NZ Winegrower Feb/Mar 2016 by Rural News Group

FEBR

NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER

96 ISSUE

H /MARC

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWERS

F E BR UA RY/MA RCH 2016

W H AT’S OR A NGE W IN E?

PROSECCO COMING

A MISFIELD W ETL A N D

I SSU E 96

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CONTENTS

ISSUE 96

24 R E GUL A R S 4

Editorial

FEATURES 10

Tessa Nicholson

From The CEO Philip Gregan

In Brief News from around the country

Science of Wine Bob’s Blog Bob Campbell MW

Not On The Label Calendar Wine happenings in New Zealand

Research Supplement The latest science and research projects funded by NZ Winegrowers

COVER SHOT: Palliser Estate Wines of Martinborough. Supplied by NZW

SWNZ Vineyard Profile In the first of an on-going series we profile a winery that is taking sustainability that little bit further. As Mark Orton found out, Amisfield in Central Otago have created a revolutionary wetland within their vineyard.

Legal matters with Bell Gully

South Korea – A New Frontier In the last 15 years the number of New Zealand wineries exporting to South Korea has grown from one to more than 50 – and the growth potential is not easing off. We find out why.

Emma Sherman

Early Season Conditions Variable The start of the 2016 vintage has had a little bit of everything, when it comes to weather. Rob Agnew from Plant and Food Research, and the coordinator of VineFacts takes a look at what happened nationally between September and December.

A Family Vine Despite New Zealand’s wine industry being so young, multi generational forces are beginning to show through. In Family Vine we find out more about individuals following in their parents’ or sibling’s footsteps. This month meet father and daughter, John and Beth Forrest.

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

FROM THE EDITOR TESSA NICHOLSON

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

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

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

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

Published by Rural News Group Ltd under authority of New Zealand Winegrowers (jointly representing Wine Institute of New Zealand Inc and New Zealand Grape Growers Council Inc). Unless directly attributed, opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of Rural News Group and/or its directors or management, New Zealand Winegrowers or its constituent organisations. Published every second month. One free copy is mailed to every member of the Institute, the Council, the New Zealand Society of Viticulture & Oenology and the New Zealand Vine Improvement Group, and to such other persons or organisations as directed by the owners, with provision for additional copies and other recipients to be on a subscription basis.

ISSN 1174-5223

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

WELCOME TO 2016

ith the festive season now a distant memory, the New Zealand wine industry is gearing itself up for the 2016 vintage. From the frost prone spring that impacted on wine regions, through to the up and down temperatures experienced during flowering and the rain laden days over January, one thing is certain. El Nino is making itself felt this season. There is more to come obviously, but whether that be average temperatures, high or low, wet or dry, the next two months will set the scene for vintage. Rob Agnew from Plant & Food who helps put together the subscription based newsletter VineFacts explains on page 10 that the first half of the season was as variable as it could be. Whether that variability continues is anyone’s guess, but as the clouds of white netting cover the lush foliage of the vines, we will keep our fingers crossed for a stress free lead into the vintage. Talking of busy, as NZ Winegrower goes to print, the final preparations for the International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration were occurring. This is the biggest wine event New Zealand has ever seen, with a sell out crowd of more than 300, in excess of 200 wines from nine countries and more than 20 guest speakers. It has taken over two years of planning for this Celebration to occur and given the importance of this variety to the entire New Zealand wine industry, it is appropriate that so much emphasis has been placed on it. Hopefully by the time the two-and-ahalf-day event ends, the gate keepers, critics, writers and experts will comprehend what many in our industry have known for years. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is not a one trick pony. It is unique, diverse and

world-class. It launched this country onto the world wine scene and has been the back bone of the industry that is now New Zealand’s sixth largest export earner, having surpassed the $1.5 billion mark. What seemed like an almost unattainable goal of reaching exports worth $2 billion by 2020 now seems a realistic prospect. With the North American market growing strongly, followed by Asia, there is plenty of scope for further growth. South Korea is one of those markets that is expanding steadily. Fifteen years ago there was only one New Zealand winery exporting to Korea. These days there are over 50 – and room for plenty more as we discover in this month’s issue. Also this month we introduce a new series that focuses on the multi-generational growth of our wine industry. Being so young, there are only a handful of companies that can boast of having more than two generations involved in their development. Villa Maria, Delegat, and Babich to name a few. In Family Vine we take a look at individuals who are following in their parent’s or sibling’s footsteps, creating their own dynasties. First up is father and daughter winemaking duo, John and Beth Forrest. Each speaks of the other’s attributes and their individual goals for the future. Those goals are similar to the rest of the industry – to establish a foundation that ensures a strong future for generations to come. The future is also reliant on the sustainability of our land. We need to safeguard what we have, or better still improve it for the next generation. In our SWNZ profile (page 24) find out how one winery is doing just that. Enjoy this first issue of 2016, and good luck for vintage.

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$1.5 BILLION OF EXPORTS! 1999 … $0.1 billion of wine exports 2006 … $0.5 billion of wine exports 2010 … $1.0 billion of wine exports 2015 … $1.5 billion of wine exports

hat a remarkable achievement … $1.5 billion of New Zealand wine exported, making wine New Zealand’s 6th largest export good. The steady growth in total export value of New Zealand wine over the past decade or so – through shortage and surplus, high dollars (mainly) and low dollars, recessions and booms – has been nothing short of stellar. It is that growth which has been the number one driver of the industry through that time. And at its very core that growth reflects the reputation New Zealand wine has in global markets. Of course the growth in total export value (and the reputation underpinning it) does not guarantee success for any individual exporter but it does provide a platform for individual brands to succeed. The $1.5 billion year end statistics are worth digging into a little as there are some very interesting trends buried in there …

The rise and rise of North America With exports to USA now worth more than $400 million and shipments to Canada valued at over $100 million, this means wine exports to North America are now valued at over $0.5 billion (ie the same as exports to

all markets just a decade ago). Export value to the USA has been boosted in recent months by the fall in the New Zealand dollar, but with volume up 13% to Canada and 12% to USA in the past year it is clear the North American market is performing extremely well for our wines at the moment. With the USA now the largest wine market in the world, success there is very important to the future of our industry. At the moment the signs are looking good indeed.

The UK is back A few years ago a number of exporting wineries de-emphasised the UK markets given opportunities in other markets, and tough market and regulatory conditions (notably excise increases at 2% above the inflation rate) in the UK. As a result export value to the UK effectively went nowhere between 2009 and 2013. What a difference two years have made. In 2015 volume to the UK is up 4%, but much more impressively export value to the UK is up $100 million in the past two years and is now getting very close to the $400 million a year.

Development markets Outside the big four markets (USA, UK, Australia and Canada) export volume and value continue to grow steadily.

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

Value to those markets is now $250 million and volume is now 30 million litres – those are numbers which describe the total of all our exports a little over a decade ago. There are many opportunities out there and it is clear wineries are making the most of those whether in Sweden or China or Dubai or wherever.

It is not just Sauvignon! Sauvignon Blanc is, of course, the major driver of New Zealand’s export growth accounting for over 180 million litres or 86% of total export volume. This makes Sauvignon Blanc exports worth around $1.2 billion by themselves. The importance of Sauvignon Blanc to the industry should never be underestimated … but it is not just about the dollars. Sauvignon Blanc has said to the world ‘New Zealand produces world class wine, take notice!’ And the world has. In 2015 exports of wines other than Sauvignon Blanc totalled around $300 million (for comparison, again, that was the total value of all New Zealand wine exports in 2004). In 2015 volumes of Pinot Noir were up 11%, Pinot Gris was +12%, Merlot was +9% … these are impressive growth numbers and augur well for the future.

$2 billion is not far away! With the landmark of $1.5 billion of exports under the industry’s belt the goal of $2.0 billion is now much closer. Quite when it will be achieved is a matter that only time will resolve but the goal of 2020 does not look far off the mark at this stage. Again it is worth stating that growth in total export value does not guarantee success for individual exporters, but the chances are much better than if total export value was declining.

Tourism is an export earner as well These export numbers do not, of course, reflect the growing importance of inbound tourism for the industry. Wine tourism is a growing revenue opportunity for wineries, particularly for small wineries who can find the costs of export market development daunting. With tourist numbers continuing to surge and the reputation of New Zealand wine growing in international markets, it seems certain the inbound tourists will be an ever more important component of the wine landscape over the next decade. Congratulations to all those who have made exports of $1.5 billion a reality! Best wishes for the upcoming Vintage 2016.

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HORTICULTURE

IN BRIEF

NATIONAL Pinot 2017 Japan’s most eminent wine and sake expert Ken Ohashi, MW, will be arriving on New Zealand shores as guest speaker at Pinot Noir NZ 2017. Having been awarded his MW in September, Mr Ohashi is the first Japanese MW, and the only individual in the world to hold both titles of Master of Sake and Master of Wine. With his passion and expertise, Mr Ohashi, one of 15 guest speakers at this event, will add yet another layer of appeal and diversity. Pinot Noir NZ 2017 is the biggest Pinot Noir event on the planet, commencing on 31st January 2017 on the

Wellington waterfront. Over three days, Pinot Noir NZ 2017 will explore and embrace New Zealand Pinot, its people and its underlying sense of place. Mr Ohashi strongly believes New Zealand is one of the most perfect places to make Pinot Noir.

Rebecca Gibb On The Move Rebecca Gibb MW has moved back to the UK after six years in New Zealand, and is keen to let wineries know they should no longer send samples to her Auckland address, as she cannot guarantee they will be returned. Her UK contact details will be available on her website rebeccagibb.com and she will retain her New Zealand phone number, as she plans to return regularly. Gibb will continue her work as the wine editor of luxury lifestyle magazine LE PAN in the UK, and will maintain her New Zealand specialism. In addition, she hopes to play a part in promoting New Zealand wines on the other side of the world, organising and running events and masterclasses. You can contact her using the email rebecca@rebeccagibb.com”

Winery Restaurants Make Top 12 Congrats to Mills Reef Restaurant and Carrick Restaurant, for making it into the top 12 in the Silver Fern Farms Premier Selection Restaurant Awards. They are the only two winery restaurants included among the finalists who were chosen from 62 entrants around the country. The brief was to create

an original dish using one of the Silver Fern Farms cuts of lamb, beef, venison or SILERE alpine origin merino. In Mills Reef’s case the dish created by Head Chef Attila Kovacs was; Silver Fern Farms lamb rump, dahl croquette, chilled cucumber & mint terrine, tamarind jus.

HAWKE’S BAY Viticulturist Wins AMP Scholarship Hawkes Bay young viticulturist, Alice Rule (24), is one step closer to developing an app to provide grape growers with simple, intuitive representations of data to help them become more sustainable, now she has become a recipient of a 2015 AMP Scholarship, worth $10,000. Rule is one of many who benefitted from the Scholarships, announced late last year. “Having worked in vineyards capturing data manually, I set out to find a way to use robotic platforms to enhance the accuracy of the datasets,” she says. “Teaming up with a technology developing company, we are confident this vision can become a reality.” Brought up in the country Rule says sustainability has always played a major part in how she thinks. She has just completed a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology, minoring in Business Management at Lincoln University and won the Esk Valley Top Viticulture Student award in 2010. “I want to help preserve precious resources for generations to come as current processes are inaccurate and costly. However, using a drone to provide real time imagery to a cloud based analytics system will allow growers to apply what they need when they need it.”

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

Carrick’s Head Chef Gwen Harvie (also a finalist last year) presented Silver Fern Farms oven roasted venison on a warm puy lentil, heirloom tomato, truffle & rocket salad, thyme jus. The winner of the award is to announced this month, (February 2016).

HAWKE’S BAY Sileni’s Big Deal In China Hawke’s Bay-based winery Sileni Estates has forged a deal with one of China’s leading retail chains, China Vanguard (CRC). The deal is the result of four years’ negotiations steered by Sileni’s chief

executive and president, Sir Graeme Avery. A state holding group under the control of central government, CRC operates across 31 provinces and in more than 100 key cities selling more than 70 percent

imported products. The nationwide distribution of Sileni wines will be through top-end supermarket chain Ole’ and blt. CRC’s flagship retail groups, they are among China’s largest chain

enterprises. Sir Graeme says developing a market in China requires patience and, with per capita wine consumption still low, he anticipates growth will be gradual.

MARLBOROUGH Giesen Has New Winemaker Nikolai St George, formerly of Matua, has taken up the role as chief winemaker for Giesen Wines in Marlborough. Originally from the King Country, St George has also worked at wineries in Central Otago and Waiheke Island along with roles in several international wine companies. Marcel Giesen, owner and director of viticulture and winemaking at Giesen Wines, said the company is delighted at Nikolai’s appointment. “It’s an exciting time here at Giesen Wines; Nikolai will bring a wealth of knowledge and a true understanding of the global wine market that he has amassed over the years. His track record is impeccable and we can’t wait for him to become part of the team and help lead our next phase of development in the wine industry.”

Wine and Food Festival After more than 30 years, the country’s longest running wine festival is about to take place, again. Thousands will descend on the Brancott Vineyard – the first in Marlborough to grow Sauvignon Blanc. With music from Ladi 6 and Tahuna Breaks, among others, the festival will feature wines from more than 45 wineries and 30 food providers. While wine used to be

the major impetus for festivals in decades gone, these days it is far more about the pairing of food and wine. Renowned chefs such as Annabelle White, Peta Mathias and Colin Fassnigdge will provide cooking demonstrations in the culinary pavilion, while a number of wine master classes will stretch the minds of wine aficionados attending. The festival is being held on February 13.

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

SEASONAL UPDATE

EARLY SEASON CONDITIONS VERY VARIABLE TESSA NICHOLSON

he monitoring of 28 vineyard sites in five winegrowing regions of New Zealand, has provided the first ever start of the season weather picture for the industry. Rob Agnew from Plant & Food Research in Marlborough is one of two people collating the weather information from Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough, Waipara and Central Otago that feeds into VineFacts, a subscription newsletter. While the newsletter has been in existence for 20 years, it is only this season that it has been extended outside of Marlborough, thanks to funding from NZW, Sustainable Farming Fund and Marlborough Research Centre. When Agnew collated the figures from the first four months of the season (September through December), they showed how the season began as much cooler than the long-term average, with North Island regions affected by rain, far more so than the South. Below is a summary of the first four months of the 2015/16 vintage, region by region.

Gisborne September in Gisborne is described as being cool and very wet, by Agnew. “The total amount of rain was 183.2 mm where as the long-term average (LTA) is just 69 mm. So the region had almost two and a half times more rain in September

than they would normally get.” The mean temperature was also lower – at 10.9°C, down from the LTA of 12.1°C. October saw the temperatures begin to rise, and the rain ease off. In fact there was only 58 mm of rainfall in Gisborne during October, below the LTA, and the mean temperature was 14.7°C, 0.7°C above average. Agnew describes November as being average in terms of temperatures and growing degree days (GDD), although it was once again a wet month, with 94 mm of rainfall. December was again cool and wet, with mean temperatures 1.5°C below the LTA and GDD more than 40 behind the average. Agnew says the first half of the growing season in Gisborne, can be summed up as being cool and wet.

Hawke’s Bay September: Again the season began very cool, with the mean temperature 1.5°C below the LTA. It was also very wet – just like Gisborne, with 198.7 mm of rain, nearly four times the LTA. GDD were 36 percent of the average, although as Agnew says, that is not as significant in a month like September, as it would be later in the season. October: While the maximum temperature was up 1.2 deg, the minimum was down a degree, resulting in average mean

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

temperatures for the month. Rainfall dropped considerably, 35% of the LTA, making it a dry month. GDD were dead on the LTA. November: A cool and wet month. Temperatures were down, as were GDD and rainfall was up. December: There was no real let up in Hawke’s Bay once December hit. Temperatures remained below average, as did GDD. However the rainfall that has dominated a number of the previous months was half of the LTA. In summary – Hawke’s Bay can be described as cool and wet.

Blenheim 2015 goes down as the driest year on record for Blenheim, so it is no surprise to see that each of the first four months of this growing season are characterised as being dry. September: This was one of the only months of the year that Blenheim had an average monthly rainfall, with a total of 54.4 mm. Hopefully they made the most of it, because there wasn’t much more to come before the end of the year. Like all other regions, September was cool with an average mean temperature of 9.7°C, well below the 11.2°C LTA. October: Things started to warm up this month, with Agnew describing the period as warm and very dry. With a total of only 6 mm of rainfall, you can

understand why. All other facets were up though, maximum and minimum daily temperature, mean temperature and GDD. November: Another warm and very dry month – 2.8 mm of rainfall, with higher than average temperatures and GDD. December: Cooler temperatures this month saw the mean temperature drop back, along with GDD. Given this is the major month for Sauvignon Blanc flowering, the lower than average temperatures may impact on yields. Some Sauvignon Blanc that flowered early in December during a brief period of warm temperatures is likely to have above average yields, whereas blocks that flowered later during cooler temperatures are likely to produce lower yields In summary – Blenheim is described as having average temperatures and very dry conditions between September and December.

Waipara Another region in the midst of a severe drought, Waipara received very little in the way of moisture during the start of the season. September: Cool and dry. October: Just like further north in Blenheim, Waipara gained some traction this month, with warmer than average conditions. The average mean was 1.3 higher than the LTA, GDD were well up and rainfall was 11.2 mm,

Waipara, Marlborough and Central Otago ended the first half of the season in very dry conditions. That will impact on the vines in the coming months.

21 percent of the LTA. November: Another warm and very dry month for the region. Rainfall was 21.2 mm, but only 41 percent of the LTA. December: After two months of having higher than average temperatures, December was a cool month to end the year on. All temperature parameters were down, as were GDD, and only 55 percent of the LTA rainfall for the month fell. Agnew summarises Waipara as

having had an average four months (temperatures and GDD) and it was also very dry.

Central Otago Probably the warmest and most stable of all the five grape growing regions monitored, Central only suffered one month where Agnew says temperatures and GDD were lower than average. September: Just like every other region, Central’s September was cool while also very dry.

October: The start of things to come in terms of average maximums and mean temperatures. They were well up, as were GDD. This was a warm and dry month. November: The frosts that hit the region during this month meant the average minimum temperature was lower than average – but everything else was above average, with the exception of rainfall. December: Once again the average minimum temperature

for the month was lower than the LTA. But average maximum was up by 2.2°C. GDD were also up, rainfall was down. A month Agnew describes as warm and very dry. In summary – Central Otago experienced a four-month period of warm temperatures and very dry conditions. If you would like to find out more about VineFacts, visit http://

www.nzwine.com/members/vinefacts/ tessa.nicholson@me.com

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MARKET NEWS

SOUTH KOREA – A NEW FRONTIER TESSA NICHOLSON

n the last 15 years, the number of New Zealand wineries exporting to South Korea has grown from one to more than 50 and that growth is expected to continue now a Free Trade Agreement is in place between the two countries. The FTA came into effect in December meaning wineries exporting to that part of the world will now pay zero import duty. The NZTE Trade Commissioner to Korea, Ryan Freer says that is a major drop, given prior to the FTA, the import duty was 15 percent. “Significant scope now exists for New Zealand exporters to deliver greater value and increased choices for the Korean consumer, in addition to increasing their profile in the Korean market place,” Freer says. Now rated as the eleventh international economic power, Korea is also rated by Forbes as 33 on the Best Countries for Business. It has low unemployment, moderate inflation, an export surplus and fairly equal distribution of income. It is the third largest economic power in Asia behind China and Japan, (in terms of purchasing power parity). And like both of those countries, Korea is showing more interest in western traditions, including the consumption of wine. With a population base of 50 million there are a lot of potential consumers. There is already a considerable market for wine, with imports at the end of 2014 reaching a record

Last year NZW presented a seminar based around Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir in Seoul. Hundreds turned up to the two events.

high of US$182.2 million, a six percent increase on the previous year. New Zealand has slowly but surely been taking advantage of that growth, with our FOB value of exports standing at $1.9 million – equating to 172,132 litres. NZWinegrowers Marketing Manager Asia, Natalie Potts, says the average FOB price per litre of New Zealand wine in Korea is $10.99. Currently it is this country’s 22nd largest export market in terms of value and 24th in terms of volume. “In terms of varietals, Sauvignon Blanc is leading the pack,” Potts says, “with around 75 percent of exports. That is followed by Pinot Noir with around 15 percent.

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

Other whites such as Pinot Gris and Chardonnay are also gaining traction. Merlot is the second most imported red grape from New Zealand.” Freer says there are two major factors that have impacted on the growth of wine consumers. One is the growing level of progressiveness amongst Korean consumer leading to changing diets. “An increasingly westernized lifestyle is driving demand for healthier food and beverage options and this of course includes imported wine over the locally produced traditional liquor.” And two, the practice of gifting during the Lunar New Year in January or February and the Har-

vest Festival held in September or October. “These are the two big family holidays and a lot of people will gift wine and gift wrap the wine. If you look at the month by month total imports two or three months before these gifting seasons you will see massive spikes. They literally double or even triple during those periods.” While rice wine is still the mainstay accompanying traditional restaurants, Freer says there are changes occurring. “Unfortunately at the traditional restaurants you are sitting on the floor and there are a lot of side dishes on the table. This is not really conducive to drinking wine.

But we are seeing more and more traditional restaurants moving to tables, and they are becoming focussed on less people and more tables – so there is room for bottles of wine. “It is slowly moving in that direction.” Freer says the majority of wine is currently drunk in western hotels or restaurants and at wine bars – although interestingly enough, the off premise wine market is far larger than the on premise. This is backed up by the US GAIN (Global Agriculture Information Network) Report from 2015. It states that off-premise channels currently account for over 70 percent of total wine sales in the Korean market. “In particular, large-scale hypermarket stores have become the leading retail channel for wine, particularly for products that tar-

get value-orientated segments of the market,” the report states. In terms of wineries looking at taking advantage of the FTA between New Zealand and Korea, Freer has some advice. Get to know the culture of the country along with how and where wine is being consumed. “It is less important for the New Zealand wine industry to be on the ground with satellite offices, as it is for other industries. But what is important is that our exporters who do have partners in Korea are visiting the market on a regular basis and demonstrating they are committed to the market. “They can show that commitment by coming over here and observing how and where the consumer is drinking the wine. Being close to market, understanding the consumer and being ready and agile enough to support local partners with

packaging and concepts (for gifting) is important.” While there are around 500 businesses registered in Korea as alcohol importers or distributors, Freer says a very small number make up 80 percent of the market, which can be a pitfall for a New Zealand exporter. “It is important for wine exporters to understand their partner is likely to have a number of wineries they work with, both from the new and old world. Most of the sophisticated importers would like their wine offerings to read like a great wine menu – a bit of old and a bit of new. Occasionally our exporters can be frustrated by the level of attention they are getting, particularly if sales are not meeting expectations. “On the flip side of that, another pitfall is the budding importer or distributor. If you

are partnering up with someone like that, you need to think about whether they can keep their promises in terms of volumes. Can they access the variety of channels the winery is going to need to meet targets?” (The NZTE offices here in New Zealand can assist wineries looking for a Korean partner.) While the current wine drinking trend is for red wine, Freer says there is plenty of room for New Zealand whites such as Sauvignon Blanc. Especially given the typical wine consumer. “They are typically female, late 20s or early 30s, with disposable incomes. This is the market where a lot of wine is targeted towards in Korea.” And given the popularity of Sauvignon Blanc with females in other parts of the world – Korea could well be our new frontier. tessa.nicholson@me.com

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

REGIONAL NEWS

NEW IDENTITY FOR NEW ZEALAND’S SMALLEST WINE REGION JOELLE THOMSON

irst there was Wellywood; now there is Wellington Wine Country. The name is new but the Wairarapa region is one of New Zealand’s oldest when it comes to wine production. And since the Wairarapa is an hour and a quarter’s drive from Wellington city, the new name makes geographic and marketing sense. “It can be quite tricky when we are travelling overseas to explain the difference between wines from Martinborough and Marlborough, let alone between the Wairarapa and other New Zealand place

names with ‘wai’ in their names,” says Pip Goodwin, chief executive officer of Palliser Estate in Martinborough. The new name Wellington Wine Country is the title that the wider region’s three wine marketing organisations have agreed to as the marketing banner for the entire Wairarapa region. This will include Martinborough, Gladstone, Masterton and beyond. The name change decision was not taken lightly, says Paul Mason, Martinborough Vineyards winemaker and chair of Wairarapa Winegrowers.

“We decided on the name change and collaboration of the three marketing groups at our meeting in October 2015 where we took a final vote after long discussions about the proposed change. The final vote was 93% in favour of a new structure, but we have yet to iron out the finer details of its operation, which will include a logo, an organisation and a strategy,” he says. “The aim is to come up with a structure that keeps everyone happy, financially works and enables wineries in each sub-region to retain their own established

Wellington Wine Country will be the new name for New Zealand’s smallest wine region. PHOTO TE KAIRANGA WINES LTD, SUPPLIED BY NZW.

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

regional identities.” Mason says the biggest challenge for the group is to highlight and retain the sub-regional identities of Martinborough, Gladstone and Masterton. “It has been challenging getting to this point because of the distance between the two marketing bodies; Wines from Martinborough and Wairarapa Wines, which are physically and geographically separate. There has also been a regional body administered by New Zealand Winegrowers. Now all three groups will come under the banner of Wellington Wine Country and all of the members in the region will become stakeholders in Wellington Wine Country.” The region has approximately 3 per cent of the national vineyard area but produces a disproportionately low 1.5% of the country’s total wine production, despite a relatively high number of wine producers. Many of them are completely unknown outside of the Wairarapa, aside from to locals in the region and in Wellington, where a handful of restaurants stock their wines, due to the city’s close proximity. “The new name of Wellington Wine Country gives us the opportunity to create a closer connection with the capital’s restaurants and wine lists and to gain a stronger presence on them with our region’s wines,” says Mason. Historic records indicate that vines were planted and wine was made in the Wairarapa in the

1800s by the early settler, William Beetham, and his wife Marie Zelie, who grew Pinot Noir on land that is now thought to be the site of Lansdowne Vineyard. Like many of the northern Wairarapa vineyards, Lansdowne is barely known outside of its own region. This may change as part of the region’s new identity. Mason describes the Wairarapa as Wellington’s playground but says that the region remains quiet on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week. “Come Friday and the weekend and the population triples, due to the visitor numbers, tourists and Wellingtonians; particularly through the summer weekends.” These numbers may pick up when the new marketing body agrees on and promotes a logo and marketing strategy. “The Wairarapa has the lowest participation rate at wine shows of

any region in the country and this is something that we might also look at addressing,” says Mason. First things first, however. The initial challenge for the new marketing body will be to form a sub-committee in early 2106, which will formalise the pragmatic details relating to funding, structure of the new organisation, how often it will meet, where and how it is all going to work. “The aim is to streamline things more for this region and we will run things along similar lines to how things happen in Marlborough and Central Otago. It also gives us a lot more synergy to work more closely with the Wellington trade and will give us a closer relationship with New Zealand Winegrowers as well.” Mason says that he would like to see the new regional body work on spear heading up more wine tastings, bringing more wine writ-

ers to the region and being more proactive in championing the region’s wine and food festivals. “Once the company is set up and given a mandate of the way forward, then we will have a better idea of what they are going to do.” A proposal for significant change has been in the pipeline for over 12 months now and members from all three regional wine organisations have been working on finding the best way forward. Organic wine production may be one of the key focuses of the new Wellington Wine Country organisation too; the region’s windy spring weather provides a natural advantage for organic wine production there. “It’s hugely important and getting more so; which we are aware of and need to investigate,” says Mason. He cites the Central Otago Pinot Noir Celebration as an

outstanding success for another region that was once not well known but is now enormously successful, due to strong marketing. “We’re always going to hang our hats on Pinot Noir for this region too; it’s the most widely planted variety here and we do a really good job of it, so it’s always going to be number one, but it also makes sense to promote the Riesling, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blancs of the Wairarapa as well because they are quite distinctive in style.” The announcement of the new collaborative marketing body was made in early November 2015. “It has taken a long time to bring the new name into being, but at least we have got it right. Slow and steady was certainly the motto for getting this up and running and making sure that we had the vast majority of people on board for it.”

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NEW RESEARCH

CONTROL ANTS – REDUCE MEALY BUGS MARY SHANAHAN

student research project has produced promising results for an indirect approach to reducing mealybug infestations in vineyards by controlling the ants that protect and milk the insects for their honeydew. Catherine Hardiman, who undertook her study during the last growing season to fulfil a final-year research requirement for her Bachelor of Viticulture at EIT, believes the results provide “some significant, far-reaching possibilities for the New Zealand wine industry.” Vectors for Grapevine leafrollassociated virus 3, mealybugs transmit the infectious virus from plant to plant while feeding on the phloem of the vines. Mealybugspread GLRaV-3 has wreaked havoc in New Zealand vineyards – as Hardiman points out, it is the most harmful of all the grapevine leafroll viruses. Compared with healthy plants, grapevines of both red and white

varieties infected with GLRaV-3 suffer reduced yields, delayed maturity, higher acidity, lower fruit sugar levels and reduced flavour. Infected vines tend to produce lower quality wine. Mealybugs are the main vector for GLRaV-3 in vineyards worldwide. Several ant species are known to disrupt the biological control of mealybugs by protecting them in the vine canopy from their natural enemies. They do this to protect their primary food source, honeydew secreted by the mealybugs. For her research project, Hardiman trialled bifenthrin, a synthetic methylpyrethroid ant toxin. The trial was based on six paired treatment/control replicate plots, randomly selected in Te Mania’s Pinot Noir clone 115 block in Nelson, where Hardiman lives and where she studied by distance. About every five days, ant and mealybug activity was monitored before and after ant toxin treatment.

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

On March 3, X-it Ant was sprayed on vine trunks and posts of treatment bays at an effective bifenthrin concentration of 240ppm. Ants were counted over a fiveminute period three times before and seven times after treatment with the ant toxin at two fixed points, mid-bay and at one of the posts, on the control and treatment bays and mealybugs twice before and seven times after. The study found significantly fewer ants on average at posts of bays where the ant toxin had been applied compared with the control bays. The mealybugs were counted by searching the vine canopies of each of the vines in control and treatment bays, again over a five minute period. The study found a significant reduction in average mealybug counts in bays treated with ant toxin compared to untreated bays. EIT research scientist and viticulture lecturer Dr Petra King says the study focus was a good example of an ecological system and interdependent species. “This is an exciting result which needs further study, which could suit a master’s student project.” Enjoying a break after seven years of concurrent degree study, Catherine Hardiman sees the need for further research around the use of ant toxin as a strategy for the indirect control of mealybugs which vector leafroll virus in vineyards. Graduating with EIT’s Bachelor of Viticulture and Bachelor of

Wine Science, Hardiman appreciates the import of her final-year student research project and is now considering undertaking a thesis for a master’s degree. “We had some very exciting results,” she says of the trial, which showed that mealybug populations crashed in bays where vine trunks and vineyard posts were sprayed with the ant toxin. The idea for her investigation was triggered by a discussion between EIT research scientist Dr Petra King and Key Industries technical manager Peter Visser about the interaction between ants and mealybugs. While the conventional approach to controlling the spread of leafroll virus is to target mealybugs as the vector of the disease, they were interested in what might happen to mealybug numbers in the vineyard if the ant populations were controlled using the ant toxin. Ants protect mealybugs from predators and parasites, King says, farming them by tending them and placing them on parts of the vine that suit them. Hardiman undertook a trial which demonstrated the critical role ants play in protecting mealybugs. “I was just doing a student project and you don’t necessarily expect such serendipitous results,” she says of her findings. “Obviously there needs to be more research done around different aspects it has thrown up as well. It certainly warrants having another look at.” If she does decide to progress

Fitting in as much part-time study as she could manage, she also gained work experience with several vintages at Greenhough’s boutique winery near Nelson. “I really enjoyed work in the vineyard during summer and I loved the physicality and buzz of vintage,” the 50-something-yearold says. “Climbing up tall ladders to tanks and standing at height doing plunge downs didn’t faze me at all.” Based in Nelson, Visser mentored and advised Hardiman and managed the applications of the ant toxin to selected vine trunks and posts for the trial. “X-it Ant is designed for ant control in outdoor urban situations and we hoped it would also have relevance in controlling mealybugs,” Visser says. “To get that level of effect achieved with the trial is actually astounding.” maryshanahan173@gmail.com

Catherine Hardiman at work over harvest.

to a master’s, Hardiman would ideally like to do so while working in the industry. “My EIT learning journey has been rather like an Educating Rita experience,” says the mother of seven. “And yes, they’re all my own and by the same guy. I don’t tend to do things by halves.” Before she and husband Chris started their family, Hardiman briefly worked as a laboratory technician for DSIR. “But I didn’t quite finish my qualification before babies. I’m a Joanna-come-lately. I think there was at least four [children] living at home when I returned to study. I now have four grandchildren as well.” Hardiman worked for a time as a science technician at a local college but what she really wanted was to be was a winemaker. It was husband Chris who found her the online study option at EIT.

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NEW VARIETY

GISBORNE TO BENEFIT FROM PROSECCO TESSA NICHOLSON

isborne could be on the crest of a world-wide phenomenon in the next few years, with plans for New Zealand’s first ever Prosecco grapes to be planted in the region. It has taken five years for viticultural scientist Dr Susan Wheeler to get to the stage where she can start planning for the first Prosecco plantings. In that time period, she has not only gained permission from Italy to grow the grapes here and call the ensuing wine Prosecco, she has also seen the imported cuttings go through

a rigorous three year MPI quarantine. “I am going to be slow about releasing it as I want to get a really good handle on what this variety can do in various regions,’ Wheeler says. “We have so little data to go on from overseas about how to grow it, where to grow it and how to train it. I want to get a really good idea of all of those things before we release it in general.” That is all good news for Gisborne, as Wheeler has decided it is the perfect region for initial trials to be undertaken.

“I like its history with sparkling wines,” she says. “And there are a lot of growers who are starting to take out older, less popular varieties, meaning there is probably a big scope for future plantings.” With renowned

Gisborne based winemaker Steve Voysey as a business partner, Wheeler is keen to undertake controlled experimentation. “Sometimes when a new variety comes into a country there is one person who champions it, but it often isn’t in a very controlled manner. With a new variety, if it isn’t produced to its highest possible potential, it reflects on its future success. It could do well in many

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regions in New Zealand, but we want to do the trials in the right location, which should give us a great deal of information that can then be transferred to other areas. There is a lot of Prosecco coming out of Australia, which is our closest relevance, but what they do in Italy is so different to what we would do here. So we really need to get a handle on it.” Internationally Prosecco is the wine of the moment, with sales outstripping Champagne over and over again. In the UK alone, sales of Prosecco rose by 72 percent in the year ending July 2015. In contrast Champagne sales rose by just 1.2 percent (according to US research company IRL). It is a similar story in the US, with sales during 2014 rising by 32 percent. And following a WTO ruling in 2013, no one other than Italy, Australia and now New Zealand

can use the name Prosecco when exporting to any country outside of Europe. (Australia and New Zealand must use the name Glera when exporting to the EU). “I have been watching what is happening elsewhere and this is a variety that is growing and growing in popularity. That can only be good for us, because we are in a genuinely special position,” Wheeler says. “The Italians are not going to allow anyone else to use the name. But we have it and we have the best clone here, the one they release to their vineyards.” She describes the clonal bunches as big, yet loose and not as subject to botrytis as some other Prosecco clones. “We suspect we may have to manage crop (levels) a bit. But this is all part of the trialing we have to do.” The interest from wine companies has been very strong Wheeler

says, which confirms her initial idea of bringing the variety into New Zealand was right. “There is genuine interest out there, which is very satisfying. I mean I thought it was a good idea, but then I think a lot of things are good ideas. To have it verified by people coming to us wanting to

lock it in, is great news.” She is hoping to have between 10 and 20 hectares of the variety planted in Gisborne within the next three years and grow it from there. For further information on the Prosecco vines, contact: susanfwheeler@gmail.com tessa.nicholson@me.com

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VINEYARD NEWS

SAVING THOSE YOUNG VINES TESSA NICHOLSON

ver the next few weeks, it is inevitable that in many wine growing regions of New Zealand, the real impact of El Nino will kick in. High daily temperatures will coincide with a lack of rainfall, meaning anyone who has planted new vines in the past six months will be under pressure to keep them alive. If you have gone to the trouble of investing in vines as either replants or to establish a new vineyard block – then the last thing you want is for those vines to turn up their toes due to a lack of water. While you can’t bring the rain on, you can take a few simple measures to protect the plants, as Nick Hoskins from Riversun Nurseries explained to me. While all young vines are at risk at this time of the year, there are two very separate scenarios. Firstly for those that have removed diseased vines and replanted – be

aware that those young vines are having to compete with the more mature vines living alongside. Hoskins says the biggest issue here is the differing needs between the two. “Generally the water requirements for young vines are higher than what is required for mature vines. The young vines require more frequent watering, whereas the mature vines which have a bigger root system, tend to get infrequent irrigation.” If the irrigation system is left unchanged, the young vines will suffer he says. But there are ways around that. “Depending on what type of dripper line you have, you can place extra drippers around the new vines so it gets more moisture.” Mulch the replacement vines with any form of protection you can come across.

Another use from those sheep in vineyards could be crushed dags, which can help as a mulch for new vines.

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be organic mulch. I have seen people use filter pads, or plastic and weed matting. Any of those things are worth while. If it is thick enough it will stop the moisture evaporating away from the ground and retain it near the surface which is where the young vine’s roots are.” One form of mulch you may not have considered, but one that Hoskins has trialled himself, is crushed sheep dags . “They work really well. We used them in our nursery at Riversun one year, just put them along the rows and it made a hell of a difference. Ensure there are no weeds competing with the replanted vines, but be very careful if spraying for weeds. Young tips are extremely vulnerable. Take a leaf out of Gisborne’s books and consider hand watering

the replanted vines. If you are in the situation that water rights have been turned off (as is extremely likely in parts of Marlborough) this may be the only option you have left. “They have been doing this in Gisborne for years, because vineyards are often established without irrigation and the young vines, are just hand watered. It used to be standard practice, two guys with hand guns and another driving a tanker. “I am unsure what the cost of driving around hand watering is, but maybe it’s something you have to consider. To me, if you have gone to the trouble of investing say $5 for a new vine, and another $1.50 to plant and stake it, you might as well look after it.” In terms of new vineyard blocks, there aren’t the issues of competition between the new and old vines. But many of the other issues remain the same Hoskins says. Protect the vines against weeds. Mulch the vines wherever possible, with straw, bark, side thrown grass, or plastics, cardboard, wool or filter pads. Anything that will help prevent evapoporation . If you have taken advantage of the weeks leading up to now, to get as much moisture onto the vines as possible, you may now be facing another issue if irrigation is turned off. “Because when you do shut the water off you have a pretty dependent and soft vine and they can shut down. I saw that last

There are numerous tracts of new vineyard in Marlborough – how will they cope with the next two months of a dry summer?

year when someone had pushed his vines so quickly, that the root system couldn’t keep enough water up to the canopy and consequently parts of it were shutting down. The vine was out of balance, with a small root system not able to take up enough moisture to support a large vigorous canopy.” That balance is vital in all vines, but even more so in the young, Hoskins says.

“Moisture is evaporating through the leaves, so you need to have big roots to replace that. If it can’t keep up, some of that canopy will begin to die off. If you do have a big canopy (and can’t irrigate) you could reduce the leaf area to help keep those vines alive. Or again you could take note of Gisborne and hand water. To me it would be certainly worth doing.”

He says even with a big dry, it is unlikely you will lose all the vines – remember they aren’t called a weed for nothing. “They would be unlikely to die outright, but you might end up with some gaps, where a few die off.” He advises that you need to assess those young vines at the end of the season. Water as much as possible lead-

ing into winter to rebuild carbohydrate levels and make careful consideration about how you proceed over winter. “You have to assess those vines at the end of the season. The worst thing you can do for a vine that is not fully developed, is end up laying more cane to fruit it. You might have to readjust your thinking about when you get that vine into production.”

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SWNZ UPDATE

THE NEW FACE OF SWNZ TESSA NICHOLSON

ustine Tate has come full circle in terms of her career path. From New Zealand, to Vietnam, Antigua to London, Australia and now back to New Zealand. Finally home she is the new face of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand. In the role of SWNZ Business Manager Tate will be the interface between NZW and you as a member. She brings with her years of experience, having worked in the fields of research with Nielsen and NZTE, financial services and more latterly, working on the UK Pension Quality Mark. Wine has played a role in her past, especially given she was on the ground with Nielsen when sales of wine in supermarkets became a reality back in 1991. “A lot of my work was around

FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) research. At that time wine was just going into supermarkets and there was this big debate about how on earth we were going to find space for this new product category. There were a lot of decisions that people had to make about what they would stock and just where they would put it. So for me it’s fascinating to now see aisles of the stuff, it’s a huge range.” The next step in Tate’s career path saw her heading to Vietnam, again with Nielsen. But this was a different kettle of fish to anything she had accomplished in New Zealand. While supermarket research was relatively easy back here, due to technology, in Vietnam there was no such luxury. “There was no such thing as a supermarket in Vietnam, so that was really interesting. I went from

Sustainability is about doing the right thing in many different ways, says Justine Tate – the new face of SWNZ. PHOTO: BLACK QUAIL ESTATE, CENTRAL OTAGO. SUPPLIED BY NZW

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

a highly segmented market in New Zealand, where we were used to a lot of test marketing amongst branding and advertising – areas where you could measure impacts – to a market that wasn’t even defined. For some of the biggest firms in the world, Vietnam is a big market, with 80 million people. So Nielsen was the one in there, getting that information and sending it back. But with no shops, no scanning data, we had to send people into stores and count stock – it was all manual.” The initial project Tate was offered was supposed to take six months, but she loved the area so much she ended up staying five years. “Then I went through a period of temporary insanity and bought a bar and restaurant in Antigua in the Caribbean.” Tate and a couple of friends

thought there was a need for something that provided for the staff of cruise ships. While Antigua offered a lot for tourists, the cruise staff had nothing aimed specifically at them. “Cruise ships have a very high staff to passenger ratio but everywhere you got off a cruise ship it was all geared towards the passengers. So we were looking for a location and a concept that really appealed to the staff. They weren’t allowed to socialise with the passengers on or off board, they were all paid in US dollars and in cash and we really wanted to relieve them of some of that.” The bar actually ended up being more geared towards yachties within the area, rather than cruise liner staff. Tate and her partner helped redevelop the building, built up the business and then sold before moving back to

London. A short time later she moved to Sydney to work for NZTE. “I looked after the tech and manufacturing companies, helping them to globalise and expand in the Australian market.” After three years it was back to London, where the big subject on everyone’s mind was the meltdown of the world of financial services. “I wanted to understand that area better,” she says, “so I worked in marketing strategy for an assert management company called Insight Investment, which are part of the Bank of New York Mellon group.” That led to a growing interest in pensions, an area that had undergone unprecedented change in the UK. “The business models for pension providers, asset managers and insurance companies were all suddenly disrupted due to government and regulatory changes.” Prior to discovering the SWNZ job, Tate was the Managing Director of the Pension Quality Mark. “This is a programme started by the pension industry body to raise the standard of workplace and employer pension provision in the UK. I ran a team that set and communicated the standards for achieving the quality mark, audited quality mark holders and assessed evidence based applications.” The skills gained in this role made her an obvious choice for the SWNZ Business Manager role which her partner first noticed advertised on Twitter. It was the perfect job and the perfect time to come home she decided. “There were two things that appealed about the job. One, it’s the wine industry and who doesn’t like that? Wherever we have been in the world, we have always looked for a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. It’s pretty much

all we have drunk. So that was a major plus. “Then from my experience with NZTE, I understood how important this industry is to New Zealand. It is still so young, but it is pushing the boundaries on what can be done. No one is complacent and that to me is exciting.” After chatting with a number of NZTE staff about the sustainability programme, Tate could see how it was a world leader, although maybe not that well understood in the international market. “It’s a bit of a Kiwi thing, where we do something really well, but we don’t stand up and shout about it. Yet we need to. I think a lot of my role is going to be communicating that message, letting everyone know what we are doing and how we are doing it. I see my role as very much taking the message out to the world but also coordinating here with the members. It is both of those strands.” Tate strongly believes in ensuring all members of SWNZ are receiving the information they need to do their job better. Only then can the programme move forward in the way it needs to as a world leader. When asked if getting the message out was hindered by the word Sustainability, given many people wonder just what it means, Tate said she had thought about that. “But I haven’t come up with a better name. We could say what we are doing is ethical – but that one word doesn’t encompass everything we are doing. It is only part of it. It’s also environmental, but that again only encompasses a small part of it. So I keep coming back to sustainability, because that encompasses it all. It is all about doing the right thing – in many different ways. And I like that.” Tate started in her new role on February 1. To contact her, email; Justine.tate@swnz.org tessa.nicholson@me.com

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SWNZ PROFILE

AMISFIELD WETLAND MARK ORTON

s we approach that time when extensive net canopies dot the Central Otago landscape, it might seem counter-intuitive for a vineyard to even consider developing anything that might attract birds. But that is exactly what Amisfield did in 2006 when they created a revolutionary wetland within their vineyard. With an estimated 30% of New Zealand birds being wetland species, what potential benefit could there possibly be for creating idyllic wetland conditions so close to grapes? Actually, the benefits far outweigh any negatives. As a water purification tool, a wetland provides an environmental masterstroke at handling the many thousands of litres of waste water generated in the winemaking process, so the bigger question really has to be, why haven’t more wineries got one?

“Well, it’s probably due to the cost” says Amisfield winemaker Stephanie Lambert. “It was very expensive to set up and it costs a bit to use but it does make us feel better about what we are doing. Recently, we calculated that this winery uses 6 litres of water for every litre of wine we make, so that is a lot of water that would be disappearing off the property if we didn’t recycle it.” The original vision for the wetland came from Jeff Sinnot who was the general manager at Amisfield in the early 2000s when plans for the winery were first drawn up. Having studied in Australia, Sinnot was seen as something of a maverick when he suggested to his professor that he was interest in organic viticulture. “Well that won’t last long was what I was told,” says Sinnot. “Sustainability was very much a fringe

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

Amisfield winemaker Stephanie Lambert lifting the lid on one of the waste water cells.

thing, the industry had the attitude that if it moves…kill it and I guess that just spurred me on.” Today, Sinnot provides specialist winemaking and viticultural advice to a select group of clients under the banner of his company Vinesense. A decade since he was involved at Amisfield, Jeff is only too happy to discuss what he calls a definite highpoint in his wine career. “The Amisfield winery is still my alma mater when it comes to the pinnacle of designing and trying to construct and operate a fully sustainable winery. When we sat down to figure out what to do, I was told by the director to build a great winery that makes great Pinot. “Essentially what we did was figure out what great Pinot Noir actually was, an achievable cost and value for the wine, and how to do this with the smallest impact on our environment? Quality, economy and sustainability were the three tenets that we had to adhere to, kind of like the holy trinity.” After engaging an engineer who specialised in sustainable wastewater management systems, the idea was hatched to recycle wastewater via an onsite wetland. As Amisfield are rural, hooking into a town waste system wasn’t that practical but at a consent hearing for the winery, Sinnot was astounded at the attitude of the Central Otago District Council. “They were skeptical from the start and when they basically told us to dig a hole ‘like everybody else does’, I was outraged. They didn’t get it and thought we were weird.

They couldn’t believe that we wanted to spend money to process water to make it exactly the same as it went into the winery.” To be fair to the council, while constructed wetlands are recognised internationally as being extremely efficient for processing wastewater, the concept has taken a while to catch on in New Zealand and no winery in Central Otago had ever suggested one. In fact, the Amisfield wetland wastewater plant is still the only one of its kind in the region, but the process is remarkably straightforward. Wastewater from the winery firstly settles in an underground tank. Then it gets pumped through a stainless steel screen to separate out the solids, which go to the composting system, while the liquid continues into two settling tanks where further solids are removed. The water then flows down a cascading aerator designed to oxygenate the water. At this stage, the heavily oxygenated water that has had 90% of the solids removed, hits the first cell of the wetland where the real magic happens. “That first cell contains sedges and they have adapted to a wide range of pH. So that they can handle relatively acidic water. When the water hits that first cell, it’s loaded with high levels of potassium which is probably the most soluble electrolyte that comes out of winery wastewater,” says Sinnot. “As the water progresses from cell to cell via the constructed herringbone shape, the specially

selected wetland plants that are all endemic to the region, effectively eat components in the wastewater. This means nitrates, phosphates, potassium, sodium, magnesium and various other micronutrients in the water.” Once the water graduates to the final stage, which is a 90-metre long gravel screen that Sinnot calls ‘The Polishing Cell’, it’s expected that the water will be completely clean. Though, after the first six months in operation, the local council was still pretty skeptical. “When we took our first sample of the water from the wetland after it has been processed and sent it to the council for testing, they honestly thought we were bullshiting them as there was nothing to be found in the water. So, they decided to come and have a look for themselves. When I opened the final cell for them and a frog jumped out, the

council inspector looked at me and said; ‘well that works doesn’t it.’” Following a company motto to “work with nature and not against it” Amisfield are really very proud to be the owner of New Zealand’s first winery wetland wastewater plant. While the purified water from the wetland doesn’t go to the grapes, it does irrigate an integral shelterbelt of trees that in turn minimises soil degradation and erosion. “A wetland is not only amazing for the environment,” says Lambert, “it is also a great visual marketing tool. Our visitors can actually ‘see’ what effort we are putting into sustainability. For instance, our harvest interns see the tangible side of what happens to the water when they are hosing equipment down. When I think about having a wetland, its more a case of why wouldn’t you?” Jeff Sinnot is as passionate now

about wetlands as he was when the idea for one at Amisfield first reared its head “If we can do it in a 600 tonne winery in Central Otago, imagine what’s possible in a region like Marlborough? Because it is not a requirement (yet), councils are still backward thinking in terms

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NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

NEW TECHNOLOGY

OZONE IN THE VINEYARD TESSA NICHOLSON

he word ozone instantly conjures up images of big holes in the atmosphere, stronger UV light, the risk of severe sunburn and CFC’s, at least in this part of the world. However if you are a vineyard owner, then maybe you want to think again about this particular compound, as it could be a saving grace out there among the vines. Ozone or O3, is an unstable bluish gas, that has long been recognised as a sterilising agent in wineries and dairy units. Now it is being touted as a sustainable way of killing pests and fungus among vines, with machinery soon to be available

here in New Zealand. What is Ozone? A quick search on google, and this is the explanation of how ozone is formed. “O3 is formed in the atmosphere when energetic ultraviolet (UV) radiation dissociates molecules of oxygen, O2 , into separate oxygen atoms. Free oxygen atoms can recombine to form oxygen molecules but if a free oxygen atom collides with an oxygen molecule, it joins up, forming ozone.” However it doesn’t remain as O3 for very long, quickly converting back to O2 within 10 to 20 minutes. Until now the New Zealand

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

wine industry has had to settle for using ozone in wineries only, because there hasn’t been the equipment available to transport the unstable compound out into the field. That has now changed with developments in the US that has seen a portable ozone generator created. It takes oxygen out of the air, passes it through an electrical current, transfers it into water which can then be sprayed onto vines or fruit. The ozone charged water sterilises everything it comes into contact with – which means any bacteria, mites or fungus sitting on the vine and/or fruit is killed within seconds.

Andy Symonds, a spokesman for the recently formed New Zealand Company AgO3 who are the sole agent for the machines, says the technology has been trialed extensively in the States with outstanding results. Because O3 converts back to O2 in a short space of time, it is not only the perfect sterilization method, it also leaves no residue. “It is in no way harmful to the plant or humans,” he says, “so it is a very sustainable method of controlling pests and fungus. We capture the O3 and put it into water, spray it onto the vines and it breaks down the outer membrane of the fungus almost instantly, and then within 20 minutes it reverts back to its natural state. So there is nothing harmful left on the vine or in the air.” Once the gas is integrated into water it is so safe that protective clothing is not necessary, although it is still recommended he says. It does however have a rather strong smell, which is best described as unpleasant and may require a bit of mouth rather than nose breathing. But the smell too dissipates within minutes. Obviously there is the added bonus of not having to use as many chemicals within the vineyard, Symonds says, especially as the season progresses towards harvest. “Coming from a horticultural background (apples) I know how quickly disease can threaten livelihoods. Yet there aren’t that many options available other than chemicals. We think this system offers a lot of opportunities. We are pretty

An Ag03 machine which fits onto a sprayer.

excited about it.” The machinery which Symonds says is quite small (less than a metre high, by 50 cm wide and 15 cm deep) can be attached to normal spray units used within the vineyard. “It’s like a slab type box that has an air conditioner, an electrical current that draws O2 in and makes the conversion and pumps out the gas. When placed onto the back of a nozzle sprayer, it circulates the O3 with the water, allowing it to be sprayed onto the vines.” Trials in the US have shown ozone generators to be effective on mites, fungus and powdery mildew. That could be the biggest advantage here in New Zealand, given the increase is severe powdery outbreaks in the past two years since the sexual stage was discovered here. As the disease becomes more resistant to tradi-

tional forms of control – O3 may be the best bet for the future. “We are currently doing our own research on powdery in Hawke’s Bay via Peracto Research,” Symonds says, “with results due out in late January or early February.” A description of how ozone charged water worked within vineyards was reported in an article in the US Vineyard & Winery Management magazine, earlier this year. “As an unstable gas, ozone readily reacts with both inorganic and organic matter. It sanitizes by charging or “lighting up” cell walls and denaturing metabolic enzymes. Once its oxidizing potential has been released, ozone reverts back to oxygen, leaving no chemical residue.” For further information; visit

www.ag03.co.nz tessa.nicholson@me.com

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www.hamburgsud-line.com The lush green foliage of vine leaves after ozone treatment – note no residue.

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

Brought to you by

Roots, Shoots & Fruits Soil Health, Plant Health, YOUR Health

FAMILY VINES The New Zealand wine scene is so young, that multi generational companies are somewhat of an oddity, rather than the norm. In this new NZWinegrower series, we take a look at some of the families, where more than one member has entered the world of wine. Whether they be siblings or children following in their parent’s footsteps, they are creating their own Family Vine. On the outskirts of Renwick, in Marlborough, Forrest Estate is one of those that are in the process of creating a dynasty. John Forrest is a fifth generation Marlburian, and initially made his name in biomedical research science, while his wife Brigid was a GP. Both had a passion for wine and despite living outside of Marlborough for many years, they were keen to to return to their roots and unleash that passion. So in 1988 they bought an 8-hectare block on SH6, a few kilometres from the Renwick township. They have three children, Reid, Beth and Sam. All three are involved in some way with the business. Reid who is a marine biologist, is a member of the Board. Sam, who is marketing manager for Heineken is keen to bring his skill set back into Forrest Estate. And Beth is a winemaker, alongside her father. This is John and Beth’s story as told separately to Tessa Nicholson. 28

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

John Forrest, 60

was in biomedical research in Adelaide and Brigid had just bought into a general practice when Beth was born – so she is an Australian. I remember her birth very well, as I had to give up my first senior rugby refereeing appointment to be at her birth – which was a real bugger. The obstetrician had forgotten about Brigid and he was about to go on two weeks holiday. He could only fit her in on the Saturday to induce her, which wasn’t what I wanted at all. I wanted it to be on the Friday – but it wasn’t to be. Beth has always been the laid back type. She is determined and as stubborn as – that is probably a trait she got from her mother and father if the truth be told. She was delightful as a child, chatty with that stubborn streak. But she always wanted to do things with you, was happy to be around doing whatever you were doing. She was three and a half when we came to Marlborough, so her childhood is basically this place. When we came here we had a skyline garage with two bedrooms,

some bare land which we planted in vines and an apple orchard. This was the late 80s when apples were actually profitable, so I kept them for a while. She was always a bit of a tomboyish land girl, and she modelled herself on her older brother. She always used to come down to the apple orchard with me, with her cloth books and her toys. There was this one time when I was thinning apples, and came back up to the house for morning tea. I had a cup of coffee and then realised that I didn’t have Beth. I raced back to the orchard and there she was sitting under the same tree, quite happy. There was a damn creek just 100 metres away – it gave me a bit of a shock. Beth was probably the one that was most interested in getting out with me. Not to say the others weren’t, they have all been pretty good at tolerating me working all the time. One plus about living on site with your shop and your office 10 metres one way and the winery 20 metres the other way, was I could

Beth was never far away from her father as a youngster, involved in all aspects of the winery.

in the absence of Brigid, bring up the family. (Brigid being a doctor and obstetrician, was working long hours at the time). I know one of Beth’s memories of me is forgetting to pick them up from school. I would get so engrossed in a meeting or in the vineyard that I would literally forget about them. The staff got so good, that if the kids hadn’t turned up within an hour of school finishing, they would dispatch someone to go and collect them for me. It would be about five o’clock and suddenly I would realise that I hadn’t picked the kids up. That didn’t happen just once, it happened regularly. So I wasn’t the perfect domestic dad by any means. I had come from a multi generational farming background and what I saw was the oldest son being given the farm and yet they couldn’t farm to save them-

selves. So when we came into this business, while I was hopeful that we were setting up a multi generational wine business here in Marlborough, I never asked them or insisted they even think about coming into the industry. The end result now is that I have two of them that desperately want to be involved in the business and the oldest, even though he doesn’t drink, is passionate about the company. So they are all involved of their own volition. Beth did a four-year degree in geography and the summer after she graduated, she just decided that she wold take herself off to Adelaide to do a masters in wine. She just announced to me, “Dad I want to be in the business and I want to be a winemaker, so I’m going to Adelaide”. I was very happy about that. I mean you want your children to be passionate about the business and

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

Family Vines – brought to you by Roots, Shoots & Fruits

be involved. She came back to Forrest at the end of 2014. I was overseas when she finally got back and it was two weeks before I got home. When I got here the whole place was different. Everyone was walking faster and smiling. She had whipped them into shape in two weeks. I never had a days formal training in winemaking, while Beth did, plus she had done multiple vintages around the world. She brought a great set of skills, and

for her age great knowledge which I really appreciate. And she has brought energy. You forget you are getting older and slower, until you see someone younger like her doing what you used to do. She is a driven, dynamic person, with a lot of my traits and some of her mother’s better traits as well. I guess Beth is closer in style to me though. She still calls me Dad in the winery, rather than John. Although if she wants to make me stop or tell me off she will call me John. I

know I have annoyed her, or she is about to tut tut me if I get a John rather than Dad. While we would have liked it, we didn’t start in the wine industry with the view to having a multi generational dynasty. I am an academic and an observer of history and what I find exciting, is that Marlborough in such a short time has become one of the great wine regions of the world. When Oz Clarke reviewed the 20th Century of wine, he said the only new thing to emerge had

been Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Marlborough like Bordeaux or Burgundy will not lose that status, once you get it, it tends to stay. So if you think about that in a logical, dispassionate sense, in 100 or 200 years there will be the Rothschild equivalent here in Marlborough – multi generational successful wine families. If we at Forrest Estate can do it right and set up a strong foundation, we will hopefully be a part of that for many generations to come.

Beth Forrest, 30

ne of my earliest memories of Dad relates to a dog called Sledgehammer that we picked up from the SPCA across the road. When we bought the property here, Dad decided we all needed a dog. So we went over and picked one out. It was this ridgeback cross who was huge. On the walk back home, he managed to wrap his chain around my feet and knock me over, then he grabbed Reid’s arm and dragged him to the ground. He lasted all of about half a day until Dad took him back to the SPCA. We did get another dog after that, an Alsatian cross, Kara. She was awesome. I spent most of my childhood in the apple orchard with Dad. I was very much a Daddy’s girl. Reid was older than me when we came here, so he was at school during the day and Sam hadn’t been born then. So I spent a lot of my time with Dad. It was on the tractor in the morning, down to the apple orchard and I would usually sit under a tree, reading my books and hanging out with the dog. And then I would be forgotten by Dad - quite often. I remember Mum coming down the orchard one night in a mad panic in her tiny Honda City. It was about seven o’clock and she had come home from the hospi-

John and Beth with the dog that got to stay.

tal to find I wasn’t at home. I had probably been there on my own for over an hour. She found me literally sitting under a tree with my books and the dog was still with me, so I wasn’t that concerned. I suppose he often disappeared off picking and doing things, so I never thought anything about it.

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

How would I describe Dad? Probably as a big, cuddly bear. But outside of that, he is the mad professor. He has a million ideas a minute, some of them far fangled and some quite practical. He is absolutely convinced that every idea he has got is going to be the next big thing. Then he talks

himself out of it halfway through the day. He is also so passionate about what he does – I love that about him. He was hugely involved when we were growing up, apart from when it came to picking us up from school. In the end we decided we would walk or bike to school – because it was a much better way of ensuring we got home. He would just get so involved with things, that’s where his passion comes through. And everything had to be completed, not left in a half hearted mess. I don’t think he ever worried that we were in any trouble or weren’t capable of looking after ourselves. And as soon as we got home, we’d find Dad, have some afternoon tea and play games of touch or cricket on the front lawn. As a kid I always wanted to do what my father did. But then I hit the teenage years and quite frankly I was a little bitch. It must have been when I was 16 and all of a sudden I decided that I wanted nothing to do with what my parents did. Winemaking – who would want to do that? So I went to Otago uni and followed geography which had been a passion at high school. I did well and came out with a double major and got

offered a position to come back and do a Master then hopefully a PhD in the geography department at Otago. But by then I had come round and decided that after being in the cold of Otago the only thing I really wanted to do was actually follow in my father’s footsteps and make wine. It took a few years to realise that I was just running away from it I think. I did the two-year degree in Adelaide and spent almost five years away travelling. I would do a New Zealand vintage and then head overseas for other vintages. But last year I was ready to come back here. Working with Dad is interesting. I haven’t met anyone that has as much passion everyday as he does. I don’t know anyone who has as many ideas and such conviction in each of those ideas, even if that conviction is very short lived. Just the energy that comes out of him at 60 is absolutely ridiculous.

John and Beth Forrest – the beginning of a family dynasty.

We are extremely similar, so we butt heads. But the one thing that comes out of that, and maybe it’s part of being family, is that you are forced to listen to each other. If you can put an idea to him and justify it, then you are right. And I am like that too. If it’s a far fangled

idea that has no backing, you won’t get my support. We do argue, but he will admit that I have it right sometimes. And I have to step down and admit that he is right. I think we keep each other in line It’s hard some days for sure. I

walk into the other office and have to bitch about my dad, which is a bit hard to take I guess. And sometimes I want to smash him – but that is the same with many people. But at the end of the day, he is still my big, cuddly bear of a dad. tessa.nicholson@me.com

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WINE AWARDS

AIR NZ WINE AWARDS Air New Zealand Wine Awards Dinner WHERE: NELSON WHEN: NOVEMBER 28, 2015. PHOTOS: ANDY@SWEET PHOTOGRAPHY

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

AIR NZ WINE AWARD TROPHY WINNERS Air New Zealand Champion Wine Of The Show Church Road McDonald Series Syrah 2013

Coast FM Champion Merlot, Cabernet and Blends Saint Clair Pioneer Block 17 Plateau Merlot Hawke’s Bay 2014

Plant & Food Research Champion Riesling Peter Yealands Riesling Marlborough 2015

O-I New Zealand Reserve Wine Of The Show Lake Chalice The Raptor Chardonnay Marlborough 2014

Fruitfed Supplies Champion Syrah Church Road McDonald Series Syrah 2013

Port Nelson Limited Champion Other White Styles Waimea Family Estate Albariño Nelson 2015

JF Hillebrand New Zealand Champion Pinot Noir Brightwater Vineyards Pinot Noir 2014

Guala Closures New Zealand Ltd Champion Pinot Gris Yealands Estate Single Vineyard Pinot Gris Awatere Valley, Marlborough 2015

Toast by Liquorland Champion Rosé Aspiring Flats Rosé Central Otago 2015

Label and Litho Ltd Champion Sauvignon Blanc Delta Hatters Hill Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2014

Liquorland Champion Open Red Wine Spy Valley Pinot Noir Marlborough 2013

WineWorks Limited Champion Sparkling Wine Nautilus Cuvée Marlborough Brut NV

Rabobank New Zealand Champion Chardonnay Lake Chalice The Raptor Chardonnay Marlborough 2014

New World Champion Open White Wine Rapaura Springs Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2015

Rangitikei Chicken Champion Exhibition White or Sparkling Wine Mission Estate Jewelstone Chardonnay Hawke’s Bay 2014

Bite Magazine Champion Sweet Wine Seifried Winemakers Collection Sweet Agnes Riesling Nelson 2015

New Zealand Winegrowers Champion Gewürztraminer Johanneshof Cellars Gewürztraminer Marlborough 2014

Nelson Airport Limited & Nelson Tasman Tourism Champion Exhibition Red Wine Beach House Syrah Hawke’s Bay 2014

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

SCIENCE PROFILE

THE SCIENCE OF WINE TESSA NICHOLSON

lant and Food’s Emma Sherman doesn’t exactly look like someone who wants to blow things up – but then again - looks can be deceiving. The recipient of a Fulbright Science and Innovation scholarship admits her lifetime goal was to gain a chemistry degree so she could get into pyrotechnics. “I like action movies,” she says with a laugh, “so I really liked the idea of setting up the explosions and being a part of it.” Thankfully for the world of wine science, Sherman realised early on in her Science and Technology Degree (majoring in Chemistry) that maybe there weren’t too many job opportunities available. “I realised that being a pyrotechnician probably wasn’t the most reasonable career path for me, especially given explosions on movies were generally done by CGI (computer graphics), so there weren’t that many jobs going.” So from blowing things up, Sherman decided to go down a completely different route – studying tea, Yes, that’s right. From explosions to the calming influence of tea. As part of her degree at University of Waikato she had to spend her fourth year in full time employment. Wanting to travel, she decided to look for a job in London, and the only two places on offer were with either a power station or Tetley Tea. “I went straight for tea, even though I wasn’t much of a tea drinker back then.” The job description was quality control and testing factory samples, she says. As a side project Sherman was also considering the health aspects of new products,

which involved highlighting which regions in the world produced tea with the highest phenolic content. (In case you are wondering, it was a region in Kenya). Whilst she loved the job and the company was keen to retain her services, Visa issues meant she came back to New Zealand with no plans for the immediate future. “I was applying for jobs and one of those was as lab manager here (Marlborough) with what is now Plant & Food Research. This was 2007.” Despite being in Marlborough, the job was pitched more towards fruit analysis and Sherman didn’t even consider she would end up working with grapes. “It didn’t really register with me that it would be with wine grapes. Mind you, I wasn’t a big fan of wine at that stage.” A lot of her time was spent out in the vineyards, picking fruit for the myriad of trials being undertaken for the research programmes of the day. Maturity testing, regional trials and testing for brix, pH and TA for the Sauvignon Blanc research kept her busy. When another staff member moved on, Sherman took up the reins of a Pinot Noir sub project. “I did the analysis and wrote up the stats, then wrote the report. I really enjoyed that, but I could see that I wasn’t going to be able to do more. I needed to get a Post Graduate Degree, which I didn’t have, so I started making noise about wanting to undertake further study.” With approval and financial support from Plant & Food, she undertook her Masters and then PhD at the University of Auckland. “My project was about press fractions of Sauvignon Blanc. The

Emma Sherman

goal was to try and clean them up by using different materials to remove compounds detrimental to quality from the heavier press fractions.” The study bug had taken hold and when it came for her choice she looked to red wine for a thesis subject. “I knew I wanted to use metabolomics to look at wine composition. Pinot Noir was not very well characterised in terms of sensory impact compounds, so I wanted to use metabolomics, which is an untargeted way of doing analytical chemistry looking for sensory impact.” You like me, may have had a glazing over of the eyes at that word – metabolomics. Sherman had to explain exactly what that is. “The origin of metabolomics is in medical research. An example is Type One diabetes – they don’t know what goes on in the body or how to predict who is going to get diabetes. By looking at the composition of bio fluids, you can start to

look for bio markers that indicate disease states. “The same can be undertaken with sensory research, looking for groups of compounds that contribute to particular attributes.” So her first year of her PhD was spent looking for sensory active compounds. Her second year, the one she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship for, was to look at wine viscosity and body, again using metabolomics. She considers herself unbelievably fortunate that she ended up at UC Davis, with two of the world’s experts in her thesis topic. Firstly Hildegarde Heymann, who is a prolific publisher in sensory literature. And secondly Oliver Fiehn who is a forefather of metabolomics. “It was so good knowing that these two were both at UC Davis, otherwise I would have had to choose whether I went to the sensory expert or the metabolomics expert.” She says there has been very

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

Emma Sherman at work during winemaking trials.

little research undertaken into what creates body and viscosity in red wine, which is why she was so keen to follow that line of

questioning. “Most people concentrate on bitterness or astringency because they know what those compounds

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

are. But I wanted to look at body because it hasn’t received a lot of attention. It has been looked at, but it’s not an easy subject. And

yet it is so important to the wine quality. The Pinot Noir sensory study that I did in the first year of my PhD showed body and quality are highly correlated – so it’s really important.” Now back from her year in California, Sherman is back at the University of Auckland where she will finish her PhD. She is aware that it could yield some much needed information for winemakers of the future. “Sometimes it is hard to predict what the value is going to be for the industry. I do this stuff because I am interested in it. But then I need to sit down and figure out how my work can benefit the industry. It is a consideration I have to think about.” And who knows, she could achieve her very first career goal – by blowing old theories out of the water, with her new research. tessa.nicholson@me.com

AMONG THE VINES G

rape bunches become progressively more susceptible to Botrytis infection as harvest approaches, making it vital to maintain a tight fungicide cover from veraison to pre-harvest. Leaf plucking will enhance air movement and light penetration within the canopy, and helps decrease bunch drying time and reduces the potential for disease development. Continue monitoring for downy mildew into February. If infections are found, apply an appropriate fungicide in anticipation of conditions conducive for infection. Magnesium is an important constituent of chlorophyll, a compound used by the vine in photosynthesis and activates many enzymes used for both carbohydrate and protein synthesis. Regular magnesium sprays (e.g. Hydromag) leading into harvest will aid the maintenance of good leaf condition. Calcium is another nutrient of value to grapevines in the veraison to preharvest window. Calcium

sprays (e.g. Stopit) during this time may help improve the cell wall integrity of berries, reducing the likelihood of berry splitting. As sugar levels rise in berries, bunches become increasingly

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NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

INDUSTRY NEWS

The former Hunting Lodge was refurbished to become Matua’s Auckland Cellar Door in 2011. It too will close in the coming months.

MATUA VALLEY WINERY CLOSES IN AUCKLAND PETER SAUNDERS

“IT’S A sadness, but many things in life are sad,” said Bill Spence on the news that the original Matua Valley winery is to be closed after vintage 2016. It is now owned by Treasury Wine Estates, based in Australia. Bill and his brother Ross founded Matua Valley (now rebranded as Matua) in the 1970s, and went on to build the current winery north of Kumeu-Huapai. Of course in those days things were smaller. “If we ever crush more than 80 tonnes shoot us,” said Ross at the time! The on-site original homestead was converted into a high class restaurant known as the Hunting Lodge. The conversion by Treasury of the Hunting Lodge into a Matua cellar door sales and tasting facility in 2011 was a big move. But three years later, this also will be closed. The Matua brands bottling will then move largely overseas where Treasury owns several wineries and bottling facilities. Initially the Matua Valley winery was built to handle the adjacent 20 hectare vineyard which had many varieties Ross had found in his overseas winemak-

ing education and travels. One of these varieties, Sauvignon Blanc, has gone on to become a leader in Marlborough and New Zealand, something of great pride for the Spence brothers. The first Montana (now Pernod Ricard) plantings of Sauvignon Blanc came from this site from vines propagated by Ross. But to some extent, this success with Sauvignon Blanc in Marlborough has ultimately led to the impending closure of the Auckland winery. The volume for Matua and its brother brand Shingle Peak now requires thousands of tonnes of grapes each vintage, and a high percentage of these are sourced in Marlborough. So owners Treasury Wine Estates are going to stop Auckland operations. They are closing both the Great Western (Seppelt) winery in Victoria, Australia and the Matua Auckland winery in New Zealand by mid-year 2016. The brands will not be lost. Treasury has invested heavily in the Matua Marlborough winery over the past two years and this is now state-of-the-art, the company says. This was built originally as

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

the Corbans Stoneleigh winery and was taken over by Rapaura Vintners (previously VinTech) and in turn Treasury has bought the equity of the other winemaker shareholders in the facility. The Shingle Peak brand is almost entirely made there. The Auckland Matua winery closure is both cost-cutting and practical the company says. Marlborough is a highly reputed wine production area and Matua draws the majority of its grapes from there whereas there are no significant plantings to justify a winery in Auckland. Third party wineries will be used in the future for North Island grapes. “It makes sense in business or corporate logic,” says Ross. “So much of Matua’s production, and in fact it’s future, lies in Marlborough. What good is an Auckland winery? We may feel sentimental about losing a site we put blood, sweat and tears into. But from Treasury’s sights, Auckland is not viable for the brand today.” Bill agrees. “We have to carry on. I fully understand the financial reason for the Matua Auckland

closure.” He remains an international brand ambassador liaison with Treasury. In Auckland, closing the Matua winery is also seen as a loss of business and wine heritage in West Auckland where so much of New Zealand’s wine industry began. Ross is more cosmopolitan, talking of a corporate job that perhaps had to be done and thinking with warm memories of the Matua past. “It is big business making decisions beyond what some of us might see as sentimental,” he says. “Corporate business doing corporate decisions for their balance sheet.” The closure of the winery may see a new boutique or craft brewery on a site which once produced Chardonnay and Merlot. Both Bill and Ross are philosophical. “Of course it is out of our hands. Just as the people of Great Western look back on their heritage.” Heritage lost? Perhaps a little, but warm memories remain. Meanwhile the brands go from strength to international strength. winecast@xtra.co.nz

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HR AND THE WINE INDUSTRY PADDY BATTERSBY

EMPLOYMENT 101

ost of us take for granted the processes and procedures around employing people, and what is the beginning of an employment relationship – which is of course a legal relationship - between an employer and an employee. Under the Employment Relations and Holidays Acts, employers and employees each have obligations to each other, and often it’s all too easy to overlook some of the fundamentals. As another vintage is not far away, it is a busy time with the lead up to the onslaught and it is a timely reminder as to some of the basics. For some of you the last of your vintage staff are being recruited and for all wine industry employers, the plans and processes for receiving 2016 crews are being dusted off in readiness.

How do you fare at your place? When receiving applications, are they all acknowledged and in a timely fashion? The biggest complaint we hear from jobseekers is that they don’t hear from wineries once they have sent their applications. Are unsuccessful applicants advised promptly so they can keep applying for other jobs and know one way or the other how they have got on with you? All employees must have a written employment agreement no matter what their type of work (yes, even causals). Have all successful candidates received the appropriate employment agreements in advance of their starting with

you? eg fixed term for the likes of the overseas staff or seasonal casual for those who work off and on during the growing season. If a trial period clause is included in an employment agreement, the agreement must be signed before the worker starts work, otherwise the trial period clause will be invalid.

expired or incorrect visas. There are penalties for breaches. The Privacy Act establishes a set of 12 principles to protect a person’s personal privacy. Principle 10 requires that any agency that holds personal information should not keep that information for longer than is required for the purposes for which the information may lawfully be

The time of your pre-vintage checks and procedures offers a great opportunity to be sure everything is in order for a safe and successful vintage at your place. If employment goes on beyond the fixed term, ensure an employment agreement is in place to cover the extra period of employment. Employee records must be kept for all workers and made available to employees, their Unions (if applicable) and the Ministry’s Labour Inspectors if they ask for them. They can be kept in electronic or paper files and must be kept for six years. Records kept must include (among other things) contact details, type of employment, wage, time, holiday and leave records. A handy checklist of just what employers must record for all their employees is available at http://employment.govt.nz/er/pay/ recordkeeping/ A vintage/harvest worker’s visa must be valid to work for you. A copy of their visa must be kept on file. It is illegal to employ them if their visa expires – employers must be sure they are not employing people on

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

used. Therefore unsuccessful applicants’ CV’s should be destroyed within a reasonable time after the recruitment process has been completed. Public Holidays - are you paying your vintage workers correctly? Easter falls within the harvest period for most wineries in 2016. Any person who works on a public holiday is entitled to be paid time and a half for the hours they work and, if the public holiday would otherwise have been a working day for the person, they will also be entitled to an additional paid day off. The Holidays Act 2003 addresses the public holiday entitlements for employees in a number of work patterns where entitlements are unclear, including employees working shifts, employees on call, and whether a day would “otherwise be a working day”. Most modern payroll systems will assist in these calculations. Where international vintage

workers drive forklifts, do they have a NZ Fork Lift Licence and have they received sufficient training?

Health and Safety The all important health and safety briefing - Is there an induction process in place for all workers? Ensure there is an Orientation plan including site plan, site hazards and emergency plan as part of your workplace health and safety management. The new Health and Safety at Work Act takes effect 4 April – right in the middle of vintage for most wineries. Do be sure you know what your obligations are. Are the Standard Operating Procedures in place and training records available to be signed by each vintage worker for each piece of equipment or task particularly for all machinery (vineyard or winery), working at heights, confined spaces? Don’t forget about your permanent staff as a refresher is vital for them as well. And, do be aware of the danger of the hazard of fatigue – it needs to be managed so that no accidents occur because of tired workers who haven’t been given the opportunity to take breaks. Sounds daunting? These are basic requirements for employers and should not be overlooked. The time of your pre-vintage checks and procedures offers a great opportunity to be sure everything is in order for a safe and successful vintage at your place. PJ Battersby. www.battersbyhr. com, 09 838 6338, paddy@battersbyhr.com

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REGIONS NELSON

FALCON RIDGE ESTATE NEIL HODGSON

elson geologist Alan Eggers has spent the vast majority of his working life searching for and extracting minerals from the ground and ensuring the environment is returned to a better state than when the mining companies arrived. His travels around the world also introduced him to the intrigue and delights of wine. His love of rich Australian reds and his desire to return to his home country encouraged him to find the perfect site to create a small vineyard where he could grow fullflavoured Syrah, rich Pinot Noir, zesty Sauvignon Blanc. As a fifth generation local whose great grandfather Hans

arrived from northern Germany in the 1850’s, Eggers believes Nelson provides perfect conditions for winegrowing. “With the Nelson climate, the right soils and sub soils, good viticultural management on free flowing elevated sites (as in Europe and California) and hand tending the vines, I see no reason why Nelson cannot produce premium wines that compete with North Island reds, Central Otago Pinots and Marlborough Sauvignons.” Using his understanding of soil science and international experience, he set about finding a piece of land that had elevated and valley floor contours, where he could use his skills to improve the ecology. Nine resource con-

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

sents later and almost three years of re-contouring a hill and valley, creating lakes, wetlands and a site suitable for an elevated vineyard, his dream is coming to fruition. Located in Spring Grove - Nelson, Falcon Ridge Estate vineyards were carefully designed, engineered and shaped via extensive earthworks, deep ripping and top soil replacement. The vines have been close planted on elevated, sunny, north facing, well drained Moutere Gravel sites. The Sauvignon Blanc was planted in Wai-iti Valley river silts and gravels on the flat in 2012. However the vineyard is only part of the Falcon Ridge story. The extraordinary amount of time and money that has been poured into

creating a stunning site and establishing something very special is astonishing. Five diggers, two earthmoving scrapers and four articulated Cat trucks were used full-time to move soil and re-contour the land over more than two years. The estate is also a major native planting restoration project. “We have planted over 400,000 native trees and plants over the first five years and then undertaken maintenance spraying and weed control until the plants get established.” The property also includes a 12 hectare mature native totara forest remnant in a QEII Covenant. “We built several dams, a lake, have undertaken feral flora and fauna pest control, rehabilitated the totara forest and constructed around 14km of walking tracks through the forest, the vineyards and around the lakes and wetlands. “We have another lake to excavate and intend building a restaurant and winery in a superb sunny location beside the mature totara forest and lake overlooking the lower Sauvignon Blanc vineyard so the public can also enjoy both the wines and the natural setting.” Of course none of this has come easily or cheaply, because of the scale of earthworks proposed a number of locals were strongly opposed to many of his resource consents. Alan says; “They simply

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didn’t understand the science and engineering behind the proposals and were concerned about things like the dams bursting and flooding them out of their homes. When it comes to the dams we have actually solved their regular flooding problems by controlling the high storm event flows in the dams, discharging the flood waters over days instead of a few hours and ensuring the small rivers and creeks are properly contoured and riparian planted to manage flood waters. So their properties and land are now in better shape (and improved value) than before we started because they no longer flood regularly. “I guess that has been the really frustrating thing, people, including council staff, just didn’t trust us to do the right thing because they simply didn’t understand the vision, the geology and science as much as we do. We understand the need for caution with new developments, but when we are trying to use my knowledge and skills to create something special for future generations the opposition I came up against was disheartening at times. But we persevered and got there in the end.” The lakes and ponds at Falcon Ridge Estate are now home to native ducks, dotterels and fresh water crayfish, native falcons patrol the ridges and vineyards, native birds are populating the

forest, lakes, wetlands and native plantings. The streams (once dry most of the year) now are permanently trickling, the land has been cleared of gorse, broom, blackberry, barberry and every other pest plant including old man pine, nettle and feral weeds. Falcon Ridge Estate is only the second place in New Zealand known to have a colony of the very rare coprosma Melicytus ‘Waipapa’ growing in the wild that is being protected and encouraged. A elevated site has been prepared for a future lodge and when the resource consent is granted a new pond will be developed on the flats by the Sauvignon Blanc plantings and another building site created for the restaurant and winery facility. With one of the Nelson region’s main cycleway routes running along the front of the property, the main south highway just across the flats, the restaurant and winery, along with the native bush walks, will become a key recreational destination. And the neighbours? Well one is still unhappy with the development but others now appreciate what has been achieved. They regularly seek permission to walk the meandering bush tracks to take in, and enjoy, the beauty and natural environment on this stunning 42 hectare environment Eggers has created. neil@hodgson.net.nz

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NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

REGIONS MARLBOROUGH

BUILDING A VINEYARD PARK Foraging, hunting and food will have as much resonance as wine when Brent Marris has completed his new project at Leefield Station in Marlborough as Joelle Thomson discovered.

iming is everything when 2000 hectares of prime vineyard land are up for grabs, the world is emerging from a global financial crisis and your Marlborough wine brand is reaching sales targets ahead of time. Marlborough winemaker Brent Marris was as surprised as anybody that he hit five year growth targets in just two years, particularly since this took place through the global financial crisis that began in 2008. The question that arose as a result of this success was: should the company continue to expand? “We looked at how well the Ned brand and the Kings Series was going when we took the decision to buy the Leefield Station,” Marris recalls. The Station came up for sale in

October 2012. He remembered the land from his childhood in Marlborough and the fact that it was within a four kilometre radius of his own winery meant that it was ideally situated for planned vineyard expansion. Not only that; the Station is a north facing, rolling hill country site. These two factors were significant drawcards to Marris because the land’s aspect means that it maximises sunshine for vines in Marlborough. Its rolling hillside sites enables the exploration of grape varieties such as Syrah, which Marris is considering planting on an experimental basis on warmer sites at the Station. Not withstanding all of these drawcards, the purchase of 2000 hectares remained a risky proposition, not least due to the sheer size of the property.

Once a working farm, Leefield Station will continue to produce cattle and sheep for the market.

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

“I knew our brands were growing and as the site is so close to our winery, Rosemary and I felt that it was clearly the piece of land that we needed to own,” Marris recalls. Conviction is one thing. The management team of Marisco Wines is another. “When I asked my management team what they would like to do, the consensus was to continue growing and to control our own destiny. This means that we need to own our vineyards, process our own fruit and continue to work with markets on a face to face basis. This meant that Rosemary and I had to buy more land.” So, in went a (completely confidential) tender for Leefield Station. “I couldn’t let anybody know what I was considering because the land price would have risen

immediately,” Marris says. The purchase went through and the rest is a story that has yet to fully unfold. Part of its unfolding will be into a park that will see wine and food intrinsically linked, says Marris. Skip forward three years from the 2012 purchase and 300 hectares of the Leefield have now been planted. The first 80 hectares of vines were planted in 2013; another 100 were planted in 2014 and 115 were planted in 2015. All up, 600 of the 2000 hectare site are destined for vines, which will be spread across 800 hectares, due to rivers, streams and headlands on the property. Then there is the concept of a vineyard park which, as its name implies, is wider than mere grapevines. The concept is to create a synchronistic business expansion, which facilitates two other lynchpins in the Leefield story: a wine and food journey for visitors to the site and a legacy for the Marris family.

Creating a journey The word Marlborough evokes transparent turquoise images of balmy summer days cruising on the Sounds; an experience that Marris has shared with visitors in the region. Now he plans to add another string to that outdoor bow, by introducing foraging and hunting to the Leefield Station. The land already has a significant stand of 70 to 100-year-old walnut trees and he plans to add bees to the property to make honey. The vineyard park plans also include hunting as a key focus of the site because of its plentiful

supply of wild boar, wild goats and wild venison as well as dairy cattle and sheep; both of which are farmed there. To this rolling hill country, Marris says he will add both an Angus stud and a Romney stud. “This year alone we have had 4,300 lambs, so we are running 7,500. There is a key connection between food and wine, which this property allows us to explore. We are not going crazy trying to create all these different experiences immediately but we plan to ease ourselves into this connection to allow all of these different experiences to happen.”

Building a strong brand There will be a colour coding system at Leefield Station, which will pay homage to the traditional colours of farming sheds in the region and also differentiate the site’s non-farming buildings. The

The first vines go into the ground at Leefield Statio.

colour code will take place across the entire property. To date, Marris has harvested 150 tonnes of fruit from Leefield Station; all Sauvignon Blanc. He plans to harvest 1000 tonnes of fruit in 2016, which will include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. A new 300 million litre dam

was completed in December. If it all seems to have happened swiftly, Marris is keen to provide the perspective to observers that this project has been under consideration for several years now. “I’m lucky that Rosemary (his wife) is extremely supportive so that I can have my cell phone turned off while driving around

the site, looking at it, getting to know the lie of the land – literally – and seeing what is happening in order to discover new enclaves of land up here. I’m also thankful to have Siobhan and Anton (his viticulturists) who are an integral part of this journey.”

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NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

REGIONS CENTRAL OTAGO

A GRAND VISION MARK ORTON

rom the moment you enter the gravel driveway into Burn Cottage vineyard, it’s as if a Zen-like vibe envelops you. Such calmness and sense of being is something that extends to the team here; if viticulturist Shane Livingstone and general manager-associate wine maker Claire Mulholland are anything to go by. Situated in the foothills of the Pisa Range, the 24-hectares was purchased in 2002 by the Sauvage family who also own the Koehler Ruprecht Estate in the Pfalz region of Germany. Picked up at auction, after a visit that included tasting some of Central’s finest Pinots, the grand vision for Burn Cottage is anything but accidental. From owner Marquis Sauvage,

to head winemaker Ted Lemon who was the first American ever hired to manage an estate in Burgundy, Burn Cottage is founded on a mix of eclectic energy, serious wine lineage and great dirt. In fact it’s that dirt that Mulholland and Livingstone say exemplifies what Burn Cottage is all about. “Marquis said when he first stood here, that this has just got what it takes. He’d seen enough great vineyards around the world to realize that this was something special,” says Mulholland. Starting at Burn Cottage in 2010, after experience gained working at Martinborough Vineyards and Amisfield, Mulholland had been keeping tabs on the site for some time. “I was really drawn to this place

when I first heard about it in the early 2000’s; they were really putting themselves out there. I just thought, great site, great people and really committed to making a really healthy vineyard for the future. From the bare land the first thing they started doing was making compost and using different preps on the land and it has developed from there.” It was Ted Lemon who first sowed the seed for biodynamic farming at Burn Cottage, something Livingston as vineyard manager is keen to carry on. “My first introduction to biodynamics was with James Milton 16-years-ago and I have been involved ever since. Utilising biodynamics and similar methods is just what we do, it’s the way we

farm. There is no recipe, each property has its own individuality and things that you do at one site won’t necessarily work at another. It’s about finding the property’s personality and working with the natural rhythms.” Some viticulturists will likely look at biodynamics as a fashionable form of witchcraft, akin to farming with one hand while the other stirs cosmic preparations. But for Livingstone, he looks at it a little differently. “Actually I have found with organics-biodynamics that there are actually more tools in the toolbox. The whole resilience of the system and the way the plants adapt to the environment and conditions is far greater and sturdier than a conventional vineyard in

Burn Cottage – Central Otago.

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

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Claire Mulholland and Shane Livingstone; at one with the land and the wine of Burn Cottage.

my books. “Because the property had already had 10 plus years of biodynamic preparations applied when I arrived, you could feel the life and energy in the soil as soon as you walked on it”. The themes of time, patience and not needing to hurry are refrains that Mulholland and Livingstone mention numerous times during the conversation. “We haven’t dragged the vines into production, we’ve given them a chance to get connected to the earth so we haven’t pushed production and I guess that’s a luxury that we have had,” says Livingstone. The same planning and future vision also means that when the vineyard was planted it was on grafted rootstock thereby meaning phylloxera doesn’t even get a mention around these parts. “We aren’t looking to rip things out, it’s all about taking time and getting it right at the start. We are after vine age and longevity. We constantly tell the pruners that our grandkids will have to prune these same vines.” “The type of fruit balance that we are getting and the way things are maturing, has really blown me away,” says Mulholland

“The nutrition that we are getting in the juice here is very good, which is great as we really don’t want to be adding anything to our ferments. No acid, no yeast, just a little bit of sulphur. I definitely get lots of feedback about the wines having a real earthy quality. I think the complexity in the aromatics is also something they pick up on as well. I mean we pick when everything is very lively and some of the alcohols are quite low because of that, but this site really captures that vibrancy too. We don’t get the late afternoon or the late evening sun, it’s a different development spectrum to some other vineyards.” Some of the descriptions used to describe farming at Burn Cottage might raise the heckles of any pseudo-science skeptic, but maybe based on the strength of the wines thus far, there might just a little bit of magic taking place. “Growing utilizing biodynamic techniques, I can see the difference it’s making to that final wine so that gives me a lot of satisfaction,” says Livingstone. “For me, tasting the final glass of wine and trying to make that better is the only thing that matters.”

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NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

NEW TECHNOLOGY

JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED TESSA NICHOLSON

ith stringent new Health and Safety laws coming, a software company has come up with the tablet that could take away all management headaches. Well actually it’s not so much a tablet, but a programme that utilizes tablets for managing staff, workload, and hazards within the vineyard. The software programme is called Vinea and was developed by Infopower. For Mark Naismith, vineyard manager at Akarua, it is the best thing since sliced bread, cutting

the time he spends on admin and management by between 40 and 60 percent. He discovered the software after spending months searching for something that would allow him to get out of the office and back into the vineyard. “We were in a situation where paper work, management and administration were taking me out of the vineyard or I was doing silly hours and it was becoming difficult. I was also doing payroll for permanent and seasonal staff across all departments ranging

from 18 to 70 people dependent on seasonal demands, which was taking a lot of time. So we were looking for a system that would cover a single point of entry for HR, payroll, vineyard costings, management and health and safety.” Systems coming out of Australia and North America didn’t work for them, and there didn’t appear to be anything that matched Akarua’s specific requirements. That was until he discovered Vinea. He says it provides a one-stop programme for all vine-

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yard needs. There are two components to the software – mobile and office. Vinea office is the hub, where all information is stored. This includes vineyard work records, job requirements, timesheets, worker immigration details, quotes, wages which are able to be exported into payroll, costings and health and safety details. Vinea mobile is on a tablet which supervisors have out in the field. From his office or in the field following vineyard walks with supervisors Naismith can enter

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the details of any job, where in the vineyard it is to take place, who is to work there and what machinery will be required (as examples). “So if the supervisor walks onto a block and the job says leaf pluck Clutha Clone 5, when she pushes that job on the tablet, it has the row number and the number of vines in it that need to be plucked. All the data is there. It is hugely versatile and a massive time saver.” The supervisor can then allocate the jobs, record hours worked, log travel, record weather conditions, manage allowances and deductions directly in the field and send complete records back to the office. But for Naismith “the really neat thing” is the Health and Safety component now available on Vinea mobile. “When I put a job or contract out to my supervisor, any health and safety issue associated with that job or that part of the vineyard pops up with a warning on the tablet. The supervisor taps on that and it might say, safety glasses to be worn, watch out for rabbit holes, or don’t go in until 12 hours after spraying.” The programme reminds the supervisor to ensure all the workers have been briefed, and they then sign off electronically to confirm. That is recorded and saved for any future audit. It also allows a supervisor to record any incidents that may hap-

pen, on the spot. While the immediacy is a major advantage, Naismith says removing the reams of paperwork that used to end up on his desk, is even more so. “My desk used to be the roadblock, where all the paper work associated with the job ended up. I just never seemed to get to the bottom of it.” Everything is saved electronically back on Vinea office, providing easy access when required. “Then later on I can do a query or report and I can ask anything from the programme, whether that be about a person, vineyard or a piece of machinery. If there has been an incident or a briefing, the programme will pull it up associated with any one of those queries.” Cost wise it is also advantageous, Naismith says, cutting out hours of work that previously had to be done manually. For him personally it has removed between 20 and 25 hours a week of dealing with administration. “My average working week used to consist of about 60 hours – so you can see what a huge time saver this is for me. And the exciting thing is, it can be used not only in the vineyard, but the winery and cellar door. Anywhere where staff are involved. Plus this is only going to get better as time goes on as it is being constantly updated.” tessa.nicholson@me.com

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NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

REGIONS GISBORNE

A HEAD FULL OF STEAM JUSTINE TYERMAN

team train enthusiasts in Gisborne over the summer now have the opportunity to visit an organic winery as part of a vintage rail excursion. Thanks to a partnership between the Gisborne City Vintage Rail Society, a dedicated group who spent many years restoring Wa165 steam locomotive, and Geoff and Nicola Wright, owners of Wrights Organic Winery, passengers have the option of spending an hour or so at the vineyard and winery near Manutuke on the outskirts of Gisborne. Those interested disembark at Browns Beach Road and are taken by coach to the winery while the remaining passengers carry on to Muriwai where the train turns around and comes back. “We provide wine tasting, a winery tour, live music and lunch in the hour and 15 minutes that it takes the train to complete the outbound trip and return to the Browns Beach stop,” says Geoff who owns and runs the 100 percent organic winery with his wife Nicola. The excursions recommenced in November 2015 after the Gisborne City Vintage Rail Society obtained a licence from KiwiRail to occupy the line between Muriwai and Gisborne, part of the Gisborne to Napier line mothballed by KiwiRail after major storm damage in 2012. Local community and charitable trusts provided funds totalling $250,000 to bring the rail track

Steam train passengers are served a selection of organically-grown wines and homemade tapas using local ingredients. PICTURE BY JUSTINE TYERMAN

and bridges, which had fallen into a state of disrepair, back up to operational standard. “The concept is gaining in popularity with up to 70 people visiting us at a time,” says Geoff. “Our guests are mainly Aussies, Kiwis, locals and people on holiday. We tell them all about our techniques and how we make our own fertiliser using silica and cow dung from our organically-raised cows. “And we show them the winery, and explain that additives are kept to a minimum, to showcase the vintage, wines and terroir of the vineyard,” he says. The Wrights have three vineyards totalling 18 hectares, and produce two wine styles at the winery. “The Natural Wine Co range

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

represents new-world wines including Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and the Wrights range comprises oldworld styles, sourcing grapes from the oldest Gewürztraminer, Syrah and Chardonnay vines in Gisborne — over 30 years old, and in some of the varieties, the oldest in New Zealand.” Geoff is a third generation winemaker of Croatian descent with winemaking in the family dating back to Kumeu in the 1920s. “In fact, my great-grandfather Stanko Jurakovich obtained one of the first winemakers’ licences in the Auckland region, back in 1931,” he says. “Combining the winery visit with the steam train excursion really seems to appeal to peo-

ple. It’s such an iconic Gisborne attraction, the only place in the Southern Hemisphere where a steam train crosses an airport runway and the only steam train trip in New Zealand that includes a winery tour. “Given that the track runs along our vineyard boundary and the Brown’s Beach stop is only a kilometre away, it was too good an opportunity to miss.” Geoff and Nicola have had great feedback from visitors and enjoy a 5/5 rating on Trip Advisor. Geoff Joyce, president of the Gisborne City Vintage Rail Society is delighted with the arrangement. “It’s a win-win situation for both parties — our society and the winery,” he says. Wa165, a much-cherished part of the Gisborne tourism scene, has a colourful history. It was built in 1897, the first locomotive to be constructed in Dunedin’s Hillside workshops, and spent most of its working life on the heavily-graded railway line between Gisborne and Moutohora. Retired in 1959, the engine languished and rusted away until October 1985 when a group of dedicated rail enthusiasts formed a society with the aim of rebuilding it to its former glory. By then, it was the only Waclass locomotive left in existence. The restoration process was completed in 2000 and the venerable engine now comes out on a regular basis for special events and excursions. justine.tyerman@clear.net.nz

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REGIONS HAWKE’S BAY

BUBBLING UNDER THE RADAR MARY SHANAHAN

ver the last few years more Hawke’s Bay wineries have been adding bubbles to their range and their reasons for doing so may be as varied as the wine region itself. Sparkling wine producers now include locally-based companies such as Alpha Domus, Black Barn, C J Pask, de la Terre, Mission, Osawa, Sileni Estates, Squawking Magpie, Te Mata Estate and Vidal Estate as well as big players like Delegat’s, which grows Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at Crownthorpe for the company’s Oyster Bay label. A dominant force in New Zealand’s bubbles production, Lindauer draws its grapes from Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay. But what does the growing global interest in sparkling wines like Italy’s Prosecco and Spain’s Cava mean for a region that is already producing a wide variety of wine styles? And how do Hawke’s Bay’s recent efforts stack up against a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment report urging the industry to consider radical steps to “restart” sparkling wine production targeted at premium export markets, particularly China and Southeast Asia? Squawking Magpie branched out into bubbles because it considers it important to be able to offer customers a range that includes a sparkling wine, particularly for festive events. “It completes the large range produced by Squawking Magpie,”

Having a bubbles makes Squawking Magpie a onestop shop says owner Gavin Yortt.

owner Gavin Yortt says. “We felt there was a gap and we were doing quite a few business functions and weddings. “We are now a one-stop shop with supply.” While Hawke’s Bay’s many subregions -- offering an array of micro-climates and diverse soils -- might encourage winemakers to experiment, Yortt says his company’s decision to make bubbles was very much commercially based. “We certainly didn’t do it because we were endeavouring to play with different wine styles.” Now produced as a methode traditionelle wine, Squawking

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

Magpie’s fledgling SQM bubbly was made by WineWorks using the charmat method. It was the first produced using plant installed at the company’s bottling site in Hastings five years ago. WineWorks provides six 25,000 litre “scuba bottles”, owner Tim Nowell-Usticke says of the thick-walled fermentation tanks. And having a pressure bottling line in close proximity, he believes is key to the successful production of the sparkling wine. Having invested “hugely” in the charmat infrastructure, NowellUsticke is a little disappointed with the uptake.

“The potential is there for Hawke’s Bay sparkling white wine. Anyone wanting to can have a go. I figured if I put in the technology for an advanced production system, no-one has to invest anything.” Nowell-Usticke sees huge export potential for sparkling wine. He says that while Sauvignon Blanc was the first style to alert the world to the excellence of New Zealand winemaking, the industry now needs another string to its bow. “Pinot Noir was going to be the next bright light but it’s been an unreliable and unpredictable

performer.” The world’s expectation of New Zealand white wines is that they should be bright, clean and crisp, he says -- “Sauvignon Blanc fits that bill, and so does New Zealand bubbly.” As a relatively cool climate winegrowing country, NowellUsticke believes New Zealand has the varieties and terroir to produce great sparkling wine. WineWorks considered where the appropriate varieties were growing and chose Hawke’s Bay rather than a South Island site for the company’s charmat production plant. Nowell-Usticke says the problem for New Zealand producers over the last 10-15 years has been the dominance of a single brand selling at around the $12 price point. However, the New Zealand industry excels at growing grapes for $1 a litre and creating value in

making wine that sells for $30 a litre. “With the secondary fermentation in tank, charmat uses the one bottle once and is therefore more cost effective than methode traditionelle. If you’re looking at commercial production, charmat is the way to go.” One of Hawke’s Bay’s smallest operators, Corozo Estate is phasing out of production. At last year’s Hawke’s Bay wine auction, the boutique Crownthorpe-based wine company offered a mixed lot of methode traditionelle wine from the 2007 vintage – three dozen Pinot Noir/Pinot Meunier and two dozen Blanc de Blanc. Potential buyers were invited to blend the wines to suit their individual palate – a unique opportunity for the successful bidder who paid $2500 for the lot. For a region renowned for its large number of varieties, Pinot

Meunier - which, together with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, is one of the three varieties used in the production of French Champagne - is thin on the Hawke’s Bay ground. Yortt, meanwhile, says he has found a local supplier for Pinot Meunier and may add that variety to the SQM blend. Mission Estate pioneered methode traditionelle winemaking in New Zealand in 1963, when Brother John Cuttance returned from a trip to France to make his ground-breaking Fontanella. Production was small – customers were limited to a single bottle, paying £1.1s.6d for either a white or pink sparkling wine. The first New Zealand wines made in commercial volumes didn’t become available until the 1980s, and these drew on early harvested fruit grown in the Bay. The Mission launched its more recent take on a sparkling wine

three years ago, taking Pinot Gris and Chardonnay grapes grown on the Greenmeadows site to make Fete. “We felt the need to have it in our portfolio,” says winemaker Paul Mooney. WineWorks is involved in making the wine using the charmat method. Black Barn took up the Marlborough option for its methode traditionelle, sending the wine to Number 1 Family Estate for bottle fermentation. The blanc de blanc was awarded best in class in the 2012 and 2015 Hawke’s Bay A & P Wine Awards. While enough remains of this cooler 2010 vintage bubbly to disgorge another 50 dozen bottles, winemaker Dave McKee says that if conditions were suitable, Black Barn would make a bigger parcel of wine and let it out slowly over the years. maryshanahan173@gmail.com

NEED TO ‘RESTART’ SPARKLING WINE Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment consultants Coriolis see great potential for New Zealand sparkling wine exports, particularly in Southeast Asia and China. In a report entitled What Does Asia Want for Dinner? A Drink, produced as part of the ministry’s Food and Beverage Information Project, the consultancy points to the strong import volumes and value growth of sparkling wine into Asia and says the product has a strong fit with New Zealand’s capabilities. Rising incomes, conspicuous consumption, branded luxury and gifting are noted as key Asian megatrends in a beverage marketing currently dominated by France - “a strong competitor with clear strengths, but one that New Zealand has demonstrated the

capability to match”. The New Zealand industry now needs to take the next step and “lift its game” in sparkling wine, the consultants say. Currently competing seriously only in still white wine, it needs wider geographic diversity with products that support regional economic development. While proposing a “defend and grow” strategy for Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, the report said the French model suggests New Zealand should also have five to six other wine regions of similar size, each specialising more clearly, and that radical steps are needed to “restart” sparkling wine. In 2013, sparkling wine comprised 1.5 percent of New Zealand’s wine export volumes. Globally in 2014, sparkling wine represented

seven percent of wine production by volume. Adopting a “cheap and cheerful” position with their sparkling wine production, Italy and Spain are driving volume growth while New Zealand’s global market performance remains poor. Sparkling wine also offers strong opportunities for import substitution on the New Zealand domestic market where it struggles to compete with French Champagne at the premium end of the market. The industry needs to identify regions that are similar to Champagne for climate, soils, rainfall etc, the consultants conclude, determine what grapes are best suited to a New Zealand sparkling wine style and establish the method of production attuned to New Zealand conditions.

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

REGIONS WAIPARA

WAIPARA’S NEW LANDMARK TESSA NICHOLSON

he Waipara landscape is special in its own way. Large areas of flat valley land, rolling hills to the east, dozens of generational sheep farms, larges tracts of vines and now a massive sculpture that will help define the area. While Rakaia has its giant trout, Paeroa has a massive L&P bottle, Waipara now has an eight and a half metre windswept grapevine. It has been six years since the idea of creating a regional landmark was first mooted by

Julian Ball and Daryl Harris of the Waipara Promotions Association. It’s a long time between the original idea and the unveiling, which finally took place in November last year. For Ball, seeing the final product was a very sweet moment. “It is magnificent and we are thrilled with it. It was back in the winter of 2009 that Daryl and I discussed creating an icon for the valley. It seemed to us that too many people were just driving along the main highway, through

Waipara without stopping. So we wanted something to give the area an identity.” The sculpture certainly does that, and it is an appropriate nod to the growing reputation of the region as a wine producer of some repute. Ball says initially they didn’t have any concrete ideas of just what the landmark should represent. They left that to local sculptor Raymond Herber. “We gave him a fairly broad brief. We wanted it to

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be prominent and represent something in the area. He chose the grapevine and we were happy with his one and only design, so we took it from there. Raymond initially wanted some Riesling grape leaves to base his sculpture on, which were duly delivered. Those initial forgings were used by Harris and Ball to raise awareness of the project locally and to help raise funds. However Ball says they were a little “naieve” about just what would have to be undertaken to

“We wanted something to give the area an identity.” allow such a large sculpture to adorn the main highway. “We didn’t realise there was going to be such a significant amount of engineering and the cost that would involve before the project could be completed,” he says. “But we are very happy that it’s over designed and built. And believe me, it has had a good test in the last couple of weeks.” He says the windswept theme is extremely appropriate, given how strong the gusts buffeting the Waipara Valley can be. Even on the day of the unveiling, it was more a zephyr than a breeze and everyone was thrilled to see the vine gently swaying despite the gale conditions. As for achieving what they set out to, Ball says it has been an amazing addition to the landscape.

“The reaction to it has been tremendous. Just about every time I go past it, there is someone taking photographs. And I think it has got people starting to think about the wider area, which is a good thing. Plus it’s a focal point for the area. Mainpower have offered to provide lighting so it can be seen at night and it doesn’t matter whether you are in a car driving along the highway or in the train passing through, you still get to see it. It really is pretty amazing.” The sculpture has been placed on the corner of SH1 and SH7, at the turnoff to Hanmer Springs. There’s no need for me to say keep an eye out for it if you are travelling that way – because it’s pretty hard to miss. tessa.nicholson@me.com

Windswept and beautiful. The New Waipara sculpture. From left: Julian Ball, Daryl Harris and Sculptor Raymond Herber. Photo Nathn Trethowen.

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MARKETING NEWS

TELLING A GOOD STORY LEE SUCKLING

tories are what sell your wine. Creating an effective wine story is an easy feat for large wine brands with skilled public relations and marketing departments. But for small and medium-sized wineries, it’s often a challenge to convey how your $20 bottle of Chardonnay is different from the $20 bottle sitting next to it. Your wine story is more than your tasting notes, and it’s more than your region. It’s who you are as a brand and why you exist. It’s

your logo, your label, and your packaging. It’s your website. It’s what you tell people at the cellar door and what you tell distributors. Why do some people fail at telling their wine story, when others succeed? Many wine brands try to be everything to everybody. This lack of focus often hurts your storytelling ability and it muddles a consumer’s decision-making process when deciding to try (and re-buy) your product. For example, when you tell

consumers your wines are both “acidic and fruity” or “have a subtle start and lead to a boisterous finish”, you confuse them. Also, the use of the word “complex” is somewhat of a backpedal if you don’t specifically explain how your wine is complex. In these instances, rather than thinking your wine is “everything”, consumers will think it is “nothing in particular”. Region and terrior are important, but not as much as you think. Too often wine brands rest on winery location to convey their story

to consumers. It is vital that people know where a wine is from, but this is only to pique initial interest. Awards, stars, and ratings are often over-promoted. While a 90+ rating or four and a half stars is a major feat for the winery itself, consumers see nothing but high ratings and multiple stars when they look at wine shelves. There’s so much more to your wine story than what a panel of judges think. A lack of authenticity in a wine story is the key factor in a wine story that falls short. Contrived stories about the history of the

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product and the winemaker that exaggerated the facts, sound twee or overly sentimental, or don’t match up to visual branding lead to a disinterested audience. Remember, the purpose of telling your wine story is not to persuade with overemphasis, but to persuade with nuanced fact. In telling a good wine story, you need to be able to articulate who you are. Why does your brand exist? Why are you still in operation today? Where does your passion come from? Who are the people behind the cellar door? These aspects will give your wine story a clear narrative vision. You also need to be able to convey why you’re different to your neighbours. Where are your grapes from? Why are your varietals worth interest? What unique viticultural techniques are you using? How small or large are your vintages?

Who you are and why you’re different are the essential things every single person in your business should know. These parts of your story can be told on your website, to media, at the cellar door, and whenever you meet anybody and need to talk about your wine. Think of it as your “elevator pitch”: the succinct and persuasive story you can tell in under two minutes, or 300 words. Your wine story needs to continue with every bottle. You don’t have space for much of the above on a label; remember that the real estate for words on a bottle is extremely limited. Instead, you need to convey your wine story all in your imagery. Your logo, label colours and designs, and fonts used should all be cohesive with the story you can tell verbally or in writing. In the text that does feature on your labelling, focus on your story,

not just your wine region. If you include abbreviated tasting notes on your labelling, ensure they fit within your wine story’s overall narrative. Whether it’s on your bottle, on your website, or when you’re actually talking about your wine in an elevator, the most important part of your wine story is emotion. How does your wine make the consumer feel about both buying and drinking it? Is it a status wine? What kind of people enjoy it? What feelings does it conjure up? How does all of this relate to the people behind the wine? Leave your consumers with an emotional message about what you represent. The purpose of this is to engage with consumers. You need to connect with them and demonstrate how and why your brand is relevant and worth their time. The wine itself, of course, is the physi-

cal manifestation of that engagement. To foster and continue such engagement, your wine story can be brought into the 21st century with social media tools. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram all have value for wine brands, as they give the opportunity to continually, yet subtly, tell your story over and over again. Use social media for posting “peripheral” information to convey your wine story, and keep the direct promotion to a minimum. For example, for every one post about a new vintage being released, balance this with four other posts that aren’t specifically about your product. Keep your social media profiles fresh and interesting, and, naturally, in line with your wine story. In doing so, it’s a story that will never get old and tired. lee.suckling@gmail.com

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

BOB’S BLOG BOB CAMPBELL MW

IS THIS A NEW RECORD? According to my database Babich’s special edition 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon has set a new record RRP for a current vintage 750ml bottle of New Zealand wine at $399. (If anyone debate’s that claim I’d love to hear from you on bob@bobcampbell.nz).The previous record holder is Destiny Bay 2010 Magna Praemia with a reassuringly expensive price of $355 although “club members” can buy it at a lower price. The wine celebrates Babich’s upcoming 100-year anniversary. It comes in a highly designed box with a certificate personally signed by Managing Director, Joe Babich adding to its authenticity and uniqueness. Each bottle has an ultra-high end cork and is hand waxed. Aussie winemakers, particularly Penfolds, have bolder price policies than their Kiwi cousins. I applaud Babich’s bravery particularly because they seem to have satisfied the four criteria that I use to decide whether high-flying wines are worthy of the price: Quality (tick), Scarcity (only 330 bottles – tick), longevity (tick) and Hype (great packaging – tick).

DELEGATS BUILD LARGE WINERY IN HAWKE’S BAY Driving in Hawke’s Bay a couple of weeks ago I came across a very large and attractive structure. Could it be a winery? Yes, it’s winemaking on a grand scale by Delegats. Planned for completion in time for the

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

2016 vintage the winery will “… enable us to meet strong growth in global demand for our Hawke’s Bay Sparkling, Pinot Gris and Merlot”, says winemaker Michael Ivicevich. Additional areas, including offices,

landscaping and vineyard will be completed after harvest. An article in the NZ Herald claims that the $40 million winery is one of Hawke’s Bay’s largest construction projects.

ROCK-STAR WINEMAKER RESIGNS Nikolai St George, Matua Valley’s talented chief winemaker has resigned and left the company in January 2016, according to a spokesman from Treasury Wines. At the time of writing (December 2015) I was told that a replacement would be announced in early January. Nikolai has been making wine at Matua for seven years and is largely credited (by me at least) for a renaissance at the premium end of their range with a string of outstanding single vineyard wines that picked up an armful of trophies and top medal awards. He was voted winemaker of the year at the Royal Easter Wine Show 2013, New Zealand International Wine Show 2014 & Royal Easter Wine Show 2015. Nikolai leaves a big gap at a tricky time in the weeks leading up to vintage although Treasury Wines undoubtedly has a large pool of winemaking talent.

It Must Have Been Something I Drank The Oxford Companion to Wine [OCW) other factors may deserve the blame. The OCW defines an allergy as a reaction with an immunological basis. Examples of common allergens that can be found in wine are dead yeast cells from fermentation, and traces of proteins from fining agents. Everything else, it seems, is an intolerance. These include histamine and tyramine produced during malolactic fermentation, which can trigger headaches and red wine intolerance. I recall

I’m always fascinated to learn about adverse reactions that some people get from certain wines. When I ask a class of 20 students if anyone suffers adverse reactions I typically find three - four candidates – that’s a scarily high percentage and may be the tip of the iceberg because some people don’t want to go public about unpleasant side effects. Most think that sulfur dioxide is the villain. While it is true that sulfur dioxide can trigger off an adverse reaction (technically an intolerance, according to

reading about a malady called “Red wine drinker’s headache syndrome” which can cause severe migraines in susceptible red wine drinkers. The cure, according to the report, was to take half an aspirin one hour before drinking red wine. I tested it on five sufferers. It worked on four of them. It might be worth trying. Some people, particularly members of certain ethnic groups, can experience flushing after drinking alcohol of any sort due to the lack of an enzyme which metabolises

alcohol. There is no instant cure although if sufferers persevere, despite the unpleasant symptoms, they apparently adapt and the symptoms gradually abate. It may be cynical of me but I suspect that the consumption of too much alcohol may often be the cause of some discomfort and that sulfur dioxide is a convenient scapegoat which, if nothing else, helps boost the self-esteem of hangover sufferers as in, “I didn’t drink too much it was an additive that did the damage”.

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BRAND NEWS

PROTECTING YOUR BRAND OVERSEAS E L E N A S Z E N T I VA N Y I , D I R E C T O R , A N D D AV I D M O O R E , S E N I O R A S S O C I A T E , HENRY HUGHES INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

he export market is worth over $1.5 billion to New Zealand winegrowers. The US, Australia and the UK remain significant destinations for our wine but Canada, the Netherlands and China are experiencing growth. Any winegrower looking to export should not neglect to ensure that brands are safe to use, and are protected, overseas. Trade mark rights are territorial. This means that a trade mark

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which you have launched and protected in New Zealand may not necessarily be safe to use overseas. Before committing to launch a brand overseas you should conduct searches to determine whether it could conflict with trade mark rights already established by another company. You must search country by country. Your searches should cover both: The trade marks register(s) relevant to each country of interest; and

The general marketplace, by using internet search engines, trade directories and wine wholesale and retail websites. The risk is that you invest (both in terms of time and money) in preparing for and marketing the launch, plus you may be committed to contracts with third parties, only to receive a letter of demand from a trade mark owner in the overseas country which asserts that your wine brand infringes its rights. Potentially, you may have

to recall stock and pay damages. Thorough searching should alert you to potential conflicts before they arise.

Timing Allow plenty of time for clearance searches, particularly if multiple countries are being investigated. Assuming that the searches are clear, you should proceed with trade mark applications promptly after the searching is

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completed. The longer the time period between searching and filing to protect the trade mark, the greater the risk that someone else could establish conflicting rights in the intervening period. In most countries, you will not be able to secure a trade mark registration in under six months; frequently it takes much longer. It is therefore good practice to include trade marks early on in your list of tasks when planning for export overseas. We recommend commencing the trade mark searching and filing process at least one to two years prior to the anticipated launch overseas.

mark in most overseas countries up to six months later while still receiving the benefit of the original New Zealand filing date. In practice, this means that you can file a trade mark application in New Zealand and then use the next six months to determine whether the trade mark is both viable and safe to use overseas. If a third party were to attempt to establish rights overseas in the trade mark during the six month period after filing in New Zealand, you would be able to “trump” the third party by filing overseas and claiming rights dating back to the date of filing in New Zealand.

Madrid Protocol Paris Convention New Zealand is a party to the Paris Convention. This means that you can file a trade mark application in New Zealand first and then file applications for the same trade

New Zealand is a contracting party to the Madrid Protocol which is an agreement that enables trade mark owners to create an “International Registration” (“IR”) based on a home applica-

tion / registration. The term “International Registration” is slightly misleading in that it is not possible to obtain one registration which covers all countries. The Madrid Protocol provides a single filing portal where you can designate several countries in a single application. This will result in individual trade mark applications being created in each of the designated countries. The resulting applications will then be examined in the usual manner and may proceed to registration on a country by country basis. The benefit of the Madrid system is that it enables you to manage your overseas trade mark applications and registrations from New Zealand, without incurring the cost of engaging overseas attorney firms. However, if any of the applications in countries which you have designated encounter problems, you

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will still have to appoint a local agent in that country. The Madrid Protocol can be combined with the Paris Convention to claim a priority date from your original New Zealand application for each designated country provided that designation occurs within six months.

Dealing with distributers When engaging distributers overseas, you should ensure that a suitable contract is put in place which, amongst other things, makes it clear that you retain the intellectual property rights in the brands and labels being distributed. Sometimes, distributers may register your trade marks overseas in their own names (ostensibly to be “helpful”). It may be difficult to recover the trade mark from them if the relationship sours or a dispute arises with a third party.

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REGIONS CENTRAL OTAGO

POPPING UP IN CENTRAL MARK ORTON

hat do you get when you cross a tranquil walnut grove on one of Central Otago’s most prized wine-roads, with a glistening spaceship-like caravan? Well, for Two Paddocks owner Sam Neill that equates to a pop-up cellar door. With four vineyards spread over Gibbston, Bannockburn and Earnscleugh, having a central focus point for the Two Paddock’s cellar door is geographically challenging, so Neill figured they would try something a little different this summer. Looking suitably relaxed mixing with visitors to the pop-up cellar door, Neill is happy to chat about wine but even happier to chat about his Airstream. The über shiny aluminium behemoth is something of beauty. With a shape that dates back to the 1930s, and polished to within an inch of its life, why did Neill get a 1982 Airstream?

“I’ve just always had a thing about them, when one drives past I stop the car. I always thought it would be so cool to have one in New Zealand, as there are only a handful here, he says. Likening the iconic caravan to a piece of sculpture sitting in a paddock, Neill gets to stay in the mobile home from time-to-time, and even puts up certain wine writers when they are passing through the area, through he won’t say who has stayed in it. “Well you have got to be the right sort of person to stay in it and I’m not allowed to say who has met the brief as they may have had company when using it, and I should be discreet…it’s actually quite romantic inside”. All humour aside, Neill always sensed the potential for his Airstream to be used in a multitude of ways, but he is still a little taken aback by the popularity of the pop up cellar door which was his brainwave. “To be honest, I don’t know

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// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

Two Paddocks GM Jacqui Murphy and Sam Neill toast the pop-up cellar door.

if they are here for the wine or the airstream. If they are airstream lovers that learn to drink wine, then our job here is done.” Just trying to steer the conversation back to wine is tricky, especially when Neill starts to wax lyrical about the 70’s styling in the interior of the Airstream. But, with a constant stream of people still lining up to have a tasting, and food flying out of the mobile caterers kitchen, he gives credit for the logistics to general manager Jacqui Murphy. “I can take no credit for that at all, I didn’t have a clue. I thought we would just park up on the road somewhere, but this is Duncan Forsyth’s (Mount Edward) paddock and he very generously let us park here next to our Fusilier vineyard. Based on the success of this, next year we should probably do a joint pop-up cellar door with Mount Edward…or he might just

chuck me out and go it alone.” Certainly the easy access and rustic nature of the pop-up cellar door is something that is proving very appealing to the multitudes of summer visitors to Central Otago. Being able to grab a table under a tree with some tasty food and try some wines is something a little removed from many conventional cellar door experiences. “I just think, loosening up the ‘wine’ thing is great. You don’t just have to drink wine at somewhere that you need to book… if that makes sense. “There is obviously a case to be made for exclusivity, but I always think back to many years ago when

I first got interested in art. It was maybe 15 years after I first got into art that I actually had enough money to buy a decent painting. Fortunately, the art dealer Peter McLeavey cultivated young people like myself, because he knew we were the collectors of the future. “Hopefully it’s not all old grey people like me, you want to expand the wine business a wee bit. I’m not impressed by big ostentatious wineries, something humble like this is more my speed.” Showcasing all the Two Paddocks Pinot Noirs and Rieslings along with some selected older vintage Pinots, Neill’s cunning take on the pop-up phenomenon

is certainly a hit but what does he want visitors to take away from the experience? “It’s nice to make our presence felt here on Felton Road, even if it is only for a couple of weeks. Just fly the flag a bit. “I also hope it is an extremely meaningful revelation and they have an enhanced appreciation of Airstream caravans.” Though, just in case anyone reading this has aspirations to get an Airstream of their own, Neill is not only coy about how much his cost (he won’t say), but mentions that there is a bit more to the purchase than simply raising the necessary readies. “Well I got this one off my friend Stu in Queenstown and the first thing you have to do is prove to him that you are worthy…and only then, he might think about selling one to you.” seeingredmedia@yahoo.com

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NEW TECHNOLOGY

SANITISING SUSTAINABLY K

eeping a cellar moist enough to prevent wine losses from barrels is a major ongoing problem for wineries. Especially as the moisture levels required can lead directly to other less savoury issues such as mould growth. A new form of plant technology Path-Away™ Anti Pathogenic Solution, in combination with the GAAW Environmental Management Technology looks to provide the answer. It is a broad spectrum anti pathogenic solution derived from natural sources, with no added chemicals or alcohol. It is

also approved by Bio Gro for use in organic environments. Percentage wise the loss of wine from barrels, known simply as ‘angels breath’, can easily reach double figures if the environment is too dry. Depending on the winemaker’s practices, cellars and barrel halls require a high humidity level, somewhere between 75 and 90 percent to cut those losses to a more equitable percentage. But that leads directly to mould, meaning winemakers have to be able to protect the barrels and the ensuing wine in a way that doesn’t impact

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

on quality or residue restrictions. Path-Away which was developed in the US is already achieving a solution internationally in many agricultural and horticultural environments. Kerry Grimshaw, the CEO of the Australasian agent, New Zealand Air and Water Limited says the product is a plant based solution designed to eliminate air borne and surface pathogens and also act as a natural deodorizer. Scientific testing and trials show it is non-toxic to humans, animals, plants and aquatic life, as well as being biodegradable. It

Keeping a cellar moist without creating mould issues can be a problem for wineries.

has recently been approved as the coconut and pineapple plantafirst organic pesticide in the US. tions in the Philippines and AusGrimshaw says the company’s tralia. Environmental Management “Mealy bugs were the main Control System (GEM) provides problem (in the Philippines) and a controlled humidity level as Path-Away was completely sucprogrammed via a dry mist. While cessful in eliminating them,” he that keeps the evaporation levels says. down, Path-Away working in conThe trials were conducted by junction takes care of the disinfec- the Philippine Government’s Agrition issues. This technology also culture College. controls air conditioning, moni“Path-Away is now going to tors CO2 and CO levels along with replace all the neo nicotinoid sprays that are currently being early warning systems. Path-Away™ could also be use- used on all these plantations as ful out in the vineyard controlling/ these particular pesticides have killing mealy bug, viral and fungal now been proven to be responsidiseases. ble for killing off all the bees, and Trials are currently underway affecting birds and the environwith New Zealand Air & Water ment”.” working alongside Plant & Food The product is also currently Research on Leafroll disease. being trialled to confirm its effiGrimshaw says there have cacy on Botrytis, Phytophthora already been some startling results and Penicillium by Australia’s the product2014 in otherPagelargest pineapple producer. These NZ_ViniQuip 180x120mm_FINAL.FH11from Thuusing Nov 20 07:05:05 1 horticultural fields, including pathogens have also previously C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

Composite

been successfully tested against by Plant and Food Research and Auckland University. Back here though, Grimshaw says they are keen to see exactly how effective Path-Away is on destroying mealy bugs, given their role in spreading GLRaV-3-Virus. “We’re confident that PathAway can resolve this, and if the mealy bugs are eliminated, the virus can’t spread. “There are tests also being done on the virus as well, but as it’s systemic, that requires further consideration and testing. Due to its unique mode of action, Path Away has not failed any broad spectrum pathogen tests. This now offers a major step forward with eliminating the toxic chemical products currently used in the horticultural and agricultural environment by replacing them with a natural organic alternative”. tessa.nicholson@me.com

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

NOT ON THE LABEL LEGAL MATTERS WITH MARIJA BATISTICH SENIOR ASSOCIATE – BELL GULLY

RMA REFORM BACK ON THE AGENDA

he Resource Legislation Amendment Bill 2005 is now open for public submissions, following its announcement in late November and passing the first reading comfortably in early December. Overall, the proposed changes are positive and should particularly help to improve and expedite the plan-making process. They will not be a complete answer to the frustrations arising for many participants in the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) processes and, while politically expedient, they are undoubtedly less far-reaching than the Government would like to see. A number of informed commentators are calling for better integration of urban planning and infrastructure delivery, as well as separation of the environmental protection and urban planning functions of the RMA. The Bill is a diluted version of previously proposed amendments, with a focus on the time frames for resource consenting and reducing the excessive time and money spent on the development of district plans. It seems more far reaching reforms will have to wait at least until the Productivity Commission completes its review of Urban Planning.

What has changed? The most significant difference, when compared to earlier proposed amendments, is the removal of controversial changes to sections 6 and 7 (Part 2) of the RMA that did not gain cross party support. The only change to Part 2 that is now proposed should not be contentious – inclusion of the “management of significant

risks from national hazards” as a matter of national importance (section 6). The introduction of national planning templates will require councils to follow standardised provisions. This will provide consistency throughout the country and improve the usability of planning instruments. This change should assist in streamlining the process by requiring less time and resources for submitters. While the template will deal with matters of detail, it is unlikely to make much difference for high impact or contentious planning matters. It is, however, an important opportunity for those with winegrowing interests across the country to seek consistent provision for matters such as noise limits or setbacks.

Alternative processes for plan making The ‘Collaborative Planning Process’ The Bill introduces alternative processes for plan making. The first of these, referred to as the “Collaborative Planning Process” involves the formation of a collaborative group including members of the community and affected parties to report to the local authority on issues and recommendations before a plan is prepared. After proceeding through the usual notification and submission process, a review panel will hear submissions and provide a recommendation to the local authority. The local authority will then decide whether to accept or reject the recommendations of the panel.

The “Streamlined Planning Process”

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

The second option is a new “Streamlined Planning Process” where the plan will implement a national direction, if preparation or change of the plan is urgent or if the plan is required to meet a significant community need. A local authority must apply to the Minister – supplying both the proposed plan and reasons for using the streamlined process. If approved, alternative timeframes may be set to expedite the process. There is provision for consultation with affected parties, public notification and an opportunity to make written submissions. The local authority will then prepare a modified plan and resubmit it back to the Minister who can either approve it or recommend further changes.

of hazardous substances from the RMA (these are also regulated by the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act) and amendment to the land acquisition process in the Public Works Act 1981 (PWA). PWA changes include an increase in the additional compensation av a i l a b l e f o r l a n d o w n e r s whose home is acquired under the PWA (from NZ$2,000 to NZ$50,000). A new ground of additional compensation (of up to NZ$25,000) will be added for landowners whose land, but not home, is acquired. These changes aim to provide an incentive for landowners to enter into agreements more readily and provide easier and fairer compensation for affected landowners.

Fast track consents In the consenting context, a fast-track application process is proposed for simple activities (other than the subdivision of land). These amendments halve some of the existing timeframes including the time for the council to decide whether to publicly notify the application, and the time frame for a decision if the application is not notified. In addition, activities which are approved by neighbours on affected boundaries are considered to be permitted activities and marginal noncompliances can be waived to avoid the need to go through the consenting process.

Other key changes The other key changes introduced by the Bill are improved alignment between RMA and Conservation Act processes, removing management

What does it mean? These changes will smooth the way for small scale matters. The red tape and delays associated with these can be frustrating and attract criticism, but in reality these projects are already more likely than not to proceed through the process without notification or undue delay. The changes will have little or no beneficial effect for larger proposals, the processes for which can be time consuming, expensive and introduce significant uncertainty. Submissions are open until 14 March 2016 and the select committee is due to report in early June. This is the opportunity for you to have a say on the reforms, and let the Government know whether you think they go far enough. We will certainly be watching this process closely and will keep you updated on developments.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE Rachel Taulelei

TESSA NICHOLSON

roviding a story about your brand that resonates with consumers is vitally important these days. No one appreciates that more than the new CEO of Kono, Rachel Taulelei. The former NZTE Commissioner to the US and the founder of Yellow Brick Road took over the role in November last year. In her first public speech as CEO, Taulelei told a chartered accountants conference in Nelson, that where the company has come from is just, if not more important than where it is going. Kono which produces the wine brands Tohu, Rewa and Aronui, is the food and beverage arm of Wakatu Incorporation based in the top of the South Island. The company’s 4000 shareholders are all descendants of the original 254 Maori landowners in the Nelson, Marlborough, Golden Bay and Tasman Bay region. While the company is unique in its own right, the fact that Taulelei

is now Kono’s CEO is even more so, given she is the first direct descendant to hold that position. “In our head office we have the 254 names on the wall and these names are all representative of the families that settled into this area,” Taulelei says. “It’s a pretty powerful message to walk past each day for all of us. My great, great grandfather is on that list and it’s the first time one of the ‘owners’ has sat in the CEO seat. So it has been an interesting journey to get to this point.” Kono which means food basket, is not just about wine. The company also has other business units including horticulture, seafood and food manufacturing. All the units have their own unique story to tell that comes from the lineage of the company and the goal of being a guardian of the land, Taulelei says. “We consider ourselves to be kaitiaki or guardians of the resources. The value of kaitiaki-

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// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

tanga is that it recognises that we are responsible for the health and vitality of our land, waters and resources. Not only now, but also into the future. We manage what we consider to be our ancestral treasures in a sustainable way that creates opportunities for growth and prosperity. We take (all our products) from the land or sea and take it right through to the market. Our goal is to be the best indigenous branded food and beverage company in the world.” It is just that sort of story, linking the past to the present and preparing for the future that resonates in wine markets throughout the world. “Our story is rich, colourful – an enviable tap-

estry of history that is as broad as it is deep. It resonates with different groups in different ways, but in China especially we find it resonates very, very well. There are a lot of similarities culturally between Maori and Chinese. And there is a huge emphasis on longstanding and deep relationships.” The development of the wine

FAST FACTS • Kono currently owns 140 hectares of viticulture land in both Nelson and Marlborough, spread over four vineyards. • On those 140 hectares the company is growing a wide range of varieties; Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Grüner Veltliner and Albariño. • The wine brands are Aronui (Nelson based), Tohu and Rewa (Marlborough), along with Kono, Buller and Coalpit. • All the wine is made at the former Crossing’s winery in the Awatere Valley, which Kono purchased a few years ago. • Other beverages within the Kono stable are Tutu, a cider and an Oyster Stout beer. • With 4000 owners descended from original Maori landowners in the Nelson region, has assets worth $250 million. Its 10 million shares can only be traded among the descendants.

brands has been fast, with Tohu launched only in 1998. Since then the company has gone on to purchase more vineyard land and their own winery in Marlborough. Expansion may be on the cards, Taulelei says, but it will be measured. “As a company we have expansion plans both in volume, and growth in value. To support that there needs to be more fruit, but whether that is on our land or others, is up for discussion. At the end of the day that is a fairly finite resource, and while acquisition would be fantastic, we like all companies are subject to limitations. So we have to think smartly how we do approach that.” That measured approach is obvious in the company’s 500year plan that protects not only the current shareholders, but their descendants of the future. “What that does, is allow us to

plan for the wellness and prosperity of our grandchildren’s grandchildren. So we are working to a relatively long term plan – 500 years, which is somewhere in the distance. We take that 500-year plan, that horizon back to our activities today. It is a very deliberate strategy.” Like many in the wine industry, the new Kono CEO believes that New Zealand needs to be focusing on the niche, quality market. It is here where we can make the greatest impact Taulelei says. “We should be the world leaders in the luxury goods space. We are working with limited resources, some would say diminishing resources and the story that accompanies them needs to be treated with kid gloves. The space we need to operate in is that of limited supply, high demand and consequently extraordinary high value.”

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WINE NEWS

JUST WHAT IS ORANGE WINE? CAMERON DOUGLAS MS

‘WHAT WINE should we drink with dinner tonight – red, white, rosé or orange?’ Consumers tend to be creatures of habit when buying wine and many typically shop for something they already know and are comfortable with - varieties and styles that tick the boxes of reliability, value and safety. ‘Modern’ wines are clean and shiny in appearance and present aromas, flavours and textures that meet expectations and perceptions of quality. These wines are considered ‘normal’, and drive wine sales globally. Orange wine does not fit neatly into these criteria and it is unlikely it ever will because it doesn’t align with what is perceived as desirable in modern, classic wines. It looks different as well - apart from the orange, salmon or peach hues it can be a little cloudy in appearance (compared to modern bottled examples), it may smell a little odd, and it has a particular texture. The flavour profile of orange wine is quite wide ranging and will depend (as with modern wine) upon the variety used and winemaking intervention. Some of the local examples I have tasted show acute stone fruit flavours laced with old flowers, some slightly ‘grubby’ herb notes, and even marzipan and spice. Because of the skin contact involved there will be plenty of texture and skin tannins to factor in which will add quite a bite (grip) for some varieties and less so for others. Compare discovering an orange wine that suits

your palate to finding a version of Chardonnay that suits – it has to have the right balance, textures, complexity and finish. If orange wine is something you haven’t considered you’re not alone. It may have appeared on the shelves at your favourite wine store, or somewhere on the list at a restaurant or bar you visit, but unless the staff or sommelier is happy to discuss or even provide you with a taste, you may not have been interested in trying. So what exactly is it, and how is it made? Orange wine is essentially a form of natural wine, which develops the orange colour due to being made without preservatives. It can be made from any white variety and incorporates a deliberate fermentation on skins followed by extended post ferment maceration – typically two weeks to several months. Pinot Gris is a favoured variety locally (2013 Sato Pinot Gris Central Otago) and seems to be suited to the method. With the berries having a pink colour already the colour will develop readily through an unavoidable oxidation phase, and the varieties own set of phenolic attributes will add to the texture in the finished wine. Pinot Gris also has an abundance of sugar (for RS and potential alcohol) to bring bal-

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

ance and longevity. Varieties indigenous to particular countries are typically used in any Orange wines produced (for example Rkatsileli in Georgia). Here the use of seeds and stalks in the ferment is also a factor in the finished wine, and

ponents, along with high natural acidity from the grapes and any alcohol produced. The type of clay used is specific to the country and micro-oxidation occurs through the clay and lid - when racking of the wine is completed at various clarification points further oxidation events occur, contributing to the final flavour and colour. Tannin and acid levels are particularly high - this is ‘old school’ wine making and particular to Georgia, and continues to be in practice after many hundreds of years. Twenty first century wine making incorporates the historical practices with additional knowledge and technology developed over the years. Many scientific and non-scientific approaches are now used including organic and biodynamically managed fruit, concrete egg fermenters, temperature controls, Orange wine may be one of understanding the threshthe newest styles on the street, but it’s heritage goes back olds of flavour and texture thousands of years. release, yeast families, various oak products and the along with the fermentation vessel use of sulphur. Orange wine will used. In Georgia the use of egg- always be dramatically different shaped clay vessels (Amphora), from modern wine - it is a specific lined with wax and buried in the style using a particular technique ground to keep the ferment cool that has not changed and is what is part of the traditional process defines it. and still carried out. The rationOrange wine, of course, has its ale is that the combination of skin, critics - the focus will be on dislike seed and stalk tannins housed in of the phenolics, volatile acidity, the ferment and ageing vessel excessive oxidation, heavy unbalcreates its own preservative com- anced examples, too much tannin.

All of these criticisms have merit if the comparison is with what is now accepted as modern and/or commercial winemaking - but it is, of course, comparing apples to pears. The context in which Orange Wine should be judged is alongside other Orange wines, and the aim should be identifying the best examples. It has a role to play in the market and there is definitely enthusiasm for the category. Professional sommeliers carry much of the credit for introducing Orange wine into restaurants, showing their open mindedness to new styles and expressions in wine as well as investigating the versatility with food. While it is important to ensure the customers don’t become the guinea pigs in the sommeliers’ food and wine pairing experiments, Orange wine can add diversity to a wine and food programme. Commonly, it is one

of the first topics I am questioned about when the subject of alternative wine styles is raised. Then follows - what does it taste like, is it any good, who makes it and where can I buy some? It raises a message about the consumer that I am continually reminded of – people remain curious about wine, like to explore new versions of wine and will generally be direct and honest if they do or don’t like what you are trying to sell them There is a notable downside to Orange wine in a restaurant - by the glass sales, volume sales and adding to the bottom line won’t make a lot of money for the business. Particularly regarding by the glass sales, once opened it must be sold and drunk in that sales period as it will lose integrity quickly through rapid oxidation. I have yet to try an example that has maintained good quality overnight - even with argon gas or

another preserver system in play. When it comes to food and wine harmony using Orange wine - go bold on the food, to align with the boldness of the wine. Traditional rustic country fare such as wild game bird (pheasant, goose), stews, Shepherd’s pie and perhaps a lamb leg roast with mash make for ideal pairings. At restaurants it will depend entirely on the style of food you are engaging in – try to avoid deep fried food, heat spices or delicate spices and anything with monosodium or food enhancers with any Orange wine. Options such as pan-seared salmon or an oily fish can work well. Umami ingredients in food such as miso and soy sauce are also good partners. The internet has created a greater awareness of Orange, Natural and other alternatives to commercial wine options. For access to producers - both local

and imported examples - start with a net search, or ask your local trusted Sommelier or retailer. Supporters for Orange wine are likely outnumbered by the critics, and I suspect there are many readers of this article who have not yet engaged in the style. It is difficult for some to embrace the re-emergence of a wine style that has been made for centuries elsewhere in the world and with which they have no relationship. For some it’s simply outside their frame of reference for wine because it doesn’t look, smell or taste like what they are used to, so they reject it out of hand. Of the many challenges for producers of Orange wine - one key question remains - how will they reach consumers to generate enthusiasm for the style, and how will they convince them it is worth the purchase dollars? cameronjdouglas@gmail.com

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WEATHER UPDATE

CLIMATE WARNING AND FROSTY COOLING

Later frosts are coinciding with an advancement in flowering, which means vines are more at risk.

TESSA NICHOLSON

hen we think global warming, we tend to think of warmer temperatures and more extreme weather events. We probably do not consider that another result is more spring and autumn frosts. In a recent seminar held in Marlborough, the impact of changing weather patterns and their relationship to frost events highlighted some interesting changes. It appears that Marlborough’s mean temperature between the 1940s and the late 2000s did not change in any dramatic way, despite global warming. However, the mean daily maximum temperatures have risen while the minimum temperatures have dropped. In other words, the region is experiencing higher temperatures than it used to, but the occurrence of colder temperatures

El Nino may be the reason for later frosts being experienced in Marlborough.

is also increasing. Professor Andy Sturman from University of Canterbury’s Department of Geography noted that the pattern of change in Marlborough, or to be exact Blenheim, is similar to what has occurred in

Christchurch. Other wine growing regions such as Napier, Nelson and Central Otago are showing an increase in their mean temperatures in line with the national trend. Of the main centres, only Blenheim and Christchurch are

bucking the trend, showing static mean temperatures but an increase in the daily temperature range. Marlborough in particular appears to be at risk of frosts occurring later in the year under El Niño conditions, as we have experienced this growing season. There were four frost events in November 2015 that impacted on vines throughout Marlborough, overnight on the 4th and 5th, 5th/6th, 12th/13th and 22nd/23rd. Dr Mike Trought from Plant & Food Research Ltd. said that these later frosts are tending to coincide with an advancement in flowering within the region. Since 1992, he said the dates of flowering in Marlborough have moved forward by nearly eight

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days, getting closer to regions such as Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay. Consequently, fruit set, véraison and a brix level of 20 are also being achieved at an earlier stage in the season than in the past. “What this suggests is that by 2040, the whole country will be harvested in the same week,” Trought said. “In fact in Australia, they are coming to grips with a number of varieties all coming on stream together. Where they used to have a six week spread of harvest, it is now coming down to a three week spread.” The major problem with the advancing flowering dates, is that the vines are more likely to be subjected to a late spring frost – which is what happened in November 2015. That is something all growers in the Marlborough region are concerned about. While every season is different,

Year

Southern Oscillation Index (SOI)

Number of Spring Frosts Events at Fairhall

2005

La Nina

2006

El Nino

2007

Neither

2008

La Nina

2009

El Nino

2010

La Nina

2011

La Nina

2012

La Nina

2013

Neither

2014

El Nino

2015

El Nino

Andy Sturman and Climate Consulting’s Dr Stu Powell, both said there are some situations that are becoming common, depending on whether the country is experiencing an El Niño like currently, or a La Niña. El Niño tends to bring more westerly or south-westerly winds, cooler temperatures and extremely dry periods especially along the east coast. In contrast,

La Niña tends to bring less westerlies, more rain (to the upper North Island) with dry conditions over the bottom half of the South Island. The last La Niña this country experienced was in 2011/12. The current El Niño pattern we are experiencing, is described as one of the strongest in the past 50 years.

How do these weather patterns impact on frosts? Stu Powell says that having monitored one site in Marlborough for the past 11 years, there is some correlation between the number of November frost events and El Niño, as the table shows. While in most years the Marlborough site has experienced single figure frosts with 2013 being the best year with none, 2014 was a particularly tough year with 11 events. That had a major impact on the yields for 2015, with varieties like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay heavily affected. The changing frost patterns and how they are impacting on the grape growers in Marlborough is on-going, with research being undertaken by Canterbury University, Climate Consulting and Marlborough Plant & Food Research Ltd. tessa.nicholson@me.com

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VINEYARD NEWS

PROTECTING GRAPES FROM UV’S T E SSA N I C H O L S O N A N D D R DA M I A N M A R T I N – PLANT & FOOD RESEARCH, MARLBOROUGH

e humans have to take measures to protect our skin, hence the campaign of slip, slop slap. But when those long days, clear skies and rising temperatures appear, how do you protect your fruit from the dangers of UV rays? Do they even need protection? The answer is quite simply – yes, especially if the variety you are growing is Sauvignon Blanc. Dr Damian Martin from Plant & Food Research in Marlborough says UV rays can be as damaging to berries as they are to human skin. Too much exposure can also result in a change in wine style, that may not be wanted. For example, take 1998 – the last major El Nino cycle experienced in New Zealand. In Marlborough in particular the summer was long, cloudless and very hot. The ensuing wines, which many winemakers had been excited about, didn’t receive the rave reviews most were expecting. Martin says that had a lot to do with the dry conditions and intense sun between January and April, but it was also a reflection of viticultural practices at the time. “In 1998 we were extremely excited because Sauvignon Blanc got to 23 or 24 brix which it had never done before. I was at Corban’s and we were looking after the Stoneleigh vineyard. We were really excited about the wines. But we harvested too late at the end of the day. That was the lesson learned. In hot dry years you

have to pick early so you can get more freshness, more acidity and a bit more herbaceousness in the wines to make a classic Marlborough style.” Martin says the effects of UVs on grapes are very specific to

growers will need to take precautions to protect their fruit from over exposure. Which can be difficult if the ensuing drought continues. With irrigation likely to be turned off in some parts of the country, vines will be under stress.

UV light is essential for fruit development – but too much can be detrimental to the ensuing wine.

the formation of phenolic compounds. “A grape berry exposed to UV will produce phenolic compounds to absorb that UV and protect it from damage. Too much UV and those phenolics will then come out in the juice and into the wine.” The end result tends towards a style that doesn’t match a typical Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. With El Nino currently in full force and some of the hottest days of the year still to come, he says

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

“One of the effects of water stress is a much greater chance of basal leaf drop, which leads to more UV exposure and warmer bunches.” Martin says it is a double edged sword, given one of the ways to assist a water stressed vine is to remove some of the canopy to encourage fruit development. If the vine is too stressed, some of that canopy will automatically die off – again exposing the fruit to sunlight.

If you need to reduce leaf area, he suggests removing top canopy only, leaving the basal leaves for as long as possible. In terms of red varieties, the issues with UV damage are not quite as high. Mainly because red fruit requires UVs to help with colour development and to ensure that colour remains stable during the wine making process. “But even so,” Martin says, “you can still over do it in terms of exposure. It’s just they are much more forgiving and you get more gains from exposing the fruit than you get with Sauvignon Blanc.” Whereas in Australia sunscreen products such as Kaolin are often used to protect the fruit from UV damage, Martin says it isn’t a practice usually employed in New Zealand. We can possibly thank our specific climatic conditions for that he says. “One of the unique things about New Zealand is that we have very high energy from the sun but with a cool ambient temperature. Most places in the world where they experienced the equivalent energy that we get, would be 45 degrees outside. Your vines wouldn’t produce quality in that. “However that cooler ambient temperature is almost certainly a contributor to the type of New Zealandness of our wines. We have the cool ambient temperature combined with the high UV energy – so we are getting the best of both worlds.” tessa.nicholson@me.com

The New Zealand Winegrowers Global Marketing and Events Programme was released at the beginning of July. It outlines the levy-funded global marketing activities and user-pays global events planned for the period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 in two handy booklets. To view digital versions of these booklets, please visit the Members section of nzwine.com and click through to the Marketing section. Alternatively, if you would like hard copy versions, or wish to speak to one of the team, please contact: Global Marketing Programme Felicity Johnston | Global Marketing Executive | P: +64 9 306 5645 | E: felicity@nzwine.com Global Events Programme Angela Willis | Manager â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Global Events | P: +64 9 306 5642 | E: angela@nzwine.com

MARKET

EVENT

EVENT DATE

Australia

Taste of Sydney

March TBC

USA

New Zealand Wine Fair (San Francisco)

March 7

USA

New Zealand Wine Fair (New York)

March 10

Germany

ProWein (Dusseldorf)

March 13-15

China

National Food, Wine and Spirits Fair, (Chengdu)

March 2016

Canada

LCBO Vintages Release and In-Store Promotion (Ontario)

April-May

USA

New Zealand Wine Tasting (LA)

April TBC

Canada

BCLB - New Zealand Mini Thematic

May TBC

USA

Wine Spectator Tasting

May TBC

Canada

New Zealand In A Glass (Vancouver)

May 5

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

CALENDAR FEBRUARY 1-3: International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration 2016 – Marlborough

4-5:

Chardonnay and Sparkling Symposium – Gisborne

13:

Marlborough Wine and Food Festival 2016 – Brancott Vineyard - Marlborough

16:

Champagne Bollinger Trade Tennis Tournament

23:

27:

19-20:

Champagne Bollinger Trade Tennis Tournament

Mission Estate Concert – Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals

Wellington Wine & Food Festival

– Auckland

– Hawke’s Bay

27:

28:

The Dog Point/Logan Brown Classic Kiwi Picnic

Mission Estate Concert – Simply Red, The Big Love Tour

– Dog Point Vineyard – Marlborough

– Hawke’s Bay

– Wellington

– Waitangi Park – Wellington

21:

Brightwater Wine and Food Festival – Grey’s Vineyard – Nelson

MARCH

APRIL

8-10:

Decanter World Wine Awards 2016

The Food Show Christchurch 2016

- last date for entries

12:

– Horncastle Arena

Wairarapa Wines Harvest Festival – The Cliffs – Wairarapa

13-15: ProWein

– Dusseldorf – Germany

19:

Gibbston Wine and Food Festival – Queenstown Gardens – Queenstown

27:

Clyde Wine and Food Festival - Clyde

MAY: 14: Saint Clair half marathon - Blenheim

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

30 – 1 May The Great NZ Food Show Hamilton 2016 – Mystery Creek Event Centre

STATISTICS

MAJOR NZ VINEYARD AREAS PRODUCING HECTARES Region

PRINCIPAL EXPORT MARKETS

2014

2017 forecast

22,907.0

23,684.3

67.1

4774.3

4886.6

13.9

Otago

1931.8

1953.2

5.5

Gisborne

1914.6

1961.2

5.6

Waipara

1254.6

1257.2

3.6

1122.7

1159.7

3.3

Wairarapa / Wellington

995.1

1017.7

2.9

Auckland / Northland

392.3

407.1

1.2

24.6

23.28

0.01

35,510.1

36,547.3

Marlborough Hawkes Bay

Nelson

Waikato / Bay of Plenty National Total

% of Total in 2017 forecast

Country

MAJOR VARIETIES IN MAJOR AREAS Variety

2014

% producing area

Exports for the year to date to the end of November 2015 (Moving Annual Total)

56.4

20,697.2

Pinot Noir

5509.2

15.5

5995.5

Chardonnay

3345.5

9.4

3441.1

Pinot Gris

2451.2

6.9

1395.3

Merlot

1290.0

3.6

1395.3

783.7

2.2

781.1

Syrah

433.1

1.2

446.7

Gewurztraminer

375.5

1.1

363.8

Cabernet Sauv

289.4

0.8

306

Viognier

187.4

0.5

182.2

Malbec

126.8

0.4

134.8

112.7

0.3

112

576.3

1.6

Cabernet Franc All other varieties Total

35,510.1

Auckland/Northland Waikato/Bay of Plenty

Regional area

Average of

Vineyards

Planted ha

area ha

392.4

381,069

13%

15%

USA

58,193

414,834

11%

19%

Australia

55,104

358,328

-1%

Canada

10,059

100,935

20%

21%

6,906

43,560

27%

23%

1,016

7,180

Ireland

2,677

18,848

34%

31%

Japan

1,102

13,729

-7%

Germany

2,488

12,571

10%

China

1,842

27,205

-1%

Hong Kong

1,342

17,856

-1%

Singapore

1,544

20,572

-5%

-7%

Finland

0.327

2,719

28%

20%

Norway

0.265

2,069

-29%

-31%

Sweden

1.687

13,510

24.6

2.1

100

1914.6

19.1

Hawkeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bay

260

4774.3

18.4

118

1122.3

9.5

Marlborough

Others

7,758

69,087

20%

18%

213,139,394

1,504,082,123

11%

1014

22,907.0

22.6

Waipara

1254.5

19.6

Canterbury

193.0

8.4

Wellington/Wairarapa

119

995.1

9.1

Otago

213

1931.8

17.4

2046

35,510.1

17.4

National

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

Denmark

3.5

Gisborne

Nelson

Number of

111

Growth Decline FOB %

594.8 36,547.3

AVERAGE VINEYARD SIZE Region

Growth Decline Litres %

2017 forecast

20,029.4

Riesling

$ FOB

60,820

Netherlands Sauvignon Blanc

Litres (m)

TOTAL

NZ WINEGROWER OCTOBER/NOVEMBER //

RESEARCH RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT SUPPLEMENT Information and Updates on NZ Winegrowers Research Programmes. Editor Dr Simon Hooker, General Manager Research and Innovation

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

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

Pests and Disease

Sustainability/Organics

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

Effects of undervine vegetation management on grape quality, vine performance, grape composition, and soil properties Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) (Mark Krasnow)

Leafroll virus and mealybug monitoring in Marlborough, 2015 to 2017 Plant and Food Research (Vaughn Bell) Virus diversity in New Zealand grapevines: sequence, ecology and impact The Rod Bonfiglioli Scholarship Plant and Food Research (Robin MacDiarmid - student Arnaud Blouin)

Pinot noir wine composition and sensory characteristics as affected by soil type and irrigation in the Waipara region Lincoln University (Glen Creasy)

Sustaining vineyards through practical management of grapevine trunk diseases South Australian Research & Development Institute (Mark Sosnowski) Supported by MPI Sustainable Farming Fund Sector weather data licence & tools HortPlus (NZ) Ltd. Developing Powdery Mildew Best Practise (Year Two) Lewis Wright Valuation & Consultancy Ltd (Trevor Lupton) Grape botrytis resistance to AP and SDHI fungicides Plant and Food Research (Rob Beresford)

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

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

Cost Reduction/Increased Profitability Grapevine growth stage monitoring for prediction of key phenological events Plant and Food Research (Rob Agnew) Supported by MPI Sustainable Farming Fund

PROGRESS REPORTS

How yeast handles excess sulphur 13-102 Matias I. Kinzurik; Richard C. Gardner; Bruno Fedrizzi Wine Science Programme, University of Auckland Corresponding Author: b.fedrizzi@auckland.ac.nz

Highlights: Grape juice contains sulphur hugely in excess of what yeast requires to grow. The production of unfavourable volatile sulphur compounds in wine results from yeast taking up too much sulphur as a result of “misinterpreting” its needs or from an imbalance between sulphur uptake and nitrogen supply. A New Zealand Winegrowers and Bragato Trust PhD project at the University of Auckland is aiming to determine the yeast pathways for volatile sulphur compound production. This information, combined with improved understanding of the regulation of both sulphur uptake and the degradation of sulphur-containing amino acids, will lead to improved yeast strains and better winemaking practices that reduce production of volatile sulphur compounds. When yeast (or any microorganism) finds itself in a new environment, it immediately assesses whether it is able to grow there or not. It measures the concentrations of macronutrients and micronutrients available in the immediate area and, if they are sufficient, it initiates cell division and growth. As they grow, the cells constantly assess their environment; if one or more of the nutrients is about to become limiting, each cell then shuts down cell division in a very controlled fashion and goes into a resting state until such time as conditions become favourable again. Grape juice is generally an excellent nutritional environment for yeast growth. Yeast has

evolved as a specialist in high-carbon (high sugar) environments like fruit; it rapidly converts the sugars to ethanol, which serves as a fast method of inhibiting the growth of its bacterial and fungal competitors. Once it establishes itself as the dominant species of the niche, it can then utilize this alcohol as an energy source. Grape juice also has sufficient of most of the other nutrients yeast needs (Nitrogen, Sulphur, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Copper, Zinc, etc). Nitrogen and some of these minor nutri-

ents, however, are usually in limiting quantities, and are most likely to limit yeast growth in grape juice. Hence the critical importance of YAN for fermentation. Grape juice has a very high concentration of sulphur, typically more than 100-fold excess over what yeast needs to grow. Sulphate (SO2) is the major 4 form of sulphur (S) in juice. It is typically present at around 5 mM. In contrast, yeast requires only 0.15 mM of a sulphur source to

grow to normal densities. Because yeast uses so little, finished wine usually retains a high content of sulphate, 0.5-1 g/L (5-10 mM) on average; in some wines the sulphate content can approach the US legal limit of 2 g/L (21 mM). In addition to the inorganic sulphate, grape juice also contains several “organic” sulphur compounds like glutathione (GSH), cysteine (Cys), methionine (Met) and S-methyl methionine (SMM). All are either amino acids or derivatives, and all contain nitrogen (N) and S (Figure 1). They are

Figure 1. The sulphur pathways in yeast. Volatile Sulphur Compounds (VSCs) that are problematic in wine appear to result from misregulation of the pathways resulting in excess production of hydrogen sulphide, cysteine or methionine (yellow boxes).

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

found in juice because they are either normal components of grape cells, or are broken down from grape proteins during crushing, or represent an intermediate form of amino acids. On average, a good juice will have sufficient of these compounds alone to allow yeast growth. However, the concentrations of these compounds in juice varies widely; the basis for the variation is not totally clear, but it is likely to depend strongly on the N status of the grapes at harvest. Winemakers also add extra sulphur to juice in the form of sulphite. The amount added is usually less than the sulphate that is already present in juice: for example, an addition of 100 ppm sulphite (SO32-) adds only 1.2 mM of sulphur, around ¼ of the amount of the total sulphate that is already present in an average juice. However, in contrast to (SO42-), (SO32-) freely diffuses into the yeast cells, so its uptake is not subject to regulation by the yeast cell (see figure 1). (SO32-) Added can therefore contribute to flow down the sulphur assimilation pathway. One way that yeast copes with the sulphite influx is to secrete directly back into the wine. To avoid (SO2) simply 3 re-diffusing back into the yeast cells, it is typically complexed with formaldehyde (also secreted by yeast) and thus contributes to ‘bound sulphite’. Interestingly, it has been found that the sulphur content of cells grown in media with a huge excess of sulphur, is similar to the concentration that would be predicted if they take up the minimum required for growth (0.15 mM). We therefore believe that sulphur storage inside the yeast cell is minimal. Rather yeast cells appear to regulate sulphur uptake and reduction very tightly over time, and they also regulate interconversion between the various forms of organic sulphur

molecules in the cell in order to optimise growth and survival. Figure 1 shows the sulphur assimilation pathway and S utilization by yeast. Sulphate is actively taken up by yeast cells and reduced to hydrogen sulphide (H2S – rotten eggs) in four enzyme steps (blue part of pathway, representing “inorganic sulphur”). This H2S is then incorporated into an amino acid called homocysteine, using a nitrogen and carbon skeleton formed from the amino acid aspartic acid (red part of the diagram, representing the nitrogen input). Homocysteine and the four other major nitrogen-containing ‘organic’ sulphur compounds are shown in purple – each can be interconverted to all the other molecules within yeast cells, as shown. Homocysteine is directly converted into the two sulphur-containing amino acids, Met and Cys, which are incorporated into yeast proteins (the major ‘end-goal’ for sulphur within yeast cells). In addition, cysteine

is used directly as a sulphur donor for essential S-containing molecules in yeast cells (Figure 1, black box). Cys is also used to make glutathione (GSH), used by yeast cells to detoxify some toxic compounds and also for redox control in the cell. The sulphur component of GSH can be recycled into Cys. Finally methionine is converted to SAM (S-adenosyl methionine), the major methyl donor in cells; this sulphur can also be retained by recycling SAM to homocysteine or Met. In addition to all of these metabolites, yeast has evolved a remarkable capacity to grow using a wide variety of organic and inorganic sulphur sources, including SMM, a range of sulfonates, and even SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate, also called SLS or sodium lauryl sulphate, a major component of laundry detergents). The evolutionary basis for this versatility is unclear – presumably the natural niche of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

can have very different sulphur sources. It certainly seems safe to presume that grape juice, with its abundance of (SO2), is not 4 the natural niche for this yeast, however much we might like to think so! Yeast cells have preferred sources of nutrients and use pre-existing organic sulphur compounds in preference to sulphate. Yeast has evolved regulatory elegant mechanisms that allow it to use the best nutritional sources. When given a choice of multiple sulphur-containing compounds, yeast will use pre-existing ‘organic’ compounds like Met/Cys/GSH, in preference to inorganic sulphate. The rationale for this choice is two-fold. First, it is very costly for yeast to convert sulphate to H2S. These four steps in the pathway of sulphate assimilation require both energy (2 molecules of ATP are used per molecule of sulphur) and

Figure 2. Yeast cultures being grown in the Wine Science Group at University of Auckland, used to discover the inner workings of the sulphur metabolic pathway and VSC formation during grape juice fermentation.

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

reductive power (two molecules of NADH are used per molecule of sulphur reduced). Secondly, the yeast must then also supply a nitrogen-containing amino acid backbone (homoserine). This is particularly costly when yeast is in an environment like grape juice when N is likely to be limiting. Because of these costs, yeast has evolved a regulatory system that allows it preferentially to utilize “organic” forms of sulphur that are already reduced and already have their amino acid backbones. VSCs in wine arises when yeast cells “overdo” sulphur uptake. Yeast cells must not only get their S, uptake correct, but must also balance it carefully against N flows into the pathway (Figure 1 - red part of diagram). There are inevitably occasional excesses of sulphur uptake, which the

yeast compensates for in various ways. If yeast cells take up excess (SO42-) (blue part of the pathway), they cope with the excess by expelling it back into the medium as (SO32-) or as H2S. If there is excess supply in the lower part of the pathway (purple), yeast cells can recycle GSH to Cys and SAM to Met respectively, and then yeast also have pathways to degrade both Cys and Met. It is because of these overshoots in S supply that unfavourable VSCs are formed. Experiments that we have performed so far in yeast suggest that VSCs appear to arise from three major sources. The first is a result of the production of H2S, which is itself the smallest and most volatile VSC, infamous for its strong rotten egg aroma. Free H2S in wine solution is then converted by yeast cells to other VSCs, including ethanethiol and S-ethyl thioacetate. The other two major sources are the breakdown

within yeast cells of excess Met and Cys, the two S-containing amino acids. The yeast pathway for VSC production from these compounds is thus far poorly understood, but in other fungi and bacteria the breakdown of Met gives rise to a number of foul smelling compounds, including methanethiol (cooked cabbage), methionol (cooked cabbage) and methyl thioacetate (rotten vegetables), among others, while Cys breakdown can result in the formation of H2S and mercaptoethanol (poultry). To mitigate the effect of VSCs, yeast researchers need to make progress in understanding the pathways of VSCs production, the regulation of S uptake and how it interacts with N supply within yeast cells, and the control of degradation of the two S-containing amino acids. The PhD programme of Matias Kinzurik at the University of

Auckland is focused on the first of these goals. If we can identify the key yeast genes involved in these processes, then it should be possible to develop improved yeast strains. Understanding the regulation of S and N supply may also permit the refinement of winemaking practices to reduce VSC production in wine.

The authors Matias Kinzurik is a PhD student in the University of Auckland Wine Science Group funded by New Zealand Winegrowers and Bragato Trust. His project is to identify the pathways of VSC formation in yeast. His supervisors are Dr Bruno Fedrizzi, a Senior Lecturer in Chemical Sciences specialising in sulphur chemistry, and Emeritus Professor Richard Gardner (formerly of Biological Sciences) with a background in yeast genetics.

The efficacy of sulphur for powdery mildew control Developing powdery mildew best practice in New Zealand vineyards 15-100 Trevor Lupton Lewis Wright Valuation & Consultancy Ltd, Gisborne Craig Howard Marlborough Peter Melville Eurofins Agroscience Services NZ Ltd, Havelock North

New Zealand Winegrowers has funded a study that is currently under way in commercial vineyards in Gisborne and Marlborough for the 2015/16 growing season. The objective is to provide the wine industry with improved knowledge on the efficacy of sulphur for powdery mildew control. Key questions to be answered by this study are: • Do increased rates of sulphur improve control of powdery mildew? • Does the addition of a spreader to sulphur improve control of powdery mildew?

• Are higher sulphur rates safe for the crop? • What does a ‘best practice’ sulphur-based programme look like? The results of this study may be used to revise sulphur label claims in New Zealand.

The treatments are as follows: Untreated for powdery mildew Kumulus DF at 3.0kg/Ha Kumulus DF at 4.0kg/Ha Kumulus DF at 5.0kg/Ha Kumulus DF at 6.0kg/ha Kumulus DF at 10.0kg/Ha (check for plant safety)

Kumulus DF at 3.0kg/Ha + Actiwett Kumulus DF at 4.0kg/Ha + Actiwett Kumulus DF at 5.0kg/Ha + Actiwett Organic powdery mildew programme Conventional powdery mildew

NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 //

programme Sulphur is the main powdery mildew fungicide used in New Zealand, accounting for approximately 60% of powdery mildew fungicide applications. Label rates in New Zealand are 150g and 300g per 100 litres of water. This label was developed when the industry was based on 3-metre rows and water rates of 1,000 litres per hectare, giving sulphur rates of 1.5kg to 3.0kg/Ha. In recent years, sulphur rates in the NZ industry have increased to 4-5 kg/Ha per application due to concerns about powdery mildew control. Interestingly, the Australian label refers to rates of 200g to 600g per 100 litres (2kg to 6kg/Ha). Sulphur is an inexpensive product with prices ranging from $2/kg to $4/kg. It is

also a generic product, with 10 products listed in the NZ Winegrowers Vineyard Spray Schedule 2015/16. The current study builds on previous research funded by NZ Winegrowers, ‘Developing Powdery Mildew Best Practice 2014/15’ (NZW 14-101). This research provided independent testing of powdery mildew fungicide options through field trials in Gisborne and Marlborough during the 201415 season. A Research Report is

// NZ WINEGROWER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016

available on the members’ website of nzwine.com. Additional guidance is available on the members’ website, including a fact sheet (Managing Powdery Mildew) and Grape Days

presentations from 2013, 2014 and 2015. For more information on this study, please contact Dr Mark Eltom (mark.eltom@nzwine.com, +64 9 306 556).

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