NZ Winegrower Dec/Jan 2016/17

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THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWERS

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 101

34 R EGULA R S

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Editorial

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Wine Research Wins

Tessa Nicholson

The Government has announced that Marlborough will be the base for a dedicated Wine Research Institute.

Being geared specifically to support innovation within the wine industry, the announcement has been labelled a “game changer.” Find out why.

8

In Brief

News from around the country

34 Science of Wine

Paulina Giraldo-Perez

54 Bob’s Blog

Bob Campbell MW

60

Not On The Label

Legal Matters with Bell Gully

12

Contract Advice

What constitutes a contract? What should it contain? What should be avoided? These are all questions anyone supplying fruit to a winery, or winery receiving fruit should consider carefully. John Barker of John Barker Law provides some concise advice.

52

Chardonnay Express

Twenty-five years ago Gisborne was dubbed New Zealand’s Chardonnay Capital. While it has been a tough mantle to hold on to, an enterprising group of winemakers are doing all they can to ensure it stays where they believe it belongs.

66 Calendar

Wine happenings in New Zealand

69

Research Supplement

The latest science and research projects funded by NZ Winegrowers

Front Cover: Fromm Wines.

Photo: Tessa Nicholson

FEATURES

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NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 3

E D I TO R Tessa Nicholson tessa.nicholson@me.com

FROM THE EDITOR TESSA NICHOLSON

CO R R E SP O N D E NTS Auckland: Joelle Thomson mailme@joellethomson.com Gisborne: Kristine Walsh kdwalsh00@gmail.com Hawkes Bay: Mary Shanahan maryshanahan173@gmail.com Nelson: Neil Hodgson neil@hodgson.net.nz Central Otago: Mark Orton seeingredmedia@yahoo.com

A DV E R T I SI N G Sales Manager & Upper North Island: Stephen Pollard stephenp@ruralnews.co.nz Ph: 09 913 9637 Mobile: 021 963 166 Central North Island: Ted Darley ted@ruralnews.co.nz Ph: 07 854 6292 Mobile: 021 832 505 Lower North Island: Ron Mackay Ph: 04 234 6239 Mobile: 021 453 914 South Island: Kaye Sutherland kayes@ruralnews.co.nz Ph: 03 376 5552 Mobile: 021 221 1994

C I R C U L AT I O N & SUBSCRIPTIONS Lorraine Rudelj lorraine@nzwine.com Ph: 09 303 3527 Fax: 09 302 2969 New Zealand Winegrowers PO Box 90 276, Auckland Mail Centre, New Zealand

PUBLISHING & P R E - P R E SS Rural News Group PO Box 331100, Takapuna, Auckland 0740 Ph: 09 307 0399 Location: Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622 Publisher: Brian Hight Managing Editor: Adam Fricker Production: Dave Ferguson, Rebecca Williams

Published by Rural News Group Ltd under authority of New Zealand Winegrowers (jointly representing Wine Institute of New Zealand Inc and New Zealand Grape Growers Council Inc).

Unless directly attributed, opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of Rural News Group and/or its directors or management, New Zealand Winegrowers or its constituent organisations.

Published every second month. One free copy is mailed to every member of the Institute, the Council, the New Zealand Society of Viticulture & Oenology and the New Zealand Vine Improvement Group, and to such other persons or organisations as directed by the owners, with provision for additional copies and other recipients to be on a subscription basis.

ISSN 1174-5223

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PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR This annual award was instigated by the former editor of NZWinegrower magazine, back in the 1990s. The aim was to acknowledge someone, or something that had made a significant impact on the New Zealand wine industry in the previous 12 months.

S

ome of the recipients of this have in the past been Lindauer Wine, Dr Mike Trought, Jim and Jeanette Goldwater, James Millton and the team behind the mechanical thinning project.

Often it involves a lot of discussion as to who or what should be acknowledged – but 2016 was slightly different.

When NZW CEO Philip Gregan and I discussed what had been the most important aspects of this year, we both agreed on just one thing. The International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration 2016.

It was the first time our flagship wine had been celebrated in such a way. Which when you think how important this one variety is to New Zealand wine in terms of paving the way for all our other wine varieties, and its continued success on the world market in terms of exports, is surprising.

The Celebration not only attracted dozens of overseas trade and media, it also created an enviable amount of publicity for the variety and New Zealand’s world class production of it.

For example; there were 54 online articles on platforms totaling 174 million unique visitors per month, there were over 4,000 tweets during the event, those 4,000 tweets reached

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

Beautiful food, stunning wine and an historic setting – the ISBC Twilight Garden Party.

46 million timelines, the estimated print advertising value was $681,000, the circulation of those print articles was 2.3 million. Over 1 million viewers/ listeners tuned in for one radio and two television segments, there were 58 new wine listings resulting from the ISBC and three retail/restaurant promotions.

Pretty impressive figures.

The three-day event included a range of international guest speakers, from Matt Kramer to Oz Clarke, Robert Joseph to Jamie Goode. Workshops that ranged from Wine and Flavours to Sustainability and Organics and events that showed Marlborough at its best, from a garden party at historic Timara Lodge through to a train trip from Blenheim to Kekerungu for a Kiwiana beach party.

“ISBC was everything we wanted it to be and more,” Philip Gregan says. “The event made a tremendous statement about

our regions and subregions, about our people, and about how they come together in our wines.

The whole industry should be very proud of the success.”

So to the entire team behind the Sauvignon Blanc Celebration, we acknowledge your hard work, and the success you made of this inaugural event.

But we also acknowledge the Major Event Strategy that was presented to the Board of NZW back in 2014, which saw a 10-year plan instigated. It is that plan that led to the success of ISBC, and has had the NZW marketing team frantically working to organize next year’s major event Pinot Noir 2017. As you can see on Page 14, the hard work has continued by all involved.

Congrats, on behalf of everyone involved in the New Zealand wine scene, to 2016’s Personality of the Year – the International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration organisers.■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

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BREAKING NEWS

A RUDE AWAKENING TESSA NICHOLSON

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am writing this a matter of hours after a massive earthquake shook the South Island. Currently it is 4.30 pm on November 14. Sixteen hours ago at 12.02am, a 7.5 earthquake hit Culverden and forced people from their beds all over the country. Long (around 140 seconds), rolling and totally frightening, the ramifications were obviously going to be high.

We have all seen the pictures; roads obliterated by slips, or torn asunder by the upwards movement, houses falling like packs of cards and rural communities shut off from the outside world. The emotional toll of such an event, which was followed by hundreds of aftershocks, many of them major earthquake events in their own right, is high. I for one spent a rather uncomfortable night under the dining table – and not because of any drinking games.

My first thought, once I realised that my house was still standing and my family were safe – was how would this affect the wine industry? Waipara which is literally only kilometres from the epi-

6 //

center and Marlborough, where many of the large aftershocks were centred were obviously going to be impacted.

For Marlborough it is just over three years since the massive Seddon shakes of August 2013.

At that stage the epicenter of the 6.6 quake was at Lake Grassmere and the estimated value of damage for the wine industry, according to insurance agents, was around $80 million dollars.

Hundreds of tanks were damaged, many with legs being subjected to local bending. As a result, large quantities of wine were lost – but it could have been much worse. A winery engineer said at the time, if the quake had been centred closer to Blenheim – the losses could have been “catastrophic”. For those that did lose infrastructure and wine, it was catastrophic enough.

Since then a number of wineries have taken a closer look at their tank engineering and are thanking their lucky stars they did.

Indevin CEO Duncan McFarlane says while the November 14 quake was “much more extensive” than the 2013 quakes, his

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

company had not lost wine and it appeared that only a few tanks had suffered damage. He was still awaiting engineering reports when I spoke to him. Like so many, he was obviously shaken, but thankful, like we all are that no member of staff was hurt.

Geoff Matthews from Wither Hills reiterated that last statement. He said the entire facility was closed off immediately, and no one was allowed inside the building or the viticulture sheds.

“We know we had a broken water main, but we haven’t been in the building yet, so we don’t know what the overall damage is.”

This is another winery that has undergone a revamp after the 2013 earthquakes, and he was hoping the engineering upgrade would prevent wine losses. Especially given two thirds of this year’s vintage is still in tanks.

“Most people managing a winery just in time for bottling would have had around two thirds of the tanks full, so there was the potential to lose a lot of stock.”

He said everything would remain closed off until engineers could assure the safety of the building. But there was another area causing concern. Sheds with chemicals and machinery were also off limits to staff – and as he said, at this time of the year it is vital to get the viticultural teams up and running as soon as possible.

“They will be the first area we need to get back up and running; things like the sprayers are so important at this time of year.”

For Yealands Estate, which is only a matter of kilometres from the epicenter of the Seddon “after shocks”, things may be worse than their other Marlborough counterparts. They were severely damaged

in 2013, losing a substantial number of tanks. On November 14, they posted this on their website; “While there is some damage at the winery, the winery building withstood the conditions well, as it was designed to do. It remains closed for safety reasons while the damage is being assessed and cleaned. For the time being, all operations are off-line and communication is limited.”

In terms of Waipara, it was hard to make contact with anyone, given cellphone overloading and the fact everyone was busy checking infrastructure throughout the day. Ivan Donaldson from Pegasus Bay said while he hadn’t visited the winery, he had been told that they appear to have been lucky. “I have been told, and I can’t say I have actually seen it, but it seems to be good. I don’t think we have lost too many barrels and the tanks apparently appear to be fine.”

He described this quake as being different to the ones that affected them and Christchurch in 2011.

“There was plenty of rolling, but not the jolting we experienced back then.”

NZWinegrower CEO Philip Gregan said it would take some time for wineries to assess the damage and begin the cleanup.

“A lot appear to have got by with no damage at all, but there is still some damage. And the number affected this time is a lot more than in 2013.”

It has been a day of sheer horror for many – and I hope we don’t have to go through that again any time soon. My thoughts and I am sure all of those in the industry go out to the wineries who are facing some tough times in the weeks ahead.■

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IN BRIEF

HAWKE’S BAY Introducing Riesling

Son Steps Up To CEO

Hawke’s Bay may not be wellknown for growing Riesling, but Clearview Estate hopes to change that perception. Some 800 Riesling vines have been planted across Clearview’s front paddocks at Te Awanga. During the growing season, the shingly land is exposed to a cooling onshore wind known locally as “the Doctor”.

Owner Tim Turvey believes these elements will provide

perfect conditions for growing the variety and in three years he expects the site will be producing 1200 bottles of a dry-style Riesling.

It’s not an altogether new variety for the coastal strip, however.

The vineyard was originally owned by winemaking pioneer Anthony Vidal, and the remains of his 100-or-so-year-old vines, including Riesling stumps, can still be spotted in the area.

Mission Attracts Dixie Chicks

Involved in Sileni Estates since its launch in 1997, Nigel Avery is the new chief executive of the family wine business based in Hawke’s Bay. Sir Graeme, who is focusing now on a new project, says the business will continue to flourish under his son’s leadership.

Wine production has grown from 4000 cases in 1998 to more than 750,000 cases now exported to 80 markets around the world.

The young Avery represented New Zealand in track and field, bobsleigh and weightlifting. He won two gold and one silver competing in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

Sir Graeme, founder of the AUT Millennium Institute of Sport and Health in Auckland, is aiming to boost community health and leadership in Hawke’s Bay in developing the AUT Millennium Hawke’s Bay as an umbrella for best-practice sport and health programmes.

The Mission Estate winery concert is back on track for next year, with the all-female US band Dixie Chicks booked to perform in the open air arena on Saturday, April 8. The line-up will also feature Avalanche City and Morgan Evans.

Sports Entertainment Ltd said they had been working for 18 months to secure a high-calibre headline act.

It will the 25th concert for the Hawke’s Bay winery. The Mission Estate concert launched in 1993 when Kiri Te Kanawa took to the stage. In 2009, the Lionel Ritchie concert had to be abandoned because of heavy rain and it wasn’t held in 2015 when efforts to secure a suitable artist failed.

Next year’s concert is being staged later than usual - traditionally it has been held in February.

Founder passes away Roger Weiss, the founder and owner of Elephant Hill, died suddenly in his native Germany in late September. Weiss and wife Reyden fell in love with the Hawke’s Bay coastal strip of Cape Kidnappers while visiting New Zealand in 2001. Their vision

8 //

was to establish a state-of-theart winery that encompassed traditional winemaking values in producing innovative and contemporary style wines. The couple’s son Andreas took over the management of the company last year.

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

WELLINGTON WINE COUNTRY Palliser Adds Summer Food Palliser Estate will have Mediterranean tasting platters available at its cellar for the first time throughout the summer of 2016-2017.

The platters are the concept of Martinborough chef Jo Crabb, who runs her Carême

cooking classes at the Martinborough winery. Each platter will include a wine and one of Crabb’s desserts, which Palliser chief executive officer Pip Goodwin describes as legendary.

“It is an exciting addition to

our cellar door experience.

With Martinborough’s tourist industry booming we are taking advantage of the popularity of walking or biking around the various wineries trying wines and tasting plates on the way.

MARLBOROUGH Huge Accolade for Marlborough Pinot Producer The International Wine and Spirits Competition in the UK is considered one of the most prestigious in the world, so winning a trophy there is good news for any producer. But for Giesen Wines, taking out the Champion Pinot Noir Trophy this year, was an even greater honour.

The Giesen Single Vineyard Ridge Block

Marlborough Pinot Noir 2013, also won an Outstanding Gold Medal, one of only two given out by the judges. It was described as an “extremely balanced wine combining fine tannins with brooding summer compote fruit and bright acidity.”

It is the second year in a row that a New Zealand Pinot Noir has taken out the trophy, helping to cement the variety’s reputation on the world scene.

Marcel Giesen says the win is a testament to their decision to remove the Sauvignon Blanc

vines from the Ridge Block vineyard seven years ago and replant with Pinot Noir.

“This one is the ultimate for us so far and really makes us sit back and think how far we have come.

The Pinot Noir trophy

was not the only one to be awarded to a Marlborough wine. Constellation’s Kim Crawford Small Parcels Spitfire Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2016 won an Outstanding Gold medal and the Sauvignon Blanc Trophy.

NZ’s Largest Solar Panel Installation Yealands Wine Group has recently installed the country’s largest solar panel on its Marlborough based winery. The panel will be capable of generating 411.12 kiloWatts of solar power, which is the equivalent to powering 86 average New Zealand homes. Peter Yealands says the panels will decrease the company’s reliance on power, generating 30 percent of the current power that is used to cool tanks, and a number of other facilities within the winery and offices. It will also offset up to 82 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 9

NZW NEWS

WINE RESEARCH WINS TESSA NICHOLSON

A

new research institute will be established in Marlborough to support innovation in the New Zealand wine industry. In October, Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce announced that the new research institute would receive Government funding of $12.5 million over four years, cofunded by New Zealand Winegrowers Inc, with additional funding from the Marlborough District Council. (See “Regional Institute with a National Focus” for more on the bidding process.)

“New Zealand Winegrowers and its partners made a strong business case demonstrating ongoing financial sustainability beyond initial government support,” said Mr Joyce. “I look forward to seeing the results from this new institute benefit the Marlborough region and local and national players in the grape-growing and winemaking

industries.”

New Zealand Winegrowers General Manager of Research and Innovation Dr Simon Hooker led the bidding process, and he couldn’t be more pleased.

“The wine industry is vital to New Zealand’s economy as its sixth-largest export earner,” he says. “Establishing the new research institute in Marlborough ensures the interaction we want to see between science and our industry members, whose companies have been and continue to be actively involved in research and development.”

Dr Hooker envisages an institute that can deliver technology and innovation to help the wine industry reduce costs, enhance quality and compete effectively. But, he emphasises, it will be industry members who determine the objectives and avenues of research that will be undertaken.

Speaking earlier this year at NZW Grape Days, he explained, “This will not be a government department developing research.

It will not be a private company developing research. It will actually be your institute conducting the research you want.”

Chair of the NZW Research Committee, Dominic Pecchenino, agrees.

“This institute is going to be significant, and it is a game changer,” he says. “It will give us the ability to target our research and control it a bit better, but also hopefully to attract overseas experts to come and do collaborative research with us, which will improve our performance immensely.”

Other research organisations have also voiced their support. Dr Bruce Campbell, Chief Operating Officer for Plant & Food Research Ltd, says, “We’re 100% behind this initiative and look forward to

NZW CEO Philip Gregan (left) chats with minister Steven Joyce after the announcement of the government funding for a Wine Research Institute in Marlborough.

PHOTO: SOPHIE PREECE

10 //

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

working with New Zealand Winegrowers and the other partners in growing innovation for the grape and wine sector.

“We see huge opportunity for R&D and innovation to benefit the future of the sector, and this public-private partnership is a very exciting development.”

Winning funding approval was no easy feat, but Dr Hooker admits that the hard work has only just begun.

“We will now go into the second phase, where we have to formalise a contract with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, ” he says. “Then there is the development stage, hiring employees and getting contracts set up. My best guess is that it will be the new financial year – July 2017 – before we have worked through all the necessary steps.”

While the new institute will obviously create more jobs in the Marlborough region, Dr Hooker says calculating the number of employees will take time.

“Our business model is built around the research programmes and projects. It is not as if we want to immediately employ 15 scientists, when that structure might work one year but not the next.

There will be some employment, there will be some secondments from key research institutes and universities and there will be some contracting.”

First up, though, the new board of NZW Inc will have some decisions to make, including where in Marlborough the institute will be established, the finer details of governance and choosing the allimportant name, which Dr Hooker says is a priority.

REGIONAL INSTITUTE WITH A NATIONAL FOCUS

“I have a long list of things to do regarding the institute and number one is to come up with a name.”

Any ideas? If so, email them to Dr Simon Hooker; simon@nzwine. com■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

With the announcement at Nautilus Estate by Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce in late October, the new wine research institute becomes the first of the new regional research institutes funded by Government.

The winning proposal was developed by New Zealand Winegrowers in consultation with industry members, and the process was led by Dr Simon Hooker, general manager of research and innovation.

“As the minister noted in his announcement, although the institute will be based in Marlborough, the research will have a national focus,” says Dr Hooker. “We want to help grow the already hugely successful wine industry through

innovation.”

Regional Research Institutes were announced in Budget 2015, and, in Budget 2016, the Government set aside $40 million of additional funds to support the initiative, bringing total funding available to $65 million. The institutes are meant to encourage industry research and development and innovation in regional New Zealand.

In June this year, Marlborough District Council voted unanimous support for the regional research institute and agreed to set aside $75,000 this year and a further $150,000 in co-funding each year from 2017 to 2022.

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 11

LEGAL UPDATE

CONTRACT ADVICE It is coming up to that time of the year when grape pricing contracts are being considered. John Barker of John Barker Law explains to Tessa Nicholson the areas that need to be considered before signing off on anything.

PHOTO: STAETE LANDT, SUPPLIED BY NZW

F

irstly, what determines a contract? Is it a written statement signed by both parties? Can it be a handshake or even a verbal agreement?

Will these two latter procedures stand up in a court of law if something goes wrong?

“To have a contract you classically need to have an offer, an acceptance and consideration,” Barker says. “But what is interesting in terms of grape supply contracts, is with the consideration. It is going to be about the price and you need to have sufficient certainty around what that is going to be. You need to have a price, or at least a mechanism that you can utilise to arrive at a price with some degree of certainty. So if it is just an agreement, then it’s not a binding contract.”

Many contracts are confirmed with a handshake and Barker says that can work.

“It may be as simple as; I have some grapes I want to sell to you.

12 //

You want to buy those grapes. This is the price, this is when they will be delivered. But the problem with a handshake is there are a lot of additional aspects that may or may not be read into that contractual relationship.”

Some of those issues include; just when the grapes will be harvested, will there be any penalties, or whether at the end of the day the winery can reject the fruit.

“There are a host of things like that, that do come into the contractual relationship. Even if they are expressed, how binding they will be, depends on the nature of the commitment you have made through that handshake.”

But while he would suggest a handshake is not the best form of a contract, he also believes clients, both growers and wineries need to beware of convoluted written contracts involving multiple pages of legalese.

“A good contract should be easy to understand, so that someone who is not a lawyer can sit

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

down and read it and understand what their obligations are. And I do believe it is important to get advice on a contract that is going to be worth a lot of money to you.

It’s basic insurance.”

Interestingly enough, a number of grape growers in New Zealand do not seek legal advice.

Barker can’t quite understand that – given the income from a supply contract could be worth more than the value of a person’s home.

“In a way the contract is your insurance policy. That may be a slightly negative way to look at it, but if you sit around and negotiate a contract beforehand and you have a good process, it doesn’t need to be at all adversarial. It can actually be a good opportunity to thrash out your understanding, so there are no hidden assumptions.”

Looking at what should be included in a contract, Barker is quite adamant about a few issues.

One is a standard dispute resolution being included.

“You should always have a

dispute resolution provision and in some respects that goes to the pricing side of things.

Particularly if you have a mechanism to determine a price and you can’t agree, then you have to have a backup mechanism if possible, to reach agreement.”

There are a number of dispute resolution options available to the parties. Arbitration, which Barker describes as similar to a court style proceeding, but done in private. Mediation which brings the two parties together – although you may not necessarily gain an outcome because there’s no final decision maker. And then there is the third party expert determination.

“Each of those has its benefits and its downfalls. If you are thinking about your agreement, you need to think about the nature of the relationship and which of those resolution types will suit you best. And you have to have it on paper.”

Another important, and maybe

to be negotiated between the grower and the winery – it is a very important clause.”

And finally, but certainly not the least important aspect of any contract, is the price you as a grower will be paid for your grapes.

At this year’s Bragato Conference, there was a great deal of talk about whether the current method of average district pricing setting the benchmark, was a fair or just way. Barker says it has become a massive issue.

“Is it the best way? I would say no and certainly over the long term it has become quite circular.

But it is the easiest way of dealing with this information gap we have.

What are those grapes worth?

What are others paying? How do I benchmark the price of my grapes in the market? I understand why people do it (use the district average price). Do I think it is the best way? Probably not. Is there

another better way? Probably not.”

The reason for the consternation is because the average district pricing is not based on what people are being paid – it is based on the levies people are paying.

“You have this kind of standoff, because if people are waiting for what the district average price is, they are not paying for the grapes.

So the levy doesn’t get paid. You have a weird situation where people are getting a district average price which is not really the district average price, because it doesn’t include all the people being paid on that price.

“At the heart of it is, where people are getting the prices from is not something that was designed to be a pricing mechanism at all. It is just designed to say how much levy has been paid. It has been picked up by wineries and by growers as well, because of the information gap.”

So negotiation becomes important when settling on a price – as does what that price is being paid for. Finding out what style of wine the purchaser intends making from your fruit is a sensible question to ask, Barker says. It will determine a number of vineyard management practices throughout the growing season.

Yield caps if instigated must be included in the contract. What quality parameters are required?

What is the disease threshold to gain maximum payment? What brix level are you wanting, and what are the ramifications if I don’t reach that?

These are all pretty basic questions, but need to be part of a contract to ensure security for both parties. Without them, there is a higher chance of disputes arising and the costs associated with them.■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

The fungal onslaught is coming!

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the most important clause within your contract has to be certainty of payment Barker says.

“You need to have cash flow and what you are able to negotiate depends very much on your marketing power. It you look at some of the things post 2008, people had to wait until the wine had been sold. But a more typical arrangement may see you being paid around June with top ups consequently through the year.”

Again this needs to be clearly stated within the contract.

Risk management – is another area – who takes responsibility if something happens to the fruit between the time it has been harvested and the time it arrives at the winery?

“That comes down to when risk and title to the grapes is transferred. Is it at the vineyard gate or is it at the winery gate?

That again is something that has

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NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 13

EVENT NEWS

SUPER SYMPOSIA TESSA NICHOLSON

T

he gamut of New Zealand wines and regions will be on show early next year, as international trade and media flock to New Zealand.

Not only will they get to see the best of the best of this country’s Pinot Noir, at the Pinot 2017 event being held in Wellington, the large contingent will also be introduced to the very best of our aromatics and classic red wines.

New Zealand Winegrower’s Global Marketing Director Chris Yorke says he and his team are currently finalising itineraries for the 100 guests – making the events scheduled the largest ever undertaken by New Zealand Winegrowers.

While Pinot Noir 2017 is the biggest of the planned events, Yorke says the opportunity to showcase our other varieties is equally as important.

“This is part of the Major Event Strategy that we presented to the board back in 2014. The hook is Pinot Noir 2017, but we also have an Aromatics Symposium being

held in Nelson prior to Pinot. Following on from Pinot we are taking the guests on an Air New Zealand Wine Flight, which will leave from Wellington and fly over Nelson, Marlborough, Martinborough and up to Hawke’s Bay. Once there they will take part in the second symposium, Classic Reds.”

Each of the symposia will provide an opportunity for the guests to not only taste an array of wines, but also get to know the individual regions.

In terms of the Aromatics Symposium, Yorke says the wines being featured are Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer, from throughout New Zealand, along with some “smaller planted aromatics”. In Hawke’s Bay the Classic Reds will focus on Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet and blends, again from throughout the country.

On top of Pinot and the symposia, the New Zealand Winegrower marketing team are also organising two Sommit – sommelier workshops. In total 30 sommeliers

from around the world will take part, in one of two events. The first one is being held in Auckland and Waiheke Island prior to the Aromatics Symposium. The second will be held in Wellington Wine Country after Pinot 2017.

It has been back to back organisation for the marketing team, with next year’s events taking place exactly 12 months after the inaugural International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration.

“It has been quite a focus for the team,” Yorke admits. “We have gone from one event to another – in terms of planning. But we have also been focusing on ensuring we

are getting value from the intentional visitors who were here for ISBC.” Thankfully for all of them, there will be a bit of a breather, given the next major event will not be until 2019, when a second Sauvignon Blanc Celebration is planned. In 2021 It will be Pinot Noir, marking the 20th anniversary of the first ever Pinot Noir Celebration. Then in 2023, the New Zealand Winegrowers major event will again be focused on Sauvignon Blanc, with the timing coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the first modern day plantings in Marlborough.■

IMPORTANT DATES Sommit Auckland & Waiheke Island – 26-27 January Aromatics Symposium: Nelson – 28-29 January Pinot Noir 2017: Wellington January 31 – February 2 Wine Flight: Wellington to Hawke’s Bay over Nelson, Marlborough and Martinborough – Feb 3 Classic Reds Symposium: Hawke’s Bay – Feb 3-4 Sommit Wellington Wine Country - 5-6 February

14 //

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

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NZW NEWS

MEET YOUR NEW BOARD The first board of New Zealand Winegrowers Inc has been elected by the members.

The following shows the 10 successful candidates, plus a profile of each of them.

The new board was sworn in early November and the 10 members will be able to appoint two extra directors if they feel the need.

Member Class Directors John Clarke Ilfracombe Trust

I want to see a Board that recognises diversity within the indus-

try, responds to the needs of its members and seeks to protect and grow their profitability.

Sustainability continues to be a big focus for the future including environmental (water use and allocation) social and financial.

Social responsibility will be a challenge to be faced sooner rather than later.

With continuing export growth, maintaining quality and tight safety standards, across all forms of wine, especially exports, is an absolute necessity, if we are to protect our valuable New Zea-

land Brand. Regulations both offshore and within New Zealand will continue to be a huge focus for the Board in its broad advocacy role.

Our future as an internationally competitive industry, with premium quality wines relies on research and the recently announced Regional Research Institute will give us a huge opportunity to remain competitive.

Phone 06 862 3877 Mobile 021 223 6822 James Dicey I plan to focus on the following

WE HAVE MATCHED A FINE SELECTION OF LEGAL EXPERTS TO COMPLEMENT YOUR BUSINESS. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Marija Batistich PUBLIC LAW Simon Watt HEALTH & SAFETY Tim Clarke FOOD STANDARDS Kristin Bradley CORPORATE STRUCTURE Gavin Macdonald To access the full breadth of our team, please contact Marija Batistich in the first instance on 09 916 8809 or email marija.batistich@bellgully.com W W W. B E L L G U L LY. C O M

16 //

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

issues, amongst others: Making sure the Regional voice is heard Ensuring the marketing program provides a value for money platform

Reduction on compliance costs/business complexity Focus on Health and Safety and delivery of tools for smaller businesses Attempt to address the impact of bulk wine Continuing to develop and sell the value of the Sustainability program Develop research that has practical value for growers and wineries create an e ective extension program.

Mobile 027 445 0602 Email james@grapevision.co.nz Twitter @cereswines Peter Holley Mission Estate Winery The international wine industry has rapidly evolved. NZ Winegrowers Inc. needs to: The Board must be quickly established, clear in its vision and objective.

Clive Jones Nautilus Estate

More strategic, externally focused and competitive.

Increased focus on central and regional Government relationships. Particularly with regard to resource allocation, FTA’s, Wec’s, quality research and funding.

New Zealand’s quality reputation for “place and products” must be protected through innovation, traceability, reliability and integrity.

Mobile +64 21 417 877 Email peter@missionestate. co.nz, or peter@theholleys.net

From the outside our sector is seen as tremendously successful, but there will always be challenges to face. While the issue of the balance of supply and demand will always be present, we can also expect to face new challenges over issues such as social and environmental responsibility. The success of our sector has been based on a cooperative and united approach and an absolute focus on quality.

This must continue in order to ensure our success in the future.

We must also encourage further

diversity and continuous improvement with everything we do. We need targeted research, worldleading environmental credentials and smart marketing.

Mobile 021 627449 Email cjones@nautilusestate. com Twitter @NautilusClive Dominic Pecchenino Buena Vista Vineyards

How can we achieve our goals?

New Zealand wine enjoys an enviable position. We are recognised as producing some of the

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 17

best wines in the world, and we can continue to grow revenues in the higher price category as long as we continue to invest in: Practical improvement in quality.

New product development.

Tireless promotion in our markets.

Mobile 021 279 9740 Email nzyanks@xtra.co.nz

Levy Class Directors Steve Green Carrick Wines Limited

The cohesive and co-operative nature of New Zealand Winegrowers is the envy of most similar wine industry organisations around the world.

I want to maintain that position of pre-eminence, and although from a small Central Otago winery, Carrick, my focus has always been on the industry as a whole.

I became the Chair of New Zealand Winegrowers in October 2012 and I have worked to facilitate a united industry organisation providing the strength, experience and expertise we do not have as individual growers and wineries. Meeting with Government Ministers, Select Committees and political parties I am impressed with their attitude towards our industry, which in no small way reflects our united strength.

Phone 03 445 3480 Mobile 027 208 3194 Email steveg@carrick.co.nz

18 //

Patrick Materman Pernod Ricard Winemakers NZ

I want to see the New Zealand wine industry build on its strengths, as well as diversify in order to maintain its premium position in export markets. This will require sound investment in research, sustainability, biosecurity and marketing, as well as building a skilled labour force.

We need to continue to promote responsible consumption of alcohol and protect our products from excessive regulation. I believe these are our priorities and will advocate sensible investment in these areas, while ensuring that New Zealand Winegrowers provides a high level of service and strives to keep levies reasonable for all members.

Mobile 027 281 6295 Email patrick.materman@ pernod-ricard.com Duncan McFarlane Indevin Group Limited

An important factor in Indevin’s success is the strong partnerships we have with grape growers across the country. The New Zealand wine industry has evolved immeasurably over the

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

past 10 years; this evolution is the key driver behind both Indevin’s growth and its development from being a Contract Processor into a major wine company.

We have experienced industry change first hand and have quickly adapted our business to capitalise on this change.

I believe that agility and responsiveness should be a key focus at a macro level for the industry.

Mobile 021 485 522 Email duncan.mcfarlane@ indevin.com Simon Towns Constellation Brands

With the forecasted plantings in Marlborough, I bring a strategic view from both inside and outside the wine industry to maximise the best short-term and long-term interests of New Zealand grape growers and wine producers.

The wine sector contributes more than $280 million directly into New Zealand households through wages and salaries and we want to make sure that this economic engine is

sustainable and well- prepared for the future.

I also look forward to contributing to the great work that NZ Wine is continuing to enhance and protect the integrity and reputation of New Zealand wines both at home and abroad.

The GI Bill and its implementation plays a key role in protecting our local industry’s reputation for quality.

Mobile +64 21 949 701 Email simon.towns@cbrands. com Fabian Yukic Villa Maria Estate Limited

I am well known for driving sustainability within Villa Maria and the wider business community.

I am a strong advocate of the premiumisation of New Zealand wine. The first priority for the NZWG board is to protect, build and promote our international reputation for high quality wine, able to command premium prices globally for the benefit of the entire New Zealand industry.

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WINE AWARDS

AIR NEW ZEALAND WINE AWARDS This year’s Air New Zealand Wine Awards saw 1,392 entries.

Six point five percent of entries were awarded Gold Medals, and 70% of all entries received awards. The following is Chief Judge Michael Brajkovich’s review of the wines entered.

S

auvignon Blanc is New Zealand’s most planted grape variety and understandably performed very well with 14 Gold Medals awarded, with almost all from the Marlborough region and from the current 2016 vintage. These are good quality wines with an increasing diversity of styles showing now from a number of sub-regions.

Chardonnay was particularly strong, with 13 Gold Medals spread around the country from Gisborne to Central Otago, with six from Hawke’s Bay and three from Marlborough. Nine of the Golds came from the 2015 vintage, and were made in a range of different styles. As a group of wines, this is an outstanding statement of how good the quality of New Zealand Chardonnay has become, and in my opinion it is clearly our best quality white wine class.

Riesling is a beautiful class of wines that deserves more attention. This year we gave six Gold Medals, with floral fruit purity and elegant, fine acidity in the dry styles. In the medium category the juicy sweetness gave depth and richness to the palate without compromising the acid balance.

With eight Gold Medals, Pinot Gris shone through again in 2016 with a group of top wines that are well textured and balanced. There is much less reliance on sweetness in the Gold Medal wines these days, and more emphasis on fruit concentration from improved vineyard and winery practices.

In Gewürztraminer we found two Gold Medals with the classic varietal character and texture, and both dry. There was one exceptional Viognier that earned Gold Medal status this year, and one

beautifully aromatic example of Albariño in the Other White Varieties class.

Sparkling Wine was strong, with three Gold Medals in the bottle fermented styles combining fruit freshness with the yeast autolysis complexity from lees maturation. Two of these Golds were Blanc de Blanc wines, showing some lovely Chardonnay characteristics.

The Sweet Wine class was an excellent array of aromatic and complex styles, with four fruity Gold Medals from Riesling and one beauty from Sauvignon Blanc.

These wines are difficult and expensive to make, and the best of them are wonderful expressions of the winemakers’ art.

Pinot Noir is once again the most successful varietal class in the competition with 17 Gold Medals. It has been thus for each

Air New Zealand judging panel.

20 //

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

Michael Brajkovich MW, during the judging of the Air New Zealand wine Awards.

of the five years I have been Chair of Judges, and it reinforces the overall outstanding quality perception of this red wine style in New Zealand conditions. Nine of the Gold Medals came from the 2015 vintage, seven from 2014 and one from 2013, all very highly regarded Pinot vintages.

With 100 entries this year, Rosé has become a significant and important class, reflecting the rapidly increasing popularity of this wine style. The best wines are simply delicious.

In the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon blends there were eight Gold Medals, all from the warmer climate of Hawke’s Bay, and showing well the desirability of properly ripening conditions to get the most from these quality late season varieties.

All of the Syrah Gold Medals also came from Hawke’s Bay, with lovely ripe and rich characters and an elegant, peppery edge.

In the Other Red Varieties class we had an exceptional Cabernet Franc wine gain Gold, and for the first time a wine made from the Northern Italian variety Marzemino also won a Gold Medal. Both are from Hawke’s Bay. 2013, 2014 and 2015 are all demonstrably good vintages across the country, and the effects of this can be seen in this year’s results, particularly with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and the Cabernet/Merlot classes.■

AIR NEW ZEALAND WINE AWARDS 2016 – TROPHY WINNERS Air New Zealand Champion Wine of the Show Lowburn Ferry Home Block Pinot Noir Central Otago 2014 O-I New Zealand Champion Reserve Wine of the Show Brancott Estate Letter Series “O” Chardonnay Marlborough 2015 JF Hillebrand New Zealand Champion Pinot Noir Lowburn Ferry Home Block Pinot Noir Central Otago 2014 Rabobank New Zealand Champion Chardonnay Brancott Estate Letter Series “O” Chardonnay Marlborough 2015 Label and Litho Champion Sauvignon Blanc Babydoll Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2016 QuayConnect Champion Other White Styles Nautilus Albariño Marlborough 2016

Wine-Searcher Champion Sweet White Wine Giesen The Brothers Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2014

Fruitfed Supplies Champion Syrah Mission Reserve Syrah Hawke’s Bay 2015 Guala Closures New Zealand Ltd Champion Pinot Gris Wairau River Pinot Gris Marlborough 2016

Liquorland Champion Rosé Whitehaven Pinot Rosé Marlborough 2016

Plumm Glassware Champion Gewürztraminer Lawson’s Dry Hills Gewürztraminer Marlborough 2015

New World Champion Open White Wine Giesen Riesling New Zealand 2015 Dish Magazine Champion Open Red Wine Yealands Estate Single Vineyard Pinot Noir Marlborough 2015

Coast FM Champion Merlot, Cabernet and Blends Villa Maria Reserve Gimblett Gravels Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot Hawke’s Bay 2014 Plant & Food Research Champion Riesling Giesen Riesling New Zealand 2015

Rangitikei Chicken Champion Exhibition White or Sparkling Wine Maude Mt Maude Vineyard Dry Riesling Central Otago 2016

WineWorks Limited Champion Sparkling Wine Deutz Cuvee Blanc De Blancs Methode Traditionnelle Marlborough 2013

New Zealand Winegrowers Champion Exhibition Red Wine Mission Reserve Cabernet Franc Hawke’s Bay 2014

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AUTHOR PROFILE

COOPER REACHES 25TH MILESTONE TESSA NICHOLSON

T

his year marks a major milestone for one of New Zealand’s most prolific and respected wine authors. Michael Cooper’s latest book, New Zealand Wines 2017: Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide, will be the 25th edition – with no other annual (with the exception of a cricket almanac and rugby annual) coming close to the quarter century mark.

The soft cover book that first made its presence felt in 1992, has become somewhat of a bible for wine lovers here at home and more recently via his website, overseas.

However, it was almost an accidental birth, Cooper says.

In 1990 he released a book called Michael Cooper’s Pocket Guide to New Zealand Wines and Vintages. It was in fact a book based on the wineries throughout the country.

“But at the back, making up about 20 percent of the book,” Cooper says, “I added a list of all the significant wines made in New Zealand and simply star rated them. There were no descriptors, just a star rating for each wine.

What I couldn’t believe, was the response to it. People were mesmerized by the stars and what the publisher noted, and we noted in the reviews, was that everybody was referring to these star ratings. We had just seen it as an adjunct, as an exciting addition.”

It got both Cooper and the publishers thinking about how they could capitalize on that. The end result was he decided to write a book that abandoned the tradi-

22 //

tional style where wineries were highlighted [although winery profiles were still a feature of his big, hard cover books, five editions of The Wines and Vineyards of New Zealand, followed by Wine Atlas of New Zealand, currently in its second edition], and instead concentrate on the wines those wineries were producing. In November 1992, just in time for Christmas, New Zealand Wines: Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide was born.

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

The first edition sold over 10,000 copies, reaching number two on the national bestseller list.

Cooper had a clear philosophy when he began, to “unabashedly focus on which wine (a buyer) should buy and which they should avoid buying.”

He went a step further as well, by rating the wines not only for quality, but also for value.

“There is no shortage of good wine, so therefore the art of wine

buying is to find good wine that over delivers in terms of its price.”

The book has become larger as the years have flown, and that is a telling reflection of the growth of the wine industry over the ensuing years. Back in 1992, there were 800 wines listed. Compare that with the just under 3,000 wines in the 2017 edition.

It is not only the exponential growth of the wine industry that shows in the 25 years of Cooper’s annual. Varieties too have changed over the years.

In 1992, the section covering Muller Thurgau was five times more than the section covering Pinot Gris. In fact only six Pinot Gris were rated in 1992. In the 2017 edition there are more than 300.

The same goes for Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1992 the space devoted to rating this variety was three times greater than that focusing on Pinot Noir. The latest book requires 110 pages to cover the Pinots in New Zealand. In 1992, the variety was summed up in just 14 pages.

Surprisingly though, Cooper admits the number of Sauvignon Blanc ratings haven’t grown to the

extent that many would expect. In 1992 there were 100 Sauvignons listed. In 2017 there are close to 400. Interesting when you consider how Sauvignon Blanc volume has grown exponentially since 1992. But Cooper has a theory on that.

“What happens is all these companies around New Zealand want a Sauvignon, but they only want one. They need it as part of their portfolio, if they want to go off shore. If they want to sell their Waiheke reds or Martinborough Pinot Noirs, their distributor wants them to have a Sauvignon. But they only need the one. Whereas everyone who is into Pinot Noir is making about six. So you get people in Otago who start with a $40 Pinot and quickly realise that there are not all that many people who can afford a $40 Pinot. So a couple of years later they have a $30 Pinot

Noir and now they probably have a $23 Pinot as well. Then they start doing single vineyard Pinots. So there is this bewildering array of these wines. So although Sauvignon Blanc dominates in volume terms, the number of labels isn’t actually that daunting.”

He also points out that some of the bigger wine companies are producing in excess of a million cases of Sauvignon Blanc – but just the one label.

As for the future, he isn’t expecting the recent surge in growth to continue.

“What I noticed in writing this year’s Buyer’s Guide, is the number of wineries that are getting snapped up. Like Lake Chalice being bought by Saint Clair. Now Pask is on the market, Carrick was sold earlier this year. It seems to me that we are now living through an era of consolidation.”

After 25 years of producing the

Buyer’s Guide, does Cooper look back and view any vintage as better than any other? And what about disappointing vintages? In terms of the greatest – he says it would have to be 2013 and 2014 for different reasons.

“Going back and tasting those Hawke’s Bay reds from 2013 now, a lot of them are still way too young.

I actually get more pleasure from the 2014s, which was a warmer year. To me the Hawke’s Bay reds from 2014 have a generosity, a ripeness and a roundness and an x-factor in terms of being delicious, that the 2013s will have in time but you have to wait. And although the 2014s are a year younger, currently they are better drinking.

“But the 2013 white wines from around the country were very vibrant, had a lovely balance of ripeness and acidity.”

As for the most forgettable – well we don’t have to look back

too far, as he straight off says it was 2012.

“A lot of the wines are mean.

And a lot of the top wines weren’t actually made, the winemakers were quite open about that aspect, that they didn’t get that top end quality. For example Te Mata didn’t make Coleraine.”

It wasn’t just the Hawke’s Bay reds he described as “looking green with more leafy characteristics,” it was also the South Island Pinot Noirs.

“It was an unusually cool year where some of the grapes failed to ripen fully. By and large I would rate 2012 as one of the disappointing years.”

The 25th edition of New Zealand Wines 2017: Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide went on sale in November. Cooper is already working on material for next year’s release.■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 23

BIOSECURITY WATCH

HIGH RISK SEASON FOR STINK BUG EDWIN MASSEY

B

rown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) is a shield shaped insect native to Asia, which is rapidly expanding its distribution throughout the northern hemisphere. BMSB is not considered ‘present’ in New Zealand at the moment, but it is the industry’s most unwanted pest.

Adult BMSB are approximately 1.7cm long, with a distinctive brown shield shape and banding on the rear end and antennae. BMSB feed off a wide range of plant hosts, including grapes, and are a threat

to horticultural production.

When threatened, BMSB emit a long lasting, foul smelling odour as a defense mechanism. This odour can be known to taint grape juice.

Research is underway in the US to determine if the BMSB taint can survive the fermentation process to impact the quality of the wine produced.

At the recent Romeo Bragato conference I tainted some Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc with synthetic BMSB odor. It was a real highlight watching people recoil in horror as they caught the first whiff

of the intense burnt coriander aroma coming from the glass. This exercise demonstrated the effect a ‘worst case scenario’ could have on wine quality if this insect becomes established in New Zealand.

High risk season The end of September marks the start of the high-risk season for BMSB. This is the time when, in the Northern Hemisphere, the insect seeks out warm dry dark spaces to survive the winter. This behavior brings the insects into contact with humans, meaning

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large numbers of bugs are found on or inside buildings, cars and other structures where they can shelter.

During this time adult BMSBs are likely to be caught up in shipments of goods, or in personal belongings and find themselves ‘hitch-hiking’ to New Zealand. BMSB have been found travelling on and inside items such as machinery parts and vehicles, as well as stranger hosts like mortuary equipment and even Barbie dolls!

As the insect disperses throughout Europe and North America it becomes increasingly likely that

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ticularly ships that carry imported vehicles and machinery.

What can be done to stop the spread of BMSB?

one or more of these hitch-hikers will breach New Zealand’s multi layered biosecurity system. Table 1 sets out the country of origin for live BMSB intercepted at the border by MPI in recent years. It highlights the imminent threat posed

by BMSB, particularly from goods shipped from the United States and Europe.

To help manage this risk MPI has increased the visual inspections on containers from these areas and increased its surveillance of wharves and vessels, par-

To date BMSB has never been eradicated from a new area where it has been detected. Primarily, this is due to a lack of effective surveillance and control tools. Improving our ability to find and kill BMSB is a high priority.

Boosting Awareness For the last two summers MPI has lead a public awareness campaign to raise awareness of BMSB. The campaign targets groups which are most likely to be able to give an early indication if BMSB has crossed the New Zealand boarder.

To date, MPI has targeted home gardeners, travellers, and transitional facilities through

print, social media and websitebased advertising.

I n 2 0 1 6 Ne w Z e a l a n d Winegrowers is taking part in this campaign to ensure our members know what to look out for and steps to take if they see something unusual.

The most up-to-date fact sheet on BMSB is available here http:// www.nzwine.com/members/sustainability/biosecurity/pests-anddiseases■

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REGIONS MARLBOROUGH

FINDING THE PERFECT GLASS TESSA NICHOLSON

F

or the second time this year, a panel of winemakers and industry personnel in Marlborough spent time considering what constitutes the perfect Sauvignon Blanc glass.

With the help of 10th generation patriarch Georg Riedel, the panel spent an afternoon tasting the region’s flagship wine, from a range of 11 individually styled glasses. As more and more were eliminated for various reasons, it came down to two – both extremely similar in style and size.

It is not the first time Riedel’s patriarch has been involved in helping discover the perfect varietal glass here in New Zealand.

A few years ago, he ran similar seminars in Central Otago and finally with the help of a number of wine experts, the 260-year-old company produced a Pinot Noir glass that presents Central Otago wines in the best possible light.

Riedel are now set on producing a Sauvignon Blanc glass that shows off the unique aromatics of Marlborough’s wine.

While you might think it is all just marketing hyperbole that the glass changes the taste of a wine – no one on the testing panel would agree with you. The differences in both aromas and impact on the palate were obvious to all, when the same wine was drunk from a variety of glass styles.

With 11 glasses set in front of them, the panel had four flights of wine to taste. On the first flight, each person had to eliminate three glasses. Another three were eliminated on flight two, (with a differ-

26 //

10th century patriarch of Riedel Glassware – Georg Riedel.

ent wine), and again on the third flight. That left just two glasses on the table. And that was where the hard work really began. Both were similar styles, (see picture) and there was some discussion on just which showed off the variety best. In the end it required a second tasting comparison for a final decision to be made. Glass three, a Champagne Wine Glass was the winner, just – over glass 10, which was a Malvasia. Ironically in the first panel tasting back in June, it was glass 10 that won and glass three was second.

So why is it that glass shape and size changes the wine? Georg Riedel says it is not so much changing the wine, as changing the interpretation of the wine.

“If you compare wine to music – music does not change, but the interpretation of the music changes very, very much. The same with wine. If you try a wine in each of the glasses, you will be astonished about the difference in aroma and taste.”

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

Everybody understands there is a lot of science involved in winemaking – but the glass you drink that wine from is equally a work of science. Riedel explained that the bowl of the glass comes with three very distinct parameters.

“First size, then its shape and finally, the opening of the glass The flow of liquid to our palate depends on these three parameters which then generates a different perception of the same wine.”

He says size is very important, but so too is shape. The larger bowl style glasses in the Sauvignon Blanc tasting failed to deliver significant aromatics, proving his point.

As for the opening of the glass it’s importance lies in how you have to place your head to drink.

Does the opening deliver to the full mouth or does it confine the liquid to the tongue? Either way will impact on the taste sense, as Cloudy Bay winemaker Tim Heath pointed out when asked why he

chose glass three over glass 10. “( With glass 3) the wine washed around the sides of my mouth and I felt there was more structure and influence around that. The other glass (10) it poured straight down the middle of my tongue.”

Riedel explained the differences between the two glasses – admitting he preferred the second place getter, glass 10.

“This glass has a tinier, more narrow opening, which with gravity you move your head back and it gives a little more push on the wine, it goes more to the centre of the palate. Whereas glass three would go more forward of the palate.”

So what now? Good question.

Riedel have left the two winning glasses with each of the panel and has asked them to continue to

The glass on the left is the winning glass for Sauvignon Blanc as chosen by a panel in Blenheim. The glass on the right, came in a close second.

compare them against each other, to confirm the earlier decision.

But it just may be that the perfect glass to drink a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is the same as that for

a Champagne wine.

That doesn’t seem like too bad a result, particularly in terms of status.■ tessa.nicholson@me.com Damian Yvon from Clos Henri, was one of the panel trying to determine which glass is the perfect one for Sauvignon Blanc.

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NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 27

NEW SCIENCE

PULSATING NEW IDEA MARK ORTON

Y

ou will often hear winemakers waxing lyrical about the merits of being hands-off, letting the winemaking happen in the vineyard and having minimum intervention which is all well and good. But what if you could enhance flavour profiles, yield, and the time it takes to make wine with no impediment to quality?

Wouldn’t that be worth considering, even if it did involve a little electric shock treatment?

New Zealand Winegrowers and MBIE obviously think so, as they are funding a collaboration with Otago and Lincoln Universities to find out whether subjecting grapes to a short electric pulse might produce better wine with less additives.

Professor Indrawati Oey (Food Science) and Associate Professor David Burritt (Botany) explain that the new PEF (Pulsed Electric Field) machine is hardly revolutionary.

“Actually this technique has

28 //

been used overseas,” Oey explains, “but we would be the first in New Zealand. It is a technique that has been trialed in a number of different countries by different groups, but commercially, not quite yet.

Though it probably will be in the future, which is why it is important for wine producers in New Zealand to understand the process. It could be used as a marketing strategy too for instance, as it is a clean, green efficient way of producing better quality wines.”

The idea is, that by subjecting grapes to short electric pulses, the process of extracting polyphenols, including anthocyanins and tannins, might be more efficient than traditional winemaking methods.

“The quality of red wine is often determined by the flavour enhancing metabolites that are released from the berry into the juice,” says Burritt.

“A lot of those are quite difficult to extract because they are tied up in the cells that make up the skins. Traditional methodol-

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

Professors David Burritt (left) and Indrawati Oey, with pulsating new science.

ogy has relied on mechanical disruption and steeping, but if you steep grapes for too long or under the wrong conditions, instead of getting the metabolites that enhance the quality, you also get those that add a negative effect.

That is where techniques like PEF can come in, because it can allow us to release the metabolites that we want quickly.”

While Oey has been testing this process on grapes since 2012, it was only once she starting working with Burritt that they honed their focus.

Concentrating their research on Pinot Noir and Merlot, mainly due to their very different characteristics, some of their grapes

come from an on-going collaboration with Lincoln University.

Grown in an experimental vineyard using different management techniques, the methodology is to exert as much control as they can over the vineyard conditions so they can harvest the grapes, analyse them at the point of harvest and then analyse them over a period of time during the maceration and extraction period. They also get a small quantity of grapes from the wine community.

“One of the things that we do a little differently to what they do overseas,” says Burritt, “is that we are very careful about the providence of the material that we are working with. This then links into

what sort of effects the environment management strategies have on the quality of the grapes before they are even subjected to the PEF treatment.”

Obviously, this investment in technology and research time is based on the prospect of potential benefit for the local wine community. Though, when Oey starts talking about using PEF to modify the sensory profile of wine, you can almost hear loud gasps of condescension from traditionalists.

Realising this, Oey and Burritt are equally quick to stress that their process is simply speeding up and improving a naturally occurring process, which winemakers tinker with anyway.

“If you think of very thick walled plant cells, when they get macerated under normal circumstances, mechanical energy is used to crush the cells and break them open. The amount of mechanical

energy determines the amount you get out, how many molecules are released from the fibres in the cell walls. We’re just applying that energy in a different, more efficient way,” says Burritt.

“The separation of the juice and skins is very clean and very efficient,” Oey adds. “If the harvest is really bad, the compounds are still there, but not necessarily extractable. With this technique, it is just a current with no chemicals, so it is very clean. The treatment only takes micro-seconds, but you can shorten the maceration time from say 14 days to two days.”

“Sure there will be a start-up cost, but I should imagine that the energy savings will probably pay for the instrument over a couple of years” says Burritt. “Also, if they have a poor year with low yield, which can have a significant impact on their revenue stream,

then PEF can improve on that.

Having an extra 10-20% juice might redress the balance. I don’t think that New Zealand wants to be in the game of producing mass quantities of cheap wine, but if you can slightly manipulate the flavours and aromas in certain ways then you can add a lot of value.”

Both Oey and Burrit are keen to mention that collaborating with wineries is integral to the success of their research. Having people on hand who can taste and assess the balance of tannins and acid is invaluable, especially as PEF gives them the tools to quickly alter the balance via a simple tweaking of electrical intensity.

“The main thing is, people shouldn’t think about it as an extreme treatment,” says Oey. “It isn’t. Just think about it as a device sitting close to the destemmer, part of the line before the grapes

go to the maceration tanks. All industries should be aware of new innovations that at first glance might appear a bit scary, but in the long term could be incredibly beneficial.”

“From the winemakers that I know, there seems to be a very interesting balance between science and art, and in many ways I feel the balance even moves a little more towards art,” says Burritt.

“But, when you start to introduce techniques like this, then there are some sophisticated analytical tools producing solid data that can help inform what those artful decisions might be.

Things like metabolic profiling. I mean you can look at not just one or two molecules associated with flavour or aroma, but hundreds or even potentially thousands. It’s going to be very interesting over the next five to 10 years.”■ seeingredmedia@yahoo.com

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PINOT 2017

HEADING UPWARDS In the last of our regional Pinot Noir 2017 profiles, Tessa Nicholson talks to Dave Clouston of Two Rivers of Marlborough.

W

hile winemaker Dave Closuton began producing the first Two River wines back in 2004, it wasn’t until 2010 that the company became commercial. Since then it has been a virtual business, buying in fruit and using contract facilities to make the wine.

That changed this year, when Two Rivers purchased their first

vineyard block – an iconic vineyard that Clouston says will provide something very special to the company portfolio.

Brookby Hill Vineyard is in the heart of the Southern Valleys and was purchased after years of looking by Clouston.

“I was very specific about what I was after. I kept thinking, if I was looking for Grand Cru in Marlborough, where would I find

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30 //

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

it? I found it this year.”

The seven-hectare vineyard contains some of the steepest slopes in the Southern Valleys and maybe even in Marlborough. With clay soils, high density plantings (5000 vines per hectare), and easily able to be converted to organics, it was just what Clouston was after.

Planted back in 2002 he refers to it as a “fruit salad” of varieties.

Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Syrah and Pinot Noir – which makes up more than half the plantings. While he plans to reduce the amount of Riesling and Viognier, while adding some more Chardonnay, the overall mix is a nice addition to the current portfolio of contracted fruit.

The range of varieties is also allowing him to experiment more.

For example this year he has used Viognier to blend with his Pinot Noir –something he doesn’t believe has been done before in New Zealand.

“It was quite cool. We used

five percent Viognier with the Pinot, similar to what we used with the Syrah and tasting the wine in barrel it seems to have lifted the aromatics. Having this range of varieties gives us freedom to explore and allows us to push ourselves in different directions.”

The resulting wine will be showcased on day three of Pinot 2017, where wineries are encouraged to show those attending what is happening in the trial shed.

Apart from the wide range of varietals planted, Brookby Hill Vineyard has steep slopes which provide some dramatic differences within a small space.

“They change from the top of the slope to the bottom,” Clouston says. “You get more vigour at the bottom, so we will have to leaf pluck that once more. At the top it is a lot more arid and dry, so you get slightly more water issues, so we have to build up the organic matter.

It also has something else which is quite unique – a Hilux buried under the vines.

“When they filled in one of the valleys, the original guy who set it up buried a Hilux. Which is why that area is called Hilux Slope. I am not sure if it adds anything to the vines, maybe a bit of metal or minerality characters,” he jokes.

For Clouston, next year’s Pinot Noir 2017, is the first Two Rivers has attended. For an emerging and growing boutique winery, he says the event is one that can offer a lot.

“We are in a growing stage and this is a great way for a small boutique brand to gain exposure on the world stage and make global contacts. You can’t help but be seduced by some of the speakers and the workshops, and it has a great reputation.”

Two Rivers is one of 38 Marlborough wineries and 117 from throughout the country attending Pinot Noir 2017 in Wellington, from January 31 until February 2. ■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

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VINEYARD NEWS

HORSES FOR VINES TESSA NICHOLSON

T

hey may be a common sight in Europe, but having a Clydesdale horse spraying the vines is not something people expect to see here in New Zealand. That might be about to change in Marlborough at least, with a new business aiming to introduce the draught horses onto the viticulture scene.

The two Clydesdales, Gracie and Bill, are no strangers to vines given they were working at Seresin Estate up until 12 months ago.

Now with new owners they are back in the swing of things, with their first up job being to spray one of Fromm’s 25-year-old organic Pinot Noir blocks.

Fromm’s General Manager William Hoare says they are currently looking at producing a natural wine and utilizing draught horses fits well with the ethos of that. While Fromm wine is already extremely close to being natural he admits he never thought they would formalise the process and ‘put it on a label’.

“I am on record for saying that natural wine is possibly the worst trend in the wine industry. This is based on going to restaurants and wine bars where the wine buyer has a 30 something cool hipster mate, who inevitably has a beard, wears tight pants or dirty Chuck Taylors. They have bought fruit from somebody and made a natural wine, but, have no idea what they are doing and it turns out that the fruit isn’t even organic, and the aromatics of the wine resemble rotting fish left out in the sun. I think these wines miss the point of natural wine. However, recently I have changed my mind after tasting some great wines, such as Marcel Lapierre’s Morgon from

32 //

Beaujolais and James Milton’s Libiamo. We want to make a wine like this, a really good wine that happens to be natural, rather than a natural wine that isn’t really that good” With the 0.8 hectares of 25-year-old Pinot Noir, he says they have all the ingredients to achieve that goal – and the horses doing the spraying just adds to the natural aspect.

“I was in Australia recently and met up with Bill Downie who makes some very good natural wines. He has been using horses to spray his vineyard for years as it fits the ethos. I thought that would be nice, but maybe it’s a Melisa Rae in the driving seat, as Gracie gets down to spraying.

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

little far-fetched. Who is going to make that sort of investment?”

By that Hoare means, who would buy the Clydesdales, train them up and then custom build the machinery to tow behind. Enter a serendipitous moment.

“I was just off the plane and had taken my kids to a café in Renwick and ran into Stephen (Rae).

He was telling me that he and his wife were taking over Seresin’s horses and planning to start up their own business. Would we be interested?”

He certainly was and in October the two horses arrived at the vineyard, with a custom built sprayer, to place a seaweed spray

on the emerging buds.

Travelling between five and six kilometres per hour, the job is only slightly slower than with a tractor, but the coverage was perfect, there was no use of fossil fuels and far less compaction down the rows.

Hoare says it is a win-win situation.

Melisa Rae is the person behind the reins of the Clydesales, having worked with them at Seresin Wines for nearly five years. When the company decided to sell the horses, she and her husband were quick to bite the bullet and buy the horses, with plans to establish their own business.

Now she and the horses are

stopping people in their tracks, as they amble up and down rows of vines in Marlborough. Not surprising when the last thing you expect to see in a vineyard where technology rules, is a horse pulling a spray unit behind it.

The skill set required to work these draught horses is not gained overnight Rae says. It has taken her years to get to know the horses and understand their needs.

“There is skill involved,” she says, “and you need to have good timing. You have to understand the commands the horse needs, as they listen to your voice, not just what you are doing with the reins.”

Working in amongst vine rows is another skill set the partnership requires. While it is not so tough when the rows are 3 metres wide, it becomes a little trickier when you get down to 1.8 metres.

“That’s the narrowest we can do, it would be a bit hard to do any

less.”

Currently Rae is only using the horses for spraying in the vines, but there have been numerous enquiries regarding the potential of using them to cultivate between rows.

“I think it is possible to do, if we could get the right discs – that is something we are looking into.”

In terms of Clydesdales, on average they stand at 1.7 metres at the shoulder, weigh between 820 and 910 kilograms and can pull many times their own weight.

They can travel with the spray unit behind, at five to six kilometres an hour, and work for up to eight hours a day.

Currently Rae’s horse drawn spray unit is the only one of its kind in the New Zealand wine scene – but given the interest being shown, it may not be the last.■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

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SCIENCE PROFILE

SCIENCE OF WINE –

PAULINA GIRALDO-PEREZ TESSA NICHOLSON

T

here is a lot we can learn from early civilizations about systemic relationships within our environment, according to PhD student Paulina Giraldo-Perez. Based at Auckland University, Paulina’s work on unravelling the DNA of soil biota contributes to New Zealand Winegrowers’ Vineyard Ecosystems programme which began last year and is co-funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) through its Science and Innovation Partnership programme.

For this Colombian born scientist, the research is a dream come true. She has long been an enthusiastic conservationist and

34 //

is keen to provide the evidence that ecosystems are integrated, as opposed to operating independently of one another. That is, she says, very much how early civilisations such as the Greeks viewed the cosmos.

“They used to think very systemic, not systematic. They thought about how things are connected to one another. Then we started getting all this scientific knowledge, we saw genetics and physics (coming into the equation) and then we started studying individual things under a microscope per se, very like one thing at a time. But now we have so much knowledge we can go back and put everything together. We

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

are getting back to the system and we are understanding how things actually work.”

Paulina’s BSc was undertaken at the University of California and saw her majoring in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, with her final semester thesis concentrating on hermit crabs in the Virgin Islands.

“I was interested in how humans actually distract animals from doing what they are supposed to be doing and hermit crabs were a good system to study,” she says.

She wanted to know whether the impact of high-pitched noises, such as boats and jet skis, were impacting on the reaction pat-

terns and lifestyle of the crabs, and it became clear they were.

“Crabs have different responses when they see a predator. The first thing they do is run very quickly and when they see the predator is really close, they hide themselves in their shell. That is normal behavior. But what we noticed was when we had really loud noises around, those predator behaviours were taking significantly longer to happen. So they are that much more at risk when a lot of humans are around.”

Paulina is unlikely to come across any hermit crabs in her new research project. But the human impact on the soils that make up our vineyards is likely to provide some interesting data.

Her PhD is looking at the impact of synthetic pesticides on the biodiversity of New Zealand vineyards. Within the research, the soil samples from 24 vineyards, (12 in Hawke’s Bay, 12 in Marlborough – broken down according to vineyard management practices) will be thoroughly analysed right through to DNA. Soil is the perfect repository to study, she says, since, due to gravity, everything finally ends up on the ground.

“It is a really good repository for life and as a proxy for what lives in the specific environment,” Paulina says. “I am taking soil samples, extracting all the DNA, or the life blueprint from the soil and addressing that and looking to see what I get.”

The beauty of the Vineyard Ecosystems programme, is that it is over seven years.

“Because if I take DNA from soil from one place at one time,

it is just a picture of that circumstance at that moment. Now we have the opportunity to do three tests a year for so many years, and we get to see different patterns.

There may be yearly patterns, there may be bi-yearly patterns, we don’t know. It is so important right now because we do have evidence that biodiversity does change.”

What’s more, the findings will not be limited to the seven years of the programme, or the current research techniques available. All the soil samples are being frozen and held at Auckland University, so as new technology becomes available, even more in-depth tests can be conducted in the future.

“We have this information which is going to be unbelievably valuable when the technology changes. We have these (soil samples) from so many years and we will get to play with it and read it with different technology in a few years to see different things.”

While most people’s eyes would glaze over at the millions of DNA sequences found in the soil samples, Paulina is exactly the opposite. To say she is enthusiastic about the programme is putting it mildly. For her the DNA sequences are like discovering a pot of gold.

“Exactly. You see that coming and it’s like – Yes! There is so much there. It is not only the identity of organisms, but it is also evolu-

tionary history. It is what you see in those bowls of letters, services that they provide to the ecosystem in which they live.

“It is personal to me,” she says.

“It is something that is good for the entire country, which I love and it is good for nature. Every way I look at it, is something good. I wake up in the morning happy to come to work.”

However it does present a few challenges for her. Number one, not knowing very much about wine – although she says she is quickly remedying that particular challenge. But mostly, because she is adamant that she doesn’t want to be “a dead end for science”.

Instead she wants to be able to communicate the information to those that can use it, in a way they can comprehend.

“My greatest challenge is learning to communicate the actual science behind the programme to the very different types of groups I need to communicate this to. I think it is one of the most important goals of my life as I grow as a scientist. Science doesn’t make sense if you don’t communicate it to everyone else. English is not my first language and this is something that is very complex. I want to learn to explain it simply and I want people to see it as beautiful as I see it.”■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

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NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 35

RETAIL NEWS

WINE RETAIL TODAY – The rise of internet sales, the demise of big buttery Chardonnays and deep discounting are among the biggest challenges facing specialist wine retailers today, according to three owner-operators in Auckland, Taupo and Wellington. Joelle Thomson reports.

A

uckland retailer Kingsley Wood opened the doors of his wine store, First Glass, 17 years ago in Huron Street, Takapuna and moved for the first time six months ago when 50 of his regular customers turned up as volunteers.

“I just said ‘I need help’ and it was very nice to have people come along and do that – and we broke one bottle. It was amazing. We did it all in about four hours, moving from Huron Street to our new premises, just round the corner.”

The customer base he has built up over the past two decades is extremely loyal, he says, because he is honest with them about pricing, discounts and availability.

“We have to front up to them if

they ask us to recommend a wine and then they like or don’t like it, so we have to be honest every step of the way. If the supermarket has a wine for a cheaper price then we need to provide another point of difference by supplying better wines at lower prices or wines that people may not easily be able to find, which are good in different ways.”

High volume sales are also key to successful small businesses.

This was one of the main reasons he moved his store’s location this year. The new premises offered him an increase in carparks from eight (at the old store) to 14 (at the new one) – as well as a longer lease, which was an appealing drawcard.

“When competition is tough,

The new Caro Wines in Ponsonby.

36 //

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

you have to move forward. A lot of people forget about the wait factor for customers when they’ve got a nice little wine shop with one or two carparks, which means most people can only walk in and buy the one or two bottles that they are able to carry out. Carparks mean people can buy wine by the case.”

The biggest challenge that Wood faces right now is the seasonal price erosion of Champagne, due to high volume sales in large competitive retail stores - grocery.

Fellow Auckland wine retailer John Caro of Caro’s Wines concurs.

“Nobody makes any money on Champagne these days because you’re getting margins down to as low as 6% to 7% and it’s just ridiculous that we all go out and kill each

other on pricing, which is driven by the supermarkets who usually demand they get their way or otherwise bring in parallel imports.”

Caro suggests that supermarkets are killing other categories of wine sales too, but says that Champagne is more strongly brand driven than many other wines.

“New Zealanders have not generally tended to get into grower Champagnes yet, which is a real shame because that’s where some of the best quality and greatest value can be found. It’s like the craft beer movement which has helped diversify people’s taste buds and spending. When it comes to Champagne, it’s the small grower brands that offer the best value and flavour. They will have their day in this country but right now, most people are totally seduced by the big brands and that’s that.”

The heavy price cuts that affect Champagne is the tip of a far deeper trend that Wood describes as disturbing discounting.

“What disturbs me most in wine retail today is what I see as a fabrication of reality, of the truth, in terms of discounted wine prices. This is apparent from a number of significant wine retailers who suggest that their prices offer a great discount. It’s convincing for some people but those of us who know better look with some despair at how the public are being manipulated,” Wood says.

He objects to discounting that appears to convince members of the public they are getting a better deal than they actually are, by way of prices which are not actually as significantly reduced as their advertising may suggest.

“If you see a wine that is sup-

– THE STATE OF PLAY posedly reduced by a certain amount, but it never – or rarely ever – sells for its recommended retail price, it makes a

Big Chardonnays such as this one from Church Road sell well in specialist independent wine retail stores, says owner operator of First Glass Wines in Takapuna, Kingsley Wood.

mockery of the truth,” says Wood.

So, how does an independent wine retailer make stiff competition and narrow margins work profitably?

“Wine margins are so skinny that it’s about managing stock levels and making sure you deliver quality and value to your customers,” John Caro says. “It also helps that the imported wines at Caro’s are all exclusive and cannot be found anywhere else because we bring them in. This gives us a point of difference without pigeon holing us. People can come into our shop and pretty much get wine from any country because there’s nothing we don’t deal in. We are a general specialist.” (Caro imports

are sold to other independent retailers in the South Island, such as Vino Fino and Decant, both in Christchurch).

It is a general specialist that doubled six months ago when Caro senior (the father of John and Richard Caro) retired from his clothing factory business, leaving behind a central Ponsonby premise with space for his sons to set up a second store.

“We also knew we had customers on the other side of Auckland and nobody wants to drive in this city, so we took the plunge because the premises were there. We pay rent but the timing and logistics were made possible in a way that never could have happened oth-

erwise. It enables us to spread the sales risk in a large market, even if we are surrounded literally by wine stores in nearby streets.”

It’s still early days for the new Caro’s Wine store in Ponsonby but with central Auckland’s swift population densification, there is significant growth in apartments nearby, which can potentially mean significant customer growth.

The location also offers direct access to another part of the market - restaurants to which Caro’s supplies wine. This is also an important part of business at Regional Wines & Spirits in Wellington where trade sales can help the viability of an otherwise small

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wine business.

“I don’t think that any one particular channel of sales would be a viable business for us but all of them together make for a good business – trade sales and online as well as retail,” says Henderson, adding that he is not reliant on banks or a head office to tell him how to sell and what to sell. “I hear so many times that wine stores will have a ‘core range’ or recommended portfolio which they have to stock. This means that all of a sudden someone else is dictating your business, not the customer.

That’s not what we’re about.

“We want to enhance the experience for the customer and take it to another level for them by having staff with specialist knowledge who are able to relate to customers and guide them towards positive experiences,” Henderson says.

Another challenge in wine retail today is the more specific

lack of big, rich styles of Chardonnay, which are in short supply.

Wood finds this one of his biggest frustrations.

“When I run a competition like the New Zealand International Wine Show, it’s full of winemakers – absolute legends of the Kiwi

INDUSTRY NEWS PROFILES

wine industry – who drink those styles but don’t make them. It’s just unbelievable that they won’t make the big Chardonnays that my customers want to drink.”

Wood has found some that fit the bill, namely Church Road Reserve Chardonnay and, also

LATEST RESEARCH REGIONAL UPDATES

from Hawke’s Bay, the 2015 Clearview Reserve Chardonnay, which he says is: “Glorious wine, absolutely fabulous.”■ mailme@joellethomson.com • Joelle Thomson consults to Regional Wines & Spirits, where she leads regular wine tastings.

MARKETING UPDATES ARCHIVES

www.nzwinegrower.co.nz 38 //

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

NZW NEWS

INTRODUCING SPRAY MIX MATE I

f calculating spray application rates for your vineyard makes you want to tear your hair out, you are not alone.

Calculation errors are common and can have major implications for disease management.

To help growers tackle this ongoing bugbear, New Zealand Winegrowers has developed a new mobile app that works out the maths on your behalf to help you get the best results from your spray programme.

Called “Spray Mix Mate Calculator,” the app has been developed to complement New Zealand Winegrowers’ recent event series

held around the country. Cofunded by the Sustainable Farming Fund (Ministry for Primary Industries), “Spray Days” – along with the app – are part of a new research project that aims to improve practices for powdery mildew management. The app has been developed with industry input and tested by growers and vineyard managers to ensure it fits the bill.

By entering simple details about your row spacing, stage of growth, spray target and label rate, the Spray Mix Mate Calculator will determine the maximum application rate per hectare required for your specific canopy and spray job.

If you want to go a step further, you can calculate the tank mix for up to four different chemicals. Using your planned application volume, tank size and area to be sprayed, the app then calculates exactly how big the job is, how many tanks you need and how much chemical to add to each tank to get the job done. If you want to share that information, Spray Mix Mate will either email or SMS the job to others.

Once downloaded, Spray Mix Mate is fully operational in the vineyard and does not require internet connectivity to calculate

information (unless you want to share information with others).

Spray Mix Mate Calculator is free to download (in New Zealand only) and is available now for both android and iOS users from Google Play and the App Store. ■

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NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 39

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FAMILY VINES

Ivan Donaldson is renowned for establishing the first modern vineyard in Canterbury back in the 1970s. A few years later, he and wife Chris purchased land further north and established Pegasus Bay, a family owned and run vineyard, winery and restaurant that is at the heart of the burgeoning Waipara region.

Ivan began his winemaking career making what he describes as horrible fruit wines, in his garage. While he was an Associate Professor and Consultant Neurologist, wine was his out-of-work passion. Trips around vineyards and wineries in Europe cemented his love of fine wine, so much so that he began looking at how he could be involved in the industry here in New Zealand.

He and Chris with the help of their four boys began planting vines at Pegasus Bay in 1986. He was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to neurology – but could also have received it for helping establish the Waipara wine region.

His eldest son Matthew (Matt) is the winemaker, having completed his 25th Pegasus Bay vintage this year.

Another son, Edward is Marketing Manager and the youngest Paul is the General Manager.

This issue, Family Vines discovers the story behind Pegasus Bay’s dynasty, with Ivan and Matt.

Ivan Donaldson, 75

W

hen Chris gave me Hugh Johnson’s book Wine, I looked at it and I fell in love with wine.

It wasn’t really falling in love with drinking wine, it was falling in love with the concept of wine.

Shortly after we were married we saw this advertisement for people interested in starting up an amateur winemaking club. We didn’t realise at the time it was going to be fruit wine, although that was all it could be because there were no grapes in the South Island at

40 //

that time.

Winemaking is part science and part art. You can be very knowledgeable in terms of medicine but an absolute failure as a doctor if you don’t have the art of medicine as well as the science background. It is the same with winemaking. I think it is the marriage of science, art and craft that excited me to the subject of wine and winemaking.

I don’t think either of us knew what we were getting ourselves into when Chris gave me that

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

Hugh Johnson book.

When we came back from London, I and several nutters started what effectively was the first modern vineyard in Canterbury, Mountain View Vineyard at Halswell, which we called Pleurisy Point, (because it was so cold). I was the winemaker for that, but I could see that it was possible to do something more serious than what we were doing there, because that was just a hobby. I was making the wine, but it was taking a lot of time and the rewards weren’t all that great. We

decided we had to become professional, get serious about it, or get out. That was a watershed period for us. We had a year sabbatical from the University I was working for at Christchurch Hospital, so we went back to the UK and tripped around Europe. We decided when we came back we would go the whole hog and buy a bigger bit of land and develop it. That is what we did. We chose Waipara because the hills separate the valley from the cooling

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We didn’t push any of the boys toward the vineyard or the winery or anything like that. Actually I tried to encourage all of them to do medicine. I was very keen for them to do that. But none of them wanted to. They said, we can see what you have done Dad and we don’t want to do the same thing. There is a lot of night work in medicine and a lot of long hours.

It is a bit ironic, because in a sense they probably let themselves in for more night work over vintage and in spring with the risk of frosts.

We were quite surprised when Matthew said he wanted to be a winemaker. It came about because he worked with Danny Schuster during one holiday. He came back and said “I want to be a winemaker”. We tried to talk him out of it, because it seemed to us at that stage that we hadn’t produced any wine and we didn’t know if the whole thing was going to fall on its face. He was good at chemistry and science, so we suggested he do a chemistry degree or something else and get a general

ORGANIC

easterly winds. It is considerably warmer in the summer than it is further down on the Canterbury Plains. It was the mirco climate that put us in that area.

We put our first vines in a nursery up there in 1985, along with Danny Schuster and finally settled on a piece of land in 1986.

Basically the trips we did in Europe were related to going to vineyards, looking at vineyards, tasting the wines, going to the wineries and talking to the winemakers. So yes, the boys probably have wine in their blood. (When I was making wine at home) the boys were well used to helping me.

I would get their assistance at various times. They learned to hate it at times. I think they enjoyed it to start off with, but after you are standing on one end of a pipe while it is being siphoned from one vat to another, if it is not over within a minute, it becomes boring for them. There were plenty of complaints about that. But I think it can’t have been too bad, because three have joined us.

 

P:09 - 3729155 E: rsf@rd2.co.nz W: www.rd2.co.nz NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 41

qualification and then if he still wanted to, train as a winemaker.

We thought it would be better to do it from there, rather than focus on wine in particular when there might not be a job available. He wasn’t going to have a bar of that.

He said I want to be a winemaker!

I think that really focused him.

Before that time, he like so many young people didn’t have a particular aim and he was drifting a bit. Like I was at school I have to say, before I decided that I wanted to go into medicine. So it was a surprise to us that he wanted to do that and he was lucky enough to get into Roseworthy College in Australia.

We were possibly surprised that he wanted to come back and be Pegasus Bay’s winemaker. But he never left any doubt at the time he left, that he would be coming back. From the time he went there, (Roseworthy College) he had the

determination that he was going to come back to us, so we didn’t discourage him. In fact, we were delighted.

Matthew is very much an individual. Surprisingly there are a lot of winemakers who don’t actually have good palates. I think Matthew has a fantastic ability to assess wines and I think he is self-critical.

He has also got a flair and passion for wines.

He is not frightened to make wine styles that are different to other people. He has his own ideas and brings that flair and passion that I could never have done. He has an individuality and he has the courage to do something that is different. He has a streak of stubbornness and a streak of perfectionism. I think Chris and I both tend to be like that. I know I do.

And I think some of the other boys are perfectionists, sometimes to a fault.

We never really considered that any of the boys would be involved in the business. We thought once Matthew decided he wanted to be a wine maker that yes he would be involved. Then Edward just seemed to fit in naturally. But we never thought the others would join. But I think it

has been very good for us. Everyone has to think about succession, especially in the wine business.

Chris and I would have sold up and gone and done something else if it hadn’t been for the boys coming along. So it has saved us having to think about that and that has been good for us.

more with the pruning and training of the vines. Around the same time we were taking cuttings for

the new vineyard that we were planting in Waipara.

As I recall we were paid in scoops

Matt Donaldson, 46

I

can remember those trips around vineyards in Europe.

It was a big adventure for us.

We were living in the UK at the time and going to school. So it was nice to get out onto the Continent and just have a holiday in the camper van. Us kids weren’t specifically interested in the vineyards, but it was a great holiday.

We came back to New Zealand when I was about 14 and Mum and Dad helped set up Mountain View Vineyard, just south east of Christchurch. I got conned into working there, we all went up as a family. Before we went back to the UK (on Ivan’s sabbatical) it was more just playing and having fun.

When we came back I was helping

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of chips or lollies. We would get the cuttings from St Helena and Kaituna Valley, bring them back to the garage in a trailer and then we would cut them into bundles.

We got paid in lollies or scoops of chips, depending on how many bundles we did in a day.

When we were setting up Pegasus Bay I was helping Danny Schuster a little bit with his operation. I went out there and drove some posts for Danny in his vineyard and about the same time I was driving posts for our vineyard. It was quite stony land, so we had to put a big metal spike into the ground first to make sure the posts didn’t go off course. It wasn’t the most fun job, but we got there in time.

Dad wanted us all to get into medicine, but it didn’t look like my grades were going to be good enough. So winemaking seemed like it would be the logical step. I was about 15 at the time and had worked with Danny one holiday. It seemed to be an exciting industry.

Alcohol is always a factor to a teenager I guess. I was a Lion Brown man at the time, but I did drink the odd flagon of port and the odd bottle of Pink Chardon.

But winemaking kind of made sense, given we were going to be running a commercial vineyard as a family. At that time there was no under grad course in New Zealand, and as I was starting straight from school, it was either going to have to be California or Australia. Australia was the better option because it was closer and because of CER, we had the same rights for education as we would have in New Zealand.

I was lucky enough to have quite a few older people in my year and they were opening some really nice bottles of wine. I quickly developed a taste for better quality plonk than I had been drinking back at school.

I hadn’t done any home brewing growing up, apart from help-

ing Dad press his ferments and helping him rack off barrels in the garage. It came close to putting me off. When I wanted to go out on a Friday or Saturday night with my friends, Dad would have me trapped in the garage. “We’ll just rack one more barrel Matt and then you can go out.” It definitely wore a bit thin a couple of times. But in retrospect, I find myself doing that to the guys at work now, so I guess it has gone full circle.

I remember the first vintage at Pegasus Bay very vividly. We had 18 tonnes of grapes and 50 acres planted then. But the vines were really struggling because the soils are quite bony. It was quite fortunate that we ramped up production quite slowly. Eighteen tonnes that first vintage in 1992, then we got 35 tonnes in ’93 and then slowly up from there. It was quite small but perfect for someone straight out of wine school to play with. Dad was helping on that vintage. He was a huge help all the way through. It is only in the last 10 years that he hasn’t been involved with the blending part of it, but he always was before then.

It was never awkward working with Dad, in fact it was most appreciated. He has a really good palate and obviously he had a lot more experience than I had. I valued his opinion and we worked together really well. It wasn’t always like that before I left for Australia. I probably wasn’t the favourite son, but three years away from home, meant when I came home I had grown up a bit and I was able to relate to my parents a lot better. We found we had a lot in common, rather than the nothing in common before I left.

Ivan is a very nice guy, quite conservative. Not particularly concerned about what people think about him I guess, but conservative in his habits and finances – which is a good thing. My Mum is more of a doer. Dad is more of a

perfectionist, more thinking everything through before he makes a decision. Whereas Mum just gets in and does it. That is why they make such a good team.

I’m not surprised that three of us are involved, I’m just very happy that the others are. As they have come on board it has shared out the responsibilities. Particularly when Paul (GM) came on board, it took a lot of jobs that I didn’t like doing away from me.

He came along at the right time and has taken over a lot of stuff, like deciding how much wine to bottle for a particular vintage, or how many grapes to buy in of a particular variety. It is the stuff you have to do, but I would rather not have to work with numbers and that sort of thing. It has freed me

up and it means I can do more of what I enjoy.

I don’t think any of us would like to do the other person’s job, so it is has been fortunate the roles we have fallen into.

Working together as a family may not be the norm in New Zealand, but that is because the New Zealand wine industry is very young. It is just the norm in Europe, for wineries to get passed through generations, or people marrying into different families.

I guess it will become more and more like that here. If you are working with your family, you always put in the extra hours. You are not just doing if for yourself, you are doing it for the rest of the family.■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 43

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AMONG THE VINES Reminders for December/January...

• Canopy management practices that improve light penetration and air movement through vines significantly improve foliage drying time and reduce humidity around bunch lines. This also helps improve spray coverage and reduces disease pressure.

• Two key concerns for grape growers in December/January are Powdery Mildew and Botrytis.

• Wine grape vines are particularly sensitive to Powdery Mildew (PM) infection between pre-bloom and fruit-set. Fortify your powdery mildew programme with protectant fungicides before, during and after the sensitive bloom period then maintain a protective cover on vines through until veraison.

• Pre-bunch closure (PBC) is an important spray window to manage Botrytis infection.

It’s the last opportunity before harvest to achieve complete fungicide coverage of berries. Berries are expanding in size rapidly in January, so ensure the interior bunch receives adequate spray coverage.

It’s better to be conservative and spray early than to wait too long and find bunches have partially or completely closed up.

• Downy mildew requires careful management through this period. Apply a specialist fungicide in anticipation of conditions conducive for infection.

• Monitor for leaf roller and, if monitoring thresholds are breached apply a suitable insecticide before bunches close up.

• Remember to always carefully check preharvest intervals (PHIs) of sprays you intend to use before any application is made. Consult your winery, if necessary. ■

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FIRST KUMEU SPARKLING JOELLE THOMSON

K

umeu River Wines has broken new ground for sparkling wine by bottling New Zealand’s first bubbly to be called Crémant, which was released in October this year.

The name is French for sparkling wine made in the traditional method, the same way as Champagne, only Crémant comes from outside the Champagne region.

The new Kumeu River Crémant has been a work in progress for two and a half years while it was aged on tirage (its yeast lees, leftover in the bottle, following the second fermentation).

The concept has been in the mind of Master of Wine Michael Brajkovich for far longer.

“I think that New Zealand is underperforming in the sparkling wine category. There are a lot of really good ones around but it’s a really small part of the market and I think we can do it really well.

You only have to look at the market overall and look to Australia to see how well Tasmania does in this regard. It has a climate just like ours, so there’s great potential here for us,” says Brajkovich, whose late father, Mate, formerly made a significant quantity of sparkling wine.

“I’ve always been keen on the idea of making sparkling wine and while Dad made a lot of it, this is the first one that Kumeu River Wines has made in the traditional method,” he says.

He chose the name Crémant to make reference to the fact the

48 //

wine is made with a second fermentation in the bottle followed by tirage and disgorgement – the controlled ejection of the lees sediment while the wine itself remains in the bottle.

Crémant first gained prominence as a name in the late 1980s when the term Method Champenoise was made illegal by the EU. Wines made in the traditional method have since been referred to as Method Traditionelle but even this terminology is declining and, in France and the EU, the term Crémant has since largely replaced any reference to traditional method sparkling wine labelling.

In theory, Crémant can be produced anywhere in France but in practice it is most widely made in Alsace, Bourgogne (Burgundy), the Loire and Limoux; the latter being a cool climate, high altitude appellation in the Languedoc region in southern France. Crémant is also made in Luxembourg.

Unlike its European counterparts, the new Kumeu River Crémant is sealed with a crown seal because Kumeu River Wines is a cork-free zone.

The new Kumeu River Crémant is made mostly from Chardonnay, the key grape at this small family owned and operated wine specialist. It makes up 60% of this wine’s blend, with the balance, 40%, being entirely Pinot Noir.

The wine has a dosage of 5 grams per litre of sucrose addition.

“This 5 grams of sugar was dis-

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

solved in 2006 vintage Kumeu Estate Chardonnay, and each bottle was dosed by hand, then topped using another bottle of the disgorged Crémant.

Most of the grapes that went into this first blend were from the 2012 vintage, with a little bit of old material from a previous vintage, which was used to blend.

Now Brajkovich has established a routine at the winery whereby a portion of reserve wine is retained each year. This still only constitutes a small component of each vintage’s Crémant, but it’s an important core ingredient for the sake of consistency in house style.

“The aim is to make a non vintage style but predominantly from one vintage by blending in a small amount of reserve wine, which will

be made up of both grape varieties,” says Brajkovich.

The wine will be made every year going forward and the volumes are growing from a small base, of which the first bottling was of 2,500, which is just over 200 dozen.

As for the logistics of using the name Crémant, Brajkovich referred to the labelling regulations published by New Zealand Winegrowers, which appear online at nzwine.com “It all stems from the fact that Champagne is much more controlled in terms of its name.

Crémant d’Alsace, Crémant d’Bourgogne and Crémant d’Loire are all terms for some of the French regions using the name Crémant, and that is allowed to be used by third countries, of which we are one, provided you conform to a number of regulations. One of these is that it has to be used

As for making a vintage wine, it would be “very difficult” and is not on the drawing board immediately.

in conjunction with a recognised designation or a geographical indication or GI, of which Kumeu is one.”

This also means that the wine has to be made from hand harvested grapes which are whole bunch pressed under certain yield restrictions, and the wine had to be bottle fermented to qualify for the label ‘Crémant’.

While the lees aging was for 30 months, Brajkovich says it was clear that the wine was continuously improving whilst on tirage.

“It was getting better and better, but there’s a limit to how long you can keep these things because they take up room and you really

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need to disgorge and sell the wine.”

West Auckland winemaker Tony Soljan was helpful in loaning the Brajkovich family the winemaking equipment to do the riddling – hand turning the bottles while on tirage – and also for providing the winemaking equipment for disgorging, which took place at Kumeu River Wines.

Central Otago sparkling wine (and Pinot Noir) producer Rudi Bauer was also very helpful over the years as a sounding board on a number of issues relating to sparkling winemaking at Kumeu River Wines, says Brajkovich.

As for making a vintage wine, it

would be “very difficult” and is not on the drawing board immediately.

A Rosé sparkling wine, however, is on the cards, as is the possibility of a Blanc de Blancs, which would be made entirely from Chardonnay.

“The Rosé is easiest to do because all we have to do is blend some red Pinot into the white sparkling base, which will give it character and which we’ll probably do in the next few months.”

This wine would be three years down the track until release, however, says Brajkovich.

In terms of the overall production at Kumeu River Wines, the Kumeu Crémant makes up two thirds of a percent – less than one per cent - but this is destined to grow.

“We have made five vintages now and growth is in train. Only four have been bottled and the fifth is about to be bottled.”■ mailme@joellethomson.com

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NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 49

WINERY NEWS

URBN VINO MARK ORTON

I

t’s somewhat fitting that a historian should want to set up shop in Dunedin’s historic precinct. In fact Brendan Seal is positively beaming when glancing at the exposed brick and debris in what is rapidly becoming Dunedin’s hippest precinct. However Seal isn’t establishing a bookbinders, art gallery or even a whiskey distillery, his vision for an urban winery is now a reality.

Historically, Seal has been connected to the wine industry for the best part of two decades.

50 //

After talking his way into a vintage at Villa Maria in 1997 and then heading offshore to Oregon, Seal landed back in Dunedin where he wrote his Masters’ thesis on the wine industry. Seeking further experience, he joined Chard Farm in 2002 and his connection with Central Otago was cemented, which in a roundabout way has led to the 100-year-old construction site that he is standing in now.

Rather than stay in Central Otago and work his way into a regular gig there, Seal headed to Europe to work in the wine trade

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

in the U.K. and then to Alsace.

“Alsace Gewurtztraminer was the first wine that really spun my dial that made me think woo hoo,” says Seal.

“I got to work for a guy named Andre Ostertag in Alsace and he makes some of the most idiosyncratic wines that you are ever going to find. I read a review that said ‘often they are sublime, sometimes they are just very good and other times they fall flat but they are never ever boring’ and I thought that is exactly how I want to make wine.”

Having had his eyes opened to a fresh way of thinking about making his own whites “more lees contact, less reductive, more oxidative techniques” Seal’s love of travel and fondness for “having a go” has lead him on some slightly strange wine making endeavours including a stint with Denbies in the UK. So, back to the subject of Central Otago, where Seal last vintage set up a ‘pop-up’ winery, in the heart of Dunedin “This concept had been in my head for ages, ever since I spot-

ted an urban winery in Portland during one of my first vintages there. I immediately thought of Dunedin. I just love Dunedin and knew that people are really interested in wine and have been loyal supporters of Central Otago.

There is also that strong connection between the two regions from the obvious holiday home ownership today stretching right back to the original gold rush.”

Dunedin has always been recognised for amazing historical buildings, but after the Christchurch earthquake it was feared that new strengthening standards would spell the end for many of the 100 plus year-old buildings.

Surprisingly, rather than being left to rack and ruin, the converse has happened. A canny group of developers set about buying many of the old buildings in the warehouse district, and rather than bowl the grand old structures, they have reinforced them for a brand new set of tenants.

“The redevelopment bumped my idea along and convinced me that it is absolutely the right time to do it.

“I met with Glen Hazleton who is a heritage planner at the Dunedin City Council, and he gave me the name of some really good developers and I looked through their buildings. That was one of the best parts of the project, looking through some of those fantastic buildings.

“Though, nothing seemed to have exactly what I wanted which was three-phase power, good water and existing drainage…there was always something missing.

Then I met Stephen Macknight, the owner of this building and he said that he had everything I needed.”

Given the kick-start, Seal was in such a rush to act on the chance that had come his way, he hadn’t even though about the most important part of the process.

“Yeah, I didn’t even know

where I would source the grapes from or how I would jump through the various hoops with the council. But I just thought that I would never get to use this space again if I didn’t act. So, this year has all been about showing my face, letting people know what I am doing and figuring out logistics.”

Seal’s model is totally geared to focusing on what charms him most, making wine and getting people involved in the process. In fact he wants the all the important marketing decisions to be a collaborate exercise between himself and the trade who he hopes will guide his wine making at URBN Vino.

“The more information I get from these people, the more I can get a product that works for them as well as me. I have learned the hard way as most wineries have, that you can’t simply make a wine and go out and sell it.”

After taking on a lease from the first of April, he was already moving in equipment by the second and in typical historian fashion, Seal says “the level of support that I have had from the community in Central has been really awesome.”

With Pinot Noir grapes sourced from an undisclosed location in Bendigo and trucked to Dunedin the same day they are picked, Seal was totally confident that there was no impediment to making great wine in what is essentially a historic construction zone. Though, URBN vino is anything but, just a wine making facility.

“It couldn’t have gone better in terms of public interest, trade interest and media coverage. I’m staggered by how much interest there is. It’s one of the best things about being in Dunedin.”

After running a successful PledgeMe campaign earlier this year, Seal will be back in place in his Pop Up winery in time for vintage 2017. ■ seeingredmedia@yahoo.com

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REGIONS GISBORNE

THE CHARDONNAY EXPRESS Though the choice of wine appreciators around the world, New Zealand Chardonnay has failed to make much of a dent on the export market. But as Kristine Walsh discovers, a group of Gisborne winemakers want to help change that.

L

ong a much beloved feature of the tourist landscape, Gisborne’s WA165 steam train will soon start excursions devoted expressly to the wine variety Chardonnay, appropriately entitled the Chardonnay Express.

The brainchild of Kirsten Searle (of Matawhero Wines) and driven by a group of Chardonnayloving winemakers, the Express

launch is set down for December or maybe January and coincides with an important date.

It has been 25 years since Gisborne was dubbed The Chardonnay Capital of New Zealand, celebrating the flavoursome grapes grown in the unique soil and climate conditions of the region.

It’s been a tough mantle to hold on to, especially after the last

decade when oversupply led big companies to slash volumes from Gisborne growers who were at the time producing more than a third of the country’s 33,000 tonnes of Chardonnay.

But the industry has determined to develop and promote its national treasure in the way it knows best, with increasing numbers of smaller producers making quality new generation Chardon-

nays ripe with big, lush flavours.

And now they have a new engine to help drive them forward, in the form of the newly established Gisborne Classic Chardonnay Group, which has a membership qualification that the wine produced must be traditionally barrel-fermented and aged.

“Gisborne’s specialist producers are leaving unoaked stainless

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NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

ity to grow the dominance of its favoured grape has in recent years been steady rather than spectacular.

Back in 2009, Gisborne was producing more than a third of the country’s 33,000 tonnes of Chardonnay, a volume that plummeted after many big companies cancelled contracts and the international market started crying out for Sauvignon Blanc. New Zealand’s wine exports are worth $1.56 billion, with more than 80 percent of that being Sauvignon Blanc.

In comparison, Chardonnay, which this year made up nine percent of the country’s total wine production, saw exports of just two percent.

As Villa Maria Estate founder Sir George Fistonich told the New Zealand Herald upon returning from a 2012 trip overseas, in terms of exports, New Zealand needs

Gisborne Classic Chardonnay Group founding members from right, Andy Nimmo (Hihi Wines) and Paul Tietjen (TW Wines).

to focus more on promoting its lesser-known varieties to reduce its reliance on Sauvignon Blanc.

“We found people were just blown away by the quality of our Chardonnays,” says Sir George, who was keen to see Sauvignon Blanc’s share of the export market reduced to 50 percent to allow room for other, high-quality varieties .

And that view is backed by agricultural specialist Rabobank which, in its Wine Quarterly Q2

2016 report, reiterated the need for diversity in wine exports.

The current emphasis on lighter-bodied wines – specifically Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc – for export creates a real risk and Rabobank wine analyst Marc Soccio says it is important the industry invests in other products.

One of those could – and many say should – be Chardonnay and Gisborne growers and winemakers are resolutely passionate about making it happen. ■

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tank Chardonnay to the multinationals,” the group says on its newly-minted website (gisbornechardonnay.co.nz).

Spokesman Paul Tietjen (TW Wines) says most local growers and winemakers are on board as while Gisborne “does a lot of varieties well”, its place as a producer of Chardonnay grapes and wine appeared to have “fallen off the map a bit”.

“The way we see it, those big, oaky Chardonnays are once again very much in vogue and we want to make sure there is an awareness of how well Gisborne produces them,” he says.

“The timing really couldn’t be better: even people who moved on to drinking lighter wines are again asking for those deliciously fat, buttery Chardonnays, so this group is a way of responding to that demand.”

However Gisborne’s abil-

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NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 53

BOB’S BLOG BOB CAMPBELL MW

WINE PROFESSIONALS FORM A CLUB

WHO WANTS TO BE AN MW? The Institute of Masters of Wine is on a New Zealand membership drive. We already have the highest number of MWs per capita outside Britain, the MW birthplace, but we need to keep up the impetus by encouraging more people to join the study program.

There are 354 MWs worldwide. 207 live in Britain while 11 live in New Zealand. Women MWs total 117.

The MW study program takes three years and has a modest pass rate. However, the benefits of studying for the MW qualification include (for me at least) a significantly greater understanding of the viticulture, winemaking and wine marketing as well as a chance to taste a much broader range of wines. The act of studying for my MW stimulated my interest in wine, making me a better writer and teacher. It also put me in touch with many other wine enthusiasts.

There are 321 MW students worldwide.

The benefits of gaining an MW qualification in my case helped me gain greater credibility as a wine educator and teacher. It will certainly improve employment chances in the wine industry. For me one of the most significant benefits was the opportunity to network with other MWs and to visit European wine regions by joining tours organised by the Institute. Becoming an MW was a life-changing experience.

Anyone interested should check out the website http://www. mastersofwine.org and/or contact Jane Skilton at jane@nzsws.co.nz

The New Zealand Sommeliers and Wine Professionals Association (NZSWP) was officially launched on March 7 this year. NZSWP is registered as an incorporated society and is not for profit. Its primary goal is to create a community of people from around New Zealand working with wine, beverages (alcoholic and non alcoholic), wine and beverage sales, wine and beverage marketing within the sectors of hospitality, wine, wine tourism, wine education, wine marketing and sales and also to attract enthusiasts who share the values of the Association.

Founding committee members of NZSWP are Cameron Douglas MS (patron), Celia Hay (chair), Karen Fistonich, Stephen Wong MW (Wellington), Mathew Judd (Hawkes Bay) Michael Darby (Canterbury) and Claudio Heye (Central Otago).

I was pleased to be able to support this fledgling organisation by spending just $75 to become a member. A recent tasting of regional Chardonnays (free to members) hosted by Villa Maria and presented by their chief winemaker, Nick Picone, was worth the price of my membership. In addition to tasting ten top Chardonnays and learning much about regional styles, the tasting provided an opportunity to network with many of Auckland’s leading sommeliers and other wine professionals.

New Zealand School of Food & Wine (NZSFW) owner, Celia Hay, explained that they plan to join the Association of Sommeliers International (ASI), which has a membership of 52 countries, and were in the process of developing ways in which the NZSWP can work closely with wine producers in New Zealand through a system of tiered sponsorship being developed for 2017.

This organisation deserves the support of local wineries and should provide plenty of promotional opportunities. Check out their website www.sommelier.co.nz and become a member now.

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CORK CRUMBLE It’s a depressing thought but a significant percentage of the bottles in my wine cellar are over ten years old and are sealed with a cork. My guess is that I will have trouble extracting at least half of those corks without suffering “cork crumble”.

A couple of days ago I experienced cork crumble

with an otherwise excellent bottle of Casa Lapostolle 1979 Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile and a truly splendid Puriri Hills 2002 blended red from Clevedon, south of Auckland.

My corkscrew of choice is a twostage Teflon-coated device that normally works well but in this case both corks snapped

then crumbled.

A partial solution to this dilemma is to use a two-pronged corkscrew that doesn’t penetrate the cork but slithers down each side and draws the cork out with a twisting motion. Mine is

branded “Monopol Ah So”. It won’t successfully remove all old corks but does have a higher success rate than any other corkscrew I have used. Sadly it wasn’t available to me during my latest cork crumble event.

WINE EDUCATION GANGNAN-STYLE I recently travelled to Seoul where my main mission was to run a one-day course on New Zealand wine mainly for wine professionals. The majority of students are wine educators. If they pass the exam they will be able to teach students about New Zealand wine with the assistance of course materials in Korean provided by NZ Winegrowers.

The lecture and exam are held in the very well equipped premises of the Wine & Spirit Academy situated in the affluent Gangnan district. It’s hardly worth mentioning that the Gangnan district was made famous by South Korea musician, Psy, who produced the world’s most watched video,

Gangnan Style.

The 26 students, including a wine professor, were an impressive lot. If any fail to pass the exam it will not be through a lack wine knowledge. Although the lecture was in English the course notes were in Korean and an interpreter was available for questions and answers.

The lecture was supported by a tasting of 14 wines. I invited the class to vote on a favourite in each flight although abandoned the practice after noting that some students felt uncomfortable when asked to choose a preferred wine. However, the class vote clearly indicated a preference for more “traditional” Mar-

lborough Sauvignon Blanc over an oak-aged and slightly funky sample. Similarly they chose a “big and buttery” Chardonnay style ahead of a sleeker and more “modern” example.

That result made me wonder whether wine producers need to take a stylistic step back when choosing wines for less sophisticated markets. On the other hand, perhaps they already do?

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OBITUARY

DON MAISEY, FWINZ T E R R Y D U N L E AV Y

T

he Wine Institute lost another of its Fellows with the recent passing of Donald Mace (Don) Maisey, the acknowledged pioneer of exports of our wines to the United States.

In 1970, Don came from the meat industry to the wine sector as marketing manager for Montana Wines Ltd. He established close and cordial first-name relationships with all the movers and shakers in the wholesale distribution sector, whose loyalty and cooperation were essential in those days of tiered sales.

Along the way, he had made an initial foray into America, where he made contact with a Seagram

wine executive Bern Ramey that was to lead to Seagram in 1973, taking a 40 per cent shareholding in Montana.

Around this time, a major rival, the family owned dynasty, Corbans Wines, was experiencing problems of growth, and ended up being acquired by tobacco giant, Rothmans. They made Don a “godfather” offer and he became Corban’s new marketing manager, and before long, general manager.

At Don’s funeral, old-timers recalled the impact on the local market made by two of his creations, Liebestraum, a medium dry white wine, and Velluto Rosso, a softly sweet red. But he turned his attention also to the

markets of North America, and soon recruited Bob Campbell as the resident manager of a new U.S. company, Corbans Imports Inc., created to get round the unique but frustrating American three-tier drinks marketing system. Don is credited by his peers of that period as singlehandedly pioneering our wine exports to the U.S. and developing what had been hitherto token exports to Canada.

It was for this service to our export cause that Don Maisey was created a Fellow of the Wine Institute in 1997.■

Don Maisey, FWINZ

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WINE NEWS

THE BEST REDS: 2014 OR 2013?

JOELLE THOMSON

I

t was dubbed ‘the summer of your childhood’ and was so dry that Hawke’s Bay was in drought, North Canterbury was experiencing spontaneous fires and many New Zealand winemakers wondered whether they were still living in a maritime climate.

The summer of 2013 was so warm and dry that it set a new benchmark for mid to late ripening red grapes, such as Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon, particularly those from Hawke’s Bay. Not only was 2013 a stellar vintage for ripeness in reds, but it was followed by the potentially even better summer of 2014, which had a frost free and mild spring in the Bay. The 2014 Hawke’s Bay reds are now beginning to trickle onto the market and many have been described as “maybe even better than the much heralded 2013 vintage,” says Gordon Russell, winemaker at Esk Valley and chairman of the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers’ Association (GGWA).

“Only time will tell,” he added,

58 //

when releasing 12 high ranking wines from GGWA, which were selected by Sydney based Master of Wine Andrew Caillard and were sent to wine writers in August this year So, which year was the better one: 2013 or 2014?

The answer is likely to be years away and subject to the quality of storage conditions for cellaring these full bodied reds, not to mention personal preferences when it comes to wine style, varietal make up and use of oak in winemaking.

It can be tricky to predict the

THE TOP TEN These are the details on the top 10 Gimblett Gravels 2014 reds as selected by Andrew Calliard.

• 2014 Craggy Range Le Sol Syrah $120 • 2014 Esk Valley Winemaker’s Reserve Syrah $55 • 2014 Sacred Hill Deerstalker’s Syrah $59.99 • 2014 Squawking Magpie Stoned Crow Syrah $35, • 2014 Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Syrah $35, Syrah 97% , Viognier 3% • 2014 Vidal Reserve Syrah $30, • 2014 William Murdoch Syrah $36.95 • 2014 Craggy Range Sophia $95, 61% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc • 2014 Mission Estate Jewelstone Antoine $48, Merlot 70%, Cabernet Sauvignon 25%, Cabernet Franc 5% • 2014 Squawking Magpie SWM Cabernets Merlot $79, Cabernet Sauvignon 62.5% ABV, Merlot 25%, Cabernet Franc 12.5%

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

‘best’, not to mention a subjective exercise, due to stylistic differences between the 2014 Syrahs and the 2014 reds made from Malbec, Merlot and members of the Cabernet grape varieties.

There are quantifiable factors, however, which include an earlier and more compressed vintage in 2014.

Most grape growers in the GGWA had completed harvest about a fortnight sooner than usual. In part this was due to rain that arrived in early April (after 5 April 2014). It was also due to the fact that the main ripening period for 2014 was, in many cases, a more efficient and earlier season because the spring leading into that harvest was frost free and relatively mild, says Russell.

The GGWA’s top 12 reds from 2014 included seven Syrahs and five reds made from Bordeaux varieties.

Four of the 12 wines were sealed with cork (one of which was badly affected by cork taint) while the remaining eight were closed with screwcaps. ■

REGIONS MARLBOROUGH

STALWART ACKNOWLEDGED T

he board of Wine Marlborough has acknowledged the services of Jane Hunter, owner of Hunter’s Wines, with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award recognises how much Hunter has done for the reputation of the Marlborough wine industry, both here at home and internationally.

Arriving in Marlborough as a viticulturist for Montana Wines back in 1983, she never expected to stay long. Thirty-three years later she is still the owner of one of just

a few family owned wineries in the province.

In 1984 she married Ernie Hunter, and after his death in 1987 she took over the running of the business.

Hunter has gone on to lead from the front ever since. She has represented the New Zealand wine industry as a member of the Wine Institute of New Zealand and was a founding director of the New Zealand Wine Guild, an export arm of the national body.

In 1993 she received an OBE for her services to viticulture and

in 2009 she was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Other acknowledgements include being awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Science by Massey University, winning the inaugural International Women in Wine Award in the UK, being inducted into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame.

Others to have been awarded a Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award include; Gerry Gregg, Ross Lawson, Phil Rose and Ivan Sutherland. ■ Jane Hunter

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A Merry Christmas to you all from NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 59

NOT ON THE LABEL LEGAL MATTERS WITH MARIJA BATISTICH AND KRISTIN WILSON, SENIOR ASSOCIATES – BELL GULLY

ARE YOU DISCOUNTING YOUR WINE OR RUNNING A PROMOTION? A

s we move into the festive season, it is important to remember the restrictions on promotions relating to the sale of alcohol under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.

Social Media, emails, radio and other advertisements It is now common practice to advertise discounts and sales on social media and through email

60 //

campaigns as well as more traditional methods of advertising (e.g. print, radio and television advertisements). These advertisements will be considered to be taking place OFF your licenced premises.

It is important to ensure that when you advertise through these mediums, that you do not promote or advertise in a way that leads people, or is likely to lead people, to believe that the price is 25% or more below the price at which the alcohol is sold at. You will be com-

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

mitting an offence if you do.

The “likely to lead people” part of that offence is important.

We have noticed that a few stores have tried to be clever with how they market their discounts. This ranges from not including a RRP or a saving, to advertising that the “prices are too good to advertise” and using adjectives that suggest there are massive discounts awaiting them in store/on the licensed website (“crazy deals inside” or “massive deals on favourite

wines”). Unfortunately, as this type of behaviour makes customers likely to believe that the price is 25% or more below the usual price, this could amount to a breach of the Act.

Gifts, competitions and free alcohol It is also an offence outside licenced premises to undertake any promotion that involves giving away free products or services to customers (or entry into a pro-

est discount you can offer your customers other than this overarching requirement.

Advertising Standards Authority’s Code for Advertising and Promotion of Alcohol

IF YOU FIND ONE OF THESE: 2

When creating your advertisements, it is important to remember the Advertising Standards Authority’s principles for alcohol advertising. These principles and their supporting guidelines can

1

CM

motion), upon their purchase of an alcoholic product. This restricts promotions that might: award customers free wine glasses or cooler bags upon purchase of a bottle (or three); or require a customer to purchase alcohol to be “in the draw to win”.

Inside licensed premises, advertising such promotions are permitted, provided the offer only relates to the buying of alcohol on those premises and cannot be “seen or heard” from outside the premises.

We recommend that all sellers and suppliers of alcohol carefully consider their advertising campaigns cautiously in the lead up to Christmas.

Any competitions that require an entrant to purchase anything cannot have alcohol as a prize, as this is prohibited by the Gambling Act regulations. Otherwise, advertising free alcohol can only be done where the free alcohol is: a complimentary sampling of alcohol for consumption on an licensed premises; or only advertised on licensed premises, and the advertisement cannot be seen or heard outside the premises.

Discounts on your licensed premises On licensed premises, there are fewer restrictions, assuming that the advertisements cannot be “seen or heard” from outside the premises. You can advertise free alcohol, and you may advertise discounts of greater than 25%. This means that you can run a “buy one get one free” promotion, or a “free” glass of wine promotion, but only if those promotions can only be seen or heard on the licensed premises.

However, with any advertisements or promotions, you must ensure that you aren’t doing anything that encourages (or is likely to encourage) people to consume alcohol to an excessive extent.

There is no threshold on the high-

be accessed in full on the ASA’s website (www.asa.co.nz), but in summary: Alcohol advertising and promotions should observe a high standard of social responsibility.

Alcohol advertising and promotions shall be consistent with the need for responsibility and moderation in alcohol.

Alcohol advertising and promotions shall be directed at adult audiences. Alcohol advertising and promotions shall not be directed at minors nor have strong or evident appeal to minors in particular. This applies to both content and placement.

Sponsorship advertisements shall clearly and primarily promote the sponsored activity, team or individual. The sponsor, the sponsorship and items incidental to them, may be featured only in a subordinate manner.

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Why is this important?

We recommend that all sellers and suppliers of alcohol carefully consider their advertising campaigns cautiously in the lead up to Christmas. The penalties for “irresponsible promotion” are significant, so if in doubt – just ask!

Our team frequently advises on these issues. ■

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 61

BOOK REVIEWS New Zealand Wine: The Land, the Vines, the People

by Warren Moran.

PUBLISHED BY AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY PRESS. RRP $69.99.

REVIEWED BY TESSA NICHOLSON.

W

arren Moran is a name familiar to many in the wine industry. As a geographer he has led discussions on the potential of Geographical Indications throughout the country, and now with this book, he takes his love of wine and utilises his innate knowledge to tell a compelling story.

With a title such as this, it is not surprising that the tenet of terroir is the early focus of the book. That is then expanded on as Moran takes the reader on a highway of learning about the

62 //

major wine growing regions of New Zealand. Each region is divided into the history, climate, the varietal make-up and in-depth discussions with some of the people who understand the region best.

The large aerial maps of each region, depicting all the sub regions, is a fantastic asset for anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of our wine industry overall. As are the soil maps and the historical varietal

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

and production graphs. Who would have guessed so much would change in such a short period of time. Take Gisborne for example. In 1980 Muller Thurgau made up 42 percent of the total plantings. In 2010, it doesn’t even rate a mention.

Whereas Chardonnay in 1980

was only 7 percent of plantings – in 2010 it reached 53 percent. Bringing these facts to light in such a readable way is a major asset of this book.

If I had one issue with this, it would be that 2010 is the latest statistical information provided – and could be deemed as being somewhat out of date.

But that is a minor issue. The hardcover book, with ample illustrations and photos is the sort that will have wine lovers throughout the country picking it up. And if they are anything like me, they will learn a lot.■

Marlborough Man

by Allan Scott with Eric Arnold.

PUBLISHED BY HARPER COLLINS. RRP $55.00 REVIEWED BY TESSA NICHOLSON

F

irst up a disclaimer. I was involved in conducting a number of interviews on behalf of both Allan Scott and Eric Arnold for the purposes of this book. But I had no input into the writing, and had not actually seen a manuscript until I received a copy.

So with that out of the way – Marlborough Man is the story of one of Marlborough’s pioneer winegrowers, Allan Scott. These days his name is synonymous with the country’s largest wine regions, with a popular label, a winery and restaurant. But it hasn’t always been this way, as this book clearly points out.

Growing up a good few hours south of Marlborough, wine

was not something Allan ever had any thoughts on. He hadn’t seen any vines other than those growing on a pergola at his sister’s house.

There is a saying about being in the right place at the right time which encapsulates Allan and his wife Cathy’s entry into the emerging Marlborough wine scene. He was one of the very first workers taken on by Montana back in 1973. He went on to be a vineyard manager, to be headhunted by Corbans and to take the opportunities to become a contract grower and

eventual winery owner. But the path was not always the romantic, easy one many would like to imagine.

There were trials and tribulations along the way, that almost resulted in Allan Scott Family Wines being lost forever. How he dealt with those is part of the fascinating story that unfolds in the 277 pages of this beautifully produced book.

Eric Arnold’s ability to take Allan’s words and construct a first person monologue is masterful. It is like sitting with someone, sipping a fine Sauvignon Blanc, and listening to their tales of the past. Adding to the moreishness (if there is such a word) is the I Digress chapters that intersperse the chronological story telling.

Subjects as diverse as Allan’s history with cats, pot growers, his tendency to fall asleep at the wrong moment and an encounter with a very smelly crayfish are a delightful anecdote to the more serious history of the book.

This hardcover, which is adorned with an array of beautiful photographs (both past and present) is a delight to read, and a wonderful essay on the founding of the world’s youngest wine regions, from a man who has been there since the beginning.■

World-class wine science and viticulture Our graduates have progressed to win prestigious awards and hold many senior industry positions within New Zealand.

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0800 22 55 348 | wine.eit.ac.nz

World-class careers: EIT graduates Nick Picone (Chief Winemaker) and Ollie Powrie (Company Viticulturist) from internationally renowned Villa Maria.

APPLY NOW FOR A FEBRUARY START! NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 63

REGIONS HAWKE’S BAY

YOUNG VINTNER OF THE YEAR MARY SHANAHAN

J

ust a few years ago, pretty much all Ben Jones knew about wine was that came in two colours – white and red.

The American, a second-year wine science and viticulture degree student at EIT, is now being feted as the Hawke’s Bay A & P Bayleys Wine Awards’ Young Vintner of the Year.

The prestigious title is a significant kick-start to any young winemaker’s career. Ben also benefits from a prize package that will see the Hawke’s Bay A & P Society, sponsor of the Young Vintner award, helping with his study fees, and he will be offered valuable work experience at Craggy Range.

Born in Ohio, Ben’s hometown is Bedford, Indiana although family moves have taken him to many other parts of the USA. He chose New Zealand as his introduction to international travel after encountering his first Kiwi while working at a YMCA camp. What kept him here was meeting his partner, Helen Waterworth from Hawke’s Bay, when he was on a

job exchange at a similar camp on Banks Peninsula.

After a five-month stint in Thailand, the couple returned to New Zealand to study. Helen enrolled in EIT’s Diploma in Tourism in Travel while Ben, checking out degree programmes at tertiary institutions throughout New Zealand, lighted on the Bachelor of Viticulture and Bachelor of Wine Science.

The attraction, he says, was his perception of the winemaker’s lifestyle. He already had a strong grounding in science, having studied biology and chemistry at college level in the States, and he fancied the topics covered in the degree programmes.

Quickly securing a part-time position at a Bridge Pa Triangle winery helped support his studies and he has also benefitted from the many wine-related events staged in Hawke’s Bay. “Wine has become a passion,” the 25-year-old says. “It’s been an epiphany feeling I am in the right industry now. But if you’d told

me three or four years ago that I would be studying to become a winemaker I probably would have laughed.”

What he loves most is the creative side of winemaking.

“It’s the perfect blend of art and science. It’s amazing in that way. The end product is consumed and for the most part it’s when people are happy. A bottle of wine can be more than a bottle of wine, it can be a memory, a part of human joy,” Ben’s favourite wines are those

Hawke’s Bay does well – Chardonnay, the Bordeaux blends and Syrah.

“I really love this region,” he says.

“For one, the climate is amazing.”■ maryshanahan173@ gmail.com Ben Jones – Top Young Vintner.

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64 //

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

Ph 0800 476 868

INDUSTRY NEWS

MULTI PURPOSE CLO2 ROSS WRIGHT

I

t is impossible to totally eradicate unwanted pathogens from our environment, while most of the time they quite happily live below the ‘economic impact’ line it is not until all the conditions are at optimum that problems arise.

Getting to the point of equilibrium is our goal, the point we can happily live alongside the bacteria or fungi so they do their job without harming ours.

Our adversary is extremely resilient therefore management is the key.

In Bacteria the enzymes are located just inside the cellular membrane (known as prokaryotic) and it’s these enzymes we need to destroy.

In Fungi and protozoa the enzyme systems are located deeper in the cell and therefore slightly harder to destroy. These are known as the eukaryotic type.

Fungi have a worldwide distribution, and grow in a wide range of habitats, including extreme environments such as deserts or in deep sea sediments. Because of their small size and a secretive lifestyle most fungi are inconspicuous.

Along with bacteria, fungi are the major decomposers in most terrestrial (land based) and some aquatic ecosystems.

As decomposers, they play an essential role in nutrient cycling, degrading organic matter to inorganic molecules, which can then re-enter anabolic metabolic pathways in plants or other organisms.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that many fungi are parasites on plants, animals (including humans), and other fungi. Serious pathogens of many cultivated plants cause extensive damage and losses to agriculture, horticulture and forestry industries.

Some are carnivorous and are predators of nematodes which they capture using an array of specialized structures such as constricting rings or adhesive nets.

Some fungi can cause serious diseases in humans, several of which may be fatal if untreated and fungal spores are also a cause of allergies. Fungi from different taxonomic groups can evoke allergic reactions.

Turbo 3 Vineyard Sprayer With Electrostatic Drift Recovery • • • • •

Bacteria spores

Therefore the questions posed are; • Can we introduce a substance which reduces pathogen levels to within a manageable level?

• What treatment does not have adverse effects on the environment or result in resistant forms of disease?

• What treatment does not leave undesirable residues?

• And, what treatment is economically viable?

• Is Chlorine Dioxide the solution?

Let’s take a look.

The compound chlorine dioxide (CLO2) is not a recent discovery; it was first produced

in 1811 and has been well known as a disinfectant for many years.

The manufacture however has been complicated until recent years, when a way of producing active stabilised CLO2 suspended in solution was discovered (here in New Zealand).

This now allows for safe production and use of this multipurpose compound.

CLO2 penetrates the cell wall of target pathogens and destroys their enzymes, their life force, it does this through oxidation.

Although CLO2 is an oxidizing agent there are no reports in scientific literature of toxicity by skin contact or when ingested, this makes for safe handling when used as an agrichemical.

Because of its mode of action there is little risk of disease building resistance, and because CLO2 is broken down under UV there is no residue or with-holding period.

This product looks to be a useful tool in the control of fungal and bacterial diseases in both viticulture and horticulture when used at key times through the season. ■ Ross@sollys.co.nz

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NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 65

CALENDAR To have events listed in this calendar, please email details to; tessa.nicholson@me.com

DECEMBER

JANUARY

1

2

Spray Days Workshop

Cromwell Wine and Food Festival

Central Otago

Cromwell

Decanter World Wine Awards 2016

Bridge Pa Wine Festival

entries open

Hawke’s Bay

Christchurch/South Island Wine and Food Festival

The Southern Pinot Workshop

11am – 7.30pm - Hagley Park, Christchurch

28-29

1 – March 3 3

21

22-25

Hamner Springs

Aromatics Symposium Nelson

30

31-Feb 2

Pinot Palooza

Pinot Noir 2017

3.30pm – 8.30pm –Odlins Plaza, Wellington Waterfront

Wellington

FEBRUARY 3-4 Classic Reds Symposium Hawke’s Bay

10-11

Wellington Wine and Food Festival

11 Marlborough Wine and Food Festival Brancott Vineyard, Marlborough

21

Champagne Bollinger Trade Tennis Tournament Wellington

27

Dog Point/Logan Brown Classic Kiwi Picnic Dog Point Vineyard,Blenheim

MARCH 7 Champagne Bollinger Trade Tennis Tournament Auckland

11

Wairarapa Wines Harvest Festival 2017 The Cliffs, Rumahunga River

12

Waipara Valley Wine and Food Festival Glenmark Domain, Waipara Valley

APRIL 1

19

Explore Waiheke Wine and Food Festival

Gibbston Wine and Food Festival 2017

18-27

Queenstown Gardens, Queenstown

66 //

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

Main Event, Waiheke Island

Judging for the International Wine Challenge 2017, Tranche 2

UPCOMING NEW ZEALAND WINE GLOBAL EVENTS MARKET

EVENT

EVENT DATE

JANUARY 2017 Singapore

New Zealand Wine Fair

January 12 - register ASAP

UK

Annual Trade and Consumer Tasting (London)

January 16 - registration closed

Ireland

Annual Trader and Consumer Tasting (Dublin)

January 19 - registration closed

Sweden

New Zealand Trade and Consumer Tasting (Stockholm)

January 23 - registration closed

New Zealand Wine Tasting (5th Florida)

February 17 - register now!

USA

New Zealand Wine Fair (San Francisco)

March 13 - registration closed

USA

New Zealand Wine Fair (New York)

March 16 - registration closed

Germany

ProWein (Dusseldorf)

March 19-21 - registration closed, Sold Out

Melbourne Wine and Food Festival, Made in New Zealand

April 6-7 – register now!

FEBRUARY USA MARCH

APRIL Australia

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 67

STATISTICS STATISTICS

MAJOR MAJORNZ NZVINEYARD VINEYARDAREAS AREAS PRODUCING PRODUCINGHECTARES HECTARES

PRINCIPAL PRINCIPALEXPORT EXPORTMARKETS MARKETS

Region Region (Actual)

Exports for the year to date to the end of September 2016 Exports for the 11 months to end of May 2013 (Moving Annual Total) (Moving Annual Total)

2016 2012

20182015 % of Total % inof 2018 Total forecast (forecast) forecast

Marlborough Marlborough

22,587.3 24,020

23.017.7 25,119

67

66%

Hawkes Hawkes BayBay

4,841.4 4744

4,938.5 4938

13

14%

Central Otago Otago

1943 1,786.7

1967 1,791.9

5

5%

Gisborne Gisborne Waipara Waipara Nelson Wairarapa / Wellington Wairarapa / Wellington

1448 1,616.5 1238 1,034.5 1169 941.9 1002

1447 1,586.2 1239 1,082.2 1176 943.5 1026

4

962.6 350

1,015.4 351

1

196 315.7

1

Nelson Auckland Canterbury Auckland / Northland

198 319.77

National Total Waikato / Bay of Plenty

36,192 16.1

National Total

5%

3

3%

3

3%

3

3%

Litres

Country

Litres (m) (m)

Country

$ FOB

$ FOB

Growth Average Decline $/L 2012 Litres %

Growth Average Decline $/L 2011 FOB %

United Kingdom UK

47,811 63,397

273,830 382,536

8%

4.93 4%

USA USA

42,473 62,546

281,135 468,900

6.62 11%

6.36 17%

Australia Australia

49,460 53,534

368,191 356,007

7.44 -3%

7.11 -1%

Canada Canada

7448 11,259

80,322 110,144

10.78 16%

10.82 14%

Netherlands Netherlands

3806 7,309

24,213 46,368

6.36 4%

5.78 6%

Denmark Denmark

0.792 1,044

5446 7,682

6.87 2%

6.55 10%

Ireland Ireland

2089 3,075

14,830 23,224

7.10 16%

7.55 27%

Japan Japan

1129 1,295

13,203 15,541

11.69 10%

11.46 12%

Germany Germany

1661 2,875

9844 15,546

5.92 49%

5.70 59%

China China

2366 2,075

28,978 28,192

12.24 7%

12.10 -3%

Hong Kong Hong Kong

1541 1,269

19,940 16,791

12.94 -6%

12.10 -3%

Singapore Singapore

1252 1,571

16,066 21,533

12.83 -1%

12.72 2%

Finland Finland

0.163 0.241

1356 2,148

8.31 -27%

9.73 -21%

Norway Norway

0.201 0.316

1326 2,864

6.59 19%

7.42 41%

Sweden Sweden

1.603 1,916

13,425 15,591

8.37 17%

8.12 18%

Others Others

5,057 8,270

48,820 77,159

9.65 5%

9.79 12%

168,861 1,200,933 222,000,872 1,590,254,161

7.11 6%

6.56 8%

1%

37,542 10.2

34,269.5

Exports up again

0%

34,952.8

MAJOR MAJORVARIETIES VARIETIESININMAJOR MAJORAREAS AREAS Variety 2016 vineyard will 2017 New Zealand’s total producing increase by only 2018 0.5% over

the next 2 years. This table shows the variation for major varieties (in Ha), with % change and percentage of total in 2012.

Sauvignon Blanc 21,016 21,352 Variety Pinot Noir

2012 5573

Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc Pinot Gris Pinot Noir Merlot Chardonnay Riesling Pinot Gris Syrah Merlot Gewurztraminer Riesling Cabernet Sauv Syrah Malbec Gewurztraminer Viognier Cabernet Sauv Cabernet Franc Viognier Sauvignon Gris Malbec All other varieties Cabernet Franc Total All other varieties

3211 19,929.8 2455 5096.4 1271 3120.9 767 2396.2 443 1195.9 258 719.0 283 354.1 131 331.3 127 284.8 108 160.8 104 130.2 444 111.6 36,192 438.7

Total

% producing 5719 area 3257 58.2 2480 14.9 1327 9.1 768 7.0 449 3.5 256 2.1 280 1.0 132 1.0 125 0.8 108 0.5 104 0.4 439 0.3 36,796 1.3

34,269

21,901

2015

20,214.7 5175.1 3164.0 2399.7 1245.4 746.2 400.6 311.4 323.7 146.5 143.9 108.9 572.7

% producing 5768 area 3303 57.8 2579 14.8 1327 9.1 765 6.9 450 3.6 258 2.1 280 1 132 0.9 125 0.9 109 0.4 104 0.4 442 0.3 37,542 1.6

34,952.9

AVERAGE VINEYARD SIZE PRODUCING AREA IN HECTARES BY Region Regional area Average of Number of SIZE - NUMBER OF ha VINEYARDS producing Area ha Vineyards Auckland/Northland Region

0-5

Canterbury Aklnd / Nthlnd Gisborne

350 5.01-10 198

20.01-50

93 50.01 and over 33

5

1448

13

3 15

0

16 4744

6

2 18

0 254

1

Gisborne Marlborough

2024,020

30

25 23

13 1021

7

Nelson Hawkes Bay

75

1169

56

9 57

32

117

21

Northland Marlborough

190

64

291

3 210

181

20

100

Central Otago Nelson

45

1943

37

9 12

6

216

3

Waikato Otago

80

16

61

2 26

15

5

3

2

1238

1

191

_

65

_

Wellington Waipara / Wairarapa

12 1002

16

9 3

6

118

4

National Wairarapa / Wgtn

61 36,192

16

17 10

8 2040

3

527

349

Canterbury Hawke’s Bay

Waipara Waikato / BoP

National

60

4 10.01-20

561

NZ WINEGROWER OCT/NOV 2011 DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // NZ // WINEGROWER 68 68

261

98

1

143

Total TOTAL

*(npr = not previously recorded separately) *n.c. = no change

RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT Information and Updates on NZ Winegrowers Research Programmes.

Editor Dr Simon Hooker, General Manager Research and Innovation

A regular feature at the back of each issue of WineGrower to inform industry people about research projects being undertaken for their benefit. Newly approved projects (when available) are briefly summarised in the first section ‘Introducing New Projects’. Longer reports in the section headed ‘Progress Reports’, will describe what has been achieved so far. Scientists in charge of each project have been asked to make these reports reader-friendly rather than to follow the usual format of scientific papers. When completed, each project will be reported in full detail, with references, on the website: www.wine.nzwine.com/members/research

LIST OF PROJECTS Quality Wine Styles for Existing and Developing Markets The pathway of volatile sulphur compounds in wine yeast The Bragato Trust and NZW Scholarship University of Auckland (Dr Bruno Fedrizzi - student Matias Kinzurk) Lifestyle Wine (PGP) University of Auckland and Plant and Food Research (Various) Jointly funded by NZW and MPI Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) fund.

Literature review of calcium tartrate stability of wines Lincoln University (B Tian)

Sustainability/Organics Pinot noir wine composition and sensory characteristics as affected by soil type and irrigation in the Waipara region Lincoln University (G Creasy) Vineyard Ecosystems Programme University of Auckland and Plant and Food Research (Various) Jointly funded by NZW and MBIE Risk Assessment of Nutrient Losses from New Zealand’s Vineyard by Mechanistic Modelling Plant and Food Research (B Clothier) Sector weather data licence & tools HortPlus (NZ) Ltd.

Evaluation of the efficacy of a range of commercial bentonites on New Zealand Sauvignon blanc wine Hills Laboratory (K Creasy)

Cost efficient optimisation of weed management in vineyards Thoughtful Viticulture (M Krasnow)

Bentonite literature review Lincoln University (B Tian)

Pests and Disease

High-throughput genotyping of transposon-induced mutations in vines Lincoln University (C Winefield) Population genomics of the wine spoilage yeast Brettanomyces bruxellensis Auckland University (M Goddard)

Virus diversity in New Zealand grapevines: sequence, ecology and impact – The Rod Bonfiglioli Scholarship Plant and Food Research (R MacDiarmid - student A Blouin) Optimising management of grapevine trunk diseases for vineyard longevity South Australian Research & Development Institute (M Sosnowski) Developing Powdery Mildew Best Practise (Year Two) Lewis Wright Valuation & Consultancy Ltd (T Lupton) Grape botrytis resistance to AP and SDHI fungicides Plant and Food Research (R Beresford) Grape powdery mildew monitoring Plant and Food Research (D Mundy) Developing Powdery Mildew Best Practise in New Zealand Vineyards Lewis Wright Valuation & Consultancy Ltd (T Lupton) Supported by MPI Sustainable Farming Fund

Grapevine Trunk Disease; young vine ecology, diagnostics and preventative treatments New Zealand Viticulture Nursery Association Incorporated (VINA) (N Hoskins)

Cost Reduction/Increased Profitability

Leafroll virus and mealybug monitoring in Marlborough, 2015 to 2017 Plant and Food Research (V Bell)

Grapevine growth stage monitoring for prediction of key phenological events Plant and Food Research (R Agnew) Supported by MPI Sustainable Farming Fund

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 69

PROGRESS REPORTS

Grapevine growth stage monitoring for prediction of key phenological events Agnew R, Raw V, Grab F, Horner R, Sorensen I, Marshall R, Gandell M, Smith J, Wood P, Stanley J The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited Corresponding author rob.agnew@plantandfood.co.nz 14-100 The New Zealand Winegrowers National Phenology and VineFacts project is now in its third and final year of funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Sustainable Farming Fund.

Two years of phenology assessments of budburst, flowering and berry maturity, plus vine yield, have been collected on 28 vineyard blocks across the five wine regions - Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough, Waipara Valley and Central Otago. The phenology data from each vineyard block have been summarised and reported to the wine industry via Vinefacts Newsletter, within a few days from the time of collection of the data in the vineyard.

Now that the project is into its third season of measurements, the current season’s phenology data can be compared with those of the two previous seasons. The longer the period of historical phenological records, the more valuable these data become for

comparative purposes with the current season. The immediacy of reporting of the phenological data in VineFacts Newsletter and the seasonal comparisons of the timing of the phenological events (50% budburst, flowering, véraison and dates at which the threshold 21.5°Brix is reached) allow readers at a number of time points during the season to determine whether the current season is tracking earlier or later than previous seasons.

In Issue 2 of Vinefacts Newsletter, on 13 October 2016, tables were included that summarised the dates of 50% budburst for the three seasons 2014 – 2016 for each of the five wine regions. Including the previous seasons’ budburst data alongside the current season’s data allowed readers to see whether budburst in 2016 was earlier or later than in the two previous seasons.

The tables also included flowering dates for 2014 and 2015

alongside the budburst dates. The flowering data allowed readers to think about the dates of flowering in the two previous seasons in relation to the budburst date.

An additional column of predicted flowering date for 2016 was also included. This column was included as an indication of the date on which flowering could occur in 2016, if the budburst to flowering interval in 2016 were the same as in 2015. However, readers were cautioned that flowering in 2016 could occur earlier than the predicted dates, if warmer than average temperatures from October to December 2016 eventuate, as predicted by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

Table 1 is the budburst and flowering table that was included in VineFacts Newsletter, for the four grape varieties that are being monitored in Hawke’s Bay. The budburst data for the Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc and Pinot

gris monitored blocks indicated that the 50% budburst date in 2016 was considerably earlier than in either 2014 or 2015. The right hand column of the predicted flowering dates in 2016 (based on the budburst to flowering interval in 2015), indicated that the flowering date in 2016 could be much earlier than in either of the two previous seasons. However, the 50% budburst dates for the two Merlot blocks in Hawke’s Bay in 2016 were slightly later than those in either 2014 or 2015, and the indication was that flowering of Merlot may be slightly later than in the two previous seasons.

Providing an estimated flowering date approximately six to eight weeks in advance of when it will occur allows winegrowers to think about whether the current season seems to be heading towards being earlier or later than average, and gives them the ability to adjust vineyard and winery operations accordingly. ■

Table 1: Dates of 50% Budburst (BB) and 50% Flowering (FL) of Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot gris and Merlot in Hawke’s Bay

50% Budburst & 50% Flowering Dates Variety

Location

BB 2014

FL 2014

BB 2015

FL 2015

BB 2016

*Pred FL 2016

Chardonnay

Te Awanga

15 Sep

3 Dec

29 Sep

1 Dec

22 Sep

24 Nov

Crownthorpe

19 Sep

4 Dec

1 Oct

1 Dec

20 Sep

20 Nov

Sauvignon Blanc

Bridge Pa

6 Oct

10 Dec

13 Oct

10 Dec

5 Oct

2 Dec

Pinot Gris

Maraekakaho

26 Sep

3 Dec

6 Oct

2 Dec

17 Sep

13 Nov

Merlot

Bridge Pa

30 Sep

Frosted

5 Oct

3 Dec

8 Oct

6 Dec

Gimblett Gravels

2 Oct

6 Dec

6 Oct

5 Dec

8 Oct

7 Dec

BB – Budburst, FL – Flowering *Pred. FL 2016 – This is the date that 50% flowering would occur on in 2016 if the budburst to flowering interval in 2016 were the same number of days as in 2015.

70 //

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

Leafroll virus monitoring in Marlborough vineyards: An update Vaughn Bell, Peter Shaw1, Roger Wallis1, and Nick Hoskins2 The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Havelock North and Nelson1 Vine Managers Limited, Masterton2 Corresponding author: Vaughn.Bell@plantandfood.co.nz 14-106 The Marlborough leafroll virus monitoring project is funded by New Zealand Winegrowers Inc. (NZW), and has been supported by the Sustainable Farming Fund, and the Wine Marlborough. Information from this project will feed into the new Vineyard Ecosystems Programme, co funded by NZW and MBIE.

Study Block

Grape Variety

Year Vines Planted

Number of Vines Per Block

Virus control pre-2016 Yes / No?

E-M

Pinot Noir

2004

1439

No

K-M

Pinot Noir

2000

759

Yes

L-M

Pinot Noir

1999

643

No

O-M

Pinot Noir

2001

987

Yes

‡

Table 1. Summary of the grape variety, the year and numbers of vines planted per block, and the status of virus control in the Marlborough vineyard study blocks. ‡ Represents visually identifying and roguing leafroll virus-infected vines prior to 2016.

Key Message The leafroll virus monitoring undertaken in four Marlborough vineyards in 2016 was a continuation of annual visits that started in 2013 - 2014. From the beginning, we visually identified and plotted positions of infected vines annually, to measure the most common pathway for virus spread. Virus spread was relatively slow, mostly affecting the ‘nearest neighbour’ vines. This pattern of virus spread and transmission pathway, the result of virus-infected mealybugs moving the relatively short distance between adjoining vines, has also been commonly observed in Hawke’s Bay. In three of the four Marlborough blocks, 71–98% of vines categorised as the closest neighbours to infected vines in 2015 showed no symptoms of leafroll virus 12 months later. Similar observations have been made in Hawke’s Bay over six years. The future prospects for effective virus control are positive in Marlborough vineyards which adopt the recommended

two-part annual virus management strategy – to identify and rogue the virus-infected vines only, and to monitor and manage mealybug populations on the vines actively.

Any shortcomings with either aspect of virus management make it difficult to predict when and if effective virus control might be achieved. Lack of roguing when needed, and spray programme deficiencies, both increase the risk of mealybugs feeding on virusinfected vines and then transmitting the virus to healthy vines as they naturally disperse.

Background Grapevine leafroll disease (GLD) is recognised in all countries that grow grapes. A number of phloem-limited viruses are associated with GLD. One of these, Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (leafroll virus), is widely recognised as the most economically important causal agent for GLD

in New Zealand. Among infected vines, leafroll virus adversely alters yield, soluble solids content (°Brix), titratable acidity, and anthocyanins, which when combined can delay fruit ripening and lower wine quality.

Currently, there is no ‘cure’ for vines infected with leafroll virus.

Thus, an active approach to virus management is recommended to reduce the introduction and spread of the virus.

• Firstly, the introduction of leafroll virus to vineyards is minimised by using nursery vines certified to New Zealand Winegrowers’ Grafted Grapevine Standard. To meet the standard, the rootstock and scion sources from which vines are produced must be tested for and found to be free of leafroll virus.

• Secondly, when red berry varieties are leafroll virus-infected, the vine foliage undergoes distinctive changes in colour and form – dark red downward curling leaves with

green veins (Figure 1). These foliar changes are most pronounced late in the growing season, particularly from late March. (In white berry varieties, foliar changes are unreliable predictors of leafroll virus).

When supported by training, vineyard personnel can use lateseason foliar symptoms to identify infected red berry vines visually, thereby enabling their removal in a process known as roguing.

• Thirdly, the risk of leafroll virus spread within vineyards can be further reduced by monitoring and controlling the insect vectors that acquire the virus and transmit it to healthy vines.

In New Zealand vineyards, the most common insect vectors of leafroll virus are the citrophilus and longtailed mealybugs. Where mealybug insecticides are not applied, or label recommendations are not followed, populations can increase substantially in the vine canopy, especially late in the growing season. Conse-

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 71

counted.

What we found

Figure 1. Foliar symptoms of Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 in a Pinot Noir vine in April.

quently, the dispersal of mealybugs carrying the virus will result in virus transmission to healthy vines, which is a scenario with potential to undermine the benefits of vine certification.

In a recent issue of New Zealand Winegrower (December 2015, 95: 84-88), the results of virus management in 17 Marlborough vineyard study blocks were reviewed. In some of those blocks, leafroll virus was successfully managed; in others, virus incidence was only ever very low and never exceeded 1%. As a result, we discontinued monitoring the virus and mealybugs in 13 blocks. However, in another four blocks, the fate of virus control was uncertain, so New Zealand Winegrowers extended monitoring for a further 12 months.

This article summarises the 2016 results from those blocks, and highlights the effectiveness, or otherwise, of virus management.

What we did The four Marlborough vineyard study blocks were all planted in mature Pinot noir vines (Table 1 previous page).

Using the visual cues described

72 //

above, virus monitoring in each study block was undertaken by the same experienced assessors (V. Bell and N. Hoskins) in late March – early April each year. The precise position and number of symptomatic vines identified was recorded as the assessors walked the length of the interrow separating two adjacent vine rows. This process was repeated in all rows in every study block.

Vines in close proximity to a virus-infected vine were referred to as ‘nearest neighbours’. Collectively, they comprised a combination of within-row (‘first’ and ‘second’; n=4) and across-row (‘opposite’ and ‘diagonal’; n=6) vines (Figure 2).

The presence of mealybugs was also assessed in each study block. A single leaf per vine was collected from within a 10-15 cm band above or below the cordon, from vines widely distributed across each block.

(400 leaves inspected per block per year). In the laboratory, every leaf was inspected for mealybugs using a stereo-microscope. The numbers of mealybugs were

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

In the four study blocks, we observed mixed results in respect of the effectiveness of virus management (Table 2). In block K–M, all vines visually identified with leafroll virus in 2014, 2015, and 2016 were rogued during the winter of the year they were identified. From these positive actions, numbers of virus-infected vines reduced substantially year-onyear, with the numbers found in 2016 (n=29) half that recorded just twelve months earlier (58).

In contrast, in blocks E–M and L–M, no infected vines were rogued at any point during this study. Hence, with more than 200 infected vines in situ in each block, there was an increased risk of virus transmission by mealybugs to the remaining healthy vines.

Non-roguing was also evident in block O–M. Of the 71 infected

vines visually identified in 2014, only 44 were rogued; none of the 28 infections identified in 2015 had been rogued by March 2016.

Consequently, from the time monitoring commenced in 2014, overall virus incidence changed very little in this block.

From 2014 in block E–M and from 2015 in the other blocks, we also monitored the patterns of virus spread (Table 3). In general, newly infected Pinot noir vines were aggregated around a vine previously identified with virus, meaning nearest neighbour vines were most at risk of acquiring the disease. Indeed, in block E–M in 2014, two thirds of infections identified were one of the four nearest neighbour categories; by 2015 and 2016, 85 and 97% of infections, respectively, were nearest neighbours. A similarly high incidence of nearest neighbour infections was evident in blocks K–M (98 and 100% in 2015

Figure 2. A diagrammatic overview of three vine rows showing the position of the 10 ‘nearest neighbour’ vines relative to a leafroll virussymptomatic vine (V). ‘Nearest neighbour’ vines comprised four categories: Within-row ‘first’ (F) and ‘second’ (S) vines (n=4); acrossrow ‘opposite’ (O) and ‘diagonal’ (D) vines (n=6). Row direction is top to bottom of page.

Block ID

Numbers of virus-infected vines

Percentage virus incidence

2013

2014

2015

2016

2013

2014

2015

2016

E-M

149‡

189‡

196‡

228

10.3

13.1

13.6

15.8

K-M

–

116

58

29

–

15.3

9.9

7.1

L-M

–

46‡

175‡

252

–

6.7

27.2

39.2

O-M

–

71‡

99‡

67

–

7.4

10.3

7.2

Table 2. Numbers of leafroll virus-infected vines and percent virus incidence recorded in the four Marlborough vineyard study blocks planted in Pinot noir vines, 2013 to 2016. Virus incidence was assessed by visual symptom identification in all years. In all blocks, data from the first year of assessment will have included vines that acquired leafroll virus during the interval between planting and the start of this study. Blocks K–M, L–M, and O–M were added to the study in 2014. ‡ No vines were rogued or roguing was incomplete (block O–M in 2014).

In block E-M visual symptom identification was prevented on a second occasion in 2015 because of frost damage to vine foliage.

and 2016, respectively), L–M (66 and 85%), and O–M (54 and 92%).

Closer scrutiny of these data in all blocks revealed that virus incidence was higher among ‘first’ vines than it was in the other ‘nearest neighbour’ and ‘random’ categories.

In assessing virus incidence and the patterns of virus spread, it is important also to interpret how these might have been influenced by the presence of mealybugs, the virus vectors (Table 4).

Despite initially high numbers of mealybugs in the vines in three blocks in 2014, the numbers detected in 2015 and 2016 were substantially lower in all blocks (fewer than 6 mealybugs per 100 vine leaves inspected). While these results were an improvement on those of 2014, we continued to observe virus spread to neighbouring vines in all blocks in all years. Without doubt this position was exacerbated by the absence of roguing in blocks E–M and L–M, and the incomplete roguing in O–M. The application of mealybug insecticides to the vines in spring 2015 varied widely among the four study blocks. In blocks K–M and L–M, the use of pre-budburst Tokuthion® plus pre-flowering mealybug insecticides (e.g. buprofezin) was evident. However, only in block K–M did the spray volumes, of 700–928 L/ha, closely resemble the label recommendations (1,000 L/ha); in block L–M, spray volumes of 250–400 L/ha for

all products were one-quarter to one half the recommendations.

In blocks E–M and O–M, the mealybug insecticides applied to the vines in spring 2015 were consistent with previous years for which we have data – that is, a single pre-flowering application of buprofezin rather than the two recommended on the label.

Despite the inadequacy of these spray programmes, we continued to find relatively low numbers of mealybugs in the vines from at least 2015. With there being little likelihood of the insecticide proBlock & Year

gramme in either block having given good coverage or good vine wetting, it is likely that mealybug populations were naturally low in both blocks.

Discussion The leafroll virus monitoring undertaken in the four Marlborough vineyards in 2016 was a continuation of annual visits that started in 2013 in block E–M, and 2014 in the other blocks.

From the outset of this study, we visually identified vines infected with leafroll virus annually, with

their precise position plotted on block-specific spreadsheets.

Having undertaken this process for a minimum of three seasons, we sought to measure the most common pathway for virus spread.

The speed of virus spread was relatively slow, mostly affecting the ‘nearest neighbour’ vines. Of those, ‘first’ vines were most at risk of the virus spreading from an infected neighbouring vine.

This pattern of virus spread and the virus transmission pathway, which was the result of virusinfected mealybugs moving the

Leafroll virus incidence observed amongst ‘nearest neighbour’ and ‘random’ vines as a percentage of grapevines in each category (n vines) First

Second

Opposite

Diagonal

Random

E-M 2014

5.0‡ (201)

3.7 (162)

2.5 (160)

3.2 (185)

1.9 (731)

2015

1.8 (223)

0.6 (181)

0.6 (171)

0.0 (218)

0.2 (606)

2016

10.7 (214)

2.8 (176)

0.6 (178)

0.9 (228)

0.2 (636)

2015

38.5 (96)

9.1 (66)

16.1 (56)

7.2 (69)

0.2 (472)

2016

30.6 (72)

11.6 (69)

11.8 (51)

4.5 (66)

0.0 (327)

2015

75.0 (48)

56.7 (30)

44.4 (18)

38.7 (31)

10.9 (516)

2016

45.6 (103)

15.7 (70)

12.5 (40)

3.3 (60)

5.0 (214)

K-M

L-M

O-M 2015

4.6 (108)

3.2 (93)

4.5 (88)

2.4 (124)

2.3 (574)

2016

1.7 (120)

3.8 (106)

1.0 (100)

2.6 (154)

0.2 (479)

Table 3. Percentage leafroll virus incidence among the ‘nearest neighbour’ and ‘random’ categories from the four Marlborough Pinot noir study blocks. In block E–M, data were collected from 2014 to 2016; in blocks K–M, L–M, and O–M, data were collected in 2015 and 2016.‡ In 2014 in block E–M, a total of 40 vines were visually identified with leafroll virus. Of these, 10 ‘first’ vines were virus-infected, or 5.0% of the total number of vines categorised as ‘first’ (n=201 vines).

In block E-M, visual symptom identification was prevented for a second occasion in 2015 because of frost damage to the vine foliage. Consequently, it seems likely infected vines from that time remained unidentified until March/April 2016.

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 73

relatively short distance between adjoining vines, was also commonly observed in Hawke’s Bay vineyards from 2010 to 2015.

After excluding block L–M (discussed below), we found that in the other three blocks, 71–98% of vines categorised as ‘first’ in 2015, showed no symptoms of leafroll virus 12 months later. Again, this result concurred with observations in Hawke’s Bay after a similar period of monitoring. Indeed, after six years of monitoring in Hawke’s Bay, an average of just 4% of ‘first’ vines were infected, or put another way, an average of 96% of ‘first’ vines were healthy. We would expect these results to be replicated in Marlborough vineyards adopting the recommended two-step annual virus management strategy – to identify and rogue the virus-infected vines only, and to monitor and manage mealybug populations on the vines actively.

Where infected vines are found, the addition of coloured flagging tape to the trunk in March and April aims to help owners to identify those vines during winter so they can be rogued. However, the implementation of roguing, which is an important part of an effective virus management strategy, was limited to block K–M only. In this block, a total of 203 Pinot Noir vines were visually identified with leafroll virus since 2014; all infected vines were rogued the year they were identified (the planting of replacement high-health vines has not yet commenced). To support roguing, the owner undertook a comprehensive mealybug spray programme adopted annually from spring 2013. This programme appeared to have been successful, with just 5 mealybugs found per 100 vine leaves inspected in each of 2015 and 2016. The combination of these actions resulted in good progress towards managing the virus.

Assuming this strategy continues,

74 //

Block ID

Numbers of mealybugs per 100 vine leaves inspected (‡) 2013

2014

E-M

<1 (2)

31 (123)

2015 1 (5)

2016 4 (14)

K-M

–

23 (92)

4 (18)

5 (18)

L-M

–

78 (312)

6 (23)

5 (20)

O-M

–

0 (0)

<1 (1)

1 (5)

Table 4. Numbers of mealybugs found per 100 vine leaves inspected in the Marlborough vineyard study blocks, 4 March 2016 (n=400 leaves collected per block per year). ‡ Numbers of mealybugs found.

we believe new infections of less than 1% per year will eventuate in a further 2–3 years. By any assessment, this result will be a successful outcome.

In the remaining blocks, shortcomings with aspects of virus management make it more difficult to predict when effective virus control might be achieved.

For example, in blocks E–M and L–M, there was no roguing; in block O–M, only some vines were rogued. Furthermore, we noted generally poor adherence to insecticide label recommendations in all these blocks.

Despite finding relatively few mealybugs on vine leaves since 2015, we suggest better vine wetting and more product run-in to the cracks and crevices, where mealybugs reside in spring, would probably have improved mealybug control. In turn, the influence of the virus would have been less than it was.

Spray programme deficiencies were important because with no or limited roguing, the many virusinfected vines throughout each block merely increase the risk of mealybugs feeding on them and then transmitting the virus to healthy vines as they naturally disperse. This position was especially true for block L–M, where the absence of roguing resulted in almost half the vines categorised as ‘first’ in 2015 having virus symptoms just 12 months later. More widely, rapid virus spread culminated in 40% of all vines becoming infected. Hence, with such a

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

high virus incidence, we suggest that roguing in L-M is no longer a viable control tactic, with the only feasible option being to remove all vines across the entire block.

This outcome was also realised in two Hawke’s Bay study blocks where, on average, we found 100 mealybugs per 100 vine leaves inspected between 2010 and 2013, when all vines in the second of the two blocks were finally removed.

Thus, rather than a lack of roguing, it was instead the failure of the insecticide programmes to control mealybugs that resulted in virus spread being so rapid and widespread.

In respect of blocks E–M and O–M, however, the substantially lower virus incidence in 2016 means the prospects for effective virus control at some point in the future would improve greatly if roguing were implemented to take advantage of the apparently low

numbers of mealybugs in the vines.

In conclusion, we see the future prospects for effective virus control as being positive in blocks E–M, K–M, and O–M. Of course, this outcome can only be achieved by implementing and then maintaining an effective roguing strategy, supported by good mealybug management. In respect of blocks E–M and O–M, we recommend the owners adopt at least the pre-flowering insecticide programme as used in block K–M (two applications of buprofezin used in accordance with label recommendations), and that these inputs continue at least until such time as 1% virus incidence is sustained for a minimum of two seasons. By doing so, effective and sustained virus control can be achieved, as has already been demonstrated in vineyards in Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay.

Acknowledgements Funding for this research was provided by New Zealand Winegrowers, the Ministry for Primary Industries under the Sustainable Farming Fund, and the Marlborough Winegrowers’ Association.

We also gratefully acknowledge the support of the many vineyard owners, and their staff, who contributed to this study. ■

Accessing New Zealand Winegrowers Virus Management and Online Resources • The recently published book Leafroll 3 Virus and How to Manage it was distributed to all members of the NZ Winegrowers in late 2015 • 13 fact sheets – in print and on NZ Winegrowers’ website (nzwine.com) • Seven videos showing important “how to” information for individual management actions.

• Flickr – an online photo library showing foliar symptoms of leafroll virus in red berry varieties • NZ Winegrowers’ Leafroll 3 App – designed for mobile devices, the app is free and can be downloaded by searching for “Leafroll 3” on your iPhone or Android store (NZ only) • Virus-free vineyards – a blog created by NZ Winegrowers and hosted on nzwine.com

Evaluation of the efficacy of a range of commercial bentonites on New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine Kirsten Creasy The following project was funded by New Zealand Winegrowers.

15-105 Introduction There are a number of different bentonite products on the market to remove heat unstable proteins, reducing the chance that a protein induced haze will form in a finished bottle of wine. A trial was set up to compare these products on a typical Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

The primary objectives were to compare the quantity of bentonite required, measure the compaction of lees, analyse for differences in metals, pH, acidity or alcohol as well as assess if sodium dominant bentonites require smaller additions, but tend to have less compact lees, than calcium dominant products.

Method A newly fermented but protein unstable Sauvignon blanc was supplied by a Marlborough winery.

There were 16 bentonite samples supplied to Hill Laboratories, with Table 1 showing the name of the bentonite, the supplier and the order that was used throughout the trial.

Protein Stability Trial A range of 1.1g/L to 1.9g/L in 0.2g/L increments was chosen as the initial rates. A control of 0g/L

Figure 1: The full collection of stock solutions. L-R: Aktivit, Nacalit, Microcol FT, Microcol CL-G, Microcol Alpha, Mastervin Compact, Plusgran Gel, Puranit, Optibent, Bentolit S, Pluxbenton N, Pluxcompact, Pharmabent, Spherobent J, Clarit BW 1100, Clarit WG.

was also included.

To set up the trial, 100ml samples of wine were measured out, bentonite added, wines mixed, labeled and then left to settle at room temperature overnight.

The next morning, a clear supernatant was poured off the 100ml sample into a separate beaker to filter the wine from.

About 30mls of each treatment was filtered through a 0.45micron syringe filter and into a prepared tube ready for heating. Samples were heated for two hours at 80°C. For this initial trial, the wines were assessed by eye using a torch to shine through the tube, which would highlight any presence of a haze.

A second trial was set up with a tighter range around the results from the first trial. After filtration, the turbidity was measured on the wines prior to heating using a Hach 2100N Turbidimeter. Once

the wines had been heated and cooled as described earlier, the turbidity was measured again.

was 1.6g/L. This matches the rate given by the winery who supplied the wine.

Lees Settling Trial

Lees settling

The second part of the experiment was to assess the lees settling capability of each of the bentonites. Once the protein stability point was established for each of the bentonites, one litre of wine was measured into 16 Imhoff cones as well as tall 1 litre plastic bottles to better mimic tank shape.

After three days the total volume of lees from both the Imhoff cone and the plastic container were measured and expressed as a percentage of the total volume.

The results for lees compaction are more scattered than the stability results. In the Imhoff cones, the range is from 1.3% to 13% while the tall plastic containers ranged from 2.1% to 18.4%.

The results show a clear grouping of calcium dominant bentonites with higher dose rates, but with generally very good compaction rates, which supports other trials and anecdotal evidence.

If the results from the stability trial and the lees compaction are combined, the top five most effective bentonite products in this trial are (in order of efficacy): Nacalit, Aktivit, Optibent, Microcol CL-G and Clarit BW 1100. Pluxcompact is worth noting as it settled very well in the ‘tank’ containers at the

Results Protein Stability The bentonite addition rates ranged between 1.2g/L at the lowest end to 1.9g/L at the highest (Table 2 over page). The median

Scios

Laffort

Winequip

Esvin

Enartis

CAL

1. Aktivit 2. Nacalit

3. Microcol FT 4. Microcol CL-G 5. Microcol Alpha

6. Mastervin Compact 7. Plusgran Gel

8. Puranit 9. Optibent

10. Bentolit S 11. Pluxbenton 12. Pluxcompact 13. Pharmabent

14. Spherobent J 15. Clarit BW 1100 16. Clarit WG

Table 1: Bentonites and suppliers used in the trial

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 75

same addition rate as the Clarit BW 1100.

Protein stability assessment method It is widely recognised that assessing protein stability trials is more accurate when using a turbidity meter as assessing by eye using a torch can lead to under or over fining the wine. These results found the visual method only had a success rate of 44% in determining the correct addition rate. Using a turbidity meter is slower but will provide an accurate and repeatable result ensuring that the wine is neither over or under-fined.

Conclusion In conclusion, over the process of the experiment, there were three bentonites that stood out as being the best for low-medium addition rates, compactness, chemical impact on the wine and relative ease of use.

These were Nacalit, Aktivit and Optibent.

It is important to stress however, that this was just one experiment on a 2016 Marlborough Sauvignon blanc using the outlined methods.

Other considerations such as

bentonite price, wine variety and quality and seasonal variation as well as winery equipment, should be considered as well as the results presented in this report to provide the winemaker with the best possible outcome for protein stabilizing their wines. ■

Metal Analyses In all the wines, there was a small decrease in titratable acidity. Some wines showed slight pH changes and some changes in alcohol. This could be due to the dilution effect of bentonite additions.

The differences were outside the allowable variance for the test, but as only one sample was measured, it cannot be labelled significant.

Calcium levels all showed an increase from 4-17mg/L. Of the five bentonites showing the greatest increase, four of these were calcium dominant bentonites, which is to be expected.

The 5th bentonite was Pharmabent (15mg/L increase in calcium), which also showed the greatest increase in sodium.

Twelve of the bentonites showed an increase in sodium ranging from 6-50mg/L. All of the 5 bentonites showing the greatest increase are sodium dominant bentonites. It should be noted that if there is a large increase in the calcium levels, there is an added risk of calcium tartrate precipitation.

The iron content is at the limit of detection of the assay used so it is difficult to assess if any significant changes occurred from the addition of bentonite to the wine.

76 //

Figure 2: The Imhoff cones and plastic containers after the bentonite addition

Bentonite name

Protein Stability g/L

Less compaction Imhoff cone %

Less compaction, ‘tank’ plastic containers %

Pharmabent

1.2

13.0

13.2

Purait

1.5

3.5

3.7

Microcol Alpha

1.5

6.2

5.3

Pluxbenton N

1.5

10.5

18.4

1.55

1.4

2.6

Spherobent J

1.6

4.5

4.7

Bentolit S

1.6

12

13.2

Aktivit

1.65

1.5

2.1

Optibent

1.65

1.7

2.6

Microcol FT

1.65

4.2

5.8

Micorcol CL-G

1.7

1.9

3.2

Clarit WG

1.7

2.5

5.3

Nacalit

Plusgran Gel

1.7

4.2

7.9

Clarit BW 1100

1.75

2.0

3.1

Pluxcompact

1.75

3.2

2.1

1.9

4.7

8.4

Mastervin Compact

Table 2: Results of bentonite stability and lees compaction. Yellow highlighting refers to calcium dominant bentonites.

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

The Leaching and runoff of nutrients from vineyards Brent Clothier and Steve Green The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Palmerston North This study was funded by New Zealand Winegrowers.

15-104 What we did To assess soil nutrient losses in New Zealand’s major viticultural regions, we carried out a comprehensive and comparative national study of nutrient leaching and runoff, using detailed weather and soils information with an appropriate set of viticultural practices.

We have used our mechanistic Soil Plant Atmosphere Simulation Model (SPASMO) to provide these simulations (Green at al.

2008). This was run using a daily time-step, based on 44-year-long records of weather.

Why it is important The leaching of nutrients through the rootzone of primary production systems is having a deleterious effect on the quality of the water in our receiving water bodies. There is a strong public push in New Zealand to maintain, or better still, to enhance the water quality of our rivers and lakes. Land management is seen as the cause of decline in the quality of our surface waters (Land and Water Forum 2012).

Me a n w h i l e , c o n s u m e r s and supermarkets are placing increased scrutiny on the metrics of sustainability for the products they buy and sell. Producers who can eco-verify the sustainability of their production system will be able to secure eco-premium prices on the shelves of the most discerning of markets, or in top restaurants (Clothier 2015).

The recent National Policy Statement for Freshwater Man-

Figure 1. Upper: The weekly pattern of modelled soil water content (SWC) in relation to the Wairau silt loam soil’s field capacity (FC) and stress point (SP) from July 2012 until December 2015. The irrigation scenario (blue) was by regulated deficit.

Middle: Along with the weekly SWC is shown the modelled weekly sequence of drainage recharge (green) 1 m below the grapevine rootzone.

Bottom: The modelled weekly pattern of nitrate leaching (red) and phosphorus losses (blue) from the rootzone, along with the weekly SWC trend.

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 77

agement (NPS-FW), with national ‘bottom lines’ for water quality in its National Objectives Framework (NOF), has raised concerns about whether certain land uses will be able to comply with impending regulations planned for implementation by 2025 (Ministry for the Environment, 2014).

The NOF specifies ‘bottom line’ quantitative measures for water quality, such as a median of 6.9 mg N-NO3/L for nitrogen (N) in rivers, and a median of 0.05 mg P/L for phosphorus (P) in lakes.

Overall summary of findings First we modelled the impacts of four irrigation scenarios on groundwater recharge and nutrient losses for grapes growing on a Marlborough Wairau silt loam.

Except for calendar irrigation, which applies an excessive amount of water, there would be sustainable consumption of water by irrigation abstraction, drainage recharge, and nutrient losses. For the most likely irrigation regimes of no irrigation, regulated-deficit irrigation and managed irrigation, the nitrate loads in drainage water would be between 10 and 15 kg N-NO3/ha/y, and the phosphorus losses would be between 0.1 and 0.2 kg P/ha/y.

We then carried out SPASMO simulations on 89 viticultural soil-types across the six viticultural regions of New Zealand - Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Martinborough, Marlborough, Nelson and Central Otago. For this national study we considered only the regulated deficit irrigation scenario (RDI). Whereas irrigation regime had only a minor effect on nitrate leaching, the role of the soil, and in particular its carbon to nitrogen ration (C:N), played a dominant role in nitrate leaching. The national average nitrate load leaving the rootzones of New Zealand’s vineyards was just 8 kg N-NO3/ha/y, and the average

78 //

Figure 2. The long-tern averages for irrigation requirements (mm/y), drainage recharge (mm/y), nitrate load (10xkg N-NO3/ha/y) and phosphorus losses (1000xkg-P/ha/y) for the four irrigation scenarios modelled for grapes growing on a Wairau silt loam in Marlborough.

concentration of the loss 7.9 mg/L. The average phosphorus loading was 0.25 kg-P/ha/y, and the average concentration 0.16 mg/L. Although both these leachate concentrations at the base of the rootzone might exceed the median national ‘bottom lines’ in the NOF for rivers and lakes, and thus might be non-compliant under the proposed 2025 regulations, geohydrological attenuations and dilution processes in aquifers will probably enable receiving waters to meet national ‘bottom line’ standards.

Our modelling results can also be used to assess the implications of, and to comment on, the nutrient losses from vineyards in relation to other land uses and management practices. Several sets of modelling data illustrate that viticulture is probably one of the lowest land uses for nutrient losses. These low numbers provide eco-verification for New Zealand’s wines.

Details of the modelling and some results Firstly we considered the impact of four irrigation scenarios

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

in Marlborough on groundwater recharge and nutrient losses.

These were no irrigation, regulated deficit irrigation, managed irrigation and calendar irrigation: No irrigation Regulated deficit irrigation, where post-véraison, a soil water deficit of 40% readily available water (RAW) left in the top metre was used to set irrigation frequency. The soil water content (SWC) is held at this stress point (SP) post-véraison Managed irrigation, where irrigation was applied whenever the SWC reaches the refill point of 60% of the totally available water (TAW) left Calendar irrigation, where 5 mm of water was applied every 3 days, regardless of weather, over the period 1 November to 1 April.

The modelled weekly patterns of soil water content (SWC), drainage recharge, plus nitrate and phosphorus losses are shown in Figure 1 for the regulated-deficit irrigation (RDI) scenario of grapes growing on a Wairau silt loam in Marlborough. Here FC is the field

capacity and SP the stress point.

The model runs on a daily time step; however, for ease of interpretation the results in Figure 1 are aggregated to weekly total.

In the top graph of Figure 1 (previous page) can be seen the weekly pattern of SWC and irrigation under this modelled RDI regime. The median annual irrigation requirement for RDI is 42.5 mm, although in 20% of the years this will exceed 88.5 mm.

The median monthly statistics are somewhat ‘misleading’ because of the high variability in irrigation requirements because of irregular rainfall. Over the 44-year period for the month of January, RDI was not required in 26 of the years, so the median value is indeed zero.

On average, however, the irrigation season for RDI begins in November and ends in April.

The middle graph of Figure 1 shows (again) the weekly pattern SWC, but now with the modelled weekly drainage below the base of the 1-m rootzone. This drainage serves as groundwater recharge.

The median groundwater recharge is 112.9 mm. The rainfall here is

Table 1. Regional average loadings and concentrations of nitrate and phosphorus losses from vineyards across six New Zealand viticultural regions modelled under regulated deficit irrigation (RDI). Within regions, except for Gisborne, the mean average losses are weighted by the areas of the specific soil types under viticulture, and nationally the averages are weighted by the fractional regional areas under vineyards in New Zealand for 2016.

Region

Number of Soils

Nitrate Load1 kg NO3-N/ha/y

Nitrate Concentration mg/L

Phosphorus Load Kg-P/ha/y

Phosphorus Concentration mg/L

Gisborne2

10

8.7

3.1

0.26

0.09

Hawke’s Bay

15

6.2

4.4

0.51

0.22

Martinborough

10

14.0

8.0

0.09

0.04

Marlborough

31

9.2

8.5

0.25

0.18

Nelson

12

9.0

2.8

0.03

0.01

11

1.2

23.1

0.09

0.07

89

8.0

7.9

0.25

0.164

Central Otago National

3

4

1. Areally-weighted mean by viticultural soil type (maximum, minimum) 2. Simple average, no areal weighting 3. Areally weighted values for soils in all regions, except Gisborne, and the national average is weighted by the regional vineyard areas (Table 1) 4. The NOF of the NPS-FW has national “bottom lines” for rivers of NO3 at 6.9 mg/L, and P in lakes at 0.05 mg/L

679 mm, so some 17% of rainfall serves to recharge the underlying groundwater aquifers. The droughts of 2013/14 and 2014/15 can be seen to have led to much reduced drainage.

In the bottom graph of Figure 1 we show the SWC along with the weekly losses of nitrate and phosphorus. Under RDI, for the Wairau silt loam, the median value for nitrate loss is 13.5 kg N-NO3/ ha/y, although in 20% of the years it will exceed 21.3 kg N-NO3/ha/y.

Leaching losses are confined to the winter period from July through to November. The average phosphorus loss by both leaching of DRP and runoff of soil-bound P was modelled to be 0.14 kg-P/ha/y.

The losses of N and P during the droughts of 2013/14 and 2014/15 were much reduced.

On the Wairau silt loam for most irrigation regimes except calendar irrigation, which applies an excessive amount of water, there would be sustainable consumption of water by irrigation abstraction, drainage recharge, and nutrient losses (Figure 2). For the most likely irrigation regimes of no irrigation, regulated-deficit irrigation and managed irrigation, the nitrate loads are between 10 and 15 kg N-NO3/ha/y, and the

phosphorus losses are between 0.1 and 0.2 kg P/ha/y. The lack of difference in nitrate leaching between irrigation regimes highlights that soil-water dynamics play a lesser role in controlling leaching than do soil-nitrogen dynamics. Irrigation does affect drainage recharge of the underlying aquifers, but to a much lesser extent the leaching of nitrate.

For our simulations on 89 viticultural soils across New Zealand’s six viticultural regions - Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Martinborough, Marlborough, Nelson and Central Otago – we used the regulated deficit irrigation scenario (RDI). Within all but the Gisborne region we could geo-reference viticultural production to specific soil types. Thus we could provide an area-weighted average for each region. To obtain an average for the whole of New Zealand, we weighted the regional averages by the respective areas of grapes grown in the six regions. This then covers 94.9% of the grapes grown in New Zealand (Table 1).

Whereas irrigation regime had only a minor effect on nitrate leaching, the role of the soil, and in particular its carbon to nitrogen ration (C:N), played a dominant role in determining nitrate leach-

ing.

The national average load of nitrate leaving the rootzones of New Zealand’s vineyards was modelled as just 8 kg N-NO3/ha/y, and the average concentration 7.9 mg/L. This concentration does, however, just exceed the median national ‘bottom line’ for rivers in the NOF of the NPS-FW, of 6.9 mg/L. The average loading of phosphorus was 0.25 kg-P/ha/y, and the average concentration of the loss 0.16 mg/L. This concentration exceeds the median ‘bottom line’ for P in lakes in the NOF of the NPS-FW, of 0.05 mg/L. Whereas our results here provide an assessment of the impact of viticulture on the losses of nutrients from the base of the rootzone of grapes, or runoff from the surface, the NPS-FW demands that Regional Councils develop regulations by 2025 to ensure compliance with national ‘bottom lines’ of water quality in the receiving bodies of our lakes and rivers. Thus the challenge is to understand the attenuation, assimilation and dilution that occurs in aquifers between the bottom of the rootzone and the receiving water bodies.

Green et al. (2014) initiated a pioneering study that links

rootzone leachate with receiving water quality, with funding from the Marlborough District Council (MDC).

An array of tension drainage fluxmeters (DFM) was set up during 2012 in a vineyard on Giffords Road near Renwick in Marlborough. These have recorded drainage and nitrate leaching since then. As part of the National Groundwater Monitoring Programme, the MDC takes monthly water samples from the region’s wells, and the pattern of nitrate concentrations measured ‘upstream’ in the DFMs was compared with the groundwater monitoring values at one well some 2.4 km away from the vineyard.

The pattern of nitrate concentration in the bore lagged by 185 days the pattern of rootzone leaching, and more importantly there was a dilution by 90%. The concentration in the groundwater was just 7% of the ‘bottom line’ for nitrate in rivers in the NOF. Thus although the leachate concentrations at the base of the rootzone might exceed the NOF of the NPS-FW, geohydrological attenuations and dilution processes will probably enable receiving waters to meet national ‘bottom line’ standards.

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 79

Our modelling results can also be used to assess the implications of a recent Board of Inquiry hearing into the Tukituki catchment.

Beginning in 2008, the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) initiated the development of Plan Change 6 (PC6) for the Tukituki catchment. In May 2013, PC6 was notified and inter alia sought to: • Implement and give effect to the 2011 NPS-FW • Address specific water allocation and water quality issues • Set water quality limits and targets.

The HBRC sought an ‘integrated decision-making’ approach by asking PC6 to be ‘called in’ to be heard by a single Board of Inquiry.

The Board adopted a Land Use Capability (LUC) class system, based on the natural-capital principles used by Horizons Regional Council, for the allocation of nitrate discharge allowances.

Given the SPASMO modelling we have now carried out here, we can examine how the soils across the wider Hawke’s Bay region might meet any regulations developed under PC6 for just the Tukituki valley. We recognise that

Ranked Nitrogen Loss Market Gardening

(100-300 kg-NA ha-1 yr-1)

Market Gardening

Cropping

(10-140 kg-N ha-1 yr-1)

Cropping

Dairying

(15-115 kg-N ha-1 yr-1)

Dairying

(0.2-1.0 kg-P ha-1 yr-1)

Sheep / Beef

(6.60 kg-N ha-1 yr-1)

Sheep / Beef

(0.1-1.6 kg-P ha-1 yr-1)

Table 2. The likely losses of nitrogen and phosphorus from various land uses as assessed by Clothier et al.

(2007) for Horizons Regional Council.

there is not a 1:1 correspondence between soil type, which we have used for our detailed modelling, and the broader classification of LUC. But our results can provide guidance as to which viticultural zones will comply with PC6.

We found that the leaching load from 48.6% of the viticultural soils in Hawke’s Bay would meet the leaching limit for all eight LUC classes.

Another 36.4% of viticultural soils would meet compliance up to Class VII. A specific problem that we were asked to address related to the Gimblett Gravels, which are LUC VII. The Gimblett Gravels are modelled as the Ngatarawa sandy loam. In PC6, the LUC limit for LUC Class VII is 11.6 kg N-NO3/ ha/y.

Our modelled annual average

Seifried Wines.

Photo supplied by NZW.

80 //

Ranked Phosphorus Loss

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

for the Ngatarawa sandy loam is just 1.6 kg N-NO3/ha/y. So this would provide viticulture with the eco-verification it needs to meet the conditions of PC6. It is stressed, nevertheless, that this compliance relates to the specific fertiliser, grazing and stock management conditions we have simulated.

Also, we were asked in NZW 15-104 to comment on the nutrient losses from vineyards in relation to other land uses. In an assessment of the impact of various land-uses on nutrient losses for Horizons Regional Council, to assist with their formulation of the One Plan, Clothier et al. (2007) presented the following tabl Nationally we have found that vineyards leach 8 kg N-NO3/ ha/y, and they lose 0.25 kg-P/ha/y (Table 1). Thus viticulture is prob-

ably one of the lowest land uses for nutrient losses. These low numbers provide eco-verification for New Zealand’s wines (Clothier 2015).

Finally, we were asked how the modelling results could be included in a Farm Environment Management Plan (FEMP). The results of the simulations here provide a link between farm management practices and groundwater recharge, irrigation abstraction, and nutrient losses.

It would be a relatively straightforward project to transform and extend the modelling results obtained here into a decision support tool (DST) that could be used to provide a FEMP with appropriate information on the likely impacts of growers’ practices on water quantity and receiving water quality.■

The Research index At one time or another, chances are you have tried to track down older articles related to New Zealand Winegrowers’ research projects – an experience that can be frustrating when a vague recollection doesn’t lead to putting your hands on the right copy when you need it.

Enter the ‘Research Index’ for all research-related articles published in a calendar year in New Zealand Winegrower magazine. The index includes not only all the items published in the ‘Research Supplement’, which appears at the end of each issue of the magazine, but also all of the related coverage written by Editor Tessa Nicholson and others throughout the year. The comprehensive listings make it much easier to locate the reference you want, when you want it.

In fact, this is actually the third year in a row that the research index has been included in the December/January edition of the magazine. The index can also be accessed online from the Research Supplements posted on nzwine.com under ‘Research/Member Resources’.

Research-related articles published in New Zealand Winegrower in 2016, issues 96-100 What is precise breeding?..........100:56

96 – February/March 2016 97 – April/May 2016 98 – June/July 2016 99 – August/September 2016 100 – October/November 2016 101 – December 2016/January 2017 Botrytis (also see Pest & Disease Management) Grape botrytis resistance to AP and SDHI fungicides [15-103], Rob Beresford............................................... 97:89 Climate Change Climate warning and frosty cooling...... .............................................................96:72-73 Climate change impacts.........100:18-19 Dealing with the changes............100:20 Events New Zealand Winegrowers’ Grape Days 2016.............................................98: 46 New Zealand Winegrowers’ Spray Days 2016............................................100:96

Grapegrowing Protecting grapes from UVs......... 96:74 Microbes contribute to a wine’s terroir [14-102], Sarah Knight.................... ............................................................ 97:88-89 Grapevine growth stage monitoring for prediction of key phenological events [14-100], Rob Agnew et al........... .........................................................99:147-149

Fertilisers & Nutrition

Microbe regionality............................ 99:41

Modeling nutrient losses from vineyards [15-104], Brent Clothier et al................................................................97:90 The leaching and runoff of nutrients from vineyards [15-104], Brent Clothier et al........................................101:77 Genetics The effect of leafroll 3 genetic variants on grapevines [12-118], KM Chooi et al. ................................... 97:84-85 The vines are mutating: what does that mean for our industry? [15-109], Darrell Lizamore, 99:144-146

Will large crops impact vines?................. ............................................................99:92-94 The impact of water stress...99:112-115 Pinot Noir vine performance and grape and wine composition as affected by soil type and irrigation reduction in the Waipara region [14104/15-108], Glen Creasy et al.................. ....................................................... 100:120-121 Grapevine growth stage monitoring for prediction of key phenological events [14-100], Rob Agnew et al........... .................................................................. 101:70 Introducing spray mix mate........ 101:39

Creating unique NZ clones..100:53-54

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 // 81

Grapevine Leafroll Diseases (also see Pest & Disease Management) The effect of leafroll 3 genetic variants on grapevines [12-118], KM Chooi et al...................................... 97:84-85 The upside of viruses [13-115], Arnaud Blouin et al..................................... 97:86-87 An upcoming review of leafroll virus management in New Zealand vineyards [14-106], Vaughn Bell et al.... ................................................................. 99:146 Leafroll virus monitoring in Marlborough vineyards: an update [14-106], Vaughn Bell et al..............101:71 Grapevine Trunk Diseases (also see Pest & Disease Management) Advancing strategies for grapevine trunk disease management [13-100], Mark Sosnowski and Dion Mundy.......... ............................................................98:88-90 Sustaining vineyards through practical management of grapevine trunk diseases, [13-100], Mark Sosnowski and Dion Mundy.......................99:149-152 Lower Alcohol Wine (PGP Programme) High performance from lower alcohol wines.............................................99:153-154 PGP programme spotlight.100:121-122 Pest & Disease Management Control ants – reduce mealybugs, ........ .............................................................. 96:16-17 The efficacy of sulphur for powdery mildew control [15-100], Trevor Lupton et al...................................96: 81-82 The effect of leafroll 3 genetic variants on grapevines [12-118], KM Chooi et al...................................... 97:84-85 The upside of viruses [13-115], Arnaud Blouin et al..................................... 97:86-87 Grape botrytis resistance to AP and SDHI fungicides [15-103], Rob Beresford............................................... 97:89 Advancing strategies for grapevine trunk disease management [13-100], Mark Sosnowski and Dion Mundy.......... ............................................................98:88-90 Sulphur for powdery mildew control: it’s all about coverage [15-100], Trevor Lupton et al................................ 99:141-144

An upcoming review of leafroll virus management in New Zealand vineyards [14-106], Vaughn Bell et al.... ................................................................. 99:146 Sustaining vineyards through practical management of grapevine trunk diseases, [13-100], Mark Sosnowski and Dion Mundy.......................99:149-152 Leafroll virus monitoring in Marlborough vineyards: an update [14-106], Vaughn Bell et al..............101:71 Fungi, bacteria and chlorine dioxide..... .................................................................. 101:65 Powdery Mildew (also see Pest & Disease Management) The efficacy of sulphur for powdery mildew control [15-100], Trevor Lupton et al...................................96: 81-82 -.Sulphur for powdery mildew control: it’s all about coverage [15-100], Trevor Lupton et al................................ 99:141-144 Regional Research Institute Government shortlists new wine research initiative.................................98:9 Wine research..................................... 99:24 Wine research wins..........................101:10 Sauvignon Blanc The classic differences (Sauvignon Blanc).............................................99:120-121 Evaluation of the efficacy of a range of commercial bentonites on New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine [15105], Kirsten Creasy..........................101:75 Science Profiles Viticulturist wins AMP scholarship – Alice Rule.................................................96:8 Science of wine – Emma Sherman......... ............................................................96:35-40 Science of wine – Petra King.................... ............................................................ 98:62-65 Science of wine – Sarah Knight............... ............................................................99:42-43 . Inaugural innovation award – Vaughn Bell.............................................................100:8 Science of wine – Glen Creasy................. ..........................................................100:82-83 Winning research – Wisnu Wicaksono. .................................................................100:92 Paulina Giraldo-Perez..................... 101:34

82 //

NZ WINEGROWER DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017

Sustainability & Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) The new face of SWNZ – Justine Tate.. ............................................................ 96:22-23 Modeling nutrient losses from vineyards [15-104], Brent Clothier et al................................................................97:90 An 18-year collaboration – Philip Manson............................................99:66-68 The leaching and runoff of nutrients from vineyards [15-104], Brent Clothier et al........................................101:77 Varieties, Clones & Rootstocks Where old meets new..............98:30-33 The classic differences (Sauvignon Blanc).............................................99:120-121 Creating unique NZ clones..100:53-54 What is precise breeding?..........100:56 Pinot Noir vine performance and grape and wine composition as affected by soil type and irrigation reduction in the Waipara region [14104/15-108], Glen Creasy et al.................. ....................................................... 100:120-121 Vineyard Ecosystems Programme Bumper data harvest from the vineyard ecosystems research programme [14-102], Louise Malone et al...............................................100:117-120 Wine Research How yeast handles excess sulphur [13102], Matias Kinzurik et al........ 96:79-81 Microbes contribute to a wine’s terroir [14-102], Sarah Knight.............. 97:88-89 The value of the wine industry (NZIER 2016 Report)......................................... 98:16 An explosive idea (wine grenade).......... ............................................................99:28-30 Microbe regionality............................ 99:41 Reduce photosynthesis, reduce alcohol............................................. 99:70-72 Evaluation of the efficacy of a range of commercial bentonites on New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine [15105], Kirsten Creasy..........................101:75

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AND ACHIEVE A GOOD HARVESTABLE OUTCOME In an independent 2016 field trial, a vineyard crop with severe powdery infection (the outcome as indicated in the top photo) was returned to top condition (bottom photo).

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Protectorhml and HML32: armour plate for grapes