3 minute read
From The Board - Nick Entwistle
From the Board
NICK ENTWISTLE
IT IS a somewhat surreal feeling to have finished blending this early in the year, and to be discussing the very real prospect of having an empty cellar in the not-toodistant future. Such is life when an early start to picking combines with low yields, outstanding wine quality, and a continued high demand for Marlborough wines in market.
All indications are that this demand will only continue, as buyers clamber to secure volume, and sales teams are forced to make some hard calls about who gets what, how much of it, and at what price. Most wineries I have spoken
to talk of a continued trend towards premiumisation, as larger volume bulk blends into low margin markets are eschewed in favour of higher priced bottled products for longstanding customers with strong relationships.
Looking back to 2019, when much of the talk about premiumisation began to gain momentum, there was no way of knowing that we would soon be thrust into the throes of the largest global pandemic in recent history. But from adversity comes creativity and innovation, and I am extremely proud of the way in which both our country and industry has tackled some extremely difficult challenges during this time.
And although our second vintage under pandemic conditions felt somewhat easier and less stressful than the first, the far-reaching impacts on how we live and do business cannot be ignored. Closed borders have highlighted the risk of a heavy reliance on temporary overseas labour, and if the indications from central Government are anything to go by, access to overseas workers will continue to become increasingly difficult and unaffordable.
But it is not all doom and gloom. The predicted impact that closed borders would have on accelerating innovation and investment in new technologies locally is starting to be realised, with several exciting projects underway across the region.
The University of Auckland’s Centre for Automation and Robotic Engineering Science (CARES) recently released information about a virtual reality (VR) vine pruning tool it has developed, that has the potential to revolutionise the way in which we train and assess pruning staff. VR has the advantage over traditional in-field training due to the ability for multiple trainees to be provided with instruction and feedback remotely, whilst reducing the potential risks associated with incorrect cuts that can have a significant and lasting impact on vine health and yield.
Similarly, the recent demonstrations of self-driving tractor technology developed locally by Smart Machine and Pernod Ricard paint a clear picture of the opportunities that exist to automate many of the most time-consuming vineyard machinery tasks, such as mowing and leaf plucking. This will allow businesses to free up staff for more productive tasks and opens the door for new roles within viticulture that did not previously exist, helping attract new talent and expertise into the industry.
Wineries too have been investing heavily in new technologies, with several companies turning to complex algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) to help streamline harvest scheduling and fruit receival. The use of AI is being increasingly integrated into fruit processing equipment, with options now available that facilitate automated communication and smart decision making between receival bin, press, continuous flotation unit and high solids crossflow, all of which can help reduce the reliance on experienced staff whilst reducing the risk of downtime and mistakes caused by human error.
The use of smart tank technology, much of which was developed following the Kaikōura earthquake, has also continued to be integrated into new tanks for expansions across the valley. Moving beyond the initial aim of reducing the need for catwalks by automatically calculating tank volumes, it has evolved to now provide meaningful real time data on fermentation kinetics, replacing much of the work associated with traditional labour-intensive laboratory sampling.
These technologies are just the tip of the iceberg of what will be developed in the future and will play a large role in helping us achieve the predicted future growth of our vineyard area in the coming years. Technology, however, can only be as good as those who develop and operate it, so it is imperative that we continue to support and grow a highly skilled and experienced workforce who will ensure premiumisation remains central to our industry’s goals.
The low yielding vintage may be causing some shortterm pain, but ultimately, we will overcome this challenge as we always do, and continue to forge ahead on our way to becoming the world’s greatest wine region.
