Wines

Grape Expectations by Max Crus Cleansing the scum of the earth…choice

Recent floods in Northern NSW and South East Queensland, and the heavy downpours along the east coast generally, have raised a new blight on the Australian landscape…move over redbacks, funnelwebs, king browns, taipans and dropbears, the new killer is mould. Yes, that silent killer of clothing and food is upon us. We’ve all experienced soft, green carrots and sweet potato but lately who hasn’t opened a cupboard to find their favourite leather jacket a new shade of light blue or green? Unless of course you had one that colour already.

Well, fear not, the supermarket is your friend.

An entire section is devoted to mould killers and scum removers, and the selection is mind-boggling, indeed a minefield, albeit an uncharacteristically clean one.

Alas the choice is completely confounding. For instance is ‘Hospital Grade’ better than ‘Professional’, or merely ‘Powerful’? Surely they’re professionals cleaning our hospitals even if they are outsourced from labour hire firms, and wouldn’t they use powerful stuff?

Why are some called ‘Daily Shower Cleaners’? Does this mean others shouldn’t be used daily? Which ones? What if you do? Is ‘Natural Antibacterial’, from ‘Earth Choice’ (must be green then) which comes complete with a cute, little leaf symbol telling us it’s ‘Vegan and cruelty-free’, better than say, plain ‘Antibacterial,’ or ‘Ultra Disinfectant’? And does this portend a whole new realm of consumer consideration, ie how ‘Cruel’ are other cleaners?

Do we now need to ensure our cleaning products are ‘free-range’? What cruelty is being inflicted in the pursuit of cleanliness? Didn’t we deal with this in 1979, outlawing the use of cute, little, white, fluffy bunnies as guinea pigs so our cute, little, white fluffy kids wouldn’t cry when we washed their hair?

Are people really swayed by marketing ploys like ‘Rapid Clean’, ‘Amazing Bathroom Cleaner’, ‘Thick Clinging Formula’, ‘Bathroom Specialist’, ‘Goodbye Soapscum’, ‘Hardworking’, or ‘Tough on Scum’?

Hmm, people in Kooyong believed Josh Frydenberg was going to build them 50 carparks, so maybe.

Anyway, chances are all the products are made by the same company, including Woolies/Coles own brand.

Bit like some bigger wine companies really.

At least with cleaning products you’re probably better off making your own with vinegar, water, metho (for that sparkling finish) and a bit of lavender from the garden.

Can’t do that with wine so easily, at least not as nice as these:

Max Crus is a Clarence Valleybased wine writer and Grape Expectations is now in its 26th year of publication. Find out more about Max or sign up for his weekly reviews and musings by visiting maxcrus.com.au

(Windowrie) The Natural Wine Co. Central Ranges Organic Lightly Sparkling Rosé 2021, $20.

These guys have obviously taken a cue from ‘supermarketing’: organic, vegan, low cal’, low alc’, no preservatives. It’s amazing they’ve still managed to make a decent wine. Well done guys. 9.2/10.

(Windowrie) The Natural Wine Co. Central Ranges Organic Lightly Sparkling White Wine, 2021, $20.

All the good bits of the above but without the pink bits. It’s kind of like a refreshing, flat, dry moscato, with just a little something missing, but you can’t tell what. Ditto 8 per cent too, so it’s almost safe for cute, little, fluffy white children and rabbits. 8.9/10.

Hutton Vale Farm Eden Valley Barossa Shiraz 2017, $75.

A family home for 180 years is a pretty impressive accomplishment, so where have the Hutton’s wines been all these years? Struth, imagine a vertical tasting? Lovely classic Barossan shiraz, with a touch of Eden class. 9.5/10.

Hutton Vale Farm Eden Valley Barossa Grenache Mataro 2017, $65.

“The first thing you should ask yourself when you find a lovely wine”, said a wise old doctor once, is “is there another one at least as good but cheaper?” Well yes, this one. This has an added interest factor. 9.6/10.

Charteris Wines Hilltops Le Fauve Rosé 2021, $30.

This “Wild Beast” (or ‘the fawn’ at least) is the palest of pinks and the palest of labels poses well with it as did we sipping it on the sofa as the similarly shaded sun set slowly behind the stringy barks and smelly flood silt. 9.4/10.

Charteris Le Fauve Orange Pinot Gris, 2021, $30.

A slightly superior gris with a slightly superior label. If only you could tell these things before you bought a bottle. But then I’d be out of job. 9.3/10.

Exploring climate-smart technologies for Australian viticulture

PhD candidate Kate Kingston has been named the recipient of Wine Australia’s Dr Tony Jordan OAM Award 2022 to support her research that will develop and apply innovative biochar-based technologies to help the Australian wine sector adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Ms Kingston’s research will examine the use of biochar in combination with the planting of Australian native legume plants to boost soil microbial activity and improve vine health. It and laboratory work in partnership with vineyards from the Granite Belt wine region.

Biochar increases soil organic carbon and water and nutrient retention in vineyard soil. Ms Kingston said these amendments will help improve plant resilience to pests, disease, drought, heat and other extreme climatic events, reducing the potential of income loss and treatment costs.

“Biochar boosts soil microbial function and plant health, which can positively impact the quality and quantity of fruit at harvest,” Ms Kingston said.

“Adding native legume plants alongside biochar has the potential to provide an organic form of nitrogen that soil microbes can transform into plant available ammonium. This can subsequently reduce fertilisation costs to the vineyard and loss of nitrogen as a pollutant from the system”.

The Award, named in honour of the late Dr Tony Jordan OAM, recognises the most outstanding applicant of Wine Australia’s annual top-up scholarships for PhD and Masters by Research students and provides an additional stipend of up to $40,000 towards research for the Australian wine sector.

Ms Kingston said she is absolutely delighted and honoured that her research has been recognised for this prestigious award.

“Having healthy soils with healthy soil microbes is incredibly important for mitigating and adapting to climate change on many levels. I sincerely hope that my PhD research will provide practical solutions for vineyards in Australia and around the world to survive and thrive through the challenges we face.”