Grapegrower & Winemaker - December 2016

DECEMBER 2016

Australia’s first Assyrtiko Power imbalances in the industry Irrigating direct to the rootzone Pre-Christmas tax package surprise

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contents features 43 54 56 74 86

DECEMBER 2016

Tractors Bird Control AWRI Annual Report Oak Analytical Services

Australia’s first Assyrtiko Power imbalances in the industry Irrigating direct to the rootzone Pre-Christmas tax package surprise

news

COVER Peter Barry, the managing director at Jim Barry Wines, first tasted Assyrtiko in 2016 on Santorini.

He has guided a 10-year process which has now seen the winery share its first Assyrtiko wine with Australian consumers.

grapegrowing

From the editor .........................................7 When it rains, it pours

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Women in Wine Awards ...........................8 Movers & Shakers.....................................9 On the grapevine ................................... 12 2016 Milestones and achievements ..........16 The Remembrance Day storm ..................25

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Power imbalances in the industry ............26 Issues arising under grape contracts ........29 Mechanical weed control chosen over chemical ..............................32 Destemming in the vineyard ....................34 Foreign ownership land register ..............38 Irrigating direct to the rootzone ...............39 Regional Roundup - South Australia .........20

Vineyard bird management: All your options ......................................54

regulars 6 What’s online 21 R&D at Work 36 Ask the AWRI Wine Australia for Australian Wine

Understanding costs should be as easy as ABC Adelaide-based business and engineering consultants 2XE have bought to light some valuable news for the Australian wine community’s bottom line.

In a recent project, funded by Wine Australia, to undertake a life-cycle cost analysis of wine processing, it revealed the enormous potential of what is known as activity-based costing (ABC) as well as some large holes in just how much many wineries know about what their production costs actually are.

This then highlights where changes to processes could increase profits.

A tailored ABC model was prepared for each winery, showing mean costs per kilolitre (kL) of wine for activities such as bottling, barreling and maturation.

The aim was to create an easy-to-use framework that could be customised to suit the needs of each and every wine business.

4 Grapegrower & Winemaker In fact, 2XE CEO Nick Palousis would go so far as to say it is ‘one of the biggest knowledge gaps we’ve seen in the sector’.

Wine Australia is now studying the project report to determine how best to progress the findings.

Nick said ABC represented a different way of looking at costs and their implications. ‘Typically a winery would take its balance sheet and look at the things an accountant usually

99 Winemaker of the month 100 Calendar 101 Marketplace classifieds

help wineries target their efficiency projects towards activities that have the greatest opportunity for increasing profit.

‘For example, the total cost per kL of wine pressed is significantly different when comparing different techniques such as basket press, bag-press and screw-press’, the report says.

‘Also, the way a press is used varies the cost of production per kL. For example, a winery with a bag press using automated pressing cycles may use less labour than one that requires continual monitoring and adjustment.

‘Likewise, a winery that can schedule and separate red and white batches on different days can minimise cleaning and increase labour efficiency

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December 2016 – Issue 635

December 2016: Issue 635 winemaking

business & technology

Pre-Christmas tax package surprise .........60

Australian Small Winemakers Show ........92

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Young Gun: Sam Berketa ........................64 Australia’s first Assyrtiko .........................68 International bulk wine insights ...............70

sales & marketing

AWRI Ferment Simulator joins the cloud ...72

Australia’s ‘best marketing team’ .............95

Flotation applications ..............................84

Sauvignon Blanc: The great white? ..........97

The best test for sugars in wine ...............88

Marlborough ‘lifetime achievement award’ ...............................98

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PUBLISHER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE Hartley Higgins

PRODUCTION Simon Miles

GENERAL MANAGER Elizabeth Bouzoudis

CIRCULATION: Melissa Smithen subs@winetitles.com.au

EDITOR Nathan Gogoll editor@grapeandwine.com.au EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Denis Gastin, Dr Steve Goodman, Dr Terry Lee, Paul van der Lee, Bob Campbell MW, Prof Dennis Taylor, Mary Retallack and Corrina Wright EDITORIAL Daniel Whyntie journalist@winetitles.com.au ADVERTISING SALES Maria Stephenson sales@grapeandwine.com.au December 2016 – Issue 635

WINETITLES MEDIA ABN 85 085 551 980 630 Regency Road, Broadview, South Australia 5083 Phone: (08) 8369 9500 Fax: (08) 8369 9501 info@winetitles.com.au www.winetitles.com.au @Grape_and_Wine Printing by Lane Print Group, Adelaide © Contents copyright Winetitles Media 2014.

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your say what’s ONLINE Aldi’s cheap, award-winning wine Wine snobs on a budget are the winners in the latest battle between Coles and Aldi.

The supermarket giant’s liquor arm is gearing up to take on the German discounter with private label plonk, after Aldi won over drinkers with a slew of awards.

A $5 bottle of red sold exclusively at Coles has been named ‘best wine under $20’ from Australia and New Zealand at the Winestate Wine of the Year Awards, reports News.com.au.

Chinese wine knowledge boosts tourism While Australian wine exporters enjoy the surge in the value of their sales to China, cellar doors at home are also noticing a greater number of eager Chinese tourists.

Winemakers believe the increasing sales both at home and abroad are strongly influenced by the relatively weaker Australian dollar, but they are quick to add it is also due to a growing awareness among Chinese consumers about Australia’s many wine regions, reports the ABC.

Treasury Wine Estates’ ambitious margin targets Treasury Wine Estates chief executive Michael Clarke has unveiled an ambitious plan to lift earnings margins to as high as 30 per cent, making it the most profitable winemaker in the world — and he believes he can get there without having to demerge its lower-margin commercial wines portfolio.

The pledge should cool speculation that TWE is seeking to rid itself of its long tail of cheap wine brands to focus on its more lucrative quality labels, such as Penfolds and Wolf Blass, reports The Australian.

Daily Wine News is a snapshot of wine business, research and marketing content gleaned from international wine media sources, with a focus on Australian news and content. To subscribe visit www.winetitles.com.au/dwn.

6 Grapegrower & Winemaker

New wine label showcases wine research and teaching THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE has launched a new wine label to showcase its research and teaching excellence in wine-making and viticulture.

While not a commercial enterprise, the University makes over 400 different wines from sparkling whites through to fortified wines and liqueurs for research and teaching purposes, many of them of high quality.

“The Hickinbotham Roseworthy Wine Science Laboratory at the University of Adelaide’s Waite campus was built in 1996 and has been the hub of the University’s proud history of teaching, research and collaborative activity in wine science ever since,” said Professor Mike Kellor, Dean of Waite Campus.

“The Waite is home to Australia’s premier winemaking and wine science programs, which have now trained a generation of this country’s best winemakers, viticulturists and wine scientists.

“We’ve been producing premium wines here at the Waite for almost 20 years. This new label provides a clean, polished and professional identity for a quality product made by our winemaking team with the help of students – a product that the university can be very proud of.”

The launch of the new label coincided with the first showing of plans for expansion and refurbishment of the

winery with the aim of making it the best facility in the world for students and researchers working in the wine and allied sciences.

The University of Adelaide’s Waite campus has about 150 researchers from the University and co-located partners in wine and grape science – about 70% of Australia’s total research capability. Its highly regarded wine programs attract students from all over the world.

“The Hickinbotham Roseworthy Wine Science Laboratory is the cornerstone of our teaching and research around the winemaking process,” said Vladimir Jiranek, Professor of Oenology and Director of the ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production.

“When it was opened almost two decades ago it was arguably the best facility of its kind in the world. But at that time it was servicing 20 students and a six tonne vintage.

“Now we have close to 100 students using the winery each year and a vintage of about 120 tonnes. The demands on our winery are intense and the opportunities to develop new approaches and technologies around all aspects of winemaking require an expanded and more sophisticated facility.

“The University of Adelaide is helping the industry meet future challenges and we need to build a winery to match.”

Letter to the editor: New label feedback What is it with the University of Adelaide are they ashamed of the Roseworthy College’s heritage (which they have gone a long way to “disown”)?

We (I was a lecturer there) had our own label in the 70s and 80s plus the winery (which Adelaide shut down after 100 years plus of history) had our own cellar door sales area where the then Associate Diploma in Wine Marketing and Production got real world experience (with the oenology students making the wine).

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Bit like the “truth” in the American elections.

Peter Shields, Kilbowie Wines PS Some real trivia: One of the Rieslings from the late 70s labelled under the Roseworthy label was called Adelaide Hills, and you will find that this is the first use of that nomenclature; it certainly raised some interest at the time (I’m sure Peter Dry and Pat Ireland would well remember the meetings).

December 2016 – Issue 635

from the editor

Nathan Gogoll Editor

When it rains, it pours THERE’S ALWAYS at least one person in our suburban office who complains anytime it rains.

As often as I hear the complaint (it’s usually from the same person) I respond by pointing out winegrape growers rely on the rain… which means the whole industry relies on the rain… which means if it doesn’t rain, we might not have a lot to do around here.

We had the same conversation quite a few times during spring.

“Never complain about the rain,” I kept on saying. Over and over.

Actually, the repetitive conversation became a bit of a joke. And in the end I had to stop trotting out my tired old line and start agreeing that yes, the rain had become annoying.

Unfortunately, this spring didn’t just bring rain, there was also hail.

If you follow sport, then you’ve probably heard of the ‘commentator’s curse’. It’s the explanation for what happens when a commentator points out how well a team, or individual, is performing – only for something to go horribly wrong the next moment.

There was a really good example in the first cricket Test of the summer.

David Warner had moved swiftly to 97 when Mark Nicholas pointed out the batsman had never been dismissed in the 90s. The next ball Warner edged a Dale Steyn delivery to Hashim Amla.

And I reckon I’ve got my own case of a ‘commentator’s curse’.

I chased Steve Liebich, who is based in the Riverland, to get him involved as our November edition ‘grapegrower of the month’. The timing seemed right…

Liebich Family Vineyards have been working on a model of farming where all four brothers are involved; the business is a founding partner in the 100th Monkey Vignerons; they grow some smart fruit which has been in high demand; and with indications of increasing grape prices I thought it would be good to speak to a grower from an warmer, inland region.

December 2016 – Issue 635

Liebich was happy to help out – and we shared a bit of banter about how to work in a mention of the Waikerie Football Club (given the Magpies had recently delivered an A-grade premiership).

When you read his answers you can tell he was upbeat. But no sooner had we sent the November edition to the printer, a massive storm cell started building momentum as it rolled off the hills of the Clare Valley, heading east towards the Riverland.

Some of the Liebich family vineyards got hammered.

So did many others.

Before the storm, Liebich had listed his biggest challenges in the industry as water security and maintaining a strong value chain where all stakeholders are profitable.

When I spoke to him in the days following the hail storm, he asked if he could update his answer.

“I would probably change that to ‘getting through the next 12 months’,” Liebich told me in mid-November.

“But we definitely will get through.”

Across the various Liebich blocks the potential 2017 harvest was basically shredded in half by the hail. But Steve isn’t moping around.

“It was out of our control, it was nobody’s fault, we’ve just got to get on with it,” he said.

I admire the bloke even more because of this attitude. www.winetitles.com.au

“There’s a been a lot of good spirit and people are offering plenty of support, I’ve had a lot of phone calls from across the region and a lot of offers to help out,” Steve said.

The Waikerie Football Club crew also got together to help out a grower up the river from Steve’s place at Cadell. It’s the sort of community spirit that you see right across the grape and wine industry.

One grapegower has even suggested those in the region who hadn’t been affected might be able to chip in to help out. It’s was a sincere gesture from Troy Lehmann and he might be just the sort of character to inspire people to rally together. You see, Lehmann used to play foot for Collingwood and Brisbane – and people always seem to pay plenty of attention to their local sporting heroes.

He put the idea through to Riverland Wine and Chris Byrne got it out to everyone in the region.

Byrne said it would take a fair bit of organisation, but might be possible through the same method of collecting industry levies.

If the Riverland growers get it going, I hope the State Government will match the funds they raise.

Byrne said his ‘back of the envelope’ number crunch came up with potentially $4million (based on collecting $10 per tonne).

“That won’t go anywhere near making up for the losses but it might reel in the pain from ‘unbearable’ to ‘nasty’,” he said.

This sort of response is the reason Brian Walsh, the chair of Wine Australia, has asked people to carefully consider the language we use to describe the sector. He reckons the ‘grape and wine industry’ sounds a bit too industrial and we’d be better off talking about the ‘grape and wine community’.

It’s a great idea – and something I’ll be implementing here in the magazine.

Enjoy the read.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

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news

Winners of the 2016 Women in Wine Awards The 2016 Australian Women in Wine Awards (AWIWA) were announced in mid-November via a web broadcast that was streamed to celebration events taking place across Australia.

BRIAN WALSH, Wine Australia chair, said the judging process was both onerous and inspiring.

“There was an amazing depth of talent across the entries and everyone had a different story to share – from seasoned contributors to those who are rapidly making their mark,” Walsh said.

“Many have only reluctantly entered at the urging of their peers and lovedones, modestly believing that they are just normal women in wine. I think super-normal is more appropriate.”

The breadth of the wine community was well represented within entries — from wine tourism to distribution, and from PR to winemaking – demonstrating that although still in their infancy, these awards are reaching and recognising women right across the value chain.

“On behalf of the entire Board of the AWIWA I want to extend our sincere congratulations to all the winners,” said Jane Thomson AWIWA chair.

“It is truly a delight to see the breadth of talent and dedication recognised. We know these awards are having a positive impact on the conversation around gender equality in our wine community, and we know that the winners of the 2016 AWIWA powerfully demonstrate the contribution that women make.”

As per last year, winners of this year’s awards were announced via a video broadcast. Events were held all over Australia to watch the broadcast to allow the maximum number of people – both men and women in the wine community - to be included in the announcement and celebrations.

Jenny Semmler, who was declared the ‘owner/operator of the year’ said she was delighted to be a finalist.

“I just never expected to win given the talent and experience of the other finalists,” Semmler said. Originally trained as a pharmacist, she became interested in the wine industry and re-trained as a winemaker. She has had various roles in Victoria and South Australia, including assistant winemaker, cellar hand and quality manager, before leaving paid employment to start 919 Wines with her husband, Eric.

8 Grapegrower & Winemaker

AT A GLANCE Seven award winners in six categories were named: • ‘Winemaker of the year’ – Emma Norbiato, Calabria Family Wines, Riverina NSW (sponsored by Wine Ark); • ‘Viticulturist of the year’ – Prue Henschke, Henschke, Eden Valley SA (sponsored by Wine Australia); • ‘Owner/operator of the year’ – Jenny Semmler, 919 Wines, Riverland SA (sponsored by Halliday); • ‘Researcher of the year’ – Roberta De Bei and Cassandra Collins (sponsored by Lallemand); • ‘Workplace champion of change’ – Iain Riggs and Brokenwood Wines, Hunter Valley NSW (sponsored by Vinomofo); and • ‘Cellar door person of the year’ – Rebecca Barr, Fernfield Wines, Eden Valley SA.

Semmler has been a strong advocate of her adopted region, the Riverland of South Australia, and the potential she sees for it to produce the highest quality wines with regional identity.

“As women, we see a job that needs to be done and just roll up our sleeves and do it. One of the best things I’ve found is being able to stand shoulder to shoulder with other women and men, to reach a shared vision for what we can do,” she said.

Emma Norbiato, from Calabria Family Wines was announced as the ‘winemaker of the year’, while her colleague Peta Serafin was named as a finalist in the cellar door category.

“We are very proud to have two members from Calabria Family Wines named as fabulous ladies and finalists of the Australian Women in Wine Award,” said Elizabeth Calabria-Staltare, Calabria Family Wines marketing manager.

“Both Peta and Emma are assets to our team and deserve recognition for their achievements… (they are) both wonderful ambassadors for the Riverina region and in the wine industry.”

The judging panel for the awards included the 2015 winners, Rebecca Duffy from Holm Oak Vineyards and Irina SantiagoBrown from Inkwell Wines as well as the members of the AWIWA Board – Rebekah Richardson, newly appointed winemaker at Irvine Wines; Brian Walsh,

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Wine Australia chair; Corrina Wright, Oliver’s Taranga CEO and winemaker; Samantha Connew, Stargazer Wines owner and winemaker; Jeni Port, wine writer; Toni Carlino, wine marketer; and Jane Thomson, the Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society founder and AWIWA chair.

“These awards give hope to the future generations of women coming through the wine community that there will be other women who are willing to lift them up and support them,” said Rebekah Richardson. “It brings a cohesiveness we have not seen before and a way for our achievements to be highlighted and celebrated in an inclusive and encouraging environment. I would hate to think that the next generations have to struggle with the bias that I have seen through my career.”

Board member Toni Carlino said it has been an honour to be involved in such an inspiring awards program. “The overwhelming number of entries for this year’s awards is a demonstration of the incredibly talented individuals and their teams who provide outstanding service to our industry,” Carlino said. “Whilst we know gender equality is still an issue in our industry, and we have a long way to go to true equality, it is heartening to see how so many in our wine community have embraced and supported these awards, initiatives and events over the past year.”

December 2016 – Issue 635

movers & shakers New WFA leadership team SANDY CLARK, former chairman of Brown Brothers and Mitchelton Wines, has been appointed by the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) as its new president.

Clark succeeds Tony D’Aloisio, whose second and final permitted term as president had concluded.

“I am delighted to be WFA’s next president, and I am looking forward to working with the board and the WFA executive team and representatives of the

industry more generally on the key issues and challenges confronting Australian winemakers and the wider Industry,” Clark said.

Tony Battaglene has been appointed CEO of the WFA. Battaglene has been acting in the role since Paul Evans resigned in April.

The WFA also welcomed the several new members to the board.

Large winemaker representatives: • Georgia Lennon, Accolade Wines; • Helen Strachan, Pernod Ricard Winemakers.

Medium winemaker representatives: • Alistair Purbrick, Tahbilk Pty Ltd; • Bill Moularadellis, Kingston Estate Wines; and • Darren de Bortoli, de Bortoli Wines.

Small winemaker representative: • James March, Heathvale Wines (permanent alternate).

McGuigan Wines makes history MCGUIGAN WINES WAS CROWNED ‘international winemaker of the year’ at the 2016 International Wine & Spirits Competition in London, to become the first winemaker in the world to receive the award four times.

The Australian winery has previously won the title in 2009, 2011 and 2012.

“To be the only winery crowned

International Winemaker of the Year four times is extremely humbling. I am immensely proud of this achievement and what this award means for Australia and McGuigan Wines,” said Neil McGuigan, the chief winemaker at McGuigan Wines.

“These awards are as much for the Australian wine industry as they are for us. Every time an Australian wine

or producer is acknowledged at an international wine competition it puts our products on the map and forces people to sit up and take notice. We continue to be incredibly honoured to represent Australia on the world stage.”

In total, McGuigan Wines received two Trophies, and 46 medals at the IWSC.

Matua claims an IWSC trophy MATUA HAS TAKEN OUT the top prize for New Zealand wineries at the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC), winning the trophy for New Zealand Wine Producer of the Year. Matua was up against Giesen, Kim Crawford and Brancott Estate for the coveted 2016 IWSC Trophy.

The winery, which produced New Zealand’s first Sauvignon Blanc in 1974, also earned 12 medals at the competition.

This now means that Matua has

received the title of NZ Wine Producer or Winemaker of the Year at a major international wine competition four years consecutively after having the honour at the 2013 and 2015 New Zealand Royal Easter Show Wine Awards and the 2014 New Zealand International Wine Show.

“More than ever New Zealand is producing wines that stand up on the global stage and to be acknowledged as the IWSC New Zealand Producer of the Year is testament not only to the quality

of Matua wines but also the breadth of our portfolio and the consistently high standards we are achieving,” said Greg Rowdon, Matua chief winemaker.

“We entered 12 wines and received 12 medals – so we are so pleased to have a 100% strike rate.

“It wasn’t a case of one particular wine outshining the rest either, but our portfolio as a whole consistently performing well, which is our ultimate aim.

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movers & shakers Jacob’s Creek appoints new winemaker TRINA SMITH has been appointed to the position of Jacob’s Creek group white and sparkling winemaker, based out of the brand’s home at Rowland Flat, in the Barossa Valley.

Smith has more than 20 years of winemaking experience as well as

international vintages in California, Italy and South Africa. Her vision for Jacob’s Creek will be driven by her diverse background and specialist winemaking expertise.

In her new role at Jacob’s Creek, Trina will be responsible for the white, rosé

and sparkling wine production.

Smith joins the Jacob’s Creek family from Treasury Wine Estates where she recently held the position of senior sparkling winemaker, working across their entire Australian sparkling portfolio since 2008.

Accolade Wines grabs the Lion’s share LION ANNOUNCED IN NOVEMBER that Accolade Wines had agreed to acquire its entire Australian premium wine business.

The sale included Lion’s six Australian wine brands (Petaluma, Croser, St Hallett, Knappstein, Stonier and Tatachilla) as well as its four Australian wineries, including all plant and equipment, land

and vineyards, inventory and the on-andoff-premise distribution network.

The sale price and the specific terms and conditions remained confidential.

Lion retains its New Zealand and United States wine businesses.

“With the improvement in market conditions we have come to the decision that this is the right time to realise a

fair price for the business,” said Stuart Irvine, Lion CEO. “We will work with Accolade Wines and our people to ensure a carefully managed transition in ownership.”

A six month transition has been agreed to ensure an orderly change of ownership for all stakeholders.

NSW wine wins the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge MOPPITY VINEYARDS HAS WON the overall title of ‘best Shiraz’ for a second time at the Seguin Moreau Great Australian Shiraz Challenge.

The 2015 Escalier Shiraz was judged ahead of more than 350 entries from 60 different regions. Moppity Vineyards is

still the only NSW winery to have won the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge, and the only single vineyard producer to have won it twice. Moppity last claimed the title in 2014.

“This is a style that I love and want to make and it’s a style that this vineyard

is perfectly suited to; elegant, fragrant, spicy, medium bodied Shiraz. Right now Australian judges love it but ten years ago that wasn’t the case; they were looking for bigger, richer, jammier styles from warmer regions,” said Jason Brown, Moppity Vineyards proprietor.

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on the grapevine ASVO announces ‘awards for excellence’ winners AT A CELEBRATORY DINNER at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens Restaurant, the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology (ASVO) announced its annual ‘awards for excellence’.

The ASVO ‘viticulturist of the year’ was awarded to Colin Hinze, of Taylors Wines in the Clare Valley, South Australia. The award judges praised Hinze’s endeavours to implement and refine the use of precision viticulture and his commitment to extend his experiences to the Australian wine industry.

“The key driver for implementation of precision viticulture is to improve vineyard productivity and profit,” Hinze said.

The ASVO ‘winemaker of the year’ was awarded to a team entry from Sue Hodder and Sarah Pidgeon, representing Wynns Coonawarra Estate. The judges awarded the dynamic pair for their contribution to the advancement of red winemaking in Coonawarra.

Together Hodder and Pidgeon have overseen the improvement in wine quality at Wynn’s by focussing on the optimisation of grape quality in a time of climate change and ongoing investigation of winemaking microbes.

The winning viticulture paper was authored by Joaquim Bellvert, Pablo Zarco-Tejada, Jordi Marsal, Joan Girona, Victoria González-Dugo and Elias Fereres from the Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Centre. The best oenology paper was awarded to Marlize Bekker, Martin Day, Helen Holt, Eric Wilkes and Paul Smith from the

Sue Hodder and Sarah Pidgeon, Wynns Coonawarra Estate winemakers.

Australian Wine Research Institute.

In other news from the ceremony two ASVO fellows were named. Brian Croser and Di Davidson, the first female fellow, were recognised for their outstanding and meritorious contribution to the grape

and wine industry and to the ASVO. “The collective wisdom that both these people encapsulate is extraordinary as is the diversity of background and experience,” said Mardi Longbottom, ASVO president.

Wine industry welcomes new legislation THE PASSING of the Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Amendment Bill in parliament has been welcomed by New Zealand Winegrowers.

“The Geographical Indications (Wine and Spirits) Registration Act will be a significant advance for the New Zealand wine industry,” said Philip Gregan, New Zealand Winegrowers CEO.

“Our ‘Geographical Indications’ – the names and places where our wines come from – are at the very heart of the New Zealand wine story and this new law provides an additional level of protection for them.

“The registration system established by the Act will be world class, providing a solid platform for New Zealand wine producers to promote our wines and

regions in international markets.

“We would like to thank the government for making this commitment to the long term future success and growth of the New Zealand wine industry.”

New Zealand wine exports are valued at $1.6 billion for the year to the end of October 2016. The industry is working towards a goal of $2 billion of exports in 2020.

Earthquake Impact: Wineries Open for Business LAST MONTH’S earthquakes were widely felt throughout both the South and North Islands. Marlborough and North Canterbury vineyards and wineries were affected with some reports of broken bottles and damaged tanks which is the least expected in an earthquake of this size.

New Zealand Winegrowers have

12 Grapegrower & Winemaker

received numerous enquiries as to how the damage has impacted the New Zealand wine industry.

“After visiting a number of our members in Marlborough and North Canterbury region it appears that the productive capacity is intact and there have been no reported injuries among members,” said Philip Gregan, CEO of www.winetitles.com.au

New Zealand Winegrowers.

Most winery cellar doors are open for business. Taking into account the time of year and current available information, New Zealand Winegrowers expects there will be little impact on the production and ability to supply markets. A working estimate put the total proportion of wine lost at one per cent of production December 2016 – Issue 635

Grape Havesters since 1978

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN DEMO PROGRAM We will be demonstrating the new Cleantech Vario system and other harvesters in the following areas during February/March: Barossa Valley | Clare | Adelaide Hills McLarenVale | Riverland | South East

Ring to register your interest: Ben - Vinetech Machinery 0439 666500 Anthony – Gregoire Australia 0437 848 253 64 Basedow Road Tanunda, South Australia 5352 Email: ben@vinetech.com.au or sales@vinetech.com.au Ben: 0439 666500

Jason: 0439 666535

Office: 08 85633959

SERVICING CLARE VALLEY, BAROSSA VALLEY, WAIKERIE, ADELAIDE HILLS AND BEYOND! Our other services include 24/7 Vintage breakdown, fungicide sprayer breakdown, Hydraulic hose and fitting service, custom engineering, hydraulic system diagnosis and repair, steel sales, fastener sales and welding supplies.

news Partner Update

SIMEI@drinktec 2017: EXCELLENCE ON SHOW The 27th edition of the International Trade Fair for Winemaking and Bottling Machinery is bringing in more and more exhibitors, confirming its international success At less than a year away from the 27th edition of SIMEI, due to be held from 11th to 15th September 2017 in Munich, already over 130 exhibitors have confirmed their participation. This demonstrates that SIMEI is the world leader in the machinery and equipment sector for the winemaking and bottling industries and that taking part as an exhibitor or a visitor will be a unique opportunity.

For the first time, the 2017 edition will be held together with drinktec, which in turn is a leading event in the beverage and liquid food sector, and this will bring SIMEI to the attention of potential new customers and markets.

Exhibitors will therefore be able to explore different production areas in an extensive showcase. In total, approx. 1,600 exhibitors will participate in drinktec 2017, covering 14 exhibition halls with a total of 150,000 square meters.

Visitors, on the other hand, will be able to optimise their time by taking part in two trade fairs at the same time.

This agreement between Simei and drinktec enhances the complementary nature of the two events, showing operators and visitors the best that technology can offer at 360 degrees. SIMEI@drinktec will be creating an exclusive specialised hub of the winemaking industry over an area of more than 20,000 square metres, celebrating the excellence of its exhibitors. drinktec and SIMEI@drinktec are expecting arount 70,000 visitors, about two-third of them coming from outside Germany.

Technicians, winemakers, consultants and professionals in the industry will be able to meet and discover all the latest news in the industry, the result of research and

USEFUL INFORMATION DATES 11-15 September 2017 PLACE Munich, Germany – Messe München Exhibition Centre PARTICIPATION • exhibitors: complete the form and follow the instructions in the section “2017 application form” on the official site www.simei.it/en or apply online on www.drinktec.com/simei • visitors: information in the section “Visitors” on the official site www.simei.it/en

14 Grapegrower & Winemaker

AWAITING SIMEI 2017 The SIMEI@drinktec Road Show: Intervitis: Stuttgart, 27-30 November 2016 Vinitech: Bordeaux, 29 Nov-1 December 2016 Enomaq: Saragozza, 14-17 February 2017 ProWein: Düsseldorf, 19-21 March 2017 Vinitaly: Verona, 9-12 April 2017 London Wine Fair: London, 22-24 May 2017

‘

SIMEI is a biennial event: the 2017 edition will be held in Munich, while in 2019 it will be held in Italy again

experimentation, the true foundations of an industry where “technology” is the key. It is no surprise then if this edition too will be staging the Innovation Technology Award, a recognition that the Unione Italiana Vini reserves for companies that stand out for the development of exclusive patents.

As in previous editions, SIMEI@drinktec will also be an opportunity for high level professional development. The training aspect is in fact one of the Unione Italiana Vini’s key focus areas in the organisation of the trade fair, with the aim of holding different side events for debate, training and information useful for the real and constant development of the industry.

There will of course be a space for conviviality and education to foster the responsible and moderate consumption of wine thanks to the Sensory Bar. This is another initiative promoted by the Unione Italiana Vini that, during the trade fair, will be introducing visitors to a quality selection of Italian wines and products through guided tasting and sensory analysis training sessions. Taste education – through sensory analysis – will become the tool to stimulate and spread awareness and competence that are fundamental to a moderate approach to drinking, a philosophy that the Unione Italiana Vini has promoted from the beginning.

www.winetitles.com.au

ADVOCACY

December 2016 – Issue 635

ADVOCACY

ADVOCACY

WORLD LEADER IN WINE TECHNOLOGY

27TH EDITION INTERNATIONAL ENOLOGICAL AND BOTTLING EQUIPMENT EXHIBITION

ORGANIZED BY

11th-15th September 2017 Messe München - Germany

SUPPORTED BY

www.simei.it www.drinktec.com/simei

news

2016 Milestones and achievements We take a glance back at the biggest news items for the grape and wine community across the past 12 months.

SUMMER Air New Zealand Wine Awards A Hawke’s Bay Syrah took out the top prize at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards late in 2015. The Church Road McDonald Series Syrah 2013 won the prestigious Air New Zealand Champion Wine of the Show Trophy, as well as the Fruitfed Supplies Champion Syrah Trophy.

Wagga. More than 1000 graduates from the program are currently working in the Australian and international wine industries.

ASVO ‘awards for excellence’ Ben Blows, from the Adelaide Hills, was named ‘viticulturist of the year’; and Ed Carr, Accolade Wines group sparkling winemaker, was declared the ‘winemaker of the year’ when the as the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology handed out its annual awards in late 2015. Peter Hayes was also inducted as a Fellow of the ASVO.

Wine Communicator Award Tyson Stelzer capped a huge year of publishing milestones and awards when he was announced as both the ‘wine communicator of the year’ and ‘digital communicator of the year’ by the Wine Communicators of Australia.

Richard Smart, long-time contributor to The Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker magazine, took out the award for best trade or technical wine writer.

NZ young star Patrick Newton of Mudbrick Winery was named 2015 New Zealand Young Winemaker of the Year for the second year in a row. Newton, 33, won the first ever Young Winemaker of the Year in 2014 and took out the top spot again with a 2014 Chardonnay, a 2014 Syrah and a 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon.

He said winning for the second time was “quite humbling.”

Melanie Chester wins young winemaker award

Vale Bob Oatley Winemaker and yachting legend Robert Oatley passed away aged 87. Described as a giant of Australian wine, Oatley entered the industry in 1969 when he launched Rosemount in the Hunter Valley. He sold the brand for $1.5 billion in 2001, a figure which astounded industry observers.

A statement from the Oatley family thanked friends and colleagues for “the many kind words and tributes”.

New executive director at WGGA Wine Grape Growers Australia (WGGA) announced the appointment of Andrew Weeks as its new executive director, and he commenced the role in February. Most recently employed as business manager at Riverland Wine, Weeks has previously worked in various technical and vineyard management roles including senior viticulture officer with CCW Cooperative Limited. Commenting on his appointment, Weeks said it was a tough call to move on from the Riverland but he was looking forward to the challenge.

Casella snaps up Brand’s Liara

Sutton Grange Winery’s Melanie Chester was awarded Gourmet Wine Traveller’s ‘young winemaker of the year’. At just 26-years-old, Chester recently took over the reins of Chief Winemaker at Sutton Grange Winery having previously worked with the Seppelt team at Great Western.

40 years of wine science education Charles Sturt University celebrated 40 years of wine education late in 2015. The milestone was marked by current and former university staff and graduates with an afternoon of recollections, campus tours and celebratory dinner in Wagga

16 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Casella Family Brands bought Brand’s Laira wines for an undisclosed price from McWilliam’s Wine Group. While the financial terms of the sale remained confidential, it was confirmed the deal included the Brand’s Liara winery, cellar door and brand IP. John Casella, Casella managing director, said he was very excited to introduce Brand’s Laira to the company’s portfolio.

Geelong’s Littore Family Wines sold Costa Asset Management (CAM), a privately owned Australian company, announced it had acquired Littore Family Wines. From February, the winery began operating as the Idyll Wine Co., named after the Sefton’s Idyll Vineyard located in the Moorabool Valley near Geelong, which was established in 1966

by Daryl and Nini Sefton and on which the winery is sited.

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

In a statement released by CAM said the company was excited about the future of the wine industry in Australia.

Australian wine exports jumped to $2.1 billion THE VALUE of Australian wine exports surged 14 per cent to $2.1 billion in 2015, its highest value since late 2007. The Wine Australia Export Report December 2015 showed for the first time in over two decades, the value of Australian wine exports has grown in each of Australia’s top 15 export markets.

Andreas Clark, Wine Australia chief executive officer, said the findings should be warmly welcomed by the Australian grape and wine community. Figures of exceptional growth were highlighted by large export increases to China, Japan and Korea.

China had the strongest growth of 66 per cent to $370 million, Japan increased by 12 per cent in value to $46 million while exports to Korea jumped 38 per cent in value to $11.7 million.

30 years of Coldstream Hills Late in 2014 Coldstream Hills celebrated its 30th anniversary.

Andrew Fleming, who for the past 14 years has led the winemaking team at Coldstream Hills, said the winery now benefited from mature vineyards, advanced technology, essentially a new winery and an improved understanding of oak. “Our wines have never looked better. Our style has not dramatically changed since James (Halliday) held the fort and we plan to keep it that way,” Fleming said.

AUTUMN Less wineries, but exports on the rise

Indevin snaps up Winegrowers of Ara vineyards

The 2016 edition of The Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Directory revealed the wine industry had structurally changed. The 34th edition of the directory, released in February, reported vineyard area had declined by 22% from the peak in 2006-07, and is lower than any time since 1999. The number of wine producers also decreased for the second consecutive year, reducing by more than 100 (4.1%) since 2014. However the 2015 winegrape intake increased marginally to 1,669,564 tonnes and wine exports were good news for the industry, rising by 7.8% to almost $2 billion.

Ara And Indevin reached an unconditional agreement for Indevin to purchase Ara’s existing vineyard and landholding in Marlborough. The vineyard is located in the Waihopai Valley, south-west of Blenheim, and consists of about 600 hectares of existing vineyard and roughly 900 hectares of bare land suitable for viticulture. Neither company would comment on the sale price, however UK trade publication The Drinks Business speculated the deal could be potentially worth £130 million (NZ$283 million) based on the average cost of a planted vineyard in Marlborough.

Howcroft Vineyards acquired by Casella

Penfolds named ‘world’s most admired wine brand’

Casella Family Brands completed a purchase of Howcroft Estate Vineyards in South Australia’s Limestone Coast region in early 2015, reportedly for more than the $9million asking price.

The sale was facilitated by Colliers International and the investment by Casella Family Brands was $22,000 per planted hectare of vines. The Howcroft Vineyards are located near Bordertown in the northern reaches of the Limestone Coast zone and are among the largest commercial vineyards in the district.

Penfolds was recognised as the ‘world’s most admired wine brand’ by Drinks International when the results of an annual

Pemberton winery Salitage Estate sells for $2.85m A Western Australian investor secured a footprint in the state’s wine industry, after acquiring the award-winning winery Salitage Estate for $2.85 million. Located in the cool climate region of Pemberton, the winery and vineyard is set on a 51 hectare landholding and has almost 23 hectares of vineyard planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The property also includes a custom-built winery, cellar door and four accommodation suites.

Invivo secures historic 114-year-old NZ winery New Zealand’s Invivo Wines secured a long-term lease and full control of an historic 114-year-old winery south of Auckland in Te Kauwhata. The winery was first designed and constructed by the New Zealand Government in 1902 as the country’s first viticulture research station and was originally headed by industry pioneer and viticulturist Romeo Bragato.

Tim Lightbourne, Invivo co-founder, said he was looking forward to adding another chapter to the winery’s long history.

December 2016 – Issue 635

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

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news poll were released in March. Almost 200 international industry experts including buyers, sommeliers, wine writers, Masters of Wine, industry experts and wine critics took part in the poll which pits wine brands from all global regions, styles and qualities against each other. Peter Gago, Penfolds chief winemaker, said the team at Penfolds were “chuffed” with the global recognition.

$42million to increase glass bottle capacity Orora Limited announced it was investing $42million in additional glass bottle forming lines to increase the output from its glass facility in Gawler, South Australia, by 60 million bottles per year. The expansion will create 25 new jobs and deliver significant flow-on benefits to local suppliers of materials and services. A further $10-15 million investment in an automated warehouse is also under consideration.

Three wine industry ‘life members’ John Angove, Wolf Blass and Colin Campbell were named ‘life members of the Australian wine industry’ in recognition of outstanding leadership and contributions to the industry.

The awards, administered by the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA), were presented during an event at the Magill Estate Restaurant in March.

John Angove has worked in the Angove Family Winemakers business since the 1970s. He has served various industry representative bodies and is proud that his family has been directly involved in these organisations for 43 years. Angove has already been recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia Wolf Blass arrived in Australia in 1961 and soon became Australia’s first freelance wine consultant. His Bilyara business began with the 1966 vintage and Wolf Blass International was established in 1973. Blass is also a Member of the Order of Australia.

Colin Campbell, a fourth-generation family winemaker, has been a passionate supporter of both his home region of Rutherglen and the broader Australian wine and viticulture

industry. He remains committed to representing the industry and serving the WFA Board.

Brown Brothers purchased of Innocent Bystander Family-owned Brown Brothers announced in April it had entered an agreement to purchase the Innocent Bystander brand from Giant Steps. As part of the acquisition, Brown Brothers will purchase the old White Rabbit brewery site next door which will become the cellar door home of Innocent Bystander.

Dean Carroll, Brown Brothers chief executive officer, said Brown Brothers had been investigating growth opportunities to enhance its leadership position within the Australian wine market.

Hooper’s hall of fame Cape Jaffa Wines head winemaker Anna Hooper was inducted into the Australian Business Woman’s Hall of Fame, placing her among some of Australia’s most influential women of the past decade. Hooper’s accolade placed her alongside some of Australia’s most influential female minds of the past decade.

Running Cape Jaffa Wines with her husband Derek, Hooper said her passion for winemaking combines her love of conservation, sustainability and a great surf.

“There is a great deal of very clever women in Australia (not only my industry) and I’m very proud and a little humbled to even be thought of in the same class as them,” Hooper said.

10th vintage milestone Misha’s Vineyard celebrated its 10th vintage in April by expanding distribution into Myanmar and Indonesia. Misha’s Vineyard is located on one of the most spectacular sites in New Zealand at the edge of Lake Dunstan in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago. Pinot Noir and a range of aromatic white varieties are planted on the north-west facing slopes of the 57-hectare property. The wines are made by Olly Masters. The brand has been named among New Zealand’s Top 20 Producers

by Decanter (UK) magazine.

WINTER Seppelt cellar door to stay open A deal negotiated between Treasury Wine Estates and a local family business ensured Seppelt’s cellar door would remain open. Seppelt’s parent company had previously announced it would wind down operations at the cellar door by the end of June 2016. But employees have been given the opportunity to remain at the cellar door as tours and wine tastings are to continue. Adam Carnaby, Seppelt senior winemaker, said the announcement was great news for the Grampians region, and Seppelt.

Woolworths Liquor group changes name Endeavour Drinks Group was announced as the new name for the Woolworths Liquor Group, a move the company said would help consumers differentiate between its liquor and supermarket sectors. Dan Murphy’s, BWS, Cellarmasters and Langtons fall under the new banner.

Rose Scott, general manager merchandising and marketing, said, “we need to separate our ownership from the strong customer facing brands that sit underneath it”.

Australian wines win big at IWC Australian Wines continued to succeed at international wine competitions, taking out the second highest number of awards at the International Wine Challenge and becoming its first non-

18 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Italian Gold medal winner of Montepulciano. Australian wines were awarded 815 medals including 80 gold, 375 silver and 360 bronze. This placed Australia second on the leader board of total medals by country, beaten only by France.

In a first for the competition, Adelaide Hills’ Bird in Hand and Mr. Riggs were both awarded gold medals for wines made from Montepulciano, making it the first year a non-Italian Montepulciano has won gold.

Full-bodied growth for NZ wine industry New Zealand’s wine industry demonstrated full-bodied growth as consumers at home and abroad sought out quality beverages, according to a report from ANZ Agri Focus. The report pointed to a doubling of wine sector earnings over the past 10 years, with average annual growth of 8.4% lifting annual sales to around $2 billion. The positive news was delivered not long after the 2016 New Zealand grape harvest had finished, with high quality fruit being picked across the country. Producers benefited from excellent summer and early autumn weather in grape growing regions, enabling full ripening and flavour development.

AWAC celebrates high achievers The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) announced the dux of three Advanced Wine Assessment Courses (AWAC).

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

Tim Perrin, Oakridge Wines winemaker, took out dux of AWAC 36; Tim Bourne, Sons of Eden assistant winemaker, was named dux of AWAC 37; and Stephanie Dutton, Penfolds winemaker, was awarded with dux of AWAC 38.

Wolf Blass wins ‘red winemaker of the year’ Wolf Blass Wines was named ‘red winemaker of the year’ at the International Wine Challenge in London. The South Australian winery topped more than 15,000 entries from over 50 countries, demonstrating their strength and consistency of winemaking across wine styles. Chris Hatcher, Wolf Blass chief winemaker, said he was humbled to receive the award on for the third time on behalf of the winery.

30 years of Eileen Hardy Chardonnay Vertical tastings of Eillen Hardy Chardonnay marked a milestone for one of Australia’s most famous white wines.

Bill Hardy, who participated in the McLaren Vale tasting, was amazed with the quality of the oldest wines.

“Tasting those early ones, the 86, 87, 88 wines, I was just blown away with the life in them still,” Hardy said.

Chief Winemaker Paul Lapsey said the 30-year milestone for

the wine is a “remarkable feat in many ways”.

“It’s a story that the whole Australian industry should be proud of as the quality of the wines has always been exceptional,” Lapsey said.

SPRING Len Evans Tutorial claims Maurice O’Shea Award The Trustees of the LET Foundation were delighted to receive the 2016 McWilliam’s Maurice O’Shea Award in late July. The Len Evans Tutorial was launched in 2001 by the late Len Evans OBE AO, himself a recipient of the O’Shea Award in 1991.

His principal aim was to increase the knowledge and tasting ability of future wine show judges. Held in the Hunter Valley, the annual five-day tutorial features a series of blind tastings, master classes and judging sessions. The program is designed to define quality by exposing the 12 carefully selected scholars to the great wine styles of the world, guided by the industry’s greatest palates.

Iain Riggs named ‘Legend of the Vine’ The driving force behind Brokenwood Wines and one of the industry’s most passionate advocates, Iain Riggs, was named the 2016 NSW Legend of the Vine by Wine Communicators of Australia. Riggs has been Brokenwood’s chief winemaker and managing director for more than 30 years and is Chairman of Trustees of the Len Evans Foundation.

Treasury Wine Estates: Impressive annual result Michael Clarke, Treasury Wine Estates’ CEO, said he was “delighted” with the 2016 financial results which he said showed “momentum across our business is accelerating”.

The headline news from was the doubling of net profit after tax and earnings per share. Reported Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) jumped to $179.4m and Earnings Per Share (EPS) topped 25 cents. Treasury reported Earnings Before Interest, Tax, SGARA and material items (EBITS) of $342.0m, up 52% on a reported currency basis and slightly ahead of what had been anticipated back in July.

The Treasury board declared a final dividend of 12 cents per share, bringing the total dividend for F16 to 20 cents per share; representing a six cent per share increase (+43%) and a 67% payout ratio.

The biggest wine industry event on the calendar More than 1100 Australian and international wine and viticulture representatives arrived in Adelaide in July for five days of major industry events. There was a big focus on the December 2016 – Issue 635

latest in information and technology across the grape and wine value chain at the 16th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (AWITC), which incorporates the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) Outlook Conference.

Across a dozen plenary sessions – featuring 16 international and more than 40 local speakers, a program of 38 workshops and an extensive technical poster display – the focus shifted between both business and technical aspects of grape and wine production.

WGGA became Australian Vignerons At a special general meeting of Wine Grape Growers Australia (WGGA) in September, a majority of members voted in favour of accepting a new constitution, which will mean that WGGA will now trade as Australian Vignerons. The new name, encompassing both growing and making wine, is intended to reflect a holistic approach to the changing wine community.

Other changes will include the election of an independent, skills–based board, and a change to membership structure.

“This is not the end of a period of hard work – it is the start of it,” said Andrew Weeks, WGGA executive director.

New awards make an impact The new awards of the Wine Industry Suppliers Australia (WISA) were handed out across six categories at an event that attracted a big crowd to the National Wine Centre in October.

The ‘Wine Industry Impact Awards’ (awarded in grapegrowing; winemaking; packaging; distribution and logistics; marketing and communications; and tourism categories) replaced the WISA ‘Supplier of the Year’ program, highlighting engagement between suppliers and their clients and attracted 22 nominations.

Hordern tops the 2016 Len Evans Tutorial A winemaker has earned the title of Dux of the Len Evans Tutorial for the first time since 2009, breaking the recent hold of sommeliers and representatives from the trade on the award.

Stuart Hordern, Brokenwood senior winemaker, claimed the honour on ‘home soil’ in the Hunter Valley. Hordern becomes only the second Hunter Valley based attendee to dux the weeklong Tutorial, following Liz Silkman (nee Jackson) in 2006.

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

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REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Regional roundup: South Australia Seppeltsfield global best of wine tourism THE BAROSSA VALLEY’S Seppeltsfield estate has been crowned Global Best of Wine Tourism at the 2017 Great Wine Capitals awards, announced in Portugal recently.

Seppeltsfield is the first Global Wine Tourism Winner to represent Adelaide, South Australia – which is a new member to the Great Wine Capitals network.

Representatives from Seppeltsfield joined South Australian government primary industry and tourism delegates in Porto, Portugal to accept the award.

Seppeltsfield has undergone a careful evolution since 2009, following significant investment by its proprietors. The expansion of Barossa vineyard holdings and revival of its 1888 Gravity Cellar leading way to a full redevelopment of its cellar

door village, including the incoming of JamFactory Art & Design Studios and FINO Seppeltsfield restaurant.

“This award signals a completed transition of Seppeltsfield from a staid – albeit historic – wine property, to a dynamic and multi-experiential destination, where wine, regional food and art are equally celebrated and promoted,” said Warren Randall, Seppeltsfield proprietor and managing director.

Also announced at the event in Porto was Adelaide’s successful bid to host the Great Wine Capitals AGM in 2018.

Delegates from the nine other member countries are expected to travel to and immerse in South Australia’s wine regions, to further the network’s collaborative marketing and strategic efforts.

Six trophies for Wrattonbully at Limestone Coast Wine Show SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S WRATTONBULLY wine region has won the prestigious Bill Redman Trophy for ‘best wine of show’ at the Limestone Coast Wine Show, for the second year in a row.

The result saw a back to back wins for Wrattonbully’s Pepper Tree Wines, with the 2013 Pepper Tree ‘Elderslee Road’ Single Vineyard Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon the latest vintage to shine.

The wine won the David Wynn Trophy for ‘best red wine of show’, the H.R. (Ron) Haselgrove O.B.E. Trophy for ‘best cabernet sauvignon of show’ and was also named the ‘best individual vineyard wine’ before going on to claim the Bill Redman Trophy for ‘best wine of show’.

Pepper Tree Wines viticulturist, Peter Balnaves, was also highly acclaimed, winning the Arthur Hoffmann Trophy and back-to-back titles as ‘viticulturist of best wine of show’.

John Davis, Pepper Tree Wines owner, said last year’s win “was a huge thrill for us because we’re a long way from home here – we came to Wrattonbully from the Hunter Valley because this is one of the best areas in Australia for Cabernet, and we’re now starting to get really fantastic results”.

Jane Faulkner, the chief of judges added: “I just think they’re on a winning streak at the moment for all the right reasons; good viticulture, good winemaking and it’s starting to show.”

Tim Fletcher, Wrattonbully Wine Region Association president, said the region collected at least 20 gold medals at the competition.

“The fact that we have gold medals representing a large variety of wines and styles really highlights our region’s varied strengths, and we’re also setting new records every year in terms of results, which is really exciting,” Fletcher said.

1.8 million support for South Australia’s wine industry THE LIMESTONE COAST and Coonawarra wine regions will reap the benefits from a new $1.8 million State Government scheme designed to attract visitors and foster development within the grape and wine community.

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Leon Bignell, SA Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, said the South Australian Wine Industry Development Scheme would help to ensure growth in the state’s wine sector and further cement South Australia’s reputation as a producer of premium wine.

“Funding from the scheme will not only directly benefit individual cellar doors but also extend to grape growers, winemakers, individual wine brands, culinary tourism operators, restaurants as well as regional food and wine events,” Bignell said.

“We have 18 distinct wine regions and we want to ensure we continue to attract as many visitors and sell as much wine as possible.

“In 2014-15, South Australia’s wine sector generated almost $1.8 billion in revenue and increasing the funding for this crucial industry means more jobs in our regions.

“The scheme will ensure the benefits from Adelaide’s membership in the Great Wine Capitals Global Network will flow across the state – promoting our regions on an international stage.”

The scheme was developed in consultation with the wine industry.

Last year there was a $1.1 billion rise in gross food and wine revenue, taking the total value to $18.2 billion in revenue in 2014–15.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

Wine Australia for Australian Wine

Seeking new answers to under-vine management Chris Penfold’s research focus has shifted about a metre to the left and right over the past two years.

He’s done a lot of work in the past helping viticultural teams with cover cropping issues in the mid rows between their vines, but is now looking to use similar principles to develop a low-input management system for the soils below and around the vines themselves.

Mr Penfold, a Research Officer at the University of Adelaide, and Dr Melanie Weckert from National Wine and Grape Industry Centre in NSW, are leading a three-year project investigating whether growing winter-active plants in the under-vine areas can improve soil quality, reduce the need for herbicides, cut costs and improve wine quality.

‘Our option is to look at ways of improving that soil quality and ultimately, I’m hoping, fruit quality as well.’

Surprisingly, given that as much as $12 million is spent every year on buying and applying herbicides to control undervine weeds, this is relatively new territory.

Little previous research has been done and growers have tended to be satisfied ‘We’re really intrigued with herbicide-based

by Kasbah cocksfoot, a responses that work perennial grass that slows while they deal with down at certain times of the more pressing issues.

‘There are two aspects to the work’, Mr Penfold said. ‘The project is within Wine Australia’s Efficient and sustainable vineyard management year but never actually goes ‘I guess that’s our dormant’ program, so we are role as researchers; looking at ways of to provide specific reducing costs associated with herbicides answers when they are needed and and their application, which can be requested but also to try to look ahead considerable in some years in some to where issues might be and develop places. And it’s getting worse, not better, improved systems’, Mr Penfold said. because of the increase in herbicideresistant weeds requiring more chemicals For this project, trial sites are operating or a different mix of chemicals. in the Barossa, Eden Valley, Clare, Riverland, McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills ‘At the same time there is an and Coonawarra. Each has 10 separate environmental driver and we are looking zones – 2 control zones using herbicides to improve soil quality by having living or straw mulch and 8 planted to a variety roots in that under-vine zone. Some of grasses or prostrate legume species people do allow things to grow for a while (about 20 across all sites) considered before removing them with herbicides and most suitable for that soil and region. some people with high trellises can leave plants growing for sheep to graze on, but From a scientific perspective, some of the that’s not possible for everyone. early results are intriguing, not the least

December 2016 | www.research.wineaustralia.com

because there are many factors at play every time.

For example, the project is the first to report finding both beneficial and deleterious interactions between certain cover crops and grape vines. Some work well in terms of weed control but can lead to lower vineyard yields, while others actually improve yield and appear to be associated with good wine quality.

‘We’re really intrigued by Kasbah cocksfoot, a perennial grass that slows down at certain times of the year but never actually goes dormant’, Mr Penfold said. ‘Where we’ve planted it in the Riverland you just don’t get summer weeds, which are usually the most prevalent, so that has enormous potential.’

Mr Penfold is buoyed by the positive signs in terms of yield data, management options and ‘the enthusiasm from growers when they see it’. But he is conscious that it is still early days.

‘Things take time to change in a vineyard’, he said. ‘Vines are perennials. The shoots we see this year are the result of buds set down last year and so we have to factor in the seasonal effects coming from a dry spring last year. What’s it going to be like next year, compared to this year, in which there has been a very wet spring?

We’ll get a better picture after two or three years.’

www.research.wineaustralia.com | December 2016

Research focus extends to gatekeepers Insights for enhanced relationships with importers, retailers & distributors to look at what types of support and messaging will leverage producers’ efforts.’

The 18-month project, funded by Wine Australia, is being run in two stages. The first is a qualitative study to determine the key issues that need detailed investigation. Prof Crouch is working with Assoc Prof Vinh Lu from the Australian National University (her collaborator on the Advance Australia Fair Country of Origin Study) and Dr Steve Charters from the BSB to undertake 20 interviews in each market – 10 with importers/distributors and 10 with retailers.

Professor Roberta Crouch

Dr Armando Corsi

There’s a multi-institutional and multicultural feel to an important new study designed to help Australian wine exporters in the US and the UK. The five researchers are affiliated with four universities in three cities and two countries, and while the strongest links are with Adelaide, the concept came together in France.

to know a lot more about how they think and how we should work with them. As researchers we have done a lot of recent studies that look at what wine drinkers want and how to manage the consumer side of the story, but we also need to pay attention to the business side of the story.

Earlier this year, Dr Armando Corsi from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science at the University of South Australia met up with Prof Roberta Crouch at the Burgundy School of Business (BSB). Prof Crouch now runs the Master of Wine program at BSB but will return to the University of Adelaide early next year, while Dr Corsi is a visiting professor there.

Both had recently completed major research projects for Wine Australia and felt there was a new area of interest that would benefit from a collaborative approach and a mix of skills.

‘At the end of the day, if the wine isn’t selected by those who put the wine on the shelf – I’m using shelf in a very generic sense, it could be restaurant, online or a wine list – then consumers can’t buy it.’

The project aims to identify sales barriers and success factors for premium wine in each of the two markets. Prof Crouch’s earlier research has highlighted the problems Australian producers have in the US and UK ‘For individual producers promoting premium we want to help them wine and this will be decide which importers and addressed, as will the distributors are the best fit impact Brexit will have for them, what criteria is in the UK.

critical to selling wine to these entities, and what are ‘For individual the best ways to engage and producers we want to help them decide build relationships’

‘Roberta did a big project looking at the perceptions of Australian wine in a number of key markets and while it was comprehensive the one area it did not really look at was the relationship that producers can establish with importers, retailers and distributors in foreign markets’, Dr Corsi said.

which importers and distributors are the best fit for them, what criteria is critical to selling wine to these entities, and what are the best ways to engage and build relationships’, Dr Corsi said. ‘The ultimate outcome will be a kit of strategic advice that will help both new and existing exporters to build stronger business relationships.’

‘They are the gatekeepers and we need

‘For the sector as a whole, we want

December 2016 | www.research.wineaustralia.com

The UK interviews began in late October and early data is already providing useful results. ‘Distributors so far are indicating they seek relationships with producers whose brand values match their own, especially when it comes to being able to offer something unique and different for their customers. This means there are good opportunities for those that communicate their own brand values effectively’, Prof Crouch said.

‘However, initial interviews also highlight the overall image perception that is strongly affecting premium wines generally from Australia, with some interviewed saying they know that Australia produces high-quality wines, but their customers just don’t share that belief and so are unwilling to pay a premium price for them.’

Analysis of all the data will shape the quantitative phase, involving surveys with 200 importers/distributors and 200 retailers in each market. This phase will include a discrete choice experiment designed by Dr Corsi and Dr Lara Agnoli (BSB) and an attitudinal investigation designed by Assoc Prof Lu and Prof Crouch.

These will seek to get broad feedback about how ‘gatekeepers’ feel about doing business with Australian producers and then empirically test the importance of critical business attributes related to their wine importing decisions.

‘We want to know what they see as the most and least desirable attributes of business relationships, the reasons for any previous failed relationships, their perceptions of Australia suppliers, and ultimately what would lead them to stock and recommend Australian wine’, Dr Corsi said.

Workshops look at spraying from all angles Growers learn the latest techniques, technology and treatment application As head of the application technology group in the Department of Entomology at Cornell University in New York State, USA, Dr Andrew Landers’ laboratory is at the forefront of spray technology innovation.

Dr Landers was brought to Australia by Wine Australia and the AWRI specifically to present at the spray application workshops alongside Alison McGregor, the Senior Agronomist with Mildurabased SunRISE Mapping and Research.

‘Alison’s a biologist so she approached it from her point of view and I’m an engineer so I’m more interested in the machines and how they can be improved, setting it up to improve deposition’, Dr Landers said.

The result was informative and interactive sessions that presented a clear idea of what technology can do, while reminding growers that it’s not all about technology – they also have to use it well.

Information also was provided about changes that are happening in relation to agrochemical regulation, including product labels and how to go about applying certain agrochemicals Dr Landers said he was concerned that the wine sector was dropping behind other industries in terms of using new technology, which in a world of apps and electronics could drive young people away.

grape, that calibration was about the spray plume not just the nozzle (the spray cloud needs to be calibrated then the machine adjusted accordingly) and that there are new techniques available to reduce operator contamination and environmental impact.

The major thrust of his air flow message was to reduce flow in early- to midcanopy development and ensure the flow is being directed into the canopy.

‘I like to show them the engineering physics first and then translate that into applied, practical common sense; show them how air moves around a bunch of grapes for example and how they can adjust their sprayer so that the air stays within the canopy and doesn’t get blown through.’

‘We still have growers writing down on a bit of paper what their daily spraying is and then manually putting it into a computer, when we have access to flow meters and can automate that Ms McGregor told the growers with either GPS or radio-frequency that whether or not there was new identification to give technology on location within the ‘I don’t think any grower can the horizon, ‘the canopy. That gives just rely on new technology technology that you management and think that the job’s done,’ you have has to be capability and she said. ‘There’s still a lot of adapted constantly traceability.’ responsibility to make sure as the canopy Other aspects that their own delivery system changes’. of Dr Landers’ is optimal for the canopy at ‘I don’t think any presentations looked that growth stage.’ grower can just rely at the importance of on new technology correct liquid flow and think that the job’s done,’ she and air flow. said. ‘There’s still a lot of responsibility In the case of liquid flow, he reminded to make sure that their own delivery growers that it was important system is optimal for the canopy at that to select the correct size droplet so growth stage. the spray would remain on the leaf or

‘One of the examples discussed at the workshop was around flowering. If you’ve got very high air speed around flowering, it’s very hard to deposit and retain droplets on the surface of a flowering bunch, so the way you manage your air at flowering is very different to the way you would manage your air later on in the season. It requires different techniques.’

The seven workshops were held in Mildura, Nuriootpa, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, Milawa, Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Valley.

Alison McGregor’s workshop takeaways •

Read the agrochemical label, understand how the product needs to be applied and manage accordingly (equipment, conditions and resistance management).

•

Whatever you think the air is going to do it will do something else.

Get out and look at where spray is going; if it’s not getting the droplets onto the canopy it’s a waste.

•

Remember the four Ts. Spray application is only effective if you time it correctly, target it correctly, apply the correct treatment (chemical and rate) and you use the right technique.

www.research.wineaustralia.com | December 2016

A Future Leader heads in a new direction Program opens networks and encourages new skills

with a focus on the Australian wine sector. This is where the program is unique, I believe, as it helps people build personally but also create and develop within our own very special community.’

Like many graduates before and since (there have been 91 from 6 intakes since 2006), Rebekah says the at times challenging program ‘opened up networks, but gave me a much broader and well thought out process for the future’.

‘For me it was about having a clear understanding of how we could affect change outside our own small areas, or regions’, she said. ‘It has made an impact on my decisions in that I think much more about the whole sector and how I can help rather than just my dayto-day job.’

Rebekah Richardson

If Rebekah Richardson is any guide, graduating from the wine sector’s Future Leaders program equips you to make some bold career moves.

A few months ago, Rebekah took many people by surprise when she announced she was stepping down from her high-profile role as Group White and Sparkling Winemaker for Pernod Ricard Winemakers. She still loved the job, loved the place and was proud of what she was achieving, but after 10 years felt it was time to stretch her wings.

‘It should be fun and combine some of my skills I have learnt over the last 20 years’, she said.

Rebekah’s career was mapped out at the age of 14 when she visited Champagne during a trip to France and fell in love with the whole idea of sparkling wine. She studied at Charles Sturt University, worked around Australia, completed several overseas vintages, then in 2006 arrived at Orlando.

Four years later, she was accepted into the fourth intake of She planned to work the Future Leaders as a wine sector program.

‘This is where the program is consultant until an unique, I believe, as it helps initial approach from ‘I applied in the people build personally but a small Barossa first place because also create and develop Valley winery I thought it would within our own very special turned into broader be a great way to community.’ discussion and a meet other people proposition that in the sector who suited them both. wanted to see change and cared about So when she returns from her current the direction we were heading in. It was ‘odyssey’ driving across the US (but not perceived as a great leadership step, on her much loved Ducati), she’ll be helping to round out understanding of helping make the wine, build the brand many facets of wine within Australia’, and shape the future for Irvine Wines she said. near Angaston.

‘I was looking to improve my leadership

The program, which is coordinated by Wine Australia and run in conjunction with the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia and Australian Vignerons (the trading name of Wine Grape Growers Australia), is for early- to mid-career professionals from any area of the wine sector who are demonstrating leadership potential.

Applications will open soon for the 2017 intake.

‘Future Leaders is for those innovators, collaborators and change-makers who have demonstrated their commitment to Australian wine and want to develop their leadership skills for the benefit of our wine community,’ said Anne Duncan, Global Knowledge and People Development at Wine Australia.

‘Future Leaders is one step on a lifelong leadership journey. We’re looking for emerging leaders; those individuals who step up, ask questions and seek solutions.’

Further information is available from Anne at anne.duncan@wineaustralia.com.

And Rebekah’s advice? ‘Make the most of it, throw yourself into it and always look at it as a way to create a stronger and better wine future for the whole of Australia.’

Wine Australia for Australian Wine Australia Industry House cnr Botanic & Hackney Roads Adelaide SA 5000 | PO Box 2733 Kent Town SA 5071 December 2016 | www.research.wineaustralia.com T: 08 8228 2000 | F: 08 8228 2066 | E: research@wineaustralia.com | W: www.research.wineaustralia.com Wine

grapegrowing The Remembrance Day storm ON NOVEMBER 11 a ‘supercell thunderstorm’ carried gale force winds and hail larger than golf balls across South Australia’s Riverland and into the Murray Darling (both sides of the river – in Victoria and New South Wales). Daniel Whyntie reports.

THE STORM DAMAGE across the Riverland and Murray Darling has been estimated to have removed as much as 80,000 tonnes from the potential 2017 vintage. While one month later the total economic impacts remain uncertain, it is clear that many growers will face a difficult 12-18 months.

The regional bodies – Riverland Wine in South Australia and Murray Valley Winegrowers (MVW) in Victoria and New South Wales – have been working closely with Agriculture Victoria, NSW Local Land Service and Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) as they continue the difficult task of identifying and assessing the cost of the storm and unrolling relief strategies.

Disaster relief arrangements for households have taken effect and government assistance has been promised as ministers have been active touring the hardest hit areas, though damage reports remain important.

“Events like this are few and far between, but it will be a long two year recovery,” said Mike Stone, MVW executive officer.

“It’s clear to all the storm was a severe impact event, but the evidence must be produced before a formal declaration is made. This is why it’s so important for all producers, winegrape or otherwise, to continue to lodge damage reports.”

COMMUNITY SUPPORT The community has pulled together with ideas for storm disaster relief and post-hail vineyard management strategies.

Some of the most practical advice has come from grower Alf Sapuppo and the long work he has done in his own vineyards after a similar event; his recovery effort was documented with MVW who saw an information gap around hail recovery.

Sapuppo spoke at a MVW hosted growers’ meeting in Red Cliffs of his story of initial shock and of wanting answers on vineyard management, such as what are the best methods of restoring health to hail-battered vines?

Offering a walkthrough of his own property Sapuppo eventually took around 30 people; from growers to big company reps; over four locations, and ended with a sausage sizzle.

December 2016 – Issue 635

Alf Sapuppo hosted a walkthrough of his Gol Gol property to explain past storm damage vineyard management.

“With the practice I’ve put in place, return of income in one year Looking to two year organised balance growth and 85% output; a very successful procedure.”

Sapuppo said.

Check out more on Sapuppo’s experience and best practice developed with MVW on our Blog.

In a major show of support from Riverland winegrowers and winemakers, joint funding has been secured with PIRSA to provide for a full-time equivalent Family and Business (FaB) Scout, for an initial period of six months.

The FaB Scouts program was first offered to the region during and after the drought to assist all primary producers and their families confronted by financial and emotional challenges following the drought period of severe hardship; saving lives, relationships, families and some businesses.

The experience showed that despite the best efforts of government agencies and regional industry bodies it was often difficult or impossible to identify those in most need or at most risk.

Feelings of failure and shame can creep under the strongest resilience and impede those suffering from asking for help. The Scouts made it easy; visiting families in the privacy of their own homes or sheds; listening, talking and encouraging. Riverland Wine say it’s all about being proactive and if there’s no work for the Scouts

that can sweep over, when it’s beautiful one month from vintage, then 10 minutes later everything’s wiped out. It can be untold despair, trying to put things back together after a whole years work and profit is gone,” Stone said.

In times like this community support in necessary, it’s important to meaningfully connect with people around us and support anyone struggling. We know that suicide prevention is an enormously complex and sensitive challenge the world over. But we also know that there’s power in that simplest of questions, ‘are you ok?’.

SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE Rural Business Support: Free call 1800 836 211 or visit www.ruralbusinesssupport.org.au Rural Financial Counsellors provide a free, independent and confidential service

Mental Health Triage: Call 13 14 65 Your call will be directed to the most appropriate mental health service.

Beyondblue Call: 1300 22 4636 Mental health professionals are available 24/7 by phone or via beyondblue. org.au/get-support for email or online chat (3pm until midnight).

R U OK?

Lifeline:

The Scouts provide an amazing service and a timely reminded of the emotional as well as financial burden those hit may be going through.

“It’s time to be mindful of the despair

Call 13 11 14 If you need someone to talk to. For anyone, anywhere, anytime — just pick up the phone.

www.winetitles.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

25

grapegrowing

Power imbalances in the industry ACCC report on competition and fair trading issues The national body responsible for competition and fair trading has turned its attention to winegrape supply contracts. Daniel Whyntie reports.

THE AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION (ACCC) believes further examination of grape supply contract practices is required.

A report released by the ACCC, Perspectives in Horticulture and Viticulture, followed a series of workshops and consultation sessions with viticulture and horticulture representatives across four months.

“Contracting practices were by far the biggest issue,” said Ian Scott, ACCC assistant director.

The ACCC has put forward the possibility of collective action – in the form of collective bargaining or collective boycotting – as a way to address the power imbalance in bargaining positions.

“It’s not a terribly onerous process. Many growers have taken that action with the help of the ACCC,” Scott said.

“In a policy sense whether or not there should be a boycott; that tips the balance a lot having that in place. It’s an area subject to debate, but has the potential to be bought into play.”

However both growers and winemakers are hesitant as collective bargaining requires both sides to agree to negotiate.

Mike Stone, Murray Valley Wine Growers executive officer, said arrangements like this would be hard to work in large regions and for growers already under contract.

Tony Battaglene, Winemakers’ Federation of Australia chief executive, said the reality across the recent industry situation of oversupply is that “prices go down and in a competitive market place further pressure is placed”.

“This has led to less long term contracts and more spot market purchases.

“The best way to restore value to the grower is through increasing demand and providing premium fruit. This will only happen if we can grow exports.”

INDICATIVE PRICING The ACCC found the power imbalance in contracts results from the timing of payments and release of prices to growers, written into the voluntary industry code of conduct.

“The trouble is the code is completely voluntary, so there’s no involvement of the ACCC,” Scott said. “A step up is prescribed

26 Grapegrower & Winemaker

AT A GLANCE The key issues raised in the ACCC’s engagement included: 1. Timing of payments to growers – alleged delayed payments in horticulture and payment structures in viticulture were discussed with the ACCC; 2. Imbalances in bargaining power – imbalances in bargaining power exist in both industries and are exacerbated in viticulture by the oversupply of wine grapes; 3. Contracting practices – the ACCC heard about varied and often informal contracting practices; 4. The influence of major retailers – industry participants spoke about the growing influence of major retailers; 5. The voluntary Australian Wine Industry Code of Conduct – concerns were raised about the lack of uptake of the voluntary code; and 6. Fears about raising complaints – many growers are hesitant to make complaints due to a fear of being blacklisted or put on a ‘trading holiday’.

Everyone agrees things need to improve. It is a situation where growers are in a poor bargaining position because of their place in the food chain.

We are looking for commercial practices that are fair for all.

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

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grapegrowing voluntary code, if you breach there is some consequence. More comprehensive is mandatory. A variation of one of those codes potential to help the industry.”

While Battaglene noted: “Many winemakers believe that the requirement for indicative pricing does not meet there business models and acts to distort the market. In many cases it drives process down as conservative prices set a market ceiling.”

“Where the code has not met our expectations, is in growing membership,” Battaglene said.

Andrew Weeks, Australian Vignerons (AV) executive director, said there were no surprises in the issues raised to the ACCC. “Everyone agrees things need to improve. It is a situation where growers are in a poor bargaining position because of their place in the food chain. We are looking for commercial practices that are fair for all,” Weeks said.

“What typically happens is very vague negotiations, with no one talking about price at all till the death knell of the latest date. Grower has typically spent two thirds of their production by that point. Originally the idea was that it would be the latest date but it has morphed into the earliest date.”

The ACCC concluded in its report that the payment structure used in many contracts in the wine industry had “unquestionably” spread the financial burden of delays in the winemaking process on to the grower.

The answer to finding fairer terms is not straight forward though, as even growers are guarded about a mandatory code and altering the price release dates could result in other negatives.

“Having a date is better than nothing,” Weeks said.

“In respect of mandatory codes the reservation is to inevitably default to the lowest value to protect growers. This means no

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28 Grapegrower & Winemaker

AT A GLANCE What might the ACCC do in relation to viticulture?

1. Promote the potential benefits of collective bargaining.

Collective bargaining appears to be an underutilised tool to combat imbalances in bargaining power; 2. Assess standard form contracts across horticulture and viticulture to promote compliance with the upcoming unfair contract term law. The ACCC is currently reviewing a number of contracts and is happy to speak with industry participants who have concerns about any terms; 3. Assess terms in wine supply contracts relating to exclusivity and timing of the release of pricing information in the context of the new unfair contract terms law; 4. Based on what it finds out through engagement, the ACCC might further consider competition issues in viticulture; 5. Continue to monitor grower, wholesaler and winemaker interactions with retailers, including in terms of the obligations set out in the Food and Grocery Code; and 6. Explore the use of an app that will allow for the anonymous provision of information and complaints to the ACCC. This app would enable participants in the horticulture and viticulture industries to provide information to the ACCC in a secure manner. compulsion for winemaking company to not just reflect the minimum price and then not reward people growing high cost grapes.”

VOLUNTARY OR MANDATORY CODE? Battaglene said the Winemakers’ Federation maintains a voluntary code between wineries and grapegrowers is the most appropriate model, “as a mandatory code would increase red tape and costs to the sector without providing any benefits to grape growers”.

Scott, from the ACCC, pointed to the mandatory code imposed on the horticulture industry by the Federal Government as an extreme example of what could happen. However, there were more issues at play when the horticulture code was introduced than those currently facing the grape and wine community.

“There was a long history of questionable behaviour that led to a royal commission in the 1960s and uncovered all sorts of criminal activity,” Scott said. “The Government moved slowly but eventually got to a point of being fed up.”

Scott said the grape and wine community does not face the same level of issues.

Battaglene suggested the voluntary code “does work” and when disputes are brought “these are resolved quickly and transparently.

“The problem we have is coverage. We need to incorporate all of the top one hundred wineries,” he said.

“Work on the Code has slowed in 2016 as WFA is heavily involved in the tax campaign and WGGA has been undergoing a transition to Australian Vignerons and concentrating on financial sustainability. This will now become a high priority for 2016-17.”

Weeks pointed out the vast majority of business dealings “are fine”.

“If we can move the industry back towards profitability these things tend to disappear and people sort of forget about it,” he said.

Battaglene said the Winemakers’ Federation would work closely with Australian Vignerons and the ACCC “to ensure the sector establishes fair and compliant contracts”.

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

Issues arising under grape contracts The key considerations for drafting a Grape Supply Agreement There is technically no such thing as a ‘grape contract’. However, an agreement for the sale and purchase of grapes is an ordinary contract drawn by the parties to reflect their particular bargain. Mark Hamilton, from Grope Hamilton Lawyers, explains.

A WELL-DRAFTED Grape Supply Agreement would, in a perfectly operating market place with balanced supply of and demand for grapes, be a balanced agreement, providing equity and certainty for both the winery and the grape grower.

In this ideal market place, the advantages for the winery would be: • A constant supply of premium or the desired quality grapes; • Consultation as to the management of the vineyard; and • Familiarisation over time with particular characteristics and traits of the particular vineyard to enhance winemaking.

The advantages for the grapegrower would be: • A consistent source of income; • To allow for the development of new or replacement vineyards with certainty of income for the future; • To allow the grower to obtain ‘free’ expert consultation with respect to vineyard management; and • To permit an association to develop between the grower and winery by allowing the grape grower to meet the wine maker’s quality parameters and volumes whilst receiving a fair long term price.

December 2016 – Issue 635

Wine Lawyer Mark Hamilton

Grope Hamilton Lawyers

When drafting a Grape Supply Agreement consideration should at least be given by the parties to the following aspects to ensure that the agreement is workable: • Specification of any quality criteria to be achieved; • Terms for payment bearing in mind the provisions of the Grape Prices Act 1991 (SA); • Estimated yield per hectare; • Harvesting time and techniques; • Term of agreement; • Delivery; • Rejection of fruit; • Further option terms; • Termination of Agreement; • Notice Provisions; • Assignment of Agreement; • Price fixing mechanism; • Retention of title type provisions under the Personal Property Securities Act; and • Dispute resolution mechanisms There is no thing as a ‘grape contract’ as such. An agreement for the sale and purchase of grapes is an ordinary contract

www.winetitles.com.au

drawn by the parties to reflect their particular bargain. There is no standard format prescribed by legislation.

There are a limited number of mandatory requirements such as compliance in South Australia with the minimum grape payment timing requirements under the Grape Prices Act 1991 (SA) and associated regulations.

This includes a timing schedule in relation to payment of the grapes and a condition that no wine producer may purchase any grapes of a subsequent vintage when any amounts are outstanding with respect to the previous vintage.

From a winemaker’s perspective, the drafting of every well considered grape contract will take into account domestic and international requirements relating to wine quality characteristics and traits.

For example, any spraying withholding period to ensure that wine characteristics do not exceed proscribed chemical levels or contact proscribed chemicals.

Some of these requirements are mandatory, and vary from wine export market to wine export market, and some are voluntary quality measures which individual wineries adopt as part of their marketing differentiation.

Environmental credentials have become very important in the world of selling wine.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

29

grapegrowing There are accreditation programs which wineries can comply with or join so as to establish “green” credentials of their brand.

Covenants in well considered grape contracts will therefore be drafted to both prohibit certain behaviours by grape growers, where mandatory requirements are involved, and so as to encourage desired behaviours by grape growers to fit it with the winemaker’s desired wine characteristics and quality outcomes.

A grape contract should be drafted, from a winemaker’s point of view, to reflect these desired outcomes in order to ensure that the grower delivers what the winery requires. The quid pro quo in economic theory is that the grower receives a fair price, reflecting not just the market price but also the cost of producing grapes to the relevant specifications.

The contract will not have its desired outcome, in terms of mutual interest, if this balance of interests is not recognised and addressed.

For example, if a winery only requires stock standard Riverland type fruit of fair average quality then the grape contract will be simple and straightforward and the price payable will reflect the average market price, if the market is operating efficiently.

If, however, the winery has strict requirements, which involve reduced

crop loads and higher costs for growers, then the grape price payable under the contract will be higher than the average market price if the market is working efficiently.

The problem comes particularly at the high end and the low end of the grape supply cycle. For example, where the winery has all the market power, due to grape oversupply, and can impose strict requirements and low prices (such has occurred during recent years).

Conversely, where there is a grape shortage, as in the mind 1990s onwards, where wineries were willing to pay up to $1000.00 per tonne for standard Riverland grapes (sometimes overcropped and over irrigated).

In an oversupply situation the wineries are able, through grape contract provisions, to impose significant quality provisions, with broad rights of fruit rejection. In an under supply situation, the power shifts to the grower and grape contracts are consequently simpler and less onerous from the grower’s point of view.

Since 1998, in particular, through to the Global Financial Crisis, the pendulum of market power gradually swung in favour of the wineries with the result that, in the case of a number of large producers, the contractual terms became progressively more restrictive and in some instances, onerous in the

INDICATIVE PRICING COUNTDOWN AS THE COUNTDOWN to the 2017 winegrape harvest continues, wineries have been actively searching and growers are hoping for a good return.

“There’s far more interest at this time of the year than is usual, starting back in July, because wine stocks have declined and the export demand for Australian wine is growing,” said Mike Stone, Murray Valley Winegrowers executive officer.

Market observers, including Rabobank, have hailed the ‘return of life’ of Australia grape prices.

“Hope is for a price increase. Demand is up and we are hearing that growers are getting contacted by wineries so we are hoping for good prices. As it has been below cost for many years,” said Brian Simpson, Riverina Winegrapes Marketing Board chief executive officer.

Yet some growers remained cautious as they waited for the release of indicative prices.

“There’s been lots of talk and very promising signs; so good prices are the expectation.

But we’re not seeing any evidence of a price rise yet,” said Stone.

“It’s promising that wineries are wanting to source fruit now, but it’s disturbing that prices generally aren’t included in the conversation. Growers could be signing supply agreements now for 2017 without being informed of prices until harvest starts, by which time it’s too late to make other arrangements.”

In South Australia’s Riverland growers are paying attention to market signals.

“We’ve got the scale and versatility to adapt on a competitive basis,” said Chris Byrne, Riverland Wine executive officer. “We are always on top of the very basics; things like rootstock trials, new clones for emerging varietals so we are well placed to hang on into recovery.”

30 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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sense that the rights of rejection have expanded significantly – and the ability of wineries to, for example, dictate pruning and crop thinning practices increased.

This occurred in tandem with low and decreasing prices. Since then, however, some “green shoots” have emerged in the marketplace due to a change in supply and demand.

Anecdotally, in the period leading up to the GFC, ‘a tale of two cities’ emerged with some winemakers appearing to use their market power to extract maximum commercial outcomes and others acting out the “better guy” role by continuing with “balanced” contracts paying fair but middling market prices.

These balanced contracts did not include a plethora of requirements or rejection points. Anecdotally, these good guys tended to be the larger “middle ranking” and family companies and higher price point smaller specialist producers.

As the oversupply situation continues to ease, and undersupply presumably emerges in the next decade (given the current absence of vineyard planting and the grubbing out of 24,000 hectares) the pendulum will presumably shift somewhat in favour of grape growers resulting in less proscriptive, simpler contracts. There is evidence of this happening now.

The most skilful commercial lawyers, growers and wineries will look at contractual negotiations over grape contracts in a commercial context including desired end use outcomes and the current market conditions relating to supply and demand for grapes. This is remembering that what is critical is establishing a good working relationship, and that the contract, when written, is put in the bottom drawer and hardly referred to.

From a grower’s point of view, an onerous, low priced grape contract for more than one year can act as an impediment to the vineyard value.

The length of the contract term is an important commercial consideration as it can avoid the need to ‘hand’ sell each year, but may come at a real cost.

Mark Hamilton of Grope Hamilton Lawyers provides specialist national legal services to the Australian wine industry. He has a lifetime of wine sector experience through his involvement with Hamilton’s Ewell Vineyards. He can be contacted on (08) 8231 00898 or 0412 842 359 or by email at mhamilton@ gropehamiltonlawyers.com.au. See www. gropehamiltonlawyers.com.au.

December 2016 – Issue 635

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Mechanical weed control chosen over chemical Finding the right solution for a new vineyard development on the Bellarine Peninsula Fast tracking a new vineyard development can be difficult when there is no time to fallow the pasture on the site being planted. When you have a wet spring season, that promotes significant weed growth, the problem is compounded.

THE OAKDENE VINEYARD on the Bellarine Peninsula faced a challenging weather and weed combination when preparing to plant 15 hectares. The new Drysdale vineyard will complement the existing Oakdene vineyard, cellar door and restaurant complex nearby at Ocean Grove. It has been planted to Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Cabernet as well as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris.

Bob Swinburn, who is project managing the new vineyard development, said the first stage of the 20 hectare development faced two challenges.

“We had huge quantities of wireweed and nightshade growing on the site so the obvious choices were chemical or physical control,” Swinburn said.

“We chose mechanical control as I had witnessed in my previous tasks as a consultant to vineyards in the local area

how effective a power harrow can be in eradicating and controlling the profusion of weeds.”

Swinburn was also keen “to avoid the use of chemicals when the new vines were just in the ground”.

The key piece of equipment chosen by Oakdene was a Breviglieri Power Harrow from Silvan Australia, purchased through the local Geelong dealership – J B Scott.

The harrow has a working width of 1.7 metres and a cage roller, which has proved to be the ideal match for the 80 horsepower John Deere used in the vineyard.

Swinburn said the main benefit of the Breviglieri Power Harrow is the ability to pull the weeds and their tough root system right out of the ground – unlike a rotary hoe option which chops up

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The new vineyard block looks great and the benefits of a mechanical rather than an initial chemical solution to weed management on the new Drysdale site is to everyone’s satisfaction.

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For further information visit our website at www.spagnolo.com.au or contact: Ph (03) 5021 1933 Fax (03) 5021 5233 Email sales@spagnolo.com.au Mildura Victoria Australia 32 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Summer Trimming • Smooth cutting action • Unique quick-change blade system • Sizes available from 600mm to 2100mm • Cutter bars can be used for summer trimming and winter pruning

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Vineyard & Orchard Sweepers • Single and double sided • Spring-loaded head enables it to glide around posts and vine trunks.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

The Breviglieiri Power Harrow is providing the ideal physical removal of tough woody wireweed and nightshade as well as creating a level vine row with good soil moisture retention for the newly planted vineyard.

management on the new Drysdale site is to everyone’s satisfaction including in cost and results,” Tait said.

The passing of the cage roller then the weeds but can leave parts of the evenly settles the soil for a clean and root system in the soil where it has the even mid-row. The machine also leaves opportunity to re-establish. larger clods on top of the soil tilth, The phased rotor system is a key which is considered a plus for moisture feature of the Breviglieiri Power retention.

Harrow (and the MF80-170CR model) Chris Tait, Silvan’s Victoria and which enables the cultivated soil to be Tasmania machinery and spraying moved side-to-side through a process of equipment account manager, said the continuous movement along the midresults have impressed the clients. row. This means instead of leaving a “The new vineyard block looks great high point in the middle of the row, the and the benefits of a mechanical rather soil is redistributed to fill the tyre ruts 2016-08-18T10:02:27+10:00 than an initial chemical solution to weed to 4660FluteGGW88x185 the side.

For more information on Breviglieri Power Harrows for vineyard or other weed control or cultivation solutions contact Silvan Australia on 1300 Silvan (1300 745 826) or email info@silvanaust.com for specifications or call Chris Tait on 0425 748 945.

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

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grapegrowing

Mark Anderson and Paul Drogemuller (right).

Destemming in the vineyard Paracombe Wines invests in an evolutionary Braud destemmer grape harvester A SMALL ADELAIDE HILLS wine brand, which is striving to find improvements across the business, has turned to an on-board destemmer option for their grape harvesting needs.

Paul and Kathy Drogemuller of Paracombe Wines are looking forward to the 2017 harvest and vintage with the purchase of their innovative Braud 9090 XA destemmer and grape harvester.

“We’re always seeking ways to improve efficiencies in the vineyard and the winery, being self-sufficient and ecologically sustainable is important to us,” said Paul Drogemuller, Paracombe owner/chief winemaker/viticulturist.

34 Grapegrower & Winemaker

“At Paracombe we’re proudly vertically integrated, growing our own grapes in our vineyard with the winery located on site crushing 500 tonnes plus at vintage. Winemaking, bottling packaging, storage and distribution is all handled on site. Being in control of the business from start to end product means consistent, high quality assurance.”

Drogemuller said the new machine would steer the winery in an exciting new direction thanks to its “evolutionary harvesting and destemming ability, delivering the best harvest quality possible”.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

The Drogemuller family strives to run the Paracombe business as a leader within the Australian wine community and the features of the new Braud harvester will certainly deliver for the winery. For example, the state-of-the-art engine transmission system promises to provide a minimum fuel saving of 35 percent.

Whilst harvesting, the destemmer removes stalks and leaves with a dedicated MOG transfer auger discharging this material to the ground in the vineyard. The harvested fruit is graded and sorted then stored on board in 3200 litre bin storage capacity bins before transfer into the winery for processing.

“I like that the stems and leaves stay in the vineyard where they are grown, their place of origin and that represents big costs and time savings in the winery,” Drogemuller said.

“Because our winery is adjacent to the vineyard this system will save us up to 500 hours of labour at harvest and vintage at Paracombe Wines. No longer will we need to have a runner person, normally me, on the ground in the vineyard at harvesting.

“The new Braud machine eliminates the need for a chase tractor to run side by side in vineyard and in the winery it eliminates the receival hopper, crusher and destemmer. The fruit will be directly discharged into the presses and fermenters via a new trailer and pump system. Also at the end of the pick, the auto greasing and self-cleaning system represents significant time and dollar savings.”

Longevity was another key influencing factor to the purchase.

Drogemuller said he knew Braud made high-quality machines that “go the distance” and he is looking for this investment to deliver across the next 20 years.

“Buying from a local South Australian company, based in

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Adelaide, we’re confident we’ll receive good service and be well looked after,” he said.

Prior to the purchase of the Braud 9090XA, the Drogemuller’s used a self-propelled harvester which they had owned since 2008. Because it struggled on the steep terrain of some of their vineyard sites they also had to bring in contract machine harvesters.

“This will no longer be an issue for us as the new harvester has capabilities to safely handle steep conditions so prevalent in the Adelaide Hills at good speeds,” Drogemuller said.

Paracombe Wines has come a long way from its humble beginnings, the vineyard was actually established after the purchase of a burnt-out dairy farm after the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983. With no background or experience in grapegrowing or winemaking they hand-picked their fruit into buckets and started making wine in a tin shed with a homemade basket press, some second-hand milk tanks and crusher.

Paul, a former Aussie rules footballer, and Kathy launched Paracombe Wines in 1992 with just 100 dozen bottles available at the time when Kathy was eight months pregnant with their second child. The couple has always had a passion, vision and a strong desire to grow a successful family business.

In the early days Kathy took her young children with her when calling on the restaurants and bottle shops that were selling Paracombe wines.

Today with their son Ben working in the business, along with a dedicated and passionate team, Paracombe Wines is an award winning, strong, successful family wine business producing about 18,000 dozen each year. The wines are sold throughout Australia and exported to United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and Canada.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

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ask the Grapevine tissue analysis GRAPEVINE TISSUE ANALYSIS can provide critical information about vine nutrient status to assist with fertiliser decisions, problem diagnosis and monitoring the impacts of management practices. This column provides answers to some of the most common questions on this topic.

WHAT FACTORS SHOULD I CONSIDER WHEN THINKING ABOUT TISSUE ANALYSIS? While tissue analysis is a useful tool, it has some limitations.

Like humans, grapevines are in a state of ‘nutrient flux’, that is the nutrient status of the vine is constantly changing depending on the time of day and the stage of growth. It is important to remember that plant tissue analysis therefore represents a snapshot of nutrient concentration in the sampled tissue at a particular time.

When sampling and interpreting results, there are a number of factors to consider including: • Location of the block. This may influence soil type, drainage and other factors which affect grapevine nutrition; • General vine appearance (thriving or poor) and performance (e.g. yield, grape quality); • Inherent characteristics of the varieties and rootstocks grown; • Fertiliser history (pre-planting and in recent seasons); and • Other treatments which might influence test results (e.g. water used for frost control can increase chloride levels; fungicides that contain manganese, copper or zinc may contaminate plant tissue samples).

TO MAXIMISE INFORMATION GAINED FROM TISSUE ANALYSIS, STANDARD SAMPLING PROTOCOLS SHOULD BE EMPLOYED FOR EACH TYPE OF ANALYSIS: • Ensure samples are representative of the soil/vines in the area being investigated; • Take samples at the same growth stage each year; • Use the same laboratory (or those that use the same analysis techniques) for all samples. This will minimise the variability in the results and also enable the establishment of a consistent historical record; and

• Record test results and any subsequent management practices for future reference, as the ability to accurately make comparisons over a number of years is invaluable.

WHAT TYPES OF SAMPLES SHOULD I TAKE? The most common tissue type used for grapevine tissue analysis is petioles (leaf stalks). These are collected from opposite bunches at 80% flowering.

Leaf blade samples can be collected at veraison for late season analysis (Figure 1). For specific nutrient analysis following the application of foliar fertiliser (e.g. molybdenum), shoot tip analysis is preferable.

Samples should be collected at least two weeks after fertiliser application to ensure the newly emerged shot tips are fresh and Figure 1. Standard tissue types for free from contamination. grapevine nutrient analysis.

When sampling for specific nutrients or for problem diagnosis, mobile nutrients (e.g. nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) are best analysed in older leaves. Immobile nutrients (e.g. calcium and zinc) should be targeted by sampling leaves near the growing tip of shoots.

HOW SHOULD SAMPLES BE PREPARED AND TRANSPORTED?

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December 2016 – Issue 635

There are a few general points to remember when preparing and transporting samples for analysis: • Check the sampling and storage guidelines for the laboratory being used; • Collect samples into labelled paper bags (samples packaged in plastic can sweat causing changes to nutrient concentrations, fungal growth or contamination); • Send samples early in the week. Samples posted late in the week risk being left in freight warehouses or post offices over the weekend. If it is necessary to collect samples late in the week or over the weekend, store them in the refrigerator until reopening of business on Monday; • Label all samples carefully and keep copies of the information sent to the laboratory; and • Make sure all quarantine requirements are met.

WHAT CONSTITUTES A GOOD ANALYSIS REPORT? It is surprising how often the AWRI is asked to interpret a nutrition report that has been reproduced incompletely by a third party. A thorough analysis of the results and recommendations can only be made with the following critical elements: • Date, growth stage and tissue type; • A list of all analysis methods used; • Units of measure for all numbers; • Standards used for the recommendations; and • Name and contact details of the person who prepared the report.

HOW DO I INTERPRET THE RESULTS AND WHAT DO THE GRAPEVINE NUTRIENT STANDARDS MEAN? Results of tissue analysis are usually provided in relation to a set of grapevine nutrient standards. The grapevine nutrient standards used in Australia are the result of a significant body of survey work and field trials conducted over many years (Reuter and Robinson, 1986). These standards are based on petioles collected at 80% flowering and dried prior to analysis.

The standards represent parameters for optimum vine growth; however, this may not be the most important factor when managing vines for specific grape quality outcomes. Flowering and veraison leaf standards developed by Weir and Cresswell (1993) are also occasionally used.

Sometimes analysis is conducted on the sap present in fresh petioles rather than on dried petioles. The standards for sap analysis of wine-grapes have not undergone rigorous research and statistical analysis, and are as yet unpublished. In most cases the standards presented in reports represent the range of analyses collected by the laboratory. As such, the sap analysis standards vary between laboratories.

From a user’s perspective, all standards should be interpreted with on-site knowledge and ‘calibration’. Results should be interpreted in conjunction with observations of vine growth and performance and with current soil and/or water analyses.

If any emerging trends have been observed over time, it should be possible to contact the laboratory for copies of previous years’ analyses and to discuss the results.

The AWRI helpdesk can provide some assistance with interpretation of grapevine nutrient reports. Contact the helpdesk via helpdesk@awri.com.au or 08 8313 6600.

References

Reuter, D.J., Robinson J.B. (eds) 1986. Plant analysis: an interpretation manual.

Melbourne : Inkata Press.

Weir, R.G., Cresswell, G.C. (eds) 1993. Plant nutrient disorders 1: temperate and subtropical fruit and nut crops. North Ryde: Inkata Press.

December 2016 – Issue 635

We are nearly half way through the growing season and much of the hard work has been done. In spring, many areas experienced high pest and disease pressure, with downy mildew and Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) having been regularly sighted and talked about. Those vineyards that had strong crop protection strategies in-place are faring well.

This warmer weather is ideal for promoting insect movement. Combined with moisture, warmth stimulates insects to take flight, mate and settle in for a good feed.

Monitoring, recording, pheromone traps and local agronomist knowledge are all key to making timely decisions on insect control. What else is important is to understand the activity of a crop protection product against target pests at a given lifecycle stage. Some products are very specific in their activity and may not deliver good results when used outside of their timing guideline. For example the product PROCLAIM® works very well in controlling Lepidoptera pests such as LBAM when the timing coincides with targeting the eggs or very small larvae.

I’ve spoken with many growers who have made a concerted effort with their canopy management and implemented robust spray programs to lower the risk of powdery mildew infection. The coming months are looking to be a high risk for powdery mildew with lush canopy growth and high humidity levels within the canopy. Their efforts are sure to pay off.

Spray coverage, product choice, timing and rate are key in determining the success of protecting the vine and berries. Powdery mildew lesions can also be an entry point for botrytis, so keeping powdery mildew at bay is essential for effective botrytis management.

With powdery mildew resistance to some fungicide groups becoming more common, growers should review their spray program with their viticulturist to ensure rotation between Mode of Action groups.

When it comes to protection from botrytis, timing and product choice are critical in wet seasons such as this one. Many growers will hopefully have applied a quality botryticide at 80% capfall, as botrytis can devastate unprotected grape crops with yield losses, reduced quality and off flavours in the wine. The decision now is what to apply at E-L 29 stage to ensure protection of bunches through the main period of bunch fill. Ideally, chose a product that penetrates and protects the berries and has a good resistance management profile such as SWITCH®.

Growers worried about the presence of botrytis should follow these steps: • Select 25 bunches with suspected symptoms • Place them in a clean lightly-moistened bag • Seal the bag and incubate at room temperature (20ºC) • If botrytis is present, it will usually develop a greyish mould like growth within 1-3 days If pressure from LBAM continues, it is worthwhile combining an insecticide with the botrytis spray at E-L 29 before bunch closure. LBAM in bunches after this stage are near impossible to control, so it is your last chance for this season. Remember to follow AWRI guidelines contained in the ‘Dogbook’ for these late sprays.

If you find botrytis is present, I suggest you seek expert advice.

Vine Talk is compiled by Dave Antrobus, Syngenta Solutions Development Lead dave.antrobus@syngenta.com 0429 133 436

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grapegrowing

Foreign ownership land register still a work-in-progress When the register of foreign owned agriculture land was announced it was said to be “comprehensive”.

Yet Daniel Whyntie’s investigations have revealed it does offer an accurate insight into foreign-owned viticulture land.

WHEN THE FOREIGN OWNERSHIP land register was released in September just 190 hectares of horticultural land had been included.

The first public release of the register revealed more than 13 per cent of all Australian agricultural land, or 52.1 million hectares, has foreign owners.

The mainstream media highlighted the Chinese ownership figures (less than half a per cent of Australian land is Chinese owned) are at odds with the general perception of significant Chinese investment Australian agriculture land.

Treasurer Scott Morrison pointed out Dutch and Canadian investors actually “dwarf” the Chinese buyers.

“Two-thirds of it pretty much, is in British and American hands. We have a clear view now about the key issue, which is how much of our agricultural land is owned by foreign interests and which foreign interests, and I think that informs the quality of decision-making, it informs the quality of the policy making in this area, and it informs, hopefully, the quality of debate around these issues,” Morrison told Sky News.

However, drilling down into the winegrape sector proved difficult with only total horticulture hectares listed – and only 190 hectares in that combined category.

Andrew Weeks, Australian Vignerons executive director, said the figures for horticulture seemed very low.

“We would welcome foreign investment, for a seller it’s very good.

But these numbers would be very good to know for transparency. I don’t know whether the number is true but it doesn’t add up to what growers are telling us,” Weeks said.

“Just speaking of vineyards sold in recent years and I would think it would be more.

“From what we have been told by

AT A GLANCE According to the first public release of the ‘foreign ownership land register’: • More than 52 million hectares of Australia’s agricultural land is foreign owned; but • Just 190 hectares of horticultural land has been listed.

This is the first comprehensive data on the actual level of foreign ownership of agricultural land in Australia. This common perception that the level of foreign ownership has been increasing seems confirmed. people in the industry, they said it would add up to a lot more. I can’t say exactly how much from any specific single region but one of the towns we have been talking to has 40 hectares alone.”

A very quick scan through the 2016 Wine Industry Directory, combined with a small amount of knowledge of the industry landscape, provides a very conservatively estimate that more than 1000 hectares of winegrape vineyards are foreign owned.

While the land register has been

released to the public and repeatedly referred to by the Government as a comprehensive picture of foreign ownership, it seems likely there will be significant additions required before it is an accurate record.

A spokesperson for the Agriculture Minister told the Grapegrower & Winemaker the report could be characterised as a preliminary report, as it was the first year of the register and owners may not yet have signed up.

“The government is interested in the feedback on the register and will listen to sensible and feasible suggestions for future improvements to the register,” the spokesperson said.

Additional information about foreign ownership can be sent to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the administrator of the Agricultural Land Register.

“That’s the course of action the Deputy Prime Minister has previously and publicly asked anyone to take if they have additional information,” the spokesperson said.

The ATO is responsible for making any investigations deemed necessary to ensure compliance; and has the authority to impose penalties if there have been breaches. The ATO has also established a dedicated link for confidential reporting.

A number of people have already brought forward properties to confirm that they are on the register.

Barnaby Joyce’s, Deputy Prime Minster and Agriculture Minister, was a strong advocate for the register and said it provided the transparency necessary to ensure oversight and confidence in agricultural investment.

“This is the first comprehensive data on the actual level of foreign ownership of agricultural land in Australia. This common perception that the level of foreign ownership has been increasing seems confirmed,” Joyce said.

Looking for more articles, visit the Grapegrower and Winemaker article archive at:

www.winetitles.com.au/gwm 38 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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December 2016 – Issue 635

Irrigating direct to the rootzone There are two common questions people have when it comes to subsurface irrigation.

The first is ‘how much does it cost?’. Followed closely by ‘how much water will it save us?’.

Nathan Gogoll reports on the latest developments for this technology and the answers to these questions.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS in dripperline technology, combined with clever thinking on installation are helping to reduce the installation costs. While the advice from the experts involved is now delivering a clearer understanding about the water saving potential.

Until recently, subsurface irrigation lines needed to have a chemical run through them each year to stop the feeder roots from getting in and clogging them up.

But new technology has found a way around that.

A new dripperline from Netafim has delivered a chemicalfree solution to combatting root intrusion. A diaphragm which incorporates Copper Oxide as part of the mould, ensures it does not deteriorate over time.

Matt Hugo, who runs his own vineyard machinery business – Matt Hugo Contracting – has designed and built his own subsurface irrigation tractor-mounted installation system.

“Depending on the soil type, we adjust how the rippers are set and how deep you put the lines down,” Hugo said.

“Usually it’s around 250mm, so it is just below the roots of the undervine weeds and directly irrigates vines, while also minimising evaporation.

“But it is best to assess every vineyard before you make the decision, to look at the root system and the soil type.

“We can either run down the middle of the row, or outside of the tractor tyre run.”

Hugo said there were two main reasons subsurface irrigation was recapturing attention: The new chemical free system to keep the roots out; and improved methods of installation.

“With the older style tube, you needed to run Treflan through to keep the roots back,” Hugo said. “It’s not a popular chemical with growers.”

Meanwhile, the tube itself represents only about 10 per cent of the cost of the total installation.

“Looking at it, you can’t tell the difference from the regular line – but it is copper infused.

“I heard about the tube, did some research and found out the cost of installation had become the number one reason people weren’t doing it,” Hugo said. “But it is a fantastic product, so I’ve tried to find a way to make it viable.”

Hugo has modified his own machinery frame (something he had set up to deep rip through wheel tracks to break up compaction), modified disks, rippers and depth wheels, and used seamless tubing to run the line into the right position.

He’s now ripping in the subsurface irrigation line on both sides of the row as fast as 8km/hr and completing the installation for half the cost of setting up the traditional dripper line (which involves running a wire and working with staples and clips).

“Everyone who has found out about what I’m doing wants to go ahead with it,” Hugo said. “I’ve got six wineries getting ready for next year.

“People are very, very keen.”

Hugo said the option will be ideal for vineyards with clean soil because most of the potential installation hiccups can be averted.

“But I’ve designed the rippers with ‘shear’ pins that give way if you hit a rock.”

December 2016 – Issue 635

I don’t want to take over the world, but I’d like to be able to turn what I’ve developed into a viable business – as well as a viable option for growers to use.

However, there are options to pre-rip deep lines to clear the way.

While Hugo is very modest about his system, he also knows the way he has streamlined the installation process will be popular.

“There’s absolutely nothing new about laying pipe,” he said.

“It’s going to be a popular system all over the world, so I know what I’m doing is going to be copied. I don’t want to take over the world, but I’d like to be able to turn what I’ve developed into a viable business and would be happy to manufacture and supply the implement for anyone interested.”

Matt Hugo, who runs his own vineyard machinery business, has designed and built his own subsurface irrigation tractor-mounted installation system.

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grapegrowing

Hugo has modified machinery to install subsurface dripper line in the right position on both sides of the row as fast as 8km/hr.

There are so many different options and it never hurts to talk to a few people and get ideas and advice.

Apart from the water saving potential, Hugo said there are benefits for people who are set up for organic and biodynamic production.

“It’s one less thing for those using undervine mowers and dodge ploughs to worry about,” Hugo said. “Otherwise you need to make sure the irrigation line is clipped properly to prevent it getting caught, or having to stop the tractor and jump out to fix it up.”

Studies have also shown that subsurface irrigation has benefits which minimise the release of salts.

And there are also applications for subsurface irrigation in other areas of horticulture, including: Olives, almonds, citrus and even as an alternative to centre-pivot irrigated broadacre crops.

Hugo has used his own extensive machinery knowledge and has come up with some clever engineering solutions for his subsurface installation rig. But at 27 years of age, he already has developed (or at least modified) a range of vineyard machinery.

“I guess I’m a bit of a vineyard engineer. I’ve built bits and pieces before.,” Hugo said.

40 Grapegrower & Winemaker

“I’ve always been involved with machinery and vineyards…

“And have always been looking for ways to modify equipment – so we can do more in less time.

“Seeing my family slogging it out in their vineyard has inspired me to go looking for a more efficient way of doing things.

“Vineyard machinery is expensive to operate, so minimising time is minimising costs.”

He credit’s fellow McLaren Vale contractor, Kevin Wright, with inspiring him and helping get a start with his own contracting business.

“We get on like a house on fire and he has opened up some opportunities for me,” Hugo said. “We’re always discussing crazy ideas for getting different jobs done in a better way, or adapting machines to get a better outcome.”

Hugo’s main area of business to date has been vineyard removal, which has given him some foresight for the subsurface work.

“Because I’ve worked out how to put this tubing in, I’ve also worked out how to remove it,” Hugo said.

However, he’s also very keen for grapegrowers to consider all the options for vineyard removal and re-working, especially if they are looking at the “big issue” of trunk disease.

“There are so many different options and it never hurts to talk to a few people and get ideas and advice,” Hugo said.

The young engineer said re-planting also presented the option for re-establishing with GPS coordination which would allow for tractors and harvesters to run on auto-steer.

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

UNIRAM XR FOR SUB-SURFACE APPLICATIONS â„¢

CHEMICAL FREE RESISTANCE TO ROOT INTRUSION

UNIQUE DRIPPER DESIGN 1

EXTERIOR

2

The exterior has been designed with a chemical free root intrusion barrier by incorporating Copper Oxide in the mold of the diaphragm cover.

NETAFIM AUSTRALIA 213 - 217 Fitzgerald Rd Laverton North, VIC 3026 Australia

Tel: 1300 307 407 Fax: 03 9369 3865 Email: au.net.info@netafim.com Web: netafim.com.au

INTERIOR The interior has been designed to allow water to flow without being blocked by fine feeder roots or by sediment built-up in the dripperline.

grapegrowing Supplier Update

Water has never been easier to buy Providing flexibility in the water purchasing process FOR GENERATIONS of Australia’s farmers, the greatest challenge facing livelihood has always been the unpredictability of the future. For many irrigators and farmers, income is highly seasonal. There are key planting and harvesting milestones throughout a season that require significant investment which has a direct impact on cashflow. Water is central to a successful future but until now, managing the purchase inflexible process has been challenging.

Irrigators have longed for a product that frees up cash flow but secures their water resources for the current season.

Waterfind have been working with their customers to develop a product that does exactly that – Deferred Delivery.

Available exclusively through Waterfind, Deferred Delivery, enables irrigators to secure temporary water parcels with a deposit rather than funding the full amount upfront. Full payment is due upon delivery of the parcel, which is set at an agreed future date in the current water season.

Who are you looking for?

Alister Walsh, Waterfind CEO, said this marked another step forward for Australia’s water markets, “Today we are excited to announce a further innovation, bringing greater flexibility to irrigators and water users alike across the Murray Darling Basin and Southern Connected Systems,” Walsh said.

The tool has been well received by those who have been trialling the product.

“Through discussions and experience with our customers, many irrigators plan ahead and purchase some or all of their water requirements early, to avoid peak season pricing. Deferred Delivery provides low cost access to secure the supply they need throughout the season at a price that they’re comfortable with.

The feedback we have had suggests that this will become a key resource for irrigators in future seasons,” Walsh said.

Recognised as a leader in the Australian water market, Waterfind has been at the forefront of new technology, products and services since its inception in 2003.

Currently facilitating the largest water market in Australia, servicing over 14,000 customers across all water markets, tools and services developed and released by Waterfind have helped grow, mature and educate the Australian water market.

All these elements and first-to-market products that have advanced the Australian water market to lay the foundations for the Deferred Delivery tool, another essential product in an already extensive kit available to market participants.

Deferred Delivery will be rolled-out through a staged process.

Entitlement holders in the Southern Connected System, which encompasses the River Murray in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales as well as Murrumbidgee, and northern Victorian rivers of Goulburn, Loddon and Campaspe will be the first to access the new product. Waterfind hope to offer Deferred Delivery to all water markets in the near future.

For more information: P: 1800 890 285 E: admin@waterfind.com.au www.waterfind.com.au

Wine industry personnel ONLINE PHONEBOOK • Searchable • Easy to use

www.winetitles.com.au/widonline/phonebook* * Available only to those who have purchased/subscribed to the Wine Industry Directory

ORDER TODAY:

Visit: www.winetitles.com.au Call: +618 8369 9522 Email: orders@winetitles.com.au

42 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Through discussions and experience with our customers, many irrigators plan ahead and purchase some or all of their water requirements early, to avoid peak season pricing. Deferred Delivery provides low cost access to secure the supply they need throughout the season at a price that they’re comfortable with.

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

TRACTORS

Case IH unveiled an autonomous concept vehicle earlier this year at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa.

The day the farm changed: Exciting new ag-tech careers Information and information control, rather than the actual hardware, are the biggest advances that I see in regards to where we’re up to with agricultural technology, and I think we’ll continue seeing this technology be incorporated into machines.

December 2016 – Issue 635

A HOST OF EXCITING new career paths in agriculture and overcoming labour shortages that cost Australian farmers more than $150 million a year in lost productivity, are just two of the likely outcomes from an autonomous tractor like the concept vehicle recently unveiled by Case IH. Case IH and the Innovation Group of parent Company CNH Industrial developed the Case IH Autonomous Concept Vehicle (ACV) which was first demonstrated at the Farm Progress Show in the USA in late August.

At the recent GrowAg Summit held in Albury, Pete McCann, Case IH’s Marketing Manager for Australia and New Zealand, said: “There are a lot of different opportunities and the ACV really does open a very big door into ‘what’s next,

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what can we do?’. Well, we can do anything. We just need to build on the technology.”

The concept vehicle is a ‘cabless’ Case IH row crop tractor that can operate autonomously with a wide range of paddock implements.

It can move around the farm on private roads and follows a pre-set route. An alert lets the operator know if inputs such as fuel, or fertiliser or seed are low, so they can plot a path to a re-fuelling point, where inputs are topped up manually.

The refuelled ACV then returns to the last area worked, and resumes. Through the use of radar, lidar (light imaging, detection, and ranging) and onboard video cameras, the vehicle can sense stationary or moving obstacles in its path and will stop on its own until the operator, notified by audio and visual

Grapegrower & Winemaker

43

TRACTORS

Pete McCann, Case IH’s Marketing Manager for Australia and New Zealand

alerts, assigns a new path. The ACV can be controlled either via a desktop computer or a portable handheld tablet.

“The whole idea of bringing that tractor out of the ‘development shed’ was to show people what we’re working on,” McCann said.

“Case IH is not sitting there, waiting, we are progressing rapidly. As with Australia’s first tracked tractors, which we brought out in 1996, we’re leading development of this technology.”

The main benefits of autonomous technology are being able to use labour in

44 Grapegrower & Winemaker

value-added, rather than low-skill, tasks; for the possibility to work 24 hours with no variation in productivity; and options to overcome skilled labour shortages during critical times such as planting.

According to a 2012 Senate inquiry into higher education and skills training to support future demand of agriculture and agribusiness in Australia, acute labour shortages cost Australian farmers more than $150 million a year in lost productivity, as they struggle to find specialist workers and technicians .

“This sort of technology can help to

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overcome these shortages, and allow workers to focus less on manual labour and more on the science of farming, helping to attract people into the industry,” McCann said.

Brett Whelan, Associate Professor in Precision Agriculture at The University of Sydney, concurs.

“Automated vehicles running broadscale farming operations open up new linkages between agricultural science and engineering,” Whelan said.

“Combining an understanding of agricultural systems and high-tech engineering provides exciting new career pathways for the next generations.”

McCann said software developments featured in the ACV could enhance current Case IH models.

“Information and information control, rather than the actual hardware, are the biggest advances that I see in regards to where we’re up to with agricultural technology, and I think we’ll continue seeing this technology be incorporated into machines,” McCann said.

“Look at how far we’ve come already – with steering for 16 years, ISO 4 on balers to control matter feed in, and so on. Building on this, the ACV shows how farmers can remotely monitor and control machines directly, giving greater operational efficiencies for tilling, planting, spraying, harvesting to just mention a few.

“Some of the components of the ACV such as information control, could eventually be applied to standard tractors. These are very exciting times for farmers, as they – and Case IH – look at every avenue possible to optimise returns from every square centimetre of their farm.”

McCann said while Case IH will bring a concept vehicle to Australia to show farmers at some point, there are no current plans for local farm trials.

December 2016 – Issue 635

TRACTORS Fendt & Massey Ferguson POWER Ratings

PTO Speeds

TRANSMISSION Type Speeds F-R

HYD Outlets Std-Max

TPL Category Max Lift KG

TURN Radius mm

RRP excl GST

3

540/540E/1000

CVT

3-6

Cat2 - 2775

N/A

$120,500

3

540/540E/1000

CVT

3-6

Cat2 - 2775

N/A

$125,500

3

Cat2 - 2500

N/A

$74,400

3

Cat2 - 2500

N/A

$89,700

Eng kW (HP)

PTO kW - (HP)

No. of Cyls

Fendt 209V

67 (90)

N/A

Fendt 211V

81 (110)

N/A

BRAND & Model

Massey Ferguson 3640V

62 (84)

N/A

3

540/540E

24/12 Powershuttle

Massey Ferguson 3660F

102 (76)

N/A

3

540/540E

24/12 Powershuttle

92542 2016-11-18T16:10:29+11:00

fendt.com.au Fendt 200 Vario V/F/P Series 70 –110 HP

Serious efficiency.

Fendt 200 Vario V/F/P Series You’re a farmer that’s serious about your work – that’s why you go for a tractor that’s precise and dedicated.

With CVT Vario and specialised variants for vineyards and orchards, Fendt 200 Vario (V/F/P) specialty tractors have only the best technology for getting the most out of what you put in. Because you deserve a machine that’s as serious about agriculture as you are.

Contact your local dealer today for more information. www.fendt.com.au | Freecall 1800 802 914 Fendt is a worldwide brand of AGCO Corporation.

December 2016 – Issue 635

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Fendt says you’re serious.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

45

TRACTORS

Bigger, stronger, quieter: Massey Ferguson 4700 Series cab WHEN THEY WERE INTRODUCED this past winter, the farm press was abuzz with headlines and accolades for the new world-class Massey Ferguson 4700 Series tractors. After all, the industry finally has a utility tractor that was designed for heavier and larger implements, draft work and demanding applications that required more strength and power.

Available in four models from 70 to 100 HP in 10-HP increments, the 4700 Series features a best-in-class base weight for more pulling power and more lift capacity, not to mention better manoeuvrability and more stability. Yet, even with all that brawn, these machines offer exceptional efficiency and better fuel economy, thanks, in part, to an engine management system that monitors and automatically adjusts every aspect of the engine’s operation.

Now, Massey Ferguson is once again turning heads with the new 4700 Series cab, which was introduced just a few months ago.

“This will offer greater comfort and extended use to many more customers who operate in less-than-ideal conditions,” said Warren Morris, AGCO tactical marketing manager, under 100HP tractors.

“Compared to other utility tractor cabs in the industry, it is not only larger, but even quieter.”

The new cabs feature a design based on larger-model tractors. The result is a utility tractor with mid-range comfort.

As proof, the 4700 Series cab boasts 96.4 cubic feet of cab volume, compared to 89.2 cubic feet from one of the tractor’s major competitors.

In addition, Morris explains, the 4700 Series cab registers a quiet 75 decibels, which is actually lower than the average telephone dial tone.

“Some customers only associate decibels with hearing,” Morris said.

“And it’s true that hearing can be diminished by higher decibels. However, another factor to consider is fatigue.

A quieter cab and roomier operator environment equates to less fatigue at the end of a long workday.”

The new cab will be available in two versions – ‘classic’ and ‘deluxe’. Both will offer unmatched visibility and a console that conveniently groups all major controls on the right-hand side of the operator’s seat.

However, the Deluxe version also includes a mechanical swivelling seat with armrests, a tilt and telescopic steering column, internal mirror, telescopic large side mirrors, and a rear wiper and washer. Options on both versions include an instructor seat and front fenders that pivot with the front wheels.

“With the introduction of a brand-new utility series in the 4700 Series and the update of our existing utility offering in the 4600M Series, Massey Ferguson now covers the utility tractor market more comprehensively than any other competitor,” Morris said.

Antonio Carraro

POWER Ratings PTO Speeds

TRANSMISSION Type Speeds F-R

HYD Outlets Std-Max

TPL Category Max Lift KG

TURN Radius mm

INDICATIVE Price only

540

Synchro - 12-12

1-Mar

2100

2000

$33,320

2-Mar

900

1950

$39,870

3-May

2200

2100

$66,370

Eng kW (HP)

PTO kW - (HP)

No. of Cyls

TN Major 5800

35 (49)

31 (44)

4

TTR 4400 HST Rev

26 (38)

22 (34)

3

540/1000

Hydro - 4-4

TRH 9800 Rev

65 (87)

61 (83)

4

540/540E

Hydro - 4-4

BRAND & Model TRACTORS 75-90 KW

SRX 9800 Art Rev

65 (87)

61 (83)

4

540/540E

Synchro - 16-16

3-Aug

2400

1850

POA

SRX 10400 Art Rev

70 (95)

66 (90)

4

540/540E

Synchro - 16-16

3-Aug

2400

1850

POA

TRG 10900 Rev

73 (99)

69 (93)

4

540/540E

Synchro - 16-16

3-May

2400

2300

POA

TTR 7800 Rev Open Cab

52 (71)

48 (67)

4

540/540E

Synchro - 16-16

3-May

2400

2300

POA

TTR 10900 Rev Open Cab

73 (99)

69 (93)

4

540/540E

Synchro - 16-16

3-May

2400

2300

$77,020

TGF 10900 Pressurised Cab

73 (99)

69 (93)

4

540/540E

Synchro - 16-16

3-May

2400

2000

$76,100

TRX 7800S Rev

52 (71)

48 (67)

4

540/540E

Synchro - 16-16

3-May

2400

2000

$54,670

TRX 10900 Rev

73 (99)

69 (93)

4

540/540E

Synchro - 16-16

3-May

2400

2100

$60,800

Mach 4 (Quad track)

65(87)

61(83)

4

540/540E

Synchro - 16-16

3-Aug

2400

2000

POA

Mach 2 (Duo track)

65 (87)

61 (83)

4

540/540E

Synchro - 16-16

3-Aug

2400

2000

POA

46 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

TRACTORS

Australia is gaining hillside traction ANTONIO CARRARO TRACTORS have been produced in Campodarsego Italy since 1910. Those behind the brand are proud to have earned the reputation as the best manufacturer of compact tractors in the world.

Australia has been one of the key markets for Antonio Carraro Tractors across the past 30 years. While the manufacturer doesn’t’ attract the same number of sales down under as it does across Europe, it has been experiencing an increase in the demand for machinery throughout the past couple of years.

The new generation of farmers has become more aware of the impact of heavy machines on the soil, and some have been willing to move away from the traditional types of tractors in order to focus on better use of space, soil oxygenation, and overall more specialised types of operations for their crops.

The capabilities of the Antonio Carraro Tractors make them a viable option when increased performance is required on hillsides and uneven ground.

Australian clients are approaching

December 2016 – Issue 635

Antonio Carraro Tractors today, because they have started to explore the possibility of using land that might be on a steep hill, or because they need high-powered tractors which are able to perform in very confined spaces.

Based in Minto NSW, the subsidiary of Antonio Carraro’s Italian factory, offers the manufacturer a key advantage point for clients – as they can count on the availability of parts as well as assistance from the support team.

The range of tractors on offer from Antonio Carraro is vast and comprehensive, and this year there has been increased interest in the track models.

These track models represent the top of the Antonio Carraro range in terms of performance, design and technology. Both are reversible, which means they make complex manoeuvres simply and safely – even under extreme circumstances such as on muddy and slippery ground, as well as on slopes that would be inaccessible for other vehicles.

The rubber track system reduces

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ground compaction at each contact point to less of a man’s weight. Both models are available with the StarLight cab and have a wide range of optional extras to satisfy all requirements. Both have been approved for on-road travel and are capable of speeds of up to 40km/hr, for growers who need to travel between blocks. They also come in a shiny, black livery, which can be personalised for each customer.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

47

TRACTORS

King of the specialist range Earlier this year Landini launched the new REX, which has been recognised as the benchmark range for specialised farming sector.

NEW STYLING, new components and new features make the new REX 4 series a much wider choice of models for all specialist tasks. As well as the four versions for vineyards and orchards, there are numerous variants and options allowing customers to optimise their choice to suit their requirements and ensure low cost of ownership during its working life.

With the exception of the GE (low) version (footstep only), all the others will be available with a modern and functional air conditioned cab, in which operators can work in safety and comfort.

The innovations incorporated into the REX 4 Series start with the engine, a performance-oriented, reliable 4-cylinder 2.9-litre Deutz Tier 4 Interim (TCD L4) equipped with DOC. An Engine Memo Switch can memorize the engine speed for operator convenience.

Maximum power is developed at 2200 rpm and ranges from 70 HP to 111 HP with up to six models per version. Argo Tractors produce the new transmission, with mechanical or hydraulic reverse shuttle, four speed gears and three ranges to which two options can be added: Hi-Lo and High-Medium-Low, and finally creeper. Models can be two or four wheel drive.

The new REX 4 Series offers a wide choice of power take-offs either mechanical or hydraulic versions, depending on the transmission, and with two or four speed (540, 540 Eco, 1000 and 1000 Eco). Another key feature of

Landini BRAND & Model

REX 4 is the hydraulic system, where the versatility of the new Rex is highlighted by a 55 + 30 l/min double pump (60 + 30 l/min in the GT version) or a 25 + 55 + 30 l/min triple pump for cabbed versions.

The hydraulic circuit is completed by neatly positioned control valves that maximise space and vision, a flow selector and flow divider are optional.

Either mechanical and/or electrohydraulic control valves are available.

The tractors stylish new look and entirely redesigned cab provide the operator with a new working environment, offering improved vision, more functionality and more precise controls that make front or rear implement operation easier and quicker and, true to form, extremely high-levels of finish ensure the utmost in comfort.

When used for spraying operations, the cab is also available with Protection class

POWER Ratings Eng kW (HP)

PTO kW - (HP)

No. of Cyls

PTO Speeds

TRANSMISSION Type Speeds F-R

four, guaranteeing total protection for the operator in a pressurized environment monitored by sensors.

Easy to handle as always, the new REX 4 series maintains its previous characteristics, compact dimensions and a 55° steering angle for minimising turning circles. The vineyard version has additional models and options, including a dedicated high pivot axle with increased swing to facilitate steering and undulating ground. The innovations also involve the front axle of the F and GT versions, which, besides the rigid version with electrohydraulic diff lock and 4WD engagement, is now offered with central suspension system for the very first time. 24”, 28” rear tyres and 30” for the GT version confirm the versatility and capability of the wide Orchard and compact Open Field models.

HYD Outlets Std-Max

TPL Category Max Lift KG

TURN Radius mm

INDICATIVE Price only

REX REX 90 Techno F-GE

61 (83)

51.5 (70)

4

540/750/1000

20

2-7

2600

1800

POA

REX 100 F-GE-GT

68 (92.5)

57 (77.5)

4

540/750/1000

40

3-8

3250

2000

POA

REX 120 F-GE-GT

81 (110)

68 (92.5)

4

540/750/1000

40

3-8

3250

2000

POA

4-100

73 (99)

60 (86)

4

540/750/1000

32

2-5

3900

2000

POA

4-105

79 (107)

66 (94)

4

540/750/1000

32

2-5

3900

2000

POA

90HC

61 (83)

51.5 (70)

4

540/750/1000

32

2-4

3700

9000

POA

110HC

81 (110)

68 (92.5)

4

540/750/1000

32

2-4

3700

9000

POA

81 (110)

68 (92.5)

4

540/750/1000

48

2-4

3960

2000

POA

4-SERIES

Powerfarm HC

5H-T3 Series 5H-115

48 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

4 SERIES

Stability and strength, as well as for work between tight orchard rows, where agility is paramount

REX SERIES

Variety of front and rear axle solutions, resulting in different wheel base sizes and track widths

F Model (Narrow orchard) GE Model (Low orchard) GT Model (Large orchard)

Gepps Cross 08 8139 7200 Summertown 08 8390 3017 Naracoorte 08 8762 0123 www.landinicentral.com.au admin@landinicentral.com.au

GE Model specialised cab (1.95m)

Powerfarm Series

Total view cab gives superb visibility , with superior heating, cooling and purifying ventilation systems

TRACTORS

New Holland: New models THE NEW T4F AND T4V series tractors combine bold New Holland family styling with more powerful features in a streamlined designed that has been optimised for narrow rows of orchards and vineyards.

“The T4F and T4V family of narrow tractors have been built from a long line of New Holland narrow tractors known for their performance and reliability in specialty applications,” said Justin Raski, New Holland marketing manager.

The T4F series continues to provide a stable, narrow platform that can handle tough applications, with a minimum width of just over five feet. If the rows are too narrow for a T4F tractor, choose the T4V series. Specifically designed for extremely narrow rows, the T4V series measures a minimum of 43 inches in width.

The four models of both the T4F and T4V series ranging from 65 to 93 PTO horsepower offer operators the choice between open platform or one of two Blue Cab options. Both open platform and cab models have isolation mounting to provide operators with a smooth ride with less vibration. Similarly, upgraded instruments and controls provide additional ergonomic comfort.

The New Holland Blue Cab offers two different levels of operator protection to meet the needs of various narrow applications. First, the standard Blue Cab uses a high power fan for heating and air conditioning, and an air filtration system that provides Level 2 dust protection. Second, operators could also select the optional Blue Cab 4 system with achieves Level 4 protection from dust, aerosols, and vapours. It also features an exclusive design that allows the filtration system to operate on Level 2 protection until the operator chooses to engage Level 4 protection.

come standard with Lift-O-Matic™ Plus, which offers the same great benefits by using an ergonomic lever. Additionally, cab models can be upgraded with an electronic draft control system to provide more precise rear hitch control. A front three-point hitch with available front PTO is another option on all T4F Series models, providing greater versatility while operating between rows.

FRONT AXLE UPGRADES AND IMPROVEMENTS All T4F Series tractors come with the patented New Holland SuperSteer FWD axle. This axle articulates as the tractor turns, combining the standard 55-degree steering angle with 21 degrees of axle articulation to provide an unmatched turning angle of 76 degrees—the best in the industry. That means you get the advantage of the shortest FWD row-to-row turning available.

The T4V Series tractors come standard with electro hydraulic FWD axles to provide additional traction where needed. FWD can be set to automatic to engage the FWD when needed, turned on full time for applications that require additional traction at all times or turned off when not needed. A 2WD front axle is also available for conditions where the additional traction of FWD is not needed.

The SuperSteer™ FWD axle also includes the New Holland Tractor Management System that engages FWD only when needed for optimum traction, braking, and steering control.

The system also monitors operation on hills to control loads when moving downhill, and engage FWD when extra traction is needed going uphill. You can also fully engage FWD to provide maximum traction at all times for extreme operations.

POWERFUL, EFFICIENT ENGINES The T4F and T4V tractors are powered by a 207-cubic-inch, four-cylinder engine built by Fiat Powertrain Technologies (PFT). These engines are Tier 4A emissions compliant using a Cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation (CEGR) system and a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). The common-rail, fuel-injected engine provides either 74, 84, 98 or 106 rated horsepower, depending on model, and deliver constant max power from 1,900 rpm up to 2,300 rpm to ensure the best combination of power and efficiency.

MORE TRANSMISSION CHOICES The T4F and T4V series tractors come with a variety of transmission options to suit an operator’s needs. The 16x16 Synchro Command™ transmission with either a synchronised mechanical shuttle or a convenient power shuttle for easy, clutch-free forward/reverse shuttling.

POWERFUL THREE-POINT HITCH ON FRONT AND REAR The T4F and T4V come standard with large rear hitch lift capacities.

ROPS models come standard with the New Holland Lift-O-Matic™ feature that allows the operator to raise and lower three-point-mounted implements with the push of a button. Cab tractors

50 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

TRACTORS

ENJOY HOT DEALS ON SELECTED T-SERIES TRACTORS Things are really heating up with New Holland’s summer deals on selected T-Series tractors.

Included as standard is our low rate of just 0.95% plus a 3 year-peace of mind warranty. Plus with the RTK option bundle you can upgrade to the IntelliSteerTM guidance package.

So don’t get burnt this summer, visit your local New Holland dealer today.

0.95%* 3YEAR P.A. Finance

Warranty

VALID UNTIL 31st December 2016

*Terms and conditions apply. Finance rate subject to term and deposit requirements. Finance provided by CNH Industrial Capital Australia Pty Ltd AFS License No. 286664. Offer is available to business customers only and subject to credit approval. 3 year warranty comprises the manufacturers base warranty and Service Plus Protection Plan. Contact your local dealership for full details.

December 2016 – Issue 635

www.winetitles.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

51

TRACTORS

Not your conventional tractor THE FERRARI VEGA SDT models are the short-wheelbase with ‘odd’ wheels version of the Vega tractors. This version combines the basic characteristics of conventional tractors with those of tractors with ‘even’ wheels of the same height, obtaining machines extremely compact with limited steering radius and an height from the ground which let them to be used in vineyards and orchards.

The Vega SDT in Dualsteer® version allows steering angles of 70°. The qualities of this version are enhanced not only by the extreme manoeuvrability and functional capacity of the machine, but also by the uses in transversal slopes, a typical feature of the crawler tractors.

The low driving position and the exclusive structure of the cabs make this machine truly unique on the market; the compact version of the cab is just 169 cm high. When the cabs were designed for the Vega SDT, there were high standards set and the result is cabins meticulously studied and realised to guarantee the maximum comfort with the most pleasant living conditions.

Furthermore, this is the only homologated cab on the market with these characteristics that doesn’t have a roll bar. Despite

52 Grapegrower & Winemaker

the compact dimensions, the joy-stick for controlling the hydraulics is also inside the cab, a plus for the Volcan with respect to competitors.

All the Vega SDT cabs are pressurised and have the suspension completely independent from the roll bar of the tractor. The air conditioning and heating are controlled by an efficient plant which is car-type integrated in the front control console.

FLUID MECHANICAL GEAR The new Sincro 32-speed transmission with synchronised reverser and helical gears offers the very best performance, improving the comfort and drivability of the vehicles. Designed to avoid gear overlaps in the four ranges, you will always find just the right gear for the job.

The four wheel drive can be disengaged on the front axle with an electro-hydraulic control. This allows rational movement both on steep slopes and uneven ground, as well as being the best solution for fast road use.

The new transmission comes with the OS-Frame which, with one single transmission shaft and one central joint, guarantees the maximum mechanical performance.

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

TRACTORS Ferrari POWER Ratings Cyls

PTO Speeds

TRANSMISSION Type Speeds F-R

HYD Outlets Std-Max

TPL Category Max Lift KG

TURN Circle mm

INDICATIVE Price only

Eng kW - (HP)

PTO kW - (HP)

Cromo K30 RS

18.6 (25)

16.4 (22)

3

540

8F/4R

2

1050

2670

$29,090

Cromo K40 RS

26.2 (35.6)

23 (31.5)

4

540

8F/4R

2

1050

2670

$30,909

Cobram 60 RS Reversible

34(46)

29 (39)

4

540/750

12F/12R

2

1300

2800

$27,836

Cobram V65 RS Reversible

41.2 (56)

36 (49)

3

540/750

12F/12R

2

1800

2800

$46,000

Cobram V65 RS Reversible

41.2 (56)

36 (49)

3

540/750

12F/12R

2

1800

2800

$60,727

Vega 95 SDT Dualsteer

67.5 (92)

58 (78)

4

540/750

16F/16R

2

2700

2650

$73,182

Vega 95EP SDT Dualsteer

66.9 (91)

56.8 (77.3)

4

540/750

16F/16R

4

2700

2650

$84,227

Vega 95EP SDT RS

66.9 (91)

56.8 (77.3)

4

540/750

16F/16R

4

2700

3900

$71,800

Vega 95EP RS Reversible

66.9 (91)

56.8 (77.3)

4

540/750

16F/16R

2

2700

3700

$63,773

Vega 95EP RS Reversible

66.9 (91)

56.8 (77.3)

4

540/750

16F/16R

2

2700

3700

$80,773

Thor 95 RS Reversible

66.9 (91)

56.8 (77.3)

4

540/750

16F/16R

3

2700

3280

$55,455

Thor 95 RS Reversible with Front TPL

66.9 (91)

56.8 (77.3)

4

540/750

16F/16R

3

2700

3280

$57,364

Model

The joint in the middle of the vehicles lets the front axle oscillate by up to 15° with respect to the rear, for excellent stability on slopes.

The LONG-LIFE clutch is a multiple disc hydraulic clutch running in an oil bath, and no adjustment or maintenance is required.

Light and progressive, its performance is guaranteed by the PRO-ACT System, a system that lets the driver use the clutch in a comfortable and rational way, thanks to the parallelogram clutch pedal with a progressive action that takes up any play.

multipurpose linkages, suitable for all kinds of equipment on the market. On request the tractors can be fitted with a controlled force and position system, for all equipment that requires the same.

The Vega SDT can also be equipped with a practical front lift, essential for combined use, supplied with four hydraulic outlets.

THE VERY BEST IN BRAKES AND MORE Four multiple disc brakes running in an oil bath of the very latest generation with hydrostatic control guarantee perfect adherence to the ground, for safe braking in any conditions.

The hydrostatic control acts as a brake force distributor, sending the same pressure to the four wheels simultaneously when the pedal is pressed.

The Vega SDT can be also suited with the exclusive independent BRAKE-OFF parking brake system, which is automatically activated when the engine is turned off. When the engine is running however, it is controlled by a practical button on the dashboard.

HYDRAULIC SYSTEM In a specialised tractor, the performance of the hydraulics is fundamental.

The Vega SDT has a double hydraulic circuit with independent pumps and a heat exchanger: • The first pump, with capacity 31 L/min, is dedicated to the power steering; and • The second pump, with capacity - 31 L/min (optional - 49 L/min), is dedicated to the lift and to the distributors with hydraulic pressure 180 bar.

There are up to eight hydraulic outlets at the rear of the machines to connect equipment that requires high-capacity hydraulic supply, often used in vineyard cultivations.

To meet the requirements of our most demanding customers, we have studied electronically controlled Joy-Sticks, which control not only the hydraulics (nine front distributors and five rear) but also the lifts.

The rear lifts are strong and have practical and versatile December 2016 – Issue 635

www.winetitles.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

53

grapegrowing

Bird Control

Vineyard bird management: All your options

It can be difficult and expensive to keep birds out of the vineyard from veraison to harvest, but Cathy Fisher looks at the main options.

FOR MOST GROWERS, netting has proven to be the most effective protection from birds. Netting is especially useful to smaller vineyards that can ill afford losses with regard to both yield and quality (the latter due to potential rot).

While other approaches are also effective and more economical than netting – mainly those that scare birds away from the vineyard – they are typically at their best in rotation and in combination with other tactics.

The tactic that will work best for each vineyard depends on a variety of factors, including vineyard location, size, terrain, budget and type of bird you’re trying to repel. In addition, factors such as ease of application and consideration of neighbours will also play into the decision.

Some vineyards, especially those with heavy bird pressure, may require the use of two or more tactics to prevent habituation.

Local experience may be your best guide; talking to other vineyard owners in the area to find out what has worked for them can be very helpful.

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54 Grapegrower & Winemaker

NETTING Netting may be the most effective method of protecting grapes from birds. Netting protects well because it creates a physical barrier between the birds and the berries, whereas other methods rely on visual or auditory scare tactics to frighten birds away.

One grower we spoke to, whose sentiments were echoed frequently by others, stated, “conventional wisdom is that there is only one surefire and safe approach, and it’s netting”.

The most commonly mentioned downside of netting is that it is one of the most expensive solutions for keeping birds away from grapes.

Netting can also require more hands or specialised equipment to apply, which translates to an increase in cost.

Netting can be draped over each individual row of vines (canopy netting) as well as attached only on the sides (fruit-zone netting). Larger, wider sheets of netting can also be laid out on top of many rows at once (overhead or multi-row netting).

Fruit-zone netting has its benefits: Since less is needed, it can help bring down the overall cost of the netting (as well as shipping charges), can be easier to handle and cuts down on labour. Canopy and overhead netting can create a more secure barrier than side netting as the latter won’t completely envelope vines on all sides and down to the ground.

Not all netting is created equal. The material is made in a variety of grades, widths, lengths, mesh sizes or densities and colours. High-quality netting is UV-stabilised so it will not break down in the sun so easily over time.

The mesh sizes for bird netting can range from as small as a 1/4-inch to 1-inch, with 3/4-inch and 1/2-inch most commonly used. Choosing the right mesh size for the bird you are dealing with is important to avoid trapping birds on or inside the netting, where they may perish.

The total cost of netting can be significant, but weighed against the value of the crop being protected, as grapes or eventually wine, it may be viewed as worthwhile insurance.

The thing to remember about netting is that while it holds up well year after year, it can require significant labour to set up and take down, as well as manoeuvre during thinning and harvest when crops are most desirable to birds.

Costs over time can reach several thousand dollars per acre.

VISUAL DETERRENTS Unlike netting’s exclusion method, visual tactics work by scaring birds away from a vineyard in a variety of ways and have varying degrees of success.

The most popular tactics include reflective tape, kites, balloons and live birds of prey.

The benefits of visual deterrents are that most are relatively inexpensive and easy to employ. The down side is that hungry birds may soon come to learn that these deterrents are no real threat to them and continue to feast.

Used alone, these types of tactics are marginally effective;

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

but by rotating them and using a couple of different tactics simultaneously, their combined effectiveness can be increased.

Iridescent “flash” tape comes in red, silver or rainbow colours and is made of polyethylene film, or Mylar, that is typically one-half inch to one-and-a-half inches in width.

It can be easily affixed by tying it in short streamers to vines or posts near problem areas.

With the slightest bit of wind, the movement and mirror-like reflection of the tape disturbs birds visually and audibly, due to the sound of the crackling tape. One supplier described it as “bothering all of a bird’s senses”. Flash tape is one of the most inexpensive bird deterrents available.

The most famous of visual deterrents is the scarecrow, and large bird-shaped ‘predator kites’ act like a moving scarecrow when activated by the wind. Like flash tape, the fluttering sound of the material also serves to scare birds. These kites are usually made of plastic and can be 3 to 6 feet in diameter, with one for every two or so acres recommended. Bird kites vary from simpler, lighter-weight models, with a bird printed on a plastic sheet; to heavy-duty models constructed of nylon and fibreglass that are launched on a cable from atop a 20-foot pole whenever a gust of wind comes by.

AUDITORY DETERRENTS Most growers agree that auditory deterrents, like visual deterrents, are not permanent solutions, and they are most effective when combined with other types of tactics. Most auditory devices can operate unattended and can be quite loud, which does a thorough job of scaring and disorienting birds; however, they may not be practical for vineyards with close residential neighbours.

Bird cannons are one type of auditory scare device. They simulate an extremely loud shotgun blast, giving off a pressuredriven detonation at intervals of between 40 seconds and 30 minutes, which can be custom set. Cannons also come with adjustable volumes of between 100 and 130 decibels. Electronic cannons, unlike mechanical cannons, are slightly louder, can give successive blasts with greater interval options and come with a programmable timer.

If neighbours aren’t an issue, the location of the cannons

can be rotated every few days, to improve their effectiveness.

Manufacturers state that cannons are generally effective for areas of 1 to 5 acres, and that by purchasing an optional fourfoot tripod, coverage can be significantly increased, possibly doubled.

Another auditory option is electronic devices that simulate bird distress calls. When birds hear digital recordings of predatory birds, along with their own species’ distress calls, their natural instinct is to flee the area. Like cannons, many growers consider them partially effective when used alone and best combined with other measures.

These weather-proof electronic units are easy to set up and begin using, and they can be mounted on any fence, post or pole.

They operate on a 12V battery or can be solar-powered.

They can be purchased with bird calls to repel a wide variety of birds. The sounds are controlled by a microprocessor that is fully adjustable for volume and sound duration. Random features prevent birds from becoming overly familiar with just one call and lose their fear.

KNOW YOUR VINEYARD If you are working with a supplier, they can help you decide on the best bird management method(s) for your vineyard. If bird pressure is heavy and fairly predictable, a combination of netting, visual and auditory tactics may provide the best protection against hungry birds.

For very light pressure, you may get along fine with just one tactic. In addition, becoming familiar with the birds in your region – their different eating patterns and methods – may be one of the best steps you can take in outsmarting them and keeping them away from your grapes.

Early defence measures are necessary. Make sure you have bird management plans in place so the early bird does not get the grape.

About the author: Cathy Fisher lives in Sonoma and has been writing on the wine industry since 2004.

This article first appeared in the US magazine Wine Business Monthly and is re-published here with permission.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

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• GREATER SOUND DISTRIBUTION 2 meter tripod which auto rotates 360 degree

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

55

winemaking Pre-Christmas tax package surprise It seemed to take longer than a wet week, but the latest Wine Equalisation Tax reforms have been broadly accepted by the grape and wine community. Nathan Gogoll reports.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has announced a revised WET rebate and eligibility package, providing clarity before Vintage 2017 begins. The previously announced cut to the cap from $500,000 down to $290,000 will be revised to $350,000 with an additional top up grant of $100,000 also set to be introduced.

The revised eligibility criteria for claiming the WET rebate will become ownership of at least 85 per cent of the grapes at the crusher. The cap changes will also be deferred until 1 July 2018, but revised eligibility criteria will be brought forward to this date. There will also be a new mandatory process to ensure the tax liability has been incurred before the rebate is claimed.

Currently, the WET imposes a 29 per cent tax on wine products, separate to the GST, and the capped rebate is available to wine businesses that create growth and jobs in rural and regional Australia.

Senator Anne Ruston, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, said the package of changes reflects the requests from the grape and wine community “almost to the last decimal point”.

“This is a real demonstration that if people can sit down, consult and listen… you can get to a position where everyone agrees,” Ruston said.

“There are lots of things we can do to improve the industry by getting the policy settings right.

“This is a fantastic result and we should use it as an example of what we can achieve.”

Both the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) and individual wineries have welcomed the news.

“The wine industry has fought long and hard for reform of the WET rebate eligibility criteria. The consultation process driven by Minister Ruston demonstrated the Government’s willingness to listen to industry concerns and deliver a positive outcome,” said Tony Battaglene, WFA chief executive officer.

“Today’s decision will put an end to uncertainty and put the industry in a stronger long-term position.

“Growers and winemakers can now start the 2017 vintage with clarity about the WET Rebate. We congratulate the Government on their efforts and look forward to working with them to support our great sector.”

Definitive plans for the $100,000 grant will not be finalised before additional consultation, with plenty of time available before the July 2018 start date.

“The focus will be on rewarding those who’ve made significant investments in their region,” Ruston said.

Bill Downie, Gippsland-based winemaker, said it appeared to be an intelligent package.

“It sounds like the message has been heard,” Downie said.

“Change had to happen and people could accept that – as long as the contributions were equitable across the industry.

It wasn’t right the some businesses were looking at a situation where they would have gone from claiming hardly any rebate to not being in business any more.

“It is a great result on face value and honestly, congratulations to Senator Anne Ruston – it sounds like she has done really well.”

Battaglene said the return of integrity to the WET rebate has been the main consideration for the WFA and the measures announced deliver on that need.

60 Grapegrower & Winemaker

AT A GLANCE Key changes to the Government’s eligibility criteria to protect the integrity of the WET Rebate scheme: • Eligible producers must own 85% of the grapes at the crusher used to make the wine, and maintain ownership throughout the wine making process; • The Rebate is limited to branded packaged wine, in a container not exceeding 5L and branded with a registered trademark for domestic retail sale; • The Rebate claims must be better linked to the WET being paid; and • The new eligibility criteria will apply from 1 July 2018.

“An outcome of a cap at $350,000, combined with the acceptance of industry’s eligibility definitions, and the $100,000 grant scheme, is significantly better than the Budget 2016 outcomes and provides a platform for future growth. The revised eligibility criteria also strengthens the industry by recognising alternative business models including emerging winemakers who are making their start,” Battaglene said.

“WFA is very pleased that the Government has reconsidered its decision to reduce the WET rebate cap to $290,000, today announcing it will maintain the cap at $350,000. This rebate is critical to rural and regional communities and jobs, as well as future investment and growth.

“The announcement of the $100,000 grant scheme, focusing on investment at the cellar door and supporting regional growth is also a very positive outcome for small and medium winemakers and reflects industry calls for a re-focus of investment at the local level.

“Critically, the deferral of the rebate reduction to 1 July 2018 will allow the industry more time to adjust.”

POSITIVE FEEDBACK Angus McPherson, Treasury Wine Estates ANZ managing director: “We welcome the Government’s decision to tighten eligibility for the rebate – to remove bulk and unbranded wine from 1 July 2018, and to target winemakers who have invested in the industry from the crush all the way through to the branded product.”

Helen Strachan, Pernod Ricard Winemakers Legal and Corporate Affairs director: “These reforms are a necessary first step in WET reform, and will go a long way toward addressing the distortionary impacts of the current rebate. We support a continuing focus on growing export demand for premium Australian wine, and are pleased that the Government has maintained its additional funding to Wine Australia.”

In a joint statement from Treasury Wine Estates and Pernod Ricard Winemakers, the companies acknowledged “the significant work undertaken by the Australian Government, particularly Ministers Kelly O’Dwyer and Anne Ruston, in engaging with the wine industry to find practical solutions to the industry’s concerns about the operation of the Rebate”.

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

Raise a glass to

the future Redox is pleased to announce that it now has enzymes available to the Australian wine industry.

AB Enzymes is part of the Associated British Foods group and sister business to AB Mauri who currently offer the maurivin™ wine yeast range. AB Enzymes superior range will be available for the 2017 vintage, with technical support provided by AB Mauri.

Sales contact debbie.shah@redox.com Tel: +61 (0)402 321 292 Technical contact tina.tran@abmauri.com.au Tel: +61 (0)420 309 480

winemaking Tom Ward, NSW Wine Industry Association president: “The changes announced are a very positive outcome for small and medium winemakers and reflects industry calls for a re-focus of investment at the local level. Critically, the deferral of the rebate reduction to 1 July 2018 will allow the industry more time to adjust. The announcement of a grant scheme focusing on cellar doors is also seen as a positive step and we look forward to working with Government to ensure industry continues to benefit.”

Ward also praised the role played by Senator Anne Ruston in driving the consultation process.

“This is a complex issue with the potential to harm the industry.” Mr Ward said. “The announcement today is a good compromise and mitigates the overall impact of the changes on those wineries with investment in cellar Door. Wineries can now go into the 2017 vintage with a higher degree of certainty and confidence.”

Bill Moularadellis, Kingston Estate managing director: “These long awaited reforms are welcomed and are a win for all sectors of the industry especially for independent growers who do not make and sell bulk wine.”

“Large winemakers will now be motivated to purchase grapes at higher and more sustainable prices, rather than rely in part on bulk wine that had been subsidised by the tax payer at 29% of the combined grape and processing cost. This bulk wine subsidy, which has been in operation for a very long time, has been a debilitating influence on our industry. It has significantly delayed the industry’s recovery and can largely be held responsible for the industry’s failure to respond to the oversupply and fully develop our export potential.”

Moularadellis also applauded the extensive consultation and work by Senator Ruston and her team over a very long period of time to achieve these sensible reforms.

Andrew Weeks, Australian Vignerons CEO: “Thankfully, the government has listened to concerns raised across the wine community,” Weeks said.

“These reforms change the outcome closer to the original intent of the rebate – to offset an otherwise punitive tax; and in doing so provide relief for businesses that are vital regional players with synergies with tourism, food, and allied businesses in those regions.”

“Tax reform was inevitable, and this outcome is an improvement for the industry but is also responsible in the national perspective. Re-investment of part of the savings from these reforms into boosting demand will increase confidence, and help to rebuild industry profitability. Ultimately a profitable wine industry not only sees better returns for growers and makers of wine, but it also employs more people, and pays more tax”.

Weeks noted this was not an easy process, with a diverse and widely-spread wine community there are myriad ways that tax policy and the rebate has impacts.

“The government is to be commended for the extensive national consultation process, where it listened to industry concerns about the proposed changes, and has acted,” he said.

Weeks travelled with Assistant Minister Ruston to the interstate consultations.

“There was great merit in the process that brought national, state and regional wine industry organisations together, to discuss what was a responsible position not only for the national wine industry but for integrity of the WET and the associated rebate,” he said.

Mike Stone, Murray Valley Winegrowers executive officer: “With these changes, coupled with an improvement in export sales and tightening of grape supply in Australia, winegrape growers look forward to significant increases in grape prices,” Stone said.

62 Grapegrower & Winemaker

“Growers often have been told by wineries that grape prices would be higher but for the abuse of the WET rebate system.

Steps have now been taken to stamp out the abuses, so logically growers can expect higher prices as a consequence.”

Wines of Western Australia (WoWA) statement: “This is a good news story of Government and Industry working together to achieve optimum and balanced outcomes.

“Senator Ruston is to be congratulated on the thorough and extensive consultation process that she has conducted with the wine industry since the announcement of these reforms in the 2016 Budget.

“This process highlighted the importance of the WET rebate to small premium wine producers, particularly those operating in regional areas where they are a critical part of their local economies and tourism infrastructure.

“Everything in the revised policy is focused around returning the rebate to its original intent and the Government has absolutely nailed it. We look forward to continued discussions over its implementation, the $50m Wine Tourism and Export Development Fund and future taxation reviews.”

ORIGINAL INTENT OF THE WET REBATE The rebate was originally intended to assist smaller producers to remain in business, so that diversity in wine styles is maintained and to secure the positive economic impact of wine enterprises in regional communities.

The Explanatory Memorandum to the relevant legislation that introduced the current producer rebate system in 2004 stated, “Around 90% of wine producers will be able to fully offset their WET liability by accessing the new rebate. In particular, small wine producers in rural and regional Australia will benefit significantly…”

As summarised by the Australian National Audit Office, the rebate was introduced “in recognition of the substantial financial hardship being faced by small rural and regional wineries and aimed to support their viability and consequent capacity to generate employment and wealth in local communities.”

WET REFORM TIMELINE • Wine Equalisation Tax rebate reform was set to be rolled out as part of the 2015 Federal Budget.

• At that stage, the case for reforms had been agreed to by the WFA, Wine Grape Growers Australia (now Australian Vignerons), Wines of Western Australia, South Australian Wine Industry Association, Wine Tasmania, Wine Victoria, the New South Wales Wine Association and Queensland Wine Industry Association, as well as regions including The Riverland, Riverina and Murray Valley; • The reform package was cast aside at the 11th hour when former Senator Sean Edwards, who is involved in winemaking in the Clare Valley, asked his then Coalition colleagues to reject the united position on reform; • Behind the scenes a hastily-organised delegation of industry leaders met with Assistant Treasurer Frydenberg in Canberra but were unable to prevent the budget backflip; • Reforms were then considered as part of a broader Federal Government tax review; • Changes to eligibility and reductions in the rebate cap, were then announced with the 2016 Budget; • The industry was not impressed with the government’s proposal, with the WFA and WGGA (now Australian Vignerons) releasing a joint statement spoke out against the reforms; • Senator Anne Ruston led another Federal Government consultation process following the 2016 Budget announcement – which culminated in the announcement of a revised package on 2 December 2016.

www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

For further information, please contact Kauri AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 Email: info@kauriwine.com

NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE Website: www.kauriwine.com

winemaking

Sam Berketa: Art vs Science These days a winemaker needs to be an entrepreneur, an innovator, a sales rep and a designer.

Berketa was born for the role, and after studying under the leaders of Barolo’s modernist movement he’s ready to come home and take over the reins at Alpha Box and Dice in McLaren Vale.

Balancing the logical and the creative Sam is keen to bring the techniques and collaborative ethos back home to the Vale. Daniel Whyntie reports.

TRANSFERRING OUT of a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Drug Design, Berketa felt his creative drives pulling him toward a career in the Visual Arts, lucky for wine lovers he found another way to express himself.

“I wasn’t really enjoying the career path that was leading me down, so I actually considered chasing a degree in a completely opposite direction,” Berketa said. “However, I ended up splitting the difference and choose winemaking, as I saw it as being a marriage of art and science my two academic passions. Since walking into class on that first day of winemaking, I haven’t looked back.”

It is the contrasts between these two ways of seeing the world; the analytic and logical left and the creative right hemisphere of the brain; that makes Berketa a unique winemaker despite his relative lack of experience.

“I love art and all things creative and I include wine in the category of art, most of the time. So, I like to think I have some sort of artistic talent. Brewing has being my creative outlet as well for the last

64 Grapegrower & Winemaker

couple of years.”

Berketa does his home brewing on the kitchen stove. Though he says it’s nothing serious he’s been using the differences to strengthen his winemaking.

“I’m pretty crappy at the moment, still on my learning curve. It’s so different to winemaking, wine making is by-the-seatof-your-pants, with beer you’re following a recipe,” he said.

“But doing things in the formulaic manner has helped me learn things like record keeping and strictly following recipes.”

LEADING MAN Berketa took over the reigns as head winemaker from Alpha Box & Dice winery founder Justin Lane, earlier this year. This will be only his eighth vintage and by far his biggest challenge; though Reh Kendermann in Germany tested how ready he was to step into the main role.

“It’s been a baptism of fire, but that’s the best way to learn,” he said.

“My last job was in the Mornington Peninsula, I was assistant winemaker at www.winetitles.com.au

It’s been a baptism of fire, but that’s the best way to learn.

Queley wines with Kevin Mcarthy but I’ve never had this much responsibility.

Germany came close, I spent three months doing a vintage in a contract winery.

“We just dealt with what came in so I didn’t have to work with the growers or any of that stuff. I was given some room to play but really had a fairly small box.”

He also spent some time at Mac Forbes in the Yarra Valley and a few stints around Mclaren Vale but it was on a trip to Barolo, Italy, helping out a friend that he crystallised the type of winemaker he wants to be.

“It was incredible, I learnt so much about winemaking and marketing. The way that they collaborated together to aid the growth of the region during that time was particularly inspiring, with collusion among the winemakers for the benefit of the region as a whole.

December 2016 – Issue 635

young gun “I also learned a few new techniques to apply in the vineyard and cellar, and it’s got me super excited for the 2017 harvest.”

MODERN MAN Berketa has just returned from the region that is now amongst Italy’s best known and most expensive wines; though it has historically being synonymous with fierce acids and harsh tannins. This was until a group of young winemakers, ditched the long maturation techniques being used and introduced the use of French barriques for faster maturation, much to the dismay of the elders.

“I worked with Chiara Boschis at E. Pira & Figli who’s an incredibly talented organic producer. She was one of the 20 odd modernists involved in the movement of Barolo who kickstarted the huge growth of Barolo wine in the 90s.

They were all from the same crew saying you do this, you do that. So they still had that aspect of individuality but all working to better quality,” Berketa said.

“Basically it was a group who all left uni at the same time; then got back together for tastings and started asking why burgundy was more expensive than Barolo. They started trying things like

reducing crop yield, new things with trellising, with fences, they had pristine vineyards and were just being open to new things.”

To those who thought about Barolo in traditional sense some of the developments were blasphemy, like the use of a rotary fermenter. But by acting together as a region and looking for the practical over traditional the modernists have won over the region and become the norm.

“The rotary fermenter made a whole lot of sense, when some of the winemakers were pushing 60 to then manually rotate, it’s not as easy as for young people,” Berketa said.

“Seeing how people work together it is certainly something I want to try with all the young guys finishing uni and starting their own labels. Alpha box is already established but playing with different things, seeing what works in terms of viti, less times on skin etc.

“Right now it’s a bit of both people I know and people I want to meet. I want to reach out and just say ‘how you going’; I have the people I met at uni and others I meet at tastings. There are some jaded people but mostly everyone is open and friendly.”

SALES MAN As a former muso in the band Half a Smile, Berketa knows the value of promotion. To learn and be involved with that side he travels to trade and events with his sales reps and works in the Alpha Box cellar door on Sundays, though he does it incognito.

“The cellar door lets me see what they really think of the wine as it’s the consumers not critics who decide wine sales. I don’t tell them I’m the winemaker though; I don’t know why, maybe a bit embarrassed, or maybe it just sounds arrogant. Sales is as important as making the wine and getting to know your consumer is fun and important,” Berketa said.

Sam instinctively understands the importance of networks and connections, even selling his wines to his old band mate’s bar. He hopes to use these skills to bring some of the collaboration he saw in Italy to his whole region but his own plans are more modest than challenging Burgundy.

“On a personal level, the dream is to one day own and produce my own brand from my own managed vineyards, but for the next little while I’m super happy with my job at AB&D,” Berketa said.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

Grapeworks Pty Ltd, Unit 18/260 Wickham Road, Highett, Victoria 3190 - National sales: Telephone 03 9555 5500 Facsimile 03 9555 3500 - www.grapeworks.com.au

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Sparkling result at the National Cool Climate Wine Show THE JUDGES at the National Cool Climate Wine Show (NCCWS) tasted more than 800 wines from 150 entrants all across Australia. The calibre of wines on display exceeded expectations and a total of almost 300 medals were awarded.

That was a 36 per cent strike rate with more than 30 gold, more than 60 silver and almost 200 bronze medals awarded.

The judges were impressed with an excellent class of sparkling wines, with strong results from the Central Ranges as well as many wines from Orange and Bathurst excelling.

The ‘champion wine of the show’ was awarded to Josef Chromy Wines for the 2010 Sparkling Pinot Chardonnay.

“We’re very pleased we’ve got 35 gold medals; this speaks volumes for the expertise of the exhibitors, and the standards have been going up every year,” said Tim Knappstein the chief judge. “The NCCWS is particularly well organised and runs very smoothly.”

The judging panel included Lester Jesberg, Winewise Magazine editor; Glenn Thompson, Domaine Chandon winemaker (Yarra Valley); Nick Knappstein, Riposte Wines brand manager; Nick O’Leary, winemaker at Nick O’Leary Wines (Canberra); Greer Carland, Tasmanian winemaker; and Andrew Locke, Fleurieu Vintners senior winemaker.

With more than 60 wine shows across Australia, the NCCWS remains relevant in the eyes of the judges due to its sole focus on cool climate wines. The Show was founded in 1999 by the

Bathurst Regional Vignerons Association – to benefit, promote and provide feedback for Australia’s cool climate winemakers.

MAJOR TROPHY WINNERS Champion wine of show (and champion sparkling wine): Josef Chromy 2010 Vintage Sparkling Champion dry white: Cooks Lot 2016 Allotment 333 Riesling Champion dry red: Wine by Sam 2015 The Victorian Shiraz

COOL CLIMATE ELIGIBILITY For the purpose of the show, ‘cool climate’ is defined as wine made from grapes coming from a vineyard where there are: • Heat degree* days 1600 or less; • Cool nights in growing season; • Four distinct seasons; • Large variation in daytime to night time temperatures; and • Cool autumns. *Heat degree-days are calculated by taking the mean temperature of the month, subtracting the value of 10 and multiplying by the number of days in the month. The mean temperature is calculated by taking the mean of the mean maximum and mean minimum daily temperatures.

For more information visit www.coolwines.com.au.

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16:28 December 25/11/2016 2016 – Issue 635

Partner Update

December 2016 – Issue 635

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Peter Barry in the Assyrtiko vineyard

Jim Barry Wines produces Australia’s first Assyrtiko JIM BARRY WINES has made history, producing Australia’s first Assyrtiko.

After a 10-year journey, the Barry family officially launched the notable Greek wine variety in November, with a limited commercial release in Australia.

It’s a wine that is already capturing attention, having claimed the ‘chief judge’s wine to watch’ award at the 2016 Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show.

Peter Barry, the managing director at Jim Barry Wines, first tasted Assyrtiko in 2006 while on holiday with his wife Sue on Santorini. Ten years on, after a lengthy process of importation and quarantine, the 2016 Jim Barry Assyrtiko can now be shared with Australian consumers.

The developing vines produced enough for a 15-litre ‘micro’ batch in 2013, and by 2015 the production had increased 900 litres. But the 2016 vintage

is the first to hit the market.

“The fresh, crisp, acidic qualities of the wine are perfect accompaniments to contemporary Australian food – it is a natural partner for the Australian climate and cuisine,” Peter Barry said.

The release of the Jim Barry Assyrtiko is an example of the company’s continued commitment to excellence in innovation.

“My late father, Jim Barry was a pioneer winemaker in Clare and was

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December 2016 – Issue 635

a passionate believer of keeping with the times and making wine consumers wanted to drink,” Peter Barry said.

“In 1966, he urged those in the region to steer away from traditional varieties such as Pedro, Doradillo, and to plant Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Malbec – varieties that were uncommon at that time.

“While the laborious process of importation and quarantine has discouraged many growers in Australia from trying something new, I, like my father, have an interest in growing grapes that have a sustainable future in our region.

“Santorini has an arid climate, with an average rainfall of 30mm. With the advent of climate change and global warming, Assyrtiko is a variety that is well suited to the changing landscape of Australian winemaking.

“Similar to the distinct flavours of our site specific Riesling, Assyrtiko provides a true expression of terroir. Our soil and climate have imparted their own unique characteristics to our Assyrtiko, however I believe we have reproduced some similar characteristics to the Assyrtiko of Santorini, producing a richer wine with a mineral/salty aftertaste.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

“The 2016 vintage has a distinct range of flavours, mainly apple, pear and apricot, with a bracing natural acidity and minerality.

“The wine in its early stages is showing an elegant texture that is not seen in our Rieslings, providing an intense mouth feel.”

Barry explained the process to Wine Spectator earlier this year, which involved a 30-month quarantine process.

The 16 certified cuttings were grafted onto Riesling rootstock in 2011, and by 2013 there was enough propagation material for 6000 vines.

The decision was made to plant some of the vines as they are on the island Santorini, trained low to the ground, in a circle – more like a nest or a basket than the old bush vines that are found in Australia. Santorini has a long history with this training technique, which helps overcome the windy conditions – by protecting the bunches inside the ‘kouloura’, as the locals call them.

The vines are planted with wide spacing on the island to avoid competition for water or nutrients, while the nest/basket shape also plays a role in providing water to the plant – the shape actually helps catch and direct water

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The 2016 vintage has a distinct range of flavours, mainly apple, pear and apricot, with a bracing natural acidity and minerality.

The wine in its early stages is showing an elegant texture that is not seen in our Rieslings, providing an intense mouth feel. from the maritime mists the island is exposed to.

In the Clare Valley the Assyrtiko grows next to Riesling in the Jim Barry Lodge Hill Vineyard, which is known for producing high-quality Riesling.

In its first seasons in Clare, the Assyrtiko has ripened later than the Riesling and the winery has found the grapes retained “freshness and zip” in the hot vintages of 2014 and 2015.

09/12/15 17:11

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International bulk wine insights The Grapegrower & Winemaker recently caught up with Denys Hornabrook, the co-founder of VINEX, the bulk wine trading exchange to discuss its development and gain an update on the current market outlook.

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Q: When launching VINEX, what was behind your thinking to develop a commodity-like exchange for the trade of bulk wine?

Denys Hornabrook: Well we took the view there was an opportunity to further advance and grow the sector. There had been little change in the way bulk wine parcels had been traded for decades, despite their having been really significant growth driven by commercial pressures giving rise to own-labels, virtual labels and the demand for in-market bottlings.

The OIV reported they estimated the bulk wine trade now accounts for 38% of all wine produced, that’s the equivalent of nearly 10 billion litres.

Basically the opportunity we saw was to introduce technology to enable greater market connectivity between suppliers and buyers. In effect, we have digitised the bulk industry’s conventional trading processes, introducing a new level of connectivity, objectivity, efficiency and real-time analysis of the industry.

Q: But, by trading wine through an exchange aren’t you really just contributing to taking wine down a generic commodity route?

DH: No, we don’t believe so. The exchange doesn’t treat wine parcels as homogenous, in fact we’ve built a listing template that encompasses more than 4,200 variables a seller can use to differentiate and describe the quality of their wine and production certification, along with a sampling process that provides for an objective assessment, with supporting technical and composition analysis.

Importantly, there’s the provision through the exchange for buyers to engage with producers to customise the final blend, really no different to how it’s done through the conventional approach. Indeed, because all members have anonymity the assessment of a wine is more objective, and so we are arguably providing a mechanism for quality wines www.winetitles.com.au

AT A GLANCE VINEX is a London-based, multi-lingual exchange that allows buyers and sellers to trade wine in bulk using different methods; auction, tender, fixed-price, swap offer and forward contract. Denys Hornabrook, a 24-year veteran of the wine industry joined with programmers and industry advisors to develop the web-based trading and reporting system, launched earlier this year.

to shine through.

Certainly we agree that generic and commercial wines are now more universal in style; that’s already here and the assessment and trading of those through VINEX is easier for buyers. But, with an increasing number of FTAs buyers are now able to move more freely across markets to find and compare wines anyway.

Q: So what does the exchange provide that currently isn’t available in the market?

DH: It comes down a greater ease of connectivity within and across markets, as well as the objectivity and traceability it provides. Basically it efficiently advances the process of sourcing, sampling, buying and supplying of bulk wines. Technology as we know is borderless, scalable and growing – it’s everywhere and now very much part of our lives.

We launched VINEX in 6 languages with a mobile application all housed on a secure, high-speed platform.

Even in the traditional wine industry, commercial pressures are being applied such that we need to improve our service delivery standards, lead-times, reduce supply chain costs and continuously look for efficiency gains.

We can’t escape that, and with the integration of technology and its advances we’re able to remain responsive, competitive and relevant to buyers.

December 2016 – Issue 635

Q: You’ve been now been trading six months, what’s been the industry’s adoption of the exchange?

DH: Fortunately it’s grown quite quickly, as the market has been receptive to us explaining the benefits and when demonstrated they see it’s largely reflective of how the industry currently operates, just in a new format.

We now have members from 32 countries using VINEX across all times zones, and pleasingly the calibre of industry organisations registering has been high.

And, we’ve had wines offered from 10 different producing countries totalling more than 120 million litres. So, yes the adoption has been very encouraging.

We’re still in our introductory phase and needing to manage members’ expectations, but there’s an increasing number of transactions through the exchange each month. A highlight was three weeks ago when the exchange completed its first one million litre trade.

Q: The market news and price analysis you’re publishing is comprehensive. Are all producers happy with VINEX providing such transparency to the industry?

DH: There’s been some initial concerns about the ease of access and the level of detail. Arguably producers have contributed to the ambiguity around price for their advantage in the past and that’s now going to be harder.

Really though, any astute seller or buyer has always been able to make a fairly accurate assessment of the market.

Now of course we live in a world rich with information from a myriad of near real-time sources. We’re not publishing any information that’s not available from other sources in the industry.

What we are doing however, is making sure it’s objective, credible and timely.

December 2016 – Issue 635

We are entering a really interesting phase where the pendulum is moving toward demand and applying price pressure. There’s now an increasing likelihood there’ll be a further tightening of global supply.

Q: You have recently been quoted as saying global prices are expected to rise over the next 12 months, with the precarious 2016 vintage threatening global supplies. What are the factors contributing to your view?

DH: We are entering a really interesting phase where the pendulum is moving toward demand and applying price pressure. There’s now an increasing likelihood there’ll be a further tightening of global supply. Look at the constraints on what was produced in 2016. South Africa has had its worst vintage in four years, Chile its worst in five and Argentina its worst in 10. But that’s now being compounded by the US having average yields and large yield deficits throughout France and Italy, and especially Spain. Our VINEX Global Price Index which monitors the five major varieties produced around the world shows prices have already increased 21.5% since January. Sauvignon Blanc (heavily weighted by NZ) is the only variety that hasn’t increased in price.

Q: What signs are you seeing of the market responding to this potential reduced supply?

DH: We’ve seen domestic and international buyer registrations increase to access the exchange and then sourcing listings being added to secure additional current vintage supply. Also, several

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pre-harvest forward contracts have been traded with buyers wanting to hedge some of their 2017 requirement. So there’s a growing sense of a shortage, and buyers’ in-tune with the market are beginning to take early longer-term positions.

Q: What influences are currently affecting Australia’s global competitiveness?

DH: Our cost base, which is largely within our control, but still too high.

Every grape and production dollar must extract greater value without compromising quality for Australia to remain competitive. Unfortunately not within our control and proving to be a major factor is the falling value of the GBP against the AUD. By value, the UK remains the largest market for bulk wine imports, importing £459 million worth of bulk wine in 2015, the vast majority of which comes from Australia. In absolute terms the AUD is +26% vs same time last year, and more importantly relative to the USD (used

by Chile) is +6% and EUR (used by South Africa) is +5%. This is generating some serious concern. The AUD needs to be more competitive. This means for the increasing volume of varietal wine universal in style, going under brands that are increasingly not region specific, Australia will struggle to be competitive through 2017, unless there’s a quality difference, or if competing Southern Hemisphere countries have ongoing supply challenges, like in 2016.

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AWRI Ferment Simulator joins the cloud Tadro Abbott – Project Engineer, AWRI

The AWRI’s Ferment Simulator will be released before vintage 2017. The app will be available online as a free module in the AWRI’s WineCloud and will be accessible from mobile platforms such as phones and tablets as well as traditional computers. Tadro Abbott, AWRI project engineer, explores the features and benefits.

THERE ARE A RANGE OF WAYS to keep track of ferments – from paper on clipboards, to Excel spreadsheets, to custom winery management systems.

The AWRI is building on the success of its Excel-based Ferment Simulator, originally developed by Richard Muhlack, by moving it to the online environment and making the most of the advantages this brings. The WineCloud platform will be expanded to offer a fermentation app, not just for tracking and recording, but also to predict ferment behaviour, forecast endpoints and catch stuck ferments before it’s too late.

HOW DOES IT WORK? The Ferment Simulator is a one-stopshop for all fermentation data.

It collects identifying information

about the ferment, initial juice analysis, temperature and baume measurements, actions and additions performed on the tank, and any other analyses conducted along the way. The data are then fed into an advanced algorithm to model and predict the future behaviour of the ferment. The app can estimate how long the ferment will take and whether it may become problematic in the future.

All this information is presented graphically to help give a quick overview of the ferment’s current status and where it might head in the future. A customisable and powerful dashboard displays a summary of all active ferments, giving their current baume and temperature, a progress meter, and a prediction of their final duration.

The gauge in Figure 1 for example

Figure 1. Dashboard gauge showing ferment ahead of schedule

Wines, Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard Pty Ltd, Campbells Wines, Casama Group Pty Ltd, Cellarmaster Group, Charles Melton Wines, Clover Hill Wines, CMV Farms, Coriole Vineyards, Delegats Wine Es tate, Delegat’s Wine Estate Limited, DogRidge, Edgemill Group, Fanse low Bell, Five Star Wines, Fowles Wine, Fuse Wine Services Pty Ltd, Gemtree Vineyards, Glenlofty Wines, Harry Jones Wines, Henry’s Drive Vignerons Pty Ltd, Hentley Farm, Hope Estate, Hospitality Recruit ment Solutions, Howard Park Wines, Hungerford Hill Wines, Inglewood Wines Pty Ltd, Innocent Bystander, Jack Rabbit Vineyard, Jim Bar ry Wines, KarriBindi, Kauri, Kingston Estate Wines Pty Ltd, Kirrihill Wines Pty Ltd, Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard, L’Atelier by, Aramis Vineyards, Leeuwin Estate, Make WInes Australia, McWilliam’s Wines The Wine Industry’s Leading Online Job SiteMoxon Oak, Group, Memstar, Mondo Consulting, Moppity VIneyards, Nadalie australia, Nexthire, Oenotec Pty Ltd, Options Wine Merchants, Orlando Wines, Ozpak Pty Ltd, Patrick of Coonawarra, Plantagenet Wines, Portavin Integrated Wine Services, R&D VITICULTURAL SER VICES PTY LTD, Robert Oatley Vineyards, Rymill Coonawarra, Seville Estate, Stella Bella Wines, Streicker Wines, The Gilbert Family Wine Co, The Lane Vineyard, The Scotchmans Hill Group Pty Ltd, The Yalumba Wine Company, Tintara Winery, Tower Estate Pty Ltd, Treasury Wine Estates, Turkey Flat Vineyards, Two Hands Wines, Tyrrell’s Wines, Vinpac International, Warburn Estate Pty Ltd, WebAware Pty Ltd, Wine and Vine Personnel International,Wines Overland, Wingara WIne Group,Wirra Wirra Vineyards, Zilzie Wines, Accolade Wines Australia Limited, Aravina Estate, Australian Vintage Ltd, Barwick Wines, Bel tunga, Bests Wines Great Western, Bremerton Wines, Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard Pty Ltd, Campbells Wines, Casama Group Pty Ltd, Cel larmaster Group, Charles Melton Wines, Clover Hill Wines, CMV Farms, Coriole Vineyards, Delegats Wine Estate, Delegat’s Wine Estate Limit ed, DogRidge, Edgemill Group, Fanselow Bell, Five Star Wines, Fowles Wine, Fuse Wine Services Pty Ltd, Gemtree Vineyards, Glenlofty Wines, Harry Jones Wines, Henry’s Drive Vignerons Pty Ltd, Hentley Farm, Hope Estate, Hospitality Recruitment Solutions, Howard Park Wines, Hungerford Hill Wines, Inglewood Wines Pty Ltd, Innocent Bystander, Jack Rabbit Vineyard, Jim Barry Wines, KarriBindi, Kauri, Kingston Estate Wines Pty Ltd, Kirrihill Wines Pty Ltd, Krinklewood Biodynamic For further information, please contact Kauri Vineyard, L’Atelier by, Aramis Vineyards, Leeuwin Estate, Make WInes AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE Australia, McWilliam’s Wines Group, Memstar, Mondo Consulting, Mop pity VIneyards, Oak, created Moxon & managed

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72 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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December 2016 – Issue 635

is centred around a desired duration of 10 days, and currently predicts that the ferment will finish faster, at around 8.5 days. The dashboard highlights all ferments that are running too far outside of their intended duration, and categorises them as either sluggish or rapid.

WHAT IF MY FERMENT DOES HAVE A PROBLEM?

The Ferment Simulator includes two powerful modes for investigating corrective action on problematic ferments.

The What-If analysis allows you to simulate changes to all data inputs so you can see how changing the temperature, adding nutrients and other corrective actions will impact the ferment, before going out to the tank.

Figure 2 shows an example of a white ferment, predicted to finish after approximately 30 days with no intervention, being reduced to 20 days by increasing the temperature from 15°C to 18°C and then 22°C and making a DAP addition.

You can even go back in time to investigate “what would have happened if I had done…?”.

The What-Now analysis is a simplified version of the What-If analysis, giving quick control of the main corrective actions from the current time point, which is best for investigating corrective actions in the moment.

Of course, the AWRI helpdesk is also always available if you are having trouble with a ferment. You can even download a snapshot of the ferment and send it to them so they can see exactly what you’re dealing with.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER BENEFITS? The Ferment Simulator provides an electronic archive of all your ferments, allowing you to look back through history and compare ferment performance and see which practices worked best.

By using this app you are also contributing anonymous aggregated data to research. The data archived through the app will help the AWRI to identify interesting trends and lead to new research questions.

It will also assist the helpdesk to identify industry or regional issues and release a response in a timely manner.

Are lots of people struggling with Riesling ferments this year? Is a certain region having trouble with Shiraz?

Answering these questions with realtime data will help the AWRI target support to industry, helping everyone achieve stronger ferments.

December 2016 – Issue 635

Figure 2. What-If Analysis: Improvement of ferment duration through temperature increase and DAP addition. Pale green line shows prediction with no intervention. Dark green line shows prediction after intervention.

HOW DO I ACCESS THE FERMENT SIMULATOR? The Ferment Simulator is currently undergoing beta testing and will be released before vintage 2017. The app will be available online as a free module in the AWRI’s WineCloud and will be accessible from mobile platforms such as phones and tablets as well as traditional computers. Being online, the app will allow anyone authorised within a www.winetitles.com.au

company to access ferment data from anywhere in the world, provided they have an internet connection.

For more information, contact Tadro Abbott on 08 83136600 or tadro.abbott@ awri.com.au, or to keep up to date on the release, register your interest at: ht t p s://w w w.aw r i.c om.au/i ndu s t r y_ support/winemaking_resources/wine_ fermentation/awri-ferment-simulator/ Grapegrower & Winemaker

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Oak

My week at the AWAC The Advanced Wine Assessment Course (AWAC), run by the Australian Wine Research Institute, is a fourday program that hones the palates and vocabulary of the next crop of elite wine tasters. Peter McGlashan, Ridgemill Estate winemaker, was part of the most recent installment.

I WAS FORTUNATE to have received the ‘Queensland winemaker bursary’ from the Royal Queensland wine show, to attend the Advanced Wine Assessment course at the AWRI on the Waite campus in Adelaide.

I applied to the ballot for a seat at AWAC41 which started on November 7. I was accepted and received the pre-course information. This was supplied by the AWRI and the folk who facilitate the course and it is very comprehensive, from

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74 Grapegrower & Winemaker

suggestions on where to stay to dental care and the effects of absorbing alcohol via absorption through the mouth.

I also received the classes of wines that we would be challenged by, just like you would in a wine show situation.

It was a great experience for me not only because it tested my palate, communication skills and repeatable scoring abilities, but because the people who attended the AWAC41 and those who facilitated it were in some ways like a family – and a welloiled team.

It was very competitive – but only within yourself and against yourself.

There was a wonderful group of people and it was an amazing opportunity to network with industry peers.

The first day started reasonably gently by looking at technical faults and sensory limits. There were also four brackets of 12 wines – two white and two red – but the competition within yourself and with the clock had already started as some of those wines were set to be revisited in the next few days.

The second day started with two brackets of 30 wines; then two brackets of 14 wines – with two white and two red brackets.

As with the first day, it was a day of getting both your eye and taste buds into form for scoring and discussing the wines. There were also repeat wines thrown in to test our consistency.

When day three arrived it delivered 30 mixed reds; 30 reds; 12 mixed red re-pours and panel consensus and 12 red re-pours and panel consensus. Then 14 sweet wines to test our palates and teeth.

On the fourth day there were only two brackets of 40 wines; one with mixed reds and one with mixed whites. Then to finish off the day there was a trophy-style judge off with some marvellous wines.

The real challenge is to be consistent and repeatable with your own scoring and assessment of the wines within a certain time frame, there is no competition between the participants just within yourself. It was interesting to be made shown that wines in a judging line up can be affected by ‘halos’ and ‘shadows’ from the wines next to and around them, with Con Simos and his team playing up these effects with great ability.

I can’t recommend the experience highly enough from a professional development and networking opportunity and how it will highlight your own strengths and weaknesses. The best advice I can give and that I echo from the AWAC team is not to look for the repeats, just score them in a normal fashion, as looking for the repeats can bring you unstuck.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

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winemaking

Caring for your new barrels Winemakers get excited when new barrels arrive at the winery, but they need to take a few simple steps before filling them to ensure they deliver the best results. This advice comes from Cooperages 1912.

INITIAL INSPECTION It is recommended each barrel is carefully examined and the winemaker smells the inside of each when they are delivered.

PREPARATION FOR WINE It is important to carry out a water soak and test. Follow these re-hydration and inspection steps when you are planning to fill the barrel immediately.

Option 1: • Fill the barrel with 10-20 litres of filtered, chlorine-free, hot water; • Use the hottest water possible, with 82°C the ideal temperature; • Place a silicone bung in bunghole; • Rotate the barrel from side to side, completely wetting the barrel’s interior; • Stand the barrel upright on one head up to four hours to completely hydrate the head; • Rotate and stand upright on the other head up to four hours repeating the hydration; • Check for leakage; and • Empty the barrel and allow it to drain and dry completely (about one hour).

Option 2: (Cold water/high volume) • Completely fill the barrel with filtered, chlorine-free, cold water; • Let the barrel re-hydrate for 24 to 48 hours; • Check for leakage; and • Empty the barrel and allow it to drain and dry completely (about one hour). * If you find a leaking barrel, drain it and allow it to dry completely (about one hour).

• With chalk, circle the area where the leakage was present; • Repeat Option 1 or Option 2 above and re-examine for leakage; and • If the leakage continues, it is important to call your account manager immediately.

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76 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Remember that water should not sit in a barrel for more than 48 hours without sulfur and citric acid. Also, use caution when removing bung due to internal pressure build-up.

STORAGE OF NEW BARRELS It is recommended that you keep the plastic film on the barrels if you are storing the new barrels for a longer period of time before filling them. New barrels need to be stored in a cool, humid environment at your winery to maintain its integrity.

CLEANING AND STORING EMPTIED BARRELS • Barrels must be thoroughly rinsed with water until the draining water is clear; • Completely dry by placing the bunghole down and draining the water; • Apply 10-20 grams of sulfur sticks (or the equivalent in gas form) to prevent microbial growth; • Tightly insert a silicon bung; • Continue storing the barrel in a cool, humid environment; • Repeat the sulfur treatment monthly for extended storage of empty barrels; and • Complete Option 1 or 2 (as before) for barrel preparation prior to refilling with wine.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

winemaking Supplier Update

Inside the Dargaud & Jaeglé cooperage Dargaud & Jaeglé is located in Romanèche-Thorins, in Saone et Loire, at the crossroads of two major wine regions, Beaujolais and Maconnais. Since its 1921, D&J has defended the idea that oak ageing must be done with the greatest respect for the fruit, the terroir and winemaking artistry. This article reveals more about the cooperage.

DARGAUD & JAEGLÉ does not split staves, does not buy logs nor standing trees. The reason? The cooperage believes it is easier to determine the quality of the oak once it is sawn.

Therefore, Dargaud & Jaeglé work with 17 different stave suppliers to secure supplies that have: • Fine and homogeneous grains; • An absence of knots; • An absence of cracks and defects which may jeopardise the tightness; and • Suitability for bending.

When the cooperage takes delivery of staves, they are first examined (dimensions and volumes checked), then stacked so the air can circulate freely and

each piece of wood is exposed to the sun, rain, wind and frost which will results in the chemical transformation of the oak. During the stacking, each stave and piece will be inspected and faulty pieces are rejected.

For three generations Dargaud & Jaeglé has crafted fine barrels for the greatest wineries in the world. Exhaustive wood selection, combined with an unwavering commitment to traditional craftsmanship, make the Dargaud & Jaeglé barrels predictably elegant.

Dargaud & Jaeglé’s unique waterbending process conducts heat from an oak fire deeply into the wood to create a subtle and sophisticated spiciness that is unmatched by any other barrel.

Inspecting staves at Dargaud & Jaeglé

Long associated with some of the world’s best producers.

France: Jayer Gilles, Jean Grivot, Meo Camuzet, Ramonet, Ann Gros, Denis Mortet, Emmanuel Rouget, Francois Carillon, George Noellat, Hudelot Noellat, Robert Groffier, Jean Fournier, Pascal Marchand, Phillip Leclerc, Talbot, Lagrange, Caillou, Alain Graillot, Chapoutier

•

• USA: Spottswoode, Dunn, Hess, Beaux Freres, Hobbs, Calera, Ramey

• Australia: Howard Park, Savaterre, Castagna and many others Cavin Difference: Access to the highest quality oak and forests available in France thanks to family who are among the largest oak buyers in France .

•

• If you believe in terroir you will want to buy oak by forest not just grain. A choice of toast.

• Aged a minimum of 24 months outside in the snow, heat and rain.

• Provenance is guaranteed and traceable.

Cavin Family Tonnellerie

One of the highest quality artisan barrels in France.

Orders taken now for January 2017 delivery

For more information: Keppell Smith, Savaterre Vineyard keppell@savaterre.com | 03 5727 0551 | 0418 451 499

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Traditional or the House Style (EP): The house style is a long slow toasting on a small oak fire that deeply penetrates the wood but produces only a light char compared to the traditional toast. This is recommended for wines that require extended barrel maturation. Traditional is also available and uses a slightly stronger flame for a shorter time for earlier drinking styles.

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www.tonnellerie-cavin.com December 2016 – Issue 635

The �rench oaks. Naturally diverse.

Origins, species, climate, soils, silviculture.

The notion of terroir.

At Dargaud & Jaeglé we understand and respect this diversity.

We offer our �rench oak barrels by reqion and sub-region of origin, to further personalise your wine.

In Australia contact Geoff Henriks 0412 947 090 | geoff@djbarrels.com.au www.dargaud-jaegle.com/en

Creating barrels for winemakers since 1921

winemaking

Key weapons in the battle against brettanomyces Murray McDonald reports

A WINERY’S BARREL MAINTENANCE program is crucial to protecting its wine from brettanomyces (Brett) contamination.

An important part of barrel maintenance is to ensure the barrels are both deep-cleaned and sterilised.

Winemakers using traditional cleaning systems, which involve large amounts of hot water, actually leave themselves open to unwanted contamination.

This is because hot water only washes a barrel. It doesn’t deep clean and get into the pores of the oak, which is essential to managing the risk of spoilage organisms.

The two main ways to disinfect and deep-clean a barrel (or tank, vat or bottling line) are chemical cleaning; or exposure to high temperatures.

With chemical-free cleaning approaches being a more sortafter choice among winemakers, the use of a steam vapour process ensures an effective way to safeguard barrels against Brett.

GET INTO THE PORES OF THE OAK A common way for the spread of Brett is from contaminated barrels that are used for new wine transfers or via activities such as sampling.

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Steam at a higher temperature normally produces more steam, which means a faster cleaning process, and a deep clean, where micro-organisms are eliminated.

Therefore, when it comes to Brett, preventing contamination is always better than trying to remove it.

A key way to safeguard your barrels is to perform a routine deep clean using high temperature steam at ideally 165 degrees Celsius or above.

The high temperature kills any Brett that may be lurking and the vapour property gets deep within the pores of the oak, providing a deep clean.

Water alone simply glides over a surface rather than penetrates through the wood. An ideal test to see whether your barrels contain trapped old wine, is to immerse a barrel with steam.

After this treatment, simply drain the barrel and you may find that a “seemingly clean” barrel should release old wine.

ENSURE BARREL-TO-BOTTLE HYGIENE There is also room for Brett to rear its ugly hear can also occur at the bottling stage. Because this is the final stage in the winemaking process it should be a high priority within the winery hygiene process.

A common mistake is to just focus on Brett prevention during the barrel ageing or barrel storing process.

While this is an important aspect to any winery’s barrel maintenance program, leaving bottles open to Brett at the end stages may undo any previous efforts to safeguard the wine quality.

Brett can normally be seen to occur at the bottling stage for two key reasons. Firstly, each bottle could have different traces of “Brett cells”, which at a small level may be harmless.

However, due to different storage conditions and other contributing factors, these cell numbers may grow and differ from bottle to bottle.

Secondly, contamination of equipment at bottling, such as filter heads, is also a concern. A key way to safeguard this from occurring is to sanitise and deep clean all bottling line equipment using high temperature steam vapour.

It’s also important to remember that not all steam processes are created equal. Steam at a higher temperature normally produces more steam, which means a faster cleaning process, and a deep clean, where micro-organisms are eliminated.

Lower grade steam temperatures may not be strong enough to safeguard bottling line equipment from Brett.

Murray McDonald is Director of Wine Barrel Cleaning and specialises in the supply of wine barrel cleaning solutions. Wine Barrel Cleaning’s machine manufactures are fourth generation winemakers and bring specialised wine knowledge to their barrel cleaning solutions. Visit www.winebarrelcleaning.com.au

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December 2016 – Issue 635

SIMILIOAK® Unique blends of selected tannins and inactive yeasts Objectives SIMILIOAK®

SIMILIOAK WHITE®

To develop a sensation of volume and aromatic complexity in red wines.

To develop volume in the mouth and a sensation of aromatic freshness in white and rosé wines.

Enological properties SIMILIOAK® on a red wine

SIMILIOAK® WHITE on a white or rose wine

SIMILIOAK® coats harsh green tannins and decreases the sensation of dryness and bitterness.

SIMILIOAK® WHITE contains natural amino acids and vitamins, which facilitates the fermentation process.

SIMILIOAK® provides more volume, more complexity and freshness to red wines.

SIMILIOAK® WHITE contains specific tannins to increase the body and the length of the wines.

The active compounds of SIMILIOAK® are immediately available and thus allows protection of the aromas and color of red wines very early in the process.

SIMILIOAK® WHITE provides more complexity and freshness to white and rosé wines.

SIMILIOAK® has natural detoxifying properties, which facilitates the fermentation process and elimination of ochratoxin A. Highly recommended where there is a presence of rough tannins or low phenolic maturity red grapes. Compatible with any variety.

White flowers Cocoa Toasted, Roasted Amande, Hazelnut

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Fresh wood

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Immediate integration of active compounds.

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Dose 10 times lower than oak chips for similar result.

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Astringency

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Wood

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winemaking

Market snapshot for Australian exports Wine Australia’s four ‘heads of market’s’ recently joined forces to present a market overview for a Wine Communicators of Australia webinar. They examined the issues, risks and opportunities for Australia’s major export markets. Daniel Whyntie sat in to bring you the highlights of their presentations.

UK: STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF Laura Jewell MW Head of market Europe, Middle East and Africa Looking back across recent history, the UK market has been pretty stable – recent declines had slowed and there was growth in the retail sector and in sparkling. However, the impacts of ‘Brexit’ have meant the outlook seems to change on a daily basis. The vote to leave was unexpected and it has become very clear the UK Government had not actually planned for this outcome.

The Pound fell off a cliff overnight, devaluing by about 18%, which has more implications than just the obvious. The cost of manufacturing and costs throughout the supply chain will increase; while importers and retailers currency hedging

arrangements are now coming to the end of their cushion. So when will prices go up?

In the retail market Naked Wines have already raised their prices, however Majestic Wines have not. The big question is… ‘Who actually takes the pain?’ As few retailers buy in Australian dollars the pain is with the supplier. Recently when Marmite sought to raise its prices in response to Brexit, Tesco dropped the products – which provoked the Twitter hashtag #Marmitegate. While the retailer rejected the pricing, it was interesting to note the public were on their side and not the brand owner. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association has indicated prices are likely to increase by 22p per bottle for nonEuropean wines sold in the UK.

NORTH AMERICA: MAKE SHIRAZ GREAT AGAIN Aaron Ridgeway Head of market North America The US is at the crossroads – having seen a very big rise and an extremely dramatic drop off, but Ridgeway believes careful decision making the category could set itself up for a more successful future. This will require restraint not to flood

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December 2016 – Issue 635

the market and leverage the favourable currency.

Perception remains an issue, highlighted by the negative example of somebody picking up a bottle and quoting of the high alcohol level in Australian red wine, Shiraz in particular.

Australia has found itself in a situation where Shiraz is the varietal most associated with, but despite being only four per cent of total sales it carries almost 100 per cent of the reputation. By building on the stories around Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Riesling, Australia can create the right climate to reengage with more than just Shiraz as the opportunity.

The transition from a marketplace made up of many wholesalers to a smaller number is another challenge facing wineries – as the top 10 distributors control three quarters of all wholesale business.

An Australian wine company with one of those 10 doesn’t necessarily guarantee success, as it’s difficult to attract focus even within that network.

The pressure is on Australian wineries and brands to grab ‘mind share’ and to give really simple tools to help focus their distributors.

CHINA: RED DAWN Willa Yang Head of market China China remains a massive opportunity as people are more interested in wine as a lifestyle, though it’s still a very immature market and has rapidly evolved to trends every two to three years.

Three years ago online was very small, however ecommerce in China is now booming. When you aim towards China you really need to use the ecommerce entry strategy as part of your business.

At the moment the top players are Tmall.com which dominates with more than 57 per cent market share and hosts the massive singles day sales, JD.com is also doing very well

with 20 per cent, followed by other smaller players such as VIP and Amazon.

Australia wines have surged 51 per cent in value across the past year; though domestic wines still hold 70 per cent market share, which is down from more than 80 per cent six years ago.

Showing there is a growing interest in imported wines, of which Australia has 15 per cent market share.

Australian, regional and individual branding all remain important, but promotions in China can be very expensive. So working together promoting the region, promoting Australia in general is more important sometimes than the individual.

ASIA: FREE TRADE BOOST Hiro Tejima Head of market Asia Despite culture differences and the level of maturity of the market, Tejima said Asia is a very exciting region Australian wineries should try to better understand.

There are three categories within Asia.

First, there are markets like Hong Kong and Singapore which are very Australia-friendly.

Then South Korea and Japan fall into another category – proAustralia, but lacking Australian wine knowledge, therefor some prejudices to overcome.

Then there are the emerging markets, currently driven by people of Chinese descent.

Free-trade agreements are also having a positive impact.

In South Korea the performance has tremendous, 42 per cent growth compared with four per cent growth one year before the free-trade agreement.

KAFTA immediately eliminated the 15% import tariff; putting Australia on a level playing field with wine from Chile, US and the EU. However, there hasn’t been a matching increase in the number of exporters – back in 2010 there were 81 and currently there are 83; which means only a few companies are capturing the benefits of the FTA while a lot more should be able to.

Tejima said new interest is being sparked for Australian wine with more consistent activities. It will be important to engage young and vibrant wine professionals and they are interested in new style and new regions of Australian wine.

Manufacturers of TAYLORMADE Tipping Bins - Tipping Tanks - Slot Drains - Wine Tanks Leaders in the Design and Manufacture of Wine Making Equipment Taylors Engineering (Blen) Limited Liverpool St Riverlands Estate Blenheim New Zealand Phone Conway Taylor: +64 (3) 579 4783 Email: sales@taylormadenz.com www.taylormadenz.com December 2016 – Issue 635

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winemaking

Flotation applications Winemakers share their experiences Back in the October edition, Greg Howell and Carly Gamble – from Vintessential Laboratories, presented an article that outlined the basics of flotation and looked at the potential growth of this process across the Australian wine industry. This month we have asked winemakers who have already adapted to the technology to share their insights.

Jeremy Dineen, Josef Chromy Wines chief winemaker/ general manager (Tasmania): Dineen has extensive wine industry experience with numerous vintages spent in Margaret River, McLaren Vale and Mitchelton in the Goulburn Valley before he moved to Tasmania. He gained intimate knowledge of Tasmanian viticulture and of the complexities of winemaking in the state across fives vintages with Hood Wines. Dineen has been with Josef Chromy Wines since its inception, when Josef himself approached him and asked to help set up the winery.

Dineen was an inaugural participant in the Winemakers’ Federation Future Leaders Program. He is an accomplished wine show judge, graduate of the Len Evans Tutorial and has a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Oenology) from the University of Adelaide.

Toby Barlow, St Hallett Wines senior winemaker (Barossa): Toby completed an undergraduate double degree in Chemistry

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Where and when were you introduced to flotation?

Jeremy Dineen: Through Juclas/Winequip who lent us a demonstration unit in 2009.

Toby Barlow: I first came across the concept in a winery engineering course run by Roger Boulton at Sydney university around 2002 or 2003 – I think? It was an amazing three-day course from one of the greatest academic contributors to winemaking.

How long was it between this and being able to use the technology yourself?

JD: Immediate.

TB: Think I bought our little Juclass unit back in 2009 and used in for vintage 2010.

What do you use it for? (Which varieties or wine styles; what classification of wine?)

JD: Clarification of most white wines and sparkling base for all quality levels.

TB: We use it for rose and fresh aromatic white wines such as Riesling, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc.

Can you tell us about the improvements the technology is responsible for (both in terms of the speed of production and the amount of wine being recovered from lees; as well as the clarity of the juice/ wine and any improvements in wine quality)?

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www.fineweld.com.au 84 Grapegrower & Winemaker

and Philosophy before he discovered a passion for wine while planting a vineyard in the Strathbogie Ranges in 1996. He has since acquired a Graduate Diploma in Oenology from Adelaide University and has completed vintages in France, USA, New Zealand, Hunter Valley and North East Victoria. Barlow was winemaker at Mitchelton for seven years before moving to St Hallett in 2007. He was the Dux of the 2012 Advanced Wine Assessment Course.

JD: Clarification time has been reduced from two or three days (plus RDV filtration post racking) to about 12 hours.

Recovery has increased to approximately 97 per cent. Clarity is very bright, with very low NTU after flotation. There has been little or no impact on juice/wine quality with the exception that we may retain slightly more fresh aromatics in varieties like Riesling and Pinot Gris due to less settling time.

TB: The benefits include: • Highly predictable ‘flees’ (floated juice lees) volumes; • Lower free and total SO2 levels in clarified juices (great for malo-lactic fermentation); • Much less stress than worrying about cold settling juices started to ferment; • Reduced tank cleaning requirement due to less tartrate deposit compared to cold settling; • Significant energy and labour savings because if you map it correctly from temperature at crushing then you don’t

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December 2016 – Issue 635

Jeremy Dineen

Toby Barlow. Photo credit: Barossa Grape & Wine Association

need to chill or heat the must and juice at any point before inoculation at 15-16 degrees; and • Racking off bottom valve with a sight glass is a simpler and faster process than in through door of tank.

What have you learned about enzymes as you have adopted the flotation technology? (And has this had any flow-on benefits through other parts of the winery?)

JD: We have kept enzyme type the same as pre-flotation but timing and temperature of addition are critical to the success of floatation (percentage of recovery and clarity).

TB: Not too much to be honest.

What clarifying agents have you trialled – and what works best for you?

JD: We have trialled gelatin, vegetable based protein, pvpp, casein, isinglass, carbon and bentonite. The simplest and best result is achieved with small amounts of gelatin (50-120ppm) and bentonite (20-50ppm) TB: We have tried skim milk, a number of different gelatins and bentonite. We currently use bentonite and a liquid gelatin.

Which gas are you using? (Why? Cost/performance/ accessibility) JD: Nitrogen. It gives us good performance with compact float lees achieved quickly.

TB: Nitrogen – predominantly for accessibility and cost compared to other non-oxidative gases. We have considered using air for pressings to hyper-oxidise, but are yet to trial this method.

What would your advice be for winemakers currently thinking about the option of flotation?

JD: Very useful for increasing speed of clarification but also reduces need for chilling of juice during cold settling so can massively reduce power bills.

TB: Be patient, it’s not perfect and you will have the odd tank that doesn’t float well – but neither is cold settling perfect and at least you know within 24 hours. You can then retreat and float again if you want before it starts fermenting .

If you are floating in place then have dedicated floating tanks (if possible) that you can then turn over every 24-36 hours to press into again. This simplifies line set ups each day.

Try to map temperature at picking and fruit receival such that you minimise inputs through to getting the juice to ferment.

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winemaking

Positive momentum at ProWine China Australian wine has staged a successful showing in our most valuable export market at ProWine China 2016, held in Shanghai in November.

THE WINE AUSTRALIA PAVILION at ProWine China featured 19 exhibitors showcasing about 200 wines, from nearly 20 Analytical wine regions, across five states.

Services Some of these brands are already established in-market while others have been seeking distribution in China for the first time. In both circumstances, the wineries were seeking to build on the positive momentum reflected in the latest export figures.

Throughout the three-day fair, Wine Australia invited Sophie Liu and Jackie Qi, two of Wine Australia’s certified educators, to deliver tasting classes on the topics of key Australian red and white varieties, and diversified Australian Shiraz.

The classes provided an opportunity for visitors to learn more about the history, key grape varieties, diversity and regions of Australian wine. Nearly 40 premium Australian wines were tasted during the classes.

Wine Australia hosted a dinner on the first evening of the show, providing exhibitors with a chance to network with local influencers and potential buyers including representatives from wine media, educators, retail buyers, and sommeliers.

Wine Australia also recommended Australian wines for

86 Grapegrower & Winemaker

the tastings during WSET courses and industrial forums and seminars that were hosted by ProWine event organisers.

CHINA WINE EXPORTS China is now Australia’s most valuable wine export market.

In the 12 months to September 2016, exports to mainland China grew by 51 per cent to $474 million. To put this in context, just a decade ago, Australian wine exports to China were valued at $27 million.

Contributing to the exceptional growth are the trade benefits of the China–Australia Free Trade Agreement and the growing Chinese middle class’ increased interest in wine, with average consumption frequency of imported wine and the number of imported wine drinkers both on the rise.

More than a third of Australian wine exports priced $10 and more per litre FOB were destined for China (valued at $190 million and up by 63 per cent).

VISITOR FEEDBACK Sophie Liu, wine educator: “To me the Wine Australia Pavilion was impressive! As far as

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December 2016 – Issue 635

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The Wine Australia pavilion at ProWine China.

• I could tell, Wine Australia was the only national pavilion that organised educational tastings on-site, which attracted many visitors and a big audience. All the wines I tasted at the classes were of very high quality.”

Sihan Wang, Auchan Supermarket wine expert: “Many of the exhibitors at the Wine Australia Pavilion showed boutique wineries and their premium Australian wines, which are not commonly seen in the China market. It gave me with a good opportunity to explore the different styles of high quality Australian wine and I was very impressed.”

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Alvin Huang, founder and CEO of Vinehoo.com, a leading China wine media and online retailer: “The wines showcased at the Wine Australia Pavilion are some of the best I’ve seen in the China market. There were even Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy winners at this year’s Wine Australia stand.”

EXHIBITOR FEEDBACK Stephen Bradshaw, Fogarty Wine Group sales and marketing manager: “We’ve had a lot of enquires and we noticed the growing interest towards Australian wine. People are becoming more knowledgeable about wine and they’re beginning to know more about our region, Margaret River.

“We’re very happy to have worked with Wine Australia. The pavilion and stand design were very good and we had plenty of space in the meeting area and storage room. It was great to not have to worry about any of the trade fair set-up.”

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Matthew Bahen, Greater China of De Bortoli general manager of sales: “We have seen a lot of interest for partnerships, both for our in-market products and for export opportunities, from diversified channels including online buyers. The trade show has been very good as has partnering with Wine Australia.”

Willa Yang, Wine Australia, China head of market: “ProWine China is one of the most important trade shows on the calendar. We’ve had exceptionally positive feedback from our exhibiting partners who told us that they have generated strong business leads and have got to know the China market better. We also saw a growing number of visitors showing a great interest in Australian wine. The trade show is an opportunity for industry insiders in China to learn more about the quality and regional diversity of our wines.”

December 2016 – Issue 635

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1 uch_A4.pdf 27/08/2015 1

winemaking

Interwinery Analysis Group finds best test for sugars in wine Carly Gamble and Greg Howell, from Vintessential Laboratories, explore the most common laboratory techniques for testing sugars in wine and examine their advantages.

DETERMINING THE SUGAR CONTENT of juice and wine is an 3:41 27/08/2015 pm 3:41 pm of the winemaking process. essential part Glucose and fructose are the most abundant sugars naturally present in grapes and they are also fermentable sugars – their presence in finished wine leaving the wine susceptible to spoilage.

Accurate monitoring of glucose and fructose levels are therefore essential throughout fermentation, however they can be tested in different ways and the different tests have advantages and disadvantages.

A recent Interwinery Analysis Group (IWAG) survey has found the enzymatic test is the most popular way to test for these important wine components.

(IWAG has more than 200 members from every winemaking region in Australia plus wineries and laboratories

from New Zealand, South Africa, the United States and France, making it the largest proficiency testing organisation of its type.)

METHODS FOR DETERMINING THE SUGAR CONTENT OF WINE The sugar content in wine has historically been analysed by determining the level of so-called reducing sugars by using methods such as the Lane & Eynon and the Rebelein method.

These methods required simple apparatus and so were employed before modern lab instruments became available.

They are both based on the fact that reducing sugars can react with cupric (Cu+) tartrate under alkaline conditions, with the resultant excess cuprous (Cu2+) ions determined

indirectly by titration.

However, while glucose and fructose are indeed determined using these methods, other reducing sugars such as pentoses are also included in the results.

Pentoses in wine are generally not fermentable and are therefore of little significance to the winemaking process.

Using these results to judge the completeness of fermentation can be inaccurate – that is, reducing sugars are not equivalent to fermentable sugars.

Despite the disadvantages, these reducing sugar methods continue to be used due to the simple apparatus needed and the low operating cost.

More recent methods used for determining the sugar content in wine are specifically designed to measure the fermentable sugars glucose and fructose.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

These include the enzymatic technique using a visible spectrophotometer and also the indirect technique of Mid InfraRed (MIR) spectrophotometers (1).

INTERWINERY ANALYSIS GROUP FINDINGS ON WINE SUGAR TESTING A recent survey conducted by the IWAG established that there are three methods most commonly used for determining the sugar content of wine (2).

By far the most frequently used of these methods amongst the survey respondents was the use of enzymatic analysis. The other two techniques were the reducing sugar tests – the Rebelein titration and the Lane and Eynon titration.

The IWAG survey analysed the submissions of 79 member laboratories and compared their glucose and fructose results. The ease of use and accuracy of enzymatic test kits has led to the majority of laboratories (77%) adopting this approach for routine analysis of glucose and fructose levels. Statistical analysis revealed that enzymatic measurement of glucose and fructose was more precise (generally narrower standard deviation range) compared to either of the two reducing sugar tests (2).

Enzymatic tests are based on the measurement of glucose and fructose only, which means that quantification is independent of the wine matrix.

This technique also negates having to decolourise most wine samples before analysis (except very highly coloured samples), an important time-saving advantage of using enzymatic test kits.

Furthermore, the IWAG survey revealed a larger deviation from the mean for the results obtained by the reducing

sugars tests in both white and red wines.

This indicates that other components in the wine can also interfere with these methods, which is not the case when using enzymatic test kits.

MID INFRA-RED TECHNIQUES A statistical analysis of a set of IWAG proficiency results revealed a significant difference between the mean glucose and fructose values obtained for a red wine using MIR technologies as compared to

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winemaking those obtained using enzymatic testing (1). The lack of accuracy obtained at levels below 1g/L are also cause for concern with MIR technologies.

The majority of calibration data sets supplied with MIR instruments are developed in Europe and therefore should be replaced with calibrations developed with wine that is from the specific region(s) where the instrument is used (1). The enormous amount of time it takes to set up new calibration data sets means that many wine laboratories do not perform this essential development work. Failure to do so inevitably leads to errors, some very large.

The ease of calibration when using enzymatic tests kits is therefore another significant advantage to this approach when compared to MIR technologies.

Enzymatic testing is also more accurate at low levels, and for those wines containing high glucose and fructose levels a simple dilution of samples is the only sample preparation required.

INSTRUMENTATION FOR ENZYMATIC GLUCOSE AND FRUCTOSE ANALYSIS A visible range spectrophotometer is all that is required and these can be purchased for a minimal initial outlay – there are now models on the market for less than A$2000 (for example see Figure 1).

The benchtop spectrophotometer method requires enzymatic reagents and these are usually bought in test kit format.

Although a reasonable throughput of samples can be achieved using the benchtop spectrophotometer method (10-20 per hour), larger automated spectrophotometric analysers have been available for several years and are now relatively well priced. These instruments are more commonly known as discrete analysers as each sample is treated discretely (individually). This allows several tests to be done on each sample.

Different tests can also be done on each sample, for example, ‘sample one’ may have glucose and fructose tested, ‘sample two’ these plus malic acid etc.

The other main advantage is that the number of samples tested on these instruments can be up to 200 per hour (for example the Chemwell 2910 – see Figure 2). So despite the larger capital initially required to purchase these automated instruments, the huge throughput, the low operator time needed, the ease of calibration and the use of the specific enzymatic test kits designed for discrete analysers provides enormous productivity improvements in the wine lab.

90 Grapegrower & Winemaker M1511_ALEX500_59x272Strip.indd 1

www.winetitles.com.au 15/06/2015 09:02

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR RESULTS In order to ensure the best results, it is essential to routinely perform a number of quality control checks. In our NATA accredited labs these include running a glucose and fructose standard of known concentration and running a control cask wine sample each day. This ensures the repeatability and reproducibility of the test which are both important determinants for the precision of the analysis. A way to determine how closely the result represents the true value is by routinely performing spike analysis.

This is done by adding a known amount of a standard solution to one of the test samples, then analysing the glucose and fructose in both the spiked and un-spiked sample. Easy to perform, these quality control checks will ensure that your results are accurate.

CONCLUSION When the Interwinery Analysis Group reviewed the most common laboratory techniques for testing sugars in wine, they found that the enzymatic technique was the most popular and the most precise. After the enzymatic method, the reducing sugar titrations (Rebelein and Lane & Eynon) were the next most used whilst the Mid Infra-Red (MIR) was the least favoured. The advantages of using the enzymatic technique include: highest precision, lowest cost equipment, best results at low sugar concentrations and no interferences from other wine constituents such as non-fermentable sugars and colour components. The enzymatic technique can also be used with automated analysers that provide enormous productivity improvements in medium and large wine laboratories.

References

1. Wilkes, E; Warner, L; Accurate mid-infrared analysis in wine production – fact or fable? Wine and Viticulture Journal, May/June, 2014, 64-67.

2. Wilkes, E; Warner, L ; Sugar Analysis – too many choices? Wine and Viticulture Journal, May/June, 2016, 68-72.

About the authors Dr. Carly Gamble is the Western Australian State Manager for Vintessential.

Greg Howell founded Vintessential Laboratories in 1995, he can be contacted by email on greg@vintessential.com.au.

More articles on related topics are available on the Vintessential website: www.vintessential.com.au/resources/ articles/

December 2016 – Issue 635

Supplier Update

Today’s progress is tomorrow’s tradition Lamothe-Abiet product range available for the first time in Australia through Blue H2O Filtration LAMOTHE-ABIET is a brand name largely unfamiliar to Australian winemakers – unless they have worked a vintage in Europe, NZ or perhaps South America. It is France’s oldest oenological supplies company, operating since 1878, 10 years prior to Australia’s first centenary.

Lamothe-Abiet specialises in oenological supplies, working closely with the University of Bordeaux and other research facilities to develop new and improve existing products. Their product range is now available for the first time in Australia through Blue H2O Filtration (BHF).

With 135 years’ experience of developing oenology, Lamothe-Abiet is inspired by tradition to imagine the future. True to the saying “today’s

progress is tomorrow’s tradition”, the team at Lamothe-Abiet have constantly innovated, pushing back the frontiers of knowledge and introducing it to the wine cellars of the whole world.

Lamothe-Abiet is the dominant brand in Bordeaux, offering a full suite of oenological products. Part of the product range is its collection of isolate yeast strains, in addition to those selected through a breeding programme at the University of Bordeaux.

Strains are selected for fermentation kinetics, alcohol tolerance, varietal expression and the delivery of texture.

They also produce nutrients, bacteria, tannins, fining and stabilising agents, and oak products.

The partnership between Blue H2O Filtration and Lamothe-Abiet is based

on the core ethos that is common to both companies: customer engagement.

BHF has long been recognised for this characteristic aspect of the business, which contributed to their recent receipt of a WISA wine industry impact award.

Both BHF and Lamothe-Abiet are looking forward to working collaboratively with Australian winemakers across the country to solve problems, improve quality and achieve strategic goals.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

Head Office VIC/TAS NSW/QLD SA/Group Oenologist SA/WA

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business & technology 2016 Australian Small Winemakers Show

Dylan Rhymer, Ballandean Estate Wines, accepts the ‘champion Queensland red wine’ trophy from Jarrod Schmidt, AP John Coopers (award sponsor).

Tom Battle, Symphony Hill Wines, accepts the trophy for ‘technical excellence in Queensland winemaking’ from Peter Orr, Queensland College of Wine Tourism.

Brad Hutchings, Savina Lane Wines, with the Dick De Luca Memorial Trophy for ‘best Queensland Shiraz’ – presented by Don Stewart from Advance Metal Products.

92 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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THE AUSTR ALIAN SMALL WINEMAKERS SHOW assessed more than 1000 wines from almost 200 wineries in 2016. More than 500 medals were awarded – with 79 gold, 127 silver and 334 bronze.

Mike de Garis chaired the experienced judging panels through 50 classes while a dedicated group of stewards poured wine into 7000 glasses across three-and-a-half days.

De Garis said the show succeeded in presenting diversity from all the regions represented.

He pointed to the Chardonnay classes as providing some of the standout wines, with a very strong representation from 2015, and a very classy gold from 2014.

“The Shiraz classes were well represented, with strong contenders over the vintage range, and good regional diversity well characterised,” de Garis said. “Vintage 2015 were very good – essentially a blanket could be thrown over the top wines, as any one was worthy of the top in class.

“The classes that seem to be really growing in stature in the Show, are the Italian Alternate and Alternate Traditional varieties.

Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and Montepulciano showed well, whilst Barbera wasn’t up to its normal standard and there were some interesting Nero D’Avolas.

“Tempranillo was also a pleasant surprise with some strong medal contenders. Again, a diversity of styles were well recognised. There were also some very strong medal contenders in the GSM’s, Malbec / blends and Durif.”

But it wasn’t all bouquets from the chair of judges. De Garis noted that Pinot Noir provided a disappointing group of classes, with the aged wines not showing well.

“I can only assume that all the good ones have been sold? Even though there were some strong wines from the 2015 vintage - they were almost mitigated by the lesser wines. There is a huge quality disparity between the best and the rest.”

He also noted that Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio were “very disappointing”, with a large amount of handling issues contributing to the lack of medals.

De Garis had a couple of key areas for small winemakers to focus on: “There were still far too many wines that suffered from either poor handling and/or poor pre-bottling procedures,” he said.

“A lot of the 2016 whites appeared to be December 2016 – Issue 635

suffering from bottle shock, and it would seem that more than a few had only just been bottled. A good rule of thumb for wines that have just been bottled, is that they should be in bottle for at least four– six weeks before judging starts. This then mitigates the ‘bottle shock’.”

The trophy list: ‘Champion small winery’ and ‘most successful exhibitor’ – Mandoon Estate ‘Champion white’ and ‘champion winemaker’ – Tim McNeil Wines 2008 Clare Valley Riesling ‘Champion red’ and ‘champion viticulturist’ – Forester Estate 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon/Kevin McKay ‘Champion sparkling’ – Peregrine Ridge NV Sparkling Shiraz ‘Champion fortified’ – Pfeiffer Wines NV Grand Rutherglen Topaque Muscadelle ‘Champion school-produced wine’ – St Columban’s College, Caboolture QLD, 2015 Kells Cross Viognier ‘Technical excellence in Queensland winemaking’ and ‘most successful Queensland exhibitor’ – Symphony Hill Wines

December 2016 – Issue 635

Maureen Hopkins and Nedra Distel-Rose, St Columban’s College, collected the trophy for ‘champion school produced wine’.

‘Champion Queensland white’ – Savina Lane Wines 2015 Classico Fiano ‘Champion Queensland red’ – Ballandean Estate Wines 2014 Messing About Nebbiolo

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‘Dick de Luca Memorial trophy for the best Queensland Shiraz’ – Savina Lane Wines 2014 Millenium Reserve Shiraz ‘Stewards choice’ – Atze’s Corner Wines 2014 The Giant Durif

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sales & marketing Australia’s ‘best marketing team’ FAMILY-OWNED WINERY Taylors Wines has claimed the top prize as ‘marketing team of the year’ at the B&T Awards 2016 announced recently at Sydney Town Hall.

Up against a collection of some of Australia’s most well-known brands, including selected finalists LEGO, Toyota, HCF, UBANK and Meat & Livestock Australia, the small marketing team was thrilled to be recognised amongst brands of significant size and scale that represent the cream of Australia’s top marketers.

Taylors’ combination of creativity, innovation and significant bottom-line business results on a modest budget were the key factors for the win. This was highly evident in the brand’s Live Better

By Degrees campaign, where Taylors Optimum Drinking Temperature sensors and industry leading initiative to educate consumers about temperature and wine saw a double-digit percentage increase in sales.

“We are incredibly proud to celebrate another outstanding award for our

E X P O R T

talented marketing team,” said Cameron Crowley, Taylors Chief Marketing Officer.

“The Taylors team culture is one that inspires creativity and innovation, and with such a talented and diverse team of specialists, we’ve shown that a strong idea can really make an impact on the bottom line.”

The widely successful Optimum Drinking Campaign will be refreshed this summer, reminding Australians that the myth of drinking red wine at room temperature was born in the chilly drawing rooms of medieval France and is that to enjoy your red wine all you have to do is check the temperature sensor on the back of the Taylors bottle.

After success in Australia there has been strong interest from key international markets where the roll out continues.

This is a back-to-back win for the family company, with the team also recently recognised as ‘marketing team of the year’ by the Australian Marketing Institute at its ‘marketing in excellence awards’. As well as a nod from the ‘Effies’ as the only beverage campaign

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The Taylors team culture is one that inspires creativity and innovation, and with such a talented and diverse team worthy of a trophy, along with Best Ad Campaign and Best Innovation at the Drinks Association Australian Drinks Awards. This is the second time the team was recognised as ‘marketing team of the year’ at the B&T Awards, first receiving the trophy in 2012.

Now in its 11th year, the B&T Awards is Australia’s largest industry media and marketing awards, recognising the best and brightest in-house and agency teams for the year. 2016 saw an unprecedented 450 entries submitted across 34 categories, with a panel of 110 judges tasked to select the winners.

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sales & marketing

Women of the Vine & Spirits third annual global symposium THE WORLD’S LEADING membership alliance dedicated to the support and advancement of women in the alcohol beverage industry, has announced the lineup of keynote speakers, moderators and panellists for its third annual Global Symposium, to be held in March 2017 at the Meritage Resort & Spa, Napa, CA. The first organisation of its kind, Women of the Vine & Spirits offers regional networking events, discussion boards, and many other educational resources, all of which are anchored by the highly anticipated annual Global Symposium.

Women of the Vine & Spirits corporate partners and individual alliance members may register for the symposium in advance at a discounted rate beginning early December.

The history-making roster of speakers includes the alcohol beverage industry’s top international influencers from around the world: • Keynote: Margareth Henriquez, Krug president and chief executive officer, France; • Keynote: Dr Makaziwe Mandela, House of Mandela Wines proprietor, South Africa; • Keynote: Susana Balbo, the founder and owner of Susana Balbo Wines, Argentina; • Panelist: Marilisa Allegrini, chief

Our goal is to transform the careers of women and men who then go on to change their places of business and the industry as a whole. executive officer at Allegrini Estates, Italy; and • Panelist: Dianne Laurance, proprietor at Laurance Wines, Australia.

Other keynote speakers include: • Jeffery Tobias Halter, author and president of YWomen, Strategic Consulting Company, Gender Strategist; • Brandy Rand, International Wine & Spirits Research (IWSR) vice president and US marketing and business development manager; and • Jeff Fromm, president of FutureCast, Marketing Consultancy specialising in Millennial Trends, Contributing Writer, Forbes.com.

Session topics will run the spectrum from inspirational to educational, covering issues such as; the leadership

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imperative to advancing women and engaging men, global trends, marketing luxury brands, successful brand management, challenges for women in wholesale, mentorship, and time and conflict management.

“Thanks to the confidence of our partners, the leadership of our advisory board, and the generosity of our speakers and moderators, we anticipate yet another sold-out event,” said Deborah Brenner, the founder and president of Women of the Vine & Spirits.

“Our goal is to transform the careers of women and men who then go on to change their places of business and the industry as a whole.”

The symposium also offers multiple networking opportunities with the alcohol beverage industry’s top professionals and influencers, including executive management, human resource professionals, directors of sales and marketing, on- and off-premise wine and spirits buyers, distributors, wine educators, winemakers, sommeliers, mixologists, impor ters/expor ters, winery owners, public relations, media, viticulturists, hospitality operations, and more.

To become a member of Women of the Vine & Spirits, please visit womenofthevine.com.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

McAtamney’s Market Report

Sauvignon Blanc: The great white?

Peter McAtamney predicts Sauvignon Blanc will soon lose its place at the most-listed white wine in Australia.

He investigates the wine styles in his latest market report.

WHEN WE LAST BENCHMARKED the Australian On-Premise back in February, Sauvignon Blanc was holding on by a whisker, just nudging out Chardonnay, in terms of being the most listed white wine style.

When our 2017 data is in, early in the new year, we fully anticipate that the tide will have turned.

The big question is – Is Sauvignon Blanc going out of style or is Chardonnay getting so much better?

I believe it is a bit of both.

When we look at who is winning and losing where Sauvignon Blanc is concerned, it’s clear that Marlborough is wearing nearly all of the damage, loosing share in a shrinking category.

Sancerre is enjoying a huge surge in popularity, particularly with the inner-city set. As the market becomes more sophisticated and restaurants seek out wines with more structure/complexity/ elegance etc. – France wins again.

For Marlborough, all of that unmistakability and easy of understanding that turned it into the winning wine idea of the ‘noughties” is now looking like a liability.

The other region that is stepping up is the Great Southern from where the best examples of the Sauvignon Blanc in Australia may emerge resultant of its cool climate.

Orange also looked to claim that mantle but they just got their timing wrong a bit.

Tasmania, long time Sauvignon Blanc denialists, are finally finding that they too can make a decent version.

Going back to the summary of white wine styles, you can see that the fastest declining major wine style is Sauvignon Blanc blends.

Whilst being, arguably, the classic West Australian wine style, Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc (SSB) has had enough ordinary wine run through it that it has become close to irreparably damaged as a wine idea.

Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon (SBS) was introduced as a solution but it took no time for certain producers to get up to the same tricks. The SBS bounce back was short lived.

SSB/SBS blends will always form part of the West Australian wine producing fabric and there are, of course, world class examples.

The way forward is perhaps best highlighted by the success of white blends, the best of which rely upon texture, complexity and nuance.

Through thinking about how to add these characters to SSB/ SBS blends, the Bordelaise have been able to create fantastic food wines using this time-honoured blend.

If that is the case for SSB/SBS blends then why is the bottom end of what Marlborough produces (thin acidic and over cropped Sauvignon Blanc) not having the same impact on the Marlborough brand?

I would contend that it is. It’s just that Marlborough have built something bigger and stronger that is more resistant.

Markets are ever evolving and more demanding however and unless Marlborough looks to produce something to compete in response, all the early warning signs are there, plain for all to see, that Marlborough is going the same way as SSB. Unlike Margaret River, whose Chardonnay is going from December 2016 – Issue 635

Style

2016

2015

Change

Sauv Blanc

19.1%

20.1%

-5%

Chardonnay

19.0%

18.4%

3%

Riesling

16.0%

13.1%

22%

Pinot Gris/Grigio

14.6%

15.9%

-9%

SSB/SBS

6.2%

7.6%

-19% 53%

White Blend

4.4%

2.9%

Semillon

2.8%

3.0%

-7%

Chenin Blanc

2.1%

1.9%

13%

Gewürztraminer

1.9%

1.6%

19%

Verdelho

1.7%

2.6%

-34%

Vermentino

1.6%

1.5%

3%

Albarino

1.5%

1.2%

25%

Viognier & Blends

1.5%

1.3%

11%

Gruner Veltliner

1.2%

1.1%

10%

Fiano

1.0%

0.8%

15%

Soave

0.8%

1.0%

-19%

Pinot Blanc

0.8%

0.6%

32%

Arneis

0.5%

0.7%

-28%

Marsanne

0.5%

0.5%

7%

Roussanne

0.4%

0.3%

27%

Rhone Blend

0.3%

0.2%

54%

Verdicchio

0.3%

0.4%

-26%

Others

2.0%

3.2%

-38%

2016

2015

CHG

Marlborough

Region

48.5%

51.5%

-5.7%

Adelaide Hills

13.5%

12.5%

8.3%

Loire Valley

8.9%

3.0%

199.8%

Tasmania

4.3%

4.0%

5.8%

Margaret River

3.7%

3.5%

4.7%

Victoria

2.8%

2.1%

34.2%

Great Southern

1.8%

0.4%

352.2%

SEA

1.8%

1.9%

-9.6%

Orange

1.6%

1.6%

3.6%

Yarra Valley

1.5%

1.9%

-24.6%

Others

11.7%

17.6%

-33.5%

strength to strength, there is no official ‘plan B’ for Marlborough at this point.

The unofficial ‘plan B’ is some of the best lightly wooded, textural and delicious white wine wines I have ever tasted.

Watch this space.

About the author: Peter McAtamney is principal of Wine Business Solutions (WBS), an Australian and New Zealand based consultant with a focus on providing strategic, advisory, research outcomes and management consultant services to wine business owners. Peter has had extensive local and international industry experience in wine company management, global wine sales and distribution management, plus wine lists consultation.

www.winetitles.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

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sales & marketing

Hunter’s prize: Marlborough ‘lifetime achievement award’ JANE HUNTER has been awarded Wine Marlborough’s Lifetime Achievement Award 2016 for her contribution to Marlborough wine.

The award recognises Hunter’s lifelong commitment to not only Hunter’s Wines but the greater Marlborough wine industry. Jane Hunter’s career in Marlborough wine started in 1983 as national viticulturist for Montana Wines. After her late husband, Ernie Hunter’s, sudden death in a car accident outside of Christchurch, Jane took over the reins at Hunter’s Wines and has been the driving force for its success today.

“This award is quite overwhelming,” Hunter said.

“It is always humbling to be singled out to receive such an award and is a great honour. Marlborough and Hunter’s Wines have been a major part of my life for over 30 years.

“It has been a very rewarding journey and to have been part of Marlborough wines success story has been a privilege.”

Hunter also referred to her brother-in-law Peter Macdonald who “has been the back bone of Hunter’s Wines since 1991” when he moved from Australia with Jane’s sister, Libby, to support Jane and her business.

Hunter said Peter had tirelessly managed the export and operations of the business including many overseas ventures presenting the wines.

She also made a special tribute to her late husband, Ernie Hunter, and to former chief winemaker, Gary Duke, who was an integral part of the success of the wines for more than 21 years.

The award was presented by Simon Bishell, Wine Marlborough Director, at the recent Marlborough Wine Awards celebration dinner.

The Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award comes on the back of the Wolf Blass Award received at the recent Canberra

International Riesling challenge – an award which recognises a person or an organisation in Australia or New Zealand who has made a major contribution to Riesling development and promotion.

Hunter’s also took away the Taylor Pass Honey Company Sweet Wine Trophy at the Marlborough Wine Awards for the Hunter’s 2014 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc.

Hunter’s other accolades include: • An OBE for ‘service to viticulture’ (1993); • Inaugural Wine & Spirits Competition Women in Wine Award (UK, 2003); • Companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit (2009); and • First women inducted into the New Zealand Wine Hall of Fame (2013).

ABOUT HUNTER’S WINES Hunter’s Wines are recognised as one of the pioneers of the Marlborough wine industry and one of New Zealand’s best known family owned wineries. Established by an Irishman, the late Ernie Hunter in 1979, the company is now headed by Jane Hunter.

Some 30 years on, Jane is the most awarded women in the New Zealand wine industry with an impressive set of accolades, including an OBE and was made a Companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit. Jane is backed by a great team and three generations of family.

After winning immediate acclaim in 1986, now with more than 200 gold medals, 40 trophies and innumerable international awards and accolades later, Hunter’s wines are still breaking new ground.

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December 2016 – Issue 635

industry profile

Winemaker of the month Warren Smith Company: Pyramids Road Wines Location: Granite Belt QLD Size: 15 tonne production Tell us about your role: I am the owner, viticulturist and winemaker at Pyramids Road Wines.

Can you tell us more about the challenges of your career in the industry so far?

I have found the sales and marketing, with the retail side of wine, quite challenging.

Dealing with sommeliers has been a particular challenge.

Being a small business owner, in general, and dealing with the myriad of government regulations that impact on us is also a constant challenge.

What part of your job do you find most rewarding?

I really enjoy being in the vineyard with the cricket on the radio.

I also really enjoy producing what I think are quality varietal wines and most of the time I enjoy presenting them to our customers, so I guess there are aspects of each which I find rewarding.

I am in the fortunate position of having a wife who is very handy with the business side of things which is the stuff I like the least.

What are you most proud of?

Still being here after 17 years.

Are you confident about the future of the wine industry?

Yes. I am confident there will be a place for people who offer a quality small winery experience.

We see lots of people through our cellar door who are very keen to learn about grape and wine production and wine in general and I think we are uniquely placed to cater for these people – as long as the government doesn’t regulate us out of business.

The interest we are seeing in the development of new varieties, particularly with our younger customers is also a source of confidence in the future of our industry.

December 2016 – Issue 635

Warren Smith, soaks up the sun in his Pyramids Road vineyards, located in Queensland’s Granite Belt.

What are the current challenges you are facing?

Apart from the usual primary industry issues like birds, ferals and weather, the ongoing debate over the WET tax is concerning and I cannot believe how badly the government has handled the issue of the backpacker tax.

How important is the Grapegrower & Winemaker magazine a source of information?

The Grapegrower & Winemaker is an important source of information that keeps me in touch with what is happening in the industry across a broad range of areas from research to politics.

Where do you go for support on these issues?

Industry Australia.

bodies

such

as

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Wine

Grapegrower & Winemaker

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calendar

looking back We step back in time to see what was happening through the pages of Grapegrower and Winemaker this month 10, 20 and 30 years ago.

December 1986: A wine industry forum to tackle Federal sales tax and other problems will be formed in SA. The lobby group, to be formed by the state government will bring together up to 12 representatives from all the major associations and decision makers with in the industry and Government. It will give the industry the opportunity to make policy recommendations, provide advice on industry issues and allow for an exchange of views.

December 1996 The peak national body representing the interests of independent wine grapegrowers, the wine grapegrowers council of Australia (WGCA), has elected John Harvey as its new chairman and Gary Smellie as its vice chairman.

Smellie and Harvey were elected at the WGCA’s annual general meeting in August, where Harvey paid tribute to outgoing chairman, Brian Ferry, for his leadership over the last two years during often difficult times for the organisation, particularly given the drain on resources during the Winegrape and Wine Industry Inquiry.

December 2006 Australia’s wine industry is seeking to boost investment in research and development to $225 million per annum to maintain the edge that new technologies and innovation have given the industry over its global competitors.

In a joint effort, the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, Wine Grape Growers Australia and the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation released a research prospectus to identify areas that are a high priority for additional research.

WFA chief executive Stephen Strachan said the prospectus outlined the case to boost R&D investment by $50 million over the next five years to help achieve the $225 million target (4.5% of total sales).

100 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Australia & New Zealand December 2 Barossa Generations Lunch Tanunda, SA. www.barossa.com 3 Burnbrae's Black Tie BBQ Mudgee, NSW. www.burnbraewines.com.au

26 December-1 January The Taste of Tasmania Hobart, TAS. www.thetasteoftasmania.com.au

January 7 January-18 February Leeuwin Concert Series Margaret River, WA. www.leeuwinestate.com.au 8 Cape Jaffa Seafood & Wine Festival Cape Jaffa, SA. www.capejaffafest.com.au

16-20 (JD) Tasmanian Wine Show Hobart, TAS. www.taswineshow.org 27-29 Crush Wine & Food Festival Adelaide Hills, SA. www.crushfestival.com.au 28-30 New Zealand Aromatics Symposium Nelson, NZ. www.winenelson.co.nz

12 Coonawarra Vignerons Cup Penola Racecourse, SA. www.coonawarra.org

International December 15-17 Drink Technology India Mumbai, India. www.drinktechnology-india.com

January 17-19 SIVAL Angers, France. www.sival-angers.com

24-26 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium California, USA. www.unifiedsymposium.org

JD = judging date CD= closing date For a comprehensive list of events, visit www.winetitles.com.au/calendar

Winetitles Calendar Australia’s most comprehensive wine industry related local and international events and courses – available online! Search for conferences, trade shows, competitions, courses, festivals & Australian & international wine shows. www.winetitles.com.au/calendar www.winetitles.com.au

December 2016 – Issue 635

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