NZ Winegrower Aug/Sept 2015

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ST NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER

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93 ISSUE

AU G U

EPTEMBE

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THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWERS

AU G US T/ S E P TE MBE R 2015

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 93

88 R E GUL A R S

4

Editorial

10

Controlling Powdery Mildew

Tessa Nicholson

It was a major issue for growers throughout New Zealand last season. So what can you do to prevent it in 2016? Trevor Lupton from Lewis Wright Valuation and Consultancy has some sage advice.

5

From the CEO

Philip Gregan

6

Regional Review

Al Knight – Gisborne

8

In Brief

News from around the country

36

HR and the Wine Industry

Paddy Battersby

90

Bob’s Blog

Bob Campbell MW

22

Young Guns

Gisborne

14

Organic and Biodynamic Winegrowing Conference

Just where in the world does New Zealand sit in terms of organics? What is the market like for organic wines?

And how do organic growers manage nitrogen in their vineyards. These stories are the first in a series we will run, following on from the first ever conference held in New Zealand.

38

Romeo Bragato Brought To Life

Former president of the NZGGC Kevyn Moore has always had an empathy with the founding father of New Zealand’s wine industry, Romeo Bragato. Now he has taken that empathy further with a biography of the man.

130 Not On The Label

Legal Matters with Bell Gully

133 Calendar

The latest science and research

projects funded by NZWinegrowers

COVER SHOT Ballochdale Estate Ltd, Marlborough – PHOTO SUPPLIED BY NZW

64

106

45 Sauvignon Blanc 2016

FEATURES

The international celebration of our flagship wine is now only a matter of months away. This issue we begin a series where we talk to some of the international speakers who will be attending. What are they expecting and wanting from this upcoming celebration?

108

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

FROM THE EDITOR TESSA NICHOLSON

CO R R E SP O N D E NTS Auckland: Joelle Thomson joellethomson@vodafone.co.nz Gisborne: Justine Tyerman justine.tyerman@clear.net.nz Hawkes Bay: Mary Shanahan maryshanahan173@gmail.com Nelson: Neil Hodson neil@hodgson.net.nz Central Otago: Mark Orton seeingredmedia@yahoo.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

ISSN 1174-5223

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AN ORGANIC EXPERIENCE

I

n early July close to 300 people gathered in Marlborough for the first ever Organic and Biodynamic Winegrowing Conference. It was an amazing success, drawing like minded people from throughout the country and speakers from around the world.

While the organisers and OWNZ deserve a huge amount of credit, so too do the godparents of organic and bio dynamic wine – James and Annie Millton.

Former NZ Winegrower Personalities of the Year, the Millton’s are true pioneers of the expanding organic and biodynamic wine movement.

It was 1984 when the Millton’s began the organic process, finally reaching certification in 1989. They were the first New Zealanders to achieve that status.

But as James pointed out, it was a lonely time. Being a pioneer often is, especially when other producers were looking askance at them. He admits many thought they were crazy to even contemplate such a move and he admits they have spent more than two decades proving everyone right.

“Now it seems everybody wants to be crazy and that is just what this planet needs.”

As he looked out over the conference delegates, he mused on how far the “craziness” had spread.

“Who would have believed 20 years ago we would have had this many people attending an organic and biodynamic winegrowing conference.”

These days the Millton’s have been joined by 103 other growers who have gained organic certification, 12.5 percent of all growers in New Zealand. Not bad in just a couple of decades. And the numbers are growing.

With an image of clean and green, New Zealand has an enviable image in the world of wine. Our prices in export markets reflect

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

that image – our land is pure, our wine is pure and what’s more it is of the highest quality.

OWNZ plays a vital role in that image, and its growth on a national scale is vitally important to the future of the New Zealand wine industry.

OWNZ has a goal of 20 percent by 2020.

Twenty percent of all our vineyards being organically certified in the next five years.

Millton believes that will be achieved. At this stage the figure of organically certified vineyard stands at 5.4 percent, or 1906 hectares. While that may seem a long way from the 20 percent OWNZ would like by 2020, the growth in the past 15 years has been phenomenal. In 1999 there were only 54 hectares of certified organic vineyards. In 2007 there were 225 hectares. Now there are 1,906. The move to organics is growing and growing at a spectacular rate.

With the Organic Focus Vineyard Project comparing the production costs between conventional and organic now complete, many more are likely to follow in the Millton’s footsteps.

And while the goal of 20/20 may seem a tough nut to crack, James is not concerned.

He believes the quality of the wines emanating from organic and biodynamic vineyards will be enough to convince growers.

“My mantra is that 100 percent of the quality wines will be coming from integrated or fully organic/biodynamic wines by 2020.

Watch this space.”

We have more from the conference in this issue of NZ Winegrower, including just where we sit in the world of organic winegrowing, the market for these wines and how organic growers can control nitrogen in their vineyards.

They along with an array of other stories make up this issue, which is the largest NZ Winegrower in 10 years. Enjoy! ■

FROM THE CEO PHILIP GREGAN

NEXT STEPS IN GOVERNANCE RENEWAL

F

irst, thanks to all those members who participated in the Governance referendum which was held online between 18 and 29 May. Just over one-third of members voted and those members represented just over twothirds of the total levy payment.

The result of the referendum was a strong endorsement of the proposals put forward by the Board. Support for the proposal was strong by both growers and wineries and within the small, medium and large sub-divisions within the winery and grower groupings.

The highest level of support was found amongst the small wineries with 92.2% of small wineries who voted voting in favour of the proposal with those wineries representing 92.6% of the levy paid by voting small wineries. The lowest level of support was found amongst large growers, but even there 80.9% of large growers voted in favour of the proposal and those growers represented 76.5% of the levies paid by voting growers.

With the endorsement by members now in place, the Board is moving to act on the decision taken by members.

At its June Board meeting the Board formally resolved to: Receive the official referendum result from electionz.com To proceed to implement the governance and structure

proposal as outlined to members and as supported by them To request the management team to liaise with the Ministry of Primary Industries and prepare the draft levy order to be considered by the Board at its August meeting And finally requested the management team to prepare a detailed plan and timeline for

comply with the proposal submitted to members.

Also in August the Board will need to sign off on the draft levy order that will be submitted to the vote of members in October.

These levy orders will reflect the proposals presented to members e.g. payment of levies direct to NZW rather than through WINZ and NZGGC, eliminating the minimum

In October the proposed levy orders will be submitted to members for a vote. The vote will be conducted on line as was the recent governance referenda. There will in fact be two referenda – one for grape levy payers, and one for wine levy payers.

the formation of New Zealand Winegrowers Incorporated and the dis-establishment of NZGGC and WINZ So it is now full steam ahead with implementation of the new governance structure.

Some of the detail of the next steps are still to be worked out, but the key steps are likely to incorporate the following.

In August this year the NZW Board will have two tasks, the first will be to sign off on the rules of the new NZW Incorporated Society. These have been largely agreed by the Board already, but they need to be given a final detailed assessment to ensure they

payment for small wineries, capping the large winery payment at 20 million litres etc.

In October the proposed levy orders will be submitted to members for a vote. The vote will be conducted on line as was the recent governance referenda. There will in fact be two referenda – one for grape levy payers, and one for wine levy payers.

In November or December, presuming the levy votes are successful, the documentation for the proposed levies will be submitted to MPI. MPI will consider the information that they receive and it will then be up to the Minister to okay the

levy orders.

Presuming the ministerial endorsement is received on 1 July 2016, the new NZ Winegrowers Incorporated will commence operations and the new levy orders will be in effect. At that time the assets of NZGGC and WINZ will be transferred to NZW. Also at this time the existing NZW Board will continue in office until the elections for the new Board are held.

Those elections will be held in September 2016 with the basis of the elections being as set out in the recent governance proposal i.e. two classes of directors, five directors elected on one person one vote, and five directors elected on one dollar of levy payment one vote, with another two directors to be appointed by the Board once it is in place.

Finally at some time in either 2016 or 2017, WINZ and NZGGC will be dissolved and NZW Inc will be the sole industry organisation.

So there is a lot of work to be completed in the coming months in order that we can have the unified industry organisation up and running on July 1 next year.

The critical point in that process will be levy order votes in October this year which will provide the funding for NZ Winegrowers.

Watch out for more detail on this in due course. ■

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 5

REGIONAL REVIEW

GISBORNE INTRIGUE A L K N I G H T – G I S B O R N E W I N E G R O W E R S A S S O C I AT I O N

W

e here in Gisborne like to think our seclusion from other regions gives us a sense of intrigue. A winegrowing portfolio that covers not only the tried and true varieties but expands into a number of new varietals which are starting to turn heads both nationally and internationally.

The region’s commitment to trialling varieties well suited to our dry farming maritime climate continues through the Gisborne Winegrowers research committee. Collecting valuable data at a vineyard level and producing small quantities of each trial variety ensures an accurate assessment of where each may sit from a commercial and boutique perspective.

Through the NZWinegrower’s trade and media programme Gisborne has been fortunate to host a number of wine writers, sommeliers and even the American consul-general. The wines and the region were well received. It is always interesting to receive feedback from our international guests and although many of the wines were noted to be world-class there

was a challenge to local wine producers to bring X factor wines to the table. Perhaps through innovative and challenging wine making technique’s this can be achieved.

Aside to tasting our diverse range of wines some were treated to fresh wild blackberries and Fejoas, memories worth savouring!!

nelled into the Wine Centre ensuring its viability and sustainability.

The 2015 Gisborne Regional Wine Awards was heralded once again as a great success. A meet the judges forum along with cellar door wine tastings and degustation lunches were new for 2015.

They provided local industry with

It is a fantastic opportunity for us to host such an event and I believe this is a platform we as a winegrowing region need to build on to reinforce our unofficial status as Chardonnay Capital of the World.

Gisborne’s Wine Centre continues to evolve and is now attracting national brands with locally produced fruit to the shelves. The Centre provides a collective selection for the purposes of promotion/marketing and retail sales.

A local cellar door for those that don’t have one, but also an extension to provide customers with a link to those that do. We see this as an important part of the region’s initiatives going forward and there has been a lot of resource chan-

a winning influence suppliers of fine corks, barrels, screw caps & capsules

the opportunity to interact with the judges in a relaxed environment. Host wineries provided an array of experiences including local cultural performances and food matched with local wines.

The event culminated in an awards dinner attended by local industry and businesses. Celebrity Chef Martin Bosely did a fantastic job of matching the awarding winning wines to the menu and MC Paul Ego was at his witty best entertaining close to 100 attendees.

GWG’s is now focusing on the Chardonnay and Sparkling Symposium in February which Gisborne won the right to host over other regions. It is a fantastic opportunity for us to host such an event and I believe this is a platform we as a winegrowing region need to build on to reinforce our unofficial status as Chardonnay Capital of the World. The international audience will be exposed to a selection of New Zealand’s top class Chardonnay and Sparkling wines.

With another successful vintage behind us we can now look forward to vintage 2016 and what challenges that may bring. Growers have a wealth of resources at their fingertips and I encourage all to use these resources to guide you through the season to produce high quality crops. Mother Nature will always play a part, interrupting the plan or creating high disease pressure periods. Interacting with other growers is an important part of benchmarking your practice against others. Right or wrong we all face different issues together. ■

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6 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

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NATIONAL

Sam Hunt Wine

Top Books Internationally

He is renowned as a poet and now Sam Hunt is getting into the wine business. Well actually he is lending his poems to the wine industry. He has recently partnered with wine distributor and retailer La Cantina Wines to launch the Sam Hunt range of wines. Each bottle will feature a different verse of Hunt’s poetry. Hunt says; “A poem told or sung – or printed on a wine label, say – stands a much greater chance of life, of getting it across.”

Five wines will feature in the range, a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot/Malbec.

Congrats to Celia Hay and Kirsten Rodsgaard-Mathiesen who both took out top spots in the recent International Gourmand Book Awards.

Celia’s book New Zealand Wine Guide won the award’s Best in the World title for Wine and Tourism, while Kirsten won the Best Book on Women in Wine.

Rate of Levy Under the Wine (Grape Wine Levy) Order 2010 Pursuant to Clause 9 of the Wine (Grape Wine Levy) Order 2010, it was resolved at a Board meeting of the Wine Institute of New Zealand Incorporated on 18 June 2015 that the levy rate to apply to sales of grape wine, or the grape wine component of grape wine products, from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 be fixed at the rate of 2.25 cents per litre. Philip Gregan, Executive Officer, Wine Institute of New Zealand Incorporated.

HAKWE’S BAY Alastair Maling Moves On After more than 12 years as Villa Maria’s GM Winemaking, Master of Wine Alastair Maling is moving on.

He will take up a new role with Foley Family Wines, who own the labels Grove Mill, Sacntuary, Clifford Bay and Vavasour among others.

His replacement is Nic Picone, who has been with Villa for 18 years. During that time he has won numerous awards for his winemaking skills, including New Zealand Winemaker of the Year and Australasia Young Winemaker of the Year. Just last year he was listed in an international selection of 30 winemakers under the age of 40 to watch, by Drinks Business UK.

Nic Picone

A Return For Smith

Re-Branding

Steve Smith, MW, is to return this year to the Hawke’s Bay A & P Bayleys Wine Awards judging panel. Director of Wine and Viticulture for Craggy Range, Smith helped establish the event – New Zealand’s oldest and largest regional awards -- 15 years ago. He led the judging panel for five years. A first-time judge in the Hawke’s Bay awards, John Belsham will be bringing his years of experience as panel judging chair of the Air New Zealand Wine Awards to the role, and leading Australian winemaker and international judge Mark Robertson will also be helping appraise the 400-plus entries expected for the event. The awards dinner is to be held on 20 October at the Hawke’s Bay A & P Showgrounds in Hastings.

Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers has launched a new branding – a stylised image designed to achieve greater recognition for the region on the national and international stage.

Representing some 75 wineries and 145 growers, Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers collaborated with the board of Hawke’s Bay Marketing in developing the new umbrella branding.

The circular image tells the story of Hawke’s Bay as a region of diverse terroirs and wine styles, with five differently coloured threads symbolising the Tukituki, Ngaruroro, Tutaekuri, Esk and Mohaka rivers that flow eastward across the Bay to the Pacific Ocean.

It can also be seen to incorporate the concept of yin and yang, with balance and harmony attained in the union of apparently contrasting elements.

Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers chairman says members agreed that the rivers were a major part of their story and they also considered the idea of Hawke’s Bay as a region of contrasts to be appropriate.

8 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

WAIRARAPA

Replanting Not For Faint Hearted

MARLBOROUGH MJ Loza Heads to North America Accolade Wines NZ is losing its head of operations, as MJ Loza takes over the role of General Manager of North America. His appointment will support the company’s strategic goal to maximize New Zealand brand growth opportunities in the North American market. Loza who has a career history in management and export marketing with Fonterra and Deer Industry New Zealand, was the CEO of Marlborough based Mud House Wine Group when it was acquired by Accolade.

Prior to that he had been the GM of Seresin Estate.

Ten hectares of Sauvignon Blanc vines are being replaced with Pinot Noir at Murdoch James Estate in Martinborough in a move that will cost the winery over $300,000.

“This is not a decision for the faint hearted. Not only is there a significant cost involved; we also had to accept it can take up to five years for the new vines to return a full crop,” says Murdoch James Estate founder, Roger Fraser.

The decision to replace over 25,000 vines, which represent 25% of the winery’s plants, was made after the acquisition of two new vineyards, one of which had large Sauvignon Blanc plantings.

Winemaker, Carl Fraser (son of Roger), says the replanting will provide him and his family the opportunity to capitalise on planting the most suitable clones of Pinot Noir for the conditions.

The current plantings include the established Abel clone and the recently identified clone 943.

“It all sounds a bit technical, but what it translates to is choosing the very best of what is now available. Abel is a key ingredient of the most highly noted Martinborough wines, while Dr Raymond Bernard, known as the “father of clonal selection” in the vineyards of Burgundy, was recently quoted as saying “clone 943 should be regarded as a the next big step forward for Pinot Noir.”

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER // 9

POWDERY UPDATE

CONTROLLING POWDERY MILDEW TESSA NICHOLSON

I

f there is one issue that has got growers scratching their heads – it is the influx of powdery mildew. Most regions in New Zealand suffered from it this year, some more than others. At the recent NZW Grape Days, the issue was discussed in great length. With Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay having suffered in the past three years, it was Marlborough’s turn in 2015 to come under the hammer. As Stuart McLagen from Delegat told the Grape Day audience in Marlborough, the region is “locked and loaded” if growers don’t get on top of the issue early on this coming season.

“If we get another year (in 2016) with the right conditions, the fuse will be lit and if we don’t control it very early, we are going to be in trouble.”

To understand how to control powdery, you need to understand how the pathogen works, Trevor Lupton from Lewis Wright Valuation and Consultancy says.

As most people now know, there are two types of powdery.

One the asexual type, which has been in New Zealand for more than 100 years. It over winters in buds infected the previous spring and produces flagshoots in the next spring . It is the flagshoots which produce spores to start the infection cycle for the next season.

Type 2 is sexual, which gives the pathogen genetic diversity.

It over winters as Chasmothecia, releasing acospores in spring.

“One of the key things about this guy, is its genetic diversity and the risk of resistance management with the modern single

site fungicides if they are not used properly,” he said.

Condition wise, powdery infection is favoured by warm days, temperatures between 20 and 28 degrees. It loves low ultra violet light, which means it develops on the inside of vines. It enjoys high humidity – but not rain.

“So it develops faster in warm springs and warmer regions, and areas with dry seasons,” Lupton said.

In terms of when the vine is most at risk, Lupton said berries become resistant to attack three to five weeks after fruit set.

“Probably five weeks in our maritime environment.”But the rachis remains susceptible.

Leaves are highly susceptible at 50 percent maximum size, then they become a little more toler-

Leaves are highly susceptible at 50% maximum size.

10 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

ant – although never immune to attack.

“So it’s important to protect the leaf, particularly in the pre flowering period, because that is the source of the infection onto the berries. Therefore bunch-line spraying isn’t an option with powdery.”

Spray intervals need to be carefully considered. In research undertaken in Gisborne, Lupton said the growers who managed to control powdery had closed up their spray intervals.

“They closed them up to seven to 10 day intervals particularly over flowering to bunch closure.

Gone were the 10 – 14 or 14 – 21 days with DMIs.” Water rates have also changed, he mentioned. In the past, rates had dropped to 250 litres a hectare, on three metre rows.

“It is more common now to see 450 to 500 litres a hectare. That is not to say that you can’t do it with 250 – 300 using a super wetter, but in my mind, water rates hide a thousand sins. You get a bit of wind and coverage becomes more difficult, once your water rates get down.”

Those having success in controlling powdery in Gisborne were also using a higher rate of sulphur per hectare.

“So on a three metre wide row they were using four to five kg a hectare. Historically they had been using three.”

Lupton said in Australia, it was common to see six kg a hectare used, and he had wondered why.

“But remember they have been

working with Chasmothecia for 30 years now. So what is natural to them may have been a response to those conditions.”

As reported in earlier stories here in NZ Winegrower, the Gisborne growers who were having good control over powdery mildew were using lower numbers of DMIs. “The growers who were having problems were often using one or two DMIs over flowering and one or two in January. That was an observation of mine.”

So given Gisborne has been a hot seat for powdery mildew infection, Lupton along with David Manktelow started looking at growers who were suffering to see if they could see any patterns emerging.

Two growers involved had suffered severe powdery in 2014. So severe that the crops were either rejected or 20 to 50 percent had to

Powdery mildew in the flagshoots of a vine.

be cut prior to harvest.

In 2015, the percentage of bunches infected in those exact vineyards had dropped to between

0.4 percent and 2.3 percent. Lupton says this shows that powdery mildew is a management issue and it can be managed in just one

season.

But how? That is the question many growers will be asking as we prepare for budburst 2015.

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“The key change was the sprayer set up,” he says. “We dropped the DMIs. We could possibly have got away with one, but I would have liked to mix it with sulphur.

“We also mixed protectants with eradicants during the season.

There were some minor changes to the canopy (opening it up) to ensure we got spray coverage. But the overall thing about controlling powdery mildew was about the coverage and getting that sprayer set up right.”

Also growers need to take into account their own individual vineyard, what the row widths are and whether or not they are adjusting their water rates to fit their row width and/or length.

“The label rates we work on were developed around three metre rows and 1000 litres of water a hectare. We have worked from that and said, modern sprayers don’t need 1000 litres, we can get away with 300 or 400 litres a hectare.

“But we have also gone to

the situation where more than 50 percent of our vineyards are less than 2.5 metre row widths.

So we have to think about adjusting our product rate per hectare to suit.

“If you have been using 400 litres per hectare for 3 metre row, then you need 500 litres per hectare for a 2.4 metre row.”

The same applies to sulphur rates.

“If you were using 5kg of sulphur for 3 metre rows, you need to up that to 6.25 kg for 2.4 metre

rows.”

And his final advice?

Never use a single site fungicide as an eradicant or on an established powdery mildew infection.

Use a durable such as sulphur.

“One thing we have done historically which we should never do again, is use two DMIs back to back seven days apart. If you want to build a research population (of powdery mildew) with great resistance, that’s a good way to do it. But don’t do it in your vineyard.” ■

This shows the exponential growth of powdery mildew. It can go from one spore to 50 million within a three week period if the conditions are right.

12 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

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Excellent spray distribution.

Kumulus DF dissolves rapidly in water to form a stable, easily-maintained suspension.

Dust-free mixing.

Ten times larger particles than dust or ground sulphur powders means cleaner handling.

Improved adherence.

Kumulus DF contains a spreader/ sticker for excellent adherance and rainfastness.

Organic Certication.

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ORGANIC CONFERENCE

THE ORGANIC WINE MARKET STEVE GREEN – CARRICK WINES

M

y family lives in the middle of our vineyard, so the vineyard environment is also our environment, it is also our winery environment, our restaurant and cellar door environment. It is where we work, live and play.

The dirt that grows the vines also grows our’s and the restaurant vegetables. The condition of our soils and what goes onto the vineyard impacts on everyone and everything around us so it is

14 //

understandable and not surprising that we have chosen to be organic.

It is easy to justify and support growing organic grapes and making organic wines, what is much more difficult, is to get an understanding of the consumers rationale or acceptance for buying organic wines.

We all need a sustainable business model and understanding, who buys organic wines and why they make that choice helps inform our decisions around mar-

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

keting and selling our wines.

The organic movement grew from a concern with the environment, a concern that included unease around the use of pesticides and herbicides in agriculture and just where they may finish up – in the food we eat as well as the potential long term effects on us, our children and the world in which we live.

So… it is well documented that the interest and market for organic market for food is growing. Some

of the insights gained in this market can act as a background and be helpful in looking at the market for organic wine.

A research study (in the US) identified key groups involved in buying organic products.

Two shopper key groups account for about half of organic sales.

There are the ‘true believers’the “whole food people” if you like.

They earn good money, are well educated and buy organic produce

Steve Green

because they believe it is better, and more healthy for them and their children.

The other key shopper group is the ‘enlightened environmentalists’. While this segment will include some of the ‘true believers’ they are driven by a belief that organic products are better for the environment, more sustainable and that they should buy organic

because of that. Organic wine buyers probably fit into this group.

Organics can appeal to other groups– “the strapped seekers or the careful buyers” – who are always looking to try new products to compliment a healthy lifestyle. This group may always buy some products such as organic baby food but because they don’t, unfortunately, have a high discretionary income they are willing to compromise on other products.

Then there are the healthy realists who aren’t committed to organic products but will purchase them if they see them as a reasonable option.

And there are the indifferent traditionalists – don’t expect them to seek out organic products but they will buy if they like the product. They might even remain loyal if you capture them. This group may be important to us in the wine

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business because they are likely to be the group that understands wine, have a discerning palate and are likely to be enduring supporters if they like a wine.

And who won’t buy organics?

Well they’re called the resistant non- believers. Don’t spend your marketing dollar on them.

Another trend that helps us understand the appeal of organics is that there is an explosion of interest in craft or authentic food products. The slow food movement, craft beer and artisan wines are illustrations of this. These are products or choices that speak clearly of their origins, place and their makers. There is an element of scarcity and difference. These products are desirable and are sought after by people who have the ability to support and pay for their wishes. At the other end of the same market there is also

an explosion in the cheaper private labels, the Pams, Signature labels of the super market world -“food for less,”and the ubiquitous, generic wine labels often to be found in the specials bin of the super market The UK Financial Times recently reported on how different groups of consumers are moving to both extremities of the market, one group supporting the Pams labels the other (more well heeled, better educated group) supporting these craft or artisan products. This is an important group for organic wine producers to target as organic wines clearly fit within the parameters of the craft or authentic food products, Let’s now talk about marketing organic wines. What is the understanding and acceptance of organics in the wine market? Who buys organic wine, why, and how

Chris Wise D (09) 259 4845 M 021 393 350 E chris.wise@panprint.co.nz

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 15

important is it that the product is organic in the wine purchasers decision making?

Research tells us that the main driver of the majority of buyer decisions is price. After price comes a variety of reasons – country and regionality are high as is the grape variety. Brand awareness is important and the attractiveness of the label. The closure counts, as does apparently the bottle shape (and weight), and the name of the wine.

So where does this put our bottle of Kiwi organic wine?

On the face of it well down the totem pole.

Or is it?

Let’s segment the wine market. We’re not in the price driven space. We never will be. But neither is much of the New Zealand offering. New Zealand is the highest priced country category in the UK, second in USA, second in Australia. And our varietals are pretty well respected - be they Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah or Chardonnay. And screw caps (if they’re associated with a New Zealand brand) have international acceptance – and consumers like them.

So we organic producers are at the high end of the market and while there are advantages there are responsibilities To start with, organic wines need to be more than just organic. They must be wines of quality, organic adds another dimension.

Quality gives us a great start, but we need to clearly demonstrate that organic wine is great wine, we need to present it in such a manner that is smart, desirable and authentic.

And the buyers at that end of the market are informed, they know a bit about wine. We are probably skewed towards on premise, and the buyers there know a lot about wine. All to our advantage.

The next market segment to

16 //

consider concerns consumer age.

Young people are far more likely to be interested in organic wine.

A step further – 65% of 21 -34 year olds have indicated an interest in natural wines according to a January survey of wine drinkers conducted by Nielson.

Why are young people interested in organic and natural wines?

And why are they important to us?

Well they start off as strapped seekers – want the healthy lifestyle but don’t have the income. They are also concerned about their environment – those enlightened environmentalists. Again they don’t necessarily have the income to support the purchases that they would like to make but they will if they can and …..they are young, their economic circumstances will change, and they are our future market. We produce an authentic product that suits their aspirations and beliefs and we need to engage with them to ensure they understand what we do and what we have to offer.

The final market segment that I want to discuss is location. Buyer location.

In Cuisine an article noted that anecdotally consumers buying in wine shops in New Zealand did not primarily buy on organics. If you have the ability to tell your story through your web site or cellar door and can sell directly to the public you may have a more positive experience.These are probably important routes to market for organic producers.

In Canada, we learned last year from the LCBO, that there is growing interest in organic wine and wine made with sustainable practices. Sweden has called specifically for organic wine and in New Zealand we are seeing growing interest in organic wine from restaurants and informed consumers. From our experience at Carrick, we are now making sales because our wines are organic. ■

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Carrick in Central Otago.

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY NZW.

OUR PLACE IN GLOBAL ORGANICS TESSA NICHOLSON

J

ust where in the world does New Zealand wine stand organically? As Organic Winegrowing New Zealand (OWNZ) heads towards their target of 20 percent of the country’s vineyards being organically certified by 2020, how much do we need to grow?

These have been difficult questions to answer until the recent Organic and Biodynamic Winegrowing Conference, held in Marlborough in July. But with figures from renowned biodynamic author Monty Waldin and Jared White BioGro’s Audit Manager, we now have a better idea.

According to Waldin, the growth of organics in New Zealand has been replicated throughout most of the winegrowing regions of the world. Back in 2007, just two percent of the global vineyards were organic. In 2013, that had risen to just over five percent.

Europe is home to 23 percent of the world’s organic vineyards, with 73 percent of the world’s organically managed vineyards based in Spain, Italy and France.

Waldin says that has a lot to do with the EU subsidies to convert agricultural production from conventional to organic.

Back home in New Zealand there are no such subsidies.

Winegrowers here are making the move to organics because they believe in it. And there has been dramatic growth in the past two decades.

Jarred White

For example between 1989 and 1999, only six growers with a total of 54 hectares of vineyard were certified organic. All had their own wineries to produce organic wine.

Jarred White says compare that with 2007 when there were 20 certified growers (covering around 225 ha) and 11 certified wineries.

Move ahead to 2015 and now there are 165 certified vineyards (covering around 1900 ha), and 69 certified wineries. Many of the country’s largest producers are now owners of organic vineyards with many more going through conversion. These are not just small boutique, family owned

wineries in out of the way places.

They include the likes of Villa Maria, Giesen, Pernod Ricard, Cloudy Bay and Treasurey Wine Estate to name a few.

In total New Zealand has 5.4 percent of its total vineyard certified organic, which makes us one of the world’s leaders. In terms of regions, it is Central Otago that is by far and away delivering the organic message, with 16.1 percent of all planted vineyards certified. Wairarapa comes in second with 11.5 percent and Nelson/Tasman third with 11.4.

(See graph p18).

Whether or not there is a premium for organic wines (and/ or biodynamic wines) is harder to quantify White says. But if you look at other producers, there are considerable premiums being paid if the product is organic.

• Kiwifruit – in the last few years organic Hayward fruit has achieved a 34 percent premium.

Gold Kiwifruit pays $2.00 above non organic • Pipfruit premiums vary between 20 and 60 percent. In some exceptional years it has been 100 percent premium over non organic pipfruit • Fonterra pays $1.50 above the current milk solids price,

Total

Organic

Percentage

Growers

833

104

12.5%

Wineries

69

69

9.9%

“Total” Figures from NZWinegrowers 2014. “Organic” figures from BioGro NZ.

which equates to a 33 percent premium • Lamb is consistently receiving between 20 and 60 percent premium for organic – sometimes more So why not wine?

“Wine is more difficult to quantify because of the quality variable,” White says. “You are a particularly unique industry as you can be growing a $10 bottle of wine, or a $60 bottle of wine, so it’s not an easy thing to quantify.”

However, two speakers at the conference issued an invitation to delegates for fruit supply, and indicated that they were willing to pay a premium over nonorganic fruit prices

Max Allen

So what is happening in Australia? Award winning wine author Max Allen says export figures show sales of organic and biodynamic wines from Australia have doubled in the last three years, admittedly from a small base.

“But as you know, Australian wine exports are not doubling every three years, so this is a

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 17

growth export figure that is unusual.”

Given the average FOB price for Australian wine exports is $2.60, the price for organic and biodynamic are outstanding.

“The average FOB price per

litre of organic wine is $5. The average FOB price for certified biodynamic wine is $13,” Allen says.

“This brings us into the premium bottle wine territory of the Barossa or McLaren Vale.”

W h i l e t h e o v e r- r i d i n g message is that the wines are worth a premium, all speakers at the conference reiterated, that those premiums will only come if the wine is of quality. Simply having organic or biodynamic

on the label is not enough for consumers.

You have to ensure that what is in the bottle is a product that will have consumers coming back for more. ■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

The following graph was supplied by BioGro and is based on 2015 figures.

Planted Total

Organic

Percentage

Marlborough

22.903

1115

4.9

Central Otago

1179

318

16.1

Nelson/Tasman

1115

127

11.4

Wairarapa

997

115

11.5

Hawke’s Bay

4816

85

1.8

Canterbury/Waipara

1462

71

4.8

Gisborne

1602

51

3.2

Auckland/North

416

19

4.5

Waikato/BOP

23

6

TOTAL

35,313

1906

18 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

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CONTROLLING BOTRYTIS ORGANICALLY TESSA NICHOLSON

I

t is hard to quantify just how much botrytis infection costs the New Zealand wine industry. Needless to say, it is substantial, which makes controlling it a priority of on-going research.

Dr Philip Elmer, senior scientist at Lincoln University, is one of those researchers, concentrating on biological control systems.

At this stage in New Zealand there are 10 products available to organic growers, with five of those being biological control agents (BCAs). And while most are proving their worth in the vineyard, Elmer is quick to point out they also require a whole system approach if they are to deliver efficacy.

At the recent Organic and Biodynamic Winegrowing conference, Elmer highlighted how you can get the most out of your

BCAs, and had some sage advice.

Number one – you need to open up your canopy.

“Canopy management is one of the cornerstones for the successful use of biological controls and natural products,” he said. “As part of the Grape Futures Project we listed that as the most important non chemical strategy for managing botrytis in vineyards. It is widely adopted now and is based on shoot thinning, bunch and leaf zone removal, vine trimming, bunch thinning and mechanical removal of aborted fruitlets and floral debris, which we refer to as bunch trash.”

As part of the research project, Elmer used a Collard to blow the trash from the bunches.

“We were able to bring the crop loss in Chardonnay down from 21 percent (where we did nothing) to 13 percent crop loss, just by going

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20 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

through with the Collard system and blowing that floral trash out of the bunches.”

That reduction increased even further, when blowing floral trash out was combined with mechanical leaf removal. Crop loss when both were undertaken, dropped to 6 percent.

Removing trash is one of the biggest deterrents of botrytis Elmer said, because it gets rid of the early season botrytis inoculum.

“In trashy clones of Chardonnay, where you get an abundance of necrotic caps and aborted fruitlets, it becomes a nirvana for a pathogen like botrytis. It is their food base. We know when it gets established on those caps early and on the aborted fruitlets, we get an even greater supply of botrytis that can sit inside the developing bunches. This provides the

inoculum for all those early season latent infections, the green rot you occasionally see during mid season rain, and bunch rot at harvest.”

Another form of opening the canopy up is to graze sheep among the vines.

In some cases where the munching habits of sheep were utilized, 93 percent fruit exposure was achieved.

“Some of you might say that is too high. But at berry pea size, sheep were very effective. Just don’t leave them in there too long.”

Secondly, Elmer says you need to ensure you have the correct set up for sprayers.

“It is almost as if the success of the biological and natural products, begins and ends here.”

He says 80 percent good coverage of the surfaces will ensure there is good control.

“It always comes as a surprise at how poorly some of these sprayers are performing. You need water sensitive papers to show whether or not the spray is reaching the target.

“At the end of the day, how well biological or natural products work does not reside with the vineyard manager or the winery owner. It resides with the guy on the tractor.”

Mixing up your modes of action is another suggestion he has.

“I would suggest you do not rely on one single mode of action, or one natural or biological control. It does pay to mix them up.”

There are a number of inexpensive products that can compliment BCAs. One such product, which the researchers have been trialing, is calcium.

“We know that if we can get significant increases in calcium content, it can reduce botrytis in

grapes, although it does depend on the variety. It can be used as an additive to increase the efficacy of the biological control agents.”

In trials that began in the lab, then moved onto potted vines, small plot trials and finally grower based trials, the use of calcium reduced the botrytis levels significantly.

“We used Biomin C and put three applications on. Some growers actually only put two on, although our early research had shown that four would be best.

“Basically they were applied at 14 day intervals and the average reduction across these blocks was about 48 percent. We have not yet combined Biomin C with our biological and natural products. That is something we still have to do.”

Some seaweed products have also shown good results when used with a biological control.

But Elmer says there is a caveat

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Another method proven to dramatically reduce botrytis levels is mechanical thinning or shaking. (See NZ Winegrower issue 92, Shaken Not Dropped).

In summary Elmer said if you are using biological or natural products, you have to take a whole systems There is too much yellow on this paper, showing approach. how little of the spray has ‘We do have to give actually reached the target. them a hand at times.

Modifying the canopy low disease pressure conditions, is the simplest way of doing that. as opposed to having to blast epiWe know they (BCAs and natu- demics.” ■ ral products) work better under tessa.nicholson@me.com

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MANAGING NITROGEN TESSA NICHOLSON

A

t the recent Organic and Biodynamic Winegrowing Conference, Dr Charles Merfield from BHU Future Farming Centre, described nitrogen as “the joker in the pack” of 92 elements.

Why a joker? Because while it is all around us, very little of it can be used by plants.

While nitrogen makes up 80% of the atmosphere, plants can’t

absorb it atmospherically. They can only absorb it via the soil.

“It can only get into a living thing through fixation by a very small number, literally a couple of handfuls, of bacteria and proteobacteria,” Merfield said.

In simple terms, atmospheric nitrogen is turned into reactive nitrogen within the soil by the above mentioned bacteria.

“The first form is ammonia and

that is very quickly converted into ammonium. That is the really good form of nitrogen in the soil. It is available to plants to pick it up and it binds very tightly to the soil so it doesn’t leach.

“But ammonium is also then converted by bacteria into nitrites and nitrates.”

It is the nitrates that are the baddy in this equation of life for nitrogen. They do not bind to the soil

A nitrogen deficient vine – shows yellowing of leaves.

and can be easily washed away, or leached out of the soil and end up in waterways – not a good thing whether you are an organic grower or not.

So how do you go about stabilising or increasing nitrogen to assist your vines. Given in organics you can’t use inorganic or imported nitrogen fertilizer, the options are foliar sprays, compost, or cover crops.

Compost first. While it is a renowned soil conditioner, Merfield warned compost is not the best source of nitrogen.

“The main nitrogen compound in living things is protein,” he said.

“But protein only contains a small amount of nitrogen – about 6%.

So it’s effectively impossible to have a biological organic fertilizer (such as compost) that contains more than 6% nitrogen. In total, compost provides only one or two percent total nitrogen and there is a shed load more potassium and phosphorus. So if you are using compost to supply nitrogen, you will be overdosing on P and K and a number of other nutrients as well.

However it is a very good soil conditioner and has a number of other benefits.”

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Foliar sprays.

Well these are extremely handy at the beginning of spring when nitrogen deficiency is likely to be at its highest. When you need to get something into the vines and see a quick reaction, foliar sprays are the simple answer.

“But foliar sprays are expensive and not all sprays are equal.”

Merfield suggested you may need to check research results to ensure you are getting what you want and ask for advice from someone who knows what they are talking about.

So if compost and foliar sprays don’t provide long-term answers, what other options are there? Creating your own nitrogen source through nitrogen fixing crops such as clover is one answer.

The best thing about crops is they can be removed before they create too much growth Merfield said.

“We can plant clover or other nitrogen fixing species for three or four months. That fixes enough nitrogen and then we can kill them off. So that way we have the ability to manipulate the amount of nitrogen we have in the vineyard.

A bit like if you were applying it as a fertilizer – you can turn the taps on and off again.”

However there is a caveat here – and that is that you have to be careful of timing with cover crops.

If the soil temperature is below

about 8 Deg C, nitrogen fixing bacteria are inactive – it’s too cold for their chemistry to work.

“That means there is very little nitrogen fixing happening in the middle of winter. This is why we have nitrogen deficiency in spring, because the soil is cold from winter, yet the vines have their head in the warming atmosphere and are growing hard. However the bugs can’t operate to supply the nitrogen through the root system.”

Nitrogen catching crops are another way of building up the levels in your soil. These crops effectively grab the nitrates from the soil, before it leaches out from rain. Mustard or cereals are great catch crops Merfield said.

“But it is no use sowing these

things when autumn is here, the soils are already draining. They need to be well established, so you need to be sowing them in summer so they have good solid roots on them when the water does start moving downwards, so they can grab the nitrates.”

Whether the best place to plant those crops is under the vine or inter row is something that requires a great deal more research Merfield suggested.

Undervine planting means nitrogen gets directly to where it is needed – the vine roots.

But there is always the issue of competition with the vines for water. How will you manage it when it comes time to remove, under vine cultivation? If so how will this affect the soil?

Inter row crops have less interaction with the vine roots, but they provide a low cost, easily maintained alternative. You can mow the crops easily, and even use the cuttings as a mulch if you can blow it back under the vines. Inter rows are also a good site to plant catch crops.

Regardless of which way you decide to go, Merfield warned there is no one crop fits all vineyard scenarios. He suggested that you trial any crop on a small part of your vineyard before taking it any further.

“Unfortunately the options and permutations are legion and often highly site specific, especially in viticulture. There is no one recipe for every vineyard.” ■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

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VINEYARD NEWS

HERBICIDE RESISTANCE TESSA NICHOLSON

H

as herbicide resistance led to a breed of super weeds? That was one of the questions being asked at the recent NZW Grape Days. For AgResearch’s Dr Trevor James, the growth of resistant weeds throughout the world is a major concern, and should be of concern to New Zealand grape growers.

Prior to WWII, the only form of weed control was manual – in some cases it was back breaking work. But with the emergence of herbicides after the war, that work became a lot easier – spray a product onto the weeds and kill them

straight off.

By the 1970s a new non-residual herbicide appeared on the market and was deemed as a lifesaver – for humans, not weeds. It was glyphosate.

While it was originally deadly to weeds, the weeds are now having the final say. In just 40 years, 258 species have become resistant to glyphosate, it no longer kills them. In New Zealand we have 12 glyphosate resistant species, and three of them are not only resistant to glyphosate, they have resistance to multiple chemicals.

James explained that herbi-

cide resistance is an evolutionary process, resulting from repeated exposure to the same or similar herbicide.

“It provides a selection pressure, so we get one or more genes mutating. So when all the other plants are killed, that one remains and propagates – eventually causing an infestation.”

There are two forms of resistance; translocation which can be insidious. In other words the level of herbicide you use this year may need to be a little bit more than last, and you will require even more next year. The resistance creeps up

Individual glyphosate resistant plants multiply and become patches of resistant weeds, as can be seen here around the vines.

PHOTO CHRIS PRESTON, UNIV ADELAIDE.

26 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

slowly.

The other form of resistance is interference at the target site. This type of resistance is instantaneous.

One day the chemical will kill the plant, the next day the plant is resistant.

Ryegrass resistance is well documented in New Zealand, but what about other weeds? Are there any that should concern us?

James said fleabanes have become resistant in 11 countries.

We have species of fleabane in New Zealand, the wavy-leaved and the broad-leaved.

“These are tall growing plants that would interfere with your vines,” James said. “Additionally they have wind borne seeds. So if they become resistant they would spread to other places much more quickly than ryegrass will spread.”

Grasses that have become resistant in other countries include; crowfoot grass, summer grass and the annual poa, a winter grass. Broadleaf weeds such as amaranth have become resistant overseas.

“We have prostrate amaranth, a low growing one which is often resistant to mowing. We also have green and purple amaranth which are taller growing and the very tall growing redroot.

“In Australia sow thistles have become resistant to glyphosate. We have two here, the ordinary sow thistle and the prickly sow thistle. Again these have wind borne seeds.”

So where to from here? James said we can chose to use another

chemical other than glyphosate, which could solve the problem.

“But a word of caution on how we might use the new chemical.

Clethodim is well suited to control ryegrasses. But in 2005 in both the US and Chile, Italian ryegrass became resistant to clethodim.

A year later in Chile it was resistant to clethodim and glyphosate – and then another year later it had become resistant to at least seven herbicides.”

In other words, don’t rely on new chemicals to take over from glyphosate completely.

James said if you currently don’t have glyphosate resistance, protect that situation. Rotate the herbicide usage, choosing ones with a different mode of action.

“Try and get some cultural weed control in place, just to give the herbicide a spell.”

And if you have sprayed and discovered not all the weeds have died,

remove them manually. Don’t let them breed.

“My assessment of the situation here is that ongoing herbicide use is possibly not sustainable, certainly if you don’t put some of these things into place.”

For those who have glyphosate resistant weeds, James said a different management plan is necessary.

“Clethodim might be there for example, but certainly it’s not a long-term option. Cultural weed control is always a good option when there is resistance, and again scout for escapes and remove them immediately.”

The over riding message from James’ and other guest speakers regarding herbicide use was; If you are on to a good thing, don’t stick with it. Mix it up, otherwise you could be facing some pretty tough times in the vineyard in the years to come. ■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

THE DOUBLE KNOCK TECHNIQUE While New Zealand now has 12 glyphosate resistant species of weed, Australia has been dealing with close to 40. The impact of that resistance has led to a Glyphosate Sustainability Working Group being established. James Sabeeney from Sygenta is part of that group and told the recent Grape Days audiences that one of the most valuable tactics employed by growers in Australia has been the double knock technique.

“What is it? It is any two weed control methods being applied to the same weed in close succession,” he said. “Originally that was a non-selective herbicide like Glyphosate or Preeglone, followed by cultivation. However people didn’t want to cultivate, they didn’t see it as being sustainable to the soil. So they moved to two non selective herbicides in succession. Typically that is Glyphosate followed by Preeglone three to seven days later. Or Buster followed by Buster. Generally though, you need two different modes of action to give good resistant management.

“The analogy here is a boxing one. You put in the left hand jab first and follow up by a knock-out blow. That is exactly what these two modes of action are doing. The first one weakens the plant, makes its knees wobble, and the next one knocks it to the canvas. So it works extremely effectively.

It incorporates both modes of action and you can see a whole range of other benefits around better weed control, exploiting the key strengths.”

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 27

VINEYARD NEWS

PROTECT THAT WOUND TESSA NICHOLSON

A

s New Zealand’s vineyards gain in age, the risk of them being affected by trunk disease increases.

Whether they are cordon pruned or cane pruned, all vines are susceptible to a range of diseases that will eventually kill them if nothing is done.

The two major diseases are eutypa and botryosphaeria dieback. Both occur when fungal spores infect vines through pruning wounds. The spores can be spread by wind or rain splash, and given they can survive on dead wood, infected vine prunings can be a source of infection.

South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) scientist Dr Mark Sosnowski often refers to trunk diseases as the “silent assassins” of the vine world. That’s because they are doing their damage quietly and effectively without providing any visual indications. In other words your vines could be suffering from some form of trunk disease and you wouldn’t know it because there is nothing to see - for the first few years at least.

In a joint research project between NZW and SARDI, Sosnowski and Plant and Food scientist Dion Mundy have been researching trunk diseases in both Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay. In 2013 they surveyed 697 vineyards spread across the two districts.

Each vineyard was visited, with 200 random vines looked at, in an effort to assess whether there were foliar symptoms of eutypa dieback and general dieback. “ We c e r t a i n l y f o u n d foliar symptoms of eutypa dieback in Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough, although the

28 //

incidence was relatively low.”

It was a different story when it came to general dieback.

“Dieback is much more concerning. We found vines as young as four years old with dieback in a cordon pruned vine.

At least two spurs had dieback on one arm. We know that from the time a vine gets infected through the pruning wound until you see a symptom, can be anywhere from three to eight years. So you can imagine on a four or five year old vine, that infection must have happened on the first or second year of pruning.”

While this proves any vine of any age can be affected, Sosnowski says there is a tipping point when vines all of a sudden become more vulnerable – between 15 and 20 years of age.

From the research here in New Zealand many of the vineyards with 15-year-old vines had 50 percent infection – some with 20-year-old vines had 80 percent.

(See above).

“We see that in Australia in a more serious way, where vineyards of 20 years have 100 percent infection.”

Cordon versus cane pruning There has been a lot of

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

discussion about whether one or the other is more at risk of trunk disease. Sosnowski says they have compared the two methods and at first glance it appears that cordon pruned vines are the more susceptible.

“The incidence of infection in cordon pruned vines in most varieties was significantly higher, but we have to be careful of this.

The reality is that the age of the vines in the survey was in the 10 to 20 year period. And what a French study comparing the same thing has shown, is that before 20 years of age they saw a lot more symptoms in cordon pruned vines, than they did in cane pruned vines.

“Then the French study reported that over 20 years of age, cane pruned vines had a greater mortality rate. So they were just dropping dead without showing any symptoms.

“So it doesn’t mean that cane pruned vines are more resilient or less likely to be infected.

It just means that you are not going to be able to see the symptoms before the vines start to die.

And in reality, the cane pruned vine will probably die first, just because you didn’t see the symptoms, so you didn’t do anything about it.”

Why is Sauvignon Blanc more susceptible?

That is the question many Marlborough growers will be asking. And it’s a good question Mark Sosnowski says, although it’s hard to provide an answer. “ We d o n ’ t c o m p l e t e l y understand why, we just know that when we compare it with other varieties it is the most susceptible visually and when we inoculate the vine. It is probably physiological and has to do with the vine’s cell structure.”

He says according to recent research by student Jessica Hamblin at the University of Adelaide, Sauvignon Blanc has been shown to have large xylem vessels when compared to some of the more tolerant varieties. It is easier for the fungus to grow through it.

“Then there are other natural biochemical reactions going on in a vine, which we are finding less of in Sauvignon Blanc than we are in say Merlot which is more tolerant of the disease.”

It is one of the areas of research Sosnowski is planning to follow up. He will also undertake further research into the susceptibility or tolerance of certain clones and rootstocks.

Prevention – cheaper than curing You need to prevent the disease getting in in the first place, Sosnowski says. That means you need to protect all pruning wounds, as soon as possible.

“The susceptibility of those wounds decreases over time, but it can be up to four to six weeks before it decreases.”

You can either manually paint the wounds with a protectant or spray the vines. That has proved effective in Australia and on trials here at home.

But there are other more cultural ways of preventing the disease from striking.

Given the spores are dispersed during rainfall, avoid pruning in the rain.

Remove all old wood from the vineyard – spores can also be transferred by wind, meaning

you are also at risk from vines and other hosts around the district.

Choose the time you prune.

There is some thought that by pruning later in the season, when the sap begins to flow, susceptibility decreases.

reoccurring than cuts made lower down the trunk.

Remember that the fungus in general grows downwards – not up.

And if all else fails, you may have to remove the vine completely – which is why prevention is by far

the best and most economical solution. Sosnowski says, research is currently underway with the Australian Grape and Wine Authority to determine if reworking vines can also control botryosphaeria dieback. ■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

Choices if you already have trunk disease.

The eutypa fungus can grow at a rate of 50mm a year, so the sooner you get on to removing the infected parts of the vine, the better.

If you are going to cut out the infected area, cut at least 10 cm below the infected wood if possible to ensure no residual fungus is left.

Cut back to allow water shoots to grow, replacing the original vine. Australian research has shown if you cut too high up the trunk, there is more likelihood of the fungus

Classic signs of trunk disease.

PHOTO DION MUNDY

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 29

INDUSTRY NEWS

NICK NOBILO HONOURED TESSA NICHOLSON

N

ick Nobilo’s enthusiasm for Gewürztraminer knows no bounds, nor does his passion for the New Zealand wine industry.

Which is why he was so deserving of a Queen’s Birthday honour this year.

Nobilo was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to the wine industry, after a career that has spanned 54 years.

The Nobilo name is synonymous with the emergence of wine in this country, with Nick’s father establishing the House of Nobilo back in 1944. Initially the company

was producing fortified wines, but that quickly changed in the 1960s when the family began producing table wines from classic vinifera varietals. Pinotage, Cabernet, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay were basically unknown in New Zealand at the time, although it wasn’t long before other companies began following the Nobilo path. The very first commercial production of New Zealand Gewurztraminer came out of the House of Nobilo in 1972, and has remained a staunch favourite for Nick every since.

As a wine maker, he has been a trailblazer. He is credited with being the first winemaker in New

NEW ERA H

e is renowned in New Zealand wine circles, not only for instigating the very first Pinot Noir Celebration, but also for being the face of Palliser Estate Wines of Martinborough. But Richard Riddiford is now retiring after 25 years at the helm.

Stepping into the role of Chief Executive Officer for Palliser Estate will be Pip Goodwin. She will assume her new role in September.

Currently serving as Associate Winemaker and Marketing Manager, Goodwin has a wealth of business and winemaking experience.

She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Graduate Diploma from the

30 //

University of Otago and has 10 years’ experience working as a Chartered Accountant and Management Consultant both in New Zealand and overseas.

In 2004 Goodwin completed a Postgraduate Diploma of Oenology and Viticulture at Lincoln University.

During her 10 years at Palliser, Goodwin has been largely involved in a winemaking role but has worked across all aspects of the business including environmental system management, sales and marketing and finance.

“Pip will bring a unique set of skills to Palliser with her accounting background and her winemaking and marketing skills,” said

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Zealand to use French oak barrels, originally for his 1973 Chardonnay.

Barrel fermentation was another new idea for many local winemakers.

In the 1990s it was a Nobilo Chardonnay that became the very first new world wine to be served

by British Airways on all its European flights.

By 2000, he was looking at

changing direction and sold The House of Nobilo to BRL Hardy.

This allowed him to dedicate himself to his favourite variety, Gewurztraminer, by setting up Vinoptima in Gisborne. The new company is single varietal – something that was again a first for New Zealand.

Congrats Nick, your honour is well deserved. ■

Pip Goodwin and retiring Richard Riddiford.

Riddiford. “The challenges of the wine industry will continue but with Pip at the helm we will be well placed to handle whatever

comes our way. There is an old saying that without change nothing stays the same. So onwards and upwards.” ■

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VINTAGE 2015

SMALL BUT STUNNING TESSA NICHOLSON

V

intage 2015 was 27 percent down on last year, and while wineries may be bemoaning the small yields they certainly aren’t unhappy about the quality.

With the final numbers in, this year’s vintage was 326,000 tonnes, 119,000 down on 2014. That will come as no surprise, given the difficult growing conditions many regions faced going into the summer.

With frosts, hail and even snow in parts of the country last spring, it was always expected that yields would be well down on the previous year. Although early estimates were that the drop would be around 100,000 tonnes less that the record 445,000 tonnes in 2014.

Those early expectations were found to be on the low side, for a number of reasons. One being the impact the drought experienced in Marlborough had on the berry size.

Another being the fact last year’s record highs may have placed a certain amount of carbohydrate stress on the vines going into last

32 //

year’s growing season.

NZWinegrower CEO Philip Gregan says the end result was in some ways a good thing, given no one was keen to see a repeat of last year’s record harvest.

“We didn’t think there would be an appetite for a large vintage this year, given there was so much still left over to draw down on,” he told the NZW Grape Day audiences.

While the 326,000 tonnes may seem to be a substantial drop from 2014, Gregan pointed out that when NZW do their forecast looking out, the base line they work on is nine tonnes per hectare. That was exactly what vintage 2015 produced, when averaged out across the country. (Last year yields were averaged out to 12tph).

“So we categorise this season as normal or light overall.”

But the yield swing of three tonnes per hectare is huge for people to have to deal with it he admitted.

“If you look at the last three years, the industry has been

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

through a real roller coaster. Last year the vintage was up 100,000 tonnes. This year it is down 119,000 tonnes.”

Not surprisingly, it was Marlborough that had the greatest drop, down 90,000 tonnes in total, or 30 percent. Eighty thousand tonnes of that was Sauvignon Blanc. The region produced 233,000 tonnes, compared with 329, 500 in 2014.

Every other region, with the exception of Gisborne also saw drops of close to 30 percent, although Waipara was even harder hit, with yields dropping by over 50 percent.

In total Marlborough produced 75 percent of the country’s grapes.

Hawkes Bay produced 12 percent, Gisborne 6 percent and the rest of the country 8 percent.

Sauvignon Blanc made up 69 percent of this year’s crop. Chardonnay was 9 percent, Pinot Noir 8 percent, Pinot Gris 6 percent and Merlot 3 percent.

It was Sauvignon and Pinot Noir that were the hardest hit when it came to yields, both down

around 30 percent. The only variety to show an increase was Chardonnay, on the back of a 6 percent rise in production this year in Gisborne.

So while yields are well down, Gregan says the quality of the fruit was extremely good. He said talking to winemakers in Marlborough, he had heard comments about it being the best vintage in four years, with one winemaker claiming it was the best in a decade. Those feelings have been reiterated throughout the country.

“The grapes came in in good condition and the wine is looking very good to excellent.”

So what does the lower harvest mean for the New Zealand wine industry? Gregan says the supply demand equation has been turned on its head.

“The supply demand balance has swung back to shortage at the moment. Wineries will try and manage that shortage as best they can. They will draw down on stock and will probably be hoping for an early 2016 vintage.”

There are other ramifications as well.

“Clearly grower’s incomes on average are going to be lower.

We will see bulk wine prices rise. They are currently sitting at around $5 a litre. We will see bulk imports rise and we will see New Zealand sales fall as wineries prioritise export markets over domestic markets. Bulk imports will replace New Zealand wine at home, generally in the lower price bracket, and volume growth and export growth will be constrained over the next few months.”

With sales growth having continued over the year ending June, Gregan says there will be an issue of meeting demand in the months

to come.

“If we take the production from this year’s vintage, 326,000 tonnes and convert that into wine, then take off what our forecast sales are over the next year – it shows a deficit of somewhere in the vicinity of 30 million litres. So we are going to sell, by our best forecast, about 30 million litres more wine than we produced out of this vintage. We can only do that by drawing down on the stocks that we have in hand from vintage 2014.”

However he is not encouraging growers or wineries to head into the next season with the aim of deliberately increasing yields. In fact he had a word of warning to the entire industry.

“We always need to remind ourselves that the reason there is high demand out there is because of the quality of our wines. Our reputation is based on the quality we produce. If we continue to

produce high quality wine, then we will continue to see growth and demand for our products. If we let our quality slip, then our reputation will slip and that brings into question the demand for our wines in the longer term.

“So going into vintage 2016, yes there is going to be more demand for grapes, more demand for a bigger vintage. But I would suggest that there needs to be a demand for high quality grapes that will contribute to our reputation, rather

than to just fit the demand.

“Vintage 2016 will be determined by Mother Nature and the decisions growers and winemakers make through the course of the coming seasons.” ■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

Rivulis I r r ig a t io n NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 33

Strategy wins battles Plan ahead to defeat powdery mildew this season

Protector and HML 3 hml

This programme has powdery mildew

co

Woolly bud

SIGNIFICANT

7% lime sulphur

Powdery mildew infection last season

LOW or NO Powdery mildew infection last season

This spray programme uses multi-site, Why is it based on the control of powdery mildew?

Powdery mildew Is one of the main reasons wineries reject a crop; it can cause a musty off flavour in finished wine. It is also an important pre-cursor to botrytis and other rots.

Protectorhml and HML 32 Armour plate for grapes

Used with additives, this is a proven treatment for the control of powdery mildew, botrytis, downy mildew, phomopsis and black spot.

Multiple modes of action make it entirely suitable to meet the challenges raised by the recent discovery of the sexual phase of powdery mildew, whether it is later sporulation or treatment resistance.

HML32 + sulphur + copper sprayed before flowering and when cap fall is complete eradicates and protects against microscopic powdery mildew and botrytis infection.

Botrytis For a complete botrytis control programme, use HML32 at pre-bunch closure and veraison (as a minimum) in addition to the pre and post flowering sprays.

Other diseases The addition of copper offers effective control of phomopsis, downy mildew and black spot. Copper should always be applied in good drying conditions.

Notes for growers Rates

Protectorhml and HML 32: armour plate for grapes

HML32 - always use at the prescribed rate Sulphur - 4-5 Kg/ha all season Copper - 45g metallic copper / 100 litres Potassium Bicarbonate - 300g/100 litres (for eradication or post harvest sprays only)

Contact your Farmlands representative.

For more information / field trial results visit: www.henrymanufacturing.co.nz

Our preference is red copper (cuprous oxide) as it presented no spray tank issues in the field. For both sulphur and copper, take into account local use rates and manufacturer’s recommendations.

m

L 32: Fungal Spray Programme 2015/16

w

ur

e,

control as the priority and contains both preventative and eradicative elements.

First leaf unfolded to inflorescences opening

Inflorescences open

Capfall complete to pre-bunch closure

Pre-bunch closure to veraison

Post harvest

HML32 + sulphur + copper at 10 -14 day intervals

If desired other products can be used at this growth stage for enhanced botrytis control

HML32 + sulphur + copper at 10 -14 day intervals

HML32 + sulphur + copper* at 10 -14 day intervals

HML32 + potassium bicarbonate + copper

First application HML32 + sulphur + copper

First application HML32 + sulphur + copper*

Follow up with 0.5% Protectorhml + sulphur at 10 -14 day intervals.

If season presents high risk, continue with HML32 + sulphur + copper* at 10 -14 day intervals

To reduce/eradicate chasmothecia (sexual stage of powdery mildew) in order to reduce next season’s disease pressure.

Spray with 0.5% Protectorhml + sulphur at 10 -14 day intervals. Add copper if required for the control of other diseases Final spray with HML32 + sulphur before inflorescences opening.

Copper is optional but recommended as it provides a higher level of powdery mildew control

multi mode of action fungicides Spray timing This spray programme nominates a 10 -14 day spray pattern with closer intervals as tempered by local practices, plant growth, disease pressure and weather.

Maintain good protective ‘covers’ and renew after significant rain events.

Add copper if required for the control of other diseases

Otherwise, follow-up with 0.5% Protectorhml + sulphur at 10 -14 day intervals.

Add copper* if required for control of other diseases. * check with winery PHIs

Results proven in the field Screening trials proved that two applications of HML32 with additives produced high performance for the control and eradication of powdery mildew. This was confirmed by an independent Farmlands trial that screened HML32 and a large range of products . The full report and video of our trial, and the Farmlands report is published on our website.

Application

HML 32 Powdery Mildew Eradication Study

Good coverage is critical. Sprayer performance should be confirmed with water sensitive papers (or other visual methods). Application should always take into account canopy density and bunch exposure - adjust accordingly and where possible spray ‘covers’ in alternating directions.

January 2014 Reinfection at least 14 days after spraying.

83%

Water rates 100%

Avoid low or ultra-low rates.

Compatibility with other products

80%

Both Protectorhml and HML32 are alkaline (HML32 much less so). Under normal conditions both products are compatible with wettable sulphurs and copper hydroxide/oxide fungicides, as well as seaweed products. Incompatibility occurs with some foliar fertilisers such as calcium.

Before mixing in the sprayer, do a ‘jar test’ with spray water and all ingredients to check for flocculation, separation, etc.

Further information and advice Visit www.henrymanufacturing.co.nz for full reports and supporting data, including spray deposition trials in Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc canopies.

Call Chris Henry on 027 2941490 or email: chris@henrymanufacturing.co.nz.

Or contact your local Farmlands representative.

60%

16%

Percent active powdery mildew

40%

6% Untreated

0.1%

Two applications of HML 32

20%

3%

One application of HML 32 + Cu

Two applications of HML 32 + Cu

One application of HML 32 + Cu + KHCO3

Two applications of HML 32 + Cu + KHCO3

0.1%

0%

DISCLAIMER: The Supply Terms of Henry Manufacturing Limited and Farmlands Co-operative Society Limited apply to the use of this spray programme. Liability whether in tort (including negligence), contract or otherwise, for any loss, crop or vine injury or crop or vine failure, resulting from the application of this spray programme is excluded. Any user of this spray programme accepts this disclaimer.

HR AND THE WINE INDUSTRY PADDY BATTERSBY

SETTING REMUNERATION

P

ayroll can be the single largest overhead for many businesses in the wine industry. Using gut feeling or “the grapevine” to determine remuneration levels is one thing, but reputable market data ensures employers make an informed decision about what they should pay their staff.

When hiring a new employee or embarking on annual pay reviews, how do you know the right wage rate? Businesses use market research for product development, market/consumer trends and purchasing decisions, but don’t always access data required to make informed remuneration decisions.

Remuneration has to meet many criteria. The pay has to be right to entice a potential candidate to accept a new job offer, and for existing employees the annual review should take into consideration six key criteria: • Performance in the job (meeting their objectives) • Employee retention • Market rates • Rewarding longevity • Internal equity • The cost to the business It should be noted that any

pay review does not have to result in an increase, and that any increase should be linked to performance – of both the employee and the business.

the acceptable top end for a particular role - eg an employee with some years in a role has received an annual increase year on year. The employee knows

Market data ensures businesses are able to manage both internal and external equity.

A business needs to determine a pay scale that suits their organisation and their goals. Businesses can take three approaches; • they can lead the market, paying more than average for that industry or role • they can pay the market average • or they can lag behind and pay less than the market average.

There may be times when most of the workforce will be paid within the band for the role; however there may be certain times when a specialist role in a skill shortage area will be paid well above the market to attract and retain an individual.

Why is it important to develop pay bands?

Banding enables a business to increase remuneration without overcompensating beyond

the role backwards and is in fact bored – it’s time for a change.

However the pay exceeds the market rate for a similar role and they would have to take a pay decrease to move to a new job.

So the status quo remains. It’s a ‘no win’ for both employer and employee. There are other ways that this employee could have been rewarded than by simply ratcheting the pay level up year on year.

Market data ensures businesses are able to manage both internal and external equity. An employee is more likely to know the wage/salary of a colleague than that of someone in another company. Employees also perceive to know the basis for remuneration comparisons because they have a better idea of what other employee jobs are and job performance.

This creates a high potential

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36 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

for “I deserve a pay increase”.

Internal equity is managed by paying within the pay band and by rewarding in other ways for performance.

Businesses that have introduced a pay band system are better armed when faced with an employee who feels they are underpaid by not having to rely on gut feeling, and can deal with remuneration questions with knowledge backed up by market data.

The wine industry has its own specialist benchmark Remuneration Survey conducted annually by Strategic Pay on behalf of New Zealand Winegrowers. Offering detailed remuneration and benefits information for over 30 specialist roles (including wine, viticulture, sales, admin etc.) it is open to all organisations operating in the wine industry.

For further information contact Natasha Stone, surveys@ strategicpay.co.nz. Telephone 09 303 4045.

We encourage all wine industry employers to participate so that quality data is collected and available. ■ Paddy Battersby; Battersby HR Consulting; paddy@battersbyhr. com ; 09 838 6338

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INDUSTRY NEWS

ROMEO BRAGATO BROUGHT TO LIFE MARY SHANAHAN

F

ormer president of the New Zealand Grapegrowers’ Association Kevyn Moore has been devoting much of his ‘retirement’ to researching and writing a biography about Romeo Bragato, the feted founding father of New Zealand’s viticulture industry.

Moore, who to date has funded all the associated costs, is aiming for a 300-400pp hardback book which he believes will attract interest from both sides of the Tasman. The biography’s working title is simply Bragato.

“I have an empathy with this man,” the retired grape grower says. “I think he was a rather restless personality. I understand where he was coming from – he was a proponent of the view that good wines are made in the vineyard and I believe that too.”

The idea for a book was triggered by a five-week trip Moore made to Italy in 2001. With wife Corinne, he visited Bragato’s

alma mater, the country’s leading winemaking and viticulture school, Regia Scuola di Viticoltura ed Enologia, in Conegliano.

In 2011, the couple returned to Italy for a further nine weeks.

“I was determined to research him,” Moore says of his ongoing commitment to the project. “In fact, I keep finding more.”

Moore believes that for many years Bragato was a longforgotten visionary, with the connection lost in the wake of the temperance movement, the Great Depression and two world wars. His name was revived in the 1960s, he says, through legendary Hawke’s Bay winemaker Tom McDonald’s efforts to make top Bordeaux-style reds.

“Prior to this time, growers had gone down the Muller Thurgau route. Suddenly Chardonnay and classical red varieties started gaining more interest.”

However, Moore’s own very

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

particular interest in Bragato dates back to 1995 when, as president of the New Zealand Grape Growers Council, he sat around the table with board members of the New Zealand Wine Institute.

Chairing the institute at that time, John Buck knew of Bragato’s pioneering work in New Zealand – his company, Te Mata Estate, was formerly a winemaking enterprise driven by the landowning Chambers family and the vineyard was one of a number Bragato visited in Hawke’s Bay. A link to the region had been forged through Sydney Anderson, a viticulturist who worked at Tiffen Estate in Greenmeadows, which sold to the Mission in 1897.

Anderson had been to Melbourne and spent time with Bragato.

“Bragato spent much time in Hawke’s Bay in 1903 – a La Nina Year,” says Moore, who has copied parts of Anderson’s diaries. “He spent time with Anderson at

“Tiffen Estate”. I guess the old name stuck for a while.”

At the 1995 New Zealand Wine Institute meeting, Buck reminded the industries’ representatives that it was coming up to the 100 th anniversary of Bragato’s first visit to New Zealand and he invited suggestions on what might be done to acknowledge and celebrate that.

“The Wine Institute were not in a position to do anything at that time as their calendar was too full,” Moore recalls, so the New Zealand Grape Growers Council picked up the baton and organised their first national viticultural conference and wine awards, naming both in honour of Bragato.

The conference, which dovetailed nicely with plans for an annual technical symposium to disseminate information and research results to grower members, was held in Marlborough and keynote

speaker, South African Dr Johann Marais, delivered the first Bragato address.

The intent was that if the conference and wine awards proved successful, they would be held every year. However, Moore says there was a “kicker” that followed the inaugural event. Arriving home, he took a phone call from a very imperious-sounding woman who informed him she was Bragato’s granddaughter, Jan Colville.

“She said how dare we use the family name without permission.

We had no idea Bragato had a daughter and a granddaughter living in New Zealand!

“Sometime prior to that Corban’s, I think, used the name for labels and Miriam [Bragato’s only child] and Jan took the company to court. That didn’t stop anyone using it but the two women had a pretty sad view of

the New Zealand wine industry because of their experience with that.”

never married and died childless.

“That’s where they started telling us about Bragato,” Moore

Bragato had spent six months in New Zealand in 1895, and it was on this visit that he found phylloxera in a vineyard in west Auckland.

The Moores drove to Auckland to meet Miri (as she was known) and Jan, the first in a number of meetings with the women. They learned that in 1907 Bragato had married Laura Condon, a New Zealander some years younger than himself. He took New Zealand citizenship the following year and the couple, living in Auckland, had a daughter. Miri married Scott Colville and they in turn had Jan, who cared for her mother in her frail old age. Jan

says of the trips he and Corinne made to Auckland to talk to his descendants.

In the course of his research, he widened his inquiries from New Zealand and Italy to Australia, Croatia and Canada, garnering new information and correcting inaccuracies that have entered the folklore that has built up around the legendary viticulturist.

The fourth of 10 children, Bragato was born in 1858 (before

the unification of Italy) on the island of Lussin Piccolo, then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

This island in the Adriatic is now included in Croatia and is known as Mali Losinj. Bragato, however, considered himself Italian.

Moore says Bragato wasn’t always honest about his age so when he located his birth and baptismal certificates he thought “now we know”.

The young man attended the school in Conegliano between 1879 and 1883. Moore, who has his report cards, says that he was generally a pretty average student but achieved top marks for drawing and science.

One of the school’s professors suggested students explore the potential for winegrowing in Australia and urged them to learn English with that in mind.

Bragato was the only one in his class to take up the challenge. He

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 39

sailed for the new world in mid1888 and was appointed Victoria’s Government Viticulturist the following year.

When he first arrived in Australia, he had another Italian man accompany him to the job interview to act as his translator.

Moore thinks this was a ploy because within months Bragato was writing reports in very lucid English for the Victorian Board of Viticulture. As well as English and Italian, his family says he also spoke German.

Seeking information about Bragato’s work for the Rutherglen viticulture centre in Victoria, an identical building to the viticultural research station at Te Kauwhata, Moore found what he was looking for just two hours before he was due to catch his plane back to New Zealand.

He left money to photocopy the material and asked for the pages to be sent on to him.

“Everything in these buildings was done by gravity, there was no electricity to power the pumps.

The Australian facility opened in 1890 and Te Kauwhata in 1902.

Bragato designed the fermenting house and the interior of the winery.”

B r a g a to h a d s p e n t s i x months in New Zealand in 1895, and it was on this visit that he found phylloxera in a vineyard in west Auckland. In 1901 he

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returned, specifically searching out phylloxera infections, and in the following year he was employed by the New Zealand Department of Agriculture as the Government’s viticulturist.

He spent much of his time at Te Kauwhata, where plantings were expanded to more than 4.5 hectares. Different varieties were trialled and those that showed promise were distributed to other regions.

Trains transported Auckland growers to the Waikato for field days and Assid Corban was among those who attended the first of these events.

Moore considers Bragato a go-getter. Having moved from the other side of the world to pursue his career as a viticulture adviser in Australasia, he was also an accomplished winemaker, winning five medals from six wines he entered in a competition held in London in 1908. At one stage he was a co-owner of the Esplanade Hotel in Takapuna and he also owned shares in a Waihi gold mine.

In 1909 Bragato left the Government’s employ and the family moved to Canada. It was there that he died, by his own hand, in 1913.

A s p a r t o f t h e “ q u i te substantial” coverage of his subject’s time in New Zealand, Moore hopes to include two books written by the viticulturist as appendices in the biography.

These publications feature drawings Bragato did to illustrate pruning, budding and growing and techniques such as grafting.

Report on the Prospects of Viticulture in New Zealand details Bragato’s nationwide tour to assess the potential of different regions for growing wine grapes.

“He looked at soils and the weather, rainfall in particular, and compared these with his knowledge and experience of the industry in Italy. He looked

at latitudes around the world and where grapes were grown. New Zealand he considered not too far south, nor too close to the equator.”

Among the areas he pinpointed were Nelson, the Wairarapa, Central Otago and Hawke’s Bay – “Marlborough is the notable omission among those he found suitable.”

The second book by Bragato was entitled Viticulture in New Zealand (with special reference to American vines).

Asked what Bragato would make of his efforts, Moore says he believes he would be pleased that what he imparted is still remembered and practised.

Having been to Australia twice to research his subject and spent hours in Auckland and Wellington, he says the historical records in both countries are in a terrible mess. “As government departments change names, you lose the trail.”

Despite that, he considers Bragato to be well-known among New Zealand wine circles.

“There is the annual conference with a keynote speaker, viticulture-based wine awards, and an exchange programme involving students from the school at Conegliano and EIT in Hawke’s Bay all honouring his name.”

Having committed so much time and energy to the project, Moore has made the decision to stop gathering further material for his book. The text is being read by an academic at an Australian university and while the would-be author hasn’t fully determined how it will be published he hopes to see it launched at the Romeo Bragato Conference next year.

“I have so many other things on the go,” he says, “I would love to see it finished and published.” ■ maryshanahan173@gmail.com

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MARKETING NEWS

SELECTING A STRONG BRAND E L E N A S Z E N T I VA N Y I , D I R E C T O R , A N D D AV I D M O O R E , S E N I O R A S S O C I AT E – HENRY HUGHES INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

A

dvance planning to select a strong and distinctive brand can avoid unnecessary expense later on.

This article provides tips on steps you can take to minimise risk when choosing a new brand.

and/or “passed off ” your wine as that of another winemaker.

You may be forced to recall stock and pay damages. There would also be the expense, delay and inconvenience of re-branding and re-labelling.

What is a “strong” brand?

Marketplace searching

Branding is all about distinguishing yourself from the competition. You should avoid selecting a trade mark which is: • identical or very similar to someone else’s brand; or • an industry term which others are likely to want to use.

• Avoiding conflict with other winemakers The key to avoiding infringement of another winemaker’s rights is the three “Rs” – Research, Research and Research.

Yo u s h o u l d r e s e a r c h thoroughly to ensure that you are not about to commit to a trade mark which is already used or registered by someone else.

Once a trade mark has been used it will have acquired a reputation.

If you launch a trade mark which is identical or similar to one with an established reputation, or one which has been registered, you are immediately at risk. Aside from the embarrassment, the worst case scenario is that you could have: • infringed a registered trade mark, in breach of the Trade Marks Act; • been misleading or deceptive, in breach of the Fair Trading Act;

42 //

New Zealand’s wine industry is comparatively small. You probably have a fair idea already about the trade marks which are on the market.

However, you should harness the power of the Google. com search engine to see if your desired trade mark is being used by others. You should also search other directories for clues that someone else has already made a claim to the proposed brand. As well as online business registers, we recommend searching industry and retail websites.

Trade Marks Register searching Rights are also established by registering a trade mark. A registered trade mark does not necessarily have to be in use. If you only conduct marketplace research, you could miss a trade mark which has been registered and not yet launched, or which is no longer used but is still registered.

A trade mark registration gives rights not only in the exact mark but also prevents use of a confusingly or deceptively similar mark.

This means that searching the Register is not straightforward. It is not enough simply to look for the exact trade mark which you have

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

in mind. We recommend getting expert help from a trade mark lawyer.

Overseas searching Most winemakers will look to export as well as sell domestically. Your research should cover all countries to which you plan to export. In a later article in this series we will discuss how to plan for overseas expansion.

Selecting a trade mark which others should not need A trade mark lawyer will tell you that invented words make the best trade marks. XEROX and KODAK are classic examples of made up words which are completely distinctive. No-one else could claim to need to use these words in relation to their own products.

Marketers will tell you that the best brands are ones which tell consumers about the product. McCain Foods’ HEALTHY CHOICE is an example of a popular brand which tells you about the product, but which has been heavily litigated because others wanted to use the same phrase.

The compromise – which is very effective when well executed – is to select a trade mark which is suggestive of the characteristics of the product, without being a direct description. MAKE IT POP is an example of a suggestive trade mark for sparkling wine.

Geographic locations It is common in the wine industry to select a geographic name as

a trade mark. This works well if you are the only winemaker in that location. If the name is a region (e.g. Marlborough) then it will be difficult to register the trade mark and to claim exclusive rights. You will not be able to stop others from that area using the same name.

Personal names It is also common to use your own name as a trade mark. This works well if you use your full name (e.g. Timothy Smith) and if there is no-one else in the industry of the same name. Using a first name or surname only can be problematic. The surname SMITH is quite common and others with the same surname may have a legitimate need to use the name for their own wines.

Checklist To summarise, here is a checklist of points to consider when selecting a new brand: • Create a shortlist and try not to become too emotionally attached to any potential trade mark – you might have to go with another one!

• Check out your competitors’ current brands • Search industry directories • Search Trade Marks Register • Avoid trade marks which describe the characteristics of the product • Only use a geographic location if the location is unique to your vineyard • Use full names, rather than first names or surnames only ■

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RESEARCH NEWS

VINEYARD ECOSYSTEMS PROGRAMME TESSA NICHOLSON

U

nderstanding the ecology of the vineyard as a whole is the focus of a new $7 million research programme being undertaken by NZ Winegrowers.

The programme is co funded by the government (through MBIE), and will run over the next seven years, in an effort to increase vineyard longevity throughout the country.

That longevity is dependent on a variety of issues, which will all come under the umbrella of the new research programme, says Simon Hooker, NZW’s GM of Research and Innovation.

“This programme is a fundamental shift in the way we have run the research programme.

Often it is easy to fund (projects) issue by issue, but what we have decided to do is make some big, long-term gains. A lot of the research is designed around the better management of pests and diseases, a reduced reliance on chemical interventions and the strong science underpinning our

44 //

sustainability credentials.”

Dr Hooker says there are three initial research aims.

Vineyards as an ecosystem – Quantify the effects of management on the biota, physical and chemical components of the vineyard. The effects of production practices on vineyard ecology, leading to innovative, more resilient research-based approaches to pest and disease management.

Under-vine management, biota and virus. The impacts of understory on mealybugs, other insects and virus. Biological control of mealybugs. Management of grass grubs in vineyards.

And thirdly pathogen management – trunk diseases and virus.

Dr Hooker says the research aims to collate the entirety of the vineyard ecology – something that has not been undertaken either in New Zealand or on the international scene.

“Similarly, analyses of the variance in soil chemistry under different management regimes in various agricultural systems

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

are reasonably well studied, but little work has been conducted in vineyards.

“The programme will provide a new level of integration between scientific disciplines, bringing together expertise that encompasses viticulture, micro organism biology, entomology, pathology, virology and environmental science.”

Given the programme is over seven-years, Dr Hooker says there will be room to change through the course of it, depending on initial outcomes.

“We are not coming into this with pre conceived ideas about what outcomes we might gain. It will be totally driven by the data and the science. There will be some very clear short term outcomes, but we are hoping for a lot of serendipity.”

By that he means there may be

outcomes arising that are totally unexpected, such as happened in the mechanical thinning research.

“When we began that programme we thought that the thrashing of the vines would cause botrytis issues, so we monitored botrytis levels throughout the programme. What we discovered though was the thinning process actually reduced botrytis levels.

That was total serendipity.”

In all 24 vineyard blocks will be monitored over the next seven years, all based in either Marlborough or Hawke’s Bay. The Ecosystems Programme is the second major co-funded research programme undertaken

by NZW and government in the past two years. The first was the Lifestyle Wines programme, another seven year project, which began in 2013. ■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

EVENT NEWS

SAUVIGNON BLANC CELEBRATION

N

ext year the biggest Sauvignon Blanc event ever held in New Zealand will take place in Marlborough. The International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration 2016 will bring together scientists, wine writers, experts, winemakers and growers from throughout the world. Included in the line up are some spectacular guest speakers.

Over the next few issues we get the thoughts from some of them.

This month – Mike Bennie and Matt Kramer.

dering vineyards on the four corners of the globe, he is a freelance

Mike Bennie When Mike Bennie isn’t wan-

wine and drinks writer, journalist and presenter.

A lot of his work appears in the highly regarded publication Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine, he is wine/drinks editor for delicious. magazine, and he is Editor-At-Large and contributor/ writer to Australia’s most interactive wine commentary website, WineFront.com.au.

His work is also regularly found in Sun-Herald Style Magazine, Sydney Morning Herald Good Food section, Men’s Style magazine, Wine Business Magazine and various other publications.

He is proudly a co-founder and co-director of the artisan and sustainability-focused Rootstock Sydney food and wine festival.

Where in the line up of Noble wines does Sauvignon Blanc sit?

I don’t believe in a ‘Noble wines’ concept, preferring to take wine on merit and context from region to region, site to site.

Sauvignon Blanc is a well-versed, broadly planted variety that has captured a zeitgeist in some countries, and is produced traditionally in others. It is versatile, interesting and malleable.

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What role has New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc played in the popularity of this variety internationally?

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has played a very large role in bringing people into wine in general. It’s often a gateway wine for new wine drinkers and certainly anchoring a few people into the joys of wine with all its vagaries.

Accessibility, iconic aromas and flavours, and general approach to winemaking have made Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand an internationally recognizable and easily appreciated wine.

What are your thoughts about the upcoming Sauvignon Blanc 2016 Celebration?

The Sauvignon Blanc Celebration is an important event to progress the nuances, personality and future personality of the grape variety. It’s an opportunity to cross-pollinate and bring greater scope to the variety. It’s a chance to showcase the breadth of potential of the variety.

What are you hoping to take away with you from this event?

I’m hoping to learn more about the sustainable growing of Sauvignon Blanc and efforts to create a better wine culture around farming and producing of wines that can often slide into the pitfalls of mass market production. I am hoping to learn from generational growers, farmers and producers of Sauvignon Blanc, to bring greater context to where Sauvignon Blanc is now, in more youthful production areas. I’m hoping to see a great representation of personality of the grape variety through the lens of sites and innovative, interesting and transparent winemaking.

How important is it for the

46 //

variety to be the subject of such a celebration?

Ironically, it’s not that important considering its already broad reach and impact on multiple markets. What is important is enhancing the variety’s potential, overcoming some demonizing and spreading the word about the variety’s more varied and expressive personalities.

What are you most looking forward to, as a guest?

A collaborative approach to discussion, communal learning and some take homes that elevate the variety from it’s more neutral personality to exciting, creative, thoughtful expressions.

Matt Kramer Matt is a full time wine writer, and has been working freelance since 1976. He is the author of nine books and in his words “thousands of columns”. He considers it a privilege to do what he does and says he strives “to never lose sight of that”.

One of the first and greatest advocates of a sense of place or terroir, Matt has been described

by Hugh Johnson as “an intellectual guerilla among wine writers”.

Where in the line up of Noble wines does

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Sauvignon Blanc sit?

I don’t know. I don’t think in such hierarchical terms. The highest role for any fine wine and any grape variety is to help tell us some truth about site. Different grapes have different capacities.

Some are intrinsic to the grape while sometimes it’s a matter of an otherwise right grape in the wrong place. Believe me, the world would not be going on endlessly about Pinot Noir if it had been planted only in Bordeaux and not in Burgundy. Grapes, like children, need encouraging circumstances in order to fully reveal their capacities. It’s no different with Sauvignon Blanc.

What role has New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc played in the popularity of this variety internationally?

Obviously, New Zealand has played an outsize role in bringing Sauvignon Blanc to popular attention. But it’s a classic “Be careful what you wish for”. Today, New Zealand is overly reliant upon, and identified with, Sauvignon Blanc.

This makes it harder to broaden the acceptance in the public mind of other, equally deserving, grapes or wine blends from New Zealand.

What are your thoughts about the upcoming Sauvignon Blanc 2016 Celebration?

I’m looking forward to it! It will be an original experience, I believe, for everybody present if only because it will be a first for everyone.

What are you hoping to

take away with you from this event?

I look forward to taking away what I always hope for when I participate in events such as these: insight. Really, that’s the only thing that matters. What have you discovered that you didn’t previously know? Above all, did it allow or encourage you to go beyond the superficial “been there, tasted that”? That’s what really matters.

How important is it for the variety to be the subject of such a celebration?

It all depends upon where you’re sitting. If you’re a producer seeking a higher price or greater recognition it’s clearly very important. For outsiders, it depends upon what emerges from such an event, doesn’t it? Marketing is one thing while enlightenment is something else again. Each serves different masters.

What are you most looking forward to, as a guest?

Seeing Kiwi friends and renewing my long-term love of New Zealand and its extraordinary landscape. You know, I first came to New Zealand in 1974 when I hitchhiked around the South Island for three months. It never left me. I do visit with reasonable frequency with, I surely hope, open eyes and an open heart.

Really, I look forward to New Zealand itself. Wine isn’t everything, you know. The sheer purity of the place is what really makes New Zealand what it is. Its wines reflect that. Purity is New Zealand’s terroir. ■

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SWNZ NEWS

THE BACKPOCKET GROWER D A V I D M A N K T E L O W A N D B R U C E M A C K AY ( F R E S H L E A R N LT D ) P H I L I P M A N S O N , S A L LY V A N D E R Z I J P P A N D K A R E N B R YA N T ( N E W Z E A L A N D W I N E G R O W E R S )

A

new web-based tool that takes information access to a new level.

The NZ Backpocket Grower is a web-based information management tool.

It can be accessed from desktop computers, or web enabled devices like tablets or smart phones. It is a web-app that provides rapid access to the specialised data, information and calculators that growers need to make informed and timely management decisions.

N Z W i n e g r o w e r s h av e embraced the NZ Backpocket Grower (NZBPG) concept and a suite of tools and information around agrichemical use has been packaged for industry wide release in the 2015-16 season.

Why focus on the Spray Schedule and agrichemical management information?

48 //

Decisions around agrichemical use are arguably the most frequently required and complicated problems that growers have to deal with each season. The main advisory tool that NZ Winegrower’s provides to members to assist with chemical use decisions is the annual Spray Schedule.

This schedule provides information on what agrichemical products can be used in the New Zealand wine industry each season, what chemical residue levels are accepted in wine in different export markets and what withholding periods need to be observed to meet specific market residue and New Zealand legal requirements.

The schedule also provides information on chemical use patterns required to achieve nil agrichemical residues in wine and information on restrictions around agrichemical use for

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

sheep grazing and leaf plucking on vineyards.

The schedule contains market critical and dynamic information.

However, it can only provide limited information on specific agrichemicals and the pests, diseases and weeds that they are used to manage. There is masses of information on these topics on the NZ Winegrowers website and available from third party sources and are seldom all readily available to support informed and rapid decision making. Analysis of industry agrichemical use practices shows that spraying decisions are often compromised in some way in terms of product selection, product mixtures, application rates, resistance management and or timing.

The NZBPG web-app will provide growers with access to all information they need when they need it – agrichemical information is just the start.

How does it work?

You can follow a traditional web address to access the NZ Winegrowers NZBPG at www. nzbackpocketgrower.co.nz or use a QR code scanner on your smart device to link to the site.

The app accesses NZ Winegrowers data, so you need to login using your standard username and password for the NZWine.com website.

Once in, you will see that there are currently three main menu items at the top of the screen.

The left hand Growsafe option provides access to the NZ Agrichemical Education Trust agrichemical resources in a Wikipedia like format. These currently offer the online version of the Standard Growsafe and Approved Handler agrichemicals resources. More technical and applied agrichemical use information is gradually being added by the Growsafe team. This

is a good example of integrated access to an external information resource for Winegrowers members.

The right hand Tools option provides access to relevant FactSheets and other resources from the NZ Wine website along with calculators and video based material.

The central Spray guides option provides access to a suite of agrichemical information drawn from several different databases – this is where NZ Winegrowers spray schedule data is combined with agrichemical product information.

The spray guides Agrichemical information can be accessed by way of a series of simple quick filters. Do you know what the weed, pest or disease is and want to know what chemicals may control it?

Do you want to search directly for information on a particular agrichemical?

Probably the most common access point will be to use the rolling wall chart option to see what chemicals are able to be used at different growth stages and see what has label claims for the different pests and diseases that may occur as problems at that time.

You will find that there are many different ways to access and display agrichemical information.

The best way to find your way around the BPG tool is to play with it. The following is a brief description of some of the current functionality.

The Spray Schedule database covers multiple seasons – the tool

defaults to display information for the current season, but you can view PHI and MRL data from previous seasons.

Filters help you to just display chemicals from the group that is of interest to you. For example you can just display organically acceptable chemicals, or chemicals permitted by your wine company. Different filter lists can be developed and maintained as required.

You can change the way that chemical information is displayed by sorting the data. Current sort options are to display by product name, by active ingredient or by chemical resistance management group.

How can an interactive online tool deliver more than traditional publications?

The NZBPG provides rapid access to complex information as and when required.

The ability to filter and sort large amounts of data means that users can quickly view the information in a way that is relevant to the task at hand.

Static agrichemical product label information can be plugged directly to calculators that support real world spraying decisions – What rate of agrichemical should be applied? How much chemical needs to be added to the spray tank?

The NZBPG establishes linkages between different types of information – in the current version agrichemical information has been delivered in combination with resources on pests, diseases, weeds and their management.

Do try it this season. And look out for more details to come. ■

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 49

TASTING NEWS

TEN TIPS TO START BECOMING A WINE EXPERT B ecoming an expert in anything takes a lot of work. But when that work involves tasting a lot of wine how hard can it be?

Dr Alex Russell’s recent PhD, undertaken at the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney, looks at whether novices can become wine experts.

“A lot of people think that wine experts are full of it but I’ve been investigating this area for the past seven years and it turns out there is a knack to it. Informed by my research, here are my ten tips on how to become a wine expert:”

1) Four hours to get started During my PhD, I had novices come into the lab to smell and taste lots of wines. In most cases, we had them in the lab for an hour and they didn’t learn much. But if they stayed just 30 minutes longer they started to show signs of improvement and after four hours, they were doing really well.

2) Drink different types of wine No expert became an expert by drinking only their favourite wine. Branch out, be willing to try new things. Try wine by the glass at bars and restaurants rather than buying a whole bottle. Try wines made from different grapes, from different regions and countries.

3) Taste wines side-byside Instead of relying on your memory to compare the wine you’re drinking now to the one from last week, open up a few different bottles at the same time so you can directly compare them.

50 //

4) Shut your eyes

The main skill of wine experts is consistently putting a name to an odour. Wines that smell like blackcurrant aren’t made from or with blackcurrant and they don’t look like blackcurrant. It’s hard to identify a smell when you can’t visually associate it with the obvious source. In fact these wines contain chemicals that, when isolated, smell very much like blackcurrant.

So get a friend to go through your pantry and pick out various herbs and fruits. Smell and taste them with your eyes closed and try to identify them. Learn from feedback. It’s hard but you’ll improve

5) If in doubt add your own flavours and smells Not sure what peach tastes like in a Chardonnay? Add a little bit of syrup from a can of peaches to your next glass. Then you’ll get an idea of what the flavour tastes like in wine. Gradually reduce the amount you put in until you can find that flavour without any additive. There are hundreds of possible odours coming out of a glass of wine including chocolate, green olive, eucalyptus and coffee!

6) You’ll need to get your tongue around the wine and the words You might be a food or perfume expert but you’d still have to separately master wine and its associated lingo. Wine expertise is all about linking an odour or flavour with its recognised name. Experts share information using similar terms whereas novices generally can’t describe wines very well and don’t know many of the experts’ tasting terms.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Dr Alex Russell

7) You don’t need a supernose or mouth…

Many studies show no difference between the smelling sensitivity of novices or experts.

Essentially, experts smell and taste the same things novices do, but they’re better at processing the information. Similarly, chess experts can look at the same board as novices but will determine which pieces are immediately relevant more quickly – it’s a processing advantage.

8) You can start with cheap wine, but cleanskins won’t make you an expert Although price isn’t the best indicator of quality (which is fairly subjective), it is often the case that more expensive wines better reflect where they come from.

And learning about wine regions is part of being an expert.

9) You’ll need to read, as well as taste

Wine experts aren’t just good at tasting wines. They also know a lot about how it’s made, where it’s made, and all the other things that you read in wine books.

10) Don’t give up if you make a mistake A lot of people avoid winetasting games because they are afraid to fail.

But it’s OK to make mistakes.

A famous French experiment in which white wine was artificially coloured red with odorless dye wrong-footed lots of experts.

It highlighted the impact of our thoughts and expectations on what we taste in a wine – it’s almost like they ‘drink the wine with their eyes’.

Even experts can get it wrong but they more often get it right.

So… Provided you have a working nose and mouth, it’s within your reach to become a wine expert. ■

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WINE EVENTS

PINOT 2017 TESSA NICHOLSON

N

ew Zealand Winegrowers’ Pinot Noir 2017 may still be 18 months away, but things are beginning to heat up. Over subscribed with wineries, a panel of three has been tasting the wines submitted, venues are being confirmed, a roadshow is set to begin in September, guests have been invited and some big names have agreed to come.

Executive Officer for Pinot 2017, Rachael Fletcher, says around 550 delegates are expected to be involved, among them a number of international guests brought here by NZW. One of those will be Queen of Wine Jancis

Robinson, OBE, MW. Internationally renowned as the most powerful woman in the wine world Jancis Robinson will add an x-factor to what Fletcher says, promises to be an amazing event for both the wine industry and the public.

“As an opinion leader, Jancis has built an international reputation as a highly respected, disciplined and professional wine critic and writer, who is always open to new ideas and discussion.”

She is the first of 15 guest speakers to be announced Fletcher said.

In early July a panel of three; MW Jane Skilton, Nick Stock and

Chair of Pinot 2017 Ben Glover tasted all 132 wine submitted for the upcoming event.

“This is all about showing the very best of New Zealand Pinot Noir to the world,” Fletcher said, “so we want to make sure we get it right.”

While the final programme has yet to be finalised, Pinot NZ 2017 will take place over three not four days this time, from January 31 to February 2. It is labeled as the biggest wine conference held in the Southern Hemisphere, and will take place on Wellington’s waterfront.

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land’s wine regions involved in the Dates had yet to be confirmed event, the Pinot NZ 2017 commit- as NZWinegrower went to print, follow us to discover more about Pinot 2017 tee will be taking the show on the but you can check for more details www.pinotnz.co.nz road in mid September, ensuring on the website, www.pinotnz. that all those who are taking part co.nz @PinotNoirNZ, #pinot17 have the information required to And if like me you can’t wait www.facebook.com/PinotNZ create a show-stopping event. to register for the event, you only instagram/PinotNoirNZ “We want to help them maxi- have to hold out until January mize the leverage they get out of when delegate registrations will the event and talk about how to open. In the meantime you can make the most of their opportuni- sign up for updates via the website; 38 Prowein 2015 ties as individual wineries and as a www.pinotnz.co.nz ■ tessa.nicholson@me.com region,” Fletcher said.

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BOARD PROFILES

MEET YOUR BOARD What Are Your Thoughts On The Change Of Governance?

It’s very welcome. Our industry has grown and matured and NZ Winegrowers is evolving with it. This is the right time for us to look at how we accomplish our goals and most importantly, who we represent.

SAM GL AETZER, Managing Director Constellation Brands NZ, Representing Large Companies. A Board member since 2014.

What Is Your Background In The Wine Industry?

I’ve had extensive experience in winemaking through roles throughout Australia and New Zealand. I’ve been at the helm of Constellation Brands NZ since July last year and before that, I was at Treasury Wine Estates for nearly 20 years where I held a wide variety of positions – starting in engineering, then moving through winemaking, operations and marketing.

Making wine has been a part of my life since before I could walk; my immediate family make wine in some of Australia’s most famous regions.

As a youngster, Dad gave me pocket money for taking samples from the tanks and later on, I studied engineering and wine making at the University of Adelaide.

What Inspired You To

Stand?

I’m passionate about the people, knowledge and effort that making wine successfully requires and I saw NZ Winegrowers as a way to contribute more, and also to learn more.

Constellation Brands NZ is the nation’s largest wine exporter and we account for around 10 per cent of annual wine yield so in my job I travel extensively - meeting and listening to customers.

I wanted to bring that knowledge back home and use it to build on our industry’s success and keep us on track to deliver on our potential.

What Committees Are You Involved With And Why Those?

Marketing: it’s the closest touch-point to our customers, and the gatekeepers too.

What Do You Believe Is The Greatest Hurdle Moving Forward For NZ Wine?

We have talented, committed members and leaders with vision and skill. Keeping us all focused on the big ticket items such as quality and reputation, and moving in the right direction together, will be key to our future success.

What Issue Do You Believe Needs A Higher Priority Than It Is

Currently Receiving – And Why? Disproportionate and/or poorly thought-out regulation is a serious concern.

It’s alarming that our incredible industry can sustain export growth by sending our outstanding wines to the world but at home, we keep hearing about the need for more legislation, increasing compliance costs and further restrictions.

Staying focused on quality is also an understated requirement for our industry.

I think it is vital to maintain excellent quality to avoid commoditisation of New Zealand wines and a race to the bottom.

I’m committed to ensuring that we continue to have continued growth and success in different varieties and regions, and for that to be a stepping-stone to further achievement in the future.

What Is Your Personal Vision For The Future Of NZ Wine? How Do We Get There?

We have a mature and well-developed industry

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now which provides us with opportunities to enhance what we’re currently doing and expand into new areas.

I think supporting winemakers that focus on showcasing varietal excellence and regional diversity is a strategy that will serve us well.

Leading the largest wine exporter in New Zealand means that I can play a role in communicating the story of our industry’s outstanding wines to consumers and customers around the world and I love using every opportunity to do that.

PATRICK MATERMAN, Chief Winemaker Pernod Ricard Winemakers NZ, Marlborough, Representing Category 3 Wine Companies. A Board member since 2014.

What Is Your

Background In The Wine Industry?

Freshly out of studying Horticulture at Massey University, I landed a two month job as a cellar hand at, what was then Montana Wine’s Tamaki Winery. A little over 25 years later, with a shift to Marlborough in 1994, a few role changes, and now as part of Pernod Ricard, I am Chief Winemaker, leading a great team at Pernod Ricard Winemakers NZ. This role gives me very good exposure to all aspects of the business, from vineyards and winemaking, through to finance, marketing and sales. It involves much international travel, largely connected with promoting Brancott Estate and the New Zealand wine category in general.

I also get involved in wine judging at New Zealand shows, and have recently judged at the Concours

Mondial du Sauvignon in Friuli, Italy.

I still have a passion for horticulture, owning a Sauvignon Blanc vineyard at Seaview in the Awatere Valley which I developed a number of years ago.

What inspired you to

stand?

I’ve lived and breathed the New Zealand wine industry for the past 25 years, and am enormously proud of the industry’s achievements. I’ve worked in Auckland, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Marlborough and have also worked with fruit from Martinborough, Nelson, Waipara and Central Otago and have a pretty good understanding of these regions.

In standing for the Board, I wished to become better informed on industry matters, but more importantly felt I had a lot to contribute towards

decisions which shape the future of our industry.

What Are Your Thoughts On The Change Of Governance?

I believe a lot of thought had been put into the Governance

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 57

r e v i e w, a n d t h e B o a r d ’ s recommendation had been put forward to best represent the interests of the whole New Zealand wine industry. While it was pleasing to see good member support for the changes in the Referendum, and voting well above the threshold level set, it would have been nice to see higher return rates. It was an opportunity for all members to have a say in how their industry organisation is run. I look forward to the new structure being implemented; another milestone in the progression of the New Zealand wine industry.

What Committees Are You Involved With And Why Those?

I sit on the Finance Committee because it gives the opportunity to be connected with all aspects of NZWG. Being the

only Marlborough based person on the Finance committee I am also able to contribute by giving first-hand information on what is happening in that region.

I also chair a committee organising the first International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration which will be held in Marlborough in February 2016. It’s a great committee, and we’ve been working on the programme for this event for over a year, and have a superb line-up of speakers and producers. It will be a fabulous opportunity to showcase Sauvignon Blanc, the variety that well and truly put New Zealand on the world wine map.

What Do You Believe Is The Greatest Hurdle Moving Forward For NZ Wine?

With future constraints in land availability, maintaining

supply and demand balance through targeting more premium price points and ensuring consumers’ expectations are met at those price points is of key importance. This is as much an opportunity as it is a hurdle.

What Issue Do You Believe Needs A Higher Priority Than It Is Currently Receiving – And Why? It is important we develop a highly skilled labour force across all parts of the industry; ensuring we don’t just have enough labour, but have a labour force with the right skills to make us a world leading wine industry.

This will be achieved through strong, well supported industry training organisations, and through being competitive against other industries vying for labour.

What Is Your Personal Vision For The Future Of NZ Wine? How Do We Get There?

To be recognised as the world’s most consistent producer of sustainable, high value and exceptional wines.

To g e t t h e r e w e m u s t continue to build on the great work that has already been done, but with even greater emphasis on quality.

This will be achieved through exceptional viticulture and winemaking, where we protect our resources; and through building strong brands with real identity and genuine stories which consumers are prepared to pay more for.

I’d like to think that supply constraint may help encourage this to become a common goal across all New Zealand wine producers. ■

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REGIONS MARLBOROUGH

HISTORY RECREATED TESSA NICHOLSON

T

hese days Marlborough is renowned as a world-class Sauvignon Blanc region.

But one producer is looking to the past to create something different, with a definite historical bent.

Auntsfield Estate, owned by the Cowley family, is the site of the region’s very first vineyard. It was planted back in 1873 by a Scottish ÊmigrÊ named David Herd, exactly 100 years before Montana arrived on the local scene.

While the vineyard continued to produce wine for 52 years, the vines were finally removed in 1931 and the land was returned to other farming practices.

By the time Graeme and Linda Cowley bought the property in the 1990’s it was surrounded by sheep and stock farms – not a vine in sight. In fact the Cowley’s had no idea of its historical importance to Marlborough at the time of purchase. It didn’t take long though before the couple discovered that the property had been known as Auntsfield, that there was an underground cellar on site (albeit one that had been turned into a dumping ground) and that the property had been home to Marlborough’s very first wines, made by former owner David Herd himself.

So began a painstaking journey

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into the past. Descendants of Herd were tracked down, stories began to emerge of the vineyard and winery with a bottle of wine from the year Herd died in 1905, uncovered.

The Cowley’s, realised they had stumbled on to something very precious. With one son Ben as viticulturist, the other Luc as winemaker, the “new look� Auntsfield was born.

It might have been enough to restore the in ground dirt floor cellar and bring David Herd’s name back into the lexicon of Marlborough’s wine history, but the Cowley’s wanted more than that. They wanted to recreate history. So much so, that they began scrolling

David Herd’s great grandson Felix Herd, helps plant the “new� vines.

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through the history books to gain a better understanding of Herd’s winemaking forays. What were the vines he first planted, how were they planted and what style of wine did he make from them?

Vines first. The wine was written about in medical journals (for its medicinal benefits) and also won a number of medals at shows in Australia and New Zealand and it appeared the variety was a form of Muscat. Muscat Petits Grains, to be more accurate.

Ben says knowing that Herd had stopped off in Victoria, Australia on his way to New Zealand, where Muscat had a huge following, they decided that must have been his inspiration.

A search of New Zealand’s vine records showed that Romeo Bragato had begun collecting cuttings from all the original vines that arrived in New Zealand in the 1870’s, 80’s and 90’s. These

had made up a government collection at Te Kauwhata, (later transferred to Rakaia). Graeme was determined to find out if there were any original sources of Muscat available in New Zealand, and discovered cuttings from the very first Muscat vines were still in existence in Rakaia. DNA testing was undertaken to confirm the vines were true to variety, and four clippings of Petits Grains Muscat were provided to Auntsfield to allow them to propagate. The only problem being, the cuttings were heavily virused and needed to be kept well away from any other vines on the property. Once they had grown enough for further propagation Riversun took over, taking clippings and heat treating them, before taking tissue cultures to create new virus free cuttings. These were then grafted onto phylloxera free rootstock and potted up.

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HOW THEY DID IT Riversun’s Geoff Thorpe says the only way you can clean up a virus once it is in a grapevine, is to put it through a process called Thermo-Therapy.

“You take the candidate vine and grow it in a heat chamber at a fairly high temperature (~36 C) for six weeks. The idea is the growing tips grow so fast, they leave the virus behind (in this case Leafroll Virus 1&3).

“Then you take a very thin (~1 mm) sliver of the growing tip (called an apical meristem), and put that into tissue culture. All going well, that soon starts to grow, forming callus tissue and then developing roots and tiny leaflets. Once they are strong enough to withstand the shock, the mini-plantlet is removed from the tissue culture growth chamber for “de-flasking” and potting up in a heavily shaded propagation house, where the plantlets are eventually grown into a normal looking potted vine. We then take tissue samples for both ELISA and PCR testing, to make sure the virus has been left behind. It is normal practice to take several apical meristem cuttings and put them through this process, as the virus is not always eliminated in every cutting. ” This is a widely used practice around the world for clonal selection agencies putting new selections through a high health sanitation programme. Thorpe says Foundation Plan Services (FPS) at UC Davis in California introduced a new protocol in 2010, which has seen their entire collection of vine material go through thermo-therapy.

Riversun themselves have undertaken the process on a handful of selections of valuable material, where an unwanted virus has been identified. But this is the first time they have been involved in a legacy programme.

“It really is a fantastic one.

They have done an amazing job recreating this historic vineyard” It was the late Dr Rod Bonfiglioli who oversaw this virus removal project at Riversun back in 2007.

62 //

The entire process, from the initial searches through to the potted vines arriving back in Marlborough took over 10 years. Patience was very much a key attribute.

During one of the many historical searches, Graeme came across an old aerial photo of the property that showed the outline of the original vineyard.

“We were able to overlay that with our mapping software and see just where each vine had been planted,” Ben says.

Given there was no such thing as treated pine round posts, galvanized wire or plastic clips in Herd’s day, the Cowley’s began collecting manuka posts, and searching for non galvanised number eight wire on surrounding properties.

Their aim was to recreate the vineyard exactly as Herd would have developed it.

The end result is a tiny plot of 400 vines, held up by manuka poles, weaving their way through number eight wire, with strainer posts that actually come from the Meadowbank Station boundary fence, which Herd helped oversee the building of back in the 1870’s.

“Each vine is planted in exactly the same place that David Herd planted them,” Ben explains.

“We also had David Herd’s great grandson, Felix Herd (who was in his 90’s) plant the first vines, Graeme elaborates.

While the family was certain Herd wanted to replicate the Rutherglen style of Muscat he had encountered in Victoria, Ben quickly realised that the Petits Grains Muscat they were growing, was unlikely to be capable of that.

“Originally we were trying to get the fruit as ripe as we possibly could to replicate that Rutherglen style. (There the fruit can reach 28 – 32 brix). What we

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

found though is that it got to 24 or 25 brix and that’s where it stopped, it wouldn’t go any further.

“That’s just how the vines have responded in a much cooler climate than where it is normally grown in say Australia or southern France.

“Over there it is known for small berries and tight clusters.

Here though they have been quite large berries and open clusters. And the vines are in an early part of their life, so they are quite virile.”

Viticulturally the Petits Grains Muscat is an early budder and can be an early ripener, although it can be left to hang for some time. Given it is an unknown variety in Marlborough Ben says he is learning as he goes, although there is a sense of the past always sitting on his shoulder.

“As you pick those grapes,

they will be exactly the same as they were when David Herd picked his grapes. It’s the same bit of dirt, the same vines, grown in exactly the same place. And other than the variation we have in climate, season-to-season, they are exactly the same. So in effect we are going through exactly what he went through 140 years ago.”

While the vines were planted in late 2010, this year was the first harvest. For winemaker Luc, it was as much of a learning curve as the growing of it had been for Ben. “It has been a journey into the unknown,” he admits.

Producing 600 litres of juice, he says the fruit was pressed in a similar way to any other white variety. But fermentation was where it all began to change tact.

Given Herd was as unlikely as the Cowley’s to get the brix level higher than 25, Luc came to the

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conclusion he would have had to make a fortified wine.

“He probably made a style similar to what we are trying to make, which is a bit more of a Beaumes De Venise, which is made in the south of the Rhone.

“What you do is different from normal winemaking. You stop the ferment at 100 grams of RS (residual sugar) and the way you stop it is by adding alcohol. So the wines end up with an alcohol level a little over 15 percent and quite a lot of RS. “We wanted to make a style that reflected Marlborough and the Muscat variety as well. A Beaumes De Venise is a style that is very aromatic and shows that Muscat character very nicely.”

But don’t expect to see any of the wine for sale this year. Luc says instead they are continuing their trials, with the majority of the juice being distilled for future vintages.

“We have tried a few different

styles. We made a dry style and we left some juice for future blending.

But the majority of the 600 litres of wine from the vineyard this year we distilled into spirits, which we will be able to use from the 2016 vintage onwards. So the brandy we will use to fortify it will be from the original vineyard and from that original clone.

“It’s amazing what we got from the spirits we distilled. It’s incredibly aromatic, with orange blossom and bright citrus aromas, which are so characteristic of the Muscat variety. It is going to be an interesting end wine.”

None will be barrel fermented he says, instead the wine is likely to be blended in future years and spend a considerable time in bottle before being sold.

And while the quantities will be extremely small, the interest aspect of the end product, let alone the historical significance, will be immense. ■

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REGIONS CENTRAL OTAGO

LIVING ON THE EDGE MARK ORTON

I

t’s Easter weekend 2015, and all over Central Otago picking crews are making their way up and down rows of grapevines in an eager quest to harvest the last fruit before a forecast cold front moves through.

During this time, smug souls from Bannockburn or Bendigo might be seen patting themselves on the back secure in the knowledge that they have once again seen off a climate catastrophe. They may even express a hint of sympathy for their grape- growing brethren in the nearby Gibbston Valley. After all, they are still two weeks away before the start of their harvest.

For a great percentage of

viticulturists and wine makers in New Zealand, growing grapes in the Gibbston Valley is akin to lunacy. Even on the back of a long hot summer, picking times in the valley run perilously close to the arrival of winter. Many skeptical observers suggest that it’s not possible to ripen grapes there; but that only steels the determination of those in the Gibbston to make wine that truly reflects the trials and tribulations, in the best possible flavors.

Many of the major labels in the Gibbston Valley have insurance policies, plots of grapes scattered throughout the rest of the Central Otago that will provide a buffer for production if the Gibbston

grapes succumb to the climate.

But, what if you only made wine from grapes grown in the Gibbston Valley? Surely that is foolhardy, even slightly bonkers...but the team at Brennan wouldn’t have it any other way.

Nestled in the Valley of Vines and as the name suggests, Brennan is the passionate enterprise of the Brennan family. Sean Brennan who is the winemaker and proprietor spent his formative years growing up in North America, but even from an early age developed a love for a strange location at the Eastern End of the Gibbston Back Road.

“My father came here in the early 90s and decided to invest

Sean Brennan and Sarah Burton.

64 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

in a vineyard and winery which eventually became Peregrine wines. We had more or less been coming here every year of my life, and it’s this incredible landscape that has always been something I wanted to be part of.”

Initially selling the grapes from their original plantings to Peregrine, Sean Brennan decided in 2006 to take the plunge and start the Brennan label. Over the next few years, they gradually sold less and less fruit, converted the tractor shed into a winery and got busy growing their business.

With 10 hectares of vines spanning an average age of over 10 years, Brennan now has some of the more mature plantings in this sub region. They are ideally placed to comment on some of the naysayers who venture that it’s not possible to ripen grapes here. “ People who say that it’s insane to make wine here are probably not too far off the mark” says Brennan. “We are very much growing on the edge of where you can produce fruit that makes great wine, but I think that is part of what makes it so unique. In the early days in Gibbston, the running joke was that the grapes were ready when the leaves fell off. The reality is that they are ripe sometimes before we even think they are ripe.”

In any Central Otago vineyard, frost is a fact of life, but perhaps none more so than in the Gibbston Valley. Significant frost damage to vulnerable young shoots in spring can be catastrophic.

“During that period you sleep

almost never, it’s the nerviest time of the year. While the vines will reshoot, obviously there will be less fruit. For years I can remember sitting in the office checking the temperature over and over, checking the flax-bushes to see if we had any wind, and it doesn’t actually do you any good. It’s best to go to sleep and when the frost alarm goes, get up and deal with it. Driving yourself insane for the things you can’t change is not going to make better wine.”

Typically during this time, Brennan will accompany the helicopter pilots from 3 in the morning to make sure that the power lines slung menacingly above the vines don’t hook any rotors and also to keep an eye on what is happening to his precious plants below.

“So much of growing grapes here, is about understanding

what happens on the land and that means seeing from the air what happens at 4am in a frost.

It’s every bit as good as walking through the vineyard. But even with helicopters flying every night, you can still spend $10-15k to still wake up without a vineyard, or not really wake up, more like step out of the helicopter.”

One might think, that with

such anxiety on an annual basis, Brennan would be tempted to implement some form of insurance policy, like having some of their grapes grown elsewhere? But, that would be underestimating the strength and conviction of their philosophy and Sean’s own stubborn demeanor.

“Sure, there are some great wines coming from all over

Central Otago, but the ones that I know best come from right here.

You just accept that the challenges are what they are, and you do the best with what you get every year.

“By having a season that you basically have no buffer on, the vines are in this state that they have got to go now and they have to finish here. For me, that sense of tension comes through in the

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wines, it almost feels like you are sitting on a cliff face driven by the season.”

While Brennan’s cavalier nature and obstinate philosophy might illicit admiration from outsiders, what about from those inside the organisation? Two years ago Sarah Burton moved about as far as you can get from the relative warmth and efficiency of Marlborough’s Cloudy Bay to make wine in a tractor shed surrounded by jagged snowcrusted schist.

“I had been based in Marlborough for 10 years and I wanted to get more hands on, which is definitely what I got” she says. “I’m used to being hot and warm when the fruit is being picked, and here you need patience to work with the weather as you have a lot less control.”

Normally, Brennan don’t even think about picking until at least the 15th of April which was something of a bizarre initiation to the reality of Gibbston Valley for Burton’s first harvest “Yeah, we were coming up to

66 //

the harvest and the leaves were starting to yellow off a bit, and I think Sarah was a little bit scared,” says Sean.

“Not just scared, I was totally freaked out. If I was Sean I think I would have pulled all my hair out by now,” says Burton.

This season, the team made the prudent decision to pick a couple of days earlier than planned due

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

to an incoming weather pattern.

Even though the sugar is a little bit lower than where they would normally harvest, Sean is beaming after tasting the initial results.

“The wines are every bit as good as any other season. As long as our acids are not through the roof, and the flavours are there and the tannins have started to really ripen in the skins, then you can

make some pretty amazing wines and should do.

“Because each season is so different, you have an opportunity to get a historical record in the bottle of what went on in that season. To do that, you have to learn to step back and be comfortable with things that definitely aren’t comfortable.”

Right in the midst of her second vintage, the practical reality of making wine at Brennan is not lost on Burton, especially as they only just managed to get electricity installed in the tractor shedcum winery for this vintage.

“What I have learnt since being here is that you actually don’t need much to make great wine. Good fruit is number one, them some fermenters and a water blaster...I have been lucky to work in wineries with all the toys that can compliment what we do, but you can easily do without them,” Burton says.

“Patience is as massive as is trusting your instincts. From a winemaker’s perspective it can be really liberating. I like to call what we do here ‘controlled winemaking with no control’”.

Living on the edge is another way of putting it. ■ seeingredmedia@yahoo.com

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SUSTAINABILITY UPDATE

SUSTAINABLE VIDEO TESSA NICHOLSON

A

s the US market continues to grow for New Zealand wine, a two-minute video promoting our sustainable wine practices is about to be launched.

In May, Colin West of WINERAM Productions was in the country getting an up close and personal view of what sustainability means to the New Zealand wine sector.

Along with Robert Holmes and Angela Johnson from Lumaria Productions they visited each

of the major regions gathering a mix of written, photographic and video material which will be used to create a media campaign, aimed initially at the US market.

NZW communications manager Sarah Szegota says despite the inroads our wine has made in the US, getting the sustainability message across can be difficult.

“The objective is to raise the profile of the New Zealand wine sustainability story in the US. It’s a market which is incredibly

important to the industry, but one that is often quite hard to get noticed in.”

WINERAM Productions has already made a name for itself as a company producing wine related documentaries.

(WINERAM is the acronym for Wine Region A Minute). It is the brainchild of West, who was born in America, studied wine in Italy, and completed his Masters in Wine Business at University of Adelaide, prior to coming to live in New Zealand. While working as

One of the stills taken by the film crew while in Marlborough – horse drawn spraying at Seresin Estate.

a sommelier he saw the growing thirst (excuse the pun) for wine related videos that could be viewed by consumers either via online sources or via television networks. Unable to establish the company here in New Zealand, he headed back to America in 2011 to set up WINERAM. He quickly established contacts with a variety of media outlets, including the ABC’s international channels, (46 in all). He has already produced three documentaries, one on South Africa, one on Australia and the other on New Zealand.

Admitting to having a love affair with this part of the world, his recent production will help tell the sustainable winegrowing story, as part of NZW’s Sustainability Communications Plan.

West says they are not focusing on what the word means, or trying to define why it is so important to the world.

“We are trying to reach viewers on a more personal level, which we think will drive engagement. People will watch it and understand why it is that these (wine growers in New Zealand) do what they do.”

The material gathered by West

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Resources available to date include maps, varietal guides, regional guides, videos, infographics, and presentations.

More resources will be uploaded over time.

If a picture paints a thousand words then some of these presentations will leave you with little to add. The Sustainability message is strong throughout, but there are also a number of other important tools available. There is a map of each wine-growing region, presented as a fly over, showing sub regions and topography. The NZ Story is available for download, along with a wide range of consumer brochures that focus on individual regions along with varietals. These are a fantastic source of information if you are preparing a presentation outside of New Zealand.

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“We want to take it to international film festivals and to international theatrical release. We want to take the time to make sure that we teach a very large audience on an international level. It will be way past just the ABC audience.”

His goal is to produce something that will gain the exposure of the movie Somm, a movie released in 2013 and covering four men’s efforts to gain the qualification of Master Sommelier. Somm was produced

by Jason Wise, an industry acquaintance of Colin’s.

“He did a really great job and it is an example of the success a feature film can have in the international film industry.

We want to match that level, or hopefully exceed that.”

Given Somm kick started the Master Sommelier qualification in terms of publicity, imagine what a feature film that covers the New Zealand wine industry could do for international sales. ■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

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and his team will not only be used in the US. Szegota says the content will be offered to a variety of media outlets in important key markets, including publications, magazines both online and print, and television channels. Some of West’s contacts which have shown interest include; Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Honest Cook Magazine - which has a million unique viewers every month and 60,000 views online, Gourmet Traveller, Wine Channel TV in US, and Vine Pair in the US. While the visit this year was focusing on the sustainability story, West said they were also laying the groundwork for a future film that will be based on wine regions throughout the world – although he says New Zealand will play a large part in it. It is a project he has big plans for. Likely to be between 60 and 90 minutes long, depending on the story being told, it will offered to the ABC’s 46 international channel, but will reach an even wider audience.

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EVENT NEWS

PAST, PRESENT AND BEYOND JUSTINE TYERMAN

A

veritable feast of Gisborne’s finest cultural, historical, gastronomical and of course oenological attributes will be on display at New Zealand’s first Chardonnay and Sparkling Symposium early next year.

The New Zealand Winegrowers event is dedicated to comprehensive wine tastings with a focus on exploring the rich quality, diversity and future developments of New Zealand sparkling wine and Chardonnay.

The event, titled Past, Present

and Beyond . . . the Tale of New Zealand Chardonnay and Sparkling will take place from February 4 to 5, following on from the International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration being held in Marlborough.

Following a process where all regions were asked to submit a proposal to host the symposium, Gisborne was selected.

“Gisborne put together a strong and creative proposal and I am sure will deliver a great experience for the attendees”, said Chris Yorke, Global Marketing

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Event organiser Prue Younger says Gisborne is the perfect venue for such an event, given its vast history and stunning scenery, to say nothing of its wines.

“It is a significant national heritage status as the site where Captain James Cook first stepped ashore in 1769 and the abundant blessings of our wonderful Maori performing arts, beautiful beaches and stunning cuisine, means guests are in for a rare treat.”

The symposium begins on February 4 with a traditional Maori

welcome as guests arrive in the afternoon at Gisborne Airport by charter plane from Blenheim.

Dinner on Thursday evening is at Matawhero Vineyards - one of the country’s most notable pioneer wine companies - with distinguished historian, writer and academic Dame Anne Salmond as keynote speaker.

Friday is dedicated to in-depth tastings with a focus on exploring the rich, regional diversity and future developments of New Zealand Sparkling wines in the morning session and New

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Zealand Chardonnay wines in the afternoon.

Winemakers Clive Jones (Nautilus Estate) and Michael Brajkovich MW (Kumeu River Wines) and a panel of experts will

discuss four flights of six wines at each presentation.

The venue for dinner on the second evening is a marquee on stunning Midway Beach with canapés served on the

sand. Nationally acclaimed but Gisborne owned, soloist Mere Boynton will entertain guests in the marquee as local chefs present seafood matched with New Zealand’s top wines.

For those able to stay on, there will be a Saturday morning tour of other iconic industry players.

Attendance at this premium event is limited to 100 delegates. ■ justine.tyerman@clear.net.nz

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REGIONS GISBORNE

GISBORNE’S FRENCH TWIST JUSTINE TYERMAN

T

he birth of the Gisborne Garagiste Wine Company can be attributed to the consumption of a fine bottle of Gewürztraminer, say the founders of the business.

It must have been a wine with considerable punch because the three friends - Peter Bristow, Brent Laidlaw and Russell Walsh – on one auspicious occasion in 2012 came up with the idea of setting up their own wine company.

Laidlaw had worked with French ‘garagiste’ pioneer JeanRoger Calvet during the 2000 vintage in France so it did not take much persuasion to convince his mates - all former workmates and winemakers at Montana - to launch their own ‘vins de garage’.

‘Garagiste’, a term originally

coined to describe a movement that originated 26 years ago in Bordeaux characterised by small-quantity, high-quality wine producers whose production ‘was so small that it would fit into a garage’, seemed a perfect fit.

There was just a small problem to contend with, the fact they all had full-time jobs and any business venture would have to be sandwiched into their free time.

Brent was EIT (Eastern Institute of Technology) Tairawhiti’s tutor in viticulture and winemaking, Russell was production and Research and Development manager for Kiwi Juice and Peter was a winemaker for Pernod Ricard based in Marlborough.

(They still hold these positions).

“We wanted to make wines

Gisborne Garagiste Wine Company directors Russell Walsh (left), Brent Laidlaw (second from right) and Peter Bristow (right) with wine writer and commentator Raymond Chan.

72 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

that show characters of the earth and climate where they are grown.

Gisborne is such a wonderful place to make wine — it is absolutely legendary for making Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer and it is these two classic varieties that clicked with all three of us,” they said.

Their first vintage in 2012, a trial run with their two favourite varieties, produced 308 bottles of Gewürztraminer and 810 bottles of Chardonnay.

Since then, the company has seen steady growth and now offers five wines — a Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon blend, Viognier, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and St Laurent.

This vintage, they estimate production of about 5000 bottles.

With a collective involvement of 64 years in the wine industry, the trio always had confidence in their winemaking skills and the quality of Gisborne fruit but they have faced their fair share of challenges in the past three years.

“We came to the realisation pretty fast that while we were all winemakers, we were not salesmen so we had to work hard to build our sales and profile,” they said.

“So far all the money we make has gone back into the company. It will be another three years before we can pay a modest return to ourselves.

“But we think our business model is about right. The company has been growing year-on-year, slowly increasing production as

the funds allow. Our plan is to grow by 50 percent per annum to fund the next year of production.”

Their aim is not to stock supermarket shelves with cheap wine. Their ideal scenario is to have orders of 20-30 cases a year from high-end restaurants and wine shops, a vision which is already coming to fruition.

While the y all belie ve Sauvignon Blanc is the mainstay of the New Zealand wine industry, Laidlaw is interested in Sauvignon Gris.

“I’ve been making it for two vintages so I know its potential.

It captures both the Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc drinkers,” he said.

“It fits with our low-volume, high-quality garagiste philosophy so we might look to add it to our range next year.”

Reviewing their achievements over the last three years and acknowledging the French garagiste pioneers in whose footsteps they have walked, they said “while we nod to our French origins, our wines are a reflection of Gisborne’s terroir and vineyards, and the three of us as winemakers — we make wines that seek to excite the senses, engage the taste-buds and encourage discussion”.

And looking ahead, they said it would be great if the venture eventually supported the three of them full-time.

“That would the ultimate reward for our endeavours.” ■ justine.tyerman@clear.net.nz

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EVENTS BRAGATO

ROMEO BRAGATO CONFERENCE 2015 I

t is 21 years since the very first Romeo Bragato Conference was held. Back in 1995 it was organized by the New Zealand Grape Grower’s Council, aimed at providing growers with up-to-date information on what was happening out there in the vineyard. It was appropriately named after the founding father of New Zealand’s viticulture industry – Italian trained viticulturist Romeo Bragato.

These days, while the name remains the same, the event is organized by NZ Winegrowers and covers more than just viticulture. Marketing and winemaking are now dovetailed nicely into the programme of events.

The Bragato conference is a major source of providing information back to NZW members on research currently being undertaken, as well as provid-

74 //

ing a platform to discuss what is happening in the world of wine both within and outside New Zealand.

This year’s conference is no different. Guest speakers from as far afield as the UK, South Africa, America and France will join an array of New Zealand industry personnel to deliver an information packed two and a half days.

Among the many presenters will be Philip Poole, Chief Marketing Officer for Whittakers, Michael Walton, from Nielsen Pacific, Melanie Brown from The New Zealand Cellar in London, Professor Gerhard Pietersen from

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

the University of Pretoria, Bob Campbell MW, and Olivier Yobregat from the French Vine and Wine Institute.

Subjects covered will include; eliminating virus, using social media and online retail to build customers, nitrogen leaching and water management, vector management, innovative branding, latest rootstocks, managing the understory, with a number of sections also looking at the Lifestyle Wines programme Providing the motivational address will be Vinh Giang, an entrepreneur and magician.

While those attending will have their heads full of the latest information, there is also the chance to relax during the Bragato Dinner. Held on the Thursday night, the winners of the Bragato Wine Award Trophies will be announced, as will the winners of the Bayer Young Viticulturist of the Year and the Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year. Well known television personality Mike McRoberts will be the MC for the evening.

While the Bragato conference has been held in Marlborough for the past three years, this year it heads back to Hawke’s Bay and will be held at the Pettigrew Green Arena in Taradale from Wednesday 26 to Friday 28 August.

Registrations are available now at www.bragato.org.nz (Full programme available on pages 76-77) ■

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 79

COMPETITION NEWS

THE BEST OF THE BEST TESSA NICHOLSON

I

t is an often used phrase – great wine begins in the vineyard – and those behind the Bayer Young Viticulturist of the Year competition strongly believe it. That is why they are keen to celebrate the youth of today, who will play a major role in the great wine of the future.

For the past 10 years, New Zealand viticulturists under the age of 30 have been pitting themselves against their peers in an effort to take out the national title and represent the wine industry at the National Horticulturist of the year competition.

Over the years our young vits have been impressive with five of them going on to become the Young Horticulturist of the Year.

They were Marcus Wickham (Marlborough) in 2006, Emma Taylor (Hawke’s Bay) in 2007, Caine Thompson (Hawke’s Bay) in 2009, Stuart Dudley (Marlborough) in 2010 and Braden Crosby (Wairarapa) in 2012.

Just who will be the representative of the wine industry

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in 2015 and will they be able to stake a claim on the horticultural title as well?

That has yet to be decided, at the Bayer National competition in Hawke’s Bay later in August.

At the time of printing, not all the regional competitors had been decided so we can’t preview The five finalists in the 2014 National Young Vit competition, those taking part in the From left; Mike Winter (Central Otago), Paul Robinson – national competition. We winner (Hawke’s Bay), Dan Manuge (Nelson), Brenton O’Riley (Marlborough), and Jeffrey Farrell (Martinborough). can tell you though, that they will be put through their paces, well and truly. proudly sport the title of Bayer Young Winemaker competition Not only will they take part in National Young Viticulturist of is being held in New Zealand. practical viticultural events, they the Year, they will also win $2000 Again we can’t tell you who all will also have to impress a panel in prize money, a $5000 travel the representatives are for this of judges, will have to show their grant to travel to any wine region upcoming competition, as some knowledge of pests and diseases, in the world (provided by the New of regions had yet to finalise their their financial skills, show their Zealand Society for Viticulture representatives at the time of competence in an array of vineyard and Oenology), wine glasses, and printing. theoretical events, compete in a a year-long lease of a fully serviced However three competitors representing Marlborough, fun “horti-sports” sector and Hyundai Fe SUV. Hawke’s Bay and Central deliver a three minute speech to Otago will be fighting it out, the audience attending the Romeo Tonnellerie de Mercurey also at the Romeo Bragato Bragato dinner.

Young Winemaker The winner will not only For the first time ever a conference.

National organizer Sophie Matthews says the competition has been a long time coming.

“We are really excited about this and everyone in the industry agrees that there is a need for something like this competition to recognize young professionals wanting to make a go of their careers.”

With a focus on marketing, theory and practical areas the competition is not about wine the contestants have made in previous vintages, Matthews says.

“Basically it will be a real mix, Past national winners, from left: Marcus covering what a winemaker is Wickham, Emma Taylor,Simon Bishell, Caine expected to do in their everyday Thompson, Stuart Dudley, Nick Paulin, Braden Crosby, Matt Fox and Paul Robinson. work life.” ■

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WINE AWARDS

CHANGES AFOOT TESSA NICHOLSON

T

his year’s Romeo Bragato Wine Awards will be different to those in the past, with the awards split into two sections.

Chairman of Judges Ben Glover, says “the time has come to acknowledge the single vineyard wines that are emanating throughout New Zealand”.

“There has always been a requirement where the wine entered has to be predominantly 85 percent of an estate owned vineyard. This has been renamed the Domaine class, across all varieties.

“We have introduced a single vineyard class across all categories, where the wine must be a

minimum of 95 percent from a single vineyard.”

The change should not impact any entrant, who has entered in previous years, Glover says.

Rather, it will provide an opportunity for a winemaker, owner or company to celebrate and show their single vineyard wines.

“We want to know more about them, and we also want to celebrate and reward those sites and growers.”

Despite this change, Glover is ensuring the wines will all be judged together as each wine needs to stand on its own two feet and be rewarded accordingly.

“We will award and reward separately.”

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The 2015 Romeo Bragato Wine Awards will also feature two new sections – alternative Sauvignon Blanc and a minimal intervention class.

“We are keen to explore and assess, whether there is interest in these emerging wine styles. And I feel the Bragato wine awards are a perfect forum to understand this.”

The judging panel under Glover will include Emma Jenkins MW, James Millton – Millton Estate, Simon Nunns – Coopers Creek, Dave McGee – Black Barn, Barry Rewai – Alpha Domus, Sarah-Kate Dineen – Maude, James Rowan – Westbrook/Soho and Rod Easthope – Easthope Wines. For the first time an

international judge will join the panel – Australian Dan Simms from Bottle Shop Concepts. The associates are, Liz Wheadon – General Manager, Glengarry’s, Francis Hutt – Winemaker, Carrick and Greg Alison – Winemaker, Trinity Hill.

“I have tried to fashion a cohesive pool of judges with a range of different strengths and foresight.

It is great to have Dan Simms on board; as he will bring a new perspective and energy to the Bragato Wine Awards. ” Judging of the wines will take place on August 22 and 23, with the trophies presented at the Romeo Bragato Conference dinner, in Hawke’s Bay on August 27. ■

WINE AWARDS

CHARDONNAY TOPS AGAIN IN GISBORNE JUSTIINE TYERMAN

“A big rich, opulent Chardonnay,” took top honours at the 2015 Gisborne Regional Wine Awards in May. Chairman of judges, Simon Nunns, said the Corbans 1902 Chardonnay 2013 was the clear overall winner ahead of 115 other wines to take the GisVin Ltd Supreme Wine of Show.

“Corbans has been making good wines in this district for decades, so it is a fitting win,” said Nunns.

Lion, who own the Corbans label, were also the highest

awarded wine company.

The award-winning wine is part of a special new label for Corbans, and pays homage to the company’s long-standing place in New Zealand winemaking.

1902 is when Corbans’ founder Assid Corban bought four hectares of land in Henderson . . . and so began a piece of viticultural history.

Lion’s North Island operations winemaker Jane De Witt says she thought the wine was a winner from the start.

“It is just awesome to win this,”

she said. “Gisborne does such a great Chardonnay and this one is quite special.”

“We wanted something that was a really punchy Chardonnay with lots of fruit, and that wow factor.”

Matawhero Wines had a successful competition too, winning the overall top red and other blends class with their Pinot Noir 2013. The Matawhero Wines Chardonnay 2014 won the unoaked Chardonnay class. The Matawhero Church House Malbec 2013 won the Malbec and blends class, while the Matawhero Church

Road Chenin Blanc 2014 took out the other whites class.

As well as the wines, two indiviudals were honoured. John Clarke for his outstanding contribution to the local wine industry, while Denis Irwin won the Bill Irwin Trophy for his efforts. ■ justine.tyerman@clear.net.nz

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REGIONS WAIRARAPA

WEATHERING 35 YRS JOELLE THOMSON

A

fter three decades of winemaking, Clive Paton says that he might have expected to see a few similarities in weather patterns from one year to the next, but he admits he hasn’t. This has not always made for an easy ride as a winemaker in Martinborough, but it has made for a high quality journey, he told a roomful of restaurateurs, sommeliers and writers in Auckland, mid year.

The tasting was to mark 35 vintages of winemaking and his own change in career direction. A former shear milker in the southern Wairarapa, Paton had been bitten by the wine bug early in his

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life, thanks to his father’s years stationed in Italy, during World War II. Wine intrigued him and, when he heard about the fledgling wine industry in Martinborough, he jumped in at the deep end.

“It’s funny; sometimes when you don’t know what you’re doing, you end up doing the right thing,”

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

says Paton, looking back at what could easily be described as a rash purchase of land when he was keen to make a career change from farming to wine.

He hasn’t looked back.

While he remains actively involved in the winery, he and his partner, Phyll Pattie, have what they describe as an exceptional

winemaker now in Helen Masters.

The biggest growing challenge in Martinborough is the spring wind, says Masters.

“It’s never been an option to crop with high yields; that was wrested out of Clive’s control fairly early on; it is a low yielding region,” says Masters. ■ joellethomson@vodafone.co.nz

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WINEMAKING NEWS

ON SITE BRETT TESTING TESSA NICHOLSON

B

rettanomyces bruxellensis is the bane of winemakers throughout the world. Known simply as Brett, its impact can lead to unpleasant aromas and wine spoilage, if left undetected.

In scientific terms, the three most important known aroma active compounds associated with Brett are; • 4-ethyl phenol (4-ep), which has been variously described as having the aromas of Band-aids®, antiseptic and horse stable • 4-ethyl guaiacol (4-eg) which has a rather pleasant aroma of smoked bacon, spice or cloves • Isovaleric acid which has an unpleasant smell of sweaty animals, cheese and rancidity.

Other characters associated with Brett include wet dog, creosote, burnt beans, rotting vegetation, plastic and (but not exclusively caused by Brett) mouse cage aroma and vinegar.

Brett has been isolated from the outside of grapes and from

winery equipment, however its favoured winery haunt is the oak barrel.

Certain conditions are known to favour the growth of Brettanomyces during winemaking. If low free sulfur dioxide levels are coupled with high wine pH and warm temperatures during barrel maturation, then issues may arise.

If older oak is used and the wine has a reasonable amount of dissolved oxygen…. look out!

Furthermore it is thought that Brett can also multiply after bottling if the wine contains residual fermentable sugars, a situation made more likely if the wine was minimally filtered.

Until recently the only ways for a winemaker to test for Brett within the wine, has been to do plate tests, which can take days to deliver results, or DNA testing, where wine samples are taken and tested in an established scientific laboratory.

However a new product on the market is promising to revolution-

ise the testing process, offering winemakers a four-hour testing time, on-site in the winery.

Veriflow®BRETT is the brainchild of American company Invisible Sentinel, and while it has been in the market place for just over a

year, it is already getting big raps from more than 150 wineries world-wide, including some here in New Zealand.

Ben Pascal is the company’s chief business officer, who says the new technology has made

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molecular diagnostics accessible to all wineries.

“Typical molecular diagnostics are very expensive and cumbersome and the results have often been inconsistent. It is not something that can be deployed directly at the winery,” he says.

“Veriflow allows for a molecular system to be deployed inexpensively within the winery, making it much easier to run samples in less than half a day. Anyone in the winery can do this.”

The simplicity of the system is its greatest advantage. All that is required is a 25 ml sample of wine, which is spun down, transferred to a test kit, placed in a thermo cycler, left for two and a half hours, and then transferred onto a test cassette.

“This kind of looks like a pregnancy test kit,” Pascal says. “There are either one or two lines. If only one line (shows up) it means you are negative for Brett. Two lines means you are positive. So the read out is something that anyone can understand. You are basically reading DNA on what looks like a pregnancy kit, and that’s novel, no one has ever been able to do that before.

“The intensity of the second line correlates to the level of Brettanomyces, which is important to the winemakers – they need to know how much is actually there.”

All this is done within a four and a half hour period, meaning winemakers can move quickly to get on top of the issue if Brett is discovered.

Prior to launching the product last April, Pascal says they validated it by working alongside Jackson Family Wines in the US, a company known for their premium product. He said one of the major talking points during the

validation was the ability to be pro active rather than reactive when dealing with potential spoilage.

“Our groups have put plans in place that they test at four critical points. We test at fermentation, which is very new. It means you can test just what you are bringing into the winery from the vineyard.

“The next stage would be aging. During racking, when you are working with the wine.

“The third point of place where you test is at topping.

“And the forth place is just before you bottle.

“In the past lots of winemakers would do Brett testing because they smelt something or suspected they had Brett in their barrels. Or else they did it as a standard test. But what Veriflow®BRETT allows them to do is be pro active and test before they think something may be wrong.”

Which means they can react well before any potential spoilage takes effect.

The very portable and small testing kit can undertake 24 samples at a time – meaning multiple barrel lots, or blends can be checked every four and a half hours.

In terms of costs, Pascoe says each individual test works out as “typically 50 – 75% less than other molecular diagnostics.

“And if you look at the capital equipment costs, it is 80% less than other competitors capital costs.”

Veriflow®BRETT has already gained numerous awards in the US and has been labeled as a “game changer in the vineyard” by Forbes magazine.

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REGIONS MARLBOROUGH

CONSOLIDATION THROUGH MERGER TESSA NICHOLSON

The iconic Highfield winery, in Marlborough.

Now home to Highfield TerraVin Ltd.

I

f two heads are better than one, than two top wine brands must be something special. That is a sentiment expressed by the three men who have brought together two top Marlborough wine labels.

Highfield Estate and TerraVin Wines have consolidated their holdings to become Highfield TerraVin Ltd, in what those involved describe as a synergistic move.

The winemakers of both former labels (Gordon Ritchie of TerraVin and Al Soper of Highfield) along with Pete Coldwell the General Manager of Highfield have combined their talents to establish the new company.

“It is about simple synergies,” Coldwell says. “Highfield has a

winery, but not much in terms of vineyards. Whereas TerraVin has a vineyard, but no winery. Coming together offers us great opportunities in terms of future production along with sales and marketing.”

One of the oldest wineries in the Marlborough region, Highfield was established back in 1989. It quickly became renowned for its Sauvignon Blanc and Méthode Traditionnelle. In fact it was one of the first to add a French influence to its sparkling wine, by working with Michel Drappier of French house, Champagne Drappier.

TerraVin was formed in 1998 and its primary focus was on producing wines from hillside grown fruit, particularly Pinot Noir. The 30-hectare vineyard is situated in

The new owners of Highfield Terravin Ltd, from left; Al Soper, Pete Coldwell and Gordon Ritchie.

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

the Southern Wither Hills, and produces not only Pinot, but also Sauvignon Blanc and some Chardonnay. Winemaker Ritchie says the hillside soils provide a unique expression.

“The wines really do show where they come from.”

For the three men involved in the formation of the new company, it is a chance to take control of their own destiny as well as that of the wines they are involved with.

Ritchie and Soper say despite the coming together of the two labels, each of them will retain control of their individual wines.

“The labels will remain; we will still have both Highfield and Terravin,” Ritchie says. “We want to

maintain the personality and character of those wines and to do that, we need to retain our individual approaches to winemaking.”

“Both companies have developed their own niche markets,” Soper adds, “so while we will be collaborative, we will not be attempting to look the same.”

All three men are now stakeholders in the new look company, which they say shows their commitment to the Marlborough region.

“We are three like minded blokes getting together,” Coldwell says. “We all love Marlborough, we all love the wines from Marlborough and we want to be part of Marlborough going forward.”

“It will be nice to actually have skin in the game,” Ritchie says.

“And it will be nice to see the continuity of both labels, with added opportunities.”

The Highfield winery can handle 550 tonnes of fruit, and while all three men say the opportunity to expand is being considered, it won’t be happening within the immediate future.

The good news for consumers is that the iconic Highfield winery designed by Sir Michael Fowler will reopen its restaurant this coming summer. Both the TerraVin and Highfield wines will be available at the cellar door. ■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

BOB’S BLOG BOB CAMPBELL MW

SUPERCILIOUS SOMMELIERS For a number of years I have judged the finalists in Australia’s Wine List of the Year competition. It’s a pleasure to peruse the indulgent lists of the top six restaurants although it inevitably raises my blood pressure to a dangerously high level.

I use my own weighted scale to arrive at a score and ranking for each list. I use such obvious criteria as layout, depth of wines on offer, number of wines by the glass etc. As a Kiwi judge I include a rating for selection and depth of New Zealand wines. That’s when my blood starts to boil. An increasing number of restaurants with wine lists of over 1000 labels don’t include a single bottle of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc – a wine style that I believe accounts for around 40% of the Australian white wine market.

It’s an absolute travesty (excuse me while I take a sedative)!

The precious sommeliers who put these lists together are ignoring the needs of their customers and are compiling an “aren’t I clever” volume of obscure wines. They can have a great depth of wines from the Jura and an undrinkable collection of “orange” wines while ignoring basic benchmark styles that many of their customers are likely to demand.

It gets worse. I dined with a group of friend at a very upmarket Auckland restaurant recently and was given the task of choosing the wine. A quick survey revealed the 15 people wanted an almost equal mix of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The reasonably comprehensive list didn’t include a single local Sauvignon Blanc so I was forced to order an expensive Sancerre which the Sauvignon-lovers said tasted like battery acid. A subsequent phone call to the slightly embarrassed sommelier revealed that it was a temporary oversight and that Marlborough Sauvignon would be added to the list.

Kiwis tend not to complain when we are short-changed but if we don’t react when we spot an obvious gap on a wine list nothing will change.

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

ICONS AND CULTS I’ve been invited to deliver a presentation on Iconic wines at the Bragatto conference and am enjoying researching the topic. The first step was to define an “iconic wine”. My definition is: High quality Internationally recognised One of the country’s best examples Have ageing potential That needs to be differentiated from a cult wine, which I define as: High quality Likely to be adventurous or unusual Hotly pursued by wine geeks (i.e. the cult) A cult wine could turn into an iconic wine but the reverse is less likely.

I then identified 15 candidates for iconic wine status (we’ll taste a handful at the Bragatto conference) and emailed the brand owners with a brief questionnaire. With about half the responses in (I think some of my emails may have found their way into spam folders) I am starting to build a profile of a cult wine.

It is likely to have been first produced in 2001 or earlier, has a retail value over $60, is never entered in wine competitions, most is sold in export markets, it’s likely to be allocated, likely to be from a single vineyard and have a recommended cellaring potential of more than 10 years. Two-thirds are red and most of those are blended. More than half the producers that have responded so far say their wine is made every vintage. Presumably they keep quality high by a selection process which reduces production in difficult vintages.

When I asked how their wine achieved iconic status I got a variety of interesting answers including: “Limited production, luxury price/brand positioning and a great product that stands up to all the hype” “Restraint in not producing in poor vintages … stellar reviews” (they average eight wines in each decade) “Low yields, good viticulture, sensitive winemaking” “Consistent quality, sensitive pricing” “High quality, good timing” The interesting question remains, “does an iconic wine just happen or is it possible to deliberately set about creating one in much the same way as they created the Spice Girls?”

Perhaps I’ll have the answer by the time I climb on stage at the Bragato.

PORT DAY They are celebrating Port Day in Porto on 10th September. I received an invitation to attend the one-day event – travel and accommodation courtesy of the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto but declined with thanks.

I will, however, celebrate the event by opening a bottle of vintage port using my port tongs. I went through a bit of a “vintage port stage” many years ago and bought quite a bit from several producers and various vintages. Hot tip – If you ever see Dow 1980 at auction, buy it. The vintage has an average reputation but the wine is spectacular.

I don’t drink port very often (who does?) but when I do I use my

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tongs to decapitate the bottle with cork intact. All my vintage port is 1985 or older, making it very difficult to extract old and crumbly corks. The solution is to heat my tongs until they are red hot, clamp them around the neck of the bottle before removing the tongs and applying a damp cloth. There is an audible “click” and the neck lifts off the bottle with intact cork inside. Careful decanting removes the wine from the sediment.

If you are struggling to think of a present for the wine enthusiast who has everything, port tongs could be the answer.

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER // 91

REGIONS HAWKE’S BAY

BLACK AS NIGHT JOELLE THOMSON

C

raggy Range Winery is shrouded in misty haze on the chilly winter day that winemaker Matt Stafford has decanted some of the hottest reds he has ever made; a trio of 2013 wines labeled the Prestige Collection.

Is this the best vintage ever for red wines from Hawke’s Bay and the Wairarapa? Or just a very good one?

“The foundation for 2013 was really created by that challenging cold season of 2012; when we were laying down the canes in the vineyard for the 2013 growing season, we always knew they were going to be quite low in terms of yield potential,” said Stafford.

Low yields can equate to high quality, but it was the dream run of weather that clinched it for the grapes harvested in 2013.

“We had pretty much a dream run from December 2012 when it was extremely warm through to

the consistent heat at the start of March in Hawke’s Bay. We then had a slow end to summer, so the grapes had slow maturation.”

The very warm, very dry weather in 2013 led to a drought which occurred so late in the grapes’ ripening season that vineyard health was not adversely affected, nor were the flavours of the grapes, says Stafford, because most of the ripening had taken place by that stage.

And because the days were warm but the nights remained cool, the alcohol levels did not rise excessively, while ripe fruit flavours very much did. The wines show this.

One of the top duo of Craggy Range Hawke’s Bay reds from 2013 has made it into the 2013 Annual Vintage Selection; selected from an independent blind tasting by the Australian-based Master of Wine, Andrew Caillard.

The Craggy Range Le Sol Syrah

Matt Stafford

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

was ranked among Caillard’s top 12 of the 46 that were submitted for his quality analysis.

There are two more top quality 2013 Craggy Range reds that put this vintage’s ripest foot forward; a Pinot Noir from the company’s Te Muna Vineyard in Martinborough and a Merlot-based red from the Gimblett Gravels.

It was the Pinot Noir that most surprised this writer because there have been vintages of Craggy Range Te Muna Martinborough Pinot Noir that have had a pronounced herbal edge, which is not always a detracting feature, but can be.

“This Martinborough Pinot Noir is made with grapes grown in our favourite parts of the vineyard.

What we judged to be the best blocks at Te Muna in the early years is very different to what we see them as now. Clone 114 has performed very well

for us at Te Muna and we released the Block 16 in 2011, which was 100% of that. Another important component is the Abel clone,” Stafford says.

The final ‘red’ in the trio is the intensely deeply ruby-purple coloured 2013 Craggy Range Sophia; a blend with Merlot in the driver’s seat and black-as-night looking Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc with a smidgeon of Petit Verdot ( just 1%) in the supporting roles. The inclusion of such a small proportion of Petit Verdot is noticeable in the blend.

It adds an inky blackness, firm smooth tannins and rich dark fruit flavours to this wine. The production of this Hawke’s Bay red was inspired by Bordeaux’ greatest right bank wines, which are Merlot-dominant blends.

The winery’s tagline for 2013 is that the stars aligned to provide warmth without excessive heat and a long season that enabled balanced ripeness, without translating to excessively high alcohol levels. ■ joellethomson@vodafone. co.nz

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REGIONS MATAKANA

A TOUCH OF TUSCANY P H I L I P PA R K E R

W

hen Tuscan winemaker Stefano Guidi dropped in to M atakana’s Heron’s Flight winery for the first time he wasn’t looking for a job, he was just there to sample their Italian varietal wines and chat with the winemaker.

Owners David Hoskins and Mary Evans weren’t really looking for a winemaker either, but since that first amiable meeting in Matakana in 2013, Stefano Guidi took a keen interest in Heron’s Flight’s winegrowing approach to Sangiovese and Dolcetto.

“I liked their approach of sustainable agriculture, the wines, the familiar atmosphere

The amphora is different – the tannins in the wine are one hundred percent from the grape. that reminded me a lot of the typical little Burgundy wineries - with a strong personality and deep soul. Me and Anna really loved (Matakana), very similar to our Tuscany - hilly with vines and olives trees.”

Over the next two years, Stefano supervised the winemaking albeit from a distance, while still working full time in Tuscany. He had previously gained an engineering

degree at the University of Milan, followed by a PhD in winemaking and studying oenology and viticulture in Bordeaux. His first winemaking job was in the Chianti Classico region, in Tuscany, where he worked mainly with Sangiovese - the dominant variety at Heron’s Flight.

Grapes were first planted at Heron’s Flight Vineyard and Winery in 1987 by David Hoskins, a chemist and philosopher turned

winemaker, and Mary Evans, a scholar and teacher. David (ex-Philadelphia USA) started off with plantings of Chardonnay, Cabernet and Merlot. Then in 1994 his infatuation with Italian wines led him to plant the Sangiovese. Since then, all the other vines have been pulled out and replaced with either Sangiovese or the northern Italian grape Dolcetto. Heron’s Flight produces around 1500 cases of wine per annum, mostly sold domestically, but with some exports to UK, Hong Kong and China.

When he returned to Italy, Stefano met Napier-born lyric

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soprano opera singer Anna Leese, and in January 2015 the newlyweds moved permanently to Warkworth where Stefano took over as chief winemaker at Heron’s Flight. As part of the inventory from Italy, Stefano imported a 500 litre terracotta amphora in his shipping container along with his household goods.

The amphora was made by a very tiny producer in Impruneta, close to Florence.

Stefano’s amphora is now being used to make Heron’s Flight’s flagship premium 2015 Sangiovese. Indigenous yeasts are used in a wild ferment and there is no use of sulphites. His technique involves removing around a third of the skins post fermentation, and then leaving the wine in contact with the remaining skins for four to six months.

He explains that the remaining skins prevent any oxidation by

constantly releasing tannins and polyphenols which are extremely strong antioxidants.

The wine will eventually be bottled after spending no time in barrel: “With barrel ageing, there is a marriage of the tannins of the oak and the tannins of the wine. The amphora is different – the tannins in the wine are one hundred percent from the grape.

After six months I take out all the skins from the amphora and then we bottle the wine.”

Stefano’s other pet projects at Heron’s Flight are making rosé, a Champagne style and a passito style sweet wine also from Sangiovese and Dolcetto (only about 50 litres) after drying the fruit on a mobile wooden rack that is put away at night.

“These are the old tricks that we use in the Mediterranean,” he chuckles. ■ phil.parker@xtra.co.nz

Mary Evans shows off the imported amphora to a cellar door visitor.

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 95

REGIONS CENTRAL OTAGO

Yoshi and Kyoko Sato, drawn to New Zealand by Central Otago Pinot Noir.

FROM TOKYO TO CENTRAL OTAGO MARK ORTON

I

t was a random bottle of Chilean wine that led Yoshiako and Kyoko Sato from Tokyo to Central Otago, in a round about sort of way.

The bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon picked up by 43-year-old Yoshiako (Yoshi) on his way home from work transported him and his wife Kyoko. It led them to try more wine, until suddenly they were keen to learn as much as they could about their new beverage.

When Yoshi’s bank in Tokyo transferred him to London in 2001, wine became more than a passing curiosity, for the couple, it became an all-consuming passion.

“With our limited knowledge of wine from Japan, you can imagine what happened when we got to

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London. Anytime I got a few days holiday from the bank, we went to France.”

Before long Yoshi realised he had a burning desire to make something himself.

“When I thought about making something, the only thing I thought about was making wine.

I simply imagined that it would be fantastic if my small wine cellar at home was full of my own wines.”

Initially entertaining thoughts about moving to France, the United States and even Australia, Yoshi decided without ever having visited, that New Zealand would suit them best.

“To be honest with you, we didn’t speak good French, and France is a really complicated

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

society so it might take 10 years to make my own wine, and that wasn’t going to work. The United States is really expensive and I didn’t have much knowledge about Australia and also, I wanted to make Pinot Noir. So in this regard, with the lovely nature, cool climate and nice people, we moved to New Zealand.”

After purchasing a Japanese wine magazine, Yoshi spotted an article on Blair Walter from Felton Road. Not being shy in coming forward, he contacted Walter out of the blue, asking for a job “ In 2005, Kyoko and I came to New Zealand for the first time.

We didn’t have a lot of time, so we came straight to Central Otago to see Blair. He actually looked

really embarrassed as here was this Japanese bank manger asking for a job.”

At the beginning of 2006 the pair came back to New Zealand to complete a one-year course in winemaking at Lincoln. Immediately after graduating, they made a beeline for Central Otago to see Blair.

“We knew Central Otago was focussing on quality Pinot Noir and we had already met Blair, so it was natural. Also, there were no other Japanese winemakers down here.”

Straightaway, the relationship they had formed paid off, and Yoshi and Kyoko were taken on as part of the Felton Road vineyard team. Realising that they were on a steep quest to realise the goal of

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making their own wine in record time, the globe trotting Sato’s spent the following three years swapping hemispheres learning more and more about natural wines as they travelled.

“We always had in our mind that we wanted to make natural wine, right from the beginning. But at that moment we knew we just had to survive in the industry, so we needed to be trained - a lot,” says Yoshi.

Like some form of brutal boot camp, just with grapes, Yoshi looks back on this time as incredibly valuable in his evolution as a winemaker. “Starting from seven in the morning to 8pm we just harvested. Then I would go into the cellar and work until 2 o’clock in the morning, and I did that for five weeks. I couldn’t do that now, but it was great training.”

For the next two years the couple undertook vintages in France

Ask

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as well as New Zealand, and then Yoshi found himself working with Duncan Forsyth at Mt Edward who, as he puts it; “Kicked me up the arse and said, ‘Yoshi, why don’t you start making your own wine?’ So together with doing the vintage at Mt Edward, I decided to process a few tonnes of Pinot Noir for myself.”

For that first wine making project, Yoshi and Kyoko were anything but conservative “To be honest,” says Yoshi, “in that first year we decided to add some tartaric acid because we didn’t fully establish our idea of winemaking in relation with the acidity level or pH in must.

Except for that, it is purely natural.

Natural ferment, natural malo, no additives, no sulphur dioxide until bottling. After that year, we no longer add acidity in wine.”

The Sato fondness for natural wine doesn’t come weighed down

with any pre-set philosophy, nod to contemporary fashion, or distrust of science “We just like the way it tastes,” says Kyoko. “Wine without additives is fascinating.

“It gives a different sensation on your palate and in your body. Of course we need precise knowledge based on science, not for adding any chemical or additives but trying to avoid them.”

“The grape should also be farmed in an organic or biodynamic way, so this way the grape really reflects the character of the site” says Yoshi. “We don’t want to manipulate or break that beautiful thing from the vineyard by adding something to the wine.”

Four years ago Yoshi was appointed winemaker at Mt Edward and with Kyoko working full time as part of the Felton Road vineyard team it would have been reasonable for their personal

production to take a back seat. Far from it.

“That 2011 vintage was very difficult for me,” says Yoshi. “I had to act as winemaker for Mt Edward as well as making my own wine.

Our volume was (growing) and in addition to Pinot Noir and Riesling we added Pinot Gris.”

And just to keep their customer base guessing, they pushed Pinot Gris aside in 2012 and ushered in Chardonnay while still making a small quantity of Riesling. Since their first vintage, where 80% of their limited production of 180 cases was exported to Japan, Yoshi and Kyoko have made major inroads into Australia.

While trying to get your hands locally on a bottle of Sato might be like trying to find additives in their wine, this is all part of Yoshi and Kyoko’s philosophy “It’s not like we are intentionally avoiding New Zealand, it’s

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more about attracting influence for our wine in bigger markets. If we get success in Australia, this information scatters to the other side of the world as well.”

If anything, the biggest issue facing the enterprising couple isn’t whether hipsters in swanky Sydney establishments will lose their taste for natural wine, or rogue yeast will spoil it, it’s how to secure a supply of grapes each year.

“For the future we need our own site so we are searching for a place now. What we are thinking about is finding 8-10 hectares, planting three hectares of grapes and together with the grapes that we purchase try to get our production up to 2000-2500 cases per year. The important thing is, the two of us can still manage three hectares ourselves and in this regard we can make money while maintaining our own style.” ■ seeingredmedia@yahoo.com

Kyoko is very much hands on during this year’s harvest.

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 99

REGIONS CENTRAL OTAGO

TARGETING TOURISM R

esults from a survey of wine tourists in Central Otago are being described as “invaluable” by leading winegrowers in the region.

Lincoln University has just released the results of a survey carried out last summer at 17 of Central Otago’s top cellar doors.

The results provide positive insights into the characteristics, habits and perceptions of wine tourists in the region, enabling the industry to better target this key market.

Central Otago Winegrowers’ Association President James Dicey said tourism is the next frontier for Central Otago’s wine industry.”

“Huge investment in Queens-

town airport and predicted significant increases in visitor numbers provides the industry with a massive opportunity.

“Knowing and understanding what wine tourists want and like is a key first step. This research is hugely beneficial for providing information to that end.”

A total of 178 respondents were interviewed, exploring the characteristics of Central Otago wine tourists, their activity and expenditure in the area as well as their perceptions of the region and their winery visit experiences.

Two-thirds of the respondents were from overseas, with most from Australia, USA and the UK. Though the 55-64 age group was

identified as the biggest spenders per person, the largest visitor bracket was well-educated 18-35 year olds.

The research suggests that the wine industry is playing a key role in the region’s tourism with most visitors staying in accommodation in nearby Queenstown or Arrowtown.

It outlines another ‘breed’ of tourist to the adrenaline junkies solely visiting Queenstown for bungy jumps and jet boat rides.

The average overall spend per person was $443, with many buying Central Otago wines to take home. Spending also appeared to be spread across a number of different areas, with wine tourists

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

predominantly visiting Gibbston, Wanaka and Cromwell during their stay.

The results suggest that Central Otago’s reputation as a great wine lover’s destination is growing – seventy-five percent had chosen to visit before leaving home, but only a quarter of international visitors had visited before.

As part of the study respondents were also asked what they thought of the region’s ‘image’ as a destination.

While stunning natural features came top of the list of attributes, wineries and vineyards came in at second.

That great scenery is apparently important when enjoying great wines – 42% said the natural elements were the most enjoyable aspect of their winery visit while a close 37% said they enjoyed the wine above all else.

Dicey said the survey gave a good indication of what wine tourists looked for in a destination.

“There are many great aspects of Central Otago and the wine produced here, but a better understanding of why people visit us is key to building on our strengths as a top wine destination.” ■

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SCIENCE PROFILE

SCIENCE OF WINE – MARK ELTOM TESSA NICHOLSON

A

fter six months NZWinegrower decided to find out more about the new NZW Research Programme Manager, Mark Eltom.

Canadian by birth, he has taken up his new role, after a varied and quite frankly, rather interesting career. From Canada to Australia, back to Canada, to New Zealand, to Africa and then back to New Zealand, the gambit of career moves he has undertaken are standing him in good stead. A science degree at the University of Western Ontario, followed by wine research, then a viticultural course in Australia, followed by working as a political legislative assistant, to a PhD in New Zealand, and now ensconced in NZW. The only real link between Eltom’s family and wine he admits was a cask of red that travelled from Italy to Canada with his grandparents after the First World War. Never opened, it still sits in a basement, a stark reminder of where his ancestors came from.

“I just hope it hasn’t all turned to vinegar by now.”

But from an early age Eltom knew the realms of science was where he was heading to. Just where in the field of science though, was an unknown.

“I did a degree in chemistry and biochemistry,” he says, “but like every other science undergrad, I thought I was going to end up in medical or nothing at all. I soon found out (medical) wasn’t for me. I like being outside too much.”

After completing his degree, his first job and one that has paved his career choices, was at the University of British Columbia Wine Research Centre, where he was a grape and wine chemist.

“Quite fortuitously, the viticulturist got another job and moved on. My boss asked me if I wanted to go out into the field and run the viticulture trials. At that point I had absolutely no idea about anything in the vineyard. I was a hard core analytical chemist.”

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The project he was working on, and learning very quickly about vines through, was the effects of shading on flavour and aroma profiles of Cabernet Sauvignon. To say he enjoyed the new role, is putting it mildly. He loved being out among the vines, really enjoyed his liaison with the viticulturists and growers involved in the trial work and thrilled to realise that his research may be of use to individual grape growers.

“Three years after the project began I was still figuring out what was going on viticulturally, when the vineyard manager came up to me and said; ‘So what’s this project going to tell us? Is it going to affect our practices?’ Nobody had asked me that question before – so it became a really important concept to me. Realising that research has to have application to the industry.”

Three years in the field made

Eltom realise he wanted to know more about what went on with viticulture, so he headed to Adelaide to undertake viticultural course work. With around 45 in his class, he was one of only four postgraduates that wanted to concentrate on

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viticulture. The rest wanted to be winemakers.

“And of that four, two were Canadian, one was Chilean and the other from Argentina. So there were no post graduate Australians in my class thinking they wanted to go into viticulture. That surprised me, as I thought everyone really loved that area.”

After completing the course work, Eltom did a U turn, back to Canada and instead of following the wine industry path, he moved into politics.

He was a legislative assistant for a member of parliament, which involved a lot of work with the house and legislature, as well as getting certain bills passed through government. It’s fair to say it was a far cry from research among the vines, although Eltom says his years in the political circles taught him a lot.

“Those two years opened my

eyes up on how to deal with people, understand them, stay calm and find the right incentive for the right solution,” Eltom admits.

“What I was doing reminds me a lot of what I do in this job now.

It involved working with different parties, each with a completely different point of view. I had to help get them all round the table and look at what we wanted to achieve and what were the best methods of doing that.”

But the lure of science ended up being too much for the legislative assistant.

He had always wanted to do his PhD, and after two years of politics, the time seemed right to make the move. Ironically, it was New Zealand he looked towards to achieve that.

“I had met Chris Winefield (senior lecturer at Lincoln University) and Mike Trought (principal scientist at Plant & Food) at

UBC, and was inspired by the work they were doing in New Zealand.

They said to give them a call if I was interested in studying in New Zealand. So I did. I called them up and they said they had a scholarship, so why not come on down.”

In October 2010, he did just that, and began working with Winefield and Trought on the influence of temperature and carbohydrate availability on inflorescence development.

Having undertaken research that relates significantly to the New Zealand wine industry, reaffirmed Eltom’s two loves - viticulture and science. He loved his time at Lincoln and quickly saw that what researchers and scientists were doing here, was directly impacting growers and winemakers in their own fields. Which is why he is loving his new role at NZW. “Research and innovation is

one of the key factors that will help the NZ wine industry stay competitive. All the information gained however, must be made available to the industry in an accessible manner, such as Grape Days and Bragato.

“It is also vital to gather and use the feedback from the industry to guide our research programme.”

Within his role he will be helping to oversee two major research projects, the Lifestyle Wines Programme and Vineyard Ecology Programme.

There are also many other research projects being undertaken; 22 in fact and Eltom says that he is up to the challenge and can’t wait to learn all about them.

“Being part of NZW is a lifetime opportunity for me, combining many of my passions. I am ecstatic to be part of the team.” ■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

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One year on... Big steps, small footprint.

Did you know that our Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand Programme is world-leading… and the world is talking about it?

Daniel Honan, Australian wine-blogger and writer for The Newcastle Herald wrote...

“From north to south, and all stops in between, New Zealand’s winegrowers are committed to the future of their land and country, and are producing wines which reflect the breath-taking beauty that surrounds them, in every glass” Peter Rockwell from Canada’s Metro News, Liquid Assets, and Wine Category Manager at Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation wrote...

“Winemakers here love the land, and their sustainability practice…It’s all about monitoring, measuring and trying to reduce their impact on their surroundings so future generations can continue to produce highquality wines from local geography” Closer to home, Timothy Giles from the NZ Herald has reported that the NZ wine industry is “setting the standard for winegrowing” and that “the country’s wineries are world leaders when it comes to the industry’s sustainability” Seven international media visitors were brought to New Zealand as part of the Sustainability Communications Plan last year. As a result there were over 37 articles published praising the industry’s sustainability practices in the UK, Canada, USA, Australia, Hong Kong and Sweden. This has resulted in widespread coverage from their published articles and the ever-expanding reach of social media.

This widespread recognition would not be possible without the industry’s commitment to sustainability, the foundations of the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand programme, and the huge strides we have all made.

It’s hard to believe that just over a year has passed since the launch of the new Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand scorecard WiSE (Wine Industry Sustainability Engine) in June 2014. We can all be proud of how much has been, and continues to be achieved. Knowing that the New Zealand wine industry continues to be seen as a world leader in sustainability proves that the work has been worthwhile.

104 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Since the launch of WiSE last year, Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand has received feedback that...

• WiSE makes it easier for you to complete your Scorecard • It saves time now that the Scorecard responds to your answers and only asks questions relevant to your situation • You like the flexibility of opting out of completing all voluntary questions • Locating all relevant sites in one place makes completing the Scorecard easier, as does having a single log-on to access everything • The new ‘copy’ function saves time when completing the next season’s Scorecard • The new range of videos and user guides helps with the transition to WiSE and GrapeLink • Having tools, templates and standards attached within the Scorecard Questionnaires makes it easier to find relevant help and guidance • Reporting is quicker and more relevant • Being able to attach your own documents within WISE helps keep all relevant information in one place, and aids audit preparation

The launch of WiSE is only the beginning of a series of developments. Behind the scenes the Sustainability team are working on other ways to support members. Expect to hear more on these developments over the next few months, including the release of “The Back Pocket Grower”, a new App which puts all spray schedule information at your fingertips (mobile and online).

Furthermore, the individual agrichemical reports for 2015 will be out at the beginning of the season, to help members in their decision making throughout the season.

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Our commitment is being noticed.

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 105

REGIONS CENTRAL OTAGO

THE FERMENT AND THE FURY MARK ORTON

E

ver watched paint dry, grass grow, or Mark Richardson bat? All tedious endeavors. A little bit like making music from the sound of grapes fermenting...or is it?

For multi-instrumentalist composer Kent Macpherson, setting up microphones in a winery is riveting stuff. Taking leave from his role as an audio technology lecturer at the Waikato Institute of Technology (WINTEC), Macpherson visited Felton Road as a field recordist focused on

testing methodologies concerning ‘hidden soundscapes’.

“I’ve known Blair Walter (winemaker at Felton Road) for 30 years, and we discussed a way that we could combine our professional practice. Blair said that wine fermenting is a very active environment and this got me thinking about what kind of detail I could capture through the right placement of microphones.”

Macpherson realises that the practice of recording sound in a winery isn’t unique, especially

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in light of the work done by Jo Burzynska on her multi-sensory Oenosthesia installation.

“Well, my angle is a little different. The aim is to keep the project true to the conventions of field recording with little or no manipulation of the captured sound, apart from some EQ and noise reduction. I am looking for hidden aural worlds to amplify the minute details within them.

“We can never ‘turn off ’ our ears, so in some ways we train them to become static observers.

As a sound artist, I try to reverse this behaviour by capturing common sonic artifacts and reimagining them in a new context.”

Rather than just set up some stands with directional shotgunstyle microphones aimed at the fermenting vats, Macpherson used microphones encased in plastic to get as close to the nuance of the sound as is physically possible.

“They are called ‘Dolphin Ear Pro’ hydrophones and can be totally submersed. With the Pinot Noir, we forced them below the skins in to the juice and also allowed them to sit amongst the skins for some variation. I also used JRF contact microphones to record fermentation locks and the resonances of the oak barrels containing Chardonnay. The microphones only really work when attached to a ‘surface’. These recordings are quite hypnotic”.

Just as a music review can never do justice to actually experiencing an album, reading about the sound of wine fermenting doesn’t even get close.

“Yeah, the Pinot Noir was what I can only describe as violent!,” says Macpherson. “Huge, globular bubbles bursting and exploding.

Skins squealing and popping…giving off dolphin like calls.

“The real surprise for me was

the fascinating rhythms of the fermentation locks on the Chardonnay barrels. Some gave off quick modulating sine wave like pulses, whilst others gave off aggressive percussive metronomic beats.

The robotic rhythms immediately inspired me to incorporate the entire project in to a more ‘musical’ and structured composition”.

As phase one of a two-year research project, Macpherson doesn’t intend for the recordings to be buried on hard drives. The objective is to edit and refine the

sounds so that they can be fully appreciated as part of an ‘Acousmatic’ installation. Slated for April-May 2016 (venue TBC), listeners will be exposed to an array of six to eight speakers emitting the aural experience of fermentation . “The idea is that attendees will taste the 2015 Felton Road vintage wines before they are commercially released, whilst immersing themselves in the sonic properties of the very wine they are drinking.” ■ seeingredmedia@yahoo.com

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 107

NEW TREND

WINE IN TUBES TESSA NICHOLSON

W

hat began as a means of to spend more on a great glass of sending smaller sam- wine, rather than purchasing a ples of wine around the bottle of lesser quality. It was time world, has morphed for Wine in Tubes to expand, and into a major marketing tool, which so began a meteoric rise in sales. for the first time ever includes The tube was expanded to Marlborough wines. contain 100ml, or a small single Wine in Tubes was the brainchild of a Bordeaux Georges Michel wines in tube include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and winemaker and a French Chardonnay. Georges would love to see sommelier nine years ago. a box of Marlborough Sauvignons and Pinots available for sale.

In an effort to cut down on the cost of sending bottles for sampling, the winemakers invented a system where wine could be transferred into 60ml tubes, under inert gas, and then sent out to wine writers, critics, and trade for individual tastings.

The cost analysis of the project showed that the tube samples were eight to 10 times cheaper to send, when compared with a bottle.

Within a very short time, it became apparent to the two men, that consumers were glass. And French wine companies keen on purchasing single serve were quick to see the marketing wines. What’s more, research advantages. Some of the biggest showed that eight out of 10 con- names in Bordeaux got on board, sumers are demanding more including Chateau Kirwan, Chainteresting wines and are willing teau Beychevelle, Chateau Latour-

Martillac. These days 80 French wineries from seven regions have their wine sold in tubes. And they are not just marketing their latest vintages, some of the Wines in Tubes date back to the 90s.

When Marlborough based

Georges Michel received a pre packaged gift box of Bordeaux wines he instantly saw the marketing advantages.

“These are some of the top wines, from some of the best vin-

tages. Can you imagine 10 years ago, that any of these guys would put their wines together in a box, for consumers to try? Never! Now they have accepted that having their wines together in a sample tube works and they have got behind the idea.”

Michel was so impressed that he has imported the equipment required to turn wine in bottles, into wine in tubes. He is the only person in the Southern Hemisphere able to do so.

“What you do is transfer the wine from the bottle – not the tank. You hook the bottle onto the machine and transfer the wine by pressure under inert gas, without any contact with oxygen, straight into the tube.

“There is a screwcap that closes the tube off so the wine never has any contact with oxygen, meaning it is as pure in the tube as it is in the bottle.”

Michel is also importing a range of Wine in Tubes for sale here in New Zealand and Australia.

The list of wines is impressive, Bordeaux ( Margaux, Saint Emil-

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ion, Medoc Sauterne), Burgundy, Cotes du Rhone and a range of top flight whiskeys. Okay they are not wine, but they are still an example of how the packaging can be used to highlight a variety or region, or even a spirit.

He now has a range of three of his own wines in tubes – a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

“I would love to have a box of Marlborough Pinot Noir and Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, with four or five different wineries represented in there. It would be stunning in a duty free shop,” he said.

Which brings us to another important point about wine in tubes – you can carry these onto a plane, whereas many countries will no longer allow you to carry a bottle of wine on.

Because they are only 100mls, they meet the safety criteria many ports have in place regarding liquids carried by hand.

Currently the specially created wine boxes can hold three, four or five wines. All the tubes are imported from France, with

screen printing provided and have to be ordered in sets of 1000.

While Michel admits the initial cost of the Wines in Tubes looks expensive, he says the ability to buy a set of different wines by the glassful is highly appealing to consumers.

And if that is not enough reason to get behind the idea, think of how much money you could save by sending tube samples of the latest vintage, rather than sending entire bottles.

Jancis Robinson had this to say about Wine in Tubes: “It does look like something of potential interest to any wine producer who sends out a high volume of samples and/or is interested in selling their product in small, stylish doses.”

The whole process is not just limited to spirits and wine. Cocktails in Tubes are a big seller overseas, and Michele has already had enquiries about selling different honeys in tubes, and olive oils.

The sky is the limit it appears, when it comes to single servings.

■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 109

REGIONS MARLBOROUGH

MEMBRANE BIOREACTORS D R M A T T S AV A G E

T

he rapid growth in New Zealand’s wine industry has left local regulators playing catch-up throughout much of the country.

Environmental discharge standards for wineries are now being tightened to the point where many operators who could previously operate without even needing a resource consent for discharge of wastewater now need to look seriously at their options to minimise the environmental impact of this

part of the operation.

Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs) offer treatment of wastewater from wineries to an extremely high level. A membrane bioreactor is a biological wastewater treatment system that incorporates a microfiltration membrane (typically a 0.1-micron low-pressure filter) on the discharge to remove virtually all suspended solids, bacteria, and protozoa from wastewater.

As well as directly cleaning up the wastewater discharge by filter-

ing out these contaminants, the fact that this system retains 100% of the bacteria that are used for reducing the organic and nutrient loading of the wastewater means that typically three times as much organic loading can also be removed in a given size wastewater treatment plant by using the membranes.

Due to the extremely high level of treatment achieved, membrane bioreactors can produce water that can be discharged to surface

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

water such as a creek or injected into vineyard drip irrigation systems without causing blockage from solids or biological slime in the pipe network (as most other systems will do).

The level of biological treatment and pathogen removal achieved also means that membrane bioreactors are the only type of winery wastewater treatment plant in New Zealand that is commonly approved for treating mixed winery wastewater

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and human sewage (such as from an on-site restaurant or tasting rooms).

This can provide huge benefits for large rural facilities that are not able to connect to a council sewerage scheme.

The removal of pathogens, solids, and dissolved sugars make the treated wastewater suitable for a wide range of reuses around the premises. Uses in New Zealand for MBR treated winery wastewater (some mixed with sewage prior to treatment) include: • Reuse for vineyard irrigation • Landscape irrigation for native re-vegetation projects • Discharge to surface water (which is not limited by weather or harvest cycles like land application can be) • Landscape and lawn spray irrigation outside tasting room and winery restaurant In areas such as Marlborough

MBR units placed into custom built concrete tank.

where water is becoming a very limited resource, councils are now accounting for landscape irrigation and deducting this from the winery or vineyard’s water allocation – therefore turning this highly treated wastewater into a valuable resource.

Furthermore in areas such as Hawke’s Bay where many of the wineries and vineyards are located over an unconfined aquifer, treatment to this level ensures that any wastewater applied to land does not compromise the quality of the region’s existing groundwa-

ter resource.

A significant driver of the change towards using MBR systems is the fact that the cost of installing the plants has now become competitive with (or in some cases better than) traditional systems.

For instance, the cost of the membrane modules themselves to an end user in New Zealand has dropped by approximately 70% over the last 10 years.

Some wineries in New Zealand who have been feeding their membrane bioreactor systems a mix

of restaurant sewage and winery wastewater for over seven years regularly achieve treated water quality of less than 1 E.Coli bacteria per hundred mL – down from millions in the feed, and around 1mg/L Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5, a measure of sugars and ethanol in the water) – down from over 5,000mg/L in the raw wastewater.

As the New Zealand wine industry moves towards a more sustainable future, this now wellproven technology is shaping up to be a cornerstone for ensuring the integrity of our pure clean image.

As an example of the growing adoption of this technology, Apex Environmental has recently installed the largest winery MBR in New Zealand, which will give the winery in question the cleanest wastewater discharge of any winery in Marlborough. Many more are set to follow. ■

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 111

REGIONS WAIPARA

BAPTISM OF FIRE TESSA NICHOLSON

N

ine years ago Kathryn Ryan knew nothing about the New Zealand wine industry. Now along with husband Kees Zeestraten she is a staunch advocate of Waipara wines and owner of one of the region’s well-known boutique wineries – Mountford Estate.

What began on a whim has turned into a passion, with plenty

of trials and tribulations along the way.

In some ways it was her and Kees’ children that led them to Mountford.

“We weren’t looking for a vineyard and winery, we were looking instead for something within an hours drive of Christchurch because we had four children at boarding school at the time.”

Kees was already working on a project in the Hurinui, when the couple saw Mountford Estate being advertised.

“It worked in well with the project Kees was managing, it was an existing brand, a brilliant site and was known internationally for high end quality wine,” Ryan says.

So the couple decided to go for it, although as she admits, she

Kathryn Ryan

knew nothing what-so-ever about the wine industry.

“No I didn’t. It was like a baptism of fire, as far as hitting the ground running.”

Bought in 2006, the couple moved onto the property just after vintage 2007. And along with learning everything there was to know about growing grapes, making wine and then marketing it, Ryan had to be the person on the spot directing further development. The vineyard at the time was tiny – and the winery was producing between 500 and 800 cases a year.

“The largest vintage was 2004, where 2000 cases were produced.

But mostly it was far less than that.

So it wasn’t really sustainable as a business unit.”

It became apparent that the vineyard had to grow and the winery be extended to cope with extra production. The role of overseer went to Ryan, who was also trying to get her head around what grape growing entailed.

“I had a viticulturist who would come in every week and give me a session on one-o-one grape growing. And our previous winemaker

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

CP Lin was very good at sharing knowledge about what was happening in the winery. So I quickly grew my knowledge. But I was terrified at times, because I was so out of my depth.”

Then along came 2008 and the global financial crisis. After months of development work on the property, it all went to hell in a basket she says.

“We had bought the property and invested pretty heavily in it too. We doubled the size of the winery and replanted a 4ha block with close plantings of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling. As we hadn’t drawn down on the last part of our mortgage, the bank manager had called us saying we needed to do so. We talked about it and decided we wanted to take a breather, and do the next stage in spring. This was February 2009.

“Well five days after we had been called by the bank manager, he rang back and said ‘I hate to do this, but the funding has finished.’ It was devastating. We had no wine in stock and because we cook things slow here, it takes time for us to get wine out of the winery and into the market. We didn’t know how we were going to pay anything back. It was a nightmare.”

The hard work could have all been lost in a matter of months, Ryan says, if Kees hadn’t been so tenacious and they hadn’t had other interests to help them out.

“We kept looking for solutions.

We had just replanted in the spring of 08, so we just had to keep going.

We were also very careful for years after. It is only this financial year that we are at the point of looking good. We are almost through and we are meeting, even exceeding our targets.”

The departure of winemaker CP Lin could also have been a major hurdle, but Ryan says no one person is the face of Mountford’s wines.

“We have always talked about

Mountford as being its own identity and we are just the guiding hands looking after the property as best we can. It really is about the place, not necessarily the people.

They may have an influence, but it’s the place that goes on through time.”

These days Theo Coles is the consulting winemaker, one of a number of young people who have returned to the district in recent years. He agrees that it is one of the younger regions in New Zealand in terms of winery ownership.

“In the early days the recognition didn’t come easily,” he says.

“The original pioneers struggled a bit. Then a lot of young people were coming out of Lincoln and heading to Europe to do vintages.

They tasted the wines over there and many of them thought the only region in this part of the world that could produce wines like that was North Canterbury.

Those that have done a lot of European vintages have ended up working for people who produce European structured wines – which the wines in Waipara are.

They did their apprenticeship and then began looking for new sites.

So what you are seeing is this new wave of people who all love the same thing – and are all the same generation.”

It has created unity among the companies as well, Ryan says, with a number banding together to tell the regional story rather than all trying to reinvent the wheel separately.

Nine years on, Ryan says the company has almost made it through the tough times, the portfolio has been extended, new tiers have been added and export markets are opening up. As for her – while she never had any intention of being so heavily involved with the company, she wouldn’t change a thing.

“I can’t get out now – I love it too much.” ■ tessa.nicholson@me.com

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 113

MARKETING NEWS

MARKETING TO GEN-Y LEE SUCKLING (BORN 1985)

A

ccording to a recent report by market research company Morgan Stanley, Generation Y or “Millennials” (those born between the early 1980s and the year 2000) have shifted their drinking habits dramatically in the last few years.

It appears, while throughout their adulthood beer has always been their alcoholic beverage of choice, wine is now top of their list.

This has scared big international beer manufacturers such as Budweiser – a Tripp Mickle report for the Wall Street Journal found a staggering 44 per cent of people aged 21-27 had never even tried one of the world’s most

famous beers.

This, of course, is good news for the wine industry. Generation Y is a market that has never really been previously targeted. So, how do winemakers harness young people’s interest in their product, now Generation Y is not drinking Tui anymore?

Canadean Wine Report research suggests those in their 20s and 30s are now drinking twice as much wine by the volume than their parents did at the same age in the 1980s. This presents a unique opportunity for the wine industry, because studies show the desire to buy and consume the product is already there.

“Newness” is perhaps the most important factor in gaining Generation Y’s attention with your wine. This generation is one fuelled by the always-on connectivity of the internet age, whereby “new” is intrinsically interesting.

Generation Y doesn’t naturally place trust in the experts, either – so wine masters’ thoughts on your new Pinot Noir are not necessarily going to result in a sale to a 25-year-old. They rely on each other to inform what products are trending; if one Generation Y person discovers a great, new wine, they will share its name with their friends.

Pushing out new products doesn’t mean creating new varietals (e.g. Sauvignon Gris), it means ensuring you have fresh stock on the shelves every season with updated branding (e.g. labelling and packaging). Many winegrowers rely on graphic design they had done in the 1990s that doesn’t speak to a modern generation of wine drinkers.

However, you need to find a balance –update your logos every year or two and your brand will appear in desperate trouble; as if it’s pulling out all the stops in order to get new customers.

Instead, enlist a modern graphic design company to revisit

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your labelling every five years (Generation Y likes bold and creative graphics, not antiquated imagery of rolling hills), and make minor changes each year with every vintage. For example, labelling changes as simple as a new font colour for a special vintage, or a packaging change such as a new icon on your bottle top for a limited edition run, appeal to the hunger for newness that Generation Y enjoys.

Don’t forget to think past the standard 750ml bottle, too. Packaging wine in boxes, aluminium bottles, and other innovative ways will make them stand out from the crowded supermarket aisles.

Marketing under “never before heard of” sub-brands also appeals to Generation Y. In a survey by the Wine Market Council, 85 per cent of Generation Y either frequently or occasionally purchases wine they are unfamiliar with.

This is a generation that doesn’t have favourites; instead, it is interested to drink as wide a variety of different products as possible. Again, this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to produce revolutionary new products, as sub-branded products, under a different name and at different price points to your usual stock, may gain Generation Y interest.

Of course, in doing this you need a good story. For the same

reason they go to Farmer’s Markets in cities, and buy ethically-sourced clothing, Generation Y loves wines that are made with “passion”.

This is a generation that likes to know who makes their wine and what the tale behind it is – in the same way they like to know where their tomatoes were grown or where their shoes were made. If you’re a former high-flying CEO or a well-known restaurateur who has settled down in Hawke’s Bay to make your favourite wine, tell that story on your labelling.

Generation Y will also take more interest in “Mum and Dad” and family-run wineries over brands owned by the large corporate players. If it’s artisanal in any way, it has more authenticity and is thus more interesting to the Generation Y consumer.

Organic wine is touted as the biggest trend for the years to come, and this is in part because of Generation Y’s belief in the importance of it for the longterm future. This generation has grown up sceptical about mass production, genetic modification, herbicides, and pesticides, and any effort to get away from these will be welcomed by Generation Y. Whether true or not, it is assumed

by Generation Y that a wine without additives or manipulation will taste better.

Lincoln University research suggests Generation Y is drinking more red wine than Generation

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 115

X (those born in the late 1960s and 1970s) was at the same age. While this generation are still predominately drinking white and sparkling wines, this means your crimsoncoloured products shouldn’t be exclusively marketed towards older generations. While a taste for red wine generally takes time to develop, we should assume Generation Y’s tastebuds are developing faster than you might think.

Price, inevitably, is going to come into play when marketing wine to a younger cohort of consumers.

The Centre for Wine Research in Neustadt, Germany found the most important factors in selling wine to Generation Y to be label design, information on label (including “the wine story”), and cost of the bottle.

Canadean Wine Report

Stories on matching wine with specific youthful foods like burgers will be seen as “highly clickable” by Generation Y.

research suggests (American) Generation Y wine drinkers usually place a $20 limit on the purchase price of a bottle of wine at a supermarket. While no New Zealand-specific research exists, this may be a wise price point to use in marketing to the same generation in this country.

Generation Y expects more from their wine producers than other generations ever have, too.

Connecting with them via social media means more than just having a static Facebook page; it means running a suite of social

networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr are some examples) and updating them regularly not just with product promotion, but with interesting wine-related information that Generation Y will value.

For example, links to media stories on matching wine with specific “youthful” foods like burgers, will be seen as “highly clickable” by Generation Y. Likewise, information about unconventional wineries as wedding venues will be of interest (remember, this is a generation

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

that is now getting married).

Also, remember Generation Y will want to engage with you, the winemakers, in two-way conversation through social media. That means replying to Tweets and direct messages, for example, when you receive queries about your product. This is not a generation that will pick up the phone and call you for information about where your product is stocked.

Generation Y may be a de ma nd in g b un ch . W h i le Canadean Wine Report research maintains it is Baby Boomers who continue to be the biggest drinkers of wine, this is not a trend that will go on forever.

Winemakers should ensure they spread their marketing efforts and ensure the newest generation of enthusiastic wine drinkers is catered for. ■ lee.suckling@gmail.com

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Earlier that year, the Aucklander’s month-long exchange trip to wine regions in Italy also gave her a taste for travel – she went on to work in wine regions throughout the world, including Hawke’s Bay, Waiheke, the Napa Valley and Australia’s Yarra Valley.

Renee has shaped an interesting career since graduating in 2007. The Winery Doors poster series produced by the EIT valedictorian features photographs she has taken of cellar doors nationwide.

In 2010, Renee created a blend for a client which is now served at the White House. In 2013, she was contracted to produce premium wine for export to the UK under M-Wines. Several years ago, she established her own brand, Moi Wines.

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TOURISM NEWS

WINE AND THE CHINESE TOURIST A

s Chinese tourists flock to our shores, the New Zealand wine industry could help enhance their visits by catering more specifically to their needs and tastes, Lincoln University research suggests.

Aside from Australia, China has been the largest source of visitors to New Zealand since 2012, and annual visitor numbers are expected to reach 400,000 by 2018.

“We need to provide them with high-quality tourism activities during their stay and wine tourism

118 //

Greater publicity about New Zealand wine in China could also increase the appeal of wine tourism. has the potential to offer more of these experiences,” says tourism lecturer Dr Jo Fountain.

Wine is increasingly becoming a status symbol amongst wealthy Chinese consumers, with sales of New Zealand wine in China amounting to 26.9m in the year ended June 2013, from just 2.4m five years earlier.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

“It would seem there is plenty of room to expand wine tourism to this market, but very little research has explored the synergies between the wine and tourism industries for Chinese visitors to New Zealand,” says Dr Fountain.

To investigate the issue further, and as part of a broader study, she has interviewed winery stakehold-

ers and Chinese inbound tour operators who have insights into how visitors from China respond to wine tourism activities.

“The findings reveal increasing interest in winery visitation by some segments of the Chinese market, especially the longerstaying, premium holidaymakers, who visit both the North and South Islands,” says Dr Fountain.

“Students and new Chinese Auckland residents are also big potential markets, but they seem to have different motivations to international holidaymakers when

it comes to visiting wineries.”

Short-stay holidaymakers are likely to visit wineries in tour parties, primarily to enjoy rural scenery, take photographs and relax.

Their interest in learning about or buying New Zealand wine is limited, although they may purchase a bottle of the most prestigious wine available, Dr Fountain says.

However, students tend to visit wineries independently with their friends or family members, and along with new Chinese residents, they are eager to expand their knowledge of wines, she says.

“They are more likely to want to taste a range of wines, buy wine for their own consumption and learn about the art of winemaking. For some, it might represent an important step to ‘becoming Kiwi’.”

To maximise the potential of Chinese wine tourism, Dr Fountain’s research findings suggest

the wine industry could engage Chinese visitors more by educating them about the culture of wine and the history and background of individual wineries, and recognise their motives for being there.

“Language barriers also need to be acknowledged. Wineries should not expect to rely on the tour guides accompanying Chinese visitors for translation, as these guides may not have the language skills to get the wine message across,” she says.

Greater publicity about New Zealand wine in China could also increase the appeal of wine tourism.

A Chinese inbound tour operator reported that a great deal of discussion was generated when Prime Minister John Key visited China and mentioned New Zealand wine, which showed a lot of potential for the market to expand. ■

ENTRIES ARE NOW OPEN FOR THE 2015

International Aromatic Wine Competition Entries are open to all wine varieties made in an aromatic style from any internationally recognised region. New classes in 2015 include Rosé and Red varieties. Winning wines are displayed at the Canterbury A&P Show to over 100,000 visitors from 11-13 November 2015.

ARE YOU THE NEXT

NZ Young Winemaker of the Year?

All young winemakers under 35 years are encouraged to enter the second annual NZ Young Winemaker of the Year Competition. The winner will be announced during the 2015 Canterbury A&P Show.

WWW.AROMATICWINE.CO.NZ Entries close 23 September 2015

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 119

YOUNG GUNS

Brought to you by

Roots, Shoots & Fruits Soil Health, Plant Health, OUR Health

THE YOUNG GUNS OF GISBORNE

J A N E Y H A L L I D AY AGE 34 C O M PA N Y V I T I C U LT U R I S T - RIVERSUN NURSERY

How Long Have You Worked In Gisborne?

6 years What Brought You Here?

I was coming home after a stint of working aboard so I was applying for jobs all over the country. I took a vintage winemaker’s job with Pernod Ricard to give me time to find something more permanent.

Being a South Islander from Nelson, I must admit I had to look at a map to find out where I was off to.

Where Have You Travelled In The Wine Industry To Get Here?

I finished a bachelors degree of Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University in 2006 and was accepted on the Matador Scholarship programme which gave me a year working in Marlborough, a season in Langhorne Creek, South

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Australia and a vintage in Central Coast, California.

It was my return from California that bought me to Gisborne to work for Pernod Ricard, but as much as I loved being in the winery, I knew I wanted to get back to the vineyard with soil under my feet rather than concrete.

I was offered a Viticultual technician position with Villa Maria based in Gisborne, which was lucky for me as I quite liked Gisborne. I was with Villa for three years in which time the vit tech job expanded to include grower liaison responsibilities.

In 2012 I needed a new challenge in life so I interviewed and was accepted for the company viticulturist position for Riversun Nursery.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Your Job? Riversun has given me challenges in spades. As well as keeping my finger on the pulse with all things viticultural, I’m very involved in the research and development program. I love that there is no ceiling to my job, as a company we are always trying to improve our product

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

or processes. Sustainability and growing responsibly has become the number one priority for Riversun, whose goal is to become fully sustainable with emphasis on organic and biodynamic practises by 2020.

This really speaks to me as a viticulturist as I believe that our biggest asset as a human race is the health of our soil, without it we have nothing. The R&D program keeps me out of trouble researching, trialing and re-trialing new products and practices to enable us to reach our goal.

What Do You Enjoy Most About Gisborne?

Gisborne has a fabulous growing climate and has a very active and inclusive winegrowing community. Gisborne’s climate, aspect and rich fertile soils support a vast array of fruit, vegetables and stock. Not to mention a terrific selection of wine. It has a very small community, most of whom were born and bred here. However as an immigrant to Gisborne I have found the community nothing but welcoming and friendly.

When You’re Not Growing Grapes?

I’m riding or working with my horses. Them, my terrier, and I should mention by husband, are the constants in my life.

No matter how exciting daily Riversun life can get, they are always counted on to bring me back down to earth.

It Sucks When……..

You think you’re on to a winner and a trial set is looking really

good, and then it gets tractor blight and you have to start again.

Thankfully that doesn’t happen too often.

Your Favourite Wine?

My favourite Gisborne wine at the moment would have to be Millton Estates Viognier, the 2013 is outstanding. However, the wine varietal I would crawl over hot coals for is a good Italian Barbera.

Which Wine Region Excites You Most Right Now? This is a bit of loaded question, because I have to say my own.

However, in this case it’s true.

Gisborne has had some really tough times, but Gisbornites seem to be a tenacious bunch, and we’re trying really hard to re-define ourselves. We used to be known as the Chardonnay capital of New Zealand and although we are trying really hard to re-establish that title, we also want the world to know that Gisborne grows some fabulous alternative whites and aromatics.

Future Aspirations?

Although in the scheme of things I have been working in the wine industry for a fairly short time, I’m lucky enough to be working for a company that lends itself to fulfilling any career aspirations I may have. In saying this I would love to do a couple more vintages abroad, Italy would be top of my list.

I would love to spend some time studying ampelography with the French amelographer JeanMichel Boursiquot.

However, more immediately

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I am working hard to have my young dressage horse compete at a national level and do well at Horse of Year this coming

JASON COOK AGE 35 A S S I S TA N T W I N E M A K E R , INDEVIN NEW ZEALAND

How long have you worked in Gisborne: Six years What brought you to Gisborne?

I first came to Gisborne to study grape growing and winemaking at Tairawhiti Polytech (now EIT) in 2009. Friends and contacts gained during this time led to further opportunities in the Gisborne wine industry post study.

Where have you travelled in wine to get here?

All over the Poverty Bay Flats…

Aside from a season spent as vineyard hand on Waiheke Island, all of my wine industry experience has been gained in Gisborne. A vintage or two abroad is definitely on my to-do list.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The people I work alongside here in Gisborne are a fantastic,

season. I should probably try to find some time for my husband and think about starting a family at some stage too. ■

down to earth and mostly relaxed (see tropical cyclone) bunch of people. There is an extraordinary resource of experience to tap into at the Indevin Gisborne Winery with workmates who have 20 + years experience dragging hoses, growing grapes and making wine in the region.

What do you enjoy most about Gisborne?

The variety of the wines I am exposed to here in Gisborne.

Our season begins early (late February) with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir harvested for méthode traditionnelle. Every year we see fantastic Chardonnay through the gate for the tank and Barrique fermented table wines. Floral Muscats, fresh and fruitful Pinot Gris and intensely perfumed Gewürztraminer all do fantastically in and around the Poverty Bay Flats.

When you’re not making wine or growing grapes?

I am sourdough culturing, slow motion DIY’ing around the house, playing bass guitar in front of the mirror or enjoying Gisborne’s amazing beaches with my beautiful family.

It sucks when….

You are told you can expect a tropical cyclone mid-harvest.

Your favourite wine?

Is the wine in front of me… which is usually something local and of late, something from the

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 121

Young Guns – brought to you by Roots, Shoots & Fruits

ridiculously good 2013 vintage.

Current faves: Garagiste 2013 Chardonnay (Intense fruit, oak and butterscotch all in the right places), Family Company 2013 Gewurztraminer (Rich, oily, intensely perfumed), Honorary 2013 Viognier (Barrel fermented, textured and rich Viognier in all it’s Apricot glory).

Which wine region excites you most right now?

Gisborne. We are New Zealand’s best-kept (and most obvious) wine secret. Our wines are always characterful, sometimes complex, sometimes not, always enjoyable and affordable. The people’s wine region!

Future aspirations?

Keep learning, keep making and keep spreading the ‘good word’ about Gizzy wine. I also have aspirations for Rugby World Cup Glory later this year for Sir Richard and the boys. ■

My three beautiful daughters have taken priority over travel so far, but I am looking toward Burgundy or Oregon in future.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The chance to create amazing wines from beautifully TIMOTHY OVENDEN AGE 31 nurtured biodynamic A S S I S TA N T W I N E M A K E R fruit. Working with AT M I LT O N ’ S inspiring and creative V I N E YA R D S & W I N E R Y people. Also the food during vintage is How long have you here? incredible.

Four and a half years What do you enjoy most about What brought you to GisGisborne? borne?

The beaches here are stunning, My wife and I were both born and raised on the East Coast, this and enjoying them with great food, and wine, amazing whanau place is a part of who we are, the culture and the climate were how and friends is what life is all about we wanted to raise our kids.

When you’re not making wine Where have you travelled in wine to get here? or growing grapes? ­

Raising my girls, playing trumpet in a local funk band and cooking for my wife and friends.

It sucks when….

The beautiful friends you work with over vintage depart for greener pastures, their mothers cooking or northern vintages.

It sucks but I know I’ll see them again soon.

Your favourite wine?

I’m not sure if I have a favourite wine yet, but Millton’s Libiamo is fantastic, the food/wine combinations with natural wines are a revelation.

Which wine region excites you most right now?

Gisborne, I know it’s cliché and a bit bias, but the potential here for exploring new varietals, philosophy, and techniques is exciting.

Future aspirations?

I’m loving what I’m doing, any­thing beyond this is a bonus.

■

■

GREAT VINES BEGIN WITH NURTURING CARE

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CALL US oN 0800 444 614 Rex on 027 49 80 183 rex@mistyvalley.co.nz Donna on 021 84 98 39 donna@mistyvalley.co.nz

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122 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

REGIONS HAWKE’S BAY

MW SELECTS THE RED HOT JOELLE THOMSON

A

dozen Gimblett Gravels reds from the 2013 vintage have been selected

by Master of Wine Andrew Caillard and are slightly weighted in favour of Merlot or Cabernet-dominant reds over Syrah.

The wines were tasted by Caillard for the 2013 Annual Vintage Selection, which is the sixth year of this tasting initiative by members of the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers’ Association (GGWA).

“The tasting serves as a unique

snapshot of a particular vintage and helps to chart the evolution of Gimblett Gravels® wines on a vintage by vintage basis,” says GGWA chairman Gordon Russell.

“The excitement generated by the perfect growing conditions of the 2013 harvest meant this was the most anticipated Annual Vintage Selection yet. To have had Andrew Caillard MW with us in person has been a privilege, adding a global perspective and professionalism to this annual tasting.”

The 2013 selection attracted a

record number of 46 wines submitted by GGWA members for tasting. Caillard described the 2013 wines stylistically as having: “all the hallmarks of a classic vintage, with lovely aromatic complexity, generous flavours, supple textures and mineral length.”

Russell says that GGWA members plan to send a limited number of 2013 Annual Vintage Selection packs out to key wine media and influencers around the world for their review. ■ joellethomson@vodafone.co.nz

Andrew Caillard

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 123

INDUSTRY NEWS

GRAPE BRAIN E

stimating grape yields is a headache for the wine industry – but now there’s an app for that.

Seer Insights is a startup created by three students as part of the University of Adelaide’s Tech eChallenge. On top of juggling lectures, study and coursework, the 20 year olds are building a business around an evolving suite of software called GrapeBrain. “ We ’ r e i n t e r e s t e d i n agriculture. The team is passionate about the way food is produced particularly,” says team member Liam Ellul, who has a background in commerce and law.

“I think food production is going to be an issue coming up in our lifetimes and we’ll get a lot of benefit and enjoyment being involved with a business that helps lower food prices by creating efficiency and production,” he says.

The winemakers basically said, look, you can throw as many drones as you want out there, but what we’ll pay you to do is estimate yield.

GrapeBrain started out as something very different. In the early stages of development the team was looking at general crop monitoring for agriculture using drones.

“We saw there was a lot of buzz around drones. Our first idea was strapping a torn apart smart phone on to a UAV glider, just to take it out and show we were keen.

From there we realised it didn’t have to be drone hardware. It could be satellite hardware, even software,” Ellul explains.

Seer also consists of Petros Bakopoulos, specialising in finance, and Harry Lucas, the technical lead on the project who

124 //

is responsible for the code that GrapeBrain runs on.

It became apparent that they had to concentrate and being based near the Barossa in South Australia, one of the world’s great wine regions, it was logical to pick vineyards for their system.

GrapeBrain is a complex suite of software that takes a number of metrics and spits out a yield result based on those inputs.

“Without giving away the golden goose, the approach that we’ve developed has come about reading research papers and also talking to the practical realities of industry,” says Ellul, who during gaps in his study drives into the Barossa wine region to quiz grape growers about their wants and needs.

“Our software, we’d take it in, get feedback, take it back and work on it,” he says. “It turned out it wasn’t just a problem that could be solved by an app. You needed a whole platform behind it.”

The value of an accurate yield prediction can’t be understated.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

It has implications all along the supply chain – in the case of viticulture, everything from transport and processing of the grapes, to wine sales, to packing, to shipping can be streamlined and improved.

The team is aiming to get their yield prediction to an accuracy of within 10%. That’s a bold aim when there are currently no standard procedures in the industry. According to Seer Insights, prediction accuracy varies widely between growers.

“It can be as bad as 50% off,” Ellul says. “The benefit of this software for wineries is they have peace of mind that this is a set in stone procedure that will give them and their growers a reliable outcome.”

Seer Insights’ wants to e s t a b l i s h a n i n d u s t r y standardisation that will add value to the entire wine industry.

“We’re talking 10% on an organisational scale here. It’s a lofty goal but I think it’s better to dream big and do the best

possible,” Lucas says.

“This is why we think building a commercial business around it is one of the most important points. If you just throw some software out there, that’s been done before. It may help people, but if you’re continually adding value, that represents a lot more for the industry.

“If we can continue to add value afterwards, then it’s not just streamlining processes for an industry – there can be entirely new processes developed out of this.”

Some of the wineries that Seer Insights have consulted with have outlined the difficulties of moving to a more mathematically based prediction process from ‘intuitive’ approaches – essentially guesstimating grape weight on the vine.

“It’s a huge logistical challenge to implement it, let alone sustain it. Any organisation could do this in house, but the value in our business is that they don’t have to maintain the systems, they don’t

Designers Liam Ellul, Harry Lucas and Petros Bakopoulos from Seer Insights.

“And the clear winner in the Botrytis control category is…” have to worry about updating it,” Ellul says.

“It’s good for competition as well. By having a commercially viable product that’s available to the broad market, you’re really democratising the use of technology. By distributing it evenly for everyone you can improve the sum of all the components of the industry – you’re not getting this skewed power dynamic.”

Lucas says the team has not forgotten their original target market – agriculture in general.

“There’s a lot of similar paradigms between crops,” he says. “There are differences between viticulture and agriculture, but although sugar cane might be very different to predicting the yield for grapes, the processes that you put in place to do that are fundamentally the same.”

With an ever evolving product, the individual bits of data they’re gathering can be pulled together to give a wider outlook for the agriculture industry.

“There’s a lesser known term than big data – little data,” says Lucas. “It doesn’t sound as flashy but you can apply the concepts of

big data to small amounts of data at a time. The cool thing about little data is that, when you get enough, you have big data.”

Ellul, Lucas and Bakopoulos are currently riding on a wave of support and interest from research and industry bodies in South Australia.

“Adelaide is fantastic at the moment,” Ellul says. “There’s a big move for progressive thinking and the encouragement of innovation and growth of the technology space.

“South Australia is probably the best place in the world for us to be doing this in viticulture too.

Our wine industry is second to none. It’s world class.”

The team use the South Australian wine industry as their testing and launch market, which will help them later in the year when they visit the United States as the prize for winning the Tech eChallenge.

“The Barossa is one of the greatest wine regions in the world,” says Lucas. “If you can go to the Napa Valley in America and say, look, the Barossa growers are using this, maybe you guys could try as well – that’s what we’re looking to do.” ■

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REGIONS WAIPARA

MAIN DIVIDE’S MUSIC VIBE JOELLE THOMSON

T

he makers of Main Divide wines have never been shy of dialling up the volume on flavour and their new CD is also aimed at creating noise; a subtle, jazzy, Pacific fusion vibe If volumes one and two escaped your listening ears, fans of Kiwi music can get lucky with the third volume of a South Island winery’s CD, which was released to coincide with this year’s New Zealand Music Month.

The CD was produced for the hospitality trade as a low-key

thank you from the makers of Main Divide Wines. It is also available as a free download to the public as well as on hard copy for those working in the trade.

Its purpose? “It is a subtle thank you to the trade,” says Ed Donaldson, who devoted six months of listening time to devise his short list of local artists for inclusion on the new CD. “When we were rebranding the Main Divide range a few years ago we wanted to give it a more modern look and thought it would be

a natural fit to add a contemporary music theme, so in 2007 we brought out the first Main Divide CD,” Donaldson says.

It is not only contemporary, it has a strong local flavour.

All of the artists on the first, and subsequent two CDs, are New Zealanders.

The music has overtones of soul, jazz, R&B, hip hop and electronica, and the voices will also sound familiar to those who have spent time listening to Fat Freddy’s Drop, Hollie Smith, Trinity

Roots or been to local music festivals; of which Pegasus Bay and many other New Zealand wineries (Villa Maria, Alana Estate and Waipara Hills, to name but a few), have played host.

It was important to retain a local music taste but Donaldson says one of the biggest challenges was to ensure that all of the tracks were smooth, devoid of hard edges and had a broad appeal.

“If I felt that one part of a track wouldn’t work for the whole album, then I have stayed

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away from that track altogether,” he says.

“I really tried to capture that New Zealand contemporary music flavour as much as possible. All of the tracks had to be good but with a wide audience in mind.”

There is very little cross over of artists between albums, with the exception of Mara TK, who is featured on three different tracks on volume 3 as well as on volume 2.

“He’d probably be the person who has shown up most across the albums. There isn’t a heap of cross over apart from him; most of the tracks are new,” says Donaldson, who says that he spent months of careful listening to come up with the right compilation before handing the song list over to Loop Recordings Aot(ear)roa.

All of the CDs were recorded by the Wellington-based independent recording company, Loop, which was formed in 2001 as a

continuation of Loop magazine.

Donaldson describes the tracks as mid tempo; “for the most part”.

The idea was to create a compilation of chilled out music to fit a range of venues and vibes in cafes,

bars, restaurants and liquor stores.

“The music has been selected to be played in that kind of environment so it needed to be easy to listen to without being cheesy to listen to.”

The family owned Pegasus Bay Winery (parent brand of Main Divide Wines) has always had a strong musical connection. Many of the wines in the Pegasus Bay stable have an operatic theme; Bel Canto and Aria Rieslings; Maestro Merlot Malbec and Cabernet blend, for instance.

The Main Divide CDs are compilations of Kiwi musicians that the winery’s second generation have forged close connections with; not only Ed, who put the CDs together, but also his brothers, Mat (winemaker) and Paul (general manager of the winery). ■ joellethomson@vodafone.co.nz • The 50 minute album is called Main Divide – A journey into New Zealand music from across the Main Divide and beyond; MDV003, Loop. The download is available now on social media as a free download to everyone. Visit: www.loop. co.nz/releases/mdv003/

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NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 127

INDUSTRY NEWS

SPRAY NOZZLE ENGINEERING

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pray Nozzle Engineering Australasia has opened two new tank head repair and cleaning Centres of Excellence, in Melbourne, Australia and Hamilton, New Zealand. Specialising in Gamajet, the Centres of Excellence offer a full diagnostic and repair service for tank cleaning machines.

With over 25 years of experience in spraying solutions and CIP, their Centres of Excellence offer localised sales, repair and service, advice, and change out and loan heads to approved customers, so that production continues when

units are sent for repair. Spray Nozzle Engineering’s new Centres of Excellence service all tank heads and eliminate the need to send your tank heads overseas for maintenance.

As manufacturer of the M-Series range of tank rinsing nozzles and importer of Gamajet’s range of tank cleaning machines in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Rim, Spray Nozzle Engineering can provide diagnosis, reports, and repair of all tank cleaning nozzle problems. If it is a new tank cleaning machine or CIP system you require, Spray Nozzle

Engineering’s full in-house engineering service helps select the

right unit for your needs, for any application or tank size. ■

Get Your Fertiliser In The Right Place At The Right Time “Get the right spreader” Orchard/Vineyard Band Spreader • 1.5 –5m band width • 12 to 18m spread width • Stainless steel spreading equipment • Easy adjustment of spreading equipment • Varnishing process for Anti corrosion • 500 and 600 litre 3 PL models • Optional PVC cover • Hydraulic shutter control

PHONE NOW FOR A DEMO Contact us to discuss your needs 0800 802 478 E: sales@rataindustries.co.nz W: www.rataindustries.co.nz

128 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

WINE NEWS

A SAVVY ICE CREAM

T

wo of New Zealand’s iconic products joined forces in July to create something very special.

It was Jelly Tip July in New Zealand and a large number of producers throughout the country jumped on board with their own take on the jelly tip ice block.

Remember them? – vanilla ice cream, topped with a thick chunk of raspberry jelly and covered in chocolate. I have fond memories of childhood summers, hoeing into one of these, savouring the jelly as it broke away from the ice-cream and trying not to cover

myself in flakes of chocolate.

Helping celebrate the ice cream’s month, Whittaker Chocolate released a jelly tip product and jelly tip biscuits appeared on the shelves. But how about Jelly Tip ice cream and Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc?

That is exactly what Giapo Haute Ice Cream shop in Auckland has done, paired the iconic ice cream with an iconic wine.

Saint Clair Family Estate’s Sauvignon Blanc Pioneer Block 3 has been used in the jelly segment of the new look ice cream.

Giapo owner Giapor Grazioli

says he has been a fan of Saint Clair wines for some time, and wanted to use it to join in the celebrations of Jelly Tip. “We’ve used Saint Clair wine in the raspberry jelly to give it a different flavour intensity and impart a perception of elegance.”

For Saint Clair’s owner Neal Ibbotson, the wine infused ice cream is a fun thing to be involved in.

“The Jelly Tip’s been around for a while now – almost as long as me, which is saying something. It’s exciting to be a part of something that inspires nostalgia among so

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many Kiwis.”

And it appears the ice cream and wine pairing has been successful, given there were long queues waiting to get their hands on one during July. ■

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www.gypsum.co.nz

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 129

NOT ON THE LABEL LEGAL MATTERS TIM CLARKE AND GRACE STACY-JACOBS – BELL GULLY

HEALTH AND SAFETY REFORM: DIRECTOR’S NEW DUE DILIGENCE DUTY

T

he Health and Safety Reform Bill (proposed Act) is expected to come into force later this year.

One of the most significant changes to be introduced by the proposed Act is the new due diligence duty, which will be owed by “officers” personally.

Breach of the due diligence duty will expose officers to a criminal conviction carrying a maximum of five years’ imprisonment and a fine not exceeding $600,000 for the most serious category of offence.

Who is an officer?

“Officer” is defined in the proposed Act to include persons in governance roles, including executive and non-executive directors (and people who are in comparable positions to directors), partners, and people who make decisions that affect the whole or a substantial part of the business of the PCBU. The last part of that definition gives a CEO as an example, and may also include other high-ranking executives and senior managers such as CFOs, HR managers and health and safety managers.

PCBU’s primary duty of care The primary duty holder under the proposed Act is a “person conducting a business or undertaking” (or PCBU), rather than the employer. The concept applies to any business or “business-like” activity, and is broad enough to include all types of modern working arrange-

130 //

ments, such as unincorporated JVs and partnerships. PCBUs will owe a primary duty of care to ensure “so far as is reasonably practicable” the health and safety of its workers. The definition of “workers” is widely defined to include workers not directly employed by the PCBU, such as employees of contractors and sub-contractors, labour-hire workers, trainees, and volunteers.

Obligations of officers The proposed Act imposes a personal due diligence duty on officers of PCBUs to ensure that the PCBU complies with its duties.

An officer must discharge the due diligence duty personally, and cannot delegate, modify or transfer the duty. The duty requires officers to be proactive, rather than be reactive and passive by waiting for someone to raise a health and safety concern.

The due diligence duty will stand apart from the PCBU’s duty and will be individual to the officer.

If an officer exercises due diligence, he or she will not be held personally liable regardless of the conduct of the PCBU or other officers.

The diligence duty includes taking reasonable steps to carry out the following six due diligence elements.

work health and safety matters.

In short, officers will need to be health and safety literate, just as directors are expected to be financially literate, so that they can understand and test the information presented to them, and make informed decisions.

Officers will need to know about matters such as safety leadership, safety culture, the PCBU’s legal obligations, their own due diligence requirements, the PCBU’s risk management system, how the PCBU investigates incidents, and audit methodology.

Understanding the nature of operations An officer must gain an understanding of the nature of the operations of the PCBU’s business, the risks arising from those operations and the control measures in place. This element may require officers to get out of the office and into the vineyard or factory.

Resources and processes

Knowledge of work health and safety matters

An officer must ensure the PCBU has available for use, and uses, appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business. That refers to both financial and human resources (i.e. ensuring staff and contractors are suitably skilled, competent and qualified.

An officer must acquire, and keep up-to-date, knowledge of

Monitoring Performance

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

An officer must ensure the PCBU has appropriate processes for receiving and considering information regarding incidents, hazards, and risks and for responding in a timely way to that information. The focus of this obligation is on analysing and learning from incidents and near miss data.

Legal Compliance An officer must ensure that the PCBU has, and implements, processes for complying with any duty or obligation of the PCBU under the proposed Act, as well as regulations, codes of practice, industry standards, etc.

Verify Finally, officers must verify the provision and use of the resources and processes referred to in the previous five elements.

This might be achieved through internal and external audits, periodic formal reviews, safety observation or peer reviews.

Further Information Following the Pike River Coal Mine tragedy (but before the Bill was introduced), the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment together with the Institute of Directors published a Good Governance Practices Guideline for Managing Health and Safety Risks. While the Guide is voluntary, it provides “best practice” guidance, and is consistent with the due diligence duties under the proposed Act. Therefore, directors should be familiar with it. ■

WINE NEWS

PALATE APPEAL MARY SHANAHAN

T

he Maori palate is one that a studying grape growing and winemaking student has pinpointed as her marketing niche. And Gewurztraminer is the wine that she believes will fit the bill.

Linda Tatare is of Tuwharetoa and Ngati Porou descent, and believes the Maori palate is an area that has not been catered to.

At the age of 58, she is studying extramurally for her Diploma in Grapegrowing and Winemaking.

Prior to that she completed an EIT bridging course in chemistry and also gained certificates in grape growing and winemaking, horticulture and agriculture through

EIT Tairawhiti’s rural studies unit.

Tatare rates her Gewurztraminer, a fragrant white varietal with medium sweetness balanced with spice to give the wine a sustained finish. “Gewurtz” is German for spice and she likes a lot of spice. However, her interpretation tends to the sweeter rather than the off-dry end of the scale.

“I’ve been really surprised at how Maori like it. Elderly Maori women in particular tend to have sophisticated palates and appreciate the qualities of my wine.”

For her first vintage last year, she made 60 dozen bottles of wine.

“I guess there are about nine dozen left. We had a lot of fun over

Christmas, gifting wine to friends and family who have supported us over the years.”

This year, production is up to 1.5 tonnes and Tatare doesn’t want to go beyond that.

“This year’s a serious one,” she says of the 2015 vintage. “We’re not messing around givLinda Tatare ing it away this time.

I have to up my business acumen, getting registered hiti for her label – a diminutive for and licensed to make this hap- Tairawhiti but also meaning sunshine in Maori. ■ pen.”

She has chosen the name Raw- maryshanahan173@gmail.com

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 131

The New Zealand Winegrowers Global Marketing and Events Programme was released at the beginning of July. It outlines the levy-funded global marketing activities and user-pays global events planned for the period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 in two handy booklets.

To view digital versions of these booklets, please visit the Members section of nzwine.com and click through to the Marketing section.

Alternatively, if you would like hard copy versions, or wish to speak to one of the team, please contact: Global Marketing Programme Felicity Johnston | Global Marketing Executive | P: +64 9 306 5645 | E: felicity@nzwine.com Global Events Programme Angela Willis | Manager – Global Events | P: +64 9 306 5642 | E: angela@nzwine.com

MARKET

EVENT

EVENT DATE

REGISTRATION DEADLINE

USA

NZ wine tasting - Houston

Thursday 17 Sep

ASAP

Japan

NZ wine tasting - Tokyo

Friday 2 October

ASAP

Korea

NZ wine tasting - Seoul

Monday 5 October

ASAP

Australia

Pinot Palooza - Sydney

Monday 5 October

ASAP

Swizterland

NZ wine tasting - Zurich

Monday 5 October

ASAP

Taiwan

NZ wine tasting - Taipei

Wednesday 7 October

ASAP

Australia

Pinot Palooza - Melbourne

Saturday 10 October

ASAP

Germany

NZ Wine tasting - Hamburg

Monday 12 October

ASAP

UK

Drinks Business The Wine Show - Chelsea 16-18 October

Friday 28 Aug

UK

New release trade tasting - London

Wednesday 28 October

Friday 28 Aug

USA

NZ wine tasting - Boston

October

Friday 14 Aug

Australia

Taste of Melbourne

12-15 November

ASAP

UK

The Wing Gang - London

Saturday 14 November

Friday 25 Sep

UK

Three Wine Men - Cardiff

21-22 November

Friday 25 Sep

UK

Wine Festival

27-29 November

Friday 25 Sep

132 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

CALENDAR AUGUST 7

Spiegelau International Wine Competition Awards Dinner Auckland

25-27

Tonnellerie de Mercurey National Young Winemaker of the Year Competition

Hawke’s Bay

10 Entries open for Air New Zealand Wine Awards

Bayer National Young Viticulturist of the Year Competition Hawke’s Bay

26-28 Romeo Bragato Conference 2015 Hastings

SEPTEMBER 4-6 The Food Show Wellington Westpac Stadium

18

Entries close for Air New Zealand Wine Awards

OCTOBER 20

Hawke’s Bay A&P Bayleys Wine Awards Dinner Waikoko Gardens

22

The Marlborough Wine Show Awards Dinner Blenheim

NOVEMBER 2-4

28

Air New Zealand Wine Awards Judging

Regional tasting Air New Zealand Wine Awards

Auckland

Nelson

Hawke’s Bay Wine Auction

Regional tasting Air New Zealand Wine Awards

14 15

Toast Martinborough

DECEMBER

FEBRUARY

Regional Tasting Air New Zealand Wine Awards

International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration 2016

Marlborough

Marlborough

Regional Tasting Air New Zealand Wine Awards

Chardonnay and Sparkling Symposium

1

2

30

Auckland

1-3

4-5

Gisborne

Hawke’s Bay NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 133

STATISTICS

MAJOR NZ VINEYARD AREAS PRODUCING HECTARES Region

PRINCIPAL EXPORT MARKETS

2014

2017 forecast

22,907.0

23,684.3

67.1

4774.3

4886.6

13.9

Otago

1931.8

1953.2

5.5

Gisborne

1914.6

1961.2

5.6

Waipara

1254.6

1257.2

3.6

1122.7

1159.7

3.3

Wairarapa / Wellington

995.1

1017.7

2.9

Auckland / Northland

392.3

407.1

1.2

24.6

23.28

0.01

35,510.1

36,547.3

Marlborough Hawkes Bay

Nelson

Waikato / Bay of Plenty National Total

% of Total in 2017 forecast

Country

MAJOR VARIETIES IN MAJOR AREAS Variety

Sauvignon Blanc

2014

% producing area

56.4

20,697.2

Pinot Noir

5509.2

15.5

5995.5

Chardonnay

3345.5

9.4

3441.1

Pinot Gris

2451.2

6.9

1395.3

Merlot

1290.0

3.6

1395.3

783.7

2.2

781.1

Syrah

433.1

1.2

446.7

Gewurztraminer

375.5

1.1

363.8

Cabernet Sauv

289.4

0.8

306

Viognier

187.4

0.5

182.2

Malbec

126.8

0.4

134.8

112.7

0.3

112

576.3

1.6

Cabernet Franc All other varieties Total

35,510.1

Auckland/Northland Waikato/Bay of Plenty

Number of

Regional area

Average of

Vineyards

Planted ha

area ha

111

392.4

12

24.6

2.1

100

1914.6

19.1

Hawke’s Bay

260

4774.3

18.4

118

1122.3

9.5

Marlborough

1014

22,907.0

22.6

Waipara

64

1254.5

19.6

Canterbury

35

193.0

8.4

Wellington/Wairarapa

119

995.1

9.1

Otago

213

1931.8

17.4

2046

35,510.1

17.4

National

134

// NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Growth Decline Litres %

Growth Decline FOB %

UK

58,962

349,637

13%

10%

USA

53,786

368,827

9%

12%

Australia

58,432

370,326

9%

-3%

Canada

9,460

93,771

25%

20%

Netherlands

6,291

38,929

16%

7%

Denmark

1,243

8,262

64%

38%

Ireland

2,455

17,374

13%

9%

Japan

1,223

14,141

2%

1%

Germany

1,465

7,751

-46%

-47%

China

1,870

26,598

3%

7%

Hong Kong

1,371

17,375

-1%

-2%

Singapore

1,592

20,072

-3%

-4%

Finland

0.297

2,363

14%

3%

Norway

0.263

2,079

-22%

-27%

Sweden

1.594

12,871

7%

6%

Others

7,798

66,016

38%

20%

208,046,815

1,416,399,422

11%

7%

3.5

Gisborne

Nelson

$ FOB

594.8 36,547.3

AVERAGE VINEYARD SIZE Region

Litres (m)

2017 forecast

20,029.4

Riesling

Exports for the year to date to the end of May 2015 (Moving Annual Total)

TOTAL

RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT Information and Updates on NZ Winegrowers Research Programmes.

Editor: Dr Simon Hooker, General Manager Research and Innovation

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

LIST OF PROJECTS Quality Wine Styles for Existing and Developing Markets The pathway of volatile sulphur compounds in wine yeast The Bragato Trust and NZW Scholarship University of Auckland (Dr Bruno Fedrizzi - student Matias Kinzurk) Preliminary investigation of factors responsible for variability in tartaric acid additions to Pinot noir Lincoln University (Roland Harrison) The pathway of volatile sulphur compounds in wine yeast – The Bragato Trust and NZW Scholarship University of Auckland (Dr Bruno Fedrizzi - student Matias Kinzurk) Lifestyle Wine (PGP) University of Auckland and Plant and Food Research (Various) Jointly funded by NZW and MPI Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) fund.

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

Virus diversity in New Zealand grapevines: sequence, ecology and impact The Rod Bonfiglioli Scholarship Plant and Food Research (Robin MacDiarmid - student Arnaud Blouin) Sustaining vineyards through practical management of grapevine trunk diseases South Australian Research & Development Institute (Mark Sosnowski) Supported by MPI Sustainable Farming Fund Implementation of Virus Elimination Strategy Various (Nick Hoskins – Project Manager) Supported by MPI Sustainable Farming Fund Sector weather data licence & tools HortPlus (NZ) Ltd.

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

Sustainability/Organics Effects of undervine vegetation management on grape quality, vine performance, grape composition, and soil properties Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) (Mark Krasnow) Eco-verifying Viticultural Production for Policy, Regulatory & Market Requirements Plant and Food Research (Brent Clothier) Pinot noir wine composition and sensory characteristics as affected by soil type and irrigation in the Waipara region Lincoln University (Glen Creasy)

Cost Reduction/Increased Profitability Grapevine growth stage monitoring for prediction of key phenological events Plant and Food Research (Rob Agnew) Supported by MPI Sustainable Farming Fund

Developing Powdery Mildew Best Practise in New Zealand Vineyards Lewis Wright Valuation & Consultancy Ltd (Trevor Lupton)

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 135

PROGRESS REPORTS

Grapevine growth stage monitoring for prediction of key phenological events Agnew R, Raw V, Bishell R, Grab F, Sorensen I, Marshall R, Wood P, Stanley J, Gandell M, Parker A Corresponding author rob.agnew@plantandfood.co.nz 14-100 In Winegrower Issue 89 (December 2014/January 2015), we explained the background to this New Zealand Winegrowers / Sustainable Farming Fund project. This project is monitoring the phenology of five grape varieties (Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir) in five New Zealand wine regions (Gisborne, Hawke’s B ay, M a r l b o r o u g h , No r t h Canterbury – Waipara and Central Otago). The five regions chosen comprise 93% of New Zealand’s total vineyard area, and the five varieties comprise 93% of the national vineyard area. A weather station has been selected in each region, so that we can produce long-term climate summaries on a season by season basis for the five wine regions. The project is also supporting the transformation of the successful Marlborough VineFacts™ Newsletter from a regional into a national viticultural information and technology transfer service. The VineFacts™ Newsletter provides regular weather information during the growing season and interprets, then reports its impact on yield potential, vine development (phenology), disease risk as well as climate comparisons with previous seasons and other topical issues e.g. grape disease management.

Industry uses this information to optimise timing of viticultural inputs and wine-style potential

136 //

while minimising crop loss from pests and diseases.

Figure 1: Google Earth image of location of two phenology blocks in Gisborne.

Selection of reference phenology blocks Reference phenology blocks were selected in the five regions in August 2014. Figures 1 to 5 are Google Earth images for each of the five wine regions to show the location of the phenology blocks in each region. Vineyards of the same variety within the same region have been selected so that they are in geographically distinct sub-regions. Varietal names are abbreviated as follows: CH – Chardonnay, PG – Pinot gris, PN – Pinot noir, SB – Sauvignon Blanc.

Figure 2: Google Earth image of location of six phenology blocks in Hawke’s Bay.

Growing Degree Days for the 2014-15 season in the five wine regions Figure 6 plots the growing degree day (GDD) deviation for each wine region for the 2014-15 season against the longterm average (LTA) for each region. The LTA is the black line through zero. If a GDD line on the graph is horizontal, it indicates the temperature at that time was average; if the line slopes upwards, the temperature was above average; if the line slopes downwards, the temperature was below average. Figure 6 allows you to see when hot and cold periods occurred during the season. If you know the date on which flowering in your vineyard occurred, the graph can help you

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

Figure 3: Google Earth image of location of 14 phenology blocks in Marlborough.

Figure 4: Google Earth image of location of two phenology blocks in Waipara – North Canterbury.

Long-term average (LTA)

2014-2015

% of LTA

Gisborne Airport

1539

1520

99%

Hawke’s Bay - Lawn Road

1332

1311

98%

Marlborough - Blenheim

1240

1354

109%

Waipara

1116

1239

111%

Central Otago Cromwell

1035

1118

108%

Table 1. Total Seasonal (September-April) Growing Degree-Days for five New Zealand Wine Regions.

Figure 5: Google Earth image of location of four phenology blocks in Central Otago.

to see whether the temperature over flowering was below or above average.

The data in Figure 6 indicate that all five wine regions recorded GDDs close to the LTA

during September and October 2014. November experienced a cool first half and a warm second half. December was cool for the first half of the month in all regions. In mid-December the

three South Island regions all began a period of very warm weather, which lasted right through until early February, aside from a small cool spell in mid-January. From early February to the end of April, all three South Island regions experienced periods of a couple of weeks of cool temperatures, followed by a couple of weeks of warm temperatures. However, the GDD lines still climbed during those three months, and as indicated in Table 1, the GDD totals for Marlborough, Waipara and Central Otago

were well above average at the end of April 2015.

Figure 6 indicates that a definite disconnect between temperatures in the North and South Islands occurred in mid-December 2014. Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay did not experience the above average temperatures that occurred in the South Island. The GDD totals were below average in mid-December, and alternated between above and below average periods through until the end of April.

Acknowledgements: Figure 6: Normalised Growing Degree Days for five New Zealand wine regions for the 2014-15 season: days above (+) or below (-) the long-term average for the period 1 September to 30 April.

There are a large number of wine companies, vineyard and weather station owners who are supporting this project - too many to list individual names. However, we want to acknowledge that without your ongoing valuable assistance, this project would not be possible.

We a c k n o w l e d g e t h e valuable financial support for the project being received from Sustainable Farming Fund, New Zealand Winegrowers and the Marlborough Research Centre Trust.

For the full 2014-15 annual report on this research project, visit the NZW members’ research pages. ■

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 137

Pinot Noir vine performance and grape and wine composition as affected by soil type and irrigation reduction in the Waipara region Creasy GL1*, Mejias-Barrera P1, Harrison R1, Hofmann R1, Smith C1, Lehto N1, Tonkin P2, Gill N3, DuFour J-L4.

1 Lincoln University Centre for Viticulture and Oenology 2 Retired, Lincoln University 3 Greystone Wines, Waipara 4 Waipara Hills Wines, Waipara * Corresponding author, creasyg@lincoln.ac.nz 14-104

Regionality in wine is a desirable trait, needed to mark the distinctiveness and sense of place that a wine has, especially in inte rnational markets.

The influence of soil on wine qualities is undisputed, but poorly documented. There are direct effects of soil (e.g. nutrient availability) and indirect effects (e.g. influences on vine vigour, the management of that vigour and resulting changes in fruit exposure). Separating out these influences can be problematic as environmental and soil factors can vary significantly within even a small area. This complicates investigations into soil effects on wine qualities.

North Canterbury provides an excellent basis due to the wide range of soil types located in a small geographical area. This minimises the effects of climate and maximises the effects of soils on grapevine growth and wine characteristics.

Thus, soil-related aspects of terroir can be investigated more directly and still have application

138 //

to other regions.

Our project revolves around determining what soil-related aspects of terroir contribute to vine performance and grape and wine characteristics. As water

on research already completed at Lincoln University dealing with viticultural management effects on wine in Waipara (Kemp, 2010) and the regional differences between Pinot noir wines made

This study will provide useful information as to the impacts of soil type and irrigation on vine, grape and wine characteristics and is largely the PhD thesis work of Patricio Mejias-Barrera.

use is a growing concern, we have overlaid a reduced irrigation treatment as water availability has a significant effect on the way the vine grows and matures its fruit.

This study will provide u s e f u l i n f o r m a t i o n a s to the impacts of soil type and irrigation on vine, grape and wine characteristics and is largely the PhD thesis work of Patricio Mejias-Barrera. It builds

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

in a variety of locations in New Zealand, including Waipara (Tomasino, 2011). Knowledge and techniques from these students’ research will be incorporated into the present study to increase our knowledge about soil/environment/vine/ wine interactions.

Three vineyard areas in Waipara with distinct soil types (Glasnevin, Greenwood and Huihui-Greystones) and planted

to the same clone of Pinot noir have been identified. Four plots of five vines each in the soils have been identified as experimental plots. A further four sets have been identified and have had their irrigation lines replaced with those delivering half the rate, serving as the reduced irrigation treatment vines.

In order to distinguish between the influence of soil type and irrigation, a wide range of information as to the vine environment, vine performance and water status are being recorded.

Ultimately, the research will show viticulturists and winemakers how their vines are performing in each of the different soil types, and the interactions with reduced irrigation.

This will provide information about the way that water stress affects the vines, fruit and wine, and therefore new ideas of how to best manage irrigation in dry seasons or as water availability decreases. ■

Pinot Noir vine performance and grape and wine composition as affected by soil type and irrigation reduction in the Waipara region * Corresponding author, creasyg@lincoln.ac.nz 14-104 continued Wine is a product of place. Wines can be made from fruit from the same type of grapevine, managed in the same way, with the grapes harvested and processed as similarly as possible, but if they were grown in different locations the wines will invariably taste different.

Some refer to this as the wines expressing terroir, with the term being used by winemakers, marketers, wine critics, and consumers alike. Terroir is often ill-defined, with different groups having different ideas about what it means (Moran 2006).

There are few in the wine industry that would argue with the idea that soil, environment and grapevine are inextricably linked to each other, however, the interactions between each of the factors are complex. Although it is difficult to generalise from the results of individual studies (because each combination of soil, climate, management etc. are unique), a consensus is beginning to emerge that water availability through the growing season is a key integrating concept.

Our project aims to establish some foundation knowledge around relationships between water availability, soil type, environment, vine and wine. This knowledge may then be used to better target future research into the effects of soil and climate on vine and wine, as well as assist viticulturists with managing their vines, winemakers with the refinement of wine styles and give marketers better information regarding the links between soil,

environment and wine quality.

Why Waipara? In New Zealand, the North Canterbury region represents a unique location to undertake our study. The geological and tectonic history of the area has resulted in soils with widely differing characteristics present in a small geographic area. Thus, climatic differences can be minimised while maximizing soil differences. Comments from local winemakers indicate that there are unique characteristics of wines from different areas within Waipara, which help form a basis to start the research.

We began by selecting three locations with similar plantings of Pinot noir, but varying soils.

A Glasnevin gravel soil, Pallic Greenwood soil and a Melanic Huihui-Greystones soil have been identified. At each site, an additional treatment of reduced

irrigation has been installed, with roughly half the amount of water applied by the vineyard manager to the experimental vines.

Characterisation of the sites are being conducted through a variety of methods. Weather station data, including solar radiation, wind direction and speed and canopy air temperatures are being logged at regular intervals as they influence a range of factors that can alter vine growth and fruit development. Soil texture and chemistry will be analysed for a number of samples for each site.

Vine measurements of trunk circumference, pruning weights, estimates of leaf area, canopy microclimate, leaf greenness and leaf gas exchange were recorded.

Vine carbohydrate status at the end of the season are being analysed, and plant tissues samples will also be sent away for nutrient

analysis.

Vine water stress was measured by monitoring leaf water potential (immediate water stress), leaf cell osmolarity (ability of the vine to compensate for stress in the short term) and 13C analyses (an indicator of cumulative water stress in the vine through fruit ripening (Gaudillère et al. 2002)), which has not been widely used in the grape area. Changes to fruit composition leading up to harvest was measured by examining seed and skin tannins, soluble solids (oBrix), pH, TA, berry weight, seed weight and berry number.

Making replicated wines from the trial was always the plan, but Mother Nature had other ideas...

There was only mild frost damage in the 2013-2014 season, so we were able to make microvins successfully in the first year. However, for vintage ‘15 there was a wide-

Figure 1. Primary and lateral leaf area for each site and treatment, estimated in February 2014. The coloured lines indicate standard error of the means for each leaf type.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 139

Glasnevin

SPAD

Control

RI

Mar 13

34.2a

30.1b

Greenwood

Control RI 33.9a

28.2 bc

HuiHuiGreystones

Control RI 323.0a

26.7c

Table 1. Leaf greenness (SPAD) values in the trial on March 13, 2014.

Values with different letters are different at the 0.05 level

spread frost in September that lowered crop loads dramatically, meaning that although we could collect grape samples, there wasn’t enough fruit available for microvins. As a result, we are not able to do the kinds of instrumental and sensory analyses that we wanted to. Because of this, our focus has shifted back towards concentrating on vine performance and fruit composition and less on the wines themselves.

Reported here are selected data from the 2014 vintage, which was typically dry and warm up until mid-March when the rain started and persisted through harvest.

Before the large rainfalls, however, the reduced irrigation (RI) treatment was successful in causing vine responses without resulting in the vines falling over. Vine leaf areas were reduced slightly by RI in 2014 (Figure 1), where the biggest differences were recorded between sites, with vines on the Glasnevin gravels and Greenwood clays having much higher values than for the vines on the HuiHuiGreystones soil. Lateral leaf areas were similar across each site, but contributed a much higher percentage (approximately 20% compared to 10% for the others) of the total at the HuiHui-Greystones site.

Leaf greenness (SPAD value) is correlated to the vines ability to photosynthesize (Ma et al. 1995), and is much easier to perform in the field compared to measuring gas exchange. When SPAD measurements were taken in March 2014, the results indicate differences between treatments, with less green/more yellow (i.e. lower SPAD value) leaves in RI compared

140 //

to Control, indicating a lower overall photosynthetic capacity of the vine.

Looking at the numbers is one thing, but looking at the vines themselves speaks volumes. Figure 2 is a composite of two pictures taken in mid-February at the Greenwood soil site. There are clear treatment effects, demonstrating the loss of leaf area, but also where that loss takes place (in the fruiting zone) and the yellowing of some of the remaining leaves.

Replicated microvins of grapes from the trial were made in vintage 2014, and tannin concentrations in these are presented in Figure 3. While there were no differences between wines from the Greenwood and Huihui-Greystones sites, the wines from the Glasnevin soil were significantly lower in tannin. The RI treatment results were not significantly different from their controls, but tended

Figure 2. Comparison of Greenwood soil Control (top) and RI (bottom) treatments in mid February, 2014. Note the reduction in basal leaf area and yellowing of the leaves with reduced irrigation

to be slightly higher.

There is much more information that has been collected from this trial - future updates will

report on the most recent analyses, and hope to tease out some of the unknowns around the soilenvironment-vine interaction...■

Figure 3. Wine tannin concentration (by MCP) at bottling inmg/L epicatechin equivalents. Wines were the result of replicated microvinifications for the 2014 harvest. The inset bar represents the standard error of the means.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

The influence of cane diameter on yield and revenue Mark Eltom1, Chris S. Winefield2, and Mike C.T. Trought3 New Zealand Winegrowers, Auckland, mark.eltom@nzwine.com

1

Lincoln University, Christchurch

2

The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research, Blenheim

3

Pruning is one of the most important aspects of vineyard management, where selecting the optimum cane can be time-consuming and difficult.

Although the influence of pruning techniques and training systems on vine growth and yield is well documented, little is known regarding the influence of cane diameter on yield. Understanding the influence of cane selection on yield allows for a more informed decision regarding harvest logistics, potential financial gains, storage space, equipment usage and matching market demands.

O ur study investigates the correlation between cane diameter and inflorescence architecture, yield and the subsequent gain or loss in

revenue.

Methods Sauvignon Blanc vines grafted on SO4 rootstock in a commercial vineyard in Marlborough were used for the study. Vine rows are planted in a north-south orientation with 1.8 meters between the vines and 2.4 meters between vine rows. The training systems were established on whole vine rows (approximately 120 meters long), randomly distributed within four replicate blocks. Four vine rows per training system were used for this study. Vines were pruned during the winter as follows: 1. A bilateral-trained cordon spur-pruned to retain two nodes per spur and 10 spurs per vine.

2. Head-trained four-cane,

Figure 1: Effect of grapevine cross-sectional area and diameter on: a) the average number of inflorescences per shoot along a cane; and b) the average proportion of basal inflorescences along a cane that had an outer arm with flowers. Cane cross-sectional

10 nodes per cane (40 nodes per vine).

3. Head-trained two-cane (20 nodes per vine).

Revenue per vine was calculated according to Equation 1. Average bunch number per cane was calculated from the relationship of cane diameter compared to bunch number per cane.

Equation 1. Revenue per vine = (number of canes per vine) X (average bunch number per cane) X (average berry number per bunch) X (average berry weight) X (grape price).

Results The average inflorescence number per shoot and the proportion of inflorescences

that had an outer arm with flowers along a cane increased with cane diameter (P<0.01 between growing seasons, Figure 1). The pruning system had no influence on the number or structure of inflorescences ( P > 0 . 0 5 ) . S u b s e q u e n t l y, an increase or decrease in inflorescence number per shoot due to the diameter of the cane will influence the revenue per vine (Table 1).

There is greater variation in the change in revenue per vine as the price of grapes increases. As the price of grapes increases ($ per ton), an increase or decrease in yield due to cane diameter is more detrimental to the gain or loss in revenue per vine (Figure 2).

area was grouped into 10 mm2 increments.

Frequency = number of measurements in each diameter grouping.

– = 2011-2012 growing season.

––– = 2012-2013 growing season.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 141

Table 1. Influence of cane diameter on yield and revenue

Cane diameter (mm)

Yield (kg/vine) 2011-12 2012-13

Change in revenue 2011-12 2012-13

7.9

5.7

4.2

-15%

-18%

9.1

6.1

4.5

-9%

-11%

9.7

6.3

4.8

-6%

-6%

10.4

6.5

5.0

-3%

-2%

10.9

6.7

5.2

0%

0%

11.7

6.9

5.3

3%

5%

12.2

7.1

5.5

5%

9%

13.2

7.4

5.8

9%

14%

13.7

7.5

6.0

12%

18%

14.2

7.6

6.1

13%

19%

*Changes in revenue were compared to the three-year average cane diameter left after pruning (10.92 mm).

Discussion The correlation of cane diameter on inflorescence number and architecture per shoot along a cane was investigated. Cane diameter is an indication of the average inflorescence number and structure along a cane, thereby influencing revenue per vine. The results indicate that viticulturists may manipulate yield, and subsequent revenue, as early as pruning through cane selection. Temperatures during inflorescence primordia initiation, however, have a major influence on the inflorescence

number per bud, and thus the subsequent shoot, highlighting the importance of yield prediction tools. Therefore, temperature will, in part, determine the extent that cane selection is able to manipulate yield.

The decision to manipulate yield via cane selection will depend on production requirements.

Selecting larger diameter canes may result in an increase in revenue. This may, however, result in an undesirable crop load.

Additionally, selecting thicker canes will result in a greater proportion of bunches with an

Figure 2. The effect of cane diameter and the value of grapes (dollars per tonne) on the increase or decrease in revenue per vine

142 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

outer arm. While the presence of an outer arm will increase yield, it may cause an increase in the variability of berry composition at harvest, which is desirable in some but not all wine styles.

An increase or decrease in revenue per vine is further compounded by the number of vines being pruned.

The accuracy and attention to detail of the pruning team will ultimately determine what canes are being selected. It may be of significant benefit to provide additional education, instruction or other incentives to ensure

appropriate diameter canes are being selected.

Acknowledgments This work was part of the main author’s PhD, which was funded through Lincoln University and The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research.

Financial support of New Zealand Winegrowers to the wider grape and wine research programme is greatly appreciated. Portions of this work were first published in the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research (20, 459-464) and in Practical Winery and Vineyard (February 2015 Edition). ■

relative to the three-year average cane diameter left after pruning (10.92 mm).

Bridging the quantitative gap in pruning management Andy Kirk This may be the definition of preaching to the choir, but according to last year’s New Zealand Winegrowers yearly report, pruning is officially the most expensive item on the industry’s yearly vineyard budget. What’s more, that figure cannot account for the long-term impact of poor pruning on both quality and profitability.

With all this on the line, you would think that the management of pruning cost and quality would be one of the industry’s top priorities. Yet, if you make the rounds to twenty-some pruning operations as I did last year, you’ll discover a resounding sense of struggle on this front. Not only are the logistics of its management challenging, trying to get the supposed “experts” to agree on a set of principles is a tall order, to put it mildly.

By no means am I suggesting a black and white, prescriptive, approach to pruning. Anyone who has worked a few years in the vineyard is all too familiar with the level of variation and nuance that can occur over time, both naturally and though our own doing. One of the goals of this project is to provide an evaluation framework that does not restrict the ability of managers to adapt their thinking to a given circumstance. With renewed support this year from The Bragato Trust Postgraduate Scholarship, this and other goals are looking very attainable.

I signed on in February 2014 to a MSc (Horticulture) project at Lincoln University, intending to lay the groundwork for the objective evaluation of double Guyot (two cane) pruning. My work is an arm of a larger project, created through a Ministry of Business, Innovation,

and Employment (MBIE) grant, seeking to produce a fully automated and intelligent pruning robot. The astounding work, done by our colleagues just down the road at University of Canterbury, is showing tremendous potential.

Meanwhile, back in Lincoln, I am hoping to make meaningful progress this year on the evaluation side of things. Before we get into where this project is going, let’s take a look at where it has been.

2014 Preliminary Study In order to evaluate robotic pruning, and human pruning for that matter, there must be some agreement as to which criteria are relevant. With help last year from the good people at Camshorn Vineyard, a list of 24 criteria were drafted up as a starting point for a pilot study. The next step was to create an instrument for rating vines on these criteria. This has proven to be a challenge, and an ongoing work in progress. Making use of qualtrics, a powerful piece of survey administration software, I compiled hundreds of photos of, at one point, up to 10 vines for rating purposes. Most of the vines in last year’s pilot study were pruned with intentional “quirks”, designed to highlight the various criteria. Ratings were made on the 24 criteria, together with an assessment of overall quality.

Several important things were learned from this pilot study.

Firstly, it became clear very quickly how difficult it would be to achieve the number of responses necessary to carry out the required statistical analyses with any credibility. This realisation has, in large part, driven some key design

changes for the current work. Secondly, it was confirmed that, for surprisingly complex reasons, the goal of a “representative sample” in the vineyard would be very difficult to achieve. Then there was the discovery of just how difficult it is to produce photos that can simultaneously cover a wide section of the vine and show adequate detail and resolution.

All of these experiences last year suggested the abandonment of representative vine sampling as an immediate goal, in favour of having one vine that is rated by hundreds of respondents, with higher quality photos. It is relatively common in science, particularly in wine science, to work with a model system, as opposed to an

in vivo (real life) system. In our case, having only one vine limits the number of research variables that are in play, but should allow for clearer results. As I noted before, this research is intended to lay groundwork and establish a method, rather than solve the pruning dilemma in one fell swoop.

With that in mind, there are three main research objectives for my project this year: • Refine and analyse evaluation criteria • Model the relationship between individual criteria and overall quality • Identify pruning style preferences

An example of a vine used in the 2014 pilot stud.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 143

Refining Evaluation Criteria With any luck, we hope to streamline the set of evaluation criteria down from 24 to somewhere around 10. Fortunately, the sciences prohibit my advisors and I from sitting down and making a baseless judgment about which criteria are relevant, and which are redundant. Instead, we rely on a multivariate statistical method, known as Factor Analysis, to group our variables and tell us if any overarching patterns are driving responses on the 24 criteria. Based on some preliminary statistical analysis of responses, there is some reason to believe that our set of pruning variables might be compressible to as few as 6 factors, or “meta-variables”, as I like to describe them.

What does a factor, or “metavariable”, actually tell us? For this, we look to see if there are one or two evaluation criteria that are highly correlated with the Factor to allow for easy crossinterpretation. If, for instance, a factor is highly correlated to Spur Diameter, Spur Colour, and Spur Integrity, we might interpret that factor as roughly corresponding

144 //

to “Spur Composition”. As it happens, this particular result is one that comes directly from our preliminary results (Figure 1).

In the future, instead of measuring three or four separate variables, we would have a sound argument to represent them jointly as “Spur Composition”.

While this might seem obvious to those of us who have done some pruning, having this kind of evidence would provide a foundation upon which future scientific work could build.

The relationship between criteria and overall quality Rewarding though it is to streamline and improve our evaluation criteria, the exercise is only meaningful if the resulting set of criteria actually predict the overall quality of pruning. Without modification, our initial set of criteria is so large, that it is almost sure to overlap heavily with overall pruning quality. This would present the illusion of a really good model, without telling us all that much about which criteria are the most important. To alleviate

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

this problem, we need to enter a smaller number of pruning criteria into the model. This gets back to the previous section, in terms of how we might go about choosing which criteria to include.

If this is sounding too much like statistics class, I will reemphasise that the point of this particular exercise is to determine how heavily individual criteria weigh onto overall pruning quality.

Identifying Pruning Style Preference While making the rounds and gathering feedback over the past year, I have noticed a natural tendency in participants to want to simply say how they would prune a given vine, more so than to rate pruning done by someone else. In recognition of this, I have added a component of the study, whereby participants can indicate their own preferred pruning decisions on the vine in question. I will convert their decisions into four variables, a cane and spur for each side. This will also allow for the decision not to leave a spur or cane for each side, and likewise to make other structural cuts. With this informa-

tion, I will be searching for trends based on a number of background variables. As the data collection is very much ongoing, I would be best not to give too much away!

Reflecting and Looking Forward It is understandable that an attempt to bring the quantitative world into the vineyard will likely be met with some resistance. For many, the vineyard represents a sort of haven away from the world of numbers and gadgets. What is more, pruning is certainly not a straight forward easy to quantify task. However, in our day to day life there are examples everywhere around us of complex problems that have been modelled and managed. Perhaps we do not yet have the technological means to achieve the mass data collection necessary to solve the pruning riddle. Perhaps we do. Either way, the time is right for a long overdue first step.

Sincere thanks to Dr. Richard Green, others involved with the MBIE pruning robot project, and The Bragato Trust for their support of this research. ■

Retreat from 15% – reducing wine alcohol levels Can alcohol levels in premium-quality wines be dialled back while the unique sensory characteristics are retained or enhanced?

What are the optimum alcohol levels for different wine styles and varieties? Those are some of the questions to be explored by the Lifestyle Wines Partnership Programme.

Over the years the alcohol content of all wine styles has been steadily creeping up.

Nowadays, wines approaching 15% alcohol by volume (ABV) are considered normal, a side effect of the growing popularity of wines with richer fruit flavours.

Recently, however, a growing chorus of critics, consumers and winemakers has indicated a preference for lower alcohol levels in wines. Is the tide turning?

‘Lifestyle Wines’ is a sevenyear research and development programme directed by New Zealand Winegrowers. Funded jointly by the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Primary Growth Partnership (PGP),

wine industry levies, and commercial contributions from partner wine companies (grantors), the programme focuses on how applied research and development can enhance the creation of lower alcohol and lower calorie wines. With a strong emphasis on natural production, the programme has set an objective to use sustainable viticultural techniques and native yeasts, providing wineries with a point of difference to existing processing methods and other products in the market. The programme aims to deliver economic benefits of $285 million a year by the end of 2023.

‘Winemakers and consumers

alike have started to question the current alcohol levels of wine,’ says Programme Manager Dr David Jordan. ‘Rather than accepting the creep upwards, they prefer reduced alcohol levels in a wide range of wine styles and varieties, not just in the developing “lower alcohol wine” category.’

According to Dr Jordan, results from the Lifestyle Wines programme may one day provide answers to questions such as, ‘How can we best produce a Central Otago Pinot Noir or a Hawke’s Bay Syrah at 12.5% or 13%?’.

Why Reduce Alcohol Levels of Wine?

Market research commissioned by the Lifestyle Wines programme indicates that an increasing proportion of consumers are making purchasing decisions based around their health and wellbeing, looking for ‘better for you’ options. This consumer segment is also more informed a b o u t e n e r g y i n t a ke a n d understands that calories in wine are largely associated with the alcohol content.

At the same time, industry bodies and governments are getting behind the move toward reduced alcohol levels in beverages. New Zealand Winegrowers, in conjunction with the New Zealand Brewers

Villa Maria Wines.

PHOTO SUPPLIED BY NZW.

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 // 145

Association, and Distilled Spirits Association of New Zealand promotes moderation in a joint social responsibility initiative called ‘The Tomorrow Project’ (see the accompanying item ‘Cheers!’ for more information).

Recent toughening up of New Zealand drink driving laws in December 2014 has added a further push for responsible consumption. The new law reduced the legal blood breath alcohol limit for driving from 400 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath to 250 micrograms (the equivalent of a reduction from 80 milligrams to 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood).

‘The reduced legal limit means consumers are changing consumption patterns and reassessing what, and how, they are drinking,’ says Dr Jordan.

Where To from Here?

How to meet consumer demand, dial back the alcohol levels as well as improve the balance of high-quality wines and still retain uniquely ‘New Zealand’ sensory characteristics are some of the challenges to be addressed in the Lifestyle Wines programme.

The research programme is developing a range of tools for use in the vineyard and winery that can be used to craft flavour, alcohol and calorie profiles.

Two distinct areas of research are based around achieving the ‘sweet spot’ between wine alcohol level and the flavour and texture of a wine: 1. Producing lower alcohol (8% to 10%) wines.

2. Reducing the alcohol content of higher alcohol wines already in the market by just a few percent, whilst still retaining the desired flavour and aroma characters and, potentially, improving their

sensory balance.

Unlike post-fermentation technologies for reducing alcohol levels (such as reverse osmosis and spinning cones), the Lifestyle Wines programme focuses on how viticultural and wine management techniques and native yeasts can be manipulated throughout the growing and winemaking process to naturally reduce the alcohol level of finished wines.

As well as enabling the industry to create lifestyle wines that can successfully command a premium profile and pricing in both international and domestic markets, the programme

will also provide tools for the production of full-strength wines at lower alcohol levels, according to Dr Simon Hooker, General Manager Research, at New Zealand Winegrowers.

‘Presently, winemakers are largely accepting of the natural alcohol levels that occur after traditional fermentation,’ adds Dr Hooker. ‘If the alcohol levels are too high, wines can appear “hot” and lack balance and the desired flavours. Our research findings will be of interest to all winemakers and viticulturists, not just producers of lower alcohol wines.’ ■

Lifestyle Wines Partnership Programme PROGRAMME START: March 2014 LENGTH: 7 years TOTAL FUNDING: $16.97 million PGP FUNDING: $8.13 million INDUSTRY FUNDING: $8.84 million COMMERCIAL PARTNERS: NZ Winegrowers and contributing wineries* * Accolade Wines, Allan Scott Wines, Constellation Brands, Forrest Estate, Giesen Wine Estate, Indevin, Kono, Lawson’s Dry Hills, Marisco Vineyards, Mount Riley Wines, Mt Difficulty Wines, Pernod Ricard, Runner Duck Estate, Spy Valley Estate, Villa Maria, Whitehaven Wine Company, Wither Hills, and Yealands.

CHEERS! In November 2012, New Zealand Winegrowers, the New Zealand Brewers Association, and Distilled Spirits Association of New Zealand launched a joint social responsibility initiative called ‘The Tomorrow Project’. The aim of the project is to educate New Zealand consumers about the safe and responsible consumption of alcoholic beverages. The key

146 //

NZ WINEGROWER AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015

interface for this is the Cheers! w e b s i t e – w w w. c h e e r s . o r g . nz – which presents easy-tounderstand information designed to help New Zealanders make sensible decisions about the way they drink.

M e m b e r s o f N ew Ze a l a n d Winegrowers can support the Cheers! initiative in a number of ways, including putting the

Cheers! logo on their bottle l a b e l s . Th e re i s n o co st fo r members to use the logo, and more details on how to access artwork files and brand guidelines can be found on the Advocacy area of the nzwine.com website (under Social responsibility/The Tomorrow Project and ‘Cheers!’).

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