Winepress - December 2014

Issue No. 243 / December 2014

Impressions Count

Lifetime Achievement

Be Media Savvy

Index for 2014

Photo: Jim Tannock

@marlboroughwine

The Official Magazine of

www.wine-marlborough.co.nz

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In this issue...

Regulars

Features

3

12 Become Media Savvy

Editorial

Tasman Crop Met Report

8 31

Top Tweets

p17

14 Lifetime Achievement Award

32

Export News

33

Wine Happenings

News From Home and Away

35

At some stage you or someone in your business is likely to be asked by the media for a comment regarding the wine industry. Expert Kevin Ramshaw says you need to be prepared if you want to ensure you get the “right” message across.

20 Scholarship Winner Announced

Editor: Tessa Nicholson 16 Bank Street Blenheim 7201 T: 021 709 571 E: tessa.nicholson@me.com

Emma Clark from the UK will spend two months in Marlborough next year, having won the Wine Marlborough NZ-UK Link Foundation wine scholarship. This 33-year-old is already in love with our wine – and is keen to find out more about the terroir and people.

p23

24 Health and Safety – New Act, New Attitude

Printed by: Blenheim Print Ltd. T: 03 578 1322 WINEPRESS is printed with vegetable oil based inks on elemental chlorine free paper which is sourced 100% from well managed forrests and manufactured under ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems.

At the recent Marlborough Wine Show dinner, Wine Marlborough presented the Lifetime Achievement award to Ivan Sutherland. After 35 years in the business, many of those representing growers at a board level, he was a deserving winner.

HR expert Paddy Battersby explains how the new Health and Safety Act, coming into law next year, is going to bring sweeping changes. Everyone involved in employing workers, needs to be aware of what those changes mean.

p32

WINEPRESS December 2014

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WINEPRESS December 2014

Ph: 03 577 9299 Web: www.wine-marlborough.co.nz marcus@wine-marlborough.co.nz For Advertising contact: Emily Hope Ph: 03 577 9299 emily@wine-marlborough.co.nz Produced by: Wine Marlborough Free to all levy paying members Associate Members: $77 +GST Wine Marlborough Board Clive Jones: cjones@nautilusestate.com Ruud Maasdam: ruud@staetelandt.co.nz Guy Lissaman: glissaman@xtra.co.nz Laurin Gane: laurin.gane@xtra.co.nz Simon Clark: simon@clarkestate.com Simon Bishell: simonbishell@outlook.com Stuart Dudley: stuartd@villamaria.co.nz Samantha Wickham: samantha@ormondnurseries.co.nz Jason Yank: jason@astrolabewines.com Rhyan Wardman: rhyan.wardman@indevin.com Jack Glover: jack.glover@accolade-wines.co.nz

From the Editor A Time Of Goodwill The wine industry often comes in for criticism. There are some within the community who view it as a major corporate, looking after itself, rather than caring about those that work within it. There have over the years been negative comments about all aspects, from the removing of trees to clear land for vines, to frost fans and helicopters keeping neighbouring families awake, from the noise issues during vintage to contractors taking advantage of workers, from poor living conditions for overseas workers to mono culturism strangling the region.

You name it, the wine industry has copped it one way or another. Some of these criticisms are valid, I can’t deny it, but very seldom does the industry receive a bouquet.

So when I received a Letter to the Editor from Yvonne Dasler, regarding the goodwill that many industry members have provided to John’s Kitchen, it was like a breath of fresh air.

As Yvonne points out, places like John’s Kitchen are a necessity in this day and age, much as we all would prefer they weren’t. And while their need is an integral part of modern day society, so too is the goodwill that comes from individuals and companies. From the pool of 200 volunteers that help out, to the hundreds of donations that are made each year, John’s Kitchen is surviving only because of the generosity of others.

What makes that generosity even more special is that no one seems to want anything in return. The donation of goods, time or money, is not weighted with the requirement of publicity. Instead it is provided more often than not, under the radar. Which makes it difficult for me as an Editor to single individuals, or companies out. But I thank Yvonne for her positivity and well written thanks to the industry overall.

Hopefully, there will be even more goodwill shared after her letter has been read.

With 2014 almost over, I am pleased to include Winepress’s very first Index! This year I have had numerous requests for a rundown on what stories the magazine has carried over the previous 12 months. I have taken note, and on the back page of this issue, we have the story titles, the month the story appeared and what page number it was on. Hopefully this will make it much easier for you if you are looking for a specific article. But if you don’t have the relevant magazine, feel free to email me for a copy of the story.

So on that note, I will sign off for the last time this year. I hope that the next few months are smooth sailing for all in the industry, that the weather comes to the Christmas party with conditions ideal for flowering and that there are no nasty surprises in mother nature’s bag of tricks.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and I look forward to catching up again in February 2015.

TESSA NICHOLSON tessa.nicholson@me.com WINEPRESS December 2014

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Letter To The Editor Thanks For The Christmas Cheer When Pernod Ricard decides not to send Christmas cards to its clients, it passes on the savings to John’s Kitchen.

When Constellation Wines adopt a Nourishing Neighbours initiative they supply paint and staff to give the Crossroads drop-in centre a brighter exterior, then the staff have a whip around and arrive with six cases of food for John’s Kitchen.

Dog Point Winery drops in a truckload of potatoes to feed needy families on the Urban Harvest programme.

St Clair provides wine as a “thank you” gift to the 200 volunteers.

Yealands regularly donates eggs.

Each fortnight contractor BK Horticulture drops in food to feed families at the weekly dinners.

Ben Morven Vineyard hands over an envelope containing $5000.

Berekah Vineyard arrives with enough

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WINEPRESS December 2014

food for 40 people.

Tamar Vineyards donates up to10 percent of its annual income.

Seddon vineyard owners provide transport so RSE workers can mix and mingle with Blenheim people keen to make them feel at home in a strange land.

Growers and wineries drop in cheques.

Selak’s staff donate Christmas hams to those who need them more.

On-Site Viticulture students run a sausage sizzle at the Silver Secateurs contest and donate the profits to John’s Kitchen.

Wineworks staff hold special fundraisers.

Vineyard owners and contractors serve on the board.

Please, please, do not tell me the grape industry is insensitive to the needs of the workers. John’s Kitchen has 15 years of experience to the contrary.

Now operating from Crossroads at 2 Redwood St Blenheim, John’s Kitchen was founded and has grown largely as a response to the grape industry. As a member of one of this district’s pioneer grape growing families, I am one of the few remaining people with a history pre-dating the era of the contractor.

As such, we employed staff directly, gave them smoko in the farmhouse, and became acquainted with the circumstances of their life.

We heard stories of people who gave up their rental homes in the summertime to live under canvas on the riverbanks, so they could save money to pay for winter fuel. We came to realise the impact of bad weather on our workers, and the fact that a day off work results in a 20% cut in income, while rent, power and food costs remain the same.

We saw people with impressive work

ethics, striving to make a better life for their families. These would include the young Pakeha mother with a baby on her back, pushing a toddler in a stroller down the rows as she tied vines. And the Tongan grandmother working an overnight shift in a rest home before starting work at 8am in the vineyard.

But however hard they work, few of our workers will achieve the average New Zealand wage of $63,500 a year.

And without the assistance of the industry which depends upon them, few will be able to give their children the extra educational opportunities which will ensure their hard-working genes can develop skills in the future.

These are the people John’s Kitchen – with the backing of a supportive industry – is proud to help. Our Urban Harvest programme gives away around 1000 packages of bread each week as well as donated vegetables, cheese, eggs, bread and fruit.

Realising that workers were late turning up for work because of the necessity to obtain bread for their lunch first, some

contractors began sending a foreperson to collect food to enable workers to stay on the job. And when there’s a sudden downpour, caring contractors will bring workers into Crossroads to warm up over free soup and a roll at our koha cafe.

Vineyard bosses stock up on 50c sandwiches, cakes and muffins or filled rolls at $1.50 a pop, for an affordable surprise “shout” for those who toil in cold wet conditions on their land.

Those employing people from overseas encourage them to come to John’s Kitchen each Wednesday night to make friends and practise their English as well as enjoy a two-course dinner.

Each week around 300 meals are served and vineyard owners volunteer their services to make it all happen.

Increasingly, they too need our help and support. We salute those growers whose crops came in over-cap in the bumper Vintage 2014 and donated their excess tonnes to fellow growers in the Awatere who were unable to harvest grapes due to inclement weather and

rot. Those crippled by high debt and reduced returns are being assisted with food parcels.

It angers me when people blame the viticultural industry for Marlborough’s social ills. Responsible wine companies and grape growers know full well that next to our vines, our workers are our most valuable resource.

John’s Kitchen has no on-going source of funds and relies entirely on the goodwill of the industry and community to survive. It costs $200 a day to provide this essential service to our workers and their families and we proudly display the names of our donor wineries and grape growers on a large sign at our front door.

Christmas is a time for all of us to remember needy people in our community. John’s Kitchen thanks all of you for your care and support. God bless you.

Yvonne Dasler

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WINEPRESS December 2014

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From The Chair The past 12 months have been busy ones for the board of Wine Marlborough. Chair Clive Jones outlines the key areas they are involved in and what has been achieved in 2014.

Governance & Finance The board has worked towards incorporating some key annual activities into the board’s work plan, including a strategic review in February, assessing our reserves policy biannually in June and ensuring governance policies are current and understood by our directors annually. We were given early notice of the desire of four long standing board members to stand down. As a result, the organisation identified the need for a succession plan. The end goal was to recruit four new board members willing to support their regional association and its wide and diverse membership base.

The plan was put in place and the essential communication program to the membership meant the election process was well supported with a good number of candidates standing in the winery category. The grape grower category had two candidates standing for the two places available and at the end of the election process in October we welcomed five new board members.

With the revised funding stream from NZWG a reserves policy was developed and adopted by the board to ensure the 6

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WINEPRESS December 2014

organisation remains in a stable financial position and is able to withstand future fluctuations in funding based on a variable grape crop.

Communication A number of successful seminars were held for members in the past 12 months, but attendance often could be better. Most present at these seminars walked away feeling pleased to have attended so it is worth making the effort. Peter Magarey, speaking about powdery mildew in November 2013 was about as entertaining and enlightening as such a session could be, while a seminar on optimising web sites for mobile use rammed home the importance of this to all present. The grower workshop was another with outstanding and practical advice and the pre-harvest workshop at Riverland’s Roadhouse was memorable for the Police approach. An in-house media training session that was attended

by Wine Marlborough staff was

subsequently rolled out as workshop for members. A Marlborough Viticultural Taskforce has been formed to identify industry issues for discussion, particularly in the area of biosecurity.

Seminars planned for the future include a session on the new Worksafe Health and Safety laws which will affect us all.

If you have any thoughts on what you wish to see the organisation delivering, please feel free to contact one of the board or one of the team.

We are also developing a relationship with MGG & MBC to promote the wine industry as a career path.

Marketing The festival was a success from an event and financial point of view and plans are well underway for the 2015 event.

The recent WineWorks Sauvignon Blanc Yacht Race, a partnership between Wine Marlborough and the Waikawa Boating Club was also a success despite the postponement of the race from the original day for the

first time in 13 years. The associated Pop up Marlborough Wellington tasting was well attended but still has potential to grow and evolve after this its second year.

A major focus is the desire to bring more influencers into the region through visits by Sommeliers, wine trade and buyers. Last year we brought out influential journalist Joe Czerwinski from the Wine Enthusiast Magazine in New York as the international judge for the Marlborough Wine Show (this year we brought out Jeremy Stockman, manager of Watson’s Wines in Hong Kong). With the International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration to be held here in just over 12 months’ time our future visitor plans will be focusing on this event.

The Young Viticulturist competition is an important event on the regional and national calendar and is going from strength to strength. Plans are underway to introduce a Young Winemaker equivalent and Wine Marlborough will likely play a role in the delivery of the inaugural event in mid 2015.

Continued development of the subregional story is front of mind and the mapping project being conducted in conjunction with the MDC will help.

Advocacy Vineyard labour always remains a challenge. We got through pruning this year satisfactorily in part due to the favourable weather conditions over winter. The current outlook for labour over summer is positive, and needs to be with the significant development work that is underway in the region increasing the demand for labour. We are very much aware of the sensitivity of this issue and seasonal labour remains a priority for the organisation.

Through the efforts of Marcus we have an improved and positive relationship with the regional and national seasonal labour governance groups, RSE Unit and seasonal labour contractor’s group. It is gratifying that the national organisation is also committing more resource to labour with plans underway to develop a national labour strategy.

Marlborough Winegrowers have agreed to fund the continued work that MRC is undertaking with the Marlborough Grape Marc initiative with a substantial grant.

We meet regularly with the Marlborough District Council rural councillors, mayor and executive and this has resulted in a positive relationship with useful dialogue occurring between the two groups.

Supporting this relationship and our advocacy initiative is a new sponsorship of the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards winery and vineyard category.

We look forward to a positive and productive 12 months ahead for the Marlborough Winegrowers organisation.

We are in a good financial position with a refreshed board and the challenge for us is to continue to deliver value to our members.

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Table 1: Blenheim Weather Data – November 2014

November November 2014 November Period 2014 compared to LTA LTA of LTA

November 2013

GDD’s for: Month - Max/Min¹ Month – Mean²

148.0 161.5

104% 113%

142.8 (1996-2013) 177.1 143.4 (1996-2013) 166.9

Growing Degree Days Total Jul - Nov 14 – Max/Min Jul - Nov 14 – Mean

323.1 397.4

98% 104%

329.3 (1996-2013) 433.0 381.7 (1996-2013) 473.3

Mean Maximum (°C) Mean Minimum (°C) Mean Temp (°C)

20.8 9.4 15.1

+1.0°C Equal +0.5°C

19.8 (1986-2013) 9.4 (1986-2013) 14.6 (1986-2013) 0.39 (1986-2013)

0

0.0

0

Grass Frosts (<= -1.0°C)

1

-

Air Frosts

0

Same

(0.0°C)

(1986-2013)

20.6 11.2 15.9

Sunshine hours 293.1 123% Sunshine hours – lowest Sunshine hours – highest Sunshine hours total – 2014 2304.9 104%

238.5 (1930-2013) 217.2 158.9 1985 322.5 1997 2209 (1930-2013) 2196

Rainfall (mm) 16.6 35% Rainfall (mm) – lowest Rainfall (mm) – highest Rainfall total (mm) – 2014 487.5 81%

47 (1930-2013) 48.8 4.6 1930 154.6 1999 596 (1930-2013) 683.3

Evapotranspiration – mm

142.8

118%

121.2 (1996-2013) 109.7

Avg. Daily Windrun (km)

347.2

115%

302.9 (1996-2013) 231.3

Mean soil temp – 10cm

14.6

-0.3°C

14.9 (1986-2013)

15.7

Mean soil temp – 30cm

16.7

+0.1°C

16.6 (1986-2013)

17.4

¹GDD’s Max/Min are calculated from absolute daily maximum and minimum temperatures ²GDD’s Mean are calculated from average hourly temperatures

November 2014 was warm, very sunny, dry and windy.

Air Temperature The mean temperature of 15.1°C was 0.5°C above the long-term average temperature for November. The mean maximum temperature of 20.8°C was 1.0°C above average; 2013 mean maximum was 20.6°C. The mean minimum temperature of 9.4°C was equal to the average; 2013 mean

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minimum was 11.2°C (Table 2). It is interesting to note that although the mean temperature in November was 0.5°C higher than in November 2014 that this was entirely due to the fact that the overnight minimum temperatures in November 2013 were much warmer than in 2014. High sunshine hours in November 2014 meant clear skies and slightly warmer daytime temperatures, but also cooler night time temperatures.

Growing Degree Days and flowering of grapes in 2014 The growing degree-days recorded for November 2014 (Table 1) using daily maximum and minimum temperatures are a lot lower than those recorded using the mean hourly temperatures, Why? The absolute daily minimum temperatures are pulling the GDD’s down. It is also interesting to note that the GDD’s for November 2014 and 2013 are very similar when calculated from hourly mean temperatures.

However, they are quite different when calculated from daily maximum and minimum. Unfortunately the international way to calculate GDD’s is still from daily maximum and minimum. I much prefer hourly means as they are a truer picture of the daily temperature. These data illustrate how important it is to know that any GDD comparisons you are making are calculated using the same method and also that the temperatures were recorded over the same time periods, e.g. Day, Hour, or same number of minutes.

The GDD line for the current season continued to wobble up and down over the first three weeks of November 2014. The fourth week of the month was 3.5°C above average and these temperatures gave the GDD line a good boost. The GDD line for this season (green line) has been fairly closely tracking the GDD line for the 2008/2009 season (brown line) to the end of November.

Since 2005 Plant & Food Research has been monitoring the phenology of Sauvignon blanc on sub-regional vineyards in Marlborough. Figure 2

Table 2: Summary of weekly temperatures for November 2014

November Mean Maximum (°C) Mean Minimum (°C) Mean (°C) 2014 (LTA=19.8) (LTA=9.4) (LTA+14.6)

1st – 7th

18.9

7.4

13.2

8th – 14th

20.6

7.9

14.3

15th – 21st

20.7

9.4

15.1

22nd – 28th

23.1

13.1

18.1

29th – 30th

20.9

8.0

14.4

Month Mean

20.8

9.4

15.1

Figure 1: Growing degree days for Blenheim: days ahead (+) or behind (-) average; calculated from daily maximum and minimum temperatures.

The graph shows the cumulative GDD difference between the season and the long term average total

presents the progression of flowering of Sauvignon blanc at Pernod Ricard’s Squire Estate vineyard in central Rapaura. The starting date for flowering in 2014 is not as early as in 2013, however earlier than in many of the previous 10 years. As mentioned above, the GDD line for 2014 has been tracking the 2008 GDD line fairly closely. Although the early stage of flowering for 2008 is missing (brown line), it appears as if the 2014 flowering progression (purple line) will follow a similar path to 2008. It is interesting to note the horizontal line drawn through the date of 50% flowering. There is a 15 day difference between the dates of 50% flowering in 2011 and 2013.

Sunshine November 2014 recorded 293.1 hours sunshine, in marked contrast to November 2013 which recorded 217.2 hours, i.e. November 2014 recorded 2.53 hours more sunshine per day than November 2013. November 2014 is now the fourth sunniest November on record for Blenheim for the 85 years 1930-2014. The sunniest November on record is 1997, which recorded 322.5 hours sunshine.

Figure 2: Progression of flowering on Sauvignon blanc at Squire Estate vineyard in Rapaura in recent seasons

Rainfall Only 16.6 mm of rain was recorded in November 2014. This is the fifth month in a row to have recorded below average rainfall. Total rainfall for the five months July to November 2014 was 99.6 mm. This is the lowest total on record for Blenheim for these five months, (1930-2014 – 85 years); the previous lowest for these five months was 1997 which recorded 132.8 mm.

Total rainfall for the three months September to November 2014 was 80.0 mm. This is the fifth lowest total on record for Blenheim for these three months. Lowest spring total on record is 46.7 mm recorded in 1933.

Soil moisture As a result of low rainfall in October 2014 the shallow soil moisture (5-35 cm depth) at the Grovetown Park weather station started on 1 November

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at 21%. This is the lowest 1 November value for the 12 years that soil moisture has been monitored; the average 1 November value is 29.1%. With only 16.6 mm of rain recorded during November, soil moisture fell to 15.4% by 30 November, compared to the end of month average of 21.8%. There was little moisture left in the top soil that could be extracted at the end of November. The minimum moisture value for the soil type at the Grovetown Park weather station is approx. 14%.

In contrast to 2014, moisture in the topsoil stayed relatively high throughout November 2013.

conversation during the month.

Some people referred to the wind as Marlborough’s best kept secret. The three months October to December are generally the windiest months of the year in Marlborough. However, for the six years 2008 to 2013, (6 years * 3 months Oct-Dec = 18 months), only three of those 18 months recorded above average wind-run. In those six years Marlburians had generally been allowed to forget what the wind can be like. For those new to the province the wind may have come as a surprise.

However, not for those who have lived in Marlborough for some time.

Wind Run Average daily wind run during November 2014 was 347.2 km; the highest November total since 1997.

In contrast November 2013 recorded average daily wind-run of 231.3 km, i.e. November 2014 daily wind-run was 50% higher than November 2013. November 2014 recorded 16 days with above average wind-run while November 2013 recorded only three days above average. This actually highlights how calm November 2013 was. The highest daily wind-run of 623.7 km was recorded on Saturday 15th November 2014. The maximum wind gust of 79.5 km/hr was recorded on Tuesday 18th.

The wind was a hot topic of

Evapotranspiration (ET) and Water Deficit High sunshine hours (radiation), high wind-run, low rainfall and lower than average relative humidity gave rise to above average daily evapotranspiration for November 2014. Total evapotranspiration for November was 142.8 mm, or 118% of the long-term average of 121.2 mm. November 2013 recorded 109.7 mm. Evapotranspiration is a measure of the amount of water required to keep a pasture actively growing. The difference between the evapotranspiration and the rainfall is the potential water deficit.

142.8 mm ET – 16.6 mm Rain = 126.2 mm water deficit for November.

In order to keep a pasture actively

growing during November 2014, the equivalent of 126.2 mm of rain would need to have been supplied as irrigation.

Potential evapotranspiration from September to November 2014 was 313.1 mm compared with total rainfall of 80 mm. The water deficit for these three months was 233.1 mm, compared to the long-term average water deficit of 125.9 mm.

At the beginning of December 2014 Marlborough is staring down the barrel of a serious summer drought.

Rob Agnew Plant & Food Research / Marlborough Research Centre

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WINEPRESS December 2014

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Being Media Savvy Tessa Nicholson

At some stage, someone within your business will be asked to take part in a media interview. How do you prepare for that and more importantly, how do you ensure you get the “right” message across?

Never trust a journalist is a common saying, which is rather ironic for me to write, given my own occupation.

But according to media expert Kevin Ramshaw, it is good advice to adhere to.

In Blenheim last month, Kevin presented a Media Awareness seminar to interested parties of the wine industry, following an invite from Wine Marlborough. The aim of the seminar was to increase the knowledge of how the media operates and to provide advice on developing skills to deal with journalists.

Regardless of whether you have made the first approach to a journalist, or vice versa, Kevin says you always need to remember “news is a commercial product.”

“News is a commodity. Packaging the content of what goes into news stories and bulletins is arguably more important than the content itself. News is formula driven.”

By that he means there are four aspects to any story.

N – Novelty – what’s new about the issue being reported E – Emotions – the characteristic that makes the

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story compelling to readers W – Weird and wonderful people – all stories are about people not issues S – Simplicity – nothing complicated makes it into the media When you are dealing with a journalist – you need to be thinking along those lines.

Ensuring that you are well prepared before talking is a key factor. If you have been approached to make a comment, make sure you know who you are talking to, who they represent, what information they are seeking and whether or not they are talking to other people.

Don’t be bullied into answering something that you are unsure about.

It is better to ask for time to follow up a question, rather than make an off the cuff statement

that could come back to bite you. And never ever allow a journalist to put words into your mouth. For example, if the journo was to make a bland statement such as “many people are saying Marlborough won’t be able to grow grapes once climate change occurs,” if you agree, it could end up with that statement being attributed to you.

Get The Message Right Kevin says getting the message right is your best protection.

But to do that, you need to have a “game plan”.

“It’s the simple two-sentence

summary of your bottom line position on whatever issue it is you face.”

By not having a game plan or a message when you go into an interview, you run the risk of being blind-sided and the inevitable story being about something other than what you intended to get across. (How many times has that happened over the years?)

Don’t go overboard with your messages – work out a priority of what you want to portray, and limit those messages to three or four.

“If you have more than half a dozen, you are in trouble.”

Consider who is doing the interview and for what form of media. A journalist interviewing you for a radio item will only want a short sound bite – don’t overdo the answer. However the current affairs or magazine journalist will want a more in depth response.

Your response to each will be very different.

Don’t be too technical – once jargon gets introduced into an interview, you run the risk of losing the interest of the journalist – speak in everyday language. Don’t ramble, and beware of using emotive words as these can end up becoming the headline and/or guts of the story. Think along the lines of a headline such as “Rain A Disaster Says Winemaker”.

Disaster is a highly emotive word, and while this may be a statement you would make to a work colleague, do you want this to be the headline screaming out to the rest of the world?

Kevin also pointed out how important it is to be honest, upfront and responsive. If a journalist approaches you, don’t dismiss them. Be aware that they work to tight deadlines and expect responses in reasonable time to meet those deadlines.

Think carefully before you issue a straight out “no comment!”

“In all circumstances, some response is better than none at all. ‘No comment’ is a mostly guilty plea,” he says.

then don’t tell them.

And if all else fails and you feel you have been unfairly represented, there are forms of redress.

“First go to the reporter. If you don’t get satisfaction, go to the chief reporter and then ultimately to the editor. The Press Council or Broadcasting Standards Authority are the last resort.”

But Kevin also says, Letters to The Editor are another succinct way of righting the balance.

“They are often the most read part of a paper so should not be underestimated.”

Don’t ramble, and beware of using emotive words as these can end up becoming the headline and/or guts of the story.

Given most news stories are quite short, keep your answers brief and to the point. Prattle at your peril. And never expect, “off the record” comments to remain so. If you don’t want the journalist to print or repeat something, Potential Media Pitfalls. The Top 10 The potential pitfall

The remedy

Being bullied into an instant response

Unless you’re well prepared, don’t provide off the-cuff answers. Ask for time to think through the response

Thinking you are talking to a Remember you are really talking to the media journalist and that he or she is outlet’s audience – and the journalist is on their on your side side, which is unlikely to coincide with yours Failing to appreciate that everything – including the early and late pleasantries – is on the record

Keep in mind the reality that everything you say to a journalist – can and may be used

Going into an interview unprepared

ALWAYS know what you want to say and what you don’t want to say

Falling victim to the emotive Journalists latch onto “trigger words”. These are word of phrase often short, simple and highly emotive and word well in headlines or broadcast introductions. Use these with discretion, not on the spur of the moment Agreeing to propositions put to you by a journalist in a

These can find their way into print as a direct quote from you. If you are asked to agree to a proposition – say something like; “I’d prefer to put it this way….”

Trying to say too much in an Select your “must say”, “should say”, and “could interview say”, points. Three things you want to say is pushing the limit, but it’s a good discipline Being ultra defensive

If you give nothing, you get nothing – certainly nothing that you will feel comfortable with.

Obviously this can depend on the subject

Failing to find out the journalist’s agenda

“Must say” messages must be relevant to the journalist’s story. It’s your job to find out what this is and who else the reporter is talking to

Failing to challenge incorrect If a journalist uses wrong information in an information interview, correct it or challenge it. Otherwise it becomes part of the record and can be re-used in the future

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Lifetime Achievement Award Tessa Nicholson

The Board of Wine Marlborough honoured one of the stalwarts of the industry last month, presenting him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ivan Sutherland, owner of Dog Point Wines is the fourth individual to be recognised by the board, since the Lifetime Achievement Awards were introduced six years ago.

A pioneer grape grower who has more than 35 years experience in the industry, Ivan was a popular choice for the recognition.

With a background in valuation and farm management from Lincoln University, Ivan with wife Margaret was one of the earliest private growers in Marlborough, planting their first block of grapes in 1979. He became more interested in the industry through literature, research and travelling and as his knowledge grew, so too did the requests for advice from former farming clients also turning to grapes. Within a few years of those first plantings, Ivan

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was doing more viticultural consultancy than he was valuation and farm management.

He was a founding member of the Marlborough Grape Grower’s Association and on more than one occasion held the position of chairman.

His knowledge was not confined to Marlborough, with a number of consultancy jobs undertaken in Wairarapa and Waipara. Even the government were keen to utilise his services. In 1985 he was asked to review a government funded vineyard that had been developed at Tiki Tiki, north of Ruatoria. The aim of the project was to use the large vineyard as a work course for the unemployed in the region.

Ivan’s task was to write a report on the viability of the project and come up with some solutions on how to turn it

around from a money losing venture.

His report wasn’t happy reading for the government, as he recommended pulling out everything but the Chardonnay, which he said there was a market for. The remaining hundreds of acres was a liability and would never be able to produce a profit, given the varieties planted and the location.

After months of consulting and writing the report, he finally sent it off. Ironically the government officials received it exactly one day before Prime Minister Rob Muldoon announced there was a wine glut and growers would have to pull a percentage of the vines out.

Despite the words wine glut being bandied around. Ivan was not in the least bit interested in pulling his vines.

“I said to Margaret that I was sure as

hell not going to pull out the vines we had planted. We had toiled long and hard to put in posts, plants and irrigation. There was no way I was going to turn around and just pull them all out again, no matter how much the government was willing to pay.”

Instead he and a group of friends bought a vineyard that was frost prone and pulled those vines out instead, to cover their obligation as part of the vine pull. Ivan then concentrated on planting more varietals, moving well away from the Muller Thurgau that was prominent at that time.

Originally a grower for Penfolds, he went on to become a grower for Cloudy Bay. He had already got to know the founder David Hohnen, having worked as a consultant helping to source growers and establish the small estate vineyard around the winery.

“David offered me an attractive offer, where I could have time to look after my own vineyards which were contracted to Cloudy Bay and to work for him full time, with the proviso I

wouldn’t do any more consultancies. It took about 10 minutes to think about it.”

For the next 18 years, Ivan was an integral part of the Cloudy Bay team, helping to develop the vineyards, oversee the growers and ensure the quality of fruit was at the highest level possible.

In 2002 he teamed up with Cloudy Bay winemaker James Healy and made the first Dog Point wines, utilising the company winery. Two years later, they left the company and went out on their own, working full time on Dog Point, which celebrated its first decade of independent vintages this year.

Ivan has also been a strong advocate of the importance of research within the wine industry. He was the chair of the original Marlborough Wine Research Centre board and until recently the chair of the combined science policy and funding advisory board. In August he was appointed as a trustee for the Marlborough Research Centre Trust.

In this role and as a viticulturist,

winemaker, marketer, board member of both the Grape Growers Association and Wine Marlborough, Ivan has been a stand out member of the Marlborough wine industry. Wine Marlborough Chairman Clive Jones, said one of the greatest attributes Ivan has passed on in his 35 years, has been the mantra of quality first and foremost.

“He has always been a vocal advocate for one thing in the Marlborough wine industry. And that is an uncompromising approach to quality, where the future of the region has always been and always will be, based on growing quality grapes to make quality wine. I am sure everyone today would agree with this approach.”

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented at the recent Marlborough Wine Awards dinner.

Ivan is the fourth member of the industry to be recognized. The other three were Gerry Gregg, Ross Lawson and Phil Rose.

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Horticulture National Qualifications

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Level

National Certificate in Horticulture (Practical)

1

National Certificate in Horticulture (Introductory)

2

National Certificate in Horticulture

3

National Certificate in Horticulture - Viticulture

4

National Certificate in Horticulture - Advanced (Viticulture)

4

National Diploma in Agribusiness Management

5

Impressions Count Tessa Nicholson

Being on the ground in Marlborough has forever changed Roger Jones’ impression of the region – for the better.

Roger is not only a Michelin Star chef, a restaurant and wine consultant, wine writer and judge, he is also the owner of one of the UK’s most highly awarded restaurants, The Harrow at Little Bedwyn. Despite having one of the most extensive new world wine lists in the country, (including more than 100 New Zealand wines), he has never visited this part of the world – until last month. He wasn’t expecting to be surprised he admitted.

“We have had New Zealand staff over the years working for us and they go on about the beauty of this country. We have just gone ‘oh yeah’ thinking it has to be rubbish. But you come here, and I have to admit, it is amazing.”

Marlborough in particular was a total surprise.

“I thought Marlborough was going to be quite industrial, a bit like the Barossa Valley, with the look of an oil refinery (due to all the tanks). But it’s not. It is very boutique and that is not a word that I would have ever used to describe Marlborough before I came here. It has a village sort of aspect, it’s absolutely beautiful.”

What makes Roger’s comments so interesting, is that being on the ground has changed his entire impression – and that will impact on how he sells our wines he believes.

“It is my job to go back to the UK and tell the story, get that story over to people. We need to be advocates of this land, because it is quite spectacular and the reflection of that comes through in the wines. “

When asked if being here, seeing the region itself has given him a greater appreciation of the wines he replied; “Yes, much better”.

While the temperatures weren’t soaring during his visit to Marlborough, the sun was at least shining, and hardly a cloud was in the sky. Interestingly, it was the weather he had experienced during his trip that provided a light-bulb moment.

“The other day I saw a lemon and was investigating it, while everyone around me was asking what on earth I was doing? I told them I had never seen a yellow lemon. At home our lemons in the middle aren’t yellow, they are white, pithy and very sour. I then realised that it’s your sunshine – that continuous hot, penetrating sun that makes them so yellow. That is why your grape flavours are so bright, so intense, so clean and fresh. It’s because of the sunshine you get here in New Zealand.”

With such a positive response to the region and New Zealand as a whole.

Roger said he will be listing and recommending even more of our wines, once he gets back home. Which just goes to prove how important it is to have key influencers visit Marlborough, especially if it helps to move people away from pre-conceived ideas.

As for the Marlborough tasting. Roger had some salient comments to make after undertaking a tasting of more than 100 wines.

Riesling “Riesling is big in Britain, especially the drier type. To me it is the fastest

growing white variety, next to sparkling wines and champagne. In the past New Zealand Rieslings have been slightly off dry, more Germanic. In the UK I think we are looking at the drier the better and I think dry Riesling is new here in New Zealand.”

Chardonnay ABC in Roger’s words stands for “absolutely brilliant Chardonnay if it comes from New Zealand.”

“In Britain people respect New Zealand as a place with good, fine Chardonnay.You were the guys who marched forward and went back to the style more like a Chablis, and even when they have lots of texture to them, they are so controlled with such elegance.”

Pinot Gris “There is a huge market for New Zealand Pinot Gris. I think the colours are right, they’re not pinky. The textures are lovely and again there is now less sugar.”

Pinot Noir “There has been a backlash against the jamminess of Central Otago Pinots.

People will come to my restaurant and say they are happy with a Pinot, but they don’t want a Central Otago.

Generally they say they will settle for a Martinborough or Mornington Peninsula. They don’t seem to know Marlborough. I think you need to work on that, because the Pinots that we looked at today (2010, 11 and 12) will definitely do well.”

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Introducing ...

WetciT The New leader in Adjuvant Technology WETCIT is a highly effective wetter and penetrant containing Orowet™ technology. Strengthen your pesticide programme by creating more coverage on your plant surfaces. With no preharvest interval and no possibility of unwanted residues, WETCIT contains only biodegradable components and is easily AVAILA EXCLU BLE biodegradable in the soil and SIV THROU ELY environment*.

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WETCIT is the registered trademark of Oro Agri International Ltd. * Like other adjuvants, WETCIT should be kept away from bodies of water, e.g. rivers and dams. For more advice on using WETCIT, please contact your local Technical Advisor.

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WINEPRESS December 2014

The next generation adjuvant WETCIT is an adjuvant that will enhance the effectiveness of agrichemicals. It improves the spreading and coverage of spray droplets on all plant surfaces and enhances penetration of the product into the leaf. These abilities differentiate WETCIT from other adjuvants, hence why the formulation is patented in multiple countries.

WETCIT contains a blend of naturally derived plant extracts – the main source of these extracts being orange oil. Plant-derived oils have lipophilic (fat-loving) properties and are well known for their ability to penetrate and adhere to waxy substances. When they are used in combination with wetting agents at relatively low rates, they play a supporting role to assist with the wetting of waxy surfaces. This mode of action enables highly effective spreading and penetrating properties.

Across a multitude of crops, independent trials have proven that the efficacy of commonly used insecticides, miticides, fungicides and herbicides can be optimised through the use of WETCIT. More importantly, the data showed that WETCIT assists with coverage of spray material into difficult-to-reach areas. Improved penetration into dense canopies affords better control of target pests and diseases. In grapes, where you want complete coverage of the canopy and branches, the superior penetration and wetting capabilities of WETCIT are an advantage. Optimised efficacy of herbicides has also been demonstrated. More uniform and effective weed control is observed where difficult-to-control weeds occur.

WETCIT has a secondary effect, to cause desiccation of plant cells that have been damaged by insect activity or fungal infection. This reduces the risk of secondary infection.

Using WETCIT poses very little risk to the environment or the spray operator. The product is degraded naturally in the environment. It is safe for beneficial insects such as bees and ladybirds.

Collectively, these properties have enabled WETCIT to become established in more than 60 countries. In many of these countries it is now the leading adjuvant.

Sulclean at 5 kg/ha with Wetcit at 250 ml/100 L water and sprayed at 300 L/ha, 48 hours after application.

Words of caution: 1. Do not mix with copper, as it may cause phytotoxicity.

2. When using WETCIT for the first time, mix a little in the tank and spray to waste.

WETCIT will loosen up residues in the tank, which could result in unwanted product being incorporated into the tank mix. For more information on this exciting and innovative product, please contact your local Farmlands Horticulture Technical Advisor.

Seeing is believing with this product and already our clients are delighted with what WETCIT is doing for them – you will be too!

Article supplied by Luke Hansen, National Manager, Farmlands Horticulture.

“This is our first season using WETCIT and I have been very happy with the results. It is giving us excellent coverage with our early season sulphur sprays. Wetcit is easy to use, mixes well and is very cost effective.

We will use WETCIT with all our spraying this season and onwards.”

- Jeremy Walsh, Jeremy Walsh Contracting Ltd, Blenheim

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Scholarship Winner The winner of the Wine Marlborough NZ-UK Link Foundation Wine Scholarship is 33-year-old Emma Clark.

The Senior Marketing Manager for PLB Group, based in Sussex, will spend two months in Marlborough next year, getting to know more about the region, its wines and its people.

Emma was one of eight people who applied for the scholarship, and was a stand out winner, according to Wine

Marlborough’s GM, Marcus Pickens.

“She already has a very good understanding of New Zealand wines, and is keen to advance that knowledge. She is helping deliver WSET qualifications to staff at PLB and to consumers, and is about to undertake her Master of Wine qualification next

year. We believe she is the perfect candidate to come into the region to learn more about what we do and how, and then in turn deliver that message back to the UK consumer.”

One of the criteria of the application, was the candidate had to write an essay about Marlborough. Emma’s has been described as outstanding, as I think you will agree.

Marlborough by Emma Clark Everybody remembers the first time they drank a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. I certainly do. It was after work, not long after I started my first ‘real’ job in the wine industry and I was with my new colleagues at the pub up the road.

It was hot and we were sat outside in the beer garden and I was presented with a glass of wine. I had drunk Sauvignon Blanc before but mostly from the Loire and once or twice from Chile. Two things struck me, firstly I couldn’t get over the incredible amount of aroma and flavour in the glass and secondly it was very moreish not at all like many of the other non-descript ‘house’ white wines.

That was at the very start of my wine career and since then I have been exceptionally lucky to work alongside some fantastic New Zealand producers (Trinity Hill, Quartz Reef, Giesen, Yealands, Babich and Misha’s Vineyard to name a few) so have been fortunate enough to taste their wines and understand the quality of craftsmanship that is out there. My area of the trade sector is the on-trade supplying in to regional wholesalers and Independent Wine merchants. Over the last year and certainly more so in the last few months there has been a shift away from the own/exclusive labels and far greater focus on brands. For my sector this is music to our ears as it allows us to

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properly tell the story of the wine we are selling and engage consumers in the versatility and variety of Marlborough as a region and its ‘sub regions’ which is very much needed.

Consumers associate New Zealand, and specifically Marlborough, with Sauvignon Blanc. They are familiar with the fruit driven and pungent passion fruit, guava, gooseberry and green pepper aromas and flavours that accompany these wines. So it is not a massive surprise to me that New Zealand wine is so popular amongst the UK consumer – Sauvignon Blanc ranks as the number one varietal in the UK with New Zealand, and Marlborough in particular, the main contributor. However, what I do find alarming is the fact that sadly the vast majority of what we consume from Marlborough IS Sauvignon Blanc leaving a very small margin for the many other varietals that are grown there.

Marlborough has become a victim of its success.

Sauvignon Blanc has become so synonymous with this region that other varietals very rarely get a look in and as a result consumers lack the depth of understanding around what else is available to them.

Marlborough is rich with a wealth of terroir that allows for so much diversity in grape growing and winemaking. Personally I am a massive fan of the aromatics and get very excited when I see Rieslings or Pinot Gris from Marlborough. More recently I have tasted some exceptional Pinot Noir and Syrah.

Although second largest in terms of vineyard plantings Pinot Noir remains largely an undiscovered ‘gem’ but the quality of red produced is certainly comparable to its more famous Central Otago counterparts but at a fraction of the price.

Another key varietal which could be exploited further is Pinot Grigio, on paper a good fit but stylistically the sweetness can put people off. Often the positive reaction to seeing the New Zealand Pinot Grigio label is never quite matched by the reaction to the taste (typically a medium dry style but with no indication on label). If some simple viticultural practices were to be adopted and a dryer style of Pinot Grigio were to be made perhaps this could open up a varietal not always associated with New Zealand to a mature market like the UK that seems to associate sweeter wine with the bottom end of yesteryear? Where better to region explore this than Marlborough which already has a huge following as a wine producer.

As custodians of these wines coming in to the UK I believe it is our responsibility to better educate the consumer on the breadth of what is available and to demonstrate the quality that these wines offer. We have a consumer base that already buys into Marlborough but what we now need to do is broaden their horizons and showcase the sub-regions within the region – the diversity is wide and choice immense. I believe that we are riding high on the crest of a wave but we need to act now to maintain that interest and loyalty in a region that has so much more to offer than Sauvignon Blanc.

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US Wine Show Cameron Douglas MS Cameron Douglas is well known in New Zealand wine circles. He is the only Master Sommelier in the country, and a massive advocate of New Zealand wine throughout the world. He is encouraging local wineries to enter into a specific wine competition.

For several years now I have been involved in presenting New Zealand wines in the challenging USA market – firstly when speaking at Conferences and Wine & Culinary Schools; and now on my Winelist at Matt and Barbara Lambert’s Michelin starred restaurant The Musket Room in New York.

There is no doubt that New Zealand Wines are creating excitement, and there is a growing awareness that we are so much more than our fantastic Sauvignon Blanc.

One of the barriers to many of our local winemakers is the lack of opportunities for getting their wines ‘under the noses’ of the relevant gatekeepers – the sommeliers and buyers in the marketplace.

There are a number of well known International Wine Competitions where a team of professionals consider your wine in a blind tasting, and the

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best of these stand as proof of this approach when it comes to getting your wine ‘out there’ The Sydney International Wine Competition and International Wine and Spirit Competition in London come to mind.

I would like to invite you to submit your wine(s) for tasting and award consideration at the TEXSOM International Wine Awards (formerly the Dallas Morning News & TEXSOM Wine Competition). I will be a judge at this prestigious awards event, with a number of Master Sommeliers - and some of the key people putting together wine lists throughout the USA. The 2015 awards will be the 31st year of the competition which has grown to become one of the most-respected, largest, and most written about wine competition in the United States. The judges’ list is a who’s who of some the most accomplished and influential luminaries in the wine world.

The competition judging will take place on Monday, February 23rd and Tuesday, February 24th, 2015 at Irving Convention Center, 500 West Las

Colinas Boulevard, Irving, TX 75039.

Entries open now Entry submission deadline - Friday, January 30, 2015 – entry form, fee & wine delivery $75 USD per online entry, $85 USD per mail, fax or email entry Award winning wines announced via social media, email messaging, website, press release and publication partners To submit or for more information visit dallaswinecomp.com, email info@dallaswinecomp.com or call (+1)214.886.1665 - or speak to me in the first instance – cameron@ guildsomm.com

Sustainability Update Andrew Barber - The AgriBusiness Group

The Value of Benchmarking: Empowering Members Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand has developed individualised benchmarking reports that empower its members to better understand their performance and drive change as part of a process of continual improvement. The use of benchmarking to improve efficiency (and verify the industry’s environmental credentials for consumers, regulators and policy makers) is essential if NZ Wine is to remain a world leader.

Improved performance by individual viticulturists and wine makers can best be incentivised by comparing energy, water and agrichemical use between vineyards and wineries that are tightly matched for operation size, variety, region, climate, and soil type. Partnering with The New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard we have taken a whole enterprise approach to monitoring performance, because the individually owned and operated vineyard or winery is considered to be the key site of action for sustainability. This production enterprise focus moves from driving change down through the industry, to bottom up; where it is grounded in the practical realities of making outstanding New Zealand wine in a sustainable way.

Sustainability was a central theme at the Romeo Bragato conference this year. Fabian Yukich talked about losing our competitive edge if we simply keep on doing what we’ve been doing. He said that NZ is simply too small to be anything other than world leaders.

At a recent conference in Brisbane I presented the individualised benchmarking work that Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand is delivering to its members. This created quite a stir, including amongst some other

New Zealander industries, albeit they grumbled about having to travel to Brisbane to hear about what is happening in their own backyard.

Empowering Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand members to make informed decisions, by providing them with benchmarking reports to better understand their performance and linking this to tools for improvement, helps keep NZ Wine out in front.

Speaking recently with Braden from Borthwick Winery, he shared how being able see that within their winery size category they had above average water use, put some impetus into getting the system sorted. Consequently they drove water use down from over 5 to around 3 L/Lwine. They did this through a range of measures including a new filter system, recycling clean water, high pressure low flow nozzles, but possibly the biggest impact was from being more conscious of water use and simply trying to use less water.

Braden pointed out however that the reality check is acknowledging that one of their biggest issues is fluctuations in crop loads. This highlights that rather than getting hung up on a single season’s result the two key benefits from benchmarking is its ability to turn the spotlight onto an issue and to track progress over several years.

By now I am hoping that most will have seen at least some of the individualised reporting that is being created from the annual Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand Scorecards and electronic spray diaries. One page winery energy and water use reports, and vineyard water use have been emailed to members for the past

few years. This year agrichemical use reports have been developed, with the 2012/13 season currently being sent out. The introduction of WiSE has allowed us to analyse the data in a timelier manner, so expect to see the 2013/14 benchmarking reports shortly. Ultimately we expect to deliver in-season reporting that will take the benchmarking from providing a useful end of season review to a point where they feed into the decisions that need to be made throughout the season.

The feedback in Brisbane was extremely positive. The fact that 94% of the NZ wine industry can not only come together with the shared vision of driving improved quality and sustainability, but also substantiate their talk with meaningful evidence amazed people. Lofty goals and stories are meaningless unless concrete action is being taken by those that make the real difference on the ground.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard Project is funded by NZ’s Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment as well as several NZ Primary Industry groups.

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Health and Safety – New Act, New Attitude Paddy Battersby The well-publicised reforms to New Zealand workplace Health and Safety came another step closer when the National Party was re-elected to Government - the Health and Safety Reform Bill is expected to be passed into law on 1 April 2015 as the Health and Safety at Work Act. The sweeping changes included in the Bill put a greater onus on business Directors and senior managers who make substantial decisions. These proposed duties and obligations cover every modern working relationship (eg companies, partnerships, societies, not for profit organisations etc) which is a departure from the current common employer/employee/contractor arrangements.

The Bill introduces the concept of a PCBU (Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking) and despite its name, a PCBU will usually be a business entity such as a company rather than an individual person (unless that person is self-employed).

The duties fall into two categories, the first is that PCBU’s have a primary duty of care to ensure the health and safety of all people at a worksite (not just employees but also contractors, their employees, labour hire workers and others affected by the work they carry out), and the second that the PCBU is meeting their obligations to consult and coordinate between the duty holders in order to ensure that risks in

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the workplace are effectively managed.

Whilst the new Act makes it quite clear about the duties of Directors, it will also place a substantial duty of due diligence on senior officers of a PCBU that they don’t currently have under the present legislation. They will have to take a more active approach in the management of health and safety in the business, keeping themselves up to date on their workplace health and safety matters. Simply receiving a report from middle management that health and safety within the business is OK won’t be enough. They now have an obligation to check, review and monitor health and safety in their business.

The question people should ask is not “Am I a duty holder?” but rather “I am

a duty holder, what can I reasonably do to meet my duty?”

The term “reasonably practical” appears in the Bill – it’s an important concept and requires a PCBU to consider risks and ways of eliminating or minimising them.

Directors and senior managers already plan for turnover, profit, marketing, growth and product development.

Health and safety can’t be left to chance; it needs to be actively managed like any other aspect of a business operation.

Penalties will be significantly increased and will mirror the Australian model.

Individual as worker

Individual as PCBU Body corporate or officer

Category 1

$300,000 and or imprisonment of 5 years

$600,00 and or imprisonment of 5 years

$3 million

Category 2

$150,000

$300,000

$1.5 million

Category 3

$50,000

$100,000

$500,00

There are three categories of offences and individuals will be charged.

Category 1 Reckless conduct exposing an individual to risk of death or serious injury or illness Category 2 Failure to comply exposing an individual to risk of death or serious injury or illness Category 3 Failure to comply with their health and safety duty How the Courts may apply the new penalties when the Reform Bill is passed into law will remain uncertain until there are clear regulations and codes of practice.

When the Bill becomes law in April 2015, the Act will be supported by Regulations and Codes of Practice.

The latter are not expected to be available until nearer the end of 2015 so there is much “flying blind” until those Regulations and guidelines are drafted.Regulations explain the How, What, Where, When and Why of the

requirements of the Act. There are 3 principles to the regulations – to provide clarity and certainty of the rules; outline responsibilities; and provide for an increase in health and safety activity and awareness.

The new Act will require a new Attitude from employers as for too long there have been serious gaps between what is required and what has been done. One of the changes employers can expect, is that there is a requirement for increased worker engagement and participation.

As the CEO of Worksafe New Zealand, Gordon MacDonald, has recently said, “Health and Safety has to be done with employees and not done to them.

Viewing health and safety as a joint management/staff enterprise and gaining buy-in to systems and processes of prevention is vital. There are moral, legal and business reasons for doing health and safety well. There is growing evidence that staff engagement is a key ingredient of a successful business and

there is a compelling case for good health and safety performance,” added Gordon.

All employers need to start getting their house in order now - evaluating their systems and their processes - in order to be prepared for the introduction of the Reform Bill and this area of business compliance. Those who leave it until the day before the new law will have left it too late.

PJ Battersby, Battersby HR Consulting, 09 838 6338, www.bateersbyhr.com

Mechanical Fruit Thinning A combination of 5 years of NZ industry research work and commercial scale adoption in 2014 by wineries and growers saw some 2,500 hectares of vines thinned using machine harvesters.

With slight modification (reduced number of beater rods/ shakers) and adjustments to beater & ground speed settings, potential crop loads were successfully reduced from between 5% and 25%.

The shaking process also promotes the removal of floral trash and can reduce the incidence of Botrytis at harvest. Plant & Food monitored 60 trial sites in 2014 and recorded a 50% reduction in Botrytis.

The procedure and benefits of mechanical thinning has now been widely accepted by the industry as a cost effective method of yield reduction and cultural control of Botrytis that can be carried out on an annual basis.

Valley Harvesting and Mark Allen Consultancy were involved in January 2014 and have committed assets to the 2015 thinning season, which occurs between fruit set and veraison.

Left: Unthinned Control Right: Machine thinned

For more detailed information on the benefits of mechanical thinning, please contact Mark Allen 021431 456.

For pricing and forward bookings please contact Paul Sowman 027 249 7665

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30 Vintages Creates An Icon Tessa Nicholson

Back in 1985, a young Kevin Judd issued winemaking instructions for the first Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc over the phone.The wine, made from Marlborough fruit was produced in Gisborne, Kevin was based in Auckland. How things have changed.

Now 30 vintages later, the name Cloudy Bay is synonymous with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. The company has lept from “new kid on the block” status to become an iconic producer. That it happened in three decades says a lot for the ground work laid back in the mid 80s, says current winemaker Nick Blampied-Lane.

“I think the world was ready for a new style of wine from the new world at

Nick Lane

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that time. And I think David Hohnen (founder) did a very good job of making great wine consistently. And I think the label helped also, it is very captivating.”

Hohnen’s decision not to test his new wine on the domestic market was also a bonus for helping to make Cloudy Bay a world-wide sensation.

“The strategy of David to immediately export the wine to Australia and the UK was critical to getting it recognised from such an early stage,” Nick says.

Many believe it was brilliant marketing to release such tiny parcels of the wine into the market, thereby creating a demand outweighing supply situation. Although in fairness, there wasn’t a great deal of wine available in those early days. In 1985, only 200 tonnes of grapes were crushed “You can’t control that sort of thing (demand),” Nick says. “But it’s partly to do with exporting, getting it out there and selling it to a whole bunch of different people. Ultimately that was advantageous to the brand.”

While there have been inevitable changes over 30 vintages, some things have stayed the same, regardless of time. The label for one, is instantly recognisable.

The quality of the wine places it in the most lauded category (despite not entering wine

shows for the first few decades), and the team making the wines has been also consistant. Nick says in 30 years there have only been two eras. The first 20 years, which belonged to winemaker Kevin, James Healy and Eveline Fraser, and the last 10 or so have seen Nick and senior winemaker Tim Heath at the helm. There are very few companies in New Zealand who can claim such consistency.

What has changed though is the size and ownership of the company.

Whereas the first wines had to be made with fruit sourced from Corbans who were based just down the road from Cloudy Bay, these days the company has 20 vineyards supplying them, plus a number of their own vineyards. All the Sauvignon Blanc fruit is taken from Rapaura, Brancott and central Wairau Valley areas. A miniscule amount comes out of the Awatere – unlike many other companies of a similar size who have expanded into the more southern subregion.

“When defining our style and our qualities in the wider sense of the term,”Nick says, “we find what we are looking for in this area. There comes a time when you have to define your house style and place a stake in the ground. To deliver our house style, we believe we need fruit from the central Wairau.”

The change of ownership began in 1990, when Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin (part of the Moet-Hennessy Louis Vuitton group) purchased a majority

interest in Cape Mentelle and therefore Cloudy Bay. They took full control in 2001.

Looking forward to the next 30 years, Nick has no fear that the world will fall out of love with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

“No I don’t. There is something incredibly seductive about the aroma of Sauvignon Blanc. There is almost a sub concious attraction to it, to those smells of passionfruit, tomato leaf and grapefruit. What I think the challenge is for us here in Marlborough, is to start

introducing more weight and texture into our Sauvignon, while still retaining that very pure, seductive aromatic compound.”

Thirty years down and it appears the Sauvignon Blanc, along with Pelorus, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (and other varietals) are still captivating drinkers the world over. For example, the company has photos of climbers carrying a bottle up Mount Everest.

There are others of a bottle being opened on the Great Wall of China.

There is another photo of two people

underwater diving in Mauritius holding a bottle of Cloudy Bay. But the prize has to go to the person who sent the company a photo of two members of the Ethiopian Mursi tribe sporting traditional body paint and holding an AK47 assault rifle as well as a bottle of Cloudy Bay wine.

Maybe in 30 years time, they will be able to add to their collection with Cloudy Bay in space. For this company the sky really does seem to be the limit.

30 Sauvignon Blanc vintages

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Sports And Spots For Survey Assessing the level of virus infection across New Zealand vineyards is the subject of Arnaud Blouin’s doctoral research – and he’s looking for industry participation during the run-up to vintage 2015.

Blouin, a senior staff member at Plant & Food Research Ltd in Auckland, is conducting a survey of grapevine viruses already present in the country as part of his studies at the University of Auckland. He also hopes that growers and viticulturists will contact him if they spot unusual symptoms in the vineyard during the period from late January to April.

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This Sauvignon Blanc leaf was laboratory tested and found to be free of Leafroll 3 Virus, despite showing typical symptoms.

Symptoms of interest include: • Leaf distortion, leaf spots, leaf scorch or unusual leaf colouration (early yellowing or reddening, for example) • Extremely low vigour • Unusual branching or uneven wood maturation on canes • Early leaf drop • Graft incompatibility symptoms ‘The symptoms may be an indication of infection from one or more grapevine viruses, which can be identified using laboratory diagnostics,’ observes Blouin.

‘Some viruses might be harmless but

the goal of my survey is to learn as much as possible about their presence and impact – and growers can help with that.’

Blouin is the current recipient of New Zealand Winegrowers’ Rod Bonfiglioli Scholarship, and he is working closely with team members from the Virus Elimination Project to stop the spread of Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 in New Zealand vineyards. He can be contacted by email at Arnaud.Blouin@ plantandfood.co.nz

Dealing With Old Vines Marlborough’s wine industry only dates back 41 years, meaning there are not too many old vines in the region. But one vineyard has managed to maintain 31 year-old Sauvignon Blanc and 34-year-old Chardonnay vines.

The gnarly trunks of the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc vines at Dog Point Vineyard are testament to their age. They have seen a lot over the past three decades, and have seen vines come and go with the advent of phylloxera and the changes in varietal mix. While they are amongst some of the oldest vines in the region, they belie their age and continue to produce some of the most sought after fruit for the company.

Viticulturist Nigel Sowman says it isn’t just good luck that has seen these vines continue to prosper, it’s careful management.

There is a train of thought, that the older the vine, the less it is likely to produce in terms of yield. Nigel says that can be a fair assessment in many cases, but the 31-year-old Sauvignon vines are anything but declining.

“We still have no problem getting enough crop off them, in fact we have to thin them every year, just like we do all our Sauvignon vines.”

As they have aged, the fruit composition has changed he says.

“What we are finding is that while they may not be trying to grow a big crop like the younger Sauvignon Blanc, they are a much more settled plant.You may miss out on the highs of young fruit, but instead you get a full palate from start to finish. The flavour profile within the grape becomes complex and makes a wine that has a lot more layers to it.”

In terms of management, Nigel says they do nothing different to the old vines, than they do to the younger.

“In fact we probably do less on the old vines, as they don’t seem to require as much work.”

A specialised management plan ensues the 34-year-old Chardonnay vines on their own rootstock, still manage to

perform well.

“We obviously run the risk of phylloxera, so we have to baby the plants along,” Nigel says. “We make sure they are happy and healthy and free of any competition.”

Grass and oat crops are only left in between the rows for two years maximum, to prevent the crop competing for nutrients. After two years the crops are worked up, mulched back into the soil and the earth left bare for a year or so, before another ground cover crop is planted.

While crops are much lower than the more modern Chardonnay plantings, Nigel says that has a lot to do with the fact that it is Mendoza.

“So they are always below the average. Although the 2014 crop was probably one of the best we have ever had off those vines.”

On average the vines yield around 5 tonnes per hectare.

“We are happy to have it because the fruit quality and condition and the palate weight is fantastic. It’s Gnarly 21-year-old worth all the hard work.”

Sauvignon Blanc vines.

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Export News for September 2014 Key Points • MAT August 2014 export value is $1.332 billion, up 9% on the previous year.

• MAT September 2014 exports are 192.0 m. litres, up 11% on the previous year; packaged exports are +7% for the period and other exports are up 22%.

• Average value MAT August 2014 is $6.97 per litre down 3% on the previous year; packaged export value is $8.13 per litre down 4% on the previous year.

Total Export Volume & Value • MAT August 2014 total value of exports is $1.332 billion, up 9% on the previous year.

• YTD August 2014 total value of exports is $227.4 million, up 2% on the previous year.

• Total value of August 2014 exports was $125.4 m. up 13% on August 2013.

• MAT September 2014 exports are 192.0 m. litres, up 11% (18.7 m. litres) on the previous year.

• YTD September 2014 exports are 57.8 m. litres, up 8% (4.2 m. litres) on the previous year.

• September 2014 exports were 22.1m. litres up 13% (2.5 m. litres) on September 2013.

Export Value per Litre NB Price data for USA 750 ml exports for July has been advised by Statistics NZ as incorrect. This will influence MAT & YTD numbers below. We have also requested Statistics NZ verify the accuracy of the August USA 750 ml data.

- All wines • August 2014 average value was $6.40 per litre, down $0.99 per litre on August 2013.

• YTD August 2014 average value is $6.39 per litre.

• MAT August 2014 average price is $6.97 per litre, down $0.09 per litre from the previous month and down 3% or $0.21 per litre on MAT August 2013.

- Packaged wines

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• Excluding unpackaged wine from the data, the August 2014 average value was $7.62 per litre, down $1.11 per litre on August 2013.

• YTD August 2014 the average price is $7.48 per litre.

• MAT August 2014 the average price is $8.13 per litre, down $0.33 per litre (3.9%) on MAT August 2013.

• MAT August 2014 prices are up 4% to the UK, but are down 7% to USA, Australia and Canada.

Export Volume by Country of Destination • In September, for the major markets, exports were up 52% to the USA, 12% to Australia and 11% to the UK. Canada was up 23% for the month, while performance of other markets was mixed, with the best performer being Netherlands.

• YTD September 2014 growth is led by the USA +18% with Australia +8% & UK +6%. Shipments to Canada are +17% on last year. Netherlands & Denmark are the other best performers.

• MAT September 2014 growth is led by the USA +15%, the UK +10% and Australia +8%. Canada shipments are +10% for the year. Performance of other tracked markets is mixed with Netherlands & Denmark the strongest performers.

Export Volume by Packaging Type • Exports of packaged wines MAT September 2014 are 132.7 m. litres up 6.5% (8.1 m. litres) on the previous year and are 69.1% of total export volume.

• MAT September 2014 packaged exports are up to all major markets led by the USA 13.9%.

• Exports of packaged wines YTD September 2014 are 36.5 m. litres, down 0.8% on the previous year.

• September 2014 packaged exports were 13.8 m. litres, up 4.2% on September 2013.

• Other (non-packaged) wine shipments MAT September 2014 are 59.3 m. litres up 21.8% (30.9% of export volume).

Non-packaged shipments growth is led

by the Australia (+27.0%).

• Non-packaged exports YTD September 2014 are 21.4 m. litres up 26.9% (5.4 m. litres) on the previous year.

• September 2014 non-packaged shipments were 8.2 m. litres, up 32% on September 2013.

Exports by Variety/Style • In September 2014 Sauvignon Blanc exports were 19.7m. litres, up 14% from the previous year, accounting for 89.3% of export volume. Of the Sauvignon Blanc exported in September, 18.3 m litres was from Vintage 2014.

• Performance of other styles was mixed in September with Chardonnay, Pinot Gris & Merlot the best performers.

• YTD September 2014 Sauvignon Blanc exports are 50.5 m. litres up 9% on the previous year. Performance of other styles is mixed with Chardonnay & Pinot Gris the strongest performers.

• MAT September 2014, Sauvignon Blanc shipments are 164.6 m. litres up 12% from the previous year.

Performance of other styles is mixed with Pinot Gris +31% the strongest performer.

• Production of Sauvignon Blanc in 2014 is estimated to have been 231.1 m. litres, 36% up on the previous year.

Shipments of vintage 2014 Sauvignon Blanc since release are 51.3 m. litres or 22.2% of estimated production – this is a lower share than at the same time after 2011, 2012 and 2013 vintages but is ahead of vintage 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Exports by Winery Category • September 2014 export growth was led by the small wineries +126% with the medium wineries +17% and the large wineries +5%.

• YTD September 2014 growth is led by the small wineries +39%; the medium wineries are +12% and the large wineries are +3%.

• MAT September 2014 growth is led by the small wineries +37% with the large wineries +11%; medium wineries are +3% for the period.

Wine Happenings A monthly list of events within the Marlborough wine industry.

To have your event included in next month’s calendar please email details to tessa.nicholson@me.com

January 4:

Clash Of The Titans Concert At Waipara Hills Featuring; Dragon, The Exponents and The Feelers. Waipara Hills, North Canterbury.

3

Cromwell Wine and Food Festival – Cromwell, Central Otago

24

Bridge Pa Triangle Wine District Wine Festival – Hawke’s Bay

29 – 31 Central Otago Pinot Noir Celebration 2015

February 14

Marlborough Wine and Food Festival

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Waipara Hills Winery Tour – Waipara Hills Cellar Door - Waipara

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Dog Point/Logan Brown Classic Kiwi Picnic – Dog Point Vineyard – Marlborough

MARCH 7

Wairarapa Wines Harvest Festival 2015 – Gladstone Vineyard – Wairarapa

12 – 16 Waiheke Vintage Festival – Waiheke Island 14

West Coast Wild Foods Festival – Hokitika

21

Gibbston Wine and Food Festival 2015 - Queenstown

GREAT FOOD, GREAT WINES AND GREAT FRIENDS COME TOGETHER AT HERZOG’S! Christmas Party, Herzog’s Sparkling High Tea, or join the Cooking Master Class on Saturday 6th December.

So many reasons to come and visit Herzog Estate.

Stuck for Christmas gift ideas—what about a Herzog gift voucher?

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Check out our latest menus online - www.herzog.co.nz Hans Herzog Estate | 81 Jeffries Road | Blenheim |03 572 8770 | info@herzog.co.nz | www.herzog.co.nz

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Accolades For Marlborough Wine Air New Zealand Trophies Nine trophies came to Marlborough wines from this prestigious competition.

It was great to see both white and red wines claiming the top spots.

The winners were: Reserve Wine of the Show and Champion Pinot Noir – Villa Maria Single Vineyard Southern Clays Marlborough Pinot Noir 2012 Champion Sauvignon Blanc – Saint Clair Wairau Reserve Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Campion Sweet Wine – Giesen The Brothers Marlborough Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2012 Champion Gewurztraminer – Spy Valley Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2013 Open Red Wine of the Show – Saint Clair Marlborough Premium Pinot Noir 2013 Champion Open White Wine and Champion Riesling – Forrest The Doctors Marlborough Riesling 2014 Champion Sparkling Wine – Tohu Rewa Marlborough Methode Traditionnelle Blanc de Blanc 2011 Pure Elite Gold Medal Winning Wines From Marlborough Sparkling: Tohu Rewa Méthode Traditionnelle Blanc de Blanc 2011 Gewurztraminer: Spy Valley Gewürztraminer 2013 Riesling: Forrest The Doctors Riesling 2014 Highfield Riesling 2013 Vidal Estate Marlborough Riesling 2014 Villa Maria Cellar Selection Marlborough Dry Riesling 2013 Villa Maria Reserve Marlborough Dry Riesling 2012 Sauvignon Blanc: Giesen The August Sauvignon Blanc 2012 Kim Crawford Small Parcels Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Saint Clair Pioneer Block 3 43 Degrees Sauvignon Blanc 2014

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Saint Clair Wairau Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Sileni The Straits Estate Selection Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2014 The King’s Favour Sauvignon Blanc 2013 Tohu Mugwi Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2013 Other White Styles Matua Single Vineyard Albariño 2014 Sweet White Wine Giesen The Brothers Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2012 Pinot Noir: Saint Clair Marlborough Premium Pinot Noir 2013 Saint Clair Pioneer Block 22 Barn Block Pinot Noir 2012 Spy Valley Pinot Noir 2012 Villa Maria Single Vineyard Southern Clays Pinot Noir 2012

Marlborough Wine Show Trophies O-I New Zealand Trophy for Champion Wine of the Show: Villa Maria Single Vineyard Seddon Vineyard Pinot Noir 2012 Winemakers’ Association of Marlborough Trophy for Champion Sparkling Wine: Deutz Marlborough Cuvée WineWorks Champion Sauvignon Blanc 2014: Stoneleigh Latitude Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2014 WineWorks Trophy for Champion Sauvignon Blanc 2013: Triplebank Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2013 WineWorks Trophy for Champion Sauvignon Blanc 2012 or older: The Fuder Single Vineyard Selection: Matthews Lane Sauvignon Blanc 2012 WineWorks Trophy for Champion Sauvignon Blanc Emerging Style: The Fuder Single Vineyard Selection: Matthews Lane

Sauvignon Blanc 2012 Ormond Nurseries Ltd Champion Chardonnay 2012 or older:Villa Maria Single Vineyard Taylors Pass Vineyard Marlborough Chardonnay 2010 TNL Freighting Trophy for Champion Pinot Gris:Villa Maria Single Vineyard Seddon Vineyard Marlborough Pinot Gris 2014 Mantissa Corporation Trophy for Champion Riesling 2014: The Doctors’ Riesling 2014 Mantissa Corporation Trophy for Champion Riesling 2012 and Older:Villa Maria Reserve Marlborough Dry Riesling 2011 Wine Competition Ltd Trophy for Champion Gewurztraminer: Lawson’s Dry Hills Gewurztraminer 2013 The Honey Company Limited Trophy for Champion Sweet Wine: Giesen The Brothers Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2013 Wine Competition Ltd Champion Rosé: Awatere River by Louis Vavasour Single Vineyard Rosé Classic Oak Products Trophy for Champion Pinot Noir 2013: Lawson’s Dry Hills Reserve Pinot Noir 2013 Classic Oak Products Trophy for Champion Pinot Noir 2012: Villa Maria Single Vineyard Seddon Vineyard Pinot Noir 2012 Classic Oak Products Trophy for Champion Pinot Noir 2011 and older: Villa Maria Single Vineyard Seddon Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011 Winner of the 2014 Marlborough Museum Legacy Award: Coopers Creek Riesling 2005, 2009, 2013

News From Home and Away The Bragato Trust – Student Awards, Scholarships, Fellowships The Bragato Trust was set up in February 2008 with a bequest from the Estate of Jan Bragato Colville, granddaughter of Romeo Bragato and a donation from the New Zealand Grape Growers Council.

For 2015 the Trust is seeking applications for : Research Fellowships up to $15,000, Post Graduate Scholarships up to $15,000, Under Graduate Awards up to $3,500.

Application forms can be obtained from the web site www.bragato.org.nz or from bragatotrust@airnet.net.nz Fifth Major Win in 2014 For Yealands Yealands Family Wines has claimed the overall World Champion title at the International Green Apple Environment Awards held in London last month.

Yealands Family Wines competed against more than 500 global nominations from a range of industries, taking home the Australasia Gold

Award, as well as the supreme “World Champion 2014” title.

Now in their 20th year, the Green Apple Awards have become established as the UK’s major recognition for environmental endeavour among companies, councils, communities and countries. The awards are organised

by The Green Organisation, an independent, non-political, nonactivist, non-profit environment group dedicated to recognising, rewarding and promoting environmental best practice around the world.

Founder and Principal, Peter Yealands, was blown away by the result. “The Green Apple Awards are one of the most highly regarded sustainability awards in the world. We had our fingers crossed for a trophy but are absolutely ecstatic to have claimed the top prize and walk away with a World Champion title,” says Mr Yealands.

The World Champion award is the fifth major sustainability award that the Marlborough based wine producer has received this year alone, with accolades also coming from Drinks Business Green Awards, Fairfax Sustainable 60 Awards, and the International Best in Biz Awards.

French Take Wine To Hospital A French hospital is to open a wine bar for terminally ill patients in an unprecedented but characteristically Gallic way to improve their quality of life.

Patients at the Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital in central France will be able to take part in “medically supervised wine-tasting” sessions.

They will also be allowed to invite

friends or family over for a drink.

Dr Virginie Guastella came up with the idea because she believes that patients “are entitled to enjoy” their last days.

Patients enthusiastically supported the plan, which has been approved by the authorities.

Pinot in a Can An Oregan winery is aiming to remove pretense from the art of drinking wine, by releasing their Pinot Noir in a can. Probably not something that is likely to catch on here in New Zealand – hopefully. But the company Union Wine Co, says they are “keeping it real and removing the pretense that surrounds wine.”

The owner and winemaker Ryan Harms says; “while all that ceremony may be good and attract a group of consumers, it can be off-putting and can keep new consumers from entering the wine category.”

CLASSIFIEDS Premium HB Bridge Pa Triangle red grapes available for 2015 vintage. 30T Merlot, 23T Syrah, 5T Cabernet Franc, 5T Malbec. Call Trevor 0120-487-459 Contract Winemaking, Bottling & Warehousing - Pask Winery, Hastings has contract winemaking and/or bottling and warehousing available.

Dejuicing, fermentation, maturation and wine preparation for bottling available. A new bottling facility is available for 375ml, 750ml and 1.5l bottles under screwcap closure – small and large runs can be accommodated – give us a call! All enquiries to Russell Wiggins, ph. 027 2928116 or info@ pask.co.nz

Disclaimer: The views and articles that are expressed and appear in Winepress are those entirely those of contributors and in no way reflect the policy of the Marlborough Winegrowers. Any advice given, implied or suggested should be considered on its merits, and no responsibility can be taken for problems arising from the use of such information.

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Index for 2014 Education and Training NMIT’s New Tutor – Mar, Pg 24 NMIT To Launch New Degree – Aug, Pg 13 Cellar Hand Qualifications – Aug, Pg 23 Formal Cellar Door Operations Qualification a Step Closer – Sep, Pg 28 Gateway To Global Career in Grapes – Nov, Pg 28 Labour Are you A Responsible Grower? – May, Pg 24 Health and Safety, New Act New Attitude – Dec, Pg 24-25 Markets Brazil – The Next Frontier? – Mar, Pg 22-23 Leading the World, NZ in the US – Sep, Pg 17 Marlborough’s Industry Marlborough Keeps on Growing – Apr, Pg 10-11 The Make-Up of Marlborough – June, Pg 6 Babich Committed To Marlborough – June, Pg 9-10 Mapping Marlborough’s Vineyards – Sep, Pg 9-10 Marlborough Vineyards Mapped Over Wellington and Auckland – Oct, Pg 11 Chinese Plan Major Development – Oct, Pg 15-16 Lifetime Achievement Award – Dec 1415 Mechanical Thinning Great Year for Mechanical Thinning – Apr, Pg 8-9 Practical Perspective – July, Pg 16-17 New Varieties/Clones Berry Positive Pinot Gris – Apr, Pg 19 Montepulciano in Marlborough – Apr, Pg 21-22 Albarino in Marlborough – May, Pg 1416 Tempranillo in Marlborough – June, Pg 20-21 Arenis in Marlborough – July, Pg 18-19 Groovy Gruner – Aug, Pg 18-20 Syrah in Marlborough – Sep, Pg 19-22 Chenin Blanc in Marlborough – Oct, Pg 25-27 Herzog’s A-Z Diversity – Nov, Pg 16-17 Organics Making Bio Char from Marc – Mar, Pg 16

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Pests and Diseases Glassy Winged Sharp Shooter and Grapevine Flavescence Dorée Phytoplasma and Scaphoideus Titanus, Apr, Pg 13-15 Vine Mealybug and Black Rot – May, Pg 11-13 Fruit Flies and Bacterial Blight – June, Pg 11-12 Powdery Mildew The Sexual Stage – July, Pg 10-13 More Studies into Brown Beetle – Aug, Pg 26-27 Chilean Needle Grass, A Major Threat – Oct, Pg 9-10 Leafroll3 App – Oct, Pg 14 Profiles James Macdonald – Feb, Pg 16-19 John Flanagan – Mar, Pg 12-15 Abby Albright – Apr, Pg 23-24 Hannah Armstrong – May, Pg 18-20 Rosie Menzies – June, Pg 14-16 Mike Gadd – July, Pg 22-23 Paul Chambers – Sep, Pg 24-25 Samantha Young – Oct, Pg 21-22 Kelsey Daniels – Nov, Pg 18-19 Promotions Brancott Bike Tours – Feb, Pg 25 Sauvignon Blanc Festival – May, Pg 8-9 Royal Media Gets Wine Tasting – May, Pg 21 Cricket and Wine – Nov, Pg 27 Sales and Marketing Mobile Optimisation – Sep, Pg 11-12 Be Media Savvy – Dec, Pg 12-13 Impressions Count, Roger Jones – Dec, Pg 17 Spraying Multi Sprayer – Feb, Pg 12-13 Sustainability The Wise Move – July, Pg 14-15 Making Their Marc – Sep, Pg 18 The Future of Sustainability – Oct, Pg 13 The Value of Benchmarking – Dec Pg 23 Viewpoints Protecting the Planet and Saving the New Zealand Wine Industry – Mike Spratt – Jan Pg 4-5 Beware the Competition says Jamie Goode – Mar, Pg 17 Relations With China – David Tyney, Mar, Pg 18-19 Creating a Win-Win Relationship – James Jones, Mar, Pg 7 Invading Europe – Blair Gibbs – Apr Pg 7 Prosperity for the Future, or Prosperity

for Today? – Simon Bishell – May, Pg 7 Where Is The Future Workforce Coming From – Laurin Gane – June, Pg 7 The Changing Face of Marlborough – Simon Clark – July, Pg 7 Tell The Diversity Story says James Tidwell – Aug, Pg 17 Foreign Investment,Yes or No? Brenton O’Riley – Oct, Pg 31 Wine Tasting in the Andes – Nov Pg 24-25 Industry Giving – Dec, Pg 4-5 Vintage Vintage Record – July, Pg 8-9 Interim Prices Show Increase – Oct, Pg 20 MPI NZW Viticulture Monitoring Report – Nov, 9-10 Vineyard The Impact of High Yields on Vines – Aug, Pg 6-7 The Need For Replanting – Aug Pg 9-11 Making Our Cool Climate Work – Oct, Pg 19 Frost Fan Law Changes – Oct, Pg 23 Dealing With Old Vines – Dec Pg 29 Weather El Nino and What It means – Nov, Pg 8 Winemaking Avoiding and Controlling Brett – Mar, Pg 11 Manipulating Pinot Noir Phenolics – July, Pg 21 Wine Sensory, Wendy Parr – Nov, Pg 20 Cloudy Bay 30 Vintages – Dec, Pg 26-27 Wine Marlborough Board Call to Arms – June, Pg 18-19 New Look Wine Marlborough Communications – Sep, Pg 7 New Board Members – Stuart Dudley and Samantha Wickham – Oct, Pg 17 New Board Members, Rhyan Wardman, Jack Glover, Jason Yank – Nov, Pg 11-13 2014 in review from the Chair – Dec, Pg 6-7 Wine Marlborough Scholarship – Dec, Pg 20-21 Wine Shows Versatility Shows Through, Easter Show – Apr, Pg 18-19 Judging Hundred’s of Wines – Aug, Pg 21 Collectively Celebrating Diversity – Nov, Pg 21 Marlborough Wine Takes 6 Nations Title – Nov, Pg 23

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