New Zealand Winegrower August - September 2022

NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER

NEW ZEALAND

Winegrower Official magazine of the New Zealand wine industry

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NEW ZEALAND WINE INDUSTRY

Vintage Data Cellar renewal

Grape Days Wine research

Young Winemaker Ben McNab

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 ISSUE 135

Tackling Climate Change Taking action to measure, reduce and offset carbon emissions

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 / ISSUE 135

NEW ZEALAND

Winegrower Official magazine of the New Zealand wine industry

ISSUE 135 – AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

Regulars

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Editorial Sophie Preece

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From the CEO Philip Gregan

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New Vintage Ben McNab

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Women in Wine Heather McPherson The Profile Helen Masters

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Postcard Kevin Judd

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Wine Weather James Morrison

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Advocacy Matters Levy rates

Point of View Dr Amber Parker

Features 16 30

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Vintage Data A 44% lift in the grape harvest has provided a sorely needed boost to supply lines, with winery stocks at “rock-bottom levels” after a low yielding 2021.

Climate Change 24 Tackling The Tackling Climate Change

webinar series offered insights into the urgency of cutting and offsetting emissions, and introduced companies making a difference, from plucking low hanging fruit to planting forest carbon sinks. The focus feature tells just some of their stories.

54 COVER PHOTO Mike Saunders and Blue at the carbonzero Greystone Wines in Waipara, where plans to reduce emissions are part of a holistic approach to the land and environment. Photo Jim Tannock. Go to page 26.

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Stakes 64 Subregional “I view the subregional

development of Marlborough as a critical next step in Marlborough’s evolution,” says Sophie Parker-Thomson MW, in a feature on the validity of subregionality.

EDITOR Sophie Preece sophie@sophiepreece.co.nz CORRESPONDENTS Wellington Wine Country: Joelle Thomson mailme@joellethomson.com Hawkes Bay: Olly Styles oliverstyles@hotmail.com Central Otago: Jean Grierson Canterbury: Jo Burzynska jo@joburzynska.com ADVERTISING Upper North Island: Stephen Pollard stephenp@ruralnews.co.nz Ph: 021 963 166 Central North Island: Lisa Wise lisaw@ruralnews.co.nz Ph: 027 369 9218 Lower North Island: Ron Mackay Ph: 021 453 914 South Island: Kaye Sutherland kayes@ruralnews.co.nz Ph: 021 221 1994 CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS Jodi Blair jodi.blair@nzwine.com Ph: 09 303 3527, ext 0 Fax: 09 302 2969 Mobile: 027 700 2371 New Zealand Winegrowers PO Box 90 276, Auckland Mail Centre, New Zealand PUBLISHING & PRE-PRESS 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: David Ferguson, Rebecca Williams Published by Rural News Group Ltd under authority of New Zealand Winegrowers Inc. Unless directly attributed, opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of Rural News Group and/or its directors or management, New Zealand Winegrowers Inc. or its constituent organisations. Published every second month. One free copy is mailed to every member of New Zealand Winegrowers Inc, New Zealand Society of Viticulture & Oenology and the New Zealand Vine Improvement Group, and to such other persons or organisations as directed by the owners, with provision for additional copies and other recipients to be on a subscription ISSN 1174-5223

From the Editor And they’re off! After nearly three years ‘Zooming’ around the world while grounded in New Zealand, winemakers, viticulturists and marketers are taking flight. This month’s Postcard is from Greywacke founder Kevin Judd, writing in from a sales trip to London. “Whilst Zoom taught us that some things can be done remotely, there really is nothing like being there, so once the Kiwi border quarantine was lifted, the Greywackers were back on tour,” he writes on page 60.

Our globally recognised scientists are back on the road as well, ensuring our research informs, and is informed by, the global reservoir of knowledge. Dr Amber Parker, Senior Lecturer in Viticulture at Lincoln University, was one of the New Zealand scientists in Canada last month for the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium, with its theme of climate change adaptation and innovation.

In this month’s Point of View (see page 68) Amber talks of the impact of climate change on grape production, and a “three-pronged approach” to safeguarding the future of our wine industry. The first is understanding the impacts, including the likes of advanced veraison, the second is experimenting with adaption techniques, such as drought resistant rootstocks, more efficient water use, and management practices to delay phenology and ripening. “The third key point is looking at our carbon footprint,” says Amber. “And with rising diesel prices, there is no better time than now to get serious about it.”

This month’s Winegrower Magazine has a focus on companies who are getting serious about understanding, reducing and offsetting their carbon emissions, in line with New Zealand Winegrowers’ commitment to the industry being carbon neutral by 2050. It takes an unrelenting push for continuous improvement, say those companies on a climate action journey to safeguard more than the wine industry.

It’s not enough to make gains then rest on your laurels explains Greystone Viticulturist Mike Saunders, who’s on this month’s cover. “If you are already doing parts of it, that’s great.

What can you do next?”

Sophie Preece EDITOR

Contributors

Tony Skinner Tony Skinner is a technology writer who has built a career asking dumb questions of smart people. More recently, he has focused on the role of startups in the wine industry and how technology enhances the winemaking process.

Go to page 48

Joelle Thomson A journalist, author and wine writer, Joelle also works as a wine adviser in Wellington. In this edition she talks with Ata Rangi winemaker Helen Masters about a journey that began with a gap year in Wairarapa.

Go to page 54

Stephanie McIntyre A certified sommelier and communications expert obsessed with food and wine, Stephanie McIntyre loves talking to people with a similar passion. In this edition she delves into the evolution of subregional wine in Marlborough.

Go to page 64

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FROM THE CEO

From the CEO FTAs – Improving Exporters’ Market Access PHILIP GREGAN The recent announcement of a new New Zealand/European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is good news for wine exporters. While the final text has yet to be signed, we understand the agreement, in a dedicated wine annex, will address a number of the EU wine trade issues we have been concerned about for many years.

The EU FTA announcement comes on the heels of the UK FTA deal earlier in the year. Together these two deals will improve access into markets where wineries sell around $600 million of wines each year, or a little over 30% of total exports – that has got to be good news for exporters.

Exactly when the two agreements will come into force is not yet clear. Our current understanding is that the UK deal will become operative later this year, while the EU arrangement is on a longer track, possibly 2024. These new deals are further milestones in our long-running quest to improve access for our wines into global markets. This access underpins the ability of our growers and winemakers to grow grapes and make wine in New Zealand, for sale all around the world. Given the importance of these deals it is worth taking a moment to reflect on the journey to date, and what the future may hold.

Our market access journey The starting point for this journey was the realisation in the early-mid 1980s that to prosper the industry needed to be competitive on the global stage. That meant the New Zealand industry believing in, and supporting, open and competitive markets, and as part of that accepting imports were going to be part of the wine landscape in our own domestic market. The key step taken at the time was the Closer Economic Relations (CER) trade agreement with Australia, which just like the new EU FTA, contained a specific wine annex governing, in this case, the future trade in wine between Australia and New Zealand.

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The next major step in the 1990s was the development of the joint Food Standards Code between New Zealand and Australia.

That process enabled us to develop a modern and permissive set of rules governing the sale of wine in New Zealand and Australia that may have been produced anywhere in the world. The philosophy was that if we had an open, modern and permissive wine regulatory system, this would permit and encourage innovation in our sector, enhancing and supporting our goal to be globally competitive.

Next, was taking those new transTasman wine standards and seeking mutual acceptance for them with like-minded countries. That goal culminated in the Agreement on Mutual Acceptance of Oenological Practices (MAA) signed by New Zealand in 2001 with other members of the World Wine Trade Group (WWTG).

The arrangement, which is still in force today, enables New Zealand winemakers to produce wine in New Zealand according to our own winemaking rules, and then sell those wines in countries such as Australia, USA and Canada – there is no need to comply with the winemaking rules of those countries, rather each Treaty signatory mutually accepts the winemaking rules of all the other parties. This landmark arrangement greatly simplifies winemaking requirements and rules for exporters; it provides real certainty for our producers.

The final step has been to take that modern, permissive approach to winemaking rules and imbed both the principles and the detail into FTAs. This is the approach we took to the China FTA over a decade ago, and to the more recent CPTPP, EU and UK negotiations. While we haven’t been able to obtain mutual acceptance arrangements in FTAs, our push has always been for modern and permissive winemaking rules, that do not create technical trade barriers (for no good

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

reason) nor excessive certification/labelling requirements, and that support innovation in our sector.

Future Steps When the new UK and EU FTAs become operative, over $1.1 billion of New Zealand wine exports will be to countries with whom New Zealand has an FTA. Of our major export markets, only the USA will not have an FTA in place, but while we don’t have tariff free access to that market, fortunately we do have the MAA which provides certainty and flexibility on winemaking rules when exporting there.

So, what is next on the market access road? It is important to remember that such agreements take a very long time to negotiate, so we need to look into the future. Along the way there will be the need to upgrade existing FTAs (as achieved recently with China), and there would be benefits from a deal with the USA, our largest market by some margin.

The likes of India and Brazil are longterm market prospects, while improved access into markets such a Switzerland would also be beneficial. We also need to be wary of the tendency of countries to introduce new and different trade barriers even where there are agreements in place, so we definitely need to keep a watching brief on those matters. It is also possible that other countries may join the WWTG and sign the MAA, which would provide benefits separate from an FTA. With our global reputation for distinctive, premium quality and sustainable wines, we have always been confident that New Zealand wines can compete well in any market if they get the opportunity to do so on a free and fair basis. FTAs are about providing that opportunity to exporters. On that basis we should all warmly welcome the new UK and EU deals, and look forward to more and even better arrangements in the future.

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NEWS BRIEFS

Decarbonising Wine The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) has requested expressions of interest from wine companies willing to partner on projects to improve energy efficiency, and reduce costs and carbon emissions. The authority has a Sector Decarbonisation Programme, and collaborates with industry associations and technical experts to connect New Zealand businesses with innovation and best practice guidance for decarbonising at a sector level. It is working with Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand on up to four ‘energy transition plans’, based on up to four individual businesses, that represent “a full variation of the sector”.

To express interest in partnering, contact EECA Sector Decarbonisation Programme Manager Insa Errey at Insa.Errey@eeca.govt.nz For more on lowering carbon emissions in the wine industry, go to page 20.

Dominic Pecchenino. Photo Jim Tannock

Vine Science Stalwart Viticulturist Dominic Pecchenino was presented Wine Marlborough’s 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award in late May, recognising three decades of dedication to the industry and its research.

The award presentation was postponed after the cancellation of the 2021 Marlborough Wine Show Celebration lunch, due to Covid-19 restrictions – and instead made at a pruning field day at Matador Estate, on the vineyard that brought Dominic to New Zealand in 1994.

Wine Marlborough General Manager Marcus Pickens says Dominic has played a significant role in the development of Marlborough’s wine industry as a scientist and viticulturist. “With a master’s degree in plant science and viticulture, he brought to this part of the world fresh eyes and international experience.”

In a story in Winepress Magazine, Dominic said the award was a “great honour” that came out of the blue. “I am very humbled and very pleased to have been recognised. You work a long time in an industry and to be recognised for doing something that makes a difference is probably the best honour you can get.”

Dominic was a member of Wine Marlborough’s board for 12 years, including three years as chair, while also being a member of the New Zealand Winegrowers board for 16 years, and chair of the research committee. He was an instigator of the annual New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) Grape Days, “as he strongly believed that research being undertaken around the country needed to be shared with growers throughout the country”, says Marcus.

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I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

Rapaura Springs’ Blind River vineyard

AMW Evolution Appellation Marlborough Wine has expanded its certification to all Marlborough grown varietals, after four years of authenticating Sauvignon Blanc from the region. Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW) coordinator Amanda McRae says it was always the plan to incorporate the broader Marlborough wine offering, “but we wanted to start AMW with our region’s flagship varietal and get all the right protocols in place.” Just a few years in and it’s clear that AMW provides value, she says, noting that several members have commenced the process of certifying their 2021 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

In another change this year, each submitted Sauvignon Blanc will be tasted blind by an independent panel to authenticate the wine as a true representation of the region. “Appellation Marlborough is a pioneering and evolving organisation,” says Ivan Sutherland, AMW Chair and cofounder of Dog Point Vineyards. “These recent refinements strengthen our quality standards and add further credibility to the original values of our appellation.”

Appellation Marlborough Wine was introduced in 2018 to protect ‘Brand Marlborough’ by establishing standards and criteria that provide reassurance to the consumer and enhance the credibility of members’ wines.

NEWS BRIEFS

Sending you Sideways

Rex Pickett at Prophet’s Rock

YVONNE LORKIN

Back in 2004 the funniest wine novel of all time spawned the funniest wine film of all time and even won an Academy Award for its screenplay. Has the momentum for all things ‘Sideways’ slowed since then? Heck no! The story has been formed into a stage play, a podcast and a musical. Its author, Californian Rex Pickett has even developed Kiwi connections to create a range of Sideways wines from Martinborough, Hawke’s Bay and Central Otago (blackmarket.co.nz).

But those connections have also grown to the point where Rex is now ensconced in New Zealand, travelling our wine regions and gathering inspiration for the much-anticipated new Sideways book, set in New Zealand.

This is exciting news, and even more exciting that the book could form the basis for a sequel to the hit film, shot right here in New Zealand and showcasing our jaw-droppingly beautiful wine regions and excellent wine characters. We’re fizzing about the plot lines already. Will Jack still be married? Will Miles still hate merlot? Will they cause chaos and carnage out there in Kiwi cellardoor land? We can’t wait to find out!

Follow Rex’s travels on Instagram @rexpickett

Wine Match App A new app is set to help restaurant staff and consumers find the best possible wine and food matches. “Everyone everywhere deserves great wine and dine experiences” says Wineally founder and Chief Executive Ole Nielsen. “It all started when I as a wine merchant realised that most consumers are not able to match wine with their dishes in a good way and that most restaurants don´t have a dedicated and educated sommelier.”

Initial research revealed that consumers are willing to spend more if they know that the wine they are buying is a good match to their dishes, leading to a wine matching algorithm and comprehensive database with wine information. “We know the last couple of years has been hard for the whole hospitality sector and that finding staff with experience and training is really difficult at this time,” says Ole. “Wineally can help in the way that the restaurant, hotel or café can offer a professional wine service even with inexperienced and untrained staff or the guest can do it themselves in the app.” wineally.com

Josh Young

Young Gun Josh Young has become the first graduate of EIT’s new Postgraduate Certificate in Wine Business and Innovation. Josh, 26, began the programme in the middle of 2021, when EIT first began offering a suite of fully online postgraduate qualifications, which also include the Diploma in Wine Business and Innovation and the Masters in Wine Business and Innovation.

Josh is based in Auckland and works for the family business, Vintners New Zealand. But despite growing up around wine, his first degree was a Bachelor of Ancient History at the University of Auckland, which included an exchange to the University of Granada in Spain.

When he returned to New Zealand, Josh started working at Allpress Espresso as a coffee roaster, before deciding he would go back to his roots. “I’ve been exposed to it my whole life, but it wasn’t until last year that I decided to really toss myself into the wine industry and start with EIT and then move to Blenheim and do a vintage last year.”

Not keen to waste any time, Josh plans to move to London to pursue a career in wine distribution. “The UK might not be wine producing, but it has high wine consumption. There’s a huge wine market there so I’d like to get some experience in that market before coming back to New Zealand.”

NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 I

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Upcoming events

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To have events added to our calendar contact sophie@sophiepreece.co.nz Due to uncertainty around COVID-19, there may be changes to some of these events. For more information, please use the contact supplied or go to ruralnewsgroup.co.nz/wine-grower

Go You in ‘22 2-23 August nzwine.com/events

New Zealand Winegrowers is running a series of Go You in ‘22! workshops to provide support to wine industry members.

The events will provide insights on how to stay well and where to get support, while also looking to motivate, reset and enable attendees to embrace their future.

The workshops are on in Marlborough on 2 August, Central Otago on 11 August, Auckland on 16 August and Hawke’s Bay on 23 August.

hold a research symposium – Advancing Viticulture and Wine Related Research – on 1 September. The event welcomes two keynote speakers, Professor Hirini Matunga from Lincoln University and Professor Paul Kilmartin from Auckland University, and will also consider research themes from viticulture, wine science and technology, wine business and wine tourism.

New Zealand International Wine Show 11 - 13 October www.nziws.co.nz

The 2021 New Zealand International Wine Show was held in February this year, in an event postponed on several occasions due to Covid-19. The 2022 competition has now been confirmed for this year, with judging to be held in Auckland from 11-13 October.

The Trophy Awards Event details are yet to be confirmed.

NZSVO Technical Workshop 18 October nzsvo.org.nz

Jen Parr and Sam Kim

New World Wine Awards Wairau River

Spray Days 2022 August – September nzwine.com/members

Hear from the experts in hands-on workshops covering industry best practice at Spray Days events around the country throughout August and early September.

Spray Days are free to attend and provide expert perspectives and important information, including sprayer setup and maintenance, a monitoring masterclass, optimising control outcomes, planning to spray, integrated weed management and biosecurity.

16-18 September newworld.co.nz/topwines

Co-Chairs Sam Kim and Jen Parr will oversee an independent panel of 15 wine experts in the New World Wine Awards, to be judged in Blenheim in August. Entries will be judged individually and in panels over three days in the heart of New Zealand wine country.

Fromm

Beyond Vineyard Ecosystems 27-28 September nzwine.com/events

Trinity Hill

EIT Research Symposium 1 September eit.ac.nz/subject-areas

The Eastern Institute of Technology School of Viticulture and Wine Science will

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Beyond Vineyard Ecosystems: Growing for the future is a two-day technical conference at the newly opened Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre. Designed for decisionmakers in the vineyard, winery and operations, the event will share findings. from the seven-year Vineyard Ecosystems research programme and its spin-offs.

For more information, go to page 46.

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

The New Zealand Society for Viticulture and Oenology (NZSVO) will hold its Technical Workshop on Alternative Varietals this October, with a cross section of speakers from viticulture and winemaking through to market. The day long workshop will run through five sessions, including keynote addresses from Sophie Parker-Thomson MW, Emma Jenkins MW and Dr Bruno Fedrizzi.

Young Winemaker National Final 3 November nzwine.com/events

The 2022 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year regional competitions will be underway in September, with the North Island competition in Hawke’s Bay on 8 September, Marlborough’s regional competition on 21 September, and Central Otago on 29 September. The regional finalists will meet at a national final on 3 November. To read about the 2021 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year, Ben McNab, go to page 50.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Toitū & Technology The Toitū and Technology Viti Conference and Field Day has a focus on the future, with guidance on how to prepare for climate change, including the steps required to become carbon zero.

Speakers will discuss some of the new innovations and technologies evolving to help the New Zealand wine industry thrive, says organiser Nicky Grandorge, New Zealand Winegrowers’ Leadership and Communities Manager. “It’s important to act now so we can protect and enhance our environment, our reputation for quality and our businesses,” says Nicky. “This conference and field day highlights some of the latest New Zealand innovations, which can help us achieve a successful and sustainable future.”

The morning conference includes guest speakers from Toitū Envirocare, Ali Alomari from Cropsy Technologies, and a spokesperson from Hyundai, who will debunk myths about electric and

2022

2021 Young Viticulturist of the Year Sam Bain. Photo Richard Briggs

hydrogen vehicles.

An afternoon field trip will see attendees bussed around Marlborough to see innovative technology and trials at work in the region’s vineyards, including BioStart soil trials, Hi-Stems at Ormond Nurseries, the Klima pruning machine, and the latest from Ecotrellis.

The conference is part of the Corteva New Zealand Young Viticulturist of the

2022

Year celebrations, with regional finalists competing for the national title on 30 August, with the Awards Dinner on 31 August.

• Young Viticulturist National Final 30 August, Marlborough • Toitu & Technology Viti Conference and Field Day 31 August, Marlborough nzwine.com/en/events/

2022

2022

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NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 I

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The Marketing Place Taking NZ wine to the world: Bringing the world to NZ wine

Read On Kia ora koutou katoa, With a new financial year dawning, the New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) marketing team is excited to be undergoing a ‘marketing reset’. We are repositioning and refocusing our energies to where we can add maximum value for the industry and NZW members.

Earlier this year, at the NZW Marketing Committee’s strategy workshop, it was unanimously agreed that the most impactful way we could add value for members was to redefine and strengthen the brand position for New Zealand wine. In our fast evolving ‘noisy’ key export markets, it is essential the overarching New Zealand wine brand messaging is clear and distinctive, to maximise cut through.

Work is underway to define the ‘brand essence’ of New Zealand Wine. The basis of this will highlight what we stand for as an industry, what is unique and special about our wines, our people, and our viticulture. It will highlight what sets us apart from other wine regions of the world and provide our members with the tools to use this in their own marketing.

Ensuring New Zealand wine is top-of-mind and relevant with changing drinking habits and evolving target audiences is a key focus for the brand refresh. We have an increasingly sophisticated audience who are knowledgeable about New Zealand wine and our country’s natural beauty, but who may not be aware of our vast range of varieties and sophisticated food culture. There is also a large audience that are seeking to have a more premium wine experience and need to be introduced to New Zealand as a key choice.

In the next Winegrower magazine we will be able to unveil the new brand essence work and provide New Zealand wine brand assets.

Our marketing reset has given us some real energy and enthusiasm for what we can achieve together, and how we can do it in our inimitable and innovative way as New Zealanders.

Ngā mihi, Charlotte Charlotte Read is General Manager Marketing at NZW

The Blind Tasting

Wines that perform well in the Blind Tasting are selected to be part of our education and storytelling activities. This is an internal competition-standard selection tasting, open to all NZW members free of charge. From 2022, the Blind Tasting will be held in a different region each year. After the formal selection process, there will be an afternoon/early evening tasting and meet-and-greet for all members who wish to attend. Over 500 wines will be open, organised by variety and region, and ready to taste. We strongly encourage you to enter your wines and be a part of telling our New Zealand wine brand story to the world in our key markets. Look out for more detail via email in the coming months.

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I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

Pour Yourself a Glass of New Zealand

Pour Yourself a Glass of New Zealand, NZW’s month-long celebration of New Zealand’s white wine varieties, concluded at the end of May. The campaign not only shone a spotlight on the breadth of high-quality white wine that New Zealand produces but was also the drive behind the campaign for the white wine emoji, which was an attention-grabbing headline globally.

NZW actively promoted this campaign in New Zealand, USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, China, and Japan, but saw people as far flung as Cyprus, Malta and Vietnam signing the petition and supporting the campaign. The submission to the Unicode Consortium will be made in July and it is hoped that the outcome will be announced by the end of the year.

THE MARKETING PLACE

Green Wine Future The Green Wine Future 2022 conference was the most ambitious event of its kind, says New Zealand Winegrowers Sustainability Advisor Tessa Chilala in summarising the “exhaustive programme”.

The virtual global wine conference, held from May 23-26, featured 16 keynote addresses, 24 sessions, and 170 presenters from five continents, “focusing on the wine sectors’ most pertinent sustainability issues,” says Tessa. “Topics ranged from regenerative agriculture, climate change and water security, to corporate responsibility and greenwashing, to name a few.”

Day one of the conference was hosted

by Latin America, in association with Wines of Chile. Yealands Estate’s Michael Wentworth was part of a session entitled Green House Gas Emissions: Identification, Education, and Mitigation.

Michael (see page 28) spoke about being the first winery in the world to be carbon zero from inception, as well as being a member of International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA). He stressed the importance of gaining buy-in from top management while also embedding sustainability throughout the entire staff culture, says Tessa.

Day two was hosted by Africa, in association with Wines of South Africa. A panel discussion on Biodiversity and the Vineyard of Tomorrow included Jonathan Hamlet, National Vineyard Manager for Craggy Range, who spoke of the need for creative solutions to offset negative soil health impacts associated with monocultures, such as the company’s trial run of native species planted under vines, with potential to support soil microbiome health.

Spain hosted day three, in association with Interprofesional del Vino de España. Bragato Research Institute (BRI) scientist Darrell Lizamore joined a session on Wine Grapes in a Changing Climate, talking of BRI’s Sauvignon Blanc Improvement Programme, which aims to accelerate grape vines’ natural ability to adapt to a changing environment.

Belinda Jackson from Lawson’s Dry Hills (see page 30) also participated in day three, outlining the Marlborough wine company’s history of sustainability leadership, having gained both ISO 14001 certification for environmental

Carbon cutting at Felton Road. Photo Andrea Johnson

management and ISO 14064 carbon zero status. Decades of commitment to low impact operations has resulted in 37% lower energy use per litre of wine compared to the industry average for wineries of equivalent size, and water use per litre of wine 57% below the industry average, says Tessa. “Belinda noted the importance of independent auditing to bring credibility to claims and its usefulness in providing assurance to export partners and other stakeholders.”

Day four was hosted by Oceania, in association with New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW), and included Dr Edwin Massey, NZW General Manager of Sustainability, speaking on a panel entitled Navigating the Waters of Government Policies, in which two clear themes emerged. “Water security and climate change are two of the most urgent environmental issues being addressed between governments and primary sectors,” says Tessa of the first theme, with the second being the importance of primary sectors, including the grape and wine industries demonstrating leadership and informing the design of government policy “from the ground up”.

Nigel Greening from Felton Road presented on The Value of Organic and Biodynamic, and cautioned against falling

into entrenched positions in caring for the land, environment and people, says Tessa. “His call to action is to question dogma and labels – hybrid approaches are needed as there is no one ‘correct’ route or solution.” Nigel said regenerative agriculture had the potential to build bridges between different cultures of sustainable thinking such as organics, biodynamics and controlled chemical use.

Steve Smith MW, Managing Director of Aotearoa New Zealand Fine Wine Estates, spoke in one of the final sessions, entitled What Is Regenerative Viticulture?

Although Steve and his team practice organics and biodynamics, he does not believe these systems are fit for purpose in terms of addressing today’s challenges, says Tessa. “To Steve there is no value in the myriad certification schemes available on the market now, if the schemes themselves do not genuinely address the issues we are facing, namely: a demanding, fragile climate; stressed water systems and biodiversity in peril.”

The answer instead lies in science and “natural wisdom” working side-by-side in a more intuitive way, she adds. “This science, he argues, must not be reductive, but rather organic, fluid, creative science.

He stressed that what matters are outcomes, not inputs.”

NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 I

13

The Social Place

XXXXXXXXX

Q&A with Vanessa Wu

Making the most of China’s social place New Zealand wine exports to China have doubled during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the way people find out about wine is changing, says Vanessa Wu, New Zealand Winegrowers’ Shanghai-based China Market Manager. In this Social Place, Vanessa offers some insights, as well as thoughts from others immersed in the market.

How much wine is bought in China? And how much of that is New Zealand wine?

According to China Customs data, from January to December 2021, China’s total import wine value is US$1,690 million, with volume of 424 million litres. New Zealand’s bottled wine exports to China amounted to US$27 million, with the equivalent of 2.68 million litres.

Despite the downturn in the wine market accentuated by the Covid-19 pandemic, New Zealand wine exports to China have seen strong double-digit growth over the past year. Over the 12 months to the end of May 2022, New Zealand bottled wine exports have grown strongly in both volume (up 25% on a year ago) and value (up 32%).

New Zealand exporters to China enjoy one of the highest average prices per litre of our major export markets, at NZD$14.16/litre.

What is the most popular New Zealand wine in China, and at what price point?

Celine Wang, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s China Business Development Manager, says that while red wine is more favoured in China, New Zealand white wine, especially Sauvignon Blanc, wins the heart of more consumers on ecommerce platforms than its red wine. White wine accounted for 93% of wine sales revenue on New Zealand Wine pavilion on Tmall and JD.com. The price range of the most popular New Zealand wines is between NZD$32 to NZD$45 (in NZD) says Celine.

Consumers are moving away from wines in the lowest price bracket, as Chinese consumers pivot to the higher quality wines.

14

What digital platforms are the most effective in marketing wine or influencing wine buying decisions in China?

On-trade remains the main channel for wine consumption, but consumers look for wine information online. The influence of traditional media is rather limited in China.

Simon Zhou, founder of Ruby Red Fine Wine, says since 2018 the number of digital platforms available in China has “exploded”.

There is almost no one platform suited for everyone, and each has its own market and group of followers, says Simon. “The best form of digital marketing is to find those platforms that have the same type of people you are trying to reach and make content to suit these platforms. It is not recommended to try more platforms as things change very fast.”

Having said that, with 1.24 billion active users, WeChat is the largest social media platform in the country. It is the everythingapp for Chinese, and an important business tool worldwide. Chinese consumers use WeChat as an important source to follow and interact with their favorite brands.

Many wine companies use WeChat as their primary marketing and sales channel.

And what online marketplaces do consumers seek?

E-commerce continues to be a key retail channel due to its ability to carry many SKUs, contain more detailed product information, and not be constrained by shelf space limitations. Online wine sales channels are dominated by online marketplaces, which are essentially a duopoly between China’s two leading e-retailers, Tmall and JD.com.

Meanwhile, more specialised online wine players such as 1919.cn, Vinehoo, Miss Yuan, and Lady Penguin, are seeing gains and more suitable for smaller brands.

What do you see as the most important factors in selling New Zealand wine in China?

Simon says New Zealand wine is already well known in the wine community, “not only the aromatic and crispy Sauvignon Blanc, and fruit driven and silky textured Pinot, or the rich and perfumed Syrah; it is the work of many New Zealand wine people doing the right thing repeatedly,” he says. “I think no one will question the quality of New Zealand wines, but at this moment we should also let the trade know the value of New Zealand wines. New Zealand wines will never be in the cheaper end of the market, but we need to show the value, the QPR of New Zealand wines, and the enjoyment that it can deliver,” says Simon.

What role do influencers play in China, when it comes to wine purchases?

In China, influencers are an incredibly important part of brand promotion due to restrictions on advertising. Simon notes that as the amount of information sources become overwhelming, “the people you trust, and their opinion, become very important”. This creates the role of influencers, KOL, or KOC (key opinion consumers), he says. With community purchase very common in Covid times, this new role has almost risen above all of the other channels, he says. “I think, at least for the foreseeable future, influencers will be the most effective and important marketing route.”

When it comes to wines, the key influencers include Masters of Wine, top sommeliers, wine writers and critics, and also some top individual wine influencers like Lady Penguin, Terry Xu, and Leon Liang.

Vanessa’s top tips for Kiwi wine companies in China • Share a story other than just wine and build consistent and clearly recognisable branding.

• Do not rely on distributors to do all the work. Be involved in the business and market development.

• Determine your retail price across various channels. Price level consistency is critical.

• Digital channels cannot be ignored. But a separate digital strategy must be made

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

to embrace the e-opportunities.

• For larger brands, setting up and maintaining your own digital platform to get closer to your customers sharing information and activities is important.

• For smaller enterprises, it is highly recommended to ask your distributor about the details of their digital strategy.

• Don’t aim for too long; fire first, then adjust.

Vineyard Solutions for your best season yet

Talk to your local reseller or visit crop-solutions.basf.co.nz ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW LABEL DIRECTIONS © Copyright BASF 2022 ® Registered trademark of BASF. 212066 0722

VINTAGE 2022

Vintage 2022

Saint Clair Family Estate 2022 vintage

Healthy harvest numbers help rebuild exports SOPHIE PREECE A 44% lift in the grape harvest has provided a sorely needed boost to supply lines, with winery stocks at “rock-bottom levels” after a low yielding 2021.

“There is no doubt we urgently needed an improved harvest this year after cool weather and frosts impacted Vintage 2021, New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) Chief Executive Philip Gregan told attendees of Grape Days events in Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough and Central Otago in June.

According to the 2022 Vintage Survey, New Zealand’s total grape tonnage in the 2022 harvest was 532,000 tonnes, well up on the 370,000 tonnes harvested in 2021, which was a drop of 19% on the year before.

The NZW estimates show that virtually every region played a role in that leap of fortunes, with only tiny player Northland recording a drop, and Hawke’s Bay, with 40,172 tonnes, just 2% down on 2021.

Marlborough harvested 414,649 tonnes, 54% up on the 269,521 tonnes of 2021, making up 80% of the national harvest.

Meanwhile, Central Otago, which bucked the trend in 2021, with a 21% increase on 2020, raised its harvest numbers by another 22% this year, harvesting 12,575 tonnes in the 2022 vintage.

Sauvignon Blanc made up 76.5% of the

16

national tonnage, with a whopping 393,956 tonnes, up 47% on 2021. But Pinot Noir had the biggest percentage lift, with 34,569 tonnes, up 57% on the previous year, making up 6.7% of the national harvest.

Pinot Gris and Chardonnay, at 5.9% and 5.8% of the total harvest respectively, were both well up on last year, with Pinot Gris leaping 45%.

Philip says grape growers and wineries are feeling relieved at the prospect of rebuilding stocks and sales, having watched supply lines steadily dwindle. “Going into vintage, wineries urgently needed a larger harvest as strong demand and smaller than expected crops in recent years had led to a significant shortage of New Zealand wine.”

That shortage caused total New Zealand wine sales to fall 14% - at least 50 million litres - from the peak achieved in January 2021, “even as wineries supported sales by drawing on stocks which are now at rockbottom levels,” he says. Wine companies called down at least 40 million litres from stocks, says Philip, noting the 90 million litre shortfall. In the domestic market, the same shortage has led to sales of New Zealand wine falling to their lowest level since 2004.

The harvest was beset by challenges

around labour force and Covid-19, with the Omicron variant spreading rapidly through the country just as vintage kicked off, hitting companies already working with sparse numbers and a lack of experience.

Wither Hills head winemaker Matt Large says an unexpected bonus of the low 2021 vintage was having an empty winery as they charged into the higher yielding 2022 harvest. “It was full to the brim and then some,” he says, comparing the final leg of Vintage 2022 to a game of Tetris, trying to make each space work better.

The bumper harvest has allowed them to resume promotions in New Zealand, which they paused as wine stocks dwindled, to eke out the remaining supply. Offshore they pulled similar levers, slowing momentum on growth opportunities to reduce empty shelves.

Now, with the first 2022 Sauvignon bottled in early July, “a little earlier than usual”, they are looking forward to resuming supply domestically and internationally, “in full sales mode”. Matt says the strength of brand-New Zealand, and brand-Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, is “really strong”, so they’ve weathered the shortfall from 2021. “People might have bought another wine as a gap filler, but

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

Vin

Vintage Indicators Region 2022 All Regions 2022

NORTHLAND

CHANGE ON PREVIOUS VINTAGE

-21%

Total Volume

AUCKLAND

GISBORNE

+8 %

+11 %

of Grapes Harvested

532,000 tonnes* % 44

HAWKE’S BAY

-2% NELSON

+39%

WAIRARAPA

+71 % MARLBOROUGH

+54 %

NORTH CANTERBURY

+34 %

WAITAKI VALLEY

+42 %

*Estimated production figures based on the 2022 Vintage Survey.

CENTRAL OTAGO

+22%

Tonnage Per Region % OF TOTAL HARVEST

MARLBOROUGH

NELSON

NORTHLAND

HAWKE’S BAY

NORTH CANTERBURY

WAITAKI VALLEY

GISBORNE

WAIRARAPA

80.6

%

7.8

%

3.8

%

414,649

40,172

19,334

CENTRAL OTAGO

2.4

%

12,575

2.1

%

1.9

%

10,967 9,779

195 188

1.0% 5,363

OTHER

AUCKLAND

286

0.3% 1,343

WAIKATO, BAY OF PLENTY & OHAU

Statistics collated from 2022 Vintage Survey

Vintage Indicators.2022.indd 1

13/07/22 8:58 AM

VINTAGE 2022

all the talk we are hearing is that they will quickly go back to it as soon as it’s back in stock.”

The 2021 vintage was Saint Clair Family Estate’s smallest since 2015, while 2022 was their biggest vintage yet, up by 50% on last year. Owner Neal Ibbotson says that variation in yield between harvests created to a large extent by temperature at flowering - is one of the larger challenges for the wine industry. “It is difficult to balance this large variation in yield whilst at the same time keep our loyal customers with their continued supply,” he says. “A good harvest for 2022 was indeed needed and we were lucky enough to receive it. However, because of the very small 2021 vintage and the continued demand for Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, it continues to be a challenge to supply our international market demand.”

Meanwhile the company is also facing challenges around increasing costs, staff shortages, shipping availability, and ongoing increasing bureaucracy.

Philip says that while the improved harvest is good news for the industry and customers, allowing producers to “rebuild seriously depleted stocks and sales”, there are still plenty of challenges ahead, including the logistics involved in getting wine to market, given continuing supply

Astrolabe 2022 vintage

chain disruptions. “Every winery I talk to, the number one thing they talk about is logistics. Now with a larger vintage, it’s particularly important to get that offshore.”

He also flags the rising cost of doing business, with inflation at its highest level in more than 30 years, and significant cost increases “across the board”, including excise jumping 6.9%, or 22 cents per litre from 1 July, and continued increases in the minimum wage. Meanwhile, labour supply continues to be a constraint (see sidebox).

However, the industry is well positioned for the future. “Our global reputation is

stronger than ever in most markets. Our sustainability credentials are strong, with government and our customers. With vintage 22 in tank, after all the shortages of the past year, we have got the product to rebuild stocks, and rebuild our sales and export markets - particularly in North America where there’s good opportunity - and restore exports into markets which have been seriously undersupplied from Vintage 2021,” says Philip.

“So despite these challenges, after vintage 22 I think we have got a very positive platform to build for the future.”

Labour pains in Central Otago JEAN GRIERSON Central Otago winegrowers facing a third season of labour shortages are hopeful for a change in rules. Covid-19-disruptions to the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, combined with airline logistics delaying repatriation for some Pacific Island workers, have caused the scheme to fall out of sync with peak labour needs for employers, says Central Otago viticulturist James Dicey, owner of contracting company Grape Vision. “There’re so many moving parts… The rest of the industry is scrambling like I am.”

Growers struggling with logistics of labour supply, pay rate increases and compliance costs, as well as limited availability of flights for RSE workers, are hopeful the government will relax rules around stand-down periods, so workers heading home shortly can return to New Zealand in time for critical pre-Christmas tasks, such as bud rubbing and shoot thinning. RSE worker numbers were down all winter, and the crews from Vanuatu James employed across Central Otago vineyards had been working nine-hour days, six-and-a-half days a week to get through the pruning this season.

Covid-19 lockdowns and border closures have also meant some workers have stayed in New Zealand for much longer than the normal seven months allowed by work visas. Seasonal Solutions Cooperative Chief Executive Shaun Fogarty knows of some workers who were in New Zealand for more than 19 months.

18

Some of last summer’s crews from Central Otago had been sent to Marlborough for winter pruning as they were unable to be repatriated, he says.

Shaun says there are plans to repatriate most of the long-stay workers over the next few months. However, he is hopeful of an announcement from Immigration New Zealand later in July which could lessen the normal four-month stand-down conditions, meaning pre-Christmas viticulture labour would become available.

Employers are also watching carefully to see how the opening of borders and arrival of backpackers might track in filling jobs in the next few months, especially given competition and pressure from other industries such as hospitality, he says.

Timbo Deaker, co-owner of contracting company Viticultura, says the RSE scheme is gold standard, and he supports the need for workers to return to their homes and families. He would like to see the system of winter crews and summer crews reinstated, and the cap on RSE workers increased. The current scenario was similar to this time last year, and the labour market continued to be “out of whack” because of Covid-19. Winegrowers faced with not getting the labour they need may have to consider other management tools for critical tasks, he says, “some of which wouldn’t be viewed as being sustainable, such as chemical or mechanical management”.

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

Vin

Vintage Indicators Variety 2022

Key Varieties 2022

Total Volume

% TOTAL PRODUCTION AND TOTAL PRODUCED

of Grapes Harvested

532,000 tonnes* 44% *Estimated production figures based on the 2022 Vintage Survey.

1

SAUVIGNON BLANC 76.5%

2

PINOT NOIR 6.7%

3

PINOT GRIS 5.9%

4

CHARDONNAY 5.8%

5

MERLOT 1.5%

6

RIESLING 1.0%

393,956 TONNES

34,569 TONNES

30,465 TONNES 29,762 TONNES

7,535 TONNES

5,024 TONNES

% Change on Last Year KEY VARIETIES

+57 %

PINOT NOIR

+47 %

SAUVIGNON BLANC

+45 %

PINOT GRIS

+27 %

CHARDONNAY

+14 %

RIESLING



-24 %

MERLOT

Statistics collated from 2022 Vintage Survey

Vintage Indicators.2022.indd 2

13/07/22 8:59 AM

The Focus 21 I

Tackling Climate Change NZW webinar series

22 I

Dog Point Vineyards Insetting emissions

26 I

Greystone A holistic vision

28 I

Yealands A global player

30 I

Lawson’s Dry Hills Environmental ethos

THE FOCUS

Tackling Climate Change

New Zealand’s wine industry has a target of being carbon neutral by 2050, as the climate crisis looms large on a global stage. While some companies are dispiritingly slow to lighten their footprint, others are carving a carbon reduction pathway for others to follow. The recent Tackling Climate Change webinar series run

by New Zealand Winegrowers’ Sustainability Guardians offered insights into the urgency of the task ahead, as well as tactics for making a difference, from plucking low hanging fruit to planting in situ carbon sinks.

The next few pages tell just some of their stories.

Going to the Source SOPHIE PREECE Grapes need it, consumers expect it, and importers will increasingly demand it, says Meagan Littlejohn of climate action in the wine industry. Meanwhile, the cost of carbon is increasing dramatically, making lower emissions an economic imperative, explains Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand’s (SWNZ) Programme Manager.

“This isn’t a theoretical issue anymore; things that might be coming down the track,” Meagan told attendees of a Tackling Climate Change webinar series in June.

“These things are here and happening and affecting businesses now. So, it is really important that you start having a good handle on your carbon footprint, on your sources of emissions. So you can identify areas to make improvements and make a difference.”

There are several drivers for tackling climate change, she told attendees, starting with it being “the right thing to do”, and extending to the fact that grapes need a stable climate to grow, “so it’s important to play our part”. New Zealand’s Zero Carbon Act, which translates the 2016 Paris Agreement into a New Zealand context, has a target of halving emissions by 2030 and being carbon neutral by 2050. “These goals will be met through a mix of emission reduction activities and some offsetting as well,” says Meagan.

Consumers increasingly expect companies to play a climate action role, and “export markets as a whole are starting to require sustainably produced goods”, says Meagan, referencing the European Green Deal, which will within a few years include a carbon tax for EU imports unable to comply with its requirements.

Reducing emissions can also reduce costs, with the price of carbon rising significantly over recent years, and impacting the cost of everything from diesel and petrol use to sending waste to landfill. Finding ways to reduce inputs will not only have good

environmental impacts “but will also save you a lot of money”, Meagan says.

In 2021 SWNZ began to add greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to its winery and vineyard questionnaires, to grow its understanding of emissions and allow companies to benchmark themselves against the wider industry. Personalised GHG emissions reports are returned to every vineyard and winery member, offering insights into their operation.

“These things are here and happening and affecting businesses now.

So, it is really important that you start having a good handle on your carbon footprint.”

Meagan Littlejohn It’s not a comprehensive carbon accounting programme, but the data covers approximately 80% of the total production chain of wine in New Zealand, “which is a pretty high amount”, Meagan says. For vineyards, the report considers diesel, petrol, electricity, fertiliser and agrichemical use, as well as total waste to landfill. Diesel is typically responsible for the lion’s share of GHG emissions on a vineyard, says Meagan,

suggesting companies consider options such as combining, minimising or eliminating tractors passes, and focusing on interrow swards or cover cropping.

In wineries, the information gathered to date is focussed on emissions incurred through energy use, including electricity and fossil fuels. The benchmark is displayed with kilolitres, to make results comparable across different sized companies and vintages.

Measuring and understanding vineyard and winery carbon emissions is an important first step, and wine companies should not underestimate the work, nor the worth, says Meagan. “Without that knowledge it is hard to make informed choices.” The next step is identifying areas for reduction, and New Zealand Winegrowers, in coordination with Toitū Envirocare, has an emissions reduction guide for vineyards and wineries, and other fact sheets to assist. But one of the most valuable things companies can do is to talk to others in the wine industry about their work and progress, Meagan says. “It’s a great way to learn what people are doing and what’s possible, and get some inspirations for your own businesses.”

To see the NZW emissions reduction guide, go to the members page of the NZW website, at nzwine.com/members/ sustainability/guides/climate-change/ Photo facing page. Dog Point Vineyards. Photo Jim Tannock

Carbon crunching According to the New Zealand Winegrowers 2022 Sustainability Report, 75 vineyards and 15 wineries in New Zealand currently hold formal carbon-management certifications. Meanwhile, 58% of New Zealand wineries and 41% of New Zealand vineyards are implementing specific initiatives to minimise their carbon footprint.

In the 2021 season: • 55% of wineries used lightweight glass bottles as one of their methods of packaging • 12% of wineries had installed solar energy sources • 34% of wineries and 21% of vineyards had energy-efficiency initiatives such as timers, transport fuel-reduction actions and staff awareness training • 19% of vineyards were upgrading their equipment to reduce energy consumption • 6% of vineyards had dedicated property plantings that act as carbon sinks Source - nzwine.com/en/sustainability/focus-areas/climate/

NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 I

21

THE FOCUS

Dog Point Vineyards

Insetting emissions at Dog Point Vineyards SOPHIE PREECE Net zero carbon grapes at the gate is just one of the aspirations of Dog Point Vineyards, as it embarks on a programme of carbon insetting within its own value chain.

General Manager Matt Sutherland has been working with carbon management company Ekos since 2019, seeking guidance on measuring and reducing emissions, while growing carbon credits through exotic and native plantings on the property.

The company is far from starting from scratch in this in-situ sequestration, thanks to three decades of tree plantings by Matt’s parents Ivan and Margaret Sutherland and their Dog Point partners James and Wendy Healy, who’ve worked to ensure the vineyard – the largest organic grape producer in New Zealand – is a beautiful home for family and staff alike.

Vines are nestled within a plethora of plantings, including hillsides of olives, banks of Tasmanian blackwood, a pine nut grove, smatterings of oaks and more than 10,000 native trees, flax, grasses and bushes. When the Sutherlands began to develop the former farm in 1991, the stream running through it was choked by weeds and willows. That’s hardly imaginable now,

22

with Mill Stream cloaked in slick green flax, flourishing shrubs and stands of native trees.

None of those plantings had climate action in mind, and not all of them can be registered for carbon credits, but the Dog Point team are beginning to look at their amenity areas with a new lens, seeing opportunity to align the company philosophy with a global imperative to cut emissions and tackle climate change.

“It’s about doing the right thing but also trying to make sure its financially sustainable.”

Matt Sutherland Perhaps the biggest opportunity for insetting is a 3-hectare block of radiata pine the Sutherlands planted in 1993, which will be harvested this winter. In its place, and slightly beyond, Dog Point will strategically plant a 5ha forest carbon sink, based on a variety of options proposed by Ekos founder Sean Weaver.

They range “from hell for leather” plantings of high-density natives, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, to a less intensive long-term plan, with a mix of pine (cheaper to plant and maintain) and natives, including totara and manuka chosen for their practicality and sequestration value.

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

Over time, there would be more natives and fewer pines, with the profitability of the exotics enabling the expansion of indigenous trees, Matt told the New Zealand Winegrowers Tackling Climate Change webinar in June.

If Dog Point registers the new forest with the ETS next year, they could start tapping into credits by 2033, following the necessary 10-year redundancy period after harvesting the original pines. “There’s something nice about starting that journey and working towards that,” says Matt. The process will be expensive, but can be spread out over a long period, and the company is actively doing something “in the right way”.

Dog Point Vineyards’ total carbon emissions currently sit at 570 tonnes of CO2 per year, with 272 tonnes of that down to diesel, and 69tCO2 to sea freight, while the 30 cattle grazing their hill country are responsible for a whopping 29tCO2, compared to the 9tCO2 generated by 3,000 head of sheep. Some organic methods come with a carbon cost, with the need for more tractor passes, perhaps, and cattle grazing hillsides, but are an integral part of the company’s ethos of enhancing soil health, says Matt.

Offsetting their current footprint through the purchase of carbon credits would cost around $36,000 per year, and to be climate positive (offsetting 120% of emissions) would be $43,000. They’re daunting numbers to add into a budget, particularly considering increasing costs of production

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THE FOCUS

and the challenges of recent years, says Matt, who emphasises the need for a financially viable solution. “It’s about doing the right thing, but also trying to make sure its financially sustainable.”

Limiting offsetting to Dog Point’s own label, which takes 35% of the company’s fruit, would reduce the carbon cost to 240 credits at $12,000 to $15,000 a year, but his aspiration is ultimately to have net zero carbon grapes at the farm gate.

Insetting on areas already allocated to trees, either with the existing plantings or replacements with sequestration-focussed species, means Dog Point could manage a good chunk of its ETS accounting inhouse. There’s a total of 13ha of plantings or potential plantings to be registered, allowing the company to generate around 110 credits a year, when taken over an average of 30 years. That’s 19% of the current offset they require to be carbon zero for the whole vineyard, or 50% of the portion of the business under the Dog Point Vineyards label.

And the emissions numbers will reduce as the company progresses its plans, starting with low hanging fruit and moving to capital-heavy solutions, such as solar panels, over time. Electricity accounts for nearly 25 tonnes of their emissions, and up to 90% of that is consumed in the winery, so solar “is a very real option in terms of reducing our carbon emissions”, Matt says.

When he contacted Ekos in 2019, he knew very little about carbon accounting, cutting and credits. Three years on they are growing their understanding, have a registered carbon emissions business, and have started on a game plan. “We have measured and understand what it is. And we understand there is now an obligation to reduce. We have a start point effectively,” says Matt. From here on in, the reduction

Matt Sutherland

philosophy will be akin to sustainability in the company, which he looks at like health and safety – a simple and unassailable expectation of day-to-day business.

Speaking in the NZW webinar series, Ekos Senior Carbon Analyst May Chang explained that insetting means companies are not vulnerable to fluctuations in the carbon credit price. However, it’s “not for everyone”, because of the capital required to own the land, plant trees and do pest and weed control, as well as the verification

process, including having someone survey the site so the amount of credits each year is as accurate as possible. That means companies need to undertake good feasibility studies to ensure it is worth the investment.

“It’s not for the faint hearted… but I feel like it’s not as daunting as it seems,” says Matt. “It’s almost a continuation of what we are doing, but a few decisions to steer you in a new direction. That’s where Ekos has been really useful to us.”

Tackling Climate Change webinar series

The Tackling Climate Change webinar series ran over four hour-long sessions in June, and included several wine companies on a climate action journey, as well as tech companies like Smart Machine. Attendees learned about Toitū Envirocare, which runs the Toitū carbonreduce, Toitū net carbonzero and Toitū enviromark certifications, and from Ekos (page 25), International Wineries for Climate Action (page 28) and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), which has a Sector Decarbonisation Programme (page 8). There were also speakers on reducing building emissions, reducing waste to landfill, funding carbon emission reduction, and the circularity of glass.

To watch the four webinars, go to nzwine.com/members/sustainability/guardiansprogramme/webinars/

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THE FOCUS

Investing in forests SOPHIE PREECE The carbon credit market is a welcome boost to indigenous forests, says Ekos founder and director Dr Sean Weaver, who has long sought a financing solution for conservation and reforestation.

Investing in the planting and protection of native species propels conservation and indigenous reforestation while also sequestering carbon, he says, calling Ekos projects the “single malt whiskey” of carbon credit farming.

Sean’s forestry PhD was focussed on forest conservation financing and rural economic development. As a senior lecturer in environmental studies at Victoria University, he was increasingly concerned by the climate crisis, and by a lack of awareness and action around it. In 2009, he stepped out of academia and into carbon markets, seeing the ability to tackle climate change and conservation through the establishment of Ekos.

The social purpose business works on both the supply and demand side of the carbon market, with supply achieved through helping landowners establish, verify and manage indigenous reforestation carbon projects, from auditing to pest control. When it comes to carbon credit demand, Ekos helps companies voluntarily measure and verify their carbon footprint in the first instance, then develop and implement a carbon reduction plan, starting with low and medium hanging fruit.

Some emissions are so high in the tree they are impossible to eliminate or are financially prohibitive, including the likes of the concrete beneath a winery. So the

Sean Weaver

third task is to offset carbon emissions that cannot be reduced, through investing in local and international permanent indigenous forests.

New Zealand craft brewer Garage Project, for example, choose to offset their unavoidable emissions through carbon credits from the Rarakau Forest Carbon Project in Southland, which protects and enhances lowland, coastal rainforest on Māori land, tackling climate change as well as forest conservation, says Sean. That’s one of several planting, regeneration and conservation projects Ekos has in New Zealand, with rainforest conservation projects in the Pacific as well, offering communities the opportunity to make a living from forests without having to chop them down.

In some cases, supply and demand are in the same value chain, with a company insetting its emissions by registering their

own plantings for carbon credits, as in the case of Dog Point Vineyards (see facing page).

Sean challenges arguments deriding carbon offsetting as a “licence to pollute” saying that people already wield such a licence every day, with electricity, driving, flying, freighting goods and buying food all examples of legally sanctioned fossil fuel use that ramp up carbon emissions. Ekos only looks to carbon offsetting as part of an ambitious emissions reduction effort that starts with measuring and understanding the company footprint.

In a blog on the Ekos site, Sean writes that Hawke’s Bay alone needs about 200,000 hectares planted in permanent forest to cope with climate change. The taxpayer cannot afford the billions of dollars in investment required to do that across New Zealand, he writes. “But carbon buyers and private investors can.”

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THE FOCUS

Mike Saunders and some of the Greystone team. Photo Jim Tannock

Greystone steps up to Toitu carbonzero SOPHIE PREECE Pekin ducks diligently snaffle grass grubs on a Waipara vineyard, while sheep graze an array of species growing beneath the vines.

This evocative scene of sustainability at Greystone Wines has a backbone of hard data, with the organic wine company now certified net carbonzero through Toitū Envirocare, following the collation of an emissions inventory and bold plans to

reduce their carbon footprint.

“It was a lot of work to get to the point of being carbonzero but wine is the canary in the mine for climate change so we need to try everything we can,” says Marketing Manager Nik Mavromatis, who’s seen climatic challenges ramp up in the region in recent years. “If we don’t then we probably only have 20 years left of making wine on this planet.”

Greystone is the first winery in New Zealand to be net carbonzero, 100% certified organic with BioGro, and practicing regenerative viticulture.

Viticulturist Mike Saunders says each of these initiatives carries a competitive advantage in the modern market and they

would be foolish not to embrace that. “But these are things we would be doing anyway, because we know that they leave the bit of land we have in a better place. And that is a big driver for us.”

Having the viticulture and winemaking team on board, as well as the General Manager, Marketing Manager, accountant and owner, makes a huge difference to the company’s ability to innovate and invest in environmental initiatives and certification, including carbonzero, he adds. “It really is driving it from ground up for us and looking at making everything better.”

And while they aim to lead the charge in terms of New Zealand wine companies, they’re also bemused others are so slow

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THE FOCUS

to move when it comes to organic and regenerative farming, as well as climate action. “Herbicide is going sooner rather than later,” Mike says, noting the supermarket chains that have insisted Greystone wears its organic credentials on the front label, not the back.

Now they see the same impetus in carbon accounting, with one major buyer recently emailing wineries to say that they need to be measuring emissions immediately and at net carbon zero as soon as possible. “You don’t want to be dragging the chain and missing out, because everyone will be ahead of you in the line,” says Nik. “We’ve already done it and we’re ready to go.”

They reckon they’re also on the front foot with their regenerative viticulture, with a cover cropping programme that helps build soil organic matter, “and sequester, transfer and store carbon between plant and soil”, says Mike. “We’ve planted a mix of 16 species, including sunflowers, oats, lentils and beans in between the rows of vines.” Plants that fix nitrogen levels are among the mix, creating a natural fertiliser, while the ground cover reduces the need for irrigation. Soil carbon is not measured in emission offsets, but if that changes in the

future “we’re going to be well ahead of the game, which is really exciting”, he says.

In the meantime, they’re cutting carbon emissions on several fronts, including through sheep grazing the vineyard year-

“You don’t want to be dragging the chain and missing out, because everyone will be ahead of you in the line.”

Nik Mavromatis round, thanks to trials of a high-wire system that keeps fresh spring buds out of bite height. “We drive our tractors through these vineyard rows nearly 30 times a year - that’s 200km every time,” says Mike. “Integrating sheep can reduce this by 50%, significantly reducing our use of tractors, cutting down compaction, reducing diesel use and improving nutrient cycling.”

Meanwhile, their tractors have less impact, with a Fendt fleet that is 50% more

fuel efficient than their previous models.

Winery and sales cars are already hybrid, and plans are afoot to find electric vehicles for the vineyard, to replace quadbikes and side by sides. Greystone uses carbon neutral electricity, including in its strawbale winery, has moved to lighter weight glass bottles to reduce emissions, and is working with its suppliers to get a handle on each one’s carbon footprint.

Nik says that as they kicked off their Toitū journey of measuring and reducing emissions, they found like-minded businesses keen to tell their own stories and help the wine company do better, from a courier company eager to share their carbon accounting, to wineries such as Lawson’s Dry Hills (see page 30), offering expertise on low emissions packaging.

As a luxury product, wine must be a primary industry leader or risk losing its social licence, says Nik. And any wine company not thinking globally is “missing a trick”, adds Mike. The most dangerous phrase he hears is ‘you’re already doing a lot of it’. “You hear that phrase so much from our farmers and also in our vineyard team.

If you are already doing parts of it, that’s great. What can you do next?”

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THE FOCUS

Yealands and a global effort to decarbonise wine SOPHIE PREECE Moving Yealands’ goalposts from carbon reduction to carbon elimination required a major change in mindset, says General Manager of Sustainability Michael Wentworth.

It meant thinking less of short-term planning over a financial year and more about “improved” investment over a longer period, adds Michael, who’s long been immersed in the company’s carbon reduction work. “It meant we could invest on a much longer basis to achieve much greater benefit.”

“You have 36 wineries sitting in the same room with their own sustainability journeys, all with their own learnings and many experiencing the same challenges as yourselves.”

Michael Wentworth That’s been just one of many learnings since Yealands joined International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) in 2020, as the first Kiwi wine company in the global initiative. IWCA, which is certified as part of the United Nations’ Race to Zero campaign, was launched in 2019, by Familia Torres in Spain and Jackson Family Wines in California, to “galvanize the global wine community to create climate change mitigation strategies and decarbonize the industry”.

Yealands was certified carbonzero with Toitū Envirocare from opening day in 2008, followed by ISO 14001 and GC Mark - Green Company certification. Since 2012, the Marlborough wine company has reduced its emission intensity by 34%, thanks to initiatives that include grazing sheep to reduce mowing, the installation of solar panels and wind turbines, and the burning of vine prunings in place of LPG, to provide heat to the winery.

They’re good strides that have earned Yealands plenty of attention and accolades,

28

Yealands

but the greatest development of plans, “thought processes” and strategies has come from working with IWCA, Michael says.

Yealands has reset its emissions target to be “Carbon Positive” by 2050, with a 50% reduction to be achieved by 2030. “With that came a shift,” says Michael, noting a transition from focussing on reducing scope 1 and 2 emissions, by tackling electricity and diesel use, to a greater focus on what happens to the wine after it is made, with scope 3 emissions including packaging and freight. Michael says approximately 80% of the company’s emissions come from scope 3, “so anything we can do in that space is going to be really beneficial for us long term”. It takes “a much broader, longer-term view to address those challenges, and ideally an industry wide approach”, Michael adds.

Speaking in the recent New Zealand Winegrowers Tackling Climate Change webinar series, Michael said the IWCA had four specific areas of focus, beginning with “raising awareness around the need to do something”.

The second is sharing strategies for best practice, which is probably the largest

benefit across the organisation, “because you have 36 wineries sitting in the same room with their own sustainability journeys, all with their own learnings and many experiencing the same challenges as yourselves,” says Michael. “We have found it an awesome opportunity to discuss common problems and ultimately work on solutions.”

The third area is in adopting a sciencebased approach to mitigating climate change, and the fourth is in measurement, which has been “absolutely key”, says Michael, noting that measurement tools have to be accessible to wineries of all scales, sizes and resourcing levels.

Earlier this year Felton Road became the second New Zealand member and Michael, who is on the IWCA board, says three other Kiwi companies are in talks with the organisation.

He hopes to see more companies join the fold, talking of the need for economies of scale. “The more New Zealand wineries we can encourage to participate in terms of IWCA, the greater difference we can make across the board.”

Felton Road The IWCA’s target of being carbon neutral by 2050 has strict parameters, with thirdparty verification of the three greenhouse gas scopes – scope 1 being direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, scope 2 indirect emissions from purchased energy and scope 3 all other indirect emissions in the value chain. “Suddenly you realise that’s a challenge,” says Felton Road owner Nigel Greening, who signed up his Central Otago wine company to the IWCA earlier this year. “That’s what I love - they are on my wavelength.” To read about Felton Road’s climate action journey, check out the June/July 2022 Winegrower Magazine.

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THE FOCUS

Lawson’s Dry Hills. Photo Jim Tannock

Environmental ethos at Lawson’s Dry Hills SOPHIE PREECE Continuously working towards a lighter environmental footprint brings discipline to decision making, says Lawson’s Dry Hills General Manager Sion Barnsley.

“It does change your thinking on every decision within your business and what impact that has on the environment,” he says of the company’s ISO 14001

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(Environmental Management) and ISO 14064 (carbon zero) certifications.

Each of those platforms also provides a very strong and positive story for stakeholders, Sion says, noting that people, planet and profit have all been beneficiaries of Lawson’s work over the past decade. “And the pleasing thing that

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

we see every day is that staff members, no matter what role they have in the organisation, are doing their bit.”

The company began this journey in 2010, when Sion resolved they could do more than meet obligations under Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand.

By 2011 Lawson’s had gained ISO 14001

THE FOCUS

certification, which offered global recognition and a holistic approach to the environmental footprint of the entire business, “from vine to port”, he says.

The certification provides a framework for an organisation to put in an effective environmental management system, and impetus for continual improvement, he told attendees of the New Zealand Winegrowers Tackling Climate Change webinar in June.

In 2020 Lawson’s achieved Toitū Envirocare carbonzero ISO 14064 certification, thanks in large part to the knowledge and gains from their ISO 14001. Toitū requires rigorous measurement of the company’s emissions, continuous improvement in cutting those they can, and carbon credit offsetting wherever they can’t.

Initiatives to reduce the operation’s emissions and environmental impact include the solar panels installed two years ago, which are intended to deliver up to 30% of the power needed for the winery, with 27% achieved last year. “While the pay back is known to be around seven years, for us it might be even shorter than that,” Sion told the webinar.

The company’s bottling line accrues a lot of plastic from pallets, but uses a bale press to compact it, then sends it to a company that makes slip sheets. They are also growing a fleet of electric and plug in hybrid cars, as the existing vehicles need replacing, and have purchased a tractor that is 25% more efficient than its predecessor.

“Staff members, no matter what role they have in the organisation, are doing their bit.”

Sion Barnsley.

Speaking at the Green Wine Future 2022 conference in May (page 13), Lawson’s Group Marketing Manager Belinda Jackson said the company’s commitment to low impact operations has resulted in 37% lower energy use per litre of wine compared to the industry average for wineries of equivalent size, and water use per litre of wine 57% below the industry average. She also spoke of the importance

of independent auditing to provide assurance to export partners and other stakeholders.

Sion advises companies to grab lowhanging fruit as soon as possible, “The small wins are big contributors… and a great motivational factor as well.” The team is constantly looking at ways to reduce packaging, whether through lightweight bottles or compostable biodegradable labels, and is also restoring a wetland area on a vineyard, including through an annual working bee.

“Staff are so proactive in managing it, so it’s quite rewarding,” he says of the environmental ethos, while noting that it was not that way from the start. There was some eye rolling at the extra layers of bureaucracy in the early days, but he says getting a staff influencer on board was a key aspect, and helped change the culture of the business.

The programme was given another boost last year, when Lawson’s took out the wine industry category at the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards. “We’re certainly doing our bit,” says Sion. “But to make real change, it needs to be industrywide and with some urgency.”

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THE FOCUS

The Landing – sequestering on site SOPHIE PREECE Covid-19 has slowed some carbon emission initiatives at The Landing in Northland, but reforestation is continuing at pace, with more than 10,000 native trees planted in the past year alone.

The vineyard and wine company is also a luxury accommodation provider, heavily reliant on overseas visitors, says The Landing Director Peter Jones. The “ongoing economic impact” of the global pandemic has delayed the implementation of the solar panel programme set to halve the winery’s power usage, “due to the good sunshine hours we have in Northland”, which will save around 6 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions a year. “Although moving to solar will pay for itself within five years, there’s still a significant capital investment required up front,” says Peter, who is looking forward to pressing ‘go’ when finances allow.

In the meantime a 125-hectare

The Landing

reforestation project, which helped The Landing achieve Toitū carbonzero certification in 2021, is progressing at pace.

Over the past 20 years the company has planted more than 1.2 million trees on the 400ha coastal property, which together absorb more carbon than is emitted by all the property’s business operations.

Peter says visitors, buyers and suppliers are interested to hear about The Landing’s Toitū carbonzero status and carbon reduction goals, “but there’s still limited understanding of what it all means”. When he explains that the carbon neutral status

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I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

comes from a reforestation project on the property, instead of purchasing carbon credits against trees being planted overseas, “then it becomes more meaningful to them”.

The Landing has also worked with Britomart in Auckland to hold annual native tree giveaways of thousands of seedlings grown in the estate nursery. “This used to be a Christmas activity, called Green Christmas, but we have moved it to align with Arbour Day in April, and it’s now called Greening the City”, says Peter. “This year we helped raise $4,000 for the Native Forest Restoration Trust.”

THE FOCUS

Clicking on to climate action Wine brands have a role to play in decarbonising the sector, says Rowan Dean, Vice President Growth and Marketing for Constellation Brands’ Asia Pacific and Canada regions. “Brands can be the tip of a spear that push it through a business.”

And consumers “really, really care”, Rowan told Tackling Climate Change webinar attendees in June, noting research indicating that 35% of consumers think environmental packaging is important, and 48% of them have changed brands to choose a more sustainable option. The survey showed 70% of people look for claims, labels and choices that that are environmentally friendly, and 67% will make a sustainable choice, even if it is more expensive.

In late 2020, Constellation Brands New Zealand launched Round Theory, a wine designed to have a lighter footprint, from production and packaging to shipping and carbon offsets. The wine comes in a squat bottle, with 30% less glass than is standard, giving it a lighter carbon footprint

Rowan Dean

in production and transportation. And it wears a CarbonClick Climate Positive badge, indicating that the wine removes more CO2 from the atmosphere than it produces. “What we cannot reduce we are very happy to offset,” says Rowan of their work with CarbonClick, a New Zealand company, to measure the amount of carbon used at every stage of the lifecycle. “We have that number and then we double it. And that’s what we choose to offset.”

The carbon credits are purchased from projects in Australia and New Zealand, where the wines are sold, and also from

some international projects, including a rainforest in Panama and a wind power project in India, designed to move the local economy off carbon-based fuel. Round Theory has a live tracker on its website that estimates the overall carbon offset, which at the time of the webinar was equivalent to 2 million glasses of wine, 2 million kg of carbon, and 105,624 years of tree growth over the past 24 months. ”Brands can absolutely have a role,” Rowan concluded. “This is one we built from scratch to be the most sustainable brand we can be.”

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The Science 35 I

PhD Précis Daniel Mak

36 I

Grape Days Industry research

40 I

Grape Marc Transforming winery waste

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Bragato Scholar Rebecca Fougere

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Winely Work Smart startup

THE SCIENCE

PhD Précis PhD student Daniel Mak, along with his University of Canterbury team, was announced Research Runner Up at the 2022 Food, Fibre and Agritech Supernode Challenge on 21 June. The team’s Winealyse technology simplifies wine testing methods and cuts out traditional methods that require lab equipment.

Daniel is working alongside University of Canterbury Professor Renwick Dobson and Associate Professor Volker Nock, as well as Dr Tanya Rutan from Bragato Research Institute (BRI) in Marlborough.

In this Q&A, he lets us in on some of the detail.

What will Winealyse do?

Winealyse uses Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) technology to replace lab-based testing methods. LoC uses microfluidics to miniaturise testing into small, hand-held devices. We are currently working on a device to test for glucose and fructose that will allow winemakers to do a quick, easy, and cheap test. We are also looking to expand the tests we can do for other analytes like malic acid, YAN, and alcohol.

Microfluidics are familiar to people in these days of Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs). Does that increase people’s understanding of the technology?

RATs have been greatly beneficial when explaining what I do. It used to be that people’s eyes would glaze over when I talked about microfluidics (except when I mentioned the wine). Now when I mention I am creating RATs for wine, everyone has a basic understanding. However, this does come with cons as everyone is aware of

some of the limitations of RATs. Luckily, our technology is much more advanced in design than RATs, with higher accuracy and even easier to use - definitely not sticking anything up your nose.

New Zealand wineries spend $80 million on testing each year.

Why is it so expensive?

Wineries are always measuring aspects of their wines, especially around fermentation when many biochemical reactions are taking place. If you are a small winery that cannot afford expensive machines and the personnel to run them, samples will often be tested externally. The costs for these tests can be astronomical and really add up when a winery is running dozens of ferments.

How will Winealyse compare?

Winealyse will make it easy for winemakers to get lab-quality results right at the tank and for a much cheaper price than sending samples to a lab. This means winemakers can make decisions much faster and do more testing if required, which will lead to an increase in the quality of the final wine.

How have wine companies responded?

Winemakers have been very intrigued so far. Our technology is still early stage so I have not been able to show off any prototypes yet, but in my discussions with winemakers they are very keen to try new methods of testing, especially ones that will lower costs and time. I hope to get prototypes into winemakers’ hands early next year.

What are future applications for this technology Once we have established our technology in the New Zealand wine industry, we will look to expand to other winemaking regions such as France and Italy. We aim to become one of New Zealand’s premier biotechnology companies and provide a boost to New Zealand’s economy and the New Zealand wine industry. Microfluidic testing has the potential to be applied to any liquid, so we will look to develop tests for other beverages such as beer, and completely different areas such as healthcare or environmental monitoring.

What are you enjoying most about your work?

I really enjoy working at this interface between research and industry. Doing this commercialisation work for Winealyse alongside the research for my PhD means that my day is very varied and there is never a dull moment. It has also provided me with many great opportunities to develop.

What support have you had for this work We have been very fortunate to have received funding from a wide range of sources, including the University of Canterbury’s Biomolecular Interaction Centre, BRI, the MacDiarmid Institute, Kiwinet, and the Food, Fibre and Agritech (FFA) Challenge.

I have also been supported by a range of mentors for the commercialisation side of this project through programmes such as the FFA Challenge and Kiwinet’s Emerging Innovator.

Photo facing page. Daniel Mak at the BRI research winery.

Photo Sarah Rowley Adams

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THE SCIENCE

Grape Days

Winegrowing in a changing environment SOPHIE PREECE Grape and wine science is only valuable if it’s communicated to those in the field, says Bragato Research Institute Chief Executive Jeffrey Clarke.

“Our goal is to arm you with the knowledge, tools and confidence to innovate and try new ideas in your vineyards and wineries,” he told attendees at the three Grape Days events around the country in June. “Our ability to empower you to make better decisions in your business is one of the ways that we define for ourselves our own goals as a research organisation.”

And it’s a two-way street, says Bragato

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THE SCIENCE

Research Institute (BRI) Viticulture Extension and Research Manager Len Ibbotson. “There are no secrets. From the beginning of a project we want to share information and knowledge, not just from scientists out to industry, but working with growers to learn from them.”

Jeffrey’s talk on the research outlook for 2022 “and beyond” looked at projects being undertaken by BRI to tackle current and pressing issues, starting with the spur pruning trials that arose out of the Covid-19 lockdown and subsequent labour challenges.

Len says the trial is intended to give Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc growers insights into whether long spur pruning is a viable choice when it comes to yields and management of their vineyards. It involves replicated trial work on four sites around Marlborough, which are considered representative of the region, including sites where there are “reasonably high expectations in terms of yield”.

The BRI is also working with commercial growers who are already using spur pruning, to gain more knowledge and data. “We want to create a reservoir of information for industry relating to how

Weevils in the vines Increasing reports of weevil damage to vines in Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa led researchers to ascertain the culprits.

Grape Days 2022 audiences heard about the one-year programme from Bragato Research Institute (BRI) Viticulture Extension and Research Manager Len Ibbotson, along with Scott Hardwick from AgResearch, and David Jordan from Vine to Wine. The scope of the project was to increase grower awareness, find out what weevil species are present in vineyards, estimate the current and future economic impact of weevil damage, and make a recommendation for next steps, says Len. The research found that the main species present on vines in mature vineyards during the summer months appear to be garden weevil (Phlyctinus callosus), which was associated with chewing damage to leaves and bunches. “Adult garden weevil, having emerged from the soil, began appearing on vines during November to December and most of the chewing damage occurred during December and January,” he explains. The damage and incidence appears “patchily distributed within vineyards, with “hotspots” of high incidence and moderate to severe damage.

Fuller’s rose weevils (Pantomorus cervinus) were also seen in late summer and on fruit at the winery.

For more information go to nzwine.com/media/20546/bri-research-fact-sheet_weevilmonitoring.pdf

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THE SCIENCE

they might implement long spur pruning,” he says, noting that grapes from the trial will be taken to the BRI research winery each year to compare the wines from long spur and cane pruning, “to make sure the quality is what we expect and what consumers expect”.

A climate change session during Grape Days discussed another example of reactive research filling an immediate need, with trials undertaken following hail and frost events in North Canterbury and Hawke’s Bay in 2019 and 2020. “Every situation is different,” Len told the audience, while outlining results on the efficacy and cost implications of hail and frost responses, including shoot removal.

Growers were warned to avoid a “prescriptive approach” to hail damage, instead taking into account timing, extent of the damage and potential costs and consequences of remedial action. The two-year project gathered information from affected growers, including yields of the vines after hail damage and the management response. The BRI also developed a hail damage assessment scorecard (nzwine.com/media/22526/bri_ hail-damage_scorecard-002.pdf) to help

growers determine the extent of impact.

With a theme of Winegrowing in a Changing Environment, the 2022 Grape Days events - held in Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough and Central Otago - also included sessions on trunk disease, the Vineyard Ecosystems programme (see page 46), weevils (see page 37), agroecology, climate change, vineyard waste, and Pinot Noir – paradox, potential and provenance.

There were also regional panel discussions, with the Marlborough Grape Days audience hearing about recruiting and retaining labour, and tips for managing vineyards in a limited labour environment, while Hawke’s Bay spoke of downy

mildew and cover cropping for improved profitability, and Central Otago panels discussed cover cropping initiatives.

Now in its 14th year, Grape Days are provided as part of the industry’s research programme, funded by the New Zealand Winegrowers’ levy and delivered through BRI. Jeffrey says the future has “never looked better” for grape and wine research.

“Our vision is of Bragato Research Institute being part of an evolving sophisticated wine innovation system in New Zealand. We see our role as being an enabler dedicated to your success.”

The Grape Days presentations are available at nzwine.com/en/events/grapedays/

BRI Research Winery – Vintage 2022 The Bragato Research Institute research winery processed 7.8 tonnes of fruit in vintage 2022, an increase of 45% from vintage 2021, and undertook 193 ferments. Trials were run on a wide-ranging number of winemaking techniques and ingredients, such as antioxidant products, novel yeasts, vegan fining agents, new enzymes, and alternative products to increase thiols. There were also a number of trials focused on the finished impact of vineyard practices, including effects of longspur pruning on Sauvignon Blanc wines, weed management practices, mealybug spraying, managing powdery mildew in the winery, and effects of trunk disease on Sauvignon Blanc wines.

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THE SCIENCE

Parametrics

Insurance for weather perils DAN SZEGOTA An Australian-based insurance agency has launched parametric frost cover in Australia and New Zealand to help protect horticultural crops, orchards, nut farms, wineries and vineyards.

Headquartered in Paris, it has been writing parametric insurance globally since 2018 and its initial product was frost insurance for French wine producers. Big investments in planted land in New Zealand mean larger losses if frost hits, so growers need to talk to their insurance brokers about the potential for parametric cover to buffer them against costly crop failures.

Traditional insurance is expensive or unavailable for growers, so many bear the cost themselves when frost occurs and manage it via other risk management measures such as frost fans.

Parametric insurance, unlike traditional cover, provides pre-specified payouts based on trigger events, for example, when ground temperatures drop to specific levels. The

insurer designs trigger points in partnership with brokers and their clients, customising them to suit locations, long-term regional climate trends, and growers’ anticipated losses. Growers considering parametric insurance need to plan early, to enable the insurer to underwrite the risk and lock in the parameters well before the season starts.

Parametrics uses non-traditional underwriting methods with state-of-the-art technology, including data from Internet of Things (IoT) devices installed at insured properties, combined with information on climate patterns, to individually price risks.

Many growers already have weather stations with IoT capability and the insurer can analyse the risk of temperature fluctuations and cold spells during critical points in growing seasons.

Payments are made when pre-determined thresholds are triggered. For example, if the ground temperature drops to -2C, that could trigger a starting payment of say 25%

of the indemnity limit, ranging up to 100% if the temperature reaches -4C. With parametric insurance, there is no requirement for onsite loss adjusters to assess the cost of damaged crops, no policy excess amounts, and coverage can be targeted to specific locations on a grower’s property, given low-lying ground is potentially more susceptible to frost.

Although the product was designed with frost in mind – it can also apply to wind, excess rainfall and drought, hail cover is not yet available for New Zealand. It can also to apply as an alternative to traditional Earthquake insurer or used to reduce existing policy excess structures.

At present the pricing makes the product viable for larger crops and locations, but as things progress we’re hoping to work on providing an option for smaller growers – perhaps on a syndication basis.

Daniel Szegota is a Senior Broker at ICIB Ltd

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THE SCIENCE

Hitting the Marc Science transforming winery waste SOPHIE PREECE There’s a nice dose of serendipity behind an Auckland scientist’s work to ‘upcycle’ grape marc into high-value stock feed using bioprocessing.

Environmental biotechnologist Dr Shan Yi saw a news article on grape marc in 2021, highlighting the lack of large-scale solutions to deal with increasing volumes of the pips and skins left in winery presses after juice has been extracted from grapes.

“I found this challenge very intriguing and started mulling over the possible microbial biotechnology to help solve the problems mentioned in the article,” she says.

“This bioprocess represents a promising grape marc valorisation technology with economic, environmental, and social benefits.”

Dr Shan Yi Now Shan is running a two-year grape marc project with the University of Auckland, thanks to funding through the New Zealand Wine Futures Fund (NZWFF), looking to transform marc into high-value, functional medium-chain organic acids, such as caproic acid, for goods such as stock feed.

“My research focuses on applying the fundamental understanding of microbial metabolism and interactions to improve the performance of engineering bioprocesses,” says Shan, who joined the chemical and materials engineering department at the University of Auckland in December 2019, to research the synergy between chemical and environmental engineering. “To align my research with New Zealand’s needs, I am specifically interested in developing low carbon-emission engineering bioprocesses

40

Giesen grape marc

to valorise biomass feedstock from New Zealand’s primary industries.”

At the time of reading the online article, Shan’s lab had just started a research project with a couple of chemical engineering undergraduate students in the university’s Part IV Project, which tasks participants with tackling a real-world problem “We were enriching the microbiomes for anaerobic chain elongation, a bioprocess that converts small organics, such as acetate and ethanol, into medium-chain organic acids with higher values,” says Shan. “The anaerobic chain elongation represents a sustainable low carbon-emission platform biotechnology that can be applied to different types of renewable feedstock. My instinct told me that this biotechnology could be an essential part of the picture to tackle the grape marc challenges.”

In a moment of “serendipity,” she received an invitation from Analeise Murahidy, the Director of Strategic Growth at UniServices, to join a workshop with Bragato Research Institute (BRI) at around the same time.

Grape marc challenges came up in discussions, and Shan’s interest was further piqued.

Grape marc is packed with organic carbons that the grapevine has “worked really hard to fix from atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis”, says Shan. “These grape marc organic carbons represent a carbon-neutral and renewable feedstock if we can use them to produce chemicals and energy. However, grape marc organics are complex biomolecules that can be costly and energy-intensive to process.”

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

The research focuses on developing a novel anaerobic bioprocess to convert the bulk organics in grape marc to mediumchain organic acids by the catalytic abilities of microorganisms. “Compared with previous proposed alternative treatments, this new bioprocess produces higher-value products but does not require intense operation parameters such as heat or high-power consumption,” says Shan. “In addition, the products from our bioprocess can be used directly by wine (or another crop) growers to promote plant growth and fight against plant disease, creating a circular route for wine offerings and enhancing sustainability of the New Zealand wine industry,” she continues, noting “economic, environmental, and social benefits”.

Previous research on the alternative anaerobic bioprocess, such as biogas production from anaerobic digestion, revealed that biodegradation of grape seeds and other marc components is challenging.

“Also, the price of biogas cannot offset the high cost of removal or processing the grape seeds, rendering the biogas production process economically unsound for commercialisation.”

However, the project’s production of higher-value products will likely justify the treatment cost, she says. “We will test the efficiency of a range of treatment methods in breaking down the recalcitrant organics.

We will also identify the optimal treatment methods for future implementation and commercialisation by rigorously examining our bioprocess’s environmental and

THE SCIENCE

economic performance.”

Plenty of challenges remain, and not least the “swift and intensive process” of a grape harvest, with large quantities of marc generated within two months. The research will investigate a few process operation scenarios, “to balance the capacity of production and storage to develop an economically sound solution”, Shan says.

The project will rely on an understanding of the marc microbiology, including through genome sequencing. Shan compares bioprocess engineers to “loving pet owners”, who would want to know what their pet likes and dislikes to keep them in the best health. “Learning microorganisms’ traits is crucial for the successful performance of a bioprocess.

However, it can be an impossible task in our bioprocess because there are too many microorganisms, most of which cannot be examined using other methods in laboratory conditions,” she says.

“Simply put, genome sequencing and analysis can reveal the critical metabolic traits and interactions of the key players in our bioprocess. We can use the information to create engineering conditions to encourage the growth and performance of

From left, Professor Brent Young, Dr Shan Yi, Dr Wei-Qin Zhuang, and PhD students Kai Xin Chia and Marc Rosenburg.

microbes responsible for the conversion of grape marc to desired products, simultaneously limiting the microbes competing for the resources with the key players. By doing so, we can maximise production efficiency.”

The NZWFF is funded through New Zealand Winegrowers levies and project managed by BRI. BRI Project Manager

Stephanie Flores says sustainably disposing of large quantities of grape marc has become one of the toughest challenges for a growing industry aiming to be zero-waste to landfill by 2050. “The research will not only contribute to existing knowledge relating to grape marc disposal, but also aims to provide a commercial opportunity for the industry as well.”

The grape marc project is one of two of NZWFF initiatives this year, along with a Plant & Food Research project led by Dr Jessica Vereijssen exploring ground wétá. To read more on that, check out the June/July 2022 edition of Winegrower Magazine.

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Bragato Scholar

In a series profiling this year’s Bragato Trust Scholarship recipients, we talk to Rebecca Fougere about the wine industry’s myriad opportunities SOPHIE PREECE “Everyone should go into the wine industry,” says young scholar Rebecca Fougere, whose passion for wine science has led her to a master’s degree at the University of Auckland.

“It’s a very good and understanding industry, and the community is great as well,” says Rebecca, one of this year’s Bragato Trust Scholarship recipients. “The people you meet and the mentors you get; everyone is so passionate about what they do, and it leads to a lot of fantastic opportunities.”

“The wine industry is multi-faceted with unlimited opportunities.”

Rebecca Fougere Despite such enthusiasm, Rebecca’s introduction to the wine industry came by chance, derailing her plans to study law or political science. Excellent academic results from secondary school in New Plymouth had her scanning university websites for the best fit, when she began browsing science programmes as well. Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology’s (NMIT) Bachelor of Viticulture and Winemaking, “in the heart of the wine industry”, popped up purely by chance, and she was intrigued by a field well off her radar. Looking back, she thinks schools should be doing a lot more to promote wine and vine opportunities to students. From business to law, chemistry to viticulture, “it’s so multi-faceted”, she says, loving that her studies allowed her to try several areas, while still having a focus on wine science.

It was a big step to apply, with most of her peers heading off to study medicine, law and engineering. But when she joined NMIT in 2018, aged just 17, Rebecca was immersed “from the get-go” recalling a

42

Rebecca Fougere

“fantastic” start. “I settled in really quickly and it was something that just clicked.”

Rebecca worked for Wairau River (now Rose Family Estate) throughout her studies, starting with a harvest in 2019, and also gained experience in the cellar door and restaurant, and in the winery as an intern. In her third year at NMIT she undertook a small research project, under the supervision of industry professionals, and says that work solidified her decision to pursue postgraduate studies.

Rebecca says a lot of her knowledge, passion and excitement for the industry was inspired by mentors at NMIT, Bragato Research Institute (BRI) and the University of Auckland, where she is

currently investigating the effectiveness of oenological tannins in Pinot Noir. That project is inspired by, “and an extension of the incredible work completed by scientists as part of the BRI Pinot Project”, she adds.

“The effects of oenological tannins on improving phenolics in Pinot Noir are fascinating, and the findings of my research will hopefully provide additional insight for winemakers.”

Her decision to pursue wine science has been her best one yet, Rebecca concludes.

“The wine industry is multi-faceted with unlimited opportunities… My hope is more young people consider the wine industry when deciding what to study after high school, after graduation, or as adults.”

The Bragato Trust The Bragato Trust was formed in memory of viticulturist and visionary Romeo Bragato, who trained at the School of Viticulture and Oenology in Conegliano, Italy, from 1878 to 1883. Romeo was the Victorian Government Viticulturist Expert from 1888 to 1901, and visited New Zealand in 1895 and 1901, before moving here in 1902, and serving as New Zealand Government Viticulturist until 1909.

The Bragato Trust was enabled by a bequest from the estate of the late Jan Colville, granddaughter of Romeo and Laura Bragato and a grant from the New Zealand Grape Growers Council.

Peter Holley of Mission Estate is current Chair of the Bragato Trust, following the death of former Chair, and dedicated Romeo Bragato researcher, Kevyn Moore last year.

The trust’s scholarships aim to support research of relevance to the viticulture and wine industry, and promote the development and dissemination of viticulture knowledge and practice in New Zealand.

For more information go to nzwine.com/en/events/bragato-trust-scholarships

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BRIght Ideas

Molecular testing reveals grape heritage The Central Otago region is steeped in viticultural history. Some of the first grapes were planted more than 150 years ago by French immigrant Jean Desire Feraud on his property near Clyde. A goldminer by trade, Feraud benefited from his winemaking heritage and his awardwinning Monte Christo Winery garnered international recognition.

Now, thanks to the wonders of molecular testing, Bragato Research Institute (BRI) has confirmed Feraud’s legacy lives on through the recently identified Trollinger vine located at the present-day Monte Christo Winery.

Viticulturist Sam Woods has been with Monte Christo since July 2020, assisting the new property owners with their efforts to restore the winery to its former glory.

It’s a role that so far has involved both the growing of grapes for future wine production and looking back at the early days of winemaking in New Zealand.

“Restoring the Monte Christo Winery is an exciting opportunity to tell the story of early settler winemaking in New Zealand. This is the oldest known winery in the region, and I’ve been digging deeper through old newspapers and connecting opinion pieces from the past with our modern understanding of winemaking,” says Sam. “Part of my research has involved working with Darrell (Lizamore) at BRI to identify some of the old, established grapevines on the Monte Christo property.”

The idea of getting the vines identified through molecular testing first came up through a conversation with another local viticulturist who had used the BRI service before. “I reached out to Darrell and the timing was good, so we went for it,” says Sam. “He sent me the cards for taking a sample and the results came back quickly.

We learned the vine is a Trollinger, a variety with links to Italy and Germany. Overall, it was a fun and interesting process.”

The unique Central Otago terroir is renowned for producing quality wines.

BRI’s namesake and expert viticulturist Romeo Bragato visited Central Otago in 1885 and pronounced it “suitable for grape growing”. Despite this positive assessment, a period of dormancy set in until commercial winemaking returned to

44

the region in the 1980s.

Sam explains that while Central Otago is an ideal location for producing premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the semicontinental climate isn’t a perfect fit for commercial production of Trollinger wine, as grapes ripen late and rarely reach a desired sweetness. “It may be possible to produce a barrel of accessible Trollinger wine in a particularly good year, but we will primarily cultivate the vines around Monte Christo as a living reference to our winery’s provenance. The vine is attractive with large bunches of red, oval grapes and it will take pride of place in our heritage tasting rooms that are set to open in 2023.”

Geneticist Dr Darrell Lizamore leads the BRI grapevine variety testing service, and says his work provides certainty to nurseries and grape-growers through highly specialised molecular analysis. “At BRI, we offer New Zealand’s only genetic variety testing for grapevines. This involves DNA sequencing technology and at first it can sound complicated, but from our customer’s side it’s a straight-forward process to collect a sample, and unlike other identification methods it doesn’t

A harvest time comparison between Pinot Noir [left] and Trollinger [right].

Photo Sam Woods, Monte Christo Winery.

require plants to be sent overseas or assessed in person.”

The customer takes a young leaf or rootstock from the vine of interest, presses it onto a custom-made card that’s provided to them, and then posts it back, says Darrell. “We then analyse the sample for specific genetic markers and match it to other samples in the international database, before promptly delivering the variety and species results.”

This story was supplied by BRI. To hear the latest news from the institute, go to bri.co.nz/news.

The original Monte Christo Winery featuring one of Feraud’s original vines. Supplied by Sam Woods, Monte Christo Winery.

Grapevine ID The BRI grapevine identification process has been designed to allow for multiple markers to be tested simultaneously, meaning samples are processed faster and more cost-effectively, without compromising the accuracy of results. Testing is scheduled at certain times throughout the year. Register at vine@bri.co.nz before the end of October to have your vines identified this Spring.

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

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Photo courtesy of Riversun Nursery

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A sense of place An EIT wine lecturer’s “If North Canterbury research into wines from New Zealand and Burgundy is an emergent region has been included as a of the New World, chapter in an influential Burgundy is a selfBritish book on wine and culture. Dr Rory Hill, who consciously old part is Coordinator of the EIT of the Old World.”

School of Viticulture and Wine Science’s postgraduate Rory Hill programmes, was invited to contribute to The Routledge Handbook of Wine and Culture, along with his former colleague, Associate Professor Joanna Fountain from the Department of Tourism, Sport & Society at Lincoln University in Christchurch.

The book is a major compendium of research on wine and culture going back in history, aimed at researchers and students in the wine industry and across academic disciplines where wine is taken as an object of study, including history, geography, tourism, sociology and business.

Rory says their chapter examines how a sense of place is built by producers and understood by consumers, in the antipodal wine regions of North Canterbury and Burgundy. “If North Canterbury is an emergent region of the New World, Burgundy is a selfconsciously old part of the Old World. The concept of terroir (a sense of place) is mobilised in both regions, but with different inflections, and in North Canterbury, it is just one of several terms employed to promote local distinctiveness.”

Rory says the documentary film A Seat at the Table, released in 2019, brought the concept of terroir and the idea of provenancedriven quality in New Zealand wine to the fore, in direct comparison with the Burgundian winemaking experience and tradition. “In our chapter, we reveal some of the cultural rooting of expressions of sense of place in two very different contexts, as well as the cultural conditioning of wine tourism as an activity.”

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Growing for the future From soil properties and biodiversity to water use and mealybug, the seven-year Vineyard Ecosystems research programme has been a “broad reaching with many facets”, says programme manager Nick Hoskins.

The research findings, evolving practices and programme spinoffs will all be explored at a technical conference - Beyond Vineyard Ecosystems: Growing for the Future – to be held in Christchurch from 27-28 September, with more than 20 experts – from viticulturists to scientists – sharing their insights.

Nick says the programme has explored the management of vineyards with fewer synthetic chemicals, as well as determining some “eco-credentials” around how vineyard management affects the soils and impacts the environment. “Basically measuring

what we are doing and the impact of our activities.”

The result is an “enormous amount” of information, including findings that the effect of herbicide was not as impactful on the soil biodiversity as had been expected.

“It was measurable, and that in itself is a first for a multi-year vineyard study. What we measured didn’t show massive impacts,” Nick says, while adding that there’s still consumer expectations to reduce chemicals such as herbicide, fungicide and insecticide.

As well as exploring soil biodiversity and elemental chemistry, the programme extended research into the likes of grapevine trunk disease, virus, mealybug and powdery mildew, “and generally measuring all vineyard outcomes and the impact of reduced synthetic chemistry ”, says Nick.

The two-day technical conference will have four in-depth sessions, each with multiple speakers, looking at virus and mealybug; vineyard longevity and grapevine trunk disease; rethinking chemistry as a first resort; and soil and ecosystem services.

Viticulturists will discuss their change in thinking over the course of the programme, as well as their view of future management, while researchers will discuss new looks

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Beyond Vineyard Ecosystems: Growing for the future 27-28 September nzwine.com/events

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Science Snippet Accessing grape and wine science DR MIKE TROUGHT There’s a wealth of great New Zealand wine science on the world stage, and I urge industry members to keep abreast of it. Accessing information has never been easier, but in today’s global information tidal wave, separating fact from fiction can be a challenge. The science publication process tries to avoid factual error by subjecting research output to a peer review process by independent assessors before publication.

Using a literature search database (in this case Web of Science), the number of publications can be investigated. Entering the search terms grape and wine, a total of 84,952 papers are recorded on the database, between 1990 and 2021, of which 952 have a New Zealand author.

Adding Sauvignon Blanc into the search reduces the total number of papers to

1,028 papers, of which 147 (or 14%) have had a New Zealand author. It is interesting to note the rapid increase in papers from 2005, possibly reflecting the international interest in Sauvignon Blanc generated by the success of this variety in the market.

“Separating fact from fiction can be a challenge.”

Dr Mike Trought A database widely available to everyone in the wine industry is Vitis-vea (vitis-vea. de/En/). This is specifically designed with winegrowers in mind. The search facility provides a quick method of highlighting papers of interest and using the advanced

search function allows one to add or exclude specific search criteria. When I looked at the database in July 2022, a keyword Sauvignon Blanc brought up 1,043 records, adding in a further keyword line of Botrytis brings up 38 records (five of the first 20 on my list were published by New Zealand scientists).

A permanent link provides access directly to the journal. While some papers are ‘open access’, you can also access to a short abstract of the research, the background and aims, methods and results, conclusions and significance.

Dr Mike Trought is a scientist with more than 40 years’ experience New Zealand’s wine industry. He is a fellow of New Zealand Winegrowers and was inducted into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame in 2017.

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THE SCIENCE

Winely Work New ideas fermenting TONY SKINNER A journey to discover what happens at the molecular level during fermentation has led to a transformative new tool for winemakers.

New Zealand startup Winely has developed a data-intelligence platform that allows winemakers to monitor and manage the fermentation status of their batches continuously. The company uses proprietary sensors, artificial intelligence/ machine learning, and cloud-based software to picture the fermentation process in realtime accurately.

According to Chief Executive and founder Jacob Manning, while the winemaking process has traditionally relied on the manual sampling of fermentation tanks, Winely uses IoT (internet of things) connected sensors and data analytics to deliver a data-driven approach fuelled by thousands of data points a day.

The concept was sparked while Jacob was conducting biological research and started talking to fellow founder and now Winely Chief Technology Officer Abbe Hyde about the fermentation process. “Jacob had this fantastic idea of understanding these systems and what’s going on at a molecular level,” Abbe explains.

“I’ve now talked to over 100 winemakers across the world about their practices, and what I found is that winemakers were really struggling in their day-to-day just keeping their fermentations on track and just collecting the basic data points that they needed to make some decisions. So we thought, if we’re going to understand things at a molecular level, we need to start with the basics and give people what they need today to help them out.”

The team started working with a custom crush facility in Central Otago for the 2018 vintage and has since rapidly evolved the technology and grown its customer base.

With nothing suitable to purchase offthe-shelf, they develop sensors capable of capturing the data points needed during fermentation, which are placed inside tanks to monitor the process constantly.

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Abbe Hyde and Jacob Manning

Jacob explains that while changes happened rapidly to wine in the primary fermentation stage, previously the only way to get more data was to have more people walking around the tanks taking samples. “One of the main things is they are interested in not having to go to the tanks

“No one’s managed to amass this volume of data to understand a biological process before in history.”

Jacob Manning regularly to take samples. That’s a big health driver – they want to get people off the catwalks because they can be dangerous,” he says. “But now, they won’t have to do the manual tasks, and we provide them with the data collection as well as the deep power stuff – the process decision-making information that can really help them, which is the part that gets me excited.”

The visualisation dashboard allows a winemaker to compare wine fermentation performance to set parameters and targets, with notifications if anything goes outside range. In June, the company announced the latest iteration of the system, which will be

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

applied to both new and existing Winely sensors.

With this new release, Winely customers gain improved sensor accuracy for measuring Brix/Baumé, along with enhanced analysis and real-time visualisation, better sensor reliability, and the ability to monitor large red fermenters autonomously. This version will be available for Winely’s pilot customers in California from August, while pre-orders are currently being accepted from Southern Hemisphere customers for the 2023 vintage.

Since its inception, the company has expanded rapidly, deploying technology across the major wine regions in New Zealand, Australia, and California. However, Jacob explains that beyond playing a vital role in improving the overall quality of wine, the technology also has vast applications across other sectors. “For humanity, this is incredible - no one’s managed to amass this volume of data to understand a biological process before in history… So that allows us to unlock super deep insights into understanding yeast vitality and fermentation kinetics,” Jacob says.

“And so this will probably change the world, we know that there are other industries and areas that are interested in utilising this, what we’ve learned today, as well as the technology product. So what will happen there will be very, very exciting.”

THE SCIENCE

WineTech 2022 New Zealand’s primary industry roots provide strong foundations for new technologies, says Callaghan Innovation’s Agritech Lead.

Simon Yarrow says a sentiment heard at the recent WineTech conference in Adelaide was “New Zealand can do it, why can’t Australia?” That speaks volumes, he adds. “There’s definitely a perception that New Zealand’s WineTech is advanced.”

Simon says events like WineTech – both trade exhibition and conference - provide opportunities for New Zealand businesses to network with key players in the Australian market to build new commercial opportunities. “Importantly, they also create opportunities for businesses to collaborate. It’s powerful to see a connected ecosystem of WineTech businesses, growers, investors, researchers, government agencies and more come together to support one another.”

Industry tech events are also a good opportunity to understand the market and glean insights into existing technology.

“These could be potential competitors or

potential collaborators. They also help startups to identify what solutions are required by the industry,” says Simon.

He notes that New Zealand’s wine technology innovators are focused on adding value through the entire journey of grape growing and winemaking, starting in the vineyard, whereas Australian innovators at WineTech 2022 had a strong focus on winery technology.

One of the most exciting Kiwi participants was Cropsy, which has created a digital eye mounted on a tractor to help wine growers capture valuable data on every single plant growing in a vineyard, says Simon. “By understanding how many grapes are on the vine, they can plan for how much vat space they’ll need to allocate out for example. Cropsy deployed a new unit in Adelaide with a customer while they were visiting for the conference.”

Innovators are creating solutions for a range of challenges including climate, water and labour shortages, says Simon.

“A key focus is creating technology that produces higher quality wine, as that’s our point of difference as a nation. We’re not necessarily going to outsell on quantity

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Kiwi wine technology businesses need to be global in their outlook from day one, he adds. “The New Zealand market is small.

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NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 I

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The People

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New Vintage Ben McNab’s top title

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Women in Wine Heather McPherson

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The Profile Helen Masters

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Young Vits Regional Finalists

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London Postcard Greywacke’s Kevin Judd

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

THE PEOPLE

New Vintage New Zealand’s top young winemaker SOPHIE PREECE Eating sugary grape skins, straight from the press of a Gladstone winery, was a perfect precursor to Ben McNab’s wine career.

Such childhood memories have come to the fore since he took the title of 2021 Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year in June, having been asked time and again what drew him to a career in wine. “It’s taken me a while to figure out that was more of a connection than I realised,” says Ben from Palliser Estate, 20 minutes down the road from the vineyard his grandparents managed when he was small.

“I think subconsciously I probably owe a lot of interest and passion to those early experiences; out planting or being around grapevines being planted by my grandfather and my uncles.” But wine wasn’t part of the plan at high school, with his eyes on the prize of being a pilot. When those eyes – colour blind as it turned out - foiled that plan, Ben went on to study psychology at Victoria University.

It wasn’t until a family trip to the west coast of the United States in 2012, in the final leg of his bachelor’s degree, that the wine industry struck a chord. He was drawn in by the wine and culture of Napa Valley and Oregon, finding passion and interest, “and that perfect balance of craft and science”.

In 2013 Ben took up an online Bachelor of Viticulture and Wine Science at EIT, and “international travel and wine came together for me”, he says. With a Wairarapa harvest under his belt, he set off for the first of three Oregon vintages, doing back-toback harvests with New Zealand, before settling into Wairarapa winemaking six years ago, to follow “the full lifecycle of wine”.

It’s an easy industry to be passionate about, says the country’s top young winemaker, calling the work “incredibly interesting” and some aspects nigh on obsessive. “I am pretty electric about chardonnay,” he admits. “I could leave most things, but I don’t think I could leave

Chardonnay.”

He got to wax lyrical on that subject at the national final in Central Otago, where his speech topic focussed on the “incredibly transparent” variety. “It’s where you see so much of your work and that offers so much learning potential and opportunity to reflect,” he says. “When people reflect on a wine you have a hand in, they can see all of your contribution. Rightly or wrongly, brilliant or not, you get to have feedback, so it’s continual learning.”

He’s also passionate about exploring new world winemaking with respect to tradition, which intrigued him in Oregon and has influenced him throughout his winemaking, “building on tradition layers with new world approaches”.

Ben is also grateful for the influence the Wairarapa has had on his career, perhaps from those sweet grape skins chewed as a child, through to the wine companies that have nurtured his skills. “It took a village to raise me,” he explains. “I have worked for five local producers, and they have all helped me in some way, or taught me something invaluable.”

He now hopes to be part of the village helping new winemakers emerge. But while he loves the wines and the landscape of Wairarapa (“an absolute playground really”) he also knows he will have to move beyond that boutique corner of the wine world to grow his learning. “I still want to be a part of New Zealand wine, but I am open to other regions.”

The Young Winemaker competition is an “amazing opportunity”, says Ben, who first won the North Island Tonnellerie de Mercurey Young Winemaker of the Year

Competition in 2020, while with Matahiwi Estate, going on to compete in the national final. He then won the North Island title again in 2021, while at Palliser Estate. He and the two other regional winners Peter Russell (Marlborough) and Jordan Moores (Central Otago) studied through several Covid-caused postponements before finally competing at Amisfield winery in June. “I was just thrilled each time it was postponed; they didn’t say it was cancelled,” he says.

The event undoubtedly makes better winemakers, he adds. “It doesn’t only build your personal growth; it’s also professional growth. I couldn’t stress that enough, actually.” Comparing his current knowledge and understanding to that of three years ago is evidence of that growth, he explains. “It’s the detail that you understand far more; it’s the technical element of winemaking that you read into; it’s knowing things like the labelling guide and winemaking practices off the back of your hand.”

He is grateful to the naming sponsor Tonnellerie de Mercurey and all the people who support, organise or host the competitions. “It’s very humbling that people invest the time and energy to bring these events together.”

Ben has no plans to slow his learning, nor the exploration intrinsic to his work. “It’s really hard to be original in winemaking,” he says, noting the myriad of creative people in the industry here and around the world. “So often when you think of an idea, someone has already built a history of that same concept.” But he loves a challenge, he continues. “A challenge to be original, but also have a real respect of the traditions.”

Photo above and facing page, Ben McNab

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THE PEOPLE

Women in Wine

Growing wine and community JEAN GRIERSON

Heather McPherson has been described as a Central Otago wine industry gem. She’s in the ‘who’s who’ of local wine personalities, and was the first woman to receive the Central Otago Winegrowers’ Association (COWA) award for outstanding service to the industry, back in 2009.

Her involvement in the wine community spans some three decades, and she’s seen Central Otago grow from small beginnings to an internationally significant region, with now more than 2055 hectares of vines in production.

“We were the first to plant in Bannockburn, in fact first in the entire Cromwell Basin.”

Heather McPherson When Heather and her then husband John Olssen bought land to establish Olssens Garden Vineyard in the late eighties, it was mostly surrounded by farmland running merinos, and a few orchards. Following in the footsteps of “a few visionaries”, they planted 10ha of vines on their Felton Road property overlooking the Kawarau River arm of Lake Dunstan.

“When we came there were four other vineyards in Central Otago,” says Heather.

“We were the first to plant in Bannockburn, in fact first in the entire Cromwell Basin.”

John had his sights set on orcharding, but Heather was able to steer him towards planting vines with the help of a consultant who identified theirs as a preferred site for grape growing. “Alan Brady had just released some wine from Gibbston and I thought grapes would be more interesting,” says Heather.

Cromwell-born, and with a career in nursing behind her, she had met John when she was principal public health nurse for Otago, and he was managing Dunedin’s public hospital. Brothers Rob and Greg Hay, who were establishing Chard Farm’s winery in the Gibbston Valley at the time, helped set up the vineyard, while Heather and John moved to Perth for three years.

Heather loved her work there, where she re-

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Helen McPherson. Photo by Kate Barnett of Central Otago Women in Wine

organised the way children with disabilities were supported through pre-schools across Western Australia.

But it was soon time to get serious with the wine business, and they returned to Central Otago for their first vintage in 1992. From then Olssens Wines went on to gain a steady reputation for quality, with numerous national awards and trophies.

Their winery was in Cromwell’s industrial area, but they opened a cellar door at the vineyard, which was set in landscaped park-like grounds, with hundreds of trees and shrubs, where some 4,000 spring bulbs flourished.

The vineyard became the setting for community events as Heather contrived to get the public more involved with the wine community. Locals seemed reluctant early on to visit the cellar door, says Heather, as the wine experience now enjoyed by thousands of visitors to the region wasn’t a thing back then. She introduced a scarecrow competition as a pre-harvest drawcard, promoting it through local primary schools, and was astounded when 500 people turned up.

This led to other community events in the spectacular setting, including outdoor music concerts and sculpture exhibitions.

Heather’s creative and organisational

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

skills flowed across into the entire wine community and as a long-time committee member and Chair of COWA she worked tirelessly organising promotions including tastings, dinners and events.

Her proudest achievement was initiating a showcase of Central Otago wines for the public and trade in London, which was an outstanding success. Subsequently New Zealand Winegrowers were to follow suit, “…but we were the first to do it”, she says.

The vineyard and wine business were sold to Terra Sancta in 2011. Heather has kept busy with a smaller town garden, her arts interests, and she keeps her hand in with the grape harvest, despite suffering a stroke in recent years.

She received a community service award from the Central Otago District Council in 2017, notably for her leadership of the Cromwell & Districts Community Arts Council, which she had chaired for 16 years.

She was also nominated in 2018 for New Zealander of the Year.

Heather will soon be busy again coordinating the Cromwell Food and Wine Festival, as she has done since 2012. It’s a hugely popular event in the Old Cromwell precinct, and is back on the calendar on 2 January after last summer’s festival was cancelled due to Covid.

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THE PEOPLE

The Profile Helen Masters JOELLE THOMSON Helen Masters’ clothes arrived on a bus to Martinborough three days after she did, having joined Ata Rangi in 1991. She was taking a gap year between secondary school and tertiary studies and had written to the winery asking for a job, following her interest in the flavour and dynamics of taste.

More than 30 years on, Helen is winemaker at the iconic Ata Rangi, with a philosophy of expressing the vintage in each wine. “I ask myself every year, ‘what is the vintage trying to say about the fruit?’

I believe the vintage character is the key to expressing a wine, but also that the vintage character shouldn’t hide what the fruit and the soil conditions are about in the wines we make.”

Helen grew up in a large Ōtaki family, immersed in conversations about food and wine, and had worked as a part time cook for Ruth and Paul Pretty while at school.

Being the youngest of 12 children made it interesting to hear about the wine regularly served as part of family get togethers. “I noticed that wine held my interest in terms of the things we talked about as a family,” says Helen, whose eldest brother had worked as a winemaker in Australia. “We were all interested in how things were made, such as preserves, pickles and the food that we grew, and then there was wine, which I found really interesting as it became part of family life and made occasions very captivating for me.”

On leaving school she read about new wineries in a book by Michael Cooper and was prompted to write to Ata Rangi. “Phyll Paton, wife of Ata Rangi founder Clive Paton (and a winemaker in her own right), phoned to ask if I could come for an interview and my mother drove me over there. I remember being quite surprised when we drove over the Akatarawas that it seemed quite a long way away to me, at the time. When we arrived and met Phyll, she asked if I could start right now. My mother said, ‘yes, she can’.”

Her mother sent her clothes over on a bus, and by the time they arrived Helen

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Helen Masters

was already immersed in vineyard work, the winery, helping at the cellar door, babysitting, and making up boxes of wine orders.

When her gap year was complete, Helen went on to Massey University for a degree in food technology. Money beckoned after fulltime study, leading led her to work at Nestlé in Auckland for three years. “It was interesting in terms of people, processes and systems, but I knew I didn’t want to make dry powdered soups, so I decided to return to winemaking and worked a vintage at Cloudy Bay, then at Chard Farm, and then worked overseas doing winemaking stints in California and Oregon.”

She couldn’t help but be impressed by the wines of Oregon and California, but there were other flavours that held her heart captive to Martinborough in New Zealand. “There’s a richness and a sweetness that attracts attention in those North

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

American wines, but it was the way that Martinborough wines didn’t end with an overt sweetness that I really loved, so I came back to work as Claire Mulholland’s assistant for three vintages at Martinborough Vineyards in 2001, 2002 and 2003, and then went to Ata Rangi in late 2003. I’ve remained there ever since.”

One of her personal philosophies is that life provides natural links, and it was one of those that led Helen and her husband Ben Masters, who is connected to the Ata Rangi extended family, back to the region. “I guess what brought us back to Martinborough was the wine. Of all my experiences, there was something about the wines there that was really special. I really loved the savouriness and the depth without richness, so when they asked me to come back to work with them, it felt like a natural full circle.”

The biggest challenges of winemaking in Martinborough today are a combination

THE PEOPLE

of naturally low yields and fast rising land prices. “Low yields are usually regarded as playing a strong role in making high quality wine, but sometimes it’s not the best thing for the vine or the wine, and it’s not easy on sustainability. The low yields in 2021 and 2022 made it tricky to get balance in terms of business and the style of the wines,” she says.

“One of the challenges at Ata Rangi is that all our vineyard blocks are so small and so different that they need to be very highly managed. This can be difficult in terms of finding people who are interested to work with vines in the region. It’s very difficult and this is especially so when land prices are going through the roof, which makes it hard for young people to get established here.”

On the other hand, the dry climate, high winds, hot summers and cold winters all make Martinborough ideal for high quality wine, particularly Pinot Noir. “I’m not afraid of saying ‘this is the wine that it wants to be from this vintage’. We don’t add yeasts, we don’t filter or fine, so some years the wines are a bit more tannic but that’s the expression of vintage. I’m really unapologetic about that. For those people

who enjoy a more opulent Pinot Noir, it can perhaps be challenging if it is more of a tannic vintage in some of our wines, but these are the wines that reward time in the bottle.”

“I really loved the savouriness and the depth without richness, so when they asked me to come back to work with them, it felt like a natural full circle.”

Helen Masters Gardening, cooking and entertaining are favourite past times of Helen’s when she is relaxing, and she and Ben now have

their own 2.2-hectare vineyard, purchased in 2015. “The vines are now 21 years old and we asked the previous owners to let us know if they ever decided to sell. There’s never a dull moment when you have a vineyard, but I like making and growing things; it’s how I relax. Ben and I mostly grow things that are edible. We’ve got all sorts of apple trees as well as a vegetable garden and we grow pomegranates and yuzu. There are a lot of flowers intermingled, but the primary focus is edible food.” Their vineyard is planted mostly in Pinot Noir with half a hectare of Chardonnay which now goes into Ata Rangi Masters Chardonnay.

Meanwhile, her parents remain on the same property in Ōtaki on which Helen grew up. “We’re lucky to have that place to gather as a family; the place where those early wine discussions around the family dinner table first began.”

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NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 I

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THE PEOPLE

Young Viticulturists Meet the regional finalists in the Corteva Young Viticulturist of the Year Competition, in the lead up to the National Final in Marlborough on August 30. The Central Otago final was held after this edition went to print, but the winner will be profiled in the October/November Winegrower Magazine.

Tai Nelson, 23 Vineyard Manager for Soljans Estate Winery Auckland/Northland Regional Winner

What attracted you to viticulture?

Honestly, it was a lucky coincidence. I had been working casually in the vineyard for a few years and after a year fulltime in hospitality I was looking to get out. With the previous Vineyard Manager retiring, I put my hand up to give it a go and come on fulltime. A year later, and I’m absolutely loving it.

I enjoy the work outside and with such a long and rich history soaked in tradition, there is just so much to learn. I like the problem-solving aspect as well, having to plan around the weather and change plans as you work - it’s a constant challenge.

breakdown during spraying or mowing, or the weather sending me in and out every hour or so. The worst days are when I am all over the show and don’t end up getting much done, but I try to take each day fresh as it comes.

Explain a great day at work. And a bad one!

A great day at work would involve an hour in the morning for planning, budgeting, emails and coffee, and then the rest of the day outside in the vines getting a whole lot of canopy management work in. It’s great to work at such a small winery that I can be really involved with every aspect of the job.

What isn’t ideal is having machinery

And what are the greatest challenges?

The greatest challenge at the moment is staff shortages, primarily due to Covid-19.

During harvest, grapes have just been left on the vine because there isn’t anyone to pick them. A close second is a dramatic increase in extreme weather events and global changes to weather patterns. As a viticulturist, being able to predict and

What are the most exciting developments in viticulture?

From what I’ve seen, there has been a trend towards combining traditional methods and techniques with modern technology, which is the kind of development I’m so passionate about. Always learning from the past and improving on it to create the future.

Tai Nelson

understand the weather is paramount, which is impossible when one week you have flooding and the next hot sunshine.

How do you envisage the future of New Zealand’s wine industry?

I believe the world will soon discover just how much we have to offer. With some industry-leading technology being developed by New Zealand companies, as well as constant refinement and innovation in winegrowing and making, I can’t wait to see international supermarkets with more on their shelves than Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc!

Sum up a career in viticulture in 10 words or fewer.

Perfecting the balance between vine, soil, sun and weather.

Laura Marston, 22

Viticulture Cadet at Craggy Range Hawke’s Bay Regional Winner

What attracted you to viticulture?

I love science and knew I wanted to work in the outdoors, so viticulture was the perfect option for me. The variation in the industry really appealed to me - no two seasons are the same, which continually brings new challenges. To kickstart my career I went to Lincoln University to study a bachelor of viticulture and oenology.

Explain a great day at work.

And a bad one!

If I learn something new in the vineyard, it’s a great day at work. I’m surrounded by a supportive and passionate team who are generous with sharing their knowledge.

A bad day is when it’s high humidity and raining in the middle of harvest!

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“We are future-proofing our vineyards by giving back to our land through techniques such as composting, eliminating herbicide and establishing cover cropping.”

Laura Marston What are the most exciting developments in viticulture?

Growers choosing to implement and incorporate organic principles into their

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

Laura Marston

vineyards. We are future-proofing our vineyards by giving back to our land through techniques such as composting, eliminating herbicide and establishing cover cropping. It is also exciting to see ‘soft pruning’ being more widely adopted to maintain healthy sap flow and encourage

Giesen Group accelerates 2022 vintage with Alfa Laval decanter technology Discover why NZ wineries are moving away from soft presses Read the interview with Duncan Shouler, Chief Winemaker, Giesen Group Limited, about the importance of innovation and how Giesen Group’s latest investment in decanter technology is paying off.

Balancing sustainability with profitability, quality and high yield, the Alfa Laval Foodec decanter offers a more effective way to extract must for wine production. www.alfalaval.co.nz/giesen

THE PEOPLE

vine longevity. I am interested in the move towards using a less frequent irrigation to encourage the vines roots to grow deeper and become more self-reliant, which can be assisted using a pressure bomb for vine stress measurements.

are being challenged to come up with innovative ways to manage their weed control. Such as, different native species are being trialled to fill the undervine area to out compete the weeds, while not taking the vines’ nutrients and water.

And what are the greatest challenges?

Glyphosate is used widely across conventional vineyards and the potential threat of it being removed from the spray schedule is very real. This means growers

How do you envisage the future of New Zealand’s wine industry?

With cost of production steadily increasing and labour becoming progressively more expensive, producers will be forced to increase the price per bottle. To compete

with other producing countries, New Zealand will need to ensure the quality of the wine matches the higher price. I think the New Zealand wine industry’s future will be producing higher quality wine and with producers choosing to use organic principles. I think this will continue to grow a strong brand internationally.

Sum up a career in viticulture in 10 words or fewer The perfect ‘blend’ of science, outdoors, variety and being challenged.

Katie Cameron, 27

Technical Assistant at Escarpment Winery Wairarapa Regional Winner

What attracted you to viticulture?

I’ve always had a passion for plant science and love working outdoors so a career in viticulture seemed to have the right balance of both. I began my wine career at Lincoln University, undertaking a bachelor of viticulture and oenology. After catching the travelling-harvest bug, I interned in Central Otago, Hawke’s Bay, California and Tuscany before accepting a scholarship to study a master of viticulture and oenology based in France, then Italy. My first harvest at Escarpment in 2020 cemented my love for the New Zealand wine industry and in particular the Wairarapa wine region.

Explain a great day at work.

And a bad one!

For me, the most rewarding aspect of work is the end product. Knowing that all the problem solving, small wins and hard work, together with an amazing team, creates a tangible product that we can all be proud of.

Of course, in contrast, a tough reality of viticulture is that we’re often at the mercy

“I’m really excited to see the industry look for improvements in how we sustainably grow grapes.”

Katie Cameron of weather events during critical growing stages, despite best efforts.

What are the most exciting developments in viticulture?

As climate change continues to be front of mind for viticulturists, I’m really excited to see the industry look for improvements in how we sustainably grow grapes. Native cover crop species, vineyard mapping and technology are areas of viticulture I’m particularly interested in seeing develop in New Zealand.

And what are the greatest challenges?

Biosecurity threats are always going to

Katie Cameron

be a challenge to navigate in the future, along with pest and disease resistance and management.

How do you envisage the future of New Zealand’s wine industry?

The hope is that the New Zealand wine industry will continue to focus on producing high quality wines with distinctive regional character that rival the very best wine growing countries.

Sum up a career in viticulture in 10 words or fewer.

Ever rewarding yet challenging, surrounded by like-minded people.

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THE PEOPLE

IT WOULD BE STINK IF THESE GOT INTO NEW ZEALAND Tahryn Mason. Photo Richard Briggs

The brown marmorated stink bug is a pest that

Tahryn Mason, 29

infests homes, ruins gardens, stinks when crushed,

Vineyard Supervisor for Villa Maria Estate, based in Awatere Valley Marlborough Regional Winner

and is almost impossible to get rid of. It could also destroy our fruit and vegetable industries.

It’s not in New Zealand yet, and we want

What attracted you to viticulture?

The blending of art and science. For a field that is so informed by science and technology, its application can be very subjective. It can all depend on the direction you’re trying to take things.

to keep it that way. So if you see one, don’t kill it. Catch it, take a photo, and call us on 0800 80 99 66.

Explain a great day at work. And a bad one!

A great day for me is being out in the yards, assessing how the vines are progressing and looking for issues. A bad day always involves machinery that won’t work and a trip to TRS.

Look for black & white banding on the antennae

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

Look for black & white banding on the sides of the abdomen

What are the most exciting developments in viticulture?

I think the uptake of technology in the sector is great – especially with regard to labour/staff management and vine data collection.

Having that information at your fingertips helps us make the best decisions at the right times.

And what are the greatest challenges?

Finding staff can be a real challenge post-Covid. Making sure that we have enough people to effectively run our yards for the season has become harder.

Stink Bugs not shown actual size. (Actual size approx. 1.7cm long)

How do you envisage the future of New Zealand’s wine industry?

I’m sure we’ll continue our steady growth in export markets, as the demand for New Zealand wine doesn’t seem to be slowing internationally. I’d like to think an industry wide move towards softer chemistry and lower impact land usage is over some nottoo-distant horizon. Especially considering changing perceptions regarding ‘acceptable’ chemistry in some of those export markets.

Sum up a career in viticulture in 10 words or fewer.

It’s farming, but the end result tastes better than milk!

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XXXXXXXXX

Postcard Greywacke’s Kevin Judd from London

In November 2019 we promised ourselves we’d take it a bit slower in 2020, having had five overseas trips since the previous October - two to Aussie and three long hauls which included Hong Kong, Japan, China, USA, England, Russia, Italy, Ireland and Jersey, totaling four months on the road, phew. In fact, during the last few days of the final trip, crook with a gastro bug in a Jersey hotel, I sent an email cancelling a trip we had already started to plan for early 2020; ‘no more travel until after harvest’, we promised each other. ‘We need a break.’

Well, we certainly got a break, that’s for sure. By vintage 2020 the pandemic had us well and truly locked up in our South Pacific quarantine camp, completing our twelfth Greywacke harvest confined to a bubble of nine. Requests to turn back containers and to increase payment terms by an extra three months had the accountant looking rather white-faced, so we set about plotting a modified path for our business and jettisoned a considerable volume from the 2020 vintage.

Predictions that the global wine market would nosedive, spear-headed by the immediate closing of the world’s on-trade, was a grim outlook for an export-focused wine business that relied heavily on the hotel and restaurant trade.

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The medical fraternity were saying it would take many years before vaccines could be made safe and available, so we settled into a peaceful, sedentary life in the Omaka Valley - no visitors, no trips. We got onto some overdue projects at home, put the passports in the drawer and learnt how to navigate Zoom. How and when it would all end was anyone’s guess, and what the world might look like once we were eventually able to travel again was constantly in the back of our minds.

Whilst Zoom taught us that some things can be done remotely, there really is nothing like being there, so once the Kiwi border quarantine was lifted, the Greywackers were back on tour, bound for the UK to participate in the 25-year anniversary celebrations of our importer Liberty Wines.

Having not yet had the dreaded lurgy and having heard that the Poms had eased up on the mask wearing, there was a certain amount of trepidation as Richelle Tyney and I boarded for Singapore. The extinct Air New Zealand flight NZ1 to London was sorely missed, although transiting through LA was definitely not, but the queues at Heathrow passport control when we arrived were like nothing I had ever seen before.

We had planned to continue our KiwiCovid-avoidance habits for most of the

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

trip, so all masked-up we headed to the hotel on the Heathrow Express. After checking in we wandered bleary-eyed into a South Kensington brunch spot, our veiled appearance attracting scrutinizing glances from the locals. We quickly realised that mask wearing was absolutely a thing of the past in UK, even on the tube during peak hour there were only perhaps 5% of passengers wearing masks.

First event for the week was the Liberty Wines anniversary tasting at The Oval in Kennington, where nearly 400 trade and media came along to taste the wines from 150 different wine producers, each selecting only two of their most evocative and finest wines. The producers were from all over the planet and included fellow Kiwis from Blank Canvas, Framingham, Tinpot Hut, Burn Cottage and Trinity Hill.

The rest of the week’s itinerary was severely disrupted by three days of British Rail strike action - as they say, ‘some things never change’ - but, despite that, between us we managed to get to tastings and events in St Albans, Colchester, Yorkshire Dales, Edinburgh and Dundee. In London we poured Greywacke at a tasting in Battersea with Philglas and Swiggot (fill glass and swig it) and then four of Liberty’s Kiwi team headed down to Brixton to join the

THE PEOPLE

ever-energetic expat Mel Brown, for her New Zealand Roadtrip Tasting at Specialist Cellars in Pop Brixton. After pouring a taste of New Zealand for about 100 keen attendees we headed down to The Laundry, a historic commercial steam press laundry re-fitted by Mel as an all-day restaurant, café and wine shop, which opened just in time for the onset of the pandemic and the subsequent crippling series of UK lockdowns.

Soaking up the bustling atmosphere on The Laundry’s outdoor terrace, it was clear that there was absolutely no sign of a global pandemic happening in Brixton right now; in fact that had been a consistent observation during the entire trip. It really does seem, from the outside, like Covid is a thing of the distant past in UK. However, under the surface the combination of brutal lockdowns and Brexit has had a huge impact on the UK labour force, with massive numbers of people heading home to other European countries and many previous hospo employees finding other careers less susceptible and/or more family friendly.

On a more positive note, the pandemic and associated lockdowns that closed the

Kevin Judd, Warren Gibson and Andy Crozier with Melanie Brown at Pop Brixton

on-trade didn’t appear to quash UK’s love of wine one little bit - in fact the small independent wine merchants reported a steep increase in not only volume of sales, but value of sales and diversity of styles. A newly found level of wine experimentation has evolved in UK and that is now flowing through to the reopened on-trade, allowing more diversity of offerings at restaurants and hotels across the country.

As for Liberty Wines, they’ve come a long

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way since 1997 when it was founded by David Gleave MW, then a predominantly Italian specialist and today representing a selection of the best producers from each major wine region around the world. Now employing in excess of 180 staff, their last financial year was reported to be the best ever in terms of revenue and profit, so clearly they have weathered the storm well.

And btw, they never did turn that container back to the winery …thankfully!

It covers vineyard specific machinery and trellis systems, as well as learning around the wider industry and is partially covered under the FREE* Apprenticeship and Training Fund.

* Free training only available up until Dec 2022 for eligible programmes. If the programme duration goes longer, some fees will apply. Visit www.primaryito.ac.nz for more information.

NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 I

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BOB CAMPBELL

Bob’s blog

Mr Grumpy Just drink it

I have always regarded myself as a hedonist rather than a hoarder. A hoarder is someone who can’t bring themselves to open their treasured bottles of wine, while a hedonist can’t resist opening them.

I store my more precious wines in two large temperature-controlled cabinets. I recently went to add another bottle to my collection but both cabinets were full. I shuffled the bottles around to no avail.

Clearly, I needed to sort through my best bottles to make room for recent purchases.

Confession time. I don’t keep a record of wines in my cellar. I have no idea what my cabinets contain, apart from two slabs of Chinese tea. Time for a stock take, or in my case, shock take. By my guess at least 25% of the wines in my cellar are well past their ‘best by’ date. 2004 Gisborne Sauvignon Blanc anyone?

Hi, my name’s Bob and I’m a hoarder.

Don’t do as I do, do as I say. If you have more than a couple of dozen bottles, download free software from cellartracker. com or use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of your precious bottles. Don’t let them go past your ‘best by’ estimate. In the event of a fire or a burglary your insurance company will insist on seeing wine cellar records. I have been told by one Insurance Investigator that few people keep cellar records.

Cooking with Bad Wine The dinner party appeared to be successful. Everyone was full of praise for the wine selection, the lamb fillets were cooked to perfection and the atmosphere could be described as amiable.

Then the conversation turned to cooking with wine. “I just use any old wine,” ventured one of the guests, adding, “I even cook with corked and oxidised wine.” Our six guests polarised into two groups; those who were in favour of cooking with dodgy wine and those who were against it.

- “The flavour just boils off ” - “Nonsense, there will always be some residual flavour” - “I use undrinkable wine in cooking all the time and it is fine” - “Perhaps you should get a RAT test” I interrupted before violence broke out. I cook with wine all the time, but only wine that I would happily drink and often with the wine that was accompanying the meal. I was the first admit that I had never added a dodgy wine to food because I thought it might compromise the food flavour. “Let’s change the subject and I will do some research”, I promised.

First stop The Oxford Companion to Wine, Fourth Edition.

There is much debate about the necessary quality of cooking wine, some regarding the saucepan or stockpot as the ideal repository for any wine considered to nasty to drink, others insisting that only the finest wine will do. Wine with an unpleasant flavour will not lose that flavour in the kitchen, and corked wine is not advisable.

I then searched online and discovered an authoritative article headed “Should You Really Only Cook with Wine You’d Drink?

The Truth About Cooking with Wine,” by Daniel Gritzer.

He has found from experience that the wine’s characteristics are very subtle. “In many cases it makes little or no difference at all.” I agree that the first big rule is to consider sweetness. “Use a sweet wine only if you want sweetness in the final dish,” he cautions. In my experience sweetness can become even sweeter as the wine is reduced.

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Daniel’s second rule is that the acidity becomes more pronounced when cooked, which aligns with my own experience.

He cooked five batches of coq au vin with five different wines including ‘wine product’ (wine with up to 30% water added); a light red; a heavier, oaky red; a red bag-in-the-box and an oxidised wine. “These tests show that while there’s some truth to the rule of cooking only with wine you’d be willing to drink, it doesn’t hold 100% of the time,” he concluded. “I sure wouldn’t be willing to drink the ‘wine product’ and I wouldn’t want to cook with it either, but I also wouldn’t want to drink that wine that had sat open for two weeks—it had definitely gone off during that time—and yet, at least in this case, it was fine for cooking.” That is a slightly inconclusive result.

I plan to cook with the next corked wine I find and establish whether I can detect the distinctive, musty TCA character in the dish. I will compare it with the same dish cooked with the same wine that shows no sign of cork taint. Watch this space.

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THE PLACES

Exploring Place

The rise of Marlborough subregions STEPHANIE MCINTYRE As Marlborough matures as a wine growing region, there’s been a shift in approach to crafting its globally renowned Sauvignon Blanc. The region ‘cut its teeth’ blending Sauvignon Blanc batches into the best possible regional expression. But today there’s an increasing number of producers keeping parcels separate, taking the opportunity to shine a spotlight on quality while highlighting the diversity of their region.

“I view the subregional development of Marlborough as a critical next step in Marlborough’s evolution,” says Sophie Parker-Thomson MW, co-owner of Blank Canvas Wines. In celebration of this year’s International Sauvignon Blanc Day, regional organisation Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW) hosted an InstaLive featuring Sophie and fellow master of wine Emma Jenkins, who discussed the validity of “subregionality”. They took viewers on a journey into the four corners of Marlborough to increase awareness for the diversity of New Zealand’s largest grape growing region.

“I was excited to talk to Emma about Marlborough’s pursuit of subregionality as her master of wine dissertation was on the same topic,” says Sophie. “It was interesting to discuss the ‘then and now’ and it was great to see genuine cross-over in styles within the subregions.”

Emma’s research paper examined Marlborough’s subregions and their opportunities amidst the GFC and in the wake of a larger 2008 vintage. “The

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“I view the subregional development of Marlborough as a critical next step in Marlborough’s evolution.”

Sophie Parker-Thomson

acceptance of terroir as important in fine wine is absolute,” she wrote. “The pursuit of subregionalism as a mechanism for exploring and defining wines implies the same quality consideration and ambition and moves it away from commoditisation.

History shows that the quality classics of the world have strong regional and subregional focus and anchor in terroir: this is the path that stretches before Marlborough.”

Twelve years later, Marlborough is embracing its subregions. As the industry and plantings mature, wine brands are offering multiple expressions of a single varietal within their portfolio. Supporting this development is the science and sensory data that has become available to the industry, says Emma. “Dr Wendy Parr and

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

her colleagues have validated subregional differences. And industry gate-keeper research strengthens the region’s refocus, as key markets such as the US and UK have said that premium wine regions should be looking at subregions as they develop. It is important that Marlborough provides consumers a quality ladder to climb.”

The question now seems to be, ‘when will consumers be ready for Marlborough sub-regionality?’ Mel Brown of Heist Hospitality Group in the UK suggests they’re not quite there yet. “I know our Kiwi winemakers want to celebrate their corner of dirt to celebrate their terroir and style, and showcase their expressions of subregionality.

But sadly, a real lack of awareness here restricts consumers looking beyond

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brand New Zealand or, best case scenario, Marlborough.”

Master sommelier Cameron Douglas has been working closely with USA’s hospitality sector over the past decade and believes its consumers are of a similar status. “Purchases are predominantly price driven and consumers are more familiar and concerned with sourcing and drinking named brands and/or wines from specific regions,” says Cameron. “Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is an example of something they feel confident reaching for. Likewise, Pinot Noir from Central Otago carries more weight than a Pinot Noir from, say, Bannockburn, Central Otago.”

Cameron adds that “it certainly holds a lot of interest” and Marlborough should and needs to continue exploring and showcasing its subregions. “But it is up to the producers, industry organisations and gatekeepers to raise awareness for subregionality by using the names of subregions on a regular basis, so they become as recognised as the region they belong to. Messaging needs to be more than just, ‘buy New Zealand’. “ Marlborough has historically been broken into three grape growing regions: the Wairau Valley, Southern Valleys and

Awatere Valley. It has become apparent that within these subregions there are distinct macro climates that can be individually identified. Arguably, wineries such as Saint Clair, Wither Hills and Astrolabe led the way with single vineyard offerings, but many producers including Giesen, Blank Canvas and Rapaura Springs are also embracing the path.

“Sadly, a real lack of awareness here restricts consumers looking beyond brand-New Zealand or, best case scenario, Marlborough.”

Mel Brown “As early as 2002, we were making a single subregional wine from the Waihopai Valley,” says Astrolabe founder and winemaker, Simon Waghorn. Labelling their wines subregionally followed shortly thereafter, with Astrolabe’s Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc in 2005 and Kēkerengū Coast Sauvignon Blanc in 2006. “I believed that there would be a high level of interest from

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sommeliers and discerning consumers to explore the interesting sub-regional districts that make up the Marlborough appellation,” says Simon. “I thought this would enhance the credibility of Marlborough as a fine wine region and add variety and more depth to the storytelling. I also believed it gave more opportunities to find homes on wine lists where sommeliers already had a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.”

Having judged Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs in wine shows, he is well aware of the breadth and diversity of wines from the region. “I believe it is important to reinforce this diversity by showcasing wines that have particularly defined character relating to their terroir.”

Saint Clair’s marketing manager and director, Sarina Ibbottson, says consumer interest is real and growing. “Markets are asking for exclusive listings of our single vineyard and subregional wines. It’s pleasing to see this increase in consumer interest and comprehension.”

Launched in 2005, Saint Clair’s single vineyard Pioneer Block range is the result of Neal and Judy Ibbotson’s enthusiasm for producing premium, quality driven wines, says senior winemaker Stewart Maclennan.

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Stewart Maclennan

“And our desire to continually learn and develop knowledge. Myself and the winemaking team love exploring the relationship between soil, climate, site, vine stress (or lack thereof), and quality.”

Wither Hills saw potential for single vineyard wines around the same time. “2007 was a great vintage and it really showed what some of our key vineyard sites could do,” says head winemaker Matt Large.

“We wanted to pull out parcels from the bigger blends to show that vineyard selection was a key part in the winemaking process. We also wanted to showcase the influence different soil structures and climate had on growing grapes and making wine.” Matt says he’s welcomed an increase of questions about subregions, both from overseas and from visitors to the winery. Matt has his eye on the Southern Valleys, saying that the Wither Hills Taylor River vineyard is a personal favourite.

Newer to labelling their wines with vineyard designations is Rapaura Springs, who released their first single vineyard wine in 2016 and launched their subregional range, Rohe, in 2018.

“It stemmed from a desire to show (consumers) the diversity of Marlborough that we have seen over the years,” says consultant winemaker Matt Thomson. “The beauty about sub-regional definition is that it is up to producers like us, with defined fruit sources, to champion the strengths of their vineyards.” When asked if there is consumer appetite for these wines, Matt said absolutely for the more engaged consumer. “Up till now we, as a region, haven’t been good at highlighting the nuances that make the differences in expression.”

“Rapaura Springs is heavily invested in Dillons Point as a subregion,” says Matt. “We think one day it will be regarded as a cru of Marlborough. It has a wonderful and intense tropical expression of Sauvignon with a mineral-rich salinity on the palate.”

The power and future of subregional Marlborough appears to be in the hands of producers and industry bodies. ‘New Zealand Wine’ is wholly recognised and asked for, but how will Marlborough encourage consumers to take a step closer? “The USA is going to be key with regards to early adopters,” says Duncan Shouler, chief winemaker at Giesen Group. “And also younger age group consumers coming through in well established markets such as the centres in Australia.”

Giesen’s first single vineyard wine hailed from the 2012 vintage.

“For us, it was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the sub-regional soils and climate in our wine,” says Duncan. Though he admits that consumer interest is relatively low at present, he says, “where it does exist though, it certainly adds value.”

Check out the Instalive event at bit.ly/AMWinstalive

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Point of View

Climate of Change DR AMBER PARKER When I first started researching the impacts of climate change on grape and wine production in 2008, sceptics questioned the greenhouse gas component of increasing temperatures. 2050 climate projections seemed a lifetime away, and here in New Zealand, we were more concerned with a bumper yield and the global financial crisis.

Climate change was a distant, if not invisible, concern.

Fast forward to 2022, and no one was questioning the emission component of climate change. Today we have become acutely aware that climate change is influencing grape production, having experienced some of the warmest summers and warming growing seasons on record over the past three to four years. Now 2050 is just around the corner, especially if we think of a lifetime of a new vineyard or if we are replanting.

So what can we do now to look after the future of the wine industry in the context of climate change? We need to take a threepronged approach.

First, it is critical that we understand the impacts. The elephant in the room is that we if do not know what the future may potentially look like, we are ill placed to adapt. We may be tempted to ignore this step, as we cannot immediately ‘do something’ in the vineyard or winery, like we can with adaptation and mitigation.

But knowing the magnitude of potential change is critical for successful adaptation.

Aotearoa’s first electric frost fan, Forest Lodge cherry farm, Central Otago.

Research that investigates how grapes may respond to climate change, not just characterising climate change, is essential to illuminate the potential different futures we may face. For example, as part of recent research I was involved in, we found that by 2050 veraison of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc would advance by almost two weeks under the worst-case climate scenario, where temperatures are projected to be 1.5°C warmer mid-century, and 4°C by the end of the century.

Knowing this advance in the start of the

ripening period means we can now assess how to adapt. If our aim was for the timing of the start of ripening period to not change in the future, we need an adaptation strategy that can create a two-week delay in veraison.

Based on current knowledge trimming (reducing leaf area) is a known adaptation strategy to delay ripening; but this only offers a week to 10-day delay in veraison.

Therefore, we need to look seriously at our toolbox for adaptation if we are to successfully buffer the projected impacts.

This leads us to the second key point in

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our response to climate change – we need to start experimenting with how we may adapt.

Drought resistant rootstocks, efficient water use in vineyards, management practices to delay phenology and ripening, and alternate varieties are all examples of easily accessible tools in our toolbox. The research and knowledge is out there, it is about making a start now in our vineyards.

The third key point is looking at our carbon footprint. Anything we do in this space is going to contribute positively to the situation. And with rising diesel prices, there is no better time than now to get serious about it. We are over-reliant on fossil fuels for our production practices, and it may require a rethink to be able to adapt to a fossil fuel free production system in the future.

Like any good farmer we may learn a thing or two by looking over the fence and talking to our neighbour. Consider Aotearoa’s first fossil fuel free farm, the Forest Lodge cherry orchard in Central Otago, founded

by Mike and Rebecca Casey. This orchard is mitigating emissions through fossil fuel free practices and without any carbon offsetting.

Talking with the owners, the payback and benefits have already outweighed the initial

capital to achieve this.

While there may be some place for carbon sequestration as the tech comes online for us to move away from fossil fuel use, we may be able to take lessons learnt from other

“Knowing the magnitude of potential change is critical for successful adaptation.”

Dr Amber Parker producers such as Forest Lodge on how to reduce carbon emissions by eliminating sources of greenhouse gas contributions, rather than relying heavily on carbon offsetting.

So as I write this in 2022, I wonder where we will be in another 20 years’ time? Having recently attended Grape Days, I can see we are already in a climate of change, with the industry making great steps towards reducing emissions. I cannot wait to see how this evolves. With the wine industry having a goal to be carbon neutral by 2050, we have a real opportunity as an industry to be New Zealand, if not world, leaders if this space. If

a single cherry orchard can do it, why can’t we as industry?

Additional Reading • Ausseil, A-G. E., Law, R.M., Parker, A.K., Teixeira, E.I., and Sood, A. 2021. Projected Wine Grape cultivar Shifts Due to Climate Change in New Zealand. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12, 618039. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.618039.

• Parker, A. K., García de Cortázar-Atauri, I., Trought, M.C.T., Destrac, A., Agnew, R., Sturman, A., & van Leeuwen, C. 2020. Adaptation to climate change by determining grapevine cultivar differences using temperature-based phenology models. OENO One 2020, 4, 955-974. doi:10.20870/oenoone.2020.54.4.3861.

• van Leeuwen, C., Destrac-Irvine, A., Dubernet, M., Duchêne, E., Gowdy, M., Marguerit, E., Pieri, P., Parker, A. K., de Rességuier, L., & Ollat, N. (2019). An update on the impact of climate change in viticulture and potential adaptations.

Agronomy, 9(9). doi:10.3390/ agronomy9090514.

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Wine Weather

Tiki Wine

What’s been going on?

JAMES MORRISON La Niña weakened earlier this year, but never got knocked to the canvas. This phase has remained with us throughout winter and there are continuing signs that it may continue into summer 2022-23. It is likely that the long-range forecasts for spring 2022 are going to be quite similar to spring 2021.

The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) is not the only climate driver that appears to be a bit stuck.

Sea surface temperatures continue to remain above normal, and the SOI remains in a positive phase. This generally reduces the frequency of the traditional westerlies that often buffet the country during spring.

Low pressure can bring wild extremes Recent weather events through winter have shown us how wild our weather can be when large amounts of warm and cold air are mixed. In North America this mixing goes to the extreme as very cold air moves south out of the Arctic and stays cold as it moves southwards across the continental plain. Warmer air from the Gulf of Mexico moves north and when these airmasses converge we see the incredible supercell thunderstorms and massive tornadoes that can headline the news.

In our part of the world this convergence is not as extreme, but it still occurs. In May, a series of active fronts brought severe

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thunderstorms and tornadoes to much of the west coast of the North Island and heavy rain events have peppered many regions over the past few months. La Niña makes these scenarios more likely, however warmer than average sea temperatures are also contributing due to the increased amount of moisture available.

When colder air is dragged northwards into the mix, the scene is set for a very turbulent time. Mild, humid air has been brought down to us out of the tropics and meets colder air from the Southern Ocean and New Zealand sits right on the boundary where this battle between warm and cold takes place. With very little sign of change

THE PLACES

over the next six to nine months it is likely that these events may continue into 2023.

Outlook for August and September Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay Temperatures are likely to remain above average for early spring. Sea temperatures remain quite mild, so even with an increased northeast flow the mean temperature is likely to be above normal.

We are still going to see periods of the spring north westerlies giving a bit of a windy blast, however these may be fewer than average. The continued northeast flow keeps the rainfall probability near average, with a reasonable chance of above average rainfall. The chances of frost are lower than average due to higher mean temperatures and the onshore northeast flow dominating.

This may bring higher than normal humidity at times. There will still be a risk of frost due to high pressure moving in behind any cold changes and the longer nights of early spring.

Wairarapa Similar to Hawke’s Bay with onshore

northeasterlies at times, the effects of these winds may be reduced thanks to local topography, however there is still a risk of rain events throughout spring. The north westerlies that usually dominate spring will still appear from time to time, but the frequency is likely to be lower than average.

The risk of frost is a little lower than average but cold nights are still possible under a light northeast flow.

Nelson A warmer than average start to spring is expected in Nelson. Mild north to northeast flows should keep overnight temperatures milder close to the coast. Rainfall is likely to be near average with an increased risk of a heavy rain event during early spring. The risk of frost remains below average in line with the North Island regions.

Marlborough/North Canterbury With a northeast flow we see more moisture pushed onshore and this can slow the rate of cooling overnight. Daytime temperatures remain above average and night-time minimums are likely to be close to average.

The effects of the northeast flow and low pressure systems moving south start to

become less frequent and while there is an increased risk of a heavy rain event, we can also see high pressure moving over the lower South Island and giving periods of settled weather. The risk of frost is lower than average as we move further into spring, but there is still a reasonable risk of frost through early spring, especially about inland valleys and areas away from the coast.

Central Otago While low pressure dominates the north, there is a chance that high pressure may bring more settled conditions to the lower South Island through early spring. Cold air may be dragged northwards from time to time, so there is still a risk of the occasional cold spell and more settled conditions may lead to a frequency of frost that is closer to average. Day time temperatures are likely to warm quickly and are expected to be above average. It is possible that there is quite a large range between daily minimum and maximum temperatures. Rainfall is likely to be close to average, but some areas may start to drop below average if high pressure is allowed to dominate.

James Morrison runs Weatherstation Frost Forecasting Ltd – weatherstation.net.nz

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Biosecurity Research Update

Borders reopening - are we prepared?

SOPHIE BADLAND From 11.59pm on Sunday 31 July, all New Zealand visa categories reopened for application for travellers from anywhere in the world. The maritime border has also opened, allowing cruise ships and other foreign vessels to re-enter New Zealand waters. While hospitality and tourism businesses will embrace the influx of travellers with open arms, it will also add an element of biosecurity risk our system hasn’t had to deal with for more than two years. Is the system ready to respond?

Border Force Bolstering the Ranks During Covid-19, a much-reduced border force was retained for sea cargo clearance and clearing flights of returning New Zealanders. When it became clear that the borders would remain closed for some time, many quarantine officers and detector dog handlers working at the border in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown were seconded into other roles within the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

Some appointments have been made permanent, while others have returned to the border, so recruitment has been underway in preparation for the border reopening. Three new dog teams have been deployed in Auckland, and one is heading to Queenstown airport. Wellington and Queenstown both had several new quarantine officers trained last year, and an additional 40 should be in place in Auckland by the end of this year.

The Passenger Pathway: Airports & Cruise Ships At the timing of writing (before 31 July), international flights were arriving in New Zealand from Singapore, Fiji, Vanuatu, United Arab Emirates, New Caledonia, China, Hawaii, Rarotonga, the United States and Australia. MPI reports many of these passengers were Kiwis returning home, families reuniting, and holidaymakers, with business travel just starting to pick up.

Throughout June, Auckland Airport was processing around 27,000 international passengers a week; as a comparison, pre-pandemic they were clearing up to 22,000 a day. Although there is a long way to go, Auckland Airport management expects passenger numbers to rise to 80% of pre-pandemic levels by Christmas this year, while Queenstown Airport expects international traffic to be around 75% of pre-pandemic levels this winter.

The maritime border closed to cruise ships two years ago, in April 2020. Before this, a biosecurity accreditation scheme was in place in which most cruise lines were participating, meaning limited interventions were necessary upon their arrival to New Zealand. This scheme has been refreshed for the coming season to become the Recognised Cruise Line Programme, where vessels must submit in advance documented processes outlining how they manage biosecurity risk above the waterline.

A selection of vessels from each cruise line are then audited to determine the

overall verification approach. Applied interventions can include physical checks of the ship and stores by quarantine officers, use of detector dogs and hand searching of passenger luggage, and the use of mobile x-ray machines. Cruise lines that are not part of the accreditation programme will receive greater scrutiny before and on arrival. MPI has stated they will have a noticeable presence at ports around the country at the beginning of the 2022 cruise season, to reinforce to cruise passengers and vessel staff the importance of biosecurity to New Zealand.

Tools & Technology: 3D Scanners, Digital Passenger Declarations, RFID Bag Tagging and The Bug While most of the biosecurity x-ray machines used at international airports throughout the country are 2D standard, two new 3D scanning machines have been trialled at Auckland Airport. One of these is specifically for hand luggage, which is higher risk for fruit fly host material.

The 3D scanners are more than twice as effective at detecting biosecurity risk goods.

While passenger numbers have been few throughout the border closures, biosecurity officers have been running trials and gathering data to develop algorithms, which will allow the machines to ‘learn’ over time and automatically detect risk goods. A 3D scanner is also being trialled at the International Mail Centre, with funding in place for more to go into New Zealand Post’s new processing facility in

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THE PLACES

Technology for efficient irrigation management

The Border Space, MPI.

Wiri later this year.

As well as 3D scanning, Biosecurity NZ has also started trialling the use of RFID (radio frequency identification) tags. Baggage items can be RFID-tagged to identify them as they pass through the 3D scanners, allowing for images to be matched remotely. Eventually, this may enable baggage screening to take place before passengers uplift their bags from the arrivals carousel, with any biosecurity threats pre-identified for intervention.

If you’ve returned to New Zealand since March this year, chances are you had to fill out an electronic New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD). While this covers mainly health information relating to Covid-19, work is now underway to include the customs and biosecurity declarations. Ultimately, this should mean more efficiency for arriving travellers at New Zealand airports, and the end of the manually processed paper-based arrival cards.

In the sea cargo pathway, a robot known as ‘The Bug’ (or Hades-5 inspection robot) is being trialled for imported vehicle inspections.

Resembling a combination of a skateboard and a crawling insect, The Bug has cameras attached and has already inspected over 700 vehicles, providing a safer and more effective alternative to physical inspection of the underside of vehicles, which would otherwise need to be ramped or hoisted. In the next round of trials, The Bug will also inspect imported heavy machinery and sea containers for contamination.

Playing Our Part – General Surveillance and Biosecurity Awareness While border biosecurity measures are being ramped up again to mitigate the risks the influx of travellers will carry with them, the biosecurity system relies on everyone to play their part. New Zealand Winegrowers encourages all vineyard members to ensure they have a biosecurity plan in place and to ensure that staff, contractors and visitors are well-educated about the risks they may pose to a vineyard site. Having good awareness of unwanted exotic pests and diseases is also important. For more information and resources to assist with biosecurity on your site, head to nzwine. com/members/sustainability/biosecurity, and remember if you see anything unusual to Catch It, Snap It and Report It to the Biosecurity NZ hotline on 0800 80 99 66.

Sophie Badland is Biosecurity & Emergency Response Manager at New Zealand Winegrowers

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XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX On your behalf

Advocacy on matters of vital importance to the industry

Larissa Trownson

Annual Members’ Meeting This year, NZW’s Annual Members’ Meeting will be held in person on Thursday 1 September at 3pm at the Bragato Research Institute Board Room, Marlborough Research Centre, 85 Budge Street, Blenheim.

For members unable to attend in person, the meeting will be livestreamed, and a proxy can be appointed for voting purposes. Information on how to appoint a proxy, alongside further information on the Meeting, can be

found on the NZW website at nzwine. com/members/about-us/governance/ annual-members-meeting-2022/. If you have any questions, please contact the NZW Advocacy team at advocacy@nzwine.com.

NZW Levy Class Directors Election: Nominations Now Open This September, NZW members get to vote on the election of five Levy Class Directors to serve a four-year term on the NZW Board.

The Election, including the nomination process, will be run by electionz.com, an independent election management company who has run many elections for NZW in the past.

NOMINATION PROCESS Nominations are now open and will run until 12 noon on Wednesday 10 August.

Who may stand as a candidate?

To be nominated as a candidate, a person must be a member or member representative of NZW. In addition, the Rules of NZW require that they must not have been: • declared bankrupt in the previous 15 years; • convicted of any crimes involving dishonesty, fraud, forgery, bribery or corruption or participation in an organised criminal group, or any other criminal offence (unless the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004) applies; or • disqualified from managing corporations under section 382 of the Companies Act 1993.

industry as a whole.

The Board usually meets every second month of the year and will hold additional meetings as the need warrants. Meetings can be anywhere from two hours to a full day, and take place in different regions, with each second meeting is usually being held

by Zoom.

In addition, Directors may sit on Board Committees and other working groups.

How are candidates nominated?

You can find more information about becoming a candidate and being a Director in the Candidate Information and Election Guide, which also includes the nomination form. This is available from electionz. com/NZW2022/NZW2022Handbook.pdf.

Alternatively, the online nomination form can be found at nominations.electionz. com/NominationForm/Create/31. More information can be requested from, and any questions directed to, electionz.com at 0800 666 043 or iro@electionz.com.

What is involved with being a Director on the NZW Board?

The Board’s role is to govern and provide strategic direction to NZW as the national grape and wine industry body. It is a fundamental obligation of all Directors to act in the best interests of NZW and the

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VOTING PROCESS Voting in the Election will open at 10am on Monday 12 September and close at 12 noon on Friday 23 September. Members eligible to cast a vote will receive an email directly from electionz.com when voting opens.

As a levy class election, every member will have one vote for each dollar of levy: for grapes, due to NZW in respect of sales for the 2021 vintage and for wine, due to NZW in respect of sales during the year 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022; and for both, paid to NZW by 30 June 2022.

Cumulative voting will be used, which means each member may allocate its votes amongst candidates however it likes.

More information on voting is to come. In the interim, if you have any questions, you can contact electionz. com at the details above or the NZW Advocacy Team at advocacy@nzwine.com.

ADVOCACY MATTERS

Levy rates for 2022/2023 unchanged On 23 June 2022, the Board set the levy rates for the year 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 as those of the previous year: • Wine levy: The levy rate to apply to sales of grape wine is 2.75 cents plus GST per litre.

• Grape levy: The levy rate on winegrapes from Vintage 2023 is set at the rate of 0.825% as follows: (a) if sold by or on behalf of the grower, 0.825% of the farm-gate price plus GST; (b) if exported by or on behalf of the grower, 0.825% of the free on-board value plus GST; (c) if made into grape juice or grape juice concentrate, 0.825% of the notional value plus GST. In the case of (c), the notional price for the year 2023 vintage has been set as 75% quartile for the region and variety concerned as determined from the 2022 vintage as listed in the last published version of the New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) grape price data for that vintage. If you have any questions about this, please contact Hannah Stanton-Kerr at hannah@nzwine.com or (09) 306 5528.

These rates are set by NZW pursuant to clause 9(1) of the Wine (Grape Wine Levy) Order 2022 and clause 11(1) of the Commodity Levies (Winegrapes) Order 2022.

From 1 July 2022, after extensive consultation in 2021, the maximum amount of wine levy payable increased to the amount payable on 24 million litres (from 20 million litres).

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If you have any questions, please contact the NZW Advocacy team at advocacy@nzwine.com.

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Nuts and bolts

MACHINERY UPDATES

Mark Daniel’s updates on machinery and technology

SAM Vineyard Spreader Based in the heart of the Waikato, New Zealand manufacturer Coombridge & Alexander is well known for its range of yellow and green SAM Fertiliser spreaders, feeder wagons and tip trailers. In 2020, the company’s 75th anniversary year, they took the opportunity to move into the horticulture and viticulture markets with their new SAM orchard/vineyard spreader.

Now viticulturists can choose between spreading or banding from the tractor seat at the touch of a button. This is made possible by the configuration of the main hopper belt, that move forwards for banding/piling, and backwards for spreading, offering the versatility to spread a wide range of products. From the rear the machine can easily spread

superphosphate, lime, urea and chicken manure, or band/pile compost, vermicast, or mulch from the front.

Featuring a single axle layout, the spreader has a capacity of 2 cubic metres, but can be optioned with top hats for extra capacity. Standard features include an 800mm wide floor-belt, an intuitive computer controller, front and rear safety nudge bars, the rear spinner assembly, combined spinner RPM control and the

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fixed front conveyor.

With a low profile and narrow width, the spreaders offer orchardists and viticulturists great maneuverability and a wide range of options of what they can spread. Looking at the front conveyor, the assembly is designed to band bulk products such as vermicast compost or even notoriously tricky mulch, dispensing material to the right-hand side of the machine. Offering the ability to apply

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I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

MACHINERY NEWS

Spit Green Offers Mulching Alternative Christchurch-headquartered company FarmChief, already well known for a diverse range of agricultural machinery brands, has recently established a Horticultural Solutions portfolio. This will focus on delivering products for the viticulture, orchard and grower sectors, chosen to suit New Zealand conditions, with high quality and a low cost of operation.

A clever side discharge mulcher, manufactured by Falc of Italy, is dubbed the Spit Green range, offering 1.78, 1.92, 2.2 and 2.34 metre working widths, numbered the 1200, 1350, 1650 and 1800 models respectively.

While the main body of the mulcher mirrors that of a standard machine, incorporating heavy-duty rotor fitted with cast steel hammer flails inside a double skinned body, the upper hood incorporates twin discharge chutes, which can be accurately controlled hydraulically to deposit chopped material to each side of the machine.

This allows finely chopped material such as grass, vine trimmings or weed material to be place directly in rows at the base of plants, creating three distinct advantages. This includes the mulched material acting as a natural fertiliser aimed at improving nutrients in the upper soil layers. The second aspect is moisture retention, achieved by reducing transpiration, that can be particularly advantageous to young plants, while weed

material in a continuous windrow or as strategically placed piles, in either case, the operator has a clear view of the spreading as it takes place. Application control takes a flick of the switch to instantly start or stop the application, with both conveyors switching together, meaning material is preloaded for the next run.

The rear, twin spreader unit features extensive use of stainless steel in the discs and spinner tubes making them suitable for granular fertilisers or lime. The spreading discs are driven via enclosed stainless-steel spinner tubes and two variable speed hydraulic motors.

“With a low profile and narrow width, the spreaders offer orchardists and viticulturists great maneuverability.”

Taking a closer look at the machine’s general construction, firstly the chassis gets a steel grit abrasive blast, followed by a thermal-arc pure zinc spray, a primer, and finally a two-pack epoxy topcoat.

The spreader bin is also constructed from stainless steel to offer a comprehensive package of corrosion protection and a long service life.

The SAM computer controller, rated to an IP 67 rating for water resistance, makes it easy for the operator to choose spreading or banding, by simply entering the spreading rate, density and tractor centres. Optional extras include a heavy-duty swivel drawbar coupling, LED lights for road use, individual spinner control, customer hopper widths, axle risers, a choice of tyre options and a touch screen display. For those working in arduous or extended conditions, temperature monitors and oil coolers are available, while spinner specific options include right-handed discharge only and another for blocking centre discharge. sammachinery.co.nz

suppression helps to maintain healthier vines without an overreliance on inorganic herbicides.

Said to be suitable for fitment to tractors from around 50hp, the Spit Green range features a 540 rpm PTO input, weigh in at up to 560kg and achieve constant cutting height via adjustable side skids of optional depth wheels. farmchief.co.nz

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RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT

A regular feature to inform industry about research projects being undertaken for their benefit. Newly approved projects (when available) are briefly summarised and longer reports will describe what has been achieved so far. When completed, each project will be reported in full detail with references, on nzwine.com

Research Supplement

NZW Inc, Maori Point Vineyard

Information and updates on Bragato Research Institute research programmes.

CONTRACTED RESEARCH PROJECTS Quality Wine Styles for Existing and Developing Markets Breaking the quality-productivity seesaw in wine grape production (Pinot Noir Programme) University of Auckland, Plant and Food Research and Lincoln University (Various) jointly funded by NZW and MBIE Prevention of quercetin instability in bottled wine Villa Maria Wines Limited (O Powrie) The effect of winemaking decisions on polysaccharide content in wine University of Auckland (B Fedrizzi) Understanding green character in Pinot noir wine Lincoln University (D Torrico) Exploring reductive aromas in Pinot noir University of Auckland (B Fedrizzi) Precipitation of calcium tartrate and other compounds in wine University of Canterbury (K Morison) Effect of bentonite addition prior to cold soaking on Pinot noir wine colour, tannin and aroma profile Lincoln University (B Tian)

Pests and Disease Improving remedial surgery practices for control of grapevine trunk disease to increase vineyard longevity Linnaeus (E van Zijll de Jong) Improving the outcomes of mealybug insecticide use in vineyards Plant and Food Research (V Bell) Central Otago mealybug and grapevine leafroll virus management Bragato Research Institute (L Ibbotson) Weevils in New Zealand vineyards Bragato Research Institute (L Ibbotson)

Cost Reduction/Increased Profitability Long spur pruning as an alternative to cane pruning for Sauvignon blanc in Marlborough Bragato Research Institute (L Ibbotson)

The Vineyard Environment Vineyard Ecosystems Programme University of Auckland and Plant and Food Research (Various) Jointly funded by NZW and MBIE

National Vine Collection Virus Eradication Bragato Research Institute (D Lizamore)

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The effect of herbicide, buffered herbicide and under-vine weeding on soil biological communities and other measures of soil health.

Bragato Research Institute (M Barry) Development of an anaerobic chainelongation bioprocess for grape marc valorisation University of Auckland (S Yi)

Weather and Climate Sauvignon Blanc Grapevine Improvement Programme Bragato Research Institute (D Lizamore) Climate case study – Managing hail damaged vineyards Bragato Research Institute (L Ibbotson) Microbial community and vine responses to increasing temperatures in the New Zealand context University of Auckland (S Knight) Assessing foliar fertiliser for grapevine frost recovery Bragato Research Institute (L Ibbotson)

RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT

Long spur pruning as an alternative to cane pruning for Sauvignon blanc in Marlborough M. Carmo Vasconcelos1*, Stewart Field2, Mark Allen, Tanya Rutan1, Santiago Mendez2, Yuichi Ando1, Fang Gou1, and Len Ibbotson1 (1Bragato Research Institute; 2Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology; *Report author)

ABSTRACT The combination of increasing production costs, a constrained labour supply and increasing vineyard area all signal a need to explore alternative production systems for producing Sauvignon blanc. Long spur pruning has shown promise as an alternative to cane pruning for Sauvignon blanc in Marlborough, with the potential for reduced labour inputs at a similar yield and quality. Spur pruning has a greater potential for full automation than cane pruning.

A comparison of cane and long spur pruning was initiated at four Wairau Valley vineyards. The typical Marlborough pruning system of four canes per vine (4C) is compared to vines with the same number of buds but pruned to four bud spurs (4BS).

It is known that bud fertility increases from the base towards the middle of the vine cane in most varieties.

It follows that to achieve similar yields, more buds need to be left on spur pruned vines than cane pruned vines. For this reason, an additional treatment of five-bud spurs (5BS) with 23% more buds than the fourcane or four-bud spurs was also introduced.

We are reporting on the data collected during the first season following conversion from cane to long spur. Cane pruned vines had fewer leaf layers than 4BS in two of the four vineyards in December and in one of the vineyards in February.

As expected, bud fruitfulness (bunches/bud left at pruning) was 19% lower in the spur pruned vines than cane pruned vines. The number of berries per bunch was also lower in spur-pruned vines. Compared

to cane pruned vines, yields were lower in the 4BS treatment in two of the four vineyards and lower in the 5BS treatment in one of the four vineyards. Juice soluble sugars were higher in spur pruned vines in two of the vineyards, probably due to the lower yields. There were no differences in incidence and severity of powdery mildew or botrytis. There were also no pruning system differences in wine thiols and methoxypyrazines.

INTRODUCTION To ensure its financial sustainability, the wine industry places a high priority on increasing profitability.

There are no expedient ways of lowering the manual labour inputs needed for high-quality wine grape cultivation in New Zealand, and labour prices are quickly rising. This is especially true when it comes to winter pruning.

Although anecdotal data suggests that this variety can be successfully spur pruned, Marlborough Sauvignon blanc growers still favour labourintensive cane pruning. The combination of rising production costs, a limited labour pool, and expanding vineyard area in Marlborough exacerbates the need to investigate alternate production methods for Sauvignon blanc.

Delivering unbiased, scientific data on the effect of pruning systems on the performance of Sauvignon blanc will provide the basis for decision making.

The production of quality grapes generally goes hand in hand with controlling yields. Unlike other crops, winegrowers do not seek maximum yield but optimal yield according

to the level of quality desired and the economic profitability of their vineyard (Ollat, 2002). Consequently, the study of the effects of cultural practices on grape production is rarely disconnected from the qualitative aspect. Yield components are number of vines/ha, number of buds/vine, bud fruitfulness (number of bunches/bud), number of berries/ bunch (determined by fruit set) and berry size. The yield/ha largely depends on the number of buds/ ha left at the pruning, i.e. the load of buds/ha. Cultural practices significantly affect bud fertility, fruit set rate, and berry weight. Finally, controlling yield is based on the idea of a negative relationship between the level and quality of production, the foundations of which need to be clarified.

The pruning method depends above all on the fertility of the grape variety.

Spur pruning is used for grape varieties fertile on the basal buds (e.g. Merlot) and cane pruning for those of low fertility on the basal buds. It has indeed been shown that fertility increases from the base towards the middle of the vine cane (Meneguzzi et al., 2020).

The pruning method is a means of controlling yield since, at the same level of bud load, the average fertility will be different for spur pruned or cane pruned vines. As an example, Argillier (1989) (cited in Ollat 2002)) reported that spur-pruned Cabernet Sauvignon has a fertility index (average number of bunches per bud left at pruning) of 1.22 and an average bunch weight of 162g.

The same variety cane-pruned has a fertility index of 1.92 and an average bunch weight of 204 g. Murisier and Spring (1986) also recorded

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RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT

Figure 1. Pruning treatments

lower yields for Chasselas spur pruned than cane pruning. In New Zealand, Bennett and Trought (2009) measured a decrease of more than 40% in yield during the conversion year and around 25% in the following year when 4-cane pruned Sauvignon blanc vines were converted to spur pruning (2-bud spurs). However, one of the reasons for this decrease was the different number of buds left at pruning.

The effect of the pruning system on the quality of grapes with equal yield has not yet been clearly demonstrated. The pruning method is still closely linked to regional practices and the level of production desired for a given type of wine. For Sauvignon blanc in Marlborough, long spur pruning has shown promise as an alternative to cane pruning, with the potential for reducing labour inputs at a similar yield and quality.

Moreover, a spur-pruned system has a higher potential for complete automation than a cane-pruned system.

A modified spur pruning strategy might provide a quick and easy fix for these issues without completely retrofitting the system. The project aims to examine the effectiveness of long spur pruning in multiple Marlborough vineyards and give growers the knowledge they need to decide whether this alternative

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pruning technique is appropriate for their circumstances.

MATERIALS AND METHODS Vineyard sites Four Sauvignon blanc vineyards in the Wairau Valley of Marlborough were used in the experiment.

Vineyard location, soil characteristics, scion, rootstock, plant density, planting year, previous pruning system, and bud load are summarised in Table 1.

Pruning treatments A comparison of cane and long spur pruning was investigated (Figure 1). The typical Marlborough pruning system of four canes per vine (4C) was compared to vines with the same number of buds but pruned to 4BS. Because we expected lower bud fruitfulness on the long spur treatment and therefore lower yield with the same bud load, an additional treatment of 5BS with 23% more buds than the four-cane or four-bud spurs was also introduced (Table 1). Treatments were applied to four adjacent vines in a randomised complete block design and were replicated six times. Data were collected in the two middle vines of each plot. Pruning started on 28th June and was completed on 5th July 2021.

Canopy density Vine canopies were assessed by

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

Point quadrat analysis in December, before leaf plucking (E-L 27/ BBCH 71) and after leaf plucking in February (E-L 35/BBCH 81). Two vines per plot were monitored.

Thirty-four insertions per vine, 17 at each of the two fruiting zones totalling 68 per plot, were used (Table 1).

Powdery mildew assessment Powdery mildew monitoring was carried out on 21 December 2021 (E-L 27 - 29) and 20 January 2022 (E-L 32). All bunches on eight shoots per plot (four shoots per vine) were scored for incidence and severity of powdery mildew using the app PMapp (software developed by the University of Adelaide).

Yield components and fruit composition The number of bunches and shoots per count node was recorded on one cane per vine on cane-pruned vines or two distal spurs on spur-pruned vines. The fruit was hand-harvested.

The incidence and severity of Botrytis bunch rot were assessed by scoring the entire population of bunches and by recording the weights of sound and diseased fruit on each plot. The number of bunches per vine was recorded and used to calculate bunch weights.

Berry weight was estimated from a 100 berry sample collected from each plot. Care was taken to sample

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Vineyard 1

Vineyard 2

Vineyard 3

Vineyard 4

GPS coordinates latitude S 41° 29’ 30” S 41° 29’ 21” S 41° 25’ 05” S 41° 27’ 39” longitude E 173° 55’ 52” E 173° 57’ 31” E 174° 00’ 48” E 173° 53’ 41” Soils classification Orthic Gley Soils Fluvial Recent Soils Fluvial Recent Soils Fluvial Recent Soils family Flaxton Selwyn Rangitata Selwyn origin alluvium alluvium alluvium alluvium soil material hard sandstone rock hard sandstone rock hard sandstone rock hard sandstone rock soil depth >1m >1m 5 – 25 cm >1m potential rooting depth 80 – 99 cm unlimited 5 – 80 cm unlimited drainage poorly drained well-drained well-drained well-drained water-holding capacity high high low high water logging vulnerability high very low very low very low topsoil texture silt silt sand silt subsoil texture silt silt gravel silt gravel content in topsoil stoneless stoneless moderately stony stoneless gravel content in subsoil <3% <3% extremely gravelly <3% Year planted 2002 2008 2003 200 Vine spacing (row x vine) 3.0 x 2.4 2.8 x 1.8 2.2 x 1.8 3.0 x 1.8 Vines/ha 1389 1984 2525 1852 Bottom fruiting wire height (mm) 850 850 900 1000 Top fruiting wire height (mm) 1050 950 1100 1250 Sauvignon blanc clone BDX316 UCD 1 (MS) UCD 1 (MS) UCD 1 (MS) Rootstock S04 Schwarzmann 101-14 3309 Previous pruning system 4 canes 4 canes 3 canes 4 canes Bud load – 4 cane and 4BS (buds /m2) 7.8 9.5 11.1 9.6 Bud load – 5BS (buds/m2) 9.6 11.7 13.6 11.9 Point quadrat insertion height (mm) 900 & 1130 940 & 1110 1000 & 1130 1130 & 13300 Table 1: Vineyard site characteristics

both sides of the canopy and different locations and exposures within the bunches. Samples were kept chilled during transport to the laboratory. The number of berries per bunch was obtained from bunch weight and berry weight. The 100-

berry sample was crushed by hand and sieved through a strainer. The juice samples were analysed for juice soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, malic acid, and yeast assimilable nitrogen using FTIR at the Bragato Research Winery.

Winemaking The sound fruit from two field replicates (15 kg from each plot) was pooled in the winery to obtain three ferments per pruning treatment (nine wines per site) for sites two, three, and four. Standard small-

Figure 2. Shoot density in response to pruning treatments NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 I

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lot Sauvignon Blanc winemaking procedures were followed.

Wine aroma compounds Wine volatile thiols and methoxypyrazines were analysed by Hill Laboratories Limited.

Statistical analysis Statistical analysis of data was conducted using analysis of variance (ANOVA) for parametric data and the Friedman test for non-parametric

data, as appropriate, using the R programming language (R-CoreTeam, 2019). The Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference test was used to compare means of parametric data and the Pairwise Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test for non-parametric data.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION CANOPY ARCHITECTURE Shoot density The number of shoots per linear metre was higher for the 5BS

Vineyard 4 C 4 BS 5 BS E-L 27, 07/12/2021, before leaf plucking leaf layer number 1 3.49 b* 3.83 a 3.79 ab 2 3.80 3.79 3.95 3 2.98 3.07 3.40 4 3.25 b 3.77 a 3.73 ab

% interior leaves 1 45% 48% 48% 2 48% 48% 50% 3 39% 38% 43% 4 41% b 48% a 47% ab

% interior bunches 1 84% 95% 89% 2 93% 88% 89% 3 81% 87% 85% 4 89% 9 0% 91%

% gaps 1 0% 0% 0% 2 0% 0% 0% 3 2% 0% 1% 4 1% 0% 0%

E-L 35, 16/02/2022, after leaf plucking leaf layer number 1 2.78 2.92 3.01 2 3.00 2.97 2.90 3 2.11 2.30 2.10 4 2.73 b 3.09 a 3.08 a

% interior leaves 1 37% 38% 41% 2 39% 39% 37% 3 26% 29% 26% 4 36% 39% 40%

% interior bunches 1 66% 64% 63% 2 66% 66% 61% 3 39% 37% 35% 4 67% 75% 68%

% gaps 1 1% 1% 1% 2 0% 0% 0% 3 3% 2% 3% 4 1% 0% 0% * Differences in the letters within rows indicate significant differences Table 2. Point quadrat analysis of vine canopies in response to pruning treatment conducted pre-leaf plucking in December and post leaf plucking in February. N= 408: 2 vines x 34 insertions/vine x 6 replicates 82

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treatment in one of the four vineyards (Figure 2). This is maybe a reflection of the higher bud number in this treatment Canopy density Canopies were denser prior to leaf plucking in December, with more than three leaf layers. Cane pruned vines had fewer leaf layers than 4BS in two of the four vineyards in December and in one of the vineyards in February (Table 2). A higher percentage of interior leaves was also recorded in December on treatment 4BS but in only one of the four vineyards. There were no differences in the percentage of canopy gaps and interior bunches (Table 2). Treatment BS canopies did not differ from the other two treatments except for the number of leaf layers post leaf plucking in vineyard 4 when it was denser than the 4C vines (Table 2).

YIELD COMPONENTS AND FRUIT COMPOSITION The number of buds left at pruning varied from site to site, reflecting the different plant spacings and site vigour. Cane-pruned and 4BS vines had the same bud density, while 5BS vines had the same number of spurs as the 4BS treatment, but each spur had five buds (Table 3).

FRUITFULNESS Treatment 4BS reached 50% bud burst two days ahead of the other treatments in vineyard 4 (data not shown). Per cent bud burst was lower for treatment 5BS in two sites (Table 3). This may be the reflection of the higher bud number in this treatment.

There are several indices to express fruitfulness. When deciding on bud loads at pruning, viticulturists use their knowledge on bud fruitfulness (number of bunches per bud left at pruning) which encompasses per cent bud burst and bunches per shoot. Bud fruitfulness was lower for the five-bud spur treatment in three sites (Table 3). Again, this may result from the higher bud number on this treatment. It was also lower for the four-bud spur treatment in one of the sites. Spur pruned vines have a higher proportion of basal buds,

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known to have lower fertility. Another fertility index is fruitfulness or the number of bunches per shoot. This index is used during the season to forecast yields. The indices differ, and fruitfulness is typically higher than bud fruitfulness because not all count buds produce shoots. Fruitfulness was lower for the spur-pruned vines but only on one of the sites (Table 3).

BUNCH ARCHITECTURE The number of berries per bunch was lower in spur-pruned vines in two vineyards (table 3). Berry weights varied little across the vineyards and pruning treatments. They were lower for cane pruned vines in one of the vineyards (Table 3). The resulting bunch weights did not vary much across treatments, with 4BS vines having smaller bunches in one of the sites (Table 3).

FRUIT YIELD Fruit yield exceeded the target of 15 onne/ha, set at the beginning of the experiment for all but one treatment in one site (Table 3).

Treatment 4BS tended to have lower yields than the other treatments, but the differences were only significant in two sites. At site 4, the cane pruned vines had much higher fruit yields than other treatments and other sites. We do not have an explanation for this inconsistency.

FRUIT COMPOSITION From all the measured parameters, only juice soluble solids showed some response to pruning treatments. Juice soluble sugars were higher in spur pruned vines in two of the vineyards, probably due to the lower yields (Figure 3).

DISEASE INCIDENCE There were no treatment differences in powdery mildew or botrytis incidence and severity (data not shown). Wine aroma compounds There were no significant differences in volatile thiols and methoxypyrazines in response to pruning treatments (Table 4).

CONCLUSIONS One must exert caution when extracting meaning from the data

Vineyard 4 C 4 BS 5 BS

Buds/m2 1 7.8 b 7.8 b 9.6 a 2 9.5 b 9.5 b 11.7 a 3 11.1 b 11.1 b 13.6 a 4 9.6 b 9.6 b 11.9 a

Per cent bud burst 1 0.81 a 0.83 a 0.75 a (shoots/count bud) 2 0.94 a 0.92 a 0.87 a 3 0.91 a 0.84 ab 0.73 b 4 0.93a 0.9 a 0.78 b

Bud fruitfulness 1 1.43 a 1.29 ab 1.28 b (bunches/count bud) 2 1.44 1.38 1.30 3 1.29 a 1.14 ab 1.03 b 4 1.54 a 1.14 b 1.03 c

Fruitfulness 1 1.78 a 1.55 a 1.72 a (bunches/ shoot) 2 1.53 a 1.51 a 1.5 a 3 1.41 a 1.36 a 1.43 a 4 1.67 a 1.27 b 1.34 b

Berries/ bunch 1 61.8 60.3 58.5 2 57.9 53.6 53.9 3 66.1 a 60.0 b 61.6 ab 4 67.7 a 57.6 b 58.5 b

Berry weight (g) 1 2.56 2.59 2.57 2 2.20 2.28 2.27 3 1.97 b 2.10 a 2.06 a 4 2.17 2.18 2.19

Bunch weight 1 157.7 155.7 150.4 (g) 2 126.9 122.4 122.1 3 130.5 126.1 126.9 4 146.3 a 125.4 b 127.9 ab

Fruit yield 1 17.6 15.5 18.5 (tonne/ha) 2 17.4 ab 16.1 b 18.7 a 3 18.6 16.0 17.7 4 21.7 a 13.9 b 15.7 b Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 5% level.

Table 3. Yield and yield components of Sauvignon Blanc in response to pruning treatments

obtained in the conversion year of a pruning system change. There are many examples of vines suffering a period of instability until a new balance is reached. As we expected, to obtain equivalent yields when spur pruning, a higher bud number is needed than when cane pruning because of the lower bud fruitfulness of basal buds. We did not see an impact on fruit composition, and yield components were not consistently affected by the pruning system. The few results available

at the time of this report on wine volatile composition also showed no effect of the pruning system.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to acknowledge George Jensen and Aalborg Vineyard, Jeremy Walsh and Marlborough Research Centre, Ben Burridge and Wither Hills, Dominic Pecchenino and Matador Estate for hosting the experimental blocks and New Zealand Winegrowers for funding this research.

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Figure 3. Effect of pruning system on juice soluble solids of Sauvignon blanc vines

LITERATURE CITED Vineyard 4 C 4 BS

2 9.33 a 10.20 a 3 4.90 a 4.60 a 4 3.63 a 4.83 a

Isopropylmethoxypyrazine 2 1.23 a 1.20 a IPMP (ng/L) 3 1.10 a <1 a 4 <1 a <1 a

Sec-butylmethoxypyrazine 2 <0.7 a <0.7 a SBMP (ng/L) 3 <0.7 a <0.7 a 4 <0.7 a <0.7 a

Volatile thiols 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol 2 7323 a 6433 a 3-MH (ng/L) 3 3831 a 4463 a 4 2177 a 2134 a

3-mercaptohexyl acetate 2 2760 a 2727 a 3-MHA (ng/L) 3 1482 a 1734 a 4 709 a 818 a

4-mercapto-42 <11 a <11 a methylpentan-2-one 3 <11 a <11 a

4 <11 a <11 a Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different at 5% level. Wines were not made from site one Methoxypyrazines Isobutylmethoxypyrazine IBMP (ng/L)

5 BS 10.20 a 5.03 a 5.10 a 1.13 1.07 <1

a a a

<0.7 a <0.7 a <0.7 a

5860 a 4580 a 2238 a 2547 a 1691 a 828 a <11 <11 <11 the

a a a

Table 4. Effect of pruning treatment on wine volatile thiols and methoxypyrazines.

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I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

Bennett, J., & Trought, M. (2009).

Converting grapevines from cane to spur pruning — impacts on yield and fruit maturity (New Zealand Winegrowers Project 07-217,Issue.N.Z.W.P.07-217.https:// www.nzwine.com/media/5786/ nzw_07-217_final2-m_trought_ converting_grapevines_from_ cane_to_spur_pruning.pdf Meneguzzi, A., Marcon Filho, J. L., Brighenti, A. F., Würz, D. A., Rufato, L., & Silva, A. L. d. (2020).

Fertility of buds and pruning recommendation of different grapevine varieties grown in altitude regions of Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Revista Ceres, 67, 30-34.

Murisier, F., & Spring, J.-L. (1986).

Influence de le hauteur du tronc et de la densitŽ de plantation sur le comportement de la vigne. Rev. Suisse Vitic. Arbor. Hortic., 18, 221 - 224.

Ollat, N. (2002). Influence des systèmes de conduite sur la production des raisins. Gestion du rendement vers une recherce de la qualité, Toulouse.

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Getting a handle on vineyard soil health Dr Charles ‘Merf’ Merfield

Healthy soil is the foundation of the productivity and profitability of your vineyard, as well as being an utterly vital part of the planetary systems that sustain humanity. For example, the sky and the soil are part of the same continuum constantly exchanging carbon, so is a key part of addressing the climate crisis.

Healthy soil is also the biggest and most biodiverse ecosystem on the planet – bigger than tropical rain forests. Maximising soil health is thus a great win-win, but unless you can measure something you can’t manage it. Bragato Research Institute (BRI) have been undertaking a range of activities to help winegrowers do exactly that – understand and measure their soil health.

BRI hosted Graham Shepherd to do nine visual soil assessment (VSA) workshops in 2021. VSA are the gold standard of vineyard (and farm) soil assessments. The assessment was developed in 1999 by Graham Shepherd to provide farmers and growers with a rigorous way of evaluating their soils and has been validated against laboratory tests by several New Zealand research organisations. See bioagrinomics. com/visual-soil-assessment and fao. org/3/i0007e/i0007e00.htm for more information.

Organic Winegrowers New Zealand then hosted me to present a pair of webinars on soil health. The first presented a range of DIY soil health ‘WoF’ tests from the ‘quick and dirty’ to comprehensive. The second outlined the paradigm shift in soil science over how organic matter forms. To watch these webinars, go to organicwinenz.com.

The old paradigm was that residues, such as leaves and compost on the

Graham Shepherd at Palliser Estate

soil surface are broken up by small organisms like earthworms, and then decomposed by microbes, with the simple compounds such as sugars and proteins being completely mineralised in days to months and the tough compounds like straw and wood (lignin) transformed into humus which could last for centuries, even millennia. It has now been shown that this is incorrect, and that this particulate organic matter (POM) only lasts a few years, even the tough stuff. The new part of the paradigm is the vital role of exudates, such as sugars and proteins, from living plant roots. Between 10% to 40% of the photosynthates plants make from sunlight are pushed out of their roots to feed the incredible density and diversity of microbes that live on the root surface. Different plant species have different exudates which feed different kinds of microbes which means plant diversity is vital, rather than monocultures.

The microbes in turn put some of the exudates in the soil minerals, especially clays, to form ‘mineral associated organic matter’. This new root exudate pathway for soil organic

matter formation and maximising soil microbes is much more important than the POM route. Hence the regenerative agriculture’s catch cry “living roots year-round”. The reverse, bare soil from herbicides and cultivation, is therefore exceptionally harmful to soil health. Some of this is covered in greater detail in a soil testing booklet I have created in collaboration with BRI. The booklet of the soil health tests and instructions on how to undertake them, will enable winegrowers to manage their own soils better. This booklet ranges from ‘quick and dirty’ tests such as spade and probe tests through the infamous ‘don’t soil your undies’ challenge that measures biological activity through cotton decomposition.

The booklet also covers tests used by soil scientists such as penetrometers which measure density, ring infiltrometers which measure infiltration rates, and worm counts that signify overall soil health.

This booklet will be available on the New Zealand Winegrowers members’ website from mid-July.

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Improving the use of mealybug insecticides Vaughn Bell, Duncan Hedderley, Tara Taylor (The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd), Andrew Blakeman (AJB Solutions NZ Ltd).

ABOUT THE PROJECT We collaborated with growers from 11 commercial vineyards situated in Gisborne (n=3), Hawke’s Bay (2), and Marlborough (6). Hereafter, we refer to these study vineyards as 1C, 3C, 6C, and so on. The growers in each site adopted a mealybug insecticide programme of their choosing. They supplied spray diaries from 2018 to 2022, which we reviewed to evaluate mealybug insecticide use, product choice and product dose rates per unit of area. We linked this information to vine planting density and the approximate canopy size (at the time of use) to determine the point of first runoff (POR) and the likelihood of product under- or overdosing.

From the outset of this project, we agreed with Bragato Research Institute (BRI) that the term ‘insecticide best practice’ meant adhering to the manufacturers’ label recommendations. We developed a scoresheet that allowed us to measure each vineyard’s performance over time objectively.

It reflected two essential aspects: (a) the insecticide use patterns by vineyard and (b) whether these use patterns contributed to changed mealybug counts, percentages of mealybug-infested leaves, or percentages of leaves affected by black sooty mould (based on preharvest collections of 200 vine leaves per site per vintage).

Each vineyard’s scoresheet assessed 10 criteria.

For the first six criteria, we allocated one or more points based on our assessment of relevant spray diary data (e.g. product choice, product rate, spray volume, and application timing). We compared these factors with label recommendations and the New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW)

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OVERVIEW The citrophilus and longtailed mealybugs are enduring insect pests in many vineyards. Both species are economically important for two reasons. Firstly, they transmit Grapevine leafroll associated virus 3 (leafroll virus), which can negatively alter vine yield and wine quality.

Secondly, feeding mealybugs excrete honeydew, a waste by-product, which, when disposed of by the insect, supports the growth of black sooty mould. Where mealybug numbers in vines are high, there is an increased risk of spreading leafroll virus to infect healthy vines, and of sooty mould, potentially contaminating fruit at harvest.

Because of these risks to the sector, BRI funded this three year project (vintages 2020 to 2022). A primary objective was to improve the industry’s understanding and use of insecticides targeting mealybugs on grapevines. This article summarises the main results from the third and final annual report, titled Improving the outcomes of mealybug insecticide use in vineyards. Access to the full report is via the NZW members’ only website.

For the latest information on mealybug control always talk to your local crop protection specialist and consult the current version of the NZW Spray Schedule.

Mealybug Seasonal Control factsheet from August 2021. The sum of these criteria provided a sub-total of the ‘grower behaviour’ score.

For the remaining four criteria, we again allocated one or more points.

In the case of vineyards where we detected low mealybug pressure (fewer than 20 per 100 leaves), we deducted points. A vineyard with more than 100 mealybugs per 100 leaves was penalised by the addition of points. The sum of these criteria provided a sub-total of the ‘mealybug infestation’ score.

We combined both sub-totals to create a total score per site per vintage. Higher scores reflected reduced adherence to ‘insecticide best practice’ and/or poorer mealybug outcomes (scores 0–5, 6–15, 16+ reflecting ‘good’, ‘moderate’, and ‘poor’ mealybug outcomes, respectively).

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Post-harvest, we met every grower to convey results. Based on the spray diary analyses, we offered advice on the insecticide programme, sprayer set-up, and its operation. We also highlighted mealybug results. A measure of success for this project was the extent to which mealybug numbers changed over time relative to changes to the insecticide programme and the quality of its implementation.

Finally, in April 2021, Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) confirmed that some mealybug insecticides would no longer be available. Included were the organophosphates Fyfanon® (active ingredient, maldison), Lorsban® 50EC (chlorpyrifos), and Tokuthion® (prothiofos), together with Ambush™ (pirimiphos-methyl), a pyrethroid + organophosphate. The removal of these products from the spray

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schedule meant the availability of foliar-applied mealybug insecticides was essentially limited to the active ingredients buprofezin (Applaud™, Exault™, Mortar™, Ovation®, Pilan®) and spirotetramat (Groventive®, Movento®, Supremis®). Unlike the organophosphates, these ‘softer’ products are compatible with biological control. The effect of this change was that no study vineyard applied these ‘broad-spectrum’ products to grapevines in vintages 2021 and 2022 (further advice on this matter is via SWNZ, +64 3 577 2378).

ABOUT THE FINDINGS Analysis of the spray diaries of each vineyard revealed varying degrees of non-compliance with ‘insecticide best practice’. Commonly observed shortcomings included application timing being too early and application volumes above the point of first runoff. Insecticide timing and/ or spray volumes were incompatible with the size of the canopy target.

We noted some non-adherence to chemical rates, particularly underdosing.

A few growers opted for a truncated spray programme when expanding the programme to include additional applications was the better decision.

Indeed, we accept that some noncompliance was unavoidable owing to the influence of weather on the time of application and the interval between applications, for example.

The annual scoresheets measuring the relationship between ‘grower behaviour’ and ‘mealybug infestations’ revealed a steady improvement in the scores allocated to most study vineyards. This resulted from conversations with growers and their generally improved adherence to the principles of ‘insecticide best practice’, which tended to result in better mealybug management outcomes.

An increase in the number of study vineyards achieving ‘good’ mealybug control (scores of 0–5) was an important measure of the project’s success. In 2020, just three of the 11 study vineyards (27%) achieved this result (Figure 1). By 2021, four vineyards (36%) reached ‘good’

Figure 1. Between vintages 2020 and 2022, we allocated points to every study vineyard according to an analysis of the annual insecticide programme adopted and its adherence to the principles of ‘insecticide best practice’, which we then linked to the annual mealybug result. The score category 0–5 represents ‘good’ mealybug management (as indicated by the red line); 6–15 is ‘moderate’ mealybug management; 16+ is ‘poor’ mealybug management (as indicated by the blue line).

control, and by 2022, this increased to seven vineyards (64%). Of the seven vineyards, just one site (11C) used one of the abovementioned ‘broad-spectrum’ products, although the last application was in vintage 2019.

Vineyard 11C demonstrates improved insecticide use positively influencing mealybug management (Table 1).

From vintage 2020, the grower applied three insecticides: two preflowering buprofezin applications and a spirotetramat (Movento). The buprofezin programme followed ‘insecticide best practice’ in all years. Spirotetramat was applied marginally earlier (Eichhorn-Lorenz (E-L) stage 20) than it should have been (E-L stages 19–27) in vintage 2020, and 12 months later, we detected lower application volumes and chemical rates relative to label recommendations. The grower corrected these omissions in vintage 2022.

The positive changes to insecticide use and the quality of implementation evident in 11C resulted in the initially high numbers of mealybugs in 2020 (64 per 100 leaves) reducing in 2021 (10) and 2022 (3). Having achieved effective mealybug control, it is now for the

grower to decide if they continue with the current programme or to reduce applications (e.g. 2x buprofezin or 1x buprofezin + 1x spirotetramat). Having a good understanding of leafroll virus in the vineyard will help inform this decision.

In the remaining four vineyards of the total 11 commercial properties in the trial (3C, 12C, 13C, and 14C), we detected contrasting mealybug management outcomes. The growers in these vineyards applied pre-budburst Tokuthion in almost every vintage from 2017 to 2019 (Table 2). In vintage 2020, growers from three of these four vineyards replaced Tokuthion with Lorsban, which they applied to the vines at véraison. In the fourth vineyard (12C), the grower applied both ‘broadspectrum’ products. It was notable that following these decisions about product choice and the spray regime implemented in the four vineyards, we continued to detect hundreds of mealybugs per 100 vine leaves and black sooty mould-affected leaves. It seemed the legacy of broad spectrum insecticides and its influence on biological control persisted well beyond date of last application.

After the removal of the ‘broad-

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spectrum’ products, we suggested to the growers that overcoming the sizeable mealybug populations would benefit from expanding the scope of the insecticide programme.

Our suggested revised programme would include two pre-flowering buprofezin applications followed by at least one application of spirotetramat. The growers did not follow this advice in vintages 2021 and 2022.

Despite detecting persistently high numbers of mealybugs (i.e. 100+ per 100 leaves per vintage), we did identify positive links between ‘grower behaviour’ and ‘mealybug infestations’ in three of the four vineyards (12C, 13C, and 14C) (Figure 1). In vintage 2020, scores peaked at 34 to 50, but by vintage 2022, these reduced to a range of 22 to 25.

Insights from vineyard 12C help to highlight this point.

As noted in Table 2, the severe mealybug infestations found during 2020 (1867 per 100 leaves) improved in 2021 (1154) and further still in 2022 (199). This significant decline in mealybug numbers suggested that the shift to ‘softer’ products allowed biological control to exert a more powerful influence over residual mealybug populations in a way it could not during annual applications of ‘broad-spectrum’ products. It is important to note, however, that these results highlight the need for growers to take a longer-term view when seeking to remedy severe mealybug infestations in the vines.

The inclusion of an expanded ‘softer’ insecticide programme would probably have advanced these efforts.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS With this three year project complete, we outline definitive recommendations to address the title of this project: Improving the outcomes of mealybug insecticide use in vineyards.

Our analysis of spray diaries and assessments of mealybug infestations over successive vintages highlighted several aspects of the insecticide programme requiring

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Adult mealybugs

Adult longtailed mealybug

improvement. What follows is a list of observations and key findings identified during our data analyses and from conversations with growers. By adopting ‘insecticide best practice’ and embracing a role for biological control, growers can further consolidate the positive results emerging from this study.

CHEMICAL CHOICE Removing almost all broad-spectrum insecticides from the NZW Spray Schedule in winter 2021 will have greatly reduced the risk of disruption to biological control. Hence, reliance on mealybug management now shifts to active ingredients like buprofezin and spirotetramat, which are both compatible with biological control.

In vineyards with evidence of

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relatively good control of mealybugs, adopting a two-insecticide programme successfully maintained the status quo (e.g. 2x buprofezin or 1x buprofezin + 1x spirotetramat).

For some in the industry, adopting the expanded response of a 2+1 programme (e.g. 2x buprofezin + 1x spirotetramat) is common practice, especially in circumstances where mealybugs are putting at risk the recommended control measures for grapevine leafroll virus.

This study highlighted several vineyards with very high numbers of mealybugs infesting grapevines.

Evidence from vintage 2020 suggested adopting a 2+1 programme did not consistently reduce mealybug numbers in those vineyards successfully.

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Table 1. Summary of mealybugs found on vine leaves and the insecticide spray programmes adopted in the seven study vineyards achieving ‘good’ mealybug outcomes by at least vintage 2022. Red text denotes non-adoption of ‘insecticide best practice’ regarding application volume, timing, chemical choice, and/or chemical rate.

Mealybugs found per 100 leaves† (% infested leaves)

Mealybugs insecticide programme‡

Vintage/ Identifier

2020

2021

2022

2019

2020

2021

2022

1C

5 (1,5)

8 (4)

4 (1)

BB

B

B

B

6C

123 (21)

79 (21)

13 (6)

B

BBS

BBS

BSSK

7C

50 (11)

55 (140

2 (1)

CBS

BBS

B

BBK

8C

28 (8)

8 (4)

5 (4)

BS

BB

BS

BBK

9C

42 (13)

53 (140

5 (5)

CBBA

BBS

BS

BBK

10C

3 (2)

2 (1)

29 (3)

BBSS

KBBS

BB

BB

11C

64 (17)

10 (6)

3 (3)

TSS

BBS

BBS

BBS

† 200 leaves collected per study vineyard from late February to early March 2020, 2021, and 2022. ‡ Active ingredients, B=buprofezin; S=spirotetramat; and products, A=Attack®; C=Confidor®; K=Karate® Zeon (targeting adult grass grub flying in spring); L=Lorsban®; T=Tokuthion®. Karate use in vintage 2022 was confined to vineyard edges, not entire blocks.

In several of the study vineyards, deviating from ‘insecticide best practice’ for factors like chemical rates, application volume, and application timing negatively affected mealybug outcomes.

The study identified deviation from ‘insecticide best practice’, some of it occurring over successive vintages.

The result often contributed to poor mealybug control.

Under such circumstances, there is merit in reviewing current settings that sees all growers become familiar with the ways in which a mealybug insecticide response can be adapted to facilitate better outcomes. This includes encouraging growers to adopt an expanded spray programme where and when necessary.

If mealybug infestations are persistently very high, like those reported for 3C, 12C, 13C, and 14C, the optimal response may be to substitute a 2+1 programme for a 2+2 (e.g. 2x buprofezin + 2x spirotetramat). To accommodate a 2+1 or 2+2 response whilst mitigating the risk of rapidly advancing vine phenology restricting the number of applications, there must be consideration given to applying product much earlier in the growing

season. The severe mealybug infestations described in some of the study vineyards demonstrated circumstances befitting the need to apply product earlier in a growing season rather than miss the opportunity for a third (or possibly even a fourth) application because of PHI restrictions.

Whether a grower adopts a 2+1 or 2+2 programme, we propose the duration of either response should be no longer than three vintages. While the initial severity of infestations will influence the duration of either response, an important determinant is the continued adoption of ‘insecticide best practice’. For many vineyards, adopting intensive insecticide programmes for longer than three years will lead to financial and logistical barriers (although it is important to weigh this outcome against the cost of not controlling mealybugs effectively).

Where a 2+1 or 2+2 response is not effectively controlling mealybugs in the vine canopy, it would be sensible to initiate a review of the entire spray programme – from product choice to the application process (e.g. tractor speed and maintenance to nozzle alignment). Where necessary, seek the guidance of outside expertise

to help improve management outcomes.

CHEMICAL RATE This study highlighted the importance of using the correct chemical rate when targeting mealybugs. Indeed, based on the results of this study, adopting the correct chemical rate (to avoid under- or over-dosing) is quite possibly the single most crucial factor determining the outcomes of mealybug management.

There are two risks connected to under-dosing chemicals – a less than fully effective control of the target insect and the potential that surviving individuals become resistant to the mode of action of the active ingredient in question. As the frequency of this error increases, so too do the risks.

Over-dosing increases the risk of tripping higher residues in the crop.

For all mealybugs products (except Confidor), the correct dose rate is calculated by multiplying the dilute ‘Point of First Runoff’ (POR) (L/ha) for the canopy to be sprayed by the label rate g or mL/100 L. Rate calculators such as SprayMixMate and Grapelink simplify

NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 I

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RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT

Table 2. Summary of mealybugs found on vine leaves and the insecticide spray programmes adopted in the four study vineyards achieving ‘poor’ mealybug management outcomes. Red text denotes non-adoption of ‘insecticide best practice’ regarding application volume, timing, chemical choice, and/or chemical rate.

Mealybugs found per 100 leaves† (% infested leaves)

Mealybugs insecticide programme‡

Vintage/ Identifier

2020

2021

2022

2019

2020

2021

2022

3C

748 (73/14)

359 (48/6)

994 (92/24)

TBB

BBSL

BBS

BB(SS)§

12C

1867 (88/420

1154 (91/35)

199 (57/10)

TBS

TBBSL

BS

BB(S)

13C

427 (67/5)

1226 (82/22)

300 (76/12)

TBS

BBSL

BB

BB(S)

14C

536 (71/7)

1153 (79/25)

360 (74/13)

TBS

BBSL

BB

BB(S)

† 200 leaves collected per study vineyard from late February to early March 2020, 2021, and 2022. ‡ Active ingredients, B=buprofezin; S=spirotetramat; and products, A=Attack®; C=Confidor®; K=Karate® Zeon (targeting adult grass grub flying in spring); L=Lorsban®; T=Tokuthion®. § (S) and (SS) denote there were no applications of one or two spirotetramat sprays, respectively, despite our recommendation.

these calculations.

Many labels include a per hectare rate as well as a per 100-L rate, and these aim to identify the correct dose. None of the product labels used by study participants gives a complete description of the canopy per ha rate. It is common practice for growers to apply the per ha rate, owing to a misunderstanding of the correct dose calculation using the per 100-L method.

For a given canopy of the same growth stage or height, on a given row spacing, there can be a 20% increase or decrease in the correct dose rate for dense or open canopies, respectively.

APPLICATION TIMING Buprofezin: In a one-application programme, apply the product to the vines as close to the start of flowering (E-L 18) as is possible; in the label-recommended twobuprofezin programme, apply the first application 14–21 days prior to that described in the one-application programme.

Spirotetramat: apply this product as close as possible to the start of the PHI (i.e. ten days post-flowering but with a 90-day PHI). Note the different labels for different

90

AT A GLANCE Growers can no longer use organophosphates to target mealybugs on grapevines.

Follow all label recommendations and the guidance offered by NZW in the Mealybug Seasonal Control fact sheet. Chemical under-dosing risks less than fully effective control of mealybugs, with survivors possibly becoming resistant to the mode of action of the active ingredient applied.

Severe mealybug infestations may result in a two-spray programme expanded to include an additional one or two insecticide applications over the following two or three vintages. An expanded programme may require applying insecticides earlier in a growing season to provide sufficient interval between applications (14–21 days) whilst following PHI guidance

spirotetramat products.

These insecticide programmes all use these protectant chemicals to keep a cover on the vines for as long as possible and as late into the growing season as the PHI allows.

I NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER I AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022

We acknowledge that weatherinduced ‘spray windows’ at or around the time of mealybug insecticide application can disrupt optimal timing and spray interval recommendations. Spray practitioners need to adapt to the circumstances as best they can.

APPLICATION VOLUME (WATER RATE) Generally, higher application volumes up to the POR increase spray coverage and deposition throughout the vine canopy.

Volumes above POR can lead to lower spray deposition owing to water (and by association, product) runoff onto the ground.Current ‘insecticide best practice’ is to apply at around half the POR, that is, 2x concentrate for buprofezin and spirotetramat products, which target foliage.

Application volumes for products at less than 2x concentrate or at or above the POR are not considered ‘insecticide best practice’. Table 1.

Summary of mealybugs found on vine leaves and the insecticide spray programmes adopted in the seven study vineyards achieving ‘good’ mealybug outcomes by at least vintage 2022.

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