Grapegrower & Winemaker - February 2016

FEBRUARY 2016

JOHN CASELLA:

Quality and quantity

GRAPE RIPENING RISK: Fruit splitting

THE VINTAGE ADRENALIN RUSH

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contents features FEBRUARY 2016

38

Vineyard Machinery

62

Tanks & Wine Storage

65

Refrigeration

70

JOHN CASELLA:

COVER While the machine harvesters are rattling throughout the night in many wine regions at the moment, the hand snips are also in action for vintage.

Nathan Gogoll captured this image in the Barossa.

Quality and quantity

GRAPE RIPENING RISK: Fruit splitting

Labelling & Packaging

THE VINTAGE ADRENALIN RUSH

news

grapegrowing

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

Grape ripening risk: Fruit splitting............25

From the editor .........................................8

Rainfall events are generally very unwelcome this time of year, thanks to the potential of berries to burst, crack or rupture.

Vintage adrenalin rush

Mistakes new grapegrowers make ..........30

My View: Matthew Bailey .......................10 Award-winning viticulturist Matthew Bailey, the vineyard manager for Coppabella, talks up Tumbarumba.

Accurately diagnosing vineyard problems is one thing; preventing them from occurring is the ultimate goal, and even experienced growers have occasional slips.

Seppelt Great Western set to close .......... 11

Vine improvement in WA ........................32

Regional Roundup: Western Australia ......14

A hot summer perfect for research ..........33

Fires; heat trials and early starts to vintage

14

Movers & Shakers...................................16 Technical Conference registration opens ...................................20

35

’Noble rot’ reprograms wine grape metabolism ........35

Making every drop of water count ..........40 Training directly with the machinery provider ........................... 41

regulars 6 What’s online 21 R&D@Work Wine Australia for Australian Wine

36 Ask the AWRI

76 Calendar 77 Industry Profile 78 Marketplace classifieds

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

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

This then highlights where changes to processes could increase profits.

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

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

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

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

‘For a sector that’s under serious cost pressures, to have businesses that don’t have a complete grasp on where their biggest costs are coming from is

Nick said ABC represented a different way of looking at costs and their implications. ‘Typically a winery would take its balance sheet and look at the things an accountant usually audits – such as labour, electricity and materials – and try to reduce costs one line-item at a time’, he said.

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

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

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

‘Likewise, a winery that can schedule and separate red and white batches on different days can minimise cleaning and increase labour efficiency compared with a winery that presses reds and whites on the same day.’

The project and report also highlighted

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February 2016 – Issue 625

February 2016: Issue 625 winemaking

sales & marketing

Australian wine exports jump 14 per cent to $2.1 billion .......................44

30 years of Coldstream Hills ...................70

The Wine Australia Export Report December 2015 showed for the first time in over two decades, the value of Australian wine exports has grown in each of Australia’s top 15 export markets.

70

John Casella: Quality and quantity ..........46 The Casella Family Brands managing director believes the next wave of Australian wine industry success will rely on a level of maturity and self-confidence.

Sustainable wine? It must be good .......... 51 Gone are the days when the sustainability of wine was measured primarily in terms of reduced emissions, water saving and environmental protection.

Newton: wines in motion ........................54 Young Gun: Mudbrick’s Patrick Newton has firmly positioned himself as a force to be reckoned with in the winemaking community.

Prepare your barrels for vintage ............58 58

Murray McDonald, director at Wine Barrel Cleaning, offers his tips on key ways you can prepare your barrels.

Just a little more than 30 years ago, James and Suzanne Halliday gathered with a group of friends to push the limits of viticulture and plant two vineyards in the Yarra Valley.

business & technology Music + Wine: The best tasting music .......73 The right song often has the power to change our mood almost instantaneously by arousing particular memories and emotions. So what should be playing in the winery tasting room?

Industry Profile .......................................77 77

Jason O’Dea Windowrie

Winemaking application for Tesla batteries ...................................65

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

February 2016 – Issue 625

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

5

on the grapevine what’s ONLINE

Vale Bob Oatley

Smashing solution THE threat of forgeries are among the many risks wineries face when making a push to export into the Asian nation, with trademark theft and squatting another big concern for vintners.

Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards winemaker Corrina Wright said the push into China was “difficult” but their links with a Western-educated distributor in Hong Kong had helped to pave the way, reports The Australian.

Harvesters used for disease prevention A NEW disease prevention strategy could save grapegrowers thousands of dollars and improve the efficiency of their sprays. Following the massive 2008 harvest, a Marlborough grower approached New Zealand Winegrowers to ask them to research the use of machine harvesters in controlling crop levels, something he had seen in Australia.

The idea was that harvesters would beat the vines, causing them to drop bunches of grapes to reduce the overall yield, but something unexpected happened: it also significantly reduced the risk of botrytis, reports Stuff.

SA winemaker accused of using rival’s trademark to sell wine FEATHERS are flying between two South Australian wineries over accusations a well-known winemaker is using a rival’s trademark name, Peacock’s Fan, to sell bottles overseas.

A legal battle has erupted in the Supreme Court between Zonte’s Footstep and Dandelion Vineyards over who owns the controversial plonk label, reports The Advertiser.

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

Businessman, winemaker and yachtsman Bob Oatley AO, BEM has died of illness, aged 87

WINEMAKER AND YACHTING LEGEND Robert Oatley has passed away aged 87. Described as a giant of Australian wine, Oatley entered the industry in 1969 when he launched the Rosemount wine label in the Hunter Valley.

Embracing the popularity of Chardonnay at the time, Rosemount quickly became the number one seller and leading brand of white wine in Australia under Oatley’s leadership.

He sold the brand to Southcorp (now Treasury Wine Estates) for $1.5 billion in 2001, a figure which astounded industry heads as the company was estimated to be worth half as much.

In a statement on Robert Oatley Vineyards Facebook page, Oatley’s family

members expressed their profound sadness at his passing.

“Known affectionately to all as Bob, he was a proud and passionate Australian recognised for his outstanding contributions to the Australian wine, tourism, coffee, sailing and thoroughbred horse industries.

“Bob was also well-recognised as a philanthropist who supported Australian Olympic activities, medical research and the arts.

“Bob is survived by his wife Valerie, his three children, Sandy, Ian and Ros Oatley, seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

“The Oatley family has been touched by the many kind words and tributes that have already been received from friends, colleagues and the wider Australian community. They thank everyone for their love and condolences.”

Brian Walsh, Wine Australia Chair, said Oatley was a pioneer and passionate advocate for Australian wine, both in the domestic market and, importantly, in export markets.

“He will be remembered for the sustained contribution he made to the Australian wine community as the founder of both Rosemount Estate and Robert Oatley Vineyards, and his influence extended across many states and regions of our winemaking continent,” said Walsh. “We extend our condolences to his widow Valerie, his children Sandy, Ian and Ros, and the extended Oatley family.”

Hawke’s Bay winery secures nationwide distribution in China SILENI ESTATES has launched nationwide distribution of its wines into China via a new relationship with China Resource Vanguard Co. Ltd (CRC).

Sileni wines will be distributed via high-end supermarket chains, Ole’ and blt, the flagship retail offering from CRC, one of the largest retail chain enterprises in China. The new business relationship was the culmination of four years of negotiations with CRC by Sileni Estates CEO and President, Sir Graeme Avery.

“We have had a presence in China since early 2007, but the launch of Sileni into Ole’ and blt stores is particularly exciting for us,” Avery said. “These highend supermarkets focus on stocking the best international products, including fresh produce, dry goods and wine. Their retail experience is one of the best I’ve seen anywhere in the world.” www.winetitles.com.au

China Resources Vanguard currently has a total of 50 Ole’ and blt stores across China, selling more than 70 per cent imported products.

Leo Su, Ole’ Wine Cellars chief, said the company was very grateful to work with Sileni Estates which he called “a famous New Zealand winery with a great reputation”.

“We thank the Sileni team for their support and look forward to seeing Sileni wines grow in popularity in Ole’ and blt,” Su said.

As one of the top five wine-consuming countries in the world, China’s growth has been driven by young people and middle-class consumers.

“There is a lot of potential in the Chinese market, which is why we continue to invest in growing our brand there.

But it is a market that requires patience.”

February 2016 – Issue 625

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from the editor

Nathan Gogoll Editor

Vintage adrenalin rush I LOVE THE EXTRA ENERGY in the industry at vintage time. The sound of gas guns firing in the distance; the excitement of grapegrowers comparing Baumes; the sight of both old Bedfords and brand new B Doubles loaded with grapes; meeting purple-stained cellarhands at the local servo and finding out how many tonnes were crushed this week.

Even before it begins, there’s a ritual build-up. Grapegrowers start to hear from winery reps, sometimes they even get visitors from the winery to check on the progress. New pieces of equipment are unloaded and admired for how big and shiny they are compared to what was used last year. Vintage casuals get inducted. Deliveries of new barrels (and the invoices that go with them) remind people how much money is invested in getting the most out of each vintage season. Then somebody remembers one of the settings on the bag press stopped working last year. And there are last minute phone calls to be made.

Then the picking crews start doing their thing and the whole process comes alive, literally. You can see it and hear it – you can even smell it. And there are a lot of people who get to feel it as well – whether the feeling is sticky grapepicking fingers, wet boots and socks from washdowns, sore quads from climbing catwalks, or just the fatigue from working long hours.

But it aint all glamorous. There are some people who stare out of the same tractor window for a few weeks, or stand at the crusher controls for tonne after tonne after tonne after tonne.

And it isn’t always easy. There is bound to be a downpour of rain somewhere at a completely unwanted moment; a bearing on a harvester will give up in the dead of night; or somebody will misjudge the space available for the forklift and clip a tap on a full tank and send a neat spray of bright purple across the winery floor (wait, that was me in 2014).

Then there are grumpy vineyard

8 Grapegrower & Winemaker

managers and winemakers to contend with – and that goes for both the crew in the vineyard or winery as well as the families at home!

Even though there’s a lot of physical work to be done, it seems that everybody gets the required kick of adrenalin or moment of inspiration to keep them going. The broad smile of a grapegrower proudly making a delivery from his best block could cheer up the team unloading and weighing the fruit; a parcel of unexpected bakery treats that arrives for morning tea might break the monotony; and sharing a cold beer at the end of the day can relieve a lot of tension.

These days it is easy to keep up-tospeed with the progress of vintage across the country (even across the world) as people post their vintage updates via social media. And that certainly makes it a bit easier for people like me who ride out the busiest time of the year from an office desk. www.winetitles.com.au

I love being able to see when veraison starts in different varieties from different regions. I enjoy seeing the diversity of the industry in action – from people handpicking grapes into a single halftonne Nally bin, through to reports of how many tonnes per hour the machine harvester managed overnight. And it’s great to see winemakers get excited about the flavours and aromas coming from their first press of the season.

You can also guarantee that somewhere out there, somebody will be claiming 2016 will be the best vintage ever. Just like every other year!

I hope this vintage runs as smoothly as possible for everyone this year. But I do feel for those who will have a bumpy ride this season. Whatever part of vintage you are involved with, and whatever this harvest delivers for you, please stay safe.

Enjoy the read.

February 2016 – Issue 625

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my view Tumbarumba comes up trumps Award-winning viticulturist Matthew Bailey, the vineyard manager for Coppabella, talks up Tumbarumba.

WE HAVE ALL no doubt seen the famous ‘The Man from Snowy River’ films which exposed the absolute beauty of the alpine high country and maybe the last place yet to be affected dramatically by climate change. Tumbarumba is located at the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, 650-850m above sea level with spectacular undulating terrain, mountain streams flowing down too cascading waterfalls - this is truly a place of beauty.

The Tumbarumba wine region is an ideal setting to produce the finest cool climate wine in Australia, and has been doing so... since the early 1980s growing super-premium sparkling wines, as well as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay table wines that are embossed with pure fruit flavours, natural acidity and minerality. The elevation of the wine region means that Tumbarumba is the coolest climate wine region in NSW, even receiving snow in the colder months, and in addition long hours of sunshine makes for an exciting environment for growing wine grapes. Is this not a great location to rival Tasmania, why not consider fruit from the Snowy Mountains and reap the benefits without going over the bite.

The Tumbarumba region has a Vignerons Association Winegrowers (TVA) which was formed in September 1993 with 10 members. There are now 19 vineyards in the region ranging in size from two to 90 hectares and all owned by families. Wines made from Tumbarumba grapes have won many gold medals and trophies at national wine shows for major wine producers such as Charles Sturt University, Treasury Wine Estates (Southcorp, Fosters, Penfolds), Accolade Wines (BRL Hardy, Constellation Wines), Hungerford Hill, Chalkers

TUMBARUMBA WINE REGION AT GLANCE Area under vine: 300 hectares Annual crush: 3000 tonnes Latitude: 35 degrees 48” South Degree days: 1180 C Mean daily maximum temperature: 18.3 C Mean daily minimum temperature: 4.7 C Rainfall during the growing season September to April average: 425mm Relative humidity October through April average: 43% Rain days average per year: 109 Annual rainfall: 987mm Soils: Cary through the region from deep red basalt soils to red granite, white granite and shale derived soils.

Crossing and the McWilliams Wines Group. Have I got your interest yet! At Coppabella we have awarding winning grapes ready for your end product here at Tumbarumba.

Having seen the potential of Tumbarumba as being the next cool climate wine growing region we (family) made a bold move from a secure long-term career in the Pyrenees Victoria, to the foothills of the snowy, and ‘whoa’ what an experience it’s been, truly a beautiful place and a right move for us. Appointed Vineyard Manger at Coppabella Vineyards the largest in Tumbarumba with 71ha producing Chardonnay (clone I10V1, I10V3), Pinot Noir (clone D5V12, MV6, 777) Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc (clone F4V6), Prosecco, Traminer (clone 456), Gruner Viltuner. Additional to Coppabella it has a sister vineyard Moppity located in young NSW with many prestige’s accolades awarded for their superb wine, both sites are owned by Jason and Alecia Brown. I liken Jason too Alexander the Great, his company is moving at great speed and riding the wave of his numerous award winning wines.

I’m very pleased to see my Insectarium concept embraced by many fellow viticulturists and vineyard mangers alike, and honored to receive the prestige’s ASVO 2014 Viticulturist of the Year Award. In addition the Insectarium has help me win the 2015 Horticulturist of the year (2015 ABC Farmer of the Year Awards) and to cap it off with winning a 2015 Victoria LandCare Award for Innovative Farming concept presented by the Governor of Victoria at government house. The versatile Insectarium has etched its place in viticulture now and well into the future as a means of IPM control, and yes… it will be adopted at Coppabella Vineyards at Tumbarumba.

For more information contact Matthew via: E: matthewb@coppabella.com.au P: 0417302900

References The Tumbarumba Vignerons Association Winegrowers; http://www.tumbarumbawine.com/about-tumbarumba

10 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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February 2016 – Issue 625

Seppelt Great Western set to close All good things must come to an end, so the saying goes: but must the closure of Seppelt Great Western, announced by its owner Treasury Wine Estates in October – be terminal? Paul Le Lacheur investigates.

LEIGH CLARNETTE, the Grampians Winemakers’ Association president, worked at Seppelt Great Western for several years during the 1990s and feels the closure of Seppelt Great Western “will leave a big hole in the community”.

It was once a vibrant place producing 2.5 million cases of sparkling wine a year. “The winery was producing more than 5000 tonnes annually, but in the last few years it’s been lucky to do 2000,” Clarnette said.

Clarnette worked at Seppelt for six years from 1993, almost whimsically remembering, “it was the best time of my life”.

“People have worked there for generations – it’s the family way. But when there is an oversupply of wineries and grapes, there is always going to be rationalisation,” he said.

Ben Thomson, Bests Great Western winery managing director, is a fifth generation winemaker and his strong historical links with the region’s wineries makes him feel the impending closure is something “like losing a brother”.

Thomson’s major concern is for any ongoing effects the closure may have on the town of Great Western itself. “Seppelt helped put the town of Great Western on the map because many visitors identified the town with visiting here – where previously they may have had no other real connection to the place,” Thomson said.

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) announced the closure late in 2015 and Bob Spooner, the chief supply officer, revealed the

reasons behind the decision.

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

The statement explained the site would be maintained while the company considered its operational future, including a potential sale. It also revealed the Great Western cellar door would be closed by the end of June 2016 and “surplus vineyard land” would be sold following the 2016 Vintage.

Warren Randall, the managing director of Seppeltsfield in the Barossa, who was Seppelt’s sparkling winemaker for seven years during the 1980s, is well placed to understand the nature of the impending closure. He made the point that TWE is selling the buildings but not the Seppelt brand or Treasury’s vineyard assets.

“There is, understandably, a lot of passion and emotion involved because the site is a national treasure, but the challenge is to work within a commercial or business case,” Randall said.

Here and now, the great challenge for Treasury Wines is to find a buyer with a vision for the site. It is possible its ‘best usage’ will not necessarily include oenological or viticultural production.

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February 2016 – Issue 625

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

11

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.

Our viticulture experts are as individual as the winemakers they live among and work alongside. What they have in common is the experience and specialised expertise to help you achieve effective crop protection that suits your situation and preferred approach. Find out more about the practical and technical support we offer by visiting our website or calling 1800 804 479.

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VICTORIA

Bayer CropScience Pty Ltd, ABN 87 000 226 022, 391– 393 Tooronga Road, Hawthorn East, Victoria 3123. Technical Enquiries 1800 804 479. BCH0787

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

Deadly bushfires devastate Western Australia wine community AN ESTIMATED 72,000 hectares of land has been razed by bushfires that spread through Western Australia’s south west in early January.

The fire started when lightning struck Dwellingup to the north east of the region, on Wednesday 6th January and quickly spread due to high winds and high temperatures towards the towns of Waroona, Yarloop, Cookernup and Harvey.

In the wine community, residents and business owners in the Geographe and Peel regions were in immediate danger, while smoke and ash were experienced up to 120kms south in the Margaret River region.

Producers were left with limited options after authorities issued evacuation warnings just 25 minutes before the fire hit.

Among the worst affected was Drakesbrook Fine Wines vineyard, olive grove and orchard, located in the Peel wine region, which was destroyed by what has been described as “one of Western Australia’s worst ever fire disasters”.

Bernie Worthington, Drakesbook owner and president of the Peel Wine Association, was initially told the devastating news by a neighbour after he safely evacuated to Mandurah with his wife Trisha.

“We got a call at about 1:00am to tell us that the fire had hit, and later the extent of the vineyard damage was confirmed by our neighbour – it was all gone,” Worthington said.

The devastating fires in the Shire of Waroona wiped out the 2016 vintage, with damage to a significant portion of the vineyard and infrastructure including the irrigation system to water the vines.

The cost to clean-up, repair and rebuild has been estimated at $1 million.

“We are thankful to have some insurance that will contribute to the recovery, but it won’t cover all the damage caused by the fires,” said Worthington.

He said the family wanted to get back to creating their vision for the land, and fulfil their dream of having cellar door and hospitality on the property so they could continue building on what has already been achieved.

“The business is what keeps me going,” Worthington said. “Trish and I love the land and working with the local community to really build the

14 Grapegrower & Winemaker

We got a call at about 1:00am to tell us that the fire had hit, and later the extent of the vineyard damage was confirmed by our neighbour – it was all gone -Bernie Worthington, Drakesbrook Fine Wines.

Drakesbook Fine Wines vineyard has been left blackened after a bushfire tore through south west Western Australia.

opportunities in the region.

“We do not want the fire to destroy our future.”

In Yarloop, Kim Skipworth from Skipworth Wine Company said he had not received a text message warning about the fire and whoever was in control of the communications had “clearly stuffed up”. Skipworth chose to stay and defend his property, risking his life to keep his house and cellar door standing.

“The fire hit in the afternoon but it’s all a blur. It was a horror,” Skipworth described to WA Today.

“You go through the most horrible experience of your life. You think you are going to be killed. You live on the adrenaline while you are fighting the fire.

“Your eyes are running and your nose is running and the flames are licking.

“For a short period at the start, there were two fire trucks but they were told to withdraw when it hit.

“I fought like shit on my quad bike with 80 litres of water.”

Although the vineyard was blackened by the blaze, Skipworth managed to save his wine stock.

In the Geographe region, Vineyard 28, Bagieau Road off the Forrest Highway close to Preston Beach, and Moojelup www.winetitles.com.au

Farm on Thompson Road, Cookernup were in direct threat from the fire.

Owners of both vineyards made the decision to defend their properties over an extremely difficult four days with the assistance of neighbours and family members.

Also under threat was Fifth Estate in Harvey who also had a close call with the fire only four kilometres from their vineyard.

All three wine producers saved their vines and property, however Moojelup Farm lost 15ha of pasture, fencing and hay as a direct result of the fire.

Pippa Nielsen, Vineyard 28 owner, said she was relieved and thankful to neighbours for their help, as without them there would be no Vineyard 28.

“It really was touch and go on Friday when fire surrounded the property,” Nielsen said.

Assessment of any damage to fruit for the 2016 vintage due to smoke in the region is now being undertaken.

To donate to Fire Relief for Drakesbrook Winer y please visit their 'Go Fund Me' page: https://www.gofundme.com/xyv4874w

February 2016 – Issue 625

WA growers continue extreme heat and wind trial A SUNSCREEN AND SHADE TRIAL has continued to deliver results for Western Australian grapegrowers.

The project, being conducted as part of the Western Australia Regional Program funded by Wine Australia, started in 2014 to help growers find ways to manage the effect of extreme heat events on fruit quality – in particular, looking at the use of shadecloth and two commercially available sunscreen products.

Based at Howard Park Wine’s Leston Vineyard in Margaret River and managed by chief viticulturist David Botting, the trial has been extended for another 12 months but will focus on applying just one sunscreen product (Surround) and the pull-up shadecloth. Botting said despite the lack of extreme heat or

wind events during the 2014–15 growing season, the trial provided some great insights into managing UV exposure.

“Sun exposure is crucial to fruit ripening and development but as we strive to achieve more sun exposure, the fruit becomes more vulnerable to extreme heat events,” Bottling said.

“It’s exacerbated in the Margaret River region where the vines are predominately planted in a north-south direction with the western face being overly exposed to the effects of the afternoon sun.

‘Extended UV exposure can still cause degraded bloom, skin damage and berry desiccation – even without the extreme heat events or heat spikes the region has experienced in each of the previous four seasons. The trial has allowed us to

identify these exposure issues and learn more about managing and hopefully minimising their effects.

“We’ll also take another look at the wines we made from the trial site last year, 12 months on, so we can see how the treatments and exposure effects play out in the wine’s sensory profile.”

First year trial results showed the use of kaolin spray-on products (Surround and Screen Duo) reduced damage to exposed bunches by 40–50 per cent and shadecloth applied to cane- and spurpruned vines reduced damage to near zero. An additional treatment on a partial VSP trellis gave similar protection to the sunscreen spray-on products, as did east–west rather than north–south row orientation.

Early start to vintage in Swan Valley VINTAGE OFFICIALLY STARTED for many of the wineries in the Swan Valley in early January, making it one of the earliest starts to wine harvest in the region over the past 20 years and possibly one of the earliest harvests in the country.

The region had a very dry winter with

February 2016 – Issue 625

the lowest rainfall in over 15 years before warm Spring temperatures got the vines moving early.

John Griffiths, Swan Valley & Regional Winemakers Association president and Faber Vineyard Winemaker, said all of the grapes have been early this year.

“Starting our harvest on 2 January

www.winetitles.com.au

with Chardonnay and Verdelho is the earliest wine harvest I have seen in my 23 vintages in the Swan Valley.”

Griffiths said many growers were optimistic about the 2016 vintage.

“All signs are pointing to an excellent vintage – both in quality and quantity,” he said.

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movers & shakers New executive director for Wine Grape Growers Australia WINE GRAPE GROWERS AUSTRALIA (WGGA) has announced the appointment of Andrew Weeks as incoming executive director, commencing the new role in February.

Most recently employed as business manager at Riverland Wine, Weeks has previously worked in various technical and vineyard management roles including senior viticulture officer with CCW Cooperative Limited.

Prior to that Weeks was the vineyard manager at Jubilee Park Vineyards in the Riverland region, and has also worked in other roles in the Riverland, Murray Valley and Langhorne Creek wine regions.

Commenting on his appointment,

Weeks said it was a tough call to move on from the Riverland but he was looking forward to the challenge.

“I’m hoping to make a difference while in the role,” he said. “There is a lot to be done at a national level.”

Weeks said the WGGA already had an existing operating plan for 2016, with industry reform high on the list of priorities.

“There is a lot of interest for a reform of wine industry bodies to explore whether there is a place for one industry voice to deal with Canberra,” he said.

Weeks said another issue he was looking to tackle was improving commercial arrangements between grapegrowers and winemakers.

The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia welcomed the appointment of Weeks, with chief executive Paul Evans calling the decision a step in the right direction.

“It is important to have strong leadership in the wine industry and Andrew’s experience will serve WGGA well at this important time when our organisations have joined behind a plan to help lift profitability for the sector,” Evans said. “We welcome Andrew to this senior position and look forward to working with him and WGGA’s recently appointed chair Jo Andrew as we bring our organisations more closely together to deliver better results for the Australian wine industry going forward.”

Elderton winemaking scholarship recipient announced ELDERTON WINES announced the inaugural recipient of the Elderton Winemaking Excellence Scholarship as Barossa local Thomas Darmody.

Darmody, who entered his fourth and final year of a Bachelor of Oenology and Viticulture at the University of Adelaide this year, has been awarded financial assistance of up to $3000 towards educational expenses along with opportunities to receive mentoring from the team at Elderton Wines.

Darmody said the scholarship would provide him with a good grounding for his future career in winemaking.

“Thanks to Elderton and Foundation Barossa, I have a great opportunity to learn through working at a world-class, family owned winery,” he said. “The scholarship will assist me to focus on my studies and achieve my best in my final year.”

Cameron and Allister Ashmead,

Thomas Darmody, inaugural recipient of the Elderton Winemaking Excellence Scholarship.

managing directors of Elderton Wines, introduced the new scholarship last year as a way to give back to the Barossa

winemaking community by assisting and mentoring a promising student.

“We are excited to announce that Thomas Darmody is the inaugural recipient of the Elderton Winemaking Excellence Scholarship,” Cameron said.

“Thomas is an outstanding young man, who loves the Barossa, and we look forward to assisting him in his final year of study.”

Cameron said the scholarship funds, administered by Foundation Barossa, aimed to reward and encourage achievement in winemaking education.

“This scholarship gives us the opportunity to give back to the great Barossa community that continues to support our small family winery,” said Cameron. “We feel that offering mentoring and vintage placements to the successful students also provides them with great building blocks for their career.”

Nikolai St George joins Giesen Wines as chief winemaker AWARD-WINNING Kiwi winemaker Nikolai St George has been appointed chief winemaker of Giesen Estate Wines, it has been announced.

St George takes on the new position after seven years at Matua Valley Wines, where he gained international success and was named winemaker of the year for three consecutive years by the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Association.

As well as receiving a string of other awards in his career to date, St George has been highly respected for his diversity with different wine varietals.

St George said the move was a tough decision to make after seven years with Matua.

“It is a fantastic opportunity to work

16 Grapegrower & Winemaker

with Giesen’s amazing vineyards and to be part of a privately owned company where decisions can be made quickly,” he said. “Giesen’s has done extremely well and I want to help them build on that success.”

Marcel Giesen, owner and director of viticulture and winemaking at Giesen Wines, said the company was delighted at St George’s appointment.

“It’s an exciting time here at Giesen Wines. Nikolai will bring a wealth of knowledge and a true understanding of the global wine market that he has amassed over the years. His track record is impeccable and we can’t wait for him to become part of the team and help lead our next phase of development in the www.winetitles.com.au

wine industry.”

After the news of St George’s departure from Matua, the winery released a statement announcing his replacement as Greg Rowdon, a former cellar hand.

Richard Gardner, Matua director of wine production, said it was an honour to appoint someone into the lead role who had such a long standing relationship with Matua.

“Greg understands our values, our culture and our wines intimately – and he will continue to nurture the Matua style and our unrelenting focus on quality that has helped us become one of New Zealand’s most internationally acclaimed wineries,” he said. “It’s been a delight to see Greg blossom through the ranks February 2016 – Issue 625

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1800 023 469 Nikolai St George said he was excited to take on a new role with Giesen Wines.

at Matua right up to Chief Winemaker.

He’s an incredibly talented, hard-working winemaker with an enormous passion for the New Zealand wine industry, and I look forward to Matua wines rising even further under his leadership.”

Com ment ing on Rowdon’s appointment, St George said the decision represented exciting times ahead for Matua.

“After seven years as Chief Winemaker for Matua and a new vintage almost upon us, I’ve decided that it’s time for me to

move on and try something new. I’m thrilled to be handing over to someone within my team – Greg is an incredibly talented winemaker.”

Rowdon said St George has handed him an incredible baton.

“Nikolai’s legacy will live on at Matua, he’s implemented so much in the winery to ensure that Matua wines only keep getting better,” he said. “I’m excited to be able to continue the great journey and to do my best to take it to the next level with the winemaking team.”

Casella snaps up Brand’s Liara CASELLA FAMILY BRANDS has bought Brand’s Laira wines for an undisclosed price from McWilliam’s Wine Group, it was announced recently.

While the financial terms of the sale remained confidential, it was confirmed the deal included the Brand’s Liara winery, cellar door and brand IP. John Casella, Casella managing director, said he was very excited to introduce Brand’s Laira to the company’s portfolio.

“The acquisit ion perfect ly complements our premium range of wines, extending our portfolio to include a reputable brand that represents the regional excellence of the Coonawarra,” Casella said. “I believe we are well positioned to build on the investment McWilliam’s Wines has made in Brand’s Laira in the domestic and international markets, in particular by showcasing the excellent Cabernet Sauvignon wines for which the region and the brand are famous.”

February 2016 – Issue 625

Rob Blackwell, McWilliam’s Wines chief executive officer, said the sale of Brand’s Liara was a difficult decision to make but was consistent with the company’s objective of focusing resources on growing their core stable of brands namely McWilliam’s, Evans & Tate and Mount Pleasant.

“Under these labels, we will increase our marketing investments and continue to introduce new products in both Australia and international markets,” Blackwell said. “We are pleased that Casella has acquired the brand and will continue to build on the investment made

by McWilliam’s.”

Casella said the company’s vision was to champion Brand’s Liara, the Coonawarra and the South Australian wine industry in leading markets.

“Which would create many new opportunities for the business, our employees, partners and customers,” Casella said. “We have an exciting future ahead.” www.winetitles.com.au

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news Geelong’s Littore Family Wines sold to privately owned company COSTA ASSET MANAGEMENT (CAM), a privately owned Australian company, has announced its acquisition of Victorian winery Littore Family Wines.

Once the transaction has been completed, the winery would operate as Idyll Wine Co., named after the Sefton’s Idyll Vineyard located in the Moorabool Valley near Geelong, which was established in 1966 by Daryl and Nini Sefton and on which the winery is sited.

Under the agreement, the Geelong winery would continue to be the base of production while grapes would be drawn from vineyards located throughout South Eastern Australia. Idyll Wine Co. will continue to produce brands and private label products for both domestic and international sale.

In addition to a winemaking facility, the winery operates a bottling facility with two lines capable of packing 5,000 and 10,000 bottles per hour. These lines are capable of filling both still and sparkling beverages including wine, spirits, RTD’s, Ginger Beer and Cider. The winery also offers a fully integrated Private Label service that includes the supply or procurement of bulk wine across a wide range of regions and varieties.

In a statement released by CAM said the company is excited about the future of the wine industry in Australia as there is a growing appetite for Australian wine around the world and in particular Asian markets are continuing to drive demand for high quality Australian made wine.

The transaction is expected to complete in February.

Deakin Estate welcomes former archaeologist Aidan Menzies

Deakin Estate’s new assistant winemaker has been announced as former archaeologist Adam Menzies.

FORMER ARCHAEOLOGIST Aidan Menzies has been announced as Deakin Estate’s new winemaker.

Menzies qualified as an archaeologist at the University of York, before deciding it was not the career for him.

“Archaeology was slow going, not like Indiana Jones or Time Team,” Menzies said. “Lots of bright coloured woolly jumpers and too much cider for my liking.”

After travelling to Australia in his mid-twenties, Menzies decided on winemaking as a career.

“I have always enjoyed travelling and in wine I found an occupation that you can do in a lot of places, a bit like

hairdressing I guess,” he said. “I also like the mix of hands on practical, scientific and esoteric mix of being a winemaker. It covers a lot of disciplines and makes you feel good.”

Menzies enrolled at Roseworthy but it was too expensive as an international student, so he completed his Bachelor of Science in Viticulture and Oenology with honours at the University of Brighton, UK. After vintages in Chianti, Napa, Sussex, New Zealand and Greece, Aidan started his Australian winemaking career at Phillip Shaw Wines, Orange in 2011.

“I enjoy the weather firstly,” Menzies explained on his decision to work in Australia. “People are quite similar to the Brits in some ways, easy going - although I find Australians hate to say no, just yes yes then silence.”

Menzies’ first winemaking position was at Angove’s, followed by his most recent role of white winemaker at Kingston Estate, a position he held for three years.

“Deakin was suggested to me by my old boss Tony Ingle as a good winery with an excellent winemaker, who could teach me all the things I need to know to become a fully rounded professional,” Menzies said. “I am fairly sociable and go stir crazy topping barrels on my own all day in a four-tonne winery, so the size of Deakin appealed as well. I think it will pose a real challenge and the opportunity to work closely with the vineyard also interests me, as I really like viticulture and believe if you get it right in the vineyard, the winemaking largely takes care of itself. Exploring alternative varieties and trialling different vineyard practices will be great.

In short, I have travelled a fair bit and am ready to settle for a while and get my teeth into a rewarding project.”

Frank Newman, Deakin Estate’s Senior Winemaker, said Menzies brought a lot of worldly experience to the winery.

VITICULTURE

18 Grapegrower & Winemaker

www.winetitles.com.au

February 2016 – Issue 625

“Aidan aspires to make the best possible wines and to that end he has brought his experience in the UK, USA, Italy and NZ with him to Australia,” he said. “He has worked for three companies since coming to Australia, so he has developed a mindset that will meld well with Deakin Estate’s philosophy of

providing wines of value and interest.

“An added bonus is that Aidan is British, so it will be nice to have someone else around here that speaks the Queen’s English.”

Beresford offers new tasting pavilion in McLaren Vale FOLLOWING a multi-million investment, Beresford Estate has opened a new tasting pavilion located in the heart of the McLaren Vale.

Offering a premium wine and food experience, Beresford Wines Tasting Pavilion has three tiers of wine available for tasting, matched with local, seasonal produce.

Chris Illman, marketing manager, said the focus of the new offering extended beyond the food and wine, with ‘conciergestyle’ service designed to ensure all visitors enjoy a bespoke experience.

“We have created our new tasting pavilion to ensure it both showcases our label and offers something for every visitor – from our three tiers of tastings for casual visitors through to the tailored experiences we design for private groups,” he said.

“Our intent is to offer a premium experience on every level and that includes the service delivered by our team. Our Estate Manager James Braybrook formerly worked as a sommelier in a number of leading restaurants so he’s an extremely knowledgeable and engaging host.”

Since being taken over by Vok Beverages, a sister company to Bickford’s Australia, Beresford Wines has been transformed and Illman said the new Tasting Pavilion reflects the label’s revitalised approach to delivering a premium experience.

Beresford Wines Tasting Pavilion.

“Thanks to the work of our winemaker Chris Dix and his team, our wines have been receiving some great awards and reviews and now we have an outstanding new Tasting Pavilion to match and complement that quality,” he said.

“Situated in an idyllic location overlooking the estate, we are able to offer an unashamedly sensory experience, from the design of the building through to the views, the food and the wines we serve.”

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DRIFTWOOD ESTATE - CAVES ROAD, WILYABRUP W.A.

We’d love to collaborate with you! tel +61 8 8232 3577 info@gldesign.com.au www.gldesign.com.au

February 2016 – Issue 625

Graphic Language DESIGN

Located within the Western Australian wine growing region of Margaret River and arguably one of the most notable wineries on the prominent tourist route of Caves Road.

• Total land area 86 acres (34.86 ha), 21.6 ha vineyard • Architecturally stunning structure incorporating a substantial restaurant, cellar sales facility, winery and barrel store • Two quality residences, large bulk storage facility • Large storage dam of approx 24 megs For sale by Expressions of Interest closing 4.00pm Thursday 31st March 2016 (unless sold prior). I.M. available upon request.

Inspection strictly by appointment only.

BRIAN MOULTON 0418 931 114 brian.moulton@acton.com.au ACTON SOUTH WEST

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news

Eager delegates meet on the exhibition floor at the last ‘tech conference’.

Technical Conference registration opens REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for the 16th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition (AWITC), which will be held together with the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia Outlook Conference in Adelaide from 23-28 July, 2016.

The four day event will be the largest gathering of grape and wine industry personnel in Australia and is expected to attract more than 1,000 Australian and international conference delegates plus some 1,500 exhibition visitors.

The conference will present a full program of plenary sessions, workshops, poster displays and networking opportunities, closely tied to the exhibition.

Held every three years, the event allows people in the grape and wine industries to gather under one roof to source the latest products and services, gain relevant education to grow their business, debate critical industry issues and network with potential suppliers, customers and partners in an interactive business environment.

This year’s program will feature 39

20 Grapegrower & Winemaker

workshops to be held on Sunday 24 July and Wednesday 27 July at the Adelaide Convention centre.

The workshops are designed to provide an intensive, and in many cases ‘handson’ learning experience. To ensure participants obtain maximum benefit from each workshop, places are strictly limited and maximum numbers vary.

The workshop program features key industry members discussing topics covering winemaking, grapegrowing, marketing, health and packaging.

AWITC organisers advised interested attendees to register for workshops as soon as possible to avoid disappointment as positions will be allocated on a firstcome-first-served basis.

Delegates are encouraged to register early to secure a place in their selected workshops. In the event a workshop is full, delegates can add their name to a waitlist by contacting the Conference Secretariat at info@awitc.com.au.

This year’s program also features a stellar line-up of social events with the Maurice O’Shea Award Dinner partnering with the conference for the first time. www.winetitles.com.au

Dan Johnson, AWITC chair, said the award’s dinner is widely regarded as the most prestigious event on the Australian wine industry calendar.

“It’s very exciting to be able to align this dinner with the 16th AWITC and Outlook,” he said. “The Maurice O’Shea Award Dinner adds another very compelling reason for our industry to be in Adelaide from 24 to 28 July 2016.”

Conference registration opened on February 8, with early bird prices starting from $895 being offered until April 15.

Standard registrations purchased after the early bird window closes are $1095.

Various discounts apply for current ASVO members, WFA members, and Australian Grape Research, Wine Grape Levy payers and students.

To register for the 16th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference & Trade Exhibition visit http://www.awitc. com.au/registration/ In coming editions of the Grapegrower & Winemaker there will be introductions to the key speakers, workshop and exhibition previews as well as a comprehensive event guide.

February 2016 – Issue 625

Wine Australia for Australian Wine

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

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

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

‘For a sector that’s under serious cost pressures, to have businesses that don’t have a complete grasp on where their biggest costs are coming from is concerning’, he said. ‘Wineries are

dealing with thin margins and competition – they need to be running a tight ship.’

For the project, 2XE adapted the principles of ABC, which were first developed for manufacturing industries, to apply to wine businesses.

Data from 11 participating wineries was collected for 16 winemaking related ‘activities’ – from receipt of grapes to finished wine (but excluding indirect activities such as marketing).

The data was then used to construct a model for the wine sector. It revealed which processes consume the most resources (e.g. labour, energy, etc.) and, in turn, consume the most money.

This then highlights where changes to processes could increase profits.

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

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

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

Nick said ABC represented a different way of looking at costs and their implications. ‘Typically a winery would take its balance sheet and look at the things an accountant usually audits – such as labour, electricity and materials – and try to reduce costs one line-item at a time’, he said.

‘But that’s quite a constraining approach. It doesn’t tell you much about where in the process resources are being consumed. You have to look at what processes are consuming resources, rather than just looking at the cost of line items.’

Nick and his team were surprised, for example, that many wineries understood the cost implications of bottling, but very little about barrelling, which could be very significant when all the factors, including wine loss, depreciation and labour required for barrelling were taken into account.

The final report, which can be accessed at www.research.wineaustralia.com, highlights a number of ways in which understanding activity costs can

February 2016 | www.research.wineaustralia.com

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

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

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

‘Likewise, a winery that can schedule and separate red and white batches on different days can minimise cleaning and increase labour efficiency compared with a winery that presses reds and whites on the same day.’

The project and report also highlighted a lack of consistent and reliable methods for pricing wine loss and costs associated with matter other than grapes in overall production costs.

‘Few wineries involved in this project had considered the actual cost of wine loss or identified it as an operating expense that can decrease revenue’, the report says. ‘Costs associated with matter other than grapes (MOG) can act to greatly reduce production capacity and increase resource use including transport costs, crusher/ destemmer block issues, labour for disposal costs and interruption to workflow, but this cost is often not recognised.’

www.research.wineaustralia.com | February 2016

Innovative maceration in the quest for perfect Pinot Noir Many winemakers and viticulturists recognise Pinot Noir as one of the most intriguing of wine grapes to work with and quite a few in Australia’s wine science community share that view.

Dr Anna Carew, for example, calls it ‘a refined but challenging variety’ and even suggests, after describing some of its chemical idiosyncrasies, that it ‘might sound like a fool’s errand to get your head around Pinot Noir chemistry’.

Understanding Pinot Noir phenolics is a large focus for the viticulture and oenology group in the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA). Dr Carew and colleagues have been funded by Wine Australia to continue their work on microwave and other innovative forms of Pinot Noir maceration, and look more broadly at ways to improve red wine process efficiency and product quality through enhanced phenolic extraction.

Processes to manage phenolic extraction have particular importance when making Pinot Noir table wine.

‘This is partly because the variety has a really unusual tannin distribution’, Dr Carew said.

‘In most red grape varieties there’s a large amount of tannin in skin and a smaller amount in the seeds, but with Pinot it’s the other way around.

‘Tannin’s really important not just for the mouth feel of the wine, but because the tannin binds with the colour compounds to provide more stable colour. Pinot Noir can be fairly light in colour and can collapse with ageing if it doesn’t have sufficient colour or sufficient tannin to bind the colour, or if the binding process is not effective.’

In a recent trial, they compared six alternative treatments against a control group based on the standard practice of an eight-day fermentation on skins. Two of the alternatives – cold soaking and extended maceration – are quite widely used in the sector. Two treatments were variations of the Controlled Phenolic Release approach, which couples microwave maceration with managed hold time. The final two are what Dr Carew calls ‘this year’s wacky ones’ – in-line CO2 (dropping the temperature to 10°C using dry ice) and ultrasound.

The initial aim for innovative maceration processes is simply to determine if there are distinct differences in the wine styles produced. The work is ongoing, but Dr Carew presented preliminary findings and some early observations at this year’s Crush 2015 conference in Adelaide.

Some of the results confirmed what the TIA team already knew – that using CPR treatment produces wines that are intensely coloured with high tannin concentration, for example, and that extended maceration appears to transition anthocyanin towards stable colour more rapidly than a standard eight days’ fermentation on skins.

More significant was the emergence of some distinct differences associated with the more radical treatments.

‘What was exciting was that the CO2 wines and possibly the untrasound were starting to separate out from the controls’,

Dr Carew said.

Alongside the excitement is the reality that they must develop options that are as economically feasible as they are scientifically valid. They not only can’t cost too much, they also can’t lock up precious tank or cool store space during vintage, especially as vintage compression bites.

The right answers should have plenty of advocates, however. ‘In the days before and after Crush 2015 I was in Victoria for tastings with winemakers who have participated in our work and it’s very clear that they have ideas about the various styles of Pinot Noir they would like to make and they want options to more carefully manage phenolic outcomes if the fruit demands it,’ Dr Carew said.

‘In good years, a good winemaker stands back and just lets the fruit talk.

But there are times when vintage pressures mean the winemakers have to be really on their game. The comment winemakers were making during our tastings was that they could really have used some of these processes in 2011 when the volume and style of fruit made for a very busy vintage.

‘Winemakers just want options; they want a toolbox. It is not enough for our maceration processes to be scientifically proven. Industry needs practical tools that are reliable, economical and, most of all, can deliver the best kind of wine possible from the fruit to hand.’

With Pinot Noir, the types of colour compounds available are relatively unstable, compared with other red varieties. Also, emerging research suggests that some sources of tannin may be less effective for making stable colour; the skin-tannin versus seedtannin debate is still a live one for Pinot Noir.

For the team at the TIA, the answer is to explore and refine a number of options for maceration that enhance control of phenolic extraction. The aim is to give winemakers a suite of possible approaches to suit the year, the fruit or their stylistic intentions.

February 2016 | www.research.wineaustralia.com

Dr Anna Carew and Dr Fiona Kerslake

Photo credit: Chris Crerar

Making Facebook work for you How to, why to and when to

Informational posts • A product image increases the likelihood of users commenting by 2 times • A link to a website reduces the likelihood of fans commenting by 40 per cent • A winery image increases odds of a user commenting by 1.4 times • Mentioning a grape variety increases the chances of a post being liked by 2.4 times • Posts which describe the flavour and taste of the wine are 2.7 times more likely to be liked • When posts include the brand name, they are 1.4 times more likely to be shared • Mentioning a wine show award increases the odds of the post being shared by almost 2 times.

There’s as much science as there is art to a good Facebook post.

made. To do this, Rebecca defined posts in one of four ways:

A three-year research project funded by Wine Australia has revealed – in great detail – how important it is to think about what you post, when you post and, most of all, how much you post.

And the key messages are relevant to other forms of social media.

•

Informational posts aimed specifically at delivering category, brand and product related information

•

Entertaining posts provide lighthearted and fun or humorous content and images, details about the weather, events, interesting and fun facts, food and produce details or images of animals

•

Relational posts appeal to users’ needs for social interaction by asking the audience questions, providing fun quizzes and questions and posting photos of customers or staff members

•

Remunerative posts relate specifically to the offer of economic incentives to users, this can include price details, special offers, giveaways and contests.

The work was carried out by Rebecca Dolan for her PhD in the School of Business at the University of Adelaide.

Over a full calendar year, she collaborated with 12 wineries across 7 regions in 5 states to assess the public response to their Facebook activity.

This involved analysing more than 2,200 posts, which attracted nearly 5,000 comments and in excess of 48,000 fans.

The processing involved a rigorous content analysis of each post, including identification and coding of each and every word, every image used and the specific content of each video. This information was collated with engagement metrics in order to understand how and if any specific piece of content within a post would impact the way in which a Facebook fan chooses to engage with the post.

‘In terms of coding the post content, the results were quite polarising’, Rebecca said. ‘Posts were either

heavy on the sales and product push, or focused on behind the scenes, more entertaining content without the sales pitch.

Regardless of the strategy, engagement rates were significantly low.’

Central to the research was to acknowledge that Facebook engagement can vary in intensity – and it’s not all positive. Rebecca developed six categories ranging from actively creating new content in response to a post, to more passive positive responses and – at the other end of the spectrum – responding negatively to a post or even openly ridiculing or condemning it.

The aim then was to identify how specific actions, such as writing a positive comment or un-liking a page, were facilitated by the type of post

Selected findings for each post type are highlighted on this page. The common theme, however, was that ‘information overload’ exists even for positive and light-hearted of posts. Users reach a point beyond which they simply do not pay attention anymore and may even respond negatively.

‘In many cases it was found that ‘less is more’, with users often scrolling past and failing to engage with any content that has more than three or four key pieces of informational or entertaining content’, Rebecca said. ‘And they were even less tolerant when it came to the amount of remunerative content.’

www.winecommunicators.com.au/ Programs/WCA-Webinar-Series.aspx

Entertaining posts • Mentioning the local weather increases the odds of fans commenting on the post by 1.5 times • Including an image of food increases the likelihood that a fan will comment by 1.3 times • Including a cartoon/meme results in fans being over 3 times more likely to provide a comment • Using slang language decreases the chances that the post will be liked by 66 per cent • Incorporating an image of food into the post increases the chances that the post will by shared by 1.5 times.

Relational posts

In November 2015, Rebecca was part of the WCA webinar, supported by Wine Australia, titled Making the connection: how social media communication builds customer engagement.

To view the webinar visit:

Tips & Tools to Increase Engagement

• Including an image of an employee doubles the likelihood of fans commenting • Congratulating or thanking staff members, family members or customers increases the likelihood that fans will like the post by 8 times • When emotive language is used in a post, it is 1.5 times more likely to be liked • A quiz or game embedded within a post decreases the number of shares by 60 per cent.

Remunerative posts • Including of a deal or special offer increases the odds that users will detach from the content (by clicking to hide the post) by 2.3 times • Including an image within competition details increases the odds that users will detach by 2.7 times.

WineAustralia

www.research.wineaustralia.com | February 2016

Researcher in Focus: Dr Eveline Bartowsky Research that gives bacteria a good name It’s fair to say that Eveline Bartowsky has seen the best and the worst of bacteria.

As a student at the University of Adelaide, her Honours studies focused on salmonella and her PhD on cholera and she then spent five years shared between the far north of Sweden and the mid west of the United States looking at penicillin resistant bacteria.

Fast forward to today, and her interest is in how friendlier forms of bacteria can help winemakers make better wine more efficiently and potentially with even greater ties to their region.

‘Everyone knows yeast is involved in winemaking, even lay people, but they know less about bacteria and always assume it must be linked to spoilage’, she said. ‘That’s the way we tend

to think about bacteria in general – in terms of infection; but we wouldn’t be alive if we didn’t have our gut bacteria.’

Eveline did have a largely bacteria-free 18 months when she worked as an entomologist involved with biological control with wasps, but she was attracted back when a job came up at the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) 21 years ago. It’s a decision she hasn’t regretted.

‘I like the applied part of this job and the AWRI in general – you have the ability to do lots of research but it’s very applied’, she said.

‘I can run trials directly with winemakers who are always very excited and engaged and keen to work with us, whereas when you work in the medical area, for example, you are very removed. Medical research was exciting and interesting but you are removed from the end results.

‘Here people ring me directly and ask for advice and I like that interaction.’

Eveline does some work with acetic acid bacteria (the ones that make

vinegar), but her primary focus is the malolactic fermentation (MLF) process that is crucial to making almost all red wines and some whites and sparklings.

styles of Chardonnay, for example, and Eveline and colleagues have done quite a bit of work looking out how the process affects wine fruitiness.

Malic acid can be a carbon source for many yeast and bacteria, and when they metabolise it they usually make off-flavours as well. MLF removes the malic acid and stabilises the wine.

Increasingly, there is interest in using strains of bacteria and yeast that are specific to a given region – adding another dimension to the concept of regionality and terroir. Eveline wants to further explore whether the way inoculation is carried out, and the bacteria that are chosen for the process, can have sensory impacts that are specific to a region.

Traditionally winemakers waited until after yeast-driven fermentation had been completed before beginning MLF, then studies started to explore the option of doing the two together, as tends to happen with uninoculated ferments. Co-inoculation saves time, frees tank space more quickly and also can reduce the risk of spoilage from other micro-organisms.

Today, there is a range of options and winemakers make a decision based on what they like and what they are trying to achieve.

‘Some have a very strict protocol which they tend to use simply because it makes for efficiency in the winery and many have moved to co-inoculation for their reds’, Eveline said. ‘Others would rather get most of the primary fermentation finished before inoculating at pressing; still others will continue doing it sequentially.

‘There’s never a right or wrong way.

One of my beliefs is that we should provide many options and scenarios, and the pros and cons, and the winemaker will then make a decision.’

She is also encouraging winemakers to think of MLF as more than a necessary evil. ‘One of the things I try to emphasis is that we know that malo can be difficult and you spend a lot of time, effort and money on it, so it’s probably worth having a look at what else you can do other than just get it over and done with.’

It has been known for some time that MLF can have sensory impacts. It is the way to create the buttery flavours that were so much a part of some older

Dr Eveline Bartowsky

‘We’re at the very early stages but I do know that there’s interest’, she said.

‘We have a couple of bacterial strains that we’ve been developing isolated from specific Australian regions and when we’ve gone back to those regions and talked to winemakers, a lot of winemakers are keen on using the strain which has been isolated from their region.’

Wine For more information and to access final reports, visit www.research.wineaustralia.com Australia for Australian Wine Australia Industry House cnr Botanic & Hackney Roads Adelaide SA 5000 | PO Box 2733 Kent Town SA 5071 February 2016 | www.research.wineaustralia.comT: 08 8228 2000 | F: 08 8228 2066 | E: research@wineaustralia.com | W: www.research.wineaustralia.com Wine

grapegrowing

Grape ripening risk: Fruit splitting Grapegrowers with fruit ripening on their vines are very keen to see clear forecasts at this stage of the season.

Rainfall events are generally very unwelcome this time of year, thanks to the potential of berries to burst, crack or rupture. This article is based on advice from the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, an alliance between Charles Sturt University and Department of Primary Industries and New South Wales Wine.

FRUIT SPLITTING is an important industry issue, because it impacts both grape yield and quality. When there is significant rain during the harvest season splitting and disease can have a major impact on the volume and quality of the fruit crushed, and as a result can dramatically reduce financial returns.

Fruit splitting alters the flavour profile of the grape as the decomposition can produce compounds such as ethyl acetate and acetic acid. And these compounds are undesirable for winemaking.

Even if the grapes don’t split, the absorption of large amounts of water affecting sugar concentrations and potentially delaying harvest dates.

When fruit is split, the resulting moist, open surface also provides an ideal surface for a potential Botrytis fungal infection.

It is difficult to put a dollar value on the impacts of fruit splitting, when the entire supply chain is considered, as there are so many variables involved.

However, the losses felt by the grower can be assessed by estimating any downgrades to fruit quality or loss of total crop.

Typically viticulture crop insurance is only available for hail, frost and fire, and excludes rain damage.

Vineyard management is the only way growers can mitigate both the risks and consequences of fruit splitting.

Understanding the factors that lead to fruit splitting and fungal infection will help to determine potential preventative action that could be taken to reduce losses in the value of the crop.

WATER BALANCE IN A RIPENING GRAPE BERRY There are three major influences on the inflow and outflow of water into ripening grape berries.

Under ideal growing conditions, these flows (phloem, xylem, transpiration) are very balanced and there is only a small net increase in the berry water content each day.

If the increase in the net water content of the berry becomes too large, the increasing pressure stretches the grape February 2016 – Issue 625

A split Shiraz grape berry. Photo: Simon Clarke

skin. Once the stretching capability of the skin is exceeded, the fruit will split.

INFLUENCES ON SPLITTING There are a number of factors that determine the susceptibility of fruit to splitting. They can be ranked in order of importance (highest to lowest): • Water on fruit stalk and surface; • Berry ripeness; • Berry cultivar; • Air drying potential; and • Berry temperature.

The timing of the rainfall event, postveraison, is the most important factor in splitting susceptibility – and there are no viticulture practices to help control where and when the rain falls.

But other factors that influence berry splitting can be manipulated by varying degrees.

A limited number of tactics can be strategically applied to minimise fruit splitting.

FACTORS THAT DETERMINE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO SPLITTING: (Ranked in order of importance – highest to lowest) www.winetitles.com.au

Factor: Water on fruit stalk and surface Description of process: There is a large increase in water flowing into the berry when water on the surface of the stalk (pedicel, receptacle, and receptacle/berry junction) and berry is absorbed by the berry cells (Becker et al. 2012).

Reason splitting may occur: Water on the surface of the stalk and berry results in a net increase in berry water content that is greater than the normal inflow.

Factor: Berry ripeness Description of process: During ripening, berry cells bounded by intact membranes import sugar and water from leaves via the phloem. Recent research has shown that many of the cell membranes in wine grape berries degrade late in the ripening process.

This ultimately leads to the phenomenon of berry shrivel (see above photograph) and cessation of sugar import because the flow of sugar-rich water into the berry is reduced.

Reason splitting may occur: Intact cell membranes are essential to the Grapegrower & Winemaker

25

grapegrowing

With an impending rainfall event there is no test that can be done sufficiently quickly to determine whether grapes are susceptible to splitting. The ultimate decision will still depend on the risk strategy of the vineyard manager and winemaker. process of water uptake by berries during rain and condensation events.

Intact cell membranes allow the absorption of water by berry cells through the process of osmosis.

Without intact membranes only a small amount of water is absorbed by the berry very slowly.

The progressive degradation of cell membranes during ripening reduces the ability of the berry to osmotically absorb rain and water droplets.

This makes the berries less susceptible to splitting in the later stages of maximum sugar accumulation.

See the strategies on page 28 for further information on relevance to decision making with regard to harvest.

Factor: Berry cultivar Description of process: Susceptibility is related to strength of the berry skin, which greatly varies between cultivars.

In practice differences are of little relevance. Grape varietal choice responds to winery and consumer demands.

As a result any genetically determined differences are not a primary concern for many growers.

Reason splitting may occur: Splitting susceptibility is determined by the strength of sub-epidermal cells.

An increase in sub-epidermal cell layers also increases the resistance to splitting (Meynhardt 1964).

Factor: Air drying potential Description of process: Cool, humid conditions cause the air around the

berry to be saturated with moisture and therefore no transpiration occurs.

Reason splitting may occur: If air drying potential is low, the net increase in berry water content far exceeds the normal increase per day.

Factor: Berry temperature Description of process: Warm temperatures causes 1. Lowering of berry skin strength; 2. Slight expansion of berry; and 3. Large decrease in skin surface area i.e. shrinkage. (Lang and Düring 1990) The rate at which pressure builds inside the berry is an important determinant of splitting.

Reason splitting may occur: Berry skin is weakened and pressure increases within the berry.

A rapid increase of berry temperature may cause splitting, especially if the berry water content is high.

Shaded berries may warm less quickly and be less susceptible to splitting.

FURTHER RESEARCH: SHIRAZ BERRY RIPENESS AND FRUIT SPLITTING Several years ago Simon Clarke, Suzy Rogiers and Jim Hardie from the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre completed a research project that aimed to identify the stage at which the susceptibility of the ripening grape berry to splitting diminishes; and to identify the attributes of the berry responsible for the changes in susceptibility to splitting.

The research involved two experiments

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26 Grapegrower & Winemaker

using ripening Shiraz berries (clone 1654). One involved ripening berries in the field that were immersed in a graduated series of sucrose solutions and monitored for the number of days until splitting occurred.

Ripening berries that were grown in a glasshouse were also immersed in deionised water, monitored for splitting and assessed for cell vitality.

The results indicated that berries were susceptible to splitting from veraison to 90 days after flowering (30 days after veraison). Susceptibility to splitting remained very high across the first 30 days of ripening.

Once berries had visibly begun to shrivel they took a very long time to split or did not split.

Berry maturity fell in the window between these two stages. Susceptibility to splitting decreases dramatically as berry maximum fresh weight is approached.

A decline in cell vitality is more effective than a decrease in osmotic gradient at reducing the susceptibility to splitting.

Assuming results for Shiraz are broadly applicable to other wine grapes: - Varieties harvested prior to maturity, perhaps for ‘green’ characteristics (e.g.

Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc), will have berries that are always susceptible to splitting; and - Varieties harvested very late in the season (e.g. shriveling Shiraz or Botrytis Semillon) are unlikely to split once their maximum sugar content has been reached.

The findings of this study are of greatest relevance to the scheduling of harvest for those varieties picked close to maximum berry fresh weight.

When berries are at maturity (maximum fresh weight) the decision making with regard to splitting is difficult.

With an impending rainfall event there

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grapegrowing

Fruit splitting most often occurs early in the ripening phase, when berries rapidly accumulate sugars, skin pigments develop and water content of the berry increases. Splitting is less likely to occur once berries start to shrivel. is no test that can be done sufficiently quickly to determine whether grapes are susceptible to splitting.

The ultimate decision will still depend on the risk strategy of the vineyard manager and winemaker.

The researchers indicated further investigation on the interaction between soil moisture content and fruit splitting would be beneficial.

Anecdotal evidence exists for less splitting in vineyards with grapevines that are consistently well irrigated. Why this strategy might work is not clear.

It is possible that during a rain event berries on well-watered plants do not increase in volume as much or as quickly as berries on water-stressed plants.

A smaller rain-induced volume increase would be expected to generate less stress on the berry skin.

Alternatively, a slow volume change may provide sufficient time to allow the skin to accommodate an increase in berry volume without splitting.

If soil moisture plays a role in reducing splitting grape, growers could irrigate prior to forecast rain events to reduce their losses.

This is a simple strategy worthy of future research.

STRATEGIES TO REDUCE THE INCIDENCE OF SPLITTING It can be difficult to identify strategies or treatments to help reduce splitting in the vineyard.

However, reducing the susceptibility to splitting may be assisted by the incorporation of management tactics such as: • Harvesting f ruit prior to meteorological events that are likely to induce splitting; • Promoting water loss from the berry tissue or berry surface; and/ or • In the long term, planting or grafting less splitting-susceptible cultivars.

Fruit splitting most often occurs early in the ripening phase, when berries rapidly accumulate sugars, skin pigments develop and water content of the berry increases. Splitting is less likely to occur once berries start to shrivel.

If there is no further rain, split berries result in decreased yield when they either dry up or drop off.

But fungal infection (Botrytis) is common if conditions remain damp.

28 Grapegrower & Winemaker

A five per cent Botrytis infection can result in a complete crop rejection by the winery.

Growers will therefore try and harvest immediately after a splitting event.

SPECIFIC STRATEGIES: Strategy: Harvest fruit before an imminent fruit splitting event Method: Assess the current and expected optimal value of the crop for wine production. Assess whether this difference is greater than the depreciation expected from a fruit splitting event. Evaluate how much of the crop to preemptively harvest based on the relative size of the potential loss and your attitude towards risk.

Further information: In 2010 a Canberra districts grower estimated that summer storms produced splitting in 20% of Shiraz and 10-15% of Pinot Noir bunches.

The combined losses were approximately $3000 for nearly two tonnes of fruit.

This equated to approximately $30,000 in lost (contracted) wine production. In this instance the crop (20°Brix or less) was unsuitable for pre-emptive harvest because the fruit was not expected to be useful for winemaking until March.

Strategy: Promote water loss (evaporation) from berry tissues or berry surface Method: Manipulate the drying potential of the air surrounding the grapes by encouraging air movement through the canopy. Promote mixing of moist air within the canopy with drier air above.

Further information: There have not yet been any specific trials testing the incidence of splitting in a more open canopy. It can be hypothesised that a reduction in shoot number or vigour, or a trellis design that minimises bunch shading, would reduce the degree of fruit splitting. These factors will also promote bunch drying and prevent Botrytis from taking hold.

Strategy: Switch to cultivars less prone to fruit splitting Method: The first step in this strategy is to identify cultivars whose berries are resistant to splitting. In the context of Australian wine grape viticulture, this information is not readily available.

The assessment must be based largely on personal observations and anecdotal www.winetitles.com.au

evidence. An alternative approach is to target varieties whose ripening period is relatively short to minimise the duration the ripening crop is exposed to rainfall events. Having identifi ed potentially suitable cultivars, the step prior to planting/grafting is cultivar assessment in terms of all viticultural demands (marketability, disease resistance, suitability to terroir, etc).

Further information: Obtaining reliable information on cultivar susceptibility to splitting will require a dedicated research eff ort that pays particular attention to the interaction between berry ripeness and rainfall events. Such research is likely to be of greatest relevance to cool climate vineyards where the protracted ripening period increases exposure of the fruit to rainfall events.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Fruit splitting factsheet written by: Annabel Bowcher, AnDi Communications Research by: Simon Clarke, Suzy Rogiers and Jim Hardie Disclaimer: This information was based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing. However, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information upon which they rely is up to date and to check with the appropriate officer of the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre or the user’s independent adviser.

REFERENCES: Becker, T., Grimm, E. and Knoche, M. (2012).

Substantial water uptake into detached grape berries occurs through the stem surface. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 18: 109–114. Considine, J.A. and Kriedemann, P.E.(1972). Fruit splitting in grapes: determination of the critical turgor pressure.

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 23: 17–24.

Meynhardt, J. T. (1964). A histological study of berry-splitting in some grape cultivars. South African Journal of Agricultural Science 7: 707–716.

Lang, A. and During, H. (1990). Grape berry splitting and some mechanical properties of the skin.

Vitis 29: 61-70. Shiraz berries exhibiting berry shrivel.

At this stage of berry development susceptibility to splitting is very low.

Clarke, S.J., Rogiers, S.Y. and Hackett, S. (2009). The frustration of fruit splitting. The Australian and New Zealand Grapegrower and Winemaker 542: 37–39.

Clarke, S.J., Hardie, W.J. and Rogiers, S.Y. (2010).

Changes in susceptibility of grape berries to splitting are related to impaired osmotic water uptake associated with losses in cell vitality. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 16: 469–476.

February 2016 – Issue 625

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February 2016 – Issue 625

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Grapegrower & Winemaker

29

grapegrowing

Mistakes new grapegrowers make Fritz Westover has worked with many vineyard startups across the past decade and evaluated prospective vineyard sites for countless soon-to-be grapegrowers in the US. His advice was first published in Wines & Vines in the US. NEW GROWERS often start growing grapes while working other jobs or transition into the industry from a career not related to agriculture. This transition is steep learning curve for most and university or private-vineyard advisors can have the biggest impact on improving the success rate of the vineyards.

Accurately diagnosing vineyard problems is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. However, preventing them from occurring is the ultimate goal, and even experienced growers have occasional slips. The objective of this column is to help both new and experienced grapegrowers avoid some of the most common and costly mistakes.

SPRAY TANK ISSUES No matter how well a grower rinses out the tank and nozzle of the sprayer, there will always be some herbicide residue left if the same spray tank is used for other grapevine spray products.

Even highly-diluted herbicide will inevitably cause leaf damage or even kill young grapevines.

The bigger problem occurs when residue from a systemic herbicide is left in the tank, which will kill a vine down to the roots. Young vines may have a more difficult time recovering from herbicide damage.

If you use herbicides, designate a separate spray tank, clearly mark it ‘herbicides only’ or draw a picture of a dying plant on the

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‘DOUBLE SPRAY’ DILEMMA New growers often have difficulty ‘guessing’ how much water to mix with their spray product to cover the foliage of all vines in the vineyard. In addition, the vines keep on growing, which means the volume of water needed will increase over the course of the season.

The ‘double spray’ dilemma occurs when a grower mixes more spray product than is needed to get full coverage. Not knowing what to do with the remainder, and not wanting to waste it, the grower may be tempted to go back in and ‘use it up’ on a few rows of vines that have already been sprayed. This may not cause a problem with some products.

However, many foliar fertilizers (e.g. boron) and some fungicides (e.g. phosphorous acid) can be toxic to grapes if applied at close intervals. The label rate is designed to prevent leaf burn, and spraying a second dose within hours of the first might double that concentration.

Watch for product labels that provide a ratio of water along with the rate per acre, as these are often the products that build up in vine tissue to toxic levels.

WAITING UNTIL AFTER THE RAIN

Exid

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outside – whatever it takes to avoid this error. Use another tank for all other vineyard sprays such as fungicides, insecticides and foliar fertilisers.

There is a common misconception among new growers that fungicides should not be sprayed until after it rains. After all, why would someone apply a fungicide if it is just going to get washed off? Most fungicides work as protectants and are applied before conditions are adequate for disease growth in order to prevent or slow the disease spores from growing. There are products intended to be used during the post-infection period (after the rain) and others to be used to eradicate or clean up a disease that has taken hold on vine tissues. However, by the time the disease is visible, it has likely been growing for a week or more at a microscopic level. Some products work systemically to prevent fungal diseases from infecting tissues, while others work just on the surface where they are sprayed.

Use fungicide products proactively to prevent disease rather than reactively to attempt to fix a problem. Would you wait until you were soaking wet to put on your raincoat?

GROW TUBES IN WINTER Grow tubes are commonly used to protect young vines. Some growers in cooler climates may also get the added benefit of enhanced early-season growth from the greenhouse-like growing environment created by the plastic or cardboard tube.

However, it is this greenhouse effect that can lead to issues in the winter months if the grow tube is not removed. Grow tubes left on young vines across winter will cause the air immediately surrounding the young trunk and graft to heat up during a sunny day. Those warm temperatures may de-acclimatise vines and, if followed by cold evening temperatures, can lead to damage of the trunk tissues.

THE INDISCRIMINATE WEED WHACKER Uncontrolled weeds that grow into the canopy can be a big problem for young vines. Weeds compete so well that

www.winetitles.com.au

February 2016 – Issue 625

even watering and fertilising young vines is not enough to compensate. It can be tempting (and physically satisfying) to run into the vineyard with a weed whacker. But no matter how careful one tries to be, the end result is always a few scuffed trunks or denuded graft unions.

The physical damage may heal fast, but the bigger problem is a gall-forming bacteria called ‘crown gall’. These bacteria are often found in a quiescent state in the trunk tissue of vines and are stimulated by injury to the vine trunk or cordon. Crown gall can lead to death of the vine if found below the graft union and may weaken what could otherwise be a strong vine.

IGNORING PRODUCT LABELS This issue tends to come up with the ‘weekend warrior’ grower.

It is indeed possible for a part-time grower to have a day job during the week and still manage a productive vineyard. However, a new grower has a lot of reading to do before they can just jump out of their vehicle on a Friday evening and start working on their vines.

It is easy to glance over the label of a pesticide too quickly, which can lead to problems with improper measurement, inadequate use of personal protective equipment or mixing of incompatible products in the same spray tank (e.g. sulfur should never be mixed with oils).

All growers should learn to identify the pre-harvest interval (PHI), restricted entry interval (REI), maximum rate per acre per application and per year, and required personal protection equipment (PPE) on the label of any product used in their vineyard before mixing and applying that product.

Learn how to find the most important safety and regulatory information on product labels. Remember, the label is the law, and knowing what is on it will protect both you and your vines from harm.

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING If a little is good, then a little more must be better, right? New growers learn over time about the importance of a concept known as ‘vine balance’.

Vine balance, in short, is defined as a vine that is growing in equilibrium with its environment at a steady and productive pace. A balanced vine will have a ratio of fruit-to-leaf area that falls within a range that allows the fruit to ripen to the quality level desired without overstressing or over-cropping the vine.

The concept of balance is subjective in many cases but also can be measured using a simple index of fruit weight to dormant cane weight, known to viticulturists as the ‘Ravaz Index’.

The most common mistake a new grower can make with young vines is to apply an excessive amount of fertiliser. Too much fertiliser not only wastes money, it can pollute groundwater, accumulate in soil to cause root burn or leaf burn, or induce high-vigor growth of poor quality wood for trunk and cordon development.

CONCLUSION If you are new to grapegrowing, I hope the above examples can help you to avoid common mistakes with your new vineyard. If you have been growing grapes for a few years, I would challenge you to find a common mistake that you have not already learned the hard way. I certainly have, and I would say that there is no better way to learn than by personal experience.

Having a clean vineyard floor will assist the upcoming harvest to run more smoothly and prevent possible fruit contamination through weeds or trash. If your weed control program is up-todate, you’re in a good position, but there may still be some parts of the vineyard that need a quick tidy up.

As a matter of precaution avoid translocated actives like glyphosate at this time of year. The chance of herbicide uptake by suckers and low hanging canes and leaves makes them way too risky. More suitable products for use at this time are those that do not translocate much within the plant, often referred to as contact herbicides (e.g. GRAMOXONE or SPRAY.SEED).

Spray drift is enemy number one at this time of year.

A good solution for managing drift and achieving the desired coverage under vines is the Syngenta Air Induction Nozzle from the Product Plus range of nozzles. More information on the nozzle range is available on the Syngenta website.

The best water rate to use will depend on a range of factors including the specific product being used, the target weed and weed density.

By changing nozzles and adjusting the spray pressure you can alter droplet size, in turn improving performance and allowing for different weather conditions.

Generally, smaller droplets achieve better coverage but are also more prone to spray drift. Larger droplets are less prone to drift but can reduce coverage. The following considerations need to be made when choosing droplet size and water rate: • Select the best droplet spectrum for the target weed and select a water volume appropriate for weed size.

• Is the plant flat or upright? In general, plants that are flat on the ground make for an easier target.

• Droplet size or water rate may need to be adjusted, or adjuvants added for hairy weeds.

• Add an adjuvant if the label says to do so.

Avoid the following: • Using greater water volumes than required to achieve satisfactory coverage. The active ingredient may simply be washed off the plant, reducing efficacy.

• Using lower water volumes than required.

This may result in poor coverage or the droplet drying too quickly thus reducing uptake.

About the author: Fritz Westover is a viticulturist and owner of Westover Viticulture, based in Houston, Texas. He specialises in vineyard consulting, research and education in the south and southeastern United States. Westover is a contributor to Wines & Vines, and he maintains a practical grapegrowing blog and grower resources at vineyardadvising.com.

February 2016 – Issue 625

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

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grapegrowing

Vine improvement in WA THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN Vine Improvement Association is concerned about the capacity of the current reduced grapevine nursery industry within its home state. The association is worried about the ability to supply adequate propagation material to the rest of industry in the advent of renewed demand and expansion of plantings.

But this continues to drive the workload. This has seen, since about 2002, the association import new varieties and clones to the Western Australian Grapevine Germplasm Collection in collaboration with the WA Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA).

WAVIA encourages more WA vineyards and wineries to consider planting a WAVIA Source Block as part of any vineyard expansion plans.

These source blocks are vital in enabling

AT A GLANCE The varieties and clones listed here are some of those not currently planted in WAVIA source blocks, and the association would like to hear from any growers who may be interested in planting any of these varieties.

VARIETY CLONES Barbera AT84 & F6V4 HT119 Nebbiolo K6V1 & CVT CN230 Carmenere exCSIRO Pinot Noir MV6 & 777 Dolcetto CN69 Sangiovese Brunello di Montalcino Fer 10.26.A1 Saperavi I11V10 Grenache 38 Sciacarello UCD Lagrein H7V9 Tempranillo Requena1964 & D8V12 Mataro R2V13 Sangiovese Brunello di Montalcino Merlot 18 Chardonnay 277 Meunier H10V5 Scheurebe Merbein The full list of the varieties and clones available from WAVIA as dormant cuttings, as well as DAFWA alternative wine grape variety evaluation information, can be found at the WAVIA website.

32 Grapegrower & Winemaker

WAVIA to bulk up the supply of high quality grapevine cuttings for the Western Australian wine industry in times of increased demand. There are also clear advantages for the source block grower, such as priority discounted access to first release cuttings of new imports enabling the grower to gain early marketplace entry, and a royalty payment from WAVIA for cuttings cut from the source block for WAVIA customers.

Growers interested in establishing a WAVIA source block in 2016 are advised to contact the association before orders for cuttings close at the end of April.

Multi-platform access to industry information and order forms are now available from WAVIA with the launch of its new website www.wavia.org.au. Jim Campbell-Clause, WAVIA chairman, said the new website was a big achievement during 2015.

“Orders continue to be low but managing the collection, assisting research bodies, submitting applications for research and involvement on state and national research and development working bodies has kept the committee looking at how WAVIA can help keep the Western Australian industry developing and progressing,” Campbell-Clause said.

Orders placed with WAVIA in 2015 were again low in number, less than 5900, and the majority were for alternative varieties, with the MHRI Germplasm collection and MHRI Alternative Variety Trial block playing a vital role in WAVIA’s ability to supply material.

“Interstate customers were thrilled to be able to find clones and varieties that they have been unable to source from anywhere in South Australia, Victoria or NSW,” Campbell-Clause said.

“A key role of WAVIA is to source new and improved varieties and clones. This work continues and the Germplasm Collection was boosted with the introduction of Sangiovese Brunello di Montalcino, donated kindly by Chris Harding of Viticlone Supplies; Carignan D9V11, generously made available from Happs Karridale Vineyard.

“Pinotage FPS-O1 has also now been established into the Germplasm collection. Chris Harding of Viticlone Supplies also provided six cuttings of Shiraz clone 1127 which will be introduced into the Germplasm collection following virus testing. WAVIA has tried to import Nero D’Avola, but unfortunately due to virus infection we were unable to introduce the variety into WA. www.winetitles.com.au

Chris Harding, WAVIA secretary, and Jim Campbell-Clause, WAVIA chairman, inspect the Alternative Variety Block at the Manjimup Horticultural Research Institute.

“WAVIA, with thanks to Patrick Bertola, is attempting to source the variety Flora – a hybrid of Gewürztraminer and Semillon developed in California

by Olmo which produces a full bodied aromatic white wine – and again this depends upon its virus status.”

Meanwhile, the first cuttings from the recently-imported variety Montepulciano were supplied to a vineyard in the Great Southern Region to commence the establishment of a WAVIA Source Block.

“WAVIA is keen to hear from growers in regional WA who are interested in planting varieties and clones available from the WA Germplasm Collection,” Campbell-Clause said. “There is the potential to establish these new plantings as WAVIA Source Blocks for future supply of quality propagation material to industry.”

There is a list of varieties and clones not currently planted in WAVIA source blocks, and the association would like to hear from any growers who may be interested in planting any of these varieties. The full list of the varieties and clones available from WAVIA as dormant cuttings, as well as DAFWA alternative wine grape variety evaluation information, can be found at the WAVIA website, www.wavia.org.au.

February 2016 – Issue 625

A hot summer perfect for research DR MIKE MCCARTHY might be the only person in the wine industry not deterred by the hot and dry spring and summer conditions in South Australia’s Riverland this year.

The conditions are set to provide him with important data about the potential for evaporative cooling to help grape vines cope with heatwaves – and let him make up for lost time.

“We had everything ready to go last year then the Riverland had such a cool January that the fruit in both of our trial sites had ripened and been harvested before the heat set in,” said McCarthy.

As the principal scientist with the SA Research & Development Institute (SARDI), McCarthy is leading a threeyear research project to investigate whether the use of micro-sprinkler irrigation can generate a more favourable mesoclimate (the climate of a particular vineyard site) that will counteract intense heat events.

The evaporative cooling work is part of a larger project funded jointly by Wine Australia and the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, through the ‘Filling the Research Gap’ program.

“What’s come out of the heatwaves we now seem to have been having forever-and-a-day is a working hypothesis that the damage during heatwaves appears to be because of hot nights,” he said.

“We run workshops with growers in places like Mildura and they say to me ‘the vineyards seem to be able to cope with one hot day and a second day okay, but if we have two or three consecutive hot nights that’s when we’re starting to see the impact of heatwaves’.

“The other thing they’re saying is that if they have a heatwave in January or early February the nights are short in terms of darkness and that doesn’t give the vines a chance to restore their turgor before the next day.”

And it’s not just about vine health. “We know from flavour chemistry that a lot of flavour compounds are pre-synthesised between fruit set and veraison, so again the hypothesis is that if we can cool the vines at night we can make sure synthesis continues and is not degraded during this critical period for varieties like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and even Cabernet.”

This is why the project has expanded to include trial sites in the Coonawarra – and McCarthy admits to being surprised at how enthusiastically local growers came on board.

“They said that if they get hot nights in February and March, their expression was that it ‘burns off Cabernet character’. And that means potentially very high value Cabernet fruit turns out not to be so good.”

Allen Jenkins, Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) viticulturist is co-ordinating the trials in the Coonawarra, comparing the impact of under-canopy sprinklers with large overhead sprinklers that can cool the whole canopy (and they’re the same ones used for frost protection at other times of the year).

In the Riverland, just the under-canopy systems are being used and a series of sensors have been installed to keep track of temperature throughout the canopy when the microsprinklers are in operation.

McCarthy controls them from his home in the Barossa, making decisions based on information from the automatic weather stations near each site.

A comprehensive range of data is being collected and will be used to develop a heat transfer model to quantify the effectiveness of the approach under a range of conditions.

Results are due later this year.

February 2016 – Issue 625

What’s come out of the heatwaves we now seem to have been having... is a working hypothesis that the damage during heatwaves appears to be because of hot nights.

McCarthy was one of the authors of the comprehensive factsheet on managing vineyards during heatwaves released

by Wine Australia in 2014 (available from the Wine Australia website), and he’s very pleased with the response and the feedback from workshops around the country.

“Growers are reacting positively – watching when heatwaves are coming and taking action,” he said.

“The climate change message is getting through, but also we’ve been pushing the concept that if growers can better understand and manage extreme events they are going to be in a better position to go forward.

“It’s about being proactive in terms of water, if that is their preferred option, or being proactive in terms of putting on some of these sunscreen sprays.”

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‘Noble rot’ reprograms wine grape metabolism FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, the fungus Botrytis cinerea has been key to making the world’s finest dessert wines. New research shows how the fungus changes plant metabolism to produce new flavours and aromas in white-skinned grapes.

Under moderately moist conditions, the fungus produces the benign ‘noble rot’, ideal for making particular high-value dessert wines, known as ‘botrytis affected wines’ or Sauternes (when made in the Bordeaux wine region).

But when moist conditions prevail in the vineyard, Botrytis spawns noble rot’s evil twin, the so-called ‘bunch rot’.

Bunch rot is a destructive disease that inflicts severe crop losses in all grape-growing regions around the world.

The researchers, working with Dolce Winery in Napa Valley, report that during noble rot infection, Botrytis induces metabolic processes in white grapes normally seen only during the ripening of red-skinned grapes.

This was a novel observation, because white grapes are developmental mutants that cannot activate several ripening pathways such as the synthesis of anthocyanins, the molecules that impart the red colour in the skin of red grapes.

The research also confirms that the reprogramming of grape metabolism by Botrytis results in the accumulation of key aroma and flavour compounds that make sweet wines made from botrytised grapes so special.

The work also may lead to new approaches to improving quality traits in grapes and other fruit, says plant biologist Dario Cantu of the University of California, Davis department of viticulture and enology. He led the study along with postdoctoral researcher Barbara Blanco-Ulate.

EACH VINEYARD HAS A UNIQUE MICROBIOME Winemakers have made use of the beneficial impacts of Botrytis cinerea – in the form of noble rot – since the 1500s. For example, white-skinned grapes, naturally infected with noble rot, have been used to produce some of the world’s highest quality dessert wines, referred to as botrytised wines.

These wines were first produced in specific regions of Hungary, Germany, and France, but now are also made in Italy, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and California.

Botrytised wines are valued for their natural sweetness and distinctive flavour and aroma profiles, which include raisin, pineapple, apricot, pear, and honey features.

>

WINE EXPERTS SAY CONSUMERS ARE GOING PREMIUM In the newly published study, the researchers collected Semillon over three years as the grapes were being harvested for winemaking. They then used state-of-the-art RNA sequencing and metabolomics approaches, as well as enzymatic assays, on those grapes to demonstrate that noble rot: • Induces grape stress responses involved in generating aroma and flavor metabolites; and • Triggers regulators of metabolic pathways that are typically associated with red-skinned grape-ripening.

The researchers also profiled the metabolites of commercial botrytised wines produced from the same vineyard where the grapes were collected and verified that key compounds that result from noble rot carry over to the wines.

About the research: The findings from the new study appear in the journal Plant Physiology. Additional co-authors are from UC Davis; Washington State University; Dolce Winery; and CEBASCSIC research institute in Spain; and CONICET, the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina. The UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences funded the work, and support came from Agilent Technologies.

IT’S TIME FOR POST HARVEST Stoller Post Harvest treatment Post Harvest 23 and Nutri-pHLow Support next years crop now with Stoller

CONTACT STOLLER AUSTRALIA ON FREECALL 1800 FERTILISER OR VISIT WWW.STOLLER.COM.AU/HIBERNATION February 2016 – Issue 625

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ask the

Paul Petrie, viticulture scientist with The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) and The South Australian Research & Development Institute (SARDI), demonstrates how a ‘selfie stick’ made from a water pipe can be used to take photos for the VitiCanopy App.

Measuring canopy size Canopy size and density are important viticultural measures that relate to fruit quality. Traditionally, however, they have been difficult to measure. The University of Adelaide has recently released an app that allows growers to assess grapevine canopies using an iPhone or iPad. Some common questions about using the app are addressed in this article.

WHY DO I NEED TO MEASURE CANOPY SIZE? CANOPY SIZE AND DENSITY are key drivers of fruit quality, both in terms of having sufficient leaves to ripen the crop and due to their impact on fruit exposure.

In the past, the methods for assessing canopy size and structure have been onerous and relied on the manual measurement of leaf area or poking a rod through the canopy and counting the number of times that it contacts a leaf or bunch. This has effectively restricted them to research applications.

HOW TO MEASURE CANOPY WITH A SMART PHONE? The front camera on the phone or tablet is used to take an image of the canopy from below the cordon (almost at ground level). You use the front camera as you are able to see the photo

36 Grapegrower & Winemaker

on the screen and ensure that it is correctly positioned (and doesn’t include any obstructions).

The app completes the analysis by separating the photo into leaves and background (sky or clouds) and then dividing the photo into 25 squares and calculating the proportion of each square that is occupied by the canopy.

In order to get accurate results the phone needs to be held at 90o to the direction of the row. Ideally this will ensure that the whole canopy is in the image (i.e. you can see sky at the top and bottom of the photo) with the cordon located in the centre.

If the canopy extends beyond the edge of the photo then you may underestimate the canopy size.

It is recommended that the phone is positioned between 70 and 80 cm below the cordon; if the phone is positioned closer to the cordon then the canopy will take up a higher

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February 2016 – Issue 625

This app has the potential to help benchmark canopy growth and development from season to season. Measurement early in the season could indicate that the canopy is denser than expected and shoot thinning would be useful or that shoot growth is not as vigorous as needed and additional irrigation or fertigation would be beneficial. proportion of the photo and the vine size will be overestimated.

It is good to keep the phone as level as possible, but if you can ensure the cordon is in the middle of the photo then the results should be accurate.

the sun. You can normally see if the sun is obscuring the image as the canopy isn’t clearly defined in the photo.

ARE THERE ANY TIPS AND TRICKS TO MAKE THE PROCESS EASIER?

There are two main outputs: the Leaf Area Index (LAI) and canopy porosity. The LAI is an estimate of the area of all of the leaves on the vine i.e. the size of the canopy. The porosity is an estimate of gaps in the canopy that would allow light to penetrate through to the vineyard floor, this may relate to fruit exposure, but it isn’t an estimate of the amount to light that reaches the bunches.

This app has the potential to help benchmark canopy growth and development from season to season. Measurement taken early in the season could indicate that the canopy is denser than expected and shoot thinning would be useful or that shoot growth is not as vigorous as needed and additional irrigation or fertigation would be beneficial. The impact of management practices such as trimming or leaf removal could also be monitored with before and after photos.

For the app to be used effectively good benchmarks or targets are needed for the size and shape of the canopy. This may be harder than it sounds as the measurements will need to focus on the early part of the season, as this is when management (e.g. shoot thinning or irrigation) is the most effective. Canopy development is also very rapid during this period so any benchmarks will need to be closely related to vine phenology.

Any canopy manipulation, such as the positioning of foliage wires is also likely to change the results.

Building a ‘selfie stick’ out of 25 mm water pipe or similar (see photo) can make the positioning of the phone a lot easier.

It can also be used to push the dripper pipe out of the way which speeds up the process and makes it more manageable for one person.

The volume buttons on the phone’s headphones can be used as a remote shutter release.

Another option is to use a brick as a permanent positioning point for the phone. This is very useful for benchmarking projects, as you are confident that you are taking the photo from the same position and height each time.

Even if you are taking the photos from a different place every time it can also be useful to locate the phone a standard distance from the vine when taking the image.

This ensures the phone isn’t so close that the trunk obscures the canopy and that you don’t end up monitoring poor cordon fill as opposed to canopy development.

When taking the photos you need to be careful that the view of the vine canopy and the sky isn’t obstructed.

Things to watch out for include weeds growing in the undervine area, the trunk, and the hat or forehead of the person taking the image.

If light shines directly into the camera lens it can also obscure a portion of the canopy, this means the early in the morning or the evening (or cloudy days) are best to take the photos.

Sometimes solar noon will also work as the canopy obscures

WHAT DO THE RESULTS MEAN AND HOW CAN THEY BE USED?

The University of Adelaide’s app, known as VitiCanopy, can be downloaded for free from the App store. For more information about measuring canopy size, please contact the AWRI helpdesk on 8313 6600 or helpdesk@awri.com.au.

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vineyard machinery

VineWatch network expands THERE ARE NOW more than 30 weather stations connected providing real time weather information to grapegrowers across New South Wales.

Adrian Englefield, viticulture development officer with the NSW Department of Primary Industries, said growers can use the information provided by the NSW weather stations network to help make more-informed decisions regarding localised pest and disease management within their vineyard.

Englefield said the regionally-specific weather information that is provided helps growers to identify the conditions that are favourable to pest and disease development. Creating awareness of these risks will allow for “greater capability in developing management strategies”.

The NSW ‘weather station network’ currently includes 10 stations in the Riverina (five that are supplied by the Riverina Wine Grapes Marketing Board); seven in the Hunter Valley (five that are privately owned); six in Orange (four privately owned); five in Mudgee; two in Canberra; and two in Tumbarumba.

Englefield said it was important to highlight and thank both the Riverina Wine Grape Marketing Board and the owners of the private stations for their contribution to the network.

Since mid-January, all the information collected by the weather station network has been available from a new website hosted by the Australian Wine Research Institute. Grapegrowers are encouraged to access the data at www.awri.com.au/industry_support/weather-nsw/.

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“The weather station data also forms a critical part of the VineWatch fortnightly newsletter,” said Englefield. “Which discusses current pest and disease pressures and provides information and links to current viticultural practices and management options for growers across New South Wales.”

VineWatch information is collaborated from information supplied by eight regional viticulturists across the NSW wine growing regions (Canberra, Hunter Valley, Mudgee, Murray Valley, Orange, Southern Highlands and Tumbarumba). As both viticulture and viticultural practices vary significantly across these districts, the regional input is important to tailor the reports to each region’s needs.

The first VineWatch bulletin produced by the NSW DPI was in September 2015 and it currently has more than 220 subscribers.

Subscribing is simple, just visit the NSW Department of Primary Industries grapes website and follow the link (www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/ agriculture/horticulture/grapes).

“To date we have received very positive feedback from growers and have been given some feedback and ideas to improve VineWatch,” said Englefield. “The best feedback we receive is that growers do use VineWatch and the weather stations data to improve their management practices.

“Many growers are more aware of pest and disease issues within their region and are ready to modify vineyard management to combat pest and disease if weather station data indicates conditions are

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Contact Dan Brannan on 08 8369 9515 or d.brannan@winetitles.com.au www.winetitles.com.au

February 2016 – Issue 625

Darren Fahey (left) and Adrian Englefield check one of the weather stations.

conducive to pest and disease development or warnings are posted in VineWatch.” While many growers find the current viticultural recommendations to be useful, Englefield said there is plenty of other information provided through the VineWatch bulletin – such as the links to weather models, including heatwaves and rainfall projections; pest and disease factsheets; as well as notifications for upcoming DPI viticulture events.

Acknowledgements: The NSW Department of Primary Industries has several partnerships that assist the VineWatch bulletin and the weather stations network, including: The NSW Wine Industry Association; Australian Wine Research Institute; Riverina Wine Grape Marketing Board; and the owners of the private weather stations that provide data.

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vineyard machinery

Making every drop of water count

Drip irrigation at Hyde Park Vineyards in Victoria’s Great Western.

FINDING BETTER WAYS to make every drop of water count is at the heart of an innovative company in the driest continent on earth. Sentek Technologies has been revolutionising soil moisture, fertiliser and salinity management since 1991.

Its latest range of sensing solutions records soil water and salinity data at multiple depths in the soil profile through the use of Capacitance Technology and then uses the internet and satellites to transmit the data in real time from almost anywhere in the world.

CEO of the South Australian company Nick Ktoris said water management issues were becoming increasingly important.

“When we first started creating this technology 24 years ago people were saying ‘why are they doing that – we’ve got an abundance of water - you guys are crazy’ but you realise when you start having droughts and you’ve got a growing population and water becomes a finite resource that we need to be much more efficient after all,” he said.

“If you need to apply water anywhere, how much water and when to apply is really what we’re about and that can be across quite a number of applications.

“We can actually help you create a rounder, firmer apple, we can help you slow the plant growth down so you can reduce your pruning costs, we can make sure your fertiliser is not going past the root zone – the benefits are endless, not to mention you’re saving water of course.”

40 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Sentek has four main pillars – farming, research, landscaping and environmental.

Its products have a broad range of applications – in agriculture alone they have been used in more than 100 different crop types. But the sensors can also be used to prevent landslides, monitor underground water levels in the mining industry, on golf courses and even to help seed companies develop drought resistant strains.

Sentek has 32 staff in Adelaide and two in Arizona in the US, one of its biggest markets. Its products are used in 80 countries and on every continent except Antarctica.

“Although I do hear there’s something in the pipeline there so anything’s possible,” Ktoris said.

Recently named Business SA Exporter of the Year, Sentek’s latest product is a “drill and drop probe”, which can reduce sensor installation time from 40 minutes down to five and avoid digging large holes to bury technology underground.

“You drill the hole and you basically push the probe in and you’re off and running,” Ktoris said.

“I could be sitting here in Adelaide looking at data from a farm in New South Wales or California – basically anywhere in the world in real time.

“We’re not only creating the hardware, we are also creating the software so that you can look at the data and use it to make informed decisions.” www.winetitles.com.au

“Even if you’ve got no (internet) coverage and you want real time data we could do that through satellites.”

According to the World Resources Institute, more than a billion people live in water-scarce regions. It predicts this could increase to 3.5 billion by 2025.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is leading a National Innovation and Science Agenda in a bid to drive the nation’s economy forward.

The National Farmers’ Federation has backed the push.

NFF CEO Simon Talbot said the farming sector relied on continual innovation to maintain Australia’s strong international competitiveness.

“The innovation developed within Australia is also considered to be worldleading and is adopted by agribusiness across the globe further reinforcing the need for continued and strong investment in this area,” Talbot said.

“This not only includes on-farm and value chain innovation but also pioneering ideas in how agriculture can meet the demands of a changing climate.

“Bold new ideas will be required to continue to drive this leadership and to respond to the evolving demands placed on the sector.”

For more information contact Nick Ktoris from Sentek: E: sentek@sentek.com.au P: +61 8 8266 1900 February 2016 – Issue 625

Training directly with the machinery provider

One of the ‘operator’ groups to graduate from the Braud training.

BRAUD AUSTRALIA has been holding training courses designed to help people get the most from their machinery.

Across the past 15 years the training candidates have arrived from all the grapegrowing regions across Australia, because Braud Australia is the national Australian distributor for the New Holland Braud grape harvester.

The courses are split up into two categories, covering each of the main areas of using and maintaining the machinery (or rather, ‘operation’ and ‘technical’).

OPERATOR INSTRUCTION For the ‘operation’ courses grape harvester operators to learn not only how to safely operate the machinery – and there is a strong emphasis on safety, where to put your hands and where not to – and they are introduced to the allimportant basic daily maintenance.

The courses start with full inspection of the machines before each training

participant progresses to the classroom for a ‘theory’ lesson.

The operators then get to use the specially-designed simulator, which duplicates the cabin and the harvester controls – and connects them to a live machine via an ‘umbilical cord’, allowing them to experience each of the functions.

This experience gives them an ‘out of harvester’ experience that allows each operator to see each process in action, without having to concentrate on precision driving at the same time.

The introduction to basic maintenance equips the operators to remove picking rods and make various, simple adjustments to the machine.

Each operator then climbs aboard a machine and physically drives it around the Braud Australia yard – which features stand-pipes and poles to replicate two rows of vines.

The experience of driving over these ‘rows’, without knocking the poles down, takes some of the stress of the learning

process out of the equation for both the operators and the vineyard owners – as there is no risk of damaged vines in this simulation.

Angelo Dicesare, Braud Australia’s managing director, said the operators also get to experience turns at the end of rows and entries over parallel rows – preparing them for the situations they will likely encounter when they start to operate the harvester in thje real vineyard setting.

Once each operator has mastered the basics, the training shifts up a gear.

“We teach the operators how to adjust and set-up their machines to give the best possible and most efficient pick, with minimal damage to the grapes or vines,” Diceasare said.

The ambition is to prepare operators who care for the vineyard.

“When the machine is picking properly, one shouldn’t be able to tell if the machine has actually passed over the vines.

We teach the operators how to adjust and set-up their machines to give the best possible and most efficient pick, with minimal damage to the grapes or vines.

When the machine is picking properly, one shouldn’t be able to tell if the machine has actually passed over the vines.

February 2016 – Issue 625

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vineyard machinery

The grape harvester, with operator and trainer aboard, negotiates a mock vine-row in the Braud yard.

“The idea is to give the operators familiarity and confidence to drive the machines, Before they receive their new machines, and start harvesting. The course is also open to new operators for vineyards with existing older machines.”

TECHNICIAN TRAINING The ‘technical’ course is designed for the mechanics/ technicians who maintain the plant and equipment in the vineyards. The candidates for this course must have a good mechanical understanding to get the full benefits – it is ideal for new machine customers as well as customers with existing (even older) machines who may have new mechanics. For example, this course is perfect for any new mechanics who join the New Holland/Braud dealer network.

Both the ‘operation’ and ‘technical’ courses are run across three-days, and can be tailored to the latest/current model machines or older models.

“Training is a good investment as confident operators and technicians get, and maintain, the best performance from their equipment,” Diceasare said.

The training is another reason he New Holland Braud grape harvester maintains its position as the number one seller in Australia. But Diceasare said the machinery has a reputation as a ‘high-tech’, reliable and strong performing harvester that is supported by a great dealer network across Australia.

“The fact is that the best training in the world for operators and technicians, cannot keep a bad machine working,” Diceasare said. “The machine must be good to start with, which is the case with the New Holland Braud grape harvester.”

For more information about the Braud training, contact: E: sales@braud.com.au P: 08 8139 7250

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February 2016 – Issue 625

Regional water wise initiative THE LANGHORNE CREEK wine region has a history of good water stewardship, as the region is located on the fertile flood plain influenced by the local Bremer and Angas Rivers.

Irrigation techniques across the region have come a long way since the first grapegrowers in the area set about establishing levy banks and floodgates to direct floodwater into the vineyards.

And these days, the growers continue to look for ways to be ever more efficient water users.

On a Thursday in mid-January, 25 wine grape growers attended an irrigation session at Langhorne Creek aimed at improving irrigation system performance and water use efficiency to get the most from every drop.

As the first of two planned workshops, this day focused attention on hydraulic valve testing for system maintenance.

Experts from Netafim provided practical insights to valve maintenance, solenoids, pilots and pressure testing along with a demonstration of correct setting of pressure regulators.

Early climatic predictions have irrigators anticipating water allocation restrictions again as early as next year so practical workshops such as this form an important part of being prepared and using water wisely.

The irrigation session was a part of a series of ongoing regional initiatives that receive support and funding from Wine Australia. The organisers extend their thanks to CMV

February 2016 – Issue 625

Darren Brewer (Netafim), Phil Reilly (CMV Farms), Lian Jaensch (Langhorne Creek Grape and Wine), Jeremy Nelson (SA MDB NRM) and Peter Henry (Netafim) at the Langhorne Creek Irrigation demonstration day.

Farms Langhorne Creek vineyards for supplying the venue for a very informative and engaging day.

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winemaking

Australian wine exports jump 14 per cent to $2.1 billion THE VALUE of Australian wine exports has surged 14 per cent to $2.1 billion in 2015, its highest value since late 2007.

The Wine Australia Export Report December 2015 showed for the first time in over two decades, the value of Australian wine exports has grown in each of Australia’s top 15 export markets.

Andreas Clark, Wine Australia chief executive officer, said the findings should be warmly welcomed by the Australian grape and wine community as it is largely a result of their hard work.

“Our global team is committed to working with wine businesses to capture export opportunities and we encourage businesses to contact us to discuss how we can assist them,” Clark said.

Figures of exceptional growth were highlighted by large export increases to China, Japan and Korea. China had the strongest growth of 66 per cent to $370 million, Japan increased by 12 per cent in value to $46 million while exports to Korea jumped 38 per cent in value to $11.7 million.

Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources and South Australian Senator Anne Ruston congratulated the Australian wine community and reiterated the Coalition Government’s

support of the wine industry.

“The Coalition Government is committed to completing and implementing the free trade agreements that will provide economic opportunities for future generations; we’ve improved market access into Asia, and the Australian wine industry has certainly responded well, with our wine exports surging to $2.1 billion in 2015.”

Ruston said the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA), the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) and the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) provided a market setting conducive for industry success.

“Internationally, we are now seeing large-scale retailers put more focus on the Australian category, and a number of importers, including some of Japan’s largest, have started importing new Australian wines, giving more energy to the market place,” Ruston said.

“The fact that Australia’s strongest export growth was recorded in to China, and the new ChAFTA effects are not yet reflective in Wine Australia’s figures really does indicate that we are in the midst of yet another boost in market optimism. Under ChAFTA, the tariff on bulk wine has already reduced

AT A GLANCE A breakdown of the growth for exports of wine with an FOB of more than $10 per litre shows wines valued at: - $10.00 – 14.99 grew 24% - $15.00 – 19.99 grew 55% - $20.00 – 29.99 grew 22% - $30.00 – 49.99 grew 16% - $50.00 – 99.99 grew 59% - $100.00 – 199.99 grew 40% - $200.00 and above, grew 23% Bottled wine has been the key driver of the export success. Bottled exports increased by 17% to $1.6billion and the average value increased by 7% to $5.20 per litre. This is the highest value since 2003 on a calendar year basis.

There were more than 1500 active exporters in 2015 – up from 1395 in 2014.

Australian wine was exported to more than 120 destinations and the top five markets were: 1. The USA, which increased by 4% to $443million; 2. The UK (Australia’s number one market by volume), which increased 0.2% to $376million; 3. China, which increased 66% to $370million; 4. Canada, which increased 7% to $193million; and 5. Hong Kong, which increased 22% to $132million.

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February 2016 – Issue 625

With the right industry settings back home and an increase in investment for much-needed international marketing, the Australian wine industry has the opportunity to leverage off this growth, and regain and grow market share in key export markets. from 20 per cent to 12 per cent, and the tariff on bottled wine has reduced from 14 per cent to 8.4 per cent.

“The JAEPA has been in force for 12 months now, and the industry is responding well to the agreement which immediately cut tariffs on bulk wine to zero and will reduce tariffs on bottled wine over a seven-year period.

“After a year of the KAFTA which saw the removal of the15 per cent tariff on Australian wine, exporters to South Korea have increased by 38 per cent to $11.7 million in value, hitting their highest value since 2008.

Tony Battaglene, Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) international strategy and international affairs general manager, said the figures were a good early sign that Australia was getting back in favour with some key markets.

“With the right industry settings back home and an increase in investment for much-need international marketing,

the Australian wine industry has the opportunity to leverage off this growth, and regain and grow market share in key export markets underpinning a sustained boost to industry profitability in the future,” Battaglene said.

Andrew Weeks, newly appointed Wine Grape Growers Australia director, said the 14 per cent growth in export value was a welcome first step in returning profitability to the sector and should be reflected in higher grape prices to keep struggling growers in business.

“Growers have been doing it tough for a long time now and while they’re not out of the woods yet, seeing a lift in exports is certainly welcome news for every one right across the supply chain,” said Weeks. “For example, as some pursue exports they free up limited shelf space domestically and that has the potential to improve grape sales and deliver stronger prices down the line.”

Weeks said it was imperative that this improvement allowed wine companies

the confidence and ability to improve the prices they offered growers for their fruit.

“This will mean that growers can not only remain in the industry, but it will allow them to reinvest in their businesses, and to ensure that this positive trend can continue,” he said.

Simon Berry, Wine Grape Council South Australia chair, agreed with Weeks and said grapegrowers have shared the pain with wineries as a result of the worst downturn in living memory, and should now share in the lift in income from improved exports.

“We are not saying this because of some sense of entitlement but because we have had a decade where investment in vineyard improvement has not occurred at the level to maintain quality and productivity,” Berry said. “Growers need sustainable prices to reinvest in vines; optimum health vine health leads to better wine, higher values and a cycle of improvement for the whole value chain.”

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winemaking

John Casella: Quality and quantity Late in 2015 Nathan Gogoll sat down with the Casella Family Brands managing director. It was a year since the announcement of the Peter Lehmann acquisition and John Casella spoke about an exciting project at the Barossa winery as well as the road to recovery for Australian wine exports.

JOHN CASELLA believes the next wave of Australian wine industry success will rely on a level of maturity and selfconfidence. “I think it is returning, but there was a lack of that,” Casella said.

The managing director of Australia’s largest family owned winery said one factor for stalling Australian wine sales in traditional export markets had been a tendency to ‘follow’ rather than ‘lead’. He said the success of Casella’s Yellowtail had resulted in “50 other Yellowtail interpretations” and as Australian wineries battled to produce something similar at a cheaper price “it became a race to knock off another Australian in the US market”.

“It was an immature way of doing things but I think we’re over that, hopefully the industry has woken up to see they shouldn’t spend too much time following each other and making wines that taste like each other’s because that was not the way to build true brands,” Casella said.

“We need, as an industry, to start understanding there’s a difference between selling wine and building brands and we need to focus on building brands in order to sell wines.”

INDUSTRY INSIGHT As the boss of Australia’s largest capacity wine company, and having recently completed a 12-month ‘interim’ role on the board of the Australian Grape and Wine Authority, Casella has is well placed to comment on the issues impacting on the success of winemakers and grapegrowers.

For starters, he’d like people to take a long-term approach to the issue of supply and demand.

“We’ve got to remember wine is an agricultural product,” Casella said. “So you might have consecutive bumper years through the right weather and rain conditions, but it might go the other way with consecutive poor yields because of frost or heat and drought or whatever. This means we probably can’t ever get to a wonderful balance of supply and demand – it’s just not an industry in which that will easily happen.

“You can’t plant a set amount of vineyard and achieve a set yield every year, it just doesn’t work like that.”

While Casella is pleased to see positive movement in export markets, he hopes the industry is prepared for a “quick turnaround of volume and the slower turnaround of returns”.

“There was a lot of wine that has been sold below the cost of production, both for the farmers and sometimes for the winemakers as well. And it’s not easy to say ‘sure a wine used to sell for 60 cents a litre, but now I want you to pay me $1.20’ – that’s not going to happen, the buyers will find and chew up all the alternatives before they come back and start paying that price, so we need to be mindful of that,” Casella said.

“It’s a matter of brands and products reflecting higher price points, rather than just simply selling more of something. If the price point hasn’t shifted it means the grower return hasn’t shifted. The value of the Australian dollar will help, but I’m not sure that’s the cure-all for getting growers back into the sustainable profitability they need.”

Casella said “the pain of oversupply has been shared by everybody” and while his company has remained strong and profitable, this hasn’t been achieved by paying growers lower prices. “We’ve always paid way above market for our grapes,

46 Grapegrower & Winemaker

there’s no issue there and my conscience is clear that we haven’t taken advantage of unfortunate growers.”

DOING MORE, DOING IT BETTER Casella said quality is just as important as quantity for his company.

“There has been this image that we’re a bulk producer that doesn’t know what it’s doing, when in fact we are a bulk producer that knows exactly what it’s doing,” he said.

“We don’t just have a big site at Yenda, we have a very well-equipped site. In terms of tonnage we would have the biggest capacity in Australia, and the way we look at it is not just about doing more but doing it better, even under difficult circumstances.

“I always make the point that being bigger isn’t necessarily better, but being strong is better. Of course when you are stronger you can do more, but being strong can mean you can do less in a more efficient way.”

This attitude provides an insight into the motivation to purchase additional wineries.

“In turnover terms we are probably the third biggest wine company in Australia and certainly by far the biggest family company and still growing – firstly by organic growth and secondly by acquisition, with the Peter Lehmann acquisition, for example. Although that wasn’t ever the sole reason for

John Casella

www.winetitles.com.au

February 2016 – Issue 625

There has been this image that we’re a bulk producer that doesn’t know what it’s doing, when in fact we are a bulk producer that knows exactly what it’s doing. We don’t just have a big site at Yenda, we have a very well-equipped site. In terms of tonnage we would have the biggest capacity in Australia, and the way we look at it is not just about doing more but doing it better, even under difficult circumstances. buying the Peter Lehmann business; it wasn’t just about growing, it was about diversifying regionally and being a stronger, more relevant supplier to our customers around the world.”

With wineries in different regions now, Casella said it would be possible to redirect fruit to Griffith where there is far greater capacity, if required.

Capacity issues have been big headaches for wineries in the most recent vintages and John said it would be “very prudent” for wineries to respond with increased size.

“The reason we’ve got so much capacity is that we used to crush seven-days-a-week, and I got sick of people being absent and all the issues that come with working on Saturdays and Sundays, so I upgraded everything to make it a five-day week. If we ever have any issues we can crush seven days… if we have wet weather we can crush an extra two days and the Griffith winery is built to actually take that fruit so we can quite easily in seven days get through 30,000 tonnes. We average 5,000 per day and we can handle up to 6,000 plus.”

EXPORT GROWTH “If we look at the Yellowtail side of things we are still growing actively in the UK and most other markets. We’ve had slight declines in the USA we’ve been able to turnaround and the last set of figures were positive,” Casella said. “The Australian category on the whole has been on a path of decline (in the US) and we were declining, not to the same point as the rest of Australia in a percentage way, but we’ve been able to turn that around.

“We’ve worked more closely with our importer to understand what the issues were, around ‘brand Australia’ as well as our brand in particular. We’ve looked at measured, affordable ways to counter that – because there are probably 100 ways you could counter it, but somethings are going to cost you a lot of money and, as big as we are, we still don’t have an unlimited resource compared to the overall market.

But we are acutely aware of what we have to spend and how we can best spend that to achieve the best results.”

John said he has seen positive signs in the US. “I think it is just beginning to turn now, but the thing with the USA is that inevitably, most stores block their products in countryof-origin. So when a country is hot, everybody goes to that section – and it grows, then because it is bigger more people go to that section and people notice it. When a country like Australia is in decline the section just gets smaller and smaller. What we’ve found is when Yellowtail is shelved by variety we have a 15-plus percentage increase in sales.”

This knowledge has helped to inform marketing and labelling decisions, but Casella has been wary not to “dictate to your customers how they should shelve your wine”.

February 2016 – Issue 625

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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NZ Tel: 0800 KAURIWINE NZ Fax: 04 910 7415 Website: www.kauriwine.com Grapegrower & Winemaker

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winemaking “Retail in the USA, or here in Australia, is all about getting customers to spend more, not less. The number of consumers walking into each store is always limited and the idea is to get them to spend more – and it comes down to how you display products and how you move them from cheaper products to more expensive products.”

Casella recognises the logical consumer question is ‘why does this one cost more than the other one?’ But he said where there is a “credible story around it” and “where there is a regional or varietal difference”, there will be ways to achieve it.

Casella is also keen to expand the varietal mix that Australia is currently known for.

“I’ve made this point quite often, we need to build our credentials with varieties other than what we are best known for. Varieties like Pinot Noir, for example, we need to do a lot more work there and it is the same for Cabernet Sauvignon to build that further.

“It’s not to say we should stop selling Shiraz, our biggest selling and our fastest growing varietal in the UK is Shiraz – but it is also our fastest declining varietal in the US, so you need different wines for different markets.

“When you look at Yellowtail, the number one selling product used to be Shiraz – by far. Then it became our number two, then it became three and now it’s four. Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot, Shiraz. It dropped below Merlot. Then we introduced the Big Bold Red which is mainly Shiraz and that’s selling well – sometimes when you don’t tell people what it is they actually like it.”

NO ROOM FOR COMPLACENCY This level of insight into both winemaking and sales environment demonstrates how hands-on Casella is across the whole business.

“Probably the two areas I enjoy most are the marketing and winemaking. It’s great to see how you can make wine and how you can make it better. I think it should always be about continuous improvement, no matter what you look at it is made better and it is made cheaper today than what it was 10 years ago. And we have to look at wine the same way, not-so-much different in a sense where it is less valuable – but cheaper in a sense you can spend less to get the same outcome.”

For Casella, there is a clear drive for continuous improvement.

“It is quite easy for everybody to become complacent, especially when you are profitable and you are strong… but competitors don’t sit around and before people realise it, their competitors can be ahead of them.

“There are two things I always repeat, one of them is my father’s saying that ‘you save your pennies when you have them, because when you don’t have them they save themselves’. Which is true, it is surprising how much you save when you don’t have the money to spend – and how much you waste when you do have it. The other thing, when I look at companies that are in financial strife and all of a sudden there are 2000 employees they don’t need any more, well they didn’t need them in the first place – you wouldn’t be getting rid of them if you really needed them in the first place.

“It surprises me that some companies need to wait until the issues arrive to do the cleanout. You keep your house in order, you keep your business in order and you keep your business optimal as far as the labour input and how you spend money. You shouldn’t wait for a crisis to revisit that and look at what you should have done ages before to possibly avoid the crisis that you are now trying to fix.”

48 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Yenda winery tanks

POLISHING THE PORTFOLIO Casella said there is always work to be done to polish the portfolio, and this will be true for Casella Family Brands as well as Peter Lehmann Wines and the recently-acquired Brands Liara.

“We haven’t just sort-of slammed everything into one pot and hoped it will work,” he said.

If you look at the distribution network, Casella Family Brands and Peter Lehmann Wines already had the same partner in Japan, Korea and Germany – but in the UK both brands maintain separate partners.

“It has really been about the best result for the brand, rather than the most convenient for us. It is always convenient to deal with one importer, but sometimes you don’t get the best outcome. If you look at the portfolio of products Peter Lehmann is much more suited to the on-premise; Yellowtail is more suited to the off-premise. Even domestically we have kept the different state-based distributors and we do just the major multiples ourselves. That gives us the strength we need in the multiples and then they (the distributors) can deal with the on-trade and the smaller retailers.”

In this area Casella reinforced his position the ‘brand’ would drive sales success.

“As far as broad view of what we are looking to do – it is all about building the image of both Peter Lehmann and

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February 2016 – Issue 625

the Barossa. We are working on a wine that sits well above the current premium red, which is the Stonewell, we’ve actually made the wine and we’re going to look at how we gauge that and how we set that apart from the other wines.”

The new ‘super premium’ already has a name, The Masterson, which honours the name given to the Tanunda winery in 1979 when Peter Lehman left Saltram and together with his fellow investors purchased the Hoffmans site.

“I’m not sure when we will actually release it, probably in two or three years – it might be a five-year release. If you are selling something at a particular price point you have to justify it to yourself and to the consumer about why it costs more. It’s not just about flashing products out there at crazy prices and people buy them, but you’ve really got to tell consumers the reason why and get them to understand. This wine, for example, will be very limited in the grape source that it came from, it was vinified differently and will be aged it differently as well.”

The Masterson will no doubt have excited the viticulture and winemaking team involved in the project.

“It’s all about image and about getting us out there and saying ‘there’s nothing anybody else is doing we can’t do equally, or better’.”

“There were no glaring gaps that I said we should have had products here or there, that certainly hasn’t been the case. But I thought The Masterson was a very important one, to send a message out there to say ‘we’re here and we’re as just as good, or better than anybody else’.

“They had it all pretty well covered; if anything they had too many products. So it looks like we will do a reasonable tidy up and some of those just weren’t really worth having, but you need cellar door products and you need online products and we know that, but we’ve just got to maintain it as clean and efficient as possible.”

“One of the reasons for our success at Casella is that we’ve had the big volume of a small number of products, and I know within smaller wineries you need a range – that’s how you keep your customers and keep them interested – but we just need to be careful we don’t lose efficiency and don’t waste money chasing small amounts of sales that we could have been better spent building the brand overall.

“I think with exports that volume helps as well, so you are not just dealing with 500 cases but you have a 5000 case brand of which 500 cases can be assigned here. It’s about maintaining that critical volume, you want that diversity and the range of products to keep people interested – but you don’t want it to become something that bears down on your productivity and efficiencies.”

One of the The face of the Peter Lehmann brand moving forward…

“That was always a challenge for us. And we’ve had a look at other brands that transcend the founder. I think you take the essence of what Peter was; the essence of what the Barossa is; our belief in what the Barossa should be; and work on that. We need to look at ways to take that legacy and building on it. It doesn’t mean that we have to rely solely on what Peter did to sell our products… it becomes about what he did, combined with what we’re doing now – our knowledge, our experience and our commitment to furthering the legacy. If we look at it that way it means that Peter took it to one level and we can take it to another level. And not at any point not to acknowledge, or disrespect, what Peter did – but in one lifetime you can only achieve so much and now that it’s in our hands we get to take it that level further, both in consumer perception and in sales volume. But it’s not just about selling more, because selling more of something is always easy, but selling more of something and getting a better price is the challenge.”

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USAGE ŒNOLOGIQUE

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1 kg

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February 2016 – Issue 625

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Sustainable wine? It must be good Gone are the days when the sustainability of wine was measured primarily in terms of reduced emissions, water saving and environmental protection. All these aspects must be respected, but the final product must also be good, it must evoke the values of tradition and territory typical of the product and also be viable from an economic standpoint. This was discussed at the conference ‘Sustainability as a tribute to wine quality’ organised by the UIV. Riccardo Oldani reports.

WHAT IS A sustainable wine? No longer just a ‘green’ product, primarily geared to respecting the environment, “and then it does not matter if it’s so-so”.

A wine that can seize a select audience of heated environmentalists, but not the mass of consumers.

This approach might have worked once, but now that the market is more mature and you can find organic or biodynamic wines of high quality, we need to change direction.

This was what in essence was debated during the last Simei, during one of the two international conferences organised by the Unione Italiana Vini in collaboration with Opera, the research centre on sustainable agriculture at the Sacro Cuore Catholic University in Milan, and sponsored by the OIV, CEEV and FIVS. The symposium, which was held in November 2015, was dedicated to sustainability as a tribute to the quality of wine and was combined with another event that took place the next day dedicated to sensory analysis. Participants included leading figures from the academic and business worlds as well as from governments from around the world.

February 2016 – Issue 625

A combination, that between sustainability and sensory factors of wine, was certainly not random.

This was underlined by the brilliant host of the conference, Natasha Walker, who showed how “a modern concept of sustainability is based on three fundamental aspects: environmental, social, and economic.

In other words, to be sustainable a wine must not only respect the environment, but must also be economically viable for producers and, as regards the social aspect, it must keep all the evocative power of the wine intact, which is based on tradition, territory and, above all, tastes and smells”.

To put it very briefly, sustainable wine must be good. And hence the sensory analysis, the system which more than any other can objectively define the concept of good, takes a central role in the definition of sustainability and becomes the ideal bridge between consumer perception and the producer’s idea.

A DESIRED DOMINO EFFECT Indicating the basis on which it will be important to work to achieve greater sustainability of the whole wine sector was

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winemaking AT A GLANCE Work Groups Harmonising practices and solutions while maintaining the specificity of individual production. After the speakers’ presentations, there followed a reflection on specific issues of sustainability conducted in small workgroups. A study made possible thanks to the particular format of the conference, eight large tables set up to accommodate experts on particular issues, such as water management in the vineyard or cellar, biodiversity or the economic and social aspects of a sustainable approach. A table was also reserved to a group of students, who in turn declared a challenge to the experts present through a double invitation to use more and more technology, such as precision agriculture, for the management of the vineyard and work particularly on the consumer to raise awareness of the importance of sustainability in the choice of wine.

The most poignant issue for the experts was that of the harmonisation of practices and solutions implemented worldwide while maintaining the specific characteristics of individual production areas. For example, Osvaldo Failla, from the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Milan, “the problem of water management in the vineyard must be tackled globally, but the needs of production areas like California or Australia, where rainfall is very scarce, are different from others where the water resource is relatively more abundant”. Karissa Kruse, President of the Sonoma County Wine Grape Commission, in California, acknowledges “there is a great desire on the part of all, first and foremost producers but also consumers, to keep the environment and, above all, the natural habitat in and around the vineyard intact, but it is vital to do more research on this point because certain mechanisms and balances are not yet well known and, above all, to develop varieties that are more resistant”.

While Mike Veseth, economic expert of the wine industry and a professor at the University of Puget Sound in the US, in the state of Washington, stressed “the importance of not creating a global model of sustainability, but leaving room for processes and certifications fitting the needs of individual communities, but in the context of a shared vision of the problem. A harmonisation process that can come about only through the identification of well-defined priorities that lead to making better decisions in the future”.

Ettore Capri, from the research centre Opera: “It is now clear,” he said. “That sustainability is the point of balance between three aspects, the social, economic and environmental aspects.

“There are many programs of national and international research on this issue, but harmonisation is currently missing, so it is important to act in this way to produce a desired domino effect, that is, an increasing awareness of the content of the sustainability of wine from the producer to the consumer.

“In this sense, sustainability is a great opportunity to develop new businesses, new markets, new products and innovative solutions and to promote a better use of resources.”

The challenge, according to Capri, “is to understand better the economic viability of certain solutions, define procedures and regulations, simplify the message to the consumer, who is currently confused by excessive logos, trademarks, labels celebrating the sustainability of a product”.

52 Grapegrower & Winemaker

In other words, communication must also be sustainable.

The improvement, finally, must also be addressed by innovation and new ways to engage players in the world of wine, financiers, politicians, decision makers”.

Finding a balance as well as a direction in all this will not be easy, as highlighted by Ulrich Fischer, professor of enology and sensory analysis, but also an expert at the German research centre for wine of DLR Rheinpfalz, an organisation dedicated to the study of the better use of the territory of Rhineland, in the west of Germany.

According to Fischer, sustainability cannot go beyond certain parameters that have fixed the ideas of wine in the public and that are based on aspects such as tradition and tie with the territory where it is made.

He said the industry is also concerned about the increase in alcohol consumption, and as wine is an alcoholic beverage, and pointed out that technologies are increasingly used to eliminate alcohol from the must, or to reduce the sugar content of the grapes in the first place.

But is there a level below which we have a different perception of a wine, enough to make it lose the connection with the tradition from which it came?

Knowing what these limits are, becomes essential to developing products that will continue to be successful, without losing their identity and their ties with the territory. Sustainable wines, therefore, as long as they continue to be wines.

EXAMPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY So, how must a winery be to be sustainable? Allison Bonnett, expert in sensory analysis and consultant to wineries all over the world, has considered some of the leading examples.

Like, for instance the example of Roberto Antonini, indicated by Decanter magazine as one of the five most talented winemakers in the world.

Poggiotondo, where Antonini works, has not only converted the vineyards to organic farming, but uses concrete tanks for winemaking in order to maximise the gaseous interchange between wine and outdoor atmosphere, by taking advantage of the porosity of the material.

Another example is the South African producer Spier, which is implementing careful land management practices, based not only on the management of the vineyards but also on crops and pastures and tree planting, which has been encouraged through a project called ‘Treepreneur’. The initiative calls on the nearby villagers to care for the trees in a sustainable manner, alternating planting and cutting, to obtain wood to make handicraft items. There is also a program of purification and reuse of the water used for the operations of the cellar.

According to Bonnett, the results of this project have been exceptional for the communities around the Stellenbosch region, near Cape Town, because they have added another activity to the production of wine for the benefit of both the local communities and the land management of the area, reducing water requirements by almost 70 per cent, and virtually eliminating the risk of fire, once very common.

Such initiatives prove really sustainable, because they generate a widespread positive value and help to make wine production less expensive and more useful socially.

Another project shown during the conference was initiated at the University of California in Davis by Roger Boulton, professor of enology and expert in winemaking production processes.

A winery was created in Davis that is completely selfsufficient in terms of energy and water requirements, with a series of futuristic solutions that make it a laboratory unique in the world and a model of this type of production to keep in mind for the future.

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February 2016 – Issue 625

THINGS TO DO Apart from the good examples, there are, however, many things to do to make the wine industry really sustainable. The experts who participated indicated some paths.

For Allison Jordan from The California Wine Institute, who provides practical guidance to wine-growers for a profitable business in balance with the environment, “it is essential to increase partnerships on an international level, discuss with other bodies and institutions in the world, to exchange experiences and opinions”.

While for Ignacio Sanchez, General Secretary of the CEEV, “we must try to simplify and reduce the number of brands, logos and self-certification, and also the quantity of local regulations, defining different criteria to define the sustainability of wine, also in response to local needs, but then end up confusing the consumer”.

For Jean-Claude Ruf, the OIV scientific coordinator, “it is highly important to communicate to all the stakeholders of the wine industry, including consumers, that sustainability can pass only through innovation”.

According to Giuseppe Tasca D’Almerita, patron of the Sicilian winery of the same name, “sustainability is achieved through cooperation among companies, as we have done with other wineries of our region, and communicating, with great sincerity, not only the achieved goals, but also the unachieved ones. Because we are human, we make mistakes too, and the path to sustainability is not simple, but full of difficulties”.

Finally, Romano De Vivo, spokesman of the ECPA, the European association for the protection of cultivars, is convinced

SUPERSTART

that sustainability in the wine sector is obtained only through a close link with other agricultural activities and protection of the environment “that allows us to recover biodiversity, not only of the cultivars but also of natural species, by creating protected corridors for the conservation of the species.

Ecological infrastructures, to be developed around the fields and vineyards, which can perform many functions: protection against erosion, reduction of the percolation of water and the water needs for irrigation, control of the spread of pests and the provision of other useful services for agriculture”.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This article has been made available through cooperation between Corriere Vinicolo and the 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, the SIMEI exhibition, and Tergeo sustainability program.

On a regular basis, the Grapegrower & Winemaker and Corriere Vinicolo share articles, focusing on technical and economic issues, in order to give their readers a broader vision both on Italy and Australia/New Zealand.

R

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February 2016 – Issue 625

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young gun

My father once told me that your boss will forget how hard you worked for them a couple of years after you leave but your children will always remember you not being around when they were young

Newton: wines in motion After winning New Zealand’s Young Winemaker of the Year Award for the second time in a row, Mudbrick’s Patrick Newton has firmly positioned himself as a force to be reckoned with in the winemaking community. The full time family man had a chat to us about travelling the world, landing his dream job and the best time of the year to catch some swell on Waiheke Island.

PATRICK NEWTON was just 10 years old when his father retired as an officer with the Australian Defence Force and moved the family to a newly-purchased block of land in the Gimblett Gravels.

Born in Australia and raised across the country, the move gave Newton his first glimpse into an industry that would eventually become his future.

“We moved every couple of years before my parents decided to parents decided to purchase a block of land in what is now the Gimblett Gravels just west of Hastings in 1989,” Newton said. “The Cornerstone Vineyard was established and the family moved to New Zealand in 1992 when dad retired from the Army to run the vineyard.”

54 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Patrick Newton in the vineyard at Mudbrick.

Newton’s parents taught him to be a hard worker from a young age, encouraging him and his brothers to help out with the huge work load on the vineyard.

“Growing up on a vineyard there was always plenty of work to do and my three bothers and I were roped into working on school holidays,” Newton said. “There was a rule that we couldn’t sit around doing nothing during the holidays. We either had to work on the vineyard or get a job elsewhere.”

His feelings of obligation eventually grew into passion and at the end of his high school days, Newton said the only way forward was a career in the wine industry. www.winetitles.com.au

“Working in the vineyard was engrained in me when I left school,” Newton said. “I went to Lincoln University and graduated from a bachelor of viticulture and oenology in 2005.”

Newton said throughout his university years he never considered pursuing winemaking and always imagined his future would reflect his younger days spent in the vineyard.

“Funnily enough I didn’t want to be a winemaker,” he said. “All of my papers at university were based around the vineyard. I didn’t take any elective winemaking papers.

“I kept thinking that you only need one winemaker to look after several vineyards yet all of those vineyards need February 2016 – Issue 625

managers. So at some point there will be too many winemakers looking for work.”

A love of travel eventually changed his mind when he finished university and Newton began chasing vintages across Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Europe.

“In 2003 I started at Forrest Estate in Marlborough and Trinity Hill in Hawkes Bay in 2004 during the university holidays as work experience,” he said.

“After university, I did a whites vintage at Tyrrells in the Hunter Valley before heading straight back to New Zealand for a vintage at Esk Valley Wines in Hawkes Bay in 2005.”

From there, Newton decided to expand his horizons and try his hand at winemaking in the northern hemisphere.

“I headed over to the USA to work for Copain Custom Crush in Sonoma where I had positions with several different wineries including Donum, Auteur, Tallulah, and Dumol,” he said. “This was the best experience as I worked one on one with several different winemakers at the facility.”

Soon after, Newton chased another vintage all the way back to McLaren Vale where he worked at d’Arenberg for 2006 in a role he described as “very labour

Patrick Newton sits among some of his award-winning wines at Mudbrick Winery located on Waiheke Island.

intensive”.

“After d’Arenberg it was back off to the Northern Hemisphere to Van Volxem in the Saar Valley in Germany,” he said.

“This was an up-and-coming winery where the owner purchased several of

the old top vineyards (almost entirely Riesling) in the area and was bringing them back to life with organic principles.”

Chasing vintages year after year, Newton flew straight back to South Australia where he was employed at

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February 2016 – Issue 625

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55

young gun

My philosophy is that I want the Mudbrick Vineyards to come through with every glass.

The only way to achieve this is through sustainable vineyard practices and minimal intervention in the winery Patrick Newton sits among some of his award-winning wines at Mudbrick.

Kingston Estate in the Riverland region in what would be his first experience with large-scale winemaking.

“It was a real eye opener in terms of logistics around the winery,” he said.

A small vintage resulted in an early finish in the Riverland that year, allowing Newton to head back to where it all began - New Zealand.

“I picked up work at Constellation’s Corner 50 Winery in Hawkes Bay,” he said.

“At this stage an assistant winemaker position popped up at Vidal Winery in Hawkes Bay.” Newton saw the role as an incredible opportunity to be a part of the awardwinning Villa Maria Group.

“I applied and ended up getting the

position,” he said. “I stayed there for four vintages before applying and getting the winemaker position at Mudbrick Vineyard where I have been for the last four vintages.”

Today, at 33-years-old and already boasting a career that has spanned many countries, Newton says the most important attribute in his winemaking philosophy is a sense of place.

“My philosophy is that I want the Mudbrick Vineyards to come through with every glass,” he said. “The only way to achieve this is through sustainable vineyard practices and minimal intervention in the winery.”

Newton has had clear success turning his winemaking ideas into reality. In

2015, he won the New Zealand ‘young winemaker of the year’ award for the second time running. Decided only by what the judges see in the glass, Newton said the accolades have been his greatest achievement to date.

“The great thing about the Riedel New Zealand ‘young winemaker of the year’ is that you are judged solely on the quality of your wines,” he said. ”You enter three wines of different varieties and styles and they get judged as if they were in a normal wine competition. The scores are then added up and the person with the highest score wins.”

Commenting on his win, Newton said he was “extremely lucky to have the best vineyard manager on Waiheke Island”, Nick Otto.

“Nick works very hard in the vineyard to produce grapes with superior flavour,” he said. “Once the grapes are harvested I minimally handle them in the winery.

All the wines are naturally fermented with almost no additives.

“I’d like to think the judges saw my wines as terroir driven that have a sense of place.”

As well as his two Young Winemaker gongs, Newton was awarded with the Viognier Trophy at the Royal Easter Show in 2014, as well as both the Syrah Trophy and Champion Reserve Wine Trophy at the Bragato Wine Awards in 2014.

Despite his rapid rise, Newton said he still has huge plans for the future.

“I would like to produce my own wines. They would all be single vineyard wines reflecting both the vineyard and vintage,” he said.

“Over time I would like the wines to be the benchmark for quality in both New Zealand and the World. Selling out

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February 2016 – Issue 625

of these wines every year would also be a bonus!”

Newton said one of the biggest challenges he has faced through his career has been juggling work with family life.

“My father once told me that your boss will forget how hard you worked for them a couple of years after you leave but your children will always remember you not being around when they were young,” he said. “With that in mind I wanted to end up with a job where there was more work/life balance and I found it at Mudbrick.”

Describing an average day, Newton said he and his wife endeavour to spend as much time as possible with their two children Joseph, 5 and Rita, 3.

“I usually wake up around 5:30am and read the news in bed while the kids and my wife are still asleep. My children wake up just after six and then it’s all go getting the kids ready for the day.

“As Mudbrick is a small business my day can be made up of many different roles. This includes work in the winery, vineyard, as well as sales (I am also the wine sales manager) and any tastings or tours at the winery.”

Newton said the greatest thing about

ES. MV2016 Annuncio grapeworks February – Issue 625 185x130 tr.indd 1

his role was that every single day was different, a notion which was proved by his extracurricular activity of creating a single malt whiskey for a client at the winery.

“I try to get away from work just after four outside of vintage and either head to the gym or go for a run. It’s a great way to unwind and clear the mind.

“Then its straight back home to see the family and cook dinner. My wife and I eat dinner early with the kids so we can all talk about our day. Then the night-time routine begins and ends with both the kids in bed by 7pm.

“The rest of the evening is spent with my wife relaxing in a quiet house with a glass of wine or whiskey.”

Newton said spending time with family was his number one priority on days away from the winery.

“We go on lots of bush walks, picnics and go swimming,” he said. “Keeping the kids busy is always a challenge.

“When I get some ‘me time’ I try to go out fishing. The waters around Waiheke Island are very productive. Surfing is also great when there are waves.

“Unfortunately there are only 20 to 40 surfing days a year on the Island. Most of them are windblown swell. A couple

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of times of year Waiheke gets cyclonic swells. When this happens it seems like all the tools on the island get put down and everybody is out in the water.”

Newton said he felt lucky to live on Waiheke Island, and work for a company which nurtured his creative process.

“Mudbrick Vineyard is a fantastic company to work for,” he said.

“The owners Nick and Robyn Jones have been very supportive of me in my career and are always willing for Nick Otto and me to push the boundaries to produce better wines.”

Newton said his advice to young guns would be to go out and get some real life experience in different wine regions.

“Get inspired by drinking wines from different regions around the world and learn how they are made,” he said. “The best way to do that is to travel.

“On a more personal note, I’ve been lucky in my career working for people who have been passionate about what they do.

“These people have been willing to pass on their knowledge in an open way and I have learnt a great deal from them. My success is a reflection on my experiences with them. So a big thanks to these people!”

09/12/15 17:11 Grapegrower & Winemaker 57

winemaking

Prepare your barrels for vintage The vintage process is one of the most critical components in the winemaking process. Commonly seen amongst winemakers as the busiest time of the year, focus is generally on climate, ripeness of grapes and resources. It can be easy to forget about preparing barrels for vintage, however, by takin time to prepare your barrels, you won’t run the risk of undoing all the hard work that went into harvesting. Murray McDonald, director at Wine Barrel Cleaning, offers his tips on key ways you can prepare your barrels.

SAFEGUARD AGAINST BRETTANOMYCES Sterilising your barrels to safeguard against unwanted volatiles, particularly the common bacteria of brettanomyces, will save you from potentially having to get rid of a whole batch of wine.

A key way to stop brettanomyces from developing is sterilising barrels using high temperature steam vapour.

High temperature steam is a leading method in killing bacteria, as commonly seen in high risk industries such as the healthcare sector.

Steam vapour gets deep within the pores of the oak and eradicates volatiles before it gets to that level of no return.

When using steam, it’s important to ensure that the steam is being dispersed throughout the entire barrel rather than just hitting one central spot.

An ideal temperature of approximately +180 degrees Celcius is what is needed to disinfect and sterlise, which eliminates bacteria.

Preparing your barrels in this way will allow for peace of mind when the time comes to storing wine.

PROLONG BARREL LIFE Barrels are one of the biggest ongoing investments that a winery can make. As barrels age, they can become dry and alter the texture and flavour the oak can depart into the wine.

As a winemaker, you want your barrels to stay a certain way for the type of wine you are looking to develop and produce.

By prolonging the life of your barrels prior to vintage, you can ensure that when it comes time to place wine into the barrels, it is infusing the right flavours.

Whereas high temperature steam is essential for eliminating bacteria, dry steam vapour is essential to re-hydrating barrels.

Best practice in re-hydrating barrels is to disperse steam through the top of the wine barrel, trapping steam from escaping and allowing the steam to enter the pores of the oak, and re-hydrate the wood from the inside out.

Using steam to simultaneously santise and rehydrate barrels is a cost effective treatment that can save wineries

58 Grapegrower & Winemaker

thousands of dollars a year in barrel replacements.

CLEAN THE PORES OF THE OAK Wine barrels are typically very porous. This provides a perfect surface for the accumulation of tartrates and old wine to get stuck inside the barrel. The vapour property of dry steam not only re-hydrates barrels but releases tartrates and old wine that have been absorbed by the wood.

Traditionally cleaning processes such as using warm water to flush and rinse barrels leaves behind the old wine that is built up over time. Leaving old wine trapped in barrels will ultimately impact the next batch of wine you will be placing in the barrels.

To the naked eye, the barrel may be www.winetitles.com.au

visually clean. However, a key way to test whether a barrel has been given a deep cleaning treatment is to circulate high temperature steam vapour around the barrel for approximately 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, empty the barrel to drain any excess moisture.

Quite often old wine is seen to be exposed from the barrel.

About the author: Murray McDonald is a director at Wine Barrel Cleaning and specialises in barrel, bottling line, tank and winery equipment cleaning solutions.

For more information you can contact McDonald on...

E: info@winebarrelcleaning.com.au P: 1300 577 722 February 2016 – Issue 625

Product Update

Quickly measure baume and TA INSTRUMENTS CAPABLE OF QUICKLY and simply measuring both baume (Brix) and total acidity will be on display at this year’s Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in the US. The technology, from Atago, measure baume through refractometry and total acidity through conductivity. The PAL-BX/ACID series of baume/acidity meters units will be presented along with a variety of different instruments at ‘Unified’ in Sacramento, California. While the series contains several units calibrated for different samples – 16 in total – the featured unit at the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium will be the PAL-BX/ ACID 2 for grapes and wine must.

When it comes to wine, it is indispensable to measure baume, a measurement based on percentage of sugar of the wine must. Varying measurements will change fermentation times and the final taste. The total acidity is just as important, as different acidity percentages will greatly change the flavour of the wine. Unlike a pH measurement, which is a logarithmic measurement representing free

hydrogen ions, the PAL-BX/ACID instrument measures all acids in a sample, or total acidity. This measurement can also be derived through titration, a quantitative chemical analysis utilising a reagent to determine acid content, though the titration method can prove to be complex and subjective.

The PAL-BX/ACID series can also take the Brix and Total Acidity measurement and represent them as a ‘sugar/acidity ratio’. This ratio is the best representation of relative ‘sweetness’ of a sample.

ABOUT ATAGO: Industry leaders in optical equipment manufacturing, ATAGO continues to innovate and improve on instrumentation to benefit the whole scientific community. Its extensive product line can be found in over 150 countries around the world in labs, out in the field, and everywhere in-between.

More information is available at www.atago-usa.com

Storage - Fermentation Stainless and Mild Steel Fabrication

TANKS & CATWALKS Jury Road, Berri SA. Ph 08 8582 9500 Ivan 0429 697 219 Mark 0408 822 434 jma@jmaeng.com.au www.jmaeng.com.au

February 2016 – Issue 625

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winemaking

WFA slams university study calling for wine tax increase to lower alcohol consumption A STUDY RELEASED BY MONASH UNIVERSITY has been slammed by the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA).

The study entitled Are Alcohol Taxation and Pricing Policies Regressive?

Product-Level Effects of a Specific Tax and a Minimum Unit Price for Alcohol was conducted by Brian Vandenberg and Anurag Sharma and took more than a year to complete.

Evans said the study had two critical failings.

“Firstly, cross price elasticities of demand between alcohol categories (eg beer, wine, spirits) are not included in its modelling of what happens when taxes are raised. The report therefore has very little credibility in predicting what the subsequent consumption behaviour will be. For example, if you increase the price of lower-cost wine, how much will budget beer sales increase? The report cannot answer this.

“Secondly, the study assumes a 100 per cent seamless pass-on of any increase in wine tax to the consumer. This is a nonsense assumption. Given the retail liquor duopoly that exists in Australia, it’s more likely any increases in wine tax will have to be absorbed by the wine producer who is already doing it tough.

Evans claimed the report had been used by the public health lobby to whip up media stories demanding an increase in wine taxes based on “deeply flawed and narrow thinking”.

“The claims by the public health lobby ignores the fact that ABS data confirms Australia is moving towards a more moderate drinking culture and Australians are no longer among the world’s heaviest consumers. We are

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making important headway.

Vandenberg said the study analysed the alcohol consumption habits of 885 Victorian households, including what they spent on alcohol and how it was taxed.

“We got consumers in Victoria to scan at home all the barcodes of all the alcohol products they purchased,” Vandenberg told The Age. “We looked at whether or not alcohol taxes are regressive which means whether or not low income people spend a higher proportion of income compared to high income persons.”

Vandenberg said the study revealed the current taxation of alcohol led to a huge difference between the amount of tax paid per standard drink on different products.

He said adopting an alternative approach to taxing beer and wine would increase the price of the cheapest alcohol, which in turn would affect consumer habits.

“In Australia the tax on wine and cider is currently based on the value of the product (known as ad valorem), whereas 16 different tax rates are applied for beer, spirits and other alcohol,” he said.

“As a result, there are large discrepancies between the amounts of tax paid per standard drink across product types.

“The greatest inconsistency exists for cheap bulk wine which is taxed only four cents per standard drink, compared with regular strength beer which is taxed 46 cents per standard drink.”

Paul Evans, WFA chief executive, refuted claims that a tax hike for wine was the answer, labelling the study as “nonsense”.

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While Vandenberg said two different tax-policy alternatives of either setting a minimum price of $1 per standard drink, or taxing all products based on alcohol content would see an increase in the price of cheap wine, Evans said the study was poor in its method and its outcomes were not credible.

“The study calls for a minimum floor price on alcohol – a notion already discredited by the former Australian National Preventative Health Agency – or an increase in wine taxes and it claims these will reduce consumption by at-risk or heavy drinkers,” Evans said.

Evans said a tax increase on wine would only punish the vast majority of responsible wine consumers and hurt winemakers.

“The impact on heavy drinkers will be negligible because they will simply move their poor consumption behaviours on to alternate alcohol types or to illicit drugs.

“The Australian wine industry is already among the highest taxed in the world today. The case for increasing wine taxes has not been made by either this Monash study or demands from Cancer Council Victoria.

“The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia will continue to strongly advocate for differential tax rates for wine, beer and spirits which reflects the significant differences that exist between wine and other alcohol sectors.

“Wine should and must continue to be taxed within the existing WET legislative framework and not an excisebased approach as is the case for beer and spirits. The Federation does not have a policy on how the WET tax should be calculated within the WET framework,” Evans said.

February 2016 – Issue 625

Wine culture goes casual WHETHER IT’S RELAXING at home, dining out at a restaurant or celebrating with friends and family, consumers are enjoying wine at a wider variety of occasions than ever before. In fact, 85 per cent of frequent wine drinkers now believe that wine is equally appropriate for casual and formal settings alike.

The attitudes and behaviours of American consumers toward wine drinking were recently captured in the second Gallo Consumer Wine Trends Survey, commissioned by E. & J. Gallo Winery. The survey of 1000 frequent wine drinkers found that 82 per cent enjoy between one and five glasses per week, which they enjoy at a wide range of occasions.

“We are always glad to see Americans’ love of wine expand each year as they experiment with flavours, varietals and packaging formats,” said Stephanie Gallo, third generation family member and vice president of marketing at E. & J. Gallo Winery. “For more than 80 years, Gallo has strived for excellence and will continue its family tradition of crafting innovative wines that cater to Americans’ evolving wine preferences.”

A more casual approach to wine suggests that shoppers are more likely to try new wines across a range of prices.

In fact, more than one-third of survey respondents classified themselves as a ‘wine adventurer’, while just three per cent of those surveyed self-identified as a ‘wine snob’.

As an industry, we must continue working to remove these barriers in order to nurture wine’s expansion into everyday occasions.

EXPLORING AND EXPERIMENTING More sipping occasions means more opportunities to try new wines.

The top factors that inspire a frequent wine drinker to try something new are recommendations from friends, family members and co-workers. Additionally, 86 per cent of wine drinkers would be encouraged by a server, bartender or sommelier recommendation, followed closely by a recommendation from a wine store employee.

Not surprisingly, millennials are more influenced by the digital world than older generations. Survey data shows that millennials are more likely to be encouraged to try a new wine if it is featured prominently and positively in the media or if it is recommended on social media.

PASKAGING ACCEPTANCE Mirroring the changes in wine drinkers’ shopping habits, the wine industry is thinking ‘inside the box’ these days. Boxed wine has evolved considerably in the minds of consumers, thanks in large part to its convenience.

The extended freshness of boxed wine allows wine drinkers to enjoy it at their own pace and the box’s portability allows for easy transport to all types of

occasions. In fact, one-in-four surveyed agree that boxed wine is best for large social gatherings and is becoming higher quality.

Wine in a can is a relatively new concept that more than one quarter of frequent wine drinkers expressed interest in trying – particularly for outdoor excursions. Among fans of alternative packaging, outdoor events remained the primary occasion for the use of these products, which also include mini bottles and tetra packs.

OVERCOMING WINE FEARS As wine culture becomes more approachable, common fears among wine drinkers are less prevalent. The survey found that fears, such as mispronouncing a wine’s name or being judged for wine choices, are still on the minds of some wine drinkers, but those who enjoy it regularly are not dramatically affected by these concerns.

“As an industry, we must continue working to remove these barriers in order to nurture wine’s expansion into everyday occasions,” Gallo said. “By exploring the more emotional implications of wine culture and sharing these findings broadly, we hope to welcome more people into wine.”

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winemaking Product Update

Spiral-welded wine tanks TAYLORS ENGINEERING (Blenheim) Limited is a family business established in 1970 by Geoff Taylor.

Tank & Wine Taylors involvement with the wine Storage industry began with tank manufacturing in the early 1980s. Since then the company has specialized in manufacturing stainless steel equipment for the wine industry in New Zealand and abroad.

Taylors have been manufacturing wine tanks for more than 30 years. And in that time the team has built just about every size and variation, from 500 litres to 500,000 litres, as well as both white and red fermentation tanks.

Taylors have a reputation for innovation and design.

They have developed products that provide wineries with intelligently designed tipping bin and tipping tanks. And in the past few years the Taylors team has perfected a revolutionary method of tank building using spiral welding. The use of the spiral welding techniques is a perfect example of why Taylors are leaders in the design and manufacture of winemaking equipment.

Spiral welding comes into its own for any tank over 20,000 litres and has significant labour savings over a traditional build.

Not only that, but the quality from the spiral weld is far superior to any hand welded tank. In addition, Taylors has also perfected the method of spiral polishing which leaves a uniform finish inside and out.

Features of the Taylors tanks include: • Manufactured from grade 304 or 316 or a mix of stainless steel; • Plinth base or legs with adjustable feet; • Conventional or ‘spiral’ build; • Dimple or spiral cooling; • Various lid designs including dual lids; • Various skin doors, man ways and valves; • Single skin or insulated in stainless steel; and • Configurations of both red and white fermentation tanks.

For more information about the range of Taylors tanks, contact: E: sales@taylormadenz.com P: +64 3 578 5787

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February 2016 – Issue 625

Tank technology: Ganimede ® THERE IS TANK TECHNOLOGY that uses the naturally-occurring CO from the ferment to continuously mix Ganimede the marc. This allows for a gradual release of colour, tannins and flavours, and results in a more aromatic wine the innovative fermenter! with subtle tannins and a smooth finish.

A PATENTED WINEMAKING SYSTEM The revolutionary and patented wine making system called Metodo Ganimede ® is the only one capable of taking advantage of the free energy of the nature in order to effectively extract the noble substances contained in the skins. This huge energy potential represented by the fermentation gas (40/50 litres per each litre of must) facilitates the wine maker’s job.

Metodo Ganimede® is a technology that encompasses simplicity, cost effectiveness and versatility!

Relief valve and washing Depressurized open tank Soupape d’injection gaz techniques (CO2 , O2 , N2)

Upper compartment

A SELECTIVE AND EFFICIENT EXTRACTION Metodo Ganimede® allows the efficient and selective extraction of anthocyanins and polyphenols without the need for any strong mechanical action that could remove herbaceous aromas and bitter and astringent flavours.

The grape marc cap is stirred evenly, therefore no preferential channels form.

No need for pumps, all the energy needed originates from the natural CO of the fermentation process.

Thanks to the energy of the carbon dioxide produced by the fermentation process, Metodo Ganimede® allows re-stirring cycles/délestage without the use of pumps.

Closed bypass

Closed bypass Cavity (CO2 accumulation for fermentation)

Funnel diaphragm

Lower compartment

SIMPLY, A BETTER WINE Although chemical analyses show some interesting quantitative differences compared to traditional methods (such as greater colour intensity), comparative tasting allows us to clearly differentiate ourselves.

The process helps to deliver more aromatic wines and more delicate tannins. The absence of grinding and passage to the pump, a cap constantly soaked with liquid, soft and delicate stirring, the ability to evacuate grape seeds, controlled and more uniform temperatures... all these features, which are unique of the Metodo Ganimede® ensure fruity wines, rich in colour and with a phenolic structure that, although stronger, does not harden them and makes them suitable for both consumption and ageing.

The organoleptic characteristics obtained thanks to Metodo Ganimede® ref lect exactly what the current demand on the market is: wines that are round, smooth, and not astringent.

This graphic shows the Ganimede process in action.

PRODUCTION COSTS CONSIDERABLY REDUCED Complete automation, versatility, ease of use, absence of pumps, ease of cleaning, quick fermentation speed (at least 30 per cent faster at the same temperature conditions), the possibility of multiple refills, microbiological and operation safety (protected environment), lower production cost per litre respect to other systems and the significant reduction in the ageing costs... make Metodo Ganimede® the ideal winery tool.

Manufacturers of TAYLORMADE Tipping Bins - Tipping Tanks - Slot Drains - Wine Tanks Leaders in the Design and Manufacture of Wine Making Equipment Taylors Engineering (Blen) Limited Liverpool St Riverlands Estate Blenheim New Zealand Phone Conway Taylor: +64 (3) 579 4783 Email: sales@taylormadenz.com www.taylormadenz.com February 2016 – Issue 625

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winemaking below the diaphragm. This is particularly suitable for prefermentative or post-fermentative skin contact maceration and the technology allows for a more effective ‘bâtonnage’ of wines aged on yeasts (using external technical gas and the exploitation of the contact surface offered by the diaphragm).

Many winemakers use the Ganimede Metodo® successfully thanks to a relatively short (6 - 12 hours) cold maceration process, which produces very aromatic white wines: there is an effective extraction of just the desired components.

Gas dissolution in the must allows for a superior extraction and antioxidant effect respect to the one achievable through simple saturation in a traditional tank. The continuous injection of a small amount of CO below the diaphragm allows a gentle and effective homogenization of the liquid with the grape marc, resulting in an excellent, fast and selective extraction of aromatic components and their precursors. All this is useful to prevent the risk of extracting herbaceous aromas and bitter and vegetable flavours.

Ganimede Metodo® is particularly suitable for the cold pre-fermentative maceration of red wines. This technology allows obtaining more aromatic and colouring substancesrich wines. The dissolution of CO offers a good antioxidant protection of must and facilitates a better extraction of water-soluble compounds (mainly chemical precursors of anthocyanins and aromas). Moreover, the injection of gas below the diaphragm allows a good homogenization of the must, without using pumps. If a more vigorous stirring is necessary, just open the bypasses. The exchange between liquid and skins ensures right from this preliminary stage a rich extraction of tannins, which quickly polymerized with anthocyanins, thereby ensuring stability that otherwise could not be obtained.

Finally, this results into more fruity wwines with softer tannins. Given that there is no passage through the pump (and therefore grinding of the product is prevented) the risk to extract herbaceous and bitter components is virtually inexistent.

"Santa Margherita S.p.A." Fossalta di Portogruaro (VE) Italy

LABOR AND ELECTRICITY NEEDS ARE CONSIDERABLY REDUCED Metodo Ganimede® is suitable for use in the winemaking of red wines and in the maceration of white and rosé wines. Metodo Ganimede® allows wine storage with the possibility to exploit it as ‘always full’ by injecting inert gas

More information about the Ganimede winemaking system is available at www.ganimede.com.

Crown Sheetmetal are the licensed New Zealand manufacturers of the Ganimede Static Red Fermentation wine tanks.

Wine Tank Specialists

32 SPEY STREET, INVERCARGILL 9810 • Ph 03 214 4817 • Fax 03 218 3354 • Email andrew@crownsheetmetal.co.nz 64 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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February 2016 – Issue 625

Winemaking application for Tesla batteries WHEN TESLA MOTORS came knocking, one cellar door flew open. Jackson Family Wines, with a winery in Santa Rosa, California, was one of the first businesses Refrigeration to put Tesla’s TSLA, -2.25% commercial energy-storage batteries to use, a move the wine company’s chief operating office Hugh Reimers called a “very easy decision”.

The wine group had been researching ways to conserve energy for some time, and it has installed solar-power systems in a number of its wineries. In the future, the company could create a microgrid to take advantage of solar and batteries, Reimers said.

Being a seasonal business, the winery’s energy needs vary, and are mostly connected to refrigeration. Peak need is during harvest time, from early September to late October in California, when tanks of fermenting wine need to be kept cool.

In the summer, the wine company needs some refrigeration for wine storage, while its electricity demand drops during the cool winter months.

The story of how two of California’s favorite industries — wine and technology — came together actually began in 2012.

Jackson, which makes the Kendall-Jackson wines and owns

wineries in California and Oregon as well as Australia, Chile, France and other countries, had worked with an energymanagement company that introduced the idea of using the Tesla batteries as part of a pilot program. The batteries would be installed free of charge, and the winery agreed to keep it all confidential until Tesla was ready to announce the new product.

“We got together with Tesla and the thing we loved about Tesla was that we had a lot of the same goals in terms of energy management,” Reimers said.

The winery had already installed solar-power systems to supply some of its power needs, which vary throughout the year and are mostly tied to refrigeration.

Jackson Family Wines now has 21 of Tesla’s batteries in six of its wineries in northern and central California. Together, the batteries provide 4.2 megawatts of storage capacity, and the winery uses the batteries mostly in two ways: to shift loads, or switching to the batteries when using power during the most expensive part of the day, and to smooth out its demand peaks.

“It’s been a pretty turnkey experience,” said Julien Gervreau, with the winery’s sustainability department. Tesla paid for the installation, which was completed late in 2014.

“Our tab was a whopping zero dollars,” Gervreau said.

Tesla batteries have been installed at various Californian wineries owned by Jackson Family Wines.

February 2016 – Issue 625

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winemaking

We got together with Tesla and the thing we loved about Tesla was that we had a lot of the same goals in terms of energy management.

Tesla's test battery installation at the La Crema winery.

The catch? Jackson Family Wineries has to split any of its energy savings with Tesla. That gives both businesses “skin in the game,” Gervreau said. The winery estimates its portion of the savings will be about $200,000 a year.

At the winery the batteries store energy from the sun generated by solar panels on the winery’s rooftop. Tesla’s algorithms are also shifting the winery onto battery energy when electricity rates from the power grid are high, helping the wine makers save money on their energy bill.

Below the scorching summer sun and 90-degree weather, the Tesla batteries rapidly charge and discharge energy at La Crema Winery in Windsor, California, several times a minute, based on Tesla’s software and the power needs of the winery.

The boxes routinely emit a clicking noise, which is the sound of the inverters converting the electricity from the batteries into usable energy.

Gervreau explained to Fortune the wineries with solar panels on the roof, like La Crema, can use the batteries to increase the solar generation at times when wine production is at its highest.

During the harvest season, the Tesla batteries will regularly charge and discharge electricity from the solar panels when the winery’s electricity use starts to peak. That way the winery is using less power from the grid and more power from the sun.

Across the Jackson family wineries, solar panels and Tesla batteries are expected to lower the company’s electricity bill by nearly 40% in 2016, which is a savings of about US$2million.

But Gervreau also says the family is willing to invest in some energy and water savings technologies that don’t have a quick payback.

The Jackson family spent about $10 million installing a collective 6.5 megawatts of solar panels across their wineries, with a goal to get half of their electricity from clean energy. The company is at about 30 to 40% clean power currently. Gervreau says the payback time on their panels is about six years, and called it “an easy decision” for the company.

When harvest season is over, or if a winery doesn’t have solar panels, the Tesla batteries switch into what’s called ‘peak shaving’ mode. When the power grid is being heavily used in the county, like on a hot summer afternoon, and electricity rates are high, the winery switches to battery power to avoid the expensive grid electricity. In that way the winery can lower its energy bill by close to 10%.

Tesla’s sophisticated algorithms are constantly ‘shaving’ away at the grid energy use during these peak times. That’s why during the tour, the batteries were rapidly charging and discharging several times a minute. Later that afternoon the winery would cut much of its grid-based energy through an agreement with the local utility to curb energy use during peak grid times.

Tesla’s algorithms use data like historical temperatures, energy use, time of day, electricity rates, and many other factors.

Over time, Tesla’s algorithms learn what the winery’s power needs are and figures out the best way to use the storage to save energy and money.

The winemaking industry is both energy and water intensive.

Sustainability is a core need for many wine makers, partly because it makes good business sense. Inside the cellar at La Crema, the winery refrigerates and houses 30,000 litre tanks.

The winery plans to install a computerised system to monitor and manage the tanks as well as the heating and cooling systems in the cellar. The winery has placed an emphasis on finding energy and water savings wherever it can, and this includes a willingness to experiment with new technology.

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February 2016 – Issue 625

Innovative cooling contributes to sustainability award THE BANKSIA SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS ceremony took place in Sydney late last year with the biggest award, the Gold Banksia, claimed by Kalleske Wines – a family-run Barossa business.

The Kalleske family has been farming and growing grapes in the Barossa since 1853, which in itself is a great story about sustaining a family property, but the award judges commented on how thrilling it was to see a small-to-medium business using “a whole business model” approach to sustainability.

An energy-efficient program and use of solar makes Kalleske Wines a leading net exporter of electricity in Australia. And the family has applied science and innovation to the way it manages the farm, crop and the wine itself and its water use is nearly 50 per cent more efficient than the Australian winery benchmark.

“Our energy efficiency is a result of using evaporative cooling instead of refrigeration, utilising product heat exchange and storing

February 2016 – Issue 625

barrels of wine in a double skin insulated barrels shed requiring no external cooling,” Troy Kalleske said.

Kalleske Wines exports to 20 markets and the wines, as well as the business, have earned national and international awards.

The winery has won the ‘sustainability award’ twice, has achieved South Australian Regional Awards in 2012 and 2013, and more recently was awarded the 2015 Telstra ‘small business of the year (SA)’ and producer of the ‘world’s best bio wine’ at the China Wine & Spirit Awards.

The Banksia Foundation, through its award program, aims to recognise and celebrate individuals and organisations contributing to sustainability across Australia. The foundation is a membershipbased organisation and it has been operating environmental awards since 1989.

The Banksia category winners in 2015 ranged from community groups, small and medium-size businesses, government educational programs, local councils through

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Tony and Troy Kalleske with the Gold Banksia trophy.

to large corporations. For more information about the awards, visit www.banksiafdn.com/ awards.

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Refrigeration in the global economy A recent paper from the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) presented dramatic data on the size and function of refrigeration across the world. Tim Edwards, the president of the Australian Refrigeration Association, said the report revealed there are about three billion installations, consuming 17% of world’s electricity supply. In this article, Edwards explores the modern refrigeration issues.

ACCORDING TO International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), the industry is larger than I have been estimating. This means there is enormous commercial interest in dominating and controlling this industry because it is worth a lot and it will grow a lot. It is critical, therefore, that the many sectors of the industry transition to ‘low global warming potential’ (GWP) refrigerant technology that is energy efficient. That is natural refrigerant-based technology. A conclusion the IIR does not highlight or explain sufficiently.

The fact is that refrigeration technology use will grow dramatically in the developing world. So much so that if we don’t eliminate the use of ‘high GWP’ refrigerant based technology it will be responsible for a very large proportion of direct greenhouse gas emissions and a large proportion of indirect emissions. The ‘high GWP’ refrigerants are hydrofluorocarbons or ‘HFCs’ and hydrochlorofluorocarbons or ‘HCFCs’ (synthetic refrigerants, HCFCs are also ozone depleting).

How much impact do these synthetic refrigerants have? I am a little uncomfortable with the way the scientists express it. They say HFC emissions (being refrigerant leakage) will add 28% to 45% to global radiative forcing if we are able to constrain Carbon to 450 PPM in the atmosphere by 2050 (Velders et al, 2009). My discomfort is based on the range and the additional nature of HFC emissions.

The range is obviously quite high. Surely we can be more precise you might ask. I am not sure it really matters – 28% incremental emissions is a huge amount. The primary explanation of the need for a high forecast range is that it is possible to reduce HFC refrigerant leakage, but it is not easy and it requires a high degree of commitment, engineering and training. Right now, worldwide, refrigerant emissions are far higher than they need to be primarily because those policy initiatives are not in place and it serves the interests of the companies that sell refrigerants and control the industry in many regards. Because they are commercially large and have a major influence on government the required policies, standards and training have not been sufficiently adopted to reduce HFC emissions.

The real issue is the idea of incrementality (apparently not a word but a really important concept).

It is well understood and pretty well publicised that the planet is at the limits of carbon in the atmosphere. It is generally

There is enormous proof of the energy efficiency and low emissions of natural refrigerant based technology.

It is available in all heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration industries and it is proven to be commercially and environmentally preferable in all sectors.

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accepted that if we do not stop carbon emissions the world faces dire consequences. HFC emissions are large and additional.

What is far less well understood and publicised is the incremental nature of HFC emissions, their growth and their impact on energy consumption (indirect emissions). The fact is that we are at the limit of radiative forcing caused by carbon.

But HFC emissions will add a great deal to global warming if we don’t stop using them. Their impact is both unnecessary leakage of very high GWP materials and the fact that HFC refrigeration systems are not as energy efficient as the alternative – natural refrigerant based technology.

These are two sides of the same coin. If you use HFC based technology you risk high direct emissions and you have lower energy efficiency than you could have had.

The fact is that HFC emissions are seldom recognised for their high impact largely due to obfuscation by the suppliers.

For instance the current Kyoto Protocol does not even count the global warming impact of ozone depleting synthetic refrigerants. For instance we count the impact of synthetic refrigerant emissions based on their 100 year GWP, when their atmospheric life is 20 years. on average and their GWP over 20 years is twice as high as their 100 year GWP. In the not-soshort term and continuing if we don’t stop using them synthetic refrigerants will actually have a far greater impact than we give them credit for.

For instance end-of-life refrigeration equipment worldwide is typically not degassed before being shredded, causing refrigerants to be intentionally released (despite the availability of technology that virtually eliminates emissions at end of life equipment recycling). There are many other examples of ongoing intentional and unintentional synthetic refrigerant emissions that could be reduced but are not.

So what is a scientist to do but reflect that lack of discipline in the industry?

And then there is the matter of indirect emissions. IIR says that the industry consumes 17% of electricity – today worldwide.

In Australia the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) industry is responsible for consuming at least 22 per cent of electricity, which represents about 10 per cent of national emissions. Obviously dramatic growth in HVACR use in developing countries will cause dramatic growth in HVACR energy consumption so long as we use low energy efficiency technology.

So the real impact of the HVACR industry will probably be around an additional 38 – 55 per cent if we don’t stop using HFC and we manage to control carbon emissions. You have never seen this forecast in print because the matter just doesn’t receive the attention and exploration and education required.

HOW SHOULD YOU THINK ABOUT THIS The refrigeration and air conditioning industry needs to understand HFCs are an enormous problem that we all need to deal with. Please don’t jump to the escape route that this is a problem caused by increased use of HVACR services in developing countries. Obviously they have every right and need to access HVACR services. Obviously we all have to solve it

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February 2016 – Issue 625

Refrigerated wine tanks

together. Australia needs to show leadership in association with everybody else.

There is no question that the HVACR industry is a global industry. Technology that has been invented, and shown to be commercially warranted in any country will ultimately go global. We therefore have a major responsibility to enable commercialisation of energy efficient, low emissions technology and facilitate its adoption worldwide. That is natural refrigerantbased technology.

There is enormous proof of the energy efficiency and low emissions value of Natural Refrigerant based technology. It is available in all HVACR sectors and it is proven to be commercially and environmentally preferable in all sectors.

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This is the opportunity we ask you to focus on. How can we employ natural refrigerant-based technology and thereby reduce my HVACR costs dramatically?

The fact is that refrigeration technology use will grow dramatically in the developing world. So much so that if we don’t eliminate the use of ‘high GWP’ refrigerant-based technology it will be responsible for a very large proportion of direct greenhouse gas emissions and a large proportion of energy consumption.

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sales & marketing 30 years of Coldstream Hills JUST A LITTLE MORE than 30 years ago, James and Suzanne Halliday gathered with a group of friends to push the limits of viticulture and plant two vineyards straight down very steep, undulating hills in the Yarra Valley.

These vineyards are now some of the most well-known in the region – the Amphitheatre and House Block Vineyards.

It was only three months earlier the Hallidays had first admired the magnificent views from the top of the property and started to consider the potential for producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the style of Burgundy…

Half an hour later they had agreed to buy it, and Coldstream Hills was born.

It was in these surrounds James Halliday set about crafting exceptional wines with a philosophy that remains much the same today – to express the individuality of the vineyards and showcase the pedigree of the Yarra Valley by making wines known for their elegance, finesse and length of flavour.

At the very first wine show the winery entered – the 1986 Lilydale Wine Show (now the Yarra Valley Wine Show) – Coldstream Hills won three trophies, and in 1987 and 1988 the winery was awarded the ‘most successful Victorian exhibitor’ at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show. The show success was almost instant, setting an early benchmark position as not only one of the Yarra’s great wineries, but also one of Australia’s greatest emerging wine producers.

Although James has since retired from winemaking, he’s still an active part of Coldstream Hills and lives with Suzanne on a house on the hill overlooking the winery.

Late in 2014 Coldstream Hills celebrated its 30th anniversary. Andrew Fleming, who for the past 14 years has led the winemaking team at Coldstream Hills, admitted he had been handed an incredible baton.

“Having someone as esteemed at James who started Coldstream Hills – someone who tastes thousands of wines each year and is an unsurpassed authority on wine – you want to make sure that what you are doing not only meets our high expectations, but you always want to see the twinkle in his eye too,” said Fleming.

“Thirty years later with the added benefit of a wide array of mature vineyards, advanced technology, essentially a new winery and an improved understanding of oak, our wines have never looked better. Our style has not dramatically

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AT A GLANCE Coldstream Hills milestones 1983 James and Suzanne Halliday move to Melbourne from Sydney so that James could set up a Melbourne office of the law firm where he was employed.

1985 James makes wine from contract grown grapes in Victoria, renting winery space; August: James and Suzanne first see the Coldstream Hills property and agree to buy it and Coldstream Hills is established – three years before James intended to retire from law; and December: The Amphitheatre and House Block vineyards are planted.

1987 An adjoining 15-hectare property is acquired as the site for the Coldstream Hills winery and construction of begins.

1988 Planting of G Block to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon; and The first commercial vintage is produced.

1992 Winery offices and a second barrel cellar are constructed.

1993 The Briarston Vineyard is acquired.

1994 Initial planting of the Upper Yarra Valley Vineyard.

1995 First Coldstream Hills sparkling wine was made (in small quantities).

1996 Coldstream Hills was acquired by Southcorp Wines and James became a Group Winemaker.

1999 A new temperature-controlled barrel cellar, capable of handling up to 1500 barrels, is constructed.

2001 Andrew Fleming and Greg Jarratt were appointed winemakers.

2007 The first Amphitheatre Pinot Noir was released (from the 2006 vintage).

2009 The demolition and construction work began on a winery upgrade, incorporating the ‘James Halliday Cellar’.

2010 The ‘James Halliday Cellar’ was officially opened in October; The first release of Single Vineyard Chardonnays – Deer Farm Vineyard and Rising Vineyard (from 2009 vintage).

2013 Acquisition of the Deer Farm and Hazeldene Vineyards; and The first release of the Esplanade Pinot Noir (from the 2012 vintage).

2015 Coldstream Hills celebrates its 30th anniversary.

changed since James held the fort and we plan to keep it that way.

“To celebrate our 30th we held a www.winetitles.com.au

vertical tasting of some of the finest vintages of Coldstream Hills wines and it was great to see how well the early February 2016 – Issue 625

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines are holding together after 20 plus years.

“The 1988 Rising and Shantell Vineyards Chardonnay and 1992 and 1997 Reserve Pinot Noirs are great examples of what the Yarra Valley can do. As James said, there aren’t many Pinot Noir or Chardonnay producers in Australia who could make wines with such age-ability.

“The wine itself has rewarded all the effort that has been put into it, moreover.

I’m so honoured to have a mentor such as James and to be able to continue the legacy that he began 30 years ago. The opportunities for the future are endless.”

Thirty years later with the added benefit of a wide array of mature vineyards, advanced technology, essentially a new winery and an improved understanding of oak, our wines have never looked better.

February 2016 – Issue 625

James Halliday and Andrew Fleming.

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sales & marketing

A year of achievement for Wine Australia, says chair WINE AUSTRALIA’S Annual Report 2014–2015, tabled in Parliament last month, highlighted the major achievements from the past year as Wine Australia continued to focus on its strategic priorities on a prosperous Australian grape and wine community.

Brian Walsh, Wine Australia chair, said the first year has been one of achievement for the organisation following the merger of Wine Australia Corporation and Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation.

“As well as consulting widely to develop our five-year Strategic Plan, we continued to support a prosperous Australian grape and wine community by investing in research and development (R&D), promoting our wines in the international and domestic markets, disseminating knowledge, encouraging research adoption and protecting the reputation of Australian wine,” Walsh said.

Over the next year, we will work together to bring to life the Australian wine story and its world of discovery, passion and enjoyment…

“This work provides the foundation for the commercial success of our grapegrowers and wineries as we continue to invest in elevating the awareness of Australia’s fine wines.”

Local highlights included research undertaken by Wine Australia in established and emerging markets to understand perceptions of Australian wine by trade and consumers, as well as the organisation’s renewed focus on making comprehensive data sets available for grape and wine businesses.

In international markets, Wine Australia celebrated their development of a ‘wine flavours card’ that drew on a three-year R&D study into Chinese consumer tastes and attitudes to wine as well as the success of Savour Australia, where an estimated 25,000 people were introduced to Australian wine at the Vancouver International Wine Festival.

Andreas Clark, chief executive, said the past year has been a period of renewal for the organisation and for the grape and wine community as a whole.

“Our new beginning provided an opportunity for us to review everything we do and re-assess how we best support the Australian grape and wine community to prosper in the years ahead,” he said. “Over the next year, we will work together to bring to life the Australian wine story and its world of discovery, passion and enjoyment, one that is unique to us and one that we can share only as a unified voice.”

Bottling Line Solutions Bottle National 03 9555 5500 SA & WA Sales 0401 560 550

72 Grapegrower & Winemaker

Label

Pack

Email info@grapeworks.com.au

www.winetitles.com.au

February 2016 – Issue 625

business & technology

Jo Burzynska at Macchialupa Vineyard, Montefusco

Music + Wine: The best tasting music Music plays a huge role in many of our lives. The right song often has the power to change our mood almost instantaneously by arousing particular memories and emotions. So what should be playing in the winery tasting room? Emilie Reynolds reports.

EVERYONE HAS THAT ONE SONG which evokes such strong feelings of nostalgia it can almost transport your mind to a different moment. When people hear music it represents more than just the action of sound waves upon the ear drum. Rather, when this information reaches the cortex, the brain interprets these sounds.

Hearing a particular piece of music can activate, or prime, related pieces of information. For example, when we hear ‘I still call Australia home’, it primes thoughts and memories relating to Australian culture, landmarks, travel, Qantas, even a sense of belonging and pride.

In the wine world, producers have been so focused on creating a memorable taste that they often forget wine has the unique power to be an all-encompassing sensory experience.

Wine marketers often press the importance of evoking emotions in consumers by storytelling. Tugging at heart strings and putting a face to the brand have been significant selling tools for wine producers but what if there was another way to prompt an emotion response from consumers? A free, relatively easy way to ensure cellar door tastings left a lasting impression on potential customers?

A few years ago, Professor Adrian North published a study in the British Journal of Psychology which proved that mood could have a significant effect on a person’s sense of taste. North, a specialist in music psychology, found that a certain moods evoked by music could drastically change a wine drinker’s perception of what they were tasting. A huge development for winery cellar doors, the findings meant that producers February 2016 – Issue 625

and managers would essentially be able to guide novice wine drinkers into experiencing particular tastes by curating a playlist accordingly. It’s a pretty powerful selling tool, but one which has rarely been employed by wineries.

THE STUDY Could the thoughts primed by music influence what people actually perceive via another of the senses, in this case taste?

Specifically could music influence the taste of wine?

That was the question Adrian North set out to answer in his 2011 study entitled The Effect of Background Music on the Taste of Wine.

He gave taste tests of two wines to 250 students (half men, half women) while playing music in the background.

They were given either Alpha 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon or Chilean Chardonnay and played one of four songs on loop for 15 minutes. The songs were picked for their contrasting musical characteristics.

Carmina Burana by Off was considered to be a ‘powerful and heavy’ song, Waltz of the Flowers from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker was said to be ’subtle and refined’, Just Can’t Get Enough by Nouvelle Vague was ‘zingy and refreshing’ and Slow Breakdown by Michael Brook was described as ‘mellow and soft’.

A fifth group drank the wine to no music.

After five minutes the volunteers were asked to rank how they felt the wine tasted. Their options matched the musical descriptions: powerful and heavy, subtle and refined, mellow

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business & technology Cabernets are angry, Pinots romantic, Rieslings cheerful. To find the perfect pairing, you need to be as sensitive to the mood of a wine as to that of the music. and soft, zingy and refreshing.

The results showed the music the volunteers listened to consistently affected how they perceived each wine to taste.

For example both red and white wines were given the highest ratings for being powerful and heavy by those participants who drank them to the tune of Carmina Burana. Those who listened to Michael Brook tended to rate their wine as tasting mellow and soft and the same findings occurred with the other two songs.

In his conclusion to the study, North said music shifted the perception of the wine in the direction of the mood expressed by the song by an average of 37.25 per cent, with white wine accounting for a 32.25 per cent shift, while red wine was considerably stronger at 42.45 per cent.

North said he wasn’t entirely sure why the effect of music was stronger on red wine than white, but hypothesised it had something to do with the public’s perception of red wine.

“Priming effects of music are more common when people are asked to judge something that they know little about or find difficult to judge,” North said. “Perhaps the effect of music was stronger for red wine because, judging by sales alone, the public are more familiar with white wine than red: this would mean they were more uncertain when judging red wine and would therefore be more prone to influence by music.

“Alternately, many oenologists argue that red wine has a greater complexity of flavour than white, and this greater complexity would again provide greater uncertainty in the

74 Grapegrower & Winemaker

mind of consumers and more scope for bias through music.”

PUTTING THE THEORY TO TEST North’s idea that music could influence the taste of wine wasn’t new, but his research has provided some concrete proof of the theory.

Wine critic and sound artist Jo Burzynska put some of these theories into practice when she created a multisensory wine and sound installation to highlight the connection between two senses.

Burzynska said North’s study was an extension of an idea proposed by winemaker and wine technologist Clark Smith, who pursued extensive personal experiments on the subject.

“Smith says we associate different wine types with different moods, just as we do with music,” Burzynska said. “Cabernets are angry, Pinots romantic, Rieslings cheerful. To find the perfect pairing, you need to be as sensitive to the mood of a wine as to that of the music.”

Burzynska said she became involved in the work after becoming increasingly aware of the impact sound was having on her own perceptions of taste.

“While I initially thought these interactions might be specific to myself or those with a similarly strong connections with hearing and taste, my own informal experiments on others, reinforced by the rigorous research being carried out by the likes of psychologist and head of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory in the Department of Experimental Psychology at

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February 2016 – Issue 625

Oxford University, Professor Charles Spence, confirmed that this is a universal phenomenon.”

According to Burzynska, Spence was at the forefront of current research into the resonances between sound and taste.

“Spence has worked with the likes of celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, with research leading to the development of audiogustatory delights such as ‘The Sound of the Sea’ where the diner’s enjoyment of this seafood dish is heightened by the accompaniment of crashing waves from an iPod,” Burzynska explained. “I was particularly interested to learn that Spence’s studies had also linked sweet and sour tastes to high pitch tones and bitter ones to lower sounds.

“It seems our senses are not as separate as was once surmised.

It used to be thought that only those with the rare condition of synaesthesia – in which the senses become crossed – combined different sensory cues, but this research suggests that when we start sipping to we’re all synaesthetes to some extent.

“This building body of research, as well as evidence from my own trials, gave me confidence that there’s plenty of common ground within people’s perceptions that’s ripe for exploring through dishes like Blumenthal’s or musical works.”

Burzynska began working on a project called Oenosthesia, which she described as a soundscape experience created from recordings of winemaking in Italy’s Campania region together with its local wines.

The resulting soundtrack was not only specially designed to accompany a sequence of wines, but was also made from fieldrecordings from the vineyards and wineries in which the grapes were originally grown and fermented, in Italy.

“I began to incorporate taste into my own art, creating multisensory sound and taste installations,” Burzynska said.

“When I was involved in starting up The Auricle Sonic Art Gallery and we decided there would be a bar, it made sense that this was part of the overall art project and served wines matched to the sounds in the space. It became the world’s first ‘oenosthetic’ sound and wine bar.”

Based in Christchurch, The Auricle Sonic Art Gallery has been home to Oenosthesia for three years.

“Every month when the Auricle has a new exhibition, I firstly select a wine which I think works well with the exhibition itself, taking into account things like the pitch, timbre and tempo of the sound work, which correspond to characters within the wine,” Burzynska said. “For example higher frequencies work with higher acidity. I then curate a wine list selecting more wines that share similar taste and sound mappings, which work with the bar’s playlist that takes its cues from the current exhibition.”

Burzynska said wine could be matched with music across a wide range of genres which meant the music on her playlists were really varied.

“It’s more about matching the sound components and mood of the wine,” she said. “For example, our last exhibition was Phil Dadson’s Fate of Things to Come, a high to mid frequency work made from the sound and rhythms of stones that inspired a minerally high acid wine list.

“The bar playlist for this was music in a similarly higher pitched range and faster tempo to echo the faster flow of these wines across the palate. The tracks ranged from retro pop like Stereolab to orchestral pieces by Arvo Part!”

THE BEST TASTING MUSIC North’s study proved that background music influences the taste of wine. The specific taste of the wine was effected in a manner consistent with the mood evoked by the music.

Burzynska said given the powerful ways that music could change perceptions of taste she preferred to conduct her own professional wine tastings in silence, but believed there was February 2016 – Issue 625

Jo Burzynska at Macchialupa Vineyard, Montefusco conducting research for her music wine installation, Oenosthesia.

definitely a place for music in other circumstances.

“I’m very glad that I instinctively followed this approach,” she said. “Just as I wouldn’t want to taste in an environment with competing smells, I personally think sounds should be minimised if you’re looking to create a neutral environment in which to make objective assessments.”

She said social wine drinking should be accompanied by music, especially in a casual tasting environment, like at a cellar door.

“When it comes to enjoying wine socially, there’s nothing like a well-matched piece of music to enhance the appreciation of what we’re drinking!”

A few people across Australia have jumped on the bandwagon, promoting music and wine as a powerful combination.

Australian touring act Fidel & Sarah Anne have pitched themselves as a connecting thread between consumers and the wine they taste. The band read about North’s study and decided to take the popularity of live bands in wineries to a new level.

“We took North’s findings a step further and started offering an enhanced ‘music & wine’ experience completely tailored to each winery we play at,” Fidel & Sarah Anne explained.

“We work by highlighting the unique properties that make each wine stand out by carefully selecting songs with musical characteristics which enhance each varietal.”

Fidel & Sarah Anne said they based their song selection on tasting notes, recommendations from published papers on wine and music pairing as well as their own musical expertise.

Many wineries across Australia and New Zealand do spend time thinking about the playlists in the tasting room, but they mainly focus on producing a ‘vibe’ for the surroundings.

Mario Dussurget, Cloudy Bay Vineyards cellar door supervisor, said when selecting music for the cellar door his main focus was ambiance.

“We are always playing music in the cellar door and have several playlists,” he said. “It’s mainly jazz and soul genres that we update recent releases all the time.”

“We try to create a warm atmosphere, but the music needs to be a bit discrete.”

Burzynska said she’s helped wine producers in the past by advising how best to curate the perfect playlist for their tastings.

“After experiencing for themselves how sounds in the environment can change the perception of what’s being tasted, some wine producers who have taken part in my workshop have completely changed the music they play at their cellar door,” she said. “It’s something anyone in control of an environment definitely needs to consider, or they may be in danger of detracting from the wines being tasted rather than enhancing their appreciation.”

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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.

1986 A selection of Berri Estates and Renmano Wines was featured in a recent television series of cooking demonstrations. Hosted

by Peter Janson, flamboyant motor racing identity, the program promoted the natural association between food and wine.

Consisting of step by step instructions, explanations were given about which were used and why they had been included in the recipe. The wines were portrayed as integral parts of the recipes as well as excellent accompaniments to the finished dishes.

1996 What does it say about Australia’s winemaking talents when the head of a significant Italian winery visits Australia to study our methods and then proceeds to exploit the visit to entice the Italian consumer to sample its wine? Late last year, Tuscany-based Antinori Wines ran an advertisement explaining its new wine had been improved thanks to Australian winemaking techniques after their winemaker visited Australia to exchange information with different wineries. Not a bad ad for our wine industry, and all free of charge too!

Australia & New Zealand Febuary 19-21 Canberra Food & Wine Expo Canberra, ACT. www.foodandwineexpo.com.au

26-28 2016 Cellar Door Wine Festival – Adelaide Adelaide, SA. www.cellardoorfestival.com

19-20 Shakespeare in the Vines Sevenhill, SA. www.sevenhill.com.au

27 The Dog Point/Logan Brown Classik Kiwi Picnic Marlborough, NZ. www.dogpoint.co.nz/events

21 Declaration of Vintage Tanunda, SA. www.baronsofbarossa.com 25 February-6 March Apple & Grape Harvest Festival Stanthorpe, QLD. www.appleandgrape.org

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

March 4-7 Dal Zotto Wines & Hedonistic Hiking Highlights of Mount Buffalo National Park Whitfield, VIC. www.hedonistichiking.com.au

12-13 2016 Milawa Gourmet Region 30km Dinner Oxley, VIC. www.milawagourmet.com.au

4-13 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Melbourne, VIC. www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au

12-13 Tastes of Rutherglen Rutherglen, VIC. www.winemakers.com.au

6 Glenlyon Fine Food & Wine Fayre Glenlyon, VIC. www.glenlyon.vic.au 10 (CD) 2016 Sydney Royal Wine Show Sydney Olympic Park, NSW. www.sydneyroyal.com.au/wine 11 (CD) Langhorne Creek Wine Show Langhorne Creek, SA. www.langhornecreek.com

12-14 Swan Hill Region Food and Wine Festival Swan Hill, VIC. www.swanhillfoodandwine.com.au 13 Peninsula Piers & Pinots Mornington Peninsula, VIC. www.mpva.com.au

International

2006

Febuary

Ten rural and regional industries will receive more than $2 million (under the Action Partnerships) to improve their profitability, sustainability and competitiveness. The grape and wine industry will receive $295,000. Winegrape crushing and wine production have increased dramatically over the past decade. However, the strong Australian dollar, continued growth of small wineries and retail discounting has resulted in a significant decrease in Australian margins.

16-18 ISRAWINEXPO 2016 Israel. www.fairs.co.il

17-20 ExpoVin Moldova 2016 Chisinau, Moldova. www.vinmoldova.md

17-20 (JD) Chisinau Wines & Spirits Contest Chisinau, Moldova. www.vinmoldova.md

19-21 World Wine Meetings Barcelona Barcelona, Spain. www.wwm-barcelona.com

March 4-5 (JD) Women and Wines of the World Femmes et Vins du Monde Monaco. www.femmesetvinsdumonde.com

13-15 ProWein 2016 Düsseldorf, Germany. www.prowein.com

8-11 Foodex Japan 2016 Chiba, Japan. www.jma.or.jp/foodex/en

JD = judging date CD= closing date

9-12 (JD) Chardonnay du Monde 2016 Burgundy, France. www.chardonnay-du-monde.com For a comprehensive list of events, visit www.winetitles.com.au/calendar

76 Grapegrower & Winemaker

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February 2016 – Issue 625

industry profile

Producer Profile Name: Jason O’Dea Business: Windowrie (The Mill; Pig in the House Organic Wine) Location: Cowra Size: 60Ha

What is your current role: I’m the general manager of Windowrie.

Which means I’m involved in grapegrowing, winemaking and sales – with an emphasis on export.

Can you tell us more about your career in the industry: My first vintage was in late 1980s at Rothbury in the Hunter.

I studied at CSU in Wagga Wagga, then spent two years working and backpacking around wine regions across South America and Europe.

What have been your biggest achievements: Moving the family vineyards across to achieve Organic certification.

We started 10 years ago and now more than 50% of the vineyards are certified.

What are the current challenges you are facing: As everyone in the industry knows, the market is very competitive on both the domestic and export fronts. We are not a low cost operator and this has great challenges when you are competing. Where do you go for support on these issues: I read as much, and as often, as I can about the industry. I have a huge backlog of information to digest and I’m looking forward to having some time to sit down and start reading.

How important is the Grapegrower & Winemaker magazine a source of information:

Jason O'Dea Pig In The House Organic Wine

I read from cover to cover.

Direct to customer sales grow 19% TIMES HAVE RARELY BEEN TOUGHER for wine producers in Australia. On-going oversupply, a period of strong exchange rates following the GFC and a supermarket duopoly have made making money in the wine business extremely challenging.

Direct to customer sales has been a savior for many small to medium wine businesses who now earn around half of their income from selling direct to consumer.

According to new research just released by Wine Business Solutions, direct to customer sales increased by 19% during the year to June 2015 for wine businesses across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Cellar Door sales were also up 19% which was exactly the same number as for US wineries in the year to December 2014, according to Silicon Valley Bank The three countries involved in the Taking the Direct Route 2015 benchmarking exercise reported that sale through the cellar door were 56% of all direct sales. Again this was

February 2016 – Issue 625

exactly the same number as for the US proving that face to face engagement is by the far most important factor in winning direct customers.

Club Sales were also up by 18% across the three countries.

The best performing businesses were those producing less than 1000 case.

“This is where it gets really exciting for us as consultants”, says WBS Principal, Peter McAtamney. “A very small business can string together the equivalent of what used to be a large company’s enterprise system for dollars a month and start building direct business very quickly”.

Those looking to know more about how wineries are growing their direct business and what technology they are using to make this happen can purchase the report from the ‘research’ page at winebusinesssolutions.com.au, or for more information contact peter@winebusinesssolutions.com.au.

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