NZ Wine Grower Dec 2011 - Jan 2012

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NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER

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ISSUE

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THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWERS

The only incentive our people need.

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Selling you something you don’t need, doesn’t help them.

Which really helps you.

DE C 2 01 1/ JA N 2 012

Ask around about us, or call for some advice on 0800 366 466.

I SSU E 7 1

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PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

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REGIONAL VIEWPOINT

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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CONTENTS

ISSUE 71

43

R E GULARS

FEATURES

4 Editorial

12 Wine Personality of the Year

Tessa Nicholson

5 From the CEO

Philip Gregan

8 In Brief

News from around the country

16 Air New Zealand Wine Awards

46 Money Matters

Marcus Phillips from NZForex

50 Bob’s Blog

Bob Campbell MW

Cameron Douglas MS

69 Calendar

Wine events happening in New Zealand

In 1987 Air New Zealand came on board as the major sponsor of the National Wine Show. We celebrate those 25 years of involvement and have the full list of trophy winners from 2011.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a disease we don’t have to worry about in New Zealand. It is prevalent throughout the country and can be devastating for growers. We investigate how to recognise and prevent it.

71 Research Supplement

34 China - It’s All About Relationships

The latest science and research projects funded by NZ Winegrowers

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24 Eutypa Dieback

60 Sommeliers Corner

New Zealand WineGrower magazine applauds the philanthropic actions of a couple, who are “giving something back” to the New Zealand wine industry.

Hong Kong Sommelier Christian Pillsbury believes there is only one way to grow your company’s Chinese market share – and that is through relationships. He also has some sage advice on the dos and don’ts in the world’s fastest growing wine market.

FRONT COVER: Photo supplied by New Zealand Winegrowers

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

FROM THE EDITOR TESSA NICHOLSON

CO R R E S P O N D E NTS Auckland: Joelle Thomson jthomson@xtra.co.nz Gisborne: Debbie Gregory debbie.donald@xtra.co.nz Gisborne: Christine Boyce christineboyce@gmail.com Hawkes Bay: Mary Shanahan westclan@clear.net.nz Nelson: Neil Hodson neil@hodgson.net.nz Canterbury: Jo Burzynska joburzynska@talk21.com Central Otago: Max Marriott max@maxmarriott.co.nz

A DV E R T I S I N G Ros Sellers nzwinegrower@xtra.co.nz Ph: 07 827 8648 Fax: 07 827 8631 Mobile: 021 190 3877 www.nzwinegrower.co.nz

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

PUBLISHING & P R E - P R E SS Rural News Group PO Box 3855, Auckland 1140 Ph: 09 307 0399 Location: Top Floor, 29 Northcroft Street, Takapuna, Auckland 0622 Publisher: Brian Hight Managing Editor: Adam Fricker Production: Dave Ferguson, Rebecca Williams

Published by Rural News Group Ltd under authority of New Zealand Winegrowers (jointly representing Wine Institute of New Zealand Inc and New Zealand Grape Growers Council Inc). Unless directly attributed, opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of Rural News Group and/ or its directors or management, New Zealand Winegrowers or its constituent organisations.

Published every second month.

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

ISSN 1174-5223

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// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

APATHY FRUSTRATING

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very year wineries and growers pay their levies to NZ Winegrowers, with some wondering just what it is they get for their money.

Well the money goes towards a myriad of activities. Promoting our wines overseas, funding local offices within the regions, bringing overseas trade and media to New Zealand to see our wines and regions for themselves, scientific research and transferring important information to all members.

It is the latter that is most under threat.

Not because there isn’t a need for information transfer, but because apathy among members themselves is making that transfer seem unwarranted.

In 2011 alone, New Zealand Winegrowers has organised seminars on a variety of important issues. From the Annual Grape Days, where variability in the vineyard was the focus, through to the recent Vine Trunk Disease Workshops, the aim has been to provide relevant information for growers to become better at their job, in the most cost efficient way.

And that is the rubber. With an industry facing tough economic times, you would expect these workshops to be overflowing with members keen to learn.

Instead, it is rare to find a workshop with member numbers reaching three figures. At the Hawkes Bay Vine Trunk Disease event, less than 30 people turned up.

The numbers were higher in Marlborough, but still below the 90 mark.

Does this mean very few people are concerned about the possibility of Eutypa or Botryosphaeria disease impacting on their vines? Or is it because they didn’t

know the workshop was taking place? Or is it something more concerning – apathy.

These workshops/seminars are not cheap to run or organise. NZW endeavours to bring internationally recognised experts in their fields over here to help in the knowledge transfer. How frustrating that must be for everyone involved, from the speakers to the organisers to find such a lack of interest.

The way forward for the wine industry is to be smarter than our competitors in terms of producing high quality wines. To do that, everyone needs to keep abreast of the latest information available. What was working for you a decade ago, may not necessarily be the best for this day and age. But if you don’t take advantage of the latest information when it is offered to you – how will you know?

If you don’t know the best time to spray for Mealy Bugs and prevent an epidemic, what happens to your crop? If you can’t recognise the signs of Eutypa and ways of preventing it – what is the long-term cost?

If you are not up-to-date with the latest spray information, are you getting value for your money?

If you were one of the few who attended those particular workshops, then you will know the answer to these questions. If you didn’t attend – well more fool you. Here’s hoping you don’t suffer the financial consequences in the future. ■ If you did not receive the information regarding these workshops mentioned, then NZW would like to hear from you. All were advertised in the NZW newsletter, sent out to all members. Are you receiving it? If not, then again, NZW would like to hear from you.

FROM THE CEO PHILIP GREGAN

THE YEAR IN NUMBERS As I started to write this article it dawned on me that 2011 was rapidly drawing to a close, so I have departed from my original intent, and instead will review the past year with a look at some of the more interesting numbers, some of which will be well known, and some of which lay be a little more obscure...

29.3% To start, some good news ....

According to Nielsen data (52 weeks ending October 15 2011) NZ wine was the fastest growing category in the USA in the past year, with sales up 29.3% by volume on the previous period. Next fastest growing country was Argentina +19.5%, while our trans-Tasman cousins Australia were down 4.5% by volume.

60% At the end of October 2011 exports of 2011 Sauvignon Blanc were 58.5 million litres, compared with 36.5 million litres of 2010 Sauvignon Blanc at the same time last year. This means exports of current vintage Sauvignon Blanc at end of October are a massive 60% ahead of last year!

$71.5m NZ wine exports to Asia for the June year end 2011 reached 6.0 million litres valued at $71.5 million, with an average price of $11.97 per litre, 69% above average export values to all markets. Exports to Asia now represent 6.5% of total export value and have grown 10 fold in the past decade.

62c per litre This is the lift in the average price for bottle wine exports to

Australia in the past year. MAT August 2011 average price was $9.54 per litre up from a low MAT June 2010 of $8.92 per litre. Across our current bottled wine sales to Australia this amounts to close to $21 million of extra winery income. Some of this benefit will have accrued as a result of the favourable exchange rate with Australia. However the exchange rate has worked against exporters to the UK and USA, so exchange rate issues still sit near the top of major issues for many wineries.

34.9% This is the share of New Zealand wine exports that were shipped as bulk wine in the 12 months to the end of October 2011. This was marginally down on the 35% MAT September 2011, but was well up on 29.3% MAT October 2010.

$6.79 per litre The average price for New Zealand wine exports MAT September 2011 is $6.79 per litre, down 5% or 36 cents per litre on the same month in 2010. This fall would appear to have been largely driven by the increase in bulk wine exports, because prices for packaged wine shipments are up marginally compared to 2010.

67.6m litres

$185m

NZ wine sales in NZ for the year ending September 2011 are estimated to have been 67.6 million litres. This is the highest ever sales volume and represents a market share of 71%.

Excise remains a major concern for wineries and no wonder when the rate lifted 4.55% in July to $2.7206 per litre for table wine and a massive $8.919 for a fortified wine (@18% alcohol). The increase means industry payments to the government in the next year are likely to be around $185 million.

328,000 This should be a well known number – our vintage in 2011 was 328,000 tonnes. This generated quite a lot of media coverage when it was realised this was 23% larger than the 2010 vintage. However, that was something of an unfair comparison because sales for June year end 2011 were 221 million litres (the equivalent of around 307,000 tonnes) so the vintage was in fact just 7% bigger than the previous year’s sales.

Another 7% A much less well know number, but important none the less. This is the number from the MAF 2011 Viticulture Monitoring Report 7% of the producing area of monitor vineyards in Marlborough were unharvested in 2011 given grape yields exceeded contract volumes.

It is impossible to say whether or not this number has any validity across Marlborough as a whole as an indicator of the area of unharvested grapes, but it is interesting nonetheless.

$1239 The average grape price from the 2011 vintage was $1,239 per tonne. This was down 4.2% on 2010, and is down 43% on the peak price of $2,161 reached in 2008. For some growers this fall in return per tonne may have been offset by increased yields.

The Unknown Number The unknown number is the size of vintage 2012! As I write flowering is underway in northern regions and it would seem at this stage that we have largely escaped any nationally significant frosts. Let’s hope the New Year brings a very high quality vintage in line with profitable sales forecasts.

Merry Xmas. ■

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 5

CENTRAL OTAGO

REGIONAL VIEWPOINT WITH JAMES DICEY James was elected as the new President of the Central Otago Winegrowers Association last month. In this issue he looks at the importance of the Recognised Seasonal Employment Scheme in his region.

T

he RSE scheme is entering into its 5th year during the 2011/12 season. It started quietly and nervously six years ago as a World Bank trial with a group of 45 Pacific Islanders (mostly Vanuatuans) in Central Otago.

From day one (where they got up at 4am to make sure they would be ready in time for a 7am start), from my perspective the scheme has been an unqualified success.

In Central Otago during the growing season we had a real shortage of seasonal workers who were prepared to stay for a decent period. Prior to the scheme starting we had to rely on backpackers and seasonal Kiwis, most of whom would stay for a few days and just as they were getting productive would disappear. We have a core of permanent workers and do employ Kiwis when we have need for additional seasonal workers, but now the need for constant training has disappeared.

The Ni-Vans (as they like to be called) have shown a strong desire to work, are very reliable, are here for 7 months (unlike backpackers) and in my experience have a high return level (85%+). This has lead to significantly lower training costs and much higher productivity. In fact the Ni-Vans productivity has

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JAMES DICEY

continued to increase each year that they have been here.

I am a member of the Seasonal Solutions Co-operative and it costs me about 5% of my wages bill for them to source the workers and deal with the onerous RSE paperwork require-

being performed which is critical for our top end Pinot Noir.

There have been some issues, mostly centred around alcohol and poor health when the Ni-Vans arrive. We have become smarter about managing these and they are not posing

ments, organise housing (I provide transport), and provide pastoral care as well as being able to juggle workers between different co-operative members. This extra cost is more than offset when compared to the increase in flexibility and productivity, which we have measured as being somewhere between 25 and 50% higher (depending on the work being done). Allied to this is an increase in the quality of work

anywhere near the level of issue that they did. There was also some initial minor resistance in the local community but this has evaporated and the Ni-Vans are now very much accepted.

I recently travelled to Vanuatu with Seasonal Solutions to recruit another 10 workers for this season. I used this as an opportunity to become more aware of their culture as well as understand the impact the RSE scheme is having on their com-

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

munities. We have been hosting a student who is completing a PhD on the RSE scheme – her summation is that the scheme is 90% positive. The negative tends to relate to the concentration of wealth within a few hands – I am addressing this by rotating some of the workers by bringing in a few new workers each year.

I witnessed a lot of positives whilst in Vanuatu – money earned via the RSE scheme is being used to send children to high school and universities, building permanent (concrete block) houses, develop infrastructure (mostly water schemes) and start new businesses. I have tended to recruit from one area on the island of Ambrym and there is a community development board that has a number of development projects they want to undertake.

I am supporting this in a number of ways, which generates a very positive feeling.

Over the whole of Central Otago, across both orchards and vineyards, the RSE scheme has taken out the uncertainty that used to exist with seasonal workers. It has not compromised any New Zealanders’ jobs and has given us the ability to make a real difference to both our labour cost and work quality as well as to the Ni-Vans quality of life ■

O

IN BRIEF

Auckland New Clones To Make Their Mark West Auckland winery Kumeu River will be one of the first in the country to use two new clones of Chardonnay next year. Clones 548 and 1066 both come from Burgundy and are renowned for high quality, low yields and loose bunches.

In preparation for their planting, the Brajkovich family removed 1.8 hectares of Pinot Noir vines this year; surrounding Master of Wine Michael Brajkovich’s home.

The vineyard, known in the family as ‘HH6’ (Hunting Hill) will be given over entirely

Hawkes Bay Craggy Range ‘Le Sol’ named Winestate Wine of the Year Craggy Range Winery has picked up the prestigious top honour at the 2011 Winestate Wine of the Year Awards with the 2009 ‘Le Sol’ Syrah from their Gimblett Gravels vineyard in Hawke’s Bay. It is the first time in 33 years of

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to Chardonnay after this 1.8 hectares lies fallow for a year.

“We decided to leave it for a year and so it’ll be this time next year when we replant the 1.8 hectares in those two clones, which we will split by about 50/50,” says viticulturist Milan Brajkovich.

“Initially the grapes will probably go into the estate wine but as time goes on, we will evaluate which wine they go into, depending on the flavours they give us.” ■

New Barrel Hall and Warehosue In o t h e r n e w s , Ku m e u River Wines is currently

Winestate magazine publishing that a New Zealand red has trumped an Australian shiraz.

The announcement caps off three great years at the awards for the family owned winery. Last year, the Te Muna Road Vineyard Pinot Noir won the Pinot Noir of the Year Trophy and in 2009 Director of Wine and Viticulture Steve Smith was named New Zealand Winemaker of the Year ■

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

completing a new barrel cellar and warehouse. The refit is two-fold.

It will add space for warehousing – due to a shortage, the family has always stored wine off-site – but after this process is complete, all of their wine will be on site.

“Trucking wine back and forth is a real pain, so the barrel cellar is going to be double in size.

“At the moment we stack all the barrels three-high and once we have finished this renovation, we’ll also be able to have more storage in the cellar, making it better and simpler,” says Milan Brajkovich ■

Eutypa Workshop Three of the world’s leading experts on grapevine trunk diseases, Dr Mark Sosnowski, Professor Doug Gubler and Dr Marlene Jaspers, shared latest research findings on eutypa dieback and bot canker diseases at a seminar held at EIT in early November. Chairman of Hawkes Bay Winegrowers Focus Research group Caine Thompson said

the workshop was particularly relevant for Hawkes Bay growers as older vines and red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon were susceptible to those diseases. Being the oldest winegrowing region in the country and having a strong red emphasis, we need to be proactive in terms of any vines at risk.” (See more on page 24.) ■

Vandals Strike Vineyard A half hectare of Hawkes Bay vineyard was vandalised in October, damaging 500 vines and costing $10,000 in lost production.

A 26ha vineyard in Links Road, Waiohiki, was targeted in the overnight attack, with fruiting shoots cut from Merlot, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay trunks, apparently using industry tools. Six vines were cut off at the base.

Police, who believe the culprit was at work in the vineyard for up to two hours, have no motive for the attack.

The vineyard manager has asked that the property not be identified.

Planted four to five years ago, the vines will need a season to recover ■

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IN BRIEF

Central Otago Tourism Venture Recognised Internationally Queenstown based wine tour company Appellation Central Wine Tours has received an International Best Of Wine Tourism Award from the Great Wine Captials (GWC). The award recognises excellence on a global level among the various wine tourism activities including

the wineries, restauants, museums and wine tours of a specific region. Judges said Appellation Central Wine tours won the award thanks to the excellent exposure and support it gave to wineries and other businesses in Central Otago, as well as the exceptional and memorable wine tourism experience offered to clients ■

Pinot Noir 2012 From January 26-28, lovers

of Pinot Noir will once again descend upon Central Otago for a world class Celebration of stunning local wine and cuisine. The 2012 Central Otago Pinot Noir Celebration boasts a tremendous line-up of events poised to satiate the senses.

Rubbing shoulders with local winemakers and renowned wine experts, delegates are guaranteed an unforgettable experience in one of the world’s most dramatic wine growing regions ■

Marlborough Brancott Heritage Centre 38 years after planting the first vines at Brancott Vineyard in Marlborough, the company has opened a visitors centre, that provides a stunning panoramic view of the sheer vastness of the region’s wine industry. The Brancott Heritage Centre was opened in October by Prime Minister John Key. Fabian Partigliani, MD Pernod Ricard NZ, was first shown the site on one of his early visits to Marlborough.

“The team brought me out to the hill and said; ‘Wouldn’t this be a wonderful place to do something special?’”

What makes it even more special for the company, is the history that stands behind the site. It was the birthplace of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, planted there back in 1976 ■

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// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

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PERSONALITIES OF THE YEAR

NEW ZEALAND WINEGROWER PERSONALITIES OF THE YEAR It has become a tradition established by Terry Dunleavy, to honour someone or something within the wine indsutry for their commitment and dedication to the betterment of New Zealand Wine. Over the years there have been many great names that have appeared in this annual acknowledgement. Even a wine made it there one year. Last year, the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc contract growers were honoured for their commitment to getting back to managable crop levels, following the 2008 blow out.

As Terry said last year, sometimes a candidate stands out and the choice is easy to make.

2011 is one of those years. Kim and Jeanette Goldwater deserve full credit for establishing Goldwater Vineyard on Waiheke Island back in the late 70s. They brought the Island of Wine to the national and international media.

But it is for something else that we honour them this year – for their philanthropist actions in gifting their vineyard and winery to the University of Auckland Wine Science Department.

Kim and Jeanette are truly worthy recipients of the New Zealand WineGrower Personality of the Year award, as Joelle Thomson explains.

Kim and Jeanette Goldwater 'Giving back’ is how Kim and Jeanette Goldwater describe their $4 million gift to the University of Auckland Wine Science Department this year.

On the face of it, such a gift might look like forfeiting 12

everything this family-oriented couple have worked hard to build up from scratch but, since four generations of their family studied (and still do) at the university and since their winery is destined to be a wine training

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

facility, they say they took the most logical option.

It began around the family dining room when the couple’s daughter, Gretchen, who works at the university at the Law School in public relations, told

her parents that the Wine Science department was about to build a new building in the back blocks of Glen Innes.

“I thought it was absurd having a wine science department in Glen Innes and suggested to

Randy Weaver, head of department, that he run the wine science department from our place. He got quite excited by this offer and over the following two years – 2009 and 2010 – it grew into a formal arrangement.”

That formal arrangement culminated this year in the gifting of $4 million to the University of Auckland, which includes about 14 hectares – including both vineyard and bush - and the winery, which the Goldwaters set up on Waiheke Island in the 1980s. A further, undisclosed sum, is being treated as a long term loan “with extremely favourable terms for them” says Kim, of the money the university is paying back to complete the transaction.

“We never had a second thought about our idea to gift it. We have benefited from three generations of graduates from Auckland University and now the fourth generation (our grandson) is at Auckland Engineering School. The first three generations never had to pay for their education

weren’t wealthy when we got back,” says Jeanette.

Wealthy they may not have been, but they had fallen for the charms of the southern European lifestyle; meals were usually eaten very late and always accompanied by red wine and children around the dinner table.

“It was certainly very difficult adjusting to life back here. Our time in Spain was two magical years where children were treated like royalty and people had wine with dinner every night,” says Jeanette.

When they first returned to New Zealand Kim worked as an engineer but a growing desire for a change led him into photography, then winemaking.

“Kim had always been a good photographer and one day somebody bet him that he would never give up engineering, even though he was unhappy, so he handed in his notice and became a photographer. I planted lots of vegetables,” says Jeanette, with a wry smile.

there, so now we are giving something back to say thank you – and to develop a positive future for the winery we began,” says Kim. “It allowed us to take a step back, which is probably better at 75, which we both are. The timing and the continuity for the vineyard and staff seemed to be such an optimistic future,” says Jeanette.

Their journey into winemaking began as a weekend hobby to sate their own appetites for red wine, which had been developed on their travels in Europe.

“When we came home from living and work in Spain, in 1966, it was like landing in East Germany. There were many times I was tempted to just throw it all in and go back to Spain to work,” says Kim. “Instead, we had Mate Brajkovich deliver wine to us once a week – San Marino Dry Red – and we left money under the doormat.

It was the only red wine we could find at that time, apart from Bakano, which was enormously more expensive and we certainly

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When he wasn’t building up his small photography business, Kim gradually built a yacht at home, which the couple used to sail around Waiheke, eventually discovering a piece of land, which they bought, planted in grapes and established with a winery.

“I remember going to a lecture that Mate Brajkovich gave in West Auckland and asking how much vineyard land could you look after just at the weekend.

He said about two acres would be maximum and so that’s about how much we put in. There were five adjacent land holders which we got together with to run some of our joint land as a big farm with cattle and a few sheep,” says Kim. They planted their first

grapes in 1978 and moved to Waiheke Island in 1983; initially spending the weekends there.

“We had to support our habit by working in the city. We obeyed the information from the so-called wine experts of the day and didn’t produce wine for three years. Just as we were about to produce the first wine, Jeanette’s mother passed away – in 1981 - and we had to up anchor and tear down to Christchurch and support her in the last hours.

When we got back, the birds had eaten our entire crop. The first wine was made the following year,” recalls Kim. Word spread quickly all round New Zealand about their first wine.

“I have no idea how it happened. We only had a few people

on our mailing list. We had not contacted any wine writers or disseminated any informa-

tion but news travelled via the grapevine and we had people in the South Island, on the West

Goldwater Estate.

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our mailing list to buy our wine.

Then one day we were out in the vineyard working and a dark blue van with black windows came down the drive. I thought it was the Mongrel Mob but out of the van emerged Roger Price, a TV One news and current affairs presenter, asking if they could do a short film about us. He did a 10-minute film on us, which was on Monday night; a maximum audience watched it after the network news. It was absolutely incredible luck and finished up with a close up shot of the bottle on prime time on television.”

Within two days their first vintage was sold, bar 10 cases they kept for themselves. Shortly afterwards, they had to part with most of that, due to a botched courier delivery. And from there

the winery, its production and its name for high quality grew.

These days Kim has another vision.

“I was talking to Randy Weaver at the university the other day,” he says, when being interviewed for NZ Winegrower, in November 2011, “and he told me every decision they make now in relation to the development of a study facility at the winery is predicated on them turning it into the Southern Hemisphere’s pre-eminent school of winemaking,” says Kim. “They’ve decided right from the outset that is their goal rather than just carrying on the way they are doing because the wine science programme up until now has been a post-grad-

uate course. They are planning to introduce an under graduate course some time soon, so there is a lot of potential,” he says.

“It sounds audacious but you don’t get anywhere without aiming high,” says Jeanette.

“We never had any other thought in mind than to produce the best and one should always aim for the top.”

jthomson@xtra.co.nz From NZWine CEO Philip Gregan.

The international reputation that New Zealand wine has developed over the past generation has been founded on two key drivers – New Zealand’s unique grape growing environment and the skills, passion and drive of our people.

In future years New Zealand

will be even better placed than previously to produce high quality graduates because of the extremely generous gift by Kim and Jeanette Goldwater to the University of Auckland. The Waiheke pioneers have gifted land, buildings and vineyards valued in excess of $4 million to the University.

The gift is an outstanding example of philanthropy. It is a major investment in our people and in our future. The gift is one that will keep on giving – it will provide a wonderful environment for students to experiment and learn, all within the context of a commercial operating winery.

Kim and Jeanette this is a wonderfully generous gift that will benefit our industry for years to come. Thank you ■

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NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 15

AWARDS STALWART

25 YEARS IN THE HOT SEAT TESSA NICHOLSON Mark Compton

I

f there is one man in the country that knows all there is to know about the Air New Zealand Wine Show – it’s Mark Compton, who has been involved for every one of the past 25 years. He was an Associate Judge back in 1987 and 25 years later, he is still there as Chief Steward.

He has seen the competition grow from 444 wines to the 1500 this year. He has seen it held at a

variety of different venues and he has seen an increase in quality, a change from corks to screwcaps and an emergence of many new varieties. The show never fails to impress him.

“One of the most awe inspiring things is seeing the wine show set up out the back where the stewards have all the bottles on tables. If you have something like 1500 entries, each with four bottles there is something like

6000 bottles of wine. That is very impressive.”

Compton is not the only one to be impressed. He said a few years back at North Harbour Stadium, famous former All Black Buck Shelford stumbled across the judging.

“We had set up in a big open area, above which was a mezzanine walkway. Buck was on his way to a rugby meeting and looked down through the glass panels and saw

all these bottles. You could see his jaw drop! He just couldn’t imagine so much grog in one place.”

Given the standard of international guest judges involved in the Air New Zealand Wine Show Compton says he has had the opportunity to work alongside some of the greatest wine names in the world. One stands out – Oz Clarke, who was first involved in that first year, 1987.

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// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

25 years ago In 1987, there were 444 wines judged during the competition. Over 64.6% of wines entered received awards.

Chairman of Judges John Comerford said; “The awards this year re-emphasis the continued dramatic improvement in the standard of our winemaking.” Commenting on the judging in general, Comerford said; “The 1985 and 1986 wines were particularly impressive and received due recognition. Several of the current white classes seemed less developed than in previous years probably reflecting the difficult vintage conditions. Diversity of style was evident among many of the classes and was endorsed by the judges where quality was also apparent. Equally encouraging was the number of new entrants from both established and emerging areas.”

Oz Clarke said; “What seems to be lacking is the confidence, the arrogance even, to proudly proclaim… your worth and to applaud your own achievements so far.” ■

“I remember one year he was socially having a beer and he said remembering back to his previous visit (a number of years beforehand); “They’ve changed the brew.” And with some enquiries we discovered yes the brewery had slightly changed the mix. He could not only taste the difference but he could also remember that it was different and I was very impressed with that.”

After 25 years, there is just one embarrassing moment Compton can or is willing to share. It had nothing to do with the judging – more to do with an interview he ended up giving Jackie Brown for TV3’s Campbell Live. Given the criteria for everyone involved in the judging process is to be odour free, Brown wanted to know how people managed to stay fresh

without utilising aftershave or perfumed deodorants.

“She came in asking me this question, cameras were rolling and I said I used odourless deodorant, which I know sounds like a contradiction. So she promptly lifted up my arm and sniffed my armpit. My jaw almost hit the floor with embarrassment.”

Dozens of winemakers, writers, members of trade who have been keen to become involved in the world of wine judging, have started out under the guidance of Compton, as firstly a steward and moved up through the ranks. It’s something he is extremely proud of and rightly so. And who better to learn from than someone who has been at the helm for 25 years? tessa.nicholson@me.com ■

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NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 17

WINE JUDGE

CHARLES METCALFE JOELLE THOMSON

F

or a man who cofounded the world’s largest wine competition, Charles Metcalfe had a relatively easy task at hand as part of the senior judging panel at this year’s Air New Zealand Wine Awards.

In stark contrast to the 10,000+ wines entered at the International Wine Challenge in London each year, just 1489 wines were entered in this country’s pre-eminent awards.

For those unfamiliar with Metcalfe, he is one of the six co-chairmen of the International Wine Challenge. The London-based competition has six chairmen; two of which are New Zealanders.

Master of Wine Sam Harrop, a Kiwi, has been on the IWC panel for several years now and from next year will be joined by fellow Kiwi Master of Wine, Peter McCrombie. The other four panel members are British.

“The Kiwis are both extremely good wine tasters; Peter is now one of the most widely employed restaurant consultants in London and the spread of judges is good. Derek Smedley MW is very widely travelled and very into the traditional London wine scene but he is very young mentally and is an excellent person to have on the team. Of the others, Oz Clarke is a genius and Tim Atkin MW is brilliant, so it’s a strong team,” says Metcalfe.

18

CHARLES METCALFE ON NEW ZEALAND VARIETALS Chardonnay

Gruner-Veltliner

“Chardonnay in New Zealand does show excellence from some individual producers making outstanding wines. But there is – to judge by a class of wines I tasted – a lot of quite sweet, syrupy stuff, which is a combination of rather obvious fruit character, obvious sugar and oak.

“It’s very commercial but it won’t win any prizes at competition or respect among people who buy wine.”

Of a class of 46 Chardonnays, Metcalfe says about half fell into this category.

“This is surprising. I wasn’t expecting that. I think we got six golds. There were some really lovely wines but there were a lot of sweetish wines.

It’s a pity because it’s really quite difficult to find good awards in Chardonnay and I don’t just mean New Zealand but in other countries as well.”

“There were several Gruner-Veltliners but I don’t think people have a handle on it yet. I’m not saying give it up because it’s a lovely wine but I don’t think people have got their heads around it just yet in New Zealand.”

Sauvignon Blanc

Pinot Noir

“I would like to see fewer Sauvignon Blanc vines in the ground so that you can bring Sauvignon back to its position as an outstanding grape variety for this country; particularly for Marlborough. But there’s some lovely Sauvignon being made in Hawke’s Bay in a different style. It would be good to get back to having your very high average price in the UK.”

Since he was last in New Zealand, nearly a decade ago, Metcalfe has noticed significant changes in the style of this country’s wines.

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

Pinot Gris “I think the New Zealand examples tend to be a bit sweet and that can be troublesome when it comes to trying to match the wines with food or to even just enjoy them with a meal.”

Riesling “This is a very bright spot. I love Riesling, as do most of the wine trade, even though the public don’t seem to be quite in accord with us yet. I think there are some lovely Rieslings being made here and there is very good potential for more to be made.”

“Wonderful. Not all of it, but generally there is a lot of very good wine and in a great diversity of styles. I was told by one of the stewards that out of what I think were the eight gold medals in the Pinot class, six were under $30.

“That’s encouraging because that means really lovely Pinot available at very reasonable prices.” ■

“New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs have improved. The knowledge of how to make good Sauvignon has very much been fined down and has got more

precise. But I think it’s sad that you’ve got a few more vines in the ground than would be good for you, so we have come to see New Zealand Sauvignons in the

UK at prices that are a lot lower than they should be. I know people know that but it’s really not good,” Metcalfe says.

“For many years New Zealand was out there by itself in terms of price per bottle sold, but that’s been dumbed down by prices of own-label supermarket Sauvignon, so it’s fallen a bit, which is a great pity because it didn’t need to.

“I understand why it’s happened. Farmers chase the sexy crop; sheep aren’t good at the moment, so some will think ‘let’s try grapes instead’. The difficult thing about grapes is that it’s a commitment of at least three or four years before you can really think about pulling them out again and in the

meantime you may not make much money.

“Having said that, it’s exciting to see the emergence of the new class of New Zealand reds.

We in the trade know that New Zealand Pinot Noir is lovely and you’ve got, I think, good distinct regional styles emerging between Central Otago, Marlborough and Martinborough – and possibly Canterbury, off to the side.”

Aside from Pinot Noir, Metcalfe was surprised by the high quality of Hawke’s Bay Merlot.

“It’s actually very difficult to make good Merlot, let alone great Merlot. Maybe Hawke’s Bay is one of those places that can do it.” jthomson@xtra.co.nz ■

Charles Metcalfe

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 19

AIR NZ WINE AWARDS 2011

BIG NIGHT FOR VILLA MARIA In 1985 when Air New Zealand took over as major sponsors of the National New Zealand Wine Show – the winning wine was a 1986 Villa Maria Gisborne Barrique Fermented Chardonnay.

H

ow perfect then that the same variety and company should take out the Champion Wine of the show, 25 years later.

For Villa Maria it was the 60th trophy to be awarded to the company in that 25 year period – a massive achievement.

For Sir George Fistonich from Villa Maria it was an even sweeter moment, as he announced it was exactly 50 years since Villa Maria was registered as a company.

Chairman of the Judges Steve Smith MW took to the stage for the fifth and final time as Chairman of Judges. He very tongue in cheek said there were some aspects of retiring from that role that he was looking forward to. “(Not) having to wear dis-

guises and change your entire contact details after every annual competition. This to avoid the threats from the West Auckland Dali mafia, wondering why their Palomino didn’t win the trophy for best in show, let alone a medal.”

But on a more serious note, he praised the continuing rising quality of New Zealand wines and believed there was much to look forward to.

“I think the future of the emerging classes are going to be exciting hot beds of innovation, particularly with the white varieties. Remember Sauvignon Blanc started here.

“I think the red wines of New Zealand offer something that no other place in the world can and we should be extremely proud

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// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Villa Maria Barrique Fermented Chardonnay 1986 Corbans Private Bin Noble Rhine Riesling 1986 Martinborough Chardonnay 1988 Corbans Private Bin Noble Rhine Riesling 1989 Esk Valley Reserve Merlot Cabernet 1990 Vidal Reserve Cabernet/ Merlot 1990 Vidal Reserve Cabernet/ Merlot 1990 Corbans Private Bin Marlborough Chardonnay 1991 Corbans Cottage Block Gisborne Chardonnay 1994 Corbans Verde Méthode Traditionelle Corbans Amadeus Méthode Champenoise 1992 Corbans Stoneleigh Vineyard Marlborough Riesling 1996 Wither Hills Pinot Noir 1998 C J Pask Reserve Merlot 1998 Canterbury House Noble Riesling 2000 Villa Maria Reserve Pinot Noir 2001 Akarua Pinot Noir 2002 Villa Maria Reserve Pinot Noir 2003 Kim Crawford SP Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc Spitfire 2005 Delta Vineyard Marlborough Pinot Noir 2005 Trinity Hill Homage Syrah 2006 Church Road Reserve Syrah 2007 Julicher Pinot Noir 2008 ■

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20

Former Champion Wines of the Show

Beverage Formulators New Product Concepts Global Beverage Trends Sensory Stimulators

AIR NZ WINE AWARDS 2011 - TROPHY WINNERS • Air New Zealand Champion Wine of the Show Villa Maria Single Vineyard Keltern Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2010 • O-I New Zealand Champion Sustainable Wine Villa Maria Single Vineyard Keltern Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2010 • Label and Litho Champion Sauvignon Blanc Dashwood Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 • JF Hillebrand New Zealand Ltd Champion Pinot Noir Pencarrow Martinborough Pinot Noir 2010 • Rabobank Champion Chardonnay Villa Maria Single Vineyard Keltern Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2010 • Wineworks Champion Sparkling Wine The Sounds Marlborough Méthode Traditionnelle 2008 • Stuff.co.nz Champion Gewürztraminer Corbans Private Bin Hawke’s Bay Gewürztraminer 2008 • Guala Closures NZ Champion Pinot Gris Spy Valley Marlborough Pinot Gris 2011 • Plant & Food Research Champion Riesling Martinborough Vineyard Manu Martinborough Riesling 2011 • BDO Champion Other White and Rosé Wine Waimea Nelson Viognier 2010

• Business World Travel Champion Merlot Villa Maria Reserve Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2009 • Gold Medal Vintage Insurance Champion Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot/Cabernet Blend Mudbrick Vineyard Waiheke Island Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 • Fruitfed Supplies Champion Syrah Bilancia Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2010 • New Zealand Winegrowers Champion Other Red Styles Not Awarded • The Langham, Auckland Champion Dessert Wine Charles Wiffen Late Harvest Marlborough Riesling 2009 • New World Champion Open White Wine Dashwood Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 • Fairfax Media Champion Open Red Wine Pencarrow Martinborough Pinot Noir 2010 • Newstalk ZB Champion Exhibition White or Sparkling Wine Lawson’s Dry Hills The Pioneer Marlborough Gewürztraminer 2010 • Kapiti Champion Exhibition Red Wine Charcoal Gully Estate Sallys Pinch Central Otago Pinot Noir 2010

of that. Every fine wine nation in the world makes their name with red wines and over the five years I have been involved, to see the evolution of some great red wines in this country has been a great pleasure.

I also think there should be a trophy in this competition for the best small wine producer.

The small wine producers are your soul and you need to feed and nurture that just to say true to yourself.

“Wine competitions, at least this one, can present a class of top wines that show diversity of style and include the more ethereal elegant wines. A great thing to me this year was the flight of 2011 Sauvignon Blancs.

It shows for our most important commercial grape variety we have not lost the sense of quality and style we need to enhance.

Our mojo lives on. The genetic pool of style in Sauvignon Blanc is not inbred at all, I think the wines were sensational.

And I think Syrah is a future rock star.”

Mr Smith will be replaced by Michael Brajkovich MW, who will take over the role as Chairman of Judges next year ■

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RESEARCH WORKSHOP

DEALING WITH TRUNK DISEASE TESSA NICHOLSON

W

hile no figures are available in New Zealand, the cost of vine trunk disease in California alone is estimated at US$260 million a year. Given diseases such as Eutypa Dieback and Botryospaeria are found throughout New Zealand, it is reasonable to assume that the diseases are equally costly to our industry.

Dr Mark Sosnowski, a Research Scientist with the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) focused on Eutypa Dieback at recent New Zealand Winegrowers workshops in both Hawkes Bay and Marlborough.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is not a major issue for growers in New Zealand. Sosnowski was quick to point out that it is here and is prevalent in many older vines.

One of the major problems with this fungal disease is that by the time you pick up the foliar symptoms, the disease has already made a home for itself in the wood of the vine. During research in Adelaide Hills no signs of the disease appeared before the vines were six years old – although it is believed it was present well before then.

“The older the vines, the more symptoms you see.”

The first signs will be in the foliage and the symptoms include; stunted shoots, cupped

24

leaves, yellow in colour and often with necrotic margins.

(See Photo below.)

The symptoms are most noticeable during the spring months, when the shoots are 30 – 70 cm long. Once the foliage starts to reach full growth, the healthy leaves can mask the unhealthy ones.

Beware that it’s easy to confuse the symptoms with a range of other issues, such as bud mite or herbicide damage, frost injury and zinc deficiency.

In terms of fruit, the symptoms in severe cases mean inflorescence may not initiate at all, while in less severe cases buds can shrivel and drop off after flowering. There may be

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

uneven berry ripening or bunch size, which will affect long term fruit quality.

It is in the wood that the most tell tale signs of Eutypa are seen.

But these don’t tend to emerge until the disease has taken hold of the vine. Cankers will form in the wood and when dissecting the trunk or cordon an obvious wedge of dead wood will be apparent.

Eutypa is spread by spores via wind, or water - such as rain splash back. If a vine has an open wound and spores land on that wound, the fungus has been transferred.

So to prevent Eutypa, Sosnowski says growers have to be meticulous with wound

protection during pruning and thinning.

“You need to prevent the disease getting in in the first place, which is done by wound protection. If you do that, you don’t have to think about the second option which is controlling the disease once it is established, which is a pretty drastic and costly thing to do.”

Pruning is the most dangerous time of all, as no matter whether you mechanically or manually prune, the vine will end up with exposed wounds.

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

Signs of stunted leaf growth associated with Eutypa Dieback – (Photo taken in Hawkes Bay)

to think about is pruning time.

If you cut in the dead of winter you have the longest window of susceptibility. But if you make the cuts closer to spring when the weather is warming up and you have sap flow, the window of susceptibility does decrease.”

Basic rule number one – don’t prune in the rain.

Rule number two – remove all dead wood from a vineyard, in case it is carrying the fungus.

Also you need to be aware that Eutypa has a multitude of host species besides grapevines.

You may have the disease in plants within the vineyard – if so, remove those as soon as possible.

Most importantly is the need to protect the vine wounds – there are only two registered

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fungicide products in New Zealand. And both have to be applied by painting straight on to the wound – a laborious job.

Protecting may prevent, but dealing with Eutypa already established is a different kettle of fish. In that case, the diseased wood must be cut out. Given the fungus grows through the wood at an average rate of 50 mm a year, the sooner you get on to the removal the better.

“Also the distance we have been able to isolate in front of the stained material of healthy tissue is 80mm, so really if you are going to be cutting out the infected material, you need to cut another 10 cm below, to be sure there is no residual fungus left. And bear in mind that the fungus does grow down towards the ground predominantly.”

By cutting back you can allow water shoots to grow, replacing the original vine. Cuts can be made at low to the ground, mid vine or high.

“Different varieties often have water shoots at very different rates. In Sauvignon Blanc there is not much problem getting water shoots, it’s the same in Pinot or Merlot. But in some of the other red varieties we have problems getting water shoots,

particularly when we cut the vine down to 20 or 30 cm.”

In some varieties cutting back so far means the shoots may be minimal, around 40% in the first year, but over a period of time, (3 - 4 years) the shoots will increase.

Just where you cut the vine back to may play a significant role in the re-emergence of the disease. Research in Australia proved high cuts were almost a waste of time.

“As the water shoot origin got higher and higher we saw more

and more symptoms reoccurring, to the point that the high cuts were probably a waste of money. By cutting low you are increasing your chances of getting past that disease that has spread down into the trunk.”

Given the way spores can be transferred several kilometres in the right conditions, there is always the danger of cross infection between vineyards, which means all growers have to be vigilant and take preventative measures annually, Sosnowski says.

“It is certainly more prevalent in older vines and it is certainly present here in New Zealand. We haven’t found a cultivar yet where the fungus doesn’t grow. Just because you can’t see the symptoms, doesn’t mean you don’t have the disease.” tessa.nicholson@me.com The workshop presentation is available to be viewed on the NZWine website.

In the next issue of NZ Winegrower we will focus on Botryosphaeria disease ■

The tell tale signs within the wood of the vine – a wedge of dead material – (Photo taken in Marlborough)

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UK IMPRESSIONS

OUR WINE IN THE UK JO BURZYNSKA

W

hat have New Zealand wines and Phil Goff got in common? It’s not their provenance or that some appear pale red.

Rather, both have been damned by the faint praise of being “reliable but unexciting”, an observation voiced about our wines by some respected British wine critics I encountered on a recent judging trip to the UK. I was back in my old home territory to judge the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) and take advantage of the autumn’s busy trade tasting period in London. While this annual pilgrimage always proves a great opportunity to ward off cellar palate, it’s also invaluable

in getting a feel for what international wine folk are thinking about our wines and what’s going on in the UK market more generally.

New Zealand wines put in a strong performance at this year’s IWSC, with judges largely in agreement that the country was making some very solid wines.

New Zealand again punched above its weight at the Competition, with a major haul of medals and a record 18 Golds, beating its previous record of 11 in 2008 and the competition average of 4.9 gold medals per country.

This year New Zealand scooped two prestigious trophy awards. The Bouchard Finlayson Pinot Noir Trophy was awarded

to Peregrine Central Otago Pinot Noir 2009 and, for the first time, a New Zealand Riesling won The London International Wine Fair Trophy for Single Vineyard White – awarded to Two Sisters Vineyard Central Otago Riesling 2007.

Syrah was certainly something that captured the interest of a number of my fellow IWSC judges, such as wine communicator and consultant, Sally Easton MW. “Syrah seems to be the exciting thing of the moment, especially, for me, those in a perfumed, elegant style with silkyfine tannins, savoury graphite core and a cool aromatic lift,” she said. “I reckon Syrah is on

IWSC wine tasting.

28

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

the beginning of a lovely, heartening curve.”

With top award winning Rieslings and Syrahs on the rise, this is helping send a message out to the world that there are more exciting things in our vineyards than solely our top two varieties. And from the feedback I picked up on my travels, it would appear that this is something that needs to be communicated, and perhaps more importantly, evidence made more explicit that interesting things are also still happening with our Sauvignon Blancs.

This year, as in 2010, New Zealand missed out on the competition’s Sauvignon Blanc Trophy, which went to a Chilean contender. Looking back at New Zealand’s results at the IWSC in recent years, it’s evident that Sauvignon Blancs have increasingly come to account for a smaller proportion of local golds. Could this in part be due to the lack of distinctive and enthralling examples from our flagship grape, as noted by a number of Brits I canvassed?

“Judging flights of NZ Sauvignon Blanc is a challenge because there is so often so little to differentiate between wines: usually almost all are a pretty decent standard, but stand out wines tend to be few and far between,” Easton stated.

“The temptation is too often to recommend people buy a Marl-

David Wrigley

borough Sauvignon Blanc, but it doesn’t really matter which one because they’re mostly quite similar. The good thing is, it is a style worth buying, with

immediate zingy freshness, but brand differentiation strikes me as being fraught.”

Easton was not the only British critic I met seeking

something more from our wines.

At the New Zealand Winegrowers New Release tasting, while the response from the tasters there was generally positive, prominent wine writer, Simon Woods lamented a lack of wow factor in many of the wines he’d been trying. While he concurred that most were well made he felt our winemakers needed to take more risks to push their wines to the next level.

Easton too, voiced disappointment in the Marlborough Pinot Noirs in particular that she tried there, remarking that they “seem in part to be going the way of Sauvignon Blanc: consistent but samey and unexciting…

There’s not too much that one can really criticise, but also nothing one can extol”.

As a wine writer based in New Zealand, this doesn’t entirely reflect the picture that I’m seeing over here. This may be truer of the mainstream, but there are local producers who aren’t afraid to push the envelope and are consequently delivering distinctive wines. That these are often not the wines with the highest profiles in foreign markets where New Zealand is often judged on its most popular labels - is perhaps more the issue.

Nowhere is this more the case than with British wine drinkers themselves, many of whose experience of our wine starts in the supermaket aisles.

It was here, surrounded by heavily discounted Kiwi wines and anonymous bulk labels, that I was caused the most concern

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 29

Stelvin, The Original... ®

in my two previous visits. However, this was thankfully far less evident on this trip and almost ® felt like a return to halcyon preThe qualities and performance of STELVIN closures are universally praised after surplus days.

It would appear30 thatyears the less experience of comparative testing and tastings on the world's than enthralling Sauvignons T E S S A N I C H O Lgreatest SON wines. A genuine global phenomenon. that started to be dumped in the market at lower prices from Owner Adam Peren credits the vineTwo Sisters vineyard ® the 2008 vintage may not have yard site for the success of his Two Sis- has six and a half hectares caused lasting damage. ters Riesling 2007, which picked up the planted, in three varieties.

“That was a wake up call,” London International Fair Trophy Riesling, Pinot all Noiryour and needs... theWine widest range meeting warned Oz Clarke. “I don’t think for Single Vineyard White. The vines Pinot Gris. The Riesling Marlborough has lost it. It’s held are planted on a steep slope above was the only wine Peren on to its aura well enough, just Central Otago’s Lowburn Valley, which entered into the London so long as it doesn’t start sendaccording to Peren may not be donkey- based competition. One ing us rubbish again.” only territory, but is certainly not an wine – one trophy and he New Zealand wine would easy site. says you can’t do better appear to have had a lucky “It has too much sun, not enough than that. escape from practices that must water, porous schist gravels for soil and The judge’s comments not be repeated if New Zealand is rabbit heaven.” regarding this special wine were; ® is to retain its reputation for Peren is no new comer to the Central “Intense, evolved, of almost sculp® reliability.

Otago wine industry.

Asin the founder definition this is classic, First the range,ofthe tural STELVIN closure can take allperfect types of But if it’s to build excitePeregrine Wines, (which also picked up Riesling its peak. Flintly minerality printedatdecoration on top and skirt. ment and keep a firm hold of its a coveted trophy for their 2009 Pinot mingles with ripe red apples and apripremium positioning, it’s clear Noir) he has an unshakeable faith in cot fruit, suffused with typical petrol ® even more needs to be done in a the region. nuances and lime zest.

The drawn inspired the use“The of embossed and quality market like the UK. “Thirteen years cap ago has when we came entry is sweet, turningprinting, to dry ® giving the STELVIN + closure worldwide popularity.

Having a party leader dubbed down here everyone just laughed, in mid palate with a honeyed Suited quality.to and medium it satisfies the growing dependable but boring may well because you supposedlysmall couldn’t grow Big,quantities, firm, complex, opulent flavours, requirements of the major brands. help Labour lose the election. grapes south of Marlborough. There yet taut steely texture and marvellous And if increasingly accused by were five growers at the time. Now it’s depth. Fabulous now, but will develop ® foreign gatekeepers of the same, sort of accepted that this is the best further.” our wines could struggle to Pinot Noir, and Riesling country in the That is if you can bear to put it away Answering an ongoing need to enhance packaging, this closure gives retain their position as well. world.” and not drink now! ■

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// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

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HONG KONG WINE HUB

HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL WINE AND SPIRITS FAIR TESSA NICHOLSON

When the Hong Kong government dropped all taxes on the importation of wine in 2008, it opened the doors to every wine producing nation in the world.

In the first eight months of this year, the country imported US$857 million dollars worth of wine. More importantly, it exported $191 million worth, with the majority of it heading into Mainland China. The country has

32

made no bones about wanting to be Asia’s if not the world’s, wine hub.

Helping cement that title of wine hub, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, (HKTDC) established the International Wine and Spirits Fair in 2008. From small beginnings has emerged a fair, which proudly promotes itself as the biggest of its kind in Asia. With more than

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

930 exhibitors from 37 countries taking part this year, they are not exaggerating.

Given this is only the fourth such Wine Fair, the year on year growth has been phenomenal.

There were 37% more producers strutting their stuff this year when compared with last and the event in 2011 was four times larger than the inaugural one in 2008.

Among the 37 countries present were first timers Georgia, Latvia, Malta, Slovakia and Sweden.

Thankfully New Zealand had a presence this year. Last year we were conspicuous by our absence, with just one New Zealand winery represented on the New Zealand stand. (That is not to say other wineries weren’t present, as many were involved on distributor stands.)

Admittedly it is a huge expense for wineries to take part in such a show, so far away from home. Monty James from New Zealand Winegrowers said it costs thousands of dollars when you factor in travel, accommodation and transporting wine.

“But as some of the wineries have said – we have to be here. If we want to gain wine distribution and want to have contact with the trade, we have to be here. It is tough, you have to prioritise your market and then decide what the best activity in the market is. This is a strong trade show and in terms of getting in front of F & B (food and beverage) trade it is very strong.”

That feeling was reciprocated by a number of the wineries taking part. Daniel Jackson from

Redoubt Hill in Nelson said they were looking for a distributor and the fair offered the opportunity to talk to people from Hong Kong who had experience.

“We have had quite a bit of interest, in fact there has been a hell of a lot of interest in the whole New Zealand stand. Asia is critical to New Zealand and this is the biggest show in Asia, so it makes sense to be here.”

Christine Kernohan from Gladstone Vineyard was at the Fair last year, with her distributor. This year she chose to be part of the New Zealand stand.

“I think if you are looking at generating new business, it is far better being on the New Zealand stand. People tend to choose to come to you because of where you are from. And generally they

have had a reasonably good level of knowledge. We have had a lot of people from Mainland China visiting – so that has to be good.”

Dave Kenny From Wairau River, (the only NZ winery on the stand last year) said they had seen a change in the quality of people coming through the Fair this year.

“There is a definite change this year, a higher level of education about wine I would say.

People are specifically looking for New Zealand wine and we have had specific enquiries for Sauvignon Blanc.”

But all the winery representatives spoken to were disappointed to note that the New Zealand stand was one of very few that had no Government backing. All the big countries,

Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Australia as well as many of the smaller players had financial support from their government or the EU in European cases.

Between now and next year’s event, hopefully the government will realise the importance of the Hong Kong International Wine Fair, and support the efforts

currently being undertaken by individuals to promote one of New Zealand’s most promising industries. tessa.nicholson@me.com Tessa attended the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair courtesy of HKTDC and Cathay Pacific ■

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 33

ASIAN UPDATE

RELATIONSHIPS, CUISINE AND MEDALS – ALL VITAL IN CHINA TESSA NICHOLSON

I

t is the largest potential market available in the world right now, yet for many wineries, trying to break in, China is fraught with difficulties.

The lack of knowledge regarding wine is one stumbling block, although experts believe that is changing at exponential rates.

Christian Pillsbury from Applied Wine, based in Hong Kong, says the knowledge that it took the American market 50

years to gain, will be learnt in China within 15 years. The thirst is there, (for wine and wine education) and wineries need to take advantage of that.

But at the International Hong Kong Wine and Spirits Fair, the sommelier and retail wine buyer had some sage words of advise for anyone looking to make their mark in both Hong Kong and Mainland China. Don’t go in as an expert on their culture,

instead form relationships on the basis that the people you are dealing with have more to teach you, than you do them.

“You have to spend time in the market, there is no getting around that. That may mean two or three trips a year to Hong Kong and China, making relationships,” he said. “There is an Australian winery that I have been following for a couple of years, from Orange. In Austral-

Christian Pillsbury from Applied Wine.

34

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

ian terms they are very little, with almost no awareness at home and zero awareness here in Hong Kong and China. But by coming over here two or three times a year, making relationships, eating all the food that was placed in front of him, the owner now has contracts for containers of wine.”

Pillsbury said the company didn’t change the style of wine to suit the Asian palate, they did nothing new to the packaging, instead they localised their message.

“He didn’t come in and say he was an expert and tell them how to do their job. Instead he said; ‘You are the expert about your region. Teach me how to do it.’ It is a dramatically different perspective.”

Given food is an important aspect of Chinese life, Pillsbury said being able to show how your wines would go well with different styles is an important selling point. But – and he couldn’t emphasis this enough – never approach a distributor or restaurant and claim your wine

is a perfect match with Chinese food.

“You will be dismissed out of the gate straight away. It is an insult to say something like that.

No one would ever go to France, Spain or Germany and claim their wine is perfect with European food. Why? Because there are so many different styles of European food. It’s exactly the same in China. You need to know the local cuisine and then tailor your wines to that cuisine.

“Instead of saying it goes great with Chinese food and the chef goes, are you kidding me, you go in and say this wine goes terrifically with say, roast goose like they are doing over at such and such a restaurant, or some other specific dish. Then you become part of the localised

conversation.”

Exposing your wines at Asian wine shows is another way of upping the anti for your label.

While consumers in the western world may be coming to the conclusion that wine shows are de rigour, in China and Hong Kong

as much time in restaurants in Paris and New York as they are in Hong Kong – they are global citizens and maybe trophies don’t mean quite as much to these people. On the other side, there are so many people who are new to wine, they don’t travel

“This competition is no longer saying this is a great Shiraz or great Pinot Noir.

Instead it is saying this is the best possible Pinot Noir for Shandong cuisine.” the importance of having a gold medal or trophy is vitally important for the average consumer.

“There are different levels of sophistication among consumers. Some people are spending

very much, they may not even speak English. They don’t know who Robert Parker is or Jancis Robinson. But they are looking for assurance, confidence and direction. Winning an award in

say Auckland or Adelaide won’t mean a hell of a lot, but if you say this wine won a medal or trophy for matching with Peking Duck – they can relate to that.”

The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Wine Competition is one of the first to match the entries with different Chinese dishes. In the past New Zealand has done remarkably well in this competition – and this year was no different. (See Box) All judges, bar two, are born and based in Asia.

Being able to say you received a medal at this competition, automatically gives your wine a regional head start. Pillsbury said the same goes for the China Wine Show, which began this year. Three New Zealand wines took out Gold medals in 2011, and he believes New Zealand

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wineries serious about the Chinese market, should be looking to take part in the competition in April 2012.

“They had 40 judges from all over China and they not only ranked on quality, they also ranked the wine on appropriateness for cuisine.

“They rank 20 local cuisines for China that the wine could be matched with.

“This competition is no longer saying this is a great Shiraz or great Pinot Noir.

Instead it is saying this is the best possible Pinot Noir for Shandong cuisine. This will up the chances if you are going to a F&B manager in the Shandong market, which is a really big market, and you can say – look at this award we won, which judges from around China said was the best with your cuisine.”

Many New Zealand producers are wondering if the Chinese palate will ever swing away from the big Bordeaux reds, to the fruitier white styles New Zealand has become famous for.

Pillsbury believes that will happen in time and Hong Kong will lead the way.

“If you look at where things are going in terms of trend setters and the most knowl-

edgeable buyers, you find that Burgundy has hit unprecedented levels. American wines are going through the roof. The market is already moving away from big reds, French sourced Bordeaux.

I think the adoption of white wines will be a part of that move.

I am already seeing in my restaurant programmes in Hong Kong, near parity in red and white wines and that is something I did not expect to see two years ago.

“So things are changing at the ground level as more and more knowledgeable consumers start to influence the behaviour of their friends who are looking to them for cues.

“Some knowledgeable people are starting to adopt drinking white wine with seafood, which is an incredibly important cuisine here. Once they adopt it and make it socially acceptable, it will ripple out.”

As knowledge increases and consumers become more confident in trying something different.

Pillsbury believes New Zealand will be well situated to take advantage. But he said – take nothing for granted – form relationships now if you want to be part of that future growth. tessa.nicholson@me.com ■

New Zealand Shines In Asian Wine Show If gold medals and trophies are important to consumers in the Asian market, then New Zealand should be revelling in the fact it collected seven trophies at the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine Competition.

Second only behind Australia in terms of trophies, (they had nine) it was an amazing feat for a country of our size.

Putting this in perspective, the number of entries was 1700, from around the world. What’s more this is a competition that is aimed specifically at the Asian market, with all judges, bar two being Asian born and based. Organiser Debra Meiburg MW describes it as; “The world’s first truly Asian wine competition.”

Coinciding with the best wines in a variety of categories, the competition also strives to find the perfect wine to match traditional Asian dishes such as; Sashimi, Kung Pao Chicken, Peking Duck, Cantonese Dim Sum and Braised Abalone.

The New Zealand wines to win trophies are as follows: BEST NZ SAUVIGNON BLANC – Invivo Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011-11-04 BEST NEW WORLD PINOT NOIR – Framingham Pinot Noir 2009 BEST NEW WORLD RIESLING - Rockburn Central Otago Riesling 2009 BEST PINOT NOIR – Framingham Pinot Noir 2009 BEST RIESLING – Rockburn Central Otago Riesling 2009 BEST SAUVIGNON BLANC – Invivo Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 BEST WINE WITH PEKING DUCK – Wooing Tree Pinot Noir 2009 ■

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// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

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BORN TO GROW MARY SHANAHAN

A love of growing is Caine Thompson’s legacy from a horticulturist father who died when his son was just 13

T

he teenager took this bequest and nurtured it with patience and perseverance. Now the wider wine industry is seeing the benefits of his application and talent.

An unassuming 29-yearold, Thompson is enjoying a meteoric career as a viticulturist, and his efforts to improve grape quality and production have trig-

gered projects that are attracting much support and attention.

A Massey University graduate with a BSc in horticulture and an honours degree in plant science, Thompson was appointed Mission Estate’s viticulturist when he was just 24.

New Zealand Viticulturist of the Year in 2009, he was ‘really proud’ to represent the wine industry, going on to win New

Zealand Young Horticulturist of the Year.

Prize money funded a honeymoon trip to the main wine regions of France with wife Brittany, a viticulturist at Elephant Hill.

Thompson says it was “an experience that allowed me to see first-hand how terroir and wine quality are based on the care of the land”. He returned to

New Zealand keen to compare organic and conventional agrichemical growing operations, and Mission Estate and Organic Winegrowers New Zealand enthusiastically backed his proposal for a trial. Funded by New Zealand Winegrowers, the Organic Focus Vineyard Project was launched at the winery’s Greenmeadows vineyard late last year.

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// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

The first season’s results delivered promising indicators for the time-honoured traditional approach to viticulture as a viable alternative to growing grapes under an agrichemical regime and the three-year endeavour is now expanding into Marlborough and Central Otago.

Rooted in the land

Caine Thompson

Thompson’s father, who managed a kiwifruit orchard in the Bay of Plenty, died shortly before his son started high school.

Teachers told him not to bother with horticulture as a subject in its own right; that he would learn a lot about it doing physics and chemistry.

“But I had always enjoyed

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going to work with my father and spending time with him in the orchard. So I started studying horticulture and carried on until the end of sixth form, when I faced the problem of the college not offering it as a seventh form subject.

“I couldn’t believe that, especially as New Zealand is a country that prides itself on its primary production. And this was at a school in the heart of a crop-growing region.”

Thompson continued his horticultural studies through Correspondence School and decided he wanted a career in a growing industry.

Years earlier, he had volunteered to work in his spare time for a garden centre.

“It wasn’t long before they

offered me a paid position. As well as after school, I worked a day at weekends and learned a lot about plant propagation, dealing with customers and other aspects of the business.”

Caine also worked school holidays as an orchard assistant for horticultural consultant Pat Sale in kiwifruit and subtropical fruit.

Running 1 & 1/2 ha of kiwifruit, avocado, apple, grape, feijoa, mandarin and tamarillo blocks, he learned about management techniques and growing regimens and attended Zespri field days.

At university, Thompson worked in Massey’s orchard and that, plus winning three scholarships, helped meet the cost of his tertiary education.

Viticulture Lures Visiting Hawke’s Bay for the first time in 2000, he was amazed by the region’s wine industry.

“I was fascinated that you could grow something from the earth and see it formed into wine, and I thoroughly enjoyed the people in the industry.”

He had already learnt theoretical plant biology and management and, finishing his studies, he decided on viticulture as a career.

“A job came up at Alpha Domus for a vineyard hand/ machinery operator. I knew I had to get practical experience with an entry position. Ton and Lea Ham, who founded and ran the family wine business, took me under their wing and pushed

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me to step up.

“When the vineyard manager left, I was offered the position.

They said they would guide me through it and for the next two years I was running two blocks, the home block and Ton and Lea’s home block – in total 40 hectares.”

In late 2005, Thompson was appointed company viticulturist at Mission Estate where he manages the Greenmeadows vineyard and the company’s two vineyards in Gimblett Gravels.

He also oversees 15 contract growers, all of whom have become Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand accredited during his watch.

In another Thompson-driven initiative, the Mission is using GPS-linked sensors to moni-

tor the vigour of vines on all its sites, including contract grower properties.

“I read an article about sensors being used in the USA for assessing greens on golf courses and asked a friend who had finished his PhD in precision farming whether it would be possible to use them for side profiles of grape vine canopies to assess spectral development.

“He didn’t know the answer to that but said Massey had one we could use.

“He sent it across and I attached it to a bike and rode up and down Mission’s block in Mere Road, measuring the biomass of grape vines.

“If a vine gets a higher vigour reading it can make the difference of two to three more brix in the harvested fruit. That’s a huge difference.”

Surprised at the variation in readings, he made zone maps to develop a balanced high-end viticultural regimen for the Mere Road vineyard’s Syrah.

An outcome of that has been Mission’s launch of Hutchet, a $100 “icon” wine grown in the vineyard.

Thompson takes great satisfaction in having established that the technology works for wine grapes. It prompted him to team up with friend Dr Hayden Lawrence to establish New Zealand’s first precision viticultural mapping company. Thompson’s role is as a director, leaving Lawrence, the managing director, to manage Spatial Solutions’ day-to-day running.

Viticultural projects “I love working here,” Thompson says of his job at the Mission. “(Chief executive) Peter Holley has really pushed me in the right direction. He

prompted me to apply for the position of technical officer with the Gimblett Gravels Growers Association and also to take up the chairman’s position of the Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers’ Research Group.

“His support and mentorship have been invaluable.”

In a presentation to Gimblett Gravels members, Thompson proposed projects he felt could benefit the region. As a result, Gimblett Gravels’ 800 hectares were virus mapped using GPS. With New Zealand Winegrowers’ backing, the association secured Sustainable Farming funding to continue the mapping programme and bring in the scientific expertise of Plant and Food Research on how to best manage mealy bug and leaf roll virus.

Two years into the three-year project, there have been large reductions in leaf roll virus.

One of Thompson’s greatest achievements with Mission Estate winemaker Paul Mooney was at the Gimblett Gravels-led Hong Kong Masterclass tasting where Mission Jewelstone Cabernet Merlot was ranked third in a blind tasting against the six first growths from Bordeaux.

“To have one of your wines compare with some of the world’s most iconic brands was a special moment for us.”

Thompson’s longer-term ambition is to head a winery and, with that in mind, he aims to complete an MBA to gain further additional business skills and acumen.

“I believe in setting goals,” he says of his plans to take on further study. “It’s about putting stones in place to build that pathway to the future.” westclan@clear.net.nz ■

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NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 41

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18/11/11 10:11:07 AM

REGIONS WAIPARA

NEW WAIPARA FOOD AND WINE INTITIATIVE JO BURZYNSKA

W

aipara’s wines are set to get the biggest collective push they’ve experienced to date with the formation of the group, WaiparaValleyNZ. Waipara Valley Winegrowers in conjunction with the Hurunui Tourism Board launched the new marketing programme in September, with the aim of raising the region’s profile to food and wine lovers both nationally and overseas.

“This is the first time we’ve seen such collaboration between both the tourism and wine industries and reflects a new era for the Valley,” explained Angela Clifford, marketing executive for WaiparaValleyNZ. “Previous ventures have focused more on selling wine or specific events, this is a much more strategic, holistic, long-term vision.”

Kicking off WaiparaValleyNZ’s programme was the sell out Spring Lamb and Pinot

dinner held in late October at the Iron Ridge Quarry sculpture park in the Waipara Gorge. “The Waipara Valley is one of the earliest areas in the country to produce spring lamb because of our climate,” noted Clifford.

“The farmers in this region are very interested in the quality and flavour of their animals and we see this as having a natural affinity to our winemakers: this event will be the first time they’ve got together to celebrate what they do.”

Following on from the success of the region’s In Praise of Riesling events of recent years, this summer will also be New Zealand’s first ‘Summer of Riesling’. WaiparaValleyNZ will be tapping into the international phenomenon with events running throughout the country to showcase its flagship white.

Plans are also afoot to take the Waipara Valley to Australia after

vintage next year.

Back on home turf, the organisation is also taking charge of the Waipara Valley Food & Wine Celebration set for early March. Following severe damage to the Glenmark Church in the earthquakes this is being relocated to the Mud House Winery & Café, where Clifford hopes it can “grow in size and stature while retaining the vibe and community feel”.

It’s a timely initiative for a region hit hard by the drop in tourism following the earth-

quakes and the decimation of its closest retail and restaurant market in Christchurch.

“The earthquake knocked us all out of our comfort zones and complacency. We get to choose how we put our lives back together, why not take the opportunity to make it better than before?” observes Clifford.

“I think this venture offers that.

Change has suddenly become a whole lot less scary, and we are now a lot braver. Watch out world!” joburzynska@talk21.com ■

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INDUSTRY NEWS

NEW TOOL TO PREVENT BIRD DAMAGE IN GRAPES W

hile there are no definitive figures on how much bird damage costs the New Zealand wine industry, it is fair to say that it could well be in the millions of dollars.

Starlings, blackbirds, song thrushes and silvereyes are all major threats to growing grapes.

Just as the sugar levels begin to rise, the fruit becomes a tantalising attraction to them. They fly in, feast upon the grapes and leave bunches with decimated berries, which are then prone to disease. The cost of removing flocks of birds is high and time consuming.

Enter a new form of pest control – something that not only removes the birds but frightens them off for long periods of time.

It’s called Fog Force™ that when propelled into the air affects the birds trigeminal nerves in the beak, mouth, gizzard, eyes and mucous membranes creating a brief burning sensation.

It is enough to send the birds packing, while leaving the fruit unharmed.

Russell Smith from Pestgard says Fog

Force™ contains a food grade ingredient, Methyl Anthranilate (MA) which is a naturally occurring compound with a reduced risk to the environment. Naturally formed within grapes themselves, MA is currently used in a range of products including flavouring, perfume and pharmaceuticals. It doesn’t kill the birds, instead it creates an unpleasant environment, that birds tend to fly away from.

The product is dispensed via a Thermal Fogger or specially designed Diffusion Machine. By utilising wind movement, the machines deliver tiny particles of the spray into the bird’s air space or nesting areas.

“The fog emission is lighter than air and naturally drifts up into large trees and roost areas,” Smith said. “Natural wind currents can be used effectively to take the fog across large paddocks or vineyards, forcing the pest birds to leave the crop.”

Marlborough grower Todd Campbell, said Fog Force™ was not only “child’s play” to use, it was also the most cost effective and efficient

way of removing large flocks of birds from around the vineyard.

“We had a major issue with large flocks of birds around the vineyard and had tried a heap of things to try and get rid of them. But nothing was very effective. We heard about this Fog Force™ and thought we’d give it a go. We have been really impressed. It was so easy to use and very economic. After using it, we had about 10% the number of birds on our vineyard that other growers had – that’s how effective it was. And driving round the region I noticed there was a huge difference in the efforts other growers were going to trying to get rid of the birds, compared to us.”

Cost wise, he says he has saved thousands of dollars. “Our nets were due for replacement next season, but we can now look forward to saving $16,000.”

Smith said while the fog effects the birds, it does not impact on humans. “In fact MA has a pleasant grape aroma to humans and is fully approved for application in the workplace.” ■

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Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award Most in the wine industry know Phil Rose as the owner of Marlborough’s Wairau River Wines. He and wife Chris established the label back in 1991, and have seen it grow to become a major player in the export market.

But in Marlborough, during the Wine Weekend at the end of October, Phil was recognised not for his avhievements with the Wairau River label – but for being a grower who took on the local government and his neighbours to earn the right to grow grapes.

Funny as it may seem now, back in the late 70s Marlborough’s growth as a wine Phil Rose region was stymied by red tape that stated no grapes could be grown in the Rapaura area. The reason? It was

detrimental to other farming practises and forestry, given the penchant for using hormonal sprays such as 245T. Phil and Chris fought long and hard for over two years for a rule change, that eventaully came through in time for them to begin planting their vineyard in 1979. Beginning as a contract grower for Montana, and later Penfolds, the Roses went on to establish their own label in 1991, and their own winery in 2002.

Phil’s determination and passion to see the Marlborough wine industry grow, were acknowledged with just the third ever Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award being presented to him, in front of 300 Wine Weekend guests.

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MONEY MATTERS WITH NZ FOREX MARCUS PHILLIPS

WHY DOES THE NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR FLUCTUATE SO MUCH? The Kiwi’s value is strongly influenced by global market sentiment towards risky assets, known as ‘risk appetite’.

The New Zealand Dollar has been New Zealand’s domestic currency since a switch from the Pound in July 1967. Initially its value was pegged to the movements of the US Dollar; however on the 4th March 1985 the Kiwi was set free and entered the open market at a value of 0.4444.

Since then lows of 39 cents were reached in October 2000 and in August 2011 highs above 88 cents were recorded. As an exporter you can’t help but be aware of the Kiwi’s penchant for volatile trade and it is only natural you may be left wondering exactly what influences the value of the local dollar. Without attempting to simplify the complexities of foreign exchange into a single article, a few of the major drivers are outlined in the paragraphs to follow.

The first driver we wish to mention is commodity prices.

Although the media frequently reports on gold, oil and copper prices (examples of hard commodities), a commodity price index will also comprise of soft commodities, or ‘commodities that are grown’. With agriculture

being the largest sector of New Zealand’s tradable economy a strong positive correlation exists between commodity indices and the strength of the Kiwi; so much so that it is often referred to as a ‘commodity currency’.

For example in 2010 exports totalled NZ$40.6 billion (New Zealand Trade and Enterprise – NZ-Trade-data-2010.xls) with agriculture making up more than half; if you look at the Agricultural Raw Materials Index a 12-month high was reached in April this year, around the same time Kiwi rallied above 80 cents for only the second time since 1985.

Another notable characteristic of the Kiwi is the rate of interest it pays the beholder. At a time when many central banks are holding their cash rates near 0-0.5% the Reserve Bank of New Zealand holds at 2.5%. Second only to the Australian Dollar, demand for higher yielding major currencies generates significant buying interest for the Kiwi and thus any talk of increasing interest rates can send the Kiwi soaring.

These first two points direct us to the most influential of the NZ Dollar’s traits over the last few years; its status as a ‘risky asset’. Due to its correlation with commodity prices, which boom in times of global growth, and its high yielding status which equates to a higher level of risk, the Kiwi’s value is strongly influenced by global market sentiment towards risky assets, known as ‘risk appetite’.

As we have witnessed recently with the ongoing European Debt Crisis, the Kiwi rallies strongly on positive news. This is called a ‘risk-on’ environment where investors rush to buy higher yielding assets or those highly correlated to commodities.

On the contrary, when doubt

resurfaces as to whether or not Europe will be able to contain its debt and the threat of a global economic slowdown rears its head, the New Zealand Dollar has a tendency to tumble in a ‘risk-off’ environment.

Such characteristics can often lead to high levels of volatility, leaving companies involved in foreign trade exposed to high levels of market risk. As uncertainty in the EuroZone looks set to continue for some time, both importers and exporters are quickly turning to professionals who can assist by developing tailored hedging strategies aimed at minimising the impact FX risk can have on the bottom line.

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RWC REVIEW

WHAT RWC MEANT TO NEW ZEALAND WINE SARAH THORNTON – NZW

T

he Rugby World Cup was a unique opportunity for New Zealand Wine.

The participating nations of UK, Australia, USA and Canada alone make up over 90% of our $1.1 billion of exports. And many of the 85,000 visiting fans who came to New Zealand for the event, were first time visitors. They were here to watch the world’s third largest sporting event but as a country our opportunity was to blow them away with our wines, our food, our scenery and our people.

Essentially, the Rugby World Cup was a branding exercise for New Zealand Wine. The tournament provided the platform to showcase our premium, sustainable and diverse wines to high net worth individuals.

New Zealand Winegrowers encouraged the organisation of a varied series of industry showcase events during the Rugby World Cup and worked closely with NZ2011, NZTE, other sector leaders and event organisers to ensure no stone was unturned and every opportunity was explored for wineries. Having New Zealand wine poured in the media lounge and at events

such as the prestigious Sir Richard Branson dinner in Auckland on 20th October were coups for the industry.

Taste at The Cloud was a unique and unprecedented concept that enabled us to showcase New Zealand wine in a representative way by encompassing all regions and styles and sustain it over a 41 day period. 72 brands from regions throughout New Zealand had a presence.

Over the weekend of what should have been the Christchurch quarter finals there was a dedicated ‘Canterbury/Waipara Valley week’ in The Cloud which served only Canterbury food and wine.

During the 41 days over 70,000 individual servings and 3,636 bottles of New Zealand wine were consumed. Just next door from Taste, the media centre in The Cloud sold almost 2,000 bottles of New Zealand Wine.

The Rugby World Cup certainly allowed our wine producing regions and individual wineries to shine on the world stage. Events and tastings around the tournament ensured

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that influential international visitors, whether media or business professionals, were exposed to the diverse and premium wines we produce.

Chris Yorke, Global Marketing Director, New Zealand Winegrowers says; “Our goal was to provide experiences that visitors can enjoy and recount for years to come. We wanted consumers and media to go home, tell their friends to visit New Zealand and most importantly to go and buy our premium wines in their restaurants, wine stores or supermarkets. We think that collectively, as an industry, we achieved this.”

The legacy of the Rugby World Cup is crucial. In the lead up to the competition New Zealand Winegrowers built relationships with government teams and other industry sectors to leverage opportunities and form partnerships. In particular, the co-operation with Tourism allowed access to media and VIPs during the tournament and ensured regional tours and tastings were woven into itineraries.

It is these relationships that will continue to open doors for our members in the future ■

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NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 49

BOB’S BLOG BOB CAMPBELL MW

A WINE ENTHUSIAST’S ENTHUSIAST

I

once defined a wine enthusiast as someone who spent at least one-third of their disposal income on wine.

In a life before children and mortgages I satisfied that definition. My friend Lance Cameron’s

ate about Alsace wine that he has a tattoo of a bunch of grapes on his arm together with the words “Alsace – Paradis sur Terre”. I joined Lance to taste around 30 Alsace wines he’d brought back from his travels. They varied between very good and brilliant.

I share his enthusiasm for Alsace wines, especially Riesling and Gewurztraminer.

RWC Opening Night I accepted an invitation to fly to Sydney to give a 15 minute talk at a wine dinner before realising that it was on the opening night of the RWC. Our house overlooks Auckland harbour so while Marion enjoyed a front row seat at the fireworks I watched it on TV in a Sydney hotel room.

Bugger!

Upper North Island Wine Challenge

Lance Cameron

enthusiasm for wine makes me look apathetic. Lance is a rep for Constellation Wines. When he takes his annual holidays instead of going to the beach like normal people Lance flies to Alsace and works a vintage. He is so passion-

50

For the second year I chaired the Upper North Island Wine Challenge organised by the wine faculty at Auckland University. The show attracted wines from regions between Waikato and the Karikari Peninsula in Northland. The standard was high thanks at least in part to the splendid 2010 vintage which some winemakers rate as the best ever, at least in the north.

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

Oz Clarke, Fabian Partigliani and John Key.

Winery restaurant with a view opens in Marlborough I visited Marlborough as a guest of Pernod Ricard NZ to attend the opening of the Brancott Estate Heritage Centre by Prime Minster, John Key. I asked Key if the Rugby World Cup outcome (unknown at that time) would be likely to affect the election result (also unknown).

He didn’t think it would although he did say that events such as the Christchurch earthquakes, Pike River and the MV Rena running aground were more likely to influence voters.

The Brancott Estate Heritage Centre is now the place to have lunch in Marlborough.

Waipara Rocks Visited Waipara to taste a cross section of the region’s wines. The tasting affirmed my view that Waipara is, along with Nelson, one of the country’s best kept wine secrets. You have to visit the region to fully appreciate the depth and breadth of wine quality. Still can’t decide whether Pinot Noir or Riesling is the regional hero. I start leaning toward Riesling before being pulled in the other direction after tasting a superb Waipara Pinot Noir or two.

Some years ago I was asked where I would choose to buy a vineyard if I was ever rich enough and crazy enough to do so. Waipara’s potential, scenic beauty and reasonable land

prices put it at the head of the list. The region has expanded since then but it would still be my first choice.

awarded to Bordeaux varieties and Syrah, particularly because Hawke’s Bay enjoyed such a cracking vintage in 2009.

the neck at the seam, which is a weak point. It worked! Everyone was very impressed. I plan to open every sparkling wine bottle this way in future.

What Does Gold Taste Like?

Central Otago 2010 Lineup Impresses

Shanghai

After the Air New Zealand wine competition has been judged and before the trophies have been announced the gold medal wines are opened for a handful of wine critics. It’s a great opportunity to judge the judges as well as fill a few gaps in my wine notes database.

A few observations. I think the judges got it pretty right this year – didn’t disagree too violently with many of the gold awards although I think the Rosé class deserves more than one gold – are judges weighed down by a little negativity when it comes to Rosé? Villa Maria/ Vidals kidnapped the Chardonnay class with seven out of the ten gold awards. I like the slightly funky notes creeping into some of the top wines – a sign of good judging in my view. Nice to see Pinot Noir capture the lion’s share of gold awards – they just get better and better every vintage. I was a bit disappointed to see so few golds

One of my favourite tastings each year is the annual review of Central Otago Pinot Noir from a single vintage. This year it was 2010, a vintage that, by reputation at least, falls in the shadow of the highly regarded 2009 vintage. The wines were better than I expected. Particularly pleasing was the lack of over-extracted and rather hard wines - often a feature in slightly lighter years.

Winemakers should celebrate vintage differences rather than try to make every vintage measure up to some pre-determined style.

I’m writing this in Shanghai where I am running a series of wine masterclasses and dinners to promote the Five Nations Wine Challenge and New Zealand wine in general.

This is my first visit to China.

I know that Shanghai is not typical of every or even any other Chinese city but what a dynamic place! After talking to Simon Zhou, owner of Ruby Red; a

family wine importing, distributing, retailing and education business; I am convinced that China could be on the brink of becoming a hugely successful quality wine producer . Simon complained that business has slowed to a growth of 75% in the last financial year. It was in the three-digit range for a number of years before that! If Chinese winemakers possess just a fraction of Simon’s energy, intelligence and resourcefulness they should be able to prospect great vineyard sites from China’s vast land mass and produce top wine in no time.

Swordmanship I thought it would be fun to perform a sabrage (remove the top of a sparkling wine bottle with a saber) at a corporate tasting on sparkling wine. I borrowed a handsome sword and looked up Wikipedia for a guide to technique. The trick, they said, was to remove the foil but not the wire and whack the lip of

Simon Zhou and wife Kylie Bisman in Shanghai

Keeping it Kiwi. We'll drink to that.

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NEW MW

NZ’S LATEST MASTER OF WINE TESSA NICHOLSON

T

hey may be only two letters of the alphabet, but the MW after a person’s name denotes a perseverance and skill level way beyond any other achievement in wine.

Gaining a Master of Wine is an arduous task that cannot be underestimated. It takes on average five years to prove you are worthy and of the hundreds that

take on the task only around 20% succeed.

Emma Jenkins from Taupo was one of 11 new MWs inducted this year, bringing the total world wide up to 300. She is the 9th New Zealand based Master and the first New Zealand born and based female. (Margaret Harvey MW is a New Zealander, now based in the UK.)

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To have finally gained the title is still slightly surreal for Jenkins, who had to undergo endless essays, three 12 blind wine tastings and produce a dissertation of at least 10,000 words on a wine subject of her choosing. The dissertation is the final step and Jenkins was worried hers wasn’t good enough.

“The weekend before the

Bordeaux is not just another rival competitor It is also a great place to ride slowly through vineyards, valleys and forests, sampling great food, discovering hidden landscapes and just, maybe, enjoying a glass or two (so you can write it off as a business trip).

We offer self-guided (but supported) cycle tours 50 miles around the city of Bordeaux from April to October on routes that use back-roads and cycle-paths to let you see the real France behind the brochures.

Quality hybrid bikes, your bags moved for you every night, someone to call if you have any concerns and accommodation levels to suit your budget.

If your time in Europe is pretty heavily scheduled you need a cycle tour operator who will be flexible and can fit a tour to you rather than expecting you to fit one of their tours.

For more details visit www.cyclebordeaux.co.uk For a chat about a tour to fit you then Skype 0044 (0)121-288 1950 or email Graham down in Bordeaux at contact@cyclebordeaux.co.uk PS: If you are planning to visit Vin Expo 2013 now is not too early to book your tour.

  

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Emma Jenkins

    results came out, I got all my stuff out and shuffled through it. I had convinced myself I wasn’t going to pass, and was thinking that with two months’ reflection, I could re write the dissertation so much better and make it really good. So when I opened up the email (of results) I wasn’t nervous at all.

Then when I saw I had passed, I just sat there. And what was worse I didn’t have anything to celebrate with – so I ended up putting the kettle on.”

So who is Emma Jenkins, our latest MW? With a background in anatomy and considering forensics as a future career, Jenkins became truly enamoured with wine while working at her hometown’s Scenic Cellars. To her surprise she absolutely loved the job. “I found the more I learned there, the more I wanted to know.”

It was another MW, Bob Campbell, who steered her towards applying to become a Master of Wine. Sam Kim was another who was already undertaking the task and he supplied her with all the details of what it entailed.

“Foolishly, I looked at it and

thought that looks do-able. If I’d known then what I know now, I would have thought differently.

When you look at it, the questions seem deceptively simple, but it’s the level at which they want you to answer that is the issue.”

Having already undertaken a diploma in viticulture and winemaking via correspondence, she was readily accepted onto the course. She started her MW pre mortgage and children, which meant Jenkins found the first year a lot easier than more recent times. She took one year off when her first son George was born, but has been hard at it ever since, including during her pregnancy and after the birth of 10 month old Charlie.

“I was four months pregnant when I sat my practical exams and once I found out I had passed those, they said I could do the dissertation. That was only six weeks before he was born. So I completed the dissertation with a newborn baby. It was a test of sanity at times, I tell you.”

Her dissertation was based on “Is there a case for sub-regional Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc?”

 

   

 

Phone (09) 3729155 Email : rsf@rd2.co.nz Web: www.rd2.co.nz Available through all good retail stores NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 53

and producing the 10,000-word paper became almost a full time job. “The dissertation, once I got working on that, was a huge amount of work and a lot more than I expected. I had thought, how hard can that be? I had already done something similar at University, but I wasn’t prepared for the enormity of pulling all the information together and then having to write it in such a short time frame.”

Gaining an MW requires a great deal of support from many sources and Jenkins is mindful she couldn’t have achieved what she has without the help of her husband Matthew Simpson, who was on hand to take the children whenever she needed to devote herself to studying. She also had support from other MWs and the

wine industry as a whole.

“But achieving a MW is very much a self-driven thing. To be successful, you really have to want to do it for yourself. You have to

There were definitely times I looked at it and thought what am I doing? It’s a bit of indulgence and a folly I suppose. Outside the world of wine I don’t know if many peo-

“If I’d known then what I know now, I would have thought differently. When you look at it, the questions seem deceptively simple, but it’s the level at which they want you to answer that is the issue.”

be motivated to find information, track down people to talk to, learn about wine and then process it all.

If you are doing it because you think it’s going to fun and you’ll get a flash title at the end, I don’t believe it will sustain you through the level of commitment it takes.

ple even know what MW stands for. I have always joked that if I got the title and placed MW after my name, my friends would all think I was a midwife.”

Now having achieved, what at times looked like the impossible, Jenkins is looking forward to tak-

ing some time out from study and concentrating on her two sons.

“I’m mindful of the period of life that I am in, which is with small children and I would regret not having the time that I do have with them. Luckily because I like writing and reviewing, that is something I can do from home.”

She will continue writing for her website The Independent Wine Monthly in conjunction with Jane Skilton MW, and producing wine reviews and freelance work, so it’s unlikely there will be much rest awaiting New Zealand’s latest MW. tessa.nicholson@me.com Emma Jenkins is NZ’s 9th MW. The others are Bob Campbell, Jane Skilton, Simon Nash, Alistair Maling, Steve Smith, Paul Tudor, Steve Bennett and Michael Brajkovich ■

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

WINE FUTURE HONG KONG REBECCA GIBB

T

he New Zealand wine industry was conspicuous by its absence at Wine Future Hong Kong but at 900 euros ($1575) a ticket, it was a judicious decision not to attend.

The networking opportunities were outstanding: it is not often you find the editors of the world’s leading wine magazines plus Jancis Robinson and Robert Parker in

the same room.

However, the summit lacked fresh insight and many speakers used the opportunity to talk about their brands rather than create any light bulb moments. Furthermore, most delegates bemoaned the lack of debate and forward thinking.

Inevitably, the Asian market played a key role in the seminars, and social media was also a hot

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56

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

topic. Listening to your consumer is the key to social media, speakers reiterated. “We have two ears and one mouth – use them in direct proportion,” Paul Henry, the former head of Wine Australia, told delegates.

If you are a winery using social media simply to broadcast your marketing message, it won’t work, warned Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine

Library TV fame. “There’s a lot of brands and wineries doing a bad job at social media because they are using it as a push mechanism,” he said, echoing Henry’s warning that social media is about listening to, and interacting with, customers.

A social media expert based in Shanghai, Jacob Johansen, added that social media should not sim-

ply be an extension of your website on facebook but a conversation.

“People are using social media because they are told that they have to but they don’t understand what it means and how they have to change. You have to go from broadcasting to dialogue.”

Vaynerchuk suggested pinterest.com could be the next big thing for social media users.

Started by Yale graduates, its goal is “to connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting. We think that a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people. Pinterest aims to connect people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests.”

It’s an online pinboard of all the things you like. Give your winery team a human face by creating a pinboard of their favourite pictures whether it’s the vineyard, their dog or a recipe, or ‘pinning’ pictures from websites. Other users can then ‘repin’, comment or like.

But it’s early days for social media. Of the estimated 430 million wine drinkers around the world, most consumers couldn’t care less about getting more

involved in wine than drinking a glass or two, warned Lulie Halstead of Wine Intelligence. A study has found only 7% of regular wine drinkers are highly involved in wine and the remainder have little interest in being any more committed to it.

So, while social media might be an important facet of your business today, a small proportion of regular wine drinkers find social media relevant in the UK (13%) and US (21%). However, in China’s first tier cities, social media is relevant to six out of 10 regular wine drinkers.

Despite the rise of sociallydriven wine retailers such as the UK’s Naked Wines, it has been found that just 6% of regular wine drinkers in the UK post tasting comments or blog about wine; the figure stands at 11% in the USA and 48% in China.

“This is a marathon” said Vaynerchuk. “The game is just starting. I want to put a ring on every one of my customers’ fingers. It’s not about one transaction now. Too many people are looking at this as a sprint but it’s about the lifetime value of your customer.” rebecca@rebeccagibb.com ■

ENROL NOW!

0800 22 55 348 www.wine.eit.ac.nz

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 57

REGIONS HAWKES BAY

PLANETS ALIGN FOR STUDENT MARY SHANAHAN

T

wo drivers motivated Jonathan Musther when he crafted a wine to enter in this year’s Hawkes Bay A & P Mercedes-Benz Wine Show.

In the final year of EIT’s Bachelor of Viticulture and Bachelor of Wine Science Concurrent Degree, Jonathan was joint winner of the regional show’s student trophy in 2009 and 2010. While he was hoping to pull off a hat trick at the 2011

event, the show more significantly represented a last opportunity for winning gold with a wine he had made as a student. In the end he did just that – won gold and topped it off with the trophy.

Jonathan’s other aim was to make a sweet wine that wife Melanie – who admits to only liking stickies – would enjoy.

The planets aligned in 2009, when he had the opportunity to

pick surplus Cabernet Sauvignon on Constellation’s Corner 50 Vineyard, west of Hastings.

Adjoining the rows of red grapes, Jonathan noticed a block of Chardonnay, affected by February rain, had been barely touched by the harvesters. The company’s viticulturist agreed he could have the shrivelling fruit and, by midMay, when he returned to the vineyard, every bunch had been

beautifully raisined by noble rot.

He picked enough, at 46 brix, to make 120 half bottles.

The Mongoose – “a silly name” chosen because it’s an animal Melanie admires – is golden-hued and viscous; a ravishingly perfumed concoction that delivers rich marmalade and caramel flavours.

“It was fun to do,” Jonathan enthuses, “presenting a whole different set of challenges.”

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Jonathon Musther enjoys a glass of Mongoose – his award winning dessert wine.

Making the wine in a home shed, he had to use “tricks” to get fermentation started.

“It’s such a harsh environment for yeast to live in,” he says of the sugar-rich juice pressed from the botrytised berries. “The wine is 12.5 percent alcohol – I stopped fermentation halfway through the available sugar.”

Together with other EIT students, Jonathan was a steward at the Hawke’s Bay wine show where he couldn’t help but overhear favourable comments about his wine. “I was hoping for gold,” he admits. “On previous occasions, I’d shared the trophy with fel-

low student and former flatmate Stuart Kennedy for our bronze medal-winning wines. Winning the trophy on my own this time round was a more personal victory, but getting the gold was the big thing.”

Contemplating life after completing his degree studies, Jonathan is realistic about the harsh economic climate but remains unfazed by the challenges he faces in finding an entry-level industry job.

“I am more curious,” he says, “as to where life might take me next.” westclan@clear.net.nz ■

Pathway to Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 59

SOMMELIERS CORNER CAMERON DOUGLAS MS

GOES GREAT WITH PASTA AND CHICKEN

I

t’s an increasing trend in Restaurants and dining rooms around the world for customers to expect confident recommendations from the beverage service staff - and there is a growing wish for staff to be trained either within a dedicated programme in the establishment, or by bringing in an expert consultant - so those concerned have the ability to pair their particular cuisine appropriately with their wine list. International wine events are including Master Classes on particular varieties or styles and using the food and wine message more often - the Sydney International Wine Competition actually pairs wines with food as part of the judging process.

Over the next few issues I will focus on one particular cépage and its various expressions to promote thought and discussion around pairing recommendations, whether you choose to print these on the back label, or approach in different ways - such as a link to your website where some detailed dishes and pairings may be fully explained.

A Sommelier inspecting the front label of a wine and turning the bottle around can feel that the food recommendations listed bear little relationship to the wine within. While it may appear helpful to offer suggestions to buyers selecting from retail shelf, if you’d like to see

60

your wine listed at a particular restaurant because you believe it will work well with the food programme there are better approaches.

“Acid, weight and intensity in both food and wine should always be considered because effective pairings are generally similar.”

So to begin: if your intention is to suggest a particular dish or food style with your wine, may I suggest you consider the following: Try to have an answer to the following questions about any of your wines: What is the acidity really – medium, medium+ or high; Is the wine’s weight or body light, medium or heavy; Is the intensity overall moderate, light or full throttle; Is there a low, medium or high degree of complexity; Is your wine better described as having a theme (cheerful, earthy, delicate, fragrant); Is there a noteworthy or extreme feature?

Acid, weight and intensity in both food and wine should always be considered because effective pairings are generally

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

similar. The more complex your wine, the more simple the food should be - and vice versa. If your wine has delicate attributes you want to emphasise please don’t kill these with powerfully flavoured food. Your wine is either going to Complement, Contrast or Match the dish, so if you wish to present suggestions for pairing your wine to the Sommelier, do so from this perspective.

Let’s take a brief look at Chardonnay - this wonderful variety has many interpretations and I’ll come back to it through the series; it is malleable in the winery (MLF, Sur Lie, Steel) and responds well to oak, new and old. Chablisien styles aside, Chardonnay is generally moderate+ to full-bodied in nature.

How I approach wine and food pairing is to pull aside the protein element and decide if it’s a major factor in the pairing.

If not, I focus on the seasoning, textures, sauces, and sometimes cooking method.

If your Chardonnay has a lot of obvious oak, look for menu items that have smoked food elements, or are charred in some way, sautéed in butter, or have a nut or nut-like ingredient. If the oak is moderate, use the weight of the wine with the weight of the food guideline – for example Crayfish and Monkfish are similarly weighted to a lot of Chardonnays.

If your wine is notably fruity,

look for menu items to contrast with this characteristic – such as savoury edged dishes like Paella or Sweetbreads with chanterelles.

Gamebirds actually have a stronger correlation with Chardonnay than commercially factory farmed poultry. The trick with the more commercial bird is to actually ignore the protein and focus on the seasoning and sauce elements.

New World Chardonnay can carry alcohol levels of 13.5% and higher and if your wine sits in this bracket don’t pair it with foods that have obvious spice elements. The high alcohol will enhance the effect of the spice and may destroy the mouth feel and flavour of the wine all together.

And of course, a menu item must be paired as a whole – remember that all components must be part of the dazzling match – it is rare to find a single wine to match every ingredient completely, so a harmony should be created between the perfectly matched component, and the other ingredients.

Cameron and the CEO of the Court of Master Sommeliers Worldwide, Brian K Julyan MS, will be offering the Levels 1 and 2 of the CMS Programme at Villa Maria Estate on Feb 1, 2 & 3. Please contact him at cameron@guildsomm.com for further information ■

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NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 61

NEW WINE

NEW ZEALAND ‘PROSECCO’?

JOELLE THOMSON

A

travesty or a genuine mistake? It was hard to know which was most accurate when a bottle of New Zealand ‘Prosecco’ was launched in August this year.

The wine is Toi Toi Prosecco.

One of its founders, Andrew Bonner, admits he had concerns about using the protected Italian name Prosecco but says one of their major retailers cited three other precedents of the name being used for wines which were made in and selling well in Australia.

“Our intention was not to be disrespectful to the Italians and we’re not claiming it to be anything other than what it is and we have been successful in replicating the style,” Bonner said of Toi Toi Prosecco; a blend of Riesling, Muller-Thurgau and Pinot Gris.

This name would be illegal in the European Union. Traditionally wine made from the Prosecco grape (from Friuli in northern Italy) was called Prosecco but this changed from 1 August 2009.

“Prosecco is no longer the name of the grape but now the name of the DOCG, which offers the sort of protection that would not have been afforded before.

It’s therefore sad that – just as the Italians have moved to protect more rigorously the identity of the wine – someone in the new world should yet again be jumping on the

62

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

coattails of Europe,” says Master of Wine Michael Palij.

The Italian wine importer, author and educator, who lives in the UK, adds that: “I thought the days of Australian Sherry, South African Port and Californian Chablis were long behind us.”

When the DOC was first obtained for the grape in 1969, the Prosecco grape was grown exclusively in the 15 communes lying between the small towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene.

Its cultivation spread, giving rise to the idea to protect the name ‘Prosecco’ from being used anywhere winemakers fancied cashing in on the name of a popular wine. Hence, the ‘new’ – well, actually the ‘old’ name - Glera, which is now the legal name for sparkling wine made using the Prosecco grape outside the DOCG and DOC areas.

Both the DOCG and DOC now fall under the new PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) EU wine labelling law; in place from 1 August 2009.

Since Prosecco qualifies as a PDO-designated wine, it must be made with grapes grown only in the geographical area defined within the new PDO classification.

New Zealand clearly doesn’t qualify, so a ‘Prosecco’ from these shores is an oxymoron.

If a New Zealand wine was

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made from the Prosecco grape, it would have to be named Glera, but Toi Toi ‘Prosecco’ is a blend of Riesling, MullerThurgau and Pinot Gris.

Toi Toi Wines’ co-owner Kevin Joyce said: “I thought Prosecco was a wine style, so we are describing our wine correctly. It’s certainly not a DOC, so not sure what the issue is.”

He is certainly not the first winemaker to see the potential in emulating Italian Prosecco.

Wineries in Brazil, Romania, Australia, China and India have all attempted to make Prosecco;

with one very big difference to the New Zealand attempt: they were at least using the Prosecco grape.

“New Zealand has an enviable reputation for quality and for one of the few genuine ‘terroir’ wines from south of the equator,” says Palij.

“I cannot understand why anyone would want to jeopardise this by blatantly plagiarising a European appellation. Surely there must be some esprit du corps amongst the winemakers from a Rugby World Cup-winning nation?” jthomson@xtra.co.nz ■

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NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 63

INTERWINE INDIA

INDIAN OPPORTUNITY REBECCA GIBB

I

ndia’s wine industry is thriving and its growing middle class is actively seeking new wines from around the world.

While France and Italy lead imports into India by value, there is an “emerging interest” in new world wines, with Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore spearheading wine consumption, according to the latest report from the US foreign agriculture service.

New Zealand wine imports into India in 2010 were estimated to be worth just US $260,000, showing

there are great growth opportunities in a country of more than 1.2 billion. In urban areas, the study continues, serving wine at dinner events is becoming increasingly common and consuming wine can be considered as a sign of status.

However, the cost and headache of importing wines into India can potentially be very high. The purpose of international wine showcase, InterWine India, is to relieve producers of this hassle and give them an opportunity to showcase their wines to the Indian wine trade.

To make importing your wines into India as simple and inexpensive as possible InterWine’s pricing structure is based on managing this importation process for you.

The price per case (£188/NZ$375) is inclusive of label registration, customs and excise duty, VAT, shipping and handling within India and local Octroi (tax) charges for your wines.

The tasting will take place over two days with guests from the on and off trade, import and distribution agencies, wine consultancies and trade publications including;

Sommelier India, FINE Wine & Champagne India, Ambrosia and FHRAI Magazine.

Organised by the same team behind the International Wine Challenge, the event takes place at the World Trade Centre, Mumbai, on February 1 & 2, 2012. Applications need to be received before December 15, 2011 to ensure wines are registered wth authorities in time for the event.

For more information and to request an entry pack, email IWC NZ ambassador Rebecca Gibb rebecca@rebeccagibb.com■

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INDUSTRY NEWS

HILL’S NEW LAB N

ew Zealand wine makers will have testing technology available next year which has the potential to help them make even better wines.

Rapid DNA identification testing is a tool that can help prevent and manage contamination of wine from unwanted microorganisms, as well as be used to produce better wine by detecting the desirable yeasts and bacteria in optimum quantities.

The Hill Laboratory testing offers a stepchange in both the speed and the level to which microorganisms can be detected in both juice and wine. The technology being used has been developed in the United States at the worldrenowned ETS wine lab in Napa Valley California. Hill Laboratories has secured the rights to use the patented genetic testing, which it has

adapted for New Zealand conditions.

Hills will be opening a new purpose built wine testing laboratory in Christchurch in the New Year to run the rapid DNA identification wine testing.

Oenologist Kirsten Creasy, who has wide international experience, will head the wine testing operation for Hills.

“This should be an incredibly exciting step forward for the wine industry. Tests that could have taken two weeks can now be produced in 48 hours. We are also able detect and test microorganisms at levels so small that they would be missed by conventional testing methods,” says Kirsten Creasy.

The accuracy and swiftness of the Rapid DNA identification testing will also help reduce the need for sterile filtration of wine.

PROVIDING REUSABLE, RETURNABLE SOLUTIONS FOR THE WINE INDUSTRY

“Because the testing can be so helpful at such critical stages in wine making, there is far less need for corrective processes such as sterile filtration. Wine makers are always searching for ways to lessen unnecessary invention in the creation of their wines to meet the demand for better wines that are naturally produced. There is no question that Rapid DNA identification assists enormously in this regard.”

Kirsten Creasy says the move to build a specialised wine-testing lab in Christchurch is a commitment by Hill Laboratories to the long-term future of the wine industry.

“Hill Laboratories is very excited about the prospect of bringing this scientific innovation to the wine industry by providing another tool for grape growers and winemakers in pursuit of winemaking excellence.” ■

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NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 67

REGIONS HAWKES BAY

HAWKES BAY HARVESTS REFLECTED IN WINE SHOW RESULTS MARY SHANAHAN

E

ntries in Hawkes Bay’s annual wine show demonstrated the region is making unique, quality wines, says senior judge Steve Flamsteed.

Staged in October, the Hawkes Bay A & P Mercedes-Benz Wine Awards celebrated 11 years with more than 350 entries and 33 gold, 58 silver and 121 bronze medals.

Flamsteed said: “As well as meeting quality criteria, the most important thing to me about these regional shows is that the wines demonstrate a sense of place – a Hawkes Bay-ness that is unique.

“The wines judged… especially the Chardonnay and Syrah (have for me) shown this in spades.”

Chairman of Judges Rod McDonald said the usual varietal strengths of Hawkes Bay had unquestionably shone through especially in wines from the 2009 and 2010 harvests. Entries from those vintages had scored many of the golds awarded in the Chardonnay, Syrah and Cabernet and Merlot blends classes.

Other styles that the judges rewarded with gold medals included Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Viognier and sweet wines.

“Such a diversity of varieties is a real and unique strength of Hawkes Bay winegrowing.”

An exhibitor tasting was held the day after judging finished.

68

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

“Wineries attending will have found the tasting of great benefit for benchmarking their entries against medal winners and vice versa,” said McDonald “Judges were also at the exhibitor tasting to provide feedback on all the entries, as well as to discuss wine styles and explain more about the desirable attributes of the awardwinning wines.”

Full results and trophies were celebrated at a glittering blacktie gala event held for more than 400 guests at Hastings’ Waikoko Gardens. westclan@clear.net.nz■

Champion Wine of Show Villa Maria Single Vineyard Keltern Chardonnay 2010.

CALENDAR DECEMBER

JANUARY

3

26 – 28

28 – 30

31 – Feb 4

New World Wine and Food Festival 2011

2012 Central Otago Pinot Noir Celebration

Auckland Seafood Festival

International Cool Climate Wine Symposium 2012

Hagley Park North, Christchurch. 5 wine villages, 50 wineries.

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Contact: Cameron Douglas, Cameron@ guildsommnz.org

3

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25

25

Mission Estate Concert

Sydney International Wine Competition Banquet Dinner and Trophies announced

Celebrating 20 years of music with performer Rod Stewart, Hawkes Bay

11

13 – 27

18 – 19

24 – 26

Marlborough Wine Festival

WSET Level 2 Certificate

Brancott Vineyard, Marlborough

Auckland. Details: www.nzsws.co.nz

Devonport Wine, Food and Music Festival

Royal Easter Show Wine Awards Judging

Windsor Reserve, Devonport, Auckland

Auckland

Sydney, NSW. Details: www.top100wines. com

MARCH 3

10

Waipara Valley wine and Food Festival

Dogpoint/Logan Brown Classic Kiwi Picnic

Mud House Winery and Café. Details: www.waiparawine. co.nz

Dogpoint Vineyard, Marlborough. Details: info@dogpoint.co.nz

17

24

Gibbston Harvest Festival

Royal Easter Show Wine Awards Dinner

Waitiri Creek Wines, Queenstown.

Auckland.

Mission Estate Concert: 25 February 2012

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 69

WHERE

EVENT

ATTENDANCE

AUDIENCE

USA

Pinot Days, Los Angeles

NZW

M, T, C

14 January

USA

Boston Wine Expo

W, A, NZW

M, T, C

21-22 January

UK & Ireland

Annual Trade and Consumer Tasting, London

W, A, NZW

M, T, C

30 January

UK & Ireland

Annual Trade and Consumer Tasting, Dublin

W, A, NZW

M,T,C

30 January

Australia

NZ in a Glass, East Coast

W, A, NZW

M, T, C

February 2012

USA

Interntional Alsace Varietal Festival, Anderson Valley (CA)

NZW

M, C

18-19 Feburary

Canada

NZ Wine Mini Salon, Montreal

W, A, NZW

M,T

Early February

USA

Washing DC International Wine & Food Festival

W, A, NZW

M, T, C

11-12 February

NZ

NZ Wine Seminar Programme, Blind Tasting

NZW

M, T, C

22 February

USA

New Release Tasting, Chicago

NZW

M, T

March

USA

New Release Tasting, Los Angeles

NZW

M,T

March

USA

New Release Tasting, Las Vegas

NZW

M, T

March

M,T,C

2-3 March

W=Winery A=Agent NZW=NZ Winegrowers

2029-08 Page Noir, 1 USA layout 9/5/08 10:51 WorldAM of Pinot California, Pismo Beach

M=Media T=Trade C=Consumer

NZW C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY CMY

EVENT DATE 2012

K

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STATISTICS

SUMMARY OF KEY INDICATORS

PRINCIPAL EXPORT MARKETS Exports up again

Following is a summary of key indicators at intervals:

1985

1990

1995

2000

2010

No. of Growers

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

1128

No. of Wineries

n/a

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

Tonnes crushed

78,000

70,265

74,500

80,100

266,000

Total production (m.L) 59.6

54.4

56.4

60.2

190.0

Domestic sales (m.L)

39.2

30.9

41.3

56.7

42.6

Per capita consumption: (litres NZ wines)

13.1

11.7

8.7

10.6

13.0

Export volume (m.L)

0.8

4.0

7.8

19.2

142

Exp. value (m.$NZ fob) 3.0

18.4

40.8

168.4

1041.0

*estimate of probable total scaled up from actual returns

MAJOR NZ VINEYARD AREAS Region (Actual)

2010 (Forecast)

2012 (from 2010)

% Change Area (2010)

% Total

Marlborough

19295

19570

+1.4%

57.7%

Hawkes Bay

4947

5046

+2.0%

14.8%

Gisborne

2083

2003

-3.9%

6.2%

Otago

1540

1543

+0.2%

4.6%

Canty/Waipara

1779

1828

+2.7%

5.3%

Wairarapa/Wgtn

871

885

+1.6%

2.6%

Nelson

842

880

+4.6%

2.5%

Auckland

550

573

+4.1%

1.6%

Waikato/BoP

147

147

National total

33428

33600

n.c.*

0.4%

+0.5%

100.0%

MAJOR VARIETIES IN MAJOR AREAS New Zealand’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 (Actual)

2010 (Forecast)

2012 (from 2009)

% Change Area (2011)

% Total

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

371

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%

Total

33428

33600

+0.5%

Figures for the period up to September 2011 show exports are up, prices however aren’t following.

Country/Years Litres(m)

Total NZ fob (m)

Ave $NZ/L

UNITED KINGDOM 2011 56.557 297.048 2010 49.011 286.749

5.25 5.85

U.S.A 2011 33.441 231.0787 2010 29.256 225.74

6.91 7.72

AUSTRALIA 2011 49.157 353.574 2010 46.303 323.030

7.19 7.17

CANADA 2011 5.533 61.059 2010 7.697 61.115

11.03 7.94

NETHERLANDS 2011 4.654 29.006 2010 2.946 21.949

6.23 7.45

DENMARK 2011 1.073 7.408 2010 1.020 6.264

6.90 6.14

IRELAND 2011 1.948 15.700 2010 2.069 17.374

8.06 8.40

JAPAN 2011 0.938 10.772 2010 0.777 9.964

11.48 12.82

GERMANY 2011 0.938 16.335 2010 0.610 4.963

6.75 8.13

CHINA 2011 1.771 20.673 2010 1.446 16.998

11.67 11.75

HONG KONG 2011 1.434 19.046 2010 1.037 13.226

13.28 12.75

SINGAPORE 2011 1.068 13.400 2010 1.158 13.222

12.55 11.42

FINLAND 2011 0.254 2.378 2010 0.241 2.193

9.33 9.08

NORWAY 2011 0.201 1.806 2010 0.074 0.698

8.94 9.38

SWEDEN 2011 1.425 11.693 2010 1.192 10.891

8.20 9.13

OTHERS 2011 3.322 31.334 2010 3.279 35.292

9.43 10.76

Total Exports 2011 163.721 1.112.317 2010 148.123 1.058.680

6.79 7.15

*(npr = not previously recorded separately) *n.c. = no change

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 71

RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT 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 members website: http://wineinf.nzwine.com/research.asp *Brackets indicate primary contact.

LIST OF PROJECTS A sex pheromone as a citrophilus mealybug monitoring tool (2011-12) Plant and Food Research (Jim Walker) Potassium nutrition of grapevines Plant and Food Research (Mike Trought) Early defoliation: carryover and hand versus mechanical Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) (Mark Krasnow) Residue profile in grapes leaves and sheep meat and offal from leaf plucking in vineyards Agrivet Services Ltd (Ben Vlaming)

Institute (SARDI) (Mark Sosnowski) The impact of harvest technologies on grape and wine components of importance for protein stability Lincoln University (Roland Harrison) Understanding the accumulation of fruit based green aromatic methoxypyrazine compounds in Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc grape berries Plant and Food Research (Jeff Bennett) Pilot sheep leaf plucking study Agrivet Services ltd (Gina deNicolo)

Managing Botrytis in New Zealand Viticulture Vino Vitis Ltd (Ruby Andrews)

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

New opportunities for sustainable grape thinning Plant and Food Research (Mike Trought) Supported by MAF Sustainable Farming Fund

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

Tendrils as a source of seasonal carryover of Botrytis cinerea in vineyards Plant and Food Research (Dion Mundy) Supported by MAF Sustainable Farming Fund Cryopreserved grapevine: a new way to maintain high-health germplasm and cultivar imports with less rigorous quarantine regulations Plant and Food Research (R Ranjith Pathirana) Improving management of grapevine trunk diseases in New Zealand South Australian Research & Development

72

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

Fruit yield management of Sauvignon Blanc: The use of Mechanical thinning Plant and Food Research (Mike Trought) Effect of early leaf removal on Botrytis incidence and grape/wine composition EIT (Mark Krasnow) The influence of canopy management and architecture of Sauvignon Blanc grapevines on fruit and vegetative development Plant and Food Research (Marc Greven)

Organic Focus Vineyard Project Organic Winegrowers New Zealand (Rebecca Reider) Supported by MAF Sustainable Farming Fund Unlocking New Zealand Pinot noir aroma through aroma reconstitution approach Auckland University (Paul Kilmartin) 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) Identification of metabolites in high-thiol grape juices Auckland UniServices Ltd (Silas Villas-Boas) 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) The Effect of Post-Harvest Defoliation on Carbon and Nitrogen Balance of High Yielding Sauvignon Blanc Vines Plant and Food Research (Marc Greven) New Zealand Winegrower Magazine Research Articles Various

PROGRESS REPORTS

Evaluating aroma impact compounds in New Zealand Pinot Noir wines Tanya Rutan, Mandy Herbst-Johnstone1, Benedicte Pineau2 and Paul A. Kilmartin1* Wine Science Programme, Department of Chemistry, The University of Auckland, 2Plant and Food Research.* p.kilmartin@auckland.ac.nz 1

10-103 Context – New Zealand Pinot Noir wines show a range of distinct aroma profiles.

Pinot Noir wines are well known to exhibit a range of subtle and elegant aroma profiles. This was seen in earlier surveys of the aroma profiles of over 100 commercial Pinot Noir wines analysed at the University of Auckland in 2007 to 2009, and in comparisons of research scale wines made from grapes sourced from vineyards in Martinborough, Marlborough and Central Otago over two seasons. Along with differences in levels of particular aroma compounds, the sensory profiles of these wines, using 18 Pinot Noir aroma descriptors, such as black cherry, plum, leather and dark chocolate, showed some interesting differences. Creating links between important aroma compounds and sensory profiles is important both to highlight the distinctive regional characters of New Zealand Pinot noir wines, and to provide targets for viticultural trials.

Recent research within laboratories in Spain and Germany has shown that many of the important aroma descriptors for red wines can be predicted from the wine’s chemical composition, and that the flavour profile can be closely mimicked by reconstituting the wine using the main odor-active compounds present.

At the same time the importance of the non-volatile matrix, including polyphenols and polysaccharides, on wine aroma has become very apparent. It has even been possible to take a set of aroma compounds typical of a white wine, and add these to a red wine matrix, and form a model that smells more of a red wine, and vice versa.

Moving in this direction we have begun to undertake a more detailed assessment of the important aroma compounds in a limited

N2 at 100 ml/min’; 200 min

LiChrolut EN trap

wine (80 ml)

we have found that certain families of aroma compounds, including the terpenes with floral descriptors, norisoprenoids that are floral and fruity, oak-derived compounds that add spicy, vanilla and clove notes, along with particular ethyl fruit esters, are of importance in these Pinot Noir wines. One draw-back with this method is that it ignores the contribution of the wider wine matrix and the influence of non-volatile compounds, but the procedure does give an important initial list of wine aroma compounds to work with.

Purge and Trap aroma analysis water (37˚C) Diagram of a purge and trap system.

number of Central Otago Pinot Noir wines. To undertake this more detailed study, new sensory methodologies are being applied involving Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis (AEDA), purge and trap aroma profiling, and the final target of aroma reconstitution studies. These methodologies will be described below along with an indication of the results obtained in the research programme over the past year.

Aroma extraction dilution analysis (AEDA) The AEDA approach to aroma profiling involves the human nose as the main instrument of detection. The aroma compounds are still separated out using a gas chromatograph, but the important test is whether a person can smell the compound coming off the instrument, using a special olfactory sniffer port.

As the wine is then progressively diluted many times over, the test becomes how far the wine can be diluted before the aroma compound is no longer detected. Using this approach

One of the most important matrix effects within wine comes from the ethanol present and the wine polyphenols, which can lower the volatility of certain aroma compounds by attracting and associating with the aroma compounds in the wine.

As a result, a fruity ester compound at the same concentration in a red and a white wine may appear at quite different levels as a volatile component of the headspace of a wine. To more adequately assess the headspace levels, it is preferable to directly sample the aromas above the wine, and determine how effectively they have “broken the wine buffer”.

Something very similar happens when the nose sniffs the wine headspace after swirling wine in a glass. However, it is more challenging analytically to isolate the aroma compounds from the headspace, than to remove the compounds at much higher concentrations from the wine itself.

The system we are applying for this purpose is known as the “purge and trap” system. This works by passing a gas through the wine sample and trapping the aroma compounds on a special absorbent resin at 37°C. The aroma volatiles are later eluted with dichloromethane

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 73

and concentrated under nitrogen before quantification using established methods.

Pinot Noir aroma reconstitution The final step in developing a model of the particular wine’s aroma profile is to use the concentration values obtained from the AEDA and purge and trap analyses as a guide for reconstitution sensory trials. In this approach we take several of the most important wine aroma compounds, or mixtures of aroma families, and recreate the aroma profile by adding these back into a partially deodorised wine.

Given the importance of the wine matrix to wine aroma, the wine solution we use is in fact a deodorised Pinot Noir wine, which contains the same ethanol and polyphenol components as the original wine, but has been largely stripped of its volatile constituents. A range of deodorisation approaches have been tested, and two were presented for sensory panel evaluations in May 2011. One approach used an Amberlite resin, which was added to two Pinot Noir wines

and then stirred for 2 hours. This deodorisation procedure resulted in a plastic off-odour which is undesirable for aroma reconstitution experiments. The evaporation of volatiles under vacuum has been proven to be more successful when reconstituting Pinot Noir.

However, some burnt characters can develop during the evaporation process and affect the reconstituted wine aroma negatively. Later this year, we will test out a further deodorisation procedure, involving an additional adsorbant polymer system.

Using the deodorised wine bases, we have been able to recreate a similar, but not identical, aroma profile to the original wine, as assessed by a trained sensory panel. However, even without a perfect replication, the methodology is enabling us to vary the concentrations and combinations of aroma compounds, and through assessment by the trained panel, determine the level of importance and the role played by individual aroma compounds. This role could be one of being a “major contribu-

tor” to the aroma profile of a given Pinot Noir wine, or to serve as an “enhancer” of the aroma impact made by further components, or alternatively several aroma compounds from the same family may exhibit an additive effect. Our results are indicating that the key odorants in Pinot Noir wines are most likely combinations of several aromatic families, as opposed to one group such as the terpenes that dominate in Riesling and Gewurztraminer wines, or the varietal thiols for Sauvignon Blanc, and peppery rotundone for Syrah. The outcome of these studies will also assist in defining aroma targets for further viticultural studies and surveys to differentiate Pinot Noir growing regions.

Acknowledgements This research is being undertaken under a contract with NZ Winegrowers (NZW 10-103).

The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Robin Dicey and Mt Difficulty Wines, Central Otago, for their support of the project and for supplying wines ■

Evaluating residue free botrytis control options Trevor Lupton, Lewis Wright Valuation & Consultancy Ltd Sean Lange, Tim Robinson, Agrivet Services Ltd, Havelock North 10-114 Grey mould (Botrytis cinerea) is a major disease of grape bunches in New Zealand, especially when warm, wet weather conditions prevail in the month prior to harvest.

Control of Botrytis with “conventional” fungicides is increasingly constrained by requirements for ultra low residues at harvest.

Botrytis fungicide residues are persistent and a common source of agrichemical residues in wine.

An alternative to conventional fungicides for Botrytis management involves the use of “soft” fungicides, biological control agents (BCA’s), elicitors and sanitisers. This approach offers Botrytis management, particularly after flowering or bunch closure, without residues in wines.

74

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

In a series of trials located in commercial vineyards in Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Marlborough prior to harvest 2010, three or four applications of soft fungicides or sanitisers were applied to grapevines previously sprayed by growers at flowering with standard Botrytis fungicides. One treatment involved a single application of Scala (pyrimethanil) applied in the month pre harvest to provide a comparison with a standard Botrytis fungicide with known good activity.

In these trials there was no statistically significant reduction in Botrytis or sour rot levels at harvest when three or four applications of a range of soft fungicides or a single application of Scala were applied between veraison and harvest under high or low disease pressure.

In the GrapeFutures project two similar trials were conducted in Gisborne and Hawkes Bay prior to harvest 2010. In these trials vineyard sprayers were used to apply three applications of Protector, Armour Zen or Serenade Max between veraison and harvest. These treatments were compared with a control untreated for Botrytis from veraison.

In Gisborne there was no significant difference with the untreated recording 5.1% crop loss and soft fungicide treatments ranging from 4.9% to 5.4%.

In Hawkes Bay the untreated had 0.52% crop loss and was statistically significantly different to the soft fungicide treatments which ranged from 0.09% to 0.21%.

These results are generally in line with pre-

Hawke’s Bay 2006 % Crop Loss Untreated

9.67%

Euparen multi/ Teldor/Switch

1.17%

Hawke’s Bay 2007

% Control

% Crop Loss

Gisborne 2007

% Control

% Crop Loss

0.42% 84 %

% Control

8.16%

0.09%

79%

91%

0.75%

Table 1: Summary of results from Hawkes Bay Trials (2006) and Hawkes Bay and Gisborne (2007)

vious studies soft fungicide studies in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne. These studies included the following treatments: An untreated control where no Botrytis fungicides were applied between flowering and harvest a treatment of Euparen multi (tolylfluanid) at early flowering, Teldor (fenhexamid) late flowering and Switch (cyprodinil/fludioxonil) at pre bunch closure with no further Botrytis fungicide treatments to harvest.

A range of treatments involving standard

Product

Botrytis fungicides (as above) from flowering to pre bunch closure, then either soft fungicides or captan.

The treatment involving Botrytis fungicides from flowering to pre bunch closure then untreated for Botrytis to harvest treatment provided 79 to 91% control of Botrytis at harvest under moderate to low Botrytis pressure (table 1).

In treatments where additional applications of captan or soft fungicide were made between bunch closure and pre harvest there

Active Ingredient

1.Untreated

was no statistically significant reduction in Botrytis crop loss.

The 79–91% control achieved with flowering to pre-bunch closure applications indicates the focus of Botrytis control should be in optimising flowering to pre bunch closure fungicide applications and canopy management of Botrytis.

A recommendation based on these studies was that to identify the relative efficacy of soft fungicides and sanitisers for the control of Botrytis applications should commence in

Product Rate Per Hectare

–

No. of Applications

–

–

2.Switch

Cyprodinil + Fludioxinil

0.8 kg

2:flowering & pre bunch closure

3.Switch

Cyprodinil + Fludioxinil

0.8 kg

2:early and late veraison

4.Sentinel + Biosea Horticultural Oil

Trichoderma atroviride

200g + 3 litres

8

5.Tri D25

Trichoderma koningii & T. harzianum

1.0kg

8

6.Clarity

Bacillus subtilis

530g (265 g*)

8

7.Serenade Max

Bacillus subtilis

4.0kg (2.5 kg*)

8

8.Triple X

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens

2.5

8

9.Protector hml

Fatty acids of potassium salts

10 litres

8

10.Botry-Zen followed by Armour Zen

Ulocladium oudemansii /Chitosan

4.0 kg and 5.0 litres

4 and 4

11.Switch / PMS

Potassium metabisulphate

5.0kg

1 and 6

12.Switch / Teracep + Hydracep

Peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide

4.0 litres and 1.0 litres

1 and 6

13.Switch / Nylate Gel

Bromo-chloro-dimethyl hydantoin

0.25 litres

1 and 6

14.Switch / Southwell AC

Chlorine dioxide

2.5 litres

1 and 6

Table 2: Summary of Products, application rate per hectare and number of applications

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 75

Treatment

Rate per Hectare

Marlborough 15 Mar 11

1.Untreated Control

Hawkes Bay 30 Mar 11

17 Mar 11

Gisborne

28 Mar 11

6 Mar 11

30 Mar 11

0.32

a

1.60

a

8.64

ns

36.51

ns

4.0

ns

20.7

ns

0.8 kg

0.02

bc

0.17

bcd

4.61

ns

26.57

ns

2.6

ns

15.6

ns

3. Switch Early & Late 0.8 kg Veraison

0.01

c

0.04

d

3.91

ns

16.79

ns

2.3

ns

16.9

ns

4. Sentinel + Biosea Hort. Oil 200 g+3.0 L

0.03

bc

0.23

bcd

8.18

ns

31.65

ns

2.5

ns

16.0

ns

5. Tri D25

1.0 kg

0.06

bc

0.19

bcd

8.72

ns

36.69

ns

3.6

ns

18.0

ns

6. Clarity

0.25 kg

0.03

bc

0.36

b

9.51

ns

31.04

ns

3.6

ns

19.7

ns

7. Serenade Max

2.5 kg

0.07

bc

0.32

bc

5.38

ns

23.09

ns

3.1

ns

17.1

ns

8. Triple X

2.5 L

0.11

b

0.35

bc

6.60

ns

28.10

ns

3.9

ns

21.3

ns

9. Protector

10 L

0.04

bc

0.16

bcd

11.68

ns

32.16

ns

3.4

ns

18.9

ns

10. Botry Zen / Armour Zen

4.0 kg & 5.0 L

0.04

bc

0.17

bcd

7.41

ns

30.88

ns

3.2

ns

14.3

ns

11. Switch/PMS

5.0 kg

0.04

bc

0.12

bcd

7.06

ns

30.12

ns

3.0

ns

18.0

ns

12. Switch/Teracep

4.0 L

0.03

bc

0.20

bcd

7.25

ns

28.62

ns

3.7

ns

20.6

ns

13. Switch/Nylate

0.25 L

0.01

c

0.23

bcd

7.44

ns

29.64

ns

3.2

ns

18.1

ns

14. Switch/ Southwell AC

2.5 L

0.02

bc

0.10

cd

7.27

ns

27.43

ns

3.3

ns

19.8

ns

2. Switch Flowering & PBC

F Probability

<0.005

<0.05

0.172

0.287

0.255

0.618

0.10

0.25

4.71

13.00

10.83

6.42

LSD 5 %

Table 3: Summary of results – Crop loss due to Botrytis, Marlborough, Hawkes Bay and Gisborne Harvest 2011

the flowering to bunch closure period and continue with applications through to pre harvest.

2010-11 Study In 2010-11 NZ Winegrowers commissioned study with the objective of determining the relative efficacy of seven alternative soft Botryticides and four sanitisers with use patterns from flowering to pre-harvest This study adopted the recommended approach with soft fungicide applications being made from early flowering to pre harvest.

Switch applied late flowering and at pre bunch closure (treatment 2) is similar to current grower standard Botrytis programmes targeting residue free wines.

Sanitiser applications (treatments 11 to 14) had a single Switch application late flowering followed by 6 applications of the trial products Sanitiser products mode of action involves contact eradicant activity with no residual protectant effects. This may not have provided sufficient control through the flowering period.

In Hawkes Bay and Marlborough Clarity

76

// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

was applied at 530g/ha for applications 1-4, then at 265 g/ha, Serenade Max was applied at 4.0 kg/ha for applications 1-4 then at 2.5 kg/ ha. In Gisborne the higher rate was used for all applications.

Sulphur was used for powdery mildew control to avoid possible antagonistic effects between biocontrol agents and other powdery mildew products.

The trials were conducted on chardonnay located in commercial vineyards in Marlborough, Hawkes Bay and Gisborne.

Results and discussion The Southern Oscillation Index was positive with La Nina conditions prevailing during summer 2010-11. This resulted in above average rainfall in Gisborne and Hawkes Bay in March.

In these regions three severe infection periods occurred during March with rapid Botrytis development in the pre harvest period in the second half of March. This compares with a single severe infection period following 2mm

of rain in Marlborough.

The level of Botrytis infection was assessed on 50-100 bunches per plot (300-600 per treatment) with the number of infected bunches (incidence) and the area of Botrytis infection of each bunch (severity) being recorded. Percentage Botrytis crop loss was calculated from incidence and severity scores. % crop loss = % incidence x % severity.

Where Botrytis crop loss exceeds 5% wineries may impose price deductions for excessive rot.

Only in the Marlborough study with low Botrytis pressure were statistically significant differences in Botrytis crop loss between the untreated and soft fungicide treatments demonstrated. At harvest the untreated (from flowering to pre harvest) recorded 1.6% crop loss. The commercial importance of this result is unclear as the level of Botrytis is considerably below the 5% level at which wineries may impose rot penalties.

In Gisborne Botrytis crop loss in the

untreated had reached 4.0% on 6 March and in Hawkes Bay 8.8% on 17 March. There were no significant differences between untreated and any fungicide treatments in Gisborne and Hawkes Bay. This includes the two applications of Switch applied late flowering and pre bunch closure.

Further rainfall in the second half of March resulted in 21% crop loss in the untreated on 30 March in Gisborne. In Hawkes Bay 44% crop loss was recorded in the untreated on 28 March.

There were no significant differences between treatments.

Key conclusions from these trials are: In Marlborough where Botrytis pressure resulted in 1.6% crop loss in the untreated, 8 applications of soft fungicides, a single Switch at flowering followed by 6 applications of sanitisers, and applications of Switch applied either at flowering and pre bunch closure, or early and late veraison all resulted in a significant reduction in crop loss to Botrytis compared with the untreated control.

Crop loss in the treatments ranged from

0.04% to 0.36%. The commercial significance of this result is unclear as wineries are unlikely to penalise a grower unless Botrytis levels exceed 5% crop loss.

In Gisborne and Hawkes Bay higher rainfall and three severe infection periods occurred during March. Where the same treatments as Marlborough were applied under higher disease pressure, no statistically significant reduction in Botrytis crop loss was recorded prior to or at harvest.

Switch applied late flowering and at pre bunch closure (treatment 2) is similar to current grower standard Botrytis programmes targeting residue free wines. These results indicate that under conditions favouring Botrytis in the pre harvest window the grower standard programme may not provide a commercially acceptable level of control.

Full reports of these studies may be found on the NZ Winegrowers website nzwine.com.

During the course of this study several growers and winemakers have commented that they saw a positive result from applications of

soft fungicides or sanitisers. Unfortunately these observations could not be verified as no untreated area was left for comparison.

NZ Winegrowers intends to provide guidelines to enable industry participants to undertake their own assessments of residue free Botrytis control options. It is important that a simple trial design appropriate for a commercial vineyard is used including comparison with an untreated or grower standard programme to provide results which may be statistically analysed.

Acknowledgements This study was funded by NZ Winegrowers The authors wish to acknowledge the owners and management of Whitmore Vineyard, Babich Estate and Oyster Bay Vineyard for provision and maintenance the of trial sites.

Products for trialling and technical support were provided by the New Zealand owners or distributors.

Rainfall and Broome Botrytis Infection data was kindly supplied by HortPlus Ltd ■

New opportunities for sustainable grape thinning

by Mike Trought, Dion Mundy, Sue Neal, Mark Allen, Dominic Pecchenino and Anne Gunson 11-101 A new three-year commercial-scale project with great potential has just been funded by New Zealand Winegrowers and supported by MAF Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF), to expand upon some promising initial trials, exploring the benefits of mechanical thinning of grapes after fruit set.

Year-to-year variability in yield creates logistical issues throughout the supply chain, adding unwanted production costs and reducing returns. The increasing importance of achieving supply/demand balance, combined with this seasonal yield variation, adds extra thinning costs, in excess of $700/ha, but necessary to avoid possible penalties for overproduction. Growers currently use a range of thinning

techniques, without fully understanding the vines’ growth responses and/or the possible effects on wine quality.

Important, but as yet preliminary research in Marlborough on Sauvignon Blanc, funded

by New Zealand Winegrowers, showed that machine thinning can be a cost-effective tool to reduce yields.

Mechanical thinning may also reduce the risk of botrytis bunch rot. New Zealand’s key export wine markets, such as large UK supermarkets, increasingly place tighter restrictions on the use of agrichemicals.

Mechanical thinning could add a mid-season alternative to the currently available bunch rot controls, which are by necessity focused on

early-season actions, to avoid chemical residues in the wine.

Mechanical thinning thus has the potential for both considerable labour and disease loss cost savings.

Removing just one spray application during the growing season could save approximately $5.5 million per annum, as well as delaying resistance to agrichemicals, and thus extending their useful lifespan.

One of the advantages is that no new equipment is needed. Existing expensive machine harvesters, otherwise then idle, can be used for thinning. This will also reduce reliance on overseas labour. Before we roll out this tool to industry, we first need to ask: What

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 77

are the effects of the timing of thinning, the type and set up of the machines used, and the responses of different grape varieties? Are the wine’s quality, ageing, or sensory properties influenced by the thinning treatment?

What mechanisms provide the reduced disease observed in the initial trials?

This new research project, using four Marlborough and two Hawke’s Bay vineyards, will provide the answers.

Acknowledgements: This programme is funded by New Zealand Winegrowers and the MAF Sustainable Farming Fund. The support of Matador Estate and New Zealand Winegrowers in developing this research over the past three years is gratefully acknowledged. ■

Tendrils as a source of seasonal carryover of Botrytis Cinerea in vineyards Dion Mundy, Plant & Food Research, Marlborough 11-103 Botrytis bunch rot costs the New Zealand wine industry considerable amounts of money every season, in both direct crop loss (up to $5000/ ha)1 and control costs (at least $1500/ha)1. One important step in the cultural control of botrytis is the reduction of carryover of the pathogen from one season to the next. The prevention of overwintering carryover has traditionally been achieved by removing possible sources of inoculum such as canes, rachis and tendrils during pruning. The prunings are commonly mulched on the soil surface in the inter-row,

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// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

where they break down during the next season.

Some growers have taken this one step further by composting the mulched prunings to ensure they don’t provide a reservoir of inoculum in the vineyard.

Following infection, Botrytis cinerea kills the tissue surrounding the infection site (to produce disease symptoms), and then grows as a saprophyte on dead tissues. Saprophytic growth allows this fungus to survive for extended periods on dead grape tissues, and to produce large numbers of spores when suit-

able weather conditions occur. Reducing the amount of plant material that supports this growth is therefore a key step in the cultural control of botrytis bunch rot. The relative importance of different tissues as reservoirs for inoculum production in vineyards is not yet fully understood.

In July 2011 New Zealand Winegrowers initiated a project, co-funded by the MAF Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF), to investigate two hypotheses: That the potential spore production on ten-

drils is consistent in different vineyards across two regions (Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay) That the weathering of tendrils and exposure to a standard flowering spray programme does not change the potential spore production between pre-flowering and bunch closure.

The main outcome of this project will be

a recommendation on the benefits of tendril removal during pruning in terms of reducing disease risk in the vineyard. We will also be reviewing all historical research in New Zealand on sources of Botrytis spores in the vineyard. We should have recommendations available by June 2013, which we will highlight in articles and fact sheets. If tendrils do not

support significant Botrytis spore production and their removal is considered unnecessary, the industry could save between $2.5 million to $5 million p.a. in labour costs.

1 Estimates given by Tony Hoksbergen – Viticulture Horizons Ltd at the June 2010 Grape Day Seminar – Impact of Botrytis Cinerea on Vineyard returns and Wine Quality.■

Can mechanical thinning be used to control Botrytis bunch rot in grapes?

Dion Mundy, Sue Neal, Andrew McLachlan, Mike Trought, Anne Gunson 10-106 Botrytis bunch rot is the main seasonal disease risk for grapes grown in New Zealand. Control of botrytis can result in residues in wine if fungicides are used late in the season. New Zealand wines need to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of major buyers in important markets (e.g. UK supermarkets), which make residues in wines unacceptable. Therefore the industry needs effective and economically viable methods of disease control that do not leave residues.

An increase in disease risk was one of the concerns raised by growers when mechanical thinning of grapes was suggested as a yield management option. We report here on progress of disease-related aspects of the New Zealand Winegrowers fruit yield management project.

Our trials conducted in the past three years have demonstrated that mechanical thinning using a modified Nairn 1230S machine harvester, shortly after fruit set, resulted in the same, or lower, botrytis incidence and severity scores as those found in unthinned or hand-thinned vines. If we are to take maximum advantage of the potential of mechanical thinning for disease control, then the mechanism(s) responsible for the observed disease control need to be understood. In 201011, we investigated possible mechanisms that may have influenced disease expression.

Three aspects have been suggested that may explain the observed reduction in disease following mechanical bunch thinning. These are bunch openness, berry susceptibility to infection, and the percentage of bunch trash

retained in the bunch.

1. The mechanical thinning may change the bunch structure by removing some berries, resulting in a more open bunch with lower disease risk.

2. During mechanical thinning, wounding may result in changes to the berries, such as induced resistance or increased skin thickness. Those berries may be less susceptible to infection.

3. The mechanical thinning action may remove trash from the bunches, resulting in a reduction in trash colonised by Botrytis cinerea retained in the bunch, which can be a source of disease.

water displacement.

Individual surface-sterilised and densityseparated berries were selected to see if the thinning treatment changed the berry resistance to infection by B. cinerea. We compared non-wounded berries with berries deliberately wounded at the time of inoculation, and used different inoculation combinations to infect the berries and assay berry susceptibility. In total, we assessed 4800 berries.

Disease was assessed in the field for vines from all four thinning treatments. At harvest, 15 bunches from each side of each of the six replicate plots were scored for incidence and severity of botrytis bunch rot.

What we found What we did In this third year of our trial, we carried out a series of additional laboratory-based assessments of disease. These were related to at-harvest field disease assessments.

The ongoing field trials have compared four different thinning methods – hand thinning, light and heavy machine thinning, and an unthinned control. Incidence of bunch rot at harvest was collected for all treatments. Laboratory assessments were made on berries from only the heavily mechanically thinned and the unthinned vines.

We collected samples to determine the trash content and percentage of trash infected with B. cinerea. Bunch openness was measured by weighing bunches, and measuring the length and diameter. These measurements were used to calculate bunch volume, which was compared with the actual volume measured by

Bunch weight and bunch volume were significantly lower on bunches from heavily thinned vines, reflecting reductions in both berry size and numbers per bunch. Berry susceptibility was significantly lower in unwounded berries from heavily machinethinned vines than in the unthinned control berries (Table 1). However, the susceptibility of berries to botrytis was similar when they were damaged at the time of inoculation.

The percentage of trash with B. cinerea per bunch was not significantly different between thinned and unthinned bunches, indicating uniform colonisation of the trash in all bunches. However, the amount of trash per bunch, (including of trash with B. cinerea) was significantly lower in bunches from the heavily machine-thinned vines than in the unthinned control bunches (Table 2). The field incidence

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 79

of botrytis bunch rot at harvest was lower in bunches that had been mechanically thinned than in the unthinned control (Table 3).

Discussion Our investigations have provided some insight into possible mechanisms leading to reduced disease incidence and severity where vines have been mechanically thinned.

Mechanical thinning may be having multiple effects on the bunches, and these may combine to result in less disease.

The laboratory berry bioassays indicated that unwounded berries from bunches that had been heavily mechanically thinned were less susceptible to B. cinerea infection than those from unthinned bunches. When berries from the same bunches were wounded and then inoculated, there was no difference in disease. The results suggest that differences in the skin or outer layer of the berry may be responsible for the reduced susceptibility of berries on the mechanically thinned bunches.

Total amounts of trash (and hence the amounts infected with B. cinerea) per bunch were significantly lower in bunches from heavily mechanically thinned vines than bunches from unthinned control vines. These differences may indicate that a further effect of mechanical thinning is to reduce Botrytis inoculum in the bunch. Additional studies will be required to determine role that colonised trash has on disease incidence and severity at harvest. At the start of this project, we considered that mechanical thinning might result in more disease because of colonisation of additional bunch trash generated during thinning. The lack of significant differences in the amounts of trash per bunch and the percentages of infected trash between treatments indicates that this was not the case during this 2010-11season.

While in the past, either field incidence (2009) or severity of botrytis at harvest (2010) has been lower in mechanically thinned vines, in this 2010-11 season both incidence and Table 1. Mean percentage of grape berries that had botrytis bunch rot present after the vines received a thinning treatment and the detached berries received a combination of wounding and Botrytis cinerea inoculation treatments in the laboratory.

Values with the same letter are not significantly different (>0.05).

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// NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012

Photographs show the contrast between a heavily machine thinned bunch and an unthinned control bunch.

Thinning

Inoculation No

Yes

Wounding

botrytis (%)

botrytis (%)

Unthinned control

No

1.1a

91.1c

Unthinned control

Yes

1.5a

94.5c

Heavy machine thinned

No

2.6a

74.9b

Heavy machine thinned

Yes

1.8a

94.8c

1.7

90.8

Overall

Thinning method

Trash (pieces/ bunch)

Trash with Botrytis cinerea (pieces/bunch)

B. cinerea (% of trash)

unthinned control

34.5

6.2

18.2

heavy machine

20.6

3.1

15.2

P-value

0.019

0.025

0.24

Thinning

Incidence

Severity

unthinned control

43.3b

2.8c

light machine

28.3a

1.2ab

heavy machine

23.9a

0.8a

hand

45.6b

2.4bc

P-value

<0.001

0.009

severity were reduced. This season also had the highest incidence and severity of botrytis of all three seasons. This provides strong evidence that the mechanical thinning can reduce at-harvest disease incidence and severity.

We have so far investigated a single site with

a single type of mechanical harvester. Through a new, three-year, commercial-scale MAF Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) and New Zealand Winegrowers project just confirmed, further trials are planned to investigate the influence of mechanical thinning on a range of varieties and

Table 2. Effect of method of thinning on amount of grapevine bunch trash present.

Values are means (and 95% confidence interval). P-values are from Student t-tests performed on the means of 25 bunches from each of n=6 replicates.

Table 3. Effect of method of grapevine bunch thinning on incidence and severity of botrytis bunch rot. Values are mean % of bunches infected (95% confidence interval). P-values are from analysis using a binomial generalised linear model.

Values within a column with the same letter are not significantly different (>0.05).

in areas of historically greater disease pressure.

Results to date suggest that mechanical thinning may provide a useful tool not only for management of crop yield but also for reducing risk of botrytis bunch rot.■

Sex pheromones as a mealybug monitoring tool Vaughn Bell and Jim Walker - The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Havelock North 10-108 Introduction In New Zealand, two mealybug species are commonly found in vineyards: the longtailed and citrophilus mealybugs. After feeding on infected vines, both species can transmit the economically important Grapevine Leafrollassociated Virus 3 (leafroll virus) to healthy vines.

In recent years, identification of the sex pheromone for both species raised the possibility of this technology one day increasing the efficiency and ease with which mealybugs can be monitored in the vineyard. Indeed, it is hoped that pheromones might in future assist growers with

decisions around the need for, and possibly the timing of, insecticides for mealybug control to minimise the risk of mealybug activity and virus transmission in late summer. However, before this point can be reached, it is important that mealybug catches from pheromone-baited traps can be reliably interpreted and the knowledge applied in such a way as to optimise outcomes for mealybug and leafroll virus control. In this study, we wanted to explore the potential for early season pheromone trap catches of male mealybugs to offer a means of predicting with some confidence the extent of vine infestations at harvest.

The logic underpinning the use of mealy-

bug pheromones is as follows: upon reaching sexual maturity, adult female mealybugs call for a mate by releasing a sex pheromone that attracts winged males of the same species. By replicating in the laboratory these naturally occurring compounds, pheromones can be exploited to enable the detection and sampling of mealybugs. Mealybug sex pheromones are therefore highly efficient and sensitive monitoring systems, with the potential one day to complement the growers’ need to make informed decisions on vector control in leafroll virus-affected vineyards.

The aims of this research were: To develop protocols for effective and effi-

NZ WINEGROWER DEC 2011/JAN 2012 // 81

cient monitoring of mealybugs using synthetic sex pheromones To provide decision support tools for mealybug management.

This article summarises the results of mealybug pheromone research undertaken

by Plant & Food Research in Hawke’s Bay during 2010-11. A copy of the full report titled “Sex pheromones as a mealybug monitoring tool, 2010-11”, is available on the New Zealand Winegrowers members’ only website (www.nzwine. com/)Basic methods For the longtailed and citrophilus mealybugs, we deployed red pheromone-baited delta traps in 20 blocks in August 2010 and they remained in situ until April 2011. In each block, two traps per species were positioned to hang below the cordon. White sticky bases were replaced at 14-day intervals; the old bases were returned to the laboratory to count male mealybugs.

In each block, the mealybug population in the vine canopy was assessed in March 2011.

Vine leaves were collected from around the cordon (n=200 leaves per block), returned to the laboratory and inspected under magnification to record mealybug species and the number of mealybugs per leaf.

We assessed the relationship between early season (first generation) pheromone trap catches of males and mealybug vine infestations at harvest.

The first generation was defined as those males caught from the time of trap deployment to 4 October (c. 50 days). We also looked at the relationship between the third generation male trap catches and mealybug vine infestations at harvest, with the third generation defined as the period between 30 December and 21 April, the last day of trapping in most blocks (c. 110 days).

Citrophilus mealybug – results and discussion From blocks dominated by the citrophilus mealybug, we found only weak or nonexistent relationships between daily male trap catch in the first or third generations and vine leaf assessments at harvest. This result suggested that early season pheromone trapping of males was not a reliable predictor of the extent of mealybug vine infestations at harvest.

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The results were likely to have been confounded by several factors. Firstly, males responding to the pheromone-baited traps probably originated from patchily distributed hot-spots, which because of their small size, may not have been encountered during leaf collections. Secondly, males may have come from beyond the leaf assessment area such as nearby adjacent blocks or possibly neighbouring vineyards. Finally, and perhaps of greatest importance, was the response of males that may have been associated with mealybug activity on groundcover weed species, which we did not monitor.

In one of the two organic blocks in this study, late season leaf assessments resulted in just one mealybug being found, whereas in the same block, season-long trapping resulted in the capture of about 1,500 males. Upon inspecting several broadleaf weed species at harvest, we identified a large number of citrophilus mealybugs on the roots and shoots of many of the sampled weeds. The disconnection between an apparently abundant mealybug population on weeds and their virtual absence from the vine canopy suggests off-vine and probably non-viruliferous mealybug populations may pose only a limited threat to the management of leafroll virus.

Instead of being able to use pheromones as a predictive tool, this result suggests the influence of weed species supporting mealybug populations could affect our ability to interpret trap catches reliably.

In order to better understand the dynamics between the citrophilus mealybug, the synthetic pheromone, grapevines and ground cover weeds, New Zealand Winegrowers have contracted Plant & Food Research to undertake further research in 2011-12. We aim to answer the following questions: What influence do understorey weeds have on the interpretation of pheromone-baited trap counts?

Does pheromone trap catch performance alter with management practices adopted in organic versus conventionally managed vineyards? (e.g. cultivation, herbicides, weed species diversity) Does mealybug habitat exploitation exhibit any variation in time or space and if so, does population distribution differ in organic and conventional management systems?

Longtailed mealybugs – results and discussion In four blocks, the longtailed mealybug was the only species encountered. Harvest leaf assessments revealed high numbers (range: 2.8 to 26.9 mealybugs per leaf) but, in contrast, season-long pheromone trap catches were low (range: 36-400 mealybugs; ≤6 males per trap per day).

These results highlighted a disconnection between high vine canopy populations and low male trap catches and hence probable limitations with using this pheromone in New Zealand.

The longtailed mealybug pheromone used in this study was supplied to us by Professor Jocelyn Millar, University of California Riverside, who identified it in 2009.

Discussions with Professor Millar identified several issues: this pheromone is highly attractive to longtailed mealybug populations in the US and Chile; there may be either different pheromone races for the longtailed mealybug, or what is perhaps more likely, is that what we commonly refer to as longtailed mealybug is actually a complex of closely related species, meaning there are almost certainly one or more additional cryptic species around the world all identified as longtailed mealybug.

If the latter theory is correct, then the only solution is to identify the pheromone for the species (or race?) found in New Zealand.

A longtailed mealybug colony sourced from Hawke’s Bay was recently established at Plant & Food Research in Lincoln.

Over the next 12 months, scientists will work to identify the chemical structure of the species (or race) found in New Zealand, but until such time as the structure of this pheromone is confirmed, no further testing with the US-derived compound is anticipated.

Acknowledgements We thank New Zealand Winegrowers for their financial support for this study. We also greatly appreciate the cooperation of the many managers and staff from the Hawke’s Bay study blocks that participated in this research programme.

We appreciate the insights offered by Professor Jocelyn Millar (UC Riverside) together with technical assistance provided by Rena Mehrtens-Borell (FruitFed Supplies) ■

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