Grapegrower & Winemaker - November 2015

NOVEMBER 2015

AP John milestones: Skill and tenacity

TASMANIA: High risk and high reward

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contents features NOVEMBER 2015

53

Irrigation

58

Fertilisers & Nutrition

62

Bird Control

82

Tanks

90

Oak

94

Filtration

Five generations of skilled coopers. Five eras of Australian winemaking. 125 years of the John family cooperage and 170 years since the family arrived in the Barossa.

The cover photos shows Alex, Will and Peter John in their family cooperage.

AP John milestones: Skill and tenacity

TASMANIA:

100 Bottling

COVER

High risk and high reward

news

grapegrowing

On the grapevine .....................................6

Tasmania: High risk and high reward ......30

From the editor .........................................8 It’s a personal choice and we’re not taking sides

My View: Sue Bell...................................10 Sue Bell, from Coonawarra’s boutique Bellwether Wine, reports on the 21st Century Vino event held at Australia House in London in late September.

Movers & shakers ................................... 11

There are a lot of challenges growing wine grapes in Tasmania, but the rewards balance these out. Wine grapes are in high demand but the vineyard area is being expanded at a steady pace.

Will the low Aussie dollar mean higher machinery costs?.................36 Malbec geeks in Langhorne Creek ...........38 38

Second round of TWE winery closures .....14 Regional Roundup: Port Phillip, Victoria....16 21

Cold Logic takes out Supplier of the Year .....21

It’s a variety that’s arguably better known from the New World than it is from its home in France. And here in Australia it’s helping to give one unheralded region something to brag about.

2015 Vineyard Survey: An overview ........42 Lawrie Stanford, the Wine Grape Growers Australia (WGGA) executive director, has taken to the 2015 Vineyard Survey with a magnifying glass.

Ready, set, no... ......................................58 People & Places: Australian Small Winemakers Show ..................................22

What can be learned from the poor fruit set that has plagued coastal California this season?

regulars 6 What’s online 25 WGGA: The United Grower 76 Ask the AWRI 4 Grapegrower & Winemaker

79 Young Guns 108 Looking back 109 In the spotlight 110 Marketplace classifieds

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November 2015 – Issue 622

November 2015: Issue 622 winemaking Skill and tenacity ....................................65 Five significant milestones for the AP John cooperage

Oak sales remain strong .........................90

My brother’s cooper................................72

Is the drinking water at your winery safe to drink? ..............................94

72

Winery Engineering Association National Conference

sales & marketing Innovative packaging: Super premium with a twist ..................100 The next generation of the AP John Coopers family is represented by two young men in their 20s.

79

Unique and passionate ......79 Nestled in Adelaide Hills is a wine business driven by a young couple with big dreams.

Pumps for moving juice, must and wine ........................................82 88

WineEng 2015: Excellence in winery operations and asset management ........88

PUBLISHER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE Hartley Higgins

PRODUCTION Simon Miles

MANAGING EDITOR Elizabeth Bouzoudis

CIRCULATION: Melissa Smithen subs@winetitles.com.au

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

November 2015 – Issue 622

100

The ambition was to create a ‘super duper’ Chardonnay, Printhie succeeded in more ways than one.

business & technology Alternative Varietals On-Premise ...........104 Peter McAtamney’s latest on-premise report looks at the staggering growth in popularity of ‘alternative’ varietals.

106

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Print Post Approved PP535806/0019 Articles published in this issue of Grapegrower & Winemaker may also appear in full or as extracts on our website.

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SIMEI 2015 Innovation Challenge ..........106

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

5

on the grapevine what’s ONLINE Lonely Planet names Central Otago as top global wine region Lonely Planet has named Central Otago one of the world’s top wine regions to visit.

Lonely Planet’s new book Wine Trails plots a course through 52 of the world’s greatest wine regions, with Central Otago named in the top 10 intriguing places to drink wine alongside The Jura in France, Rioja in Spain and Columbia Valley in the United States. Rutherglen in Victoria also made the list, reports Stuff.

Water use in Aussie vineyards increases by 18% Australian vineyards are using nearly a fifth more water than they were three years ago, highlighting the dry conditions still affecting the country’s winemaking industry. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that 440,000 megalitres of water was used to irrigate vineyards in 2015 – an increase of 18 per cent on 2012. Vineyards in South Australia accounted for 46 per cent – 203,000 megalitres of total water use – followed

by New South Wales with 32 per cent (140,000 megalitres) and Victoria with 20 per cent (86,500 megalitres), reports The Drinks Business.

Australian sparkling wine market continues to slow New research from Wine Intelligence has revealed that the Australian sparkling wine market is continuing to slow, but imports are now taking an increased share. The Sparkling Wine in the Australian Market 2015 report examines year-on-year consumer behaviour within the sparkling wine category. The report found that overall volumes are declining and domestic sparkling wine is showing particular signs of slowing, reports The Shout.

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

6 Grapegrower & Winemaker

The future for Murray Valley growers hinges on 2016 grape prices MURRAY VALLEY WINEGROWERS (MVW) has warned that grapes prices must increase next year to help secure the future of the winegrape industry in the Murray-Darling and Swan Hill regions.

An annual growers’ survey conducted

by MVW to track changes from the previous year has revealed a net loss of 1818 acres of winegrapes since this time last year. In two years, more than 3700 acres have been discarded due to prices that have been among the lowest in 10 years.

Growers harvested 285,000 tonnes this year, down 45,000 tonnes on the 2014 vintage.

The MVW growers’ database shows that over the past two seasons, 105 families quit growing wine grapes.

Mike Stone, MVW executive officer, says the message from many of the growers remaining is that they will do the same if prices don’t improve substantially.

The increasing price of water will also

be a factor in determining the future of the winegrape industry.

“The cost of temporary water has skyrocketed to more than $250/mg, which presents growers with a dilemma,” Stone said. “The high price could be a barrier to growers who need to supplement their allocation, while others may be in a position to sell water rather than grapes.

“In this scenario, crops could suffer through lack of water, particularly in heatwave conditions, or may be discarded if irrigation water is sold into a flourishing water market.”

Winegrape prices for the 2016 vintage are yet to be revealed, and wine companies that signed-up to the Australian Wine Industry Code of Conduct are not required to release indicative prices until mid-December.

“Growers already are questioning whether to buy or sell water now, or wait until they receive information on grape prices. And with water prices rising so rapidly, they may not be willing to wait.”

Phylloxera Board changes its name: Vinehealth Australia THE BOARD responsible for protecting South Australian vineyards from pests and diseases since 1899, has unveiled a new name and identity.

The Phylloxera and Grape Industry Board of South Australia has changed its name to Vinehealth Australia, a move which comes as part of the board’s fiveyear strategic plan.

Vinehealth Australia will continue collaborate nationally to safeguard South Australia’s $1.79 billion wine industry from diseases, pests and other conditions that may affect vine health and, importantly, to help maintain South Australia’s phylloxera-free status.

Leon Bignell, SA Agriculture Minister, said the board had a proud history of protecting South Australia’s vineyards from pest and disease incursions for more than 115 years.

“South Australia has been a worldleader in preventing phylloxera from devastating the wine industry,” said Bignell. “One of the very first Acts of the South Australian Parliament was the Vines Protection Act of 1874, which gave the Governor power to prohibit vine cuttings or rooted vines from countries affected by phylloxera.

"We’re now taking another important step forward. Vinehealth Australia will strengthen its role in delivering grape www.winetitles.com.au

and wine biosecurity knowledge across Australia.

“Vinehealth Australia will continue to develop policy, test new tools and technology, and facilitate collaboration across Australia to protect our vineyards.”

Remaining firmly anchored in South Australia, Vinehealth Australia will continue to operate under the existing Phylloxera and Grape Industry Act (1995).

The fight against phylloxera will remain at the core of its operations, however as the new name reflects, Vinehealth Australia will look at the risk other diseases and pests pose to the health of vines in South Australia.

Ben Gibson, Vinehealth Australia presiding officer, said this was an exciting milestone which embodies the visionary insight of industry pioneers, who back in 1899 urged the government to establish the Act. “Our aim is to reduce the overall pressure and risk of diseases and pests to South Australian vineyards. We will do this by leading and collaborating nationally to advocate for and deliver improved policy, practices and risk assessments. And we will continue to empower the industry to act with tools and knowledge that safeguard the health of vines; after all healthy vines are the foundation for a prosperous industry.”

November 2015 – Issue 622

from the editor

Nathan Gogoll Editor

A tractor can take you a long way A WINEMAKER told me if I wanted to keep his young son engaged in the magazine I needed to include more photos of tractors. I didn't need much encouragement to write about tractors.

When I started thinking about tractors, I realised this time of year is peak tractor season in vineyards across Australia and New Zealand.

And while many of the drivers are content to sit and listen to talkback radio, trying not to fall asleep as they apply fungicide to protect their 2016 crops, others have been “periscoping” live from the cab onto Twitter or even mounting the Go-Pro to the outside of the tractor and sharing the footage when the camera falls off and gets run over.

If you want to see what I’m talking about just head to Twitter and start following Steve Schiller (@Tractor_Tread) or Ashley Ratcliff’s extra-curricular activities (@RiccaTerra). There’s also some handy cameo work being done by Paul Smart (@VineyardPaul).

Chances are if you phone a grapegrower this time of year they will answer from the tractor cab and tell you they’ll call you back because they nearly steered into a vineyard post.

I learnt to drive on a Massey-Ferguson TE20 between rows of my uncles’ apricot, pear and peach trees near Cadell, in the Riverland. If you jumped off the clutch too quickly you would tip your instructor off the big mud guard they had been sitting on.

A few years later a Barossa grapegrower taught me how to reverse a trailer on a similar tractor.

These days my uncle collects the sorts of tractors his uncles (my great uncles) once used on their vineyards, broad acre and mixed farms. There’s a Massey-Fergusson; a Farmall H and a W6; as well as an old David Brown. He’s still got the Farmall A my grandfather bought second-hand 43 years ago and he picked up a Ferguson not long ago that was previously used to mow the Auburn Oval in the Clare Valley.

8 Grapegrower & Winemaker

My uncle isn’t the only person keen on tractors. As one grapegrower recently said… “Tractors are a very personal thing”.

A tractor can take you a long way without going very far at all, but sometimes it can take you interstate.

A mate of mine recently found himself at the MCG for a game of finals football thanks to his tractor. He had a free ticket to a Hawthorn v Adelaide game after a last minute call-up from his local dealer.

It was Thursday and none of the staff could make it to Saturday night’s game, so two farmers from Lyndoch ended up on a roadtrip.

They drove themselves from the Barossa to Melbourne, put on suits and ties and found themselves in a corporate area complete with three-course meal and generous drinks package.

They rubbed shoulders with dealers from across the country and “got to talk about tractors”.

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They found they were among the big dealers who sell the big items; we’re talking about the guys who sell 600 horsepower tractors and harvesters with 45-foot wide combine fronts. My mate has a 100 horsepower machine for his vineyard – and it’s not even that new.

“I think mine would fit inside of some of the tractors they sell,” he told me with a chuckle while he was loading hay onto a truck… in his tractor.

“Hang on, I nearly took out a side mirror, I’m not used to doing this onehanded.”

Just a quick heads-up, our December edition will feature a ‘tractor guide’. So if you’re in the market for a new machine we will present as much information as we can to help with your decision making.

Enjoy the read.

November 2015 – Issue 622

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my view Re-think Australian wine: 21st Century Vino in London Sue Bell, from Coonawarra’s boutique Bellwether Wine, was a panellist on one of the three 21st Century Vino sessions held at Australia House in London on September 29. In this piece she explains how a bunch of Aussie winemakers introduced London’s wine trade and journalists to a little bit of diversity from Down Under.

I RECENTLY TRAVELLED to London as part of an Australian contingent for the annual premium Australian wine tasting at Australia House on The Strand. This event was organised

by Wine Australia and the focus of the forums this year was 21st Century Vino - looking at the Italian varieties in Australia, led by Walter Speller and Jane Faulkner.

The idea for this was born out of Walter Speller’s visit to Australia last year as the international judge for the Alternative Varieties Wine Show in Mildura. Walter was quite literally “blown away” by the quality of the wines he tasted and was shocked to meet winemakers, making great examples of numerous varieties and blends, who had not even visited the regions of origin and in some cases not even tasted benchmark Italian versions. It was a great example of Australians being innovative and daring, with amazing results.

The drive towards the interest in these varieties has been led by growers (and winemakers) looking for points of differentiation in an extremely competitive market. Some of the varieties have also been selected based on climate ‘appropriateness’. Many growing regions are warm or are getting drier, so in many cases Italian, Spanish or Portuguese varieties make more sense than the classic French ones, which perform better in cooler climates with reliable rainfall.

Perhaps the interest is also due to a better match to the multicultural diversity of Australia and our cutting edge fusion food culture. Perhaps, while the Aussie dollar was high, consumers were spoilt with cheaper imports giving them a better-than-ever selection of countries and styles to experiment with.

Maybe the explosion of the sommelier culture across Australian fine dining and quirky wine bars also facilitated this interest.

But whatever the cause, progressive, adventurous Australian grapegrowers and winemakers have eagerly risen to the task, and in Walter’s opinion offer serious competition to the old world.

10 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Kim Chalmers, Tennille Chalmers, Andrew Brooke, Sue Bell, Corrina Wright and Brioni Oliver.

The wines are savoury and textural with great natural acid.

The 21st Century Vino model of forums and a tasting was initiated by the Chalmers family, based around the greater family of people in Australia who have bought cuttings from their imported vines, right through to the winemakers making the wines. An event was held in Melbourne earlier this year with talk of then taking it to London.

It was great to have people like Gary Crittenden in the first forum of the day to tell the story of how he and other earlier producers were ahead of the curve in research and trial of homoclines in Australia for numerous Italian grape varieties.

Discussion in the forums was so optimistic about the agility and excitement in Australia right now. To me it is a great story and UK journalists, MWs, sommeliers and the trade seemed to agree. It was like the start of a whole new conversation about who and what Australia is, that we are focused on the environment and preservation of the long term sustainability of our grapegrowing/ winemaking communities and like always we are free to experiment and embrace change. www.winetitles.com.au

Bellwether was very proud to be part of this event, it was a defining moment in history for us, taking the brave step to visit the UK and tell them our story, but great to be part of such an inspiring story.

The premise of Bellwether is longterm future, with the impacts of climate change front and centre in my strategy.

That is why I focus on cold climates for the classics and Mediterranean varieties in drier regions.

It was fantastic to be involved and a big thanks goes to the Chalmers family, Wine Australia, Walter Speller, Jane Faulkner, all of the producers who participated with wines or attendance. I think we may have re-engaged London to re-think Australian wine, but there is a lot more work from here, consumer education and tastings, a similar forum in other key international markets.

This is in no way about reinvention, we should still play to our strengths (I am a proud Coonawarra Cabernet producer after all) but multicultural diversity, responsible response to climate change and production of modern drinking styles, breaking rules is well, so very Australian.

November 2015 – Issue 622

movers & shakers Stanford announces WGGA resignation AFTER FIVE YEARS at the helm of Wine Grape Growers Australia, executive director Lawrie Stanford has decided it’s time to hand over the reins.

“This is the right decision for me and for the organisation,” Stanford said. “Renewal is important for any organisation and it’s time for me to pursue some of my own personal challenges.”

Stanford’s association with the Australian wine sector spans 20 years, commencing in 1994 at the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics, where he worked in wine, and then joining the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (now a part of the Australian Grape and Wine Authority) as manager of information and analysis in 1997. His appointment to the position of executive director at Wine Grape Growers Australia represented a career shift from analysis to agri-politics, but his background in wine sector analysis provided a strong foundation for the work.

“This is an exciting time for the industry,” he said. “I’ve been personally committed to improving the trading and operating conditions for growers for five years, and we are finally starting to see some recognition in government and in

After leading WGGA for five years Lawrie Stanford has decided to retire.

the winemaking community that action is needed to improve national biosecurity preparedness and industry commercial practices in particular.”

Vic Patrick, current chair of WGGA who is retiring in November, said Stanford has made the WGGA board a place where real policy can be discussed and formed.

“His strategic thinking and analytical mind has helped us to really grapple with some problems,” Patrick said. “I have worked with a number of dedicated

people in my time in the Industry, and Lawrie ranks highly amongst them.”

Justin Jarrett, deputy chair of WGGA and chair of the selection panel to appoint his replacement, said Stanford would be a hard act to follow.

“It has been a pleasure as a grower to have somebody in our corner that was prepared to state our case and work so hard with such limited resources to make the wine industry a better place.”

The main challenge for the new executive director will be to participate in a collaborative process with the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia to develop a new model for combined representation of grapegrowers and winemakers at a national level, as well as delivering on WGGA’s core programs: biosecurity, improved market access for wine grapes and reform in commercial practices.

“I am excited about the next 12 months,” Jarrett said. “Lawrie has put WGGA in a great position where it can play a major role in the revitalisation of the industry and has done the ground work for a more streamlined national organisation.”

Stanford will be leaving the organisation in mid-December.

Gwyn Olsen to take on head winemaker role with Pepper Tree Briar Ridge Vineyard where she has been GWYN OLSEN was announced as responsible for outstanding growth and new head winemaker for Hunter Valley’s wine show success over the past two Pepper Tree wines in late September, years. rounding out a successful year for the “I am very excited to have started in the young achiever.

3970Surround_Grapes 2015-10-15T13:05:04+11:00 new role of head winemaker for Pepper Olsen made the move from her position Tree Wines and Briar Ridge Vineyard,” as winemaker and general manager of

Olsen said. “The opportunity to oversee winemaking and style direction across the estate owned vineyards in the Hunter Valley, Orange, Wrattonbully and Coonawarra is a new challenge that I am very much looking forward to.”

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

11

news

Award-winning Hunter Valley winemaker Gwyn Olsen is looking forward to a new challenge with Pepper Tree Wines.

Traveller ‘young winemaker of the year’ in 2014, Dux of the AWRI Advanced Wine Assessment Course in 2014 and Hunter Valley Rising Star award in 2015 while her wines have won six trophies and gold medals in the past two years.

John Davis, Pepper Tree chairman, said Olsen was one of the country’s most

exciting young winemakers.

“Gwyn brings not only her much awarded winemaking skills but also great business acumen at a time when our company is making important growth plans in both local and international markets. We look forward to the future with great anticipation”.

Olsen’s new role encompasses overseeing the winemaking for Briar Ridge and Tallavera Grove.

Pepper Tree also announced the appointment of Justin Harrison as executive sales and marketing manager.

Harrison brings over 15 years of experience to this role having worked with some of this industry’s leading wine producers and distributors.

Harrison’s role will cover not only the company’s traditional focus on direct customer sales but also the ever increasing export opportunities being offered to the company.

“It is an exciting time for the business with Pepper Tree Wines as we look to concentrate our focus on both the domestic and the export markets particularly the UK and USA/Canada,” Olsen said.

“We will continue to focus on high quality wines representing the four different regions we source fruit from.

With Justin Harrison starting as national sales manager this month, I am looking forward to working closely with him and our distributors to push our brands further.”

New president for Swan Valley and Regional Winemakers Association SWAN VALLEY and Regional Winemakers Association recently elected a new president and welcomed the release of the Swan Valley Development Plan by the WA Government John Griffiths from Faber Vineyard has been voted in as the new president of the committee, taking over from Duncan Harris who will remain with the committee and move to take up the role

of treasurer.

Griffiths and Harris are joined by vice president Yuri Berns along with two executive committee members Derek Pearse and Brian Hunt.

Griffiths thanked Harris for the work he had done for the association during his two year term and said he was aiming to build on Harris’ work and continue to promote and advance the Swan Valley as

both a destination and viticulture region.

“The release today of the Swan Valley Development Plan by the Ministry of Planning is greatly welcomed by winemakers,” said Griffiths.

“Many details are still to be reviewed but overall it is a very positive document and a blue print for the future direction of the Swan Valley.”

Ross Brown named Legend of the Vine ROSS BROWN, executive director of Brown Brothers, has been named the 2015 Victorian ‘legend of the vine’ by Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA).

Brown received the award in front of 150 industry peers and guests at the WCA Royal Melbourne Wine Show awards lunch.

The ‘legend of the vine’ recognises an individual who has made an outstanding and lasting contribution to the Australian wine industry and has a passion for telling its story.

Angus Barnes, WCA chairman, said there are few people that fit the criteria better than Brown.

“He has always been a fantastic spokesman for Australian wine and for the important role it plays in so many regional communities.

“He was one of the first to understand and promote the importance of wine

12 Grapegrower & Winemaker

tourism and the natural synergy between food and wine, and the Brown Brothers cellar door at Millawa has for many years been considered one of the very best in the country.”

Brown said he was “delighted but shocked” to receive the award.

“When something is your life and your passion you just go about things and getting involved. Awards are the last thing you expect, but it’s a great honour when they come.”

Brown said good communications remained vital to the industry and the exciting possibilities thrown up by social media had not changed the imperative of telling a good story.

“The objective is the same; it’s just the techniques that have changed,” he said.

He also noted the increasingly co-operative nature of the wine industry.

“There’s a word you hear used in www.winetitles.com.au

regional tourism that I like and it’s ‘co-opetition’ - the ability to compete with each other while also working collaboratively towards a common goal,” he said.

“It’s about creating a bigger pie so we can all have a bigger slice. There are so many areas in our industry where you can do a lot as an individual company, but you can do a lot more with a collective voice.”

Brown is a member of the board of Wine Victoria and the advisory board for Victorian Regional Tourism. Last year he was inducted into the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Legends Hall of Fame.

As a ‘legend of the vine’, he joins a prestigious list that includes James Halliday, Rob Hirst, Patrick Iland, David Lowe and Bill Hardy. He also becomes a life member of WCA. November 2015 – Issue 622

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news

Second round of TWE winery closures TREASURY WINE ESTATES (TWE) recently announced further closures for wineries across Australia and New Zealand.

The company will be closing its Matua Auckland winery, packaging and cellar door site, and consolidating NZ wine production into the Matua Marlborough winery.

Operations will also stop at Great Western winery in Victoria by the end of June 2016, with a potential sale in the near future. Vineyard land in the Great Western and Yarra Valley regions in Victoria will also be put on the market, following the 2016 vintage.

Along with these closures, the company expects to expand existing third party processing for all New Zealand, North Island grapes and establish third party packaging arrangements for New Zealand’s domestic market requirements.

Bob Spooner, TWE chief supply officer, said over the past two years the company has completed a multi-

14 Grapegrower & Winemaker

million dollar expansion of the Matua Marlborough winery in one of New Zealand’s internationally renowned winemaking regions.

“It is a state of the art facility capable of handling the vast majority of TWE’s New Zealand wine making requirements, so it makes sense to simplify and consolidate our production into one operation,” said Spooner.

“In Australia, the size and location of the Great Western winery means it is both under-utilised and increasingly non-viable as a production facility, so we are ceasing operations and moving production into other wineries in TWE’s Australian wine production network in order to reduce costs and remove unnecessary complexity.”

The move comes after earlier market announcements on “supply chain optimisation” declaring vigorous action to “remove cost and complexity” from global operations.

TWE predict a number of roles will be impacted, but said “the precise extent of these impacts is still being worked through as the company finalises the resourcing needs for its new production footprint”.

“Importantly, these supply chain changes will not impact any of TWE’s brands or existing supply contract arrangements with grape growers, and the company remains committed to supporting, and investing behind, key brands such as Seppelt and Matua,” a company statement said.

The changes are to be phased in over the coming months and employees at impacted sites will continue to be www.winetitles.com.au

consulted and informed as this process moves forward, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, TWE has received a $2million Regional Development Fund grant from the South Australian Government as part of the company’s $25million expansion of the Wolf Blass winery and packaging centre in the Barossa.

Plans for the expansion of the Wolf Blass Packaging Centre were announced in March this year, when the first round of changes to the company’s production facilities were announced.

Peter Taylor, TWE’s Australia and New Zealand director of wine production, said “this is a major investment for our business and a vote of confidence in the wine industry”.

“The Wolf Blass packaging centre is TWE’s most efficient and advanced packaging operation so it makes sense to install additional bottling line capacity and consolidate our Australian wine packaging operations at this site,” said Taylor.

“The Wolf Blass packaging centre was purpose-built and cost over $100million when it was commissioned in October 2005, and this $2million grant is the best 10th birthday gift we could wish for.”

The bottling hall will be expanded, to allow for the installation of an additional bottling line and new storage for racked finished goods, creating an area for additional dry goods storage and a waste and recycling area.

The expansion is expected to create 30 new jobs by the time the new bottling line is fully-operational by July 2016.

November 2015 – Issue 622

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REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Regional Roundup: Port Phillip, Victoria We’ve turned our attention on Victoria’s Port Phillip Zone this month and uncovered an award winner, a family business battling through receivership, the results of the Mornington Peninsula Wine Show and more.

Small winery wins huge accolade CHRIS CORMACK’S Pegeric Wines of Macedon has won two major trophies in the prestigious ‘judged with food’ class at the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Challenge (HKIWSC) – ‘best wine in the world with sweet & sour pork,’ and ‘best wine in the world with steamed groper fish’.

His victory came courtesy of his 2007 Pegeric Pinot Noir, grown on his Estate vineyard at Tylden, just outside Kyneton in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges region.

The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wines & Spirit Challenge has two characteristics that set it apart from other shows in the world of wine.

Firstly, it allows entry from any producer, regardless of size.

This levels the playing field and sees a greater representation of smaller producers amongst the awards – not just the larger ones.

Secondly, judging takes place with food – giving the most authentic representation of the real world wine drinker’s

experience at home or in a restaurant. About a dozen dishes are nominated each year, and a class of entry devoted to them.

“Pegeric is one of the smallest wineries in Australia – in most years we make just 100-200 cases,” said Cormack. “Many Australian shows require a minimum production of 500 dozen - this bars us and many other small producers who are focused on high quality over large quantity.”

Cormack said wine shows such as the Cathay Pacific International in Hong Kong give provide a rare opportunity to benchmark the winery against the best in the world - not just Macedon, Victoria or Australia.

“It’s great just to win a medal in international competition, but a trophy for best in the world is something else again,” he said. “To win two trophies in such a prestigious competition is unbelievably exciting - winning against a globe of quality competitors is absolutely exhilarating.”

Geelong wine group goes into receivership THE GEELONG ADVERTISER has reported local business Littore Wine Group has been placed into receivership, with its winery in the Moorabool Valley and other assets across the country on the market.

Ferrier Hodgson has been appointed as the receiver for the company, which was recognised by Coles with the outstanding service supplier of the year award in September.

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16 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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November 2015 – Issue 622

by the Littores, are also under external administration.

Vince Littore, a partner in the company, said he hoped the situation would be resolved quickly.

“We’re a local Geelong family who keep working hard on our businesses, and we believe everything will pan out,” Littore said.

Colliers International has been appointed by Ferrier Hodgson to sell the winery, with national director Tim Altschwager

saying there had been several inquiries since the property went on the market last week.

“Interest will come from domestic, from current wine industry people and then domestic investors and some overseas interest,” Mr Altschwager said.

“They’re very good assets and I suppose the winery itself is one of the largest in Victoria and a pretty substantial asset close to Melbourne, so it will be an interesting campaign.”

Mornington wine show winners THE SECOND Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Wine Show was held in October, with major awards handed out for the region’s dominant varieties - Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The highlight of the event was the ‘provenance award’ which put a spotlight on regional excellence in quality and consistency across two vintages in Chardonnay and two vintages in Pinot Noir. This focuses on a winery’s consistent wine quality over a number of vintages and not just one exceptional wine.

The 2011 and 2014 Paringa Estate Chardonnay topped its class, taking out the Chardonnay ‘provenance award’, while the 2010 and 2014 Montalto Merricks Block Pinot Noir won the Pinot Noir ‘provenance award’.

The Montalto Winery took to Facebook to let their followers know the team was “thrilled to win the prestigious award for excellence over two vintages”.

“What a way to top off a fantastic week of show results.”

Foxeys Hangout 2014 Chardonnay won the award for

New Wine Ministerial Advisory Council members

VINEYARD AND WINERY

In December the focus will switch to the rest of Victoria, so if you have news to share please drop us a line at journalist@winetitles.com.au.

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• 3 B/R north facing house with large CHA M BOU RCIN windows, 3m verandas, hardwood 2014 floors, Art Studio, 3 bay adjoining South Coast NSW garage, attached winery, separate 3 P R E S E R VAT I V E F R E E bay shed, 100K litre rainwater tank, underground electricity, pump PRODUCED BY BREAKFAST CREEK BERMAGUI - COBARGO ROAD, COBARGO NSW 2550 house and irrigation to vineyard, small orchard and olive grove, 2 13.5% ALC/VOL WINE OF AUSTRALIA 750ML large dams & 2 creeks. Solar hot water. Lots of farm machinery and wine making and storage equipment.

• Wine Awards - Gold Medal, Best Red Wine of 2006 South Coast Wine Show.

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WINE VICTORIA has welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement on industry members who will form a newly established Wine Industry Ministerial Advisory Committee.

The announcement was made by Jaala Pulford, the Minister for Agriculture, at the annual 2015 Royal Melbourne Wine Awards.

Damien Sheehan, the Wine Victoria chair, was selected for the committee and said the announcement was timely, taking place no a night when the depth of Victoria’s winemaking talent and premium products were celebrated.

“On behalf of our industry I am eager to work the Minister and fellow industry representatives on the development of programs that will grow key wine export markets and localised tourism activities,” said Sheehan.

“Our association has been making the case for a strong partnership arrangement between government and industry to grow export markets, particularly in the US and China, especially now that the dollar is making our industry far more competitive.

“Equally we know that strong tourism visitation to our regions enables our members to build relationships with their customers and ease some of the pressure of relying on the current retail monopoly.”

Sheehan also acknowledged the three additional Wine Victoria representatives named on the committee.

“I am thrilled to be sharing this committee with fellow Wine Victoria Board Member Angie Bradbury and two of our Future Leaders - Katherine Brown and Michael Dalzotto.”

November 2015 – Issue 622

‘current vintage’ Chardonnay, while Paringa Estate took out the ‘current vintage’ Pinot Noir.

The ‘chairman’s selection’ award, which is the only category open to other varieties, was won by Paringa Estate’s 2014 Pinot Noir.

The regional wine show aims to support excellence in the local wine industry and, according to the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association (MPVA), the objective of the event has been to show Mornington Peninsula wines within a system which the Australian wine industry recognise.

“Local producers received realistic feedback from a panel of judges – a snapshot of the perceptions of wine were useful to understand positioning of wine in the marketplace, for producers and consumers,” said the association. “The key regional potential was for all producers to engage within the region and to build on the strengths within, to encourage quality production and excellence on a consistent and high level - to be proud of these achievements.”

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

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

RICK

– 2007 – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

TIM

WILKIE

– 2003 – 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.

Science meets inspiration 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.

Intriguing complexity rewards investigation

HUGH

A

RM

S T RO N G

R B U RY HO

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

– 2002 – SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Intense power with an expansive palate

DARREN

E AL

XANDE

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.

R

– 2014 – SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The quintessential South Australian experience: full-bodied and powerful with a bold, charismatic style that will soften over time with no loss of character. Drinking magnificently for some years already, the onset of full maturity will surely just enrich the lasting enjoyment.

NEW SOUTH WALES

IAN

M

c

MASTER

– 2009 – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

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.

GRAHAM

NICOL

– 1994 – 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!

finest VICTORIA

GREG

DAV I E S

– 2010 – VICTORIA

SHANE

AINER TR

– 2007 – VICTORIA

The perfect companion for al fresco eating Like the most robust sparkling shirazes of a bygone era, here’s the perfect complement to festive occasions. Opens with a pop, fizzes with enthusiasm and brings the party to life. But below the bubbly surface lies the sort of substance and structure only insiders truly appreciate.

Climatic extremes provide fine balance Transplanting from Margaret River to the cooler climate of Victoria 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.

MICHELLE

BURNS

– 2015 – VICTORIA

AEDEN

RMAN GO

– 2014 – VICTORIA

A touch of class from across the ditch A relative newcomer further enhancing Marlborough’s reputation for irresistible appeal, this classy import has crossed the Tasman with undiminished charm. A surprising effervescence simply underlines the initially disarming blend of forward freshness and underlying finesse.

Full-blooded early bloomer set for stardom A Sunraysia classic in the making.

Already well-rounded, this product of Mildura stock has soaked up the abundant sunshine and turned it into a rich and concentrated blend that packs a lot of punch. The Gorman’s early development has been rapid, but the real glory years still lie ahead.

Packing some punch ALISTAIR

BEYER

– 2007 –

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.

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news Levy funds to continue in New Zealand THE NEW ZEALAND wine industry has shown resounding support for their national organisation by voting positively in the 2015 levy referenda, enabling New Zealand Winegrowers to receive continued levy funding.

Electionz.com, which facilitated the levy referenda, released results recently which show 87% of wineries (98% by volume) voting in favour of the wine levy,

and 90% of grapegrowers (92% by value) voting in favour of the grape levy.

Steve Green, chair of New Zealand Winegrowers Inc. was delighted with the outcome, “these are absolutely outstanding results and we would like to thank all of our members for taking the time to vote”.

“It is great to see that so many of our members support and appreciate the

work that New Zealand Winegrowers undertakes, and are keen to see it continue.”

The positive results means that New Zealand Winegrowers Inc. will continue to receive levy funding from grapegrowers and wineries to enable the provision of services in areas such as: research, marketing, sustainability, advocacy and information delivery.

Yalumba makes a move to go big in Japan THE YALUMBA Wine Company announced a new deal with Suntory Wine International in early September which will see the distribution of both Yalumba and Oxford Landing Estates brands across Japan.

Nick Waterman, Yalumba chief executive officer, said he was “very excited” to work with a company of the strength and size of Suntory.

“A big consideration for us was the fact that Suntory, like Yalumba which was founded in 1849, remains under family ownership,” Waterman said. “This partnership gives us the opportunity to grow significantly in the Japanese market which appears well poised for Australian

wineries especially on the back of the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement which came into effect on January 15th 2015 and will see tariffs on wine eliminated over the next seven years.”

Previously Yalumba and Oxford Landing Estates have been distributed

by Jeroboam in Japan and Waterman acknowledged the good work that Jeroboam had done representing these two important brands.

Suntory, which owns Chateau Lagrange and Chateau Beychevelle in Bordeaux, is focused upon capitalising on the growing premium wine segment in Japan and has various partnerships with

more than 150 international wineries.

Yuji Yamazaki, Suntory Wine International president and chief executive officer, said he was sure Yalumba and Suntory would consolidate their partnership.

“We believe that there will be a good chance in the growing market of Australian wines in Japan, especially the premium wine segment, and we are excited to be able to distribute Yalumba and Oxford Landing Estates brands in Japan,” Yamazaki said. “Yalumba and Suntory have similar back grounds, they both have over 100 years of history, and never settle on tradition but seek for innovation.”

Wine bodies say industry will benefit from ChAFTA AUSTRALIA’S three national grape and wine community organisations have welcomed news that legislation for the landmark China–Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) will pass through the Australian Parliament.

Brian Walsh, chair of Wine Australia, Vic Patrick, chair of Wine Grape Growers Australia, and Tony D’Aloisio, president of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, said the Australian grape and wine community would be significant beneficiaries of ChAFTA.

“Under ChAFTA, the current import tariff of 14 per cent for Australian bottled wine and 20 per cent for bulk wine will be phased out over four years, providing a significant boost for Australian wine companies exporting to China,” D’Aloisio said.

“We welcome the news that ChAFTA has bipartisan support as the agreement should underpin increased Australian wine exports to China, which will in turn improve returns for grapegrowers and winemakers,” Patrick said.

In the 12 months to October, sales to China rose 47 per cent in value to a record $313 million, driven by demand for wines in the higher price points.

Exports to China above $10/litre FOB are now worth $116 million.

“Wine Australia’s latest Export Report shows just how important the Chinese wine market already is for Australian producers and ChAFTA will give us the opportunity to be more competitive,” Walsh said.

SA government announces support for winegrowers WITH SEASONAL CONDITIONS worsening in parts of South Australia, Barnaby Joyce, the Federal Agriculture and Water Resources Minister, has highlighted assistance measures available to help farmers in need.

“I was pleased to recently announce $10 million for concessional loans for drought-affected farm businesses in SA in 2015–16 is now available, I encourage those interested to contact Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) to find out more,” said Minister Joyce.

“These loans, currently with a concessional interest rate of 3.05 per cent, help farm businesses experiencing drought to restructure existing debt, or to fund operating expenses or drought preparedness and recovery activities.”

Senator Anne Ruston said a variety of other support was also in place to assist.

20 Grapegrower & Winemaker

“The Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS) continues to provide free financial counselling to farmers, fishers and small rural businesses who are suffering financial hardship and who have no alternative sources of impartial advice,” said Ruston.

“The Department of Human Services delivers the Farm Household Allowance; more information about this assistance is available by calling the Farmer Assistance Hotline on 132 316.“The Australian Taxation Office has a dedicated hotline to provide advice to drought-affected taxpayers (13 11 42, select option 3). Nationally they’ve received about 6,500 calls already.”

The ministers urged farmers facing worsening conditions to speak to someone either at the Department of Human Services or the Rural Financial Counselling Service SA.

www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

Cold Logic takes out Supplier of the Year at WISA awards WINE INDUSTRY SUPPLIERS AUSTRALIA (WISA) hosted its ninth annual Supplier of the Year awards at the Adelaide Festival Centre in October, with more than 150 guests in attendance to toast the success of the supply sector.

South Australian based refrigeration specialist Cold Logic scored the top prize, winning the DW Fox Tucker Lawyers Supplier of the Year Award with judges crediting the company for showing strength across a number of award categories.

“They demonstrated the ability to deliver innovative, customised solutions that provided both cost savings and environmental benefits. With strong testimonials and an impressive 30 year track record Cold Logic is a thoroughly deserving winner of the 2015 Supplier of the Year Award.”

Wineworks Australia won the Export Award, while Eco Trellis scored a double prize taking out both the Environment & Sustainability and the Innovation awards.

“The Eco Trellis story is a great example for suppliers, where an innovative idea managed to turn around the fortunes of a factory servicing a declining automotive industry, to one that now produces a highly desirable, exceptional product. The environmental benefits of this technology are evident in its recyclability and in providing an alternative to CCA treated posts that can leach chemicals from the timber causing damage to the soil,” said the judging panel.

The Chr Hansen Chairman’s Industry Engagement award was won by Scholle Industries and their project partners Accolade Wines, Yalumba Family Vignerons, De Bortoli Wines and grape grower CCW Co-operative. Their joint efforts in the revitalisation and repositioning of the cask wine market through the national ‘Ask for Cask’ campaign demonstrated key positive outcomes for consumers and support of regional communities across Australia, according to the judges.

“Scholle Industries was the standout candidate for this award. They perfectly demonstrated what the award was seeking to encourage. They showed leadership and initiative

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in attempting to turn around the fortunes of the cask wine market through the Ask for Cask campaign. Their collaborative approach is a model that other suppliers should aspire to replicate as it is an exceptional example of how a supplier can be at the very heart of generating positive outcomes for a wine category.”

Other notable finalists included cork supplier Amorim Australasia, not for profit packaging supplier Barossa Enterprises, frost protection specialists ShurFarms represented

by Hendy Solutions and oak barrel and alternatives supplier Seguin Moreau Australasia.

Tim Duval, chairman of judges and WISA vice chairman, said all of the finalists deserve recognition as leaders in their fields.

“I would encourage grape and wine producers to seek the support of these companies, who have each clearly demonstrated that they can add value to their clients businesses.”

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news people & places

Small wineries show their best WITH JIM HARRE of New Zealand as the new chairman of judges, the 2015 Australian Small Winemakers Show has been described as a rounding success with a high calibre of entries.

“The standard of wines was very good with the 2014 Chardonnay, 2013 Semillon and Shiraz classes, both young and old wines, proving to be highlights of the show,” Harre said.

“The 2013 Semillon was a ‘knock-out’ class; 11 of 13 wines awarded medals including four gold”.

Rutherglen’s Pfeiffer Wines took out the champion winery of show with a total of four gold medals for their Grand Rutherglen Muscat NV, 2013 Christopher’s VP and 2014 Shiraz. The winery, which also picked up two silver and two bronze medals, was awarded the national trophy for most successful exhibitor.

Golden Grove Estate located in the Granite Belt won the trophy for Most Successful Queensland Exhibitor with two gold, three silver and five bronze medals.

In 2015, the Australian Small Winemakers Show introduced a competition for wines produced by high school students.

Harre welcomed the concept and noted the importance of encouraging the next generation of winemakers if the industry are to see the innovation Australian and New Zealand are famous for.

The trophy for Best School Wine was won by Casterton Secondary College for the 2014 Cobbodah Wines Shiraz.

Full show results available online at www.asws.com.au.

Sam Puglisi, ASWS, with Sam and Grace Costanzo, Golden Grove Estate (Most Successful Exhibitor).

Panel Chair David O’Leary receiving his bronze award from Michael Britten and Anthony Rametta (associate chief steward.)

Sue Smith, Pyramids Road Wines, Lisa and Steve Messiter, Girraween Estate.

Michael Bourke, Jester Hill Wines, Claudine Binet, Chilli in Stanthorpe and Ann Bourke.

Lisa Messiter, Girraween Estate, Leann Gangemi, Ballandean Estate and John Lucas, ASWS president.

The team from Robert Channon Wines, Robert Kerridge, Robert Channon, Jan Kerridge and Peggy Channon enjoying the ASWS presentation dinner.

22 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

ASWS President John Lucas.

Wes Pearson, AWRI.

Stewards Elaine Winks and Connie Puglisi finding the best wines (the easy way).

Judge Jason Froma, LaReserve Fine Wines finding a lighter moment during judging.

Chief Steward Michael Britten in a lighter moment (Hawaiian shirt day).

Jeremy Nascimben, Calabria Wines.

3756Flute88x185_GGW 2015-10-15T13:11:52+11:00

Marie Clay, Keeda Zilm and panel chair Peter Kelly discussing a class of wines.

Stewards Andy Williams and Ann Bourke hard at work.

Associate judge Keeda Zilm, O’Leary Walker Wines.

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

23

news

Vale Don Buchanan INDUSTRY VETERAN Don Buchanan died on the Sunshine Coast in September after a two-year battle with cancer. Judy Buchanan has shared a summary of Don’s proudest moments in the wine industry.

Don’s life was certainly full of good experiences and ventures among them piloting his own two-seater Ultralight plane.

Don came from Melbourne and with a passion for winemaking, studied Agricultural Science at Dookie and then onto Roseworthy College where he graduated in 1973 in Oenology.

He spent more than 40 years working in the wine industry ending his outstanding career as technical advisor and chief winemaker for Hatten Wines in Sanur, Bali, Indonesia.

Don’s first appointment was as assistant winemaker at Karadoc Winery near Mildura, Victroria. Following several years there he went on to improve his experience at several Australian wineries, including Lindemans, Leo

Buring, Kaiser Stuhl and Krondorf in the Barossa; Buchanan Wines in Tasmania, Arrowfield in the Hunter Region, Tisdall and Hopwood in Echuca, Victoria.

His experience and dedication to winemaking saw him win many awards, including the Bacchus Trophy, Qantas Trophy, The Red Wines Awards from Jimmy Watson and the prestigious ‘winemaker of the year’ award.

Don and myself established Buchanan Wines Vineyard and Winery in Tasmania where he produced a 10Ha super premium certified biodynamic winegrowing enterprise.

Among his other ventures was creating a micro brewery at Rosevears Hotel in the Tamar Valley in Tasmania, taking out numerous patents including a specially designed cardboard box for wine bottles and importing Ozone making machines for the wine industry.

Don is survived by his son William (Melbourne) and daughter Rebecca (Newcastle, NSW).

Don Buchanan on the cover of the Grapegrower and Winemaker, February 1984.

Once a winemaker, always a winemaker WINEMAKER, viticulturist and distiller Trojana Darveniza (Trojie) died earlier in 2015. His son, Brendan, sent the following notes on behalf of his family to pay a small tribute to a man who filled his 93.5 years with love and generosity.

Trojie was much loved and respected, a champion footballer, business person; the father and family man was a central figure in the Darveniza brothers’ Excelsior Vineyards, in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley region. He supervised the planting of the predominantly Shiraz ‘new vineyard’ in 1946, and commissioned a pot still. In 1964, he imported winemaking equipment to modernise crushing and pressing operations. In 1968, three hectares of Semillon were planted to balance the eight hectares of Shiraz, Cabernet and Malbec. The winery closed in 1978 as cash flow from wine sales and primary production prevented the statutory upgrade of facilities.

Trojie’s hospitality and sense of humour as the winemaker and cellar door sales person was renowned, with infrequent extended tasting sessions possible in a pre-breathyzler world.

When asked ‘how do you make wine?’ he would reply “throw the grapes up in the air - they come down plonk”. He made easy-drinking wines, dry reds from Shiraz, Cabernet and Malbec, Hock style whites and fortified Shiraz and Muscat.

His motto “what wine he couldn’t sell - he would drink” measured his capacity to satisfy the ordinary taste. Customers curtailed his wine consumption except on one occasion when Trojie’s winemaking skills shone, as ‘distillation material’, in the form of unwanted Grenache, was restored ‘Lazarus’ style to a well-made Rose, (technical advice courtesy of the AWRI).

This sound Rose was not the flavour of that season, and so fell victim to the pot still 10 months later as it was “too much wine, too little time to drink it”.

24 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Once the winery closed, Trojie managed and leased the farm until four years before his death, for cereal production and tomato growing as had been done with Italian immigrants between the 1950s and 70s as well as Turkish immigrants in the 1980s until more recently.

Trojie continued to make personal batches of Shiraz from locally grown grapes, as “once a winemaker always a winemaker”, until incapacitated by a stroke, four years before his death.

Trojie was father to Ruth (deceased), Jeanette, Brendan, Paul, Leo, Monica and Caroline (deceased).

www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

Your Vineyard Your Voice

The Newsletter of Wine Grape Growers Australia

November 2015

The government is listening to grower issues The last edition of the United Grower carried an article called “The government is listening to grower issues” but quizzically asked, “Now let’s see if action follows”. It is pleasing to report that just one edition of the United Grower later action has rapidly followed the release of the White Paper on Agricultural Competitiveness.

diseases from overseas locations (think for example of having to respond to the glassy wing sharp shooter arriving here).

Early in the piece, the wine sector put in place the EPPR Levy to pay for such a response – but it is zero-rated (that is, inactive) until it needs to be activated to pay for the industry’s share of dealing with an incursion.

WGGA was active in putting the grower view in the lead-up to the White Paper’s release. See www.wgga.com.au for some of these documents. Already, some of the main themes promoted by WGGA have been actioned. We are being listened to.

Until now, the process for gaining industry permission to activate the levy has been costly in terms of dollars and time – and is a barrier to industry decision-making.

In the first instance, the Department of Agriculture and Water has released revised, fit-for-purpose procedures for activating or amending emergency response levies, and has reduced industry’s legislative costs to do so. This greatly aids WGGA’s attempts to be an effective partner with the government in dealing with potential incursions of pest and diseases from overseas.

To explain this further, WGGA is the signatory to the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD) on the behalf of all winegrape vines, both wine company owned and independent. The EPPRD is a cost-sharing arrangement with the commonwealth and state governments for responding to incursions of pests and

those that are endemic to the country but contained in some part of it. You will be aware that a strategic plan and business case for how you want this done is coming your way.

The changes the government has put in place have made industry decisionmaking easier. The smoother this decision-making is, the quicker a response to an incursion will be and the lower the cost. Ineffective decisionmaking processes mean higher costs or could even result in no response at all. If an incursion of a pest or disease is too-far gone, it may not be technically possible to eradicate it or the costs could be greater than the benefits. In either case, the pest or disease will not be responded to, and it will be here to stay.

Of course, the regular reader of this newsletter will be aware that WGGA is currently doing a lot more to ensure that the winegrape sector can effectively respond to not just exotic pests and disease (from outside Australia) but also

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In the second instance of the government listening, WGGA has been contacted by the Agricultural Enforcement and Engagement Unit, a newly formed unit in the ACCC. This is government’s response to many submissions (including ours) that were concerned about lack of transparency in the commercial arrangements which are all too often to the detriment of farmers. A more farm-savvy and proactive ACCC was promised to encourage fair-trading and to strengthen competition in agricultural supply chains.

You will be advised more about this as our relationship with this new unit in the ACCC develops.

From my experience, the urgency with which the foregoing changes are happening is impressive. Hats off to Minister Barnaby Joyce and the Department of Agriculture and Water.

With many other initiatives outlined in the Ag Competiveness Whiter Paper that are also aligned to our (winegrape grower) interests, I wait with bated breath to see which are enacted next.

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Level 1, Industry House, National Wine Centre Cnr Botanic and Hackney Roads, Adelaide, SA 5000 Telephone (08) 8133 4400 Fax (08) 8133 4466 Email info@wgga.com.au Website www.wgga.com.au

1

WGGA News

Your sponsor at work This year, WGGA engaged with the Woolworths Liquor Group as a sponsor. The relationship was developed on the grounds that it would yield benefits to growers in terms of getting a better understanding of consumer demand for wine that would improve grower decision-making on production. The following is the first instalment of feedback from the perspective of a major retailer provided by Shane Tremble, Head of Corporate Development, Woolworths Liquor Group (WLG).

Standing in the paddock as you work your vines can sometimes feel like you are a million miles away from today’s wine shopper.

Here’s some insights to that space.

least once in a fortnight. 50% of shoppers will make a purchase at least once in a month. While 35% of shoppers buy quarterly or less often.

They are also very category loyal.

30% will only shop from one drinks category in a year. That means they will only buy beer, or only buy wine, or only buy spirits, or cider, or RTDs in the year and will never buy outside of that category. You’d probably see this as great news if they are loyal to wine only, but makes it a massive challenge if they are a rusted on bourbon drinker who you want to move into trying wine.

The fundamentals of making wine remain largely unchanged, while the revolution that retail shoppers have embarked upon has driven incredible innovation and change.

As shoppers change, so do their expectations. They can instantly recall tasting notes of every wine they encounter, they can know everything about a wine from a quick google search, and they are always connected. This means they could be reading or hearing about you, the grower, right now and making a decision to purchase based on how well the story is being told.

Among our wine consumers, we are seeing the following recent trends:

As retailers compete for shopper loyalty, it has raised the bar of what customers expect as a minimum level of service. Because time is so precious, transactions must be instant, service must be intuitive and individual and when a shopper enters a physical store, they expect magic, experience and immersion.

• The top growing red bottled wine varietals are Pinot Noir (10% value growth on MAT basis), Shiraz (8%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (6%). Growth in Red Bottled Wine is strong above $12; • The top growing white bottled wine varietals are Pinot Gris/ Grigio (12%) and Riesling (5%), although both are off a small base;

Coupled with that is the incredible diversity of shoppers retailers must serve. Australia’s ageing population has been a large contributor to the decades long demand growth for wine compared to other alcoholic beverages. However, experience tells us that new generations don’t always follow the drinking preferences of their parents.

• Sauvignon Blanc is currently 43% of white bottled wine and is reaching maturity, currently showing slight declines in value (unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on which side of the Tasman you are sitting); and

We also cannot avoid the other mega trends coming our way.

Anti-alcohol activists are actively playing on our desire for a healthy lifestyle and wellbeing by demonising wine as being bad for the body and society. This needs to be vigorously contested by demonstrating our strong commitment to community, to reducing harmful use, and maintaining the strong association to pleasurable and sociable occasions that wine provides.

• Cask wine has seen significant volume decline over the past year losing 6.8M litres, predominately driven by 4 and 5L. When we talk with wine suppliers, we encourage the conversation to cover four keys things. Obviously one of those is going to be the financial return, but it isn’t the only thing which interests us. A winery that focuses the growing the market; has ideas that work with each of our retail banners and their respective business strategies (BWS, Dan Murphy’s, Cellarmasters, Langtons, and ALH Group); and can demonstrate a way of building customer loyalty are key elements we look for in any proposal.

These megatrends, coupled with migration’s contribution to cultural diversity is already manifesting with customers shopping less frequently for all forms of drinks, and the first signs of wine’s historical growth trend starting to slow.

Everyone reading this is probably a regular shopper, and drinker, and may assume that the rest of Australia is as heavily invested and interested as we are. The truth is that we are a very unique group of people. Just 15% of shoppers will make a purchase at

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WGGA News

In praise of economic research The Australian Grape and Wine Authority legislation says that “grape or wine research and development means systematic experimentation and analysis in any field of science, technology or economics”.

This article asserts that a small part of Wine Australia’s research effort is economic yet it could greatly help policy-making and would guide program decisions. In addition, I hope to show that any claim that economic research is not permitted by AGWA’s charter, because economic research is ‘commercial’, is misguided.

The economic research funded by AGWA tends to be compiling statistics and interpreting their meaning – particularly on supply and demand. For example: fruit in, wine out, what’s the balance?

Trouble is, this sounds more like accounting. Dollars in, dollars out, what’s the balance?

There is a difference between accounting and economics and it is essentially that economics is about how the values of things affect people's behaviour. It is a misconception that economics is about dollars and cents. It is true that

economists often express the value of things in terms of dollar and cent – because after all, dollars and cents are the way value is often expressed. But the point is, it is the behaviour an economist is trying to explain, or perhaps to even influence.

make policy based on evidence. But sometimes the evidence is not there or it is hearsay. Nevertheless, we do the best we can. But what would happen if we had more economic evidence from research to help guide policy. I strongly suspect the policy would be better for it.

The problems in the industry today are not just the dollars and cents. A part of the problem is people’s behavior. What motivates people to hold or remove lossmaking vines? What motivates people to produce commodity or premium wine?

What motivates selling wine at home or overseas? If we are going to understand, and respond to, a lot of issues in the industry we need to understand the economics of it, that is to explain why people make the choices they do so that we may be able to influence their decisions for the better.

What can we think of that might be better if we based it on economic evidence?

Economists advise governments on the patterns of behaviour in society, both observed and that which is desired in the future. So why can’t economists advise the wine sector’s government? That is, WFA and WGGA (the politicians) and Wine Australia (the administrative arm).

Note that these suggestions are research questions for the purpose of providing evidence for guiding policy that improves profitability in the industry. There is no difference between this objective and doing research for technical advances that improve profitability. Neither is commercial in nature, but both yield commercial outcomes for the adopters.

Both WGGA and WFA like to think we

First to come to mind is the WET Rebate.

What are the incentives the rebate creates? What evidence is there that winegrape prices are depressed by the rebate? Who wins, who loses? What would a better system be and how much would it improve things?

As another example, how about the reasons there are apparent barriers to the exit of vines? And so on.

Farewell from the Executive Director You are likely to have heard that I will be finishing as the Executive Director of WGGA on December 11 this year. This note is to say a personal farewell to winegrape growers across Australia and to thank our members in particular for their active support over the past five years I have been here.

My reasons for finishing in the role are both personal and professional and not without some regrets. At the very least, after almost five-and-a-half years in the role, I feel it is time to hand-over to fresh leadership. I hope I have served well and I pass onto the new leadership a better organisation than that which I joined in 2010.

Over the past five years WGGA has grown in credibility and has been a serious contributor to the big issues and challenges dealt with by the industry. On behalf of growers, WGGA has been invited to the conversation and listened to.

Importantly, over the past five years, ‘new blood’ of next generation viticulturists and growers has been actively encouraged into national grower decision-making. In-roads have also been made into important issues for growers like biosecurity, the code of conduct, the wider issue of commercial practices, access to agrichemicals and wine tax.

Nonetheless, consistent with the difficult times all in the industry are experiencing, diminishing resources mean the organisation struggles to do its daily work and a significant period of reorganisation is commencing. This will be an important role for the new leadership. In this respect, the selection panel’s focus is on quality people who can provide input into organisational restructuring and who will continue to grow and build the effectiveness of grower representation in the future.

I note that after five years the chair, Vic Patrick, will also be standing down. He will do this at the November AGM. My thanks go to Vic in particular, but also to the executive committee, both present and past, for their work and support over the past five years. I leave with satisfying memories of us all working and growing together in our combined understanding of problems and solutions for growers.

Again, I wish to assure you that the executive committee is working hard to replace the executive director position, and the chair, with the right people.

I wish you well in the future and look forward to hearing about the ongoing thinking and activity to return the industry to better times.

Lawrie Stanford, Executive Director, WGGA.

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WGGA News

WGGA matters…

WGGA 2015 AGM This year, the WGGA Annual General Meeting with be held in conjunction with the AGM of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia.

The combined event will be held on the afternoon of Tuesday 10 November 2015 at the National Wine Centre in Adelaide, South Australia.

The WGGA AGM will be conducted first, followed by the WFA AGM. The day will wrap up with a joint Q&A panel discussion followed by networking drinks.

Further details are available on our website.

WGGA members WIN Thank you to all our members who have either joined or renewed for the 2015-16 membership year.

Members who signed up prior to 30 September went into the draw to win a FREE 12 month subscription to the Grapegrower & Winemaker magazine. Congratulations to Warren and Sue Smith from Pyramids Road Wines who are the lucky recipients of this generous offer from Winetitles.

Pyramids Road Wines is located in the Granite Belt region of Queensland and Warren and Sue have been WGGA members for the past three years.

Membership for 2015-16 is still open – visit our website to learn more.

WGGA welcomes new office administrator In our last edition we advised that our Office Manager, Kelly Bonser, was taking maternity leave from the end of October 2015.

We are happy to welcome her temporary replacement – Edwina Donoghue.

Edwina can be contacted through the info@wgga.com.au email address or by phoning (08) 8133 4400.

We hope you will join us in welcoming Edwina to this role.

In there with our tails WGGAing The period since the last United Grower has been a busy one for WGGA as it represented the grower perspectives at reviews/ inquiries/consultations.

• Grape and Wine 2015 dealt with re-organising the representative structure in the wine sector as a whole and identified key issues on which a unified industry voice was essential.

• Various activities around WET Rebate reform included a response to a Department of Treasury Discussion Paper and

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representing WGGA on a Consultative Group established by the Assistant Treasurer, the Hon Josh Frydenberg MP, to consider submissions to the Discussion Paper and to advise the government on options for reform.

• Making a submission to the Horticulture Code Review.

• Making a submission, to the Senate Inquiry into the wine industry and appearing as a WGGA witness at a Senate Hearing.

• Commencing discussions with Vinehealth Australia on collaboration among the wide range of biosecurity stakeholder organisations in Australia.

Christmas and office closure The team at WGGA and the Executive Committee wish our members and industry colleagues a happy and safe festive season. Best wishes for harvest 2016.

Please note that the WGGA office will close at 5pm on Thursday 24 December 2015, reopening on Monday 4 January 2016.

Telephone and email enquiries are still welcome and will be responded to as quickly as possible on the office reopening. If a matter is urgent, please call Deputy Chair Justin Jarrett on 0409 993 941.

WGGA Associate Members

WGGA proudly acknowledges its associate members: • AHA Viticulture • Belvino Investments • Broke Fordwich Wine Tourism Association • Gaetjens Langley • Lallemand Oenology • Omnia Specialties Australia • Performance Viticulture • River Murray Training • SCE Energy Solutions • Vine Sight • Vitibit • Woodshield

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Tasmania:

High risk and high reward There are a lot of challenges growing wine grapes in Tasmania, but the rewards balance these out. Wine grapes are in high demand but the vineyard area is being expanded at a steady pace. There seems to be a positive story wherever you look. Nathan Gogoll reports.

THE PAST TWO vintage reports from the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia provide an insight into the parallel universe that Tasmania operates in. While many regions across the country battled with unprofitability in 2014 and 2015, this year 99 per cent of Tassie’s grape production was declared profitable – which almost matched the previous year’s 100 per cent strike rate.

Demand outstrips supply on the island and grape prices are high, but they have to be, because it is not an easy or cheap place to grow grapes.

There are about 1800Ha of wine grapes planted across Tasmania (including new, non-bearing vines) and this figure has jumped by between 250 and 300Ha in the past five years.

The average crush across the past five years has been 8,500 tonnes, but the largest single season saw close to 12,000 tonnes crushed.

There are 160 licensed producers, of which three-quarters crush less than 100 tonnes.

But growing wine grapes in Tasmania is not easy, in fact the state has plenty of headaches and extra costs for grapegrowers and vineyard managers to deal with.

“Even the seasonable variability makes Tassie challenging,” said Sheralee Davies, Wine Tasmania CEO. “We have a highproportion of hand-picked vines, but a small population for a workforce base.

“But I think where there’s a will, there’s a way.

“There are also advantages of the island, and biosecurity is a big example.”

The average vineyard holding in Tasmania is about five

30 Grapegrower & Winemaker

hectares, but one viticulturist reckons there wouldn’t be a grower on the island who hasn’t been approached by a winery to see if they had any plans to expand their vineyard.

“There is huge demand for fruit and Tassie wine is very popular at the moment, but despite this the vineyard growth has been very steady,” said Marty Smith, from Absolute Viticulture.

“It’s often left to the bigger companies – if the smaller growers are having a go most of the time ii is no more than one or two hectares at a time.”

Davies confirmed “a lot of growth is coming in the ‘middle’ segment, in terms of size” and is not restricted to vineyard planting, there are also upgrades to processing facilities and improvements being made to cellar doors on the back of the growth of wine sales.

“We’re also delighted to have established companies here, often the larger and more mature operators, that are based off the island,” said Davies.

“There is a recognition from all the producers that Tasmania is the focus and can attract a premium – I think the producers realise the more we can all do, the more success we have together, everyone benefits.”

Smith echoed this sentiment.

“Tasmania is lucky that Hardy’s put so much effort into their sparkling wines, that really put us on the map. And of course there is Yalumba and now Brown Brothers. I think it’s really good to have those bigger companies down here that can do a bit more volume and have wine on the shelves on the mainland and back that up with some publicity,” he said.

www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

DEMAND FOR FRUIT ENCOURAGES DEVELOPMENT Julian Allport, from Moores Hill Estate (Tamar Valley) – and a former Wine Tasmania board member, said it was hard to get access to fruit. “It’s so tight it’s not funny.”

“Most people make what they grow, so things have been very slow to grow. Every large company and a lot of smaller guys are all trying to buy more fruit,” Allport said.

“I guess what we’ve seen is organic growth and where there has been investment we’ve had some really good investors, like the Hill Smith family, come in and make a positive contribution.

I also think all the work Wine Tasmania has been doing around market-driven growth has been great.”

Moores Hill has seven hectares under vine, has been expanding across the past eight years. Allport is currently constructing a new winery shed to help increase production.

“We only did 60 tonnes last year, but the plans for the next five years are to expand to 200 tonnes.”

Allport said his winery would be simple, with everything needing to mobile and able to be moved by a forklift – rather than have big pieces of equipment and tanks set in fixed positions.

“I think we have got all the skills down here, but everything costs more.”

It costs Allport “thousands” to transport equipment and tanks to Tasmania. And when it comes to moving the finished product to the key markets, freight costs are again an issue.

“If you are shipping wine to Melbourne, you’re looking at $250 per pallet. Sydney is up near $550. But you can get a pallet to Hong Kong for about $400.”

While there are limited exports from Tasmania, there is

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grapegrowing EXPLORING TASMANIA The wine industry in Tasmania is very small on the world scale, and for very good reason: Tasmanian wine is an expression of ‘place’, the careful selection and planting of land to vines that provides consistent, very high quality and sustainable production.

Varietal expression is integral to Tasmanian wines, yet there is also something else, a deeper sense that the wine comes from a special place, an ancient and beautiful and unique landscape that makes the Tasmanian wine experience special as well.

The climate...

Winter dominant rainfall allows the soil moisture profile to fill in anticipation of spring. Once the warmer months come around the rainfall drops off to much lower levels, which is ideal for growing wine grapes.

Tasmania’s grape growing regions are, by necessity, near the coast. The dominant influence of the maritime climate provides valuable protection from the extremes of weather, reducing the risk of destructive frosts in the growing period and also tempering heatwaves.

By planting on north-facing slopes wine grapes have reduced risk of frost. Mild temperatures during the growing season and more daylight hours (higher latitudes make for a long summer’s day) give

clearly awareness of the quality of the wine from the island in export markets. Some of this, as people have already mentioned, relies on the strength of the larger brands. Jansz, which is owned by Hill Smith Family Vineyards, is one example.

“We bought it from Andrew Pirie in 1997 and the first vintage we were involved with was 1998,” said Robert Hill Smith. “Our family and I were always fascinated by Tasmania. We knew if we were ever going to make really seriously sparkling wine this would be the place.”

But Hill Smith Family Vineyards have also been active in Tasmania’s more recent developments. The family company added a second Tasmanian brand, more vineyards and a small production site to its portfolio when Dalrymple at Pipers Brook was purchased in 2007 from Burt and Molly Sundstrup.

“Brian Walsh and I had been scouring Tasmania for likely Pinot planting sites, but in the end we were able to have a chat with Burt and Molly and we invested there rather than a Greenfield site,” said Hill Smith.

“So we have estate vineyards and we buy fruit from other growers. When we were first there in the early days we had a lot of growers wanting to supply us with fruit and we were able to build on natural growth. But in the latter days there has been a lot of competition for fruit.

“We have always had quite a bit of grower support in the north, but we had been looking for more fruit in the south, where the viticulture is just a little bit more consistent, when an opportunity came up at Frogmore Creek. We liked the aspect and the soils.”

Since purchasing that site at Cambridge, near Hobart, there has been more development of the organically managed vineyard.

THE HOMEWORK HAS BEEN DONE Marty Smith is currently managing the second biggest single-year vineyard planting project in Tasmania’s history.

This expansion belongs to Vanessa and Neville Bagot, who recently bought Barringwood, near Devonport, and is located on

32 Grapegrower & Winemaker

the vines a benevolent climate in which to produce some of the world’s best wine grapes.

Long sunny days of mild weather provide optimum ripening conditions for classic cool climate wine grapes. Retention of the grape’s acidity during the ripening process makes for racy, bright wines with excellent varietal expression.

The dirt...

Tasmanian vineyards are planted, where possible, on north-facing slopes. Soils range from well-drained sandy soil eroded from sedimentary rock through gravelly loams and clay loams, duplexes and into rich, alluvial clays.

This diversity of soil types is harnessed to extract the best performance from each variety and clone that is planted. Careful site selection, orientation for light interception and air movement and matching plant material with the dirt culminate in an expression of ‘place’.

The combination of ancient soils, a cool, maritime climate and clever, dedicated and hard-working winegrowing community make Tasmania’s wines what they are today – some of the best wines in the world.

an ex-Gunns property at Evandale, near Launceston. There was already a large dam established on the Evandale site and the former owners were planning to develop vineyards on the site.

“The top soil is quite a gravelly loam with a few areas where there is more clay, then there is a very clear division into heavy clay at about 50 to 60cm below the surface,” said Smith. “So we have some deep clay ripping happening at the moment, getting ready for 33 hectares of vineyard to be planted on the north facing slopes next year.

“We have put a heap of effort into the research for this project. Dean Lanyon, who used to be with the CSIRO, has been on site to help out and we dug 50 soil pits down two metres and had the soil tested. With all that information we then did some mapping and matching for where varieties and clones would be planted.

“It would have been a mistake to rush in, we were better-off to have done all the work first.”

The Bagot’s Evandale plantings will be predominantly Pinot Noir with clones 386 and 521 for sparkling production and a wide range of clones for table wine, including Abel, D4V2, 115, 777, 114 D5V12 and MV6. However it won’t be all Pinot, with Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Riesling to be planted as well.

“We’ve matched different clones to different soil types across the property,” said Smith. “In areas where we’d expect a bit more vigour we have planted the sparkling clones and the leaner dirt is where we have the table wine clones.”

There are a couple of interesting elements behind the Abel clone. First of all, there is only one source block in Australia – at Yabby Lake on the Mornington Peninsula. But perhaps even more noteworthy is the reason for the name.

“I think they also call it the Gumboot clone, because it was found in a boot by customs on its way into New Zealand. They story goes that it was a really sought-after clone from Domaine Romanee Conti and somebody was trying to smuggle it into New Zealand. An enterprising customs officer named Abel put it though quarantine.

“It is meant to be awesome and Tom Carson apparently spent

www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

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a shed load of money to bring it to Australia.” But this is all about Tasmania, so we’ll have to explore the Abel story later.

“We will see how this first stage at Evandale goes, there is plenty of scope for more vines – the property is 170Ha in total.

But there are also plans to build a cellar door on site,” said Smith.

“Most of the fruit will be sold and the Bagot’s have already attracted a fair bit of attention because of that, people are desperate to get hold of fruit at the moment so it’s a very ‘talked about’ project. Most people I talk to are asking about it.

“I think this sort of development is really good for the industry.”

Robert Hill Smith said there’s a lot of enthusiasm for development in Tasmania at the moment, “but it is not without risk”.

“There are a lot of people down there who’d like to grow more grapes but they’re either in the wrong spot, only have a small title, or lack water. A lot of people think Tasmania is a wet and rich and fertile place but it’s just not true,” said Hill Smith He encourages anybody who wants to plant a vineyard to do the sort of research that Smith has done at Evandale – to work on site selection, soil mapping and where the water will be sourced from.

“It is a place of high risk and high reward. You don’t know how high until you put your own money down,” said Hill Smith. “The years we get higher-than-average crops we call the ‘buffer years’. We try to get our hands on as much fruit as we possibly can in those buffer years because you need them to balance out the years when it is incredibly hard to source fruit.

“It is high-cost viticulture, which is fortuitist from a premium wine point of view, but it is just an expensive place to grow grapes.

34 Grapegrower & Winemaker

“I think Tassie is on everybody’s radar for certain styles and the production only fits into the premium and luxury segments and that will be its godsend. There is no scope for mass-market varietal, so it does become a niche proposition.

“By its very nature it will look, externally at least, like an artisanal wonderland. There is a real sense of discovery about Tasmania, which is helped by things like MONA and the heritage and environment. But it all leaves a very positive image in people’s minds. I’m still very excited by it, I love it.”

Smith said people are starting to look at the Midlands (a region between Launceston and Hobart) as a potential area for viticulture. It had been a pretty barren area until recent irrigation developments. At this stage there are mostly big farmers operating in the Midlands and the flat valley floor carries significant frost risks, but Smith believes there could be scope to develop vineyards on the foothills.

Davies pointed out there is a perception, “which I think I had before moving here as well, that it’s all lush and green – but there are very dry regions in Tasmania and a lot of variability in the rainfall and growing temperatures in different locations.

So site selection for vineyards is ‘everything’.”

However, it’s not just finding the right site that makes Tasmanian viticulture a challenge. Smith grew up in Tasmania but had been working in Langhorne Creek before he moved home to start his own consultancy, so he knows how much extra work is involved in Tasmania.

“It’s a whole different kettle of fish that’s for sure. There is less expertise down here and it’s more expensive to get hold of things, we’re looking at a premium of 25 per cent on top of what the guys on the mainland pay for just about everything,” said Smith. “And you only have to look at the deep clay ripping we’ve been doing on this latest development, there’s probably only two

www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

or three tractors in Tasmania that are set up to do that job for us.

“But we all talk to each other and that way we can find out who is able to help with different jobs. Some areas are getting better set up and we have started to work with a broadacre supplier to help bring in more viti-specialised equipment and supplies.

“We’re getting better all the time, but it can be tricky.

You have got to plan well in advance, especially for a bigger development like Evandale. I started 12 months ago just to make sure I would have access to the planting material. But you also have to work well ahead if you want to bring in somebody like a soil scientist.

“There is still absolutely lots of scope for improvement though, if you look at it we don’t have any true source blocks set up yet and there’s no local vine improvement committee. So it will all be upwards and onwards from here. Tassie is going gangbusters and it’s a really good story for the industry.”

POSITIVITY AND EXCITEMENT Davies said people across Tasmania were still celebrating the Jimmy Watson trophy being won by the Huon Valley’s Holm Hill.

“We are lucky we’ve got that sort of opportunity, but it feels like we’ve had a bit of a constant run of good news. There is a lot of positivity.”

Davies said there was a lot of support for her organisation as well. “At the end of the day, Wine Tasmania is membership based and if people aren’t happy you’ll hear about it – quickly.

“We’ve got a lot going for us, we are one single region, not just a state, so we can focus on marketing and promotion.

“We are already in a strong value proposition and we’re seeing a lot of other things back that up – our whiskey, food, environment and tourism – that all adds to the message and the promotion of a pretty special island we’re all a part of.

“As far as our organisation goes, for starters we’re only quite young, 10 years old, and rightly so there’s a great deal of ownership still.

“Then we operate with a very clear strategy which fundamentally hasn’t changes since we began and that makes it clear for the members.”

Another project on the horizon that is set to benefit grapegrowers will be the possible adoption of a ‘sustainability program’.

“While we haven’t formally introduced the program yet, what we are doing is working on the structure and how that will roll out to producers,” Davies said.

“We really want to acknowledge McLaren Vale for this because they have put in the work and shared it, so we were able to use it for a trial.

“There’s still work to be done on the collaboration and finetuning... and while there is a lot of good stuff already occurring, we will need to make sure there is the right level or rigour.”

Davies said even though there have been big awards and there are exciting projects still to be delivered, the best sign of confidence in the Tasmanian wine and viticulture industry has been seeing “people putting money back into their own sector”.

“We know people aren’t doing it here because it’s easy, there are many other regions where it would be cheaper and easier, but people are excited about development in Tassie.”

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November 2015 – Issue 622

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35

grapegrowing

Will the low Aussie dollar mean higher machinery costs?

WHILE A FALL in the Australian dollar is usually a cause for celebration among grapegrowers, the associated rising cost of imported machinery from the United States and Europe has been concerning for the industry. Currently, more than 90 per cent of new farm machinery is imported and there are no tractors being built in Australia, meaning farmers are being forced to hedge their bets against the dollar when considering a new purchase.

According to Richard Lewis, Tractor and Machinery Association of Australia executive director, a combination of low interest rates and the threat of rising prices caused by the low dollar pushed national machinery sales higher for the first quarter of 2015.

“There was a sense of ‘get in early’ among buyers to beat the price rise that will inevitably come,” Lewis said.

Although Lewis said most companies set their pricing a couple of times each year, around April and later in the second half of the year, the increase in internet

In March 2014, the Australian dollar dropped by almost 20 per cent and there had to be a price increase as nobody can absorb the difference

36 Grapegrower & Winemaker

globalisation means companies cannot simply put up prices due to exchange rate movements because customers won’t pay.

“Years ago pricing was very different around the world based on what the market would pay, and Australia was seen as a price island where equipment was relatively expensive compared to other parts of the world,” he explained.

“Today, companies are pricing equipment very similarly around the globe based on what end users will pay – in other words market-based pricing.”

Despite this, it has been reported that US-brand tractors by John Deere, Case IH and New Holland all had significant price spikes between June and September this year.

The Weekly Times compared prices from their Tractor Buying Guide published in June to website prices in September and reported that a Case IH Magnum Rowtrac 380 jumped from $385,911 to $438,439, up $52,528 or 13.6 per cent, while John Deere’s 9520R went from $410,978 to $431,527 — up $20,549 or five per cent and New Holland’s T8.410 soared from $298,084 to $329,235 or 10.4 per cent.

Tony Peters, New Holland product manager, insisted the falling dollar wasn’t to blame.

“I think the way the seasons and commodity prices are, I don’t think it’ll have a big impact,” said Peters.

He said that when the reasons behind the increase were explained, customers he had spoken to were accepting.

“It’s beyond our control and we hold out as long as we can before putting up prices. It’s not something we like to do.”

Angelo DiCesare, Braud Australia managing director, said Braud generally set their prices between January and March each year, during the new vintage.

“For this reason, the Euro versus Australian dollar at the time dictates pricing,” DiCesare said.

“Our harvesters are from Europe, therefore we purchase in Euros.”

“For example, in March 2013 the Euro was approximately A0.82 cents, in March 2014 it was 0.66 cents and in March this year it was 0.70 cents,” DiCesare continued.

“For March 2016, Westpac are forecasting 0.62 cents.”

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DiCesare said the prices of grapeharvesters and European tractors have followed a similar pattern as the Euro.

“However, when the dollar is strong as it was in March 2013, there is not necessarily a price decrease, but there is more discounting off the normal Recommended Retail Price,” he said.

“Whereas in March 2014, the Australian dollar dropped by almost 20 per cent and there had to be a price increase as nobody can absorb the difference.”

DiCesare said in 2015 prices were fairly consistent with the previous year despite the higher Australian dollar.

“We must not forget that manufactures do put up prices by three to five per cent each year due to increase in overall costs of manufacture,” he said.

According to DiCesare, if bank predictions are correct 2016 will see an increase in prices.

“Tractors have already gone up,” he said. “It follows the dollar falling recently by approximately 11 per cent, plus the inevitable increase of manufacture costs.”

Lewis said it was also important to remember that imported equipment has a three to six month timeframe to get to Australia, so most of the equipment on the ground will be priced at higher exchange rates.

“Even if there is a sustained devaluation in the Aussie dollar, it will take some time to filter through to a price hike at the dealer’s yard,” he said.

Lewis said when considering if the falling Australian dollar would directly impact machinery costs in the short term the answer was no.

“However if the dollar maintains a sustained period of lower pricing, imported equipment will eventually creep up in price.”

DiCesare said the benefit of Australia’s falling dollar was that local goods were markedly cheaper to overseas buyers.

“Demand for the products we grow should increase and prices growers get for their goods should also go up,” DiCesare said. “These increases should well outweigh machinery price increases.

“Grapeharvester and tractor price increase are one-off occurrences, when the item is bought and can be repaid over the life of the machine,” DiCesare said.

November 2015 – Issue 622

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grapegrowing

Malbec geeks in Langhorne Creek It’s a variety that’s arguably better known from the New World than it is from its home in France. And here in Australia it’s helping to give one unheralded region something to brag about. Nathan Gogoll takes a look at Malbec from Langhorne Creek.

ABOUT 80 HECTARES of Malbec is planted at Langhorne Creek according to Lian Jaensch, Langhorne Creek Grape and Wine Incorporated executive officer. And she believes there are at least eight wine brands currently selling regionally-branded Langhorne Creek Malbec, either a straight varietal or blend.

Jaensch’s research uncovered the following… Bleasdale has five varietal wines and three blends; Bremerton has one varietal and two blends; Wolf Blass has one varietal and one blend; Brothers In Arms, Gipsie Jack and Zonte’s Footstep each have one varietal; while Lake Breeze and Temple Bruer both have one blend each.

Jaensch believes it will be important for Langhorne Creek to use this variety as a regional hero, or a distinct point of difference at least.

“Malbec is a variety that has history and a story behind it in Langhorne Creek and is a variety we are proud of that is starting to show its worth,” said Jaensch. “It is no longer just a great addition to sumptuous blends but produces intriguing and remarkable varietal wines. It provides a point of difference for the region and is a variety that is well suited to Langhorne Creek. If the region can ‘stake a claim’ on it then it all helps to promote the Langhorne Creek wine region and show an expanded offering to consumers.”

HISTORY OF MALBEC IN AUSTRALIA The work of tracing the spread of Malbec across Australia has been completed by viticulturist Libby Tassie, who wrote Malbec for the Australian Wine Industry – a study of clonal history, origins and known characteristics. The detailed report was prepared for Langhorne Creek Grape and Wine and was supported by the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (GWRDC) which has since merged with the Wine Australia Corporation.

The history is taken from Tassie’s report: Malbec is a red grape variety originating from France, grown in the Gironde of Bordeaux to the east of Bordeaux in Cahors and the Loire Valley.

The total area under vine in France has decreased from more than 9700Ha in 1968 to more than 6600 in 2006. In France it is known as Cot, or Auxerrois, with other synonyms including Malbeck or Malbech, Pressac and Cahors.

It is the most important grape variety grown in Argentina with more than 26,000Ha. In Australia there is a small, but increasing, area of Malbec.

Estimated at 362Ha in 2008 and 451Ha in 2012. The major production regions are the Clare Valley, Langhorne Creek, Margaret River and more recently, Padthaway.

Sam Bowman introduces a group of Langhorne Creek grapegrowers to one of the Bleasdale Malbec vineyards.

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November 2015 – Issue 622

The variety ‘Malbek’ is included in one of Busby’s catalogues, as being procured from the Nursery of Luxembourg, Paris, noted as originating from the vineyards of Medoc.

In the 1850s, material had gone to Kirkton in the Hunter Valley and to Yalumba in the Barossa.

In South Australia a number of early sources of planting material are reported. In 1837 there are reports of vines arriving from the eastern states, including Tasmania, and Europe. John Reynell obtained cuttings from Camden Park, NSW, in 1838 for the Reynella vineyard with a variety labelled as Malbec amongst them, and cuttings from Tasmania supplied the Reynella vineyard in 1841. Plantings in Adelaide were also sourced from the Henty vineyard at Portland and John Barton Hack planted vines in North Adelaide from Launceston in 1838.

It is thought the material for the Bleasdale Malbec block had come from the old Metala vineyard at Langhorne Creek that had been established in 1891 with plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz; the Malbec presumably coming from rogue vines in the block. The Metala vineyard was planted after encouragement from Henry Martin of Stonyfell, who was related to the then owner – the great-great-grandfather of the current owner, Guy Adams. The source of the material for Metala is unknown, but may have therefore come from the Stonyfell vineyard.

The second stage of importations occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, by government institutions such as the CSIRO and state departments of agriculture in the eastern states and Western Australia. Material was imported from the University of Davis, California, from Saanichton; Sydney in Canada; and from France.

There may be old clones Tassie's report did not completely trace, for example a 1970s planting of Malbec at Campbells in Rutherglen that had been taken from a 100-year-old block, now removed, that would likely have been from pre phylloxera material. Theoretically, material of heritage or pre-phylloxera origin now spread throughout the country may have the same original parentage.

Some duplication has occurred in Australia from multiple importations of one clone under a number of clonal names. One possible example of this is the recently-imported Malbec clone known as MC46B which may be ENTAV-INRA® 46 (i.e. the old clone 1056).

The Matura clones 1 to 6, imported by Bruce Chalmers of the former Chalmers Nursery, are clones from Mendoza, Argentina, selected by Alberto Antonini of the Italian Matura group.

MALBEC TODAY “It’s a very tricky variety to work with,” said Sam Bowman, Bleasdale vineyard manager and grower liaison. “It is vigorous, has poor fruit set in certain years and shrivels in heat events.

“But every producer should have their little passion projects, Malbec suits Langhorne Creek and with the history of producing table wines from the variety since the 1960s it would be a shame to see the variety get left behind.”

At the Bleasdale winery the Malbec crush has fluctuated between 50 and 200 tonne across the past 10 years, “based mainly on the variety and its inability to crop consistently”.

But Bowman said the winery has slowly built a following for Malbec across the past decade and 2014 was the biggest vintage intake.

Bowman believes Bleasdale has access to one of the best Malbec vineyards in Australia. It’s an unassuming 2.7Ha Langhorne Creek block that was planted in 1999 and is looked after by Rick Eckert. There’s nothing visually spectacular about the site, no complicated trellis system or extravagent management program. But the rows are aligned north-south to make the most of the cooling breezes that come from the nearby Lake Alexandrina and Eckert has access to the high-quality November 2015 – Issue 622

Vine Talk – Powdery Mildew We always need to be on the lookout for powdery mildew. It’s a disease that can move quickly and if you are not careful, you may be trying to stop an infection that can cause rejection levels of more than 3%.

Weather forecasts indicate an El Nino season ahead. That might mean warm and dry or possibly warm and humid conditions. Although humidity is important for powdery mildew it is not essential to have high humidity for its spread. Temperature is far more important.

This disease thrives on young actively growing leaves or berries.

When leaves become fully expanded they have a tendency to ‘harden’ and become more ‘resistant’ to infection. Berries show the same characteristic late in their growth. Remember too, even low level late infections of powdery can become entry points for botrytis, especially in susceptible varieties.

Similar to a good downy mildew program, a good powdery program is like a well-made sandwich. The bread and butter are the good ‘protectant products’ that start and finish the program with the filling in the middle being the ‘best chemistry’ available. This approach is likely to pay dividends in securing a well-protected crop that finishes well through to harvest.

If you are having issues with powdery mildew control, then look to establish a working relationship with one of the research organisations that study the disease. They can conduct a resistance test so you can learn about the isolates specific to your vineyard.

Talk with your viticulturist, local reseller or Syngenta sales representative. Knowledge is power and one of the key things I’ve learnt over the years is there are a lot of very smart people in our industry. It just needs conversations to link people together and gain from the leverage of their knowledge.

The team at SARDI sampled many powdery mildew infections last season and is building important knowledge on the resistance status in vineyards. It seems that resistance to the group 11, Qol products can be gained quickly if these products are overused and not rotated correctly.

Remember, Qol resistance is qualitative, meaning it’s like a light switch, one minute it works and then it doesn’t. The key message here is don’t be complacent and over rely on any single fungicide group.

Finally, remember to focus on the three T’s: • Type; • Timing; and, • Technique.

Special emphasis being on technique and water volume leading to good coverage. This is so important for powdery mildew control.

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

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

39

grapegrowing Creek Pipeline Company water. The block regularly yields eight or nine tones to the hectare and supplies Bleasdale’s Double Take Malbec that retails for $65, received 97 points in the 2016 James Halliday Wine Companion and won the Malbec trophy at last year’s Six Nations Wine Challenge.

“It must be the soil,” said Eckert. “It’s an old salty swamp that we covered over with sand off a ridge at the side.”

Wolf Blass is another producer working with both Malbec from Langhorne Creek and fruit from other regions. The winery recently collected a Royal Melbourne Wine Awards trophy as the ‘best single varietal red wine’ for the 2013 Yellow Label Malbec.

Jaensch is pleased to see a big winery like Wolf Blass having success with Langhorne Creek Malbec, even though the trophy wine is not regionally branded.

“This is certainly important and will help promote the variety, especially as a varietal. It is also a valuable process to benchmark the style of blends and varietal wines,” said Jaensch.

“The ultimate proof though is in the consumer acceptance and sales. Great write-ups really help get the word out to those looking for something different and to expand their wine knowledge. Malbec has a good story and produces some fantastic wines. It shouldn’t be ignored.”

Marie Clay, the Wolf Blass winemaker responsible for the Yellow Label Malbec said the trophy was a “fantastic result and something we’re pretty excited about”.

“Malbec is a really important variety for us and something we’ve been sourcing for a long time, it’s often the third varietal in the Black Label blend. This is the first vintage release of the Yellow Label Malbec and we’ve had a Gold Label since 2012.

“Langhorne Creek has been the traditional source of quality and consistent Malbec for Wolf Blass and it fits with the Gold Label range that is always about matching a variety with a region. The Yellow Label is labelled as South Australia and that gives us the advantage of sourcing fruit from multiple regions. The 2013 wine is about 40 per cent from Langhorne Creek, 20 per cent from Coonawarra a little bit from Clare and Wrattonbully.

“We work with a lot of growers and we’ve seen the Langhorne Creek growers are quite excited about it. We know there are other producers making exciting Malbec in Langhorne Creek as well.

“It’s a great region because everyone is keen to share their knowledge.”

Sometimes that can be sharing the frustrations or working with this variety, but at least that means people can start looking for solutions together.

“It’s a variety that can suffer from poor fruit set. We’re still learning about the viticulture and doing trials to look at different clones and different pruning methods. One of the things we’ve found is that light crops can have really vegetative characters in the wine so we are looking at things like nutrient applications before flowering to help with the fruit set. It can also be very sensitive to heat events, especially as it is a late ripener, so we are also trialling some different things to manage those. One of the advantages of Langhorne Creek is the beautiful afternoon cooling breezes from Lake Alexandrina.

“Getting the ripeness right is a key, because overripe Malbec can look really floral. Getting the tannins ripe is important because it tends to be a tannic variety thanks to its thick skins.

“It is definitely a variety you can’t pick on numbers.”

Clay said consumers have shown a great deal of interest in Malbec and she believes the trophy result can help build on that.

“I think there’s a real place for it in Australia and it’s probably something we haven’t talked up and promoted enough yet,” said Clay.

40 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Sam Bowman and Rick Eckert

MALBEC IN THE FUTURE The Langhorne Creek regional grape and wine association, in partnership with the Langhorne Creek Vine Improvement group, has established a Malbec clonal planting to assess the potential of different clones for the region and the wine industry more broadly.

As there is keen interest and anticipated potential for Mablec as a niche product at Langhorne Creek, two sites will be established with Malbec Clonal plantings this season in collaboration with Langhorne Creek Vine Improvement and growers. The selection of clones for these sites takes into consideration the information gathered… the availability of existing clones in adjacent blocks for extra comparisons as well as other logistical limitations.

Trial plans have been established and plantings will be on own roots in replicated rows across the blocks to account for some possible variability. Once the plantings are well established assessment will take place and separate wines will be made from individual clones. Grower field visits and fruit assessment will also be undertaken.

One of the trails has recently been developed at Bleasdale.

While there were already six different Malbec clones (MAT 1, 2 and 5; CW14; Wendouree; and Potts) in the estate vineyards, Bleasdale has added to the diversity.

“The vine improvement committee donated $7000 towards the project and the planting will be a source block for the organisation for years to come, improving the clonal material available to the group,” explained Bowman. “This is important for the region as it ensures there is a secure supply of true to type and virus free material available to growers.”

The project has involved Langhorne Creek’s own Glenavon nursery and additional clones (MAT 3, Kalimna and WA clones) will be added to the six already established at Bleasdale. A one-hectare site near the Bleasdale winery has been planted this spring, the vines established in alluvial flood plain soil, made up of deep clay to clay loam.

“Malbec is pretty important to us and we’ve got a direct route to market so we can try a few different things,” said Bowman.

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November 2015 – Issue 622

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grapegrowing

2015 Vineyard Survey: An overview Lawrie Stanford, the Wine Grape Growers Australia (WGGA) executive director, has taken to the 2015 Vineyard Survey with a magnifying glass. In this analysis, Stanford notes there has been some positive movement in the supply adjustment, but there’s more to go.

THE AUSTRALIAN Grape and Wine Authority (AGWA) re-instated the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Vineyard Survey for the 2015 vintage. It was the first comprehensive survey of the Australian wine sector’s viticultural underpinnings since 2012 when the Vineyard Survey ceased, and it was a decision to be celebrated with insights once again available into the industry’s production capacity and performance and most importantly, supply adjustment. This article analyses the data and attempts to identify some of the trends and implications.

Much more interpretation is possible than is provided here – not just by drilling down into the data in more detail but also by applying a deeper understanding of the industry context that shaped the numbers. For the time being however, this treatment will provide a relatively high level of interpretation. Subsequent articles may drill down further into the data and reflect more on the causes of the observations.

By and large, the analysis will focus on a selection of years that have the Vineyard Survey, and the same methodology, as the source of the data. The advantage is consistency and greater reliability of the interpretation.

The starting year is 2007-08 which is arguably when supply adjustment commenced. Following this is 2008-09, 2011-12 and finally the data just delivered, 2014-15. The 2008-09 year is skipped because the survey methodology was sampling rather than the traditional census survey that occurred in the other years of the Vineyard Survey. In addition, 2010-11 is omitted because in that year, viticulture data was collected through the ABS Agricultural Census, rather than a dedicated viticulture survey like the ABS Vineyard Survey. In both cases the methodological differences meant a break in the vineyard survey time series and it is never known if some observations of interest are artefacts of the collection methodology or real.

Hence, the main focus of this analysis is four years, commencing when supply adjustment started, ending with the latest data and with reference points relatively evenly spaced between.

The vineyard production number represents about 3.8% fewer tonnes than reported in the WFA Vintage Report as crushed by processors in 2014-15, at 1.669 million tonnes.

This gap is the standard difference between these two types of surveys, production versus crush, largely reflecting the logistical differences in the how the data is collected in each.

In general terms, production tonnages have trended down since 2005-06, the year that in the author’s opinion, the wider industry acknowledged that it was structurally out of supply/demand balance. The downward trend in production is observed both with and without grapes left on the vine taken into account.

The exception to the downward trend in production was 2007 – due to drought. Production nevertheless bounced back in the two-to-three subsequent years of drought, largely due to the active use of water markets at the time.

Notes. Winegrape prices represent a national average winegrape price series compiled from the Australian Bureau of Statistics' publication 'Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced', 1984-1996; selected and representative districts and varieties reported in the South Australian and Murray Valley winegrape utilisation surveys, 1989 to 1999; and the National Winegrape Crush and Price Report, 1999 to 2008 [with compositional influences (by red and white, warmclimate and cool-climate) removed]; PGIBSA, MVWG and NSW WGMB Wine Grape Utilisation Surveys [with raising factors of 9.5% to match the foregoing census history], 2009 to 2010 and finally, the Wine Australia Price Dispersion Report has been used from 2011 to 2015. The five series have been merged to represent a continuous series. Planting and removal data is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Vineyard Survey – new planting and removals in 2011 is a WGGA estimate based on ABS Ag Census data and historical trends.

Figure 2: Winegrape price and vineyard renewal history

A HELICOPTER VIEW OF THE OUTCOMES Figure 1 shows that winegrape production was 1.608 million tonnes in 2014-15 excluding a further 67,500 tonnes estimated to be left in the vineyard at harvest.

Figure 1: Winegrape vineyard production history

42 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Figure 3: Winegrape production and drivers www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

The major driver of the declining production is clear. There has been a steady decline in bearing areas of vines since 200708.

Figure 2 shows that plantings fell in parallel with falling winegrape prices after the latter peaked in 2001.

Newly planted vine areas fell significantly from the lofty heights they reached in 1998 and they now bump along at around 1000 hectares a year. On the other hand, with the exception of 2010, vine removals have remained located in the relatively narrow range of 2000 to 4000 thousand hectares per year.

In 2007, vine removals roughly matched new plantings but in subsequent years, outweighed them. Hence, net removals of vines and supply adjustment commenced in 2008 – and have continued in all years recorded since then.

In 2014-15, the latest data shows that vine removals still outweighed new planting.

PRODUCTION TRENDS IN THE LAST SEVEN ‘ADJUSTMENT YEARS’ Figure 3 describes again the steady decline in vineyard area – this time for bearing areas.

Despite the steady decline in bearing areas, tonnages are on the rise in recent years. At 1.83 million tonnes in 2007-08, the tonnages were at about the average experienced around that time. The result in 2014-15, at 1.61 million tonnes, nevertheless represents the highest tonnage produced in the three years recorded since 2007-08.

The driver of higher tonnages despite lower bearing areas, is clearly the tonnes per hectare yields. The average national yield was 12.1 tonnes per hectare in 2014-15 and represents the first recorded yield above 12 tonnes per hectare since 2005-06.

Moreover, it was in only four of the 27 years preceding 2005-06 that yields fell below 12 tonnes per hectare meaning recent sub12 tonne per hectare yields have been exceptionally low.

Figure 4 provides some clues to the driver of rising yields over the past five years.

Figure 4 illustrates the annual tonnages produced since 2007-08 the tonnage contributions from each of the warm and cooler districts and the tonne-per-hectare yields in each case.

The divergence of yields between warm and cool is dramatic with cooler-temperate yields declining steadily from 2007-08 while in the warm inland districts, the trend has been upward.

In the cooler-temperate districts, yields declined 22% between 2007-08 and 2014-15 while in the warm inland, yields grew 25%.

The divergence in yields between cool and warm districts has caused a dramatic shift in their shares of production. In 2007-08, 60% of the national tonnages were produced in the warm districts but by 2014-15 the share was 71%. Conversely the cooler-temperate proportion of tonnages fell from 40% to 29%.

It can be further asserted that the shift in production is entirely yield driven on the grounds that the decline in bearing areas between these two district categories was roughly equivalent if not in fact, contrarily biased to greater losses of vine from the warm districts. Warm bearing areas declined by 21% between 2007-08 while cool bearing areas declined by 19.5%.

While it is hazardous to speculate on the causes behind the yield shifts without more knowledge of the context, it is interesting nevertheless to speculate on what they may be.

Front of mind are two common observations from over these years. Firstly, the prevalence of yield caps imposed in the cooler districts – in pursuit of higher quality outcomes and secondly, in warm districts, there has been a tendency to irrigate heavily to raise tonnages, and revenue per hectare, in a low dollar-pertonne operating environment.

UNAMBIGUOUSLY POSITIVE SIGNS IN THE PRODUCTION CAPACITY DATA Vine removals are approaching the popularly-viewed amount needed for supply to match demand.

From an average size of 162,250 total hectares in the national

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61 2 9482 5663 • ppp@tpg.com.au Figure 4: Warm and cool region production and yield per hectare November 2015 – Issue 622

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43

grapegrowing

Figure 5: Renewal elements for winegrape production

Figure 6: Numbers of winegrape growing businesses

vineyard between 2007 and 2009, the size has declined to 135,200 hectares in 2015, or, it has shrunk by 17%.

In 2008, it was popularly believed that a 20% reduction in the national vineyard was required for production capacity to match demand (sales) at that time. Using the latter as an indicator of progress towards ‘balance’, from a supply adjustment perspective, the Australian wine sector approaches this situation – albeit that it is not there yet.

Reinforcing that supply adjustment is not yet complete, it is notable that an equivalent calculation for sales as that done for bearing areas - average sales volumes between 2007 and 2009 compared to 2015 - reveals a 2% deterioration in sales volumes in this period and hence, the requirement for additional production losses to achieve supply-demand balance. Furthermore, this calculation does not account for a likely greater decrease in profitable sales – a more relevant measure of ‘actual’ demand and more required reduction in supply for balance of supply with profitable demand to occur, unless demand improves.

There are other signs of continued stress in the supply chain and they are dealt with in later sections of this article.

Nonetheless, the uptick in export sales in the most recent financial year is encouraging and the expectation that this will continue is reasonable on the basis of an improved exchange rate environment, the recovery in the United States economy, the ascendancy of China among Australia’s major wine markets, the advent of FTAs with Japan, South Korea and China, and increased proactivity of Wine Australia promotions in the market place.

On balance, the long and painful adjustment in winegrape supply appears to advance to a desired position for balance but there is no certainty yet for the businesses in most danger – those that are eating into assets to survive in anticipation of better times.

Readers should also be aware that when the industry achieves ‘balance’ on the terms described above, the adjustment process will still not be complete. With the task of reaching the ‘right amount’ complete, the task remaining will be to ensure ‘the right type’. The rush to grow across the past 20 years saw not just too much planting but also planting in the wrong places.

PLANTINGS YET TO BEAR ARE AT RECORD LOWS It is notable that reported non-bearing areas in 2014-15 are the lowest on record (the records go back to 1973) in both absolute and relative terms – at 2736 hectares and 2% of total area.

Hence, grape production ‘in reserve’ for meeting potential growth in demand, is low.

The positive for growers is that wine grape prices will improve as supply tightens and they have more bargaining

44 Grapegrower & Winemaker

power – but this will be subject to the final unwinding of supply/ demand imbalance already mentioned and the willingness of wine companies to negotiate prices until they have rebuilt their margins.

THE FINAL UNWINDING THAT IS NEEDED BEFORE FULL CONFIDENCE OF A TURN-AROUND FOR GROWERS Net removals of vines: Net removals of vines, which commenced in 2007-08, continued in 2014-15 and are a continued reminder of supply/ demand imbalance. Nevertheless, the vines removed net of new plantings in 2014-15 was at its lowest level for anytime in the 2007-08 to 2014-15 period (see Figure 5).

Grapes left on the vine or dropped at harvest: Referring back to Figure 1, it can be seen that grapes left on the vine or dropped at harvest have occurred in all years since 2004-05, and are likely to have occurred before this time since anecdotal evidence that it was occurring led to the commencement of data collection on the phenomenon from 2004-05. Once again, there is some encouragement about the supply/demand imbalance unwinding in the fact that the estimated tonnes left behind in 2014-15 were at the lowest in the time the grapes-left data has been collected, except for 2006-07 when production was severely reduced by drought and then in the subsequent year, 2007-08, when stocks were being re-built after the low production levels of 2006-07.

BEHIND THE DECLINING PRODUCTION SITS AN EXODUS OF WINEGRAPE GROWING BUSINESSES Between 2010 and 2012, there were losses of around 470 winegrape growing businesses across Australia and between 2012 and 2015 the losses accelerated to around 1070 in these years. This is a loss of around 1540 winegrape growing businesses in the five years between 2010 and 2015.

Out of 6700 winegrape growing businesses in place in 2010, this loss represents a loss of 23% of the winegrape growing businesses in Australia.

Greater numbers of cooler- temperate businesses exited than did warm inland businesses (see Figure 6). In the five years between 2010 and 2015, 1055 cooler-temperate businesses exited while the number of warm inland businesses was around 485.

Nevertheless, true to the economic reality that nonprofitability in one part of the industry flows to all sectors of the industry the relative impact was the same in each of the two climate categories.

After considering that a larger number of winegrape businesses are located in the cooler districts, both lost the same proportion of their businesses, at 23%.

www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

grapegrowing

Smart-phone app field assessment of powdery mildew A new application for mobile phones or tablets to help growers, consultants, wineries and researchers assess powdery mildew on grape bunches in the field will be released in November. The new app, briefly described early in 2015 (http://research.wineaustralia.com/new-approach-to-measuring-powdery-mildew/), has been developed in a Wine Australia-funded project led by Dr Eileen Scott of the University of Adelaide’s School of Agriculture, Food and Wine.

This article features the findings of Warren Birchmore, Accolade Wines; Eileen Scott and Timothy Zanker, both from the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide; Bob Emmett, Horticultural Pathology Research, R W Emmett Pty Ltd, Mildura VIC; and Wade Perry, Lemur Software, Adelaide SA. HISTORICALLY assessments of powdery mildew on bunches in vineyards have been recorded on paper, sometimes on the backs of business cards, and subsequently transcribed into spreadsheets. This project provides a mobile device-enabled tool to calculate powdery mildew incidence and severity across a patch after each bunch has been assessed. Wine industry input has been crucial to the development of this technology.

Most wineries have a low tolerance for powdery mildew on grapes. Typical tolerance levels for severity on grapes at harvest are three-to-six per cent, whereas acceptable levels of incidence, where used, are set much higher.

It is important to understand the difference between incidence and severity, with incidence being the percentage of bunches affected of the total number of bunches assessed and severity being the percentage of bunch surface area affected.

There are advantages and disadvantages in the use of incidence and severity and the assessment type should be clearly defined in contractual negotiations between growers and their wineries.

Some contractual conditions and winery procedures specify how assessments will occur. Details can include the minimum number of bunches to be assessed, the sampling pattern across the vineyard and sampling locations on selected vines.

The time of day when light is adequate, and weather conditions when mildew can be easily seen on berries may also be specified. Presence of free water on berries because of rainfall, dew or overhead irrigation, for example, may compromise disease assessments.

In the absence of clear winery procedures, a set of generic procedures is being prepared to guide growers and wineries through the assessment process.

Assessment of powdery mildew severity is based on the diseased berry surface area as a proportion of the total berry surface area of the bunch; this is usually expressed as a percentage. For example, one berry 100% affected on a 10-berry bunch, 15 berries 100% affected on a 150-berry bunch and 20 berries 50% affected on a 100 berry bunch are all 10% severity, while incidence for the three bunches is 100% because all of the bunches are affected.

Collaboration between researchers and industry representatives resulted in the engagement of Lemur Software to construct a new app, called PMapp, so that incidence and severity scores can be calculated for bunches assessed in the field. PMapp (powdery mildew application) will allow the user to visually assess severity of each bunch quickly and calculate the incidence and severity of bunch powdery mildew for a patch

46 Grapegrower & Winemaker

of vines ‘on the run’. At the time of entry, each bunch assessed will be recorded as a severity score along with the date, time and location latitude and longitude.

A diagrammatic ‘key’ with 2% increments is included PMapp to assist assessment of powdery mildew severity (see next article). The key has a series of computer generated images of bunches, each image with blue areas representing a different known severity of powdery mildew like those shown in Figure 1. Nearly 150 computer generated bunch images with known severity levels can be viewed through the image browser within PMapp to assist the assessor.

A self-calibration tool that allows the assessor to quickly refresh their skills before they conduct formal assessments is also built into PMapp.

Figure 1. Computer generated bunch images with indicative powdery mildew infection in blue. The left image is 6% and the right is 63% severity. Note that, on the right bunch, every berry appears to be affected, but this bunch is scored at 63% severity based on the percentage of berry surface area affected as opposed to percentage of berries affected.

The tool randomly displays a series of computer generated bunch images with different severities and after the assessor has entered their severity scores, PMapp provides a summary of their assessment accuracy and bias.

Each bunch assessed will be categorised into ‘pigeon holes’ rather than absolute values to reduce conjecture about an exact severity score between individual assessors. Each bunch will be scored as the best fit. For example, the 5% category is used for scores greater than 4.5% and up to and including 5.5%.

www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

There are 25 severity categories, as shown in Figure 2. While trace levels will contribute to patch incidence, they contribute little to the overall patch severity because they are scored at 0.5% severity. Each bunch is recorded by tapping the percentage category dot. This changes the dot from green to blue indicating a new score, and a 1 is added to the count for that category, the last score is added to the display of the last 5 scores and incidence and severity values are updated.

Figure 2. Example screen shots from the iOS PMapp; before assessment begins (left) and after an example assessment (right).

The number of bunches scored in each category is recorded in the lower right corner of the category to provide information about distribution of severity because total incidence and severity scores alone may not provide an accurate representation of the infection level across the vine patch.

For speed, assessors may use particular categories only, rather than all categories. That is, the assessor could group all scores above 50% in the 75% category, rather than spending time assigning the bunch to an intermediate category. Alternatively, if the assessor cannot differentiate between categories, he or she can use the categories they feel comfortable with. For example, if the assessor cannot differentiate between 6 and 10%, they may only use the 8% category for scoring these bunches. All categories can be used when the assessor’s skill and experience increase or when a more accurate assessment is required.

Assessors can review severity scores by row or by patch to determine the spatial distribution of powdery mildew across the assessed area. Assessments can be terminated part way through if contractual thresholds have not been reached, a feature that has not been possible with written assessments and complex calculations. Alternatively, the harvest of parts of a patch could be negotiated so that rejection is partial instead of complete and at least some grapes are delivered to the winery.

On completion, the assessment data can be emailed as a CSV or XML file for further analysis and interrogation.

PMapp will be freely available globally from iTunes and Google Play around late November 2015. While extensive testing has been conducted prior to the release, constructive feedback is always welcome to allow improvement. A version for android devices is being constructed.

These simple but effective tools for mobile devices will enable assessors to capture powdery mildew assessments and know incidence and severity throughout each assessment, avoiding the need for complex calculations after assessments.

November 2015 – Issue 622

Whilst PMapp cannot distinguish powdery mildew from some ‘look-alike’ symptoms on berries, such as spray residues or damage, it will facilitate recording of assessments, allowing the assessor to concentrate on identification and determination of severity. Anyone who can correctly identify powdery mildew on grapes can use PMapp for training in visual quantification of disease severity and for recording field assessments.

PMapp has not been designed for recording assessments of other grape berry and leaf defects, although this is the next logical step in advancement of this software.

As the computer generated bunches displayed in PMapp are two dimensional representations of three dimensional bunches, it may be difficult for some assessors to relate percentages of disease on the diagrams to those on actual bunches that can be rotated in the assessor’s hands to change the light conditions during examination. Use of more advanced computer technology in future may provide more life-like three dimensional images of diseased bunches but is beyond the scope of the current project.

An online training tool to help assessors to assess powdery mildew correctly is under construction and is intended for release later this season. This training tool will allow users to estimate area affected by powdery mildew on a series of images (as in PMapp); the answers will be compared with actual area and the accuracy of the assessor plotted on a graph.

Assessments will be done on bunches in either of two ranges, 0-100% or 0-20%, with skill in the lower range being critical for assessment and winery acceptance of parcels of grapes with high disease incidence but low severity. Repeated attempts will refine the assessor’s skill, with scope to do this in or out of season. The wine industry could also use this online tool to facilitate identification of assessors who can assess bunch powdery mildew with sufficient repeatability. The tool will also have modules to assist recognition of powdery mildew and a best practice guide for vineyard powdery mildew assessment.

More information will follow in the coming months.

PMapp and the planned online training tool are stop-gap assessment measures until an analytical technique to quantify powdery mildew accurately in grape samples is available.

Research on an objective measure is underway in the project.

In the meantime, the industry will need to continue with the current industry standard of subjective visual assessment and this will be facilitated by PMapp.

Acknowledgements: The researchers are grateful to the project industry reference group and others that provided valuable feedback on prototypes of PMapp, and to Wine Australia for funding.

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grapegrowing

A new disease in the vineyard: Grapevine leaf mottling and deformation Research into the ‘Pinot Grigio disease’ has been carried out by Elisa Angelini, Irene Bazzo, Nadia Bertazzon, Luisa Filippin, and Vally Forte from CRA-VIT, the Viticulture Research Centre located in northeast Italy. Since 1923, CRA-VIT has studied all issues related to the grapevine: ampelography, genetic improvement, breeding, biology, physiology, protection, propagation, ecology, agronomic (and more recently metabolomic and transcriptomic) techniques. The grapevine pathology group, led by Dr. Elisa Angelini, carries out research mainly focused on diseases associated with viruses, phytoplasmas, bacteria and their vectors.

‘GRAPEVINE leaf mottling and deformation’ is a new vine disease, currently widespread in vinegrowing areas in northeast Italy and Slovenia.

The first warning signs arrived in 20032004 from Piana Rotaliana (Trentino Alto Adige) and Collio (Friuli Venezia Giulia) vineyards.

In the next few years the disease gradually spread to all the grapegrowing areas of the two regions where it had first developed. Then it spread to neighbouring regions, such as Veneto, Emilia Romagna and Lombardy.

In Veneto, where it was first identified in the DOCG Prosecco area in 2013, it has by now become a constant presence, having been detected in all the best grapegrowing provinces.

In Emilia Romagna in 2013, there was a high incidence of infected plants in some vineyards, whereas in Lombardy the disease was detected in 2014. For the moment the disease seems to be still only present sporadically in these last two regions, especially in some hotbeds scattered throughout the region.

This plant disease was detected for the first time on Pinot Gris, which is where the Italian name for the disease comes from (malattia del Pinot grigio or ‘Pinot grigio disease’), but it was later identified on other varieties.

The distribution of symptomatic plants in the field can vary: isolated, random or in groups. In particular, symptomatic plants are present sporadically and in an isolated manner in most of the vineyards.

48 Grapegrower & Winemaker

The cultivars most affected so far are Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, Tocai Friulano and Glera (i.e. the grape used for Prosecco production), all typical varieties in the regions where the disease is most widespread. No data is currently available on the susceptibility of other varieties that are common in other Italian or European regions, although international varieties such as Merlot and Cabernet seem to show few or no symptoms at all.

Fortunately the incidence of the disease in the areas affected has remained generally low. In Trentino Alto Adige the average incidence on susceptible varieties is said to be around 0.5% in the vineyards observed in the past two-tothree years. In Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto, the incidence might be lower.

The distribution of symptomatic plants in the field can vary: isolated, random or in groups. In particular, symptomatic plants are present sporadically and in an isolated manner in most of the vineyards.

However, when the incidence of the disease is higher, there is generally a distribution in groups or hotbeds, localised both in the centre and at the edges. There are however some vineyards where symptomatic plants appear randomly distributed, but throughout the whole vineyard.

SYMPTOMATOLOGY AND DAMAGE TO PRODUCTION The symptoms described above for Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and Glera are more evident at the start of the vegetative season, when they can be confused with damage caused by eriophyid mites and thrips.

At budbreak the infected vines show a clear delay with respect to healthy plants, with stunted canes with short internodes, bearing small, deformed leaves with discoloured nerves and mottling on the leaf surface, which remains during vegetative growth (Figure 1). www.winetitles.com.au

The symptoms often diminish as the vegetative season progresses, giving the impression that the plants are recovering.

In fact, the new canes and leaves that develop after fruit set appear normal.

The following year, however, the symptoms go through the same stages as described above, therefore recovery is only illusory and temporary. In the more serious cases, especially for Gewürztraminer, cane development remains limited throughout the vegetative season to the extent that no cane is able to lignify.

As for production, in some cases there is a desiccation of the inflorescence and bunch shatter.

Bunches of symptomatic plants are generally smaller at the harvest, with millerandage and delayed ripening, especially on the worse-affected plants.

The depressive effects of the disease on the quantitative production parameters seem more serious for Pinot Gris, where the weight of grapes at the harvest may even be reduced by 80% on symptomatic plants (Fig. 2.).

On Glera, on the other hand, data gathered in 2014 show less serious production losses, with an average of about 35%. From the point of view of quality, there is a tendency to higher acidity of symptomatic vines, whereas the concentration of sugars does not seem to vary significantly if we compare symptomatic and non-symptomatic vines.

INCIDENCE OF THE DISEASE IN VENETO In 2014, a voluntary territorial monitoring network was set up in Veneto by research bodies (CRA-VIT, University of Padua), the Regional Plant Health Service, private protection consortia, Producers’ Associations, Wineries and various technicians and vinegrowing operators, including both consultants and sellers.

A single monitoring sheet and an online database have been developed and November 2015 – Issue 622

grapegrowing A

B

C

Figure 1. Symptoms of Grapevine Leaf Mottling and Deformation. A) Symptoms at budbreak: the canes affected are easily visible, stunted, with shorter internodes and smaller leaves. B) Symptoms of deformation and discolouration of the leaves on the Glera cultivar. C) Detail of the symptom of nerve discolouration present on the leaves until the end of the season, Glera cultivar.

distributed for collecting data from the whole of the Veneto region and officially adopted by the Plant Health Service and recommended for all technicians working in the region.

About 290 vineyards were monitored, especially Glera and Pinot Gris, and the symptoms were observed for each individual plant (about 500-1,000 vines for each vineyard).

The results show that only 29% of the vineyards observed had no symptomatic plants. Of the total vineyards with symptoms, most currently show a very low incidence of the disease; less than 1%. In about 10% of the vineyards, the presence of symptomatic vines ranges from 1 to 10%.

In nine vineyards (3% of the total) the incidence of symptomatic plants is higher

50 Grapegrower & Winemaker

than 10%, reaching peaks of 40% (Fig. 3).

The processing of the data collected through the monitoring sheet has shown that there is no correlation between vineyard age and the percentage of symptomatic vines.

Basically, high levels of the disease were found both in young vineyards (just two years old) and vineyards over 40 years old.

From the observations carried out, it seems that at the moment the disease is more widespread in the hilly areas of the Veneto region, where it has been detected in 84% of the vineyards observed, with respect to the plain, where the symptoms have been identified in 49% of the vineyards.

An interesting relationship has emerged, comparing the nature of the www.winetitles.com.au

soil and the incidence of symptoms in the vineyards being monitored.

In fact, most of the vineyards with the highest incidence of symptoms are found on clayey soil whereas most of the vineyards cultivated on loose soils do not present visible symptoms.

However these are preliminary data, which need further corroboration and more in-depth study.

THE ETIOLOGIC AGENT Although the exact etiology of the disease is still unknown, in 2012 the presence of a new virus called Grapevine Pinot Gris Virus (GPGV) was observed in symptomatic plants from Trentino Alto Adige.

Following this finding, the virus was identified in the Italian regions November 2015 – Issue 622

Bunches of symptomatic plants are generally smaller at the harvest, with millerandage and delayed ripening, especially on the worse-affected plants. affected by the disease and also in other European states (Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Greece), though some of these have never reported any presence of the disease.

Recent data from the analysis of vine samples collected in several grapegrowing countries show that the virus is more widespread than at first believed, since it has also been found in Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Macedonia, Ukraine, Romania, Spain and Portugal.

However, the presence of this virus is not directly correlated to the presence of symptoms: in fact GPGV is present in all the symptomatic vines, but also in a large number of vines without any apparent symptoms of the disease, also in the case of susceptible varieties.

In particular, recent studies carried out in the Triveneto (Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia) show that the virus is present in about 70-80% of apparently healthy vines.

Figure 2. Comparison of production quantity parameter values of symptomatic and apparently healthy Pinot Gris vines at harvest (-). The symptomatic vines were classified in 3 classes (+, ++, +++), according to the seriousness of the symptoms. A fall in production is highlighted in percentages (weight of grapes per plant) with respect to controls (vines without symptoms).

Figure 3. The presence of symptomatic vines in the vineyards monitored in Veneto in 2014. The data have been organised into 4 classes of incidence.

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

51

grapegrowing There are, however, new data that highlight the presence of several strains of the virus, which are probably associated with a different pathogenicity in the field.

These results lead us to think, however, that the relationship between the virus and the disease is still unclear, and that there is probably interaction with the environment, cultivation methods and agronomic practices that can influence the expression of the symptoms and therefore the appearance of the state of the disease. Only more in-depth studies will be able to clarify the situation.

HOW THE DISEASE IS TRANSMITTED By now it seems clear that the spread of this disease is increasing in this territory, but we still don’t know how it spreads. Observations in the field carried out in the different Italian regions in recent years suggest it is spread by an animal vector.

It also seems that the infection increases slowly through the years in the individual vineyards, though there are cases of sudden outbreaks. This trend seems common in the three mostmonitored regions so far, i.e. Trentino

Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto.

Given the lack of scientific data, at the moment there are no strategies for fighting the disease other than monitoring symptomatic vines in the field and potentially uprooting stunted plants.

CONCLUSION Several Italian and European research bodies are studying this disease and the GPGV virus in important and collateral fields of interest, such as the association between the disease and the virus, how it is transmitted, laboratory diagnostics, recovery of symptomatic vines and the possible effects of nutritional deficiencies.

It is also important to understand if, and which, agronomical or environmental factors cause the disease and therefore if coexistence with this problem is possible, given the large number of vines infected by the virus but without symptoms.

Knowledge of this disease is still very limited, mainly because the disease has only recently been discovered.

In order to deal with increasing concern and to find prompt solutions, it is

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essential to continue doing research, join forces and share results both between research bodies and technicians and those operating in the grapegrowing and nursery sector.

This article has been made available in cooperation between Corriere Vinicolo and Grapegrower & Winemaker. Corriere Vinicolo (corrierevinicolo.com), edited since 1928 by Unione Italiana Vini, is the most authoritative magazine of the Italian wine industry.

Established in Milan in 1895, Unione Italiana Vini is the historical association of Italian wine firms: its core business, further to a lobbying activity, is focused on high quality services to the wine industry: analysis laboratories, supply chain check-up, SIMEI exhibition, sustainability program Tergeo.

Articles shared between the two publications focus on technical and economic issues, in order to give each readership a broader vision both on Italy and Australia/New Zealand.

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November 2015 – Issue 622

Product Update

Get the most from your water ACROSS YEARS of working with vineyards, Hydrosmart has earned a reputation for water quality improvements through scale removal and prevention Irrigation without need of chemicals that are expensive and degrade and cause soil health to deteriorate by killing bacteria.

Hydrosmart has had a significant impact within the viticulture industry, providing solutions to vineyards that experience problems as a direct result of the available water supply being less than ideal. Hydrosmart has allowed vineyards to productively use water supplies previously considered unsuitable, so greatly increasing business viability.

PROBLEMS SOLVED Hydrosmart effectively deals with scale in pipes, drippers and sprinklers. By dissolving caked-on minerals, it frees those minerals to become nutrients for your vines. Additionally, growth of vines is dramatically improved by the activation of minerals that were present and already partly dissolved in your borewater.

Growth improvement includes better Brix and Baume levels. Healthier plants automatically generate more sugars.

November 2015 – Issue 622

Case study: d’Arenberg, McLaren Vale A large section of the d’Arenberg vineyard has been watered from a bore. “Over the years the drippers have become blocked necessitating constant cleaning by hand,” said d’Arry Osborn.

“After treating the water with the Hydrosmart water conditioner… the drippers are now functioning normally.”

Giulio Dimasi, the d’Arenberg viticulturalist, said three Hydrosmart units were installed on three vineyards to reduces blockages and issues caused by iron and salts from minerals in the irrigation bores.

“We needed to constantly remove and clean the drippers and this took a great deal of time and effort which had significant labour cost when doing tens of thousands of drippers and noticed some vines were stressed due to salt levels,” said Dimasi.

“The levels of iron, salts and minerals vary from 600 to 2,000 EC and we have seen a gradual and consistent improvement to all the treated vineyards over the period of time the systems have been on.

“The improved behaviour of the vines, soil and grape health in Hydrosmart treated vineyards when compared with the untreated vineyards was sufficiently noteworthy that a decision was made to get two more units a few summers back to address the other bores not being treated.

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“I am happy to recommend use of Hydrosmart to any grower considering adapting it to their sites water as it has added real value to our business.”

After the success on the bore water, two more units were installed on another d’Arenberg property where 130 acres are irrigated from dams that are supplied from surface aquifers with water that varies between 600 EC and 2000 EC units. d’Arry said after these units were installed, the vines in these vineyard had their best crop yet – even though they were backing up after a drought year.

But the vineyards aren’t the only recipients of Hydrosmarttreated water at d’Arenberg. The d’Arenberg winery complex uses the treated bore water through a series of gas-fired boilers and so far scale has not been a problem at all.

The bore water is also used in the houses (once the rain water has been used up) and it has been noticeable how soft the treated bore water is. In fact, d’Arry still tells people about using bore water in his home bathroom before the Hyrdosmart treatment – and how hard and staining it used to be. He was amazed the bath and shower water was softer and far less staining after the treatment and noticed where the water was used on lawns and gardens everything perked up and showed good growth and vigour.

HOW IT WORKS Hydrosmart works by a mechanism known to physicists as cyclotron resonance. This preferentially affects charged particles (minerals) that would normally bind together because of their opposite charges. Resonance forces oppositely charged particles to move apart, so redissolving minerals. Dissolved minerals are much more active in biological processes than undissolved or partly dissolved minerals are.

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Case study: Cibo Espresso (more than 30 cafés across five states) Water for the perfect cup...

When Cibo Espresso started expanding and opening stores in different locations, Roberto Cardone, the company chairman, started to notice the quality of the coffee wasn’t always meeting the high expectations of flavour and consistency.

“After many heated discussions with our coffee roaster Tony D’Angelo it became apparent the water was different in each suburb,” said Cardone. “Paul Pearce from The Pure Water Shop approached Tony and picked up on the fact that our coffee was different at each store, even though the coffee blend was the same, the machines were the same and even the milk supply was the same.

“He explained to Tony who in turn explained to me about his Hydro-smart Water System which could deliver the same consistent water quality to each store through its computerized programming system.

“Well we had already tried most water systems from reverse osmosis, carbon filters, water softeners and then water hardeners. So with Paul’s persistence he allowed us to trial the Hydro-smart. It was almost too good to be true so I asked if I could trial it… just to make sure.

“It definitely worked and now all our Cibo Espresso stores have Hydrosmart water conditioners in them. The Hydrosmart system breaks down the mineral crystals in the water.

This process stops the particles attaching themselves to the elements and prevents scale build up, which gives the coffee machine better performance.

“I find the coffee machines work more efficiently and need less regular full services. And of course the water is of a consistent quality throughout all of our stores.

“Cibo Espresso’s coffee has a reputation for its quality and consistency and it is thanks to people like Paul who is passionate about water as I am about coffee that helps Cibo Espresso achieve this.

“Hydrosmart, just one of the secrets to the success of Cibo Espresso.”

EXTREME CLIMATE CONDITIONS Using Hydrosmart allows for longevity in current and ever changing climate conditions. Hydrosmart is leading the way to provide the viticulture industry and many others a cost effective water treatment alternative which is completely sustainable, chemical free and environmentally friendly.

SALINITY Early research into cyclotron resonance demonstrated it affects sodium chloride, the chemical compound responsible for salinity in groundwater. Hydrosmart technology deliberately targets this dissolved salt, decreasing its potency, and so resolving the many problems associated with irrigation using groundwater. Hydrosmart has consistently proven its ability to enable healthy growth of a wide variety plants in water with salinity levels that are normally considered toxic.

SOIL TYPES The benefits of Hydrosmart technology have been demonstrated across the country, in a variety of soil types and salinity levels, over more than a decade. The process is not only effective but sustainable. Salinity levels in the soil under the drippers decreases year by year and vintners are reporting the best crops ever harvested in their vineyards. both in terms of grape quality and tonnage.

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November 2015 – Issue 622

ANTI-CORROSION Hydrosmart was originally developed as an anti-corrosion technology, which continues to be one of its strengths. By breaking transient bonds, Hydrosmart dissolves minerals more thoroughly and for longer than in untreated water. The resulting effective hydration of minerals, means they are less reactive and their corrosion activity is neutralised, saving your irrigation infrastructure.

YOUR IRRIGATION IN ACTION Hydrosmart’s computer generated resonance frequencies provide de-scaling and scale prevention, without use of chemicals. It does this by decreasing mineral particle size, effectively preventing scale from forming.

Minerals in their altered state remain present in water for several days and progressively break down any already existing scale, by breaking bonds in the scale. The first bonds to be broken are those between the pipe work and the scale.

Scale can sometimes break off in lumps and flow towards the end of the irrigation system, making it important to flush out the broken down scale during the first few weeks of the de-scaling process.

After being treated with Hydrosmart, minerals remain in the flow as non-bonding particles that will pass through any dripper, filter or spray nozzle bigger than 4 microns. As such these become a bio-available plant nutrient.

Treating an irrigation system with Hydrosmart provides considerable savings in maintenance costs relating to labour and associated consumables, as well as ensuring even irrigation to individual blocks and rows.

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY Significant improvements in plant growth have been observed, whenever Hydrosmart is used to treat irrigation systems. Essential minerals in the water such as calcium, magnesium and potassium which are essential for healthy plant growth are now hydrated sufficiently to be easily absorbed into the plant. Calcium is made more available and so is easily transported throughout the plant, eliminating growing problems, whilst significantly improving fresh weight, taste, colour and shelf life.

Other more conventional treatments require the use of acid which can end up in the soil harming the ecology and interfering with plant root function. By contrast, with Hydrosmart there are no potentially harmful additions to the soil.

Efficient transpiration within the plants causes sugars to readily generated and easily mobilized. For similar reasons, an increase in the plant’s resistance to disease and insect damage is observed. Many vineyards using Hydrosmart treatment to de-scale irrigation equipment, are reporting significant increases in Brix and Baume levels allowing the fruit to be picked on the full with greater harvest tonnages.

Case study: Pooley Wines, Tasmania Pooley Wines has received plenty of accolades in the past few years, including the Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania 2012 Vineyard of the Year. Matthew Pooley said part of the application and assessment process for this award involved demonstrating the innovation and sustainability within the vineyards.

“We were seen to be really innovative and had considered a lot of areas in this category,” said Matthew. “One of the leading and standout solutions to a problem that we were facing (being salinity), the Hydrosmart really was an innovative and impressed the judges immensely with the fact we are having success in so many areas with this device. For example, early ripening, healthy vine growth, good yield in tough conditions, and great flavour development in our fruit, both for contracted fruit and our own label.”

Hydrosmart is a scientifically proven and truly sustainable way to prevent scale and enhance plant growth. You will enjoy the benefits of softened water across your entire operation.

Trials conducted in Australia and New Zealand by PhD qualified scientists have demonstrated a reduction in mineral particle sizes provides descaling and softening, and a highly significant growth advantage to living plants under treatment.

For more information visit www.hydrosmart.com.au.

1 Marlow Road, Keswick, SA 5035 P: (08) 8351 8611 F: (08) 7225 1993 E: info@eclipseenterprises.com.au - www.eclipseenterprises.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

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grapegrowing

Grapegrowers and public figures raise a glass to the expanded capacity of Barossa Infrastructure Ltd.

Access to extra water MORE WATER will be available for Barossa grapegrowers through the expanded capacity of Barossa Infrastructure Ltd (BIL). An additional 1.7 gigalitres of irrigation water per annum will be made available in response to demand resulting from the drier conditions experienced in the region in recent years.

It is expected that more than 80 businesses in the Barossa, mostly existing and smaller BIL customers, will benefit.

At the recent announcement of the expansion Rob Chapman, the BIL chairman, said the company’s charter is to “deliver quality water, in environmentally sustainable quantities at the lowest long term water price, to drought proof Barossa vineyards”.

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“The company is owned by its customers and it is pleasing that Minister Hunter, Minister for Sustainability and Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, and Minister for Climate Change, broke into his busy schedule to travel to the Barossa to celebrate this significant achievement with those customers who have taken up the extra water.”

An event to celebrate the announcement was held at the Schild Estate Winery in Lyndoch and hosted by Ed Schild, a BIL director. Guests included BIL customers who will get access to water as part of the expansion as well as Jim McGuire, SA Water general manager for commercial and business development; Stephan Knoll, State Member for Schubert; Nick Champion, Federal Member for Wakefield; the mayors of the Barossa and Light Regional Councils, Bill O’Brien and Bob Sloane; and Ivan Venning, RDA Barossa chair.

Since it was established in 1998, tBIL has constructed 190 kilometres of pipeline and installed pumping stations and other infrastructure necessary to provide supplementary irrigation water to more than 350 Barossa vineyards. The distribution area covers 450 square kilometres.

Barossa Infrastructure Ltd (BIL) is an unlisted public company that accesses water via a connection to the Warren Reservoir, supplemented with water from the River Murray.

SA Water is provided with irrigation water rights sourced from the River Murray for the amount of water supplied to Barossa Infrastructure. This water comes from Water Access Entitlements either purchased or in the form of long term leases and annual Water Allocations purchased on the market.

BIL has also sought alternative water sources in the interests of sustainability of viticulture in the Barossa. During 2010, in cooperation with the Barossa Council, a scheme to reuse treated effluent from Nuriootpa Community Waster water Management Scheme will be commissioned. This represents about four per cent of demand.

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56 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Since it was established in 1998, Barossa Infrastructure Ltd has constructed 190 kilometres of pipeline and installed pumping stations and other infrastructure necessary to provide supplementary irrigation water to more than 350 Barossa vineyards. The distribution area covers 450 square kilometres.

www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

Winery wastewater a viable water source for vineyards UC Davis scientists have assessed winery wastewater samples and conclude that, under the right conditions, wastewater is a viable irrigation source.

MAKING WINE REQUIRES water beyond what it takes to grow grapes.

There are bottles to wash, barrels to scrub and floors to clean. But what if the water left over from all that cleaning was treated and reused to irrigate vineyards?

It sounds like a promising practice, especially during a drought, but would it hurt the vines, the soil or even the wine?

To find out, scientists at the University of California, Davis, assessed winery wastewater samples monthly over two years at 18 wineries in the Napa and Lodi regions of California. In two recently published studies, they conclude that, under the right conditions, winery wastewater is a viable water source to irrigate vineyards.

The research provides the first data to support the California wine industry’s reuse of treated winery wastewater, and it describes recommended conditions for the practice, with a focus on salinity.

“This is a good baseline data set to look at and say, ‘Now we know what’s in our wastewater and what we can do to deal with it before we put it on the grapes’,” said lead author and UC Davis researcher Maya Buelow. “Vines are a high cash crop, and growers need to proceed with caution and gather site-specific soil and

wastewater data, but there are wineries successfully doing this.”

SALT WATER SOLUTION? Most wineries in the study were already doing a good job of treating their wastewater through a series of retention ponds and other treatment systems. Salts, however, remain a challenge.

Salt concentrations affect how water moves through the soil. Salts are usually introduced into the wastewater by cleaning agents, and they are not removed by treatment systems.

However, the study found levels of salts at the wineries were usually below thresholds for most wine grape rootstocks and soil salinity hazards. There’s also a trend within to switch from sodiumbased to potassium-based cleaners. The study examined the risks and benefits of such a shift for specific soil types. The scientists emphasise further research is needed to develop best management guidelines, but their results indicate that: • Soils dominated by montmorillonite, a clay mineral, could benefit from shifting to potassium-based cleaners; • Both types of cleaners may negatively affect soils dominated by vermiculite; and

• Neither type of cleaner reduced infiltration rates in soils with kaolinite, also a clay mineral.

NOT JUST GRAPES “This is very applicable to nearly every agricultural system out there,” Buelow said. Many other segments of the food industry produce significant amounts of wastewater, such as dairy, pig, poultry and food processing operations. “There are opportunities for them to reuse wastewater, as well,” she said.

The winery wastewater survey was published in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture. Co-authors include Lucas Silva and Sanjai J. Parikh of UC Davis and Kerri Steenwerth of USDA/ARS. The article is available online http://www.ajevonline.org/ content/early/2015/06/12/ajev.2015.14110. abstract.

The salinity and soil study was published in the journal Agriculture Water Management. It was funded by the Kearney Foundation, as well as the Henry A. Jastro-Shields Scholarship, and co-authored by Steenwerth and Parikh.

This article is available online http:// www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/ pii/S0378377415000244.

Effective water treatment for : • Dripper Scale pe sc • Pipe scale

• Salinity • Iron scale nopy gr • Canopy growth • Brix & Baume

www.hydrosmart.com.au

1300 138 223 I am happy to recommend use of Hydrosmart to any grower considering adapting it to their site’s water as it has added real value to our business. After using it for well over a decade we plan using Hydrosmart on all d’Arenberg bores well into the next successful decade of growing and winemaking.

- Giulio Dimasi Viticulturalist / Grower Relations d’Arenberg Osborn Road McLaren Vale SA November 2015 – Issue 622

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Ready, set, no...

Fertilisers & Nutrition

What can be learned from the poor fruit set that has plagued coastal California this season?

Mark Greenspan has more than 25 years of scientific viticulture research and viticultural field experience.

He specialises in irrigation and nutrition management, yield and canopy management, vineyard climate and microclimate, vineyard design and vineyard technology. He is the founder of Advanced Viticulture, Inc. based in Windsor, California (www.advancedvit.com) and in this article he looks at the issues that can affect fruit set.

Ths article first appeared in US Wine Business Monthly in September and is used here with permission.

GROWERS HAVE HAD IT pretty good the past few years in California, with solid yields and rising prices. We could discuss how those solid yields for those years have caused some excess wine inventory, leading to reduced demand for fruit and softening grape prices.

But we won’t. Not this time anyway.

Those things have happened, but growers are grumpy over what looks like a light crop this year and fretting over their abundance of skeletal clusters with few, if undeveloped, berries.

Indeed, poor set seems to be the rule rather than the exception for the 2015 season. A strange year for sure, with early budbreak and relatively warm temperatures following budbreak, which led to phenology about three weeks ahead of normal.

I think growers were booking their Caribbean cruises for October when the month of May took a cool turn, causing the phenological clock to almost freeze in its tracks. Bloom to set seemed to take a whole month, and we observed unopened flowers and set fruit on the same vines, seemingly weeks apart in their development.

I’m afraid this will carry through to harvest, where there will be large disparities in ripeness among clusters, often mitigated by green drop fruit thinning late into veraison.

FLOWERING AND FRUIT SET TERMINOLOGY Bloom to fruit set is a complex series of processes.

Cultivated grapes are largely self-pollinating, and flowers are hermaphroditic, so they do not rely on bees or male pollinator vines to produce their fruit.

The grape flower consists of a female part, the pistil, containing the ovary and its ovules, with a filamentous stigma that exudes a sticky substance used to attach the pollen grains.

The male stamens, of which there are usually five, have at their tips the anthers, each of which produces about 20,000 pollen grains.

Most of the pollen grains are not viable, but those that are and that land on the stigma may germinate. Emerging from the germinated pollen grain is the pollen tube, which grows into the stigma and through the pistil, eventually reaching the ovaries and ovules.

The pollen tube releases the male gamete cells, which fertilise the ovule, eventually to form a seed. Not all ovaries become fertilised and develop into seeds. If they did, clusters may be too compact, causing ‘push-outs’ and maybe even rupturing berries, increasing likelihood of disease.

Coulure is a general term used to refer to fruit that fails to set.

Also called ‘shatter’, the unfertilised ovaries abscise and simply die, producing tiny, hard specks of dead ovary material, which usually falls off with gentle movement.

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A little shatter is normal. A lot of it is heartbreaking.

We typically walk the vineyard and brush the clusters with our hands to shake off the coulure. This year, our palms were speckled with those damn things.

Millerandage is the condition where the ovary gets fertilised but aborts, and the seed fails to develop. Some berries fail to mature, staying hard and green. These are called shot berries.

Others will maintain a seed trace, which allows the berry to mature, though usually at a different rate as the seeded berries.

The result is that clusters have small berries, usually mixed with normal ones, creating the ‘hens and chicks’ condition (I have colleagues that refer to it as ‘peas and pumpkins’).

Some winemakers like this, especially in Pinot Noir, as it can add a layer of complexity to the vintage. But the millerandage condition reduces yields, sometimes tremendously, and the seedless berries seem to be more tender and are prone to splitting, causing issues with Botrytis closer to harvest.

The 2015 vintage seemed to feature both coulure and millerandage. Hard to say which condition was more common this year. My observation was that coulure was most common in Cabernet Sauvignon, which got absolutely hammered by shatter all over the place, just as the market for Cabernet Sauvignon was heating up for growers. Go figure.

Pinot Noir seemed to be affected by millerandage. It’s going to define this vintage in many ways for that variety.

These two varieties seemed to be the most affected, though

May Average Daily Temperature °F

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Causes of Poor Fruit Set

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2010

November 2015 – Issue 622

There are numerous factors that affect fruit set. The top three factors in

F S T R

they are also the two I observe mostly. I saw and heard about it affecting other varieties as well, and the more coastal locations seemed like they got hit the worst, mostly in Pinot Noir.

CAUSES OF POOR FRUIT SET There are numerous factors that affect fruit set. The top three factors in order are: 1. Temperature; 2. Temperature; and 3. Temperature.

But before I discuss those top three, let me cover a few other factors.

Disease: Most plant diseases do not cause poor set, but the fanleaf virus causes severe shatter and millerandage. Combine this with a year of poor fruit set and you have to search through the vines to find any fruit.

11 |12 | 2015 U NAPA

Water status: Vines that experience water status will not set well and will exhibit severe shatter (not millerandage). In California, 2015 High-level, Provocative Seminars featured a rather severe drought, forcing some vineyards, even in the North Coast, to irrigate prior to bloom. That said, most with Industry Experts North Coast vineyards that I saw had ample moisture going in to bloom and set.

So, poor fruit set was unlikely due to dry soils in most Concept featuring circumstances. However, evenBar while soils had ample moisture available to the vines, the upper profiles of unirrigated vineyards Innovative Technology had fairly dry soils in the upper 30-60cm, which is where most of the available nutrients lie. This brings me to nutrition.

Wine Trials and Blending Sessions Nutrition: The most generic way to say this is that fruit set depends on vine nutrition. Nutrients in good balance will promote Exclusive Viticulture Enology good fruit set.

The usual culprits are&nitrogen and a few micronutrients. Nitrogen is a nutrient commonly maligned as Exhibition causing shatter when at excessively high levels in the vine.

However, low nitrogen can also cause problems with fruit set, so it is not as simple as avoiding nitrogen supplementation.

My feeling is that high nitrogen is associated with (and Register at ROOTSTOCKNAPA.COM often the cause of) excessive vegetative vigor. When shoots grow vigorously, the carbohydrates produced in the leaves are shuttled towards the growing shoot tip.

A less rapidly expanding shoot tip will allow carbohydrates PREMIERE PARTNER to be divided between the shoot tip and the remainder of the shoot, including the inflorescence.

One should be less concerned about nitrogen level as they should be about vegetative vigour.SPONSORS PLATINUM Micronutrients are also involved withBuilders fruit set. Boron and Agri-Analysis, Central Valley Duarte Nursery, ETS Laboratories

Micronutrients are also involved with fruit set. Boron and zinc deficiencies are most commonly associated with poor fruit set, and their deficiencies produce millerandage in the clusters. Application of B and Zn are usually made foliarly and a couple of weeks prior to bloom to ensure they are at adequate levels for set. Molybdenum has been shown to improve fruit set, primarily in Merlot but likely also in other varieties. Mo is a cofactor in many biochemical processes in the nitrogen metabolism of the vine. A shortage of Mo can cause excessive is rarely tested in tissue tests it is zinc deficiencies areshatter. most It commonly associated withbecause poor fruit set, and their deficiencies produce millerandage the clusters. found in very low concentrations, so we sometimes apply itin foliarly just as a Application of Very B and are usually made matter of course. littleZn is needed, and it is fairly foliarly cheap. and a couple of weeks prior to bloom to ensure they are at adequate levels Weather factors: Rainfall during bloom and set will usually disrupt the for set. Molybdenum (Mo) has been shown to improve fruit set, process, especially whenbut it occurs persistently.

The rainfall itself is probably primarily in Merlot likely also in other varieties. notMo the is cause.

It is unlikely rainbiochemical drops wash away pollen from a cofactor in that many processes in the the flowers. Rather, rain is usually by cool weather nitrogen metabolism of theaccompanied vine. A shortage of Mo and cancloudy, cause low-light conditions. and tested cool temperatures that in ait excessive shatter. Low It islight rarely in tissue(more tests on because minute) reduce photosynthesis in the leaves, thereby reducing carbohydrate is found in very low concentrations, so we sometimes apply it levels in just the vine. level is a critical component of fruit set, foliarly as a Carbohydrate matter of course. so anything that reduces its level will affect fruit set in the negative direction.

Rainfall factors: and high humidity seem also to cause caps to stick. Stuck Weather caps reduce the ability for anthersand to separate and release pollen.

Hens and Rainfall during bloom set will usually disrupt the chicks often follow stuckwhen caps, and the sticking cap can leaveThe a residue on process, especially it occurs persistently. rainfall the berry—something wethe sawcause. regularly this year. itself is probably not Likewise, windy conditions, during bloomwash and set,away will invariably It is unlikely that rain drops pollen cause from poor flowers. set. The reason for this is notisclear to me, but it could be that the Rather, rain usually accompanied bypollen cool simply blows away.

But, more likely it isconditions. that the wind Low closes light the leafand stomata, weather and cloudy, low-light cool temperatures on thatand, in awell, minute) reduce photosynthesis thereby reducing(more photosynthesis carbohydrates. in the leaves, thereby reducing carbohydrate levels in the vine.

Carbohydrate level is a critical component of fruit set, so anything that reduces its level will affect fruit set in the negative direction.

May Degree Days with baseline 59° F

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64 September 2015 WBM

DON’T FREEZE YOUR ASSETS THIS SPRING Hit back at Frost with Stoller’s proven 2 step recovery program.

Step 1: Apply Bio-Forge and Zinc Chelate (immediately after Frost) Step 2: Follow up with Foliar treatment of Stoller Foli-Zyme and Zinc Chelate (5 days later)

CALL 1800 FERTILISER WWW.STOLLER.COM.AU November 2015 – Issue 622

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grapegrowing Rainfall and high humidity seem also to cause caps to stick. Stuck caps reduce the ability for anthers to separate and release pollen. Hens and chicks often follow stuck caps, and the sticking cap can leave a residue on the berry—something we saw regularly this year.

Likewise, windy conditions, during bloom and set, will invariably cause poor set.

The reason for this is not clear to me, but it could be that pollen simply blows away.

But, more likely it is that the wind closes the leaf stomata, thereby reducing photosynthesis and, well, carbohydrates.

Temperature: This is the big one.

Fruit set seems to be very sensitive to temperature, and in the North Coast, weather during bloom and fruit set can be quite variable. High temperatures can cause poor set, but more commonly it is low temperatures that are to blame.

Temperature affects fruit set in many ways. Indirectly, it affects photosynthesis as mentioned above.

So, low temperatures reduce carbohydrate status of the shoots and inflorescences.

But low temperatures also directly affect the pollination and fertilisation processes.

Growth of the pollen tube is very sensitive to temperature, growing faster at higher temperatures, maxing out at about 28°C. At temperatures below 15°C, pollen tube growth is slowed so much that it simply runs out of energy before reaching the ovule. Failure of pollen tubes to reach the ovule causes shatter.

Low temperatures may contribute to the abortion of fertilised ovules, causing the millerandage condition.

WHY WAS SET SO BAD IN 2015?

Well, largely, it was simply due to the very cool month of May. The early season led to bloom in late April and early May, and we were greeted with extremely cool weather during May here in the North Coast.

Figure 1 shows the average mean daily temperatures in May for 2000 to 2015 from the Windsor (Sonoma County) CIMIS weather station. This year was among the coolest of that time period, beat only by 2010 and 2011. But the much earlier bloom this year meant that set occurred mostly during May, and not into June as is more normal.

But, more dramatic is when we look at a degree day with a baseline of 15°C (59°F) for the month of May (Figure 2).

Why that temperature? See above regarding pollen tube growth. When we look at it this way, we see that 2015 had the absolute lowest heat summation base (15°C) in May over the last 16 years. The only year close was 2011. This was clearly the most contributing factor to the shatter and hens and chicks condition of the clusters this year, as well as the prolonged period of bloom and set, even within the same vine.

Some growers have asked me what they could have done differently so that they could have avoided this condition.

Aside from providing vines with ample water and nutrition, there was little, if anything, growers could do to avoid the poor set. Who knows what is to come with regard to changing climate.

Is this an aberration or a long-term change? I suggest that it is just one of those things we have to live with. It’s part of the gamble farmers take every year. Reduce risk through mineral nutrition and water but prepare for years like this.

Maybe it will bring the market back into balance.

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November 2015 – Issue 622

Product Update

Cost-effective downy mildew control for a warm wet spring AVERAGE to warmer-than-average day and night temperatures are predicted for November to January in most Australian wine-growing areas. Combined with forecast higherthan-average rainfall in southwest Western Australia, growers in that region will be on the alert for downy mildew.

These predictions reflect the combination of a strong El-Nino in the Pacific and a very warm Indian Ocean. Growers in Tasmania and South Australia to the west of Adelaide can expect average rainfall, with drier-than-average conditions in south-eastern Australian growing areas.

One of the most economically important diseases in viticulture – causing reduced yield and loss of berry and wine quality – downy mildew requires a rain or irrigation event for infection. Wet, humid conditions are perfect for its development and ultimate attack on all green parts of the vine, arresting photosynthesis and preventing fruit from ripening.

Because cultivated grapevines have no natural genetic resistance to downy mildew, the only methods growers have to control this pathogen are canopy and bunch management, disease forecasting and monitoring, and timely use of fungicides.

Crop Care researcher David Hughes said with the forecast for warm spring-summer, canopy management to maximise air movement and reduce the potential for humidity and leaf wetness is advised - along with manipulating the crop load to reduce bunch congestion and improve spray penetration.

“Downy mildew is best recognised by circular yellow oilspots on younger leaves; in favourable conditions, white down will develop on the underside of these spots.

“Young bunches are highly susceptible (until berries are at least pea size), so good control of primary infection is important to minimise the risk of explosive secondary infection, which can happen overnight. Based on weather and disease-risk forecasting, spray timing is critical – with pre-infection fungicide sprays as close as possible before infection, and postinfection sprays as soon as possible after infection.”

Hughes said this season growers had another low-cost, very effective multi -site fungicide to include in their fungicide rotation – the quality dithianon product Dragon 700WG. “The recommended use rate for Dragon has been halved to 25g/100L for downy mildew – offering a commercially viable control alternative to the common fungicides such as copper and Mancozeb. A strong inhibitor of spore germination, only a small amount of Dragon is required to control target diseases.”

Hughes said Crop Care had undertaken several years’ research in Australian vineyards to determine Dragon’s effectiveness against grapevine downy mildew at lower application rates.

“Extensive trials were conducted over three seasons in Queensland, Victorian and South Australian vines, and on a range of grape varieties known to be prone to developing the disease. During a wet season in the Yarra Valley, a trial of Dragon 700WG at 25g/100L provided very good reduction in downy mildew severity under high disease pressure.

“The performance was repeated in following years at Stanthorpe in Queensland, the Yarra Valley in Victoria and Loxton in South Australia on several varieties including Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay At all sites Dragon 700WG at the low rate of 25g/100L controlled November 2015 – Issue 622

both bunch and vine downy mildew as well as higher rates.”

He said Dragon 700WG was the only M9 fungicide registered for controlling downy mildew in grapevines at 25g/100L, providing an additional, affordable and effective fungicide for resistance management.

“Dragon has an excellent IPM profile, while other protectant fungicides – such as those based on mancozeb – are known to have a damaging effect on a range of predatory mites that assist in managing bud mites and rust mites in vines. Dragon is also soft on bees and earthworms. Its excellent rainfastness also protects vines longer in wet conditions than most other alternatives, and may allow growers to reduce the amount of copper applied in any season.”

Dragon 700WG is also an effective, useful control for black spot and phomopsis in grapevines. For downy mildew Crop Care recommends that Dragon be applied when shoots are 10cm long, prior to infection occurring.

While conditions permit infection, application can continue at seven to 10 day intervals in wet weather, decreasing to 21-day intervals in dry weather.

To protect bunches apply during flowering and seven to 10 days later, then every 10-21 days as above.

Protection for your plants from excessive heat and drying winds.

WiltNot™ is non-toxic, ph neutral, biodegradable and easy to apply.

Provides a wrap around elastic polymer shield, covering the complete surface of leaves and stems.

Available in 5Ltr, 20Ltr and 200Ltr drums.

When to use WiltNot™?

Expected results:

During exposure to high temperature, a plants root system may not be able to absorb water rapidly enough to equal the amount lost by transpiration through the leaves even if adequate amounts of moisture are available in the soil. Evidence of heat stress may be observed as: • Wilted or flaccid I limp leaves • Dropping of blooms or flowers • In prolonged exposure there may be a dropping of leaves.

Slows transpiration to more evenly correspond to the ability of the roots to collect and absorb moisture.

• May increase retention of sugars in fruits as grapes, apples and citrus.

• Serves as an aid to reduce sunburn damage on sensitive plants.

• Provides a protective shied against excessive wind drying.

• A higher survival rate for transplants by providing a protective coating while root hairs develop.

For your local distributor contact: Yates Sales Support: 1300 132 153

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grapegrowing

Bird Control

Photo credit – Guy Draper

Attracting brids of prey to help with pest control GRAPEGROWERS could attract certain types of birds to their properties to help deter other pest species. While native birds of prey won’t necessarily be the free and quick solution to prevent bird damage in vineyards, attracting the predators could be an interesting addition to the strategy.

Referring to your local family of barn owls as ‘vineyard beneficials’ seems kinda cool – and we don’t even have to mention how appropriate a Tawny Frog Mouth could be.

Advice from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in the US suggest the introduction to barn owl boxes,

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kestrel boxes and raptor perches could be part of a “multifaceted solution to pest control” that could include other conventional methods, netting and audible deterrents for example.

The NRCS said barn owls and kestrels are relatively easy to attract to farmland by installing nest boxes. Nesting pairs of predatory birds focus their hunting near the nests and will capture increased amounts of prey for their growing chicks.

These species are easy to attract with nest boxes because natural nesting cavities may be difficult to find.

While owls primarily prey on nocturnal rodents, they are known to kill and stockpile more prey than needed. Kestrels, formerly known as sparrow hawks, will hunt large insects, such as grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and moths, as well as small mammals and birds.

Attracting birds of prey may also help with avian pests, such as starlings, by changing their behaviour. The presence of predators nearby may make the pests more cautious and less likely to come into the area to feed.

There are many small details that will make a nest box more suitable to attract and fledge birds. Important factors include the number and location of boxes, timing of box set up, predation and competition, management of the area around the box, and box design.

significantly reduced by putting conical predator guards on the wooden post below the nest box, using metal poles, and locating the box away from branches where predators can enter the boxes. Competition for nest boxes from other species can also reduce the value of the boxes. Nest boxes mimic natural cavities, which are valuable nesting and cover sites for many species, so they may attract non-target wildlife.

NUMBER OF BOXES

PERCHES AND SNAGS

Rarely will all the installed nest boxes be occupied on a given year. It is recommended that you put up at least twice as many boxes as the number of nests desired.

Territoriality, availability of resources, and numerous other factors determine which boxes and how many boxes will be occupied. The idea of putting up more boxes is based upon giving the birds options to determine which sites best suit their needs.

If a box is not used the first year, wait a few more years to see if it becomes occupied. If a box is consistently not used for a number of years, the location should be changed. For barn owls, the recommended density is up to one box per five to 10 acres, and for kestrels, the recommended density is up to one box per 10 acres.

This density is recommended for areas with ideal habitat and a serious pest problem.

Snags, which are standing dead trees, are important for many types of wildlife. Snags provide cavities for nesting birds and other wildlife, and perching sites for many species of birds. It is important to maintain natural snags whenever possible.

Plentiful perching sites are important for attracting bird of prey. Artificial snags and perches can also be installed to benefit wildlife. Materials can be dead trees or branches, or

MANAGEMENT OF BOXES Boxes should be cleaned and repaired annually to maintain the attractiveness to birds. If occupied, the boxes should not be disturbed during nesting season, since disturbance could result in nest abandonment. Normal farming operations are usually compatible with nesting barn owls and kestrels.

DESIGN AND INSTALLATION Be aware there are many inappropriate designs for these nest boxes on the internet. There are boxes for purchase on the internet and at some home stores, or you can build your own.

Ideally boxes are located on wooden or metal poles, but can be installed on other existing structures if safe from predation (see above). Wood shavings are often added to the boxes to increase their attractiveness to potential nesting birds.

Exid

LOCATION AND HEIGHT OF BOXES Boxes should be put up in areas with clear flight access, preferably away from stands of large trees. Barn owl boxes should face south or east to avoid the heat of the afternoon sun and be 4.5 to 9 metres high, and kestrel boxes should face east or south and be 3.5 to 6 metres high. Boxes should be set up as far away from busy roads as possible, since raptors may get hit by cars while hunting.

TIMING Barn Owls begin selecting nesting territories at the end of winter, but may take until early autumn to fledge their chicks.

Kestrels begin selecting nesting territories later in spring and may not fledge until toward the end of summer. Set nest boxes up in the selected areas by the beginning of the nesting season.

PREDATION AND COMPETITION Owls and kestrels are predators, but can also be preyed upon by other animals. Their eggs and chicks may also be eaten. It is important to minimise predation to the extent possible. Other predators can also have beneficial roles in pest control, so it is important to not try to eliminate them, only to minimise their effect on the nesting barn owls and kestrels. Effects from terrestrial predators (including snakes and cats) can be November 2015 – Issue 622

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63

grapegrowing wooden or metal posts. Artificial perches should be 3 to 9 meters high, and benefit from a small crossbar (30cm to 1m).

Different heights and structures will attract different species, so a variety is ideal. Kestrels show a preference for perching on fence lines and wires. Installing wire perches, where perching wires are not already present, may attract hunting kestrels.

Bayer’s Farm Advisor website has also explored this topic and has offered some extra areas to consider in this Q&A: Where do I put the nest boxes?

Put the boxes up wherever it is convenient for you. They can go in trees, on posts out in the field, on the wall of a building.

Each site has positive and negative points. In trees, the birds of prey will receive some protection from the elements, but the young will be exposed to predators. On a post, the young will be protected from most predators, but the box may get hot during a heat wave. On a building, whatever is below the box will probably get splattered with fecal matter.

Where should I not put the nest boxes?

Don’t put nest boxes above locations where vehicles or equipment is parked.

Outside your bedroom window is not a good idea either, because the young birds of prey can compete very noisily each time the adults return to the nest with food.

Owls prefer not to hunt in the area of their nest box so as not to attract the attention of potential predators. Multiple nest boxes in this vicinity will solve this problem because the hunting areas of the different nesting pairs will overlap.

Will routine farm operations bother birds of prey?

No, regular farm activity will not bother them as long as the box or the post is not bumped. In most cases they will remain quietly inside the nest box.

How many nest boxes do I need?

Six boxes across 50 acres is a good start. Figure you have

enough nest boxes when 20 to 30% are not being used at any time during the year.

If I put up several nest boxes in the same field, will the owls’ territorial instincts cause conflicts?

Barn owls are not considered to be very territorial. The number of owls you attract is a product of the number of rodents in your field and the number of nest sites they can find in your area. This means that you can erect as many nest boxes as you have space for. And the more nesting pairs of owls you attract, the more rodents you will get rid of.

Do I need to do anything special once I attract the barn owls?

In general, leave the nest boxes alone.

Can I peek in my boxes to check on the owls?

It is always best to leave the owls in your nest boxes alone.

This is especially true while the hen is sitting on the eggs, during January February or March. Scaring her away at this time may result in her refusal to return. When the chicks have hatched, you can safely peek in to see how many you have without worrying whether the parents will return.

What do I do if I find a young owl on the ground?

The chances are that the youngster’s parents know where it is and they are probably taking care of it, so unless the owl is injured or in danger, just leave it alone. If the owl appears to be hurt or is potentially threatened, take it to your nearest raptor rehabilitation centre.

How do I capture a grounded barn owl?

To capture the barn owl, you will need a sheet, a pair of heavy gloves and a paper grocery bag. Start by throwing the sheet over the owl. Wearing the gloves, grab the owl by both legs just above the feet while the bird is still covered with the sheet. Remove the sheet and turn the owl upside down. Put it into a paper grocery bag and fold the top of the bag over to keep the bird inside.

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Photo credit – Guy Draper

64 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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November 2015 – Issue 622

winemaking

The early days of the John-family cooperage were connected with Chateau Tanunda.

Skill and tenacity Five significant milestones for the AP John cooperage Five generations of skilled coopers. Five eras of Australian winemaking. 125 years of the John family cooperage and 170 years since the family arrived in the Barossa. Peter John reflects on his journey in the family business and the wine industry in this interview with Nathan Gogoll.

CONSIDERING Peter John’s earliest memories of the cooperage were “nothing but abject difficulty” the list of milestones the John family business can celebrate is incredible.

“That has totally de-romanced the whole subject from the get-go,” said Peter. But he points out “the simple, hard facts of the 50s and 60s and even the 70s were difficult times for the Australian wine industry”.

Yet this is the story of the cooperage responsible for the maturation of Australia’s most iconic wine, Penfolds Grange.

A cooperage that has such a strong reputation it buys oak from France and the US, seasons it, shapes it into barrels and sells these back to the countries that supplied the raw ingredient. It is Australia’s largest cooperage. So the AP John Coopers journey is a survival story… a story of adapting, keeping pace with the November 2015 – Issue 622

evolution of the Australian wine industry, staying alive and trying to remain one step ahead.

“And that’s really what this is all about, we’re a cooperage – a service supplier to the wine industry, but at the end of the day it’s the trials and tribulations of the wine industry that really affects where we’re at.”

In the 30s a crew of 50 people here were knocking 80 barrels per day out of a barrel that was 70 per cent hand-made, which is just incredible.

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Alex, Will and Peter John in the cooperage, with barrels being toasted around them.

Which brings us back to the “abject difficultly” part of the equation.

“As a kid, particularly through the 60s, the business itself had undergone 20-30 years of savage downturn,” said Peter.

“Mum and dad were battling to keep a business that they’d paid 10 other family members out of; had confronted the start of the shift away from fortifieds and the shift away from the use of a barrel as a transport and storage medium purely – you know the advent of stainless steel relacing that; and just the start of, a seed of an idea, the concept of Australia making premium dry varietals.

“If you think back to the 50s and 60s, Colin Gramp and Max Schubert and all their peers were saying they’d like to make some pretty smart, dry varietals. But the amount of oak that was being used as a maturation vessel in those days was very, very small. And still there was a leaning toward what we called ‘big wood’, 500 and 700 gallon vats.

“My memories were having fun coming in here, playing among the oak stacks and farting around on holidays as kids, helping out wherever you could, but the cooperage industry in those days was on the bones of its backside.

“But then there’s the memory of dad (Warren) being tenacious enough just to stick out at a craft which was all he knew what to do with his life. And then through being tenacious, lucking it in terms of timing and then a young fart like me coming in and saying ‘wow we can really ride this thing’. And we did. We know the history of the wine industry from there on and how we became part of that.”

LEARNING THE FAMILY TRADE

Along the way, from an early age, I started travelling with dad and working closely on the oak science that we just couldn’t get here. And that meant working with amazingly experienced people in the US and then France. So my education literally became, without the cliché, the street education – learning it on the run.

“As any good Barossa Deutsche boy did, you worked all your school holidays and weekends in the family business. As a teenager that probably brought a level of resentment, that ‘hang-on, I don’t know if I really want to be doing this’, but there was never any pressure for us to work, it was just the Barossa Germanic culture,” explained Peter.

“I studied at high school to be an aircraft engineer – that was my dream. But a little-town boy couldn’t confront the idea

66 Grapegrower & Winemaker

of having to go to off to Sydney. In those days you could get a traineeship and a degree through TAA or Ansett, those larger airlines, and learn in-house – just as a lot of winemakers did here in the Barossa, they worked for a winery and did their degree after hours at Roseworthy.

“I kind of looked at my cousins who were winemakers and thought ‘that would be fun’, because I could identify with that. So I was going to go to Roseworthy, but I suspect genetics involve themselves a lot and the John family, whether they were here in Tanunda or Light’s Pass, they had been viticulturists, winemakers or coopers. And I think when I was about 16 I was working every Saturday here, earning reasonably good money as well, and I just decided this really was for me. There was really no grand plan to it, I said to dad ‘I wouldn’t mind an apprenticeship’ and at the end of ’76 I came along and dad gleefully welcomed me.

“The rest, as they say, is history. We rode this 20-year wave in the up-surge of the Australian wine industry.”

RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

“It was a very fortunate time to, because the business had vacillated through boom and bust times,” said Peter. “You had that amazing boom time through the 20s and 30s where the big percentage of Australian fortifieds was exported back to the ‘Empire’. And a lot of what AP did here was to create what they called ‘one-trippers’, barrels to ship booze back to the ‘Empire’, which ended up coming back and doing a few trips – and you know a lot of those ‘one-trippers’ ended up at Seppeltsfield, by the fact they didn’t ship them, and they stayed there.

And in terms of the fortified vernacular, those barrels that were made in the 30s and 40s are still quite young barrels.”

When Peter joined the business he was hands on with the tools, but he was also thrust straight into the deep end of helping to steer the business in a dynamic period.

“At that stage, which was the very early 1980s, this industry was running and we were sprinting to keep up with it. In terms of what the next 10 years presented, the 99th percentile needed

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November 2015 – Issue 622

/Yaleasiapacific

@Yale_AP

winemaking

to be done here. For good or for bad there was just so much we could do in improving our systems, our supply chain and all that sort of stuff, to feed this growing monster.”

However, only half the job was to equip the cooperage to keep up with the workload.

“From an early age I started travelling with dad and working closely on the oak science that we just couldn’t get here. And that meant working with amazingly experienced people in the US and then France. So my education literally became, without the cliché, the street education – learning it on the run.

“I was very fortunate because we were growing from a very

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small base; everything I needed to know could be learnt on the run. Whether that was cooperage processes, business acumen, winemaking developments that fed in to developments of our products – everything was a constant work in process.”

Peter admits his early years in the business were incredibly exciting.

“My biggest complaint to dad used to be ‘how are we going to keep up?’. I’d happily have that complaint every day again now, because now it’s about how do we keep up with the complexity of the business as opposed to the opportunity of business.

“I think that highlights where the Aussie wine industry has gone. At one period through the mid 80s to the late 90s it was all about more, more, more and very often it was about more people throwing more money at doing the same thing.

“The basic criticism of those years was all we did was make bigger, richer, more slurpy reds – that’s probably an over-simplification, but you couldn’t argue with that. As the inevitable downturn came, we were already positioning ourselves as a supplier of oak to the industry to see that we didn’t become the same dinosaur.

“Any good supplier has to predicate themselves to a position that is prepared for where the next generation is going to go.

Clearly, a lot of great winemakers came out of that era who said ‘I’ll take a contrarian position, I’m not going to do what everybody else has done’. And when you look at the marketplace these days the consumer, the wine drinker, they are looking for something sophisticated that not everybody else is doing.

“Out of that whole era came the natural winemaking movement; the people who sit in the middle; the people who still follow the traditional styles that existed in the 90s; and everyone trying everything. So without trying to become the supplier that is everything to everyone, we have to be a lot more relevant to a lot broader percentage.

“It meant getting more hellishly involved in developing products, whether it was American or French oak, that suited the vinification method, the varietal and the outcomes the winemaker wanted. And that’s a lot more difficult position to take than just going along and feeding or stoking the fire that everyone had created.”

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68 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Understanding where the winemakers are going with their needs has been a big part of Peter’s journey within the cooperage.

“Being ahead of that curve, in terms of a supply chain that has four select areas in the US and four select areas in France, and having inventory seasoning up to three or four years ahead of time, and ensuring the research has been done – a lot of that

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November 2015 – Issue 622

started back in the 90s to ensure that we have a supply chain of raw material that will feed in to a cooperage technique that is aligned to a vinification philosophy that will at least hit the 80th percentile.

“And then having a toe in the door, or an audience, with that winemaking group to understand we do have relevance as opposed to just going to the nearest French coopers’ shop and importing all their needs.

“If you look at where we were in the 90s, in terms of what Australia generally was doing with Chardonnay…

Giaconda or Leeuwin Estate were kind of the polarised extremes. And they were creating more Burgundian Chardonnays – focussed, pure as opposed to bigger and more buttery – and you look at where Australian Chardonnay is today, one might argue that some styles have pushed the direction in the extreme and are too pure, too focussed, too lineal, but you know you have kind of got to go there to know where the middle of the room is.

“And if we were still creating oak products that only leaned heavily to the bigger and buttery, we just wouldn’t be around anymore.

“If you look at those emerging varietals, as opposed to alternative because I don’t like that term, and you look at the rise of Pinot – it has clearly been established there is some really kick-arse Pinot in Australia. Is it Premier Cru Burgundy? No it is not, but I think most people who are involved in Pinot long ago decided that where they benchmark themselves, in terms of a style against great Burgundian Pinot, they understand a given clone in a given place aint ever going to produce that. They understand we’ve got to be creating expressive Pinot and Australian Pinot, and let’s not be embarrassed by that. Just as Central Otago isn’t concerned how it’s benchmarked, its jack-and-smart Pinot.

November 2015 – Issue 622

“And the cooperage has to be able to service that. While in terms of critical mass, of volume of the market, that might only be one, two or five per cent or whatever it is but importantly, stylistically it’s where the market is going. You have to spend a lot of time working on that without turning your back on the core.

“I think at the end of the day here in this market, in Australia, the big end of town is still the core but arguably the style council drivers are all the little one and two percenters. And shit that’s hard work because it becomes very objective.

“You’ve got to say to yourself the mission plan in 10 years might be to have a presence, just a mere presence, in one of those demographics but in the first two, three or five years you might get more kicks in the arse out the door than you will get your toe in the door. You have got to be tenacious to get through that and say ‘okay, why did that happen, what were they looking for, where did we fail, where did we succeed and how can we build on that’.”

EVOLUTION OF THE COOPERAGE BUSINESS The John Family first settled in the Barossa in the 1840’s. Since then, five generations have continued an unbroken connection with viticulture, winemaking and cooperage.

The John family began the journey toward its own cooperage in 1896 when Paul Christian John was employed at the Adelaide Wine Company’s Chateau Tanunda as a contract cooper, although he had started his trade well before this.

Due to Australia’s inclusion in the Commonwealth, the Barossa at this time was widely known as the ‘Vineyard of the Empire’ – supplying fortified wines, as well as some dry red styles, to the domestic market and to the British Empire. Chateau Tanunda and family owned wineries such as the Gramps of Orlando, the Seppelt Family and the Smiths of Yalumba to name a few, processed fruit from their own estates but also from various growers within the region.

An excerpt from the book ‘Vineyard of the Empire’ mentions that from 1881 to 1891 South Australia was gripped by a ‘vine mania’ as the area of planted vines increased from 4’337 acres to 9’535 acres. By 1890 the first vintage in excess of a million gallons (4.55 million Litres) was recorded, of this 224,361 gallons was exported. When the new vineyards came into full bearing a ‘glut’ of wine was imminent as potential yields would far exceed the domestic consumption and exports combined. Necessity being the www.winetitles.com.au

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M333_DMA35_2010_BRIXBAUME_59x272Strip.indd 1 11/02/2014 14:05

winemaking

At one period through the mid 80s to the late 90s it was all about more, more, more and very often it was about more people throwing more money at doing the same thing. mother of invention, new markets were established, improved wine quality developed and a larger product range supplied. It was not only then, but also during World War I and the Great Depression, that the Australian Wine Industry as a focused group had to and certainly did, overcome adversity in these arduous times.

Christian Paul’s son Arthur Paul (after whom the business is named) continued in his father’s trade, established the original AP John cooperage on the current Chateau Tanunda site from whence it traded until moving to the current site, just across the road, in 1925.

“In the 30s a crew of 50 people here were knocking 80 barrels per day out, of a barrel that was 70 per cent hand-made, which is just incredible,” said Peter. “Today, with all the technology and machinery we have – admittedly with a crew of half, if we’re heading 110 per day we’re ecstatically happy. So the tenacity and the skills of the workers back then was amazing, because it was a really slogging job.”

FAMILY AND COMMUNITY “Obviously they were all locals and that community involvement stretched far and wide,” said Peter. “The John’s

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were always heavily involved in the arts and music – and half the employees were involved in the local (brass) band. I don’t know whether it was a rite of passage, or an obligation of employment, but there was a period though the 30s and 40s where dad used to argue if AP had spent more time running the cooperage and foreseeing the downturn, as opposed to writing manuscripts of music and doing transcripts in his little office, then the business might have been in a better position.

“That was very much a part of business here in the Barossa.

Whether it was sport, culture, food or wine – it was all intertwined.

“I guess that is what struck us when people said ‘you really have to do something for your 125th’.

“When you start boiling it down, it’s not the fact that we’ve been coopers, we’ve done 125 years, we’re successful – the analysis you do of how community has been involved across that time.

“Community was so much a part of the John family and this business; not just the Barossa, the whole Australian wine community provided an avenue for us to be successful – it was an opportunity, yeah, but we had to take it all the way along – and just living in this community made a helluva difference.

“I’ve always kinda philosophised, in particular when dad was alive, when you look at the families who ran the Burnside cooperage, or Schahinger or Babidge, those that were Adelaide based – what affect did that sense of community have on their businesses or vice versa. It’s very intangible, but I would argue that the overwhelming obligation that one brings to the other meant that it carried us through those tougher periods.

“To be centred in what logistically and culturally has been the centre of the Australian wine industry for a long, long time carries with it a big advantage there are no two ways about it.

It’s no different to being the central cooperage in Beaune in Burgundy, you are going to have to stuff up pretty badly not to be assured of some role within that industry.

“In terms of what we believe our obligation is in supporting the communities that support us, first and foremost there’s the Australian wine community and our involvement in sponsorships of many wine shows and marketing type things that are of benefit to the wine industry so we collectively benefit from. I think that’s not just a marketing position that is a philosophy.

“At any given time if we were to analyse what our direct commercial results are from that you would probably get a bean counter argue that it’s not really worth the money, well I tend to think otherwise because it’s about letting people know, as a family, what we’re all about. We have a vested interested in them being successful so we’re successful as well.

“The whole community thing washes with the family ethos and has been a big part of it.”

THE NEXT GENERATION Peter said the family ethos took on a whole new meaning when his own children showed an interest in the wine industry and in the cooperage itself.

“I suspect that’s what dad felt when I came along at age 16 and said ‘look I’m not going to go to university, I want to come and join you and get an apprenticeship’. Obviously his joy was palpable, but with our own children Catherine and I said ‘let’s push them as far away as we possibly can’ which is a bit more like that old European culture of go off, do something else, then if you’re really keen you will bring something else back with you.

“So both boys had to go off and get a degree, do something else. William, crazily, is chasing the winemaking degree and he’s all but there. All of these things are going to feed, very

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clearly, back into the business. I have no doubt that William will go off and do his winemaking and for 10 or 20 years, maybe the rest of his life, but that will feed inextricably back into what we do here in this business.

“Alex went off to uni and did his engineering and finance, and while I thought he’d go overseas for a while and bring something back, he just so desperately wanted to be doing this we relented and let him come into the business – and he’s doing a fantastic job of it.”

In the weeks leading up to the 125th milestone event, Alex actually was overseas getting some experience to bring back to Tanunda.

“He’s been in France doing a placement in another cooperage to see the different ways of skinning the cat and he’s also doing a harvest in Burgundy to embellish his knowledge of the wine sciences, which is very important.

“The next generation needs to bring a lot more nous and probably more specialised nous to the business. And the business is now specialised in so many areas that I wouldn’t expect anybody, even my children, to come into the business and be able to wear all of the hats – it just doesn’t work that way anymore. They bring their skill set, their aptitudes to the business and they have to work with the evolving, transforming business as we go forward.”

REASONS TO CELEBRATE “I think the Australian wine industry still needs a bloody good Australian local cooper. But that local cooper has to listen very carefully to what people want as opposed to ‘we say this is what we can do, support us’.

“The parallels between what we’re doing and the Australian wine industry are very tangible, they have to be because we dovetail anyway. But there are a lot of producers in Australia that have gone belly up because of a belief that the market wanted this, when in fact it was going in another direction. Give the people what they want, but hopefully educate them along the way as well.”

In early November the John family will celebrate with the cooperage staff and “the people who we’ve had close and successful relationships with”.

“Those from the 1930s sadly aren’t here with us anymore but over the past 30 to 40 years there are some wonderful relationships that we have created.”

The party will be hosted at the cooperage.

“Initially this celebration was going to be paired down a little from what we’re intending to do now and be held at some swank restaurant with people wined and dined and thanked for their support over a long time, but it became patently obvious that a lot of those people don’t actually even get into the cooperage. A lot of those people’s wives and partners don’t even understand their partner is involved in and how we cross over.

“So it was a bit of a no-brainer at the end of the day that we had to have this function within and around the cooperage.

“Putting people through the culture and the atmosphere of a cooperage is pretty unique. I’ve always found it kind of ironic that so many winemakers travel to the US or France or wherever it might be and it’s a pack drill to visit a cooperage while you’re there, but some people live 10 minutes from us here and never step a foot on the place. We’d very much like to show them that we know how it’s done as well.”

In many ways it will be a community coming together.

“The global wine community, it’s not that big when you boil it all down. We’ve got international partners and we’re a small part of that community.”

Small, that’s probably downplaying it, but certainly significant.

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For further information, please contact Kauri NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE NZ Fax: 04 910 7415 Email: winery@kauri.co.nz

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AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 AUS Fax: 1800 127 609 Website: www.kauriwine.com

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winemaking

William John

My brother’s cooper The next generation of the AP John Coopers family is represented by two young men in their 20s. In this Q&A with Alexander and William we find out more about their involvement in the business (both are trained coopers), their understanding of the wine industry as well as their respect for their parents – and each other.

Q. You hear people who are passionate about working within their family business say things like ‘it’s in my blood’. Do you feel this way about the cooperage business?

ALEX: To an extent, of course. Without over-romanticising the situation or unique nuances of it though. I do believe in essence all you do and try to create, and where you wish to move forward to, comes from that ‘in my blood’ feeling. From a feeling of pride and respect for all that has been created before you, that flows in your blood; the tradition, family and drive for success is something that becomes part of your life from a young age.

It certainly assisted my full time commitment to APJ. We were encouraged to study other fields and not just be ‘moulded’ for an easy road into the business. However I knew from a young age I aspired to become part of the business, and to continue a legacy really is wonderfully unique. A responsibility that I will be very humbled with.

WILL: I think that phrases like ‘through our journey’, or ‘it’s in my blood’ perhaps over-sensationalise what we do, but certainly it is good to be proud of each generation of the business and the role each has had in shaping our family and the cooperage.

I would say though, through growing up and spending time with dad around the cooperage and later through working in the business, the cooperage and working with the raw materials became a part of life for us.

Q. Tell us about growing up in the family business.

Was work a constant theme at home?

ALEX: Like many others would have experienced, the two words ‘family’ and ‘business’ when combined often spell one

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word… work. Your job becomes your life, which in turn is your family life, which in turn involves all social activities also.

Many a conversation have been had around the dinner table involving issues or successes that there just isn’t time to deal with within ‘standard’ work hours.

However this can truly have its benefits too. More ‘holistic’ conversation and discussion can be had, rather than just dealing with a scenario in a black and white business approach… And in a more relaxed social sense, avec vino of course. This is often how we will discuss broader wine industry happenings, our products, customers, research, and the lot really.

WILL: Mum and dad have never been particularly good at switching off! Rather they often speak at home about work to talk over issues or to get matters off their minds, sometimes even to ‘vent’ or relieve stress from a hard day! Mum, dad, Alex and I sometimes use the opportunity to discuss work to talk about how products are performing, how to meet our own and our customer’s requirements and our observations within the business. So yes, work has always been a constant theme and maybe at times all-consuming, but we can’t escape it so might as well embrace it and enjoy what we do.

Q. How does being a part of your family business shape the way you interact with the wine industry?

ALEX: I feel incredibly fortunate for much of the interaction I have and will have within the global wine industry. And, honestly, all of these opportunities present themselves because I am part of a long standing family business, truly entrenched within this industry.

From a young age, socially, we were encouraged to interact with often quite iconic and revolutionary individuals within the wine industry, and for experiences like this I am ever

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grateful. Moving into the business then and gaining more exposure this has enabled for a true and genuine interaction with our suppliers, customers and broader industry.

I believe this is incredibly important and valuable for the business and family going forward also, too often long standing relationships and commitments can be left behind as people move on, generations advance, ownerships change hands and progression occurs. Never forget where and how an interaction began, so to speak.

WILL: I am very fortunate to have had many opportunities to be introduced to people within the industry and to learn from their stories and advice. I also think I am lucky to have had some exposure to the industry from a relatively young age, and from that had a chance to start to form my own perspective.

Ultimately, I have learnt the importance of genuine interaction with suppliers, customers and great people we work with and that (personally and through business) we aim to build longstanding relationships. I believe this is extremely valuable for the business and for the community.

Q. Alex, what was it like to recently work in France and get exposure to the different ways of doing things in the Old World? How does this challenge/reaffirm what AP John does in the Barossa?

ALEX: Without rolling out too many a clichĂŠd term, it truly was wonderful, a proper experience and a very steep learning curve. Ultimately I was there to do just that; learn from the exposure I was granted to the way an Old World industry operates, and interacts.

I went as a very curious sponge and I think I came back mostly saturated. Now to just gently wring it out at the correct moments. I think for myself, and AP John the most important thing I learnt and observed are not necessarily the differences,

Alex John

For further information, please contact Kauri AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 AUS Fax: 1800 127 609 Email: winery@kauri.co.nz

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winemaking but why the differences occur. There are many practices and traditions that are carried out, just because they work, and have done so for 100’s of years.

And quite simply, in comparison to the New World, many of their ideas/doings just may not work here; be it logistically, holistically, geographical, demographic, whatever. That’s just not the point… It truly is a unique part of the world though, most days I was just in awe. In Burgundy whether your job be Vigneron, Winemaker, Cooper, Wine Distributor, Baker, Butcher, anything; its not just your ‘job’, it’s your life, your being, your ‘raison d’etre’. So much pride and honour. Especially if you are part of a family business.

If I focus on the differences I practiced within Tonnelerie Francois Freres, it was immediately evident just why each Cooperage is so unique and proprietary in many ways to itself.

Just like why one region of wine is very different to another, no matter what the distance is.

I was dealing with nuances and variations that are a different beast to nuances and variations that I deal with day to day at AP John for example. Being able to analyse why that difference is occurring is then where a true opinion or fact can be extrapolated from, which may bring great benefits. Ultimately it has broadened my views towards processes, interactions with Oak, and dealing with unique customer requirements.

Being trusted to toast barrels for Meo Camuzet, Vosne Romanee, will be one very gainful experience that I will take to the grave.

I truly believe it completely reaffirms what we at AP John do in the Barossa. We are unique, we can work closely with a local customer requirements, just as a French Tonnellerie would do within their own regions. And we’ve been hard at it for 125 years. For all the interest I had for the French coopers, I think

The forest is our vineyard.

The cooperage is our winery.

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www.worldcooperage.com 74 Grapegrower & Winemaker

they had even more in Australian coopers, they almost couldn’t comprehend we do it, so far away from Europe.

I had to explain that it is becoming an increasing rare craft in the antipodes, however more than a few would’ve happily accepted the offer of a trip home in my suitcase.

Q. Will, how has your knowledge of the wine industry helped your studies and your winery placements?

Has university, or working in a winery, challenged/ reaffirmed the way you viewed the wine industry?

At Faith Lutheran College (Tanunda) I gained some early education of and insight into the winemaking processes and this really initiated my interest in winemaking.

This became more important and helpful when I applied for and took vintage placements after finishing school, and further when I began viticulture/oenology studies at uni, because I found I already had some understanding of how wine is made. In turn, vintage work has helped me appreciate how our industry has to work and cope with the harvest period, not just in terms of workload but with Mother Nature too.

Gladly, working vintage placements has only increased my interest and motivation to become a winemaker and have an input to our development at AP John.

University has been a huge step in learning the science and theoretical aspects of viticulture and winemaking as you would expect and has provided me some insight to Australian wine production along the way, though this has also made me keener to finish studying and join the industry full-time.

I think that practical experience is often worth the majority of your qualifications so I can’t wait to gain more on-the-job experience.

Q. What business strengths do you see in your parents? And what strengths does your brother have that will benefit the business?

ALEX: All the strengths. I know the next generation are always patriotic and proud, but in all honesty I can’t think of many that work as dedicated as our parents. AP John and family is life to them. And because of all the work, tenacity and sheer hours they pop in do we exist as this entity today.

The sheer respect I have for dad’s work ethics and morals and drive to succeed are second to none. If an objective seems impossible, just work harder. Furthermore dad’s planning strengths and being able to assess years ahead are true values that have assisted to grow and develop the business out of the 70s, 80s, the booms and the downside off the back of a boom.

Diversification, efficiency and just working bloody hard is what has enabled AP John to continue in what is a genuinely tough market. Smart decisions and realistic budgeting.

Will obviously has all those hallmarks instilled in both of us from our parents. He is very calculating and will completely learn a subject inside out to complete his understanding of why it is something may be so particular.

And from this comes Will’s, excuse me, very anal retentive attention to detail. Everything has to be done perfectly and efficiently, which is fantastic. AP himself was often quoted as ‘If a job is worth doing, its worth doing it properly’. Family values.

I believe for APJ going forward, having Will with his oenology/viti degree and a winemaking background, will bring great benefit. The analytical and science based side is of increasing importance and Will and I often analyse wine and oak in a sense of exactly why one outcome or difference creates what it does. Particularly in relation to my input of product development, toasting and general refinement of our products as a whole. As our customers are winemakers, Will brings fantastic bridging and consultancy opportunities which can be of great assistance.

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WILL: I have to say mum and dad are two of, if not the, hardest working people I know. I think it has been their hard work, sacrifices, sheer determination and strength (of all kinds mental and physical) that has been their force behind building the business and our family. In a business sense, I see their strengths in terms of good organisation and planning, a strong focus on reality, good business decisions and strict budgeting.

Alex brings the same willingness to work hard until after the job is done. He’s my big brother and I have always looked up to him and I enjoy his enthusiasm for work. Alex is very calculating – of risks, time and benefits and I think this is important. He has a wealth of skills but mostly he has great talent and ideas for both the development of our products and the consistency of existing supplies and products.

Q. I know you are both hands-on within the cooperage. What is the most enjoyable part of the barrel-making process?

ALEX: For me, and what I focus on most importantly, is barrel toasting. Give me a barrel, fire brazier, wood and I’m set.

Being in the bending/toasting room is where you will usually find me.

Our lovely Barossa summers always make things nice and warm. When it’s 40-plus outside its usually 50 degrees plus around the fires. Luckily it is something that I find quite natural and I understand the art of keeping consistent convective and radiant heat.

Then gaining the knowledge of the science between heat and oak, time and temperature and what certain flavoids you are trying to liberate is where the real fun begins.

We are constantly learning and improving with our

understandings and real-world results. For me then to be able to link with the customer on all these little and unique nuances is completely rewarding.

WILL: Definitely the most rewarding parts of the process are during the production/fabrication phase where you can see the barrels coming together and the culmination of oak sourcing, harvesting, milling, seasoning and then pre-fabrication all comes together.

These days, with the attention to the effect of oak use/oak flavour on wine flavour, probably the most important and interesting part of the process is bending and toasting the barrels. Historically these two steps were a means of pulling the barrel into shape then using fire to set the timber in place, but now we all know toasting has added effects on the aroma and flavour of the oak and on the aroma, flavour and structure of wine. This area is particularly interesting because, along the seasoning of the oak, these are the main areas we discuss with customers and can tweak to suit their needs.

Also, I always enjoy working on some of the more physically demanding and hard-yakka type jobs in the process.

Q. And which job do you just not like at all?

ALEX: Can I be completely patriotic, proud and utterly clichéd by saying I enjoy all the physical jobs? Perhaps the really tedious and slow going manufacturing that can often occur. Oh and of course problems with machines and the usual wear and tear!

WILL: Ha-ha, well when younger I never really liked any particularly repetitive tasks, but now I like those jobs as much as any other jobs – you have a chance to think and to take pride in your work and give attention to detail.

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November 2015 – Issue 622

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ask the

Spoilage due to lactic acid bacteria Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are the microorganisms that conduct malolactic fermentation (MLF) in winemaking, but they can also cause wine spoilage. Some of the more common questions about LAB spoilage are discussed below.

WHICH LAB ARE ASSOCIATED WITH WINE? THERE ARE THREE main genera of LAB connected with grape must and wine − Lactobacillus, Oenococcus and Pediococcus – all of which can cause spoilage in wine. Oenococcus oeni is the species most commonly used for MLF.

Fault

Description

LAB associated with the fault

Acidification

Production of high levels of acetic acid and lactic acid by fermentation of sugars.

Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Oenococcus

Geranium character

Added sorbic acid is reduced to sorbyl alcohol by LAB, which rearranges in wine and reacts with ethanol to form 2-ethoxyhexa-3,5-diene, which imparts a geranium character.

Oenococcus, possibly Lactobacillus

Mousiness

Metabolism of amino acids, notably lysine and ornithine, can lead to formation of nitrogen-heterocyclic ‘mousy’ off-flavour compounds.

These compounds impart a character reminiscent of a mouse cage.

Mainly Oenococcus and Lactobacillus

Acrolein/ bitterness

Metabolism of glycerol results in the formation of acrolein, which reacts with red wine phenolics to form a complex that imparts a bitter character.

Lactobacillus, Pediococcus

Mannitol off-flavour

Mannitol can be formed from reduction of fructose. Elevated levels of acetic acid and lactic acid are also present and the wine exhibits a vinegary-estery, slightly sweet taste.

Mainly Lactobacillus

Ropiness

Metabolism of glucose to form dextrin polysaccharide, which gives wine a viscous, oily character referred to as ‘ropy’.

Pediococcus

Overproduction of diacetyl

Metabolism of citric acid or sugar to form diacetyl, which imparts a buttery or whey-like flavour.

Mainly Lactobacillus and Pediococcus (lower levels from Oenococcus)

WHAT DO THE DIFFERENT LAB LOOK LIKE UNDER THE MICROSCOPE? The cells of Oenococcus oeni are spherical in shape with diameter approximately 0.5 −1.0 µm. They tend to exist as pairs or in long chains resembling a ‘string of pearls’. Lactobacillus sp. typically appear as rod-shaped cells, approximately 0.5−1.0 µm x 1.0−2.5 µm. Lactobacillus are generally found in pairs of cells, but can also form chains of cells. Like Oenococcus, Pediococcus sp. cells appear spherical; however, they are larger than Oenococcus (generally about 1.0−1.5 µm in diameter).

Pediococcus can appear as single cells, pairs of cells or as four cells in a clump. When four cells are together, each cell occupies a corner of a tetrahedron and the Pediococcus cells are said to be present as ‘tetrads’. When observed, this morphology makes Pediococcus easy to recognise.

Figure 1 (L to R) Oenococcus sp., Lactobacillus sp. and Pediococcus sp. bacteria at 1000x magnification

WHAT ARE THE FAULTS LAB CAN CAUSE? The main wine faults caused by LAB are summarised in the table on this page. While the AWRI has investigated cases of all of these faults, the first three (acidification, mousiness and geranium character) are the most common.

WHERE DO THE LAB COME FROM? Low numbers (<103 colony forming units/g) of LAB are generally found on sound fruit and end up in must during the early stages of processing. However, high populations may develop on unsound fruit, for example, fruit that has split due to dehydration or bird damage. Once the fruit is damaged, LAB present on the grapes can multiply due to increased access to nutrients. Mechanical harvesting can also damage fruit and stimulate the growth of indigenous LAB during transport to the winery, especially when large distances are covered during hot weather. Populations of LAB can also develop in the winery and are often isolated from barrels and equipment that have

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not been properly sanitised, such as pumps, valves and transfer lines.

HOW DO I AVOID SPOILAGE DUE TO LAB? Spoilage can generally be avoided by a combination of sanitation, pH adjustment, use of sulfur dioxide (SO2) with reference to the pH, minimisation of residual sugar and temperature control.

At the time of harvest, sanitation of grape bins between loads helps to minimise the build up of unwanted LAB populations and other microbes. Similarly, winery equipment, such as receival bins, crushers, presses, must pumps and lines, should also be regularly cleaned and sanitised to minimise microbial build-up.

The growth of Lactobacillus sp. and Pediococcus sp. is encouraged at higher (>3.5) pH. Consequently, once must tanks are mixed and the acidity parameters are known, tartaric acid can be added to adjust the pH to <3.5.

LAB are more sensitive to SO2 than yeast and a molecular SO2 concentration of 0.8 mg/L will inhibit their growth. It should be

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noted, however, that the amount of SO2 present in the molecular form depends on wine pH, so the SO2 concentration should be adjusted based on knowledge of the pH. Optimal yeast preparation and the use of fermentation management strategies to avoid stuck fermentations will minimise the concentration of residual sugar after fermentation, a substrate for LAB growth. Once MLF is complete, a large (40−50 mg/L) addition of SO2 will help to kill off any residual LAB bacteria. Storage of wine below 18°C will also inhibit growth.

Finally, if viable LAB are detected during microbiological analysis of an at-risk wine (e.g. one with residual sugar or sorbic acid) before bottling, sterile filtration through 0.45µm membranes may be required to completely remove the bacteria and achieve microbial stability.

For more information about LAB spoilage, please contact the AWRI helpdesk on helpdesk@awri.com.au or 08 8313 6600.

FURTHER READING Bartowsky, E. J. 2009. Bacterial spoilage of wine and approaches to minimize it.

Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 48(2): 149−156.

Bartowsky, E. J. and Pretorius, I. S. 2009. Microbial formation and modification of flavor and off-flavor compounds in wine. König, H., Unden, G., Fröhlich, J. (eds.)

Biology of Microorganisms on Grapes, in Must and in Wine. Berlin: Springer: 209−231.

Boulton, R.B.; Singleton, V.L.; Bisson, L.F.; Kunkee, R.E. 1996. Principles and practices of winemaking. New York: Chapman & Hall.

Coulter, A. 2008. Vintage 2008 – A heat wave and stuck fermentations. AWRI Technical Review 175: 14-23.

Fugelsang, K. C. and Edwards, C. G. 2007. Wine microbiology: practical applications and procedures. New York: Springer Science+Business Media.

Sponholz, W. R. 1993. Wine spoilage by microorganisms. Fleet, G.H. (ed.)

Wine microbiology and biotechnology. Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers: 395−420.

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winemaking

Show results highlight depth of quality and diversity THE 41ST ANNUAL Riverina Wine Show results were announced recently, the winning wines demonstrating the depth of quality and diversity in the Australian wine industry.

An experienced panel of judges – headed by Sophie Otton, former Rockpool restaurants wine director – critiquing their way through 56 different classes to award 10 trophies to wines from eight different regions.

The big winner of the night was the 2007 McGuigan Bin 9000 Semillon (Hunter Valley), which was awarded the Ian Bicego best still wine of show trophy.

“The McGuigan Bin 9000 showed the variety’s slow, controlled development; the kind that tantalises the senses with its lemony fragrance and glimpses of melted butter and toast complexity.

This year’s winner absolutely embodied the exhilarating effortlessness and featherweight grace that is Semillon at its best,” said Otton.

As well as strong entry numbers and some great results in the more traditional classes of Semillon, Shiraz and Cabernet, the judges were also “delighted” to see such diversity amongst the ‘Other Red Varieties’ Class, describing it as “a

strong class which proved an exciting category, with expressive and skilfully made examples of Durif, Montepulciano, and Petit Verdot all made locally.”

Coincidentally it is one of the Riverina’s strengths, and the perfect place for its cultivation.

Commenting on other wine styles to look out for, Otton said the 2014 Pinot Noir Class was an unexpected surprise.

“The wines awarded silvers and golds demonstrated a superb graduation, from fruit driven freshness and balance, building to increasing dimensions and layers of flavour, with the top gold showing superb multifaceted complexity,” said Otton.

The 2014 Chardonnay Class was also outstanding, earning plenty of gold and silver medals.

“This demonstrates that Australian Chardonnay has come of age, offering refined and sophisticated styles that sit well above their price point. The class showed remarkable freshness, balance and purity with the best examples revealing a touch of struck match complexity,” said Otton.

“Finally, but not surprisingly, the Fortified Classes were exquisite.”

Key 2015 Riverina Wine Show trophies: Best Still Wine from Riverina Fruit - sponsored by the Wine Grapes Marketing Board McWilliam’s Wines 2013 Hanwood ‘1914’ Durif (Riverina) Best Dry Red Blue Pyrenees Estate 2013 Reserve Shiraz (Pyrenees) Best Dry White McGuigan 2007 Bin 9000 Semillon (Hunter Valley) Best Still Wine of Show - the Ian Bicego Trophy McGuigan 2007 Bin 9000 Semillon (Hunter Valley) The Sean Hampel Award for Best Shiraz from Riverina Fruit Nugan Estate 2014 3rd Generation Shiraz (Riverina)

Product Update

Move your business to the next level NEW FEDERAL Government tax incentives recently passed through parliament let qualifying small businesses claim immediate tax deductions on equipment purchases less than $20,000. For small businesses with warehousing requirements this is the best time to buy new Hyster equipment with its range of Pedestrian Pallet Trucks and Reach Trucks – among the toughest on the planet.

The incentives are available until 30 June 2017 for businesses whose annual turnover is less than $2 million. Businesses must have an ABN and be able to show they have been operating continuously with quarterly business statements.

The incentives were announced as one of the Government’s big ticket budget items in May and now that they have been declared as official, both Small Business Minister Bruce Billson and Treasurer Joe Hockey have said they should give small businesses’ purchasing plans a fresh outlook.

So why not take advantage of the new tax incentives by upgrading your materials handing solution to new Hyster trucks?

Consult your tax advisor to determine whether your business qualifies for this new Federal Government incentive.

There is a Hyster pallet truck to suit any kind of operation and the trucks are known for their reliability and energy efficiency – even when used for the most demanding warehouse applications.

78 Grapegrower & Winemaker

You might want to consider the Hyster pallet truck model P2.0, whose ideal combination of ergonomic features and consistent performance makes moving heavy loads seem like a walk in the park. Also within the price bracket is the Hyster® W20-30ZA Walkie Stacker, a motorized pallet truck which gives you big capacity and productivity with the operational costs of a walkie rather than a rider. Hyster Walkie Stacker features superior ergonomics with the versatility of user selectable performance modes.

When you buy Hyster®, you are tapping into a world-wide company that takes an international approach to machinery design, manufacturing and supply chain management. As the same state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques and processes are applied across its production sites around the globe, Hyster Co.’s aftermarket support and spare parts distribution is second to none.

If you decide upon a product beyond the $20k price bracket, you will still be able to pool and depreciate your purchase at the same rate. Those types of equipment purchases will be depreciated at $15% in the financial year and then at 30% from then on.

For more information go to www.hyster.com/pacific/en-au or contact your local dealer.

www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

young gun

Unico Zelo:

Unique and passionate Brendan Carter hopes to change the Australian wine landscape by championing Italian varietals like Fiano.

Nestled in Adelaide Hills is a wine business driven by a young couple with big dreams.

Emilie Reynolds reports.

LAURA AND BRENDAN Carter epitomise the modern winemaker with an eclectic mix of creative businesses. From crafting a diverse range of Italian varietals to applying winemaking techniques to small batch gin and perfume, the Carter’s are using inspiration from the surrounding elements in new and exciting ways.

According to Brendan and Laura, wine

is a culmination of the people, the food and the culture. Between short spurts of sleep, the pair devote all of their time to running Unico Zelo, a small winery in the Adelaide Hills which focuses on minimal intervention.

The Carters were inspired by the wine industry from the get-go, praising the Adelaide Hill’s community for welcoming them with open arms.

“When I arrived to Adelaide in 2010, I knew nobody in the Australian wine industry and nobody in Adelaide,” Brendan explained. “I very quickly discovered that simply through communication and a good attitude that you get to quickly meet the most amazing group of people who offer endless support, advice and a great sense of humor. It is amazing how close-knit

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November 2015 – Issue 622

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

79

winemaking

Laura Carter credits Unico Zelo as her biggest achievement to date.

the wine industry is here, that someone completely foreign to it all is readily accepted.”

For Brendan, his love for the wine industry began in his home town of Brisbane. Straight out of high school, Brendan worked in wine retail which gave him the opportunity to travel to France and spend time in a world-famous winery.

When we first met, Brendan used to take me to a wine bar and would teach me about varieties, regions, even how to swirl my glass and taste properly. I think he saw it as a challenge to have me understand why he loved it so much.

- Laura Carter

80 Grapegrower & Winemaker

“I ended up spending a bit of time at Veuve Clicquot, they suggested that I study a degree in Oenology – which saw me in Adelaide finishing the degree in 2014.”

It was at the University of Adelaide where Brendan and Laura first met.

Having spent her childhood travelling around the world, Laura returned home to study a degree in Agricultural science and said she credits Brendan for introducing her to the wonderful world of wine.

“Anyone in the industry understands how infectious it is,” she said. “When we first met, Brendan used to take me to a wine bar and would teach me about varieties, regions, even how to swirl my glass and taste properly. I think he saw it as a challenge to have me understand why he loved it so much. I still pursued my degree in Agricultural Science and completed a work placement in the lab at Henschke. I stayed on there after I graduated.”

After learning the ropes from industry legends, Brendan and Laura branched out to build a wine business they could be proud of, a move which Brendan said has occasionally caused friction among older www.winetitles.com.au

generations in the wine industry.

“As is always the case, it’s the few that ruin it for the many – and although our encounters have been few, I find that respect and reason generally go a long way. Most who are annoyed either don’t understand or are overcome with entitlement – something that doesn’t go over well with our demographic,” Brendan explained.

“Often the course of having your own winery is to work through the ranks at another place, making a name for yourself and earning respect in the industry,” said Laura. “Only then do you venture out on your own. We skipped a lot of this and just went straight to our own label, which has been controversial. That’s why we try to make our wines affordable.

As newcomers, we would like to earn respect first and grow from there.”

The Carter’s have already seen huge amounts of success in their short time in the wine industry. Along with being praised as the “most exciting young winemakers in Australia” by James Scarcebrook (the Intrepid Wino, http:// intrepidwino.com), the pair took out the Young Guns of Wine People’s Choice award recently after winning over the November 2015 – Issue 622

crowd at a public wine tasting held in Melbourne.

Marketing themselves as ‘Australian wine with attitude’, Brendan said the brand’s philosophy has been focused on creating wines that are reflective of Australian soil, food and culture.

“Thankfully this doesn’t make us unique, as there’s a great group of producers employing this mentality,” he said. “What does set us apart is that we’re crafting them for young people, those curious wine-lovers in our own demographic who are just getting into it.

“We’re offering them a path of vinous discovery made with a minimal intervention philosophy and an edge of sustainability.”

With plans to become catalysts for Australian producers to be successful in varieties like Fiano, Nero d’Avola and Nebbiolo, Brendan said he would be satisfied with his career if 50 years down the track the pair are viewed as contributors to the Australian vinous landscape.

“I hope that we could be a part of changing the international perception of Australian wine,” Laura added. “The developing diversity and identity of the wine scene here is worth showcasing.”

Outside of running Unico Zelo, Brendan and Laura have applied winemaking science to create businesses in two other passions; gin and perfume.

“We decided to focus on doing one thing right – which was the wine at Unico Zelo,” Brendan said. “Then we started the distillery and the perfume followed very closely after that. So it’s been a bit of a cascade effect.”

Like with Unico Zelo, the Carter’s gain inspiration from the Adelaide Hills for their Applewood Distillery gin and Nømad range of perfume.

“The thing about wine is you have no control,” Laura said. “You expect a certain wine will have certain characteristics but there’s not really much you can do to control that, whereas with perfume you can basically choose.

“There’s so much potential with the perfume because you can do whatever you want but with wine it’s exciting because it’s unexpected and it’s driven by the land.”

While managing three separate businesses between the two of them would likely be an overwhelming work load, Laura said she still finds time to go for a run most days while Brendan spends his spare time devoted to another passion- graphic design, a hobby which has seen the pair create their own artistic wine labels.

“We hope that our labels speak of a style, or a place – more so than a particular variety,” he said. “Although we primarily champion Fiano – we really want the next generation of wine consumers to place emphasis on the site, soil and style of wines they’re purchasing.”

While both Brendan and Laura agreed that learning the business side of wine has been a significant challenge to overcome, they described the wine industry as one of the most balanced and diverse careers.

“From art versus science, we could be covered in vineyard soil or wine lees in the morning, and donning a suit-and-tie in the afternoon,” Brendan said.

“It’s active, varied and rewarding,”

From art versus science, we could be covered in vineyard soil or wine lees in the morning, and donning a suit-and-tie in the afternoon.”

- Brendan Carter

Laura said. “It’s the sort of career that is challenging and teaches us something new every day.”

To other young people just starting out in the industry, Brendan said it’s important to use the wealth of knowledge by asking questions, while Laura highlighted the importance of keeping an open mind.

“You’re in one of the most generous and open industries – you’ll always find the answers and help when you need it, you just have to ask,” Brendan said.

“When we are young we tend to form opinions quickly and jump on board any trends,” Laura said. “There is a lot of value in experience, there are so many opportunities to learn from those who have been doing this longer.”

The Carter’s credit Unico Zelo as a huge achievement in their lives and said they hoped their success would continue long into the future.

“We are in our 20s and now working for ourselves, crafting what will hopefully be the future of Aussie wine- sustainable and balanced,” Laura said.

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www.sparkbrew.com | julian@sparkbrew.com | 0468 363 405 November 2015 – Issue 622

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

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winemaking

Pumps for moving juice, must and wine Curtis Phillips is a graduate of UC Davis; has been a winemaker since 1984 and an agricultural consultant since 1979. He writes for US Wine Business Monthly and put together this article on pumps for the September edition (it is re-published here with permission).

WHEN I AM ASKED to recommend pumps for wineries, the conversation usually becomes much more protracted than expected. I think most people expect a terse, “Get a rotary lobe Tanks pump from your favourite supplier,” with little elaboration and are surprised when something as apparently straightforward as a pump can become the subject of a drawn-out discussion.

PUMP USE AT THE WINERY One needs to move a variety of different fluids in the winery, including must, juice, wine and lees. Like any wine processing equipment, any pump used to move must, juice or wine also needs a sanitary pump suitable for use in food production.

Grapes, juice and wine are all fairly acidic so all parts of the pump that come into contact with must, juice, or wine need to be made from 316-grade or better stainless steel, or other food-grade and corrosion-resistant materials such as food-grade neoprene.

For our purposes, any pump that can be used to move wine may also be used to move juice. The main difference between the wine and must pumps then is the ability to pass suspended solids through the pump cavity.

Thus, and admitting that the following is a slight oversimplification, there are three broad categories of movements we can use to classify winery pumps: must pumps, juice/ wine pumps and lees pumps. I regard pomace as a specialcase must pump. A fourth category of movements is needed for any movements of wine or juice containing an abrasive like Bentonite or diatomaceous earth.

MOVING BUNCHES, BERRIES OR MUST BEFORE FERMENTATION Wineries have to move grapes at least once for white wines and at least twice for red wines. The question of how a winery should move grapes in the winery depends on whether the winery intends to move the grapes as bunches, destemmed intact berries or as destemmed and crushed must.

When moving clusters, it is best not to use a pump at all.

Even if the pump is extremely gentle, the clusters are going to get pretty chewed up by most pumps and, more importantly, by the straight-pipe friction inside the hose, no matter what pump is used.

It is generally better to use a forklift to dump bins directly into the press or fermenter.

Alternatively, the winery can invest in a flat-belt elevator if it’s impractical to dump bins directly. Auger feeds can also be used; but to be honest, I prefer not to use an auger to move clusters since they tend to knock berries off the rachis and tear up the stems. Instead, if at all possible, I would destem first to eliminate this risk.

Destemmed berries are much easier to pump than whole clusters. That said, there is a fairly large range in the ability of each of the various must pump designs to deliver the berries intact at the other end of the hose.

If one wants to keep them intact, my personal preference is to use a large peristaltic pump, but a rotary-piston pump should yield similar results.

82 Grapegrower & Winemaker

In any case, the pump is not always the point where berries get broken. The specific grape variety, pump bore and straightpipe friction (i.e. is it a long hose run or a short one?) will all contribute to the number of broken berries at discharge.

MOVING FERMENTING MUST AND POMACE As a general rule, no matter the particular pump type, must pumps are fitted with feed hoppers and augers to feed must into the pump itself.

Most must pumps can be used for wine transfers, provided the hopper can be removed and replaced with the appropriate hose fittings.

Historically, piston pumps were usually used to transfer must from the crusher-destemmer to the fermenter and press.

With the general industry change of placing the crusher after the destemmer rather than before it, the primacy of the piston pump has similarly been supplanted in most wineries by the progressive cavity pump.

Rotary lobe (rotary vane), elliptical rotor and peristaltic pumps are also notable in this application.

Another type of ‘must transfer’ is the pump-over. Rotary lobe pumps, like those from Waukesha, tend to dominate this application, but peristaltic pumps may also be used for this purpose. Most of the static pump-over setups, where each fermenter has its own pump and stand-pipe permanently attached to the fermenter, usually use large-bore flexibleimpeller pumps For pump-overs, winemaking consultant Linda Trotta noted that, “centrifugals work well, particularly with automated pump-over systems.

For manual pump-overs I tend to use air diaphrams. My experience in both cases has been that they are good work horses and result in minimal shearing of any skins or seeds that may get into the system”.

MOVING JUICE, MOVING WINE There are a few different types of juice and wine transfers, each of which may have different pump requirements.

I would argue that each of the following transfers has a different ‘best’ pump. Furthermore, the specific ‘best pump’ is going to be depend on winery size and, in some cases, the specific grape varieties used.

Tank-to-tank transfers are the most basic of juice/wine transfers. On one level, the best pump for this job is one that can move the most wine in the shortest amount of time without affecting the quality of the juice or wine.

Centrifugal pumps seem to be the favourite for tank-to-tank wine movements in large wineries.

Centrifugal pumps are relatively cheap and nothing really matches them for sheer zip, so that should be no surprise.

The more popular wine-transfer pumps for mid-sized wineries seem to be either the rotary lobe or air-operated diaphragm positive displacement (PD) pumps.

Small wineries use both rotary lobe and air-operated diaphragm pumps as well, especially in those producing wines targeted at the highest price segments, but flexible impeller pumps are by far the most prevalent pump in small wineries overall.

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November 2015 – Issue 622

My personal favourite two pump types for straight-up wine movements are peristaltic and progressive cavity pumps.

Both are as gentle on the wine as a pump can be, but neither pump type has wide acceptance in the United States wine industry.

Filtrations require a PD pump. It takes a fair amount of oomph to push juice or wine through a filter, and a centrifugal pump won’t develop enough back pressure.

Most wineries simply use whatever PD pump they have on hand, but my preference is alternates between the ubiquitous rotary lobe pumps and progressive cavity pumps. A lot of smaller wineries use flexible impeller pumps for filtering.

Filling and emptying barrels can be one of the largest sources of wine loss in the winery.

All it takes is a momentarily distracted cellar worker, and you’re pumping wine down the drain. Despite this, I am regularly confronted by clients that balk at investing in barrelfilling equipment more sophisticated than a barrel-racking wand. If the winery has a significant number of barrels, and I consider 100 barrels to be “a significant number”, I recommend getting an automated filler like RapidFil. I think these guys are well worth the expense even if you only have 100 barrels or so.

Alternative winery setups are to use an air-operated diaphragm pump or a remote controlled, positive displacement pump and put a butterfly valve on the barrel racking wand. One can use a centrifugal pump, which has the advantage that it can pump all day against a closed valve without splitting a hose, but I don’t like the idea of having the centrifugal pump cavitating in my wine every time the valve is closed. If the wine is worth putting in a barrel, it’s worth treating more gently than that.

November 2015 – Issue 622

MOVING LEES If the winery is generating enough lees that it needs to use a pump rather than a bucket, I would use a piston pump to move white lees and a progressive cavity pump to move red lees, but really either could be used for either.

There is nothing special about moving lees.

It’s just a fluid with a high solids content; and as such, almost any winery pump can move lees.

The only ones I see regularly having trouble are the smaller flexible impeller pumps. Even there, it’s more of a case of the winery using too small a pump for the job than anything else.

MOVING ABRASIVES Pumping Bentonite slurry presents a special case because it can seriously abrade almost any positive displacement pump, especially those where metal is moving past metal, completely ruining the pump in the process.

Practically, the only way to pump Bentonite without damaging the pump is to use a centrifugal, a diaphragm or a peristaltic pump.

In theory, the same can be said for any wine movements containing diatomaceous earth, but practically, the winemaker doesn’t need to be concerned with these since all such movements are usually handled by the dosing pump on the pressure-leaf, DE plate-and-frame or lees-press filter. In any case, these are usually mechanically operated diaphragm pumps anyway.

PUMP TYPES AND USES Centrifugal pumps In terms of sheer amount moved, the centrifugal pump design gets more wine from point A to point B than any other

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

83

winemaking pump. Centrifugal pumps are very common in larger wineries, but they are really only useful for tank-to-tank wine transfers.

They move wine by using a rotating disc impeller.

This design does not rely on the displacement of the fluid within the pump cavity. Instead, the angular momentum of the impeller is imparted to the wine as it moves across the disc from inlet to outlet port.

These pumps need a continuous liquid column within the hose in order to work. This means that, for the most part, they are not self-priming. It is generally best if the pump itself can be placed below the level of the tank outlet.

With the possible exception of gravity, there isn’t really a more cost-effective way to move large volumes of wine.

Centrifugal pumps have other advantages beyond their price, including a ‘virtual backflow’ that is intrinsic to the design.

This means they can pump against a closed valve without bursting hoses. Unfortunately, this means that they cannot be used in applications, like filtration, that require back pressure.

They are useful, however, for re-circulating wines containing Bentonite. It is abrasive and will damage positive displacement pumps with tight internal clearances such as progressive cavity and lobe pumps.

Diaphragm pumps Despite appearances, the diaphragm pump is a very close cousin of the piston pump. The internal operating principles are essentially the same as piston pumps.

The main difference between the two is that, as one might guess, the juice/wine is pushed out of the internal cavity by an expanding diaphragm. This isolates most of the moving parts of the pump from the juice or wine. The flow from a diaphragm pulsates a great deal. For this reason, most of the diaphragm pumps marketed to the wine industry usually have the option to be fitted with pulsation dampeners.

These days, most winery diaphragm pumps are run by airmotors rather than electrical ones. Air-operated diaphragm pumps are very useful for wine transfers.

They are fairly easy to clean and maintain, relatively gentle on the wine, can move fairly large volumes of fluid (up to 16,000 gallons per hour) and can be set up to automatically stop when pumping against a closed valve (due to the back pressure in the hose).

Penner-Ash Wine Cellars winemaker and owner Lynn Penner-Ash noted, “We don’t really have a need for pumps in our gravity flow winery. That said, during harvest when we would like to do a pump-over we use an air diaphragm pump. I find air diaphragms easy to use and very gentle on our wines.”

Air-operated diaphragm pumps do require an additional investment in an air compressor of reasonably large capacity (they can use as much as 10 gallons of air per second).

Since they are operated by air pressure, diaphragm pumps don’t pose an electrocution hazard in a winery environment which, combined with their relatively low unit cost, have made them very popular with mid-sized and larger wineries.

Elliptical lobe pumps Elliptical lobe pumps (AKA elliptical rotor pumps) are rare in the U.S. but pretty common in Italy. They are meant only for moving pomace and must.

As the name suggests, they consist of a single elliptical rotor inside of a flattened, near-elliptical cavity with a squoval crosssection. Grapes, must or pomace are fed into the side by a helical screw and rotor-pushed through the pump.

These pumps operate at a fairly low rotation rate, but the relatively large size of the pump cavity keeps the must/pomace moving through the pump at a reasonable rate.

The main drawback of the elliptical rotor design is that the combination of the screw-feed and rotor could produce a substantial amount of sheer.

However, this is completely irrelevant, when moving pomace, because unless one is making grappa, pomace is just a byproduct of wine production since the wine has already been removed at the press.

Flexible impeller pumps Although there are multiple brands of flexible impellers, the Jabsco line appears to dominate the flexible impeller niche.

Even scratch-build pumps tend to have Jabsco impellers, but there are several other brands on the market.

They cannot move much in the way of suspended solids, however, unless they are pretty big. My recommendation is that they should be only used to move juice or wine unless the pump has a bore of 3 inches or more.

Low-revolution, large-bore, flexible impeller pumps can be

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November 2015 – Issue 622

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winemaking Flexible impeller pumps should never be allowed to run dry as this will cause the impeller to overheat. used to move must (or even viscous liquids like honey). This type is probably the best “first pump” for the very small winery.

They are reasonably rugged and affordable.

Fero Vineyard owner Chuck Zaleski echoed this view.

“The flexible impeller pump is the one pump a small winery needs, but you need two. With a 1.5-inch and 2-inch pump you can move must, wine, filter and clean tanks. Having two allows you to multitask, saving time and money.”

Flexible impeller pumps should never be allowed to run dry as this will cause the impeller to overheat. This, in turn, will degrade the pump, and a distinct burnt rubber flavour may be imparted to any wine that passes through that impeller.

Acknowledging this caveat, smaller-sized flexible impeller pumps can be used to provide back pressure for filtrations, but the larger flexible impeller pumps that can be used for pumpovers usually have to be run too slowly and have too much blowby for me to recommend their use in filtrations.

Progressive cavity pumps Although progressive cavity must pumps are frequently fed by an Archimedes screw (see below), the actual pump is not a screw. Instead, the pump design has a helical rotor inside of a helical cavity.

As the rotor turns, a void, specifically in the shape of a helical annulus, moves along the cavity, thus displacing the wine forward.

The result is a pump that can move solutions with very high solids content very gently.

Claar Cellars winemaker Joe Hudon likes pumps that get the job done, are low maintenance and treat the wine optimally. F or must transfers, “A progressive cavity pump is what we prefer and what we are now using. The benefits are that it can handle the volume of a 150 foot, 4-inch hose and does not plug as much as a smaller pump. The negative aspect is that you can blow up your hoses if you do plug, so we are always monitoring the consistency of the must to make sure that we do not plug.

A peristaltic pump would be cool to have but not feasible. Plus if a trellis clip went through it, the membrane would likely puncture.”

Progressive cavity pumps are one of the more under-utilised pump designs available to the U.S. wine industry.

In the U.S., these pumps are almost exclusively used as portable must pumps.

In this role, these pumps are permanently fitted with a feedhopper and screw. As a must pump, progressive cavity pumps are themselves fairly gentle and, as such, minimise further maceration of the must during transfer.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the pump’s necessary feed auger, which can chew up any clusters and intact berries if the feed timing isn’t set correctly.

Peristaltic pumps Peristaltic pumps work on the “squeeze-the-tube” principle that most of us use to get our toothpaste every morning. Outside the winery, the peristaltic pump design is used to transfer extremely fragile fluids like blood.

They are marketed as being able to replace any positive displacement type pump (i.e., any progressive cavity, lobe or piston pump) in essentially any winery operation. Since the mechanical parts of the pump never touch the must/wine/lees, peristaltic pumps are resistant to abrasives like Bentonite—an

86 Grapegrower & Winemaker

apparent advantage they have over progressive cavity and lobe pumps.

They can also run dry, unlike flexible impeller pumps, and offer capacities of up to 20,000 gallons per hour.

John Hilliard, winemaker/proprietor at Hilliard Bruce Wines, likes his peristaltic pump.

“We do not pump must since we make Pinot Noir. Our musts are poured into the wine press after removing free run juice. To maintain quality we move wine from barrels/tanks or fermentation bins with a magnificent 1 1/2 inch peristaltic pump made by Ragazzini. It’s as gentle as levitation but we have to plug it in an electric outlet.”

Piston pumps

Piston pumps have an internal void, which is expanded and contracted by the movement of a physical barrier. The liquid, be it juice or wine, is physically pushed out of the innards of the pump and past a check-valve, one pump-volume at a time.

As one can guess from the name, this is accomplished in a piston pump by a piston moving back and forth inside a cylinder.

This causes a great deal of pulsation in the outflow from the pump. Static versions of these pumps are still used as must pumps. Like most positive displacement pumps, piston pumps can be used for wine transfers, filtrations and moving lees.

Rotary lobe pumps Rotary lobe pumps are extremely common in the U.S. wine industry. Internally, rotary lobe pumps consist of two intermeshed rotors. The fluid enters the side of the cavity and is swept along the outside of the cavity in the gaps between the lobes on each rotor. These gaps disappear as the lobes intermesh, at which point the fluid is expelled from the pump.

Lobe pumps are very versatile. They can be used for must, wine and lees transfers (we’ll look at juice/wine and lees transfers below).

Rotary lobe pumps are great for pumping over fermentations because of their ability to move suspended solids (i.e., must).

Brett Eisenhower, owner/winemaker at Eisenhower Cellars, said, “I prefer positive displacement pumps for their constant pressure against filter pads and lack of shear on wine. Also I can sync the pump to the bottling line filler. The Waukesha is nearly bulletproof with its heavy stainless steel head, gears and easy disassembly for changing out gaskets and o-rings.”

This was echoed by Karamoor Estate winemaker Kevin Robinson who noted: “If I had to pick a favorite it would be a Waukesha assembled by Carlsen. Strong enough to pump a whole watermelon through a 3-inch line, but gentle enough to not break a seed! I use it for pumping must during pump-overs or quick tank to tank transfer.”

Lobe pumps are also frequently used to provide the back pressure needed for filtrations (both pad and cartridge).

The category is dominated by the Waukesha brand. However, several other brands are on the market, including APV-Crepaco, Börger, Egretier and Tri-Clover.

At the very least, if a winery style requires pump-overs for red fermentations, then it will have to consider purchasing one or more lobe pumps.

The Francesca rotary piston pump (available in the U.S. since 2006, and sold by Collopack Solutions, LLC) is an attempt at combining the best features of traditional piston pumps with those of rotary lobe, positive displacement pumps. Rotary pistons are so-called because the piston heads revolve around a central shaft rather than plunging up and down in a cylinder.

The liquid path through the Francesca pump is fairly straight despite its rotary design.

Although the Francesca pump has been compared to a Wankel rotary engine, which is also known a “rotary-piston” internal

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combustion engine, the internal design of the Francesca pump cavity is completely different from the Wankel’s combustion chamber.

Instead of the Wankel’s single offset rotor, the Francesca employs two quarter-circle pistons. The rotary motion is not constant, but rather, the pistons rotate more quickly through the bottom two-thirds than through the top-third of a given rotation.

When the two pistons are together, the remaining half of the pump forms the cavity for moving the wine. As the lead piston sweeps through the bottom of its cycle, it pushes the wine ahead of it out through the outlet port of the pump.

Since the lead piston travels through the bottom of the cycle more quickly than the following piston, the cavity compresses, thus pushing the wine through the pump. At the same time, a new cavity is formed for the next half rotation.

The motion of the rotary pistons is very gentle with whole berries passing intact through the pump cavity.

Matthieu Finot, winemaker at King Family Vineyards, cited the versatility of the rotary piston design.

“I use the Francesca for everything but the filtration. I love the Francesca for several reasons. The pressure sensor is very good when filling up barrels, no need to stop the pump, just close the filling gun. The dry sensor is very good when pumping out the pan of the press during a busy day of harvest; the pump stops itself when there is no more juice. The wireless remote control is also a plus on this pump. The design is easy to clean and very gentle on the wine and must.”

The Francesca product line has expanded considerably since 2006 with pumps ranging up to 15,000 gallons per hour in capacity.

Screw pumps Depending on how you define them, screw pumps are everywhere in the US wine industry, but they are seldom recognised as such.

This is simply because most pumps used to move must are fed by helical-screw augers, which could be considered a type of screw pump. However, the term ‘screw’ pump is usually reserved for pumps where the helical impeller is fully enclosed inside of a pump cavity.

The resulting pump looks rather like a progressing cavity pump on the outside. The impeller of a screw pump is different from that of a progressing cavity pump, however.

I’ve seen a lot of screw pumps in use in European wineries, but see them only rarely in US wineries despite their wide availability and generally gentle handling of the wine.

SO WHAT PUMP IS BEST? All this gets back to the question: What pump(s) should be bought? There are probably as many answers as there are wineries. However, I would recommend that the winery not skimp on pumps. Get at least one extra if at all possible.

In my experience, the additional cost of an additional centrifugal or diaphragm pump will be repaid by alleviated operational headaches.

Most importantly, wineries should only buy pumps that are designed for wet, corrosive winery environments, with all parts in contact with must, juice or wine constructed from at least 316-grade stainless steel or its cast equivalent (CF8M).

For any general-purpose winery pump, other than centrifugal, I recommend that the winery invest in variable-speed motor and robust remote controls.

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WineEng 2015: Excellence in winery operations and asset management Another successful Winery Engineering Association National Conference and Exhibition was staged in the Barossa in August across two days at the historic Chateau Tanunda winery. David Clark, the conference speaker program coordinator, reports.

PRE CONFERENCE TOUR IN A LEAD UP to the event a pre-conference tour for a limited number of delegates was held on the day prior to the conference which took in site visits to Orora Glass, Tarac Technologies and the NPEC wastewater treatment facilities.

The tour commenced during the morning at the glass making facilities of Orora Glass located near Gawler and delegates participated in an extensive tour of the bottle manufacturing process during which they were comprehensively briefed on the history of the plant and the glass making process.

Following lunch the group visited Tarac Technologies production facilit in Nuriootpa where Nigel Logos, the operations manager, led a tour through the facilities and explained the various processes used to convert winemaking solid waste material to commercial products using a range of technologies.

The final part of the tour for the day involved an inspection of the North Para Environment Control (NPEC) wastewater treatment facilities on the outskirts of Nuriootpa where delegates were briefed on the operations by John Constable and Mike Carson from JJC Technologies.

The tour and inspections gave tour participants a great insight into glass wine bottle manufacturing; the processing of winemaking by products; and the treatment and reuse of winery wastewater all of which was of keen interest to the attendees.

managing director. In his address Dan focused on the key technological developments in the history of wine production and the obstacles that were overcome in order to ‘find a better way’ plus he also offered some thoughts for breakthroughs that are just around the corner.

This address set the scene for the conference and was followed by a number of technical presentations delivered on day one of the conference covering lean production, rootcause analysis, asset utilisation, performance and optimisation plus renewable applications in winery operations, these presentations were then followed by an insightful presentation

by Tom O‘Reilly, Rockwell Automations Asia Pacific president, on understanding and developing business opportunities in China.

Proceedings for day one concluded with a sensory tasting conducted by Matt Holdstock, AWRI senior oenologist, to give the participants an understanding of how to recognise and detect faults and taints in wine. All of the available places for this educational tasting were taken up and the participants appreciated the opportunity to expand their skills in detecting faults and their knowledge and understanding of what causes faults in wine.

THE CONFERENCE

Day two of the conference comprised of 10 presentations with the morning session focusing on the efficient and effective use of plant services covering refrigeration, steam generation, compressed air plant and barrel store humidification, presentations in this session gave delegates important information on how significant reductions can be made to the running costs associated with such services which in most wineries result in being the greatest consumption areas of energy.

The afternoon sessions commenced with the first of three presentations from the AWRI covering life cycle assessment and water footprinting; the use and effects of oxygen during early stages of winemaking; and historical and future developments in grape pressing.

The final session of the conference took a different direction to the rest of the conference with a focus on issues associated with the safe use of wine transfer hoses; government support available to assist with growing business; and leading teams in diverse and seasonal businesses. These presentations drew a high degree of interest from the delegates and in turn were a fitting way to conclude the conference proceedings.

Exhibition Floor The exhibitor booths were taken up by a broad range of suppliers which offered delegates great opportunities to discuss new products and services, development plans and associated equipment requirements for the future as well as general networking. All exhibits were well attended during the tea and lunch breaks as well as before and after the conference proceedings each day.

This year’s WEA Conference and Exhibition was attended by about 180 delegates, representing all areas of winemaking production, plus a number of graduates from Adelaide University doing post-graduate studies in winemaking.

The theme title of this year’s conference was ‘Finding a Better Way – Excellence in Winery Operations and Asset Management’ and delegates were able to attend a comprehensive program of technical papers over the two days of the conference. These commenced with a keynote address from Dan Johnson, Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI)

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SENSORY TASTING

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CONFERENCE DINNER The conference dinner was well attended and great food and wine was enjoyed by one and all. Following a short address

by Ben McDonald, WEA president, an interesting presentation was given by Tony Vaughan, the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Central Operations chief operating officer in which he spoke about the history and future of the RFDS with some of the statistics of pickups, flight hours, flight kilometres and annual operating costs.

Tony’s presentation was extremely relevant to the evening as the funds raised from the traditional WEA dinner raffle, which has been conducted each year since 2003, went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. This year a record amount of $7,000 was raised. This brings the total amount raised and donated to the RFDS by the WEA since 2003 to $51,149. All raffle prizes across the years have been generously donated by exhibitors and supporters of the WEA for which we are extremely grateful as without such support we would be unable to assist the RFDS in providing their great service to the outback and beyond.

SPONSORSHIP AND SUPPORT The WEA would like to acknowledge the support of its patron sponsor, Rockwell Automation, and founding sponsor, Programmed Property Services, as well as the other major conference sponsors Oomiak and Aggreko.

The WEA would also like to acknowledge the support of Cold Logic, Thermowrap and A&G.

WEA 2016 CONFERENCES in

The WEA will be running both a National Conference Australia plus a biennial conference in New

Zealand during 2016 with details being as follows: • Australian National Conference & Exhibition 7-8 September 2016 at the Serafino Winery, McLaren Vale; and • New Zealand Biennial Conference & Exhibition 21-22 July 2016 in Blenheim on the South Island.

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Oak sales remain strong Andrew Adams, writing for Wines & Vines, looks at demand for oak in the international market- with news out of France and the US. This article first appeared in the October edition of Wines & Vines and is republished with permission.

BARREL ORDERS from US wineries continue to bolster French oak sales, and the demand for American oak from outside the wine industry remains stronger than ever.

Oak About the only thing that could provide some relief for winemakers buying new barrels is the lower value of the Euro, which could help mitigate increases in the prices of French and European oak barrels.

AT A GLANCE • French coopers are enjoying strong sales in the US market.

• The demand for American oak from the spirits industry remains intense.

• A stronger US dollar could offer some relief US producers buying barrels from Europe.

GOOD TIMES AT THE TOP TFF Group, which claims to be the largest wine barrel producer in the world, is enjoying strong growth in both its wine and whisky divisions. The company includes Tonnellerie Francois Frères, and the public corporation’s latest figures showed total sales of more than 200 million Euro ($309 million), with wine operations accounting for 130 million euro ($201 million), and whisky growing 39% to 74 million euro ($83 million).

A significant portion of TFF’s sales came from the North American wine industry, which posted 16% higher sales last year. It was TFF’s third consecutive year of double-digit wine barrel sales growth in North America.

In addition to strong sales, the firm completed acquisitions of the French cooperages Maury Coopers & Son and Berger & Son Cooperage last year. TFF’s roster of cooperages and barrel brands that it either wholly owns or has a stake in includes the two recent acquisitions as well as Francois Frères, Radoux, Trust, Demptos, Brieve, Bouyoud, Victoria, AP John, Alain Fouquet and Marc Kennell.

The company also owns the Pronektar, StaVin and Arobois lines of oak alternative products as well as three stave mills in France. TFF entered the spirits barrel industry in 2008 and has enjoyed strong growth ever since.

The company, which expanded its American cooperage in Kentucky, is building a new whisky cooperage in Scotland that is expected to be operational in 2016. TFF owns Camlachie, Speyside and Isla spirits cooperages.

Sales grew by 30% in 2014, and in the near term the company expects that sourcing oak for spirits barrels could pose more of a challenge than selling them.

NEW FOCUS FOR RADOUX As part of a few management changes, Louis Zandvliet joined Tonnellerie Radoux as general manager around the start of the year. TFF acquired Radoux in 2012, and Zandvliet is now focused on building market share for the company, which operates cooperages in France and Santa Rosa, California.

Zandvliet, who worked for the barrel-leasing operation H&A Financing for six years before joining Radoux, said he’s brought on new staff to boost Napa County sales and build sales of the Pronektar alternatives line.

He said the large harvests in California have helped boost sales, but so too has the growth of the wine industry overall.

That growth also has been driven by wines aged with either new barrels or tank staves, and that’s good for the cooperage

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November 2015 – Issue 622

trade. He said that Radoux plans to make some upgrades at the California cooperage to boost production, and part of a new marketing strategy is to stress the company has a production facility in the North Coast.

“A lot of people still don’t know that Radoux is local,” he said of the cooperage, which has been in operation for 20 years and produces about 10,000 barrels per year. “It’s very, very important and a big advantage. Being local, you can produce almost on demand.”

While acknowledging that he’s still getting to know some of the trends that dictate barrel fashion, Zandvliet did say the intense demand for American oak stave wood for Bourbon barrels is still driving up prices and may cause some winemakers to rethink their barrel programs.

FRENCH AND AMERICAN OAK SUPPLY The Fédération des Tonneliers de France released the findings of two studies it commissioned from the National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information and the National Forests Office on the future of France’s oak supply for barrels. The IGN studied 25 French states that have traditionally been the source of oak for barrels.

The study found that the standing timber located mostly in the regions of Haute Saône, Nièvre, Marne and Allier comes to 15 milion cubic meters. While the volume is substantial, the amount of haute futaie timber (the trees originally planted for naval ships) is declining, while tallis sous futaie (or coppice forest) with less tree density is increasing.

The ONF surveyed 47 forests covering 160,000 hectares (or nearly 400,000 acres) situated in the Loire region and interior of France. Most of the trees in these forests are of the sessile

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winemaking Cooperage imports (into the US) have steadily increased over the years, and France has remained the dominant source of this product. species. While the current amount of standing timber should provide a stable level of supply, the ONF also noted the amount of haute futaie trees are declining, and tallis sous futaie is on the increase.

The ONF also expects this trend to continue for the next 10 to 15 years. This trend could “aggravate the pressure on prices that has been quite noticeable over the last two years,” according to the coopers’ federation.

American oak is unlikely to get cheaper any time soon due to the demand for whisky barrels and because the supply of stave wood is unlikely to increase much despite that demand.

Judd Johnson, editor of the trade publication Hardwood Market Report, said the American white oak logs used for stave wood are the “most premium quality” logs on the market, followed by those used for veneer and thick lumber.

In a typical stand of American hardwood forest, there’s going to be a wide range of tree quality and tree species. About 80% of all hardwood forests in the United States are held by private owners and to make it worthwhile for them to harvest a stand, they need a market for all those trees.

“You have to have multiple markets working at a healthy level,” said Johnson.

The demand for white oak for cooperage is strong, but barrels account for too small a market share to be a real driver in the US

hardwood industry. Johnson described the American oak supply situation as “static”, explaining that the quantity of harvested timber is about equal to the amount growing.

The demand for staves, while strong, has not yet reached a point where it exceeds the number of barrel quality logs being harvested.

“That’s a legitimate concern for the stave industry in particular, that it may be going the other way around,” he said.

“I do think there’s been an increase in stave demand for the logs, but I don’t think it’s been enough to materially change the harvester-to-growth ratio. Obviously if it continues to grow, that rate could go the other way.”

Due to the cost of harvesting equipment and the species mix in a typical American hardwood forest, Johnson said it would make little sense for a barrel supplier to buy tracks of forest to secure stave-quality logs.

“It’s not economically feasible to buy timberland just to be able to get the logs to manufacture the product,” he said. “The numbers just wouldn’t make sense at all.”

Bill Luppold, an economist with the US Forest Service Northern Research Station in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, has authored numerous studies about the American hardwood market. In an article for the journal bioresources.com, he and co-author Matthew S. Bumgardner found that cooperage accounted for 4.5% of US hardwood exports in 2013.

The United Kingdom and the distilleries of Scotland continue to be top markets for US barrel exports.

Cooperage is the third-largest hardwood product imported to the US market, making up 9% of all hardwood imports.

France is the leading source of imported cooperage, with 86% of those imports fully assembled barrels.

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Traditional or the House Style (EP): The house style is a long slow toasting on a small oak fire that deeply penetrates the wood but produces only a light char compared to the traditional toast. This is recommended for wines that require extended barrel maturation. Traditional is also available and uses a slightly stronger flame for a shorter time for earlier drinking styles.

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“Cooperage imports have steadily increased over the years, and France has remained the dominant source of this product,” Luppold wrote.

Matthew Meyer, winemaker and executive vice president of The Williamsburg Winery in Williamsburg, Virginia, uses barrels from a variety of coopers that produce oak barrels from France, the United States and Hungary. \He said he’s yet to see the demand for American oak barrels drive up the cost of new barrels, but he has seen a huge increase in neutral, used barrels.

“I used to be able to buy used barrels at next to nothing,” he

November 2015 – Issue 622

said. “Now those same barrels are over $100 (A$140) and are not easy to find.”

Meyer said he tends to purchase more French oak, so he’s less worried about American oak prices and happier about the drop in the value of the euro. He mentioned he’s also begun to work with Tonnellerie Bossuet, which provides “superb” barrels at competitive prices.

“With that said, I would probably buy more barrels from France given the euro situation, even if I didn’t have a new friend in the barrel-making business.”

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Filtration

Is the drinking water at your winery safe to drink?

LABORATORY TESTING for a winery usually is thought of as dealing only with wine, but there is another important liquid that should be tested regularly – your drinking water.

If your winery is not on ‘town water’, that is if you use tank water for drinking water then you may be risking the health of your staff and customers if you are not maintaining your tanks or getting the water quality checked regularly. Greg Howell, from Vintessential Laboratories, reports.

SAFE DRINKING WATER IN WINERIES: SOME CASE STUDIES Vintessential Labs have been offering Drinking Water Testing for a number of years and during that time have seen some interesting experiences.

A recent example in Victoria occurred at a winery that has a very well-known restaurant business. One unwell staff member had been diagnosed with Giardia so we were asked to test their tank water, the same water that was given to customers in the restaurant. The testing showed extremely high levels of thermotolerant coliforms and was highly likely to be the source of the infection of the staff member. The tank water was certainly not fit for consumption. Who knows how many restaurant patrons went home feeling unwell?

94 Grapegrower & Winemaker

On another occasion a relatively young and fit rural customer complained of having had stomach pains for a couple of years. He had been to the doctor and had not been able to figure out what was the cause of the illness. He was finally advised to get his home water tested. He brought a sample to us and upon discussing his situation and what testing he required we determined that his household tank water came directly from his farm dam where his cattle had open access. He didn’t need our testing service – he simply needed to stop drinking the highly infected dam water!

WATER TEST GUIDELINES The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) are the recommended source for tests for drinking water in Australia. They have been developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) as the reference for the safe supply of drinking water.

To quote from the NHMRC; “The ADWG is designed to provide an authoritative reference to the Australian community and the water supply industry on what defines safe, good quality water, how it can be achieved and how it can be assured. The guidelines have been developed after consideration of the best available

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ARDS AW

WISA SU P

OF THE YE AR IER L P

WINNER 2014

winemaking scientific evidence and provide a framework for good management of drinking water supplies to ensure safety at point of use.”

• Thermotolerant Coliforms (or alternatively, Escherichia coli, commonly known as E.coli); and • Heterotrophic Bacterial Count

WHAT TESTS SHOULD BE DONE?

SAMPLING

The following is again from the AWDG: “Routine monitoring for specific pathogens is not recommended. Monitoring for microbial indicator organisms, which is relatively simple and inexpensive, is used for this purpose. E.coli (or thermotolerant coliforms) is the recommended indicator for faecal contamination while total coliforms and heterotrophic plate counts can be used for operational monitoring. Monitoring drinking water for E. coli (or thermotolerant coliforms) as a verification measure is a useful tool within a risk management approach to water quality.”

Instead of testing for particular organisms in water we perfrom main two tests that the AWDG guidelines recommend. As the ADWG state it can be a very expensive and time consuming exercise to test for every possible organism so indicator organisms are used to give a good idea of whether the water is fit for drinking or not.

A side note: one of the reasons why wine has been such a popular drink through the ages is because no harmful micro-organisms can live in the high alcohol environment as compared to water. So until recently if you drank only wine you could not catch cholera, typhus etc. as was relatively common. As recently as 1854 there was an instance of over 500 deaths from cholera in London in less than 10 days, shown to be caused from one water pump.

So the tests that are recommended to check water for microbial impurities are:

The taking of samples for bacterial testing in water needs to be done quite carefully. The samples need to be taken from a point where the water is commonly taken from, e.g. a kitchen or cellar door tap. The sample point needs to be flushed and the sample taken in a sterile container (these are available from Vintessential free of charge). The sample also needs to be tested within 24 hours of the sample being taken, so logistical matters need to be well organised as well.

RESULTS AND WHAT THEY MEAN As in wine microbiology the units of measurement are colony forming units per millilitre of sample (cfu/mL).

The accepted limit for Thermotolerant Coliforms is 0 cfu/ mL that is no coliforms should be found in drinking water. If any coliforms are found then the water is deemed not suitable for consumption. Although only some forms of E. coli are pathogenic the presence of any strain is a relevant indicator of contamination.

Heterotrophic Bacterial Counts (also known as Heterotrophic Plate Count) can be useful for checking the performance of a water collection or treatment system.

Heterotrophs are organisms that require an outside source of carbon that is required for their growth, this grouping also includes bacteria. This test is a measure of all bacteria that grow within the condition of the test used and is widely used internationally to check water quality.

SOURCES OF COLIFORMS

Wines, Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard Pty Ltd, Campbells Wines,The presence of E. coli organism’s shows that faecal Casama Group Pty Ltd, Cellarmaster Group, Charles Melton Wines, contamination has occurred recently as E. coli is not known Clover Hill Wines, CMV Farms, Coriole Vineyards, Delegats Wine Es to multiple in water. The source of coliforms in water can tate, Delegat’s Wine Estate Limited, DogRidge, Edgemill Group, Fanse be from soli contact, faecal contamination or biofilms on low Bell, Five Star Wines, Fowles Wine, Fuse Wine Services Pty Ltd, fixtures or pipes. Because of the widespread distribution Gemtree Vineyards, Glenlofty Wines, Harry Jones Wines, Henry’s Drive of coliforms in soil it cannot be assumed that a coliform Vignerons Pty Ltd, Hentley Farm, Hope Estate, Hospitality Recruit ment Solutions, Howard Park Wines, Hungerford Hill Wines, Inglewood presence is necessarily from faecal sources. It is not possible Wines Pty Ltd, Innocent Bystander, Jack Rabbit Vineyard, Jim Bar to determine if the source of contamination is specifically ry Wines, KarriBindi, Kauri, Kingston Estate Wines Pty Ltd, Kirrihill from human animal or bird origin, however the presence of Wines Pty Ltd, Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard, L’Atelier by, Aramis any E. coli should be considered a risk to health.

Vineyards, Leeuwin Estate, Make WInes Australia, McWilliam’s Wines The Wine Industry’s Leading Online Job SiteMoxon Oak, Group, Memstar, Mondo Consulting, Moppity VIneyards, Nadalie australia, Nexthire, Oenotec Pty Ltd, Options Wine Merchants, CONCLUSION Orlando Wines, Ozpak Pty Ltd, Patrick of Coonawarra, PlantagenetAs well as testing wine in a winery setting drinking water Wines, Portavin Integrated Wine Services, R&D VITICULTURAL SER should also be considered for health and safety reasons for VICES PTY LTD, Robert Oatley Vineyards, Rymill Coonawarra, Seville both staff and customers. The testing required to check the Estate, Stella Bella Wines, Streicker Wines, The Gilbert Family Wine Co, The Lane Vineyard, The Scotchmans Hill Group Pty Ltd, The Yalumba quality of drinking water is available but requires specialised Wine Company, Tintara Winery, Tower Estate Pty Ltd, Treasury Wine laboratories and careful sample management. If you are not Estates, Turkey Flat Vineyards, Two Hands Wines, Tyrrell’s Wines, using potable water from a reticulated town water supply Vinpac International, Warburn Estate Pty Ltd, WebAware Pty Ltd, then you should seriously consider getting your rain or Wine and Vine Personnel International,Wines Overland, Wingara WIne Group,Wirra Wirra Vineyards, Zilzie Wines, Accolade Wines Australia ground water tested to ensure it can be fit for purpose.

Limited, Aravina Estate, Australian Vintage Ltd, Barwick Wines, Bel tunga, Bests Wines Great Western, Bremerton Wines, Brown BrothersGreg Howell founded Vintessential Laboratories in 1995.

Milawa Vineyard Pty Ltd, Campbells Wines, Casama Group Pty Ltd, Cel More articles on related oenological topics are available larmaster Group, Charles Melton Wines, Clover Hill Wines, CMV Farms, on the Vintessential website at www.vintessential.com.au/ Coriole Vineyards, Delegats Wine Estate, Delegat’s Wine Estate Limit ed, DogRidge, Edgemill Group, Fanselow Bell, Five Star Wines, Fowles resources/articles/. Greg can be contacted by email at greg@ Wine, Fuse Wine Services Pty Ltd, Gemtree Vineyards, Glenlofty Wines, vintessential.com.au.

Harry Jones Wines, Henry’s Drive Vignerons Pty Ltd, Hentley Farm, Hope Estate, Hospitality Recruitment Solutions, Howard Park Wines, Hungerford Hill Wines, Inglewood Wines Pty Ltd, Innocent Bystander, Looking for more articles, Jack Rabbit Vineyard, Jim Barry Wines, KarriBindi, Kauri, Kingston Estate Wines Pty Ltd, Kirrihill Wines Pty Ltd, Krinklewood Biodynamic visit the Grapegrower and Vineyard, L’Atelier by, Aramis Vineyards, Leeuwin Estate, Make WInes Australia, McWilliam’s Wines Group, Memstar, Mondo Consulting, MopWinemaker article archive at: pity VIneyards, Oak, created Moxon & managed

by Nadalie australia, Nexthire, Oenotec Pty Ltd, Options Wine Merchants, Orlando Wines, Ozpak Pty Ltd, Patrick www.winetitles.com.au/gwm of Coonawarra, Plantagenet Wines, Portavin Integrated Wine Servic

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November 2015 – Issue 622

Product Update

Proactive solids management AN AUSTRALIAN COMPANY that has been exporting centrifuges to international wineries for about 10 years has recently started to see the technology being adopted here at home.

Separator Technology Solutions are offering winemakers an extra tool to proactively manage solids, which can help to improve winery efficiencies as well as reduce product losses and downgrades, and produce wines of specific styles.

The Wine Group in the Riverland and Accolade Wines are already putting this technology to good use. “The main reason for wineries to look at our machine is to match it with their crossflow technology and go ‘powder free’” said Ashley Whittington from Separator Technology Solutions.

While filter powder such as Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is a mainstream product used to filter and clarify wine, it is carcinogenic when airborne and potentially hazardous to the health of anyone inhaling the fine powder. Correct use comes with increasing regulations and costs, which can negates the product recovery benefits.

“We know that powder used to be really cheap, but it has become one of the big occupational health and safety issues because it is a known carcinogen,” said Whittington. “So while we know that powder filters actually do a very good, very efficient and affordable job, what we’ve been able to do is replace that with our technology and a business case that actually increases yield. We’ve seen plenty of success overseas, where it is also being used in smaller, premium wineries – and it is now being applied in a commercial setting here in Australia.

“A winery that already has a crossflow filter set up can couple it with our technology for a complete solution.”

The STS system was designed specifically for the wine industry and addresses the different solids removal requirements across the winemaking process. Its ability to process higher solids with a greater product recovery via a thick solids discharge and negligible oxygen pick-up gives it a clear advantage over other disc centrifuges.

“I would suggest any winery processing more than 1000 tonnes could make the switch viable, but we have also had customers that crush as little as 300 tonnes make it work because they are premium producers. We know premium November 2015 – Issue 622

winemakers are less concerned about the use of powder and about yield, but they can make a case for using it because of the quality of the wine.”

STS centrifuges as part of a solids management programme can be used to obtain a desired wine style as a result of manipulating solids via juice

clarification, yeast contact postferment and malolactic lees.

“We don’t have any doubt, the impact is always better than a rotary vacuum drum. But with premium wines, the timing is key. It’s all about how and when the winemaker chooses to use it, based on the desired wine style.”

As Installed at …

Accolade, Andrew Peace, Indevin, Seifried, The Wine Group, Vintech & more

Separator Technology Solutions Pty Ltd

Represented: in Australia by ABS and in New Zealand by Vintech Pacific Ashley Whittington

Geoff Price

Guy Rutledge

STS

ABS

Vintech Pacific

+ 61 3 9016 4330 sales_au@sts200.com www.sts200.com

+ 61 407 842 244 price.geoff@bigpond.com

+64 21 783 236 guy@vintechpacific.co.nz www.vintechpacific.co.nz

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winemaking Product Update

Lightweight, consistent and efficient filter aid SINCE ITS INCEPTION in 1959, Exfoliators has been a 100% Australian-family owned and operated business. Exfoliators is proud to be a leading manufacturer and supplier of premium perlites and vermiculites as well as passive fire protection material to the horticulture, protected cropping, construction, industrial and other specialised industries.

The company is known to wine grape nurseries because its premium vermiculite is by far the most widely used media in the vine propagation in Australia. The lightweight, sterile, inert, temperature-stable environment ensures the best possible strike-callusing rates and has replaced sand and saw dust which were previously used.

This year Exfoliators has launched into the winemaking side of the industry with a new filtration product, FilterLite premium perlite filter aid, which is lightweight, consistent and efficient.

Exfoliators FilterLite was developed in response to the increase in demand from distribution partner, Enoltech (led by Roy Hosking and David Wardlaw) who were looking for a genuine alternative, high quality, Australian based manufacturer of perlite filter aid. After some extensive research,

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98 Grapegrower & Winemaker

FilterLite has been produced with a carefully selected ore that allows it to be lighter weight and more permeable, when we couple this with our new high tech plant – we know we are a genuine alternative and look to exceed customer needs Exfoliators took on a multi-million dollar investment in new plant and laboratory – to provide a world class perlite filter aid, manufactured in Australia for local wineries.

Exfoliators have gone to great lengths to source the most advanced production technology and select the highest quality raw material available.

“The plant is highly efficient and produces zero waste,” said Graeme Raper, Exfoliators CEO. “Everything from what the customer doesn’t see, such as lower energy usage against typical technology, to what they do see, in a tight and consistent product specification, this all aligns with our core values and direction.”

The plant and laboratory is not all that contributes to Exfoliators push for providing the highest quality product.

“Perlites are not perlites, for instance, you can have two sources from Turkey, almost next door to one another, but both can be completely different – particularly in the end product produced, one is excellent for Filter Aid, the other more appropriate for a construction or horticulture application,” said Graeme.

He explains how this relates to the perlite filter aid and their FilterLite product, “FilterLite has been produced with a carefully selected ore that allows it to be lighter weight and more permeable, when we couple this with our new high tech plant – we know we are a genuine alternative and look to exceed customer needs”.

Establishing themselves in the market must be tough, but as Louis Raper, who is second generation and part of the sales and marketing team explains, they have kicked things off on the right foot.

“As part of our establishment, we wanted to understand the product and the user more, along with growing our ties with Enoltech – who have been a dream to work with and they have an exceptional knowledge base,” said Louis.

To get things underway, they dipped their toes in the water in partnership with Enoltech.

“We completed commercial work last vintage and achieved great results with some reputable Griffith and Riverland wineries, this was done using product produced with the same spec. equipment and the same raw material source- both key factors.”

As Louis explains, it was a great theory, “one winery passed comment that it began right when they pulled the curtain back on the B-Double, product presentation was not only high

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November 2015 – Issue 622

GEA Westfalia Separator Australia Pty Ltd

No. 1 Wine Centrifuge The GSC Series Centrifuge

but OH&S positive, this was due to us specifying a bulk bag not previously used by the industry which maximises pallet utilisation and is more stable in storage. Once in operation they realised the lighter and more consistent product, but also achieved greater through-put, while achieving lower NTUs.” Exfoliators are triple certified in; IS09001, IS014001 & ASNZ4801, while it is also the only producer of its field accredited to Australian Organic Facility Standards with products also conforming to FSANZ specific to perlite filter aids.

“Exfoliators are excited to launch FilterLite – a premium perlite filter aid, which is lightweight, consistent and efficient.

We look forward to some fantastic long-term relationships in conjunction with Enoltech and the Australian Wine Industry, we wish everyone well and for a successful vintage ahead,” said Graeme.

For more information contact: Exfoliators P: 03 9706 6049 E: office@exfoliators.com.au or Enoltech P: 03 8786 4300 E: enquiries@enoltech.com.au November 2015 – Issue 622

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sales & marketing Innovative packaging: Super premium with a twist Bottling

The winery team at Printhie Wines in the Orange region of New South Wales had a nickname for the new premium wine they were working on. The ambition was to create a ‘super duper’ Chardonnay, they succeeded in more ways than one.

DREW TUCKWELL, the Printhie winemaker, said the winery’s new premium Chardonnay and Syrah are “relatively new and not that widespread”.

The two wines were released about 12 months ago, but the winery has held back on the promotion because they are both tiny releases – just “two barrel blends” or about 60 cases.

They are Super Duper, both literally and figuratively. A 2012 SuperDuper Syrah and a 2012 Super-Duper Chardonnay. Both retail for $85.

“They are not the sort of wines you typically crack open and sit down to enjoy,” Tuckwell admits. “We never pour

the Syrah for the wine media without decanting it because it’s not a wine that is immediately ready to drink.”

In fact, the way Tuckwell prefers for wine writers to look at the wine is to open it up and taste it across a couple of days.

“2012 was the first vintage for these wines and they came out of experiments and from us trying to push ourselves in the winery a bit.”

Tuckwell said that when he started working at Printhie in 2008 the wines on offer were priced across a flat range. He set about introducing a reserve range and then a flagship wine.

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November 2015 – Issue 622

It happened that two ‘super duper’ wines above the flagship Swift Family Heritage (the best red wine possible from estate grown vineyards) came about in two different ways.

The winemaker had been doing trials with premium parcels of Syrah to try and get different expressions from the fruit, this included playing with different percentages of whole-bunch ferments and different maturation times. But it was different for the super duper white.

“With the Chardonnay we were quite pleased with the wines we had been making, but we were doing regular Friday lunch wine options games and had benchmarked what we’d been making and we just set ourselves to make the best wine we could, a super duper Chardonnay,” said Tuckwell.

“We looked at everything to try and achieve that result, from fruit sourcing to oak selection and maturation. We ended up with a wine made in 70 per cent new oak, which was twice as much new oak as we’d ever done before.

“With the Syrah it was about finding a different result by changing what we were doing in the winery. It sort of made itself.

“But the Chardonnay was something we set out to do.

“The name itself was a little bit of a funny story, we had set out to make great wines and the nickname for them in the winery ended up being Super-Duper – and that’s what it was all the way up until it came to bottling it and then it needs a label. We thought ‘why not’.

“We know it promotes a reaction, but as a bit of time has passed we’ve found that has become a more and more positive reaction. And people have been really positive about the packaging.”

Tuckwell said the label will remain an experimental outlet for the winery.

To prove the point, the 2013 Chardonnay destined for the Super-Duper label has seen 100 per cent new oak, while the Syrah has seen hardly any.

“Initially the Syrah fruit was a small parcel of fruit from a patch of vines that were being converted from spurs to canes and the yield was low. But we’re not going to restrict ourselves to which parcel it is.

It’s the same for the Chardonnay, we don’t have a ‘reserve block’ but we have access to four really good blocks.

“We had been doing different percentages of whole-bunch ferments with the Syrah, looking at the difference between zero, 10, 20 and 30 per cent.

What you find with the whole-bunch is

AT A GLANCE As the Printhie website explains…

We freely admit that the name SuperDuper might polarise a few people out there.

It came about because when we were conceiving the project, we quite literally said, “let’s make a super-duper chardonnay and Syrah”. When it came to the point of having to bottle and package these wines, we had to settle on a name.

The one most apt and most descriptive was the one we had lovingly referred to these wines as for the past four years of development.

We hope that the moniker adds a bit of fun to some very serious wines. that you get less obvious, less extravagant fruit and a different tannin structure and different mouthfeel across the midpalate.

“When I first started in the mid-90s you almost never spoke about texture like that, but now any discussion about wine is centered on it.

Bottling Line Solutions Bottle National 03 9555 5500 SA & WA Sales 0401 560 550

November 2015 – Issue 622

Label

Pack

Email info@grapeworks.com.au

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sales & marketing “You know, we’re not actually employing anything new – we’re actually going backwards and looking at things that went out 40 years ago and things the guys in the Rhone never gave up.

“At one stage I ended up chatting to Tim Kirk about it and he said he was doing a bit of whole-bunch and I thought ‘bugger it, let’s have a go’.

“It’s one of those things that happens when winemakers travel and see how other people are doing things, instead of staying in their own gold fish bowl.”

Tuckwell said he’s not experimenting anywhere near as much as those making skin-contact white wines, red wines on skins for many months, or even ‘natural’ or ‘pet nat’ wines. But he’s happy some winemakers are pushing to the extreme, because it gives him some encouragement to step outside of the default ways of doing things.

“We’ve all been willing to be more open-minded, you don’t need to be philosophically aligned one way or the other – you can just have a go. I think it is all part of turning the image of Australian wine around, it’s all about interesting wines.

“And everyone can share the credit, even the small guys who do things

102 Grapegrower & Winemaker

I think it is all part of turning the image of Australian wine around, it’s all about interesting wines. And everyone can share the credit, even the small guys who do things completely differently. completely differently. Sure, there are regional constraints we all have, but it’s a bit of fun.”

The theme of ‘innovative packaging’ will return for our December edition and we would like to hear from wineries that have launched something new and exciting during the past 12 months.

Feel free to send Nathan Gogoll an email with more information… editor@grapeandwine.com.au

www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

Trophy sweep for Taylors at the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge CLARE VALLEY based Taylors Wines has made history at the Great Australian Shiraz Challenge in late October, winning both the Best Australian Shiraz and the Best Australian Shiraz under $25. Receiving a score of 19.5, the awards mark the second time a single wine has collected both trophies on offer at the competition.

Mitchell Taylor, third generation managing director, said he was proud to be receiving such a prestigious accolade.

“We are thrilled with the result,” he said. “These award wins are a credit to the hard work and dedication of our vineyard and winemaking teams who craft top quality wines across our entire portfolio.

“We are humbled to be recognised as Best Australian Shiraz and Best Australian Shiraz under $25 as it reaffirms our commitment to producing beautiful wines of great value.”

Continuing an impressive run of medal wins for the winery’s current vintage Shiraz, the wine more recently received the trophy for Best Shiraz at the Perth Royal Wine Show, as well as nine gold medals internationally this year. The Estate Shiraz is the winery’s most awarded Estate wine in the company’s history.

Now in its 21st year, The Great Australian Shiraz Challenge has become Australia’s pre-eminent and valuable single class wine competition. The Challenge was established by the winemakers of the Nagambie Lakes region who laid down a challenge to determine Australia’s best Shiraz producers. Wines entered are classed and tasted based on climate and regional points of difference, ensuring all entries are judged fairly and objectively.

The Challenge has proven to be a very successful show for Taylors Wines. It first received the People’s Choice Award in 2000 for the 1997 St Andrews Shiraz, taking the top trophy for Best Australian Shiraz the following year with the 1998 St Andrews Shiraz. Taylors also received the trophy for Best Australian Shiraz under $25 in 2011 for the 2010 Promised Land Shiraz.

For more information about the challenge and for the complete results visit www.shirazchallenge.com.au

These award wins are a credit to the hard work and dedication of our vineyard and winemaking teams who craft top quality wines across our entire portfolio.

Top Solutions

National 03 9555 5500 SA & WA Sales 0401 560 550

November 2015 – Issue 622

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business & technology

Alternative Varietals: On-premise report Peter McAtamney, Wine Business Solutions (WBS) principal, is using his extensive industry knowledge and experience to pick apart the Australia On-Premise market. Back in August, McAtamney started his on-premise reports with Riesling, but this time, he’s been looking at the staggering growth in popularity of ‘alternative’ varietals in terms of on-premise listings.

More layers, more textures, more spice, more savouriness but far more importantly more elegance and subtlety of flavour are what almost everyone wants.

ESSENTIALLY, 2015 has been a watershed year in the hospitality industry in Australia.

A generation brought up on Masterchef and the belief that they can have anything online instantly is now in control.

They are deciding what is on wine lists rather than a relatively small group of national distributors.

Some distributors have done a brilliant job of following the shift in the market.

Other have been left scrambling to try and catch up.

What restaurateurs and their customers are clearly saying is...

“Please don’t give me another

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Margaret River Chardonnay, Clair Riesling as we know it – show me something interesting and different that will make my food sing. Tell about its provenance.

"Give me a unique and unforgettable story that will capture may heart.”

What is perhaps most interesting is that the regions that were most disadvantaged when it was all about linking region to popular varietal (Barossa, McLaren Vale / Adelaide Hills) are the most advanced when it comes to adapting their white wine offer to better suit their climate as well as the market.

Marlborough, Margaret River

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November 2015 – Issue 622

market check Table: Total White Wine Listings by Varietal / Wine Style

Table: Number of ‘Other’ White Varietal By-The-Bottle Listings and Average Price by Region (Note – excludes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Rieslings, SSB Blends and Pinot Gris / Grigio)

and Claire, confident that their stars had aligned have engaged in far less innovation and are now being penalised for it.

There are ways to make Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling so as to have maximum appeal to the current market but very few producers are doing that in these principal regions.

Those that are in Margaret River, for example, are benefiting hugely.

Perhaps the most exciting development is the rapid rise in the listing of highest quality white blends.

We have been insisting for a long time now that if Australia is ever to recover its ‘mojo’ where white winemaking is concerned then it can only be with highest quality blends and certain Italian and Spanish varietals, particularly in warmer regions.

It should be fairly clear by now that Australia will not do it with aromatic wines. Cooler countries have so much of an advantage there.

It’s exactly the same story with red wine styles.

More layers, more textures, more spice, more savouriness but far more importantly more elegance and subtlety of flavour are what almost everyone wants.

Yes, there are still steakhouses with wine lists populated with wines from a bygone era but even those venues are coming under pressure to change as the next generation emerges.

Red blends are the obvious way to achieve this. And don’t let the red blend figure fool you...

The drop is mainly due to restaurants being more confident about putting the lead varietal on the wine list and absolutely not reflective of any slowdown in demand.

So it’s either the most exciting time ever to be a winemaker or the most frustrating and challenging.

As with all things where change is concerned, the choice is yours to make.

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November 2015 – Issue 622

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business & technology

SIMEI 2015 Innovation Challenge TWENTY-ONE PROJECTS have earned a special mention for the SIMEI Innovation Challenge. Established by Unione Italiana Vini to offer an official recognition to the innovations presented at SIMEI 2015, the contest announcement was open to all registered exhibitors with a system, machine or product considered to be ‘state-of-the-art’ in its sector.

There were two award categories. The ‘technological innovation award’ is for projects based on extensive scientific expertise together with field experience, those with the potential to break old patterns and creating new synergies.

There are four award-winning projects developed by four companies: • Alfa Laval spa – Foodec Centrifuges; • Diemme Enologia SpA – Spin Filters; • HTS Enologia – Bionica; and • TMCI Padovan SpA – Finishing Filter The second category, ‘new technology’ recognises projects that find process and product innovation and deliver significant improvements to the winemaking process.

In this category, there are 17 award-winning projects: • Astro Srl – VEGA; • Dal Cin SpA - Light No Struck; • Diemme Enologia SpA – QC 620 Crushing Line; • DR Wine Tech Srl - RiCaMo Filling System; • Gai Macchine Imbottigliatrici SpA - Linear Pneumatic Bottling Monoblock; • Ghidi Metalli Srl - Onda New Tank; • Gruppo Bertolaso SpA - Optical Inspection System for Perfect Bottles; • Innotec Tecnologie Innovative Srl – Nitrorinser; • Maselli Misure SpA - Dissolved CO2: Online Measurement; • Nomacorc–ZEST; • Nomacorc - Nomasense CO2 P2000; • Nomacorc - Nomasense Polyscan B200; • PE Labellers - Self-adhesive Group; • Parsec Srl - TopTube Filler; • Siprem International Srl - Bifunctional Extraction System; • Tecme International Srl - Inertized Vibrating Trailer; and • Velo Acciai - Mod TLS 2-4-6-8.

The Innovation Challenge was established to recognise and reward those companies that support the winemakers and grapegrowers. This year’s innovations were assessed by a committee of 27 authoritative exponents from across the winemaking and grapegrowing world.

The winners include: TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AWARD Alfa Laval SpA - Market Unit Food & Beverage – Co-Exhibitor Juclas Foodec Centrifuges A processing line for the simultaneous extraction and clarification of must. The application of the Foodec technology optimises the initial stages of grape processing, reducing the time necessary to obtain and subsequently clarify musts, though respecting the quality of the must obtained.

Diemme Enologia SpA Spin Filter, dynamic filtration system The filtration of lees sediment of must and wines has always been a difficult testing field for wineries. Rotary vacuum filtration is currently the most common solution.

106 Grapegrower & Winemaker

However, this filter has drawbacks. The new Spin Filter technology by Diemme Enologia, uses disc-shaped polymeric membranes in PVDF, mounted on stainless steel supports.

HTS Enologia Bionica Bionica is the innovative inline dosing system for organic nutrients during the fermentation process in useful quantities and times for yeasts and fermentation.

Bionica is a complex system which can trace the necessary information for managing the fermentation process in the best way by means of timely monitoring of CO2 production.

TMCI Padovan SpA Terminator: Finisher filter The Terminator filtration system meets a common need in the winemaking sector in a completely original and innovative way, allowing the total recovery of a high-quality filtrate from already concentrated lees.

NEW TECHNOLOGY Astro Srl VEGA – Anti top-up closure A simple and innovative closure with an anti top-up function, created to make sure the content cannot be modified without the packaging being opened or altered. It also doesn’t allow the container to be reused once the content has been used up.

Dal Cin SpA Light-No-Struck Research conducted by the University of Milan (DeFENS) and Dal Cin SpA has identified the relevant wine processing phases for controlling the concentration of riboflavin, which impacts on white and rosé wines in clear glass becoming light struck.

Diemme Enologia SpA Pressing line QC 620 An automatic system for continuous pressing of fermented pomace and similar products. The product reaches a vibrating drainer where the liquids are separated from solids, then fed by a high-pressure peristaltic pump inside the cage of the press.

Dr Wine Tech Srl RiCaMo Filling A bottling process with a filling system pouring wine through the central tube of a mobile straw, maintaining a constant minimum distance between the level of the wine and the end of the straw, without stress or froth.

Gai Macchine Imbottigliatrici SpA Electro-pneumatic linear single unit The linear single unit incorporates the best technology on the market such as electro-pneumatic rinsers, electro-pneumatic fillers and up to three types of single-turret corking machine.

Ghidi Metalli Srl New Wave Tank A multifunctional winemaking tank, long-term ageing and preservation without the addition of sulphites or other allergens.

The tank is made of stainless steel and fitted with an automatic pump-over system that does not use pumps and has technical gas injectors positioned at specific points.

Gruppo Bertolaso SpA Optical control for perfect bottles A complete new system for the final inspection of bottles after filling and corking. The machine is distinctive for the addition of special inspection and optical control devices on a rotating carousel. The inspection system completes the examination of the bottles by verifying the correct application

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November 2015 – Issue 622

of the cork and other optical aspects of the bottled product such as colour and faults in the glass.

Innotec Tecnologie Innovative Srl Nitrorinser An intensive rinsing system for internal surfaces of containers, with the benefit of changing their atmosphere thanks to the use of water enriched with technical gas. Nitrorinser is a unit that can be installed on any machine for washing or rinsing bottles. It is a system that receives filtered water, intended for the rinse nozzles, and passes it through a special porous tube.

Maselli Misure SpA Dissolved CO2: on-line measuring Use of ATR technology (Attenuated Total Reflectance) to measure the CO2 concentration dissolved in wine directly on the production line. UC07 is a carbon metric analyzer that optically measures the CO2 dissolved, without resorting to by-passes and recirculation pumps, directly on the tubing using TriClamp or Varivent connections.

Nomacorc ZEST! The first Nomacorc cork for bottling sparkling wine, produced thanks to the patented co-extrusion production process. ZEST! is the first cork for sparkling wine with a zero carbon footprint that guarantees the absence of cork taste and other sensory alterations, while also avoiding disc detachment.

Nomacorc NomaSense CO2 P2000 NomaSense CO2 P2000 allows the real-time measurement of CO2 in the wine directly in the cellar. Based on infrared technology that uses selected wavelengths to allow the quick and accurate measurement of CO2 in wine. The CO2 analysis can be done in 10 seconds on a range of CO2 between 50 and 2,500 ppm.

November 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issue 622

Nomacorc NomaSense Polyscan B200 Polyphenol analysis of grapes and wine in real time in the vineyard and cellar. The Nomasense Polyscan B200 polyphenol analyser is made up of a portable potentiostat for electro-chemical analysis and disposable miniaturised electrodes, specific for polyphenol analysis of grapes and wine. The sample does not need preliminary treatments of filtration, centrifugation or dilution.

P.E. Labellers Self-adhesive group An automatic joining device for selfadhesive labels, self-regulating for reels with different label spacing. The device adds to the functionality of the 140 m adhesive groups, with the possibility to create continuity in labelling by inserting an automatic joiner at the start of the line and, at the same time, deal with the problem of label reels with different spacing. When the adhesive group is â&#x20AC;&#x153;in productionâ&#x20AC;? and is using a label reel, it is possible to prepare a second one thanks to the automatic joiner, by positioning the head on a special buffer.

Parsec Srl Toptube topper-upper An automatic topping-up system made up of a compensation chamber with a preset volume and a control system that maintains the topping up level of the tank by supervising the level inside the compensation chamber. The compensation chamber is simply made up of an empty tube in stainless steel or other inert material. The innovation consists in the fact that the problem of the risk of oxidation caused by nontotally-filled recipients, such as tanks, vats and barriques, has been solved with a simple and economic solution that can be manual or automatic.

Siprem International Srl www.winetitles.com.au

Bifunctional Extract System A hybrid machine able to guarantee the pre-fermentation extraction of colour or cooling. Extract System is intended for fast extraction of pigments or the lowering of the temperature of the product. The grapes are fed in line with carbon dioxide or nitrogen and subjected to a decrease in temperature.

Tecme International Srl - Co-Exhibitor Siprem Inertised vibrating cart Vibrating cart with automatic inertisation to protect grapes and drained must immediately after the harvest and during transport to the cellar. With a correct dosage of inert gases managed by PLC, it is possible to block the irreversible process of oxidation of must. The raisable framework and the vibrating drawer fitted with a door, enable grapes to be unloaded gently and precisely, directly into the destemmer or press.

Velo Acciai Srl Lees-Stop Filter Crossflow filter for lees available with 2, 4, 6, 8, stainless steel tubolar membranes in automatic or semi-automatic version.

TLS filters allow the filtration of products with an high concentration of suspended solids like clarification lees of wines and musts without using filtration aids. An automatic pre-filter works as a sieve in order to remove stalks, marc and others gross solids.

The lees pass through the stainless steel membranes for the filtration. Using that membranes allow the elimination of yeasts and bacteria, ensuring the obtaining of a perfectly clear product.

We will have more reports from SIMEI in the December edition. Mary Retallack and Simon Nordestgaard attended the Italian event and will report on the highlights and key innovations.

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calendar

looking back We step back in time to see what was happening through the pages of Grapegrower and Winemaker this month 10, 20 and 30 years ago.

November 1985: Mornington Peninsula winemakers staged their first big promotional venture- the 1985 Peninsula Wine & Food Fest at the historic Briars homestead on November 9. The growers whose wines were presented at the Fest included Nat White of Main Ridge Estate, George Kefford of Merricks Estate, Bruce and Stan Paul of Balnarring Vineyard and Brian Stonier of Merricks Vineyard. Presently 31 growers, all members of the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association look after 90 acres of vines.

November 1995: Negotiations are in progress to establish a centre for wine management and marketing in South Australia which may open as early as 1996. Academics at the University of Roseworthy and Waite Campus, the University of SA and the Department of Technical and Further Education are discussing the formation of a new centre for wine business management which would coordinate the teaching and research of wine business and marketing.

November 2005: The Senate Inquiry into the wine industry has ended and the recommendations have been brought down, BUT, will these suggestions result in changes throughout the industry? Here’s a brief overview of what the major players thought about the recommendations. Murray Valley Winegrowers CEO Mike Stone believed the result could be a more stable, fairer operating environment. Winemakers Federation of Australia chief executive Stephen Strachan said he thought the Inquiry focused on grapegrowing when it should have set its sights on the industry in general.

Australia & New Zealand November 15 46th Eltham Wine Show 2015 Bulleen, VIC. www.amateurwine.org.au 15 Malmsbury Village Food and Wine Fayre Malmsbury, VIC. www.malmsburyvillagefayre.org.au 15 Toast Martinborough Wine, Food & Music Festival Martinborough, NZ. www.toastmartinborough.co.nz

20-22 Margaret River Gourmet Escape Margaret River, WA. www.margaretrivergourmetescape.com.au 22 Langhorne Creek Vignerons' Race Day Strathalbyn Racecourse, SA. www.langhornecreek.com 23 A Taste of French Terroirs (Auckland) Auckland, NZ. www.facci.com.au/sopexa

16-17 The Drinks Industry Show Sydney, NSW. www.infosalons.com.au/DRINKS15S

23-25 Vintage Cellars 2015 Margaret River Wine Show Margaret River, WA. www.margaretriverwine.info

16-19 (JD) HOBART 2015, Royal Hobart International Wine Show Glenorchy, TAS. www.hobartshowground.com.au

24-25 The Adelaide Hills Wine Show Adelaide Hills, SA. www.adelaidehillswine.com.au

16 Victorian Tourism Awards Melbourne, VIC. www.victoriantourismawards.com.au

25 A Taste of French Terroirs – Sydney Sydney, NSW. www.facci.com.au/sopexa

19 ASVO Adelaide Seminar Adelaide, SA. www.asvoawardsforexcellence. wordpress.com

26 2015 NSW Tourism Awards Sydney, NSW. www.nswtourismawards.com

20 Crush 2015 - The Grape and Wine Science Symposium Adelaide, SA. www.wineinnovationcluster.com/crush2015

December 4 Barossa Generations Lunch Tanunda, SA. www.barossa.com

5 Burnbrae's Black Tie BBQ Mudgee, NSW. www.burnbraewines.com.au

International November 15-22 San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival California, USA. www.sandiegowineclassic.com

18-20 2015 Wine Tourism Conference Virginia, USA. www.winetourismconference.org

16-20 International Wine Challenge Trance 1 London, UK. www.internationalwinechallenge.com

23-24 World Bulk Wine Exhibition Amsterdam, The Netherlands. www. worldbulkwine.com

17-20 ENOVITIS - International Vine & Olive Growing Technics Exhibition Milan, Italy. www.enovitis.it

December 4-6 Shanghai International Wine & Spirits Exhibition 2015 Shanghai, China. www.winefair.com.cn

JD = judging date CD= closing date

For a comprehensive list of events, visit www.winetitles.com.au/calendar

108 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

industry profile

In the spotlight Kristy Bartrop Riverina Wine Grapes Marketing Board Size: 340 Grape Grower members

Your role:

As the Industry Development Officer I am responsible for the management all extension activities in the Riverina.

I am also responsible for the management of promotions for the Wine Grapes Marketing Board and have recently initiated a new marketing brand, the Riverina Wine Collective.

This brand will be the face of all the promotional efforts that the Board undertakes.

This separation avoids confusion for event management and participants understanding the focus of regional events. The Riverina Wine Collective is essentially a hub for all the wines of the Riverina to be accessed with local information generated to share our story of the Riverina wine region.

And your career in the industry before this role: I have been with the Wine Grapes Marketing Board for seven years. After leaving school I completed a traineeship as a technical assistant with the NSWDPI at Yanco. I was involved in rice breeding trials, entomology and cereal chemistry and gained a higher appreciation of the breadth of opportunity in Agriculture.

These traineeships are unfortunately no longer offered, though this was a critical step in my advancement from high school to understanding the scope of opportunity in Agriculture as a school leaver. At completion of the traineeship, I was employed with a number of different food and wine industry laboratories as I progressed through my Distance Education studies to achieve a BAppSc (Food Science).

This work expanded my knowledge and proficiency in laboratory testing, quality assurance, product development and auditing. After completion of my undergraduate degree, I went on to complete a Masters of Management and Masters of Ethics and Legal Studies by distance education through Charles Sturt University.

In 2001, I commenced teaching at the Riverina TAFE Wine and Food November 2015 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Issue 622

Technology Centre in Griffith, teaching laboratory and food safety courses to students from wineries and the local food industry.

In 2007, I undertook a one-year contracted position with CSIRO as a research assistant working on utilising winery waste water to irrigate crops or pasture. At completion of that contract I commenced my work with the Board.

What has been your biggest achievement: I am personally most proud of my husband and three children. Squeezing a family life into a very busy work life is not an easy task. Attaining three university degrees by distance Education while working fulltime and raising my family has been a crazy as it sounds.

Professionally I have experienced many proud moments, though one of the highlights would have to be delivering a diploma level TAFE qualification in laboratory technology for the first time outside of the Sydney Basin to a fantastic local group of students. It was an enormous effort to design and write all the training materials to tailor the course to the local offering, but it was very much worth it when I see those same students continue to contribute positively in the wine industry and local community. www.winetitles.com.au

What are the current challenges you are facing your organisation and its members: Warm inland regions are experiencing incredibly tough trading conditions which does cause for concern for our regions wine grape growers. We are seeing some opportunities emerge and we need to work rationally toward a prosperous future. The significance and relevance of the Riverina region to the Australian Wine industry is often understated. All agriculture is experiencing an aging demographic of producers, and this has unfortunately aligned with the current tumultuous times in the wine industry which is seeing asset values diminished.

Where do Riverina grapegrowers and winemakers go for support on these issues: The Wine Grapes Marketing Board is a conduit for information for our producers from all the various relevant sources.

How important is the Grapegrower & Winemaker magazine a source of information: The Wine Grapes Marketing Board subscribed on behalf of all our regions growers to the publication as we see it as a valuable source of information for the region.

Grapegrower & Winemaker

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Vine Industry Nursery Assoc.

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110 Grapegrower & Winemaker

To advertise, Maria Stephenson on (08) 8369 9513 contact... or m.stephenson@winetitles.com.au www.winetitles.com.au

November 2015 – Issue 622

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