Grapegrower & Winemaker by provincial press group

February 2014

Science versus terroir Roundtable: Research and what works for whom Next month: Donâ€™t waste that waste water

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February 2014: Issue 601

Contents features

Ask the AWRI

Coonawarra – the trauma of defining the terroir

GWRDC news

Soil management

Terroir and the topic of wine typicity

Vineyard machinery

Can we define regional sensory

Barrels and tanks

characteristics of Australian Shiraz?

76 Refrigeration

The Barossa Grounds – the journey so far

Bottling, labelling and packaging

Terroir, soil and that question of scale

Information technology

Business and technology

news

winemaking 51

Seal the deal on pH, red wine colour and tannin during bottle ageing

Our view – The role of technology in

Cold soak trial progressing

winemaking

Making sensory of those wine aromas

Roundtable – Research in the wine industry

Tin shedders proving their garagistic point

Researchers map out world’s winegrape

Lighter touch for better integration

varieties 16

Regional Roundup: Western Australia

AWRI lands the ultimate prize – and it’s a

sales & marketing

Nobel

There’s gold in wine auctions – if it pans out

Expanding export markets – picking a winner

Have wine? Cameron will deliver

There’s something about Mary

grapegrowing

business & technology 87

Our IT survey shows industry still has a way to go

Who’s the big Boss man then?

cover

regulars

Growing potassium bitartrate crystals in red wine at the Australian Wine Research Institute. Photo: Eric Wilkes Photography

5 91 92 93 94

what's online export snapshot looking forward advertiser index marketplace classifieds

In this issue February Publisher and Chief Executive Hartley Higgins Managing EDITOR Elizabeth Bouzoudis EDITOR Andrew Mole editor@grapeandwine.com.au Editorial advisory board Dr Jim Fortune, Denis Gastin, Dr Steve Goodman, Dr Terry Lee, Paul van der Lee, Bob Campbell MW, Prof Dennis Taylor and Mary Retallack Editorial Stephanie Timotheou Contributors Danielle Costley, Mary Retallack, Kym Anderson Advertising Sales Chas Barter sales@grapeandwine.com.au Circulation: Melissa Smithen subs@winetitles.com.au Subscription Prices Australia: 1 year (12 issues) $77.50 (inc. GST) 2 years (24 issues) $145 (inc. GST) New Zealand, Asia & Pacific: 1 year (12 issues) $110 (AUD) 2 years (24 issues) $210 (AUD) All other countries: 1 year (12 issues) $174.50 (AUD) 2 years (24 issues) $339 (AUD) Students (Aus only): 1 year (12 issues) $66 (inc. GST) Winetitles Pty. Ltd. 630 Regency Road, Broadview, South Australia 5083 Phone: (08) 8369 9500 Fax (08) 8369 9501 info@winetitles.com.au www.winebiz.com.au Printing by Lane Print Group, Adelaide © Contents copyright Winetitles Pty Ltd 2013.

4 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Cost of production – for so long the mantra of how to budget a business, and balance the bottom line – now weighs around the necks of far too many of Australia’s winegrape growers. For some they will be heading into their fifth year of loss making. A situation which even Wine Grape Growers of Australia (WGGA) executive director Lawrie Stanford admits will see some go to the wall. He also had a stern warning for growers who may now be eating into their assets to keep the business going. He said those people need to take serious and immediate consideration of their position. Speaking to ABC News late last month Stanford said some years ago WGGA flagged about 20 per cent of the national vineyard needed to be decommissioned or removed to offset the supply/demand imbalance. But that figure has barely reached 10 per cent. He said it would “be foolish” to believe a turnaround is any closer than another three-to-five years away. If that sounds bad, it is. But it is also realistic. And is being compounded by steadily-falling grape prices, warm inland areas being hard hit by heat and no major

revival of our formerly strong export markets. The most immediate light at the end of the tunnel could be some small improvement in prices because of that heat damage but even Stanford conceded this will not offset years of hardship. That said our industry continues to fast-track its production skills and its technology base ensuring Australia’s wine industry remains the cutting edge of world wine production. An enviable position highlighted by the appointment of Dr Brian Schmidt as the newest director at the Australian Wine Research Institute. The Nobel Laureate physicist told Grapegrower & Winemaker Australia’s industry and government investment in wine research is without parallel anywhere in the world and is delivering tangible benefits for all winemakers – from small boutiques to global heavyweights. Our interview with Dr Schmidt appears on Page 18 in this month’s issue. Andrew Mole Editor Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker editor@grapeandwine.com.au

Contributors Danielle Costley has worked as a journalist and editor throughout the Australasian region for nearly 20 years. She is also a freelance journalist for Decanter magazine and is currently writing a book on food producers of Western Australia’s south west region. In 2008 she was ‘lured’ to the Margaret River wine region, where she is now happily ensconced amidst the vines and the surf and is able to pursue her passion for wine and food.

Mary Retallack is well known in the Australian wine industry. She is a third generation viticulturist with expertise at all levels in wine growing, which has been honed professionally since 1995. In addition to Mary’s tertiary qualifications, she is a Certified Practising Agriculturist, Grade 3 Arbitrator, qualified mediator, graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ course and Fellow of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation.

Kym Anderson is the George Gollin Professor of Economics and foundation executive director of the Wine Economics Research Centre. He was also foundation executive director of the Centre for International Economic Studies at the University of Adelaide, where he has been affiliated since 1984. He has been a non-executive director of the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation and is currently a ministerially appointed member of the South Australian Wine Industry Council. www.winebiz.com.au

February 2014 – Issue 601

on the grapevine Wine industry pioneer dies aged 86 A PILLAR OF the Australian – and world – wine industry died in Adelaide last month aged 86. Dr Bryan Coombe graduated from university in 1948 and built a long and successful career around grapevine research. A career which began as a viticultural officer with the then SA Department of Horticulture – the first such position in Australia. In 1956 he became a research assistant within the Department of Enology at the University of California Davis for three years before a long career with The University of Adelaide. His research, done in conjunction with a large number of colleagues and graduate students, emphasised the growth and development of the grapevine, especially the grape berry, and led to 152 publications, of which 106 were refereed journals. With Dr Peter Dry he edited two volumes on viticulture practices and resources for Winetitles, publisher of Grapegrower & Winemaker, and which have become this group’s most soughtafter books. Dr Coombe was the first wine industry recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship and

Dr Bryan Coombe AM February 2014 – Issue 601

the American Society of Enology and Viticulture twice honoured him with Best Paper awards and appointed him an Honorary Research Lecturer in 1991. On his retirement at the end of 1992 Dr Coombe was created an Honorary Visiting Fellow at the University of Adelaide. Recognised as a world leader in the field of grape berry development, Dr Coombe was awarded an Urrbrae Memorial Award in 1990 for his outstanding contribution to Australian agriculture. In 2000, the vineyard at the Waite campus was named after him in recognition of his service. While honorary visiting research fellow at The University of Adelaide, Dr Coombe was also made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the development of the Australian grape and wine industry, particularly as an educator and as a pioneer of physiological and developmental research on grape berries. Dr Coombe was the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology’s first life member and in 2012 its inaugural Fellow of the ASVO. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2003. Peter Dry described Dr Coombe as “an exceptional man”. “Bryan Coombe was an excellent communicator, both oral and written, and he inspired many of his students to pursue careers in viticultural research and the wine industry,” Dr Dry said. “He was a quiet achiever, modest about his numerous achievements, but ‘chuffed’ when they were recognised,” he said. “As a viticultural scientist with an enviable international reputation, he attracted many of his peers to his Waite lab. “As a postgraduate supervisor, he set very high standards of integrity, written expression, meticulous record keeping and keen observation. “He was formal but very approachable, generous with his time, kindly and patient. “Bryan’s love of plants and particularly the grapevine was infectious. He was a keen gardener and even maintained a small wine grape collection at his house for the purpose of experimentation. “He was the most important mentor of my career and I was honoured to be both his colleague and friend," Dr Dry said. www.winebiz.com.au

what’s online

Heatwave could ruin Australian wine grapes Grapegrowers in New South Wales’ Riverina region are facing a “depressing” wait to see what damage the heatwave will reap on their crops. Agriculture is the lifeblood of the community of Griffith and there are fears the extreme heatwave sweeping across south-eastern Australia could cause substantial damage, reports the ABC.

Major wine players must invest more in their brands to compete, warns Dearie Former Treasury Wine Estates chief David Dearie has warned it is vital the industry’s major wine companies start to invest large sums in their brands if they want to compete against other drink categories. He said businesses have to be far “cannier” in the type of merger and acquisition deals they get involved in, reports Harpers.

Shiraz stars in wine export boom In a positive sign Australian wine export earnings are expected to rise 8 per cent by the end of the financial year. ABARES’ agricultural commodities report estimates export volumes in the 2013-14 financial year will be 5 per cent higher, with the world wine price expected to rise 2 per cent, reports The Land.

.com.au Australia’s wine industry portal by Winetitles Australia’s wine industry portal by

Winetitles

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.winebiz.com.au/dwn. Grapegrower & Winemaker

our view Good old days to very good technology d’Arry Osborn is going into his 71st vintage at the famous Red Stripe and says things have come a long way from his Clydesdales, handmade wine and kerosene generators to the hi-tech world his son Chester uses in creating the latest wines for d’Arenberg. The pair give us their views on how much technology has changed the game. THE FATHER MY FIRST VINTAGE was in 1943, I was 16 and I had left school to work full time in the winery. We had six Clydesdales that ploughed the vineyard, we used kerosene-run generators and we made wine by hand with an old wine press. There was very little technology when I started, everything was just hard work. We weren’t able to test wine for things such as residual sugar or titratable acid – I made the wine by tasting the grapes when they were ripe and examining the leaves on the vines.

introduced, I would spend one whole day driving to Point McLeay to collect pickers. Once I arrived, everyone would jump on the back of the truck and sit on boxes for the ride back to McLaren Vale, and they camped in the neighbour’s shed. The pickers loved it, for them it was like having a holiday. But unfortunately for us, if it was too hot, the pickers wouldn’t bother to show up for work. I’ve never heard of a mechanical harvester that didn’t work due to the heat.

The father: His first vintage was 1943 and he is still going strong but d’Arry Osborn still sees a lot of good in the good old days.

The addition of technology to the winery has happened gradually. In the ’50s we started using sulfur dioxide in roughly measured quantities and it wasn’t until the sulfitometer was invented later that decade that allowed us to actually measure it. In 1951 grid electricity was finally connected to the winery, but it was the ’60s which saw the biggest changes when we purchased a hydraulic basket press and starting using refrigeration systems, which completely changed the way we made wine. The use of technology in the vineyard and winery today makes our processes much more efficient. Before mechanical harvesting was

6 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Mechanical ha rvesters were introduced in 1970, they came from the Hunter Valley and were rough and damaging to the vines, but certainly a lot cheaper than hand picking. Technology has continued to advance, and today these machines are sophisticated so you can harvest quickly but gently, and more importantly, for white varieties in the coolness of night.

THE SON The scope ofthis question is enormous. Technology has changed so much over the past 30 years from the role of computers and modern machinery through to advances in biochemistry. www.winebiz.com.au

But here at d’Arenberg much of what we do remains the same. We still use the same headed-down, open fermenters and basket presses that my dad and his dad were using from 1928. We rely heavily on traditional methods, but yes, technology has enabled us to improve on the efficiency and effectiveness of those techniques. For example, our most modern basket presses are constructed from stainless steel, have better hydraulic systems and are better served with inert gas and cooling capabilities for the juice that is extracted. The benefit of the old technology is it allows us to process all of our fruit in small parcels, efficiently, gently and relatively cheaply. Interestingly, these traditional winemaking methods appear to be coming back in fashion as more and more people recognise open ferments and basket presses are a great way of making wine, with gentle management that gets maximum flavour and the right tannin extraction. Over the years technology has given us a better understanding of essential winemaking elements such as yeast, bacteria and nutrition while arming us to more effectively deal with unwanted pests such as Brettanomyces. These advances have allowed us to better monitor and control the traditional winemaking techniques we employ. We now have the ability to analyse wine for a vast array of parameters at the click of a button, providing more rapid and accurate information which is invaluable when making critical winemaking decisions. New technology also benefits the environment. We have installed a 200kW solar system and are looking at new cooling systems for our tank farms that have the dual benefit of being much more efficient and giving us a finer level of control over our winemaking. Both of these would have been unimaginable 30 years ago. In essence, while we embrace traditional techniques at d’Arenberg, technology has certainly enabled us to better monitor and control these systems. Contact: Chester Osborn. Phone: 61 8 8329 4888. February 2014 – Issue 601

roundtable Researching the best research With global grape and wine research just a click away, many winemakers are finding their biggest challenge is researching which research is most relevant to them – but all agree the work coming out of the Australian Wine Research Institute leads the pack. GEOFF SCHRAPEL BETHANY WINES

CHESTER D’ARENBERG OSBORN D’ARENBERG WINES

ADAM EGGINS TAYLOR’S WINES

Geoff Schrapel is a fifth generation Barossan whose family was amongst the first to settle in Bethany in the 1840s. Geoff grew up amongst the Schrapel family vineyards and gained a technical scholarship to study agriculture and agricultural technology at Roseworthy Agricultural College. With time spent working in the Hunter Valley, overseas and 30 years in the Barossa, Geoff has expertise in viticulture, wine management and wine marketing. In 1981 Geoff and his brother Robert established Bethany Wines, high in the Barossa Ranges overlooking the family’s 38 hectares of vineyards and the historic village of Bethany. Geoff and Robert’s philosophy is to produce exceptional wines that show the true flavours of their vineyards and that are a natural reflection of the unique microclimate of the Barossa Ranges. They make a range of finely crafted white and red wines including award-winning Riesling, Semillon and Chardonnay, Grenache, Shiraz and the flagship – the GR Reserve Shiraz. Geoff was also instrumental in finalising the Geographic Indications of Barossa, Barossa Valley and Eden Valley.

Chester d’Arenberg Osborn. From a very early age Chester was focused on continuing his family’s winemaking tradition. While growing up on the family property he helped his father d’Arry in both the vineyards and the cellar floor during school semester breaks and Christmas holidays. After graduating from Roseworthy College and touring other Australian and European wine regions, Chester took over the reins as chief winemaker in 1984. He immediately set about returning the family’s vineyards to their traditional grape growing practices of minimal inputs and no fertilisation, cultivation and irrigation wherever possible, therefore achieving natural soil flavours with very low yields. The winemaking processes of the past have been maintained, capturing the unique small-batch character of the wines and the true flavour of the McLaren Vale region. All grapes, red and white, are basket-pressed. The reds are still traditionally fermented with the grape skins (caps) submerged in open wax-lined concrete fermenters utilising the age-old technique of foottreading.

Adam Eggins studied winemaking at Roseworthy in SA while gaining vintage experience at Seppelts Great Western in Victoria and Eaglehawk in the Clare Valley. He graduated as Dux of the class of 1991. From there Eggins joined Heemskerk/ Louis Roederer, Pipers Brook Tasmania and gained valuable sparkling experience with Roederer Estate, California. Eggins then went on to become assistant winemaker of Yellowglen Wines at Ballarat in Victoria and was soon promoted to winemaker. In 1995 he took up the position of group sparkling winemaker for Mildara Blass in the Barossa before joining Rothbury Estate in the Hunter Valley as winemaker/ manager. In 1999 he was approached by Taylors to become their senior winemaker in SA’s Clare Valley. In 2006 Eggins was awarded Winestate magazine’s Australian Winemaker of the Year.

February 2014 – Issue 601

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

roundtable How much do you value/use the wide body of research being done in your industry?

CO: I think over the many years, lots of the research has been useful and helpful in advancing Australia ahead of much of the wine producing world. GS: Bethany Wines highly values the research being in the Australian wine industry, particularly research into consumer preferences. I believe that research about wine styles that suit the tastes of different countries is fundamental to maintaining our competitiveness, particularly in the face of the high Australian dollar. AE: A lot - we monitor industry research from Australia and around the world with significant interest. Do you know what type of research is being conducted – and why?

CO: Not all of it. Only parts due to the Wine Tech Conference. GS: We have a good idea of the research that’s happening, thanks to the Australian Wine Research Institute. The Barossa Wine and Grape Industry Association is also helpful in communicating the research and research findings to wineries. AE: There is a world of research being conducted, some of more interest to us than others. For instance, the world of consideration to the possible effects of global warming is one we are watching with particular interest along with a new technology called Meteye from the Bureau of Meteorology. Meteye, when you learn to drive it (which takes a bit) almost lets you see what weather is coming to a higher degree than we have ever have. Why is it necessary to the industry? To raise the bar of our products. Whether it is to improve quality, improve production processes, improve employee safety or lower operational cost. If you are aware, are you also happy with the way its outcomes are communicated?

CO: Yes I find the Wine Tech Conference the best way to get up to date. It saves us going over and over slightly updated research. GS: I think the communication of the research itself is excellent. How the application of research– particularly on a regional level – is communicated

to the grapegrower and winemaker, however, could be improved. It’s all about education. AE: We get regular updates from the industry academic seminars, industry print media & importantly suppliers. Generally we are quite satisfied with the level of regular updates. The AWRI has a powerful website and there are others around the world so there is plenty of information, arguably too much information. It is becoming more of a case of choosing a few good sources of regular updates and sticking to them. Has a research outcome changed the way you do something in your enterprise – and how?

CO: Sure. Lot of things in fact, probably most of what we do is because of the research. More holistically than specific and more than research on its own. GS: Research into Brett and how to alleviate it has certainly been influential on our winemaking practices. AE: Of course, yet often there is no one big thing that changes the game more like a combination of evolving little things which continuously help refine the processes we employ. An easy one from years gone buy is researching cork versus screwcap. But the work still continues. We currently have in play a range of screwcaps (5) on a single beverage monitoring how the wine evolves over time as you see there are many different kinds of screwcaps and the suppliers make many claims about the benefits of each. We are also working on screwcap versus cork in sparkling wine, which is kind of new to industry yet may have a useful future particularly in on premise sales. The research led us to understandings that allowed us to carefully lower the amount of SO2 we use as the right closures require less SO2 as they lose less SO2 through maturation. How long did it take for the practical outcome of that research to be applied (i.e. did you learn about it immediately or pick it up from a neighbour, industry event, online, specialist media, farm adviser)?

CO: Usually once every three or four years when the Tech Conference is on, or if a rep tells us information.

Looking for more Roundtable articles? Search our Grapegrower & Winemaker article archive at

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GS: The decision to change our practices occurred pretty soon after we discovered the research findings. Industry bodies, events and wine trade journals, such as Grapegrower & Winemaker, made us aware of the potential to overcome the problem and take preventative measures to minimise the risk of Brett. AE: If we hear of something good and interesting then we will take it into trial quickly. Weigh those results, perhaps repeat the trial, and if convinced upsize the work. Do you feel there are research gaps in the industry and where are they?

CO: Not particularly. GS: There could be more research done on clones to do with wine aroma, mouth feel, sensory properties and flavour. AE: No. Not really. There is a lot of research going on. Perhaps I question whether all the research that is going on has merit and to whom. Which research organisation has the most relevance/value for your business?

CO: Australian Wine Research Institute. GS: The Australian Wine and Research Institute. AE: Ironically suppliers, big suppliers are the most relevance to us. The answer to ‘why’ would be that they travel a lot and are focused on application in industry not just technical research. As an operating winery we are really trying to distil what works in application not in theory. AWRI of course rates highly amongst our big suppliers like Laffort and Enartis. Do you conduct any on-property or in-winery research to benchmark your performance and improve quality and/or productivity?

CO: All the time in every area of the business, but mostly through tasting comparisons, costings and trials. GS: The main thing we do to benchmark wine quality is small batch winemaking. This allows us to compare viticultural practices and vineyard site performance. We also conduct our own trials and research to benchmark our environmental performance and productivity in the winery, vineyard and offices. AE: Yes continuously. Some work, some do not. We are currently conducting research around various ranges of screwcap types, use of liquid nitrogen when filling wine bottles to create an inert environment from bottle to closure application and a world of yeast, nutrient, enzyme, tannin, fining agent process assessments. February 2014 – Issue 601

young guns Wynns’ winemaker a wicked wonder of the south As the older generations hang up their tools, Australia’s young guns are left to take over the wine industry with new technology and fresh ideas. Stephanie Timotheou caught up with Wynns Coonawarra Estate winemaker Luke Skeer and discussed his career as a future leader of the industry.

HE WAS ONLY a young ’un when he was introduced to the wine industry but even at the tender age of 15 Luke Skeer quickly became a force to be reckoned with. It’s now been 18 years since Skeer planted his first vine and in that time he’s travelled far and wide, won numerous awards and has quickly gained national recognition among his peers. Skeer – or ‘Skeery’ to his colleagues – is a fourth generation Coonawarra born and bred. Having grown up surrounded by wines and vines, it was only a matter of time before Skeer made his mark on the industry. “I helped my parents plant our family vineyard as a young boy,” Skeer reminisced. “Much of my youth was spent in and around vineyards – and playing with fermenting grapes in buckets. “I was, and still am, drawn the a romas, colours and f lavours of fermenting red grapes.” Skeer completed his first vintage while at school and his second as a cellar hand at Wynns Coonawarra Estate before studying oenology at Adelaide University in 1999. “It took me 10 years before I had learned enough to return to Wynns as a winemaker which was the position I had been striving for,” he said. From 2002 to 2004 he worked in McLaren Vale and since then has completed vintages back in the Lower South-East in his own hometown, as well as Bordeaux and the Barossa Valley. “In all of these regions I have been taught winemaking skills f rom a variety of people both young and old,” he said. “I enjoy using the techniques and philosophies passed down from generations to maximise the quality of every parcel I am involved with. “I hope to keep travelling and learning for the rest of my life, because in wine you never stop learning.” February 2014 – Issue 601

NEW GENERATION, NEW TECHNOLOGIES Like any generation of winemaker, Skeer strives to make the highest quality wine possible, even if it means adopting new technologies such as cross flow filtration. He said advances in technology played a big part in providing more accurate information to make better, faster decisions. However, he also said technology is “just one piece of a large puzzle”. “For me, time spent in the vineyard provides the most important information of all,” he added. Wynns represents a timeline of red winemaking in Australia and after 60 years of Cabernet production, Skeer said the team was aware there must be a combination of new technology with respect for traditions. “Possibly the biggest advance I have seen is the use of cross flow filtration for long-term wine quality without the complications of earth or pad taint.” Wynns uses advanced technology to the advantage of the winery and the vineyard, including the use of vineyard maps which can be overlaid with vine water stress data. “This helps us monitor the condition of the vine through the growing season,” Skeer explained. Wynns also has a proficient and up-todate laboratory with dedicated technicians which provides accurate analyses to assist in decision making. This gives Wynns the ability to accurately (and quickly) measure things such as YAN levels in Must, which in turn enables Skeer and the winemaking team to ferment cleaner wines and provides a clear picture of the nitrogen status of individual vineyards for future planning. Skeer said advances in technology played a big part in providing more accurate information to make better, faster decisions however it is “just one piece of a large puzzle”. “For me, time spent in the vineyard and the tasting room provides the most important information of all,” he added.

KICKING GOALS Despite all he has picked up in his travels and ongoing learning, Skeer said it’s the wines of Coonawarra that excite him www.winebiz.com.au

Spring chicken: Luke Skeer standing tall at Wynns Coonawarra Estate.

most, along with their heritage, tradition and quality. In 2013 he was awarded the Young Winemaker of the Year title by The Wine Society, which he said was his biggest achievement to date. The wines that secured Skeer his title were the Wynns Coonawarra Estate Alexander 88 Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 and the Wynns Coonawarra Estate Black Label Shiraz 2010. He said it was a great honour to receive the award, particularly given the finalists he was up against. “It was a very humbling experience however it would not have been possible without our amazing vineyards and my passionate colleagues at Wynns,” he added. “I feel privileged as a Wynns’ winemaker to help uphold this heritage and work with winemakers and vineyards of the highest calibre in one of the world’s most celebrated regions.”

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS Skeer said working at Wynns has taught him much about the industry and helped him gain the wealth of knowledge he holds today. “I am very fortunate to work at Wynns Coonawarra Estate – one of Australia’s most important wineries from one of Australia’s most important terroirs,” he said. “Our heritage vineyards have been the backbone of the Black Label Cabernet for 60 years are what I am most passionate about. “I hope to carry on the legacy of improving the quality of these old vines and consequently the wines which are made from them.” Contact: Luke Skeer. Phone: 61 8 8736 2219. Email: luke.skeer@wynns.com.au. Grapegrower & Winemaker

news

Researchers map out world’s winegrape varieties UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE researchers have compiled statistics from 44 countries to develop the first database of the world’s winegrape varieties and regions. The new database, funded by the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (GWRDC), provides an in-depth analysis of the world’s wine varieties and winegrape growing nations that account for 99 per cent of global wine production. University of Adelaide School of Economics Professor Kym Anderson says a database of this nature has been highly sought by the wine industry. “In the wake of wine’s globalisation, wine producers need to exploit their geographical and varietal distinctiveness in order to boost their competitiveness. This database, for the first time, offers transparency across the world’s wine varieties and regions,” Professor Anderson says. This detailed database also uncovers more about changing trends in wine consumer behaviour.

“The database reveals that 20 years ago Airen, a white winegrape variety from Spain, was the most widely grown globally, but now Cabernet Sauvignon is the world’s most grown winegrape,” Professor Anderson says. “In 2000, white winegrapes were more widely grown; however, in the decade to 2010 red winegrapes increased their share of the global vine-bearing area from 49 per cent to 55 per cent. “This is consistent with what we know about changes in wine consumption, with numerous countries moving away from white and consumption rising in recent years in China where red wine is preferred.” Professor Anderson says wine growers can also use this database to adapt to climate change. “Wine producers are well aware of the impact climate change is having on their winegrapes. They’re continually on the lookout for attractive varieties that perform well in climates similar to what they expect theirs to become in the decades ahead.”

World’s first winegrape census provides insights for Australia The University of Adelaide’s Kym Anderson and Nanda R. Aryal look at the first database of the world’s winegrape varieties and regions and what it might mean for the Australian wine industry GLOBALISATION OF THE world’s wine markets has generated many new wine consumers, and has encouraged those already consuming wine to explore more exotic types. Attracting and retaining consumer (and supermarket) attention requires producers to look for new ways to differentiate their product. At the same time, producers have to cope with ever-increasing competition from other exporting countries, and to respond to global warming. Climate adaptation strategies include switching to more-resilient southern Mediterranean grape varieties, and/or sourcing grapes from higher latitude or altitude regions in wineries’ attempts to retain their current mix of grape varieties. These marketing and climate adaptation needs are generating a demand for information on what winegrape varieties are grown where in the world. Certainly there are great books available on both the varieties and wine regions of major supplying countries, including the latest seminal ones by Robinson, Harding and Vouillamoz (2012) and Johnson and Robinson (2013). Yet none of those resources provides

10 Grapegrower & Winemaker

At a glance: • Producers have to cope with everincreasing competition from other exporting countries, and to respond to global warming. • Marketing and climate adaptation needs are generating a demand for information on what winegrape varieties are grown where in the world. • The popularity which Australia brought to Shiraz/Syrah in the 1990s has led to many other countries expanding their plantings of this variety. • The mix of varieties in Australian vineyards is becoming more like the global average.

enough information to get a view of the relative importance of the various regions and their winegrape varieties in the global vineyard. To respond to the need for such information, GWRDC has supported a research project at the University of www.winebiz.com.au

Adelaide to compile, for the first time, such a global database for 2000 and 2010 (Anderson and Aryal 2013a). The 2010 database includes 521 regions in 44 countries, thereby covering 99 per cent of global wine production; and it includes more than 2000 varieties, of which 1271 are ‘primes’ and the rest are their synonyms (according to the painstaking DNA-based scientific work reflected in the 2012 book by Robinson, Harding and Vouillamoz). To make the data more accessible, various indicators have been generated and summary charts and tables have been published in a 700-page book that is immediately accessible as a free e-book (Anderson 2013). What insights does this new resource offer the grapegrower and winemaker in Australia? Four are mentioned here by way of illustration. They relate to Australia’s global dominance in Shiraz, to the varietal distinctiveness of Australia’s vineyard plantings vis-à-vis the rest of the world’s, to the varietal differences between regions within the country, and to emerging varieties that are diversifying Australia’s vineyards.  February 2014 – Issue 601

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The popularity which Australia brought to Shiraz/Syrah in the 1990s has led to many other countries expanding their plantings of this variety. In 1990 there were barely 35,000 bearing hectares, making it 35th in the area ranking of all winegrape varieties globally. But by 2000 there were 102,000ha, and by 2010 that had risen to 186,000, bringing Shiraz to the 6th position on that global ladder and less than one-third below the areas of the two now-mostwidespread varieties, namely Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (Figure 1). Over the decade to 2010, the Shiraz area grew more than either Cabernet or Merlot – in fact only Tempranillo expanded faster globally. Certainly Australia contributed to that expanding area of Shiraz, but expansion was even greater in France and Spain. There were also large plantings in other key New World wine countries, and in Italy and Portugal (Figure 2). As a result, Australia is no longer as globally dominant in this variety: its share of the global Shiraz area has dropped from 29 per cent in 2000 to 23 per cent in 2010 – even though Shiraz has increased its share of Australia’s own vineyards over that decade, from 22 per cent to 28 per cent (the nextnearest countries being South Africa and France, with 10 per cent and 8 per cent of their vineyards under Shiraz, respectively).

500,000

1990

2000

2010

400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 0

Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Airen Tempranillo Chardonnay Syrah Garnacha Tinta Sauvignon Blanc Trebbiano Toscano Pinot Noir Mazuelo Bobal Sangiovese Monastrell Grasevina Rkatsiteli Cabernet Franc Riesling Pinot Gris Macabeo Cot Cayetana Blanca Alicante Henri Bouschet Aligote Cinsaut Chenin Blanc Montepulciano Catarratto Bianco Tribidrag Gamay Noir Isabella Colombard Muscat Blanc A Petits Grains Cereza Muscat of Alexandria

THE RISE OF SHIRAZ

Figure 1: World’s top 35 varieties in 2010, compared with 1990 and 2000 (hectares) Source: Anderson (2013, Chart 12).

AN INDEX OF VARIETAL SIMILARITY BETWEEN REGIONS Partly because of these changes for Shiraz, the mix of varieties in Australian vineyards is becoming more like the global average. The indicator we use to capture this phenomenon is called the Varietal Similarity Index, or VSI. This indicator – which has a complex formula defined in Anderson and Aryal (2013b) – ranges between zero and one: a VSI value of zero means a region’s

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varietal mix has no overlap at all with that of another region (or its own region in a different year), and a VSI value of one applies if the two regions have exactly the same shares of bearing area under particular grape varieties. The VSI is useful for indicating the varietal distinctiveness of Australia’s vineyard plantings vis-à-vis the rest of the world’s, the varietal differences between regions within Australia, and the varietal mix of each region in 2010 vis-à-vis the mix in 2000.

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winegrape area in 2010, changed their varietal mix hardly at all (the VSI of their mix in 2010 vis-à-vis 2000 was 0.97 or higher). For another one-fifth of Australia’s regions, accounting for 22 per cent of the national area, their VSI was 0.95 or 0.96; and for yet another one-fifth (18 per cent of the area) their VSI was between 0.91 and 0.94. Thus it was for just Australia’s remaining regions (slightly less than one-fifth of the total number and the national area) that the VSI between their varietal mix in 2000 and 2010 was less than 0.91.

80,000 70,000 60,000 2000

2010

50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000

EMERGING VARIETIES IN AUSTRALIA

0 S. Africa

Italy

USA

Chile

Portugal

Figure 2: Bearing area of Shiraz, key producing countries, 2000 and 2010 Source: Anderson (2013, Tables 27 and 30).

12,000

REGIONAL DIFFERENCES WITHIN AUSTRALIA

10,000

Varietal differences between regions within Australia also are more muted than is the case within other countries – notwithstanding the very large differences in growing conditions across Australia. Bear in mind it is possible for the VSI for a country vis-à-vis the world to be high but the VSI of each region in that country vis-à-vis the world to be low. In France for example, where each region is required by law to grow only a small number of varieties that have been designated as most suitable for that region, the average of its regional VSIs of 0.29 is well below France’s national VSI in 2010 of 0.72 vis-a-vis the world’s varietal mix (which is the highest in the

8,000

February 2014 – Issue 601

6,000 4,000 2,000

verdelho

arneis

nebbiolo

savagnin blanc

tribidrag

sangiovese

colombard

durif

muscat blanc a petits grains

riesling

viognier

pinot noir

merlot

pinot gris

syrah

0 sauvignon blanc

The VSI between Australia and the world was 0.45 in 2000, but it rose to 0.62 by 2010, indicating a substantial drift in Australia’s varietal mix toward the world aggregate mix. Meanwhile, the average of the VSIs for all other countries in the sample hardly changed, at 0.35. In other words, Australia was less distinct than the average country in its varietal mix in 2000, and its distinctiveness became even less so by 2010. Since France is the country whose varietal mix is most similar to the world mix, this means in effect that Australia has become more like France: the two countries had a VSI of 0.47 in 2000 and 0.58 in 2010.

world, because so many other countries have adopted varieties from France’s various diverse regions). In Australia, however, the average of its regional VSIs of 0.53 is not much below Australia’s national VSI of 0.62 in 2010, and is almost double the average regional VSI of other countries in the sample. It is true that some regions in Australia have managed to pull away from the pack and so are more differentiated from the national mix now than in 2000. However, a little over one-fifth of Australia’s 74 regions in the database, comprising 40 per cent of the national

chardonnay

AUSTRALIA’S VARIETAL DISTINCTIVENESS

What about the increased plantings of so-called emerging or alternative varieties that are diversifying Australia’s vineyards? If we focus on those varieties not in the world’s Top 20 list, and which have expanded from less than 200 bearing hectares in Australia in 2000, there are 10 in the database whose areas have grown significantly since then. But in aggregate those 10 raised their share of Australia’s total area by only 1.7 per cent. The eight varieties whose area in Australia expanded most over the first decade of this century (see Figure 3) are, apart from Viognier, all in the Top 20 globally. And two-thirds of what has been removed in Australia since 2000 is Sultaniye, whose area globally fell by three-quarters over the 2000-10 period – adding to the country’s drift towards the global norm. 

gewurztraminer

Argentina

cabernet sauvignon

Spain

tempranillo

Australia

petit verdot

France

Figure 3:

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

news Since there is a total of fewer than 50 varieties separately identified in the Australian official data though, that list excludes many of the small emerging varieties collected in a residual ‘Others’ category. Even so, that ‘Others’ category accounted for just 5 per cent of Australia’s total area in 2000 and for only 1.6 per cent by 2010, which means the main varieties have expanded much more than lesser alternative ones. As noted above, the share for Shiraz alone rose 6 per cent during that decade, while Chardonnay’s rose 5 per cent and the shares of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris each rose 2 per cent. Fortunately the Phylloxera Board of SA has a much more-detailed dataset for that state, and it reveals another dozen varieties that have shown some growth between 2006 and 2012. The ABS (2012) also has provided some more varieties in its latest release, also for 2012. This data, shown on the right-hand side of Table 1, refers to planted rather than bearing area, and so provides a better indicator of recent changes since newlyplanted vines take three years to bear. But even this data reveals emerging varieties make up only a small fraction of 1 per cent of the national area.

Table 1: Emerging varieties in Australia, 2001 to 2012 Bearing area (hectares) Australia 2001 Arneis Barbera

103

Dolcetto

Total area (including newly planted, hectares) Australia

2010

2012

2006

153

116

104

154

124

In short, the above data reveals three things about Australia’s vineyards. First, Australia’s mix of winegrape varieties is not very different from the rest of the world’s and, since 2000, has become even less differentiated. One reason is that even though its signature variety, Shiraz, has expanded its share of Australia’s vineyards, that variety has expanded more in numerous other countries. So Australia’s mix is now closer to that of France, since France is the closest to the global mix. Whether that is a good thing commercially is unclear. Perhaps Australian producers benefit enough by emulating France’s varietal mix to offset any economic downsides, for example from being less differentiated from the world mix, or from growing varieties that may be less than ideal for Australia’s terroirs. Second, even though there are very large differences in growing conditions across Australia, cross-regional varietal differences within Australia are much less than is the case within other countries. Perhaps this is a consequence of producers finding it easier to market well known ‘international’ (mostly French) varieties than trying to differentiate with less-familiar varieties.

14 Grapegrower & Winemaker

2012

Durif

181

417

500

Nebbiolo

122

140

56 301

Roussanne

Sauvignon Blanc

Tempranillo

476

712

169

149

104

117

1402

1197

506

521

SUB-TOTAL

492+

3142

3081+

855

1090

% of total

0.4%

2.07%

2.1%

1.2%

1.4%

Aglianico

Alicante Henri Bouschet

Tribidag (Zinfandel) Viognier

Alvarinho Fiano

107

Graciano Gruner Veltliner

Lagrain

Montepulciano

Nero d’Avola

Sagrantino Saperavi

IMPLICATIONS

South Australia

Vermentino

SUB-TOTAL

300+

241

per cent of total

0.2%

0.1%

0.3%

147,509

72,720

76,533

TOTAL

130,602

151,788

aT he South Australia data, from its Phylloxera Board, refers to planted rather than bearing area Source: Anderson and Aryal (2013a) and Phylloxera Board (2013).

But it does suggest there is plenty of scope to explore alternative varieties in the various regions of Australia – which is something grapegrowers are doing in any case as they consider way to adapt to climate changes. And third, the global database, together with more-recent and more-detailed data for SA, reveals Australia to date has made little headway in diversifying its vineyards – despite much discussion of alternative or emerging varieties in the media and at conferences. Hopefully this new resource on global varieties will be of some assistance to producers as they contemplate the next stages of development of their vineyards. Contact: Kym Anderson Email: kym.anderson@adelaide.edu.au Nanda Aryal, email: aryalnr@gmail.com

Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful for funding support from Australia’s Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation. www.winebiz.com.au

This paper draws on Anderson (2013) and Anderson and Aryal (2013a,b). Views expressed are the authors’ alone.

References:

Anderson, K. (with the assistance of N.R. Aryal) (2013), Which Winegrape Varieties are Grown Where? A Global Empirical Picture, Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press. Freely available as a e-book at www. adelaide.edu.au/press/titles/winegrapes Anderson, K. and N.R. Aryal (2013a), Database of Regional, National and Global Winegrape Bearing Areas by Variety, 2000 and 2010, freely available in Excel and PDF files at www.adelaide.edu.au/wineecon/databases/winegrapes Anderson, K. and N.R. Aryal (2013b), ‘Where in the World are Various Winegrape Varieties Grown? Evidence From a New Database’, Working Paper 0213, Wine Economics Research Centre, University of Adelaide, December, freely available at www. adelaide.edu.au/wine-econ/pubs/working_papers/ Johnson, H. and J. Robinson (2013), World Atlas of Wine, 7th edition, London: Mitchell Beasley. Phylloxera Board (2013), SA Winegrape Crush Survey: State Summary Report 2013, Adelaide: Phylloxera Board of South Australia. Robinson, J., J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz (2012), Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including their Origins and Flavours, London: Allen Lane. February 2014 – Issue 601

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regional round-up

Regional Roundup: Western Australia This month Stephanie Timotheou headed west to find out the latest happenings in some of the biggest state’s biggest wine-producing regions from Margaret River to Blackwood Valley and the Great Southern.

Minister gets a taste for new wine varieties The Western Australia minister for Agriculture and Food Ken Baston was treated to a tasting of wines produced by the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA) at its regional office in Bunbury during his visit to the South West. Resident winemaker Richard Fennessy introduced Baston to DAFWA’s decadelong project evaluating the potential of 18 alternative wine grape varieties planted at the Manjimup Horticultural Research Institute. Wines tasted by Baston included Pinot Gris, Brachetto, Barbera and Saperavi – some of which are not common to Australian vineyards. Fennessy said the department

had been producing wine from the trial since 2007 and had each variety assessed by winemakers and judges at regional and national wine shows. “We have also conducted consumer surveys to assess how the wines are perceived by wine consumers.” He said of all the varieties, Brachetto is not as common in Australia but has the potential to capitalise on the pink Moscato trend which has experienced substantial growth in the domestic market in recent years. Contact: Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia. Phone: 61 8 9368 3333. Email: enquiries@agric.wa.gov.au.

Agriculture and Food Minister Ken Baston with winemaker Richard Fennessy.

The Great Southern impresses Asian and American media Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s managing editor of digital and print Joe Czerwinski travelled to Australia from New York last year to visit the Great Southern wine region. He tasted and enjoyed a range of Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz from a range of wineries across the state. The aged wines stood up well and included a 2001 Harewood Estate and 2005 Wignalls Chardonnay. In his current role Czerwinski manages all aspects of digital and print production for Wine Enthusiast Magazine and helps drive the creative direction of the online and print publications.

He’s been a wine journalist, editor and taster for more than a decade and is a regular wine panellist, speaker and educator for events and organisations worldwide. Earlier in 2013 respected wine writer Ch’ng Poh Tiong also visited the Great Southern wine region. Poh Tiong publishes The Wine Review – South-East Asia’s oldest wine magazine – and published the world’s first annual guide to Bordeaux in Chinese. Contact: Great Sout hern Wine Producers’ Association. Phone: 0407 987 889. Email: info@greatsouthernwine.asn.au.

Divine wine: Wignalls Wines managing director Rob Wignall with his 2005 Wignalls Chardonnay – one of the wines Joe Czerwinski tasted during his visit.

Germplasm collection identified as being of ‘high health’ The WA Grape Germplasm Collection management committee’s dedication to the health status of this collection was recognised in the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation’s (GWRDC) project titled ‘GWR1112 Summary of a Review of Grapevine Germplasm Collections in Australia’. In its report the executive summary stated “the WA industry has benefited from its superior biosecurity and ready

16 Grapegrower & Winemaker

access to relevant vine material”. The success of this collection is attributed to the strong and continuing support from the WA government through DAFWA for maintaining and managing the expansion of the collection, the WA Vine Improvement Association (WAVIA) for its financial assistance of virus and DNA testing, and the WA industry for its continued sourcing of propagation material from this collection. www.winebiz.com.au

The collection’s primary purposes are to source, maintain, preserve and distribute grapevine material. Virus testing is a major part of the biosecurity of this collection with every vine tested every three years for GLRaV-1 and GLRaV-3. Contact: DAFWA. Phone: 61 8 9368 3333. Email: enquiries@agric.wa.gov.au. February 2014 – Issue 601

New viticulture spray guide available to assist industry The newly released viticulture spray guide 2013/2014 is now available and is designed for both wine grape and table grapegrowers in Western Australia. The guide has been written specifically for WA conditions by the Department of Agriculture and Food, with contributions from individuals,

groups and organisations. It is one of the department’s most popular viticulture publications and focuses on providing producers with a comprehensive list of spray options for managing vineyard pests, diseases, weeds and plant growth regulators. It contains valuable information on a

wide range of topics including pesticide safety, application of pesticides and herbicides, integrated pest management, organic and biodynamic grape production and quarantine issues. To receive a free copy of the guide send your postal address to Richard Fennessy at richard.fennessy@agric.wa.gov.au.

AWRI hosts winery operations workshop for WA wine industry The AWRI hosted a one-day course aimed at improving the WA wine industry’s knowledge of winery refrigeration and wastewater and providing guidance on how grapegrowers and winemakers can reduce operating costs and environmental impact. Wine industry professionals from around the state gathered at Faber Vineyard in Baskerville to hear AWRI senior engineer Simon Nordestgaard discuss key principles, improvement opportunities and cold stabilisation technology options in winery refrigeration and cooling. Karl Forsyth, who is also a senior engineer at the AWRI, later delivered a presentation on understanding wastewater, cleaner production, treatment systems and wastewater reuse. He also conducted a tasting session where a number of international wines making specific environmental claims were analysed. Workshop attendees were then taken on a guided tour of Faber Vineyards with a specific focus on refrigeration and wastewater. Nordestgaard and Forsyth who have more than five years of experience in the wine industry both hold degrees in chemical engineering and economics.

Workshop participants tour the Cape Mentelle wastewater treatment system in Margaret River.

Nordestgaard’s work interests include white grape draining and pressing, winery process improvement and winery cooling and refrigeration. Forsyth’s work covers environmental

strategy, life cycle assessment and winery wastewater treatment. Contact: AWRI. Phone: 61 8 8313 6600. Email: enquiries@awri.com.au.

DAFWA cretes new tool to prevent bacon-flavoured wine Summer is officially here which means vineyard owners are taking extra care to ensure their vines are being protected from the heat. Thanks to the Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA) and the University of WA, the job has been made easier with the assistance of a smoke taint reduction tool. The Smoke Taint Risk calculator – or STAR – has been developed to help the wine industry recognise the danger periods for smoke taint in wine. Project leader Glynn Ward said it would be a major asset for the wine industry in reducing the risk of smoke taint from bush fires, especially during February 2014 – Issue 601

the summer months. “Smoke exposure of vines and development of smokerelated characteristics in the resulting wines is an increasing issue for the wine industry internationally,” Ward said. “Wines made from grapes exposed to smoke during sensitive growth stages can taste of smoked meat, disinfectant, leather, salami and ashtrays – not a big selling point in a competitive marketplace.” The risk calculator predicts the timing of grapevine growth stages and its associated risk to smoke uptake and taint development in wine for different varieties of grapes. www.winebiz.com.au

Information can be entered at any time during the season to generate the predicted risk for key varieties in any wine growing region around Australia. According to Ward, the STAR integrates this to produce a time series graph of predicted risks. The information generated can then be used by land and forest managers in their burning and smoke management decisions. It will also help vignerons and winemakers decide on smoke taint reduction strategies in their vineyards and wineries. Contact: The Smoke Taint Calculator can be accessed at agric.wa.gov.au/star. Grapegrower & Winemaker

news

Meet Mr Brainiac: Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt plans to bring more of his scientific skills than his winemaking track record to his new role as a director at AWRI.

AWRI lands the ultimate prize (and he brings a Nobel with him) He might spend a lot of time in a galaxy far, far, away but just to show he is not necessarily as smart as people think he is, Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt is also a (very small) winemaker. And now a director at the Australian Wine Research Institute. YOU DON’T HAVE to be a rocket scientist to grow wine. But it would certainly help. So when Brian Schmidt submitted his resume for a directorship at the Australian Wine Research Institute every other applicant might as well have packed up their pitches and gone straight home. The cosmologist and recipient of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics (with Saul Perlmutter and Adam Riess) is the complete package. He is an internationally renowned brainiac, who with his colleagues

18 Grapegrower & Winemaker

turned science upside down when they proved the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae. As you do. Schmidt also now has a hand on the tiller of government investment in Australia’s science infrastructure as the newest director at the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI). And when he’s not roaming those galaxies far, far away, he grows grapes and makes wine in his spare time – only to discover all that grey matter counts for nought if the wine stars aren’t correctly aligned. www.winebiz.com.au

Producing just 250 cases a year at what he self-deprecatingly describes as his “ultra boutique” vineyard and winery Maipenrai in the Canberra district he still has plenty from his 2003 vintage which he admits did not go exactly as planned (and is happy to forward a case to anyone interested – he calculates about one in seven bottles is now drinkable). But disaster is a point on which Schmidt seizes when discussing his future role with AWRI and how important the organisation and its work are to winegrowers big and small. February 2014 – Issue 601

SPECTACULAR BREAKTHROUGHS When opening last year’s WineTech Conference Schmidt told delegates “failure is OK if the breakthroughs are spectacular”. “As Einstein said, if we knew what we were doing then it wouldn’t be research,” he said. “The best research is often basic and risky but we need to let researchers work broadly within their areas of interest in what is a creative process. “And science is creative. Bad science is boring but good science is creative and helps us unlock the secrets of the world around us. “The most valuable discoveries are the ones we do not know about – so you have to cut scientists some slack.” This approach will be music to the ears of Australia’s viticulture and wine scientists and researchers. Schmidt also sang the praises of Australia’s levy system, which gives it dollar-for-dollar Federal Government backing to create a cash reserve to help fund vital research. “Australia is fortunate to have that levy system, it is unique in the world and it is powerful,” he told WineTech. “Its research is used by all, from ultra boutiques such as mine to the likes of Treasury Wine Estates,” he said. “Because there is no patent available on much of this research it does not attract commercial investment but so much of the work is attuned to Australian conditions and needs. “Which is great, because in my experience Australia’s viticulture and wine industries have the capacity and culture to adapt new technologies, putting them ahead of the world. “Most importantly, I can say that without that technical edge the wine industry here would not be flailing as it is at the moment – it would be dead.”

SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND Tough talk from a man who spends most of his life with his head in the clouds. And beyond. But he said through his role as a scientist at the Australian National University and as the owner operator of Maipenrai he has “a broad appreciation of the core science AWRI undertakes and its overarching goal to deliver benefits to the industry”. He said while his direct experience in the wine industry comes from a “very small winery”, he has taken the opportunity since winning the Nobel Prize “to work with both government and industry to improve and expand the role of research for the entirety of Australian industry”. February 2014 – Issue 601

“But in reality you simply work at doing a good job and then, when you least expect it, this comes along. The trick is not to lose your mind over it.”

LOVE AFFAIR

Your Highness: Brian Schmidt receives his Nobel Prize from Carl XVI Gustaf during the Nobel ceremony in Sweden.

“I am committed to bringing the benefits of research that cut across the whole of our industry,” Schmidt said. “I have substantive experience on boards similar to AWRI having served since 2007, for example, as a non-executive director of Astronomy Australia, a company that manages government investment in Australian science infrastructure,” he said. “I am also currently serving as a member of three government advisory boards within the Department of Industry portfolio, and am a member of the Council of the Australian Academy of Science. “As a board member at AWRI I intend to use my skills to ensure it effectively executes its mission of undertaking research that ultimately yields practical solutions for the wine industry. “With its success marked by industry take-up, and the competitive advantages these developments bring to the levy payers.” Speaking to Grapegrower & Winemaker Schmidt said he would like to think he could add value to the process as Australia’s only Nobel Prize winner who also makes wine. While that may be true the scientist said compared with his wine he does not take the Nobel “all that seriously”. “People think that Nobel Laureates are different, and before I received mine I only knew them as ‘famous’ people I occasionally met,” he said. www.winebiz.com.au

Schmidt said when he was growing up in Alaska wine was not choice 1, 2, 3 or even 4 when it came to having a drink. It is now, he said, but wasn’t then. Which explains why he was caught short when he started dating his wife-tobe Jenny Gordon as a slightly wet-behindthe-ears 22-year-old. “She asked me what wine I liked to drink and all I could do was look a little blank and offer even less,” he said. “Jenny told me if I was going to date an Australian I had better learn something about wine pretty quickly.” And a love affair was born. With the woman and the wine. Which must spark some interesting dinner conversations as the Nobel Laureate and his wife with her PhD in economics debate the pros and cons of the drink de jour in particular and the industry in general. Schmidt’s first AWRI board meeting is this month and he does not hesitate to praise the work being done at Urrbrae in Adelaide’s foothills as well as in the field around the country. However, as a scientist he also knows the world always changes – and the Universe too apparently – “and to stay relevant you have to change with it”. “AWRI does a great job of getting industry in touch with the valuable information and data it has amassed and has helped improve wine out of sight,” Schmidt said. “Our wine industry (Schmidt has considered himself an Australian since 1994 but says even the sceptics are now prepared to overlook his fading accent after his Nobel) is still the most hi-tech in the world and much of that success goes to the scientists,” he said. “If you compare our wine industry with any other country you would be amazed how complete the take-up of technology is here, from smallest to largest, compared with overseas. “That’s what I am hoping my input will help maintain. “You can have all the marketing you want but that job is 10 times easier when the product is good. “And the product is good, and then better, when it has the science to achieve that.” Contact: Brian Schmidt. Phone: 61 2 6125 8042. Brian@maipenrai.com.au. Grapegrower & Winemaker

news

Expanding export markets keep moving to the east Wine’s demographics are shifting, and shifting quickly, and David Hughes and Xinxin Wang write Australia’s producers must be ready for the new challenges – without overlooking their traditional markets

WINE MARKETS IN Western developed economies have served Australia well over the past 20 years or more. But demographic trends, and slow economic growth compounded by a fullon recession have raised the profile of emerging markets as growth avenues for the future. In the next 40 years, the world population will increase from 7 to 9 billion with, essentially, 1 billion extra in Africa and 1 billion more in Asia. Overall, population will decline in many European countries, Russia and in Japan. Whether it is wine, beer or cars for that matter, consumption growth will be substantially higher in emerging markets than in the “old economic world”. The UK is a case in point: • Red, white and rosé wine is in longterm decline. • Cafés are replacing pubs as social hubs for the young. • 16-24 year olds have reduced alcohol consumption by 12 per cent in the past 10 years. • Retail wine sales are dominated by powerful, margin-hungry supermarkets. Price promotions are pervasive and destructive. So, should we abandon the old world and focus on emerging Asia? Clearly not. Western economies have a taste for wine – and the income to afford it. Rabobank lists North America, Japan, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Germany, Holland and the UK as still the most attractive markets for branded wine. But its top emerging markets are identified as China, Hong Kong and Korea, with four “hidden gems” – Mexico, Brazil, Poland and Nigeria.

Technical Conference in July, we undertook a qualitative survey of young male and female Chinese professionals in their mid- to late-20s to find out their interest in buying/drinking wine and what they knew about it. Indicative “portraits” of respondents in our sample are shown below. • The majority rarely drink wine now, but believe they likely will in the future – whether for business purposes or for pleasure.

At a glance: • Whether it is wine, beer or cars for that matter, consumption growth will be substantially higher in emerging markets than in the “old economic world”. • Rabobank lists North America, Japan, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Germany, Holland and the UK as still the most attractive markets for branded wine. • The wine consumer journey is an odyssey which embraces apps, shops, social media sites, online sources and using fixed and mobile communication devices. • Top emerging markets are identified as China, Hong Kong and Korea, with four “hidden gems” – Mexico, Brazil, Poland and Nigeria.

On the move: Researchers David Hughes and Xinxin Wang say while the east is opening new doors for fine wine there is still a lot of value in ‘old world’ markets.

UNDERSTAND CHINESE WINE CONSUMERS AND SHOPPERS What’s the best way to maximise the potential of, in prospect, a huge market in China? First, learn from previous faltering steps in developing the Japanese market – listen, learn and understand what Chinese consumers value about wine. For the Australian Wine Industry

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February 2014 – Issue 601

SHU Langshan, age 27 Career: Banker Education: Masters Degree Income: 7000 yuan / month Frequency of drinking wine: Once per month • He doesn’t like drinking wine. The reason for drinking wine is just for work. Has bought wine, but for party and wedding ceremony use. • He believes the best producer of wine is from France and he doesn’t know any of the top 15 wine brands from Australia.

PENG Xuanzi, age 27 Career: Entrepreneur for electric commercial enterprises Education: Masters Degree Income: 9000 yuan / month Frequency of drinking wine: Once per month • She doesn’t like drinking wine very much; but she sometimes drinks wine with friends just for fun. • She thinks that the best producer of wine is from France but she knows the wine brand called “Yellowtail” from Australia.

ZHANG Yihao, age 29 Career: Engineering Designer Education: Bachelors Degree Income: 5000 yuan / month Frequency of drinking wine: At least once per month for grape wine. • He became a father last year. • Drinking wine makes him feel happy and healthy. • But he believes that the best producer of wine is from France. He has heard of the brand of Hardy’s from Australia but has never tasted it because it is too expensive.

• Wine quality was the most influential factor driving choice – but, interestingly, quality was a composite attribute that included the safety and integrity of “ingredients” in the wine. Food and drink safety is of huge concern in China and periodic problems/scandals reinforce this (e.g. most recently the concerns about milk powder from New Zealand). Brand name is an important element as consumers with little product knowledge seek the security of a known and trusted brand. • Wine taste is a key, too – and this requires active research to identify what appeals to young Chinese taste buds in wine because it may be very different from that which holds sway in more mature markets. Mondelez/ Kraft launched the iconic Oreo cookie in China under the mistaken belief it suited world tastes. Not so, the launch was a sales failure. Late-inthe-day research showed the Chinese love cookies but have specific taste preferences. The re-launch featured a green tea-flavoured Oreo and proved a huge commercial success. What’s the unique flavor of wine that would appeal to young Chinese consumers? Best find out. • Our sample had high expectations of wine from Australia and assumed it would be of good quality and taste. However, French wine was perceived to be “the best” and few interviewees had any knowledge of Australian wine brands, with “Yellowtail” being the most likely known.

• Young, well-educated Chinese professionals offer strong prospects for Australian wine exporters – but the exporters and the consumers need help. This group wants guidance and help in wine selection and they seek trusted sources of information that can tell the story of wine and how/where it fits in their emerging social and business lives. • This market segment is wildly and widely digitally educated. They seek information online, exchange information and opinions with friends online, purchase online and complain vociferously online if they are disappointed with the products they purchase. For a very special occasion, they might visit a specialist outlet to have a “face-to-face” discussion with a recognised wine expert. Clearly, social media is a particularly important means of communication for this aspirational segment; • In many developed markets, wine and food are inextricably linked. Will this be the case in China? If yes, then, a prerequisite for success for wine exporters will be understanding the dynamics of the very sophisticated Chinese food culture, traditions and heritage which is a long way from our “meat and three vegies”, and/or white wine with fish and red with beef! What wine goes with lip-numbing Szechuan dishes or subtle, mild Guangdong (Cantonese) fare – you’d better know. • And their predominant interest is in red wines – red being the colour most associated with joyous and

happy occasions such as weddings, birthdays, and romantic festivals such as Valentine’s Day. • Remember, there is no “silver bullet” geographic market. For entry level, aspirational wine consumers (our sample in China), we have to educate, communicate and promote all in one go. They are “fast track” professionals with high income prospects – but there are a lot of calls on their income (“I want to buy an apartment/car, fashionable clothes and accessories to show my friends how successful I am.”). Explaining why they should add wine to their shopping list is really important.

February 2014 – Issue 601

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LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHOPPER/CONSUMER Irrespective of whether the target wine market is in developed or emerging countries, the future of wine marketing is in getter closer to the purchaser using emerging technology and shopper data. Business life is much more complicated, now, than simply getting an order from a “bottle shop”. The wine consumer journey is an odyssey which embraces apps, shops, social media sites, online sources and using fixed and mobile communication devices. Contact: David Hughes, Emeritus Professor of Food Marketing, Imperial College London, UK. Email: profdavidhughes@aol.com. Xinxin Wang, Associate Professor of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou City, People’s Republic of China. Email: xxwang1985@gmail.com. Grapegrower & Winemaker

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There’s something about Mary Mary Retallack is passionate about encouraging women to join the wine industry. Stephanie Timotheou caught up with Retallack to discover her inspirations and what she hopes to achieve throughout her career. Next month we present two more of the industry's influential women. WHAT MADE YOU want to work in the industry and was it a daunting move at the time? I grew up on a ‘fruit block’ in Renmark West, in the Riverland of South Australia. I was surrounded by the production of not only wine grapes but also drying and table grapes. I was the third generation in my family to live on the property and to learn a range of skills but the family property was sold when my father passed away in the late 1980s and this was also the time of the ‘vine pull’ scheme. I have fond memories of growing grapes and all of the practical tasks involved but at that time I had no idea I could forge a career as a viticulturist. And I had witnessed firsthand how tough the industry was to work in from a young age and this gave me a healthy respect for building resilience into primary production businesses and the need to continually adapt. After studying at university from 16 to become a park ranger, I did an additional postgraduate year at Roseworthy in natural resources management. Through a series of fortuitous events I found myself back working in the wine industry and helping to start the viticulture and wine studies program at Onkaparinga Institute of TAFE in 1995. This was an instinctive gravitation for me to pursue what came naturally, and I needed a job. All those years of practical experience provided an excellent grounding to transition back into the industry. But it was also challenging and at the age of 21 – I was often teaching viticulture to a room of middle aged men and was quite often the only woman in the room. Through all this I gradually discovered how special wine was and rediscovered a love of growing wine grapes. It was daunting for many years until I built strong networks and gained confidence. Now I can look back now at how much easier it would have been if I had access to the knowledge I have today. I would like to share this knowledge and speed this process up for others who are new to the industry or early in their career, so they can start to contribute with confidence sooner.

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Fine vine: Viticulturist Mary Retallack says she would like to speed up the process for those new to the industry or early in their careers so they can start to contribute sooner.

What is your main objective? I am keen to see others reach their full potential. For me, talking about the role of women in the wine industry is not about debating the merits of one gender over another or debating who grows grapes or makes wine better. This would be as constructive as debating if viticulturists or winemakers are better. But what we do need is to both be working more closely together. We know we get the best outcomes when we have both men and women involved in the decision making process and a diverse range of views are presented. The problem is women are quite often not sitting at the table. I would love to see more women representing the next generation in the wine Industry. I am really driven by the need to: • E ncourage more women into a range of agricultural roles, especially the non-traditional ones like viticulture, vineyard management etc. where they are currently under-represented. • M aking sure rural women are aware of and are encouraged to put their ‘hands up’ for opportunities. • E nsuring we don’t lose women who are at the top of their game. www.winebiz.com.au

I believe strong leadership and mentoring is needed to achieve this. When I talk about leadership and mentoring, for me this is all about generosity. Generosity of knowledge, expertise, enthusiasm, guidance and time, which is one of the most valuable things you can give, because you can only give it once. I think it is also important for women to actively pave a way to ensure there is a clear path for others to follow.

Is there a greater need for more women in the wine industry? There is no doubt fantastic opportunities do exist for skilled and confident women. However, in my estimation ‘vitichicks’ only make up 5 to 10 per cent of the team and currently this number is in decline. I think this poses a number of challenges, as there simply aren’t many of us representing key parts of the value chain or at the decision making table. Our challenge is to be both seen and heard and one of the best ways to do this is to be the best at what you do, as it makes it difficult to be ignored. I think we have a looming generational gap which we need to be proactive in addressing.  February 2014 – Issue 601

news The past decade has been particularly challenging for the wine community and for the most part we are missing the next generation coming through, the school leavers and those in their 20s. This is our opportunity to share how special the wine industry is to a new audience and to demonstrate career paths and the skills which can be a ticket to travelling and making friendships worldwide. The wine industry has traditionally been a male dominated industry and this has been changing over the past 20 to 30 years. We now have more women winemakers than ever before. However, we do not have strong representation of women in all aspects of the value chain. This may be for a range of reasons including women leaving the industry to have a family, finding it hard to find part time roles when they are ready to return, the challenge of keeping up with technical information when focusing on bringing up a family, a lack of satisfying roles, fewer roles available and following a partner into another industry. I think women have a tremendous amount to offer and this is an opportunity to celebrate f urther diversity and skills in our industry, to help build resilience and profitability in the long term.

How can we encourage women into non-traditional roles? We need to lead by example and let women know what is on offer by demonstrating examples of diverse and satisfying career paths. I have found recently many people in the general public don’t even know that viticulturists exist. A recent comment by a winemaker broadly quoted from the Drinks Business stated, “Winemaking is overrated as a profession and viticulture is way underrated”. This is not a statement about competition but mutual understanding. To produce the best quality wine and fruit which is ‘fit for purpose’ of course is a close collaboration between winegrower and winemaker. This is our opportunity to tell our story more effectively. One way we can do this is by developing profiles for a range of roles e.g. viticulturist, vineyard manager, g rapeg rower, cella r operat ions, laboratory, winemaker, researcher, marketer, distributor etc., as there are many ways to define and to carry out these roles.

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We can celebrate the achievements of high profile women and just as importantly those who are humbly going about their trade so they too are also seen. The more visual we can be, the broader our reach to discuss what we do.

What sorts of opportunities are on offer to those who wish to work in the industry? You are only limited by your imagination and the network around you. I have worked as a viticulturist for nearly 20 years and have redefined my roles every 2-5 years. For example, I have worked as a vineyard manager, cellar worker, educator, lecturer, researcher, consultant, board director, extension specialist, environmentalist, independent expert, and viticulture writer. I have worked on the national and international stage for global companies,

We need to lead by example and let women know what is on offer by demonstrating examples of diverse and satisfying career paths government agencies and wine industry bodies and now as a self-employed director of my own company. This gives me the flexibility to pursue projects and opportunities which are of most interest to me. One day I may be getting my boots dirty in a vineyard, answering technical questions or collecting data for my PhD and the next I may be in a board room in a suit. This is just one example of what is possible and everyone’s experience is unique.

Are there any mentoring facilities available to support women in the industry and in particular, women new to the industry? Mentors surround us if you know where to look, and if you have access to the right networks. The challenge is making sure these diverse networks exist and people are freely welcomed into them. It can be quite daunting when you are starting out to break into particular networks. www.winebiz.com.au

The best value can sometimes be found by formalising some of these informal mentoring relationships to ensure the right links are made and people are supported and/or challenged in a nurturing environment. I am not familiar with any formal mentoring mechanisms within the wine industry although initiatives like the Future Leaders program have facilitated this to occur. I am working with others towards an initiative which will work towards developing a mentoring network in the future.

What is the best advice you could give to women who want to work in the industry but are hesitant to do so? I would encourage women who wish to work in the wine industry to seek out and chat with others already working in the wine industry to find out more about what is possible. There is such a diversity of roles available and ways to achieve a varied range of experiences. My top tips for any age include: • Follow your passions. If you love doing what you do, this will make the journey even more enjoyable. • Surround yourself with the right people, both mentors and friends who can support and importantly challenge you in a safe environment. • Don’t be afraid to put your hand up for opportunities. • Embrace each opportunity which comes your way, you never know where it may lead – don’t forget to create your own opportunities. • Continue to expand and use your networks. • Be persistent, excel at what you do and offer a point of difference. • Expect – and embrace – the unexpected. I am currently collaborating with a small group including viticulturists Liz Riley from Vitibit in the Hunter Valley, Mardi Longbottom from AWRI and Envitis in Adelaide. We are in the process of developing a national not-for-profit association which will offer a central location of information for people wanting to find out more about the wine industry, career, personal development, networking and mentoring opportunities. It will be launched next year and content will be sought at the grass roots level from the wine community, for the wine community. Watch this space. Contact: Mary Retallack. Phone: 61 8 8339 3324. Email: mary@viti.com.au. February 2014 – Issue 601

F E B R U A R Y 2 014

People in research: Kerry Wilkinson Her students are aged from 5 to 30-plus, and her lessons range from how far you can spit grape juice to the effect of bushfire smoke on grapevine physiology and wine composition. University of Adelaide’s senior oenology lecturer Kerry Wilkinson’s role combines comprises research and teaching, which includes service to the university and community – that’s where the 5-year-olds come in. Dr Wilkinson participates in CSIRO’s Scientists in Schools program to introduce children to the world of ‘science’. Dr Wilkinson began lecturing in 2005 at Curtin University before beginning her current role in Adelaide in 2007. In this role, her efforts in teaching were awarded with the University’s Stephen Cole the Elder Award for Excellence in teaching. Last year, she was awarded a national teaching award, an Office for Learning and Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning. This recognised her teaching fosters excitement for discovery and inspires wine science students to engage with research and industry practice. “We’re very lucky in the wine education field. Our students are usually highly motivated, so we don’t have to twist their arms much to get them to attend lectures and participate in practical work,” she said. Dr Wilkinson’s four main areas of research, which include several GWRDC-funded projects, concern: oak derived flavours, green characters in wine, smoke taint and most recently sparkling wine. Oak flavour Dr Wilkinson’s recent research in this area involved working with a McLaren Vale company on a project making oak battens from old oak barrels. “We’re still writing up the final paper but essentially we found that reclaimed battens have similar flavour profiles as new oak wood,” she said.

new research ideas and questions relating to climate change.”

University of South Australia Vice Chancellor and President, Prof David Lloyd, presenting the Office for Learning & Teaching citation to Dr Wilkinson

“We’re very lucky in the wine education field.” “It was a very cool project to work on – as we were getting to use our expertise in oak flavour chemistry and to apply it to a project which offers real sustainability and cost-saving benefits to the wine industry.” Green characters Research identifying the factors influencing green aroma characters in certain red wines took an interesting turn this year, thanks to an international project, involving E&J Gallo in California and a team of Waite-based researchers, including Dr Wilkinson. Led by viticulturist Martin MendezCostabel, the project used Gallo’s extensive data to gain a unique insight into green characters in multiple vineyards across multiple seasons. The results have subsequently challenged some existing ideas about the influence of climate.

Smoke Taint The announcement in May, last year, regarding a new Australian Research Council-funded Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production to be established at the University of Adelaide is, Dr Wilkinson said, good news for smoke taint research. “The main focus of the new research centre will be around flavour-sugar-alcohol management in grapes and wine, but we will also have opportunities to tackle other challenges faced by the wine industry, such as smoke taint,” she said. “The project on smoke taint will aim to better understand the biochemistry occurring in the grapevine following smoke exposure. “We know smoke flavour compounds are taken up by leaves and berries, and the grapevine responds by attaching sugar molecules on them… we’d like to see if we can influence vine biochemistry, to either change or stop biochemical pathways, so that smoke flavour compounds can’t be readily extracted or metabolised during fermentation and therefore don’t affect the final product…” Sparkling wine Her most recent research project is seeking a better understanding of the diversity of styles and consumer purchase behaviours in sparkling wine.

Mendez-Costabel also ran a trial that withheld winter rainfall from grapevines, which, in turn, significantly reduced canopy growth, with surprising implications on the development of green characters, Dr Wilkinson said.

“There’s some good sparkling wine research happening in Tasmania at the moment, but otherwise, there hasn’t been a lot of work done in this field, despite sparkling wine representing 9 per cent of Australia’s total wine production,” she said.

“No one had really thought winter rainfall might affect the development of methoxypyrazines and C6 compounds associated with green aromas… there were also implications for vine growth and development, so this project has generated

“Again, we’re applying our chemistry knowhow to develop some objective measures of sparkling wine style and quality, and to provide greater knowledge as to the factors that most influence consumers’ selection of one sparkling wine over another.”

Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation, Ground Floor, Industry House cnr Botanic & Hackney Roads Adelaide SA 5000 PO Box 610 Kent Town SA 5071 | T: 08 8273 0500 | F: 08 8373 6608 | E: gwrdc@gwrdc.com.au | W: www.gwrdc.com.au

Project takes closer look at bulk wine transport

The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) will take its bulk wine transport trial to the next stage in 2014, with a year-long bulk wine sampling and analysis program.

Led by AWRI senior engineer Simon Nordestgaard, the two-year project, funded by GWRDC, includes mining of existing analytical data from previous bulk wine shipments, the sampling and analysis program, and laboratory studies of flexitank materials. “The bulk wine sampling and analysis program will consider the influence of direct versus transhipping, different wine loading temperatures and compare the use of flexitanks or ISO tanks (stainless steel

transport tanks),” Dr Nordestgaard said.

An Industry Reference Group has helped define the project parameters and guidance was also obtained from discussions with several major overseas packaging facilities, freight forwarders and flexitank manufacturers. “There’s been quite a bit of interest from wine companies in starting this project, and I think the increase in scale of bulk wine transport is a major factor for this interest,” he said. “As context, more than half the volume of Australian wine exports is now transported in bulk compared with less than one-fifth of exports 10 years ago. And other new world wine producing countries have also made similar shifts towards bulk wine export and packaging in market.” Dr Nordestgaard said more than 80 per cent of bulk wine from Australia is shipped in flexitanks, which are collapsible singleuse plastic tanks that convert 20-foot dry cargo shipping containers into 24,000 litre tanks. “Flexitank technology and container management procedures have evolved considerably since flexitanks were initially trialled as an alternative to ISO tanks for bulk wine transport,” he said.

More than 80% of Australia’s bulk wine exports are shipped in flexitanks.

“For example, flexitanks recommended for wine transport now typically incorporate

a barrier layer that acts both as a barrier to oxygen and a barrier to any residual tainting compounds that could, on rare occasions, be present in shipping containers from previous cargo, fresh container paint or other sources. “Furthermore, stringent container sorting procedures have been adopted so that containers that might potentially cause issues are not used in the first place. “Conservative practices of this nature have helped to prevent any major issues in recent years. However, there is still more to learn and through this current project we plan to rigorously understand and quantify the influence of different variables on bulk wine transport so we can assist Australian wine producers in always getting their wine to market in perfect condition at the best price.”

New research funded to address process efficiency gaps Seven research projects addressing process efficiency in wineries have received funding, as a result of GWRDC’s recent review of its 2014–15 investment priorities. GWRDC Program Manager Liz Waters said process efficiency was identified as a key theme in the GWRDC Strategic RD&E Plan 2012–17, and an independent gaps analysis showed it wasn’t being fully addressed by current research. The Plan identifies process efficiency as developing novel and improved practices and processes from the vineyard through to the point of sale, such as new winemaking practices and processes and improved packaging and transport strategies. “Using process efficiency as a means of driving business sustainability is relatively new to most of the wine industry and it isn’t a traditional wine research field,” Dr Waters

said. “As a consequence, we didn’t get the level of response we normally see for a call for proposals so we have also commissioned three projects.”

• •

The new projects are: •

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Two new processes for enhanced phenolic extraction in red wine making – Dr Anna Carew at University of Tasmania Novel fining agents to heat stabilise wine – Dr Vanessa Stockdale, Treasury Wine Estate and Professor Tony Bacic at Melbourne University Removal of lees from underneath wine to reduce wine movements and tank cleaning – Dr Simon Nordestgaard at Australian Wine Research Institute Evaluating the viability of process sensor technologies for measurement

•

of sugar levels during fermentation – Neil Scrimgeour, at AWRI A simple guide to LEAN for the wine industry – Nick Palousis at 2xE A broad review of potentially beneficial techniques and technologies – Nick Palousis at 2xE Life-cycle cost analysis of wine processing to identify major opportunities for process efficiency improvements – Nick Palousis at 2xE.

“All these projects address a big industry knowledge gap and I’m excited to see what eventuates from them,” Dr Waters said. More details regarding the gaps analysis can be found here: www.gwrdc.com.au/wpcontent/uploads/2013/05/2014-15-Gapsanalyses.pdf

Health and nutrition claims no longer on label Fears that wine producers would be forced to include ingredient information on labels have been allayed, at least for now, with the latest Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to be gazetted, Standard 1.2.7 – Nutrition, Health and Related Claims.

However, there are still more recommendations and potential labelling changes to come out of the original Labelling Logic – Review of Food Labelling Law and Policy report, by Dr Neal Blewett AC, which brought about the new Standard 1.2.7. According to Steve Guy, General Manager of Regulatory Advice at Wine Australia, “not mandating ingredient listing on wine labels is a victory for common sense.

“The issue of ingredient listing on wine labels is also being debated in many of our major export markets so the risk that winemakers may be required to include this information on their labels has not entirely receded,” Steve Guy said. Australian Wine Research Institute Health and Regulatory Information Manager Creina Stockley said the new Standard, which has a three-year transition period, has many more implications for food producers than for winemakers. “In the end, wine has been largely exempted from many of the changes in Standard 1.2.7, which was mostly expected based on the recommendations of the Blewett report,” she said.

“What benefit would be gained by informing consumers that wine contains, for example, added tartaric acid? All wine contains tartaric acid and consumers could actually be misled by the provision of this information in an ingredient list on some wines but not others,” he said.

Gazetted in February 2013, Standard 1.2.7 states alcoholic beverages such as wine are not permitted to make either a nutrition content claim (except about energy or carbohydrate content) or a health-related claim on the label of the wine bottle or in product advertising including a claim about a biologically active substance.

Nevertheless, the possibility that wine will be required to include an indication of energy content remains on the agenda for further discussion in 2014.

An example is that winemakers will no longer be able to include a measurement of the phenolic compound, resveratrol, on the wine label or nutrition panel.

However, should a winemaker make a nutrition content claim about energy or carbohydrate content, such as on lowcarbohydrate wines, then a nutrition information panel (NIP) including all mandatory elements of the NIP will need to be provided on the label (refer to Standard 1.2.8 – Nutrition Information Requirements, Subclause 5.1). This would include the energy, protein, fat (total and saturated), carbohydrates (sugar) and sodium content per serve and per 100 mL. Provisions for the declaration of alcohol content on labels given in Standard 2.7.1 – Labelling of Alcoholic Beverages and Food Containing Alcohol, remain unchanged. Standard 1.2.7 is available on the ComLaw website from the following link on the FSANZ website www.foodstandards.gov. au/foodstandards/foodstandardscode.cfm. For information about mandatory and optional wine label requirements, visit Wine Australiawww.wineaustralia.com/en/ Production%20and%20Exporting/Labelling. aspx Wine Australia staff are always available to provide advice on labelling requirements to Australian wine producers and exporters.

New research takes closer look at yield: nexus in grapevines Vineyard profitability in Australia has received a targeted research boost with the GWRDC approving funding for seven new projects. The GWRDC Strategic RD&E Plan 2012–17 identifies vineyard profitability as a key theme, describing it as identifying environmentally sustainable inputs into the vineyard and technologies that will allow reductions in vineyard labour and input costs. Research in this field also aims to facilitate technology transfer to ensure efficient use of resources in the vineyard, such as water and nutrients. GWRDC R&D Program Manager Keith Hayes said while GWRDC has previously invested in the area of vineyard profitability, a gaps analysis found that there were some key gaps in industry knowledge and researchable areas. “The gaps identified were in the areas of grape yield/quality nexus and yield estimation,” Mr Hayes said.

The approved projects and lead researchers are: •

•

Understanding and manipulating small signalling molecules to affect the yield/flavour (‘quality’) nexus, Dr Chris Davies, CSIRO Evaluating and demonstrating new disease resistant varieties for warm irrigated regions, Dr Mark Thomas, CSIRO Optimising grape quality and value to improve vineyard profitability and sustainability, Professor Alain Deloire, National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, Wagga Wagge The development of a low-input undervine floor management system which improves profitability without compromising yield or quality, Mr Chris Penfold, University of Adelaide The yield:quality nexus. Substantiating similarity in the patterns of variation in grape yield/vine vigour and indices of fruit quality, Dr Rob Bramley, CSIRO

•

Accurate and early yield predictions through advanced statistical modelling, Dr Steve Van Sluyter, Macquarie University. Improved yield prediction for the Australian wine industry, Assoc. Prof. Greg Dunn, NSW Department of Primary Industries.

“Each of these projects has huge potential and several are taking the research to the next critical stage, which is particularly rewarding to see,” Mr Hayes said. “GWRDC expects the projects will provide growers with additional practical information, tools and techniques to enhance the profitability of their grapegrowing business. “Given the current pressures on growers to sustain their enterprise under difficult economic and seasonal growing conditions, it is hoped the project outcomes may offer some different options to help manage these challenges,” he said.

Regional Program boosts wine industry competiveness and sustainability GWRDC’s Regional Program supported many workshops, field trials and new research projects across Australia’s major wine regions in 2012–13, with a focus on regional sustainability and competitiveness.

2012–13 program have been repeated or extended in this year’s Regional Program. They include research and trials focussed on sustainable irrigation, new clone evaluation and mulching in the Riverland; smoke taint and sustainable vineyard practices in Great Victoria; and more eutypa work in the SA Central region.

GWRDC Research and Development Program Manager Adrian Loschiavo, said among a long list of program highlights, spray application, best practice compost, soil and salt management and climate change were among the most popular themes in 2012–13. A spray application workshop, held in Kingston in December 2012, which presented the latest advice in disease control, spray diary reviews and a machinery demonstration, saw a large number of Riverland growers and wineries get involved. SA Central’s Salt – soils, vines, fruit and wines workshop attracted almost triple its expected audience, with 70 people registering to hear several industry experts on managing salt in the vineyard and winery. Barossa terroir was the focus of the 12-month SA North Barossa Grounds project. The project included several soil pits dug across the region, an interactive tour with soil experts discussing the region’s soil differences and a regional symposium to discuss the soil influence on vine performance and fruit quality. From Western Australia’s Regional Program, it was compost that generated the greatest response and interest. A field trial and two field days were hosted on the ‘adoption of compost best practice in the

vineyard and winery production’. Preparing for climate change garnered strong interest in the Greater Victoria region. The Regional Program seminar, held in February 2013, provided local industry with an update on the latest science on climate change and implications on the Australian wine industry. “There were also some unexpected but welcomed outcomes from new projects and technology explored through the Regional Program,” Mr Loschiavo said. “The particle film technology field trials, undertaken in Riverland and Greater NSW, generated strong interest amongst the local grower community and gave many their first look at the potential benefits of these novel products. “Also, the Pinot Noir masterclasses undertaken in Tasmania and Victoria were very well received with many like-minded growers and winemakers coming together to discuss and learn more about the variety.” Many of the activities funded in the

Tasmania’s annual Field Day returns; bunch rots, wine quality and sunscreen trials continue in Greater NSW and the ACT; mulching and fertiliser performance trials are ongoing in the Riverina; and more compost work will be done in Western Australia. In Queensland, water use efficiency and vineyard nutrient trials will continue in its 2013–14 Regional Program. Mr Loschiavo said the GWRDC’s Regional Program seeks to support practical trials of research findings that are structured to encourage adoption or adaption of innovation and improve regional competitiveness and sustainability. It also stimulates the extension of research findings and related information. “Growers and winemakers are welcome to suggest activities they would like to see extended or investigated further as part of the Regional Program, by contacting their regional association or GWRDC.” “We also strongly encourage all our wine industry members to participate in their Regional Program to access information on new technology and best practice.” For more information contact GWRDC Program Manager, Adrian Loschiavo, 08 8273 0500, adrian@gwrdc.com.au.

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grapegrowing

Who’s the big Boss man then? Cutting-edge research is providing a breath of aromatic air through the wine industry as researchers finally pin down the gene responsible for producing capsicum/vegetal flavour compounds in grapes.

At a glance: • For the past decade researchers have been investigating flavour and aroma development in grapes, with a focus on the link between grape secondary metabolism and wine flavour and aroma. • Some grape varieties do not produce compounds (methoxypyrazines) responsible for the capsicum/vegetal aroma, so comparing genetic maps of varieties with those which do has helped pin down the gene. • Understanding how these compounds are formed will optimise the process and help growers vary their vineyard management to produce better wine grapes.

DR PAUL BOSS is inhaling the complex molecular bouquet of flavour in his role as research scientist in CSIRO’s Plant Industry, working in the laboratories on the Waite campus in South Australia. For the past decade Boss has been investigating the genes responsible for wine’s aroma and taste. He leads a research group investigating flavour and aroma development in grape berries, with a particular interest in the link between grape secondary metabolism and wine flavour and aroma. Originally from New Zealand, Boss moved to Australia and completed his doctorate in the molecular biological processes involved in producing anthocyanin pigments, which are responsible for colour in grape berry skins. He then worked at CSIRO’s Plant Industry to investigate flower cluster

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formation in grapes with the goal of rapidly inducing flower production in young vines. Now Boss and his team work on investigating flavour and aroma development in grape berries and the fruits of their labours are paying off. The team has uncovered the gene responsible for producing capsicum/ vegetal flavour compounds in grapes. Identifying the gene responsible, and understanding how these compounds are produced in the fruit, means winemakers can have new ways of managing flavour in the vineyard in the future. Boss said he gets the most satisfaction from working on flavour and aroma in wine. “It feels good to do science you hope will benefit the wine industry,” Boss said. “Having positive outcomes and seeing

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The genetic and biochemical processes involved in creating the signature flavours of your favourite drop are incredibly complex

Boss man: Dr Paul Boss and his team have uncovered the gene responsible for producing capsicum/vegetal flavour compounds in grapes.

grape growers and winemakers taking up the results of our work is what drives me,” he added. “I like complexity. It can be daunting to start with but I like to have difficult challenges to work on. When something is complex, you can really get your teeth into it. “The genetic and biochemical processes involved in creating the signature flavours of your favourite drop are incredibly complex. “Some grape varieties do not produce the compounds

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(methoxypyrazines) responsible for the capsicum/vegetal aroma, so by comparing genetic maps of grape varieties which do produce the compounds with those that don’t, we were able to pin down the gene responsible. “We’ve known about methoxypyrazines, the compounds responsible for the green flavours in Cabernet Sauvignon or Sauvignon Blanc for years, but now we understand what gene is responsible for this character. “At the moment I’m investigating when flavour compounds and precursors are produced during berry development. It is commonly thought that ripening is the key period where berry flavour develops, however we’ve found that some compounds are made in the early stages of grape development, and these can have positive or negative effects on wine composition. “Understanding how these compounds are formed will allow us to optimise the process and provide growers with information about how to vary their vineyard management to produce better wine grapes.” The volatile compounds responsible for aroma and flavour are exposed to a number of influences from vineyard to glass. Boss said there are more than 800 volatile compounds in wine, interacting and sometimes suppressing each other. But he said he and his team are teasing it apart, looking for associations between wine sensory characters and the compounds in grapes and wine. For example, the main distinction in Cabernet Sauvignon seems to be that some compounds have a ‘green’ character while others are associated with more fruity flavours. There is a growing understanding of the compounds which contribute to aroma and flavour in the finished wine, but there is currently little understanding of how compounds in the grape berries contribute to the final flavour and aroma characteristics. Identifying these compounds, understanding how they are made and how they make it into wine opens the door to new ways of managing flavour in the vineyard. Boss is also currently involved in developing objective measures of quality in grapes in collaboration with Dr Dave Jeffery and Dr Susan Bastian at the University of Adelaide. “If we can objectively measure grape flavour attributes in the vineyard, it would be possible to predict and optimise wine flavour and aroma before the grapes are even harvested,” Boss said. “That would provide tools to optimise grape flavour potential in the vineyard and deliver the means of producing grapes with a desired chemical profile that can be used to make wines of a specified flavour profile,” he said. Boss is happy to talk about his work inside and outside the lab and his work hasn’t taken away the enjoyment of drinking wine. “There is nothing better than when someone hands me a glass of wine and says ‘this is interesting, try this’. “I look for new ones to include as part of my work. Occasionally I will bring the wine into work and run it on the machines to see if there is anything unusual about it. I’m always looking for something a little different.” Contact: Paul Boss. 1300 363 400. Email: enquiries@csiro.au.

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February 2014 – Issue 601

Growing high quality crops. Farming, the biggest job on earth.

The population is rapidly growing, as are our expectations. Growers are constantly pressured to maximise yields and produce higher quality crops. Consumers not only want crops that are tastier, they also want them to be better looking, more nutritious and affordable. If quality doesn’t meet the

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community’s high standards, they’re quickly discarded. That’s why BASF is working closely with growers to create chemistry that will help produce grapes that consumers want. With help from BASF, success is in farmers’ hands.

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Canopy damage from herbicides The AWRI’s viticulture team received a query at the start of flowering from a grower concerned about canopy damage observed in their vineyard. The description of the damage and the photographs provided pointed to herbicides as the likely cause of the problem.

Q: I’m seeing distorted leaf symptoms and stunted shoots in the canopy. The damage is in sections along the cordon with often healthy looking shoots on either side. I think it might be mites or herbicide drift. Do you have any suggestions?

Figure 1: Stunted shoots and damaged / malformed leaves on a grapevine.

A. The damage shown does not appear to have been caused by bud mites because while symptoms do include malformed basal leaves and stunted growth, with bud mite infestation shortened internodes and zig-zag growth would also be expected. There are several signs that point to glyphosate drift being responsible for this damage. Typical symptoms of glyphosate drift onto grapevines include deeply-lobed basal leaves and leaf cupping, both of which are seen in Figure 1.

Inflorescences of glyphosate-affected shoots have also been reported to show unusual characteristics. Figure 2 shows a closeup of the flowers which are opening from the top of the cap. Longbottom et al. (2008) reported a similar phenomenon in Merlot vines affected by glyphosate herbicide. The Merlot flowers were identified as being small and immature in appearance and having pink pigmentation at the tip. Glyphosate is a non-selective systemic herbicide absorbed by foliage and translocated rapidly. It is possible the necrotic spots on the basal leaves are the result of undervine herbicide application drifting onto green tissue and translocating to other parts of the vine. The chemical burns the leaves where initial contact takes place. Alternatively, symptoms of glyphosate damage in spring have sometimes been observed in vines following a post-harvest application the previous autumn. Glyphosate is known to degrade slowly in plant tissue where it is protected from microbial breakdown. Dr Melanie Weckert’s research at the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC) identified that potted Chardonnay vines could take up glyphosate from soil. The potted vines were also able to take up glyphosate from the roots of glyphosate-treated weeds in the same pot (M. Whitelaw-Weckert 2013, pers. comm.). Soils with low potential for glyphosate degradation (limited microbial activity, low clay content or high phosphorus) increase risk of grapevine damage due to remobilisation of glyphosate back into the soil solution and subsequent uptake by the plant. To confirm if a chemical is responsible for vine damage, analytical laboratories can test for residues in tissue. If symptoms are extensive across the block, measuring the residue level in fruit at harvest is important for fruit going into both export and domestic wine.

Figure 2: Inflorescence cap uncharacteristically opening from the top rather than lifting off.

To minimise the chance of damage from herbicide drift, use best practice in herbicide applications and pay particular attention to critical comments included on labels such as “Do not allow spray or spray drift to contact bark, leaves, wounds or any other plant parts of any crop as severe injury may occur”. If herbicide damage occurs, water stress should be avoided to give vines the best chance of recovery. The AWRI acknowledges the contribution of Dr Melanie Weckert (NWGIC) to this article. Contact: For further information, please contact the AWRI viticulture team. Phone: 61 8 8313 6600. Email: viticulture@awri.com.au.

Reference Longbottom, M.L. Dry, P.R. Sedgley, M. Observations on the morphology and development of star flowers of Vitis vinifera L. cvs Chardonnay and Shiraz. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. 14 (3): 203-210; 2008.

Looking for more stories on herbicides? Search our Grapegrower & Winemaker article archive at

www.winebiz.com.au/gwm 32 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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February 2014 – Issue 601

Overview In December last year some of Australia’s leading experts gathered in Adelaide for the “Soil and Wine” symposium. Their presentations extended from the controversial – the legal battle to define the Coonawarra to the practical of terroir and wine typicity.

In this special feature Grapegrower & Winemaker presents an overview of what happened with a focus on just how bitterly the battle lines were drawn by those defending their terroir and those wanting to be part of it.

Coonawarra – the trauma of defining the terroir Is there only a soil component to terroir? No, according to Rob Fitzpatrick, Professorial Research Fellow at The University of Adelaide. He reports on the Australian viticultural soil key and the decadelong legal stoush that was the Coonawarra boundary dispute. THIS PAPER ARGUES soil classification needs to be more broadly acknowledged as a driving factor not only in soil as a component of terroir but as a useful tool to better manage soils. Soil It summarises some of the soil-based management assertions presented by Alfred Cass and myself during the Coonawarra wine region boundary dispute case in 2001. And highlights the key importance of Terra Rossa soils and Rendzinas during the Coonawarra wine region boundary legal dispute. The objectives of this paper were to briefly review: 1 The concept of soil terroir. 2 The role of classifying soils for a particular purpose with emphasis on past and current national General-purpose broad soil classification systems and special-purpose / technical soil classification systems. 3 Briefly review the occurrence, formation and criteria for good grapegrowing of the major soil types in the Coonawarra wine region presented as soil evidence by Alfred Cass and Robert Fitzpatrick during the Coonawarra wine region litigation.

“similar looking” red Terra Rossa soils found in the South East of SA played a key role in the legal battle during the multimillion dollar “Coonawarra boundary legal dispute” in 2001. The Coonawarra wine region is characterised by these Terra Rossa soils, forming a thin, linear shape 23km long, with a width of only about 1.7km (Figure 1). According to Goode (2003) “But you don’t have to look too far below the surface to see that there are subtle but important differences between old world and new world notions of terroir. Speaking generally, in the old world terroirists aim to make wines that express the typicity of the specific vineyard site, whereas in the more pragmatic new world, understanding

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SOIL TERROIR AND THE IMPORTANCE OF CLASSIFYING SOILS Although much has been made of soil as a component of terroir in the Old World wine regions of France, Germany and Italy, there essentially remains relatively little scientific understanding of the site-specific effects of soil terroir in determining a wine’s typicity (e.g. Maltman 2008) in New World counties such as Australia and South Africa. In countries such as France, Italy and Germany the concept of terroir is deep-seated and almost routinely used by winegrowers as their frame of reference in terms of what happens in their vineyards. Their wine laws are built around the concepts of appellations, which lend official sanction to the idea a combination of certain vineyard sites and grape varieties create unique wines expressing their geographical origins in a true form (Vaudour, 2004). However, in recent years, the soil terroir concept has been increasingly used in the technical literature as an important influence on vine growth and wine character and as “marketing tool for wines” (e.g. White, 2003). For example, the eye-catching Terra Rossa soil type with unique properties (e.g. prominent red colour, clay sub-plasticity properties and hydrogeology) that distinguishes it from other February 2014 – Issue 601

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grapegrowing terroir is seen as a route to improved quality”.

KEY TO CLASSIFICATION Classifying soils for a particular purpose involves the ordering them into groups with similar properties and for potential end uses. In general, soil classification systems currently used in most countries involve the use of the following three broad approaches (Fitzpatrick 2004): 1 General-purpose broad soil classifications, which communicate soil information at international scales [e.g. Soil Taxonomy (Soil Survey Staff 2010)] and national scales [e.g. Australian soil classification (Isbell, 1996) and Handbook of Australian Soils (Stace et al. 1968]. 2 State, provincial or regional soil classifications, which are designed both to assist with ‘‘user-friendly’’ communication of soil information and to account for the occurrence of soils that impact on existing and future industry development and prosperity [e.g. South Australia (Hall, Maschmedt and Billing 2009)]. 3 Special-purpose and more technical classification systems, which are

used for local or single-purpose applications. These systems generally involve using detailed soil assessment criteria with recommendations for specific soil management practices in a range of specific industries [e.g. Viticulture (Fitzpatrick et al. 2002, 1993; Maschmedt et al. 2002)].

THE AUSTRALIAN VITICULTURAL SOIL KEY Respected viticultural scientist Peter May wrote in 1994 Australian viticulturalists had a great interest in, and unfulfilled need of, knowing more about their soils. However, most Australian viticulture books had fallen short of expectations in this regard (May, 1994). All Australian general-purpose or national soil classification systems were found to be inadequate and could not be adapted for identifying soil profiles and soil properties within vineyards by managers lacking soil science skills. Accordingly, the Australian viticulture industry called for the development of a “user-friendly soil key” that for example could be adopted by viticulturists to select and match grapevine rootstocks with appropriate Australian soils. Subsequently, an Australian

Viticultural Soil Key was developed in 2002 (Fitzpatrick et al. 2002, 1993; Maschmedt et al. 2002). The key essentially uses non-technical terms to categorise soils based on attributes important for vine growth and also correlated these attributes with the National Australian Soil Classification (Isbell 1996), Great Soil Groups (Stace et al. 1968) and several international soil classification systems (Soil Taxonomy, World Soil Reference Base and South African). The key essentially identifies restrictive soil layers that limit effective root depth (9 categories and 36 sub-categories). The soil features used in the key are easily recognised and focus on the following soil diagnostic features (Table 1): depth to water logging (mottling), hard (non-rippable) or soft rock (rippable), rockiness and stoniness, soil consistence, colour, structure, calcareousness in different restrictive layers, cracks; and three types of texture changes down profiles: contrast (duplex character), uniform (little change) or gradational (gradual change). The key layout is bifurcating, being based on the presence or absence of particular soil profile features.

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February 2014 – Issue 601

The key has also been extensively used for correlating rootstock performance with soil properties and as a vehicle for delivering soil-specific land development and soil management options to viticulturists (Cass et al. 2002; 1996). According to Lanyon et al. (2004) in Australia, development of a manual for the management of the soil resource that builds on the recently-developed Australian Viticultural Soil Key is necessary. They believe the key provides a suitable platform to develop management tools for various soil conditions. However, past soil viticultural experiments have, largely, not devoted sufficient effort to describing soil properties. Consequently, at present, linking vine response results to the Viticultural Soil Key is not possible because of the poor description of the soil properties in past experiments (Lanyon et al. 2004). Table 1 The Australian Viticultural Soil Key, nine soil categories (Maschmedt et al. 2002) Soil Categories

Soil attributes (Identification of restrictive soil layers that limit effective root depth)

1: Wet Soil

Depth to water logging colour (mottling)

2: Very shallow non-rippable soil

Hard (non-rippable)

3: Very shallow stony rippable soil

Soft rock (rippable)

4: Shallow soil

Rockiness and stoniness

5: Cracking Clay

Cracks, consistence, soil colour, texture and structure

6: Duplex soil with restrictive sub-soil

Duplex (abrupt change) change in soil texture with depth

7: D uplex soil with non-restrictive subsoil

Duplex (abrupt change) change in soil texture with depth

8: Calcareous soil

Calcareousness

9: Uniform or gradational soil

Uniform (little change) or gradational (gradual change) change in soil texture with depth

VINE TALK

Must-dos for a clean vineyard floor at harvest Scott Mathew, Technical Lead, Syngenta

A clean vineyard floor is important for harvest to run smoothly and prevent possible contamination of the fruit by weeds or trash. If your weed control program is up-to-date, you’re in a good position, but there may still be some parts of the vineyard that need a quick tidy up. As a matter of precaution, avoid translocated actives like glyphosate at this time of year. The chance of herbicide uptake by suckers and low hanging canes and leaves makes this kind of application too risky. Remember, spray drift is enemy number one at this time of year! More suitable products for use at this time are those that do not translocate much within the plant, such as contact herbicides (e.g. SPRAY.SEED®). A great tool to manage drift and achieve the desired coverage under vines is the Syngenta Air Induction Nozzle. The angled nozzle tip provides better spray penetration into dense weed foliage and better coverage on weeds that stand upright, like small barley grass or ryegrass seedlings, and ultimately maximises the performance of the herbicide being applied. The best water rate to use will depend on a range of factors including the product being used, the target weed and weed density. Droplet size can be altered to improve performance or suit weather conditions and this can be done by changing nozzles and adjusting the spray pressure. Generally, smaller droplets achieve better coverage but are also more prone to spray drift. Larger droplets are less prone to drift but can reduce coverage. The following considerations need to be made when choosing the droplet size and water rate: •

COONAWARRA WINE REGION BOUNDARY LEGAL DISPUTE

•

Instead of using the European Community (EC) appellationstyle system (e.g. Bordeaux) the Australian wine producers were told they would need to abandon these terms and label it’s wines with geographic indications (‘GIs’). The GIs would specify the ‘region’ from which the grapes in a wine originated. As a consequence, Australian wine producers were required to determine regional boundaries or GIs. If the name Coonawarra was to be used on wine labels, the region had to be clearly defined. The Geographic Indications Committee (GIC) attempted in 1995 to define the Coonawarra wine region principally in terms of its soil and climate, but these attributes did not appear to provide an accurate discernible boundary. The GIC complied with all the conditions imposed by PIRSA on use of Land System maps (Witness Statement –Maschmedt, 2000 Annexure 6). However, several Applicants challenged the GIC boundary decision via the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (‘the AAT’) and thereafter some Appellants appealed to the Federal Court of Australia on matters of law. The AAT hearing took place from 20th February 2001 to 26 March, 2001 (the Decision was announced on 5 October 2001) and was presided over by Justice O’Connor. The following panel of expert witnesses with experience in soil science and related disciplines provided thematic evidence February 2014 – Issue 601

• •

Select the best droplet spectrum for the target weed and select a water volume appropriate for weed size. Is the plant flat or upright? In general, plants that are flat on the ground make for an easier target. Droplet size or water rate may need to be adjusted, or adjuvants added for hairy weeds. Add an adjuvant if the label says to do so.

Avoid: • •

Using greater water volumes than required to achieve satisfactory coverage. The active ingredient may simply be washed off the plant, reducing efficacy. Using lower water volumes than required. This may result in poor coverage or the droplet drying too quickly thus reducing uptake. Syngenta is one of the world’s leading companies with more than 27,000 employees in over 90 countries dedicated to our purpose: Bringing plant potential to life. Through worldclass science, global reach and commitment to our customers we help to increase crop productivity, protect the environment and improve health and quality of life. Visit our website at www.syngenta.com.au

Vine Talk is compiled by Scott Mathew, Technical Lead, Syngenta scott.mathew@syngenta.com 0428225597

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

grapegrowing in “joint sessions”, which is also known as “concurrent evidence” or as a “an expert hot tub” (Administrative Appeals Tribunal, 2005; Heerey, 2002; Edmond, 2006): 1 Dr Alfred Cass (R), International Consultant Soil Scientist 1 Dr Robert Fitzpatrick (R), Soil Scientist/ Senior Principal Research Scientist (CSIRO Land and Water) 2 Mr David Maschmedt (A), Soil Scientist (PIRSA); 2 Mr Kenneth Wetherby (A), Soil Scientist; 2 Dr Richard Smart (A), Consultant Viticulturist; 2 Dr Dianne Davidson (A), Consultant Viticulturist; 2 Dr Derek Smith (A), Geographer; 2 Mr Max Foale (A), Cartographer. 1(R): Council for Respondents (i.e. those defending the GIC’s Final Boundary Determination before the AAT) 2(A): Council for Main Applicants (i.e. those who challenged the GIC’s Final Boundary Determination before the AAT). The expert witnesses were also subjected to rigorous crossexamination.

SOIL-BASED ASSERTIONS (Unique distribution and formation of soil types in the Coonawarra wine region) The Coonawarra is in the South East of SA (Figure 1), and is part of the so-called Limestone Coast zone. Early association between Coonawarra and winemaking was through the Riddoch Coonawarra Fruit Colony in the 1890s. The landscape is flat and low (less than 100m above sea level) with temperature variations of up to five degrees in any given day. The relatively cool climate enables the grapes to have a longer maturation period, which results in a characteristic intensity of fruit, both in terms of colour and flavor. The “terra rossa” soils (Petrocalcic Red Dermosols) on the Coonawarra Limestone Ridge are predominantly clayey (light to medium clay) at the surface (see photograph in Figure 2b) while the Terra Rossa soils outside the GIC boundary but within Viticulture Coonawarra are predominantly sandy (sand, loamy sand, sandy loam) at the surface and to a significant extent with increasing depth (Blackburn 1983). It is important to note Terra Rossa soils are a “broad soil type”, which occurs throughout the South East in strips (as in Coonawarra and Koppamurra) and in isolated pockets. Rendzina soils (Petrocalcic Black Dermosols) are black and overlie limestone (see photograph in Figure 2b). The Terra Rossa soils are approximately equivalent to Rendzina soils in physical and chemical properties and, by extension, in grapegrowing attributes. The Terra Rossa soils and Rendzinas overlie the Upper Pleistocene Padthaway Formation. This formation is composed of lacustrine and lagoonal dolomites, limestone, claystone and sandstone.

Figure 1. Generalised soil map of Coonawarra district showing the spatial distribution of the freely draining Terra Rossa soils (Petrocalcic Red Dermosols) on the low limestone ridge (so-called cigar, strip or platform) and adjacent Rendzinas (Petrocalcic Black Dermosols) and Black earths (Black Vertosols), which are subject to water-logging or flooding under natural conditions.

The Padthaway Limestone beneath the Terra Rossa soils has undergone extensive solution so what remains is a collapsed limestone solution breccia (Figure 2a). Hancock and Huggett (2004) estimated from visual observation the overall porosity is high, perhaps ~ 30%. This is a much higher porosity than should be encountered in the unaltered limestone. The landscape of the South East is dominated by aeolian features, such as playa–lunette systems and longitudinal dunes, most of which are relict (e.g. Blackburn 1983). According to Blackburn it is reasonable to conclude the Terra Rossa soils are dominated by an aeolian component. This aeolian activity has resulted in the aeolian transfer of carbonate-rich dust from the clay flats (e.g. local aeolian Bool Lagoon material) to the ridges (Figure 2a), which will explain the

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February 2014 – Issue 601

Figure 2a: The Coonawarra region during the Last Glaciation Period between 26,500 and 20,000 years ago when the sea level was lower and this low-lying area was less subject to annual inundation with substantial aeolian transfer of carbonate-rich dust from the clay flats to the ridges. Figure 2b: The Coonawarra region today when with current sea level is much higher showing the distribution of the red Terra Rossa soils on the Coonawarra Limestone Ridge, which are dominantly clayey (light to medium clay) at the surface and display sub-plastic clay texture properties. The low-lying grey-black soils become waterlogged during wet winters leaving them in an anaerobic state in which iron cannot be oxidised.

presence of high levels of silt and clay in the red Terra Rossa soils and the so-called anomalous hard secondary calcium carbonate capping or layer on the limestone (Figure 2b), which is likely to have formed from the calcium carbonate provided in the aeolian dust and eventually leached through the soil (Figure 2b). Mee et al. (2004) confirmed the role of aeolian geomorphic mechanisms in the formation of these Terra Rossa soils using

Figure 2. Soil-regolith cross-section models presented in court during Administrative Appeals Tribunal hearing in February 2001 to explain the unique formation of the various adjacent red and black soil types.

a range of geochemical and mineralogical methods. The reddening of the Terra Rossa soils on Coonawarra limestone ridge is primarily associated with the rise of 1-2m above the western plains (Figure 2) â€“ enough for the soils to avoid water logging and become ferruginised (i.e. formation of hematite and goethite) during the weathering of the aeolian carbonate-rich dust. The low-lying grey-black soils become

waterlogged during wet winters leaving them in an anaerobic state in which iron cannot be oxidised. Clearly, these soil types on the Coonawarra limestone ridge, have a unique origin and confirms that the geomorphic and soil weathering conditions that created these soils occurred only once. The drainage conditions of soils on the Coonawarra limestone ridge are ideal for vines and are remarkably similar to those

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grapegrowing in true chalks, as described by Hancock and Price (1990). The Terra Rossa soils have a high masspermeability and will allow any excess rainfall to penetrate the underlying, highly permeable, limestone. Consequently, after heavy rainfall events excess water is likely to drain away. According to Hancock and Price (1990) it follows the limestone solution-breccia will hold moisture for the vines, during even months of no rainfall. Hancock and Huggett (2004) also argue vines in the Coonawarra on limestone ridge excel not only because of the good physical properties of the surficial Terra Rossa soils but also because of the ideal hydro-geological properties of the breccia in the underlying limestone. The Terra Rossa soils, and to a slightly lesser extent the Rendzina soils, both found on Coonawarra limestone ridge, have superior structural stability and resilience attributable to the following special combination of properties: • High concentrations of calcium (Stace 1956). • High free iron oxide content (Norrish and Rogers, 1956; McIntyre, 1956). • High organic matter content (McIntyre 1956; Norrish and Rogers 1956). • An elevated manifestation of “subplastic” clay texture mechanical behaviour (McIntyre 1976), which is likely caused by the very high electrostatic interaction between the different types of layer silicates and iron oxides that are present in these soils (Norrish and Rogers 1956; Norrish and Tiller 1976).

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38 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Figure 3: Photograph showing loose Terra Rossa soil with underlying calcium carbonate (limestone) fragments placed around wine bottles Brand’s Laira Coonawarra winery cellar door facilities. The following statement occurs on their website: “At first glance, Coonawarra appears featureless. Until you look down. That red soil is the famous ‘terra rossa’. It is every winemaker’s dream.”

Figure 4: Photograph showing a whole Terra Rossa soil profile on display in a glass cabinet at Wynns Coonawarra Estate. The following statement is on their website: “The first vineyards were planted in 1891, by Scottish pioneer John Riddoch as he recognised the potential of a small strip of fertile red soil, the terra rossa, in the far south east of South Australia.

The sub-plastic behaviour in these soils is due to the presence of very stable clay micro-aggregates which essentially behave collectively as much larger particles, conferring the favourable properties of sand size particles on the soil but retaining all the favourable properties of clays (Norrish and Tiller 1976). Their depth to the underlying hard rock in relation to the local climate is also an important factor determining their suitability for premium wine production.

written judgment the following soil-based statements were made: • There are substantial areas within the Applicants’ proposed boundary where viticultural prospects are low, given the nature of the soil and evidence of waterlogging and poor drainage. • “We have, however, concluded on the basis of Mr Maschmedt’s evidence that an extension of the cigar to an area south of the township of Penola could be substantiated, and create homogeneity for those vineyards south of the town of Penola.” • “We set aside the decision under review and direct that the matter be referred to the GIC for implementation of the Coonawarra Region boundary in accordance with our description of the boundary. “ After nearly 20 years of contention, the official boundary of the Coonawarra Wine Region was finally determined and registered in January 2003 and its international reputation protected. Although vineyards have spread onto other adjacent soil types, the Federal Court identified ‘the location and dimensions of the limestone ridge as corresponding to the area of the “Penola Land System” delineated in the map published by Primary Industries and Resources of SA.’ This land system has been mapped and today is a narrow ridge 27km long averaging only 1.8km in width. It comprises 4820ha, and accounts for just 12 per cent of the official Coonawarra Region. In summary, one matter, which was not in dispute, was the fact the final reputation of Coonawarra area is firmly founded on its distinctive limestone ridge (cigar) of Terra Rossa soils in which John Riddoch first planted vines during 1890. In contrast Edmond (2006) and others (e.g. Rimmer, 2009) have written extensive critical reviews of the legal process that led the

VARIETY OF SOIL TYPES Within the general Coonawarra area, grapes are grown on a variety of soil types, but with varying degrees of success and profitability. Terra Rossa and Rendzina soils have properties that cause economic yields and high quality grape production to be easy and cheap. The Texture Contrast and Cracking Clay soils have properties which impede this (Cass 1999a,b; Cass et al. 1996, Cass and Maschmedt 1998). Development and management to produce equivalent yield and quality, if ever, requires greater expenditure. From inception of grape production at Coonawarra growers have been aware of this and, by trial and error, have determined which are the best soils for their purposes.

THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL DECISION Edmond (2006) summarised the written judgment of soil-based findings on the expert evidence as follows: “Reluctantly accepting that soil could not be ‘the primary determinant’, because ‘it varied both within and outside the cigar’, the AAT nevertheless embraced the platform and the terra rossa soil as the defining feature(s) of the Coonawarra wine region. ‘Proximity’ to the platform was central to its assessment.” For example, in the www.winebiz.com.au

February 2014 – Issue 601

final official registration of the boundary of the Coonawarra Wine Region.

MARKETING AND “SOIL TERROIR” IN THE COONAWARRA REGION The use of the beauty of the Coonawarra landscape and soil terroir for promotion and marketing of wine has been emphasised by several wine growers in the Coonawarra. Irrespective of how much is invested in soil terroir research, the “concept of soil terroir” as a value proposition for several Coonawarra wine producers as well for the consumer, has been accepted first and foremost in the Coonawarra. At several of the cellar door tasting rooms in the Coonawarra, especially those along the Riddoch Highway, an increasing number of growers have recently created displays focusing on Terra Rossa soil profiles. While tasters sip happily they are able to look at displays of the different soil profile features recreated from the vineyards where wine grapes are sourced, such as at the Brand’s Laira Coonawarra winery (Figure 3: loose Terra Rossa soil placed around wine bottles) and Wynns Coonawarra Estate winery (Figure 4: whole Terra Rossa soil profile on display in a glass cabinet). At the Zema Estate winery, the Terra Rossa soil landscape and planted vineyards with is a very prominent feature located within 15m of the cellar door facilities. The various soil-profile displays and the written information in websites and winelabels (see Figures 3 and 4) allow tasters to learn about the wine and the soil that supports the vines and grapes. It is not only the soil type, but also the wind, rainfall and temperature that

determines “terroir” and the human element, which plays a definite role (Mouton 2006).

CONCLUSIONS In the process of writing I have also come to a strong personal conviction about the Coonawarra landscape and “soil terroir”. It is only by melding our specialised scientific understandings of the various soil types in the Coonawarra wine region, such as for the Terra Rossa soils and Rendzinas with the concept of terroir they engender – including the pure aesthetic splendour of these soils, the *historicism and the mystical – that we will fully appreciate why it demands we be “the caretaker of these magnificent soils”. Finally, because many wine regions in Australia have distinctive and diverse soil types with varied topography there is a potential for “diversity of soil terroir conditions” to challenge winemakers to be creative and make wines with unique character and complexity to their region of production. *historicism is a mode of thinking that assigns a central and basic significance to a specific context, such as historical period, geographical place and local culture

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This overview paper draws heavily from my work over several years with Dr Alfred Cass and the development of the unpublished notes prepared for the Coonawarra Boundary Dispute case. I want to thank Dr Cass for help and encouragement before and during the trail. The comments, discussions and suggestions of many of our colleagues in CSIRO, the University of Adelaide and

PIRSA, particularly Andrew Dowley, David Maschmedt and Dr Louise Clarke, which have been used extensively in this work are gratefully acknowledged. Contact: Robert Fitzpatrick. Phone: 61 8 8313 8511. Email: robert.fitzpatrick@adelaide.edu.au.

References Administrative Appeals Tribunal (2005) An evaluation of the use of concurrent evidence in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Administrative Appeals Tribunal. 83pp http://www.aat.gov.au/Publications/Research/ AATConcurrentEvidenceReportNovember2005.pdf Blackburn, G. (1983) Soils. In: Tyler, M.J., Twidale, C.R.,Ling, J.K. and Holmes, J.W. (Eds). Natural history of the South East. Royal Society of South Australia. Occasional Publications, 5:39-48. Cass A. (1999a) Interpretation of some soil physical indicators for assessing soil physical fertility. p. 95-102. In: K. Peverell,, L.A. Sparrow and D.J. Reuter (eds.) In Soil Analysis: an Interpretation Manual. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, Australia Cass A. (1999b) What soil factors really determine water availability to vines. The Australian Grapegrower & Winemaker, 27th Annual Technical Issue, No. 426a. Cass Alfred, Robert Fitzpatrick, David Maschmedt, Karin Thomson, Andrew Dowley and Susan Van Goor. (2002). Soils of the Australian Rootstock Trials. The Australian and New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker (Annual Technical issue). 461A. p.40–49. Cass A., R.R. Walker and R.W. Fitzpatrick (1996). Vineyard soil degradation by salt accumulation and the effect on the performance of the vine. p. 153-160. In C.S. Stockley, R.S. Johnstone and T.H. Lee (eds.). Proc. 9th Australian wine industry technical conference; July, 1995; Adelaide, South Australia. Winetitles Cass A. and Maschmedt D. (1998) Vineyard soils: Recognising structural problems. The Australian Grapegrower & Winemaker, April 1998, pages 23-26. Edmond G. (2006) Disorder with law: Determining the Geographical Indication for the Coonawarra wine region. Adelaide Law Review Volume 27 No 1: 182 pages Fitzpatrick RW (2004) Classi fi cation systems: Australian. In: Daniel Hillel (Editor-In-Chief) Encyclopedia of soils in Continued Page 40

Headed by founder, Randal Tomich in Australia with John Crossland in California. Soilworks specializes in precision soil improvements in viticulture, orchards and forestry. Our precision ripping and development technology has been developed over the past 13 years in consultation with soil scientists, mechanical engineers and growers. The service we provide is tailored to the growers needs and is generally carried out in either a one or two pass system as detailed below. TWO PASS SYSTEM - RIP, DELVE & BED ONE PASS SYSTEM - RIP & BED Pass 1: Rip & Delve using Vibrosoiler Pass 1: Rip & Bed to form ready to plus addition of amendments plant bed. Pass 2: Rip & Bed to form a ready to No additional cultivation required plant bed

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Terroir and the topic of wine typicity Peter Dry, viticulture consultant at the Australian Wine Research Institute, describes any attempt to explain the terroir of a region in terms of a single factor as ‘futile’. THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION of Vine and Wine defines terroir as “...a unique and delimited geographical area for which there is a collective knowledge of the interaction between the physical and biological environment and applied viticultural practices”. In recent decades, as a result of research, there has been much progress in our understanding of terroir expression, particularly at the individual vineyard level. The most important factors of the physical environment that may influence terroir are climate (particularly mesoclimate), soil (particularly the nitrogen status and the physical characteristics such as water holding capacity, aeration and so on) and geomorphology (altitude, slope and aspect). Geology also plays a role because it can influence soil type, geomorphology and drainage. All these factors interact and so it is futile to attempt to explain terroir in terms of a single factor 6. Therefore, it is perplexing that some wine regions have jumped so strongly onto the geology bandwagon in their

quest to describe the terroirs of their region – with geological maps used to delineate districts or subregions. Is it because they believe that it will be useful for marketing their wine? Certainly the presence of rocks in a landscape can be useful for implanting images of distinctiveness – and wine writers seem to embrace the fanciful notion vineyard geology can be ‘tasted’ in the wine. Or is it because they believe their geology is important to the production of their premium wines despite the absence of hard evidence to support this assumption. Or is it a consequence of the greatly increased use of ‘minerality’ as a wine descriptor and a belief wine minerality is a direct consequence of geology? The reality is both the inorganic chemical profile of the grape berry and the proportions of minerals in wine bear little relationship with vineyard geochemistry3,4. Ironically, ‘wine minerality’ is an ill-defined concept and even sensory experts are unable to come to a consensus1.

Some wine regions have chosen to exclude geological maps in their terroir description – for example, the Limestone Coast 2 and Orange5 – perhaps because it has been concluded the use of soil maps is a more valuable tool to describe terroir.

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Heerey, P (2002). Expert Evidence: The Australian experience. Paper presented to the World Intellectual Property Organisation Asia-Pacific Colloquium, New Delhi, 6 February 2002.

Mouton G.D. (2006) Terroir: the footprint of great wines. Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the qualification of the Cape Wine Master Diploma Cape Wine Academy

Hancock, J.M. and Huggett, J.M. (2004) The geological controls in Coonawarra, Journal of Wine Research, 15, 115–122.

Norrish, K., Rogers, L.E.R., (1956). The mineralogy of some Terra Rossa and Rendzinas of South Australia. J. Soil Sci. 7, 294– 301.

Lanyon D.M., Cass A and Hansen D. (2004) The effect of soil properties on vine performance. CSIRO Land and Water Technical Report No. 34/04. October

Norrish, K. and Tiller K.G. (1976) Subplasticity in Australian soils. V. Factors involved and techniques of dispersion. Aust. J. Soil Res. 14. 273-290.

Maltman Alex (2008) The Role of Vineyard Geology in Wine Typicity, Journal of Wine Research, 19:1, 1-17, DOI: 10.1080/09571260802163998

Rimmer M. (2009), The Grapes of Wrath: The Coonawarra Dispute, Geographical Indications and International Trade. Landmarks in Australian Intellectual Property: In Andrew Kenyon, Megan Richardson, & Sam Ricketson, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2009. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1353624

the environment. Elsevier, Oxford, pp 211–216. © 2005. ISBN (Set): 0-12-348530-4 Fitzpatrick R.W. (2013). Demands on Soil Classification and Soil Survey Strategies: Special-purpose soil classification systems for local practical use. In. S.A Shahid, F.K. Taha and M.A. Abdelfattah (eds.), Developments in Soil Classification, Land Use Planning and Policy Implications: Innovative Thinking of Soil Inventory for Land Use Planning and Management of Land Resources, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. pp. 51-83. DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-5332-7_2 Fitzpatrick Robert, David Maschmedt and Alfred Cass (2002). Australian Viticultural Soil Key. In: Alfred Cass (ed) ‘Sustainable viticultural production: Optimising soil resources. Final report (CRS 95/1) to Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (GWRDC). Fitzpatrick R.W., M.J. Wright and R.M Stevens (1993). Drainage, sodicity and related problems of vineyard soils. p. 38-44. In: C.S. Stockley, R.S. Johnstone, P.A. Leske and T.H. Lee (eds.). Proceedings of the 8th Australian wine industry technical conference; 25- 29 October, 1992; Melbourne, Victoria. Winetitles. Goode, J. (2003): Mechanisms of Terroir. Harpers, September 2003. Hall JAS, Maschmedt DJ, Billing NB (2009) The soils of Southern South Australia. The South Australian land and soil book series, vol 1. Geological survey of South Australia; Bulletin 56, Vol 1. Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, Government of South Australia, Adelaide Isbell RF (1996) The Australian soil classification. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne

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Maschmedt David (2000), AAT Witness Statement, 12 December 2000, Annexure 6 Maschmedt D.J., Fitzpatrick R.W. and Cass A. (2002). Key for identifying categories of vineyard soils in Australia. CSIRO Land and Water, Technical report No.30/02, 23pp. http://www.clw.csiro.au/publications/ technical2002/tr30-02.pdf McIntyre D.S. (1956). The effect of free ferric oxide on the structure of some Terra Rossa and Rendzina soils. J. Soil Science 7 302-306. McIntyre D.S. (1976). Subplasticity in Australian soils. I Description, occurrence and some properties. Aust. J. Soil Res. 14. 227-236 May P. (1994). Using grapevine rootstocks: the Australian perspective. Winetitles, Adelaide, South Australia. Mee, A.C., Bestland E.A. and Spooner N.A (2004) Age and origin of Terra Rossa soils in the Coonawarra area of South Australia. Geomorphology 58 1 –25 www.winebiz.com.au

Contact: Peter Dry. Phone: 61 8 8313 6600. Email: peter.dry@awri.com.au.

References 1

Ballaster, J. et al. (2013) Exploring minerality of Burgundy Chardonnay wines: a sensory approach with wine experts and trained panellists. Aust J Grape Wine Res. 19, 140-152

Longbottom, M. (compiler) (2011) Unearthing viticulture in the Limestone Coast. Limestone Coast grape and wine Industry Council.

Maltman, A. (2008) The role of vineyard geology in wine typicity. J. Wine Res. 19(1), 1-17

Maltman, A. (2013) Minerality in wine: a geological perspective. J. Wine Res. 24(3), 169-181

Orange Region Vignerons Association (2010) Orange Region Terroir. A review of the unique features of the Orange Wine Region.

Van Leeuwin, C. and Seguin, G. (2006) The concept of terroir in viticulture. J. Wine Res. 17(1), 1-10

Soil Survey Staff (2010) Keys to soil taxonomy, 11th edn. USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington, DC Stace, H.C.T. (1956) Chemical characteristics of Terra Rossa soils and Rendzinas of South Australia. J. Soil Science 7. 281-292. Stace, H.C.T., G.D. Hubble, R. Brewer, K.H Northcote,. J.R. Sleeman, M.J. Mulcahy, and E.G. Hallsworth, (1968). A Handbook of Australian Soils. Rellim: Glenside, South Australia. Vaudour E. (2004): A worldwide perspective on viticultural zoning. Paper presented at the Joint International Viticultural Zoning Conference, 15-19 November 2004, Cape Town, RSA. White, R.E. (2003) Soils for Fine Wines. Oxford: Oxford University Press. February 2014 – Issue 601

Can we define the regional sensory characteristics of Australian Shiraz? University of Adelaide scientist Trent Johnson reports some preliminary research shows the problem is going to be a little more complex than may have been first thought â€“ with impacts from meso climate to oak all having an impact. MUCH HAS BEEN written in the popular wine press about the various sensory properties of Australian Shiraz produced from different regions. This research had an objective of exploring whether wine experts would group Shiraz wines from the same region together, following ortho- and retro-nasal assessments of the wines. We hypothesised if there were some regional similarities, wine from the same region would be sorted together. A cohort of wine experts and a trained Descriptive Analysis (DA) panel undertook sensory analysis of 29 Shiraz wines sourced from 10 delimited Australian wine producing regions, plus a multi-regional blended Australian Shiraz and a Northern Rhone Syrah. The experts also provided brief tasting notes and technical and hedonic ratings on each of the wines. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) of the resultant expert data provided a three-dimensional solution we labelled: Blackberry, plum, pepper and spice (BPPS); Herbal, vanilla, cedar and berry jam (HVCBJ) and Earthy, savoury, dusty and meaty (ESDM), respectively. For this latter description many of the experts noted microbiological elements they

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perceived as the presence of Brettanomyces in the wines loaded positively on that dimension and the presence of that characteristic in the wines had a negative impact on both the expertsâ€™ technical and hedonic ratings of the wines. These dimensions included many attributes commonly associated with Australian Shiraz. Cluster analysis of the MDS and DA data revealed at least two wines from Canberra, Langhorne Creek, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Great Western were grouped together. Although wines from the same region may have shared similar sensory attributes, the more diverse the region in terms of geography and meso-climate, the more difficult it was to determine those common sensory attributes, or an all-encompassing regional description. Winemaking interventions such as oak additions and malolactic fermentation might also complicate this matter. It is therefore reasonable to suggest it would be an almost impossible task to determine an Australian Shiraz regional sensory map using commercial wines, beyond some generic descriptors, much like those offered in the popular wine press. This is the first research to attempt to define the sensory attributes of a number

of delimited Australian Shiraz producing regions. The data suggested there were some sensory similarities between wines from the same region but as other factors in commercial wines might impact the sensory profile; to determine regional Shiraz characters more extensive research Continued Page 42

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Makes sense: Trent Johnson says data suggests some sensory similarities in wines from the same region but other factors might impact the sensory profile.

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The Barossa Grounds – the journey so far Throwing a taste map over something as diverse as the Barossa sounds hard enough but Barossa Grape & Wine Association viticultural development officer Nicki Robins found getting the facts from sources as vague as mythology showed the need for some disciplined regional research.

At a glance: • Information about the Barossa’s best sites existed in growers’ and winemakers’ heads, in reference books – and even in mythology. • There is a deficiency in authoritative data about the Barossa’s landscapes, geology, soil types and meso-climates – and their impact on wines. • The next challenge for the Barossa Grape & Wine Association and working groups is how to present the data to members.

FOR GENERATIONS THERE has been an informal awareness and ‘understanding’ that there are ‘places’ in the Barossa that have reputations for consistently producing fine wines of a specific style. These sites are generally known by their geographic or ‘parish’ location. Information existed in growers’ and winemakers’ heads, in reference books – and even in mythology. But it was not readily accessible from authoritative and recognised sources. For a world-famous wine region with more than 160 years of continuous winemaking, there was an apparent deficiency in authoritative data about the Barossa’s landscapes, geology, soil types and meso-climates – and the impact of these factors on the wines.

ANNUAL TASTINGS OF 80 SINGLE VINEYARD SHIRAZ So in 2008, the process of defining the ‘grounds’ of the Barossa began with annual tastings of Shiraz from 80 sites around the region, to systematically understand and describe the diversity of Barossa Shiraz and its grounds. The Barossa Grape & Wine Association

From Page 41

using these techniques would be required. We would suggest it is more feasible to determine the specific Shiraz attributes of the smaller, more compact sub regions within a region.

42 Grapegrower & Winemaker

(BGWA) now has analysis of the sensory data from the tastings of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 vintage wines, and the evidence indicates some groupings of similarities in wines exist within the Barossa Valley. The BGWA recently secured funding for the AWRI to make small batches of Shiraz from nine of the Barossa Grounds vineyards in order to eliminate winemaking variability from the sensory trials.

MAPPING THE BAROSSA GROUNDS In 2012 the BGWA took the Barossa Grounds a step further with a GWRDCfunded project designed to map consistencies and differences between the Barossa grounds in terms of soil type, temperature, rainfall, and elevation. Not only would this mapping project provide a scientific record of the terroir of the Barossa, but it also has major implications for adding to the knowledge base of Barossa growers and winemakers and the decisions they make about the daily management of their vineyards, varietal choice, and potential wine styles.

BAROSSA GROUNDS SHIRAZ SYMPOSIUM In May 2013, again with funding from the GWRDC, the BGWA held the Barossa Grounds Shiraz Symposium. This was a hugely significant event in the evolution of the Barossa, attended by more than 100 Barossa growers, winemakers, vineyard technicians, soil scientists, and interstate wine trade and media. The two-day symposium featured tours of eight Barossa vineyards, where soil pits were examined – and soil, climate and viticultural techniques discussed – with expert commentary from soil scientists David Maschmedt, David Woodard and Brian Hughes. The soil pits revealed huge variation between the different ‘grounds’ – from the black cracking clays of Krondorf,

An adequate sample size of wines would be required to determine these sub regional attributes. However, if the true characteristics of the sub regions were to show through in the wines, one would need to undertake a rigorously controlled trial holding www.winebiz.com.au

to the deep sands of Vine Vale, to the different red brown earths of Nuriootpa and Ebenezer.

NEXT STEPS The next challenge for the BGWA and working groups is how to present the data to members. Options include formats such Google Earth in 3D, an interactive tool being based on the BGWA website and hard copy maps with as much detail behind them as people wish to go into. The Barossa Grounds project is continually being added to. As a body of ongoing work, it will help inform BGWA process and guide future decision-making. For more information about the Barossa Grounds project contact Nicki Robins, BGWA Viticultural Development Officer on 61 8 8563 0650 or go to barossa.com/ wine/wine-chapters/the-barossa-barossagrounds/the-barossa-barossa-grounds. Contact: Nicki Robins. Phone: 61 8 8563 0650. Email: nicki@barossa.com.

Dirty subject: Soil scientist David Maschmedt explains the layers of a soil pit at Hentley Farm’s ‘The Beast’ vineyard at Seppeltsfield during the BGWA’s Barossa Grounds Shiraz Symposium.

variables such as vintage, clone, harvesting and processing constant and incorporate vineyard specific measures and climatic data into the final model. Contact: Trent Johnson. Phone: 0413 193 330. Email: trent.johnson@adelaide.edu.au. February 2014 – Issue 601

Terroir, soil and that question of scale CSIRO scientist Rob Bramley says the regionalisation of the Australian wine story and the singlefactor approach has been liberal with the few known facts of terroir. AS THE AUSTRALIAN wine sector moves towards an increasingly regional focus in its marketing of wine, often accompanied by the ‘telling of stories’ to facilitate generation of some sort of ‘sense of place’, it is no surprise the concept of terroir should be increasingly in vogue. In turn, this has attracted the interest of people who might want to place particular emphasis on certain aspects, such as geology, soil or climate. So it was that we ended up with the soil and wine symposium convened by the Australian Society of Soil Science. There are three main problems with this single factor approach. First, in the French sense of terroir and its impact on wine, it is the integration of all of the various biophysical factors which impact on plant production, along with local social traditions around grapegrowing and winemaking, from which the terroir of a particular place derives. Thus, the focus on one factor, such as soil or geology, as being of paramount importance to what ends up in the bottle, to the exclusion of the others, simply does not make sense. Secondly, less is known about the effects of soil and specific soil properties on wine than most soil scientists or terroirists would care to admit. Despite research into this issue, especially in France, it has arguably been distorted by the fact, in the ‘Old world’ at least, vines were never planted on land which was more suitable for growing food, and irrigation is both banned and not used in most French regions where terroir research has been conducted. So while it may be generally true the better French wines tend to be produced on poorer soils (Van Leeuwen and Seguin, 2006), it does not necessarily follow

excellent wine might not also derive from fertile soils. The importance of soil water availability and the desirability of at least some stress during key phenological stages was increasingly well understood so it is no surprise research on non-irrigated soils should lead to conclusions about the importance of soil physical properties. Whether this justifies dismissing soil chemistry or fertility as being of no importance to final wine style or quality is moot and recent research suggests there may be a role for such factors (Bramley et al., 2011), which warrants careful study. However, probably the greatest difficulty in the whole terroir debate arises as a consequence of the scale at which it is considered. In general, terroir has been considered; researched and used in regional marketing (e.g. Shiraz from Heathcote is different to the Barossa). Thus, wines are sometimes described as being evocative of a region. A few years ago, I was involved in research in a vineyard in the Eden Valley in which there was a vertical distance of 100m between the top and bottom of a slope. Unsurprisingly, wines made from different parts of this vineyard were indeed different, which questions which of them was most evocative of the terroir? Similarly, there are now many examples from the ‘Precision Viticulture’ or vineyard variability research (see Bramley (2010) for a review, along with several more recent papers in volume 17 of the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research) which show how within-vineyard patterns of variation in performance can be related to variation in the land (soil, topography) underlying the vineyard, often with ‘zones’ identifiable within these blocks

producing contrasting wines when under conventional viticultural management. Such results raise serious questions about the utility of the concept of terroir when considered on a regional basis. Interestingly, Van Leeuwen and Seguin (2006) noted it was “generally not possible to equate a soil map of a given region with a map of quality potential for vine growing” – which ought to be obvious given the strong likelihood of a mismatch between the scale of the soil map, and the scale at which viticultural decisions are made. There is no question in my mind terroir is real; vineyard variability research proves it, although it also suggests some elements of terroir may be manageable. However, at its conventional regional scale, terroir is a largely meaningless concept in my opinion, with a relevance mainly confined to wine marketing (especially in the new world). However, at the sub-block scale, an understanding of terroir could be a powerful tool in optimising grape and wine production. Who knows, it could also provide an evocative basis for marketing based on a true sense of place. Contact: Rob Bramley. Phone: 61 8 8303 8594. Email: Rob.Bramley@csiro.au.

References Bramley RGV. 2010. Precision Viticulture: Managing vineyard variability for improved quality outcomes. Chapter 12 in: Reynolds, A.G. (Ed) Managing Wine Quality. Volume 1. Viticulture and wine quality. Woodhead Publishing: UK. ISBN 978-1-84569-484-5. pp. 445-480. Bramley RGV, Ouzman J, Boss PK. 2011. Variation in vine vigour, grape yield and vineyard soils and topography as indicators of variation in the chemical composition of grapes, wine and wine sensory attributes. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 17, 217-229. van Leeuwen C, Seguin G. 2006. The concept of terroir in viticulture. Journal of Wine Research 17, 1-10.

Soil & Water ManageMent WJB Consulting Soil and Water reSourCe ManageMent February 2014 – Issue 601

• Soil Survey • Soil AnAlySiS For reclAimed WAter uSe • ePA rePortinG • irriGAtion mAnAGement PlAnS • Soil eroSion & drAinAGe mAnAGement PlAnS • SAlinity mAnAGement PlAnS • AnnuAl Soil monitorinG ProGrAmS

Contact: Wendy Meech M: 0428 877558 P: (08) 85248501 E: wjb.consulting@bigpond.com www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

Some of Australia’s finest Sources of inspiration from every wine region

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Intriguing complexity rewards investigation

HUGH

M S T RO N

– 2002 – SOUTH AUSTRALIA

CRAIG

JAC

KSON

– 1991 – SOUTH AUSTRALIA

A rewarding challenge for the more refined palates, the ‘Hughie’ can make a slightly abrasive first impression but quickly mellows once given a bit of air. There are complex hidden depths here that gradually open up and reveal a veritable encyclopedia of flavour from which ample grace notes constantly emerge.

MARK

OL D S ACK

– 1988 – SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Strength of character shines through Intense with a high level of concentration, Craig Jackson nevertheless retains a subtlety that brings out the best in any accompaniment. Likely to blend in harmoniously and unassumingly at a tasting, but can also make a surprisingly forceful impression after a couple of glasses.

CHRIS

DERSON

– 1984 – SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Getting better with every passing year Coming from a classic vintage and ageing superbly, Mark Goldsack features on many winemakers’ ‘Best of…’ lists year after year. Undoubtedly one of South Australia’s finest, this very appealing product of the Riverland sets a fine example with a robust and resounding style.

Another South Australian classic McLaren Vale – like the other South Australian winegrowing areas – has a rich heritage and here’s another very distinguished example of what long breeding can produce: a subtle, elegant experience that is never brash or confronting but can prove unforgettable.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

GRAHAM

AT C H E R

– 1997 – SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Savour the classic rewards of maturity In viticulture, nothing produces quality more surely than time. Best appreciated after dinner, but highly enjoyable at any time of day. This longtime favourite of local winemakers has a richness that comes from many seasons coping with the difficult conditions and thriving when better times come along.

www.bayercropscience.com.au

RICK

O R B U RY

– 2007 – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

First impressions may deceive There is a complexity about this flagbearer for the Swan Valley and Margaret River that discerning judges quickly come to appreciate. Grown on an exposed north-facing slope refreshed by Indian Ocean breezes, the Horbury balances light initial roughness with a smooth, gentle finish.

VICTORIA CRAIG

WHITE

– 2005 – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

TIM

WILKIE

– 2003 – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Clare Valley character plus extra sunshine

SHANE

White by name, but not by nature. Like all the best cabernet/merlot blends, this robust product of the Clare Valley has gained a softer edge after relocation to the West. Further mellowing can be anticipated, but aficionados still relish the occasional hints of underlying astringency.

AINER

– 2007 – VICTORIA

Science meets inspiration

Climatic extremes provide fine balance Transplanting from Margaret River to the Yarra Valley demands some fairly drastic climatic adjustment. Yet the transition has been smooth in this case. Early results are very promising, with surprisingly little change in character detected so far. A valued product of the west now seems set to flourish in the east.

Packing some punch ALISTAIR

BEYER

Bold, vibrant freshness with a dry finish characterise this very approachable blend of sophisticated chemistry and youthful exuberance. Despite many years of very enjoyable drinking to come, such a clever example of the scientific approach to winemaking is already worth getting to know.

– 2007 – VICTORIA

Unmistakably central Victorian in character: substantial and deceptively high-powered, but will soften with age. Very robust with emerging signs of refinement. You won’t forget an encounter with Alistair Beyer in a hurry and many wine lovers are left raving about the experience.

NEW SOUTH WALES GRAHAM

NICOL

– 1994 – NEW SOUTH WALES

IAN

MASTER

– 2009 – NEW SOUTH WALES

There’s no time like the present! A lush late picking ripe for full enjoyment right now, the pride of Mudgee embodies the joys of life. After years of flavour development, cellaring at this stage would be a criminal waste. Our advice: track down Graham Nicol and prepare to spend a few hours engrossed in pure quaffing pleasure!

Steadily climbing towards a distant peak Despite showing abundant youthful promise and drinking well already, the McMaster won’t peak for a good many years yet. Complex fruit undertones are already much in evidence with very low acidity, so great things are predicted by many good judges. One to watch.

DA R RY L

ETTON TR

– 2012 – VICTORIA

SCOTT

WA R D

– 2005 – VICTORIA

Sparkling South African varietal A bubbly newcomer to the Australian scene already making a big impact. Originally picked in Durban, South Africa for further maturation in NZ, Stretton has an upfront sweetness ideal for kicking off a party. With a drier finish, that vibrant first impression gives way to a subtler appreciation over time.

Giving the market what it wants Someone has to put commercial priorities first, and here’s triumphant proof. What the market wants, the market gets from Scott Ward: blending material sourced from all over the country to meet or exceed expectations straight off the shelf, creating good memories with a signature touch of class.

Bayer CropScience Pty Ltd, ABN 87 000 226 022, 391– 393 Tooronga Road, Hawthorn East, Victoria 3123. Technical Enquiries 1800 804 479. BCH0506

grapegrowing grapegrower

John Collingwood was born in Shepparton, Victoria and graduated in 2005

from a bachelor of physiotherapy degree at the University of Melbourne. After deciding on a career change he studied a diploma of production horticulture/viticulture via correspondence through the Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE and graduated in 2011. He is now the vineyard manager at Four Winds Vineyard in Murrumbateman, Canberra District. What inspired you to work in viticulture and how did you get to where you are now?

Viticulture wasn’t the plan. I finished my physiotherapy degree in 2005 and met Sarah (my wife) mountain-biking while working at Geelong Hospital in 2008. My wine knowledge at the time went as far as identifying a red wine from a white. Sarah’s family planted Four Winds Vineyard in 1998. A change in circumstances with her brother becoming unwell prompted our move to Murrumbateman to lend a hand. This turned into studying viticulture and finding a passion in grapegrowing. We decided to make a real go of it when Sarah’s sister Jaime and her husband Bill returned from Napa Valley, California, in 2010. Both Bill and Jaime had been making wine in California before returning to Murrumbateman. What aspect of your work do you enjoy the most, or get the most satisfaction from?

Satisfaction comes in many forms. The obvious one is getting quality grapes off at the end of the season and seeing them turn into some fantastic wines. I get a real sense of pride when I can tell people I grew the grapes which went into the wine they are enjoying. The other part of the job I really enjoy is the learning and doing. I have learnt how to dismantle and re-assemble most of our farm equipment through YouTube and manuals and I find great satisfaction in having things running just as they should. Who do you think is the most influential person in the wine industry today?

Not so long ago I would have said James Halliday but as you delve into the industry it is hard to give the title to just one person. Social media allows this title to be shared widely as one week it may be someone tweeting at a tasting and the next week it will be people sharing a link to a wine/winery on Facebook.

How do you de-stress after vintage?

Post-vintage is our real time off each year and I aim to go somewhere warm with the family. What was the last big ticket equipment purchase for your business and would you recommend the equipment to colleagues?

A diesel-powered hot water high pressure washer. This has been a fabulous piece of equipment for not only cleaning winemaking tools but for cleaning all kinds of farm equipment. I would highly recommend it. What has been the best business decision you have made for your business?

by the prospect of losing 50 to 60 per cent of the crop. That is one thing I have learnt from agriculture; high highs and low lows. Tell us about your most memorable winetasting experience?

Four Winds Vineyard sells around 60 to 70 per cent of our fruit to other wineries each year. Last year our Riesling went into seven different wineries’ labels. I arranged a tasting of the seven wines at our cellar door and invited the winemakers to come and taste the wines. Seeing the differences in the wines was great. All the grapes were picked within days of each other but the finished wines varied. It was great to see what different winemakers can produce. What do you like to do when you’re not working the in vineyard?

Mountain biking. Canberra has some of the best mountain biking tracks in Australia. Both Sarah and I love to get out there with our Kelpie “Tess” and are looking forward to the day we can get our daughter Eloise on a bike with us. At only 18 months it will be a little while before we are riding as a family.

What is your favourite time in the vineyard and why?

What keeps you awake at night?

Spring. The anticipation of another season is impossible to contain as the weather warms up and the vines shoot. The vineyard looks great after winter and the vines are easily tamed at this stage. Unfortunately this year we had a big frost in mid-October and the excitement of another great season was overshadowed

Being a farmer is a nerve-testing business. I have five different weather applications on my phone which I check every day during the growing season. I am slowly accepting I can’t control the weather and push it out of my mind. Being a physio I only used to worry about the weather on my ride to and from work.

46 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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One of the business decisions which has made a big difference has been to get teams in to help with some of the jobs throughout the season. Now that we have a cellar door which is demanding our time on weekends, we are finding we have to be far more efficient with the use of our time. Previously we would take the whole of winter to finish pruning – now a team comes in to lend a hand and the whole vineyard is done quickly, freeing us to do some much needed maintenance work. From a research and development perspective is there one piece of research which has really influenced you or your directions in viticulture?

The information available for soil moisture tension has been useful in our vineyard to help plan irrigation scheduling. I have gypsum blocks around the vineyard and the readings for these have been a great guide for irrigation. Previously we had a default position of over-watering without knowing exactly what was going on in the soil. We also look at how the vines are looking and coping throughout the season to accurately irrigate. The Ark question: the world is flooding so which two wines (red and white) would you take onto the Ark?

The two wines on the ark is an easy question – Riesling and Shiraz. Coming from the Canberra District. Why would you choose anything else? Contact: John Collingwood. Phone: 61 0422 968 456. Email: john@fourwindsvineyard.com.au February 2014 – Issue 601

Case IH says new model tractor is Red - and ready for anything CASE IH is a high-profile brand in the tractor market but its new range of smaller machines targets specialist markets including vineyards CASE IH HAS recently reaffirmed its commitment to the Vineyard small tractor market in general and vineyards machinery in particular with the launch of its two new Farmall tractor models in Werribee, Victoria. While the brand is well-known for its large tractor models such as Magnum and Steiger – as well as the Axial-Flow combine harvesters – Case IH also has an extensive range of small to mid-size tractors. “It’s no secret that in recent years the Australian small tractor market, in particular, has seen an influx of various tractor brands,” Case IH Australia brand director Bruce Healy said.

February 2014 – Issue 601

“But Case IH has a long history of providing small tractors to Australia,” he said. “In fact the Farmall name is one of the most recognisable in the industry – and the range just gets better and better.” The new Farmall B compact tractor range features six models from 23hp (17kW) to 57hp (42kW). The range offers dependable power, fuel efficiency and comfort and is suitable for many types of applications: from vineyards to hobby farming as well as grounds keeping. It also doubles up as a useful utility workhorse in larger operations. The new Farmall JX range also features six models, from 60hp (49kW) to 110hp (81kW) and is described as an easy to handle, no-fuss utility workhorse.

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The range is designed to be powerful, efficient, versatile and easy to drive… routine maintenance is simple

Grapegrower & Winemaker

grapegrowing with its proven record of performing in demanding applications; and the Maxxum (112hp-141hp (82kW-104kW), which has the power and versatility for livestock, row crop farming and roadside mowing. “Our tractors are engineered to increase customer productivity – whatever their application,” Healy added. “Whether it’s a 608 horsepower Steiger, a 141 horsepower Maxxum or a 23 horsepower Farmall B, it has been designed to be rugged, powerful and driver-friendly – if we call it a tractor; we mean it’s a real tractor!” According to Healy having a good product offering is only part of the story. He suggested customers should also consider other factors when choosing which tractor is right for them. “Tractor buyers should ask the following questions: Meet the machine: Case IH’s Red & Ready range includes the 86hp-97hp Quantum C. A range particularly suited to vineyard applications. Is this tractor easy to drive? Is routine maintenance easy? Is my dealer experienced and reputable? “This is important to know because sometimes benefits that Healy said the Farmall JX provided unrivalled value for aren’t listed on the spec sheet are going to have a huge impact on money with a ‘best in class’ operator environment and superior whether or not a customer enjoys their tractor once it’s delivered handling, making it perfect for loader work. to their property,” he said. Rounding out Case IH’s small to mid-size tractor range With a network of more than 100 outlets across Australia, is the Quantum C (86hp-97hp (63kW-71kW)), a powerful Case IH has just completed a national training event to ensure general purpose tractor which is particularly suited to its dealers know their product and how to best serve their vineyard applications; the JXU (76hp-113hp (56kW-84kW)), customers, and this is in addition to ongoing training for staff across various dealer departments. “We believe Case IH dealers are known for their expertise and their professional approach to customer service,” Healy said. “When you buy a Case IH tractor, no matter what the size, you can rest assured you’ve got a strong dealer network to back you up.” Case IH has dubbed its small to mid-size tractor range ‘Red & Ready’, and while the reference to the brand’s trademark colour may be obvious, Healy said the word ‘ready’ relates to many aspects of the product range. “The range is designed to be powerful, efficient, versatile and easy to drive, so the tractors are ready to take on a variety of tasks,” he said. “Routine maintenance is simple, so they’re ready to work whenever our customers need them. “And our dealer network has the knowledge, experience, parts supply and service expertise – so they’re ready to support our customers in the field,” Healy said. “Even though Case IH has been in the agricultural machinery industry for more than 170 years, there are still people who have never considered buying a Case IH tractor before. “We’re encouraging producers and property owners to get to know their local Case IH dealer and take a closer look at our range.” For more information see your local Case IH dealer or visit www.caseih.com.

Looking for more stories on vineyard machinery? Search our Grapegrower & Winemaker article archive at

www.winebiz.com.au/gwm 48 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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February 2014 – Issue 601

perfection in the vineyard When it comes to ultimate reliability and effectiveness in the vineyard, the ERO Vine Trimmer and Roller Defoliator will enable you to achieve exceptional results. Key features & benefits include: Vine Trimmer • Fast, clean cutting with hardened stainless steel blades • Gas shock break-away systems for impact protection • All sliding surfaces protected with Teflon bushes for long life • Trim vines at high ground speed • Available with wide range of custom options to suit various canopy styles including shoot lifters, adjustable lower cutters and skirting only configuration Roller Defoliator • Patented counter-rotating roller system removes leaves without damage to bunches • New steel fan for improved suction and cleaning • Available in single and double row configuration or with roll-over system for one side defoliating only • Operates at ground speeds up to 7km/hr!

For more information or to request a demonstration or proposal, please contact cam on 0407 634 945

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grapegrowing

ARS long-nosed snips a cut above the rest YOU CAN COME at it any way you like but when it’s time for harvesting it always pays to work with the pick of the bunch. And we are not just talking pickers – more importantly if you want the best job done you want to equip those pickers with the best snips. Woodchuck area sales manager Rod Gooden says “the renowned 300L longnosed grape snips from ARS in Japan have been tried and proven in the Australian grape industry for well over a decade”. Rod says these robust, quality snips not only last extremely well, he also says many contract pickers have reported their personal pair of 300L snips have served for a number of seasons. “The 300L come with a sturdy rubber coating which provides the ultimate comfort for the picker’s hands,” Gooden says. “And its long, pointed blades are a necessity for the trimming of the bunches to achieve the best results of more grapes less stem,” he says. “They are available from all premium horticulture/rural stores, or you can phone us at Woodchuck on 1800 655 542 for your nearest distributor.” And with our run of dry weather there are likely to be more than just pickers in the vineyards this season. Which is why Gooden says Woodchuck also supplies the latest technology in snake protective gaiters.

“We have received many requests for a product which assists in protecting people from snakebite,” Gooden adds. “That’s why we have released a new protective garment – Snakeprotex – which we truly believe provides the bestpossible protection in the field,” he says. “This garment has been specially designed to protect from snakebite. Extensive testing has been completed included using snakes as deadly as the Coastal Taipan, which also has the longest fangs of any venomous snake in Australia. Gooden says tests of its bite on Snakeprotext showed no venom penetrated the protective gaiter. The company today has two locations in Australia – its office/warehouse complexes are in Singleton, NSW and Mount Barker in South Australia. “Stock is held at both of these locations to facilitate delivery Australia-wide,” Gooden says. “We always strive to provide customers with the highest level of service including friendly phone assistance,” he says. “Woodchuck’s product range includes a large variety of quality-renowned tools supplied by leading manufacturers from all over the world including ARS, Bahco, Kenyon, Clogger, Harvestwear.” Contact: Rod Gooden. Phone: 1800 655 542. Email: rod@woodchuck.com.au

Nose for grapes: The 300L long-nosed grape snips come with a sturdy rubber coating which provides the ultimate comfort for the picker’s hands.

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McLaren Vale – Phone: +61 8 8323 9001 www.ledgardpruning.com sales@ledgardpruning.com 50 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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February 2014 – Issue 601

winemaking Seal the deal on pH, red wine colour and tannin during bottle ageing Changes in red wine colour and mouth-feel during bottle ageing are influenced by pH and choice of bottle closure. Researchers Jacqui McRae and Paul Smith write bottling wines at lower pH and with slight oxygen exposure through the closure can lead to more stable colour over 24 months and potentially lower astringency. Continued next page.

At a glance: • A study has been set up to investigate the influence of pH and screw cap closure type on wine colour and tannins during bottle ageing. • Changes in tannin concentration and structure have not previously been measured as part of an ageing trial, but trends have been previously investigated using vertical series of wines. • A decrease in tannin concentration has long been speculated as the reason for the change in wine texture with ageing, however this is the first study to confirm that this does occur.

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Deltagen Australia VIC (03) 9801 7133 Email: michaelw@deltagen.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

winemaking RED WINE ASTRINGENCY is influenced by a variety of factors including tannin concentration, tannin composition and wine matrix components such as ethanol, pH, oxygen and metal ions. Research at the AWRI has recently increased its focus on the role of these wine matrix components in tannin formation and wine astringency. Understanding their influence during wine ageing could provide winemakers with options to control mouth-feel in finished red wines. A study was set up to investigate the influence of pH and screw cap closure type on wine colour and tannins during bottle ageing (McRae 2013). A single vintage Cabernet Sauvignon wine was produced using standard winemaking techniques. Just prior to bottling, the wine pH was adjusted to either pH 3.2, 3.5 or 3.8 and it was bottled under screw cap using either a SaranTin (ST) liner (to restrict all oxygen ingress) or a Saranex (Sx) liner (to allow a minimal oxygen ingress). Changes in colour and tannin were monitored over 24 months.

HOW TANNINS CHANGE WITH WINE AGEING Changes in tannin concentration and structure have not previously been measured as part of an ageing trial, but trends have been previously investigated using vertical series of wines (McRae 2012). The dif f iculty in d raw ing conclusions from vertical series is that the inevitable seasonal differences in grape composition as well as potential differences in winemaking style can alter the initial wine composition. The objective for this project was to monitor changes in a single vintage wine over time in bottle. Over the 24 months in bottle, a substa ntial decrease in ta nnin

concentration was observed (Figure 1a), presumably due to the degradation of tannins into smaller molecules since the tannin molecular size also decreased. Both the reduction in tannin concentration and size would contribute to astringency softening with ageing. A decrease in tannin concentration has long been speculated as the reason for the change in wine texture with ageing, however this is the first study to confirm that this does occur. As the total amount of tannin decreased, the proportion of tannin that is pigmented gradually increased (Figure 1b). This indicated that the anthocyanins in red wine were being converted into pigmented tannins, which contribute to the longer term colour stability of wine. Wine colour density (WCD), which relates directly to the purple colour of wines, decreased gradually over time reflecting the decrease in anthocyanins (Figure 1c). Wine hue, which relates more to an orange colour in the wine, increased with ageing further indicating that pigmented tannins are formed from the purple anthocyanins (Figure 1d).

IMPACTS OF WINE PH AND BOTTLE CLOSURE ON COLOUR AND TANNINS WITH AGEING Wine pH and selected closure type did not change the general trends that were observed with wine ageing but did have a dramatic impact on the speed of these reactions. Within six months, the differences in pH had started to influence wine colour and tannin structure, with these changes even more apparent after 24 months (Figure 2). The lower pH wines (pH 3.2) cont a i ned subst a nt ia l ly fewer anthocyanins than the pH 3.8 wines

(Figure 2a), and this related to the formation of more SO2 non-bleachable pigments (% stable pigments) in the pH 3.2 wines (Figure 2b). Slight oxygen exposure through the lined screw cap (Sx) exacerbated the impact of the more acidic wine with a further decrease in overall anthocyanin concentration. Changes in the tannin structure were also affected by pH and closure type. One of the main measures for assessing tannins is how readily they break apart into smaller fragments in the presence of acid. This is referred as % yield of the reaction or % tannin fragmentation. The more readily the tannin can be fragmented (greater % tannin fragmentation), the simpler the tannin composition and, potentially, the more astringent the tannin. With wine ageing, the % tannin fragmentation decreased substantially in all wines, indicating that the tannin was becoming more complex probably due to interactions with itself as well as other components of the wine such as anthocyanins and acetaldehyde. These changes were much more apparent in the pH 3.2 wines (Figure 2c) and particularly under Sx compared with ST screw caps. Such changes to the wine tannin structure may also relate to the softening of astringency with wine ageing. Another notable change in tannin structure was the proportion of grape seed-like tannin (% epicatechin gallate) (Figure 2d). Genera lly w it h ageing, t he proportion of these tannins decreases due to oxidation. This was the case in the higher pH wines (pH 3.5 and 3.8), but at lower pH, this proportion remained fairly constant.

The clear choice in filtration PERLFLO by Australian Perlite | www.ausperl.com.au | 1300 765 925 52 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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February 2014 â€“ Issue 601

8 % Pigmentated Tannin

Tannin (g/L)

2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 a

4 2 b

0 0

Months of wine ageing

0.6 Hue (AU)

8 4

0.4 0.2

0.8

12 WCD (AU)

12 Months of wine ageing

Figure 1: General trends in tannin concentration (a), proportion of pigmented tannin (as a percent of the total tannin) (b), wine colour density (WCD) (c), and Hue (d) in Cabernet Sauvignon wine with bottle ageing. Results shown are averages of all wines under both closures and all pH levels to show overall trends.

Conversely, the proportions of the grape skin-like tannins (% epigallocatechin) did not change over time. Genera lly seed ta n nins a re considered to be more astringent and

more bitter than skin tannins, and therefore a decrease would soften wine astringency, as is generally observed with wine ageing. The effect of more seed-like tannin in the lower pH wines in this case

is likely to be offset by the lower % tannin fragmentation.

CONCLUSIONS Lower wine pH and a closure that allowed a slight ingress of oxygen

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8 % Stable pigments

Total anthocyanins (AU)

400 300 200 100 a

3.8

3.5

12 Months of wine ageing

3.8 6

3.5

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8 20 c 0

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% epicatechin gallate

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0 0

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Figure 2: Impact of pH on total anthocyanins (a) and % stable pigments (b); and on tannin structure, including % tannin fragmentation (c) and % epicatechin gallate (seed-like tannins) (d).

resulted in more rapid ‘ageing’ of wine colour with fewer anthocyanins and more pigmented polymers and, potentially, a greater reduction in wine astringency caused by a more rapid decrease in % tannin fragmentation. Decisions about wine pH and oxygen exposure in bottle can therefore give winemakers some control over tannin and colour development during ageing.

Future studies will investigate the impact of tannin structural changes on mouth-feel and will delve further into the other components of wine that may contribute to the softening of wine astringency with ageing. Contact: Dr. Jacqui McRae. Phone: 61 8 8313 6600. Email: jacqui.mcrae@awri.com.au.

References: McRae, J.M., Kassara, S., Kennedy, J.A., Waters, E.J. and Smith, P.A. Effect of wine pH and bottle closure on tannins. J. Agric. Food Chem, DOI: 61 (47): 11618–11627; 2013. McRae, J.M., Dambergs, R.G., Kassara, S., Parker, M., Jeffery, D.W., Herderich, M.J. and Smith, P.A. Phenolic Compositions of 50 and 30 Year Sequences of Australian Red Wines: The Impact of Wine Age. J. Agric. Food Chem., 60 (40): 1009310102; 2012.

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February 2014 – Issue 601

WA cold soak trial is progressing LAST YEAR DEPARTMENT of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA) research officer Richard Fennessy was awarded the $22,000 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries, Fisheries and Forestry in the category of viticulture and oenology. He received the award based on his project proposal titled ‘Influence of climate and variety on the effectiveness of pre-fermentative cold maceration (cold soak)’. Cold soak is a commonly practised winemaking technique for production of premium red wines. The process involves the aqueous extraction, as opposed to the alcoholic extraction, of compounds from the skins into the must at low temperatures. Wines made in this way are commonly perceived as more fruit-forward and complex, with increased colour intensity.

CHECKING TEMPERATURES ON COLD SOAK BATCHES Fennessy said research has been conducted both in Australia and overseas on the effectiveness of this technique however there is little understanding of its suitability when considering different varietals and different climatic conditions. His project involves the three most widely-planted red varieties in Australia – Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. “For the purposes of the trial these

February 2014 – Issue 601

three varieties have been sourced from both the Swan Valley and the Great Southern, representing a warm and cool climate respectively,” Fennessy said. “Each batch consisted of 90kg of fruit separated into three replicates per treatment,” he said. “Treatment 1 followed a ‘conventional’ vinification process whilst Treatment 2 followed this same process with the inclusion of a 5-day skin contact period at 6C pre-fermentation.

BOTTLING TRIAL WINES “In late September the wines were bottled, yielding approximately eight bottles per replicate. “The wines have since been analysed for pH, titratable acidity, percentage of alcohol, residual sugar, acetic acid, colour, and free and bound sulphur dioxide. “Further detailed chemical analysis will provide the ability to discriminate samples based on their metabolomic profile, involving volatile profiling analysis by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry.” The second phase of analysis on the wines was conducted on December 10 involving a panel of winemakers. The wines were randomised and assessed ‘blind’ to eliminate any potential biases. Each wine was assessed on colour, aroma and palate characteristics, intensities and overall quality. “Plans were to collate and analyse the

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On the job: Richard Fennessy with his red-wine grapes during his work on the influence of climate and variety on the effectiveness of prefermentative cold maceration.

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Official taste: WA Agriculture and Food minister Ken Baston sampled wines at the end of the production process during Richard Fennessy’s trial.

data from both the chemical and sensory analysis in January,” Fennessy added. “The findings will be submitted to the Grape and Wine Research Development Corporation in a final report in March and results will be disseminated to industry later in the year,” he said.

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While literature exists on the effectiveness of cold soak as a winemaking technique, little is known about the suitability of this technique to different varieties in different regions. Fennessy anticipated the benefits of the project to industry would be improved wine quality, colour and aroma, improved efficiency in the winery and effective management of vintages of differing temperatures. “Mr Fennessy’s project addresses a key challenge facing all agricultural sectors, that being the ability to adapt to changing climates. His project critically addresses one of the Commonwealth’s national research priorities of an environmentally sustainable Australia,” GWRDC executive director Dr Stuart Thomson said. “GWRDC supports the project’s focus on extension of research to generate improved practices in the winery that will assist businesses to be more profitable and sustainable,” he said. Contact: Richard Fennessy. Phone: 61 8 9780 6219. Email: richard.fennessy@agric.wa.gov.au

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February 2014 – Issue 601

Making sensory of those wine aromas

It's fast

Alcolyzer®

The science of taste and aroma have entered a new era at AWRI and the wine industry is the winner as it is armed with more increasingly accurate data on which to build its future.

At a glance: • The program was set up in 1987 by UC Davis sensory scientist and now retired professor Ann Noble who was on sabbatical at the AWRI at the time. • In a nutshell the sensory research team provides the resources and specialist expertise for sensory evaluation activities at AWRI. • The expertise of the sensory team can also be used to assist wine companies in understanding how wines smell and taste and how consumers respond. • The major global companies were the first to grab the opportunity the new science provided.

A GOOD WINE has that certain je ne sais quoi. You can’t put your finger on it, but your nose and palate agree that whatever it is, they are both looking forward to the next mouthful.

M Series

However, you could rise above the familiar and continue your journey with the wine experience and try something different the next time you are in a bottle shop. Only to pull the cork – or unscrew the cap – on an absolute stinker. Suddenly it’s dagger glances at the bottle’s label (in lieu of the winemaker), evil thoughts about the retailer and you are left wondering who, what, when, where and, most importantly, how and why? Enter Leigh Francis, the Australian Wine Research Institute’s sensory and flavour research manager. For the past 25 years he and his team have dedicated themselves to converting a mystical art to a science. Not the science of an art, or the art of a science. Just pure science, which can be justified, replicated and defended. For a laid back kind of guy, Francis can get a little tetchy when anything else is suggested about the work he and his squadrons of noses and palates have done in that quarter of a century. “The basis of the program was set up

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winemaking in 1987 by UC Davis sensory scientist and now retired professor Ann Noble who was on sabbatical at the AWRI at the time,” Francis said. “I continued the work in 1988 when I joined the AWRI and have been here ever since,” he said. In a nutshell the sensory research team provides the resources and specialist expertise for sensory evaluation activities at AWRI. The team manages and trains sensory panels for the application of rigorous and reliable sensory analyses and preference tests. The application of sensory science involves multifaceted and often intricate methodology, data analysis and interpretation. A major role of the sensory team is to work on projects with other teams from the AWRI research group – as well as on projects with industry development and support, industry applications and commercial services – to run tests, analyse the data and report results. The expertise of the sensory team can also be used to assist wine companies in understanding how wines smell and taste and how consumers respond. AWRI’s expert, trained assessors can quantify the appearance, aroma and

For further information, please contact Kauri NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 NZ Fax: 04 910 7415 AUS Fax: 1800 127 609 Email: winery@kauri.co.nz Web: www.kauriwine.com

58 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Super snout: In a nutshell Leigh Francis (with Patricia Williamson) and his team provide the resources and specialist expertise for sensory evaluation activities at AWRI. Photo: Jacqui Way Photography

flavour properties of wines objectively – “and we can conduct reliable and actionable consumer preference tests, using our cutting-edge sensory facilities,” Francis added. “Sensory analysis is an essential element of modern wine research, and has been applied at an ever increasing rate at the AWRI over the past 20 years,” he said. “Many research projects in the AWRI include a sensory component to address how appearance, aroma and flavour have changed as a result of different treatments, and whether these changes are positive or negative. “The application of both trained panel and consumer preference data can be used to establish how particular wine components and experimental treatments affect wine quality.” Much of that work is focused on the group’s Descriptive Analysis Panels – groups of people trained to “objectively and dispassionately” assess wine on a series of benchmark characteristics. “Like all research, the deeper you dig the more you realise just how wide the hole is going to have to be to cover everything,” Francis said. “So we have several established sensory panels used for different purposes,” he said. “AWRI’s technical quality panel has wide experience and training in fault and taint assessment, and detailed knowledge of the winemaking process. “Other sensory panels are used for difference testing to determine if applications of treatments give a discernible sensory effect, or for threshold testing of single flavour compounds. “The panel that assesses the largest number of samples is made up of members of the local community who have been trained as a sensory descriptive analysis panel to characterise and quantify the detailed sensory properties of wines. “Finally, there is a database of consumers available for preference and overall liking studies.” www.winebiz.com.au

February 2014 – Issue 601

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Science of taste: Patricia Williamson, AWRI senior sensory scientist and sensory scientist Wes Pearson set up another round of testing in the endless pursuit of more, and better, information on taste and aroma.

Francis said he and his team work with researchers and get their data and pull it apart to make sure the chemical data and sensory data are singing from the same hymn sheet. Once that process is complete researchers can take the refined data back to the wider wine industry. The sensory and flavour team also runs collaborative projects with microbiologists at AWRI and with commercial groups, such as developing yeast strains which will deliver a consistent performance for particular varieties – and there are some of those in the marketplace now. There are also more immediate and practical options. Such as the great eucalyptus conundrum. “Winemakers were getting a eucalyptus flavour in their product and some didn’t want it, and they didn’t know exactly where it was coming from to control its intensity,” Francis said. “People were looking to see if it was related to some regions, if it was coming from the grapes or from the trees surrounding the vineyards,” he said. “Our research showed the most important source of this flavour was from leaves falling on the outside rows and in machine-harvested vineyards they were swept up with everything else and causing the problem. “Giving vineyards several solutions – hand harvest outside rows, adjust machine harvester settings or get rid of the trees,” he laughed. “We have also been working in China in recent years looking at the different tastes between the western world and this rapidly emerging major wine market. “Although our studies showed they were not greatly different there is now accurate data showing the Chinese prefer less acidity and tannin and a relatively softer wine. “And they don’t like oxidised wine – but who does? “The end result has been the development of an accurate profile of the Chinese market as we work with industry groups February 2014 – Issue 601

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winemaking to get the style, variety and even price preference right. “When we started work there we investigated the Chinese market response to wines in the range up to $20 but in current studies we’re looking up to the $30-plus range.” Francis said when the sensory consumer research began there was a lot of industry scepticism in the early 2000s to consumer based studies but that’s not the case now. The group has established – and proved – its science and there is now an almost unilateral acceptance of its work. He said the major global companies were the first to grab the opportunity the new science provided. “Today most of those have their own sensory research teams,” Francis said. “But this is expensive work so only the big players have their own operations,

The winemaker still gets to call the shots but can make decisions based on a lot of better, and more accurate, research

it is a complex and labour intensive research. “The winemaker still gets to call the shots but can make decisions based on a

lot of better, and more accurate, research.” Looking back on his career Francis has no hesitation when asked for a single highlight. He said it was his team’s role in the emergence of the screw cap closure. “It was a big thing in my work here from the late ’90s,” he agreed. “Of course what we do helping the industry understand consumer preferences and giving them a lot of knowledge about the causes of differences in wine flavour that winemakers and growers can control has been important, but the screw cap closure was such an industry changer. “Not everyone gets to be involved in something like that.” Contact: Leigh Francis. Phone: 61 8 8313 6631. Email: leigh.francis@awri.com.au.

From conception to the consumer TYING SENSORY AND flavour research into a lot of wider work is the first step but Leigh Francis says linking that to the consumer is the key to all the work his group does. But he says there are still major questions in the wine industry. “One of the big ones is the difference between red and white wines,” Francis says. “Why does red taste richer and stronger, it can’t just be the tannins, or the aroma compounds, and finding that answer to me is the next big thing in research. We have only just begun to really explore this area.” At AWRI’s HQ in Adelaide’s foothills there are 12 little booths where the highly trained and strictly managed panels of noses and palates perform their rarefied science.

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In these booths sensory scientist Wes Pearson manages a pool of descriptive analysis testers who sit before computer screens and are blind fed a steady diet of wines which are rated against a set of characteristics. “They are not asked if they like a wine, it is their job to determine its sensory properties,” Pearson says. “It’s not about liking it’s about describing the aromas and tastes. “Each glass has a three digit number, each test is done in triplicate, and we continually alter the order of the glasses on the trays which go through to the testers. “We often use sodium light to give the rooms an orange glow so testers will not be able to discern any difference in the colour of test wines – we do everything possible to remove any biasing factors.”

The testers work three days a week, year round, and are complemented by an internal panel of experts who can address technical issues and another panel of 40-50 AWRI staff for difference testing. At the end of every study everyone involved is reviewed for their performance as part of the scientific discipline to prove they are suitable as a panellist. It can take two to three months to train panellists to the standard necessary to be involved in the team’s work. “It doesn’t matter which way the data goes so long as it is accurate,” Pearson added. Contact: Wes Pearson. Phone: 61 8 8313 6631. Email: wes.pearson@awri.com.au.

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February 2014 – Issue 601

AROM

FRESH

MAXIMUM AROMA PROTECTION

winemaking

Sensory talk in a nutshell Technical Quality Sensory Assessment

run consumer testing in international markets.

This sensory service is offered to allow an independent, dispassionate evaluation of a wine’s attributes, indication of quality level and presence of off-flavours.

Consumer preference Consumer testing, measuring liking for a set of wines using selected but untrained individuals, allows an understanding of the influence of sensory properties on acceptance. A relatively large group of consumers from outside the AWRI is recruited based on demographic and wine consumption criteria and rating for degree of liking is carried out under controlled conditions. We can

Difference test assessment When there is a question as to whether two wines are detectably different in their sensory characteristics, a discrimination test procedure such as a duo-trio, triangle, or paired comparison test can be carried out. These subtle differences might not be detected from other sensory tests, and may, for example, be due to an effect of a winemaking procedure on two lots of wine or even differences in storage conditions. Both the triangle test and the duotrio test involve a judge selecting one sample from three that is different. Drink anyone?: Scientist Wes Pearson gets another round of samples ready for the arrival of AWRI’s sensory panel.

Which test is recommended will depend on the sample type and nature of the potential difference. A paired comparison test can be used when there is a known characteristic to be tested, for example level of bitterness or intensity of sulfide aroma. The judge is asked which of two coded samples is higher in the specified character. This type of test can be useful to carry out after an initial technical quality evaluation.

Descriptive analysis The powerful method of sensory descriptive analysis produces a sensory profile for a set of wines from replicated scoring of a set of attributes by a panel of sensitive and trained judges. Sensory profiles are highly valuable in applications such as shelf life or storage studies; comparison of a set of treatments, especially with a standard, or to relate a wines’ perceived attributes to instrumental measures or consumer preference. Of the sensory procedures offered, this type of test is the most complex to conduct and provides the greatest amount of quantitative information.

Napping A form of sorting, the relatively new technique of napping involves tasters grouping a set of wines on a twodimensional plane, so similar wines are placed together and wines with different characteristics are set apart. The method gives a similar ‘map’ to that provided by the descriptive analysis technique, but is much more rapid and thus cheaper to conduct. It is very useful as a screening step, or when time or sample volume constraints mean descriptive analysis would not be possible.

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February 2014 – Issue 601

Tin shedders proving their garagistic point Microbreweries have got nothing on the garagiste winemaking movement reports Danielle Costly, where a tin shed in the backyard and an airconditioner somewhere in the house is all you need to strike gold. IT BEGAN QUIETLY in a Bordeaux garage almost 20 twenty years ago but has since inspired a global movement with garagiste popping up across the Americas, as far afield as New Zealand – and in Australia. But this is no fad driven by wine wannabes; many of the garagiste are proud artisans working with a passion limited only by the dimensions of their domesticity. Margaret River garagiste Nigel Ludlow established his Evoi wine label on a shoestring with just two barrels of Chardonnay in his backyard garage in 2007. His garagiste wines, which are fermented under his living room airconditioner, have already won gold at the Decanter wine awards. Not bad for an expat Kiwi who started with nothing more than a dream and still has not much more than his discrete domain in downtown Margaret River. Where he now churns out a staggering 32 barrels a year. Making barrels of wine in a garage sounds simple, right? According to Ludlow, it was anything but. “It’s not easy working conditions as, inherently, there are big losses of juice involved. Normally you may get 800-litres/tonne of fruit, whereas in my first vintage I only produced about 500-litres per tonne,” he explains. “Producing such a limited quantity of wine left little margin for error, but it also meant I became very intimate with the product. I chose Chardonnay to launch

February 2014 – Issue 601

Tin shed gang: The faces behind the Kiwi Garagiste label, from left, Peter Bristow, Russell Walsh and Brent Laidlaw. They are about as garage as the wine industry can get.

Evoi as it is very special to me. I think of it as a red grape in white drag, as it doesn’t really follow the rules of a white grape.” The fruit for his award-winning Chardonnay is sourced from Willyabrup, a sub-region of Margaret River, and was handpicked into a bin and loaded onto a trailer for the short trip home where it is pressed with a small basket press into a tank. It was then left to partially settle overnight before being racked into the barrels. The barrels were carefully rolled to have pride of place in front of his

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airconditioning unit, where he kept the fermentation as cool as possible. After ferment, the wine stayed in the barrel (in his lounge) with weekly stirring to integrate the lees of the Chardonnay into the wine, producing a richer, creamier wine. One year passed before the wine was filtered into bottles. Today 20 of those 32 barrels are a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec. He has also just received funding from Naked Wines, a sponsorship agreement which will lift this tally by a further 1500 cases in the coming year alone.

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winemaking While Ludlow’s barrels still take pride of place in the living room during fermentation, he has had to start storing some of the barrels at a nearby winery.

RENAISSANCE OF THE GARAGISTE In recent years, this backyard approach to winemaking has been reborn as a wave of passionate winemakers pursue their dreams of making small lot wines in their garages. Michael Hutton is one of these enthusiastic winemakers, producing a measly 275 cases annually. Part-time winemaker, part-time architect, Hutton is the eldest son of firstgeneration wine producers (his parents established Gralyn) and it is from his parents’ vineyard he sourced the fruit for his inaugural Hutton Wines release. “My first vintage consisted of four barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon in 2006. I aim to produce a tiny quantity of the highest quality wine I am capable of and then selling it at a sustainable price, while keeping overheads to a minimum,” he says. He has since added a Chardonnay and a Semillon Sauvignon Blanc to his Triptych range, which is processed at a commercial winery and the juice is transported to his garage, using a stainless steel variable capacity tank on the back of his ute. A small centrifugal pump with oneinch hoses and a racking spear is used to transfer the juice to five French oak barriques (two of which are new). “The juice is then inoculated and sulfur is added once fermentation is complete. The wine stays in the barrel for eight months, with some lees stirring. It is then transferred back to the winery for finishing and bottling,” he elaborates. Hutton says the lack of equipment is his biggest challenge. “I do not have a forklift, so everything such as the barrels, cases and tanks is handled manually. The wine is stored in the garage, which is insulated and

Producing such a limited quantity of wine left little margin for error, but it also meant I became very intimate with the product air-conditioned. There is no additional cooling during fermentation.” This iconoclastic winemaking movement is seeing individuals such as Chris Hill, the founder of Garage Wines, think outside the box to establish distribution markets for his small-lot wines.

While Australia was in the midst of a massive wine glut in 2006, Hill found himself helping long-term industry friends who were stuck with wine they couldn’t sell because of cancelled export orders, or reduced demand from traditional distributors and retailers. This alerted him to the potential for a garage-based wine business – and his label was born. “I borrowed space in a friend’s winery and built-up a network of ‘garages’ throughout McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills and the Hunter Valley. I quickly established more of a negociant style operation then a true garagiste,” he recalls. “When I graduated from Roseworthy in 1983, Australia was experiencing a similar glut. “At the time, it was referred to as the ‘wine lake’ and it had come after a period of massive growth. The industry and government of the time tried to solve the problem by introducing the Vine Pull Scheme and we lost thousands of acres of rare old vineyards. “I could see the same short-sighted solutions being suggested again and I wanted to prove there was a more sustainable solution by reducing the high cost of the traditional route to market and get good wine to consumers without the enormous margins of the multi-tiered system.” Fortunately, Hill had already spent 25 years in the industry, so he had a ready list of distribution outlets with customers searching for wines. Typically, Hill finds small batch winemaking incurs less fruit loss as his focus is entirely on maximising every berry, rather than simply volume throughput. While he has almost outgrown the garagiste definition, most of his facilities still remain in tin sheds, but of varying sizes. And he does a small portion of blending and trialling in the same garage he shares with his car.

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“I plan to continue expanding on the basis everything can still be managed by me as a ‘one man’ operation,” he added.

ACROSS THE TASMAN In New Zealand, three friends and winemakers collaborated to form the Gisborne Garagiste Wine Company in 2012, with the sole intention of producing small quantities of high quality wines which were expressive of the vintage and vineyard site. Brent Laidlaw, Peter Bristow and Russell Walsh operate out of a tin shed in Gisborne and are producing 150 cases of Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer annually under the Polytechnics Waimata Vineyards label. “The idea was to test the waters with regard to the market and try a concept which has been used before, particularly in Australia, for a collective effort such as at Two Hands Winery,” Laidlaw says. “If all else failed, we could quietly fade into the background and sell what we produced through personal contacts or we would be well supplied ourselves for a couple of years. “We are already getting some traction in the market and are set to increase annual production in 2014 and possibly even add a Viognier to the range.” According to Laidlaw, their plan is to proceed with extreme caution. “The old adage is the wine business is an easy way to turn a large fortune into a small fortune. We have started with a small amount of capital investment and will grow our business incrementally by investing all profits back into the business – providing all goes well.”

Evoi, Evoi, Evoi: Aussie garagiste Nigel Ludlow was a two-barrel-a-year man when he first got going in the garagiste movement.

On the other hand, it has been proved you can pursue your passion at all costs. When Laidlaw worked a vintage in France in 2000, he worked with JeanRoger Calvet in the garage under his house. Calvet had decided to leave the local co-operative to produce small quantities of wine from old vine Grenache and Carignan in his garage. “He had teamed up with Jean-Luc Thunevin of Chateau Valandraud (the original garagiste who shared

I’ve seen some truly wonderful wines sit in the corner of a cellar for years because the maker doesn’t have a customer

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DRIVING SUCCESS

industry, Hill recommends adopting a conservative approach. “The most common mistake I have seen is every winemaker (corporate multinationals and garagistes alike) thinks it is simply about making wine. “My advice is to identify your market first and ensure that market is prepared to give your wine a try at the price you want. "I’ve seen some truly wonderful wines sit in the corner of a cellar for years because the maker doesn’t have a customer. “Despite the fact there may be willing buyers, if the winemaker and customer can’t communicate, that wine will sit in the cellar like all the others. "If you don’t have a friendly retail outlet that is prepared to give you a go, start an online club with the various social media applications. "You’ll soon find out that there are lots of people who want to try something new,” Hill says. One thing all of these garagistes share is a genuine passion to produce a high calibre of wine and as this ‘no holds barred’ approach to winemaking leaves little room for error or complacency, "I can only hope from what I have seen so far is that their enthusiasm never wanes.

This success story is what drives a lot of artisan winemakers in their determination to pursue their passion of making small-lot wines. But having spent 30 years’ in the wine

Contact: Danielle Costley. Phone: 61 409 925 997. Email: dcostley@bigpond.net.au

Mr Fixit: Chris Hill, founder of Garage Wines, got into the game helping long-term industry friends stuck with wine they couldn’t sell because of cancelled orders or reduced demand.

this vision), leading to the formation of Domaine Thunevin-Calvet. “Over the years, with the backing and increase in production, the domaine has grown and the garage has been replaced by a spacious, well-equipped winery.”

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February 2014 – Issue 601

Lighter touch for better integration

OAK

Andrew Adams from Wines & Vines reports new barrels and toasts offer exciting options for winemakers’ oak programs

per fection

At a glance: • Coopers are offering more barrels featuring tight-grain wood, lengthier seasoning times and new toasts to provide more options for subtle oak flavours. • Among the more interesting new products, Vinea claims the ceramic toasting method used for its Éclat barrel offers a consistent, uniform toasting that could mean shorter aging times. • Esprit de Dryades is offering two new barrel toasts for lighter wines and wineries that seek to release their wines sooner and its new G7 barrel.

BALANCE HAS BEEN a much-contested word in the wine industry lately, but that debate has Tanks largely focused on ripeness in the vineyard. & wine In the cellar, however, winemakers are mindful of finding the right balance between storage oak and wine. In seeking ways to differentiate their products and help them stand out in the cooperage crowd, barrel suppliers have launched new items and toasts that they say help showcase the fruit characteristics of wine while giving it the structure of new oak with subtler, nuanced oak flavours.

Fine Grain Barrels Since the beginning, Saury has operated on the basis that grain is the most important determinant of barrel quality. Today, the cooperage still applies this theory to each and every barrel, growing into a modern, efficient and quality focused cooperage while maintaining its status as a maker of the finest grain oak barrels in the world.

NEW TOASTING TECHNOLOGY Jim Boswell, president of The Boswell Co. in San Rafael, California, sells French and American barrels and oak barrel alternatives and has been in the barrel business for more than 30 years. He said the new Éclat barrel from French barrel alternative pioneer Vinea represents what he considers an actual innovation in cooperage. “The Éclat is something that has never come down the pike before,” he told Wines & Vines. French cooperage veteran Jean-Christophe Varron founded the Vinea line of barrel alternatives in 1994. Vinea, which is distributed in the US by Boswell, still uses firetoasting for its products, while most barrel al-ternative companies use convection heat or employ a ceramic heating element for toasting. Varron, however, took the concept of using a ceramic heating system and applied it to barrel toasting. He said Varron’s new machine lowers a heating element into the unfinished barrel and toasts the entire interior surface. Boswell could only describe the process in general terms, as Varron is keeping a tight lid on the new toasting system, even refusing to release photos of it. The machine provides temperature control and uniform heating that applies even toasting through the barrel stave. “This is a very interesting concept that you can toast the entire depth of the wood and you have uniformity,” he said. Boswell said the absence of an open flame means there’s February 2014 – Issue 601

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Big barrel business: Several coopers reported winemakers ordering barrels for the 2013 vintage were looking for products offering more subtle oak flavours and better integration.

less smoky flavour imparted to the wood and almost zero chance of the staves blistering during the toasting process. What this new approach means for wine aging remains to be seen. Varron partnered with about five dozen Bordeaux wineries for trials in 2012 and reported that wines aged in Éclat barrels exhibited excellent oak integration and a quality he described as “sucrosity.” Boswell said the quality refers to the sweetness and roundness of the oak.

About 130 of the barrels have been placed in about 20 US wineries including both Cabernet and Pinot pro-ducers. In France, Boswell said several of the wineries used samples of wines aged in Éclat barrels for en primeur because the wines were so well integrated and tasted as if they’d spent far more time in a barrel. Boswell said the barrels could offer short-term aging, but that’s still unclear. “That’s a concept; it might actually be true, but we don’t know.”

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TIGHT GRAIN FOR BETTER INTEGRATION When a wine needs more time in the barrel, the best option is usually to use barrels made with tight grain for a longer, balanced extraction of oak tannin and flavours. Coopers have long offered premium barrels featuring tight-grain wood that has been seasoned for at least two years. Better quality oak alternatives have allowed winemakers to stretch their oak budgets and ensure their best wines age in the best possible barrels. 

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you want it? we got it. We offer a complete range of core, high-grade winemaking equipment, including presses, pumps and filters, crushers/destemmers, as well as tanks, botte, amphorae, eggs, stills, refrigerators and bottling equipment. Australian and New Zealand Winemakers provides quality advice and support, with in-house technicians providing specialist installation and training. All backed with almost 50 years winemaking industry experience.

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winemaking “I find they are aging more and longer compared to France, which was very long before and now is less,” Vincent Nadalie said of recent trends he’s noticed among American winemakers. Nadalie runs Nadalie USA in Calistoga, California, which is the American branch of his family’s French cooperage. Tonnellerie Nadalie in Bordeaux just released its new “Elite” barrel featuring “fine tight-grain” French oak, which is slightly larger than the “extra tight grain” oak used in its Colbert barrel. Nadalie said the wood for the Elite barrel is sourced from a blend of French oak forests—mainly Tronçais, Allier, Centre of France and Nevers. The barrel has been in trials at wineries in France for three years, Nadalie said, so the cooperage could fully understand all of its sensory characteristics. He said the Elite barrel is ideal for aging Bordeaux varieties for 20 to 28 months and that “it brings softness to the tannins and a nice integration.” Tonnellerie Nadalie places a strong emphasis on the wood’s forest of origin. Vincent Nadalie said the company undergoes rigorous auditing of its wood purchases and applies its own traceability program.

70 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Secret system: The new Éclat barrel is toasted with a ceramic heating element which its manufacturer claims provides a deep and consistent toast.

Nadalie said the cooperage controls 98 per cent of its supply, essentially everything except the hoops. In addition to the tight-grain French oak Elite and Colbert barrels, Nadalie

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also sells its Symphony barrel, which is made from the tightest-grain American oak the cooperage can find from forests in Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

February 2014 – Issue 601

This is a very interesting concept that you can toast the entire depth of the wood and you have uniformity

Barrel brains trust: Jean-Cristophe Varron developed the Vinea line of oak alternatives and the new toasting system used to produce the Eclat barrels.

The Symphony staves are aged for 24 months, but Nadalie will season them for 36 months on request, which Vincent Nadalie said has become more popular. “I see more and more 36-month aging in American oak; that’s the demand,” he said. A few coopers practice even longer seasoning. Taransaud Tonnellerie offers its five-year-aged T5 barrel and Francois Frères has a 48-month barrel. Earlier last year, TW Boswell released its new Cool Climate Series of barrels with 36-month-aged, tight-grain wood to emphasis the fruit of higher acid, cooler climate wines. In 2012 Tonnellerie Quintessence launched its “hydrodynamique” program, which uses a specialised tank to circulate water around barrel staves to extract tannin to create a finished barrel that offers a gentler touch. Tonnellerie O also offers barrels made with staves that have undergone its sous l’eau water soak of 12 to 18 hours to extract some of the oak’s harsher tannins. In addition to grain and seasoning time, barrel toast plays a pivotal role in the interplay between wine and oak.

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One stave at a time: A worker lays out American oak staves for barrel assembly at the California cooperage of Nadalie.

LIGHTER, COMPLEX TOASTS TO SHOWCASE FRUIT Tonnellerie Vicard, which is distributed in the US by Bouchard Cooperages, unveiled two new toasts last year designed to impart a softer oak presence and highlight fruit characteristics. Bouchard Cooperages’ international manager Gary Chappell said Vicard’s new Gradual Toast and Chauffe Blanche toasts are the result of a shift in appetite by French consumers. “They are a result of a new trend in France, where you’ve got a lot of young consumers who aren’t really buying the ‘I want to buy a wine and lay it down for 20 years’,” he said. The Gradual Toast involves a longer toast time, but with steadily increasing temperatures. According to information by Vicard, the toasting begins at about half the temperature of regular toasts but then increases to the same temperature through a series of intervals.

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winemaking The toast is offered in three levels: Gradual 160, Gradual 170 and Gradual 180. The Gradual 180, for example, eventually reaches the same temperature of a traditional medium toast, but the toasting process takes twice as long and the starting toast temperature is far cooler. Because Vicard toasts barrels with a computer-controlled, automated system, the cooper claims it can offer exceptionally precise toasting temperatures. The gradual increases in temperature and longer toasting times also impart notes from the entire spectrum of oak flavours, Chappell said. As toasting temperatures increase, Chappell said flavours shift from vanilla to mocha, furfural and eventually charcoal. “If you do this gradual toast, you’re kinda going to get all of those,” he said. But because the toasting doesn’t stay at one constant temperature for the entire

The gradual increases in temperature and longer toasting times also impart notes from the entire spec-trum of oak flavours

Chappell said the toast flavours are more subtle. The Chauffe Blanche toast is the lowest temperature toast offered by the cooper and is intended to produce a barrel with minimal notes of smokiness, charcoal and furfural. Chauffe Blanche toast barrels are meant for light-bodied red or white wines that could benefit from some structure to highlight their fruit, Chappell said. Contact: Jim Boswell. Phone: 0011 1 415.457.3955. Email: staff@boswellcompany.com. Vincent Nadalie Phone: 0011 1 707.942.9301

process, the toast doesn’t offer all of the sensory characteristics from a particular toast type. While offering more complexity,

Amber Glastonbury Bouchard Cooperage Australian sales manager Phone: 61 8 8239 2644 Email: amber@bouchardcooperages.com.

Vicard unveils new barrel with specific tannin levels Andrew Adams, Wines & Vines

ESPRIT DE DRYADES, which was founded by Jean Charles Vicard, is bringing what it claims to be the most consistent barrel from vintage to vintage in the North American market. The new Generation 7 barrels are designed to give winemakers more precision in their oak programs. Georges Milcan, general manager of the G7 program, said he regularly hears from winemakers who want a barrel which has the same sensory effect on their wines every vintage. He said the cooperage has already taken steps to standardise its stave bending and toasting processes, and the G7 represents the next step. “We are pushing the technology a little bit further with stave scanning,” he said. “We have a lot of opportunity to finetune what they’re looking for.” The company scans individual staves to determine their level of ellagitannin and then sorts them by low, me-dium or high tannin. Barrels can be assembled with staves of uniform type or a blend of staves. Esprit de Dryades, which makes the G7, is not the first company to employ such technology, and Milcan acknowledged scanning is not a revolutionary step. What sets the new G7 apart, however, is that barrels are toasted and formed in an automated and precise manner which eliminates variability at those stages, according to Milcan.

72 Grapegrower & Winemaker

All in the family: The Vicard Generation7 barrel is named in honour of the seven generations of the Vicard family.

“The tannin selection by itself is great, but then you still have some variation when you toast the traditional way: You have the human factor,” he said. “What we believe makes us a little special is we have those two systems.” Toasting temperature is also matched to the tannin level, but barrels are all www.winebiz.com.au

toasted for 80 minutes with a gradualtoasting method. The barrels are made with 24-month seasoned wood. Vicard founded Esprit de Dryades in 2010 as a research and development company. The new G-7 barrels are only available directly through Esprit de Dryades. February 2014 – Issue 601

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winemaking

JMA Engineering – doing the business at Berri

BASED AT BERRI in the heart of South Australia’s Riverland region, Australia’s largest wine grape producing area; is the ideal address for JMA Engineering. Sales manager Mark Johnson said the manufacturing company has a high profile in the wine industry around the country. But said its work with stainless steel wine and liquid storage vessels and wine equipment is complemented by its work in stainless steel fabrication, structural steel buildings and precast construction. JMA Engineering even handles transport management and crane hire. “But our work in the wine industry is our flagship enterprise and we not only produce custom built stainless steel products we also represent several international manufacturers specialising in wine equipment,” Johnson said. “Being multi-franchised means we are

not locked into one brand and that is important as it gives us the range and flexibility to provide the right product for the customer,” he said. “That includes crushers, pumps, pressing, de-filtration and crossflow, flotation, and sorting tables and conveyors. “JMA will import, commission and maintain this equipment with its experienced service technicians and a fleet of well stocked vehicles. “Our business is based on developing long-term relationships with our customers, and we do this by offering long-term support by stocking a comprehensive range of spare parts for both Velo and other general brands. “We have the ability to combine our resources and provide realistic engineering solutions from simple spare parts to turnkey operations.

State-of-art: The hi-tech JMA Engineering 25-tonne installation at the premium cellar for Penfolds, home of the gamous Grange wines.

“It is our goal to be the best supplier of tanks for storage, fermentation process, equipment and construction to the wine and other associated industries.” Johnson also said recent OH&S legislation, and climate change with shorter harvest periods, has seen an increase in demand for fermentation vessels which are both compliant and user friendly.

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74 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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February 2014 – Issue 601

He said JMA was able to provide the latest fermenter design and technology to ensure the best possible ferment controls easily and safely – from small boutique kitchens of two tonnes as supplied to Angoves premium cellar to the 10 and 25 tonnes in Penfolds Grange cellar and up to the 300 tonnes at Berri Estates. “JMA is supplying these modern style fermenters across most wine regions in Australia as demand for them grows,” he said. “Key technical features of the tanks are the easy discharge systems, both manual and bullet proof self discharge sweeping arms and high pressure cooling jackets which JMA produces. “They are also high flow with a long service life, have a high UV resistant door and lid rubbers that will stand the test of time providing a production method ensuring the best possible alignment and finish of the tank. “A customer once told us if the tank looks good the wine must be good – it’s a philosophy we adhere to.” Contact: Mark Johnson. Phone: 0408 822 434. Email: mark@jmaeng.com.au.

Looks the part: The latest fermenter design and technology is demonstrated in these five-tonne open top fermenters in Angoves new premium cellar.

• Searchable • Easy to use • Wine industry personnel ONLINE PHONEBOOK VISIT www.winebiz.com.au/widonline to Access* *Wine Industry Personnel Phonebook available only to those who have purchased the Wine Industry Directory (purchase includes annual subscription to WID Online) For further information, please contact Kauri NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 NZ Fax: 04 910 7415 AUS Fax: 1800 127 609 Email: winery@kauri.co.nz Web: www.kauriwine.com

February 2014 – Issue 601

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winemaking Cool fuel: The use of bioethanol as an alternative in brine systems is proving a sustainable and cost-effective solution.

It’s a fine brine when it’s bioethanol WINE ISN’T THE only thing making the most of science in the wine industry. And when it comes to Refrigeration refrigeration the Alcool range of products is proving a dab hand at making the most of a mixture of science and sustainability to create cutting-edge products. Because Alcool is based on bioethanol, which is made from the fermentation of spent molasses as a by-product from the sugar making process. Bioethanol is a sustainable product made from renewable natural resources, and meets the European Standards for

Sustainability. Wilmar BioEthanol’s (previously CSR Ethanol) David Podesta said the use of bioethanol offers low viscosity properties and helps maintain a cost-effective total brine system. Podesta said according to AS1940, brine solutions greater than 24 per cent ethanol are considered flammable and therefore may not comply with the Australian Standard for storage and handling of flammable liquids. He said Wilmar BioEthanol has recognised the problem facing Australian wineries. And as a result has developed Alcool and Alcool LF, which allow winemakers to operate safe brine solutions while still

achieving maximum refrigeration and pump efficiency. “Alcool grades are available in 200L drums, 1000L IBCs or in bulk deliveries of up to 55,000L depending on the system design and size,” Podesta said. “Alcool Grades are also coloured with an iridescent pink dye solution that remains in the product even after dilution,” he said. “This allows for easy on site system leak detection. “For new brine systems we have a food safe Alcool grade called Alcool LFFG – again with all the properties of the other grades in the range and available in all pack sizes.”

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February 2014 – Issue 601

IS ALCOOL COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR SYSTEM? Podesta said Wilmar BioEthanol’s in-house laboratory can analyse samples of brine systems and perform calculations to transform these systems from unstable or flammable blends to a stable predictable and reliable Alcool brine systems. The Alcool system will then contain the correct amount of coolant, corrosion inhibitor and dye to maintain your refrigeration at the temperature you require, whilst managing corrosion and leak detection over time.

CAN I MIX ANOTHER BRINE WITH AN ALCOOL SYSTEM? An Alcool refrigeration brine system is specifically formulated to provide the correct proportions of coolants, corrosion inhibitor and leak detection dye to maintain your refrigeration at optimal levels over time. Changing proportions of any of these creates an unpredictable cocktail in your brine system that can affect the ability to solve refrigeration issues or cause corrosion problems over time. “Wilmar BioEthanol offers technical support to our Alcool customers to assist in optimising the refrigeration of their brine systems,” Podesta added. “Through our free testing service, our laboratory provides top up recommendations based on a chemical analysis of your brine sample,” he said. “Please contact our customer service team for more information on the Alcool range of products.” Contact: David Podesta. Phone: 1800 819 618. Email: David.Podesta@wilmar.com.au. www.wilmarbioethanol.com.au.

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Aggreko chillers ensure a bumper vintage It’s a multi-billion dollar industry and a significant employer across the country so providing the wine industry with the best technology is a cornerstone of both its current success and ongoing growth According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics census data from 2011, the Australian wine industry employs around 30,000 Australians and contributes approximately $5.5 billion to the economy. It’s a significant contributor to the long-term prosperity of Australia but has had to really understand the impact of temperature control on production levels; from both the systems it has in place as well as climactic changes. Moving forward to 2014, this year has so far been the hottest on record for Australia according to a recent UN report on Climate Change. With such diverse weather conditions impacting much of the country, it’s clear to see how controlling the temperature for wine production based on weather patterns takes on even greater significance.

For the wine industry, being able to manage the crop in the face of such adverse conditions is critical for a successful harvest. Vintners generally have a good line of sight about the link between weather patterns and the resulting quality of grapes. The industry experts know how rain reduces the sugar content of the grapes, dilutes the usefulness and causes rot. Furthermore, when grapes swell up the skin can split which is no good for winemaking. Both extreme hot and cold temperatures impact the acidity, alcohol content and body of wine to turn a potentially good harvest into an average one. The industry needs to be in constant touch with what the weather is likely to do in order to protect its harvests and often this can result in a heavy reliance

on the heating and cooling systems the plants have in place.

REFRIGERATION IN WINE PRODUCTION Refrigeration accounts for a large proportion of the electricity usage in wineries. Most wineries have a refrigeration system sufficient to keep large vats of wine chilled for 10 months of the year. During the two months of vintage, extra refrigeration capacity is required to not only keep the existing vats cool, but also to perform the ‘snap chill’ process. But what happens if the system they have in place is not enough? Depending on the weather and the harvest, the demands on the refrigeration system often leads to a need for more equipment during crucial periods. This is particularly during the harvesting period where a lot of wineries

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15:13 February 28/01/2014 2014 – Issue 601

operate a 24/7 approach in order to complete the harvest as speedily as possible. Alongside refrigeration, the harvesting period places a heavy burden on heating systems at the same time. With more staff onsite during vintage for longer hours, it places greater demands on hot water resources for things such as cleaning facilities and barrels as well as workers taking showers etc. As a result, there is often a real need to increase the supply of both heating and cooling for the plant. Wineries rely on rental equipment to cater for any shortfall in the temperature control systems they have in place. They need to plan ahead to consider what standby rental equipment they may require to help support these refrigeration or heating systems. Usage is based around vintage; some facilities use rental equipment for contingency planning as standby in case they might need it, while some use it as an emergency immediate requirement. During 2013, temperature control rental supplier, Aggreko found rental of its equipment for wineries took place exclusively between January and April

split between South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. Around 45 per cent of equipment was rented over a period of two months or longer and 33 per cent was a short term rental of three weeks or less. Approximately 3 per cent was due to a breakdown in existing equipment which can hit a winemaker hard depending on at which point in the winemaking process the equipment failed. Wineries are seeing rental equipment as a cost-effective option for a variety of reasons including managing the impact of climate change so securing equipment is essential to ensure they are well catered for when they most need it. Leaving the decision to the last minute can be the difference between a successful or an unsuccessful vintage and it’s a risk that a lot of wineries aren’t prepared to take. One of the major benefits of renting is that it avoids the need for large capital expenditure. When a winery purchases equipment, it has to pay the full cost of the asset up front, which can affect the available lines of credit and also impact its cash flow – therefore, renting frees up working capital, increasing the winery’s debt ratio.

This allows the winemaker to place their capital in more profitable investments and increase borrowing power with a better ratio of assets to liabilities because rented equipment is not a balance-sheet liability. Renting gives an accurate cost control because the rental payments are fixed and guaranteed for the agreed term and is not subject to the prime interest rate increases. Servicing, installation and maintenance should all be included in the rental rate. In the case of an unplanned outage or breakdown, renting can be the only option, to get the plant back on line – this is why it is so critical to have a contingency plan. Renting also offers the flexibility to increase or decrease capacity according to the needs of a business and renting transfers the uncertainties and risks of equipment ownership to the rental service provider, which allows a business to concentrate on winemaking. Rental is simple – maintenance is incorporated and the equipment is simply returned back to the service provider upon completion of a project. Contact: Zoie Burgess. Phone: 61 3 9586 5059. Email: zoie.burgess@aggreko.com.au.

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You gotta be hot to play it cool Australian-owned and providing for Australian conditions means Amertec is very much all about keeping things cool – to very cold. And its portfolio of big brands proves it is on the ball when it comes to delivering. AMERTEC IS AN Australian-based company established in 1992 with a network of operations stretching from Adelaide to Brisbane and taking in Melbourne, Sydney and Port Macquarie. Proprietor Rocky Moyes said his refrigeration division was all about keeping customers from unnecessarily getting hot under the collar. Moyes said obviously in this day and age everyone expects quality, reliability and total customer satisfaction. But he said when it comes to specialist industries such as wine it also demands an understanding of exactly what the client’s business is and exactly what is needed to get the right job done at the best possible price. Not just in design and installation but running costs as well. “Amertec is committed to providing the highest quality industrial refrigeration, heat transfer equipment and commercial refrigeration and air conditioning systems,” Moyse said. “We have a team of skilled engineers backed by project and product managers, supervisors, technicians and associated staff who are focused on reliable, cost effective, productive and safe services,” he said. “And at the same time which are environmentally aware.” Amerctec was established in 1992 and manages the industrial

Cold call: Part of the ammonia refrigeration system installed by Amertec at Serafino Wines in South Australia’s McLaren Vale.

refrigeration and air conditioning requirements of some of Australia’s leading brands. In the wine industry that includes major players such as Penfolds, Rosemount and Wirra Wirra Wines.

HIGH-PROFILE BRANDS Across the board it also takes in other high-profile brands such as Nippy’s, Berri, Nudie Fruit Juices, Schweppes and Bickfords soft drinks, Arnott’s Biscuits, Menz Confectionary, Steggles Poultry, Sungold Products, Big M and Moove, Pura, Coon and Hahn and West End. “Our company’s management group represents more than 150 years of experience and leads a team of engineers and technicians who understand the requirements of how to apply the right cooling and heating which also comply with the standards of a broad range of industries,” Moyes said. “Amertec is playing an important part in preserving Australia’s enviable status of producing and manufacturing quality products, as the specialist in the application of industrial refrigeration and air conditioning services,” he said. “We believe our success is because we deliver before, during and after installation and maintain good long-term relationships. We place enormous value on those long-term business relationships and the success of our customers is the benchmark of our business. In every industry – regardless of your client base and service offering – there is no substitute for quality, reliability and service.” Moyes said part of that long-term support has been the ongoing development of the Amertec Integrated Management System (AIMS manual). Amertec is the authorised distributor of the Vilter® range of compressors and heat transfer equipment for Australia and New Zealand. The Vilter company is part of the world wide Emerson Climate Technologies Group. Contact: Rocky Moyes. Phone: 0419 817 085. Email: rocky_moyes@armatec.com.au.

80 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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February 2014 – Issue 601

sales & marketing There’s gold in wine auctions – if it pans out US-based researchers Ginette McManus, Rajneesh Sharma and Ahmet Tezel have found there is money to be made in the wine auction business – as much as 20-30 per cent in as little as a few months. Provided you know what you are doing. ARE THERE ANY prof itable t rading Bottling, strategies for wine buyers and sellers at labelling & wine auctions? We think packaging so based on our findings of price reversals for wine auctions held by The Chicago Wine Company published in November 2013 in the Journal of Wine Economics (which graciously gave us permission to write this condensed version of our article). Using monthly wine price changes over the 1998-2008 time period, we find wines with strong declining prices experience significant price reversals in subsequent months. The strongest reversals of 35-50 per cent occur after a decline of 30 per cent or more in wine auction prices over the previous month.

February 2014 – Issue 601

Weaker price reversals of about 10-12 per cent follow an increase in wine prices of 30 per cent or more over the previous two months. Thus wine price declines after strong price increases are not, in general, as significant as wine price increases after strong price declines.

WINE AUCTIONS We obtain wine auction prices from The Chicago Wine Company (TCWC) web site. TCWC follows the English auction model which is commonly used to sell wine and art (Ashenfelter, 1989). An English auction, also known as an ascending price auction, starts with a low price for the item for sale (wines are sold in lots ranging from a single bottle to several cases) which is successively raised (either by the auctioneer or by the

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At a glance: • Using monthly wine price changes over a 10-year period, wines with strong declining prices experience significant price reversals in subsequent months. • A market anomaly has been shown when identical lots of wine are sold sequentially in a single auction; prices are more likely to decrease with later lots. • Results suggest the most successful investment strategy in wine auctions is to bid at prices at least 30 per cent below the previous month’s prices.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

sales & marketing bidders themselves) until only one bidder remains and the auctioneer “hammers down” the item for sale. Then, in most cases, the highest bidder pays the hammer price for the item if it is higher than the reserve price (the minimum selling price for the item which is generally not revealed to bidders to discourage collusive bidding). TCWC does not charge lotting fees, buy-in fees for unsold wines, and insurance fees. While auctioneers typically receive a commission from both the buyer and the seller, TCWC does not charge a buyer’s premium, so successful bidders pay no more than the hammer price. Marks (2009) finds auctioneer commissions paid by the buyer are reflected in the winning bids, resulting in lower proceeds to sellers. The seller’s premium, expressed as a per centage of the hammer price, is negotiable and depends on the quantity and rarity of the wine being offered for sale. TCWC does not advertise seller’s commission but reasonable estimates range from 15 to 25 per cent for wine. Assuming a seller’s premium of 25 per cent and a hammer price of $100 for a lot of wine, the buyer will pay the auctioneer $100 (plus applicable state and local sale

Facts and figures: Ahmet Tezel (left), Ginette McManus, and Rajneesh Sharma in the stock trading room at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

taxes and/or shipping fees and storage costs) and the seller will receive $75 (less shipping charges, if applicable) from the auctioneer.

that when identical lots of wine are sold sequentially in a single auction, prices are more likely to decrease with later lots. This declining price anomaly is a violation of the “law of one price” and its existence in wine auction prices was confirmed in several empirical studies. Ashenfelter (1989) suggests declining prices in repeated auctions is due to riskaverse bidders. If the price for the first lot of wine is equal to the later ones plus a risk premium, wine buyers may gain from not bidding too aggressively for early lots

AFTERNOON EFFECT An interesting observation in wine auctions is the existence of the declining price anomaly (or the afternoon effect) documented in both theoretical and empirical research on sequential wine auctions. The anomaly refers to the observation

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February 2014 – Issue 601

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sales & marketing of a selected wine, as long as the winning bidder for the first lot of wine does not have the option to take all the other lots at the same price (Black and De Meza, 1992). McAfee and Vincent (1993) show for risk aversion to be at the root of the declining price anomaly, bidders must exhibit non-decreasing absolute risk aversion, an attitude which is very unconventional among buyers. More recently, Ginsburgh (1998) shows there is no anomaly in wine auctions as the price decline is due to absentee bidders who win the first lots using non-optimal bidding strategies. Finally, Ashta (2006) suggests there are so many economic, institutional and behavioral explanations to the observed declining prices in sequential wines auctions that maybe it isn’t an anomaly at all.

DATA AND METHODOLOGY TCWC has been operating in Chicago since 1974 and has been conducting at least one live wine auction every month since 1977 (although the majority of bids are submitted by absentees). The dates on the wine auctions included in this study range from 27 June 1998 to 21 January 2009. The data contains the year and name of the wine, the auction (hammer) price, as well as the size and quantity of the wine auctioned. There are a total of 615,469 auction observations with 62,006 unique wines by year, name and condition. We delete any transaction where the lot size is not “bottle”. We also require each observation has a lot number and be associated with an auction date. While the auctions are generally conducted a month apart, there are instances where two auctions are associated with the same date. Both pre- and post-period returns are based on one, two, three, and six months surrounding the wine auction months. For a wine to be included in our sample, it must trade on three dates – for example, for the analysis involving a onemonth formation or pre-period and a two-months post-period, a wine has to trade in the previous month (at time t-1), in the current month (at time 0), and two months later (at time t+2).

EMPIRICAL RESULTS The table shows the strongest reversals occur for wines which declined in prices by more than 30 per cent in one month (that is during a formation period of one month). These wines rise in prices by more than 35 per cent during the following one, two, and three-month periods. More specifically, after a more than 30 per cent drop in prices in a given month, wine prices rise by 35.46 per cent the subsequent month, by 51.56 per cent the two subsequent months, and by 42.94 per cent the three subsequent months. Price Declines Greater than 30% in Wine Auction Prices Pre-Months

Post-Months

Average Post-Return

Average Pre-Return -49.85%***

35.46%***

-49.64%***

51.56%***

-50.73%***

42.94%***

-54.17%***

36.44%

-47.73%***

21.14%***

-47.28%***

32.34%***

-48.28%***

25.88%***

-45.72%***

37.40%

-45.19%***

10.06%***

-44.52%***

12.96%**

-45.50%***

3.24%

-46.13%*

5.74%

-46.54%***

4.58%

-44.15%***

1.03%

-42.60%***

2.30%

*** means statistically significant at the 99 level of confidence. ** means statistically significant at the 95 level of confidence. * means statistically significant at the 90 level of confidence.

84 Grapegrower & Winemaker

These returns are both statistically and economically significant for wine investors as bid-ask spreads for wines of about 20 to 30 per cent are quite plausible (especially for wine dealers who can negotiate a lower seller’s premium). Similarly, after a greater than 30 per cent decline in prices in a given two-month period, wine prices rise by as much as 21.14 per cent the next month, by 32.34 per cent during the following two-month period, and by 25.88 per cent during the following three-month period. For a three-month formation period, wine prices rise by 10.06 per cent the next month and by 12.96 per cent during the two-month period following a drop in prices greater than 30 per cent. Thus, there are both statistically and economically significant wine price reversals during the three-month period following a greater than 30 per cent price drop in any given one, and possibly, two months. We find no evidence of momentum in wine auction prices. In fact, statistically-significant price reversals occur also after wine prices rise by more than 30 per cent (those results are reported in the Journal of Wine Economics). However, results are not economically significant as wine prices decline by about only 12 per cent. We find no pattern on returns following small drops or small increases in wine prices. That is, after a less than 30 per cent change (increase or decrease) in wine prices during a one- or two-month formation period, subsequent returns are small and do not necessarily follow a reversal pattern. Similarly, we do not observe any reversal or momentum effect using six-month pre-and post-periods.

CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest the most successful investment strategy in wine auctions is to bid at prices at least 30 per cent below the previous month’s prices. The successful purchases at discounted prices of 30 per cent or more are likely to bring returns as high as 35-50 per cent, before transaction costs, in the next three month’s auctions. Similarly, if wines are not traded, or are unsold in the previous month’s auction, a strategy of bidding on wines that traded two months ago at a large discount and then trying to sell them in the next three months could generate returns in the range of 20-30 per cent before transaction costs. Such returns are likely due to the liquidity premium sellers seem willing to incur as wines may not sell for several months (especially if high reserve prices are set). On the other hand, when wine auctions result in significant price increases, this may be due to herd behavior and overoptimism, and wine prices drop by only about 10 per cent during the following three months. Contact: Ginette McManus. Phone: 1 610-660-1000. Email: gmcmanus@sju.edu.

References Ashenfelter, O. (1989). How auctions work for wine and art. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 3, 23-36. Ashta, A. (2006). Win auctions: More explanations for the declining price anomaly. Journal of Wine Research, 17 (1), 53-62. Black, J. and D. De Meza. (1992). Systematic price differences between successive auctions are no anomaly. Journal of Economic and Management Strategy, 1, 607-628. Ginsburgh, V. (1998). Absentee bidders and the declining price anomaly in wine auctions. Journal of Political Economy, 106, 1302-1319. Marks, D. (2009). Who pays brokers’ commissions? Evidence from fine wine auctions. Oxford Economic Papers, 61, 761-775. McAfee, R. and D. Vincent. (1993). The declining price anomaly. Economic Theory, 60, 191-212.

Journal of

McManus, G, R. Sharma, and A. Tezel. (2013). Reversals in wine auction prices. Journal of Wine Economics, 8 (2), 189-197. www.winebiz.com.au

February 2014 – Issue 601

sales & marketing

Have wine? Cameron will deliver Cameron Swale, PACK & SEND franchisee, talks about key markets and distribution trends for Australian winemakers AUSTRALIAN WINES HAVE long been among the most popular and highly regarded across Europe and North America, and in recent years this has extended to China and Hong Kong where demand for our local drop is growing rapidly. From our base in Lilydale, Victoria – gateway to the ever popular Yarra Valley region – I can oversee distribution for a number of well-known winemakers in the area. Our client base includes Oakridge, Mac Forbes, Giant Steps and Innocent Bystander and Sticks, and demands a smooth operation of weekly and ad-hoc shipments to local and international markets. We typically send wine samples to wine importers and agents in traditional wine markets such as the UK and EU as well as interstate. Since we opened PACK & SEND in Lilydale we have seen tremendous growth in wine exports – we’re known for sending anything but wine is now a key pillar to our business. But as Asian markets develop a growing taste for wine, local producers are increasingly relying on us to handle to their shipments. This is largely due to the strict customs regulations in China which prevent more than half a dozen bottles being sent in a single shipment.

It’s in the box: Cameron Swale says wine is now a key part of his business at the gateway to Victoria’s Yarra Valley. NEW AUSTRALIAN AGENTS: Wine Industry Services 5 Edison Drive, Golden Grove SA 5125 Contact Peter Cole 0402 376 060 or John Camilleri 08 8251 5055 www.wineindustryservices.com

In the past most local independent winemakers have viewed these restrictions as a barrier to accessing key wine importers in the Chinese market, but we have helped change that. Unlike most international freight companies, PACK & SEND will accept any distribution job – no matter how small – applying its company promise to send ‘anything, anywhere’. We will also guarantee the product will arrive safely. We have a set procedure when packing wine. It goes in a premade polystyrene template with a dozen holes for the bottles. I’m unaware of anyone else who goes to this much care. In addition to regular client shipments, Lilydale PACK & SEND also stays busy with travellers in the Yarra Valley region wanting to send their wine purchases home. We recently had an Englishman buy up $13,000 worth of wine in the area and he needed to send it home for his personal collection – and we did. People often spend big on wine when they get here and realise later that they won’t be able to take it home in their suitcase. That’s where we come in. Contact: Cameron Swale. Phone: 61 3 9735 5515. Email: lilydale@packsend.com.au.

86 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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February 2014 – Issue 601

business & technology

Our IT survey shows wine industry still has a way to go A Grapegrower & Winemaker survey has shown 16 per cent of our readers have been hacked, a staggering 12 per cent have never reviewed their software/IT requirements and some simply never back up the data which is the lifeline of their business. GRAPEGROWER & WINEMAK ER’S EDITOR I AL tea m I.T. & conducted a subscriber survey to determine Software what type of IT equipment and software was currently being used for vineyard and winery management. Some results surprised us. Especially when 12 per cent of respondents said they never reviewed their IT/software requirements and 5 per cent admitted they did not have back-up procedures. A further 4 per cent reported they did not use software to manage their vineyard operations. THe Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported between 2010-11 and 2011-12, most key indicators of business use of information technology have increased. The greatest change was in the proportion of businesses that placed orders via the internet. This increased four percentage points to 55 per cent between 2010-11 and 2011-12. While the proportion of businesses that reported receiving orders via the internet was steady between 2010-11 and 2011-12 (28 per cent), the value of income derived from the sale of goods or services via the internet has increased by 25 per cent, from $189 billion in 2010-11 to $237 billion in 2011-12.

ABS said nine in 10 businesses reported having internet access, as at 30 June 2012. By employment size range, the likelihood of a business having access to the internet was greater for each successive employment size range. This ranged from 90 per cent of businesses with 0-4 persons employed to all businesses with 200 or more persons employed having reported access to the internet. Internet commerce is the term generally used in respect to the placement and receipt of orders via the internet. The ABS defines an order via the internet as a transaction where the commitment to purchase goods or services is made via the internet. The commitment to purchase is the agreement to purchase whether or not the payment is made via the internet. The scope of receiving orders is not limited to orders solely received from Australian households, businesses or government but also includes orders received from overseas customers. Income from the receipt of orders is referred to as internet income. Businesses in information media and telecommunications and professional, scientific and technical services were most likely to place orders for goods or services via the internet (both over 70 per cent). By contrast, agriculture, forestry and fishing (which includes the wine industry)

had the lowest proportion of businesses placing orders over the internet (37 per cent), followed closely by transport, postal and warehousing and accommodation and food services (both 39 per cent).

KEY ISSUE Security was another key issue, with 16 per cent of respondents having been hacked and almost half those faced with costs to repair the damage. GrowData Developments managing director Brian Riordan noted that well designed software can streamline data collection for any vineyard or winery. In the vineyard there are a number of areas where computers and welldesigned software can save the grower time and ensure accuracy of essential records. Virtually all businesses these days have recognised that accounting software is essential to manage the flow of money in and out of the business, yet according to Riordan, despite the obvious advantages of using tax accounting software, many growers still persist with manual or spreadsheet recording of critical management and quality assurance information. Database software enables a business to pull together all the information in a safer and more organised fashion. “Cloud-based storage of data is also proving to be a much safer way to prevent loss of data,” he said.

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

business & technology “A good provider will back-up your data multiple times per day and store it in a number of locations around the country. “It is also much more flexible, making it easier to record and access data from anywhere on your property or around the world.” Computer systems can also reduce the incidence of miscommunication between management and staff by producing well laid-out instruction sheets for tasks such as foliar and fertiliser applications. “Scratched notes on the back of an envelope will inevitably lead to very expensive mistakes,” Riordan warned. “Good management software can also enable growers to track their costs and like any other business, you must know your numbers to properly manage your business.” The issue of hacking can also be prevented with the use of an efficient computing system. According to news channel CNBC, cyber crooks hacked into 53 small and medium size businesses in Seattle between 2008 and 2010, stealing enough data to cause $3 million in damages to the companies, their employees and their customers.

HOW DO YOU COMPARE? Another case was reported in 2012 where an Austrian boy barely into his teens hacked into 259 company websites in just three months, revealing private information about the businesses and their clients. And this is happening all around the globe, including Australia and New Zealand. Clearly demonstrating the importance of having the best software system on your business computer. How does your business compare with the survey findings that follow? Most who answered the competition questions the perfect software system needed to be simple to use and be able to integrate a range of other software systems if needed. Congratulations to Ian Napier of Wombat Crossing Vineyard who was judged the winner based on his detailed overview of a ‘perfect software system’, which included features across cellar door, vineyard, winery and general business functions. In short, Ian wrote “the new system needs to assemble custom and available

Business type:

apps and deliver via cloud sourcing and offer support for essentially the same functionality irrespective of device and access path being used … I envisage a solution that can deliver tablet based wine presentation and sales support for the cellar door or web, and offers additional functionality to commercial customers that they value.” He also said software development focus should be on reusing commercially available applets, integration ease and the ability to access customer as well as winery information. Thanks also to our survey partner GrowData Developments, which contributed a $3000 Premium Vineyard Management Program for the winner of the prize associated with this survey. Contact: Stephanie Timotheou. Phone: 61 8 8369 9505. Email: journalist@winetitles.com.au. Brian Riordan. Phone: 61 3 5831 1711. Email: brian@growdata.com.au.

perating on the same O version of software:

Vineyard 41% Winery 4% Vineyard/Winery 55%

No 27% Yes 72%

Number of permanent employees:

Back up procedures in place:

Less than 5 81% 5-10 6% 11-20 7% 21-50 4% 51+ 2%

In part 25% No 5% Yes 70% ack up procedures B (multiple answer question)

PC or MAC used in business: Online 17% Server 23% USB/disks 51% Other (a few examples include external hard drive, NAS, Apple time capsules) 8%

PC 70% MAC 10% Combination PC/MAC 20%

ineyard management V (multiple answer question):

Our core services include:

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www.bamwine.com.au 88 Grapegrower & Winemaker

icrosoft applications M (eg Word/Excel) 72% Customised 20% Other (a few examples include MYOB, SAGE, GrowData, iCropTrak) 4% No software 4%

(03) 9771 6400 www.winebiz.com.au

February 2014 – Issue 601

oftware used to track folia and fertiliser applications S and to meet other Q.A. compliance requirements (multiple answer question):

fertilising, trellis repairs, weather data, pruning and other manual labour activities, soil moisture levels and pests and diseases; tracking sales and estimating yields. Winery management (multiple answer question):

icrosoft applications M (eg Word/Excel) 64% Customised 16% Other (a few examples include Grapeweb, spray diaries, GrapeLink) 20%

Microsoft applications (eg Word/Excel) 67% Customised 23% Other (a few examples include VINx2, MYOB, Wine File,) 33% Winery marketing management (multiple answer question):

obile devices used for M recording vineyard activity: Yes 23% No 78% Types of devices included: iPhones, smartphones, tablets and iPads mainly for recording a range of information such as soil moisture, baume, water telemetry and orders, pests and diseases, weather data and irrigation. MacAir and Gbug were also stated as other mobile devices used. lans to use mobile devices in the future for recording P vineyard activity:

Microsoft applications (eg Word/Excel) 84% Customised 19% Other (a few examples include Shopify, Vend, NoteBook, FileMaker) 21% Wineries with wine clubs: Yes 56% No 44% Wine clubs management (multiple answer question): Microsoft applications (eg Word/Excel) 75% Customised 25% Other (a few examples include MYOB, MailChimp, Shopify)25%

Yes 24% No 31% Maybe 45% Types of uses stated were: recording spraying, irrigation,

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www.growdata.com.au • brian@growdata.com.au February 2014 – Issue 601

VinEyard ManaGEMEnt MadE Easy witH austraLia’s LEadinG VinEyard ManaGEMEnt softwarE

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

business & technology Satisfied with current IT set-up:

omputer security programs used C (multiple answer question):

Yes 65% No 23% Currently upgrading 12% If looking to change, will investigate options by: Conducting own research Contract 3rd party Other (upgrade to latest IT platform from existing)

90% 7% 3%

Review IT/software requirements: Annually 6% As required 82% Never 12% Plans to update IT/software in next 12 months:

Manufacturer (eg Norton/AVG) 90% Specialist 13% Don’t worry about 4% Other (Cyberoam, rely on intrinsic security in MAC) 5% Management of IT (multiple answer question): In-house 40% Contractor 22% Get help when needed 54% Other (perform own IT work or use family) 12% Previously been hacked: Yes 16% No 84%

Yes 45% No 55% lans to update IT/software in the following areas P (multiple answer question): Latest Microsoft applications 46% Other software 65% Hardware 62% Back-up equipment 27% Email system 35% Other (a few examples include mobile applications, Cloud-based wine sales/customer system) 5% here recently upgraded, level of difficulty finding W someone who understood what was required and delivering within budget:

ome responses included: shut down accounts department S for a week; money withdrawn from bank account; ‘Don’t spy on Indonesia’ screen dominated website; emails hacked; “Finance was taken by some boffin in Russia to buy - of all things - American belts”; offshore company tried to divert customer payments to alternative bank account; virus deleted files; website host was hacked. Cost involved in hacking experience: Yes 46% No 54%

Looking for more survey results, visit article archive at:

Easy 55% Hard 65% Hopeless 5% Other (answers include: only use MYOB and Excel for 10 acre vineyard and perform own development) 5%

www.winebiz.com.au/gwm

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Winery records are easy to create and maintain Winery records are completely auditable Additives can be tracked to the material batch level Augments HACCP/Standard Operating Procedures Your NZ WSMP record keeping needs are met

These are just some of the reasons why Wine File is the winemakers choice for winery record keeping in Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

90 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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February 2014 – Issue 601

Australian Wine Export Market Snapshot The Australian Wine Export Market Snapshot is prepared by Wine Australia and provides the latest key statistics on exports of Australian wine. Updated monthly, the snapshot looks at the movement in total volume and value

for the past 12 months and then drills down into more detail such as the top five destinations by value growth, movements in container type, colour, winestyle, and price point, and the top five varietal and regional label claims on bottles.

The main purpose of the report is to provide some high-level trends for the Australian wine category. For more information please visit www. wineaustralia.com/winefacts, email to info@ wineaustralia.com or ring 08 8228 2010.

Highlights â€“ year ended January 2014 Key statistics Total Volume ML

2013

Change

678

-6.0%

Value $AM (fob)

1 760

-5.0%

Destinations (by value growth)

$Am

Growth ($Am)

Hong Kong

New Zealand

Italy

Russia

United Arab Emirates

% point change

Glass bottle

Container type (by volume)

44%

-0.8

Bulk

55%

0.9

Soft-pack

0.0

Alternative packaging1

0.0

% point change

Red

Still wine by colour (by volume)

58%

-3.4

White

42%

3.4

% point change

Red still wine

56%

-3.3

White still wine

42%

3.3

Sparkling

0.0

Fortified

0.1%

0.0

Other

0.2%

0.0

Price points (by volume)

% point change

Wine style (by volume)

$A2.49/L and under 2

58%

1.7

$A2.50/L to A$4.99/L

32%

-2.3

$A5.00/L to A$7.49/L

0.5

$A7.50/L to A$9.99/L

0.2

$A10.00/L and over

0.0

Top five varietal label claims on bottles (by volume)

Shiraz and Shiraz blends

100

36%

Chardonnay and Chardonnay blends

20%

NOTES & DEFINITIONS

Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Sauvignon blends

20%

Merlot and Merlot blends

10%

Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc blends

Top five regional label claims on bottles (by volume)

South Eastern Australia

188

70%

South Australia

12%

Prepared: January 2014, updated monthly 1 Alternative packaging includes flagon, tetra, PET and other packaging types 2 The growth in this segment is due to growth bulk shipments as more Australian wine is being packaged overseas for a combination of reasons, including economic, environmental and scale rationale together with meeting the requirements of some customers. The change in share represents percentage point change in share between the current twelve month period compared to the preceding 12 month period. Based on data compiled from the AWBC Wine Export Approval System. Average Value ($AUD) calculated on FOB value. Free on Board (FOB) value includes production and other costs up until placement on international carrier but excludes international insurance and transport costs. Data is based on wine shipped from Australia to the country of destination - in some instances, wine is then transshipped to other countries for consumption.

Barossa

2.5%

McLaren Vale

2.3%

Riverland blends

1.1%

February 2014 â€“ Issue 601

Disclaimer: While Wine Australia makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and currency of information within this report, we accept no responsibility for information, which may later prove to be misrepresented or inaccurate, or reliance placed on that information by readers. Provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 apply to the contents of this publication, all other right reserved. For further copyright authorisation please see the www.wineaustralia.com website

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

sales & forward marketing2014 looking

looking back We step back in time to see what was happening through the pages of Grapegrower and Winemaker this month 10, 20 and 30 years ago. February 1984 Wine with a retail value of about $85 million will be crushed in the Hunter Valley this vintage – a record for the premium growing region. The harvest, which will employ up to 3000 seasonal workers for hand picking in addition to mechanical harvesting, began on January 19 with early ripening Gewurztraminer grapes. The Hunter vintage is expected to totally 19,000 tonnes of grapes compared to the 1983 yield of 12,800 tonnes. Richmond Grove winemaker Mark Cashmore believes this year’s grape crush will be the biggest in the 150-year history of the Hunter as a wine producing region.

February 1994

Australia & New Zealand February 15 Hot Summer Night at Hollick Coonawarra, SA. www.hollick.com

22 Wood, Wine & Roses Festival Heywood, VIC. www.woodwineroses.com

16 Declaration of Vintage Tanunda, SA. www.baronsofbarossa.com

24 RegioNZ by the Glass - Melbourne Melbourne, VIC. www.nzwine.com/events

18 (CD) Australian Highlands Wine Show Mittagong, NSW. www.australianhighlandswineshow.com.au

26 (JD) Australian Highlands Wine Show Mittagong, NSW. www.australianhighlandswineshow.com.au

21-23 (JD) Easter Show Wine Awards Auckland, NZ. www.wineshow.co.nz

26 One Day Wine School Sydney, NSW. www.wineaustralia.com

21-22 Shakespeare in the Vines - A Midsummer Night’s Dream Sevenhill, SA. www.sevenhill.com.au

26 RegioNZ by the Glass - Sydney Sydney, NSW. www.nzwine.com/events

22 February-30 March 2014 Taste Great Southern Various locations in Great Southern, WA. www.greatsoutherntastewa.com

March 2 Porongurup Wine Festival Porongurup, WA. www.porongurup.com

A report summarising the actual 1993 vintage intake from the Riverland and the projected requirements to 1998 of wineries that source their grapes from the region’s producers has been released by the Riverland Grape Industry Committee. The survey showed the 1993 crush was 167,117 tonnes, down 17 per cent on the preferred crush of 202,430 tonnes, partly due to adverse weather conditions and downy mildew which contributed to crop losses. The figure represents a reduction of just 6.5 per cent below the last fouryear average, the committee advised Grapegrower & Winemaker.

3 New Zealand Wine Showcase – Brisbane, QLD. www.nzwine.com/events

February 2004

February

Traditional concepts of wine retailing have been challenged in the latest industry report produced by KPMG Wine Industry Group. The report titled ‘Shelf space… is there room for me?’ says categorising wine retail outlets as simply on and offpremise is outmoded. The KPMG report offers a new means of segmentation is calls the “third dimension”. Its findings are drawn from extensive interviews conducted by KPMG associate director Alexandra McPhee, with wine industry participants in Australia, New Zealand and across the globe.

92 Grapegrower & Winemaker

28 February-16 March Melbourne Food & Wine Festival. Melbourne, VIC. www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au

5 New Zealand Wine Showcase – Perth Perth, WA. www.nzwine.com/events 5 One Day Wine School South Melbourne, VIC. www.wineaustralia.com 7-9 Apple & Grape Harvest Festival Stanthorpe, QLD. www.appleandgrape.org

8 Taminick Cellars Vintage Long Lunch Taminick, VIC. www.taminickcellars.com.au 8-9 Tastes of Rutherglen Rutherglen, VIC. www.winemakers.com.au/products.asp 8 The Dog Point/Logan Brown Classik Kiwi Picnic. Marlborough, NZ. www.dogpoint.co.nz/social/events 9 Shakespeare in the Gardens - A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Pipers Brook, TAS. www.shakespeareinthegardens.com

International 15-16 Boston Wine Expo Boston, USA. www.wine-expos.com/boston 18-21 The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowwood Napa Valley California, USA. www.winewriterssymposium.org 21 (CD) International Wine Challenge London, UK. www.internationalwinechallenge.com

www.winebiz.com.au

24-26 Vinisud 2014 Montpellier, France. www.vinisud.com

JD = judging date CD = closing date For a comprehensive list of events, visit www.winebiz.com.au/calendar

February 2014 – Issue 601

FIND YOUR SUPPLIER QUICKLY WITH OUR February 2014 Advertiser List Supplier

Page

Supplier

Page

A.I.M Sales

Jx2 Technology (VINx2 Winery Software)

Adaptalift Hyster

Kauri Australia

Aggreko

Laffort Australia

Air Liquide Australia

Ledgard

Amertec

Liftek

53,56,58,59,67, 73,75 61

A.P.John

MEP Instruments

Australian & New Zealand Winemakers

Moog Systems Australia

Australian Perlite

Nadalie Australia

BAM Wine Logistics

Oblomov Trading Co

BASF

OenoBrands SAS

Bayer

44,45

Rapidfil

62 65,95

Bibber International

Ryset (Aust)

Bird Gard Australia

Soilworks Australia

Braud Australia

Spagnolo Engineering

Bruce Gilbert Vine Grafting

Streamline Cartons

Cambridge & Co

Syngenta Australia

Columbit Australia

Teralba Industries

Della Toffola Pacific

Total Concept Barrel Cleaners

Deltagen Australia

Viners Vineyard - For lease

Fineweld Stainless Steel

Vinesight

Fischer Australis

Vinewright

Fishtail Winery - Equip For Sale

Viniquip

FMR Group

Viticultural Society of the Canberra District

Groguard Australia

Whitlands Engineering

GrowData Developments

Wilmar BioEthanol (Aust)

Hydralada

Wine Barrel Cleaning

Interpack

Winefile

IRS Refrigeration

Wine Industry Services

Iseco Engineering Serives

Winequip

Jaegar Australia

WJB Consulting

JMA Engineering

Woodchuck Equipment

Judy's Kites

AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND GRAPEGROWER & WINEMAKER *Australia's largest circulation wine industry trade magazine celebrating more than 50 years of publication. *Now available online to all subscribers. *All Marketplace adverts also appear on Winebiz Classifieds * For advertising enquiries please call Chas Barter on 08 8369 9513, c.barter@winetitles.com.au

Winebiz Calendar

Australia’s most comprehensive list of wine industry related local and international events and courses – available online FREE! Search for conferences, trade shows, competitions, courses, festivals & Australian & international wine shows.

www.winebiz.com.au/calendar February 2014 – Issue 601

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

Marketplace

All advertisements also appear on www.winebiz.com.au/classifieds/

WINERY EQUIPMENT

FOR SALE

ex FISH TAIL WINES

AS Nll in Con EW dit

YEARS 19

013

PRINT & ONLINE

ion

Wine Making Equipment: 1 1 1

VP8e Niko Press with central loading valve - 1.5 tonne capacity, 3 phase ~ $17,500 Luguana 1R Destemer/crusher - 4 to 5 tonne/hr ~ $7,000 SS Hopper for both Press and Crusher to suit bin tipper ~ $1,000

Tanks: 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2

5,000 litre fully insulated 316SS tanks with cooling jacket, variable capacity ~ $7,500 5,000 litre fully insulated 316SS tanks with cooling jacket and heating jacket, variable capacity ~ $7,750 3,000 litre fully insulated 316SS tanks, with cooling jacket, variable capacity ~ $5,000 3,000 litre fully insulated 316SS tanks, with cooling jacket and heating jacket, variable capacity ~ $5,250 3,000 litre 316SS tanks with cooling jackets, variable capacity ~ $4000 ea 2,400 litre vc 316SS tank with fork lift runners plus high stand for bottling ~ $4,000 1,500 litre fully insulated 316SS tanks, with cooling jackets, variable capacity ~ $3,000 1,500 litre fully insulated 316SS tanks, with cooling jackets and heating jacket, variable capacity ~ $3,500 1,500 litre Letina 304SS tanks with cooling jackets, variable capacity ~ $3000 ea

Pumps: 1

BLOG

3” BSM variable speed 3 phase must pump - two way flow directions on trolley ~ $3,000

Wine Storage: 400 No. cellarstacks - hold 48 bottles per layer (avoids cardboard carton wastage) ~ $9 ea

Contact: Michael ~ 0418 875 562 11 Bertram Road, Caversham, Swan Valley, Perth WA

grapegrower.winemaker @winetitles @grapegrowerandwinemaker www.grapegrowerandwinemaker.wordpress.com

Get connected with Australia’s leading information source for the wine industry. Subscribe today at www.winebiz.com.au/gwm 630 Regency Road Broadview South Australia 5083 www.winebiz.com.au

FAQ: Who will help me sell my wine? VISIT www.winebiz.com.au/guide • Select the option “Brokers (Wine) & Wine Sales” from the Buyers’ Guide categories listed to view companies that offer these services

Marketplace

VISIT www.winebiz.com.au/widonline/distributors • Click “List all »” to view all Distributors • Refine your search by adding “State/Country” and/or “Agencies” (brand names the distributor currently handles) RememBeR to login first so that you can access Distributors*

LOOK in your 2013 Wine Industry Directory from page 409 to find “Brokers (Wine) & Wine Sales”, from page 533 to find “Distributors” and from page 541 to find “Retailers”

PROVIDING SOLUTIONS TO THE WINE INDUSTRY

94 Grapegrower & Winemaker

VISIT www.winebiz.com.au/widonline/retailers • Click “List all »” to view all Retailers • Refine your search by adding “State/Country” and by flagging “Accepts samples?” (send samples to wine buyer/address listed) RememBeR to login first so that you can access Retailers* *Distributors and Retailers available only to those who have purchased the Wine Industry Directory (purchase includes annual subscription to WID Online)

To order your copy: Ph: +618 8369 9509 E: orders@winetitles.com.au Visit: www.winebiz.com.au

www.winebiz.com.au

February 2014 – Issue 601

Marketplace

All advertisements also appear on www.winebiz.com.au/classifieds/

FOR SALE - USED VINEYARD MATERIALS EX JUGIONG

• Dripmaster Dripper Pipe 17mm 1.6L / hour @ 60 spacings - $0.25+gst/m neg. Average row length approx 400m • Used CCA Treated Vineyard Posts 2.4m x 3-4”- $1.50 +gst. Bundled and strapped for transport

Tom Stephens 0428 443 263

www.vinesight.com.au

WINE PRESS SERVICING

Vine / Tree Guards

• Preventative maintenance & breakdown repairs for all makes and models. • 24/7 coverage during vintage • Large inventory of spare parts. • Membrane replacement. • PLC upgrades and design improvements. Electrical & mechanical expertise.

Cane Support Tabs

03 9455 3339 • www.rapidfil.com.au

Grapes for Sale Canberra district grapes renowned for award winning wines. www.canberragrapes.net.au

BIRD NETTING • Permanent canopy or throw over net • Fully UV stabilised • Cable, wire and all canopy supplies in stock

FOR LEASE

65 x 65 x 480 Most popular vine size

95 x 95 x 300 2 Lt Milk carton size

75 x 75 x 400

Staple around for bushier trees 75 diameter x 420

• Low cost protection against spray, rabbits, wind etc. • Long field life of18 months plus • Available in white poly coated cartonboard • Suit vines, trees, olives, citrus etc • Supplied flat in boxes • Just square up and ready to go • Comes with indent cane holder

Northern Adelaide Hills Vineyard from July 2014, due to retirement.

Streamline Cartons

Please address Expressions of Interest to

Ph 1800-227866 Fax (08) 8260 2387

P.O. Box 127 Birdwood SA 5234 or mvsmarne@hotmail.com

www.streamlinecartons.com.au sales@streamlinecartons.com.au Supplying vine growers for the past 8 years

OBLOMOV TRADING CO. PO Box 207, Rozelle, NSW 2039 Phone (02) 9660 6845 Fax (02) 9518 8372 e-mail: sales@otcobirdnet.com.au

Visit our website at: www.otcobirdnet.com.au

VINE GRAFTING Bruce Gilbert 0428 233 544 Brian Phillips 0417 131 764 fax 03 5025 2321

brucethegrafter@gmail.com www.brucethegrafter.com

f taf es g ta Vin

Need qualified vintage staff?

f? f a t s e g a nt i 77! v 0 0 e 74 ut 3 n 8 i 08 m t n o s la ow n d r e Ne ll Bibbe Ca

Talk to us!

info@bibber.com.au +61 8 8374 0077

www.bibber.com.au

Quality Grapevines Paul Wright PO Box 180 Mt Pleasant South Australia 5235 Ph 08 8568 2385 www.vinewright.com.au February 2014 – Issue 601

www.winebiz.com.au

Grapegrower & Winemaker

Marketplace

Drive more traffic to your website with Australia’s LARGEST circulating wine industry enewsletter. Contact Chas Barter0 on 08 8369 9513. Over 10,000 subscribers and increasing daily

Equipment

FROM GRAPE TO THE BOTTLE

REFRIGERATION MONOBLOCS Europe’s leading refrigeration supplier now in Australia Kreyer are specialists in manufacture of products for temperature controlled processing of grape juice, fruit juice and wine. All products are made in Germany and carry a 2 year warranty and a 24 hour customer support service. Kreyer’s range includes ‘MCK” and ‘Chilly Max’ monobloc chillers and heaters for all sized wineries as well as the unique ‘Kreyopack’ range with built in tube n tube for fast and efficient temperature control. Also available are individual and multi tank temperature control systems. KREYOPACK 9-100KW Cooling Capacity

MCK 18-85KW Cooling Capacity

Tank Control Systems with Digital Thermometer

CHILLY MAX 6 – 11KW Cooling Capacity

For further details, contact us on: Melbourne 59 Banbury Rd, Reservoir Ph. 1300 882 850 Adelaide 12 Hamilton Tce, Newton Ph. 08 8365 0044 New Zealand 4c Titoki Place, Albany, Auckland Ph. 0800 699 599 E. sales@winequip.com.au www.winequip.com.au www.winequip.co.nz

Solenoid Valves and simple control boxes with BUS interface

Grapegrower & Winemaker

Published on Feb 10, 2014

February 2014 edition

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