WG Apr-May 2011 by Rural News Group

New Zealand WineGrower

April / May 2011 Vol. 14 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issue 5

Grower N E W

Z E A L A N D

O F F I C I A L J O U R N A L O F T H E N E W Z E A L A N D G R A P E A N D W I N E I N D U S T RY

Official Journal of the New Zealand Grape and Wine Industry

Royal Easter Show Wine Awards

Inaugural Heritage Category Winner

April / May 2011

N e w Z e a l a n d g l a s s f o r w o r l d cl a s s

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EDITORIAL & PRODUCTION 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). The editor is Terry Dunleavy MBE, FWINZ, JP. 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.

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Z E A L A N D

Published under the authority of New Zealand Winegrowers

Vol 14 – Issue 5

Official journal of the New Zealand Grape & Wine Industry N EApr/May W Z 2011 E A L A N D REGULAR COLUMNS

Grower

Editorial (Excellence, fun and profit)............................................... 4 CEO, NZ Winegrowers (Ten years on - shaping our future)........... 5 JF Hillebrand Export Events Calendar.......................................... 53 Export statistics (Average $ per litre down again!) . .................... 54 GENERAL INDUSTRY NEWS Sector leader profiles - Kate Radburnd on supply and demand.... 6 Letter to the Editor - Time to speak up.......................................... 8

CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS: Contact: Lorraine Rudelj New Zealand Winegrowers PO Box 90 276, Auckland Mail Centre New Zealand Ph 09 303 3527; Fax 09 302 2969 e-mail: lorraine@nzwine.com

Vintage progress report - more grapes, but sales lifting............. 14 NZ Wine Hall of Fame - wine knight inducted.............................. 21

6 Kate Radburnd, sector leader.

EDITORIAL: Terry Dunleavy 14A Bayview Road, Takapuna 0622. P O Box 33-114, Takapuna 0622 Ph 09 486-3859, Fax 09 486 2341 Mobile: 0274 836688 e-mail: terry@winezeal.co.nz Correspondents: Auckland: Joelle Thomson (jthomson@xtra.co.nz) Gisborne: Debbie Gregory (debbie.donald@xtra.co.nz) Hawkes Bay: Mary Shanahan (westclan@clear.net.nz) Wairarapa: Barbara Gilham (barbarag@value.net.nz) Marlborough: Tessa Nicholson (tessan@xtra.co.nz) Nelson: Neil Hodson (neil@hodgson.net.nz) Canterbury: Jo Burzynska (joburzynska@talk21.com) UK: Peter McCombie MW (peter@petermccombie.com)

Royal Easter Show Wine Awards - new Heritage Category.......... 24 Royal Easter Show Wine Awards - Bob Campbell MW................. 26 Royal Easter Show Wine Awards - Hawkes Bay Syrah wins.......... 30 Royal Easter Show Wine Awards - Trophy list & presentations....31 EXPORT Tips on how to succced in UK wine market................................10 ‘Complexity” takes top NZ wines to US high enders..................34 VinLiner protects wine during shipping......................................36 REGIONS Hawkes Bay - Student challenges red wine practice.................... 40 Marlborough - Are we selling our Pinot Noir too early?.............. 44 PRODUCTS & SERVICES NZ invention revolutionises vine pruning.................................... 46 Extraordinary success of Langlois vine stripper............................ 48

21 Sir George Fistonich, 2011 inductee to NZ Wine Hall of Fame New Zealand WineGrower

NMIT diploma passport to work in wine....................................... 51 New centrifuge aids removal of solids from juices & wines......... 52 NZ WINEGROWERS RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT Introduction and list of projects.................................................... 55 Responses of Sauvignon Blanc to mechanical pruning................ 56 Early defoliation to manage crop & increase quality.................... 58 Grapevine trunk diseases in NZ..................................................... 59

April / May 2011 Vol. 14 – Issue 5

Grower N E W

Z E A L A N D

O F F I C I A L J O U R N A L O F T H E N E W Z E A L A N D G R A P E A N D W I N E I N D U S T RY

How trimming affects shoot growth & bunch development........ 62 Influence of training systems on crop load and composition...... 59 Perceived minerality in white wine................................................ 62 Supporting good botrytis management....................................... 64

COVER:

Official Journal of the New Zealand Grape and Wine Industry

PUBLISHING & PRE-PRESS: Rural News Group P O Box 3855, Auckland 1140 Ph 09 307 0399 e-mail: ruralnews@ruralnews.co.nz Location: Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622 Managing Editor: Adam Fricker Production: Dave Ferguson, Nadia Wickliffe

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FREQUENCY & DISTRIBUTION: Published every second month. One free copy will be 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.

ADVERTISING: Ros Sellers Ph 07 827 8648; Fax 07 827 8631 Mobile 021 190 3877 e-mail: nzwinegrower@xtra.co.nz website: www.nzwinegrower.co.nz

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International Standard Serial No: ISSN 1174-5223

Royal Easter Show Wine Awards

Inaugural Heritage Category Winner

The inaugural Heritage Rose Bowl for the winning set of wines in the new Heritage Category of the 2011 Royal Easter Show Wine Awards was presented to Hunter’s Wines for Rieslings 2004, 2007 and 2010. Seen here are (from left): Gary Duke, Hunter’s chief winemaker, Vic Williams, MC of Awards Dinner, Jane Hunter, CMNZ, OBE, Hunter’s managing director, and Terry Dunleavy, MBE, FWINZ, general director of the Awards (story on page 24).

April / May 2011

N e w Z e a l a n d g l a s s f o r w o r l d cl a s s

New Zealand Wines

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

NZ Wine Directory

EDITORIAL

New Zealand Winegrowers Board From New Zealand Grape Growers Council Stuart Smith, (President, NZGGC) (Chair, NZW Board) Mal McLennan, Vice-Pres., NZGGC Tom Brodie (Gisborne) Chris Howell (Hawkes Bay) Dominic Pecchinino (Marlborough) John Clarke (Gisborne) alternate Garth Edwards (Wairarapa) alternate Richard Rose (Marlborough) alternate Xan Harding (Hawkes Bay) alternate Gwyn Williams (Canterbury) alternate From Wine Institute of New Zealand Steve Green (chair, WINZ) (Deputy-Chair, NZW Board) Sir George Fistonich (Villa Maria) Fabian Partigliani (Pernod Ricard NZ) Joe Stanton (Constellation NZ) Jim Delegat (Delegats) alternate Kate Radburnd (C J Pask) David Babich (Babich Wines) Peter Holley (MIssion Estate) alternate Dayne Sherwood (Sherwood Estate) Judy Fowler (Puriri Hills) alternate New Zealand Winegrowers Key Staff Chief Executive Officer: Philip Gregan Mgr Policy & Membership: Dr John Barker Office Manager: Lorraine Rudelj Financial Accountant: Suzanne Hill Global Marketing Director: Chris Yorke Marketing Managers: Asia: Kate Garton Canada & Air NZ Wine Awards: Celeste Bowden Europe, USA & Australia: Lauren Thatcher-Edley Brand & Communications Mgr: Sarah Thorton Science & Innovations Mgr: Philip Manson Research Programme Mgr: Dr Simon Hooker Sustainable Winegrowing Co-ordinator: Sally van der Zijpp SWNZ Data & membership: Karen Bryant Wine Export Certification Mgr: Sue Church Wine Export Certification Asst: Sarah Williams Auckland Office: Level 3, Hamburg Sud House 52 Symonds Street, Auckland PO Box 90 276, Auckland Mail Centre Telephone: (09) 303 3527 Facsimile: (09) 302 2969 Marlborough Office: Marlborough Wine Research Centre, Private Bag 1007, Blenheim Telephone (03) 577 2370 Facsimile: (03) 577 9298 Website: www.nzwine.com

A personal view by Terry Dunleavy

Excellence, fun and profit

f you don’t do it with excellence, don’t do it at all! Because if it’s not excellent, it won’t be profitable or fun, and if you’re not in business for fun or profit, what the hell are you doing there? This memorable quote from Robert Townsend, president of rental car firm, Avis (“We’re No. 2 – we try harder”) could well apply to the New Zealand wine sector now well into our 2011 vintage, certain to exceed 300,000 tonnes for the first time. Since 2008, when over-optimistic planning combined with the generosity of nature to give us more grapes and wine than we could profitably sell in a world hit by a global financial crisis, we have been struggling with the consequences of that surplus. Contrary to the Townsend dictum, much of the wine fell short of excellence, and its disposal was neither fun nor profit. One of the most telling signposts of the road to disquiet has been the continuing fall in the average price per litre of exports from a moving annual total high for the year ending January of $9.39 as recently as 2007 to just $6.90 in 2011, a fall of 26.5%. How we lift ourselves out of this rut is a question being faced by better equipped minds within our sector than mine. It is complicated by the fact that while we have a history of practical co-operation in promoting our wines in overseas markets, we lack the enforceable discipline possible in primary products subject to single desk selling by industry-based organisations, such as Fonterra in dairy, or Zespri in kiwifruit. Even if there was a political will to apply a legislated New Zealand Inc approach, as there used to be, for instance, in meat, wool and apples and pears, this method is totally inappropriate to such a variegated product as wine which relies so heavily for its market appeal on differentiation based on variety, style, region, vintage year, and individual winemaking philosophy. Nevertheless, there is a glimmer of light at the end of this gloomy tunnel: As Winegrowers CEO Philip Gregan points out on page 14, sales forecasts for the year ending June 2011 are equivalent to a vintage of 310,000 tonnes, very close to the likely yield from the vintage now under way, enabling us to re-focus on “recovery of winery and grower profitability as a pre-requisite to sustainable growth.” This balanced vintage yield has been made possible by heroic efforts by growers, especially in Marlborough, to constrain cropping levels, in one case, as reported by Tessa Nicholson on page 19 of an Awatere grower dropping his bunches per vine yield from 45 to 25. As we noted from the 2010 vintage, lower yields were compensated by a noticeable increase in quality, and history tells us that quality is the key to higher prices. With a solution to the demand/supply/quality balance in sight, we need to turn our attention to promotion, not only in overseas markets, like USA where the imaginative Complexity project (reported on page 34) is single-mindedly aimed at the high end where we should be, but also some kind of generic, cooperative campaign in our own home market to generate pride among New Zealanders in our wines, if only to counter the “demon alcohol” hysteria being over-emphasised in current discussions about changes to our sale of liquor legislation. All of which suggests that planning for the Exporters Forum to be held in Blenheim in July should be reconstituted as a Marketing Forum to include consideration of what could be done on a sector basis in our own home market, as well as being more sharply focused on profitability in our export sales. We could do with more of the down-to-earth practical advice of people like Mimi Avery, reported on page 10, based on years of in-market hard selling of New Zealand wines in the UK. Time, in other words, to walk the talk.

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

CEO OF NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWERS Philip Gregan, New Zealand Winegrowers Chief Executive Officer

Ten years on – shaping our future

n 3 March 2002 New Zealand conducted a comprehensive survey on ing your say now is important because Winegrowers commenced op- issues affecting members, the role of it will help set the benchmark against erations. This culminated a NZ Winegrowers in addressing them which the results from future surveys long period of discussion and debate and our success or otherwise in our will be measured. Further, growers and wineries about the future direction of the indus- endeavours. So why survey now and why should should participate because if you don’t try, the issues of importance to industry members and the shape of struc- you participate. As to the why now, then you can hardly come along later tures necessary to support industry well nine years without a stocktake of and complain about NZW activities in member opinions is a long time. And the future! goals into the years ahead. So how do growers and The fact that the forwineries participate in the mation of NZ Winesurvey? growers took so long to The survey is being achieve, reflected the The survey represents an conducted for NZ Wineimportance of the debate growers by Buzz Chanwhich took place and of opportunity to have your say on the nel. The survey will be the decision to form the matters that count for you and on conducted on line for two organisation. how the levy monies paid by you weeks from Friday 29 Nearly ten years on April. much has changed in the are spent….Growers and wineries The survey will cover world – there has been should participate because if you the full range of NZW the Global Financial Cridon’t then you can hardly come activities including our sis, the supply demand role in research, advocacy, balance is different in the along later and complain about marketing, sustainability, industry, in markets we NZW activities in the future! information provision etc. are seeing the rise and The questions in the surrise of China, the $NZ is vey are being formulated at a completely different with assistance from NZ level, NZW membership has lifted around 70% etc. And now in now seems entirely appropriate as NZ Winegrowers staff and the scope of the the last month we have experienced Winegrowers moves towards the 10th questions is being built up based on pre-survey interviews with a range of the Christchurch earthquake and the anniversary of its formation. As to why growers and wineries industry members. Japanese Tsunami both of which are It is important to note that the relikely to have major effects on this should participate, well there are a sponses from individual members country and the global economy for number of answers to that question. First and foremost NZ Winegrowers will remain confidential to Buzz Chansome time to come. Given the changing times we live is the representative national organisa- nel. The NZ Winegrowers Board will in and the fact we are approaching tion for NZ grapegrowers and win- receive a consolidated report on the the 10th anniversary of the formation emakers. As such NZ Winegrowers survey results and the results will be of NZ Winegrowers in March 2012, it should accurately reflect and represent made available to all growers and winis appropriate that the Board of NZ the views of growers and wineries. eries. Winegrowers has decided to conduct The survey represents an opportunity So we would urge all growers and a comprehensive members’ survey for to have your say on the matters that wineries to participate in the survey. It count for you and on how the levy will help shape the future activities of the first time. Routinely over the past nine years, monies paid by you are spent. NZ Winegrowers which is here as an The second reason is that this is not organisation to serve the interest of our NZ Winegrowers has surveyed its members on a range of matters and is- a stand alone survey that will never be 1,800 grape grower and winery memsues from our annual vintage survey repeated. The survey will be repeated bers. to occasional surveys on excise policy in future and the trends that emerge by In short, a high response rate for the to surveys related to individual activi- comparing future survey results with survey will enable us to do our job betthe bench mark that is established in ter on your behalf ties that we organise. But in the nine years we have never the first year will be important. So havBest wishes for the vintage.

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

SECTOR LEADER PROFILES

Over it… supply and demand in NZ wine Joelle Thomson

hey say the quickest way to get proach to deal with the issue. Firstly, over one problem is to get un- balancing grape intake with market derneath another but when it requirements. To get this right, it recomes to New Zealand wine, this isn’t quires a clear understanding between quite as easy as it sounds. Supply and wineries and growers in relation to the demand need to be carefully balanced specific yield requirements that they and right now they are out of whack accept from vineyards. Secondly, there needs to be access to new markets with each other. The looming 2011 vintage, which for New Zealand wine internationlooks to be larger than ever before – at ally. And thirdly, Radburnd says, there the time of writing, predictions were for 310,000 tonnes nationwide - needs to be carefully managed by all growers and winemakers. And a renewed emphasis on marketing needs to take place, suggests Kate Radburnd, winemaker and managing director of C J Pask Winery and recipient of the Sir George Fistonich Medal 2010 in Recognition of Services to New Zealand Wine. “Our supply imbalance is the single biggest issue we face as an industry at present and we need to build on the work which has occurred over the past two years to see things rectify themselves,” says Radburnd. “We have yet to see the full production impact from plantings that were made in the last few years, so the issue of oversupply has not diminished,” she adds. Kate Radburnd For many in the industry, this is not exactly news, but how to needs to be more global awareness of deal with the issue of over supply and New Zealand wine. “There’s wide global acceptance of under-demand in some sectors of the wine industry right now most defi- New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir and for us to grow as an innitely is. “If we are responsible as an indus- dustry we have to broaden and develtry, collectively, we can address this op in other directions – with other vaimbalance swiftly, which will take rieties and with other regions. I think commitment and mutual trust be- that’s how we’re going to become tween growers and wineries. But we more sophisticated as a total industry.” When trade and media visit should not expect a quick fix. We have experienced exponential, unplanned Hawke’s Bay, for instance, winergrowth, creating this imbalance and ies there do regional presentations to we now need to match production them, showing their visitors sub-rewith market demand. This needs to gions and which grapes grow best in be a multi-pronged attack,” Radburnd each place. Similar presentations take place in other large New Zealand wine says. She suggests a three-pronged ap- regions, but Radburnd suggests that

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

all winemakers nationwide need to band together within their regions and collaborate on their marketing. “It’s what our industry needs to do – we have great regional stories. I know for me personally, I’ve been travelling off-shore for 20 years talking about Hawke’s Bay and that’s what we’ve done since the start and you could argue that it’s only beginning to get a bit of traction now. It takes time and it’s not without trying that it’s taken so long. We’ve got huge reliance on Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir and it’s prudent to develop these and other varietal stories from all over New Zealand.” Which leads into the regionality approach which Radburnd is keen on. “The major thrust for New Zealand wineries overseas should be more regionality, says Radburnd. “Varietal stories, flavours and specific wines will naturally come out of that. If we use regionality and the strength of the region then the varieties fall into that conversation naturally.” One example is Chardonnay. “It’s growing beautifully in just about every winegrowing area in New Zealand but we don’t tend to focus on it strongly, so this is a grape and a focus that’s just waiting to happen.” Vintage 2011 It is imperative to ensure wineries only harvest the grapes they know they can sell and make profit on, says Radburnd. “We must have a profitable market because it’s looking like we’re going to have a vintage well in excess of 310,000, according to the latest statistics. You bring in what you know you’ve got a profitable market for and while it’s very difficult to leave grapes on the vines, it is essential that we do if we can’t sell them.” In terms of C J Pask Winery, things are slightly different, explains Rad-

burnd, because the winery grows all of its own grapes. “But the larger companies have been putting in place yield caps with their growers and I think the balance of fruit will be left. The biggest challenge is creating new markets because I don’t believe for one minute that we’ve exhausted the market for New Zealand wine globally but we must find those markets because we assume they will just appear for a sudden over supply of wine. We can’t let it happen that way. It must be planned.”

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Creating new markets “From a Hawke’s Bay point of view, we see Asia and in particular China as really strong new markets because they have got a real alliance with Bordeaux reds. Having said that, I think China is an opportunity for New Zealand, not just for Hawke’s Bay, due to the sheer quantity of wine they can import.” That said, there are challenges in China, as in other new export markets. “In China they do like the big heavy bottles and they like cork and they like a very traditional approach. It’s an attitude we could have expected. They are heavily influenced by France and it’s a matter of education on our part to communicate what we’re doing, which is about sustainability and lighter bottles; about quality rather than tradition for the sake of it.” Growing pains The biggest growing pain that Radburnd sees in New Zealand today is the challenge of harvesting only those grapes which can be turned into immediate profit. “This will have the most immediate and positive impact on the imbalance the industry is currently experiencing in this country. This is the maturing and bedding down of the industry and members with a long-term view and commitment understand this. So the most desirable situation is to produce quality wine in the appropriate volumes,” Radburnd says. “Undoubtedly, we saw the most bizarre situation we saw was in 2008 with our highest ever dollar per tonne, coupled with over cropping and poor resultant quality. It was a recipe for trouble. The wines from the 2009 and 2010 vintages, where we have seen a concerted effort to re-balance yields show greater concentration and quality. The only way to manage the imbalance is for growers and wineries to have strong partnerships. They need to work together to have a clear understanding of what volume is required and pricing that works for all.” Bulk Sauvignon Blanc has been the most damaging to the New Zealand wine industry globally, says Radburnd, after returning from a trip to the United Kingdom in late 2010. Fortunately, she says, most of the bulk Sauvignon Blanc selling there was in the form of “made-up” brands. “You can argue that it has made New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc more accessible to some consumers. We need our market leaders to maintain price points. A real differentiation exists between grocery brands and independent retail and the on-trade. Our larger wineries have the volume ability to supply grocery and we need this to gain market access, maintain a constant market presence and increasing the awareness of New Zealand wine. The small and medium wineries provide depth and flavour to the New Zealand offering and work with the

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Time to speak up At the beginning of May, New Zealand Winegrowers will conduct the first ever comprehensive member satisfaction survey. This is an opportunity for each and every member of the Wine Institute of New Zealand and the New Zealand Grape Growers Council to voice an opinion on a wide range of topics and issues that confront our industry. Marketing, research, sustainability, advocacy, regulatory, leadership, communication, industry challenges, and related topics will be covered. There are no sacred cows and all results will be shared with the entire membership in June. This is not only an opportunity for each of us to speak out but also to make constructive suggestions that will be heard by our leadership. Do you have a strong opinion about which initiatives New Zealand Winegrowers should focus attention on in the future? This is your chance to weigh in. Do you believe too much money is invested in one area and not in another? This is the time to voice your concern. Are you frustrated by the level of support for your region or category? This is the moment to express your viewpoint. This is not an administrative exercise. This is a genuine effort to improve the alignment between New Zealand Winegrowers’ priorities and member needs. During the month April, survey questions will be created with the help of members, regional groups and New Zealand Winegrowers staff. Buzz Channel, an independent outside firm,

has been retained to manage the development of a robust questionnaire, collect the data using state-of-the-art online technology, and report the results to members and the Board. The survey will be administered between Friday 29 April and Sunday 15 May. It will take about ten minutes to complete online. All individual responses are confidential. Since some members may wish to solicit input from other people in their business, New Zealand Winegrowers is allocating a two week window to complete the questionnaire. The results will be reported to the Board and the membership in June.

This is the time for all our members to speak up. Be sure to complete the survey when it is released on 29 April. Mike Spratt (Mike Spratt is a founder of Destiny Bay Vineyards and is currently a director on the Board of New Zealand Winegrowers.) Note from Editor: It is hoped that there will be a question or two relating to members’ opinions of New Zealand WineGrower and any additional topics that we should offer.

Over it... From page 6

independent wine merchants. This area of the market has maintained price points and positioning.” Challenges of sustainability The biggest challenge to New Zealand wine’s sustainability is managing how the message of sustainable grape growing and winemaking are communicated, Radburnd says. “Sustainability has to be the core of everything we do and the over-arching principle of everything we do. It’s inherent in that and I think we’ve got to get better at sharing that message. “We aim to have the entire industry operating under sustainability by 2012 and the numbers are strong. We’ve seen very good uptake in the last two years. “Every time we do a New Zealand promotion, domestically or off-shore, we need to make sure sustainability is a core part of that promotion, but it needs to be in the delivery of the wines; it’s not about operating workshops on sustainability. I think it has to be communicated in everything we do as an overall message.”

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Tips on how to succeed in UK wine market Jo Burzynska

Following New Zealand’s first major event as a Great Wine Capital late last year, New Zealand WineGrower takes a look at what some of the speakers had to say at Wine Discovery New Zealand’s International Wine Research and Business Symposium. In this issue we focus on UK, and in the next issue, USA and branding.

eporting from what she described as “the centre of the wine world”, Mimi Avery, wine buyer for Averys Wine Merchants explored “the UK Retail Landscape and Strategies for Building Premium Brands”. As a veteran wine merchant and long-time importer of New Zealand wines, Avery was in a good position to give an overview of the UK and New Zealand wine’s position within this important market. Unearthing an old Avery’s list that featured the likes of Cook’s Te Kauwhata Gewürztraminer and McWilliams Cresta Doré, Avery noted just how far New Zealand had come in the last 30 years. Avery provided a snapshot of the “cosmopolitan’ British market, in which “supposed recessions excepting” consumers were generally trading up. “It is not a market to turn your back on,” Avery maintained, “but it does require long term investment.” Over the last couple of decades the UK has witnessed largely steady growth in wine sales, as well as a switch from being a nation of largely Old World wine drinkers to the current position where New World wines account for around 60% of the market. “Supermarkets are not the only route to market for wine suppliers,” stated Avery. “They are responsible for only half of the UK’s imports, whereas the areas that I believe need focusing on are the mail order and on-trade, which with a total of 30 million cases, account for a fifth of the UK wine market.” Comparing this with the US, Avery highlighted that although this was a far larger country, it imported just 200

Mimi Avery

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million cases, with those exporting to it having to contend its highly complex and fragmented three-tier route to market. Unlike their American cousins, UK consumers also drink wine more regularly, 60% partaking of two bottles a month or more. Examining the retail options available in the UK, Avery noted that although supermarkets were not generally wine oriented to wine sales Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are obviously incredibly important, but flagged up their use of wines as loss leaders to increase foot fall. She described how these chains were increasing and upgrading their wine lists towards premium wines, giving the example of the “Tesco’s Finest” range and Sainsbury’s “Taste the Difference”. However, “premium purchasing consumers” generally look to Waitrose, the number one wine retailing supermarket, and to a lesser extent Marks & Spencer for finer wines if they don’t use specialist wine shop chains and mail order retailers. High street chains are another route, with Majestic and Oddbins boasting numerous outlets in every town and good staff training, she said. Then the likes of Averys, Laithwaites and The Wine Society cover the nation with

daily mail order delivery services. Market dynamics Recent statistics show that New Zealand had the largest percentage country share volume growth at 33%. “I don’t think that this is wholly due to chasing volume,” stated Avery. “You have come from less than 1% of UK imports 5 years ago to nearly 4% now at a fairly steady rate.” With 27% growth in country value share and the prediction that New Zealand will overtake Spain in this category in the next two years, according to New Zealand Winegrowers Director for Europe, David Cox, “the future is looking bright”, Avery maintained. “You have to retain prices though,” she warned, on the backdrop of average retail wine bottle prices having increased for most countries due to the increase in VAT in January and duty in April. “However, a little alarmingly, New Zealand is the only one to drop. But you are still a whole pound - that is 20% - ahead of France, and nearly £2 ahead of the UK average.” “If it had been such a discount fest the slide showing average price would have shown a much steeper drop,” she said, observing that in Waitrose, Oyster Bay unusually sells more volume

off-promotion than when on-promotion annually. Another reason why the UK is still the place to be, was the fact that all its £5-£10 price brackets were growing, with £6 to £7 by 28% and £9 to £10 by 19%. However, she cautioned, “Ignore the £4 to £5 price bracket as you really want to be a big fish in a small pond and not an insignificant krill in an ocean.” In terms of varieties sold through retail, Chardonnay is still in the lead. “Do not ignore this varietal, even though it lost 6% of market share,” stated Avery. Sauvignon Blanc comes in second, with an “amazing” 31% increase; Pinot Gris is third, with 9% growth; followed by Merlot then Syrah, both of which are seeing their share increase steadily. Retail strategy For those wanting to enter the UK market, Avery devoted the second part her presentation to strategies for retailing a premium product there. In her opinion, this starts with keeping in touch with the marketplace and consumption trends, making use of the Euromonitor and Nielsen data that’s available to wineries through New Zealand Winegrowers’ London office. She then drew on her experience at

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Averys to investigate some pricing models. Using a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc “with a good story” as one example, she showed how at £6.99 to £7.99, it would sell a couple of containers; at £9.99, this would be half to one container; at £14.99 1 to 3 pallets; and at £19.99, 10 to 20 cases. Other varietals have different curves, while special deals can yield impressive results, such as the £14.99 Otago Pinot Noir Averys recently reduced to £9.99, which sold over 5,000 bottles in one day. “The question is… are you looking for volume targets or positioning targets?” she asked. Focusing on New Zealand’s products themselves, beyond Sauvignon Blanc, Avery identified rosé as a style she that had yet to be exploited, although she acknowledged that for larger volumes, the category was very price sensitive. Other areas with potential were aromatics, such as Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and sweet wines now the ban had been lifted. Sparkling wines between £12-15 were also “needed” by the UK market, but beware if higher duty rates, she warned. You need packaging and labelling to suit and critter labels are not the right route here. “Put a New World twist on Old World classic products to give familiarity but with a dash of brilliance,” she said. When speaking of the places New Zealand’s wine should be, restaurants were on her menu. Products that may suit these include oaked Sauvignons,” not in a Chardonnay style, but in a Graves or Pessac Leognan way, that are food friendly and balanced,” she suggested. Get the price right for your wine to start with before you think about special offers, advised Avery. “As a retailer, it is always handy if the producer knows what price point they are aiming at first. “To control price you need to be dealing in the buyer’s currency, otherwise currency fluctuations will mean that your price points change with out you knowing and the volumes dip unexpectedly,” Avery said. “Get your accountant to buy forward if you have the money and are worried.” Promotion is another important strategy to plan, not discounting, but promoting your proposition. Use the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand logo, Avery urged, which could be “your single biggest marketing tool of the moment…Sustainable and going carbon neutral are the buzz words of the moment and they are not a fad,” she said. On your wine’s back label, put your website, but “don’t just give a tasting note,” she said. “Levels of oak or sweetness are more helpful – and give the story, a sense of place, maybe a food match. Do not blind with science and make it personal, not generic or marketing speak.” Offering a trip to the winery for buyers, sommeliers, journalists and consumers is a great form of promotion she thinks, or if this is not an option, it’s important to visit the UK for trade and consumer tastings, in store events and winemaker’s dinners “to educate everyone, from consumer to sommelier, buyer to journalist”, she maintained. Or use the internet, where a winery’s site needs to tell its story, said Avery, from its history to “the name of your dog… a picture of your nipper eating grapes off the vine”, and ignore social networking at your peril.

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2011 PROGRESS REPORT

More grapes this year, but sales lifting Stelvin, The Original... ®

Gisborne grower consortium Gros this issue of WineGrower ing a larger harvest in 2011. ® “The pre-vintage survey indicates Co general manager Warwick Bruce went to press, the 2011 New The qualities and performance of STELVIN closures are universally praised after Zealand grape harvest was we are likely to have a vintage of said the vintage to date has seen mixed 30 years experience of comparative testing tastings on theofworld's 310,000 tonnes, or a similar size and results with a percentage vineyard underway with grape growers and around blocks (Chardonnay sparkling) harwineries buoyed by recent develop- to expected JYE 2011 sales. The survey greatest wines. A genuine global phenomenon. ments. indicates wineries are responding to vested earlier than last year and other “A warm summer and favourable the stronger sales and lower stocks by blocks/varieties (eg Pinot Gris) harvested seven days later than in 2010. weather in the last few weeks has en- lifting grape intake accordingly.” ® sured many regions are experiencing a However, Mr Gregan accepts that “The Pinot Gris fruit quality to date slightly earlier vintage. We have high challenges still remain. “Profitability has been very good and is some of the best that I have said needs... Mr Bruce. expectations for the 2011 harvest qual- for both growers and wineries is an meeting the widest range allseen,” your Rain events of February and early ity, provided we continue to experi- on-going concern for all participants ence a typical New Zealand autumn of in the sector. Lower prices and retailer- March did cause some concerns, but warm dry days and cool, clear nights,” owned brands have been part of the again the effects on grape condition said Philip Gregan New Zealand export growth in the past year. We all varied from region to region within Winegrowers’ chief executive officer. need to remain focused on recovery the Gisborne Plains and even from Industry optimism has also been of winery and grower profitability as block to block. “By far the biggest frustration to boosted by the stronger than expected a pre-requisite to sustainable growth.” growers and wineries has been the sales performance in the current year. cloudy cool days and lack of sunshine “Bottled wine exports are continuing Regional rundown to grow at 10% annually and our perWe asked our major regional corre- that has resulted in the slow ripening® formance in key markets is encourag- spondents for progress reports on Vin- of the®grapes. The country is in a La closurephase can take all such types Nina weather and as weof ing. As a result, we now estimate to- tage 2011 inFirst each in of the theirrange, areas. the (OurSTELVIN on top associated and skirt. expect decoration wetter conditions tal sales for June year end (JYE) 2011 two Canterbury correspondents have printed will be 220m litres compared to earlier been understandably distracted, and with this, however whilst we have ® forecasts of 205m litres. will provide a final report in our vin- had some rain events over the last four weeks , these could have been greater “This new forecast suggests JYE tage wrap-up in next issue): of embossed and printing, it not been for thequality ‘highs’ that have 2011 sales will exceed production from The drawn cap has inspired ®the use had giving the STELVIN + closure worldwide popularity. Suited pushed the rain-bearing fronts out toto the 2010 vintage by 30m litres, mean- GISBORNE the east,” he it said. ing lower stock levels for many winer- Debbie Gregory small and medium quantities, satisfies the growing The month of is thebrands. main ies going into the current harvest. This It has been a requirements of March the major stock reduction is an important step in challenging sea- grape harvest month for the Gisborne rebalancing the sector.” son in more ways region and while a reasonable volume ® With stocks lower and total JYE 2011 that one for the of fruit was harvested before the first two weeks, this was mainly for sparsales now forecast to be the equivalent Answering an ongoing Gisborne Wine need to enhance packaging, this closure gives kling base wine. of a vintage of 310,000 tonnes, NZW is industry but those involved can see an elegant and modern touch. An insert has been specially designed The harvest fruit for table wine unsurprised its pre-vintage survey of glimmers of light atto theshow end ofno thethreads tunafter sealing,ofproviding a perfect started mid-March and would continmedium and large wineries is forecast- nel. printing surface and comfortable opening.

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Each year, Hawke’s Bay ue through until the end of Winegrowers canvases the month for white variewineries and growers’ ties and mid-April for the views on the upcoming vinreds. tage. The overall response GroCo has harvested this season -- which, for the majority of its Pinot most, started early – was Gris and Sauvignon Blanc very positive, says execugrapes and three blocks of tive officer Lyn Bevin. Chardonnay; there is still a More than 75 percent of large percentage of sharerespondents were happy holder fruit to harvest and and none expressed major in excess of 2200 tonnes concerns. was expected in total from Frosts weren’t an issue, the 2011 vintage the fruit set was good, parMr Bruce said the weathticularly for Merlot, and an er pattern over the three early warm dry summer weeks from mid March helped ripen fruit. would have a major influMore frequent rain and ence on the end results. humidity promoted plant Gisborne Winegrowvigour and growth, though ers president John Clarke few reported problems said some varieties have with disease. been under pressure from Hugh Crichton, Vidal’s humid conditions in late winemaker, said the winFebruary and early March ery’s Chardonnay and, but overall quality is good in particular, Syrah crops in vineyards round the diswere “looking fantastic trict. Around 20,000 tonnes and in fact, couldn’t look are expected to be harvest- Some of the first hand-picked fruit in Gisborne for 2011 was picked at Kirkpatrick Estate’s vineyards. Picker Janez Turk enjoys his work any better”. ed in 2011 compared with picking the first of a new block of Gewurtztraminer in the sun. Esk Valley winemaker around 18,500 tonnes last year. high dollar and the rising costs of in- Gordon Russell said it was a vintage From a Gisborne perspective the ar- puts is a large financial challenge for with great potential and moderate to rival of Indevin and Lion Nathan has growers and wineries. We are not out light yields would benefit quality. Like breathed new life into the Lindauer of the woods but we can see glimmers Hugh, he was mindful about what the brand that is a Gisborne icon. “It des- of light. This is long term industry and weather might do – “until the harvest perately needed a shot in the arm to the majority are in it for the long haul is in, that’s all you can say”. Predictions were for a crop size simget it back to its rightful place in the and will ride out the highs and lows,” ilar to last year’s, although some were market both locally and nationally and says Mr Clarke. tipping a bigger tonnage. Chardonnay the leverage off that brand can only be volumes were expected to be down. good for Gisborne down the track.” HAWKES BAY More sunshine hours and higher Internationally sales are on the up Mary Shanahan temperatures bode well for red wines. and this year’s likely national harvest “Not surprisingly, Hawke’s Bay’s will be close to the total wine sales. H a w k e ’ s “This is good in one sense but is being Bay’s winegrow- stand-out varieties are predicted to be achieved at the expense of profitability ers launched into our red wines – Merlot, Cabernet Saufor both wineries and growers and this harvest season vignon and Syrah,” Lyn said. Charis the big challenge going forward. well pleased with the clean quality donnay was also a top pick for 2011. Although some growers had pulled “The fall in the OCR is fine but the fruit on their vines.

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

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vines or weren’t harvesting their vineyards, there were also some new crops coming on, mainly lesser known varieties such as Tannat, Marsanne and Tempranillo. Most firms had a place for their harvested fruit, either processing it in their own winery or growing on contract. A few wineries were purchasing fruit – particularly Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot as well as some Sauvignon Blanc – to supplement their anticipated crops.

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MARLBOROUGH Tessa Nicholson Predictions made last June that Marlborough’s grape yields would be above average this year, have been confirmed by recent wine company yield estimates. But that doesn’t necessarily translate into a larger than average vintage in the region, as growers and wineries have been working hard to reduce crops. Warm conditions in December 2010 led to higher inflorescence initiation and bunch numbers this season. That was followed by near perfect conditions during flowering and fruitset. Dr Mike Trought, research scientist at Plant and Food says those warm flowering conditions have led to what appear to be increased bunch weights. “What was unusual about this year was that despite the rain experienced during December, temperatures were above average. Normally if we experience rain, the temperature drops, but this year we seem to have had a very warm period over flowering, despite the rain. We know that water stress at and shortly after flowering reduces berry size. There was no water stress on the vines this year so berry weights are likely to be above average.” With bunch numbers up, growers are facing more bunches, more berries and larger berries. However many companies and growers recognised this early in the season and have been working overtime to thin crops out. A lot of shoot thinning was undertaken in January. That has been followed by bunch thinning with

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some growers still dropping fruit well after veraison. One vineyard manager based in the Awatere Valley told me he had 45 bunches per vine and was dropping those back to 25 to ensure he didn’t over-crop. “While we normally work towards 45 bunches per vine for Sauvignon Blanc, this year with such big bunches and big berries, we are dropping a hell of a lot of fruit.” His is no one-off story, as wine companies urge growers to keep to the yield caps, which in Sauvignon Blanc’s case, tends to be around 10 tonnes per hectare. It’s a similar story with Pinot Noir, with berries larger than average and very little hen and chicken apparent. Again growers are dropping fruit to improve quality. And given the warm flowering conditions this season, it looks as though it could be a larger than average yield next year as well. “So decisions need to be made,” Dr Trought said. “It would be an advantage if companies provide growers with their yield target in May, before they start pruning. This would enable growers to manage to target yields early by reducing buds retained after pruning. It’s easier and cheaper to

drop fruit by taking shoots out, than it is to drop fruit prior to harvest.” NELSON Neil Hodgson Early indications are that 2011 has the potential to be an outstanding vintage in the Nelson region with most vineyards reporting balanced crop levels across all varieties. The hot and reasonably dry summer has resulted in superb fruit quality while intermittent rain in late February and early March has caused a few minor problems but nothing viticulturists are not used to dealing with at this time of the year. Tim Finn from Neudorf Vineyards says they have good fruit with nice flavours. “Good weather into flowering, good fruit set then early season rain has provided perfect seasonal growing conditions resulting in larger bunches but an overall balanced crop.” Hermann Seifried from Seifried Estates says the vintage this year is about two weeks earlier than normal, a situation reflected in most vineyards in Nelson. Hermann is cautiously optimistic about the quality of fruit coming into

the winery in the early days of harvest, particularly the intense and ripe varietal characters evident in the key varieties of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir while Riesling and Pinot Gris still to be harvested are looking and tasting very good. Good fruit-set in the fickle Gewurztraminer variety along with the excellent ripening season bodes well for a region that has a strong focus on aromatic style wines. For Seifried Estate their Gewurztraminer has had probably the best ever fruit set and has come into the winery in pristine condition. Tim Finn says indications a month ago were for harvest to start anything up to four weeks early but cooler nights in early March has been of significant benefit to the crop allowing longer hang-time for flavour development without the fruit becoming overripe. Potential issues in a few vineyards have been minimised by plenty of leaf plucking to open up the canopies and while the long range forecast is for some rain most wineries are not too concerned about it (at the time of writing) but as Hermann Seifried says “this can change very quickly” so as usual March and April are nervous times in the wineries.

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CENTRAL OTAGO Max Marriott A mild winter, soils with high moisture and an unseasonably hot, dry spring were catalysts for the rampant start to the growing season experienced in Central Otago. Flowering had finished in some vineyards before summer even began; the infamous nor-wester that funnels through this mountain and valley landscape conspicuously attenuated for this time of year. Fruit set was correspondingly excellent across all sub-regions, promoting high berry numbers and the likelihood of tight bunches. These idyllic conditions continued through until mid-December, and just when growers were breathing a sigh of relief, having finally caught up, two months of rain deluged over the week of Christmas. Coupled with milder temperatures and higher humidity, disease pressure was set to escalate, necessitating vigilance and active canopy management. The remainder of summer saw warmer weather, tempered by intermittent periods of rain at just the right times to antagonize viticulturists and

Harvest of Quartz Reef sparkling base began on 21 February, believed to be the earliest start yet to a vintage in Central Otago. What does all this mean for the fruit and the wines of 2011? Scrutiny in the vineyard and/ or the winery when it comes to botrytis and powdery, to ensure clean fruit. Sites on heavier soils have seen bunch weights increase substantially, resulting in many blocks with shoots singlebunched to mitigate undesirable cropping rates. There will undoubtedly be some variability across the region, some battling the higher tonnages, likelihood of high sugMax Marriott, our new correspondent from ars and botrytis issues that come Central Otago, is a viticulturist for Vinewise with denser canopies. Viticulture, having worked in the region Though it may seem like previously for Auburn Wines, Dusty Boots a dream season to some, it Vineyards and Felton Road. He is also logistics has been very challenging co-ordinator for the Central Otago Pinot Celebration. requiring significant viticultural input. However, the rewards are excite fungal populations. The first signs of veraison came at the end of there, with fruit of high concentration, January, with most of the region well full ripeness and complementary acids coloured come the first week of Febru- to culminate in a hallmark vintage for Central Otago. ary.

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NEW ZEALAND WINE HALL OF FAME

Wine knight is 2011 inductee

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ir George Fistonich, the New Zealand wine sector’s first and only knight, now celebrating his 50 years in winemaking, has become the latest inductee to the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame, housed in the Logan Camopbell Centre of the ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane, Auckland. He weas inducted by Mr Michael Brett, chairman of the Hall of Fame Trust during the Royal Easter Show Wine Awards Dinner on 19 March. The official citation, read by Mr Brett, was: “The George Fistonich wine story began 50 years ago when he leased from his father five acres at Mangere. One acre of it was in grapes and it was from this plot that the Villa Maria label was born. Those were the days when red wine was made from Seibel 5455 and white wine from Baco 22a, hybrid varieties which dominated the infant industry’s first attempts to make table wine. As well, Fistonich experimented with the Italian vinifera variety Melesconera Nera in the belief it tasted a little like Cabernet Sauvignon.

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“Villa Maria was a oneman operation, plus wife Gail, for several years until a new winery was built with Ross Spence as winemaker. Even in those early days the Fistonich entrepreneurial skills were evident. He somehow managed to get the airport buses to stop at Villa Maria on their way to town. “By today’s standards, the wine was questionable but New Zealanders were beginning to become wine conscious and Villa Maria was an early leader in pushing the local product to a public which believed German Liebfraumilch to be the height of sophistication. “The 70s saw Villa Maria expand further with the purchase in 1976 of Vidals as Fistonich early realised the need for quality vineyard land. Three years later he was to turn the old Vidal winery into New Zealand’s first vineyard bar and restaurant. It still thrives today. “The 80s saw Villa Maria,

A young George Fistonich in the early days of Villa Maria Wines, in Kirkbride Road, Mangere.

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

flourish, then flounder, then flourish again. It was caught up in the Brierley-instigated wine wars which preceded the national vine pull and was put into receivership. Public support enabled it to come out of receivership after six months. And from then it grew. “Fistonich’s ability to be innovative and to attract outstanding staff was allied with determination to give his winemakers quality material from quality vineyard sites. He was among the first to have grapes grown under contract; one of the first to pay for grapes on a quality rather than quantity basis; the first to produce reserve wines. This range has consistently been among the country’s best. “The purchase of Esk Valley in 1987 was followed by increasing involvement in Marlborough including the promotion of Seddon Vineyards, the first public vineyard share offering in New Zealand. “It was typical of his confidence in making bold decisions that he was to make his winery a cork-free zone in 2004, sealing all wines with a screwcap; and to open state-of-the-art winery facilities in Marlborough and Auckland with their spectacular vineyard parks. “His work in promoting New Zealand wines to the world has earned him numerous awards including the DCNZM in 2005, which became a knighthood in 2009,” the citation concluded. “Since the 1980s,Villa Maria has been New Zealand’s most award-winning winery. Success has come because its total commitment to quality has attracted the best people to work for it throughout the years,” says Sir George. “ Being a family-owned business, we are a very tightknit team. Our winemakers have the opportunity to express their flair. We are not restrained by any limitations unlike a lot of larger wineries around the world.”

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Objectives and criteria The principal objective of the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame is to recognise and commemorate individual persons who have made major contributions to the development and enhancement of the national domestic- and export-based wine industry in New Zealand. Inductees to the Hall of Fame generally but not exclusively have been directly involved with grape cultivation and/or wine making on a national scale. Basic to these criteria is a requirement that the contributions have been on a national rather than a local or regional scale. “The New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame” has been registered as a trademark by the Auckland Agricultural, Pastoral & Industrial Shows Board, which is the settlor of a charitable trust named “The New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame Trust”. The terms of the trust deed, in general, give effect to the broad objectives set out above. The trust is administered by a board of trustees comprising: Michael Brett Esq, chairman. Colin McGowan, chairman, Auckland A. P. & I Shows Board. Robb Kemp, chairman, Wine Committee of Auckland A & P. Association. Mark Frankham, chief executive officer, ASB Showgrounds. Bob Campbell MW Terry Dunleavy MBE, JP

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or the first time in this country, a New Zealand national wine competition has offered a guide to wine lovers about how their cellared wines age. The Royal Easter Show Wine Awards this year introduced a new category called “Heritage”, Each set comprises a current vintage wine with earlier vintages three or four years older. Traditionally, the Royal Easter Show Awards aim has been to help consumers rate the wines they can buy currently, but now there is an additional category aimed at informing wine lovers who have older wines in their cellars, or assisting those who plan to buy wines for future consumption. It was particularly appropriate to introduce this new category this year,

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Winner of the inaugural Heritage Rose Bowl was Hunter’s Wine NZ Ltd for Rieslings 2004, 2007 and 2010.

Six sets of wines were judged as being worthy of high commendation by three of Australasia’s foremost wine judges, Bob Campbell MW, former Royal Easter chairman, his successor in that role, Kate Radburnd, who last year became the first woman to head a national wine judging panel, and Mike DeGaris who has chaired many panels at Australian wine competitions. Wine sets highly commended in this year’s inaugural Heritage Category were: Stoneleigh Riesling 2010, 2007 and 2004. Johanneshof Cellars Marlborough Gewurztraminer, 2010,2007 and 2004. Esk Valley Estate Reserve Chardonnay, 2009, 2006, and 2002. Akarua Pinot Noir, 2009, 2006 and 2002 Villa Maria Estate Reserve Cabernet Merlot 2009, 2005 and 2001. Hunters Marlborough Riesling, 2010, 2007 and 2004 (overall winner). Comments on the new Category by panel chair Bob Campbell MW are in the article immediately following. Ms Radburnd, current chair of Royal Easter Awards judges, said: “I am delighted to see the introduction of the Heritage Category. It provides a platform to reward both ageing ability and consistency in winemaking excellence. It is further evidence of the commitment of our wine producers to invest greater depth in the quality and long-term heritage of our wines.” Mr DeGaris said that the Royal Adelaide Wine Show is the only competition in Australia to have introduced such a category just for reds, and in its first two years has become hugely popular with both wine producers and consumers. This makes the Royal Easter the first in Australasia to cover both reds and whites in this way. “New Zealand Rieslings have always had lengthy cellaring potential and it is very pleasing that this new award recognises wines made in a style that consumers can cellar confidently” said Gary Duke, chief winemaker at Hunter’s Wines. “We have been making Riesling since the winery’s inception in 1982 and this award is a seal of approval and shows confidence in New Zealand wine’s ageing potential.”

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ROYAL EASTER SHOW WINE AWARDS 2011

Innovative development in wine show judging Bob Campbell MW

he Royal Easter Wine Awards has introduced a new category called “Heritage” that assesses an extra dimension of quality – how well a wine ages. The Heritage concept was first tested two years ago when it was adopted by the Royal Adelaide Wine Show for red wines only. Royal Easter Wine Show judge, Mike DeGaris, recommended that this enormously successful concept be introduced to New Zealand to review the age-worthiness of both white and red wines. Entrants were invited to submit three wines. White wines must include a current vintage, one three years older and a third at least six years older than the current vintage. Red wines needed to include a current vintage, one four years older and a third at least eight

cant winemaking development in this country. The growth in wine quality and style development over the last 20-30 years has been nothing short of spectacular. Rapid growth, however, has discouraged wine lovers from cellaring all but the most long-term wine styles. Why age a wine for eight or ten years when the fully mature wine risks being made obsolete by the new wines of the day? Random oxidation and cork taint were two other barriers to buying wine now to drink later.

years old. It’s a team effort rather than Black and CMYK a solo performance. The Heritage Rose Bowl goes to the trio of wines that the judges rate highest as a group. The Heritage class a signifiC16 M100 Y11marks K43

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Candidates for cellaring The rate of growth continues, albeit at a slower pace, but New Zealand wine styles are to a large extent established. Our wines can now claim to have a recognisable “New Zealand character”. They are increasingly be-

Top trio who judged the inaugural Heritage Category (from left): Bob Campbell MW, Kate Radburnd, Mike DeGaris.

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coming candidates for cellaring. New Zealand wine has an often undeserved reputation for being delicious when first released but not being worthy of bottle age. The fact that many of our wines are so accessible when released encourages some critics to believe that they are not worth ageing. At the Pinot 2010 conference in a tasting of 2003 wines failed to convince many overseas critics that New Zealand Pinot Noir is a serious contender for cellaring. I believe that the early consumption of our wines has discouraged many winemakers from making them more age-worthy because in doing so they might compromise the wine’s early accessibility. In the case of Pinot Noir a higher percentage of whole bunches in the fermentation could increase complexity and longevity but there is a risk that the wines will be less approachable when they are young. Why take that risk when the wines have a ready market as they are? The ability of most red wines and many white wines to develop positive attributes with bottle age is an important quality factor. Put simply, if a wine is capable of gaining quality with bottle age it will (all other things being

equal) command a higher price. That partly explains why we are prepared to pay more for Cabernet Sauvignon than Sauvignon Blanc. If we can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the international wine world that our wines, or at least many of them, cellar well we will gain extra gravitas and value as a wine producing country. The introduction of the Heritage class provides an arena where cellaring potential will be discussed, assessed and rewarded. I’m hopeful that it will encourage winemakers and wine consumers to consider this important aspect of wine quality. Judging challenges I was delighted to be invited to chair the Heritage judging at the 2011 Royal Easter Wine Awards. I retired after 21 years as chairman a couple of years ago so it was good to back with the old firm and great to judge with accomplished professional judges, Kate Radburnd and Mike DeGaris. We were intrigued and excited by the prospect of judging the new class. Conventional wine show judging involves reviewing a class of one wine type. Judges normally discuss the qualities they expect to find in the

class before tasting the blind line-up of wines and comparing their scores. If there is a divergence of scores for a particular wine that wine may be retasted and re-scored to arrive at a final score and medal rating. The Heritage class presented additional challenges. For example the 42 glasses of white wine in front of us included three vintages each of two Rieslings, a Pinot Gris, three examples of Sauvignon Blanc, a Gewürztraminer and seven Chardonnays. They were to be followed by 12 red wines including three examples of Pinot Noir, a Syrah, a Merlot and seven blended reds. We did not have to award medals to individual wines but simply needed to choose one trio of wines that was better than all the rest. After discussion we decided to judge all the white wines on their individual merits to find a short list of superior sets. That short list would then be re-judged to choose a top white set. We’d repeat the exercise for the red wines to arrive at a top set of red wines and then have a taste-off between the two top sets to pick an ultimate winner. The overall standard of the white wines was very high. A set of Pinot

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Gris was rejected for oxidation but apart from that only one Sauvignon Blanc and one Chardonnay, both from the 2002 vintage and both sealed with cork appeared to be oxidised. Whites versus reds We found it relatively easy to come up with a short list of superior white wine sets. It was more difficult choosing a top wine from that short list. After some discussion we chose Hunter’s Riesling (vintages 2010, 2007 and 2004) as our top white wine but asked if the other three wines; Stoneleigh Riesling (2010, 2007 and 2004), Johanneshof Gewürztraminer (2010, 2007, 2004) and Esk Reserve Chardonnay (2009, 2006 and 2002) could be acknowledged as wines of exceptional merit. The red wine short list comprised Akarua Pinot Noir (2009, 2006 and 2002) and Villa Maria Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot (2009, 2005 and 2001). Once again it was tough choosing a top red but we eventually voted Akarua as number one. We asked that Villa Maria Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot be acknowledged as a runner up. Choosing between Riesling and Pinot Noir was an “apples and oranges” decision although the process was helped by the fact that the Riesling had earned more gold medal scores than the Pinot Noir. I was delighted to learn afterward that the winning wine was Hunter’s Riesling. While I have considerable respect for the wine I confessed to my fellow judges that I had simply never tasted an example that had been bottled for more than a year, which reinforces the point of the Heritage category. It’s not easy to pick cellaring potential when tasting young wine. The only reliable method of assessing the ability of a particular brand to age positively is by tasting a vertical selection of vintages. I had always underestimated the ability of a deliciously accessible and charming Riesling to age well. I now plan to buy a few bottles of Hunter’s 2010 Riesling and put them in an inaccessible part of my cellar for a few years. The Heritage category has got off to a flying start but it will no doubt evolve as surely as the wines it seeks to evaluate. I expect the number of entries will increase, attracting an even greater variety of wine styles and regional representation. Eventually the time-line might be extended by a few more years, possibly by adding a fourth vintage. I look forward to continuing my involvement with one of the most innovative developments to wine show judging that this country has seen.

Heritage to be fine-tuned

For 2012, the new Heritage Category will be fine-tuned, says the general director of the Royal Easter Show Wine Awards, Terry Dunleavy. “Firstly, we will make it clear that current vintage will not necessarily mean 2011 vintage, but the latest vintage of the variety or style that is on sale. However, the middle wine of the set will be 2009 for whites and 2008 for reds, and the earliest will be 2006 or earlier for whites, and 2005 or earlier for reds. “Secondly, we will make it clear that the current vintage wine of each set will also be judged by the Heritage panel for gold, silver or bronze medals, provided that the wine qualifies in terms of stock on hand.”

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ROYAL EASTER SHOW WINE AWARDS 2011

Hawkes Bay Syrah regains supremacy

of Hunter’s Wines NZ Ltd of fter an interval of two Marlborough, and her long time years when it ceded winemaker, Gary Duke, who accepted its place to Chardonthe inaugural Heritage Rose Bowl for nay and Pinot Noir, Hawkes Hunter’s Rieslings 2004, 2007 and Bay Syrah regained its place 2010* as Champion Wine of Show at the 2011 Royal Easter Show Record number of Gold Medals Awards when the trophy winIn her report to the Awards Dinners were announced at the ner, chair of judges, Kate RadASB Showgrounds in Auckburnd said: “The objective of the land on 19 March Royal Easter Show Wine Awards The overall winner was is to recognise the best New Villa Maria Reserve Gimblett Zealand wines available for Gravels Syrah 2009, sale to consumers. Total regaining the supreme wines judged were 1543 award won by its Hawkes and a record 119 gold Bay stable-mates from Esk medals were awarded, Valley in 2006, Vidal in representing over 7% 2007 and Villa Maria in of entries. 17% entries 2008. gained silver medals It was a night of and 34% were awarded triumph for the Villa bronze medals. Maria group, as its “Our two leading founder and owner, Sir export varieties George Fistonich was Sauvignon Blanc announced as the 2011 and Pinot Noir were inductee to the New highly awarded, 22 Zealand Wine Hall of Fame, and 21 gold medals and the group’s chief wine respectively, and maker Alastair Maling MW mention must be and his Auckland colleague made of the standout Nick Picone were named as increase in quality joint winners of the Royal of our Pinot Gris Agricultural Society’s Gold where a total of 14 Medal for Wine Maker of the gold medals were Year. awarded. Our ever Also in the spotlight VBM HB Syrah: reliable Chardonnay was Jane Hunter, owner Champion Wine of Show:

Black and CMYK classes also produced 14 gold medals. These awards confirm the dedication of winegrowers to create expressive wines from our unique growing Y11 K43 conditions. C16 In M100 general terms we experienced pristine fruit flavours across the full spectrum of varieties and styles. It was pleasing to see greater style definition across all varieties, and a sensitivity in oak handling in barrel aged wines. The overall strength of the show was a delight to experience. “After 58 shows, the Royal Easter Wine Show remains NZ’s oldest national wine competition. I can assure you all that these awards were prepared, judged and recorded by a happy and highly professional team, all enjoying the opportunity to collectively reward the New Zealand wines which we all regard with

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The Hub cafeteria at the ASB Showgrounds provides an open, airy and naturally lit judging venue, with preparation and administration areas well out of sight and sound of the judges.

immense pride and passion.” An innovation this year was the creation of a separate sub-class for sparkling Sauvignon Blanc. “The criteria for judging entries in the traditional sparkling and Methode Traditionnelle class specifically exclude varietal character, but concentrate of aspects such as yeast autolysis that distinguish

Champagne. By contrast, sparkling Sauvignons rely for their charm and appeal on the distinctive flavours of Sauvignon Blanc, enhanced by the secondary fermentation that introduces the bubbles. One silver medal and six bronzes of a total of 10 entries in this new sub-class this year demonstrate how well our winemakers have pio-

neered this new style. “Wine shows evolve and we are also pleased to confirm the introduction in 2012 of a separate sub-class for Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc. We believe this will provide the best judging opportunity for this new innovative wine style and look forward to its implementation, “ said Ms Radburnd.

2011 ROYAL EASTER TROPHY LIST New World Trophy for Champion Chardonnay Vidal Reserve Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2009

Show Light & Power Trophy for Champion Merlot Church Road Cuvée Hawkes Bay Merlot 2008

The Village Press Trophy for Champion Gewurztraminer Johanneshof Cellars Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2010

SkyCity Trophy for Champion Syrah Villa Maria Reserve Hawkes Bay Syrah 2009

Guala Closures NZ Trophy for Champion Sauvignon Blanc Whitehaven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010

New Zealand WineGrower Magazine Trophy for Champion Pinot Noir Akarua Central Otago Pinot Noir 2009

Auckland A.P. & I Shows Board Trophy for Champion Riesling Lawsons Dry Hills Marlborough Riesling 2008 Datacom Trophy for Champion Pinot Gris Roaring Meg Central Otago Pinot Gris 2010 DrinksBiz Trophy for Champion Viognier Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawkes Bay Viognier 2010 Auckland A. & P. Assn Trophy for Champion Other Varieties Matua Valley Single Vineyard Matheson Malbec 2009 Riedel Trophy for Champion Sweet Wine Riverby Estate Marlborough Nobel Riesling 2009 Red Badge Security Trophy for Champion Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot Villa Maria Reserve Hawkes Bay Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2008

Novotel Auckland Ellerslie Trophy for Champion Rosé Elephant Hill Central Otago Pinot Rosé 2010 Rapid Labels Trophy for Champion Sparkling Nautilus Estate Cuvee Marlborough Methode Traditionelle Brut NV J F Hillebrand Trophy for Champion Export Wine Lawson Dry Hills Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Royal Agricultural Society Gold Medal for Winemakers of the Year Alastair Maling MW, Villa Maria Group and Nic Picone, Villa Maria Estate O-I New Zealand Trophy for Champion Wine of Show Villa Maria Reserve Hawkes Bay Syrah 2009

For a full list of Medals awarded, visit www.wineshow.co.nz

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Presenters and recipients of 2011 Royal Easter Show trophies

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1. Champion Wine of Show: John Bates (O-I New Zealand), Dave Roper and Nick Picone (Villa Maria). 2. Pinot Gris: Mike Herrick (Mt Difficulty Wines) and Ainsley Maskell (Datacom Systems Ltd). 3. Sauvignon Blanc: Andrew Twiname (Guala Closures NZ) and Sam Smail (Whitehaven Wine Co).

4. Sparkling: Darrin Tobin (Rapid Labels) and Clive Jones (Nautilus Estate) 5. Viognier: Joelle Thomson (DrinksBIz) and Nick Picone (Villa Maria). 6. Riesling: Marcus Wright (Lawsons Dry Hills) and Colin McGowan (Auckland A.P. & I. Shows Board). 7. Rosé: Zayne Boon (Novotel & Ibis Auckland Ellerslie) and Steve Skinner (Elephant Hill). 8. Gewurztraminer: Wayne Startup (The Village Press) and Edeltraut Everling (Johanneshof Cellars).

9. Chardonnay: Hugh Crichton (Vidal Estate) and Brian Casserly (New World). 10. Other Varieties: Nikolai St George (Matua Valley) and Robb Kemp (Auckland A & P Association). 11. Cabernet Sauvignon & Blends: Andy Gollings (Red Badge Security) and Alastair Maling MW (Villa Maria). 12. Merlot: Neil Watson (Church Road) and Michael Redgrave (Show Light & Power).

13. Sweet wine: Kevin Short (Hancocks & Riedel Glasses) and Kevin Courtney (Riverby Estate). 14. Pinot Noir: Ros Sellers (New Zealand WineGrower magazine) and Matt Connell (Akarua Wines Ltd). 15. Champion Syrah: Nick Picone (Villa Maria). 16. Champion export wine: Kiri Elers (JF Hillebrand) and Barbara Lawson (Lawsons Dry Hills).

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17. Joint Winemakers of the Year: Nick Picone and Alastair Maling MW (Villa Maria).

The Hub cafeteria at the ASB Showgrounds provides an open, airy and naturally lit judging venue, with preparation and administration areas well out of sight and sound of the judges.

2011 ROYAL EASTER TROPHY LIST New World Trophy for Champion Chardonnay Vidal Reserve Hawkes Bay Chardonnay 2009

Show Light & Power Trophy for Champion Merlot Church Road Cuvée Hawkes Bay Merlot 2008

The Village Press Trophy for Champion Gewurztraminer Johanneshof Cellars Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2010

SkyCity Trophy for Champion Syrah Villa Maria Reserve Hawkes Bay Syrah 2009

Guala Closures NZ Trophy for Champion Sauvignon Blanc Whitehaven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010

New Zealand WineGrower Magazine Trophy for Champion Pinot Noir Akarua Central Otago Pinot Noir 2009

For a full list of Medals awarded, visit www.wineshow.co.nz

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Presenters and recipients of 2011 Royal Easter Show trophies

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17. Joint Winemakers of the Year: Nick Picone and Alastair Maling MW (Villa Maria).

EXPORT PROMOTION

‘Complexity’ takes top NZ wines to US high enders Mary Shanahan

huge tabled carved in the shape of a map of New Zealand provided a striking platform for launching Complexity – New Zealand Fine Wine to the top end of the US market. The venture, which brings together 21 of New Zealand’s leading wineries, aims to establish this country’s credentials in the world of fine wines. After two years in the planning, the enterprise was launched in the Beehive by Minister of Economic Development Gerry Brownlee in June last year. The American launch was staged last September in Denver, Colorado. Oversubscribed, it attracted more than 60 high-end sommeliers, wine buyers and media. To graphically illustrate their origins, the 59 wines encompassed by the

joint promotion were presented on the purpose-designed Two Islands’ Table. Complexity chairman Steve Smith MW says the huge table -- large enough to seat 50 for dinner – provided a very real sense of geography at the event. People rated the distinctive work of art as “just stunning”. While New Zealand was a small country and considered remote by most Americans, Mr Smith said it could lay claim to an incredible diversity of wines, wine regions and terroirs. Complexity represented some of this country’s best wines, covering a

range of varieties drawn from eight New Zealand wine regions. The branding communicated the depth, diversity, colour and texture of the fine wines chosen for the venture, said Mr Smith, wine and viticulture director at Craggy Range Vineyards. US launch on Waitangi Day Waitangi Day was the date chosen by Complexity for a New Zealand Wine Day tasting live streamed from Chicago on February 5. Hosted by Alastair Maling MW, group winemaker for Villa Maria Estate, the live tasting attracted a studio audience of 90.

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Some 895 online viewers also participated, with a virtual tasting broadcast via live interactive online video from Kenmore Live Studio and on WineChannelTV. The event was also supported by Facebook, twitter and bloggers. Jessica Altieri and Just Jess on WineChannelTV posted a tasting of awardwinning wines prepared with dishes from chef Mike Morales of Chicago’s Michelin-recommended Sunda Restaurant. Complexity’s next event will be master classes held in May in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Twelve New Zealanders will travel in support, with the focus trade, media and highend consumers. Campaign manager in the US, Janet Pouchot is also profiling the New Zealand wines with top restaurants and high end retail, and from March to June is holding ongoing tastings targeted at such high-end consumers as the Yale Club and Macy’s De Gustibus cooking school. A tasting will be held at New York’s famous James Beard House in May. Supporting all this activity is the live website www.complexity.co.nz, which lists Complexity’s portfolio of wines, provides contact details for importers and distributors and features a video gallery and news and events.

The southern tip of the South Island section of the large map of New Zealand that formed the table for layout of Complexity wine bottles.

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NEW EXPORT AID

VinLiner protects wine during shipping

Tessa Nicholson

iven our position in the world it is inevitable that our exported wines are going to be spending a great deal of time travelling. Just how long depends on what market it is heading for, but according to JF Hillebrand, the average transit time, with no unexpected delays, is 32 days. The impact on your wine could be immense, given the extreme climatic conditions likely to be encountered while travelling to the Northern Hemisphere. In an effort to defray some of that, JF Hillebrand have developed what is known as a VinLiner that acts as a temperature and humidity controller. Made from woven polyethylene fabric that is coated with aluminium, it looks like a giant insulated bag, built to fit inside a 20ft or 40 ft container, or even just an individual pallet.

While VinLiner has been in use now for three years, recent seminars in both Auckland and Marlborough highlighted the product and the reasons for the development. Pierre Corvisier, Director of New Services at JF Hillebrand Group based in France, said the need for some form of protection for products such as wine, is more important now than ever before. One reason being that because of the recession, up to 30% and sometimes 40% of the world’s shipping industry has undergone fleet reduction. A large number of cargo ships have been mothballed and those that are operating are carrying larger loads and tending to travel more slowly in an effort to save on fuel, known as “slow steaming.” “Most routes today, north-south, east-west, have been affected by tran-

sit times with the time being longer by between four and eight days. And with New Zealand being so far away from its markets, means your wines are having to spend more time on the water, which is making it more difficult for you.” As the ships get bigger, it also means they are taking longer to load and unload, with containers having to spend an increased amount of time exposed to the elements at terminals and ports of transfer. There is another factor associated with the larger ships; they are too big to enter many traditional ports. Mr Corvisier said that means your wine shipment heading for say Scandinavia may have to diverted to a larger port such as Rotterdam then off-loaded onto a smaller feeder ship to make its way to its final destination.

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Pierre Corvisier of JF Hillebrand France, alongside a container which has been fitted with a VinLiner.

Again increasing the transit time. Unless your container is refrigerated, there is almost no controlled space on a ship where it won’t be exposed to some form of temperature shift. There is abundant research available to show temperature impacts on the quality of wine. The following are extracts from a paper released by Dr Paul Kilmartin of University of Auckland, who has been involved in the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Research Programme. “Cool temperature (5oC) greatly increases shelf life of Sauvignon blanc wines by reducing the loss of passion fruit thiols and fruity acetate esters during storage. For fruit-driven wines high in 3MHA and acetate esters, temperature-dependent hydrolysis processes are critical for Sauvignon blanc aroma stability. Consequently the effect of temperature is the most important variable for retaining fruity characters during aging.” How wines affected by travel A recent visitor to New Zealand, Benjamin Lewin MW, said he had noticed some extreme differences between wines of the same vintage tasted in New York last September and tasted just last month here in New Zealand. In every case, the wines tasted here were more youthful and fruity. He believed the wines at the New York tasting were up to 18 months ahead of the same wines here in New Zealand. “Was that due to the travel? I have to wonder.” There are a number of other impacts believed to be due to temperature changes. At +40°C: Acceleration of formation of Ethyl Carbomate; Ageability of SO2 decline. At + 35°C: Turbidity in reds.

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+30°C: Turbidity in whites; perceived taste change; spectrum colour change +5°C and below: Tartrate precipitation. While there are obvious temperature changes due to travel through the equator, it is not only ambient climatic conditions that containers are exposed to. Reefers, (refrigerated containers) act just like a fridge at home. While the inside may stay at a constantly cool temperature, the power used to keep it cool, creates heat on the outside. On a container ship that heat is inevitably transferred into the surrounding areas despite ventilation within the hold of the ship. There is also heat generated from the heating of heavy fuels that ships burn, with tanks having ot be heated up to 65°C, to liquefy the heavy fuels. Until recently, the highs and lows of temperature shifts on container ships has been anecdotal. JF Hillebrand decided they need to confirm just what the tempera-

ture range inside a container was, during a voyage from Auckland to the UK. Sensitech e-data loggers were placed inside a container between the wall and a VinLiner. Others were placed inside a case of wine, stored within a VinLiner. Those loggers recorded tem-

peratures at regular one hour periods throughout the five week trip, from Auckland to Cartagena where the cargo underwent a transhipment, and through to Tilbury where it was finally unloaded. The below graph shows the temperature range of a shipment which left Auckland on March 26. The red line shows the temperature in the container, but outside the VinLiner, over the period of the five week voyage. The green line is the temperature within the same container, but taken inside a case of wine, which is protected by` a VinLiner. It clearly shows the peaks and troughs during loading, transhipment and unloading. Temperatures outside of the Vinliner during loading, ranged from 15°C up to 30°C. In Cartagena the temperature inside the container reached 47°C, and during unloading it dropped be-

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low 5°C . So if this was a dry container, minus a VinLiner, the wine would have undergone thermal shocks of 42 degrees difference, during five weeks. The green line shows the range of temperatures experienced inside the VinLiner, within the same container. The lowest temperature recorded was 20°C, the highest just under 30°C. Far less thermal shock says Hillebrand’s New Zealand branch manager Olivier Daull. (This does not apply to reefer containers which offer a fixed temperature throughout the entire trip.) “What this is telling us is that if the wine is not protected in anyway, it will experience these peaks and troughs. Pretty much on any single shipment, any day of the year. No matter which way it goes, it will go through the equator, it will go through either the Carribean or Suez and the wine will be subjected to changes in heat. Forty-five degrees during the day and 25 degrees in the night. In less than six or seven hours the temperature inside of the container has changed 20 degrees. You do not want this to happen to your wine.” Gauging temperature shocks JF Hillebrand also has access to VinRoute which can track the possible temperature ranges on any journey by sea, any time of the year. Using data from the World Meteorological Organisation, VinRoute can accurately predict both ambient temperature and level of humidty at any point of the ship’s journey, allowing the customer to gauge the potential temperature shocks prior to transit. But it is not just thermal shocks that the VinLiner aims to control. Mr Corvisier said there are other issues involved with shipping containers, given no one knows what was inside the container prior to it being used to transport wine. These days containerised transport accounts for 90% of the world’s trade. Which means where conventional shipping used to transport what he refers to as “dirty” products, those same products are now largely being transported by container ships. “As you know a lot of Chinese and Asian companies that are producing toys or whatever are recycling a lot of scrap products. So most of the scrap paper, plastics or metal, which are fairly dirty products, have been transferred from conventional ships into container ships. And to be more precise by container ships, I mean container ships that may also be carrying your wine. That takes us to the issue of contamination caused by the container.” JF Hillebrand says there is always the risk that a container carrying wine may be contaminated with bacteria, smells and germs. There is the possibility of the presence of fumigants and solvents, such as methy sulfuryl fluoride, phosphine, toluene and benzene, following active and passive fumigation of containers when they reach ports. “An example; one of the main export activities of Peru is fishmeal, all the remains of fish. This is carried in a dry container with almost no protection for the container. These products are very smelly, they are carrying contamination like salmonella. We have to consider that during the 12 or 15 years of a container’s life it would have been carrying lots of not so nice commodities.” One of the next uses for that container, may well be your wine. “No one wants to deliver a pallet of wine that has a bad smell. It is not a good look.”

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

REGIONS - HAWKES BAY

Student research challenges red winemaking practice Mary Shanahan

IT student Jonathan Musther has inherited a condition that seriously affects his sight, but that’s been no barrier to his research efforts or to his studies. In the final year of EIT’s Bachelor of Viticulture and Bachelor of Wine Science Concurrent Degree, Jon has notched up nothing less than A passes in all his courses. His fondness for experimentation continues to find expression in research supported by Mission Estate work that has important implications for the wider winemaking industry. Jon is a recipient of the Mission Estate Wine and Viticulture Scholarship, established to acknowledge the pioneering spirit of the Marist fathers who first planted vines in Hawkes Bay and to stimulate critical research and development that underpins the production of fine wines. The scholarship provided Jon with the fruit, equipment and facilities that allowed him to undertake a research project – a requirement for all thirdyear Bachelor of Viticulture students at the Eastern Institute of Technology. This summer, Jon was back at the Mission lab, working under the direction of winemaker Paul Mooney, to more fully investigate the effects of varying degrees of cap management on phenolic extraction and stability. As Jon points out, many wineries invest significantly in equipment and labour to undertake regular pump-

Jon draws off a sample of Merlot from one of 15 barrels he is working with at the Mission winery.

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How project started

ack in 2002, Mission Estate winemaker Pa ul Mooney was intrigued by an article published in the technical journal Ita lian Food and Beverag Technology. The pape e r that caught his atten tion was on the “Delayed extrac tion of anthocyanins in red winemaking”. From 200 3, Mission started exp erimenting with the techniques ela borated on in that art icle, and with good results. Paul says: “On two oc casions during the 200 9 vintage, we fermented identical parcels of fru it in both larger and smaller ferme nters where the colou r was extracted from the skins at different rates. On both occasions the finished win es turned out differen tly to how many in the wine indust ry might expect. “We thought the Missi on Estate Winery EIT Sch olarship offered an ideal op portunity for further res earch to study the nature and de gree of these differences .”

While cap management is an accepted and indeed a traditional part of making red wine, Jon considers its effects on the final product to be somewhat poorly understood and possibly underappreciated. overs and/or plunging. One key reason for the practice is to prevent the growth of spoilage micro-organisms by keeping the cap wet with acidic, increasingly alcoholic and yeast-rich juice/wine. Plunging redundant? However Jon’s initial research results seem to suggest that excessively plunging the cap may not only be redundant, it may be detrimental to wine colour, colour density and total phenolics. While cap management is an accepted and indeed a traditional part of making red wine, Jon considers its effects on the final product to be somewhat poorly understood and possibly under-appreciated. For his research project, he adopted four treatment regimes, ranging from not plunging at all to plunging the cap three times daily. As might be expected, the results provided a continuum of colour density. However, Jon’s conclusion – which he agrees is counter-intuitive – was that the most densely coloured wines were those subjected to the least plunging while the least dense was the wine with the most plunging. Jon analysed his trial wines regularly for 90 days, from when the fruit arrived at the winery and subsequent to their being drained to barrel after 41 days. His research findings detail the inverse relationship

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

Wine science isn’t in the family best reputation and where they looked between the extent of plunging and total anthocyanins and total phenolics. genes – Jon’s father is an industrial to for graduates when hiring their “These inverse relationships were, for chemist – but the artistic side of mak- staff. He was told EIT. the most part, statistically significant,” ing wine appeals to the young man. Overcoming eyesight he says in his abstract. difficulties “A statistically significant There, as elsewhere, he relationship between wine Explaining that his impairment has found ways of overcomhue and extent of plunging ing the difficulties posed by isn’t about not being able to see was also observed, with inhis poor sight – which results creased plunging resulting in in the distance, Jon likens his from a deficiency of light increased browning.” visual perception to that of a low sensitive cells in his retina. He concludes: “It is strongThe congenital disorder afly suggested, based on the resolution camera. If someone fects the same chromosome indices measured (and catawith normal vision can read a road as colour blindness and, as logued in his research report) sign at 6 metres he would need to with that condition, it is carthat increased plunging reried by women who pass it sults in reduced colour densiget within 1 metre to make out its on to their sons. ty, and reduced total phenolics message. “My grandfather had it,” in young red wines.” Jon says, “and it has affected These results were presentme since I was born.” ed to local industry leaders The biggest drawback, he finds, is An Englishman, Jon emigrated to and fellow students at an EIT student research seminar and poster presenta- New Zealand in 2003 to be with his not being able to drive. He gets around that by cycling everywhere – from his Kiwi girlfriend, Melanie. tion in November last year. The couple married in 2006 and Taradale home to the EIT campus and Jon’s subsequent research was supported by a grant from TechNZ. The three years ago, after she completed to the Mission in Greenmeadows. Explaining that his impairment Foundation for Research Science and her BA and postgraduate teaching diTechnology’s business investment pro- ploma, they moved from Auckland to isn’t about not being able to see in the gramme’s funding enabled the Mis- Hawke’s Bay so that he could study distance, Jon likens his visual perception to that of a low resolution camera. sion to employ the now final-year de- wine science. While in Auckland, Jon had asked If someone with normal vision can gree student for a further 10 weeks on a project designed to enhance the work people in the industry which New read a road sign at 6 metres, he says, Zealand training organisation had the he would need to get within 1 metre to already undertaken for the company.

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make out its message. Jon carries special reading glasses and, for emergencies, a pocket magnifier for reading pages of text. For computer work, he uses software that allows him to zoom in and also to project panoramic views. “Studying at EIT hasn’t really been a problem,” he says. “I sit at the front in relatively small classes and as the lecturers know me, I can get up to have a closer look at the board if I need to. And accessing tutor time hasn’t been a problem.” Unlike his classmates, who elected to do viticulture research subjects for their third-year projects, Jon chose to focus on a procedure used in making red wine – one he says other research skirts around. “Winemakers want to keep the cap mixed in with the wine, otherwise the sugar trapped in with the skins won’t ferment with the rest. “And there is still material in the skins to extract. Colours and tannins, there’s quite complex chemistry going on. The question is how much you need to do it.” Plunging the cap is a tradition in red winemaking, a practice wineries may continue to do for reasons they have forgotten.

Having got a “rough handle” on the chemistry as a result of his initial project, Jon has subsequently undertaken further analysis of the wines involved. Mission Estate provided the Merlot fruit for his research and 15 barrels to work with, five of them new. “I am continuing to monitor the wines, seeing how they change in barrel. “ There has been a lot of research on small-scale treatments – we do a lot of that at EIT. But researchers only follow through up until when fermentation is finished. It’s a different environment, tracking the development of the wine from barrel through to bottling the finished wine.” Jon was keen to take his research beyond statistically sure scientific “bit treatments” and trials undertaken by experimental wineries, translating it to a large scale situation. “I didn’t want to investigate something I knew the answer to. I like doing experiments. “I like setting things up and seeing what happens. My wife tells me I need to limit my hobbies, but I’m interested in everything.” Jon is looking forward to presenting his EIT project at the Romeo Bragato Conference, which will be held this

year on 25-27 August at the Ellerslie Event Centre in Auckland. “I am quite proud of the research,” he says. Origin of plunging The French term for the traditional method of submerging the cap of skins, pips and stalks into the fermenting wine to impart colour, flavour and tannins is pigeage (pronounced peasharge). Most traditional of all is pigeage a pied, where winery workers plunge the cap down with their feet to increase extract during cuvaison – the period when grapes and juice are kept in contact with the skins and seeds during fermentation and maceration. Methods have change over the years, but the process is largely the same. The cap can be submerged using boards laid across the vat or mixed in with the wine using giant paddles. More high tech approaches are to use a rotating fermenting vessel to mix the skins into the juice or a pneumatic plunger that pumps the fermenting wine over the cap. Those unfamiliar with the industry are often surprised to learn that a cap of skins and grape solids carried to the surface by bubbling CO2 can be dense enough to walk on.

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REGIONS - MARLBOROUGH

Are we selling our Pinot Noir too early?

Tessa Nicholson

onsumers may be being short back in 1999, moving from the world changed when it comes to pur- of cells and genes to his greatest paschasing New Zealand Pinot sion - wine. Concerned he wouldn’t Noir according to Benjamin Lewin be taken seriously coming from such MW, who is currently writing a book on the holy grail of all wines. In the country recently, researching for the penultimate chapter of his soon to be released book In Search of Pinot Noir, he was concerned that the majority of New Zealand Pinots available are at the most only three years old. “While dining in Wellington I was really struck that the wine lists basically had Pinot Noirs from 2008 and 2009. There was the occasional 2007, but in all the evenings I ate out I found only one 2003 and one 2005 on the list. So for my money, the 08 and 09s, although the producers are producing them with the intention they can be drunk and enjoyed when they are released, are really too young. I think you are short changing the region and the consumBenjamin Lewin MW ers.” Mr Lewin is no stranger to the world of wine, or its intricacies. As a scientific background, he decided a former molecular scientist and writ- to complete his Master of Wine before er, he decided on a change of career embarking on untangling the mysteri-

ous world of wine production. His first book, What Price Bordeaux? has been hailed by wine writers all over the world. His second foray into the world of wine books was Wine Myths and Reality, which takes the historical, emotional mystery out of wine as a consumable product. Now he is set on uncovering the mysteries surrounding Pinot Noir, one of just two grapes he considers to be very transparent of their site. (The other variety being Riesling.) Pinot reflective of its terroir “You see a range of differences that relate in some way to where they come from. I don’t think you see that in the same way with say Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon. Pinot Noir has a more demanding range of expression. It is more reflective of the site it comes from. So I am writing a book specifically about Pinot Noir and the subject of terroir versus winemaking is a big question that runs through the book.” Having already written the early chapters which cover the history of the variety, Burgundy and northern Europe, he is now concentrating on the New World.

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“I am writing the penultimate chapter at the moment which is the Southern Hemisphere. The book is not really encyclopaedic; it is intended to be about the driving forces behind the variety. We are really interesting in producers that are making wines that have specific character that will say something definitive about Pinot Noir. I am focusing largely on New Zealand, basically Martinborough, Marlborough and Central Otago. There will be something in the chapter on the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula, a little bit on South America and South Africa. But in terms of where the defining force for new world Pinot Noir is coming from it splits in my mind between North America and New Zealand.” Which brings us back to the wines he tasted while visiting here in February and March and how he would like to see them released when they are at least three or four years old. “I understand there is huge commercial pressure to get them out on to the market as soon as possible. The producer can’t afford to hold them and release them later. The restaurant can’t afford to hold them either. So what you are doing is offering the consumers a monotone view. I grant you there is an

impression out there that the consumer market wants wines that are bursting with fruit and are young. But for my money, you actually see the fruit flavours of those wines and their potential complexity much better after a year or two.” To emphasise that point, he will include a drinking range for the regional wines, within the book. When to drink our Pinot “I give a specific drinking age of a range of years for each wine. It starts when the tannins have softened and in almost every case that is not going to be the current vintage, but two to three years down the road. “But the end of the range will be when I think the wine will begin to turn from fruity to savoury notes. I say explicitly that if you like fruity wines, drink it before that range. But if you prefer wine with slightly savoury overtones, you can drink these wines well beyond the range I have indicated.” He discovered that many of the Martinborough wines were developing those savoury notes when they reached six to eight years of age. “But for people who prefer the fruity wines, they would find the 08

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and 09 vintages much more pleasurable and interesting and showing a much wider range of flavours if they waited another two years.” Mr Lewin says it is not intended as a criticism to New Zealand producers, but he strongly believes the average consumer would appreciate the complexity of the wines more, if they had the opportunity to try them when they were four or five years old, rather than two or three. However the recently released New Zealand Pinot Noirs that have found their way onto shelves in the Northern Hemisphere, have a major advantage over the same wines sold at home according to Mr Lewin. He says the travel seems to be having an ageing effect. “At a tasting in New York last year, I tried a few wines that I have since retried here in New Zealand. In every single case the wine tasted more youthful here than it had done in New York. What I was surprised at was the wines seemed like a year younger here than they had done back in September at that New York tasting. We are talking about the equivalent of ageing from one year to 18 months. It’s an interesting point I think.” Mr Lewin’s book In Search of Pinot Noir will be available in September.

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NZ28729

IN THE VINEYARD

NZ invention creates revolution in vine pruning

he KLIMA Cane-Pruner, designed and developed in New Zealand, is a machine designed to reduce the costs and resource required during pruning. Its technology is unique, involving the fruiting wire, feeding it through a machine so that all canes and vine pieces are removed. Anything attached to that wire is swept through the wire guides and immediately mulched. The fruiting wire, the main obstacle during pruning, is now providing the solution to the last frontier of vineyard mechanisation. With a manufacturing and distribution licence for the Americas, Europe and South African markets now in place with ERO Gerätebau GmbH, Germany’s largest producer of vineyard machinery, plus endorsements from Geisenheim, possibly the world’s leading viticultural institute, the ben-

Kilma cane pruner.

efits of the KLIMA are becoming very clear. German viticultural magazine Das Deutche Wein Magazin commented in

their review in the December 2010 issue, ‘The Cane-Pruner has the potential to break through the mechanising

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of the pruning system. If the vineyard is properly prepared, the machine works very efficiently and cleanly in the removal of prunings. Since the challenges for adaption are relatively minimal, it is expected that the acceptance of the Cane-Pruner among viticulturists will be very large.’ Not only is the KLIMA technology a revolutionary pruning method, vastly reducing the amount of unskilled labour required, it also permits a skilled decision-maker to do the job in the briefest period and with no additional time at the vine such as cutting the current year’s fruiting canes. What could take someone two to three hours on a 200m row could be cut to as little as a few minutes. ERO have been organising demonstrations of the KLIMA Cane-Pruner (renamed ‘Viteco’ but with plates on each machine stating ‘KLIMA Technology NZ’) with a minimum of 200 people attending each of the eight demonstrations that have taken place throughout Germany and over 500 arriving to watch the machine in operation at Oppenheim. Geisenheim, because of the importance they believe the KLIMA/Viteco Cane-Pruner will have in the industry, have picked up the administration and costs of these German demonstrations. Events are also taking place in Italy, France and Austria at the end of March and pilot machines will be in Chile, South Africa and USA by the end of 2011. Developed in Waipara The KLIMA Cane-Pruner was born through vineyard managers Marcus Wickham and Nigel George discussing the challenges of pruning and the potential mechanisation of this costly and difficult yet extremely important job. Once they hit on the idea of using the fruiting wire – usually the nemesis of pruning – they tested it out using a chain and shackle on a front-loader. It worked. Next stop was to build a prototype. Eagle Engineering in Waipara together with Nigel formed the development team. They worked on the design and built the first machine while Marcus developed the business opportunities, intellectual property and trial partnerships to test the machinery at a commercial level. While Marcus managed the project full-time, Nigel continued in his role as vineyard manager, though the pair had decided ‘if it works, we’ll run with it’. It did. With patents pending and an agreement signed with ERO Gerätebau GmbH and commercial sales of the KLIMA Cane-Pruner in New Zealand and Australia, the dream of two vineyard managers has come to fruition with far-reaching consequences for the global wine industry. Today, the KLIMA Cane-Pruner is revolutionising the hardest, most costly vineyard operation, turning it into a simple, cost-effective job with a top-quality result. Jeremy Prater, viticultural lecturer at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology sums it up by saying ‘The Klima Cane-Pruner is quite extraordinary and will revolutionise the management of large scale commercial vineyards by slashing total pruning, stripping and other related costs, such as mulching of prunings, by up to 50%’. Adam McCone, viticulturist at Spy Valley Wines claims ‘We have saved up to 40% on our total pruning costs and the pruners are earning more per day. The machine is so easy to operate and maintain it is hard to envisage having to prune the traditional way again’.

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A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Extraordinary success of the Langlois vine stripper Tessa Nicholson

iwis are famous for their inge- grabbing cut canes and dragging them nuity and self-sufficiency. We upwards. With a couple of DC motors can create amazing things — all in the shed he began experimenting, we need is ‘a piece of Number 8 wire’. utilising two wheels running simultaIn Walter Langlois’s case, he didn’t so neously against each other. much use the wire itself, instead he was looking at ways of getting around First launch in 2007 With the help of engineers, he bethe wire on vineyard trellising during gan developing a machine that could the difficult task of vine stripping. The physicality, along with the fit onto a tractor – which has resulted hours it took to achieve the task was something he couldn’t quite get his head around. It seemed so arduous and almost thankless. With a background in electrical engineering and machine repairs and servicing, he thought there had to be a better and more efficient way of undertaking the stripping aspect of pruning, rather than the age old manual way. “I was surprised at how much effort it took, that’s for sure. I looked at our Marlborough vineyard which is only 5 acres and thought, I don’t want to be doing that every winter. There has to be a better way.” What has eventuated from those first initial thoughts, is a mechanised system that is interesting winegrowers throughout the world – the Langlois stripper/shredder. Given he could find no form of mechanisation available, he began experimenting within his Creator of the Langlois stripper and shredder, Walter own vineyard. Initially he tried Langlois. pulling the canes out from beneath the trellising, but that was also in the Langlois stripper, first launched too difficult. It wasn’t until he took a in 2007. There is no change in the way the ladder out among the vines that the vines need to be pruned, with the seed of an idea began to grow. “I began pulling some canes out selected canes required for fruiting from the top of the canopy. The first wood left intact. However, the pruner one came out quite easily. So I pulled does need to top those selected canes another one, but that was pretty diffi- to around 300mm below the unwanted cult. It didn’t want to come out at all.” wood. As the stripper travels down the Which led him to think about cre- row, the pincher system drags those ating a pinch arrangement that would unwanted canes upwards and spits operate from the top of the canopy, them out behind the tractor.

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

The enthusiasm for the Langlois stripper was evident, especially given that prior to 2008, there had been major concerns that lack of staff would see some of Marlborough’s vineyards not pruned prior to budburst. However, Walter wasn’t entirely happy with the initial machine – he believed there was a need to develop it further to ensure the canes being removed were dealt with in a better way. “I wasn’t happy with the mess it was leaving between the rows. I thought it should have a mulching head on top of the pinchers that would be able to mulch the canes immediately.” That in itself was going to cause some major issues, he quickly realised. While the stripper could easily be attached to a tractor, a mulcher would require far more oil flow than most tractor engines could provide. So before any mulcher could be developed, Walter had to come up with a hydraulic power unit. “The PTO driven power unit provides hydraulic flow and pressure to power both the Langlois stripper and shredder. We utilise a dual output stepup gearbox running two piston pumps, both pumps delivering 85L/Min, each at 540 RPM.” With that powering the shredder, the canes can now be fed straight into it and the mulching fired back into the centre of the row, or if the vineyard owner doesn’t want that, it can be fed into an attached gondola. Given that the idea to create a machine to undertake stripping only occurred to Walter back in 2007 the journey to production has been incredibly short. What’s more the success of the machine here in New Zealand has created interest in overseas markets. Within months of releasing the first machines into Marlborough, he had orders for six in Australia. As there is

more spur pruning undertaken across the Tasman, he developed a rotating blade that can be attached beneath the stripper/shredder, that allows the machine to achieve pruning, stripping and mulching all in one pass. Interest in US and Europe The interest in the Langlois isn’t confined to the Southern Hemisphere. Just recently Walter attended the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento, along with 12,000 other wine industry members. It is his second year at the event, but this time round, he had one of the machines on display. The interest was high, although he admits there may need to be some more fine tuning given the trellis systems in the US. “Their growing style and their trellising is quite hard to put a mechanical beast into. Because they have been growing for so long, the trellising is pretty old and the wires aren’t tight. And they tend to do deficit irrigation, which affects the canopy growth. We need a

high canopy for the machine to pick up the canes and in many places in California the growth wasn’t substantial enough.” It’s a different story further north in Oregon, where a lot more cane pruning is undertaken. Walter says this is an area where he is hoping for substantial growth, particularly as cheap labour is now not as readily available as it has been in past years. “They are looking more and more at mechanisation, which is where the strength of the machine lies.” On the European front, Langlois has recently signed a deal with Collards in France, which gives them the right to manufacture and distribute in that part of the world. Again, the older style trellising of vineyards in Europe means more fine tuning will be required,

The original Langlois released onto the market in 2007 – minus the shredder.

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The double machine, suitable for stripping two rows at a time.

which Collards have undertaken to do. “They are going to make changes to the machine so it will be suitable for use in these very old vineyards. The latest is they have sent a machine to Austria and it has a lot of modifications, so we are waiting to see if it works up there.” Machines are also being utilised in Italy, France and Germany. “So with all these different ways of growing, we are going to take stock of what they are doing. We will pool all

the information from the guys in the States and Europe and will see how we can put all those ideas into one machine, which hopefully will be able to go into a lot more international vineyards.” Back home in New Zealand, the Langlois has an ardent following, with many of the large Category 1 companies already purchasing machines. The advantages are huge, especially in the amount of time it takes to strip a large block. Early calculations showed the

cost to strip a 1ha block, (1.8m vine spacings and 2.5 metre rows) were $172.50, or 08 cents per vine. (These costs will have risen in recent months given the price of diesel, but are still significantly less than those of manual stripping.) A double row vine stripper has also been developed which allows the tractor to make one pass, stripping two rows at a time. “Given everyone in the wine industry needs to be looking at ways of saving money, we think we have hit on a winner,” Walter says. “It also means growers can concentrate on employing the very best to do the pruning job, which has to be an advantage in the long run.”

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A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

Diploma passport to work in wine

ibby Rainey believes her choice to study wine through Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology in Marlborough led to career opportunities that wouldn’t have happened anywhere else. “Marlborough is the heart of the industry so through the programmes at NMIT I got to work in vineyards and wineries around the region as part of the course. I was meeting industry people and that’s how I got my current job as viticultural cadet at Villa Maria in Blenheim.” Villa Maria encouraged Libby to further her qualifications and she was able to work and study. She now has an NMIT Diploma of Viticulture and Wine Production, and is just completing a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at the NMIT campus through Lincoln University. Libby has mixed work and study since leaving Nelson Girls College including a stint working at a winery in the Napa Valley near San Francisco, helping with their sparkling wine vintage. “That’s a big draw-card for this career – being able to do harvests

overseas. You could quite easily do two or three a year, so there’s a great opportunity to travel.” But Libby is more than happy with staying put for a while at Villa Maria. “It’s New Zealand’s largest family owned winery, and our most awarded winery over the past 30 years. I’m learning so much in my cadet role. In fact I still haven’t decided what specific area I’d like to go into – either moving up as viticulturist or into vineyard management but that decision can wait, while I keep on learning.” On a daily basis, Libby liaises between the contract grape growers and Villa Maria’s viticulturists, gathering technical and growing information to plan the harvests. She says she’s the first person she knew who chose to go into the wine industry. “Actually I was doing art and graphics at school and then one day I got an opportunity to look at the wine research centre in Blenheim and the mix of practical hands-on outdoor work combined with science appealed to her.” Libby weighed up her options for qualifica-

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tions and chose NMIT. “Because the diploma they offered was really practical and you got to get out into the local industry and meet people, which was invaluable.” Another key attracting factor for Libby was NMIT’s vineyard, and the fact she was able to make her own vintages in the NMIT winery. “That was awesome; you don’t get to do that in many other places.” Libby says the tutors and the other students were stimulating. “If you want to be in this industry you need to have a passion for wine, and we all did when we started, but by the end of the diploma it had been fostered even more.” Now 23, Libby says her qualifications combined with work experience have given her the strong focus she needed. “When I left high school I was all over the place and didn’t know what I really wanted to do. Choosing to do the diploma gave me the direction I needed, and led to me gaining my degree and now there’s a wide range of career options all still ahead of me in this evolving, exciting and fun industry.”

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A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

Process & Packaging Equipment

New centrifuge aids solids removals from juices, wines

Firstly where lees are sent to distillation; secondly, by reduced number of lees transfers, each of which lead to dilution or yield losses • Reduced juice and wine quality/ value downgrades. This is where existing lees handling processes lead to loss of quality and value, by loss of freshness and oxidation, loss of varietal or regional integrity and character, or finally anoxic/reductive taints from prolonged exposure to high concentrations of yeasts & bacteria in the lees. • Eliminating DE filtration, principally the lees filter and (RDV) rotary drum vacuum filter. The direct hard savings in reduced DE consumption are typically modest in the financial justification of the STS 45 mobile service. A key advantage of the STS 45 system over older centrifuges is very low oxygen pick-up, as low as 0.02 mg of oxygen per litre of wine. This means the same wine can be centrifuged mul-

rmourtech NZ Ltd has introduced the mobile STS 45 system to the New Zealand wine sector for the 2011 vintage. It is claimed to be a superior method for winery solids management and eliminates the need for racking of juices and wines and the consequent product losses and quality/value downgrades. Central to the system is the STS 45, a disk-type centrifuge with the capability to both: process entire tanks of juice and wine, including the lees; and eject the solids at such a thickness (eg 95% v/v) that no further product recovery is necessary (eg via Lees Filter or RDV Filter) The three principal sources of financial paybacks and quality outcomes for the STS 45 are: • Reducing juice and wine losses, associated with racking or de-sludge from older or under-performing centrifuges. This occurs in two parts:

Mobile centrifuge service offered by

• Minimal DO pickup • Minimal losses • Quality outcomes

Typical flow rates • Lees – 1500 l/hr • Stop ferments – 6 to 8,000 l/hr • Polishing – 7 to 10,000 l/hr

• • • • • •

White Lees Juice Lees Flotation Lees Bentonite Lees Stop Ferments Polish Wines

For further information and details contact Guy Rutledge 021 783 236 guy@armourtech.co.nz www.armourtech.co.nz

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

tiple times during its maturation cycle. The low oxygen pick-up allows New Zealand cellars to maximise the financial benefits of the STS 45’s broad spectrum of juice & wine solids removal capabilities. The STS 45 system has been developed to handle a broad range of winery products. Whole white juice Cold-settled juice lees White wine ex primary ferment (including yeast lees) White wine ex bentonite (including bentonite lees) Bentonite lees Arrested ferments, late harvest & botrytis styles Red wine ex primary ferment (including gross lees) Gross red lees Red wine ex malolactic ferment Wines ex cold stabilisation Coarse polishing (prior to crossflow)

WHERE

EVENT

ATTENDANCE

AUDIENCE

EVENT DATE 2011

USA

The NZ Wine Experience - KGO Wine Event: San Francisco

W, A, NZW

VIP M, T, C

30 April

Canada

New Zealand Wine Fair: Vancouver

W, A

M, T, C

2 May

Canada

New Zealand Wine Fair: Calgary

W, A

M, T, C

4 May

Canada

New Zealand Wine Fair: Quebec City

W, A

M, T

9 May

Canada

New Zealand Wine Fair: Montreal

W, A

M, T, C

10 May

Canada

New Zealand Wine Fair: Toronto

W, A

M, T, C

12 May

UK & Ireland

London International Wine Fair: London

W, A, NZW

M, T

17-19 May

Australia

International Cool Climate Wine Show 2011: Melbourne

NZW

24-25 May

Australia

Perth Royal Wine Show: Perth

TBA

New Zealand

New Zealand Wine Exportersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Forum, Blenheim

W, NZW

13-15 July

International Wine Spirits Competition (NZ Section)

Competition

Australia

Canberra International Riesling Challenge

W=Winery A=Agent NZW=NZ Winegrowers

2029-08 layout 9/5/08 10:51 AM Page 1

M=Media T=Trade C=Consumer

26 August 3-8 October

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A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

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STATISTICS FOR THE GRAPE AND WINE INDUSTRY Principal Export Markets

Summary of Key Indicators Following is a summary of key indicators at intervals:

1985

1990

1995

2000

2010

No. of Growers

n/a

1128

No. of Wineries

n/a

204

358

672

Producing area (Ha)* 5,900

4,880

6,110

10,197

33,428

Average yield (t/Ha) 13.2

14.4

12.2

7.8

8.0

78,000 70,265

74,500

Tonnes crushed

80,100 266,000

Total production (m.L) 59.6

54.4

56.4

60.2

190.0

Domestic sales (m.L) 42.6

39.2

30.9

41.3

56.7

11.7

8.7

10.6

Per capita consumption: (litres NZ wines)

13.1

13.0

Export volume (m.L) 0.8 Exp. value (m.$NZ fob) 3.0

4.0 7.8 19.2 142 18.4 40.8 168.4 1041.0 *estimate of probable total scaled up from actual returns

Major NZ Vineyard Areas Region 2010 (Actual) Marlborough 19295 Hawkes Bay 4947 Gisborne 2083 Otago 1540 Canty/Waipara 1779 Wairarapa/Wgtn 871 Nelson 842 Auckland 550 Waikato/BoP 147 National total 33428

2012 % Change (Forecast) (from 2010) 19570 +1.4% 5046 +2.0% 2003 -3.9% 1543 +0.2% 1828 +2.7% 885 +1.6% 880 +4.6% 573 +4.1% 147 n.c.* 33600

+0.5%

% Total Area (2010) 57.7% 14.8% 6.2% 4.6% 5.3% 2.6% 2.5% 1.6% 0.4% 100.0%

Average $ per litre down again! While total annual exports of New Zealand wine for the 12 months to 31 January 2011 have stayed fairly static since passing the $1 billion over a year ago, the average $ per litre has dropped again, by by an alarming 94c. Compared with Jan 2010, annual exports increased 20% in volume, value increased only 6%, due to significantly higher bulk exports. In volume and value, Australia retained the lead over UK, with average per litre price to Aussie at $7.00 against UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s low of $5.68. Country/Years Australia: 2011 2010

Litres(m)

+/- % Total NZ fob (m) +/- %

Ave $NZ/L +/- %

47.038 44.389

+6.0

329.115 325.750

United Kingdom: 2011 2010

52.305 42.708

+24.8

296.686 285.630

+3.9

$5.68 -15.1 $6.69

USA: 2010 2010

32.623 24.250

+34.5

234.674 219036

+7.1

$7.19 -10.0 $9.49

7.708 6.060

+27.2

62.547 56.941

+9.8

$8.11 -13.7 $9.40

3.216 2.530

+27.1

23.359 21.522

+8.4

$7.26 -14.7 $8.51

Ireland: 2011 2010

2.184 1.465

+49.1

17.724 +18.9 14.901

$8.12 -20.2 $10.17

China: 2011 2010

1.561 1.286

+21.4

18.754 +38.0% 13.591

$10.57 -12.1 $12.02

Hong Kong: 2011 2010

1.113 1.204

-7.6

14.623 15.850

-7.8

$13.14 $13.15

n.c.

Singapore: 2011 2010

1.200 1.567

-23.4

14.028 -30.8 20.258

$11.69 $12.93

-9.6

Canada: 2011 2010 Netherlands: 2011 2010

$7.00 $7.34

-4.6

Denmark:

*Major Varieties in Major Areas

2011 2010

1.079 1.042

+3.5

6.451 +11.6 5.778

$5.98 +7.9 $5.54

New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total producing vineyard will increase by only 0.5% over the next 2 years. This table shows the variation for major varieties (in Ha), with % change and percentage of total in 2012. Variety 2010 2012 % Change % Total (Actual) (Forecast) (from 2009) Area (2011) Sauv. Blanc 16910 17297 +2.2% 44.3% Chardonnay 3865 3792 -1.9% 11.3% Pinot Gris 1763 1764 n.c.* 4.3% Riesling 986 1009 +2.3% 2.7% Gewurztraminer 314 290 -7.7% 0.9% Semillon 185 182 -2.7% 0.5% Pinot Noir 4773 4828 +1.1% 13.9% Merlot 1371 1403 +2.3% 4.0% Cab.Sauvignon 519 521 +0.4% 1.5% Syrah 297 300 +1.0% 0.8% Cabernet Franc 161 162 n.c.*% 0.5% Malbec 157 161 +2.5% 0.5%

Japan: 2011 2010

0.848 0.560

+51.4

10.815 +33.9 8.076

$12.75 -11.5 $14.41

Germany: 2011 2010

0.678 0.494

+37.2

5.052 +14.4 4.416

$7.45 -16.8 $8.95

Total 33428 *n.c. = no change

33600

+0.5%

Finland: (npr = not previously recorded separately) 2011 0.289 npr 2.673 npr npr npr

npr

$9.24 npr

npr

Norway: 2011 npr

0.138 npr

npr

1.118 npr

npr

$8.12 npr

npr

Sweden: 2011 npr

1.607 npr

npr

14.080 npr

npr

$8.76 npr

npr

Other: 2011 npr

3.352 npr

npr

34.111 npr

npr

$10.17 npr

npr

156.667 130.130

+20.4

1,080.951 1,019.808

+6.0

otal Exports: T 2011 2010

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

$6.90 -12.0 $7.84

New Zealand Winegrowers

Research Supplement No 17 - April/May 2011

Information and Updates on NZ Winegrowers Research Programmes. Associate Editors: Philip Manson, Science & Innovations Manager • Dr Simon Hooker, Research Programme Manager 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/reports

List of Projects Current Research Projects: Understanding the accumulation of fruit based green aromatic methoxypyrazine compounds in Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc grape berries Plant and Food Research (Jeff Bennett)

Organic Focus Vineyard Project Organic Winegrowers New Zealand (Rebecca Reider)

Pilot sheep leaf plucking study Agrivet Services ltd (Gina deNicolo)

Unlocking New Zealand Pinot Noir aroma through aroma reconstitution approach Auckland University (Laura Nicolau)

Investigation of perceived minerality in white wine Lincoln University (Wendy Parr)

Sex pheromones as a mealybug monitoring tool, 2010-11 Plant and Food Research (Jim Walker)

Web programming Botrytis Decision Support Model (BDSM) Plant and Food Research (Rob Beresford)

Analysing wine using PTR-MS Otago University (Patrick Silcock)

Residue Free Soft Botryticide Trials Lewis Wright Valuation and Consultancy (Trevor Lupton)

Biological control of Glassy winged sharpshooter (GWSS) Plant and Food Research (John Charles) Supported by MAF Sustainable Farming Fund

Fruit yield management of Sauvignon Blanc: The use of Mechanical thinning Plant and Food Research (Mike Trought)

The science of Sauvignon Blanc publication Jamie Goode

Effect of early leaf removal on Botrytis incidence and grape/wine composition EIT (Mark Krasnow)

Influence of training and crop load on grapevine yield and fruit composition Plant and Food Research (Mike Trought)

The influence of canopy management and architecture of Sauvignon Blanc grapevines on fruit and vegetative development Plant and Food Research (Marc Greven)

Identification of natural genetic variation in grapevine contributing to pathogen resistance Lincoln University (Chris Winefield) The effect of light on grape berry and leaf biochemistry Lincoln University (Brian Jordan)

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

Identification of metabolites in high-thiol grape juices Auckland UniServices Ltd (Silas VillasBoas) Implementation of Virus Elimination Strategy Various (Nick Hoskins – Project Manager) Supported by MAF Sustainable Farming Fund Botryosphaeria Trunk Diseases Identification, Epidemiology & Control Lincoln University (Marlene Jaspers) Using Meteorological Data to Predict Regional Vineyard Yield Plant and Food Research (Mike Trought) The Effect of Post-Harvest Defoliation on Carbon and Nitrogen Balance of High Yielding Sauvignon Blanc Vines Plant and Food Research (Marc Greven) Irrigation Scheduling Calculator for Tree and Vine Crops Hawkes Bay Regional Council (Monique Benson) Supported by MAF Sustainable Farming Fund New Zealand Winegrower Magazine Research Articles Various

*Brackets indicate primary contact.

PROGRESS REPORTS Yield and fruit composition responses of Sauvignon Blanc to mechanical thinning Sue Neal, Dion Mundy, Mike Trought and Dominic Pecchenino, Plant & Food Research NZW08-334

echanical thinning has the potential to be a cost-effective means of controlling grapevine crops to achieve target yields. In the 2010 growing season, the influence of mechanical thinning on vine yield components and fruit composition of Sauvignon Blanc at different growth stages was investigated. A second objective was to measure botrytis bunch rot incidence and severity, and to provide a cost comparison of thinning on net vineyard returns. Mechanical thinning was undertaken either shortly after fruit set (13 January) or shortly before vĂŠraison (26 January) using a Nairn 1230 LS machine harvester. The harvester belts were removed and wooden panels inserted to direct fruit to the ground beneath the canopy. Three beater rods were set up on each side of the harvester, 1.2 to 1.4 m above the ground, allowing a 50-mm pinch between the ends of each beater. The beater speed was modified to apply either a light thin (400 strokes/minute) or heavy thin (450 strokes/minute). The harvester travelled at 3.2 km/hour.

Figure 1. Influence of thinning method on bunch architecture two weeks after the first thinning treatment. Un-thinned (left), lightly machine thinned (centre) and heavily machine thinned (right) bunches.

duction in yield from vines that were mechanically thinned shortly after fruit set than from those mechanically thinned shortly before vĂŠraison. Lower bunch weights and smaller, lighter berries were produced on machine-thinned vines than on the unthinned vines (Figure 2). The differ-

Influence of mechanical thinning on bunch development Two weeks after the first thinning treatment, bunches from both lightly and heavily thinned vines had a more open structure than bunches from unthinned vines (Figure 1). Berries with minor splitting and bruising were more prevalent in bunches from the heavily thinned treatment. The open bunch architecture was still observed at harvest for bunches produced on vines that had been machine thinned.

Figure 2. Influence of thinning time and method on Sauvignon Blanc yield (top), bunch weight (centre) and berry weight (bottom) at harvest. Means within each thinning time for each yield parameter with different letters are significantly different (P < 0.05).

Influence of mechanical thinning on vine yield components at harvest Compared with un-thinned vines, yields from mechanically thinned vines were reduced (Figure 2). However, similar yields were harvested from the lightly and heavily machine thinned vines at both post-fruit set and pre-vĂŠraison thinning times. There was a greater percentage re-

ence in berry size may be attributed to a cessation in berry growth for a period immediately following machine thinning. Mechanical thinning shortly after fruit set may thin berries from bunches more effectively, resulting in a more open bunch architecture that allows for better penetration of bunch closure sprays. The timing and degree of thinning had no impact on the number of bunches removed

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

Mechanical thinning cost $0.13 per m of row, while hand thinning was estimated to cost between $0.17 and $0.18 per m of row. These findings suggest that mechanical thinning is a faster and more efficient method of thinning, allowing growers to achieve target yields reliably and to thin large tracts of vineyard practically in a restricted timeframe.

Table 1. Influence of thinning time and thinning method on Sauvignon Blanc juice composition at harvest.

per vine. This supports observations made at both thinning times that yield reduction was mainly due to removal of berries from bunches, rather than whole bunches being removed from the vine. A further reduction in yield was caused by a smaller proportion of remaining berries shrivelling. Visual observations were made that berries from machine thinned vines appeared to produce less juice in the gondola and had altered skin to juice ratios. Influence of mechanical thinning on fruit composition at harvest Mechanical thinning shortly after fruit set had no significant effect on soluble solids, titratable acidity and pH when compared to the unthined control (Table 1). While small differences caused by thinning at veraison were statistically significant, they were unexpected, with thinned fruit having a lower soluble solids and pH suggesting that thinning had delayed fruit ripening. Thinning method means within each thinning time with different letters are significantly different (P < 0.05). Influence of mechanical thinning on Botrytis bunch rot severity at harvest No significant timing or interac-

Table 2. Influence of thinning method on botrytis bunch rot severity (%) at harvest.

tion effects were observed; therefore, data were pooled to compare light and heavy mechanical thinning. Vines that were heavily machine thinned had significantly lower botrytis bunch rot than un-thinned vines. These lower disease incidences may be attributed to the more open bunch architecture, removal of debris from bunches, and/or reduced susceptibility to disease through physiological changes in the berries (i.e. increased skin thickness). Although botrytis severity was low across all thinning methods, results suggest that mechanical thinning may allow for improved disease control under higher disease pressure. Means with different letters are significantly different (P < 0.05). Cost comparison of mechanical thinning and hand thinning

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

Key findings and recommendations Mechanical thinning appears to be a cost-effective means of controlling grapevine crops to achieve target yields, reducing grapevine yields at harvest by 20-30% compared with those from un-thinned vines. Mechanical thinning shortly after fruit set is recommended, as this provided a greater percentage reduction in yield than did thinning shortly before vĂŠraison. However, the open bunch architecture present two weeks after thinning and again at harvest indicates that there is a reasonable window between fruit set and vĂŠraison when thinning could be carried out. Mechanical thinning may also offer an alternative method to improve botrytis bunch rot control. The influence of mechanical thinning on the flavour and aroma profile of wine was not studied in this research. Although mechanical thinning did not adversely affect fruit composition at harvest, smaller berries were produced, which may influence wine composition and flavour profile. Further research will investigate the influence of mechanical thinning on wine quality. The impact of the smaller berry size on juice yield per tonne of harvested fruit will also be evaluated. The outcomes from this research indicate that mechanical thinning provides growers with a reliable method to reduce crop load, and flexibility in terms of when thinning can be carried out. Future work is planned to determine what degrees of machine thinning remove specific quantities of crop. Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge New Zealand Winegrowers for funding the project; the PFR staff at the Marlborough Wine Research Centre for field and laboratory technical assistance; Gareth Hill for assistance with processing disease data; and the staff at Matador Wines for support and assistance.

Early defoliation as a technique to manage crop, reduce rot losses, and increase quality of Hawke’s Bay fruit Mark Krasnow NZW10-120

any climate change predictions show that New Zealand may experience more summer rain and higher average temperatures, conditions that favour Botrytis infections. New Zealand Winegrowers in conjunction with Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers have commission the grape and wine research staff of EIT, to investigate the use of early defoliation as a technique to reduce bunch compactness, and therefore rot losses. Tighter bunches are more prone to rot, and rot spreads more quickly in tight bunches than it does in looser bunches. Reducing fruitset should lead to looser bunches, and thus greatly reduce losses due to bunch rots. Found

to be an e effective approach in Europe, its effectiveness under Hawke’s Bay conditions is being investigated by the research team. The team is investigating the influence of the timing of defoliation. The first treatment involves the removal before flowering of the six basal leaves, totalling 60-70% of the leaf area. This treatment is being compared with the same six leaves removed either 10 days after flowering, or at pre bunch closure. These treatments are also being applied to Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc, varieties of importance to Hawke’s Bay and prone to rot due to having compact bunches. Another possible benefit of ear-

A P R I L / M AY 2 0 11

ly defoliation is the reduction in fruit methoxypyrazine concentrations. Methoxypyrazines are compounds that give distinctive herbaceous, particularly capsicum, character to wines. A small amount of methoxypyrazine is considered varietal character, while excessive amounts, especially in reds, are considered a defect. In the US defoliation 10 days after flowering has been shown to reduce methoxypyrazines by around 50% in Merlot and Cabernet Franc. So the impact of the same defoliation treatments (preflowering, 10 days after flowering, and pre bunch closure) on grape and wine methoxypyrazine concentrations in Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon is also part of this research.

Grapevine trunk diseases in New Zealand Dion Mundy1 and Mike Manning2 1The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Marlborough Wine Research Centre, P.O. Box 845, Blenheim 7240, New Zealand 2The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Mt Albert Research Centre, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, New Zealand

runk diseases and virus are the two main threats to longevity of vineyards in New Zealand. Recognition of the importance of trunk diseases to the future of the wine industry has resulted in investment in research by individuals, companies, New Zealand Winegrowers and central government. Grapevine trunk diseases have been the topic of discussion at numerous wine industry field days and workshops as new results and ideas have become available. However, accessing information between presentations has not always been possible. Plant & Food Research and the Marlborough Wine Research Centre have launched a website to provide the New Zealand Wine Industry with information about grapevine trunk diseases http://wineresearch.org.nz/publications/MarlboroughTrunkDiseaseWeb. htm The website provides contact details for researchers currently involved in trunk disease research, and access to publications. Information

on the site includes fact sheets about diseases and related management of vines, published abstracts, links to international websites about trunk diseases, a calculation spreadsheet tool for investigating costs of trunk diseases, and links to published papers on trunk diseases that are available to the public free of charge. This website will be updated as new information becomes available. A recent addition to the website is link to a paper titled “Ecology and management of grapevine trunk diseases in New Zealand: a review” published in the New Zealand Plant Protection journal in August 2010 http://wineresearch.org.nz/publications/TrunkDiseaseAbstracts.htm This paper provides information on botryosphaeria dieback, esca, eutypa dieback and Petri disease, with a focus on New Zealand growing conditions and current knowledge at the time of publication. For each disease, information has been provided on symptoms, causal organism, disease cycle and control. The paper con-

cludes with the summary that good cultural practices, such as removing infected wood and protecting pruning wounds from infection, are still the best ways for the industry to reduce the spread of trunk diseases. If you have questions regarding information on grapevine trunk diseases or have trouble accessing the website, please contact Dion Mundy at dion.mundy@plantandfood.co.nz. Acknowledgements Information for this article and the website was developed from research funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (Contract CO6X0810), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Sustainable Farming Fund, New Zealand Winegrowers, the Marlborough Wine Research Centre and Technology New Zealand Smart Start. We would also like to acknowledge Marlene Jaspers and her team at Lincoln University for their contribution to grapevine trunk and root disease research in New Zealand.

The influence of training systems and crop load on grapevine yield and fruit composition Jeff Bennett1, Marc Greven1 and Amber Parker2 1Plant and Food Research, PO Box 845, Blenheim, 7201 2Lincoln University, NZW09-115

n 2008, grape supply exceeded demand for New Zealand wine for the first time, resulting in excess wine stocks. As such, for New Zealand grape producers, managing supply has required a re-think of production objectives concerning both volume and quality of grapes produced. Sauvignon Blanc (approximately 63% of all New Zealand grape tonnage) has traditionally been grown in New Zealand using the relatively high yielding 4-cane verti-

cal shoot positioned (VSP) training system. This system allows for a high node and shoot number per metre of vineyard canopy and hence high yield potential. In cooler or higher yielding seasons, this system can lead to difficulty in achieving desired fruit ripeness, resulting in unsatisfactorily low soluble solids (°Brix) content, high acid concentrations and more recently, overproduction of grapes. As such, wine company production targets have moved to controlling

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yield and improving or changing fruit maturity/composition goals to meet increasing market demands for new styles of high quality wines. Altering the number of canes laid down at pruning (node number per vine) or leaf area by changing the training system are practical ways of controlling yield and ripeness. The objectives of this research were to determine: (1) the influence of training systems on Sauvignon Blanc grapevine performance; 2) the influence of

Table 1. The effect of Sauvignon Blanc grapevine training systems on vine yield and fruit composition 2010.

Figure 1. Yield compensation shown by 2- and 3-cane versus 4-cane pruned Sauvignon Blanc grapevines over the 2004-2010 period.

crop load on vine performance and fruit characteristics; and (3) the influence of leaf area to fruit weight ratio on varietal phenology and maturation. The outcomes of this research are critical to understanding the long-term sustainability of grapevine yield manipulation and its relevance to achieving pre-planned production and fruit quality targets. Influence of five training systems (2- cane VSP, 4-cane VSP, ScottHenry, Spur pruning and Sylvoz) on Sauvignon Blanc grapevine performance The soluble solids content of fruit was negatively related to vine yield for the different training systems (Table 1). The split canopy training systems of Scott-Henry and Sylvoz, which were predicted to advance fruit ripening and/or sustain ripeness under heavier yields, in fact did not improve the soluble solids content significantly. Results for the Spur pruning system, which has been considered a poor alternative to 4-cane pruning because of perceived lower

yields, indicated a consistent node number of around 70% of the 4-cane system yields reliably at 80% of the 4-cane vines. Previous research has

illustrated that higher yields affect soluble solids accumulation by delaying the date of vĂŠraison and the subsequent rate of soluble solids accumulation. The 2-cane vine yield has stabilised at approximately 75% of that of 4-cane system, as shown for the past four seasons (2006 to 2009 harvests) (Figure 1). In the 2010 season, the 2-cane system yield increased further to 85% of 4-cane yield. Second-year 3-cane vines totally compensated for yield relative to long-term 4-cane vines. Examination of historical data (2007 and 2008 seasons) revealed that water stress interacted with vine yield to alter fruit maturity further. The soluble solids content of fruit from water-stressed vines was lower at high yields than the soluble solids content of equivalent yielding non or low water-stressed vines (Figure 2). This response suggests water stress reduced photosynthates available for adequate soluble solids accumulation in berries under high yield condi-

Figure 2. Relationship between Sauvignon Blanc grapevine yield and fruit soluble solids as influenced by training system and block position (North vs. South) within the vineyard 2007.

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tions. Under lower yield conditions, the fruit demand appears to be insufficient to impair the accumulation of soluble solids in berries under water stress conditions. However, the influence of water stress on berry acid concentrations is arguably more profound, with water stress, significantly reducing acidity of mature berries in both seasons, regardless of yield (results not shown). Influence of crop load on vine performance and fruit characteristics Increasing the number of retained nodes after pruning from vines that had been 4-cane pruned before the experiment resulted in a linear increase in vine yield when cane number was modified to vary from between 2 to 6 (Figure 3). Where treatments resulted in lower yields, initially the response was mainly seen in a greater vegetative growth, in particular shoot and cane weights and diameters. In following seasons, yield differences became less because low cane numbers increased in yield while high cane numbers declined in yield relatively. In 2009 and 2010, increasing the number of canes beyond 3-cane (36 nodes) had little influence on the overall yield. This was caused by the variation in the components of yield (bunches per node and bunch weight). Simultaneously over the years, compensation in vegetative growth was reduced, providing an insight into the vine responses over time to different cane numbers laid down. Until véraison, the different cane numbers and hence crop loads (bunch number per vine) of the vines had little influence on the phenology of the vine. Small delays in the date of véraison, and greater influences of the treatments on the rate of soluble solids accumulation as the fruit ripened, led to harvest maturity (21.5 oBrix) being reached up to 14 days later where 6 canes were retained compared with 2 canes. This delay in maturity (as observed in the first season) is significant, putting the fruit at greater risk of not achieving a commercially acceptable soluble solids or succumbing to disease such as botrytis bunch rot. In succeeding seasons the decrease in the difference in yield among cane numbers correlated with a decrease in difference in time to maturity. Cane number had little effect on ti-

Figure 3. Yield assessment for Sauvignon Blanc grapes grown on vines pruned to different node numbers.

tratable acidity despite the initial large difference in crop load. As a result, at any given date the soluble solids:acid ratio was lower where vines carried a greater crop load, because of the higher number of retained canes. Influence of leaf area:fruit weight ratio on varietal phenology and maturation In practice, the leaf area to fruit weight ratio can also be manipulated by leaf removal (leaf plucking/topping) or cluster thinning. However, for the two levels of leaf number tested (12 or 6 main leaves per shoot), only when shoots were reduced to 6 leaves was the onset of véraison delayed. The duration of véraison was also extended, resulting in a significant delay in achieving desired fruit soluble solids maturity. Results also showed varietal differences in response to changing leaf area to fruit weight ratio. For Pinot Noir, there was little influence on rate of soluble solids accumulation; rather the timing for the onset of ripening was affected by altering the leaf area to fruit weight ratio. Sauvignon Blanc véraison was delayed with a decrease of leaf area to fruit weight ratio and there was also in general a slower rate of soluble solids accumulation when the leaf area to fruit weight ratio was decreased. This was also observed for the 6-leaf no cluster thinning treatment applied at véraison (period 2), which indicated the mechanisms driving this may be different from those present during Pinot Noir maturation (with larger bunches and ripening during

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a cooler period for Sauvignon Blanc). Key points Yield differences caused by the various training systems were reflected in soluble solids content at harvest, with training systems producing the highest yields having the lowest soluble solids content. Changes in exposed canopy area (i.e., divided canopy) associated with the change in Scott Henry and Sylvoz training systems had no effect on soluble solids. Spur pruning appeared to be the most stable and predictable training system and therefore, may be a better and more efficient viticultural option. Reasons for this are that in the long term, this training system maintains yields at approximately 80% of 4-cane and does not invoke yield compensation responses like 2- and 3-cane pruning systems do. Spur pruning is also cheaper operationally, where mechanical pruning savings of up to 30% of annual production costs can be achieved. According to winemaker perspectives, Spur-pruned vines have consistently achieved a ‘good’ to ‘excellent’ fruit maturity composition in every season for New Zealand-styled Sauvignon Blanc. These training system experiments highlight an important outcome currently pertinent to the industry, and that is, reducing node (cane) numbers at pruning alone will not always or consistently reduce yield. Rather, yield responses are highly dependent on the methods by which node number is regulated, because some approaches exhibit large yield compensation responses, whereas other

methods do not. Fewer canes (2-3) provide overall better balance between fruit development and timing of ripeness without a proportional reduction in yield in the long term, comparing with traditional 4-cane vines. This indicates that these may be the optimum cane numbers to retain when growing Sauvignon Blanc on the relatively fertile sites in Marlborough in a typical growing season. The potential to use crop load to modify the relationship between soluble solids and titratable acid provides winemakers with another tool to manipulate fruit characteristics. Reducing to six main leaves per shoot, rather than no crop removal after flowering, delayed the timing

of véraison and fruit maturity and composition at harvest time. In reality, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are generally managed to a high leaf number per shoot in New Zealand. As such, cluster thinning between flowering and véraison may not achieve great advancements in véraison where the canopy has greater than six leaves per shoot. The outcomes from this research will directly help the wine industry to fulfil its current objectives of regulating yield and gaining closer control of fruit maturity and composition. The research provides practical management options that industry viticulturists and grape growers can use to manage yield and quality in the short, medium and long term within

the context of New Zealand’s contemporary viticulture production environment. Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge New Zealand Winegrowers for financial support; Mike Croad, Craig Thompson, Vanessa Barker, Mike Poff, Gary Armstrong, Jeff Cottle and Vanessa Murell from Villa Maria, Marlborough, for their in-kind support and cooperation; P&FR staff at the Marlborough Wine Research Centre for field and laboratory technical assistance; Specterra Services for the provision of the aerial PCD figure of the vineyard; and Roger Creswell, Lincoln University, for carrying out the carbon isotope analysis.

How vine trimming affects shoot growth and bunch development Marc Greven NZW10-116

ith the advent of machine harvesting, vine trimming has become a standard vineyard practice. The removal of the apical growing point stimulates new growth such as lateral shoots. This vegetative growth is thought to compete with fruit development for resources, so the timing of vine trimming and its effects on both lateral shoot growth and bunch development are investigated. A key objective is to understand how the seasonal development of fruit may be affected by the practice of vine trimming. A technique using 14C radioactive isotopes has been shown to be an effective way to demonstrate in vivo movement of photosynthetically fixed carbon through plants, by measuring

the emissions from the radio-labelled carbon as it is allocated throughout the plant. In-depth knowledge about how and where photosynthetic assimilates (mainly carbohydrates) are supplied to the vegetative and fruit tissues will allow determination of the relative strengths of each of these sinks during key developmental periods. Continuous measurements of the carbon movement from a 14C labelled leaf to the lateral shoot and bunch in potted vines will allow us to quantify the effect of trimming on the patterns of carbon allocation between these competing sinks. Understanding this manipulation of carbon allocation will focus on answering questions such as:

Will trimming change the assimilate allocation in ways that favour development of bunches on the shoot? Does trimming induce reallocation of assimilates in order to re-establish apical growth through the growth of lateral shoots? If so, what is the effect on fruit (bunch) development? During this year (2011), we will make ‘proof of concept’ measurements of the 14C movement from single shoot vines when: Not trimming the vine at all Trimming the vine before véraison Trimming of vine after véraison. This work is funded by New Zealand Winegrowers and the results will be reported on before the start of the 2011-2012 season.

Investigation of perceived minerality in white wine Dr Wendy Parr, Associate Professor Robert Sherlock, Dr Brett Robinson, & Jason Breitmeyer, Lincoln University, Christchurch; Dr Dominique Valentin, Professor Catherine Dacremont, Dr Jordi Ballester, & Dr Dominique Peyron, University of Burgundy, France. NZW10-115

hat do we mean when we use the term “mineral” to describe sensory experience of a wine? Can we smell min-

eral, or is it something we experience in the mouth only? Does the ‘taste’ of mineral (i.e., retro-nasal aroma of mineral) involve mouth-feel charac-

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teristics (trigeminal nerve stimulation)? In what way(s) is acidity implicated? And what are the underlying chemical compounds and wine con-

Three Lincoln University participants (from left): Dr Brett Robinson, associate professor Robert Sherlock, Jason Breitmeyer.

stituents that give rise to perception of mineral? These are some of the questions about to be investigated in a new project funded by New Zealand Winegrowers, and involving researchers from Lincoln University in New Zealand and the University of Burgundy in France. A major strength of the project is that it not only aims to empirically investigate the sensory experience of mineral in Sauvignon Blanc wines from New Zealand and France, but also to associate the sensory data with substantial chemical and instrumental results so as to provide sound data on the topic for wine industry professionals. Although perception of minerality in wine is currently a hot topic, there is little scholarly work to answer the above questions. There is however much anecdotal evidence. In particular, European wine professionals consider aspects of terroir (notably soil type) and qualitative and quantitative aspects of acidity as

important contributors to perceived minerality. With respect to Sauvignon Blanc, the classic wines from central France have a long history of being described in terms of stony/soil notes (e.g., “flinty”; “silex”) by their producers and by wine writers. On the other hand, Marlborough Sauvignons judged as exhibiting high typicality have historically been described as fruit-driven rather than exhibiting obvious minerality. In a recent study this picture is less clear, with intensity of mineral character judged to be similar in the French and N.Z. Sauvignons. The concurrent increased usage of the descriptor “mineral” for New World wines and the increased usage of anoxic bottle closures, in particular screw-cap closures, has not gone unnoticed by several Australasian and U.K. wine writers. Various hypotheses have been put forward, often indirectly, to suggest that increased perception of minerality in N.Z. Sauvignons could have its basis not in factors considered im-

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portant in Europe but in other factors such as (i) sulphide reduction and influence of transition metal elements, or (ii) in the sensory context created by relative absence of fruit in combination with perceived herbaceous/ green characteristics. Over the next 18 months, we will be investigating several of the most plausible hypotheses in an effort at providing a better understanding of perceived minerality for the wine industry and for science. Sensory, instrumental and chemical analyses planned include measures of organic acids, pH, TA, sugars, dry extract, and alcohol level along with chemical analyses of transition metal elements and fermentation-derived impact compounds. Multivariate analyses pioneered by Vicente Ferreira and colleagues will be employed to associate the different types of data so as to give us a ‘picture’ of the salient wine constituents and parameters that drive types of perceived minerality such as flinty notes, perception of low fruitiness, or perceived reductive notes.

Supporting good botrytis management Rob Beresford & Gareth Hill, Plant & Food Research, Mt Albert Research Centre NZW09-108

he question “will the current spell of wet weather cause botrytis bunch rot to be a problem this vintage?” arises at various times during the season in most New Zealand wine production areas. Usually, the answer remains unknown until just before harvest, when there are few actions that can be taken to prevent botrytis. However, the factors that drive vineyard risk of botrytis are largely known and, if they could be quantified, it should be possible to provide vineyard managers with accurate botrytis risk information throughout the whole season. Identifying botrytis risk well before harvest would allow more timely application of management actions (Figure 1). The Botrytis Decision Support Model (BDSM) that Plant & Food Research is implementing with New Zealand Winegrowers is the result of more than 10 years of research to quantify risk factors and predict the botrytis outcome each season. The goals of this work are to reduce seasonal variability in grape yield and wine quality and to reduce risk

Figure 1. Botrytis bunch rot develops on ripening grapes and can cause severe loss of yield and reduced wine quality in some seasons. Botrytis risk is greatest when wet weather occurs just before harvest, but the potential for botrytis damage is partly determined by the amount of botrytis activity in the vineyard early in the season, between flowering and the beginning of ripening (veraison). Botrytis activity can be reduced by various management actions. Fungicides are the main tool available to reduce botrytis risk, but these are restricted to early-season use because of the risk of chemical residues on harvested fruit. Biological control agents and benign chemicals suitable for “organic” production can be used, but their efficacy is very variable compared with that of the most effective of the synthetic fungicides. Management actions that decrease canopy density (pruning regimes, vine trimming, nitrogen management and leaf removal) greatly decrease botrytis risk.

of fungicide residues on harvested grapes by providing information that helps with botrytis management. BDSM predicts botrytis risk using statistical relationships between botrytis severity, weather, and vineyard factors that were identified during the course of vineyard trials in New Zealand and Australia over a nine-year period. There are two separate models, the E-BDSM for the early-season

Figure 2. Inputs into E-BDSM are weather data, including dates for vine growth stages (observed or anticipated), crop load, vine canopy vigour and the severity of botrytis in the previous season. Management actions include dates for application of any fungicides or biological control agents that are effective against botrytis, and canopy management in the form of leaf plucking.

(flowering to veraison) and the LBDSM for the late-season (veraison to harvest). Inputs for both models include weather data from a nearby weather station and vineyard information from individual grape blocks. Each model produces a graphical summary of how botrytis risk is developing over time. The two component models operate independently of each other. E-BDSM uses vineyard inputs (Figure 2) to assess risk in individual grape blocks, but can also be used to compare weather-related risks between regions and seasons. E-BDSMpredicts the risk that botrytis severity will reach more than 3% at harvest (Figure 3). Because actual harvest severity is affected by wet weather during ripening, which is unpredictable early in the season, E-BDSM cannot always predict the correct botrytis outcome from early in the season. Instead, E-BDSM identifies potential botrytis risk generated by early-season weather patterns, and identifies management actions that can reduce

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Figure 3. E-BDSM output shows weather risk between flowering (capfall) and veraison, as an accumulation of the “Bacchus” risk index, reflecting surface wetness that promotes botrytis activity in the vine canopy. If the rate at which Bacchus risk accumulates is above the dotted threshold line for more than 20 days, it indicates high risk that a major botrytis epidemic will occur, i.e., that by harvest, botrytis will reach more than 3% severity (sometimes called percentage rot or crop loss). The threshold line is affected by crop load, canopy vigour and the previous season’s botrytis severity at harvest. This image shows Bacchus accumulation for an entire early-season period, but the model can be run at any time from flowering, with real or hypothetical inputs. Future predictions about botrytis risk are made using the rate of Bacchus accumulation up to the current time.

that risk, including fungicide and biological control agent applications and canopy management (Figure 4). EBDSM can also be used for retrospective analysis of the previous season’s disease control programme performance. L-BDSM tracks development of botrytis and berry sugar content (oBrix) in individual vineyard blocks. Measurements of botrytis severity during bunch development (Figure 5) are used to predict the future rate of botrytis increase (Figure 6). LBDSM supports decisions on removal of botrytis-affected bunches during ripening and planning of harvest operations to minimise botrytis damage. To assist tracking of multiple grape blocks, BDSM prioritises high risk blocks for scheduling of spraying or harvesting. Botrytis tracking has been chosen as the basis for late-season prediction, rather than prediction from a weather model, because the use of weather data alone has not provided a reliable indication of disease. Even rainfall in the pre-harvest period has not given reliable predictions. This is not surprising when you consider how site-specific botrytis epidemics are. Although wet weather generally produces more botrytis, if you think about two sites in a region receiving similar pre-harvest rainfall, they will probably not have the same botrytis severity at harvest. Given the sitespecificity of botrytis epidemics, the only reliable predictor of future botrytis severity at a particular site is the severity up to the current day). However, the input into the model of multiple botrytis readings for multiple sites may not be practical because of

Figure 4. Inputs into the E-BDSM of fungicides, biological control agents and leaf plucking raise the Bacchus threshold, as shown by the red “managed” threshold line. When management actions are applied, the Bacchus index would have to accumulate at a faster rate to produce a high risk situation. Using E-BDSM interactively with hypothetical inputs, you can identify the number, type and timing of management actions that could bring botrytis risk down. Sometimes, no matter how many management inputs are made, the number of days above the threshold cannot be brought down to the level where a minor epidemic is predicted. This situation indicates high early-season risk and should be followed up by monitoring of the vineyard block for botrytis, starting just after veraison, to provide accurate severity measurements for the L-BDSM.\

the high cost of intensive monitoring. It is therefore recommended to monitor botrytis closely in one or two high risk blocks to obtain an accurate indication of seasonal botrytis risk in an area. A method for rapid estimation of botrytis severity from the incidence of infected bunches in a vineyard is being developed to allow multiple botrytis severity measurements to be made at many sites at low cost. This will allow the L-BDSM predictions to be used for area-wide interpretation of botrytis risk to help with harvest scheduling.

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Accuracy of BDSM The accuracy of the E-BDSM, the LBDSM and the Brix prediction model has been tested over the last three years. Even though the prediction of major or minor botrytis epidemics by the E-BDSM is based on statistical relationships, the rate of correct predictions has been low (39%) because late-season wet weather has an overriding influence on harvest severity of botrytis. The accuracy of the L-BDSM has been higher, at 85%, using two botrytis measurements. The L-BDSM accu-

Figure 5. L-BDSM does not rely as heavily on weather information as E-BDSM, although the Bacchus index is again used to determine potential botrytis severity for a given site. L-BDSM uses measurements of botrytis severity and berry sugar concentration (oBrix) in the vineyard between veraison and harvest. Inputs include the target oBrix for the current season, and the oBrix the block normally reaches, to allow the model to estimate the date the target oBrix will be reached.

Figure 6. From a series of botrytis severity measurements, L-BDSM extrapolates the future rate of botrytis increase to the date when the target oBrix is predicted. The more oBrix and severity measurements that are entered, the more accurate the prediction becomes. Because it is costly to monitor botrytis severity, it is best to monitor high risk grape blocks, i.e., ones with predicted high early-season risk, or ones that suffer botrytis losses in most seasons.

racy improves as more observations are entered and it is recommended that 4-6 oBrix and botrytis measurements should be made between veraison and harvest. Although high accuracy is desirable, it is not the only requirement for a useful decision support tool. If the BDSM alerts growers to risk of botrytis and leads to timely management actions that would have otherwise not have happened, then it serves a useful purpose. Similarly, if it stimulates vineyard

monitoring or allows growers to see the relative benefits of different approaches to botrytis management, then it is useful. However, the more accurate the model is, the more useful it will be, and the data being collected as users of the Botrytis Decision Support website enter their vineyard information will be used for ongoing refinement of the BDSM to improve its accuracy. Acknowledgements Research projects contributing to

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implementation of the BDSM were funded by New Zealand Winegrowers, Grape and Wine Research & Development Corporation (Australia), Plant & Food Research and the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (C06X0810). Research groups who contributed data for calibrating the BDSM were the University of Tasmania, the Victorian Department of Primary Industries. The Botrytis Decision Support web site, which hosts the BDSM, was created by HortPlusTM

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