Wine & Viticulture Journal

MARCH/APRIL 2012 · Volume 27 Number 2

WINE BUSINESS IN A CHANGING MARKET • Cross-flow filtration of grape juice sediments • Biochar in viticulture • Regional focus: Tasmania • Varietal report: $50+ Pinot Noir • Profile: Andrew Hood

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Jim Campbell-Clause Mark Cumbers Philippe Darriet Denis Dubourdieu John Forrest Peter Godden Tony Hoare Dan Johnson Tony Keys Paulo Lopes Kym Ludvigsen George Mihaly Beverley Prideaux Liz Riley Mark Rowley Hans-Peter Schmidt Richard Smart Stephen Strachan Bruce Tyrrell Trevor Wicks

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Correspondence and enquiries should be directed to Sonya Logan.The views expressed in the Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Journal or its staff.

Sonya Logan, Editor

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rovocative, emotive, confrontational, eclectic, impressive, intriguing – just some of the words that sprung to mind after I was fortunate enough to peruse the Museum of Old and New Art during the welcome reception for delegates at the recent International Cool Climate Symposium in Hobart. Situated on the same site as Moorilla Estate’s winery and cellar door, as well as a brewery (I can highly recommend its Moo Brew), restaurant and luxury hotel, the museum is a must-see for your next visit to the Apple Isle – just be sure to pack a generous dose of open-mindedness and leave the kids and nana at home!

I’d like to think that the words I used to describe MONA somewhat befit this issue of the Journal, particularly those articles in keeping with the theme of the issue, ‘Wine business in a changing market’.

For example, take Tony Keys’ look at the growth in supermarket own-labels, who writes that it is about time the wine industry accepts that supermarkets are part of the wine retail chain.

Then there’s Richard Smart's article in which he expresses his alarm at the seeming spread of trunk diseases in vineyards throughout the world.

Another of our regular contributors, the AWRI, highlights the technical advances that have taken place within the wine industry over last 10

years, revealing how quickly our home-grown breakthroughs have been adopted by the nation’s grapegrowers and winemakers.

Speaking of technical advances, cross-flow filtration is all the rage and an article from the Engineering School of Enology, in Switzerland, looks at the effectiveness of new models designed to filter juice sediments.

In viticulture, consultants Kym Ludvigsen, Liz Riley and Jim Campbell-Clause give us some insight into what effect the industry downturn has had on vineyard redevelopment throughout the country, while Tony Hoare stresses the key factors in making a success of plantings of ‘emerging’ varieties or styles.

Researchers from the University of South Australia’s School of Marketing give food for thought in their results of a study into the effect on buying habits of an excise tax on alcoholic beverages, as proposed by the Henry Review. Our Business & Marketing section also features some practical advice on how to thwart counterfeiters in the developing Chinese wine market.

If any of the aforementioned articles, or any of the others in the issue, strike you as being provocative, emotive, confrontational, etc, or any other adjective for matter, then please jot your thoughts down in email and let me know: sonya@winetitles.com.au

Cover: T asmania’s Andrew Hood, who is the focus of this issue’s profile column which starts on page 81.

Regular features

News Opinion ASVO WFA Tony Keys Richard Smart AWRI Report Tony Hoare Ursula Kennedy

6 8 9 10 12 18 22 57 59

Alternative Varieties Wine Intelligence Mark Rowley Industry profile Regional report Super Wines Varietal report Tasting

67 71 74 81 83 90 89 92

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Win e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l

MARC H /APRIL 2012

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I n t hi s i s s u e

R EGU L A R FE ATU R ES

c o n t e n t s

V I T I C U L TU R E

8 OPINION (Bruce Tyrrell, John Forrest, Philip Reedman): Selling the screwcap 9 ASVO (Paul Petrie): Revamped newsletter and seminar among current ASVO projects 10 WFA (Stephen Strachan): Big potential in small Budget asks 12 KEY FILES: The dance of brand myth-creation 18 RICHARD SMART: Grapevine trunk diseases: a new global vineyard threat?

48 Biochar in viticulture 52 Vineyard redevelopment – who’s doing what and why?

59 URSULA KENNEDY: Current vine planting trends in Queensland 61 Seed ripening in King Valley Merlot vineyards 64 WFA investigating Entwine extensions to give regional focus 67 Western Australia winning with Arneis

business & marketing

57 TONY HOARE: Right variety – right place – right time!

69 Taxes are going up: what are we going to drink in the future?

71 Time to move the digital conversation on

W I NE M A K I NG

74 Wine Australia’s social media success secrets

22 AWRI REPORT: Ten years of transformation: reflecting on the technical advances in the wine industry over the past decade

76 Global bulk wine shipments nearly double in 10 years 77 How to protect your brand from being ‘ripped off’ in China

28 Filtration of grape juice sediments: a new application for cross-flow filters pr o f il e

81 Hood: a man of premium quality

R EG I ON A L R E P O R T

83 Tasmania sets its sights on a sparkling future

V A R I ET A L R E P O R T

34 Impact of different closures on intrinsic sensory wine quality and consumer preferences V2 7N 2

89 Making icon Pinot Noir

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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NE W S

Industry bodies seek merger of statutory authorities

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ndustry consultation is under way for a proposed merger of Wine Australia (WA) and the Grape & Wine Research & Development Corporation (GWRDC).

The proposal has been put forward jointly by the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) and Wine Grape Growers Australia (WGGA) which have agreed on a process and timeline to create the single, levy-funded statutory authority by 2014.

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry, Joe Ludwig, has sanctioned “further investigation” into the proposal and asked to see a detailed plan supported by feedback from levy payers.

A formal recommendation to Government is expected by June this year following the completion of the consultation period. A discussion paper was expected to be released to industry in late February and public meetings subsequently held in each state.

Subject to Government agreement, it is envisaged that legislation will

then be prepared for introduction into Parliament, with the intent to have the new corporation operational by 1 January 2014.

Under the proposal, there will be no change to the level and structure of levy payments required of winemakers and grapegrowers and funding allocated for research and development activities will be quarantined for that purpose.

The new corporation will incorporate all of the existing functions of WA and the GWRDC. WFA and WGGA believed consolidating the bodies into one organisation would lead to “better coordination and alignment of activities, a greater responsiveness to emerging needs, and a stronger strategic focus for the industry as a whole”.

“A single corporation also will minimise duplication in providing management and financial reporting, corporate support, systems and procedures,” the organisations said in a joint statement on 21 February.

“Under current arrangements industry provides input into WA and the GWRDC programs through WFA and WGGA but this process is made more complicated by the need to deal with two separate organisations, each with its own strategic plan.”

A similar proposal was mooted following a review of the national organisational structures of the Australian wine industry in 2007-08 by a taskforce comprising the chairs of WFA, WGGA, WA (then known as the Australian Wine & Brandy Corporation) and the GWRDC. However, the proposal for a single service body failed when unanimous agreement amongst the four bodies couldn’t be reached.

WFA confirmed it would push forward with plans to merge the WA with the GWRDC in the Wine Industry Journal’s sister publication, the Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker in its September 2011 issue. The executive committee of WGGA subsequently agreed to the merger at a meeting in November.

A vintage experience for Chinese wine trade professionals A group of 38 Chinese wine importers, distributors, retailers, food and beverage managers and media representatives has just left Australian shores after experiencing vintage 2012.

The visit, which took place from 26 February to 6 March, followed a similar tour

by Chinese wine trade professionals during last year’s vintage.

Organised by Wine Australia as part of its Regional Visitors Program, the tours are designed to give delegates the opportunity to meet members of the Australian wine industry, taste wine and develop an appreciation of regional Australia.

The 2012 delegation was split into four groups and spanned out across 12 Australian wine regions, including the Adelaide Hills, Barossa, Clare, Coonawarra, Great Southern, Hunter Valley, Margaret River, McLaren Vale, Mornington Peninsula, Orange, Rutherglen and the Yarra Valley.

In addition to visiting the wine regions, one group also took part in the Sydney Cellar Door Festival on 26 February, hosted by the NSW Department of Trade and Investment and the NSW Wine Industry Association.

Wine Australia’s regional director in Asia, Lucy Anderson, said the Regional Visitors Program aimed to develop a

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Some of the 2012 delegation of Chinese wine trade professionals in Henschke’s Hill of Grace vineyard, in South Australia’s Eden Valley. network of wine professionals globally, who actively promote and support Australian wines in their market. This is achieved through wine education and training, visits to Australia showcasing not only Australian wine but also the diversity of Australian regions, and a rigorous activation program once back in market.

She said the 2012 group comprised professionals who had previously visited Australia through to guests who were travelling overseas for the first time.

“Everyone was amazed at the range of high quality wines made in Australia

and the different varieties and styles from one region to the next. Visiting during vintage also helped everyone understand grapegrowing and winemaking and they are eager to share their new discoveries and favourite regional wines with friends, family and colleagues back home.

“Another highlight was the amazing food they enjoyed throughout their travels.

“Wine Australia is continuing to build a strong network of ambassadors for Australian wine in China and is working hard on supporting them when they get back to the market,” Anderson said.

W i n e & Viticultur e Jo ur na l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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B R I EFS

NE W S

WFA welcomes changes to wine export approval process

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he Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) has expressed its support of the changes to Wine Australia’s export approval process which were announced on 31 January.

Follows a review of its processes and industry consultation by Wine Australia, mandatory pre-export testing of all wines has now been replaced with a more rigorous auditing presence. In practice, this means that exporters no longer have to submit each wine and wine label for export approval unless requested to do so.

However, they must be licensed, comply with Australia’s stringent health and safety requirements, be subject to audit, and provide wine for comprehensive testing as required.

Wine Australia’s chief executive, Andrew Cheesman, said the auditing process would be expanded, with investment in additional audit roles to enable auditors to visit several hundred wineries each year to inspect winery records, examine labels and collect samples of exported wines.

“We believe this is a progressive move that will enhance our export control system,” Cheesman said. “The standards required for Australian wines have not changed, nor have the laws and regulations underpinning the quality and integrity of Australian wine, but our approach to administering these standards will move from reliance on pre-export product inspections to a risk-based approach.

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“When the current export controls were first introduced four decades ago, Australian table wine was hardly known overseas and there was a risk that even one faulty wine could hurt our reputation,” he said. “Today, we are an established and respected global producer and the market leader in some countries. We have a strong culture of compliance and our risk profile has changed considerably. “Our winemakers understand the need to maintain quality, as evidenced by the fact that less than a third of 1% of the 15,000 wines tested each year are not approved for export.” Cheesman said the system’s evolution was possible because industry needs had changed.

The new system will be fully implemented over the next 12 months, with all existing export licences remaining current.

WFA chief executive Stephen Strachan said his organisation supported Wine Australia’s decision.

“Obviously, we discussed it around the board table and spoke to members because it’s quite a significant move, but in the end it just made sense,” he said.

“We’re a mature industry and a respected wine leader internationally, so we’ve outgrown the need to taste every bottle for fear that one fault might hurt our integrity. We understand the importance of maintaining our reputation for quality.

“We think an expanded audit regime is better, because it allows us to target a lot of the new growth areas in exports, such as

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Mandatory pre-export testing of Australia wine has been replaced with a more rigorous auditing presence. bulk wine, which pose a potentially higher risk,” Strachan said.

Wine Australia’s current fee structure will be retained until 30 June 2012 but will then be reviewed in line with the new compliance structure and operations. However, Cheesman said the new system would ultimately lead to cost savings for many exporters. There will also be an increased emphasis on ensuring winemakers and exporters understand the requirements of Australia and the countries to which they are exporting. “Our compliance approach will ensure producers and exporters have the information, advice and tools they need in order to meet the demands of the international regulatory environment,” Cheesman said. “We see that as our role in the modern, global industry. The marketplace and consumers should be the arbiter of wine quality. Regulators need to ensure that an industry’s standards are appropriate and that producers are assisted to meet them,” he said.

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O P I N I ON

Selling the screwcap Reaching for a corkscrew to open a bottle of Australian or New Zealand wine is almost a notable event these days, such is the level of adoption of screwcaps by wineries on both sides of the Tasman. Yet, cork is still preferred in some markets, notably the US and China. For this issue’s opinion column, we asked three proponents of the screwcap whether Australia and New Zealand need to do a better job of selling the closure in those export markets where cork still has the upper hand.

Bruce Tyrrell, Chief executive, Tyrrell’s Wines, Hunter Valley, New South Wales Tyrrell’s bottled wine under screwcaps for the first time in 1976 which was destined for consumption by passengers in Qantas’ economy class. Based on its own trials of screwcaps and various other

John Forrest, Chief executive, Forrest Wines, Marlborough, New Zealand

Forrest Wines was a founding member of the New Zealand Screwcap Initiative in 2001 and began using screwcaps to seal all its varietal wines from the 2001 vintage. The winery exports to more than 20 countries.

The 10 or more vintages of wines now ageing gracefully under screwcap and the billions of screwcapped bottles produced, transported, stored and

Philip Reedman Principal, Philip Reedman Master of Wine

Philip Reedman is an Adelaide-based wine and retail consultant who in 2002, along with colleagues at Tesco, introduced screwcaps to the UK’s wine drinkers.

The Australian and New Zealand markets, together with the UK, took to screwcaps with enthusiasm, so why have

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closures, the winery decided to bottle almost all its production under screwcap from 2004. The only products sealed with a cork by the winery today are sparkling and some high-end red for the Asian market.

In general, we find consumers much more open to the use of screwcaps than perhaps the gatekeepers, i.e., sommeliers, importers, retailers. For take-home consumers in new Asian markets, screwcaps are going to become an imperative, as most Asian households do not own a corkscrew.

I believe full acceptance of the closure

comes when the best wines are put under screwcap. Perhaps I will have to wait a while to see a screwcap on a Chateau Latour! There is a growing number of Old World producers joining those of us in the New World in adopting screwcaps, with Dr Loosen, of Germany, and Laroche, in Chablis, France, examples of major European houses who have made a substantial change to the closure. It is up to all of us to use them and to continually preach to the consumer, first, their convenience and, secondly, that the wines will age properly.

consumed happily by wine lovers all over the world surely bears testimony to the success of the closure for premium wine. Within Australia and New Zealand, it is now the preferred closure for both winemakers and consumers. Indeed, I find it illogical now that a producer of premium wine would not at least offer its customers the screwcap option, even if for historical reasons they use another closure.

Although the screwcap has clearly established itself as a closure for wine, it is not without its detractors and commercial challengers! In travelling the wine world, it’s my view that few don’t accept the screwcap’s ability to close wine successfully, but many still cling to traditions for a myriad of reasons.

How do Australasian wine producers overcome these barriers?

Having spent many hours 37,000 feet in the air thinking about this, the answer is simple - flood the world of wine, especially in Asia and Europe, with bright, young disciples for screwcaps! Let the thousands of Aussie and Kiwi oenophiles who want work in wine and hospitality be our ambassadors. If you think that's a silly idea, then go to China and ask why the French have been so successful? Yes, it’s partly due to the wine itself, but it’s in large part due to the fact that at every key point in the wine supply chain, young French guys and girls are telling their story! Can you imagine how big China could be for us if we had this advantage?

the US and China not followed suit? Having spent some time working with a retailer in the US, I can confirm that consumers, even those on the open-minded west coast, are reluctant to embrace screwcaps on premium-priced wines. Why? Cultural baggage, I suspect. To most American wine drinkers, screwcaps are a sure sign of inexpensive wine. I strongly suspect the same applies in China where the French, whose wines are widely perceived as being the sine qua non of wine, close their wines with pieces of bark.

Overcoming these prejudices will take time and effort and you might argue that it is as much the screwcap producers’ role as

it is the wine industry’s. Should we bother, then? Yes, I believe we should. We should for the same reasons that drove Tesco to push producers to bottle with screwcap a decade ago: we are letting the customer down if we knowingly use a potentially defective closure. There’s no romance with a corked bottle and there’s no brand loyalty left to build when the drinker has a tainted bottle. In the long term, with education and a consistent message, drinkers will, I believe, accept screwcaps (or whatever their successor might be), but in the meantime, we have to deliver on what the customer wants and effect change from within.

W i n e & Viticultur e Jo ur na l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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A S V O

Revamped newsletter and seminar among current ASVO projects

By Paul Petrie, President, Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology

A

ll ASVO members have received an email containing the first issue of our revitalised newsletter, after a hiatus of more than 12 months. As part of our strategic planning, we identified that many of our members preferred to receive technical information less formally than by reading an article from the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research.

As such, we asked Dr Jamie Goode (a UK-based wine journalist with a PhD in plant biology and extensive experience as a scientific editor) to prepare a series of columns that summarise topical articles from the journal. These columns are going to be a feature of our newsletters (we are aiming for four per year), and we see them as a key way of adding value to ASVO membership. The first column focussed on smoke taint. Fortunately, at the time of writing this column, fires have had a relatively small impact on fruit this season.

However, if a bushfire does occur, the columns are easy to follow and readers can be confident that the content is based on peer-reviewed research from the AJGWR. The next series of columns will focus on ‘Irrigation, drought and grapevines’, again, a topical issue.

It feels like we only just finished our last seminar on ‘Managing difficult vintages’ and we already have planning under way for the 2012 meetings. Thank you to all

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ASVO members who completed the online survey. Barring a late surge in votes, it is likely that the viticulture seminar will focus on objective measures of grape quality, and the wine seminar on sustainability and efficiency in the winery. If you have research or practical experience in these areas that you think would be of interest to ASVO members, or are interested in sponsoring either of these events, please contact our office manager Chris Waters by email: asvo@asvo.com.au. The viticulture seminar will be held in July, and the winemaking seminar in October or November.

As those of you who attended the ASVO AGM would be aware, we are in the process of reviewing the publication format for the AJGWR. Once again, we are surveying our members to gauge if they would be happy to receive the journal only in digital format.

Our journal has been available online for many years and this is the preferred access method for a significant proportion of our members. Many publications are moving to be distributed only in digital format. The ASVO seminar proceedings, as well as the proceedings for the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference, are now only available electronically. Moving to digital as our main form of distribution for AJGWR will allow the society to continue to improve and expand the journal without significant additional costs to members.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Currently, increases in page numbers due to the success of the AJGWR are placing significant pressure on the ASVO’s resources. The society is considering moving to a model where members who wish to continue to receive paper issues of the AJGWR will pay a premium to do so. With these compelling arguments, it is reassuring to see that, currently, almost two-thirds of our members who have responded to the survey preferred to access articles online, and almost threequarters of our members would be happy to receive the journal only in a digital format.

As is normal in any professional organisation, membership numbers change quite often, aligned to the current business success of the sector represented.

In the tough business climate of the wine industry, the ASVO is suffering some loss of numbers. We have an active program through our secretariat of contacting recent members who have not renewed their membership, and quite often a phone or email prompt is all that is required to activate membership. In the near future, we will be surveying the ‘younger group’ of wine and viticulture professionals who are very important to the ASVO, as they represent the future success WVJ of the wine industry.

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W FA

Big potential in small Budget asks

By Stephen Strachan, Chief Executive, Winemakers’ Federation of Australia

Stephen Strachan provides an outline of WFA’s current financial-related communications with the Federal Government, via its annual pre-Budget submission.

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year. However, it takes up to five years to grow a market to a sustainable level of profitability, meaning many winemakers exhaust their EMDG funding before being able to establish themselves in new markets.

We are also seeking a doubling of the government’s commitment to another extremely valuable program, FarmReady.

Access to FarmReady support has been important in helping a number of wineries and grapegrowers become members of WFA’s environmental certification program Entwine Australia, but the previous funding cycle was fully extinguished just three months into the financial year.

It is essential for FarmReady to be funded to a level that meets demand, because this type of training program is ideally suited to our industry’s needs.

The fourth major Budget request is to ensure funding of the Australian Bureau of Statistics is at a sufficient level to allow it to continue to provide the vital foundation data that helps the wine sector make informed decisions.

We have already seen the monthly domestic sales collection become quarterly and, now, there is a real threat that the annual vineyard survey will be scrapped for lack of resources.

There is no other source of this data, because the ABS is the only national agency with the legislative power to ensure survey responses and, therefore, provide comprehensive and reliable information.

On the key issues of R&D and tax, we have simply called for the status quo to be maintained: • continued dollar-for-dollar matched R&D funding from the Commonwealth • no overall increase in the total tax revenue from the wine sector • no use of tax or artificial minimum pricing measures as a lever for health reform.

We are, however, seeking an even greater emphasis on stamping out inappropriate practices in the WET Rebate system by redefining the

legislation to rule out multiple claims on blended wine.

Using figures provided by the Australian National Audit Office, WFA estimates its work with the Australian Taxation Office on compliance and the identification of illegitimate activities has generated government savings of more than $35 million in the past twoand-a-half years. We believe clamping down on multiple claims in association with blends can save just as much.

On the tourism front, we have made modest requests to support three initiatives that are central to the successful roll-out of the new Wine and Food Tourism Strategy released late last year. These relate to tourism accreditation, funding for more consumer research and online and direct marketing skill development.

We have also reminded the government that there are a number of current issues that, while not specific to the wine sector, could have a significant impact on winemakers and grapegrowers. We refer, in particular, to retail power, labelling laws, urban encroachment, liquor licensing and workplace regulations.

Our message is that the Australian Government (and, where necessary, State governments through COAG processes) must give full consideration to the state and needs of the wine sector, and its importance to the Australian economy, when considering key policy decisions.

This is not a grab for cash. WFA acknowledges that the wine sector needs to stand on its own feet, as do other sectors of the economy.

However, governments can no longer ignore the effects of the two-speed economy. The mining boom will end, but before it does, there is the potential for viable trade-focussed industries, such as wine, to be decimated.

Governments need to get smarter in dealing with the dramatic impact of the high Australian dollar – not by intervening in the market, but by targetting initiatives to sectors that are WVJ profoundly affected.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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t’s never a good time to ask for money and that certainly applies when it comes to seeking Federal Government funding in tight economic times (or any economic times for that matter).

However, WFA believes there are a few crucial initiatives that should be included in the 2012-13 Budget to assist the wine sector without breaking the bank.

These are highlighted in our annual pre-Budget submission, along with some proposals for saving money to help pay for them! All in all, we think it makes a strong package.

The top two come under the general heading of trade.

We have asked the Treasurer to find $3 million per annum for three years, commencing July 2012, to match Wine Australia’s contribution to new market development programs in emerging markets.

It is clear that extending our wine presence and reputation globally is the best way to recapture a price premium for Australian wine and, ultimately, ensure a sustainable future for the sector.

We have to keep pace with our competitors. As we point out in our submission, the European Union will provide $1.1 billion to support its wine promotion over the next five years; the US spent $8.5 million in 2009 to help exporters promote wine; and the French, through government support, will invest more on wine promotions in China in the next year than the total global Wine Australia investment.

On a smaller but still significant scale, we are asking the government to double its commitment to the Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) program and re-open applications to exporters who have exhausted their access to the program for specified target markets, including removal of the seven-year timeframe.

Grants allow small and medium winemakers to develop and promote their products, and the wine sector has been a significant beneficiary, averaging around 250 recipients each

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K E Y

F I L ES

The dance of brand myth-creation

By Tony Keys

With the channel of wine retailing ever-shrinking, Tony Keys spoke to the executive brand managers and buyers of Australia’s top-level wine companies about how they perceive the impact of supermarket private labels on consumers’ perceptions of the quality of the labels they produce and market themselves.

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illions of people around the world consume wine with great enjoyment. It lubricates social interaction, aids digestion and encourages those that shouldn’t to dance.

How we have over complicated such a simple oral pleasure is yet to be fully explained. Even harder to comprehend is why? The 'why' could be partly explained by commerce. Or, in the common tongue, money. Wealth creation via the making, trading, taxing or retailing of wine is the foremost reason why wine has become complicated.

Monetary greed tops the list, but ostentation greed is close behind. Ignore the content; it’s the myth surrounding wine that creates interest and sometimes controversy. Thus far, governments have not been able to tax people from dancing or creating myths, but for centuries, they have been able to tax wine as a physical product.

Governments increase the tax on wine, but people

......It is possible for Penfolds to release a $1000 bottle of wine and pump up the spiel, creating myth that appeals to ostentatious buyers. As yet, it is hard to think of a supermarket having a privatelabel $1000 bottle of wine. That is the reality in 2012. Let’s not dismiss what the reality might be in 2022.

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continue to drink it. Health professionals warn that wine (along with all alcohol) will do harm to those who indulge, yet, people continue to drink it. People are greedy for the enjoyment that wine provides and those that make, trade, tax or retail wine are greedy to earn coin out of them.

Ostentation comes into play as a justification some people use to separate drinking wine for the purpose of simple enjoyment, thereby elevating certain wines to something, in their opinion, as majestic or belonging on a higher plane. This has become an industry in itself and has moved beyond the simple equation of ‘the better the wine quality, the higher the price it fetches’. Spending $1000 or more on a bottle of wine is often an ostentatious demonstration of the buyer’s wealth, rather than the buyer’s knowledge of wine or good taste. Producing a $1000 bottle of wine is greed for producer recognition, which will lead to higher prices for other wines in the portfolio, hence, greed for money. It is a delusion to think it is a reflection of the cost of making that wine.

It may come as a surprise, then, that this is an article about the current mumblings snaking through the industry about brands both producer-owned and marketed, and those considered as private labels. The link is attempting to sift reality from the myth. It is possible for Penfolds to release a $1000 bottle of wine and pump up the spiel, creating myth that appeals to ostentatious buyers. As yet, it is hard to think of a supermarket having a private-label $1000 bottle of wine. That is the reality in 2012. Let’s not dismiss what the reality might be in 2022. Woolworths could then be the owners of the Penfolds brand, but maybe a Chinese group will own Woolworths? A move into higher rated wines becoming supermarket brands has been heralded with UK retailer Marks & Spencer announcing it has purchased eight barrels of wine at the Hospices de Beaune. Four barrels (228-litre) of Volnay 1er Cru Blondeau red and four barrels of Saint-Romain white will be matured in Burgundy and released in 2013. Although the wines will carry the Hospices de Beaune label, it is still an exclusive

for Marks & Spencer. The strength of supermarkets is the ability to control the source and draw more profit out of wine.

The focus of this Wine & Viticulture Journal issue is, ‘the grape and wine business in a changing market’. At the risk of incurring the editor’s wrath, what exactly is changing? The business of wine is continually evolving, just as it has evolved over the past couple of millennia or more. Yet, the fundamentals remain the same, despite academics, marketers, commentators and show-off winemakers trying to make wine more complex than need be. In many ways, the magic of wine is the magic of the shaman: it’s what’s not there, rather than what is providing the power that seduces.

Need wine be more complex than growing grapes, then making, selling and drinking wine? To grasp the how and why of major changes in wine evolution and future direction, it is best to put terroir, production and taste to one side and look at the financial aspect. Or, put another way: forget the idiotic waffle the subject of wine generates in abundance, and look at the dollars and cents it sometimes makes and other times, doesn’t.

Greek, Egyptian, Roman and Chinese traders were using wine as a bargaining currency long before Woolworths, Coles and Tesco decided it would enhance their coffers. It appears that throughout history, producers have not always grasped the full financial opportunities, often losing out to the trader.

In the 2012 BRW magazine top 1000 Australian companies list, number three is Wesfarmers, which owns Coles supermarkets, with Woolworths at number four. Woolworths is Australia’s leading retailer of wine, and in the UK, Tesco is. The highest position a majority wine-producing company holds, not surprisingly, is also Australia’s largest, with Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) coming in at number 207. An interesting comparison is TWE’s total turnover at $1.646 billion is some way behind Woolworths' net profit at $2.124b (TWE net profit $64.1 million). What this shows is who is the tail, and who is the dog.

Therefore, it is not that difficult to work out who controls the wagging.

In the latter part of 2011, Stephen Strachan, chief executive of the

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Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA), appeared in front of a Federal parliamentary committee, accusing supermarket own-brands of being the cause of loss of intellectual property to established brands.

It appeared to be a logic borne of desperation; looked at from a different angle, Strachan could be accused of advocating a closed-shop policy. The weak argument Strachan put forward was that intellectual property had been built up over generations and included winemakers’ stories, terroir and regionalities.

If any winemaker thinks he or she holds rights over stories or regions, they need to examine their existence or settle the ego. Stories are for telling and retelling, and growing with the telling.

Regions are to be shared with visitors, and visitors need to be welcomed. Terroir is the environment of the vine, no matter where that vine is planted; it is not owned by anyone.

Some producers are acting as if supermarket dominance is an issue that popped up the week before last.

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......Supermarkets are dominating wine retail in Australia and the UK in the 21st century. However, there appears to be a feeling among wine people that the supermarket is not part of the chain; that they don’t fit in like an independent wine merchant does. It is one side of an argument that is best kept in the front bar of the pub The late UK wine writer Peter Brinson wrote in 1964, ‘Supermarkets, sooner or later, will get the licences they want and challenge the trade’s whole retail structure’. They did, as did those in Australia, and for the past 40-plus years, supermarkets have been consolidating their position, while producers have been bemoaning the fact.

The wine industry is populated with those who have great passion about the wine they produce market and sell, but reality will win out and the truth is that the channel of retailing wine is shrinking.

Supermarkets are dominating wine retail in Australia and the UK in the 21st century. However, there

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appears to be a feeling among wine people that the supermarket is not part of the chain; that they don’t fit in like an independent wine merchant does.

It is one side of an argument that is best kept in the front bar of the pub on Friday nights, slotted in between the uselessness of Gillard vs. Abbott and how the Afghanistan issue can be sorted. They could be right, but the statement about not fitting in was being made about Dan Murphy’s stores before being sold into the Woolworths portfolio.

Oddbins, in the UK, was considered an outsider for many years.

A personal story from my own days in Oddbins: I remember being horrified

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

when the company introduced an ownbrand, as were many others working for the company. For reasons I couldn’t fully explain then, it was an embarrassment.

In hindsight, it was a form of snobbery, which was ironic, as Oddbins staff did much to break down barriers of snobbery that existed at the time.

The professional number crunchers at A.C. Nielson released a report in the UK towards the end of January this year saying, ‘own-label wine brands have broken through the £1 billion sales barrier for the first time’.

This figure did not take into account exclusive-label merchant brands, such as Accolade Wines providing Hardys Stamp label as an exclusive to Woolworths in Australia. One of the issues surrounding the subject of private labels is the definition of what exactly qualifies as such. Accolade will say its business is to focus on the proprietary aspects. Doing so, it gives an impression that there is no involvement in private labels. However, if the Stamp brand is only available via Woolworths in Australia, is there not a hint of ‘private’ about it?

There are many such arrangements in both Australia and the UK. Any

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sizeable winery has a draw full of unused brand names. If there is not a label in stock, then one can be made.

Creeks and ridges are popular in Australian label design, while animals seem to have lost favour. Often, the label will feature the producer’s name, e.g., 'Grant Burge Springbetts, an exclusive for Woolworths.' Woolworths wine buyer Stephen Donahue refers to such wines as co-brands.

Australian Vintage is a huge supplier of wine to Tesco at every level, from Tesco Australian White Wine, selling at £3.31 bottle (of which £2.13 is tax), through the McGuigan range, Tesco Finest Howcroft Vineyard, Mundulla Vineyard, Calloway Crossing, Rawnsley Estate, McGuigan Bin and McGuigan Black Label wines. Clearly, Australian Vintage and other companies are coming to terms with dealing with supermarkets.

Private labels are mainly to be found in off-trade, as the on-trade profit mark-up makes private labels not as necessary. In 2011, the UK off-trade private label volume rose 5 percent and topped 20 million cases. As Australia holds more than 20% of the UK market and shipped 116,284,000 litres in bulk

(equal to 12.92 million cases), format priced between 50 cents and $1/litre, one assumes a lot of those 20 million cases were Australian.

Donahue defended Woolworths’ position on brands, saying it stocks all levels of cleanskin, own-brands, copartner and established winery brands.

The mantra most used by Woolworths’ management is responding to consumer wishes; one which Donahue referred to frequently.

He maintained that Woolworths is also an active participant in the wine industry, pointing out that the criticism it receives is not justified. “We make and sell wine, while many wineries sell direct to the public. It’s the same, but on a smaller scale,” he said.

Two of Australia’s best known global brands are Jacob’s Creek and Yellowtail. The former is exported to around 70 countries, while the latter to 50-plus markets. James Wright spoke on behalf of Pernod Ricard, the French company that apart from owning Jacob’s Creek, is also the second largest global drinks company after Diageo.

Wright was emphatic about the company’s approach to private labels.

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“We have no plans to work with supermarkets on private labels – our priority is building and maintaining premium international wine brands, and this does not currently align with our strategy,” he said.

Even more forceful in his response, John Casella, managing director of Casella Wines said, “Yellowtail is only concerned about its ownbrand footprint and does not follow competitors. We are a global brand and follow that philosophy throughout the world.”

Sue Rana is the corporate communications manager of Treasury Wine Estates. As with Wright and Casella, she also distanced TWE from what has become the private label stigma.

“We are not producing supermarket private-label wines. We work closely with our customers to make sure we develop and supply quality products across a range of price points. We put effort into building mutually beneficial partnership agreements and brand promotions that will enhance sales results across all channels,” she said.

Wright says much the same about working with Pernod Ricard’s

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......Own-brands used to be rather basic. Now, the quality bar has been raised. This leads many consumers to believe private label is exactly the same as a known brand because it is the same wine. Belief need not be truth. customers: “To ensure that the equity of our brands remains intact, that we remain a profitable proposition for retailers and a product of choice for our loyal consumer base.”

Rana defended TWE brands stoutly: “We feel that consumers value brands and that our brands, in particular, deliver consistency in their style and quality, enabling consumers to confidently rely on our brands, particularly when the number of wines on shelves may be overwhelming.”

It is to be expected that brand owners will protect their labels to the uppermost, and metaphorically present them in an allpositive light. The basis is that by buying an established brand, one is guaranteed of a certain quality. The theory is one aspect but, again, reality comes into play. There comes a point in many people’s wine-consuming maturity that to drink a big volume brand is

considered passé. Quality is not an issue; image is. Attacking from another angle is the increasing quality of supermarket private labels. Own-brands used to be rather basic. Now, the quality bar has been raised. This leads many consumers to believe private label is exactly the same as a known brand because it is the same wine.

Belief need not be truth.

Brand is not just the tangible product; Australian wine can be considered a brand.

There was a stage in the UK and the US that if it was Australian wine, then it was good.

Unfortunately, the ratio of quality wine to demand was out of balance and a great deal of inferior wine flooded the market.

Has the loss of shine on wine from Australia affected Australian brand owners?

Wright showed his loyalty, believing Brand Australia is, “still a strong identifier”. He did admit heavy

discounting compromised some of the brand equity of Brand Australia in the UK. Diplomacy came into play with his statement: “We as an industry and Jacob’s Creek as a category leader need to work harder to ensure we rebuild its reputation”.

Jacob’s Creek, without doubt, is a wine that originates from Australia, but then so was Lindeman’s. Yet, TWE has opted for it to become a global brand.

There was a time when John Casella hinted at including an Italian Pinot Grigio in the Yellowtail brand range. It’s not a statement that has, as yet, seen fruition.

There are “no plans for Jacob’s Creek to be anything but an Australian brand,” maintained Wright, however, he covered possibility with the word “currently”. Rana went into some detail regarding Lindeman’s being a brand that is considered Australian, but includes wines from other countries.

She started with it being a foundation brand (Australian), then diverted to information on Lindeman’s history and wine, before returning to, “Lindeman’s started making country of origin wines in 2006, so that consumers could explore wines from New World

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countries with a greater degree of confidence because of the proven Lindeman’s name and reputation. All the Lindeman’s country of origin wines are made to capture the typical local wine character of the country they're made in, while adhering to Lindeman’s quality standards and style, guaranteeing they are well-made, quality wines - no matter where they come from”.

TWE also trialled a Rosemount New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc but discontinued it and returned Rosemount to being Australian. Can an established country brand, such as Lindeman’s, really give confidence to presenting a wine from anywhere else than Australia? Could Errazuriz be anything but Chile, First Cape South African, or Barton & Guestier French?

There is good argument saying 'no', however, it is completely feasible for Woolworths, Coles or Tesco to have an Australian Shiraz, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or Spanish Tempranillo without causing comment.

It seems inevitable that supermarkets will increase private label wines, and wine producers will have to adapt or get out of the game. Established brand owners, such as John Casella, will continue to

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......Can an established country brand, such as Lindeman’s, really give confidence to presenting a wine from anywhere else than Australia? ....

There is good argument saying 'no', however, it is completely feasible for Woolworths, Coles or Tesco to have an Australian Shiraz, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or Spanish Tempranillo without causing comment. focus on the branded business. “Brands will keep driving future growth around the world, and grow consumer demand for a well-known product. Our commitment is to keep growing our Yellowtail brand,” he said.

Sue Rana proposed, “We [TWE] have spent many years building our brands, not focussing on where they come from, but more on their quality and heritage and proven consumer appeal. Those messages remain strong and continue to resonate with our consumers”.

Wright was strong on having “utmost faith in the Jacob’s Creek brand and its longevity”.

“Our approach is based on driving value share and ‘premiumising’ the brand. As such, we believe that we offer value for money and, most importantly, a very high quality product. Consumers associate our brand with quality and people will always gravitate towards a brand they trust to consistently deliver a high quality product and value for money,” Wright said.

Let’s all take a moment to remember Camden Park, P.B. Burgoyne, Auldana, Emu, Woodley, Tolley, Ryecroft, Ben Ean and Metala; all great brands...once upon a time.

To comment on this article, email editor Sonya Logan: sonya@winetitles.com.au WVJ

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Grapevine trunk diseases: a new global vineyard threat?

By Richard Smart

While Richard Smart has been aware of grapevine trunk diseases for some time, he says it appears that this complex of fungi and diseases has recently taken on a new dimension. In this article, he explains how.

I

n the 1970s, I had a small vineyard in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, and some vines were more than 30 years old. The Barossa is a winter rainfall area, so I was not surprised that many vines showed eutypa dieback symptoms.

However, as was common in the area, infection was generally limited. The old vines were often unwanted varieties as well, so the problem was not major.

That is not necessarily the case now, as younger vineyards of desirable varieties are now showing symptoms. The spread of the disease, through infected pruning wounds, is difficult to avoid.

During my travels, I also became exposed to esca, called ‘black measles’ in California. It can be a difficult disease to control in Europe, and can be very damaging. I have seen Tuscan vineyards with very high incidence, and substantial crop losses. Both eutypa and esca have been known for many decades, but a new group of fungi of genus Botryosphaeria are now receiving the most recent research attention. It is this fungus disease that I have seen most recently in several countries, and seems to constitute a new threat.

Problem in UK vineyards

In May 2011, I moved to Cornwall and soon thereafter visited vineyards to advise on sustainability issues. This program and private appointments gave me the opportunity to see more than 35 vineyards in three lots of visits, in summer, autumn and winter. Many vineyards had unhealthy vines, some dead vines, often in patches. Looking for causes of the problem, I found trunk staining; the more the staining, the more unhealthy, or even dead, was the vine. Contact with colleagues around the world and internet searches led me to Botryosphaeria trunk disease, which was confirmed as Botryosphaeria parva

by Government scientists. This disease was unknown in UK vineyards before, and there has been some reluctance

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Figure 1. Trunk disease in a vineyard in Thailand.

Botryosphaeria in the scion. Many of these plants die, or fail to thrive.

The Botryosphaeria spreads from diseased plants in wet pruning conditions to adjacent and downwind plants.

by growers to accept this as a common cause of ill thrift.

Now, after several workshops, and a seminar involving an Italian researcher specialist Dr Laura Mugnai, growers are coming to grips with the need to protect pruning wounds in the wet, mild UK winter. There is no cure for infected vines, as is common for trunk diseases.

The vines must be removed from the vineyard, as they are a source of spores and, therefore, infection.

Unfortunately, many newly-planted vineyards are also affected by trunk disease in the UK. The grafted vines are imported from Europe and high proportions of vines fail in the first and second year, and even subsequently.

Staining of the trunk and scion wood can be seen in delivered plants, suggesting a double infection by Cylindrocarpon or Phaeoachremonium at the base, and

In recent months, I have visited several other countries where I also saw trunk disease, to the extent I wondered if it was following me around! My first visit was in Mexico, noting problems on both young and old vines, and I have subsequently seen excellent papers in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture describing the problem that I saw there. There is a local scientist studying the problem, and she is a member of the International Council of Grapevine Trunk Diseases, which

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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Elsewhere in the world

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Figure 2. Typical vine response to trunk disease, with dead cordon, apoplexy, and suckers growing from the base. is having its eighth meeting in Valencia, Spain, in 2012. There was less awareness in Turkey where, again, I saw problems with young and old vineyards, but fortunately very restricted.

In Thailand, the situation was very different. Thailand is a restricted area of winegrape viticulture, but several enthusiastic winemakers are producing some good wines from vines giving two crops a year. This also means that the

vines are pruned twice a year and, again, the weather can be wet and humid. Old vineyards were in a dreadful state, with many dead vines, and trunk staining everywhere. A Botryosphaeria disease has been recorded there in mango plantations, and also in one vineyard, so I suppose it is also quite common in other vineyards, as symptoms would indicate.

My last two visits were to northern Europe, to zones at the edge of cool

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climate viticulture, namely Belgium and Norway. In both places I have tasted very pleasant wines, especially Pinot Noir in Belgium. Both countries were planting new vineyards, and the young vines showed an unacceptable proportion of dead and sick vines. The ones I inspected had trunk and rootstock staining, typical of trunk disease. Here, as in the UK, so many young vineyards planted by enthusiasts are destined to fail, because of trunk disease. ▶

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What about Australia?

Figure 3. Typical young trunk staining with Botryosphaeria, in the UK.

Figure 4. The development of cankers with Botryosphaeria, in the UK.

Figure 5. A UK vineyard badly affected by Botryosphaeria. Note that the vineyard is not growing after pruning, showing yellow and stunted vines and ‘clumping’ of affected vines.

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What is the situation now in Australia?

Are there contaminated vines being planted, or have been planted, as elsewhere in the world? Studies in many countries have shown that rootstock and scion source blocks can be infected by trunk diseases Botryosphaeria and Cylindrocarpon and fungi associated with Petri disease. How did they become infected?

Studies suggest infection through untreated pruning wounds. Some of these source blocks have dead or sick vines, which have hitherto been ignored. This is recorded in Europe, but how do they look in Australia?

Researchers around the world note that trunk diseases are becoming more common. Why is this, especially for young vines? I wonder if ‘source blocks’ planted 10-30 years ago, to combat virus problems, might not be a problem themselves, having accumulated pruning wounds and maybe infecting fungi, to produce contaminated cuttings? So, nurseries are now taking cuttings in good faith, from ‘high health’ and ‘virus-free’ source blocks, but which are now, in fact, ‘fungus infected’.

This has been demonstrated in Europe, New Zealand, and now in Australia, in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. Are the vine improvement groups checking their source blocks for trunk disease fungi?

Are nurseries adopting procedures to minimise spread of these fungi during the nursery process, as has been shown to be necessary overseas?

Conclusions Reports of trunk disease in vineyards continue to come in from almost every vine-growing country, much wider than my limited personal sample listed here. One Australian industry colleague tells me that this is ‘the sleeper issue’ of the industry.

This seems to be confirmed by a recent study. Dr Wayne Pitt, from Charles Sturt University, has surveyed 73 vineyards in New South Wales and South Australia, and analysed 2239 wood samples. He has stated, “With the exception of drought, the major threat to the sustainability of Australia’s wine industry is the increasing profusion and severity of grapevine trunk diseases” (The Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker, December 2008 – Issue 539).

This is a substantial claim. This is not just a disease of newly-planted vineyards.

How many of the vineyards planted over the last 20 years might begin to show trunk disease symptoms? We will hear more, rather than less, about trunk diseases in the future.

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Current status of grapevine trunk diseases in Australia

By Mark Sosnowski and Trevor Wicks South Australian Research & Development Institute Eutypa dieback and botryosphaeria canker are grapevine trunk diseases causing economic impact in the main wine regions of Australia. Trunk diseases were ranked fourth after powdery mildew, botrytis and downy mildew in an assessment of economic cost of grape diseases by Scholefield Robinson Horticultural Services and EconSearch, commissioned by the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (GWRDC; GWR 08/04; www.gwrdc.com.au).

Eutypa dieback is caused primarily by the fungus Eutypa lata and a further six closely-related species (Diatrypaceae) have recently been associated with diseased vines in Australia (Trouillas et al. 2011). Foliar symptoms of eutypa include stunted and yellowing shoots with cupped leaves and dead margins (Figure 1). In cordons and trunks, dead wood is observed as a wedge of dark staining in a cross-section, which usually extends downwards from pruning wounds. As the disease progresses, spur positions and cordons die back and sunken dead areas without bark (cankers) develop on cordons and trunks. If left unmanaged, infected vines eventually die.

Eutypa dieback is reported as increasing in south-eastern Australia, particularly in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Young vines can be infected, but there is a delay of six to eight years before symptoms become obvious. Australian surveys show that as vineyards age, the incidence of eutypa dieback increases and recent anecdotal evidence suggests that the symptoms are becoming more prominent each year.

In some regions, up to 100% of vines in older vineyards show symptoms of eutypa.

Botryosphaeria canker is caused by Botryosphaeria fungi, of which nine species have been implicated with the disease in Australia. Diplodia seriata is most commonly found in southeastern Australia (Pitt et al. 2009) and Neofusicoccum australe in Western Australia (Taylor et al. 2005). The disease also causes wedge-shaped staining in cordon and trunk crosssections of infected wood, dieback of spurs and cordons, and eventually vine death. No foliar symptoms are observed in Australian vineyards.

Although Botryosphaeria species are found in most growing regions of Australia, botryosphaeria canker is more predominant in New South Wales and Western Australia where the warmer climate appears to favour the disease. The incidence of this disease is also increasing, and in NSW the problem is more evident in older vineyards and those that have been stressed by drought or water logging, according to Tony Somers, of the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre.

Another trunk disease, esca, is common in European vineyards, but symptoms of this disease are rarely seen in Australian vineyards. Although the causal pathogens of esca do occur in Australia, it is not considered a major trunk disease problem in this country. Other trunk diseases, such as young vine decline, are uncommon in Australia.

Trunk diseases are managed by protecting pruning wounds from infection and removing infected material by remedial surgery, as outlined in the GWRDC Innovators Network eutypa dieback management factsheet (www.gwrdc.com.au).

Current SARDI trials are evaluating the application of wound protectants with commercial spray equipment and aim to provide data that will lead to registration of fungicides for this purpose.

For further information, contact Mark Sosnowski on (08) 8303 9489 or email: mark.sosnowski@sa.gov.au

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Figure 1. Stunted shoots on a grapevine with eutypa dieback.

Figure 2. Dieback of grapevine with botryosphaeria canker.

(Photo: Wayne Pitt, NWGIC) References Pitt, W.M.; Huang, R.; Steel, C.C. and Savocchia, S. (2010) Identification, distribution and current taxonomy of Botryosphaeriaceae species associated with grapevine decline in New South Wales and South Australia. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research. 16, 258-271.

Taylor, A.; Hardy, G.E. StJ.; Wood, P. and Burgess, T. (2005) Identification and pathogenicity of Botryosphaeria species associated with grapevine decline in Western Australia. Australasian Plant Pathology 34, 187-195.

Trouillas, F.P.; Pitt, W.M.; Sosnowski, M.R.; Huang, R.; Peduto, F.; Loschiavo, A; Savocchia, S; Scott, E.S. and Gubler, W.D. (2011) Taxonomy and DNA phylogeny of Diatrypaceae associated with Vitis vinifera and other woody plants in Australia. Fungal Diversity 49, 203-223.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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Ten years of transformation Reflecting on the technical advances in the wine industry over the past decade

By Dr Peter Godden and Dr Dan Johnson The Australian Wine Research Institute, PO Box 197, Glen Osmond, Adelaide, SA 5064, Australia

With the current challenges faced by the Australian wine industry, it is easy to lose sight of the extraordinary technical advances that have been made in the last 10 years. Since 2002, many practices have changed markedly; from a technical perspective, there has been a transformation in how we do many things, with grapegrowers and wine producers working smarter and more efficiently.

This article explores some of those changes, the science and technology behind them and the technical support necessary for that practice change to have occurred. Investments made in the AWRI and other agencies by grapegrowers and winemakers via their investment agency, the GWRDC, have been instrumental in the development of these game-changing processes.

A

ustralia’s growers and winemakers have experienced a technical transformation, doing many things very differently now, compared with 10 years ago. What have been the drivers of that extraordinary rate of advancement?

When it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005, the AWRI had cause to read though a lot of old literature when preparing the review papers published in the AWRI’s Advances in Wine Science commemorative book. Many in the industry were surprised at how rapidly groundbreaking science becomes part of the industry’s ‘assumed’ or even general or basic knowledge bank. After all, Australian winemakers are renowned for rapidly adopting more efficient and effective technologies and processes, while respecting the more traditional side of the winemaking craft. For those of us who studied grape and wine science, it was particularly striking to see how far things had progressed since we had completed our studies.

This is a graphic illustration of science at work; a continual quest for new knowledge, building on an existing base and constantly testing and challenging what had gone before.

When one considers the rate of technological advancement in previous decades, a look at what has happened in the last 10 years is mind boggling; it is as though the rate of change has become exponential by comparison.

Yeast tailored to deliver desired characteristics; extraordinary degrees of practice-change in our use of closures and control of Brettanomyces; greater

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Scientific explanation of the causes of wine contamination and tainting has resulted in a dramatic reduction in the amount of spoilt wine over the last 10 years, saving the industry millions of dollars.

The value of that research cannot be underestimated: it reduced the risk of further contamination; protected the reputation of the Australian wine sector and of Brand Australia; and provided unequivocal evidence of the possible points of contamination along the supply chain. That science drove significant practice change, including widespread introduction of often simple, systematic QC checks both within supply companies and by grape and wine producers.

It resulted in many such problems being largely eliminated, and reduced the associated costs of stock write-downs, the endless stream of legal claims, and the huge amount of time wasted.

In one case alone, millions of dollars of wine were affected by plastic-like taints from a source unidentified until scientists got involved. A number of wineries experienced the problem, ranging from one or a few tanks in some locations, to virtually an entire vintage in another. Methods to identify the contaminants were developed, and used to track the source and the mechanisms by which the taint compounds were released into wine.

There are many other examples: reduction problems caused by high concentrations of elemental sulfur in potassium metabisulfite (PMS) were common 10 years ago, and there was no guarantee that one batch of additive or processing aid would perform the same as another. Quality processes implemented in wineries today provide the highest chance of elimination of issues relating to additives and processing aids.

A decade ago, wine additives and processing aids were commonly packaged in plastic or cardboard containers, and transported in conditions conducive to them becoming contaminated. However, scientific demonstration that many taint compounds are common in the environment and extremely mobile, moving readily through plastic and cardboard packaging, resulted in major international supply companies changing

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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confidence in fermentation management; understanding of tannin and colour in grapes and wine, and the ability to measure these parameters rapidly and put the results into context; fewer wine stability problems through better understanding of their causes and the implementation of improved quality control (QC) systems; understanding sensory characteristics, our own palates, and the preferences of our consumers; oxygen management; agrochemical use; an exhaustive list of new analytical methods; far greater understanding of the relationship between wine and, and social responsibility issues; and being able to measure wine style. The list is impressive. We highlight just a few of the major changes in this article.

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The range of commercial yeast strains available today is much larger than it was 10 years ago with yeast strain development now tailored to deliver specific desired characteristics through the understanding of genetics. These new strains give winemakers opportunities to lessen reductive characters, enhance various flavour and sensory properties, and produce lower levels of alcohol in response to consumer demand. to barrier packaging. Transportation, storage and QC systems were also transformed.

By 2002, most winemakers knew of Brettanomyces, but would have been shocked to know that it had left its mark in their wine. Far less than 10 years later, working in partnership with researchers, Australian winemakers were pretty much on top of this troublesome yeast, achieving a dramatic drop in the volume of wine produced with Brett’s unmistakeable sensory characters. In a single decade alone, this is estimated to have saved the Australian wine industry $500 million dollars.

At the end of 2011, a new tool was added to the industry’s ongoing fight against Brett, with advanced technologies being used to unlock its genetic code.

This painstaking work has been heralded as a world-first for wine research: opening the door to new strategies and treatments that could combat superstrains if they were to develop.

Improved sulfite use remains central to Brett control, and getting it right was a major theme of extension programs, resulting in significant cost savings for the industry. Winemakers have far greater knowledge than 10 years ago, understanding that they obtain

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maximum benefit from sulfite when it is used effectively and not necessarily in larger quantities. After conducting many investigations of faulty wines and Brett, scientists developed the ratio of free to total SO2 as a simple indicator of how successfully sulfite is being used; a measure subsequently introduced into many wineries’ QC systems.

Grapegrowers also benefited, in dollar terms, from taint research. Over the past 10 years, the AWRI has become well established as the objective ‘expert witness’ in countless insurance claims: often named in contracts (for a range of purposes, not only insurance) as an arbiter of evidence in cases of smoke taint or other contamination, such as from hydraulic oil. Without such advice and undisputable evidence, many growers would have been refused payouts or faced the prospect of long legal battles to recover the compensation owed to them.

Work on smoke taint has also provided much-needed guidance throughout the wine production process. New measurement tools will reveal the scale of smoke contamination clearly, using objective assessment criteria, so that grape and wine producers can choose whether to blend affected grapes or lodge an insurance claim.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Taking control of fermentation As a leader in wine yeast research for decades, it was appropriate that the AWRI was the first to sequence and assemble the genetic code of wine yeast. That achievement gives Australian winemakers a competitive advantage in understanding how yeasts function to produce particular wine styles and flavours; a leap forward of incalculable potential impact and value.

A decade ago, commercial yeast strains were common in industry but, today, the range is much larger and yeast strain development is now tailored to deliver specific desired characteristics through the understanding of genetics.

These new strains give winemakers opportunities to lessen reductive characters (by producing less hydrogen sulfide), enhance various flavour and sensory properties, such as tropical fruit characters and enhanced mouthfeel, and produce lower levels of alcohol in response to consumer demand.

Scientists have also painstakingly built a yeast genome deletion library, creating from the single sequenced strain a collection of more than 3000 different strains, each with a single gene ‘deleted’.

They are now working to understand V27N2

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the role and importance of every gene individually; a powerful tool by any standards. In terms of where the greatest impacts on wine sensory characteristics will come from in coming decades, therefore, it is hard not to put yeast at the top of the list.

‘Stuck’ and sub-optimal fermentations remain a priority, with stock writedowns associated with ‘problem’ fermentations costing the industry millions of dollars per year. In addition to helping winemakers when fermentation problems arise, researchers have been proactive in elucidating the causes.

One discovery is that low juice pH with low potassium concentration is a key factor, with some yeast more affected than others. By building a juice bank, and testing fermentation performance of various wine yeasts, scientists have been able to help winemakers make better choices about the yeasts they use for particular ferments – substantially reducing losses and providing greater control of the process.

Nitrogen management has also been identified as a ‘key player’. Winemakers have access to essential information about the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of nitrogen supplementation to provide greater control of fermentation, wine sensory profile and wine style. A simple yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) spectral assay has already been used by some producers during its development phase to monitor nitrogen levels in juice and during fermentation, and has been demonstrated to save money by cutting analysis costs, while reducing the risk of ‘faulty’ aromas in the wines.

The birth of online tools A decade ago, using the internet was becoming the norm for many grapegrowers and winemakers; but when the first ‘trouble-free winemaking’ online tools became available, the internet speeds available to users in regional Australia remained a major consideration. Few could have imagined the paradigm shift in delivery systems that has occurred, which not only allow producers to operate more efficiently, but also in ways that were not even possible 10 years ago.

For instance, few people measured either tannin or grape colour in 2002; the measurement of both being cumbersome and slow. However, winemakers know that tannin and colour are important; wine writers discuss tannin using terms such as ‘iridescence’ or ‘tightly wound coils’, and research shows that consumers look for colour, linking its intensity to quality. The launch of the methyl cellulose precipitable (MCP) V2 7N 2

tannin assay in 2005 delivered a rapid and robust method that was superior to what had previously been available. However, it was not until the Tannin Portal was launched, allowing measurement of a suite of phenolic compounds simultaneously, that unlocking the importance of these compounds as a driver of wine value became practical for most wine producers.

The potential of web-based tools seems virtually limitless and, with them, the ability to pool and share data for collective understanding of what is happening in our vineyards and wineries, in real time. The roll-out of broadband internet and adoption and development of smart-phones will continue, and the development of smart-phone apps tailored to vineyard and winery use is well under way.

The value of information Ten years has seen an information technology boom, bringing with it access to more information than we often know what to do with. Online, targeted information delivery has been a priority via a comprehensive range of media: factsheets, e-bulletins, e-newsletters, regular technical reviews and websites, from the AWRI and many other sources.

The online environment has increased the speed and frequency of information sharing and improved its value.

That hasn’t meant that person-toperson contact has diminished in the last 10 years; quite the opposite. There are now more roadshows, practical workshops and contributions to other seminars and conferences, and it is still common for grapegrowers and winemakers to seek advice by phone.

A staggering 36,000 requests for information were serviced by AWRI’s specialist winemakers, viticulturists, library staff, and wine and society experts between 2005 and 2011; perhaps demonstrating that for many grapegowers and winemakers, the resources provided are the first port of call when technical information and advice is required. The so-called ‘Dog Book’, in particular, has given grape and wine producers up-todate information regarding maximum residue limits (MRLs) year after year. In late 2010 and early 2011, researchers took their expertise in MRLs to another level, working alongside other industry peak bodies to lobby successfully for grapegrowers to have access to alternative methods to combat outbreaks of downy mildew; a fine example of the value of comprehensive information networks and scientific expertise, delivering grape and wine producers the support they needed at a critical time. ▶ W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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A decade ago, most wine producers would have laughed at suggestions that by 2010, they would be able to measure wine parameters in bottles without even opening them. However, that is the reality with in-bottle spectroscopy now available to all Australian wine producers.

Treading lightly Both production costs and uncertainty surrounding water availability have dramatically increased in the last 10 years, making the development and promotion of practical tools and process engineering solutions a key priority.

Many wine businesses have streamlined their processes, thereby increasing their environmental and business sustainability. Case studies from industry demonstrate improvements in areas such as refrigeration, wastewater treatment, wine stabilisation and fermentation management. Reliable data have also been produced, which demonstrate how value can be added to winery waste streams through renewable energy technologies, such as biomass production and anaerobic digestion.

Unlocking secrets inside the bottle ‘Winemaking continuing after bottling’ is a term and concept widely used today, but would have sounded far-fetched to most people 10 years ago. The term was coined as a result of work on wine bottle closures, which demonstrated the potential of bottling variables, particularly closures, to influence the development of wine in the bottle in a predictable way.

Put simply, little was known about what happened to wine after bottling 10 years ago, and there were few tools with which to begin exploration of this major frontier of wine research. How things have changed.

Oxygen management, for example, is

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now far better understood and practised than 10 years ago, providing wine producers with greater control over the shelf-life of their product, and greater understanding of the role of oxygen in the development of particular wine styles.

Elucidating understanding of what happens after bottling as a result of oxygen has been a huge (yet, for many, ‘under the radar’) advancement of the last decade. It has resulted in dissolved oxygen (DO) best practice levels falling by a factor of three or four, and has been a key driver for the industry changing the closures it uses for 80-90% of all wine bottled; by any standards, in any industry, a staggering rate of practice change.

Introduction of the concept of total package oxygen (TPO) continues to progress industry knowledge and understanding of this important area. TPO demonstrates that at packaging, oxygen can reside in wine itself (DO), in the headspace above it, and in the closures used. TPO correlates better than DO with how wines change after bottling, and many wineries and bottling service providers have now implemented a range of strategies – developed as a direct result of research – to manage oxygen more effectively.

This is a paradigm shift from 10 years earlier, and the value generated for industry has been enormous; not only in avoidance of spoilt product and the need to deal with closure testing and customer complaints, but also in the enhancement of product integrity and brand reputation.

A decade ago, most wine producers would have laughed at suggestions that by 2010, they would be able to measure wine parameters in bottles without even opening them. However, that is the reality with in-bottle spectroscopy now available to all Australian wine producers. This technique is also a great research tool, continuing to provide new information about the ‘hidden’ components of wine.

It’s all about the taste, the smell, and the mouthfeel Flavour chemistry and sensory science have seen major advances in the last 10 years; proving the link between minty characters in some wines to eucalyptus trees, for example. Who would have thought that the black pepper character so often described in Australian Shiraz is actually the most potent aroma compound found in black pepper? Both discoveries provide scientific backing for Brand Australia’s marketing strategy: Australian wines are distinctive, and science is able to explain why.

Australian winemakers have improved and validated their sensory threshold for many taints, reductive characters and even the ‘black pepper’ compound compared with 10 years ago. This has been achieved W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

through staging ‘threshold testing’ workshops on roadshows, through the Advanced Wine Assessment Course, and as part of the enormous contribution made by the industry’s premier technical event, the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference. Sensory science is now meshed into the majority of research projects.

A glimpse at the future: where will the next major impacts occur?

Measuring a wine’s style by taking its fingerprint The concept of ‘measuring’ wine style hadn’t even been thought of 10 years ago and, yet, it is now a reality. The PinotG Style Spectrum – a scale used on labels of Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio wines, is a fully-developed example of the application of spectral fingerprinting technology; in this case, it is used to inform consumers of the style of wine in the bottle at point of sale in a simple, graphical way. However, the potential applications of fingerprinting technology throughout grapegrowing and winemaking seem boundless.

A world without bentonite The dream of replacing bentonite, and all its associated costs, is approaching reality with discovery of a protease enzyme that removes heat-unstable protein, potentially saving the industry tens of millions of dollars a year.

Meeting the expectations of Chinese wine consumers Being proactive in seeking a better understanding of consumer preferences in China is already paying dividends, and the importance of those studies cannot be underestimated. Australia’s wine exports to China are currently worth more than $141 million, making it Australia’s fourth largest export market and, clearly, a major part of all of our futures.

What about 10 years from now?

Industry investment in research, development and extension has generated a huge return over the last 10 years, delivering solutions to industry that save time and money, while also providing opportunities to make money. The current rate of technological development must continue if we are to stay competitive and provide the products that markets demand.

In partnership with the GWRDC, the AWRI will continue to be at the forefront of that technological advancement, with benefits flowing to producers of small, hand-crafted, boutique wines, all the way through to our largest wine producers, creating a dynamic WVJ and sustainable future.

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Filtration of grape juice sediments: a new application for cross-flow filters

By Patrik Schonenberger1, Davide De Giorgi1 and Julien Ducruet1,2 1 Engineering School of Enology in Changins, Route de Duillier 50, Case postale 1148, 1260 NYON 1, Switzerland 2 Corresponding author: Dr Julien Ducruet. Email: julien.ducruet@eichangins.ch Introduction

G

rape juice for white wine is usually pre-clarified to a certain degree before undergoing alcoholic fermentation. Traditionally, this pre-clarification has been done by allowing particles to settle overnight and racking off the clear juice. The settled particles (sediments) are filtered with a filter press or a rotary vacuum filter to obtain higher yields of clear juice. These techniques have proved to be efficient, but contain inconveniences, such as the removal of filtration residues (including adjuvants like diatomaceous earth, perlite, etc.) which may pose environmental concerns (Montigaud 2010, Desenne 2004). Other important concerns in wineries are the initial dilution of the juice, little filter versatility, and labour hours for the cleaning procedure. Rotary vacuum filters have been studied extensively over the last 40 years. Some of the main consequences found for the filtered juices are linked to the use of the vacuum itself: decrease of carbon dioxide concentration and free sulfur dioxide levels, losses of some desired volatile compounds (e.g., primary aromas), and increased risk for juice oxidation (Riberau-Gayon et al. 1998).

The first cross-flow filters used in the wine industry were reported to have heavy impacts on the filtered wines. Such wines reached lower scores than wines made from rotary vacuum-filtered juices, as evaluated by professional tasting panels (Serrano and Paezold 1998). In recent studies with updated filter technology and improved membrane characteristics, no differences were found between wines from cross-flow filtered and rotary vacuum-filtered juices (Etienne and Benestau 2000, CuĂŠnat et al. 2003).

However, Vernhet et al. (1998) analysed wine components in the laboratory and reported lower levels of colloidal compounds in wines from cross-flow filtered juices compared with wines from rotary vacuum-filtered juices. CuĂŠnat et al. (2003) noted in a study that ceramic

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Figure 1. Cross-flow filter FX 3 (Bucher-Vaslin SA, France), equipped with an adapted module and the corresponding computer software, which allows the filtration of very dense and viscous juice sediments. membranes retained more colloids than membranes made with polysulfone.

Cross-flow filters with adapted modules for the filtration of dense sediments appeared on the market only recently. This new application for cross-flow filters offers the possibility to filter wines, juices, and juice sediments with one device. The present study was carried out as part of a Bachelor of Sciences thesis (De Giorgi 2010) at the School of Enology in Changins, Switzerland, to evaluate the impact of this new application on the quality and composition of the final wines. Crossflow filtration of juice sediments was compared with the standard filtration with a rotary vacuum filter.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Materials and methods Two experiments were carried out with two pre-clarification methods (gravitational settling and flotation).

After pre-clarification, sediments were filtered with a rotary vacuum filter and compared with the filtration from a cross-flow filter.

Filter technology A cross-flow filter FX 3 (Bucher Vaslin SA, France) was equipped with an adapted module and the corresponding computer software, which allows the filtration of very dense and viscous juice sediments.

The membrane was made of polyether V27N2

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sulfone with ‘spaghetti’-type capillaries (internal capillary diameter 3mm).

The filtration surface was 18m2 with 0.2µm pore size. Water (cold and hot) and compressed air were connected permanently for proper running of the filter. The computer software controlled all valve openings (wine, water and air) and supervised filtration, rinsing, and cleaning programming (Figure 1).

A rotary vacuum filter (VELO, Italy) with an integrated vacuum pump and a filtration surface of 8m2 was used as the standard procedure. Filtration media was Seitz® Perlite A (Pall SeitzSchenk Filter Systems GmbH, Germany).

Grape juice White Chasselas (Vitis vinifera L. cv Chasselas) juice from a commercial vineyard (Château d’Auvernier, Switzerland) was used. Enzymes (10mg/L Depectil Clarification FCE®, Martin Vialatte) and SO2 (80mg/L) were added to the juice before the application of the treatments. The fraction of the juice that was floated before filtration received 200mg/L gelatin (proVgreen Extra®, Martin Vialatte) prior to flotation, in addition to the enzymes and

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the SO2. No other product was added to the juice. One fraction of the juice was pre-clarified overnight by gravitational settling at ambient temperature (16°C). A second fraction was preclarified by flotation, using a Turboflot ECO 5000 (Kunzmann and Hartmann, Germany) with an average flow rate of 7500L/h. Flotation gas was nitrogen.

The sediments of both pre-clarification methods were then filtered using both cross-flow and rotary vacuum filtration.

Inherent to rotary vacuum filtration, the first fraction of the juice was diluted and not used for the winemaking.

separately with 0.2g/L Vitilevure Quartz (Saccharomyces cerevisiae galactose, Station Oenotechnique de Champagne, France). For the malolactic fermentation, 0.01g/L Vitilactic F (Martin Vialatte, France) was added to the wines. SO2 at a rate of 50mg/L was added after malolactic fermentation, and the wines were then stored at 2°C for a period of six weeks for physical stabilisation. Wines were pre-filtered with AF100 filter pads (Filtrox AG, Switzerland) and, before bottling, were sterile filtered with AF130 filter pads (Filtrox AG, Switzerland).

Winemaking Special care was taken to use only juice fractions with the same sugar levels (total soluble solids) before and after filtration. After filtration, wines were replicated three times in stainless steel tanks (each containing 200L of juice). Standard procedures for white Chasselas wine production in Switzerland were applied, and attempts were made to keep the temperatures identical in all tanks, i.e., alcoholic fermentation at 18°C and malolactic fermentation at 16°C. For the alcoholic fermentation, all tanks were inoculated

Chemical analysis The sugar content of the juice was measured with a standard refractometer. Alcohol content, titratable acidity, tartaric acid, malic acid, lactic acid, and volatile acidity were analysed with a WineScanTM (FOSS Analytical, Hilleroed, Denmark) which uses Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. The FTIR analysis was carried out with the clear fraction of the juice after centrifuging the samples for 10 minutes at 5000rpm. Samples were also centrifuged for calculating the proportion of dry matter in the total

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Table 1. Chemical analyses of the initial juice after pre-clarification by gravitational settling and flotation.

Juice analysis

total soluble solids (Brix)

Titratable acidity (g/L)

pH

Dry matter (% of total volume)

After gravitational settling

19.1

7.10

3.29

8.78

After flotation

19.1

7.30

3.22

28.25

volume. The volume of the centrifuge deposit was divided by the initial total volume to obtain the percentage of dry matter.

Statistical analysis Data were subjected to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and F-test. The coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated to obtain the relative percentage of the standard deviation (Excel 2007, Microsoft, Redmond, WA).

Sensory evaluation The bottled wines were stored for three months before being exposed to sensory evaluation by an expert panel. Two panels of 24 and 16 judges, respectively, were present at two tasting sessions. Quantitative Descriptor Analysis profile (QDA®) with 10 different terms was employed to describe the wines.

Results and discussion Chemical analyses of the initial juices are shown in Table 1 (total soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, and dry matter as a percentage of the total volume). The two types of sediments obtained by flotation and gravitational settling were distinctly different: sediments from flotation were denser and more viscous than sediments from gravitational settling (28.25% versus 8.78% dry matter of total volume, Table 1). Both filtration techniques cleared the juice to a very low but comparable level of suspended material (<1.00% dry matter of total volume, data not shown). A temperature rise of 6°C was observed in the juice during cross-flow filtration (data not shown) and needs some consideration. Similar differences for input and output temperatures for cross-flow filtered wines have been

reported previously in comparative studies (Ducruet et al. 2006). Cross-flow filtration may negatively affect a juice with a higher input temperature. It is preferable to conduct the filtration with an initial juice temperature below 16°C to reach a maximum temperature of 22°C at the output side of the filter.

The chemical analyses of the finished wines showed no significant differences for alcohol content, acidity levels, and volatile acidity (Tables 2 and 3).

Significantly lower absorbance at 280nm was observed in wines made from rotary vacuum-filtered juices compared with those from cross-flow filtered juices (Tables 2 and 3). The absorbance at 280nm is an indication for total polyphenols in the juice. If rotary vacuum filtration caused more polyphenol oxidation than crossflow filtration (Riberau-Gayon et al.

1998), one portion of these oxidised

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Table 2. Chemical analyses of the final wines made from juice obtained by gravitational settling. Juice was filtered, vinified, stabilised, and stored for three months in the bottle.

Wine analysis

Alcohol (% volume)

Tartatic acid (g/L)

Malic acid (g/L)

Lactic acid (g/L)

Acetic acid (g/L)

Volatile acidity (g/L)

Absorbance (280 nm)

Chromtic intensity (absorbance 420 nm)

Juice obtained by gravitational settling Rotary vacuum filter

10.9

1.73

0.41

1.94

0.23

0.42

5.267

0.143

Cross-flow filter

11.1

1.70

0.47

2.25

0.18

0.42

6.000

0.154

significance CV %

ns

ns

ns

ns

ns

ns

**

ns

3.05

3.62

4.45

3.77

21.25

3.09

2.33

19.24

*, **, ***, ns: Main effects significant at P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.001, or not significant, respectively.

Table 3. Chemical analyses of the final wines made from juice obtained by flotation. Juice was filtered, vinified, stabilised, and stored for three months in the bottle.

Wine analysis

Alcohol (% volume)

Tartaric acid (g/L)

Malic acid (g/L)

Lactic acid (g/L)

Acetic acid (g/L)

Volatile acidity (g/L)

Absorbance (280 nm)

Chromatic intensity (absorbance 420 nm)

Juice obtained by flotation Rotary vacuum filter

11.3

1.67

0.48

2.05

0.28

0.47

5.650

0.223

Cross-flow filter

11.2

1.65

0.51

2.18

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*, **, ***, ns: Main effects significant at P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.001, or not significant, respectively.

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F I L T R A T I ON

suggested that other factors than the application of the treatments may have influenced these data (Table 3).

The QDA profiles of the tasting panels showed few differences in the final wines (Figures 2 and 3). Cross-flow filtration of juice sediments produced wines with less intense odours and more pronounced acidity levels compared with wines from rotary vacuum-filtered juice sediments.

Conclusion

Figure 2. Quantitative Descriptor Analysis profile (QDA®) of the final wines made with juice obtained by gravitational settling (*, **, ***: Main effects significant at P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.001). polyphenols might have flocculated and immediately filtered out of the juice, which did lower total polyphenols in rotary vacuum-filtered juices. The portion of the remaining oxidised polyphenols (indicated by chromatic intensity) was not different in both filtration techniques, if the juice was

obtained by gravitational settling (Table 2). On the other hand, if the juice was obtained by flotation, the portion of the oxidised polyphenols (indicated by chromatic intensity) and acetic acids were increased in rotary vacuumfiltered juices (Table 3). However, a high CV of 18.62% and 33.3%, respectively,

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Further studies need to be done to better understand the behaviour of the juices and finished wines over time after using cross-flow filter technology.

Acknowledgements The project was conducted as part of Davide De Georgi’s Bachelor of Science thesis, which was supervised by Dr Julien Ducruet. We greatly appreciated the technical assistance of M. Droz Frédérique (Château d’Auvernier, Switzerland) and M. Erik Dobrovolski (Bucher Vaslin SA, France).

References Cuénat, P.; Lorenzini, F. and Bregy, C.A. (2003) Comparaison de membranes en céramique et polysulfone pour la microfiltration tangentielle des vins. Revue Suisse de Viticulture, Arboriculture, Horticulture 35(6):110-119.

DeGiorgi, D. (2010) Etude de la filtration tangentielle des bourbes comparée aux techniques existantes. BS Thesis, Engineering School of Enology in Changins, Switzerland.

Desenne, A. (2004) Les filtrations: une pollution différente selon le typ de filtre. Chambre d’agriculture de la Gironde service vigne et vin. http://www.matevi-france.com/welcome_menu. asp?tp=choix_experimentation [accessed 10/02/2010] Ducruet, J.; Silvestri, A.-C. and Hyppenmeyer, P. (2006) Etude comparative de différents filtres

tangentiels en œnologie. Revue Suisse de Viticulture, Arboriculture, Horticulture 38(5):297-302.

Chimie du vin stabilisation et traitements. Edition Dunod: 383-427.

Etienne, F. and Benestau, F. (2000) Filtration tangentielle: impact sur la qualité des vins. Revue des Œnologues 27(96):13-15.

Serrano, M. and Paetzold, M. (1998) Incidence des filtrations sur la composition chimique et les qualités organoleptiques des vins. Journal International des sciences de la vigne et du vin. Traitements physiques des moûts et des vins. Filtration. N° hors série. pp 53-57.

Montigaud, I. (2010) Les terres de filtration pourraient finir en compost. Réussir Vigne. N°164: 35.

Riberau-Gayon, P.; Glories, Y.; Maujan, A. and Dubourdieu, D. (1998) La clarification des vins par filtration et centrifugation. Traité d’œnologie. Vol 2.

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Impact of different closures on intrinsic sensory wine quality and consumer preferences

By Paulo Lopes1*, Isabel Roseira1, Miguel Cabral1, Cédric Saucier2, Philippe Darriet2, Pierre-Louis Teissedre2 and Denis Dubourdieu2 1 Amorim & Irmãos, S.A., Research & Development, Rua de Meladas 380, 4536-902 Mozelos VFR, Portugal 2 UMR1219 Oenologie, Faculté d'Oenologie - ISVV, 210 Chemin de Leysotte, CS 50008, 33882 Villenave d'Ornon France. *Corresponding author. Email: pdl@net.sapo.pt Introduction

F

or nearly 400 years, natural cork stoppers were the standard by which wine was packaged, shipped, and presented to consumers.

However, in the 1990s, the increasing awareness among consumers of problems associated with natural cork, such as ‘cork taint’, has encouraged wine producers to seek alternative closures, such as synthetic closures and screwcaps. Although the market share has been eroded since the mid-1990s, cork stoppers still seal around 70% of the 18 billion wine bottles produced per year, while 15% and 20% of bottled wines are sealed with synthetic closures and screwcaps, respectively (Bates 2010).

The wine industry still expresses some hesitation with alternative closures, due to the evidence that cork stoppers have the most appropriate properties to seal wine bottles, which contrasts with the less-than-ideal barrier properties of synthetic closures and screwcaps (Godden et al. 2005). Since the cork industry has enhanced its reliability in delivering untainted corks in recent years, the perception and status of cork stoppers has improved, which contributed to slowing the movement towards screwcaps and synthetic closures.

Aesthetic considerations and brand image are often among the major selling points for wines, which must be taken into account to ensure consumer acceptance (Mueller and Lockshin 2008). Although closure choice is, theoretically, a technical decision based on its sealing properties, wine producers are also influenced by the players in the marketplace and consumers preferences. In addition, sustainability and environmental credentials associated with each closure seem, nowadays, to also influence wine producers’ closure choice, although it is not clear how wine consumers perceive and value the environmental friendliness of each closure.

This article aims, primarily, to resume the extensive work carried out by the

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Figure 1. Kinetics of oxygen ingress through different closures into commercial bottles stored horizontally over 36 months. Error bars represent the standard deviation of four replicates.

Faculty of Enology of Bordeaux and also by the Amorim R&D department on the barrier properties of different wine closures, especially in the determination of their oxygen transmission rates and evaluating its impact on the flavour, colour and sensory properties of wines post-bottling. The results contributed to elucidating the role of oxygen on wine development during the post-bottling period, and determining the importance of bottling and closure technologies for this phenomenon. Secondly, a brief summary is presented of recent studies about the importance of closures on wine extrinsic attributes, which highlights both the trade’s and consumers’ opinions, and attitudes toward closures and how this can affect their wine purchase decision.

impermeable materials, and their sealing properties can lead to mass transfer of various small molecules, such as oxygen (Lopes et al. 2007, Lopes et al. 2011).

The primary function of a closure as a part of wine packaging is to ensure a good seal, preventing sensory deterioration of the wine, providing barriers to moisture, oxygen, carbon dioxide and other gases, as well as flavours and aromas (Risch 2009).

Unlike the glass bottle, not all closures are

Oxygen transmission rates of closures Lopes et al. (2005) optimised a nondestructive (i.e., a single bottle can be analysed without compromising the closure seal) colourimetric method to measure oxygen ingress into wine bottles.

This method infers oxygen ingress through closures by direct colourimetric scan of colourless wine bottles (375mL) containing indigo carmine solutions. The solutions gradually change colour from yellow to indigo as oxygen reacts with the reduced indigo carmine. The method was developed to allow the calculation of the oxygen ingress rate through closures, and the amount of oxygen contained in the closure; the effect of oxygen inserted at bottling was not, initially, taken into account.

Figure 1 shows the kinetics of oxygen ingress through different closures into wine bottles stored horizontally over 36 months.

It can be observed that only the control (bottle sealed by flame) was completely airtight, while other closures allowed

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oxygen transmission into bottles. Oxygen ingress through cylindrical closures was much more important in the first month than in the following months of storage.

This latter period was extremely dependent on the oxygen barrier properties of each closure (Lopes et al. 2006).

‘Technical’ cork stoppers (1+1 and microagglomerate) exhibited a low level of oxygen transmission (0.1-0.4µL per day).

In contrast, synthetic closures - Nomacorc classic and Supremecorq - exhibited the highest oxygen transmission (6µL and 13µL per day, respectively), reaching the limit of quantification of the method (2.5mL of oxygen) within 140 and 290 days, respectively. For natural corks, oxygen rates decreased over time (1.0-6.0µL per day), being totally residual after the first 12 months of storage (0.1-0.8µL per day).

The apparent ingress of oxygen through saran tin screwcap was substantially higher during bottling than in the following storage period. This appeared to be due to the insertion of oxygen contained within the screwcap in the bottle headspace at the time of sealing. After bottling, the screwcaps allowed the ingress of consistent low amounts of oxygen (0.1-0.3µL per day) (Lopes et al. 2006).

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Main routes and sources of oxygen ingress into bottles Using the colourimetric method, an experiment was conducted to elucidate the main routes of oxygen ingress through a synthetic closure, Nomacorc classic, a natural cork and a microagglomerate cork closure, into bottled wine (Lopes et al.

2007). These studies used a polyurethane resin, which is highly impermeable to oxygen, to cover different parts of the exposed surface of the closures in bottles.

In addition, the fully covered bottles were also stored under argon atmosphere in order to prevent any contact with atmospheric oxygen. Therefore, only oxygen contained in closures (able to ingress into bottles) was measured.

A schematic to illustrate the closure portions covered and storage conditions by the different treatments is given in Figure 2 (see page 36).

For the synthetic closures, the normal (without any coverage) and those sealed with a polyurethane ring in the closureglass interface did not differ significantly in oxygen level, reaching the limit of quantification of the colourimetric method after eight months of storage.

The synthetic closures fully covered and stored under argon allowed a significantly

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lower amount of oxygen ingress than the previous treatments, which essentially occurred during the first month of storage (Figure 2). The data clearly indicates that atmospheric oxygen essentially permeates throughout the synthetic closures.

The oxygen levels in bottles sealed with microagglomerate corks is seemingly unaffected by the presence of the polyurethane resin and storage under argon. This data seems to show the main source of oxygenation of wine bottles sealed with microagglomerate cork is the oxygen within the closure’s internal structure, which is released into bottles essentially during the first months of storage. Atmospheric oxygen entering through the cork-glass interface or through the cork is negligible.

Natural cork stoppers were also unaffected by the presence of the polyurethane resin during 38 months of storage. Therefore, this data indicates that oxygen within natural cork diffuses out of the closure at decreasing rates through the first 12 months of storage. However, the levels of oxygen in bottles sealed without coverage were slightly higher, but statistically not significant, than those sealed with a polyurethane ring in the

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closure-glass and fully covered stored bottles. This trend suggested that the cork–glass interface might be a residual secondary route for oxygen permeation, mainly after the first year of storage, but given the high variation within all treatments, this cannot be conclusively deduced.

Figure 2. The effect of polyurethane varnish coverage of natural cork, microagglomerate and synthetic closure on the oxygen entry in wine bottles during 38 months’ horizontal storage at 20 ± 1°C. Error bars represent the standard deviation of four replicates.

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Importance of oxygen inserted at bottling compared with oxygen transmission rates of closures Recently, the colourimetric method was re-optimised in order to allow the calculation of not only the oxygen ingress rate through closures and oxygen contained in the closure, but also the amount of oxygen introduced at bottling.

Using this method, the total oxygen entered into bottles during bottling (under vacuum -0.4 to -0.2 bar) and throughout storage was measured. The data allowed the development of non-linear models to predict the amount of oxygen entered at bottling, and oxygen inserted into the bottle due to the closure. Figure 3 represents the total amount of oxygen introduced into wine bottles sealed under different closures stored horizontally over a shelf-life scenario of 36 months.

The data indicates that the oxygen introduced at bottling is the major source of oxygenation, representing, regardless the type of closure, around 1mL of oxygen (~2mg/L in a 750mL bottle, which can result in a decrease of sulfur dioxide levels by 10mg/L). Therefore, the amount of oxygen inserted at bottling represents around 60% of the total amount of oxygen after 36 months of storage in bottles sealed with microagglomerate and natural corks, while oxygen contained in corks account for ~40%, being the remaining amount (in natural corks) due to the atmospheric oxygen entering through the closure-glass interface. Bottling contributes heavily to the total amount of oxygen entering bottles sealed under both saranex and saran tin screwcaps, representing, respectively, 60% and 85% of the total amount of oxygen over 36 months. The remaining amount corresponds to atmospheric oxygen that permeates throughout the different liners.

In contrast, bottling only represents 16% of the total amount of oxygen in bottles sealed with Nomacorc over 36 months, while oxygen contained in-closure and oxygen permeating throughout it accounts for 20% and 65%, respectively. These figures clearly show that oxygen inserted at bottling is the most important source of oxygenation of bottles sealed under cork stoppers and screwcaps, while for synthetic closures oxygen permeating throughout the closure is the major one, although its relative importance decreases with shorter shelf-lives.

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Premium Estate Bottlers Figure 3. Total oxygen introduced into wine bottles sealed with different closures stored horizontally over 36 months. The values include the oxygen inserted at bottling (under vacuum -0.4 to -0.2 bar); oxygen within closure and released into bottles; and oxygen inserted through permeable closure over time.

Permeation of volatile compounds through closures The barrier properties of closures are not exclusive to oxygen; other exogenous gases and volatile compounds seem to be able to permeate throughout some closures into bottled wines. This raised important questions about aerial wine contamination after bottling and which closures can provide an effective seal to wine bottles. This relatively unexploited field of research was assessed

by Lopes et al. (2011a). Wine-model bottled solutions sealed with microagglomerate, natural cork and synthetic Nomacorc classic closures were individually stored in an atmosphere with deuteriumlabelled 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (d5-TCA) (32mg/dm3 of air) used as exogenous aerial contaminant. During 36 months of storage, d5-TCA was essentially retained in the outer portions of natural and microagglomerate closures, preventing the migration of this compound into bottled wine-model solutions (Figure 4, see page 38). This data indicates that cork stoppers are effective barriers to the transmission of exogenous aerial volatile compounds (Capone et al. 2003). Conversely, d5-TCA penetrated throughout synthetic closures and contaminated the wine (Figure 4, see page 38).

More recently, the authors have also shown that screwcaps with permeable liners, such as saranex, can also allow the permeation of exogenous volatile compounds into bottles (Lopes et al. 2011b).

Therefore, it can be deducted that closures favouring oxygen and air permeation can also allow the ingress of other exogenous volatile compounds, which under some storage conditions, can negatively affect the intrinsic sensory properties of bottled wines. This aspect of closure performances is relatively unknown to the wine industry, however, it seems to be critical, given the primary role of wine packaging is to provide consistent and effective sealing qualities to ensure the perfect protection of bottled wines.

Impact of oxygen dissolved at bottling and transmitted through closures on the composition and sensory properties of a Sauvignon Blanc There have been several studies assessing the influence of oxygen barrier properties of different closures on wine development after bottling (Godden et al. 2001, Skouroumounis et al. 2005, Lopes et al. 2009, Ugliano et al. 2009). Given their relatively high oxygen permeability, synthetic closures promote the wine’s development towards oxidation faster than the other closures.

In contrast, reductive off-flavours have been reported to happen more frequently in wines sealed under screwcap, which is argued to be related to their low oxygen permeability compared with other closures (Skouroumounis et al. 2005, Lopes et al. 2009, Ugliano V2 7N 2

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Figure 4. Levels of exogenous d5-TCA in bottled wine-model solutions sealed with different closures during 36 months.

Values per each analysis point and per closure are the means of five replicates.

et al. 2009). However, some authors consider that reductive offflavours are only an expression of winemaking procedures and wine chemical composition; appropriate corrective action in the winery or vineyard should eliminate the problem (Godden et al.

2005).

Volatile sulfur compounds are often being held responsible for reduced â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;off-flavourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; characters, and also for typifying the scents of some varietal wines, such Sauvignon Blanc. Longchain polyfunctional thiols, such as 3-Mercatohexanol (3MH) and 4-mercapto-4-methyl-2-pentanone (4MMP), display a remarkable effect on the typical box-tree and tropical fruit aroma of wines.

In contrast, short-chain thiols, sulfides, disulfides, thioesters and heterocyclic compounds can spoil the wines with unpleasant aromas of onion, garlic, cooked cabbage, rotten eggs, rubber or putrefaction. These reactions can be regulated by the oxygen, which after bottling is independent of the operation itself, and also from the barrier properties of closures. Between 2005-2008, the Faculty of Enology of Bordeaux conducted a 24-month Sauvignon Blanc trial to assess the effect of oxygen dissolved at bottling and the specific oxygen barrier properties of closures on its aromatic composition, colour and sensory properties (Lopes et al. 2009). A 2004 unoaked Sauvignon Blanc wine, free of any fault, was bottled with eight sealing systems. The wine was then stored over 24 months under cellar conditions. Various chemical, colourimetric and sensory tests were carried out at 48 hours, and two, 12 and 24 months, analysing five replicates per type of closure at each time point.

Figure 5 presents the 24-month sensory and compositional analysis results for eight different sealing technologies in the trial on a principal component analysis (PCA). This technique facilitates the visualisation of the differences and similarities between wines sealed under different closures. Wine compositional parameters and sensory attributes at 24 months, dissolved oxygen at bottling and oxygen transfer

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Figure 5. Bi-plot of principal components analysis of the sensory and compositional attributes of a Sauvignon Blanc bottled wine sealed under eight different sealing systems for 24 months of storage. The eight wines are represented as larger symbols, with the sensory and compositional variables represented by small orange and blue small circles, respectively.

Compositional attributes: 3MH = 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol; 4MMP = 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one; H2S = hydrogen sulfide; [O2] bottling = oxygen dissolved at bottling; closure OTR = oxygen transfer rates.

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rates of closure variables that display a strong relationship with each other, are clustered close together in Figure 5. The wines plotted far from the origin were highest in those variables situated in close proximity.

The results showed that poor oxygen management at bottling and the different closures generated a Sauvignon Blanc wine with different compositional and sensory properties after 24 months of storage. The bottle ampoule (hermetic system) and saran tin screwcap were primarily separated by the high concentrations of antioxidant (ascorbic acid and sulfur dioxide) and low colour development.

The wine was also highest in pleasant 3MH, 4MMP. These wines rated high in sensory freshness and aromatic intensity, but also in reductive characters, which was associated with high levels of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The wines rated with the highest fruit intensity developed under natural cork, but also with saranex screwcap, which was able to mitigate reduced-like aromas, i.e., levels of H2S presented by screwcap in wines, which were not high enough to spoil the wine. In contrast, wines with oxidised characters developed under synthetic closures presented in the bottom left quadrant, where the wines showed the highest OD 420nm, b*, c* and sotolon concentration. The microagglomerate cork was further discriminated on the basis of its oxygen content at bottling.

Both agglomerate and colmated corks were close to the origin, presenting intermediary levels of chemical compounds and balanced sensory attributes.

The Sauvignon Blanc wine style evolution is consistent with the different oxygen content at bottling, and with the different oxygen transfer rates of closures. Wines displaying the highest oxidised characters, high colour development (high OD 420nm, c*, b*) and high concentration of oxidative compounds, such as sotolon (spicy, nutty aromas), are consistent with those either submitted to high oxygenation at bottling or those sealed under closures with high oxygen transmission rates (OTR). Closures with low OTR, such as natural cork, colmated and saranex screwcap, generated fresh tropical fruit wines with a relatively balanced concentration of varietal thiols, antioxidant compounds and colour development. Under hermetic conditions or with very low OTR, wines presented high levels of H2S, which were responsible for the strong reductive ‘rotten egg’ and ‘putrefaction’

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characters detected in wines sealed in bottle ampoule and saran tin screwcap.

This study, together with the results of previous research, indicate that the combination of bottling conditions and oxygen transfer rates of different closures have a significant effect on compositional and sensory properties of wines during post-bottling. The different style evolution generated by different closures was significant and probably strong enough to have an impact on the consumer’s liking of this wine. O’Brien et al. (2009) have shown that differences in sensory properties of a Semillon wine generated by different closures and detected by panellist experts, were strong enough to be perceived by Australian consumers and impact on their enjoyment and liking of the product. From this study, it becomes clear that specific consumer segments react negatively to the presence of TCA, oxidation and, mainly, to the presence of reductive characters. These results emphasise the importance of oxygen management at bottling, and the barrier properties of closures. These variables can optimise wine’s intrinsic sensory properties and, therefore, maximise consumer preferences. However, wine is a credence product; consumers cannot ascertain its sensory intrinsic properties during purchase. Therefore, the consumer relies on wine’s extrinsic cues, such as packaging, to obtain credible information related to the quality of the product (Lockshin and Hall 2003).

Importance of closures on wine’s extrinsic attributes Extrinsic attributes of packaging, such as closure, bottle colour and shape, and label type and colour, are generally considered as supporting, rather than dominant wine cues, such as price, brand, variety, and country/ region (Mueller and Lockshin 2008).

Nevertheless, several studies have shown that the type of closure adds direct value to the look of the product and is considered by most consumers as a direct reflection of the quality of the wine, playing an important role during situational purchase decisions (Chaney 2000, Marin et al. 2007, Marin and Durham 2007, Barber et al. 2008).

While synthetic corks and screwcaps seem to be functional alternatives to cork stoppers, they create other problems, such as poor brand image. If a wine is selected from a wine list and the type of closure does happen to be a screwcap or synthetic, the consumer is likely to assume that he or she has selected a lower quality wine, even if he W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

or she had paid a premium for the bottle (Barber et al. 2008).

Several market studies have shown that wine consumers in countries such as Australia, France, UK and US, rated wine sealed with cork stoppers as the most preferred choice, mainly for special occasions, gift giving, and dinner parties (Bleibaum et al.

2005, Penn 2007). While French and American consumers always prefer wines sealed under cork regardless of the situation use, Australians and UK consumers with a longer history of alternatives use, were less influenced by negative connotations of synthetic and screwcaps.

Marin et al. (2007) reported that tasting the wine before purchase has a strong impact on consumers’ purchase decisions, regardless of the type of closure. Yet, consumers’ ratings on wine quality decreased for wines sealed with screwcaps when the closure information was given. Furthermore, consumers expected to pay significantly less for wines sealed under screwcap, which indicates that closure type impacts on the expected price, both directly and indirectly, through consumer perception of quality (Marin and Durham 2007).

Differences in consumer preferences towards closures reflect the prices of wine in-market. It was observed in a hedonic price analysis of red wine scanner data from two US markets (Chicago and Tampa) that cork-sealed wine brands displayed a US$2.04 premium price over brands finished with alternative closures (Mueller and Szolnoki 2010).

Key messages In summary, this paper shows, together with the results of other research, that wine matrix composition combined with bottling conditions and different closure barrier properties have a significant impact on the sensory intrinsic quality of wine presented to consumers. Operations and closure technologies that promote high and continuous atmospheric air exposure, at bottling and throughout storage, accelerate the wine development towards oxidation, irreversibly negatively affecting wine sensory properties. Therefore, maintaining low levels of oxygen exposure during the wine storage lifecycle is extremely important, because storage conditions, shelf-lives and the moment of consumption cannot be fully controlled by the different players of the wine supply chain. Strict oxygen management before and at bottling, combined with the use of a V27N2

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closure with low OTR and effective barrier properties, have an important contribution to the preservation of the varietal characters and keep the deleterious sulfides at residual levels.

Differences between wine's intrinsic sensory properties strongly influence consumers’ preference and enjoyment of the product and, therefore, play an important role in the re-purchase of wines. In addition, the type of closure seems to be a relevant marketing tool as a part of wine’s extrinsic attributes, conveying visual, audible and tactile information to the consumer about a product. Numerous studies showed that cork is still ingrained in the minds of many consumers as the status quo, while screwcaps and synthetics introduce a cognitive dissonance, creating poor brand image and, therefore, negatively influencing the purchase and price.

References Barber, N. and Almanza, B.A. (2006) Influence of wine packaging on consumers’ decision to purchase. Journal of Food Business Research. 9(4):83-98.

Barber, N.; Meager, M. and Kolyesnikova, N. (2008) A new twist on tradition: sealing the experience to US wine consumers. Journal of Culinary Science & Technology 6(4):325-342.

Bates, J. (2010) A corking argument: special report wine closures. The IWSR Drinks Record 2010, June, 27-29.

Bleibaum, R.N.; Lattey, K.A. and Francis, I.L. (2005) Conjoint research for consumer perception of wine closure options and their impact on purchase interest in the United States and Australia. Presented at 6th Pangborn Sensory Science Symposium, Harrogate, UK, available at: http://www.tragon. com/articles/2005PangbornWineClosures.pdf (accessed 22 January 2012).

Capone, D.; Skouroumounis, G.K. and Sefton, M.A. (2002) Permeation of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole through corks closures in wine bottles. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. 8:196199.

Chaney, I.M. (2000) External search effort for wine. International Journal of Wine Marketing (12):5-21.

Godden, P.; Francis, L.; Field, J.; Gishen, M.; Coulter, A.; Valente, P.; Høj, P. and Robinson, E. (2001) Wine bottle closures: physical characteristics and effect on composition and sensory properties of a Semillion wine. Performance up to 20 months post-bottling. Aust. J. Grape and Wine Res. 7:62-105.

Godden, P.; Lattey, K.; Francis, L.; Gishen, M.; Cowey, G.; Holdstock, M.; Robinson, E.; Waters, E.; Skouroumounis, G.; Sefton, M.; Capone, D.; Kwiatkowski, M.; Field, J.; Coulter, A.; D’Costa, N. and Bramley, B. (2005) Towards offering wine to the consumer in optimal condition – the wine, the closures and other packaging variables. A review of AWRI research examining the changes that occur in wine after bottling. Wine Ind. J 204:20-30.

Lockshin, L. and Hall, J. (2003) Consumer purchasing behaviour for wine: What we know and where we are going. Paper presented at International Wine Marketing Colloquium, July, Adelaide, Australia.

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Lopes, P.; Saucier, C. and Glories, Y. (2005) Non-destructive colourimetric method to determine the oxygen diffusion rate through closures used in winemaking. J. Agric. Food Chem. 53:6967-6973.

Lopes, P.; Saucier, C.; Teissedre, P.L. and Glories, Y. Impact of storage position on oxygen ingress through different closures into wine bottles.

J. Agric. Food Chem. 54:6741-6746.

Lopes, P.; Saucier, C.; Teissedre, P.L. and Glories, Y. (2007) Main routes of oxygen ingress through different closures into wine bottles. J. Agric. Food Chem. 55:5167-5170.

Lopes, P.; Silva, M.A.; Pons, A.; Tominaga, T.; Lavigne, V.; Saucier, C.; Darriet, P.; Teissedre, P.L. and Dubourdieu, D. (2009) Impact of oxygen dissolved at bottling and transmitted through closures on the composition and sensory properties of Sauvignon Blanc wine during bottle storage. J. Agric. Food Chem. 57:10,261-10,270.

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Lopes, P.; Marques, J.; Lopes, T.; Lino, J.; Coelho, J.; Álves C.; Roseira, I.: Mendes, A. and Cabral, M. (2011) Permeation of d5-2,4,6trichloroanisol via vapor phase through different closures into Wine Bottles. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. (62):2.

Lopes, P.; Marques, J.; Pimenta, M.; Alves, C.; Roseira, I.; Mendes, A. and Cabral, M. (2011) Sealing effectiveness of different type of closures to volatile phenols and hanisoles. In proceedings of the 34th World Congress of Vine and Wine OIV, 20-27 June 2011, Porto, Portugal.

Marin, A.B.; Jorgensen, E.M.; Kennedy, J.A and Ferrier, J. (2007) Effects of bottle closure type on consumer perception of wine quality. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 58(2):182-191.

Marin, A.B. and Durham, C. (2007) Effects of wine bottle closure type on consumer purchase intent and price expectation. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 58(2):192-201.

Mueller, S. and Lockshin, L. (2010) How important is wine packaging for consumers: On the reliability of measuring attribute importance with direct verbal and indirect visual method. Paper presented at 4th International Conference of the Academy of Wine Business Research, Siena (Italy), 17-19 July 2010, 1-19.

Mueller, S. and Szolnoki, G. (2010) Wine packaging and labelling – do they impact market prices? A hedonic price analysis of US scanner data.

Paper presented at 5th International Academy of Wine Business Research Conference, 8-10 February 2010, Auckland (NZ). 1-7.

O’Brien, V.; Francis, L. and Osidacz, P. (2009) Packaging choices affect consumer enjoyment of wines. Wine Industry J. 24(5):24-28.

Pen, C. (2007) Independent consumer research on closures. Wine Business Monthly. Available at: http://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/index. cfm?go=getArticle&dataId=47416 (accessed 27 January 2012).

Skouroumounis, G.K.; Kwiatkowski, M.J.; Francis, I.L.; Oakey, H.; Capone, D.; Duncan, B.; Sefton, M.A. and Waters, E.J. (2005) The impact of closure type and storage conditions on the composition, colour and flavour properties of a Riesling and a wooded Chardonnay wine during five years’ storage. Aust. J. Grape and Wine Res. 11:369-384.

Risch, S. (2009) Food packaging history and innovations. J. Agric. Food Chem. 57:8089-8092.

Ugliano, M.; Kwiatkowski, M.J.; Travis, B.; Francis, L.; Waters, E.J.; Herderich, M.J. and Pretorius, I.S. (2009) Post-bottling management of oxygen to reduce off-flavour formation and optimise WVJ wine style. Wine Industry J. 24(5):24-28.

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Some highlights from the 8th International Cool Climate Symposium

By Sonya Logan

T

he expansion of viticulture into increasingly cooler climates in response to global warming and growing consumer demand for wines from such environments would suggest that taking bets on how long it will be before Mongolia hosts an International Cool Climate Symposium (ICCS) might not be as far-fetched as what it might seem. UK-based wine writer and keynote speaker Jancis Robinson proferred this sentiment in her opening address to delegates at the 8th ICCS, held recently in Hobart.

As if to justify its hosting of the event, Hobart turned on its coolest maxima (15.4°C) and highest daily rainfall (29.8mm) for the month for the symposium’s welcome reception at the impressive Museum of Old and New Art and Moorilla Estate complex on 31 January. More befitting the season, the rain all but ceased and temperatures ranged from the late teens to early 20s for the main program, which was held at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, in the centre of the state’s capital, on 1 February, finishing with a viticulture colloquium on Saturday 4 February.

Robinson described how viticulture was expanding into cool climates that were new to winegrapes, with the Americas showing the “most dramatic examples of expansion into cooler climates”, led by Chile, but also in Argentina, California and Canada.

“Australia is likely to run out of options for new cooler regions a lot sooner than North and South America,” she said, adding that winegrapes were also being introduced into regions not previously explored for viticulture in South Africa and New Zealand. She said that while expansion into new cool regions in the Northern Hemisphere was not as significant due to appellation restrictions, people were venturing into regions that were yet to have an official appellation, such as in Austria. She also singled out England, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Japan and China for showing increasing promise for producing cool climate wines.

“The vine is creeping inexorable to the poles,” she noted.

In spite of the global expansion in

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From left, Matt Connaughton and Paul Smart, Pressing Matters; Stuart Cameron, Grapeworks; and Alexander Van Driel, Clover Hill Wines.

Jenny Polack, of Wine Whitch, with Richard Smart, of Smart Viticulture. cool climate viticulture, in her closing address, Robinson questioned the merits of promoting a wine’s cool climate origins for marketing purposes.

“As far as the world’s consumers go, a cool climate is not necessarily a positive.

As somebody who grew up in the north of England, shivered through every winter, (and) lives in a country where even now there are real challenges in getting grapes to ripen, I don’t think anyone in England boasts about its cool climate.

“In the US, the majority of the population lives in very cold climates.

Their local wine industries are probably struggling to ripen their own grapes, too.

“So, as far as the general consumer goes worldwide, I would be quite wary of plugging cool climate itself as though it’s magical and something that W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Jancis Robinson delivers her opening keynote address to the International Cool Climate Symposium. automatically is a positive. The message should be much more concentrated on the wines themselves than on the cool climate that produces them. Concentrate on the wine, unless you’re in a territory like Australia where there is a tension between cool climate producers and those in warmer areas,” Robinson said.

Australian cool climate pioneer vigneron Andrew Pirie provided context for the remainder of the symposium program during his opening session address, by reviewing the growth V27N2

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Julian Alcorso (left), of Winemaking Tasmania, with Fulvio Mattivi, of the Edmond Mach Foundation, Italy. in cool climate viticulture over the centuries throughout the world. He then raised a few eyebrows by stating that after ‘road testing’ various climatic indices - including mean January/July temperature (MJT), growing degree days (GDD) and biologically-effective day degrees (BEDD) - to categorise the climate of Tasmania, none had worked as well as the growing season temperature (GST) index (determined by taking the average temperature of each month for the seven months of a standard growing season and dividing it by seven). He had then applied GST to categorise wine regions in other parts of the world.

Cool climates, he said, fell between 14-16°C GST, as that range seemed to incorporate those regions that were acknowledged as producing the best cool climate grapes. He then proceeded to highlight the regions that fell into this category and the varieties grown there.

In session 2, which focussed on managing vineyard variability, Australian viticulturist Richard Smart, now based in the UK, reported on Pinot Noir experiments undertaken at Tamar Ridge, in Tasmania, which investigated the effect of variations at the bunch, vine and vineyard level on anthocyanin and tannins concentrations. While the experiments showed that berry size had no effect on either parameter, berryshrivel increased phenolics and tannins, while the backs of berries contained more anthocyanins and less tannin than the fronts. Assessments of the effect of ultraviolet radiation at the bunch level showed that grapes that received none increased their susceptibility to botrytis and had reduced anthocyanins and tannins.

Arguably the most remarkable outcome of the research presented by Smart was the degree of variation in chemical composition between bunches on the same vine, which he said was related to the size of bunches, and the V2 7N 2

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Catching up during the lunch break on the second day of the conference are (from left) Liz Waters, Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation; Kevin Powell, Department of Primary Industries – Victoria; and Peter Clingeleffer, CSIRO.

Pictured during the welcome ceremony for symposium delegates at the Museum of Old & New Art gallery at the Moorilla Estate winery and brewery complex at Berriedale, in Hobart, are (top, from left) Luke Johnston, The University of Adelaide; Catherine Da Silva; Sam Barry, Jim Barry Wines; and Jeremy Magyar, Ten Minutes by Tractor; and (bottom, from left) Tom Wallace, Brown Brothers; and Mara And Terry Doyle, of Elsewhere Vineyard, Tasmania. likely primordial development in the preceding summer and winter.

Smart said that the research had demonstrated that at the time of budbreak, some bunches were destined to make better wine than others due to the level of variability between them. He suspected more research would likely enable grapegrowers in the future to distinguish which bunches would make the better wine.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

The focus of session 3 was on the making and tasting of wine and included two more presentations on research carried out on Pinot Noir in Tasmania.

Anna Carew, from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, delivered findings from a trial which set out to determine the influence of yeast strains on the sensory properties of Pinot Noir, particularly phenolics. The trial evaluated several commerciallywww.w inebiz. com . au

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The planning committee behind the 8th International Cool Climate Symposium (from left) Keryn Nylander, Dan Johnson, Sheralee Davies, Graeme Lynch, Andrew Pirie, Conor van der Reest, Bob Dambergs, Dugald Close, Jo Jones and Richard Smart. Absent: Andrew Hood (chair), Jeremy Dineen and Markus Herderich.

control, cold macerate for four days at 4°C, extended post-ferment maceration (45 days), 20% juice run-off before fermentation, 20% juice run-off returned in two stages near the end of ferment, stems added back, and oak powder added. All treatments were inoculated with RC212, and submerged cap ferments carried out at 28°C. The trial showed that: extended maceration produced wines with high tannin and a high degree of colour stabilisation; the addition of stems increased wine tannin, but had a low ratio of pigmented to total tannin; juice run-off (saignee) produced wines higher in tannin and colour, but possibly favoured colour more; running of juice and returning it later during ferment (transfusion) gave wines with high tannin; cold maceration favoured colour extraction; and oak dust treatment may cause a slight reduction in tannin and pigment.

Sparkling wine from both the Old and New World was the theme of the final session on the first day of the symposium, which was kicked off by one of the world’s leading experts in sparkling wine production, Pierre-Yves Bournerias, of the Institut Œnologique de Champagne (IOC). Bournerias reported on a new technique that has been developed to manage or eliminate oxygen during disgorging. He said oxygen intake during disgorging could have negative effects on the sensory qualities of sparkling wines and varied from bottle to bottle from the same cuvée. He explained how three trials were carried out on the same cuvée during three days on the same disgorging line, which illustrated how the behaviour of foam influenced dissolved oxygen levels.

“When the foam in the bottle neck was full, almost no oxygen was left; if there was no foam, there was almost 2mg of dissolved oxygen in the wine,” he revealed.

He explained how the IOC had adapted a technique – known as jetting - from the brewing industry to sparkling wine production, whereby sulfited water is injected at high velocity into the bottle right after disgorging to trigger the formation of foam in the headspace. The foam prevents oxygen from coming in and throws out the oxygen potentially present in the headspace.

Bournerias showed how jetting significantly diminished the air intake at bottling, which led to improved sensory qualities compared with wines that were not subjected to jetting.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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From left, Tom and Sam Barry, of Jim Barry Wines, with Claudio Radenti, of Freycinet Vineyards. available strains of active dried yeasts: Saccharomyces cerevisiae (EC1118, RC212), Saccharomyces bayanus (AWRI 1176), a non-Saccharomyces sequential inoculation (Torulasporadelbruekii + EC1118) and a ‘wild’ sequential inoculation (EC1118).

Carew showed that the results from the micro-vinification trials did suggest that a yeast strategy may assist Pinot Noir makers to improve phenolics and colour stabilisation, but added that a better understanding was needed of the effect of the yeasts on tannins and aroma.

In a complementary presentation that followed, Bob Dambergs, of The Australian Wine Research Institute, summarised the results of a trial that looked at the effect of different maceration techniques on the tannin and pigment profiles of Pinot Noir. The trial involved the following treatments:

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New Zealand delegates, from left, Anton Groffen, Matua Valley Wines; Jim White and Nick Hunter, Cloudy Bay Vineyards; Darren Gare, Constellation NZ; and Murray Cook, Villa Maria Estate.

The initial results of a collaborative project between Plumpton College, in the UK, and the University of Reims, in Champagne, France, were presented

by Plumptonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Belinda Kemp, in which the effects of the separation of 12 different press fractions of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on musts and wines destined for sparkling wine were investigated to determine the variation in juice composition during the press cycle.

The research to date has shown that titratable acidity and proteins in the return press fractions, in particular, declines along the press cycle, while turbidity and pH increases. Kemp said these fractions were automatically included in sparkling wine bases, due to the way in which most bladder membrane presses operated. This suggested it would be valuable to separate grape must to produce four to five different batches of varying quality.

She said further work was under way to determine the proteins in the various press fractions, as these could have a significant effect on the foaming properties and ageing of wines.

Given that the trials to date had been carried out in 1t presses, commercialscale trials were also planned, Kemp said. Researchers were also considering whether there was a way of putting the juice from the return press into a separate tank, so that it could be excluded at the start (cuvĂŠe) or end (tailles) of the pressing cycle, she said.

The opening session of the second day of the symposium was solely dedicated to research from New Zealand with a focus on flavour and aroma outcomes.

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From left, Len Ibbotson, of Grape Vision, New Zealand; Tanya Rutan, of the University of Auckland; Gilli Lipscombe, of Home Hill Wines, Tasmania; and Paul Lipscombe, of Sailor Seeks Horse.

Brian Jordan, from Lincoln University, opened proceedings with findings from a study into the effects of ultraviolet-B on flavonoids, antioxidants, amino acids and methoxypyrazines, and the effects of row orientation on these parameters.

He explained how plants responded to UV-B exposure by producing a number of protective compounds, which ultimately determine the biochemical composition of grapes.

This response varied between varieties of the same species and within the same species, and was influenced by other environmental factors, such as light, temperature and water. These responses could affect the ageing of W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Linda Thomson (left), from the University of Melbourne, with Mary Retallack, of Retallack Viticulture. www.w inebiz. com . au

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From left, Helen Masters, Ata Rangi Vineyard, NZ; Clive Jones, Nautilus Estate, NZ; Glen Creasy, Lincoln University, NZ; and Nick Glaetzer, Frogmore Creek, Tasmania.

From left, wine consultant Nick Bulleid; Paul Townsend, Brown Brothers; and Mark Brewer, Skills Institute. white wines, polyphenolics (flavonols, anthocyanins and tannins), amino acids and protein content, aroma compounds (methoxypyrazines and thiols) and grape pathogens.

Experiments were conducted in the Lincoln University vineyard, near Christchurch, in which the composition of Sauvignon Blanc grapes from vines that either retained their leaves or were removed, and grapes screened to include or exclude UV-B and UV-A, were compared.

Leaf removal resulted in UV-B increasing flavonoid accumulation from veraison to harvest; when UV-B was excluded, no accumulation in flavonoids occurred. Leaf removal also resulted in increases in other antioxidants, such as glutathione, due to UV-B as well as the enzyme activity associated with the synthesis of these antioxidants. Jordan said although UV-B had no significant effect on nitrogenous compounds, such as amino acids, pathogenesis-related proteins and

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aroma compounds, this could differ in other varieties.

He said changes in berry skin characteristics, such as permeability, would also be induced by UV-B exposure, which could have implications for the application of skin contact in winemaking.

Exposure of grapes to UV-B could also reduce disease pressure, due to its direct effect on pathogens.

The final session on the second day of the symposium focussed on sustainability, and included a presentation by Kevin Ker, from Brock University, Canada, on the threat by growing populations of introduced ladybird species in wine regions around the world. When incorporated inadvertently with grapes at harvest, ladybirds produce a potent odorant that taints wine. Previous research has shown that wines fermented with ladybugs are characterised by peanut, asparagus/bell-pepper, earthy, herbaceous and bitter characters. Ker said around a million litres of wine was dumped W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

in Ontario in 2001, due the effect of ladybird taint.

Two species in particular - Harmonia axyridis and C. Septempunctata â&#x20AC;&#x201C; are reaching densities that pose significant challenges for the wine industry, particularly in the US, Canada, Denmark, Czech Republic, Germany, and Burgundy.

Problems are also suspected or anticipated in other regions where H. axyridis has invaded, including the UK, Washington State, Champagne, Italy, Greece, Argentina and Brazil.

Methods for dealing with ladybirds to date have focussed on repelling or excluding the beetle from vineyards and fruit during harvest, and on remediation of juice and wine affected by ladybug taint.

Insecticides have been the most common treatment, but issues with undesirable residues, phytotoxicity and wine quality limits their long-term use.

Ker said recent research had investigated what attracts and repels ladybirds to grapes, which included compounds in grapes themselves, the theory being that grape compounds attractive to ladybirds could be used to trap them, while repellent compounds could chase them away.

The results showed that some grapederived odorants offered some direction on suitable compounds for trapping or repelling ladybirds, but more research was needed. Furthermore, potassium metabisulfite (KMS), used in winemaking as an antioxidant and antimicrobial agent and sprayed on vines prior to harvest, was found to be effective in repelling H. axyridis to numbers below the sensory threshold, was relatively inexpensive, and had the advantage of not affecting the fermentation V27N2

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Other ICCS presentations The presentations highlighted in the main article and those listed below can be downloaded from the Winemaking Tasmania website: http://www.winetasmania.com.au/iccs/presentations Applied geomatics – connecting the dots between vine physiology wine quality and remote sensing Andy Reynolds, Brock University, Canada Vineyard variability in Marlborough, New Zealand; characterising spatial and temporal changes in fruit composition and juice quality in the vineyard Mike Trought, New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Climatic influences on vine hardiness – vine assessments and use of protection practices Kevin Ker, Brock University, Canada The role of indigenous yeast in the production of cool climate wine Michael Brajkovich, Kumeu River Wines, New Zealand

David Furer (left), of Sommelier Journal, US, with the chair of the ICCS organising committee Andrew Hood.

Influence of fruit-processing methods and ferment temperature on Sauvignon Blanc wine composition Claire Grose, New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research The nature of perceived complexity in wine Wendy Parr, Lincoln University A new world approach to sparkling wine Ed Carr, Accolade Wines

The role of cool climate viticulture in the preservation of national identity: the case for Champagne James Turton, Macquarie University Factors affecting the reaction kinetics of 3-MHA and 3MH in Sauvignon Blanc Mandy Herbst-Johnstone Why should New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wines be ‘drunk young’?

Olga Makhotkina, University of Auckland The impact of cropload and fruit exposure on rotundone concentration at commercial harvest in New Zealand Vitis Vinifera L. Syrah Gerard A. Logan, University of Auckland

Rod Chittenden (left), of the Eastern Institute of Technology, NZ, with Chris Foss, of Plumpton College, UK, whose organisation helped make a successful pitch for the UK to host the 9th International Cool Climate Conference in 2014. process or wine quality. But, Ker cautioned that there could be implications in adding KMS so close to harvest.

Session 7 on day 3 of the symposium looked at varieties and wine styles for cool climates and included a presentation by Henschke viticulturist Prue Henschke, in which she described some preliminary results from a project in which 122 dry Rieslings from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France and Slovakia were analysed for the effect of regional climate on aroma compounds. Rieslings from the 2010 vintage were assessed for geographic and climatic variation without bottle age, as was a series of vintages ranging from eight to 17 years to look at the progressive build up of trimethyl dihydronaphthalene (TDN) – the compound said to be responsible for the petrol or kerosene character in aged V2 7N 2

Four chemicals that influence the aroma of New Zealand Pinot Noir wine – ethyl octanoate, ethyle deconoate, phenethyl alchol and benzaldehyde Elizabeth Tomasino, Lincoln University Balancing the carbon ledger in the wine sector Karl Forsyth, The Australian Wine Research Institute Disease-resistant grape varieties for cool climates Stan Beurskens, Wijnbouwadvies Beurskens, Netherlands Aerated compost tea from immature compost suppresses grapevine powdery mildew and botrytis bunch rot Kathy Evans, Tasmania Institute of Agriculture, presented on behalf of Alice Palmer, of Renew Biological Fertilisers Alternative varieties for a cool climate Peter Dry, The Australian Wine Research Institute Riesling – the noble cool climate variety Wendy Stuckey, Chateau Ste-Michelle, US

Rieslings - from single vineyard sites over time.

In a blind tasting, a panel of tasters, in general, did not associate levels of TDN as negatively affecting on the aroma and flavour of the wine, with the levels of TDN seen as adding complexity to the wine.

Chemical analysis of the wines for the effects of the 2010 climate on TDN levels showed higher concentrations from regions with higher mean January temperatures, while lower levels were noted from regions W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Profiling Pinot Noir wine climates worldwide Tony Shaw, Brock University, Canada Why cool climate?...views from a producer at the coal face Ross Brown, Brown Brothers Using new media to deliver the cool climate message Robyn Lewis, VisitVineyards

Viticulture Colloquim Rootstock effects on Pinot Noir fruit composition with and without shoot thinning and lateral removal Glen Creasey for Craig Thomson, Lincoln University, New Zealand Chardonnay (Mendoza clone) fruit-set and berry size classes are affected by rootstock Glen Creasey for William Trew, Lincoln University, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc yield management in Marlborough, New Zealand, and the importance of measuring seasonal yield components Rob Agnew, Marlborough Wine Research Centre, New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Response to soil and leaf N application on vine N status and juice amino N concentrations in a Riesling vineyard in the upper Rhine Valley Bruno Holzapfel, National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, Charles Sturt University Evaluation of in-row cover cropping as a vineyard management tool Larry Bettiga, University of California, US Unlocking the secrets of terroir - quantification of soil mineralogy in vineyards Tony Hoare, Hoare Consulting The influence of leaf area:fruit weight ratio on timing of varietal phenology and maturation Amber Parker, Lincoln University and New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, Marlborough Wine Research Centre Pre-flowering defoliation reduces bunch compactness and rot losses in red and white grapes (Mark Krasnow, Eastern Institute of Technology, New Zealand Modelling harvest date and disease severity to forecast botrytis bunch rot risk in New Zealand and Australian vineyards Rob Beresford, New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Botrytis bunch rot observations following mechanical thinning Dion Mundy, New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, Marlborough Wine Research Centre Biological control of Botrytis cinerea in grapes Dean Metcalf, Biocontrol Australia

with increasing rainfall. When wines from the vintage series from different regions with the same winemaker were compared, cooler regions showed a slower increase in TDN with bottle age. TDN levels increased with age in wines sealed with a screwcap, which was seen as a positive attribute up to around the 150μg/L. “A lack of correlation between TDN levels and total phenolics is curious and warrants further investigation,” Prue WVJ Henschke noted. www.w inebiz. com . au

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BIOCHAR

Biochar in viticulture

By Hans-Peter Schmidt, Delinat Institute, Switzerland. Email: schmidt@delinat-institut.org

Biochar is a stable form of carbon with potential for use in carbon sequestration and in improving soil condition. Last year, biochar was applied to several vineyards across Europe following a five-year, largescale trial led by Hans-Peter Schmidt on a vineyard in Valais, Switzerland. The latest results suggest improved grape quality. However, biochar activation and soil and climatic conditions play a major role on the effects of biochar in the soil-plant system.

B

iochar is one of the oldest soil conditioners in the history of agriculture. The Amazon Basin, with its famous Terra Preta soils, is probably the best-known example. In the area, up to 500 years ago, a highly developed civilisation with a multi-million population was able to feed itself on poor, weathered soil thanks to manure-biochar composting in combination with a fairly closed nutrient cycle, a highly diverse mixed culture and agro-forestry. Though the Terra Preta culture is the main example, traditional farmers in many other regions of the world were well aware of biochar’s valuable properties.

We find evidence of the use of biochar in farming not only in Europe, but also in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, as well as North America.

Winegrape fruit condition & quality assessment.

In the last five years, it has been shown that biologicallyactivated biochar does have a positive impact on soil-plant systems, not only in the tropics, but in most soil types and climatic zones. While biochar improves water availability for plants and micro-organisms in dry or seasonally dry farming areas, it also plays a substantial role in areas with high rainfall, as it improves soil aeration, water infiltration and prevents nutrient leaching. Spectacular crop growth can be seen in extreme climates (both tropical and semi-desert) partly due to biochar’s buffering capacity to compensate for factors such as the lack of water in semi-deserts, washed-out nutrients and acidification in the tropics.

In temperate climates, however, the achievable increase in harvest is lower to non-existent due to the lack of the limiting elements, such as those listed above, that have to be compensated. In addition, the potential maximum growth of many plant species is easily reached in temperate zones through the use of fertiliser, irrigation and careful seed selection. Therefore, the advantage of biochar application in temperate climates is less evident based on crop growth but, rather, seen in plant quality improvement through optimising plant nutrition. The following benefits of biochar for its use in temperate climates and, therefore, also in viticulture are: • increase of plant resistance and, hence, reduction of fungicide spraying • stimulation of soil microbial activity and symbioses between plants and soil organisms • reduction in fertiliser use by optimising the supply of nutrients and limiting nutrient losses • improvement of taste and nutrient content • improvement of shelf-life and ageing quality • reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and groundwater pollution • carbon sequestration through substantial soil organic carbon increases.

Pest & disease management, review of spray programs & a range of diagnostic services for problem solving in the vineyard.

Principles of biochar use

viticultural advice

Scholefield Robinson provides a range of services to grape growers, including:

• • •

Managing productivity & quality.

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Review of vineyard business financials.

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Management & due diligence reviews.

Assistance with decision making (water purchase, grape contract negotiation).

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There are five principal properties of biochar that are important to understand in order to optimise its usage in viticulture. Depending on the soil condition and climatic situation of a given vineyard, some biochar properties are more relevant than others and, therefore, influence the development of strategies for its application and maximising its economic value.

Water-holding capacity (WHC) Due to its highly porous structure, biochar may hold enough water to equal up to five times its own weight. Biochar may accumulate water during rainy periods, and restore it to the roots and micro-organisms during the dry season. As water is

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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accumulated in tiny biochar particles, these particles constitute kinds of water hotspots within dry soils, permitting continued microbial activity and nutrient cycling. In lighter sandy soils, a nearly linear increase in the WHC can be seen with increasing biochar content. At 8 percent biochar in a sandy soil, WHC increases by an average of 60%. Even in peat substrates, biochar increases WHC by about 10%.

Alkaline hotspots Biochars are mostly alkaline with pH8-10. However, unlike chalk, biochar is not soluble. Therefore, the liming effect is not so much indicated by an overall increase of the soil pH, but by the presence of millions of alkaline hotspots dispersed in the soil. This is interesting in an acidic milieu, as it allows biochar to establish different pH in one soil, enhancing mineral and microbial dynamics. However, as vineyards are planted mostly in alkaline soil, this effect - in most cases - is of little importance.

Soil aeration The light, porous structure of biochar helps to decrease soil bulk density.

Biochar improves not only water infiltration, but also aeration of the soil. Better aeration favours an aerobic microbial milieu, which creates better conditions for nutrient dynamics and disfavours greenhouse gas emissions.

This biochar property is especially relevant for heavy and compressed soils.

Adsorption capacity Biochar has a high surface area, ranging from 200-500m2 per gram. Its multiple folded surfaces act like poles of microscopic batteries, as most of them capture positively-charged ions (cation) and some negatively-charged (anions).

Biochar has at once very high cation and anion exchange capacities (CEC/AEC).

CEC and AEC are measures of the ability to bind ions on biochar’s surface and make them available later to plants and micro-organisms, under appropriate conditions. High CEC and AEC prevent the leaching of mineral nutrients, such as organic nutrients, and assure high nutrient availability. Further, a high CEC also binds toxic molecules, thereby protecting the soil. This biochar feature is especially important for soils with low humus and argil content.

Habitat for microbes As biochar adsorbs nutrients and captures water, it attracts soil biota and creates microbial hotspots. Plant symbiotic micro-organisms make V2 7N 2

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adsorbed nutrients available to plants.

It was shown that biochar enhances mycorrhiza abundance which, in turn, improves nutrient availability and pest resistance of vines.

Activation and charging of biochar As already discussed, biochar is not a fertiliser but, rather, a nutrient carrier, bulk agent and habitat for microorganisms. If biochar is incorporated pure and without activation into soil, its high adsorption capacity and increasing CEC will result in the absorption and fixing of available nutrients and water in the soil. This may lead to inhibition of plant growth, at least in the beginning (several months to a year), depending on the soil’s nutrient content. To prevent this, it is recommended that prior to biochar application, biochar should be: • loaded with nutrients and water • colonised with micro-organisms to ensure the fixed nutrients are more easily available to plants • aged by oxidation to bring CEC close to its maximum.

There are many different viable processes in charging biochar. Many of these procedures have evolved over time and in accordance with good agricultural practice. While there is no universal formula (although patents have already been registered), the following basic principles hold: • enough moisture present so that nutrients can dissolve and the pores of the biochar can be charged • a high diversity of organic nutrients in order to prevent shortage of certain nutrients • the most important nutrients for microbial colonisation are organic carbon and nitrogen, which are particularly limiting in fresh biochar • the carbon:nitrogen ratio of the biochar-substrate should not be above 20 • the duration of the charging should be at least 14 days • inoculation with soil-borne microbes through the addition of humus-rich soil, compost tea, compost, or by selected micro-organisms.

Practical charging methods Co-composting the biochar The most effective charging method is certainly to use biochar on a 10-20% ratio as a bulking agent during composting. It activates the biochar biologically, oxidises its surfaces for higher CEC and charges it with organic and mineral nutrients. At the same time, the biochar reduces nitrogen and carbon losses during the composting process by 15% and 25%, respectively.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

The highly porous structure of biochar enables high nutrient and water retention capacity. Photo: Andreas Thomsen Mixing biochar with manure from livestock on a 1:1 mass ratio Spread out the biochar into strips or bands of about 120cm width and a height of about 5cm. Then, spread over it a 3cm thick layer of manure. Put 1% of rock flour into it. Spread over it another layer of biochar. Moisten the whole mix with as much water as possible. Roll over the band with a rotovator at least twice to thoroughly mix the substrate. Keep the mixture well-moisturised for 14 days and stir it every five days with the rotovator.

Mixing with liquid mineral fertilisers Calculate the amount of fertiliser you need for a given surface. Use about 300kg per hectare of biochar, dissolve the fertiliser in as much water and soak the biochar with this solution. The mixing of fertilisers with biochar reduces leaching and outgassing of nutrients, so that fertiliser efficiency increases significantly and a total of only half of the conventionally calculated amount is required. (For a more detailed description of charging methods, see ‘Ways of making Terra Preta – biochar activation’, published in www.ithakajournal.net).

Biochar in European grapegrowing sites In the last five years, the Delinat Institute has carried out multiple biochar trials on its site in Valais. Varying quantities, assorted biochars and different charging methods were investigated.

In 2011, 15 new vineyard experiments with biochar on as many hectares were established in six European grapegrowing countries. The primary aim was to investigate the influence of biochar on vine growth and subsequent wine quality under various climatic and soil conditions. In all experiments, the same biochar, the same amount (10t/ha) and comparable activation www.w inebiz. com . au

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The location of the biochar trials under way in 18 organic vineyards throughout Europe across 15ha.

Domaine de Mythopia – the experimental vineyard of the Delinat-Institut in Valais, Switzerland, where biochar trials have been under way since 2007. methods were used. In four vineyards with at least three replicates each, preliminary data were recorded during the season.

More detailed descriptions of the experimental set-up and analysis of the results can be found in the Ithaka-Journal (www.ithaka-journal.net) Discussion of preliminary results The pooled analysis of results confirms the complex nature of the interactions of biochar with the vine system. Too many factors, such as soil properties, tillage, climate, growth and concomitant activation of the biochar influence the system, so it could not be expected to find the same effects at all locations within a limited time period. One to three vegetation periods is an ecologically short time to detect the effect of biochar on the plant-soil system.

Moreover, it is difficult to judge whether the stronger interactions are due to direct effects between grapevines and biochar, or to indirect effects on plant vegetation or soil micro-organisms. Since biological processes are delayed in dry-climate vineyards, it is possible that a slower

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integration into the soil structure occurred here. It also has to be considered that only a small fraction of biochar may reach the vine roots in a period of only one season without significant tillage. Therefore, effects that are already evident during the first season are mainly due to physical and nutrient dynamics of biochar in the topsoil.

Increasing water storage capacity probably plays the more crucial role in alkaline vineyard soils, as it positively influences biological activity in the topsoil and, in turn, nutrient dynamics.

Whereas leaf nitrogen and magnesium were significantly higher in the Spanish and Italian sites, there were no significant differences in the French and Swiss sites.

Phosphate and potassium tended to be higher in all sites, but not significant. No negative impact on nutrient assimilation was assumed. Some trends, like the decreased adsorption of zinc, are insignificant in the context of achieving ​​ grapegrowing, but optimal values for provide interesting questions for the basic mechanisms underlying the effects of biochar.

The important role of organic matter in the use of biochar was clearly demonstrated. While the treatment plots with biochar compost did always yield positive tendencies with some significant positive results, the use of pure, nonnutrient activated biochar reduced growth significantly due to nutrient blockages.

The increase in vine growth in the compost biochar treatment within just four months demonstrates the potential of substrates, in which the biochar has been integrated at the beginning of the composting process.

An effective saturation of nutrients before its application is of crucial importance.

The most positive statements concern the grape analyses. In four out of five samples, a significant increase in the yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) and the anthocyanin content could be seen.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

The increase in anthocyanin content in Pinot Noir has to be considered positive.

These phenolic substances are not only responsible for the wine’s red colour, but also act as powerful antioxidants. The higher content of polyphenols can also have plant protective functions, increasing the resistance of grapes against fungal attack.

The tendency to increase the YAN content in the grapes is particularly interesting from an oenological sense.

The lack of YAN becomes an ever-more crucial problem in dry locations in southern Europe. Due to climate change, the lack of yeast assimilable compounds in grapes is now also increasingly found in more northerly vineyards. Higher nitrogen levels in the must increase the speed and intensity of alcoholic fermentation. It is likely that biochar leads to a substantial increase in YAN due to an increase in water availability in the soil.

Conclusion As found in other field and pot experiments in the last two years, the success of the use of biochar as a soil conditioner is dependent on a variety of factors, such as soil, climate, biochar quality, mode of activation, crop type, etc. Accordingly, the differences in the experimental plots, despite the unifying factors of biochar, crop type and set-up, still result in a high variance. Careful evaluation of the results over a longer period and the extension of field trials will provide important clues for a selective application of biochar in various agronomic contexts.

In addition to the biochar experiments presented here, another experiment was done in Valais in 2011. Here, a relatively small amount of biochar (300kg/ha) was charged with amino acids and injected into the rootzone. Data on vines and soil parameters will need to be analysed in 2012.

It might just turn out that a slower soil buildup with less, but more highly-charged levels of biochar, is as effective (and economically viable) as a single application of a large amount of biochar compost.

Even if it is possible to see overall positive trends in grape quality parameters, no general recommendation for the use of biochar in viticulture can yet be made.

The experimental plots in the various wine regions will be sampled intensively in 2012. Therefore, it is expected that by the end of this year, more extensive data can be presented to come up with more solid recommendations for practical purposes in viticulture. Understanding of biochar theory and the worldwide experience in using it, confirms the supposition that biochar may be a valuable tool for future high quality grapegrowing faced with climate change. It’s worth trying it on a small scale, at least.

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Australian experience with biochar application and research In light of the European vineyard trials of biochar outlined by Hans-Peter Schmidt on pages 48-50, we went in search of Australian experience and research with biochar in agriculture. Editor Sonya Logan spoke with Dr Evelyn Krull.

Biochar is a type of charcoal produced from the conversion of biomass to a charred product under oxygen-limited conditions through a process known as pyrolysis. Biomass feedstocks can include forestry and agricultural waste products, municipal greenwaste, biosolids, and animal manures.

Dr Evelyn Krull is a research scientist and leader of the CSIRO’s biochar and carbon sequestration team that has been leading two national research projects on the effects of biochar in agriculture. She was also one of the founding members of the Australian and New Zealand Biochar Researchers Network established in 2008, a collaboration of scientists interested in advancing the understanding and application of biochar materials.

Krull said Australia was currently one of the leading edge countries in biochar research and its use in agriculture and for carbon sequestration. Furthermore, horticulture, including viticulture, was showing much promise in reaping the benefits of biochar’s ability to sequester carbon while, for example, increasing water holding capacity and improving soil conditions. There is even scope for biochar production to assist with the wine industry’s disposal of discarded treated pine posts.

However, Krull warned against using generalised statements about biochar as there are many different types of biochar with varying properties.

“Although all biochars look black they can have different key chemical and physical properties, such as different stability and different nutrient interactions, depending on the feedstock used to produce the biochar and how it is processed. The negative aspect of this is that we cannot make generalised statements, such as it will increase productivity.

The upside is that you can tailor-make a biochar to suit specific conditions.

“There have been some instances where we’ve seen productivity gains from biochar application. But, in the majority of cases, these increases have not been more than around 10%, but at the very least you are increasing carbon contained in the soil.” This alone, Krull said, had benefits for soil health and may prove attractive to those wishing to capitalise on the Federal Government’s recently-announced Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI), under which farmers and land managers can earn carbon credits by storing carbon on their land that can then be sold to people and businesses wishing to offset their emissions.

“Certain biochars have a stability that’s way in excess of the 100 years that’s needed to gain credits under the CFI,” Krull said.

She said biochar research to date in Australian agriculture had primarily focussed on broad-acre farming and had shown that is was currently not economical to apply it to such crops.

Better prospects lay with horticulture and viticulture because the crops were generally of higher value.

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“Plus, biochar is easier to apply to horticultural and viticultural crops compared with broad-acre. Biochar can be easily applied at the time of planting horticultural and viticultural crops but this isn’t as easy in broad-acre crops due to the difficulty in applying biochar with agricultural machinery.”

Krull said biochar was best applied at planting and although could be scattered on the surface after planting, there was a risk of losing it through run-off or being blown away.

“The potential effects of biochar may be quicker to be seen when put into the subsoil where roots can easily access it,” she said.

She said studies on the effects of biochar application on crops in Australia had so far been run over relatively short time frames. But, she said, biochar was highly stable, so its effect may not be seen straight away. Some effects may not be seen for five or 10 years or more after it weathers in the soil.

“I wouldn’t be disappointed if I didn’t see a productivity increase in the first year of application because you are not doing anything bad to the soil; I’m simply adding carbon and, possibly, increasing water holding capacity and adsorbance capacity to a certain degree. Productivity increases may eventuate in future years through increased soil-biochar interactions.

“Biochar works best in low fertility, low clay soils. Rich clay soils have enough nutrients in them that adding biochar for a productivity gain will not do anything but add carbon.

“An interesting observation of biochar is its effect when applied with fertilisers; that’s where we see most productivity gains. And, often, less fertiliser is needed if combined with biochar.”

Krull said she was keen to work with the viticultural community to determine the impact of biochar on vines but, so far, she had been unable to secure funding to do so.

“I would encourage anybody who’s interested in biochar’s application in viticulture to get in touch with GWRDC and encourage it to include biochar research into its future funding.

“At this time, I would be hesitant to encourage grapegrowers to apply biochar because there are so many different variables.

It would be nice to have a few studies looking at biochar application in viticulture to provide growers with the best information.”

She said it would be preferable for biochar production to take place as close as possible to its intended area of application to avoid the need to transport it from one place to another, thereby partially offsetting its carbon reduction benefits.

Krull said anything free of contaminants could be used for biochar production, and could include residues from harvesting of forests growing in the vicinity of vineyards and green waste from nearby residential areas. She added that treated pine trellis posts could also be turned into biochar, which would lock up the chemicals in the posts in the biochar, removing the potential for them to leach into soil.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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Vineyard redevelopment – who’s doing what and why?

What impact has the industry downturn had on the amount and type of vineyard redevelopment taking place across the nation? For a snapshot, we asked three viticultural consultants based in three separate states – New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia – to comment on what their clients have been doing over recent years. And, while we had their attention, we asked them for their thoughts on grafting vs replanting.

The consultants

Kym Ludvigsen, consultancy based in Victoria’s Grampians, 36 years experience in vineyard management in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and New Zealand.

Liz Riley, consultancy Vitibit based in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, commenced viticultural consulting in 2000 after working for Southcorp for eight years in national and NSW regional viticultural roles.

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Jim CampbellClause, consultant with AHA Viticulture and Precision Viticulture Australia, based in Dunsborough, Western Australia, with clients mainly in Margaret River, Geographe, and Blackwood.

How does the rate of vineyard redevelopment among your clients compare with, say, five or 10 years ago?

Kym Ludvigsen (KL): There is very little redevelopment occurring within my client base. Survival through the recent difficult time, especially the long drought, has been the priority. A small number have planted limited areas of alternative varieties to assess market opportunities.

Liz Riley (LR): It’s always been sporadic and remains so.

Jim Campbell-Clause (JCC): The rate of redevelopment is significantly greater now than it was five years ago. We had very little redevelopment happening 10 years ago.

What are some of the main reasons that your clients have sought to redevelop their vineyards over the last couple of years, and how does this compare with five or 10 years ago?

KL: Grape prices have remained stable over the last 10 years. Although input costs have risen, grape prices have remained the same or declined. To remain profitable, growers have had to become better managers. The increase in mechanisation within vineyards has been noticeable.

Where ‘non-classic’ grape varieties have been planted, most have small areas to test the market, to assess how these varieties grow in their vineyards and see whether wineries want and are willing to pay for the grapes.

LR: It’s redeveloping like for like, or to maintain consistency of supply e.g., older vineyards are in decline, so younger vines need to be brought online to maintain supply and to eventually become old, too. In some cases, it is a variety change and implementation of rootstocks.

JCC: The main reasons for redevelopment are to change to more in-demand varieties; change to simpler vineyard systems ▶ to reduce vineyard costs; and improve quality.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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What type of redevelopment have you primarily overseen over the last couple of years?

KL: Mothballing has been the main activity in past seasons, however, discovering how to recover the vines to meet changing market requirements has been a testing process. The recovery process isn’t as straightforward as it is presented.

LR: Mothballing, permanent vine removal, and grafting to different varieties or clones. People aren’t spending money on retrellising other than the bare minimum to ensure that the block can be picked.

JCC: Initially, grafting to more in-demand varieties, but also changes in trellis systems to be more machine friendly, some vine removal and some mothballing.

What factors do you take into consideration when determining whether to replant or rework plantings?

KL: Before spending any money on replanting or reworking vines, a valid first step is to obtain a contract for the grapes.

When grafting, serious consideration must be given to the virus load in both the scion and rootstock. The virus status needs to be checked prior to grafting.

LR: Vine health, particularly with respect to soil, salt or nematode issues (i.e., need for rootstocks) and trellis condition, e.g., if it is a small trellis and the new plantings will have more vigour, there is a need to increase ‘trellis capacity’.

JCC: Vine health and virus status, particularly with respect to the root system of the remaining plant and its vigour in relation to the requirements of the scion, and soil conditions.

What are your views on grafting over versus replanting?

KL: I prefer replanting with high-health planting material from the various vine improvement associations that exist across Australia. These associations have developed planting material of known virus loads, so you know what you are getting when you purchase their material.

When grafting, an important first step is to have the rootstock and the scion material assessed for virus presence.

Never use cuttings taken from Vinifera vines on rootstocks.

Changing varieties (grafting) on vines that were originally on rootstocks is fraught with risk of failure.

The perceived earlier return to cropping from grafting often ignores the need to follow up misses the next year, and it is easy to forget the high failure rate of the grafting process.

LR: It depends on the vines, but also the need to meet demand. If there is a supply shortfall for a ‘new’ variety, then grafting gets the fruit on-stream a whole lot quicker. So, sometimes it is a bit of both to stagger supply as demand grows.

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The ability to buy the propagation material you want is also a deciding factor. If you can only get a bit of material, then it goes further with grafting in 1-2 buds.

JCC: If vine health is good, the block is uniform and the vigour requirement of the scion is compatible with planned scion wine style, then grafting is quicker and cheaper than redevelopment.

How would you describe the success rate of any grafting-over development you’ve been involved with? Has there been any underlying factor/s that are common to the most successful takes and, if so, what are they?

KL: I have mostly used ‘experts’ to undertake the grafting process. Ideally, their success rate is higher than using ‘own’ labour. The professionals often will arrange their own grafting material to ensure better success rates. The failure rate, however, can be high if the rootstock or scion material has a virus load (known or unknown), the storage of the scion material has been unsuitable, there's incompatibility between the rootstock and the scion, or poor or inappropriate training.

LR: Grafting has generally been successful; only one or two have had issues which has had more to do with the site and post-grafting care, although there is also a good chance it has virus/ pathology issues.

Success of both comes back to the basics of attention to detail and timing i.e., of vine training, weed control, sprays (if required), securing of shoots, thinning, etc.

JCC: Success depends on good planning, good timing and good execution of each pass.

What do you hear from winemakers in terms of the quality differences in fruit from vines that have been grafted over compared with replanting?

KL: There is no perceivable difference between own-rooted and grafted vines.

Think about the international experience where most vineyards are planted on rootstocks. Issues may occur if the wrong rootstock is planted in the wrong environment.

LR: If you don’t tell them, they don’t know!

Sometimes they are earlier or later to ripen.

JCC: Very interesting question. As a viticulturist, I have seen differences in yield, berry size and flavour. However, I have had minimal comments from winemakers – it will come.

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When the decision to replant is undertaken, what is your ideal modus operandi for successful removal of the existing vines and preparing the ground for the replant?

KL: Where I have been involved in vine removal, initially the drip lines, then the wires (foliage) and any steel posts are removed and sent for recycling (a small income occurs). The remaining wooden posts are then removed prior to lifting vines with a reinforced Yakka hoop towed behind a dozer.

The area is then planted with a cereal crop that is used as a green manure. If nematodes have been an issue in the vineyard, brassica crops are used instead of cereals.

The land needs to spell for at least five years before replanting.

Always replant old vineyards using rootstocks that are tolerant of nematodes.

LR: Removal is generally painful for small patches as we don’t have any contractors up here who offer specific vineyard removal. It varies and is often not ideal.

If we retain the trellis, we often roll up the irrigation and then cut the cordon wire and pull out the vines and cordon wire, retaining the posts. A tractor or bobcat is ▶ used for vine removal.

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Ground preparation is minimal undervine if posts are retained, otherwise mid-rows are worked and seeded, etc.

JCC: We have had good results in removing the top of the vine (and cordon wire), leaving the root system in the ground and planting next to the old stump. There is minimal disturbance, other than needing to replace the cordon wire.

What have been the most popular varieties being grafted over or replanted among your clients over the last couple of years?

KL: A number of ‘alternative’ varieties have been planted in recent years – generally in small areas. Varieties include Pinot Gris, Viognier, Grenache, Mataro, Dolceo, Fiano, Sangiovese, Nebiollo, Marsanne, Rousanne, Mourvedre, Tempranillo, and Gruner Veltliner, to name a few.

It is notable that it is difficult to sell large volumes of any of the ‘alternative’ varieties until they become well-known or a specialist winemaker has some success with the variety among wine writers. Even then, it is hard for a grower to sell a variety that is not well accepted.

The majority of planting still involves the classic varieties – Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, etc., because the

bigger wine companies make most of their wines from these varieties.

What I am finding is, by the time some of the ‘alternative’ varieties reach maturity, the market for the wines has been met and has moved on. The grower is left with grapes that are hard to sell at reasonable prices. Viognier is one example of a variety that has had a short market life; Traminer experienced a similar short-term popularity in the 1980s.

LR: Old Vine Shiraz and Semillon – using local mass selections taken from icon blocks locally - Sagrantino, Vermentino, Traminer, Muscat and Verdelho.

JCC: A few years ago, it was Sauvignon Blanc. Now, we are grafting to better clones of Cabernet. We are also seeing grafting to ‘new’ or ‘alternative’ varieties, like Mataro.

How would you compare the popularity of rootstocks in replant situations compared with 10 years ago, and what are the main reasons for choosing them?

KL: It is essential to use rootstocks in any replant situation. It was as essential 10 years ago as it is today. Nematode populations are a serious risk in replant situations and suitable rootstocks are required to ensure the highest chance of success and profitability.

LR: This is site and budget specific.

Often they are used to solve a problem e.g., nematodes, drought tolerance or to impart vigour on hard ground. Not many people are using them for phylloxera insurance.

JCC: Use of rootstocks is rare in WA and little has changed in 10 years. We have a few clients who have chosen to use rootstocks.

What types of trellis posts do you primarily recommend to clients these days and why?

KL: I recommend and use a combination trellis including steel and timber. The use of plastic posts appears to require more research before they can be guaranteed. I would like to see a combination product that includes chipping broken pine posts and recycled plastic. Disposal of broken wood posts is a real problem and finding a re-use for them would be great.

LR: We tend to use two to three steel posts to a wooden one; it picks better and is quicker to install. A lot of good old posts e.g., end posts and intermediates – both steel and wooden - are being recycled from vineyards that have been pulled out.

JCC: We still mainly use pine but have tried other products, including fibreglasscovered wood, and alternative wood products. We don’t use many steel posts. WVJ

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Right variety – right place – right time!

By Tony Hoare

Hoare Consulting, PO Box 1106, McLaren Flat 5171 South Australia. Email: tony@hoareconsulting.com.au

Following the recent Jimmy Watson Trophy success of a Tasmanian-grown Shiraz, Tony Hoare asks, will there be a rush to invest in the state’s Shiraz-suited vineyards? What needs to be considered before investing in a 21st century vineyard?

W

hat a fantastic result when Glaetzer-Dixon Family Winemakers, in Tasmania, won the Jimmy Watson trophy this year for its 2010 Mon Père Shiraz. Who would have predicted that such an unlikely warm climate variety, planted in a cool climate like Tasmania, could steal the award for best 2009-10 Shiraz from those regions that hang their hat on the variety?

From my perspective, the award raises a number of questions. Is Tasmania the new home of Australian Shiraz? Has the result started a stampede of vineyard investors to Tasmania, desperate to mimic the success of Glaetzer-Dixon with Shiraz?

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So, what drives the success of a winegrape variety, and what are the factors that need to be considered before investing in a 21st century vineyard?

Overall, it is the location of where a winegrape variety is planted that has a bearing on the viability of that variety. The location not only has a direct influence on its yield and quality potential, but also influences the saleability and its potential value in the short term and future market viability. Add to this a constantly changing climate and resource availability to suit winegrape varieties, and the estimated 15year domestic consumer cycle of drinking trends, and it becomes very important to

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

plan before planting to ensure the right variety is in the right place, for the right time, in the market.

Right variety The right variety is a subjective thing.

Ultimately, the right variety is one that maximises the return on investment for the vineyard owner. In order to do this, the variety must be useable as a saleable wine at a price point. It should be able to command a presence in the market that maintains profitability over time. UK wine writer Jancis Robinson MW refers to likeable wines as being “refreshing”.

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Picking the next ‘new wine’ and matching it to a particular site, where it will produce wine that will be marketable for the long term, is a tough assignment.

She also referred to cultivars grown in the right climate to produce wines of lower alcohol. The right variety is dependent on not only vineyard factors, but winemaking, market and wine commentator influences.

Right place The right place is where a winegrape variety can be ripened to its maximum level of flavour at a yield with a subsequent value that translates into a profit for the vineyard owner. The right place must have the right resources available for the production of that variety to meet its maximum potential. The right place is also reliant on regionality and the marketability of a broad grapegrowing boundary. In Europe, those boundaries are even smaller and more pertinent to winegrape varieties, their value and marketability. For example, the average return from a vineyard in Champagne is €868,300 per hectare (Hall 2012).

In the past in Australia, the ‘fruit salad’ approach of planting multiple varieties and a mixture of red and white varieties was once seen as the answer to overcoming ever-changing consumer trends for wine. This was also a way for vineyard owners and wine businesses to see what varieties may or may not reach the desirable levels of quality and yield to justify further plantings. There have always been the core varieties, or regional champions, that have an established marketability with wineries and wine consumers based on their regional reputation. The safety-innumbers approach of recreating what others were planting backfired for many investors in the 1990s, who didn’t foresee

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the oversupply looming of varieties that were previously in massive demand and short supply. In the rush to plant, many ignored the finer details of site and clonal selection, and winery requirements for vines past a certain age and of a certain quality, not to mention changeable consumer drinking trends.

Right time The right time is having all the planets aligned to maximise sales and profitability. For this to happen, the right variety should be producing maximum yield consistently to satisfy consumer tastes and demand. The majority of wine consumers drink wine as a trendbased beverage. There seems to be a confidence required amongst domestic wine drinkers, which is influenced by the status quo at a certain point in time. As a result, wine styles and varieties cycle in popularity. Sure, the ‘best of the best’ remain resilient to trends. However, what we are witnessing with Sauvignon Blanc at present is typical. It was Chardonnay before that, and Cabernet Sauvignon before Chardonnay. The ‘right variety, right place, right time’ scenario was probably best seen in the 1990s when Chardonnay in the Riverland and Sunraysia regions was sold for upward of $2000 per tonne. While the likelihood of that ever occurring again in my lifetime is remote, there are factors to consider that can increase the chances of having a successful vineyard enterprise.

Former chief executive of Brown Brothers, Ross Brown, gave an insightful presentation at the recent International Cool Climate Symposium, W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

in Tasmania, explaining the process of how his company came to the decision to purchase the state’s Tamar Ridge enterprise. His main advice was that vineyards are not a lifestyle decision and need to be considered rationally to be successful. Brown explained how his family banned him from visiting Tasmania during the sale process, as he may have been unduly biased by the beautiful landscape and fantastic fly-fishing on offer. Brown also outlined the climatic considerations based on forecasted increases in temperature of 2ºC in the next 20 years, the drought risk in comparison to other mainland sites, the tannin structure of Pinot Noir from the region compared with the mainland and, more importantly, the marketing potential of wine styles to be made from the site in relation to emerging consumer trends for medium-bodied red wines.

Not that long ago, it was almost enough to plan a vineyard based on the homoclime approach. Using climatic data from a weather station in the vicinity of your potential vineyard site and adding some interpolation based on topography was enough to plant the varieties that would be ‘ideally’ suited. The only problem with that is the climate is dynamic and vine behaviour is influenced by climatic indices. It is predicted that based on current climatic data, the rate of temperature increase could result in the Eden Valley having the same temperature regime as the Barossa within 20 years, and the Coonawarra and Mornington Peninsula having the same temperature regime as the Barossa within 30 years. Added to the equation is the influence of meso- and micro-climate, seasonal variation in solar radiance (UVA, UVB, UVC), the incidence and frequency of rainfall, soil variation and, then, climate change. The whole scenario of vine physiological response to site selection and climatic indices becomes more difficult to predict than the winner of the Melbourne Cup. The trend cycles continue as far as domestic wine consumers are concerned.

Picking the next ‘new wine’ and matching it to a particular site, where it will produce wine that will be marketable for the long term, is a tough assignment. I hope Dr John Gladstones’ prediction rings true: “The 21st century stands to become wine’s golden age.”

Suggested reading Gladstones, J. (2011) Wine, Terroir and Climate Change. Wakefield Press, Australia.

Allen, M. (2010) The Future Makers – Australian wines for the 21st century. Hardie Grant Books, Australia.

Webb, L.B.; Whetton, P.H. and Barlow, E.W.R. (2011) Observed trends in winegrape maturity in Australia.

WVJ Global Change Biology. 17(8):2707-2719.

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Current vine planting trends in Queensland

By Ursula Kennedy University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350. Email: Ursula.Kennedy@usq.edu.au

T

he Queensland wine industry dates back to the 1850s, with the first grapes planted at Roma in 1857 and the Romavilla winery established in 1863.

This winery is producing wines to this day from classic varieties, such as Riesling, Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, and a number of less common varieties, such as Viognier, Chenin Blanc, Crouchen and Zinfandel.

The industry encompasses 10 regions spanning 15,000 hectares and has historically been based on the production of wines from the classic varieties. In 2008, the top varieties planted included Shiraz,

Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot.

Although expansion of vine plantings has slowed over recent times, growers and winemakers have been planting or grafting over to lesser-known varieties for various reasons: diversification; satisfy growing consumer interest for trying something different; an appreciation of new and diverse wine varieties and, indeed, styles by local winemakers or industry experts new to the state. Growers have also developed a better understanding of the differences in the characteristics of the varieties and how these relate to their suitability to the diverse

climatic characteristics of the various regions in the state.

Current planting trends have seen increases in plantings of varieties, such as Tempranillo, Saperavi, Montepulciano, Nero d’Avola, Fiano and Vermentino, while Pinot Gris and Viognier also remain popular.

A strong history of European settlement, particularly in the Granite Belt, is also undoubtedly a catalyst for the increasing popularity of Mediterranean varieties in that region.

Varieties have been selected with climate in mind. Vineyards in Queensland are found in a range of different climatic

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A Queensland vineyard grafted over to Nero d’Avola. regions, from the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast hinterlands and north and south Burnett, which are warm and humid, to the Granite Belt and Darling Downs, which have high altitudes and are quite cold.

All receive some summer rainfall. Thus, earlier ripening varieties are chosen so they ripen before the typical summer wet, while late-ripening varieties, such as Montepulciano, Fiano, Vermentino and Nero d’Avola, are of interest for their ability to ripen after the wet. In cooler climates with higher altitudes, varieties such as Saperavi, or those that have loose bunches and thick skins, are chosen to aid disease resistance.

Growers are tending to graft over rather than replant, permitting a more speedy changeover of varieties. The state’s growers have the advantage of being able to access operators highly skilled in field grafting.

The vine structure of choice remains VSP, due to its ease of management and the ability to open up the fruitzone to aid control of disease in what have been a number of wet growing seasons. Some growers have adopted Smart Dyson training systems to increase leaf exposure - and exposure of the renewal zone – and, thus, maximise potential photosynthesis and subsequent seasons’ yields; again, an advantage in cooler, damper seasons.

Mike Hayes, from Symphony Hill Wines, presented a paper at the 2011 Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show in Mildura in November, delivering some of the findings from his Masters

studies on alternative varieties. Hayes sees future opportunities for the Queensland wine industry in the production of Italian, Spanish and Portugese varieties, with some interesting varieties coming from southwest France.

Winemaker Adam Chapman, from Sirromet, said his winery had been doing a degree of rebalancing of its vine plantings to increase efficiencies and flavours, and reduce its plantings to suit the winery’s needs and become more cost effective.

He said wineries and growers looking to redevelop might like to consider utilising existing plantings for other options, such as for sparkling production, or even look to carbonate certain styles.

Chapman also said that before embarking on vineyard redevelopment, growers needed to appreciate the number of vines presently planted in Australia, the volume of wine being made, and what is currently selling. He added that diversification also required a sales and marketing plan to complete the picture to ensure that alternative varieties succeeded in the marketplace. While some may be best suited to cellar door sales only, others may suit both cellar door and wholesale/ WVJ export markets, he said.

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SEE D R I P EN I NG

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Seed ripening in King Valley Merlot vineyards

By Erika Winter1 and Stephen Lowe2 1 GrapeLinks, Melbourne, Victoria. Email: e.winter@bigpond.net.au 2 Stony Creek Vineyard, King Valley, Victoria.

This is a summary of three years of seed ripening research in King Valley vineyards using fortnightly berry sensory assessment, seed water content measurements and rainfall monitoring in conjunction with hourly bunchzone temperature data from veraison to harvest, showing the interplay of temperature and rainfall on seed ripening progress.

T

here are still few research results available that shed light on the interplay of environmental conditions that promote or slow seed development (Keller 2010). Ristic and Iland (2005) found that the development of Shiraz seed colour was faster in 2001 (the dryer year) and slower with two stagnant phases in 2000 (the wetter year).

A more comprehensive measure for seed ripeness is berry sensory assessment (BSA) (Winter et al. 2004), as it judges the progressive change of many seed characteristics. Seed assessment

by BSA had been routinely part of a seven-year benchmarking study of King Valley vineyards (Winter and Lowe 2009a,b) whereby riper seeds were generally obtained in warm, but not hot bunchzones.

Bubner et al. (2010) showed that berry sensory-assessed seed flavour, colour and crushability were behind under colder conditions, and advanced when grapes were artificially heated by 2°C. Seed water loss is another indicator of seed ripening. In selected Shiraz and Merlot vineyards in the King Valley, seed water content measurements were performed fortnightly from veraison to harvest, accompanied by fortnightly rainfall and hourly bunchzone temperature measurements. The results of 2009 and 2010 (Winter and Lowe 2010b) showed that the seeds from very hot or very cold bunchzones ripened slower. Fast-ripening seeds had a high proportion of time in the beneficial bracket of 15-35°C and, in 2009, the berries from these vineyards also had the highest anthocyanin concentration at harvest (Winter and Lowe 2009a,b). Cohen et al.

(2008) found that best phenolic development happened in Merlot under moderate (artificially ‘dampened’) temperatures (with a high proportion of night-time temperatures around 10°C and day temperatures below 35°C). In 2010, after heavy rainfall events before harvest, all seeds stalled in their development and some even took up water.

Whereas rainfall cannot be avoided in field-grown vines, the provision of optimal bunchzone temperatures is possible with minimal cost when brought about by the positioning of trellis wires.

In the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons, a FarmReady Industry Grant enabled a multi-variety, on-farm demonstration site comparing east and west open canopies, with east exposed and west shaded bunchzones side by side. East open and west covered bunchzones produced better results in both the warmer and cold seasons compared with the fully open bunchzones, particularly with respect to TA, colour and pulp aroma. This is believed to have come about from the prevention of pre-veraison heat loads and post-veraison cold airflow in the bunchzones (Winter and Lowe 2011a). In 2010-11, seeds from both canopy management options in four Merlot vineyards were compared and results are reported as follows.

Materials and methods The four Merlot vineyards, which also participated in previous seed studies, had either east and west open canopies (versions A) or optimised bunchzone exposure by opening up to the morning sun and protecting bunchzones from the midday and hot afternoon sun with V2 7N 2

foliage cover (B). Temperature data loggers (Tinytag Gemini, Hastings, Port Macquarie, New South Wales) were inserted into the bunchzones of representative vines and temperature was recorded hourly from 16 December to veraison, and from veraison to harvest. Average degree hours below 15°C and above 35°C (devising hot or cold bunchzones) (Bergquist et al. 2001) and the percentage of total degree hours spent inside this beneficial bracket were calculated. Rainfall was monitored fortnightly in each vineyard. No irrigation was applied in 2011. From veraison to harvest, BSA was carried out on 20 bunchlets containing 10 berries from 20 representative vines of each vineyard at fortnightly intervals, and grapes were sent to Vintessential Laboratories, in Dromana, Victoria, where 200 berries of each sampling date and vineyard were de-seeded and the number of seeds per berry, as well as their average fresh and dry weight, was assessed. ▶

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S EE D RI P E N I N G

Figure 1. Berry sensory assessed seed colour and maturity progress in Merlot (averages over four vineyards) with stalled developments two and six weeks after veraison.

Figure 2. Daily bunchzone temperatures from veraison to harvest showing warmer bunchzones in east and west open canopies (A) compared with east open and west closed canopies (B). Arrows indicate seed sampling dates.

A

B

Figure 3. Western side of canopy in Merlot 18A and 18B pre-harvest.

Results and discussion In 2011, seed colour increased more in step with seed maturity than in 2010, where colour lagged behind. Stalled seed development (Figure 1) coincided with two cold spells after veraison (Figure 2).

The data logger information of two differentially managed bunchzones (Figure 2) show that exposed grapes in 18A (Figure 3A) had warmer bunchzones than west covered grapes in 18B (Figure 3B).

Seed colour development between treatment A and B was only different between four and six weeks after veraison for

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Figure 4. Seed colour development was slower in the colder and rainier vineyards (blue symbols) 1=green/yellow, 2= green/brown, 3 =grey/brown, 4=dark brown

Figure 5. Rainfall in the King Valley Merlot vineyards. vineyard 18 (Figure 4) and generally stalled between the second and fourth, and sixth and eighth week after veraison, which was related to rainfall events (Figure 5). At veraison plus four weeks, the vineyards with no rainfall had a faster seed development than vineyard 8, with 40mm of rain.

In 2011, seed water content (as a percentage of fresh weight) initially dropped, irrespective of rain after veraison in all vineyards and canopy treatments (Figure 6). For most vineyards, seed desiccation stalled from four weeks after veraison with rain events, similar to observations in the previous two years.

Seed water was initially lowest in vineyard 8A, which was the open canopy of a cool site with initially less rain, but in the west covered version 8B, desiccation was very slow with rain at four weeks after veraison. Seed water loss in 8A also stalled with rain events, but ended lowest of all samples. This coincided with warmer bunchzone temperatures in April compared with the other vineyards, due to declining leaf health. Seeds from 11A started off with the highest water content and dropped to low values, possibly due to a heat-reflecting herbicided under-vine strip (Winter and Lowe 2011b). However, seeds picked up water with rain before harvest, as did those from 11B. Site 14 was next to site 11, but had lush under-vine vegetation. Seeds from 14B had the most continuous and speedy water loss, most likely due to the absorption of soil water by large amounts of undergrowth and a beneficial bunchzone temperature. Seeds from the open bunchzones 14A also had decimated their water concentration to 35% of their fresh weight four weeks after veraison, but took up water. These grapes were possibly more exposed to rain than the west covered from treatment 14B. Due to a long hangtime with continuous rainfall, 14B took up water in the last week.

In summary, seed ripening seemed to be affected by

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur na l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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SEE D R I P EN I NG

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Figure 6. Seed water content initially declined, irrespective of rainfall (140mm before veraison plus two weeks), but four weeks after veraison, ripening was stalled or reversed by frequent rainfall events (20-40mm) and/or cold weather.

Figure 7. Berry sensory assessed seed maturity from grapes in east and west open (hatched) and east open, west foliar covered bunchzones (closed).

both rainfall and bunchzone temperature. To which degree depended on their developmental stage and what criteria were used to determine ripeness.

Immediately after veraison, all seeds lost water irrespective of rainfall events, which was observed in all three years of seed analysis of King Valley Merlots. In 2011, there was much rain after veraison and seeds still lost water for four weeks.

In 2010, there was some rain and seeds initially desiccated.

There was little rain in 2009, but water loss stalled in several vineyards after four weeks (Winter and Lowe 2010b).

The influence of bunchzone temperature on water loss was seen in all years, with dryer seeds in grapes from bunchzones that were neither too hot, nor too cold. High percentages in the beneficial bracket led to the steadiest seed ripening in all three years. In 2011, low seed water content was reached at veraison plus six weeks in seeds from grapes out of bunchzones with more than 28,000 degree hours accumulated from veraison to harvest, or more than 26,000 degree hours in the beneficial bracket.

When berry sensory assessed seed maturity was used as a criterion, the influence of bunchzone temperature was more obvious at each developmental stage and amongst sites in all years (Winter and Lowe 2010b), and amongst canopy management options (Figure 7). Seeds from the cool site 8 benefitted from western grape foliage cover during early very warm and late cold stages; seeds from site 18 had initially very hot bunchzones when fully exposed (A); western foliage cover (B) yielded some protection and showed improved maturity, but then A and B matured similarly, except with better colour in west covered grapes. Seed maturity was first reached by the moderately warm sites 11 and 14. Differences between sites 11 and 14 were more expressed by the seedsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; water content.

Highest seed maturity was achieved in 14B, the treatment with the highest percentage of degree hours in the beneficial bracket pre-veraison (Winter and Lowe 2011a), whereby high pre-harvest seed water content did not negatively influence seed maturity.

Therefore, in this study, BSA assessment has been shown to be a more reliable tool to investigate seed maturity than the tedious and costly water content determinations. BSA is currently used by Moran et al. (2011) to study the interactive effect of drought and heat on seed development. In the face of an increasingly variable climate that may bring drought but also excessive rainfall (like in 2011), new results on the possibilities to counteract undesirable seasonal climate by under-vine or canopy management would benefit vineyards all over Australia.

Conclusions

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Environmental conditions and management practices that enhance seed ripening had not been well researched when the King Valley seed ripening studies commenced in 2008-09.

After three years, it became clear that water content was a less reliable measure for seed ripeness than BSA criteria.

Initially, seeds lost water irrespective of rainfall events, but from four weeks after veraison in some sites, desiccation halted or seeds took up water with rain, but still improved phenolic ripening or colour.

In all years, substantial amounts of rainfall stalled seed maturity or colour of Shiraz or Merlot at any time after veraison.

Seeds from either very hot or very cold bunchzones desiccated and matured slower. Seeds from bunchzones with moderate temperatures due to site or differential canopy management (or both) progressed faster and reached better ripeness. During heat periods, western leaf cover (with east exposure) improved the time grapes and seeds spent in the beneficial temperature bracket of 15-35°C. During the cold periods in 2011, western leaf cover also increased time in the beneficial bracket by preventing cold airflow.

References Bergquist, J.; Dokoozlian, N. and Ebisuda, N. (2001) Sunlight exposure and temperature effects on berry growth and compositions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache in the Central San Joaquin Valley. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 52(1):1-7.

Bubner, R.M.; Moran, M.A. and Sadras, V.O. (2010) Effects of elevated daytime temperature on berry sensory attributes of Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Semillon and Chardonnay. Poster at 14th AWITC, Adelaide.

Cohen, S.D.; Tarara, J.M. and Kennedy, J.A. (2008) Assessing the impact of temperature on grape phenolic metabolism. Analytica Chimica Acta 621:57-67.

Moran, M.A.; Sadras, V.O.; Liebich, B. and Bubner, R.M. (2011) Water supply can off-set high temperature effects. Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker 570:32-33.

Keller, M. (2010) The Science of Grapevines, Anatomy and Physiology. Elsevier.

Ristic, R. and Iland, P.G. (2005) Relationships between seed and berry development of Vitis vinifera cv. Shiraz: developmental changes in seed morphology and phenolic composition. Aust. J. Grape and Wine Res. 11:43-58.

Winter, E.; Whiting, J. and Rousseau, J. (2004) Winegrape berry sensory assessment in Australia. Winetitles, Adelaide.

Winter, E. and Lowe, S. (2009a) Benchmarking King Valley Shiraz from 2005 to 2008.

Australian Viticulture 13(1):63-66.

Winter, E. and Lowe S. (2009b) Bunchzone temperature monitoring and quality benchmarking of NE Victorian Merlot. Australian Viticulture 13(5):28-32.

Winter E. and Lowe, S. (2010b) Seed ripening in Merlot and Shiraz vineyards in northeast Victoria. Australian Viticulture 14(6):27-30.

Winter, E. and Lowe, S. (2011a) Canopy management offers solutions to variable climate.

Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker 573:38-41.

Winter, E. and Lowe, S. (2011b) Undervine management research reveals fruit zone temperature controls. Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker 574:37-42.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

www.w inebiz. com . au

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WFA investigating Entwine extensions to give regional focus

By Beverley Prideaux

The Entwine Australia sustainability program, developed and managed by the Winemakers' Federation of Australia, may soon include a regional component, streamlining the opportunity for regions to identify their own goals and gain environmental recognition.

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he Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) manager natural resources Jonathon Green is studying the feasibility of adding a new regional component to its successful wine sector sustainability program Entwine Australia.

“We see the changes giving regions the opportunity to identify their own goals and gain recognition, without having to duplicate programs and systems," Green said.

“The proposal is to allow wine regions to identify key environmental objectives in collaboration with local natural resource management (NRM) groups and environmental scientists. Regional performance targets would be set to include the Entwine program as it is delivered in that region,” Green said.

“If this proposal is adopted, it is expected that a diverse range of targets will be identified across the regions.

“These might range from water-use performance, through to greenhouse emission reduction targets, or the establishment of native landscape corridors for biodiversity.

“Members of this addition to the program who meet those regional goals might also be eligible to use an environmental award logo on wine labels.”

The new proposals come as Entwine prepares to enter its third year. Green said the strong uptake has been heartening.

“It is clear that the program has great appeal for future-focussed operations that understand sustainability performance is part of the new business operating paradigm.”

At the end of the second year of operation, Western Australia’s Margaret River wine region had one of the highest rates of Entwine uptake across Australia.

Although WA produces less than 5% of Australia’s total wine by volume and has only 15% of the nation’s wine producers, by early 2011 the only other region with a similar Entwine uptake was the Barossa Valley.

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A concentrated re-vegetation effort along the Boodjidup Brook, in Margaret River.

“WA and, in particular, Margaret River, is leading the way in acceptance and uptake of the Entwine system,” Green said.

In the Margaret River region, the Winewatch group and the funding it has made available for training programs, enabling wine businesses to gain entry level membership to Entwine Australia, has been instrumental in raising industry awareness.

Winewatch is a partnership between Curtin University, Margaret River Wine Industry Association, Cape to Cape Catchments Group and GeoCatch, with the Shires of Busselton and Augusta-Margaret River.

Winewatch project officer Genevieve Hanran-Smith said, “Winewatch has been delivering a federally-funded project in the Margaret River wine region since 2009. The project has focussed on training winery and vineyard staff in the Freshcare environmental (viticulture and/or winery) system, as this is the first step towards achieving Entwine accreditation.”

The proposed extensions to Entwine mirror the activities already under way in Margaret River.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Winewatch’s other activities have centred on environmental benefits for the region.

The result is eight kilometres of creeklines fenced and revegetated, environmental weed control, and improvements to wastewater disposal at a chemical shed and at a wastewater irrigation site.

Hydrologists were contracted to advise seven of the participating wineries on monitoring potential water quality impacts from the disposal of winery wastewater.

“Where financial support to implement the measures was appropriate, Winewatch provided it,” Hanran-Smith said.

“We believe the Winewatch initiative in Margaret River is a good example of what can be done, and that the environmental action plans already in place should fit well with Entwine’s future plans.”

Protecting Boodjidup Brook Boodjidup Brook is a small stream system in the Margaret River wine region that starts and ends in national parks. The brook and tributaries total approximately V27N2

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55km in length and have a catchment area of 60km². More than half the catchment is used for agricultural purposes, with viticultural properties making up a reasonably large proportion of the land use.

“The Cape to Cape Catchments Group developed the Boodjidup Brook Action Plan in 2009. A study assessed the foreshore condition of the brook and found that while approximately 15% of its length was in pristine condition, of the remainder, 38% retained native vegetation cover that was weed-infested to varying degrees, and 47% of the brook was significantly degraded with little fringing native vegetation,” HanranSmith said.

“A number of vulnerable, restricted and near-threatened fauna species were found in the catchment, including the western ringtail possum, southern brown bandicoot, brushtail phascogale, Baudin’s cockatoo, water rat, mud minnow and freshwater mussel.”

Several actions were recommended to maintain and improve the biodiversity values and ecosystem services provided by the brook. These included: • retaining and protecting the remaining fringing native vegetation • fencing the riparian zone to exclude stock • undertaking management actions to abate erosion • planting local native species in degraded areas of the brook and around dams • controlling environmental weeds, particularly invasive weeds such as arum lily and blackberry, and woody weeds • managing dams to minimise the impacts on timing and amount of flow.

Wine industry contribution to protecting and improving Boodjidup Brook Several reputable Margaret River wine companies are located in the Boodjidup Brook catchment, including Leeuwin Estate, Voyager Estate, Xanadu Wines and Watershed Wines, and are members of ▶ Entwine Australia.

Entwine summary Entwine offers a two-tiered membership system. At the entry level (preliminary membership) members report annually on resource-use optimisation performance. Preliminary members need to be generating and tracking information about their resource uses and carbon emissions over time. This is a necessary first step in better identifying opportunities to be more efficient.

At $110 per year, this membership level is accessible to all members of the sector.

Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) manager natural resources Jonathon Green said, “It is our plan that the information generated by these reports will be given back to members in the form of confidential ‘benchmark reports’ that compare an individual operation with averages for both their wine region and nationally. The data also supports the national industry bodies to better understand, respond to and develop environmental policy.”

After preliminary membership, the next step is full membership. Full members report in the same manner as preliminary members. In addition, they must hold an environmental management certification, providing independent verification of their performance, systems and plans for achieving sustainability.

“The wine sector has worked closely with the Freshcare group to tailor a practical environmental certification code for wineries and vineyards. The resulting code represents a cost-effective and practical approach to achieving certification, within a system that allows for feedback and modification over time,” Green said.

“The ISO 14001 certification system can also be used, and organic certifications are likely to be approved soon.

“Organic producers will need to complete an additional auditable section to bridge the gap between organics and broader sustainability concerns.”

The Freshcare certification training for vineyards is eligible for a 65% registration fee reduction through the Australian Government’s FarmReady program.

The certification process for Freshcare involves a one-day training course in how to undertake the certification, followed by an on-site visit to check on progress. The final step is an audit that must be repeated every three years.

“Within the certification program, members meet a minimum standard of environmental management site set-up, and establish auditable plans for improving environmental performance over time, based on the specific issues relevant to the site and the local area,” Green said.

“Certification costs vary, with vineyards looking at $250 to establish the system and an ongoing $200 per year to retain certification. Winery costs are higher, but can be reduced by organising group certification training and sequential auditing.”

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W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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Department of Water research confirms worsening decline

The early stages of planting along the Boodjidup Brook and (right) three years later.

“These companies have developed and are implementing environmental action plans as a requirement of their certification.

Environmental action plans all contribute to achieving the aims of the Boodjidup Brook Action Plan,” Hanran-Smith said.

Leeuwin Estate Leeuwin Estate owns the largest slice, with 668 hectares of the Boodjidup Brook catchment that has approximately 90ha of remnant vegetation and 5km of the brook.

The owners run cattle in addition to 120ha of vines.

Leeuwin has been very active in the last few years in protecting and restoring Boodjidup Brook. Some of the tasks completed include: • provision of stock watering off-stream • constructing stock and vehicle crossings of the brook • control of arum lily and blackberry on the brook and in areas of remnant vegetation.

Leeuwin Estate vineyard manager David Winstanley said, “The Boodjidup Brook is a locally significant stream system running through the estate.

“As environmental stewards of the brook, Leeuwin Estate has over the last three years fenced the creekline to exclude cattle, planted more than 9000 trees, shrubs, forbs and sedges and commenced an ongoing weed-control program. More planting to complement the stands of remnant vegetation is planned over the next five years along the brook.

“An improvement in water quality and an enhanced environmental corridor from coastal vegetation in the west, to expansive forests in the east is expected,” Winstanley said.

Winewatch has contributed funding to the fencing, re-vegetation and weed control.

Voyager Estate Voyager Estate covers 300ha of the Boodjidup Brook catchment, with about 15ha of remnant vegetation and 2km of the brook. It runs sheep along with 130ha of vines.

Voyager Estate has also been very active in environmental management. To date, it has:

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• replaced an old, deteriorating fence protecting 1000m of very good condition vegetation on the brook, accessing Winewatch funding to do so • re-vegetated degraded areas of the brook • controlled invasive, non-local acacia and eucalypt species with Winewatch funding support erosion control.

Xanadu Wines Xanadu Wines also has approximately 4km of the brook running through its property. It is undertaking weed control on the brook and re-vegetation on a new dam to improve habitat values and protect water quality.

Managing dams and improving water-use efficiency to adapt to a drying climate Another issue of regional importance to Margaret River being addressed through Winewatch and Entwine is related to improving water-use efficiency and dam management in a drying climate.

Curtin University Associate Professor Mark Gibberd, in his role with Winewatch, has an interest in research relating to water, irrigation plant stress physiology and sustainability. One of his current projects is preparing irrigated agriculture for both statutory and climate change.

One initiative is a series of factsheets developed for small wineries producing less than 350 kilolitres of wine per annum.

The factsheets cover case studies of wineries making better use of wastewater, reducing the environmental impacts of wastewater disposal, reducing winery wastewater volumes and subsurface disposal of winery wastewater.

The wineries involved were part of a Winewatch-Entwine initiative leading to the first step in Entwine accreditation.

The action plans for the management of winery wastewater was prompted by a deeply disturbing downward trend in rainfall in WA’s south-west over the last 35 years. Not only has the rainfall diminished, associated streamflow has declined even more markedly.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Department of Water (DOW) research data for the Margaret River catchment shows a 9% rainfall decline in the last 10 years (2001-2010) when compared with the last 35 years. Streamflow in the same period has declined by 37% at Whicher Range gauging station, and 46% at another.

DOW sources said, “Rainfall modelling for the south-west indicates a continuing decline, which will result in further significant decreases in streamflow. There is also likely to be a change in the seasonality of south-west rainfall, with generally later winter rains already being recorded.

“Key findings are that rainfall in late autumn and early winter has decreased sharply since the mid-1970s, and that by 2030, there is likely to be a further decline in winter rainfall by as much as 20% relative to the 1960-1990 baseline.

“The mean monthly streamflow decline is clearly apparent in the winter months from July to August, when the reduction ranged from 34% to 54% at the Whicher Range and Willmot’s Farm gauging stations, respectively,” DOW sources said.

The following comments were delivered at the 2008 Climate, Vegetation and Water seminar, hosted by the Department of Water for Western Australia’s leading water professionals and researchers in water resource management. Nothing in the modelling since has suggested any changes for the better.

“Understanding how our catchments respond to rainfall is critical to managing our surface water resources,” the seminar was told.

“Working to ensure catchments remain functional and in the best condition to maximise the benefit of rainfall for catchments, the environment and also replenishment of groundwater remains a central part of the state’s water policy.

“Managing our surface water catchments to ensure water supply to our environmental and social needs is even more critical and difficult given our changing climate.”

Hanran-Smith added, “Given the forecast of further declines in rainfall, water-use efficiency in vineyard irrigation is, therefore, an important issue, as is how we manage our streams to protect their biodiversity values.”

For further information Winewatch: Genevieve Hanran-Smith, telephone (08) 9757 2202, genevieve@capetocape.org.au Leeuwin Estate: David Winstanley, telephone (08) 9759 0009, davidw@leeuwinestate.com.au Voyager Estate: Glen Ryan, telephone (08) 9757 6449, gryan@voyagerestate.com.au A list of Entwine vineyard and winery members can be viewed at: www.wfa.org.au/entwineaustralia/ members_register.aspx V27N2

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Western Australia winning with Arneis

By Pippa and Mark Cumbers, Vineyard 28, Geographe, Western Australia

The only Arneis awarded a gold medal at the 2011 Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show wasn’t made from grapes from the King Valley or the Adelaide Hills as in previous years, but Geographe, in Western Australia. Pippa and Mark Cumbers explain what led them to plant the variety in the region, which is otherwise known for Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz, and how they’ve managed it in the vineyard to date and their treatment of it in the winery.

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ineyard 28 was established in 1998, with some initial traditional plantings of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. It quickly became apparent that to survive in this game and be a commercial success with a small operation, we needed to be a little different. This sent us on a journey to discover what else was out there.

Taking the Nebbiolo route to Arneis Initially, we took a lot of interest in what others were planting in WA and, at the same time, were also aware of the emergence of alternative varieties being grown in the eastern states.

During our explorations, we came upon Earl Happ, of Happs Wines, and discovered he had been pioneering some quite different varieties here in Western Australia. One of those that we particularly liked was Nebbiolo.

Earl was fantastic in giving us lots of information and advice about how Nebbiolo grew at his Karridale property.

As our vineyard is much further north, he felt we would be well situated to ensure a long, slow growing season for Nebbiolo; as well as sufficient sun hours to ripen. Our first plantings of this were in 2001and 2002. We have half a hectare under vine.

Our first vintage of Nebbiolo was in 2004, and it was well-received by the public. We soon realised our customers were quite interested in trying something new.

The discovery of Nebbiolo led us further into the world of Italian grapes.

We established ourselves as a small boutique winery, offering some of the traditional varieties, but with a focus on the Italian. We then began to pursue and research other varieties from the Piedmont region. We also grow Muscat a Petit Grains, from which we make a Moscato. In 2010, we grafted over some vines to Dolcetto to complete our Italian range.

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Pippa and Mark Cumbers, owners of Vineyard 28, in the Geographe region of Western Australia, were the first commercial producers of Arneis in the state.

In 2007, we were approached by the Department of Agriculture and Food WA and the Western Australian Vine Improvement Association (WAVIA) to plant a source block of Arneis on our property for them. Around the same time, we had been considering it as well, and were trying to work out how to source it.

The source block of Arneis is 150 vines (0.1ha) and was planted that year, all on its own roots. The Arneis clone we are using is CVT CN15.

Viticulture at Vineyard 28 Vineyard 28 soils are Bassendean sands sitting over a limestone cap. Prior to planting, we deep ripped the planting row area, and applied compost and fertiliser. On a biannual basis, we apply compost to the under-row area of the vines. On the alternate year, we use a commercial fertiliser.

The source block of Arneis grew well and is similar in habit to the Nebbiolo in that while young, it can look quite a weedy and skinny vine. We planted a further 0.3ha of Arneis in 2008, again on own-roots. We are using a traditional VSP W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

trellis system with extended height to cater for cane growth, in a north-south orientation. This additional height also has the advantage of allowing our bird netting to sit well above the canopy, rather than compressing it.

The vines are irrigated using conventional drip irrigation, and are provided nutrients via this system, as well as granular fertilisation.

In the early years, we cane pruned the vines to focus on establishing the vine structure. In 2011, the source block was spur pruned, while the other was still cane pruned. After the 2012 vintage, we will assess yield and quality to determine future pruning directions. The similarities between Arneis and Nebbiolo continue with relatively small trunks in the early years to support a large canopy.

Arneis has a tendency, like Nebbiolo, to grow very long canes and likes to set two bunches on each. In 2010, we let the vines manage the set. Similarly, in 2011, we allowed the source block to set two bunches per cane. Bunch weights are moderate, around 130-150g. In the newer block, due to its age, we reduced its load back to one bunch per cane in 2011. ▶ www.w inebiz. com . au

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ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES

ARNEIS Background The main synonyms of Arneis (pronounced ah-NAY-is) are Bianchetto, Bianchetta (di Alba), Bianchetto Albese and Bianchetto di Verzuolo. Arneis comes from Piedmont in northwest Italy, particularly Roero and Langhe. There is also a small area in Sardinia. The variety can be traced back to the 15th century in the Roero. Until recently, the planted area was small, and it was used for sweet or dry wine, or blended with Nebbiolo. In the 1970s, increasing demand for white wine from the region resulted in an expanded area and production. DOC status was granted in 1989, and by 1996, there were 395ha in the Roero area; and in 2010, about 600ha. Its name Arneis is said to mean ‘little rascal’ in local dialect, perhaps an allusion to a propensity for poor production; however, particularly low yields have not been reported in Australia. Arneis produces one of Italy’s most distinctive white wines. According to the 2011 Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Directory, there are at least 40 producers of Arneis wine in Australia.

Viticulture In Australia, Arneis bursts and ripens one to three weeks after Chardonnay.

Bunches are compact, small to medium (somewhat dependent on clone) and yield is generally low to moderate. Berries are small to medium, thick skinned and green yellow with grey-gold colour when exposed. Growth habit is erect.

In the Roero region, it is planted on light chalky-sandy soils, but a wider range of soil types is used in Australia. Climatically, it seems best suited to cool to warm climatic zones in Australia. Cane pruning is used in Italy, and both spur and cane in Australia with no obvious problems with basal bud fertility. Good canopy management is required on vigorous sites. Clones CVT CN 15 and CVT CN 19 are currently available in Australia. Kober 5BB, 420A, SO4 and Rupestris du Lot rootstocks are used in Italy and various rootstocks in Australia. Most reports suggest that Arneis is sensitive to powdery mildew, botrytis bunch rot and sunburn. Arneis is reported to drop acid as it ripens beyond a certain level, perhaps about 12.5Be, but this is site-dependent. Typical fruit composition at harvest in the King Valley is 12-12.5Be; pH3.2-3.3; and 5-7g/L TA. Wine Wine styles vary from light-bodied, dry and faintly grassy, to a fuller style that shows distinctive peach and almonds, occasionally paired with light oak. It has a clean, dry finish, good structure and is generally for drinking early. Arneis is said to be susceptible to oxidation (in Italy).

This is an extract from the manual developed for the Research to Practice on ‘Alternative varieties: emerging options for a changing environment’ (Tassie, L.; Dry, P.R. and Essling, M. 2010). For further information on this and other emerging varieties, contact Marcel Essling (marcel.essling@awri.com.au; telephone 08 8313 6600) at The Australian Wine Research Institute to arrange the presentation of this Research to Practice program in your region.

We have noted that Arneis is not as susceptible to sunburn as Nebbiolo. We try to keep a well-leafed canopy to shade the fruit, particularly on the west side of the rows for the afternoon sun.

Our first harvest of Arneis was in 2010. The grapes were hand-picked on 27 February, at 12.3°Baumé and pH3.5, with a resulting yield of 4.5 tonnes per hectare. The grapes were whole bunch pressed due to the small volume. Juice was allowed to settle, then racked and QA23 yeast added. This was allowed to ferment to dryness over a three-week period, when a small amount of fining with casein and

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betonite was undertaken. The wine was cold stabilised and subsequently bottled.

Making and enjoying Arneis The 2010 vintage was released at our cellar door that October and sold out quickly. Wine writer for the West Australian, Ray Jordan, reviewed the wine in his Cellar Notes column on 28 October 2010, commenting that it was a “delightful, fragrant and fresh example of this really interesting variety”. He went on to say: “It has a nice minerally, gooseberry, nettle palate, with fine, lingering acidity.”

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Vineyard 28 discovered an interest in Arneis after finding success with other Italian varieties, including Nebbiolo.

The 2011 vintage was picked in two separate batches, and fermented separately. Our main planting (2008) was hand-picked on 28 February, at 12.6Be and pH3.52, resulting in a yield of 3.5t/ha. The source block was handpicked on 11 March, at 12.6Be and pH3.5, with a resulting yield of 7.5t/ha. We continually monitored the Baumé and acid throughout the ripening period, and picking dates were determined by the relationship that occurs between the Baumé level and the pH of the fruit. We have noted that as the Baumé increases, the acid holds relatively steady, but towards the end of the ripening period the acid level will drop rapidly. This can occur over a space of four to five days.

Hence, the need for two separate picking dates in 2011.

We use a basket press in our winery.

We did a very soft press to reduce any phenolic characters in the wine. A similar fermentation program was undertaken in 2010. On completion of fermentation, the two wines were combined. An adjustment was then made to bring the wine to pH3.1. The fining program was effectively the same as in 2010, using casein and betonite. The 2011 Arneis was bottled under screwcap in June 2011, and released at the cellar door towards the end of September.

The 2011 vintage shows a greater depth of character, with an increased mouthfeel and the development of nutty characters on the palate compared with the 2010 wine.

There were significant differences between 2010 and 2011 from a weather perspective: 2010 was a more traditional summer for our area with warm to hot days, but significantly cooler nights, whereas 2011 was a very hot, long summer, accompanied by hot nights. The other difference in vintages is obviously the ages of the vines.

Vineyard 28 was the first to commercially produce Arneis in Western Australia.

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W I NE T A X

business & marketing

Taxes are going up: what are we going to drink in the future?

By Dr Armando Maria Corsi1 and Professor Larry Lockshin1 1 University of South Australia, School of Marketing, 70 North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia Tel: +61 8 8302 0942, Fax: +61 8 8302 0442. Email: Armando.Corsi@unisa.edu.au and Larry.Lockshin@unisa.edu.au

This report from UniSA wine marketing specialists discusses how the introduction of an excise tax, according to the model proposed by the Federal Government’s Henry Wine Taxation Review, will likely reduce the consumption of wine in Australia, and modify the way alcoholic products compete with each other.

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et’s face it. How many members of the wine industry are in favour of the Federal Government’s Henry Wine Taxation Review? Not many. Yet, in one way or another, something is going to happen in the way wine is taxed in Australia, so it is better to work on doable solutions, rather than hope wine taxes will never increase in this country.

It is not our intention in this article to explain how wine is expected to be taxed in the future. We want to make three points, though.

First, it is clear that an increase in the amount of taxes on wine will have a negative impact on many wine producers. A recent study by Anderson et al. (2011) showed that the shock caused by the hypothesised volumetric tax will cause a fall in the gross domestic product (GDP) of both cool and warm wine regions, but not in the hot wine regions. In addition, while tax revenues increase, the production of low quality wines will decrease by 33%, a value similar to the expected contraction of domestic wine demand. Any projections of tax effects have some limits to their accuracy, but Anderson’s study looked exclusively at the wine sector, without taking into account the relative rate of substitution wine has to face in relation to other products if prices go up. This is not a marginal issue, as we know from everyday experience and from a somewhat dated, but still effective theoretical business tool – the Porter Model (1980) – that in order to understand the degree of profitability of an industry, we need to evaluate the way in which the players of the industry react to four types of external pressures. One of these forces is the threat of new products entering the market, so a model that fails to take this into account may not predict the results completely.

A second element to be taken into consideration is the outcome of a recent study conducted by VicHealth (2011) on the V2 7N 2

impact of 13 different taxation scenarios on Australian society in terms of alcohol consumption, taxation revenue, disabilityadjusted life years (DALYs) averted, and healthcare costs. The two most effective scenarios in terms of health benefits were: a universal tax rate for all alcoholic beverages equal to a 10% increase in the current excise applicable to spirits and alcopops; or, a universal tax rate on alcoholic beverages equal to the current rate for high-strength beer sold off-site (as recommended by the Henry Wine Taxation Review). Neither of these scenarios is efficient in terms of the principles stated by the National Alliance for Action on Alcohol (NAAA), which state that a tax should be volumetric (i.e., varied according to a product’s alcohol content) and that changes to taxation should not be designed to decrease the price of alcohol (except low alcohol products).

The most effective approach would be a two-tier system, where the first tier applies a tax rate on alcoholic beverages that increases exponentially by 10% for every percent increase in alcohol content above 3.2%. The second tier maintains the current excise on spirits and alcopops. It is worth noting that the VicHealth (2011) research highlights another scenario, which despite not being optimal, would satisfy the NAAA principles: the removal of the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET). As indicated by the VicHealth (2011) report itself, this scenario “may not be readily accepted by the wine industry”, but if combined with other types of reform, could stimulate the industry to manufacture products with lower alcohol content.

A third consideration is relative to the forecasted trends for the Australian wine industry in 2012. Two of them are particularly interesting for the topic discussed here: wine premiumisation and technological innovation. According to Euromonitor International (2012), the Australian wine industry will progressively W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

move away from a volume-based production to focus more on greater value-for-money wines. In addition, Australia will continue to show a greater increase in viticultural and technological innovation than its main competitors. This will result in the introduction over the forecasted period 2011-2016 of pouch containers, PET bottles, low calorie wines, low alcohol and more complex flavour-profiled wines (Euromonitor International 2012).

The need to propose a solution to the Australian wine industry following the hypothesised volumetric taxation of the Henry Wine Taxation Review is evident in a context where low alcohol wines can be seen as a potentially successful product to be launched in a market where consumers are expected to be prepared to buy higher priced wines.

Research conducted by the Wine Marketing Group of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of Marketing Science, of the University of South Australia, addressed this need through a cutting-edge methodology in the field of consumer research: discrete choice experiments (DCE). This methodology is particularly useful when one needs to estimate the impact of products that are currently unavailable in the market on existing alternatives (Louviere et al. 2000). Ten product categories were chosen to represent products offered in liquor stores in Australia. In addition, two low (9%) and very low (6%) alcohol wines, both offered in 1 litre and 4L formats, were made available to respondents (see Table 1, see page 70). After specifying their last purchase, a sample of 704 respondents representative of the population of Australian wine consumers completed eight sets of a DCE at prices under the current tax regime. Respondents were asked to think about their past behaviour and to indicate how many of each of the items they would buy, if they faced the alternatives and prices specified in each scenario. The four low www.w inebiz. com . au

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Table 1. Average prices of product alternatives and alcohol levels in discrete choice experiment.

Alcohol % vol

Average price before tax increase ($)

Average price after tax increase ($)

Bottled premium wine

13

10.99

14.99

36

Cask wine 4L

13

13.99

37.99

172

Cask wine 2L

13

11.99

24.99

108

Cask wine 1L

13

5.49

1499

173

Low alcohol wine 4L

9

13.99

19.99

43

Price increase in %

Low alcohol wine 1L

9

5.49

9.99

82

Very low alcohol wine-juice product 4L

6

13.99

15,99

14

Very low alcohol wine-juice product 1L

6

5.49

7.99

46

Light beer 6 pack

3

7.50

7.50

0

Light beer case 24

3

29.99

29.99

0

Mid-full strength 6 pack

5

10.25

10.25

0

Mid-full strength beer case 24

5

40.99

40.99

0

RTD 6 pack

5

19.99

19.99

0

Spirits 700mL

40

32.99

32.99

0

alcohol wines were included as alternatives available to respondents. The alcohol level of each alternative was specified and the total cost of the purchase basket they had chosen was provided to respondents for each scenario.

To examine complementary consumption and substitution of alcoholic beverages, the prices of the 14 alternatives varied on average by 35% around the average market price at the time of the study. Average prices for all 14 alternatives are provided in Table 1. Next, respondents were informed about governmental plans to change the excise tax for some alcoholic beverages, which would impact on their prices. Respondents then received eight scenarios where the prices of the alternatives varied around new average prices. These price increases for wine beverages reflect those planned by the Federal Government under excise tax equalisation.

Due to space limitations, it is not possible to report all the results of the research.

However, it is worth noting a number of changes to the degree consumers substitute and jointly buy alcoholic beverages under the new tax regime: • The average number of items chosen in each purchase simulation decreased for all products, except for beer in six-packs and spirits and particularly light six-pack choices, which increased. In this context, low alcohol wines increased their relative market share, although the consumption on an absolute value decreased.

• Although buyers of full-strength cask wine are still more likely to buy low alcohol wine (4L and 1L) and very low alcohol winejuice products in 4L casks, there is now a negative result for the 1L very low alcohol wine product, suggesting that it is less

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often purchased by cask wine consumers.

Agreeing with this, 1L very low alcohol wine had the strongest drop in average number of items purchased and the lowest increase in relative market share of all low alcohol wine alternatives. The higher relative price increase for 1L over 4L due to the tax reform is the most likely reason for this observation, suggesting that consumers strongly react to price differentials.

All full-strength cask wine consumers, particularly those of 4L casks, are more likely to have light beer as part of their portfolio than before the tax increase. This suggests that the higher prices for cask wine after the tax reform make consumers substitute light beer for it.

Similarly, for all full and low-strength cask wine consumers, the likelihood to also purchase mid- to full-strength beer in sixpacks or cartons increased.

The larger 4L and 2L sizes are more likely to be part of the portfolio than 1L cask wine. This suggests that buyers of higher volume sizes deviate to smaller casks, whenever these are offered at lower prices.

Price seems to become more important than volume preferences under the new tax system.

Four-litre low alcohol and 4L very low alcohol wine products are more likely to be in the same portfolio, as are 1L low alcohol and 1L very low alcohol wine products. It seems that package size became more important for light wines.

For spirits, the likelihood to be part of the purchase portfolio of consumers buying bottled wine, 1L full-strength, low and very low alcohol wine, as well as of light and mid- to full-strength beer, increased. This tendency towards a higher concentrated W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

alcoholic beverage is confirmed by a small increase of those consumers buying more than one item of spirits, and the slight increase in the average number of spirits chosen per purchase simulation.

Tax increases have a strong effect on the average basket size of consumers purchasing alcoholic beverages. Particularly high volume items with nominal high prices are proportionally over-affected. While this could be interpreted as a feasible way to reduce alcohol consumption, care has to be taken because it is unknown to what degree consumers might increase their shopping frequency or adapt to the higher prices, as with petrol.

In conclusion, the introduction of an excise tax according to the model proposed by the Henry Wine Taxation Review is likely to reduce the consumption of wine in Australia. High volume cask wines seem to be the most affected, while low alcohol wine alternatives increase their share of the wine beverage market. Secondly, the new taxation system will modify the way alcoholic products compete with each other.

In particular, consumers of cask wine will substitute it more strongly with light beer, mid- to full-strength beer in small packs and, to a lesser extent, spirits. This result cannot be considered acceptable from a public health perspective, as consumers will still be consuming alcohol. Finally, wine producers should start considering the development of low alcohol alternatives.

It is important that these products meet consumers’ preferences, otherwise it will be hard to make them accepted in the market.

Once these products are better known, it is more likely that they will be substituted for full-strength cask wine in the case of a tax equalisation.

AcknowledgEments The authors gratefully acknowledge the work of Dr Simone Mueller and Professor Jordan Louviere, without whom this research could not been have conducted.

References Anderson, K.; Valenzuela, E. and Wittwer, G. (2011) Wine export shocks and wine tax reform in Australia: regional consequences using an economy-wide approach. Economic Papers 30(3):386–399.

Euromonitor International (2012) Wine in Australia, available at http://www.euromonitor.com/wine-inaustralia/report (accessed 10 February 2012).

Louviere, J.J.; Hensher, D.A. and Swait, J.D. (2000) Stated choice methods, analysis and application.

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Porter, M. (1980) Competitive Strategy. Free Press, New York.

VicHealth (2011) Strengthening the evidence base for volumetric taxation of alcohol. The health and economic impacts of alternative alcohol taxation regimes in Australia, available at http://www.vichealth.vic.gov. au/Publications/Alcohol-Misuse/Strengthening-theevidence-base-for-volumetric-taxation-of-alcohol.aspx (accessed 10 February 2012).

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business & marketing

Time to move the digital conversation on

By Richard Halstead Chief Operating Officer, Wine Intelligence. Email: info@wineintelligence.com

L

ast year I had a very 21st century experience: I got into hot water with the blogosphere. My mini-roasting began when we released a teaser of the findings from a series of reports Wine Intelligence produced about the influence of the internet and social media on consumer behaviour in the wine category, covering the UK, the US and France. Among other things, our findings suggested that bloggers in all three countries were one of the least trusted sources of information available to wine consumers when considering a purchase – less trusted than retailers, journalists, and even seen as less reliable than the communications of the brand owners and wineries themselves.

The blogger reaction was predictably fast and furious. The more hysterical elements of the community labelled us heretics and unbelievers, and questioned our motives; most just typed abuse.

Some quite rightly asked us to justify our findings with more information, leading to a couple of very interesting online debates. A couple of the more thoughtful bloggers actually stopped to consider a

question: why is it that consumers don’t trust supposedly independent observers on the internet as much as they do their local shop?

Before we consider this issue in more detail, it’s worth thinking a bit more about the context. Start with the business question at the heart of the debate: how do you allocate scarce marketing resources to the greatest effect? Wine brand owners are under daily pressure to “do more online”, whether from their shareholders, the media, or the cohort of digital marketing agencies beating a path to their door. But, what does “do more online” actually mean? What roles should the wine industry actually play in this medium? And, to what extent are their actions helping or hindering their relationship with the consumer?

The internet, in general, and social media, in particular, offers a potent mix of enormous leverage (low cost, lots of people) and value for money compared with traditional forms of communications – even television, the former champion of the mass message. The ability of advertisers online to target their

message to the sample of people they’re interested in reaching is a fundamental advantage that no other medium can now match.

In theory, the winners in this world should be the specialists - those that offer a particular product or service that suits a certain audience, but not everyone - which is the theory set out in Chris Anderson’s seminal book The Long Tail. On this basis, the wine industry ought to have been first to embrace this new communications mechanism: wine is, after all, one of the most fragmented consumer product industries on earth, with lots of producers chasing lots of consumers.

Let’s highlight some of the notable success stories in this new medium.

Some wine retailers (a few of them online start-ups) have achieved success with well-executed, innovative ideas that have exploited the new medium’s communications reach.

More recently, Naked Wines, in the UK, has leveraged the ability of the internet to build communities online to launch a successful new business

Naked Wines (left), from the UK, and Cellartracker, from the US, have been successful in utilising the internet to engage with wine consumers.

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W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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model that brings consumers and producers closer together into a virtual financial ‘partnership’. The excellent Cellartracker, an information storage mechanism for people with wine in their cellar invented by former Microsoft programmer Eric LeVine, has also found success by offering the wine consumer community a platform for information sharing. Until Gary Vaynerchuk hung up his tasting glass at WineLibrary.tv, the wine industry had a genuine media star whose success arose from the virtual pulpit granted to him by webstreaming and a digital video camera.

However, as several commentators and analysts have pointed out, the relationship as a whole between the wine category and the internet has largely failed to live up to expectations. In a great column last year for Decanter, which still makes me chuckle, wine writer Andrew Jefford dared to ask the has-the-emperor-got-clothes question: why are wine websites so abysmally uninformative? He could have asked a further question, which we alluded to in our social media report that inspired so much blogger ire: why is it that wine consumers in the developed world, whom we know are so into Facebook, online

shopping, web surfing, etc., appear to care so little about what is written about wine online?

Perhaps the best place to try to answer this question is to examine the case of China - paradoxically, the one place where wine brand owners have only begun to develop an online presence.

Anyone who has spent time in China knows how central the internet is to the Chinese upper middle-class consumer.

A McKinsey survey in 2009 found that people in China’s 60 largest cities spend around 70% of their leisure time online, and one in five consumers aged between 18 and 44 won’t buy a product without first researching it online. In China, perhaps even more than in the rest of the world, the internet matters.

Not only is the internet an important source of information for wine – according to a recent Wine Intelligence survey, 69% of upper middle-class imported wine drinkers say that they often go online to look for wine information - it’s actually the most important source, even more important than recommendations from friends and family.

How does this answer our question about why the wine/online

relationship in the West is relatively weak? In the Chinese market, the internet has become the natural forum for connecting with others who have a similar interest in wine and relevant experiences to share. In part, this is because wine is still a relatively new phenomenon, with a poorly developed retail infrastructure and, thus, has developed a cult-like following, particularly among younger, highlyeducated and wired individuals.

However, the fundamental reason emerged from a casual lunchtime conversation with one of my Chinese colleagues. The internet is so important in China, she said, because it is the only medium that isn’t controlled or largely influenced by the government. As such, the expectation in micro-blogging sites, such as Sina Weibo or Renren (the Chinese Facebook equivalent), is for sensible, honest discourse, be it about wine or the state of the roads. Compared with the fairly low level of wine education among shop assistants, and the lack of wine columns in newspapers, it’s hardly surprising that wine has become one of the trendy topics in Chinese social media.

The picture in the developed world remains somewhat different – for now at least.

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W I NE I NTE L L I GEN C E

In most Western countries, the old media (we used to call it ‘mainstream’) retains a powerful legacy of positive reputation, even if people tend not to use it as much as they used to. I would still prefer to describe a hotel I would like to stay in as ‘recommended in Conde Nast Traveller’ rather than ‘recommended on TripAdvisor’, despite the fact that I don’t read Conde Nast Traveller, but do regularly check out what TripAdvisor says about hotels. Ingrained habits don’t always behave logically.

Compared with old media (and its online offshoots) the digital conversation is a bit like a raucous street market: lots of information ‘traders’ trying to attract your attention, very little apparent differentiation between them and, yet, beneath the surface, a significant gulf in quality between the lowest quartile of trader and the highest. To establish trusted relationships in this new space requires time, and quite a lot of effort on the part of the consumer. If you’re Chinese, and the alternative is statecontrolled media that you distrust, then it is probably worth the effort. However, if you’re from the UK or America and you perceive the market as a whole to have a mixed reputation (because of the lowest

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quartile of traders), you don’t necessarily want to admit you are shopping there for information – at least not yet. The irony here is that the trader you do use regularly in this raucous street market is probably selling the best stuff of all.

So, does this mean that money and time invested by wine businesses in their websites, social media platforms, blogs, tweets and so on is wasted? Not exactly. My theory here is that 50% of the investment is probably failing to justify itself at the moment, but it’s still difficult to tell which 50% (sounds like John Wanamaker’s ancient complaint about his advertising budget).

The bulk of this failure probably arises from a lack of understanding of what a brand should actually be using the digital conversation for. The social web is, by nature, a moving target and, therefore, what works can be quite a difficult thing to define. Ponderous businesses that have to filter any marketing messages through layers of bureaucracy can probably guarantee failure, as the conversation long ago moved on. However, fast-moving businesses that act quickly can also come unstuck through hurried mistakes or inappropriate messages.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

business & marketing

Our work so far on social media has really only scratched the surface of how this medium works, and what wine brand owners can do to make it work for them.

What we do know is that before the digital conversation starts to become effective, it needs to build trust among its users. As in the case of China, trust can be built quickly in the absence of other trustworthy media.

But, there’s a second stage, arguably more important than the first: the trust at the individual level needs to evolve into something that is seen to be trusted in society as a whole. I might find the commentary about wine on CellarTracker useful, or on WineDemon, but I’m not yet willing to tell my friends all about it.

How does this rising tide of trust happen? Probably by degrees, until a tipping point is reached. As more businesses and bloggers reach out to consumers in an honest, helpful and warm way, the tipping point will draw near, though like the game of Snakes and Ladders, there will be some knockbacks along the way if crass, hysterical or untruthful messages dominate. In some ways, then, the winning strategy in the digital conversation is perhaps the oldest business strategy of all: make friends, build trust, be useful.

WVJ

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SO C I A L M E D I A

Wine Australia’s social media success secrets

By Mark Rowley, Industry Analyst, Wine Australia

Mark Rowley reveals Wine Australia’s social media strategy, and how the results of the messages communicated to consumers and stakeholders will be measured and monitored.

H

arnessing social media to communicate a message is becoming critical. It is wise to have a strategy, so the message given to consumers and stakeholders is consistent and targetted. Within this article, some tools for measuring and monitoring the results of a social media strategy will be examined, along with a case study of Wine Australia’s Twitter account, @apluswines.

Social media strategy Wine Australia Corporation has identified the need to establish a focussed and innovative social media strategy to communicate and promote Australian wine across a variety of platforms. The social media strategy will have two distinct streams to enable concise, focussed and targetted communications to ensure the messages have impact and resonance with the target audience.

Wine Australia The social media strategy will promote Wine Australia Corporation to its stakeholders through the Wine Australia brand. The Wine Australia brand is the brand for industry information and, as such, represents the organisation.

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w w w.w i n eb i z .c om.au

This brand provides a platform for industry messages to be communicated to wine producers, growers and exporters.

Relevant information provided by Wine Australia will be communicated to these stakeholders in a focussed, efficient and targetted manner.

A+ Australian Wine The social media strategy will promote Wine Australia to consumers through the A+ Australian Wine brand. The A+ Australian Wine brand is the brand of engagement and, as such, provides a marketing platform to communicate with consumers.

The strategy will create and facilitate positive discussion about Australian wine. Consumers will be consistently delivered focussed, positive messages about the people, places and stories that enable the Australian wine community to make unique and regionally-distinct fine wines. The strategy will enable Wine Australia to become a respected, vibrant and innovative member of the online wine community.

Measurement and analysis Once a strategy is in place and interaction begins, it is important to

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Table 1. @apluswines KPIs as of 27 January 2012. Source: Klout.com Measure

Score

Klout

48.57

Re-tweets (90 day activity)

660

Mentions (90 day activity)

460

Followers (90 day activity)

3200

Following (90 day activity)

2600

True reach

2000

Amplification

15

Network impact

30

measure and analyse the message to test the strategy. Thankfully, there are a whole host of either free or cheap options available for users to do this.

The key performance indices are already established and just need to be tracked as the account grows. Many also allow for comparison against relevant peers.

Great tools to use for social media tracking include: • Seesmic: Fantastic for tracking social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, etc). It also provides the ability to live search for keywords and hashtags, such as your winery name, region

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SO C I A L M E D I A

business & marketing

Figure 1. @apluswines followers’ online heatpad. Source: Socialbro. name and wine-related hashtags (e.g., #aussiewines). You can also schedule tweets for blog posts and general information about your business.

• Twitalyzer: A powerful Twitter analysis tool. There are some small costs, but as you grow your online social media presence, it will assist in tracking your Klout/Influence in your social networks.

• Facebook Insights: Free tool for checking out who is viewing your Facebook pages. Demographics and further information is all shown here.

• Google Analytics: This allows the user to track who is visiting your website and enables you to tailor the site’s contents to the visitors’ needs.

• Klout.com: Klout, funnily enough, measures your accounts’ clout. There are also some other measures to track how much influence your followers have and the impact of your network.

A+ Australian Wine – a case study From humble beginnings, the @apluswines Twitter account has been growing in stature and influence in the online world. As of 27 January, the Klout measured 48.57. According to Klout, “The Klout Score measures influence based on your ability to drive action. Every time you create content or engage, you influence others”. It is calculated with an algorithm based on follower numbers, re-tweets, network size. This compares well with other national wine bodies’ accounts, such as New Zealand (42), Chile (41) and Spain (34). Table 1 illustrates other @apluswines KPIs. Online communication is much more effective if your followers are online at the time. Figure 1 illustrates when @apluswines are online over the course of a normal week.

While the number of Australian followers is greater than international followers, the account has many influential followers in the UK and US. This means the account’s

busiest period is where there is a cross-over of a consumer, which coincides with Friday morning in Australia and Thursday night in the US and UK. Social media is a rapidly expanding means of communicating, and its power is strong and growing. In recognition of this, Wine Australia has appointed Ben Moroney to the role of online communications advisor.

“Over the past three months, we have rolled out a global online communication strategy and have witnessed our following grow by more than 50% across our social media platforms. The amount of innovation in analysis and measurement is exciting and it is helping us engage with trade and consumers in a way not possible in the past,” Ben said.

Ben is happy to help wineries with their social media solutions, from beginners to the more competent users. Contact him on (02) 9361 1310 or ben.moroney@ wineaustralia.com WVJ

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business & marketing

BU L K W I NE

Global bulk wine shipments nearly double in 10 years

W

ine shipped in bulk by New World wine producers grew from around one-fifth to nearly onehalf of all wine traded, a recent report by Rabobank has revealed.

The report, titled The Incredible Bulk: the Rise in Global Bulk Wine Trade and produced by Rabobank’s Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory department, states that in 2001, 23 percent of wine traded by the New World was in bulk, compared with 43% in 2010.

“The advent of bulk wine transportation logistics has provided wine suppliers with a safe and reliable alternative to shipping masses of glass across the world. While this innovation has definite environmental benefits, it must be said that the overriding driver of bulk wine transportation is cost reduction. Selling more wine at more affordable prices has often been a necessity for many producers over the past decade as wine has been in abundant supply,” said the report’s co-authors Marc Soccio and Stephen Rannekleiv.

Several reasons are sighted in the report for bringing about the shift from bottled wine exports to bulk, which the report divides into ‘demand-side drivers’ and ‘supply-side drivers’: Demand side drivers • democratisation of wine: driven by greater supply availability combined with production and marketing practices that are more geared to consumer demand, bringing keenly-priced, increasingly wellmade and well-marketed products into the reach of more consumers around the world • growth in off-premise wine purchases combined with retail consolidation across most major developed economies: in light of abundant global supply over the past five years and comparative lack of brand distribution and marketing costs, grocery

retailers have been able to drive prices down to levels extremely challenging for traditional brand owners to match; consumers have followed the deals, fuelling demand for bulk wine • global economy: the poor state of the economy in major developed markets has resulted in households become increasingly value conscious, obligating suppliers and retailers to chase them down-market; pressures on household budgets have also led to a change in consumption patterns from on-premise to off-premise • exchange rates: dramatic swings in foreign exchange rates during the global economic downturn have been felt particularly by producers in Australia, New Zealand and Chile.

Supply-side drivers • global oversupply: rapid growth in supply in Australia in particular forced producers to increase discounting activity on their brands and to trade increased volumes of surplus bulk stock to maintain inventory control; the report also states that the rationalisation of structural and seasonal supply that is taking place across the globe may drive the continued growth in bulk wine shipments, with the tightening of global wine stocks leading

to higher grape and bulk wine prices in many countries, thus, raising the costs of production and forcing wineries to aggressively seek ways to reduce costs, such as via in-market bottling • commoditisation of wine: with an increasingly similar style and lack of regional distinction, commercial wine has become much more like a commodity than a differentiated good, which has opened up supply strategies for global wine companies seeking new ways to smooth out the production cycle and lower their production cost base, with many companies initiating global wine sourcing strategies for their commercial brands; bulk wine from all corners of the world has flowed into markets, such as the US and China, as the demand for foreign wines and a low-cost complement to domestic production requirements has emerged.

The report concludes that while the “tide of global stock levels has been steadily receding”, suggesting a constraint to future growth in the bulk wine trade, more restrained growth is “nevertheless predicted over the coming three to five years, as many of the market forces that have stimulated bulk trade in the past are likely to remain in place in the foreseeable future”.

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B R A N D P R OTE C T I ON

business & marketing

How to protect your brand from being ‘ripped off’ in China

By John B. MacPhail, Partner, Finlaysons. Email: John.MacPhail@finlaysons.com.au

This article is based on a presentation delivered at the latest series of Wine Roadshow seminars hosted

by Finlaysons entitled ‘Doing Business with China’, and offers some practical advice on how to thwart counterfeiters in China’s burgeoning wine market.

Introduction: China is the ‘Wild West’ of IP China has always been painted as the ‘wild west’ of intellectual property (IP). Anecdotally, China has been seen as the largest source of counterfeit products, both those supplied to Australia and the West, and also, of course, in terms of ‘domestic’ counterfeiting for the market in China. A European Community report in October 2009 noted that China remained the main target country for combating IP infringements, with 54% of all counterfeit goods seized at EC borders originating from China.

China now more IP aware In recent times, China has become much more IP aware, and more respectful of IP rights. Why? For the simple reason that there’s money to be made in IP. For example, an examination of the most valuable Chinese brands shows that the most valuable alcoholic beverage-related brand is worth US$5.79 billion1. The company is Mutai, formed in 1915, which produces a Chinese rice wine, or baijiu.

Domestic Chinese companies have started to wake up to the potential value of intangibles. In 2001, China became a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and agreed that it would fully implement its obligations under the WTO agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS).

As part of its move towards greater respectability, and in order to encourage and stimulate foreign investment, China has also in recent times been ‘picking up its game’ in clamping down on counterfeits.

Nevertheless, there are significant problems, as a couple of recent examples involving Australian wine (or Australian wine producers) will illustrate.

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Penfolds/Benfolds At the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, Penfolds’ staff were bemused and horrified to find a ‘Benfolds’ stand, promoting Benfolds Wines. The ‘Benfolds’ on the label was the same as ‘Penfolds’, but with a stylised ‘B’. The labels on the bottles had some very mangled English, including some strange typos (see Figure 1).

The blurb on the labels read that the wine had been matured in oak casks ‘includign all thusethat beld theprevicus vinrage of benfolds Grange’ [sic]. The stand also featured a picture of Penfolds’ chief winemaker Peter Gago.

Penfolds (Foster's) took quick action and managed to shut the operation down in its infancy. The operation was raided by the Administration for Industry and Commerce. The product was destroyed and the counterfeiter signed what is a standard AIC undertaking.

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Subsequently, Foster's embarked on a civil action for trademark infringement and related causes of action, and obtained a strong judgment in its favour, including costs.

It is noteworthy that the product was only destined for the domestic (Chinese) market. This highlights a vital distinction.

China’s wine counterfeit problem involves Chinese wine (or perhaps ethanol, plus some colour and flavouring) that is bottled, labelled, packed and sold in the Chinese market.

Counterfeiting whereby a product is exported from China and distributed in overseas Western markets, such as Australia, is not generally a concern. The costs structure make that unfeasible, even if the products are bulk shipped and then bottled, labelled and packed in Australia. ▶

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Practical steps to thwart the counterfeiters

Figure 1. Counterfeit ‘Benfolds’ label and display at the World Expo, in Shanghai in 2010.

Flinders Run The Benfolds case is an illustration of how the ‘big boys’ deal with counterfeits.

The Flinders Run case is at the other extreme. Flinders Run is a small, boutique winery in South Australia’s Southern Flinders Ranges.

In mid-2010, its owner, Emanuel Skorpos, received a phone call from a Hong Kong-based legal consultancy called Wine Protection Group, alerting him to the fact that his wine was being counterfeited in China. Skorpos immediately flew over to Shenzhen to investigate.

Flinders Run had, at the time, sold a few containers of wine into China in the $35$150 per case range. When he visited the wine shop in Shenzhen, Skorpos bought two bottles of what purported to be Kieras Bin 05 2008 Merlot.

The bottles and the labels were pretty similar, particularly without the benefit of being able to compare them side-byside. It also had several printing and other common grammatical errors.

Skorpos says he has no idea why a small winery like Flinders Run was picked on. In the Shenzhen wine shop where he bought ‘his’ wine, there were, he estimates, 15-17 other Australian labels that were being sold, which he presumes were also counterfeit. These ranged from small wineries, right up to the largest players in the industry.

So, no wine brand is safe from being counterfeited in China. The exception is probably small wineries that are possibly not yet selling into China, or at least not using their own label to do so.

Although it may take some time yet for counterfeiters to ‘get it right’, e.g.,

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learn how to spell ‘Australia’ correctly, unquestionably, the counterfeiters will get more sophisticated and will learn from their mistakes.

Why did the ‘Benfolds’ and the Flinders Run counterfeits happen?

As the Wine Protection Group notes, the problems with China and counterfeit wine can be summarised as follows: • Enthusiasm in emerging markets can often cause basic business practices and laws to be ignored. Faking a brand is easy, quick and cheap when compared with a standing-start development.

• China is a relatively new market for wine.

It is difficult for foreign companies to find good, trustworthy Chinese partners and being a new market, there are very few rules to work to. Most of this is completely alien to foreign companies wishing to do business with China.

• There are few controls over Chinese wineries that have enough wine to sell in bulk to other companies for them to bottle and label how they decide. The same goes for Chinese importers who also buy in bulk from other countries.

• Bottles, labels and closures are all easy to manufacture in China. If these items are copies of an original, but are not exactly the same, then this matters not: as most customers will mostly likely not be able to tell the difference.

• Relatively new wine drinkers do not have any real idea what a wine should taste like, or even distinguish between a good and poor wine. Such lack of knowledge allows wines to be sold that are not as claimed on the labels. In other words, the public is being duped.2 W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Labels/bottles One of the easiest anti-counterfeiting measures is to use a complex label. A simple, two-colour label with ‘standard’ elements is more easily reproducible. To make it difficult for counterfeiters, use more colours and complex elements in the label. This makes it just a little bit harder to copy. Also consider using specially manufactured bottles, rather than generic bottles.

Monitor websites, such as e-bay and alibaba.com. The latter is a business-tobusiness e-commerce platform based in Hong Kong. From time to time, suppliers listed there will advertise bottles or labels directed at counterfeiting of specific brands. Larger wine companies monitor such wine sites regularly.

Make sure that your bottle and label suppliers are reliable and trustworthy, and even obtain legal assurances from them that they will not supply relevant products to third parties.

The multi-national suppliers of particularly ‘high end’ spirits (e.g., Martell Cognac) go to some trouble to ensure that empty bottles are collected or returned, so that they cannot be simply refilled. That advice does not translate quite so easily to the wine industry.

Is a brand that exports bulk wine that is bottled, labelled and packaged in the country in which the wine is being exported more vulnerable to counterfeiting than a brand that is exported fully packaged?

There is probably little difference; it all depends on how easily the label’s other packaging elements can be copied.

Brand protection It goes without saying that trademarks should be registered in China. What is less obvious is that they should be registered as early as possible, preferably before a distributor has been found, and distribution contracts entered into. Early applications are advised because, first, the process can be slow, and, secondly, protection should be in place before you engage with a distributor.

It is now taking close to 12 months to get applications through to registration, which is a great improvement on the two or three years of recent times.

Brand or even IP protection is not the end of the matter. What is needed is a holistic approach involving a mix of legal, marketing, technological, PR, ethical and corporate-aware approaches, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Trademarks are cheaper to obtain in China than Australia, and it is probably a good idea to register more than simply V27N2

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your ‘flagship’ brand. Consider getting registration for some of the label or other container elements. Following the Benfolds experience, Treasury Wine Estates has reconsidered its trademark filing strategy for China.

Importantly, trademark registration must not be left to the distributor in China. To do otherwise is to make a hostage of your brand and invites significant problems if there is ever a difference of opinion with the distributor or if, as happens, the relationship comes to an end. It would be disastrous for a brand that has been selling for years in China and established a strong and loyal following there to lose control of its mark to its ex-distributor.

The lesson is clear: register, register early, and get strong protection in place.

In some cases, a new and separate brand might be considered for China.

However, this in some respects misses the point, as a brand-owner is usually seeking to capitalise on its image and reputation outside of China for success with Chinese consumers.

Importantly, remember that although trademarks last 10 years, they can be renewed potentially in perpetuity.

to New tles i t e Win 12 in 20

business & marketing

Figure 2. A pyramid of IP Protection. Source: Meagan C. Dietz et al., McKinsey Quarterly (August 2005).

An important question is what name to register? Should it be the original trademark, or the Chinese equivalent?

Should the Chinese equivalent be a

straight translation, transliteration, or a combination of the two? There will also be a choice between the simplified version of the characters or the traditional version.3 ▶

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W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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Distributors in China Once the brand owner has filed trademarks in China, there are several considerations in relation to the distributor: • The distribution arrangement should specify the manner and circumstances in which the distributor may or may not use the marks. This is the same for China as it is Australia and other jurisdictions.

To preserve the validity of the mark, there must be a legal right to control the manner and circumstances of its use. When the relationship comes to an end, the distributor should be legally restrained from using the brand and other trademarks, and also any other special or distinctive branding elements. This may not be so easy to enforce in practice.

• Use your distributor to police the brand.

They are the ones with the specialist local knowledge and people on the ground.

It is important for distributors and their staff to be educated about the product and to know what to look for. People who handle wines on a daily basis usually quickly acquire an instinct for spotting counterfeits. Education about the bottle, corks (if used) and labels is important.

For example, it seems that the most popular counterfeited varieties in China are Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

• Industry associations can be useful. The spirits industry has shown a lead in that direction with the IFSP (International Federation of Spirits Producers) and the SWA (Scotch Whisky Association). These organisations are very active in China and have developed systems and expertise, training, methods for pooling information, and testing and forensic services.

Technological measures There are certainly a range of technological anti-counterfeiting measures available. These would include the following: • watermarks, holograms or microprinting on the labels

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• embedded DNA in the product • RFID (radio frequency identification) tags on the bottles • other technologies, such as a French system (developed by Prooftag) which relies on the datamatrix code and a picture of the bubble pattern for the particular bottle, which is broken if the seal is cracked.4 The problem with all of these technologies is that given China’s expertise in this area, the systems may be hacked or broken. In the experiences of a few of my clients, Chinese counterfeiters are extremely competent at counterfeiting even relatively sophisticated anticounterfeiting technologies. Another weakness of most of the technologies is that they rely on specialist scanning or detection equipment, and rarely will the technology assist a simple consumer in determining whether or not a product or bottle is counterfeit.

As unaltruistic as it may seem, the answer to protecting your brand from being ripped off in China is to have the counterfeiters instead rip off the next guy’s brand!

Summary

Disclaimer

There is no simple ‘silver bullet’ strategy for securing your brand in China.

The complexity of the system, and the number and diversity of the players involved mean that a layered approach is the only way to succeed.

Reliance on legal rights and tactics alone is a recipe for failure, and successful brand owners take strategic and operational action to protect their IP in advance, on an ongoing basis, and when it is being infringed.

A clever wine-brand owner will involve its distributor closely and will work to build relationships with the authority and other players likely to be of assistance. In the end, a multi-factorial and combined approach is the only way that is likely to succeed.

There will always be counterfeiting in China on a significant scale. For a brand owner, the strategy is to make it as difficult and unprofitable as possible for counterfeiters to target your brand.

This paper is based on the law as it stands on 1 July 2011. It is not intended to be a complete and definitive statement of the law and the information and views contained in it should not be regarded as a substitute for specific advice in individual situations. It covers Australian law only and does not purport to cover, or make any comment on, Chinese law. Further professional advice should be sought before applying the content of this paper to particular circumstances.

The wine is filtered gracefully

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Thanks to Kate Thompson, legal and corporate affairs director, Premium Wine Brands, Pernod Ricard; Owen Malone, intellectual property director, Treasury Wine Estates; and Emanuel Skorpos, of Flinders Run Wines, who gave generously of their time and provided interesting and useful insights into topics dealt with in this paper. Thanks also to several busy wine industry clients, who were generous with their time in providing insights and other observations about their experiences in the industry. I am also grateful to Charissa Astley-Turner, solicitor at Finlaysons, for her help in preparing this paper.

1

ee Millward Brown, WPP Brandz Top 50 Chinese S Brands (2011) www.millwardbrown.com/BrandZ/ BrandZ_Top50_Chinese_Brands.aspx.

2

ine Protection Group, China, Protecting Your Rights: W Hard Facts, http://www.wine-protection-group.com/ hard-facts/

3

he traditional version is still based on earlier T characters and uses more strokes, whereas the more modern simplified characters are much simpler.

4

ee Prooftag, ‘Security Concept’ http://www.prooftag.

S net/en/technology/security-concept

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Hood: a man of premium quality

By Matt Byrne

While the pleasure of drinking wine has recently assumed greater importance than the making of it for Andrew Hood, he has left a legacy to the Tasmanian wine industry that will remain long after his retirement. During his recent visit to Tasmania, Matt Byrne caught up with Hood, where he reflected on his journey from cheese to wine, to elder statesman of the Apple's Isle's industry.

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ndrew Hood is a gentle giant of the rapidly emerging Tasmanian wine industry.

The quietly spoken Hood - who has helped garner the Apple Isle’s world attention through his contract winemaking business, his own wine label, Wellington, and consultancy role with Frogmore Creek Wines - is now easing into retirement.

But, the legacy of this unassuming ambassador of Tasmanian wine, who played a crucial role in securing Hobart’s hosting of the recent 2012 International Cool Climate Symposium, will be rich and ongoing.

Born and raised in Tasmania, Hood never set out to become a winemaker.

He studied Agricultural Science before heading across Bass Strait for a career in a related industry, cutting his teeth on something that often accompanies great wine… cheese.

“I began as a microbiologist at Kraft, in Melbourne,” Hood recalls during a breakfast chat in his beloved Hobart. It wasn’t until he was offered a job at The Australian Wine Research Institute in Adelaide in 1973, that Hood started to get interested in the process of making wine.

“I spent nearly five years in Adelaide and then transferred to the then Riverina CAE, which became Charles Sturt University, in Wagga.”

Yet, Hood never studied winemaking, even when he got there.

“It still have no formal qualification in wine, although I did get a degree in viticulture.

“There’s no family background in wine at all; I was the first.”

Hood assumed the academic mantle for 12 years, lecturing in Wine Science at CSU. “I had some wonderful colleagues in those years. Brian Croser was in charge and there was Tony Jordan, who now owns and runs Oenetec and sits on the board of Wine Australia,” he said. “Don Lester, who became Orlando’s chief viticulturist, was also there and Andrew Pirie also had a stint there.

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“I got interested in grapegrowing and winemaking thanks to a small commercial winery run by the staff and students,” he said. “It was only a 200-tonne winery, but it gave us all hands-on experience in the whole process, and I really loved it.”

Meanwhile, Hood kept coming back to visit Tassie, “as my parents still lived there”.

“My experience with winemaking got me formulating an idea for a very different future. I’d seen the way the Victorian boutique wine industry had really developed in the ‘70s and ‘80s. I could see the same thing was happening back home in Tassie with people like Julian Alcorso and Andrew Pirie.”

So, as Hood’s interest in academia waned, a new career path opened up.

“I was getting pretty sick of university politics,” he said. “I was getting pretty twisted and bitter with bureaucracy and always fighting over financial resources. It gradually occurred to me that I might come back to Tasmania and set up a contract winemaking business.

“There were all these tiny boutique wineries emerging, but who was going to make and bottle their wine?

“Julian Alcorso allowed me to do my first vintage in a corner of the barrel shed at Moorilla,” he said. “I then did three vintages at Domaine A with Peter and Ruth Althaus, who had just started building their winery.

“Then, by 1994, I had got some runs on the board and received a loan from the Tasmanian Development Authority and built my own winery in the Coal River Valley in 1994.”

Hood’s contract winemaking business began with six clients and processing just 16 tonnes a year, which grew to more than 30 clients processing 300 tonnes in seven years.

Hood’s own label soon followed, which was named Wellington after the mountain that forms the dramatic backdrop to the city of Hobart.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

“Early on, some of the contract clients were happy to swap some of their fruit as payment for my winemaking, so, I began my own label with the fruit I earned,” he said. “But, eventually Wellington developed a life of its own and we started buying fruit to keep up with demand.

“Wellington Wines quickly grew to 5000-6000 cases a year and we sold into the eastern states, and it did very well.

We got listings on QANTAS flights and won awards at the Sydney International Wine Competition.”

Hood said Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Riesling were his preferred varieties to work with, the latter inspiring him to pioneer tank-frozen Iced Rieslings in Tasmania, using chilling equipment to mimic the making of German Eisweins. www.w inebiz. com . au

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Andrew Hood with Frogmore Creek's senior winemaker Alain Rousseau (left) and winemaker Nick Glaetzer.

“In 1995, I had a couple of old refrigerated milk vats. We’d played with some frozen juice in Wagga and I thought I’d give this a go with some Riesling.

That’s how our Iced Riesling began and it’s gone like a bomb ever since,” said Hood, who would eventually share his Iced Riesling method with the team at Frogmore Creek, where it is still made today.

“In the early 2000s, I started enjoying those really light, fruity, German-style spatleses and realised we could do the same sort of thing here.

“We have beautiful acid in our Riesling here. If you stop the fermentation at the right time, you end up with a wine that’s about 8 percent alcohol, with residual sugar of about 40 grams per litre.”

Just when Hood was reaching the top of the mountain, his world changed for the better and the bitter.

“It was quite a big year in 2003, some good and some bad,” he said. “I ended up selling the business and my first wife Jenny died after a long battle with cancer.

It wasn’t a great time, she had been sick for a long while.”

Then, Hood’s wine destiny took a new turn.

“In the meantime, I had become really good friends with Tony Shearer, who with his good friend Jack Kidwiler, bought land and established Frogmore Creek,”

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he said. “We had already made their first vintage in 2002. One thing led to another after Jen died, and later in 2003, I ended up selling my business to them.

“It was the right thing at the right time for me. I had a very good financial adviser and he was great at succession planning. Neither of my kids were going to be interested in the business, so eventually I would have ended up having to sell it. It happened a little bit earlier than I would have planned, but it worked out well.”

Frogmore Creek took Hood on as a consultant winemaker, but he found the commitment difficult to maintain.

“They certainly wanted me to stay on, and I did for a while, but it was never quite the same,” he said. “I started winding my involvement down to four days a week and, then, three.

“We initially had Jeremy Dineen come in as winemaker and when he left in 2005, Alain Rousseau came on-board as senior winemakee. His experience has proved invaluable.

“He now works with our other winemaker Nick Glaetzer, and it makes me feel good that Frogmore is in good hands.”

Hood cannot get the wine business completely out of his blood.

“I still go out to the winery every 10 days or so, just to keep my hand in and especially at vintage.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

“It’s a wonderful industry to be in; certainly at this boutique end, it’s great.”

Since pulling back at Frogmore, Hood poured an enormous amount of time into helping organise the recent International Cool Climate Symposium, in Tasmania.

“It was a wonderful event to be part of and a real coup for Tasmania to further establish our international credentials.”

While Hood continues to enjoy wine judging roles, his long and formal involvement with Wine Tasmania officially ended in 2010.

“I found it increasingly uncomfortable to be involved in the organisation without having a commercial involvement,” he said.

“It’s been a fantastic involvement, but it’s important that new blood is given a chance.”

Hood said the strength of the Tasmanian wine industry was reflected in the membership of Wine Tasmania.

“We set a very friendly subscription rate so everybody could be a member,” he said. “The organisation now represents 90 percent of producers numerically and 98% of production. That bodes for a strong and exciting future.”

Frogmore winemaker and now Jimmy Watson winner Nick Glaezter described Hood as “one of the founders of the modern Tasmanian wine industry”.

“His investment in Hood Wines meant many backyard wine producers could use Andrew’s skills and equipment to dramatically improve the quality and reliability of their wines,” Glaetzer said.

“This lifted the overall image of Tasmanian wine from an amateurish level, to the groundwork for today’s successes around the state.”

Moore’s Hill boss Julian Allport said Hood’s selfless contribution to the industry was an example to follow.

“He is one of the elder statesmen of our industry and is very well-respected and highly regarded by everyone involved,” Allport said.

Stefano Lubiana Wines communications, sales and marketing manager Mark Smith said Hood was a champion of the small producer.

“He took onboard and provided plenty of advice to producers who were just finding their way with their viticulture,” Smith said.

“He provided the safe option in terms of them bringing fruit from their vineyards and turning it into sound wine that reflected the cool climate and varietal characters of the region.

“His mentoring role, his approachable nature and his ability to speak his mind and be a positive sounding-board speaks volumes for the man’s character.

“Andrew has been a steady hand at the tiller for Tasmania and continues to play that role, for those smart enough to seek his advice,” Smith said.

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Tasmania sets its sights on a sparkling future

By Matt Byrne

Matt Byrne journeyed across Bass Strait in the week before Christmas and ahead of the International Cool Climate Symposium that was held in Hobart in late January and early February, to speak with some of the key players in the Tasmanian wine industry about its aspirations, challenges and the recent purchase of Tamar Ridge by mainland-based Brown Brothers.

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hile Tasmania is already revered for its Pinot Noirs, its growing love affair with sparkling is ready to issue a challenge to rival perhaps even the mighty French Champagnes on the international stage.

The first sparkling wine made in Tasmania according to the traditional méthode champenoise was Jansz – the product of a venture established in the mid-1980s between the owners of Heemskerk Wines, Graham Wiltshire and Bill Fesq, and the Champagne house Louis Roederer. The head of Louis Roederer, Jean-Claude Rouzard, was personally involved in establishing the Jansz Tasmania vineyard in the Tamar Valley, in the heart of the Pipers River region, planting it to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Tasmania now boasts a brace of worldclass sparkling wines from wineries like Jansz (now owned by Yalumba), House of Arras (Accolade), Delamere, and Stefano Lubiana Wines.

Stefano Lubiana vigneron Steve Lubiana fell in love with sparkling wines while studying at Roseworthy and working in his father Mario’s vineyard and winery at Moorook, in South Australia’s Riverland, in the mid 1980s.

“I then went to Champagne, in France, for the 1985 vintage and worked there, and that cemented my interest in sparkling,” Lubiana said.

But, Lubiana knew if he wanted to make quality sparkling wine, he had to move from the Riverland and find a cooler climate.

“We looked all around Australia and, in 1988, we came down and started looking around and were impressed by the fruit.”

Steve and wife Monique purchased a greenfield site at Granton, in Tasmania’s Derwent Valley, 20km north of Hobart, in 1990 and began planting their vineyard to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Stefano Lubiana Wines produced its first vintage in 1993, which comprised a Pinot Noir Chardonnay sparkling wine. The winery’s current sparkling releases comprise a NV Brut, a NV Brut Reserve, several Vintage V2 7N 2

Steve and Monique Lubiana against the backdrop of their vineyard at Granton and the Derwent River, 20km north of Hobart.

Bruts and the 1995 Prestige - a 50/50 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir aged on lees for more than 10 years.

“Steve was one of the first to go out and get the right clones, and aim for the top of the heap,” said Monique Lubiana.

“We set up the vineyard to create great sparkling, and have never wavered from that goal.

“We saw the potential and thought, why should Champagne be the limit?

Maybe we can do a better job than the French?”

The Lubianas have sparkling that has been on lees since 1996 coming onto that market shortly, and the expectation is it will further put Tasmanian sparkling wine on the international menu.

Tasmanian wine industry statesman Andrew Hood said sparkling could well be the “point of difference that makes Tasmania stand out in the global wine community”.

“You just cannot talk about serious fizz in Australia without Tasmania being right at the top,” Hood said. “The other really strong strings to our bow are Pinot, Riesling and Chardonnay. But, sparkling has a special place, and is now developing a life and momentum of W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

its own. It has been so good that people cannot ignore it.”

Winemaking Tasmania boss Julian Alcorso agreed that sparkling was becoming a real point of difference for the Tasmanian industry.

“I think it’s the future,” Alcorso said.

“We have a unique cool climatic advantage.

Winemakers can produce good sparklings elsewhere in cooler parts of the country, but they can’t make exceptional sparklings like we can here.

“Even the French have acknowledged that we are producing some of the best sparklings outside of France,” he said.

Alcorso lamented that he wished he could keep the sparkling wines he produces for clients on lees for longer to “see how good they could really become”.

“There’s always the commercial imperative to get them out into the marketplace,” he said. “We like to hold sparklings at least five years. Under five is early, five to 10 is ideal but, unfortunately, most of our clients can’t afford to do that.

Most of them haven’t been doing it for long enough, so they are dead keen to get something out. So, we find we’re already disgorging ‘08 and ‘09 and that is a bit quick. ▶ www.w inebiz. com . au

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Winemaking Tasmania boss Julian Alcorso at his Cambridge headquarters in eastern Hobart.

Moorilla Wines winemaker Conor Van der Reest samples some of his Vintage Brut rosé.

“As the industry grows, (the time on lees) will hopefully get longer and longer but, unfortunately, sales are currently outstripping production.”

Frogmore winemaker Nick Glaetzer said there had been a huge growth in sparkling production in recent years.

“When I started in 2006, Frogmore was doing 300-400 cases a year and had just bought the disgorging machine,” Glaetzer said. “Now, we’re doing more than 10,000 cases a year of Pinot and Chardonnay sparkling.” Frogmore’s sparkling production includes the Evermore Cuvée and Forty-Two Degrees South NV Sparkling.

Glaetzer also believes a single style would not be enough for Tassie to hang

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its hat on, believing Pinot Noir would also figure strongly in the industry’s future.

Glaetzer’s colleague, Frogmore senior winemaker Alain Rousseau, said Tasmanian sparkling was “getting closer to the French”.

“But, we still do not have that nice mineral acid that they have,” he said.

“We’ve now got complexity and there are five to 10 Tasmanian wineries that are getting close.”

Moorilla senior winemaker Conor van der Reest said sparkling had been one of his pet projects.

“Prior to my arrival, sparkling was a bit erratic at Moorilla; they did it some years and didn’t do it other years,” van der Reest said. “So, I’ve been working on a sparkling program of all vintage wines where the blend changes every year, depending on what we get out of the vineyard.

“We always have a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay – which we trial from 9.5 to 10.5o Baumé. A tighter acidity with 9.5Be seems to work best for us.”

Moorilla produces three sparkling wines under its Muse and Praxis labels: the Praxis Vintage Brut Riesling and the Muse Brut rosé and Vintage Brut.

Delamere Vineyards boss Shane Holloway said sparkling had become extremely valuable to the Tasmanian wine industry.

“Until now it has been the realm of the bigger companies, but smaller wineries are now getting involved,” Holloway said.

“While a lot of people are now dabbling in sparkling, it’s going to be a long time before we see a real diversification of makers and styles. It’s a huge part of our portfolio, but it’s the amount of capital expenditure and the lay time that will slow the process down.”

Delamere makes three sparklings: a Blanc de Blanc, a Cuvee and Non-Vintage Sparkling Rosé Pinot Chardonnay blend.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

“I do 1000 cases of sparkling, and it requires a lot of time to lay it down,” he said.

“It’s four years before you see the finished product and that can be a long wait.”

Holloway said Steve Lubiana had been a “huge mentor for me”.

“He’s where I’d love to be in 20 years time,” he said. “The time and effort he’s put in to develop sparkling and put it on the map in Tasmania has been amazing.

“When you look at Clover Hill with Karina Dambergs, Arras with Ed Carr, and Jansz with Natalie Fryar, we are part of a group of winemakers riding a new wave of sparkling.”

Peter Dredge, winemaker for the former BRL Hardy and now Accolade-owned Bay of Fires, under which the House of Arras range is made by Carr and co, recalled how Carr and BRL Hardy’s viticulturist Ray Guerin had identified Tasmania as an ideal place for sparkling back in 1995.

“They recognised Tasmania as the superior cool climate for sparkling wine,” Dredge said. “They’d been looking around the mainland, but Ed Carr was adamant that Tasmania was the place for sparkling. So, they scrambled and grabbed fruit anywhere they could.

“Hardys were the first company that did what Tassie needed and that was to spread out and look for those important parcels of fruit,” he said. “They put them into a product that could be taken and held up as an example of what we could do.” Today, grapes from the Bay of Fires vineyard, purchased by BRL Hardy in 2001, supplement the fruit parcels bought from growers to produce the House of Arras range.

Will Adkins, brand manager for Tamar Ridge, which was acquired by Brown Brothers’ in 2010 and makes sparkling under its Tamar Ridge, Devil’s Corner and Pirie labels, said the debate over whether Tassie hangs it hat on sparkling versus Pinot was “a healthy one”.

“I don’t think we have to back one to the exclusion of the other,” he said. “There’s not a lot of places you can plant Pinot and really make it work. We have a real opportunity to grab the mantle with Pinot and take it out as a premium offering around the world.

For sparkling, we are already seeing people calling Tasmania 'the Champagne of the south'.

“The influencers and commentators are really picking up on the growth and quality of sparkling down here, which is great.”

Adkins said the main hurdle facing Tasmanian sparkling in its quest for global recognition was the might of the Champagne brand.

“It is so strong, especially in international markets, so it will be hard until we create our own sparkling identity, but it’s coming,” Adkins said.

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Brown Brothers’ smooth move into Tasmania

By Matt Byrne and Sonya Logan

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s former Brown Brothers’ chief executive Ross Brown explained to delegates at the recent International Cool Climate Symposium (ICCS) in Hobart, it was Tasmania’s growing reputation for premium sparkling and Pinot Noir, and concerns about how global warming might impact on their existing mainland vineyards, that drove the company to buy the vineyard and winery assets of Tamar Ridge Estates from forestry company Gunns Ltd back in August 2010.

However, purchasing an established wine company was not Brown Brothers’ intention when it set out to explore expansion into Tasmania.

“We were just going to look at greenfield sites,” admitted Ross Brown during his ICCS presentation. “Brown Brothers had never bought another business; we’ve always developed our greenfield sites into vineyards over time.

“However, when we came to Tasmania we learned that Gunns’ assets had been placed on the market. It was a huge opportunity and one we thought was initially was too big for Brown Brothers.

For some time, we stepped away from it and didn’t give it much attention.

“When we looked more closely at Gunns’ assets, we started to realise that they were developed with a great deal of integrity and resources. We also recognised that the vineyards had been established across the state in a very strategic sense. There were vineyards in the Tamar Valley, White Hills near Launceston airport, and on the east coast – all quite different in their attributes viticulturally. Put all that together with the fact that they were really well-established with water and infrastructure, and we started to get interested,” Brown explained, who confessed the company banned him from visiting Tasmania and looking at the Tamar Ridge assets until a business model that “looked like it would stack up” had been established, for fear his love of fishing in Tasmania would sway his decision to buy.

Through its purchase of Tamar Ridge, Brown Brothers acquired the brands of Tamar Ridge, Devil’s Corner, Pirie Tasmania, South by Pirie, Coombend and Rosevears. Maintaining the autonomous V2 7N 2

Ross Brown during his presentation to the recent International Cool Climate Symposium on why Brown Brothers’ purchased Tamar Ridge. integrity of these brands has been a key part of the company’s strategy.

Tamar Ridge brand manager Will Adkins said the Tasmanian wine industry needed more companies like Brown Brothers, which was “there for the long haul”.

“I think Brown Brothers have really done it the right way,” Adkins said. “They are a company with a great track record, which has desperately wanted to get involved down here for a number of years, but couldn’t find the right land or vineyard.

“They see Tamar Ridge as a long-term investment, which is what we need.

“The enthusiasm that we have seen from the top right down, about Tasmania and what we are about here, has been quite overwhelming at times.”

Adkins said Brown Brothers' hands-on approach had won over the local industry.

“We do not need absentee owners who say Tasmania is flavour of the month, plant grapes, ship juice off to the mainland, and then disappear,” he said. “That would change the whole perception of what Tasmania is about.

“Tamar Ridge represents 25 percent of Tasmania’s plantings,” he said. “This means we have a fairly big impact on the supply of fruit for this state, and it’s now in very good hands that have the industry’s best interests at heart.”

Adkins said Gunns had planted a lot of W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

vineyard during its ownership of the wine company.

“When the time came for them to sell, it could have ended up as a fire sale,” he said. “Someone might have just bought it because they got a good price, without really understanding what the industry here is really all about.

“There are inherent risks in cool climate viticulture that don’t exist in other parts of Australia, so you have to know what you are doing.

“Brown Brothers could see that Tasmania was well-placed in the long term with respect to climate change.

“When you see small Hobart winery Glaetzer-Dixon winning the Jimmy Watson Trophy for its 18-month-old Shiraz, the Mon Pere 2010, you know something is happening.”

Adkins said Tamar Ridge’s new owners had “brought us a lot of knowledge”.

“When you invest $35 million in a number of properties, you don’t just sit back and let it all happen,” he said.

“Questions asked have included what are the wine styles, why has Tasmania achieved so much in a relatively short space of time, and what can we do to improve on our viticulture and winemaking to take us to the next level?

“We’ve made great mileage at Tamar Ridge in recent years, but by no means www.w inebiz. com . au

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Will Adkins, of Tamar Ridge, with two of the sparkling offerings from the wine company’s family of brands, which includes Tamar Ridge, Devil’s Corner and Pirie, pictured at the company headquarters in northern Tasmania.

have we reached our full potential. The best is yet to come.”

Brown Brothers’ move into Tasmania has gone down particularly well with vignerons in the northern part of the state where Tamar Ridge is headquartered.

“They are clearly a strong, familyorientated business which really suits the Tasmanian industry, because it is nice to have that bit of solidarity when you have family-owned companies in charge,” said Vaughn Dell, of Sinapius, in Pipers Brook.

“The last thing we needed was a big corporate operation coming in here, just looking to take the grapes out. They are a company that is really on the cuttingedge, and they are taking things to a new level here.”

Dell said Brown Brothers was the ideal company to make such a major move into Tasmania.

“It’s a strong brand and their arrival has been a real win-win for all involved,” Dell said. “It’s really been a massive relief to see Browns come in.

“Gunns was on the nose because of the pulp mill situation; Brown Brothers’ arrival has really turned the whole thing around.”

Shane Holloway, owner and winemaker of Delamere, also in Pipers Brooke, described the Brown Brothers' move as “strategically perfect”.

“They’ve taken an element of risk in buying the winery, a calculated risk.

It’s very reassuring for all of us to see investment continue in this area.”

Winemaking Tasmania boss Julian Alcorso said he didn’t want to see Tasmania become a “grape mine” and hoped Brown Brothers would preserve the independence and integrity of the labels it has acquired and invest in the state’s wine industry.

“I don’t like it when we have mainland wineries putting Tasmanian made wines on their list,” he said. “From the state’s point of view, it’s not preferable.

“For example, Tower Estate and Bimbadgen, in the Hunter, have Tasmanian wines in their portolios and that doesn’t sit well with me. We have to be careful because, otherwise, we will have the eyes picked out of us by people who can either live with us or live without us.”

While Alcorso said he wasn’t suggesting that Tasmania should be a fortress, he didn’t like the idea of “us just being a grape source either”.

“The smart operators like Brown Brothers are now discovering Tassie; it won’t take long for the not-so-smart operators to get here.

“Our development has to be done sustainably,” Alcorso said.

The tyranny of distance – or is it?

By Matt Byrne

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here are pros and cons to being an island state that is separated from the rest of the country by 240-odd kilometres of ocean.

On the one hand, it offers uniqueness which can yield a marketing edge over the rest of the country, while the separation from the mainland offers biosecurity. On the other, there are freight costs and the need to import bottles and other basic materials.

Fortunately, the extra costs are often covered by the premium prices that Tasmanian wines command, and the Federal Government's Wine Equalisation Tax also helps balance the ledger.

For Coal River Valley’s prestigious Domaine A/Stoney Vineyard, Tasmania’s distance from the mainland has never been regarded as a problem.

Rather, its location was what attracted proprietor Peter Althaus to the site,

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which he and wife Ruth purchased from Priscilla and George Park in 1989.

“The great wines of the Old World are grown in France, Italy, and so on are between 42-45 degrees latitude,” Althaus said. “Tasmania is also between 42 and 45 degrees latitude; that’s what brought me here to set up Domaine A. “Bordeaux is further away form the equator than we are, and we are on the same latitude as Tuscany. Sunshine ripens fruit, not heat. On the mainland, they have to add acid; we never have to add acid: we never need to.”

Winemaking Tasmania boss Julian Alcorso said Tasmania’s island status meant it had one GI. “We are one definable area,” he said.

“There’s a huge difference between north and south and tremendous rivalry between the two, but from a marketing point of view, we have one clear W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Peter Althaus, of Domaine A/Stoney Vineyard, in the Coal River Valley in southern Tasmania.

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marketing focus. We’re all Tasmanian: the success of one is very much the success of all, because we are so small. But, the failure of one can also be the failure of all.”

Alcorso said freight costs did make it tough.

“Sometimes, business opportunities come up that involve logistical difficulties that mainland wineries never have to face,” he said. “For example, a mainland winery rang me before Christmas with 250,000 litres of wine needing to be treated by electrodialysis, and I had the only machine in Australia that was available.

The cost of getting the machine to the mainland and back would have been $10,000. Then, he thought he would tanker the wine in, but that was going to cost 60 cents a litre. So, the costs can be quite horrific, especially when ships are the only way.”

Alcorso said the cost of bringing bottles in and shipping them out was now being countered by premium Tasmanian bulk wine being bottled on the mainland.

“Top Tasmanian brands like Ninth Island and Josef Chromy Wines are now doing it, and even smaller producers are getting their wine bottled across Bass Strait,” he said. “More Tassie brands from five to 30,000 bottles a year are doing it, because it makes economic sense. It makes sense but, then, you lose that authenticity of it being grown, made and bottled here in Tasmania.”

Alcorso said Tasmania’s distance from the mainland was “a tyrant, but also a moderator”.

“It’s a guide to keep you on the path of quality,” he said. “It’s no good just making average wines with all the extra costs involved in winemaking in a place like Tasmania.

“The latest figures I saw said it was $5 a case or $300 a pallet to ship wine from Hobart to Sydney. That works out to about 60 cents a bottle. In a $20 wine, it’s a fair hike by the time it’s marked up, but 60 cents in a $60 bottle of wine…who cares?”

Jeremy Dineen, winemaker for Josef Chromy, south of Launceston in northern Tasmania, said Tasmania’s island status offered many significant advantages, “It’s fantastic for quarantine reasons with no phylloxera, because we are able to enforce very strict quarantine conditions. We also have the cleanest measured air anywhere in the world,” he said. “We’re surrounded by ocean, which has a moderating effect on our climate,” Dineen added.

However, Dineen admitted there was a downside to Tasmania’s location when it came to transport costs.

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Holm Oak lessee and winemaker Rebecca Duffy with the canine inspiration for her Pig & D’Pooch Moscato.

Josef Chromy Wines manager and winemaker Jeremy Dineen.

“For every empty bottle that I buy, it costs me 12 cents more here than it would in Victoria and, then, I’ve got to ship them back across Bass Strait,” he said. “Fortunately, Tasmania is one of our biggest markets – we do about 20% of our sales here.”

Tamar Ridge brand manager Will Adkins said an island mentality created an interest in people’s minds.

“Being that little island off the southern part of Australia, distant and away from the hustle and bustle of Europe and even mainland Australia, makes it special. Consumers have in their mind that they will like what they see, and we have to live up to that.”

He agreed that biosecurity and keeping phylloxera out were “huge advantages for Tasmania”.

Frogmore winemaker Nick Glaetzer said Brand Tasmania was really starting to assert its identity on the world stage.

“There’s the image of purity, natural environment and freshness and all those great things that attract tourists down here, and it does work,” Glaetzer said.

“Those marketing tools are working beautifully for us.

“Because we’re Tasmania, we are now having a lot of ‘on-premise’ success at restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne,” he said. “Pinot is now number two on wine lists around Australia, following Shiraz, and Tasmanian Pinot is a big part of that.

Unfortunately, Yarra Valley Pinot is number one, but that’s because they have mainland production advantages and a very big parochial market, particularly in Melbourne.

“Nevertheless, our growth in restaurants continues to be huge and we are now consistently punching above our weight.”

Glaetzer agreed the main downside to Tasmania’s island status were freight costs: “The costs of getting glass down here and oak and labels, and the freight costs of sending pallets to the mainland are considerable,” he said.

“But, they are pretty minor things because we are making premium wine and that off-sets those costs. We have the best cool climate in Australia,” he said wryly.

Stefano Lubiana proprietor and winemaker Steve Lubiana said Tasmania’s greatest marketing advantage now was its island status, but lead times were a major problem.

“Our boundaries are clearly defined and identifiable for promotion in places like Japan and the US,” Lubiana said.

“However, the lead times are much longer than on the mainland; you have to have more stock than you would on the mainland, because you know it’s going to take three days to get it to the market.

Whereas, in the Yarra Valley, for example, you can get a truck in and, bang: it’s in the distributor’s warehouse the same day. So, you have to think ahead and organise.”

Holm Oak winemaker Rebecca Duffy said higher distribution costs meant their target market was Tasmania.

“We work very hard selling our wine in Tassie, because it is our most profitable market,” Duffy said. “It costs $50 to get a pallet to Hobart, whereas it costs $500 to WVJ get a pallet to Brisbane.”

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

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Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir Twelve months ago, we kick started this column by profiling the Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir, the only Pinot classified as ‘exceptional’ in the latest Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine. For this issue’s column and to coincide with our tasting of $50+ Pinots (the results of which can be found on page 92), we asked Bindi Winegrowers winemaker Michael Dhillon to give us some background on the Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir, one of only two Pinots – the other being Mount Mary – to be classed as ‘outstanding’ by Langton’s.

Location of vineyard: 343 Melton Road, Gisborne, in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges.

The vineyard site: The gentle-sloping, north-facing site has an elevation of 500m. Soil on the site is 460million-year-old Ordovician soil comprising quartz, siltstone, mudstone, and clay. The vineyard receives an average annual rainfall of 750mm per annum and experiences a cool to cold climate. The elevation and slope of the site ensures it is frost-free. The vineyard is sheltered from southerly winds, but there is some effect from northerlies.

The vines: The 0.5ha Block 5 was planted on its own-roots in 1992 to clone MV6. The vines have a row and vine spacing of 3m x 1.25m, respectively, or 2500 per hectare, and are trellised to a VSP.

A view of the vineyard from which the fruit for the Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir is sourced (top) and (bottom) a close up of Block 5.

Vine management: The vines are irrigated with drippers.

The amount they are irrigated depends on the season; in some years none, in other years irrigation is regulated by soil moisture logging. The canopy of the vines is managed through multiple shootthinning passes, lateral shoot removal and trimming. Permanent grasses are grown in the mid-row, compost is applied under vine, and under vine and mid-row mowing is carried out. The vines are cane pruned by hand, with the buds per vine determined on a vine-by-vine basis. No herbicides or pesticides are used on the block; only sulfur and copper are applied, though in 2011, for the first time in eight years, two systemic sprays before flowering were applied.

Average yield of vines: 5 tonnes per hectare

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Describe the winemaking processes used to make the wine: The fruit is hand-picked and sorted, then destemmed into one-tonne open vats before 50ppm of SO2 is added. Fermentation may take five days to begin; no yeast, enzymes or nutrients are added. The juice is pumped over twice a day with some plunging carried out late in the fermentation. The juice spends about 14 days on skins.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Price of wine: RRP $100/bottle Quantities made: 200 dozen Where sold: Mailing list, export, and trade.

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Making icon Pinot Noir What goes into the making of a standout $50+ bottle of Australian Pinot Noir? We asked the producers behind three that stood out in our tasting (see page 92 for the results) to give us their twist on making an icon Pinot.

Scott Ireland, Proprietor/Winemaker Sam Vogel, Winemaker Provenance Wines Sutherlands Creek, Geelong, Victoria Wine: 2010 Provenance Turas Pinot Noir (RRP $65.00)

with the whole-bunch portions), settle to quite bright, and rack cleanly to barriques where indigenous malolactic fermentation takes place. If the wine is clean post-MLF, it is sulfured on the MLF lees in barrel and matured for the appropriate time.

Our 2010 Turas saw 14 months maturation in 33% new, second-use and third-use French barriques. Postmaturation, the wine was blended, cross-flow filtered and sterile bottled.

VITICULTURE Our Turas blend Pinot Noir is a barrelselect blend released only in the best years. As such, its vineyard sources can vary with each release.

By region, our 2010 release comprised 58% Geelong fruit, 25% Henty and 17% Ballarat.

The Geelong vineyard is on a steep, east-facing slope, 43-64m above sea level in the Moorabool Valley sub-region, north of Geelong. Planted in 1998 to what’s best described as a field blend (no-one knows what’s planted where) this mixed planting of clones and rootstocks is mostly in basaltic brown loam topsoil over a clay base. The unevenness of the site dictated that cane pruning and shootthinning took place early in the season to control yield and shoot placement. The VSP canopy underwent a simple spray program of copper and sulfur, while the undervine area was worked to avoid herbicide application. Several hand-picks took place across a two-week period commencing mid-March.

The Henty site sits at 200m above sea level on a north-facing slope, west of the township of Tarrington. It has red buckshot soils of basaltic origin and is planted to own-rooted MV6. The vineyard is cane pruned to a VSP canopy and was shoot-thinned around the crown early in the season. A simple preventative spray program is employed and the undervine is worked with a Braun undervine weeder. The vineyard was hand-picked across two harvests, 10 days apart, two weeks after the Geelong vineyard harvest had been completed. The cooling influence of the Great Southern Ocean constantly surprises us at this site.

The Ballarat vineyard sits at 500m above sea level, in the shadows of Mt Buninyong, in the Scotsburn region, south of Ballarat. Clone MV6 is planted in Ordovician soils and the VSP canopy is shoot-thinned where necessary. This very cool, windy site has an average rainfall of 700mm. The inter-row is slashed and V2 7N 2

MARKETING Provenance Wines’ proprietor and winemaker Scott Ireland (left) with winemaker Sam Vogel. glyphosate is used undervine. Yields never exceed two tonnes per acre here.

All the above vineyards are managed to keep yields down to less than 2t/ac - critical for Pinot Noir. Harvest timing is based on flavour development and laboratory analysis, but as we move forward we are less inclined to be influenced by Baumé and more concerned with pH and acid developments. Typically, we harvest between 12.8-13.5Be and we seek to maximise fresh flavour and natural acids.

WINEMAKING The winemaking for our Turas label is targetted at producing age-worthy Pinot Noir. Our aims are to have lower to mid-level alcohol and appropriate levels of natural tannin and acid. Fruit flavours should be rich, but not cloying.

All parcels of Provenance Pinot Noir are hand-picked, providing an early opportunity for fruit selection. If required, a sorting table is employed, particularly if whole bunch portions are desired.

Across the batches that made up our 2010 Turas Pinot Noir, we ended up with 56% whole-bunch, with the balance lightly crushed, leading to many whole berries.

The fruit was fermented in small open fermenters using indigenous yeast; typically our ferment temperatures peak at 32°C. After an average total of 11 days on skins, the wine was pressed away in our central membrane press.

Post-press, we ensure the wine is dry (as often a sugar spike occurs W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Our Turas label is the pinnacle, as we see it, of the best years in our vineyards.

As the top tier in our range of Pinot Noir, we traditionally bottle this wine in a premium Burgundy bottle and seal it with a Diam closure. Our distribution network primarily sells the wine in Melbourne and Sydney, in both onpremise and through independent fine wine retailers.

Martin Bastick, Proprietor Yellow Point Vineyard Huon Valley, Tasmania Wine: 2008 Bloody Eleventh Pinot Noir (RRP $70.00) VITICULTURE Yellow Point Vineyard is owned by Martin and Patricia Bastick, and which was established in 2000 with half a hectare of Riesling, followed in 2004 with a further hectare of Pinot Noir.

Situated at sea level, the vineyard adjoins the D’Entrcasteaux Channel in the south of Tasmania, south of Hobart and across the channel from Bruny Island, in the Huon Valley/Channel region.

The vineyard soil is poor, heavy clay with a thin layer of neutral topsoil that grows native trees, roses and grapevines well.

The vines were grown from cuttings originating from the nearby Elsewhere Vineyard.

Being coastal, the vineyard experiences few frosts when the vines are active and the frequent, strong westerly and northerly winds reduce disease, but cause other physical damage. www.w inebiz. com . au

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Alcorso and his team at Winemaking Tasmania, where the wine spends six months in oak barrels. We expect two tonnes of Pinot fruit annually, giving a production of 1600 bottles.

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Yellow Point proprietor Martin Bastick with a statue of an officer from the English 11th Regiment, which was stationed in Tasmania between 1845 and 1850 and has been adopted by Yellow Point as its symbol, as the image of a captain of the period features on its labels.

Winter temperatures are rarely below 3°C, while summer temperatures are usually between 18-24°C. Rainfall is very frequent; the property is always green and irrigation is rarely necessary, but available from a creek and three dams.

The trellis system is a vertical, multiwired system with the vines 1.5 metres apart and the rows 2m apart. Cane pruning is the norm, although spur pruning is also performed, as is a Scott Henry approach on some vines. The canopy is kept at a height of 2m, and pruning of shoots and leaves is a regular procedure. All pruning is by hand, with a dozen buds retained to each cane.

An organic approach is adopted, with glycophosphates and systemic sprays kept to a minimum. Mulching is practised with straw and hay, while compost and Dynamic Lifter chook pellets are spread.

Grass between the rows is kept short by ride-on mowers. Spraying is carried out from a simple boom pattern sprayer with a 200 litre tank. Diseases are encountered and powdery mildew is a frequent nuisance, as are snails, vine moth larvae and rabbit damage.

However, all are controlled.

Being a small, private ‘hobby’ vineyard our marketing is unsophisticated. Wine is purchased at Open Day weekends, by restaurants, friends and visitors to the vineyard. It is not a particularly profitable exercise, but an admirable activity to maintain an ageing frame.

The 2008 Bloody Eleventh Pinot Noir won top gold at the 2009 Hobart Wine Show, a gold in the 2010 Tasmanian Wine Show and top gold and three trophies (including best red wine) at the 2011 Tasmanian Wine Show. James Halliday awarded it 96 points and described it as “bright crimson, has a perfumed bouquet and an exceptionally harmonious palate of red and black fruits balanced by attractive savoury trimmings”.

Stocks of the wine are now very limited. The 10 acres of land on which our vineyard is situated was unimproved until our arrival in 1988 when it was cleared, etc. The site was a very early convict settlement established in 1815 when timber was harvested and shipped to Hobart from the adjoining creek.

Later, in 1830, a major signal station was situated on the foreshore to connect with Hobart and Port Arthur. Close to the signal post site, we found a military button of the English 11th Regiment of Foot - the North Devonshire Regiment – which was stationed in Tasmania between 1845 and 1850. They were famous for their victory in the Battle of Salamanca when they captured the French colours, but lost so many of their own soldiers that they earned the nickname ‘Bloody 11th'. We adopted this regiment as our symbol and the image of a captain of the period is on our label.

George Mihaly Proprietor/Winemaker Paradigm Hill Mornington Peninsula, Victoria Wine: 2010 Paradigm Hill Pinot Noir L’ami Sage (RRP $60.00)

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We find Pinot - the ‘heartbreak wine’ - a difficult variety to grow in our wet and cold environment with its tendency for mildews, etc. as spraying is often hampered by poor weather conditions.

We usually harvest in early May by hand, ideally with a Baumé of 13.5, pH3.7 and 6g/L TA. The wine is made by Julian

All Paradigm Hill wines are made from estate-grown fruit. Our single vineyard Pinot Noir block is on a gentle slope with a northerly aspect located at Merricks, on the Mornington Peninsula, at an elevation of 60 metres and approximately two kilometres to the west of Western Port Bay.

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W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Paradigm Hill proprietor and winemaker George Mihaly holding pre-veraison Pinot Noir.

The soils are volcanic duplex with high ferrous content and layered over mineral-encrusted orange/brown clay.

Annual rainfall is in the order of 600-800mm and, as a cool climate region, temperatures range typically between mid-teens to mid-to-high-020s with warmer periods, usually around February and March, seeing daily maxima in the 30s. We would usually have two to three days each season flirting with maxima around 40°C. The tempering influence of water on three sides of the Peninsula is also supplemented with prevailing winds from the south west. These winds assist with ventilation and drying of the canopy and keep the fruit in a desirable temperature zone of mid-teens to high-20s.

Monitoring of canopy zone temperatures over the past six years (as part of a local vignerons’ association cooperative ‘Preparing for Climate Change’ project) has revealed that the Pinot fruit remains in this desirable temperature range for well in excess of 90% of the time from veraison to harvest.

Fortunately, we do not experience conditions conducive to frost and with high water retention in the clay subsoil, we do not irrigate, though we are set up to do so. Water for irrigation is available from our large on-site dam (50 megalitres), which is fed by the local Coolart Creek and run-off from the property. On rare extreme conditions, we will give the vines a drink, e.g., we last did so immediately after the unprecedented heatwave in late January 2009 with four successive days in the 40s.

We have 4.2ha of winegrapes planted comprising four varieties – half is Pinot Noir and the rest is made up of blocks of Riesling, Pinot Gris and Shiraz.

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The Pinot Noir was planted in 1999 and 2000 to roughly equal proportions of MV6 and 115 grafted onto Richter and Schwarzmann rootstocks.

The planting density of the vineyard is very low: 2.75m wide rows with vines at 2.75m separation, giving around 1350 vines per hectare. They vines are trellised to a VSP and are always pruned by hand using cane pruning two out of three years and then spur pruning (one bud per 1015cm of cordon] in the final year of the cycle.

We would typically shoot-thin in late September/early October, leaf pluck on the eastern side in early December and again in early January], canopy trim in late December) and fruit-thin to remove bunches that are lagging, racing ahead or in cluttered zones in January. The end result is that we would crop at around 3.5-4 tonnes per hectare.

Inter-rows are planted to pasture grass, delves kept clear and soil chemistry (pH, elements and trace minerals) replenished every two to three years during winter, targetting levels that were present on the property when we first started in 2000.

With the recent breaking of the drought, disease pressure from downy and powdery mildew and botrytis have risen. The major focus for control of these is through canopy management (open, airy canopies with fruit exposed to the easterly aspect). The minimal use of synthetic fungicides early in the season is complemented post-flowering with a fortnightly spray regimen using milk whey (during week one) and copper/ sulfur (week two). This has essentially prevented powdery and downy, though botrytis pressure has surfaced immediately prior to harvest (e.g., in 2011) with long periods of fruit under net before harvest. Affected fruit was sorted as described above.

The biggest challenge in producing quality Pinot Noir for us is ensuring the right things are done in the vineyard at the right time. As a small, family run vineyard – with my wife, Ruth, as the viticulturist, we have only one employee, Matt Danaher, who works with Ruth in the vineyard - getting to everything in need of being done in a timely manner is a challenge each year.

At harvest time, we utilise berry sensory assessment as the main tool for determining readiness of the vineyard fruit for harvest, as well as an assessment of the weather forecasts to pick under optimal conditions.

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collectively enable a decision to be made to harvest.

At harvest time, we’d be typically looking/hoping for sugar levels of 24Brix, pH3.3-3.35, and 7g/L TA. The berries would be falling off the bunch when shaken gently, the stalks would be browning to the first knuckle, the pips would be light brown, crunchy and taste nutty, whereas the skins would be friable when chewed and tannins losing bitterness. The juice would be rich mauve in colour, and while evidently intensely sweet, also strongly flavoured with summer berries.

WINEMAKING Our fruit is harvested by hand with the help of family and friends. Fruit is transported to our onsite winery a few hundred metres from the vineyard, and subjected to sorting to remove any fruit that was damaged or either under- or over-ripe.

The sorted fruit is de-stemmed, not crushed, into 2000L stainless steel variable capacity vats, into which a blanket of CO2 has been added to minimise fruit oxidation. No whole bunches are used, as we prefer the structure and flavours of the Pinot Noir fruit without stalks in the ferment. The only additions at the de-stemmer are sulfur dioxide (60ppm) and a pectolytic clarification enzyme. When the vat is about three-quarters full, the tank is sealed under a blanket of CO2.

Fermentation relies on indigenous yeasts – and evidence of this having started is seen through a bubble trap in the lid of the tank.

Once the ferment is under way, usually four to six days post-harvest, the seal of the lid is released. The cap is gently plunged two to three times daily until ferment is completed, usually around four days later. Maximum temperature of the ferment is around 30°C. Following a post-fermentation maceration of around five days, the wine is pressed off skins using a basket press and, after settling of heavy solids overnight, transferred to barrel for elevage of around 18 months.

Malolactic fermentation would be encouraged through inoculation with Ooenococcus oenii at the time of wine pressing, or when barrels are filled.

Wine is sulfured post-completion of malolactic fermentation (60ppm) and this is usually achieved prior to winter.

Oak is typically lightly toasted and from the Vosges forest, using the main French cooperages of Taransaud, St Martin and Gilet. The wine would be racked off lees after about 10-12 months and refilled into the same cleaned barrels.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MARC H /APRIL 2012

Rows of Pinot Noir in the Paradigm Hill vineyard, with the leaf-plucked side facing east (on the left) and the denser canopy on the right facing west to protect against the afternoon sun and heat.

Wines are transferred (tank to barrel, etc) mostly using gravity transfer (for convenience – rather than for any ideological reasons) and the wines are neither fined nor filtered prior to bottling.

The process we have used has remained generally unchanged over the past decade other than for use of more gentle de-stemming of the fruit and tweaking of what we do, based on results of a program of annual experiments. Some of the recent, carefully controlled experiments have been carried out to answer the following questions: should we use pectolytic enzyme at the destemmer; should we inoculate for malolactic fermentation or allow this to proceed naturally; should we have a post-fermentation maceration period; should we transfer wines with gravity of pump methods; should we use cane or spur pruning; when should we do the ‘green harvest/fruit thinning’?

MARKETING The main focus of our wine marketing is to target nation-wide, top-end dining venues, small fine wine merchants (we do not supply retail chains) and, importantly, our mailing list/cellar door customers (our cellar door is only open the first weekend of each month). Representation of the wines has, in the most part, been undertaken by the winemaker, though recently Vranken Pommery Australia was appointed agent for Paradigm Hill in all states except Victoria.

At cellar door, visitors are invited to take a wine tasting journey, whereby they are presented with a flight of four wines together with a complementary, matched tasting plate. This helps visitors develop a better understanding of our journey to make ‘food-friendly’ wines, as well as appreciating the nature and quality of wines being grown on our estate. Often this has them agreeing to purchase wine varieties (and sometimes quantities) they might not have otherwise considered. WVJ www.w inebiz. com . au

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Plush Pinots to delight the palate T

his issue’s taste-off of Pinot Noir wines priced at $50 or more was held in Hobart, Tasmania, in late January, to coincide with the International Cool Climate Symposium that the city hosted in the four days that followed.

While most unsummer-like conditions prevailed outside (the temperature barely rose above 11°C all day), the four members of our tasting sampled their way through 27 Pinots from Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Canberra at the headquarters of Winemaking Tasmania, in Hobart’s east.

The all-Tassie panel, excited by the prospect of sampling a good spread of mainland Pinots, comprised Matthew Pooley, general manager and chief winemaker of Pooley Wines; Greer Carland and John Schuts, winemakers for Winemaking Tasmania; and John Bown, winemaker for Frogmore Creek.

Fourteen regions were represented in the line-up including the Mornington Peninsula, Geelong, Yarra Valley, Macedon Ranges, South Gippsland, Adelaide Hills, Mount Gambier, Porongorup, Mount Barker, Margaret River, Pemberton, Hunter Valley, Canberra and Tasmania.

The recommended retail prices of the wines ranged from $50 to $78, while alcohol levels spanned 12.3% to 14.5% v/v.

The vast majority of the wines were sealed with screwcaps, with the four sealed with a cork bearing the Diam brand.

Twelve of the wines were from the 2010 vintage, 10 were from 2009, three from 2008 and one from 2007.

Most of the panel agreed that the wines from the 2010 vintage was a stronger class overall.

The tasting panel team (from left) John Bown, of Frogmore Creek; John Schuts and Greer Carland, of Winemaking Tasmania, and Matthew Pooley, of Pooley Wines.

“The savoury intensity of the 2009 wines lifted significantly compared with those from 2010,” Matthew Pooley noted. “The 2010s had a greenness about them, but the 2009s have gone into the next spectrum for savouriness.”

John Schutz said he thought the 2010 Pinots showed signs of “more involved winemaking”, such as the use of whole bunch fermentation with stems.

When pressed on the value-for-money that the wines in the line-up offered, Schuts said there was “only two or three that didn’t deserve to be there”.

Greer Carland agreed that there were some “lovely Pinots in there”, adding that “a lot of those wines, you’d be happy to drink, and you wouldn’t question the price”. By comparison, however, she acknowledged the value-for-money on offer from

Tasmanian Pinots priced at less than $50.

“There are a lot of fantastic Tassie wines around the $30 price point,” she said.

John Bown admitted to being somewhat surprised at the quality of wines from regions that typically aren’t renowned for Pinot, such as Porongorup and Mount Barker, in Western Australia.

Of the 2010 Pinots in the line-up, the panel rated the Provenance Wines 2010 Turas Pinot Noir, Paradigm Hill 2010 L’ami Sage Pinot Noir and Clyde Park 2010 Reserve Pinot Noir as the standouts.

It was the Bellvale 2009 The Quercus Vineyard Pinot Noir that stood out among the wines from the previous vintage, while the Yellow Point Vineyard 2008 Bloody Eleventh Pinot Noir and Tamar Ridge 2007 Kayena Vineyard Reserve impressed in the older wines.

Greer Carland and Matthew Pooley (right) and John Bown and John Schuts get down to business.

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Paradigm Hill 2010 L’ami Sage

Clyde Park 2010 Reserve Pinot Noir

Provenance Wines 2010 Turas Pinot Noir

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 13.9% v/v – screwcap RRP$60.00/bottle

Geelong, Victoria 12.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$59.95/bottle

Geelong, Victoria 13.5% v/v – cork RRP$65.00/bottle

Deep, intense ruby in colour. Liquorice, blackberry and cedar characters on the nose. Fruit on the palate is rich, ripe, sweet and concentrated, complemented by grainy tannins and a good line. A generous, well-made wine.

Deep, almost black, ruby in colour. Herbal, stalky lift on the nose with cherry, raspberry, coffee bean, cherry cola, confectionery and dried fruit notes. Sweet, intense, plummy characters in the mouth. Subtle acid and silky tannins. Good persistency.

Medium ruby red in colour. Ripe, rich spicy fruit on the nose with underlying subtle leafy characters and some confectionery and toffee notes. Nice subtle, chalky tannins in the mouth with lovely, ripe, intense fruit. Good balance and length.

Bellvale 2009 The Quercus Vineyard Pinot Noir

Yellow Point Vineyard 2008 Bloody Eleventh Pinot Noir

Tamar Ridge 2007 Kayena Vineyard Reserve Pinot Noir

South Gippsland, Victoria 13.0% v/v – cork RRP$50.00/bottle

Southern Tasmania 13.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$70.00/bottle

North-east Tasmania 14.0% v/v – screwcap RRP$50.00/bottle

Deep ruby in colour. Plum, floral, pine, fresh tea, violets, blackberry and gamey characters on the nose.

Mushroom and gamey characters on the palate with some fresh berry fruit. Good astringency. Very good line and length. Savoury finish.

Very deep ruby in colour. Floral, Cherry Ripe, coffee bean characters on the nose with some leafiness, mint, cedar and sour cherry. Subtle, generous mouth that is wellbalanced and has good length. Ripe, intense, berry fruits.

Very good fruit weight. Fine-grain tannins.

Deep ruby in colour. Blackcurrant, herbal, and cedary characters on the nose with some spicy wood. Rich, sweet, ripe fruit on the palate with medium-grain, grippy tannins. Palate becoming silky with age. Great length.

Looking good for an older wine.

Marchand & Burch 2010 Gibraltar Rock Pinot Noir

Marchand & Burch 2010 Mount Barrow Pinot Noir

Seville Estate 2010 Reserve Pinot Noir

Porongorup, Western Australia 13.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$70.00/bottle

Mount Barker, Western Australia 13.0% – screwcap RRP$70.00/bottle

Yarra Valley, Victoria 13.0% v/v – screwcap RRP$60.00/bottle

Ruby in colour with brick red tinges. Raspberry and dried plum characters on the nose with some floral hints and dried herbs. A lighter style with some gamey, plummy flavours. Good balance and length. One taster thought the wine lacked varietal fruit definition, but was well-made.

Ruby to red in colour. Lovely ripe, intense, spicy fruit with some coffee and spice. Big and rich on the palate; intense and ripe varietal fruit with good tannin balance and acid. Good palate persistence and length. Sweet fruit on the finish.

Clean dark red in colour. Spicy, stalky, earthy, gamey, strawberry, cherry and herbal notes on the nose, as well as cigar box and cedar characters suggesting new oak.

Soft, subtle tannins and texture; good fruit generosity on the palate, although one taster thought that the fruit weight was perhaps a little lean in the mid-palate. Good length.

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T A S t I NG NOTES

Nazaaray 2010 Reserve Pinot Noir

Cobaw Ridge 2010 Pinot Noir

Herbert Vineyard 2010 Pinot Noir

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 13.8% v/v – screwcap RRP$52.00/bottle

Macedon Ranges, Victoria 13.7% v/v – cork RRP$53.00/bottle

Mount Gambier, South Australia 13.0% v/v - screwcap RRP$55.00/bottle

Pale crimson to brick red in colour. Medium-intensity nose with stalky, cherry and plum notes with a herbal lift and underlying varietal fruit. Ripe, sweet fruit on the full-flavoured palate which has good weight, length and texture. Finishes a little short.

Deep brickish red in colour. Charry, mushroom, bramble bush and eucalypt characters on the nose. One taster described a lawn clippings compost character, which persisted in the mouth. Mouthfilling and chewy tannins.

Good length.

Deep, intense, ruby colour. Spicy nose featuring varietal fruits, black cherry, dusty cocoa, chocolate and nutmeg.

Intense, ripe fruits on the palate, but lacks a bit of complexity. Good acid structure and length. A very generous wine. One taster thought the alcohol was a bit high.

Mount Lofty Ranges Vineyard 2010 Reserve Pinot Noir

Resolution Vineyard 2010 Pinot Noir

Dromana Estate 2010 30th Anniversary Pinot Noir

Adelaide Hills, South Australia 13.5% v/v - screwcap RRP$55.00/bottle

Southern Tasmania 13.8% v/v – screwcap RRP$55.00/bottle

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 13.3% v/v - cork RRP$55.00/bottle

Deep ruby in colour with burgundy tinges. Dark fruits, chocolate and mint on the nose. Astringent, drying tannins on the palate, which also features dark fruits.

Perhaps a little hot.

Deep ruby/garnet in colour with purple tinges. Unusual nose with blackberries, cassis and tutti-frutti characters and spice. Very sweet, ripe fruit on the complex palate.

Silky tannins and loads of mid-palate textures. Lacks tannin and acid line.

Ruby in colour with red tinges. Spice, clove, sour cherry, plum, game and cinnamon characters on the nose; a little stewy. Gamey palate with good intensity of ripe fruit.

Sweet fruit after-taste, with subtle acid and silky tannins.

Well-balanced with good length. One taster suggested it might be a warmer-climate style “done well”.

Moss Wood 2009 Moss Wood Vineyard Pinot Noir

Moss Wood 2009 Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir

Jones Road Wines 2009 The Nepean Pinot Noir

Margaret River, Western Australia 13.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$60.00/bottle

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 14.0% v/v – screwcap RRP$51.00/bottle

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 12.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$54.00/bottle

Deep ruby colour. Cherry cola, raspberry, spice, char and cedar characters on the nose with a hint of chocolate.

Vibrant fruit on the palate. A little wood-dominant, but the fruit is vibrant enough to pull it off. Soft subtle tannins and tight acid. Good length. A little prickly on the finish.

Dark, rich, deep red colour with a bright hue. Herbal, leafy characters on the nose along with cassis, spice and cedar. Rich, concentrated fruits on the palate. One taster said the acid and tannin “pushes all the action to the front of the palate”. Falls a little short on the finish. Lacks a bit of focus. Big, ripe style.

Deep ruby in colour. Dark fruits, fruitcake, mushroom, game, tobacco leaf and savoury characters on the nose.

Savoury/gamey characters also evident on the palate.

Intense, ripe fruit and smooth tannins in the mouth. Good length. Acid pinches a little but, overall, quite a pleasant wine.

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Nazaaray 2009 Reserve Pinot Noir

Tyrrell’s 2009 Vat 6 Pinot Noir

Bellarmine Wines 2009 Pinot Noir

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 13.0% v/v – screwcap RRP$52.00/bottle

Hunter Valley, New South Wales 13.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$65.00/bottle

Pemberton, Western Australia 14.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$58.00/bottle

Deep ruby to red in colour. Green, leafy and non-descript red berry fruit characters on the nose. Intense ripe fruit on the palate, which has good line and length; a little green. Chalky tannins and good astringency.

Ruby to red in colour with brick tinges. Deep, rich fruit on the nose with some spicy, savoury, gamey and dried herb characters. Rich, ripe and generous palate with assertive acid. Good length and structure.

Deep ruby in colour with red tinges. Subdued nose with gamey characters and underlying red berry hints. Sweet, ripe fruit in the mouth, with good tannin length. Lacks some varietal definition and intensity. Grippy finish.

Lerida Estate 2009 Josephine Pinot Noir

Lethbridge 2009 Mietta Pinot Noir

Prancing Horse Estate 2009 Pinot Noir

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 13.90% v/v – screwcap RRP$78.00/bottle (cellar door)

Geelong, Victoria 13.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$65.00/bottle

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria 12.3% v/v – screwcap RRP$72.00/bottle (cellar door)

Deep ruby in colour. Complex nose with dark fruits and some leafy, earthy characters. A couple of tasters also thought they could smell squashed ants. Intense, ripe fruits on the nose. Grippy, structured palate. Lacks some elegance and line. Astringent finish.

Deep ruby to ink in colour. A little bit medicinal on the nose with some raspberry and cherry vanilla sweetness; Brett evident. Bright, ripe fruits on the palate with some savoury elements. Medium-grain tannins. Reasonable line and length. Mouthfilling medium-grain tannins.

Deep ruby in colour. Raspberry, red fruits and cassis on the nose, with some tobacco and spice and cedary undertones. Intense ripe fruit on the palate, which is round, full and soft. Nice balance between the sweet fruit and tannins. Lacks a little generosity. Solid tannin finish; good flavour length.

Lerida Estate 2008 Josephine Pinot Noir

BK Wines 2008 La Bombe De Belle Pinot Noir

Frogmore Creek 2007 Evermore Pinot Noir

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 14.1% v/v – screwcap RRP$78.00/bottle

Adelaide Hills, South Australia 13.0% v/v – cork RRP$49.95/bottle

Southern Tasmania 13.5% v/v – scewcap RRP$60.00/bottle

Ruby to red in colour with brick tinges. Complex berry fruits on the nose, with some earthy, gamey, leather, dried plum, nutmeg and mushroom characters. Very sweet, plummy fruit on the palate. Lacks a line. Nicely developed; drink now.

Deep ruby to red in colour. Cherry cola, blackcurrant and savoury characters on the nose. Quite fruity on the palate. Tannins a little grippy, but a good line with the fruits following through. Lacks some focus and fruit definition.

Deep ruby in colour. Coffee, dark spice, raspberry and strawberry on the nose, which is complex with some savoury/gamey hints. Sweet, ripe fruit in the mouth, including strawberry and raspberry. Upfront acid and fine, silky, chalky tannins. Great length; flavour goes all the way, but a couple of the tasters thought the wine lacked some drive.

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Products & services

Effects of filtration media types at bottling

By Lee Carty Blue H2O Filtration Pty Ltd. Email: lee@blueh2o.com.au

T

he final processing stage of winemaking is the somewhat forgotten art of wine bottling. These days, wineries that haven’t invested in bottling infrastructure utilise one of the many professional contract bottling facilities or mobile contractors. But, how much do you know about the filters that are being used?

Sterile membrane polymer types – PES vs nylon There are several synthetic polymer membranes used for sterile filtering. These can include nylon (N66), polyethersulphone (PES) and, occasionally, polysulphone, polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF). There are different reasons for using each of these types membranes. Economic benefits and the effect of the filtration process on the wine are critical for winemakers but, just as important are the physical characteristics of the filter in a process application, such as robustness, effect of repeated heat and/or chemical sanitisation and sterilisation, etc. Currently, the two most widely used wine membrane polymers in Australia and New Zealand are nylon and PES. PES is an inert polymer, which means that from the start to the finish of filtration there is no adsorption effect and, therefore, the membrane works purely as a physical barrier for retaining particulate and microbiological matter.

Nylon (N66) is subject to hydrogen bonding (H-bonding). The attractive forces of the polarised hydrogen atom in the N66 media attracts negatively polarised components of molecules that can include parts of tannins and anthocyanins. Such adsorption of colour can be seen in Figure 3 (dh Test Report 6994, 1998).

Colour and/or tannin loss from the installation of new nylon filter cartridges is commonly overcome by recirculating the wine through the filters into a storage tank where the first volume of mildly effected wine is blended away. There are many process efficiency issues associated with this recirculation and blending procedure: for the bottler, it’s most notably time and related costs of not running the filler; for the winemaker it is knowing that there are components of your wine that are being removed before it reaches the bottle.

Utilising a physiologically inert polymer, such as PES, can increase bottling efficiencies in the cellar and reduce losses of wine components.

Depth Filtration Media – construction media properties Modern depth filter medium in sheet or lenticular format is constructed from a cellulose plant fibre base manufactured in a pulp-type process. Since governing bodies banned the addition of asbestos in filter media as an aid, adjuvants such as diatomaceous earth, perlite and cationic resins are used to aid the filtration process (Ribereau-Gayon et al. 2006).

The addition of these adjuvants causes the surface of the medium to retain a positive electrokinetic charge (sometimes deliberately increased) that, like nylon, makes it susceptible to binding and, therefore, may remove anthocyanins and/ or tannins. There are, of course, some benefits in having a positive eletrokinetic surface charge, such as the additional

V2 7N 2

Figure 1. Structure of polyethersulphone (PES).

Figure 2. Structure of nylon N66.

Figure 3. Effect of adsorption on the colour of red wine when filtered through two common 0.45µm rated microporous membrane materials. removal of negatively charged cell walls of yeast and bacteria. However, this really should be achieved through the mechanical separation process, rather than a reliance on short-lived eletrokinetic forces.

E. Begerow & Co, of Germany, the original developer of the asbestos-free BECO filter medium, has been installing new DE/ perlite-free filtration through its hugely popular BECOPAD 100% cellulose depth filter medium. Vinpac International, a leading wine bottling and packaging specialist that has major facilities in McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley, is the latest company to adopt this pure and inert approach to wine filtration and sterile bottling by utilising the BECOPAD 100% cellulose depth medium in conjunction with all PES membrane material.

Production manager at Vinpac’s Barossa Valley facility, Andrew Holdback, says: “Whilst process efficiency is paramount for us, it’s extremely important to listen to what your customer wants and needs. We recently changed to Blue H2O’s PES (Parker domnick hunter) and 100% cellulose filter sheets and lenticular modules (BECO) from conventional products to give us a quality edge in the market by preserving all of the goodness that the winemakers strive so hard to keep through the vinification process”.

Blue H2O Filtration specialises in process filtration and technologies, and has been servicing the wine and beverage industries for more than 10 years.

For further information contact Blue H2O Filtration, phone (03) 9564 7029.

References Ribereau-Gayon, P.; Glories, Y.; Maujean, A. and Dubourdieu, D. (2006) Handbook of Enology, Vol 2, (second edition), Wiley, 339.

Domnick hunter test report 6994 (1998) The terminal microbiological stabilisation of wine using microporous membrane filtration.

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