Wine & Viticulture Journal

MAY/JUNE 2014 · Volume 29 Number 3

VINEYARD INNOVATIONS & TECHNOLOGY • Grape sorting on the move - the effects on juice and wine quality • Cheap and accurate infrared scanners for measuring vine water status • Influence of phenolics on white wine quality and style • Factors in the commodity wine market • Tasting: Viognier

WineEng 2014

NATIONAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION Value Adding from Grape to Glass

For further information visit www.wea.org.au or contact Trevor Leighton 0417 597 956 tleighton@bigpond.net.au

SERAFINO WINERY, McLAREN VALE - JUNE 18th & 19th 2014

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Editorial Advisory Panel Gary Baldwin Peter Dry Mark Krstic Armando Corsi Markus Herderich Editorial Assistance Lauren Jones, Write Lane CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Aaron Brashe Stuart Bourne Armando Corsi Paul Evans Sigfredo Fuentes Richard Gawel Markus Herderich Tony Hoare Dan Johnson Gustavo Lobos Simone Mueller Loose Paul Petrie Mark Rowley Therese Sjostrom Joel Tilbrook Liz Waters Patricia Williamson

Sonya Logan, Editor

Fax (08) 8369 9501 s.logan@winetitles.com.au

Tony Battaglene Richard Collmann Peter Dry Leigh Francis Colin Gaetjens Peter Godden Bernard Hickin Cathy Howard Tony Keys Larry Lockshin Michael Paxton Carlos Poblete-Echeverria Richard Smart Paul Smith Luke Warner Eric Wilkes

Advertising Sales: Nicole Evans Ph (08) 8369 9515 Fax (08) 8369 9529 Email n.evans@winetitles.com.au Production and Design: Nathan Grant Subscriptions One-year subscription (6 issues) Australia $77.00 (AUD) Two-year subscription (12 issues) Australia $144.00 (AUD) To subscribe and for overseas prices, visit: www.winebiz.com.au The Wine & Viticulture Journal is published bi-monthly.

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.

W

ith harvesters and picking bins now back in their sheds for another year, it is time to reflect on the vintage that was. While we await the final harvest figures to be collated by the industry, sink your teeth into this issue of the Journal, which focuses on Vineyard Innovations and Technology.

Leading the charge on all things innovative in the vineyard is Cathy Howard’s look at grape harvesters with on-board grape sorters. The 2014 vintage was the first time that Cathy had the chance to assess the grapes harvested from these machines, backing up her own observations with those from fellow Margaret River vignerons (page 37).

Further on the subject of sorting systems and similar technology designed in the pursuit of clean fruit, we spoke to four winemakers and asked if the quest for cleaner and cleaner winegrapes was potentially removing more than just MOG, with a risk to the production of wines that express the vineyards from which they come (page 28).

Researchers from the Vineyard of the Future Initiative then describe their efforts in designing an infrared scanner to assess vine water status as a cheaper but just as reliable alternative to the significantly more expensive infrared scanners (page 45).

Drawing on his particular interest in canopy management, Richard Smart asks the question: is the Australian wine industry doing enough to adopt improved trellis systems compared with their overseas counterparts, citing recent commercial successes in New Zealand, South Africa and California (page 55).

Back in winemaking, the AWRI reports on its studies into the effects of phenolics in commercial white wines, revealing their effects on wine style, consumer liking and winemaker assessments (page 34).

In Business & Marketing, highlights include Mark Rowley’s look at how global supply and demand balances, Australian wine inventory levels and exchange rates influence winegrape prices, particularly at the commodity and value end of the market (page 60); Colin Gaetjens reviews vineyard and winery sales in Australia over the past 12 months (page 63); and a summary of research by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science at the University of South Australia on the consumer perceptions of premium and luxury wine brands (page 68).

And, be sure to check out Part 2 of our overview of the research being conducted in the global grape and wine industry and see what our competitors are up to (page 17)!

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!

www.facebook.com/WineAndVitiJournal @WineAndVitiJournal Cover: H ighlighting this issue’s focus on vineyard innovations and technology is the newly-released

Pellenc Optimum harvester, which incorporates the Selectiv’ Process on-board destemming and sorting system – technology that regular contributor Cathy Howard takes a close look at in this issue, starting on page 37.

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Regular features

News ASVO WFA Wine Australia Tony Keys

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AWRI Report Tony Hoare Alternative varieties Varietal report Tasting

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MAY/JUNE 2014

34 52 58 75 78

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I n t h i s i s s ue

R E G U L A R F E AT U R E S

c o n t en t s

W I N E M A K I N G

8 Opinion (Jonathan Cahill): The triumph of perception over reality 10 WINE AUSTRALIA (Aaron Brasher): Australia raises a glass to local wines

28 WINEMAKER FORUM: The dirt behind the quest for cleaner and cleaner fruit: is the war against MOG removing more than just the nasties?

11 ASVO (Paul Petrie): Mildura seminar program confirmed 12 WFA (Tony Battaglene): Free trade agreements and the Australian wine sector 12 KEY FILES: Crack in the China?

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

17 RESEARCH REVIEW: Part 2 of a snapshot of the world’s grape and wine industry research projects

V I T I C U LT U R E

37 Grape sorting on the move – the effects on juice and wine quality

34 AWRI REPORT: Influence of phenolics on white wine style

business & marketing

60 Factors in the commodity wine market 63 The year in review in vineyard and winery sales 64 Accurate mid-infrared analysis in wine production – fact or fable?

45 Size does not matter for infrared water status assessment: newly-developed infrared scanners could offer comparable results against high resolution thermal cameras

68 Consumer perceptions of premium and luxury wine brands

52 TONY HOARE: Benefits and pitfalls of field grafting winegrapes – Part 2 55 RICHARD SMART: Improved trellis systems: is Australia keeping up?

58 ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES: Gamay

W I N E T A ST I N G

75 Viognier V2 9N 3

71 Thinking outside the bottle: information about Australia can increase the choice about Australian wines by Chinese consumers W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

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N E W S

S N I P S

Industry welcomes no hike in wine tax in Federal Budget The Australian wine industry has breathed a collective sigh of relief following the release of the Federal Budget with no change to wine taxes being announced.

That’s despite a typo in the budget papers which suggested the wine equalisation tax would surge to more $60.7 billion in 2016-17 – the equivalent of the GST. Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) chief executive Paul Evans said regional Australia would be particularly relieved that wine taxes had not risen.

“The Australian wine industry supports over 30,000 jobs and earns over $1.8 billion in export revenue but high exchange rates, a consolidated retail sector and a high cost base have all placed significant hurdles in front of local producers,” he said.

“A recent industry review revealed very low average levels of profitability across the wine sector and many cases of local businesses operating below cost despite the fact we produce a truly globally competitive product.

“The last thing the Australian wine industry needs right now is a tax hike and the Federation has advocated strongly on this matter, so we welcome the fact that common sense has prevailed in Canberra.”

Evans said the WFA’s Actions for Industry Profitability 2014-2016 released late last year recommended responsible reform to the WET rebate to ensure it continued to deliver its original policy intent of supporting small and medium wine businesses and regional communities.

“These measures include stopping New Zealand winemakers from claiming a rebate of up to $500,000 every year for the wine they sell in Australia – and this is an opportunity for reform the Federal Government must not delay further.

“Taking this measure alone would provide significant annual savings of at least $25 million to the Commonwealth which could help fund the additional marketing activities we need in the wine sector to re-engage global consumers and recapture market share.

“The Federation will continue to work with government on developing a responsible wine tax reform package that will help the industry during a difficult period of transition and recovery.”

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Wine Australia on hunt for new general manager of market development

James Gosper.

Wine Australia’s general manager of market development, James Gosper, has resigned.

Gosper ceased full-time employment with Wine Australia (WA) on 31 May, but will continue to be engaged for an initial period to 30 September to continue to lead the market development team and oversee a seamless transition to his replacement, especially given the pending merger of Wine Australia and the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation to form the Australian Grape and Wine Authority and the extended absence of Yvonne May – regional director UK and Europe.

The search for Gosper’s replacement was expected to take around two to three months.

“I have had a fantastic five years with Wine Australia, working closely with an industry I am passionate about,” Gosper said. “Whilst the trading environment has been challenging we have collectively navigated our way forward and forging relationships with the great characters of the industry in Australia and globally during this time has been particularly rewarding. I now see many exciting opportunities for the future of Australian wine globally, and have decided the time is right to move back into the commercial side of the industry to seize these opportunities.”

WA’s acting chief executive Andreas Clark said during his time, Gosper had established “a dedicated global team that continues to deliver great results for the industry”.

“I would like in particular to congratulate James on delivering Savour Australia in September 2013, the biggest Australian wine forum ever held which was an outstanding success,” Clark said.

W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur na l MAY/JUNE 2014

Carignan proven to be an imposter Yet another wrongly identified grape variety has been found in Australian vineyards. DNA testing has confirmed that what was thought to be Carignan is, in fact, either the relatively obscure Mediterranean grape Bonvedro or Mataro.

Investigations into the true identity of the variety were sparked by the Australian Wine Research Institute’s viticulture consultant Peter Dry following a renewal of interest in the variety by the likes of Matt Harrop, from Shadowfax, who started listing the variety on his labels for his red blend Minnow.

Harrop grafted much of his vineyard over to what he thought was Carignan a few years ago, sourcing his cuttings from the Yalumba Nursery in South Australia, which in turn had sourced its cuttings from a vineyard in the Barossa Valley owned by Wayne Ahrens. The previous owner of the vineyard had told Ahrens the vines were Carignan at the time he purchased it as that is what he’d always know them to be.

However, Dry recalled there had been doubt about the true identity of Australia’s old Carignan vines since at least the 1960s, and in the 1970s, a visiting French vine expert had identified many of them as Bonvedro.

He decided it was time to settle the uncertainty once and for all, voicing his concerns to his son, Nick Dry, Yalumba Nursery’s viticulturist.

Vines samples from the two Barossa vineyards from which Yalumba had sourced its Carignan cuttings were subsequently sent off for DNA testing, the results confirming that the vines from Ahren’s block were Mataro while the vines from the other vineyard were Bonvedro.

“So, in my vineyard I’ve got what we thought was Carignan, but now they’re telling us there is a clone of Mataro, growing right next to what we know definitely is Mataro — but the vines are different: they ripen differently, they look different, they produce grapes that taste different,” Matt Harrop was quoted as saying in a recent column in The Australian by Max Allen.

Peter and Nick Dry will be presenting an article in the JulyAugust issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal which will provide further details of their role in confirming the true identity of the Carignan vines, and will include some historical data and advice for growers on how to identify it.

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N E W S

Familiar face takes up CEO role for Murray Valley Winegrowers Former chief executive of Murray Valley Winegrowers (MVW) Mike Stone has returned to lead the organisation again, replacing Mark McKenzie who has held the position since mid-2010.

Stone led MVW for nine years between 2001 and 2010, before working as a political adviser to State and National parliamentarians, and as a print journalist and newspaper editor. Mark McKenzie is now chief executive of the NSW Irrigators Council.

MVW chairman, Brian Englefield, welcomed Stone’s appointment at a crucial juncture for the wine grape sector in the Murray Valley.

“Mike is a very experienced campaigner on commercial issues for Murray Valley growers, and we are very pleased to welcome him back to MVW at a time when our growers are facing a major crossroad that will determine the future of the wine grape sector in this region,” Englefield said.

“Mike’s experience will allow us to continue the campaign we have launched in recent months seeking fairer commercial arrangements and sustainable wine grape prices in the industry on which growers can plan for a future in grape growing.

“His appointment will mean we can continue to push hard for Government action against lop-sided contracts and the disastrous pricing practices that we have seen many wineries implement in 2014,” he said.

Wine consumption lowers hip fracture risk in postmenopausal women A US study has shown that postmenopausal women who consume wine have a lower risk of hip fracture compared with non-drinkers, past drinkers, and those with other alcohol preferences.

The study sought to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption, with a focus on the type of alcohol consumed and hip fracture risk in post-menopausal women. Past studies of the relationships between alcohol and hip fracture have generally focused on the total alcohol consumed and not type of alcohol.

The study comprised just over 115,000 post-menopausal women aged 50–79 years enrolled between 1993– 1998 in the Women’s Health Initiative Clinical Trials and Observational Study.

The women were categorised as nondrinkers, past drinkers, infrequent drinkers and drinkers by preference of alcohol type, namely, wine, beer, hard liquor, or no strong preference.

The mean alcohol consumption among the current drinkers was 3.3 servings per week, which was similar among those who preferred wine, beer and liquor.

After adjustment for potential extraneous variables, alcohol preference was strongly correlated with hip fracture risk. In particular, women who preferred wine were at lower risk than non-drinkers, past drinkers, infrequent drinkers, hard liquor drinkers, beer drinkers and those with no strong preference.

S N I P S

An electronic paper summarising the results of the study can be found at: http://www.biomedcentral. com/1472-6874/13/36 Registration open for Wine Industry Outlook Conference The next Wine Industry Outlook Conference will be held on 1-2 October in Adelaide.

Organised by the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, the title of this year’s conference is “Taking Charge of our Future” and will explore key issues on both the demand and supply side of the industry.

The first day will be dedicated to mapping out how best to grow and seize the demand opportunity for Australian wine, while day two will focus on improving the profitability and sustainability of grape and wine supply.

On both days, the morning plenary sessions will feature international and local presenters who will share the latest information about key market challenges, consumer trends, the demand-supply balance and how Australian wine businesses can position themselves to take full advantage of our competitive edge.

The morning keynote sessions will be followed by specific workshops in the afternoon of each day which will further explore pathways to recovery and make recommendations on what actions can and should be taken.

To register for the conference visit: http://www.wfa.org.au/activities/ outlook-conference/

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OPINION

The triumph of perception over reality Wine marketing that is focussed on emotional positioning and plays to consumers’ perceptions of a product or brand rather than the taste of that product will likely yield great success, argues advertising author Jonathan Cahill.

By Jonathan Cahill

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s with any product or brand, the wine consumers’ choice is based on his or her perception of it and not on reality. Often the gulf between the two is large. The fact that this is not widely recognised, despite all the evidence that underwrites it, can only handicap the marketing of wine. Instead there is an emphasis on reality, particularly in regard to taste, as a basis for marketing as opposed to perception. Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman noted that, “people are not accustomed to thinking hard and are often content to trust a plausible judgement that quickly comes to mind”. Taste is powerful in plausibility, but logic and evidence question its

validity as an enduring marketing position for a wine.

The extent of the difference between reality and perception was shown in a study of 241 products in 46 categories over a period of 12 years.

It took, on average, five to seven years for consumers’ perceptions to fully adjust and accurately reflect the products’ actual quality. The reason that perceptions guide our choice is that they reflect what we think. Not surprisingly, our actions are based on what we think.

Failure to recognise the importance of perceptions led to one of the greatest errors in marketing history – New Coke. This was developed as

a panicked response to the Pepsi Taste Challenge, in which consumers tended to prefer Pepsi to Coke in blind taste tests. Coke was reformulated so that its taste trumped Pepsi’s. The result was outrage among consumers, leading to the speedy introduction of the old Coke as Classic Coke and the eventual scrapping of New Coke.

Coca-Cola, despite its expertise in marketing, had failed to recognise the supremacy of perception over reality and, instead, let itself be led by reality in the form of taste.

Maybe it is not surprising that taste has assumed such prominence, given that expertise in the wine industry revolves around the characteristics of

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OPINION

the wine, which are the normal currency of consideration.

These are undoubtedly important in developing the product to be presented to the consumer, but for too many the selling of wine to the consumer appears to stop here, at the confines of their expertise, and its marketing is ignored.

There is also a logical problem with marketing on the basis of taste. It can only be relevant for the first purchase, after that it is redundant. Once consumers have tried a new wine, they are unlikely to be interested in declarations of the taste characteristics; their main criterion, in terms of reality, will be whether they liked it or not. What successful marketing requires is a much more sustainable and enduring proposition which transcends the reality the consumer experiences. A good example of this is Stella Artois beer. Blind taste tests gave it a low rating, as it was

…expertise in the wine industry revolves around the characteristics of the wine…These are undoubtedly important in developing the product to be presented to the consumer, but for too many the selling of wine to the consumer appears to stop here, at the confines of their expertise, and its marketing is ignored. regarded as slightly bitter. Despite this, Stella Artois adopted a premium positioning in the premium lager sector based on the proposition, which lasted over 20 years, of being “reassuringly expensive”. This resulted in it becoming the biggest alcoholic brand in the UK with annual sales of around £500 million. A triumph of perception over reality.

The most rigorous assessment of marketing success is provided by the Advertising Effectiveness Awards. Unlike other awards, they require a direct causal link between the marketing input and the success that resulted. Although called advertising awards they are, in fact, for strategic positioning, as in only a few cases is the advertising more than a simple articulation of the strategy. In none of these is there any success built on taste. There are other drinks, apart from Stella, that have won. Lanson created the ‘Champagne moment’. Sales outperformed the market by 32% and turnover was £10 million above the projected value.

Bowmore adopted the idea of ‘surrender to the legend’ with a telling of the Bowmore legend based on folk tales from Islay. This led to it becoming the fastest growing malt among the top 10 brands with a volume increase of 36% and a value rise of 33%. Also, while the average discounting for the market was £5-6.00 per bottle, Bowmore managed to limit it to £3.50. Perceptions gave solid results.

The essential point of these success stories is that they were built on an emotional positioning, something that has far more sway than a rational one, such as taste. This has always been the case, but thanks to research in psychology and neurology there is increasing evidence that we base our V2 9N 3

decisions on our emotions, rather than our reason. When people who are generally good at making rational decisions suffer from impairment of the emotional side of their brain, they are then unable to make rational choices. We often try to rationalise our decisions, but this is always after the event and has little relation to the actual reasons, most of which have been shown to be made subconsciously. As Pascal observed, “the heart has many reasons, of which reason knows nothing”.

The emphasis on taste by experts in selling wine is paradoxical as they, like us, are subject to the influence of perceptions over taste. Frederic Brochet, a wine researcher in France, served 57 wine experts a mid-range Bordeaux in a Grand Cru and Vin de Table bottle. The overwhelming majority favoured the wine in the Grand Cru, even though it was the same wine. They used positive terms of praise for it, whereas the supposedly cheap wine elicited largely negative comments. This is not to criticise them but rather to point out that even they, like us, are governed by perceptions.

Given the importance of perceptions and emotions in marketing it is unfortunate that, for wine, so much effort in this field is diverted by the plausible route of taste. This is particularly ironic, as wine has the potential for a depth of emotional connection with the consumer that few other products or brands can achieve – its emotional terroir.

Jonathan Cahill has worked in advertising and market research, both in the UK and internationally. He has developed and marketed his own brands and a name for a wine variation that was bought by Gallo. His book ‘Igniting the Brand’ is a comprehensive collection of brand strategies WVJ that have worked.

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W I N E A U ST R A L I A

Australia raises a glass to local wines

By Aaron Brasher, Regional Director, Australia, Asia & Emerging Markets Wine Australia

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ver the past decade, Australian wine consumers have broadened their palate to include more imported wines. In 2001, Australian wines accounted for 97% of all wine sales in Australia, but since then, local wine producers have lost market share. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has been the major beneficiary and, to a lesser extent, French and Italian wines.

However, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that during the final quarter of last year, Australian wine sales grew marginally, driven by white bottled wine. Although it’s too early to determine whether there is a definitive shift in consumer preference, it is definitely a welcome development for Australian wine producers.

To help continue this positive trend, Wine Australia’s domestic program focusses on initiatives to engage the wine trade, media and consumers through events and educational programs. Our focus is on working with the ‘gatekeepers’ of the industry to ‘influence the influencers’, nurturing an evolution of Australian wine awareness and opinion.

As part of this, Wine Australia is coordinated Aussie Wine Month which has been running during May – the biggest Australian wine celebration in the country. This a national, monthlong promotion of Australian wine has presented a dynamic mix of Australian wine experiences. Aussie Wine Month is the main component of Wine Australia’s domestic marketing strategy to raise awareness about the diversity, quality and regionality of Australian wines among consumers and key influencers.

Now in its third year, Aussie Wine Month provides an opportunity for wineries and wine regions to excite consumers, trade and media about wines from our own backyard. It gives Australians a chance to indulge their tastebuds, unlock the foodie and wine connoisseur within and enjoy our many top drops through a magical mix of food, wine, music and epicurean adventures in Australia’s top restaurants and wine regions.

From 1 to 31 May, wine and food lovers have had their palates awakened

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through 150 or so Australian winerelated events across the country including sophisticated city cellar doors, spirited regional food and wine festivals, sumptuous food and wine dinners, behind-the-scenes winemaking tours, blend-your-own wine classes, talks with winemakers, cycling tours of wine regions, winethemed high teas, concerts in vineyards and themed masterclasses.

The aim of the event is to draw Australian wine drinkers’ attention to the incredibly diverse range of exceptional wines produced here in Australia, to (re)establish excitement about the Australian wine category among Australian consumers and to ultimately boost Australian wine sales.

Wine Australia kicked off this year’s Aussie Wine month with a City Cellar Door event, held in the centre of Sydney in April. The event, which attracted thousands of Sydney wine lovers, brought 55 Australian wine regions to the city and showcased some of Australia’s top wines, as selected by some of Australia’s leading wine journalists. The wines were shown alongside world-class seafood including Petuna smoked salmon, farmed Aussie tiger prawns, Northern Prawn Fishery banana prawns, Spencer Gulf king prawns and North Queensland endeavour prawns and iconic King Island Dairy cheeses. As Tourism Australia starts to roll out its Restaurant Australia campaign, it’s important for the wine industry to look at ways to move the promotion of wine into the lifestyle space. As part of this, presenting wines alongside food has been a major focus at Aussie Wine Month.

Following on from the City Cellar Door event, Dan Murphy’s partnered with Wine Australia to officially launch Aussie Wine Month with the ‘Aussie Wine Unearthed’ event at the Ivy Ballroom in Sydney on 1 May, which featured a tasting of more than 100 wines, food and wine matching and the Australian Wine Research Institute’s (AWRI) aroma bar for media and around 600 wine lovers. Dan Murphy’s has also produced an Australian Fine Wine Buyers’ Guide, distributed throughout its extensive customer base.

W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

This year, Wine Australia has looked at new ways to engage the sommelier fraternity in Aussie Wine Month. We’ve been encouraging sommeliers to get involved by creating Australian winesby-the-glass promotions in restaurants across the country to get their customers drinking Australian wines.

The incentive is that the sommelier with the best promotion or wine list wins a nine-day trip to experience the food and wine of Mt Benson, Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley, King Valley and Heathcote as part of Wine Australia’s Sommelier Immersion Program (SIP).

Then, there are the 150 or so events being hosted by wineries, wine regions and restaurants across 36 wine regions and capital cities. All of these wineries, wine regions and restaurants had the opportunity to benefit from the five-month promotional campaign in the lead up to Aussie Wine Month, which has generated hundreds of media mentions for events and wines across newspapers, magazines, radio, television and online channels and has created a lot of positive conversations about Australian wine through social media chatter via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

If you missed out on an opportunity to participate in this year’s Aussie Wine Month, get onboard next year.

It’s a great opportunity to reach the wine trade, media and consumers in the domestic market and to benefit from a lengthy promotional initiative.

To ensure the continued success of the event, we need your involvement by creating an interesting Australian wine-related event. Aussie Wine Month is a promotional platform for you, your wines and the broader industry to benefit from.

For more information about Aussie Wine Month, visit: www. aussiewinemonth.com or join the conversation on Facebook, Facebook. com/aussiewine, and on Twitter, @ Wine_Australia

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ASVO

Mildura seminar program confirmed

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

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his year’s highly anticipated ASVO seminar will be held from 24-25 July, in the Mildura Arts Centre. Keynote speakers Professor Stefano Poni, from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, in Italy, and Dr Martin Mendez-Costable, from E&J Gallo Winery, in the US, will be joined by industry professionals to challenge current thinking and share their expertise on optimal yield and quality.

The scene will be set by David Lowe, who will speak about how targeting the sweet spot between yield and quality is critical to the success of the Australian wine industry. The first sessions will cover new insights into the accumulation of flavour and aroma compounds in winegrapes. Dr Simon Robinson, from CSIRO Plant Industry, will discuss factors influencing flavonoid biosynthesis in grapes. Professor Alain Deloire, from the National Wine & Grape Industry Centre, will cover maximising quality outcomes through determining the optimal harvest date, including new results from recent trials in Australia. Dr Sue Bastian (University of Adelaide) will speak on factors influencing Cabernet Sauvignon sensory style and quality, and Dr Paul Smith, from the AWRI, will discuss relating fruit composition to wine quality grades.

The second session, on capturing quality in premium regions, will be opened by Professor Poni. He will give a European insight into the ‘Impact of leaf removal and the management of crop load’. Poni will be

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followed up by Damien Sheehan (Mount Langi Ghiran) and Chris Rogers (St Hallett Wines) who will speak on managing Shiraz to optimise quality in Central Victoria and the Barossa, respectively. Colin Bell (AHA Viticulture) will then provide insights into producing high quality Cabernet Sauvignon in Margaret River.

The third session, on improving yield and quality, will be opened by Dr MendezCostable, who will speak on ‘Understanding the impact of cultural practices on fruit quality in California’. This session will also include Andrew Weeks (CCW Co-Operative) speaking about managing inputs to target winery specifications. The third international speaker and ASVO board member, Dr Mike Trought (The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research), will challenge the dogma that high yields lead to inferior wine quality.

The fourth session will include a presentation from Dr Victor Sadras, from the South Australian Research and Development Institute, about the seasonal effects on grape and wine quality. Dr Roberta De Bei (University of Adelaide) will present a canopy analysis app, and cover ways it could be used to make better management decisions.

Dr Jason Smith (National Wine & Grape Industry Centre) will look at the importance of carbohydrates in managing seasonal variability. Dr Keren Bindon, from the AWRI, will speak about the effect of harvest time on Cabernet Sauvignon wine composition.

The program is now confirmed and

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

registration is on the seminar website http:// asvomildura.wordpress.com/ We are looking forward to seeing you all in Mildura for what promises to be an informative and enjoyable event.

Celebrating the life of Dr Bryan Coombe The ASVO appreciated the opportunity to support the recent memorial service celebrating the life and career of Dr Bryan Coombe. Bryan was the inaugural fellow of the ASVO and contributed greatly to its early days, including co-authoring many articles in the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research and the seminal textbooks Viticulture Volumes I and II. ASVO memberships ASVO membership renewals have opened. The ASVO continues to work hard on behalf of members to promote their professional knowledge and development, through coordinating key independent, debate-generating annual industry seminars and conferences (including the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference, held triennially) and associated proceedings, and producing the highly regarded Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research (the highest rated international scientific journal in its field). Your membership of the Society is important to ensure we can continue to WVJ deliver these benefits.

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NWE FWAS

Free trade agreements and the Australian wine sector

By Tony Battaglene General Manager - Strategy & International Affairs, Winemakers’ Federation of Australia

WFA is actively encouraging the Australian Government to pursue the finalisation of several free trade agreement negotiations to ensure meaningful market access improvements for the Australian wine sector.

A

ustralia’s wine sector success depends on international trade. In 2012, exports made up 64% of wine production by volume and 43% by value. It is not just exporters that rely on international trade, as growth and market share on international markets provide opportunities domestically for smaller producers.

Australia’s export success relies on the ability to gain access to markets. Market access can be restricted by tariffs or by non-tariff measures (NTMs) such as differing labelling and compositional requirements, onerous certification requirements and the like.

Tariffs imposed on wine imports by countries can make a real difference to the bottom line when importing into a market. It is vital that Australian wine is not disadvantaged when trying to sell into a market through other wine-producing nations enjoying a more favourable tariff regime than applies to our product.

Wine consumption, particularly in the premium category, is growing in developed markets such as the UK and US. However, it is countries such as China, India and Brazil where we are seeing strong growth from a low baseline.

The Australian wine industry has been gearing up for some time to take advantage of these opportunities. Domestically, these are difficult times for wine, with well-known pressures on all agricultural producers colliding with the specific challenges that the oversupply of wine grapes has created.

Growth in these emerging markets will lock in the future of the winemaking industry in Australia.

Background The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) and the Australian government (including Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research; and supported by Wine Australia Corporation and the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation) work together to increase Australian wine exports by assisting

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the sector with market access issues and reducing trade barriers.

One of WFA’s key trade strategies is to ensure, as far as possible, satisfactory market access outcomes for wine in the WTO trade negotiations and bilateral free trade agreement negotiations, especially with Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), China, Indonesia, and India. In particular WFA seeks to: • Continue support for multilateral trade negotiations.

• Continue to provide input into Australian government positions in wine-related disputes as they occur • Actively engage in providing feedback on wine issues in FTA negotiations with government.

Free trade agreements Across the globe, there is an expanding network of free trade agreements. FTAs can play an important role in supporting global trade liberalisation and can cover entire regions with multiple participants or link just two economies. Under these agreements, parties enter into legally binding commitments to liberalise access to each other’s markets for goods and services, and investment. FTAs also typically address a range of other issues such as intellectual property rights, government procurement and competition policy.

FTAs can give a clear market advantage to signatories over other trading partners.

FTAs with the countries such as the US and Thailand have delivered a significant advantage for any Australian exporters into these markets. In terms of wine, FTAs have the capacity to make a huge difference for exports. Chile is a good example of an economy that has aggressively pursued FTAs (more than 20 in total) with significant benefits to its wine industry.

For example, Chile signed an FTA with the Republic of Korea that allowed Chilean winemakers to dominate the Korean wine market. The EU has also signed an FTA with Korea and Australia has just finalised an FTA W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

with Korea, which will put us back on par with our international competitors.

Our competitors across the Tasman have also been strategic in targeting their FTA ambitions. New Zealand was the first country to sign an FTA with China and is currently the first to be actively pursuing an agreement with Russia, another huge potential market.

Existing free trade agreements Australia has seven FTAs currently in force with New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, US, Chile, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) (with New Zealand), and Malaysia. Most recently, Australia concluded negotiations with Japan and the Republic of Korea. Australia is currently engaged in three bilateral FTA negotiations: China, India and Indonesia; and four plurilateral FTA negotiations: the TPP, RCEP, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and the Pacific Trade and Economic Agreement (PACER Plus).

The countries covered by these negotiations and the recently finalised agreements with Korea and Japan account for 45% of Australia's trade. The benefits from meaningful market access improvements are measured in the millions of dollars for the Australian wine sector.

Conclusion Australia must not get left behind in the race to open up new markets for our wine products. Our economy is based on exports, and we must ensure that we actively pursue any competitive advantage that we can secure.

WFA is encouraging the government to aggressively pursue finalisation of these FTAs. We understand that all negotiations are difficult and require the government to balance competing industry interests. We also recognise that we don’t always get the level of tariff reductions that we aspire to.

However, WFA plays an important role in maintaining the government focus on the WVJ wine sector in these negotiations.

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Crack in the China?

By Tony Keys

With exports of Australian wine to China slowing in recent months, Tony canvasses the prospects of the market in the long term.

T

he Chinese market for imported wine is proving inscrutable.

Australian wine producers are less sure than they were a couple of years ago, but like the rest of the world’s wine industry, optimism is high and there is a strong belief the Chinese will become prolific wine consumers.

Outwardly, wine producer positivity shines and it’s delivered with a smile, as this quote from Sarah Descher, global corporate communications manager for Pernod Ricard, demonstrates: “We remain confident in China’s future as an important wine market as the population of middle class and affluent consumers continues to grow. Our premium Australian wine brands, including St Hugo and Jacob’s Creek, provide a great deal of opportunity for us in the market.

We also see an opportunity for our premium white wines, including Jacob’s Creek Reserve.”

Looking behind the facade of this quote, it’s easy to imagine fingers are crossed and silent prayers are being offered to whatever god or gods are worshipped. Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) is also rather bland in its comments and focus on beating the company drum. “With further investment in brand building and awareness of Australian wine, over time we expect that Chinese consumers, like consumers across the globe, will seek out Australian wines across all tiers,” said TWE’s chief commercial officer for Asia Pacific Andrew Carter.

Let’s hope they do, but it’s a fair bet fingers were also crossed when this platitude was penned. It’s also worth noting that despite all the noise from the leading Australian wine exporters to China, according to Wine Australia export figures, “the top five exporters to China contribute 17 percent of the total volume compared with 85% for the US, 81% for the UK, 80% for Germany and 73% for Canada”.

In this fact there must be hope as the big producers have not always proved themselves apt at promoting the best image for Australian wine around the world, despite their self adulation. At the

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moment, the China wine pie is shared among 900 exporters and not dominated by a few producers. The smaller guys are hopefully having a say in the direction of Australian wine in China. The potential market is so large, many can find a niche and hopefully a profitable return. This may upset the larger producers but they should reflect on the mess made in the UK, US, Canada, etc.

of China’s urban consumers will earn 60,000 to 229,000 renminbi (US$9,000 to US$34,000) a year”.

The paper transfers the income into purchasing-power-parity terms, putting the Chinese middle-class, as defined by the above income bracket, between the average income of Brazil and Italy.

What has both surprised and baffled the rest of the world is just 4% of urban

…the China wine pie is shared among 900 exporters and not dominated by a few producers…the potential market is so large, many can find a niche and hopefully a profitable return.

There is a lot of emphasis upon the growing Chinese middle class, as Descher’s quote demonstrates.

According to those who market wine, the path from rags to riches includes developing a taste, apprehension and understanding of wine. This is wine people speaking. Look at the Chinese middle class, or any other nation’s middle class, from a non-wine perspective and common sense dictates there are many more important considerations before wine. Again, it demonstrates a one-eyed approach and a need to fully understand the Chinese, not just a belief that they need an understanding of wine in their rise to prosperity.

The aspect wine folk often ignore is that no matter the nationality, consumers including those that enjoy drinking wine on occasion are not as interested in wine as we like to think they are. But first, who are ‘they’? Is the Chinese middle-class the same as the Australian or Russian middle-class? What defines the Chinese middle-class? Just how big is the Chinese middle-class?

According to McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, in a paper published in June 2013, “by 2022, our research suggests more than 75% W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

Chinese households were within this income bracket in 2000. This grew to 68% in 2012. It’s these amazing figures that drove optimism to dizzy heights. The World Bank charts the gross national average income (GNI) from US$1100 in 2002 rising to $5720 in 2012.

A point worth noting in the McKinsey paper is, “within the burgeoning middle class, the upper middle class is poised to become the principal engine of consumer spending over the next decade”. That is, those with an income of 106,000 to 229,000 renminbi are the ones who will have the disposable income that wine producers are looking to take a slice of.

This upper middle class sector accounts for 14% of the current total middle class sector but is projected to grow to 54% by 2022.

The middle class is growing globally.

Put simply, to be categorised as middle class, a person or family must have some disposable income to spend on what can be considered a luxury. It is worth remembering a luxury can be a bar of soap or any item over and above food, shelter and basic clothing. The middle class who are interested in wine is a small section, has a higher disposable income and better education.

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The throwaway use of the term ‘middle class’ that Australian producers are fond of using is, in reality, smaller than they think it is. On the positive side it’s still large enough to absorb a great deal of wine.

Therefore the Australian wine industry shouldn’t be surprised the vinous path to China is not an easy road. The leading excuse for the slowing of wine sales in China at the moment is the austerity measures President Xi Jinping imposed on civil servants, party and military leaders. He wants to cut out the bribery and lavish gifting, some of which involved wine.

Credit Suisse sponsored a report in 2010 written by economist Wang Xiaolu who estimated the gray economy at 15% of national income. Gray economy includes deliberately losing a lot of money to an official at mah-jong (although gambling is illegal), or giving the ‘red packet’ of money to a child of a government official when they get married. The red packet is a common practice; it’s the amount it contains that can be out of proportion.

If ostentatious gifting is a practice of the past it means wine will now have to be sold on its quality price ratio and genuine consumer knowledge. Since the austerity measures were introduced at the back end of 2012, imports of all wine into China have fallen 9%. An interesting comment on the decline of gifting came from Wine Australia’s general manager for market development James Gosper who said it now leaves the market open for those producers who are establishing serious brands, not one that has no history or substance. He didn’t say it but the era of overpriced wine in a fancy package may have passed.

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Victor De Bortoli, an executive director of family company De Bortoli Wines, puts the ‘if’ into middle-class: “If the Chinese are able to create the massive consuming middle class then this will be a huge opportunity for Australian wine.” Should this come to fruition, De Bortoli is confident in the long-term market opportunity.

He says, “it will not solve the current supply issues that face Australia and if you look at our export figures, a 10% fall in volume exports to the US will require a 50% increase in volume exports to China to offset that”.

Diageo, Pernod Ricard and LVMH are big players in the Chinese market with their brands of whisky, cognac and Champagne. All have reported serious decline in the luxury goods market in China. Rémy Cointreau reported sales of the cognac brand Rémy Martin were, “adversely affected throughout the financial year by the Chinese government’s anti-extravagance policy, which had a negative impact on the consumption of premium spirits”. Pernod Ricard said in its half-year report that China was down 18%.

The latest export figures for Australian wine to China run on a MAT to the end of March 2014. They show volume down 11.8% to 36.54 million litres. China holds fourth place for volume but it’s a long way behind first place which remains the UK at 244.77 million litres.

What is exciting about the China figures is the value per litre for bottled wine at $5.94, with the UK running at just $3.94/litre. Combining all the bottled price sectors above $5 litre

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

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FOB, the UK took 5.15 million litres and China 14.14 million litres.

In value terms, China is ranked third and worth $217 million (10.5% down), the leading market by value being the US, worth $423.53 million.

A recent Vinexpo report put China as the world’s largest consumer of red wine and the second largest consumer of luxury wine. However, luxury is considered wine retailing over US$10.

Overall, China is stabilising but growth potential is still there. Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said at an International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington in April the country had potential to grow 7-8% annually over the next 10 years. This was born out by the first quarter figures for this year showing a 7.4% growth, although down from 7.7% in the last quarter of 2013.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is keen to get a free trade agreement (FTA) signed with China. There is no doubt this will be of benefit to the wine industry but is there reason to think it will be a saviour for the industry? Andrew Carter, from TWE, thinks there is: “The commencement of the Chilean Fair Trade Agreement with China in 2006 shows that exports of Chilean wine rose by 59% CAGR between 2006 and 2012, and Australian wine rose 40% CAGR over the same period. While we can’t predict what total Australian exports could rise to, we’re confident that an Australian FTA with China will provide good impetus for long-term growth of Australian wine in China”.

Chile took over a lot of the bulk wine supply for the Chinese market in the 12 months to the end of January 2014; it shipped 58 million litres in bulk worth AUD$66.47 million at an average price of

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$1.15/litre. Its bottled exports to China totalled 26 million litres worth a total $108.28 million with an average per litre price of $4.14. At the moment, Australia is ahead in bottled exports, based on both volume and price per litre. Should a FTA come into being, will it be bottled or bulk that benefits?

Victor De Bortoli is candid on his depth of knowledge of the complexities of China. It is a point worth noting as De Bortoli recognises one has to understand the place, the people and the politics as well as its wine requirements.

Although his company’s top end (price wise) wines have been affected by the austerity measure, De Bortoli says, “compared with last year we are tracking at about 30% growth”.

But what of the future? Where is Australian wine going in China?

“I believe that many factors will benefit Australian wine in the long term with China, one of those factors being Chinese tourists,” says De Bortoli.

“Tourism Australia’s ‘Restaurant Australia’ program in conjunction with Wine Australia is a great initiative and hopefully it will get more Chinese into our vineyards, winery restaurants and cellar doors which, in turn, help build our wines in China. It’s not the only measure but it is an example of one of the factors.

The FTA is a positive step and I think can go a long way in helping our lower tier value wine compete with countries such as Chile. With that said, one day we will we get over $300 million and perhaps even more but that won’t happen in the short term.”

Robert Hill-Smith, chief executive of Yalumba, is in agreement with De Bortoli regarding Chinese tourism to Australia helping to boost recognition of Australian wine in China, but is dubious that a FTA will help lift Australian wine exports to over $300 million in the short term. “FTAs do not move the needle of the clock very quickly but do force reassessment of positioning. In the end it’s a positive but will not change the landscape for two years,” Hill-Smith says.

In reply to the question, will China perform for Australian wine or not, Hill-Smith replies: “Yes it will, if it is an imperative - so many traders, too few brand builders. But that’s the culture of our wine game and their country.

We need the Langton’s top 100 to be understood and our most powerful label influencers to be strong and committed, such as Penfolds, Vasse Felix, Henschke, Cullen, and Irvine Merlot to become famous so we can all share in it.”

Hill-Smith is magnanimous in praising other wines and not pushing his own W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

brands but there are several within his portfolio that could also lead the quality march into China.

He does believe there will be more levelling out in the pricing over the next couple of years as the gifting practice falls away. However, as recognition rises and quality becomes established, prices will rise again in the long term.

Not just in China but worldwide, what Australian winemakers want is the sort of recognition the top Bordeaux and Burgundies have. Can it be achieved?

Says Hill-Smith: “I am not confident but that will not stop us from having a go with our best. By and large we are led by our importer’s (Summergate) advice on wine, pricing and execution. Commercial wines will always have a place in every market along with luxury wine or pompous wine, but you need leaders and will have always the followers and the blatant low balling piranhas.”

It is my view that should any Australian wines achieve the recognition of the top Bordeaux of Burgundies, it would only amount to a dozen or so. Hill-Smith agrees, adding a lot of the fame is to do with luxury label recognition more so than the wine content.

Carter, from TWE, sees the question as an opportunity to plug the company brands: “Our Penfolds Bin, luxury and icon releases are already widely recognised as premium wines in China, as is Wolf Blass, which was named the ‘Australian Wine Producer of the Year’ at the 2013 China Wine and Spirit Awards. We’re confident with growing prosperity and sophistication among Chinese consumers that, over time, more Australian top quality wines will be recognised as premium.”

On the question of how many Australian brands will achieve the highest status comparable to Bordeaux or Burgundy, according to Carter there is only the one: “Chinese consumers have been focussed on the successful Old World and New World premium quality wine brands. Within this, Penfolds has achieved very strong brand status and will continue to be one of a focussed number of future successful premium brands that will experience ongoing demand in China.”

Wine Australia is backing education as the best method of raising Australian wine recognition in China - education via bringing people here or conducting tastings and lectures over there. Overall they have the support of the industry and with limited resources are doing a good job.

There may be a small crack in the Chinese market for Australian wine but longer term it’s looking as if there are real prospects for the whole industry no WVJ matter the size.

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What’s the world doing in grape and wine research – Part 2?

By Sonya Logan

In the March-April issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal we presented our snapshot of the projects currently under way in Australia’s key grape and wine research organisations. We now present our look at what’s being carried out in similar institutions around the world on behalf of the global grapegrowing, winemaking and wine marketing community courtesy of those organisations who accepted our invitation to provide details of their projects for our readers.

O

ne of the main reason’s the Wine & Viticulture Journal exists is to bring to the Australian wine industry the results of local and international research that it can use to improve its ability to deliver quality grapes and wine as economically and sustainably as possible, then sell it for a profit.

But, one thing we’ve never done before – nor has anyone else, we believe – is provide a snapshot of all the projects currently being undertaken by the world’s key grape and wine research organisations, allowing our readers to review at a glance the work that is being done by researchers on their behalf here in Australia and compare it with the investigations under way by our competitors.

Following our roundup of the projects currently being carried out here in our March/ April issue, the following pages provide a snapshot of what is being investigated beyond our shores in New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, the United States and even the United Kingdom.

What is particularly interesting is the similarity in some of the subjects being investigated across the various countries.

Topics centred around the effect of climate change on vineyards, improving disease resistance in vines, and disease management, lowering alcohol content in wine, managing oxidation and even the market for wine in China are some of the topics that both Australian researchers and some of their overseas counterparts are seeking to come to grips with.

And then, of course, there are those areas of investigation that are somewhat particular to the country in which they are being performed, such as: • the InnoVine project being carried out across seven European countries to design, develop and test innovative agronomic systems to assist the wine industries in those countries to face global competition in the context of climate change.

• two projects being carried out by Hochschule Geisenheim University investigating the effects of conventional, organic and biodynamic viticulture on soil, vine and wine quality on Riesling, and the ageing potential of Riesling wines from cool climates in Germany

•a nother project being carried out at Geisenheim to develop new cultivation systems for steep slope vineyards to reduce labour costs and to make them more economically viable •a project being carried out by the Centre for Research & Innovation at the Edmund Mach Foundation Italy in which new analytical methodologies are being used to trace the genotypic and geographical origin of two of the flagships of the Italian wine industry, Lambrusco of Modena and Trentodoc • s everal projects being carried out in New Zealand by Lincoln University and Plant & Food Research on Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir •a project profiling South African Chenin Blanc via chemical, sensory and consumer perception analysis by Stellenbosch University It is also interesting to note the various projects under way by Plumpton College in the United Kingdom on behalf of that country’s burgeoning wine industry. ▶

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RESEARCH REVIEW

FRANCE

Sciences for Enology (joint research unit between the National Institute for Agronomical Research (INRA), Montpellier SUPAGRO and the University of Montpellier) WINEMAKING Projects

Duration

• Oxidation of polyphenolic compounds Aim: Understand and control oxidation mechanisms during winemaking: in musts, during fermentation and ageing.

• Importance of interaction mechanisms during winemaking

Aim: Understand chemical and physicochemical interactions between polyphenols and other macromolecules or aroma compounds and their effect on the process (clarification, stability) and on the organoleptic properties of wine: astringency, colour, aroma.

5 years 5 years

• Genetic bases of yeast adaptation and properties Aim: Understand the genetic bases of yeast adaptation to the winemaking environment using comparative genomics, including identifying the molecular bases of strain properties using genetic-genomics approaches.

5 years

• System biology approach of yeast aroma metabolism Aim: Carry out a quantitative analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisie aroma production during wine fermentation, develop predictive and dynamic modelling of aroma synthesis, and strategies to control the flavour profile of wines.

5 years

• Strain engineering Aim: Engineer yeast strains using non-GMO strategies to improve strain properties in relation to climate change and socio-economic context.

5 years

National Institute for Agronomical Research (INRA) - Unité Expérimentale de Pech Rouge GRAPEGROWING Projects

Duration

• IrriAlt’Eau Aim: Control the quantity and quality of alternatives water resources for irrigation of vines and demonstrate the feasibility of using treated urban wastewater for vine irrigation.

2013-15

• InnoVine Aim: Assist the European wine industry to face global competition in the context of climate change by combining innovation in vineyard management and genetic diversity for a sustainable European winegrowing.

2013-16

• Study of lowering the alcohol content of wine Aim: Create and select varieties that produce quality wine at reduced alcohol content that are resistant to fungal diseases.

2009-14

• Disp’eau Aim: Develop a decision support tool to monitor water schedules based on grape quality objectives.

2010-13

WINEMAKING Projects

Duration

• Extraction of grape must by horizontal decanter centrifuge Aim: Study the integration potential of the decanter centrifuge in winemaking scheduling.

2008-14

• Fijus-R@isol Aim: Develop the conditions for the production of grapes to develop a new range of juices meeting the expectations of consumers.

2008-13

• Novinpack Aim: Develop an innovative PET packaging to meet the socio-economic constraints of wine packaging.

2008-13

• Control of dissolved gas Aim: Develop and pilot a system for managing dissolved gas through a membrane contactor to condition wine.

2009 - ongoing

MULTIDISCIPLINARY Projects

Duration

• Pilotype Aim: Develop a decision support tool to monitor the quality of a wine from the vineyard.

2011-14

Laccave (long term effects and adaptations to climate change in viticulture and oenology) Aim: Conduct a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to study the impacts of climate change and the ways for adapting viticulture and wine production in France long-term.

2012-15

WINE BUSINESS Projects

Duration

• WINETech Plus Aim: Promote innovation and technology transfer in the wine sector, encouraging the establishment of stable relationships between sector companies and entities of their scientific and technological environment.

2012-14

GERMANY

Hochschule Geisenheim University GRAPEGROWING Projects

Duration

• Rootstock breeding Aim: Develop new rootstocks with complete phylloxera resistance and high site adaptation capacity.

Since 1885 ongoing

• Rootstock adaptation

Since 1950 ongoing

Aim: Study the adaptation and suitability of rootstock varieties to different vineyard sites.

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W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

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• Vitis berlandieri Aim: Assess and utilise the genetic potential of Vitis berlandieri accessions collected in Central Texas in rootstock breeding, in particular lime and phylloxera tolerance.

• Variation in Vitis berlandieri Aim: Investigate the phenotypic and genetic variability in Vitis berlandieri Planchon.

Since 2005 ongoing 2011-2014

• Riesling and Pinot germplasm Aim: Identify, collect and preserve the genetic diversity within Riesling and Pinot varieties.

Since 1995 ongoing

• Clonal selection of traditional German varieties Aim: Develop new clones better suited to the demands of the German grape industry, with a particular emphasis on the challenges posed by climate change.

Since 1921 ongoing

• Grapevine in vitro culture Aim: Develop regeneration techniques for different grapevine varieties to separate chimeras and eliminate viruses.

Since 1998 ongoing

• Assessing mildew tolerant scion varieties Aim: Assess the field performance of newly-bred hybrids tolerant to downy and powdery mildew.

Since 1935 ongoing

• Maintenance breeding of scion and rootstock varieties Aim: Maintain breeding of scion and rootstock varieties to ensure a high phytosanitary status and genetic performance of existing clones.

Since 1950 ongoing

• Monoterpene-synthesis Aim: Investigate monoterpene synthesis, in particular of terpineol in grapevine varieties (joint project with JKI Geilweilerhof)

2008-10

• Grape acidity Aim: Develop effective breeding strategies for the development of high acidity grape varieties involving molecular marker development for high tartaric acid levels for marker-assisted selection of clones and rootstocks (joint project with JKI Geilweilerhof)

2011-14

• NoViSys Aim: Evaluate the behaviour of plants, crop, biodiversity, and resulting wines compared with the most common vertical shoot positioning trellis-systems to unravel the causes of ripening delay against various viticultural treatments and develop the technological basis for the broad introduction of the new cultivation systems into viticultural practices.

2014-18

• Old vs young vines Aim: To understand and evaluate the myth that older vines produce better wines; eco-physiological studies as well as analyses of fruit and wine characters; sensory evaluation will also be a major focus.

2014-17

• InnoVine Aim: A European collaborative project involving 27 partners from seven European countries, InnoVine aims to design, develop and test innovative agronomic systems integrating new agricultural practices and taking into account the variability of constraints met by European vineyards grown under a wide range of environments

2013-17

• Alcohol management – part viticulture Aim: Refine future vineyard management strategies to adapt better to seasonal changes; applications of anti-transpirant agents will be tested for their effect on vine canopy transpiration and fruit characteristics.

2010-14

• INBIODYN Aim: Compare the effect of different viticultural management systems (integrated, organic, biodynamic viticulture) on soil, vine, wine quality and sustainability (Vitis Vinifera cv. Riesling)

2006-15

• FACE2FACE Aim: Links two FACE (Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment) systems to study the effect of elevated CO2 and temperature on grassland, grapevines and vegetables; investigate physiological responses of plants (water and nitrogen use), fruit composition, soil microbial activity, pest-grapevine interactions, greenhouse gas emissions and soil nitrogen dynamics.

2014-17

• Modelling water relations of steep slope vineyards under different climate change scenarios Aim: Perform risk analyses for different steep slope vineyard regions with respect to future developments of soil water content.

2011-16

• Quantification of different greenhouse gas emissions in viticulture Aim: Measure CO2, N2O and CH3 emissions in viticulture; analyse different treatments in an experimental vineyard with respect to nitrogen nutrition and soil management systems under ambient/elevated CO2 concentrations.

2011-16

• Effect of vine nutrition on must and wine quality under future climate scenarios Aim: Investigate the influence of nitrogen nutrition on the formation of cell components, concentration of yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) and on quality parameters accounting for wine quality under ambient/elevated CO2 concentrations.

2013-16

• Investigations on nitrogen efficiency Aim: Investigate nitrogen efficiency in response to different types of nitrogen application.

2012-16

• Endophytic establishment of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveriabassiana in grapevine plants

Aim: Provide a systemic protection against pests or pathogens by triggering induced systemic resistance mechanisms; develop an alternative and sustainable plant protection strategy, with the potential of reducing pesticide applications in viticulture

2012-14

Grapevine-pest interactions under future climate change scenarios Aim: Analyse the effects of enhanced CO2 levels on the interaction between grapevine and two of its key pests, the causall agent of downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola) and grape berry moth (Lobesiabotrana).

• Disease control in viticulture by means of UV C irradiation Aim: Investigate the control of foliar and fruit pathogens (Plasmopara viticola, Uncinula necator, Botrytis cinerea, Guignardia bidwellii)

by application of UV C irradiation on canopy and cluster zone to develop new plant protection strategies for integrated and organic viticulture aimed at fungicide reduction.

• Development of new cultivation systems (minimal-pruning) for steep slope grapegrowing

Aim: Adapt labour-inexpensive cultivation systems for steep slope vineyards in order to reduce labour costs and to make these regions economically more viable; develop an integrated technology-viticulture management system for extreme sites.

• Modelling of application quality of plant protection agents with different carrier air currents

Aim: Improve the application quality and reduction of losses of plant protection agents to improve the environmental quality of plant protection systems.

2014-16

2010-14

2009-20

2015-18

• Phenobot

2011-16

• G eisi – an independent and automatic robot system for the cultivation of steep slope vineyards based on remote sensing and GPS technology

2010-20

• Combination of different powerplant/transmission/suspension systems to reduce soil compaction

2012-16

Aim: Develop an automated platform for phenotyping of genetic resources in the field to support grapevine breeding.

Aim: Develop an automatic, remotely piloted robot system, capable of applying different technologies in vineyard cultivation unmanned.

Aim: T est different new types of powerplant/transmission/suspension systems to reduce soil compaction in vineyards.

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WINEMAKING Projects

Duration

• Membrane processes Aim: Develop new techniques to avoid different types of residues in wine.

2014-17

• Alcohol reduction - Part physical procedures Aim: Apply different physical devices to avoid elevated alcohol levels in wines and base wines used for other products.

2010-14

• Alcohol reduction - Part microbial and biochemical procedures Aim: Develop and apply alcohol reducing techniques by using distinct yeast species (‘non-productive’ yeasts) and enzymatic conversion of must sugar.

2010-14

• Additives in winemaking Aim: Improve the sensory properties of wine.

2013-16

• Berry sorting Aim: Develop new sorting devices.

2013-15

• Modeling fermentation Aim: Develop mathematical models of wine fermentations focussing on alcoholic fermentation.

2013-16

• Effect of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria on the typicality of different wine varieties Aim: Optimise the use of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria to improve typicality of wines: effect on aroma compounds of Riesling and Pinot Noir wines.

2013-16

• Ageing potential of Riesling wines Aim: Improve the ageing potential of Riesling wines from cool climate regions

2013-16

• Effect of climate change on typicality and ageing potential of wines Aim: Demonstrate the effect of climate change on typicality ageing potential of wines from different wine-growing regions; develop strategies to mitigate negative effects, focussing on Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc (cooperation with the University of Bordeaux and the AWRI (BAG Alliance)).

2013-16

• Spontaneous fermentations Aim: Investigate the dynamics of yeast populations with regards to vineyard management systems, grape berry ripening and different winemaking processes.

2009-16

• Aroma compound synthesis by yeasts Aim: Investigate the genetics and regulation of aroma compound production by non-Saccharomyces yeasts during alcoholic fermentation.

2011-18

• Inactivation of microbes Aim: Investigate dynamic high pressure procedures and other physical processes to inactivate microorganisms.

2013-16

• Commercial non-Saccharomycetes Aim: Test commercial non-Saccharomycetes under different winemaking conditions.

2013-15

• Yeast autolysis and proteolytic activities Aim: Establish the variability of protein degradation by Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts in order to improve sensory aspects of wine as well as creating alternatives to bentonite treatment.

2013-16

• Authenticity of wines using spectroscopic methods Aim: Develop analytical methods based on NMR, TXRF, FTIR.

2012-20

• Characterisation of colloidally dissolved additives in wines Aim: Detect polysaccharides (Carboxymethyl cellulose, Arabic gum) and metatartaric acid in wines.

2012-15

• Wine proteins Aim: Detect, isolate and characterise wine proteins.

2012-15 WINE MARKETING

Projects

Duration

• Social media usage in the wine sector Aim: A cross-national comparison of social media usage in the wine sector – study conducted in 16 countries.

• Segmentation of German wine consumers Aim: Use different segmentation approaches to analyse the German wine market and its consumers.

2013-14 2006-ongoing

• Chinese wine consumers Aim: Cross-regional analysis of the purchasing decisions of Chinese business customers and end-consumers.

2014-16

• Consumer attitudes towards alcohol level in wine Aim: Analyse the consumer preferences and attitudes towards alcohol levels of wine among different consumer segments using different methods of consumer research (focus groups, questionnaire, discrete choice models).

2011-14

• Supply chain of bulk wines in Rheinland-Pfalz (Palatinate) Aim: Analyse the structure and development of the bulk wine business in Rheinland-Pfalz, in particular after the price shock of 2010.

2010-15

• Bulk wine price database Aim: Analyse bulk wine prices of 120 different European wine categories.

2000-ongoing

• Economic situation in the wine business Aim: Quarterly analysis of the economic situation in the wine business in Germany by questioning different companies.

1992-ongoing

• Brand management Aim: Analyse the branding process of SMEs and cooperatives.

2014-15

• Channel choice Aim: Compare different channel choice strategies in the context of market entries in different countries.

2014-15

• Consumer protection and wine market policy Aim: Study different consumer protection and wine market policies and develop strategy recommendations.

2014-15

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WINE BUSINESS Projects

Duration

• Grape cost analysis Aim: International comparison of grape production costs.

2013-ongoing

• Profitability of wine estates Aim: Analyse the development of sales, earnings, costs, investments, finance and profits in different segments of wine estates.

1992-ongoing

• Structure and development of the wine business Aim: Observe the structure and development of the wine business in Germany by gathering a large number of different data (surface, production, consumption, import, export, trade channels, etc)

1990-ongoing

• Success factors of direct selling wineries (esp. ecological and conventional producer approaches) Aim: Use different multivariate methods to figure out differences between success factors of ecological and conventional producing wine estates.

2013-16

• Cooperation along the value chain Aim: Study the different governance models of value chains in order to enhance chain performance.

2014-15

• Cooperatives in the wine sector Aim: Analyse the different governance modes of cooperatives in order to integrate small holders in value chains.

2014-15

• Internationalisation and foreign direct investments Aim: Study the effects of internationalisation strategies and foreign direct investment on the local wine business in transition and developing countries.

2014-15

ITALY

Centre for Research & Innovation, Edmund Mach Foundation (FEM) GRAPEGROWING Projects

Duration

• Genetic improvement of grapevine for resistance to downy (DM) and powdery mildew (PM) Aim: Generate new disease-resistant grapevine cultivars with desirable wine attributes and styles to achieve breeding goals.

2012-16

• Genetics of grapes quality traits Aim: Identify the genetic determinants of key berry quality traits by associating the trait variability to the genetic variability.

2012-15

• Regulation of berry ripening Aim: Characterise the regulatory pathways behind berry ripening via molecular biology, biochemical assays and in vivo functional studies.

2012-14

• Alternative strategies for pest control Aim: Develop alternative strategies for grapevine pest control based on the use of biocontrol agents, natural products (e.g. oils, semiochemicals, stilbenoids) or physical agents (vibrations and lights); major pest targets are Lepidoptera (like Eupoecilia ambiguella, Lobesia botrana, Argyrotaenia ljungiana), the grapevine leafhopper (Scaphoideus titanus) and the fungi Botritis cynerea, Erysiphe necator, Plasmopara viticola, Armillaria mellea.

2012-15

• Comparison of different types of sustainable viticulture Aim: Compare three different types of low input viticulture: integrated, organic and biodynamic, taking particularly note of vegetative status of the vines, quality and quantity of the grapes and wines, as well as soil status descriptors such as its physical and chemical characteristics, level of biodiversity and microorganisms in the soil and carbon footprint.

2012-15

WINEMAKING Projects

Duration

• Grape metabolomics Aim: Expand the understanding of grape chemistry through the investigation of the metabolite content of grapes using state-of-the-art technologies capable of covering all the main classes of organic metabolites via a set of integrated analytical techniques (mainly MS-based) (collaboration with several external partners).

2009-15

• Wine metabolomics Aim: Translate the knowledge acquired through the grape metabolomics project and apply as a novel tool to unravel wine complexity; several applications are being undertaken under collaborative sub-projects, including the micro-oxygenation of red wines, the influence of the oxygen exposure at bottling on the quality of white wines, and the effect of temperature of storage on the composition of both volatile and non-volatile organic compounds in red wines.

2012-14

• Wine traceability Aim: Trace the geographic origin of wine and other oenological products; the Italian isotopic databank is updated every year at FEM through analysis of 400+ authentic samples covering all the production areas with validated data inserted in the EU official database.

2012-15

• New analytical methodologies for geographical and varietal traceability of oenological products Aim: Trace the genotypic and geographical origin of wines by using genetic, isotopic and metabolomics markers; this is a project in collaboration with University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, aimed to further expand the capabilities of tracing wine, applied to two of the flagships of the Italian wine industry, Lambrusco of Modena and Trentodoc.

2012-14

NEW ZEALAND Centre for Viticulture & Oenology, Lincoln University GRAPEGROWING Projects

Duration

• Botryosphaeria dieback in vineyards Aim: Investigation into factors affecting epidemiology of Botryosphaeria dieback to allow development of control strategies.

2013-16

• Botryosphaeria spp. conidia: pre-infection processes Aim: Investigate the host factors that affect germination processes of the Botryosphaeria spp.

2013-14

• Leaf area to crop load effects on Pinot Noir vine performance and fruit and wine composition Aim: Evaluate how vines respond to a wide range of leaf area to crop load ratios in terms of vine health, fruit composition and wine qualities.

2013-15

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• Effect of reduced irrigation on grapevine physiology, grape characteristics and wine attributes in three Pinot Noir vineyards in North Canterbury Aim: Evaluate how soil type and environment affect Pinot Noir vine performance, grape and wine composition and wine sensory characteristics.

2013-16

• Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on soil nutrient behaviour, grape characterstics and wine attributes Aim: Evaluate how AMF affect the mobility of soil nutrients in different vineyard soils, their bioavailability to Pinot Noir grapevines and subsequent effects on the grape and plant characteristics.

2013-15

• Rootstock effects on Chardonnay (Mendoza clone) vine performance and fruit composition Aim: Evaluate influences of seven different rootstocks on Mendoza Chardonnay in a cool climate region.

• Greening Waipara Aim: Improve functional biodiversity in vineyards for enhanced management of pests, weeds and diseases.

2001- ongoing Continuing

• Managing grass-grub damage in vineyards

2014-17

• Managing weta damage in vineyards

2014-17

• Black foot control using biofumigation Aim: Evaluate the efficacy of mustard biofumigation to control black foot (Ilyonectria) disease of grapevines

2013-14

• AMF-Rootstock interactions Aim: Investigate the interaction between AMF species and rootstock cultivar on grapevine growth and direct and indirect mechanisms of resistance to Ilyonectria spp. infection.

2013-14

• Effect of climate change on grapevine root-pathogen interactions Aim: Determine the effect of elevated carbon dioxide on the quantity and composition of grapevine root exudates and rhizosphere microbial communities the influence on grapevines susceptibility to Ilyonectria sp.

2013-14

• Botryosphaeria dieback in vineyard Aim: Determine the factors affecting Botryosphaeria infection of grapevines in the vineyard which will be used to develop recommended control strategies.

2010-2015

• Population structure and virulence of Ilyonectria species Aim: Characterise the diversity of Ilyonetria species causing blackfoot disease of grapevines in New Zealand

2011-2015

• Genetic diversity and pathogenicity of Cylindrocarpon pausiceptatum grapevine isolates Aim: Characterise the genetic diversity and pathogenicity of Cylindrocarpon pausiceptatum causing black foot disease on grapevines.

2013-2015

• New biocontrol agents for root and trunk pathogens Aim: Identify the efficacy of new biocontrol agents against Botryosphaeria and Ilyonectria species.

2013

WINEMAKING Projects

Duration

• Pathogenesis-related proteins in Sauvignon Blanc Aim: Investigate the factors related to extraction and relationships between resultant juice composition and wine protein stability.

2010-14

• Mouthfeel of Pinot Noir Aim: Measure chemical and physico-chemical parameters likely related to taste and mouthfeel and determine relationships with perceived quality.

2013-14

• Tartaric acid addition Aim: Monitor changes in acidity during winemaking and determine factors affecting tartaric acid additions to Pinot Noir.

2013-14

• Haze in white wine Aim: Assess the feasibility of using mobile technology (‘smartphone’ capabilities) to assess haze levels in white wines.

2013-14

• Phenolic composition of Pinot Noir Aim: Investigate climate, soil and extraction parameters affecting the phenolic composition of Pinot Noir wines.

2013-14

• Utilisation of waste streams from winemaking Aim: Investigate the potential for extraction of bioactive compounds from wine lees waste.

2012-14

• Perceived complexity (collaboration with Univ. of Burgundy) Aim: Investigate perceived complexity in white wine .

2011-14

• Perceived minerality (collaboration with Univ. of Burgundy Aim: Investigate perceived minerality in wine.

2012-14

• Pinot Noir colour Aim: Assess colour as a driver of judgements of quality in Pinot Noir wines from Burgundy and New Zealand.

2014-15

WINE MARKETING Projects

Duration

• Heritage, identity and branding of wine regions Aim: Explore the role of heritage and identity in the regional branding of wine in New Zealand.

2013

• Generation Y and wine socialisation Aim: Examine differences in the early experiences of Generation Y with wine in five markets (New Zealand, France, Italy, Spain, US).

2012-14

• Generation Y and sparkling wines: A cross-cultural perspective Aim: Compare the brand image and experiences of young consumers with sparkling wines and Champagne in five Anglophone markets (New Zealand, Australia, UK, US and South Africa).

2011-14

• Consumer attitudes towards rosé wines Aim: Explore the attitudes and experiences of young consumers with rosé wine in four markets (New Zealand, UK, US and France).

2013-14

• Longitudinal study of wine purchasing and consumption behaviour Aim: Analyse data that has been collected from New Zealand consumers every approximately five years over the past three decades to highlight changes in wine purchasing and consumption behaviours over this time period and document implications for wine marketers.

2014

• Wine events and consumer behaviour Aim: Examine the views of both wineries (i.e. why do they participate) and consumers (i.e. why do they go, does attendance relate to future wine purchases, etc) who attend the Waipara Wine and Food Festival.

2014-15

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Plant & Food Research GRAPEGROWING Projects

Duration

• Inter-seasonal grape yield prediction Aim: Determine the influence of vine management on the elasticity of yield components (berry weight, bunch weight, berry number per bunch, bunch number per shoot, shoot number per retained node post pruning)

Current -September 2016

• In season yield management Aim: Provide cost-effective alternatives for in-season yield manipulation as a series of tools that enable grapegrowers to strategically adopt methods to modify potential grape yield during the season. Current work is focussed on mechanical thinning using commercial grape harvesters.

Current -June 2014

• Phenology prediction Aim: Provide through a web-based phenology platform data to industry to predict budbreak, flowering and ripening profiles. Predictive responses of existing and new varieties to their suitability for main vineyard regions. Model the influence of potential long-term changes in temperature on vine phenology.

CurrentSeptember 2015

• Phenology data collection Aim: Provide the wine industry with up-to-date phenological and yield component data from six Sauvignon Blanc sub-regional vineyards in Marlborough

Ongoing

• Sector readiness and response to pests and pathogens Aim: Develop specific readiness or response plans for pests and diseases considered to be of sufficient concern.

Current-June 2017

• Semiochemicals Aim: Identify new semiochemical-based systems for monitoring spread and abundance of mealybug vectors of grape leafroll virus and develop these into new strategies for vector suppression or control; develop new semiochemical-based surveillance systems or tools for biosecurity pest incursions of concern to the winegrape sector.

Current to June 2016

• Bunch rot decision support tool Aim: Develop accurate sampling protocols to implement botrytis decision support models and provide standard industry protocols for botrytis loss assessment.

Current-June 2016

• Enhanced conventional control of botrytis Aim: Achieve more durable and cost-efficient control by the use of foliar applied calcium and applying knowledge of fungicide resistance.

Current-June 2014

• Applied biology and ecology of Botrytis Aim: Identify key factors that influence the different forms of symptom expression of Botrytis (latent infection, bunch rot, slip-skin, noble rot), and describe the characteristics of the wider bunch and canopy ecosystem under standard fungicide regimes and apply that knowledge to provide more efficient control of the pathogen.

Current-June 2014

• Mechanically induced resistance Aim: Achieve mechanical elicitation of plant defence through vineyard management practices (e.g., shaking, trimming, etc).

Current-June 2014

• Grapevine powdery mildew biology Aim: Determine the relative abundance and epidemiological role of the sexual stage of Plasmopara viticola and the incidence and relative importance of the ‘diffuse’ (late season) phase of powdery mildew in NZ vineyards.

Current-June 2015

• Establishing the roles of terroir - juice production history Aim: Establish the roles of terroir and seasonality and through this knowledge tie our styles of wine to brand NZ

CurrentOctober 2016

• Establishing the roles of terroir - yeasts as part of terroir Aim: Establish the roles of terroir and seasonality and through this knowledge tie our styles of wine to brand NZ.

CurrentOctober 2016

• Juice Index Aim: Predict wine flavour/aroma based on grape/juice characteristics.

CurrentOctober 2016

• Effect of grape harvesting and processing technologies on flavour creation Aim: Use grape harvesting and processing techniques to manipulate flavour-styles of Sauvignon Blanc.

CurrentOctober 2016

• Desynchronising flavour and sugar Aim: Describe the biochemical linkages between primary fruit ripening metabolic processes and the accumulation of aroma and flavour compounds (or their analogue precursors) in Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes.

CurrentOctober 2015

• Vine management for flavour Aim: Establish the roles of (1) leaves on key volatile and non-volatile components of fruit and (2) the biosynthetic process that occurs within grapes during fruit development and maturation, and (3) link these components to NZ-unique premium SB wines..

CurrentOctober 2016

• Lifestyle wines Aim: Produce premium low alcohol/low calorie wines that can be naturally produced using sustainable viticultural techniques and native yeasts

Current-2021

• New scion genetics – germplasm development Aim: Develop a Vitis genetic resource with information on their phenotypic and genetic properties, as well as providing candidates for direct deployment or utilisation in mutation or hybridisation programs.

Current-June 2013

• Virus/vector management Aim: Provide low cost and effective management solutions for grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3) and its mealybug vectors

CurrentSeptember 2017

• Sustainable virus-free vineyards: replants and beyond Aim: Determine how to manage leafroll virus in red grape varieties by first removing infected vines and then prevent its re-emergence in newly-planted vines.

CurrentAugust 2015

• Trunk diseases Aim: Provide low cost and effective management solutions for major trunk diseases caused by Eutypa dieback and Botrysophaeria canker.

Current-June 2016

• High health material Aim: Optimise tests for viruses to ensure high health material is supplied to industry and the effect of virus infections from new vine plantings is minimised.

CurrentSeptember 2017

• Identification of desirable rootstocks or rootstock/scion combinations for disease management Aim: Index and characterise attributes of an important grapevine collection and identification of desirable rootstocks or rootstock/scion combinations for disease management attributes.

CurrentSeptember 2017

• Identify genetic markers and germplasm for drought tolerance, rooting pattern and dwarfing

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SOUTH AFRICA

ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij GRAPEGROWING Projects

Duration

• Breeding winegrapes resistant to powdery and downy mildew

2014-15

• E ffect of alternative pruning methods (hand- , mechanical- and minimal pruning) on the yield, grape composition and wine quality and the physiology of the grapevine

2014-15

• The effect of row direction on the physiological, viticultural and oenological performance of Shiraz/101-14

2014-15

• Effect of in-row vine spacing under high soil potential conditions on grapevine performance

2014-15

• Evaluation of existing winegrape rootstocks for their ability to withstand the environmental challenges in South Africa

2014-15

• Maintenance and extension of a grapevine gene bank

2014-15

• Mass culturing of vine mealybug for application in IPM

2014-15

• Determining reaction time of grapevine mealybug crawlers to systemically applied imidacloprid

2014-15

• Epidemiology of Petri disease pathogens: inoculum sources and vine-to-vine spread of the disease within vineyards

2014-15

• Investigation into the cause of rootstock necrosis in grapevine nurseries

2014-15

• Investigation into the cause of poor budburst and dying of single spurs in Sauvignon Blanc

2014-15

• Determination of resistance/susceptibility of grapevine rootstocks towards trunk disease pathogens

2014-15

• Biology of the Aster Yellows vector Mgenia fuscovaria

2014-15

• T he effect of two cover crop management practices applied to cover crops, selected for their potential to bio-fumigate the soil, on the nematode and weed population, as well as grapevine performance and soil quality

2014-15

• Investigating the possibility to improve water use efficiency and reduce canopy management inputs of winegrapes through deficit irrigation

2014-15

• C omprehensive agricultural support for the Eksteenskuil, Releaboga, Gelukshoop Trust and Melkhoutfontein farmers with on-farm training and technology transfer, with the primary focus on viti and viniculture trials in order to succeed with viticulture

2014-15

• Composting using spent filter material from wineries

2014-15

• Determination of the optimal ripeness of South African Shiraz grapes and wine in terms of their phenol composition

2014-15

WINEMAKING Projects

Duration

• The use of Toluraspora delbrueckii for wine production

2014-15

• Effect of non-Saccharomyces yeast and lactic acid bacteria interactions on malolactic fermentation and wine flavour

2014-15

• Chemical profiling of non-Saccharomyces wines

2014-15

• Effect of yeast contact time on the flavour profile and quality of Méthode Cap Classique wines

2014-15

• Production of low alcohol wines by non-Saccharomyces yeast

2014-15

• Survival and virus transmission ability of grapevine mealybug on grapevine root remnants in soil

2014-15

• Maintenance of virus garden (Gene bank)

2014-15

• Impact of winery wastewater on grapevine growth, grape composition and wine quality

2014-15

• E ffect of oenological parameters on acetaldehyde kinetics during alcoholic fermentation and its effect on ethanol-producing organisms in South African must/wine

2014-15

• Effect of grape temperature on the phenolic extraction and quality of Cap Classique made using whole bunch pressing

2014-15

Institute for Wine Biotechnology & Department of Viticulture and Oenology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa GRAPEGROWING Projects

Duration

• Climate and GIS modelling Aim: Integrate climate and GIS modelling as key factors in determining cultivar suitability and adaptation to a specific environment

2012-16

• Optimal productivity and training systems Aim: Optimise productivity in vineyards and the potential effects on grape and wine composition for a specific production goal

2012-16

• Grapevine-environment interactions Aim: Comprehensively profile grapevine berries in highly characterised model vineyards to understand key processes linked to development and ripening, as well as stress responses and quality impacts

2012-16

• Grapevine-pathogen interactions Aim: Understand resistance and susceptibility responses of grapevines under attack by pathogens

2014-16

WINEMAKING Projects

Duration

• Carbon metabolic flux in yeast Aim: Evaluate and investigate novel approaches to achieve lower ethanol yields using molecular and traditional tools, focussing on existing or novel Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeast.

2012-14

• Fermentation and wine aroma Aim: D etermine the contribution of yeast strains and combinations of strains to wine aroma, and the roles of interactions between yeast species and strains, winemaking conditions and must composition.

2012-14

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• Malolactic fermentation and wine aroma Aim: D etermine the contribution of lactic acid bacterial strains and combinations of strains to wine aroma, the effect of the interactions between yeast and MLF strains and the influence of nutrient additions.

2012-14

• Wine oxidation Aim: Investigate the chemical and sensory changes in white wine due to oxidation.

2012-14

• Phenolics in red wine Aim: Establish rapid measuring techniques for phenolic analyses in red grapes and wines.

2012-15

• Phenolics in red wine Aim : Determine the effect of different trellising systems on phenolics in Shiraz grapes and wines.

2011-14

• Chenin Blanc wine profiling Aim: Undertake chemical, sensory and consumer perception profiling of South African Chenin Blanc wine.

2014-15

UNITED KINGDOM Plumpton College

GRAPEGROWING Projects

Duration

• Climate change in cool-climate viticulture Aim: I nvestigate how climate change affects viticulture in cool-climate regions.

2013-15

• Investigate the relationship between rootstocks and scions Aim: I n order to undertake this investigation, different combinations of clones and varieties have been planted in a commercial vineyard.

2010-20

• New varieties Aim: T est the performance of newly-developed varieties in the UK.

2014–24

• Plant spacings Aim: Investigate the effects of different vine spacings along a row.

2010-20

• Living mulch Aim: I dentify a low-maintenance perennial plant to grow under rows of vines in the UK.

2013-23

• Sustainable and best-practice viticulture Aim: D evelop sustainable and best-practice systems for commercial viticulture in the UK.

2012-17

• Frost protection Aim: I nvestigate novel methods of protecting vines from spring frost damage.

2014–19

• Pesticide application Aim: I nvestigate techniques for optimising pesticide applications in vineyards.

2014-19

WINEMAKING Projects

Duration

• Investigating the mechanisms of SO2 activity in wines Aim: B etter understand how sulfur dioxide works, from a mechanistic perspective, in different wines.

2010-16

• Identifying opportunities for reducing energy use in UK wineries Aim: M onitor energy use in wineries in the UK to identify key loads and opportunities for energy use reduction; benchmark energy use in UK wineries.

2011-15

• Evaluating CO2 calculators for the UK wine production industry Aim: C ompare carbon dioxide calculators available to wine producers and determine suitability for use in the UK wine industry.

2013-15

• The efficacy of a novel strain of lactic bacteria Aim: T est the efficacy of a novel strain of lactic bacteria, isolated at Plumpton College.

2013-15

• The use of non-saccharomyces yeasts in sparkling wine Aim: T est the potential for the use of non-saccharomyces yeasts in bottle-fermented sparkling wine.

2012-17

• Laccase in sparkling wine Aim: I nvestigate the effects and potential uses of the enzyme laccase in sparkling wine.

2013-18

WINE MARKETING Projects

Duration

• A psychographic classification of wine Aim: E stablish a classification of wine along psychographic principles.

2013-18

• Consumer behaviour Aim: I nvestigate different aspects of wine consumer behaviour.

2014-19

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UNITED STATES

California State University, Fresno WINEMAKING Projects

Duration

• Tannin structure activity in relation to red wine astringency Aim: Develop an analytical method based on high performance liquid chromatography that predicts tannin interaction with salivary proteins and investigate vineyard and winery influences on predicted interaction.

2010-17

• Identification of wine yeast and bacteria by Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics Aim: Use Raman spectroscopy and support vector machine to identify the major yeasts that can spoil finished wine, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, and Brettanomyces bruxellensis, and to discriminate strains of these yeasts; also use Raman spectroscopy and support vector machine to identify the lactic acid bacteria active in wine, six commercial strains of O. oeni, six species of Lactobacillus and five species of Pediococcus.

2011-13

GRAPEGROWING Projects

Duration

• Quantification of rot in machine harvested winegrapes Aim: Use of mid infrared spectra from grape samples with known amounts of rot to create a model to predict rot in grape loads at test stands in the San Joaquin Valley.

2009-14

• Interactive effects of rootstock and regulated deficit irrigation on phenolic composition of Zinfandel Aim: Investigate the water use efficiency of Zinfandel grown on V. champinii related rootstock and related effects of fruit and wine composition in warm climate.

2013-17

• Pruning systems and irrigation stress on Zinfandel Aim: Investigate the yield efficiency of Zinfandel in a warm climate under different pruning regimes (single vs. canopy separation) and Stage I-II irrigation stress and phenolic composition.

2013-17

• Fertiliser use efficiency of a procumbent cultivar under mechanical crop load management in resource limited environments Aim: Deduce the nitrogen partitioning and utility in the flavonoid pathway in procumbent grapevines in warm climate under Stage I-II irrigation stress.

2013-17

• Interactive effects of mechanical leaf removal timing and differential irrigation stress on Merlot Aim: Deduce the optimum leaf removal timing in a warm climate and deduce the optimum irrigation stress window for UFGT gene expression for anthocyanin production in Merlot.

2013-16

• Mitigating effects of vegetative compensation under mechanical crop load management of a procumbent grapevine Aim: Convert traditional trellis system, the modified California Sprawl, to a single high-wire trellis that is amicable to mechanical pruning and canopy management and deduce the water use efficiency of this system and its effects on the flavonoid pathway.

2013-17

Cornell University GRAPEGROWING Projects

Duration

• Improving vineyard production efficiency by reducing sampling size and collection time Aim: Develop precision viticulture techniques that use computational analysis of known site variability (such as that revealed by high-resolution field data such as NDVI imagery) to improve the efficiency of vineyard sampling practices.

2011-present

• Investigating the use of under-vine cover crops as a sustainable alternative to herbicide strips in north eastern vineyards Aim: Investigate the effect of under-vine management (herbicide strip, cultivation, a variety of annual cover crops) on agrochemical and nutrient leaching, soil physical properties, vine growth, yield, fruit composition, and wine sensory characteristics.

2009-present

• Elucidating the biology and improving the management of sour rot Aim: Better elucidate the interactions between acetic acid-forming bacteria, Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts, filamentous fungi, and fruit flies (Drosophila spp.) in the development of sour rot and the efficacy of various viticultural practices and chemical control treatments that can aid in its management.

2013-present

• Biological control of Japanese beetle in eastern vineyards with persistent entomopathogenic nematodes Aim: Determine the establishment potential and persistence of three native New York entomopathogenic nematodes in mid-rows and assess their efficacy against Japanese beetle (JB) larvae in mid-rows and their potential in reducing adult JB feeding damage on grape foliage.

2011-present

• The chemical ecology of eavesdropping: olfactory-based host location and specialisation in phytophagous insects Aim: Study the olfactory processing of plant kairomones by generalist and specialist pest arthropods, building upon previous research on the specialist grape berry moth (GBM) which shows that females respond to a blend of common plant volatiles instead of compounds unique to its primary host.

2011-2014

• Determining the physical modes of action of important vineyard fungicides Aim: Determine the relative protective, curative, and anti-sporulant activities of important vineyard fungicides for which objective data on such properties are scarce or lacking, e.g., sulfur, oils, inorganic salts, new products specific for control of downy and powdery mildews and botrytis.

2003-present

• Development of a precision canopy sprayer Aim: Develop a canopy sprayer that adjusts the volume of air and liquid being applied in real-time as the sprayer moves along the row to ensure accurate deposition according to canopy size and reduction in spray drift.

2011- 2016

• Monitoring spray use in the vineyard Aim: Develop a method of monitoring and recording spray use in the vineyard to aid farm management and traceability.

2011-2015

• Examining the genetics and physiology of cold tolerance in grapevine Aim: Phenotype and characterise traits associated with cold tolerance including endodormancy, supercooling ability, acclimation and deacclimation, and spring frost resistance responses, using both wild grapevine species and cultivated grapevine species.

2011-present

• Measuring and tracking elemental sulfur residues on grapes Aim: Develop simple, inexpensive methods to measure elemental sulfur spray residues and track their fate before harvest, during fermentation, and during storage.

2009-present

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W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

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RESEARCH REVIEW

WINEMAKING Projects

Duration

• Tannin extraction and tannin concentrations in cool-climate wines Aim: Determine the effects of winemaking practices on tannin concentrations in cool-climate regions, and determine the chemical factors that limit tannin extractability during fermentation.

2010-present

• Improving tools for wine volatile analysis Aim: Develop improved analytical techniques for both wine profiling studies and targeted studies of trace wine volatiles, including methoxypyrazines, C-13 norisoprenoids e.g. TDN, and thiols.

2007-present

• Rapid methods for measuring molecular SO2 Aim: Develop and validate inexpensive, rapid methods for directly measuring molecular SO2 in wines.

2013-present

Multidisciplinary Projects

Duration

• Northern grapes: integrating viticulture, winemaking and marketing of new cold-hardy cultivars supporting new and growing rural wineries Aim: Provide research-based information to optimise the viticultural, winemaking and marketing practices for new cold-hardy grape cultivars from the University of Minnesota that have spawned a small-winery industry in areas of the upper Midwest and Northeast that were previously too cold in the winter to support grape production, and to support the growth and development of this new wine sector.

• VitisGen: cccelerating grape cultivar improvement via phenotyping centres and next generation markers Aim: VitisGen is a multi-institutional collaboration in the USA that unites grape breeders, geneticists, researchers, economists, extension specialists, and the grape industry nationwide to accelerate traditional grape breeding and address the critical needs of the grape industry. Primary objectives are to 1) evaluate disease resistance, low temperature responses, and fruit quality at three phenotyping centers; 2) identify and develop new markers for traits using next generation sequencing technology; 3) apply marker-assisted breeding to develop new grape varieties; 4) characterise consumer and industry preferences and determine the economic value of traits; and 5) provide outreach about plant breeding and genetics and communicate the benefits of developing new grape varieties.

2011-2014, renewal pending through 2017

2011-2016

• Adapting canopy sensing systems into juice grape production Aim: R esearch and develop methods to incorporate information from high-resolution canopy sensors into Concord (and Niagara) production

2010-2016

systems and measure canopy response, particularly variations within a field or vineyard, to identify areas of low, medium and high vigour vines to provide information that allows growers to quantify under-producing areas and the cost of lost crop production.

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Grape/juice handling

The dirt behind the quest for cleaner and cleaner fruit Is the war against MOG removing more than just the nasties?

Inspired by a recent article in the US publication Wines & Vines (February 2014, ‘The downside of a cleaner, gentler crush pad’), we asked four Australian winemakers whether the increasing use of equipment such as sorting tables, optical scanners, and gentle destemmers is putting at risk the production of wines that express the vineyard from which they come. In other words, can fruit be too clean?

Stuart Bourne

Senior Winemaker Brown Brothers, Milawa, Victoria

Michael Paxton

Bernard Hickin

Viticulturist/Winemaker Paxton Vineyards, McLaren Vale, South Australia

Describe the type of sorting, crushing/pressing or destemming equipment used at your winery?

Stuart Bourne (SB): We use a crusher/destemmer without the crushing cassette, so it destems only, meaning the percentage of whole berries that come out of it is much higher than if we used the crushing component. We also use a Bucher JLB stainless steel basket press, which is very gentle and squeezes berries only once; it doesn’t macerate at all.

Joel Tilbrook (JT): We use standard destemmers/crushers Michael Paxton (MP): In general, we do not sort our fruit except we may consider it if the season was particularly difficult. We destem and must pump to fermenter or, if the fruit is harvested with a machine with an onboard destemmer, the fruit is then tipped directly into the fermenter - no crushing.

Bernard Hickin (BH): The majority of

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Joel Tilbrook

Winemaker Chateau Tanunda, Barossa Valley, South Australia

the fruit at our red and white wineries in the Barossa Valley are processed with conventional crushing and de-stemming equipment. By contrast, there are some hand-picked premium white parcels that are whole bunched pressed (i.e., with stalks). Handpicked-whole bunch pressing delivers high quality delicate white wines. Also, some hand-picked reds, mainly Pinot Noir, are whole bunch cold soaked and wild fermented to produce complex wines with amazing personality.

Has it been or is it a goal of the winery to utilise equipment that results in fruit that is as clean as possible?

SB: No. We’re more interested in preserving the integrity of the berries so that that the resulting wines are more reflective of the vineyards they’re from than the people who make them. We’re chasing true terroir expression.

JT: Our vineyard teams put a lot of effort into harvester setup to ensure W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

Chief Winemaker Pernod Ricard Winemakers Australia

we get a good clean pick. We are also currently running some trials using sorting equipment at the winery and also harvesters that remove MOG as they pick.

Clean fruit and juice enables us to produce wines that express the aroma and flavour of the grapes with minimal fining.

MP: Our focus is to grow the best possible fruit and do all the work in the vineyard which means minimal ‘extra equipment’ like sorting tables, etc. If the fruit is in good condition you don’t need to do anything to it. So, no, we do not have the desire to purchase this type of equipment.

BH: Our goal is to produce excellent quality wines that express the true varietal character of the fruit; equipment that can separate out MOG is an important part of the process.

We aim to remove most of the MOG that can cause a number of issues, damaging equipment, blocking transfer lines, and potentially adding a non-vinous flavour.

We have strict standards to keep MOG V29N3

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within tolerable levels, but we are not targeting zero MOG. In addition, excellent winery hygiene is important to avoid major spoilage problems in the wine.

Essentially, our mainstream process is to remove MOG to ensure purity of varietal flavour and ensure ideal cleanliness of equipment so that we protect against spoilage issues like Brettanomyces, mousiness, and acetic acid bacteria (volatility).

What are your thoughts on the suggestion that a certain degree of matter other than grapes (MOG) adds to the overall character or complexity of a wine, thus making it more interesting and helping to differentiate itself from other wines? In other words, if grapes get cleaner and cleaner, will the resulting wines become increasingly homogenous?

Grapes are discharged from an Ero Grapeliner 6000 series with an onboard sorting system whereby grapes are passed through a destemmer and over a sorting table.

Photo courtesy: FMR Group

SB: I still believe there is enough variation in individual vineyard expressions, across all varieties and regions, that there will not be a total homogenisation of wines in the future if we head fully down the path of cleaner fruit. A good wine will always be the expression of the vineyards it comes

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from - but the presence of MOG should not have a detrimental effect on the wine should any MOG be present. Complexity can also be introduced in the winemaking process, e.g., by batch separation and slightly differing handling techniques, without the need for MOG to introduce complexity.

JT: Our current trial work will help us to understand this better, but in general terms I think one of the biggest issues with MOG is variability in terms of content and quantity. Obviously, for some wine styles the inclusion of stalks, for example, is an important part of the style, but this is best done in a controlled way so that their influence can be managed.

Random addition of leaf and other matter is not a controlled way to add complexity.

I don’t think moving towards cleaner fruit will make wines more homogenous, because we still have significant variation in grapes, but it may help to improve consistency.

MP: The wines do not have to become more homogenous even if grapes get cleaner and cleaner as it depends on how the fruit/wine is treated after that. I do think that you can be removing potential complexity from the wine by removing MOG, for example, I use whole bunches in Shiraz and Grenache to achieve

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4,500 ltr to 66,000 ltr tank capaciy Both closed and slotted shell presses

Destemmers/Crushers There are six models in our MC Series: · MC100 · MC250 · MC400 · MC600 · MC800 · MC1000

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Brown Brothers crushpad at Milawa in Victoria’s King Valley. stylistic differences from the same fruit that has not had whole bunches (stalks, etc) added. There are so many factors affecting flavour and, also, if all fruit is picked super ripe, it all starts tasting the same (more homogenous).

BH: A degree of MOG is tolerated. And I agree that whole bunch fermentation of reds produces interesting wines. For example, some of our Pinot Noir is whole bunch cold soaked and wild fermented to produce complex wines with amazing personality. But not all MOG is desirable.

Does aspiring for cleaner and cleaner fruit negate the influence of vineyard expression, regionality and terroir?

SB: A delivery of grapes comprises a collection of individual berries that make a standard bell curve, in terms of population dynamics. By removing the outliers from a load of fruit (as is the case with some processes like berry sorting), you’re potentially not getting the full expression of the vineyard from where that fruit has come from, but you’d get a pretty good percentage of it. It’s the processes further downstream that are likely to make the wine smell and taste less like the

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vineyard from which it came. Every process and every additive in the winemaking process masks the viticultural expression of the fruit to a small degree. As a winemaker, I believe it is important to minimise the effect of these processes so you arrive at a wine that has been managed minimally from grape to glass, rather than been very manipulated along its journey.

JT: No, not necessarily. The grapes provide an expression of the vineyard and in a clean sample they have the best opportunity to do this. It is true though that some vineyard specific MOG may influence wine style (e.g., eucalypt character) MP: No, I don’t think so but it depends on what you are calling terroir. It may affect the typicity of some varieties if the winemaker wants to take out all small berries and all shrivelled berries as this may be part of the varietal characteristics. If a vineyard has fruit full of millipedes and that gives historic vineyard expression then removing them is likely to affect that characteristic. But, is that bad? You have to ask the customer.

BH: I think the expression of terroir is largely and intrinsically derived from the flavour of the grape juice from a particular vineyard. Having said that I wouldn’t rule out other organic matter having a positive influence on flavour.

What effect do you think increasingly cleaner fruit, particularly more whole berries, has on the winemaking process? Are these effects necessarily desirable?

SB: More whole fruit in the winemaking process gives a gentler result, that is, a more elegant wine that is less extracted and forced. Preservation of aroma and retention of fresh fruit and subtlety are what we see with our higher percentage whole berry ferments. They have a lovely brightness to them.

We think these effects are very desirable, as our house style is to always to make very elegant and deliciously graceful wines that are not forced or too extracted. Consumers are very much flocking towards wines of elegance and finesse, as they pair much more favourably with many food styles that are popular. The advent of the numerous food shows we see in the media nowadays has also brought consumers to a higher point of appreciation for wines of subtlety and finesse.

W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

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Paxton Vineyards only sorts its fruit if it regards the season as particularly difficult.

JT: Whole berries can help to enhance fruit expression but it’s really a wine style choice. We like to include whole berries in some varieties (such as Tempranillo and Pinot Noir) for this reason.

These effects are desirable to us because it forms part of our wine style in certain products, but I’m not suggesting it’s the path to take for all wines.

MP: I don’t think that simply by having whole berries means cleaner fruit. More whole berries will provide a slightly different flavour profile than if all the berries are broken up and this relates to style. Whole berries may give less tannin from the skin, and some brighter fruit characters but it will not affect the character of that specific vineyard in that region.

Whether the effects of more whole berries is desirable depends on the customer; if the customer likes it and buys the wine then I think that means it is desirable.

BH: There is a real trend to be more natural. Whole bunch, stalk inclusion, natural and wild ferments all contribute complexity to a red or white wine, making the wine more interesting for the consumer. Having a totally clean process may yield purity of fruit, but the compromise is the final wine can be rather one dimensional. But some consumers like purity of fruit. Other consumers like complexity and exotic notes. There is no right or wrong here, more a question of style preference.

The cleaner the fruit from the vineyard, the less the number and diversity of the microbial population from that vineyard. While clearly there are some instances when this is advantageous, such as undesirable mould, do you think some microbial influence forms part of the signature of the fruit and is therefore desirable?

SB: Disease-free fruit is what we chase, particularly in regard to powdery mildew and botrytis, as they can taint wine.

Taints from botrytis and powdery mildew infections that occur prior to or after veraison definitely have detrimental effects on wine.

We employ a lot of open and static fermenters and our wines undergo natural malolactic fermentation after primary fermentation has been completed. But we inoculate every fermentation with yeast. There will obviously be some level of microbial flora on the fruit that we could utilise for V2 9N 3

For further information, please contact Kauri AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 AUS Fax: 1800 127 609 Email: winery@kauri.co.nz

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

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

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The majority of fruit at Pernod Ricard Winemakers Australia’s wineries in the Barossa Valley are processed with conventional crushing and de-stemming equipment, though some hand-picked premium white parcels are whole bunched pressed and some hand-picked reds, mainly Pinot Noir, are whole bunch cold-soaked and wild fermented. fermentation, but will it finish off the fermentation? We’ve done some in-house trials using naturally-occurring yeasts and the results are hugely variable. Like all wineries, we’ve got a population of Acetobacter and Brettanomyces present in our winery which we don’t want coming into play during fermentation and maturation either. We want our wines racked, sulfured, cleaned up and into barrels as soon as possible so we’d prefer to take out the competing microflora to guarantee our wines are microbially stable and the wines are expressive of the vineyards they came from.

JT: I’m not sure of the relationship between fruit purity and the concentration/diversity of natural desirable microbial strains, but obviously it’s desirable to avoid moulds that can have a negative effect on wine quality.

We do utilise natural (uninoculated) fermentation as a tool in many of our Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.

MP: I absolutely think the microbial influence can form part of the signature of the wine but I see it differently. I want to have as much microbial diversity in my vineyard both under the ground and in the canopy. I will admit that we use biodynamic methods in our vineyard and winemaking and this embraces the presence and diversity of microbes and I believe this is what provides protection to the vine from major adverse and detrimental infections. This is much more likely to happen when systemic

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fungicides are used as they wipe out everything good living on the plant.

BH: I agree that utilising the microbial population in the vineyard to influence primary yeast fermentation and subsequent malolactic fermentation can deliver wines of great distinction and personality. But fundamentally, the varietal flavours must be present in the grapes to complete the wine.

Finally, do you think there is a limit to how clean fruit should be before fermentation?

SB: The most important element to consider when determining how clean you want your fruit is the people who buy your wine. Do they really care how clean the fruit is? Is the degree of cleanliness of the fruit going to be part of his or her purchase decision? Everything that we do is customer focussed – making wines that people want to drink not that we think people want to drink. The majority of consumers domestically and to a degree internationally wouldn’t put a huge amount of weight on the cleanliness of the fruit in their purchase decisions.

If you were to plot the quality of a load of fruit that comes into a winery on a graph, it would have a bell shape. A winery has to decide whether it wants to manipulate that fruit to flatten out that bell shape or to shave off the outliers. If you’re buying good quality fruit, there’s not a great need for sorters and so on.

But there will be years when a crop has W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

more variance. These machines have a wonderful place in the winemaking world when used for the right purposes at the right time. But, it’s pretty hard to grow bad fruit in the Barossa so long as the fruit has been closely monitored and sprayed as necessary.

JT: I don’t think so. Generally, I think the best wines will come from fruit that is free of disease and relatively low in MOG. This enables the winemaker to create a wine that best expresses the characteristics of the grapes as they were grown in the vineyard.

MP: I think there needs to be a definition of ‘clean fruit’ to accurately answer this question: clean of mould or damaged fruit, or stalks, or microflora?

I think it is an individual decision of a winemaker and the choice of the consumer. It takes all types of styles, flavours and textures to keep our allimportant customers interested and maybe the variety comes from a range of ‘fruit cleanness’.

BH: For grapes, the ideal is to have fruit free of major disease like botrytis bunch rot, sour rot, and volatile Acetobacter. But, equally, having a healthy microbial count of yeast and bacteria on the grapes is a very positive thing for adding character and personality to a wine … so yes there are limits. Wine is a rather natural alcoholic WVJ beverage, not a clinical one.

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IS YOUR RIESLING UP TO THE CHALLENGE? 15

THE HYATT HOTEL CANBERRA AND ALBERT HALL CANBERRA

13-18 OCTOBER 2014 A COMPETITION DEDICATED TO RIESLING WINES TO SHOWCASE THE WONDERS OF THE RIESLING VARIETY

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

The Canberra International Riesling Challenge is a unique opportunity for Riesling producers to showcase their product.

The Challenge has become an internationally–recognised wine show, and is the largest event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

HOSTED BY CHARLES STURT UNIVERSITY

SEMINAR ON RIESLING EXCELLENCE Friday 17 October 2014 Hyatt Hotel Canberra

RIESLING MASTER CLASS Friday 17 October 2014

The 14th Canberra International Riesling Challenge, attracts wines from Riesling producing countries around the world.

Judging is conducted on a regional basis which highlights the individual characteristics unique to the wines’ location in the world.

Hyatt Hotel Canberra

EXHIBITORS AND PUBLIC TASTING Saturday 18 October 2014 Albert Hall Canberra

Ken Helm, AM Chairman Canberra International Riesling Challenge

SO IF YOU THINK IT IS, THEN ENTER. KEY DATES

Bookings for the Seminar and Master Class are essential as spaces are limited.

For more information, visit www.rieslingchallenge.com or email info@rieslingchallenge.com

ENTRIES OPEN 1 JUNE www.rieslingchallenge.com ENTRIES CLOSE 31 JULY | JUDGING 14-16 OCTOBER WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT THE AWARDS PRESENTATION ON 17 OCTOBER 2014

AWRI

Influence of phenolics on white wine quality and style

By Richard Gawel, Peter Godden, Patricia Williamson, Leigh Francis, Paul Smith, Liz Waters, Markus Herderich and Dan Johnson

Managing director Dan Johnson

The importance of phenolic compounds in red wine colour and texture is well known. For white wines the story has not been as well understood. Texture in white wines is seen as positive, but coarseness and hardness are not. AWRI researchers have studied the effects of phenolics in commercial white wines, finding out about their effects on wine style, consumer liking and winemaker assessments.

Introduction

M

any Australian winemakers now actively embrace winemaking processes that incorporate phenolics into their white wines. This is done to enhance palate texture, and make wines that are ‘food-friendly’. The choice to boost phenolics depends greatly on the wine style that the winemaker intends to produce. Phenolic characters are not generally desirable in lighter styles of Riesling, unwooded Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Their presence is thought to detract from the fresh fruit characters valued in these styles. In addition, the darker colours and astringent, oily and bitter tastes often found with higher concentrations of phenolics are not well regarded in these wines. In contrast, some other varieties such as Pinot Gris, Chardonnay or Viognier are often made in a way to intentionally incorporate higher phenolic levels with the view to creating more textural wines. Even in fuller-bodied styles, however, there is a fine line between positive textural characters and undesirable coarseness.

Two studies have investigated the influence of phenolics in commercial white wine. The first focussed on Pinot Grigio/Gris (abbreviated to Pinot G), and examined the role of phenolics in contributing to Pinot G wine style. The second study explored how phenolics and other wine compositional factors related to consumer liking of white wines and winemaker assessments of white wine quality.

Composition and style Pinot G is an obvious variety to consider when investigating the influence of composition on white wine style. It is grown across Europe, but is most well known in northern Italy and the Alsace region of France where two very different wine styles have traditionally been made, labelled Pinot

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At a glance •

•

• • •

Phenolic compounds in white wines are known to contribute to astringency, hotness, oiliness, viscosity and bitterness, but their effects are influenced by overall wine composition Two studies investigated the effect of phenolics in commercial white wines – one focussing on Pinot Grigio/Gris wines and one covering a range of white varieties Perception of Pinot G wine style was strongly related to total phenolics, alcohol and residual sugar Consumer liking of white wines was influenced more by sugar and alcohol than by phenolics Winemakers associated higher quality of white wines with lower alcohol and higher quality of Riesling wines with lower alcohol and lower phenolics

Grigio and Pinot Gris, respectively. In Italy, grapes are harvested early, maintaining high acid levels and producing wines with subtle varietal characters, light body and crisp acidity. In Alsace, grapes are left to ripen longer, juices are fermented on solids and pre-fermentation skin contact is common, resulting in wines with higher phenolics and alcohol levels, richer flavours and greater overall palate fullness. While the higher alcohol typical of the Alsatian style may cause greater palate fullness compared with the lighter Italian style, it wasn’t known if higher phenolics also contributed to wine mouthfeel or style.

To find out, 22 commercial Pinot G wines were chosen for tasting and analysis: 18 Australian, three Alsatian and one from New Zealand. The wines were chosen to cover a diverse range of styles ranging from the fuller bodied, higher alcohol style to the lighter bodied, lower alcohol, high acid style. Tasters rated the wines for a range of agreed attributes, including mouthfeel attributes that are commonly associated with ‘phenolic character’ in white wine: astringency, viscosity, oiliness, hotness and bitterness. They were also asked to indicate where they thought each wine sat in the continuum from traditional Grigio W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

to traditional Gris. The wines tasted were analysed for alcohol, pH, titratable acidity (TA), residual sugar and total phenolics.

Statistical analysis was used to relate the sensory and compositional data.

Linking analytical and sensory results Table 1 and Figure 1 summarise the associations between the analytical results and the mouthfeel ratings of the tasters. Viscosity and oiliness were found to be associated with residual sugar, while oiliness and hotness were also associated with alcohol. As reported in AWRI publication #1518, astringency in the Pinot G wines was best related to lower pH and lower TA (Figure 1). Total phenolics appeared to be less important than acidity in determining the astringency of this set of Pinot G wines.

In general, the major wine compositional variables – pH, TA, residual sugar and alcohol – explained the variations in mouthfeel and bitterness better than the phenolic content (Figure 1 and Table 1).

However, while total phenolics did not strongly influence any particular sensory attribute, it was important for the overall perception of style (Figure 1 and Table 1).

Total phenolics had a positive (if weak) V29N3

AWRI

Table 1. Best subset regression for ‘Pinot G’ wines. Green fill indicates that a higher value of the compositional parameter contributed to explaining an increase in the intensity of the mouth-feel attribute, or being more Grislike in style. Orange fill indicates that higher pH contributed to explaining a decrease in astringency.

Composition

Figure 1. Statistical analysis of associations between sensory attribute ratings and analytical parameters. Positive associations are shown above the middle line, and negative associations are shown below the middle line. Significance of the statistical model fit is given in parentheses. effect on all the individual attributes that are typically associated with ‘phenolic character’, which in combination may have contributed to an overall perception that a wine was more Gris-like than Grigio-like.

Pinot G winemakers interested in pursuing particular wine styles now have a greater understanding of which compositional factors are most important and can consider steps to take in the vineyard or winery to influence them. Wine style can also be communicated directly to consumers using the Pinot G Style Spectrum labelling tool.

What do winemakers and consumers think about phenolics in white wine?

Few consumers would be familiar with the term phenolics, particularly in regard to white wines. Winemakers, on the other hand, think and talk about phenolics as part of their work and would have a personal impression of what ‘phenolic character’ means.

AWRI researchers were interested to investigate how these two very different groups would react to a set of wines with varying levels of phenolics.

Twenty-four Australian wines from the top 100 best-selling wines of 2009 were chosen through an initial screening process: seven unoaked Chardonnays, five oaked Chardonnays, 10 Rieslings, and two Pinot G wines. The wines were then tasted by a group of experienced Australian winemakers. The tasters were informed of the grape varieties of the wines before being asked to rate them for overall quality using the 20-point scale commonly used in Australian wine show judging. The tasters were also asked to indicate if the wines displayed ‘phenolic character’.

Following the winemaker tasting, 14 of the 24 wines were selected for consumer testing. The wines chosen were eight Rieslings, two unoaked Chardonnays, two oaked Chardonnays and two Pinot G wines. The consumer panel comprised 203 Sydney consumers who consumed white wine at least once per week, and who occasionally purchased $10-20 bottled white wine. The consumers were asked to taste the 14 wines and rate how much they liked them on a ninepoint category scale (from ‘like extremely’ to ‘dislike extremely’). The wines were also analysed for alcohol, pH, TA, residual sugar and total phenolics.

All of the sensory data (from both winemakers and consumers) were correlated against the analytical data. Data for the 10 Riesling wines tasted by the winemakers were also analysed as a separate set, to see if there might be any variety-specific effects. Finally, the proportion of winemakers that indicated that each wine had ‘phenolic character’ was correlated with the compositional data and average quality score.

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Consumers and winemakers don’t always agree The 14 wines tasted by the consumers were generally well-liked, with average scores out of nine in a narrow range between 5.95 and 6.58. The average quality scores from the winemakers for the 14 wines ranged from 14.9 to 15.5 and for the 24 wines, from 14.2 to 16.4. These scores indicated that the wines were of sound to good quality. The score ranges are consistent with the wines’ popularity in the marketplace. ▶

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Figure 2. Correlations between consumer liking, winemaker quality score and basic wine composition. * indicates significant correlation (p<0.05) and different letters indicate significant differences in correlation.

Figure 2, see page 36 shows the relationships between the consumer liking of the wines and the basic wine composition including total phenolics. Liking was most strongly and significantly associated with residual sugar (RS) content (r= 0.56, p=0.04). Acidity parameters and total phenolic content were not associated with liking. A moderate but non-significant association (r=0.37, p=0.19) was also seen between consumer liking and alcohol content.

The winemakers’ quality ratings for the 14 wines used in the consumer study were not strongly associated with any of the major aspects of wine composition (also shown in Figure 2). However, when the set of 24 wines was included, higher quality ratings were significantly associated with lower alcohol (r= -0.46, p=0.02). When the Rieslings were considered on their own, alcohol and phenolics had stronger associations with winemaker scores (Figure 2), which may suggest that the winemakers did not feel that high phenolics and high alcohol were consistent with Australian Riesling style.

The number of wines included in the consumer study was small, and in this report no attempt has been made to segment the

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Figure 3. Average winemaker quality score vs percentage of winemakers assessing wine as being ‘phenolic’ (r = -0.56).

Yellow=Chardonnay, Green=Riesling, Blue=Pinot Gris. consumer population. Therefore, differences between consumer liking and winemaker quality scores should be interpreted with caution. However, it appears that basic wine components (sugar and alcohol) were most important in determining consumers’ liking of the wines, while winemakers also saw phenolic levels as being important in their quality assessments of white wines.

The role of phenolics in winemaker quality assessments was investigated further by relating the proportion of winemakers who thought that the wine tasted ‘phenolic’ to wine composition and to their quality scores (Figure 3). The proportion of winemakers reporting ‘phenolic taste’ was not significantly associated with any aspect of composition including total phenolics (r=0.17). However, the relationship between phenolic perception and total phenolic concentration was stronger when only unoaked wines were considered (r=0.40, p<0.05), suggesting that phenolic character is more difficult to perceive in wines with oak influence.

The fact that lower average wine quality ratings by winemakers were more strongly associated with perceived phenolic character than actual phenolic concentration suggests that other components may contribute to the perception of characters normally associated with phenolics.

Here, the percentage of winemakers reporting phenolic character was most strongly correlated with pH (r=-0.26), a result which is consistent with other recent research (AWRI publication #1552).

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Winemakers will continue to experiment with different levels of phenolics in white wine – seeking desired texture and wine style outcomes. The two studies presented in this report suggest that while phenolics can definitely influence wine style, their importance in consumer liking is secondary to basic wine composition. Quality assessment by other winemakers, for example in the wine show environment, is likely to be more strongly affected by phenolic characters, but wine composition still has a strong influence. At least for the group of winemakers involved in this work, Riesling wines with lower levels of phenolics and alcohol were seen as being of higher quality.

Wine texture and style are not simple concepts and can’t be tied to one or two analytical measures. Instead, research is increasingly pointing to the importance of interactions between different wine components, and the strong influence of basic wine chemistry. The challenges of understanding these interactions will be pursued in the AWRI’s continuing research on wine texture and style.

References

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Gawel, R.; Day, M.; Schulkin, A.; Smith, P.; Herderich, M. and Johnson, D. (2013) AWRI publication #1518. The science of texture. Wine and Viticulture Journal 28(2):30-34.

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Grape sorting on the move - the effects on juice and wine quality

By Cathy Howard

The 2014 vintage presented Cathy Howard with her first opportunity to personally assess juice and wine quality from fruit picked using an onboard grape sorting harvester. She also sought feedback from a harvesting contractor, a vineyard owner, a winemaker and the companies behind two such harvesters.

T

he 2014 vintage in the southwest of Western Australia was as close to perfect as anyone could hope for; warm days and relatively cool nights and no impending threats of cyclone activity in the north-west of the state, which can sometimes bring rain at the wrong time. As the first whites started coming off in early February, the attention of many winemakers, production managers and vineyard managers focussed on harvesting and crush intake logistics. This year was the first time that I have been asked by a grower if I was happy for a block of Sauvignon Blanc to be harvested using a Pellenc harvester fitted with a Selectiv ’ Process on-board soarting system’. This prompted me to look more closely at how this type of harvester with an onboard sorting table works, and to assess first hand if the machine made a noticeable difference to juice and wine quality.

My initial observations on the various Selectiv’ harvested loads coming in from this grower, when compared with conventionally harvested loads were that, visually, they were quite different. Loads picked with the Selectiv’: •h ad very little matter other than grapes (MOG) present in the bins, particularly green petioles, and whole or part bunches or leaves. If they were present, the pieces of petiole, leaf and rachis were quite small, around the size of a 10 cent coin •h ad increased volumes of juice in the bins.

The presence of excessive amounts of green petioles in grape deliveries is a significant wine quality issue, particularly with reds. Green, herbal, sappy characters from the petioles carry through into the wines. Shiraz and Merlot can often be left hanging in the vineyard, waiting for flavours to fully develop.

As the season progresses, vine vigour wanes. For these two varieties, this often leads to high levels of petioles coming through into the bins during harvesting.

The higher levels of juicing raised the question as to why this was happening,

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Harvesting at Wills Domain, in Margaret River, using a Pellenc Selectiv’ 8590. and was it perhaps detrimental to juice quality, particularly if whites, once harvested, had delays before being processed at the winery.

In 2014 in the Margaret River and Geographe areas, there were four harvesters with onboard sorting tables operating: three Pellenc Selectiv’ (www. pellenc.com.au) and an ERO Grapeliner (www.fmrgroup.net.au).

The ERO Grapeliner conveys the harvested material along a single conveyor belt through a large winerystyle rotary destemmer which removes the rachis and a large percentage of the MOG, and then drops the harvested material onto the rolling sorting table which removes a petioles. Having the destemmer prior to the sorting table reduces the load on the sorting table substantially. Another difference with the ERO system is that the operator can choose between processing the fruit through the sorting system and into a side tipping bin or into a discharge chute, or W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

choose to divert past the sorting system and directly into the discharge chute or bin. The changeover process between using the sorting system or not takes only a few seconds. The ERO has a single conveyor belt.

In comparison, the Pellenc Selectiv’ has two conveyor belts which run the length of the base of the machine, feeding harvested material up onto two sorting tables near the top of the machine.

Berries fall through the sorting table into the onboard bin, while bunches pass through linear destemmers that use low amplitude, high frequency vibrations to remove the berries from the stalks. Green material (such as petioles, leaves and rachis) are ejected from the sorting table and discarded out the side of the harvester, back onto the vineyard ground. The onboard bins have an internal auger positioned at an angle in the top of the bin, underneath the sorting table, which feeds the grapes to the back of bin as it is getting close www.winebiz. com . au

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to full to evenly spread the load and assist to stabilise the harvester. The onboard bins tip backwards to empty.

To find out more, I contacted a local vineyard contracting company, Bacchus Contracting, and went along to a pick at Wills Domain where they were trialling the Pellenc Selectiv’ on their reserve Cabernet Sauvignon block. I contacted another vineyard owner, Michael Gould, of Knotting Hill, who has used a Selectiv’ for the past two vintages. To gain a winemaker’s perspective, I talked with Luke Jolliffe, of Stella Bella Wines, who has been processing grapes harvested with a Selectiv’ for the past two vintages.

Finally, I contacted both Louise Fraser, of Pellenc Australia, and Chris Clifford, of FMR Group (agents for the ERO in Australia), in regards to the higher juicing levels in the bins.

David Hill, Partner, Bacchus Contracting, Busselton, WA

A close-up of the sorting table rollers of the Pellenc Selectiv’.

Bacchus operates grape harvesters throughout the Margaret River and Geographe wine regions in the southwest of WA. It also has three Gregoire conventional harvesters. Last vintage, Hill found that they were missing out

on harvesting work in the second half of vintage, as the Selectiv’ harvesters available in the region in 2013 were being preferentially used to pick reds. Bacchus purchased a Selectiv’ 8590 600 with GR for the 2014 vintage.

I met Hill at the Wills Domain vineyard for a trial harvest of their reserve Cabernet block. The first thing I noticed with the Selectiv’ was that it was so much quieter while harvesting than a conventional harvester, due to the fans running at a much lower speed. The harvested material is conveyed onto a belt, which has holes to allow loose berries and juice to flow directly onto the onboard sorting tables below, while retaining whole bunches, leaves, petioles and other MOG. The material retained on the belt then moves through the high frequency destemmer.

The sorting table consists of two sets of rollers. The harvested material lands onto the first set of narrow, short rollers.

As well as moving the harvested material sideways, these rollers rotate the petioles so that they are perpendicular to the side of the harvester. The material continues to move sideways onto the second set of rollers, which have larger, longer shaped rollers, allowing berries and juice to

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Cabernet Sauvignon from the Wills Domain vineyard discharged from the Pellenc Selectiv’. drop down into the bin. Material such as petioles, leaves and rachis are carried across the top of the rollers to the edge of the machine and ejected onto the vineyard floor.

When running through the operation of the Selectiv’, Hill mentioned that the ability to finetune the amplitude and speed of the beaters, as well as refining the pinch settings were an improvement over his conventional harvesters. There was a program with the Selectiv’ for picking around posts, which Bacchus often used, but there were occasions when they didn’t use this program, as it was definitely a negative when harvesting very ripe Cabernet which had a tendency to fall off in front of the machine. By using this smart post-detection program, his operators were reporting less broken posts this vintage compared with the conventional machines. When asked about cleaning, Hill stated that the Selectiv’ was relatively easy to clean, and took no longer than an hour.

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The rollers on the sorting tables weren’t too fiddly or time consuming to clean and clear of wrapped petioles.

When asked about the higher level of juicing in the bins, Hill suggested that it may be the result of less juice being lost during a harvest as there certainly wasn’t the amount of juice being blown out of the back of this machine compared with a conventional harvester. Another cause may be mechanical damage to the berries while being conveyed through the machine.

There was little evidence of juice coming out of the sides of the machine off the sorting table, so he didn’t think that the action of the sorting table or destemmer was the cause.

Ernie Lepidi, Vineyard Manager, Wills Domain, Margaret River, WA Wills Domain currently harvest a total of 200 tonnes, with 40t (20%) of this being handpicked. After seeing the Selectiv’ in action, Lepidi is now considering halving

W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

the amount that they are currently handpicking. Their reserve Shiraz block is definitely a candidate as substantial savings would be made in labour costs, along with substantial improvements in wine quality due to the removal of the petioles.

Lepidi was impressed with operation of the Selectiv’, in particular that there was very little MOG present in the bins, and what was present was no larger than a 20 cent coin. He does have reservations about using the Selectiv’ for harvesting whites though, and definitely wouldn’t use it for Will’s Domain's Chardonnay, the main reason being that the higher juicing levels, and the possible quality issues that may arise from this if night time temperatures were on the warm side.

The trial pick at Wills Domain incorporated harvesting four rows of spur pruned vines, where conventional harvesters often break off spurs. Lepidi was pleased with the results as the Selectiv’ was much gentler

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the minimum pick charges billed by the contractors. Savings become significant, however, when the areas to be picked are greater than 4ha. He would only go back to using a conventional grape harvester if it was requested by a customer.

When asked about the levels of juicing in bins, Gould finds that it is higher than conventionally harvested fruit, but it does also vary with the variety and with the year. His Merlot this year, for instance, had far less juicing than the other red varieties he harvested.

Luke Jolliffe, Senior Winemaker, Stella Bella Wines, Margaret River, WA Michael Gould, owner/operator of Margaret River’s Knotting Hill Estate.

Photo courtesy Knotting Hill on the older vines. For Lepidi, the big pluses were the cost savings on labour (one less person, as there is one less chaser tractor driver) and the ease of the job. Lepidi finished by saying that the key, as always, with any machine harvesting, is no matter what type of machine it is, “having good switched on, knowledgeable operators” make for a successful pick.

Michael Gould, Owner/Operator, Knotting Hill Estate, Margaret River, WA The Knotting Hill vineyard covers an area of 38 hectares, with 60% of this being red varieties. Gould machine harvested his entire vineyard using a Selectiv’ harvester in 2013 and 2014. He has six customers, and only once has a customer requested that the Selectiv’ not be used on the whites as they believed it was too oxidative.

Gould finds that the benefits in improving his harvesting logistics when using the Selectiv’ are much better for the vineyard when compared with using a conventional harvester. He finds the Selectiv’ to be much quicker

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on long rows, saving about 15 minutes per hectare. The vineyard contractors in WA charge higher running costs per hectare for the Selectiv’, but the savings in time taken to pick a block makes using it worthwhile. In addition, the larger hectares with lighter crop yields through some of the blocks at Knotting Hill means that he doesn’t require a second tractor and driver, resulting in further cost savings. For the harvests where yields per hectare are higher, they do still use a second chaser tractor.

A lesson learnt early in the 2013 vintage when first using the Selectiv’ was not to fill the onboard bins too full, as the augers inside the bins tended to macerate the grapes. Since then, he limits the extent to which bins are filled to avoid this happening again.

For Gould, by far the biggest advantage in using the Selectiv’ over a conventional harvester is the ease of the harvesting operation for the tractor drivers, as no chasing is required. He believes that he would lose the cost savings advantage if the areas being harvested were less than 3ha, due to

W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

Stella Bella Wines has been using a Selectiv’ harvester for the past two vintages. It is not used to harvest any whites due to the higher juicing levels in the bins. It is used, however, to harvest 100% of the reds due to the reduction in green petioles and rachis.

Stella Bella carried out an in-house trial on a Shiraz block last vintage with separate ferment batches from handpicked, Selectiv’ harvested, and conventionally harvested vines. The wines were treated identically through ferment, with regular drains and returns through a rotating sieve and the amounts of petiole and rachis noted in each trial batch. The resulting wines were tasted blind after some time in oak, and the differences between each harvesting treatment were noticeable.

The Selectiv’ harvested batch definitely had far less ‘sour sob’, sappy characters than the other two harvesting methods.

Jolliffe stated that Stella Bella has no problems with processing Selectiv’ harvested loads through their conventional crushing set-up, and they don’t remove the destemmer or cage, or the rollers to process their reds. In summing up, he is comfortable with using the Selectiv’ for his reds and

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appreciates the improved quality he is gaining through using this type of harvester, but he does wonder with the higher juicing levels if the sorting may be better done in the winery rather than in the vineyard.

Louise Fraser, Managing Director, Pellenc Australia Pellenc has sold Selectiv’ harvesters across Australia since it was launched here in 2010. As well as the machines in Western Australia, there are three in South Australia, one in Tasmania, four in Victoria, and two in New South Wales.

The higher levels of juicing seen in the bins following the Selectiv’ harvesting fruit is due to a couple of reasons: • less juice is being lost out the back of the harvester, as the fans are run at a much lower speed • the removal of rachis and petioles by the sorting table leads to more juice settling on the top of the bins, as less space is available through the depth of the bin for juice to pool.

Fraser also added that many wineries do remove the rollers from their crushers to prevent blockages at the front end processing, and to accommodate for the Selectiv’ harvested fruit.

Chris Clifford, Managing Director, FMR Group The ERO Grapeliner harvester is a recent addition in the vineyard scene, first being displayed at the Winetech exhibition, in Sydney in 2013. There were three ERO harvesters operating in Australia for the 2014 vintage: two in South Australia and one in Margaret River, Western Australia.

Clifford explained that the higher amount of juice seen in the bins of fruit when using the onboard roller sorting system not from the action of the sorting itself. Quite simply, in traditional harvesting systems without the rolling sorting table, it is necessary to have more fans and a higher fan speed to remove MOG, and this removes a lot of the juice as well. With the ERO VitiSelect system, this juice is retained and, therefore, is evident in the bin. Anyone that follows a traditional harvester during vintage will see the fine spray of juice continuously emitting from fans; this does not happen to the same degree with the VitiSelect from ERO. CONCLUSIONS The new generation, onboard sorting table harvesters operating around the

GROWING THE WRONG VARIETY OF GRAPES?

Margaret River region this vintage, have generated intense interest.

The savings to be made in a vineyard operating budget are significant as only one person is required to work the harvester, plus one tractor and a bin trailer for a pick.

Onboard sorting while harvesting definitely provides positive benefits to wine quality for red varieties due to the removal of green petioles and rachis.

In regards to the higher juicing levels, it appears that what we are seeing arriving at the winery is not due to damage to the berries by the mechanical action of the onboard sorting tables and destemmers.

Rather, it is the juice volume that would otherwise be blown out the back of the machine and lost during harvesting with conventional machine harvesters.

Cathy Howard is winemaker and, together with husband Neil, proprietor of Whicher Ridge Wines, near Busselton, in Western Australia, and has been making wine for the past 20 years. She also consults part time to some wineries in WVJ the Geographe region.

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Size does not matter for infrared water status assessment Newly-developed infrared scanners could offer comparable results against high-resolution thermal cameras

By Sigfredo Fuentes1*, Carlos Poblete-Echeverria2, Gustavo Lobos3 and Richard Collmann4 1 Melbourne School of Land and Environment, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010 Australia 2 Centro de Investigaci贸n y Transferencia en Riego y Agroclimatolog铆a (CITRA) Universidad de Talca, Chile 3 Centro de Mejoramiento Gen茅tico y Fen贸mica Vegetal (CMGFV), Universidad de Talca, Chile 4 Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 310 Australia * Corresponding author: sfuentes@unimelb.edu.au

The Vineyard of the Future initiative is a multinational project that aims to establish a fully instrumented vineyard using wireless connectivity and automated data gathering and analysis. It also aims to be a test-bed for new technology and a trial site for investigating the potential effects of climate change on viticulture in Australia, Chile, US and Spain. Researchers involved with the project have been developing an infrared scanner to assess plant water status at a fraction of the cost of infrared cameras and with the same comparable results.

INTRODUCTION

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limate change predictions, specifically from increased temperatures and water scarcity, will exert considerable pressure to obtain high quality grape production. This scenario requires continuous monitoring to optimise vine water use, the quality of produce and yield.

Several studies have demonstrated that a certain degree of water stress improves wine quality. However, these narrow thresholds need to be continuously monitored to avoid over stressing vines, which can lead to associated detrimental effects on productivity and quality.

Most of the methods used to monitor plant water status are based on manual measurement points, which have low spatial resolution and are time-consuming. These issues introduce significant difficulties for the efficient assessment of spatial variability of water status from vineyards caused by differences in soil characteristics or canopy architecture.

In this context, canopy temperature (Tc) has been recognised as a good indicator of plant water status. Thermal images allow the visualisation of differences in surface temperature from emitted infrared radiation over large areas. This technique relies on the fact that when water is lost through stomata from leaves (transpiration), temperature decreases. However, if there is partial or complete stomata closure due to water stress, transpiration decreases or no longer occurs, therefore the temperature of leaves increases.

It has been shown in the last two decades that infrared thermography is an accurate tool to assess plant water status of different crops including olives (Jones et al.

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a

b

Figure 1a and 1b. Thermal images (a) thermal image of olive tree canopy (adapted from Poblete-Echeverria et al. 2013); (b) thermal image of a vineyard (adapted from Turner and Lucieer 2011). commercial companies producing infrared cameras also have proprietary rights over the software used to analyse images to readily access information such as radiometric and emissivity information. This issue introduces great difficulties in the automated analysis of thermal images to obtain reproducible data in a rapid and understandable manner.

New open-source hardware and software technology has allowed the creation of sensors and mini-robots at considerably reduced costs with specialised analysis software. This has enabled users to automate data gathering and analysis processes.

In this paper we describe the creation and testing of infrared scanners (single and multi-sensors) controlled by inexpensive electronics against results from infrared thermal cameras to assess olive trees and grapevine water status. This idea is the basis of a collaborative project from The Vineyard of the Future (www. vineyardofthefuture.wordpress.com) between The University of Talca, in Chile, and The University of Melbourne, in Australia, through a FONDEF窶的DEAS funding from the Chilean Government.

Preliminary results have shown that a reduction of up to 79% in resolution from infrared thermal images renders accurate and similar results compared with high-resolution infrared thermal cameras for the estimation of plant water status. Testing of this inexpensive technology was conducted in olives and grapevines in Chile.

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THEORETICAL BACKGROUND The control of stomata aperture in leaves results from changes in turgor of guard cells, which are dependant on the interaction of different chemical and hydraulic signals within the plant. The increase in leaf and canopy temperatures was first suggested in the 1960s as a method of tracking water stress using thermal infrared thermometers (Fuchs and Tanner 1966), with low spatial resolution.

The use of infrared thermal images (IRTI) allows the visualisation of differences in surface temperature between stressed and non-stressed plants of large groups of leaves or plants, simultaneously (Figures 1a and 1b). Therefore, leaf or canopy temperatures can be considered as suitable indicators of stomatal conductance (g s) and, hence, canopy stress (Jones et al. 2002). To calculate an absolute index of plant water status it is necessary to obtain reference temperature thresholds, such as wet surface temperature (Twet), dry surface temperature (Tdry), air temperature (Ta) and canopy temperature (Tc). In order to use Tc as a water status indicator, it needs to be normalised to account for the varying environmental conditions (Jones et al. 2002):

where: Tc is the canopy temperature W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

(ﾂｰC), Twet is the temperature of a leaf transpiring at the maximum potential rate (ﾂｰC) and Tdry is the temperature of a non-transpiring leaf (ﾂｰC).

One of the commonly used normalisation methods is a temperature-based crop water stress index (CWSI) developed by Idso et al. (1981). The CWSI is a measure of relative transpiration and it is defined as (Idso et al. 1981, Jackson et al.

1981):

According to this definition, when a canopy is transpiring at its potential rate, Tc = Twet and CWSI = 0. When the canopy is not transpiring, Tc = Tdry and CWSI = 1. This normalisation is simple and reasonable, provided that Tdry and Twet are known.

The upper threshold (Tdry) is set as a non-transpiring leaf temperature and computed assuming no transpiration flux. The lower threshold (Twet) is set as a leaf transpiring at the potential rate. Originally these thresholds were obtained by physically painting one of the leaves with petroleum jelly and another leaf with water (Jones et al. 2012). Petroleum jelly will clog all stomata in the leaf reducing transpiration to zero, hence increasing the temperature of a leaf to a maximum (Tdry). Contrastingly, the leaf painted with water will increase transpiration to a maximum, hence reducing temperature to a V29N3

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Figure 3. Infrared pseudo-image obtained with the DIY Thermacam® (left) and a digital image (right) of a frozen grape bunch.

PLANT MATERIAL AND INSTRUMENTS USED

Figure 2. Thermacam® mounted on top of an infrared FLIR camera. minimum (Twet). After two minutes of stabilisation, the infrared is taken including these reference leaves to obtain thresholds. This method to discriminate non-leaf material makes it difficult to automate the computation of I g and CWSI (Fuentes et al. 2012).

An alternative, which allows automated computation of water stress indices, is estimating Tdry and Twet using the leaf energy balance approach (Fuentes et al. 2012):

Where: Ta is the air temperature (K); R n is net radiation (W m-2); rHR is the combined resistance to sensible heat transport (s m-1); is dry air density (kg m-3); CP is the specific heat of dry air at constant pressure (J K kg-1); rV is aerodynamic resistance to latent heat transport (s m-1); the psychrometric constant (kPa °K -1); Δ is the slope of saturated water vapour pressure versus temperature curve (kPa °K-1) and VPD is vapour pressure deficit (kPa) (Ben-Gal et al. 2009, Agam et al.

2013).

The use of this analytical approach requires measurements of incoming solar radiation or net radiation, air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed.

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Vineyard and olive experiment Random infrared thermal images were obtained from a commercial vineyard planted with cv. Carmenere located in the Talca Valley, Maule region, Chile. The vineyard was planted in 2008 in north-south orientated rows with a distance between rows of 2.5 metres and 2m distance between plants. Vines are trained on a vertical shoot positioned system (VSP). Infrared thermal images were obtained from the bottom of canopies in an upward-looking direction.

Infrared thermal images were also obtained randomly from a commercial drip-irrigated olive orchard cv.

Arbequina located in Pencahue valley, Maule Region, Chile. Olive trees were planted in 2009 in super intensive hedgerow (north-south orientated rows) with a distance between rows of 5m and 1.3m distance between plants.

Olive trees are drip irrigated using two drippers (2 L h-1) per tree. Infrared thermal images were obtained laterally from the canopy. The objective was to select thermal images for both crops with a range of canopy water stress indices given by different water supplies.

Thermal camera The thermal infrared camera (model EasIR-9, Wuhan Guide Infrared Co., Ltd., China) provides 120 x 120 pixel images. The built-in sensor is a thermal detector (microbolometer), thus it does not require an external cooling system.

This sensor is sensitive to thermal radiation in the 8-14μm range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Information from the Thermal camera (IRTI) was primarily used as observed highresolution data to obtain Ig (Eq. 1) and CWSI (Eq. 2) indices to be compared with simulated low-resolution data to emulate performance of a DIY thermal camera and an infrared scanner.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

DIY thermal camera A Thermacam® scanner (Figure 2) was used in parallel to the IRTIs, using only one infrared temperature sensor (TS305; -10 to 50oC – infrared temperature sensor) moved by two servo motors and controlled by an Arduino® Uno board (http://www. cheap-thermocam.net/). The resolution of a pseudo-image obtained with this instrument is 48 x 64 pixels (Figure 3).

This corresponds to a reduction of 79% of the data compared with the IRTIs. Infrared scanner An infrared scanner is currently under development by the VoF FONDEFIDEAS project. The general schematics of this scanner can be seen in Figure 4.

A minimal resolution of 10 x 10 pixels was used to simulate the performance of this scanner. This corresponds to a reduction of 99.9% of resolution compared with the IRTIs. DATA ANALYSIS Data analysis was performed using a variation of a customised code developed by Fuentes et al. (2012) using MATLAB®, version 2014a (Mathworks Inc. Matick, MA. USA). Regression analyses were used to compare data obtained from IRTI images against data simulated by reducing resolution of infrared images down to the DIY thermal camera’s resolution (79%) and minimum resolution from the infrared scanner (99%). The parameters used to evaluate these regressions were the determination coefficient (R2) and the slope of the curves (b). Threshold parameters (Tdry and Twet) were obtained using the statistical approximation approach outlined in Figure 7 (Fuentes et al. unpublished).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Comparison between IRTIs and thermal camera resolution Results showed good and www.winebiz. com . au

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Figure 4. Schematics of a scanner proposed by the FONDEF-IDEAS project. A series of inexpensive infrared temperature sensors are attached to the scanning bar. Microclimate information will be also recorded to obtain Twet and Tdry using the energy balance approach (Eqs. 3 and 4).

Figure 5. Regressions between Ig (filled markers) and CWSI (open markers data obtained from the high-resolution infrared camera (IRTI) and simulated reduction of images resolution by the low-resolution DIY thermal camera for olive trees (circles) and grapevines (triangles).

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W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

statistically significant regressions obtained between the high-resolution IRTIs form the IR camera and the simulated low resolution from the DIY infrared camera (Figure 5), specifically, for the Ig index obtained for olive trees (R2 = 0.98; b = 0.96) and grapes (R2 = 0.91; b = 0.87). Similar results were obtained for CWSI calculated for olive trees (R2 = 0.97; b = 0.99) and grapevines (R2 = 0.91; b = 1.21). These results are encouraging since the DIY thermal camera is equivalent to 1% of the price of the high resolution IR camera.

The practicality of this camera might be reduced by the fact that the DIY thermal camera takes around two minutes to complete a scan, since it virtually scans every pixel in the pseudo-infrared image with the aid of the servomotors (one for the x-axis movement and one for the y-axis movement). The automated option for this thermal camera would be to mount it in an unmanned terrestrial vehicle (UTV) with GPS capabilities and have it remain stationary in each measurement point for the time required to scan an image. Further advances in controlling boards (ArduinoÂŽ) allow quicker scanning times, potentially halving the time between scans.

Comparison between IRTIs and an infrared scanner at minimal resolution A minimal simulated resolution of 10 x 10 pixels corresponds to a simulation of the infrared scanner with 10 sensors and measurements every 20cm for each plant. Results showed lower comparability with IRTIs for olive trees and grapes. In the case of olives, this comparison was better for the I g (R2 = 0.68; b = 0.93) and CWSI (R 2 = 0.68; b = 0.87) compared with grapevinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ig (R2 = 0.25; b = 0.78) and CWSI (R2 = 0.37; b = 0.77). This reduction in accuracy in the case of olives can be explained by the method used to obtain the IRTIs (upward-looking). This method was selected since the shaded side of the canopy offers the most stable conditions to obtain IRTIs according to Fuentes et al. (2012) and Jones et al. (2002). Therefore, upward-looking IRTIs from olive canopies could offer a more stable infrared index, however, it reduces the area of leaf material analysed as shown in Figure 7. In theory, lateral IRTIs from olive canopy walls would offer comparative results with olive trees.

The infrared scanner is designed to scan the canopy wall of crops laterally, V29N3

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Va R I E ta l R E P O R t

In keeping with the approaching festive season, this issue’s tasting featured sparkling rosés, 28 in all, ranging from non-vintage examples through to one from the 2003 vintage. the tasting panel identified the top wine or wines from the non-vintage entries, those from the 2012 to 2009 vintages and the 2008 to 2003 vintages (see page 102-106 for the complete results), with the producers behind three of those wines revealing what went into their making.

By Brad Hickey, Brash Higgins Wine Co., McLaren Vale, South Australia

Mclaren Vale-based Nero d’avola producer Brad hickey travelled to sicily, in Italy, in 2011 to investigate local growing and vinification of the variety. In addition to collecting ideas about how to maximise Nero d’avola’s potential on home soil, Brad was inspired to use amphorae as a winemaking technique. hen I moved to McLaren Vale six years ago, after a decade spent buying wine for restaurants in New York City, I started thinking about new varieties we could plant on our vineyard that would not only thrive in McLaren Vale, but make for interesting drinking as well. The drought years had been making life hard, even for our Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon plantings, and we felt we needed to find some better suited grapes to bring onboard.

Nero d’Avola fitted the bill.

In 2009, Brash Higgins obtained some of the first cuttings of the Sicilian red winegrape Nero d’Avola available in Australia from Binjara Vine Nursery (formerly Chalmers Nursery), in Euston, New South Wales. Nero d’Avola is drought and heat tolerant to a certain degree, ripens late and thrives in its native Mediterranean climate, so it seemed like a good fit for coastal McLaren Vale and our evermounting heat and water issues.

VItICultuRE

2009-2010 In October 2009, we dedicated a halfhectare research block on our Omensetter

Vineyard to Nero d’Avola. Soils in this block are relatively shallow (40-50cm) red brown clay loam over a deep, soft marl limestone.

In the winter of 2009, we asked Dr Nuredin Habili, of Plant Diagnostics, at the Waite campus of The University of Adelaide, to perform a virus test on our Shiraz rootstock, which was planted in 1997. The results came back affirmative to graft Nero d’Avola.

Field grafting was conducted later, using two buds per vine on the Matura 1 clone from the Matura Group, in Italy. The clones grew exceptionally well, exhibiting great vigour and not needing any irrigation until the first week of December, followed by small amounts on a regular basis until midFebruary. Vines were trained on a single cordon trellis, and the cordon was filled by February 2010. We noted that foliage was prone to powdery mildew.

Josef Chromy Wines in tasmania’s tamar Valley.

Jeremy Dineen Winemaker/general manager Josef Chromy Wines tamar Valley, tasmania Wine: Pepik NV sparkling Rosé (RRP$27.00/bottle)

2010-11 The first fruit bearing year, we pruned the lateral growth hard from the main cordon back to basal buds. Vines grew strongly, with many double buds providing two shoots per node. These were shootthinned back to one shoot per node. A lazy ballerina trellising system was used,

VItICultuRE

Fruit for the Pepik NV Sparkling Rosé is estate-grown from our vineyard at Relbia, 15km south of Launceston, Tasmania. The vineyard contains 61ha of vines and has an elevation of 85-170m with north and north-east facing slopes.

The soils range from deep, black, selfmulching clay to shallow brown clay with high gravel content.

The mean January temperature for the area is 16.7°C. It receives an average of 679mm per annum, with 94 rains days. The vines enjoy 1050 heat degree days, and 1758 sunshine hours (October-April).

The average age of the vines in the vineyard is 13 years, which are on a mixture of own roots and rootstocks.

The blend for the Pepik is usually Pinot dominant with some Chardonnay.

The Pinot clones planting in the vineyard comprise D2V5, D5V12, G5V15, G8V3, G8V7, H7V15, 115 and 114.

Mclaren Vale’s Brash higgins obtained some of the first cuttings of Nero d’avola available in australia from Binjara Vine Nursery (formerly Chalmers Nursery) at Euston, in New south Wales in 2009 and planted half a hectare.

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The Chardonnay clones are I10V1 and Penfolds.

The vines are trained to Scott-Henry and VSP trellises and have a vine density of 3220 per hectare and 2415 per hectare, respectively. All vines are crown thinned every year. Shoot and/or bunch thinning is carried out depending on the year.

The amount of drip irrigation, which is sourced from our on-farm dam and nearby river, depends on the season.

A permanent sward is grown in the midrows to reduce erosion with farm-produced composts also applied.

The vines are mainly hand cane-pruned with limited mechanical spur pre-pruning carried out.

Botrytis is the biggest disease risk to the vines, which yield an average of 11.5 tonnes per hectare.

WINEMaKINg

The hand-picked Pinot Noir is whole bunch pressed, giving a free run of usually 500L/tonne and pressings of 200L/tonne.

The hand-picked and/or machine-picked Chardonnay is pressed to 500L/t free run and 200L/t pressings. The pressings are fined separately while the base juices are settled and combined prior to the primary ferment.

Malolactic fermentation is not carried out.

Wine & Viticulture Journal NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012

Josef Chromy Wines winemaker and general manager Jeremy Dineen.

The juice is cold stabilised, partially heat stabilised and cross-flow filtered.

The secondary ferment is commenced in tank and bottled when the viable cell count has reached its target (tirage ferment approximately 15°C).

The wine is bottle aged for 12-18 months prior to disgorging. The dosage liqueur contains Pinot Noir table wine to ensure a consistent salmon pink colour. It is dosed to contain a final sugar content of ▶ 10-12g/L. www.winebiz.com.au

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considering a minimum number of 14 sensors in the scanning rod (Figure 4) and measurements every 20cm distance will give a resolution of 14 x 14 pixels. The latter corresponds to a distance between plants of 2.8m, which is characteristically found in Australia.

CONCLUSIONS

Figure 6. Regressions between Ig (filled markers) and CWSI (open markers) data obtained from the high-resolution infrared camera (IRTI) and simulated reduction of resolution by the low-resolution infrared scanner for olive trees (circles) and grapevines (triangles).

Preliminary results using simulation analysis have demonstrated that a reduction of 79% of data resolution from IRTIs renders comparable results for different horticultural crops, such as olive trees and grapevines, to obtain plant water status indices. The simulation methodology proposed in this paper will help in finding the optimal number of sensors for the infrared scanner proposed in the FONDEFIDEAS project according to canopy vigour, training systems and irrigation treatments. Until recently, the use of thermal infrared technology has been limited due to a lack of timeliness in data acquisition, data delivery, spatial resolution and automated analysis constraints. Today, new technologies offer the opportunity to integrate these techniques in terrestrial and aerial

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vehicles (UTV and UAV) to collect remotely-sensed imagery at low cost over large areas to determine plant water status routinely and its spatial variability.

REFERENCES Agam, N.; Cohen, Y.; Berni, J.A.J.; Alchanatis, V.; Kool, D.; Dag, A.; Yermiyahu, U. and Ben-Gal, A. (2013) An insight to the performance of crop water stress index for olive trees. Agricultural Water Management 118:79-86.

Ben-Gal, A.; Agam, N.; Alchanatis, V.; Cohen, Y.; Yermiyahu, U.; Zipori, I.; Presnov, E.; Sprintsin, M. and Dag, A. (2009) Evaluating water stress in irrigated olives: correlation of soil water status, tree water status, and thermal imagery.

Irrigation Science 27:367–376.

Fuchs, M. and Tanner, C.B. (1966) Infrared thermometry of vegetation. Agronomy Journal 58:297–601.

Fuentes, S.; Bei, R.; Pech, J. and Tyerman, S. (2012) Computational water stress indices obtained from thermal image analysis of olive canopies. Irrig. Sci. 30:523-536.

Idso, S.B.; Jackson, R.D.; Pinter, P.J.; Reginato, R.J. and Hatfield, J.L. (1981) Normalizing the stress degree-day parameter for environmental variability. Agr Forest Meteorol 24:45–55.

Jackson, R.D.; Idso, S.B.; Reginato, R.J. and Pinter, P.J. (1981) Canopy temperature as a crop stress indicator. Water Resources Research 17:1133–1138.

Jones, H.G.; Stoll, M.; Santos, T.; De Sousa, C.; Chaves, M.M. and Grant, O.M. (2002) Use of infrared thermography for monitoring stomatal closure in the field: application to olive. J Exp Bot 53:2249–2260.

Poblete-Echeverría, C.; Odi, M. and y Ortega-Farías, S. (2013) Estimación de la evapotranspiración de un huerto de manzanos mediante el modelo de coeficiente dual FAO56 asistido por imágenes satelitales. XVI SBSR Simpósio Brasileiro de Sensoriamento Remoto. 13

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Figure 7. Upward-looking infrared image from olive canopies (a); binary image separating canopy and non-canopy material (b) and histogram showing the temperature distribution in the whole image with temperature below zero corresponding to sky (c).

a 18 de abril 2013, Foz de Iguazú, Brasil. www.dsr. inpe.br/sbsr2013/.

Turner, D. and Lucieer, A. (2011) Development of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

hyper resolution vineyard mapping based on visible, multispectral, and thermal Imagery. In Proceedings of 34th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment, Sydney, Australia, 10–15 April; p.4.

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Benefits and pitfalls of field grafting winegrapes – Part 2

By Tony Hoare Hoare Consulting, PO Box 1106, McLaren Flat, SA 5171. Email: tony@hoareconsulting.com.au

In Part 1 of this article, which was published in the March/April issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal, Tony dispelled some grafting myths, explored the reasons why grafting over vines might be considered and the pros and cons of the practice versus new plantings. In this article he discusses the risks to success of field grafting and proposes a timetable for post-grafting management.

Risks to success Substandard budwood – not virus tested, allowed to dry out before storage; too thick, too thin t is recommended that budwood be sourced from a reputable vine nursery. They provide virus testing, trueness to type and correct cane diameter for grafting. A nursery also will have the facilities to treat cuttings and store them properly. A year’s growth can be lost when budwood is not cut, stored or even transported correctly prior to grafting and is not useable.

I

Incorrect storage and handling of budwood – too dry, too warm, not rehydrated Budwood needs to be stored in a coolroom with a constant temperature of 2°C. The vines should be rehydrated prior to storage and wrapped in an airtight bag and taped. They should be kept in the dark and only taken out a few days prior to grafting. They should then be fully submerged in fresh water with no chemicals and kept in a cool place out of direct sunlight. Buds that have dried out of burst are not able to be grafted, and this can lead to a 12 month wait until the following year for grafting to occur.

Virus Always virus test prior to grafting both the scion and rootstock. Scion wood sourced from a reputable nursery should come with certification that it is virus-free. Rootstocks need to be tested and it is the responsibility of the grower to have this organised. The virus status of vines will dictate whether they are suitable for grafting. Virus will cause incompatibility and growth issues with grafted vines. It is still possible to graft with virus-affected vine material with some success, however, the risk is that

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there will be a poor strike rate or issues with growth or fruitfulness down the track.

Mistimed training and follow-up; attaching strings, taping to strings, watershoot management Failure to keep up with vine training will result in a low success rate. Grafted shoots have a rapid rate of growth once they shoot and need to have regular training passes depending on the growth rate. The initial pass is the most important to secure the grafted shoots onto strings and prevent ‘blowouts’. A blowout will occur when the grafted shoot is not secured and is broken away from the trunk. This is usually caused by wind. One windy day can cause massive damage to a grafted vineyard. Large crews are better suited for grafted vine training, as the rate of growth is rapid and smaller crews will struggle to keep up. Wind damage may then occur as a result.

Watershoots Watershoots will germinate from all over the trunks when the cordons have been removed. Before grafting work begins, watershoots will need to be removed, except for the top two which can be retained. It is advisable to tip these watershoots and leave three to five leaves. The watershoots closest to the top of the trunk are good insurance to leave growing until a grafted bud shoots.

If there is no growth from the grafted buds, then the watershoots should be retained until regrafting or even the next season. Without some vegetative growth, vine trunks will die in the space of one season.

Pests and diseases Chewing insects, animals and birds are an ever-present threat to the success of grafting. Earwigs, snails, W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

Too much available water during the early stages of callusing will cause high failure rates in grafted vineyards weevils, birds, kangaroos, rabbits and hares have a particular liking for grafted buds and shoots. Powdery mildew is the most devastating disease of grafted leaves and shoots, as it will scar the canes and cause them to have stunted growth and even die back completely.

Excess moisture – too much irrigation or rainfall Too much available water during the early stages of callusing will cause high failure rates in grafted vineyards.

Water should only be applied sparingly in short, weekly irrigations at the most. The danger of excess sap flow is that the moisture pressure builds up behind the grafted bud, forcing it away from the trunk. When this happens, the bud cannot callus successfully and V29N3

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then dies. A technique to overcome this problem is to make a single saw cut under the grafted buds, which allows the escape of the excess sap flow and the bud can then callus. Your grafting contractor should be contacted before doing this to demonstrate how it should be performed.

Too dry – lack of irrigation of rainfall, dry grown vineyards A lack of water will adversely affect sap flow. Without sap flow, callusing does not occur and grafted buds dry out. Drygrown vineyards can be grafted, however, it is recommended that this be done as early as possible when the soil profile has enough moisture to sustain callusing and growth of the grafted buds. As grafted vines have very little foliage, their ability to ‘pull’ water up to the top where grafted buds are usually placed is diminished. That is why short, frequent irrigations are recommended until the grafted buds grow adequate foliage.

Extreme heat events – 40°C-plus days leading to reduced sap flow and bud death through drying out Until the grafted bud has callused and achieved budburst, it is in danger of drying out. While most grafters will rehydrate budwood and the tape around the grafted buds will keep them relatively airtight, they are still in danger of drying out to the point where they cannot survive. Vine trunks also seem to ‘shut down” in extreme heat and sap flow is thought to be reduced in such weather. These factors in combination make it difficult for grafted buds to survive in extreme heat, despite adequate available soil moisture.

Lack of weed control Weeds will compete with vines for moisture and nutrients that can negatively affect grafted strike rates. Annual grasses are less of an issue, as they are usually dormant when grafted buds are growing, however, rye and couch are particularly devigourating to grafted vines. Weeds can also impede grafters who sometimes need to graft low on the trunks. Trash buildup from weeds and prunings under vine can provide a haven for chewing insects such as grasshoppers, snails, weevils and earwigs which all love to eat grafted buds and shoots.

Inexplicable incompatibility – strike rates lower than 50% If all risk management has been followed prior to grafting - vineyard preparation and follow-up management has been correctly applied, the weather suitable and grafters experienced - and a poor strike rate results, then this can only be explained as a compatibility issue. After a process of deduction, if all reasonable potential risks to a successful strike rate have been discounted, then a low strike rate of zero can only be attributed to a natural cause that cannot be explained. This is a rare occurrence, however, it is always a possibility when dealing with a living plant in an uncontrolled environment.

HO A R E

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•M onitor sap flow. Look for signs of excessive sap flow around the grafted buds – dark bark from sap seepage. Squeeze either side of the buds and if there is a clear liquid apparent, then a saw cut may be required under the bud to relieve sap pressure which will force the bud away from the trunk and prevent callusing •P est and disease control – manage chewing pests that will target the emerging grafted buds. For example, earwigs, weevils, grasshoppers, snails can be a particular problem at the early stages of grafts emerging.

Weekly until cordons are established •O nce the grafted shoot has reached 5-10cm, fasten grafted shoots to strings using tape. Twisting shoots may result in damage to the grafted shoot and should be avoided •M aintain a moist soil profile and irrigate to promote growth.

Over-irrigating is not as critical after the buds have shot •M anage watershoots by removing all of them after grafted buds have a green shoot. Failure to do this will result in reduced grafted shoot growth as watershoots dominate, and can risk vine trainers damaging grafted shoots by mistake •W hen grafted shoots are close to the cordon wire, we recommend a crossing over of the canes. This strengthens the grafted shoots on the wire and allows for machine harvesting the following season. It is important to note that the crossing over needs to occur as the shoots are green. If they have lignified they are less flexible and can break at the graft union.

Pruning •G rafted vines that have been well trained and have grown to create new cordons can be pruned as a mature vine. If laterals have grown, then a one-bud spur is recommended.

If the grafted shoot is weak and short in length, then a single or double bud spur will allow it to have improved vigour next season to fill the wire.

Grafting – a one, two or three step process If you decide to graft, then be prepared that it may be a one, two or three year process. Most vineyards have a successful grafting strike rate after one pass in year one. Regrafting is generally required to fill in a small percentage of vines that for one reason or another have not taken. If the strike rate is below 65%, then there is likely to have been an underlying issue as mentioned above. Grafting does not usually come with a guarantee because of all the factors discussed in this article.

It is, however, a very useful tool for converting vineyards which in 95% of cases is a success. When planning for grafting, it is important to remember that there are many factors beyond the control of the grafters and a successful result may require WVJ further visits over a few years to fill in the block.

Typical timetable for post-grafting management Immediately after grafting • Attach strings that will support grafted shoots • Maintain a moist soil profile, being careful not to over irrigate • Monitor sap flow around the buds • Look for chewing pests.

First two weeks • Manage watershoots – retain one or two of the highest watershoots and pinch out growing tip, leaving three to five leaves. Remove all other watershoots, especially those around the grafted buds. Maintain this approach until grafted buds have begun to shoot • Monitor irrigation – maintain a moist profile, but not too wet V2 9N 3

A BN:

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• Supplying the highest quality vinifera cuttings.

• Specialising in, but not limited to, cool climate varieties.

• We also have 3 recently imported clones of the Austrian white variety Grüner Veltliner Contact: David Coleman Adelaide Hills Vine Improvement Inc. Fax: (08) 8383 7532 Mobile: 0422 644 825 E: davidc@adelaidehillsvineimprovement.org W: www.adelaidehillsvineimprovement.org

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

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T R E LL I S I N G

vi t icu l t ure

Improved trellis systems – is Australia keeping up?

By Richard Smart. Email: richard@smartvit.com.au

Richard Smart has had a professional interest in canopy management for more than 40 years. Arguing that Australia has been very slow to adopt improved trellis systems such as Scott Henry and Smart Dyson, he identifies some recent commercial successes from using such systems in New Zealand, South Africa, California and, to a lesser extent, Australia.

T

his article is about technological adoption, which has been an interest of mine for many years.

Why is it that in the grape and wine sector, some new ideas are quickly adopted and embraced, and others are not? For example, in Australia one can compare widespread and rapid adoption of mechanical or minimal pruning, and the very slow adoption of improved trellis systems. In my travels, I see differences in adoption from country to country, even region to region, which indicate the importance of local issues and attitudes to decision making.

The purpose of this article is to describe some new developments in terms of commercial adoption of improved trellis systems, particularly in New Zealand, California and in South Africa.

For more than 40 years, my major professional interest has been in canopy management. Professor Nelson Shaulis, of Cornell University, taught me in the 1970s that simple grapevine trellising systems could cause shading where vines were vigorous. This theme has dominated my subsequent professional life, resulting in the publication of Sunlight into Wine in 1991, based in large part on research I made in New Zealand in the 1980s.

The 1980s were the golden age of canopy management research. The pioneering work of Shaulis was built upon by Drs Carbonneau, of France, and Intrieri, of Italy, and me in Australia and New Zealand to develop a range of trellis systems that could reduce shade and, so, improve yield, reduce disease and improve fruit composition and wine quality. The essence was canopy division; dividing dense and leafy canopies into two separate less leafy and less shaded canopies. The Geneva Double Curtain system of Shaulis was a horizontally divided canopy, also promoted and modified by Intrieri. Carbonneau V2 9N 3

Johnny Milmine, manager of Delegat’s Crownthorpe Estate, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, with a local variant of the Smart Dyson trellis. promoted another horizontally divided system, the Lyre. I proposed vertically divided systems like the TK2T, but growerdeveloped systems like the Scott Henry, Smart Dyson and the Ballerina proved superior and easier to use.

These researchers were also involved in the developing research on mechanisation. Few know that Nelson Shaulis and his Geneva colleague Stan Shepherd in the 1960s developed the world’s first mechanical harvester, the world’s first mechanical pruner and even the world’s first mechanical shoot positioner. Intrieri was also involved in developing mechanisation.

Along with other viticulturists, I lectured around the world about these benefits, but the commercial uptake was generally low. Growers would make up W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

their own mind. Some early innovators in the grower community would find the new systems ‘difficult to manage’, ‘expensive’, ‘difficult for labour’ and otherwise ‘undesirable’, but I wonder how hard they tried. Some systems could not be mechanically harvested with present machines, which was an obstacle. This was frustrating for researchers like me.

I had made commercial trials, knew the costs and benefits, and realised that these results were biased by growers who sometimes were not prepared to change their ways, and took every excuse not to change. Growers were more inclined to believe other growers than scientists, and I regretted that the early commercial evaluation was not more professionally done, and that poorly founded rumours ▶ prevailed. www.winebiz. com . au

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T R E LL I S I N G

Further, managers have reported little impact on vineyard costs from the change.

Indeed, because of less leaf plucking and sometimes less crop thinning, vineyard costs can actually decrease with Scott Henry trained vines. The vines are easy to mechanically harvest.

Andrew Pirie and his ‘unilateral’ Scott Henry. Photo: Mark Smith As a result, the adoption of improved canopy management was slow in Australia and New Zealand during the 1990s vineyard expansion phase.

California was an exception, where replanting because of phylloxera was widespread, and the Lyre trellis of Carbonneau was widely used in many vineyards, as was the Smart Dyson.

More recent developments New Zealand Since 2008, I have been consulting for Delegat’s Wine Estate, in New Zealand, makers of the the popular Oyster Bay wine brand. This company has almost 2500ha of company and grower vineyards in both Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough. During my first visit I identified excessive vigour on Vertically Shoot Position trained vines as a yield, quality and disease problem, and suggested conversion to Scott Henry as a solution. Discussing this with local vineyard managers led us to their common perceptions about difficulties and cost of conversion, and problems of management of divided canopies. I argued my position strongly, which was supported by research and commercial experience in New Zealand. We had learned to expect about 30% yield increase for the same bud number, similar or earlier ripening and improved wine quality, especially for reds, and reduced fungal disease pressure from botrytis and powdery mildew.

Conversion from VSP to Scott Henry is simple, as it only requires the addition of one more wire; that is the moveable foliage wire for downward shoot positioning. I also explained to the managers the importance of timing of shoot positioning, so that canopies could be quickly and economically divided. Most of the managers felt that my arguments

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were less than convincing, so my reply to them was ‘don’t tell me I’m wrong, show me I am wrong’. Generally they took up the challenge and surprised themselves that what I was telling them was indeed the truth. This commercial evaluation was supported by the winemaking team and also the company management, who saw improved wine quality and profits when early results were to hand.

South Africa Dirk Bosman was the previous manager of viticulture and grape buying for Distell, the largest wine company in South Africa. Around 2003 there was an anticipated cost price squeeze on growers.

He looked for ways for growers to improve yield and, hence, reduce costs without losing quality. Bosman visited Australia and New Zealand and saw the Smart Dyson trellis in Marlborough. This seemed to provide a solution, as a modest yield increase could be associated with even improved wine quality.

Trials by Distell, some in conjunction with the University of Stellenbosch, showed more balanced vigour, more but smaller bunches and berries, better colour, more flavour, softer tannins and better overall wine quality. Importantly, field results also showed bunch rot was reduced for Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. Grapes also seemed to ripen more

When the Australian grape and wine sector is under such pressure, it seems to me time to re-evaluate some of the prejudices of the past regarding purported problems with improved trellis systems.

Now, within six years there is 80% conversion of company vineyards to vertically divided canopies, either Scott Henry or a local caned pruned variant of the Smart Dyson. This proportion will continue to increase in the future. The adoption has been less successful in growers’ vineyards which remain at 95% VSP, and this is an issue the company is addressing.

Marlborough-based viticulturist for Delegat’s Robyn Dixon sees advantages of vertical canopy division. Fruit exposure is improved which leads to a lower requirement for leaf plucking, and also earlier ripening. Shoot lignification is improved and, importantly, there are fewer herbaceous, green characteristics in Merlot wine in particular. There is less fruit clumping and less botrytis pressure, and the larger canopy surface area is able to ripen higher yields without any negative effects on wine quality.

W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

easily and about a week earlier. Both the Smart Dyson and the Ballerina modification proved effective. Bosman estimates there are probably more than 3500ha of converted trellis now in South Africa and the proportion is increasing. Bosman reports that yields are improved around 30-35% and the winemakers report improved quality for both red and white wines.

Winemaker at Durbanville Hills winery Martin Moore is also enthusiastic about the benefits of vertically divided canopies. In this cooler region, the vines were previously too vigorous. The nine growers supplying the winery have undertaken conversion on their vineyards with good results, mostly with Merlot but also with Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Moore reports wines with more colour and fruit character, as well as earlier ripening. There is less need for fruit thinning in the vineyards with these improved systems.

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California Bill Petrovic was manager of the 3200ha San Bernabe vineyards, in Monterey County, California, once touted as the world’s largest vineyard. Petrovic is an unashamed Smart Dyson advocate, and expanded the area using this system. By his own admission, Petrovic is often sceptical of new advances and was initially so about the Smart Dyson.

He said in a 2001 interview: “However, anything new has got to prove itself convincingly for me to use it. Smart Dyson has done that.” Smart Dyson was more economical than the traditional system, and labour costs of leaf removal were avoided. Petrovic demonstrated that higher yields were achieved along with improved wine quality, over a range of varieties. Petrovic and his Smart Dyson trained vineyards challenge the idea that low yields are necessary for improved quality.

Australia I doubt that I know of all the vineyards using improved trellis systems in Australia. Many vineyards have converted from sprawl to VSP, which is typically combined with (often excessive) leaf removal. However, in my experience the VSP system is overused, as it is unsuited to moderate to high potential sites. In my experience, VSP is best suited to situations of low to moderate vigour, where the pruning weight is less than around 0.6kg per metre row.

Temple Bruer owner David Bruer was an enthusiastic advocate of Smart Dyson in his organic vineyard at Langhorne Creek, but limited water supply has caused him to convert to the smaller canopies of VSP. The Scott Henry system

NOW MORE COST EFFECTIVE THAN EVER!

was widely used at Tamar Ridge vineyard in Tasmania when founded by Joseph Chromy in the 1990s, and this system has been maintained under the present Brown Brothers ownership. Manager Mick Griffiths says that there are 30ha of Scott Henry, and that the system is best suited to more vigorous blocks and varieties. The Tamar Ridge vineyard crew are accustomed to the system and the need for good timing, and suggest that only one extra wire move is required.

Any additional cost is much more than compensated by extra production.

Tasmanian winemaker Andrew Pirie planted his Apogee vineyard in 2007, essentially to provide for sparkling wine production. Pirie is well aware of the high yields reported in the Champagne region of France, which are typically well above the yields of vineyards in Tasmania that are producing fruit for sparkling wine. Last year, the average yield over the Apogee vineyard was 17t/ha, and the vines’ appearance this year suggests a similar level. Pirie has developed a modification of the Scott Henry system for his vineyard, which he calls the ‘unilateral’ Scott Henry. Normally the Scott Henry is trained with four canes going in both directions from the head, but Pirie trains only two canes per vine, both in the one direction. The vines are spaced 1.3m apart, and the advantage of this system is that it avoids shading of next year’s canes in the head of the vine. Last year the Apogee vineyard was voted Tasmanian Vineyard of the Year. A particular achievement of the vineyard has been disease freedom with no botrytis even in 2011, which was a harvest that was a problem in other vineyards. Apogee sparkling wine

Conclusion This article has identified some substantial commercial successes with improved trellis systems in New Zealand, South Africa, California and, to a lesser extent, in Australia. These advances have followed gradual adoption, based on early evaluation and the recognition of gains. One point of caution is to avoid excessive fruit exposure during the afternoon in hotter climates, which can reduce wine quality, as can excessive fruit exposure. Sunlight into Wine gives guidelines for this.

My overarching concern in writing this article is to question whether sufficient similar evaluation is taking place in Australia. Gains of 30% in productivity along with quality improvement are not to be sneezed at, especially when they come at minimal cost. I have expressed concern in this journal before that many Australian vineyard managers seem more concerned to minimise vineyard costs rather than to maximise profitability and wine quality.

When the Australian grape and wine sector is under such pressure, it seems to me time to re-evaluate some of the prejudices of the past regarding purported problems with improved trellis systems. I believe that improved trellis systems can help the Australian wine sector shake off the ‘bulk producer’ image in favour of one of quality, and, dare I say it, regionally-based winemaking.

WVJ

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ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES

Pfeiffer Wines takes a walk on the lighter side with Gamay

By Sonya Logan

Pfeiffer Wines will produce its 30th consecutive vintage of Gamay this year and, in that time, the wine has become a ‘pflagship’ - as it is referred to on the winery’s website - for the family-owned Rutherglen producer.

C

hris and Robyn Pfeiffer didn’t have the option of choosing to grow Gamay when they purchased their Rutherglen property from Seppelt back in 1984. The variety was among some 20 others that Seppelt had been growing in what the Pfeiffers now call their Sunday Creek Vineyard. But, given the wine that they’ve produced from those vines has become its flagship, they are no doubt rather thankful for the inheritance.

Planted by Seppelt in 1976, the Gamay vines were yet to yield a crop when the Pfeiffers took over the vineyard, for reasons no-one quite knows. But, crop they did in 1985 - and have done so every year since – meaning Chris Pfeiffer, who hadn’t worked with Gamay previously, had to quickly research the variety.

“I knew that Gamay was used to make Beaujolais, so I set about finding out how that was made,” Chris recalls. “In 1986, we released a Gamay Cabernet Sauvignon, but that’s only because we didn’t have enough Gamay to make it on

its own. We’ve made a straight Gamay ever since.

“From the start we made Gamay using carbonic maceration to make a lighter, fruitier style. Back in the mid ‘80s, there weren’t a lot of lighter reds being produced by Australian wineries. I believe Sorrenberg and Scarpantoni were the only other wineries producing Gamay.

And there wasn’t much Pinot Noir being produced back then either, so Gamay was a niche for us and helped put us on the map.”

Pfeiffer Wines still makes its Gamay using carbonic maceration, although Chris admits it’s not as sweet as when it was first produced, and is a little heavier in tannin, but it is nonetheless a fruity feast.

In the early 1990s, the Pfeiffers planted an additional four acres of Gamay in another section of its Sunday Creek vineyard, which is bordered by three bodies of water: the Murray River lies to the west, Sunday Creek to the north and Lake Moodemere to the south.

“Sunday Creek is one of the coolest sites in Rutherglen and it behaves like a cooler site to a degree,” explained Chris and Robyn’s daughter and winemaker Jen Pfeiffer. Lying 135 metres above sea level and in a bit of gully, the site features sandy soil over river gravel.

“The old vines in the Sunday Creek Vineyard are on a wide T trellis and yield quite low – around one tonne to the acre.

The vines are not vigorous being so old, so they don’t grow a lot of canopy. We do our best to build up canopy through irrigation to avoid the fruit getting too much sunburn and raisining.

Chris, Robyn and Jen Pfeiffer.

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V29N3

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GAMAY

By Peter Dry Viticultural Consultant The Australian Wine Research Institute Background

Trained to a wide T trellis, Pfeiffer Wines’ original Gamay plantings consistently produce the better wine.

“The Gamay is usually the first or second red that we harvest in that vineyard; if the season is early, we’d harvest it around the third week of February, and if it’s late we’d harvest it around the third week of March.”

“The younger Gamay vines are planted on a single wire and have an additional foliage wire. It’s clearly a very different clone to the older vines. The bunches are different – the old vines have tight bunches, smaller berries, smaller bunches. The newer vines have bigger berries and bigger bunches,” Jen said.

“The two plantings taste quite different too. The wine from the older vines is more earthy. It can sometimes be a little bit gamey, but in a good way, and smells of truffle and dark cherries. The younger vines make wine with strawberry and raspberry fruit characters. It’s a lot fresher, with more summer berries.

“In our view, the older vines always produce the better wine. Perhaps that’s also partly because of the viruses that we know are in that block,” Jen said, explaining that leafroll virus has been known to be in the vineyard for some time, and last year the presence of Botryosphaeria was confirmed too.

“Over the past couple of seasons, we’ve been taking cuttings from the old vines and grafting them onto the newer vines. We’ve been doing a couple of rows a year, but now that we know about the Botryosphaeria in the older plantings, we might have a rethink about whether we continue that grafting over. We’ve still got about two-thirds of the block to do.”

Jen said based on the stark contrast between the two clones of Gamay in the Pfeiffer vineyard, attention to clonal selection was important if considering to plant Gamay. Keeping canopies light, V2 9N 3

Gamay Noir, or just plain Gamay (pronounced gam-MAY) as it is most commonly known, is a natural progeny of Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc. Therefore, it has at least 20 siblings, including Chardonnay. It arose somewhere in Burgundy—the first record there was at the end of the 14th century. Numerous spellings have been used, including Gamey, Gamé, and Gamez, until the current form was adopted in 1896. There are mutants with coloured pulp such as Gamay Teinturier de Bouze—this is why Gamay is sometimes known as Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc.

There are many synonyms including Bourguignon Noir and Petit Gamai. France has the largest area with 30,000 ha (2009) of which approximately two-thirds is in Beaujolais and environs – there is little else grown there as far as red grapes are concerned. Most Beaujolais wine is 100% Gamay Noir. There is also some in the Cote d’Or but the area is small because it has always been considered to be inferior to Pinot Noir—in fact, there have been several attempts in the past to limit the plantings for this reason. It is planted widely across the Loire, particularly in Loir-et-Cher, and also in Savoie where it is the main red variety. In Switzerland it is the second most important red variety after Pinot Noir. There are small areas in eastern Europe where it has been confused with Blaufränkisch—in part due to the use of the synonym Gamé in some countries. There is little grown in the New World other than small areas in Oregon, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. In Australia, the first introductions from California turned out to be Pinot Noir (introduced as ‘Gamay Beaujolais’ in 1962) and Valdiguié (introduced as ‘Napa Gamay’). Subsequently, clones of true Gamay have been introduced since the early 1970s; and there are now at least 12 clones here. Soon after the initial introductions of true Gamay, a single vine of it was discovered in an old mixed vineyard at Great Western—so it was probably introduced more than 100 years ago. The total area in Australia is unknown. There are more than 24 wine producers, predominantly in cool regions: mainly Tasmania with the remainder across 14 other regions, each with one or two producers.

Viticulture Budburst and maturity are early. Vigour is low to moderate with semi-erect growth habit. Bunches are small to medium, well-filled to compact with medium berries.

Yield is moderate to high. The large crop may inhibit shoot growth. Pruning is generally to short spurs as a means of yield control. Although susceptible to spring frost damage due to early budburst, it has good recovery due to very fruitful secondary buds. It is susceptible to sunburn and fungal diseases, particularly bunch rot due to its compact bunches.

Wine Fruit has ripe berry and spicy characters giving light bodied savoury wines with firm acid and low tannin. Descriptors include strawberry, red currant and herbal.

Wines have good consumer appeal and are not usually aged in bottle. Carbonic maceration is commonly used in Beaujolais.

For further information on this and other emerging varieties, contact Marcel Essling (viticulture@awri.com.au or 08 8313 6600) at The Australian Wine Research Institute to arrange the presentation of the Alternative Varieties Research to Practice program in your region.

where necessary, and crop loads low was also advisable once the vines are in the ground.

“Our young vines can be highly vigorous. They always have plenty of canopy so the extra foliage wire helps W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

manage that. In years when the vines have been too vigorous, the intensity of the fruit flavours has not been as good.

And, in some seasons we’ve dropped fruit at veraison to help balance the vines too,” WVJ Jen said. www.winebiz. com . au

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business & marketing

GRAPE PRICING

Factors in the commodity wine market

By Mark Rowley, Industry Analyst, Wine Australia

Mark explains how global supply and demand balances, Australian wine inventory levels and exchange rates influence winegrape prices, particularly at the commodity and value end of the market.

I

n late 2013, several major Australian wine producers released pricing estimates for the purchase of winegrapes for the 2014 vintage. The prices announced were generally down on 2013 prices, against the trend of increased prices over the previous two vintages. This article examines three key economic factors that can influence the price paid for Australian winegrapes, particularly at the commodity and value end of the market: â&#x20AC;˘ global supply and demand balances and the relationship with bulk wine prices â&#x20AC;˘ exchange rates â&#x20AC;˘ Australian wine inventory levels.

Global supply and demand balances The gap between global supply and demand has tightened over the last decade, with wine production falling and wine sales growing at a relatively constant rate. Arguably, supply has had a more significant effect on price changes for commodity wine than demand. Figure 1 illustrates that global wine production has ranged between 26-30 billion litres over the past 15 years, with production varying by an average of 4% from year to year over the period. Production had been trending downwards over the past decade due to vineyard removal and seasonal conditions (most notably in 2012).

However, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), wine production was estimated to have increased significantly in 2013. Spain was one of the major drivers, with production up 44% to 5.1 billion litres.

The lower vintages and consequently lower wine production leading up to 2012 contributed to the increase of the global price of bulk wine shipments, and the low 2012 vintage added momentum to the increasing prices. Figure 2 illustrates that prices in the major currencies of the wine trade had been rising since the start of 2012. The average value (in most currencies) peaked in May 2013, which was just before information on the size of

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Figure 1. Global wine production.

Source: OIV and Euromonitor

Figure 2. Average value of global bulk wine imports by major currency.

Source: Global Trade Atlas the Northern Hemisphere vintages was becoming available. Even though 2013 wine was not yet available for sale at this point, the information was enough to W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

move markets1. Since then, the average value of global bulk wine has been declining in most currencies. However, in Australian dollars the trend has been V29N3

GRAPE PRICING

Figure 3. Australian wine exports less than 50 cents per litre and Australia’s stock level.

Source: ABS 1329.0, WAC Export Approval Database flat, as the Australian dollar depreciated against the major currencies.

Australian wine inventory levels Even though bulk wine prices were rising globally throughout 2013, the average value of Australian bulk wine shipments decreased throughout the year. One factor that may have contributed to this anomaly was the increase in the inventory levels of Australian wine – in 2013 Australian exports declined, while Australian wine production increased. One metric that appears to indicate that wine producers may have excess inventories is the volume of wine that is exported for less than 50 cents per litre (FOB). Figure 3 illustrates that there is a strong correlation between an increase in inventory levels (shown in the chart as red squares) and increasing levels of bulk shipments priced below 50 cents.

Inventory levels in 2006 were more than 2 billion litres and, subsequently, there was a significant increase in bulk shipments at less than 50 cents. Inventory levels built up again in 2008 and 2009, resulting in another increase in bulk shipments at less than 50 cents. Inventory levels increased in 2012 and 2013 and, once again, the volume of shipments at less than 50 cents is starting to rise. This would tend to indicate that more wine was produced than necessary in 2013, lowering the demand for winegrapes in 2014 and consequently dampening the prices for winegrapes.

Bulk wine exported at less than 50 cents per litre equates to a winegrape price of around A$125 per tonne, assuming processing and freight costs of 25 cents per litre. Data from the Australian Wine Grape Purchases Price Dispersion Report indicates that exports in this price segment exceed the volume of grapes purchased at the equivalent price (see Figure 4).

Over the past five years, a total of 30 million litres (equivalent to 40,300 tonnes) was exported in the segment at an average value of 40 cents per litre. However, only 12,515 tonnes were purchased at the equivalent grape price of A$125 per tonne. In other words, three-quarters of the volume in this price segment was exported at below cost. This indicates the below 50 cents per litre segment is used to clear excess inventories. Therefore, the increasing volumes exported in this segment in the latter part of 2013 and early 2014 indicate that wine producers may have excess inventories, placing downward pressure on winegrape prices.

Exchange rates

business & marketing

Figure 4. Exports less than 50 cents per litre presented as tonnes and tonnes purchased for less than $125/tonne.

Source: Wine Australia analysis based on WAC’s price dispersion report and Wine Export Approval Database. and, therefore, on winegrape prices. In addition, the lower the bulk wine price, the greater the effect of exchange rate movements. This can be illustrated by way of a simplified case study where the direct effect of exchange rate movements is projected onto grape prices at different levels of bulk wine prices.

Assume that a viticulturist grows grapes, produces the wine and then exports it in bulk to Germany. For the purpose of this analysis, the grower has fixed costs of wine production/ processing (30 cents per litre) and freight (eight cents per litre) and what is left after sale is effectively the value of the winegrapes. The grower receives the average price of all

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GRAPE PRICING

Table 1. The effect of a change in exchange rate on price paid for winegrapes.

Price of wine (€/L)

Exchange rate (AUD:EUR) -10%

Current

+10%

0.6

0.66

0.73

0.74

$467 (+17%)

$399

$331 (-17%)

0.6

$292 (+22%)

$239

$187 (-22%)

0.5

$164 (+33%)

$125

$84 (-33%)

German bulk wine imports (€0.74 per litre), however, the wine would be subject to the Common Customs Tariff (CCT) which is applicable to Australian wine (€0.14 per litre).

After all of these costs, the effective price the grower would receive for the product would be A$399 per tonne at the current exchange rate of €0.66 (see Table 1). If the Australian dollar moved in the grower’s favour and depreciated by 10%, the grower’s revenue would increase by 17%. However, if the Australian dollar was to appreciate at the same rate, the grower’s revenue would decrease by 17% to A$331 per tonne.

If the grower was not able to get the average price for the wine and received a lower price, say €0.60 per litre, at current exchange rates the effective price per tonne would fall to A$239 per tonne. Furthermore, the grower would be more susceptible to movements in the exchange rate. A 10% appreciation of the Australian dollar would now equate to a 22% decline in the grower’s revenue, whereas in the previous example, the change in revenue was lower at a 17% decline. At a lower bulk wine price again, say €0.50 per litre, the same 10% appreciation of the Australian dollar would lead to a 33% decline in the grower’s revenue. This case study illustrates that shifts in the exchange rate adds variability at the commodity end of the wine market.

In 2013, the Australian dollar depreciated by 17% against the Euro, however, in 2014 the Australian dollar has stabilised and appreciated slightly during March.

This article has explained how three factors - global supply and demand balances, Australian wine inventory levels and exchange rates - each have an influence on winegrape prices, particularly at the commodity and value end of the market.

However, each factor cannot be considered in isolation. For example, if the Australian dollar depreciates this will not necessarily translate to an increase in winegrape prices if global supply increases, or if Australian inventory levels rise.

Furthermore, there are numerous other factors at play such as quality, branding, marketing, relationships, reliability and scale.

While the three factors discussed in this article are largely out of the control of growers, for planning purposes, it is beneficial to understand how shifts in each can affect the winegrape market.

REFERENCE 1

orthern Hemisphere wines could be available for sale in October/November N for whites and in March/April for reds.

WVJ

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V29N3

VINEYARD/WINERY SALES

business & marketing

The year in review in vineyard and winery sales

By Colin Gaetjens, Wine Industry Valuer, Gaetjens Pickett Valuers

Despite a few “hot spots” involving successful small wineries, Colin Gaetjens explains that overall, the Australian vineyard and winery market remains depressed due to the industry’s ongoing structural oversupply.

A

trickle of sale activity occurred within the wine sector over the past 12 months, with little change in values or outlook.

There was little or no corporate activity, other than Accolade Wines acquiring the New Zealand Mud House and Waipara Hills brands from the Mud House Wine Group. Other brand transactions occurred at various levels, and while a brand, to some extent, is classified as an asset it is normally hard to get the precise details or draw any conclusions from such transactions.

The largest winery sale was the former Thachi Winery at Monash, sold by the overseas mortgagees - which were connected to the Iceland banking collapse of some time ago - to a local investor who is operating the facility as a contract processing winery with plans to improve and extend the facility.

It was a complicated transaction involving a sale of shares and assumption of debt and a whole lot of other complex factors. It is difficult to assess an actual sale price but for what we would consider to be a facility with a value of at least $10 million under normal conditions, we can say that it did sell at a discount to this value, continuing the trend for winery facility transactions of the past few years.

In Victoria the large Whitlands Vineyard in the King Valley area sold for $1.5m, equating to around $20,000 per hectare for a cool climate vineyard producing mainly sparkling base. The vineyard was purchased by Domain Chandon from Brown Brothers.

Two small vineyards in the upper Yarra Valley - distinctly cool climate and planted to white varieties - sold to Treasury Wine Estates for around $50,000/ha which is considered quite reasonable for the location and quality.

Treasury Wine Estates also bought the White Hills Vineyard in northern Tasmania, which was established by Gunns as part of Tamar Ridge and V2 9N 3

comprised 83ha of mainly Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. It sold for $7 million, or approximately $80,000/ha.

A vineyard in the Coal River area was purchased in March 2013 by S. Smith and Son, comprising 26ha and 47ha of land. The sale price equated to around $75,000/ha and a further 15ha of development has since been undertaken.

Still in the cool climate zone, the Coonawarra Premium Vineyard Project properties in Coonawarra, South Australia, sold after some time on the market for a total of $5.25 million for 309ha of vineyard with Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Merlot the dominant varieties. It was sold in receivership and consequently realised only $16,000/ha which is disappointing but in line with other recent Coonawarra sales.

The much smaller Punters Corner vineyard and cellar door sold to its Balnaves neighbour for $1.2m with the 11ha of vineyard equating to $80,000/ha.

It shows the difference in value between location and scale compared with the example above.

Numerous vineyard properties through the Barossa region have sold equating to anywhere from $40,000 per hectare to over $100,000/ha depending on location, varieties and age. Obviously, Barossa whites such as Chardonnay and Semillon on the valley floor are not in favour, whereas old vine Shiraz has been achieving more than $100,000/ha for small parcels.

Unconfirmed news at the time of writing is that a tiny vineyard at Marananga, previously supplying the fruit to Torbreck for The Laird at around $20,000 per tonne, is being sold for supposedly $2m - that is $1m per hectare! While that seems astronomically high I can say that it is relatively peanuts compared with prices currently being paid in Burgundy where recently a 428m2 parcel of the grand cru W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

Bonnes Mares vineyard sold for €1.2m (or A$1.75m) – this is the equivalent of $40m per hectare!

In the Adelaide Hills the small Mayhem Winery sold in March for $1.725m. This was an excellent recently-constructed small winery with a capacity of 500 tonnes and was on the market for approximately two years. The sale price was well under the original cost which was believed to be in excess of $4 million.

There have been few substantial sales in other regions such as McLaren Vale, Clare or Langhorne Creek. The popular areas of the Hunter Valley, Yarra Valley and Margaret River also saw small numbers of transactions with prices and values largely supported by lifestyle considerations to the extent that the added value of an actual vineyard can be relatively little at anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 per hectare on top of the land. This is a continuing symptom of our oversupply and is far less than replacement cost of a vineyard.

So, overall, the picture remains blurred – there are a few hot spots with successful small wineries but domestic and export sales are generally not in a happy place, so until we can get rid of our structural oversupply asset values will continue to be depressed.

There remains a good deal of Chinese interest in our winery and vineyard assets with a number of potential sales in the pipeline. They take a long time to come to fruition but patience is rewarded.

We recently concluded an equity deal of the Hollick Winery and business in Coonawarra to Chinese interests which valued Hollick in excess of $10m, and the Shottesbrooke Winery in McLaren Vale was sold to Chinese interests in December 2013 with the total consideration not known, but probably more than $2.5m.

With our business climate in general getting tougher, I think we certainly have more pain to bear in the poor old wine sector and further rationalisation will be WVJ inevitable. www.winebiz. com . au

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LABORATORY ANALYSIS

Accurate mid-infrared analysis in wine production - fact or fable?

By Eric Wilkes and Luke Warner, Interwinery Analysis Group* *Email: chairperson@interwinery.com.au

S

ince the late 1990s, a number of companies have offered instruments based on mid-infrared (MIR) spectrometers to study a wide range of analytes in both grapes and wine. These differ from the more traditional near infrared (NIR) instruments (which have been widely adopted for alcohol measurement and used by some companies for colour assessment) and UV/Visible instruments (traditional colour analysis and other analytes through the use of enzymatic kits) in the region of the electromagnetic spectra they use and how the calibrations are developed. When the instruments were introduced, they promised to revolutionise wine analysis by giving a wide range of analytical results from a single sample, with almost no sample preparation or reagents, slashing analysis costs and time. Industry uptake of these instruments has, however, been relatively limited. This has not only been due to the significant upfront and ongoing maintenance costs, but also because the user experience and perceptions about the accuracy and ease of use of the instruments have varied significantly.

In an attempt to share experiences and improve the understanding and use of these instruments, a number of users from within the Australian and New Zealand wine industries, in conjunction with the Interwinery Analysis Group (IWAG), have formed an informal Wine Industry MIR User Group. As a first step, the group has reviewed the analytical results from the 2013 rounds of IWAG proficiency testing and done a survey of industry users to get an indication of analytical performance, how the instruments are being used, and the general levels of satisfaction of users within the wine industry. The goal for these activities is to ultimately try to separate MIR fact from fiction.

Divided opinions The online survey garnered 28 responses, with industry members indicating instruments used in the wine sector are dominated by those produced by the FOSS Company, based in Denmark (12 model FT120s, six model FT2s and

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eight OenoFoss). However, there were also a number of users of the recently introduced Bruker Alpha. This does not represent all the instruments in place in the Australian and New Zealand wine industries, but it is enough to give a reasonable cross section of the industry views and attitudes.

Although often marketed as useable for juice, ferment and wine analysis, the survey found that the most popular uses for MIR instruments was in process monitoring and making production decisions. All the instruments surveyed were used for wine analysis, with a lower proportion (especially amongst the more expensive FT120 and FT2 units) used for grape analysis and only a few of the latter units used for ferment monitoring. This is probably a function of the difficulty experienced in presenting consistently homogenous samples to the instruments, considering the turbid and gaseous nature of ferments.

The OenoFoss was used at all points of production from grape analysis to packaging. This could be due to the relatively low cost of the unit and the market it was aimed at - small to medium wineries with minimal wine testing capabilities. While a number of respondents said they limited the results from this instrument (which a user cannot develop custom calibrations for) to trending of wine parameters rather than absolute values, many did use it for production decisions.

When used for juice analysis, the most popular parameters tested were Brix, pH, total acidity (TA) and yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN). Malic acid was also routinely measured by 35% of respondents, with a further 35% of respondents not using MIR instruments for juice analysis at all. In the case of ferment monitoring, 52% of respondents do not use their MIR units at all. Alcohol, TA, pH, volatile acidity (VA) and glucose/fructose (GF) were the most commonly measured analytes amongst those that did choose to use their MIR instrument for this component of production.

Unsurprisingly, finished wine products are the most commonly analysed samples on MIR instrumentation. The most common analytes to be measured on finished products are TA, alcohol, pH, GF and VA. It was interesting to see that GF ranked so highly despite the anecdotal perception of issues in developing reliable and robust calibrations for that particular analyte at levels less than 1g/L, which are common in many Australian wines.

Just less than half of all respondents felt as though their MIR instrument met their company’s needs. Those that felt it did not meet their needs cited not being able to use it to its full potential, highly inaccurate or variable results, or little or no confidence in results. Happy users cited convenience and quick analysis times as being selling points. Half of all respondents thought that the MIR instrument was worth the capital investment, with those who detailed their reasoning remarking on the return on investment in regards to not needing to hire extra staff, not needing to spend as much money on reagents such as enzyme kits, and saving

W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

V29N3

LABORATORY ANALYSIS

Just less than half of all respondents felt as though their MIR instrument met their company’s needs.

Those that felt it did not meet their needs cited not being able to use it to its full potential, highly inaccurate or variable results, or little or no confidence in results. time. Those who felt it failed to live up to expectations cited a distinct lack of knowledge in developing and maintaining calibrations, and the costs required to maintain and service the instruments.

Greater than half of all respondents did not rate the supplier or manufacturer support highly. The trend appeared to be that support from the supplier immediately upon purchasing a unit was great, but trailed off after six to 12 months. However, when users did deal with the supplier or manufacturer, support received was always excellent. Many respondents stated they would like to see better calibration support from the supplier or manufacturer.

Interestingly, 12.5% of users utilise manufacturers’ calibrations directly and do not adjust them prior to routine use. This is despite the fact that the majority of these calibrations are developed in Europe with only a limited amount of data from Australian wines.

Also, these ‘out of the box’ calibrations do not take into account the effects of an individual laboratory’s biases.

It is these differences between the individual laboratory’s results and the generic result that drives much of the perceived need for adjustments with these (and many other) techniques.

Greater than 50% of users adjust calibration slope and bias at least once before being used, while 33% develop their own unique calibrations. Nearly all respondents felt they understood the concepts behind calibrations of MIR instruments.

V2 9N 3

business & marketing

Table 1. Comparative 2013 red wine results for MIR and the most popular method based on IWAG submissions. Results considered significant different based on a 95% confidence level are highlighted in red.

MIR

Reference

analyte

mean

Standard Deviation

mean

Standard Deviation

Reference method

pH

3.50

0.05

3.53

0.05

pH meter

TA

6.28

0.71

6.53

0.24

autotitrator

Alcohol

13.61

0.16

13.60

0.10

NIR

Glucose/fructose

3.27

1.03

2.40

0.25

enzymatic

Acetic acid

0.42

0.06

0.42

0.05

enzymatic

Malic acid

0.17

0.15

0.10

0.16

enzymatic

Specific gravity

0.9950

0.0008

0.9950

0.0010

Density meter

Dissolved CO2

0.21

0.09

0.21

0.04

Thermal cond.

Table 2. Comparative 2013 white wine results for MIR and the most popular method based on IWAG submissions. Results considered significant different based on a 95% confidence level are highlighted in red.

MIR

Reference

analyte

mean

Standard Deviation

mean

Standard Deviation

Reference method

pH

3.31

0.05

3.35

0.05

pH meter

TA

6.53

0.78

6.73

0.28

autotitrator

Alcohol

12.73

0.18

12.77

0.10

NIR

Glucose/fructose

5.13

0.84

5.13

0.83

enzymatic

Acetic acid

0.25

0.08

0.18

0.05

enzymatic

Malic acid

3.02

0.71

2.95

0.50

enzymatic

Specific gravity

0.9931

0.0006

0.9933

0.0011

Density meter

Dissolved CO2

1.02

0.18

1.00

0.03

MVE

When asked how calibration performance is monitored, responses from members were varied. Most wineries utilised good laboratory practice standards when monitoring performance. Another popular method was to crosscheck results from MIR instruments with reference method results. Some crosschecked their results with reference methods from other, often NATA accredited laboratories. Many respondents did not indicate they check instrument carryover between samples (for FT120 and FT2) or repeatability between measurements.

When asked if they felt they received adequate internal senior management support with regards to the time it takes to develop and maintain robust calibrations, only 50% of respondents replied positively. For those who do not get adequate support, they felt that management do not realise the time commitment required to calibrate and maintain MIR instrumentation.

Some do not even bother calibrating instruments due to time constraints.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

There was overwhelming support for the concept of a user group, with all respondents indicating they would find an MIR user’s group particularly beneficial to their company and would consider becoming members. Many would welcome the opportunity to share information with, and seek support from other members.

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LABORATORY ANALYSIS

Figure 1. Comparison of glucose/fructose results for MIR and enzymatic methods in red wine showing the bi-modal distribution MIR results.

Figure 2. Comparison of glucose/fructose results for MIR and enzymatic methods in white wine showing the high similarity in results.

But how do the numbers stack up?

The IWAG proficiency testing program involves six rounds of testing per year - three white rounds and three red rounds - with two bottles of the same wine tested each round.

Comparing the performance of the wineries that submitted MIR results against those using other analytical methods gives us some useful insights into the overall performance in industry of these instruments for the analysis of a red and a white wine over the period of a year. Tables 1 and 2, see page 65, set out the means and

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standard deviations for MIR versus the next most popular methodology for analyses where sample numbers made comparison statistically viable.

The results for both red and white wines for alcohol, specific gravity and dissolved carbon dioxide show no significant difference between MIR methods and the next most popular method based on a 95% confidence level. Also, the standard deviations for these analytes were comparable, and in some cases better, suggesting the variability between laboratories is similar to more traditional methods.

For the red wine, acetic acid measurement was also not W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

significantly different; however, the values for malic acid and glucose/ fructose do show significant differences for the MIR methods. In the case of malic acid, the results from both methods were approaching the limit of detection for both MIR and enzymatic methods, with the standard deviation approaching the actual analytical values. While statistically significant in practical terms, there is little real difference (0.07g/L). This is supported by the white wine result where no significant difference was found at levels around 3g/L. The red wine result for glucose/ fructose was more concerning with 0.87g/L difference between results.

Interestingly, the MIR results histogram (see Figure 1, page 65) shows a roughly bi-modal distribution with one peak located in the same location as the peak for the enzymatic results. This may suggest either a difference in response for different instrument models or variability in the calibrations used. In comparison, the white wine glucose/fructose results were almost identical (Figure 2, page 65), reinforcing the conclusion already made in this article, or perhaps inferring an interferent specific to the red wine used in the proficiency program.

As already stated, the malic acid and glucose/fructose results were not significantly different for the white wine compared with those obtained using traditional methods.

The white wine acetic acid values did show a statistically significant result, however, the 0.07g/L difference between the results is unlikely to be of any practical significance at this level.

In red and white wines, both pH and TA showed differences that could be considered statistically significant.

In the case of pH (differences of 0.03 and 0.04) the histograms show (see Figure 3 for the red example) that the distributions are very similar and that the problems could be addressed with simple bias corrections. The differences in the TA (0.25 and 0.20g/L, respectively) are due to some significant outlier values (Figure 4), either as the result of a poor calibration or difference of a small group of instruments. Removal of the outliers from this data removes any significant difference between the results.

In short, while the results for the MIR instruments used by wineries in the IWAG proficiency testing rounds do not perfectly match the results V29N3

LABORATORY ANALYSIS

business & marketing

It is apparent that the successful implementation of MIR instruments involves new protocols and skills to those traditionally implemented for wine analysis. for the most commonly used method for all analytes, the differences are either of little practical concern or could be addressed with improved calibrations and procedures; at least for the two wines used in this study.

To get a more robust understanding of the analytical accuracy of MIR instruments, analysis of a wider range of wines by a large group of wineries is required. It should also be noted that although not shown here, a number of the other traditional methods also used to analyse the same wine components performed more poorly than the MIR methods.

Figure 3. Comparison of pH results for MIR and enzymatic methods in red wine showing the simple bias difference.

So, what is next?

While the analytical results do look promising, there continues to be significantly differing views as to the effectiveness of MIR instruments in the wine industry.

It is apparent that the successful implementation of MIR instruments involves new protocols and skills to those traditionally implemented for wine analysis. Now that the user group has been formed and an initial understanding of the range and role of instruments in industry has been collated (as well as an assessment of their performance in the industry standard proficiency testing program), the next step planned will be to do a set of round robin testing involving upwards of 20 wines to get a detailed understanding of the issues with the current calibrations and any repeatability issues that may exist.

This information will be used to: • d evelop information on the best way to use the instruments • i dentify any inherent weakness in certain models • d ecide and act upon the best strategies to develop uniform and V2 9N 3

Figure 4. Comparison of TA results for MIR and enzymatic methods in white wine showing the impact of a limited number of outliers.

sustainable calibrations suitable for the Australian and New Zealand production environment.

The wine industry MIR user group welcomes all interested participants.

For further information contact Eric Wilkes (eric.wilkes@awri.com.au) or Luke Warner (chairperson@interwinery. com.au) The Interwinery Analysis Group (IWAG) is a proficiency testing provider that supports wineries and wine testing facilities in Australia and W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

internationally. IWAG’s proficiency program is a quality management tool that gives technicians, winemakers and customers confidence in laboratory results. The program involves members concurrently analysing duplicate wine samples, allowing laboratories to compare their analystical results with those submitted by other laboratories and identify questionable results.

For further information visit www.interwinery.com.au www.winebiz. com . au

WVJ

67

business & marketing

CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS

Consumer perceptions of premium and luxury wine brands

By Therese Sjostrom, Armando Maria Corsi and Larry Lockshin Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, University of South Australia

A study was recently conducted to determine the attributes that consumers perceive to be associated with premium and luxury wines compared with regular wines, which also drew on the vast amount of existing literature on the topic. The findings suggest that many of the elements assumed to be connected are, in fact, not top-of-mind with many drinkers.

T

he premium and luxury segment of the wine sector has been growing steadily for the past 20 years, both domestically and internationally, and it is still on the rise (IWSR 2012). However, we still don’t know what attributes consumers perceive to be associated with premium and luxury wines compared with regular wines. When a consumer is prepared to pay more for a wine, what elements come to mind? Does the consumer consider the wine to be a luxury or premium purchase? At what price tier is a wine perceived to be prestigious?

The vast literature on luxury, premium or prestige wines has never answered these questions.

Rather than getting involved in the debate about definitions and differences between luxury, premium and prestige products, we chose to measure what consumers believe is associated with these terms in the Australian wine market. We believe our research provides guidance for wineries to develop the right associations with their brands, so that they meet existing consumer perceptions here in Australia. Two methods were used to answer these questions. We used best-worst scaling to understand which attributes are associated with prestigious wines, because this approach forces consumers to choose the most (best) and least (worst) attribute from a set that is most closely linked to prestige wines in his or her mind. We used the pick-any method, which provides lists of attributes and asks the consumer to pick any that he or she thinks are associated with each of four different price tiers, because this method is closely linked to top-of-mind mental associations.

Method The study was conducted in October 2012 with a representative sample (n=509)

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Table 1. List of potential elements that characterise a prestigious wine brand.

Adequate method of production

Premium price

Authentic/trustworthy brand

Premium quality

Exclusive brand history

Promotional activities (advertisement)

Famous brand endorsers/ambassadors

Respectable founder and designer

Good brand reputation/status

Suitable retail location

Limited production/edition

Unique features/characteristics

Positive country of origin reputation

of Australian consumers, who had drunk wine at least once in the past six months.

For the first part of the study a list of 13 elements that consumers might associate with a prestigious wine was developed from existing literature and the experience the authors have in the field (Table 1).

Respondents were shown a specific number of choice sets, comprised of four of the 13 elements each. Each element appeared the same number of times across all choice sets and appeared an equal number of times with every other element based on an experimental balanced incomplete block design. In each choice set, respondents chose the element they considered ‘most’ appropriate to identify a prestigious wine and the element they considered the ‘least’ appropriate. Once the data was collected, we counted the number of times each element was selected as the most and as the least appropriate. A score was then calculated for each element between 0 and 100, where the closer the value was to 100 the higher the probability that the element was chosen as the most appropriate to identify a prestigious wine.

For the second part of the study, the previous item list was expanded to include another 10 elements that also could be associated with lower price points (Table 2). This guaranteed that respondents did W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

not focus exclusively on the highest price tiers, but they had to consider all the price tiers provided. We provided four price tiers – $0-$24.99, $25-$49.99, $50-$99.99, $100+ - that encapsulated the main price categories at which consumers could buy wine in Australia.

Respondents were given a table showing all the 23 items in the rows, and the four price tiers in the columns. They were then asked to tick any elements they associated with each of the price tiers.

There was no restriction on the number of items respondents could associate with the same price tier, or the number of price tiers they could associate with the same item. These perceptions were analysed via correspondence analysis (CA). The output is a plot for each of the items included in the analysis (in our case, product elements and price tiers).

For ease of interpretation, the plot is often reduced to two dimensions, but the axes in the plot have no other meaning than a representation of the associations between the items displayed in the plot.

Items closer to each other and close to the price tier are more associated together.

Results Table 3 reveals the results for the probability scores (0-100) for the bestworst analysis. Good brand reputation or V29N3

CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS

business & marketing

Figure 1. Correspondence analysis results.

Table 2. List of potential elements associable to different price points.

Table 3. Prestige probability score .

Adequate method of production

Premium price

Attribute

Wine

Authentic/trustworthy brand

Premium quality

Good brand reputation/status

100

Exclusive brand history

Promotional activities (advertisement)

Premium quality

099

Famous brand endorsers/ambassadors

Respectable founder and designer

Authentic/trustworthy brand

074

Good brand reputation/status

Suitable retail location

Unique features/characteristics

032

Limited production/edition

Unique features/characteristics

Positive country of origin reputation

Environmentally sustainable production

Positive of country of origin reputation

030

From a boutique (winery or distillery)

Old (back) vintage or antique

Exclusive brand history

026

Luxury

Organic certification on bottle

Suitable retail location

022

Machine made

Premium

Respectable founder/designer

020

Premium price

020

Adequate method of production

014

Limited production/edition

014

Promotional activities (advertisement)

013

Famous brand endorsers/ ambassadors

013

Medals/awards on bottle

Self-expression/to express yourself

Handmade

status, premium quality and authentic or trustworthy brand are the attributes that were more associated with luxury or premium wines and spirits. These three elements represent the ‘top three’ most important attributes and are clearly far more likely to be associated with a prestigious wine than the other nine.

Figure 1 displays the results for the correspondence analysis. The wine category has five attributes that belong to the highest price ($100+): luxury, antique/vintage, limited production/ edition, premium price and premium, while the lowest price ($0-$24.99) only has three attributes that are strongly connected to it, namely promotional activities, suitable retail location and machine made. The other attributes have V2 9N 3

mostly clustered around the price groups $25-$49.99 and $50-$99.99.

Key findings and recommendations The premium and luxury wine market is growing, and it is important for marketing managers to understand the elements consumers associate with prestige products. In particular, this research has produced two key outcomes for wine marketing managers: Good brand reputation or status, premium quality, and having an authentic or trustworthy brand are the attributes that are most associated with luxury and premium wines W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

This information is useful, as marketing managers can focus specifically on linking these attributes to their brand if they want to market and communicate it as a prestigious product.

Secondly, by knowing what attributes consumers associate with prestige, managers will be better able to differentiate between the messages for regular compared with prestige products.

It was somewhat surprising to find that ‘premium price’ does not seem to be a prominent attribute for the sample, www.winebiz. com . au

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CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS

despite the fact that this attribute has been frequently mentioned as a critical element by previous researchers.

Certainly, prestige or luxury products are defined as those having a premium price. It should be noted that where information about price is questioned directly, consumers are variable in their responses. The managerial implication here lies in the fact that consumers might not necessarily state that a high price represents a luxury or premium product; rather the attributes found to be of importance to luxury or premium products increase the acceptance of a high price.

Finally, previous research has shown that the image or (positive) reputation of the country of origin is important to luxury and premium consumers (Beverland 2005, Brun and Castelli 2013, Halstead 2002, Keller 2009, Nueno and Quelch 1998). However, in this research, positive country-of-origin reputation has a much lower association (best-worst score) than expected. A reason behind this might be the fact that consumers are overall becoming less concerned with the origins of products. For example, Aiello et al. (2009) found that the brand name is much more important for luxury products than the country of origin. The importance of country of origin could be product-specific - in this case, of limited importance for wine in Australia.

The terms luxury, premium, and antique or old vintage, consistently cluster around the highest price points Previous studies found that the attributes used in this research have been perceived to belong to luxury or premium prices. However, this research has established the levels at which these attributes are perceived to belong to higher-priced products and found the top three and bottom attributes in relation to luxury and premium price.

The fact, that ‘luxury’ and ‘premium’ show a strong positive correlation at the highest price point corroborate the idea that luxury and premium should not be considered two distinct areas of investigation, but they both belong to a wider prestige group, that incorporates

This research shows that many of the elements we might think consumers associate with luxury are not at the top of most consumers’ mental list. Things like ‘endorsements’, ‘medals’, or ‘authentic’ are not associated with the highest price tiers. the entire top end of a category value scale (Vigneron and Johnson 1999).

In a similar but opposite direction, the bottom three attributes (machine made, promotional activities and suitable retail location) are not perceived as luxury or premium. This can be explained by the fact that machine made products are perceived to be of lesser value than handcrafted ones (Amatulli and Guido 2011). The underlying reason why retail location clusters around the lowest price points may be that convenient retail locations are more likely to sell lowerpriced products, and the perception of scarcity is important for luxury and premium products (Arora 2011, Cervellon and Coudriet 2013, Nueno and Quelch 1998).

Practitioners should avoid allowing their customers to associate these attributes with the products they are managing. This research shows that many of the elements we might think consumers associate with luxury are not at the top of most consumers’ mental list. Things like ‘endorsements’, ‘medals’, or ‘authentic’ are not associated with the highest price tiers. Perhaps they are assumed, but clearly this research identifies a few common attributes consumers consider to be linked to luxury wine brands. Producers should design their communications to mention and refer to the elements most linked to luxury and prestige in order to build the perception of their wine brand.

Acknowledgements The authors thank the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation

(GWRDC), who made this research possible through a Master scholarship awarded to Therese Sjostrom, in 2012.

References Aiello, G.; Donvito, R.; Godey, B.; Pederzoli, D.; Wiedmann, K.P.; Hennigs, N.; Siebels, A.; Chan, P.; Tsuchiya, J. and Rabino, S. (2009) An international perspective on luxury brand and country-of-origin effect. Journal of Brand Management 16(5):323-337.

Amatulli, C. and Guido, G. (2011) Determinants of purchasing intention for fashion luxury goods in the Italian market: A laddering approach. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management 15(1):123-136.

Arora, R. (2011) The 8ps of luxury brand marketing. Retrieved 07/04/2014 from https:// www.warc.com/Content/ContentViewer. aspx?MasterContentRef=31a9a641-4772-4a12-bd29ed14640471e4 Beverland, M.B. (2005) Crafting brand authenticity: The case of luxury wines. Journal of Management Studies 42(5):1003-1029.

Brun, A. and Castelli, C. (2013) The nature of luxury: A consumer perspective. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 41(11/12):823-847.

Cervellon, M.C. and Coudriet, R. (2013) Brand social power in luxury retail: Manifestations of brand dominance over clients in the store. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 41(11/12):869-884.

Halstead, L. (2002) How do consumers select wine? Factors that affect the purchase decision making process. Paper presented at the Annual Academy of Marketing, June, Nottingham.

IWSR (2012) Demand for premium spirits gains momentum. Retrieved 07/04/2014 from http:// www.iwsr.co.uk/pages/news/pressreleases/ Demandforpremiumspiritsgainsmomentum.pdf Keller, K.L. (2009) Managing the growth tradeoff: Challenges and opportunities in luxury branding.

Journal of Brand Management 16(5):290-301.

Nueno, J.L. and Quelch, J.A. (1998) The mass marketing of luxury. Business Horizons 41(6):61-68.

Vigneron, F. and Johnson, L.W. (1999) A review and a conceptual framework of prestige-seeking consumer behavior. Academy of Marketing Science WVJ Review 1999(1):1-15.

Winebiz online Buyers’ Guide Equipment, Supplies & Services for the wine & grape industry www.winebiz.com.au/guide 70

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Thinking outside the bottle: information about Australia can increase the choice of Australian wines

by Chinese consumers

By Patricia Osidacz Williamson1, Simone Mueller Loose2, Larry Lockshin2 and Leigh Francis1 1 The Australian Wine Research Institute, PO Box 197, Glen Osmond, South Australia 5064 2 Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, University of South Australia

Many Australian wine producers are targeting China as a new market. With a population of more than 1.3 billion and a growing middle class, the potential for wine sales in China is huge. However, cultural differences and competition from other wine-producing countries are all barriers to be overcome.

Research on wine consumer behaviour in China, including the factors that influence choice of Australian wines, can assist Australian wine producers in their efforts to break into this important market.

How do consumers choose wines?

F

or most wine consumers, wine is one of the products that add enjoyment to life. A social dinner with a glass of wine is a pleasurable occasion, and the flavour of a particular wine can contribute to the occasion. Apart from the taste of the wine, there are other factors that can influence the satisfaction gained from sharing a wine. These include the attractiveness of the label and package, the price of the wine, how well regarded the wine is among wine experts, recommendations from friends, and the opportunity to try something new. When purchasing wine, the buyer’s previous experience and knowledge of the wines on offer combined with the specific needs of the occasion will influence the ultimate choice. Often, a purchase will be made based on a combination of emotional, subconscious and consciously considered factors. Wine choice is usually made rapidly with little cognitive consideration.

For consumers who are quite involved in wine as a product category, having a positive association with a brand or a memory of it will play a part in the purchase decision. For consumers who are new to wine there may be fewer cues to consider, perhaps making country of origin or opinions from experts more important than specific brands. In general, the V2 9N 3

AT A GLANCE: •O nline experiments were used to investigate the factors influencing wine purchase decisions by Chinese consumers •E xposure to short articles about Australia increased the choice of Australian wines by Chinese consumers •A ll articles about Australia were effective in increasing choice of Australian wines, but the most effective were messages that Chinese people like the taste of Australian wines and that Australian produce is clean and unpolluted •T he influence of the articles about Australia was shown to persist when consumers were re-tested after more than a week. cues used when purchasing wine help decrease the risk associated with the purchase and work as signals that the wine is worth buying.

In China, most wine consumers are relatively new to wine and, at present, French wines have captured a considerable proportion of the wine market. This stems from a strong reputation for quality, a reputation related to the high regard and high prices achieved by first growths and other sought-after appellations. The local Chinese wine industry is also well established in the market. For Australian wines to grow their share of the Chinese market, a key question is how Chinese consumers can be encouraged to try Australian wines instead of French or local wines in a retail setting. Of course, the taste of wine is also important, particularly in influencing repurchase and brand loyalty.

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Does information about Australia influence wine choice?

Different types of information about Australia were assessed to find out if Chinese consumers could be persuaded to alter their purchase decisions towards Australian wines.

Working with Wine Australia, an industry advisory group and a Chinese wine consultant, a set of short advertorial-type articles was prepared.

An example of one of the articles is shown in Figure 1.

Five different articles about Australia were prepared, plus a control message about South American coffee which had no reference to Australia. A summary of the articles is presented in Table 1.

To test the effect of the articles, an online choice study was conducted with 1670 consumers in China, recruited on the basis of being regular red wine www.winebiz. com . au

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Table 1. Summary of the articles used to assess the effect of different messages about Australia on Chinese consumers’ wine choice, together with a control message not mentioning Australia. Each article was approximately 105 words in length.

Article

Description

Article 1 – A great place to visit

Australia is a great tourist destination with beautiful beaches, great climate, natural attractions

Article 2 – Clean and unpolluted

Australia has low pollution, clear skies, pure water, fresh healthy food and wine

Article 3 – Safe food and wine

Australia has strong government regulation and stringent laboratory tests for exported food and wine, origin is guaranteed, substandard wines are rejected

Article 4 – Wines with tradition and prestige

Australia has old, special vineyards, hand-crafted great wines, that are high priced and sought after, with a history and tradition of more than 150 years

Article 5 – The best tasting wines in the world

Chinese consumers prefer the taste of Australian wines tasted blind compared with French and other countries’ wines.

Australia has a sunny climate ideal for grapegrowing, and modern winemaking

Article 6 – South American coffee goes green (control article)

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tested, 86% drank red grape wine at least once a week. A simulated retail shelf was developed with designed wine bottles, all with the same fabricated brand name ‘Victoria

The results of the study were clear, with a number of outcomes with practical implications for producers who have a presence in China. Figure 3 shows a summary of how important the different wine cues were for the consumers who read the control article about coffee, compared with those who read one of the articles about Australia (average values for all five articles).

For the control group, the results showed that the ‘shelf talkers’ which gave store and expert ratings for wine quality were the most important attributes in influencing wine choice, with an importance value of approximately 30% each. Country of origin and price were the next most important with values of 18% and 13%, respectively. Grape variety, label type, closure and the presence of a medal had only a small effect (less than 5%). The surprisingly small effect of the label type may be caused by differences in consumers’ label taste that cancel out on the aggregated level. For country of origin, the control group chose Chinese wines least frequently, followed by Italian wines, then Australian wines and, finally, French wines, which were chosen the most frequently (Figure 4, see page 74). This outcome is consistent with other studies showing that Chinese consumers appreciate some guidance in wine selection, and that French wines are dominant

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Organic production of coffee is growing in Brazil and Colombia

Figure 1. Example of one of the six short articles prepared to assess the effect of different messages about Australia on Chinese consumers’ wine selection.

The heading translates to: ‘Australia: a great place to visit’. drinkers and buyers of imported wine.

Equal numbers of consumers were tested from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with 60% male, and 60% aged 31-45 years. Of the consumers

Estate’, and all labelled with the same vintage and alcohol content. On each particular shelf, wines were identified as being from France, China, Australia and Italy, with different label styles, prices, closures and grape varieties.

There were also ‘shelf talkers’ giving store quality ratings or expert ratings, and some bottles were shown with a gold medal on the bottle. The consumers were asked to select a wine that they would purchase for drinking at home for a dinner with family or friends. Figure 2 shows an example of a simulated shelf.

Asking consumers to select wines across multiple shelves allows researchers to find out which wine attributes are most important in influencing wine choice. Immediately before carrying out the choice task, consumers were given one of the six articles to read. Approximately 300 of the consumers received the control article, and the remainder were randomly assigned to one of the five articles related to Australia.

C H I N A

in the Chinese marketplace. This provides reassurance regarding the effectiveness of the methodology used.

Moving on from the control group, the results showed that reading an article about Australia had a substantial effect on wine choice (Figure 3). Being exposed to information about Australia caused a large increase in selection of Australian wines, which were chosen more than wines from France (Figure 4). The results strongly suggest that communication strategies about Australia at point of sale can have an influence on wine purchasing behaviour.

The type of article also had a strong influence on wine choice (Figure 5, see page 74). Article 5 (Best tasting wines) and Article 2 (Clean and unpolluted) had the strongest effect, resulting in 47% and 46% choice of Australian wines, respectively. The tourismfocussed Article 1 (A great place to visit) was the least effective (36% choice). Readers of the control article chose French wines most commonly, but their choices were less influenced by country of origin.

Effects over time As it is not particularly realistic to read an article immediately before purchasing a product (although other types of information can be made available at the point of sale), a second experiment was conducted to measure whether the effect of the information presented in the article might persist over time. To achieve this, 828 of the original 1670 consumers were asked to repeat the choice task at least seven days after having read one of the articles, more closely simulating a real-world situation. Not surprisingly, the consumers who had read the control article previously chose the wines from France over Australian wines. For those that had previously read the articles about Australia, price became the most important effect, followed by country of origin and then quality rating guidance (Figure 3).

Grape variety, label type, closure and presence of a medal were again of only small importance. Reflecting their earlier behaviour, these consumers again chose Australian wines more frequently than wines from France or the other countries. The largest effects in this delayed experiment (Figure 5) were for Article 5 (Best tasting wines) and Article 2 (Clean and unpolluted). The size of the effects was slightly lower than in the first stage of the study, indicating that while the V2 9N 3

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Figure 2. Example of a simulated shelf with designed wine bottles. Consumers were asked, ‘Which of these wines would you most likely purchase for drinking at home with your partner or friends?’ Each consumer saw 16 simulated shelves with different combinations of wine attributes.

Figure 3. Importance values for the different wine cues tested in choice of wines for consumers who read the control article and those who read an article about Australia. All factors were highly significant in influencing consumers’ wine choice (P<0.001) except as indicated (ns: not significant). Note: importance values add to 100% for each treatment. messages about Australia still had a strong effect, their influence had waned somewhat.

An effective strategy This study shows that providing Chinese consumers with information about Australia can affect their selection of Australian wines compared with those from other nations. While W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

all of the articles about Australia were successful, the two most effective messages were the advice that Chinese people like the taste of Australian wines, and that Australian produce is clean and unpolluted. The strong effect of the ‘clean and unpolluted’ message is consistent with the commonly voiced concerns of Chinese consumers about food safety, while the ‘best tasting’ www.winebiz. com . au

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regulated food and beverage industry, remain factual.

It should be noted that the short articles produced for this study were written by the researchers involved, with input from the industry advisory group. While the articles were vetted carefully by multiple native Chinese speakers, both in Australia and in China, and were adjusted following a pilot study, there remains the possibility that some may have inadvertently been more or less effective than others due to subtleties in the wording or pictures rather than the specific information imparted.

Next steps

Figure 4. Relative preference for different countries of origin as shown by choice of wines from the simulated shelf, comparing the control group, who read an article on South American coffee, with the consumers who read an article about Australia.

All consumers performed the choice task immediately after reading an article.

The next phase of this work is currently under way and will involve informed and blind tasting of wines from China, Australia and France

by Chinese consumers, combined with provision of information about Australia. The study extends the choice experiment by including real wines available in China rather than a fabricated brand. A webinar presenting additional information about the present study, including usage and attitudes data from the consumers, is available from the AWRI website.

Acknowledgements

Figure 5. Differences in degree of importance of the country of origin on wine selection as a result of consumers reading the different articles, immediately prior to the test or more than seven days earlier. Consumers who read the articles about Australia chose Australian wines much more frequently than wines from France, China or Italy, while consumers that read the control article chose French wines more often (shown in Figure 4). message effect is understandable considering that Chinese consumers are generally new to wine and are more influenced by the opinions of their compatriots than knowledgeable consumers might be. It seems likely that Chinese consumers, like wine consumers in other countries, wish to lower their risk of buying a wine that they or their meal companions might not like, and will use whatever information is available to achieve this.

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The overall results suggest that if the Australian wine industry were to invest effort into disseminating information about Australian wine to the type of consumers studied here, the investment would likely be beneficial. Of course, as an industry it is also important to ensure that the more powerful messages about Australia’s environment being clean and unpolluted, about the wines being the best tasting, and the safe and wellW i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

There are many individuals and companies who have assisted with this work. The authors thank Dr Armando Corsi, Ava Huang and Dr Svetlana Bogomolova, from the University of South Australia; and Dr Dan Johnson, Danna Li and Fang Tang, from the AWRI. Carsten Loose is thanked for the excellent graphical design work.

The authors particularly acknowledge James Gosper and Willa Yang, from Wine Australia; Richard Angove, from Angove Wines; Kate Lattey and Sladjan Maksimovic, from Pernod Ricard Winemakers; Tom Lynar, from Tyrrell’s Wines; Clare Flintoff, from Treasury Wine Estates; Nick Yap and Jakub Rys, from Australian Vintage; James Wilson, from Accolade Wines and Casella Wines; Brooke Halkett, from Lion Nathan; and Anna Lawrence, from McWilliam’s Wines. The staff of Toluna are also acknowledged.

This work is supported by Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers through their investment body the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation, with matching funds from the Australian Government. The AWRI is a member of the Wine Innovation Cluster. Ella Robinson is thanked for WVJ her editorial assistance.

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Making voluptuous Viognier Viognier’s share of the total Australian winegrape crush is just 0.6%, yet as revealed in the 2014 edition of The Australian & New Zealand Wine Industry Directory, nearly 550 wineries crush Viognier. Among them are Quartz Hill, Sirromet and Mistletoe, whose wines were judged in the top three in our recent Viognier tasting, the results of which can be found starting on page 82. We thank these producers for providing the following insights into the production of their Viogniers.

Shane Mead, Vigneron Quartz Hill Pyrenees, Victoria Wine: 2012 Quartz Hill Viognier (RRP$38.00/bottle) VITICULTURE The fruit for our 2012 Viognier was predominantly estate grown, with a small amount of locally grown Pyrenees fruit added. Our Viognier is grown 10 kilometres south of Avoca on an east-facing site with an elevation of approximately 300m. The soils are hungry sandy loam clays with rock/gravel and schist. Our climate is considered temperate with a mean January temperature of 20.8°C. Over recent years we have experienced reduced rainfall.

Our average is supposed to be 550mm, however we have been getting more like 450mm. Our site is generally free from frost, however in 2012 the Viognier was partially frosted.

Our Viognier block was planted in 2001 and for the first eight years of its life was dry grown. The vines are the Montpellier clone on own roots, which is the virusaffected variety. The virus causes low crop levels but (we believe) good quality.

The vines are unilaterally trained and allowed to sprawl with just a single catch wire. The rows are 3m apart with 1.5m between each vine. We both shoot thin and bunch thin to further ensure small croploads.

In 2009 (at the end of the drought as it turned out) we introduced irrigation to our Viognier. With very little dam water available, the vines are minimally irrigated at key periods in the growing season.

We don’t grow cover crops, instead utilising native grasses as a permanent sward. We straw mulch the vines every three years or so, in order to suppress weeds and retain moisture.

We apply biodynamic preparations in order to improve the soils. For example, 500 Preparation is applied as a soil conditioner, a stinging nettle preparation is applied as nitrogen fixer, Casuarina teas in pest reduction and worm teas, fish and seaweed emulsions as foliage V2 9N 3

A view of the Quartz Hill estate vineyard in Victoria’s Pyrenees region. sprays. The biodynamic preparations have been an ongoing experiment with generally good results.

Vines are quite severely hand pruned to one bud spurs, leaving no more than five one-bud spurs per plant. Although these Viognier vines are not particularly vigorous they are quite hardy and disease resistant, which is probably attributable to the variety’s thick skins. Although we are very happy with the current quality of the fruit from these vines, from a commercial perspective we are keen to increase the vigour of these vines somewhat, and so will be applying animal manures undervine over the winter period. Very small tonnages are achieved off this block. To give an indication, in recent years we have only been achieving one to two tonnes per hectare, depending on natural rainfall and the amount of irrigation water available.

As far as picking is concerned, we look for white peach flavour and jasmine if possible as this suits our product style, hopefully picking prior to apricot jam flavours being evident.

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Principia winemaker Darrin Gaffy, who makes Quartz Hill’s Viognier under contract.

WINEMAKING The fruit is hand harvested and then delivered to Darrin Gaffy, at Principia on the Mornington Peninsula, where the grapes are whole bunch pressed into barrel using a basket press and where it is allowed to settle overnight. The next day the wine is racked to another barrel and any acid adjustment is done if needed. Wild yeast is allowed to kick in, generally after about four days. The wine is stirred daily nearing the end of ferment to help it finish to dry.

After that, the wine is topped every two to three weeks and stirred monthly over winter. Generally, we try to avoid full MLF, however this is not always possible.

After about 11 months the wine is racked into clean barrels where it stays for another six to eight months. After this time, fining trials are started. We generally use bentonite, casein and PVPP. Following this the wine is finally hand bottled.

Throughout the whole process, the wine is very gently handled. It is only www.winebiz. com . au

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Sirromet chief winemaker Adam Chapman.

Sirromet’s Night Sky Vineyard at Ballandean, in Queensland’s Granite Belt, the primary source of fruit for the winery’s Seven Scenes Signature Collection Viognier.

ever transferred by gravity, and no pumps or filters are used.

The analysis at harvest was: Baume 13.3 pH 3.26 TA 7.9

Belt wine region. The fruit for this wine was primarily sourced from our youngest vineyard, Night Sky (blocks 3, 4 and 9), with 25% coming from our slightly older Saint Judes vineyard (block 1). Both vineyards are located at 800m above sea level and are considered cool climate.

The Granite Belt is typified by relatively shallow sandy loam soils over decomposed granite and granite bedrock.

It is usually classified as cool climate, despite the latitude, due to its high elevation and low humidity, with June and July nights often dropping under 0°C, with some nights as low as -10°C and daytime maximums of no more than 15°C. January daytime maximums are quite warm at up to 35°C, but nights are cooler at around 15°C. Temperatures start to decline quickly through March.

April sees the first frosts of the year with overnight minimums down to 3°C and daytime maximums of around 25°C. Rainfall is higher in late summer and early autumn than in other regions, however the ripening period for whites is usually fine and dry with most rain coming after whites are brought in.

Occasional hailstorms through the spring and summer are a regional headache for grapegrowers.

The vines used for this wine were about five years old at harvest and are grown on rootstock. The trellis system is VSP with two sets of moveable wires.

Vines are planted 3m apart and rows 1.2m apart.

We don’t generally shoot or bunch thin our vines due to the risk of late frosts in the spring.

Irrigation water is pumped from the Severn River. Vines are drip irrigated

MARKETING When we initially planted the Viognier it was with a view to making a Syrah Viognier blend. However, we ended up experimenting in the winery in making straight Viognier wines with good results.

Our Viognier is now here to stay, having become our flagship in the marketplace.

We sell our Viognier predominantly to well-regarded restaurants along the eastern seaboard, as the wine is well suited to many food styles.

We’ve found that Viogniers tend to divide people; they either love or hate the variety. However, we have found fans in many who did not think they liked Viognier. It appears that with controlled cropping and attention to detail in the winery, Viognier can produce excellent results.

Adam Chapman, Chief Winemaker; Jessica Ferguson, Assistant Winemaker; & Robyn Robertson, Vineyard Manager Sirromet Wines Mount Cotton, Queensland Wine: 2011 Sirromet Seven Scenes Signature Collection Viognier (RRP$35.00/bottle) VITICULTURE Sirromet has three estate-owned vineyards located in Ballandean, south of Stanthorpe, in the heart of the Granite

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at 2.2L/hour. Throughout the growing season each block is irrigated six hours per week or as required if the weather is hot.

We use various cover crops between the rows, which are then slashed and placed under the vine.

Night Sky Block 9 and St Judes Block 1 have a mechanical pre-prune followed by hand spur-prune to two buds. Blocks 3 and 4 in Night Sky are currently being cane-pruned by hand, leaving 10 buds. We are considering future cane pruning on the St Judes block as well due to the excellent results in Night Sky. The incidence of summer rain in the region means a higher risk of powdery and downy mildew and/or late season botrytis.

However, these risks are managed by a careful spray schedule and most years the incidence of disease has been minimal. The year 2011 was particularly challenging for disease control with the extensive summer rain, requiring extra vigilance from our vineyard team. However, some excellent white wines were produced that year in all three of our vineyards.

Future vineyard management methods being considered include mulching and compost, continuation of cover crops and extension of the cane pruning program.

The average yield for our Viognier blocks in Night Sky are 4.5t/ha.

WINEMAKING The Viognier for our Signature range is typically picked last among our white varietals in early to mid-March. We are looking to make a rich, ripe, unctuous style, so Baume on harvest is generally up around 13-13.5.

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The fruit for the 2011 vintage was harvested between 8-18 March, with a Baume of 13.0.

Fruit is machine harvested at night while temperatures are cool, and transported via refrigerated truck to the winery for an early morning crush.

Fruit is mechanically de-stemmed and crushed directly to our membrane press. Generally. a tartaric acid addition is made at crush as our Viognier tends to have an elevated pH due to a higher malic acid fraction. The chilled juice is fined with milk before settling overnight.

The clarified juice was racked directly to selected one-year-old French oak barriques to undergo an initial wild fermentation in oak. We find a wild ferment is generally very successful with Viognier and that we achieve a complexity of flavour and texture that is hard to get with commercial strains of yeast. In 2011, due to the difficult vintage, we did inoculate the barrels with an EC1118 culture approximately halfway through the ferment to ensure a safe completion.

For the 2011 vintage, 20% of the wine was put through MLF in barrels over existing lees. We inoculate a selected strain for white wines and bring the barrels out to 20°C storage for the duration of MLF. MLF adds a degree of richness and roundness to this wine, and softens any phenolic aspects as well as accentuating the intense apricot and orange blossom notes.

The barrels were then topped and aged in oak over full lees for 14 months.

Upon re-blending the wine into tank, we fine with isinglass and adjust acid. This stage is not rushed as we like to see all the elements integrated into a seamless whole before preparing for bottling.

Following protein and cold stabilisation, the wine was bottled in two batches, one in June 2012 and the other in August 2012; 11,400 bottles were made. The wine was released in September 2012.

The mix of new to one-year old or even older oak is often varied depending on the fruit intensity. Some years we use up to 100% malolactic fermentation on our premium Viognier, other years much less or none. Some experimentation has been done with battonage during oak ageing, however we have used this less than with our premium Chardonnay.

In future we may look at some unconventional fermentation methods such as solids ferments or fermentation/ageing on skins, as we are doing some similar work with Chardonnay and have been very impressed with the outcomes particularly for texture and mouthfeel.

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MARKETING Viognier has been positioned in our premium Signature range for some years as a full-bodied oaked white style.

As an ‘alternative’ white style, it can be challenging from a marketing point of view as the public are somewhat reluctant to buy unfamiliar whites at this price-point.

We have excellent outcomes through a face-to-face tasting session, where customers can have the varietal and style explained to them, and the chance to taste before purchase.

We find this variety and style appeals to those who like a full-bodied white style such as Chardonnay (or sometimes instead of Chardonnay!)

We have had some success in showing this wine, with the wine achieving three silver medals and two bronzes both overseas and in Australia. We are also finding that this variety appeals to Asian palates as it can be a good match for spicy or salty foods. The wine is exported to both China and Japan.

Ken Sloan Proprietor/Vigneron Hunter Valley, New South Wales Wine: 2013 Mistletoe Hillstops Noble Viognier (RRP$22.00/bottle) VITICULTURE The fruit for this wine was grown for Mistletoe on a two-hectare portion of the Bit O’Heaven vineyard, located at Hollands Road, Young, in the Hilltops region of south-western New South Wales.

The elevation of this site is 525-530m and it faces east-northeast. The soil is deep (+10m) red podsolic over granite and drains extremely well.

Frosts are usually gone by the time of budburst in early to mid-October, with the average maximums over the growing period around 35°C and the corresponding average minimum temperatures averaging 10-15°C. The vines were obtained as pot propagated rootlings and planted in 2005.

The clone is HTK and the vines are grown on their own roots.

Trellising in the vineyard is pretty standard VSP with two foliage wires. Vine spacing is 2m with 3.3m wide rows.

The canopy is fairly vigorous in most seasons and, as a consequence, is usually mechanically hedge-trimmed once or twice a year, depending on vigour.

Irrigation is supplied from an on-farm dam through a standard drip system.

Watering is restricted to early spring and mid-summer. The duration of irrigations is normally 12 hours at any one event.

W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

Mistletoe winemaker Nick Paterson.

The early years saw the annual planting of a rye/clover blend to the midrow. This is now well established and rejuvenates annually where it is slashed on an ‘as needs’ basis and mulched under the vines. This mulching has greatly assisted with moisture retention and building positive microbial activity in the soil, resulting in it being much more friable and absorptive.

The vines are mechanically prepruned and then tidied by hand to 12 one-bud spurs per arm.

There are no major pest issues within the region with the perennial fight against downy and powdery mildew the main hurdle.

As the fruit is destined for a dessert style wine it is usually harvested midApril with resultant cropping levels of between 3-6t/ha.

WINEMAKING The grapes are normally machine harvested between 21-23 Baume.

Transport to the Hunter prior to processing the grapes gives effective skin contact for 12-15 hours. The grapes are then held in the press overnight prior to pressing.

Then follows extended cold settlement followed by extended cold ferment in stainless steel tanks – no oak influence.

Our first vintage of this wine was 2010 - we’re still on a learning curve.

MARKETING The wine is primarily sold through the Mistletoe cellar door. Mistletoe only commenced Sydney distribution, mainly to on-premise outlets, in the last six months.The wine has been very well received.

As part of Mistletoe’s recently finalised new label design, this wine will be packaged into completely new livery with the bottling of the 2014 vintage. www.winebiz. com . au

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Getting to know Viognier – the quest continues When the Wine & Viticulture Journal held its last Viognier tasting back in mid-2006, the tasting panel commented that although the typical varietal Viognier characters were evident among the 31 in the lineup, they were only so in light amounts, and many of the wines were described as having non-descript aromas and flavours or being reminiscent of other white grape varieties altogether. Our recent Viognier tasting sought to find out what, if anything, has changed in eight years.

I

t has been eight years since the Journal held a Viognier tasting, when Louisa Rose of Yalumba – whose company initiated the first commercial planting of Viognier in Australia in 1980 noted how the variety had “captured the imagination of wine growers, makers, drinkers and commentators around the world”.

The Journal’s recent Viognier tasting provided a snapshot of the evolution of varietal Viogniers in Australia since our 2006 assessment.

Our invitation to Australian producers to submit Viogniers to the tasting yielded 27 wines, which included 25 table wine styles, as well as two dessert-style Viogners which we decided to include for contrast.

The tasting panel comprised Heather Fraser, winemaker for Yalumba; Scott Heiderich, winemaker for Geoff Merrill Wines and his own label Rusty Mutt; and Tracey Siebert, senior scientist with the Australian Wine Research Institute.

They all observed that the line-up had quite a “mixed bag” of styles.

“I can certainly see there’s some true Viognier characters in some of them – gingers, apricots, spices – but there’s also a lot of what I think is on the greener spectrum,” said Heather Fraser, who together with Louisa Rose makes Yalumba’s Viogniers. “I’m not sure whether that’s because the Viognier in those wines is being grown in the wrong area, or it’s young fruit or the winemakers just haven’t been out in vineyard enough to make sure the fruit was picked at its optimum.

“Viognier is a very tricky variety in that it does seem to get flavour late, so if you pick based on numbers alone you can sometimes get caught out. There’s a very short window when the true varietal flavours emerge before it becomes too botrytised.

“You very rarely see Viognier that has flavour at less than 13.0% alcohol. You have to wait for the flavours you want to kick in but you don’t want it to reach 15% alcohol and become too alcoholic, so you have to be out in the vineyard tasting regularly because the minute you get those flavours you want to pick it.

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The panellists for the Journal’s Viognier tasting were (from left) Scott Heiderich, winemaker for Geoff Merrill Wines and Rusty Mutt; Tracey Siebert, senior scientist, Australian Wine Research Institute; and Heather Fraser, winemaker for Yalumba.

Some of the best Viogniers are made by winemakers who are out in the vineyard regularly or know the vineyards from where the fruit comes well and how they behave,” Fraser said.

She explained that Viognier loved to bake in the sun, which often resulted in Viognier being picked too early.

“People see it going golden and get scared so they pick it. It’s one of the few varieties that when you get a 40°C heatwave I’m not that concerned about it because it loves to go golden. The only thing it tends to do in that sort of heat is lose its leaves.”

Fraser said some of the Viogniers in the tasting from the 2013 vintage were looking rather advanced, while some of those from 2012 were “disappointing”.

“The wines from 2012 were good but not as good as I would have hoped, seeing I thought 2012 was one of the better years for Viognier that I’ve seen in 10 years or so,” she said.

Fraser added that some of the older wines had a botrytis character coming through.

“Some of them are a bit sweet and out of balance so I wonder whether W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

that’s a reflection of the winemakers’ first attempts at making Viognier or the vintage. They smell and look good but the moment they’re in your mouth you get that cloying character.”

Scott Heiderich said some of the wines in the tasting suggested that winemakers were “scared” of the phenolics that Viognier typically showed.

“I see a lot of over-fining in some of these wines; too much has been taken away. The winemakers have seen some phenolics and thought they’ve had to get to get rid of it. Consequently, a lot of those wines are a bit stripped back and a little uninteresting.

“I was always taught that oak must complement a wine, not overpower it, and I think that’s even more so in the case of Viognier because it is a variety that does have some phenolics; you can’t just throw oak at it, you have to use it judiciously.”

The panel agreed the top wines in the tasting were the 2012 Quartz Hill Viognier, 2011 Sirromet Signature Collection Viognier and 2013 Mistletoe Noble Viognier.

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T A ST I N G N OT E S

Quartz Hill 2012 Viognier Pyrenees, Victoria 13.5% v/v - screwcap RRP$38.00/bottle Best of tasting: Mid straw in colour with some green hints. Complex nose of tropical and stonefruit and oak notes, musk, white flowers, jasmine, spices, cloves and creamy notes. A sweet fruit, well-structured palate with some creamy oak, good mouthfeel and fine acidity on the finish. “Oak sits alongside the fruit really well in this wine,” said one taster.

Sirromet 2011 Signature Collection Viognier Granite Belt, Queensland 13.0% v/v – screwcap RRP$35.00/bottle Best of tasting: Bright light gold in appearance. Jasmine, dried flowers, apricot, pineapple, rose, spice and ginger on the nose. Palate is textured and has a nice mouthfeel, tastes of dried herbs and potpourri, and has a creamy mid-palate and finish. One taster thought the palate was slightly musty. An interesting, food-friendly wine.

Mistletoe 2013 Noble Viognier Hunter Valley, New South Wales 12.0% v/v - screwcap RRP$22.00/bottle Best of tasting: Bright gold in colour. Candied fruit, honey, marmalade, butterscotch, beeswax and apricot nectar on the nose, as well as a touch of VA, but not too much. Very sweet palate which is clean, mouth-coating, luscious and finishes crisply. One taster thought the palate had a touch of bitterness on the finish. “Shows that Viognier has great potential as a dessert wine,” noted another.

l e r le r Ba mp Sa Mount Surmon 2014 Viognier – barrel sample Clare Valley, South Australia 12.5% v/v RRP$20.00/bottle Pale gold in colour with green hues. A pretty nose of jasmine and white florals, with hints of musk, banana lolly and subtle esters. A sweet fruit palate with lingering flavours and tight, crisp acidity. “A nice commercially appealing wine that is not too big or alcoholic, but pleasant with obvious Viognier characters,” said one taster.

Domaine Asmara 2013 Viognier Heathcote, Victoria 13.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle Dark straw to gold in colour. Toasty oak dominates the palate which features honey, toffee and ripe tropical fruits. Oak also overshadows the palate which has nice fruit sweetness and a slight confectionary/ester flavour.

Lacks some acidity.

Nepenthe 2013 Winemaker’s Selection Viognier

Soumah of Yarra Valley 2013 Viognier

Adelaide Hills, South Australia 12.0% v/v - screwcap RRP$20.00/bottle (cellar door only)

Yarra Valley, Victoria 14.1% v/v - screwcap RRP$30.00/bottle

Very pale straw in colour with yellow and green hues.

A neutral, low-intensity nose with apple, pear, peach and celery characters and some citrus, particularly grapefruit. Palate is light, simple and lean and lacks some fruit flavour; acid is slightly sharp. One taster thought the fruit may have been picked too early or was from young vines.

Yellow gold in colour with green hues. Aromas of apricot kernel, jasmine, some white flowers and stonefruit on the nose. One taster noted a feral ferment character.

Pretty fruit and floral characters on the palate, which has a nice weight and mouthfeel; good use of oak, a creamy mid-palate and a tight finish.

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W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

Horner 2013 Family Reserve Viognier Upper Hunter, New South Wales 13.8% v/v - screwcap RRP$21.99/bottle Bright yellow gold in colour. Tight, fresh and very aromatic nose featuring stonefruit, apricot, jasmine, esters and subtle tropical fruit and citrus characters.

A tight palate with some nice phenolics, moderateintensity fruit, good length and creamy finish; acid is slightly sharp, and the mid-palate is a touch hollow. “A well made wine demonstrating what Viognier can offer,” said one taster. “Could have been picked a little riper,” noted another.

Artwine 2013 PoLkaDot Crispy White Adelaide Hills, South Australia 12.5% v/v - screwcap RRP$18.00/bottle Light straw in colour with green hues. Gooseberry, herbal, and some citrus and floral characters on the nose. Characters in the green fruit spectrum on the palate; finish is long but slightly phenolic. One taster questioned whether the fruit for this wine may have been picked a bit green.

www.winebiz. com . au

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T A ST I N G N OT E S

Milbrook Winery 2013 Regional Viognier

Possingham & Summers 2013 Viognier

Perth Hills, Western Australia 14.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$22.00/bottle

Blewitt Springs, South Australia 14.0% v/v - screwcap RRP$16.00/bottle

Light to mid straw in colour with slight green hues.

Hints of tropical fruit, musk and white flowers on the nose but hidden by oak characters. Creamy, buttery notes dominate the palate and swamp the varietal characters; hints of some musk and tropical and citrus fruits underneath. “Too much new oak,” noted one taster.

“A very well made wine but the fruit just couldn’t get through the oak,” said another.

Good colour – pale straw with green hues. Nose features crisp, clean fruit including intense tropical, citrus and herbaceous notes, as well as green banana, and esters.

In the mouth this wine is light and lean, and displays green tropical fruit. Lacks distinctive varietal characters of Viognier.

Murray Street Vineyards 2013 Viognier

Sutton Grange 2013 Fairbank Viognier

Barossa Valley, South Australia 12.5% v/v - screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

Bendigo, New South Wales 14.0% v/v - screwcap RRP$30.00/bottle

Light gold in colour with slight green hues. Nose is subdued with some peach and nectarine characters with hints of apricot. A sweet, tight, well-structured and elegant palate that has medium to lightweight body and only moderate fruit intensity; nice texture and use of phenolics. “Good entry level style – flavour without being heavy or overt,” noted one taster.

Good, bright colour of medium straw with green hues.

Slightly funky and feral aspects to the nose, with some apricot nectare and jasmine underneath. Palate has great texture and weight but lacks fruit and flavour intensity and is a touch warm. One taster questioned whether the wine had been over-fined.

Nepenthe 2012 Winemaker’s Selection Viognier (sold out)

Turners Crossing 2012 Viognier

Adelaide Hills, South Australia 12.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$20.00/bottle Mid straw in colour with hints of green. Apricot and some citrus notes on the nose as well as a funky, feral character. Medium-weight palate with some fleshy fruit and stonefruit. A touch drying on the finish with some hard acid.

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Bendigo, New South Wales 14.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$30.00/bottle Good colour of pale straw with a hint of green. Nose is subtle, with some floral and apricot hints and slight blue cheese character. Palate is sweet, has good fruit flavour but is also subtle with white peach and hints of citrus and stonefruit characters. A touch drying and warm on the finish.

W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

Scion 2013 Viognier Rutherglen, Victoria 12.7% v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle Mid straw in colour with hues of green and gold. Intense apricot character on the nose along with some fleshy white peach and funky wild ferment characters. Palate is juicy, and has medium weight, and the low yet musky acidity gives chalkiness and crunch to the fine, lingering finish. “Great example of a young Viognier,” said one taster.

Domaine Asmara 2012 Viognier Heathcote, Victoria 13.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle Mid straw in colour. Some citrus and stonefruit on the nose as well as some honey, lavender and rose petal characters. Good flavour length on the palate which is sweet, suggesting this wine may have had some botrytis influence. A touch phenolic on the finish. “Shows some of the palate richness and good phenolics this variety is capable of,” noted one taster. “A touch sweet and sour,” noted another.

Calabria Wines 2012 Richland Viognier Griffith, New South Wales 13.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$10.95/bottle Light to medium straw with some green hues. Light to moderate intensity nose which features citrus notes, particularly lemon and lime, orange blossom, and stonefruit. Medium to light weight palate which has sweet, ripe fruit, citrus characters and tight acid on the finish. “A good commercial style, but lacks some overt Viognier character,” noted one taster.

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T A ST I N G N OT E S

Mr Riggs 2012 Viognier

Rutherglen Estates 2012 Viognier

Blue Pyrenees 2012 Viognier

McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.0% v/v – screwcap RRP$22.00/bottle

Rutherglen, Victoria 12.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$21.00/bottle

Pyrenees, Victoria 12.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$20.00/bottle

Mid straw in colour. Nose has low fruit intensity and an earthy/musty character. Palate is lean with green fruit and a hint of apricot; acid is somewhat sharp. “Lacks varietal character,” noted one taster.

Light straw colour with green hues. Some lavender, citrus, pear and musk on the nose together with some toasty oak and a funky, wild ferment character. Medium to lightweight palate with tight acid, some oak and a balanced sugar level.

Pale straw in colour. Nose features stonefruit, white peach, tinned apricot, white flowers, potpourri and honey characters. The palate is medium weight, has a creamy mid palate, good fruit length comprising apricot and florals , and a clean finish.

Milbrook Winery 2011 Viognier

Watershed Wines 2011 Viognier

Tanglewood Vines 2011 Viognier

Perth Hills, Western Australia 14.0% v/v – screwcap RRP$35.00/bottle

Margaret River, Western Australia 14.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$26.95/bottle

Blackwood Valley, Western Australia 14.5% v/v – screwcap RRP$24.00/bottle

Deep straw to yellow in colour. Toasty and aged characters on the nose as well as some almond meal, candied fruit, apricot, ginger, slight marmalade and fairy floss and creamy notes. Lovely rich palate with good length of flavour; could probably benefit from some more acid. “A lovely wine showing its maturation,” said one taster. “A good wine but a touch sweet,” said another.

Bright gold in colour. Aromas of rich apricot slice, peach, spice, butterscotch and toasty oak on the nose.

Palate is clean and features apricot nectar upfront as well as ginger; oak dominates the mid-palate; musk on the finish with fine acidity. “Well made but lacks fruit concentration,” said one taster. “Could have benefited from a bit more fruit,” agreed another.

Very pale straw gold in colour. Interesting development on the nose which has grapefruit, pineapple, ginger, spice, and nutmeg characters and some rubbery notes.

Sweet and sour palate which is cloying and slightly phenolic on the finish.

Sutton Grange 2011 Estate Viognier

Turners Crossing 2010 Viognier

Bendigo, New South Wales 14.0% v/v – screwcap RRP$45.00/bottle

Bendigo, New South Wales 14.0% v/v – screwcap RRP$30.00/bottle

Horner 2013 Family Reserve Late Harvest Viognier

Bright yellow gold in colour – almost fluorescent.

Lovely clean and complex fruit on the nose together with candied fruit, cinnamon, ginger, spice and a slight rubbery note that adds complexity. Palate features fleshy, juicy stonefruit and has good flavour length. This wine is only let down by the slightly hard (green) acid on the finish. “Maturation is doing great things for this wine,” noted one taster.

Light to mid straw in colour with a nice green hue. Nose lacks some fruit intensity but is clean; toasty, caramel, and pear characters with some stonefruit underneath.

Nice oak and mouthfeel with some creamy fruit length on the palate but lacks some fruit character. “Well made, a nice drink,” said another.

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W i n e & V iticultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

Upper Hunter, New South Wales 8.4% v/v – screwcap RRP$23.49/bottle Yellow gold in colour. Burnt toffee and slight marmalade on the nose as well as a chlorophyll character. Very sweet in the mouth, with some under-ripe and over-ripe flavours; slightly hard acid on the finish.

www.winebiz. com . au

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PROducts & services

Optimum – a new generation in harvesting and viticulture

T

he Pellenc Group has unveiled its latest generation of multifunction harvesters to the Australian wine industry.

Integrating technological innovations developed exclusively by Pellenc’s internal R&D department, including the second generation Selectiv’ Process destemming and sorting system, the Optimum range was officially launched at Pellenc’s Adelaide headquarters in mid-March and was followed by a demonstration roadshow during vintage in McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, Clare and the Barossa Valley.

The Optimum range has been designed to enable users to carry out all vineyard maintenance and harvesting work from the one tractor and corresponding attachments, with a range of tools, including a pre-pruner, precision pruner, leaf remover and wire lifter, capable of being attached to the tractor via a multifunction arm, as can the picking head and Selectiv’ Process destemming and sorting system.

Jacques Servoles, director of Pellenc’s grape harvesting department, said the performance of the Optimum was linked to the simplicity and rapidity of linking

and unlinking tools, which can happen in three minutes thanks to Easyconnect, the hydraulic mono-coupler. Each time the tool is changed, functions are changed automatically on the multifunction joystick and on the EasyTouch touch screen.

Servoles said the Activ’ picking head, equipped with the EasySmart shaking system and automatic row centering, allowed gentle and efficient harvesting, all while still preserving vines.

“The revolutionary Flexible Conveyor Sorter eliminates any risk of juice loss and maintains berry integrity,” he said.

“The second generation Selectiv’ Process integrated destemming and sorting system achieves cleanliness in the bin up to 99.8%, which is still the highest point of reference on the market.”

Pellenc has equally devoted its attention to the safety and user working conditions in the development of the new machine, with the cabin offering a 310 degree field of vision. The antivibration pneumatic seat is equipped with presence detection, and all commands and controls are within arm’s reach of the driver’s seat.

The Pellenc Optimum during a recent demonstration day at Gemtree Vineyards in McLaren Vale.

For example, the control of the picking head is managed quickly and simply from the cabin thanks to According to Pellenc, Optimum is the lightest and most compact on the market, with a turning angle of 95 degrees, allowing the user to work consecutive rows.

For further information phone 08 8244 7700, email admin@pellenc.com. au or visit www.pellenc.com.au

DE-free fast becoming a reality in wineries Two Californian wineries have dispensed with diatomaceous earth through the use of the uniquely modified STS 200 centrifuge manufactured by Separator Technology Solutions.

Castoro Cellars, of San Miguel, a 10,000-tonne winery, has completely eliminated the use of filter powder of any kind through the implementation of the STS 200 system, a uniquely modified centrifuge system, and integrating its use with the winery’s existing cross-filter In early 2012, Castoro Cellars owner Niels Udsen adopted the STS 200 with an eye on reducing not only cost and waste but increasing yield, quality and value and improving employee safety.

Working closely with winemaker Tom Myers and winery manager Dave McHenry, Udsen was able to combine the STS 200 capabilities with their existing cross-flow to maximise yield, quality and value of their wine, all without the need

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for filter powders and rotary vacuum filter processing.

Separator Technology Solutions has also learned of a much larger Californian winery completely eliminating the need for either lees or rotary vacuum drum filtration during the 2013 vintage.

“This large winery has achieved what many thought logistically impossible for any large-volume winery by intelligently re-engineering their process to leverage existing gravity and centrifugal technology – headlined by the STS 200 system,” a spokesperson for Separator Technology Solutions said.

“Like many large-scale wineries, this one utilises screw presses to maximize yield, which also creates relatively high solids downstream. However, by intelligently applying a revised combination of gravity and centrifugation, the winery achieved its wine style and processing objectives of low solids into W i n e & V i t i cultur e Jo ur n a l MAY/JUNE 2014

white and blush fermentations and subsequent rapid clarification of white, blush and red wines post-fermentation.

“Their processes were holistic, handling also their fresh high solids and heavy lees, and thereby eliminating the RDV or lees filter in their winery operation.

“Going DE-free was previously viewed as an effort toward ensuring employee safety as well as a more environmentallyfriendly option. However, efficient use of the STS 200 centrifuge technology has significantly increased returns by cutting peripheral costs from DE expenses and waste processing as well as increasing yield, quality, and value of the finished product.”

For further information contact Separator Technology Solutions Pty Ltd, phone 03 9016 4330, email: info@sts200. com or visit www.sts200.com V29N3

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