Wine & Viticulture Journal Winter 2023 FREEVIEW

WINTER 2023 • VOLUME 38 NUMBER 3

WINTER

• A novel approach to tailor Sauvignon Blanc styles • Towards net zero in the winery • Impact of long-term vineyard floor management on soil health and plant communities • Is there a meaningful role for luxury in wine?

• Tasting: $50+ Pinot Noir

)a

CONTENTS

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION COLUMNS 8

AGW (Lee McLean): Investing in India now will deliver dividends for Australian wine in the future

11

ASVO (Andy Clarke): Viticulture seminars kick off in July

)b

WINEMAKING 13

A novel approach to tailor Sauvignon Blanc styles

19

Decompacting waves: an overview of a ‘soft’ maceration

c)

technique for improving extraction and wine quality

a)

b)

22 c)

27

Spinning cone column distillation of smoke-affected juice and wine

32

Trends in the composition of Australian wine 1990-2021 Part 3: free, total and bound sulfur dioxide concentrations,

)a

b)

22 TOWARDS NET ZERO: Towards net zero in the winery

and the ratio of free to total SO2 concentrations

)ca)

40 AWRI REPORT: An artist in residence at the AWRI: exploring synaesthesia and visual harmony with red wine

)c

)b

flavour

40

VITICULTURE 46 Impact of long-term vineyard floor management on soil health indicators and plant communities 56 Incidence of spring frost under climate change: injury and recovery options in a Barbera vineyard 61

A few words on grapevine winter buds and pruning with respect to sap flow

65 TOWARDS NET ZERIO: The carbon economy and vineyards – Part 2: Preparing for and participating in the new carbon economy

56

67

ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES: Trousseau

BUSINESS & MARKETING 71

Is there a meaningful role for luxury in wine?

73

Update on the market for Australian wine in Southeast Asia

75

Global wine consumption drops to nine-year low as exports hit record value

69

TASTING 78

$50+ Australian and New Zealand Pinot Noir

Established 1985 Published quarterly

Sonya Logan, Editor

PUBLISHER: Hartley Higgins GENERAL MANAGER: Robyn Haworth EDITOR: Sonya Logan Pvh (08) 8369 9502 Fax (08) 8369 9501 Email: s.logan@winetitles.com.au EDITORIAL ADVISORY PANEL: Gary Baldwin, Peter Dry, Mark Krstic, Armando Corsi, Markus Herderich CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Eleanor Bilogrevic Dimitra Capone

Massimo Giudici

Anne Pellegrino

Markus Herderich

Alan PetersOswald

Timothy Cavagnaro

Tony Hoare

Stefano Poni

Andy Clarke

Madison James David Jeffery

Carolyn Puglisi

Adam Keath

Renata Ristic

Justin Cohen Cassandra Collins Angelica Crabb Roberta De Bei Alain Deloire

Merek Kesser Mark Krstic

Suzy Rogiers

Hamish Laurie

Aurélie Roland

Kate Laurie

Jamie Saint

Desireé Likos

C

oal was first. Then it was timber.

their focus on other markets, including those

Barley is expected to be next. It would

in Southeast Asia. In 2022, shipments to the

seem that the lifting of China’s trade

region grew 16 per cent in value and 56% in

sanctions on Australia’s remaining exports

volume to 27 million litres. Angelica Crabb

— wine and lobster — might be a matter of

from Wine Australia provides an update on this

months away, possibly by the end of the year

market for Australian wine on page 73.

according to several expectations.

Our Towards Net Zero series of articles

While the prospect of Australian wine

continues in this issue, beginning with Part 2 of

exports to China resuming will be music to

Tony Hoare’s article in which he explores what

the ears of the industry, the fact remains that

can be done in the vineyard to limit carbon

the market is not what it was when we took it

emissions (page 65). At the other end of the

by storm, becoming our most valuable export

production spectrum, Adam Keath, from Wine

destination in 2016.

Network Consulting, discusses the options

As the OIV’s latest annual State of the

available to wineries to reduce their carbon

Xingchen Wang

World Vine and Wine Sector report reveals

Eric Wilkes

(the highlights of which I’ve summarised in

For this issue’s focus on Grape & Juice

Kerry Wilkinson

an article starting on page 75 in this issue),

Handling, researchers from The University

Tommaso Frioni

Damian Espinase Nandorfy

Leigh Francis

Peter Godden

Wes Pearson

Elizabeth Willing

China’s wine consumption in 2022 fell 16%

of Adelaide look at the effect of the novel

compared with the previous year – indeed,

crushing technique known as ‘accentuated

consumption in the country has dropped an

cut edges’ (ACE), usually used in red wine

average of 2 million hectolitres per year since

production, on the release of varietal thiols

Filippo Del Zozzo Michael Downer Carole Dumont

Lee McLean Fabio Mencarelli

ADVERTISING SALES: Ph (08) 8369 9514 Andrew Everett Email: A.Everett@winetitles.com.au

outputs (page 22).

2018. Consequently, China has been importing

and their precursors during Sauvignon Blanc

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION: Tim Coleman

less wine. Again, according to the OIV’s report,

wine production (page 13), while an Italian

CREATIVE SERVICES: Tim Coleman

China’s wine imports fell 21% by volume in

professor from the University of Pisa shares

2022 compared with 2021; specifically, the

his views on Air-Mixing MI, a relatively new

amount of bottled wine imported by the country

innovation that creates disruptive waves inside

fell 24%.

tanks to manage caps (page 19).

SUBSCRIPTIONS: One-year subscription (4 issues) Australia $58.50 (AUD) Two-year subscription (8 issues) Australia $110.00 (AUD) To subscribe and for overseas prices, visit: www.winetitles.com.au Published by Winetitles Media ABN 85 085 551 980 ADDRESS: 630 Regency Road, Broadview, South Australia 5083 TELEPHONE: Ph (08) 8369 9500 EMAIL: General info@winetitles.com.au Editorial s.logan@winetitles.com.au Subscriptions subs@winetitles.com.au Advertising A.Everett@winetitles.com.au WEBSITE: www.winetitles.com.au

Nonetheless, the opportunity to win back

Back in Viticulture, in another contribution

some ground in China from the likes of France,

to this issue from The University of Adelaide,

Italy, Spain and Chile who have filled the void

researchers reveal the findings of their

left by our absence cannot be underestimated.

study into the effect of lower impact floor

Perhaps the news we’ve been waiting for

management strategies on ruderal weed

will have broken by the next issue of the

species and soil health indicators compared

Journal….

with tillage and herbicides (page 46).

While China’s anti-dumping duties on Australian bottled wine have all but halted our

And be sure to catch the results of our $50+ Pinot Noir tasting on page 81.

trade with the nation, exporters have increased

Printed by Lane Print, Adelaide, South Australia.

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R E G U L A R F E AT U R E S NEWS 6 AUSTRALIAN GRAPE & WINE 8 ASVO 11 AWRI REPORT 40

ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES 69 VARIETAL REPORT 78 PRODUCTS & SERVICES 89

AUSTR ALIAN GR APE & WINE

Investing in India now will deliver dividends for Australian wine in the future

By Lee McLean, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Grape & Wine Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to India in March 2023 was a remarkable

So what has changed and what needs to change?

relationship was limited to the ‘three Cs’ of cricket, curry and the Commonwealth. But

demonstration of the growth in Australia’s

In defence of those governments of

things are changing and changing fast, and

bilateral relationship with India. It was loud,

the past, when you look at the data, one

Australia’s wine sector needs to invest now to

colourful and celebratory, and those who saw

can understand how such discoveries are

reap what may be substantial rewards in the

the PM and his Indian counterpart, Narendra

made. India’s growth and demographic

years ahead. Put simply, we need to become

Modi, being drawn around the oval in a golden

trajectory, democratic political system and

more sophisticated and coordinated in our

chariot at the fourth cricket Test in Ahmedabad

cultural links to Australia made it attractive to

approach and take immediate actions with a

must have sensed the relationship had

Australian leaders. And it’s more attractive

long-term view on returns to the industry.

reached a historic high point.

than ever today. India now has the world’s largest population and the fifth largest

WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR

way. We should be mindful of history as we

economy in nominal terms, and its youthful

AUSTRALIAN WINE?

seek to capitalise on this seemingly brighter

population, growing middle class, democratic

future. As the late Australian foreign policy

underpinnings and entrepreneurial, tech-

sensitivities mean the market is far from

analyst, Allan Gyngell AO, used to regularly

driven business cohort has the World

homogenous in its acceptance of alcohol, for

point out, “every Australian Government

Economic Forum projecting India to become

the most part alcohol is a well-understood and

‘discovers’ India at some point in its time

the world’s second-largest economy by 2050.

accepted part of society in India. The Indian

in office”, with the implicit message being

However, despite these discoveries,

market is currently dominated by whiskey and

that when the discoverer dug a little deeper,

the history of the Australia-India bilateral

beer, but as the middle class emerges more

enthusiasm waned upon realising the

relationship has until now been plagued

people are shifting away from hard spirits to

challenges of the market and entrenched

by relatively superficial engagement. For

wine, which is seen as a more stylish and

protectionist politics.

many Australians, our understanding of the

sophisticated choice, particularly for women.

8 ww w.wi neti tl es .c om.au

W I NE & V I T I CU LT U R E J OU R N A L WIN T ER 2 0 2 3

I agree — but it hasn’t always been this

While India’s religious and cultural

V38N3

GRAPE & JUICE HANDLING WINEMAKING

A novel approach to tailor Sauvignon Blanc styles

By Xingchen Wang1, Dimitra L. Capone1, Aurélie Roland2, and David W. Jeffery1

The novel crushing technique known as ‘accentuated cut edges’ (ACE), typically used to make red wine, was tested for its effect on the release of varietal thiols and their precursors during Sauvignon Blanc wine production.

INTRODUCTION

‘blackcurrant’ (Marais 1994), with the ‘fruity’

This article originated from Xingchen

aroma notes primarily being attributed to a

Wang’s PhD project entitled ‘Varietal thiols

group of sulfur-containing volatiles, namely

and precursors: biogenesis, reactivity, and

varietal thiols (Roland, Schneider, Razungles

impact of winemaking practices’, which

et al. 2011). These thiol molecules are the

was completed in 2022 at The University of

reason we are interested in Sauvignon Blanc,

Adelaide. Two scientific papers from the PhD

as we aim to improve understanding of the

were published under the research scope of

effect of grapegrowing and winemaking

‘Impact of winemaking practices’. Forming

practices for this important white variety in

the basis for this article, one of those papers

Australia.

reported on the impact of a novel grape

Varietal thiols discovered in wine

crushing technique typically used for red

predominantly include 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol

winemaking, along with the influence of yeast

(3-SH), 3-sulfanylhexyl acetate (3-SHA), and

strain and malolactic fermentation on the

4-methyl-4-sulfanylpentan-2-one (4-MSP)

release of varietal thiols and their precursors

(Darriet et al. 1995, Tominaga et al. 1996,

during Sauvignon Blanc wine production

Tominaga et al. 1998). These thiols are

(Wang et al. 2023).

notable for their extremely low odour detection

According to the Wine Australia National

thresholds, determined in hydroalcoholic

Vintage Report 2022, more than 90,000

solution to be 60ng/L for 3-SH, 4.2ng/L for

tonnes of Sauvignon Blanc were crushed

3-SHA, and 0.8ng/L for 4-MSP (Tominaga et

with an approximate value of more than

al. 1998). These compounds were revealed to

A$73 million, making it the second largest

play key roles in characterising wine sensory

crushed white grape variety in Australia. The

profiles (Benkwitz et al. 2012) – in other

typical sensory attributes of Sauvignon Blanc

words, they are character impact odorants.

wine are described as ‘green, herbaceous’,

Intriguingly, they are not initially present to any

‘tropical fruit’, ‘grapefruit’, ‘passionfruit’, and

significant extent in grapes or at the beginning

1

V38N3

IN BRIEF ■ Accentuated cut edges (ACE)

grape crushing technique was evaluated in the production of Sauvignon Blanc wine and compared to conventional crushing.

■ ACE was found to significantly increase the concentrations of varietal thiols compared with the conventional grape crushing treatment.

■ Two yeast strains were studied

for their capacity to release varietal thiols, with one producing more 3-SH and 3-SHA, but less 4-MSP than the other.

■ Impact of malolactic fermentation in Sauvignon Blanc production was studied, showing that the concentrations of 3-SH and 4-MSP were substantially increased, whereas 3-SHA decreased.

■ Sensory analysis on the studied

wines showed that yeast strain and malolactic fermentation had more impact on sensory profiles than the grape crushing method.

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, and Waite Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, 5064, South Australia

W I NE & V I T IC U LT U R E J OU R N A L WIN T ER 2 0 2 3

w w w.w i n e ti tl e s.com.au

13

GRAPE & JUICE HANDLING WINEMAKING

Decompacting waves: an overview of a ‘soft’ maceration technique for improving extraction and wine quality

By Fabio Mencarelli, Department of Agricultural, Food and Agro-Environmental Sciences, University of Pisa, Italy

A professor at the University of Pisa in Italy, Fabio shares his thoughts on a relatively new innovation that creates disruptive waves inside tanks to manage caps.

M

aceration is one of the most used terms in winemaking. The extraction of enochemical compounds from

grapes is not economically sustainable as it requires a lot of energy, especially when horizontal fermentation tanks are used, and is very invasive and leads to the formation of a lot of lees. The most extraction that can be achieved is 70%, depending on the variety and the maturity stage of the grape. After this, recovery of wine from lees is necessary, requiring the need for filtration which further increases electricity consumption. The equilibrium between the quality of extraction and electricity consumption is very hard to achieve because: • we do not know the maturity of cells in the vineyard (lab analyses can be carried out but these can be time-consuming and therefore cost money), thus we estimate • we do not know what and how to selectively extract for the desired wine

optimal temperature for their activity is

fermentation tanks with a thick cap, but the

product

between 20°C and 25°C. If you achieve a

electricity requirement is very high. Energy

• our biochemical knowledge of

good result, it is not due to the enzyme but the

consumption is also high for pumping over

winemaking is scarce, especially

temperature. To compare maceration with and

and delestage which guarantee a high yet

in relation to several environment

without enzymes, the enzyme concentrations,

momentary mixing rate.

parameters

size of the vats and the temperature inside

• we use an average of grape maturity at

both vats must be the same. This is almost

harvest for vinification and wine fining

impossible, thus you could be throwing away

purposes (unless the vineyard is small

money in using those enzymes.

and perfectly homogenous).

Below are some examples of operations

CARBONIC MACERATION Carbonic maceration is well-known in the wine sector but is rarely done accurately, resulting in liquid being exposed to CO2

USE OF MECHANICAL EXTRACTOR

instead of just grape bunches. The metabolic

Whatever the system used to manage the

effect of carbonic maceration is intriguing

cap, extraction depends on the temperature;

but it is also energy consuming due to the

USE OF ENZYMES IN MACERATION

as mentioned above, grape and yeast-derived

use of carbon dioxide in the form of dry ice,

PREFERMENTATION

enzymes require specific temperatures to

unless CO2 captured from fermentation is

work, thus the stratification of temperature is

used. Nitrogen has been used instead of

used at low temperature (4-6°C), therefore

partially solved through mechanical movement

carbon dioxide with surprising aromatic results

only 10-20% of them work because the

of the cap, especially with high vertical

because the metabolism of grapes responds

V38N3

W I NE & V I T IC U LT U R E J OU R N A L WIN T ER 2 0 2 3

with unexpected or unknown outcomes:

Most of the time pectolytic enzymes are

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19