Wine & Viticulture Journal - July/August 2017

JULY/AUGUST 2017 · Volume 32 Number 4

WINERY INNOVATIONS & TECHNOLOGY • Innovations in the global wine industry - what's new?

• What's in the MOX? • Grape seed extract as a novel fining agent • Tasting: Nero d'Avola

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IN THIS ISSUE

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

C O N T E N T S

V I T I C U LT U R E

8 WFA (TONY BATTAGLENE): Tax – the latest developments

32 TONY HOARE: How to survive rising power costs in the vineyard

9 WINE AUSTRALIA (LIZ WATERS): Digital technologies to support the grape and wine community

36 Long-term subsurface irrigation trial shows there is little benefit in going underground

10 ASVO (MARDI LONGBOTTOM): Viticulturist of the Year finalists announced at Mildura seminar

39 Reduced irrigation and site/soil effects on Pinot Noir vine pruning weight and soil nutrient status 42 Regulation of oxygen and reactive oxygen species during budburst

WINEMAKING

12 MARK O’CALLAGHAN: What’s in the MOX? 16 Innovations in the global wine industry – what’s new?

20 Optimising cool climate wine styles: Impact of dramatic climatic change on traditional viticultural and oenological practices

46 Monitoring inoculum dispersal by grapevine trunk disease pathogens using spore traps 51 Altitude in the Orange GI dictates heat summation which dictates wine style

23 Grape seed extract: the first protein-based fining agent endogenous to grapes 29 AWRI REPORT: Vintage 2017 – observations from the AWRI helpdesk

55 ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES: Roussanne

WINE TASTING

69 Nero d’Avola

BUSINESS & MARKETING

57 Vineyard & winery sales: Wine sector recovery takes hold 59 MARK ROWLEY: Chardonnay in Australia: history, evolution and revolution 61 Driving the strategic growth of Australian wines in the US market 63 More effective use of wine labels

Established 1985 Published bi-monthly Publisher: Hartley Higgins General Manager: Elizabeth Bouzoudis Editor Sonya Logan Ph (08) 8369 9502 Fax (08) 8369 9501 Email s.logan@winetitles.com.au Editorial Advisory Panel Gary Baldwin Peter Dry Mark Krstic Armando Corsi Markus Herderich EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE Lauren Jones, Write Lane CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Sam Atkins Rachel Atkins Matthew Ayres Tony Battaglene Christopher Bourke Regina Billones-Baaijens Johan Bruwer Jonathan Cahill Justin Cohen Michael Considine Armando Corsi Adrian Coulter Geoff Cowey Glen Creasy Andrea Curioni Peter Dry Marcel Essling Diana Gazzola Roland Harrison Brad Hickey Tony Hoare Rainer Hofmann Matt Holdstock Greg Jarratt Dan Johnson Larry Lockshin Mardi Longbottom Jordan Louviere Matteo Marangon Karlia Meitha Mark O’Callaghan Patricio Mejias-Barrera Gabriella Pasini Paul Petrie Mark Rowley Alex Russell Sandra Savocchia Con Simos Mark Sosnowski Creina Stockley Stephen Strachan Simone Vincenzi Liz Waters Chen Zhang Advertising Manager: Paul Andrew Ph (03) 9370 0040 Fax (08) 8369 9529 Email: wvjsales@winetitles.com.au Production and Design: Luke Westle 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.winetitles.com.au Published by Winetitles Media ABN 85 085 551 980 Address 630 Regency Road, Broadview, South Australia 5083

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ISSN 1838-6547

Conditions

The opinions expressed in Wine & Viticultue Journal are not necessarily the opinions of or endorsed by the editor or publisher unless otherwise stated. All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher.

All material in Wine & Viticulture Journal is copyright © Winetitels Media. All rights reserved.No part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic, or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, the published will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions, or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published.

Sonya Logan, Editor

N

otice anything missing from the index on the previous page?

No, it’s not the apostrophe in Nero d’Avola. Long-time readers may have noticed an obvious omission – no column from industry commentator Tony Keys. Tony has contributed a column to the Wine & Viticulture Journal in almost every issue since July-August 2004, and had fully intended to provide another instalment for this July-August issue, thus bringing up 13 years since his inaugural composition for this publication. But at deadline he emailed me the following message: “Sorry about this but can you pull an article from somewhere; I’m in some pain and the medics are talking about time in hospital…It’s time for someone else to take over.”

For some months Tony has been battling a lung condition, one that he seemed to be keeping on top of, no doubt largely thanks his healthy lifestyle and a good dose of yoga. And then it looked like he was going to receive a lung transplant that was going to buy him who knows how much more time.

However, he ended up ticking all but one of the medical boxes that would have seen that transplant happen. Without the transplant, Tony admitted he wouldn’t have to buy Christmas cards for 2018.

Nonetheless, his doctors thought he still had a few more months in him yet, and he set about planning a pre-wake for family and friends near his home in Byron Bay for late October – “I see

no reason why you should have a party without me when I’m gone,” he wrote in the invitation. But a lung infection had him admit to me in an email on 1 August that, “The end is coming quicker then I or others thought it would” and on 2 August he released the final instalment of The Key Report, his weekly commentary on happenings in the global wine industry.

In that final edition he conveyed he was unsure whether he would now live long enough for his pre-wake.

The WVJ team, especially me, wish Tony all the very best for his final days on this earth and thank him wholeheartedly for his contributions to this Journal over the years, not to mention his friendship.

No-one does it like Tony and there is no obvious party waiting in the wings who will question and comment on industry matters quite like him. He will be missed.

Namaste, Tony.

In happier news, we welcome a new columnist to this issue of the Journal.

Mark O’Callaghan, director and senior consultant with Victorian-based Wine Network Consulting, has joined Dan Calvert, winemaker for Quealy Wines in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, and another long-time WVJ scribe Cathy Howard who will rotate to bring readers a regular practical winemaking column in the style delivered by Cathy over the last five years. Mark kicks things off with a look at micro-oxygenation – how is it being used today, what’s new, what’s changed and why?

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter! www.facebook.com/WineAndVitiJournal @WineVitiJournal Cover: Ben Heide REGULAR FEATURES

News 6 Wine Australia 9 WFA 8 ASVO 10

4 www. wi n e t i t les.com.au

AWRI Report 29 Alternative Varieties 55 Varietal Report 66 Tasting 69

WIN E & V ITICULTUR E JO UR NA L JULY/A UGUST 2017

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N E W S

S N I P S

ANNUAL CRUSH AND AVERAGE GRAPE PURCHASE PRICE RISE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW The volume of winegrapes crushed in Australia in 2017 and the average purchase price of those grapes have risen for the third consecutive year, according to the latest national vintage report recently released by Australian Vignerons, Wine Australia and the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia.

The national crush was estimated at 1.93 million tonnes – an increase of 5 percent on the 2016 vintage – while the national average purchase price rose 7% to $565 per tonne – the highest since 2008.

Wine Australia chief executive Andreas Clark said the increases reflected “excellent seasonal conditions in many regions as well as the growing demand for Australian wine, both in export and domestic markets”.

“Pleasingly, the figures indicate that the supply and demand for Australian wine is in balance,” Clark said. “An additional 93,000 tonnes were crushed this year, which produces approximately an additional 65 million litres of wine.

This is in line with increased demand for Australian wine: in 2016–17, exports increased by 50 million litres, and domestic sales increased by 12 million litres in 2015–16, a total of 62 million litres.”

Australian Vignerons chief executive Andrew Weeks said the third consecutive rise in the average purchase price of winegrapes was a positive development for Australia’s winegrape growers.

Winemakers’ Federation of Australia chief executive Tony Battaglene said there is a “cautious optimism” across the Australian wine sector.

“Export value overall has been on the rise and it is great to see the consecutive increases in exports matched by the increases in key vintage figures,” Battaglene said.

Most regions recorded an increase in tonnes crushed in 2017, with the growth in the national crush coming relatively equally from the cool/temperate and warmer inland wine regions of Australia.

The crush from cool/temperate regions increased 9% to 0.61 million tonnes and accounted for 31% of the national tonnes.

In warmer inland regions (Riverina, Murray Darling–Swan Hill and Riverland) the crush increased by 3% to 1.32 million tonnes – a 69% share of the national crush.

Red winegrape varieties increased their share of the crush to 55%, compared

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with 52% in 2016. Overall, red winegrape varieties increased by 12% and offset a slight decline of 2% in the white variety crush.

The top 10 winegrape varieties produced did not change in 2017, but Muscat Gordo Blanco replaced Semillon in seventh spot.

The top ten were: Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris/Grigio, Muscat Gordo Blanco, Semillon, Colombard, and Pinot Noir.

Of the alternative varieties, production increased significantly for Dolcetto, Pinot Meunier, Montepulciano, Tarrango and Fiano.

More than 35,000 transactions were collected for vintage analysis. They revealed that the average purchase price of $565 per tonne was above the average price across the previous five years of $477 per tonne.

The average purchase price of both red and white winegrapes increased 6%, from $651 per tonne to $691 per tonne for reds, and from $398 to $420 per tonne for whites.

The average purchase price increased for all but two of the top 10 winegrape varieties and there was an increase in the proportion of premium A and B grades purchased (e.g. $1500 and above per tonne) from 6.4% to 7.4%.

An analysis of the dispersion of prices by variety indicated 12% of reds were purchased at $1500 per tonne or above in 2017, while 71% were purchased at below $600 per tonne.

Shiraz was the biggest driver in the overall increase in the average purchase price with the share of Shiraz purchased at A and B grades increasing from 13.3% in 2016 to 15.5% in 2017 - double the proportion from five years ago.

The total estimated value of the Australian winegrape crush from the 2017 vintage is $1.22 billion, an increase of 13% on 2016’s $1.08 billion.

The National Vintage Report 2017 can be downloaded at www.wineaustralia.com/ market-insights/national-vintage-report.

$658 million, compared with $581 million in 2016.

The average purchase value per tonne across the state increased by 8% from $631 in 2016 to $680 per tonne in 2017.

South Australia crushed 549,233 tonnes of red varieties, 11% more than the previous year, and 314,556 tonnes of whites, 2% less than in 2016.

REDS LEAD PRICE REVIVAL IN MURRAY-DARLING/SWAN HILL

South Australia crushed 6% more winegrapes in 2017 than it did the previous year, totalling 863,789 tonnes, the 2017 South Australian Winegrape Crush Survey has revealed.

Using data collected as part of the National Vintage Report, the crush survey shows the value of SA’s 2017 crush was

Significant price gains for Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz are the standout results of this year’s wine grape crush survey report for the Murray-Darling and Swan Hill regions.

Based on data collected as part of the National Vintage Report, the winegrape crush report showed that compared with 2016, the average price of Cabernet Sauvignon purchased in the region increased 22 percent to $403 per tonne while Shiraz rose 24% to $395 per tonne.

All major varieties registered increases in price, resulting in an average price across all varieties bought in the region of $357 per tonne, 15% more than in 2016.

Other mainstream red varieties to attract higher prices were Merlot, up 14% to $365 per tonne, and Pinot Noir, up 14% to $393 per tonne.

Of the white varieties, Sauvignon Blanc achieved the biggest increase, rising 14% to $398 per tonne. The region’s most prevalent winegrape variety, Chardonnay, surpassed $300 per tonne for only the second time in the past nine years, increasing 9% to $310 per tonne.

Colombard averaged $238 per tonne (+6%), Pinot Gris/Grigio $505 per tonne (+4%) and Semillon $253 per tonne (+15%).

MVW executive officer Mike Stone said the lift in prices hadn’t come as a surprise, although expectations were only confirmed when Wine Australia finished its assessment of the harvest survey data collected for the National Vintage Report.

“The second consecutive increase in prices has created a more optimistic environment for our growers. It’s a good result, but people need to remember that our industry is still clawing its way back from almost a decade-long slump that saw grape prices failing to cover costs,” Stone said.

While almost all varieties benefited from stronger demand, production fell marginally in defiance of the trend to bigger crops in most other wine regions.

W I N E & V I T I C ULTUR E JO UR N A L JULY/A UGUST 2017

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STATE CRUSH CLIMBS 6% IN SA

N E W S

Production from both grower and wineryowned vineyards in the Murray-Darling and Swan Hill regions came in at just under 360,000 tonnes, 8000 tonnes short of last year’s result. This 2% decline can be attributed to a drop in production from winery-owned vineyards. Independent growers accounted for 254,160 tonnes, up 7%, while winery-owned vineyards contributed around 105,000 tonnes, down 19%.

The largest variety in the MurrayDarling/Swan Hill regions continues to be Chardonnay (81,487 tonnes), followed

by Shiraz (65,953t), Cabernet Sauvignon (42,493t), Merlot (30,462t) Sauvignon Blanc (28,191t), Pinot Gris/Grigio (27,347t), Gordo (19,613t), Colombard (16,820t) and Semillon (11,848t).

CHINA AND US DRIVE $201M INCREASE IN WINE EXPORTS The value of Australia’s wine exports increased by $201 million, or 10 percent, in 2016–17 to $2.31 billion, underpinned by strong export growth to China and the United States of America (US), the Wine Australia Export Report June 2017 has revealed.

The rate of growth meant Australia outperformed each of the four larger wine exporting countries in France, Italy, Spain and Chile.

Wine Australia chief executive Andreas Clark said nearly all price points experienced growth.

“The strongest growth was in more premium wines, with all price segments of $10 per litre FOB and above experiencing growth, and the strongest rate of growth

for wines $30-49.99 per litre FOB. “There were a record 1997 exporters last financial year and 69% contributed to the total increase in value shown.”

Clark said an interesting development from last year was the growth in the carbonated wine category, which includes varieties such as Moscato, with exports more than doubling to $30 million. The United States was the destination for 35% of those exports, with mainland China (15%) and Japan (14%) the other major destinations.

GRAPEVINE PINOT GRIS VIRUS DETECTED IN AUSTRALIA Grapevine Pinot Gris Virus (GPGV), a disease common in many wine regions in Europe, the US, Canada and China, has been detected in Australia for the first time.

The discovery was announced to industry in eBulletins released simultaneously by Australian Vignerons, Vinehealth Australia and the Australian Wine Research Institute on 9 August.

GPGV can be spread via infected propagation material and possibly by bud and blister mite. The impact of GPGV on vine health is not well understood and is further complicated by the finding that GPGV is frequently found in mixed infections with other viruses.

The eBulletins advised that measures had been taken to ensure that no spread will occur from the vines in which the virus has been detected in Australia. It also said that targeted surveillance for the virus would take place by relevant state government biosecurity departments

S N I P S

this spring, when symptoms are most evident, to determine the extent of GPGV in Australia.

“Grapevines infected with GPGV can either show symptoms, or are symptomless. The symptoms associated with infection include delayed budburst, leaf distortion and mottling, shortened internodes, increased berry acidity and yield loss (reports of up to 80%). These symptoms are most pronounced in spring and may be confused with early season bud mite damage, coldjury or herbicide damage,” the eBulletins explained.

Growers were urged to promptly call the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline (1800 084 881) if they observed symptoms in grapevines similar to that described above.

The testing of propagation material before planting new vineyards, and rootstocks and budwood if top-working to determine their virus status was also recommended.

Further information on GPGV will be provided to industry as new details are obtained, and on completion of the targeted surveillance program in spring 2017.

More information about GPGV symptoms, sampling, diagnostics and actions following a positive test can be found in the following GPGV fact sheet, https://www.awri.com.au/wp-content/ uploads/2015/09/GPGV-fact-sheet.pdf.

An article on GPGV by Nuredin Habili, from Adelaide-based virus-testing facility Waite Diagnostics, was published in the May-June 2015 issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal (‘Grapevine Pinot Gris virus - a tricky virus around the corner?’).

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7

W FA

Tax – the latest developments

By Tony Battaglene, Chief Executive Officer, Winemakers’ Federation of Australia

PREAMBLE Discussions over tax are always the most contentious of any in the industry.

Depending on the structure of your business, everyone has a different view according to their personal circumstances.

However, tax remains a live issue, with the Government seeking to improve the budget position by increasing revenue and the anti-alcohol lobby seeking to shrink the industry through punitive tax increases. It is in this environment that the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) attempts to engage with government to ensure that the industry continues to be able to operate.

INTRODUCTION Ahead of the Commonwealth Government’s 2014 national tax review the WFA identified our industry was standing at a cross road on tax issues. Powerful forces, including the well-funded public health lobby and other alcohol categories, were seeking government support for tax changes that would increase tax on wine and hurt the Australian wine sector. The Federal Government’s intent to undertake a White Paper Review of Australia’s Tax System would in all likelihood encompass the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) and, specifically, the WET rebate whether we liked it or not.

It was clear to WFA the WET needed to be reformed to remove the abuses to the tax system that were resulting in rapid increases in the cost of the rebate to the Government and distorting the market.

Unless WFA acted rapidly the whole rebate was at risk. In this environment, WFA moved to a strong pro-active footing to put a case to government decision-makers in Canberra and the wider community.

STEPS ALONG THE WAY In 2015, WFA commissioned work from specialist consultants. This included detailed legal opinion on what legislative changes would be required to implement our reform agenda. This material provided

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the foundation evidence that supported the case WFA had put to Government and shared with the wider industry.

The Government then announced a number of changes to the WET legislation and, more significantly, the WET rebate in the Federal Budget in May 2016.

These changes went much further than the industry had sought, and flagged a significant reduction to the WET rebate.

It is clear that there are still powerful forces at work that would like to see an increase in wine tax and the complete removal of the WET rebate.

However, after a very productive 15 months working closely with the Government, the legislation changes to implement the new WET Rebate measures changes were finally introduced into Parliament on 22 June 2017. WFA worked closely with the Department of Treasury to ensure the legislation reflects as close as possible the position put forward by Government earlier this year following the extensive industry consultations. This highly collaborative working relationship resulted in much tighter and workable legislation that has alleviated concerns generated by the earlier exposure draft released in April 2017. The legislation was due to be debated in the next sittings of Parliament commencing in August 2017.

One policy area that we will continue to pursue will be on the provision of measures that take into account natural events such as frosts, which may impact on producers’ ability to retain eligibility for the WET rebate.

NEXT STEPS The $50 million Export and Regional Tourism Support Package was expected to be launched in August 2017. The

W I N E & V I T I C ULTUR E JO UR N A L JULY/A UGUST 2017

package will provide substantial support for international marketing efforts and regional tourism over the next three years.

Importantly, the package will allow statebased wine bodies and other regional organisations the ability to access funds through a grants program to deliver real benefits to our wine regions. At the time of writing, guidelines to access these funds were being developed by Government with WFA providing input on industry’s behalf.

WFA is working closely with Wine Australia to make sure program details and funding guidelines are made available as soon as possible.

The Government has also finalised the eligibility criteria for the Wine Tourism and Cellar Door Grant following public consultation in April. We understand the criteria will be announced shortly.

WFA remains committed to ensuring the guidelines are clear and transparent and those producers who lost out in the reduction of the WET rebate – from a maximum of $500,000 to $350,000 – will have the opportunity to gain some compensation.

CONCLUSION As the WET rebate reform discussion progressed with Government, it quickly became apparent that some politicians believed the rebate should be removed completely. Many politicians take the view that the wine industry is subsidised by the WET rebate, and question the role of the wine sector as an economic driver for the country. Obviously, there is disappointment that Government has moved to reduce the rebate, however we also acknowledge there was considerable momentum for a far worse result.

We also recognise the rebate is always under threat from both major parties as they seek to make budget savings. It is clear that there are still powerful forces at work that would like to see an increase in wine tax and the complete removal of the WET rebate. WFA remains committed to ensuring the WET rebate reforms become law and are implemented as smoothly as WVJ can be expected.

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WINE AUSTRALIA

Digital technologies to support the grape and wine community

By Liz Waters, General Manager of Research, Development and Extension, Wine Australia

T

his year, Wine Australia is investing in projects involving digital technologies to assist growers make earlier and better informed decisions that will, in turn, lead to improved profitability. Importantly, these projects are also looking at how the technologies can be adopted in a costeffective and efficient way.

Within viticulture, there are many areas that can benefit from the closer integration of technological approaches that use remote sensing, decision support systems, technologies to sense and control the vineyard environment, and the use of various ‘omics’ in plant and microbial biology.

Technology provides opportunities to develop imagebased accurate yield forecasts, measures of fruit ripeness and disease damage, and sensors for water management.

There has also been a dramatic increase in the information that can be collected from within vineyards on a wide range of factors important to managing inputs (such as labour, water, chemicals and fertiliser) and to achieve desired fruit composition.

Taken together, the development and deployment of digital technologies in viticultural research and their use by growers is known as digital viticulture. The concept of digital viticulture extends from the vineyard, through to supply and logistics, consumer tracking of products, and environmental and sustainability reporting at vineyard, region, and national levels.

Wine Australia’s eight new digital viticulture RD&E projects are supported by levy payers and with funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources as part of its Rural R&D for Profit program. The digital technologies space is an area where there is strong collaboration across agricultural sectors, with many industries, including grains, cotton, sugar, horticulture, meat and livestock and dairy, pooling their knowledge and working together to build their expertise.

For grapegrowers, it is anticipated that the new research projects will develop technologies and processes to be used to make holistic decisions earlier and reduce losses associated with disease, stress and yields.

Specific outcomes for the grape and wine sector will include: • improved disease detection in winegrapes • lower chemical use to manage disease • improved yield forecasting • rapid delivery of information about key crop parameters in the vineyard during the growing season, and • an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) providing real-time, high-accuracy temperature trends in frost- and heat-prone vineyards.

More information about these projects can be found on the Wine Australia website. To follow these projects and other Wine Australia RD&E investments, sign up to our RD&E News at WVJ www.wineaustralia.com/signup.

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For further information, please contact Kauri AUS Tel: 1800 127 611 Email: info@kauriwine.com

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9

A S V O

Viticulturist of the Year finalists announced at Mildura seminar

By Mardi Longbottom, President, Australian Society of Viticulture & Oenology

INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS – PROFITABLE WINEGROWING By the time you are reading this, the pilgrimage of viticulturists to Mildura for the ASVO’s viticulture seminar on 2-3 August will be over. I am confident that the lessons learnt will still be fresh in the minds of all who attended, networks will have been refreshed and ideas shared with those not lucky enough to have been part of it. The ASVO seminars are a huge undertaking by the ASVO board and I’d especially like to thank Brett McClen, Fiona Kerslake and Chris Waters for their many hours spent planning and delivering a fantastic event.

ASVO VITICULTURIST OF THE YEAR - 2017 FINALISTS What better opportunity to announce the Viticulturist of the Year than at the ASVO’s viticulture seminar in Mildura. In front of their peers, the finalists of the 2017 ASVO Viticulturist of the Year were announced and celebrated: Nick Dry Nick is the nursery manager and viticulturist at Yalumba Nursery, in South Australia’s Barossa Valley. Nick joined the Yalumba Nursery team in 2008 and during this time has honed his skills to ensure that customers have access to the best quality scion and rootstock material for their vineyards as well as the best quality information from which to make decisions. Nick strives to continuously improve practices across both the production and customer service aspects of the business with the knowledge that high quality planting material and high quality information on the performance of clones and rootstocks has a direct benefit to the competitiveness of the Australian wine industry. Nick is a member of the Vine Industry Nursery Association.

Lee Haselgrove Lee is the viticulturist at Swinney Vineyards, Great Southern, Western Australia. Lee is well-connected throughout the Western Australian wine industry and is sought out for his thought leadership in viticulture and innovation. He is respected by the wine writer community and this unique relationship has enabled him to raise the awareness of viticultural practices in relation to wine style and quality. Lee provides innovative engineering solutions amongst his clientele and demonstrates a deep understanding and commitment to viticultural innovation.

Lee is the current chair of the Wines of Western Australia’s technical committee, after two years as a general member, and is a member of the Great Southern Wine Industry Association.

Liz Riley Liz is the owner and operator of Vitibit Pty Ltd, a viticulture consulting business based in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales.

Liz has 25 years’ experience working in the Australian wine

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The ASVO’s Viticulturist of the Year finalists (from left) Nick Dry, nursery manager and viticulturist at Yalumba Nursery; Lee Haselgrove, viticulturist at Swinney Vineyards, Great Southern, Western Australia; and Liz Riley, owner and operator of viticultural consulting business Vitibit Pty Ltd, based in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley. industry on a local, interstate, and international basis. Liz has significant expertise in both practical and technical viticulture and is passionate about implementing research and development outcomes. She thrives on seeing the practical adoption of science in the vineyard. She believes that this is vital to ensure the Australian wine industry maintains its competitive edge. Liz is an active member of the wine industry and its community. In addition to the numerous industry reference groups she serves on, she is an associate member and viticulture sub-committee member of the Hunter Valley Wine Tourism Association, vice president of the NSW Wine Industry Association and chair of the R&D committee of that organisation. Liz has served as a special qualifications director on the board of the Australian Wine Research Institute for the past six years.

ADELAIDE OENOLOGY SEMINAR The 2017 ASVO seminar in Adelaide will be an intensely sensory-flavoured experience featuring keynote speaker Dr Oliver Tomic, from Norway. Delegates will hear from Australian and international sensory scientists who will explore the evolution of sensory science, describe how it is being used by wineries today and a range of new and exciting rapid sensory techniques. The aim of this seminar is to bring participants upto-date with current best practice in sensory evaluation and the statistical issues involved. Attendees will also feature in a handson sensory experience with live data capture and analysis. Put the date in your diary, ASVO Oenology Seminar, 15 November, at WVJ the Waite campus of The University of Adelaide.

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What’s in the MOX?

By Mark O’Callaghan

From this issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal, long-time contributor Cathy Howard will be joined

by Wine Network Consulting’s Mark O’Callaghan and Quealy winemaker Dan Calvert who will rotate in continuing Cathy's legacy of writing a practical winemaking column in every issue. Combined, the trio will present a variety of views and experience on aspects of the wine production process. Mark kicks off his inaugural contribution with a look at micro-oxygenation.

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emember all the fuss about micro-oxygenation (MOX) some years back? A new technique that enabled producers of (mostly) red wines to emulate barrel maturation by efficiently and accurately dissolving just the right amount of O2 into tanks. It addressed reductive and green characters in the treated wines, improved texture and was central to the appeal of some of the most successful big commercial blends Australia has ever produced.

Much has changed in the last 10-15 years, so I decided to speak to some winemakers in Australia to discuss

how MOX is being used today, what is new, what has changed and why? Two such changes I was especially keen to discuss with respect to their effect on MOX requirements were the millennial drought (stressed canopies, green notes, dull fruit and occasional salinity effect) and the new generation of mechanical harvesters (brighter fruit characters, better texture and much less greenness).

BACKGROUND While MOX may still feel relatively new, chances are many of your vintage crew were not even born

when it was first approved by the European Commission in 1996, after its development in France in the early 1990s.

Small, measured injections of oxygen into (mostly) red wines improved texture through tannin polymerisation which had great success – especially with tougher varieties. It also led to increased fruit brightness by addressing reduction, improved colour and was effective in ameliorating green characters, making it especially popular in Chile.

The other major benefit, of course, was financial. By using MOX in conjunction with oak alternatives, winemakers were

Wine maturation, redefined The Wine Grenade improves oak-integration in tank-aged wines, lowering your cost of production.

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able to do an impressive job of replicating many of the maturation characters of barrel ageing without the cost or microbial risks of using older oak. In addition to the many wine show trophies won by wines using MOX, one of the best examples of its effectiveness in managing texture, brightness and having wines ‘ready to drink’ relatively quickly was Rosemount with its hugely successful large blends of the 1990s.

SO, WHAT CHANGED? Thus far, one could be forgiven for thinking this piece might be an obituary for an outdated or redundant method.

While reports of its death may be greatly exaggerated, the fact is MOX is nowhere near as popular as it once was in Australia and New Zealand, and my inquiries found there have been three main drivers behind this.

The first seems to be the shift in supply and demand balance from boom to bust and (hopefully) back to balance.

One of the large company winemakers I spoke with – who preferred to remain anonymous so we’ll refer to him as Winemaker A - had a very interesting perspective on its use over the business cycle: “During the boom we used it a lot. We had to get big blends out the door quickly and it was great to get them ready to go – very effective. Once we found ourselves in

Managing director of Viveleys Australasia, Thomas LeClerc.

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surplus, that was it. There was absolutely no interest. None…We couldn’t have wines ageing quickly in tank when what we needed was the exact opposite…”

The second major change from the 1990s noted by interviewees was the end of the millennial drought and the tough, chewy texture in so many red wines during that period. Continued Winemaker A: “Yeah, I’d agree with that. We used it a lot on reds from the South East – Padthaway, Langhorne Creek, Wrattonbully; areas where we probably had more salt effect than we realised too. Those wines then had much better texture and were juicier after the drought…”

In terms of textural changes since the early 2000s, these have also been influenced by shifts in market preference and winemaking style. I spoke with another large company winemaker – who also wished to remain anonymous so we’ll call him Winemaker B - who summed up this evolution: “The market has changed a lot and the winemaking is more sensitive now too.

We’ve gone from that ‘big is beautiful’ era of the 2000s to making reds that are tighter, finer, a little more reductive – just look at what has happened with Pinot Noir and cooler climate Shiraz. If that’s what you’re trying to do, then MOX is probably not the tool for it.”

These observations are entirely consistent with my own experience from the late 1990s and similar to the way some houses are using it today.

Ross Pamment, senior winemaker for Houghton (plus a friend and former colleague) noted: “For texture, it’s now more of a remedial thing - for reduction or for reds that aren’t responding to finings the way we’d like. We’ve got a lot of MOX gear that’s about 15 years old but we don’t use it much now.”

The third and final observation which came up consistently was simply around bad experiences during the early years.

Several winemakers relayed stories of the difficulty in monitoring many tanks undergoing MOX during the boom years and being somewhat ‘bruised’ by tanks appearing “more mature than they should have”.

With all of these things changing slowly over time, the shift was probably best summed up by one winemaker:

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Senior winemaker for Houghton, Ross Pamment. “…you know, I can’t really remember why we stopped. It just sort of dropped off the radar…”

SO, HOW ARE PEOPLE USING IT NOW? Unsurprisingly, the way MOX is being used today seems to reflect a change back to supply/demand balance, an improved understanding of how to use it judiciously, and advances in the equipment.

With respect to the improvements in sales and storage times, Pamment said, “that’s where we use it most – when we have to release something quickly and the pressure is on for bottle prep.” This experience is also reflected in Winemaker A’s feedback: “Once the age of release started getting shorter, we thought ‘let’s start playing with it again’. We’ve got more rigour and better sinters this time. With things like Cabernet from Padthaway and Langhorne Creek, or early-release reds going to China, it’s really good for softening.”

And on the matter of improved understanding of its use, Winemaker B explains: “It certainly works to deal with greenness or soften things, making them more supple, but it can also prematurely age - especially the weaker wines. Back in 2011 when we were faced with some pretty thin and weedy wines, we backed

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Wine Grenade’s chief executive Hamish Elmslie.

Tony Bish, chief winemaker for Sacred Hill based in New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay region.

right off to a little MOX pre-SO2 but nothing after that.”

With full and medium-bodied reds today, it is much more common to find producers using rates of approximately 10-20ml/L/month before MLF and then 2-5ml/L/month thereafter, with weekly tasting and recording of notes for each wine. With an approach along these lines (up or down depending on the wine) it is highly unusual to push a wine too far.

their equipment and there are a number of new options available these days if one is in the market.

Thomas LeClerc, managing director of Viveleys Australasia, has been observing more customers applying MOX to varieties such as Chardonnay, plus other whites and rosé as juices. In addition, the company’s new generation units have much better automation and control, making them easier to drive and having better precision with the inclusion of dissolved oxygen monitoring. These have been trialled on a commercial scale with Winemaker A, producing very promising results thus far.

SO, WHAT’S NEW? As with so many other things, suppliers have been pressured to improve

Another development is delivery of oxygen at the molecular level through a membrane, rather than a ceramic sinter, using the Wine Grenade. Hamish Elmslie, chief executive of Wine Grenade, is unsurprisingly bullish about results so far and Wine Grenade’s potential. According to Elmslie, the effect is much closer to genuine barrel maturation, with better oak integration and texture, plus is easier to clean and simpler to use.

Tony Bish, chief winemaker at Sacred Hill, in New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay, has been very pleased with Wine Grenade’s results on Pinot Noir so far. In addition to seeing wines with brighter fruit and

Other than tradition and technology, “our seasoning yards” are the best tangible evidence that we can offer our customers.

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more supple texture at lower oxygen rates (compared with traditional MOX), there has been another very pleasing aspect for smaller wineries with smaller tanks.

According to Bish, as oxygen is delivered at the molecular level, the solubility is much better, overcoming the need for the same head pressure (tank height) as one finds in the tank farms of the big houses.

For readers who are reconsidering MOX in their cellars, these two options may indeed be worth adding to the shortlist.

Finally, one new technology pushing in the opposite direction is the next generation of mechanical harvesters, which are delivering much brighter fruited wines with greatly diminished green characters into cellars all over the world.

Many of these wines show almost no need for MOX whatsoever and Ross Pamment, in particular, is adamant: “Yep. Absolutely agree. They’re fantastic.”

SO, WHAT? Notwithstanding the promising green shoots of recovery in the wine world, most of us are still incredibly busy with very little spare time or capital to explore

(or rediscover) techniques that are new, or at least new to us. Furthermore, there is always a degree of risk and so trials are often applied to problematic parcels, meaning the final wine is usually underwhelming, regardless of the merits of the technique.

The fact remains, however, that thoughtful and judicious use of MOX is potentially a very useful tool in the arsenal of anyone making wine (especially red) at prices that cannot support barrel maturation. We all know that snobbishness simply cannot be found in the world of winemaking, so any obstacles to the consideration of MOX are purely operational. Fortunately, we are now in an environment where there are many underutilised units in place and some very affordable modern options available for lease or sale, if starting from scratch.

Winemaker B seems to have a good perspective on the matter: “I’m definitely a fan but it really depends on the parcel. As with everything, you need to know what you are doing and pay attention. Too much and the wines can appear like blobs – the old ‘tadpole’ analogy.”

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One final, and endlessly amusing, aspect about the use of techniques such as MOX is that in the common imagination, they are tightly associated with the stereotype of the New World ‘industrial’ winemaker, devoid of empathy, romance or imagination. The joke, of course, is that so many of them were developed in France in the first place.

Mark O’Callaghan is senior consultant and director at Wine Network Consulting. Mark joined WNC in 2013 after working independently for two years. Prior to this, he spent 14 years with Accolade Wines (formerly BRL Hardy), including eight years as senior winemaker and winery manager for Yarra Burn in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. He has also made wine in McLaren Vale, Heathcote, Great Western, the Pyrenees, Austria and Sicily.

REFERENCE Ronbinson, J. and Harding, J. (Eds) (2015) The Oxford Companion to Wine, 4th edition. Oxford University Press.

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Innovations in the global wine industry – what’s new?

By Sonya Logan

With this issue’s focus on winery innovations and technology, we look at some of the innovations and products that have been revealed to the global wine industry in the last 12 months, with a particular focus on the area of wine maturation.

ULTRAWINE As the name might suggest, Ultrawine uses ultrasounds to extract polyphenolic compounds from the skins of red grapes without increasing the temperature of wine.

With the assistance of funding from Horizon 2020, a European Union research and innovation program designed to take ideas from the lab to market, Ultrawine has been developed by Agrovin, a manufacturer and distributor of wine industry products based in Spain.

The Ultrawine project began in July 2015 and over the following two years Agrovin developed the Ultrawine technology which is based on the application of ultrasounds to extract polyphenolic compounds from the skins of red grapes without temperature increases.

Ricardo Jurado, coordinator of the Ultrawine project, told the Wine & Viticulture Journal his company had proven that in addition to extracting colour, ultrasound also produced a better extraction of aromatic precursors, resulting in more aromatic wines compared with traditional winemaking.

Ultrawine’s developer says the device allows maceration to be completed in a shorter period of time than traditional maceration – six hours versus around four days – and is more cost-effective and energy efficient than other alternatives used to accelerate grape maceration.

Jurado said tests carried out in wineries in Europe and South America had corroborated the laboratory-scale experience with Ultrawine, the technology proving to be a versatile tool that is adaptable in any winery.

Although ready for commercialisation, Ultrawine is awaiting approval for use in

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winemaking by the Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) given it is a novel device.

Jurado said Ultrawine would eventually be made available in Australia.

“Australia is an excellent wine producer and, therefore, it is a target market for our technology. However, it is still too early to indicate an approximate date of commercialisation since everything depends on the approval of the technology by the OIV,” he said.

evOAK by Oak Solutions Group has teamed up with the US-based stainless tank, fermenter and barrel manufacturer Custom Metalcraft/Transtore, to introduce the evOAK Extraction Tank, a

specialised, easy-to-use external tank system to extract oak into wine or spirits.

Capable of being used in conjunction with any type of oak alternative product, its producers say the extraction tank offers a faster extraction than traditional methods as well as the convenience of reduced labour inputs at the winery.

“Creativity is core to the evOAK brand, and our Extraction Tank will further revolutionise the beverage alcohol industry by allowing wineries to benefit from faster extraction of oak-derived compounds into wine or spirits, the ability to adjust the speed of extraction at any point, and significantly reduced labour by eliminating storage tank entry,” said Kyle Sullivan, global managing director of the Oak Solutions Group.

The desired oak alternative product or blend of products is placed inside the evOAK Extraction Tank according to the desired dose rate. Wine flows from the storage tank through the evOAK Extraction Tank via an external pump and connection hoses, then returns to the storage tank. The system is designed so the speed can be adjusted at any point for added convenience.

“We’ve conducted numerous production trials, and the results repeatedly demonstrate a high quality extraction is achieved in less time,” said Sullivan. “Combining evOAK’s understanding of oak extraction and TranStore’s manufacturing expertise, together we have created a simple system to effectively extract oak faster and without creating harsh, over extracted flavours.

“Due to the increased extraction of important oak compounds utilising the evOAK Extraction Tank, oak characteristics that typically take weeks or months can be achieved in a matter of days. Until now,

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Awaiting approval by the OIV, Ultrawine uses ultrasounds to extract polyphenolic compounds from the skins of red grapes without increasing the temperature of wine.

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WINERY INNOVATIONS

many oak additions required multiple cellar workers accessing large storage tanks. Now, keeping the oak outside of the large tank in the evOAK Extraction Tank limits the number of personnel needed to complete the task, which lowers overall labour costs.”

Sullivan told the Wine & Viticulture Journal the evOAK Extraction Tank was currently only available in the US. However, the Australian subsidiary of the Oak Solutions Group had purchased a unit to run trials in local wineries.

“The idea is that we can provide this solution to the industry in Australia via Nikki at Custom Metalcraft. It will be produced in the US, and shipped to Australia. We are hoping to introduce Custom Metalcraft and the tank to many of our clients around the world, as a solution to faster oak extraction, as well as labour savings in the cellar,” Sullivan said.

TITAN BARREL The Titan Barrel is a twist on the traditional wooden barrel. Comprising a stainless-steel shell, wooden heads on the ends and staves inside, the barrel’s USbased maker says it has almost identical micro-oxygenation qualities as a wooden barrel, with the wooden ends allowing for the natural transfer of oxygen and the internal staves imparting oak compounds.

Titan Barrels spokesperson Michael Georgacopoulois offered the following facts about the barrel to the Wine & Viticulture Journal: • the same if not a lower initial cost than a traditional French oak barrel • stave replacement sets cost about quarter of the price of a new barrel • clients have stated they have seen a reduction in evaporation loss • it takes about 20-40 minutes to completely disassemble and reassemble a Titan Barrel depending on workers’ skill level • if for some reason there is contamination in the barrel, only the wood is lost; the shell is simply cleaned and the wood replaced • can be used with or without internal staves, and the number of internal staves can vary depending on the client's desired results

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The evOAK Extraction Tank, an external tank system that extracts oak into wine. The tanks producers say it offers a faster extraction than traditional methods as well as the convenience of reduced labour inputs at the winery.

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• fits on standard barrel racks.

Titan Barrels also says the internal staves can be toasted at various levels, while alternative woods can also be used.

The same wood variety can be used for both barrel heads and stave inserts or a combination of the following oak varieties: American, French and Acacia.

Wines & Vines magazine reported earlier this year that Titan Barrels could also be used as small open-top fermenters if one of the stainless steel heads is removed, with the manufacturer reporting the barrel is easy to clean and sanitise after the heads and oak staves are removed.

Georgacopoulois said Titan Barrels was currently working with the US Government’s Commercial Services to find an importer/distributor for the Australian market. Until then, Titan Barrels will ship direct to Australia.

WINE GRENADE In late 2016, Wine Grenade was launched in the United States with a successful trial at a Napa Valley winery.

Developed in New Zealand, Wine Grenade is a portable device that delivers a precise amount of oxygen in a tank to replicate barrel ageing.

“Our approach differs from other micro-oxygenation technologies in that it remains true to the molecular osmosis that happens during oak barrel maturation, rather than bubbling oxygen in from a sinter (diffuser) at the bottom of the tank,” Wine Grenade’s CEO Hamish Elmslie told US-based Wines & Vines magazine.

See page 74 of this issue of the Wine & Viticulture Journal for further details on Wine Grenade.

The Titan Barrel is a twist on the traditional wooden barrel and comprises a stainless-steel shell, wooden heads on the ends and staves inside. The manufacturer says it has almost identical micro-oxygenation qualities as a wooden barrel, with the wooden ends allowing for the natural transfer of oxygen and the internal staves imparting oak compounds.

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TOP TUBE Receiving a bronze innovation award at the 2016 Vinitech-Sefel exhibition in Bordeaux, France, Top Tube promises to maintain wine levels during tank storage by compensating with an inert gas (nitrogen) delivered via a stainless steel tube fixed to an opening in the top of tanks. Supplied by Italy-based company

www.winetitles. com . au

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Parsec, a designer and manufacturer of control equipment for the wine industry, Top Tube is an automated system that reduces the need for tank monitoring, ullage and racking in the event of a change in volume.

Compared with other tank top systems involving inert gas systems which generally involve purging with the gas, Parsec says Top Tube utilises a compensation chamber in a stainless steel tube which allows wine levels to be adjusted using inert gas counter-pressure.

Parsec says Top Tube is easy to install and set up, and represents a significant advantage in managing the risk of oxidation and microbiological contamination.

OPEN GRAPE Open grape is a new crushing system

by Diemme Enologia that received a commendation for innovation at the 2016 Vinitech-Sefel exhibition in Bordeaux, France, following its release in the same year.

The Open Grape crushing system not only crushes berries and releases their contents, it also opens grape skin outward, improving pressing operations for white grapes and the extraction of compounds from skins for red grapes during the fermentation.

It comprises two cylindrical rollers with a surface pattern designed to grip grapes which rotate in opposite directions at differential speeds.

Diemme Enologia says traditional crushing systems only crush berries, releasing only part of the contents, leaving the skin closed with part of the juice and pulp inside of it. The Open Grape crushing system, it says, not only crushes berries and releases their contents, at the same time it opens the skin outward. By exposing the interior of the skin, pressing operations for white grapes is improved as is the extraction of compounds from skins for reds during the fermentation process as opposed to during maceration, the company says.

The differential speed of the rollers can be adjusted according to the variety of grape and desired degree of opening of the berry.

Models of the Open Grape range from 0.5-45 tonnes per hour.

For red winemaking, Diemme Enologia says the advantages of the Open Grape includes the following:

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Journal his company was currently exploring interest among its Australian customers to carry out trials of Open Grape in the next harvest with the support of its Australian distributor Wine Industry Services.

• better colour extraction, resulting in higher colour intensity in shorter time • higher polyphenolic richness thanks to a faster and complete extraction in every maceration phase • sharp and early seed separation allows for greater control in the extraction of phenolic compounds • an increase in productivity and yield of fermented pomace pressing processes thanks to a better separation of liquid.

In white winemaking, the advantages include the following: • allows for more quantity in pneumatic presses, reducing the air volume necessary for pressing • reduction of dead times from membrane inflation and deflation resulting in a reduction of total press time • reduction of working times for blower and air compressor resulting in a higher energy efficiency • the possibility of reducing pressing times and number of revolutions for cake breaking which can lead to improved quality of extracted juice,

UPSIDE DOWN FERMENTER

Tonnellerie Radoux’s Upside Down Fermenter. reducing the quantity of solids and the skin contact time.

Massimo Melandri, business development manager for Diemme Enologia, told the Wine & Viticulture

Tonnellerie Radoux says its new Upside Down Fermenter is designed to create a full and gentle extraction of colour and tannins and has produced promising results in winemaking trials in France, according to an article published in the US Wines & Vines magazine in 2016.

The company says the Upside Down Fermenter, which received a commendation for innovation at the 2016 Vinitech-Sefel exhibition in Bordeaux, France, combines the advantages of the cone and inverted cone shaped casks into one fermentation tank.

During fermentation, the tank is turned to break up and wet the cap.

Tonnellerie Radoux is conducting WVJ more trials of the fermenter.

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MANAGING CLIMATE CHANGE

Optimising cool climate wine styles Impact of dramatic climatic change on traditional viticultural and oenological practices

By Monika Christmann, Matthias Schmitt and Ludwig Pasch, Hochschule Geisenheim University, Germany

This article is based on a presentation by Monika Christmann at last year’s International Cool Climate Wine Symposium held in England.

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ineyards are generally found in the Northern Hemisphere between 30° and 50° latitude. In the Southern Hemisphere vineyards are found between 30° and 40° latitude. The cooler areas are considered cool climate regions. Their wine styles are usually defined by high acidity, less bitterness and astringency.

Cool climate wine often has low and moderate alcohol levels compared with warmer regions. The white wines more often have greenish fruit aromas like apple and citrus notes. These light style wines can often handle more sweetness without seeming unbalanced.

Studies in several countries show that climate change is affecting viticulture worldwide. On a local scale the wine styles of the different regions are changed, which also affects the cooler wine regions.

One consequence of climate change will be the change of precipitation not only in amount but also in frequency. In a forecast for Europe the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) declared the frequency for heavy rain events is increasing with the likely consequences of flooding and erosion.

Droughts are expected more often.

This will have a negative impact on crop yield and productivity (IPCC 2007). As a side effect of warmer temperatures, soil moisture will generally decline through increased evaporation of soil water.

Irrigation will become a necessary practice in many viticulture areas (IPCC 2007).

Therefore, some vineyard sites that are seen as great sites at least partly due to their restricted water holding capacity will have to be replaced by sites with a larger water holding capacity if irrigation is not possible.

In general, higher temperatures during the growing season can affect grape quality and viability, in different ways. Due to warmer spring temperatures at the start of an early growing season, the danger of

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Monika Christmann speaking at last year’s International Cool Climate Wine Symposium in Brighton, England. Photo: Julia Claxton

frost damage can be heightened in certain areas if weather conditions change.

Many other phenologic developments are highly susceptible to climate conditions.

Varying weather conditions such as warmer temperatures at flowering, veraison or grape maturity can have negative effects on grape composition, leading to changed wine styles and lower wine quality.

For many years, we have seen rising alcohol values worldwide, even in cool climate regions. The sensory effect of ethanol is very complex. Generally, alcohol gives wine a certain body because the direct sensory perception of ethanol is sweetness, bitterness and, due to thermal effects, a certain heat perception.

Wines with higher alcohol content often appear ‘beefier’ than is desired. In cooler wine regions alcohol is a desired compound in wine that creates, to a certain extent, international competitiveness (Hoffmann 2007).

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There are several ways in which ethanol has an influence on the sensory perception of a wine. On one hand, the higher the alcohol content, the lower the volatility of the different aroma compounds. Alcohol’s high vapour pressure is the reason for this phenomenon. With increasing alcohol content, the perception of the wine’s aroma compounds is masked. The logical conclusion is that lower alcohol content allows a stronger perception of the different wine aromas. Furthermore, ethanol increases the bitterness sensation of a wine.

Tsachaki et al. learned that the ethanol in wine helps maintain the volatile headspace concentration (Tsachaki 2008). The volatile headspace changes with time, as the volatile compounds move from solution into the gas sphere above the liquid. Due to the convection of ethanol, other volatile compounds are carried from the liquid to the air-liquid

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interphase and replenish the interfacial concentration and maintain the gas phase. These facts show that the effect of ethanol on the gustatory and olfactory perception of volatile compounds is quite complex. Alcohol has a contradictory role in wine sensory assessment. On one hand, it makes wine attractive by hiding undesired sensory attributes and helps to harmonise imbalances while, on the other hand, it masks desirable flavours.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO PRESERVE WINE STYLES IN TIMES OF CLIMATE CHANGE? There are several technologies available to reduce the alcohol content of wine.

They are either based on membrane technology or distillation under vacuum.

In a four-year project at the Hochschule Geisenheim University several technologies for alcohol reduction were tested. In several sensory tests, it was shown that an alcohol reduction of 2 percent volume could not be recognised from the untreated control wine.

Note that alcohol reduction goes along with several potential negative influences for wine quality. It is important that alcohol reduction is conducted by a qualified technician to avoid quality damage.

The comparison of different available technologies for alcohol reduction showed a similar result. When these technologies were applied according to good practice, it was not possible for our trained sensory panel to recognise or significantly prefer one of the technologies when the alcohol content was reduced by 2%.

As grapes are harvested earlier with higher sugar content, the requirements of the yeasts change. Higher sugar content means higher osmotic stress and, finally, a higher alcohol content. In addition, earlier harvest dates often mean higher must temperatures and, so, more robust yeast strains and efficient fermentation temperature regulation becomes more important. It is important the yeast is more robust against high stress no matter from where the robust nature is coming from.

In the production of red wines, it is important to consider that increased must or fermenting temperatures and a higher alcohol content have an impact on extraction during maceration. In many cases, softer maceration techniques (gentler than many relatively soft extraction techniques being used today, compared with only a few years ago) will become necessary. If phenolic ripeness

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is incomplete compared with the sugar content, winemakers could obtain unwanted amounts of unripe phenols in the wine.

As a result, alcohol management has taken a new direction, from simply maximising alcohol content to minimising the alcohol level. Alcohol reduction techniques such as membrane processes and distillation techniques have been used to produce alcohol-reduced or alcohol-free wines, two niche products. In some New World wine countries, where wine laws are more liberal, the reduction of alcohol content with technical methods have received legal approval.

In 2004, the OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine) passed resolution Oeno 10/2004 and based on that, the European Union passed the EUregulation 606/2009. This regulation allows alcohol reduction by up to 2% volume by physical treatments, with some restrictions.

In 2013, the EU regulation 144/2013 changed the limit for alcohol reduction from 2% volume to a range of 20% of the initial alcohol content. A winery can choose between several techniques and processes to reduce the alcohol content of a wine.

They are either based on membranes or on distillation methods.

ACIDITY AND PH A characteristic feature of wines from cool grapegrowing areas is a relatively high natural acid content (5g/L to more than 10g/L) and low pH (2.8-3.3). These two properties are important for the typical organoleptic profile of ‘cool climate wines’, which is characterised by a pronounced acidity that is sometimes balanced with residual sugar (a good example is Riesling wines from the Mosel region, in Germany).

Low pH values of grape musts and wines have a direct effect on the winemaking process. A major effect of low pH is the increased microbiological stability of the must and wine compared with wines from warm grapegrowing areas, which often have to deal with high pH values and microbial spoilage.

As mentioned above, increased temperatures during the growing season shift the normal pattern of grape development toward an earlier onset of the ripening phase. As a result, the ripening phase shifts towards the hotter part of the season (Keller 2010). High temperatures during the ripening period promote the

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respiration of malic acid, resulting in grapes that show, in general, lower total acidity and higher pH values at maturity.

This phenomenon has been noticeable especially in cool grapegrowing areas in recent years and led to a shift in winemakers' focus from chemical deacidification to acid addition. In the traditionally strict, regulated European wine regions, acidification is permitted only in certain warmer areas. However, authorities recognised the problem of unusual high pH values in other cooler areas too and have regularly issued an exemption for acidification in Germany in the last few years.

Consequences of low pH values on winemaking During harvest and subsequent grape processing, some grape berries are mechanically damaged, and the juice is liberated. The released grape must is a good nutrient medium for various microorganisms (bacteria, yeasts and moulds) which originate from the vineyard or equipment in the cellar. As soon as they are in contact with grape must, they start to multiply rapidly and might impair wine quality. Elevated temperatures and high pH values accelerate these microbiological processes. A low pH value represents a natural barrier for many microorganisms and increases the efficacy of sulfur dioxide addition.

Conversely, it means that large sulfur dioxide additions are necessary to stabilise high pH musts or wines. Consumer safety organisations have criticised the use of sulfur dioxide and advocate a reduction in the addition of SO2. In the future, both factors could cause problems in stabilising wines microbiologically with SO2.

Uncontrolled growth of microorganisms can lead to spontaneous fermentation, which makes must clarification impossible by means of sedimentation and reduces the nutrient supply for the selected yeast strains during alcoholic fermentation.

Grape processing must be a gentle and fast operation. The less grapes are damaged and the shorter the processing time, the less microbiological activity. The phase until the middle of alcoholic fermentation is particularly critical, since alcohol as a natural biocide does not protect wine from spoilage. Strict sanitary cellar practices and the addition of antimicrobials are essential for wine quality and there is great potential for improvement in many wineries.

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The use of refrigeration technology with grape processing and clarification is an ever-increasing factor in cold grapegrowing areas. Cold ambient temperatures during harvest time has made cooling technology superfluous in the past. Alternatively, harvesting at night would be a way to reduce energy costs. Low temperatures not only inhibit microbiological processes, but also slow down chemical oxidation processes.

Microorganisms do not only interfere with must clarification and alcoholic fermentation. Their metabolic products can also directly harm wine quality and product safety. Low pH values (under 3.2) suppress the growth of lactic acid bacteria, while at higher pH values, they are able to proliferate and can form biogenic amines such as histamine, tyramine, cadaverine and putrescine, among others. The excessive intake of biogenic amines could be harmful and cause several health problems.

Membrane technologies for pH adjustment The issues of product safety and consumer protection, as well as traceability of raw materials and additives, are becoming increasingly important in the wine industry.

The OIV, whose member states make up more than 85% of the world’s wine production, does not only regulate the approval of new oenological processes, but also routinely checks the oenological procedures already approved.

New developments are unfolding in selective membrane processes for removal of substances from wine, rather than the addition of fining agents and additives to stabilise the wine. One way to counteract lower acidity is the addition of acid; in most cases, winemakers use tartaric acid to adjust the level. However, it is not effective to adjust the pH value with tartaric acid in potassium-rich wines.

A relatively new technique for acid management is the use of electromembrane treatment (electro dialysis with bipolar membranes). Wine is pumped under an electric field between a bipolar membrane and a cation exchange membrane. In the electric field, the potassium salt of the tartaric acid (KHT) breaks down into the cation K+ and anion HT-. The ions travel according to their charge to the anode or cathode. Due to the cation-selective membrane, potassium (K+) can now diffuse through the membrane and the acid residue (HT-) remains in the wine.

With an additional bipolar membrane,

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the charge balancing occurs via hydrogen ions (H+). The effect is a simultaneous acid increase and pH reduction. The potassium that passes through the cation-selective membrane is absorbed by a parallel-flowing rinse circuit and reacts with hydroxide ions, which are derived from a further bipolar membrane, to form potassium hydroxide.

This technology makes it possible to reduce pH by up to 0.3 units.

PROBLEMS CAUSED BY ROTTEN GRAPE MATERIAL Globally, increasing temperatures open up new habitats for vine pests and insects as their temperature limits move poleward (Mozell and Thach 2014). The migration of pests into vineyard areas that have been historically protected by climate pose challenges for a local wine industry.

Besides the rise in temperature, globalisation has a drastic impact on biotic communities. As a result of growing international exchange, bio-geographic barriers can be overcome and promote the dissemination of species.

One example is the vinegar fly Drosophila suzukii, which is native to southeast Asia and is now present in northern European regions and the eastern United States.

Damage is caused by the female, which pierces the skin of ripe fruit and deposits its eggs. Once the integrity of the berry skin is destroyed, microorganisms such as acetic acid bacteria, yeasts and moulds, populate the berries and may form acetic acid or offflavours, respectively.

Some of these off-flavours (such as geosmin) are very odour-active compounds that cause musty odours in wine and there are very few oenological methods to remove them. Membrane technology such as reverse osmosis with subsequent treatment of the permeate to remove off-flavours are increasingly used to selectively remove offflavours caused by biotic or abiotic factors.

Metabolic products of moulds that develop on berries can compromise not only product quality but also product safety.

Species of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium strains are able to produce mycotoxins (such as Ochratoxin A); substances that are possible carcinogens to humans. Contaminated fruits must be sorted during harvesting or grape processing to prevent wine contamination.

Techniques for the selective removal of harmful substances from wine must be investigated and developed.

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CONCLUSION Although rising temperatures cause the problems mentioned above, many cool grapegrowing regions have primarily benefited from the rise in temperature and have produced better wines with ripe grape material. The earlier onset of the ripening phase changes wine chemistry substantially, resulting in higher sugar levels, lower total acidity, higher pH, more phenolic compounds in sun-exposed white berries, lower levels of anthocyanins in red grapes and changes aroma precursors.

These changes in berry composition cause a change in the organoleptic properties and, therefore, affect the typicity of cool climate regions. So, their wine styles might change with time as well.

Other consequences of global warming are changing rainfall patterns, higher variability between years, and an increase in extreme weather events such as longlasting drought periods, heavy precipitation events or violent storms (IPCC 2007). The wine industry in cool climate regions must be prepared for strong vintage fluctuations and be technically well-equipped to react flexibly to the different conditions.

In addition to oenological measures, there are many viticultural measures (not discussed here) that can be applied to counteract the rising temperatures and ensure wine quality in the future.

REFERENCES Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change/IPCC (2007): Synthesis report, http://www.ipcc.ch Hoffmann, D. (2007) Premiummarkt für Wein in Deutschland, ProWein Düsseldorf, March 2007.

Keller, M. (2010) Managing grapevines to optimise fruit development in a challenging environment: a climate change primer for viticulturists. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 16:56–69.

Mozell M.R. and Thach L. (2014) The impact of climate change on the global wine industry: Challenges and solutions. Wine Economics and Policy 3:81–89.

Tscachaki M.; Gady A.L.; Kalopesas M.; Linforth R.S.; Athès V.; Marin M. and Taylor A.J. (2008) Effect of ethanol, temperature and gas flow rate on volatile release from aqueous solutions under dynamic headspace dilution conditions, Journal Agricultural and Food Science 56:5308-5315.

Reprinted with permission from Practical Winery & Vineyard Journal, published inside the pages of Wines & Vines magazine.

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Grape seed extract: the first protein-based fining agent endogenous to grapes

By Diana Gazzola1,2, Simone Vincenzi1,2, Matteo Marangon1, Gabriella Pasini1 and Andrea Curioni1,2

Âť

There is a growing interest in finding alternative wine fining agents to replace potentially allergenic proteins derived from animals or plants. In this context, the potential use of grape-derived fining agents would be beneficial as they would not introduce additional potentially allergenic products to the finished wine. Researchers from Italy tested grape seed flour, a by-product of the grape seed oil industry, to prepare a grape seed extract as a novel wine fining agent.

Âť

1

24 h

48 h

72 h

96 h

168 h

3h

8h

24 h

48 h

72 h

96 h

168 h

Unfined white wine (top row) compared with the same wine treated with grape seed extract (high dose) (bottom row) at the same time intervals. proteins, replacing them with materials with similar fining performances. Many proteins, mainly of plant origin, have been proposed for this aim, for example, patatin (Gambuti et al. 2012). However, it should be noted that almost all plant proteins can have some allergenic potential (see the website allergome. org) and the inclusion of new materials in the list of the allergens to be declared cannot be excluded in the future.

Therefore, a rational approach to overcome the above mentioned problems should focus on the use of proteins naturally found in grapes or wine.

A possible source of grape proteins suitable for this task are grape seeds.

Grape seeds are normally discarded as a waste or, more rarely, used for the extraction of grape seed oil. In this latter case, the dried residue of the oil extraction is also considered an industrial waste, although it contains large amounts of polyphenols, polysaccharides and proteins (Vincenzi et al. 2013).

The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential for using a grape seed extract (GSE) as an alternative to other wine fining aids commonly used in winemaking. For this purpose, the

Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, 16 - 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy 2

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8h

GSE-H

Fining is important in winemaking to remove insoluble particles (Marchal et al. 2002), to modulate the polyphenolic composition of wines (Cosme et al.

2012, Granato et al. 2014) and to improve wine sensory attributes by reducing astringency and off-flavours (Gambuti et al. 2012). A common fining approach uses protein-based products, which mainly remove protein-reactive polyphenols. The most popular animalderived fining agents include gelatin, egg albumin and casein (Tschiersch et al. 2010). Egg and milk proteins are well-known food allergens, and to manage this risk the EU introduced Regulation No. 579/2012 which made compulsory the declaration of their presence on wine labels.

This mandatory declaration has raised concerns among winemakers.

This is mainly due to the possible negative reaction from consumers when facing a wine label reporting the use of unexpected substances. The issue can be tackled in two ways. The first is to continue using those fining agents, which must be declared (at the moment, egg and milk proteins), adopting good practices to avoid the presence of their residues. Although feasible, this approach results in additional costs for producers including those for immunological analyses needed to ensure fining residues are present in amounts lower than the thresholds set by the regulation. The second option is to totally avoid the use of egg and milk

3h

Control

INTRODUCTION

Centro Interdipartimentale per la Ricerca in Viticoltura ed Enologia (CIRVE), University of Padova, 14 - 31015 Conegliano, Treviso, Italy

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Table 1. Rates of addition of the fining agents. Legend: low (L), medium (M), and high (H).

Chardonnay and Raboso rosé Dosage (g/hL)

Raboso red

Protein (g/hL)

Dosage (g/hL)

Protein (g/hL)

Fining agent

L

M

H

L

M

H

L

M

H

L

M

H

GSE

5

10

20

2.2

4.4

8.7

5

10

20

2.2

4.4

8.7

Patatin

5

10

20

3.5

6.9

13.8

5

10

15

3.5

6.9

10.4

Pea proteins

3

6

10

2.0

3.9

6.6

3

6

10

2.0

3.9

6.6

PVPP

10

40

70

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

K-caseinate

20

35

50

13.1

23.0

32.8

-

-

-

-

-

-

Albumin

-

-

-

-

-

-

5

10

15

4.1

8.2

12.3

Gelatin

-

-

-

-

-

-

3

5

10

2.6

4.3

8.5

effects of GSE on turbidity, chromatic characteristics and sensorial properties were tested on white, rosé and red wines, and compared with fining agents of synthetic (PVPP), animal (caseinate, ovalbumin and gelatin) and plant (patatin and pea protein) origin.

MATERIALS AND METHODS Fining experiments Three unfined wines (vintage 2013) from the Veneto region in Italy were used for the fining experiments: a white wine (cv. Chardonnay), a rosé wine (cv. Raboso Piave), and a red wine (cv.

Raboso Piave). The wines were aliquoted in 500ml bottles, where each fining agent was added at room temperature.

The GSE was compared with patatin (Vegecoll, LaffortOenologie, France), pea protein (Fitoproteina P, Enologica Vason, Italy), PVPP (ArtEnology, Italy), K-caseinate (Caseospeed, EVER, Italy), ovalbumin (Albumina d’uovo spray, EVER, Italy), and gelatin (Oro Polvere, EVER, Italy). Fining aids were prepared by diluting them with distilled water.

Each fining aid was then added to the wines at three rates reported as low (L), medium (M), and high (H), according to the rates recommended by the manufacturer of each product (Table 1).

For each wine, a sample containing no fining agent was used as the control.

All fining experiments were carried out in duplicate at 12°C and extended for a specific time for each wine. At the end of the fining treatment, wine samples were racked off their fining lees and filtered under vacuum on GF/A 1.6µm filters (VWR International SAS, Belgium).

An aliquot of 50ml of wine was used for chemical analysis, while the remaining

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wine was bottled in 500ml glass bottles and stored at 4°C until sensory analysis.

Protein content determination Total nitrogen in GSE, patatin, pea protein and K-caseinate was determined after sample mineralisation by a HACH Digesdahl apparatus (HACH Company, USA). The resulting ammonia was quantified with the Nessler reagent (Fluka AG, Switzerland) (Vogel et al.

1979) and protein content was computed as ammonia x 6.25.

Turbidity Wine turbidity was assessed using a HI 83749 Turbidity & Bentocheck Meter (Hanna Instrument, Hungary), and was measured before the fining treatment and in post-fining after the wine was racked off lees. Turbidity was expressed in Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU).

Chromatic characteristics and polyphenols Wine samples were subjected to the measurement of absorbance at 420nm (cv. Chardonnay) and 520nm (cv.

Raboo Piave, rosè and red wines). For proanthocyanidins quantification the butanol-hydrochloric acid method was used (Bate-Smith 1975). Purified grape skins proanthocyanidin (cv. Manzoni Bianco) was used for the standard calibration curve.

Sensory analysis The wines with the optimal dosage of each fining agent (as determined after a preliminary screening step) were submitted for sensory analysis.

A panel of 10 trained judges evaluated the samples in terms of visual, aroma and taste properties compared with the

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untreated wine. The attributes were quantified using a ten-point intensity scale. Samples were presented to the panel in tasting glasses marked with codes and in a randomised order. All evaluations were performed according to standardised procedures (ISO 3972:2011).

Statistical analysis Each fining experiment was performed twice with independently prepared samples, whereas the analyses were done in triplicate. Data were submitted to two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to examine the main effects of ‘fining agent’ (GSE, patatin, pea protein, PVPP, K-caseinate, albumin, gelatin) and ‘dosage’ (Low, Medium, High) on the parameters considered.

Means were compared by the Fisher LSD comparison test (P ≤ 0.05). Data were analysed with Costat Statistics software version 6.4 (CoHort software, California, USA).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION By nitrogen analysis, GSE showed to contain 43.6 ± 2.6% of protein (N x 6.25).

In general, the total protein content of the commercial fining agents tested was higher than that of GSE, with pea protein and K-caseinate containing very similar protein values of 65.6 ± 5.7% and 65.6 ± 1.2%, respectively. The protein content of patatin was 69.0 ± 1.4%, a value in accordance with that reported

by Gambuti et al. (2012). Finally, the total protein content of the gelatin and egg albumin samples was indicated by the manufacturer as > 85% (N x 5.5) and ≈ 82%, respectively.

According to OIV resolution OENO

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28/2004, plant proteins for wine fining should be mainly made up of proteins (total nitrogen must be more than 65% in protein) but can also contain carbohydrates (fibres, starch, sugars), fats and minerals. In the case of GSE, the amount of protein is lower than that required for fining materials of plant origin. This could be due to the high content of seed proanthocyanidins, which can bind the proteins, thus limiting their extraction (Fazio et al. 1983). In any case, the extraction process used here is particularly efficient, as in previous works the protein extraction yield from grape seeds was always low, ranging from 8.44% (Igartuburu et al. 1991) to 25.9% (Fazio et al. 1983).

Despite the lower protein content, GSE showed to be very effective in wine fining, especially in the white wine.

The turbidity of wines before fining was 782 ± 31 NTU for Chardonnay, 1484 ± 8 NTU for Raboso Rosè and 24 ± 2 NTU for Raboso Red. The turbidity of the three wines allowed to settle spontaneously (i.e. without protein addition) was compared with that of the same wines treated with different dosages of the various fining agents studied (Table 2). The treatments lasted long enough for wines to reach a turbidity lower than 20NTU, which is a value allowing an efficient wine filtration.

When used to fine the Chardonnay wine, GSE proved to be one of the most effective clarifying agents. After 240 hours of settling, GSE reduced the turbidity of the original wine, with effects increasing with the dosage used. In particular, the highest GSE dosage (20g/hL) reduced the wine turbidity by 67%, whereas the M (10g/hL) and L (5g/hL) doses decreased the NTUs by ≈ 60 and ≈ 47%, respectively.

Despite patatin giving the best turbidity reduction (85%) when added at 20g/ hL, at the lowest addition rate (5g/hL) patatin was less efficient than GSE, with a reduction in wine turbidity of 21%.

The other three fining agents tested in Chardonnay were clearly less efficient at all the doses tested (Table 2).

Although the Raboso Rosè wine showed the highest initial turbidity among the wines tested, only 48 hours were sufficient to achieve <20 NTUs in the treated samples. In this case, wine turbidity was reduced by about 50% by the GSE treatment at 20g/hL, whereas using the L and M doses the reduction

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was lower (≈ 24 and ≈ 42%, respectively), indicating that the clarifying action was proportional to the dose used. However, all other fining agents tested performed better than GSE in reducing wine turbidity, independently of the dosage tested.

In particular, patatin showed the best clarifying action (NTU reduction of 89% at the M dose of 10g/hL). K-caseinate showed its best action (≈ 80% of NTU reduction) at the lowest dose used (20g/ hL), whereas the pea protein and the PVPP gave the best results at the M dose (6g/hL and 40g/hL), decreasing the turbidity by 62% and 73%, respectively (Table 2).

The clarification of the Raboso wine was completed after 120 hours of settling.

The most effective fining agent was egg albumin. GSE used at L (5g/hL), M (10g/ hL) and H (20g/hL) doses reduced the turbidity by only 10% (≈15% and ≈31%, respectively). This latter value was achieved by using patatin at 10g/hL. Patatin at 15g/hL almost halved the NTUs

of the wine, but at 5g/hL was ineffective.

In contrast, the pea protein was not able to clarify the wine tested, but rather seemed to increase the turbidity, while gelatin decreased the wine turbidity only at the highest dose, proving to be not as effective as the other treatments (Table 2).

The variation of wine colour intensity due to fining was determined by spectrophotometry (Table 3, see page 26). In general, the variations in colour intensity (measured at 420nm) in the Chardonnay wine were quite small and statistical data analysis indicated their dependence on both the type of fining agent and the dosage used. GSE did not reduce the colour intensity of the white wine at all dosages tested, whereas K-caseinate (at 35 and 50g/hL) and PVPP (at 70g/hL) significantly decreased the absorbance at 420nm (results in agreement with those by Cosme et al., 2012). This is not unexpected as caseinates are commonly used in winemaking to reduce the colour in white

Table 2. Effect of seven fining agents at three levels of addition on the turbidity and percentage of variation in turbidity of the Chardonnay, Raboso rosé and Raboso red wines.

Fining agent

NTU L

M

H

Control

17.3 ± 0.2

-

-

GSE

9.2 ± 0.7 (-46.9)

7.0 ± 1.1 (-59.8)

5.7 ± 0.0 (-67.0)

Patatin

13.7 ± 3.7 (-21.0)

5.5 ± 0.1 (-68.1)

2.5 ± 0.6 (-85.5)

Pea proteins

16.4 ± 0.3 (-5.6)

16.0 ± 0.9 (-7.6)

15.4 ± 1.8 (-11.1)

PVPP

16.2 ± 0.5 (-6.5)

16.0 ± 0.5 (-7.9)

19.2 ± 0.1 (+9.9)

K-caseinate

14.3 ± 0.1 (-17.4)

14.1 ± 0.3 (-18.9)

12.5 ± 0.7 (-27.8)

Control

19.6 ± 2.3

-

-

GSE

14.8 ± 2.8 (-24.5)

11.4 ± 3.3 (-41.8)

9.8 ± 3.3 (-49.9)

Patatin

4.4 ± 2.6 (-77.3)

2.2 ± 0.6 (-89.0)

2.2 ± 0.3 (-88.6)

Pea proteins

12.0 ± 1.1 (-38.8)

7.5 ± 1.4 (-61.7)

7.9 ± 0.2 (-59.8)

PVPP

12.4 ± 1.2 (-37.0)

5.4 ± 1.0 (-72.6)

7.2 ± 0.9 (-63.5)

K-caseinate

3.9 ± 1.1 (-79.9)

4.5 ± 1.4 (-76.8)

5.1 ± 0.9 (-73.8)

Control

15.8 ± 0.1

-

-

GSE

14.2 ± 1.4 (-10.0)

13.4 ± 0.4 (-15.3)

10.9 ± 0.1 (-31.1)

Chardonnay

Raboso rosé

Raboso red

Patatin

16.3 ± 0.2 (+3.1)

10.9 ± 0.5 (-31.1)

8.6 ± 0.9 (-45.5)

Pea proteins

16.3 ± 0.3 (+3.1)

17.8 ± 0.3 (+11.2)

19.3 ± 0.4 (+18.1)

Albumin

8.9 ± 0.1 (-43.8)

6.5 ± 0.4 (-58.8)

5.0 ± 0.8 (-68.5)

Gelatin

16.6 ± 0.6 (+4.8)

15.6 ± 1.8 (-1.4)

13.3 ± 2.6 (-16.3)

NTU values are the mean (± SD) of four analyses (from two independent fining treatments). Values in brackets are the variation (%) from the control. GSE, grape seed extract; H, high; L, low; K-caseinate, potassium caseinate; M, medium; PVPP, polyvinylpolypyrrolidone.

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wines. Similarly, patatin also decreased the colour of the Chardonnay wine, but this effect was significant only at 20g/hL. Therefore, since K-caseinate can be an allergenic fining agent and PVPP is a synthetic additive, which is not allowed in organic winemaking, GSE could replace those aids to efficiently improve filterability, without negatively affecting the sensorial characteristic of the wine.

In the case of rosé and red Raboso wines, variations in the optical density at 520nm were measured as an indication of changes in red colouration. For the rosé wine, GSE and the pea protein had similar minor effects on colour, proving to be more suitable for those wines where a drastic reduction in colour should be avoided. Patatin also had a low impact, followed by PVPP, whereas K-caseinate resulted in the greatest colour removal.

For all treatments except GSE, the colour reduction was proportional to the dosage used (Table 3).

In the Raboso wine, all fining agents reduced the absorbance at 520nm compared with the untreated wine. GSE removed part of the red colour, as did the animal proteins, with egg albumin inducing the highest colour reduction.

Patatin was the least effective in removing colour followed by pea protein. The low effect of patatin on colour removal confirms the results reported for the red wine Aglianico (Gambuti et al. 2012) (Table 3).

Regarding the total proanthocyanidins, the analyses were performed only on the Raboso Piave, which is a native, deepcoloured red grape variety producing wines typically characterised by high levels of astringency and acidity.

All the fining treatments used decreased the proanthocyanidins content of the Raboso, with gelatine showing the greatest effect in tannin removal at L (3g/hL) dose. Patatin and albumin also significantly reduced proanthocyanidins content at the lowest addition rates (Table 4). GSE was effective in removing tannins at dose M (10g/hL), and its efficacy did not increase at higher rates.

The sensory data for Chardonnay wine showed that for almost all the descriptors, the sample treated with GSE at the H dose (20g/hL) was not statistically different from the control, nor from wine samples fined with patatin, pea protein, PVPP and K-caseinate. However, the wine treated with GSE showed significantly less flavour

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Table 3. Effect of seven fining agents at three levels of addition on the chromatic characteristics of the Chardonnay, Raboso rosé and Raboso red wines.

Fining agent

L

M

Chardonnay

H

Mean

A420 nm

Control

0.072 ± 0.002a

-

-

0.072 ± 0.002A

GSE

0.071 ± 0.002a

0.071 ± 0.002a

0.070 ± 0.002a

0.070 ± 0.002A

Patatin

0.069 ± 0.005ab

0.067 ± 0.003ab

0.064 ± 0.002b

0.066 ± 0.004B

Pea proteins

0.071 ± 0.003a

0.068 ± 0.002ab

0.066 ± 0.003b

0.068 ± 0.003AB

PVPP

0.071 ± 0.006a

0.066 ± 0.005ab

0.063 ± 0.004b

0.067 ± 0.006B

K-caseinate

0.068 ± 0.006a

0.065 ± 0.005b

0.064 ± 0.005b

0.065 ± 0.005B

Mean

0.070 ± 0.004A

0.068 ± 0.004AB

0.066 ± 0.004B

-

Raboso rosé

A520 nm

Control

0.518 ± 0.001a

-

-

0.518 ± 0.001A

GSE

0.503 ± 0.001c

0.507 ± 0.001b

0.501 ± 0.000c

0.504 ± 0.003B

Patatin

0.496 ± 0.001b

0.491 ± 0.001c

0.480 ± 0.001d

0.489 ± 0.007C

Pea proteins

0.514 ± 0.000b

0.504 ± 0.000c

0.496 ± 0.001d

0.505 ± 0.008B

PVPP

0.505 ± 0.001b

0.462 ± 0.001c

0.433 ± 0.000d

0.466 ± 0.032D

K-caseinate

0.479 ± 0.000b

0.459 ± 0.001c

0.441 ± 0.000d

0.460 ± 0.017E

Mean

0.502 ± 0.013A

0.490 ± 0.023B

0.478 ± 0.033C

-

Raboso red

A520 nm

Control

5.085 ± 0.021a

-

-

5.085 ± 0.021A

GSE

4.935 ± 0.035b

4.875 ± 0.007b

4.855 ± 0.049b

4.888 ± 0.046E

Patatin

5.015 ± 0.007b

5.010 ± 0.028bc

4.955 ± 0.021c

4.993 ± 0.034B

Pea proteins

5.005 ± 0.021b

4.970 ± 0.000b

4.850 ± 0.028c

4.942 ± 0.074C

Albumin

4.850 ± 0.014b

4.875 ± 0.021b

4.855 ± 0.007b

4.860 ± 0.017F

Gelatin

4.965 ± 0.007b

4.925 ± 0.007c

4.855 ± 0.007d

4.915 ± 0.050D

Mean

4.976 ± 0.078A

4.957 ± 0.079B

4.909 ± 0.093C

-

Values are the mean (± SD) of four analyses (from two independent fining treatments). Small letters denote differences among dosages within the same fining agent. Capital letters denote differences among fining agents/dosages (LSD, P ≤ 0.05). GSE, grape seed extract; H, high; L, low; K-caseinate, potassium caseinate; M, medium; PVPP, polyvinylpolypyrrolidone.

Table 4. Proanthocyanidins content in Raboso red wine treated with three levels of the different fining agents.

Proanthocyanidins (mg/L) Raboso red Untreated

L

M

H

Mean

Control

3.70 ± 0.19a

-

-

-

3.70 ± 0.19A

GSE

-

3.58 ± 0.08ab

3.55 ± 0.16b

3.48 ± 0.05b

3.54 ± 0.12B

Patatin

-

3.57 ± 0.06b

3.52 ± 0.06b

3.49 ± 0.05b

3.53 ± 0.06B

Pea proteins

-

3.60 ± 0.09ab

3.50 ± 0.08bc

3.45 ± 0.06c

3.51 ± 0.10B

PVPP

-

-

-

-

-

K-caseinate

-

-

-

-

-

Albumin

-

3.55 ± 0.12b

3.51 ± 0.06b

3.47 ± 0.06b

3.51 ± 0.09B

Gelatin

-

3.43 ± 0.16b

3.43 ± 0.05b

3.38 ± 0.10b

3.41 ± 0.12C

Mean

-

3.57 ± 0.14A

3.54 ± 0.14AB

3.50 ± 0.14B

-

Values are the mean (± SD) of 8 analyses (from 2 independent fining treatment). Small letters: differences among dosages within the same fining agent. Capital letters: differences among fining agents/dosages (LSD, P ≤ 0.05).

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defects compared with the control, while it did not differ from any of the other fined samples. In terms of taste, the wine treated with GSE was the only one differing significantly from the control, proving to be the least defective (Table 5).

In the Raboso rosé wine, the GSE at the M dose (10g/hL) differed from the control, significantly decreasing the olfactory sensation of vegetal, as did patatin. On the contrary, the samples treated with the pea protein, PVPP and K-caseinate did not modify the vegetal characteristics of the wine. GSE greatly improved the taste by significantly reducing both the perception of acidity (as did PVPP) and phenolic bitterness. In this latter case, GSE was the only fining agent able to lower significantly the bitter taste (Table 5).

In the Raboso wine, the optimal dosage considered for the GSE was 5g/ hL (L). The treatment with GSE enhanced significantly the perception of wine body, Table 5. Sensory analysis of the wines treated with the different fining agents at the optimal dosage. A ten-point scale was used. Only the descriptors showing significant differences between the control and treated wines are shown.

Chardonnay Aroma defects

Flavour defects

Control

7.0 ± 0.0a

6.0 ± 0.0a

GSE H

5.6 ± 1.2b

5.3 ± 0.5b

Patatin M

5.7 ± 0.7b

5.6 ± 1.0ab

Pea proteins M

6.5 ± 0.8ab

6.1 ± 0.2a

PVPP L

6.3 ± 1.3ab

6.0 ± 0.3a

K-caseinate L

6.0 ± 1.4b

5.8 ± 0.8ab Raboso rosé

Control

Vegetable

Acidity

Bitterness

5.0 ± 0.0ab

9.0 ± 0.0a

5.0 ± 0.0a

GSE M

3.6 ± 1.0d

7.3 ± 1.2c

3.6 ± 1.6b

Patatin L

3.9 ± 1.1cd

8.1 ± 1.3abc

4.4 ± 1.3ab

Pea proteins L

5.5 ± 1.2a

8.1 ± 1.2abc

4.7 ± 1.5ab

PVPP H

4.9 ± 1.4abc

7.9 ± 1.3bc

4.5 ± 1.1ab

K-caseinate L

4.1 ± 1.0bcd

8.7 ± 0.9ab

3.9 ± 1.3ab

Raboso red Body

Acidity

Astringency

Control

4.5 ± 0.0b

6.0 ± 0.0a

5.5 ± 0.0a

GSE L

5.1 ± 0.7a

5.6 ± 0.4bc

4.9 ± 0.5bc

Patatin L

5.1 ± 0.4a

5.7 ± 0.5abc

5.0 ± 0.7abc

Pea proteins M

4.4 ± 0.8b

5.5 ± 0.4c

4.4 ± 0.8c

Albumin H

4.7 ± 0.6ab

5.9 ± 0.3ab

4.9 ± 0.8bc

Gelatin H

4.8 ± 0.8ab

5.6 ± 0.6bc

5.1 ± 0.6ab

Values are the mean (± SD) of 10 scores (10 panelists) (LSD, P ≤ 0.05).

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similar to the sample treated with the patatin. GSE treatment reduced both acidity (as gelatin and pea protein) and astringency (as albumin and pea protein) compared with the control (Table 5). It is noteworthy that GSE action on astringency was obtained using a dosage three times lower than albumin, confirming its efficacy (Vincenzi et al. 2013). It is likely that this ability of GSE is due to its protein fraction, which would bind reactive tannins in wine, although an interference of seed polysaccharides in the salivary proteintannin interaction may also be implicated.

As a matter of fact, some polysaccharides, such as RGIIs and PRAGs, have the potential to bind wine tannins which, in this way, would not interact with salivary proteins (Vidal et al. 2004).

given its performances in different wine styles assessed in this study, this extract represents a good and viable alternative to the most common fining agents of both animal and plant origin. Alone or in combination with inorganic fining aids, GSE represents a new material for wine fining, and its extraction from a by-product could create new opportunities and have a positive economic impact for the wine industry.

CONCLUSION

Cosme, F.; Capão, I.; Filipe-Ribeiro, L.; Bennett, R. and Mendes-Faia, A. (2012) Evaluating potential alternatives to potassium caseinate for white wine fining: effects on physicochemical and sensory characteristics. Food Science and Technology 46:382387.

REFERENCES Bate-Smith, E.C. (1975) Phytochemistry of proanthocyanidins. Phytochemistry 14:1107-1113.

Charpentier, C.; Caillet, M.M. and Feuillat, M. (2006) Essais de collage de moûts blancs et de vins rouges avec un extrait protéique levurien: comparaison avec les colles traditionnelles. Revue des oenologues et des techniques vitivinicoles et oenologicques: magazine trimestriel d’information professionnelle 33:47-50.

The grape seed extract described here has to be considered a source of grapeendogenous proteins. For this reason, wines treated with this new fining agent have to be considered allergen-free, also satisfying the demand for more ‘organic-friendly’ wines. In addition,

Fazio, G.; Gattuso, A.; Cilluffo, V. and Arcoleo, G. (1983) Preparazione e caratterizzazione di materiali proteici estratti da farine di vinaccioli. Rivista della Società Italiana di Scienza dell’Alimentazione 6:496478.

Gambuti, A.; Rinaldi, A. and Moio, L. (2012) Use of patatin, a protein extracted from potato, as alternative to animal proteins in fining of red wine. European Food Research and Technology 235:753-765.

Granato, T.M.; Nasi, A.; Ferranti, P.; Iametti, S. and Bonomi, F. (2014) Fining white wine with plant proteins: effects of fining on proanthocyanidins and aroma components. European Food Research and Technology 238:265-274.

Igartuburu, J.M.; Del Río, R.M.; Massanet, G.M.; Montiel, J.A.; Pando, E. and Luis, F.R. (1991) Study of agricultural by-products. Extractability and amino acid composition of grapeseed (Vitis vinifera) proteins.

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 54:489493.

Marchal, R.; Marchal-Delahaut, L.; Michels, F.; Parmentier, M.; Lallement, A. and Jeandet, P. (2002) Use of wheat gluten as clarifying agent of musts and white wines. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 53:308-314.

Tschiersch, C.; Nikfardjam, M.P.; Schmidt, O. and Schwack, W. (2010) Degree of hydrolysis of some vegetable proteins used as fining agents and its influence on polyphenol removal from red wine.

European Food Research and Technology 231:65-74.

Vidal, S.; Francis, L.; Williams, P.; Kwiatkowski, M.; Gawel, R.; Cheynier, V. and Waters, E. (2004) The mouth-feel properties of polysaccharides and anthocyanins in a winelike medium. Food Chemistry 85:519-525.

Vincenzi, S.; Dinnella, C.; Recchia, A.; Monteleone, E.; Gazzola, D.; Pasini, G. and Curioni, A. (2013) Grape seed proteins: a new fining agent for astringency reduction in red wine. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 19:153-160.

Vogel, A. and Svehla, G. (Eds.) (1979) Vogel’s Textbook of Macro and Semimicro Qualitative Inorganic Analysis, 5th ed., Longman, London.

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SEPTEMBER 6-7, 2017 THE VINE INN BAROSSA VALLEY, SA

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Vintage 2017 – observations from the AWRI helpdesk

By Adrian Coulter, Geoff Cowey, Paul Petrie, Marcel Essling, Matt Holdstock, Creina Stockley, Con Simos and Dan Johnson Australian Wine Research Institute, PO Box 197, Glen Osmond, South Australia 5064

Managing director Dan Johnson

Since 1955 the AWRI has provided technical support to Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers. The AWRI helpdesk responds to queries, conducts investigations and monitors technical trends across the nation’s wine regions, disseminating information via eBulletins, the AWRI website, webinars and face-to-face extension events. This article examines some of the technical challenges encountered by growers and winemakers during vintage 2017, which will be remembered as a cooler, later and slower vintage in many regions.

IDENTIFYING KEY TECHNICAL ISSUES The close relationship between the AWRI helpdesk and Australian grapegrowers and winemakers places the helpdesk team in a unique position to understand the technical issues encountered each vintage across Australia. This allows the team to identify emerging issues early; to develop and deliver tailored extension content; to implement any required emergency response; and to communicate ideas for future projects to the AWRI research team. During vintage 2017 (between 1 January and 1 May) the helpdesk received more than 500 enquiries (Figure 1) and conducted 53 investigations. During the same period, the AWRI library delivered 764 articles and books, with around 64% of articles requested on winemaking topics, 22% related to viticulture and the remainder

9.0

AT A GLANCE • The start of the growing season was wetter and cooler than recent years for many regions.

• Soil temperatures were low, leading to slow early growth and uneven budburst.

• Good soil moisture drove strong canopy growth and dense foliage.

• The timing of vintage was around three to four weeks later than 2015 and 2016 in many regions.

• Very high malic acid levels in grapes were seen in some regions.

• Good fruit flavour was achieved at lower ripeness leading to lower alcohols.

related to wine and health and other topics. A significant number of the helpdesk enquiries this vintage related to viticulture, with a focus on effects of the wetter than normal start to the season. This report provides an overview of the growing conditions and the major technical issues encountered within the Australian wine industry during vintage 2017.

CONDITIONS DURING THE GROWING SEASON The start of the growing season in 2016 was wetter than average, with the Bureau of Meteorology recording the wettest May to September on record for Australia (BOM Annual Climate statement 2016). The wet conditions provided many challenges, including preventing some growers from

Breakdown of helpdesk queries received during vintage 2017

Percentage of total queries

8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0

Figure 1. Queries received by the AWRI helpdesk during vintage 2017 (1 January to 1 May 2017), broken down by frequently used keywords. Query numbers are represented as a percentage of total national queries.

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accessing vineyards to deliver the first few critical agrochemical sprays. The wet soils also kept soil temperatures low, slowing early growth and leading to uneven budburst. Conditions were similar to those of 2010-11, which gave some growers concern about the potential for agrochemical shortages. These can occur in cool, wet seasons because the fungicides that control disease in grapes are also used in other broadacre and horticultural crops.

During this time, the helpdesk answered a high number of queries about options for controlling fungal diseases.

Once the weather warmed up, soil moisture drove strong canopy growth.

The dense foliage required more frequent trimming than recent years to allow sprays and light to get into the canopy. With high soil moisture, shoots continued to grow later into the season, where a drying soil would normally signal to the vine to turn its resources towards fruit ripening. This meant that fruit began to ripen slowly across many regions and contributed to a later harvest.

With only one year in the past 10 being cooler than long-term average (2011), and seven of Australia’s 10 warmest years having occurred since 2005 (Bureau of Meteorology State of the Climate Report 2016), grapegrowers and winemakers were presented with a different vintage in 2017, and one that winemakers more frequently encountered decades earlier. In some regions, harvest was three to four weeks later than 2015 and 2016.

The majority of viticulture enquiries over vintage were related in some way to pest and disease management. More than half of these were covered under three keywords (‘agrochemical’, ‘pests and disease’ and ‘spray drift’ (chemical trespass)). The helpdesk also took many calls about how to control fungal diseases such as powdery mildew late in the season. Strategies involving the use of chemicals with fume or vapour action are recommended because getting good coverage is difficult in established canopies. The risk of pathogen resistance is high when infections are present, so using fungicides with different activity groups is advised.

Conditions during the growing season were cooler and generally more overcast than usual. This favoured the growth of powdery mildew, which can be inhibited by bright sunlight and hot temperatures.

The absence of short periods of extremely hot weather also favoured many insects

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and greater-than-usual insect pest problems were reported. High populations of millipedes, lightbrown apple moth caterpillars, mealy bugs and scale insects were seen, as well as some of their predators, including spiders. In some regions where scale populations were high, ‘sooty mould’ was an issue which resulted in the downgrading or even rejection of fruit.

climatic data, and the incidence, severity, and distribution of sooty mould and scale infestations, both between vineyards in the same region, and within blocks in the same vineyard. Several winemaking trials are also being conducted to examine any effect of sooty mould on fermentation performance, wine composition and sensory properties.

Growers are advised to monitor their vineyards for signs of scale during pruning and if high levels of infestation are found, to consider the use of targeted chemical treatments during dormancy. Pruning provides an opportunity to remove sites where the scale could survive during winter and heavy rather than light pruning should be beneficial.

FLOODING RAINS

A significant number of the inquiries to the AWRI helpdesk during the 2017 vintage related to the effects of the wetter-thannormal start to the season, including a number of queries about acidity levels in wines due to the cooler year.

Photo: A Cabernet Sauvignon pumpover at Leeuwin Estate during its final week of the 2017 vintage in late April.

SOOTY MOULD Sooty mould is a fungal infection where all parts of the vine (grapes, vine leaves, canes and cordons) can become blackened, as though they are covered with a fine layer of soot. The fungus Capnodium is thought to be a cause, although it is possible that other fungi are also involved. The fungi colonise areas of the vine where ‘honeydew’ has been excreted by sap-sucking insects such as scale and mealybug.

Although some growers report that scale and sooty mould are present in their vineyards every year to some extent, it is not known why their incidence and severity appear to have been greater in recent years. This year’s outbreak has been attributed to high levels of scale activity, but the reasons for the scale are still being investigated. A Wine Australia-funded trial has commenced at the AWRI which will investigate any relationships between previous vineyard management practices, W I N E & V I T I C ULTUR E JO UR NA L JULY/A UGUST 2017

In early February, the helpdesk received calls from growers in Western Australia’s Swan Valley who had been hit with unprecedented summer rains. The volume of rain caused significant flooding along the Avon River catchment and caught many growers by surprise. Some vineyards became totally submerged, leaving fruit unsalvageable. Following the flood event, access to vineyards was difficult and disease pressure increased. In response to this flood, the helpdesk team sent out an eBulletin to provide information and resources to help growers manage the challenging conditions. Even vineyards that were not flooded faced high humidity during harvest which increased disease risk.

MANAGING POWDERY MILDEW IN THE WINERY With the increased levels of powdery mildew seen due to the weather conditions, a number of queries were taken about managing powdery mildew-affected fruit in the winery. While this disease is generally managed in the vineyard with fungicide sprays, once veraison commences, control options that meet export market regulatory requirements are considerably reduced and this year some affected fruit did make it into wineries. To assist winemakers, helpdesk staff put together a new factsheet outlining steps that can be taken in the winery to best manage affected fruit and minimise any sensory effects. Advice covered tips for harvesting and sorting fruit, as well as information about pressing and additions.

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SPRAY DRIFT High soil moisture in spring was also responsible for strong mid-row growth, which meant that growers needed to perform more tractor passes to slash or spray herbicide. Unfortunately, wet conditions also delayed access to broadacre farms which meant that weeds on these farms continued to grow later into the season. This led to later-than-usual use of herbicides that in some cases drifted into vineyards from neighbouring properties and caused damage to grapevine canopies.

Reports of leaf damage from herbicide drift were received from diverse regions across Australia.

HIGH MALIC ACID CONTENT IN 2017 In terms of winemaking, there have been a number of queries about acidity levels in wines due to the cooler year. Whilst pH levels are ‘normal’, titratable acidity levels are slightly higher than usual, caused by higher levels of malic acid in fruit. Reports of 3-4g/L malic acid are typical in regions that normally might only have half this amount. Winemakers have also asked about how the higher-than-usual malic acid content would affect the titratable acidity post-malolactic fermentation (MLF).

For malic acid, theoretically, each gram per litre (g/L) of malic acid contributes 1.12g/L to the titratable acidity (TA) expressed in terms of tartaric acid. If all of the malic acid is converted to lactic acid, the TA (expressed as tartaric acid) will drop by 0.56g/L for each g/L of malic acid that was originally present in the wine.

For example, if a wine starts with 4g/L of malic acid, the TA would be expected to drop by 2.24g/L after MLF. Note the pH should also be expected to increase following MLF and this can be managed by adding acid before fermentation commences to counterbalance the pH change post-MLF. WATER ADDITION PERMITTED IN 2017

depends on the initial sugar level of the juice or must. Helpdesk staff prepared articles and a new water addition calculator to support winemakers in adjusting to this changed regulation; however, high sugar musts were not a big issue this year due to the cooler conditions.

ADVICE ON SMOKE This vintage saw few enquiries about smoke taint, the lowest number since 2005. Although no extensive bushfires were experienced in grapegrowing regions, there were still some smoke-related issues from minor fires and prescribed burns that occurred close to vineyards in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. The later timing of vintage (three to four weeks later than the previous two) resulted in some cross-over between times when quite ripe fruit was hanging on vines and times when other landholders were conducting burn-offs. Grapes are highly sensitive to uptake of smoke taint compounds from around veraison onwards, making the risk of the fruit becoming smoke tainted high if smoke exposure occurs close to harvest.

The AWRI recommends growers and wineries maintain communications with public land management agencies and stay aware of the scheduling of prescribed burns. Talking to neighbours and letting them know about the potential damage smoke can cause to fruit close to harvest is also recommended, especially if neighbours typically hold permits to conduct burn-offs. In one example from this season, a grower had to nervously await smoke analysis on fruit that was ready for picking after a neighbour had burnt stubble which sent fresh smoke over his vineyard for a short period of time. Luckily for the grower in this situation, the fruit was not affected. During vintage 2017, the AWRI also continued to collect samples to expand the smoke taint background database used to help provide interpretation of smoke taint analysis results.

was contacted by a winemaker who wanted to know if the AWRI had any experience with, or had researched, cooling vests for winery workers. While the helpdesk carries a broad range of experience and offers advice on numerous technical topics, sometimes queries fall outside its areas of expertise and further information is sought from other sources. Discussions with a workplace safety agency on this topic revealed that the use of ice vests or cooling vests is not a requirement under legislation.

The agency provided a number of useful resources about working in extreme environmental conditions such as those that can be experienced in Australia during vintage. These included references on how to identify and manage heat-related illness as well as strategies to be considered when working in extreme heat and during heatwaves. For further information on any safety requirement, the AWRI recommends companies contact their local workplace safety agency.

WHAT’S IN STORE FOR 2018?

Every vintage is different, and it is impossible to predict what will be the key climatic influences or technical issues.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) does, however, provide some longer-term forecasts that might provide a hint of what’s in store. In April 2017 the BOM’s seasonal climate outlook for May to July 2017 was released and it indicated that rainfall is likely to be below average and night temperatures cooler, which might lead to frost conditions. The recently-released winter outlook (June to August 2017) continued to indicate that rainfall is likely to be below average over the southern half of mainland Australia and that a drier-thanaverage June is predicted over much of WA, SA and western parts of NSW and Victoria.

As the year progresses, further outlooks will be issued and any trends or issues identified will be communicated by the helpdesk to growers and winemakers.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In February, the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code was amended to allow limited addition of water to high sugar must and juice to reduce the chance of fermentation problems. Under the new amendment, water may be added to high sugar juice or must prior to fermentation to reduce the sugar level to no less than 13.5°Baumé (equivalent to 24.3°Brix). This means that the amount of water allowed V3 2N 4

2017’S MOST UNUSUAL QUERY Every year the helpdesk receives enquiries and carries out investigations that can only be described as ‘odd’ or ‘unusual’. One such enquiry this year was not a technical query related to winemaking, but instead concerned the health and safety of workers working in extreme heat during vintage. The helpdesk W I N E & VITICULTUR E JO UR N A L JULY/A UGUST 2017

This work is supported by Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers through their investment body, the Australian Grape and Wine Authority, with matching funds from the Australian Government. The AWRI is a member of the Wine Innovation Cluster in Adelaide, South Australia. The authors thank Ella Robinson for her editorial WVJ assistance. www.winetitles. com . au

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How to survive rising power costs in the vineyard

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

Rising power costs are becoming an issue for businesses Australia over, none more so than in South Australia which has the unenviable reputation of having the most expensive power in the world. Tony explores some ways vineyard operators can minimise the hit to their hip pocket.

O

n 9 August 2017, news.com. au reported some number crunching by the director of Carbon and Energy Markets Bruce Mountain had revealed South Australia now had the unfortunate distinction of having the world’s most expensive power. Mountain found South Australia’s power was three times more expensive than in the US and 50 percent higher than the UK and more expensive than in Denmark, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Portugal. Other Australian states fared little better, with New South Wales having the fifth highest prices and Queensland the seventh.

Since selling off and privatising the government-owned power network 15 years ago to bail out the state’s economy following the collapse of the State Bank, South Australia seems to have shot itself in the foot with power pricing and reliability of the network. Instead of attracting investment to the state, businesses are shutting their doors for good as they struggle to remain competitive with the rest of the world.

The problem goes deeper in South Australia where power prices have also been linked to negative population growth and rising unemployment, with much less incentive for high energy using businesses to operate in SA compared with the rest of the country. An article published in The Australian on 28 July said retail power in South Australia cost 47.12c per kilowatt hour (KWH), compared with New South Wales at 39.10c/KWH, 35.68c/KWH in Queensland and 34.65c/KWH in Victoria.

A major employer of South Australians, BHP, has recently called for a reduction of power pricing by 25% for the Olympic Dam mine to maintain competitiveness in the global market economy. Shutting down the coal-fired

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power plant in Port Augusta instead of mothballing it didn’t leave a backup for peak demand surges which then contributed to the famous 2017 blackout of the entire state.

Now South Australia has turned to diesel generators (clean energy?) and a wind-powered, 100 megawatt lithium ion battery installation at Jamestown to be built by Elon Musk’s company Tesla in conjunction with the French firm Neoen.

What a mess the state currently finds itself in! And can we be sure the proposed solutions deliver the answers for the current situation and future requirements? South Australia is home to the largest area of grapevines in the country and is responsible for the largest volume of wine produced in Australia. How does the world’s most expensive power affect the production and economic viability of growing winegrapes?

Vineyards use most of their electrical power for pumping water. Irrigation is essential for crop yield and quality in most Australian viticultural regions.

Without readily available water (RAW) in soil, vines can suffer reduced yields and fruit quality which lowers profitability.

Extreme heat events during the growing season are a major threat to winegrape yield and quality. However, their negative effects can be mitigated by irrigation.

Most winegrape varieties and rootstocks need to have water available prior to heat events to avoid damage to yield and fruit quality. The current power issues in South Australia, and increasingly in other states, have increased the risk to winegrape growers’ crops by forcing irrigators to use less irrigations for shorter periods of time to reduce power costs. By holding less water in the soil, crops are then more reliant on delivering water when

W I N E & V I T I C ULTUR E JO UR NA L JULY/A UGUST 2017

required which is now a high risk situation with the unreliability of the power network in South Australia. There is now an increased chance that power might not be available when required to deliver irrigations.

The additional costs of electricity have to be adsorbed into businesses’ operating expenses at a cost to profitability which then stifles investment and growth. It has become essential for winegrape growers to maximise the efficiency of their irrigation systems and evaluate performance from the pump shed to the emitters to save power.

Unfortunately, as vineyards age, their irrigation systems generally become less efficient. There a number of ways to improve the efficiency of irrigation systems which can improve water use and your bottom line.

Here are some tips for maximising electricity and water efficiency when irrigating: • conduct an emitter efficiency audit • perform annual maintenance – flush submains, clean drip lines • assess pump efficiency and either upgrade pumps, add a variable speed drive or reconfigure irrigation block sizes and adjust scheduling. Irrigation specialists will help with assessment and design to achieve improved water use efficiencies • install soil moisture monitoring equipment • install irrigation controllers with live information links to mobile devices • assess varietal and rootstock suitability for reduced water requirements through managed irrigation stress such as regulated deficit irrigations (RDI) and partial rootzone drying (PRD) • change varieties and rootstocks by replanting or reworking to best fit

V32N4

IRRIGATION

water usage and water allocation to deliver maximum return on investment • conduct an aerial uniformity audit (plant cell density) of the vineyard and adjust sections of vine vigour variability by lowering water use in high vigour sections and increasing water applications in low vigour sections • reduce competition for water by controlling vegetative growth under vine and in midrows • mulch undervine and in midrows to conserve water • schedule irrigations to maximise vine water uptake and minimise water loss through drainage past the rootzone.

• improve water infiltration through soil structure by ripping and soil moisture retention through texture improvements by increasing organic matter and clay content and amelioration of heavy soil types.

SOLAR PUMPS Solar pumping systems are now available and their payback is becoming earlier with ever-increasing power pricing. The added benefit of a solar pumping system is the reliability. With reduced reliability in the power network and constant risks of blackouts, solar systems paired with diesel generators can provide much greater crop security.

Next generation, smart power source unit (PSU) controllers and variable speed

drives allow seamless transition from solar to generator power. The scale and configuration of the power supply is dependent on a few factors such as crop requirement and when the most efficient time is to irrigate during the day or night. Irrigation designers will provide advice for individual application scenarios and there is no limit to the size of a solar pump.

REAQUA Solar Pumping and LORENTZ range of solar water pumping systems will cover most irrigation requirements. To give you a couple of examples, they have a large pumping system (5MgL/day) that had a return on investment in around 3.5 years and an apple and pear orchard in SA that is using solar pumping on their drip irrigation. You can see these two case studies plus others on their website: www.reaqua.com.au

V I T I NC EU W LT SU R E

that much electricity in a year. Large irrigators may also be in this category.

The funding will be available for businesses to: • undertake energy audits of their facilities to determine where efficiencies can be made through technology or infrastructure upgrades • provide grants for businesses to implement audit recommendations.

Guidelines are not yet available, but projects could include the installation of solar systems with battery storage units, power factor correction equipment which can reduce power usage and the replacement of equipment such as pumps, compressors and refrigeration with more energy efficient technologies.

The funding package is likely to provide: • 75 per cent of the cost of energy audits • grants for implementation of recommendation in two categories: • smaller project with grants up to $75,000 on a one-to-one funding basis • larger projects with grants of up to $2.5 million with one third of funding from Government.

In addition to this assistance program, the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) held a public forum in Adelaide on 31 July for ‘large market’ customers using more than 160MWh per year. The outcome of the forum should assist with government policy and legislation decisions to bring some normalisation into the power ▶ market.

GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE The South Australian Government has recognised the serious short-term issue with power pricing and recently announced that it will provide $31 million over two years to help large South Australian businesses manage their electricity costs. The Energy Productivity Program will be available to businesses that use more than I60MWh of electricity each year to incentivise investment in energy saving measures.

As a guide, a winery crushing about 500 tonnes of grapes would consume about

W H E R E C U T T I N G E D G E M E E T S S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y • S AV E P R O D U C T I O N C O S T S B Y M U LT I -TA S K I N G

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V I T INC EUWL S T U R E

IRRIGATION

WINE INDUSTRY The South Australian Wine industry Association (SAWIA) has recognised and responded to the current power crisis in SA. Below is a recent communication from SAWIA to its members outlining its response initiative to the issue: The South Australian Wine Industry Association is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) to investigate the feasibility of an aggregated electricity purchase for large market customers (>160MWh per year). On the back of substantial increases in costs, winery electricity prices have doubled in the last 10 years and in some cases by up to 160% in the last 12 months!

Electricity pricing in South Australia is highly volatile compared with other states, and the energy market is complex and undergoing considerable change.

SAWIA recognises that wineries are looking for a reliable and cost-effective supply of energy to run their businesses.

In response, SAWIA has been providing assistance to members in understanding their electricity bills, providing

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information about the electricity market, and offering energy discounts to members through SAWIA’s industry partners.

Still, electricity prices for wineries that are deemed ‘large market’ users (i.e. >160MWh per year, equivalent to about a 300-tonne winery) remain largely opaque, leaving many of them with very little negotiating power. However, recent news of an aggregated arrangement for a collective of very large users in South Australia may open opportunities for SAWIA’s ‘large market’ members if an aggregation of usage is of sufficient scale to attract an offer from an electricity provider.

SAWIA wishes to explore the feasibility of facilitating an aggregated purchasing arrangement for wineries that are ‘large market’ users (i.e. those consuming more than 160MWh per year per individual NMI ...”

Hopefully the current situation with excessive power pricing can be rectified for the good of all South Australians, not to mention those in other states.

Perhaps it is just a case of growing

W I N E & V I T I C ULTUR E JO UR NA L JULY/A UGUST 2017

pains as fossil-fuelled power production transitions to renewable sources.

Wouldn’t it be nice if South Australia could one day hand back the title of world’s most expensive power to another country and claim a new title of the world’s most sustainable and reliable and affordable power network? Let’s hope it happens sooner rather than later before too much damage is done to the economy and society in general.

Before setting up his own vineyard and winery consultancy business with wife Briony, Tony Hoare established and managed the Ablington Vineyard Estate block in the Lower Hunter for five years before joining Wirra Wirra in McLaren Vale in 2002 where he managed the winery’s estate and contract vineyards.

He and Briony also have their own wine label and cellar door, Beach Road Wines.

WVJ

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V I T INC EUWL S T U R E

SUBSURFACE IRRIGATION 8

a

Long-term subsurface irrigation trial shows there is little benefit in going underground

By Sonya Logan

T

Yield (kg.m cordon-1)

a

7

b

6

-1

Yield (kg.m cordon )

he drought years of 2007 50%, 67%, and 84% of the standard the five seasons, the data showed that and 2008 forced many in the irrigation (100%) used in the remainder reducing the irrigation volume to 50% Australian wine industry to of the block of Chardonnay. The soil of the control resulted in a significant look seriously at ways to conserve the type in the vineyard varied from sandy reduction in yield across all irrigation need for irrigation water. Droughtto loamy sand. volumes, while yields from the 67% and 5 tolerant rootstocks, mulch and reduced All the irrigation systems used in the 84% volume were similar. The number irrigation strategies such as partial trial 0had a discharge rate of 1.6L per of bunches per vine did not differ at any Std Fcd S rootzone drying were among the hour and emitters spaced 40cm apart. irrigation level, however, reducing the Irrigation Type methods touted as reducing the need The drip tube of both the subsurface irrigation did result in a reduction in for irrigation under restricted volumes. and fabric-covered bunch weights.

-1 subsurface systems for irrigation type for all harvest years Figure cordon Another was subsurface irrigation, and4 Yield.m was installed approximately 25cm deep In every season, theand meanirrigation yield from volume.

Irrigation type with similar letters are not significantly different. although the practice was hardly taken and 25cm away from the vine line on the the subsurface irrigation treatment at up en masse by the industry â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the cost eastern side of the row. all irrigation volumes was significantly -1 type cordon Bunch wt. (g) of converting to such a system no doubt Irrigation Although fruit from the first year Bunches.m lower than the standard drip and the Standard drip 76.9 b 94.6 the main barrier to adoption - a fiveof the trial was harvested in 2010, the fabric covered subsurface irrigation, a year trial in South Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Riverland Fabric data collected that vintage were which thearesearchers noted was duea coveredfrom subsurface 82.7 94.0 region has poured cold water on its excluded from the final analyses as the to the production of lighter bunches.

Subsurface 76.4 b 87.3 b water conservation promises. researchers decided the subsurface other words, a change to subsurface Table 4 Mean yield for irrigation typeInfor all seasons and irrigation volumes.

Led by Dr Mike McCarthy, from irrigated treatments needed a season irrigation does not maintain yield with Irrigation type with similar letters are not significantly different the South Australian Research and to recover from any root pruning that less water.

Development Institute (SARDI), the might have occurred during installation.

These results led the researchers Irrigation volume x irrigation type experiment was instigated by Treasury From 2011-2015, a single vine from to conclude subsurface irrigation aggregated lower of subsurface irrigated vines was a result of a smaller c Wine Estates which was set upThe in itssignificantly each treatment at the four yield different did not deliver any yield advantage Markaranka vineyard near Waikerie irrigation levels was harvested and the 5).over standard irrigationinteraction if there in yield as the irrigation volume varied (Figure There was adrip significant between in the Riverland in 2009 with the help totaland number of bunches per vine and were moderate or no yielded restrictions on irrigation type volume.

For 100% irrigation volume, subsurface significantly less fr of Mike and his team. Late last year, the total weight of the fruit recorded. irrigation volumes. However, given than the other two irrigation types, however at 50%, vines irrigated with the standard drip irriga following the conclusion of the trial After aggregating the results across significantly reduced access to irrigation were significantly lower in yield than the other irrigation types, which were similar. in 2015, Mike and his team reported subsurface irrigation delivered no 10 savings in water use, unless irrigation volumes are severely restricted. Nor did Standard the system result in improvements in Fcd rootzone salinity, despite claims to the 9 Subsurface contrary by its proponents.

With the help of some funding from Wine Australia, the trial saw three 8 types of irrigation compared: standard drip irrigation, sub-surface drip and sub-surface drip encased in a porous fabric designed to improve the lateral 7 movement of water away from emitters.

The irrigation was buried under Chardonnay vines which were planted on Ramsey rootstocks in 2004 at a row 6 and vine spacing of 3.35m and 2.5m, respectively. Prior to the experiment, the Chardonnay vines had been 5 irrigated using a standard drip system.

50% 67% 84% 100% Separate treatments were set up to compare the effects of various irrigation -1 -1) for the three irrigation types against volumes between the three irrigation Figure 1. Regression yield (kg.m cordon Figure 5 Regression of yieldof(kg.m cordon ) for the three irrigation types against irrigatio types. The volumes represented about irrigation volume for the five harvest seasons of the subsurface irrigation project.

volume for the five harvest seasons.

36

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W I N E & V I T I C ULTUR E JO UR NA L JULY/A UGUST 2017

V32N4

EC (ds.m 1)

SUBSURFACE 2011/12

2010/11

IRRIGATION

2.0

2.0

1.5

1.5

V I T I NC EU W LT SU R E

... subsurface irrigation delivered no savings in water use, unless irrigation volumes are severely restricted.

Nor did the 1.0 system result in improvements in rootzone salinity, despite claims to the contrary ...

1.0

0.5

0.5

water, as growers across the Murray 50% irrigation, showing that under 0.0 irrigations, this form of Darling Basin experienced during the such reduced Std Fcd S Std advantage.

Fcd But, S late 2000s, subsurface systems showed irrigation could have an they could deliver slightly higher yields overall, subsurface irrigation had no at the 50% irrigation volume. This saw edge on reducing salinity. the researchers only recommend that Interestingly, when the trial ended, 2012/13 2013/14 subsurface irrigation could offer yield the researchers examined a section advantages to growers where irrigation of the subsurface and fabric-covered 2.0 2.0 water is “always several restricted to subsurface drip line and within quantities much lower than accepted the fabric discovered a build-up of crop water requirements”. colloidal clay which the researchers 1.5 1.5 The trial also failed to demonstrate hypothesised may have affected its subsurface irrigation improved soil ability to move water laterally. salinity, which has been among its “The Darling River is characterised 1.0 1.0 claimed benefits. Data collected by its high colloidal clay content under from SoluSamplers installed in the certain flow conditions and this may treatments at depths of 30cm, 60cm negate its use for subsurface irrigation 0.5 and 90cm showed the mean salinity both along0.5the Darling and downstream across the four seasons for subsurface of its confluence with the River Murray,” drip was about 50% higher in overall the report concluded.

0.0 0.0 copy of the report can rootzone salinity compared with the A complete Std Fcd S Std Fcd S standard irrigation. At 100% irrigation, be downloaded here: https://www. standard drip had the lowest salinity at wineaustralia.com/research/search/ depth; itsalinity also recorded the lowest 2 Mean each rootzone for each seasoncompleted-projects/sar-0902 for all irrigation volumes and sampling salinity at 30cm under 67% and 84% irrigation types. Vertical bars represent standard error for each irrigation type. irrigation volumes. The fabric covered subsurface had the lowest salinity at WVJ

EC (ds.m 1)

0.0

depth

2.0

-

EC (dS.m 1)

1.5

30 cm 60 cm 90 cm

1.0

0.5

0.0 Std

Fcd

S

Salinity of water (EC dS.m-1) for the mean of all seasons and irrigation volumes for -1 three typesdS.m for 30, 60 the all subsurface irrigation project.

Salinity of irrigation water (EC ) and for90cm the depth meanin of seasons and irrigation Vertical bars represent standard error for each soil depth.

3 volumes for gation types for 30, 60 and 90 m depth. Vertical bars represent standard error for each h.

V3 2N 4

W I N E & VITICULTUR E JO UR N A L JULY/A UGUST 2017

season data presented in Figure 13 were the result of a similar pattern in each season with

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SOIL & WATER

V V II T T II C C U U L LT T U U R R E E

Reduced irrigation and site/soil effects on Pinot Noir vine pruning weight and soil nutrient status

By Patricio Mejias-Barrera1,2, Chen Zhang2, Glen L Creasy2*, Rainer Hofmann2 and Roland Harrison2

»

A study in the Waipara region of North Canterbury in New Zealand is investigating the interaction between three different soil types and different irrigation volumes on vine responses.

INTRODUCTION The influence of soil on wine qualities is generally agreed upon, but not so well documented. The interactions of vine roots with soil result in direct effects (such as nutrient availability) and indirect effects (such as influences on vine vigour and resulting changes in fruit exposure). Soil characteristics, such as texture, structure, water holding capacity and nutrient content, have been used to describe wine differences within and between different vineyards (de Andrés-de Prado et al. 2007), and this is logical given the influence these factors have on vine growth. In addition, vine management practices, particularly irrigation, influence vine responses in interaction with the soil environment.

Measurements of vine water status have definite correlations with vine performance, grape characteristics and wine composition (e.g. Chaves et al. 2007, Poni et al. 1993, Roby and Matthews 2004). As well, there are site-related factors influencing grape and wine quality, which have also been the subject of international research (e.g. Conradie et al. 2002, Morlat and Bodin 2006, van Leeuwen et al. 2004). As the climate and soils of New Zealand make irrigation a necessity for the majority of its vineyards, some researchers have studied the effects of site on wine-related parameters, e.g. Imre and Mauk (2009) in Central Otago, Bramley et al. (2011) in Marlborough, and Tesic et al. (2002) in Hawke’s Bay. However, there remains much to discover about the interaction of soils and irrigation.

We have been conducting a study in the Waipara region of North Canterbury where vines growing in three distinct soil types were irrigated to commercial or to approximately half of commercial rates. The sites were separated by relatively small distances to keep the regional climate the same. The treatments allowed the authors to examine the interaction between soil type and irrigation on vine responses. This article reports on a component of this research project.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The vineyard areas were located in the Waipara area of North Canterbury, in New Zealand. Three sites, each with distinct soil types, were chosen for the study: • Gravelly sandy loam (GSL), characterised by large amounts of rounded stones, no limitations to rooting depth and generally low water holding capacity. Alluvial in origin.

• Clay loam type 1 (CL1), characterised by a clay loam horizon of about 30cm with swelling clays underneath. Rooting depth is generally greater than one metre. Developed from soft calcareous rocks of alluvial origin.

2

V3 2N 4

• Clay loam type 2 (CL2), which is similar to CL1, but with shallower rooting depth of 50cm due to the presence of fractured rock beneath.

Each site was planted to VSP-trained Pinot Noir, clone 115, vines of similar ages (around nine years at the start of the experiment). Rootstocks were 101-14 at CL1 and CL2, but 3309 at GSL. The GSL site was under different management from the CL sites (for example, vines at GSL were three-cane pruned and those at CL sites spur pruned), which was also reflected in different irrigation strategies.

Four replications of five contiguous vines each (with buffer vines on either side) were used as controls and another set of four replications for the reduced irrigation (RI) treatment. The latter consisted of removing every other irrigation emitter. Irrigation amount and frequency was determined by each property’s vineyard manager.

The maximum distance between sites was 5.4km, and because meso-climate has a significant effect on vine growth and management, weather data was collected from close-by weather stations, as well as from temperature loggers placed in the canopy at each site.

Treatments were in place from December 2013 through to postharvest 2016 (following pruning data collection).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION There were some differences in temperature between sites.

For example, in the 2014-2015 season GSL was the coolest, with a growing degree days (GDD) of 1290, CL1 was the warmest (1490 GDD) and CL2 was in-between (1330 GDD). These differences were partly caused by slope, as GSL is on flat land, while both CL sites are on north-facing slopes.

Water balance figures for 2014-2015 were also different between the sites (Figure 1, see page 40). There was 192mm of rain at the GSL site and the amount at the CL sites was very close to this (less than 5 per cent lower), so irrigation made up the largest changes in terms of water balance. The approximately 50% reduction in irrigation due to the RI treatments resulted in less than a 10% difference in monthly water balances.

GSL, due to the free-draining soil, received the most water through irrigation (135mm for the season). CL1 received 39mm and CL2 78mm due to the higher water holding capacity of the soil and a different water management strategy at that property. Therefore, the differences in the amount of irrigation water delivered between the control and RI treatments at any site were relatively small ▶ compared with the entire water budget.

»

1 INIA Remehue, Ruta 5 Sur Km. 8, Osorno, Chile Centre for Viticulture and Oenology, Lincoln University, PO Box 85084, Lincoln, Canterbury 7647, New Zealand * Corresponding author: creasyg@lincoln.ac.nz

W I N E & VITICULTUR E JO UR N A L JULY/A UGUST 2017

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39

CU U LL TT U UR RE E VV II TT II C

SOIL & WATER

GSL

CL1

CL2

Figure 1. Water balance for the three soil/site/treatment combinations in the 2014-2015 season. Values corresponding to RI indicate reduced irrigation treatments.

Vine pruning weights for the second and third years of the trial are shown in Figure 2. Vines at the GSL site were considerably more vigorous compared with either CL site, with significant (p=<0.001) differences in weights. An irrigation treatment effect was evident in 2015, but not statistically significant in 2016, though the same trend was there. Vine size decreased across the board between the second (2015) to the third season (2016) of the trial, possibly due to low crop loads in all vines in the 2015 harvest season. The small crop was caused by widespread and early season frost damage (Mejias-Barrera 2016), which resulted in compensating vegetative growth.

Vine pruning weights at GSL were essentially the same between control and RI in both seasons, most likely because the volume of water being applied in the RI treatment was not yet limiting to vine growth. While there were no statistically significant differences in pruning weight due to irrigation treatment at either CL site in 2016, the vines appearance was substantially different (Figure 3). The lack of a significant result may lie with the very small vine sizes in both treatments in that season: 0.24kg/m row for the control and 0.17kg/m row in the RI. The relative amount of variation between vines when they are this small is higher, leading to less ability to reveal treatment effect.

The impacts on vine carbohydrate status at the end of the third season were also variable across sites and by treatment. GSL vines had the highest level of stored starch (approximately 7.9% of root dry weight), with CL1 and CL2 being significantly lower (7.1 per cent for each). The only irrigation treatment effect on root starch was at CL2, where starch in RI vines was 73% that of the control vines. This was surprising, as the visual difference between control and RI vines at CL1 was as striking as it was at CL2.

A longer-term assessment of vine responses to the treatments would be necessary to determine how much the vines are affected by the reduction in water delivered, especially in relation to their ability to grow shoots and set and ripen fruit. A number of successive drier-than-normal seasons, for example, could result in the RI vines growing much less to the point of severely harming vine health and productivity.

The soil environment is likely to change with soil type and location, but reduced application of water may also cause differences in soil micro-organisms and growth of other plants, leading to soil compositional changes. Soil samples collected in the 2016 dormant season were analysed and the results are presented in Table 1. Reduced irrigation had no effect on soil parameters, but many of these were affected by soil/site. CL2 recorded the highest cation exchange capacity (CEC) and along with this, higher levels of calcium, potassium, magnesium and nitrogen.

Olsen P, organic matter (OM), total base saturation, total carbon and pH measurements were lowest at CL1, but that soil had the highest bulk density.

Given the relatively small differences in total water supplied by the two irrigation treatments, it is perhaps not surprising that soil effects were not detected. However, more than three years of experimentation may be necessary to pick up an effect, as the treatments may take years to result in measurable changes.

CONCLUSIONS

Figure 2. Vine pruning weights, on a kilogram per metre of row basis, between the treatments and sites for 2015 and 2016. There was a significant treatment effect in 2015, but not in 2016. Between site effects were significant in both seasons.

40

www.w i n eti tl es .c om.au

Reduction of water supplied through the irrigation system in three North Canterbury commercial vineyards resulted in relatively small (around 10%) changes to overall vine water balance on a monthly or seasonal basis.

W I N E & V I T I C ULTUR E JO UR NA L JULY/A UGUST 2017

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SOIL & WATER

V V II T T II C C U U L LT T U U R R E E

Figure 3. Comparison of control (left) and RI (right) vine at CL1 in April 2016.

Table 1. Soil parameters as affected by site/soil and irrigation treatment. Samples were collected in the dormant season, three seasons after treatments began.

Treatment

CEC

Site

Significance

Units

Con

RI

GSL

CL1

CL2

Treatment

Site

12.67

12.58

11

11.25

15.62

0.878

<0.001

me/100g

Ca Meq

6.38

6.64

5.26

5.07

9.19

0.537

<0.001

me/100g

K Meq

0.655

0.517

0.594

0.185

0.979

0.127

<0.001

me/100g

Mg Meq

1.282

1.335

0.981

1.169

1.775

0.635

<0.001

me/100g

Na Meq

0.209

0.273

0.211

0.21

0.302

0.263

0.319

me/100g

Olsen P

12.1

9.8

13.6

7.4

11.9

0.393

0.155

mg/L

OM

2.39

1.97

2.37

1.67

2.49

0.144

0.06

%

Total Base Satn

66.7

67.9

65

58.5

78.4

0.743

0.002

%

Total C

1.392

1.15

1.387

0.975

1.45

0.161

0.064

%

Bulk Density

1.062

1.072

1.07

1.104

1.026

0.779

0.227

g/mL

pH

5.92

5.97

6.01

5.64

6.19

0.756

0.012

Medium term (three growing seasons) reduction of irrigation water delivery in three commercial vineyards had varying effects depending on the soil type and irrigation management regime. The soil with the least water holding capacity was watered the most frequently, leading to no effect on vine pruning weights even when the amount of water supplied was reduced by almost half. Both clay loam sites had reduced (although not consistently so) pruning weights with the lesser irrigation treatment, but the largest differences were between sites, with the well-watered GSL vines having significantly higher pruning weights.

Changes to irrigation had no effect on measured soil parameters, but there were large differences between sites/soils.

CEC and related parameters were higher at CL2, likely helped by its relatively high organic matter content. Olsen phosphorous measurements was lowest at CL1, along with organic matter, total base saturation, total carbon and pH values. The magnitude of differences between soil parameters were not large, so soil effects were probably mostly due to soil water holding capacity combined with the amount of irrigation water delivered.

The research highlights the importance of matching water delivery to vines with the soils that they are growing in, so that vine growth and productivity parameters can be met.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank their industry co-operators (Greystone Wines and Waipara Hills Wines), as well as the National Commission for Scientific and Technology Research (Chile), New Zealand Winegrowers and Lincoln University for vineyard access, materials and financial support.

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REFERENCES Bramley, R.G.V.; Trought, M.C.T. and Praat, J.P. (2011) Vineyard variability in Marlborough, New Zealand: characterising variation in vineyard performance and options for the implementation of Precision Viticulture. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 17:72-78.

Chaves, M.M.; Santos, T.P; Souza, C.R.; Ortuño, M.F.; Rodrigues, M.L.; Lopes, C.M.; Maroco, J.P. and Pereira, J.S. (2007) Deficit irrigation in grapevine improves water-use efficiency while controlling vigour and production quality. Annals of Applied Biology 150:237-252.

Conradie, W.J.; Carey, V.; Bonnardot, V.; Saayman, D. and Van Schoor, L.H. (2002) Effect of different environmental factors on the performance of Sauvignon Blanc grapevines in the Stellenbosch/Durbanville districts of South Africa. I. Geology, soil, climate, phenology and grape composition. South African Journal of Enology and Viticulture 23:78-91. de Andrés-de Prado, R.; Yuste-Rojas, M.; Sort, X.; Andrés-Lacueva, C.; Torres, M.; and Lamuela-Raventós, R.M. (2007) Effect of soil type on wines produced from Vitis vinifera L. Cv. Grenache in commercial vineyards. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55:779-786.

Imre, S.P. and Mauk, J.L. (2009) Geology and wine 12. New Zealand terroir.

Geoscience Canada 36:145-159.

Mejias-Barrera, P. (2016) Effect of reduced irrigation on grapevine physiology, grape characteristics and wine composition in three Pinot Noir vineyards with contrasting soils (PhD thesis). Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Morlat, R. and Bodin, F. (2006) Characterisation of viticultural terroirs using a simple field model based on soil depth – II. Validation of the grape yield and berry quality in the Anjou vineyard (France). Plant and Soil 281:55-69.

Poni, S.; Lakso, A.N.; Turner, J.R. and Melious, R.E. (1993) The effect of pre- and post-veraison water stress on growth and physiology of potted Pinot Noir grapevines at varying crop levels. Vitis 32:207-214.

Roby, G. and Matthews, M.A. (2004) Relative proportions of seed, skin and flesh, in ripe berries from Cabernet Sauvignon grapevines grown in a vineyard either well irrigated or under water deficit. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 10:7482.

Tesic, D.; Woolley, D.J.; Hewett, E.W. and Martin, D.J. (2002) Environmental effect on cv Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.) grown in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. 2.

Development of a site index. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 8:27-35. van Leeuwen, C.; Friant, P.; Choné, X.; Tregoat, O.; Koundouras, S. and Dubourdieu, D. (2004) Influence of climate, soil, and cultivar on terroir. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 55:207-217.

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BUDBURST

Regulation of oxygen and reactive oxygen species during budburst

By Karlia Meitha1,2* and Michael Considine1,2,3,4,5

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This research examined the regulation of internal oxygen and cell redox conditions in grapevine buds at the early stages of burst. The results are fundamental to the knowledge of physiological and molecular mechanisms of budburst, and are expected to help manage the variability of budburst within vineyards and between regions and varieties.

INTRODUCTION Spring budburst in temperate perennial plants is characterised by the rapid growth resumption of shoot apical meristem (SAM) following dormancy. Dormancy serves to protect the meristems during winter by slowing metabolism and redirecting energy to maintenance, rather than growth, as well as physically protecting shoot and flowering meristems, which drive next season’s growth.

Environmental cues, such as the gradual rise in temperature and day length of spring, are proposed to initiate budburst.

The harmonious timing of budburst in early spring is highly desired due to the less-demanding subsequent procedures in commercial farms. However, production in climates and seasons outside the normal seasonal requirements is problematic, a consequence of the influence of climate on coordinated growth cycles. A delayed and erratic budburst results in decreased shoot and cluster counts per vine and poor uniformity of fruit development. The solution to this condition often requires intensive and expensive intervention to achieve a viable crop, for example, the use of chemical agents to promote uniform budburst in warmer climates, which lack the normal, temperate, winter-spring transition.

The bud matures during summer and autumn, where it becomes tightly protected by layers of lignified scales, bracts and hairs (Figure 1). The buds remain in this state for several months, through autumn and winter, but once

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(i) –––––>

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Figure 1. A grapevine bud is a complex structure comprising (i) a tertiary bud, (ii) a primary bud that bears shoot apical meristem and inflorescence for the next season, (iii) several alternate layers of bracts and hairs, (iv) one or two layers of lignified scales and (v) a secondary bud. conditions are right in spring, the resumption of growth through budburst is rapid, taking only a few days to swell and burst through the outer scales, revealing a green shoot. During bud maturation and dormancy, it draws energy from other sources in the plant (cane, trunk and roots). Following budburst, the shoot must develop its own capacity to photosynthesise. The alteration in genetic regulation and metabolic signalling during this transition is hypothesised to interact with sensors of reduction/oxidation (redox) status and tissue oxygen status. It is expected that bud internal structures reside in a hypoxic condition (low oxygen),

given that buds are a dense organ, and that an oxidised niche is crucial to cell identity and fate, as it is in the root. In contrast with redox regulation during seed germination which is widely studied, knowledge of the oxygen and redox state of perennial buds is scarce and almost entirely reliant on abstract assumptions of gene transcription patterns.

Hence, this study analysed the regulation of internal oxygen partial pressure (pO2) and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in grapevine buds at the earlier stages of budburst.

The roles of ROS, particularly O2- and H2O2, are increasingly well-studied in

The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia

1

The UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia 3

The School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia 4

Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, South Perth, 6151, Australia 5

Centre for Plant Sciences, University of Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK *Corresponding author: karliameitha@sith.itb.ac.id

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the context of cell signalling in plants.

Presently, the roles of O2- and H2O2 during quiescence and the onset of budburst are only implied by observations of changes in the expression of genes antioxidant scavenging, such as catalase, glutathione reductase and glutathione S-transferase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase (Ophir et al. 2009, Or et al.

2002, Pacey-Miller et al. 2003, Perez & Lira 2005). Further, transcriptomic regulations were also investigated to contrast metabolism profile of buds with lowest and highest average of internal pO2.

METHODS Plant materials The canes of grapevine (Vitis Vinifera cv.

Crimson Seedless) with intact buds were collected from a vineyard in Yallingup, Western Australia (33.694°S, 115.102°E) in midwinter and stored at 4°C in the dark until required. Prior to each experiment, the canes were cut into single node cuttings (explant), planted in vermiculite and maintained in growth conditions at 23°C in darkness and deionised watered to field capacity, for a period of zero, three, or 72 hours. For transcript analysis, buds were excised from the cane immediately upon sampling, directly submerged in liquid nitrogen and stored at 80°C until required.

Internal p O2 measurement and ROS histology assay Internal partial pressure of oxygen (pO2; 3 replicates of one bud each) was measured using a Clark-type oxygen microelectrode with tip diameter of 25μm (a)

(OX-25; Unisense A/S, Aarhus, Denmark) as previously described in Meitha et al.

(2015). Raw data of internal pO2 were calculated using R to obtain means and 95% confidence intervals of individual buds and graphics were compiled using the latticeExtra package and functions within.

ROS histology assay (three replicates of one bud each) was conducted by means superoxide and hydrogen (O2- and H2O2) peroxide of staining using Nitrobluetetrazolium (NBT) and 1,3-diaminobenzedine (DAB), respectively, as described in Meitha et al. (2015). The figures of scanned slides from Aperio ScanScope LX (Leica Biosystems) at 20 X magnification were processed using Aperio ImageScope (v12.3.2.8013).

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obtained from Kallisto was examined in edgeR and the quality of the replicates was checked using Pearson’s correlation, the values ranged between 0.86 and 0.97.

Then, raw data was normalised using trimmed mean M-value (TMM) method and log2 Transcript-Per-Million (log2TPM) was obtained. A linear model (limma) was applied to do a differential expression analysis. P-values were corrected for multiple-testing using the method of Benjamini-Hochberg (FDR≤0.05).

Transcripts were filtered considering a log fold change of 1 (logFC≥|1|) in 3-hour versus 72-hour buds to generate a list of putative hypoxia regulated transcripts and functional annotation was constructed following Grimplet et al. (2012).

DATA AND RESULTS

RNA extraction and transcriptome analysis Total RNA extraction was performed by using the Spectrum Plant Total RNA kit with an on-column DNase treatment according to the supplier’s instructions (Sigma-Aldrich, Castle Hill, Australia), followed by an isopropanol/acetate precipitation. RNA-seq libraries were prepared with the TruSeq Stranded Total RNA with Ribo-Zero Plant kit according to manufacturer’s instructions (Illumina, Scoresby, Australia). Sequencing was performed on an Illumina HiSeq1500 instrument as 100bp single-end runs.

Transcripts data were aligned to the whole 12X V1 Vitis vinifera PN40024 reference genome (Jaillon et al. 2007) using Kallisto. Gene expression profiling was carried out using edgeR and limma Bioconductor packages. The counts matrix

The conducted experiments provided insights of internal pO2 and ROS regulation patterns at the early stages of budburst. A mean of ~4.02kPa of internal pO2 was measured in the buds after removal from 4ºC storage and 3-hour treatment in darkness at 23ºC (Figure 2a). The pO2 steeply decreased <5kPa in the internal area of only 500μm from the scales, or less than a third of normal atmospheric oxygen (~21kPa). The pO2 continued to decline towards the core reaching ~2.5kPa at 1900-2000μm from scales, where commonly the shoot apical meristem (SAM) resides. After 72-hour of treatment in the same condition as the 3-hour buds, mean internal pO2 rose to 11.78kPa but remained low in the area peripheral to the core, creating a biphasic ▶ curve (Figure 2b).

(b)

Figure 2. Internal pO2 regulation in 3-hour and 72-hour treated buds: (a) internal pO2 in 3-hour buds is characterised by the immediate steep decrease and very low oxygen in the meristem area; (b) a biphasic curve of oxygenation of 72-hour buds indicates that diffusion is not the only mechanism of internal oxygenation.

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ROS accumulations were analysed by means of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide (O2- and H2O2) staining.

Detection was achieved by examining the visible reaction product of O2- with NBT creating blue formazan, and H2O2 with DAB creating brown DAB polymer.

Figure 3a shows that O2- was confined in the actively dividing area of axillary bud meristem and shifting into the prevascular area following development in 72-hour buds, Figure 3b. A shifting localisation pattern of H2O2 was also detected. In 3-hour buds, O2.- was detected in the whole shoot apical meristem of the main bud and axillary buds (Figure 3c). This accumulation had completely dissipated by 72 hours, leaving only a small area of brown DAB polymer at the connection between the bud and its wood base (Figure 3d).

This finding may be associated with the oxygenated internal tissue of 72-hour buds.

Finding that shoot apical meristem resides in a hypoxic condition, we also analysed metabolism profile based on the budsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; transcriptomic regulation of 3-hour (hypoxic) versus 72-hour (more oxygenated) buds.

Focussing only on genes involved in glycolysis and the subsequent steps which are fermentation or the Krebs cycle. Three transcripts encoding alcohol dehydrogenase, two pyruvate decarboxylase, and a phosphofructokinase were up-regulated with log of fold change greater than one.

Further publications with transcript and in vitro data of molecular regulation during hypoxia have been submitted to other journals.

CONCLUSIONS Oxygen and respiration are the fundamental drives of most lives.

However, certain conditions can limit cell accessibility to oxygen such as during flooding or as a consequence of residing in a dense structure. This low oxygen condition (hypoxia) could lead to major metabolism constraints and even death in severe cases.

Acknowledgement of hypoxia as one of the required conditions triggering differentiation is emerging in plants and animals under non-stress conditions. For example, hypoxia is a key positional cue guiding male germ

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b.

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Figure 3. Histology of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 and O2.-) localisation. (a) and (b) are 1,3-diaminobenzedine (DAB) stained buds with brown areas indicating the localisation of O2.-. (c) and (d) depict the deposition of H2O2 by means of Nitrobluetetrazolium (NBT) staining. DAB and NBT staining were performed to 3-hour (a and c) and 72-hour buds (b and d). line fate, germination and the skotophotomorphic transition in seedlings.

Molecular studies on grapevine buds found that many genes related to hypoxia survival, antioxidant defence, alternative metabolism and respiration were highly expressed during the dormancy release (Table 1). This presented research complements previous findings by directly measuring tissue oxygen status and detecting ROS localisation in buds commencing burst.

Low pO2 in the core of a 3-hour bud suggests that the shoot apical meristem and inflorescence of next season reside in hypoxic condition. As the buds developed at an ambient temperature of 23ÂşC, the core area became more oxygenated after 72 hours of treatment.

The regulation of oxygen at this point is unique with atmospheric diffusion not an exclusive source, but also a controlled process at the core.

The involvement of ROS-dependent signalling in the release of dormancy and onset of budburst in perennial plants, including grapevines, has been suggested by a transient rise in H2O2 prior to budburst, and through the profiles of several core antioxidant genes (Perez and Lira 2005). Or et al. (2002) found increasing activity of catalase enzyme, an H2O2 scavenger, during dormancy, which decreased when commencing release or after application of the budburst inducing chemical (hydrogen cyanamide, HC), which may corroborate the increase in

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H2O2 through a decline in the capacity to scavenge it. Additionally, exogenous application of H2O2 advances budburst, although not as efficiently as HC. Further, the role of O2- has been studied too, such as in Arabidopsis, which AtrbohB (NADPH-oxidase) produces the majority of O2- in the embryo of germinating seeds, with removal of AtrbohB gene leading to a reduction of protein carbonylation. An immediate and transient accumulation of O2- and H2O2 accompanies seed imbibition of Pisum sativum, although only O2- coincides with radicle elongation. This research suggests that the regulation of H2O2 and O2- in grapevine buds concurs with the oxygenation of the internal tissues.

The shifting pattern of localisation also indicates the changing spatial priority of ROS-dependent signalling.

Our results suggest an increase in glycolysis through the up-regulation of phosphofructokinase transcript, and a fermentation pathway through the up-regulation of three alcohol dehydrogenase (VvADH) and two pyruvate decarboxylase (VvPDC) transcripts. In plants, hypoxia compromises mitochondrial respiration and leads to reconfiguration of central carbon metabolism to overcome limited ATP production and regeneration of NAD+ by enhancing glycolysis and fermentative pathway. Hypoxia treatments, 41% and 25% of normoxia, to dormant buds increases budburst rates and expression of VvADH2, VvPDC

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Table 1. Regulated genes during bud dormancy release and commencing burst in grapevine.

Category

Gene expression in grapevine bud dormancy release or commencing burst

Reference

Up-regulated Pyruvate decarboxylase

Or et al. (2000); Vergara et al. (2012b)

Alcohol dehydrogenase

Or et al. (2000); Vergara et al. (2012a)

Sucrose synthase

Halaly et al. (2008); Vergara et al. (2012b)

Sensors of stress signal

GDBRPK, an SNF-like protein kinase

Or et al. (2000)

Alternative respiratory pathway

Alternative oxidases

Vergara et al. (2012a)

Hypoxia responsive

Non-symbiotic haemoglobin

Vergara et al. (2012b)

Dormancy release related

Flowering locus T

Vergara et al. (2012b)

Starch hydrolysis

α-amylase genes

Rubio et al. (2014)

Antioxidant defence

NADH-dehydrogenases

Vergara et al. (2012a)

Glutathione reductase

Halaly et al. (2008)

Ascorbate peroxidase

Halaly et al. (2008)

Thioredoxin

Halaly et al. (2008)

Glutathione S-transferase

Halaly et al. (2008)

Superoxide dismutase

Vergara et al. (2012a)

Fermentation related

Down-regulated Antioxidant defence

Catalase

and sucrose synthase (VvSUSY) (Vergara et al. 2012a), resembling hypoxia response in other plant organs, such as in potato (Solanum tuberosum) roots.

Moreover, VvADH (Keilin et al. 2007), VvPDC (Or et al. 2000) and VvSUSY (Halaly et al. 2008, Keilin et al. 2007) up-regulation was also documented in post-dormant buds (hydrogen cyanamide treated). Hence, our data supports previous findings showing that at the earlier stage of budburst, when internal pO2 was very low, ATP production was achieved through fermentation pathway.

In conclusion, the SAM of a grapevine bud reside in a hypoxic condition and is oxygenated as budburst approaches. The shifting pattern of H2O2 and O2- suggests a connection with pO2 regulation to relocalise in response to changing ROSdependent signalling priority. During the hypoxic condition, when the SAM is still tightly protected under the lignified layer of scale, ATP generation through fermentation was more preferable. This strategy is retained at the earlier stage of budburst when the organ is about to transform into photoautotrophic.

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Or et al. (2000)

To fully understand this rapid growth of budburst, we suggest that future research be conducted to plant intact buds, considering buds may receive nutrients or exchanging gas with the mother plant. Although the pine buds are disconnected from the mother plant during dormancy by the formation of a callose block, the reconnection time is still unclear.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Karlia Meitha wishes to thank the Australia Awards scholarship for funding her PhD study, and Wine Australia for funding her research visit to Leeds University, United Kingdom. The research was jointly funded by Australia Research Council grants number DP150103211 and LP0990355 to MC. REFERENCES Grimplet, J.; Hemert, J.V.; Carbonell-Bejerano, P.; Díaz-Riquelme, J.; Dickerson, J.; Fennel, A.; Pezzotti, M. and Martínez-Zapater, J.M. (2012) Comparative analysis of grapevine wholegenome gene predictions, functional annotation, categorisation and integration of the predicted gene sequences. BMC Research Notes 5(213).

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Halaly, T.; Pang, X.; Batikoff, T.; Crane, O.; Keren, A.; Venkateswari, J.; Ogrodovitch, A.; Sadka, A.; Lavee, S. and Or, E. (2008) Similar mechanisms might be triggered by alternative external stimuli that induce dormancy release in grape buds. Planta 228(1):79-88. doi:10.1007/s00425-008-0720-6.

Jaillon, O.; Aury, J.M.; Noel, B.; Policriti, A.; Clepet, C.; Casagrande, A.; Choisne, N.; Aubourg, S.; Vitulo, N.; Jubin, C.; Vezzi, A.; Legeai, F.; Hugueney, P.; Dasilva, C.; Horner, D.; Mica, E.; Jublot, D.; Poulain, J.; Bruyère, C.; Billault, A.; Segurens, B.; Gouyvenoux, M.; Ugarte, E.; Cattonaro, F.; Anthouard, V.; Vico, V.; Del Fabbro, C.; Alaux, M.; Di Gaspero, G.; Dumas, V.; Felice, N.; Paillard, S.; Juman, I.; Moroldo, M.; Scalabrin, S.; Canaguier, A.; Le Clainche, I.; Malacrida, G.; Durand, E.; Pesole, G.; Laucou, V.; Chatelet, P.; Merdinoglu, D.; Delledonne, M.; Pezzotti, M.; Lecharny, A.; Scarpelli, C.; Artiguenave, F.; Pè, M.E.; Valle, G.; Morgante, M.; Caboche, M.; Adam-Blondon, A.F.; Weissenbach, J.; Quétier, F.; Wincker, P.; French-Italian Public Consortium for Grapevine Genome Characterisation (2007) The grapevine genome sequence suggests ancestral hexaploidisation in major angiosperm phyla. Nature 449(7161):463-467. doi:10.1038/nature06148.

Keilin, T.; Pang, X.; Venkateswari, J.; Halaly, T.; Crane, O.; Keren, A.; Ogrodovitch, A.; Ophir, R.; Volpin, H.; Galbraith, D. and Or, E. (2007) Digital expression profiling of a grape-bud EST collection leads to new insight into molecular events during grape-bud dormancy release. Plant Science 173(4):446-457. doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2007.07.004.

Ophir, R.; Pang, X.; Halaly, T.; Venkateswari, J.; Lavee, S.; Galbraith, D. and Or, E. (2009) Geneexpression profiling of grape bud response to two alternative dormancy-release stimuli expose possible links between impaired mitochondrial activity, hypoxia, ethylene-ABA interplay and cell enlargement. Plant Molecular Biology 71(4-5):403423. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11103-009-9531-9.

Or, E.; Vilozny, I.; Eyal, Y. and Ogrodovitch, A. (2000) The transduction of the signal for grape bud dormancy breaking induced by hydrogen cyanaide may invove the SNF-like protein kinase GDBRPK. Plant Molecular Biology 48:483-494.

Or, E.; Vilozny, I.; Fennel, A.; Eyal, Y. and Ogrodovitch, A. (2002) Dormancy in grape buds: isolation and chracterisation of catalase cDNA and analysis of its expression following chemical induction of bud dormancy release. Plant Science 162:121-130.

Meitha, K.; Konnerup, D.; Colmer, T.D.; Considine, J.A.; Foyer, C.H. and Considine, M.J. (2015) Spatiotemporal relief from hypoxia and production of reactive oxygen species during budburst in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.). Annals of Botany 116:703-711.

Pacey-Miller, T.; Scott, K.; Ablett, E.; Tingey, S.; Ching, A. and Henry, R. (2003) Genes associated with the end of dormancy in grapes. Functional and Integrative Genomics 3:144-152. doi:10.1007/s10142003-0094-6.

Perez, F. J. and Lira, W. (2005) Possible role of catalase in post-dormancy bud break in grapevines.

Journal of Plant Physiology 162(3):301-308. doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2004.07.011.

Rubio, S.; Donoso, A. and Pérez, F.J. (2014) The dormancy-breaking stimuli ‘chilling, hypoxia and cyanamide exposure’ up-regulate the expression of alpha-amylase genes in grapevine buds. Journal of Plant Physiol 171:373-381.

Vergara, R.; Parada, F.; Rubio, S. and Pérez, F.J. (2012a) Hypoxia induces H2O2 production and activates antioxidant defence system in grapevine buds through mediation of H2O2 and ethylene.

Journal of Experimental Botany 63:4123-4131.

Vergara, R.; Rubio, S. and Pérez, F.J. (2012b) Hypoxia and hydrogen cyanamide incude bud-break and up-regulate hypoxic responsive genes (HRG) and VvFT in grapevine-buds. Plant Molecular Biology 79:171-178.

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TRUNK DISEASE

Monitoring inoculum dispersal by grapevine trunk disease pathogens using spore traps

By Regina Billones-Baaijens1, Matthew Ayres2, Sandra Savocchia1 and Mark Sosnowski2,3

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The latest Wine Australia research on inoculum dissemination has revealed that the seasonal spore release patterns of eutypa and botryosphaeria dieback pathogens varied between regions and pathogens. Rainfall was confirmed as the primary environmental factor that influenced the release of these pathogen spores. This article reports on preliminary results from spore traps located in four wine regions of Australia, and discusses the implications of these results on pruning and wound protection to manage grapevine trunk diseases.

INTRODUCTION Spores of eutypa dieback (ED) and botryosphaeria dieback (BD) pathogens infect grapevine pruning wounds.

These spores are generally dispersed by rain splash and can travel distances depending on wind speed. To date, there are no data available on spore dispersal of these pathogens in Australian vineyards. Current recommendations in Australia are based on information on the dispersal of E. lata from apricots published almost 50 years ago (Carter and Moller 1967, 1970, Moller and Carter 1965). According to research in other countries, the seasonal spore dispersal patterns for ED and BD pathogens from grapevines vary. Eutypa lata (ED) spore dispersal was reported to be most prominent from autumn, throughout winter and in early spring in California (Ramos et al. 1975, Petzoldt et al. 1983, Trouillas 2009) and Michigan (Trese et al. 1980), during late-winter and early-spring in New York (Pearson 1980) and during late-autumn to midwinter in South Africa (van Niekerk et al. 2010), although summer monitoring was not included in these studies. BD spores were trapped in high numbers in California following rain events primarily during winter (Úrbez-Torres et al. 2010). However, although BD spores were trapped throughout the year, they were most abundant in summer in New Zealand (Amponsah et al. 2009), from mid-spring through to mid-autumn in

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France (Kuntzmann et al. 2009) and from late-autumn to early spring in South Africa (van Niekerk et al. 2010) and Chile (Valencia et al. 2015). These conflicting data from overseas indicate the need for further investigation of spore dispersal patterns of the ED and BD pathogens throughout the growing season and, in particular, during the pruning season in different climatic regions of Australia.

The objective of this study was to trap spores of trunk disease pathogens from four different wine regions in Australia using Burkard spore traps and to detect them on spore tapes using rapid and highly sensitive DNA-based molecular tools developed in this project. The results will assist in the decisionmaking process for pruning grapevines and for applying wound protectants for the management of grapevine trunk diseases.

METHODS Burkard spore traps fitted with a battery and solar panel for recharging (Figure 1) were deployed at locations in the Barossa Valley and Coonawarra, South Australia, in August 2013, and Griffith and Hunter Valley, New South Wales, in May 2014.

For spore trapping, Melinex tapes were mounted on a drum and coated with a petroleum-based adhesive using a paintbrush. The drum was placed inside the spore trap chamber with

clockwork mechanism set for a 36-day rotation. In Coonawarra and Hunter Valley the traps were placed at the end of a row, while in the Barossa Valley and Griffith the traps were placed approximately 20 metres from the vines.

All spore traps were operated with the inlet orifice 0.5m above the ground with an airflow of 10 litres per minute. Spore drums were collected and replaced monthly. In the laboratory, tapes were removed from the drum and cut longitudinally into halves and stored in electrical conduit at room temperature in a container with silica gel. For processing, one half was cut further into two-day sections with the remaining half stored at -20ºC. Each two-day section was placed in a tube and processed by extracting DNA, and PCR was conducted using multi-species primers developed to detect ED and BD pathogens. The number of spores were then determined using quantitative PCR (qPCR).

Weather data for each site was sourced from the nearest automatic weather station (www.bom.gov.au). The spore numbers were plotted on a graph, together with the total rainfall and mean maximum temperature for the same period, to assist with correlation of spore release and weather.

RESULTS A total of 728 spore tape samples collected during four seasons for each site were analysed by nested PCR, and

National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, Charles Sturt University, School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga NSW 2678 South Australian Research and Development Institute, GPO Box 397, Adelaide SA 5001

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School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, Glen Osmond SA 5064

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Figure 1. Burkard spore trap (left) with solar power supply unit (right) in the vineyard.

230 (31%) tested positive to either or both ED and BD pathogens, which were further analysed by qPCR. Preliminary results from qPCR showed spores of ED and BD pathogens were released sporadically at different times of the year in all four regions. Occasionally, both BD and ED spores were trapped in the same period, having been released continuously for several days. The spore release usually occurred during or after rain events, with as little as 0.2mm of rain resulting in spore release of either ED or BD pathogens. Often, no spores were detected during rainfall events, and occasionally spores were released more than a week after a rainfall event. There was no obvious correlation between temperature and spore release of both pathogen groups, with spores being detected during summer and winter periods in all regions.

From the Barossa Valley, of 179 spore tape samples collected from September 2013 to August 2014, 10 (6%) and 23 (13%) tested positive to ED and BD spores, respectively (Figure 2, see page 48). For ED, the total number of spores released was similar throughout

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summer, autumn and winter (30% for each season) but only 10% in spring. The number of ED spores per sample ranged from 30-960 with the greatest number trapped in July. For BD, spore release was greater in winter (35%) and spring (30%), compared with autumn (22%) and summer (9%). The number of BD spores per sample ranged from 8-300 spores, with the greatest number trapped in September and October. In winter, 192mm of rain fell over 53 days, in summer 124mm over 16 days, in autumn 103mm over 25 days and in spring 84mm fell over 27 days. The high rainfall in summer was due to 96mm of rain falling over a two-day period in February, which coincided with the release of BD spores only. However, ED and BD spores were also trapped 6-12 days after rain events in November and December.

From Coonawarra, of 172 spore tape samples collected from December 2014 to mid-November 2015, 28 (16%) and 29 (17%) tested positive to ED and BD spores, respectively (Figure 2). For ED, spore release was greater in winter (54%) compared with autumn (32%), summer (11%) and spring (3%). The number of

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ED spores per sample ranged from 30 to 5400, with the greatest numbers trapped between May and September. For BD, spore release was greater in winter (48%) compared with spring (21%), summer (17%) and autumn (14%). The number of BD spores per sample ranged from 8 to 235, with the highest number trapped in September. In winter, 133mm of rain fell over 61 days which was greater than in autumn with 107mm over 47 days, summer with 95mm over 20 days and spring with 27mm over 11 days.

BD spores were detected one to two weeks after rain events in October and November.

From Griffith, of 182 spore tape samples collected from June 2014 to May 2015, 30 (17%) and 35 (19%) tested positive to ED and BD pathogens, respectively (Figure 3, see page 49). For ED, spore release was similar across four seasons (20-30%) with spore numbers ranging from 30 to 2730 and the greatest numbers trapped in January. For BD, spore release was greater in summer (54%) compared with spring (34%), winter (14%) and autumn (8%). The number of BD spores per sample ranged from 8 to

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TRUNK DISEASE

Barossa Valley

BD

ED

Temp (Max) 1000

Autumn

Summer

Winter

40

800

30

600

20

400

10

200

Sep 2013

Oct 2013

Nov 2013

Dec 2013

Feb 2014

Mar 2014

Apr 2014

May 2014

Coonawarra

56 mm

50

Jan 2014

Aug 2014

5400 spores

2010 spores

Summer

Jul 2014

Jun 2014

0

2000

Spring

Winter

Autumn

40

1600

30

1200

20

800

10

400

0

Dec 2014

Jan 2015

Feb 2015

Mar 2015

Apr 2015

May 2015

Jun 2015

Jul 2015

No. of spores / 2-day period

Total rainfall (mm) and Max temperature (C)

Spring

0

Total rainfall (mm) and Max temperature (C)

Rain (mm)

96 mm

50

Aug 2015

Sep 2015

Oct 2015

No.of spores / 2-day period

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0

Nov 2015

Figure 2. Number of spores of eutypa dieback (ED; grey bars) and Botryosphaeria dieback (BD; red bars) pathogens detected per two-day period at locations in the Barossa Valley and Coonawarra, South Australia, over four consecutive seasons, plotted against rainfall (blue) and maximum temperature (green) collected from automatic weather stations (www.bom.gov.au).

430 with the greatest number detected in January 2015. In summer, 116mm of rain fell over 21 days which was greater than the winter rainfall of 66mm over 26 days, spring with 60mm over 17 days and autumn with 53mm over 16 days.

ED and BD spores were detected one to two weeks after rain events on several occasions across all four seasons.

From the Hunter Valley, of 195 samples collected from June 2014 to May 2015, 41 (21%) and 35 (18%) tested positive to ED and BD pathogens (Figure 3). For ED, spore release was similar in spring, summer and autumn (27% for each season) but less in winter (19%).

The number of ED spores was extremely high (up to 7500 on one occasion in April) with 10 samples from different seasons detected with more than 1000 spores.

Eutypa lata has not been reported in the Hunter Valley and subsequent DNA sequencing analysis confirmed the positive samples as the closely related fungus Eutypella microtheca (data not shown). For BD, spore release was greater in autumn (34%) compared with winter (28%), summer (23%) and spring (14%). The number of BD spores per sample ranged from 8 to 227 with the greatest number trapped in May. In

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autumn, 404mm of rain fell over 35 days (211mm over two days in May), much greater than in summer with 298mm over 44 days, winter with 114mm over 25 days and spring with 86mm over 19 days. ED and BD spores were detected one week after rain events in August, September and May. DISCUSSION This study was the first attempt to monitor spore release of both ED and BD pathogens in different climatic regions of Australia. Studies from overseas revealed that the seasonal release of these spores varied depending on the climate of each region, which is similar to the results obtained from the spore trapping studies from four different regions in Australia. In the Barossa Valley, BD spores were trapped more frequently (23 times) during the year compared with ED spores that were trapped only 10 times. In contrast, ED spores were trapped 41 times in the Hunter Valley which was slightly more frequent than BD at 35 times. In the Coonawarra and Griffith, the frequency of spores released

by ED and BD pathogens were similar (28-29 times in Coonawarra and 30-

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35 times in Griffith, respectively). The results obtained, particularly from the Barossa Valley and Hunter Valley, were unexpected since E. lata is believed to be more prevalent in southern regions such as the Barossa Valley (Highet and Wicks 1998), while this species has not been reported from surveys in the Hunter Valley (Creaser et al. 2003, Trouillas et al.

2011), which has a sub-tropical climate.

The high number of ED spores trapped in the Hunter Valley has been attributed to the related species Eu. Microtheca, not E. lata. The survey by Trouillas et al.

(2011) showed that Eu. microtheca was the most prevalent species isolated from the Hunter Valley, so the impact of this species needs to be further investigated.

The reason for the lower number of spores of ED compared with BD in the Barossa Valley is unclear and requires further investigation once more spore data is generated over several years.

Analyses of the remaining samples from these regions may assist, but more intensive sampling within regions will be necessary to determine the variation in spore release by the different pathogens within a region.

The greater spore numbers of ED pathogens compared with BD pathogens may be due to the size and mode of discharge of these spores. It is well known that ED pathogens can actively eject their spores from their fruiting structures into the air and these can travel long distances (potentially up to 160km) depending on wind speed (Moller and Carter 1965). The spores of BD pathogens are released in slimy ribbon-like spore masses which require the impact of rain droplets for dispersal (Slippers and Wingfield 2007, ÚrbezTorres et al. 2010), making them less airborne and only likely to travel a few metres. In addition, ED pathogen spores are less than half the size of BD pathogen spores (Trouillas et al. 2011, Pitt et al.

2010), making them smaller and lighter for wind dispersal. As the size of fruiting structures of the ED and BD pathogens are similar (Trouillas et al. 2011; Phillips et al. 2013), it is likely that the fruiting structures of ED pathogens can produce and contain more spores for release than those of BD pathogens. Regardless, even if spore numbers are low, both ED and BD spores can infect susceptible wounds as very few viable spores are needed for infection to take place. Moller and

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Rain

ED

Temp (Max)

Winter

1500

Summer

Spring

Autumn

40

1200

30

900

20

600

10

300

0

Jun 2014

Jul 2014

Aug 2014

Sep 2014

Oct 2014

Nov 2014

Dec 2014

Jan 2015

Feb 2015

Hunter Valley

4980 spores

50

Winter

Mar 2015

May 2015

7500 spores 211 mm

0

2500

Autumn

Summer

Spring

Apr 2015

40

2000

30

1500

20

1000

10

500

0

Jun 2014

Jul 2014

Aug 2014

Sep 2014

Oct 2014

Nov 2014

Dec 2014

Jan 2015

Feb 2015

No. of spores / 2-day period

Total rainfall (mm) and Max temperature (C)

BD

2730 spores

Mar 2015

Apr 2015

May 2015

No. of spores / 2-day period

Griffith 50

Total rainfall (mm) and Max temperature (C)

Carter (1971) showed that as little as 10 E. lata spores can result in infection in apricots. Elena et al. (2015) reported that inoculation of grapevine pruning wounds with 10 spores of ED and BD pathogens, resulted in 20% and 40% recovery from wounds, respectively. Amponsah et al. (2014) also showed that as little as two BD pathogen spores can result in infection of grapevine shoots.

Differences in seasonal release of ED and BD spores between regions were mainly attributed to rainfall in each region, which is in agreement with past studies from around the world. In South Australia, a higher percentage of spores were detected in winter than in summer, opposite to that detected in New South Wales. In winter, a total of 53 and 61 days of rain was recorded in the Barossa Valley and Coonawarra, respectively, more widespread than the 25 and 32 days of rain recorded in the Hunter Valley and Griffith, respectively. In contrast, in summer, 44 days of rain were recorded in the Hunter Valley and only 16 days in the Barossa Valley.

ED and BD spores were generally trapped during or immediately after the occurrence of rain, with as little as 0.2mm of rain resulting in spore release, which is the same as was reported for BD pathogens by Úrbez Torres et al.

(2010) and van Niekerk et al. (2010), but less than the 1.2mm of rain required for E. lata spore release reported by Moller and Carter (1965). Occasionally, ED and BD spores were continuously trapped for up to 14 days which also coincided with continuous rain. However, not all rain events resulted in spore release of either pathogen and there were several periods where no spores were trapped despite continuous rainfall. Dubos (1987, cited by Carter 1991) reported that once exhausted, fruiting bodies of E. lata required around 12 days for maturation of new ascospores. In addition, the stroma of E. lata is productive for more than one year and new perithecia develop when the old ones are exhausted (Moller and Carter 1965). The amount of time required for the pathogens to develop new fruiting structures and produce spores may explain the lack of spores trapped in some rainy periods.

On a number of occasions, at different locations, spores were trapped more than a week after any rainfall event in this study. The spore release during

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0

Figure 3. Number of spores of eutypa dieback (ED; grey bars) and Botryosphaeria dieback (BD; red bars) pathogens detected per two-day period at locations in Griffith and Hunter Valley, New South Wales, over four consecutive seasons, plotted against rainfall (blue) and maximum temperature (green) collected from automatic weather stations (www.bom.gov.au). these dry periods may be attributed to other environmental factors (e.g. relative humidity, dew and wind) but this will need further investigation.

Pruning in Australian regions takes place during winter when vines are dormant, which often coincides with the highest rainfall periods. Trials on wound susceptibility to ED and BD pathogens showed that wounds were most susceptible during the first two weeks following pruning, with little effect of altering the timing of pruning (Ayres et al. 2016). However, pruning wound protection trials showed that fungicide treatments provided up to three weeks protection from infection by ED and BD pathogens (Ayres et al. 2017). Wounds created as part of canopy management (i.e. sucker removal, shoot trimming) may also be at risk of becoming infected

by ED and BD spores, which has been reported elsewhere (Lecomte and Bailey 2011, Makatini et al. 2014). There is no information on the risk of infection during spring and summer pruning in Australia and, therefore, this should be the focus of future research.

The comprehensive spore trapping in four major wine regions in this study is providing beneficial information on the spore release patterns of ED and

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BD pathogens. The data generated from samples analysed to date demonstrated that the seasonal spore release patterns of ED and BD pathogens varied between regions and pathogens. It also confirmed rainfall as the primary environmental factor that influenced the release of these pathogen spores. Once data are generated from all three years of spore trapping at each location, this study will elucidate the critical times of the year when ED and BD spores are abundant in vineyards. Since wine regions in Australia cover a wide area with highly diverse climates, it will be important to broaden the scope of regions monitored. In current research, spore traps have been deployed in four more regions and will be monitored for a further three years to expand our knowledge on the effect of the breadth of climatic differences that exists between wine regions of Australia, and how this influences spore dispersal.

This will eventually provide localised data for each region that will assist growers in making decisions for optimal pruning time and fungicide treatments of their vineyards. The future aim of this research will be to adopt developing technology for real-time spore monitoring of grapevine trunk disease pathogens in Australian ▶ vineyards.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was funded by Wine Australia, with additional financial support from Nufarm Australia, Adelaide Hills Wine Region, Barossa Grape and Wine Association, McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association and Clare Region Winegrape Growers Association.

The authors also thank the Riverina Marketing Board and McWilliam’s Wines for in-kind support.

REFERENCES Amponsah, N.T.; Jones, E.E.; Ridgway, H.J. and Jaspers, M.V. (2009) Rain water dispersal of Botryosphaeria conidia from infected grapevines.

New Zealand Plant Protection 62:228–233.

Amponsah, N.T.; Jones, E.E.; Ridgway, H.J. and Jaspers, M.V. (2014) Factors affecting Neofusicoccum luteum infection and disease progression in grapevines. Australasian Plant Pathology 43:547-556.

Ayres, M.; Billones-Baaijens, R.; Savocchia, S.; Scott, E. and Sosnowski, M. (2016) Susceptibility of pruning wounds to grapevine trunk disease pathogens. Wine and Viticulture Journal 31(6):48-50.

Ayres, M.; Billones-Baaijens, R.; Savocchia, S.; Scott, E. and Sosnowski, M. (2017) Critical timing for application of pruning wound protectants for control of grapevine trunk diseases. Wine and Viticulture Journal 32(1):38-41.

Carter, M.V. (1991) The status of Eutypa lata as a pathogen. Monograph – Phytopathological Paper No. 32. (International Mycological Institute, Surrey, UK).

Carter, M.V. and Moller, W.J. (1967) The effect of pruning time on the incidence of Eutypa armeniacae infection in apricot trees. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 7:584-586.

Carter, M.V. and Moller, W.J. (1970) Duration of susceptibility of apricot pruning wounds to infection

by Eutypa armeniacae. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 21:915-920.

Creaser, M.; Savocchia, S.; Hitch, C. and Wicks, T. (2003) Survey of the Hunter Valley and Mudgee wine regions for eutypa dieback disease. The Australian and New Zealand Grapegrower and Winemaker 472:15–16.

Carter, M.V. and Moller, W.J. (1971) The quantity of inoculum required to infect apricot and other Prunus species with Eutypa armeniacae. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 11:684-686.

Elena, G.; Sosnowski, M.R.; Ayres, M.R.; Lecomte, P.; Benetreau, C.; Garcia-Figueres, F. and Luque, J. (2015) Effect of the inoculum dose of three grapevine trunk pathogens on the infection of artificially inoculated pruning wounds. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 54:345-354.

Highet, A. and Wicks, T. (1998) The incidence of eutypa dieback in South Australian vineyards. The Australian Grapegrower and Winemaker Annual Technical Issue 441a:135–136.

Lecomte, P. and Bailey, D.J. (2011) Studies on the infestation by Eutypa lata of grapevine spring wounds. Vitis 50:35-41.

Makatini, G.; Mutawila, C.; Halleen, F. and Mostert, L. (2014) Grapevine sucker wounds as infection ports for trunk disease pathogens.

Phytopathologia Mediterranea 53:573.

Moller, W.J. and Carter, M.V. (1965) Production and dispersal of ascospores in Eutypa armeniacae.

Australian Journal of Biological Science 18:67-80.

Kuntzmann, P.; Villaume, S. and Bertsch, C. (2009) Conidia dispersal of Diplodia species in a French vineyard. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 48:150-154.

Pearson, R.C. (1980) Discharge of ascospores of Eutypa armeniacae in New York. Plant Disease 64:171-174.

Petzoldt, C.H.; Sall, M.A.; Moller, W.J. (1983) Factors determining the relative number of ascospores released by Eutypa armeniacae in California. Plant Disease 67:857-860

of Botryosphaeriaceae species associated with grapevine decline and dieback in New South Wales and South Australia. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 16:258-271.

Ramos, D.E.; Moller, W.J. and English, H. (1975) Production and dispersal of ascospores of Eutypa armeniacae in California. Phytopathology 65:13641371.

Slippers, B. and Wingfield, M.J. (2007) Botryosphaeriaceae as endophytes and latent pathogens of woody plants: diversity, ecology and impact. Fungal Biology Reviews 21:90-106.

Trese, A.T.; Burton, C.L. and Ramsdell, D.C. (1980) Eutypa armeniacae in Michigan vineyards: Ascospore production and survival, host infection, and fungal growth at low temperatures.

Phytopathology 70:788-793.

Trouillas, F.P. (2009) Taxonomy and biology of Eutypa and other Diatrypaceae species associated with grapevine canker diseases in California. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Davis.

Trouillas, F.P.; Pitt, W.M.; Sosnowski, M.R.; Huang, R.; Peduto, F.; Loschiavo, A.; Savocchia, S.; Scott, E.S. and Gubler, W.D. (2011) Taxonomy and DNA phylogeny of Diatrypaceae associated with Vitis vinifera and other woody plants in Australia. Fungal Diversity 49:203–223. Úrbez-Torres, J.R.; Battany, M.; Bettiga, L.J.; Gispert, C.; McGourty, G.; Roncoroni, J.; Smith, R.J.; Verdegaal, P. and Gubler, W.D. (2010) Botryosphaeriaceae species spore-trapping studies in California vineyards. Plant Disease 94:717–724.

Valencia, D.; Torres, C.; Camps, R.; Lopez, E.; Celis-Diez, J. and Beosain, X. (2015) Dissemination of Botryosphaeriaceae conidia in vineyards in the semiarid Mediterranean climate of the Valparaíso region of Chile. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 54:394-402. van Niekerk, J.M.; Calitz, F.J.; Halleen, F. and Fourie, P.H. (2010) Temporal spore dispersal patterns of grapevine trunk pathogens in South Africa.

European Journal of Plant Pathology 127:375-390.

Phillips, A.J.L.; Alves, A.; Abdolllahzadeh, J.; Slippers, B.; Wingfield, M.J.; Groenewald, J.Z. and Crous, P.W. (2013) The Botryosphaeriaceae: genera and species known from culture. Studies in Mycology 76:51-167.

Pitt, W.M.; Huang, R.; Steel, C.C. and Savocchia, S. (2010) Identification and distribution

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Altitude in the Orange GI dictates heat summation which dictates wine style

By Christopher Bourke, grapegrower and winemaker, Sons & Brothers Vineyard, Millthorpe, Orange, New South Wales

Unlike most French and Australian wine regions, the heat summation during the growing season in the New South Wales wine region of Orange has a broad band, meaning it incorporates sites comparable to many different regions in France, Chris writes.

T

he Orange wine region is located in central New South Wales on the western face of the Great Dividing Range. Orange and the Adelaide Hills are the only Australian GIs that have boundaries defined by altitude. In Orange, this involves all boundaries but in the Adelaide Hills, only some. The Orange region had grown tablegrapes for more than a century before it was gazetted for the purpose of winegrape production in 1997. The first planting of winegrapes in the GI was in 1952 when Harry Manuel (NSW Department of Agriculture) and local land owner Jack Pryde established a small vineyard near Molong at 610 metres. This was followed by a vineyard at Nashdale (900 metres) planted by Ted Fardell in 1980

and one at Millthorpe (935 metres) planted by Chris Bourke in 1981. In the years since, 65 more vineyards have been developed across the region.

The Orange GI is dominated by the city of Orange which lies between 875 and 900 metres and has as its highest point Mount Canobolas with an altitude of 1396 metres. The GI consists of the contiguous land mass located above 600 metres within the Shires of Orange, Cabonne and Blayney. Vineyards stretch from the 600-metre contour line near the village of Molong (560 metres) in the northwest right across to the south east past the village of Millthorpe (960 metres). The highest vineyard is at 1100 metres, creating an overall altitude rise across the GI of 500 metres and a growing season heat summation

diversity that is greater than most other wine regions around the world.

The ripening of grapes is influenced by a number of factors but the one that exerts the most influence is the growing season heat summation.

Growing season heat summation differences within a wine region are aligned to altitude differences and, in this way, altitude pre-determines the style of wine that a particular vineyard’s fruit will be capable of producing. There are various methods for calculating heat summation but the biologically effective degree days or ‘E values’ concept devised by Dr John Gladstones, an agricultural scientist from Perth, Western Australia, is particularly accurate. This concept is referred to by some as the BEDD value. By using

Table 1. Biologically effective degree days values (E values) for each 50 metre altitude step in the Orange wine region compared with other wine regions.

Orange wine region altitude steps

E value

600 metres

1447

Chianti Central Italy 1517, Margaret River WA 1513, Bordeaux-Pomerol 1454.

650 metres

1414

Bordeaux-St Emilion 1417, Cahors 1410, Piedmont-Barolo 1405, Bordeaux-Medoc 1390.

700 metres

1380

Northern Rhone Hermitage 1358,

750 metres

1347

Rioja Spain Logrono 1350, Murrumbateman NSW 1331,

800 metres

1313

Ararat Great Western Vic 1310,

850 metres

1280

Rioja Spain Haro 1287, Northern Rhone Cote Rotie 1283, RDD Spain Pesquera 1280, Lilydale Yarra Valley 1277.

900 metres

1246

RDD Spain Condado De Haza 1250, Coonawarra SA 1247, Central Loire Chinon 1243, Colmar Alsace 1231, Southern Burgundy Beaujolais-Morgon 1228.

950 metres

1213

Rioja Spain Upper Haro 1217, RDD Spain Upper Sotillo 1208, Central Burgundy Dijon and Beaune 1189, Northern Burgundy Chablis 1184, Arbois the Jura 1184.

1000 metres

1179

Launceston Tas 1159, Bannockburn Central Otago NZ 1150.

1050 metres

1146

Geisenheim Rhine Valley 1140, Sancerre Upper Loire 1133.

1100 metres

1113

Reims Champagne 1082.

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Some wine regions with similar E values to this E value

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The Orange wine region in four seasons: summer (top left), autumn (top right), winter (below left) and spring (below right).

E values, precise and meaningful comparisons can be made between different viticultural regions within Australia and around the world. It was the use of this concept that enabled Gladstones to identify the Margaret River district of WA as an ideal wine region for the production of Bordeaux style red wines before anyone had planted vines there. He determined that Margaret River and Bordeaux were not only maritime locations, but that they

Pinot Noir can be successfully grown between 600 and 1100 metres in the Orange GI, but those producers who wish to match the Burgundian Cote dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Or Pinot Noir style will need to plant this variety between 925 and 975 metres, most ideally at 950 metres. Above 975 metres equates with the Burgundian â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Haute Coteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; subregion and consistent with this is a significant reduction in the number of years in which a high quality Pinot Noir wine can be achieved.

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also had a reasonably close E value; for Margaret River, it was 1513 and for Pomerol, in Bordeaux, it was 1454.

The E value for a particular location is calculated by establishing the mean monthly temperature for each of the growing season months of October to April (April to October in the Northern Hemisphere). Then the number of degrees between 100C and 190C for each month is multiplied by the number of days in that month and the sum of these seven monthly figures becomes the raw E value. The temperature calculation range used

by Gladstones is restricted because he argues that vine growth only starts above 100C and becomes saturated above 190C. This opinion is consistent with the observation that it is the spring and early summer temperature regime that dictates the ripening date for a particular season, not the mid to late summer and early autumn temperature regime. The raw E value is always adjusted to allow for the latitude of the location (hence the day length variation) and also the maritime or continental aspect of the location (hence the daily temperature range variation). Sometimes an individual vine site E value may be further refined by making arithmetical adjustments for its degree of slope, its position relative to the sun, its wind exposure or cold air

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pooling risk, etc. The E values used in the current article have been latitude and continentality adjusted but not individual vine site adjusted.

Dr Gladstones has provided the author with E values for the village of Molong at 560 metres and the village of Millthorpe at 960 metres and by using these values, namely 1474 for Molong and 1206 for Millthorpe, the author has calculated that within the Orange wine region an altitude difference of 400

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metres is associated with an E value difference of 268. Hence, the average E value decline for every 50 metres of altitude rise in the Orange GI will be 33.5. In Table 1 (see page 51) each of the 50 metre altitude steps that work their way up the Orange wine region have been assigned an E value and then compared with some other Australian and European wine regions that have a similar E value. Whereas most French and Australian wine regions occupy a

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narrow heat summation band, the Orange wine region occupies a very broad one. As a consequence, Orange includes locations equivalent to many different French regions. These are Bordeaux, Cahors, the Northern Rhone, Beaujolais, the Cote d’Or, Chablis, the Loire Valley, the Jura, Alsace and Champagne.

The altitude-associated wine style outcome for any particular vine variety planted across the Orange GI can be easily predicted. For example, while Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon can be ripened at between 600 and 950 metres in the Orange region, the wine style produced by each will inevitably be medium to full bodied at 600 metres but only light to medium bodied at 950 metres resulting in the majority of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon wines produced in the GI being medium bodied. To produce a Hermitage-Rhone style of Shiraz this variety needs to be planted at about 750 metres, but for a Cote Rotie-Rhone style it should be planted at about 850 metres. Likewise, to produce a Medoc Bordeaux style of Cabernet Sauvignon this variety needs to be planted at about 700 metres, but to produce a Pomerol or St Emillion Bordeaux style it needs to be planted at 600 to 650 metres. Both Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon when grown at a high altitude, for example 900 to 950 metres, can potentially produce a rather unique lighter wine style that is

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capable of developing great complexity with extended bottle ageing and which stylistically is reminiscent of a richer, more age worthy traditional Burgundian Pinot Noir or Moulin a Vent Gamay.

Pinot Noir can be successfully grown between 600 and 1100 metres in the Orange GI, but those producers who wish to match the Burgundian Cote d’Or Pinot Noir style will need to plant this variety between 925 and 975 metres, most ideally at 950 metres. Above 975 metres equates with the Burgundian ‘Haute Cote’ sub-region and consistent with this is a significant reduction in the number of years in which a high quality Pinot Noir wine can be achieved.

Pinot Noir intended for sparkling base will be most successful when grown between 1000 and 1100 metres and this has already been observed to be the case. Loire-style Cabernet Franc and Beaujolais-style Gamay can be achieved at Orange if these varieties are grown at 900 to 950 metres. Cabernet Franc also performs well at lower altitudes but the wine style produced is different.

Malbec and Merlot ripen over a range of altitudes at Orange but only produce the bigger, richer wine style that many seek when grown at 600 to 650 metres.

Tempranillo shows great potential in the Orange GI but altitude once again dictates the wine style outcome.

Tempranillo could be used to produce either the more elegant and savoury Rioja-Haro wine style, or the not

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ORANGE WINE REGION

dissimilar Ribera Del Duero (RDD) wine style, by planting it at between 850 and 950 metres. However, to achieve the bigger, somewhat coarser Rioja-Logrono style the variety would need to be planted lower down at 750 metres. Wine style-wise, Sangiovese, Barbera and Nebbiolo will only work well at Orange if planted at or below 700 metres and this is becoming more obvious as more growers experiment with these varieties. Likewise, Grenache grown at the lower altitudes can be used to produce rosé-style wines but even at these altitudes the heat summation is too low to produce high quality red wines. Grenache grown in the Southern Rhone, in the region of Chateauneuf du Pape, is grown at an E value of 1539 which is significantly higher than the 1447 of Orange at 600 metres. Consequently, Grenache (and its companion variety Mourvedre/ Mataro) would be a poor choice for the production of an Orange wine region red wine.

Chardonnay can be successfully grown from 600 metres right up to 1100

metres and very good examples of the full gambit of Chardonnay wine styles have been produced across the GI. Sauvignon Blanc is best grown between 850 and 1050 metres if a standalone aromatic wine style is desired, but the potential also exists for Sauvignon Blanc to be grown together with Semillon at lower altitudes to produce the less aromatic white Bordeaux wine style. To achieve the Sancerre Sauvignon style the variety needs to be grown at higher altitudes, ideally 1050 metres. Riesling shows great potential at Orange and can produce the full range of Riesling wine styles depending on where it is planted. It performs well from 600 metres right up to 1100 metres. Pinot Gris performs at its best at between 900 and 975 metres. Likewise, Gewurztraminer (alias Savagnin Rose Musque) could produce an Alsatian wine style and its twin Savagnin Blanc, a Jura wine style if each of these varieties are grown at 900 to 975 metres.

For the French variety Viognier to produce a Condrieu Rhone-like

wine style it needs to be grown at 750 to 850 metres, and because both Marsanne and Rousanne come from the Hermitage and Southern Rhone regions, they need to be grown at 600 to 700 metres to produce a Rhonelike wine style. Choosing sites for the Italian white varieties requires a degree of caution since many originate from Italian regions that are much warmer than growers realise. For example, Arneis is a Piedmontese variety and is typically grown at an E value of about 1400 which would suggest that Orange at a lower altitude, ideally 600 to 650 metres, is a better place for it than Orange at a higher altitude. The same would apply to Verduzzo which comes from Friuli and Veneto, and also Fiano which comes from Campania. The Spanish white variety Albarino comes from the Galicia region of northwestern Spain and on that basis alone the ideal location for initial plantings of it would be 600 to 700 metres.

WVJ

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ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES

V V II T T II C C U U L LT T U U R R E E

Marking 30 years of growing Roussanne at St Huberts

By Greg Jarratt, Winemaker, St Huberts, Yarra Valley, Victoria

Owned by Treasury Wine Estates, St Huberts has notched up 30 years of growing Roussanne in its Yarra Valley vineyard

U

nlike many other ‘alternative’ varieties, Roussanne has had quite a history in Australia – a history in two parts. It probably first entered the country via one of the pioneers of our wine industry James Busby. He catalogued cuttings of Roussanne taken from the “Hill of Hermitage” in 1833. The fate of these vines is a bit of a mystery, and I have a suspicion many were mixed into mid to late 1800s Marsanne blocks as fruit salad plantings. There is little doubt the variety’s white Rhone brethren Marsanne and Viognier became more popular and prolific over time. This is likely two-fold, given the latter varieties have more obvious fruit flavours, and importantly, tend to be better behaved in the vineyard. More on this later…

The second part of Roussanne’s history started when the CSIRO obtained material from the Rhone Valley for its collection in 1974. The same clone entered South Australia in 1981, and it would seem Yeringberg, in the Yarra Valley, took some of the first cuttings and planted them in 1983. This clone is 1974/CX/ Vassal and occasionally referred to as the ‘Yeringberg clone’. Most of Australia’s older plantings of Roussanne are from this material and St Huberts 1.38ha block planted in 1987 is no exception. It has been established the original CSIRO Vassal clone contains the leafroll virus, and there are currently heat-treated versions of this clone, and ENTAV 468, available domestically.

The St Huberts vineyard is on the Yarra Valley floor, 80-100m above sea level – a warm site by Yarra standards.

The soil is a quite well drained grey clay loam over a deeper clay layer, with rainfall around 750mm/annum.

Roussanne is planted at 3.6m x 1.8m

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row and vine spacings in a north-south orientation and is VSP trained and two-bud spur pruned to 36-40 buds per vine. The vines were previously trellised to hanging cane, however around half the bunches tended to be overexposed and got too hot and sunburnt, leading to caramel characters and bitterness in the resultant wine.

Freshly-picked Roussanne grapes from the St Huberts vineyard in Victoria’s Yarra Valley.

As our Roussanne ripens mid to late season (typically harvested a week or two before our Cabernet Sauvignon), vineyard practices such as pruning and sprays are more in line with late reds.

Prescription fertiliser blends are added at the start of each season across the vineyard based on soil tests every three years and specific deficiencies addressed though foliar sprays following annual petiole testing. The reasonably thin skins, medium to large size berries and quite tight bunches lead to a high risk

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of splitting and botrytis. With the Yarra’s high summer rainfall, vigilance and a diligent spray program are required.

Vines are trimmed in December or January to help with airflow and maintain some exposure for the fruit.

Yields for the Roussanne block can be a feast or famine affair. It generally wants to throw too much fruit, so is crop thinned around set, sometimes closer to verasion. Previously, we aimed for crop levels around the 5-7t/ha, but in the last few years we’ve been getting better fruit quality closer to 8-10t/ha. Possibly the higher crop level slows down the rate of ripening and also allows for a larger picking window. In the last five years or so we have been hand picking around the 1212.5Bé mark. I emphasise hand picking, as on the one occasion we machine picked it resulted in bins full of ‘grape soup’ due to the thin skins, biggish berries and their low pulp contents. After quite a long period of relative ‘blah water bags’ tasting close to picking, flavour and spice does kick-in, but it seems after some time of low acidity in the fruit.

The new winemaking team in 2006 had no experience making wines from the variety, so we thought it best to do a vertical tasting over 10 vintages or so to identify the St Huberts ‘house style’.

Three things became evident. First, there didn’t appear to be a clear ‘house style’. Some wines were oaky, some were sweet, some high alcohol and full, others tighter and lean (obviously a mix of vintage variation and the experimental footprints of our predecessors).

Secondly, there were some pretty interesting tannins and phenolics going on. And, thirdly, the variety has the ability to age amazingly well!

So, with no real rule book, it was time to become familiar with this variety ourselves. Early on we treated it in a

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ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES

ROUSSANNE

By Peter Dry Emeritus Fellow, The Australian Wine Research Institute

similar manner to Semillon, after all, it did look similar in the vineyard – apart from the rusty/bronzing on the exposed berries. We picked one parcel early and the other 10 days later, both crushed and pressed, a free run and pressings fraction separated, the early pick tank fermented and the late pick barrel fermented. Both had useful characters; the early pick (if tending a little neutral) had attractive floral aromatics, the latter, more richness and depth. The one thing that was restrained in both were the signature phenolics on the palate, hence those pressings had a part to play.

Today, with 10 years’ experience making Roussanne, and plenty of fun, we have pretty well settled on the style we

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BACKGROUND

VITICULTURE

Roussanne (roo-SAHN) originated in the northern Rhone but has spread to other parts of France. It was first mentioned in the late 18th century. Its name is said to derive from the French word roux in reference to the russet colour of its ripe berries. DNA evidence has revealed a parent-offspring relationship with Marsanne. The global area planted in 2010 was 1746ha, close to 100% in France where the area has doubled since 2000. Synonyms include Barbin, Bergeron (Savoie), Fromental, Fromentau (Isere), Martin Cot (Savoie, Isere) and Petite Roussette (Hermitage).

It is often blended with Marsanne in the still white wines of Hermitage, CrozesHermitage and Saint-Joseph; and in the still and sparkling wines of Saint-Péray.

Roussanne is also permitted in the white wines of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Cotes du Rhône and recommended in Languedoc, Roussillon, Provence, Loire and Savoie. There are small areas in Italy (Liguria, Tuscany), Portugal, Greece and USA (California, Oregon and Washington). Currently there are at least 64 wine producers in Australia, spread over more than 25 regions, mainly in Victoria and South Australia (25ha in 2015)—Barossa Valley, Canberra District, Yarra Valley and Rutherglen have the most producers.

Roussanne is reputed to be a difficult variety to grow. Budburst is midseason and maturity is mid-season to late (relatively late for a white variety).

Vigour is low with an erect growth habit.

Bunches are small to medium and well-filled with small berries. Yield is relatively low and irregular. Spur pruning is most often used in Australia. It is very susceptible to Oidium, Botrytis bunch rot and wind damage. Although bunches are sensitive to sunburn, some exposure is said to be necessary to ensure even ripening.

are after for St Huberts, and how to aim for it each vintage. We are hunting the subtle floral notes, the fresh cut Nashi pear, and hints of citrus on the nose. For the palate, a fine and flinty wine with the underlying ‘slippery’, textural phenolics of the variety.

We keep our winemaking simple; hand pick, whole bunch press, no press cut (and often more than one hard press), full solids juice, an inoculated tank portion and a wild barrel ferment portion. The former gives freshness, aromatics and line to the wine, the latter in French oak a little more body and texture, and the 5% new oak a lift on the nose. It is typically blended, cleaned up and bottled in July/ August.

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WINE Roussanne wines are medium- to full-bodied with crisp acidity and finesse.

A textural palate is a common feature irrespective of source. Descriptors include ‘peach’, ‘quince’, ‘apricot blossom’, ‘lime peel’ and ‘savoury’. With age, wines can develop ‘honey’ and ‘butterscotch’ characters. It is mainly used for varietal wines in Australia but can also be a useful blending partner with Marsanne and Viognier.

For further information on this and other emerging varieties, contact Marcel Essling (marcel.essling@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.

With much of the growth of wine sales in the domestic market coming from new products, growers, makers and marketers should always be thinking outside the box. ‘Emerging’ or ‘alternative’ varietals must certainly be in this mix.

REFERENCES Ammerlaan, D. (2017) pers. comm. de Pury, S. (2017) pers. comm.

Halliday, J. (2017) pers. comm.

Dry, N. (2017) pers. comm.

Murphy, P.D. (1992) National Register of Grapevine Varieties and Clones, Australian Vine Improvement Association.

Busby, J. (1833) Journal of a tour through some of the vineyards of Spain and France.

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VINEYARD/WINERY SALES

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

Wine sector recovery takes hold

By Stephen Strachan, Director, Gaetjens Langley. Email: sstrachan@glwineadvisory.com.au

Gaetjens Langley provides its annual review of vineyard and winery asset sales in the Australian wine industry over the past 12 months.

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eports of the recovery in the Australian wine category have been growing in frequency. Of course, discerning the marketing babble from the facts is always important, but the facts show clear evidence of general improvement in conditions.

Exports are on the up, and values are climbing strongly in higher price points.

Grape prices are increasing across most regions and varieties - and probably most tellingly - bulk wine pricing, is demonstrating that the substantial surpluses of the past decade or so are mostly gone.

A review of the financial performance of companies such as Treasury Wine Estates, Casella, Brown Brothers, DeBortoli and Taylors would also tend to indicate that some companies at

least are experiencing an improvement in financial fortunes and are cashed up for the right acquisition. Casella, in particular, has been active, and made the most of strategic opportunities to secure vineyards and brands when values were at a low point.

Vineyard, winery and wine business acquisitions are generally a lagging indicator of the fortunes in the wine industry. In other words, it takes longer for the market to ‘catch up’ to the changed circumstances on transactions.

However, the evidence is clearly pointing to an increase in transaction values, so the market shift is well and truly under way.

The sale last year of the Jindalee Estate winery, near Geelong; the Southern Estates Winery, in Griffith;

and this year, the sale of Ballastone, in Currency Creek (SA), were all distressed asset sales. However, these sales are the exception now, and tend to reflect the specific excess supply of processing capacity. By and large, vineyard sales values are on the increase across most regions, and evidence of bank pressure precipitating these sales is increasingly scarce.

For some time now, the Barossa has been the star performer for vineyard transactions in particular. And the oncesleepy hamlet of Greenock has seen several very high value sales – notably a small winery and vineyard that was flipped to Golden Amrita International at about $100,000 per hectare and a 16ha vineyard sold for around $140,000 per hectare to Blends Wine Estate, part

Distressed asset sales are the exception within the Australian wine industry now with vineyard sales values, by and large, on the increase across most regions.

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of the Argento Wine Group which has wine investments in Napa, Bordeaux and South America and is owned

by Argentinian billionaire Alejandro Bulgheroni. These sales follow the sale of an adjacent vineyard to Murray Street Vineyards at a reported $115,000 per hectare including crop. As always, though, the transactions on these sales reflect the varietal mix, the site and, most often, their strategic use to the buyer, for example, a neighbour. Lesser vineyards are selling for a lot lower prices, so the performance is by no means uniform.

In South Australia, the Barossa has probably been outshone over the past 12 months by McLaren Vale with several large vineyard sales at high values.

The Reedy Creek and Hawthorne Ridge sales set the tone in June last year, with almost 170ha of high quality red vineyard selling for about $73,000 per hectare to Casella Family Wines. The recent sale of Connor’s Farm to Treasury Wine Estates was at even higher values and the high performers in the region were the sales of Duck Chase East and Duck Chase West vineyards for more than $100,000 per hectare. Combined, the top-end sales in Barossa and McLaren Vale continue to demonstrate the market’s demand for full-bodied premium red wine, which is being influenced heavily by Chinese demand for these wine styles.

With 40% or more growth in sales to China over the last 12 months, it should be no surprise that demand for vineyards is reflecting the sales preferences for wine into China, which is almost exclusively red wine and primarily Shiraz.

Even where the sales are not destined for China, the scarcity in the market is being reflected in buyer interest and transaction values elsewhere.

For instance, DeBortoli acquired the Freemans Bridge Vineyard, in Heathcote, late last year at an estimated $40,000 per hectare. While not even close to Barossa values, it demonstrates the adage that a rising tide lifts all boats.

…the evidence is clearly pointing to an increase in transaction values, so the market shift is well and truly under way.

Cooler climate regions with pedigree are also demonstrating strong demand, with Tasmania, the Yarra Valley (particular upper Yarra Valley) and Mornington Peninsula all with long lists of potential buyers for the right vineyards.

Unfortunately, the right vineyards are generally tightly held and infrequently come onto the market, if at all. New vineyard developments in these regions will be inevitable if the right land with secure water can be sourced. Notably, demand for these vineyards has little association with rising Chinese demand and, in general, reflects the gradual awakening of consumers to specific and special sites.

Winery sales over the last 12 months or so have been a mixed bag. The sale of Balgownie in the Yarra Valley (and Bendigo) was priced at $28.7 million which included the Yarra Valley resort, a 28-hectare vineyard, a small winery in the Yarra, and a separate winery and vineyard in Bendigo. Also included was brand and goodwill. Whilst technically a winery sale,

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the driving motive in this transaction was the high-quality accommodation within reach of Melbourne.

The sale of Rymill winery, in Coonawarra, was another strong result, with a high-quality, modern, 2000-tonne winery, 143 hectares of vineyard and associated brand sold for a little more than $13 million, plus inventory. The new owner, Landbridge, has undertaken to invest considerably in development of the existing vineyards which is promising for the company and the region.

As noted earlier, Southern Estate Wines, in Griffith, was sold out of receivership to Calabria Family Wines for an estimated $6.8 million. Purpose built

by Cinzano in the 1970s and previously owned by The Wine Group (USA), this winery had an 18,000-tonne capacity with 2000 tonnes of red fermentation capacity, 18 million litres of storage and excellent effluent capacity. This sale represented good buying for Calabria Family Wines and now sets them up with two large, efficient wineries in close proximity.

The interesting take for most of the sales mentioned is that a lot had been languishing on the market for some time.

In our view, the recent activity represents a real wave of confidence.

Overall, as wine supply tightens the pressure to secure grapes intensifies, whether for efficient commercial vineyards, for existing fine-wine brands, or for the growing trend towards singlevineyard wines.

Gaetjens Langley was established in 1998 and over the past 19 years has played a key role in winery and vineyard transactions across Australia, from Margaret River to the Barossa, Hunter WVJ and Yarra Valleys.

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V32N4

CHARDONNAY

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

Chardonnay in Australia: history, evolution and revolution

By Mark Rowley, Senior Analyst, Wine Australia

I

t has been consumed for centuries, however Chardonnay was only truly introduced to the consumer through clever variety-based branding in the ‘80s and ‘90s and it became a runaway success. The variety was able to span consumer types, popular with wine connoisseurs and trend followers alike. However, along the way, other varieties emerged providing consumers with more choice and more competition for Australian Chardonnay.

The reinvention of Chardonnay then began with ‘oak out’ and ‘elegance in’ and now Chardonnay appears to be at a crossroads. Chardonnay’s future is yet to be determined and this article examines the data to find out if Chardonnay’s star is rising once more.

Australia has an opportunity to lead Chardonnay on a global level. Our Chardonnay vineyard area in 2010 was third only to the United States and France, and much of French Chardonnay is branded by region rather than variety. What stands Australia apart is our reliance on the variety, with Chardonnay our third most planted variety making up 18 percent of our vineyard area. In many respects, Australia cannot afford to let Chardonnay slip, but there would also be a lost opportunity if our world-class Chardonnay is not recognised.

Chardonnay shot to stardom in the 1990s and, as Figure 2 illustrates, there was huge growth from minuscule plantings and then a mass of removals after the export-led boom of Australian wine ended. The variety typifies the boom and bust, and more elegantly than any other variety. The subsequent revolution in sales is yet to affect plantings in any way.

The average purchase price of Chardonnay reflects a few key global trends. Let’s first examine ‘warmer’ climate fruit, which is affected more by global wine markets and supply and demand balance than cooler climate fruit.

As is illustrated in Figure 3, there was some improvement in the average price before 2013, when a large Spanish vintage washed global markets with wine and depressed prices into the following few years. Even though the Australian dollar was depreciating during this time and Australia’s domestic supply and demand balance improved, it took three years for prices to begin to recover to near 2013 levels. For cooler climate fruit, prices have been flat for the past four years, but higher than in the immediately preceding years. This can be largely attributable to supply and demand being more in balance, combined with improving demand for higher-priced Chardonnay in the domestic market.

The booming China market is yet to affect premium white grapes prices in a meaningful way. Figure 4 illustrates the average purchase price of Australian red and white winegrapes in the cool climate regions. The average price ▶ between red and white almost reached parity in 2011.

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Figure 1. Global Chardonnay plantings, 2010.

Source: The University of Adelaide

Figure 2. Australian vineyard area – Chardonnay compared with all other varieties. Source: ABS Vineyards Survey

Figure 3. Average purchase price of Australian Chardonnay.

Source: Wine Australia

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Figure 4. Average purchase price of cool climate wine grapes (red vs. white). Source: Wine Australia

Figure 5. Top global markets for Australian Chardonnay (2016).

Source: Wine Australia, Euromonitor and Aztec

However, the average has since de-converged rapidly.

The strongest factor appears to be demand from China. The country has now become Australia’s most lucrative export market – with a bias towards premium Australian wines. Red wine makes up 94% (by value) of Australia’s wine shipments to China.

DOMESTIC MARKET Australia is the biggest single market for Australian Chardonnay (see Figure 5). The decline in consumption in Australia is one reason for Chardonnay prices being depressed for so long.

Consumers began switching their white grape of choice to Sauvignon Blanc as far back as 2000. Today, Sauvignon Blanc has eclipsed Chardonnay as Australia’s favourite variety; there are 2.2 bottles of Sauvignon Blanc sold for every bottle of Chardonnay. The good news is that this shifting of preferences has ended and both categories are now in growth. There were early clues that this turnaround would eventuate. As far back as 2012-13, the tide began to turn with the most expensive Chardonnays and this change has now spread across the entire Chardonnay category.

EXPORT MARKETS Chardonnay has performed better in export markets over the past two years, after seven years of decline.

In the year to March 2017, the total value of Chardonnay exports increased by 3% to $247 million. Although Chardonnay under-performed compared with a combination of all varieties, this is a reflection of the leverage that Chardonnay has in particular markets. For example, when China (which consumes little Australian Chardonnay) is removed from the results, total Australian exports increased by 2%, whereas Chardonnay exports increased by 3%. This illustrates some of China’s impact on the Australian wine sector. As Figure 5 illustrates, most major export markets for Chardonnay have been recording growth, with exceptional growth into the United States (up 20%), Japan (up 14%), the

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Figure 6. Top global markets for Australian Chardonnay above A$45.00 per case (MAT April 2017). Source: Wine Australia

Netherlands (up 8%) and slower growth into Canada (up 3%). Exports to all other destinations increased by 5% in aggregate.

Higher-priced Chardonnay performed better than the category as a whole due to strong growth into China and the United States. Total exports of Australian Chardonnay above $45.00 per case FOB increased by 13% to $45 million. These markets offset weakness in other major export markets such as the United Kingdom (which has been recently impacted by ‘Brexit’) and Canada – both of which have historically been strong markets for Australian whites. The recent free trade agreement countries have also put in strong showings, with Japan up 33% and South Korea up 81%.

The revolution in Chardonnay is just beginning to pay dividends as Chardonnay once again comes to the fore.

The Australian Chardonnay consumer is back and this is building confidence in the variety once more. And, apart from a few exogenous shocks in key markets, Chardonnay is picking up steam in export markets. This is good news for a variety in which Australia has invested so heavily and is a WVJ global leader.

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US MARKETS

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

Driving the strategic growth of Australian wines in the US market

By Armando Maria Corsi, Larry Lockshin, Justin Cohen, Jordan Louviere and Johan Bruwer, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, University of South Australia, Australia

More than 200 Australian wines from some 35 regions were recently showcased to trade and media in the United States and Canada through Wine Australia’s ‘Australia Up Close’ Roadshow. The nine-city tour kicked off on 30 May in Los Angeles before heading to Dallas, Chicago, New York and Boston then onto Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver.

T

he recent release of Issue 66 of the Wine Australia Market Bulletin gave us the opportunity to take stock of a project in the US market Wine Australia recently funded us to conduct. To summarise the main facts from the report, the value of Australia wines in the US market over A$10 has increased by 58% since 2012. The off-trade channel accounts for 80% of total wine sales by volume, but 90% of those sales are in the US$4$8 range. Thirteen percent of the wines sold in the US$4-$8 range are Australian.

However, the situation is dire when looking at the US$15-$25 price tier in retail, as Australia represents only 0.7% of this segment, despite a 24% growth compared with March 2016 (Wine Australia, 2017).

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Increasing the sales of Australian premium wines in the US retail market is the overall objective of the ‘Vennli project’, the nickname for the official Wine Australia funded project titled ‘Driving the strategic growth of Australian wines in the US export market’. In order to reach this objective, the project will develop strategies to break down the barriers that currently exist among the trade and opinion leaders about Australian wines. We are currently identifying the misalignment between the US wine trade and Australian wine brands. We will ultimately develop a system to train Australian wine brand managers to overcome these barriers to growth. The project commenced in October 2016. We have completed the first

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stage and currently launching the second stage.

Stage 1 consisted of a discovery phase in which we first asked key Australian wine exporters what they thought the barriers to exporting more wine in the US were. Additionally, we launched an interview-type questionnaire in April 2017 among US trade operators. Fortyone percent of the participants were importers and distributors, followed by 18% of wine importers, 16% distributors, and 16% retailers. Thirty-one percent of respondents were the owner-managers of the company they worked for, and 50% of them currently sell Australian wines.

Derived from stage 1, participants were provided with a list of identified trade

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US MARKETS

barriers for Australian wines in the US market in the form of statements (e.g., ‘finding the right distributor’ or ‘lack of education about Australian wines’), which they had to rate with a score ranging from 1 = not a barrier at all to 5 = major barrier. The results show that the top three barriers are a lack of knowledge of the various Australian wines regions (3.95/5), the fact that Australian wines are perceived as low-priced by consumers (3.91/5), and that wines from other countries are easier to sell (3.59/5). Other important barriers seem to be the fact that wines from other countries are perceived to be trendier (3.45/5), a result in line with the perception of Australian wines among wine media, which also scores quite similarly (3.32/5). Interestingly, the factors that were classified as minor barriers are the style of Australian wines not being suitable for a retail price of US$12 and above (2.23/5), the similarity of Australian wines to wine produced in other countries (2.14/5), and the lack of sufficient Australian wine brands in the US market to create a subcategory (1.73/5).

These initial results already illuminate interventions for Australian wines in the US retail market. More investment in educating the US market is needed about our many diverse wine regions.

An increase of our shelf presence is also needed to improve our physical availability (Sharp 2010) - as nobody can buy something they can’t see. The good news, though, is that the style of our wines doesn’t seem to be a critical issue, nor do US trade operators believe our styles are confused with those of our competitors.

This means that the problem is less about the product itself, but more about communicating clearly what we stand for, and what we want the US market to recognise us for.

In the next stage of the project, we will include the most significant trade factors in Vennli (www.vennli.com), a cloud-based software platform for strategic growth intelligence. The framework behind this software is based on Urbany and Davis (2010).

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We will ask key US retail trade operators how important each of the factors they are presented with is, how familiar they are with the wines coming from key wine producing countries, including Australia, and how much they consider those trade factors to be associated with each key wine producing competing country. In addition, the software takes into account current and future stock levels the trade operators have of each of the various producing countries.

Figure 1. Example of graphical visualisation of Vennli results.

Source: www.vennli.com The results will be presented as per the graph shown in Figure 1 to provide an easy yet effective way to understand them. For each pair of wine producing countries, we will be able to clearly show which factors our key trade operators associate with one country (blue section), the other country (red section), or both (purple section). The purplehighlighted factors are not considered all that important by the trade. This means that we don’t need to be overly concerned about these factors, thus freeing up resources for more pressing issues. We will also be able to show

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which factors our key trade operators consider important and exclusively associated with one country (green section), or the other country (orange section), thus allowing us to understand which factors one country should keep on building to defend and strengthen its position, and which factors can be used to neutralise the power of the competing country. Third, the graph will suggest which factors are considered important by our key trade operators, but are not associated with either country (yellow section), thus providing suggestions for one country’s growth avenues before the competing country adopts them.

Lastly, the black section in the middle suggests which factors one country should at least maintain performance on, as they might also represent opportunities for differentiation by improving these.

Once this stage is complete, we will consult with Wine Australia and a panel of Australian wine brand owners to develop actionable growth strategies for Australian premium wines in the US retail market. In the final stage of the project, these strategies will be tested with the US trade, opinion leaders, and consumers, and with our Australian stakeholders using a simulation to see how their buying/selling strategies would change should the strategies be implemented.

Finally, an Excel™- based decision support system (DSS) will be developed to ‘train’ Australian brand owners to better meet the demands of US trade buyers and opinion leaders.

We will keep the industry informed about the outcomes of the research through the Wine & Viticulture Journal.

REFERENCES Sharp, B. (2010). How Brands Grow. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Urbany, J. E. and Davis, J. H. (2010) Grow by focusing on what matters: Competitive strategy in 3-circles, New York: Business Expert Press.

Wine Australia (2017) Market bulletin – Issue 66.

Available at: https://www.wineaustralia.com/news/ market-bulletin/issue-66 WVJ

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More effective use of wine labels

By Jonathan Cahill

Wine labels are a simple and direct way of communicating with consumers but not enough wineries take advantage of it to build an emotional relationship them, writes Jonathan Cahill.

A wine label, failing any expenditure on advertising, is the one means by which a wine can build a sustainable appeal beyond its physical attributes. Photo: Benis Arapovic, 123RF.COM

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n a recent study by The University of Adelaide it was found that bring in to focus the use of labels. As Tony Keys (2017a) observed descriptions of wine on labels influence consumers far more in his recent article ‘How many read back labels with any degree than was originally thought. The research discovered that more of attention?’, this may well be true and answering this question emotive descriptions convince consumers to pay more for a bottle might be a more constructive research exercise for The University of wine, as well as increase their appreciation of it and cause more of Adelaide. Regardless, this should not lose sight of the fact positive emotions than those with simple that the label, failing any expenditure on descriptors. This was echoed in a trial advertising, is the one means by which at Stanford University where indulgent a wine can build a sustainable appeal descriptions of food had a much more beyond its physical attributes. …the label, failing any compelling effect than simple descriptions The research from Adelaide was expenditure on advertising, is emphasising the food’s nutritional further brought into question by a dialogue qualities. “Sweet sizzling green beans and between Tony Keys and Dr Liz Waters the one means by which a wine crispy shallots” resulted in a 41% greater (2017b), general manager of RD&E at can build a sustainable appeal uptake than “healthy energy boosting Wine Australia. In this it transpired that beyond its physical attributes. green beans and shallots”. Neuroscientist the labels research was part of a general Antonio Damasio cited research which study which “investigated how information, indicated that if you told stories of similar typically presented on wine back-labels length with a comparable number of facts, or wine company websites, influences differing only in that in one, the facts had high emotional content, consumers’ expected liking, informed liking, wine-evoked then far more detail is remembered from the emotional story than emotions and willingness to pay for Australian white wines”. In from the factual one. terms of research this exercise seems to have more holes than a The surprising thing about these research results is that they lump of Gruyere. First, there is the conflating of back-labels and were presented as revelations and failed to recognise that an company websites. These are two completely different media and emotive approach has long been the lynchpin of much advertising. comparing them is like comparing apples and oranges. A label As Bill Bernbach, one of the greats of advertising said: “If they is a restricted space so it limits how much can be said, whereas don’t feel it, nothing will happen.” However, the Adelaide study did a website can be much more comprehensive. However, there

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is an important distinction in the other direction as the label is Lehmann it would express true depth of character, just like the something the consumer cannot escape, whereas the website they beautiful and iconic region he called home”. This rather vacuous need to choose to look at. How many do? The new area of nudge and pretentious analogy might be felt to have poetic quality but in economics has provided much evidence of how people are more terms of the consumer it only seems to signify the exaggerated likely to engage the less number of steps they have to take. This self-indulgence of the wine company. study seems oblivious to these recent learnings.

Such empty and irrelevant prose continues on other wines, with But what is even more concerning is the naivety with regards Oxford Landing talking about how it was where the drovers took to intention being a predictor of behaviour. This is an absurd, their sheep to water, McGuigan citing a “love affair with wine (that) albeit convenient and persistent, illusion. There are many studies has passed through generations”, and Jacob’s Creek apparently which have questioned this. One such was conducted by Steven dates back to 1847. In New Zealand, The Ned wines talk of “a Sherman, a social psychologist. He asked one set of respondents unique environment providing distinctive characteristics to all our how they felt they would respond to being iconic wines”, but fails to say what these asked to give three hours of their time to are. an American Cancer Society drive – the At the other end of the spectrum are kind of question used in countless surveys. more product-related descriptions such The biggest error many wineries Half of them predicted they would agree to as Lindeman’s Chardonnay which is “rich make when they try to sell to help. He also called an equivalent sample and fruity with a silk smooth finish” and consumers is that they forget of their neighbours and asked them to Banrock Station Sauvignon Blanc, “an actually volunteer the time. Only 4% aromatic wine shows an abundance of they are competing and, so, it is actually agreed to. The continued illusion fresh lemon”. How this lauding of what vital that they differentiate their of relating intention to behaviour is an are effectively the generic properties of wine from competition. excellent example of fake news and it is these wine varieties gives any competitive about time that marketing and academia advantage, it is difficult to understand. woke up to this.

In addition, there is the benefit that In terms of the debate in the article can be provided by specific detail which there was a valuable contribution from Larry Lockshin, head can greatly enhance the leverage of any writing. Amos Tversky of the School of Marketing at the University of South Australia and Daniel Kahneman (who later went on to win the Nobel Prize (2017b). He pointed out that “few spend more than 30-40 seconds for economics for his insights) explored the effect of being more looking at wine on the shelf. Almost no-one reads back labels specific in an experiment. They told their respondents they had in the store; perhaps while the bottle is sitting on the table at picked a person from a pool of 100 people, 70 of whom were home during consumption.” This exposes another fallacy about engineers and 30 of whom were lawyers. When they were asked wine labels – the idea that their purpose is to sell off the shelf. what was the likelihood of a person selected being a lawyer, they They can contribute to this but surely their real strength is that, correctly stated it was 30%. There was another pool consisting of once bought, they present the consumer with a story they cannot 70 lawyers and 30 engineers, and they the correctly stated that escape, either in the home or, to a lesser extent, in the restaurant? there was a 70% chance of the person plucked from the pool In some respects the label is a Trojan horse for the wine. To help being a lawyer. Then they were told that it was not a nameless repeat purchase the wine needs to deliver in terms of product person who had been picked but someone called Dick and they performance, but also to build up an emotional relationship with were read a description of Dick, which contained no information the consumer – the essence of marketing. For many the label is to help the respondent guess what Dick did for a living. They then the only route to achieving this. guessed that there was an equal chance that Dick was a lawyer The biggest error many wineries make when they try to sell or an engineer, no matter what pool he came from. As Kahneman to consumers is that they forget they are competing and, so, it is and Tversky (1974) commented: “When no specific evidence is vital that they differentiate their wine from competition. Usually given, the prior probabilities are properly utilised; when worthless they are pitched against other wines made from similar grape specific evidence is given, prior probabilities are ignored”. varieties and, so, there seems little point in focussing on taste The power of a specific statement which has firm foundations characteristics which are broadly similar for this variety. Where is provided by the Flexo lamp and its marketing in the UK. This is the competitive advantage in that? Even when they try to go is a small aluminium table lamp from Spain, much beloved of beyond this they fail to take any heed of the need to differentiate. students in its home country as it is cheap. Consequently, the A Sauvignon Blanc was recently launched with the promise that dominating characteristic of this lamp was the extrinsic one – its it could be enjoyed on “a variety of occasions”, without specifying price. This overshadowed appreciation of the lamp for any of its them, as though being a Jack-of-all-Trades was a good idea. This intrinsic merits. The Flexo had an attractive design and it was felt damp squib was supposed to carve out a niche for the new wine. that, rather than being sold purely on price, it could be sold as an The only material such descriptions could carve anything out of accessible object of design – a lamp equivalent of the Zippo lighter. would be a lump of blancmange, but then this is the consistency Consequently, Flexo could establish a unique position in the new of much that is written on wine labels. Often the copy appears market of the UK. A story, around the length of what would appear to be filling a space with verbiage as opposed to giving an extra on a wine label, was found which was featured on the lamp and on cutting edge. Seldom does it seem to be accountable but strays shelf cards. The simple wording was: “The Flexo is an integral part into self-regarding waffle or statements that any other similar of Spanish life, having been in continuous production since 1925. wine could make. Often it becomes lyrical, such as a label on a Although the designer is unknown, the Flexo is a design classic, a bottle of Peter Lehmann: “If you were to paint a portrait of Peter version being in the Design Museum in London”.

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This provided a solid springboard to success, as the lamp received press coverage in the UK of more than 30 million readers. It sold well in many of the principal design stores and branched out into chains, such as Habitat. The perceptions of it were radically different from those in its homeland – the Sunday Times describing it as “a masterpiece of modern design”. The approach used in the Flexo was simple but effective, built on a short and specific description that was intrinsic to the brand.

This differentiated the lamp from others on the market and transformed it from a cheap table lamp in Spain to an accessible design object in the UK, as its retail price was only £25.00.

The seeming reluctance to focus on the specific is clearly illustrated by much copy on wine labels which may sound nice but actually says little in providing a clear differentiation from competition through the intrinsic merits of the wine. A good example of this is the positioning and label on Tio Pepe Sherry, the biggest Fino brand. The current front and back label copy are as follows:

Tio Pepe Jerez, Xeres, Sherry Fino Muy Seco (Back) For more than 150 years the uncompromising dryness of Tio Pepe has been appreciated by wine lovers around the world.

Refreshing and distinctive, Tio Pepe is a wine for all occasions and is the perfect partner for fish, shellfish, cheese and white meats and ‘tapas’, of course. Drink it straight or on ice. Always serve chilled, refrigerate after opening and enjoy within a month.

BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS

pointless exercise as it seems unlikely that the consumer could be bothered with the hassle of navigating a company website on their smartphone.

The copy on wine labels often illustrates a tendency in writing to get lost in florid language which sounds impressive but then evaporates and reveals itself to offer nothing more substantial than the plumage of a peacock. To continue with the natural analogy, a snowflake is alluring in its perfection and each one is unique. But it is important to note that its start point is a speck of dust which is all too real and mundane. So, too, with the description of a wine’s difference, it needs to have something of substance at its core which can serve as a solid foundation for the wine’s unique competitive position.

Wine labels are a simple and direct way of communicating with consumers. Why not take as much advantage of this as possible?

REFERENCES Keys, T. (2017a) Behind the label. The Key Report, 15 June, accessed 1 August 2017, < www. thekeyreport.com.au/nick-holms-academic-rubbish-feeding-fishgreat-riesling>.

Keys, T. (2017b) Wine Australia wobbles. The Key Report, 22 June, accessed 1 August 2017, < http://thekeyreport.com.au/academia-disgrace-treasury-wineestates-gamble> Tversky, A. and Kahneman, D. (1974) Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Science 185:1124–1131.

Jonathan Cahill has many years’ experience in advertising, research and marketing both in the UK and overseas. He has written two books on marketing, ‘Igniting the Brand – Strategies That Have Shot Brands to Success’ and ‘Marketing Rethink – Reassessing the Roots, Practice and Diversions of Marketing’. WVJ

This communicates little that is intrinsic and different about Tio Pepe and is similar to many other wine labels that appear as rather fine verbal vessels but with little content of any substance, resulting in a rather hollow exercise.

Such an omission is unfortunate when Tio Pepe can tap into a strong intrinsic story and position stated in equally brief terms:

Tio Pepe The First in Fino (Back) In 1835 Manuel Maria Gonzalez started the company that became Gonzalez Byass. Fino was then only drunk locally in Jerez. Manuel’s uncle, Pepe, suggested that he should be the first to make it for a wider audience. It was a big success and others followed. In gratitude, Manuel named it after Pepe, ‘tio’ being Spanish for uncle.

Tio Pepe is particularly suitable for accompanying the start of a meal. It is perfect with fish, shellfish, cured meats, white meats and tapas. Always serve chilled, straight or on ice.

Refrigerate after opening and enjoy within a month.

It is up to the reader to decide which is the more potent of these two messages. Hopefully it will be noted that the second is specific and less general and, so, gains extra leverage from this.

There is also an extra tool on a wine label that appears to be neglected or maybe misunderstood – the QR code. One label designer even went so far as to say it was best to avoid it as it compromised his design. Yet the code can provide an immediate link through to a short film (two to three minutes) which can give extra life to a story, as in the example at the end of the article to support a saffron tea which was the only one on the market.

Unfortunately, many are not aware what the QR code leads to and most just take the consumer to the company website – a largely

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Embracing Sicily’s Nero d’Avola Varietal wines made from the grape that calls Sicily home and makes up the majority of the red plantings on the Italian island, Nero d’Avola, was the focus of this issue’s tasting. Three of the four producers behind the top wines of the tasting (see results starting on page 69) as agreed by our tasting panellists reveal how they are managing this grape, known for its suitability in warm to hot climates, in their vineyards and wineries in Australia.

Fox Gordon proprietors Sam and Rachel Atkins.

SAM AND RACHEL ATKINS OWNERS & DIRECTORS FOX GORDON ADELAIDE HILLS, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Wine: Fox Gordon 2016 The Dark Prince Nero d’Avola (RRP$24.95/bottle)

VITICULTURE The fruit for this wine is sourced from the northern Adelaide Hills, off the Amadio Vineyard, whose exact location is 34.722402° 138.887881°. The Nero site is at 320 metres above sea level and is situated on a hill top with a slight slope across it; rows face north-west. It is a very rocky site with shallow soils.

The average minimum, maximum and mean temperatures at the site throughout the growing season are as follows: MIN

MAX

MEAN

Oct

0.0

21.0

16.8

Nov

12.7

32.2

20.9

Dec

15.8

37.5

25.3

Jan

19.7

37.9

27.6

Feb

14.6

39.2

25.6

Mar

16.1

34.4

26.3

Apr

11.6

27.3

19.8

The Nero vines are seven years old and are on rootstocks. They are trellised to a single cordon with foliage wires, and have a row spacing of 2.7m and a vine spacing of 1.5m. Foliage wires are lifted in two stages in the early growth period. Both shoot and bunch thinning is undertaken to balance the vine/fruit ratio.

Irrigation is via drippers with one dripper per vine. Natural surface water from the dam storage is supplemented with underground water, ranging from once per 7-10 days during the peak growth period to nil closer to harvest.

No cover crops are used, just a natural, self-propagating mid-row sward, which is slashed to reduce height and water usage.

The under-vine area is kept weed free for

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soil moisture conservation. The vines are machine pre-pruned followed by hand spur pruning, leaving approximately 35 buds per vine.

No extra pest or disease management is undertaken.

Although quite hardy and drought tolerant the variety does perform better with some soil moisture. A balanced irrigation regime in conjunction with an under-vine mulch is used to ensure the conservation of the required soil moisture.

The average yield from these vines is typically 5-7t per hectare.

The main quality attributes looked for at harvest are good colour development, a reasonable chewiness in the skins along with a moderate lignification of the seeds so as not to create a wine laden with green tannin. With regards to flavour development, notes of red and blue fruit characters with increasing intensity, along with hints of sarsaparilla/cola, generally suggest harvest is imminent.

WINEMAKING The grapes for the 2016 The Dark Prince were machine harvested in the cool of the night and then crushed and destemmed at the winery on 18 March. The must was inoculated with a commercial yeast strain that assists to highlight fruit along with lifted floral aromatics.

As the fruit is sourced from a reasonably elevated site in the cooler Adelaide Hills region, from quite youthful vines, it has

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good natural acidity and means it’s well suited to forge a lighter, prettier and more aromatic style of wine. Minimal winemaking intervention and additions were employed to make this wine.

Fermentation was completed in open fermenters and pumped over twice per day for approximately 15 minutes each in order to keep the cap wet but limit the extraction of harsh tannin and phenolic compounds, again with the aim in mind of a softer more approachable wine.

The subsequent wine underwent malolactic fermentation and was matured in predominantly larger-format, threeto-five-year-old French oak puncheons in order to keep the oak impact to a minimum with albeit a small lick of spice and to assist in developing the earthy and savoury characters which are generally hallmarks of Italian red varietals.

While not as rich and structural as its Italian counterparts the emphasis on this wine is to offer great drinkability in order to be drunk alone or paired with a variety of dishes.

MARKETING Sam Atkins started Fox Gordon in 2001 and we have slowly been building the brand and its positioning ever since.

Over time the brand and business have continued to grow, and we added a fairly significant vineyard in the Adelaide Hills, invested in an Australian distributor and increased our international market

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exposure. Atkins Family Vineyards and Fox Gordon are 100% owned and operated by our family, from paddock to plate, touching all aspects of the business.

Ten years ago we purchased a 100-acre vineyard in Kuitpo, in the Adelaide Hills.

There we grow Fiano, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Tempranillo. For those varieties we don’t grow ourselves (Nero d’Avola, Pinot Grigio and Shiraz) we work closely with a select group of growers. We are currently planting Shiraz, Nero d’Avola and Nebbiolo at our Kuitpo vineyard as well.

BRAD HICKEY DIRECTOR/WINEMAKER BRASH HIGGINS WINE CO. MCLAREN VALE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Wine: Brash Higgins 2016 ‘NDV’ Nero d’Avola (RRP$42.00/bottle)

VITICULTURE The Brash Higgins Omensetter Estate vineyard is located on the corner of California and Malpas Roads in the McLaren Vale sub-region. The vineyard has been certified organic since 2016.

The vineyard has an elevation of 60 metres above sea level and an eastern aspect, rolling down along the spine of a high-pitched site bordered by the Victor Harbor Road to the east.

The new Australian soil classification system categorises the soil in the entire vineyard as a Dermasol. This soil type is characterised as having a weak textural contrast between layers. The older CSIRO soil classification system classified the soil as a Paradise Clay Loam.

The McLaren Vale geology map describes the geology of the site as being Ngaltinga Formation, which is described as a green/grey stiff plastic clay with red ferruginous mottles.

The maximum and minimum temperatures for the area from October to April are: MIN

MAX

Oct

12.0

21.0

Nov

14.0

25.0

Dec

15.0

26.0

Jan

17.0

29.0

Feb

17.0

28.0

Mar

16.0

26.0

Apr

14.0

22.0

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No frosts are encountered in this vineyard and the wind during the growing season generally blows from the southeast and is known locally as being a cooling gully wind. The climate can be described as maritime (Mediterranean), with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters.

Three patches of Nero were grafted onto Shiraz on their own roots in this vineyard.

The first patch was grafted in 2009, followed by the second block in 2010 and, finally, the third block in 2015. Three acres were grafted in total.

The clone planted is Matura 1 from the Chalmers Nursery in Euston, New South Wales.

The vines are trellised to a single cordon wire, with canopy management achieved via the use of either vertical shoot positioning (VSP) or a Lazy Ballerina system. Shoot and bunch thinning are used in most years, with leaf plucking also used on a couple of very vigorous rows.

Supplementary irrigation is applied sparingly via the use of inline drippers, with approximately 12-16 litres of water applied per vine per week in an average season.

Water is sourced via a recharge bore and mains water.

Traditionally, a permanent sward consisting of cocksfoot grass was used as a covercrop. However, during the past few years, a blend (Paxton Blend) of grasses, legumes, medics and clovers has been used to bring some diversity back into the block. Weeds growing under-vine are controlled via mechanical weeding methods to comply with the organic certification requirements.

Mechanical pre-pruning is implemented via the use of a barrel pruner, followed by a heavy hand prune to two bud spurs.

Approximately 20-24 buds are left per vine, depending on the strength of the wood, the expected fruitfulness of the buds and the forecast seasonal outlook.

Pest and disease issues are relatively common with Nero, with powdery mildew common in fruit where too much shading is allowed to occur. Botrytis can be an issue where berries and bunches are large.

However, via the use of cultural control methods mentioned earlier and the use of sulfur and organically-allowable copper products, very little of the crop has been lost over the past seven years.

Sunburn can be an issue if fruit is too exposed. However, use of the Lazy Ballerina canopy management system does help minimise this problem.

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Brad Hickey strolls through the Nero d’Avola vines in the Brash Higgins vineyard in McLaren Vale. The vineyard contains three acres of Nero in total which were grafted onto Shiraz on their own roots in three patches - the first patch was grafted in 2009, the second in 2010 and the third in 2015.

Poor fruit set can be encountered with this variety, particularly if a dry lead up to flowering occurs or cool, wet weather is prevalent during flowering.

Yields can be quite variable depending on climatic conditions. In an average year, perhaps 7-10 tonnes per hectare can be expected, while in a dry or poor fruitset season 4-6 tonnes per hectare can be expected.

When we pick we want the fruit to be around 13.5 Baume and a pH around 3.4 since we are making a medium bodied style at Brash Higgins. The fruit should have some sweetness to it, a bit of sweet and sour cranberry like acidity with cherry, rhubarb and raspberry notes. Colour should be ruby/purple and fully developed; no bagging in the fruit.

WINEMAKING The transparency of the Nero d’Avola grape was preserved in the 2016 NDV by using gentle, ancient techniques and naturally-occurring wild yeasts. As for the first five vintages, the grapes were handpicked off our vineyard, destemmed then whole-berry fermented and aged on skins for six months in locally-made 200L beeswax lined clay amphoras. We also used some whole bunch in the ferments, about 20%, for the first time to see how they’d ▶ affect the wine.

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In early September the free run was drained from the amphora into a tank. The skins and seeds were bucketed out into a basket press and pressed lightly. Pressings re-joined the free run and were allowed to settle until bottling.

The whole bunch ferment made for a more tightly wound wine this year with a cool, savoury note. As always, there is great promise to lay this down for some time due to the firm tannins and naturally high acidity.

MARKETING The Brash Higgins NDV is a key wine in our portfolio, perhaps the wine that really put us on the map for its unique vinification and personality. It is sold Australia wide onpremise and off, as well as direct at www. brashhiggins.com. It is exported to the USA, Ontario, Alberta and Singapore. Magnums under Diam cork have been introduced this year, which is a fresh twist. A versatile wine, the NDV features on tasting menus due to its sweet and sour palate (no oak) and umami characteristics (long skin contact).

The wine smells similar to a Negroni as well, which is distinctive.

ALEX RUSSELL DIRECTOR ALEX RUSSELL WINES RIVERLAND, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Wine: Alex Russell Wines 2016 Alejandro Nero d’Avola (RRP$20-25.00/bottle)

VITICULTURE The fruit for this 100% Nero d’Avola wine is sourced from Barmera, in South Australia’s Riverland, and is grown at about 20 metres above sea level. The vines are about seven years old - rootstock unknown – and are planted in east-west rows on a two-wire vertical trellis.

The vines are mechanically pruned followed by hand clean-up. They are drip irrigated and are generally irrigated eight hours every second day to maintain peak evapotranspiration of up to 15mm per day.

Close to harvest, a full soil water profile is maintained to ensure the fruit ripens efficiently, but water is withheld for a few days prior to harvest to concentrate flavour and sugar.

The first thing I look for when assessing fruit close to harvest is seed maturity. I’m disappointed eating seedless grapes now having spent so many harvests walking

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Alex Russell, of Alex Russell Wines based in South Australia’s Riverland. vineyards eating grapes and chewing seeds. A mature seed that is brown, crunchy and free of bitterness is what I look for first, then flavour, then Baume.

Often, fruit in the Riverland and Mildura regions is not physiologically ripe before being flavour ripe – only an issue for reds which spend time on skins and seeds.

As a consequence, fruit has a typically high Baume – but this suits my style of winemaking. Flavour comes next – nothing too complex, some oranges taste good, some do not. When the grapes taste good, I consider a harvest date and check Baume. If seeds are mature, flavour is good and Baumes are within a workable range, it is time for harvest.

The vines yield an average of 10-12 tonnes per acre.

WINEMAKING Last year was my first vintage for Nero d’Avola, although I had previously made rosé from it. Seeds were mature and flavour came into the fruit; Baume was around 14. The fruit was crushed, destemmed pretty warm and 100mg/L of yeast used given the high temperature; the juice was then acid adjusted, sulfured, malolactic fermentation (MLF) commenced and tannin added. The inoculated must was put in the cool room where must reds are fermented and air/ambient cooled. By morning there was a cap starting to form and Baume had increased a little due to the osmotic gradient of the dehydrated fruit.

Hand plunged twice daily, the ferment proceeded pretty vigorously. I try to keep

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the temperature to 20-22ºC to keep the ferment going slow and steady. When the ferment descends through 4 Baume I take the cooling off and allow it to burn out, getting up to 25-27ºC under the assumption that a little bit of heat will finish MLF. Pressed after seven days, I had purchased just enough fruit to fill a particular tank size and it was my mission to press until it was completely full. It took a couple of hard presses but when it got there I pulled the pin. Post pressing, the Baume took two days to get to -1.0 at which point samples went off to the Wine Clinic and came back malo dry and sugar dry. The tank was subsequently sulfured and cold stabilised. A couple of months later, despite numerous trials to manipulate aroma and flavour, the product was hard racked and bottled. I had considered putting the wine to oak but decided the bright red fruit and ‘pinosity’ was best unoaked.

In the 2017 vintage, the Nero d’Avola seeds were mature at 10 Baume but flavours didn’t come in until 13 Baume.

The flavours and aromas of the 2017 were very similar to the 2016 but colour was inferior or lighter. I had an opportunity to take some more fruit three weeks later and the result was vastly different. Much more colour, a little more booze, still bright red fruit but a very spicy finish. The first parcel yielded 13% ABV, the second 13.7% ABV. My preference is for the lighter, aromatic style.

MARKETING The Nero d’Avola sits in Alex Russell Wines’ ‘Alejandro’ range of alternative varieties; there are 15 varieties in the range. The lighter style has sold well marketed as a red wine for white drinkers, served chilled or at room temperature.

The aromatics are easy to identify and it’s bright and pretty. The Alejandro range is sold in Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland only with off-premise sales at Launceston Crown Cellars, Melbourne’s Village Vineyard, in Sydney via Different Drop, The Vindependent, Wine Selectors Newcastle, and La Barrique in Brisbane.

WVJ

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Nero d’Avola - when having the wood may not necessarily be an advantage

By Sonya Logan

Our tasting of 27 Australian Nero d’Avolas showed how too much oak can be detrimental as the wine ages.

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wenty-seven Nero d’Avolas from nine different wine regions in Australia, including around a third from McLaren Vale in South Australia, were put blind before the Wine & Viticulture Journal’s latest tasting panel.

The panel comprised Tennille Chalmers, of Chalmers Wines, whose family brought the first Nero d’Avola vines to Australia in the late 1990s and later produced the nation’s first Nero wine; Brad Hickey, proprietor, viticulturist and winemaker for Brash Higgins in McLaren Vale; and Duncan Lloyd, winemaker for Coriole, also in McLaren Vale.

Tennille said a lot of people were currently quite excited by Nero d’Avola.

“It’s a good time for it to flourish with people’s growing appreciation of lighter reds,” she said. “I’m almost always surprised by the beautiful fruit it has and it’s great tannin structure as well.”

She said the better wines in the tasting were medium weight and had pretty fruit characters. “I think this is where Nero shows the best.” Others had over-ripe fruit and/or too much oak influence.

“We’ve always found that post-primary fermentation Nero looks brilliant and vibrant and gorgeous and delicious. The juiciness of the wine at this stage can make you think the tannins aren’t there but then you taste it and you find it’s already naturally balanced with tannin.

“When we first started making Nero we put it into barriques for malolactic fermentation. We were almost always disappointed with the wine given this step was supposed to benefit the wine. So, since 2015 we haven’t put it near oak at all because it was drying out the wine too quickly in our opinion and just losing that vibrancy of fruit. We do malo in tank now which means the fruit continues to be really attractive; it should stay there for five years in bottle even though it’s designed to drink younger.”

Brad Hickey said there was a distinct drop off in quality from the 2015 vintage

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The panellists for our Nero d’Avola tasting were (from left) Tennille Chalmers, of Chalmers Wines; Duncan Lloyd, of Coriole; and Brady Hickey, of Brash Higgins. wines in the tasting which he attributed to too much oak influence.

“The wood starts to really show in these vintages. Nero is really transparent, like Pinot or Nebbiolo. If you do put wood on it, it shows really quickly and within one or two years the wines lose whatever fruit component there was – cherries and raspberries give way to reductive/earthy characters,” Higgins said.

Tennille Chalmers said Nero could be quite naturally reductive.

“That’s not because of how it’s been made or how many times it’s been pumped over. It’s just something that can show up in the variety,” she said.

“Out of all the varieties we make, Nero is the one we learn the most from every year,” she added.

Brad described Nero as forgiving in the winery.

“The way we make it is very extreme [fermented and aged on skins and seeds for six months in clay amphoras with a percentage of whole bunch in the ferments]. The high acid keeps the wines very vibrant even if you do end up overworking it.

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“When we take our wine out of the amphoras in spring the free run always has a beautiful black cherry character; really primary, like it could be a Central Otago Pinot – it’s just drop dead sexy. The pressings allow the wine to move into Campari and negroni characters, and some more bitters, which I love. The Neros I really liked in the tasting had a sweet and sour character.”

Duncan Lloyd said the tasting had highlighted the fragrance and prettiness of fruit that Nero could show. And he agreed with Tennille that it sat best as a medium weight style, noting that a few of the wines displayed oak-derived tannins that “stood out”. Others had “acid that was bit pokey”, which he said could be due to grapes being picked too early in pursuit of preserving the fruit’s bright fragrance.

The wines that rated the highest in the eyes of the panellists were the Fox Gordon 2016 The Dark Prince Nero d’Avola, Brash Higgins 2016 NDV Amphora Project Nero d’Avola, Chalmers Wines 2016 Nero d’Avola, and Alex Russell Wines 2016 Alejandro Nero d’Avola.

WVJ

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CHALMERS WINES 2016 NERO D’AVOLA Heathcote, Victoria 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$27.00/bottle Best of tasting: Intense garnet colour with bright purple hues.

Somewhat rustic and dusty nose featuring black olives, leather, black fruits, raspberry, bay leaf, rhubarb and cut hay; became more fragrant in the glass with time. Mild and delicate palate with upfront fruits including raspberry and fresh acidity; slight buttery note; fine tannins in the background. Tangy malic finish. “Would be good to sample it in a big glass and spend some time with it,” said one taster.

BRASH HIGGINS 2016 NDV ‘AMPHORA PROJECT’ NERO D’AVOLA McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$42.00/bottle Best of tasting: Ruby red in colour. Black olive, savoury and fruit cake spice on the nose along with dark berry fruits and a woody/stemmy character. Fairly drying yet complementary tannins on the palate with cherry and plum fruit, earthy notes and a slight herbal character.

“A plush wine with an attractive sweet and sour palate,” noted one taster.

FOX GORDON 2016 THE DARK PRINCE NERO D’AVOLA

ALEX RUSSELL WINES 2016 ALEJANDRO NERO D’AVOLA

ALEX RUSSELL WINES 2017 ALEJANDRO NERO D’AVOLA

Adelaide Hills, South Australia 14.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$28.00/bottle

Riverland, South Australia 14.7%v/v – screwcap RRP$20-25.00/bottle

Riverland, South Australia 13.6%v/v – screwcap RRP$20-25.00/bottle

Best of tasting: Dark cherry in colour.

Lifted perfume of herbs, black tea, rose, raspberries and baked cherries; slight menthol character also apparent. Approachable, medium weight palate that has a good balance of fruit and savoury characters, has a slight sweet/sour element, fine tannins and cherry/ cranberry acidity. “A complete red wine,” noted one taster.

Best of tasting: Dull ruby in colour with bright purple hues. Very fragrant and pretty nose which is reminiscent of an aromatic white wine or rose; characters of raspberries, strawberry leaf and jubes and a sweet/ sour component; bright acidity. Very forward, sweet fruit palate of “Very approachable, commercial, simple, delicious style; classic summer red,” noted one taster. “Light on its feet but interestingly pleasant,” noted another

Medium intense colour with bright purple, ruby and raspberry hues. Very youthful and fragrant nose of blackberries, brambles, potpourri, rose hip and aromatic spices. Clean and pretty palate, easy mouthfeel, and low tannin with soft cherry fruit, dried herbs, florals, wild raspberry, rose hip and a slight amaro character. “Very resolved for a 2017 wine; a great drink,” noted one taster. “A great summer red. Not complicated; designed to be delicious,” said another.

CALABRIA 2016 PRIVATE BIN NERO D’AVOLA Griffith, New South Wales 14.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$15.00/bottle Ruby colour with a light browning and slightly dull hue. Concentrated, ripe fruit nose featuring baking spices, dried apricots, and caramel characters. Full, soft and creamy mouthfeel, with characters more in the savoury/dark fruit spectrum; some dried fruit, fruit cake and stewed fruit characters also apparent along with a slight vegetal note. “Soft, easy palate but lacks fragrance and freshness for a 2016,” noted one taster.” Another taster thought the alcohol was too prominent and distracting.

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CORIOLE 2016 NERO D’AVOLA McLaren Vale, South Australia 14%v/v - screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle Dark cherry in colour.

Overt eucalypt/ menthol character apparent on the slightly reductive nose which features rich fruit, including blackberries, olives, some spice as well as a slight medicinal character. Started out intriguing on the palate but the mid-palate fell away; acid a little disjointed; finishes a little hard and short. Ripeness of fruit out of balance with the weight and length.

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C.S. WINE CO 2015 HEATHCOTE NERO D’AVOLA 12.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$27.00/bottle Dull ruby colour.

Characters of cherry cola, orange oil, saline/salt, black olives, tobacco leaf and slight medicinal or aldehyde and cedary notes.

Balanced and pleasant medium weight palate with savoury and herb dried herb characters; soft, creamy mouthfeel; mouth-coating fine tannins.

FIVE GEESE 2016 NERO D’AVOLA McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$20.00/bottle Dark cherry colour.

Dull nose of ripe cherries and briary fruit and slight herbal and rubbery characters; lacks freshness and vibrancy. Sweet, confected and perhaps over-ripe fruit on the mediumbodied palate which has drying tannins and moreish acidity, but is somewhat simple and forward; reductive note on the back palate.

HAND CRAFTED

BY GEOFF HARDY 2016 NERO D’AVOLA McLaren Vale, South Australia 14.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$30.00/bottle Dense garnet in colour with bright hues. Dark, intense fruit on the brooding nose along with earth, truffle and spirit/aldehyde characters. Serious tannins on the palate which features rich fruit, dried herbs, and amaro notes; structure suggests some oak influence.

“Concentrated wine but for the style of wine it lacks a bit on the finish to marry the fruit on the midpalate,” noted one taster. “Had impact while still being balanced and without being overly-oaked,” noted another taster.

MONTERRA 2016 NERO D’AVOLA

SCOTT 2016 LA PROVA NERO D’AVOLA

SHERRAH WINES 2016 NERO D’AVOLA

Adelaide Hills, South Australia 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

14.2%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle

McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$32.00/bottle

Rich ruby colour with a slightly dulled hue.

Dried lavender, wood spice, sandalwood, wood oils, mulberries and dried citrus peel on the nose; slight herbal/eucalypt and pine/resin characters.

Fruit takes a step forward on the palate with the herbal elements playing a supplementary role; palate is well-balanced and complete with riper fruits, including cherries; good tannins. “Very approachable, easy palate. Very interesting wine; perhaps a little too herbal,” noted one taster.

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Pale ruby colour.

Intriguing, subtle nose of rhubarb/ orange conserve, green beans, watermelon rind, cheese and light wood spice; good layers of fruit and sweet spice. Wellbalanced and fresh palate with confident tannins. “Very approachable, soft and enjoyable palate; good, drinkable style with dark red fruits; in a big glass would probably really draw me in,” noted one taster. “A bit hot,” said another taster.

“A bit weird but it works,” said another.

Cherry/garnet in colour. Closed nose initially which gave way to cherry pip and medicinal notes; slight lactic/ cheesy and nori/ seaweed characters.

Pretty, complete and medium weight palate with fresh, bright acidity that sticks out a little from the fruit; herbal and savoury notes apparent; building tannins. “A pleasant wine with fresh acidity,” noted one taster.

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BEACH ROAD WINES 2015 NERO D’AVOLA

BIRD IN HAND 2015 NERO D’AVOLA

COLLINS & CO 2015 NERO D’AVOLA

CHALMERS WINES 2015 NERO D’AVOLA

FIVE GEESE 2015 LA VOLPE NERO D’AVOLA

McLaren Vale, South Australia 14.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$30.00/bottle

Adelaide Hills, South Australia 14.5%v/v - Vinolok RRP$40.00/bottle

Barossa Valley, South Australia 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$20.00/bottle

Heathcote, Victoria 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$27.00/bottle

McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$28.00/bottle

Dark garnet in colour. Savoury nose with some sweet oak showing; Christmas cake, wood oils, baked rhubarb and Indian spice characters apparent. Sweet but full mouthfeel; generous palate with rich fruit and obvious oak. Good length and tannins but lacks freshness.

Garnet/ruby in colour.

Interesting and pretty nose which is fresh and light but oak dominant.

Prett, medium weight palate with lovely tannins; shows some fruit but is a little disjointed.

Medium intensity colour of dark cherry with a dull rim. Subtle nose of cherries, cherry pips, soy sauce and wet wool; lacks primary fruit. More cherry on the palate which is balanced, has medium freshness, a nice bitterness and aged/oxidative characters. A bit tired.

Medium intensity colour of pale ruby.

Slightly reductive nose with pretty raspberry characters underneath along with an earthiness and dustiness. Sweet and sour palate which has a good balance of fruit, acid, freshness and weight; earth and dried herb characters apparent. One taster thought the wine was a little resinous and the acid a bit clunky on the finish.

Dark cherry in colour with ageing hues.

Dried fruits and some eucalypt on the nose.

Drying, concentrated fruit, including black cherries, on the medium-weight palate along with a slight medicinal character; lacks freshness. Palate is soft, balanced and textured but lacks primary fruit.

MOUNT HORROCKS 2015 NERO D’AVOLA Clare Valley, South Australia 13.7%v/v – screwcap RRP$38.00/bottle Vibrant cherry red in colour with medium to high depth and bright hues. Nice savoury oak on the nose but it is a bit one dimensional; some cherries and raspberries but overall lacks fruit; some dustiness evident. Bright and soft across the palate which has lovely weight and a nice freshness; acidity a bit pokey, said one taster.

Notes of rhubarb and herbs. Oak, acid and fruit almost perfectly balanced.

PARISH HILL 2015 ‘AMPHORA’ NERO D’AVOLA Adelaide Hills, South Australia 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$35.00/bottle Pale cherry in colour.

Somewhat closed to start with dark fruits, mint tea, savoury spices, char and some canned green bean; dark but complex and interesting, noted one taster of the nose. Leather, earth, and smoky/charry characters in the mouth, with some good fruit characters underneath; quite dry.

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POLITINI 2015 NERO D’AVOLA King Valley, Vicotira 14.8%v/v – screwap RRP$38.00/bottle Bright colour of dark garnet. Sweet, dark fruits on the very attractive nose, including mulberry and cherry; a bramble character also evident along with some warm, sweet spice. A generous, drying palate which lacks some fruit; Christmas cake spice.

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SANTOLIN 2015 CHALMERS VINEYARD NERO D’AVOLA

TRENTHAM ESTATE 2015 THE FAMILY NERO D’AVOLA

ZERELLA WINES 2015 LA GITA NERO D’AVOLA

SABELLA VINEYARDS 2014 NERO D’AVOLA

Victoria 14.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$30.00/bottle

Murray Darling, Victoria 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$15.00/bottle (cellar door)

McLaren Vale, South Australia 14.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$35.00/bottle

McLaren Vale, South Australia 14.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$29.99/bottle

Dark cherry in character with some browning. A super aromatic wine due to the oak; characters of sandalwood, cherry cola and dark fruits; nice oak influence but perhaps too much.

Sweet, alluring palate that is well-balanced with good tannin and freshness. “An oaked style done well with just a bit too much bacon; big, rich and sweet,” noted one taster.

Brownish cherry colour. Pretty florals on the nose, but slightly ripe fruit; sandalwood, amaro, leather and menthol aromas. Drying, chewy tannins on the rich palate which has good weight but lacks fresh fruit although still has a fruit presence. Shows length and maturity of fruit.

Dark cherry in colour.

Slightly reductive at first, with notes of orange rind, aromatic spice and mushy strawberries.

Fleshy fruit on the well-weighted palate which also has a woody character; fine, drying tannins.

Acid a bit pokey, said one taster.

Dark ruby in colour. Over-ripe strawberries, ripe cherries, dried fruits and wood spice on the nose along with a slight menthol character. Palate has a nice vanilla character, and good tannin, structure and weight; herb and sweet/sour characters apparent; acid sticks out somewhat. Overall, a good wine, albeit a little woodsy; more fruit needed for balance.

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GOLDEN GROVE 2012 NERO D’AVOLA Granite Belt, Queensland 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$45.00/bottle Dark cherry in colour with browning apparent.

Rich cherry, oak, coconut, lactone and eucalyptus on the nose. Eucalyptus continues to the palate, where there are also some prominent oak tannins. Acid a touch high and fruit lacking.

FIVE GEESE 2016 LA VOLPACCHIOTTO NERO D’AVOLA ROSE McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$20.00/bottle Brilliant pink and orange in colour.

Quite an intense nose of dried petals, orange rind, raspberries and orange sherbet along with some dustiness. Palate is fleshy, savoury and quite textural with fresh acidity; orange zest and bitter herbs also present. Touch of sweetness which is nice. Lacks a little finesse. A nice, easy drink.

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PRODUCTS N E &WSERVICES S

Toro Neptune – a new drip irrigation solution

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oro Australia’s newly-released Neptune dripline, available as pressure compensating or non-drain, is suited to use in vineyards.

Manufactured in Australia for Australian conditions, the heavy wall drip line is made from UV stabilised LDPE for use over multiple seasons.

Frank Nocera, product manager, irrigation, with Toro, is impressed with Neptune’s range of pressure compensation.

“Testing has demonstrated very uniform flow rates over a range of inlet pressures from 50-350kPa. This evenness of flow has been recorded across all of the different emitter flow rates and spacings,” Nocera said.

“This means that Neptune can be used in long-run lengths and in vineyards where there are large differences between the lowest and highest points on the farm. The pressure compensation mechanism in the emitter ensures that the same volume of water is applied along each lateral.”

Neptune’s emitter boasts a wide cross section labyrinth for maximum turbulence

The pressure compensating mechanism in Neptune dripline provides uniform distribution of water, meaning the same volume of water is applied along each lateral. within the tube and a self-flushing diaphragm to allow small particles and debris to pass through the emitter.

This combined with the large inlet filter provides clog free, reliable operation.

“When used with adequate filtration, the large inlet filter in Neptune makes the product much less susceptible to blockages giving the grower additional

peace of mind,” Nocera said.

Neptune is available in three emitter flow rates: 1.2, 1.5 and 2.4L/hr - and in emitter spacings ranging from 0.3 to 1.0m. All tube diameters suit Australian standard fittings, making it easy to install.

For further information visit www.toro. com.au

Wine Grenade brings the latest in oxygen management technology to Australia

A

t first glance, the Wine Grenade appears a very simple device for something that is introducing innovation to wineries of all sizes worldwide. Based on technology from New Zealand’s Plant & Food Research, the Wine Grenade diffuses a constant supply of oxygen into tanks through a semi-permeable membrane, imitating the oak barrel maturation process in less time and at a fraction of the cost.

By maturing wine in this way, winemakers can shave up to $1.50 off the cost of every bottle without compromising taste or quality.

Customers like Sacred Hill in Hawke’s Bay, AuburnJames in the Napa Valley, and Chapel Hill in McLaren Vale, are now into their second or third vintage using the Wine Grenade, giving them the

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opportunity to try new varietals. Around the world, winemakers have used the Wine Grenade to mature the equivalent of 600,000 bottles of wine.

This highly portable device sits on top of wine tanks, controlling the flow of oxygen and monitoring the tank environment wirelessly so any issues can be corrected remotely. Each Wine Grenade generates 1500 data points a day, allowing analysis of past actions to guide the quality of tomorrow’s wine.

“Our customers are the winemakers wanting to improve, experiment, and ultimately have greater control of the winemaking process,” said Hamish Elmslie, CEO and co-founder of Wine Grenade. “I’m looking forward to the Wine Grenade contributing to Australia’s exciting winemaking story.”

W I N E & V I T I C ULTUR E JO UR NA L JULY/A UGUST 2017

The portable Wine Grenade sits on top of wine tanks where it delivers a constant supply of oxygen, imitating the oak barrel maturation process in less time and at a fraction of the cost.

The device costs about the same as a new barrel with each one capable of servicing a tank of up to 50,000 litres.

For further information visit www. winegrenade.com

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