, Spain, INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL ENOLOGICAL sitors to the AND AND BOTTLING EQUIPMENT EXHIBITION hibition cen- EXHIBITION l thereof. on m 90 coune exhibiting

d

gh profile y and traie of products nd the world

ORGANIZEDBY BY ORGANIZED ORGANIZEDBY BY ORGANIZED

11

th th 11 September 2017 th -15 -15 September 2017

th

Messe Messe MünchenMünchen - Germany - Germany

SUPPORTEDBY BY SUPPORTED

SUPPORTEDBY BY SUPPORTED

www.simei.it www.drinktec.com/simei

www.simei.it www.simei.it www.drinktec.com/simei www.drinktec.com/simei

I NEE M MA G G WW I N A KKI N I N

CA B E R N E T S A U VI G N O N

A 17-year winemaking partnership taking Australian Cabernet to the world stage

By Cathy Howard

Cathy caught up with Wynns winemakers Sue Hodder and Sarah Pidgeon to find out the highlights of their 17-year winemaking partnership and delve into the ongoing evolution of Cabernet at Wynns that began a decade ago.

S

ue Hodder and Sarah Pidgeon, winemakers for Wynns Coonawarra Estate, were jointly named the ‘Winemaker of the Year’ at the 2016 Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) Awards for Excellence in November last year. The award recognises the work that the two have done particularly with Cabernet Sauvignon, and their contribution back to the local community in which they live and work, and to the broader wine community in Australia and internationally.

In summing up their selection for the prestigious award, ASVO president Mardi Longbottom said, “Sue and Sarah have demonstrated enormous commitment to the pursuit of winemaking excellence from the vineyard, through the winery, in their wines and through their engagement with the broader wine community.”

The two winemakers have worked together at Wynns for 17 years. Hodder started with Wynns in 1993, and Pidgeon arrived in 1999.

For both women, it is a working relationship firmly based on mutual respect, a shared passion, and a clear, focussed strategy on where they want to take the Wynns wine styles into the future and how they are going to do it.

After interviewing both women recently, their passion for what they do and for Wynns, and the deep respect they hold for each other’s winemaking abilities and skills, shone through brightly. A real sense of achievement from both of them is apparent in their voices, as is pride in what they have achieved and excitement about what is coming up in the next few years at Wynns. Both acknowledge the contribution of the company’s viticulturist Allan Jenkins, who is guiding the massive task of rejuvenating and replanting large sections of the Wynns vineyards that started in 2004.

BACKGROUND TO THE ASVO WINEMAKER OF THE YEAR AWARD WIN In their submission to the ASVO awards, Hodder and Pidgeon outlined their wide range of winemaking achievements and contributions. Of particular interest were: • The ‘evolution’ in viticultural practices at Wynns.

• Contributing to the research, development and assessment of new Cabernet clones and rootstocks for the next generation of Cabernet Sauvignon in the region.

• Rejuvenating and developing the Heritage vine selections from Wynns’ most iconic old vines to sit alongside newlyplanted Cabernet clones • Making single vineyard wines that acknowledge the terroir and history within the region. Since 2001, Wynns has

18

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

Wynns winemakers Sue Hodder (left) and Sarah Pidgeon with their ASVO Winemaker of the Year Award, which acknowledged their work, particularly with Cabernet Sauvignon.

released a Single Vineyard Cabernet each year, and each is from a different vineyard. As the owner of some of the world’s oldest and most important Cabernet vineyards, this was imperative to the telling of the Australian wine story • By providing a library of samples to the Australian Wine Research Institute for various analyses to inform the next wave of research into the nuances of terroir and Cabernet in Coonawarra • Embracing new technologies, scientific findings, historical anecdotes and leading international opinions to redirect and inform the winemaking at Wynns.

After 17 years of working together, there have been many memorable moments. Pidgeon rates working alongside Hodder to introduce the first single vineyard wine in 2001 from the Harold Vineyard as one of her favourite moments.

This wine also happened to be a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wine. Hodder continued, “There have been memorable moments with these ‘skinny old guys’, as we call them, and it has been finding out how to coax out the best in these heritage vineyards.” Pidgeon added, “They are hard to make until you find the best way, a bit like cracking the safe code

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

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

But these are more than journals. They are brands.

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

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

And we are adding so much more in Wine Shows, Events, Classifieds, including Jobs, Real Estate, Sales of Grapes and Wine, Used Barrels & Equipment, Services and Suppliers.

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

34 th Annua l Edition

For business solutions across all platforms, call + 61 8 8369 9500 or go to www.winetitles.com.au

SHOP LWD

2016

Australian & New Zealand Wine Produc Industry Supp ers | Austra liers | Buye lian Grapeg rs’ Guide | Contract W rowers Brands | Ov inemakers erview, Fact | Calendar, W Di st s & Figures ributors & Re ine Shows & ta ilers | Writ Courses | Or ers & Media ganisations, Teaching & Research In stitution

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

I NEE M MA G G WW I N A KKI N I N

CA B E R N E T S A U VI G N O N

A tasting of 50 years of Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignons in 2004 was among the catalysts for kickstarting the ongoing rejuvenation of the company’s vineyards. then opening the safe to find exquisite treasures inside.” She said, “Making good wines from younger vineyards is easier; the wines are juicier and more forgiving, easier to make, but are less complex. The key is realising the potential and not missing it in these wines from the Heritage vineyards, and realising the need to be patient and give the wines a chance.”

Hodder continued, “There is no definitive, singular factor that has lead us down the path we are currently travelling. It’s a matrix of factors that has contributed to the paradigm shift that we are going through at Wynns. The catalyst for us both was in 2004 with our 50-year tasting that took us through until the current vintage of the time, which was our 2004 which was still in barrel. The 50-year tasting coincided with the need to rejuvenate some of our vineyards. Combine this with the fact that Allen Jenkins joined our team in 2001, and the first serious acknowledgement that climate change was real and that it was happening now.”

“The ‘90s, when we both started here, are now a long time ago… The way in which we compare one vintage to another is now very different.”

- Sue Hodder

20

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

The winemakers’ ‘light bulb moment’ came when they were tasting the 1960s Cabernets during the 50-year tastings.

They were medium bodied, not big from a tannin aspect, and aged gracefully and elegantly. This gave Hodder and Pidgeon the confidence to change the style direction of future Wynns Cabernets, and gave the team as a whole the confidence to start the rejuvenation of the old Wynns vineyards.

Pidgeon said, “By conducting the 50 years of Cabernet tasting in 2004 and being able to taste the full set, both winemakers learnt so much and ended up with some very significant findings and lots of ideas for change. At that time of the tasting, the 1954 wine, which was the first wine tasted, was still amazing and received lots of votes for the best wine of the 1950s and 1960s. Another standout was the 1991, which also received lots of votes, but both of these also had solid wines around each of them.

“The Cabernet tasting took in significant changes over the decades with overlapping winemaking trends and differing practices being used in the vineyards,” Pidgeon continued. “In the 1970s, there was a planting boom and a new winery was built, which were both large and significant changes at Wynns at that time. What shone out though for me at the end of the tasting was the ageability of these wines and this enduring quality in each of the wines which was more important than the winemaking techniques used. There were differences in oak and winemaking, and you can see the style differences from winemaker to winemaker, but the basic age ability of the wines didn’t change.”

Hodder added that the findings from the 50-year tasting “also coincided with the Australia-wide interest in the marketplace in the international red wine styles which were leaner and more elegant in style”.

“Having someone like Allan as our viticulturist, who could assess the Wynns vineyards with a fresh set of eyes and also knew the history of the region, and recognised that not all of the older, loved vineyards were good, was also the key,” Hodder said. She explained Jenkins had developed a vineyard rejuvenation strategy that “encompasses utilising the best old vineyards, replanting some vineyards, changing row orientations, reworking minimally pruned vineyards, changing trellising systems, changing pruning practices, planting new clones and using new rootstocks”. It’s an ambitious project which will take many years to complete.

Both winemakers are eagerly looking forward to Wynns 60 years of Cabernet tasting in mid 2018, which is timed to coincide with the release of the 60th vintage and will be the catalyst for the next crop of ideas and inspiration.

“It is good to have concise and accurate data to refer back to,” Hodder said. “The ‘90s, when we both started here, are now a long time ago and our memories of each vintage are certainly not as accurate as our written vintage dairies and vineyard records. The way in which we compare one vintage to another is now very different. We used to talk about the number of heat degree days; now it’s maximum and minimum temperatures and the conditions during the ripening period which are the key ripening factors. We have far more precise data collection and interpretation and discussion around our vintage data records now than ever before.”

The 50-year tasting also showed that the weight, ripeness and ultimately alcohol have not changed much at Wynns and

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

CABE RNE T SAUV IG NO N

WWI INN E M M AAKKI NI GN G

have been reasonably stable, with no huge fluctuations. With tannins, Hodder said, “We have so many more analytical tools at our disposal now, as well as greatly improved and fine-tuned management techniques in the vineyard, and new technologies in the winery. There are now better viticultural practices to pick when the tannins are riper, and at their best for optimal ripe flavours. Tannin analysis has made a big difference to the quality of the tannins in our wines.”

Pidgeon explained Wynns had supplied samples to the AWRI of every bottle from the 50-year tasting which were analysed for tannin and colour. The results from these 50 wines will be used to formulate theories about ageing and make up a very important part of the AWRI Tannin Project.

WHAT HAS CHANGED SO FAR? The range “We now make more wines at Wynns than we did 20 years ago, and of course there are other varieties apart from Cabernet,” Pidgeon began. “There is the John Riddoch, the pinnacle of Cabernet Sauvignon. The two to three top parcels are selected from the best vineyards, from the best barrels, and those with the most finesse are chosen. There is one vineyard which is the backbone of this wine, with another one or two other parcels to build complexity.

“Then we have our single vineyard Cabernets. They are not released every year but making wines from the Heritage vineyards gives us the opportunity to display the best each year, and these wines now are eagerly anticipated by our customers. The Heritage Selection includes The Harold Vineyard, planted in the early 1960s, the Johnson Vineyard which was planted in the 1920s to both Cabernet and Shiraz.

Then there is the Messenger Vineyard, which is Wynns most southerly vineyard, planted in the 1970s, and the Alexander

Sue and Sarah pictured amongst open fermenters in the Wynns winery where the two have worked side by side since 1999. Pidgeon rates working alongside Hodder to introduce Wynns first single vineyard wine in 2001 as one of the highlights of their partnership.

V3 2N 1

For further information, please contact Kauri AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 Email: info@kauriwine.com

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE Website: www.kauriwine.com

www.winetitles. com . au

21

I NEE M MA G G WW I N A KKI N I N

CA B E R N E T S A U VI G N O N

Vineyard planted in 1988. The Davis Vineyard is a 1956 planting, and is our second oldest Cabernet planting, and also happens to be our strongest Cabernet, and finally, the Child’s Vineyard, which was planted in the 1960s. Each vineyard has its own style and character.

“The V&A Lane vineyards are in the middle of Coonawarra, and we liken it to a sub-region, with the road dissecting Wynns from Penola,” Pidgeon continued. “It is quite a unique area, and we started making wines under this label in 2008.

It is an earlier ripening area. We harvest V&A Lane first, then Coonawarra north followed by Coonawarra south. This subregion is quite interesting and is about eight metres higher in elevation. It may not sound like much, but in an area as flat as Coonawarra, small undulations do make a significant difference. We make Cabernet Shiraz blends and straight Shiraz from this area, and style wise, it makes wines which are lighter, more elegant and with less alcohol. “‘Then there is our Black Label Cabernet which Wynns has been making for 60 years. Of interest is that the label in 1954 was labelled as a ‘Cabernet’ from ‘Coonawarra’ which was unique at that time. The Black Label is Wynns most important and most famous wine based on the best older vineyards from the Coonawarra heartland and from the terra rossa soils. It has a proven track record of ageing well. The reputation of Coonawarra and of Cabernet from this region is reflected in this wine, so no pressure on us at all!

“Then, finally, there is The Siding, a Cabernet made in a softer more approachable style, with all Coonawarra fruit with less tannins. It is a good introduction for wine consumers to Cabernet at an entry level price, and it still ages well,” Pidgeon said.

In the vineyards “Climate change: it is real and it is here,” Pidgeon asserted. “Winemakers seem to be hardwired to pick up on the smallest variations and changes in flavours and ripeness, and we are seeing differences even though they are small.

Our records are telling us there are more extremes in our weather patterns, more wet, more dry, more frosts, and these are happening more frequently. We are going through a cooler long-term average this season. The weather does influence the taste of the wines, obviously, but you should also be able to taste what the weather was like in a wine from a particular vintage, so we are mindful of this too.”

Pidgeon continued: “We can smooth out and cover these climate fluctuations in the vineyard, as well as in the winery now. In the vineyard, innovations in irrigation have resulted in more careful use of water; we use less and use it more wisely. The planting of new clones, the use of rootstocks, changing row orientation, and varying the timing of pruning are contributing not only to improving our fruit quality but also give us the opportunity to lengthen the ripening season out across our vineyards and to move away from compressed vintages.”

Hodder added, “Climate change, looking back, really seemed to become a hot issue in a short period of time. In the ‘90s, climate change wasn’t a topic. We weren’t really seriously considering water conservation, water quality, sustainability of our enterprises and of our industry, or what vineyard practices we needed to change to adapt to

22

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

“Climate change: it is real and it is here…Our records are telling us there are more extremes in our weather patterns, more wet, more dry, more frosts, and these are happening more frequently.”

- Sarah Pidgeon a changing climate. That’s all very different now. We now talk about soil health, soil microbes, soil compaction and generally looking after the soil structure.”

Hodder expanded, “Wynns had planted 120 acres of vineyards by the 1970s, so the rejuvenation work on the vineyards which started soon after our 50-year tasting in 2004 is a huge undertaking. It’s been a long, slow process with a variety of reworking options undertaken. This re-working has its challenges; with successes there have also been some failures.

“Some Cabernet blocks had the dead wood cut out of the big old vine trunks, taking precautions to treat each of the large pruning cuts to guard against infections following the reworking, then waiting for the vines to re-shoot followed by the vines pushing out rampant growth, then the need for intense follow up training work to bring the vines back into shape and balance. Other Cabernet blocks have had their cordons cut, and some of the older Cabernet blocks were pulled out and removed completely. In all, 60 hectares of vines were pulled and the blocks have been replanted. Many have had their row orientations changed from north-south to east-west, and the plantings have been more closely aligned to soil type.

“The best, old Heritage Cabernet vineyards have been fully utilised with cuttings taken from them, with those that have passed the virus status checks grown up and planted out to continue the Wynns Story. This Heritage Cabernet mass selection work, as well as our ongoing rootstock trials are providing us with exciting opportunities for future plantings.

At the moment, it is too early to narrow down the best clones.

We still need to look at the wines, and these plantings are now four years old, so we’ve got a couple more years to go. The first crop showed great promise, so time will tell,” Hodder said.

In the winery Barrel trials have been ongoing now for the past 15 years. When Pidgeon started at Wynns there were many cooperages supplying the winery with barrels and trial work was begun to reduce this number. Rigorous trials with the Wynns Cabernets to best match them with French oak have been carried out annually by Pidgeon. The aim is to achieve medium bodied wines with oak very much in the background. Pidgeon and Hodder now confidently work with eight cooperages, with six of these being for their Wynns Cabernets. It is a pared back oak profile, but one that has made a huge difference in style, with the fruit characters speaking rather than oak. Less new oak is also being used,

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

CABE RNE T SAUV IG NO N

and they are moving away from barriques, using more hogsheads and puncheons as well as 3000L vats. Hodder adds, “There was historical use of oak vats here at Wynns during the ‘50s and ‘60s, like many older Australian wineries, so we are in a way coming full circle back to the early years of Wynns with less new oak, higher quality, and larger format.”

Wynns is also moving to stalk inclusion on Shiraz, and an example is the V&A Lane Shiraz which is at 12.5% alcohol and has partial stem inclusion. Interestingly, Wynns’ historical records shine a light on the practice of including stalks in Shiraz ferments back in the 1980s. It worked well, but the reason for their inclusion was simply due to an equipment breakdown of the destemmer!

Today, Wynns has one of only two Vision berry sorting tables in Australia; the other is at Cape Mentelle in Margaret River. “We are getting better at using it after three years,” Pidgeon said. “Our aim is to take Australian Cabernet to the world stage and this technology, which is commonplace in Europe, is a step towards achieving that goal. Sorting tables haven’t replaced hand picking though. We use hand picking on the old vines as much as we can and as much as the budget allows.”

COLLABORATION IS A CORNERSTONE OF THE CULTURE AT WYNNS Both Hodder and Pidgeon actively contribute to broad wine discussions in forums such as wine shows, masterclasses, conferences and workshops, and host international visitors and work with local schools.

International engagement is important to both winemakers, with much to be learned from the winemaking and viticultural trials and research conducted overseas. Five years ago, Hodder was a guest at the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Symposium. At that time, Wynns as not selling wines into the USA, but many delegates knew of Wynns.

One revelation about Cabernet from the Napa which struck a chord with Hodder was the differences in styles from the Coonawarra, with Napa Cabernets 3% higher in alcohol than their Coonawarra counterparts.

“The Napa Valley is hotter and drier than Coonawarra, which presents greater challenges for winemakers to deal with, but the Napa has more research resources at its disposal and the area has undertaken extensive mapping of temperatures, and employed irrigation and vine misting which are all beneficial in a warming climate, especially one already considered hot,” Hodder explained. “Wineries are now planting new vineyards in the hills, and even higher in places up into the mountains compared with what we have in most of Australia. By going up in elevation, they are obtaining much cooler growing conditions, but the downside is that there is an AVA or appellation change. In saying that, Napa Valley growers have also done extensive research into the specific characteristics of each AVA, rootstocks (for phylloxera, and other reasons) and they do have access to a range of very good processing technology.”

An exciting development coming up for Hodder and Pidgeon is a visit this year by growers from the Oakville AVA Napa Valley Growers.

V3 2N 1

WWI INN E M M AAKKI NI GN G

CONCLUSIONS There are many layers to the Wynns story, which Hodder and Pidgeon have been contributing to over the past 17 years. The Wynns’ story is not about an Australian New World vineyard and winery in Coonawarra, it’s about an old winery, with old vineyards. It’s more specifically a story about a winery with some of the oldest Cabernet vineyards in the world, growing in some of the oldest soils in the world. It’s also a story about innovation, about passion and about a deep-seated pride in what they do.

The rejuvenated Wynns Cabernet vineyards will be a legacy from which future grapegrowers and winemakers, both in Australia and around the globe will benefit. Wine consumers will also be the beneficiaries of this Cabernet project work and no doubt some of them will become passionate collectors of the Wynns Black Label or Single Vineyard Cabernets as they get caught up in the story behind the wines.

The Hodder-Pidgeon winemaking partnership is a wonderful example for other winemakers to learn from and to emulate.

They have achieved a lot together in the past 17 years, assisted along the way with highly skilled team members such as Jenkins who have contributed their expertise to the Cabernet Project.

Cathy Howard is a winemaker and, together with her husband Neil, proprietor of Whicher Ridge Wines, near Busselton, Western Australia. She has been making wine for more than 20 years and also consults part-time to some WVJ wineries in the Geographe region.

For further information, please contact Kauri AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 Email: info@kauriwine.com

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE Website: www.kauriwine.com

www.winetitles. com . au

23

I NEE M MA GG WW I N A KKI N I N

W I N E R Y W A S T E W AT E R

Winery wastewater treatment – vintage stuff

By Mitch Laginestra GHD Pty Ltd, 211 Victoria Square, Adelaide, South Australia 5000. Email: mitchell.laginestra@ghd.com

Winery operators face the challenge of managing water usage and dealing with wastewater that can be quite difficult to treat, particularly during vintage. Successfully addressing these challenges opens up opportunities to further improve the sustainability of winery operations and may also generate economic benefits.

W

ineries are high water users (more than 2.5L of water are needed to create 1L of wine).

Operations such as cleaning and washing during the crushing and pressing of grapes, rinsing of tanks, barrel washing, bottling, residuals drainage, CIP operations, filter washing, etc. generate wastewater that contains numerous contaminants (solids, dissolved organic compounds, nutrients) which must be treated prior to release to the environment.

TREATMENT OF THE WASTEWATER General Irrigation of vineyards using effluent is commonly practised (other potential uses include washing of concrete areas, service water for heating/cooling, landscape irrigation and toilet flushing). Biological treatment of wastewater enables improvement of wastewater quality by reducing contaminants from the stream prior to application. Lagoon systems can remove the bulk of the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solids (SS), but filtration and other physical/ chemical processes can enhance the quality to enable other uses. In determining the best method of treatment,

Figure 1. Earthen lagoons are cheaper to build, but more land area is required. Embankments and base need to be implemented properly to avoid destabilisation and loss of liner.

24

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

it is important to understand the contaminants within the generated wastewater and the intended application of the treated effluent.

Winery wastewater varies significantly between nonprocessing and vintage periods. Peak flows and high contaminant concentrations occur during vintage (typically more than 80% of the annual wastewater is produced during this time, and BOD can vary from about 1000mg/L up to 7000mg/L). To put things in perspective, sewage contains BOD of around 300mg/L, so winery waste can represent a stream about 10-20 times more potent than raw sewage.

Consequently, choosing and maintaining a treatment system can be somewhat daunting for any operator who may be unfamiliar with treatment technologies and how to maintain them.

The environmental risk (and ultimate future economic risk to the winery) of irrigating with poor quality (undertreated) wastewater is typically related to soil degradation, or surface run-off. Consequently, the design of treatment systems becomes paramount to achieve appropriate and consistent effluent quality. Design should consider aspects such as flow balancing, pH correction, depth of tanks, oxygenation requirements and must provide flexibility to treat during vintage and non-vintage periods.

Alternatives for treatment Lagoons are common (and appropriate) for wineries as they provide simple operation and low energy consumption compared with mechanical treatment systems. While lagoon systems are very forgiving, and can handle hydraulic variations, the vintage period presents greater contaminant loading, and unless additional treatment is introduced, then effluent quality can deteriorate, resulting in odour generation. Overcoming this issue might involve installation of additional mechanical aeration units at the onset, and throughout the vintage period.

For mechanical treatment systems, it is important for the design to allow for vintage BOD levels (to cater for peak treatment requirements/aeration capability). However, hydraulic variation can be an issue and flow balancing is important (often combined with pH correction, as the biomass that develops in mechanical systems is sensitive – and a neutral pH is important in the bioreactors).

Selection of the appropriate treatment system is largely dependent on site specific factors, including space availability and buffers (lagoons can have a footprint some 20-30 times greater than mechanical bioreactor systems). Other

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

W I N E R Y W A S T E W AT E R

W WI INNEE M M AAKKI NI G N G

Maturation ponds • shallower than other ponds and allow algal development for oxygen transfer and disinfection via sunlight UV Pond systems typically comprise a treatment train, involving a series of ponds – anaerobic/facultative, aerobic/maturation.

The appropriate train/series is dependent on loading and, typically, facultative or mechanically aerated ponds followed by maturation/storage ponds are used for winery wastewater.

Anaerobic lagoons are rare at wineries because of the mismatch in loadings during vintage and non-vintage periods.

Other barriers to implementation include the potential for odours and the perceived expense of control and installation of the lagoon, which requires much longer detention (and greater depth than other lagoons). Covering of anaerobic lagoons is becoming more commonplace in other industries.

An anaerobic system could also cater for residuals (marc/lees).

ISSUES WITH LAGOONS Figure 2. Lagoon treatment – consider boosting aeration during vintage. considerations might include budget and resource allocation, odour aspects, and irrigation (type of distribution adopted, soil strata).

There may be some instances when neither a lagoon or mechanical system perform adequately or are operated optimally, and the cause needs to be determined by reviewing contaminant concentration and volumetric loading of the installed system.

LAGOON TREATMENT – THE BASICS Lagoons represent a natural biological treatment process.

Being non-mechanical systems, the detention time (and subsequent surface area/footprint) is significantly greater than conventional mechanical treatment systems. Lagoons are largely distinguished by the dissolved oxygen (DO) on the layers of the ponds which, in turn, is dependent on the organic and hydraulic loading of the pond system. The types of ponds include:

While lagoon systems can cater for variability by providing long detention, the vintage periods present much greater organic loading, and unless spare aeration capacity is implemented, then effluent quality can deteriorate. This typically results in odour generation which is unattractive for visitors to the cellar door.

The BOD of the incoming wastewater dictates the required aeration (or for non-aerated ponds the areal loading). Generally, the deeper the pond the better oxygenation transfer efficiency can be achieved (the aeration system needs to be designed to cater for depth/pressure). This is where a wastewater specialist can help. Suppliers of systems are more than happy to sell customers equipment whether it is suitable or not. A specialist wastewater designer can advise what is the best system to use for individual applications. Of course, if a new winery is being built requiring a treatment system for a ‘greenfield’ site, then rather than augmenting or enhancing what already exists, there is an opportunity to implement a new system that meets specific ▶ requirements.

Anaerobic ponds • absent of dissolved oxygen • require a depth of >4 m • involve long detention times to cater for high organic loading and break down organic wastes to gas (methane rich); consequently, they provide an opportunity to generate electricity.

Facultative ponds • involve an aerobic upper layer and anaerobic lower layer • DO is maintained through algae and wind action, however, mechanical aeration may be used Aerobic systems • shallow ponds ~ 2-3m • aerobic micro-organisms convert organic matter to inert solids, new cells and carbon dioxide

V3 2N 1

Figure 3. Mechanical systems can provide more compact treatment.

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

25

I NEE M MA GG WW I N A KKI N I N

W I N E R Y W A S T E W AT E R

Wastewater treatment generates a residual solids (slurry) stream as a result of the organic matter being degraded (inert solids and excess microbial biomass). This must be removed from the lagoons periodically. Many operators seemingly take the view that the sludge breaks down and simply disappears.

This is not the case and lagoons that have excess sludge accumulation are subject to operational difficulties including substandard performance, odour generation and sporadic release of solids into the effluent.

Overall, the ponds had numerous issues, and were significantly overloaded compared with common criteria.

The recommended plan of action was the installation of a new anaerobic pond (plastic lined) to take the load off the existing shallow ponds and refurbishment of embankments. In addition, a settling tank prior to the pond was recommended to remove coarse solids, such as diatomaceous earth, which will improve the process as it reduces the retention time within the basin. Aeration in the second pond was also advocated.

CASE STUDY

CONCLUSIONS

A winery in New South Wales that uses ponds to treat wastewater, was reviewed. The ponds were in series and were clay lined. However, a number of issues were evident including: • low BOD reduction over the ponds (<60 %, but should be >75-80%) • odours (typically indicative of overloaded ponds) • low effluent pH (again typically indicative of poor performance) • shallow ponds for wastewater treatment (typically 1-2m) • a large quantity of sludge noticeable in the first pond and appears to be in anaerobic condition (although aerators are operating in the surface layer) • while some aeration was installed in the ponds, it was set up as shallow-based diffused air system, and was largely ineffective for the BOD load (given the pond depth) • build-up of diatomaceous earth in the pond • noticeable embankment scouring (dispersive soils).

Treatment of winery wastewater can be difficult during vintage due to seasonal flow and contaminant increases. While lagoon systems are very forgiving, vintage activity presents much greater loading, and unless additional mechanical aeration capacity is introduced, then effluent quality can deteriorate. Anaerobic systems installed upstream of the aerobic system provide additional opportunities.

While wastewater treatment involves a cost, soil rehabilitation is also a significant cost, and winemakers should think of treatment as a long-term investment, not only for the environmental sustainability of the vineyard but also for the economic viability of the entire winemaking operation.

In addition, if an anaerobic process is considered then gas generation can be explored to provide energy.

WVJ

Top shelf wastewater ideas For more than 85 years we’ve been helping clients get the most out of sustainable wastewater solutions With us, you can expect value-formoney solutions for the management of your water resources: • • • •

Wastewater management Water efficiency Irrigation Environmental planning

To learn more visit www.ghd.com or email mitchell.laginestra@ghd.com

26

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

W I N E P R E S E N TAT I O N

W WI INNEE M M AAKKI NI G N G

Recent innovations in wine presentation

By Sonya Logan

T

he wine industry is constantly dreaming up new ways to attract the attention of consumers in presenting its products to the market, sometimes for looks, other times for convenience. This article takes a look at some of the innovations in this area over the last 12 months that have captured headlines.

TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE LABELS BY TAYLORS WINES Following independent research which showed many consumers were inadvertently drinking white and red wine at the incorrect temperature, Taylors Wines released its Taylors Estate and Promised Land ranges with a temperature-sensitive back label to let wine drinkers know when the wines were at the best temperature to enjoy.

The labels use thermo-chromatic ink technology that changes colour depending on the temperature of the wine, turning green when a white or sparkling wine is just right to pour, or fuchsia for the red wines. Taylors said it was the first time the technology has been used in an educational application.

A study by research group IPSOS on behalf of Taylors revealed eight out of 10 Australians were drinking their red wine at room temperature. The company said the practice of drinking reds at room temperature originated from medieval French drawing rooms which had temperatures of 14˚C-16˚C. By comparison, the temperature of an average Aussie home, particularly in summer, ranged between 22˚C-24˚C. Taylors said drinking wine at this temperature robbed red wines of finesse and flavour.

The wine company also commissioned a survey by Wine Intelligence which showed 77 per cent of Australians enjoyed a glass of white wine from the fridge, while 21 per cent even serve it directly from the freezer.

“Temperature is a vital piece in making sure wine is enjoyed at its very best. While our winemakers take great care to ensure our wine is of utmost quality and value, the warm Australian

climate is not so great for storing and drinking wine,” said Taylors Wines managing director Mitchell Taylor, adding the most Australians did not have access to expensive high-tech wine fridges and thermometers that can control and monitor a wine’s temperature consistently.

“Using insights and research into Australian wine drinking habits, we’re excited to share a simple way for wine consumers to know when their wines are just right to drink,” he said. For example, placing a red wine in the fridge 30 minutes prior to serving would turn the back label’s sensor to a bold fuchsia colour, signalling it is at optimum drinking temperature.

The labels have proven so popular that Taylors has now released a set of temperature sensitive stickers that can be used on any bottle of wine.

WINE BOTTLES WRAPPED IN SHORT STORIES Italian wine producer Matteo Correggia teamed up with product design agency Reverse Innovation to create a range of wines – two reds and a white - that come wrapped in a mini book.

Called Librottiglia - a combination of the Italian words for ‘book’ and ‘bottle’ - the labels were presented for the first time at Vinitaly in 2016 on the wines made by Matteo

DESIGN ENERGY CREATE.

Creative, engaging and inspiring packaging design and advertising… that create sales.

Rear 52 Glasshouse Rd Collingwood VIC 3066 Tel: 03 9495 6300 trish@designenergy.com.au

Taylors Wines’ temperature-sensitive back label lets wine drinkers know when the wine is at the best temperature to enjoy.

V3 2N 1

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

27

I NEE M MA GG WW I N A KKI N I N

W I N E P R E S E N TAT I O N

wrapped around 375ml bottles. They give readers the option of choosing from a fable called The Frog in the Belly, a mystery called The Murder or a romantic story titled I Love You. Forget Me. Each bottle is half the size of a regular wine bottle.

Since its release, Librottiglia has won numerous design awards including a merit award from American design magazine HOW, a Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum, a gold medal in the print and packaging design section of the 46th Creativity International Design Awards (USA), named ‘best innovation’ in the professional food category of the One More Pack awards in Milan, and a second place in the wine and champagne category in the American Dieline Awards.

WINE THAT FITS THROUGH A LETTERBOX

Italian wine producer Matteo Correggia teamed up with product design agency Reverse Innovation to create a range of wines that come wrapped in a mini book.

Correggia. The characteristics of the wines were said to be matched to a narrative genre that complemented the style of wine.

Reverse Innovation commissioned three authors to produce the novellas which are printed in Italian and

HUNTER BOTTLING COMPANY

UK company Garcon Wines has created a flattened plastic bottle that holds the same amount of wine as a regular 750ml glass bottle and can fit through a letterbox.

Two inches longer than a standard wine bottle and significantly flatter, the bottles come in specially designed protective packaging and are available through a subscription based wine delivery service which was devised to overcome the problems associated with traditional winery delivery methods.

Co-founder and wine entrepreneur Santiago Navarro said having previously run an online wine company that delivered wines to customers in cases of regular bottles, he saw firsthand how inconvenient this method of delivery was for cityliving customers and how much unnecessary work it caused the company when a delivery failed or bottles shattered in transit.

“We are not supplying fine wines that would be put in cellars in months or years,” co-founder Santiago Navarro told the Sun Online. “The wines will need to be drunk in six to 12 months. Hopefully the majority will be drunk within three months.”

Co-founder Joe Revell said the service was primarily targeting millennial wine drinkers who live in urban centres and are rarely home to receive deliveries.

Wine Bottling & Packaging Services Providing you with exceptional bottling, packaging, analytical and warehousing services.

• All bottle sizes & volumes catered for • Torque on accredited machinery: Lux, WAK, Novatwist, Savin P & Singlz • Extensive range of customised dry goods • Warehouse, storage & distribution • Laboratory Analysis • Professional & helpful staff We welcome all enquiries: Phone: (02) 4998 7966 RA 861 Hermitage Rd, POKOLBIN NSW 2320 Email: admin@hunterbottling.com.au www.hunterbottling.com.au

28

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

UK company Garcon Wines has created a flattened plastic bottle that holds the same amount of wine as a regular 750ml glass bottle and can fit through a letterbox.

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

W I N E P R E S E N TAT I O N

MAKING USE OF AN ENTIRE WINE BOTTLE Quest, a US-based bottle packaging company, was awarded the most innovative wine packaging award at the 2016 Wines & Vines Packaging Conference for a new technique created for Reed Vineyards that enables an entire wine bottle to become a decorative canvas.

Beating more than 121 entries, the labelling on the Reed Wine Cellars bottle utilises a technique named ‘Spray Mask’ where the exterior of a bottle receives a spray-coated ‘mask’ that can be embellished. The Reed Cellars entry was ‘naked’ on the lower half but spray coated with a dark red agent on the top, giving the impression the top was dipped in wax with the drawing of a lion’s head showing through the wax.

The judging panel described the technology as “a breakthrough” as it allowed the entire bottle to become a US-based bottle packaging decorative canvas. companvy Quest was “This process enables more awarded the most innovative innovative design choices for wine packaging award at the 2016 Wines & Vines winemakers, brand owners and Packaging Conference for a designers to consider. There is new technique that enables virtually an endless combination an entire wine bottle to of designs and colours to become a decorative canvas. transform an ordinary bottle into a fully custom-made work of art,” the judges noted.

Reed Vineyards’ winemaker is Ryan Reed who is also the chief technology officer of Quest.

He said, “With this new Spray Mask technique, every part of the bottle can be decorated even if the design requires very fine detail.”

W WI INNEE M M AAKKI NI G N G

Napa Valley-based Free Flow Wines was recognised for excellence in wine industry innovation in the 2016 WINnovation Awards, run by the Wine Industry Network in the US, for expanding its keg technology to sparkling wines. style, which still requires three to four times the pressure of a normal beer keg. This presented a challenge at the dispensing point, with foaming becoming an issue.

“The hardest part about it wasn’t getting the sparkling wine into the keg, it was getting it out of the keg at the restaurant. So we worked closely with our equipment partners and accounts to make sure they could successfully dispense the wine,” Kivelstadt said.

Free Flow Wines has developed a set of dispensing protocols for restaurant operators to ensure a perfect WVJ pour every time.

Manage Brettanomyces bruxellensis in-house

SPARKLING WINE ON TAP Free Flow Wines, a Napa Valley-based company that pioneered premium wine on tap, was recognised for excellence in wine industry innovation in the 2016 WINnovation Awards, run by the Wine Industry Network in the US, for expanding its keg technology to sparkling wines.

“We had a lot of restaurants asking about sparkling,” Jordan Kivelstadt, chief executive and founder of Free Flow Wines, told the Wine Industry Advisor. “We’ve obviously been growing with still wines and been having a lot of success there. Sparkling on tap seemed like a logical extension, and we had wineries willing to play with it, so we came together and made it happen.”

Free Flow Wines uses an in-line carbonation system rather than the more traditional Charmat method to deliver a frizzante

V3 2N 1

Proactively test for and manage BRETT, using Veriflow technology - bringing same-day analysis to your vineyard “Game Changer In The Vineyard: Streamline The Process With Molecular Diagnostics” - Forbes magazine

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

Results in

4

HOURS

Talk to AMSL Scientific today about BRETT risk management.

P 02 9882 3666

W www.amsl.com.au

www.winetitles. com . au

29

I NEE M MA G G WW I N A KKI N I N

B I O D Y N A M I C S

Biodynamic wine production making a difference

By Paul Le Lacheur

Wine writer and wine educator Paul Le Lacheur recently had the opportunity to taste the latest vintage of Kalleske Wines' biodynamic barrel project where the same wines are put into different barrels made from wood harvested according to biodynamic moon cycle priniciples.

GREENOCK HOME TO BIODYNAMICS Recently I was led, literally by my nose, to Kalleske Wines, at Greenock in South Australia’s Barossa Valley. Having encountered the wines briefly at a retail liquor store tasting, I was keen to find out more. Driving serenely through the newly-green environment I kept asking myself, ‘What’s all the fuss about?’

Kalleske is arguably Australia’s centre of biodynamic wine production, but I was still a somewhat cynical visitor to its award-winning cellar door in the Barossa’s north-west. What was new about growing grapes and making wine biodynamically? Every wine I tasted that morning offered me a distinctly different, but subtle, glimpse into the arcane world of soil science and mesoclimates.

POINTS OF DIFFERENCE IN ORGANIC WINEMAKING Kalleske has recently won innumerable awards at state and national level, all recognising ongoing contributions to biodynamics in both viticulture and oenology. An extensive

range of wines (numbering 15) stand testament to the family’s unswerving commitment to organic and biodynamic practices. Never have I been more aware of the many misunderstandings surrounding both the organic and biodynamic nomenclatures as on this visit. As Tony Kalleske explained, “By definition, organic winemaking is practically the same as conventional winemaking. The main difference is that with organic wine you’re only allowed to add a maximum of 125ppm sulfur dioxide, compared with 250ppm.

Also, you’re not permitted to use any synthetic additives such as PVPP.” This philosophy doesn’t exist in isolation on the winery floor either.

“Biodynamic farming is a truly sustainable production system with the health of the soil at its core,” Tony continued. “Our view is that organic/ biodynamic production is nothing out of the ordinary, but simply the way nature intended.”

Certified by Australian Certified Organic (ACO) as 100% organic and biodynamic since 1998, Kalleske is the oldest vineyard and winery in the Barossa to have earned this

Tony (left) and Troy Kalleske. independent benchmark. Tony’s brother Troy felt it important to add, “Healthy soil, as attained by organic and biodynamic methods, is the prime basis for healthy vines, expressive grapes and quality wines.”

A ‘biologically dynamic’ soil needs fungi, bacteria and earthworms to recycle nutrients, ensuring minerals are in a plant-usable form. There is a strong symbiosis between the plant and the microbes in the soil. The plant gives off exudates (carbon from photosynthesis) to the soil microbes which attach themselves to the plant.

In return, the microbes seek minerals, essential nutrients and moisture for the plant.

BIODYNAMIC BARREL PROJECT USING 2014 VINTAGE SHIRAZ

A view across the Kalleske vineyard and winery in South Australia’s Barossa Valley.

30

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

Tony and Troy were both keen to talk about their family’s Biodynamic Barrel Project. “As biodynamics is a fundamental part of our philosophy, it was a natural extension for us to explore the use of biodynamic barrels. Small lots were harvested in the Chantearoux and Loches forests on specific days (flower, fruit and root days).” A few months later the staves were split on corresponding days. Following this, manufacture and toasting occurred on the same moon cycle as harvesting and splitting.

V32N1

B I O D Y N A M I C S

“So, the thinking behind the biodynamic barrel project is that depending on when each oak tree was harvested, the wood is likely to have slightly different characteristics. When exactly the same wine is matured in these barrels, the differences in oak wood should be reflected in the wine,” he added.

I was then invited to taste the 2014 Moppa Shiraz which had been matured in each of the three barrels to see if the differences were perceivable. All wines were tasted blind to ensure consistency and authenticity.

The flower barrel showed itself to be highly aromatic. My notes read: ‘berries, plums, sarsaparilla and clove spice.’ For the fruit barrel: ‘busting with fruit, pretty and floral even a mandarin note. Very plush palate leads to chalky tannins after dark red berries’. And for the root barrel: ‘Nose is dusty, earthy, cherry ripe/cherry cola, plums. Palate is oak driven and much chewier, but the longest of the three, with dominant tannins’.

What happened next I can’t easily explain. Having turned my back to the

tasting bench, I turned around to see each wine was correctly identified twice! This is not to exemplify the tasting palate of your humble scribe, but to illustrate two things. First, that there are certainly discernible differences between the three barrels: secondly, that these differences elicit the same sensory language response.

A simple summary of the ‘leap of faith’ into biodynamic barrels is that it works. Tasters can agree on the words they use to describe those differences without colluding and can repeat it.

UNIQUE OENOLOGICAL TRIALS ON A COMMERCIAL SCALE The ‘Penarius’ Viognier here is treated as though it were a red.

For a start, up to seven days skin contact yields a colossus which is almost intimidating in both colour and aromatic range. It smells (as soon as you pick up the glass) like orange rind, citrus, mandarin and apricots. Bone dry, the palate has that oily mouthfeel which is Viognier’s hallmark. Then follows the tannin grip

I NEE M AA KKI N G G WW I N I N

from skin contact. The taster is met with a difficult conundrum: the colour and palate both clearly say ‘red wine’, but the nose is highly aromatic like a normally vinified Viognier. Time will tell if improvements are gained with bottle age.

Next stop was the Zeitgeist – a 2016 Shiraz blended from blocks spanning 1905 to 1994. Zeitgeist can be said to mean a sign of the times, or the general trend/characteristics of a particular period in time. Open fermented with native yeasts, Zeitgeist is made without the influence of oak, thus expressing the bright, fresh character of the vintage. It is remarkably full bodied and shows strong natural tannins on a pure, expressively fruity palate. My initial thought was to drink it before that purity ran away!

In summary, Kalleske manages to continue the natural organic and biodynamic themes from the vineyard into the winery. This philosophy results in provable, identifiable differences in the wines they make and the purity of place that they represent.

WVJ

World Class Yeast Innovation

Through our Maurivin and Next Generation range of active dry wine yeast, complemented with our Mauriferm fermentation aid range, AB Mauri delivers consistently high quality fermentation products to the global wine industry. > THE ART AND SCIENCE OF WINEMAKING

maurivin.com

+61 (0)2 9888 0249 tina.tran@abmauri.com.au

V3 2N 1

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

31

A W R I

Building resilience in the face of a changing climate

By Mardi Longbottom, Ella Robinson and Dan Johnson The Australian Wine Research Institute, PO Box 197, Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia

Managing director Dan Johnson

A three-year extension project, funded by the Australian Government, delivered targeted technical information about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change to the Australian grape and wine community. Positive messaging and some innovative extension mechanisms led to success in raising awareness and promoting practice change. New partnerships and the strengthening of Entwine, the Australian grape and wine industry’s sustainability program, will ensure continuing efforts in this area.

INTRODUCTION AT A GLANCE In 2013 the AWRI received a grant from the Australian Government to deliver information on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change to the Australian wine industry and to support best practice in emissions management. This project formed part of a larger ‘extension and outreach’ program extending this type of information to other agricultural sectors. Many see the grape and wine sector as a ‘canary in the coal mine’ for agriculture, more generally when it comes to the effects of climate change.

This is because producers are already experiencing earlier and more compressed harvests, which translate to higher sugar and alcohol levels and logistical challenges in the winery. As such, having access to up-to-date and accurate technical information is key to building resilience and encouraging adaptation in the face of changing climatic conditions.

FILLING A KNOWLEDGE GAP While Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers are known for their technical excellence and willingness to innovate, at the commencement of this project they had limited specific information about the effects of climate change on grape and wine production. Within the industry there was also little understanding of the sources and magnitude of GHG emissions from which to develop GHG mitigation strategies.

This project sought to fill that knowledge gap by providing technical expertise and innovative solutions across the grape and wine community. Specifically, the aims of the project were to: • identify and communicate the sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in grape and wine production

32

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

• Between 2013 and 2016 the AWRI provided information about climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the Australian grape and wine sector as part of an Australian Government program • The project raised awareness of climate change and its effects on the grape and wine industry and provided a range of practical GHG mitigation options for wineries and vineyards • Tools and resources developed during the project continue to be available to growers and winemakers via the AWRI website and the AWRI helpdesk team • The extension mechanisms chosen were successful as evidenced through strong adoption rates of emissions management strategies • Following the conclusion of the project, Entwine (the Australian grape and wine industry’s sustainability program) continues to support best practice in GHG emissions management.

• establish a benchmarking tool to enable Australian grape and wine producers to evaluate their GHG emissions and identify opportunities for improvement • increase the level of knowledge about climate science and the effects of a changing climate on grape and wine production • consolidate relevant information in a single repository accessible by grape and wine producers and the broader agricultural sector • establish knowledgeable ‘go to’ people on the ground • promote practice change to reduce GHG emissions and ensure Australia’s grape and wine sector is sustainable, globally competitive and resilient.

TAKING A POSITIVE APPROACH To encourage maximum industry engagement and adoption, extension materials developed in the project focussed on presenting positive messages. The project also drew on research showing that land managers vary in their preferred learning styles. Some favour face-to-face delivery or on-farm demonstrations, while others prefer to learn from electronic

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

resources that can be accessed at convenient times. As such, a range of different communication tools were used in the project to maximise knowledge transfer and promote broader uptake.

An initial series of three training workshops were conducted to inform the key influencers in the grape and wine community about climate science and emissions management practices. These workshops were aimed at wine industry peak bodies, viticultural consultants, vineyard managers, grower liaison officers and regional representatives. These were followed by 21 regional workshops for growers and winemakers. All events were supported by hard copy and electronic resources (available online at: http:// www.awri.com.au/industry_support/new_ climate/). The project team also engaged with regional technical groups, with wine industry professionals at a 16th AWITC workshop and with undergraduate and postgraduate students entering the grape and wine industry by presenting an annual lecture at the University of Adelaide. The extension events were complemented by one-on-one support from the project team via the AWRI helpdesk.

V32N1

A W R I

PROJECT EVALUATION – DID IT ACHIEVE ITS AIMS?

Having identified there was little understanding of the sources and magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions within the wine industry, a three-year project sought to fill that knowledge gap by providing technical expertise and innovative solutions across the grape and wine community.

WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION WAS DELIVERED? The information presented during the project covered climate science and policy (with a focus on the Emissions Reduction Fund), the effects of climate change in the vineyard and winery, identification of emissions sources in grapegrowing and winemaking, tips for reducing emissions and results from relevant research projects (e.g. grape marc reuse, N2O emissions from vineyards).

The team also worked closely with a range of individual businesses that had been taking steps to reduce emissions to develop a series of case studies. By evaluating the effects of different types of practice change and demonstrating the resulting economic and environmental benefits, some compelling stories were developed. These formed a key communication tool - examples of actions being taken by similar businesses provide concrete examples to follow and inspiration to take action.

Case studies included: • grazing sheep in vineyards to reduce tractor passes • improvements to heating, cooling and lighting practices in the winery to save energy • making changes to winery refrigeration settings to reduce electricity use • vineyard mulching trials.

These are available as fact sheets via the AWRI website, and were also presented at workshops, sometimes by the practitioners who had driven the process change.

Resources generated during the project continue to be available, including

V3 2N 1

six webinar recordings, 10 fact sheets, presentation slides from four workshops and a collection of relevant links.

BRINGING THE AUSTRALIAN WINE CARBON CALCULATOR ONLINE A further goal of this project was to develop an online tool to assist with decision-making on GHG emissions. The existing spreadsheet-based Australian Wine Carbon Calculator was upgraded with additional features including national, state and regional benchmarking and brought online for easier access. It was then incorporated into the Australian wine industry’s sustainability program Entwine Australia (www.entwineaustralia.com. au). All Entwine members are now able to evaluate the effects of their current practices, compare themselves to other producers and assess the effects of alternative mitigation strategies.

It was important to quantify the uptake of the information delivered at workshops.

This was achieved by analysing the responses of attendees at the workshops, including their satisfaction with the events and information provided and any changes they had made to their business practices. A combination of quantitative and qualitative data was collected using: • workshop feedback surveys which captured participant satisfaction with the appropriateness and relevance of information presented (154 complete surveys) • follow-up surveys with workshop participants conducted by an independent consultant (37 phone interviews and 67 online surveys) to capture information on how the workshops influenced practice change.

Workshop participants reported that they were positively influenced by the AWRI workshops. Specifically, • attendees increased their knowledge of the effects of climate change on the grape and wine industry (86%); the industry’s contribution to climate change (64%); the range of mitigation options available (68%) • attendees reported that they were more confident to make decisions about, or provide advice on, climate change mitigation within the wine industry (70%) • attendees reported that they were more interested in learning about climate change effects (80%) • sixty per cent of attendees had either reviewed their current practices, intended to adopt or had already adopted practices to reduce their emissions.

The project team worked closely with a range of individual businesses that had taken steps to reduce emissions to develop a series of case studies, one of which focussed on grazing sheep in vineyards to reduce tractor passes.

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

33

N AE WW R SI

• forty per cent of attendees were making changes to improve environmental credentials; the main drivers for this were caring for the environment (80%) and improving business performance (60%).

Workshop participants took a range of actions after attending the workshops to follow up on the information they were provided. The most commonly cited action was discussing the workshop presentation content with other attendees or presenters (80%). Following the workshops, the participants frequently reported that they had accessed the other extension resources provided by the AWRI. More than half (65%) of the follow-up survey respondents had read the AWRI factsheets and 47% had viewed the AWRI Sustainability, Entwine or Environment webpages.

Participants were also asked whether they had used the information presented at the workshops in other ways. Responses indicate that workshop participants used and shared the information more widely, in particular those workshop participants who were not directly involved in a grapegrowing

or winemaking enterprise. Survey respondents who shared the AWRI workshop information did so widely amongst peers and colleagues, including with regional industry groups, research groups and in other professional forums.

WHAT’S NEXT IN THIS AREA? The conclusion of this Australian Government-funded project does not mean the end of the AWRI’s involvement in disseminating information on emissions, climate change and sustainability. A new partnership between the AWRI and agribusiness lender, the National Australia Bank, will support a pilot study to improve understanding of the relationship between environmental performance and business resilience.

Over the next 12 months, the AWRI will work closely with producers in the Langhorne Creek wine region to understand how their businesses can benefit from investment in natural resource capital. The AWRI will develop additional case studies to assist others to understand and adopt sustainable practices that also have business benefits.

The AWRI continues to manage Entwine Australia and further develop resources and services that provide value to members. In early 2016 Entwine received formal endorsement from the peak industry bodies to be the principal vehicle to convey the Australian wine industry’s sustainability credentials. Opportunities to more closely integrate Entwine within Wine Australia’s promotion of Australian wine are actively being explored.

This all represents a widening focus on contributing to the overall sustainability of the grape and wine community, which encompasses environmental, economic and social aspects.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The AWRI project 'Building Resilience and Sustainability in the Grape and Wine Sector' was supported by the Australian Government. AWRI extension activities 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 WVJ Adelaide.

Seeking NEW staff?

Ensure you are reaching the right target market in the most efficient way.

Our jobs site www.winejobs.com.au is the ideal platform to find your perfect candidate from within the wine industry.

Specifically developed for Australian and New Zealand wine industry professionals, www.winejobs.com.au offers the easiest and most cost effective method for employers and recruitment firms to list job vacancies across various fields.

All Winejobs ads also appear on Daily Wine News (emailed Monday to Friday) for 5 days and shared with our numerous followers in social media.

Consider this exposure to your target market: • Reach qualified candidates • Job postings start from only $65 for one week • Posting a job opening is EASY, simply visit winejobs.com.au • Searching is FREE created and managed by

34

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

Winejobs ads now also posted on Facebook and LinkedIn for extra reach. facebook.com/winejobs linkedin.com/company/ winetitles-pty-ltd

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

ü Averaging 18,000 page views on www.winejobs.com.au each month while our main company website; www.winetitles.com.au receives around 70,000 page views per month ü Over 12,000 Daily Wine News subscribers – the wine industry’s most trusted and widely read e-newsletter ü More than 1,400 Twitter followers

This means that qualified people will be viewing and responding to your job listing.

Posting a job ad takes only minutes and appears online immediately.

V32N1

E N V I R O N M E N TA L U AL BT IUL IRT EY SV UI ST TI ACI N

Rising electricity prices make reducing energy a no-brainer no matter the size of winery

By Sonya Logan

N

ot all that long ago, the main motivation for most wineries to reduce their energy costs was a desire to simply be seen to be ‘green’ – a sense of corporate responsibility for the environment to mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions.

Today, the rising price of electricity has made finding ways to reduce energy a ‘no-brainer’, no matter the size of winery, as the winners of the South Australian Wine & Brandy Industry Association’s 2016 Environmental Excellence Awards attest.

“The price of electricity has really put the focus on reducing our energy costs,” admitted Stephen Cook, environment, health and safety manager with Pernod Ricard Winemakers, which took out the awards’ large business category. “It even makes putting in solar systems a ‘no brainer’ despite the fact a lot of the government funding to assist with the costs of installing such systems is no longer available and the feed-in tariffs have dropped significantly.

With the cost of technology reducing and the cost of electricity increasing the financial justification has become a lot easier.”

Steven Todd, general manager of McLaren Vale’s Kay Brothers, winner of the small-medium category, echoed Cook’s ‘no brainer’ sentiment.

“A couple of months ago we got an electricity bill for $75 - I wish I had that at home!” Todd confessed.

For Pernod Ricard Winemakers, this is the second year in a row the company has been recognised for its environmental initiatives in the SAWIA awards. Guiding these initiatives is an ‘environmental roadmap’, a document drafted in 2010 that outlines the company’s environmental targets for 2020 in all aspects of its production through to the sale and end of the life of the wines it makes. These targets include reducing its energy consumption, CO2 emissions and water use by 20%, 30% and 20%, respectively, and reducing by 100% the amount of rubbish generated at its Rowland Flat and Richmond Grove winery sites in the Barossa Valley. With the company regularly monitoring its progress in achieving these targets, it can confirm it is on track to fulfilling its environmental master plan.

Even for a company of Pernod Ricard’s size – a total crush of around 60,000 tonnes across its winemaking facilities at Richmond Grove and Rowland Flat - it’s been the little things as much as the big things that have kept the company’s environmental targets in sight; from transitioning five million cases of wine to lightweight bottles, saving 6500 tonnes of glass annually, right down to installing insulation, reducing the size of rapid-raise doors, putting in sensor lighting and closing over unnecessary gaps in the company’s storage warehouses at Rowland Flat.

These and other recent undertakings were identified as energysaving measures in an external audit carried out at the company in 2014. The audit also looked closely at the company’s refrigeration system which was some 20 years old. In 2015, variable speed drives were installed on one of two refrigeration units, the upgrade dispensing with the need for the second unit as the load was able to be consolidated into a single refrigeration plant. Between 2010 and 2015, the company’s annual energy usage dropped by

V3 2N 1

Pernod Ricard Winemakers environment, health and safety manager Stephen Cook with some of the native vegetation that has been planted around the Jacob’s Creek Visitors Centre site. approximately 25% in absolute terms with the company focussed on reducing its consumption per unit further.

As a signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant, Pernod Ricard has also been examining the packaging material it uses for its various product lines, such as Jacob’s Creek and George

The Perfect Match!

Megazyme Wine Test Kits and the MegaQuantTM Wave Spectrophotometer

Low Cost!

The least expensive, most reliable spectrophotometer available today.

Versatile!

Pre-programmed to run the full range of Megazyme advanced wine test kits – allowing up to 4 absorbance readings per sample for sequential analyses e.g. ammonia/urea/arginine, glucose/fructose.

– installed test settings for automated results analysis.

Cost effective!

Get twice as many assays per kit with the full range of Megazyme test kits by simply halving all sample and reagent volumes.

Compact!

Small benchtop footprint with built-in incubation block, printer and pump (for flow-through applications).

Fully supported by Megazyme’s full range of advanced wine test kits  cost effective  superior stability of reagents  rapid determinations

www.deltagen.com | info@deltagen.com.au | Tel: +61 3 9728 3038

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

35

E N V I R O N M E N TA L U AL BT IUL IRT EY SV UI ST TI ACI N

It has been the little things as much as the big things that have kept Pernod Ricard Winemakers’ environmental targets in sight, right down to reducing the size of rapid-raise doors on its warehouses at Roland Flat winery.

Wyndham, with the goal of making them 100% recyclable. Explains Stephen Cook, “We’re conducting a lifecycle analysis on all our packaging products at the moment. Although a product might be recyclable you also have to look at the energy that goes into where and how it’s manufactured and transported. In doing this analysis, we can tweak our overall environmental footprint and improve our purchasing decisions.”

Pernod Ricard also has an arrangement with a local recycling company where the onsite waste from its two Barossa Valley sites is segregated and directed into traditional recycling streams of plastic, glass and steel, with the remaining waste sent for further sorting in Adelaide and whatever material left over after that process incinerated at high temperature to generate electricity and the resulting ash incorporated into cement.

Company-owned vineyards in the Barossa Valley have also been put under the environmental microscope, with 80ha identified as having the potential to be rehabilitated back to native vegetation.

“Reverting back to native vegetation improves the biodiversity in the vineyards, which improves populations of beneficial insect species and reduces our need to spray,” Cook said.

The company’s fleet of harvesters has also been replaced with models featuring independent drive systems that allow the beaters to run at different speeds to the engine. Cook said this had resulted in a 30% saving in diesel per vintage.

In partnership with the local NRM Board, Pernod Ricard Winemakers has also been rehabilitating the waterway that lends its name to its Jacobs Creek label. Removing exotic species and planting natives along the creek has led to noticeable improvements in water quality and bird and aquatic populations.

This initiative has little financial reward, notwithstanding the possible marketing benefits of presenting a healthy waterway for the many visitors who take their photo by it every year. The company is calculating the CO2 impact of the revegetation work to understand the relationship to its overall footprint.

Next in the pipeline for Pernod Ricard Winemakers is a

36

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

large-scale solar array to complement two pilot plants already constructed at its Jacob’s Creek Visitors Centre and Rowland Flat winery. The company’s ambition is to make this the largest private array in South Australia supplying approximately 20% of its operational needs.

Kay Brothers’ first steps down the road of improving its environmental footprint began in 2000 when it connected to the Willunga Basin Pipeline, a scheme that pipes recycled water from an effluent treatment plant at Christies Beach, near McLaren Vale, to many growers in the region. Drip irrigation had been installed on the 20ha vineyard during the 1990s, replacing the use of a soak hose that was moved about by hand between vines rows to deliver water from two bores on the property. Kay Brothers’ licence from the Willunga Basin Pipeline gives it access to 35ML a year, which Steven Todd admits is more than required but provides “a buffer” if needed. Todd explained the connection to the pipeline was followed in 2012 by the installation of an automated control system incorporating the use of soil moisture profiles which can be operated and monitored by staff via their mobile phones.

Reinvigorating an 800m section of creek line that runs through the eastern section of Kay Brothers’ vineyard is an ongoing project that was started by owner Colin Kay in 2008. The many feral olive trees that choke the creek are in the process of being poisoned and removed, with the southern end largely completed, and the northern section still to be done.

“Olive trees are not easy to kill, they’re quite a pest,” Todd said, explaining that Kay Brothers had been successful in acquiring grants from the South Australian Government totalling $15,000 over five years to fund a contractor to poison the feral olives trees and clear weeds. Colin’s sister Alice has since taken over the job of overseeing the rejuvenation of the creek, doing much of the replanting of native grasses, shrubs and trees herself to complement the remnant species. “For a while Alice propagated her own trees,” Todd said. “But we now purchase them from Trees for Life. We’ve now planted about 3000 native plants along the creek. We’re about 50% done. The job [of restoring the creek] is likely to continue until 2020-21 and will then require ongoing maintenance.

“One day we might put in a walk that takes people from the cellar door and down to the creek and back round again. I’ve done the walk myself – it takes about 45 minutes. Should be a nice walk along the creek one it’s been restored.”

In 2011, Kay Brothers became an inaugural member of the Sustainable Australia Winegrowing (SAW) program, which was developed by the McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association to help the region’s growers maximise their sustainability – a program that is now available to growers Australia-wide. The program enables winegrape producers to benchmark their environmental performance against their regional peers and best practice in seven areas, such as pest and disease management, waste and water management, as well as economic sustainability. Todd said from 2011-12 to 2014-15 Kay Brothers’ improvement in its sustainability score had “outpaced the area average”.

As the bulk of Kay Brothers’ approximately 150-tonne annual wine production comprises red wines, its need for refrigeration isn’t as great as other wineries with a higher white wine ratio.

Furthermore, its heritage listed winery, which dates backs to 1895 when the first section was completed, makes use of natural gravitation so the need for pumping is minimised. Yet, the winery

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

E N V I R O N M E N TA L U AL BT IUL IRT EY SV UI ST TI ACI N

A view across the vineyards of Kay Brothers, with the cellar door and gravity-fed winery in the background, and the treelined Pedlar Creek that intersects the property in the middle (note the dead feral olive trees which are progressively being killed and removed along the 800m length of the Kay Brothers’ section of the creek). has managed to shave off a significant amount of its electricity needs with a 30kW solar system. After some initial hiccups following installation in October 2014, the system is now generating 70% of its electricity usage for the year. While this generation exceeds its needs in winter, it not surprisingly falls short during the vintage period.

“It’s more about peak lopping in March and April when vintage is on,” Todd said. And with a new refrigeration system due for installation prior to the 2017 vintage, and the replacement of 157 flouro lights and nine warehouse lights with LED fittings (at zero cost thanks to a South Australian Government scheme) in September last year, even the peaks are expected to come down further.

Kay Brothers funded its solar system via a lease arrangement through a McLaren Vale-based business, making the outlay an expense and not a capital item. Todd said arrangements such as these made the idea of installing solar systems more appealing, particularly for those wineries that might struggle to find the capital.

Further environmental gains have been realised at Kay Brothers’ through its adoption of LEAN production practices which were identified in late 2014 by a consultant who visited the winery to assess its operations and identify ways of reducing energy and resources, including waste time. It was the consultant who identified the benefits to be gained from a new refrigeration plant. Other projects to flow from the assessment included the installation of a variable speed drive on its crusher that have brought about energy savings and increased productivity, and modifications to its basket presses to reduce energy and labour.

Todd said the winery’s participation in the LEAN production process demonstrated the gains to be made from relatively inexpensive but effective changes to winery practices.

“Small wineries can actually do this. The biggest win for us has been time. We no longer have people doing wasteful jobs. For example, we’re now doing two pressings instead of three. And we’ve got one person pressing instead of two so the other person can be off plunging or doing something else around the winery.

“We’re a small team of about 8 full-time equivalents. The more efficient and less wasteful we can be the better.

V3 2N 1

“Being leaner and greener takes time and focus. We haven’t spent huge amounts of money but we have saved a lot in time and energy. We haven’t undertaken these tasks to benefit us from a marketing perspective. It’s just good management. Yes, the improvements we’ve undertaken have environmental benefits, but most of them have commercial benefits too which contribute to our financial sustainability. People can forget that environmental initiatives can have a payback to some of them too.”

Todd added the winery was lucky to have the support of its management board to investigate and implement ways of improving its environmental sustainability.

“They’re very open to thinking about it. They’ve been here for 125 years; they don’t want to be the generation that ruins what we’ve got,” he said.

Todd said that although the winery did not have any further projects on its radar to reduce its environmental or financial sustainability, the LEAN production process meant employees would continue to brainstorm ideas that might lead to further decreases, while he was personally keeping a “watching brief” on the possible application of batteries to store some of the energy it generates. Becoming organic was another likely consideration.

“We often get asked if we’re organic. Officially we’re not; we don’t use pesticides and haven’t done so for over 40 years but we use herbicides every now and again which stops us from being organic. I don’t think there’s a huge marketing advantage in us becoming organic currently - we have enough selling points without having that one. But that’s certainly a discussion we’ll have WVJ in the future,” Todd said.

WINERY REFRIGERATION PACKAGED BRINE CHILLERS

• Must Chilling • Tank Cooling • Barrel Stores • Portable Chilling • Air Conditioning

Designed in Australia Manufactured in Australia For Australian Conditions • 10 kW to 230 kW (nominal) capacity • Galvanised shell & tube evaporators • 12 fins per inch condenser coils, epoxy coated • Heat recovery condensers available, all models • Optional tank & pump(s) can be factory fitted • More than eighty wineries are now using Fluid Chiller units

Phone: 03 8796 4888

Email: sales@fluidchillers.com.au Web: www.fluidchillersaustralia.com.au

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

37

V V II T T II C C U U L LT T U U R R E E

TRUNK DISEASES

Critical timing for application of pruning wound protectants for control of grapevine trunk diseases

By Matthew Ayres1, Regina Billones-Baaijens2, Sandra Savocchia2, Eileen Scott3 and Mark Sosnowski1,3 »

Research funded by Wine Australia has shown that application of fungicides to grapevine pruning wounds on the day of pruning can prevent or reduce infection by trunk disease pathogens. This article reports on the curative and preventative properties of three fungicides when applied to wounds. Fungicides can be effective when applied up to six days after infection and can protect wounds up to 14 days after application. This information provides greater flexibility for post-pruning trunk disease management.

INTRODUCTION The grapevine trunk diseases eutypa and botryosphaeria dieback (ED and BD) result in substantial loss of grape production throughout the world and are an increasing threat to the viability of the Australian wine industry. The causal fungi, Eutypa lata and species of the Botryosphaeriaceae, including Neofusicoccum luteum, produce spores that infect pruning wounds, colonise the woody tissue and slowly destroy the vine’s vascular tissue, producing a characteristic dark wedge or circular stain of dead wood in a cross-section that continues to expand as the infection spreads. In the case of ED, toxic metabolites are also produced which are thought to be translocated to the foliage, causing stunted shoots and chlorotic leaves with necrotic margins, and can lead to reduced bunch size with uneven ripening. Both diseases can severely reduce vine health and productivity and, if not managed, eventually kill the vine. Research has shown that once a vine is infected, the only way to control ED is by drastic pruning to remove all infected tissue (Sosnowski et al. 2011).

Protection of pruning wounds from infection by fungal spores is an effective method to prevent eutypa dieback (Sosnowski et al. 2008, 2013, Ayres et al.

2016a). Fungicides that were effective in controlling ED were also effective in preventing infection of pruning wounds by fungi that cause BD (Pitt et al. 2012).

The use of commercial sprayers to apply fungicides to pruning wounds has been demonstrated to be an effective method to prevent or reduce infection and has led to

»

Figure 1. Field trial at McLaren Vale showing tagged, treated canes on vines. the registration of fungicides in Australia for this purpose (Sosnowski et al. 2013, Ayres et al. 2016a). In order to maximise the efficiency of wound protection, there is a need to determine the critical timing of application of fungicides following pruning.

This study reports on experiments conducted to evaluate the timing of application of fungicides to determine how quickly they must be applied after pruning and infection (curative) and the period of efficacy following application (preventative).

This information will promote optimal wound protection against infection by both ED and BD pathogens.

METHODS Trials were conducted between 2013 and 2015 on Shiraz vines planted in 1996 (McLaren Vale, SA, Figure 1) and Cabernet Sauvignon vines planted circa 1990 (Wagga Wagga, NSW). In each trial, one-year-old canes were pruned to two

buds. To evaluate curative control, on the day of pruning wounds were inoculated with approximately 500 spores of E. lata (SA) or 1000 spores of N. luteum (NSW).

Using a paintbrush, wounds were treated with Cabrio (pyraclostrobin) at 2mL/L, Emblem (fluazinam) at 5mL/L or Folicur (tebuconazole) at 1.5mL/L water one, three or six days after pruning and inoculation.

In the same trial, to evaluate preventative control, wounds were treated with Cabrio, Emblem or Folicur on the day of pruning, and then one, six and 14 days after pruning and treatment wounds were inoculated.

Controls, positive (inoculated) and negative (non-inoculated, to monitor natural infection) were treated with sterile distilled water (SDW). Each treatment was allocated to a vine with 10 pruned canes. The trials were established as randomised block designs with 10 replications.

After 12 months, the treated canes were harvested and assessed for recovery of the pathogens by isolation on artificial media in

South Australian Research and Development Institute, GPO Box 397, Adelaide, South Australia 5001

1

National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, Charles Sturt University, School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2678

2

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, Glen Osmond, South Australia 5064

3

38

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

MILES AHEAD

THE RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

Over 25 years of proven hands free growth straight to the wire, with quick and easy assembly using our Zip-Safe seal. It’s no wonder GroGuard is Australia’s biggest name in vine establishment technology.

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

Contact your local rural store or

freecall 1800 644 259 www.groguard.com.au

V V II T T II C C U U L LT T U U R R E E

TRUNK DISEASES

100

a

100

E. lata recovery (%)

E. lata recovery (%)

80 60 40

40

0

0

100

100

b

b

80

E. lata recovery (%)

E. lata recovery (%)

60

20

20

60 40 20

0

IC

Cabrio Emblem Folicur

Cabrio Emblem Folicur

Cabrio Emblem Folicur

Day 1

Day 3

Day 6

the laboratory, based on methods described

by Sosnowski et al. (2013). Efficacy was based on the mean percent recovery (MPR) of E. lata or N. luteum from the treated canes by isolation on potato dextrose agar.

Data were subjected to analysis of variance and least significant difference (LSD) at the 5% level was used for all pairwise comparisons, with standard error of the means calculated.

RESULTS Eutypa dieback In the 2013 trial for curative activity, E. lata was recovered from 58% of inoculated control canes and 3% of naturally infected canes. When wounds were inoculated on the day of pruning and fungicides were applied one, three or six days later to test curative control, all three fungicides reduced recovery of E. lata to between 5-26% (Figure 2a). In the repeated trial in 2015, E. lata was recovered from 75% of inoculated control canes and 17% of naturally infected canes.

When wounds were inoculated on the day of pruning and fungicides were applied one, three or six days later for curative control, all three products reduced recovery of E. lata to between 19-58%, although reduction in recovery was less for Cabrio and Emblem than for Folicur (Figure 2b).

In the 2013 trial for preventative activity, when wounds were inoculated one, six and 14 days after pruning and treatment, E. lata was recovered from 60, 44 and 8% of inoculated control canes, respectively (Figure 3a). When inoculated one day after application, all three fungicides reduced recovery of E. lata to between 5-33%.

However, only Folicur reduced recovery when wounds were inoculated six and 14 days after application, compared with www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

80 60 40 20 0

IC NIC

Figure 2. Eutypa dieback curative control. Incidence of Eutypa lata recovery from Shiraz canes inoculated with 500 spores on the day of pruning: a) 2 July 2013 and b) 14 July 2015, and then fungicides were applied one, three or six days after pruning.

IC = inoculated control, NIC = non-inoculated control. Bars represent standard error of the mean.

40

a

80

Cabrio Emblem Folicur Day 1

IC

Cabrio Emblem Folicur Day 6

IC

Cabrio Emblem Folicur Day 14

Figure 3. Eutypa dieback preventative control. Incidence of Eutypa lata recovery from Shiraz canes after fungicides had been applied to wounds on the day of pruning: a) 2 July 2013 and b) 14 July 2015, and then inoculated with 500 spores one, six or 14 days after pruning. IC = inoculated control. Bars represent standard error of the mean.

inoculated controls (untreated). In the repeated trial in 2015, when wounds were inoculated one, six and 14 days after pruning, E. lata was recovered from 72, 62 and 27% of inoculated control canes, respectively (Figure 3b). When inoculated one and six days after application, all three fungicides reduced recovery of E. lata to between 31-53%. However, none of the fungicides reduced recovery from wounds inoculated 14 days after application compared with inoculated controls.

Botryosphaeria dieback In the 2014 trial for curative activity, N. luteum was recovered from 88% of inoculated control canes and was not recovered from naturally infected canes (Figure 4a). When wounds were inoculated on the day of pruning and fungicides were applied one, three or six days later, all three fungicides reduced recovery of N. luteum to between 4-54%. In the repeated trial in 2015, N. luteum was recovered from 78% of inoculated control canes and was not recovered from naturally infected canes (Figure 4b). When wounds were inoculated on the day of pruning and fungicides were applied one, three or six days later for curative control, all three products reduced recovery of N. luteum to between 10-38%.

In the 2014 trial for preventative activity, when wounds were inoculated one, six and 14 days after pruning and fungicide treatment, N. luteum was recovered from 74, 80 and 46% of inoculated control canes, respectively (Figure 5a). When inoculated one, six and 14 days after application, all fungicides reduced recovery to between 0-24%. In the repeated trial in 2015, when wounds were inoculated one, six and 14 days after pruning and treatment, W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

N. luteum was recovered from 82, 72 and 36% of inoculated control canes, respectively (Figure 5b). When inoculated one, six and 14 days after application, all three fungicides reduced recovery to between 2-46%.

DISCUSSION The timing of fungicide application has been evaluated. Cabrio, Emblem and Folicur exhibited curative and preventative properties when applied to pruning wounds for control of ED and BD. When applied curatively, all three fungicides reduced infection of E. lata and N. luteum when applied one, three and six days after pruning and inoculation. This indicates that it may be possible to delay application of these fungicides, allowing them to be applied once a week, rather than each day following pruning activity in the vineyard. Given that the effective application of fungicides with commercial sprayers has been demonstrated (Sosnowski et al. 2013, Ayres et al. 2016a), the ability to delay application would be logistically and economically beneficial.

When applied preventatively, all three fungicides controlled infection of N. luteum when inoculated one, six and 14 days after pruning and wound treatment, and so all three fungicides may provide two weeksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; protection against this BD pathogen. All three fungicides also controlled E. lata when inoculated one and six days after pruning and treatment, and in the 2013 trial Folicur also reduced infection at 14 days. Therefore, once applied, Folicur may protect the wounds for up to two weeks, and Cabrio and Emblem up to one week against the ED pathogen.

V32N1

TRUNK DISEASES

100

a

80

N. luteum recovery (%)

N. luteum recovery (%)

100

60 40 20

100

60 40 20

100

b

80

N. luteum recovery (%)

N. luteum recovery (%)

a

80

0

0

60 40 20 0

IC

Cabrio Emblem Folicur

Cabrio Emblem Folicur

Cabrio Emblem Folicur

Day 1

Day 3

Day 6

The recovery of E. lata from the inoculated control canes and many of the treated canes in 2015 was significantly greater than in 2013. Further, recovery from the non-inoculated control canes (reflecting natural inoculum levels) was relatively high in 2015 at 17% compared with just 3% in 2013. Carter (1957) showed that E. lata produces airborne spores that are released in wet weather. According to data from an on-site weather station, the cumulative rainfall total in McLaren Vale for the seven days prior to pruning and establishment of the fungicide trial was just 8mm in 2013, compared with 32mm in 2015.

Also, the weather in 2015 post-pruning was generally cooler and more humid than in 2013, with lower solar intensity. Therefore, it is likely that high levels of E. lata spores were present at the time of pruning in 2015, which, combined with favourable conditions for spore germination and colonisation, led to increased recovery from the trial canes in that year.

Carter and Moller (1971) showed that as few as 10 spores could be expected to land on a wound on a stonefruit tree in natural conditions, leading to 13–45% recovery of the fungus. More recently, Elena et al. (2015) showed that inoculation of wounds with 10 spores of E. lata led to 27% recovery of the fungus, compared with 12% of noninoculated controls exposed to natural infection, whereas inoculation with 50–1000 spores led to recovery of 50–96%. In order to maximise the likelihood of sufficient recovery of the pathogens from inoculated treatments for statistical analysis, a large number of spores (500 for E. lata and 1000 for N. luteum) were applied to each pruning wound in these trials. Therefore, the large number of spores used in these

b

80 60 40 20 0

IC

Cabrio Emblem Folicur

NIC

Figure 4. Botryosphaeria dieback curative control. Incidence of Neofusicoccum luteum recovery from Shiraz canes inoculated with 1000 spores on the day of pruning: (a) 24 July 2014 and b) 30 July 2015, and then fungicides were applied one, three or six days after pruning. IC = inoculated control, NIC = noninoculated control. Bars represent standard error of the mean.

V3 2N 1

VV II TT II CC UU LL TT UU RR EE

Day 1

IC

Cabrio Emblem Folicur Day 6

IC

Cabrio Emblem Folicur Day 14

Figure 5. Botryosphaeria dieback preventative control. Incidence of Neofusicoccum luteum recovery from Shiraz canes after fungicides had been applied to wounds on the day of pruning: (a) 24 July 2014 and b) 30 July 2015, and then inoculated with 1000 spores one, six or 14 days after pruning. IC = inoculated control.

Bars represent standard error of the mean.

field trials represented significantly greater ‘disease pressure’ than that which may be expected to occur naturally. Ayres et al. (2016a), using detached cane assays in controlled conditions, tested each of the fungicides used in these trials and showed that when using fewer spores more closely reflecting natural ‘disease pressure’, all fungicides provided 86-100% control of E. lata. It can, therefore, be assumed that in natural conditions, each of the fungicides may provide even more significant disease control than demonstrated here.

The results of these trials indicate that the three fungicides assessed can provide control of both pathogens when wounds are treated up to six days after infection, and will continue to provide control of both pathogens for at least six days after application, and up to 14 days for N. luteum.

Therefore, if applied six days post-pruning, a single application could provide up to three weeks of wound protection. Concurrent research suggested that the most important period of wound susceptibility to trunk disease pathogens was two to three weeks (Ayres et al. 2016b). Future research using spore-trapping technology to determine when spores of fungal pathogens are present in the vineyard, will potentially offer even more flexibility when determining when to protect wounds. Combined with the information on critical timing of application of wound protectants, this will lead to significantly improved management strategies for grapevine trunk diseases.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was funded by Wine Australia, with additional support from Nufarm Australia, Adelaide Hills Wine Region, Barossa Grape and Wine W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

Association, McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association and Clare Region Winegrape Growers Association. The authors thank Ian Bogisch, Cathy Todd, Lee Bartlett, Georgina Elena and the Wagga Wagga technical staff for technical assistance.

REFERENCES Ayres, M.R.; Wicks, T.J.; Scott, E.S. and Sosnowski, M.R. (2016a) Developing pruning wound protection strategies for managing Eutypa dieback. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research (Early view doi 10.1111/ajgw.12254) Ayres, M.; Billones-Baaijens, R.; Savocchia, S.; Scott, E. and Sosnowski, M. (2016b) Susceptibility of pruning wounds to grapevine trunk disease pathogens. Wine and Viticulture Journal 31(6):48-50.

Carter, M.V. (1957) Eutypa armeniacae Hansf. and Carter, sp. nov., an airborne vascular pathogen of Prunus armeniaca L. in southern Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 5:21-35.

Carter, M.V. and Moller, W.J. (1971) The quantity of inoculum required to infect apricot and other Prunus species with Eutypa armeniacae. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 11:684-686.

Elena, G.; Sosnowski, M.R.; Ayres, M.R.; Lecomte, P.; Benetreau, C.; Garcia-Figueres, F. and Luque, J. (2015) Effect of the inoculum dose of three grapevine trunk pathogens on the infection of artificially inoculated pruning wounds. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 54:345354.

Pitt, W.M.; Sosnowski, M.R.; Huang, R.; Qiu, Y.; Steel, C.C. and Savocchia, S. (2012) Evaluation of fungicides for the management of Botryosphaeria canker of grapevines. Plant Disease. 96:1303-1308.

Sosnowski, M.R.; Creaser, M.L.; Wicks, T.J.; Lardner, R. and Scott, E.S. (2008) Protection of grapevine pruning wounds from infection by Eutypa lata. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 14:134-142.

Sosnowski, M.R.; Loschiavo, A.P.; Wicks, T.J. and Scott, E.S. (2013) Evaluating treatments and spray application for the protection of grapevine pruning wounds from infection by Eutypa lata. Plant Disease 97:1599-1604 Sosnowski, M.R.; Wicks, T.W. and Scott, E.S. (2011) Control of Eutypa dieback in grapevines using remedial surgery. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 50:S277-S284.

WVJ

www.winetitles. com . au

41

V V II T T II C C U U L LT T U U R R E E

S PRAYING

Evaluating spray drift and canopy coverage for three types of vineyard sprayers

By Chris O’Donnell1, Andrew Hewitt1, Gary Dorr1,2, Connor Ferguson1,3, Mark Ledebuhr4, Geoff Furness5 and Rory Roten6 »

A project being carried out near Mildura, Victoria, has begun assessing the efficacy of three different sprayers as well as their ability to be part of a Drift Reducing Technology (DRT) program that would enable growers to adhere to smaller downwind buffer zones than those printed on product labels.

INTRODUCTION In 2010, the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), the regulator of agrochemicals in Australia, implemented a new policy requiring new pesticides to be assessed for the potential risk of spray drift. From this date, label instructions on pesticides can now contain statements that prescribe mandatory buffer zones in the downwind direction at the time of spray application (NWPPA 2012). These new buffer zone regulations are in response to numerous incidents of multi-million dollar spray drift damage to cotton, viticultural and horticultural crops in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia over the preceding three years (NWPPA 2012).

APVMA was cognisant that these spray drift management measures were restrictive and would prevent growers from being able to use many pesticides because of farm size and proximity to sensitive areas. So, in November 2010 the regulator released further information regarding a Drift Reduction Technology (DRT) program. Conceptually, this scheme allows for applicators with access to verified technologies and procedures that reduce pesticide drift to access smaller downwind buffer distances than the default values presented on product labels. Several factors are critical in determining if spray drift will occur. The most important meteorological factor is wind direction because spray drift only occurs downwind (SDTF 1997a). If the wind is blowing towards a sensitive area then caution is required when applying pesticides. The most important spray variable that affects the potential for spray drift is the droplet size spectrum (SDTF 1997 b) a nozzle produces, especially the volume fraction below 150 microns, often called ‘fines’.

Wine Australia (formerly the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation) commissioned a research project designed to ensure grape and wine producers achieve good coverage and maximum efficacy with plant protection products while simultaneously evaluating the performance of the respective sprayers to assess whether they have potential to be part of a Drift Reducing Technology (DRT) program. Three sprayers were assessed in the project’s first year at a Treasury

»

Wine Estates vineyard at Lake Cullulleraine near Mildura, Victoria.

The first sprayer was an induction-type electrostatic/airassisted machine manufactured by Electrostatic Spraying Systems (ESS, Watkinsville, Georgia, USA). Induction charging systems use a high-voltage electrode positioned near the nozzle orifice to apply a charge to the spray droplets. The theory of operation for electrostatic sprayers is that spray deposition is enhanced because the electrical forces on the droplets are far greater than the gravitational force (Matthews 1989). This means the electrostatically-charged spray droplets have a stronger attraction for the intended target and droplets can even travel upwards to provide good coverage on the underside of leaves. As well as improved coverage there should be a concomitant decrease in spray drift. Another way in which electrostatic sprayers are claimed to enhance coverage is through what is termed the “space cloud effect” (Matthews 1989) and is a result of the spray cloud containing droplets of the same polarity which effectively repels its nearest neighbour. Subsequently, the spray cloud expands and assists with penetration into the crop canopy. Other research using a mathematical model found that the velocity of the spray must be increased to improve canopy penetration and this can be achieved by increasing the charge-to-mass ratio (Dix and Marchant 1984).

The ESS sprayer was fitted with 20 MaxChargeTM nozzles (Figure 1) which use an induction charging system consisting of a positive electrode at the nozzle tip to apply a negative electrostatic charge to the very fine spray droplets which are typically 30-60 microns in diameter. The other two sprayers used in this trial were the Power Prop Airblast (Figure 2), an axial-fan airblast sprayer with a 900mm fan (Interlink, Mildura, Australia). Airblast sprayers have been used since 1937 (Stover et al. 2003) and have formed the backbone of spraying operations in many horticultural industries. Axial fans move large volumes of air at low pressure and the air is accelerated in the direction that the fan rotates such that for a fan turning counter-clockwise, the turbulent air will move in a curvilinear fashion with an upwards movement on the right-hand side and

School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia

1

Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, Symonston, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

2

Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri, USA

3

4 5

Application Insight LLC, Lansing, Michigan, USA

Furness Consulting, Loxton, South Australia, Australia 6

42

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

Lincoln Agritech, Christchurch, New Zealand

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

SP RAYI N G

VV II TT II CC UU LL TT UU RR EE

Figure 1. ESS sprayer fitted with 20 MaxCharge electrostatic nozzles.

Figure 2. Interlink Power Prop Airblast sprayer with 900mm axial fan.

Figure 3. Interlink Power Prop Multi Fan sprayer with four 900mm axial fans that directs air and spray from the sides and two 500mm overhead fans.

Figure 4. Spray drift towers for measuring airborne flux; 15 metre tower (foreground), 10 metre tower (background).

downwards movement on the left-hand side. The Spray Drift Task Force found that canopy characteristics are an important factor in spray drift potential with airblast sprayers because the spray is always released from within, rather than above the canopy (SDTF 1997 b). The third sprayer tested was a Power Prop Multi-Fan sprayer (Figure 3) with two 500mm axial fans at the top of the machine which directed air downwards and four 900mm axial fans that directed the spray to the middle of the canopy (Interlink, Mildura, Australia).

excellent option for agricultural research due to its stability and recoverability.

Two components of spray drift were quantified: airborne flux and sedimentation/deposition drift. Airborne flux was assessed using one 15m high and one 10m high drift tower (Figure 4). From each tower two polyester multifilament strings measuring 1.5mm in diameter (Whittam Ropes, Brendale, Qld, Australia) were suspended vertically from the towers. The towers were positioned two metres downwind from the outermost vine row.

A few minutes after the spraying treatment was concluded the strings were cut into 1.0m lengths as they were lowered.

Each 1.0m length of string was manually wound with an inverted clip-lock bag and then placed into a bag that excluded light and immediately transported to a minus 18.0°C freezer where the strings were stored until they were assayed for dye recovery (approximately 48-72 hours after spraying).

Strings were analysed by washing in 40mL of distilled water with 10% alcohol v/v and the rinsate was then read by a flurometer (Turner Trilogy, Turner Designs, San Jose, California, USA). Deposition drift was assessed with five lines of MylarÂŽ collectors. The Mylar collectors measured 100mm by 100mm and were situated on flat metal plates situated 10cm above ground level. For each of the five lines

METHODS Trials were conducted at a vineyard operated by Treasury Wine Estates at Lake Cullulleraine, Victoria, in November 2013.

Spray drift For each treatment the sprayer was operated along the row for a distance of 100 metres with four rows sprayed in total. The tank mix consisted of water, a non-ionic surfactant (Viti-Wet, SST Products, South Melbourne, Australia) added at 0.2%v/v and a fluorescent tracer dye, Spectra Trace SH-P (Spectra Colors Corporation, Kearney, New Jersey, USA), which was added to the spray tank at a rate of 0.8g/L. This dye was evaluated by Hoffman et al. (2014) and found to be an

V3 2N 1

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

43

V I T I NC EU W LT SU R E

S PRAYING

the Mylar collectors were positioned at 0m, 1m, 2m, 4m, 8m, 16m, 32m, 64m and 100m at right-angles and downwind from the outermost vine row. A few minutes after the spraying had concluded the Mylar collectors were transferred into lightproof bags and then transferred to the minus 18.0°C freezer until they were assayed for dye recovery using the same technique as for the strings with the exception that a wash volume of 30mL was used.

Treatments were also replicated temporally so there were two treatment runs where the wind speed was within ±2.0km/h.

The airblast and multi fan sprayers were calibrated to deliver an application volume rate of 400L/ha while the ESS sprayer was calibrated for 92L/ha. Results were normalised to take into account the different volume rates.

Leaf coverage To assess coverage on leaves a dual-side leaf washing device (Carlton 1992) was used to quantify the amount of spray coverage on the top and underside of the leaves. An area of each vine row separate to the area for drift sampling was used for spraying and subsequent assessment of leaf coverage. For each treatment the sprayer was operated along the row for a distance of 50m. Leaves were harvested within 15 minutes of spraying and placed in light-proof bags and then transferred to cold storage until coverage was assayed. The same tracer dye used for the spray drift work was also used to assess leaf coverage.

Downwind drift that deposited on the Mylar collectors was greatest for the ESS sprayer at all distances from the edge of the swath out to the furthest collector at 100m (Figure 5). The multi fan sprayer had the lowest amount of downwind drift from 0m (outer edge of the swath) to a distance of approximately 50m. Between 50m and approximately 95m the airblast sprayer had the lowest amount of drift though at the final sampling distance of 100m; the multi fan and airblast sprayers had the same amount (Figure 5).

The multi fan sprayer generated the lowest amount of airborne spray drift though from 10m to 15m; the ESS had a similar quantity. The ESS sprayer produced the greatest amount of airborne drift from the lowest measured height (1.0m above ground) to a height of 4m. At above 4m in height the airblast sprayer generated the largest amount of airborne drift (Figure 6).

Canopy coverage was characterised by quite high variability.

The ESS sprayer had the best coverage on the top surfaces of the leaves but all sprayers gave similar levels of deposition to the underside of leaves (Figure 7a). Total canopy deposition (upper and lower canopy) was highest for the ESS sprayer but the Interlink airblast sprayer had the highest amount of deposition for the lower canopy (Figure 7b).

In terms of mass balance, both the ESS and Interlink multi fan sprayers gave similar figures (86.6% and 86.9%, respectively) for the percentage of the total volume sprayed that deposited on the canopy. The Interlink airblast sprayer deposited 82.7% of the total volume sprayed onto the canopy (Figure 8a). The ESS sprayer had nearly three times as much airborne drift as the Interlink multi fan (2.2% and 0.8%, respectively (Figures 8b).

Ground deposition Ground deposition was quantified by placing 9.0cm-diameter Petri dishes on the ground beneath the vines and also on the ground in the inter-row space.

In addition to the treatments where a sprayer was operated, a further ‘blank’ run was conducted where field staff placed the respective drift collectors (Mylar, petri dishes and strings) in position and then collected them back in without any spray being emitted from any source. The collectors were then analysed for any tracer dye. This step is included as it provides a check for background contamination. Although good hygiene is practised through the use of new collectors and nitrile gloves, inadvertent contamination does sometimes occur. Background readings were subtracted from the treatment results to offset any cross-contamination.

Air temperatures for all treatments ranged between 25°C and 33°C and wind speeds were between 3.5 and 18.0km/h.

Replication of collectors within treatments has been described.

RESULTS

16

Fraction of Application Rate

1

14

0.1

12

0.01 Height (m)

10

0.001

8 6

0.0001

4

0.00001 0

20

40

60

80

100

Downwind distance (m) ESS

Multi Fan

Airblast

AgDRIFT

2 0 0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

Off-target spray deposit (µg/cm²)

Figure 5. Downwind sedimentation/deposition drift on Mylar collectors for the three sprayers. The black dashed line is the predicted downwind drift profile generated from AgDRIFT. It gives a reasonably good fit to the Airblast sprayer.

44

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

ESS

Multi Fan

Airblast

Figure 6. Airborne flux measured at heights from 1.0 metre to 15.0 metres for the three sprayers.

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

SP RAYI N G

(b)

0.18

0.18

0.16

0.16

0.14

0.14

0.12

0.12

Deposit (µg/cm²)

Deposit (µg/cm²)

(a)

0.1 0.08 0.06

0.1 0.08 0.06

0.04

0.04

0.02

0.02

0

ESS

Multi Fan Top of leaf

V I T IN C E UW L TS U R E

0

Airblast

ESS

Multi Fan Upper Canopy

Bottom of leaf

Airblast Lower Canopy

Figure 7(a). Deposition on top and bottom surfaces of leaves, (b) Deposition for upper and lower canopy regions. (a)

100

(b)

12

90 10

Percent of total volume sprayed

Percent of total volume sprayed

80 70 60 50 40 30 20

8

6

4

2

10 0

ESS

Multi Fan Drift - Tower

Ground

Airblast

0

ESS

Multi Fan Drift - Tower

Canopy

Airblast Ground

Figure 8(a). Mass balance showing that all three sprayers had a similar percentage of the total spray volume deposited to the canopy, and 8(b) shows that losses to the ground and as spray drift were different for each sprayer. The multi fan sprayer had the smallest loss to spray drift but the largest loss to the ground, whereas the ESS sprayer had the smallest loss to the ground but lost more than the Multi Fan sprayer as drift. The Airblast sprayer had the highest cumulative loss and the highest absolute loss to spray drift.

DISCUSSION Agricultural spraying is a highly variable process and this was evident in the results for leaf deposition in this study.

However, when looking at the mass balance figures the three completely different sprayers all had very similar percentages of the total volume that deposited on the canopy. One oftenpromoted selling point for electrostatic sprayers is that electrostatic spray droplets have the ability to ‘wrap around’ leaves and even move upwards within a canopy to cover the underside of leaves (Matthews 1989). This wasn’t evident in this study and the ESS sprayer actually had some of the highest variability when upper and lower leaf coverage was examined.

The greatest concern for the ESS sprayer was the amount of downwind sedimentation/deposition drift that was detected on the Mylar collectors and also the high amount of airborne flux between heights of 1.0m and 4.0m. For the run where the electrostatic charging system was inactivated, it was expected

V3 2N 1

that there would be an increase in both sedimentation drift and airborne flux yet there was a decrease in the quantity of both.

The ESS sprayer achieved good canopy deposition but it would appear this is due to the very small droplet sizes the machine generates rather than electrostatic forces. The amount of spray drift that was measured would preclude its use as a DRT. Work conducted by the Aerial Application Technology Research Unit of the United States Department of Agriculture at College Station, Texas, found that sometimes electrostatic systems performed well but in general terms the spray deposits and efficacies were not markedly different from conventional aerial application methodologies, although the low application volume rates of electrostatic systems could afford some operational efficiencies (Kirk et al. 2001). Similarly, Hoffman et al. (2009) applied Bifenthrin using two conventional and three electrostatic sprayers and found that electrostatic sprayers didn’t show better deposition or canopy penetration than conventional ▶ sprayers.

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

45

V V II T T II C C U U L LT T U U R R E E

S PRAYING

The Interlink multi fan sprayer also gave good canopy coverage and produced nearly a magnitude of order less sedimentation/deposition drift than the ESS sprayer. It also generated the least amount of airborne flux though ground losses were higher than the other sprayers, probably due to the two 500mm fans that were pointed directly downwards.

The Interlink airblast sprayer also achieved good canopy deposition. It had the highest amount of airborne flux but deposition drift was reduced relative to the ESS sprayer.

Hoffmann, W.C.; Farooq, M.; Walker, T.W.; Fritz, B.; Szumlas, D.; Quinn, B.; Bernier, U.; Hogsette, J.; Lan, Y.; Huang, Y.; Smith, V.L. and Robinson, C.A. (2009) Canopy penetration and deposition of barrier sprays from electrostatic and conventional sprayers. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 25(3):323-331.

Kirk, I.W.; Hoffman, W.C. and Carlton, J.B. (2001) Aerial electrostatic spray system performance. Transactions of the ASAE 44(5):1089-1092.

Matthews, G.A. (1989) Electrostatic spraying of pesticides: a review. Crop Protection 8:3-15.

NWPPA (2012) Chairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quarterly Report. National Working Party on Pesticide Applications. Canberra, ACT, Australia.

SDTF (1997a) A summary of aerial application studies. Spray Drift Task Force, Stewart Agricultural Research Services, Macon, MI, USA. SDTF (1997b) A summary of airblast application studies. Spray Drift Task Force, Stewart Agricultural Research Services, Macon, MI, USA.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Wine Australia. We are indebted to Treasury Wine Estates for the provision of the trial site and other assets that were made available. We also thank Matt McWilliams of Interlink for providing the Power Prop airblast and multi fan sprayers. We thank Peter Gans from ESS in the USA for his generous support in travelling here for the study and shipping equipment to Australia at no cost to the project.

Stover, E.; Scotto, D.; Wilson, C and Salyani, M. (2003) Pesticide spraying in Indian River grapefruit: II. Overview of factors influencing spraying efficacy and off-target deposition. Hort Technology 13:166-177.

REFERENCES Carlton, J.B. (1992. Simple techniques for measuring spray deposit in the field.

II: Dual side leaf washer. Transactions of the ASAE 33(3):783-788.

Dix A.J. and Marchant, J.A. (1984) A mathematical model of the transport and deposition of charged spray drops. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 30:91-100.

Hoffman, W.C.; Fritz, B.K. and Ledebuhr, M.A. (2014) Evaluation of 1,3,6, 8-Pyrene tetra sulfonic acid tetra sodium salt (PTSA) as an agricultural spray tracer dye. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers 30(1):25-28.

46

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

WVJ

V32N1

PESTS & DISEASES

VV II TT II CC U U LL TT U U RR EE

Drosophila suzukii: a growing global menace

By Kate Howell, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010 Australia.

Email: khowell@unimelb.edu.au

Having recently spread from Japan and China into Europe and North America, Drosophila suzukii is a vinegar fly that has ruined grape crops in Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, North America and Canada. Showing an ability to move quickly and adapt to new conditions, Drosophila suzukki is considered a potential risk to the Australian wine industry. The author recently travelled to France to find out more about the pest.

INTRODUCTION This article details the introduction, spread and damage of an exotic plant pest, Drosophila suzukii. In the past five years this pest has journeyed beyond its endemic habitat of Japan and China into Europe and North America, and has destroyed horticultural crops including grapes - in the Northern Hemisphere. Understanding the basic biology and ecology of this pest may provide possible biocontrol strategies should it become introduced and established in Australia.

VINEGAR FLIES WITH A TWIST

Drosophila spp. are vinegar flies that are immediately recognisable as small (2-3mm) flies living in the vineyard and winery, often at marc piles, buzzing around grape juice or hovering over fermentations. The term ‘vinegar fly’ is thought to come from the fly transporting acetic acid bacteria to a sugar substrate, resulting in a ‘vinegar’ aroma. Drosophila flies are generally benign in vineyard and winery environments, and easily excluded by winery hygiene. However, the spotted wing Drosophila (SWD; Drosophila suzukii) is a menace as it can attack and destroy ripe fruit as it has a serrated egg laying apparatus, named an ovipositor. The serrated ovipositor allows the fly to pierce intact fruit skin to lay their eggs. Breaching the intact skin and subsequent egg laying, larvae foraging and emerging adults allow other spoilage organisms to enter the ripe fruit, generally resulting in fungal rot. SWD love to lay their eggs in soft ripe fruits, including cherries, raspberries, strawberries and, of course, grapes.

V3 2N 1

Drosopholid emerging from a damaged berry in a vineyard in the south of France.

Photo: Kate Howell RECENT GLOBAL SPREAD SWD are an endemic species of Japan and mainland Asia where the horticultural impact has been managed with chemical sprays. However, in 2008, separate immigration events have seen SWD become established in Europe (landing in Spain and Italy) and North America (Asplen et al. 2015). The spread of SWD flies has been extraordinary, and has devastated horticultural crops from the Iberian peninsula, Italy, through to the south of France and through Switzerland to Germany and further north. In North America, the first reports of the pest in California in 2008 were swiftly followed in 2009 by sightings and significant crop losses from southern California to British Columbia, Canada. On the east coast, the first infestation in Florida spread to North Carolina, and subsequently the range has been extended to northern and central areas of the US, with

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

particular impacts in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The economic impact of SWD on crops has been considerable, with reports of US$500 million losses in western US production areas (Goodhue et al. 2011), eastern US of US$27.5 million and the Trento province of Italy suffering losses costed at 500,000 euros in 2010 and three million euros in 2011. The first reports of SWD in the UK were in 2012, when the pest was also reported in the Netherlands, Hungary and Poland. The pest is now found throughout Europe, with Greece, the Czech Republic and Slovakia now reporting flies in traps. Central and South America have also reported the flies, but without reporting negative economic impacts. The speed and range of the invasion populations has been remarkable, and indicates that the pest is able to move quickly, exploit available resources and adapt to new conditions (Walsh et al. 2011). ▶

www.winetitles. com . au

47

V V II T T II C C U U L LT T U U R R E E

PESTS & DISEASES

A vineyard near Pic Saint Loup, in Languedoc-Roussillon, in Southern France, where Dropsophila suzukii has spread.

CROPS AFFECTED AND THE DAMAGE DONE Most vinegar flies (Drosophila spp.) are content to live and feed on rotting sugary fruit, and are a common winery resident around marc heaps, waste piles and uncovered fermentations.

Recent work has shown that the volatile signals SWD prefer are different to that of the typical winemaking Drosophila melanogaster, and are reflected by the olfaction genes in this insect, which may give clues as to how this insect has exploited an ecological niche (Crava et al. 2016, Ramasamy et al.

2016). However, SWD is attracted to the ripening volatiles of caneberries (raspberries), cherries, stonefruit, strawberries, blueberries and grapes.

Preference tests of egg-laying position in the laboratory shows that given the choice, SWD would prefer to lay their eggs on soft berry fruits and cherries but favour raspberries in particular.

But, as shown in a recent study from Madison (USA), flies feast on various crops as the year progresses, moving from strawberries, cherries to grapes as they ripen and, thus, change their food sources throughout the year. It appears that in North America and Europe at least, traps set in woodland bordering horticultural growing areas collect higher numbers of adult flies, which points to a natural reservoir of

48

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

the pest on non-cultivated fruits (Asplen et al. 2015).

Another specialised feature of SWD becomes important after the fruit has ripened. In Drosophila, eggs are laid into the damaged skin of any fruit using the ovipositor. However, a specialisation of the ovispositor, with lateral bristles, makes the ovipositor serrated and allows SWD to puncture intact skin of the ripening fruit. The SWD eggs can be placed inside the intact flesh of the fruit (Atallah et al. 2014). With damaged skin, the fruit is able to be colonised by soft rots (fungi) and other microbial pests and is rapidly degraded. When the egg hatches into the larvae, the burrowing activity of the larvae further disrupts the fruit tissue and leads to further rot.

The fruit is irrecoverable and must be disposed of. The impact on crop losses is profound, with thousands of tonnes of soft rot catalogued for raspberries in northern Italy. Of importance to the wine industry, wet years in Champagne (France) has seen accelerated incidences of sour rot (pourriture acide) which is exacerbated by the presence of SWD. RISK ASSESSMENT FOR AUSTRALIA The Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Biosecurity recognises the risk that SWD presents to the Australian

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

horticultural and wine industries and has a comprehensive pest risk analysis report available online, dated 2013, and identified fresh fruit as a potential importation pathway into Australia.

Fruit imported from affected regions are subject to a number of controls, including methyl bromide fumigation for strawberry, cherry and some stonefruit, or a sulfur dioxide treatment followed by cold treatment for tablegrapes. Other controls exist. Ongoing field monitoring by state-based agriculture agencies would also trap SWD, and show that the pest has not reported in Australia.

Vigilance is key, and if you suspect damage in your vineyard or fruit trees, contact your relevant state-based biosecurity representative.

The current research, as detailed above in this article, shows areas of potential risk and possible control in Australia should the pest be introduced and established: • One of the factors contributing to the spread of these flies is their ability to change food preference rapidly, and so the flies are transferring to other fruits as they become ripe during the growing season. For example, in the Yarra Valley of Victoria, berry fruits are grown in close proximity to vineyards, meaning the pest could become entrenched in this area by transferring between crops should it be introduced.

• The overwintering diapause of this insect allows the insect to survive adverse temperatures in other environments. However, it is unlikely that SWD would suffer an infertile overwintering in Australian environments, meaning it would be fertile and breeding throughout the year.

• Parasitoid pests have great biocontrol potential in Australia.

Native wasps provide these ecosystem services for other wine pests, and may also be able to control SWD. • Understanding the yeasts and bacteria that live with SWD and may produce aromas the fly is attracted to is an area of active research to understand nutrition, fecundity, geographic spread, distribution and ecology of the fly (Guilhot et al. 2016, Plantamp et al. 2016) •

V32N1

PESTS & DISEASES

VV II TT II CC U U LL TT U U RR EE

Walton, V.M.; Yu, Y.; Zappal, L. and Desneux, N. (2015) Invasion biology of spotted wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii): a global perspective and future priorities. Journal of Pest Science 88(3):469–494. doi: 10.1007/s10340-015-0681-z.

Atallah, J.; Teixeira, L.; Salazar, R.; Zaragoza, G. and Kopp, A. (2014) The making of a pest: the evolution of a fruit-penetrating ovipositor in Drosophila suzukii and related species. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281:1–9. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.2840.

Crava, C.M.; Ramasamy, S.; Ometto, L.; Anfora, G. and Rota-Stabelli, O. (2016) Evolutionary insights into taste perception of the invasive pest Drosophila suzukii, G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics. doi: 10.1534/ g3.116.036467.

Goodhue, R.E.; Bolda, M.; Farnsworth, D.; Williams, J.C. and Zalom, F.G. (2011) Spotted wing Drosophila infestation of California strawberries and raspberries: Economic analysis of potential revenue losses and control costs. Pest Management Science 67(11):1396–1402. doi: 10.1002/ps.2259.

Drosophilid resting on a grape cane in a vineyard in the south of France.

Photo: Kate Howell MY WORK IN FRANCE

in the region, and I gained some financial support from Wine Australia (AGT 1503) to support this research due to the threat of SWD for Australian viticulture. This article is an outcome of this research to communicate the current knowledge of this pest and potential risk to the Australian wine industry.

The French research organisation, INRA provide mobility fellowships for experienced researchers to work in a French laboratory on projects of mutual benefit. In 2015, I was successful in gaining one of these fellowships, and I spent a year working in Sylvie Dequin’s research group (UMR1083 Sciences pour l’Oenologie, INRA) and Simon Fellous’ group (Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations, INRA) in Montpellier in the south of France. The project was entitled ‘Yeasts associated with Drosophila in winegrowing environments’ and aimed to catalogue the yeasts found on and within Drosophila in vineyards in Languedoc-Roussillon. SWD is ubiquitous

REFERENCES http://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity/riskanalysis/plant/Drosophila_suzukii_spotted_wing_ Drosophila/ba2013-09-Drosophila-suzukii-final (accessed 7 December 2016) Asplen, M.K.; Anfora, G.; Biondi, A.; Choi, D.S.; Chu, D.; Daane, K.M.; Gibert, P.; Gutierrez, A.P.; Hoelmer, K.A.; Hutchison, W.D.; Isaacs, R.; Jiang, Z.L.; Karpati, Z.; Kimura, M.T.; Pascual, M.; Philips, C.R.; Plantamp, C.; Ponti, L.; Vetek, G.; Vogt, H.;

Guilhot, R.; Rombaut, A.; Howell, K.; Xuéreb, A.; Gibert, P. and Fellous, S. (2016) The ecology of flybacteria-yeast symbiosis: laboratory interactions and their relevance to in-natura processes, in La journée sur l’Ecologie des Interactions MicroorganismesHôtes.

Plantamp, C.; Estragnat, V.; Fellous, S.; Desouhant, E. and Gibert, P. (2016) Where and what to feed? Differential effects on fecundity and longevity in the invasive Drosophila suzukii. Basic and Applied Ecology. Elsevier GmbH. doi: 10.1016/j. baae.2016.10.005.

Ramasamy, S.; Ometto, L.; Crava, C.M.; Revadi, S.; Kaur, R.; Horner, D.S.; Pisani, D.; Dekker, T.; Anfora, G. and Rota-Stabelli, O. (2016) The evolution of olfactory gene families in Drosophila and the genomic basis of chemical-ecological adaptation in Drosophila suzukii. Genome biology and evolution 8(8):2297–311. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evw160.

Walsh, D.B.; Bolda, M.P.; Goodhue, R.E.; Dreves, A.J.; Lee, J.C.; Bruck, D.J.; Walton, V.M.; O’Neal, S.D. and Zalom, F.G. (2011) Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae): invasive pest of ripening soft fruit expanding its geographic range and damage potential. Journal of Integrated Pest Management 2(1):1–7 doi: 10.1603/IPM10010.

WVJ

W H E R E C U T T I N G E D G E M E E T S S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y • S AV E P R O D U C T I O N C O S T S B Y M U LT I -TA S K I N G

MEET THE NEW FISCHER GTL1 & GTL2 MULTI-TOOL SUPPORT FRAME

Watch it on

GREEN QUALITY INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

Supporting Fischer HDT-400 & 600 Mower Heads, Fischer FKT-420 Cultivator and Fischer TWISTER L1 & L2

HDT-400 & 600

TWISTER L1 & L2

FKT-420

• Undervine management at its best.

• Fischer HDT + FKT featuring our acclaimed hydraulic fine-sensor technology.

• Undervine mowing, cultivating & bio-brush weeding.

• For weed control, mechanical de-suckering and to control spring snail population.

• Available with state-of-the-art hydraulic supply and operating systems.

• Front and rear mountable.

• Proven rugged and built to last.

V3 2N 1

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

contact us at fischeraustralis.com.au

www.winetitles. com . au

49

U ORRET VVAIRTI EI TCAUL LRTE P

ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES

A little bit of Hungary in the NSW Hilltops

By Brian Freeman, Freeman Vineyards, Hilltops, New South Wales

Accident and design are both responsible for the experimental planting of Harslevelu and Furmint on the Freeman vineyard, near Young, in New South Wales, writes Brian Freeman.

B

ack in the seventies, some of Young’s early vignerons must have been dreaming of gloriously sweet seductive Tokay (Tokaji), the wine style most always associated with Hungary.

That can surely be the only explanation for the rare plantings of both Harselevelu and Furmint at Peter Robinson’s foundation Hilltops vineyard at Barwang, purchased by McWilliam’s in 1989.

Enter grapegrower Laurie Dolderson who established one of the first vineyards in the Hilltops GI, the Hercynia estate, set high on a 560-metre ridge 11km from Young. His son Keith worked in the Barwang vineyard and it seems he purloined some cuttings to establish just two rows – one Furmint, the other Harslevelu - at the Dolderson’s Prunevale vineyard.

These cheeky immigrants put down roots alongside rows of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and eventually passed to Freeman Vineyards in 2004 when we acquired the adjoining Dolderson property on our northern boundary.

The two Hungarian origin varieties don’t quite fit the Freeman ‘Italian inspired portfolio’ story, but that hasn’t deterred us from experimenting with both.

According to Jancis Robinson, Harslevelu (meaning ‘linden leaf’) is best noted for the fact it contributes ‘smoothness and spicy character’ to Tokay, the wine style synonymous with Hungary. It is

more overtly aromatic than its companion, the white flagship grape Furmint.

The origins of Harslevelu (also known as Lipovina in neighbouring Slovenia and Lindenblättriger in Germany) are said to date to the 16th century in the Carpathian Basin, but its footprint is particularly associated with the region of Somlo in Hungary’s northwest. Its heartland is Tokay – home of those famed Hungarian dessert wines - but it is also grown in Slovakia and Austria’s Burgenland.

Wikipedia also claims Harslevelu is found in South Africa, but no mention of any other sites. Clearly, those valiant first two rows on the Freeman estate don’t rate on Wikipedia’s radar.

Nor, apparently, do the WA Department of Primary Industry trials of Harslevelu in Manjimup, WA (2003-2011) where researchers noted the erect growth and large, long, loose bunches with wide shoulders and an average yield/vine of 6.4kg, which required substantial crop thinning. The WA trials on fruit flavour spectrum displayed peaches, lychee and lemony citrus flavours.

According to Jancis Robinson, pure Harslevelu is typically greengold, viscous and full-flavoured with nuances of its namesake, linden honey.

By contrast, Furmint’s origins date back to the 13th century and the Tartar invasion of what eventually became the Tokay region. It was called ‘froment’ after its wheat-gold colour, a wine style that Robinson describes as higher in acid and ‘sturdy with real fire.’ It is also sometimes called Sipon, or Posip on the Dalmatian coast.

Furmint, a thin-skinned variety that buds early and rots nobly, has always been the dominant variety in the legendary sweet wines of Tokay. The best contemporary exponents of the dry, higher acid framed style arguably emanate from Austria exemplified by the Wenzel Furmint.

RARE VINES

Furmint in the Freeman vineyard, the grapes from which have been blended with Harslevelu to make a blend of the two varieties released for the first time this year.

50

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

It’s rather premature to contrast our Hilltops Harslevelu and Furmint trials to either its Magyar origins or the Manjimup research, but the initial harvests are proving encouraging.

Since the Hercynia vineyard was acquired in 2004, the original two rows have gradually been expanded to 12 rows (just under one hectare), established on VSP trellising on typical well-draining Hilltops red granitic loam soils. The elevation is 560 metres and row orientation north-south. From the outset the vines have been spur-pruned.

Both varieties display a characteristic erect growth profile, Furmint producing slightly more upright canes than the Harslevelu.

The Furmint bunches are large and tight with large, thin-skinned berries, and consequent susceptibility to botrytis development.

By contrast, Harslevelu is even more prolific producing a large number of loose bunches with slightly smaller berries than the Furmint, that are more tolerant to fungal risks.

Depending on the season we irrigate to mitigate vine stress in dry/ hot conditions. Regardless of the prevailing water

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES

U ORRET VVA IRTI EI TCA U L LR TE P

HARSLEVELU

By Peter Dry Emeritus Fellow, The Australian Wine Research Institute

Dr Brian Freeman, of Freeman Vineyards, in the Hilltops region of New South Wales, with some of his Harslevelu vines. management regime, the impressively high yields of both grape varieties tend to inhibit growth towards the end of most seasons. But there is still a need to crop thin to achieve desirable yields of 10-15 tonnes per hectare.

The Hungarian block sees budburst in mid-September, flowering in early November and progresses to veraison in mid-January. Harvest comes typically after the classic white varieties – Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay – at the end of March.

EXPERIMENTAL WINES By the time this issue is released we will have bottled the first vintage of Freeman’s homage to Hungary – a blend of both Furmint and Harslevelu. Unlike its traditional Hungarian forebears, it is a textural dry wine. Picked at 13 Baumé, with a pH of 3.5 and low acid (6g/L) the grapes are destemmed before natural fermentation in stainless steel for two weeks, then left on skins and plunged and pressed-off after a further two weeks skin contact.

The inaugural wine displays floral aromatics and tropical lychee, pear and citrus fruit nuances complemented by bright acidity and a textural, mellow palate.

According to wine writer Matt Walls, unoaked Furmint is a bit of a “white grape supergroup”. He highlights its composite likeness to the pungent aromatics of Sauvignon Blanc, the richness of Chardonnay, and the minerality of Riesling.

And I am inclined to agree. Adding Harslevelu to the blend adds even more complexity to this fascinating amalgam.

Another Freeman trial is being conducted to explore a classic sweet wine, more in the Tokay mould. We pick both varieties at 11 Baumé and ferment a dry wine, which is subsequently added to the naturally botrytised grapes for a one-month soak, then pressed off to old oak barrels where it currently rests.

Both these wines show real promise, and stand testament to the two curious Hilltops vignerons who 40 years or so ago first cultivated Furmint and Harslevelu on the rolling western facing slopes near Young.

Once released, the Freeman Furmint Harslevelu blend will only be available from the cellar door.

REFERENCES Walls, M. (2012) A ferment about Furmint. http://www.timatkin.com/articles?511.

Accessed 3 January, 2017.

Robinson, J. (1986) Vines, Grapes and Wines. London, United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley.

WVJ

V3 2N 1

BACKGROUND Hárslevelu (harsh-leh-veh-loo) is an old white grape variety from Hungary (its earliest mention was in the mid-18th century). DNA analysis has revealed that it is an offspring of Furmint. Harslevelu literally means ‘linden leaf’ in Hungarian. Global area in 2010 was 1856 hectares, up 43 percent from 2000. More than 90 per cent of the area is found in Hungary where it is widely grown but perhaps best known for its blend with Furmint in the sweet Tokaji Aszu wines made from botrytised grapes. Approximately two-thirds of the Hungarian planted area of Harslevelu is found in the north-eastern Tokaj region. It is also important in the regions of Eger (eastern Hungary) and Somló (western Hungary). Main synonyms are Budai Feher, Feuille de Tilloul (France), Harslevelue, Harzevelu, Lindenblättrige (Germany, Austria), Lipolist (Croatia) and Lipovina (Czech Republic, Slovenia). Harslevelu is also grown in Slovakia, Romania and South Africa. The planted area in Australia is tiny; there are at least four wine producers, in Western Australia (Perth Hills, Geographe) and New South Wales (Hilltops and Southern Highlands).

VITICULTURE Budburst is early to mid-season and maturity is mid-season (relatively late for a white variety). Vigour is low in WA but moderate elsewhere and growth habit is erect. Bunches are large and loose with medium berries. Yield is high and yield control may be necessary to achieve adequate ripening. Spur pruning is used in Australia. It is moderately susceptible to both powdery mildew and sunburn. Experience in WA suggests that Harslevelu is more suited to warm than cool climate regions.

WINE Harslevelu is suitable for both dry and sweet wines— but it is now more often used for the former, even in Hungary. Wines are aromatic, light to full bodied and delicately spiced. Descriptors include ‘linden honey’ (in Europe), ‘peach’ and ‘pear’. Acid retention in berries is good and consequently wines typically have a crisp finish. Harslevelu contributes perfume and spice to blends, notably with Furmint in Hungary. Wines have had good consumer acceptance in trials in WA.

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

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

51

BUSINESS BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING

INDUSTRY SUPPORT

Lifting the lid on government support to EU wine producers

By Kym Anderson1* and Hans G. Jensen2

»

Based on a recent article published in the Journal of Wine Economics, ‘How Much Government Assistance Do European Wine Producers Receive?’, the authors provide us with their estimates of the government support received by the wine industry in the European Union.

F

or decades the European Union (EU) and its predecessors have had a Common Market Organisation for wine that has heavily regulated or influenced the quantity, quality and price of winegrapes and wine produced in the EU. Following a review in 2006, the policy went through a major reform in 2008, which included a three-year grubbing-up program that paid growers to remove vines.

Meanwhile, financial support for generic promotion of EU wines has been expanding considerably, and is budgeted for further expansion during 2014-18.

The OECD has tracked support for farm industries in its member countries since 1986. In the case of the EU (but not other member countries) that has included support for the wine industry. However, using the OECD’s generic methodology means that various support measures are not included in its producer support estimates. It also means support is shown only for the EU as a whole, not for individual EU member countries. The omitted measures include subsidies for distillation of low-quality wine, and any domestic price-raising effect of tariffs on imports of non-EU wines. The industry has also benefitted, along with other farm industries, from non-product-specific support to the rural sector of EU member countries. That support is treated as a generic rural benefit rather than support for winegrowers or producers of any other particular industry.

This article provides a set of more complete estimates of government support to EU wine producers. The focus is on the period 2007 to 2012, after which the OECD changed its generic methodology for calculating support. We show how much the level and types of support have altered over that period and how unevenly they are spread across EU member countries.

COMPILING THE EVIDENCE The OECD’s Producer Support Estimate (PSE) database has altered its methodology several times since it was first released nearly three decades ago. The 2015 version not only has updated numbers to 2014 but also has altered past numbers back to 1986. Those estimates are summarised in Table 1. They suggest EU wine producers benefitted from transfers from consumers and taxpayers to the extent of about 800 million euros per year in the latter 1980s and

»

the 1990s, but that this fell to less than 500 million euros per year in the past 10 years. Most of that was market price support prior to the policy reforms that began in the early 1990s, but these estimates suggest that has now disappeared, with producer returns being raised by just 0.3% during 2007-13 and zero in 2014 (see the nominal rate of protection row in Table 1), down from around 7% in the latter 1980s and 1990s.

This recent estimate is not consistent with the fact that tariffs still apply on the EU’s wine imports from all countries without a free-trade or association agreement with the EU27. Those tariffs would have some positive impact on the domestic price of wine in EU countries, but the OECD chooses not to try to measure that because of the heterogeneous nature of wines.

It is possible to amend the OECD’s estimates using the data contained in its database plus data available from EUROSTAT. We focus on EU27 wine production from 2007 to 2012 and domestic support given directly to the industry’s producers. We follow the OECD’s PSE method prior to its latest revision, which categorises payments as either ‘single commodity transfers’ or 'group commodity transfers'. To that we add a pro rata fraction of ‘all commodity transfers’, based on wine’s share of agriculture’s gross value of production, and ‘other transfers to producers’ that are specific to grape and wine production. The value of production (at the farm gate, inclusive of transfers) is taken directly from the PSE tables and originates from the Eurostat Dissemination Database. The single farm payment scheme data for wine are from the European Commission (2013), since the OECD no longer itemises those payments by commodity.

Additional payments not specifically linked to the wine industry and specified by the OECD as ‘general services support estimates’ (GSSE) include some general payments from which the wine industry could benefit. Hence, these are calculated as a pro rata fraction based on wine’s share of agriculture’s gross value of production within the EU27 each year. We also calculated how much lower the total support would be had we used the land share instead of the production value share to calculate that non-direct assistance. It turns out to be about one-ninth lower (see footnote b of Table 2).

We decompose the EU27 data into the various receiving

Wine Economics Research Centre, School of Economics, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005

1

2

University of Copenhagen

*Corresponding author: kym.anderson@adelaide.edu.au

52

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

INDUSTRY SUPPORT

BUSINESS&&MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

Table 1. OECD estimates of direct transfersa to wine producers and their nominal rate of direct producer protection,b European Union (EU28), 1986 to 2014 (annual averages) Transfers to producers (million euro per year)

a

of which transfers due to market price support Nominal rate of direct protection (NRP, %)b

1986-92

1993-99

2000-06

2007-13

2014

858

705

716

417

489

848

769

255

51

0

8.6

6.4

1.7

0.3

0.0

The OECD’s Single Commodity Transfers do not include such supports as subsidies to distil unwanted wine and to promote wine generically, grubbing-up premiums, price support from import tariffs, or any proportion of non-product-specific assistance to the agricultural sector and rural areas. b Based on OECD’s estimate of nominal protection coefficient (NPC), where NRP = 100(NPC – 1). The NRP expresses the estimated direct transfer as a percentage of the gross value (net of assistance) of wine production.

Source: OECD (2015). a

Table 2: Direct plus other support to wine producers and their nominal rate of assistance,a EU27, 2007 to 2012 2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012b, c

2007-12 average

2225

2488

2495

2189

2364

2285

2341

1415

1295

1172

1053

978

924

1140

Nominal rate of total producer assistancea (%)

19.3

22.0

23.2

20.3

18.8

18.7

20.4

Total support per hectare of vines (€)

616

702

716

655

734

712

689

Total support per KL of wine produced (€)

140

157

154

141

152

144

148

Total (direct + other) support, € million

of which direct support, € million

NRA is total support as a percentage of gross value (net of assistance) of wine production. The NRA is broader than the OECD’s NRP in Table 1, the latter referring just to price-support measures whereas the NRA also includes the other transfers to producers that may not alter the price they receive for their output but are part of the total support shown in row 1 of this table. b The assumption is that wine’s share of some general services supports is proportional to the gross value of total agricultural production. If instead it is proportional to the share of vines in the total area of land used for agriculture, the numbers in the 2012 column other than for direct support would be one-tenth lower. c The tariffs in EU wine imports had a weighted average in 2011 of 5.8% when expressed in ad valorem terms (estimated from the latest GTAP Version 8 database, see www. gtap.org). Had they raised the domestic producer price in 2012 by a full 5.8% (an upper bound; or by just 1% as a possible lower bound), the market price support in 2012 would have been not zero but 788 million euros (or 136 million euros), thereby raising total producer support by the same amount. The 2012 NRA would then be not 18.7% but 26.4% (or 20.0%), and the support per hectare of vines would rise from 712 to 946 (or 754) euros and the support per kilolitre of wine produced would rise from 144 to 191 (or 152) euros. a

Source: Anderson and Jensen (2016, Appendix Tables 1 and 2).

®

V3 2N 1

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

53

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

INDUSTRY SUPPORT

900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0

member countries, but just for 2012 in the interests of page space. The GSSE payments in the OECD database that are not commodity-specific are allocated to each member country using (a) official (but not publicly available) EU data taken from the Clearance Audit Trail System database that includes both EU-funded and national payments by member states, and (b) wine financial execution data on the national support program (European Commission 2013).

Support payments are expressed in millions of euros. The vine bearing area and wine production volumes are used to calculate support per hectare of vines and per litre of wine produced. Those summary estimates are depicted in Figures 1 and 2, while the key forms of support since 2007 are summarised in Figure 3.

Table 2 aggregates the data for the years 2007 to 2012.

These can be compared with the OECD’s estimates of transfers to producers, as summarised in Table 1. In Table 2 we report also what our estimates imply in terms of a nominal rate of assistance (NRA) as defined by Australia’s Productivity Commission. The NRA is broader than the OECD’s NRP in Table 1, the latter referring just to pricesupport measures whereas the NRA also includes the other identified transfers to producers that may not alter the price they receive for their output.

Figure 1. Total support to wine producers, individual EU member countries, million euros, 2012. Source: Anderson and Jensen (2016).

FINDINGS

B.

The comparison of Tables 1 and 2 suggests the OECD estimates, at least since 2007, understate considerably the full extent of government support to the EU wine industry.

In contrast to the OECD’s estimate of an average transfer of less than 500 million euros per year during 2007-12, our Table 2 suggests the number is more than 2300 million euros per year – and it has not been declining (see also Figure 1).

This implies gross returns are about one-fifth above what they would be without those supports (an average nominal rate of assistance for the 2007-12 period of 20.4%). That annual assistance amounts to around 700 euros per hectare of vines, or 0.15 euros per litre of wine produced in the EU as measured at the winery gate (Table 2 and Figure 2).

Even these new estimates probably understate the transfers to producers. One reason the numbers in Table 2 are likely to be understated is because the effect of tariffs on imports of non-EU wine in raising producer prices is not included. An upper bound on the extent to which tariffs raised the domestic producer price in 2012 is 5.8%, which is the import-weighted average tariff that year when converted to ad valorem terms. A lower bound might be one-sixth of that (bearing in mind that the EU accounts for a large share of the global wine market and, thus, is hardly a price taker).

As reported in footnote c of Table 2, the 2012 NRA would then be not 18.7% but 26.4% (or 20.0%), and the estimated support per hectare of vines would rise from 712 to 946 (or 754) euros and the support per kilolitre of wine produced would rise from 144 to 191 (or 152) euros.

However, the numbers in Table 2 assume wine’s share of general services supports are proportional to the gross value of total agricultural production. Had we assumed they are proportional to the share of vines in the total area of land used for agriculture, the numbers in the 2012 column of that

54

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

A. 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0

Figure 2. Total support to wine producers per hectare and per kilolitre of wine, individual EU member countries, 2012: (a) Euros per hectare of vines, (b) Euros per kilolitre of wine produced. table, apart from direct support, would be one-tenth lower.

This may more or less offset the effect of omitting tariff protection.

It might also be argued that payments for grubbing up vines should be omitted because they are unrelated to current production and are reducing the future EU and, hence, global supply of wine. However, since this paper is trying to estimate not price distortions but financial support to the industry, their inclusion is appropriate.

In addition to an overview estimate of the size of payments given to the wine sector in the EU27 as a whole, there is also an interest in the allocation of payments between EU member countries. Our estimates of the individual payments by country for the year 2012 for all of the EU27’s wine-producing countries are summarised in Figures 1 and 2. Of course France, Italy and Spain get the lion’s share of total payments, being by far the largest wine producers (Figure 1). But per hectare support ranges from 300 euros in Greece to 2350 euros in Austria (Figure 2(b)), and support per litre of wine

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

INDUSTRY SUPPORT

A.

60

B.

50

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

2007

40

2008 2009

30

2010

20

2011

10 0

2012 Price Support

Single payment

Grubbing-up

Other direct support

Promotion

Direct support

Marketing & promotion

BUSINESS&&MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

All other support

Stockholding Other support

Figure 3. Shares of EU wine producer supports by measure, 2007 to 2012 (%): (a) EU27 in total, 2007 to 2012, (b) By EU member country, 2012. Source: Anderson and Jensen (2016, Appendix Tables 1 to 4). produced ranges from 0.11 euros in Greece to 0.37 euros in Austria (Figure 2(c)).

By far the largest – and still growing – category of support is for marketing and generic promotion of EU wines.

It accounts for about two-fifths of the estimated total in aggregate (Figure 3(a)). Direct price supports were most important in 2007, but since then they have been eclipsed by other direct supports and support for marketing and promotion. While grubbing-up support was non-trivial during the 2008-10 reform period, those payments are no longer being made. In 2012 direct supports were relatively more important to Germany, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Spain, while marketing and promotion supports were relatively more important to Bulgaria and Romania (Figure 3(b)).

IMPLICATIONS According to the above new estimates, government support for European wine producers continued unabated between 2007 and 2012, albeit in changing forms. The support per hectare of vineyard in 2011 and 2012 exceeded 700 euros in the EU in aggregate and more than 1000 euros in Austria, Cyprus, France and Germany. That almost certainly exceeds the support provided by governments in any other major wine-producing country. It is equivalent to an average of 0.15 euros per litre of wine produced, and more than 0.25 euros in Cyprus, Austria, and Slovakia.

Generic promotion accounted for a growing share of total EU support, amounting in 2012 to 0.009 euros per litre of wine produced. By contrast, Australia’s expenditure on generic promotion that year was half that (Anderson 2015). The EU provided a total of 522 million euros for wine promotion from 2008-09 to 2012-13. Despite the uncovering of many misappropriations, that expenditure is to be more than doubled to 1156 million euros for the period from 2013-14 to 2017-18 (European Court of Auditors 2014). Given that this promotion item (an annual average of 231 million euros) is but one-tenth of the total support to the EU industry in 2012, it is little wonder that other wine-producing countries worry about their ability to compete in international markets against supported EU producers.

REFERENCES Anderson, K. (with the assistance of Aryal, N.R.) (2015) Growth and cycles in Australia’s wine industry: A statistical compendium, 1843 to 2013, Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press. Freely available as an ebook at www.adelaide.edu. au/press/titles/austwine Anderson, K. and Jensen, H.G. (2016) How much does the European Union

V3 2N 1

assist its wine producers? Journal of Wine Economics 11(3):289-305.

European Commission (2013) Wine CMO Financial Execution 2012, Commission Regulation EC 555/2008, Brussels: Commission of the European Communities. http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/markets/wine/facts/ execution-2009-2013_en.pdf European Court of Auditors (2014) Is the EU Investment and Promotion Support to the wine sector well managed and are its results on the competitiveness of EU wines demonstrated?, Special Report No. 9, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the EU. OECD (2015) Producer and Consumer Support Estimates database, www. oecd.org, accessed 20 July 2015.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors are grateful for funding support from their universities.

A longer version of this article first appeared in the Journal of Wine Economics, Vol 9(3), pp. 289-305, December 2016. See WVJ www.wine-economics.org

NEED MORE

TRAFFIC to your website/business?

Australia’s LARGEST circulating wine industry e-newsletter

Over 12,000 subscribers Contact Nicole Evans on 08 8369 9515 or n.evans@winetitles.com.au

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

55

BUSINESS & MARKETING

S UCCESS ION

Photo: Gyula Gyukli, 123RF.COM

Passing on a wine business that your kids want to own This article is based on a presentation at Finlaysons’ Wine Roadshow 24, a series of seminars for the wine industry hosted by Finlaysons and held in 10 wine regions across Australia during August and September 2016.

By Shaun Allan and Richard Bund, Partners, Tilbrook Rasheed Chartered Accountants

INTRODUCTION The wine industry is one of the few vertically integrated industries in Australia where the output of primary production is value added right through to its final retail selling price, often by the same business.

To this end, the wine industry comprises a number of different businesses and business models, including: • grapegrowers • contract processing wineries • wholesalers of bulk or bottled wine • partially vertically integrated wineries • fully vertically integrated wineries.

While some of the statistics vary, there are thousands of registered ‘wineries’, but this ignores the grapegrowers and other businesses that are essentially part of the industry. With only a few wine businesses traded on the ASX, and a few more owned by large multinational companies, the vast majority of players in the wine industry are privately owned and, in many instances, are family businesses.

It is a well-heralded fact, which we suspect many readers have experienced firsthand, that the profitability of the industry has been under significant strain over the last five to 10 years. It is not the purpose of this article to analyse the reasons behind this, save that many family balance sheets have been knocked around severely as the industry has digested the larger harvests flowing from the high vineyard plantings in the 1990s, the demand/supply imbalances that flow from this, and more recently in the strong Australian dollar that made profitable export of product some form of unreachable panacea.

The good news, however, is that, overall, the future looks brighter than the past with vineyard rationalisation now resulting in hectares under vine being roughly equal to 1990 levels, exports on the rise and fueled, in part, by the lower $AUD, low interest rates and, in many geographic regions, higher underlying asset prices.

Albeit that profitability is returning in many areas, it will take some years to replenish the wine industry balance sheets, many of which represent the balance sheets of families, and we should expect that with a brighter future capital flows into and out of the industry will accelerate. Some of these capital movements will involve families exiting the industry as sale opportunities present themselves, and in other instances the capital flow will involve families entering the industry.

So, why have I chosen to start with some brief comments on where the wine industry sits on the ‘economic clock’?

Because often succession plans are shelved, postponed, or even abandoned, where profits are not attainable. But when profitability returns, capital owners and families readjust their focus to reconsider what they do, why they do it, how long they will do it…and who will do it next.

The ‘who will do it next’ question for a family-owned business involves the

SU C C E SSI O N

‘retirement’ of one generation and the disposal of their business interests or the passing down to the next generation.

In the balance of this article, we will explore some ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ and central points to consider when topics of this nature are being discussed.

PLANNING, DISCUSSION, PLANNING, DISCUSSION… In our experience, businesses that manage succession well take their time with it.

The topic should not be the central talking point of family meetings, board meetings, or advisory board meetings, but it should be aired from time to time to allow thoughts and views to be explored, settled, and ‘tweaked’ as necessary.

All businesses need to consider succession, whether the succession in question is ownership or executive duties, and family businesses are no different.

Succession in a family business, however, does involve some added peculiarities in that: • it may involve prestige and tradition • there may not be a cohesive and objective governance structure in place that results in some business related matters not being addressed as proactively as they may be in the traditional corporate environment • there may not be clear financial delineation between the assets of the ‘business’ and the other assets of the family • on the presumption that the business is to be managed by the next generation, the future owners and managers are drawn from a narrow and finite pool • it results in the need to consider ‘family equity’, not with reference to equity from a balance sheet perspective, but fairness from the perspective of how the financial resources and opportunities are divided amongst the next generation • it involves the need to consider separately the context of ‘ownership’ and ‘executive management’ or control of the business when often the distinction between these terms is less objective in a family business environment • it can involve the arduous process of separating the various family business interests into legal entities such that the family business succession can have legal form

V3 2N 1

BUSINESS MARKETING N E&W S

• it implicitly involves family relationships and life ambitions which are challenging topics on their own, let alone in a business environment.

The above points may seem daunting, but given time and attention the matters requiring attention will often fall into place.

We don’t subscribe to the theory that there is one correct way of broaching the above topics, or one correct answer to the above, but we are firm believers that if the family business succession process is given the care and attention that it deserves, the outcome can be improved and that this care and attention requires discussion and planning.

In particular in the wine industry it is common to see the ‘brand champion’ as being a key senior family member. If for no other reason than to ensure this baton is passed appropriately to the next generation, then we subscribe to a very careful approach to planning for change as it is often not as easy as it seems to pass this baton. This is particularly important as this potentially has larger external implications in the market than it does for internal acceptance among family members or staff.

a business that does not care about good governance has a lower chance of being successful and happily navigating the business succession challenges.

We have seen instances where very expensive and formal family advisory boards that meet regularly and contain various external professionals do not achieve ideal outcomes. Conversely, we have seen family businesses successfully navigate the challenges of business where the family discusses strategy around the kitchen table. Our conclusion: each family business will approach this in their own way, but a successful family business will, no matter what level of formality, deal with the important matters professionally and in a timely manner.

Whatever the formality given to governance in a family business environment, it is fair to conclude that those family businesses that spend the time on matters of governance are more successful in dealing with succession related matters.

If nothing else, a good governance structure should possess the characteristics necessary to have important matters tabled, aired and discussed.

GOVERNANCE

THE FAMILY BALANCE SHEET

Many books have been written on corporate governance and the various attributes that lead to good practice, which can then lead to a business that is: • clear on its strategy • has definitive goals • (importantly) sets plans to advance the corporate enterprise towards achieving these goals.

Like a business with multiple independent shareholders and stakeholders, a family business should subject itself to a good level of corporate governance. Apart from resulting in a greater chance of achieving the aforementioned points, a family business with a discipline for corporate governance should have a platform for discussing and planning towards family business succession.

With a broad diversity of scale, complexity and professionalism in family businesses, corporate governance in a family business environment can come in many forms. Again, we are not aware of one single approach that is right for all businesses, but we are firm believers that

In a corporate environment the consolidated annual financial statements (balance sheet, P&L and cashflow statement) are a central mechanism for passing on information about business performance to the capital providers of the business, whether these capital providers are equity holders or lenders.

The consolidated annual financial statements record the balance sheet of the business, its financial performance for the period in question and the distribution of profits to capital providers.

In a family business environment, however, there is often no corporate group capable of being consolidated by application of the accounting standards, with the various legal entities through which the business activities are run being set up largely to create an operating environment that provides for asset protection, flexibility with respect to the distribution of profits and taxation flexibility generally.

While no doubt the advisors to each family group will attest to the need for the business ownership structure (and

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

57

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

S UCCESS ION

they’re probably right) it often results in a situation where: • there are no objective ownership interests for the family business group • there may well be no single set of financial statements that records the businesses financial position and outcome • there will often be instances where passive investments find their way into business structures • the family’s equity in the business is housed in a mixture of issued capital, trust entitlements and/or loan accounts and, thus, it loses its transparency • the family’s dividends, or returns, from the business are often not clearly identified as they are presented in a mixture of drawings from loan accounts, traditional dividends, or taxable trust distributions • the distinction between returns from ownership interests and executive effort are often obscure and not transparent as the family’s advisors structure arrangements to achieve asset protection and taxation outcomes.

This is not to suggest that a family balance sheet cannot be prepared, merely that it will usually not present itself through the annual compliance requirements and will require a thoughtful financial advisor who can present the financial information in a format that is meaningful to the family stakeholders.

Essentially any financial report should be designed to present information in a way that is useful to the expected users of such report and in the family business context, this often results in the financial report possessing the following characteristics, many of which depart from the traditional accountant standard framework. Our suggested approach would include: • a consolidated position should be presented that attempts to aggregate the various entities which, as a collective, house the family’s business assets • the consolidated position should enable the value of the assets employed in the business, and the earnings that these assets generate, to be clearly separated from the various sources of funding used to support these assets • the funding for the family business should clearly distinguish the family’s

58

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

equity (often a mixture of paid up capital, undrawn trust distributions and loan accounts) from the bank funding provided • the consolidated report should attempt to identify returns to the family equity holders, distinguished between returns from ownership and returns for executive duties.

While we have developed our own style for the presentation of a ‘family’s business accounts’ the focus should be to present a report that: • shows the value of the family’s equity in the family business and the leverage with respect to bank borrowings • shows the returns being generated from the business assets and how they are withdrawn by the family • enables adjustment to be made for reasonable charges for the family members that perform executive duties • segregates the reinvestment of the profits of the active business assets from the reinvestment of these profits into more passive investment related activities.

Whatever the format, the outcome should be a set of financial statements that segregates the business assets employed from the capital provided and the returns that these assets are providing, which then enables assessment of the value of the business to be performed.

While the above seems second nature to us (we are bean counters by training after all!), it is common place to receive blank looks from family business owners when posed questions like: • what do you think your business is worth?

• what is your gearing level and your free cashflow after providing for interest?

• are your business assets providing a fair return on the capital being employed?

• are you receiving a fair return for your personal exertion efforts and the family’s capital that is deployed in the business?

To our way of thinking getting a good handle on the family’s balance sheet is one of the first steps towards assessing how the business is tracking and objectively managing business succession. Quite simply, how do you start a discussion about family balance and fairness with regard to asset allocations without knowing the starting value of the business assets?

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

Reports of this nature should also provide a very useful tool for assessing strategic direction and governance generally, acknowledging that the first step in determining the path to the desired future position is to work out where one starts from.

UNDERSTANDING PROFITABILITY Following the comments above concerning the preparation of financial reports to assist with general family business management, and in particular to help guide discussions concerning succession arrangements, it is important in succession discussions to understand the drivers of profitability and, in particular, which assets classes are contributors (or detractors) from the family profit.

This is often not an easy process, nor will it be clear from the family balance sheet in particular where the family wine business is vertically integrated as the profits from the various business components that collectively form the business will be blended into the overall profit outcome.

The classic example of this is the determination of the profits generated by the vineyards in a vertically integrated wine business.

Ordinarily the annual grape production from the vineyards will be costed based on accounting principles, which avoids market values of fruit being adopted as doing so realises profits before the earnings cycle is complete (i.e., selling the output by the overall business), or tax requirements where the clear focus is to reduce the carrying value of stock on hand (within legal limits and the spirit of the law of course) so as to defer as much as legally possible the incidence of tax on the value of the vineyard production.

The key point of note with reference to succession planning is to understand how the business’s profitability is built up so that if certain family members are to receive aspects of the overall business, that the generation above can feel confident that each family member is receiving an interest in the assets that is profitable, or can be profitable depending on how contracted cross charges are applied.

A clear and objective knowledge of the buildup of overall profitability

V32N1

SU C C E SSI O N

also enables serious consideration for contractual arrangements between family members that act to protect each family member’s entitlements while encouraging a collegiate approach to overall business profits, acknowledging that assets deployed in unison will often produce an outcome greater than the sum of their individual outcomes.

Without a clear understanding of how profits build up, and the interrelationship between the various assets that collectively form the family business, in our experience it is extremely difficult to consider fair apportionment of assets where different asset classes are destined for different family members, or to establish commercial arrangements designed to protect each party and the overall business outcome.

Consider, for example, a wine business that has a cornerstone iconic vineyard supporting a wine business, with the iconic vineyard finding its way to one family member and the wine business finding its way to another member but no arrangements are put in place to encourage each family member to deal reasonably with the other family member. Apart from exposing the family to a dispute at one point, there is a real risk that the underlying business will be adversely affected.

FUNDING CONSIDERATIONS We are sure that we would all like to think that banks and debt providers should not have a role in our businesses, or our succession arrangements, but the simple fact remains that most family businesses involve debt (hopefully in a managed and constructive way) or financial leverage to drive growth or business plans.

Debt used wisely is a useful tool to assist the achievement of business plans and to capitalise on business opportunities, or fight off the need to dis-bundle the business assets in times of losses or lower earnings.

We do, however, find that even where debt is used wisely, banks will demand collateralisation over ‘passive assets’ or personal guarantees to protect their interests and such arrangements can add a level of complexity to succession arrangements.

The complexity can come in many forms:

V3 2N 1

BUSINESS& &MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

Getting a good handle on the family’s balance sheet is one of the important first steps in assessing how the business is tracking and objectively managing business succession. In doing so, it is difficult to start a discussion about family balance and fairness with regard to asset allocations without knowing the starting value of the business assets.

• from removing the passive assets from the grips of the debt provider to enable the senior family members to retire gracefully and pass the active business assets to the next generation without fear of having these passive assets subjected to the success of the next generation’s business decisions • enabling aspects of the business to be passed to certain family members, or divided up which infers that the asset may need to be released from the primary lender’s security schedule • dealing with the release of personal guarantees and the reservations of the next generation to subject themselves to such guarantees.

In our experience, a way can always be found through this complexity so long as there is clarity over the business profitability and engagement with your banking partner early in the process.

Remember to seek buy-in from your bank knowing that while it may not add value to the plan, it will certainly be key to selling the story ‘up the line’ to its credit department which will be important in achieving your objectives in the timeframe required. If the journey is a three-year proposition, engage with the bank in Year 1 and report your progress as you navigate through.

In many situations the passing of assets from one generation to the next will often be approached on a step-by-

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

step basis and involve a form of ‘vendor finance’ that assists with funding of the new business controller while providing a level of business protection for the retiring business owner. There is no one answer to dealing with this, save that any considered succession plan will take particular care with respect to how debt is managed to ensure that the debt provider is treated respectfully and that the succession plan is workable in terms of how debts are serviced.

Again, this is best dealt with by knowing the family balance sheet and how profitability is built up as this provides clarity over loan-to-value ratios and the serviceability of debts.

NON-FINANCIAL MATTERS This article has so far centred around understanding the family business’s balance sheet and its profitability as the first step towards comprehensively considering succession plans and arrangements.

In some situations, this will be easy to do; in others it can be challenging, especially if the business is recovering from a period of reduced (or no!) profitability. Either way, in our experience, and in acknowledgement that a business has central to its definition a series of actions aimed at earning a profit, it is a necessary aspect of succession planning. ▶

www.winetitles. com . au

59

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

S UCCESS ION

While finance is, of course, very important there are, however, a number of other matters that are of equal importance in considering business succession and formulating a wellconsidered plan.

In no particular order of importance, when advising on and working with clients with respect to succession planning issues we take particular care with the following: Family balance and fairness We have experienced many instances where senior family members grapple with the concept of balance and fairness among their offspring.

Our experience tells us that there is no right answer to this and each family will settle on a position that they believe is fair in the circumstances.

Good governance procedures, utilising family balances to record support provided to certain offspring, and fair remuneration for those family members who dedicate their career to the family business are good methods to encourage fairness to prevail, and for it to be seen as prevailing.

Sweat equity By sweat equity we are referring to the investment that a particular family member builds up in the family business through their personal exertion, and in particular where such personal exertion has not been fairly remunerated with regard to the value of services provided or the opportunities that the family member has forgone.

It is a concept often associated with primary production whereby one of the offspring works on the farm, possibly at the expense of other career opportunities, with the expectation that in time the farm will be theirs, or they will receive a controlling interest in it.

Valuation of ‘sweat equity’ can become an issue without reasonable records, but this can be overcome, again, by utilising the family balance sheet to record reasonable charges for personal exertion endeavors. We stress that there is no formula or one right answer to this issue. However, we would subscribe to the theory that you should acknowledge the matter and address any expectations as early as you can to ensure the bigger picture is not derailed on account of unchecked expectations that may not be founded in commerciality.

60

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

Tax Obviously taxation, and the maintenance of taxation flexibility, needs careful consideration in the context of any succession arrangements. In fact, the passing of assets from one generation to another often presents an ideal opportunity to remedy deficiencies in taxation flexibility that find their way into group structures over time.

If succession plans are to be put in place while both generations are still living, taxation (transactional taxes and income/capital gains tax) can be a burden and accordingly there are often benefits from having legal title transfer on the passing of one generation.

While tax in family business succession should always be approached on a caseby-case basis, we generally find that the most tax efficient time of transfer is by operation of a well-constructed and thoughtful will.

In terms of when tax is considered, we often find that it is more appropriate to firstly consider the commercial and family outcomes, and to then overlay a tax strategy as rarely should tax be the driver of decisions.

When does title change – risks?

As mentioned above, it is often the case that the tax burden is best managed by having assets transferred by operation of a will. This does, however, have the effect that many 40 to 50 year old family business managers are still waiting to receive the keys to the business that they have been running for years.

On its own, and left unaddressed, this can present its own challenges. However, from a risk mitigation perspective the general position is that assets should be held (or controlled) by those family members who are the least likely to find themselves in a spot of bother.

To this end, consider the likelihood of a 40 year old finding themselves in a spot of bother compared with a 70 year old?

Again, there is no single solution to this matter, save that it would be remiss not to mention it and it should be a consideration at one point when family business succession is being contemplated.

Control Where the family business asset is not capable of being segregated into different components, or the existence of passive assets to balance equity does not present,

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

or quite simply the goal is to leave the family business in the hands of a number of offspring, the concept of who has control of the business presents itself.

The concept of who should have control, or should one person be bestowed control, or should control be shared among a few, is a topic in itself.

We have experienced situations where any mixture of the above alternatives has worked very well or failed dismally, so this tells us that there is no one single answer.

Our advice: tread cautiously as it is a difficult topic.

Review What might seem the correct approach at one point may not seem the correct approach in the future. Times change, and so do opinions, asset values, profitability and cashflows.

Family business succession planning, like business plans and strategies generally, should therefore evolve and be revisited from time to time.

Whether the review is prompted annually as part of a scheduled governance process, or via a meeting with the family’s legal and business advisors, or less regularly are simple prompts for the review.

The key focus is that succession arrangements are not static and should be allowed to evolve from time to time and over time.

SUMMARY In some respects this topic can be boiled down to a few central points: • use good corporate governance, in whatever format works for the family business, as a mechanism to ensure the approach to family succession is given the time and focus that it deserves • it is essential to know your family balance sheet and how profits are earned to provide a good basis for discussion surrounding family succession • take the time with discussions and plan carefully, and be prepared to review arrangements periodically • use your family business advisors to assist the process where appropriate, and in support of my legal colleagues, write up plans and make them binding so as to avoid challenges and conflict in WVJ the future.

V32N1

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

S H I R A Z

Shiraz – An Australian love affair

By Mark Rowley, Industry Analyst, Wine Australia

S

hiraz is a common topic for wine commentators.

Understandably, the focus tends to be skewed towards the new, exciting and often micro-trends, however, two common themes are apparent. First, the shift in style from the popular big, bold blends usually emanating from South Australia, and more specifically Barossa and McLaren Vale, towards styles from cooler climate regions. These tend to be in Victoria and New South Wales and the Shiraz from these regions are often described as more savoury and elegant wines. Second is that due to the declining popularity of Shiraz in some key markets, Australian wineries should shift focus and diversify into varieties currently experiencing a boom in popularity.

This article examines market data with these two themes in mind. What is immediately evident is that Australia is a leader in Shiraz on most measures. If one country were to be known as producing the world’s finest Shiraz, Australia is in pole position to claim that crown. There is also a premium paid for Shiraz by consumers and wineries alike; and with a vineyard replacement cost of more than $800 million, this is a comfort. Furthermore, the future looks bright for Australian Shiraz with consumers trading up in many important markets.

Australia doesn’t have a Shiraz problem, but it does need some reinvigoration in the United States.

SHIRAZ IN PERSPECTIVE

50% 45% 40% France

35% 30% 25%

Australia

20% 15% Spain

10%

USA Italy Chile Portugual

5% 0%

0%

Argentina South Africa

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Share of Shiraz within country

Figure 1. Global Shiraz plantings, 2010.

Hectares 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000

Shiraz has arguably been the most successful variety of the 20 years to 2010. According to data laboriously collected by Kym Anderson, of the University of Adelaide, about the world’s most popular winegrape varieties, Shiraz plantings expanded by the second fastest rate – up 390 per cent. In terms of actual vineyard area, this equates to an additional 150,000 hectares of new Shiraz. These new plantings are equivalent to Australia’s entire vineyard area and would produce in excess of one billion litres of Shiraz wine annually. Only Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon were also planted at such scale.

Australia’s leadership of Shiraz is well deserved. Australian Shiraz is the base wine of most of Australia’s flagship wines, and some of Australia’s Shiraz vines are the oldest in the world.

However, Australia also takes the lead when it comes to scale and importance. Figure 1 illustrates that Australia and France are the clear outliers when it comes to sheer vineyard area (denoted by the size of the bubble). However, there are clear differences. First, Shiraz is far more important to Australia (accounting for 26 per cent of Australia’s vineyard area) and second, France predominantly labels according to region. Most consumers of French Shiraz drink it unknowingly as they are often consuming it through regional blends such as Côtes du Rhône AOC. Figure 1 clearly shows the importance of Shiraz to Australia and also the ability for Australia to lay claim to the variety.

The same chart for Chardonnay shows Australia in a weaker position and sharing the spotlight with the US and France.

V3 2N 1

Share of global Shiraz area

1,000 -

Figure 2. Premium Shiraz plantings by region, 2015.

Million AUD $1,000 Below $90 per case

$900

Above $90 per case

$800 $700 $600 $500 $400 $300 $200 $100 $0

MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT MAT Nov Novr Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov Nov 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Figure 3. Exports of Australian Shiraz by price segment.

The next tier varieties, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, reveal Australia is lost amongst its key competitors. Bulgaria has more ▶ Merlot plantings and China has more Cabernet Sauvignon.

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

61

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

S H I R A Z

THE SHIRAZ PREMIUM Consumers domestically and worldwide should be able to identify and resonate with the premium Australian Shiraz proposition. However, it shouldn’t be taken for granted and there will be opportunity costs if we don’t maintain it, given the Shiraz premium is worth roughly $80 million per annum1. Other statistics demonstrating the importance of Shiraz to Australia’s fine wine image include: • forty per cent of Australian exports above $10 per litre are Shiraz (Source: Wine Australia) • twenty-nine per cent of domestic sales above $16 per bottle are Shiraz (Source: Aztec) • an average bottle of Shiraz retails for $1.74 per bottle higher than a dry red (Source: Aztec) • Shiraz bulk wine is priced 0.25 per litre higher than bulk dry red (Source: Ciatti) In the export market, bottled Shiraz averages $0.26 per litre free-on-board higher than dry reds (Source: Wine Australia).

This premium is also reflected in fruit purchase, particularly in the cooler climates. The premium for cool, coastal and temperate Shiraz compared with all other red varieties is currently 22 per cent. This premium has increased over the past few years as demand has increased and consumers have traded up. We don’t see this premium for inland Shiraz grapes, most likely due to the market being less differentiated, more susceptible to unfavourable global supply and demand dynamics, and also declining in popularity in its biggest market, the US. 1 This premium is calculated by benchmarking Shiraz against the red blend category

Who are you looking for?

Switching winemaking focus to varieties gaining in popularity would not only be costly but could also put the hard-earned Shiraz premium at risk. Furthermore, riding a boom created by another country’s popular variety may not be commercially viable. For example, Sauvignon Blanc is booming in the US and Australia has responded to this increased demand. However, the growth has predominantly been a result of undercutting the more expensive Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

SHIRAZ IN AUSTRALIA In a recent article in The Wine Enthusiast, Joe Czerwinski states, "Momentum had been building for cool-climate Shiraz".

Indeed these regions have been winning coveted wine awards and building fans among consumers. However, it cannot be ignored that the Shiraz engine room remains in South Australia. Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale are the leading producers of premium Shiraz2. Outside of South Australia, the Hunter Valley, Great Southern, Margaret River, Pyrenees and Canberra regions are the leading producers of premium Shiraz but scale is much lower3.

SHIRAZ MARKETS Like Australia, Shiraz is in a ‘two speed economy’. On the one hand we see a premiumisation trend in many markets, but on the other, Shiraz is facing a steep decline in popularity in North America.

Domestic market In Australia, the premiumisation trend has contributed to record sales for Shiraz, with double-digit growth driven by Shiraz priced above $12 per bottle. Furthermore, growth was stronger as prices increased with the strongest growth in wines at $25 per bottle.

Export markets Although Shiraz exports peaked at $1.1 billion in 2007 and has since declined to $733 million, the premium segment is leading a resurgence for the variety. Exports of Shiraz above $90 per case are now at record levels and growing, up 34 per cent to $230 million. Although much of this can be attributed to the rise of the Chinese consumer, the market is not the only growth destination.

Of the top 15 export markets for Australian Shiraz above $90 per case, 14 of those recorded growth in exports in the year to November 2016.

Even in the US there are contrasting market signals. Total Shiraz exports declined from a peak of $383 million in 2004 to $90 million in the year to November 2016 (down 7 per cent in the last year). However in the past year, Shiraz above $90 per case climbed by 33 per cent to $12 million.

Wine industry personnel ONLINE PHONEBOOK • Searchable • Easy to use

www.winetitles.com.au/widonline/phonebook* * Available only to those who have purchased/subscribed to the Wine Industry Directory

CONCLUSION Three key themes and trends (global premiumisation, Shiraz is still a leading wine variety and Australian Shiraz leadership) are intersecting to create an exciting evolution of Australian wine.

The discovery of cooler climate Shiraz by international consumers is a nice complement to the Australian repertoire. The history, revolution and evolution of the Australian wine story continues.

ORDER TODAY:

Visit: www.winetitles.com.au Call: +618 8369 9522 Email: orders@winetitles.com.au

2

Anything purchased for more than $1500 per tonne

Regions with a high percentage of winery-grown fruit such as Heathcote are lower in the ranks for this particular piece of analysis 3

WVJ

62

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

C H I N A

Consumption occasion affects how Chinese consumers buy wine Dr Armando Maria Corsi, Justin Cohen and Larry Lockshin, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, University of South Australia

A

bout a year ago we discussed the effect that different retail channels and consumption occasions have in modifying the importance of consumer choice factors in China (Corsi et al. 2015). The research demonstrated that consumption occasion influences what factors are important in choosing a wine more than what channel the buyer uses, particularly in a retail environment. This article expands our knowledge using the results of an experiment we conducted during the sixth wave of the China Wine Barometer, generously funded by Wine Australia, which tracks the attitudes, perceptions and behaviours of a representative sample of upper-middle class urban Chinese imported wine drinkers.

We improved our approach by focussing on external validity, making the experiment more realistic. Consumers viewed realistic sets of wine on a simulated retail shelf online.

What looks like normal bottles of wine for the participants, incorporates an elegant experimental design. Combinations of factors, such as countries of origin, grape varieties, and price points, including the most common forms in the market, were shown in different simulated shelves. Respondents chose the bottle they would buy for a specific occasion. We could then deconstruct the choices into the importance of each of the factors driving the choice of wines for each occasion.

This experiment manipulated eight product features – country of origin, price, type of closure, label design, grape varieties, presence/absence of a medal, store rating, and expert rating. Vintage, brand name, format, and alcohol content were kept constant. Respondents were asked to think about the store where they normally purchase their wines, and the occasion for which they had to buy the wine was varied between participants.

Respondents were primed to select a wine for an informal meal at home, or for celebrating a special occasion at home, or for a dinner at home with guests. These occasions were chosen based on the growth trend of at-home consumption illustrated by the China Wine Barometer. Despite not yet being a common part of most Chinese culture, the affluent sample of regular imported wine drinkers we studied exhibits this behaviour. Each respondent completed 16 different choice sets. Figure 1 provides an example of a choice set. These same choice sets were used in a different project by Williamson et al. (2016).

One-thousand and four Chinese consumers aged 18-49, who drink imported wines at least twice a year, representative of the upper-middle urban class residing in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Chongqing, completed the study. Participants were distributed evenly between the three purchase occasions: 332 completions were obtained for the informal dinner situation; 331 completions were obtained for the special occasion situation; 341 completions were obtained for the dinner at home with ▶ guests.

V3 2N 1

Figure 1. Example of choice set.

Graphic Language DESIGN

We’d love to work with you!

Visit our studio, or call us on +61 8 8232 3577

Need a label?

Crafted with over 15 years’ of design experience, select from our collection of original, ‘Ready to Wear’ wine label solutions from our online portfolio.

These designs have been specifically developed to suit a range of global markets and price points.

Ready to print — just add your wine.

communicate. collaborate. create. www.gldesign.com.au

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

63

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

C H I N A

Results show that country of origin and price are the two key choice drivers overall. Chinese consumers are mostly driven by price when buying wine for an informal dinner at home (69%), with origin also having an influence (16%). Origin is the most important factor when buying wines for dinner at home with guests or for special occasions (45% and 42% importance, respectively). Price is second (12% and 17%, respectively). Unlike the informal dinner at home, the other choice factors have some effect on choice for the other two occasions. A special occasion or hosting guests cause a wine buyer to use a more complex set of factors to make his or her choice. Closure had no effect on choice in any purchase occasion. Table 1 summarises the results.

What conclusions can be drawn from these results?

Closure type does not matter. This research further confirms the findings of Williamson et al. (2016). We feel it is like most other countries; the trade does not really understand consumers and once screwcaps were placed in the market, consumers responded positively – by not changing their purchasing. Next time a ‘marketing guru’ in China tells you to shift to cork, show them these numbers. For informal consumption occasions, pricing is dominant. A dollar – or a Chinese Yuan – is a dollar, regardless of where a wine is purchased. Your brand cannot operate in this space unless it is priced competitively.

Including medals on your wines is not a recipe for success.

Chinese consumers don’t care much about them, but Williamson et al. (2016) showed that consumer reviews do

Table 1. Product feature importance across different purchase occasions Informal dinner at home (%)

Special occasion at home (%)

Dinner with guests at home (%)

Country

16

42

45

Price

69

12

17

Closure

0

0

1

Label

1

12

5

Grape

3

8

7

Medal

1

11

6

Store rating

5

5

13

Expert rating

5

10

6

100

100

100

Product feature

Total

carry weight in China’s collectivist culture. Perhaps through education and acquisition of wine knowledge this might change, but currently there is no need. However, for a special occasion it becomes a small part of the decision. If your wine is a special occasion product, medals become a slightly more important choice factor and should be considered as part of a brand’s growth strategy.

It is interesting to see that occasion varies the influence of store and expert ratings. One can assume that most house guests will have no product knowledge. Therefore, if you want to impress upon them the quality of the wine, then showcasing the outlet it was purchased from will matter more as the guest will know a premium wine store as a brand. For celebrating a special occasion perhaps an expert rating, which might have more meaning to a regular imported wine drinker, will be more important.

The results show that occasion influences how decisions are made. By understanding the occasion for which a wine is purchased, retail staff in China should be able to make better recommendations and e-commerce platforms should develop algorithms that curate product offerings based on consumption occasion.

REFERENCES Corsi, A. M.; Lockshin, L. and Cohen, J. (2015) Wine choice drivers for Chinese wine drinkers: is it a matter of where or what for?, Wine Business Monthly, May, 24-25.

Williamson, P.; Lockshin, L.; Francis, I. L. and Mueller-Loose, S. (2016) Influencing consumer choice: Short and medium-term effect of country of origin information on wine choice, Food Quality and Preference, 51:89-99.

WVJ

64

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

W I N E

M A R K E T I N G

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

Wine’s apparent neglect of marketing

By Jonathan Cahill

The wine industry has stories in abundance and probably the greatest emotional depth of any food or drink category, making it one of the richest soils in which marketing can thrive. But, this is rarely exploited, Jonathan writes.

M

arketing is a pervasive theme in modern business and this is understandable when it is recognised what a magical effect it can sometimes have on the fortunes of a product. Unfortunately, this contribution is often obscured by it being seen by some as a sort of voodoo art, whose promotion is akin to selling snake oil.

This is often due to a perception that marketing is complicated, expensive and difficult to grasp. Much of this prejudice stems from an unclear understanding of marketing, above all by those who purport to practice it.

When using any term there needs to be a clear understanding of its meaning – that’s why there are dictionaries. With the word ‘marketing’, meaning seems to be elusive. A simple test is to ask anyone involved in marketing to give a definition of it. Often this question is met with incomprehension or garbled mantras. If someone doesn’t know what a concept means then, by a simple process of deduction, they haven’t a clue what they’re talking about. This void results in the many misapprehensions around marketing.

There are several supposed definitions of marketing. The American Marketing Association states that it is: “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large”. This gobbledygook contributes little other than confusion. It is not even a definition, in the sense of expressing the essence of the concept, rather it is merely a description. Other so-called definitions of marketing are spoken, often with little realisation as to how hollow they are. One standard cliché is that marketing involves meeting consumer needs. But if those mouthing this would reflect for a moment, they would realise that this is the province of new product development, rather than marketing.

The essence of marketing is competition,

V3 2N 1

so this needs to be part of its definition.

A more grounded definition is: “the achievement of competitive advantage through meaningful differentiation, in terms of product or perceptions, and the exploitation of this to the full.” At its core is the importance of being clear about how your product is different, particularly in terms of perceptions.

Contrary to beliefs, marketing does not need to be either complicated or expensive; often all it needs is thought and curiosity. A good example is the pilchard in the UK. This is a fish whose name was toxic, being perceived as almost in the same category as Spam luncheon meat. But it was curiosity that revealed the pilchard is a member of the sardine family, only a little larger than other varieties. So they were called

‘Cornish sardines’ – an invented name, but an accurate description.

In 1997 the average price paid to fishermen for a landed kilo of ‘pilchards’ had been £0.015 and the total annual catch was seven tonnes. By 2003 the average price paid for a kilo of ‘Cornish sardines’ – the very same fish – was £1.00, a 67 times increase in value1.

By 2008 the quantity landed was 1596 tonnes. The reality had not changed, just the perception based on a simple change of name which cost virtually nothing.

Moving on from the word ‘marketing’ there is another word, directly linked to it, which appears to confuse even more.

That is ‘brand’. Because it is a term 1 ‘Who are you calling pilchard? It’s ‘Cornish sardine’ to you...’, The Independent on Sunday, 17 August 2003.

The power of stories has been illustrated by LEGO with its Architecture line. One of the first products released in the product line was a model of the Sears (now Willis) Tower, in Chicago. As well as instructions, the kits came with a booklet giving a brief profile of the building’s architecture, the origin of the design, and the architectural features. LEGO Architecture increased the premium paid for the building blocks.

Photo: InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA (Lego Architecture 21000 - Willis Tower) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

65

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

W I N E

M A R K E T I N G

which is used frequently, it has come to be referred to as if it is a thing. In fact, it is nothing more than thoughts, being the sum of perceptions the consumer has of a particular product. Unsurprisingly, consumers’ behaviour in relation to a product is based on their thoughts, which are gathered in the concept of a brand – much like a bundle of reeds.

A good distinction is that a product is something people buy for its functional benefits, whereas a brand they buy for its emotional benefits. This emphasis on the emotions is particularly potent, as the rational basis for choice has been proven to be rather flimsy by many, such as the Nobel prize winner Daniel Kahneman.

As Alexander Segart, managing director of a Swiss PR company which had great success in political advertising, said: “We’re successful because we know how to reduce information to the lowest level, so people respond to it without thinking”.

A key basis for emotions is a relationship. Gavin Fairburn, of Leeds University, noted that, “Storytelling is central to most of human life. It is also the most startlingly simple and direct way l know of encouraging the development of empathy”. In his book Mindwise, Nicholas Epley gave more flesh to this when he

…much of the wine industry has, through neglecting the potential of marketing, become prey to price promotions and fostered a tendency to commoditisation. stated that: “You define yourself not by the attributes that make you the same as everyone else – has two arms, two legs, breathes air – but rather by the attributes which make you different from everyone else – spent time in the Peace Corps, works as a physicist, loves to go fishing, and so on.2” The wine industry has stories in abundance and has probably the greatest emotional depth of any food or drink category. Sometimes great store is put by the French term ‘terroir’. But this refers to the physical aspects of a wine, the soil, location, weather, etc which appeals to the rational side. Of much greater potential is what might be called ‘emotional terroir’: its history, those who make it and any unique anecdotes. Being emotional, these stories have an even greater pull in terms of establishing a clear differentiation than just product details. As Bill Bernbach, one of the

Suffering from a poor perception among consumers, pilchards underwent a name change in 1997 to ‘Cornish sardines’ after some market research revealed the pilchard was a member of the sardine family. The simple name change resulted in the average price paid to fishermen for a landed kilo of pilchards from £0.015 in 1997 to £1.00 by 2003.

Photo: Richard Greenwood [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bysa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

66

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

greats of advertising, said: “If they don’t feel it, nothing will happen.” But most in the wine industry fail to recognise this.

This was illustrated by a wine critic in The Observer Sunday paper in the UK. He wrote, when considering a wine, “It’s the one with the more straightforward package that gets my cash every time – the one that suggests the producer has spent their time and money on the contents rather than dreaming up an unnecessary ‘brand story’”. The crass ignorance demonstrated here is the failure to realise that a story needs only a little curiosity and it does not need ‘dreaming up’. If it comes from the wine itself, it’s already there. Also, it is difficult to understand why something which can have such competitive leverage should be deemed ‘unnecessary’. Ironically, this disdain was immediately contradicted the next week when he focussed his review of a wine on the fact that it was from a small producer who made it as a sideline. He talked about it being an example of ‘littleguy revenge stories’.

Such blinkered prejudice in the face of anything which might smack of marketing indicates how much of the wine industry has, through neglecting the potential of marketing, become prey to price promotions and fostered a tendency to commoditisation. Shoppers aren’t naive, regular sales promotions encourage them to wait for the next sale rather than purchase a product at full price. The inevitable outcome is that the consumer is educated to buy whatever is being promoted, rather than purchase a wine in terms of its individual merits.

The power of stories was illustrated

by LEGO in its Architecture line. This was originated by a Chicago architect who built skyscrapers made with LEGO. The first example was a model of the Sears (now Willis) Tower, in Chicago. As well as instructions, a booklet came with the bricks which had a brief profile of the 2

Nichols Epley, Mindwise, Allen Lane, 2014, p.126

David Robertson and Bill Breen, Brick by Brick, Random House, 2013: p.205 3

V32N1

W I N E

building’s architect, the origin of the design, and the architectural features.

The inventor explained that: “l wanted to tell a story, not just sell a box of bricks.3” LEGO bricks were already twice the price of equivalent bricks although any manufacturer could make them, the last patent having expired in 1989. But LEGO Architecture increased this premium, thanks to the clear differentiation through the stories. A box of 70 normal LEGO bricks sold for $7.99, whereas an Architecture box, containing the same number of the same standard bricks, sold at $19.99. Since the line’s launch in 2008 the sales increased by 900 per cent in 2009, 350 per cent in 2010 and 200 per cent in 2011. A LEGO executive described the range as “very, very profitable.”

Wine too can be very, very profitable. In 2011 Cheval Blanc was reported to have made profits of €14 million on sales of €22 million and Chateau Lafite Rothschild made €70.2 million on a turnover of €80.8 million4. Yet, their ability to command the prices which produced such profits was not based on rational factors alone, but rather on the perceptions of the consumer. The power of what were, effectively, brands.

The role of perceptions, even in terms of Bordeaux, was shown by Frederic Brochet. He served 57 French wine experts with two identical mid-range Bordeaux wines, one in an expensive Grand Cru bottle the other in a cheap Vin de Table bottle. The wine in the expensive bottle was preferred by a large majority. They used positive terms such as ‘excellent’, ‘complex’, ‘good’ and ‘long’ more than twice as often when describing this wine as opposed to when they talked about the wine in the cheap bottle. For the latter wine they used negative terms such as ‘unbalanced’, ‘short’, ‘flat’ and ‘simple’ more than twice as often. Yet it was exactly the same wine5.

This is a clear illustration of how perceptions rather than reality can influence choice and further emphasises the potency of having a firm position in the consumers’ perceptions. These are neatly summarised in the term ‘brand’.

This is the reality of human behaviour, yet the industry insists on believing that 4

The Times, 9 June 2011

Robin Goldstein and Alexis Herschkowitsch, The Wine Trials, Fearless Critic Media, 2008 5

6

The Times, 13 August 2011.

V3 2N 1

M A R K E T I N G

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

An example of a recent Hardy’s advertising campaign in the UK which depicted so-called heirloom items, such as a pair of secateurs. As the items appeared to be props the advertisements lacked authenticity which may have failed to strike a chord with consumers. only focus on physical characteristics can establish differentiation. In terms of taste - a largely subjective phenomenon - descriptions appear to be a semantic challenge as to how intricately the writer can describe it. Unfortunately, the average consumer has little idea as to what they are talking about, and cares even less.

In terms of marketing success Australia has succeeded more than most. Yet, this has stemmed more from simple powerful insights, such as the triumph of YellowTail in the US through spotting the gap for mid-priced wines, rather than careful maintenance of a distinctive positioning over time.

Australian wine in the UK has been one of the most heavily price promoted. In contrast New Zealand wine has been able to maintain a substantial premium over the average price. An example of detailed care was Lanson Champagne, which found a position by making the brand personal to the consumer, suggesting that people create their own ‘Champagne Moment’, which reflected the special occasion aspect of Champagne. Lanson outperformed the market by 32 per cent and had an increase in prices of 10 per cent above it. Turnover exceeded projections by £10 million.

In terms of advertising, there was the recent attractive campaign for Hardy’s.

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

Unfortunately this suffered from a failing, which was identified by Simon Beaufoy, the screenwriter of Slumdog Millionaire.

He noted that, “Authenticity is the most important word for me in screenwriting.

You can smell it a mile off, and you can smell the absence of it a mile off6”. The Hardy’s campaign tapped into emotional terroir when it showed a notebook and a pair of secateurs as evidence of heritage.

“Some families hand down watches” was the headline for one – an in-joke about the advertising for Patek Phillippe beyond most consumers. But these items appeared to be props rather than the actual heirlooms, a lack of authenticity which could produce consumer dissonance, as Beaufoy pointed out.

Wine provides one of the richest soils in which marketing can thrive. The reason that this seldom seems to be recognised and fully exploited is hopefully understood by those within the industry, but it is difficult for those outside to fathom.

Jonathan Cahill has many years’ experience in advertising, research and marketing both in the UK and overseas.

He has written two books on marketing, ‘Igniting the Brand – Strategies that have Shot Brands to Success’ and ‘Marketing Rethink – Reassessing the Roots, Practice and Diversions of Marketing’.

WVJ

www.winetitles. com . au

67

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

W I N E

O N

TA P

Wine consumers’, restaurants’, and wineries’ perspectives of wine on tap An examination of a current trend

By Michaela Nuebling and Carl Behnke, School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America

In many areas, innovation research suggests people prefer the status quo and hesitate to embrace new products and approaches. In an article published in the July-Augst 2015 issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal, the authors discussed a research study that explored New Zealand wine consumers’ attitude toward a recent wine packaging innovation, ine on tap (‘Wine on tap – an innovation for younger generations’). In that article, it was shown that consumers attributed significantly greater value and freshness to wine from bottles sealed with screw caps (status quo) compared with wine dispensed from small stainless steel kegs (wine on tap). In the following article the authors offer additional insights into the consumer perspective of wine on tap as well as exploring the viewpoints of restaurant operators and wineries.

S

ince 2009, in countries like the United States and New Zealand, restaurant and bar patrons seeking a glass of wine have encountered wine on tap (Asimov 2009; Krause 2012; Romano 2016). Wine on tap, alternatively known as kegged wine, is dispensed from a keg (e.g.

19.5L stainless steel kegs) pressurised by a mixture of inert gases (Nuebling and Behnke 2015, Pregler 2013). The idea of dispensing wine from a large container into carafes or jugs has been commonplace in Old World countries, such as Italy, for decades (Goode and Harrop 2011); however, has been met with mixed reactions in New World countries. Although the idea is not entirely new, the quality of wine on tap available today seems significantly better than the wine used in early trials conducted, for example, by Anheuser Busch in the 1970s. Since then, the wine, types of kegs, and filling, cleaning, and dispensing equipment have been upgraded (Neal and Gunn 2011). Due to wine kegging specialists’ efforts (e.g. Free Flow Wines, the Gotham Project, Fresh Tap) and openminded restaurateurs, almost 4000 USbased food and beverage establishments now serve wine on tap (Romano 2016).

This resurgence of wine on tap in the US offers a unique opportunity to observe how an innovative approach is perceived by the various stakeholders, such as wine consumers, restaurant operations, and wineries.

Innovation research and everyday marketplace observations suggest that

68

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

some novelties are embraced faster than others, while some products never make it. Astoundingly, between 40% and 90% of newly-introduced products fail (Gourville 2006). One of the wine industries’ recent and most well-known innovations, screwcap closures, struggled in the beginning and took years to gain wide acceptance (Atkin et al. 2006).

Advocates of wine on tap suggest that it represents the future of wine by the glass due to characteristics of freshness and waste elimination (Romano 2016).

However, industry sources also report marketplace reluctance (Romano 2016, Salins 2014). Some believe this hesitation will eventually be overcome, while others are less optimistic. The framework of innovation diffusion research (Rogers 1962, 2003) suggests that the rate of adoption depends on various factors.

According to Rogers, one of the most important elements is perception, not only the perception of those producing and promoting the novelty but more importantly, the perceived relative advantage for those using it.

Research studies across disciplines have confirmed that people judge alternative (innovative) options based on their perceived value relative to a known product (status quo). In other words, while perception is important it has to be examined within context of alternative options (Kahneman and Tversky 1979, 1984). In the case of wine on tap, this means that the benefits derived from wine dispensed from a stainless steel

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

keg are evaluated in comparison with wine dispensed from a glass bottle; perceived improvements are treated as gains while deficiencies are considered losses. The bottom line though, is that the losses count more substantially than the perceived gains. In other words, individuals are highly sensible and afraid to give up what they are used to, hence they cling to the status quo (Gourville 2006). This phenomenon is also known as status quo bias (Samuelson and Zeckhauser 1988). Looking back to the diffusion of screwcap closures in the wine industry, the aforementioned explanations of human behaviour seem to apply to how wine innovations spread today. Engaging in innovation adoption, by any stakeholder, encompasses trade-offs and requires, at times, significant behavioural changes (Gourville 2006). For consumers, it appears reasonable that those who know 750mL glass bottles with cork closures as the status quo of quality wine would be more significantly affected by status quo bias. For winemakers, restaurateurs, and consumers alike the question becomes: Do the perceived benefits of wine on tap outweigh the status quo?

To answer this question and to learn more about consumers’, restaurateurs’, and winemakers’ experiences with wine on tap, a study was conducted in the US wine and food service industry. Data, in the form of self-administered surveys, was collected.

CONSUMERS IN RESTAURANTS AND BARS

V32N1

W I N E

Approximately 150 surveys were collected from people between the ages of 21 and 75 years (average age 38 years), who live in one of 18 US states and dine out somewhat frequently.

Largely, the participants were welleducated Caucasian females, who drink wine at least somewhat frequently when dining out. About half of the participants had never heard of wine on tap before.

Among the other half, roughly 25% had heard or read about it but never tried it, while 43 (approximately 29%) people had consumed wine on tap within the past 12 months.

Prior to answering the questionnaire, the participants saw a photo of a glass of red wine being dispensed and read a brief description: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wine-on-tap is wine dispensed from a keg which is pressurised

by CO2, nitrogen, argon, or a mixture thereof. The size of a keg can vary; often 5 gallon stainless steel kegs are used. In restaurants and bars in the United States, wine-on-tap may also be advertised as cask wine, draft wine, or wine from a keg or a barrel.â&#x20AC;? Most of the consumers who had previously tried wine on tap seemed to have had a pleasant experience (Figure 1) as they expressed interest in ordering it again.

It was indicated that a complimentary sample, prior to committing to a purchase, was much appreciated. People who had tried wine on tap paid an average of about US$10 per glass of wine. Furthermore, analysis of their perceptions suggested that they understand its wine preservation and waste reduction benefits and considered it appropriate for any type of establishment, including fine dining restaurants.

Surprisingly, even those who, after reading the brief description, indicated they had never heard about wine on tap, were open and interested in trying it (see Figure 2). Among those, unavailability was the most frequently mentioned reason for not having tried it yet.

This finding was somewhat surprising as previous research (for example, Atkin et al. 2006, Nuebling and Behnke 2015) suggested consumer hesitation toward wine packaging innovations. Nonetheless, some skepticism emerged across all participants in regard to willingness to pay. Consumers expected to pay slightly less for wine on tap compared with wine dispensed from bottles (see Figure 3). However, there was no significant

V3 2N 1

O N

TA P

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

Figure 1. Likelihood to drink wine on tap again.

Figure 2. Likelihood to try wine on tap of those who were unaware of it.

Figure 3. Willingness to pay for wines by the glass. difference between the two consumer groups when it came to what they expected to pay for a traditionally poured red (US$11.49) or white (US$10.26) wine by the glass.

Interestingly, for consumers who previously tried wine on tap, the difference in willingness to pay was not significant, however, among those who had never tasted kegged wine

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

before, the expectation to pay less was significant. At this point, it is unclear whether the difference is influenced by price paid by kegged wine consumers for the glass of wine, the type/variety/ brand of wine on tap, how much information they received, or where they tried it.

Another interesting difference between those who tried wine on tap

www.winetitles. com . au

69

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

W I N E

O N

TA P

Figure 4. Restaurant patrons’ satisfaction with wine on tap.

wine on tap or wine from a keg, charging about US$10 per glass while asking between US$11 and US$12 for wines poured from bottles, on average. In line with the consumer findings, the operators indicated that their patrons were satisfied with the wines offered on tap (see Figure 4), which represented about 40% of their total wine sales.

Unsurprisingly, most operators serving wine on tap also offer draft beer. Temperature controlled directdraw systems with 19.5L stainless steel kegs (Figure 5) and Guinness gas (75% nitrogen/25% CO2) is the preferred method of implementation, according to the data.

Overall, the most frequently mentioned post-implementation benefits were improved wine quality preservation, waste management, and improved profit margins. On the other hand, infrastructure, maintenance, availability, variety, and logistics were the most frequently mentioned concerns associated with the adoption of wine on tap. Aside from underlying perceptional bias, for restaurants, the implementation of some innovations (e.g. screwcapped bottles) was operationally easier than others, such as draft wine, which requires at minimum the installation or modification of a kegerator.

Still, as far as promoting the idea of wine on tap to consumers is concerned, restaurant operators represent the gatekeepers. To enable these gatekeepers seems to be in the best interest of another stakeholder: the winery.

before and those who did not was observed; those who hadn’t had the chance to try it perceived wine on tap as unsuitable for upscale and fine dining establishments. Between this and the price expectation, it appears that those who had not tried wine on tap were somewhat biased against it.

Considering the promoted attributes of wine on tap (see, for example, Pregler 2013, Romano 2016), particularly its freshness and its availability in upscale hotels and restaurants, the perceptional gap between producers and consumers seems surprising. However, according to innovation research, that is not an unusual phenomenon. Gourville (2006) suggested that consumers often unrealistically perceive known products and approaches more positively than novel ones. In other words, an innate psychological barrier could adversely impact the perception of wine on tap. In the case of kegged wine, end-consumers like restaurant patrons are not the only ‘consumer’.

First and foremost, wineries must buy into this idea and restaurant owners and operators must implement a kegging system for it to become generally available. And, according to Gourville (2006), bias does not only affect consumers. The producers and promoters of an innovation are just as likely overestimate the benefits of their novel products compared with the advantages of existing products. From the perspective of restaurant owners and operators, embracing kegged wine comes with advantages and costs but, ultimately, most consumers seem to be open to the concept and enjoy it when they have a chance to experience it.

In order to understand the perspective of restaurant manager, approximately 50 surveys were collected from US restaurants. The food service industry respondents were mostly male, between the ages of 23 and 60, with about 15 years of industry experience. They owned or operated establishments across a wide range of categories ranging from casual to fine dining, across 19 states. Most of them had at least some wine-related education (e.g. certifications awarded by the Court of Master Sommeliers, Wine and Spirits Education Trust, or Society of Wine Educators). Industry-wide the idea of kegged wine seemed to have spread widely as only three participants had never heard or read about it. Eighteen of the surveyed establishments indicated that they offered wine on tap.

Most often, the establishments promoted their kegged wine offering as

RESTAURANT OWNERS AND OPERATORS

Figure 5. 19.5L stainless steel keg eliminates 26 bottles, labels, and corks. Photo courtesy of Fresh Tap.

70

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

W I N E

O N

TA P

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

WINERY OWNERS AND WINEMAKERS Winery owners and winery staff (Figure 6) surveyed for this study (approximately 140 surveys) were located predominantly in California, were 49 years of age with about 17 years of industry experience. The participants had attended the 2014 Unified Wine and Grape Symposium, in California, from which contact information was purchased in order to distribute the questionnaire. Again, the idea of kegged wine was well-known as only five participants had never heard of the trend before.

About half of the surveyed wineries were currently kegging wine. They indicated that it comprises an average of about 9% of their total annual production. The majority of wineries considered their wine to be premium quality, ranging from US$11 to above US$50 per bottle (retail). On average, the wineries sell a keg of white wine for US$174 (with a maximum of US$433/ keg) and a keg of red wine for US$225 (with a maximum of US$600/keg) and over 80% are using 19.5L stainless steel kegs which hold about 26 bottles (750ml) of wine. Nineteen participants indicated that they use a third party kegging specialist, whereas the others keg their wine directly at their winery. The most popular varieties used for kegged wine, partly due to the location of the wineries in California, are Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir. The majority of the wineries use the same brand name for their kegged wine as for their bottled wine, although some (n=6) expressed concern about the potential impact on their reputation and decided to brand their kegged wine differently. Divergence also emerged in regard to the proper handling of the wine prior to filling the kegs; 25% of winemakers with kegging experience indicated a need to treat kegged wine differently than bottled wine in regards to additions, stabilisation, and filtration.

Waste management, sales volume, and wine quality preservation were the main improvements experienced by wineries after the implementation of kegged wine; whereas, restaurant operators’ increasing demand and the desire to assume a competitive edge were winemakers’ reasons to adopt this innovative packaging approach.

V3 2N 1

Figure 6. Positions of wine industry participants.

Among the biggest obstacles to overcome prior to implementation were logistics, winery and restaurant infrastructure, cost of equipment and kegs as well as keg cleaning and sanitation.

In summary, while food service and wine industry representatives are well aware of kegged wine, the majority of consumers have not yet heard of, or experienced, wine on tap at the time of data collection. That said, they clearly expressed openness to the concept and appreciation of its possible benefits; however, lack of availability was frequently mentioned.

This potentially affects its diffusion as it diminishes the chance that consumers will request kegged wine while dining out. Additionally, the perception and willingness to pay of those who have not yet tried it suggests that benefits may not be as obvious to the average consumer as they need to be to create demand. For consumers, the aforementioned status quo bias might result in an adoption barrier.

Similar to consumers, restaurant operators and wineries struggle with evaluating alternatives, especially when the true advantages of an innovation are unclear. In situations of doubt, people stick to status quo, particularly when the benefits of changing are uncertain.

Therefore, benefits of kegged wine need to be clearly established, stated, and communicated to trade representatives and professionals in the wine and food service industries, so that the existing curiosity of consumers, who like to try new things, can be leveraged for the successful diffusion of wine on tap.

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

REFERENCES Asimov, E. (2009) On tap? How about Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. The New York Times. Online edition, viewed on 29 June 2016 http://www.nytimes. com/2009/04/08/dining/08pour.html?pagewanted=all Atkin, T.; Garcia, R. and Lockshin, L. (2006) A multinational study of the diffusion of a discontinuous innovation. Australasian Marketing Journal 14(2):1730.

Goode, J. and Harrop, S. (2011) Authentic wine: toward natural and sustainable winemaking, Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.

Gourville, J. T. (2006) Eager sellers, stony buyers, Harvard Business Review. Online edition, viewed on 28 June 2016 http://web.mit.edu/mamd/www/tech_strat/ courseMaterial/topics/topic4/readings/Eager_Sellers_ and_Stony_Buyers/Eager_Sellers_and_Stony_Buyers. pdf/Eager_Sellers_and_Stony_Buyers.pdf Kahneman, D. and Tversky, A. (1979) Prospect theory: an analysis of decision under risk. Journal of the Econometric Society 263-291.

Kahneman, D. and Tversky, A. (1984) Choices, values and frames. American Psychologist 39: 341350.

Krause, N. (2012) Keg wine making a comeback.

Stuff Magazine. Online edition, viewed on 29 June 2016 http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/6615488/ Keg-wine-making-a-comeback Neal, J. and Gunn, J. (2011) Sankey brings back wine-on-tap. Wine Industry Insight. Online, viewed on 29 June 2016 http://www.micromatic.com/Templates/ static/images/10127/01032-D0511%20Wine%20 On%20Tap%20-%20Internet%20Article%20Reprint.pdf Nuebling, M. and Behnke, C. (2015) Wine on tap – an innovation for younger generations? Wine & Viticulture Journal 30(4):69-71.

Pregler, B. (2013) Wine kegs: a successful wineby-the-glass program is a successful keg program.

Wine Business Monthly 54-63.

Rogers, E.M. (1962) Diffusion of innovations. New York, NY: Free Press.

Rogers, E.M. (2003) Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.

Romano, R. (2016) Tapping the potential of wine in kegs. Wine Spectator. Online edition, viewed on 29 June 2016 http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/ show/id/52695 Salins, C. (2014) Tapping into kegged wine.

Hospitality Magazine. Online edition, viewed on 28 June 2016 http://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au/ beverage/tapping-into-kegged-wine Samuelson, W. and Zeckhauser, R. (1988) Status quo bias in decision making. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 1:7-59.

WVJ

www.winetitles. com . au

71

VA R I E TA L R E P O R T

Flying the flag for Australian Fiano While the panellists for our recent Fiano tasting agreed the Coriole entry was among the top wines in the line-up (see page 76 for full results), they were somewhat divided on which of the other wines were also standouts. So, we decided to average the panellistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; scores for each wine to identify the other toprated wines in the tasting and approached the wineries for the following background information on their production.

MARK LLOYD, MANAGER CORIOLE MCLAREN VALE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Wine: Coriole 2016 Fiano (RRP$25/bottle)

VITICULTURE Coriole first planted Fiano in 2002 and had the first Australian varietal wine on the market with the 2005 vintage. We had visited Italy to look for an Italian white variety that was naturally acclimatised to the south of Italy. Fiano easily made the biggest impression. South Australian Vine Improvement Inc (SAVII) was extremely helpful in sourcing vines from its collection as no vineyard existed at that time.

Chalmers Nursery was importing planting material at the same time.

Fiano was a significant wine in Ancient Roman times. However, I suspect that its low yields compared with other local varieties may explain why this variety almost died out altogether in Italy last century. One company in Campania claims to have had the last vine and, therefore, saved the variety from extinction. If this was the case then it does emphasise the significance of the revival of Fiano. Sales of Fiano from Italy have grown significantly in the UK and the US in the last decade.

VITICULTURE Corioleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fiano is sourced from five different vineyards: two estate vineyards in the northerly Seaview sub-region of McLaren Vale, and three vineyards in other areas of the region.

All vineyards are at around 100-200 metres above sea-level. Some vineyards are planted with the SAVII 01 clone, which was imported into the country in the mid 1970s by the CSIRO. Others are a VCR clone sourced from Binjara Vine Nursery.

The vineyards are on a range of soils from terra rossa to sandy loams over clay, to deep alluvial clays. Some vineyards are in deep, well-protected soils while others

72

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

Duncan (left) and Mark Lloyd in the first Fiano vineyard planted in Australia at Coriole in McLaren Vale. are on slopes prone to the persistent, prevailing south-easterly winds. The vineyards are mainly on their own roots with one grafted to Shiraz and another on Paulsen. The combined area of the Fiano plantings, which range from five to 14 years old, is about 4ha.

Pruning styles are mainly spur with canes to give about 40-50 buds per vine.

Most of the vineyards have foliage wires.

This is important as foliage can be broken in windy conditions.

Bunches are sparsely populated with small, thick-skinned berries. Yield is around 7-10 tonnes per hectare.

Drip irrigation is applied as required with either bore water or a blend of bore and recycled water to around 0.6-0.8 megalitres per hectare. Rainfall in McLaren Vale has an average range of 550-650mm per annum.

Most vineyards are partly cultivated in the mid row. This year there is one trial with a rolled cover crop. There are intermittent applications of mulch undervine as required to boost selected rows in shallow soils.

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

Powdery mildew is a risk in prone areas. Botrytis is not an issue with such open bunches and thick skins.

Several vineyards are managed with no herbicide use. A second crop can be an issue in more vigorous sites.

A typical analysis of the Fiano at harvest: Baume 13 Totally acidity 8.0 pH 3.2 At harvest we look for fruit in good condition with not too much sun exposure. Fruit is usually picked with no requirements for any additions.

WINEMAKING Most commonly, fruit is machine harvested destemmed and pressed. We have moved away from whole bunch pressing as we are happy to embrace the phenolic characteristic of the variety.

Fermentation is in stainless steel with a variety of yeasts. A small proportion may ferment in oak.

V32N1

VA R I E TA L R E P O R T

MARKETING Fiano is rapidly gaining recognition and bottlings are expanding. Last year in the McLaren Vale Wine Show the Fiano class had 10 entries, making it one of the most popular white varietal classes.

At cellar door level Fiano has great appeal. It has an easy name and distinctive style with good intensity and pleasing phenolic texture.

At Coriole, Fiano is marketed as part of our ‘new Australian varieties’.

It is particularly offered as a pair with Sangiovese, which Coriole has helped develop and pioneer in this country.

Coriole Fiano is sold in domestic markets. It has particular appeal to the on-premise sector. Small quantities are exported to several countries.

the 8500 vines were individually hand watered several times a year to ensure their survival in stony soil during a savage drought - a mammoth job!

To increase complexity in the wines, all vines are grafted onto various drought-resistant rootstocks and, where possible, a mixture of clones for each variety grown creating many flowering periods and staggered maturing and ripening dates. We were aware that such a mix of clones and rootstocks would considerably increase labour in a very small (7 acres) vineyard involving a majority of handwork. The hope of creating sophisticated and complex finished wines was tempting enough to tolerate the increased work.

The rows in the vineyard are 2.5m wide with five vines to each bay at a ▶ spacing of 1.2m.

Mark and Helen Lewis, of Cocozza Estate, overlooking the Italian mountain birthplace of Mark’s grandfather Giovanni Cocozza.

MARK, HELEN AND PAUL LEWIS, DIRECTORS COCOZZA SINGLE ESTATE, CENTRAL VICTORIA Wine: 2015 Green Man Fiano (RRP$33.00/bottle)

VITICULTURE As a tribute to Mark’s southern Italian Cocozza ancestry, we dedicated our vineyard exclusively to Italian varieties.

Our vineyard was established in 2004 on a greenfield site on the western foothills of Mount Samaria, which overlooks the large Lake Nillahcootie, midway between Mansfield and Benalla.

The vineyard is between 260m and 300m above sea level with a 12 degree slope from east to west. The elevation and slope minimise any potential frost problems.

The major influences on the vineyard’s micro-climate are the south-westerly breezes across the lake, the northerly breezes through the wide north/south valley, and good rainfall averaging between 750mm and 1000mm annually.

The nights are often very cold.

The sedimentary profile of the vineyard comprises a stony, gravelly loam over permeable clay above fractured bedrock. There is no irrigation on the vineyard which is managed according to biodynamic principles (not certified) and receives an organic prescription-blend, quality fertiliser about every four years.

For the first five years of the vineyard,

V3 2N 1

Cocozza Estate’s Green Man Fiano harvesting team.

Mark Lewis with some freshly-harvested Fiano.

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

73

VA R I E TA L R E P O R T

The Fiano is grown on a northoriented, single cordon on a vertical trellis, although cane pruning is being seriously considered.

The VCR3 clone was planted on two rootstocks: half on P1103 and the other half on R110.

Shoot thinning and fruit removal to approximately 2.5kg or less per vine is standard procedure.

In 2016, all vines including the Fiano were pruned in the last week of August to two bud spurs. Fiano comprises medium sized loose bunches and are quite prolific.

We have been members of Biodynamic Agriculture Australia for about 13 years.

Biodynamic 500 is sprayed several times a year. Liquid manure, including seaweed, is also applied. Every three to four years a helping hand of blood and bone is applied to each vine.

The canopy is sometimes sprayed with Casuarina tea and, for downy and powdery mildew minimalisation, only organic products and copper are used as a preventative.

We have been members of Land for Wildlife for about 12 years. The surrounding state forest adjoining our east and southern boundaries and the 2002 planted indigenous vegetation corridors also contribute to a more benign influence on the vineyard. The increase and abundance of activity of beneficial insects is evident.

All grapes are hand-picked by our reliable and skilled international team without whom we would have difficulty in harvesting and transporting the fruit quickly to the off-site winery.

with minimal fining and filtration taking place before bottling.

The 2015 Fiano vintage produced 145 dozen bottles.

MARKETING Although these exciting premium quality Italian wines are just emerging in the Australian market, they are famous in Europe with an enthusiastic following.

Our Fiano, as with all Green Man Single Estate wines, have complexity, long ageing potential, fragrance and savoury nuances ideally suited to a wide range of foods. The 2015 wine is due for release in the first half of 2017.

JUDY AND GLEN KELLY, PROPRIETORS ARTWINE CLARE VALLEY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Wine: Artwine 2016 Wicked Stepmother Fiano (RRP$25.00/bottle)

VITICULTURE Our vineyard is located on Springfarm Road, approximately five kilometres south-east of Clare, at 450 metres above sea level. The area where the Fiano vines are planted is relatively flat. Soils are a deep red loam. Daytime temperatures during the growing season are typically range from around 15°C to up to 40°C on occasions.

While the site is not frost prone, winds can be very strong at times. We have found Fiano to be very brittle and wind sensitive. A large amount of shoot loss will

happen if they are not lifted before winds occur. This applies to both new vines and also older, well-established vines. We use one permanent catch wire at 300mm and one set of lifting wires. It is critical to lift the wires early and a few times to get the full height of the Fiano to protect them from wind damage.

In 2009 we planted 0.6 hectares of Fiano and a further 2.4ha in 2012. Both plantings were of the clone SAVII01 on Ramsay rootstock. At this stage the grapes are ripening at slightly different times. In 2016 the original block was picked on 11 March whereas the new block was earlier, picked on 19 February. Wines from the two blocks were then blended.

The vines are grown on a VSP trellis with 3.0m row width and 2.0m vine spacing. All rows have an east-west orientation to minimise sunburn. We have not found it necessary to shoot or bunch thin this variety.

The vines are reliant on in-line drip irrigation, with water being sourced from the (SA Water) Clare Valley Water scheme.

In the 2016 vintage, there was very little rain between August and January, so the vines were watered via irrigation during that time, starting in early October.

Significant rains arrived in mid-January resulting in crops filling out without the need for further irrigation.

Mid rows are sown annually to triticale at 150kg/ha, vetch at 50kg/ha and 100kg of MAP fertiliser. The crop is mown late with a front-mounted disc mower and left as thick mulch in the mid row where it lays for 12 months.

WINEMAKING Our 2015 Green Man Fiano was made

by Simon Steele in a traditional, handsoff style. The fruit was hand-picked on 15 February at 13 Baume.

On arrival at the off-site winery the fruit was placed overnight in the cool room. The next morning it was whole bunch pressed to tank at 7-10°C. The cloudy juice was then transferred into used French barriques for wild fermentation.

Once fermentation was complete the wine was sulfured before any malolactic fermentation took place.

After seven months in oak the wine was assembled in tanks where it stayed for a further two months on light lees,

74

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

Artwine proprietors Judy and Glen Kelly.

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

VA R I E TA L R E P O R T

Artwine’s Glen Kelly (left) with vineyard manager Dick Bryksy.

The vines are machine pre-pruned by Kirribilly Viticulture and then cleaned up by hand to around 40 buds using two-spur buds with some doubles.

We find that Fiano is sensitive to powdery mildew so it is critical to keep the sprays up. Other pests such as light brown apple moth don’t seem to be an issue as bunches are long and open with space between mature berries. We also find that close to harvest, the variety is resilient to rain, splitting or botrytis. In our experience minimal splitting has occurred when other varieties on the same site have split and/or contracted botrytis.

The average yield of the two blocks of Fiano in 2016 was 11.6 tonnes per hectare (this was the first year that both blocks were fully producing).

WINEMAKING Grapes are harvested when the varietal characteristic flavours of five spice, white peach and honeydew melon develop, which is approximately at 12.0-12.5 Baume, and the grapes start to display a slight bronzy colour.

The fruit is machine harvested and processed at Wine Wise Consulting, at Nuriootpa, in the Barossa Valley.

Approximately four hours of skin contact occurs before pressing.

Pressings and free run juice are combined and fined before cold settling for 48 hours. Juice is then racked off the lees and allowed to warm to 14°C before yeast inoculation.

Cool fermentation in stainless steel tanks for 14 days before the ferment is stopped at the preferred dryness and flavour. The wine is then chilled to 5°C and allowed to sit on yeast lees for

V3 2N 1

Fiano in the Artwine vineyard in the Clare Valley ahead of the 2017 vintage.

approximately three to four weeks before heat and cold stabilisation. A further fining trial is made before filtration and bottling.

Fiano tends to develop textural qualities and pallet weight over time so it is important to get the correct flavour and acid balance before bottling or the wines can appear to develop too quickly.

The winemaking practice has remained consistent since our first vintage in 2012.

WINEMAKING

MARKETING

MARKETING

Fiano has become Artwine’s flagship white wine and is marketed as a food friendly, easy drinking style wine. We have found that this is an easy white wine to sell that is fast becoming a consumer favourite.

Customers are searching for different wine varieties to try and are readily embracing Fiano.

We sell through our distributors nationally, mostly via on-premise venues, and export to Singapore.

The Ink Series Fiano is classified as a mid-level wine at its price point. It is sold on-premise through the cellar door as well as selected restaurants across South Australia. It is a popular range.

WVJ

The fruit was harvested by machine in early morning hours and delivered to the winery before sunrise, keeping berries fresh and cool. Crushing and destemming commenced immediately after the arrival of the fruit. Berries were pressed using VELO pneumatic presses. Fermentation occured at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks to ensure varietal character and profile, therefore, oak is not added.

SHAWNA DOMINELLI, WINEMAKER, AND SALENA FRANCHITTO, SALES AND MARKETING EXECUTIVE SALENA ESTATE WINES, RIVERLAND, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Wine: Salena Estate 2015 Ink Series Fiano (RRP$20.00/bottle)

VITICULTURE The grapes for our Fiano were sourced from a grower in Waikerie, South Australia. Aromas with a honeyed, floral nose and distinct palate qualities of spice, honey and a slight hazelnut overtone are desirable.

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

Salena Estate’s sales and marketing executive Salena Franchitto.

www.winetitles. com . au

75

VA R I E TA L R E P O R T

The bitter truth about Australian Fiano The Wine & Viticulture Journal last tasted Fiano in 2012, when there was barely 20 wineries making Fiano in Australia. Today, the Journal’s sister publication, the Wine Industry Directory, lists just over 70 wineries that are crushing the Italian white variety. Our tasting provided a snapshot of how Australian producers are interpreting the variety five years on.

T

hirty-four Fianos representing five states, 13 wine regions and 30 wineries were involved in our latest tasting of the variety. Illustrating how much the variety has grown in popularity in Australia over the last five years, this compared with three states, nine regions and 17 wineries represented in our 2012 tasting.

As in our last tasting, the 34 Fianos in the recent line-up generally comprised two different styles: savoury and generous made with the use of winemaking enhancements such as oak or solids work, and more primary styles.

All three panellists - Corrina Wright, winemaker for Olivers Taranga, in McLaren Vale; Mark Lloyd, manager for Coriole, also in McLaren Vale; and Shavaughn Wells, winemaker for Saltram based in the Barossa Valley – agreed they expected to see more racy acidity represented in the line-up.

“Fiano is renowned for its mouthwatering acidity,” Wright said. “I didn’t make that observation in as many of them as I thought I would.”

“We are always waiting for TAs to drop in our Fiano,” Wells noted. “Fiano has this natural zingy acidity – I expected to see more wines with that acidity in this line-up.”

Lloyd added that the 2015 Fianos in the tasting tended to have higher acid than the 2016s, with Wright suggesting this may be due to the grape dehydration experienced in 2015 compared with 2016.

Wright also commented on the bitterness noted in some of the wines.

“I don’t regard bitterness as a negative in Fiano whereas you wouldn’t be talking about it with a Riesling or Semillon, for example. The bitterness you can get in Fiano is like the bitterness you get in beer – it cleans up the back palate,” she said.

“All those things we like about Fiano in terms of its natural texture were represented in this tasting,” Lloyd said.

“Because of that phenolic character Fiano isn’t just a seafood wine; it goes well with lots of meats and other rich foods.”

76

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

Plantings of Fiano in Australia from the 2015 Australian Bureau of Statistics Vineyard Survey Variety

Fiano (ha)

Attribute

Total area hectares

New South Wales

40.54

Hunter

1.24

Our Fiano tasting panellists (from left) Shavaughn Wells, winemaker for Saltram; Corrina Wright, winemaker and director for Olivers Taranga; and Mark Lloyd, manager for Coriole.

Murray Darling - NSW

34.8

Riverina

4.5

Queensland

1.74

Granite Belt

1.43

Added Wells, “As someone who primarily makes reds I like the phenolics in Fiano. The exciting part of the variety is its palate texture and the tension that you can get.”

With three wines in the tasting from the 2012, 2013 and 2014 vintages, the panel discussed their views on the ageability of Australian Fiano.

Coriole pioneered Fiano in Australia, releasing its first wine in 2005. “We had a tasting of every Fiano we’ve made a couple of years ago which made us question why you would drink an aged Fiano, whereas varieties like Chenin Blanc and Semillon from five to 10 years ago are wonderful to look back on,” Lloyd said. “Varieties like that are much lighter in their phenolic texture to start with but show development over time. Fiano, on the other hand, is more phenolic and richer from the outset.”

Wells contrasted, “We recently did a back vintage tasting of our Fiano against our Semillon and I was happier with how the Fiano was going. We’ve only been producing Fiano since 2010 so we only have six vintages to look back on. Fiano is a wine to drink now but as it does have those natural phenolics, perhaps once we grow more familiar with it in our vineyards and work out where we can take it there might be an opportunity to market aged styles.”

Queensland - other

0.31

WVJ

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

South Australia

46.28

Adelaide Hills

6.43

Adelaide Plains

0.1

Barossa Valley

4.89

Clare Valley

11.04

Kangaroo Island

1

Langhorne Creek

7.39

McLaren Vale

5.98

Riverland

9.45

Victoria

14.72

Alpine Valleys

0.57

Bendigo

1.23

Heathcote

2.75

King Valley

4.89

Mornington Peninsula

1.83

Murray Darling - VIC

2.91

Rutherglen

0.43

Yarra Valley

0.11

Western Australia

7.89

Blackwood Valley

1.11

entral Western C Australia

0.32

Geographe

0.54

Great Southern

3.37

Margaret River

2.07

Peel

0.25

Perth Hills

0.23

Grand Total

111.17

V32N1

TA S T I N G N O T E S

CORIOLE 2016 FIANO McLaren Vale, South Australia 12.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$27.00/bottle Best of tasting: Bright straw green in appearance. An interesting and appealing nose of lifted tropical notes, including lemon and lime, as well as ginger spice, fresh hops and a lees-like richness.

Full, mouthfilling palate that has a lovely texture and a good line. “Lovely handling of phenolics and good retention of acid,” noted one taster.

ARTWINE 2016 WICKED STEPMOTHER FIANO Clare Valley, South Australia

12.5%v/v – screwcap

RRP$25.00/bottle Best of tasting: Bright green in colour with a hint of straw. Lifted nose of fresh limes with a touch of honeydew melon and a hint of fresh ginger spice and lemon curd. Lively, fresh, grapefruit acid on the palate which has a plush mouthfeel that is respectful of the variety; characters of lime and honeysuckle evident.

Lovely phenolics. Good length.

GREEN MAN 2015 FIANO Central Victoria 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$33.00/bottle Best of tasting: Very fresh, lifted nose of lemons and limes, some coconut, creamy oak and icecream; lacks some intensity.

Lovely savoury palate with creamy notes and good integration of many interesting layers; good length, line and balance; lacks a little intensity. One taster thought the palate was a touch oaky.

SALENA ESTATE 2015 INK SERIES FIANO Riverland, South Australia 13.4%v/v - screwcap RRP$23.00/bottle Best of tasting: Bright and clean in appearance. Bright tropical fruits including honeydew on the nose as well as nectarines, apricots and florals and a touch of ginger.

Creamy palate of medium intensity with lovely texture and great balance. “Light on its feet but still plenty of varietal flavour,” noted one taster.

100 HUNTS 2016 FIANO

BALLANDEAN ESTATE 2016 MESSING ABOUT FIANO

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$26.00/bottle

Granite Belt, Queensland 13.5%v/v - screwcap RRP$30.00/bottle

A full-coloured wine with a touch of green and gold. Lemon and lime zest on the nose along with some slight lemon curd, cinnamon spice, beer notes and an earthy character. Plush, creamy and mouthfilling palate with a slight character of waxy solids lees, some cheesy notes and a beer-like bitterness. A fullbodied, textured style.

Fiano tasting V3 2N 1

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

Deep colour with green notes and a hint of gold.

A waxy, complex, solidslike character drives the aromatics of this wine; a touch of lanolin and vanillin apparent along with a brown lime, mojito-like note and a hint of ginger.

Plush, textural, creamy palate which has good length; sweet honey notes evident as well as an almost dried mango character; plenty of tannin and flavour; good handling of phenolics.

A solid, bitter finish. “A high acid, fresh style,” noted one taster.

www.winetitles. com . au

77

TA S T I N G N O T E S

BREMERTON 2016 SPECIAL RELEASE FIANO Langhorne Creek, South Australia 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$24.00/bottle Deep green in colour with a touch of straw.

Lifted lemons and limes on the nose as well as some lemon curd, kaffir lime and ginger. “Good fruit definition,” noted one taster. Plush palate with good texture and acid structure and bitter tannins. “Ticks a lot of boxes for being varietal,” another taster noted.

CHALK HILL 2016 FIANO

CHRISMONT 2016 LA ZONA

McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

King Valley, Victoria 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$26.00/bottle

Full coloured with a touch gold over green. Nose is a touch vegetal and green, perhaps suggestive of shaded fruit; mangoes, apricots and lifted green peas evident along with some nuttiness. Creamy palate but lacks a little length, line and phenolic drive; more vegetal/green characters apparent.

“A fresh, attractive style,” noted one taster.

Slightly pink/brown in colour; looking a touch advanced.

Lifted, perfumed aromatics on the nose, including hops, stonefruit, guava and oaky vanillin spice notes; slight dirty character. Great acid line in the mouth with watery tropicals; palate is plush and fullbodied but a touch oily and broad; good texture.

COLLINS & CO 2016 BLAXLAND VINEYARDS FIANO McLaren Vale, South Australia 12.8%v/v – screwcap RRP$20.00/bottle (cellar door) Lifted bright green in colour; one of the less denselycoloured wines in the line-up. Somewhat simple nose featuring delicate florals, lemon, lime splice and a touch of vanillin. Generous palate is light and varietal, exhibiting lovely phenolics, a soft acid line and a delicate floral lift; simple tannins and a touch bitter on the finish. “A more austere style,” noted one taster.

DELL’UVA 2016 FIANO Barossa Valley, South Australia 12.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$24.00/bottle Dark green in colour with golden hues; a touch advanced. Very fragrant spices on the deep nose, including nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper, with a lime richness. One taster thought the nose seemed a touch oxidised. Palate is balanced and nicely textured but dries out and is a little short; smoky character evident.

GAPSTED 2016 LIMITED RELEASE FIANO

HANDCRAFTED

BY GEOFF HARDY 2016 FIANO

King Valley, Victoria 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

Adelaide Hills, South Australia 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

Bright green in colour. Pretty florals on the nose along with some creamy tropical fruits, peach skin, a cheesy/ beery note and complex skin-time characters. Palate is complex, textured and mouthfilling with good length and acid line. Finish is a touch oily and hot. Slight tropical notes but lacks some fruit.

Pale straw green in colour with a touch of pink/gold. Slight murky/stemmy character on the nose with some lifted white blossom aromatics underneath. Palate is creamy with tropical notes in the guava spectrum; good texture and phenolics.

One taster thought the palate was almost Chardonnay-like: “A lot of weight and flavour but not super varietal.”

Fiano tasting 78

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

TA S T I N G N O T E S

HARDY’S 2016 TINTARA FIANO

HIGHER PLANE 2016 FIANO

McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle (cellar door)

Margaret River, Western Australia 12.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

Very deep and luminous colour.

Nice richness on the nose which features ripe summer fruits, including lemons, ginger and nutmeg.

Two tasters detected a slight TCA or chlorine-like note.

Lovely creamy palate with great texture and phenolics and good balance. “Good handling of acid and phenolics,” noted one taster. Another thought the palate was more reminiscent of Pinot Gris.

Clear and bright in colour and quite neutral for a Fiano. A clean but closed and somewhat neutral nose with a touch of lemon, lemon pith and delicate florals.

Lemony acid line on the palate which is round and creamy with some texture and features a fresh tropical flavour burst; minimal tannins; touch sour. “A good drink,” noted one taster.

JONES WINERY & VINEYARD 2016 FIANO

JUNIPER ESTATE 2016 FIANO

OLIVERS TARANGA 2016 FIANO

Rutherglen, Victoria 13.3%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

Margaret River, Western Australia 12.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

McLaren Vale, South Australia 12.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

Dark golden straw in colour. Nose has good depth of rich honeysuckle, jasmine, coconut, guava and hints of nutmeg and clove; a bit oaky. Creamy palate but oak characters seem to dominate; nice texture and full bodied but lacks tension.

Clear and bright colour of pale light green. Lifted nose in a greener, cooler style, featuring green beans, fresh passionfruit, bright tropicals and some spicy notes. One taster said the nose wasn’t expressive enough. Palate is tight and creamy with crunchy fresh acid and lovely Fiano phenolics; some oak integration; green and tropical notes apparent. One taster thought the wine had Riesling-like flavours. Alcohol warmth on the finish.

Straw in colour.

Attractive, rich florals on the nose, including white blossom, as well as some tropical fruits, including mango, freshly-shaved coconut, and a wax/ leesy character. Slight earthy note on the palate which is very rich and creamy; good texture but lacking some phenolics; good coating tannins and tight acid. Very savoury, almost salty palate. A touch hot and broad.

SALTRAM 2016 WINEMAKERS SELECTION FIANO Barossa Valley, South Australia 13.0%v/v screwcap RRP$24.99/bottle Full coloured wine of dark golden straw. Lifted lemon and lime on the nose along with mango, passionfruit and a touch of fresh ginger, toasty caramel and nutty oak. Plush palate with tight acid, lots of lemon and lime flavours and good phenolics. Sweet and vanillin oak characters stand out a bit.

SCOTT 2016 LA PROVA FIANO Adelaide Hills, South Australia 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$26.00/bottle Bright and slightly advanced green in colour. Lifted lemon curd on the nose along with some peach, mango, jasmine and creamy notes. Two tasters detected a slight TCA/chlorine character. Palate is a bit neutral but has great acid and phenolics and a savoury, nutty texture. Good weight. Touch hot on the finish. “A great style,” noted one taster.

Fiano tasting V3 2N 1

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

79

TA S T I N G N O T E S

STA TERRA 2016 FIANO

TAYLORS 2016 TWP FIANO

VALENTINO 2016 FIANO

Riverland, South Australia 11.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

Clare Valley, South Australia 12.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle (cellar door)

King Valley, Victoria 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$40.00/bottle

Straw in colour with golden hues. Rich, lifted and complex nose with some biscuit and cooked caramel characters and a cheesy brioche note. Toffee/caramellike characters on the palate and other secondary notes; possible smoky oak influence. Lovely acid and phenolics but lacks fruit.

Golden straw in colour; touch advanced. Nose features characters of pine, vegetables, citrus rind and marmalade jam, and some lemon and lime. Broad and oily palate that lacks tension, texture, tannin and phenolics. “A bit lean and green,” noted one taster.

Bright colour of pale straw green.

Bright, Chardonnaylike nose with good oak integration and some brown lime and waxy lees characters. All three tasters detected a slight TCA/chlorine note. Tight palate in a more austere style; Riesling like. Fresh, high acid with ok phenolics. “Earthy, more savoury characters on the finish,” noted one taster. “Great wine not very varietal but I would drink it,” said another.

ZERELLA WINES 2016 LA GITA FIANO McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.0%v/v screwcap RRP$30.00/bottle Pale straw in colour.

Sulfur dioxide appears to have stripped the nose which is otherwise clean and bright and somewhat gin-like; a slight cucumber character is evident.

Palate is very lean, perhaps due to over-fining, and tight with some savouring tannins; quite sweet and broad with supportive acid but pulls up short.

ARTWINE 2015 WICKED STEPMOTHER FIANO

BANROCK STATION 2015 BOARDWALK FIANO

Clare Valley, South Australia 12.5%v/v - screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

Riverland, South Australia 13.1%v/v screwcap RRP$26.00/bottle (cellar door)

Bright, pale green in colour. Somewhat developed nose of lemon curd and lime juice cordial. Creamy palate which has good length and texture with extracted tannins that coat the mouth.

Lacks some flavour and is super lean and savoury.

Straw in colour. Lifted lemon and lime on the palate along with peach and cashew notes. Cashews follow through onto the palate which has a lovely mouthfeel – almost lemonadelike – and generous honeysuckle notes with a textural lift.

“A lot of flavour and mouthfeel,” noted one taster.

BEACH ROAD 2015 FIANO McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.5%v/v screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle Very deep yellowgreen in colour. Rich and honeyed nose with characters of hops, seaspray and confectionary.

“Smells like a beer,” said one taster. Big textured palate but lacks intensity and flavour; almost botrytis-like characters evident.

Fiano tasting 80

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

V32N1

TA S T I N G N O T E S

HUNGERFORD HILL 2015 THE UNDERGROUND PROJECT FIANO Hunter Valley, New South Wales 11.9%v/v – screwcap RRP$28.00/bottle Bright and clear straw colour. Slight stripped nose featuring lemon, kaffir lime, tropical and brown lime characters. One taster thought there was a slight hydrogen sulfide character on the nose. Palate is clean but a bit thin and simple with Sauvignon Blanc-like characters. Lovely texture and good length.

JONES WINERY & VINEYARD 2015 FIANO

OLIVERS TARANGA 2015 FIANO

RUTHERGLEN ESTATES 2015 FIANO

Rutherglen, Victoria 13.3%v/v - screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle (sold out)

McLaren Vale, South Australia 12.8% v/v screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

Rutherglen, Victoria 12.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$24.00/bottle

Bright straw in colour. Nose is reminiscent of a funky solids style; touch of waxy solids and wet dog but good lime and ginger characters; some butter popcorn evident along with some cashews and cheese. Plush palate with very good length and lovely texture and acid line. Sweet fruited but still savoury.

Touch golden in colour. Lifted, sweet apricot on the nose along with light limes, passionfruit, some slight shaded/ tropical notes, fresh honey and some stemmyness. Strong apricot notes on the plush and textured palate as well as some nutty almond.

“Tannins are pretty funky but enjoyable,” noted one taster, “a big, worked style.”

Straw in colour. Nose a little advanced for the age of the wine which features secondary characters of brioche and caramel as well as some vegetal and tropical notes and a touch of pencil oak.

Big acid on the palate followed by lots of sweet oak. Lovely texture but lacks fruit.

BEACH ROAD 2014 FIANO

THREE PONDS 2013 FIANO

McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

Hunter Valley, New South Wales 11.29%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

Deep straw in colour; the deepest of the tasting. Some rich summer fruits on the nose along with some slightly cooked lemon curd and charry interest. Rich and generous palate which is slightly cooked and dried out; lacks intensity, flavour, phenolics and line; some savoury texture.

Bright straw green in colour. Lifted lemon and lime on the fresh and lively nose with some ginger spice; quite lean. One taster said the nose was reminiscent of aged Riesling. Lovely line and great interest on the palate which has good phenolics.

SALTRAM 2012 WINEMAKERS SELECTION FIANO Barossa Valley, South Australia 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$24.00/bottle Bright colour with hints of yellow straw.

Lemon lime cordial on the nose. Round, savoury, stony notes on the palate which has lovely length, texture and mouthfeel; hints of green. “Still quite bright and fresh for its age,” noted one taster.

Fiano tasting V3 2N 1

W I N E & V I T I CULTUR E JO UR N A L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

www.winetitles. com . au

81

PRODUCTS N E &WSERVICES S

Smart irrigation for your vineyard

By Paul Wright, Sales Director, WiSA Irrigation Solutions

I

rrigation scheduling is a system of working out when and how much water to apply to meet quality and yield objectives. When to irrigate depends on the time it takes for the plant to use up the ready available water in the soil. How much irrigation to apply should not exceed the amount of water held in the wetted rootzone.

Scheduling can be based on soil moisture sensors which are very effective in estimating when to irrigate. A second method of scheduling is based on an indirect measurement of plant water use, calculated from either evaporation or evaportranspiration since the previous irrigation event.

Successful irrigation requires not only efficient design but also proper scheduling.

The latter is dependent to a large degree on the ability of vineyard managers to carry out irrigation events properly. Nowadays, there are many control systems available ranging from irrigation management and soil moisture systems to a manually-controlled operation.

Prior to making a decision to purchase an irrigation system there are many factors to consider, including your goals, vineyard size, current system, soil type, past problems, evaporation peak, water license, water supply (e.g., dam, bore), water quality and energy source.

An automated irrigation system is highly effective as it can deliver water when required and on time. A wireless solution provides total control from a mobile phone or computer, ensuring water use efficiency and reducing labour costs to improve the sustainability of your vineyard.

At the end of the day, whatever system is chosen it is important that the system is designed and specified to perform and operate effectively.

SAVES WATER AND TIME Andrew Peace, of Andrew Peace Wines, installed an automated irrigation system at his Piangil winery 17 years ago to reduce water use and improve crop quality.

The system, developed by WiSA Irrigation Solutions in Echuca, is now also being used to operate and monitor all facets of the ever-increasing winery, including sub-surface and drip irrigation,

82

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

multiple pivots, pump control, soil moisture, fertigation, flow rates, diesel pumps and a weather station which are all incorporated into one centrally-controlled system.

The WiSA system at Andrew Peace Wines uses soil moisture probes to collect data and this information is relayed to a central computer. The information is then used to plan the next few days of irrigation and sets the automatic irrigation system to account for current moisture and weather conditions.

The information from the soil probes is assessed every day, enabling a more informed decision to be made on water use.

It also saves resources as employees don’t have to physically drive around turning irrigators on and off. Also, fertiliser can be applied at any rate necessary.

“We take advantage of the off-peak electricity rates so we don’t have to manually switch valves on at 2.00am; the system also runs the fill cycle for the dams,” Andrew Peace said. “Every aspect of the system is integrated to ensure maximum efficiency. For instance, using one radio network, instead of the two or three that many other systems utilise, has resulted in a capital cost saving, as well as reduced maintenance costs.”

WISA IRRIGATION SOLUTIONS The WiSA Irrigation Management System, incorporating Aqualink software, captures soil moisture and weather data to enable precise control of irrigation and nutrient applications.

A dedicated PC is used as a central control system, which can be remotely ‘connected’ via telephone and/or internet.

This ensures optimum data retrieval and utilisation of the equipment. Accurate data is collected in real time - no delays, no guesswork, no mistakes. The software has the capability to collect, log and analyse sensor information and respond immediately.

Soil moisture sensors send information to the PC, which then sends commands through the system.

The systems are user friendly with most soil moisture probes. Weather sensors can be used to actuate frost protection and the system can provide alerts when weather

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L JANUARY/FEBR UARY 2017

conditions are conducive to disease outbreaks.

Key features of the WiSA system include: • monitoring data from a variety of sensors in real time including soil moisture sensors , weather station sensors, water flow meters, soil conductivity probes, pump engine temperature, oil pressure, fuel gauge sensor, security motion detectors and many more • controlling a range of devices in real time including solenoid valves, waste water applications, pump stations, amps, flows and pressures etc.; lighting and door locks, security, heating and cooling and can even be integrated with PLC equipment.

• the ability to operate reliably in harsh, remote environments without electricity or communications wiring • user-friendly Aqualink Software containing a comprehensive range of features including: º ease of program navigation through simple ‘point and click’ control; the windows based presentation provides a range of views including a site map displaying all managed facilities and key features of the property º irrigation scheduling according to user preferences or fully automated operation governed by preset soil º moisture or other sensory parameters º an analytical graphing tool to monitor all aspects of system performance that also presents a history of system management and operation; also for reporting to EPA º system fault detection and notification; Aqualink can recognise device operation outside normal operating parameters. - a WiSA mobile system can even phone you!

WiSA are modular-based systems ranging from basic off-the-shelf control systems that can be added to at any time, or fully customised systems tailored to your requirements.

WiSA also can offer a mobile telephone management system that gives soil moisture and weather station information

by SMS. The complete package, all wrapped up in one box.

For further information visit www. irrigatewisa.com.au or phone 1300 887 WVJ 380.

V32N1

Melbourne

Adelaide

WA

NSW

New Zealand

EXCITING

NEW TECHNOLOGY

FROM

SMART LEES SMART LEES is a tangential cross flow unit utilising spinning ceramic discs for the filtration of Lees from Juice and wine.

It is suitable for the filtration of products with a high suspended solids including those with Bentonite. The action of the filter ensures a high quality permeate and allows for a recovery of up to 97%.

MMR PLUS – DEGASSING The Juclas MMR Plus enables the control of gases including the reduction and impregnation treatment of gases in wine… the reduction of oxygen and carbon dioxide in young wines, deoxygenation of wines prior to bottling or addition of carbon dioxide to refresh whites or roses when bottling. The MMR Plus can also be used for dealcoholisation.

For further details, contact us on: New South Wales Melbourne Adelaide Western Australia New Zealand

2/40 Bradmill Ave Rutherford 59 Banbury Rd, Reservoir 12 Hamilton Tce, Newton 5/1 Ostler Dve, Vasse 3M Henry Rose Place, Albany, Auckland

Ph. 02 4932 4511 Ph. 1300 882 850 Ph. 08 8365 0044 Ph. 08 9755 4433 Ph. 0800 699 599

E. sales@winequip.com.au www.winequip.com.au www.winequip.co.nz