New Zealand Winegrower October - November 2024

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Editorial

Sophie Preece

From the CEO

Philip Gregan

BRIght Ideas

Dr

Regulars Features

Altogether Unique

New Zealand wine needs to be nimble when it comes to keeping up with the swift progress of innovation, technology, and consumer demand for sustainable solutions. The two day Altogether Unique events in late August showcased those on the cutting edge.

Roadmap to Net Zero

The New Zealand Wine Roadmap to Net Zero 2050 provides a pathway to accelerate progress in the industry’s emission reduction goals.

BRIght outlook

Bragato Research Institute’s new Chief Executive grew up in an artistic family but always knew she wanted to be a scientist. “What that means for me is I’ve always gone a little bit against the grain,” says Dr Juliet Ansell.

Nina Downer, New Zealand Young Viticulturist of the Year, and Georgia Mehlhopt, Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year, at the Altogether Unique Celebration Dinner in Wellington.

Photo Richard Briggs. Go to page 24.

EDITOR Sophie Preece

sophie@sophiepreece.co.nz

CORRESPONDENTS

North Island

Joelle Thomson

Emma Jenkins MW

South Island

Claire Finlayson

Stephanie McIntyre

Rachel Petrie

ADVERTISING

Upper North Island: Stephen Pollard

stephenp@ruralnews.co.nz

Ph: 021 963 166

Central & Lower North Island: Lisa Wise lisaw@ruralnews.co.nz

Ph: 027 369 9218

South Island:

Kaye Sutherland kayes@ruralnews.co.nz

Ph: 021 221 1994

CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS

Sarah Adams saraha@nzwine.com

Ph: 027 700 0740

New Zealand Winegrowers

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PUBLISHING & PRE-PRESS

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Publisher: Brian Hight

Managing Editor: Adam Fricker

Production: David Ferguson, Rebecca Williams

Published by Rural News Group Ltd under authority of New Zealand Winegrowers 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 Inc. or its constituent organisations. Published every second month. One free copy is mailed to every member of New Zealand Winegrowers Inc, 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.

ISSN 1174-5223

From the Editor

The plan for this editorial was to applaud the collaborative spirit of New Zealand wine, which was in full force at Altogether Unique 2024. But as I woke to frost fans and helicopters in the early hours of this Marlborough morning, September 18, it seems timely to look to the vines.

The frost was “particularly evil” due to the amount of time below zero, says Zephyr Wines’ Ben Glover, who had a big night of frost fighting before heading to Organic Wine Week events in Wellington. While Marlborough’s Sauvignon Blanc was yet to burst, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were seven to 10 days early, emerging a few weeks before the cold front. Hawke’s Bay “dodged a bullet”, says Darren Chatterton, Viticulturist at Alpha Domus in the Bridge Pa subregion. But with Chardonnay budburst starting at the beginning of September, 10 days earlier than a typical season, it was “a nervous time watching that front coming through”. Down in Central Otago, where spring has brought plenty of snow and “brutally cold” conditions, viticulturist James Dicey is grateful they’ve not hit budburst. “This little cool spell will hopefully slow them down for a week or two.”

Now the sun is out, and the choppers have landed, so back to Altogether Unique 2024. The two-day event celebrated successes and shared knowledge and experience, from Indevin’s Jason Cook on data capture in the winery, to Yabble’s Rachel O’Shea on the opportunities of artificial intelligence. “If you are on the edge you have to do edgy stuff,” marketing legend Kevin Roberts told the audience, urging a combination of creativity and innovation. He highlighted three key opportunities for New Zealand wine, including leveraging wine tourism, “making Marlborough magical”, and tapping into the potential of the low/no alcohol market.

New Zealand has already made big strides in that realm, thanks to the unified work behind the Lighter Wines Programme. We also have an edge from shared environmental initiatives and imperatives, driven by Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand for the past 30 years, and now enhanced with the Roadmap to Net Zero 2050, launched at Altogether Unique. Climate change and its impacts, including early budburst, are surely the biggest challenge yet. I hope New Zealand’s wine industry, as a united force, can provide inspiration for the rest of the world.

Sophie Preece EDITOR

Contributors

Emma Jenkins MW

Emma Jenkins MW is fascinated by science, passionate about wine, and a talented communicator in both subjects. She was MC for the inaugural Research & Innovation Forum, held at Altogether Unique 2024, and looks at some highlights in this edition.

Go to page 20

Claire Finlayson

Grant Taylor was born in Kurow and these days is something of an evangelist for this corner of “real New Zealand”.

The Kurow Kid’s winemaking career “owes its genesis to a bunch of pesky worms”, says Dunedin-based freelance writer Claire Finlayson.

Go to page 36

Dr Edwin Massey

New Zealand’s wine industry has a proud history of embracing challenges and turning them into opportunities, says New Zealand Winegrowers General Manager Sustainability Dr Edwin Massey, who shares guidance on Freshwater Farm Plans.

Go to page 55

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From the CEO

Designing the future New Zealand Winegrowers

In late 2022 the New Zealand Winegrowers Board appointed a Governance Review Working Group to conduct a review of NZW governance, representation, and the design of the commodity levies that fund NZW. This group was tasked with recommending a range of options for the membership to consider in the future design of the organisation at a governance and representation level, alongside any potential modifications to the commodity levy. We are now at that point where the Working Group has come up with some options and recommendations for consideration by members. The core principals which informed its discussions included:

• NZW is highly valued for the work it does on behalf of the membership. We are not dealing with something that is broken here – the question we are asking is, can it be better for now and for the next generation?

• Our core function is advocacy, research, sustainability and to lead the New Zealand Wine brand story. We do not get involved in the business of our members.

• That a combined organisation as an incorporated society is the way to move forward.

• The Board needs to have a majority of industry members, with a maximum of 12 directors.

• The commodity levy is the desired base for future funding, with the concept that every litre of wine and every grape pays a levy.

• Future diversified funding streams are required to ensure the financial sustainability of the organisation.

High level insights

Key insights from the work undertaken to date include:

• A sustainable long term funding model for NZW is a challenge with the current industry dynamics.

• Recognition of the diversity of the industry and the challenges this poses for an industry organisation representing all members. Different parts of the membership want different things from the organisation. This requires a high level of governance skills and Board process.

• The election of directors is on a representative basis whereas the business of the Board requires high calibre governance skills to make decisions for the good of the industry.

• A 12-member Board is outside the widely accepted range of five to eight directors allowing for proper decision making.

• Representation is an issue for the membership; any new design must ensure that members have a sense that their voice is being heard.

• The structure of the levy collection system can’t be altered within the current levy order, so if changes are endorsed, they will need to be agreed in a formal levy vote by members.

• Member meetings (including AGMs) have important decisionmaking roles; voting at these needs to support broad based consensus-led decision making.

Options and recommendations

The potential areas for change identified by the Working Group touch on a number of different areas of the current design and operations of NZW.

In terms of the Board, the Working Group considered a seven or nine-member Board alongside the current 12-member system. The Working Group preference is for a Board of nine directors (three levy college, three members college, three independent directors). This recommendation is based on staying within the realms of good governance and ensuring that industry directors make up the majority of the Board. There are a range of other Board related options and recommendations, including the need to have a robust charter guiding the operations of the Board.

The Working Group has identified that Board Committees have a key role to reply in ensuring the members’ voice is heard, with recommendations to strengthen their roles as representative vehicles.

On levies, after a significant amount of data and scenario analysis, the Working Group has presented two options for levy collection – the status quo with a cap on winery levy, and a three-tier approach that ensures all wine pays a levy without any significant extra burden on any member's contribution. Options for a minimum levy were analysed but not recommended, but on this matter feedback is being sought from members.

Next steps

The Working Group has identified key foundations for NZW and provided a range of options for discussion with the members. Feedback from members is now being sought in a range of in-person and online meetings in coming weeks. More details on the options and recommendations can be found at nzwine.com/members/about-us/governance.

What is critical to understand is no decisions have been taken at this stage about any changes to NZW. Decisions on changes to NZW governance, representation and levy matters are made by member growers and wineries because NZW is your organisation, and ultimately it is the members who have the say over its Rules, how the Board is elected, and how it is funded.

Following the current member consultation, decisions will need to be made about the final options to be put in front of members. That process will take some time, but it is expected that during 2025 members will have the final say on those matters that will design the future NZW.

Philip Gregan

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Best Of Wine Tourism

Four Hawke’s Bay wine tourism operations have been celebrated in the inaugural Great Wine Capitals Best Of Wine Tourism awards. Judge Anna King Shahab praised the impressive calibre of entries, with “multiple strong contenders” in each category. The winners were:

• Accommodation: Black Barn Vineyards

• Architecture and Landscape: Craggy Range Giants Winery

• Art and Culture: Black Barn Vineyards

• Culinary Experiences: Craggy Range Restaurant

• Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences: Smith & Sheth Heretaunga Wine Studio

• Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices: Church Road

• Wine Tourism Services: Smith & Sheth Oenothèque

The category winners will represent Hawke’s Bay at the Best Of Wine Tourism international awards at a gala dinner in Italy in October. Steve Smith MW, co-founder of Smith & Sheth, which opened its Oenothèque and Heretaunga Wine Studio in 2019, says the awards are a significant milestone, “demonstrating our commitment to excellence and innovation in our wine experiences”. Anna described Smith & Sheth as “a master touch in crafting a wide range of experiences suited to all wine lovers. Its Oenothèque offers an array of opportunities to enjoy and learn about wine, from themed workshops to casual evenings in the wine lounge listening to live music.” She says there are some exceptional wine tourism operators in Hawke’s Bay, “which made our job very challenging”.

Young Horticulturist

Soljans Estate Vineyard Manager Tai Nelson will compete for the title of 2024 Young Horticulturist of the Year in Auckland at the end of October. Tai, the 2023 New Zealand Young Viticulturist of the Year, will be up against four competitors from other horticultural sectors, showcasing their practical skills, leadership ability, speechcraft, business acumen, and industry knowledge. younghort.co.nz

Sommelier of the Year

It’s a “mind-blowing feeling” to win the New Zealand Sommelier of the Year 2024, says Suraj GC. Raised in Pokhara, Nepal, Suraj came to New Zealand as an international student studying computer engineering in Hawke’s Bay, where he worked part time as a waiter at Elephant Hill Winery Restaurant. Over five years he worked his way up to Maitre d’ then Restaurant Manager, during a period when Elephant Hill was awarded Best Winery Restaurant in New Zealand and 2 Hats from the Cuisine Awards. “Wine became an integral part of my life and I started to study WSET and gained Court of Master Sommeliers certification,” Suraj says. In 2016 he gained permanent residency and three years later became Head Sommelier at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Auckland. In 2022, Suraj was awarded a scholarship to attend the Association of Sommeliers International Sommelier Bootcamp in Malaysia, training under some of the best sommeliers in the world. “I am very grateful to the New Zealand Sommelier Association for providing such incredible opportunities and hosting amazing competitions to an international standard,” he says. To take the Sommelier of the Year title, Suraj, who came runner up in 2023, worked through a full day of assessments with another 13 candidates, including two guest sommeliers from Japan and one from Australia. He says he feels “truly blessed” to also represent Nepal, where the wine industry has just begun. “I hope someday to inspire more Nepalese people to work in this beautiful world of wine and experience this magical journey.” As part of his award, Suraj will attend the New Zealand Winegrowers Sommit in Gisborne 2025. nzwine.com/en/trade/tradeevents/sommit

Celebrating Kate Radburnd

Kate Radburnd has been named the F.A.W.C! Hawke’s Bay Legend 2024. Cuisine Magazine editor Kelli Brett, who helped judge the award, says the winemaker has been at the forefront of the development of the Hawke’s Bay wine story, and an inspiration in her efforts to encourage women to thrive and prosper within the professional world of wine. “Throughout her 38-year career, Kate has not only excelled in winemaking but has also played a crucial role in shaping the wine industry’s future.”

Pinot Pioneers

Wairarapa Wine Region’s Pinot Pioneers celebration dinner in early August paid homage to Nick Hoskins of Vine Managers and the late Richard Riddiford of Palliser Estate. Richard was a pioneering force in establishing Martinborough as a key player in the New Zealand wine scene, and was instrumental in initiatives such as Toast Martinborough and the formation of The Family of Twelve, a collective of twelve artisanal wineries dedicated to promoting New Zealand wine in international markets. Nick, who is also a 2024 New Zealand Winegrowers Fellow, was recognised for his pivotal role in advancing vine health and sustainability.

Smith & Sheth wine lounge

Tai Nelson

Kate Radburnd

Gibbston’s Kinross won the inaugural 2024 Qualmark New Zealand Wine Tourism Award, presented at the Altogether Unique 2024 industry celebration dinner in Wellington in late August. The Central Otago winery, bistro, cellar door and accommodation provider showcases the wines of Kinross, Coal Pit, Hawkshead, Valli, High Garden, and Wild Irishman, with an array of in-depth experiences that celebrate Central Otago. Qualmark General Manager Steven Dixon says the Qualmark award gives special attention to vineyards that offer sustainable tourism experiences, with consideration of their impact on the environment and people. The judges were impressed by Kinross’s improved offerings, including engaging cultural advisors to craft tailored experiences that cater to a range of diverse markets, including Asian and American guests. They also recognised the inclusion of disabled access across all venues, including accommodation rooms, the adoption of Destination Queenstown’s 2030 carbon zero goal, and the dedication to staff wellbeing, with the likes of free staff lunches, leadership development and a life skills training programme. The Landing Wines from the Bay of Islands and Wrights Vineyard and Winery from Gisborne also made it to the final round. Judge Stephanie Holmes, Lifestyle and Travel Editor for New Zealand Herald, says the three finalists demonstrated excellence across the judging criteria.

Microbiome Magic

A collaborative research project, ‘Microbiome-Engineered Grapevines – a novel solution for healthy future vineyards’, received a $1 million funding boost from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Endeavour - Smart Ideas fund in September. The funding, over three years, will support Plant & Food Research, Bragato Research Institute and Lincoln University to development a microbiome approach to mitigating grapevine trunk disease. Read more about the work on page 21.

Lab Life

Over the past year John Saker has discovered myriad wine gems in New Zealand’s wine regions, “some in far-flung corners”. The wine writer launched his Te Whenua newsletter in October 2023 and has since racked up “monster miles” traveling the country, tasting Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and meeting with the makers. “What did I learn? Many things; one being how much fun and how interesting it is to take the wine road less travelled,” he says. “The welcome I received in the smaller regions – the Gizzys, the Nelsons, the Northlands –was warm and open. Some of Te Whenua’s most intriguing stories over the past year came from these outposts – like the Seifrieds’ Russian sanctions saga, or my encounter with the weirdness of the old Vinoptima site in Gisborne.” He has learned to “reconfigure” his preconceptions of Pinot, Chardonnay and place in Aotearoa. “My belief in the Kiwi Chardonnay and Pinot Noir story that’s being written by vignerons all around the country was reconfirmed many times over,” he says. “It’s a story that deserves to be told, that has to be told, and I know I’ll never tire of telling it.” During the year he added a monthly vertical tasting feature to Te Whenua, “going through a wayback stack of vintages (usually of a single vineyard wine) with winemakers – recalling summers past and the education each of them provided, discussing the particularities of site, revelling in the performance of many of the older wines.” He also added 117 of the 464 wines tasted to The List. “Unsurprisingly, I think The List for 2024 represents a stunning collection.”

To subscribe to Te Whenua go to johnsaker.com

Jonno Hill was seven years old when his parents Dr Roger and Anne Hill established Hill Labs in 1984. Forty years on he’s at the helm of New Zealand’s largest privately owned analytical laboratory, and credits its success to the strong cultural values instilled by his parents. “Company culture and values accrue around the people who are leading the business,” Jonno says. “Hill Labs was my parents’ business, and so the culture and the values reflect the things that they cared about. Of course, growing up I was also strongly influenced by those same values held by my folks… It almost felt like coming home when I joined the business.”

It seems a natural fit, but Jonno was in the home leg of his PhD in organic synthetic chemistry before he considered it as an option. “It seems crazy in hindsight because it’s gone so well,” says Jonno, who became Managing Director in 2018. Four decades after his parents launched the business, Jonno is keen to preserve the things that underpin its success while embracing opportunities for innovation in primary industries and the environmental space. “Innovation is almost like a magic trick – it’s one of the ways that you bring new value into the world,” he says. Some of those innovations will be driven by technology, while others will come from being clever in established areas by finding new ways to work with partners and customers. “I generally see challenge and opportunity as two sides of the same coin. I’m looking forward to seeing how our business will change over time, and I’m open minded as to who we could be, and what we could be doing.”

Meanwhile, he’ll hold on to the culture he and other longstanding team members value. “I really love the idea of preserving, nurturing, and growing the legacy of my parents. It doesn’t mean that we’re frozen in time. The business does evolve, but it’s certainly an evolution rather than a revolution, we like to say.”

Jonno and Roger Hill

Te Whenua

Kinross Awarded

To have events added to our calendar contact sophie@sophiepreece.co.nz

NZSVO Technical Workshop

15 October

nzsvo.org.nz/technical-workshops

The theme of the New Zealand Society for Viticulture and Oenology’s 2024 technical workshop is ‘Keeping it Fresh’, with sessions on technology and trials, wine trends, unique perspectives, packaging innovations and consumer-facing strategies. Themed tastings will be held throughout the event, at Lansdowne Hub in Blenheim. Read more about Keeping it Fresh on page 46.

Marlborough

Wine Show

18 October

marlboroughwineshow.com

The Marlborough Wine Show, sponsored by QuayConnect, evaluates Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in subclasses of Marlborough’s three main subregions, giving it a unique perspective. “So many wines speak strongly of their place and it’s great to highlight this,” says Chief Judge Stu Marfell. With the 2024 vintage “a standout” he’s looking forward to tasting the Sauvignon Blanc and aromatic varieties in this year’s show. “They will be pretty special wines.” The Legacy class will be another chance for wineries to shine, Stu adds. “There is a lot of focus on the latest and greatest wines, but in the Legacy we get a chance to look at longevity and consistency in winemaking, and to really show how we are creating some truly world class wines right here in Marlborough.” Trophy winners

will be announced at the Marlborough Wine Show Celebration Long Lunch on Friday 18 October, where the Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award recipients will also be announced.

New Zealand International Wine Show

18 October

nziws.co.nz

The 2024 New Zealand International Wine Show marks 20 years of the competition. Chief Judge Bob Campbell MW will be supported by Assistant Chief Judges Larry McKenna, John Hancock and Tony Bish, along with a senior judging team that includes a number of leading winemakers and key industry personnel. The awards function is in Auckland on 18 October.

Research Snapshots

21 October

This dynamic series of research presentations from organisations within the New Zealand Wine Centre – Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, Plant & Food Research and Bragato Research Institute – is designed to provide quick and insightful snapshots of key findings, methodologies, and potential implications of research being undertaken by the wine centre’s research community. Each 90-minute session is dedicated to a specific theme. Sessions remaining for 2024 are 21 October and 25 November. Contact Stewart Field (stewart.field@nmit.ac.nz) to be put on the mailing list.

First Light Festival

27 October

firstlightwineandfood.co.nz

The Gisborne Wine & Food Festival features two beautiful locations to visit – TW Wines and Matawhero Wines. Both venues will host a selection of great food and beautiful wines that reflect the incredible flavours of the Gisborne terroir. Each venue has bands playing throughout the day and tickets include a complimentary bus service.

Wai Wine Weekend

November 2

Waiheke Island and the Wairarapa region are joining forces for an exceptional wine experience, tasting, swirling and savouring wines from both wine regions at renowned cellar doors across Waiheke. Although each

region contributes only 1% of the country’s total wine production, their contrasting climates offer a diverse array of varieties to sample.

National Wine Awards of Aotearoa New Zealand

3 November

nationalwineawards.co.nz

The National Wine Awards of Aotearoa New Zealand seek to identify, celebrate and elevate excellence in New Zealand wine. Initial results will be released 11 October, with the Awards of Excellence Long Luncheon on 3 November.

Harvest Hawke’s Bay Festival

23 November

harvesthawkesbay.com

Enjoy 18 local wineries, nine fabulous restaurants, and live music in a beautiful rural setting on Tuki Tuki Road. Tickets are strictly limited so get in early to be part of a picture-perfect day out.

Toast Martinborough

toastmartinborough.co.nz/

19 January 2025

Along with a shift to a summer date, Toast Martinborough 2025 boasts new festival hours, from 11am to 7pm, allowing for a lingering evening on Wellington’s long anniversary weekend. The 2.5km stretch of road between The Runholder and Ata Rangi will be closed to traffic as Festival Road, with a five to ten-minute walk between each festival site, along with transport options. The Toast experience celebrates so many

Photo Richard Briggs

aspects of what the region excels at, says Destination Wairarapa Chief Executive Anna Nielson. “And is one which visitors very much look forward to.”

Southern Pinot Noir Workshop

23-25 January 2025

Rob Walters and his viticulturist Remi Jacquemain, from Place of Changing Winds in Australia’s Macedon Ranges, are guest speakers at the 2025 Pinot Noir Workshop in Hanmer Springs. Topics include high density planting, canopy management, Poussard pruning, marketing potential, and how to improve the image and sales of New Zealand Pinot Noir domestically and abroad. The workshop is three days rather than the usual four, with the content condensed to fit a tighter timeframe. pinotworkshop.com

Marlborough

Wine & Food Festival

8 February 2025

marlboroughwinefestival.com

Marlborough’s iconic Wine & Food Festival will be back at Renwick Domain in February, with dozens of award-winning wine companies, an array of alfresco dining experiences, and a lineup of dance-inducing

entertainment. The event will include The Lounge and VIP Retreat, as well as sure-tosell-out Masterclasses.

Pinot Noir NZ 2025

11-13 February 2025

pinotnz.co.nz

Australian film director and author Damon Gameau is one of the speakers at Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025, a three-day gathering of global wine lovers in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Famous for his documentaries ‘That Sugar Film’ and ‘2040’, which reflect on our interconnectedness with nature, Damon will discuss the regenerative actions for a better future for our industry and our place. Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025 will include “amazing” speakers, along with influential trade and media from key export markets, says committee Chair Michael Henley MW. “For anyone engaged in the global wine scene, it is an opportunity not to be missed.” Read more on page 13 and find the full speaker programme at pinotnz.co.nz.

North Canterbury Wine & Food Festival

9 March 2025

ncwineandfood.co.nz

Thousands of food and wine lovers will gather at Glenmark Domain to celebrate the harvest in style at the 2025 North Canterbury Wine & Food Festival. Find pockets of entertainment under the oaks, immerse yourselves in conversations with other lovers of local produce, and fall in love with everything North Canterbury has to offer.

Save the Date – ICCWS iccws2026.nz

25-28 January 2026

The 11th International Cool Climate Wine Symposium will be held in Ōtautahi Christchurch in January 2026, offering tastings and insights from cool climate regions, both within New Zealand and around the world.

“This is a globally significant event not to be missed,” says NZSVO President Jeff Sinnott. “Particularly for those practicing, researching and studying cool climate viticulture and winemaking.”

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Pyramid Valley Pinot Noir. Photo Richard Brimer

Altogether Unique

Growing the reputation of New Zealand Wine

Juliana Foster

Wine Business Forum

The Wine Business Forum; Navigating the Beverage Superhighway, was the first event of Altogether Unique 2024, held in Wellington in late August. Rob McMillan, founder of the Silicon Valley Bank wine division, refers to the global wine market as being lanes on a larger beverage highway that we’re all jostling for space on. We liked this concept, so shaped the day’s programme around helping members understand their place in this fast-moving, many-laned environment. The stellar speaker lineup was a blend of international and New Zealand-based experts who helped the audience understand the global

Pairing wine with tourism

New Zealand is home to more than 240 cellar doors and 530 winery experiences. Thanks to recent legislation changes (see page 47), more wineries can now offer the wine tourism experiences visitors expect. During the Wine Business Forum, the potential of wine tourism received multiple mentions across an array of speakers. Most notably the Chief Executive of Tourism New Zealand (TNZ), René de Monchy, spoke with optimism about the future potential of pairing wine with tourism and shared that 67% of visitors to New Zealand are motivated by New Zealand food and wine. He concluded that TNZ looks forward to a continued partnership with NZW to help strengthen the wine tourism sector and build year-round appeal for New Zealand as a premium visitor destination. Hosting the inaugural Qualmark New Zealand Wine Tourism Award at the Altogether Unique 2024 Celebration Dinner, following the Wine Business Forum, is a great example of this partnership. Congratulations to Kinross of Central Otago for being the award’s first recipient. This award recognises the significant role that wine tourism plays in New Zealand’s visitor economy and gives special attention to vineyards that offer excellent and sustainable tourism experiences, celebrating people and place. NZW and Qualmark share a strong alignment in celebrating excellence and supporting continuous improvement

headwinds our industry faces, and look to the opportunities (or new lanes) of innovation and artificial intelligence, and

in wine tourism. We know that wineries are a quintessential New Zealand tourism experience, combining the beautiful scenery of the vineyards, fabulous local wine and food, and the welcoming hospitality of the hosts.

Qualmark General Manager Steven Dixon, who presented the award, was impressed by all the wineries entered and their enthusiasm and commitment to delivering excellent visitor experiences. He shared with the audience that Qualmark was looking forward to next year’s award and incorporating improvements to continue to celebrate excellence in New Zealand’s wine tourism sector.

Juliana Foster is NZW Global PR Manager

how sustainability and wine tourism, as part of our brand stories, can give New Zealand Wine a valuable competitive edge. See page 18 for some highlights from the engaging sessions. For the second year running, it was heartening to see strong attendance at the Wine Business Forum, with more than 90 unique wineries from eight regions registered. Attendees surveyed at the event provided 100% positive feedback. Planning is underway for the 2025 Wine Business Forum, so please get in touch with the New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) Brand team (brandteam@nzwine. com) about topics you’d like to see covered.

Canada – LCBO to visit NZ

NZW is to host Marie Cundari, Senior Director of New World Wines at Ontario’s Liquor Control Board, along with LCBO Vice President Merchandising, Abhay Garg. The visit in February 2025, coinciding with Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025, is an opportunity for wine companies to learn more about the opportunities and challenges of the Canadian market (see page 14). For more information please email NZW Canadian Market Manager Andrea Backstrom at andrea.backstrom@nzwine.com.

Charlotte Read, NZW General Manager Brand, kicks off the Wine Business Forum

NZW Canadian Market Manager Andrea Backstrom, right, with an LCBO product manager

Thomas Moschetta, from Kinross, accepts the Qualmark New Zealand Wine Tourism Award from judges

Pinot Noir NZ

Venita Simcox has come a long way since she tried her first red wine – a 1982 Château Margaux – and hated it. These days the wine marketing expert has WSET and Court of Master Somms credentials, and is a committee member for Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025, to be held in Ōtautahi Christchurch from 11-13 February. She looks at what’s in store in the upcoming event.

I’m looking forward to… the focus on regenerative farming and climate solutions for the next generation. The programme has many highlights, but as a parent with young kids, this topic is particularly compelling. I look forward to Damon Gameau’s insights – it’s bound to be an inspiring and hopeful perspective for what lies ahead.

“With innovation driving sustainable and organic practices, producers are finding ways to elevate quality without sacrificing the environment.”

Venita Simcox

Our programme includes… something for everyone, no matter how deep your wine knowledge runs. We’ve teamed up with some fantastic people to craft a diverse experience that will educate, inspire and entertain all our attendees.

A perfect Pinot description is… “Rhianna’s hand sliding down the velvet rope of a speak-easy.” A while back, when we launched a new collection at Craggy Range, Rhys Darby did some tasting notes for us; they were so left-field and always stuck in my mind. I think his image of Rhianna and the velvet rope summed the Pinot Noir up perfectly!

New Zealand Pinot Noir is… exciting. So many incredible examples are available now, but we have so much ahead of us. With innovation driving sustainable and organic practices, producers are finding ways to elevate quality without sacrificing the environment.

One thing you should know about me is… that my firstever red wine was a 1982 Château Margaux… and I absolutely hated it. I was working for a very generous family on their superyacht, and after that experience, they quickly realised my palate needed some fine-tuning. Thanks to them, my wine journey began, and while there’s no first-growth Bordeaux in my cellar, I’ll take New Zealand Pinot any day!

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Intel and Insights: Opportunities and challenges in Canada

RICHARD LEE & ANDREA BACKSTROM

With a population of 40 million and growing, Canada remains one of the largest wine-consuming nations globally, presenting opportunities and challenges for New Zealand wine producers. The market is shaped by regional preferences, strict import regulations and a rising demand for diverse wine styles. While New Zealand wines – particularly Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir – have gained traction, continued effort is required to navigate this highly competitive landscape.

Wine constitutes roughly one-third of alcohol consumption in Canada, split between red and white varieties. The market is highly regional, with provinces such as Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia being the primary wine consumers. These provinces also support strong domestic wine industries, particularly in Ontario’s Niagara region and British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. Canadian consumers embrace international wines – especially from Italy, France, the United States and Australia – and New Zealand has made notable progress, with its Sauvignon Blanc particularly appreciated for its unique and refreshing flavour profile.

New Zealand’s Market Performance

New Zealand’s wine exports to Canada have grown steadily, now accounting for 6% of total wine exports. In the 12 months to June 2024, New Zealand wine sales in Canada grew by 2.6% in value and 1.5% in volume, outperforming the overall

market, which declined by -0.9% in value and -3.3% in volume. Canadian wine sales reached CAD $8.45 billion, representing 35% of total liquor sales, followed by spirits at 32%, beer at 22%, and ready-todrink beverages at 11%.

Ontario accounted for 41% of New Zealand’s wine sales, with a value increase of 3.6%. Quebec, with 19% market share, saw a rise of 5.3%, while British Columbia and Alberta accounted for 17% and 12.3% respectively, with Alberta experiencing a -3.5% decline in value. Sauvignon Blanc makes up more than 85% of New Zealand’s exports to Canada, and grew by 4% in value and 2.9% in volume, surpassing the category growth rate. Pinot Gris, the second-largest white varietal from New Zealand, posted 5.8% value growth, making it 65% larger in sales than Pinot Noir. Despite gaining traction in recent years, New Zealand Pinot Noir experienced a slight decline of -0.9% in value and -2.8% in volume in the past 12 months.

Distribution and Regulatory Challenges

One of the main challenges for New Zealand wine producers is navigating Canada’s provincial liquor control system. Each province has its own set of regulations governing alcohol sales.

Ontario’s Liquor Control Board (LCBO) and Quebec’s Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) are two of the largest alcohol buyers globally, making them critical partners for New Zealand producers. However, securing shelf space

in these liquor systems can be difficult, due to competition from domestic and established international brands. Strategic partnerships with importers and distributors are essential to overcoming these hurdles and enhancing visibility in key provinces.

Growth of NOLO Wines

The rising interest in no and low-alcohol wines in Canada presents an emerging opportunity. As Canadian consumers become more health-conscious, demand for low-alcohol wines is growing. New Zealand’s focus on sustainability and innovation positions it well to capitalise on this trend by offering flavourful lowalcohol alternatives.

New Zealand wine has carved a niche in Canada, led by Sauvignon Blanc and growing interest in Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. However, competition remains strong from both domestic and established international players. To sustain growth, New Zealand needs to continues to focus on innovation, such as NOLO wines, and strengthen ties with key distributors and liquor boards. Richard Lee is Intel and Insights Specialist at New Zealand Winegrowers and Andrea Backstrom is NZW Canadian Market Manager. NZW will host LCBO’s Senior Director of New World Wines, Marie Cundari, and Vice President Merchandising, Abhay Garg, in February 2025, coinciding with Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025. For more information on that please email Andrea at Andrea.Backstrom@nzwine.com.

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Altogether Unique 2024

Harnessing research, innovation, creativity and leadership

SOPHIE PREECE

New Zealand wine needs innovation, creativity and courageous leadership to “win the world from the edge”, says Kevin Roberts, the former worldwide Chief Executive and Chairman of Saatchi and Saatchi. “If you are on the edge you have to do edgy stuff,” Kevin told the audience at the Wine Business Forum; Navigating the Beverage Superhighway, on day one of Altogether Unique 2024 in Wellington in August.

Certainly the two-day industry event, which also included a Celebration Dinner, Women in Wine Breakfast and inaugural Research & Innovation Forum, showcased research, insights, creativity and innovations at the cutting edge, whether reflecting on advancements already in place, including artificial intelligence, or those poised on the horizon. Attendees heard about the opportunities and risks of emerging market trends, including warnings on the risks of commoditisation. “Once you are in that space there is no way back up,” says Felicity Carter (page 18). Like the Business Forum, the Research & Innovation Forum reflected the rapid rate of change, exploring Indevin’s data-

Rapidly evolving technology, climate change, and the sophistication of science has led to a shortage of skilled making industry.

Those needs have led Lincoln University to tailor its Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology course in a way that targets all the skills a contemporary winemaker or viticulturalist would need.

Wine Food & Molecular Biosciences

Senior Lecturer Dr Olaf Schelezki said the industry was no longer the strictly manual labour industry from 60 years ago that some still envisioned.

In the last few decades the growing and winemaking process had become “incredibly sophisticated” with better and more precise technology. The science behind it had developed significantly as well.

Professionals in the industry had to be able to analyse data, such as the soil and climate conditions of the vineyard, and use it to make informed decisions.

powered winery, the potential of new enzymes in the winemaker’s toolkit, the ability to harness microbiomes in vines and robotics in vineyards, and updates on Bragato Research Institute’s grapevine improvement work.

Altogether Unique 2024 was held in a time of great pressure in the wine industry. In a recent survey by Wine Marlborough, more than half the grapegrowers from the region who responded said the 12 months leading up to August 2024 had been “significantly worse” than the year before, thanks in large part to market demand and economic conditions The next year would be about the same, according to 42% of respondents, while 39% thought the 12 months to August 2025 would be worse.

Despite those headwinds, and perhaps because of them, the Altogether Unique events were well supported, with growers, winemakers, marketers, scientists and innovators heading to Wellington for the learnings of the two forums. “We have to listen to those who know what it’s like at the sharp end, and are more in touch with consumer sentiment than we are as producers,” says Lawson’s Dry

“They need to know what to do, how to do it, and how to be resourceful to overcome challenges.”

It was especially critical with the development of climate change, as all decisions had to be made with the future in mind.

Hills Marketing & Sales Manager Belinda Jackson. “It comes back to being prepared to listen, learn and adapt or die really.”

Yealands Senior Winemaker Anthony Walkenhorst says both days reflected the rate of change in technology, innovation, environment, and consumer demand. “We’re at the start of the big changes that are going to happen and the forums were a reminder that we have to be prepared.”

Being prepared was the focus of the final session at Altogether Unique, with the launch of the New Zealand Roadmap to Net Zero 2050 (page 22). One of the panellists in that session, Whitehaven Wines Sustainability Manager Josh Barclay, responded to a question around how New Zealand’s industry can make a difference. As in the past, it has the opportunity to be seen as a leader, hopefully inspiring others to forge ahead with changes, he says. “Yes, we are small, but that does not mean we cannot lead by example.”

Photo left, the Altogether Unique Celebration Dinner, hosted by comedian Te Radar and NZW’s Sarah Wilson, included presentations for the NZW Fellows, Young Viticulturist and Young Winemaker of the Year, and the Qualmark New Zealand Wine Tourism Award. Photo Richard Briggs.

“We want to see students are able to

Students would complete their three years with practical knowledge, an understanding of all parts of the industry, and valuable network connections.

For more information on this degree please email olaf.schelezki@lincoln.ac.nz

Wine Business Forum – navigating the beverage superhighway

EMMA JENKINS MW

In her typically energetic and engaging manner, Felicity Carter opened the Wine Business Forum with a fast-moving, thought-provoking session, ‘Navigating the Wine Lane on the Beverage Superhighway’. Drawing on Charles Handy’s theory of 40year industry life cycles, where the nimblest use the apex of the bell curve to leap into a new cycle, Felicity, who is founder of the Drinks Insider podcast and research consultancy and Editorial Director of Areni Global in London, argued that wine is now facing a structural inflection point.

Beginning with 1982, when Robert Parker first shook up the wine world, she highlighted numerous sea-changes, such as the impact that technically correct, reliable New World wines like Rosemount Chardonnay and Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc had on global winemaking standards, the French paradox, the rise of wine tourism, and the booms in rosé and prosecco. She also noted missed opportunities, such as the lack of premiumisation options for ‘women in wine’, and the slow response to consumers’ growing health concerns and evolving drinking ‘occasions’.

Felicity observed that wine trends usually follow food trends. While dining options have exploded, wine has largely consolidated and homogenised its products, which has contributed to a major problem now besetting the industry – the disengagement of younger consumers. The MILZ (millennial/Gen Zs) demographic is highly health-conscious, open to different packaging and serving sizes, and is gravitating towards new options such as single serves, spritzers, wine cocktails and blended products. Yet they face a wine aisle dominated by often sugary commercialised wines that taste alike. Felicity advocated for wine to make a stronger connection to dining occasions, embrace innovation, including the growing role of technology in understanding consumer preferences, and leverage the burgeoning wine education sector to spark interest. She stressed the need to stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace, suggesting that New Zealand is well-positioned to excel via premiumisation, wine tourism and

sustainability. “Committing to something and standing for it is a way to survive in this market.” Key strategies included finding your voice, nurturing a culture and audience that understands taste and quality, and having extreme ambition and flagship wines, while distinguishing between “expensive highly-marketed wines, and true greatness”. Felicity was equally emphatic that commoditisation was disastrous. “Once you are in that space there is no way back up, you wreck it and you wreck it for a generation… you won’t get that prestige back.”

Andrew Shedden, Head of Fine Wine at the AU$12.3 billion Endeavor Group, also packed in a wealth of insight, outlining the Australian market’s declining consumption, driven by changing demographics, drinking occasions and moderation trends (health and economic). With wine shrinking against craft beers, premixes and spirits, especially with the all-important MILZs, Andrew observed that other categories have adapted to modern consumer demands while wine has clung to traditional norms. “They have been good at breaking traditional shackles, but wine has held on to its shackles a lot more strongly. We need to challenge the rules that we put around wine.”

Andrew detailed trends towards lighter and more refreshing wine styles (both red and white) with rosé and sparkling maintaining popularity, although Champagne is struggling on price. Lighter wines under 10% ABV are growing (far

more than non-alcoholic) as are spritzers like Zoncello, and naturally-flavoured wines. Large formats such as bagnums (1.5 litre boxless bags) have rocketed, due to their size, value and 30-day shelf life. Andrew emphasised that both “liquid innovation and format innovation”, via alternative packaging, flavours and drinking occasions, would be key to recruiting MILZ, who are expected to constitute half of Australia’s liquor consumers by 2028. Like Felicity, he saw both opportunities and challenges for New Zealand wine, including sparkling wines looking to fill the vacuum behind Champagne. Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay all had premium category headroom, and the increasing number of buttery Chardonnay drinkers might be lured away from United States labels. Sauvignon Blanc was a more complex picture, reliant on an older customer base, and with high category loyalty but very low brand loyalty. Andrew felt flagship wines were lacking. “Where is the price ladder? The luxury options that exist for Chardonnay do not for Sauvignon Blanc.” He urged producers to become relevant to emerging consumers, seize short term opportunities and market gaps, while strategising for long term innovation. “Brand New Zealand really does resonate with our consumers. How does your brand stand out in the competitive set – what point of difference do you offer?”

For more on the Wine Business Forum go to nzwine.com/en/initiativesevents/ altogetherunique

Felicity Carter at the Wine Business Forum. Photo Richard Briggs

Harvesting data & harnessing AI

SOPHIE PREECE

Artificial Intelligence is not to be feared says Rachel O’Shea, co-founder of generative AI company Yabble. Rachel brought 20 years’ experience in the wine industry and 10 years in AI data insights to the Wine Business Forum in August, asking attendees to get their businesses AI engaged or, at the very least, AI ready.

Generative AI is about “creating data from existing data”, whether that’s the “world’s data” or your proprietary data, she says, urging companies to recognise the unique assets of their own information. “How do you get yourself AI ready with your data, so that when you want to use it you can?” Recordings of conversations, presentations and vlogged sales insights can be valuable data to be “mined” when needed, while robotics in the vineyard can glean extraordinary insights.

AI can help companies interpret specific

data to make better decisions, as Air New Zealand did in assessing which meals were not hitting the mark, and to mine global data for market insights, as Rachel demonstrated by looking at a retro themed Miami Wine Cooler and asking how that would appeal to a GenZ audience. “I can get a response to that idea.”

She demonstrated AI creating tasting notes in two minutes and creating a wine label inspired by Deadpool in four minutes. She also demonstrated the power of Yabble’s wine drinker personas, which can be asked questions – shallow and deep – to give insights into influences on their wine choices. There were caveats to her enthusiasm, including one Deadpool-inspired label that infringed Marvel’s trademark. “It’s understanding the limitations and knowing you have to follow some rules.”

The AI space is moving quickly, and Rachel’s take home message for the audience was to be open to its opportunities in all facets of business, from vineyard and cellar door to design and market, and to ensure data is available

when you need it.“Capture it with visual imagery, video, drone, receptors in the ground for your soil, conversations. Everywhere you can capture data, capture it, label it, and it will be an amazing asset for you now and into the future.”

Rachel O’Shea. Photo Richard Briggs

Research & Innovation Forum

EMMA JENKINS MW

The inaugural Research & Innovation Forum was a stimulating glimpse at the research, innovation and technology helping shape the future of New Zealand wine.

Held as part of New Zealand Winegrowers’ two-day Altogether Unique 2024, the innovation forum was introduced by Bragato Research Institute (BRI) Chief Executive Dr Juliet Ansell (see page 29), who shared an ethos of “thinking big, starting small”. Juliet acknowledged the reality of not being able to do everything, and discussed an ideal research focus of 70% core, 20% tangential and 10% radical projects, with the latter two to drive innovation.

“It was great to see the two technologies explained so clearly side by side, with onegene editing - offering permanent vine solutions, and the other - RNA tech - a short-term toolbox.”

The forum was organised into five sessions, kickstarted by Hans Loder, Vineyard Manager and Viticultural Consultant to Coonawarra’s Penley Estate, on ‘The Future of Smart Management’, with an insightful look at data capture, management and use. Data is generated and often haphazardly captured by individuals, businesses and industries, but the questions of what we do with it, who owns it, and whether it is used in a strategic manner are often left to chance or simply ignored. Hans outlined how and where to start, delving into data reusability and how mapping what you already have can show what the next steps might be. He touched on current and next generation technology, such as 3D wearable tech used to ‘look’ around a vineyard, and how capturing data in real time can aid in more efficient practices, as he experienced when managing a Coonawarra vineyard frost event while having lunch in Vancouver.

That was an excellent scene-setter for Jason Cook, Indevin Group Winemaker, who explained the digital-driven productivity improvements at the

company’s Fifteen Valleys winery, which is Marlborough’s largest facility. Using the Six Sigma DMAIC model (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control) they built four virtual wineries with paper highways to examine all aspects of winery processes. Subsequent real time tracking via sensors in receival bins, presses, pumps, flow metres and tanks allowed them to pinpoint and eliminate areas of inefficiency. This may seem beyond the scope of what most New Zealand wineries experience, but it was a fascinating look at how a winery that grew from 4,000 to 50,000 tonnes in 20 years was able to undergo a digital transformation. They completely streamlined their systems and illuminated how seemingly minor issues, such as varying press cycle timings, can create significant bottlenecks.

‘Looking Micro to Make Big Changes’ was a gearshift to biochemistry. Professor Wayne Patrick from Victoria University outlined the current enzyme toolbox, with products mostly based upon carbohydrateactive hydrolases. His enzyme ‘tree of life’ slide illustrated the sheer potential of what else is out there – a vast bacterial and fungal resource for potentially different actions. With GMO regulations currently being revisited, this is an area of real potential. Next up was Plant & Food Research Science Group Leader and Grapevine Trunk Disease specialist Dr Hayley Ridgway, who explored the microbiome potential for vine health (see page 21).

The two speakers in the Viticulture Innovations session, Mark Piper, Chief Executive of Plant & Food Research, and Dr Alistair Scarfe, co-founder and Chief Engineer of Robotics Plus, brought extensive experience in the agriculture and horticulture sectors, offering insight for viticultural needs. Mark explained how

Plant & Food is building a digital twin platform that can create environmental, plant (tree/fruit), understory, soil, and biodiversity models that process data inputs from physical orchards and vineyards. Then Alistair gave a glimpse of the fast-moving world of autonomous vehicle multi-use platforms for spraying, mowing, trimming and increasingly, data scanning, which he says will see an increasing degree of specificity and targeted deployment.

Session four was ‘Innovations in Genetics’, with Dr Darrell Lizamore and Dr Ellie Bradley of BRI respectively covering genetic technologies for grapevine improvement and how RNA technology can complement sustainable viticulture. Darrell’s talk focused on the various gene editing techniques such as CRISPR to adapt vines for the likes of drought and disease resistance, and the pros and cons of the methods in terms of selectivity and GMO acceptability. Ellie (see August/September 2024 Winegrower Magazine) discussed the nascent RNA tech solutions for disease, chemical/spray residues, biosecurity concerns, early season frosts and water restrictions. For example, an RNA spray could help temporarily retard bud formation when frost is imminent. It was great to see the two technologies explained so clearly side by side, with one – gene editing – offering permanent vine solutions, and the other – RNA tech – a short-term toolbox.

The final speakers covered the New Zealand Wine Roadmap to Net Zero 2050 (see page 22), the success of which will be reliant on much of the research, innovation and technologies covered in the forum. For more on the Research & Innovation Forum go to nzwine.com/en/ initiativesevents/altogetherunique

Dr Hayley Ridgway talks of harnessing the microbiome of grapevines. Photo Richard Briggs

Using microbiomes to combat trunk disease

SOPHIE PREECE

Harnessing microbial communities to mitigate grapevine trunk disease is an “exciting prospect” for New Zealand’s wine industry, says Dr Hayley Ridgway.

Speaking at the Research & Innovation Forum in Wellington in late August, the Science Group Leader at Plant & Food Research explained how trials have tapped into the unique microbial signature of “disease escape” vines, which remain healthy amid a “pandemic of dead or dying vines”. By comparing the plant and microbial DNA of diseased vines with that of their resistant neighbours, aged around 20 years with no signs of chlorosis or cankers, the research team sought evidence of a “distinctive microbiome” that might offer protection against trunk disease pathogens.

Working with Lincoln University, including PhD student Damola Adejoro, they created a prototype synthetic community of microorganisms, checked

them for pathogen risk or links, then infiltrated one-year old grapevines canes. Genetic testing was used to ensure the microbiome was present in the plants, which were then inoculated with two known trunk disease pathogens. “The results show that the prototype synthetic community resisted the pathogen at or near the site of inoculation,” Hayley told the forum audience. In contrast, there was “unimpeded” transfer of the pathogen to the control vines.

Trunk disease is an “intractable and unbreedable” target, with spores traveling in rain and wind to infect pruning wounds. With Sauvignon Blanc the most susceptible variety, it’s costing New Zealand’s industry $137 million per annum, with that likely to more than double by 2038, Hayley said. Meanwhile, horticulture is at an “inflection point” globally, with a need to work with nature in lieu of chemicals. “Global momentum has suggested harnessing the power of

the plant microbiome can help achieve that goal.”

With new funding announced in September (see page 9) there are plans to extend the research, building a bigger synthetic community and exploring the transfer of curated microbiomes to mature vines. The work could also be used to address other “complex and intractable” disease problems, Hayley said. Meanwhile Ormond Nurseries is helping the researchers develop a “roadmap” for a high throughput system.

Speaking after the forum, Hayley says the microbiome community meant the vines were better prepared for the future. “I liken it to sending our plants out naked into the vineyard. Let’s dress them beforehand, rather than letting them just get dressed out there, with whatever is hanging around.”

Read more at frontiersin.org/journals/ microbiology/articles/10.3389/ fmicb.2023.1231832/full

Roadmap to Net Zero

EMMA JENKINS MW

The New Zealand Wine Roadmap to Net Zero 2050 lays out a pathway and practical guidelines to help vineyards and wineries meet the goal of being carbon net zero by 2050.

Launched at the industry’s Research & Innovation Forum in Wellington in late August, the Roadmap has been produced by New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) in conjunction with the government agency EECA (Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority) and thinkstepanz, an independent sustainability firm. Karen Orr, EECA Sector Decarbonisation Programme Advisor, and Rosie Dodd, Senior Sustainability Specialist at thinkstepanz, spoke to forum delegates about the Roadmap’s development and how the industry can use it to help reduce emissions as quickly and effectively as possible.

“Climate change is the biggest long-term challenge facing our industry.”

Fabian Yukich

This pathway was started in 1995 with the inception of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ), under which 96% of vineyards and 90% of wine processed are now certified. In the past three decades, this industry-wide commitment to sustainability has contributed positively to New Zealand wine’s global reputation and has become increasingly important to consumers and trading partners, who are demanding ever-greater transparency and rigour in environmental credentials. Currently, 80% of New Zealand’s exports go to countries with climate and/or sustainability requirements and that trend is only expected to grow. In his introduction to the Roadmap, NZW Environment Committee Chair Fabian Yukich notes that climate change is the biggest long-term challenge facing the industry. “It will influence our choice of grape varieties, wine styles, viticultural techniques and regions, and importantly, the purchase decisions of our customers. Our response to climate change is critical to the reputation of New Zealand as a producer of high value, sustainable,

premium quality wine.”

Karen outlined the three main areas to forum attendees: energy efficiency, empowering energy users, and accelerating renewable energy sources. The Roadmap details the industry’s current greenhouse gas (GHG) emission footprint and where the key opportunities are for reducing those emissions: improving energy efficiency, moving away from diesel, decarbonising electricity, innovating the value chain, and using carbon removals. It sets out where the industry needs to be by 2030, 2040 and 2050 to achieve these goals, with the three scopes of Direct Emissions (scope 1), Indirect Emissions (scope 2), and Supply Chain Emissions (scope 3) aligned with a series of targets, strategies and timeframes. For each timeframe, there’s a series of suggested actions for vineyards and/or wineries, and a wealth of ideas for those wondering where to start. Both Karen and Rosie emphasised that engagement would be vital, with the sharing of information and, where appropriate, resources integral to this. Not everyone is starting from the same point and different producers will have different needs based on wine styles and market, she said, adding that getting started is the most important part, “regardless of where that is”, and the

best time to start is now. The Roadmap is expected to function not only as an industry starting point but also as a living document that will be adapted over time as data continues to be gathered and technologies change.

Following on from the Roadmap’s presentation, Fabian led a panel discussion with Professor Anita Wreford, an applied economist from Lincoln University who works on primary sector climate change adaptation policy, Peter Jones, Director of The Landing in Northland, which is certified carbon positive, and Josh Barclay, Sustainability Manager at Marlborough’s Whitehaven Wines. Peter and Josh gave firsthand practical insight into the types of projects they had undertaken as part of their decarbonisation pathways and discussed the unexpected social benefits of the changes, including staff engagement and retention. All three panellists were unanimous that global respect for quality and sustainability was an important driver, and that New Zealand had a lot to lose by not being at the forefront of this change. With the industry’s well established SWNZ platform, and proven ability to work together for the greater good, there is a real opportunity for New Zealand to become a leader in this space. Next stop, 2030.

Roadmap to Net Zero

Without action, the wine industry’s expected growth to 2040 will significantly increase emissions. To keep growing without increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the Roadmap to Net Zero lays out five key principles:

» Measure emissions: continuously improve GHG emissions accounting and set targets to reduce emissions

» Reduce energy demand: prioritise energy efficiency in the short-term

» Innovate operations: plan investments to transition from fossil fuels

» Work with the value chain: suppliers of purchased goods and services – particularly packaging – should be net zero aligned

» Be ambitious: where emissions cannot be reduced use emissions removal projects nzwine.com/en/sustainability/roadmap-to-net-zero

One of the five key opportunities to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the wine industry is by replacing diesel and other fossil fuels with alternate fuels, such as biofuel or green hydrogen and electrifying farm equipment and machinery.

Taking steps to become more energy e icient and adopting clever technologies can have plenty of benefits for your bottom line.

EECA provides tools and resources to save energy and lower emissions in New Zealand's vineyards and wineries, helping to future-proof industry.

Get started at eeca.govt.nz/wine

Nina Downer –Young Viticulturist of the Year

SOPHIE PREECE

Growing up on a Taranaki dairy farm, Nina Downer was accustomed to the isolated and repetitive nature of her parents’ work, milking at dawn 365 days of the year. Her Central Otago wine career couldn’t be more different, rich with diversity and forged on a community of support, says the 2024 Young Viticulturist of the Year, who took out the title after a national final at Escarpment in Wairarapa in late August.

The final component of the competition was a speech at the Altogether Unique celebration dinner in Wellington, in which the Felton Road Vineyard Supervisor paid homage to the people she works with.

“Central Otago is unique because of Bruce, the once nomad who leaves a trail of forgotten clothing wherever he goes,” she said. “The Raewyn, ex-postie who used to run a bed and breakfast in Africa; the Nicci who screams at the top of her lungs when a bee flies out at her from the vines; the Jia, ex-police officer and pastry chef; or the Gareth King, who runs a tight ship, but is really just a giant marshmallow.”

Nina says Bruce, Raewyn, Nicci, Jia and Gareth are just a handful of the people who have helped drive her career, including three regional Young Viticulturist titles, and now the national accolade. “They are constantly backing me, constantly quizzing and challenging me at work.”

Nina’s family moved to the Wairarapa when she was 16, and she soon shelved dreams of becoming a vet, deterred by the thought of euthanising animals. One of her teachers at high school in New Plymouth suggested she check out viticulture instead,

tapping into the soil and plant sciences she had always enjoyed in a career based in the outdoors.

She researched viticulture and was sold, going on to Lincoln University’s viticulture and oenology degree, with summer holidays at Dry River Wines in Martinborough, where the work “really clicked”, confirming she was on the right track. When she finished her degree at the end of 2019, Nina worked with Dry River for a season, then joined Felton Road in Bannockburn. And she has no plans to move on any time soon. “They are just so supportive of me and have trained me up quite nicely and I still have so much to learn from them.” Next year she will go on to compete in the New Zealand Young Horticulturist of the Year, won by Felton Road’s Annabel Bulk in 2018, “so there’ll be lots of prep for that”.

Second place in the 2024 Young Viticulturist Competition went to Anna Kelland from Constellation Brands in Marlborough, while the 2024 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year title was won by Georgia Mehlhopt from

Greystone Wines in North Canterbury, with the runner up Katie Cameron from Ata Rangi in Wairarapa. Having four women in the top spots is “bloody awesome”, says Nina, noting that Central Otago’s young viticulture competition tends to be dominated by women. “It is really cool to see us take out some of the top places and just shows that gender doesn’t have anything to do with whether you can succeed or not; we have proven that this year.”

Nina loves working with grapes, and with a network of people, from the soil to sales, in a business committed to organics, premium production, and climate change mitigation. In the future she sees herself continuing down a pathway of conscientious winegrowing, tapping into new technology, genetics and innovations to grow quality and reduce environmental impact. “I think it’s really important to be careful with what products we are using and giving back to the environment where we can… Trying to make sure it’s better off than when we found it.”

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Nina paid homage to her wine community at the Altogether Unique Celebration dinner. Photo Richard Briggs

Georgia Mehlhopt –Young Winemaker of the Year

SOPHIE PREECE

Somewhere along the 800km Camino de Santiago trail – perhaps while seeking shade beneath a verdant vine, talking to Spanish vineyard workers in the field, or drinking cool Albariño at the end of the day –Georgia Mehlhopt canned her law career. “It got me thinking, ‘maybe this could be a cool thing to do’,” she says of contemplating a life in wine. Four years on, Greystone Wines’ Vineyard and Winery Assistant is the 2024 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year, taking the title for North Canterbury.

Speaking from Canada, with her first overseas vintage hard on the heels of the national final, Georgia says people are what makes the wine industry special, with so many willing to share their time and expertise. “That’s what I noticed moving from law to wine,” she says, noting that in preparing for the Young Winemaker competition, in three regional competitions and two national finals, she was inundated with support. In the lead up to the 2024 national final, held at The Runholder in Wairarapa in late August, she received myriad calls from people all around the South. “I am really impressed at how caring people were... That’s really special.”

Georgia’s wine career has been centred on artisan organic production, relying on excellent fruit in lieu of a toolbox of solutions. But winning the competition meant looking beyond organics and North Canterbury, to ensure she could answer questions pertinent to conventional operations, large and small, and to wineries

in other regions, she says. “Trying to get information from other people outside organics has been really helpful.”

The winemaker grew up in Christchurch and Wānaka, with home schooling allowing the family to move back and forth, “which was amazing”. She went to high school for her last two years, then moved to Laos for a year, where she taught English as a second language in a small village in the south. That led her to a law degree, “because I really wanted to help other people”. While studying, Georgia worked as a Community Law case worker and an emergency communicator for Police, answering 111 calls. That meant “taking on a lot of burden for a lot of people while also taking on a lot yourself”, and she was exhausted by the time she finished her degree and set off for Europe, already dreading the thought of returning to law.

The Camino de Santiago provided something of an epiphany, and she researched the Post Graduate diploma at Lincoln University before setting out to learn whether wine was a good fit. She visited Greystone and found them “helpful and realistic at the same time”, and also volunteered at Silver Wing Wines, doing some days in the vineyard and helping over vintage. The experiences were the push she needed to begin her Lincoln studies in February 2020, just before the first Covid-19 lockdown. On graduation, she became a trainee at Amisfield in Central Otago, getting a taste of work in the vineyard, winery and lab, before joining Greystone early in 2022. Later that year Georgia won Tonnellerie de Mercurey North Canterbury Young Winemaker of the Year and became the first person to represent North Canterbury in the national competition. So she’s delighted to be bringing home the national trophy

Georgia Mehlhopt

this year, repaying the support she’s been given along the way. Greystone Winemaker Dom Maxwell says Georgia has shown “enormous” ability and dedication during her time at the winery. “She’s such a positive team member with a bright future ahead and we’re really thrilled she’s a part of the Greystone team.”

Her goal is to eventually become head winemaker in a winery she is “super proud to work at”, that values its people and works with organic and regenerative methods. While she’s changed paths, she still likes to think she’s helping people, one way or another. “There are a lot of lawyers who drink wine!”

Katie Cameron from Ata Rangi in Wairarapa came second in the Young Winemaker national final, with Nick Lamain from VinLink in Marlborough and Callum Scarborough from Felton Road in Central Otago also competing for their regions.

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BRIght Outlook

Dr Juliet Ansell

SOPHIE PREECE

Juliet Ansell was in her early teens when she colonised her mum’s linen cupboard with a batch of fruit flies, 50 test tubes and a hankering to understand genetics. “A few clouds of drosophila would escape now and then,” says the new Chief Executive of Bragato Research Institute (BRI), who grew up just outside London with a novelist father, poet twin sister, media-focused elder sister and seamstress mother, whose clients have included Kate Middleton. “They’re all artistic,” says Juliet, who knew early on that she was cut from a different cloth. “I always knew I wanted to be a scientist… What that means for me is I’ve always gone a little bit against the grain.”

Her childhood curiosity for understanding the world around her “in great detail” was not about knowledge for its own sake, but for its ability to have impact. Which is perhaps why Juliet, the first in her extended family to

go to university, chose parasitology at King’s College, London, before going on to a PhD at Oxford. “It was pretty unusual for someone with my background and my family to go there,” she says of landing amidst “amazing privilege and history and knowledge, where I thought ‘wow what I am I doing here?’”

“You have to respect the past. You can’t just come into an industry and say, ‘I have all these ideas. I know how to do it.’”

Dr Juliet Ansell

That culture shock was nothing compared to what followed, with her scholarship taking her to field work in Tanzania when she was 23. Her supervisors left after a few days, and Juliet found lodgings, employed a research team, set up a lab, and set about gaining trust and taking samples, while relying on a payphone in a neighbouring village for communications with her home and university. She spent two three-month periods in Tanzania, researching the epidemiology of Schistosoma haematobium

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infection, caused by parasitic flatworms. “The purpose for me was to deliver health programmes to the people that need it the most,” she says, noting that while the disease is easily treatable, cost constraints mean they have to figure out the best way to diagnose and get treatment to people that needed it.

Over the first three months she visited 23 schools in Muheza district, including communities that had never seen a car or a white person, leading to children running away from her in alarm, before swiftly returning, intrigued by her hair. “I was really dropped in it.” The work satisfied Juliet’s desire for practical outcomes, via The Partnership for Child Development, founded by Oxford University, which worked with health and education authorities to put in place a new system for recognising and treating Schistosomiasis. Later on, nine months of fieldwork in The Gambia, as part of a two-year post doctorate research programme, showed that pregnant women were more susceptible to mosquito bites and therefore malaria, leading to opportunities for more targeted treatment. “It’s got to be for a point; not just curiosity,” Juliet says.

“What’s the point of knowing something if it doesn’t help someone in some way?”

Photo to left, BRI Chief Executive Dr Juliet Ansell

Growing comfortable with discomfort

From the linen closet in a creative home, to the hallowed halls of Oxford University, to research labs in rural Africa, Juliet grew an appetite for discomfort, “which is where you get the most growth”. That’s been useful in the roles she’s had since, including at Plant & Food Research, Zespri, and now BRI, she told audience members at the Altogether Unique Research & Innovation Forum in Wellington at the end of August. In each of those roles, as in Africa, she’s gleaned knowledge of the people, environment and culture, resolving to work with it, not despite it. “You have to respect the past. You can’t just come into an industry and say, ‘I have all these ideas. I know how to do it.’ I think that’s the phase I am in now.”

Juliet was working on another post doctorate project when she met her future (now former) husband, also a parasitologist, at a scientific conference. He lived in New Zealand, and she found herself moving to Palmerston North in 2000, following a pattern of “going to live halfway around the world even though I don’t know anyone”,

she laughs. With a dearth of human parasites to study, she moved to sheep parasites, then cattle parasites when the couple moved to Australia with their first son, having their second son while there. They returned to New Zealand in 2005, and Juliet took a role with what would

become Plant & Food Research, shifting her focus from parasites to gut bacteria, and the interactions between human nutrition, immunity and microbes. “A lot of work on digestive health and particularly how plants affect digestive health.”

Kiwifruit were a major part of the work, and Juliet was seconded to Zespri Innovation in 2014, before moving to the grower-owned organisation full time. Her first five years at Zespri were focused on human health research, including successfully passing a health claim through the European Food Safety Authority, following rigorous clinical trials and mechanistic studies around the world.

“That was a massive undertaking,” she says. The next five years were in more managerial roles, “and that’s where I got to understand not just the science but what structure you needed around that”.

Balancing Act

Science and innovation are all about free thinking, Juliet says from the BRI office she joined in May, overlooking the organisation’s Blenheim-based research winery. “It’s all about exploration and

Dr Juliet Ansell

ideas. Trying something, having it fail, trying something else.” Sometimes it’s about serendipity, like penicillin, she adds. But that exploration requires a platform of process and structure that can balance high and low risks and is prepared to invest more, given signs of success, or jettison foiled ideas in a timely way. That’s about bringing rigour to growing innovation and managing research programmes, she says. “That’s what I learned from Zespri.” A “portfolio approach” might see 10% of funding going to very high-risk programmes with potential for very high gains, as long as there is industry buy in and agreement, she says, noting that Zespri also taught her high regard for the members footing the bill. “I have to think like it’s my money I am spending. Would I invest my money in it?”

Juliet looks for curiosity in the people she employs, as well as “a willingness to admit you are wrong”, because there are always mistakes and things that don’t work out. She also values the ability to build relationships and network, “because you cannot do it on your own”. That’s the stage she’s currently in, meeting the people driving New Zealand’s

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wine industry, tapping into “a huge wealth of knowledge”, and finding out what people know, or want to know, and what has and hasn’t worked. She has quickly discovered an open and collaborative industry, “and that helps innovation go faster”. The eager willingness to share is partly down to the fact that wine is greatly influenced by the place it is grown, so sharing genetic information with another country, for example, doesn’t give away New Zealand’s competitive advantage but allows for open and rapid innovation, she says, excited at the potential.

“It’s not going to be a cookie cutter approach from Zespri to Bragato”, Juliet

adds. “Different industry, different challenges, different people. Respecting the past is knowing what people have learned along the way, so I am not charging ahead with my own views.” There will be high risk projects that fail, and there will be future-focused projects that are not yet on industry’s urgent to-do lists, like climate change and gene technology. “They won’t agree with everything that I think we should be doing, or that we do. But that’s my job,” Juliet says, once again getting comfortable with discomfort. “Because if I am not pushing the boundaries then I am not fulfilling the role of a research institute for the industry.”

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Juliet in the Tanga district of Tanzania

Molecular imprinted polymers in winemaking

SOPHIE PREECE

A New Zealand startup that’s helped remediate smoke taint in wine in Canada and the United States could reduce time, additives and waste in wine production.

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) underpin amaea’s technology to selectively remove specific molecules and molecular compounds from wine, meaning winemakers can fine-tune their sensory profile with more precision and less waste.

“I believe as amaea’s technology develops it has the potential to replace some traditional wine production techniques and the reliance on additives,” says Giesen Winemaker Duncan Shouler, who spoke about the technology at WinePro in Blenheim in June. “Technologies like amaea’s are not only necessary, but are an exciting evolution of wine production methodologies.”

The technology was founded in 2011, but in 2020 amaea partnered with a large US-based wine company to address the

impacts of wildfire smoke on high value wines, kickstarting large-scale filtration applications of its MIP technology.

Last year Giesen used amaea in lieu of gelatine to palate fine the zero alcohol 2023 Hawke’s Bay Merlot, using the MIPs after light filtration and before de-alcoholisation. “Typically, when you remove alcohol from wine, certain traits and characteristics start to stand out,” Duncan says. “For our Merlots, the tannins become prominent, and the warmth and sweetness are lost.” Fining with gelatine is effective at softening phenolic content, but isn’t vegan friendly, has a carbon cost due to agents being imported from Europe, and isn’t entirely selective, “which means it removes more than is intended”.

The technology behind amaea can be more selective, “to achieve desired results while keeping in place the attributes you want to keep”, Duncan adds. “Using amaea

technology the Merlot got to where it needed to be. The wine softened and the perceived sweetness increased to achieve the ideal palate and mouthfeel.” Giesen will continue to trial the technology, looking at different applications, he says. “Polyphenol fining using MIPs is a great tool, but there is great potential for the technology to be used for applications such as protein fining, which could be a real game changer for the industry.”

Jonathan Engle, Industry Lead for amaea, says the technology has been developed with winemakers. “We have heard the challenges faced around changing consumer considerations, sustainability and climate change, and are proud to present a solution designed to help meet those needs. The selective and subtractive nature of our regenerable MIPs supports winemakers to bring out the best of their wines using an efficient, low impact production practice.”

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Getting Onside

Time matters in a biosecurity response, says Ryan Higgs, Chief Executive of biosecurity technology company Onside. “And fast access to accurate traceability data is critical for preparing and responding efficiently to a biosecurity incursion.”

Onside’s mobile app for rural risk logs contractors and visitors checking in to rural properties and collects movement data, including of plant material, people, machinery and equipment, to manage health and safety and biosecurity risks. In the past six months, its new biosecurity tracing software, Onside Intelligence, has identified more than 1,000 check-in movements that presented a heightened risk of spreading a biosecurity threat.

In 2022 Onside partnered with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to fast-track the development and adoption of its biosecurity app through a $9 million multi-year project co-invested in by MPI’s Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund (SFF Futures). “MPI’s investment in our technology has been instrumental in getting

it into the hands of industry partners working hard to protect farmers and growers,” Ryan says.

New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) was one of the first industry groups to deploy Onside Intelligence, to test the system and improve traceability in the $2.3 billion viticulture sector. NZW

Biosecurity Manager Sophie Badland says an incursion of a new pest or disease, like brown marmorated stink bug or Pierce’s disease, “could affect both grape quality and quantity, posing a significant challenge for our growers”. Unwanted organisms can be transmitted between vineyards through machinery and equipment, Sophie says. “Having a traceability system like Onside Intelligence potentially saves primary industries and the government a lot of time

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and money in the event of a response. By having movement data readily accessible, we can get ahead of any new damaging pests and diseases, which gives us the best chance of eradication.”

The SFF Futures partnership has also invested $100,000 in a dedicated science programme, which aims to ensure Onside’s traceability platform can meet the evolving challenges posed by global biosecurity risks. “Onside has leveraged some of the world’s leading scientists to support technology development that provides insights to improve the efficiency of readiness and response,” Ryan says. “The goal is to detect new incursions as early as possible and minimise impact and cost.” getonside.com/nz/onside-intelligence/newzealand-wine

Ryan Higgs (left) with a winegrower at Greystone Vineyard in North Canterbury. Photo James Munro

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Cutting plastic waste under the vines

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help protect young vines from rabbits, sprays and the elements. Another new product is foliage clips, used to manage the vine canopy. The new products build

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Bird Watcher

Costs & benefits of birds in vines

SOPHIE PREECE

A new research project is studying the influence of vineyard biodiversity on bird populations, and the impact of those birds on surrounding vineyards in different seasons.

University of Canterbury conservation biologist and agroecologist Dr Sara Kross says the project, to kick off in Marlborough this spring, will consider the role of habitat along vineyard edges in providing resources for birds, and how, in turn, the birds affect the vineyard. “If you have native hedgerow or are near a patch of native forest, are you seeing more native birds? Most of which are insectivores and are unlikely to cause damage.” In contrast, are rows of macrocarpa and poplars alongside vineyards more likely to be home to birds that feed on grapes in autumn? Sara, who did her PhD on kārearea, native falcon, in Marlborough vineyards 12 years ago, says the new study is focused on more abundant bird species and their impacts on vineyards. “What’s the cost benefit of birds and how does that change under different habitat types?”

“What’s

the cost benefit of birds and how does that change under different habitat types?”

Dr Sara Kross

Sara and PhD student Ananya Agnihotri are looking for vineyards with mature hedgerows or tree lots for the study, and Ananya will start field work this spring, with at least one more field season before completing her thesis on the topic. They introduced grape growers to the project at the Vinecology seminar in Blenheim in August, focused on “balancing habitat, biodiversity, and pest control in Marlborough’s vineyards”.

The seminar was run by New Zealand Landcare Trust, which is looking for participants for the Wairau Nature Network, a corridor project through the Wairau Plains. Marlborough Catchment coordinator Wendy Sullivan says the university project needs established plantings, while the corridor project can give guidance for new areas of planting. “The idea is that everyone will be one jigsaw piece in an entire puzzle. The new plantings will help link established restoration area.”

If you’d like to participate in the bird habitat research, email sara.kross@canterbury.ac.nz. To learn more about the Wairau Nature Network email wendy.sullivan@landcare.org.nz.

IT WOULD BE STINK IF THESE GOT INTO NEW ZEALAND

The brown marmorated stink bug is a pest that infests homes, ruins gardens, stinks when crushed, and is almost impossible to get rid of. It could also destroy our fruit and vegetable industries. It’s not in New Zealand yet, and we want to keep it that way. So if you see one, don’t kill it. Catch it, take a photo, and call us on 0800 80 99 66.

For more information (including how to identify the bug) visit biosecurity.govt.nz/stinkbug

Birds at Dog Point Vineyard

The People

The Profile

The Kurow kid CLAIRE FINLAYSON

Grant Taylor’s winemaking career owes its genesis to a bunch of pesky worms. Without them, the fruit on his family’s apple tree might never have yielded such formative, jeopardy-rich beverage adventures.

The worms in question monstered the apples on the Taylors’ backyard tree in Auckland. This prompted a teenage Grant to seek out a cider recipe in one of his mum’s cookbooks and turn the salvageable fruit flesh into something drinkable. It wasn’t his first foray into liquid refreshments – he was already a seasoned expert in the art of home-brewed ginger beer. “My job was to make the ginger beer bug – I enjoyed watching it divide and ferment.”

The cider, though, proved much more thrilling. Grant’s 14-year-old friends thought so too. “The first lot was probably half a percent alcohol, but by the time

I’d figured out the effect of adding sugar, it went up to something like 6%. One of my friends drank quite a lot of it right before a School Certificate exam. I’m guessing he was a bit nervous because he got quite drunk and abused the headmaster.”

These audacious DIY chemistry experiments were not celebrated in the Taylor household. “My punishment was no pocket money for a year. I find it quite ironic because I now get paid to do the same thing that I got my pocket money confiscated for.”

After finishing school, Grant couldn’t wait to escape the city. “All my favourite times were spent at my grandparents’ sheep farm in the Catlins. I was a bit of a hippie so I really wanted to get back to the land.”

To earn money for university, he worked in the freezing works in the Catlins for a couple of years. While most of his workmates spent the bulk of their earnings on Friday night beers, Grant and a couple of friends used their pay packet to explore the wine shelves. “We’d end up in the same state on a Saturday morning as every freezing worker, but we’d go to the bottle shop and try a different bottle of Asti Spumante every week. It was just curiosity really.”

When he enrolled at Lincoln College in Canterbury for a Diploma in Agriculture (with a viticulture course on the side) he found that wine drinking was not the norm there, either. “I love beer, but I wasn’t the beer-drinking/rugby-watching sort, so some of us formed a little wine drinking group.”

After Lincoln, Grant set off to see the world, and it was while visiting friends in Napa Valley in California that he stumbled into an assistant winemaking role at Pine Ridge Winery. “I didn’t really have a plan – I’m still not sure I do. I sometimes tell people I’m just making wine until I figure out what I want to do with my life.”

What he lacked in formal winemaking qualifications, he made up for in keenness. “I think my Kiwi work ethic got me the job. Having worked on a farm I was used to labouring in the weekends and late in the evening. In the Catlins you’d be on a tractor as soon as the sun came up, you’d eat a sandwich on the tractor for your lunch and finish up at 10 o’clock at night.”

He spent six years at Pine Ridge, during which time he became co-winemaker alongside the owner, Gary Andrus. He then spent six years helping establish another

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Photo to left, Grant Taylor. Photo Anna Allan

winery, Domaine Napa. “They were the good old days. I’m sitting out here in the Hakataramea Valley still dreaming about them.”

That Napa Valley nous (along with what he learnt from vintages in France and Australia) was eventually put to good use back to New Zealand. When he returned for a holiday in 1992, Alan Brady offered him a job as winemaker at Gibbston Valley Wines. The timing was perfect; Grant was ripe for a new challenge.

“I didn’t really have a plan – I’m still not sure I do. I sometimes tell people I’m just making wine until I figure out what I want to do with my life.”

Grant Taylor

At that stage, there were only 20 hectares of grapes in Central Otago (compared with today’s 2,000 plus hectares). Grant was part of that surge, Alan says. “Grant was very much at the heart of everything Gibbston Valley in the early days. He was quickly recognised as one of Central Otago’s leading winemakers and went on to become one of New Zealand’s leading Pinot Noir exponents. He won medals for the company by the bucketful.”

Grant produced first vintages for a raft of the region’s best-known labels, including the likes of Mt Difficulty, Felton Road, Carrick, Peregrine, Mount Edward and Rockburn. This breadth of experience proved invaluable. “That’s when I really started to learn about Otago Pinot.” He was clearly a fast learner; his wines went on to win the trophy for ‘World’s Best Pinot Noir’ at the International Wine and Spirits Competition an unprecedented four times.

Though the terroir of Central Otago is much lauded, Grant says the region’s secret sauce is its spirit of collegiality. “When I first arrived there in 1993, there were only three other winemakers. We didn’t have a lot of fruit, but one day a week we were in each other’s wineries. We all knew different things and worked together as one person. That’s why Central Otago has got to where it has.”

In 1998 Grant established his own label, Valli, so that he could explore the aspect

of winemaking that intrigued him the most: the differences between the Otago subregions. These days he’s applying that fascination to his new home in the Waitaki. “It has a completely different climate and soils. My knowledge of subregions has allowed me to make gains in Waitaki much faster than those I made in Central.”

Grant and wife Nicole moved to the Hakataramea Valley in 2024, after renovating the old Post Office building in Kurow to house their new Valli Wine Bar. Does this latest venture suggest that he has a low boredom threshold? “Guilty”, Grant says. “My birth certificate says I’m turning 70 next year, but I’m pretty sure I’m still only 30.”

But this move has a whiff of permanence to it. “I was born in Kurow. When I came back here it felt like home – even though I left when I was four. It’s like those salmon that get spawned way up the river and

when they get to the ocean, they turn and go back to where they started. I’m a bit like that. I feel so much at home here – it’s just instinctual.”

He’s quite the Kurow evangelist these days. “It feels like ‘real New Zealand’ to me. The sense of community and the way people care for each other here is unlike anything I’ve experienced anywhere in the world. The maternity hospital where I was born is now an old folks home. I often tell people that I’m going to start and end life in the same room.”

Asked if Pinot Noir is still his favourite child, Grant says he’s not so sure anymore. I’ve fallen in love with Waitaki Chardonnay lately – it’s just stunning. It’s sort of the new girlfriend. I’ve gone out with Pinot Noir for so long that we’ve fallen into a boring routine. But don’t let Chardonnay hear that because I’ve got Chenin Blanc in mind next.”

Desert Island Wishlist - Grant Taylor

Wine: Not necessarily the best but one that has meaning to me – 1998 Gibbston Valley Home Block Pinot Noir. That wine transports me back to a place, a time and to people like no other. It’s eerily like being back there.

Meal: Sushi! No need to say more.

Album: Johnny Dowd’s Pictures from Life’s Other Side. You will love it or hate it. It’s stories from the great American underbelly; one of my favourite places to explore while living in the States. A place raw and unpretentious, and only for the socially brave. Book: Mervyn Peake’s Titus Groan – the finest prose I have come across (not in a poem), and woven through a great story.

Grant Taylor. Photo Emily Hlavac Green

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Women in Wine

Getting a taste for winemaking

Watching her parents and their friends at dinner parties helped launch Kate Curd into a winemaking career she loves. “I became intrigued by all the different varieties and colours of wines they were drinking,” says Selaks Hawke’s Bay Winemaker, who merged that intrigue with her love of plants and horticulture when she opted for a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University. “Initially I thought I would end up in viticulture, working with the vines, but in my second year of university,

“It was a real eye opener for me, as to how busy harvest time can be and how everyone had their task to do and just got on with it.”

Kate Curd

as I learnt more about the science behind winemaking and started to discover new styles, I knew this was the area I wanted to pursue a career in.” Her first harvest was 2009 at Giesen in Blenheim, in the third year of her degree. “I had worked with the winery the summer prior, which was a great way to get a taste for what’s involved before the busy season hit.” She worked the night shift over harvest, mostly

dealing with finished wine. “It was a real eye opener for me, as to how busy harvest time can be and how everyone had their task to do and just got on with it… I was surprised at how cold Marlborough could get; the water hoses used to freeze at the dawn dip.”

On graduating, Kate managed a winery lab for a few years, before working in wineries in Australia and California.

“When I arrived home, I realised that winemaking was really all I knew and so I took on a business internship with Sir Graeme Avery at Sileni Estates, completed a post graduate diploma in business, and worked in a marketing role for a while. This really helped me to see the winery as a whole, and to realise that winemaking was the correct career path for me.”

After five years at Sileni, Kate worked at

Sacred Hill winery in Hawke’s Bay for six years, including two as the Hawke’s Bay Winemaker, before joining Constellation Brands at the Selaks Winery in November 2021. It’s a role she loves, both for the team she works with and the creativity she can wield in winemaking. “It’s a nice mix of production and art.” Working with nature will always come with issues, “and it doesn’t always work in our favour”. There are processes to minimise issues, “but we also like to use these issues as a learning tool to see how we could minimise the risk in the future”, Kate adds.

“Being able to keep calm under pressure and to think on your feet is also useful.”

In August, Selaks celebrated 90 years since Marino Selak released his first vintage from a small vineyard in West Auckland.

Kate Curd at Selaks’ Hawke’s Bay winery. Photo Richard Brimer

Mission Complete

Winemaker steps down after 45 years

SOPHIE PREECE

It says a lot about Paul Mooney that the most satisfying vintage in more than four decades at Mission Estate was the cyclonestruck 2023 season. “It was a vintage that called on all 45 years of experience,” says the winemaker in the wake of his retirement.

“The least satisfying vintage was 2003, after the devasting frosts the previous spring.”

“Sustainability and our environment management system are some of our top priorities.”

Paul Mooney

Paul was was 24 years old when he became Assistant Winemaker at Mission Estate in 1979, bringing a science degree, a year as a technician on subantarctic Campbell Island, and a love of food and wine to the task. For the next three years he learned as much as he could from Brother Stuart Cuttance, the Bordeaux-trained winemaker known to the industry as Br. John. It was “great fun”, Paul says, noting that in 1962 his mentor had been the first New Zealand winemaker to produce a méthode traditionelle sparkling wine in New Zealand – Fontanella – with a special tool created locally to make the riddling racks.

Br. John introduced him to whole bunch pressing white grapes and the principles of barrel fermentation, and Paul went on to barrel ferment Chardonnay in 1983, in what he believes is another New Zealand’s first. When Br. John left in 1982, Paul stepped up to winemaker and continued his learning, devouring books and technical journals, while growing his expertise. Winemaking, for him, has been a process of continuous improvement, with experimentation, refining techniques, and finding more efficient and cost-effective methods of production, he says.

Paul, who was awarded a Lifetime Membership of Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers in 2019, has seen plenty of changes in the past 45 years, including the acquisition of

high quality Gimblett Gravels vineyards, and the subsequent specialisation in premium red wine production, as well as the purchase of the Cable Station vineyard in Marlborough’s Awatere Valley. He also oversaw a major winery expansion in 2007, from 800 to 3,000 tonnes, with the new facility designed to deliver maximum energy and water efficiencies, helping satisfy his environmental ambitions.

On Campbell Island, the “several hundred thousand penguins, tens of thousands of albatrosses and many thousand seals” had no carbon footprint, while the 10 people living there trod a 300-tonne footprint each year, he says. His subsequent job, before joining Mission, was for a French-American oilfield services company with innovative technology and “brilliant engineers”. The two roles were a world apart, but Paul says both influenced his thinking at Mission, “where sustainability and our environment management system are some of our top priorities”.

The improvement in fruit supply and equipment led to higher quality wines that speak of their French heritage. As an example, the 2009 Jewelstone Cabernet Merlot came third in a blind tasting hosted at Club Lusitano Hong Kong in 2011, in which experts tasted eight 2009 vintage Gimblett Gravels blended red wines alongside eight 2008 vintage classed

growth Bordeaux. The first two spots went to Mouton Rothschild (priced at NZ$1350 per bottle) and Haut-Brion (priced around NZ$1000), but the next best was deemed to be the $39 Jewelstone. “The next two wines in the rankings were also famous French First Growths,” says Paul, who loves to hear comparisons between Bordeaux wines and Mission’s Gimblett Gravels Annual Vintage Selection, relishing the connection with the French Catholic Marist missionaries who founded the winery in 1851, and with the French techniques Br. John instilled in his time there.

Alex Roper, who takes over as Mission’s Head Winemaker, moved to Hawke’s Bay to study a bachelor of wine science in 2007, and recalls cold-calling into the Mission asking for work. A weekend cellar door job rolled into cellar hand, then Assistant Winemaker in 2011, and Winemaker in 2017. Now, 17 years since he joined the company, he shares Paul’s satisfaction with the cyclone-struck 2023 vintage. “Anybody can make good wine in the good vintages. Experience comes into play in the wet vintages. Paul knew how to think outside the square and taught me a lot of tricks.” He sympathises for those that suffered losses from Cyclone Gabrielle. “We were fortunate to have our vineyards come through unscathed. And yes, it is satisfying to see some beautiful wines come through.”

Paul Mooney

Bannockburn to Bangladesh

Owen Calvert’s ‘life of contrasts’

SOPHIE PREECE

It’s a blue-skied, post-frost Central Otago morning as Owen Calvert drives through Bendigo and up to Tarras. The phone connection for our interview is patchy as he traverses this lightly populated corner of the world, unlike the smooth cell coverage he gets in Bangladesh, where he lives when not visiting his Bannockburn vineyard, but far better than Bhutan, where he communicated with morse code and letters on his first overseas posting in 1987. “If I ever write a book, it’ll be called My Life of Contrasts,” Owen says, reflecting on 35 years as an agricultural advisor in undeveloped and developing countries, and a parallel life with Calvert Vineyard, an iconic name in New Zealand wine. As he drives through peaceful climes on this clear mid-August morning, in the wake of wining and dining guests at the Central Wine Retreat, Owen is days out from his planned return to Bangladesh, population 173 million, which has been going through political turmoil in the few weeks he’s been in New Zealand, with 300 killed during protests in Dhaka, where he lives. Owen’s role in Bangladesh, as project leader for a United States-led agriculture mechanisation initiative, is the latest in a long line of jobs helping vulnerable rural communities. That journey started with what he thought was a one-off project with Volunteer Services Abroad in Bhutan in 1987. He and other volunteers were urged

to find a project to focus on when they returned to New Zealand, to offset reverse culture shock, and his brother mentioned a block of land for sale in Bannockburn, with potential for the likes of cherries. Communication with New Zealand was limited to letters, so Owen relied on descriptions and photos from his family before buying the block in 1989. He saw it for the first time a year later, then returned to Bhutan, nowhere near ready to stop the work he loved.

In 1991 Owen moved to the United Kingdom for a master’s degree in international development, before taking a job with Oxfam UK in Somalia in 1992, in the midst of a civil war and drought. Bhutan was arguably the most peaceful

country in the world, and Somalia quite probably the most dangerous, he notes. If Owen does write that biography, there’ll surely be a chapter recalling events in October 1993, when his Bannockburn land was still paddocks, New Zealand wine was going gangbusters, and he was skipping rope on the flat roof of a Mogadishu house – one of the few opportunities to exercise during his Somalia posting. The level of gunfire was greater than usual, and his regular evening skip stalled when he noticed helicopters coming in and a fleet of US military trucks gathered on the street below. “I thought, ‘you know what, maybe I shouldn’t be jump roping on the roof. Maybe I should turn on CNN.’ I was watching Black Hawk Down live.”

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Owen Calvert in Bannockburn

After the Battle of Mogadishu, his team moved to Kenya, where he met his wife-to-be Michele, who also worked in development. Around that time vineyards were taking hold in the Cromwell Basin, including Felton Road, which was established by blackcurrant farmer Stewart Elm (formerly owner of Dunedin’s City Hotel) just down the road from Owen’s block. “After seeing what others were doing in the vineyard and wine industry, I thought, ‘ok, maybe I should give that a shot’,” says Owen, who was still living in Nairobi when he asked viticulturist Robin Dicey to plant 4 hectares of vineyard for him in 1998, with an ethos of balancing sustainable production with native and exotic plantings.

Owen and his young family spent a year in Cromwell in 2000, seeing Calvert grow towards its first harvest. But he and Michele felt a “strong pull” to continue their work in the development sector, and went on to a five-year stint in Mozambique, followed by time in Kenya, where Owen still supports a small NGO in his own time, helping develop opportunities for women in agriculture. The family then moved to the US for eight years, where Owen managed major development projects from their base in Washington DC.

In early 2001, as Calvert approached its first harvest, Felton Road Winemaker Blair Walter asked if they could buy the grapes and manage the vineyard. By 2003 they had started Calvert’s organic conversion, following Felton Road’s lead, in two of the earliest organic transitions in New Zealand, Blair says. Calvert was certified with BioGro by 2007, and from 2006 to 2012 Felton Road shared fruit with Craggy Range and Pyramid Valley, with each of the prestigious labels making a single vineyard Pinot Noir from the block. Blair notes that the trio of single vineyard wines drew attention to Calvert, helping frame it as one of New Zealand’s hallowed vineyards. And it was a great model as far as Owen was concerned, allowing him to focus on his work in far flung corners of the world while iconic labels made beautiful wines from his vineyard.

Then in 2013, a necessary restructure saw a block sold to Felton Road, who still make their own Calvert label from it. Since then, Cloudy Bay has purchased Calvert Vineyard’s grapes for the Te Wahi Pinot Noir. By 2017 Owen was divorced and his kids were at university, so he came back to New Zealand, wondering if it was time to settle back on his land. The thought was quickly shelved when he was offered a role with the United Nations in South Sudan, where he has fond memories of Sunday roasts with the Kiwi contingent. The parallel life in Bannockburn continued, and in 2018 Owen negotiated with Cloudy Bay to buy back some grapes for his own label, made by winemaker Sarah Burton. It’s only a few thousand bottles a year, but was a chance to “dab our toes in the market”, says Owen, who has been “thrilled” by the response to those wines.

In 2022, following time in New Zealand during Covid-19, Owen started his latest mission abroad, this time helping grow a domestic skills, service and manufacturing sector to sustain Bangladesh’s mechanisation strategy. “The end goal is to improve the lives of smallholding farmers,” he says, noting that, akin to Kenya and other developing countries, many of the farmers are women, as men leave for work in the cities or abroad. His first posting in Bhutan was exactly 400km due north of where he now lives in Dhaka. “I don’t know if this is going to be my swan song, but it’s certainly the tail end of my career,” Owen says. “I have done a full circle around the globe and come back to the same region.”

Meanwhile the life of contrasts continues, with fresh memories of Central Otago’s Wine Retreat as he returns to a very different reality in the Bay of Bengal. “I still remain passionate about both worlds, and will continue to do so as long as I can feel like I am contributing positively.”

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Joe Stenberg was studying physiology at Auckland University when he opted for an elective paper in viticulture, delving a little deeper into the wines he was pouring in his part time bar job.

A few years later, after travels in Europe, 18 months honing his cocktail making skills in Edinburgh, and a stint as ambassador for a small Scottish gin startup, Joe returned to Auckland to dive deeper into wine, undertaking the postgraduate study at Auckland University’s Centre for Goldwater Wine Science on Waiheke Island. It was the perfect kickstart for his career, says Joe, who went on to get an internship with Te Mata Estate in Hawke’s Bay in late 2021, working with viticulturist Brenton O’Reilly.

“Brenton had just started a few years earlier and was in the process of implementing biodynamics and organics,” says Joe, now Viticultural Assistant for Te Mata Estate and the winner of the Hawke’s Bay Young Viticulturist of the Year 2024. He relished the chance to see the trials in action, learning as much as he could on the unique Havelock Hills site, before going on

He recently returned to the Havelock Hills, which he loves, explaining small and “awkward” blocks that yield such high-quality fruit. “It’s rewarding as well engaging.” Viticulture requires a wide range of skills and knowledge, combining

science, technology, business and tradition to overcome challenges and get the fruit required, Joe says. “You are bringing a lot together to often do what might seem like a simple job, and you are always answering to the elements and trying to fit in with the seasons. It’s quite an interesting and holistic career. There’s a lot to it than I thought

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From one berry business to another

Nick McArthur grew up working the land on his family’s market garden in Outram, literally hands on in horticulture. By his early teens he was up at 4am each Saturday morning, travelling to Dunedin to help his parents sell their vegetables and berries at the Dunedin Farmers’ Market. “Horticulture was all I really knew as a child,” says the Tiki Wines Operations Manager and 2024 North Canterbury Young Viticulturist of the Year.

Nick knew he didn’t want to take over the family farm but did want a career on the land. His father and grandfather had both studied at Lincoln University, and “I thought it would only be fitting that I did the same”, he says. The plan was initially to become a winemaker, but Nick rapidly realised he was better suited to the vineyards – “a little more hands on”.

On completing his degree in Viticulture and Oenology he moved to North Canterbury to work with Tiki, and says it’s a community that stepped up to help when it came time to prepare for the national Young Viticulturist competition. “I have been approached by a number of leaders in our area who offered help with my prep for the final… The same with Tiki – they have provided a lot of support and want me to succeed.” That’s typical of the “close knit” North Canterbury wine community, “who are always willing to help or share knowledge with one another”, he says. “We have great quality wines with our own unique styles.”

It’s an industry that is also unified by common challenges, including the rising cost of production, Nick says, noting that the long-term viability of the region and industry is becoming increasingly difficult to shore up. “Smaller producers, who make the industry unique, will feel that pressure sooner.”

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Keeping it Fresh

Trend spotting at NZSVO Workshop

SOPHIE PREECE

Wine professionals are at the “coalface” of New Zealand’s wine industry, connecting winemakers, their wines and their land to the consumer, says Noble Rot General Manager and Head Sommelier Jessica Wood. “We play an important role in retaining existing wine lovers as well as attracting the next generation of wine enthusiasts.”

Jessica, who will speak at the New Zealand Society for Viticulture and Oenology (NZSVO) 2024 technical workshop, themed ‘Keeping it Fresh’, says that means providing an interesting and attractive environment for the consumer, helping retain existing wine lovers and attracting the next generation. “Staying relevant to our audience and staying constantly in motion in the business is key,” she says, noting that wine producers are also working to ‘keep it fresh’, with new and engaging ways to market their wines. “In an attempt to refrain from stuffy phrases and convoluted wine words, they are seeking ways to represent their wines visually to appeal to different markets and a wider audience.”

In 2022 Noble Rot launched Wine-oji, which uses emoji-like images to describe a wine. Consumers can, for example, order a Wine-oji Blind Wine Flight then guess what their wines are using the Wine-oji library, which helps them identify the aromas and flavours, says Jessica, Chief Wine-olojist.

“Our ethos at Noble Rot revolves around making wine approachable and enjoyable in a relaxed atmosphere, and this really hits the spot with our guests.”

Wine events and winemaker dinners are another way to explore what’s fresh in the wine world, she says. “When creating wine events, our sommeliers are often inspired by current trends and unusual topics to draw in both a new and regular crowd. Events focussed on skin contact wines, a sparkling wine degustation, and even a chocolate themed wine event are all recent favourites.”

When it comes to fresh trends, she says no-and-low alcohol demand is growing, and initiatives like Dry July negatively affect wine sales. Skin-contact wines is a trend she’s also seen rising over the past five years, as are unusual wines coming from their native grape varieties and regions, such as Barbera from Piedmont or Pinotage from Stellenbosch. “Consumers are becoming more adventurous and looking to try wines which they may never have had the confidence to try before – a trend that seems to have increased following the restrictions of Covid.”

Tristan Hemi Colenso says it’s hard

to track wine trends at Cahn’s Wines & Spirits in downtown Auckland, because the customers and wine choices are so diverse. “Everyone who comes into our store is buying something different – which we love.” But it’s a topic he’s been thinking about a lot in the lead up to the NZSVO Workshop, where he is also presenting. “Having dealt with both the older and newer generations of wine consumers, I can say tastes vary, but also the way wine is approached from the label, style, price and etiquette.” He’s noted a growing interest in skin-fermented whites and oranges wines in older demographics, while chilled reds and new-world vermouths are an increasingly common request. “Also, the amazing wine a patron has at a restaurant and wants to purchase for their home cellar is a common trend.” But he’s also seen a drop in the average spend per bottle, while wine prices climb. There are still customers “buying large” but most people have to think about where their money is going, he says. “The tough part is the consistency with which customers are spending. You just don’t how your day is going to pan out when you open the doors. Once upon a time you could guarantee Friday would be busy and Monday would be quiet –but not anymore. You just have to wait and see.”

Tristan says communication between winemakers and those who sell their wines is a crucial tool, “so we can keep being innovative and maintain that newer generation of wine consumers.” And while trends may shift, he doesn’t think many wines fall completely out of fashion. “There is always going to be that person who wants a buttery and oaky chardonnay, so we still need them.”

The NZSVO Technical Workshop is on in Blenheim on 15 October. nzsvo.org.nz/technical-workshops.

Jessica Wood

Cellar-bration

JOELLE THOMSON

Changes to cellar door rules will make operations more viable for wineries, says Lianne Collins of Quartz Reef Wines in Central Otago. “Implementing a tasting fee reinstates the value proposition for our wines and the industry as a whole, creating a more equitable environment for all cellar doors.”

Under previous rules, any cellar door wanting to charge for tastings needed an on-licence, which meant it had to provide food. National Party MP for Kaikōura, Stuart Smith, previously a winegrower and founder of Fairhall Downs Estate, instigated the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Winery Cellar Door Tasting) Amendment Bill, which allows winery cellar doors with an off-licence to charge for providing samples of wine, which were previously only able to be given away for free. Winery cellar doors will continue to observe host responsibility practices, including a maximum sample size of 35ml, meeting the new requirements to have snack food available for purchase and for water to be freely available.

Stuart says tourism opportunities drove him to draft the bill for wineries. “I don’t think people understand how important

that is, and some of those small operators will now be much more likely to open a cellar door because they can get something back for the tastings that they provide.”

Some small wineries have already adapted to comply with the former legislation, including Cambridge Road Wines in Martinborough. Owner-operator Lance Redgwell says the new legislation changes nothing for him, but he sees it as a positive move for others. “We already satisfied the requirements of the old Act and being in the village means that we have always had a ready market for visitors, who can walk five minutes to get to us for a tasting with a bit of food.” They will continue to serve food as a part of the Cambridge Road experience, he says. “I

imagine the new law makes it a lot easier for those small and new growers that don’t traditionally offer a full cellar door experience because of the challenges of satisfying the historic requirements.”

Stuart says there was significant support for the bill in Parliament, with many calling it a sensible change. “My experience in the wine industry helped with this bill. The brewers and distillers wanted their products to be included in the cellar door tasting bill, but the reality is that I didn’t draft the bill for that. I drafted it for wine. If it was to include spirits and beer, it opens up a whole other layer.”

He says small wineries with few staff will find it easier to market and attract customers for a cellar door experience that would have been more difficult in the past, due to the cost of opening wines that may only be sampled by one or two people.

The approach is likely to attract visitors who have a genuine interest in wine, “allowing us to foster meaningful conversations about potential follow up purchases” says Lianne from Quartz Reef. “This opportunity for engagement is invaluable and holds significant potential to enhance the profitability of our cellar door in the future.”

Rudi Bauer pouring tastings at Quartz Reef in Central Otago

Mastering Wine

Emma Jenkins’ MW Musings

Altogether Unique 2024 was a stimulating two days, rich in business insight and research innovation. The impressive array of speakers gave much to ponder, and certainly got me wondering about a few things.

A recurring theme was the potential for New Zealand wine to develop innovative new products and capitalise on the premiumisation of existing ones. But how well positioned are we to seize these opportunities? From a technology and quality standpoint I believe we are in a strong position and New Zealand’s overall brand is generally viewed positively, but dig a little deeper and things get trickier.

I recently attended a packed overseas masterclass which featured a European Sauvignon Blanc. Its winemaker was quick to assure us: “We do not make our sauvignon to a recipe… unlike some

popular styles,” prompting knowing laughter from the audience. It was disheartening to think of all the people I knew back home who work so tirelessly to craft wines that are individual expressions of their land. I could hardly blame those laughing though, given what they see in their markets. We have sent a sea

of sameness out into the world which undermines the true diversity of our industry and makes a mockery of our Altogether Unique tagline.

What does New Zealand wine stand for? Purity, innovation and care are the foundation pillars for Altogether Unique’s ‘brand essence’, but these could describe

Emma Jenkins was MC of the Research & Innovation Forum at Altogether Unique

many other winegrowing countries or regions. If called upon, can you clearly articulate what gets you excited about our industry, what makes you proud, what you are busting to tell the world is happening? I sometimes struggle, despite being very proud of our industry and it being part of my job to articulate these concepts to the world.

“New Zealand wine has achieved remarkable success in a short time. More will follow provided we are willing to keep asking ourselves the tough questions.”

Emma Jenkins MW

A collective understanding of what makes our industry unique is important for not only seizing new opportunities but also for expanding the ones we

already have. It’s no secret that there is a lot of wine in tanks looking for homes and many speakers at Altogether Unique sounded alarms about commoditisation. It is vital that the industry engages in meaningful conversations to establish guardrails, particularly if we aim to increase the percentage of wines bottled in market to meet decarbonisation goals. While minimal regulation has provided much needed flexibility in a young industry, we now need to assess whether this approach strengthens ‘Brand New Zealand’, or risks undermining it.

New Zealand wine is a broad church, which is a good thing. Different wines cater to different markets, different drinking occasions and different people. However in an industry dominated by one region/variety, it’s essential every voice is heard, all sectors can thrive, and everyone feels aligned with the overall direction of travel. As the Wine Business Forum’s opening speaker Felicity Carter pointed out, not everyone needs to be RomanéeConti, but every region needs their Romanée-Contis, albeit with the caveat that this kind of ambition and greatness isn’t created simply by marketing. Instead

it requires giving yourself permission to have vision and a willingness to take risks. Innovation will play a key role in maintaining and enhancing New Zealand’s identity. It’s fascinating to contemplate the new iterations of wine discussed at the forum, but these must align with a quality-driven vision. New Zealand Winegrowers had the foresight to establish an early sustainability platform, and the newly unveiled Roadmap to Net Zero 2050 represents a significant step forward. In our warming world it not only addresses an urgent issue but positions New Zealand for global leadership if broad industry buy-in is achieved. Many producers are already making great strides in this area. While debate is inevitable, the Roadmap’s clear vision, aligned to a strategic plan and present-day innovation, make this an exciting space. This approach is also needed for managing commoditisation and developing a unified concept for our industry’s future. New Zealand wine has achieved remarkable success in a short time. More will follow provided we are willing to keep asking ourselves the tough questions.

Wine weather

JAMES MORRISON

A cold and early start to winter has been followed by another early start to spring, with mild temperatures through the second half of August and into September. The stratospheric warming over Antarctica led to some cold polar air being forced northwards and frosty nights for the growers with early budburst. There has also been an early onset of spring westerlies and this has contributed to mild days along the east coast of both islands and a noticeable increase in wind. Sea surface temperatures remain above average around New Zealand, but the cooling along the western coast of South America and along the equator indicates that another La Niña is on the way. If so, it is likely to arrive by late spring or early summer.

Frost risk under a northwest flow: Fast moving weather systems are typical of spring, and bring pros and cons when it comes to frost risk. Forecasting frost during unsettled weather patterns can be a challenging task. A strong northwest flow can push wind down to low levels overnight

and this helps to keep temperatures mild. Fronts in the flow are usually associated with an increase in cloud and some rain (depending which side of the island you live on) and the chances of frost on these nights are nil. The risk with spring weather is the clearance that often occurs as the wind flow turns southwest and the skies clear. The trick with forecasting frost in these situations is in the timing of the clearance over a region. If a front clears during the afternoon or early evening and a weak ridge of high pressure is present behind the change, there is a chance that conditions

will be stable and clear enough for frost risk to increase. If a front clears early in the day it may be that the flow turns northwest during the evening and a milder airmass moves onto a region, so the risk of frost diminishes. However, the frost risk may diminish for some parts of a region but not for others.

A good example to explain this is a developing northwest flow over Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay. Under a developing northwesterly airstream, it is likely that the elevated inland areas such as the upper Wairau Valley (Marlborough)

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Spring in Central Otago

or Crownthorpe/Puketapu (Hawke’s Bay) remain fairly mild as a light northwest breeze pushes down to the surface at times throughout the night. On the plains and towards the coast, the northwesterly airstream is not strong enough to push down to the surface – this can occur in lowlying areas such as Fairhall in Marlborough and the Tukituki River area in Hawke’s Bay. The milder air moving into the region under the northwesterly flow runs across the top of the colder air pooling at the surface, due to warmer air being lighter and less dense than cold air at the surface. It is on these nights that we can see some spectacular ranges in temperature across a single region with frost forming on coastal plains and temperatures barely in single figures on surrounding hillsides.

Outlook for October and November

Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay

The mild start to spring is likely to continue for the remainder of the season. There are likely to be periods of mild west to northwest winds, but these may become less frequent during the second half of October and into November. Rainfall totals

are likely to run below average during early October, but the frequency and totals could increase during November as more humid northeasterly pattern develops.

Wairarapa

Strong west to northwest winds are felt keenly over the lower North Island, due to the airflow forcing through Cook Strait between the North and South Islands. These winds should start to ease through October and into November, although there may be a few periods where winds do return. Mean temperatures should remain above average and rainfall totals are likely to be close to average as well.

Nelson

The northwest flow can bring higher than normal rainfall to the upper South Island and there is still a chance of moderate to heavy rain events in the Nelson region. As the flow becomes northerly or northeast these rain-bearing fronts should ease. Mean temperatures remain near or above average for the remainder of spring.

Marlborough/North Canterbury Temperatures remain above average about

Marlborough and North Canterbury and there is an increased likelihood of very warm spring days in Canterbury under a northwest flow. The fronts that bring rain to Nelson are also likely to bring rain at times to Marlborough, especially the Wairau Valley. Southern parts of Marlborough, such as Seddon and Ward, are likely to remain drier, with conditions similar to North Canterbury. The stronger northwesterlies should start to ease by November.

Central Otago

Temperatures are likely to be remain above average. Northwest winds may remain quite strong and frequent through early October, and fronts within the northwest flow may bring above average rainfall to Central Otago. Under this pattern we would expect the heaviest rainfall totals to be recorded in western areas such as Gibbston Valley and Wānaka. The northwest pattern should ease through November and conditions are likely to become more settled with less frequent rain and temperatures remaining fairly mild.

James Morrison runs Weatherstation Frost Forecasting: weatherstation.net.nz.

Biosecurity Update

Protecting the places that make our famous wines

Sophie Badland

Partnering for better plant biosecurity in and around vineyards

At their August meeting, the New Zealand Winegrowers Board agreed that NZW will join the Plant Pass Biosecurity Partnership, continuing our support of the Plant Pass Nursery Biosecurity Scheme and promoting the importance of healthy planting material for vineyards and wineries. The Grafted Grapevine Standard, NZW’s own high health scheme, has equivalence with Plant Pass. NZW recommends members purchase grapevines certified by the Grafted Grapevine Standard, and other vineyard/ amenity plants from Plant Pass certified nurseries, to minimise biosecurity risk to the industry.

Why are plant biosecurity schemes needed?

Biosecurity threats to New Zealand are increasing, with changes in weather patterns and increasing movements of

people and cargo across our borders. As living organisms, plants are susceptible to attack by pests and diseases. If pests or diseases are present in nurseries, they can be spread long distances through the propagation and shipping of affected plants across New Zealand via the nursery plant pathway. When not well-managed, nurseries

can provide the ideal environment for pest and disease establishment, housing many different plant species close together in a warm environment conducive to growth.

What Is Plant Pass?

Plant Pass is a voluntary certification scheme which helps plant producers to identify and

Partnering for Better Plant Biosecurity

• New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) has joined the Plant Pass Biosecurity Partnership to promote the importance of healthy planting material for vineyards, surrounding areas and winery gardens.

• Plant Pass is an independently audited nursery certification scheme which uses a science-based approach to equip plant producers with biosecurity best practice. The Grafted Grapevine Standard has an equivalence arrangement with Plant Pass.

• NZW encourages members to make informed decisions when purchasing planting material for vineyard surrounds and winery gardens. Purchasing plants from Plant Pass certified nurseries minimises the risk of accompanying pests and diseases being transferred through the nursery pathway and better protects the wine industry.

• New and replacement vines for vineyards should be certified to the Grafted Grapevine Standard.

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NZW recommends growers purchase grapevines certified under the Grafted Grapevine Standard

manage nursery biosecurity risks. It uses a science-based framework to equip nurseries with biosecurity best practice solutions for plant production, ensuring the plants produced are healthy and less likely to be carrying unwanted pests and diseases into the cropping fields, orchards, parks, gardens and forest areas where they will ultimately be planted. To achieve certification, nurseries are independently audited to a core biosecurity standard, as well as additional modules relating to specific plant types they may be growing.

By signing up for Plant Pass certification, nurseries help to protect their customers’ businesses, ensure plant movement can be effectively traced in the event of a biosecurity response, and reduce the likelihood of a pest or diease establishing in a nursery and spreading via the domestic plant trade. Any New Zealand nursery can register for Plant Pass, and will receive support from the Plant Pass team to understand the requirements for certification and how to best mitigate biosecurity risk in their business.

Plant Pass was first launched in 2021, via a collaboration of primary industries and government under the Government Industry Agreement for biosecurity readiness and response. The scheme is managed by New Zealand Plant Producers Incorporated (NZPPI) and co-funded by Biosecurity New Zealand and industry partners. The NZW Grafted Grapevine Standard was updated in 2022 to ensure vine nurseries producing grafted grapevines under the standard could also gain Plant Pass certification via an equivalence arrangement.

Why has NZW joined the Plant Pass Partnership?

As a Plant Pass Partner, NZW is committing to supporting best practice biosecurity within the plant production supply chain, helping to protect the wine industry from pests and diseases. Many other organisations are also part of the partnership, and by collectively encouraging members to purchase plants only from certified nurseries, we are indirectly putting pressure on more and more nurseries to consider implementation of biosecurity best practice so they too can gain certification.

What can members do to reduce biosecurity risk from planting material?

NZW recommends members make informed purchasing decisions when sourcing plant material for vineyards, surrounding areas and winery gardens. Purchasing grapevines certified to the NZW Grafted Grapevine Standard is the best action you can take to ensure vines are traceable back to the parent material and minimise the risk of associated pests and disease, particularly grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3. Purchasing other plants from Plant Pass certified nurseries ensures they have been produced by trusted suppliers who undertake rigorous biosecurity risk management on their sites and throughout the plant transportation process. Information about nurseries supplying GGS vines can be found at nzwine.com, and a list of Plant Pass certified nurseries and a full explanation of the scheme can be found at plantpass.org.nz.

Sophie

Badland

is NZW Biosecurity & Emergency Response Manager

Conducting winery trials from grape to glass

During harvest, in-house research trials are often overlooked or take up too much valuable time and tank space. Bragato Research Institute has an experienced team that can design and carry out trials to meet your needs and budget, all conducted from our world-class Research Winery. We can receive grapes from all over New Zealand and are now equipped for low/no alcohol trials too.

Let us remove the worry from your winemaking trials, and we’ll deliver your bottled wines, with complete analysis, and full research reports to back the findings. Contact our team at winery@bri.co.nz

On

your behalf

Taking NZ wine to the world: Bringing the world to NZ wine

Advocacy on matters of vital importance to the industry

Nicola Crennan

Immigration changes deliver confidence and certainty for seasonal workforce needs

The Government’s recent changes to the Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSE) scheme and Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) settings will enable employers to access the workers they need, when they need them to fulfil peak seasonal tasks. The Special Purpose Work Visa (SPWV) for seasonal workers announced by the Government in August will provide confidence and certainty for wineries to access the experienced seasonal international workers they need for the 2025 grape and wine harvest. Each year wineries need to lift the capacity of their workforce for a short period of time during harvest. The first priority is to employ New Zealanders but there is always a gap, and this is filled by recruiting experienced international workers. Without these international staff the industry would not be able to manage the intake of all the grapes from more than 42,000 hectares of vineyards across New Zealand.

“The SPWV is time limited, as applications must be received by 31 March 2025 and the role is to commence on or before 31 May 2025 and not exceed nine months duration.”

The previous AEWV settings did not deliver for the wine industry for these peak seasonal wine roles. New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) heard from wineries that the English language requirements and three years’ experience would restrict the ability to hire vintage workers. NZW took these concerns directly to the Minister of Immigration. In a constructive meeting Erica Stanford explained that the AEWV settings were updated to manage an influx of low skilled workers and the intention was not to stifle the ability to recruit seasonal workers.

The creation of the SPWV pathway recognises the importance of international workers filling short-term peak seasonal roles that are not intended to be permanent. The SPWV is time limited, as applications must be received by 31 March 2025 and the role is to commence on or before 31 May 2025 and not exceed nine months duration. This pathway will allow industry to meet the upcoming seasonal needs while broader changes to the AEWV settings are considered.

NZW supports the AEWV settings being recalibrated to balance the integrity of the immigration system, the opportunity of New Zealanders to gain work, and to enable employers to source the workers they need, when they need them. As a key stakeholder we will be participating in a targeted consultation on the settings and will ensure that the pathway for experienced international workers remains viable.

Welcome changes to RSE scheme

NZW also welcomed the Government’s commitment to increase the RSE scheme numbers to 20,750 and sensible improvements to the scheme. The RSE scheme has been vital to the growth of the wine industry. The boost to RSE worker numbers will enable the industry to plan with certainty for future growth. The wine industry strongly supports employing New Zealanders. RSE workers focus on the

seasonal peaks, supporting our permanent workforce. These improvements strike a careful balance between making sure Pacific workers have well paid work and employers can access the workers they need, when they need them.

Workers come to New Zealand with limited time to maximise their earning capability, and the changes allowing regional and employer movement add flexibility to help them achieve this. The ability to access skills training will result in workers returning home with more than financial benefits, and pay rates can now reflect experience. Multiple entry visas make sense, especially if workers have to return home for family reasons.

The return to the scheme’s pre-Covid-19 settings, by removing the accommodation cost restrictions and restoring the minimum hours entitlement calculation to a monthly average, are sensible adjustments. The addition of Timor-Leste futureproofs the scheme’s central role in Pacific relationships.

Looking ahead, the industry is confident that these changes will benefit both industry and the Pacific workers who play such an important role in New Zealand’s vineyards. NZW looks forward to engaging on the next phase of the RSE policy review, expected to begin later this year.

Nicola Crennan is NZW External Relations Manager

Waipara Hills

Sustainability Update

Demonstrating our commitment to the future through climate change mitigation

Dr Edwin Massey

Freshwater Farm Plan

Industry Guidelines

New Freshwater Farm Plan Industry Guidelines provide New Zealand’s wine industry with advice on how to manage the key risks posed by viticulture to our freshwater ecosystem. The guidelines, released by New Zealand Winegrowers

“It is crucial that we continue to apply creative thinking and innovative solutions across our industry to protect this precious resource.”

Dr Edwin Massey

(NZW) in September, offer positive actions to enhance efforts to protect freshwater quality and ease the transition to a future

regulatory environment which requires freshwater farm planning.

Water is a key component of the New Zealand wine industry’s Environment Strategy, within which our goal for freshwater is to be a world leader in efficient water use and the protection of water quality. The impact on freshwater from viticulture is coming under

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increasing scrutiny from government regulators within New Zealand and gatekeepers to our markets offshore. Consequently, it is crucial that we continue to apply creative thinking and innovative solutions across our industry to protect this precious resource. nzwine.com/fwfp Dr Edwin Massey is General Manager Sustainability at NZW

04 390 3577 grapeworks.co.nz

Aronui Wines

Mark Daniel’s updates on machinery and technology

UV-C Treatment Viticulture game

changer

A system that combines UV-C light for disinfection could provide chemical free treatment of plant pathogens and diseases such as powdery mildew and botrytis on berry, vine and tree crops. A game changer for the horticulture and viticulture industries, the innovative UVEX uses a UV-C light system mounted on Burro, an autonomous battery powered vehicle designed for on-farm applications, creating a reliable, cost-effective, sustainable, and safe treatment solution for the industry. The UV-C light treatment alters the molecular bond of the DNA within these diseases, destroying the ability for it to reproduce Released at Fieldays and showcased at WinePro, the technology is part of a collaboration between Vertex Engineers and Agri Automation. Agri Automation Managing Director Chris Clifford says the company is in the business of helping the horticulture industry grow smarter using technology-driven solutions. “Together with the Vertex team, we have conducted a comprehensive field trial of the UVEX pre-production unit in a Marlborough vineyard during the last growing season and are exceptionally pleased with the results we achieved.”

While outright purchase of the machine is not yet available, at this point there are a limited number of units working

with selected partners on a rental basis. Currently offered in two formats for grapes; a single row UVEX is carried by Burro Grande AMR, treating two half-rows with every pass, operating at 5.5-6km/hr. Alternatively, a double row unit is carried by tractor equipped with GOtrack Autodrive autonomous system, treating two complete rows per pass, operating at 7-7.5km/hr. Cost of treatment per hectare is the unit rental, plus the cost of charging – in the case of the all-electric single row unit, that’s approximately $10-12 per full charge to allow an operating time of six to seven hours. For double row UVEX there is the fuel cost of a standard vineyard tractor, while both machines will also require a machine overseer to deploy and monitor the machines remotely. Looking ahead, one machine manager will be able to monitor

multiple units from a phone, tablet or desktop device. In summary, operating costs including rental and allowing for cost of machine manager, suggest that UVEX treatment will work out to less than half of the cost of an average spray application round.

While it is anticipated that the UVEX could eventually be used as a complete replacement for spray chemicals, further trial work with independent assessment and reporting is ongoing to determine the treatment dose and frequency that will be required in this scenario. The trials already completed in New Zealand in the 2023-24 season support replacing every second spray application with a UVEX treatment, providing equal disease control to a full conventional spray program. As a conservative estimate, replacing every second spray round with a UVEX treatment would equate to cost savings of approximately $500-$550 per hectare, with machine rental and operating costs taken into consideration.

Vertex Engineers General Manager Greg Fahey says the UVEX, mounted on the Burro, can navigate itself around a vineyard, particularly at night, when the UV-C treatment is most effective. Working at night also offers the vehicle easy access to the area to be treated, allowing maximum utilisation of the vehicle for daytime activities, alongside minimising labour requirements. Greg says research has shown UV-C light is a highly sustainable way to treat crops compared to traditional spraying methods. “While destroying the pathogen’s ability to reproduce, studies have also shown that UV-C light helps to improve flavour, longevity, and nutritiousness of produce.”

Current research projects

Research Supplement

A regular feature to inform and update the wine industry on research projects being undertaken for their benefit. Newly approved projects when available are briefly summarised. Ongoing projects have longer articles that describe progress and what has been achieved so far. When completed, each project report will be shared in full detail in the Research Library on nzwine.com.

Bragato Research Institute leads quality research and innovation that enables the New Zealand wine industry to thrive. They conduct research in-house and collaborate with research organisations throughout New Zealand. The main research provider for each project is listed.

Updates are provided on the highlighted projects in this supplement.

Vineyard innovation

Improving remedial surgery practices to increase vineyard longevity

Linnaeus, SARDI

Potential applications of nanotechnology for wine growing in New Zealand

University of Auckland

Varietal diversification: Cool climate aromatic white wine produced by Marlborough

Bragato Research Institute, EIT, NMIT

Elemental sulphur persistence on grape and mitigation strategies

Lincoln University

Increasing financial sustainability of Chardonnay in Hawke’s Bay through long spur pruning to increase yield

Eastern Institute of Technology

Long spur pruning as an alternative for Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Bragato Research Institute

Genetics for winegrowing

Sauvignon Blanc Grapevine Improvement Programme

Bragato Research Institute, Plant & Food Research, Lincoln University

National Vine Collection virus eradication

Bragato Research Institute

Rapid detection of fungicideresistance in grapevine powdery mildew in New Zealand

Bragato Research Institute

Graft-derived drought tolerance: Identifying and functionally characterising graft-transmitted elements

Bragato Research Institute

Winemaking innovation

Exploring reductive aromas in Pinot

Noir

University of Auckland

Precipitation of calcium tartrate and other compounds in wine

University of Canterbury

Lab on a Chip: Developing diagnostic devices for the wine industry

University of Canterbury

Prevention of quercetin instability in bottled wine

Indevin

Sustainable winegrowing

Microbial community and vine responses to increasing temperatures in the New Zealand context

University of Auckland

Evaluating ecologically sustainable ways to disrupt the wētā-vine association

Plant & Food Research

Potted Vines: Exploring the role of Trichoderma on Marlborough soil to influence drought stress shift

Bragato Research Institute

Evaluating water use efficiency and drought tolerance of various rootstocks grafted to Sauvignon

Blanc

Bragato Research Institute

Improving and extending the productive life of grapevines affected by trunk disease using remedial surgery

Eline van Zijll de Jong, Linnaeus Limited, and Mark Sosnowski, South Australian Research and Development Institute

What is grapevine trunk disease?

When gaps begin to appear in the canopies of mature vines, or when vine mortality increases, it is often indicative of grapevine trunk disease (GTD). This disease is caused by various fungi that primarily enter the vines as spores through pruning wounds (Figure 1). Over time, these fungi colonise the wood and progressively move down into the vine’s trunk. This results in the decay and death of the wood, disrupting the flow of water and nutrients until the vine eventually perishes.

Based on the symptoms observed in the canopy and the associated fungi, these top-down trunk diseases are commonly known as Botryosphaeria dieback (BD) and Eutypa dieback (ED). Typically, the trunks exhibit red-brown staining around the central pith or brown wedges extending from the pith to the outer edge (Figure 2). Affected areas may develop cankers, leading to the loss of bark and wood splitting. Spores released from fruiting bodies on infected wood are dispersed by rain splash or wind, leading to new infections of pruning wounds.

The disease leads to significant yield and quality reductions and combined with a shortened lifespan is threatening the economic sustainability of New Zealand’s aging vineyards.

What can growers do about GTD?

The most effective strategy against trunk disease is prevention. Applying wound protection has proven effective in preventing infections from both BD and ED pathogens. Additionally, it is advisable to avoid

pruning immediately after rain events, as this is when spores are more likely to be present. Many older vineyard blocks have not received wound protection from the time they were established. As trunk disease progresses only slowly,

the impacts of past infections are only now becoming apparent. In the absence of curative treatments, remedial surgery is one of the few effective options for improving and prolonging the productive life of infected vines.

Figure 2. Trunk cross-sections with central (left) and wedge (right) brown stained wood associated with grapevine trunk disease

Figure 1. Symptoms of dieback in the canopy of a cane-pruned vine (top) and spur-pruned vine (bottom)

What is remedial surgery?

Remedial surgery involves removing the diseased portion of the trunk above the graft union and replacing it with a new shoot (Figure 3). This technique preserves the established root system, allowing the vine to recover more rapidly than if it were replanted. While remedial surgery has been successfully implemented to manage trunk disease in own-rooted vines in commercial vineyards across Australia, it has not been widely applied to grafted vines.

Research on remedial surgery in grafted vines

In 2019, three research trials were established in mature vineyard blocks as part of the Vineyard Ecosystems Programme to explore effective practices for managing GTD through remedial surgery. The trials were conducted in an organically managed block of Sauvignon Blanc and two conventionally managed blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in Hawke’s Bay. Each year in each trial, four rows were reworked over a five-year period in winter and then a further four rows in spring. The health and productivity of the vines were closely monitored before and after remedial surgery and compared to the untreated control vines. These trials, the most

comprehensive in the world, are addressing key grower questions on the optimal timing for intervention, location of cuts, watershoot recovery, disease control, and the impact on yield and wine quality.

When to intervene?

By the time growers consider remedial surgery for trunk disease, it is often already widespread. In two of the trials (Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon) dieback was observed in over 80% of vines. In the third trial (Merlot) the incidence was recorded at 60%. By the fifth year, nearly all vines exhibited canopy symptoms, and the severity of these symptoms had increased over time.

Staining was frequently observed in the trunks at the remedial cut site (150-200 mm above the graft union) in two of the trials (Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot), affecting 40-50% of the vines initially and rising to close to 80% by the fifth year (Figure 4). Over this period, the severity of the staining also increased.

The extent of trunk staining could not be predicted based on dieback symptoms observed in the canopy (Figure 5). This is primarily because infections can develop over multiple years, not only from sites in the upper trunk but also from wounds caused by watershoot and spur removal from the lower trunk.

Regular monitoring of both the canopy and, eventually, the trunk is essential for effectively removing diseased wood and promoting the growth of watershoots.

How to monitor for GTD?

Monitoring for trunk disease begins with assessing the canopy in mid to late spring before it is fully developed and gaps are still visible (Figure 1). In spur-pruned vines, the severity of dieback can be estimated by evaluating the percentage of unproductive cordon. For canepruned vines, tracking the disease is more challenging due to the regular replacement of spurs and canes. In these cases, assess the percentage of

Figure 4. Changes in the incidence (solid line) and severity (dashed line) of brown wood staining in cross-sections at the remedial cut site in Sauvignon Blanc (A), Sauvignon Cabernet (B) and Merlot (C) grapevines reworked annually from 2019 to 2023. The error bar indicates the least significant difference (LSD 5%).

Figure 3. A grapevine after remedial surgery

dead and unproductive sections on the heads and canes. The number of rows to be inspected will depend on variety, the incidence and severity of the disease, as well as the acceptable margin of error, and ranges between 1-6 rows of 100 vines.

As an increasing number of vines show symptoms of the disease, the trunks should be examined to establish the distance and severity of staining in the vines. The tendency of vines to produce new watershoots should also be noted.

When to cut the vine?

Remedial surgery should be conducted before the disease becomes widespread and severe, as the health of both the canopy and trunk significantly impacts watershoot recovery. As the disease advances, the growth of watershoots typically declines. In Merlot, where the disease was less severe, recovery rates were 100%. In contrast, recovery rates for Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon decreased when dieback severity surpassed 70% and 40%, respectively. Over five years, as the disease progressed, recovery rates dropped from 97% to 85% in Sauvignon Blanc and from 87% to 79% in Cabernet Sauvignon.

The old trunks can be replaced in either winter or spring. There was no improvement in watershoot recovery

when the vines were remediated in spring compared to winter. Vines cut in winter generally experienced earlier bud burst, having longer shoots by late spring, compared to those cut in spring. In vineyard blocks prone to late frosts, the risk of frost damage to buds is lower for vines cut in spring. Also of note, vines remediated in spring tended to have more sap flow at the cut site, making application of wound sealant challenging. In this case, it is advised to wait until sap stops flowing, scrape off the exudate, and then apply the sealant.

Where to cut the vine?

The trunks of diseased vines should be cut as close to the graft union as possible while ensuring enough bud sites are left for new growth and adequate space is provided between these sites and the top of the trunk to accommodate natural dieback. Ideally, the remedial cut site is well below any visible staining, as pathogens can spread beyond the stained areas. BD pathogens were regularly detected >200 mm ahead of the staining. The ED pathogen, which was often detected together with the BD pathogens, was also occasionally detected over this distance. In addition, the staining observed from extending from watershoot removal wound sites and mechanical damage was often low down the trunk.

Research is ongoing to understand the implications of failing to completely remove the diseased wood and associated pathogens. BD pathogens were frequently found at the base of new trunks, even when staining in the original trunk was located some distance from the remedial cut site. It may be easier to eliminate the ED pathogen, which typically does not advance as far beyond the staining as BD pathogens and is rarely detected at the base of new trunks.

Impact on vine health and longevity

Although it is still early in the trials, the majority of vines that produced watershoots were still thriving by the fifth year (Figure 3). While some vine deaths were recorded, there were no noticeable signs of trunk disease in the new trunks and shoots. Similar to young vines, the disease may take some years before becoming apparent. In contrast, the untreated control vines showed a continuous increase in the incidence and severity of the disease.

Monitoring disease recurrence, death and yields of vines in these trials in the future will provide valuable data that could help predict the extended productive life of vineyards based on the disease symptoms at the time of remedial surgery.

The high vigour of the reworked vines, due to the retention of the original root system, was effectively managed by keeping two shoots. The second trunk can be removed after several years once vines are established.

Impact on vine productivity

There was a rapid decline in productivity in the untreated control vines, especially in spur-pruned vines, even during high-yielding vintages (Figure 6). While no fruit was harvested from the reworked vines during the first growing season after remedial surgery, by the second growing season, their

Figure 5. Distance of wood staining observed in the trunks of spur-pruned vines with 25% canopy dieback

reworked annually from 2019 to 2022. The error bar indicates the least significant difference (LSD 5%)

yields matched or exceeded those of the control vines. In high-yielding vintages, the yields from reworked vines approached or exceeded the target yields for the blocks. Future monitoring of these trials will provide a better understanding of the long-term impact on productivity of remedial surgery. In a related project, wine was made in the Bragato Research Institute (BRI) winery using fruit harvested from vines in the Sauvignon Blanc trial. Remediation of vines affected by trunk disease resulted in wines with increased levels of 2-methoxy-3-iso-butylpyrazine (IBMP), compared with untreated control vines. IBMP is a key aroma compound responsible for the

distinctive green and grassy aromas characteristic of high-quality Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc wines.

What’s next?

In an extension of the project funded by BRI, the health and productivity of the reworked vines will be monitored over the next two years to assess both the impact of remedial surgery and the costs associated with delaying intervention. The data collected from these trials will form the foundation for an economic analysis aimed at quantifying the cost-benefit of remedial surgery and providing growers with valuable decisionsupport tools. This is becoming more important with the increasing

number of New Zealand vineyards beyond the age of 20 years, when production is seriously impacted by GTDs, and decisions on reworking or replanting need to be made.

About the project

This five-year research project was funded through the Vineyard Ecosystems Programme, a multi-year partnership between New Zealand Winegrowers and the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment that was managed through Bragato Research Institute.

Trichoderma for managing drought stress: A step forward in combating climate change

Dr Solomon Wante, Bragato Research Institute

Introduction

As climate change continues to impact wine regions in New Zealand and worldwide, grape production faces unprecedented challenges. As reported by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), increasingly unpredictable weather patterns have shown peaks of drier conditions in 2020, 2023, and 2024 at various locations across

New Zealand, putting immense pressure on vineyards. To sustain future grape production and maintain wine quality, it is crucial to explore innovative strategies that enhance grapevine resilience. One promising approach is harnessing the potential of soil-beneficial microbes, particularly those belonging to the genus Trichoderma, which may improve drought

tolerance and water use efficiency in grapevines.

Trichoderma: A fungal ally in the soil

Trichoderma is a genus of fungi naturally found in soils across New Zealand. Known for their ability to promote plant health, these fungi have been extensively studied for their role in biological control, where

Figure 6. Mean yield of fruit from the control and in Sauvignon Blanc (A), Sauvignon Cabernet (B) and Merlot (C) grapevines

they suppress plant pathogens. However, recent research has revealed that Trichoderma species can do much more than protect plants from disease. They also have the potential to enhance plant growth and resilience, particularly under stressful conditions like drought. Grapevines, especially those grown in regions prone to soil water deficits, could greatly benefit from the support of these beneficial fungi. Applying Trichoderma around grapevine roots has the potential to boost soil biology, supporting vine productivity in the face of limited soil moisture.

Summary of methods

The pilot trial was conducted by Bragato Research Institute (BRI) in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture Science at Lincoln University. We investigated the effects of Trichoderma on young, grafted Sauvignon Blanc grapevines. The experiment carried out under controlled glasshouse conditions (Figure 1) involved growing the grapevines in various soil types and subjecting them to regulated drought stress. One example is the Temuka_50a.1 soil from Marlborough, classified as Typic Orthic Gley Soil. This clay soil is known for its high structural vulnerability and waterholding capacity, often experiencing intermittent waterlogging and gleying. While root penetration can reach up to 700 mm, moisture extraction becomes increasingly difficult as the soil dries. The objective was to determine whether inoculating Trichoderma around the root zones in soil influences soil biology in a way that enhances drought resilience and water use efficiency in grapevines, offering a potential solution for vineyards facing drier conditions.

Young grafted Sauvignon Blanc grapevines were planted in four different soil types, each representing a distinct growing environment. For each soil type,

two sets of plants were established: one treated with Trichoderma and a control set without fungal inoculation. By comparing these sets under drought conditions, we identified differences in the grapevines’ ability to cope with water stress.

To better understand how Trichoderma influences grapevine resilience, we employed long-read amplicon sequencing to characterise the soil microbial communities before and after Trichoderma application in both drought and non-drought treatment sets. This technology allowed us to analyse the bacterial and fungal populations in the soil, providing insights into how Trichoderma interacts with other microbes and influences the overall microbial ecosystem around the root zones.

Typic Orthic Gley Soil, Trichoderma was significantly less abundant compared to other dominant fungi, such as Leptosporella (see Figure 2). However, after Trichoderma treatment, there was a noticeable shift in the composition of both bacterial and fungal populations. These changes suggest that Trichoderma may help foster a more

Findings

Soil microbes

The soil microbial analysis conducted before Trichoderma inoculation showed that Trichoderma was not among the top 10% of core fungal genera across the various soil types used in this trial. For instance, in the Temuka_50a.1 soil, classified as

favourable microbial environment, enhancing the presence of beneficial microbes while suppressing potentially harmful ones.

Trichoderma’s impact on drought tolerance and water use efficiency

Grapevines treated with Trichoderma exhibited enhanced

Figure 1. Young, grafted Sauvignon Blanc grapevines grown in pots under controlled glasshouse conditions.

Figure 2. Core fungal genera in Temuka_50a.1 Soil (Typic Orthic Gley Soil) before Trichoderma inoculation

growth performance under both drought conditions and normal irrigation compared to those without Trichoderma inoculation. The Trichoderma-treated vines developed superior root systems, producing more root biomass and maintaining growth with less water. This improvement is particularly beneficial in water-scarce regions, where it allows vineyards to sustain productivity with reduced irrigation (see Figure 3).

The enhanced root development is due to Trichoderma’s action in several ways: it increases belowground biomass by solubilising phosphates and other essential nutrients, making them more available to plants; it produces plant hormones such as auxins, which stimulate root growth; and it enhances resistance to soil-borne pathogens by creating a protective barrier against them. These mechanisms collectively improve root function and water efficiency. Despite these benefits, no significant differences were observed in physiological functions such as stomatal conductance and photosynthesis rate between Trichoderma-treated and untreated plants, whether under drought stress or normal irrigation, during the six months of the trial. Stomatal conductance measures the rate at which carbon dioxide enters and water vapour exits the leaf through stomata, and photosynthesis rate indicates the efficiency of photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy. This suggests that while Trichoderma positively impacts root development and nutrient uptake, the effects on above-ground growth and physiological functions may take longer to manifest.

Conclusion

The trial has demonstrated the potential of Trichoderma as a promising tool for managing

Figure 3. Improved root morphology in Temuka_50a.1 soil (classified as Typic Orthic Gley Soil) treated with Trichoderma and non-treated, under normal irrigation (a & b), and treated and non-treated with Trichoderma under drought conditions (c & d).

drought stress in grapevines. The study showed that Trichoderma inoculation significantly improved root development, resulting in better growth performance under both drought and normal irrigation conditions. This enhancement is largely attributed to Trichoderma’s ability to increase below-ground biomass, solubilise essential nutrients, and provide protection against soil-borne pathogens.

While the trial observed no immediate significant changes in physiological functions like stomatal

conductance and photosynthesis rate within the first six months, the improved root structure suggests that Trichoderma may offer long-term benefits for grapevine productivity, particularly in waterscarce regions. These findings underscore the potential of Trichoderma to support sustainable viticulture practices and enhance resilience against climate-induced water stress. Further research is needed to fully understand the long-term effects on aboveground growth and overall vineyard productivity.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the contributors of this research: Dr Cen (Yusmiati) Liau; Bhanupratap Vanga; Dr Annabel Whibley; Dr Amy Hill, Dr Ellie Bradley; Dr Darrell Lizamore; Dr Hossein Alizadeh and Prof. John Hampton.

We also extend our gratitude to the Marlborough Grape Growers Association, Dr Stewart Field from Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology and Yuichi Ando from Bragato Research Institute for their valuable in-kind contributions.

About the project

The six-month pilot trial was conducted by Bragato Research Institute in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture Science at Lincoln University. It was funded by the New Zealand Winegrowers levy.

Unleashing the power of data to benefit New Zealand winegrowing

Fang Gou, Paul Epee, Bragato Research Institute

Bragato Research Institute (BRI) is at the forefront of viticulture and oenology research, leveraging the power of data to drive innovation for the benefit of the wine industry. A large number of research projects are currently underway, and data is at the core. This article illustrates

how BRI manages and uses data, highlighting the value it plays in research, and the importance of collaboration with other research providers and partners in delivering outcomes that benefit New Zealand winegrape growers and winemakers.

Managing and utilising data at BRI

BRI is responsible for managing a diverse array of data across several areas. Our data can be categorised into three main types: research data from both current and past projects, industry data – including

spray diary data and questionnaire data collected by Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) – and data from commercial services. While research and industry data are actively utilised for various research purposes, commercial service data remains confidential and is not used beyond its intended scope. Our approach to data management ensures that all analyses are conducted with strict adherence to confidentiality, with data being anonymised before any findings are published or presented to the broader public. This ensures that the information is communicated to end users, be they researchers or growers, without compromising the privacy of the participants in the project.

Project data is primarily analysed to answer specific research questions while also building a relational database that organises and stores data across different projects. The analysis of industry data answers inquiries submitted by members and supports larger research initiatives

aimed at testing hypotheses and improving vineyard practices and winemaking techniques nationwide.

For instance, BRI received enquiries from grape growers about recent trends of glyphosate and other synthetic herbicides used in New Zealand vineyards. To address these concerns, growers’ spray information recorded and stored on Grapelink – the Spray Diary verification tool nominated by SWNZ – was interrogated. Grapelink contains over a decade of records of growers’ spray data. This platform was also used to provide background information for the preparation of research proposals submitted by BRI researchers for internal (within BRI) and external (outside of BRI) funding. These projects aimed at finding sustainable alternatives to synthetic herbicides and fungicides in New Zealand vineyards. The section below summarises the key results of these investigations, focusing mainly on glyphosate and other synthetic herbicides based on Grapelink data.

The

trend of glyphosate use in New Zealand vineyards over a seven-year period

The BRI team investigated the use of glyphosate herbicides to control weeds in New Zealand vineyards between the 2017/2018 and 2023/2024 growing seasons. The data was collected from growers’ spray dairies through the Grapelink platform. The key information from the spray dairy dataset is as follows:

• Vineyard Information: Block size, variety, planting density, training system, and canopy density.

• Agrichemical Product Information: Product names, label rates.

• Treatment Information: Date/growth stage of application, water rates, spray type, spray rates, and targets.

Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide, that has been applied as a post-emergence weed management tool in New Zealand since the 1970s. However, concerns have arisen regarding its potential negative impacts on various non-target living organisms

Fig. 1 The application area (A) and frequency (B) of glyphosate and non-glyphosate herbicides from 2017/2018 to 2023/2024 seasons

Figure 2: Five most applied glyphosate products by area (A) and their application rates (B) from the season 2017/2018 to the season 2023/2024. Application rates ranging from 1L/ha to 10 L/ha were included in this analysis, with peaks observed at 3, 4, 5, and 6 L/ha

and residuals in human food. This analysis aims to understand the pattern of glyphosate use compared to other herbicides over time and its implications.

The application area of herbicides steadily increased over time very likely due to the expansion of vineyards area over the same period. The vineyard area sprayed with glyphosate was only slightly greater than the vineyard area sprayed with non-glyphosate herbicides for each growing season, and about threequarters of vineyard area applied mixed herbicides (Figure 1A). A total of 1,864 hectares of vineyards have been using glyphosate only herbicides for all seven years, while 1,231 hectares of vineyards have been applying non-glyphosate only herbicides during the same period.

During the period analysed, 57 glyphosate products were applied compared to 70 nonglyphosate products. The number of applications per block was about 1.64 to 1.84 for glyphosate and 2.15 to 2.32 for other herbicides. There was a slight decrease in the number of applications per block from the 2018/2019 season for both glyphosate and non-glyphosate

herbicides (Figure 1B). The month with the highest glyphosate herbicide application is September, followed by August and November, while the first three highest nonglyphosate herbicide application months are September, November and January.

There were five commonly applied glyphosate products by application area, Gly 490, Gly 570, Gly 470, Gly 450, and Gly 360, renamed for this article (Figure 2A). Gly 490, with a glyphosate concentration of 49%, was the most popular product in previous years but has seen a decrease in usage since the 2020/2021 season. The usage of Gly 570 (with a glyphosate concentration of 57%) has increased rapidly, reaching a vineyard area comparable to Gly 490 in the 2022/2023 season (Figure 2A). The average application rates for all five products ranged from 3 to 5 L/ha, with clear trends of increasing rates observed in recent years (Figure 2B). Figure 2 shows that growers tended to use higher concentrations of glyphosate and applied them at higher rates.

As this analysis indicates, glyphosate use at higher concentrations and

rates raises the question of whether weeds are developing resistance to glyphosate or if growers are simply applying more than necessary. Further research is needed to clarify this situation.

Call for engagement

Data is more than just numbers. When collected and analysed appropriately, it becomes an extremely powerful tool that can drive innovation, inform decisions, and ultimately contribute to the growth of the wine industry. We invite researchers, growers, and industry partners to work with us in producing and sharing data that can help address the pressing challenges the wine industry is currently facing. By combining our resources and expertise, we can improve industry practices and contribute to reinforcing New Zealand’s wine reputation in the global market. BRI offers extensive support in field trial design and data analysis, aiming to tailor our services to meet specific research needs and questions.

For further information or to discuss potential collaborations, please reach out to us at info@bri.co.nz.

The chemistries stomping out grape diseases

UPL crushes Botrytis, powdery mildew

UPL chemistries deliver against Botrytis (Kenja® 400 SC) and powdery mildew (Kusabi® and Flute®) in grapes.