OCTOBER 2026
I N C O R P O R AT I N G T H E W I N E & V I T I C U LT U R E J O U R N A L
TESTING TIMES
The issue of tissue analysis
Here comes
the Sun Vineyard vitivoltaics THE SPARKLING EXCEPTION The category that’s bubbling over
2026 ANNUAL THEME: CHARTING THE FUTURE | ISSUE THEME: WINERY EQUIPMENT
grapegrowing
Solar takes root
Industry trinity unites to trial vineyard solar integration system
The vitivoltaics site at Paxton Wines in McLaren Vale, SA
Paxton Wines, Apex Energy and Adelaide University have joined forces to run an onsite trial in the McLaren Vale of emerging vitivoltaics technology in hopes of curating a more sustainable winegrowing future in Australia. The system was engineered by Apex Energy, with Adelaide University handling the research analysis and Paxton Wines offering one of its vineyard sites for the trial. Journalist Kyra Trussell spoke with Lionel Makwort, general manager of Apex Energy; Cassandra Collins, Adelaide University Associate Professor for the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine; and Ben Paxton, operations and logistics manager at Paxton wines, to understand vitivoltaics as well as discover the trial results so far. Defining vitivoltaics Lionel Makwort, general manager of Apex Energy, began by explaining the concept of vitivoltaics. “Vitivoltaics is a specialised branch of agrivoltaics (agricultural photovoltaics) that co-locates photovoltaic solar panels directly above or within operational vineyards to simultaneously generate renewable electricity and cultivate wine grapes. This dual-use approach optimises prime agricultural land while buffering delicate grapevines against extreme heat, UV radiation and shifting climate patterns,” he said. Cassandra Collins detailed that Adelaide University has been investigating vitivoltaics for several years as a part of its broader research into climate adaptation for viticulture. October 2026 – Issue 753
Rather than viewing solar panels simply as energy infrastructure, they can also be considered as a management tool that helps protect vines from some of the impacts of increasing heat stress. Cassandra Collins
www.winetitles.com.au
“We established our first experimental systems at the Waite campus to better understand how solar panels influence the vineyard environment and vine performance under Australian conditions,” she said. Collins said that the site in McLaren Vale will build on the university’s early findings. “This partnership allows us to move beyond small research plots and evaluate how vitivoltaics could operate in a commercial vineyard while generating renewable energy. “Our role has been to design the research program, monitor vine physiology, vineyard microclimate, yield and fruit composition, and, more recently, extend the work to wine quality, consumer perceptions and the broader economic and environmental implications of the technology,” she explained. Grapegrower & Winemaker
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winemaking
Winery Equipment
Rethinking wine cold stability
Vitis & Winemakers managing director Paul Baggio explains how electro-membrane technology is changing tartrate stabilisation and the role of refrigeration in the winery
F
or decades, wineries across Australia and New Zealand have relied on a straightforward trade-off for tartrate stability: cool the wine, hold it cold for long enough, and remove the crystals that form. Contact-and-hold cold stabilisation is proven and widely used. But it is also one of the more energy- and resourceintensive processes in the winery, drawing on refrigeration capacity, tank time, water and labour, often with consequential impacts on wastewater systems. It also has a limitation: calcium tartrate instability, an increasingly recognised issue in some wine styles, is not addressed in the same way as conventional cold treatment of potassium bitartrate instability. Electro-membrane technolog y, commonly referred to as electrodialysis (ED), offers a fundamentally different
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Grapegrower & Winemaker
AT A GLANCE ● Electrodialysis can stabilise wine without deep-cold treatment ● Electro-membrane systems can address both potassium and calcium stability ● Modern systems are more accessible than earlier generations ● Membrane capacity can be scaled as winery throughput grows ● Process water can be recovered and reused in suitable systems ● Automation reduces ongoing operator intervention ● Good prefiltration and clarification remain important
Paul Baggio
approach. Rather than chilling wine to force nucleate crystals, it uses an electric field to selectively remove the ions responsible for instability, continuously and at ambient temperature, without relying on a large refrigeration load. www.winetitles.com.au
● Several winery processes are moving towards ambienttemperature operation ● Reducing cold stabilisation can lower refrigeration demand ● Future wineries may need less refrigeration infrastructure
October 2026 – Issue 753
business & technology
Finance & Investment
The sparkle in a bust
Why Australian sparkling is where smart wine money goes
Felicity Edwards, director at global consulting firm AlixPartners in Sydney, examines Australia’s wine industry in crisis, but argues one category is bucking the trend. Now, she says, it needs ‘capital and punch’.
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his year’s National Vintage Report put the 2026 crush at just 1.27 million tonnes, down 19 per cent year-on-year, the smallest harvest this century. Red production collapsed by 29%, and exports declined to their lowest level since 2004. As set out in From Boom to Surplus, this is a structural shift that will continue amid oversupply, declining per-capita wine consumption in developed markets, and premiumisation pressures that have hollowed out the middle market.
October 2026 – Issue 753
Within this crisis sits an outlier. One category has held its ground globally while every other style has fallen. Australia is building world-class credentials in this space – but not fast enough or far enough.
That category is sparkling wine. Where sparkle still grows
Felicity Edwards
www.winetitles.com.au
Over the past two decades, sparkling wine has grown faster than any other category. As of 2023, sparkling wine accounted for 20% of global wine sales Grapegrower & Winemaker
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sales & marketing
Chief winemaker Virginia Wilcock of Vasse Felix, which has reached a Three Merit classification for its Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec. Courtesy The Real Review
The Real Review updates Wine Classification of Australia for 2026 The Real Review has announced the 2026 annual update to its Wine Classification of Australia.
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he Real Review has announced the 2026 annual update to its Wine Classification of Australia.
• Two Merit classification – “Awarded to wines regularly reaching top vintage scores of 96 points or higher”.
A total of 664 Australian wines are now classified across ‘One’, ‘Two’ and ‘Three Merit’ tiers, “establishing the definitive benchmark of consistency for sommeliers, wine buyers, distributors and producers”.
• One Merit classification – “Recognises outstanding wines with top vintages consistently scoring 95 points or higher”.
The Real Review Wine Classification is calculated solely on a wine’s review performance over time. To qualify, a wine must have been reviewed blind by The Real Review’s tasting panel over a period of at least ten years. The Merit classifications are as follows • Three Merit classification – “Reserved for iconic wines representing fewer than 0.5% of all wines on the market, achieving consistent top vintage scores of 98 points or higher”. 78
Grapegrower & Winemaker
Once classified, a wine retains its tier for a minimum of four years. The Real Review said this rule “provides trade buyers and wineries with commercial stability against vintage variation while allowing superior performers to move upward during each annual update”. “The Real Review Wine Classification is an essential tool for the wine trade because it assesses wines beyond marketing or auction pricing and focuses purely on provenance and quality in the glass over a decade or more,” said www.winetitles.com.au
Huon Hooke, principal wine writer at The Real Review. “For trade buyers, it provides confidence when building a wine list or collection of Australian icon wines for retail sales. For Australian wineries, achieving a Merit classification serves as an independent mark of distinction that validates years of vineyard focus and winemaking consistency. “With each new year, new trends emerge and producers are inducted into the Classification, initiating a new year’s worth of commentary on what is happening in the world of Australian wine.”
‘2026 Classification ranks and movers’ The 2026 collection features 76 Three Merit wines, 234 Two Merit wines and 354 One Merit wines. October 2026 – Issue 753