SEPTEMBER 2017
FERTILISER: THEN AND NOW TRADITIONAL ITALIAN TECHNIQUES REFRESHED CHINA EXPORT BRANDING:
TRICKS OF TRANSLATION
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contents features SEPTEMBER 2017
Fertiliser in vineyards – what’s changed since I was born ......................................... 29
COVER Primo Estate owner Joe Grilli holding grapes destined for their JOSEPH Moda wine. Photo by Joe’s son Daniel Grilli. Story on page 55.
Re-passing on tradition................................ 55 Choose your words wisely: what you need to know before entering the Chinese market..... 75
FERTILISER: THEN AND NOW TRADITIONAL ITALIAN TECHNIQUES REFRESHED CHINA EXPORT BRANDING:
TRICKS OF TRANSLATION
news From the editor..........................................7 Signing off
On the grapevine......................................8
Future bright as Treasury plans to boost white wine focus for Penfolds..........16 16
Movers & Shakers................................... 12 12
Industry suppliers buoyed by stronger results........................................18 Upward trend in Australian crush and prices continues in 2017....................14
WET reforms passed through federal parliament...................................22
regulars 6 What’s online
64 Testing Times
6 Say that again
81 Calendar
25
82 Marketplace classifieds
Australian Vignerons:
The Australian Winegrower
4 Grapegrower & Winemaker
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September 2017 – Issue 644
September 2017: Issue 644 grapegrowing
winemaking
2017 ASVO Seminar................................37
The bomb for micro-oxygenation..............50
37
50
Growers prep for success-ion...................39
2017 was the season for Riesling..............62
The impact of winter drought on vine growth and wine quality.................. 41
Distilling for wineries...............................66
Grapevine Pinot Gris Virus detected in Australia..............................................44 Young Guns: Bayer Young Viticulturist of the Year..............................................46
Top tips for wine stabilisation...................71
sales & marketing Labelling organic wine.............................79 79
business & technology Bottling made easy at Yalumba................72 China grows up.......................................77
PUBLISHER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE Hartley Higgins
PRODUCTION Simon Miles
GENERAL MANAGER Elizabeth Bouzoudis
CIRCULATION: Emilie Francis 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 Camellia Aebischer journalist@winetitles.com.au SUB-EDITOR Emilie Francis info@winetitles.com.au
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 2017. All Rights Reserved. Print Post Approved PP535806/0019 Articles published in this issue of Grapegrower & Winemaker may also appear in full or as extracts on our website. Cover price $8.25 (inc. GST)
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ADVERTISING SALES Nicole Evans sales@grapeandwine.com.au September 2017 – Issue 644
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Grapegrower & Winemaker
5
what’s ONLINE Say that again WET tax rorting set to end Legislation to reshape the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) rebate, seeking to rid the system of rorting while enhancing integrity, to deliver on its original purpose, has passed federal parliament. The altered eligibility standard is designed to address “virtual” winemaking schemes where the WET rebate is being claimed multiple times, but on the same parcel of wine. Source, Farm Online.
Jones confesses to destroying $60k of rival’s wine A Barossa Valley winemaker has confessed on the first day of his court trial to deliberately destroying more than $60,000 worth of Shiraz and Chardonnay at a rival company. Trevor David Jones pleaded guilty in Adelaide’s District Court to two counts of damaging property at Kellermeister Wines at Lyndoch in February 2015. Source, The ABC.
"Export values overall have been on the rise and it is great to see the consecutive increases in exports matched by the increases in key vintage figures.” Tony Battaglene, page14
“I still have growers saying they don’t believe there are bugs in the soil.” Sam Bowman, pages 29-30
“The difference between profitability and nonprofitability is the discipline to spend time on planning – to have a strategy and a positive outlook.”
Treasury to boost white wine focus for Penfolds
- Nigel Robinson, pages 39-40
Treasury Wine Estates chief executive officer Michael Clarke has revealed the company plans to focus on increasing white wine production under its Penfolds banner. Clarke said under “an exciting white wine strategy” for the iconic Penfolds label, moves will be made to boost interest in white wines, concentrating on Chardonnay and Riesling. Source, Winetitles.
“Great wine only comes from great fruit, so I need to know how to grow it.”
Winery disrespects Pisco GI Margaret River winemaker Greg Garnish at Harmans Estate, has produced a distilled grape spirit and named it “Pisco”, which is a drink produced exclusively in Chile and Peru. Eyebrows were quickly raised in South America and Peru has launched a legal challenge in an effort to stop Harmans using the word “Pisco.” Source, The West Australian.
- Ben McNab-Jones, pages 46-49
“We had a long, cool spring and the summer conditions matched that description, too. In the vineyards we had large canopies, large bunches and large berries. All of this really suited Riesling.” - John Hughes, pages 62-63
“We already have a globally accepted language around our wine regions so not talking about that in relation to spirits is kind of missing a trick.” - Sebastian Reaburn, pages 66-69
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
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September 2017 – Issue 644
from the editor
Nathan Gogoll Editor
Signing off
A
few years ago my wife looked at me and said “you need a proper, full time job” – and that’s how the fight started. I decided to prove to her that a journalism role that channelled my interest in the grape and wine community would be impossible to find. So, because I’m an idiot of a man, I made her watch as I entered a couple of key words into a job-search website. The editor’s job for this publication was vacant. Some things are just meant to be. Fast forward a little bit and I’m now writing my 37th and final introductory note here, which is only a minor bump in the history that traces all the way back to 1963. There were more than 600 editions put together before I arrived and I hope there will be at least that many still to come. There’s certainly a very different mood around the country now, compared to when I started writing here. I’ll never forget the outpouring of frustration at the 2014 Outlook conference, when some really stark regional profitability numbers were presented and some spleens were vented. The speed of the recovery since then has actually been pretty impressive. Imagine if somebody had stood up at the 2014 Outlook event and said: “Don’t worry team, by the middle of 2017 the annual crush will be bigger than ever, export sales will be rocketing away, grape prices will be increasing steadily and we’ll be awaiting $50 million of Federal Government funding to be spent on more export marketing.” Not only would nobody have believed this, it probably would have started another argument. Yet here we are: • The 2017 national crush has been estimated at 1.93 million tonnes. The largest Australian vintage on record – and it has been welcomed as good news; September 2017 – Issue 644
• Export sales grew by $201 million (10 per cent) in 2016-17, rising to $2.31 billion in total; and • The national average grape price is the highest it’s been since 2008. If you scratched below the surface of what was happening back in 2014, you would have found the Winemaker’s Federation of Australia was screaming for support to help plot the recovery of the Australian grape and wine sector.
There’s certainly a very different mood around the country now, compared to when I started writing here.
“One of the fundamentals for us is to get money, a lot of money, and get it into marketing so we can produce and compete on a global level against very stacked odds,” said Paul Evans, then CEO in our September 2014 edition (when he was on the cover, looking grumpy). Today, we are waiting for the details of how that package – the $50 million carrot from the WET reform – will be spent. However, there’s a positive twist in this story. Right now, the sector doesn’t actually need a recovery package, because the recovery is already in full swing. What the $50 million package will deliver is fertiliser to export markets that are already driving strong growth. This means the current boss at the WFA has a far more positive outlook: “There is a cautious optimism being echoed across the Australian www.winetitles.com.au
wine sector. Export value overall has been on the rise and it is great to see the consecutive increases in exports matched by the increases in key vintage figures,” said Tony Battaglene, the WFA chief executive officer. That’s about as close as you’ll get to an industry leader saying, ‘there’s never been a more exciting time to be a part of the grape and wine community’. However, there will never be a guarantee of individual businesses success. Within every business – winery, vineyard or supplier – it is up to talented individuals to make the most of the improving conditions facing the sector. People can’t sit back and wait for the good times to roll again. It’s not good enough to look at the Treasury Wine Estates annual profit growth of 55% and just expect that sort of result to hit their own situation automatically. Early in my journalism career I was given a dictionary by the newspaper company I worked for. The state manager had written an encouraging note inside the front cover for me stating that “the only place success comes before work is here in the dictionary.” I reckon the ‘work’ ahead for the grape and wine community must be smarter, rather than harder, to deliver success. I hope every business is looking at what they’ve been doing and evaluating what they might need to change, because these days standing still actually means you’re falling behind. While this column brings my journey in the editor’s role to a conclusion, I’ll still be an interested participant in the grape and wine community and I’m looking forward to reading all the developing success stories as I become a subscriber. I hope you enjoyed the read. Hans Mick will take over as Editor of Grapegrower & Winemaker from the October edition onward. Grapegrower & Winemaker
7
on the grapevine
Hill of Grace awarded ‘wine of the year’ A ustralia’s most famous singlevineyard wine, Henschke Hill of Grace 2012 was awarded the hotly anticipated ‘wine of the year’ and ‘best Shiraz’ titles at the fifth annual Qantas epiQure Halliday Wine Companion Awards ceremony, held recently in Melbourne. Fifth-generation winemaker, Stephen Henschke was thrilled with the result after only launching the exceptional 2012 vintage of Hill of Grace Shiraz on 1 May 2017. “It is an absolute honour to receive these accolades. Hill of Grace vineyard is a special site. The vineyard is only made up of 4 hectares of Shiraz ranging from 70 to over 150-year-old vines. The wine really is history in the bottle,” Henschke said.
Stephen and Prue Henschke in Hill of Grace vineyard. Photo: Dragan Radoca
This award acknowledges his pioneer ancestor Nicolaus Stanitzki who planted the Eden Valley vineyard in 1860 and his father Cyril, a pioneer of singlevineyard table wines, who produced the first vintage of Henschke Hill of Grace in 1958 when those original vines were already almost 100 years old. “My viticulturist wife Prue has done incredible work in this vineyard, looking after such old vines with organic and biodynamic principles. Her work is already showing huge benefits in soil health and moisture retention for these pre-phylloxera, dry-grown sentinels. Hill of Grace Shiraz is a reflection of the wonderful flavours and balance this site can achieve, and the separate parcels are ‘nursed’ in the winery using very gentle, traditional open-top fermentation techniques.” Meanwhile, another of the Halliday Wine Companion Awards’ highest accolades was bestowed to a winemaker from the often overlooked region of Langhorne Creek: senior winemaker Paul Hotker from Bleasdale Vineyards was named as ‘winemaker of the year’. Hotker has been storming the wine show circuit over the past two years, drawing comparisons with Langhorne Creek pioneer Wolf Blass.
Yarra Valley success The Yarra Valley was in the thick of the awards with single-vineyard estate Mount Mary announced as ‘winery of the year’ and producer of the ‘best Pinot Noir’, while Dappled Wines was named ‘best new winery’. Third-generation winemaker Sam Middleton of Mount
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Mary took advantage of a superlative 2015 vintage to secure scores of 97 and above for all four wines in the classic portfolio. The ‘dark horse of the year’ award went to little-known Yarra Valley winery Boat O’Craigo, with wines made by influential winemaker Rob Dolan. Clare Valley’s Grosset Wines took out ‘best value winery’. The awards are based on reviews in the 2018 Halliday Wine Companion book which features more than 1200 wineries (including 78 new listings) and around more than 6800 individual wine ratings. “I am really proud of this edition, my 12th, and love that Australia is returning to produce the classic varieties of Chardonnay and Shiraz, with Pinot Noir the rising star. All can confidently share the world stage; Australian wine is in a really good place now,” James Halliday said.
Award winners: • Wine of the year: 2012 Henschke Hill of Grace • Winery of the year: Mount Mary • Winemaker of the year: Paul Hotker, Bleasdale Vineyards • Best value winery of the year: Grosset Wines • Best new winery: Dappled Wines • Dark horse winery of the year: Boat O’Craigo.
Top scoring varietals: • Sparkling: 2007 Seppelt Show Sparkling Limited Release Shiraz, 97 pts • Riesling: 2016 Duke’s Vineyard Magpie Hill Reserve, 98 pts • Semillon: 2016 Silkman Reserve Hunter Valley, 97 pts • Chardonnay: 2014 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Margaret River, 98 pts • Sauvignon Blanc: 2016 Oakdene Jessica Single Vineyard Bellarine Peninsula, 96 pts • Pinot Noir: 2015 Mount Mary Yarra Valley, 99 pts • Other reds: 2015 Yarra Yering Dry Red No. 1, 99 pts • Shiraz: 2012 Henschke Hill of Grace, 99 pts • Cabernet Sauvignon: 2014 Deep Woods Estate Yallingup Reserve, 98 pts • Fortified: 1917 Seppeltsfield 100-YearOld Para Liqueur, 100 pts. September 2017 – Issue 644
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on the grapevine
International bulk and private label wine and spirits event held in California Hundreds of wineries, distilleries, importers, distributors and retailers met in San Francisco for the launch of the highly anticipated International Bulk Wine & Spirits Show (IBWSS) in late July. Attendees learned about the latest trends in bulk wine and spirits, including the recent emergence of private labels as a way to win over customers, boost loyalty and drive new sources of revenue. Exhibitors came from all around the world, including from Australia (South Australian Wine Group, Qualia Wines) and New Zealand (New Zealand Wineries). There were also representatives present from across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and South Africa. “Our focus from the outset was to make this a truly global event, bringing in the biggest names in the wine industry from all over the world,” said Sid Patel from the Beverage Trade Network which organised the event. “Right now, the IBWSS is the only show of its kind in the United States,” he said. The event gave participants a chance to connect with prominent manufacturers and bulk wine suppliers and to develop
Australian and New Zealand exhibitors were among those at the first-ever event of its kind in California.
relationships with key decision-makers likely to shape the future of the industry. Presentations at the IBWSS covered major trends and ideas influencing the future growth of the bulk wine and private label market. Workshop sessions also examined a number of issues including sourcing and
creating wines for the Chinese market and the role of certificates of analysis (COA) in international trade. “We fully expect participants to walk away from this event with some very actionable next steps about how to enter the bulk wine market,” said Patel.
Australia dominates at Saperavi world prize A gold miniature “azarpesha” (an ancient wine drinking vessel) will become the award of the Saperavi World Prize, the first wine contest for Saperavi wines produced around the world. Saperavi, the “signature” Georgian grape variety, is becoming increasingly popular internationally. Saperavi wines are produced in Australia, USA, New Zealand, Central Europe, and former Soviet republics. For the first time the Saperavi wines produced in all these countries will be judged in Georgia, by an international jury of top experts in Saperavi winemaking. 13 of the 19 producers that have entered the competition have come from Australia, demonstrating the variety’s success in the country. The contest, which will become annual, is initiated and organized
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by wine news publisher Hvino News with official support of the National Wine Agency and National Intellectual Property Centre. The Saperavi World Prize is conceived to become “a meeting point of international winemakers and Georgian
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tradition-keepers, backed by eight millennia-old winemaking history of Georgia – the cradle of wine”, according to award organisers, Hvino. “It was no easy task to identify all the world’s wineries which produce Saperavi,” said Inge Olsson of Hvino News. “But, once we contacted them, we were happy to see the enthusiasm of winemakers excited about our initiative. One of the winemakers has shortened ‘Saperavi World Prize’ to ‘SapPrize’ and we decided to keep the catchy name.” Entries are open for wineries from outside Georgia, who produce Saperavi. Participation in the contest is completely free. The official award date is to be confirmed, but will be held in Georgia’s autumn (spring for Australia and New Zealand).
September 2017 – Issue 644
Provincial Press Group takes strategic stake in major property website
The finest skin care in horticulture Reliably excellent control of black spot, downy mildew and phomopsis is only part of the reason Polyram® is so popular with grape growers. While copper-based fungicides can leave bunches looking a bit worse for wear, the zinc in Polyram helps maintain skin lustre and improve fruit finish. Trust Polyram to help produce better-looking bunches of disease-free grapes. To find out more, call your local representative on 1800 558 399 or visit agro.basf.com.au
O
ne of Australia’s largest online property portals realestateview.com.au, has established a new marketing and sales partnership with a group of independent regional and suburban publishers across Victoria, South Australia and Queensland. The partnership with Independent Media Publishers (IMP) which includes Winetitles Media as a division of Provincial Press Group, follows a decision by realestateview.com.au to rebrand as view.com.au and launch Property 360 a property research tool. The investment and commercial cross-promotional arrangement with IMP will provide view.com.au and its associated site ruralview.com.au with increased exposure to important regional markets, in association with Winetitles publications Australian and New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker and Daily Wine News. Commencing next month readers will notice the rebranded Winetitles Classifieds Real Estate section, plus digital advertisements and links across our websites. There will also be an editorial partnership that will allow ruralview.com.au to provide up-to-date property insights and commentary that are invaluable to regional and rural property investors. Hartley Higgins, managing director of Provincial Press Group, said he was excited to launch the partnership with benefits for Winetitles Classifieds listings and readers. “This partnership with view.com.au allows us to innovate, adapt and be more relevant to the wine industry and investment communities we’ve been serving for over 50 years.” View.com.au chief executive officer Enzo Raimondo agreed the partnership was an exciting development and will be very beneficial. “We have a very strong, loyal network of regional real estate agents. This partnership and its investment commitment with the regional and specialist publishers, allows us to strengthen our exposure even further and drive more traffic to view.com.au and its associated rural property site,” he said. The Property 360 research tool gives users instant access to property profiles, including sales and pricing history for their home and over 10 million properties across Australia. September 2017 – Issue 644
ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW LABEL DIRECTIONS. © Copyright BASF 2017 ® Registered trademark of BASF. W213289.
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movers & shakers
Andrew Calabria new president of RWA
A
ndrew calabria of Calabria Wines was confirmed as the new president of the Riverina Winemakers Association (RWA) at the Association’s annual general meeting on Thursday 10 August 2017.
Andrew Calabria of Calabria Family Wines
“I believe the Riverina wine region is sitting in a great position to showcase and educate the world on our level of quality,” said Calabria, upon accepting the role. “The Riverina is home to the leading wineries producing alternate varieties, so to be elected president during this period is truly exciting.” After a decade of leadership and service to the local industry, Les Worland resigned from his position of president, but will hopefully still be a regular at the meetings, as a representative of Casella Family Brands. “I’ve enjoyed my time as president but I’m not getting any younger, so I’m sure now is the right time for a change. After 10 years in the chair, I want to thank the members for the good times and friendship I’ve had while in this position. I’m sure my young successor and Carrah’s team will breathe new life into our organisation.” The board also nominated Sam Brewer from Yarran Wines, as their new vicepresident. “Being a smaller player in the region
I’m very humbled to be nominated for the role by the RWA members. I think there is a significant change in the way customers are viewing wines from the Riverina and I’m really keen to be a part of helping to strengthen the regions standing,” said Brewer. The RWA also stated that Carrah Lymer will assume the role of Treasurer/ Secretary. “We’ve got a new wave of enthusiasm and drive coming from the likes of Andrew and Sam backed by the wisdom and guidance of our older generation. There’s definitely a ‘Riverina resurgence’ and I’m enjoying the opportunities to support where possible,” she said. Lymer is already overseeing marketing and events for the association and will now combine all tasks in to the one position.
Jim Chatto takes the top job for two wineries In an unprecedented move, Jim Chatto will oversee the portfolios of both Kreglinger Wine Estates and McWilliam’s Wines Group, bringing his 25 years of winemaking experience to provide stylistic direction, blending and strategic guidance. He will offer his extensive skill set working across major Australian wine regions and his beloved Tasmania to become an integral part of developing and mentoring winemakers from both companies to deliver wines of great regional quality and integrity. Chatto will oversee the entire portfolio of Kreglinger Wine Estates, Norfolk Rise from South Australia and the Tasmanian portfolio of Ninth Island, Pipers Brook and Kreglinger Vintage Sparkling. He will also continue to be involved with, and oversee the McWilliam’s Wines Group portfolio including working closely with the team at Mount Pleasant and developing the McWilliam’s premium collections. Tasmania has always been a long term love affair for Chatto as has Pinot Noir, which has made the opportunity to evolve his current role a logical step.
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“Pinot is my wine passion, it’s what I have chosen to specialise in, and what better place than Tasmania,” Chatto said. “When I first came to make wine in Tasmania in 1998, Pipers Brook was the undisputed leader for innovation and quality. In the 19 years since, the industry has really grown up. With so many exciting new producers, and people, pushing the envelope, it’s such a great dynamic today. Tasmanian wine needs its best known wine brands to be a national and international success. My goal at Pipers Brook is just that.” John Hosken, Kreglinger Wine Estates chief executive officer, said Chatto’s appointment “heralds an exciting new era for Kreglinger Wine Estates, one which Jim both recognises and complements with his ability, experience and enthusiasm”. McWilliam’s Wines Group embraces Jim’s passion for his now local Tasmania and are thrilled to have him continuing to work within their winemaking teams who have flourished under his tutelage. Jeff McWilliam, McWilliam’s Wines Group chief executive officer said Chatto had been “a fantastic asset to www.winetitles.com.au
our company since his appointment as chief winemaker in 2013 and has been instrumental in elevating our wines for both the Mount Pleasant and McWilliam’s premium portfolios”. “We are thrilled to offer Jim all the opportunities to continue to develop his passion for both Kreglinger Wine Estates and his own label Chatto Wines in Tasmania while continuing to bring his next level winemaking skill to our company.” Chatto said the modern thinking and flexibility at both Kreglinger and McWilliam’s would allow him to “do what I do best”. Chatto is a Len Evans Tutorial Scholar and senior wine show judge with more than 20 years of experience across both regional and capital city shows. He is also the current Chairman of Judges of the National Wine Show of Australia. In 2009 Jim was named Hunter Valley Winemaker of the Year, and in 2010 was a Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year finalist. He currently resides in Tasmania with his wife Daisy and their two children.
September 2017 – Issue 644
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news
Upward trend in Australian crush and prices continues in 2017 The latest official figures reveal both the crush volume and winegrape price have again strengthened.
T
he Australian wine sector has recorded its third consecutive increase in crush and the average purchase price of winegrapes this year. The results were included in the National Vintage Report 2017 released in August by Vignerons Australia, Wine Australia and the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia. In a continuing trend of positive increases for the Australian grape and wine sector, the national crush is estimated to be 1.93 million tonnes – an increase of five per cent from the 2016 vintage. The national average purchase price increased by seven per cent to $565 per tonne – the highest price since 2008. “The increases reflect excellent seasonal conditions in many regions as well as the growing demand for Australian wine, both in export and domestic markets,” said Andreas Clark, Wine Australia chief executive officer. “Pleasingly, the figures from the National Vintage Report indicate that the supply and demand for Australian wine is in balance. “An additional 93,000 tonnes were crushed this year, which produces approximately an additional 65 million litres of wine. “This is in line with increased demand for Australian wine: in 2016-17, exports increased by 50 million litres and domestic sales increased by 12 million litres in 2015-16, a total of 62 million litres,” he said. “The third consecutive rise in the average purchase price of winegrapes is a positive development for Australia’s winegrape growers,” said Andrew Weeks, Australian Vignerons chief executive. “There is a cautious optimism being echoed across the Australian wine sector,” said Tony Battaglene, Winemakers’ Federation of Australia chief executive officer. “Export values overall have been on the rise and it is great to see the consecutive increases in exports matched by the increases in key vintage figures.”
The crush In the 2017 vintage, most regions recorded an increase in tonnes crushed, with the growth in the national crush
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The top 10 are: • Shiraz • Chardonnay • Cabernet Sauvignon • Merlot • Sauvignon Blanc • Pinot Gris/Grigio • Muscat Gordo Blanco • Semillon • Colombard • Pinot Noir. Of the alternative varieties, production increased significantly for Dolcetto, Pinot Meunier, Montepulciano, Tarrango and Fiano.
Winegrape purchase price
coming relatively equally from the cool/ temperate and warmer inland wine regions of Australia. The crush from cool/temperate regions increased by nine per cent to 0.61 million tonnes and accounted for 31% of the national tonnes. In warmer inland regions (Riverina, Murray Darling-Swan Hill and Riverland) the crush increased by three per cent to 1.32 million tonnes, making up a 69% share of the national crush. Red winegrape varieties increased their share of the crush to 55%, compared with 52% in 2016. Overall, red winegrape varieties increased by 12% and offset a slight decline of two per cent in the white variety crush. The top 10 winegrape varieties produced did not change in 2017, but Muscat Gordo Blanco has replaced Semillon in seventh spot. www.winetitles.com.au
More than 35,000 transactions were collected for vintage analysis. They revealed the average purchase price increased seven per cent from last year’s vintage to $565 per tonne – above the average price across the previous five years of $477 per tonne. The average purchase price of red winegrapes increased by six per cent from $651 per tonne to $691 per tonne, and the average price of white winegrapes also increased by six per cent from $398 to $420 per tonne. Average purchase price increased for all but two of the top 10 winegrape varieties and there was an increase in the proportion of premium A and B grades purchased (e.g. $1500 and above per tonne) from 6.4% to 7.4% this vintage. An analysis of the dispersion of prices by variety indicates that 12% of reds were purchased at $1500 per tonne or above in 2017, while 71% were purchased at below $600 per tonne. Shiraz was the biggest driver in the overall increase in the average purchase price as the share of Shiraz purchased at A and B grades increased from 13.3% in 2016 to 15.5% in 2017. This is double the proportion from five years ago. The total estimated value of the Australian winegrape crush from the 2017 vintage is $1.22 billion, an increase of 13% from $1.08 billion in 2016. The National Vintage Report 2017 can be downloaded at www.wineaustralia. com/market-insights/national-vintagereport.
September 2017 – Issue 644
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news
Future bright as Treasury plans to boost white wine focus for Penfolds After posting a ‘robust’ result for the financial year, Treasury Wine looks to burgeoning export demand, especially in Asia, to forecast even stronger growth ahead. Part of the company’s plan forward is to expand the white wine potential of its iconic Penfolds label.
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reasury wine estates chief executive officer Michael Clarke has revealed the company plans to focus on increasing white wine production under its Penfolds banner. Treasury Wine, which is the world’s largest listed wine company, announced in August a 55% lift in full-year profits for 2016-17, to $269.1 million. The result was buoyed by strong growth in profitability in North America and Asia, notably in China and Japan where new warehousing facilities were established. Profit gains were also generated in Australia and Europe. Clarke said under “an exciting white wine strategy” for the iconic Penfolds label, moves will be made to boost interest in white wines, concentrating on Chardonnay and Riesling. “Increasing production of white wine under the Penfolds banner represents an additional phase of growth,” Clarke said. He said 90% of Penfolds domestic sales were currently of red wine, although
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wine consumption in the Australian market is split roughly 60:40 between red and white wine. The Treasury Wine chief said the new strategy marks “a huge opportunity to grow white wine.” “We’re now significantly accelerating the sourcing of white wine for the Penfolds portfolio,” Clarke said.
Asian demand Meanwhile, Clarke said the company is finding it difficult to meet demand in Asia, as earnings for the region increased rapidly by 47% for the year to $150.1 million. Treasury’s Australian brand portfolio has been expanded in the key Chinese market, to include Penfolds, Rawson’s Retreat and Wolf Blass labels. “We’ve only just begun in China and Asia,” Clarke said. “There is so much more upside for us. “Most of our partners in Asia are wanting more luxury and masstige wine
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from us,” he said. ‘Masstige’ can be defined as ‘premium but attainable’ and refers to a massproduced product that is tied to an upscale brand. Clarke also revealed the company plans to relaunch its budget commercial wine label, Lindeman’s. The relaunched brand will target markets globally, with new labels designed to be more attractive to consumers.
Robust growth Announcing Treasury’s annual financial result on 17 August, Clarke said he was “delighted to report a strong F17 [fiscal year 2017] result, highlighted by robust earnings growth” across every region in which the company operates. “This result was delivered despite continuing to sell through short vintages of luxury and masstige wine,” he said. “[It] highlights our continued focus on strategic customer partnerships in all our markets, significantly enhanced sales and marketing execution, and optimisation of our cost base.” Earnings for Australia and New Zealand were up 24% to $111.1 million, while earnings for the Americas lifted by 44% to $189 million. Europe’s earnings grew by a far more modest 0.6% to $48 million, adversely affected by the Brexit-induced depreciation of the British pound. The company said its acquisition of British drinks giant Diageo’s wine division in 2015 continued to boost group profits. Treasury said its outlook continues to be positive and it is looking to deliver at least $100 million of cost savings from improvements to its supply chain before fiscal year 2020. There are also plans buy back up to $300 million of the company’s shares in the 2018 financial year.
September 2017 – Issue 644
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news
Chinese consumer preference driving demand for cork mouth wine bottles
Industry suppliers buoyed by stronger results It’s been a long time coming, but wine industry suppliers are beginning to see fresh shoots of growth for their businesses. They hope it’s a sign of renewed life for the sector as a whole. Hans Mick reports.
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any operators within the supply chain of Australia’s wine industry agree that demand has been pretty slow. Some say it’s the last few years that have been the toughest, while others believe the hard times stretch back one or even two decades. That’s a long series of seasons to wait for things to turn around. But as official figures released in August show the third consecutive annual rise in crush and average purchase price of winegrapes, a sustained industry rebound may be more than wishful thinking. Key suppliers say there’s a mood of ‘cautious optimism’. “We are seeing a lift,” said Simon Harris, business development manager at family-owned company Paper-Pak, which manufactures wine and bottle
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We love to see improvement. It keeps everyone in a healthy state of business Simon Harris.
bags, wine carry packs, shipping cartons and other retail packaging. “We’re definitely getting a better result, a lift in volumes within the markets in South Australia and in Victoria as well.” Harris said the company started to notice an increase in demand for its products at the start of the 2017 calendar year. www.winetitles.com.au
“There’s more interest in our carton line and we’re picking up sales for our SOS [self-opening sack] retail bags,” he said. “Custom bags with a print design – there’s an increase in that.” And while Harris said a more competitive environment could be another factor contributing to the sales uptick, he said stronger demand has been the likely game changer. “We love to see improvement. It keeps everyone in a healthy state of business,” said Harris.
Eye on the future “The industry again has a skip in its step. This skip will result in new planting that will need our new trellises,” said Nigel Catt, co-founder of Ocvitti Australia. September 2017 – Issue 644
The company based on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula has designed and developed an innovative high tensile steel trellis post which can be used as a non-toxic, environmentallysustainable alternative to the treated pine structures widely used in vineyards. Catt said ‘organic’ demand for the so-called Ocloc post had resulted in sales surging. He said sales for 2017 are expected to reach 100,000 units, double the 50,000 sold in 2016 and up significantly from the 14,000 produced and supplied to vignerons in 2015. The company expects this upward trend to continue with renewed prosperity giving grapegrowers a chance to make much-needed, long-term improvements to vineyard infrastructure. “There are ramifications,” Catt said. “People really need to upgrade. Over the past 15 to 20 years because of where the industry’s been, it has been quiet,” he said. “There haven’t been a lot of trellises replaced. The older ones have dried out and are starting to fail.” Catt said with exports and grape prices higher, growers will once again have an eye on the future. “Instead of just marking time, they will be looking at making preparations for the next 25 years. And that’s where we come in,” he said. The other half of Ocvitti’s co-founding partnership, Brian O’Malley, said there are now plans to expand manufacturing operations across the Tasman to take advantage of opportunities in New Zealand.
tonne, a seven per cent annual increase efforts of those making wine.” and the highest price in almost a decade. The glassmaker’s increasing sales Another major industry supplier has volume has been predominantly for its seen this overall trend translated as a line of cork mouth wine bottles. This ‘ramping up’ of demand for its products. has been attributed to a single factor: “The last quarter has gone well for strengthening demand for Australian us,” said Brenton Roberts, Orora Glass wine from Chinese consumers who tend national sales manager. to favour this type of wine bottle. The multinational packaging business Roberts said the stronger Chinese operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing demand is having an impact more facility at Gawler in South Australia and broadly across the industry. “It’s those supplies bottles to a range of Australian winemakers with strong distribution winemakers as well as to makers of other fronts into the booming Chinese market beverages such as beer, cider and soft that have benefitted most,” he said. drinks. His sentiments reflect the findings of Roberts said the renewed sales growth another recent report showing Australian for wine has come in contrast to business wine export value rose by $201 million, or trends over the preceding decade. “Over 10% during the 2016-17 financial year to the last 10 years markets have flat-lined,” $2.31 billion. The Wine Australia Export Demand ‘ramping up’ he said. Report released in June showed while Last month’s release of the National “These have been challenging times there’s also been rising demand from the Vintage Report 2017 showed the for the industry, but even through the United States, it has been Greater China Australian crush estimated to be 1.93 difficult times, people remained positive (mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau) million tonnes. That marksName: a fiveFLAME_SYN3794 per cent and upbeat. It’s that’s become the epicentre of Australia’s Viticulture-Proclaim Ad always nice when it is jump from the 2016 vintage. report movingDate: in 8.08.17 the right and it’s wine export revival. Exports to this Size: The 60Hmm x 185Wmm | Round:direction FINAL Luigi Pagnozzifor (account service) |great luigi@flame.com.au 2 9402 7672 | flame.com.au also revealed positive numbers the to see| +61 our customers doing well,” combined market rose by 33 per cent in average purchase price upin to $565thisper Robertsforsaid. “It’s a good latest financial yearartwork to $721 Note: While Flame has taken great–care preparing artwork responsibility the printed artwork and copyreward accuracy liesfor with the the client. the The printer is responsible for checking beforemillion. plates ™
are made, accuracy in measurements, plates tolerance requirements, registration and construction detailing. Any questions please contact flame before proceeding with the job. Copyright 2017 Flame.
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September 2017 – Issue 644
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Grapegrower & Winemaker
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news
Left to right: Viticulturist Michael Schofield and owners Kym and John Davey amid 20ha of newly planted Ocloc posts at Shingleback winery and vineyards at McLaren Vale
bold ventures who want to put in the investment. But we need to be pragmatic But a ‘gentle word of caution’ has been when it comes to China, we definitely given when it comes to the industry’s don’t want to put all our eggs in one glowing expectations of Chinese demand. basket,” he said. Moate referred to the “We should definitely be looking at ‘boom and bust’ cycles which have had an the industry glass as being half-full,” said impact on the export-focused Australian Matthew Moate, Wine Industry Suppliers mining sector. Once-strong Iron ore Australia executive officer. prices have tumbled this year due to 4641ZamproGGW_R 2016-09-16T15:59:26+10:00 “Opportunities are there for brave and oversupply and tougher competition
Word of caution
from international and domestic Chinese suppliers of the commodity. But despite his cautionary tone, Moate said he does expect Australian wine exports to China to continue their climb higher. “It’ll probably get to $1 billion dollars [per year] without too much trouble. The challenge will be sustaining that,” he said.
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20 Grapegrower & Winemaker
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September 2017 – Issue 644
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WET reforms passed through federal parliament T he Winemakers’ Federation of Australia has welcomed this week’s passage through Parliament of critical Federal Government reforms to the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET). The Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O’Dwyer, said the Australian Government’s move to tighten eligibility for the rebate followed extensive consultation with the industry. “Through organisations such as the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, the industry has made a tremendous contribution in designing and delivering the reforms,” Minister O’Dwyer said. “The Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Measures No. 4) Bill 2017 will tighten eligibility for the rebate. From 1 July 2018, wine producers will be required to own at least 85% of the grapes used to make the wine throughout the winemaking process and the rebate will be capped at $350,000, down from $500,000,” she said. “This will stop the rebate being claimed multiple times on the same wine through the production chain, where it is subject to blending or further manufacture and then on-sold. Transitional arrangements will apply to provide the industry with sufficient time to adjust to the changes.”
Reforms ‘needed’ Winemakers’ Federation of Australia Chief Executive Tony Battaglene said the reforms were needed to restore the integrity of the WET system. “I was delighted to see all sides of politics coming together to support
To operate successfully in a highly competitive global market, it is critical that the domestic policy and regulatory framework is robust and without distortions. Tony Battaglene
22 Grapegrower & Winemaker
Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Senator Anne Ruston
passage of these very important reforms through Parliament,” Mr Battaglene said. “The reforms will help ensure the WET rebate can continue to deliver on its original policy intent of supporting winemakers who have a genuine investment in regional areas, growth and innovation,” he said. “To operate successfully in a highly competitive global market, it is critical that the domestic policy and regulatory framework is robust and without distortions. “We have worked closely and productively with the Australian Government to drive the reforms and it is now time to get on with business.”
Domestic vs export Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Senator Anne Ruston, said the Government was also providing $50 million over four years to the Australian Grape and Wine Authority to promote Australian wine overseas, and providing a new Wine Tourism and Cellar Door grant program that will allow wine producers who have exceeded the rebate cap to access up to an additional $100,000 per financial year on their eligible cellar door sales. “All of these changes and initiatives are aimed at refocusing the industry on exports where it’s most lucrative and profitable opportunities are,” Minister Ruston said.
www.winetitles.com.au
“They’re also aimed at eliminating distortions in the domestic market, and transforming how we market Australia’s wine overseas.” Battagelene is in agreeance. “Coupled with the $50 million package being provided over four years to promote Australian wine overseas and wine tourism at home and the $10 million Wine Tourism and Cellar Door grant program, this provides a stable platform for the sector to invest and grow.” “Reforms such as these are often difficult for the industry. I would like to acknowledge the many winemakers in our industry who despite changes at an individual business level have wholeheartedly supported the package of reforms recognising that overall this delivers industry-wide benefits in the long term. “I acknowledge the leadership of the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O’Dwyer, and the Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Senator Anne Ruston. Their comprehensive industry consultation process earned much respect from local and regional winemakers. “I would also like to acknowledge the Federal Labor Party, Independents and other parties in the House of Representatives and the Senate for their willingness to listen to industry and facilitate the passage of these important reforms.”
Superannuation The Government has also made changes to the income tax law to ensure superannuation fund members are not disadvantaged in the transition to new simple, low cost products under the MySuper reforms. Tax relief is available where a superannuation fund member moved to a MySuper product within the same superannuation provider, ensuring that the retirement balances of these members are protected from any tax payable on the transfer. The changes restore equity between those who chose a MySuper product with a new provider and those who stayed with their existing provider.
September 2017 – Issue 644
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National framework for a strong national voice
The Newsletter of Australian Vignerons
September 2017
‘Tis the Season for Seminars … Winter is the time of the year that many organisations hold their annual meetings and seminars. The Wine Grape Council of South Australia (WGCSA) held their annual summit in the Barossa this year, and a very well run and well-attended event it was. Likewise the ASVO seminar, held in Mildura, where the central theme was around innovation, or to be exact “Intelligent systems; Profitable Winegrowing”. While attending this Mildura seminar I bumped into a friend, and shared some fantastic wines over dinner. This event took place on the day after the release of the 2017 vintage report, which revealed pleasing increase in some process for wine grapes despite an upturn in the total production figure. This chain of events got me thinking, and there is a common link to them. Firstly, the WGCSA summit. There was much talk of innovation, particularly innovation in marketing methods, and finding new ways to engender a following of Australian wine among millenials. There are exciting things happening with packaging and communications, and talk of the need to continually offer “something that didn’t exist yesterday”. Apparently the current
market is very fluid and changeable, with the comment made that wine companies needed to have flexibility with the fruit required with such a changing market. Some presenters offered very sound business advice, with some excellent background on the need to focus on using benchmarks and to better understand winegrowing as a business, and not just a lifestyle. Given the current price of vineyards in the Barossa there would be little choice but to treat it as a very serious business. It would seem that these two imperatives might be at odds. For many years the basis of stability of wine growing businesses was a long term supply and purchase agreement, with a clearly specified end use for the fruit that was being grown for one particular grape buyer. Now it seems that with a volatile market, there may be very changeable requirements for winegrowers to satisfy. If wine producers are after flexibility, it may come at the cost of the security previously given by a long-term contract. Hold that thought. The ASVO seminar had the customary array of well-credentialed and very
interesting speakers. There was a presentation on the use of Greenseeker technologies to better assess vineyard vigour, and to assess the plant water potential. There was a presentation on some new non-destructive and much more rapid approaches to yield forecasting, both by use of scanners, and climate – linked models that had the capacity to “learn” from data feedback. A presenter from E.J. Gallo shared the U.S. experience of addressing vineyard variability by installing intelligent irrigation systems that had the capacity to apply varying amounts of water down a single vineyard row. There were really innovative applications of real time data, including utilising “the internet of things”. It was really heady stuff, and enough to make a Gen X’er scratch their increasingly denuded scalp in wonderment. These innovations are wonderful, and build on work such as NDVI and precision agriculture that has been around for some time. Interestingly, there was also a presentation that discussed the adoption of new technology, and despite the interest in many of these innovative technologies, the overall
Level 1, Industry House, National Wine Centre Cnr Botanic and Hackney Roads, Adelaide, SA 5000 Telephone (08) 8133 4400 Fax (08)8133 4466 Email info@australianvignerons.com.au Website www.australinvignerons.com.au
Australian Vignerons News
rate of adoption is low, and in many cases, appears disappointing. There was an overall feeling that there was room for improvement in the uptake of some of the technologies that had been developed over recent times. After all, what is the use of Australian researchers generating world-class outcomes if they do not result in a change to conventional industry practice? Hold that thought. Part of the value in attending these seminars is to catch up with people that you have known in the industry for some time. I met such a friend, and he had brought along a couple of bottles of his company’s finest to share over dinner. After beating other punters out of the way, I managed to find a seat next to my new best friend. The wines were fantastic, and he related to me the way that his company relentlessly pursued quality above all else, from the vineyard to the final wine, and it shows. This process involved close work with the growers and those in the vineyards that supply the fruit, and clearly communicating the ideal bud numbers, inputs and outcomes expected to achieve the fruit characteristics needed to make an icon wine. There is an agreed management plan between the grower and winery, and if the grower adheres to the plan, then there is an agree price for the fruit. If the winegrower does everything as planned, and the perfect result is not forthcoming, the winery “wears it”. The grower wears the agricultural risk. It seems that despite recent hard times for many wine producers, this company is doing quite well. It seems that if you have a premium quality sought - after product you may be able to sell it several times over. Go figure. The final puzzle piece is the annual vintage report. In previous years it has been the precursor of much hand wringing; wondering just how we had managed to produce a large crop “yet again”, and nervously anticipating the impact on the wine market and subsequently on wine grape values. But not this time, it seems. Well not yet, anyway. The 2017 vintage report was the second year where there had been a large crop but also a general increase in some wine grape prices. The much – overused term of “oversupply” seems to be more of an “imbalance between supply and demand”, as evidenced by firming prices despite a larger production. There are two “kickers” to add to this story. One is that the crop might have been higher. There were significant losses caused by late season rain in some regions, which damaged some fruit to
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the point that making wine was not an option. There were also losses from the Remembrance Day hailstorms that led to crop losses in some regions in South Australia. The second kicker is that this level of production has occurred despite a reduction in the national vineyard area over the past decade. There is no doubt that the nation’s vineyards retain the capacity to maintain high levels of production.
Part of the value in attending these seminars is to catch up with people that you have known in the industry for some time. Importantly, there was an increase in the proportion of fruit that was sold in the arbitrary “A” and “B” value category, or greater than $1500 per tonne. This is a positive sign, and suggests that there is deliberate work under way in alignment with the focus on the premium wine message in the marketing plan being implemented by Wine Australia. There are also other factors that have come into play, such as the more favourable trading conditions under the FTA, the Australian currency backing off, and the increasing heat in the Chinese market in particular. There are positive signs that in the third year of Wine Australia’s strategic plan that there has been an increase in the volume and value of export sales. In regard to the need for greater adoption of innovative methods, as mentioned at the various seminars the main drivers for wine growers to take up new methods of production are • Ability to generate a monetary return; • The risk of return associated from the new measure. Growers have demonstrated rapid uptake of new technologies in the past where there is a clear benefit in doing so. The advent of mechanical pruning and harvesting are examples from many years ago. A more recent example is the uptake of multi row spray plants, and multi function, single pass machinery. During the discussion about barriers to innovation at the ASVO seminar there was no distinction between independent
growers and corporate vineyards, and how their situations may be different. A winery – owned vineyard may be able to justify investment in new technologies if there is a demonstrable benefit to wine value as a result. An independent grower is in a different situation. For much of the fruit that is produced by independent growers and sold to wine companies, there is a real disconnect between the efforts of the grower in the vineyard and the final wine. As it became more difficult for Australian companies to profitably sell wine in recent years, cost – cutting measures included the reduction of employees, including those advising growers in the vineyard. Longterm contracts between growers and fruit buyers became rarer, and an increasing amount of fruit was purchased either very shortly before harvest, or in the form of bulk wine. So the commercial trade between winegrowers and fruit buyers became shorter term, more infrequent, and less instructive in nature. Added to this uncertainty was the manner in which the price notification dates specified in the Code of Conduct. This had the unintended effect of many wine companies delaying the date at which growers would know with any degree of certainty what the value of their fruit was, and in many cases if they would make a profit or loss for their years’ work. Many growers have expressed a lack of confidence in some of the pricing regimes used by some wine companies that reward higher value fruit, often stating that it was extremely unlikely that higher value assessment from the grape purchaser could be relied upon. Many have chosen instead to concentrate on maintaining production levels that will supply a business return. That is why the example of the icon Barossa winery is a good example of what can happen when there is a clear alignment between those marketing the wine, through the viticulture specialists to those in the vineyards producing the fruit. Whether the pathway is through the use of objective measures or by an agreed management plan; the benefit of providing clear market signals to wine growers about what is wanted in terms of the fruit provided is clear. Short term commercial relationships that are present in the wine industry, a lack of confidence in being rewarded for achieving quality – related price bonuses uncertainty about the potential returns from investing in innovative technologies appear to be major barriers to greater uptake of innovation in Australia. This is less than ideal. As a relatively high cost producer in global terms, Australia
Australian Vignerons News
cannot afford to be excluded from any high value wine markets. As such, we cannot afford to lag in the innovation stakes. It will be important for the success of the sector as a whole that the commercial relationships that prevail along the value chain underpin a level of confidence that encourages the investment in innovation. If the market place becomes more dynamic and the fruit and wine required to satisfy that need requires more
flexibility, then reliable and sound market signals, and clear lines of communication along the value chain are imperative. Without them, the world-class work being done by our research community and the great gains that have been achieved in the market place by Wine Australia will be devalued. There is little doubt that wine growers will need to be more dynamic, more flexible, and more in touch with wine market trends than they were
in decades past. It is reasonable to expect that the consolidation of recent years will continue, and that wine grape production will need to focus on efficiency as well as quality. It is important that in future production quantity and quality parameters are, as much as possible, aligned with the demand. Maybe then the national crush figure will be less of a surprise, and we will all be better placed to turn profits, reinvest in our respective businesses and be the best that we can.
Update on Australian Vignerons Activities Australian Vignerons has been busy in the past months. AV, WFA and Wine Australia signed off on the business plan for the Export and regional Wine Support Package. The WET reforms passed through parliament on the 18th August. While it is recognised that these reforms will result in changes to the taxation regime across the industry, change was unavoidable, and it is anticipated that there will be industry – wide benefits in the long term. The $50 million under the ERWSP is a generational opportunity that has the potential to deliver real and lasting improvements, and to offset some of the anticipated pain of adjustment.
better engage growers with wine marketing programs. In the past, WGGA was only a grower organisation with little involvement in marketing. While WFA has representation from across the entire wine sector, there are some who are now growing, making and selling wine who are not members of the national winemaker body, who may have the opportunity to engage via AV. This measure is intended to work collaboratively and add to the engagement in this area, not to act in competition with it. This approach is consistent with the AV focus on working for the benefit of all those who grow and make wine.
AV is buoyed by the commitment that Wine Australia has been making in this area during the lead – up period to the announcement of the package by the federal government. Wine Australia has been busy behind the scenes canvassing input from across the entire sector, recruiting staff, and preparing to hit the ground running when the time comes. Initial discussions about the planned activities shows a commitment to improving the fortunes of wine sales across the entire sector, and a stated desire to improve outcomes for those selling fruit. This program offers a rare opportunity to improve the entire sector, and we eagerly await the roll out of the program and continuation of positive news from our markets.
The new AV Board has also populated working committees, namely Finance and Risk, Human Resource and Governance, and Biosecurity.
AV, together with WFA, has an important role in oversight of the program that will be carried out by Wine Australia. We have been canvassing AV members with market expertise to sit on a market advisory group to provide advice to the AV board, to ensure that we are valuable partners in this process. This advisory group is not just intended to provide input into the ERWSP, but to have ongoing input into marketing priorities in the longer term, and to
Biosecurity is a major area of concern and involvement for AV, and there has been much happening in this area recently. There are regular incursions of various concerns that these jurisdictions deal with as part of their daily work. Many of the issues that come across their respective desks raise few concerns, but others are potentially more serious. AV has an industry voice on these issues, and is focused on making sure that industry interests and concerns are heard during the management process that surrounds these issues. It is pleasing that all concerned are geared toward ensuring that Australia’s envied reputation as being free from many of the pathogens that challenge vineyards overseas. One of the major issues we have been dealing with is Grapevine Pinot Gris Virus (GPGV). There is more detail about this specific issue below. There are other things that AV is immersing itself in, on behalf of the wine sector. The National Vine Biosecurity Committee
has been re-started. This group has been busy offering input into the work done by Retallack Viticulture on the development of a national management plant for phylloxera. There is also more progress being made on better aligning the various biosecurity groups active throughout the viticulture industry, and making sure that the finite resources are best utilised for greatest effect. We have also moved in to share office space with the Winemakers’ Federation. This makes sense, partly as the majority of challenges that our members face are common, but also makes great sense from the viewpoint of reducing costs. This focus on reducing costs, conservative budgeting, the continued support of members, plus slightly higher crop levels in successive years and slight increase in income means that AV has noted an increase in the projected reserve for the first time in the last five years. After the recent difficult years of belt – tightening and concentration on building stability, we are happy that we are to enter a period of slowly ramping up our capability to better serve members and the greater wine sector. The next steps will include gaining resource to assist in more effective and regular communications with members, and to travel more extensively to meet with members and potential members. There is much work to do in both raising the awareness of the potential value that AV can offer, and to also raise awareness about the role of and importance of biosecurity activities in the industry. This work will continue during a planned strategic session in November, where the new AV Board will go through a recalibration session as part of the meeting process. It is important that the focus and direction of the Board reflects the members needs, and that activities are able to add value to members.
3
Australian Vignerons News
Grapevine Pinot Gris Virus By the time this report is published there will be few who have not heard about the Grapevine Pinot Gris Virus (GPGV). This issue is being dealt with by state and federal government agencies, who are experts in the biosecurity field. Industry representatives from table grapes, the dried fruit industry, garden and nursery industry, and Australian Vignerons sit on the consultative committee for emergency plant pests (CCEPP) that has been dealing with this particular issue. The operations of the CCEPP are subject to strict codes of conduct that includes confidentiality provisions, and is overseen by the Commonwealth Chief Plant Protection Officer. There are sounds reasons for this. Firstly, it is important that any early reporters of biosecurity incursions, such as owners of infested properties and treated with anonymity. Many biosecurity incursions are not the “fault” of a property owner, and as such they should not be adversely judged. The outbreak of Russian wheat aphid last year is a good example. It is thought to have been brought in on air currents. If properties are identified and adversely judged it might be a disincentive for people to report future incursions, which could jeopardise necessary control or eradication work. It is also important with many incursions to gather knowledge and assess the nature of the problem, such as whether that incursion is exotic or endemic. Assessing any risk of spread is important, determining and surveillance measures that might be needed, and the assessment of whether eradication or control are viable options. These questions may take time and require further work to reach a significant level of understanding of the pest or disease in question. Once enough information is known, only then can information be disseminated to industry with any degree of confidence. Unfortunately the discovery of GPGV in Australia was published in a research paper without the knowledge of the CCEPP, while the virus was still deemed to be exotic, and while it was being dealt with by the committee. This was most unfortunate. As the discovery of the disease had been released into the public domain, the decision was made to provide as much information as possible at that time, while it was still being addressed by the CCEPP. This was partly to assure vineyard owners that the issue was being addressed, and also to be able to start to disseminate information to allow surveillance by growers,
4
Symptoms of Grapevine Pinot Gris Virus (Photo M. Al Rwahnih).
viticulturists and vineyard managers during spring, when any symptoms of the virus are most evident. The majority of our understanding of this virus comes from overseas experience. It has been positively identified in the U.S., Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, and several other countries. It is instructive that despite being found in such a wide distribution of vineyards across the globe, that it has only been positively identified since 2012, where the first ever discovery was made in Northern Italy. The ability to identify this virus has only been possible since 2012. It is important to note the following, gained from overseas experience: • This is a virus restricted to plants. There is no known impact on human health. • There has been no recorded negative impact on wine quality. • The virus exists in vineyards in countries that represent many of our export markets, • It is thought that spread can be via graft material or by mites. • Some vines may harbour the virus asymptomatically; i.e. they can carry the virus with no obvious symptoms being evident. • Some vines have recorded yield losses up to 80% overseas. The impact on vines can be from GPGV and other viruses, making assessment of the
impact of GPGV on its own very difficult. Information relating to location or ownership of any infected properties cannot be shared, for the reasons above. Similarly, information that might lead to assumptions about the location of the infected vines such as variety or varieties that have been positively identified cannot be shared. AV has tried to reassure everyone that the industry members and state and government jurisdictions dealing with this incursion are driven by management of risk, and ensuring that there is no further spread. In the case of AV, we are mainly concerned that the risk of the virus passing from any infected vines to any other properties is managed, and we are satisfied that is the case. We have answered some queries about GPGV since the release of this information, and there is clearly some frustration at the inability to share more information. While this is understandable, the industry and agencies responsible are dealing with the issue, and sharing more knowledge than that provided will not make any difference to the effectiveness of the response. The risk of any transmission from infected vines to other vineyards is controlled. The next steps are to gain better information about the nature and location of this disease via surveillance, and to use that information to guide eradication or control options. When more information comes to light, it will be shared. Andrew Weeks Australian Vignerons Chief Executive Officer
grapegrowing
Fertiliser in vineyards: What has changed? Using his skills as a viticulturist, Sam Bowman explores what has changed in fertiliser technology over the past 30 years. The article compliments a piece from 1987 on pages 32-36.
W
hen the previous article by Clarrie Beckingham was written in 1987 I wasn’t even a twinkle in my father’s eye, nor did I know I would end up working with wine and grapes. It’s interesting to look back on what has changed in ones lifetime. Too young to remember records, just old enough to remember cassettes, I’ve seen CD’s go to MP3’s to iTunes and funnily enough back to records in the space of my short life. If it’s anything like technology, fertilising winegrapes has surely been put through the wringer. Lets see how. Synthetic fertilisers were first commercialised in 1913 and were predominantly nitrate and phosphorus based (think urea and super phosphate). The agricultural landscape was changing at this time. A need for improved efficiency in the farming sector was beginning to take place, due to the development of tractors and other mechanised processes. Skip to the 1970’s and granular fertiliser was refined closer to the way we see it today. In 1974 Roundup was released to improve weed control for the growing population’s food sources, and in 1982 the first Genetically Modified crops were produced. They were commercialised just two years later, in 1984. A stark contrast to agriculture only mere decades ago. When the preluding article (see pages 32-36) was written in 1987, by the sounds of things, less was more. And crop production, at least in the Hunter Valley, were minimal compared to today’s standard yield. 1987 was the tip of a boom that would September 2017 – Issue 644
see a rapid expansion of vineyard area and cropping levels that hadn’t been achieved before. This boom brought with it the need to improve vine nutrition to support larger crop loads. In turn, rapidly developing methods of sampling, application, and the products themselves.
The major changes Identification of soil microbiology and its role in nutrition I’m sure when this article was written, soil microbiology would not have been discussed the way it is today. I still have growers saying they don’t believe there are bugs in the soil. In every gram of soil, there are upwards of 10 billion individual bacterial cells making it one of the most diverse ecosystems in all of nature. With improvements in genetic testing, scientists are now able to extract DNA and RNA directly from the soil to identify separate species rather than the painstaking process of individually plating and staining for identification. This DNA modelling has allowed scientists to better estimate the role of soil organisms in multiple processes including the mineralisation of nutrients, control of pathogens and remediation of pollutants. The role of fungi has also been discovered, with composts becoming an important part of many viticultural practices due to the many benefits of building humus in the soil. Fertiliser practices have in turn changed with the new knowledge that our soil microbial diversity plays just as large a part to amend certain issues. Many www.winetitles.com.au
products available now contain microbe inoculants and are designed to feed the microbiology as well as the plant. Urea and the NPK boom Urea was first isolated from urine in 1727 and first produced inorganically in 1828 by treating silver cyanate with ammonium chloride. This was a major breakthrough for organic chemistry as never before had two inorganic compounds successfully been artificially synthesised without the assistance of living organisms to produce an organic element. And so started the use of urea in agriculture. Many things outside fertilisation have changed since 1987, especially greenhouse gas emissions and targets for the sustainable production of energy and materials. The process used to produce urea is intensive in energy consumption and can’t be a long term sustainable option environmentally. In 2012 there were 184 million tonnes of urea produced with an energy expenditure of 24,666khw per 1kg of equivalent nitrogen (N) extracted. To do the sums is pretty scary, especially when you compare the same amount of N derived from compost adds up to 138kwh. Our need now for more sustainable options has pushed growers to look for other methods to feed the need for N. We also have a better handle on the N cycle and its uses in grapevines. Nitrogen is the main mineral found in chlorophyll, the green pigments that allow the allimportant photosynthesis and the production of amino acids. Nitrogen is also the main component of DNA which allows plant cells to grow and replicate. Grapegrower & Winemaker
29
grapegrowing forms the cell walls of leaves and berries, which prevents infection and penetration from insects. Again, the stronger the layer the more natural resistance a plant has to fight off infection and attack. With work being done on Silicones application for use as a mitigation for UV damage, it will become more prevalent as time goes by. The improvement of foliar options for viticulture has been astounding even in my time. Applying through the leaves is 12 times more efficient in giving the plant what it needs compared with fertigation, it’s no surprise that micronutrient folia’s have become commonplace in a majority of our vineyards to bypass lockups in the soil and supply the minute amounts directly into the tissue.
Because of this high requirement it is also the most misused and misunderstood mineral applied to vineyards. Ammonium and nitrate nitrogen, we now know are needed in certain ratios for a healthy, balanced vine. 1:1 in soil and 3:1 in plant tissues respectively. The imbalance or reversal of these ratios leads to plant health issues and in the case of reversal, high nitrates will actually exacerbate pest issues. We also now know the relationship between other minerals and the utilisation of N but we will get to that later. The issue with high N is the limitation it puts on many other nutrients important for growth, fruitfulness and bud initiation in the following season. High N will shut down the uptake of calcium, potassium and boron which are all crucial for plant health and development. Phosphorus (P) has become better understood in the utilisation of humates and fungi to unlock bound P. When the original article was written there would have been limited knowledge of the lockup of P and how to utilise the bound nutrients. In a standard P application, ~73% will end up bound in the soil - not the most pleasing addition in terms of return. In recent times, many growers have utilised products such as humic acid to unlock bound P and tap into this underutilised resource. The efficiency of rock phosphates in combination with humates has drastically changed the way we fertilise with P for the better. Rise in knowledge of micro nutrients and their importance to viticulture In the 80’s NPK was king, and it still is, in many viticultural landscapes. These nutrients are absolutely crucial for healthy vines and yields but so
30 Grapegrower & Winemaker
too are micronutrients. In the 1980’s they would have been very much an afterthought. The importance of calcium (a macronutrient) isn’t touched on in great detail in the article, though we now know this mineral is responsible for the supply of at least 7 other minerals to the vine. If anything, calcium is the forerunner to take over from N for the importance of balance in plants and soil. The ratio between calcium and magnesium is also now highly publicised and is my first port of call when assessing soils. The more interesting developments I see are the identification of the roles of silicon and molybdenum. Molybdenum is the main mineral involved in bacterial nitrogen fixation to utilise atmospheric nitrogen. It is also crucial in fruit set and inflorescence development. The mineral is a negatively charged ion so can only be held by positively charged humus. With low organic matter in most soils, it’s easy to see why molybdenum doesn’t present in many soil tests. Needed in tiny amounts, it is often neglected but when put in context, this is a precursor to your entire vines developmental cycle; something we definitely wouldn’t have been thinking about 30 years ago. Silicon is something I’ve had an interest in for years and the clients who have used the additions of potassium silicate have always had great results. The xylem and phloem vessels of a plant which transport all of the sugars and water from the leaves to the roots and back again are made from silicon. The better the balance of silicon in the soil and plant, the stronger your pipes are to get what you put in straight to the vine. Silicon, in conjunction with calcium www.winetitles.com.au
Application Prior to modern irrigation systems, ground spreading was once commonplace and granular fertilisers were really all that was available. Drip irrigation has now become standard practice but prior to this many vineyards were still under flood or sprinkler. When dripline rolled out across the country so did the development of more soluble liquid products for direct application. I still remember the first time I tried fertigating a “liquid gypsum” thinking I would save money and ruined two hectares of late 90’s Netafim dripline – wasn’t a great phone call to the owners. Screening practices improved and now a majority of growers supply nutrients via fertigation. Those that do spread in a granular form now have many benefits such as chelating agents to assist in rapid uptake and efficacy. I see people moving back to ground spread, utilising the addition of compost blends and building soil health. It will be interesting to see how the industry as a whole looks at fertilisation practices as we move towards a more positive period financially. Writing this article has me thinking about what I will see next in my lifetime. I hope as a 60-year-old we have an emphasis on soil health and treating our pest and disease issues at the root cause rather than throwing money at symptoms like we have been doing in the past. I think our knowledge of soil microbiological systems will improve and we will be treating the ground first and the vines second because of this fact. Who knows what our vineyard regions will look like then, I suppose I’ll let you know in 2047.
September 2017 – Issue 644
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grapegrowing
Looking back
Fertilising grapevines can be a worthwhile exercise This Looking back feature story is reproduced here to comliment an updated comparative article on page 29. This article originally appeared in the September 1987 edition of Grapegrower & Winemaker, authored by Clarrie Beckingham, NSW Department of Agriculture district horticulturist..
A
n important priority for achieving a profitable business operation is a vineyard with strong, productive, healthy grapevines. The use of fertiliser can be important and is usually worthwhile. Grapevine response to fertiliser use has usually come to be accepted as unreliable and the reasons could likely be due to traditional soil management practice in vineyards. The grapevine also has a low demand for nutrients from the soil compared with other fruit crops. Alternatives to traditional soil management, the opportunity to irrigate, the increasing priority for improved fruit quality and production and the adoption of a more scientific approach to grapegrowing is however reversing traditional views of nutrition. In view of existing fertiliser practice in the Hunter Valley, it is opportune to record practice, highlight the benefits of fertiliser use and indicate how response
32 Grapegrower & Winemaker
to fertiliser may best be achieved with options to traditional practice. Yields and fruit quality Traditional views are being questioned with practical and scientific evidence showing conclusively that increasing yields to moderate levels does not harm wine quality, using supplementary irrigation and fertiliser. Yields of two-and-a-half to five tonnes per hectare (one-to-two tonnes per acre) may give satisfactory wine quality, but the economics of grape production can become questionable. If the circumstances of low yields are due to drought or dry spells, wine quality has been known to decline. Production levels of 10 – 17 tonnes per hectare (four-to-seven tonnes per acre) depending upon variety, can be more consistently achieved with irrigation and fertiliser use. In obvious circumstances of excess vine vigour, fertiliser application should www.winetitles.com.au
be assessed in small trial areas. Naturally fertile soils are an advantage and can boost grapevine vigour and production, however, over a long period of production, say 40 years, the soil nutrient reserves become depleted and fertilising, or cover and green manure crops especially with legumes, will help maintain soil nutrient levels. Other fertiliser uses The use of fertiliser is also normally warranted in the following situations: • Newly-planted vineyards during development • Infertile, sandy-textured soils or overcropped soils • Nursery propagation • Vineyard rejuvenation by either regrafting or re-trellising and training. If any of the above situations prevail, the grapegrower will find benefit in including fertiliser use during planning and implementation of operations. September 2017 – Issue 644
Fertiliser uptake and response Can be influenced by a number of factors, including: • The use of undervine ploughing that strips off valuable feeding roots. The effects could be more disastrous in shallower, heavy soils • Soil moisture – if dry soil conditions prevail, roots may not be functioning and fertiliser wasted • Rainfall – in high rainfall areas split applications of fertiliser may be more beneficial. Fertigation offers convenience of split application • Soil pH – in acid soils, high levels of manganese and aluminium may damage feeder roots, affecting moisture and fertiliser uptake. In alkaline soils zinc and magnesium, among other nutrients, could be unavailable for grapevine use.
Nutrients required Fertilisers, depending upon analysis, can supply nutrients that the grapevine requires annually. The important nutrients necessary for healthy growth are: • Macronutrients required in large quantities: Nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S) • Macronutrients required in small quantities: Iron (Fe), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), boron (B), molybdenum (Mo), sodium (Na), chlorine (Cl). Some of the important functions of nutrients include: Nitrogen – develops healthy shoot, root and leaf growth. Promotes fruit set and berry sizing.
September 2017 – Issue 644
Phosphorous – maintains good fruit quality. Also used by developing flowers and fruit. Potassium – maintains vine vigour. Important in fruit quality, check with your winemaker. Zinc – assists information and function of chlorophyll, certain enzymes and fruit set.
grape analysis and composition with the winemaker. It is likely that there is no one recommendation for fertiliser use for every situation.
Fertiliser rates
Basis for developing a fertiliser program
No one recommendation suits every vineyard. In the past grapegrowers have applied fertiliser to their vines based on guess and habit rather than evidence of need or response.
This can be achieved by: Diagnosis of nutrient requirement: • Vine performance – visual symptoms, growth, fruit yield and quality • Calculated nutrient loss from the soil per tonne of fruit • Leaf sampling and analysis – can be a good guide to the current nutrition status of the grapevine, but leaves must be sampled properly. Assessment of nutrient supply: • Fertiliser history – comparison of vineyard fertiliser history with fertiliser company or other known recommendations for the district • Soil analysis – used to gain additional data on the specific vineyard • Vineyard inspections – to assess management, insect and disease problems etc. The grapegrower should assess diagnostic methods singly or in combination with various assessments in comparative fertiliser trials, leaving sections untreated across a four-to-five year period when developing a fertiliser program. The winegrape grower should also follow through carefully, wine and
Nutrient removal It is important to know what the grapevine removes from the soil annually per tonne of fruit and make allowances for leaching due to rain or irrigation and any fixation of nutrients in the soil. The grapevine removes very small amounts of nutrients from the soil per tonne of fruit harvested and as an example may typically be: Nitrogen 1.23kg Phosphorous 0.28kg Potassium 2.40kg The grapegrower should seek assistance and check if these levels apply to his own local vineyard situation especially soil nutrient levels. Then to replace the nutrients removed and take into account leaching and fixation, suggested minimum fertiliser rates to apply per tonne of fruit is therefore. 2.0 – 3.0kg Nitrogen 0.5 – 1.0kg Phosphorous 4.0 – 5.0kg Potassium Caution: Phosphorous broadcast on top of most soils (sandy soils possible exception) will only move 5mm down
www.winetitles.com.au
Grapegrower & Winemaker
33
grapegrowing into the soil before fixed and may not reach the root zone of grapevines. Rates to apply will vary with: • Soil type – grapes are grown on a wide range of soil types and while lighter, sandier soils may have a depth advantage for root growth, phosphorous, nitrogen and potassium could all be in short supply • Grapevine vigour – undersized or weak vines may need greater levels • Varieties – low vigour varieties may require less fertiliser than high vigour types • Vine densities per hectare – on more closely planted vineyards fertiliser rates may need to be higher due to greater competition for nutrients. A suggested program in the Hunter Valley for assessment is: Mature vines yielding 12 tonne/ha (five tonne/acre) N 60kg P 30kg K 50kg For young vines (years one-to-three) use one-third of the mature vine rate for each year of age. Alternatively, selected fertiliser to overcome diagnosed deficiencies.
Timing of fertiliser application Aspects to consider: • A fertiliser program traditionally begins in mid-to-late winter • Climate – in higher rainfall areas split applications may be more effective by avoiding loss from leaching out of the rootzone. Fertilising by broadcast or sub-surface placement in winter allows time for winter rainfall to leach the fertiliser to rootzone area • Broadcasting during winter assists growth of volunteer winter cover crops. Starter fertiliser is needed at sowing time and top-dressing will boost growth • Phenology – nutrient supply must be adequate and available for the important spring development that begins with budburst. Grapevine root growth is taking place after harvest during late autumn, early winter and again in summer. The post-harvest period is important for nitrogen application and boosting vine reserves • Application methods – foliar spraying obviously achieves best benefit during the spring time especially when nutrients may be necessary to prevent deficiencies (e.g. zinc or
boron) at flowering and fruit set. Banding phosphorus is an advantage and is normally done before budburst. A heavy rate of phosphorous banded will usually last over a number of years. Spreading poultry manure is normally convenient and preferred during the winter months. Fertigation methods allow split application through the growing season and more accurate timing of fertiliser for best use.
Assessing the cost Costing a fertiliser program is important both from the point of view of selecting the most economical sources of N/P/K (i.e. the unit value of kg of nutrient) and calculating the annual gross margin analysis of production. It is important to know the analysis of a fertiliser before nutrient cost can be checked. The prices shown below are a guide only and will vary according to: • Company brand name • Freight • Bulk buying rate • Company/reseller costs • Current sale price. (A note on ‘units’ – a unit refers to one per cent of a tonne, or 10kg. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the
Components and cost examples from 1987 Fertiliser
$/tonne
Superphosphate
N%
$/kgN
P%
$/kgP
%K
$/kgK
% sulfur
$150.60
9.1
$1.65
11.5
Double Super
$276.70
17.5
$1.58
4.5
Trifos
$305.05
19.4
$1.57
2.0
Nitram
$275.00
34.0
$0.81
Urea
$301.20
46.0
$0.65
(Note – bulk discount range was between $17.50 – $27.50 per tonne)
CALCULATING FERTILISER VALUE: 1. For a straight fertiliser Cost per kilogram of nutrient = Cost per tonne % nutrient x 10 For example Cost per kilogram of phosphorous in superphosphate =
$150.60 = $1.65 per kg of P 9.1 x 10
2. For a compound fertiliser – using phosphorous as the basic requirement (hence it is given the value of the most cost effective straight fertiliser – Trifos – at $1.57 per kg of P). Cost per kilogram of Nutrient X = Cost per tonne – Value of Nutrient Y per tonne % Nutrient X x 10
For example, the cost per kilogram of nitrogen in Starter NP $389 – (%P x $157 x 10) = $398 – $304.58 = $0.52 /kg of N 18% N x 10 180
34 Grapegrower & Winemaker
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September 2017 – Issue 644
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grapegrowing Table 2 Time
Product
Rate/ha
Mid-late Aug
Phosphoric Acid
50L
15
Mid-Sept
Phosphoric Acid
50L
15
Nitrate of Potash
45kg
5.9
16.6
Nitrate of Potash
45kg
5.9
16.6
Easy-N
20L
8.50
Mid-Dec
Easy-N
20L
8.50
March
Easy-N
20L
8.50
April
Easy-N
20L
8.50
Mid-Oct
N kg/ha
P kg/ha
K kg/ha
Costs for drip irrigation: 100L of Phosphoric Acid @ $1.50 per litre
$150.00
135kg Nitrate of Potash @$750 per tonne
$101.00
100L Easy-N @ 40c/L
$40.00
Total per hectare
$291.00
kilogram of nutrient applied per hectare. On the basis of one tonne, the units per tonne are equal to the percentage composition, or kilogram, per 100kg. For example, ammonium nitrate contains 34% nitrogen – or 34kg per 100kg of product, or 34 units in one tonne.) Straight, compound or mixed? It is likely there will be a wide variation in cost and analysis for a ‘straight’ vs ‘compound’ and ‘mix’ fertiliser programs. Compounds can reduce spreading and freight costs when broadcasting or banding, but if the nutrient balance is not checked carefully, extra costs and waste of nutrients may be involved. Mixing straight fertilisers could also be cheaper when applied in one pass. However, check with your representative because nitrogen fertilisers in a mix may attract moisture. Having calculated the costs, consider other aspects of the product. For example: • Other nutrients in the product • Is chlorine a problem? • How the fertiliser is to be applied.
Fertiliser application options The option selected will depend on availability of drip irrigation, machinery etc. However, it is assumed that mature vines will be fertilised at the following rates: N 60kg/ha P 30kg/ha K 50kg/ha These rates are a guide only and based on the production of 12.4 tonne per hectare (five tonne per acre). Poultry manure • Spread in winter
36 Grapegrower & Winemaker
• Analysis: N 3.5%, P 2%, K 1% • 1.7 tonnes per hectare would be required to apply N 60kg/ha, P 30kg/ ha , K 50kg/ha • Note that one tonne of poultry manure = two cubic metres • Costs to supply and deliver = $8.50 per cubic metre • Spreading = labour for an eight-hour day, spreading 75 cubic metres at $8.50 per hour, plus tractor costs at $20 per hour • Cost per hectare: Manure $28.90, labour $2.83, tractor $6.00 = total $37.73 per hectare. Poultry manure has additional benefits of high pH, slow nitrogen release and complete macro and micro nutrient supply. Sub-surface placement • Incorporate one band per row, two rows in one pass at 5km/hr • Analysis: N 11.7%, P 14%, K 9.1% • Costs = $353 per tonne • Application costs about $300 per hectare. Fertigation The application of soluble fertiliser in irrigation water, preferably by drop irrigation, is a more scientific approach to metering nutrient supply to suit growth stages of the grapevine. The benefits are: • Micro-irrigation systems become most efficient when nutrients are applied with irrigation water • Labour saving and convenience • Cost savings (e.g. energy) • Efficiency of fertiliser use and application www.winetitles.com.au
• Flexibility in scheduling applications. Products suitable for application through irrigation, particularly trickle systems, are usually more expensive than the solid fertilisers that are soil applied. It is possible to use some solid fertilisers by dissolving the water soluble portion and allowing the insoluble solids to settle and then draw off the solution. The water used for irrigation varies in quality and should be checked before use. A suggested fertigation program (supplied by John Glendinning) for the Hunter Valley is shown in table 2: Note: Prevent fertiliser build-up in pipes and emitters by irrigating with clean water for one hour after fertiliser injection period. Use recommended liquid or soluble fertilisers only. Folia spraying Applying nutrients to foliage during the growing season is not normally a common practice. Young vines in a nursery and during development may benefit from foliar nutrients. Mature vines will also benefit, however, costings should be carefully calculated and trial areas assessed before spraying large areas. Most benefit will normally be gained from correcting suspected or diagnosed micro-nutrient deficiencies, in particular, zinc.
Summary Fertiliser costs should be assessed in relation to the extra production achieved and therefore the extra income. A fertigation program is the mostefficient method. Banding fertiliser close to the rootzone would be next in efficiency, followed by broadcast methods. When fertilising grapevines, some fertiliser will be used that season, but most is stored for use the following season. Immediate responses may not be noticed, but an annual calculated fertiliser program will generally be of benefit.
September 2017 – Issue 644
2017 ASVO Seminar Intelligent Systems Profitable Winegrowing Robots, drones and AI were on the agenda at this year’s Australian Society for Viticulture and Oenology conference in Mildura. Camellia Aebischer reports.
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he two day conference had a strong focus this year: vineyard technology. New projects presented streamlined vineyard processes through data crunching and drones, and highlighted a few key points where the industry could focus: bringing a practical application to research, and having clean data. Senator Ann Ruston gave an opening address, outlining Australia’s export market to China. Ruston was quick to bring realism to the topic, reminding the audience that “hot and volatile markets have the ability to go pop very quickly, so ‘proceed with caution’.” She also added that Australia can never be the cheapest producer of anything because of our high standard of quality. An important reminder, as the industry looks to increase profits in our growing export market. The opening finished with a question from the audience regarding water in the Murray Darling. Ruston assured the audience that allegations made were serious and that anyone who is breaking the law will be punished appropriately. That was the end of politics for the conference, and together the researchers, growers and viticulturists dove in to innovative topics, presenting ways in which technology can streamline our September 2017 – Issue 644
vineyards. There was a strong focus on measuring canopy decline and producing systems to estimate yield to ultimately improve the bottom line for growers. Much of the technology proposed centred on robotics and drones, or areal imaging, and still requires some fine tuning before being realised in to the market. In the interim, growers can expect an exciting outlook of improved data usage and mechanised predictions for the future.
The Yield Bridging the gap between research and a practical application was an important point touched on by Mike Briers of the University of Technology Sydney. Two topics, in particular, offered immediately obtainable solutions. The first was an app, named The Yield (you can download it right now and have a look), presented by Ros Harvey, which compiles problem solving data based on the needs of the grower. So far, the app takes data gathered from the vineyard site such as soil moisture, weather conditions and historical averages and compiles them using AI to make more accurate predictions for spray plans and irrigation scheduling. It delivers this through a clean and comprehensive mobile app that can www.winetitles.com.au
Talk to us about improving the practical and economic performance of your vineyard. Call 1800 269 773 or sales@fmrgroup.com.au
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even send notifications to the grower, reminding them to spray or advising them against it. The key to the success of The Yield is that the app works on data gathered specific to the site (through harware installed by the solution company), and overlays it with historical data and local information, like readings from weather stations, to create a tailored prediction.
Variable drip irrigation
vineyard to identify areas which are lacking in growth. They then targeted portions of the block that were producing under seven tonnes, and adjusted irrigation (this can also be done alongside other techniques like composting and fertilisers) to bring up the yield on those low-performing areas. This increased the overall yield by 30%. The automated system was buried below the surface within the vineyard and controlled remotely from a computer. According to Sanchez, current drip irrigation systems cost around $20002500 per acre. His team are currently working on producing the proposed system for around $3000-3750 per acre before it’s ready for the market.
researcher from Rioja, Spain. It consisted of measurement of vine growth using non-destructive sensors. The non-destructive sensors utilised RGB imaging to measure canopy porosity, cluster size and foliage etc. to predict yield and measure vine health. The point of difference that Paz Diago had in her research was that they used the tractor mounted cameras at night (with a flash), eliminating the need for a black-out sheet. This meant a consistent and clear definition of the vine being photographed. The trials conducted have been successful, which Paz Diago validated by comparing the camera counted numbers with actual total number of berries. A product for the market is currently being organised, however when asked, Paz Diago couldn’t comment on when that technology would become available.
The second topic with immediate application was presented by Dr Luis Sanchez who came in via video link. Sanchez has been working on a project through EJ Gallo Vineyards, managing yield inconsistencies with controlled variable drip irrigation. Sanchez’s team has produced a successful prototype of the irrigation Measuring yield 4660FluteGGW88x185 2016-08-18T10:02:27+10:00 system. First they selected a plot, then A highly discussed presentation at the took multispectral imaging of the conference was that of Maria Paz Diago, a
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September 2017 – Issue 644
Left to rightt: Barossa growers Ed Schild, Chris Canute, Adrian Hoffmann and Fiona Habermann
Left to right: Randolph Bowen and James Rosenzweig
Left to right: Steve Schiller, Sami Gilligan
Right: Camellia Aebischer
Growers prep for success-ion Succession planning was the hot topic at this year’s South Australian Grape Growers Summit. Industry professionals gathered to discuss everything from China trade to family communications. Nathan Gogoll reports.
P
runing snips were given a rest recently as grapegrowers gathered to think about their business plans. The South Australian Wine Grape Growers Summit, presented by the Wine Grape Council of SA and the Barossa Grape & Wine Association, was held in the Barossa recently. A range of issues were put on the table – all with an eye on the future – and there might have been more questions than answers. The day was designed to be forward thinking – starting with a future outlook briefing, continuing with a look at successful business model examples and finishing with a focus on succession plans. Tim Hunt, from Rabobank, revealed that international wine consumption was steady – but a number of damaging weather events and natural disasters across different international winegrape growing regions was likely to see the global wine inventory fall. A panel session delivered some interesting feedback from large wine companies – featuring Warren Randall, Seppeltsfield Wines‘ general manager, Brett McKinnon, Pernod Ricard Winemakers‘ September 2017 – Issue 644
global operations director, and Kirstie McCosh, Treasury Wine Estates‘ global head of marketing services, insights and innovation. “Innovation is the key to growth,” McKinnon said. “Most of our growth has come from new products.” Randall pointed to China, which he described as the “modern economic miracle of the world” as having untapped potential for Australian wine sales. “We have found a new market, it wants to consume more [wine] and it loves Australia,” Randall said. “Across the next 10-15 years, Australia is looking at huge growth in China.” James Hillcoat, Rural Directions agribusiness consultant, highlighted the areas where top performing farmers elevate their businesses. His examples came from grain growers, but offered interesting insights for the grape and wine community. Hillcoat said those producers who understood the range of factors that had direct impacts on their profit potential were bestplaced for success. Nigel Robinson, from Rural Business Support, echoed some of Hillcoat’s message.
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Dilute spraying and under dosing On many occasions, I come across growers who think they are spraying at the correct chemical rate for dilute spraying, but on further investigation with an in-vineyard test, they are under dosing. I find under application of dilute spray volumes of 10 to 20 per cent is common and in extreme cases, it can be as high as 40 per cent. Less than required spray volumes and resultant under dosing of chemical has clear implications for product performance and resistance development. Dilute volume spraying is where the vine canopy is thoroughly wet to the point of run off. The volume required to reach this point will depend on the canopy size, which changes with vineyard setup and as the season progresses. My first recommendation is that growers review their canopy size at three stages of seasonal growth and compare their dilute volume decisions against the APVMA recommendations (See Indicative water volumes for dilute spraying grapevines). If there is a significant variation, you should look to do some in vineyard spray trials to determine your correct rate. Spray volume really is the key in determining the amount of chemical that should be applied to a vine canopy to deposit a correct label dose.
Left to rightt: Will Taylor and Leo Pech
Left to right: Adam Hall, Rob Grope, Ashley Ratcliffe
Because every vineyard is different, in-field measurements and observations will most likely deliver the most reliable and accurate results. Your own spray tests are an ideal way to gain the experience you need and it’s not as hard as you may think. Simply run a series of tests where you increase or decrease the spray volume until a point is reached where you consider the spray liquid covers all parts of the canopy to the point of run off. Your local spray expert may be able to help you with this. Of course, it’s easy to see when water is at the point of runoff on the outer canopy. Assessing the point of runoff inside the canopy is more difficult. Water and oil-sensitive paper (WSP) is a fantastic resource that has been available to spray operators for many years. The WSP card has a special coating that produces a stain when a droplet lands on it. Put these throughout the canopy to make sure spray droplets cover all parts of the canopy as evenly as possible. If a wetting agent is to be used for spraying, then it should be added to the water before you run your tests.
Vine Talk is compiled by Dave Antrobus, Syngenta Solutions Development Lead dave.antrobus@syngenta.com 0429 133 436 40 Grapegrower & Winemaker
“What can you control?” Robinson asked. “The difference between profitability and non-profitability is the discipline to spend time on planning – to have a strategy and a positive outlook.” Adrian Hoffmann, a Barossa grapegrower (and Wine Grape Council of SA committee member), explained that he spent more time working ‘on’ his business than ‘in’ it – but this was vital to get the best from his business relationships. “Loyalty is admirable, but how long is your bank manager going to be your bank manager? The best thing to do for your business is to keep him or her on their toes,” Hoffmann said. Brad Simmons, Mutual Trust family business advisor, and Wil Taylor, Finlaysons partner, both explored the settings for successful succession plans. Simmons pointed out that 70% of wealth transfers fail – mainly due to breakdowns in communication and trust, a lack of defined purpose and not training the next generation to be ready. Taylor offered legal insights into the process and stressed there were lots of benefits for taking succession planning seriously. “It’s really a culture, involving constant communication,” Taylor said. “If done well everyone knows what the plan is and where everyone is headed.” Phil Reedman, the master of ceremonies for the day, wrapped up the day succinctly and positively. “There is a lot of reason to be confident, there are positive signs,” Reedman said. “But grapegrowers need to consider how their relationships can help to make them more nimble and flexible. “Perhaps growers are in a position to make the price rather than take the price? “But it’s important to remember that failure takes no preparation, success takes a lot of it.”
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September 2017 – Issue 644
The impact of winter drought on vine growth and wine quality
Marcos Bonada South Australia Research and Development Institute. GPO Box 397, Adelaide South Australia 5001. Paul R. Petrie South Australia Research and Development Institute. GPO Box 397, Adelaide South Australia 5001. The Australian Wine Research Institute. PO Box 197, Glen Osmond South Australia 5064. Everard J. Edwards The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. PMB 2, Glen Osmond South Australia 5064. Mike G. McCarthy South Australia Research and Development Institute. GPO Box 397, Adelaide South Australia 5001.
G
rape growers in most premium regions in Australia rely on rainfall during winter to refill the soil profile and sustain the vines through spring. Weather observations since the 1950’s indicate a decline in late autumn and early winter rainfall for South Eastern Australia, where the majority of Australia’s premium September 2017 – Issue 644
vineyards are planted (Cai and Cowan 2012). This has increased the likelihood that vines will start their spring growth with limited water availability, and raised questions on the best irrigation st rategies to maintain vineyard productivity. These issues have not escaped the attention of other countries facing similar drought conditions. Recent studies in the US, for example, showed that winter rainfall decline has a long-term effect on vine balance even when vines were subsequently fully irrigated during the growing season (Mendez-Costabel et al. 2014). After three years of winter rainfall exclusion there were negative impacts on vine growth and productivity of Merlot. In this study, we report some observations from the first two experimental seasons for a trial where we simulated reduced winter rainfall and then assessed irrigation options to better understand the negative impacts on grape production. www.winetitles.com.au
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Figure 1: Rainout shelter deployed in the vineyard during 2016. a) Panoramic view of the shelters after their installation in late autumn, and b) view insight the shelter at mid-winter.
Figure 2: Schematic representation of the treatments.
Experimental site and treatments The trial is located in the SARDI’s Nuriootpa Research Centre in the Barossa Valley, SA. It compares a control treatment exposed to natural rain (control) with a range of treatments where rain is excluded during winter using rainout shelters (Figure 1) from May until August. The rain is replaced using a variety of irrigation methods. These include using micro-sprinklers to irrigate the whole vineyard floor (sprinkler-rain) or drippers (dripper-rain) to apply the average May-August rainfall for
Nuriootpa throughout the winter. The application of a third of the long-term average winter rainfall with microsprinklers (reduced-rain), and not applying any irrigation until Spring and then filling to soil profile with micro-sprinklers (spring-rain). The treatments are described in Figure 2.
Results and discussion In a similar trend to the wider industry the yield was higher in season 2016/17 than in season 2015/16 (Figure 2). Overall, during both seasons, control vines exposed to natural winter rainfall yielded the most. Relative to these vines, neither of the top-up irrigation
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Filling a dry soil profile in spring appeared to be the worse strategy as it also stimulated the development of a large canopy and reduced fruit and wine quality in the first season.
strategies using drippers during winter, or using micro-sprinklers to refill the soil profile at budburst fully restored yield in both seasons. Filling a dry soil profile in spring appeared to be the worst strategy as it also stimulated the development of a large canopy and reduced fruit and wine quality in the first season. The maintenance of soil water content during winter using micro-sprinklers resulted in a reduced yield in the first season, but maintained yield similar to control vines in the second season. Applying 30% of t he longterm average rainfall during winter significantly reduced yield during the first season (approximately by 40%), when dry winter conditions due to the rainout shelters were matched with a natural dry spring. Surprisingly, in the second season, reduced-rain vines yielded similar to control vines, when rainfalls were sufficient to refill soil profile early in spring, as soon as the rainout shelters were removed.
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September 2017 – Issue 644
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Figure 3: Effects of winter irrigation treatments on yield season 2015/16 and 2016/17. Bars are mean ± one standard error. Different letters indicate means that differ significantly at p < 0.05 by Fisher’s LSD test.
Differences in yield between treatments in the first season were mainly driven by the higher number of bunches in control vines and by the lighter bunches of vines that received 30% of normal winter rainfall. In the second season a higher number, but smaller bunches on the vines that received 30% of normal rain during winter allowed them to maintain yields similar to the control. The 30% reduced rainfall vines had a smaller and more open canopy during the first season which is likely to have favoured bud fruitfulness, as verified by the higher number of bunches per shoot in year two. Grapes were sampled at harvest fruit and analysed for style/quality parameters and small lot wine was made for sensory assessment. The wine from the control treatments showed an overall lower phenolic concentration, lighter colour and more intense red fruit aroma and green flavour. With similar attributes, the wine from the treatment where the soil profile was filled in spring also exhibited lower phenolic concentration, poorer colour intensity, with less red tones. These would be generally considered undesirable attributes in Shiraz from the Barossa. Wines from vines that were irrigated through the winter using drippers or micro-sprinklers at either the historical average or 30% of the average were richer in phenolic substances, darker and with more intense red tones. Panellists perceived these wines as colourful, flavoursome, richer in body and with more dark fruit f lavours and aroma; which are in general all September 2017 – Issue 644
attributes desirable in finished wines. Top-up winter irrigation either using micro-sprinklers or drippers, which restored water at a similar levels of natural winter rain, still resulted in a reduction in yield. The causes have not been confirmed, but it is likely the pattern of wetting of the soil is influencing root growth and longevity and then vine performance the following season. Further analysis of the relationship between the growth of roots and canopy early in the season and hormonal signalling (i.e. abscisic acid) will help to clarify this relationship. Reduced winter rainfall (in the lowest three deciles) improved grape composition at the cost of a drop-in yield of 40% the first season. On the other hand, irrigation that refills the profile at budburst caused excessive vegetative growth, which negatively affected grape and wine composition without restoring yield. If irrigation water is available we would recommend that growers look to maintain water in the soil profile throughout winter as opposed to waiting until spring to irrigate.
References Cai, W. and Cowan, T. (2012) Southeast Australia autumn rainfall reduction: a climate-changeinduced poleward shift of ocean–atmosphere circulation. Journal of Climate 26, 189–205. Mendez-Costabel, M.P., Wilkinson, K.L., Bastian, S.E.P., Jordans, C., McCarthy, M., Ford, C.M. and Dokoozlian, N. (2014) Effect of winter rainfall on yield components and fruit green aromas of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Merlot in California. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 20, 100-110.
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Grapevine Pinot Gris Virus detected in Australia AT-A-GLANCE: O n August 9 the Australian Wine and Research Institute (AWRI) issued an email newsletter, warning that Grapevine Pinot Gris Virus (GPGV) was detected in Australia. GPGV is commonly found in the wine regions worldwide and can even appear as asymptomatic. It has been reported in China, Croatia, Canada, Georgia, Germany, Italy, France, Korea, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Greece, USA and Turkey so far. GPGV has been confirmed in at least 28 wine and table grape varieties including Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Traminer, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Carmenere.
What to look for Grapevines infected with GPGV can either show symptoms, or are symptomless. The symptoms associated with infection
• T he virus is not only found in Pinot Gris, but in Pinot Noir, Traminer, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Carmenere. • G rapevines can appear asymptomatic • S ymptomatic signs include delayed budburst, leaf distortion, mottling, shortened internodes, increased acidity, yield loss • I f you have any questions contact Australian Vignerons on (08) 8133 4401
include delayed budburst, leaf distortion and mottling, shortened internodes, increased berry acidity and yield loss (reports of up to 80%). These symptoms are most pronounced in spring and may be confused with early season bud mite damage, cold injury or herbicide damage. GPGV can be spread via infected propagation material and possibly by bud
and blister mite. The impact of GPGV on vine health is not well understood and is further complicated by the finding that GPGV is frequently found in mixed infections with other viruses. Measures have been taken to ensure that no spread will occur from the vines in which the virus has been detected in Australia. To determine the extent of GPGV in Australia, targeted surveillance
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September 2017 – Issue 644
vine) and the budwood for grafting. The two main laboratories for grapevine virus testing in Australia are: Crop Health Services AgriBio Specimen Reception Main Loading Dock, 5 Ring Road, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3083 Phone: 03 9032 7323 Email: chs.reception@ecodev.vic.gov.au
Waite Diagnostics University of Adelaide School of Agriculture, Food and Wine PMB 1, Glen Osmond SA 5064 Phone: 08 8313 7426 Email: nuredin.habili@adelaide.edu.au
Symptoms of Grapevine Pinot Gris Virus (Photo M. Al Rwahnih).
for the virus by relevant state government biosecurity departments will take place this spring when symptoms are most evident.
If you detect GPGV Given the recent isolated detections of GPGV in Australia and pending further evidence that GPGV is present in other vineyards in Australia, GPGV is still categorised as an exotic plant pest. Therefore, it is important that:
• You promptly call the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline (1800 084 881) if you observe symptoms in grapevines similar to that described above and in the GPGV fact sheet. • If you are planting a new vineyard, you speak to your supplier of propagation material to determine virus status of the material. • If you are undertaking top-working of existing vines, you determine the virus status of both the rootstock (existing
If you have questions about Grapevine Pinot Gris Virus, please contact Australian Vignerons on (08) 8133 4401. For maximum reach, this advice is being distributed simultaneously by Australian Vignerons, Vinehealth Australia and the Australian Wine Research Institute. Further information on GPGV will be provided by the channels listed above as new details are obtained, and on completion of the targeted surveillance program conducted by government biosecurity departments in spring 2017.
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young gun grapegrowing
Young Guns: Bayer Young Viticulturist of the Year The Bayer Young Viticulturist of the Year Competition is kind of like New Zealand’s very own Olympic Games for viticulture. Regional winners are put to the test by completing stationed tasks, timed physical jobs in the vineyard, a general knowledge quiz, and a speech on a given topic, before one is deemed the country’s best. Now in its 11th year, the competition has become a sought after achievement for those entering the industry. Camellia Aebischer rounded up the six regional finalists for a Q&A before they went head to head in a national showdown.
Anthony Walsh
Q What has been the highlight of your experience in the Bayer Young Viticulturist competition?
Region: Marlborough Age: 29 Workplace: Constellation Brands – South Wairau Vineyards
Q Why did you choose to take up viticulture as a career path? I applied for a scholarship at university while studying horticulture and in it I basically wrote that I had a goal to retire with my own vineyard. During this application, a lecturer on the scholarship committee said why wait… So here I am. I first started in 2010 and fell in love with the south Island and I loved the diverse opportunities the grape industry provided.
The friends I have made during and also meeting my fiancé during the 2014 Marlborough Young Viti Comp.
Q Where would you like to see yourself in 10 years’ time? Married with kids as a stay at home dad! Fiancé is doing so well, might as well let her bring home the bacon. Also, living on the dream 50ha vineyard. Haha. Chances of the stay at home dad are slim! But yeah, I would like to be still pushing onto my retirement goal of owning my own successful vineyard.
Anthony Walsh from Marlborough
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September 2017 – Issue 644
Annabel Bulk from Central Otago
Ben McNab-Jones from Wairarapa
Annabel Bulk
Ben McNab-Jones
Q Why did you choose to take up viticulture as a career path?
Q Why did you choose to take up viticulture as a career path?
I chose viticulture because I love working outdoors. Not only growing vines, but working the ground and producing grapes that will then be transformed into wine that expresses the land it came from, and the people who created it.
The first winemaker/viticulturist I worked for once told me he would only employ a winemaker who had strong viticultural skills, and since then, I’ve been upskilling in the vineyard. Great wine only comes from great fruit, so I need to know how to grow it. I am passionate about sustainability, climate change and the environment, so I love working with soils, microbes and vines because I have the ability to give back to the earth while producing great fruit.
Region: Central Otago Age: 28 Workplace: Felton Road Wines
Q What has been the highlight of your experience in the Bayer Young Viticulturist competition?
Region: Wairarapa Age: 25 Workplace: Urlar
Just choosing one highlight is difficult. The learning experience is an incredible opportunity, and also meeting other young winegrowers and finding out about their experiences and where they come from. Not to mention meeting the industry leaders who judge and sponsor the event.
Q What has been the highlight of your experience in the Bayer Young Viticulturist competition?
Q Where would you like to see yourself in 10 years’ time?
Q Where would you like to see yourself in 10 years’ time?
Managing a vineyard in Central Otago and producing the grapes to make quality wines. Fun fact: Annabel Bulk is the fourth female contestant ever to be a national finalist and the first since 2011. The others were Emma Taylor and Pip Withers (2007) and Hannah Taylor (2011).
It’s ambitious, but, I have a goal to be a winemaker/viticulturist and general manager at a medium sized premium producer, working with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. One step at a time.
September 2017 – Issue 644
Most definitely the networking/ exposure and friendships that result. So awesome!
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young gun grapegrowing
Ben Richards from Hawkes Bay
Ben Richards Region: Hawkes Bay Age: 22 Workplace: Indevin
Q Why did you choose to take up viticulture as a career path? I didn’t really know what I was going to do when I was going to leave
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school but viticulture stood out to me as a career I would be interested in. This was due to being brought up on a dairy farm in the Waikato and loving the outdoors and hard work. It also put together my passion for travel, science and so I started studying at the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT). I’m still currently in my fourth and final year of my concurrent degree in viticulture and winemaking.
Q What has been the highlight of your experience in the Bayer Young Viticulturist competition? The highlight for me would definitely be meeting more new people within the industry that are so passionate and have the same amount of passion as you do. From competing in the competition I have learnt so much more about the industry as well as myself.
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I would love to have my own vineyard, be vineyard manager, or even head viticulturist for a large company. I would really like to make a positive influence on the industry in the years to come with new initiatives and ideas. Fun fact: The Young Viticulturist of the Year has come from Hawke’s Bay five times. Previous winners have been Emma Taylor (2007), Caine Thompson (2009), Paul Robinson (2014), Caleb Dennis (2015), and Cameron Price (2016). www.winetitles.com.au
Laurie Stradling
Region: Nelson Age: 29 Workplace: Kaimira Estate
Q Why did you choose to take up viticulture as a career path? I love being outside in the beautiful Nelson climate, working with a diverse group of people to create something special from the land that we are the caretakers of. I like the idea of producing a wine from sustainably grown fruit that expresses a unique site or region.
Q What has been the highlight of your experience in the Bayer Young Viticulturist competition? Meeting and competing against my peers from over the hill. It was great to see all the awesome talent that Marlborough produces and to see where I placed amongst them.
Q Where would you like to see yourself in 10 years’ time? I would like to see myself being part of an awesome team producing great wines that make people happy, and keep the environment happy. I also want to have a role in developing and contributing to whichever wine region I work in, in order to ensure we have a sustainable industry for future generations. September 2017 – Issue 644
Tim Adams from Auckland
Tim Adams
Region: Auckland Age: 30 Workplace: Obsidian Wines, Waiheke Island.
Q Why did you choose to take up viticulture as a career path? After studying a variety of different things, I decided that I wanted to head down a career path that would allow me to mix science with practical hands-on work. Viticulture does this well and allows me to produce something of which I can be proud of.
Q What has been the highlight of your experience in the Bayer Young Viticulturist competition?
September 2017 – Issue 644
Meeting new people from the wine industry that are passionate and committed to making great wine in New Zealand has been a great experience. It’s challenged me to be a better viticulturist and helped me to focus on what I want to achieve.
Q Where would you like to see yourself in 10 years’ time? Enjoying my family and enjoying a job in the wine industry in which I’m continually learning and encouraged to do the best that I can. *At the time of publishing, the winner of the Bayer Young Viticulturist of the Year had not been announced. Take a look at the competition’s social media (https://w w w.facebook.com/ YoungViticulturist/) or your Daily Wine News email from August 31st to find out who won.
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he Wine Grenade will not deliver “fire and fury” like your winery has never seen before, but it might change the approach to maturation of wines which otherwise won’t be spending time in barrel. “A substantial amount of wine produced today never gets to see the inside of a barrel, yet winemakers still want to put the best possible expression of their wines in front of their customers, and oxygen plays a key role in this,” said Hamish Elmslie, one of the Wine Grenade founders. “We identified that winemakers see a combination of low-rate micro-ox and oak alternatives as the best way to replicate their barrel programs.”
50 Grapegrower & Winemaker
The development started in 2014 when the five company founders were exploring the viability of IP developed by New Zealand’s Plant & Food Research. “The five Wine Grenade founders took the IP outside of its existing use, which was releasing ethylene for bananas in transit. We suspected there were other opportunities for the application and the one that really stuck out was the controlled release of oxygen to mature wine. When we started to drill down into the process and look at the advantages, we saw some common issues. “After a series of in-depth market validation interviews, we realised that a number of common shortcomings of micro-oxygenation devices were www.winetitles.com.au
preventing the process from being more widely adopted by the industry.” The first winery trials took place at Sacred Hill in 2015, and we began exporting to the USA in 2016.
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The Wine Grenade is a portable device that sits atop a tank and diffuses oxygen Naturall into wine through a semi-permeable release food-grade membrane. seasons “We have observed much more effective integration between the oxygen and the wine because of that molecular diffusion process, and our Active Float System means the entire tank receives a And more consistent dispersion of oxygen,” 042 Elmslie said.
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winemaking It differs from other, traditional micro-oxygenation systems which bubble oxygen into tanks through a single porous sinter at the bottom, and offer less flexibility around the size and shapes of tanks available for the winery to use. “A lot of research has gone into understanding what happens with oxygen when it is diffused through a permeable membrane versus a porous sinter and the effect that has on oak integration, mouthfeel, etc.,” Elmslie said. “The trend among winemakers is toward the subtle use of oxygen over longer periods of time, in order to recreate a barrel program, or to keep wine fresh while under ullage, or to open it up prior to bottling. “The oxygenation rate is still determined by winemakers and is adjusted online. The devices can be viewed and ultimately controlled remotely from anywhere in the world.” The first trials were undertaken in 2015 at Sacred Hill Wines in Hawke’s Bay, where the Wine Grenade was compared to the existing microoxygenation technology on site. “Initially we targeted heavy reds like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon
Practicality
Inside the Wine Grenade
but we’re now seeing positive results with different wine varietals including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Malbec,” Elmslie said. With Sacred Hill’s support, the first trial was carried out across two 33,000L parcels of wine (Pinot Noir and Merlot) each split evenly across three tanks. “We were able to do identical trials across the two wines, which included a tasting each week. At every tasting the Wine Grenade sample was the preferred wine.” Sacred Hill went on to buy the system.
Elmslie said the main advantages of the Wine Grenade system are its “ease of use, low upfront cost, and the ability to leverage data from the connected device”. “Cost is important because we want the technology to be affordable for wineries of all sizes, not just those at the larger end of the scale. Simplicity has been built into the unit from the start - from installation to operation, and portability. Even the ordering of additional oxygen will be a painless process. Sensors and data recording capabilities allow critical information to be sent back to the winemaker. “Winemakers were telling us about the high upfront cost associated with existing systems. They didn’t like that installation required intensive infrastructure upgrades at wineries, and they generally didn’t like having oxygen lines run all over the cellar. The systems just weren’t economic for smaller operations, and there was a mixed perception within the market as to their effectiveness. “The unit is the size of a lunchbox, it’s very, very portable,” Elmslie said. “It’s battery powered and the battery
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September 2017 – Issue 644
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winemaking life gives you two-and-a-half month’s power from an overnight recharge.” The Wine Grenade system costs are similar to the costs of a new barrel, it requires less space than large hose systems, and doesn’t need any ongoing cleaning or maintenance. “Portability and connectivity has been a game changer for winemakers in terms of labour costs, because they can install rapidly and flawlessly their unit, and control remotely their addition of oxygen. Having the unit connected to the wifi network and through an app on your phone just makes it easier to use,” Elmslie said. What’s required: • One US$600 unit is required per tank • Two lengths of membrane per tanks (one metre in length for each metre of tank height) • Oxygen cartridges (as required to deliver the required dose) • Everything else is included with the unit. When the unit is moved to a different tank (or the next vintage of wine) replacement membranes are required for sanitisation requirements as well as new oxygen cartridges. “We didn’t want a winery to have to
go out and buy a new tank to handle the system,” Elmslie said. The Wine Grenade system doesn’t require a minimum tank height, like other bubble diffusion systems. The winemaker feeds the specifics into the system (tank size, length of membrane and desired time of the process) and the device does the programming – providing live data updates every 15 minutes. “There is actually a huge amount of data that is picked up, it all gets stored in the ‘cloud’ and then is made available to the winery.” According to the numbers from Wine Grenade, a typical oak barrel delivers a controlled rate of 2mg/L of oxygen per month. The typical use of the Wine Grenade so far has been 0.5mg/L per month in ongoing maturation programs and 2mg/L per month in post-malo settings. There have been experiments at up to 50mg/L per month, however that level would only be suited to very small tanks. “It comes down to a couple of things – the winemaker’s experience with micro-oxygenation and the variety of wine involved,” Elmslie said. “Starting at 2mg/L per month gives you a low risk, because you have the confidence
the rate matches a barrel, and it gives the winemaker the ability to monitor the progress by regularly tasting the wine. The monitoring done by the unit and the data it collects also provides support to the winemaker.” The device was delivered to a pair of Australian wineries at the start of 2017, after the winemakers reached out proactively. Each winery purchased two units and have recently ordered two more. While not identified as an initial benefit, the science behind the system suggests it could potentially be used to speed up the maturation process. “The Wine Grenade reproduces the oxygenation levels offered by oak maturation and delivers it to wines that, for commercial reasons, would never see the inside of a barrel.”
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September 2017 – Issue 644
Re-passing on tradition An old world winemaking technique that’s been given a refresher The story of Ripasso is a tad complicated, and starts with three other Venetian wines – one created by accident. The name Ripasso is protected by a registered trademark in Australia, but this hasn’t stopped winemakers from experimenting with the technique. You just won’t see it labelled as such. Camellia Aebischer reports.
L
Preparing Moda grapes at Primo Estate September 2017 – Issue 644
iterally translated from Italian, “Ripasso” can mean “revision” or “refresh”. In simplistic wine terms, this is true of the technique, but for some winemakers crafting a wine with a Ripasso method is much more than just a refresher. Ripasso was born in the Veneto region of Italy, as a middle ground between Valpoliacella (a bright fruitful table wine) and Amarone, which is deep, rich and complex. Valpoliacella is traditionally made using Corvina, Rodinella and Molinara grapes from the Veneto region. This might get confusing, but to get to Amarone, we have to start with a different style called Recioto. Recioto was created out of a desire to produce wines with a richer flavour in a region that didn’t grow the right varieties for full-bodied wines. This led winemakers to partially sun-dry the grapes originally destined for the Valpoliacella, creating www.winetitles.com.au
a new wine with complexity and depth. Condensed flavours also meant condensed sugars, so Recioto turned out to be a rich, sweet wine. This was no accident – Italians are partial to a sweet red. The accident came when a highly alcohol tolerant indigenous yeast strain would dominate and eat up all the residual sugar in the Recioto, producing a comparably “bitter” result, now known as Amarone. The name Amarone comes from the Italian word “amaro” which means (you guessed it) bitter. The namesakes for these wines are protected in Italy, and so can’t be used for winemaking in Australia. However, the absence of a name does not mean the absence of tradition.
By the book At Primo Estate, an Adelaide Plains winery in South Australia, head winemaker Tom Garrett has been Grapegrower & Winemaker
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winemaking passionately producing the prized Moda and Zamberlan wines, made in Amarone and Ripasso style (respectively). Speaking to Garrett, he explained that The Zamberlan was named after Rinaldo Zamberlan (owner Joe Grilli’s father-inlaw), who would often venture into the winery and say hello. “During one of his visits he saw us pressing the Moda. Normally when you press the skins you can see that all of the goodness has come out and it’s just a pinkish hue. But, because the Moda is so concentrated and dry, they still had lots of colour and lots of flavour left. So in the Italian way of not wasting anything he said ‘well why not juice up another wine with it? Put another wine on top and make a Ripasso?’.” The Moda is an ultra-premium wine, made using dry-grown Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese grapes, chosen for their thick, hardy skins. The grapes are handpicked and laid onto 7kg plastic produce trays (all 14 tonnes of them), then air dried under a shelter at the McLaren Vale cellar door. “It’s a bit of a logistical hurdle, giving the drying process two weeks and praying that the rain doesn’t come. “The carport at our cellar door becomes
Drying times can vary and you can overdo it or underdo it. It requires a little bit of knowledge on the process. You’re trying to make a dry red wine not a port. Tom Garrett
the drying station during vintage and we just have to ask our guests to park on the lawn. It is mainly undercover, so if we do get rain they’re protected.” But of course, the humidity from rain can throw off coordinating the re-pass. “Drying times can vary and you can overdo it or underdo it. It requires a little bit of knowledge on the process. You’re trying to make a dry red wine not a port.” The process at Primo Estate is all completed in a single vintage, so logistics and timing are a big consideration. When everything goes according to plan,
Increasing number of Australian wineries and an increasing number of U.S. wineries rely on Bartlett Wine Press Membranes.
56 Grapegrower & Winemaker
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September 2017 – Issue 644
winemaking
Amarone grapes at Primo Estate
Garrett can line up the pressing of the Moda when the Zamberlan is ready to see some skins. Because of the single vintage, labelling of the wines is simple, and only requires caution when considering Italian terminology. However, borrowing ideas from the process extends past tradition
for some. The experimental nature of winemaker Sam Dunlevy and the team at McLaren Vale Winemakers in South Australia, has produced some interesting results.
A refresher The winery that Dunlevy works at
is owned by Steve Grimley, who used to be a part of Red Heads Studio – a winemaking collective in McLaren Vale. Another in that collective was Andrew Pieri, who now sells his wine out of The Confessional just down the road from McLaren Vale Winemakers. “Anything we’ve done Pieri gets credit for,” Dunlevy said. Pieri has spent time in the past making wine at the McLaren Vale Winemakers site, so his style has made a mark. Pieri is passionate about the Amarone style of winemaking, and enjoys experimenting with drying grapes and producing Australianised styles under the label Pieri Wines. He mainly uses Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for the sun-dried wines, and Italian varieties like Montepulciano and Vermentino for his non-dried wines. “After a few beers the ideas flow around,” Dunlevy said, when explaining how he ended up with a non-vintage Grenache/Cinsaut/Ca rignan using Ripasso techniques. Dunlevy and winemaker Kate Petering were both working on a Grenache from a newly acquired vineyard and weren’t feeling satisfied with the flavours. “It wasn’t a strategic decision or the
Tom Garrett in the winery
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September 2017 – Issue 644
traditional way of doing it over sun-dried skins, it was just previous vintage over the current vintage skins. The Grenache was marked and put aside to use at a later date on a project, and the inspiration from Pieri kicked in. We just drained the wine out of the fermenter and put the 15 Grenache over the top, then pressed that together.” When asked how he felt about “sacrificing” the pressings of one wine, to enrich another, Dunlevy responded: “In this case, the pressings were not what we were chasing. The Carignan and Cinsaut were used for a light red. It was a bit playful. It had its time on skins, and was always a lighter style wine so the pressings weren’t something that we really wanted.”
Business model flexibility The small batch and experimental nature at McLaren Vale Winemakers means that there are options to have access to spare wine pressings. “We have the shop where we can release small batches and stuff to sell through and explain to customers.” Dunlevy references the label’s cellar door that sits on a quiet street in Adelaide’s CBD.
Sam Dunlevy pouring his repassed wine
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winemaking
The winery at McLaren Vale Winemakers Association
“On a commercial scale it would be quite difficult. From a business perspective, you wouldn’t hang on to a wine if you weren’t sure what would happen to it and trial putting it over skins. We’ve got that luxury that if we
have four barrels we can hang on to them.” Dunlevy and Petering hand bottled their ‘re-passed’ experiment into 1.5L magnums for sale through the cellar door. The experiment proved a success
and the wine sold out before they could even get a proper label on it, so it went out as a cleanskin. The wine was labelled as ‘non-vintage’, however, Steve Guy, the market access general manager at Wine Australia, explained that vintage also falls under the <15% rule. “If 2016 wine is passed over 2017 skins, but those skins contribute less than 15% of the volume of the wine, then it is permissible (but not mandatory) to label the wine as ‘2016’. “Once a wine fails the “85% rule” then either all vintages that make a contribution to the final volume must be declared or none of them can be (NV).” “We should point out that the term ‘Ripasso’ has been a registered trade mark in Australia since 1999 and is owned by Camera di Commercio, Industria, Artigianato e Agricoltura di Verona.” The only hassle is measuring volumes before and after passing over skins, to determine the percentage of press juice that’s been added. Other than that, winemakers are generally free to experiment with techniques like Ripasso. Just make sure you don’t write it on your label.
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winemaking
John Hughes stands proudly with his haul of trophies
John Hughes, Belinda Sinclair, Jodene Jackson and Dominic Coulton
2017 was the season for Riesling Even before his trophy haul at the Sydney Royal Wine Show, John Hughes knew the Riesling wines he made from 2017 were going to be something special. Nathan Gogoll reports.
J
ohn hughes, the RieslingFreak winemaker, won so many trophies at the 2017 Sydney Royal Wine Show that he couldn’t hold them all up at the same time for a photo at the end of the awards presentation. Hughes’ Riesling was the star of the show. The 2017 RieslingFreak No.3 Clare Valley Riesling was awarded the five major accolades: • The KPMG Perpetual Trophy for the ‘best wine of show’ • The Albert Chan Memorial Prize for ‘best white’ • The Douglas Lamb Perpetual Trophy for ‘best Riesling’ • The RAS of NSW Annual Prize for Best Young White, and • The Tucker Seabrook Perpetual Trophy for Best State Show Wine. (The Tucker Seabrook Trophy is awarded to the exhibitor of the best wine entered at the seven major Capital City Wine Shows held around Australia within the previous 12 months, with each Show submitting their Wine of Show for a final round of judging at Sydney Royal. More than 17,000 wines have been distilled to reach this one standout exhibit.) It is extremely rare for one wine to take out so many awards at a Sydney Royal Wine Show and the last time a Riesling was awarded Best Wine of Show was back in 2003. Hughes’ 2017 RieslingFreak No.2 Clare Valley Riesling was also awarded a gold medal. Hughes described his 2017 Rieslings as some of the most “outstanding” wines he has produced. “Wines from both Clare and the Eden Valley are both amazing,” Hughes said.
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“It is the Riesling vintage of the 21st Century.” He said the weather conditions across the 2016-17 growing season were ideal for Riesling production. “We had a long, cool spring and the summer conditions matched that description, too. In the vineyards we had large canopies, large bunches and large berries. All of this really suited Riesling,” Hughes said. “I know there was a little bit of disease pressure around some of the regions, but Riesling mainly avoided those. “We ended up with juice that was delicate, elegant and subtle. All the normal flavours you expect, but very clear expressions of them. “There were very good acids in the juice. “The harvest averaged eight to 10 tonnes per hectare and the vineyards I worked with were all 20-40% up on average yields.” Hughes said Riesling tends to be a variety that either keeps the winemakers happy or the grapegrowers happy, in terms of quality and quantity. However, the results of 2017, when yields were up significantly and the quality still shone through has kept everybody happy. “We have ended up with such wonderful wines,” Hughes said. “I have to be careful how I say this, because in my mind Australia will never produce Riesling as refined and pure as the top German wines, but this year is as close to that level of quality that I have seen. There are going to be some wines from 2017 that we will want to cellar for years to come.”
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September 2017 – Issue 644
THE RIESLING FREAK “My love for Riesling comes from its variety and diversity, being able to go from sparkling to fortified and dry to sweet,” John Hughes said. “We are fairly new in the game, but we are getting there,” he said. The name RieslingFreak
originated from Hughes’ university days, his fellow students arriving at the nickname based on his passion for Riesling. Hughes also gained a bit of notoriety as a popular contestant on the 2011 series of MasterChef.
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Receiving the Tucker Seabrook Trophy for best state show wine, with Rob Hirst
‘Best yet’ In addition to half a dozen different versions of Riesling (simply labelled with different numbers) Hughes also put together a special blend specifically for his wedding this coming October. He also revealed that conversations with Tom Barry (Jim Barry winemaker), Louisa Rose (Yalumba chief winemaker) and Peter Godden (Australian Wine Research Institute’s industry engagement and application manager) have all mentioned the high quality of Riesling from 2017. Another winemaker raving about the quality of this variety from 2017 is Jacob Stein, who has declared his Mudgee Rieslings are the “best yet”. “I believe that the 2017 Rieslings are the best we have made,” said Stein, the winemaker at Robert Stein. “Our Rieslings have been steadily improving with the focused effort we have made in the vineyard and the greater understanding we have of our fruit. “The region’s continental climate with warm days and cool nights, combined with excellent soil profiles are some of the attributes that ensures Mudgee produces great wines with a distinct regional character.” The trend of the 2017 vintage producing outstanding fruit continued in Mudgee. It has been described as a near-perfect vintage in the NSW region, with ample winter rain allowing for healthy vines with good crops and canopy levels. Ripening conditions were ideal, making it one of the best vintages in recent memory. “Our 2016 Rieslings were very well received, being awarded four trophies and 10 gold medals. I think the 2017 wines are better,” Stein said. The Robert Stein wines are Germanic in style, crafted to show fruit intensity and are built for longevity. The 2017 Robert Stein Reserve Riesling, which will spend nine months in bottle prior to release early next year has really impressed Jacob Stein. “I am in awe and excited about this wine. It could be one of the best examples we have produced,” Stein said. September 2017 – Issue 644
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1 uch_A4.pdf 27/08/2015 1
winemaking
Contamination risks assessed Testing times Greg Howell, from Vintessential Laboratories, provides another instalment of ‘recent problems that we have seen’ and explains how solutions have been found. A whiff of Brett in a barrel and the combination of tests used to help fix it 3:41 27/08/2015 pm
this case changes in the wine, these cells can recover and go on to produce spoilage compounds. The analysis of the spoilage compounds formed by Brettanomyces - 4 ethyl phenol and 4 ethyl guaiacol (4EP/4EG) by Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) detection - was also discussed with the customer, however this method does not reveal whether the contaminant yeast is still present within the wine. So a sample of wine was therefore analysed by another method we offer – Brettanomyces by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The PCR method is able to detect both viable and VBNC Brettanomyces cells because the target of analysis is the specific genetic material of the cells. We found a low, but positive PCR result in the wine which indicated the presence of Brettanomyces. In order to determine the potential negative effects of this contamination, analysis of 4EP/4EG by GCMS was then recommended. Very low results were obtained for 4EP/4EG. Importantly, since most 4EP/4EG is produced once the Brettanomyces cell population reaches maximum density, early PCR detection helped to avoid the negative consequences of high levels of 4EP/4EG formation. To remedy the situation the winemaker made sulfite additions to the wine which was then analysed again by PCR approximately one month later. Subsequent results by the 4EP/4EG tests revealed no significant levels of the Brett spoilage compounds within the wine. It appeared that there were no live Brettanomyces cells left in the barrel and no further 4EP/4EG produced. This case highlights the use of the two different tests for Brettanomyces: PCR and 4EP/4EG, and shows how they can work together to effectively manage this nasty little bug.
3:41 pm
A customer reported detecting a very faint, unusual smell coming from one of their wine barrels. The customer was concerned that this could indicate a Brettanomyces contamination and was therefore interested in methods available to test for this. The traditional method of microbial plating was discussed with the customer, however this method was discounted due to the time it takes to get a result (up to ten days) plus the potential false negatives that can be encountered with the presence of Viable But Non Culturable (VBNC) cells. VBNC Brettanomyces are cells that have entered an altered state, usually due to an external stressor, and although these cells are viable they will not grow on culture plates. However once the external environment changes, in
make to make the perfect the perfect sparkling sparkling wine. wine.Gelatinous blobs on the bottom of a bottle of How to make the perfect sparkling wine. two-year-old red wine
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Another client came to one of our labs with a red wine that had been in bottle for two years. The wine had large amounts of gelatinous, grey-brown blobs in the bottom of the bottle, although the taste was not affected. The deposit had only recently appeared in the last couple of Final touch POP is a unique solution based on naturally months. olution a unique based solution on naturally based on occurring naturally mannoproteins occurring mannoproteins that can improve that can the improve quality the of your quality sparkling of your sparkling occurring mannoproteins that can improve the quality of nblyit noticeably enhance the enhance mouthfeel the and mouthfeel tartaricand stability, tartaricbutstability, it also preserves but it alsotheir preserves elegance, their freshness elegance,and freshness andSome of the details about the wine we gleaned were: your your wines. Ask us forby atheorfree trial packyou now! egardless nvenient: regardless of whether ofsparkling whether sparkling yourwine sparkling is made wine byisthe made Charmat Charmat traditional or method, traditional method, simplyyou simply • the vintage was a wet one with some Botrytis tely P immediately before bottling. before bottling. • the resulting wine was coarse filtered but not sterile filtered UTE U T E• the fruit was mechanically harvested L L L O L O • no use was made of calcium foliar sprays onde • the wine was stored in a cool room at around 14 degrees ellier Cedex 5 21 285 304 N T N celsius. TE ESSE vintessential.com.au Email: info@vintessential.com.au vintessential.com.au Email: info@vintessential.com.au SSE Deposit analysis is not always easy as there can be a number Phone: 1300 30 2242 or +61 3 5987 2242. Phone: 1300(Australia-wide) 30 2242 (Australia-wide) or +61 3 5987 2242. of causes, and deposits can be from more than one cause. So Printed on 100%Printed recycled onpaper. 100% recycled paper.
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The deposit on a filter paper after the wine had been filtered through the paper.
The bottle from below with the deposit in the bottom of the bottle.
some basic checks were done on the wine. The sulfite and pH were within normal limits, and the calcium level was below the limit of around 80 ppm, above which instability from calcium tartrates can be an issue. Cold stability testing was clear. Laccase and Gluconic acid tests were performed but showed little evidence of Botrytis infection. Plating the wine showed a very small amount of Lactobacillus bacteria. So far nothing about the wine was definitive, so we focused on the deposit itself. It was a gelatinous precipitate and found to be soluble in methanol. Microscopic examination showed some brown crystalline, needle-like structures in the gel. These investigations could happily send us performing all sorts of tests but we are mindful that the customer wants us to spend the least amount of time and money to find a remedy and assurance the problem can be fixed. In this case it appeared that we had found a case of a flavonol deposit. Some modern viticultural practices such as machine harvesting can contribute to elevated levels of these compounds in wine. Quercetin dihydrate is one of the flavonol compounds which are natural components of grape skins and leaves. Quercetin glycosides are extracted from the grape skins during fermentation. The quercetin glycosides then hydrolyse in the acidic wine conditions to release the quercetin which is less soluble than the glycosides. The quercetin may then crystallise, incorporating some water molecules in the process and form a deposit and present like pale green or tan coloured needles, with long fibres in a gel-like matrix. It was recommended to empty the bottles, strain the wine to remove the sediment, sterile filter and re-bottle.
About the author: Greg Howell founded Vintessential Laboratories in 1995; he can be contacted by email on greg@vintessential.com.au. Vintessential Laboratories are dedicated to helping our winery customers discover winemaking problems early, understand them, and then fix them. Across five laboratories around Australia they test hundreds of samples every week, so there’s hardly a problem the team hasn’t seen. More articles on related topics are available on the Vintessential website: www.vintessential.com.au/resources/ articles/
Did I flush the tank before putting the gin in it? A client cleaned his stainless steel tank with caustic solution (sodium hydroxide) and then couldn’t remember if he had neutralised the caustic with citric acid. Gin was then added to the tank and the distiller was worried that the gin could be affected by the caustic. The distiller wanted us to test to find out whether there was a level of sodium hydroxide that would not be suitable for human consumption. We tested for sodium levels and pH in a sample of gin from that tank and then compared it with a sample of a similar batch of his gin from another tank. We found that the sodium levels and pH values for both samples were very similar. Due to there being no significant difference between the two gin samples when analysing the sodium levels and pH, it was recommended that the distiller shouldn’t worry that there was a problematic sodium hydroxide level in the gin. So a relaxing G&T was had by all that evening… September 2017 – Issue 644
For further information, please contact Kauri AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 Email: info@kauriwine.com
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NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE Website: www.kauriwine.com
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Craft Co.’s copper grappa still – Image supplied by Australian & New Zealand Winemakers
Distilling for wineries With most of the required infrastructure already in place, a wine label can add a gin label overnight. Camellia Aebischer recently attended the Whiskey Live conference in Adelaide to explore options for wineries looking to distil.
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winery has all the channels in place to become a distillery. That’s according to Sebastian Reaburn, distiller at The Craft & Co. in Melbourne. “We already have a globally accepted language around our wine regions so not talking about that in relation to spirits is kind of missing a trick,” he said. Reaburn has plenty of good arguments in favour of off-season distilling for wineries. “The wine industry has tremendous expertise in fermentation and most wineries aren’t using their fermenters year round,” he said. “The other thing is that the barrels are there. Even physically, stuff like being able to move the barrels and rack them off. All that is there and can be put to use. Not just for wine. “The wine industry in Australia has mature roots to market, in terms of
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distribution relationships, distribution channels and communications. If you have products that are already in the market, why not sell another brand.” In his seminar, ‘Distilling for Wineries’ presented at the Whiskey Live Conference in August, Reaburn focused on gin because of its instant return on investment (as it doesn’t need to be aged or stored in barrel). He was passionate about the wine industry utilising its sense of place to promote gin products. “The gins that are doing the best, and that will continue to over the next 10 years are those that give you a unique reflection of place. “All wines in Australia are predicated on this idea of unique expression of place so we already have those building blocks here. To bring these things together and match them with botanicals and a still is not such a big step.” Because current distribution channels www.winetitles.com.au
are already in place, the only big investment needed is the still. But, before you go looking for a still supplier, it might pay off to decide on what kind of spirit to make. There are plenty of considerations, like market trends, alignment with your wine brand, and the choice of producing hard liquor or a fortified wine product. Going with the latter can avoid additional licensing. Spirits expert Jurgen Deibel of Deibel Consulting has a handful of suggestions for wineries looking to branch out. Some may be bound to a regional tie, but there’s no stopping distillers from taking inspiration and making it their own.
Brandy Premium brandies like Cognac and Armegnac are a growing category worldwide, but take some commitment. If time isn’t on your side there are a couple September 2017 – Issue 644
of other options, like “water of life” or a Pisco style. Aged Brandy The aged grape spirit is primarily made from the variety Trebbiano, however, any variety can be used at the discretion of the maker. Generally, “brandy” refers to a grape spirit that is matured in oak for a minimum of two years. The age references, VS (Very Superior), VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale), and XO (Extra Old) are aged for two, four and a debatable 10+ years, respectively. The spirit is typically aged using the solera system, in which barrels are strategically blended and topped producing a non-vintage product. The used wine barrels and storage facilities at a winery can conveniently be utilised for this purpose. Pisco Pisco differs in that it is produced in a single distillation. Typically with a brandy, the ABV can be altered and distilling can be repeated to produce the right flavour. Peruvian Pisco legally requires no interference after distillation, which includes adjusting the ABV. It must be distilled with great precision to produce a finished product at the right strength.
The name is also tied to appellation of origin in Peru and Chile, but distillers elsewhere can take inspiration from the technique to create different vintages of spirits with their own unique flavours. Eau de vie Eau de vie, literally translated as “water of life” is an umbrella term in English that covers spirit made from fruits. This includes regional spirits like schnapps (Austria, Germany and
All wines in Australia are predicated on this idea of unique expression of place so we already have those building blocks here. To bring these things together and match them with botanicals and a still is not such a big step. Sebastian Reaburn
Switzerland), raki (Greece and Turkey) and rakija (Serbia). In France, where the name originates, it is a generic term for distilled spirits, and is only known as a product of winegrapes when referred to as eau de vie de vin. Many eau de vie made from fruit or grape marc have a protected designation of origin within the European Union, so it’s best to do research before labelling. Eau de vie is simply distilled, fermented fruit which is bottled swiftly after distillation, to preserve the vibrancy and fruit characters. The rest is up to you.
Grappa Grappa is a high ABV spirit, usually made with a mixture of grape varieties, specific to its style. However, single varieties can be used and marketed on the label as a point of difference. The option is similar to an eau de vie, however there are traditional Italian practises that distinguish a true grappa from grape ‘fire water’. Diebel believes “there is plenty of potential for wineries to be making this”. He added that there is an absence of Shiraz marc distillate in the market and suggests that this could be an attractive option for Australia, considering its
For further information, please contact Kauri Distilling the grappa – Image supplied by Australian & New Zealand Winemakers
September 2017 – Issue 644
AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 Email: info@kauriwine.com
www.winetitles.com.au
NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE Website: www.kauriwine.com
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A copper still can be doubled as an attractive centrepiece – Image supplied by Australian & New Zealand Winemakers
reputation for Shiraz production.
Vodka Grape spirit can also be made into vodka, which carries no regulation when it comes to its source of ingredient. There is a common misconception that vodka can only be made using potato or grain. The premium French brand Ciroc, is produced using grape alcohol, which is leveraged in line with superior wine industry standards. The only
consideration is that water quality is important for good vodka. If producing a product that tastes like nothing sounds like a nice change of scenery, this could be a good mental break for winemakers.
Fortified wine products For wineries who wish to dabble, but not commit to a new set of licensing obligations and equipment, there are options to produce fortified wine
products outside Tawny (formerly Port) and Topaque (formerly Tokay). Tarac Technologies and Australian Tartaric Products supply grape spirit to most of the industry, and can be utilised to produce products fortified under 22% ABV to stay within the “wine equalisation” range, and avoid liquor licensing. Pineau Pineau is a French beverage that was, according to legend, created by accident
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Juniper berries are what give gin its unique taste
in the late 1500s when a cellar hand mistakenly filled a barrel containing unfermented grape must with eau de vie. The result was juicy and refreshing, and it caught on. Deibel points out that the history and playful story behind Pineau can be a useful selling point for the knowledgefocused portion of the market. As far as production goes, there are no age limits on Pineau. However, typically the red varieties are aged for around 18 months (12 of those in barrel), and whites for 12 months (eight of those in barrel). Aromatised wine Inspiration can be taken from products such as vermouth to produce unique aromatic fortified wines that are an expression of place. The process can be as simple or as complicated as the maker wishes. It can be a matter of steeping botanicals in wine or unfermented must before fortifying with spirit, or (instead) infusing and redistilling spirit before adding to the base wine. “You have fortified wine, and all of these herbs and spices, so why not macerate the wine with herbs and spices,” said Diebel. Australia is home to a great selection of unique botanicals which can all be utilised for aromatic wine or spirit products, like lemon myrtle, finger lime, wattle seed or strawberry gum. September 2017 – Issue 644
For example, Maidenii, an Australian vermouth producer, uses Australian botanicals for their sweet, dry, and classic vermouths. Tapping into a recent cocktail boom in Australia, Maidenii now allows bartenders to offer all-Aussie Negroni cocktails using local gin and local bitters (in place of Campari).
Export ready Australia’s biggest gin successes have all come from a wine background, like Four Pillars and West Winds. “They brought the expertise, added a still, picked out botanicals and went for it,” said Reaburn. An important point to take away is that while the gins have been successful in Australia, they haven’t yet dominated on an international stage. “There’s no visibility of the work they’re doing to prepare their spirits for export. There’s no consolidated plan. [The wine industry has] invested in an export market. Infrastructure has been built for Australian wine internationally.” So why not use those channels. All that’s missing is the still. Read more about the costs and licensing associated with converting your winery to a distillery in next month’s issue of Grapegrower & Winemaker.
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Women in Wine Awards finalists O n August 22 The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society together with the Australian Women in Wine Awards (AWIWA) Advisory Board announced the finalists for the 2017 Australian Women in Wine Awards. There are eight awards on offer this year, up from six last year and double the number it started with in 2015. A record number of entries were received in every category. The finalists in each award category are: Winemaker of the Year – sponsored by WineArk Jo Marsh and Alex Phillips, Billy Button Wines Shavaughn Wells, Saltram Wines Virginia Willcock, Vasse Felix Viticulturist of the Year – sponsored by Wine Australia Brooke Howell, Yalumba Jennifer Doyle, Jansz Melissa Brown, Gemtree Wines Owner / Operator of the Year – sponsored by JancisRobinson.com Cassandra MacDonald, eBev Emma Raidis, Raidis Estate Sarah Collingwood, Four Winds Vineyard
Workplace Champion of Change – sponsored by Winemakers Federation of Australia Carissa Major, Claymore Wines Professor Eileen Scott, Adelaide University Kendall Clements-Virag, Pernod-Ricard Cellar Door Person of the Year – sponsored by Platinum Bags Janine Carter, Voyager Estate Jasmine Morgan, Caudo Vineyards Sharyn Stagg, Josef Chromy Wines Researcher of the Year – sponsored by Inkwell Wines Christine Böttcher, CSIRO – Agriculture & Food Dr. Kerry Wilkinson & Dr. Renata Ristic, Adelaide University Patricia Williamson, AWRI Marketer of the Year – sponsored by Brown Brothers Ebony Tinkler, Usher Tinkler Wines Imogen Hayes, Handpicked Wines Trish Barry, Mastermind Consulting The eighth award category, Woman of Inspiration Award - sponsored by Irvine Wines - is a judge’s choice award. No entry was required and it will be announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday 26 September.
There will also be an additional award presented for an Honorary Australian Woman in Wine for a woman working in the UK wine trade. This award is determined by Wine Australia in conjunction with the AWIWA advisory board and will also be presented at the ceremony. The 2017 awards were judged by panels made up of AWIWA Advisory board members as well as previous winners.
Awards Night This year, thanks to a partnership with Wine Australia, the awards will be announced at a ceremony at Australia House in London. It will accompany a Women in Wine tasting event for trade and consumers. The ceremony will be streamed via a live internet broadcast on Tuesday 26 September at 10am GMT/7pm AEST. Each wine region and city is being encouraged to host their own gathering to celebrate the announcement, and can register their event online via the awards website at w w w.women i nw i ne aw a r d s.c om .au / events
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September 2017 – Issue 644
Top tips for wine stabilisation About half of all post-bottling wine instabilities identified by the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) helpdesk are due to ineffective heat or cold stabilisation. In this article prepared for Wine Australia, Geoff Cowey, Adrian Coulter and Eric Wilkes have provided their advice for getting it right.
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ost wineries remove unstable proteins from white wine before bottling by fining with bentonite. Often winemakers use the same dose each year, yet the amount of protein present in grapes is affected by ripeness and disease and so will differ from year to year. A bentonite trial should be carried out each year to calculate the minimum amount required to reduce protein levels and infer protein stability.
Heat/protein stability Errors can occur when performing a bentonite fining trial. Often people will perform trials in the lab using a different type or concentration of bentonite, or bentonite made up with a different type of water than that used in the cellar. Sometimes a sample of juice or wine may be taken that isn’t representative of the whole tank. These all affect the bentonite dosage required and may result in over- or under-fining of the wine. Cellar conditions should be matched exactly during a lab trial. If wines are fined with proteinbased additives such as egg or milk after bentonite fining, or if grape juice concentrate is added to sweeten the wine before bottling, then there is a chance that extra protein will be added to the wine, potentially making it unstable. If the acidity of a wine is adjusted, or September 2017 – Issue 644
copper is added before bottling, this can also affect stability. Thus, the heat stability should be checked after all additions have occurred in case a final bentonite fining is required. Interpretation of the heat test is done using turbidity measurement. The standard stability test involves heating 0.45 µm filtered samples at 80°C for two hours (minimum) and up to six hours. A stable wine has a difference in turbidity of <2 NTU between a heated and a nonheated sample, although some labs like AWRI Commercial Services often use a tighter difference of <0.5 NTU. Heated samples should be left to cool to 20°C before measurement. A minimum of two hours cooling is required for the heated proteins to aggregate and precipitate so chilling on ice quickly to lower temperature is not recommended.
Cold/tartrate stability A common error with cold stabilisation is that the wine is allowed to warm up before racking/filtering off the precipitated potassium bitartrate (KHT) crystals. This allows some KHT to re-dissolve into the wine and the wine is thus only stable to the temperature it was filtered at. As with heat stabilisation, if any additions, acid adjustment or blending occurs after cold stabilisation then the stability will be affected and the wine will www.winetitles.com.au
need to be rechecked for cold stability. As a wine matures it can also become cold unstable due to the precipitation of other wine compounds, such as polyphenolics, which can then affect the wine matrix and stability. Ideally the final blend going to bottling should be checked just before being bottled. Sparkling wine producers stabilise their base wines to prevent KHT precipitation in the final sparkling wine after secondary fermentation, using a modified version of the cold stability test. Realising that secondary bottle fermentation will add 1 to 1.5 per cent alcohol, which will affect the wine matrix and thus cold stability, they fortify a small quantity of the cuvee and perform a cold stability test on the fortified sample. Some winemakers may use electrodialysis to remove potassium and tartrate ions. Crystallisation inhibitors – such as metatartaric acid, mannoproteins or carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) – can also be used to prevent crystal formation. These are rarely used without some form of prior cold stabilisation, and are often used as an extra guarantee of stability for higher risk wines. For more information or assistance, contact the AWRI helpdesk on (08) 8313 6600 or helpdesk@awri.com.au. Grapegrower & Winemaker
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Bottling made easy at Yalumba Yalumba has installed state-of-the-art bottling lines to help reduce labour costs, increase production capacity and minimise occupational health and safety issues. Yalumba’S heritage-listed Angaston winery continues to produce highquality wines. However, a winery that was founded in 1849 has not been left behind when it comes to incorporating new technology as key components in the winemaking process. Yalumba recently completed an upgrade in its packaging department, with a focus on keeping up with consumer demands and maintaining product consistency. The winery called on Foodmach and Rockwell Automation to assist with the bottling line upgrades.
Old meets new The Angaston site has five bottling lines, with the main production on two glass bottling lines which were last updated in the early 80s. The other lines are used for sparkling, cask and other packaging tasks. “While various pieces of equipment
were added over time the layout of the bottling lines were set up more than 30 years ago and due to obsolescence and reliability issues we made the decision to pull everything out and start from scratch with the bottling line. We also needed to upgrade the depalletisers that move the glass from pallets onto the line and address our aging conveyors,” said John Ide, Yalumba winery operations manager. “One of our key goals was to separate our material flow in and out of the line and hence forklift movement in the main operational areas.” After being put to tender and Foodmach was awarded the project due to its experience and innovative approach for the bottling lines. Foodmach designs and manufactures user-focused automation for fast-moving consumer goods and industrial manufacturing customers, delivering fully-integrated equipment and packaging lines for
maximum productivity. The company offers customised solutions for packaging machinery design, manufacturing, controls and service. The first bottling line contained predominantly existing equipment that was relocated with new controls, a new conveyor and new palletisers, while line two was a completely new line with a new de-palletiser, filler and packer. The existing labeller and palletiser were retained. Foodmach’s key responsibilities were to provide the overall automation and control systems for the bottling lines, design, supply conveying, and to manufacture two new glass depalletisers. Careful consideration of the control interfacing between each machine on the line teamed with appropriate conveyor design and buffering is essential to delivering the highest possible line efficiencies. Gavin Alder, Foodmach software
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ControlLogix provides high-level integrated control and automation for the bottling line.
manager, said that previous work with Rockwell Automation indicated its control system would be the best choice for this application in regards to integration, programing and commissioning. “We have developed our software standards around OMAC/PackML and using our proprietary line control software all neatly wrapped up in add on instructions we can develop and deploy systems quickly and consistently. Programming becomes drag and drop,” Alder said.
Flexibility and speed “Prior to the upgrade, both bottling lines had no integrated automation so
Bottling line two was a completely new line with a new de-palletiser, filler and packer.
basically everything including the conveyors and packers ran as individual pieces of equipment. We wanted the new lines to be completely integrated,” Ide said. By controlling both lines with ControlLogix, this high level of integrated control and automation could be achieved through Ethernet communications. In line one, the control system feeds back information about the line’s speed and based on this information, and the equipment is able to speed up or slow down. The second line was controlled slightly differently in that the filler speed was established and the line itself will speed
The automated solution has reduced labour requirements and improved safety.
up or slow down to match whatever it needs to do to the conveying. That is, the filler stays fixed at a determined speed and the conveying ramps up or down to suit, whereas with line one the conveying is at a fixed speed and the machines ramp up or down to suit. “This suits our needs because line one is a very flexible line where we can bottle varying amounts and liquids including sparkling, cork, screwcap and crown sealed bottles but line two is our high volume line and need to run at speed,” Ide said. “Line one can fill between 6000 to 9000 bottles per hour while line two is set to fill 12,000 bottles per hour of 750ml screw cap bottles.”
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business & technology Control and communication Having everything on a common visualisation platform provided a clear view across both lines and also helped operators to monitor the operational status of the winery. Bottling line control is via three terminals on the plant-floor. “The standalone units for the overall control of the line have been fantastic, basically, we can go into them, select a recipe of what bottle we want to be running and they will basically set the line with the parameters that need to run that bottle. As soon as we select a recipe, all the parameters go into the drives and it limits the filler speed and sets everything else up that we need to run that particular bottle,” said Luke Wilson, Yalumba senior process engineer. “In the very near future we will be rolling out [metrics] across the bottling line which will be used to capture production data, provide real time OEE [overall equipment effectiveness], uptime performance indicators and graphical representations through.”
The Angaston site has six computers that also allow operators to keep a close watch on trends using remote access without having to come to site. This system is integrated with Yalumba’s proprietary ‘wine management system’ which is a non-commercial database of all vintages for the purpose of label integrity. An ‘integrated architecture system’ made it very quick and easy to bring the system online and up to speed.
Producing quality wines To maintain the flavour and freshness of each bottle of Yalumba wine, dissolved oxygen meters have been integrated into the bottling line to avoid oxidation. Line one contains a carbon dioxide (CO2) meter to measure dissolved CO2 in sparkling wine. The quality systems are integrated with the ‘SCADA’ system so data is collected to provide information on the product being bottled through the filtration skid and store all relevant information about the batch for future reference and quality
control, reducing the risk associated with manual reporting. The wine bottling and labelling is carried out in an insulated, temperature controlled room. The air conditioning system is controlled so that parameters such as relative humidity, dew-point and room temperature are monitored. “We’re now using 10 percent less overall power for the bottling area compared to what was consumed prior to setting up the new lines and we have also increased capacity on line two by 50 percent. The automation solution has also allowed us to reduce labour costs and improved safety,” Ide said. Yalumba has been manufacturing high-quality wines for more than 160 years and the company says its investment in new technologies and a commitment to quality, will result in future generations being able to enjoy many more vintages for years to come.
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September 2017 – Issue 644
Chinese consumers remember words by their meaning and not by their pronunciation
Choose your words wisely What you need to know before entering the Chinese market Language and cultural adviser Jing Cao explains ways to overcome the cultural divide when marketing wine brands to Chinese consumers.
‘H
ow do you translate my brand name into Chinese?’ This is the most frequently asked question from new exporters who set their eyes on China. My usual answer will be ‘it’s not that simple’. Languages are invented by people, not computers. A language is not a binary code, it reflects the creativity of the human mind. Put it this way, translating words can be far more challenging than cracking secret codes. So let’s explore some facts that are not obvious to many monolingual Australians.
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Do I need to have a Chinese name for my brand? Yes you must. Apart from regulatory requirements, the Chinese language is a completely different language system. It is made up of written characters known as ‘logograms’, and each of these logograms must carry a meaning. On the other hand, the English language is made up of alphabets, and each letter only represents sound rather than concept. As a result, Chinese people remember words by their meanings, while Englishspeaking people remember words by their pronunciations. Quick example, ‘Coca-Cola’ is known as ‘可口可乐’ in China, which means ‘tasty and fun’. Chinese consumers remember this meaning from reading the characters, but most of them are not able to pronounce the English name.
So how can I convert English into Chinese? Let’s be academic for a few seconds. There are two methods you can use to convert texts from English to Chinese: 1) Translation - the process of communicating the meaning of a source-language text into an equivalent target-language text. What is the key word? EQUIVALENT! For example, ‘grape’ can be translated into ‘葡萄’ in Chinese. Because grapes have been grown in China for thousands of years, naturally there is a word for it. September 2017 – Issue 644
We’d love to collaborate with you! tel +61 8 8232 3577 info@gldesign.com.au www.gldesign.com.au
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Jing Cao
2) Transcription - the process of using Chinese logograms to transcribe phonetically the sound of words and names foreign to the Chinese language. For example, ‘Shiraz’ being a foreign grape variety is transcribed into Chinese as ‘西拉’ or ‘ 设拉子’. Neither of these Chinese names mean anything, these characters are put together to resemble the pronunciation of ‘Shiraz’.
What can possibly go wrong? Unlike the mining and manufacturing industries, the vocabulary in the wine industry is not cut and dried but highly creative and unique. And let’s remind ourselves that wine is a relatively new culture for the majority of China’s population. The first issue is that many words are not translatable because there are no equivalents over there. Wineries need to take a good look at their marketing collateral culturally and linguistically and work out whether they need to change some ‘wine words’. Wine Australia in 2016 designed an Australian Wine Flavours Card in the hope of bridging such a gap. ‘Cooked game’ flavour, for example, is matched with ‘Chinese sausage’. And instead of saying ‘red plum’, Chinese people are more familiar with ‘persimmon’. The second issue can cause a lot of damage to your brand, and the horrifying part is that you won’t even notice it. When a foreign term or name is transcribed into Chinese phonetically, quite often there is no rule to say which Chinese characters to choose. Take two of our famous wine regions for example, ‘Barossa Valley’ and ‘McLaren Vale’ are both transcribed into Chinese based on their pronunciations. However, a total lack of holistic and strategic thinking leads to different variations among different government agencies. Tourism Australia calls Barossa ‘芭萝莎’, while Wine Australia calls Barossa ‘巴罗萨’. McLaren Vale is known as ‘麦拿伦谷’ by the South Australian Tourism Commission, but known as ‘麦克拉仑谷’ by Wine Australia. How could you promote a region or a brand, when there is no consistency in the marketing collateral?
I can’t speak Chinese. Can’t I just let my Chinese agent decide what to do? Of course you can, if you don’t care about your brand. A wine importer is not always a good translator or a good writer. An agent in Hong Kong doesn’t necessarily understand the common words used in mainland China. How can you ensure that your message is translated accurately and faithfully, with nothing
76 Grapegrower & Winemaker
omitted, altered or added without your consent? The only way to fully protect your brand is to engage the service of a professional translator, then ask your agent to stick to the official brand story and transcribed brand name, rather than allow them to create their own version. If you have multiple importers (you totally should) in China, it is absolutely critical that every importer uses the same brand story and the transcribed brand name. One of the largest Australian wineries gave this freedom to their Chinese agents and the result was that this winery had multiple transcribed names in different parts of the country. On one of the popular e-commerce platforms, the description was ‘this famous brand XXX comes from Australia, and is also known as YYY, and also known as ZZZ’. How can you build customer loyalty when you are suffering from identify crisis? In 2012, the famous auction house Christie’s became embroiled in a ‘misunderstanding’ with several Bordeaux wineries over some unofficial transcriptions of chateau names. Christie’s was planning to publish a poster showing Chinese names for nearly all the 61 chateaux of the 1855 classification, but they went ahead without consulting the wineries about how their names were transcribed into Chinese. Several Bordeaux wineries were upset as they did not approve such Chinese names at all. Christie’s had to embarrassingly withdraw these posters amid protest. Translation really is a factor that can make or break your brand. Don’t be laid back. (Is ‘laid back’ translatable into Chinese? I’ll have a think and let you know.)
About Jing Cao Jing Cao is the Director of Chinese Language and Cultural Advice. He is an expert in management consulting, cultural intelligence training, language and brand strategy. Jing’s clients include government agencies, universities, tourism destinations, and many iconic Australian wines. Through his tailored training programs and consulting services, Jing helps his clients build knowledge-based competitive advantages and maximise their opportunities in the China market.
About Chinese Language and Cultural Advice Established in 1998, Chinese Language and Cultural Advice (CLCA) provides professional training, project management, business intelligence and language support services in Australia.
www.winetitles.com.au
September 2017 – Issue 644
China grows up Wine Intelligence’s research director finds 12 reasons why the Chinese wine market is becoming more mature. James Wainscott from Wine Intelligence reports.
W
ine Intelligence recently joined forces with long-standing partners Wine Australia to deliver two working lunches, one in Sydney and a second in Melbourne. In front of the iconic backdrop of the Opera House, the Sydney session held at Quay Restaurant was focused on Australian wine’s most important and now most valuable export market: China. Wine Australia’s senior analyst Mark Rowley opened the seminar by recapping how far both the Chinese wine market, and Australia’s participation in it, has been transformed in the past five years. “As a category, bottled imports increased by 14% to 500 million litres in the year to May 2017. Most countries recorded growth, with USA the only country receding,” said Rowley. “Australia recorded the strongest growth figures and remains second in the market with 17% share of bottled imports due to a short Argentinean crop and price being the key concern in commodity wine markets, the biggest impact has been in the bulk wine market where Australian suppliers have begun to win share from Chile,” he said. Then, as the last of the canapés circulated (blue swimmer crab cake, sea scallop pearls, and jamón and truffle crostini, for those taking notes), Wine Intelligence’s research director Chuan Zhou stepped up to the podium. Chuan has been researching China’s growing obsession with wine for the past three years and his latest thinking focused on 12 key trends that are currently driving the market. While full details can be found in our China Landscapes 2017 (now available) and our consumer segmentation report, China Portraits 2017, we outline just a few of our findings below: • An expanding market Growing disposable income, coupled with improved distribution logistics for wine, has enabled increased access to wine in lower tier cities, contributing to a sharp increase in the population able to find and afford imported wine. • The acceleration of ‘non-event’ wine consumption Wine is increasingly purchased for personal, everyday consumption. The top three reasons for drinking wine in China September 2017 – Issue 644
are well-being (“Wine is good for my health”, 56%), relaxation (“Wine helps me to relax”, 51%) and personal enjoyment (“I like the taste”, 47%). • The normalisation of retail prices Increasing consumer knowledge and the advent of price transparency at online retailers has resulted in a general lowering of prices and a better price/ quality ratio. • More distinct regional tastes Regional differences in culinary traditions have resulted in geographically diverse palates: those in the North prefer dry and full-bodied wines, in the East fruity and rich, the South fresh and juicy and in the West, light and sweet. Most of our audience’s questions centred on putting insights into practice: should the back label be in Chinese script or English? What do Chinese consumers like on the front label of a wine bottle? Chuan responded: “Consumers tend to prefer a translated Chinese back label on top of the original back label; it’s perceived to be more authentic than just a Chinese back label. As for the front of the label, the diversification of the Chinese wine market is making room for more modern, elegant and contemporary www.winetitles.com.au
designs. Labels are now less dominated by traditional French-looking labels.” And what can international marketers do to be more accessible to the Chinese consumer? “Understanding the Chinese culture is the key to connecting with Chinese consumers. The most common examples include using Chinese zodiac animals when appropriate, or using numbers that are believed to be auspicious in Chinese culture,” said Chuan. With thanks to Wine Australia.
Sources:
1 Wine Intelligence China calibration studies 2 Wine Intelligence, Vinitrac® China, March’17 (n=1,000) Chinese urban upper-middle class imported wine drinkers
For more information about the Chinese wine market, take a look at Wine Intelligence’s China Landscapes 2017 report. For detailed information about consumer segmentation in China, Wine Intelligence’s China Portraits 2017 report.
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77
business & technology
SA wine business confidence high despite some challenges An inaugural study into South Australian wine business sentiments has revealed almost three quarters of operators (72%) are confident about their prospects, while concerns exist over high operating costs. The South Australian Wine Industry Association (SAWIA) together with its industry partner, Bentleys, has released the South Australian Wine Industry Snapshot. Brian Smedley, chief executive of SAWIA, said the aim of the new study is to provide wine businesses with insights needed to inform decision making and monitor performance. He said the report also demonstrates how SAWIA and industry partners, like Bentleys, can assist the state’s wine industry in improving business operations and profitability. Revealing widespread positive
business sentiments, the report found 32% of respondents intended to increase their number of full-time staff in the coming year outside of vintage, and 64% intended to maintain current staff levels. In regard to business health, 83% of respondents indicated their businesses were generating profits. However, 46% of these indicated that their business is profitable but needs improvement, suggesting a need for strategies to ensure business longevity. “While profitability remains a significant concern, there [are] generally good levels of confidence among South Australian wine businesses, and it is pleasing that most are taking active steps to understand the key success factors that support growth,” said Tim Siebert, director for business advisory at Bentleys SA. “Sales growth was also flagged as
an important issue with respondents indicating a focus on premium bottled wine production as a man business development priority,” said Siebert. “This is followed by export, as markets are evolving and opportunities are increasing for South Australian wine businesses to expand into existing markets or explore new markets,” he said. Some of the key findings of the snapshot show a majority (82%) share concerns about the negative impact of energy costs. Other common pressing issues include energy security (60%) and labour costs (82%). Major export challenges were identified as profitability, managing credit risk, language barriers and foreign currency. Forty-four per cent of respondents indicated they will be affected by changes to the Wine Equalisation Tax.
China-NZ education partnership Qi Lu University of Technology president Jiachuan Chen and Qi Lu has selected the Eastern Institute of senior staff. Technology (EIT) in Hawkes Bay, New Collins says the partnership is Zealand, to teach wine science to its significant in underscoring Hawkes students – both in China and in Hawke’s Bay’s reputation as a premium wine Bay. producing region and recognising EIT as Qi Lu University is situated in the a leader in wine science and viticulture heart of Shandong province, China’s higher education. premier wine growing region. Their “The wine science program, which main campus is located on a 150ha site EIT will continue to teach and deliver on the outskirts of the city of Jinan. within the university’s Faculty of BioBy New Zealand standards it is a large Technology, is already over-subscribed. university, with over 25,000 students. “We were told of a few unhappy The uni also has campuses in three other students who did not gain selection EIT chief executive Chris Collins and Qi Lu Chinese cities. for entry to the 2017 intake, and the University of Technology president Jiachuan The formal partnership agreements university is already discussing other Chen signing the agreement in China between the university and EIT were options EIT might have to help meet signed at the end of July and officially some of this demand,” he said. approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education. The agreement also provides an option for senior viticulture The institute’s School of Viticulture and Wine Science is and wine science students to complete part of their degree now adopting a teaching role through the university’s Faculty – and perhaps later, postgraduate qualifications – at EIT, of Bio-Technology. bringing more international students into the region. The two institutions have been working in collaboration on This semester three EIT lecturers are to teach wine science the partnership over the last four years. Qi Lu students have and viticulture in a block style mode at Qi Lu University. Qi Lu studied the customised wine science program developed with co-teachers will help with the knowledge transfer. EIT since September 2015. The 2015 student cohort, who are EIT wine science lecturers Rod Chittenden and Shaun La progressing into the third year of the program in September Franco travelled last year to Qi Lu University, where they will be taught by EIT lecturers in China. assisted with the design of a micro winery developed by the Reflecting its significance to both parties, the final signing university to match its brewing and food research facilities. ceremony was attended by EIT chief executive Chris Collins, The partnership centres on a winemaking degree launched Faculty of Commerce and Technology executive dean Fred by the university as an expansion of its existing brewing Koenders and senior EIT academics and the university’s engineering degree which is highly ranked in China.
78 Grapegrower & Winemaker
www.winetitles.com.au
September 2017 – Issue 644
sales & marketing
Labelling organic wine Labelling your organic wine is not something that happens organically. Certifiers and industry bodies can offer invaluable help when organising an organic wine for export. Camellia Aebischer reports.
“N
ot that long ago everybody was organic,” said Bart Arnst, a viticulture consultant and co-owner of wine label The Darling Wines. In context, Arnst is making the point that before technology uptake and modern farming, synthetic chemicals didn’t exist and by default, the world essentially grew everything “organically”. The label Arnst owns with winemaker Chris Darling began producing organic wines in Marlborough, New Zealand, in 2007. “When we started the label, it was more about the organic vineyard I was running, because we were producing such high quality fruit. I’ve been doing this sort of thing for a long time now and the reason was that I didn’t want to be involved with using nasty chemicals. It was a way of avoiding it,” said Arnst.
Front or back The Darling Wines has recently considered moving their organic certification from the back label to the front of their bottles. When asked about the perception that might have on the public market Arnst answered: “I wouldn’t think organic is negative in the market anymore, it’s probably opened more doors than closed for us.” September 2017 – Issue 644
I wouldn’t think organic is negative in the market anymore, it’s probably opened more doors than closed for us. Bart Arnst
“I think those teenage years are almost behind us and it’s a much more mature market at the moment. The consumers we’re targeting are generally quite wine savvy.” The Darling’s market is mostly Australia and New Zealand and their slightly off-centre style has picked up well in Melbourne. “We add some old oak to give a bit more palate weight. It has a slightly off centre style from traditional styles of Marlborough,” he said. “Really we didn’t sit down and think ‘we’ll make it organic to capture a certain segment of the marketplace’. It was more about if we want to make good wine, what we’re seeing is organic fruit is making better wine.” www.winetitles.com.au
Arnst and Darling certify their wines with BioGro, a large organic certifying body in New Zealand. “The reason we go with it, is that it’s just confirming what we’re telling people. It’s the truth. There have been people in the past making organic or environmental claims that aren’t certified and you really are just asked to believe what they tell you. A lot of the claims that I saw over the years were completely not true. “The industry is pretty much going that way, so if you’re talking about being organic or biodynamic, then make sure you’re certified by the appropriate bodies.” BioGro are strict about their regulations, and offer plenty of support for their clients when labelling for a domestic or international market. Organic certifiers will help clients work with designers on placing graphic logos on their labels. The decision to go front or back is up to you. “Any time you use Biogro’s label they need to approve it, and there’s a size limitation for it as well. Every country pretty much has their own legislation on labelling so, say for example, what we put on the back label in Australia and New Zealand is not the same as a back label for wine sent to the States and Canada.” Grapegrower & Winemaker
79
sales & marketing Certifiers for Australia & New Zealand
At a glance Country
Symbol
Labelling
Japan & Korea
Any logo
No regulations, labels from your home organic certification body are acceptable.
USA
USDA Organic logo
If wine contains sulphur dioxide it can only claim “made with organic grapes” and mention the certifying body of those grapes.
Euro Leaf logo
Wine must sport a Euro Leaf logo, as well as statement of the AU-BIO-001 code and “Non-EU Agriculture” disclosed under the Euro Leaf logo.
European Union
If wine is free from sulphur dioxide it can have the UDSA Organic logo as well as a certified organic claim, and contain the home country logo and claim.
Around the world The home certifying logo and organic claims are also permitted. When sending off wine for export, winemakers will have to contact their certifier as well as the peak industry body – Wine Australia for Australia and New Zealand Wine for NZ. “To facilitate the export of organic wine, Wine Australia insists on sighting the necessary certification document as part of our general export controls, thus enabling the exporter to avoid the red tape involved with submitting export documentation to multiple regulatory authorities,” explained Steve Guy, market access manager at Wine Australia. “The mere compliance with an Australian organic standard does not guarantee the wine will satisfy the requirements of our major export markets.” So, to meet organic standard compliance internationally, you’ll need to organise a few things with your certifier. Organic certifiers, like Australian Certified Organic (ACO) will help clients match standards for export labelling, to maximise their sales potential. Janine Heinemann from ACO explained the process: “For organic wine, Korea and Japan don’t have regulations, so wine labelled with the ACO logo with claims of certified organic are permitted. “For the USA, if the wine contains sulphur dioxide it cannot have the USDA Organic seal or claim certified organic, it
80 Grapegrower & Winemaker
can only say “made with organic grapes”, with a statement about who certified the grapes. e.g. “certified by ACO”. “If wine bound for the USA has been made without sulphur dioxide then it can have the USDA Organic seal, the ACO logo, the “certified by ACO” statement as well as a certified organic claim. “For wine bound for the EU the label has to contain the Euro leaf logo, with the mandatory AU-BIO-001 code (for ACO clients) as well as “Non-EU Agriculture” [printed] underneath the Euro leaf logo. The label can also contain the ACO logo and claims about organic certification.” Heinemann warns that other information regarding alcohol warnings and standard drinks etc. are not regulated by the ACO and winemakers must also be sure to comply with these legal standards for export. Being organically certified also gives winemakers approval of an Organic Produce Certificate which must accompany all organic exports out of Australia. This will be reviewed by the peak industry body before export. “We certify our clients to international standards, therefore provide them with the logos they require. We have agreements with all the countries listed on the website,” said Heinemann. That’s aco.net.au. “We also assist our clients with their exports to these countries, as well as locations all over the world.” www.winetitles.com.au
There are seven certifying bodies in Australia that are all accredited by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. These are: • Australian Certified Organic (www. aco.net) • AUS-QUAL (www.ausqual.com.au) • Bio-Dynamic Research Institute (www.demeter.org.au) • Safe Food Production Queensland (ww.safefood.qld.gov.au) • NASAA Certified Organic (www. nasaa.com.au) • Organic Food Chain (www. organicfoodchain.com.au) • The Tasmanian Organic Producers (ww.tasorganicdynamic.com.au) The two not recognised by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry are: • Organic Growers of Australia (this is being wound up on June 30, 2018 and growers certified will have their fee waived when transferring to ACO certification) • SAI Global (www.saiglobal.com) In New Zealand there are more certifiers than in Australia (by one), which is surprising considering the country’s smaller size. BioGro is the dominant body, but Kiwis have the choice of 11 in total. None of the programs are subject to legal standards, but many use BioGro standards as a reference. They are: • A s s u r e Q u a l i t y ( w w w. organiccertification.co.nz) • The Bio Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association (www. biodynamic.org.nz) • BioGro New Zealand Ltd (www.biogro. co.nz) • CODEX Alimentarius (www. codexalimentarius.net) • Food Standards Australia New Zealand (www.foodstandards.govt.nz) • International Accreditation New Zealand (www.ianz.govt.nz) • International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (www.ifoam. org) • Joint Accreditation System of Australia & New Zealand (www.jas-anz.com.au) • Organic Farm NZ (www.organicfarm. org.nz) • Organic Exporters Association of New Zealand (www.organictradenz.com) • United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Program (w w w. a m s .u s d a . g o v/a b o u t- a m s / programs-offices/national-organicprogram)
September 2017 – Issue 644
calendar Australia & New Zealand
looking back
September 6 2017 DPI Spring Vine Health Field Days – Canberra, Four Winds Vineyard, 9 Patemans Lane, Murrumbateman, NSW 6-7 Winery Engineering Association National Conference & Exhibition 2017, The Vine Inn, Nuriootpa, SA, www.wea.org.au
11-13 Hunter Valley Boutique Winemakers Show, Thomas Morgan Pavilion, Maitland Showground, Maitland, NSW, www.hvboutiquewineshow.com.au 11-13 New Zealand International Wine Show 2017, Auckland, NZ, www.nziws.co.nz
7 2017 DPI Spring Vine Health Field Days – Tumbarumba, Courabyra Wines. 805 Courabyra Rd, Tumbarumba, NSW
11-14 Fine Food Australia, International Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, NSW, www.finefoodaustralia.com.au
7 Australian drinks Awards 2017, International Convention Centre, Sydney, NSW, www.drinkscentral.com.au
12 Samuel Smith & Son - Negociants Australia New Release Tasting 2017 (Sydney), Luna Park, The Big Top, Sydney, NSW, www.newreleasetastings.com
9 Go Grazing, Mudgee, NSW, www. mudgeewine.com.au 9 September-2 October Mudgee Wine & Food Festival, Mudgee township & surrounding wineries, NSW, www. mudgeewine.com.au 10 Broke Village Fair & Vintage Car Display, Broke, NSW, www.brokefordwich.com.au 11 Samuel Smith & Son - Negociants Australia New Release Tasting 2017 (Brisbane), Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane, QLD, www.newreleasetastings.com 11 Stonier International Pinot Noir Tasting (SPINOT), Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, The Rocks, Sydney, NSW, www. stonier.com.au
13 Mudgee Wine Show, Australian Rural Education Pavilion (AREC), Mudgee, NSW, www.mudgeewine.com.au 13 Samuel Smith & Son - Negociants Australia New Release Tasting 2017 (Melbourne), The Events Centre Collins Square, Melbourne, VIC, www.newreleasetastings.com 14 Samuel Smith & Son - Negociants Australia New Release Tasting 2017 (Adelaide), Adelaide Oval - Ian McLachlan Room, Adelaide, SA, www.newreleasetastings.com 15-16 Riverland Field Days, Sturt Highway, Barmera, Riverland, SA, www.riverlandfielddays.com.au
11-13 Barossa Wine Show, Barossa Valley, SA, www.barossa.com
International September 3-5 Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2017, London, UK, www.specialityandfinefoodfairs.co.uk
19-22 InterBev 2017, Chicago, USA, www.interbev.com
6-9 Food & Hotel Thailand 2017, BITEC, Bangkok, Thailand, www.foodhotelthailand.com
24-25 Gourmet Food & Wine Selection, Paris, France, www.salon-gourmet-selection.com
11-14 World Food Moscow, Expocentre, Moscow, Russia, www.world-food.ru 11-15 drinktec 2017, Munich, Germany, www.drinktec.com 11-15 SIMEI, Munich, Germany, www.tradefairs.com 12-14 Cape Wine 2017, Cape Town, South Africa, www.wosa.co.za 14-16 BioFach America 2017, Baltimore, USA, www.biofach-america.com
September 2017 – Issue 644
25-27 2017 Wine China Expo (Beijing), Beijing, China, www.winechinaexpo.com 25-27 FOODBEXT WEST AFRICA, International Convention Centre, AbujaNigeria, Africa, www.foodbextwa.com 25-28 Polagra Food, Poland, www.polagra-food.pl 25-29 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition, Hong Kong, www.hkiwsc.com www.winetitles.com.au
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. September 1987
Fertilising grapevines can be a worthwhile exercise
An important priority for achieving a profitable business operation is a vineyard with strong, product, healthy grapevines. The use of fertiliser can be important and is usually worthwhile. Grapevine response to fertiliser use has usually come to be accepted as unreliable and the reasons could likely be due to traditional soil management practice in vineyards. Alternatives to traditional soil management, the opportunity to irrigate, the increasing priority for improved fruit quality and the adoption of a more scientific approach to grapegrowing is, however, reversing the traditional views of fertilisation. September 1997
Tarac invests in brandy industry
Australia’s largest privately owned spirits distiller, Tarac, has shown its confidence in the future of the Australian brandy industry through releasing a new range of high quality brandy based drinks. Tarac’s chief executive, David Obst, said the uniquely Australian brandy and rum-based products were aimed at the under 40s market. “With the continuing growth in popularity of wine in the younger market, we also see good prospects for brandy, which is the spirit of the wine industry,” said Obst. September 2007
New Zealand wine set to rise to new level
New Zealand Winegrowers has launched its new ‘Pure Discovery’ brand which celebrates the success story of NZ’s world-class wines, and captures their distinctive flavour. The brand is a result of in-depth research in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States into how NZ wines are perceived in those key markets (which account for 80% of export sales). Pure Discovery aims to encourage new wine drinkers in these key markets to continue learning about the product and the quality that it represents.
Grapegrower & Winemaker
81
Marketplace
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www.vinesight.com.au September 2017 – Issue 644
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