Wine & Viticulture Journal - September/October 2017

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 · Volume 32 Number 5

SMALL TO MEDIUM WINERIES • Alternative vessels to ferment and mature • New generation biosensors for spoilage detection • Fungicide resistance - where to now?

• Tasting: Small producer Chardonnay

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IN THIS ISSUE

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

C O NN ET W E N S T S

V I T I C U LT U R E

8 WINE AUSTRALIA (Andreas Clark): Export and Regional Wine Support Package - transforming the Australian wine sector 9 WFA (Tony Battaglene): Nutritional labelling for wine?

10 ASVO (MARDI LONGBOTTOM): ASVO announces 2017 AWAC scholarship winner and Winemaker of the Year finalists

39 Fungicide resistance - where to now?

42 Economic impact of grapevine trunk disease management in Sauvignon Blanc vineyards of New Zealand 50 Bird perches: a simple method to reduce bird damage to grapes

EVENTS

12 TONY HOARE:ASVO seminar explores intelligent systems for profitable winegrowing

53 How do herbicide drifts affect your grapevines: symptoms and vine sustainability WINEMAKING

17 DAN CALVERT: Alternative vessels to ferment and mature

56 ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES: Mondeuse Noire

21 Bioengineered biosensors for beating back bugs: cutting-edge genetics for wine spoilage management 24 Evalulation of the effect of bentonite fining for sparkling wine quality

BUSINESS & MARKETING

29 Tips for the safe use of ammonia in winery refrigeration systems

58 The 10th International Conference of the Academy of Wine Business Research: it was a tough job but somebody had to do it

35 AWRI REPORT: Spoilt for choice: picking the right yeast in a vibrant market

60 MARK ROWLEY: Vintage 2017: a deeper dive into the numbers 64 What information sources do visitors use when planning to vist a winery’s cellar door?

WINE TASTING

WINE TASTING 68 Small producer Chardonnay

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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 Ann-Marie Azzuro Tony Battaglene Jenny Bellon Amandine Bodet Anthony Borneman Johan Bruwer Darryl Catlin Dan Calvert Andreas Clark Bruna Conde Duncan Cook Armando Corsi Chris Derrez Peter Dry Sigfredo Fuentes Claudia Gonzalez Viejo Markus Herderich Callie Jemmeson Radka Kolouchova Tony Hoare Kate Howell Bruno Holzapfel Barbara Hall Dan Johnson Carmel Keenan Mardi Longbottom Greg McCarthy Jane McCarthy Rebecca Peisley Alanna Robinson Gary Rogers Mark Rowley Gerhard Rossouw Suzy Rogiers Simon Schmidt Mark Sosnowski Nina Stocker Erika Szymanski Leigh Schmidkte Pei Xiao 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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Sonya Logan, Editor

W

e welcome two new contributors in this September-October issue of the Journal whose articles are both targeted at the theme of the issue, Small to Medium Wineries.

For his inaugural article in the Journal, winemaker Dan Calvert spoke to three small Australian wine producers to find out why they are increasingly turning to alternative vessels to ferment and mature their wines (page 17). Dan joins Mark O’Callaghan and Cathy Howard who will rotate to present a practical winemaking column in every issue of the Journal.

We then have Erika Syzmanski, a wine science blogger with a background in microbiology, who has taken a look at a new generation of biosensors being developed to detect spoilage microorganisms in wine. Existing diagnostic methods are questionable investments for small to medium size wineries due to their cost and size.

However, these new sensors show promise in overcoming these hurdles (page 21).

Also in winemaking is an article by a team of researchers from Australia, France and Germany who have investigated the effects of fining using bentonite on the quality of foam in sparkling wines (page 24).

This issue of the Journal also contains our annual focus on pest and disease control. Kicking things off is an article detailing a new project that aims to

improve our understanding of fungicide resistance in Australian vineyards, which is being led by the South Australian Research & Development Institute in collaboration with Curtin University and the Australian Wine Research Institute (page 39). Then we present the results of surveys and trials in New Zealand to determine the economic impact of trunk diseases and the cost/benefit of various preventative and remedial treatments (page 42). And, finally, Rebecca Peisley from Charles Sturt University, reveals how a trial into the use of artificial perches in vineyards to encourage predatory birds to keep the pesky grape-eating varieties at bay has shown the common magpie might have an unexpected role to play (page 50).

Readers can also learn about a study about to get under way at Charles Sturt University aimed at giving growers useful guidelines to enable them to identify grapevine damage from specific herbicides and improve our understanding of how grapevines respond to such damage in the short term and following season (page 53).

And be sure to take a look at Mark Rowley’s analysis of the figures from vintage 2017 as he drills down into the regional and varietal stats that contributed to the 5% increase in the national crush, the 13% increase in the value of that production and, significantly, a 7% increase in the average purchase price of grapes (page 60).

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Cover: Ben Heide REGULAR FEATURES

News 6 WFA 9 Wine Australia 8 ASVO 10 Tony Hoare 12

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

Practical Winemaking 17 AWRI Report 35 Alternative Varieties 56 Varietal Report 66 Tasting 69

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N E W S

S N I P S

WINE SECTOR GIVES THUMBS UP TO $50 MILLION FOR WINE EXPORT AND TOURISM INVESTMENT Australia’s wine industry has welcomed the launch of the Australian Government’s $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package (ERWSP) aimed at enhancing and showcasing the nation’s wine tourism offering while driving further demand for its growing wine exports.

The package was launched by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Barnaby Joyce and Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Senator Anne Ruston at Penfolds Magill Estate, in Adelaide, on 28 August. The business plan for the package, to be delivered over three years, was developed in close consultation with Australian Vignerons, the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia and Wine Australia.

The ERWSP will be managed by Wine Australia through a combination of direct implementation, contracted services and a range of grants schemes. The package comprises the following four programs: • Program 1 ($32.5m) to accelerate growth in international demand through dedicated, multi-year marketing campaigns in the United States and China, representing a more than eightfold increase on current investment in these markets.

• Program 2 ($2m) to create exportready businesses by building the capability and capacity of grape and wine businesses to capture export and tourism opportunities. This will include a wine exports grants scheme ($1m) for current and new exporters to China and the United States.

• Program 3 ($5m) to capture growth in wine regions by offering state-based and competitive grants to develop exciting wine tourism experiences and attract international tourists.

• Program 4 ($0.5m) to transform cider businesses by building knowledge of potential export markets and developing improved understanding for accessing these markets.

Grant applications for the ERWSP are expected to be advertised from December 2017 to February 2018, with funding agreements for successful proposals in place from March 2018, although this is contingent on the passage of legislative changes to the Australian Grape and Wine Authority Act 2013.

Australian Vignerons chief executive Andrew Weeks said, “Australian Vignerons

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strongly supports the package and recognises that there is potential benefit along the entire value chain. It is incumbent upon all in the wine sector to support the package, and on all of us to ensure that the positive flow-through impacts are realised.”

“The $50 million package provides a once in a generational opportunity to grow demand for Australian wine," said Winemakers’ Federation of Australia president Sandy Clark. "It will benefit all winemakers and provide a lasting platform for profitability throughout the supply chain, and I would like to thank all those who have got behind this initiative. It is now up to us to maximise the opportunity.”

For further information about the package visit erwsp.wineaustralia.com WET REBATE REFORMS PASS MUSTER The passage through Federal Parliament of reforms to the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) in mid-August has been welcomed by the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA).

WFA chief executive Tony Battaglene said the reforms were needed to restore the integrity of the WET system.

“The reforms will help ensure the WET rebate can continue to deliver on its original policy intent of supporting winemakers who have a genuine investment in regional areas, growth and innovation,” he said.

“Coupled with the $50 million package being provided over four years to promote Australian wine overseas and wine tourism at home and the $10 million Wine Tourism and Cellar Door grant program, this provides a stable platform for the sector to invest and grow.”

POSITIVE FUTURE FOR AUSTRALIAN VIGNERONS After concerns about its future due to uncertain times in the wine sector, the national advocacy body Australian Vignerons has declared it has become financially secure through a combination of financial restraint and continued support from its member base.

“Over the last six months Australian Vignerons has welcomed a new independent skills-based board, and has been concentrating on representing its members in our core areas of concern” said Andrew Weeks, chief executive of Australian Vignerons.

“After some careful restraint we are now stable, and will be building our capacity of our team, and will be hiring in the near future. We have been heavily involved not W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR N A L SEPTEMBER/O C TO BER 2017

only in representing our members, but also working for the benefit of the wine sector as a whole,” he said.

“We have been focussed wholly on doing our job for the past six months, and trying to achieve financial stability. We now need to raise awareness of what we do, and build support. We stand ready to work for the benefit of members and the betterment of the wine sector as a whole.”

NEW INVESTMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN WINE AUSTRALIA AND AWRI Wine Australia and the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) have entered into an agreement covering research, development and extension (RDE) activities at the AWRI from 2017-25.

The agreement is the first of a series of bilateral partnerships between Wine Australia and major research institutions under a new RDE funding framework.

Describing the new framework, Wine Australia chief executive Andreas Clark said the bilateral partnerships “will allow our research partners to be better able to make strategic investments and plan for the future, to maintain technical capabilities in key areas, and they will have greater flexibility to pursue promising research results within an overall agreed framework”.

“It is not surprising that our first partnership is with the AWRI. Its expertise and commitment has been central to establishing Australia’s reputation as a research leader, and this will continue,” Clark said.

Based on the new funding framework, the AWRI has developed a new RDE plan that outlines its vision for its activities from 2017 to 2025. While this plan will attract investment from a range of sources, the entire plan has been formulated to align with Wine Australia’s strategic priorities, allowing the two organisations to continue to act as an integrated team and deliver the greatest value possible for Australia’s levy payers.

AWRI BOARD ELECTION RESULTS ANNOUNCED The Australian Wine Research Institute has welcomed three new appointments to its board of directors.

John Harvey, of Bathe Wines, in South Australia, was elected in the small producer category while Wendy Cameron, a winemaking consultant from Victoria, was elected in the medium producer category.

Iain Jones, of Treasury Wine Estates, was V32N5

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New AWRI board directors (from left) Wendy Cameron, John Harvey and Iain Jones. the only nominated candidate from the large producer category and was therefore elected unopposed.

AWRI chair Louisa Rose welcomed the new directors, saying, “John, Wendy and Iain bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the AWRI board and I look forward to working with them over the next three years. With a new long-term funding agreement with Wine Australia having just been signed, this is an exciting time to be involved in the future direction of grape and wine research, development and extension in Australia.”

John Harvey, a current director of the AWRI, is also a non-executive director of Revenir Winemaking Pty Ltd and was former executive director of the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (now part of Wine Australia).

Wendy Cameron is an experienced winemaker and wine business manager who worked for Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyards for 17 years, initially as a winemaker and for 10 years as head of

winemaking. She remains a winemaking consultant to Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyards.

Iain Jones spent his early career working with winemaking and operational teams to improve wine quality and operational efficiencies. In the last 12 years, he has been working in senior management roles, providing leadership across a broad portfolio of areas including: laboratories, quality assurance, environmental management, research and development, health and safety, engineering and lean business improvement.

All three directors will commence their elected term on 1 January 2018. The terms of outgoing directors Kim Horton and Stuart McNab will conclude on 31 December 2017.

CLARE VALLEY WINE INDUSTRY BODIES MERGE Following two years of discussion and consultation between Clare Valley Winemakers Incorporated and Clare Region Winegrape Growers Association,

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S N I P S

the two bodies have voted to form one representative body.

The poll to amalgamate the organisations was passed with more than an 80% majority.

Chair of Clare Valley Winemakers Incorporated Andrew Pike said the amalgamation would be a positive step forward for the Clare Valley wine region.

“It makes sense to have one cohesive body in the Clare Valley, such that we are all working together on a common strategic plan for the wine industry of the region,” he said. “This new beginning can create the opportunity to not only share the load across the whole regional wine economy, but also to lift the bar by leveraging all our collective resources and harnessing the best people and ideas to chart a new course to forge a new identity for the region,” President of the Clare Region Winegrape Growers Association Troy van Dulken viewed the merger as an opportunity for grapegrowers to work more closely with winemakers in the region and to share in the benefits of the marketing and promotion of ‘brand Clare’.

“One of the key objectives of the new body will be to develop a new creditable regional wine story with a sharp focus on the unique and diverse attributes of the region,” van Dulken said.

Stuart McNab, former Treasury Wine Estates chief supply officer – global wine production will be the chair of the new combined organisation once the formalities of incorporation are completed.

WVJ

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WINE AUSTRALIA

Export and Regional Wine Support Package transforming the Australian wine sector

By Andreas Clark, Chief Executive Officer, Wine Australia

T

he Australian Government’s $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package – a welcome one-off investment opportunity that will help us to grow the demand for Australian wine, increase the value of exports and drive tourism to our wine regions – was officially launched in August.

Australian Vignerons, the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia and Wine Australia have worked in close consultation with the Australian grape and wine sector to develop the business plan for the package, which will be delivered over three years.

As outlined in the business plan, it is projected that the package will: • increase the value of Australian wine exports to $3.5 billion by 2022 • grow the value of Australian wine exports by 8 percent per annum • increase the average price paid for Australian wine by 15%.

This accelerated growth is expected to increase the average price paid to

Wine Australia chair Brian Walsh and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Barnaby Joyce following the launch of the Export and Regional Wine Support Package aimed at increasing the value of wine exports up to $3.5 billion and promoting wine tourism in regional communities.

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Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Anne Ruston answer questions from the media following the launch of the Export and Regional Wine Support Package, at Magill Estate, in Adelaide. grapegrowers and attract an additional 40,000 international tourists to our premium wine regions by 2020.

The investment comes at a pivotal time for the wine sector, with export growth potential in the US and China continuing to soar due to favourable trading conditions, emerging wine cultures and a growing appetite for premium wines.

It was the strong export growth to China and the US in 2016–17 that saw Australia’s wine exports increase by $201 million, or 10%, meaning Australia outperformed each of the four countries with larger wine exports: France, Italy, Spain and Chile.

The $50 million package will help the Australian wine sector capture these opportunities through three distinct programs. Program 1 is designed to benefit the entire Australian wine sector, with dedicated marketing campaigns in the US and China showcasing the nation’s wine tourism and driving demand for our growing wine exports. Program 2 is focussed on building the capability and capacity of grape and wine businesses to capture these wine export and tourism opportunities, through regional wine education forums, detailed market

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analysis, online toolkits and a wine export grant scheme.

Program 3 will offer state-based and competitive grants to grow international wine tourism through the collaborative development of wine tourism strategies.

The program’s objective is to help meet the increased demand created by Program 1 by building regional wine-based tourism capacity, stimulating innovation and encouraging wine tourism activities focussed on regions and their wines.

Responding to the emerging export and tourism opportunities for the Australian wine sector, the activities in the package will complement the significant investments of Tourism Australia, state tourism authorities and private providers.

The package has a strong focus on the US and China as the two markets with the strongest current growth potential.

However, all of Australia’s export markets are important and the program will retain the flexibility to respond to opportunities in these markets.

For further information about the package contact grants@wineaustralia. com or visit http://erwsp.wineaustralia. com/ WVJ

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W FA

Nutritional labelling for wine?

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

INTRODUCTION The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia is constantly on the alert for capricious government decisions that create cost for industry. One such area concerns nutritional labelling, which has traditionally been exempt from alcoholic beverages. However, recently a number of countries are looking at these requirements. For example, within the European Union, the European Commission has invited the industry to present, by the end of this year, a selfregulatory proposal that would cover the entire sector of alcoholic beverages. The Commission will assess the industry’s proposal. Should the Commission consider the self-regulatory approach proposed by the industry to be unsatisfactory, it would then launch an impact assessment to review other available options. Such options include regulatory as well as nonregulatory options, in particular regarding the provision of information on the energy value of alcoholic beverages.

Currently, the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) requires most packaged food to be labelled with a nutrition information panel (NIP) which includes energy content. However, alcoholic beverages are exempt from providing a NIP on labels.

The Food Regulation Standing Committee (FRSC) is now undertaking consultations on energy labelling for alcoholic beverages.

ISSUES WFA does not support allocation of government resources to address a ‘problem’ which is unclearly defined, lacking genuine drivers, and implying solutions that are outdated or irrelevant to modern consumers.

During initial consultations with government there have been two indicated outcomes discussed: • Addressing obesity/weight management issues (changing behaviour) - WFA does not recognise this as relevant to the discussion

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The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code requires most packaged food to be labelled with a nutrition information panel (NIP). However, alcoholic beverages are currently exempt from providing a NIP on labels. as alcohol consumption is only one of several factors related to weight management. There is no basis for suggesting that energy labelling of alcohol will be an effective mechanism to address changing behaviour.

• Informing consumers – WFA completely supports informing consumers. However, we disagree that energy labelling on alcohol is the most effective means of informing or educating consumers in the 21st century. The energy labelling solution was initially posed in 2009. Since that time, technology and the way consumers interact with purchases has significantly changed. There are currently more dynamic and flexible technologies available such websites, social media, calorie calculators and web/smartphone applications, that would be significantly more effective at informing and educating modern consumers.

We believe that government should clearly understand the drivers for this process. WFA strongly supports transparency and consumers’ rights to information in making informed choices regarding the products they consume. However, mandatory nutritional information panels or energy values on product labels is not a valid means of

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addressing the perceived problem. More effective off-label solutions for informing consumers include but are not limited to generic web content, company-specific web content, applications, and promotional campaigns.

While nutritional labelling can play a certain role in the promotion of more moderate alcohol consumption, the issue of listing ingredients and the nutrition declaration for alcoholic beverages is principally one of consumer information about the identity and the properties of a food.

Mandatory labelling brings with it issues of placement, colour size and competition for valuable label real estate.

NIPs lose their meaning for alcoholic beverages as many of the values are zero. In addition, they add cost, require different labels for different markets, create issues around measurement, testing and tolerances, and have little consumer impact. Many companies are now providing additional consumer information off-label and this is having far more resonance with consumers.

WFA will continue to advocate for nonmandatory off-label provision of consumer information. The industry does not need more cost so a government bureaucrat can tick a box on his or her performance review.

WVJ

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A S V O

ASVO announces 2017 AWAC scholarship winner and Winemaker of the Year finalists

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

A

major objective of the ASVO is to promote education in viticulture and oenology, and to ensure and maintain the highest standards of quality for these educational objectives. This year the ASVO is supporting one of its members to participate in the Advanced Wine Assessment Course (AWAC), delivered by the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI). An esteemed panel of judges with extensive expertise in the area of wine show judging and wine sensory assessment have this year selected Matthew Large, winemaker and viticulturist at Shadowfax Winery, Victoria, to receive the AWAC scholarship.

Matthew works as part of a small team managing all aspects of wine production from vine to bottle. Matthew believes that benchmarking his wines against others in the industry and using his sensory assessment skills to critically evaluate his wines is an integral part of winemaking practice, and that his level of proficiency in doing this is directly correlated to his value and skill as a winemaker.

“I am constantly trying to improve my skills of my own accord, and often at great expense, because I believe so deeply in their relevance to my position.

My ability to both perceive and express our wines within our team and to the general public is extremely relevant to our success as a business,” Matthew said.

The ASVO seminars are a great way to keep a finger on the pulse of the Australian wine industry, according to Matthew, and he believes that the more winemakers and viticulturists choose to belong to the ASVO, the more innovation, information, excitement and progress our industry will enjoy. He hopes that participating in the AWAC will position him in “the vanguard of Australian winemakers and viticulturists advancing our practice and changing local and global perceptions

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of our industry.” We wish him well at the AWAC and look forward to hearing about his experience later in the year.

Matthew Large, winemaker and viticulturist for Shadowfax Wines, in Victoria, and the winner of the 2017 ASVO Advanced Wine Assessment Course scholarship.

2017 ASVO WINEMAKER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS The ASVO Winemaker of the Year is awarded in recognition of broad positive contribution to the Australian wine industry or community. Finalists are selected by a committee of ASVO members who themselves are distinguished in the fields of viticulture and oenology and demonstrate exceptional leadership ability and vision.

Julian Allport, Winemaker, Moore’s Hill, Tasmania Julian recently brought to fruition the design and build of Tasmania’s first 100 tonne, 100 per cent off-grid commercial winery. The winery runs entirely on solar power using a 30kW array and 100kWh of battery storage. Water collected from the roof is used in the winery and a closed loop system treats wastewater.

By independently generating power,

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Julian has overcome the threat of rising electricity prices and uncertain supply.

“Our sustainable approach has been applauded by customers and encouraged other Tasmanian wineries to investigate off-grid solar power options,” Julian said.

Julian’s winemaking philosophy is to marry traditional and modern techniques, taking a quality approach to every operation. He is an active Tasmanian wine industry participant, serving on the Wine Tasmania board from 2013 to 2015 and on its technical committee in 2015. He is a great believer in sharing information and insights, and offers to share his knowledge with those who seek it.

Mike Hayes, Viticulturist and Winemaker, Symphony Hill Wines, Queensland Mike is steadfast in his belief that the future success of Queensland’s wine industry will be based on the development of alternative winegrape varieties, in particular, varieties suited to changing climatic conditions. To this end Mike has promoted the planting of alternative varieties and associated innovative winemaking practices for more than a decade, both at Symphony Hill Wines and with his many clients. Mike has a mission to expand his own knowledge and to share that with the industry. He has initiated alternative variety master classes to educate consumers on food and wine matching with alternative varieties, presented at numerous industry forums, and led practical viticulture workshops instructing growers how to graft to new varieties. Mike is also establishing small plot alternative variety vineyards in schools throughout southern Queensland, and he is writing a book on alternative varieties.

Mike is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern Queensland, where he is on the advisory board for Agriculture, Computational Sciences and Environmental Studies. He is also a director of the Queensland Wine Industry Association.

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A S V O

Finalists for the 2017 ASVO Winemaker of the Year award, from left, Julian Allport, from Moore’s Hill, Tasmania; Mike Hayes, from Symphony Hill Wines, Queensland; Fiona Donald, from Seppeltsfield, South Australia; and Jeremy Dineen, from Josef Chromy Wines, Tasmania.

Jeremy Dineen, Chief Winemaker, Josef design - the recently resurrected gravity including the Australian Wine Industry Chromy Wines, Tasmania winery. With a vision to get this great Technical Conference and numerous wine Jeremy constantly seeks to asset to work, Fiona and her team have shows. improve his winemaking techniques increased the processing capacity of Fiona is a committee member of the by keeping abreast of industry best the Seppeltsfield winery from zero to Adelaide Wine Show, a member of the practice, including heat recovery and 4000 tonnes in two years. This has been tasting panel of the Barossa Grounds load scheduling for refrigeration, no mean feat; the greatest challenge project, and a Barossa Grape and Wine juice flotation to reduce lees losses being asking people to work to modern Association board member. and increase throughput, solar power standards in an old winery and to achieve The winners of the ASVO Viticulturist Australia Limited, Aravina Estate, Vintag generation, and composting of all Accolade a lotWines from a little.

In a few short years and Winemaker of the Australian Year will be Ltd, Barwick Wines, Beltunga, Bests Wines Great Western, Bremerton green waste. These innovative practices the value of the winery has increased announced at an awards ceremony and Wines, and Brown Milawa Vineyard Pty Ltd, at Campbells have led to reduced cellar operation, the wineBrothers is highly sought after. dinner on 14 November Carrick Hill, inWines Casama Group Pty Ltd, Cellarmaster Group, Charles Melton Wines decreased losses, and significant gains Fiona takes an inclusive approach in the Adelaide.

Clover Hill Wines, CMV Farms, Coriole Vineyards, Delegats Wine Es regarding capacity for wastewater winery, constantly seeking information tate, Delegat’s Wine Estate Limited, DogRidge, Edgemill Group, treatment and solar energy generation. from colleagues to achieve great results.

Further information about the ASVO Fanse low Bell, Five Star Wines, Fowles Wine, Winecan Services Jeremy has instigated and participated She shares her experience willingly with AwardsFuse for Excellence be found at Pty Ltd Gemtree Vineyards, Glenlofty Wines, Harry Jones Wines, Henry’ in numerous research projects in students, school leavers, vintage seawww.asvo.com.au WVJ Drive Vignerons Pty Ltd, Hentley Farm, Hope Estate, Hospitality Re collaboration with the Tasmanian changers, and through industry forums Institute of Agriculture, Wine Tasmania, cruitment Solutions, Howard Park Wines, Hungerford Hill Wines, In University of Tasmania, the Australian glewood Wines Pty Ltd, Innocent Bystander, Jack Rabbit Vineyard Wine Research Institute and othersJim with Barry Wines, KarriBindi, Kauri, Kingston Estate Wines Pty Ltd an aim to benefit the entire industry.

Kirrihill Wines Pty Ltd, Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard, L’Atelie Jeremy has been a key player in staging by, Aramis Vineyards, Leeuwin Estate, Make WInes Australia, McWil ‘Effervescence Tasmania’, an eventliam’s to Wines Group, Memstar, Mondo Consulting, Moppity VIneyards celebrate world-class sparkling wines Moxon Oak, Nadalie australia, Nexthire, Oenotec Pty Ltd, Options Win from Tasmania, including sparklingMerchants, wine Orlando Wines, Ozpak Pty Ltd, Patrick of Coonawarra, Plan master classes. tagenet Wines, Portavin Integrated Wine Services, R&D VITICULTUR Jeremy was a participant in the wine AL SERVICES PTY LTD, Robert Oatley Vineyards, Rymill Coonawarra industry’s Future Leaders program,Seville and Estate, Stella Bella Wines, Streicker Wines, The Gilbert Family he is an accomplished wine show judge Wine Co, The Lane Vineyard, The Scotchmans Hill Group Pty Ltd, Th and graduate of the Len Evans Tutorial.

Yalumba Wine Company, Tintara Winery, Tower Estate Pty Ltd, Treas He is a director of Wine Tasmania and ury Wine Estates, Turkey Flat Vineyards, Two Hands Wines, Tyrrell’ past chair of its technical committee.

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ASVO seminar explores intelligent systems for profitable winegrowing

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

Tony attended the ASVO’s viticulture seminar in Mildura in August and presents his summary of the program, which he says was informative and relevant.

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he Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology’s recent viticulture seminar, titled ‘Intelligent Systems – Profitable Winegrowing’ and held in Mildura on 2-3 August, focussed on emerging technology in vineyards and its practical application to improve profitability. The program presented a good cross-section of emerging technologies and current research by both local and international speakers including keynote speaker Dr Maria Paz Diago, from Spain’s Institute of Grapevine and Wine Sciences. The organising committee chaired by Brett McClen, from Brown Brothers, who was joined by Dr Fiona Kerslake, from the University of Tasmania, ASVO president Dr Mardi Longbottom and the ASVO’s Chris Waters - created an informative and relevant program for the current industry climate which successfully delivered on audience expectations. The opening address by Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Anne Ruston summed up the future direction of the Australian wine landscape for many delegates when she said the international reputation of Australian wine should not be based on being the cheapest but the most efficient and innovative.

Overall, the seminar delivered a global snapshot of how technology is being developed to enhance viticulture in many ways. As viticulturists strive for greater vineyard uniformity, improved yields and quality consistency and efficient use of resources, the availability of fast and reliable information is critical.

In-field sensors that can be linked to vineyard machinery to select for desirable characteristics in the vineyard are becoming more refined. Overall, speakers illustrated how the information now provided from sensor technology in conjunction with algorithmic software programs via handheld digital technology

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is providing viticulturists with the tools to make management decisions based on accurate and easily attainable data.

They showed how information collected from sensors is being calibrated against previous research outcomes to ensure its accuracy and relevancy. The early handheld sensors are also being adapted

ASVO president Mardi Longbottom with seminar delegate John Summers. Photo: Camellia Aebischer to fit existing vineyard machinery such as tractors, harvesters and spray units and also in standalone, airborne drones and robotic devices. It was reassuring to hear speakers at the seminar address areas through their research that have been traditional stumbling blocks for viticulture.

Following ASVO president Mardi Longbottom's welcome and Senator Ruston’s opening address, viticultural consultant Liz Riley introduced the seminar by taking delegates on a viticultural journey from the 1970s until now with some predictions for the future.

Her presentation was a great reflection

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of where we have come from and where we are going in Australian vineyards. Liz showed delegates that while Australia has been quick to adopt technology, the past successes with mechanisation and efficiency have resulted in some issues, such as trunk disease and viruses, requiring solutions to ensure future prosperity.

Liz explained how viticulture, now and in the future, has to evolve with wine market conditions. She was adamant that the fundamentals of good viticulture and the involvement of knowledgeable people will always remain essential, but in conjunction with developing technology as Australia meets market expectations across all wine segments. In a panel discussion that followed, Liz raised the issue of a landholder's “right to farm” and the threats of urban sprawl and other industries on farming land. Future prosperity requires policy makers to prioritise land use for agriculture, she said.

DATA MANAGEMENT Data collection is fundamental to creating tools and technology for future vineyard management decisions. How data is collected and processed is the key to how useful the data will be in decisionmaking processes and technology development. Dr Kathy Evans, from the University of Tasmania, presented her work on building actionable data which was a great introduction to the issues facing researchers, product developers and end users. Kathy has created guidelines for the use of data to create products that are not only useful but stimulate “continual improvement in the actionable knowledge of users”. Professor Mike Briers, from Sydney’s University of Technology, also presented on the topic

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and explained technology and big data and how the grape and wine industry can benefit based on other industries’ experiences.

MATURITY TESTING The ongoing challenge facing the wine industry for a convenient, accurate and cost-effective yield estimation tool was addressed by a number of the speakers.

Dr Maria Paz Diago spoke about the use of non-destructive yield estimation techniques using cameras and VISNIR spectroscopy. While this is not a new concept, the technology is being adapted to be “contactless” and fitted to vineyard vehicles for more efficient usage. Data that can be collected from this technology includes total soluble solids (TSS), pH, anthocyanins, polyphenols and amino acids. As well as grape composition, measurements of vine growth and yield are also achievable and will undoubtedly become more widespread in vineyards of the future.

Dr Diago’s second presentation on Day 2 of the seminar showed examples of the automated vehicles that will be used in future data collection. Autonomous vineyard ‘robots’ have been the focus of much research and development through EU collaborative funding. The concept of robotics in the vineyard is fast becoming a reality.

YIELD ESTIMATION

IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT

Yield estimates remain an area of constant frustration for wineries and growers alike. Thankfully, it remains a high priority for researchers. Dr Jo Jones, from the University of Tasmania, presented the results of a trial using NIR technology to analyse bud fruitfulness.

Jo’s research team is collecting data to develop a non-destructive assessment tool that will allow for easier assessment of bud fruitfulness compared with current manual bud dissection techniques. NIR sensors have been able to discriminate between grape varieties and bud material components. It is hoped with further research and data collection this could provide a portable tool for yield assessment in the future.

Dr Steve Van Sluyter, from Macquarie University, presented his team’s work on improving yield estimation accuracy from a different angle using climatic data analysis. By building a database of historic climate information they are creating models that have shown promise in improving yield estimation accuracy.

Their best results to date have a median accuracy error of 8% and mean accuracy error of 14% which are forecast to improve with increased data inputs. His presentation also included some valuable tips on data management and how to use Microsoft Excel more effectively.

Improving water use efficiency, avoiding crop damage from water stress, and adapting irrigation systems to variable vineyards are areas where new technologies are currently being researched. Ros Harvey introduced delegates to her digital information solution known as The Yield. It is designed to provide data management storage, analysis and predictions through handheld devices for growers. While it is being trialled and implemented in the oyster industry, The Yield is also aimed at assisting grapegrowers with processing information to assist in crop management in a convenient and practical package.

Mark Skewes, from the South Australian Research and Development Institute, presented results from research into smartphone assessment of water stress. Using imagery sourced on smartphones his results have shown positive correlations in accuracy with traditional reference equipment in stomatal conductance and stem water conductance.

Via video link, Dr Luis Sanchez, of EJ Gallo in the US, presented his work on variable rate drip irrigation systems designed to compensate for vineyard variability and, in doing so, increase

Tony Hoare contributes to the panel discussion that concluded the ASVO viticulture seminar and asked the question, ‘How will our vineyards look in 20 years?’ Photo: Camellia Aebischer.

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E V E N T S

Delegates catch up during a break for the ASVO’s viticulture seminar.

Photo: Camellia Aebischer

yield in low vigour/low yielding areas of vineyard while increasing irrigation efficiency. While this pioneering work is in its early stages, the results over three seasons showed a 10% average yield increase with an average water use efficiency increase of 17%. The prototype system controller was expensive and complicated. However, it is anticipated the second generation models will become more affordable.

Dr Vinay Pagay, from The University of Adelaide, presented the results of research into the use of airborne remote sensing for determining vine water and nitrogen status. The trial was based in Coonawarra and involved ground truthing of data against airborne remote sensing imagery. The results for vine water status showed potential for irrigation scheduling however required more validation. There was a more positive correlation with vine nitrogen status measured as total leaf N and proximal chlorophyll index.

Anthocyanins, polyphenols, juice YAN and amino acids also correlated positively and showed potential for further development of berry and wine quality metrics using thermal imagery.

PEST AND DISEASE The battle to control pests and diseases in Australian vineyards is becoming more high-tech with technological breakthroughs to help combat some current challenges. Dr Kerry De Garis, chair of the Limestone Coast Grape and Wine Council technical

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James Sullivan, from the Wingara Wine Group, with Belinda Kerridge, of the Victorian Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources during a seminar break. Photo: Camellia Aebischer

sub-committee, presented results on the use of Greenseeker to assess vineyard uniformity in response to trunk disease which is a major research funding priority for the Limestone Coast.

Greenseeker captures images and creates an index based on chlorophyll levels in leaves to assess canopies from a tractor or quad bike mounted setup. The results have been a useful tool in evaluating the spread of Eutypa lata in the Limestone Coast region where it has been trialled. It is a much more cost effective (at $56 per hectare) and accurate way to assess the incidence and severity of Eutypa lata and monitor its spread in a vineyard than traditional manual methods.

Greenseeker has been a useful addition in gathering information for the ongoing management of Eutypa lata.

In a second presentation, Dr Vinay Pagay presented his research into a new technique for detecting virus infections in vineyards. Using visible NIR for leaf reflectance he has been able to, with some accuracy (70-90%), identify Grapevine Leaf Roll 3 virus in Pinot Noir and Shiraz Disease GVA in Shiraz in the field. This research is very relevant to the current virus issues facing Australian viticulture at present and will hopefully provide a costeffective assessment tool to aid in the management of viruses in vineyards.

Overall, the seminar presented a range of technological tools that are generating, collating and interpreting data for grape and wine producers.

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The research into the application and adoption of this technology is being benchmarked against existing protocols and manual references.

Once confidence has been established in the data collected it then requires organisation and interpretation using algorithims to then become meaningful for use by viticulturists and winemakers alike. The results of the Australian Wine Research Institute’s Vineyard and Winery Practices Survey of Australia’s grape and wine producers, coordinated by the AWRI’s Dr Simon Nordestgaard, will be available in December 2017 and will give some meaningful information as to the current adoption of technology in viticulture.

Thanks to the organising committee for such a relevant and interesting program and for incorporating the social gatherings to encourage networking and the food and beverages which were very generous and much appreciated.

According to ASVO president Mardi Longbottom the inclusion of panel discussions was well received by delegates and is likely to be regular features at future seminars. I thought the high attendance numbers reflected the quality of the program. I’m looking forward to the next one!

DISCLAIMER Tony Hoare is a professional member of the ASVO and paid for his own attendance at the seminar.

WVJ

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Alternative vessels to ferment and mature

By Dan Calvert

Dan Calvert, winemaker for Gourmet Paddock, Grasslands and his own label Domestique Wine Australia, makes his inaugural contribution to the Wine & Viticulture Journal on alternative vessels for fermentation and maturation. He joins Mark O’Callaghan and Cathy Howard who will rotate to provide a practical winemaking column in each issue, drawing on their views and experience on various aspects of the wine production process.

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hear everything comes back into fashion if you wear it long enough. If the same is true for wine, then maybe the cycle occurs every 5000 years or so.

Another chapter of post-modern winemaking is working its way back into the mainstream. I wonder whether it’s simply the opening of borders that have allowed intrepid travellers looking for something new, unveiling wines of absolute distinction completely foreign to the ‘New World winemaking’ we’ve all become accustomed to? Or, is it simply time for these stories to be brought to light again? Either way, the cat’s out of the bag, and knowledge slowly extracted from old masters continuing ancient traditions, much like the wines they produce, are filtering through to the new guard.

I have firsthand experience with extended maceration periods beyond the norm for both red and white wines. Terracotta amphorae, or qvevri, have proven to be an unmatched vessel to manicure phenolics extracted from long-term skin contact.

When asked, I’ve often simplified their effect on wine maturation as somewhere between the use of barrels and stainless-steel tanks. They are able to facilitate polymerisation through microoxidation much like a barrel does, though conversely due to their inert nature, qvevris are also able to respect and nurture even the subtlest characteristics of the fruit that would otherwise be dominated by the imposition of oak.

I want to bring the stories of other winemakers from across Australia. Among them is Tim Elphick, of Portsea Estate, on the Mornington Peninsula. Widely regarded for his clinical execution of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Tim is taking his first tentative steps using alternative vessels. Josephine Perry, of Dormilona, from Margaret River, is a V16 Young Gun of Wine recipient who could possibly argue it’s not alterative if it’s your way of life. Richard Darby, of Trofeo Estate, also from the Mornington Peninsula, is starting to turn heads with his 100 percent terracotta amphora approach.

three layers of clay and are a little more oval in shape. Qvevris are traditionally buried under the ground, however, ours are free-standing aboveground for practical reasons. I’m yet to use them as they arrived three months late for harvest – Georgian time, I guess! For vintage 2018 I’d like to use them for separate Chardonnay and Pinot Gris fermentations with a portion of skin contact. I’ll carry out a traditional Pinot Noir fermentation, skins and all, in the third qvevri. I also have a 700-litre Nomblot French-design concrete egg.

What sparked your interest in these vessels?

The interest was sparked by a podcast I listened to called ‘Intrepid Wino’. The podcast host, James Scarcebrook, interviewed John Wurderman from Pheasant’s Tears winery, in Georgia, of all places. The story that John shared about how he got into wine is so unique, amazing and inspiring that I just had to track down a bottle of his Pheasant’s Tears. After

TIM ELPHICK – PORTSEA ESTATE, MORNINGTON PENINSULA, VICTORIA What type of alternative vessels are you using?

I’m experimenting with a few different vessels. I’ve got a ceramic 675 magnum, which has an egg shape, 675 litres in volume, fired at 1200°C in the kiln, and are funnily enough made in Byron Bay – it kind of fits! I have three qvevris which are the traditional and ancient Georgian vessel with some 8000 years of history. They are handmade using

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some Googling, I discovered his wine is distributed by Vinous Imports, in Australia. Within a week of listening to the podcast, I had a case of difficult-to-pronounce Georgian wines on my front doorstep.

After sampling the Saperavi, a dense, earthy and incredibly flavoursome red wine with lovely balanced tannin structure, and Rkatsiteli, an amber wine with layers of complexity and texture, the interest to trial some alternative vessels was ignited.

What styles or varieties are you currently producing out of the vessels, and why?

For vintage 2017, I fermented a Pinot Noir rosé, and made a sparkling base from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the two magnum eggs. The results were pleasing, especially with our sparkling base, which was fermented and aged in the egg for six months before being sent for triage. I felt the base wine really gained enhanced texture due to the thermal qualities of the vessel, keeping the wine in constant motion and, thus, the lees in suspension. It’s early days for this wine but the yeasty and doughy characteristics already gained was really exciting.

Our Pinot Noir rosé was left on skins for eight hours before being pressed to tank, rough settled for 24 hours, then racked into the 675L magnum for fermentation. I kept the fermentation cool (17°C), aiming to make the ferment period steady and slow, thus preserving the delicate aromatics. After fermentation, the rosé was topped fortnightly and aged for six months on lees. I

was happy with the result; delicate aromatics, with a dry savoury finish, and a fine palate texture. The wine was a little reductive, so next year I’ll allow a longer settling time in tank before racking into the egg.

The Nomblot concrete egg is being used for ageing our cool climate Shiraz and, again, the texture and development of soft mouthfilling tannins is encouraging.

Did you have any hopes or expectations with the vessels’ performance? How have they stacked up?

The experimental use of these vessels is really exciting and I am certainly taking an open-minded approach.

I am looking for texture, the preservation of site without any oak influence, and the fact that they are sustainable is certainly important to me.

RICHARD DARBY – TROFEO ESTATE, MORNINGTON PENINSULA, VICTORIA When did you start working with your amphorae, and where have they been sourced from?

We started working with amphorae in vintage 2013. They come from Artenova, located in Impruneta, Tuscany.

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One of three qvevris that arrived three months late for vintage 2017 at Portsea Estate. They are handmade using three layers of clay, and although traditionally buried underground, are aboveground at Portsea Estate for practical reasons.

The ceramic 675 magnum egg used by Tim Elphick at Portsea Estate. It was made in Byron Bay and fired at 1200°C in the kiln.

How many amphorae do you have?

I have 90 in total; 24 x 200L, 40 x 300L, 12 x 500L, and 14 x 800L.

How do the wines mature compared with tank or barrels?

The wines mature similar to barrels as the amphorae breathe.

Do they react similarly?

I believe they do. Ullage can occur at different rates between each amphora, so there appears to be more micro-oxygenation with some and less with others. I haven’t quite figured out which ones yet, but there’s a job for the future. I no longer wax the inside of the amphorae.

Have the amphorae grown on you? What’s their appeal to you?

Yes, they have. It was a little daunting at the start as I’d only ever used barrels and tanks. They looked a little fragile and hard to move but once that was figured out, it was easy. I like the vessels because they produce great expressive wine and are something different, which is a great thing about this industry. Everybody can do something different and still come out with great wines.

How have you been using them?

I ferment the Chardonnays in them. I always do some wild, some inoculated. Chardonnay remains in there for 10 months with lees stirring throughout.

I now pretty much ferment everything in the amphorae. Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, and cane cut Pinot Gris. I chill pressed juice overnight, then rack them off gross lees the next morning and in they go. Starting the ferment off cold helps for a slow start. I keep them in a cool room during ferment and move them out near the end to get dry. I have fermented reds in the amphorae in previous years, and hope to again in the future. I would like to experiment with some extended skin contact with reds in them.

Which varieties and what percentage of your production do you put through them?

Everything except the sparkling goes into amphorae. This is something I may look to change in the future regarding the amphorae. Red varieties include Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Cabernet.

Do the amphorae have any downfalls?

They are all different volumes, so you need to figure that out.

This can take a while but saves you wondering why the volume that is in the tank doesn’t add up to what is in the amphorae. They are also pretty time-consuming to clean.

Do you think you fully understand how the vessels react now, or are you still fine-tuning your approach?

I understand a lot more now but I think I will always be finetuning my approach. This is probably the same with all winemaking techniques. We’re always learning.

So, what’s the next challenge for you?

I’d like to do some skin contact orange wine; extended skin contact red wine and maybe ferment the sparkling base wine in the amphorae. I would also like to track them more individually to see how each of them react differently. Or, at least confirm that they do react differently.

JOSEPHINE PERRY DORMILONA, MARGARET RIVER, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Is there a distinctive style that runs through the wines?

Expressive fruit characters are what we find shows through in our wines - just what the grapes from the vine taste like postferment, of course.

Do you feel any particular variety lends itself better than others to the vessels?

I feel Chardonnay works really well with them. Along with the expressive fruit characters, you get a clean minerality along with it. The Shiraz goes really well and shows better early. The Pinot Noir can take a little longer to express itself in the bottle, but looks stunning when it does. I like them all, I suppose.

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First, you mentioned you have various types of amphorae. Where do they originate from?

I have a lot of different types of amphorae; I’m kind of collecting them. I have some terracotta amphorae from Italy, and qvevri from Georgia, though I just call them amphorae because I find ▶ it so hard to pronounce. I also have some stoneware vessels,

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and I’ve just recently got some Spanish amphorae that are wood fired and made from a black clay sourced from the Pyrenees.

How do they differ performance wise?

Due to their various shapes and sizes they have their own unique surface areas, which affects the amount of oxygen they pass into the wine. I’ve found the shape and size of the cylinders to be the perfect ratio for micro-oxidation during ferment. The eggs are also good for fermentation and ageing.

Do you have a favourite?

The 500-litre Italian amphorae are my favourite, though I do like the 200L Spanish vessels I got this year with their increased micro-oxidation for fermentation. So, I think they’re my favourite now.

What led you to first use amphorae?

The cleanliness and purity of the vessels, really. I do a lot of whole bunch and foot stomp, and I like the wines to express the fruit and the vintage. In the past, before I was using terracotta amphorae, you would come into the winery during harvest in the morning, lift the lids up and just smell stinky reducing ferments. With the amphorae, you come in of a morning and lift off the lids (I use lids of a night time as a precaution really, to prevent anything falling in overnight) and the ferments have been breathing and just smell of beautiful fermenting grapes.

How do you feel the amphorae fit with your philosophy?

They fit perfectly. I want to produce wines with minimal intervention and the ability to have clean ferments eliminates all that extra handling of pump overs, and rack and returns, not to mention eliminating any unwanted additions. We only like to use the slightest of SO2 just before bottling.

Do you think the amphorae are best suited to a particular variety or style?

They’re suited to elegant wines. The chipping point I keep going to is the cleanliness of the ferment and the preservation of fruit character. Obviously, coming from Margaret River, the Chardonnays here are iconic and do extremely well in the amphorae pressed as juice to ferment, as does the Cab Sauv which is on skins. I’m currently making some Pinot Noir as well at the moment in New Zealand, which is looking really good.

Have you evolved as a winemaker with the amphorae?

Well, I love the challenge. I’m still learning about all the different soils and firing techniques that are used [and] how the volumes and the clay change the acids and alcohols of the finished wines. I’m conscious of the how the acids are affected.

Now I’m more about selecting which blocks and parcels of fruit are to go to the various amphorae I have, based around the acidity levels those blocks naturally deliver.

What do you do differently now from when you first started using amphorae?

I search for the acidity and tannin ripeness more fastidiously.

Making Cabernet with whole bunch offers its own set of challenges.

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Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay fermenting in amphorae at Dormilona Wines.

What do you feel is amphorae’s greatest attribute through the winemaking process?

Their porosity; their increased micro-oxidation; their limited influence on a flavour spectrum to allow the purity of the vintage and the parcel of fruit to shine. I love the fact that when you taste the wine, you can actually taste the vintage and the effects of the growing season.

What can we expect from you next? Any grand plans for next harvest?

I’m doing the New Zealand project with Pinot Noir in amphorae, and I’m doing some Vermentino at home in amphorae. I will be travelling to Spain, Galicia, to make some wine. I’ll buy more amphorae, travel, make more wine.

Hopefully that’s the plan.

So, there you have it. First, I want to thank Tim, Richard and Josephine for their time and honesty in revealing their inner thoughts about amphorae. If you haven’t yet tried wines made out of terracotta vessels or concrete eggs, I suggest you do as Tim did, and go and order a case. I can think of a few producers you could easily Google for online sales. If clean, elegant wines that portray the micro-climate of your vineyard is what you wish to convey, then go out and get some terracotta amphorae and run trials for next vintage, but this message doesn’t come without warning. If you’re not careful, you too could soon be captivated by their charms and find yourself searching the globe for new wonderful terracotta vessels like Josephine, or find yourself surrounded by 90-plus vessels to clean before you realise.

Dan Calvert is winemaker for Gourmet Paddock and Grasslands and has his own label Domestique Wine Australia, focussing on small parcel fermentation in de-headed barrels.

Dan has spent the last decade at Quealy Wines as senior winemaker. Prior to this he managed winery production at T’Gallant where he first entered the wine industry in 2000. WVJ

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Bioengineered biosensors for beating back bugs: cutting-edge genetics for wine spoilage management

By Erika Szymanski

In her first article for the Wine & Viticulture Journal, Erika Szymanski, a wine science blogger at wineoscope.com, examines a new generation of relatively inexpensive, convenient and easy-to-use biosensors being developed to detect spoilage micro-organisms which would overcome the problems associated with current diagnosis methods, making them attractive to small and medium wineries as well as their larger counterparts.

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etecting spoilage micro-organisms in wine suffers from at least three of the same problems that plague diagnosing infectious diseases in humans. The first has to do with speed. The faster a diagnosis is made, the better the chances of recovery. Frustratingly, traditional methods of detecting and identifying pathogens are not fast. Culturing bacteria or fungi from a sample – be it from a steel tank or someone’s tonsils – to the point of colonies being visible on a plate can take days. Improved, non culture-based strategies often take specialist knowledge, and may still take several hours. That delay is inconvenient at best and, at worst, can mean entirely missing the window of opportunity to treat a problem.

The second problem has to do with space. Detection often needs to happen ‘in the field’, where the bulky, expensive equipment and highly trained staff of a microbiology lab are not likely to be available. Even for wineries with well-equipped labs, needing to carry samples back and forth adds time, hassle, and opportunities for mistakes. Being able to bring the diagnostic test to the wine is better than having to bring the wine to the test. The third problem is spending. Many small and medium-sized wineries have neither the space nor the funds to spend on advanced biotechnology, even when it might help their process.

Since the 1990s, biosensors have been offering solutions to at least the first of those problems, for spoilage microbes as well as compounds such as acetaldehyde or potential allergens such as egg albumin (Pilolli et al. 2015). A biosensor, fundamentally, is a fairly simple detection system in three parts: a biology-derived sensing molecule, some kind of output display, and a link between the two called a transducer. Traditional biosensors speed up diagnoses considerably by converting a relatively fast biochemical reaction into an equally fast digital readout: a receptor binding to a molecule on the surface of a spoilage-inducing bacteria, for example, or an enzyme that reacts with a molecule responsible for a sensory defect. These kinds of systems have been developed for multiple applications in the wine industry, and they can eliminate

much of the hands-on and waiting time of the strategies they replace (de Castro and Luque-Garcia 2000). However, they also still tend to involve bulky and expensive equipment that represents a questionable investment for many non-large wineries.

A new generation of biosensors looks to resolve these problems. Rather than three separate components, these tools combine sensor, transducer, and readout all within the tidy confines of a single, genetically engineered microorganism.

Exchanging electric wires, fibre-optic transducers, and digital readouts for filter paper spotted with specially retooled yeast means that these sensors can be portable and inexpensive options for detecting common microbial problems. Some of the most advanced work along these lines has been taking place at Columbia University in New York, where an interdisciplinary group

Many small and medium-sized wineries have neither the space nor the funds to spend on advanced biotechnology, even when it might help their process.

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of researchers has recently published an exceptionally robust carry in a pocket to vat, tank, or barrel and can be used, like proof-of-principle paper that demonstrates how these biosensors any other colour-changing dipstick, by anyone able to recognise might work for food and agricultural as well as medical purposes. a meaningful colour change. The filter-paper sensors can be Ostrov and her colleagues have used a single, simple principle stored at room temperature for more than seven months and still to develop a series of biosensors for 11 different problematic fungi successfully perform their detection duties. When commercial including Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, versions arrive, they’re likely to be inexpensive – the research and Botrytis cinerea, amongst a number of pathogens team estimates the cost of a single test as pennies – more detrimental to human than to wine health. and will require no additional equipment beyond a Z. bailli and Z. rouxii are both common warmish place to incubate them. suspects in sweet wines and concentrates, Ostrov and colleagues predict that though they’re also isolated in the their modular system will be easily vineyard from damaged fruit. Studies of adapted for a range of common problem spoiled juice concentrates have found microorganisms – easy to believe, given Zygosaccharomyes species in every they’ve already made sensors for 11 single sample, with Z. rouxii responsible different pathogens, though detecting for most of the damage (Combina et al. bacteria and viruses will require 2008). ‘Spoilage’, in this case, means using a slightly different cell surface H2S, acetic acid, and fruity esters, receptor. Since the mode of using along with the usual turbidity and gas these variations on the theme will all production of misplaced fungal growth be the same, a single test strip could (Romano and Suzzi 1993, Thomas and even have multiple spots for several Davenport 1985). different common wine pests. And each Some speculation exists that of those sensors will be highly specific, Zygosaccharomyces species are more producing a positive signal only in the A group of researchers from Columbia of a problem than detection rates presence of the target pathogen.

University, in New York, have developed a suggest, particularly since they’re slow- series of convenient, stable, low-cost and Some disadvantages: they’re still growing and a single cell is capable of not ideal in terms of speed, they will flexible biosensors that show promise in spoiling a bottle given a few years’ time be subject to regulatory approval, and detecting spoilage micro-organisms in wine (Loureiro and Malfeito-Ferreira 2003). while they display good sensitivity such as Zygosaccharomyces bailii, (pictured).

Photo courtesy: AWRI That possibility points to a problem in the lab, it’s not yet clear how for detection: even the most sensitive sensitive these sensors will be in sensor is unlikely to return a positive result for such ultra-low practical winemaking settings. A major advantage of traditional infection rates which might still cause sensory defects under electrochemical biosensors is their immediacy: their rate-limiting the wrong circumstances. Basic microbiology says that tests for step is the biochemical reaction between the sensor and the target spoilage microbes require cautious use by default. molecule in the sample, usually requiring minutes or an hour at The biosensor design begins with some more basic most. Because the readout of these microbial sensors relies on microbiology. Many fungi display species-specific mating yeast producing a colourful compound, the process needs to wait peptides on their cell surface, enabling cells of the same species for the yeast. The Columbia scientists’ most successful version to recognise that they’ve bumped into a likely sexual partner. produces a clear positive signal visible to the naked eye in about Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one such species, and therefore has three hours. Future iterations may speed things up a bit, but so the necessary cellular equipment to produce and display these long as the readout is a matter of a microbe making a molecule, signals. By replacing the gene for its own mating peptide with these tools can only get so fast. the gene responsible for the same function in a different fungal The second drawback, regulation, comes into play because species, S. cerevisiae can be made to put on a different identity. for all that these sensors involve the most natural possible Because a chain of events inside the cell is triggered when these microorganism for a winery, they involve a genetically-modified mating peptides bind with each other, the same S. cerevisiae can version. Still, these are diagnostic tools; not only are they not also be engineered to respond with a signal meaningful to humans ingredients or processing agents, but the biosensing microbes rather than a come-hither gesture comprehensible only to other themselves need not touch any wine that will ever make its yeast. In this case, that signal is an orange colour (lycopene, way into a bottle. It seems likely, therefore, that they will not be responsible for tomatoes’ characteristic red and a very common prohibited under OIV bans on genetically-modified organisms output signal in engineering microbes) which the yeast will only in wine production in its signatory countries. However, the produce in the presence of the target spoilage agent. In short: organisms themselves would still need to be approved for use Zygosaccharomyces in wine > Zygo-specific mating peptides in outside of laboratories authorised to conduct genetic modification wine > contact with an engineered yeast biosensor > orange yeast work. For biosensors based on S. cerevisiae – perhaps the safest > winemaker with an action plan. and best-known microbe to humankind – the threshold for proving Major advantages of these biosensors include convenience, safety should be very low, but approval still needs to happen. stability, low cost, and flexibility. The engineered yeast sensors The third drawback is the most significant, and perhaps the have been developed as small test tubes with the yeast least easy to address. In biotechnology terms, the sensitivity of immobilised in the bottom and as dipsticks, with the yeast these biosensing microbes is high – they’re capable of delivering a spotted onto filter paper. Either version is small enough to positive signal even in response to a very low concentration [1-10

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millimolar] of the target pathogen. That’s true, at least, under lab conditions. How that sensitivity translates to wine is another question, and whether that sensitivity is then high enough for wine industry applications is another question again. An experienced nose may still detect a microbial problem before the sensor does, especially if no-one thinks to use the biosensor before catching a whiff of a potential problem. That said, if the market price for these sensors is as low as scientists forecast, they may find a niche as a double-check on sensory information or as a step in routine protocols to evaluate microbial stability before bottling.

Scientists are also continuing to work on the traditional electrochemical sensor-transducer-readout systems. A Spanish group has, for example, recently reported on a “disposable electrochemical immunosensor for Brettanomyes bruxellensis based on nanogold-reduced graphene oxide hybrid nanomaterial” (Borisova et al. 2017). The advantages of their biosensor, they argue, are speed, portability, and cost: the biosensor could replace traditional microbiology (Brett is notoriously difficult to grow) and DNA-based molecular biology methods requiring fancy equipment and training. Their nanoprinted sensors couple anti-Brett antibodies to an electrochemical output readable by a spectrophotometer, producing a result under ideal circumstances in about an hour. Their system is a serious improvement over other solutions for speed and sensitivity – the sensor detects lower concentrations of Brett than the limits currently reported for competing sensors, below the threshold at which Brett most often begins causing sensory defects – and it relies on antibodies detecting the bug itself rather than measuring Brett’s signature ethylphenols.

Aiming instead at potentially troublesome chemicals, a Japanese group has produced a new fibre-optic biosensor to detect acetaldehyde for wine use (Iitani et al. 2017). The best methods for quantifying acetaldehyde involve gas or high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), but these specialised, expensive, time-consuming methods are wildly impractical for most wineries. To develop an alternative, the group used the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase to generate an electric signal in the presence of acetaldehyde, then converted that signal into a fluorescent output indicating the concentration of acetaldehyde in the wine. Though they were able to show strong, sensitive measurements in commercial wines, the system still requires diluting red wine and using some kind of machine capable of reading and measuring the fluorescence. Comparing this tool or nanogold-printed graphene, which also still requires a spectrophotometer, with equipment-free engineered yeast, it’s easy to see engineered micro-organisms as a massive improvement for real-winery applications. Surprisingly, Ostrov and colleagues’ yeast sensors even have a substantially longer shelflife than the nanoprinted alternatives, which became less effective after about a month in the refrigerator.

It goes without saying that new laboratory-based research is often a long way from practical application, and not only because of such issues as production and regulation. Bioengineered biosensors, however, seem like they just might be one of the rare exceptions. The Columbia group is already in conversation with global health advocacy groups about making its sensors available for medical use, especially in areas with limited access to hospital resources. While avoiding wine spoilage is a much less pressing priority than treating cholera, developing these systems for commercial use just might contribute to both.

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REFERENCES Borisova, B.; Villalonga, M.L.; Arévalo-Villena, M.; Boujakhrout, A.; Sánchez, A.; Parrado, C.; Pingarrón, J.M.; Briones-Pérez, A. and Villalonga, R. (2017) Disposable electrochemical immunosensor for Brettanomyces bruxellensis based on nanogoldreduced graphene oxide hybrid nanomaterial. Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 1–8.

Combina, M.; Daguerre, C.; Massera, A.; Mercado, L.; Sturm, M.E.; Ganga, A. and Martinez, C. (2008) Yeast identification in grape juice concentrates from Argentina.

Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 46:192-197. de Castro, M.D.L. and Luque-Garcia, J.L. (2000) Biosensors in wine production monitoring. Anal. Lett. 33:963–996.

Iitani, K.; Chien, P.-J.; Suzuki, T.; Toma, K.; Arakawa, T.; Iwasaki, Y. and Mitsubayashi, K. (2017) Improved sensitivity of acetaldehyde biosensor by detecting ADH reverse reaction-mediated NADH fluoro-quenching for wine evaluation. ACS Sens. 2:940–946.

Loureiro, V. and Malfeito-Ferreira, M. (2003) Spoilage yeasts in the wine industry.

Int. J. Food Microbiol. 86:23-50.

Pilolli, R.; Visconti, A.; and Monaci, L. (2015) Rapid and label-free detection of egg allergen traces in wines by surface plasmon resonance biosensor. Anal. Bioanal.

Chem. 407:3787–3797.

Ostrov, N.; Jimenez, M.; Billerbeck, S.; Brisbois, J.; Matragrano, J.; Ager, A.; and Cornish, V.W. (2017) A modular yeast biosensor for low-cost point-of-care pathogen detection. Sci. Adv. 3:e1603221.

Romano, P. and Suzzi, G. (1993) Higher alcohol and acetoin production by Zygosaccharomyces wine yeasts. J. Appl. Bacteriol. 75:541-545.

Thomas, D. and Davenport, R. (1985) Zygosaccharomyces bailii: A profile of characteristics and spoilage activities. Food Microbiol. 2:157-169.

Erika Szymanski is a research fellow in science, technology and innovation studies at the University of Edinburgh, in the UK, where she studies yeast in contemporary biotechnology. Her background spans microbiology, rhetoric and composition, and wine studies in the United States and New Zealand, where she completed her PhD research in wine industry-focussed science WVJ communication.

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SPARKLING WINE

Evaluation of the effect of bentonite fining for sparkling wine quality

By Bruna Condé1, Carmel Keenan2, Amandine Bodet3, Alanna Robinson4, Claudia Gonzalez Viejo1, Pei Xiao1, Sigfredo Fuentes1 and Kate Howell »

Bentonite is commonly used to fine wine, but fining sparkling wine with bentonite can affect the quality of foam. The molecular mechanisms behind this are largely unknown. An international team of researchers set out to determine if small amounts of bentonite would remove the grape-derived proteins likely to be involved in haze without affecting bubble and foam parameters.

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parkling wines account for 11.8 percent ($866.7 million) of the Australian wine market (WIP 2016). The wine market value has been forecast to grow steadily, comprising mostly of sales to China (74.4%) followed by Australia (7.3%) and Japan (6.2%). The Australian sparkling wine market is highly competitive and the highest quality wines are sold at premium prices when compared with the still and fortified wine segments (WIP 2016). Excellent wine quality is something that all wine producers aspire to obtain, but wine quality is a complex concept and is affected by many different viticulture and winemaking practices. We have developed an automated sparkling wine pourer, based on computer vision algorithms, to measure the foam and bubble characteristics of sparkling wine to objectively measure sparkling wine quality (Conde et al. 2017). This robotic pourer allows rapid measurement of visual parameters that can be related to quality, as assessed by a sensory panel. In this paper, the use of bentonite in a base wine and the effects on the quality of sparkling wine was assessed by implementing the robotic pourer and conducting a sensory analysis.

In winemaking, bentonite fining is used to remove heatunstable proteins. The ‘protein stability’ of the wines is

evaluated by the capacity to form a haze, after heat treatment, and is measured in nephelometer turbidy units (NTU). Usually, values greater than 2.0 NTU are related to wines that are heat unstable, in which fining should be considered (Rankine 2007).

Bentonite negatively affects the sensory profile of still wines (Table 1).

There is a research gap regarding the influence of bentonite on foam quality. Bentonite fining reduces the content of protein and aroma compounds but the extent to which proteins and aromas are removed depends on the bentonite type, as well as the protein type and interactions between aromas (Table 1). Recent literature has indicated that grape proteins are removed by bentonite more efficiently than yeast-derived proteins. Therefore, aroma compounds associated with higher affinity yeast-derived proteins would be less affected than those compounds that interact with grape proteins. We hypothesised that small amounts of bentonite added to the base wine would remove grape-derived proteins likely to be involved in haze and not bubble and foam parameters. During the secondary fermentation, release of the yeast proteins would still be able to positively influence foam and bubble characteristics of the finished wine.

Table 1. Summary of recent bentonite studies and corresponding references.

Findings

Bentonite

Reference

Decreases overall protein content; removes grape proteins, did not remove glycosylated proteins.

NaCalit Pore-Tec

(Jaeckels et al. 2017)

Removal of ethyl esters, fatty acids; decreased content of aroma compounds.

Nucleobent

(Vincenzi et al. 2015)

Decreases concentration of high molecular proteins and aroma compounds.

Sodium base (Laffort)

(Lira et al. 2015)

Removes almost all grape b-glucosidases.

NaCalit, Ca-Granulat, GranuBent

(Jaeckels et al. 2015)

The rate of bentonite to stabilise wines increases accordingly with the content of proteins greater than 26 kDa.

Not specified

(Hung et al. 2014

Na+-rich bentonites removes proteins more efficiently than Ca2+-rich. Superbenton, Loss of aroma compounds might depend on aroma compoundsTop Gran, and an experimental clay protein interactions.

(90-95% montmorillonite).

»

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(Lambri et al. 2010)

School of Agriculture and Food, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia 2 Blue Pyrenees Estate, Vinoca Road, Avoca 3467, Victoria, Australia 3 ENSAT, Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, Castanet-Tolosan 31326, France 4 Geisenheim University, Von-Lade-Straße 1 D-65366 Geisenheim Germany

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MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Bentonite addition and wine samples The wine samples were provided by Blue Pyrenees Estate.

Bentonite (Volclay® WG KWK) was added to sparkling base wine (63% Chardonnay, 36% Pinot Noir and 1% Pinot Meunier) in doses of 0.2g/L and 0.3g/L following standard winemaking procedures for bentonite additions. The wines were racked off the bentonite, and sparkling winemaking techniques were subsequently applied to all the bottles. The wines were analysed for protein and foam parameters and were aged for 16 months before riddling and disgorging. The wines used for sensory testing were aged for 36 months before riddling and assessment. The control wine (no bentonite treatment) was represented by W1, wine treated with 0.2g/L of bentonite by W2, and W3 represented the wine treated with 0.3g/L of bentonite.

The PCA score plot showed several associations and interesting relationships. The wine score was associated with the parameter foam expansion (E), and to parameters assessed by sensory evaluation, including colour, bubble finesse, bubble abundance and foam collar and the taste sweetness.

The protein content was positively related to the percentage of wine in the foam (Wf), collar time (tc), floral and sweet aromas and to the complexity of aromas scores. Contrary to previous studies that showed a positive association between proteins and foam lifetime (Lf), these results showed a negative association between Lf and the protein content. The bentonite treatments were effective in removing foam inhibitors that might compete with foam stabiliser proteins. Since bentonite is known to selectively remove grape proteins, it is believed that the grape proteins might have a negative effect on foam stability, while yeastderived proteins are good candidates for promoting foam stability. Therefore, from findings it is suggested that it was not the quantity of proteins that promotes stability, but the protein origin.

Grape proteins interact with aroma compounds and, so, the addition of bentonite can result in significant losses of aroma compounds (Vincenzi et al. 2015). However, yeastderived mannoproteins might provide a protective effect on aroma compounds, since the interaction with bentonite may not be as effective as the interaction between bentonite and grape proteins (Vincenzi et al. 2015). The association between

Total soluble protein content Wine samples were ultra-filtered to remove interfering compounds. The samples were spun at 4000rpm for 15 minutes using Spin-X® UF 500 centricons (Sigma-Aldrich, MO, USA) in a bench centrifuge (Epperdorf 5414C). After each spin, the centricons were refilled to the initial volume using Milli-Q ultrapure water, and the filtered component was discarded.

This process was repeated five times. The protein content was quantified by using the bicinchoninic acid assay (PierceTM BCA, Thermoscientfific, Rockford, IL, USA) and invertase from baker’s yeast (S. cerevisiae, Sigma-Aldrich Pty Ltd, MO, USA) as standard (Condé et al. 2017b). The samples were corrected by a sample blank and the measurements were the average of triplicates.

Foam parameters Foaming and bubble dynamics from the sparkling wines studied were measured using an automated wine pourer coupled with video capture (Condé et al. 2017). Foaming and bubble parameters were calculated from the videos using algorithms written in Matlab R2015b (Mathworks Inc, Matick, MA, USA). For this research, an extra parameter, foaminess (ƒ), was introduced and calculated by using the expression ƒ=Vƒt1/Vcos, where Vƒ is the maximum volume of foam, in mL, t1 is the time to reach Vƒ, in seconds, and Vco2 is the volume of CO2 in the foam, in mL. In total, 11 parameters representative of foam characteristics were calculated. The bottles were maintained at room temperature (19°C), opened, and were assessed at room temperature. For each of the treatments, three bottles (triplicates) were assessed per wine and the parameters were averaged from triplicates.

Sensory evaluation Sensory evaluation was performed by nine wine industry assessors at Blue Pyrenees Estate (Pyrenees, Victoria, Australia).

Different bottles to the automated pourer were used, and the wines were assessed by the panel. The sensory panel followed in-house procedures, where wines were masked and poured by the facilitator and responses to sensory attributes scored on a continuous scale.

Statistical analysis Multivariate statistical analysis, based on principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis, were applied to the data using a customised code written in Matlab R2015b.

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Figure 1. Score bi-plot from principal component analysis, including sensory, chemical and foam parameters. Green- and purple-coloured parameters originate from the sensory palate and aroma scores, and red parameters give the sensory panel assessment of bubble and foam quality. Blue parameters are from the automated pourer where Fv, foam velocity; Vƒ, maximum volume of foam; Vco2, volume of CO2 in the foam; Lf, average foam lifetime; t1, maximum volume time; Ft, foam time; ƒ, foaminess; tc, collar time; Dr, drainability; Wƒ, percentage of wine in the foam; E, foam expansion.

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CONCLUSIONS

Figure 2. The similarity of the wines based on foam and sensory assessment a) wine clustering based on foam assessment using the automated wine pourer; b) wine clustering based on sensory assessment. W1, untreated wine; W2, wine treated with 0.2g/L of bentonite; W3, wine treated with 0.3g/L of bentonite. the protein content and the aromas sweet and floral might be the result of interactions of those aroma compounds and yeast-derived mannoproteins.

The analysis showed differences when clustering the wines based on foam characteristics obtained by the automated robotic pourer (Figure 2a) and by the sensory panel assessment (Figure 2b). The foam parameters showed that the control wine (W1) was different from W2 and W3, although W2 and W3 did not differ significantly. On the other hand, when clustering the wines by sensory evaluation, the sample W3 was perceived as different from the control and W2. These results showed an increase in foam stability and other foam parameters after the fining with bentonite, where the best bentonite rate was 0.2g/L, as it improved foam quality while maintaining sensory characteristics for the wine analysed.

The use of an automated pourer to assess foam quality in sparkling wines might provide winemakers with an effective and objective tool to assess the effects of winemaking techniques, such as fining treatments. Objective assessment of foam characteristics combined with in-house sensory evaluation offers an opportunity to increase understanding of dynamics affecting wine quality and to maintain it under different winemaking techniques.

Bentonite fining is commonly used in winemaking without proper assessments of the effects on wine quality.

The present study suggests that low levels of bentonite used in this trial were able to remove most likely grape proteins, but did not remove proteins that promote foam stability. Furthermore, the use of tools to objectively assess foam quality could provide winemakers with the ability to make better decisions when it comes to applying effective techniques that retain or improve wine quality. Further research has been undertaken to better understand the complexity of bentonite and protein interactions and its effects on foam quality of sparkling wines.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Andrew Koemer and Chris Smales, at Blue Pyrenees Estate, for their ongoing support of this work.

This research has been partially funded by Wine Australia (Ph1508) and supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship.

REFERENCES Condé, B.C.; Fuentes, S.; Caron, M.; Xiao, D.; Collmann, R. and Howell, K.S. (2017) Development of a robotic and computer vision method to assess foam quality in sparkling wines. Food Control 71:383-392.

Hung, W.F.; Harrison, R.; Morton, J.D.; Trought, M.C.T. and Frost, A. (2014) Protein concentration and bentonite requirement in Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc wines. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 20(1):41-50.

Jaeckels, N.; Tenzer, S.; Meier, M.; Will, F.; Dietrich, H.; Decker, H. and Fronk, P. (2017) Influence of bentonite fining on protein composition in wine.

LWT -- Food Science and Technology 75:335-343.

Jaeckels, N.; Tenzer, S.; Rosch, A.; Scholten, G.; Decker, H. and Fronk, P. (2015) β-Glucosidase removal due to bentonite fining during winemaking.

European Food Research and Technology 241(2):253-262.

Lambri, M.; Dordoni, R.; Silva, A. and De Faveri, D.M. (2010) Effect of bentonite fining on odour-active compounds in two different white wine styles.

American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 61(2):225-233.

Lira, E.; Rodríguez-Bencomo, J.J.; Salazar, F.N.; Orriols, I.; Fornos, D. and López, F. (2015) Impact of bentonite additions during vinification on protein stability and volatile compounds of Albariño wines. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 63(11):3004-3011.

Rankine, B. (2007) Making good wine. Macmillan Publishers Aus. Vincenzi, S.; Panighel, A.; Gazzola, D.; Flamini, R. and Curioni, A. (2015) Study of combined effect of proteins and bentonite fining on the wine aroma loss. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 63(8):2314-2320.

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Tips for the safe use of ammonia in winery refrigeration systems

By Gary Rogers, Tri Tech Refrigeration, Mildura, Victoria

W

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Ammonia is the oldest refrigerant gas used globally. It is a cheap and naturally-occurring gas. However, a large quantity is synthetically produced to meet agricultural and similar demands. Ammonia has zero global warming and zero ozone depleting potential.

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I NEE M MA G G WW I N A KKI N I N

REFRIGERATION

Common corrosion points found during risk assessments of refrigeration plants.

• Maintenance is always a key factor in the on-going safe operation of ammonia refrigeration systems. This should include monthly operational checks of all mechanical equipment and corrosion prevention of all valves and pipe work as these can lead to potential and harmful leaks which can become costly in both repairs and downtime.

• Log books should be kept up to date and include a list of all faults and repairs carried out. Other records should also be kept including up-to-date relief valve registers, material safety data sheets for gasses and oils, and site hazard management plans with isolation procedures in the event of an ammonia leak.

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• All ammonia sites should carry at least two full face ammonia respirators.

• Signage must include an 800 x 600mm Hazchem sign at each vehicle entrance and at each ammonia receiver vessel, and isolation valves must be clearly marked and painted red so are visually identified.

• Warning notices need to be displayed indicating unauthorised access to the plant room and unauthorised operation of the plant is prohibited.

• Procedures have to be adopted in the event of an alarm.

Table 1. Ammonia effects at concentration percentage.

Ammonia Concentration (PPM)

Effects

Performance

25

Ammonia smell easily detected by most people

8 hour exposure standard (TWA)

35

Inexperienced people are repulsed by the pungent odour

15 minute exposure standard

50

Very distinct smell, will want to evacuate the area

Do not stay longer than is required. Vacate area or wear full face K type respirator

100

No Danger but very unpleasant

Vacate area or wear full face K type respirator

250

Irritation to eyes, sinus and respiratory system

Use of SCBA. Selfcontained breathing apparatus

300

Irritation to eyes, sinus and respiratory system

Immediate danger to life and health.

Typically, not lethal.

Gas suit and breathing apparatus required

1,500

Serious Irritation to eyes, sinus.

Laryngospasm

Serious injury after 30 mins

2,000

Major Irritation to eyes, sinus and respiratory system.

Bronchospasm, Pulmonary edema.

15 minutes or less may result in death. Most cases death shortly after

5,000

Respiratory arrest, Pulmonary edema

Lethal in minutes

10,000

Respiratory arrest

Rapidly fatal

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REFRIGERATION

• A register of pressure vessel inspections and maintenance tasks performed on the plant is mandatory and clearly valuable to maintain a plant history.

• External inspection of pressure vessels must be conducted at two-yearly intervals and internally 12-yearly. Ultrasonic testing is a good method of monitoring pipework and vessel thickness in areas of concern (e.g. where corrosion has taken place on vessels and pipework).

• Liquid lock up is to be avoided by either positioning of pressure relief valve’s to relieve excess pressure from these sections of the plant or having normal open stop valves that can only be closed by a competent person using a tool.

WWI INN E M M AAKKI NI GN G

MAINTENANCE TIPS During my time as an industrial refrigeration technician I have come across many areas at sites with ammonia systems that site engineers and technicians need to pay particular attention to. These include corrosion prevention measures on all vulnerable steel gauge lines, compression fittings, small charging valves and other uninsulated valves, fittings and components. These items are very vulnerable to corrosion and damage and can result in major leaks but can be easily overlooked.

Some of these lines and valves maybe at the bottom of drop legs and are an integral service component in the case of breakdowns. If valves cannot be used then a simple job can become a long, drawn ▶ out process and affect repair times and increase costly down time.

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REFRIGERATION

Another important piece of advice is to ensure that your refrigeration service provider uses a pump-out unit for all ammonia gas pump outs. Although ammonia can be absorbed by water, ammonia saturated water forms ammonium hydroxide which creates further site hazards and requires additional safety and environmental controls for safe disposal.

When using an ammonia pump-out machine ammonia can be pumped back into other parts of the system. It can also offer increased productivity on site and minimise overall risks associated with any service procedure.

When using a pump-out machine you will also be recovering your ammonia so, in many cases, this results in less frequent additions of ammonia to the system.

Be aware that there are always major potential risks to site personnel and the public when venting ammonia.

If ammonia blow downs are required it is strongly recommended that this is completed via the use of a stainless steel blow-down pipe fitted with a spring-loaded dead man valve so that the purging is always carried out in a controlled manner. If there is an incident, then the valve is released and the venting is stopped. Under no circumstances should an ammonia system be left venting pressure unmanned. The check valve must always be used when purging into water as due to the natural affinity of ammonia to water, a syphoning effect can cause water to be sucked into the refrigeration plant and cause irreparable damage.

Correct signage permits, person protective equipment and adequate training is essential in all ammonia servicing procedures. This ensure the safety of all personnel and reduces any environmental risks during service, repairs and hazardous situations.

WWI INN E M M AAKKI NI GN G

Although ammonia has a very distinctive smell, various means of assistance are often required to determine the source of an ammonia leak. In the past, sulfur gas has been used.

However, sticks or a wick with a sulfur particle are now burnt which, when near ammonia gas, will create a white smoke. This can be problematic as it requires a naked flame and can set off smoke alarms. Although this has been used for many years for ammonia detection, the smoke can be worse breathing in than the ammonia itself.

I recommend the use of phenolphthalein paper which when wet reacts with the pH level of ammonia gas and will change colour. This will mean no flame or smoke in hazardous areas.

Common potential risk items • rusty valves and pipework, especially beneath moisturesaturated insulation or areas exposed to environmental elements • caps and plugs left off system access points and valves • poor signage • seized isolation valves • no emergency response plan for ammonia leaks • no ammonia awareness training for site personnel REFERENCES Padraic Durham – Gauge Refrigeration Management, New Zealand ASNZ 5149.pt1-4.2016 Victoria Code of Practice, Ammonia Refrigeration Edition 1/2010 Tri Tech Refrigeration Mildura Ltd

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A WW I N RE I MR A EK PO I NR G T

Spoilt for choice: picking the right yeast in a vibrant market

By Simon Schmidt, Anthony Borneman, Radka Kolouchova, Jane McCarthy, Jenny Bellon, Markus Herderich and Dan Johnson The Australian Wine Research Institute, PO Box 197, Glen Osmond SA 5064, Australia

Managing director Dan Johnson

Winemakers have access to a wide array of different yeasts, but it can be difficult to choose the best yeast for a particular must. The yeast research program at the AWRI has employed new techniques to assess large numbers of commercially available wine yeast, to understand their performance under different conditions and the genetic basis for their behaviour. Results will give winemakers more information on which to base yeast choice and also help guide the development of future yeast strains.

SO MANY YEASTS, SO LITTLE TIME When selecting a wine yeast to inoculate a particular must, the key points considered by a winemaker, in order, might be: • the ferment needs to finish – yeast must be robust under the conditions of the must • the wine should be free of negative attributes – for example, it should have low volatile acidity (VA) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) • the wine should have positive stylistic attributes – such as a defined mix of aroma attributes or high levels of polysaccharides.

While working through these steps seems simple enough, there are more than 200 commercially available yeasts from which to choose (Figure 1). To make matters worse, these are spread across many different manufacturers, which provide varying amounts of detail on product specification sheets, making direct comparisons challenging. In some years, it can be hard enough to get past the first point, that is, ensuring a ferment finishes in a timely fashion. Even though it is possible to optimise must conditions through nutrition additions, water additions (to reduce high sugar levels, in accordance with regulatory limits) and consideration of fruit quality and transport prior to processing, fermentation does not always progress as well as winemakers would like. The degree to which must conditions are stressful for yeast can vary because of factors outside of winemakers’ control (weather conditions during vintage, juice composition) and due to winemaking interventions (SO2 during processing,

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AT A GLANCE • Wine yeasts are highly diverse in their winemaking performance, and there are more than 200 available commercially.

• No single yeast is ideal for all conditions.

• Research at the AWRI has identified strains that perform well under different types of challenging conditions.

• Genetic factors that contribute to improved performance are being identified and this knowledge will be useful in future yeast development programs.

Figure 1. Some of the more than 200 commercially available wine yeasts.

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harvest timing decisions, must temperature).

Several recent projects at the AWRI have been working towards a greater understanding of the environmental variables that can inhibit yeast, and better matching of musts with yeast strains, through understanding the diversity of commercially-available yeasts. A key challenge faced when this work commenced was to determine how to evaluate the performance of large numbers of yeasts in large numbers of environments without requiring many thousands of individual ferments to be performed. A way forward became possible by combining yeast molecular biology, advancements in DNA sequencing technology (Smith et al. 2010) and statistical approaches for the evaluation of this type of information (Anders et al. 2013). These advancements meant that rather than having to evaluate each yeast strain separately, many different yeast strains could be assessed at once.

TESTING WHICH YEASTS THRIVE UNDER DIFFERENT CONDITIONS If all the yeast strains can be pooled together into a single fermentation vessel, then the focus shifts to the different environments in which they will be trialled. To enable the performance of individual yeast strains from within a pool to be assessed, it is necessary to be able to tell them apart. This was achieved through introducing a molecular barcode into each of 87 different yeast strains which, as a group, represent the broader spectrum of available yeasts (Figure 2).

The barcoded pool of yeasts was then inoculated into different juices or media with different base compositions or additives, and the strains that benefitted most from those specific conditions were seen to dominate in a ‘survival of the fittest’ type contest. The proportions of strains within the different conditions were determined after the experiment by sequencing the barcodes and counting the number of times a specific barcode (strain) was detected.

Phylogene�c rela�onships between strains

Using this approach, the performance of 87 different yeasts was evaluated in conditions including: low pH, low temperature, high SO2, low vitamins, high sugar, and low yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN). A representation of the performance of these yeasts in those different conditions is provided in the heat map of Figure 2 (right hand side). While some conditions had little effect, or appeared to affect all yeast similarly, other conditions were highly discriminatory. What also stood out is that while there were some exceptionally high performing strains, these were generally restricted to specific conditions. No single yeast strain was optimal in all conditions.

Even among a group of highly related strains (Figure 2, boxed in grey) there was diversity in their capability to perform well in different conditions.

One example of a performance difference that could be useful in several winemaking scenarios is the ability to initiate growth and ▶ fermentation at reduced temperature.

Environments in which strains were evaluated

Fitness Improved

Barcoded Unused

Reduced

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJK

Figure 2. Wine yeast relationships and their stress tolerance profiles. Wine yeast relationships are based on whole genome sequencing of wine yeast strains, displayed on the left. Strains coloured red have been barcoded for the purpose of fitness profiling. The heat map on the right represents fitness profiles of strains in different wine-relevant conditions. Red indicates increased fitness and blue indicates reduced fitness.

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A WW I N RE I MR A EK PO I NR G T

IDENTIFYING THE GENETIC DRIVERS OF PERFORMANCE By combining knowledge of the genetic and performance characteristics of yeast strains, it is possible to gain insight into why individual strains behave the way they do. Understanding why is important, not only because it is intellectually satisfying to finally solve an unanswered puzzle, but also because those answers generate tools that can be used to breed the next generation of yeasts. In the food and beverage industry, genetic modification is not currently an option for generating new yeast, and as such, traditional breeding approaches are relied on to deliver improvements in ‘workhorse’ yeasts. A key tool in these traditional approaches is the use of molecular markers that can guide the development process.

These markers are obtained by building

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AWRI 838

KUD 1

KUD 3

KUD 5

25.0

20.0

REFRACTIVE INDEX

During later vintages, such as the one that was experienced in 2017, the much cooler harvest temperatures of late autumn were responsible for more difficult fermentation conditions. In other years it might be that fruit has been chilled prior to processing and the must is unusually cool. In these cases, it may be desirable to initiate fermentation at the cooler temperature to ensure some level of protection is provided while the must warms, or even for the entire fermentation to be performed cold (12°C or less).

Most wine yeasts are very slow or have no capacity to perform in very cold conditions. However, there are a small number of yeasts, including some hybrids of S. cerevisiae with S. kudriavzevii (Sc x Sk), that can substantially outcompete most other yeasts in the cold (Pérez-Torrado et al. 2017). These yeasts can ferment to dryness when others will fail to complete the ferment (Figure 3). Much like the broader collection of strains, not all Sc x Sk hybrids have this property, so knowing that a strain is a kudriavzevii hybrid does not necessarily mean that strain is cold tolerant. Figure 3 shows fermentation profiles of three kudriavzevii hybrids, only one of which can complete fermentation at 12°C. This demonstrates the importance of profiling the performance of individual strains of yeast.

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

DAY AFTER INOCULATION

Figure 3. Fermentation kinetics of hybrid yeast strains at 12°C, comparing siblings from a cross between S. cerevisiae with S. kudriavzevii (KUD1, KUD2, KUD5) with parental strain S. cerevisiae (838) during fermentation of Chardonnay juice. associations between performancerelated properties and specific genetic elements that can easily be detected.

Markers can be things like the number of copies of a specific gene, such as the factor that contributes to copper tolerance or the arrangements of chromosomes that contribute to sulfite tolerance.

As different sets of markers become available it may become possible to ascertain some of the properties of a strain without having to perform fermentation experiments. When new strains are isolated from environmental samples or generated through breeding experiments, much about them can be learned before they find their way into a fermentation. Then, when the fermentation experiments or pilot-scale trials are performed, they can be more targeted, focussing the sometimes costly and time-consuming analytical work on strains that already meet a range of previously identified criteria.

WHERE TO NEXT? The aim of this work is to compile the information about strain performance properties into integrated reference charts that can be used to assist with yeast strain selection across a wide range of must types and winemaking priorities. By bringing together performance and genetic information

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about the many yeast strains available, it will also be possible to produce an expanded and objective foundation for future strain development programs.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work is supported by Australian grapegrowers and winemakers through their investment body, Wine Australia, with matching funds from the Australian Government. The AWRI is a member of the Wine Innovation Cluster in Adelaide.

The authors thank Ella Robinson for her editorial assistance.

REFERENCES Anders, S.; McCarthy, D.J.; Chen, Y.; Okoniewski, M.; Smyth, G.K.; Huber, W. and Robinson, M.D. (2013) Count-based differential expression analysis of RNA sequencing data using R and Bioconductor.

Nat. Protoc. 8:1765–1786.

Pérez-Torrado, R.; Barrio, E. and Querol, A. (2017) Alternative yeasts for winemaking: Saccharomyces non-cerevisiae and its hybrids. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. 1–11. DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2017.1285751 Smith, A.M.; Heisler, L.E.; St Onge, R.P.; FariasHesson, E.; Wallace, I.M.; Bodeau, J.; Harris, A.N.; Perry, K.M.; Giaever, G.; Pourmand, N. and Nislow, C. (2010) Highly-multiplexed barcode sequencing: an efficient method for parallel analysis of pooled samples. Nucleic Acids Res. 38:e142–e142.

WVJ

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

Fungicide resistance – where to now?

By Barbara Hall, Senior Research Scientist, and Suzanne McKay, Senior Research Officer South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA)

O

ver the last four years, investigations into the incidence of fungicide resistance (Wine Australia-funded project ‘Understanding fungicide resistance in powdery mildew, downy mildew and botrytis’) has revealed that resistance to some fungicides is widespread (e.g. QoI or strobilurin resistance in powdery mildew), but sporadic for others (e.g.

DeMethylation Inhibitors or DMI in powdery mildew) or not present (e.g. fludioxonil in Botrytis cinerea) in Australia.

Currently, resistance testing for powdery and downy mildew is carried out by testing the live fungi on plant material in the laboratory for sensitivity to a range of concentrations of each fungicide. This process, called phenotyping, is time consuming and labour intensive as the mildews will only grow on living tissue. For Botrytis, this test is much easier as it will grow on artificial media. The results of a phenotyping assay give us an estimation of the sensitivity of a particular fungal sample to a specific fungicide.

Resistance is linked with mutations in specific genes, called resistance alleles, which are known for some fungi/fungicide combinations. For the QoI fungicides the resistant allele is G143A. For the DMI fungicides, the resistant allele is Y136F. However, unlike G143A, Y136F is known as a ‘precursor allele’, as once it is present there are other mechanisms that cause resistance to the DMIs and we are only just beginning to understand these. For some fungicides, e.g. metalaxyl, we do not know the genetic mechanism linked to resistance, so we are unable to use DNA-based tests until this mechanism is understood. For fungicides that we know the gene mutations linked with

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resistance, we can extract DNA from each organism and use molecular techniques, such as next generation sequencing, to detect and quantify the resistance genes. We call this genotyping.

A severe powdery mildew infection.

Results from the project showed that QoI resistance, based on both phenotype and genotype, in powdery mildew was found in most viticulture regions, with more than 50 percent of 94 samples showing low levels of resistance. While phenotypic resistance of Erysiphe necator to the DMIs was not widespread, a small number (14%) showed a low level of decreased sensitivity to myclobutanil in the laboratory assays. However, the ‘precursor’ mutation linked with DMI resistance (Y136F) was present in more than 60% of the isolates. Populations of P. viticola resistant to metalaxyl have now been confirmed in all states except South Australia. The G143A allele linked to QoI resistance was also detected in a few samples, but phenological

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testing was not able to be completed to confirm resistance. B. cinerea resistant populations to one or more of the fungicides fenhexamid, iprodione, boscalid and pyrimethanil were detected in 41% of the 95 sites tested.

Botrytis populations resistant to all four fungicides were detected at two sites, and the majority of sites had populations resistant to only one fungicide.

While there have been significant advances in our understanding of the fungicide sensitivity and resistance mechanisms of these three pathogens to the key fungicide groups, the results of this work have highlighted significant gaps in our scientific knowledge of the mechanisms of fungicide resistance. These gaps are being investigated in a new Wine Australia-funded project ‘Improving the understanding of fungicide resistance in Australian viticulture’.

The main area of uncertainty is the correlations between phenotypic testing results, the detection of the genes associated with resistance and field performance of a fungicide. If we could simply test for the mutant allele and determine whether the population being tested was resistant, it would be easy. However, with the mildews we did not find a strong relationship between the results of the phenotypic testing and the genotypic testing. As it is difficult and expensive to undertake phenotypic testing of large numbers of samples on live leaf material, this relationship needs to be understood to more effectively measure in-field resistance.

Conversely, we have a reasonably good relationship between the phenotypic and genetic testing for B. cinerea. Work is under way to develop rapid in-field tests to detect resistant populations using DNA-based methods, bypassing the need to carry

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FUNGICIDE RESISTANCE

Transferring powdery mildew spores onto fungicide-impregnated leaf discs to test for resistance. out laboratory resistance testing.

With the improved understanding of the test result and field performance relationship, the ability to use in-field testing methods that will provide a rapid understanding of the resistance status of a vineyard will assist with future management strategies.

We are also investigating the number of samples required to give a reasonable picture of the proportion of resistant members in the fungal population in a block or vineyard. The aim is to correlate the results of the laboratory testing with field performance and give an indication of whether that fungicide is starting to fail before it actually happens. This is critical with some fungicides such as the QoIs, where field performance can fail rapidly.

A network of spore traps is being used in the Wine Australia-funded project ‘Grapevine trunk disease management for vineyard longevity in diverse climates in Australia’, led

by Mark Sosnowski, at SARDI. We will collaborate with this project to investigate whether powdery and B. cinerea spores can be detected. If this is successful, then the next question is, can we use these traps to monitor for resistance alleles? Therefore, can we use the expanding network of traps to monitor resistance at local and/or regional levels?

Knowledge on the competitive ability of resistant isolates and fitness costs associated with mutations may determine whether the resistant population will reduce enough to allow the fungicide to be used again. If the

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Powdery mildew on inoculated leaf discs following incubation.

resistant individuals are ‘less fit’ than the sensitive ones, for example, with the dicarboximides (e.g. Rovral®) for B. cinerea control, reducing selection pressure by not applying that fungicide will mean the ‘less fit’ resistant individuals will be outcompeted by the sensitive individuals and field efficacy will improve. In contrast, from research of the mildews on other crops, it appears that fungi that are resistant to QoIs are as fit as those that are sensitive. This means that resistant individuals survive in a population for a long time, possibly up to 10 years.

Further work is needed to understand the fitness aspect of resistance for the various fungicide/pathogen combinations.

We also need to better understand how fungicides affect resistance development and how they affect the change of frequencies of resistant isolates in the field. Improving our understanding of fitness and resistance development will help determine whether a fungicide can be reintroduced into a program following detection of field failure, and how soon.

In addition, the role that multi-drug resistance plays in Australian pathogen populations needs to be elucidated. This occurs when a pathogen independently develops resistance to fungicides in different chemical classes. We aim to test additional pathogen and fungicide combinations for pathogen sensitivity to detect possible new mutations in resistant populations that may affect the fitness and development of resistance in pathogen populations.

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The mode of action of DMI fungicides varies and we know that the Y136F allele is not the only factor associated, so we also aim to understand the differences in DMI resistant populations. This would improve grower decision support on which DMI is best to use for managing powdery mildew.

The current project is being led

by SARDI, in collaboration with researchers from Curtin University and the Australian Wine Research Institute. Funding from Wine Australia is gratefully acknowledged, as is the in-kind contributions from the research organisations and industry partners.

The assistance of industry partners has been invaluable in providing samples, technical advice and assisting with dissemination of the information.

This project is using a network of collaborators to ensure the outcomes have an industry focus. Maintaining effective use of the available fungicide groups into the future will contribute significantly to reducing the economic and environmental impact of disease in Australian viticulture.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project, funded by Wine Australia, is a collaboration between SARDI, the Australian Wine Research Institute and Curtin University, with industry input from wine companies, viticultural consultants and agrochemical companies.

WVJ

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V V II T T II C CU UL LT TU UR RE E

TRUNK DISEASES

Economic impact of grapevine trunk disease management in Sauvignon Blanc vineyards of New Zealand »

By Mark Sosnowski1 and Greg McCarthy2

Results from trunk disease surveys and preventative wound treatment trials in New Zealand have demonstrated that early adoption of preventative wound treatments minimise the cost of trunk disease, while the application of pruning wound treatments with a tractor-driven sprayer as opposed to hand application will further minimise costs. Moreover, the cost of remediating vines by reworking or regrafting will be less than the cost of replacing vines.

INTRODUCTION Eutypa and botryosphaeria dieback are major grapevine trunk diseases worldwide, causing significant yield and quality reduction. They threaten the sustainability of New Zealand vineyards and are becoming an increasing problem as vineyards age. In many wine regions of Australia, up to 100% of vines in older vineyards are infected and yield losses of 860kg/ha have been reported (Wicks and Davies 1999). In California, the cost of trunk diseases to the industry has been estimated at US$260 million per annum (Siebert 2001). More recently, Kaplan et al. (2014) provided an economic case for early adoption of preventative practices for grapevine trunk diseases, and Sipiora and Cuellar (2015) reported economic losses from eutypa dieback in Cabernet Sauvignon due to reduced production and shortened vineyard lifespan. In New Zealand, trunk disease threatens the entire national crop (35,859ha in 2015; www.freshfacts.co.nz) and has been estimated to cause a 14% reduction in vineyard profitability (Mundy and Manning 2007).

Trunk pathogens infect vines through pruning wounds, colonise woody tissue and cause dieback (Figure 1), typically

observed as a dark wedge-shaped or central staining of tissue in cross-section (Figure 2). The Eutypa lata fungal pathogen produces toxic metabolites which are translocated to the foliage, causing stunted shoots, necrotic and distorted leaves (Figure 3), reduced bunch size and uneven ripening.

Management of trunk diseases is based on remedial strategies: removing infected wood material and retraining new shoots (Figure 4, Sosnowski et al. 2011), regrafting or replacing vines and preventative strategies: protecting against infection by treating pruning wounds by hand or with a tractordriven sprayer (Figure 5, see page 44, Sosnowski et al. 2013, Sosnowski and Mundy 2016).

In the current study, economic analysis was undertaken to quantify and express the economic impact of trunk disease on a typical New Zealand vineyard where no preventative or remedial treatments are employed (the baseline) and, thereafter, assess the relative cost/benefit of various possible preventative or remedial treatment responses. A financial model was developed to compare trunk disease-related scenarios, based on data derived from a vineyard survey in the Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough regions (Sosnowski and Mundy 2014).

Figure 1. Dieback of heads and trunks of cane-pruned Sauvignon Blanc.

Figure 2. Wedge-shaped and central staining associated with trunk diseases.

»

South Australian Research and Development Institute

1

Sutton McCarthy Limited New Zealand

2

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Figure 3. Foliar symptoms of eutypa dieback.

V I T I C U LT U R E

Figure 4. Remedial strategy of retraining shoots to replace infected trunk.

BASELINE ASSUMPTIONS The primary analysis is based on a hypothetical 1ha canepruned Sauvignon Blanc vineyard over a 40-year period, which targets an annual crop of 12.4 tonnes per hectare with a market value of NZ$1750 per tonne. While the reported results would be different in situations where these tonnage and price assumptions varied, they represent a reasonable baseline at the current time.

The economic impact of trunk disease on a vineyard where no preventative or remedial treatments are employed, is based on the following assumptions: • vines are disease free when planted and become infected with fungal spores via pruning wounds • vines are susceptible to infection from the first year of pruning • infection is dependent on environmental and climatic conditions

• the infection migrates towards the base of the vine • latency period from initial infection to symptom development can be three to nine years • impact of trunk disease on productivity is initially minor, but progressively increases.

The cost/benefit of adopting management strategies is based on the following factors: • the cost of preventative treatments (hand painting versus spray applications) • the cost of remedial treatments (reworking, regrafting or removing and replacing vines), including foregone crop revenue for up to four years following remedial treatment • the cost of future reduced grape revenues from lost productivity due to trunk disease.

While the cost of preventative and remedial treatments can be estimated with reasonable accuracy, the benefit of avoiding future crop losses by reducing the incidence of trunk disease relates to multiple future years and may initially be relatively

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TRUNK DISEASES

The efficacy of hand painting is also influenced by the skill of the individual applicant, which can vary considerably between situations. While it is not possible to make an accurate efficacy estimate for hand painting, we have used the model outlined herein to estimate that hand painting would need to be approximately 15% more effective than a spray application in a cane-pruned vineyard and 45% more effective in a cordonpruned vineyard, to economically offset its higher application cost. Accordingly, if the spray application is 85–95% effective, it is unlikely hand painting could be more cost effective.

THE MODEL

Figure 5. Preventative post-pruning spray treatment. small in value, but will increase over time. Accordingly, assessment of this financial cost/benefit requires net present value (NPV) analysis of projected future costs and avoided opportunity costs. These NPVs are expressed as an equivalent cost per hectare per annum, calculated over a 40-year period.

Quantifying the opportunity cost of lost productivity can be hindered by the seasonal volatility of crop volumes and grape prices, especially for Sauvignon Blanc, where commercial wineries can produce more than 15 tonnes per hectare depending on seasonal and climatic factors. While the adverse impact of trunk disease on average crop tonnages may be mitigated in seasons that have very large crops, the value per tonne of these crop ‘overages’ are often much less than the opportunity cost per tonne of crop shortfalls in other years, particularly if the latter results in a winery operating at below capacity.

Although economic drivers vary considerably between vineyards and varieties, and are dependent on crop volumes and market grape prices, this paper seeks to provide a cost/ benefit framework that informs a grower’s consideration of trunk disease management strategies.

HAND PAINT OR SPRAY APPLICATION The efficacy of spray applications will be influenced by the skill of the operator, but research has indicated that where spraying is undertaken competently, it is likely that highly uniform and effective protection can be achieved that is 85–95% effective, at a cost of circa NZ$120 per hectare.

Hand painting is a labour-intensive process that is typically contracted on a per vine basis. The number of vines per hectare and whether these vines are cane or cordon-pruned determines the cost of hand painting. Indicatively, we estimate a cane-pruned vineyard planted at 2220 vines per hectare would cost approximately NZ$230 per hectare to hand paint, while a cordon-pruned vineyard planted at 2220 vines per hectare would cost approximately NZ$460 per hectare to hand paint.

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The model projects the financial impact of each treatment response on a hypothetical 1ha vineyard over a 40-year period and then calculates the nominal value and the NPV of these financial impacts to provide meaningful comparisons of differing dollar amounts impacting differing time periods.

The model enables data to be input for the following: • grape variety • vines per hectare • target yield (tonnes) • estimated dollar value per tonne of crop • percentage of vineyard currently exhibiting trunk disease dieback • cost of vine removal/replacement and vine reworking/ grafting • a ‘failure’ assumption for reworking/grafting • cost of annual preventative spray treatments • an ‘effectiveness’ assumption for the annual spray treatment • profiles for disease incidence, latency and consequential yield loss • a 9% discount rate for the NPV analysis.

The model assumes the impact of disease on the crop is solely volume related. It does not seek to ascribe a financial cost to any reduction in fruit quality/value or a financial benefit to instances where climatic factors result in crop tonnage overages that potentially mitigate the financial impact of trunk disease in these years.

In a hypothetical situation where spray treatment applied from planting is 100% effective, the ‘cost’ would be the actual cost of the annual treatment and the ‘benefit’ would be the avoidance of crop loss that would otherwise result from disease, and there will be no need to remove and replace or rework and graft diseased vines.

Where the treatment is less than 100% effective, the ‘benefit’ will be the estimated reduction of crop loss, and where disease symptoms are subsequently identified in the vineyard, calculations are undertaken in the model to reflect the relative financial difference between treatment responses commenced at that time.

In an established vineyard, if preventative treatment is commenced that is 90% effective, then the eventual disease incidence after 40 years is calculated as the sum of observable disease incidence at the present time, the latent infection that exists and would take up to another nine years to present, and new infections that would occur in future at 10% of the rate of an untreated vineyard. If the preventative treatment is only 50% effective, then new infections will occur at the rate of 50% of ▶ an untreated vineyard.

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TRUNK DISEASES

A Do Nothing

MODEL OUTPUTS Annual preventative treatments The model seeks to determine the relative financial difference between the baseline control of doing nothing and the annual preventative treatments of hand painting pruning wounds or applying an annual spray, commencing from when the vineyard is first planted, in an attempt to minimise the incidence of future disease and consequential financial loss (Figure 6).

The conclusions drawn from these calculations are that: • the NPV benefit of reducing the impact of trunk disease is considerably greater than the NPV cost of the annual treatment for hand painting, and even greater with spray applications • notwithstanding the preventative treatments introduce an additional annual cost from year zero, when they are 90% effective, on an NPV basis this cost is effectively recovered by approximately year 12 (spray application) and year 16 (hand painting) and thereafter the NPV benefit significantly exceeds the NPV cost (Figure 6a) • even if the treatments were only 50% effective, the NPV benefits would still outweigh the NPV costs albeit the relative difference would be considerably less and the ‘breakeven point’ would push out to approximately year 16 (spray application) and year 22 (hand painting) (Figure 6b).

Remedial treatment response scenarios The model also seeks to determine the likely relative financial difference between six possible treatment response scenarios in the vineyard: • no treatment – i.e., do nothing (baseline control) • commence annual spray treatment • remove and replace symptomatic vines and then spray annually • rework or regraft symptomatic vines and then spray annually • remove and replace all vines immediately and then spray annually • rework or regraft all vines immediately and then spray annually.

The model calculates annualised NPV future relative costs for each treatment response for existing trunk disease incidence scenarios that range from 0% to 100%. This provides a relative future cost profile for each treatment (calculated from any particular incidence level) and assists identification of the lowest future cost response, which may change as the percentage of exhibited disease prior to treatment increases (Figure 7).

The NPV future cost of reworking or regrafting all vines in the hypothetical vineyard (F), including the foregone crop revenue for up to four years following remedial treatment, is calculated as approximately NZ$4700 per hectare per annum, and for removing and replacing all vines (E) is approximately NZ$6700 per hectare per annum. These NPV costs are constant, regardless of the level of existing trunk disease at the time of treatment.

If we consider the situation of a vineyard exhibiting disease incidence of approximately 10%, which would represent an average vineyard age of 14 years based on the survey by Sosnowski and Mundy (2014), the following conclusions could be drawn from Figure 7a:

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Cumulative NPV of incremental or opportunity cost

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B Spray Annually

C Hand Paint Annually

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$-

0

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10

15

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40

45

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Figure 6. Cumulative net present value (NPV) relative cost difference of hand or spray application of wound protection to cane-pruned Sauvignon Blanc from year zero, achieving 90% (a) or 50% (b) efficacy, compared with doing nothing.

• If the grower does nothing (A), by the age of 54 years the disease incidence would be approximately 66%, and the progressive infection of the vineyard, combined with an increasing yield loss over that period of time, will have an NPV future cost of NZ$2597 per hectare per annum over that 40-year period, albeit the actual impact will be lesser in earlier years and greater in later years.

• If the grower commences an annual spray treatment regime (B) at 14 years, by 54 years the disease incidence would be approximately 25% if the treatment is 90% effective. The progressive infection of the vineyard, combined with an increasing yield loss over that 40-year period and the annual cost of the spray treatment, will have an NPV future cost of NZ$2045 per hectare per annum, being NZ$552 per hectare per annum better than doing nothing (A).

• If the grower removes and replaces the symptomatic vines at year 14 and thereafter undertakes an annual spray treatment regime (C), by the age of 54 years, the disease incidence would be approximately 15%. The progressive infection of the vineyard, combined with increasing yield loss over time and the cost of the removal, replacement and annual spray treatment, will have an NPV future cost of NZ$1623 per hectare per annum, being NZ$974 per hectare per annum better than doing nothing (A) and NZ$422 per hectare per annum better than only undertaking the annual spray treatment (B).

• The NPV future cost of reworking or regrafting symptomatic vines (D) is expected to be marginally less again at NZ$1463 per hectare per annum.

• Finally, the wholesale remedial treatment of reworking and regrafting (F) or removing and replacing (E) all vines become cost effective treatment alternatives to doing nothing (A) once disease incidence reaches approximately 30% or 50%, respectively.

In the situation of a vineyard exhibiting 30% incidence of disease, representing an average vineyard age of 28 years, the annualised equivalent costs are much greater than the 10% example because the ‘starting point’ is a vineyard with much greater disease, that in A and B remains in the vineyard and in C and D costs more to remove from the vineyard, with a greater impact on yield while doing so.

General conclusions that can be drawn from this model are

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A. Do nothing

B. Apply spray annually

C. Remove and replace diseased vines, spray annually

D. Rework/regraft diseased vines, spray annually

E. Remove and replace all vines, spray annually

F. Rework/regraft all vines, spray annually

Relative annualised NPV future cost/ha

$12,000

b

a $10,000

$8,000

$6,000

$4,000

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$0

0% 0y

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 7y 14y 21y 28y 35y 42y 49y 56y 63y 70y 77y

0% 0y

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10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 14y 21y 28y 35y 42y 49y 56y 63y 70y 77y

Incidence of trunk disease (%) and approximate vineyard age (years)

Figure 7. Relative future cost difference of treatment responses for existing trunk disease incidence scenarios on cane-pruned Sauvignon Blanc, expressed as an annualised NPV dollar amount per hectare, where the incorporated spray treatment achieves 90% (a) or 50% (b) efficacy. Black lines represent 10% and 30% incidence examples with arrows indicating relative annualised NPV future cost for each treatment response.

that: • The NPV future benefit of reducing the impact of trunk disease via an annual spray treatment regime is greater than its NPV future cost, until the vineyard is approximately 80–90% diseased. Thereafter, the value of preventing future new disease is minimal.

• Once trunk disease is relatively established (between 10% and 80% incidence), the best results will likely be achieved by a combination of removing and replacing or reworking and regrafting diseased vines, followed by the application of an annual spray regime.

• Once incidence of trunk disease reaches 50%, the NPV future benefit of removing and replacing all vines followed by the application of an annual spray regime, is likely to be greater than the NPV future cost of doing so, albeit this would not be as cost effective as reworking/regrafting or removing/replacing symptomatic vines.

• Wholesale remediation or replacement of a vineyard will be more cost-effective than treating symptomatic vines only once at least 80% of vines are symptomatic.

The model can also be used to test sensitivities, for example, if the annual spray treatment was only 50% effective, the estimated future NPV costs would increase slightly (Figure 7b), but the relative NPV benefits of treatment responses still significantly outweigh the costs.

The relative NPV future benefit for other varieties and pruning styles was also calculated, however, yield impact assumptions were derived from relatively small data sets.

Notwithstanding this, the profiles of these outcomes were very similar and consistent with the conclusions drawn from the larger cane-pruned Sauvignon Blanc data sets.

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

spray treatment is considerably greater than the NPV future cost of these annual treatments. The actual cost/benefit will vary by vineyard age, existing trunk disease infection levels, adopted pruning regime and grape variety.

Notwithstanding the spray treatment regime introduces an additional annual cost from commencement, the above results indicate the approximate NPV future benefit could be in the order of: • NZ$700 per hectare per annum over the productive life of the vineyard if the annual spray regime commences from when the vineyard is first planted; or • NZ$550 per hectare per annum over the remaining productive life of the vineyard if the annual spray regime commences before the vineyard is 60% diseased.

When combined with other corrective treatments such as vine replacement or regrafting, incremental benefits of up to NZ$600 per hectare per annum might be achieved in vineyards with up to 10% incidence, increasing to approximately NZ$3000 per hectare per annum in vineyards with 50% incidence.

New Zealand currently has approximately 35,500 hectares of land in vineyard production. The average incidence of disease dieback observed in the survey of Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough was approximately 9% (Sosnowski and Mundy 2014). The potential ‘national’ value of an effective annual spray treatment to the industry is therefore currently ▶ estimated to be approximately NZ$20m per annum, increasing by a further NZ$20m per annum when combined with other

CARE FOR YOUR CROP Specialty Adjuvants, Correct Advice.

INDUSTRY IMPACT OF TRUNK DISEASE MANAGEMENT The results of this economic analysis indicate the NPV future benefit of reducing the impact of trunk disease over the productive life of a vineyard via the application of an annual

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FUNGICIDE T R U N K DRESISTANCE ISEASES

corrective treatments as above.

CONCLUSION New Zealand Winegrowers research has evaluated the effectiveness of post-pruning spray applications, which protect pruning wounds from infection by airborne fungal spores, thereby reducing the incidence of trunk disease (Sosnowski and Mundy 2016). This treatment is less labour intensive and less expensive than manually hand-painting pruning wounds. While efficacy is influenced by the skill of the operator and efficacy of the spray equipment, it also has the potential to deliver a more uniform treatment outcome.

Whatever treatment regime is adopted, the timing of when it is first commenced has a significant bearing on the potential economic impact of trunk disease on the vineyard.

If a preventative treatment is commenced from when the vineyard is first planted, the incidence of trunk disease and consequential crop loss is likely to be minimised over the medium to long term. Increased costs are incurred when applying the preventative treatment in early years in order to reduce crop losses and the need for regrafting or removing vines in later years, thereby improving future revenues and avoiding future costs.

If a preventative treatment does not commence until after trunk disease is evident, there will be future crop loss associated with diseased vines, including vines with latent infection yet to present, which may ultimately lead to the need to regraft or remove and replace these vines.

Notwithstanding this, commencing treatment at this point will limit further infection and thereby mitigate the overall impact, as above.

Given most New Zealand vineyards have not employed preventative treatment regimes from when first planted, this analysis has sought to provide economic analysis to assist the consideration of various treatment alternatives for vineyards of all ages with a range of different disease incidence levels.

Based on the model outputs, it is reasonable to conclude that the sooner a preventative treatment is commenced, the greater the NPV future benefit that will be achieved, compared with doing nothing, which concurs with Californian studies by Kaplan et al. (2014).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was funded by New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW 13-100) and the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF 13-071). The authors thank the wine companies that provided detailed vineyard production information for the economic analysis.

REFERENCES Kaplan, J.D.; Travadon, R.; Cooper, M.; Hillis, V.; Lubell, M. and Baumgartner, K. (2014) An economic case for early adoption of preventative practices for management of grapevine trunk diseases. Phytophathologia Meditteranea 53:583.

Mundy, D. and Manning, M. (2007) Initial investigation of grapevine trunk health in Marlborough, New Zealand. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 46:106– 107.

Siebert, J.B. (2001) Eutypa: the economic toll on vineyards. Wines and Vines, April 50–56.

Sipiora, M.J. and Cuellar, S. (2015) Economic impact of eutypa dieback.

Australian and New Zealand Grapegrower and Winemaker 613:26-29.

Sosnowski, M.R.; Wicks, T.W. and Scott, E.S. (2011) Control of Eutypa dieback in grapevines using remedial surgery. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 50:S277-S284.

Sosnowski, M.R.; Loschiavo, A.P.; Wicks, T.J. and Scott, E.S. (2013) Evaluating treatments and spray application for the protection of grapevine pruning wounds from infection by Eutypa lata. Plant Disease 97:1599–1604.

Sosnowski, M. and Mundy, D. (2014) Prevalence of grapevine trunk disease in New Zealand vineyards. New Zealand Winegrower 87:133–139.

Sosnowski, M. and Mundy, D. (2016) Sustaining vineyards through practical management of grapevine trunk diseases. New Zealand Winegrower 99:14952.

Wicks, T. and Davies, K. (1999) The effect of Eutypa on grapevine yield.

Australian Grapegrower and Winemaker 426a:15–16.

This is an expanded version of an article first published in NZ WVJ Winegrower, Issue 104.

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

BIRD CONTROL

Bird perches: a simple method to reduce bird damage to grapes

By Rebecca K. Peisley1,2*

Current bird control methods for vineyards are largely ineffective, such as gas guns, or expensive, like netting. A recent study has trialed the use of artificial perches to encourage predatory birds into vineyards in northern Victoria to scare small grape-eating birds and, in turn, reduce the damage they do to grapes.

INTRODUCTION

effective in reducing bird damage to grapes, but these are labour intensive and expensive (Bomford and Sinclair 2002).

Grape-eating birds can cause significant losses in They can also reduce ecosystem service benefits such as pest vineyards, damaging up to 80% of crops in some cases insect control that are provided by other bird species (Peisley (DeHaven and Hothem 1981, Bomford and Sinclair 2002). et al. 2016, Peisley et al. 2017). There is now evidence that There have been many bird-scaring devices trialed over when used in an integrated system, scaring devices may be the years, including auditory scarers (e.g. gas guns more effective, particularly when the scaring device is and distress calls), and visual scarers (e.g. paired with a negative outcome for the birds eyespot balloons and reflective tape) in (Bomford and Sinclair 2002, Baxter and an endeavour to reduce this damage Allan 2008). One example of negative (Bomford and Sinclair 2002, Fukuda reinforcement is predation by et al. 2008). However, all of these native raptors. For example, methods have been largely the re-introduction of the unsuccessful in reducing the threatened New Zealand falcon amount of grape damage (Falco novaeseelandiae) to at harvest because birds vineyards in the Marlborough habituate to them quickly grapegrowing region of (Bomford and O’Brien 1990, New Zealand resulted in a Gilsdorf et al. 2002). Initially, reduction in grape damage birds are wary of new sights by up to 95% (Kross et and sounds introduced al. 2012). This was due to into their environment, but the predatory behaviour of become habituated over the falcon scaring grapetime unless the object or eating bird species away from noise is combined with some vineyards and altering their sort of negative reinforcement, feeding behaviour (i.e. grapewhich doesn’t happen with typical eating birds were spending more bird-scaring devices available today time being vigilant than feeding on (Gilsdorf et al. 2002, Baxter and Allan grapes) (Kross et al. 2012).

2008). Habitation usually occurs within There are many grape-eating a few days or weeks of the bird-scaring species of birds in Australia (e.g.

Figure 1. Artificial perch in a vineyard in device having been introduced into a introduced common starlings, Sturnus south-eastern Australia. Perches were 5m in height and designed with limited crop (Gilsdorf et al. 2002). This means vulgaris and European blackbirds, perching space to discourage flocking that by harvest time birds are often well Turdus merula ; and small native grape-eating species (e.g. common and truly comfortable within a vineyard parrots, Platycercus sp. and Psephotus starlings, Sturnus vulgaris). and the scaring device is no longer sp.; sulphur-crested cockatoos, effectual.

Cacatua galerita; silvereyes, Zosterops Introducing scaring devices early in the season before lateralis; and ravens, Corvus sp.) (Luck et al. 2015, Peisley fruit ripens has been found to increase their effectiveness et al. 2017). However, there are also many native predators, (Gilsdorf et al. 2002). Indeed many growers who use gas including raptors (e.g. brown falcons, Falco berigora; and guns in an attempt to discourage birds do so early in the whistling kites, Haliastur sphenurus), that commonly hunt season for this reason (B. Sealey, personal communication). smaller birds and forage in vineyards in south-eastern Shooting and netting are two other methods that are more Australia (Luck et al. 2015, Peisley et al. 2017). Other species Institute for Land Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia,

1

School of Environmental Sciences, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia.

2

*rpeisley@csu.edu.au

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BIRD CONTROL

such as laughing kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae) and Australian magpies (Cracticus tibicen) are also territorially aggressive, hunt small birds (Veltman and Hickson 1989, Poiani 1991, Morgan et al. 2005) and forage in vineyards (Luck et al. 2015, Peisley et al. 2017). Therefore, there is potential for these larger, predatory and aggressive bird species to help reduce grape damage by smaller pest birds in vineyards. Previous studies in field crops in Australia and the United States have found providing perches to be successful in attracting raptors to scare small pest mammals (e.g. Kay et al. 1994, Sheffield et al. 2001). However, providing perches for predatory and aggressive birds as a way to control pest birds in vineyards has never been trialed.

The aim of this study was to see if there was a cheap and effective way to encourage raptors to hunt in vineyards in south-eastern Australia and help reduce the amount of bird damage to grapes. This was done by providing them with a place to perch. Most raptors hunt from a perch which gives them a good view of the surrounding area; however vineyard blocks are usually large areas of a uniform height with no tall perches. Therefore, the aim of this study was to see if providing a much taller perch site in these vineyards would encourage predatory birds to 1) spend more time in vineyards, and 2) help reduce the damage caused by grapeeating birds.

METHODS The study was conducted in six vineyards in northern Victoria over the grapegrowing season of October 2015 to February 2016. Each vineyard contained pairs of sites, with each pair containing a block of grapes with a five-metre high artificial perch installed (Figure 1), and a block of grapes without a perch. Over the four-month period bird surveys and grape damage assessments were conducted at all sites (see Peisley et al. 2017 for detailed methods on site selection and design, bird surveys and damage assessments). This enabled the calculation of any differences in grape damage that occurred due to the perches and determined what species might be providing benefits.

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damage occurred to grapes in vineyard b. blocks with an artificial perch, so there must have been some sort of change in these grape-eating species. Unfortunately it was not possible to count the total abundance of grape-eating species as their flocking nature (e.g. common starlings) made it difficult to accurately count them in each specific study block of a vineyard. However, it is possible that the reduction in grape damage was due to predatory or aggressive bird presence on the artificial perches reducing the local abundance of grape-eating birds (Kross et al. 2012). Alternatively, predatory or aggressive birds could have altered grape-eating d. c. bird feeding behaviour (Kross et al. 2012). It is hypothesised that it was a combination of both of these outcomes (Peisley et al. 2017). Therefore, even though the mechanism is not clear, the results suggest that it is some alteration to the grape-eating bird population that is driving the reduction in percentage of grape damage.

There appeared to be a negative, although non-significant trend between the percentage of damaged grapes at a site and the number of times a predatory or aggressive bird was recorded on a perch (r = -0.392, P = 0.208, n = 12) (i.e. as the a.

Figure 2. Birds observed in vineyards in south-eastern Australia. a – c: predatory or aggressive species that can scare grape-eating species (a) Australian magpie, Cracticus tibicen; b) nankeen kestrel, Falco cenchroides; c) Laughing kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae; d) grape eating species (flock of common starlings, Sturnus vulgaris)

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Surprisingly, only one raptor (a brown falcon) visited the perches over the four-month study period. However, Australian magpies made a total of 38,513 visits to eight of the 12 perches. Magpies also consistently used the perch at all times of the day, and all throughout the grapegrowing season, visiting perches on 65% (± 0.10 SE) of days over the four months (Peisley et al. 2017). Laughing kookaburras were also common visitors, making 239 visits (Peisley et al.

2017).

Perch sites had significantly less grape damage (4.13% ± 1.54 of grapes damaged) than control sites (8.57% ± 1.54 of grapes damaged) (Peisley et al. 2017). This equated to more than 50% less damage occurring by birds at sites with an artificial perch. The species richness of grape-eating birds did not differ between perch and control sites at harvest (Peisley et al. 2017) so the mechanism for this reduction is not clear. However, the results did show that less bird

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Australian magpies are well adapted to anthropogenic landscapes like vineyards (Veltman and Hickson 1989, Kinross 2004) and appear to be easy to recruit onto perches in vineyards. This study suggests that providing these perches may be a cheap and effective method to help reduce bird damage to grapes.

Average percent grape damage

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Number of predatory/aggressive bird visits on perch

Figure 3. Effect of predatory and aggressive bird visits on perches on grape damage by grape-eating birds. There was a negative (although non-significant) trend between the percentage of damaged grapes at a site and the number of times a predatory or aggressive bird was recorded on a perch (r = –0.392, P = 0.208, n = 12). number of visits by a predatory or aggressive bird increased, the amount of damage to grapes decreased) (Peisley et al. 2017) (Figure 3). Australian magpies are aggressively territorial, and laughing kookaburras, which also visited perches, actively prey on small birds (Veltman and Hickson 1989, Poiani 1991, Morgan et al. 2005). Therefore, the presence of these species on the perches could have negatively impacted on smaller grape-eating species and altered their feeding behaviour near perches.

Australian magpies are commonly found in vineyards, and while foraging on the ground they do not appear to have any sort of predatory effect on other bird species (RKP, author observation). It may be that once a perch is involved that a predatory effect is observed. The perches allowed magpies to perch at a much greater height (5m) in the vineyard, which was previously a much lower, uniform height. It is possible that the presence of a large bird perched high above the vineyard (which looks like a potential predator to grapeeating birds on the ground), combined with the magpies’ territorially aggressive behaviour (for example, they will defend their perch site) scared the grape-eating birds and led to a decrease in grape damage in this study. However, further study is now needed to better understand this possible relationship.

This was the first study of its kind and as such there are still many unanswered questions. This study was conducted in a year with a relatively low amount of overall grape damage (less than 9% damage in control sites; Peisley et al. 2017). It is likely that the effectiveness of the perches will change in future years under different environmental conditions (e.g. in a drier year when there are less natural food resources available for birds away from vineyards) (Long 1985, Luck et al. 2013). Additionally, very few raptors used the artificial perches even though several raptor species were observed in the vineyards during the study (e.g. nankeen kestrels, Falco cenchroides; and brown falcons). Future research should consider making perches more attractive to raptors, perhaps by having a natural tree branch to perch on, or by placing perches at different heights and locations in the vineyard (Hall et al. 1981, Kay et al. 1994, Andersson et al. 2009).

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This study was conducted by Dr Rebecca Peisley, Dr Manu Saunders and Prof Gary Luck with funding by the Australian Research Council, the Australian Wildlife Society and the Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University.

REFERENCES Andersson, M.; Wallander, J. and Isaksson, D. (2009) Predator perches: a visual search perspective. Functional Ecology 23:373-379. doi:10.1111/j.13652435.2008.01512.x Baxter, A.T. and Allan, J.R. (2008) Use of lethal control to reduce habituation to blank rounds by scavenging birds. Journal of Wildlife Management 72:16531657. doi:10.2193/2007-458 Bomford, M. and O’Brien, P.H. (1990) Sonic deterrents in animal damage control: a review of device tests and effectiveness. Wildlife Society Bulletin 18:411-422.

Bomford, M. and Sinclair, R. (2002) Australian research on bird pests: impact, management and future directions. Emu 102:29-45. doi:10.1071/ MU01028 DeHaven, R.W. and Hothem, R.L. (1981) Estimating bird damage from damage incidence in wine grape vineyards. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture 32:1-4.

Gilsdorf, J.M.; Hygnstrom, S.E. and VerCauteren, K.C. (2002) Use of frightening devices in wildlife damage management. Integrated Pest Management Reviews 7:29-45.

Hall, T.; Howard, W. and Marsh, R. (1981) Raptor use of artificial perches.

Wildlife Society Bulletin 9:296-298.

Kay, B.J.; Twigg, L.E.; Korn, T.J. and Nicol, H.I. (1994) The use of artificial perches to increase predation on house mice (Mus domesticus) by raptors.

Wildlife Research 21:95-105. doi:10.1071/WR9940095 Kinross, C. (2004) Avian use of farm habitats, including windbreaks, on the New South Wales Tablelands. Pacific Conservation Biology 10:180-192. doi:10.1071/PC040180 Kross, S.M.; Tylianakis, J.M. and Nelson, X.J. (2012) Effects of introducing threatened falcons into vineyards on abundance of passeriformes and bird damage to grapes. Conservation Biology 26:142-149. doi:10.1111/j.15231739.2011.01756.x Long, J.L. (1985) Damage to cultivated fruit by parrots in the south of Western Australia. Australian Wildlife Research 12:75-80. doi:10.1071/ WR9850075.

Luck, G.W.; Hunt, K. and Carter, A. (2015) The species and functional diversity of birds in almond orchards, apple orchards, vineyards and eucalypt woodlots. Emu 115:99–109. doi:10.1071/MU14022 Luck, G.W.; Triplett, S. and Spooner, P.G. (2013) Bird use of almond plantations: implications for conservation and production. Wildlife Research 40:523-535. doi:10.1071/WR13079 Morgan, D.; Waas, J.R. and Innes, J. (2005) Magpie interactions with other birds in New Zealand: results from a literature review and public survey.

Notornis 52:61-74.

Peisley, R.K.; Saunders, M.E. and Luck, G.W. (2016) Cost-benefit tradeoffs of bird activity in apple orchards. PeerJ 4:e2179. doi:10.7717/peerj.2179 Peisley, R.K.; Saunders, M.E. and Luck, G.W. (2017) Providing perches for predatory and aggressive birds appears to reduce the negative impact of frugivorous birds in vineyards. Wildlife Research. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ WR17028 Poiani, A. (1991) Anti-predator behaviour in the bell miner Manorina melanophrys. Emu 91:164-171. doi:10.1071/MU9910164 Sheffield, L.M.; Crait, J.R.; Edge, W.D. and Wang, G. (2001) Response of American kestrels and gray-tailed voles to vegetation height and supplemental perches. Canadian Journal of Zoology 79:380-385. doi:10.1139/z00-220 Veltman, C.J. and Hickson, R.E. (1989) Predation by Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) on pasture invertebrates: are nonterritorial birds less successful? Australian Journal of Ecology 14:319–326. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.1989.tb01440.x

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How do herbicide drifts affect your grapevines: symptoms and vine sustainability

By Gerhard Rossouw1,2, Bruno Holzapfel1,3, Suzy Rogiers1,3 and Leigh Schmidkte1,2

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A 12-month study is about to begin that will simulate drift of various herbicides on potted vines to monitor the visual response of the plants to each herbicide, particularly on foliage, shoots and fruit, and study the repercussions on leaf functioning. The aim is to produce useful guidelines for growers to identify grapevine injury from specific herbicides and improve understanding of grapevine response in the short term and in the following season.

INTRODUCTION Grapevines exhibit phytotoxicity towards various herbicides used against invasive weeds on broadacre crop production farmland, roadsides, and lawns. Grapegrowers in diversified cropping regions may encounter herbicide drift exposures to their vineyards, sometimes during sensitive periods such as around early shoot growth or flowering. As a result, seasonal and interseasonal detrimental effects on vegetative development, grape yield and composition, and economic sustainability, may occur. However, identifying the herbicide causing a specific injury symptom is challenging and little is known about how herbicide exposure affects grapevine metabolism and berry composition. Our research attempts to assess the implications of herbicide exposure on visual grapevine symptoms in conjunction with physiological and biochemical responses.

HERBICIDE TYPES OFTEN CAUSING GRAPEVINE INJURIES: HOW THEY WORK Herbicide drifts, especially those of the phenoxyacetic acid group, can move substantial distances (several kilometres) depending on the prevailing weather conditions (wind, temperature and relative humidity), the herbicide

»

formulation (e.g. ester or amine form), and details of the spray application process, for instance nozzle type and sprayer setup (Felsot et al. 2011).

When phenoxyacetic acid herbicides are sprayed in an ester formulation,

Figure 1. Small, fan-shaped leaves from 2,4-D or glyphosate damage. Copyright: Peter Magarey/Winetitles volatile vapours are easily produced particularly due to inversion layers in the atmosphere.

With regard to different phenoxyacetic acid herbicides, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4D), a synthetic form of the plant growth hormone auxin, is particularly

renowned for causing widespread grapevine injuries (Figure 1 and Table 1, see next page). Auxins regulate plant growth and development, particularly aspects such as cell division and enlargement. Synthetic auxins mimic the functioning of the natural hormone, and the damage after absorption ultimately causes uncontrolled cell division in developing plant tissues (Baumann et al. 1999). In some cases, particularly when the exposure occurs during early shoot growth or around flowering, 2,4-D exposure can induce severe loss of fruit yield (Read and Gamet 2016). Another example of a powerful phenoxyacetic acid herbicide is 2-methyl4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA). Like 2,4-D, when MCPA is sprayed as an ester rather than in an amine or salt formulation, the volatile vapour drift potential is particularly noteworthy (Dexter 1995). The mode of action of MCPA and its effects on grapevine vegetative development are comparable to that of 2,4-D. Dicamba, or 3,6-dichloro-2methoxybenzoic acid, is another growth regulating herbicide widely used in crop fields. Dicamba also functions as a synthetic auxin, with a benzoic acid derivative as the active ingredient. The detrimental effects of auxinic herbicides are especially noteworthy during stages of active shoot growth, as the synthetic auxins readily translocate to tissues ▶ undergoing rapid growth.

National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, Wagga Wagga 2678, New South Wales

1

School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales

2

New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales

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HERBICIDE DRIFT

Glyphosate-based herbicides are probably one of the best-known types of weed killer around the world.

Although glyphosate vapour drift is less likely to travel extensive distances compared with drifts associated with phenoxyacetic acids, suitable conditions may induce glyphosate spread towards adjacent areas (Felsot et al. 2011).

Glyphosate is also often applied within vineyards due to its effectiveness against a wide range of problematic weeds which are commonly found in vine rows. When grapevines are exposed to glyphosate, primary plant functioning is directly affected due to the herbicide’s mode of action, inhibiting the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate3-phosphate synthase (EPSPs) enzyme which is involved in the shikimate pathway (Siehl 1997). Inhibition of this enzyme causes shikimate accumulation in the plant and blocks the biosynthesis of the aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan). Aromatic amino acids play precursor roles in the synthesis of vital plant compounds such as polyphenols (Donnini et al.

2016) and is, therefore, needed for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites such as anthocyanins and tannins. The biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids such as phenylalanine is, for example, ultimately required for the skin colour development of red grape varieties.

HERBICIDE EXPOSURE SIGNS AND EFFECTS ON GRAPEVINES: WHAT WE DO AND DO NOT KNOW Although the modes of action of the above-mentioned herbicides are well documented, the signs of grapevine exposure to different herbicide types are easily confused (Table 2, see page 55), particularly in terms of symptoms caused by different growth regulating herbicides. Therefore, the overall aim of this research is not only to produce guidelines useful for growers to identify injury signs linked to specific herbicides, but also to improve our understanding of the grapevine response, in the short term and in the following season. We want to evaluate how vine physiology and metabolism change when herbicide exposures occur, in conjunction with the specific morphological injuries they cause.

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Table 1. Commonly used herbicides in Australia, categorised based on the herbicide type and mode of action.

Herbicide active ingredient 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) 2-methyl-4chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) 6-dichloro-2methoxybenzoic acid (dicamba) Glyphosate

Type

Mode of action

Plant growth regulators (phenoxyacetic acids) Plant growth regulator (benzoic acid derivative) Amino acid inhibition

It is recognised that plant metabolism may be altered by exposure to herbicides. This could happen either directly by altering the carbon flux through certain metabolic pathways (Siehl 1997, Magalhaes et al. 2017), or indirectly by changing the grapevine canopy carbon assimilation efficiency through impairments in leaf stomatal (pore) functioning (Bondada 2011). The systemic nature of these herbicides also mean that active constituents are translocated through the entire plant (Baumann et al. 1999, Shaner 2009).

Foliar absorption of herbicides may, therefore, subsequently alter vine physiology and metabolic pathways in other organs, such as the roots and fruit. However, primary carbon metabolite profiling of different grapevine tissues in response to herbicide injury has not yet been investigated. Little is thus known about the fundamental response of grapevines to these herbicides, particularly in relation to vine sensitivity at key stages of the season. Herbicide translocation in the permanent structure of the vine may also result in detrimental effects into the following season, potentially impacting critical aspects such as bud fruitfulness and fruit yield (Ogg et al. 1991). Essentially, our objective is to investigate the implications of the herbicides on central grapevine functioning to improve our understanding of what happens in the vine, both when these injuries occur and during recovery. This will allow us to devise protocols that growers can implement if and when such exposure and injury occurs.

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Synthetic auxins: mimic the function of natural plant auxins, causing hormone imbalances and abnormal vegetative growth.

Blocks the synthesis of the aromatic amino acids, which are precursors of essential plant metabolites.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO? A study using potted vines has been initiated at the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre at Charles Sturt University. The 12-month study, funded by Wine Australia’s Incubator Initiative, will be conducted in collaboration with the NSW and ACT regional cluster as industry partners.

Experimental work will commence in late spring at the termination of flowering. Simulated herbicide drifts will be created under controlled conditions within an automated cabinet sprayer which will deliver a precise volume of herbicide to each grapevine.

These drift applications will replicate what happens in the field in terms of probable vapour movements of 2,4-D, MCPA, Dicamba and glyphosate, similar to common herbicide application rates in broadacre farmland in proximity to a hypothetical vineyard. The application rates will represent severe but realistic drift incidents (Al Khatib et al.1993, Mohseni-Moghadam et al. 2016). The post-flowering period was chosen because this phenological stage coincides with noteworthy grapevine herbicide injury incidents throughout grapevine growing regions in NSW. The first key objective of the study will be to monitor the development of visual injury symptoms in response to each herbicide as the season progresses, with emphasis on foliage, shoots and fruit. Detailed images and visual references will be collected for each known herbicide exposure.

The second objective will be to study the repercussions of the different

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Table 2. Grapevine leaf and fruit injury symptoms reported to result from exposure to growth regulating herbicides and glyphosate.

Herbicide

Growth regulators (2,4-D, MCPA and dicamba)

Glyphosate

Typical grapevine injury symptoms Leaves: small, narrow and deformed (fan shaped, downward bending and curled). Thick veins that lack chlorophyll, with reduced interveinal spaces. Upward cupping of younger leaves.

Fruit: Reduced set and delayed/uneven ripening. Downward bending of bunches.

(Al-Khatib et al.1993, Bondada et al. 2011, Mohseni-Moghadam et al. 2016)

Leaves: distorted shape (fan-shaped with crowded veins), interveinal chlorosis and cupping. Necrosis of leaf margins.

Fruit: Flower abortion, reduced skin anthocyanins (red colour).

(Al-Khatib et al. 1993, Ball et al. 2014, Donnini et al. 2016, Mohseni-Moghadam et al. 2016)

herbicides on leaf functioning. Finally, the grapevines will be dismantled into their key components at key stages of the season, i.e. fruitset, veraison and fruit maturity. These samples will be assessed for the repercussions of the different herbicides on shortand longer-term leaf, berry, and root primary metabolism. Furthermore, fruit yield and composition, carbohydrate reserve storage, and bud fruitfulness for the next season will be assessed.

CONCLUSIONS: WHAT PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS DO WE HOPE TO FIND? We aim to produce a field guide that grapegrowers can use to promptly recognise specific herbicide drift exposures as soon as they occur, and also to help avoid future herbicide incidents at sensitive stages of the season. The initial potted vine study will provide a broad spectrum of information required to understand the underlying physiological and metabolic implications of specific herbicide

exposures in spring on grapevines.

Such an initial understanding is needed to develop future strategies aimed at avoiding or minimising grapevine herbicide damage. The information can subsequently be used to better engage with neighbouring farmers to avoid the spraying of specifically-identified problematic herbicides during critical periods of the season, thereby avoiding potential herbicide drift induced yield losses and altered grape composition in the future. The intention is also to build upon the preliminary results of this small-scale study by conducting targeted studies in established vineyards in future seasons.

REFERENCES Al-Khatib, K.; Parker, R. and Fuerst, E.P. (1993) Wine grape (Vitis vinifera L.) response to simulated herbicide drift. Weed Technology 7(1):97-102.

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(1999) Herbicides how they work and the symptoms they cause. Texas Agricultural Extension Service, accessed 7 August 2017, <http://cotton.tamu.edu/ Weeds/B-6081%20Herbicides%20How%20They%20 Work%20and%20Symptoms.pdf> Bondada, B.R. (2011) Anomalies in structure, growth characteristics, and nutritional composition as induced by 2, 4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid drift phytotoxicity in grapevine leaves and clusters.

Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 136(3):165-176.

Dexter, A.G. (1995) Herbicide spray drift.

North Dakota State University Extension Service, accessed 7 August 2017, <http://www.mssoy.org/ uploads/files/ndsu-ext-a-657.pdf> Donnini, S.; Tessarin, P.; Ribera-Fonseca, A.; Di Foggia, M.; Parpinello, G.P. and Rombolà, A.D. (2016) Glyphosate impacts on polyphenolic composition in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) berries and wine. Food Chemistry 213:26-30.

Felsot, A.S.; Unsworth, J.B.; Linders, J.B.; Roberts, G.; Rautman, D.; Harris, C. and Carazo, E. (2010) Agrochemical spray drift; assessment and mitigation - A review. Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part B 46(1):1-23.

Magalhães, W.B.; Cardoso, D.G.; Medina, E.F.; Ávila, R.T.; Cardoso, F.B.; Silva, P.O.; Nery, L.A.; Barros, R.S.; Araújo, W.L. and Ribeiro, D.M. (2017) Response of Stylosanthes humilis seeds to 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Seed Science and Technology 45(1):14-26.

Mohseni-Moghadam, M.; Wolfe, S.; Dami, I. and Doohan, D. (2016) Response of wine grape cultivars to simulated drift rates of 2, 4-D, dicamba, and glyphosate, and 2, 4-D or dicamba plus glyphosate.

Weed Technology 30(3):807-814.

Ogg, A.G.; Ahmedullah, M.A. and Wright, G.M. (1991) Influence of repeated applications of 2, 4-D on yield and juice quality of concord grapes (Vitis labruscana). Weed Science 39:284-295.

Read, P.E. and Gamet, S.J. (2014) Challenges from off-target herbicide incidents. Acta Horticulturae 1115:167-170.

Shaner, D.L. (2009) Role of translocation as a mechanism of resistance to glyphosate. Weed Science 57(1):118-123.

Siehl, D.L. (1997) ‘Inhibitors of EPSP synthase, glutamine synthetase and histidine synthesis’.

In: Herbicide Activity: Toxicology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Ed. R.M. Roe, IOS Press, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Ball, D.A.; Corp, M. and Dami, I. (2014) Preventing herbicide drift and injury to grapes.

Oregon State University Extension Catalog, accessed 7 August 2017, <https://catalog. extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/ project/pdf/em8860.pdf> Baumann P.A.; Dotray, P.A. and Prostko, E.P.

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U ORRET VVA IRTI EI TCAUL LRTE P

ALTERNATIVE VARIETIES

Approaching a century of growing Mondeuse at Brown Brothers e and Cabernet

By Katherine Brown, Brown Brothers

M

ondeuse is rarely encountered in Australia although it has been a winemaking grape for centuries. It is believed to have originated in the ancient vineyards of the Savoie, France, as far back as the 10th century. Its wine was used by monks of then newly-established monasteries on the edge of Lake Bouger in this eastern French region.

It is also planted in Italy, Argentina and California. The name Mondeuse seems to have been handed down from generation to generation without mention of it being made in writing and the origin of the name seems to be lost.

Because Mondeuse ripens late in the season the vineyards in its homeland are situated to take the greatest advantage of the sun, and even with precaution, there have been seasons when the grapes have failed to ripen.

Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Mondeuse.

In the mountainous woodlands of the Savoie in France, Mondeuse produces powerfully-flavoured and deeply-coloured wines. In the northeast of Victoria, the warm summers and long lingering autumns gave the variety deep colour and firm tannin. de Castella did not see this as a problem.

He recognised these characteristics gave it tremendous keeping qualities, and so dubbed the variety “the Golden Wedding Wine”. It certainly is a wine that offers great cellaring potential.

He encouraged John Francis Brown to plant it, telling him that he felt sure it would add to the complexity and flavour of the red wines he produced.

Four acres of the variety were subsequently planted at Milawa. When John Charles Brown joined his father at Milawa in 1933 he also recognised the potential of Mondeuse’s characteristic deep colour and firm tannin. He noted that if he blended Mondeuse with say, Shiraz, the middle palate was given weight and flavour; or with both Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, the palate was given weight, depth and backbone. The complexity and richness that the blend produced was far greater than that of each of the individual components. The Shiraz Mondeuse Cabernet blend that wine lovers have come to know and love was born in 1954. A bottle of this wine still sits in the Brown Brothers family cellar as a great memory of the winemaking innovation and experimentation of John Charles Brown.

At Milawa the soil and climate have proven to be ideal for the production and ripening of Mondeuse and we find its qualities to be ideal for blending with Shiraz and Cabernet. We find that the resulting wines, while being attractive to drink when young, age extremely well and are a great addition to the cellar, continuing to develop in complexity for five to 10 years and remaining at their peak condition for further time still.

Brown Brothers and considered s contribution to the wine Mondeuse and Cabernet, a all three varieties at the same n giving a wine of considerable ties. The wine lives on in the s Brown’s methods. The 2013 omas of spice, liquorice dark te is rich, concentrated and ed correctly this wine will be

ast France, where it is renowned AT MILAWA d the MONDEUSE firm flavours, deep colour ght to Australia early last at Mondeuse was first planted Brown Brothers’and Milawa vineyard cois de Castella, has beenin 1920 when John Francis Brown, the awa itfounder produces an inky, deep, of the family vineyard, began it after thesweet devastation needsreplanting the spice and fruit caused by phylloxera. He drew on the m it into the flavoursome advice andrich, counsel of Francois de

Castella (the state viticulturist, who ran the Rutherglen Research Station at the time) as to which varieties he should plant in the reconstructed vineyard.

Francois de Castella saw the climate at Milawa, at the foot of the Victorian Alps, was different than that of the warm and sunny plains around Rutherglen. It was more suited to table wine production than the popular fortifieds of the day. de Castella encouraged John Brown to concentrate on table wine varieties for the company’s replanting. He had about 100 different table wine varieties in his research vineyard. Grown from cuttings he had taken from European vineyards he had visited in the early years of this century, de Castella had plantings of unheard of varieties like

n pioneered in the 1950s where n, followed by the Cabernet ntation of varieties helps to olour, flavour and tannin pickup d of 50% Shiraz, 25% Mondeuse, ur Milawa Vineyard. The fruit mé levels ranging from 14.0º to ost two years in 13% new n one and two year old oak. It and an acid level of 6.2g/L.

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Mondeuse as a single varietal has also been made into a rosé by the Brown Family. Released as a cellar door only wine, this was off-dry in style and proved popular with visitors to Milawa.

The current release of the Brown Brothers Shiraz, Mondeuse and Cabernet is 2013. The vines that produce the grapes for this wine are still planted on the same piece of land that first grew the Mondeuse in 1920. Planted side by side, the Shiraz, Mondeuse and Cabernet Sauvignon are picked on the same day each vintage for the ability to co-ferment the three varieties.

The blending of the three grape varieties - Shiraz, Mondeuse and Cabernet Sauvignon - is a tradition unique to Brown Brothers. The blend has almost become synonymous with the Brown family and the Milawa estate and its history is closely intertwined around the company’s own history. WVJ

VVAIRTI EI TCAUL LRTE U P ORRET

Mondeuse vines in Brown Brothers’ Milawa vineyard in the lower King Valley of north-east Victoria. Mondeuse was first planted in the vineyard in 1920 when John Francis Brown began replanting it after the devastation caused by phylloxera.

MONDEUSE NOIRE

By Peter Dry Emeritus Fellow, The Australian Wine Research Institute BACKGROUND

VITICULTURE

Mondeuse (mon-DERS) Noire is an old variety from eastern France (Isère, Drôme, Hautes-Alpes) that has spread to other countries including Portugal and Switzerland. There is also a Mondeuse Blanche which has a parent-offspring relationship with Mondeuse Noire (as shown by DNA analysis). Therefore, Mondeuse Noire is either a half-sibling or a grandparent of Syrah. This may explain why Mondeuse Noire has been called Grosse Syrah in the Jura, France. Other synonyms include Gros Rouge (Switzerland), Maldoux (Jura), Persagne (Ain), Petite Persaigne (Rhone), Plant Maldoux (Jura), Savoyan (Isère) and Rodo (Portugal). Mondeuse Noire is one of the main varieties used for the appellations of Vin de Savoie and Bugey (Savoie). The global area of Mondeuse Noire in 2010 was 1404 hectares, mostly in France, having increased significantly since 2000. Outside of Europe the largest area may be in California; however, it is difficult to obtain a reliable estimate because Californian statistics do not separate Mondeuse Noire from Refosco dal Penduncolo, even though DNA analysis has shown they are different varieties. In Australia—where it is most often known as just Mondeuse—the planted area is tiny. It is said that, like Durif, it was brought to north-eastern Victoria by Francois de Castella early in the 20th century. Currently, there are at least five wine producers, mainly in central and north-east Victoria.

Budburst is early and maturity is mid-season. Vigour is moderate to high. Bunches are medium to large and can range from loose to compact with small to medium berries. Yield is relatively high, comparable with Grenache in Australia. Spur pruning is most often used in both France and Australia. In France, Mondeuse Noire is said to be quite susceptible to mildews; in contrast, it is ‘tolerant’ to mildews in Australia. Susceptibility to drought is high.

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WINE Mondeuse Noire wines are well-coloured, aromatic and tannic with good ageing potential. Descriptors include bitter cherry, dark plum and fruity. In hot climates it has good acid retention. It is often blended with other varieties such as Gamay, Pinot Noir and Poulsard in France; and with Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon in Australia.

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.

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57

BUSINESS BUSINESS & & MARKETING MARKETING

A W B R

The 10th International Conference of the Academy of Wine Business Research: it was a tough job but somebody had to do it

By Armando Maria Corsi, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, University of South Australia

I

am not reinventing the wheel in saying that one of the most products by explaining to students how premium food and wine fundamental aspects of any professional community is the brands can be built, managed and marketed. Lastly, and this opportunity to share ideas with its peers. However, allow seemed to be a particularly strong trend among the European me to be a bit biased in saying that this exercise is all the more colleagues, education should focus on wine tourism, wine trails, important for those who, like me, are part of an academic and their links to meaningful travel experiences and gastronomy. community. The job of an academic can essentially be The other two days focussed on research. Seventysummarised in three main activities: educate, one papers were presented across 20 parallel research, and disseminate. Therefore, an sessions. Although the range of topics academic should constantly be looking presented was quite broad, one could for the latest and most innovative identify four main research clusters: findings in education and business management, tourism, research, and then report them sustainability, and consumer to the broader community of behaviour. academics and professionals Among the business that he or she belongs to. management papers, the With this in mind, I most interesting was would like to tell you presented by Downing about some stimulating (2017), who collected days I spent at the end survey data of northern of July 2017 in California California wineries in 1999 for the 10th International and 2015 to understand the Conference of the Academy industry-specific systems of Wine Business Research of entrepreneurship. His (AWBR). This academic results showed that older community was founded and larger wineries are more in 2003 by Professor Larry focussed on entrepreneurial Lockshin, head of the School of thinking than smaller and younger Marketing at the University of South entrepreneurial firms, but the Australia, who, inspired by the same concerns about the external factors, spirit I mentioned above, wanted to share which could potentially have an affect on a his ideas and research about wine business winery (i.e., climate change, cost of labour, AWBR conference attendees at Francis and marketing with other academics. etc.) are shared by all industry players Ford Coppola Winery, Dry Creek Valley, This community meets approximately regardless of age, size, and strategy.

California. every 18 months, trying to follow a healthy Another interesting paper was presented alternation between the Northern and

by Begalli et al. (2017) about the risks Southern Hemisphere and good weather (although, I must perceived by wine stakeholders along the supply chain. They confess, not necessarily in this order). administered a questionnaire among 91 winegrowers and wine The 10th International Conference of the AWBR saw the producers in northern Italy, finding the principal sources of participation of approximately 100 researchers, educators and concern are market uncertainty, extreme weather conditions, industry representatives from 13 different countries, including and serious damage of facilities. Jradi et al. (2017) measured Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Czech-Republic, France, the revenue inefficiency evolution of nine major French wine Germany, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, regions before and after the implementation of the common and the US. market organisation (CMO) policies in Europe for the 2004-2013 The first day of the conference was dedicated to the education period. Results revealed that all regions exhibited a revenue aspects of wine business and marketing. The attendees progress after the implementation of the CMO. Lastly, I would highlighted the need to include in the curricula more knowledge like to mention the paper of Albisson et al. (2017) regarding in relation to the issues of labour, land use, immigration, cultural the extent to which having a designated marketing director diversities, sales and distribution. In addition, it was noted affects a wineryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entrepreneurial marketing efforts. The the need to strengthen the links between wine and other food authors conducted an online survey among 142 wineries in

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North Carolina, finding wineries that had a marketing director were more proactive, opportunity driven and more customer intensive. In addition, wineries with a marketing director were also marginally more innovation focussed and employed risk reduction tactics.

Among the tourism papers, a few revolved around the importance consumers give to, broadly speaking, the placeof-origin. Regardless of the product category analysed – wine, cheese, or charcuterie (Agnoli et al. 2017) – or the country – Canada (Mooken et al. 2017), France (Menival and Charters 2017; Charters and Ditter 2017), Greece (Sigala and Dimopoulou 2017) – the results consistently showed that consumers do care about the origin of the products they buy. Another couple of papers focussed on the development of wine trails. Prokes (2017) looked at this issue from the perspective of a wine region like South Moravia, in Czech Republic, which has just recently developed its first wine trail. Schamel (2017) investigated the opportunity to combine gastronomy with wine trails in a region like South Tyrol (Italy), which has already developed a series of wine tourism activities. In both cases, the papers showed the benefit such trails can have on the wine businesses located in those areas.

Other papers discussed the approach wineries located in new wine areas should adopt to improve tourism experiences and visitations. The results seem to indicate wineries should almost equally care about successfully communicating their products (Sears and Weatherbee 2017, Farber Canzani 2017), and the related experiences consumers can take part in when visiting the region (Blanck et al. 2017, Bouzdine-Chameeva and Velikova 2017, Hudelson 2017).

A third stream of papers was related to the perception of sustainable practices among wine businesses and consumers.

A study from Chile showed wineries that have in place a sustainability management system perform financially better than those that do not (Valenzuela Oyaneder et al. 2017). At the same time, a study from France showed that as wineries get bigger, their attitudes toward sustainability do not improve, however, sustainability practices increase (Spielmann 2017).

Other research focussed on the short and long-term adaptation strategies Bordeaux wineries have towards climate change. The findings revealed that all wineries have a significant short-term adaptation to climate changes, mostly on a vintage-by-vintage basis, but in the long run only some of them plan to adapt their practices to the structural evolution of climate (Alonso Ugaglia et al. 2017). From a consumer side, research showed that consumers seem to care about environmental claims (Capitello and Sirieix 2017, Ghvanidze et al. 2017, Nesselhauf et al. 2017), but none of these studies showed whether these attitudes also translate to purchases.

The last set of papers focussed on consumer behaviour, particularly in the retail sector. Researchers presented the analysis of wine purchase data from 2002 to 2014 across Australia, Belgium, Italy, Germany, France, the UK, and the US, both in the off-trade and the online market (Corsi et al. 2017a,b, Higuet and Remaud 2017, Khal et al. 2017, Trinh et al. 2017), revealing that wine is purchased following, by and large, the law-like pattern of double jeopardy: smaller brands have fewer customers who purchase them slightly less often, while larger brands have more customers who purchase them slightly more often (Sharp 2010). As a consequence, if you want to grow your brand you need to focus more on getting new customers (i.e.,

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increase penetration), rather than selling more to existing ones (i.e., increase purchase frequency). Other studies in this field showed purchase occasions change the importance consumers give to wine choice drivers (Corsi et al. 2017c); the off-trade retail sales of beer, liquor, red and white wine are temperature sensitive overall throughout the year, while rosé, sparkling and other wine are not, although these temperature sensitivities vary by geography (Hirche et al. 2017); for Australian wine retailers taste is the most important factor when selecting a new wine to stock (Azzurro et al. 2017).

As you can see, we had a few pretty intense days over there, and I apologise in advance to my other colleagues who presented their papers at the conference but were not mentioned in this article. We farewelled each other already thinking of the next time we will get together, which will be in January 2019 in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

One final note, after reading this article, you might think the AWBR conference was all about work, and no play. Do not worry, that’s not how we do business. We had the chance to visit some amazing wineries in Anderson Valley, Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley, and more.

REFERENCES Sharp, B. (2010) How brands grow. Oxford University Press: Melbourne.

All other papers referenced in this article can be found in the proceedings of the 10th International Conference of the Academy of Wine Business Research. The proceedings are accessible from http://academyofwinebusiness.com/wp-content/ uploads/2017/08/0.-2017-proceedings_awbr.pdf WVJ

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V I N TA G E F I G U R E S

Vintage 2017: a deeper dive into the numbers

By Mark Rowley, Senior Analyst, Wine Australia

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ine Australia released the 2017 National Vintage Report in August and the headline figures were very positive. The crush increased by 5 percent in volume to 1.93 million litres (a figure we might have considered too large just a few years ago, but global conditions are improving) and by 13% in value to an estimated $1.22 billion. Importantly, the average purchase price increased 7% to $565 per tonne; all of the top 10 white varieties and all bar three of the top 10 reds recorded an increase.

Some key macro factors are driving this positive trend, notably a rebounding domestic market, a depreciated currency and strong demand from China. However, drilling down into the numbers at a regional and varietal level reveals some less obvious but no less important factors at play. This article uncovers some of these factors by examining the major varieties in the primary producing regions. To separate some of the trends, the sections will be split into the inland regions – MD-SH, Riverland Riverina and all other regions – ‘cool and temperate’.

COOL AND TEMPERATE CABERNET SAUVIGNON Result • Tonnage collected increased 9% to 109,000 tonnes • Average price fell 7% to $1211 per tonne

Top five drivers: The average price for Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon fell 25% to $1360 a tonne, which impacted significantly on the national figure. Excluding Coonawarra, the average price increased 4% to $1240.

Fortunately, demand for premium Shiraz is very healthy throughout the world, particularly in the major markets of Australia, China and USA.

Coonawarra appears to have been affected by the late vintage and subsequent slow ripening that made it difficult to reach targeted Baumes for specific varieties in individual regions across the country. Prices for Coonawarra Merlot actually firmed 10% and the aggregate of all other varieties decreased by only 7%, with white varieties recording an increase.

Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale were among the few regions in which Cabernet prices increased. Both recorded a stronger vintage (up 11% and

Figure 1. Historical Cabernet Sauvignon pricing (top five regions excluding Riverina, Riverland and MD-SH)

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12%, respectively). With higher supply, wineries may have satisfied demand for this variety and not needed to look to other regions such as in previous years.

Demand was strong in export markets.

Total exports of Cabernet above $45 per case have increased by 29% over the past five years to 19 million litres – the equivalent of 25,000 tonnes. This growth is supporting pricing at the farmgate.

The domestic market has been strong, with sales above $15 per bottle growing at faster rates. Growth is supporting Cabernet pricing.

Outlook - good Demand is strong for higher priced Cabernet Sauvignon in both domestic and international markets. Assuming more conducive climatic conditions in 2018, the outlook should remain positive.

COOL AND TEMPERATE SHIRAZ Result • Tonnage collected rose 28% to 190,000 tonnes • Average price rose 3% to $1480 per tonne Top five drivers: Barossa Valley pricing increased 2% to $2290 per tonne, offsetting declines in other major regions (Coonawarra, Padthaway and McLaren Vale). Barossa Valley accounts for a quarter of all cool and temperate Shiraz.

Figure 2. Historical Shiraz pricing (top five regions excluding Riverina, Riverland and MD-SH).

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Table 1. Key variety statistics for 2016-17.

2017 inland crush statistics1

Bottled exports2

Bulk exports3

Domestic offtrade sales5

Avg Avg Avg Avg Average Value Average price price Million Volume price price Million Volume price (million Value Tonnes Change price Change (A$/L) change litres change (A$/L) change litres change (USD/L) Change AUD) change

Cabernet 134,718 Sauvignon

9%

$391

13%

$6.54

-5%

64

9%

$1.33

Chardonnay 253,961

1

Ciatti data4

10%

21

43%

$1.05

26%

$280

10%

-10%

$312

8%

$3.81

-2%

54

7%

$0.83

1%

96

-2%

$0.69

-3%

$280

2%

Merlot

79,542

12%

$364

5%

$3.89

1%

28

5%

$0.98

-5%

24

41%

$0.99

na

$100

5%

Sauvignon Blanc

61,475

3%

$390

11%

$3.75

-6%

12

19%

$1.06

-15%

8

1%

$0.81

8%

$660

3%

Shiraz

246,071

8%

$383

14%

$6.08

1%

122

10%

$1.17

-2%

57

-1%

$1.05

26%

$580

9%

Wine Australian Vintage Report, Wine Australia export approval database, Wine Australia export approval database, Ciatti, Aztec 2

The Barossa Valley crush increased by 14,000 tonnes. More high-priced Barossa Valley fruit in the national mix was the biggest single driver pushing the national average higher.

Lower yields in the Barossa Valley during 2013 and 2014 directly led to the spike in pricing in McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and Padthaway. However, there appears to have been some normalisation since then, with the Barossa Valley Shiraz crush increasing four-fold, driven by plantings, top-working from other varieties and better vineyard management (pruning techniques, disease management and general investment due to higher pricing).

Domestic sales of Shiraz increased by nearly 10%, with the strongest growth in the higher-price segments.

China is driving growth in demand for premium Shiraz. Exports above $45 per case increased 54% to $222 million, with Barossa Valley accounting for 20%.

Outlook – excellent Improving vineyard management and plantings in the Barossa Valley will

3

ensure supply does not fall to pre-2016 levels. This means other regions will need another factor to move pricing.

Fortunately, demand for premium Shiraz is very healthy throughout the world, particularly in the major markets of Australia, China and USA. COOL AND TEMPERATE CHARDONNAY Result • Total tonnage fell 18% to 59,000 tonnes • Average price rose 5% to $940 per tonne • All top producing regions recorded stronger pricing.

Top five drivers: Seasonal conditions led to lower supply, which had a positive impact on pricing. The overall Chardonnay crush fell 12%, with the decline strongest in cool and temperate regions.

Pricing in Padthaway – which accounts for 18% of the cool and temperate Chardonnay collected – firmed 14%.

Firmer pricing in the bulk market helped the price of Padthaway Chardonnay in particular. According

Figure 3. Historical Chardonnay pricing (top five regions excluding Riverina, Riverland and MD-SH).

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to Ciatti, Australian Chardonnay was offered between US$0.64 and US$0.72 in March 2017, compared with US$0.56 and US$0.67 in March 2016.

Chardonnay is in growth domestically after a decade-long decline. However, preceding the turnaround, premium Chardonnay sales were strong. This trend remains in place.

Chardonnay’s performance would have been stronger without ‘Brexit’. Sales to the UK (which usually accounts for a third of Chardonnay exports by volume) fell 7% to $61 million, whereas exports to all other destinations increased 5% to $377 million.

Outlook – good With the UK pound appreciating after the initial steep decline, profitability for foreign wine producers should improve. Wineries will also have had time to assess the market and determine alternate opportunities. Also supporting Chardonnay is the growth coming from the domestic market. The regeneration of the Chardonnay category has been driven ▶ by premium wine.

Figure 4. Historical Merlot pricing (top five regions excluding Riverina, Riverland and MD-SH).

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COOL AND TEMPERATE MERLOT Result • Tonnage collected rose 10% to 30,000 tonnes • Average price rose 4% to $770 per tonne • Merlot pricing firmed in all the top five regions Top five drivers: Merlot pricing improved in all of the top 10 cool and temperate regions except McLaren Vale and ‘Limestone Coast other’ (Limestone Coast zone excluding the designated GI regions). The average price growth was less than for Cabernet Sauvignon but more than for Shiraz, whereas supply growth results were the opposite. This suggests the larger crush had a cooling impact on pricing.

The decline in pricing in McLaren Vale and ‘Limestone Coast other’ can be attributed to a certain degree to stronger local supply. The total crush in these regions rose 17% and 14%, respectively.

According to Ciatti, bulk pricing for Merlot improved significantly over the year leading into harvest. The price range was US$0.52 to US$0.67 per litre in March 2016, rising to US$0.76 to US$0.95 per litre by March 2017. Pricing from the major non-European wine producers also improved, indicating that the global supply and demand balance for Merlot tightened.

A strong domestic market helped firm pricing. Sales increased 5% during the year, with growth strongest above $15 per bottle. However, Merlot sales under $10 per bottle are roughly equal to Shiraz; as consumer spend increases, this is likely to favour Shiraz.

China accounts for more than half of Merlot exports above $45 per case. Exports in this category increased by 55% in 2016-17,

helping prices firm at the farmgate. Merlot has great potential in China. According to Wine Intelligence, Chinese imported wine consumers are nearly 50% more likely to be aware of Merlot than Shiraz.

Sauvignon Blanc pricing has improved due to strong demand in the domestic market.

Australian Sauvignon Blanc is winning share from New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Outlook – fair Although the trends for premium Merlot are strong in domestic and export markets, the variety predominantly is sold into entry and mid-priced segments. Domestic consumers typically turn to Shiraz for a premium red. China and greater Asia may be where the larger opportunity lies.

COOL AND TEMPERATE PINOT NOIR Result • Tonnage collected fell 2% to 23,000 tonnes • Average price rose 3% to $1530 per tonne Top five drivers: Increased supply at regional level did not have a negative impact on pricing.

For the top regions examined, contrary to theory, there was a positive relationship between the change in crush tonnage and the change in prices paid.

Figure 5: Historical Pinot Noir pricing (top five regions excluding Riverina, Riverland and MD-SH).

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Padthaway was the only one of the top 10 cool and temperate Pinot Noirproducing regions to record a decline in prices. The even spread of growth demonstrates the strength of demand for Pinot Noir at a category level.

Despite strong export success for Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir (up 35%), the region was a slight drag on the national average. Excluding Adelaide Hills, the average price increased by 4% to $1510 per tonne.

Pinot Noir is growing more quickly in the domestic market than all other major varieties except Prosecco, Grenache and rosé. It enjoys a strong premium, with most sales in the $15-20 per bottle range.

Growth is strongest in the upper segments.

Export growth for premium Pinot Noir ($45 and above per case) to both China and USA was in excess of 20%.

Outlook – excellent With strong demand in the domestic, US and Chinese markets, supply may be the biggest factor impacting on future growth.

Some of Australia’s most famous Pinot Noir regions are in areas with high land prices, which adds cost to developing new vineyards.

COOL AND TEMPERATE SAUVIGNON BLANC Result • Tonnage collected rose 11% to 33,000 tonnes • Average price rose 1% to $1220 per tonne.

Top five drivers: Sauvignon Blanc prices have been in decline for a decade as more supply has come on stream.

The average price of fruit increased

Figure 6: Historical Sauvignon Blanc pricing (top five regions excluding Riverina, Riverland and MD-SH).

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Figure 7. Historical pricing for top five varieties from Riverland, Riverina, MD-SH. marginally, but results varied across regions. Those with a larger crush generally recorded lower prices. The outlier was Margaret River, where the average price rose 9% and tonnage increased 15%.

Bulk Sauvignon Blanc wine prices are increasing, but this is benefiting inland regions more than the cool and temperate regions that compete closely with Marlborough (which delivered a huge 304,000 tonnes in 2016, up 41%). This additional competition had a cooling effect on prices for cool and temperate Australian Sauvignon Blanc.

Most Australian Sauvignon Blanc is sold in Australia, unlike for all other varieties examined in this article except Pinot Noir. Growth is strongest in the entry to mid-price segments.

This appears to be limiting price appreciation in the cool and temperate regions.

Sauvignon Blanc’s relatively poor performance (in terms of price growth) compared with the other varieties may be partially due to its lack of exposure to export markets. While other varieties were a strong source of revenue growth for Australian wineries in the past year, exports of premium Sauvignon Blanc fell 1% to $12 million.

Outlook – fair New Zealand still has the lead in Sauvignon Blanc. Australia has made inroads in entry and mid-segment categories in key markets, including domestically, but consumers still generally turn to New Zealand when paying higher prices. Premium regions such as Adelaide Hills, Tasmania

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Figure 8. Relationship between price changes 2013 to 2017 by variety for Riverina, MD-SH and Riverland (inland).

and Yarra Valley are beginning to win recognition, but have a long way to go.

…the most beneficial force that may drive inland winegrape pricing higher next year is the increasing chance that yields in the Northern Hemisphere and South America will be very low.

TRENDS FROM THE INLAND Result • Prices for winegrapes strengthened during the year with the average price paid increasing 10% to $345 per tonne The crush increased 4% which resulted in farm gate revenue to growers increasing by 14% to $291 million.

• The average price paid for each of the top five varieties increased: • Shiraz up 14% to $383 per tonne • Cabernet Sauvignon up 13% to $391 per tonne • Sauvignon Blanc up 11% to $390 per tonne • Chardonnay up 8% to $312 per tonne • Merlot up 5% to $364 per tonne.

Top five drivers: A short Argentine vintage is impacting global bulk wine markets. Chile is filling the shortfall into the Argentine market and exiting other markets. This is creating opportunities, particularly in China.

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Figure 8 illustrates the varieties that recorded the steepest declines in pricing in the three years to 2015 have since recorded the strongest rebound in pricing in 2016 and 2017.

Sauvignon Blanc pricing has improved due to strong demand in the domestic market. Australian Sauvignon Blanc is winning share from New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

‘Brexit’ shocked financial and wine markets alike. The UK remains Australia’s largest export market by volume and margins were tight to begin with. Although consumption did not decline as sharply as exports did (stocks were drawn down), the depreciation of the British pound caused much pain by eroding margins for companies shipping wine into the country.

China is driving an export boom for Australia. In 2016-17 exports to China increased 50% to $600 million. The market is predominantly red, which accounts for the strong performances of the key red varieties.

Outlook – good, potentially excellent Global wine supply/demand balance is a major determinant of winegrape pricing in the inland. There is strong demand stemming from China and Asia in general, and as the pound appreciates, margins in the UK should improve.

However, the most beneficial force that may drive inland winegrape pricing higher next year is the increasing chance that yields in the Northern Hemisphere and South America will be very low.

Weather has been hot and drought is a concern in France, Italy and Spain.

According to Ciatti, ‘the harvest in France could be one of the lowest in history’. WVJ

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CELLAR DOORS

What information sources do visitors use when planning to visit a winery’s cellar door?

By Ann-Marie Azzurro, Nicole Richards and Johan Bruwer Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, University of South Australia

How best to communicate with consumers can be a challenging decision for cellar door and winery managers. Understanding more about how cellar door visitors source information when planning to visit a winery can assist with managing communication and advertising expenditure decisions.

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hen planning to visit a winery’s cellar door, there are a large number of sources that can be used to aid a consumer’s visit decision. Newspapers, magazines, previous winery visits, previous exposure to the winery’s brand label, brochures, the winery’s own website and visitor information centres are just some examples of information sources visitors may rely on when choosing a winery to visit (Bruwer and Lesschaeve 2012). Winery and cellar door managers, particularly at smaller wineries, are continually faced with the challenge of selecting effective advertising mediums from a large number of options. Understanding the different information sources visitors use when making their decision to visit a winery can assist wineries with their advertising choices.

Visitors will often seek out multiple sources of information before deciding to visit a winery. They may rely on ‘formal’ communication sources (e.g. websites, magazines or brochures) which are directly controlled by the winery, or ‘informal’ sources of information (e.g. word-of-mouth recommendations) where the winery has no direct control over the message being communicated (Manno et al. 2016). Wineries generally tend to focus more on formal communication platforms when promoting their winery as a destination to potential visitors. The recognition of informal communication methods, such as word-of-mouth, are becoming increasingly powerful and popular within the wine tourism industry (Hall 2007).

Whether an individual is visiting a winery cellar door for the first or subsequent time can influence what type of information source they are likely to choose to aid their decision. When planning to visit a cellar door, a first-time visitor is likely to seek out multiple sources of information. These sources are more likely to be formal sources of information (e.g. a winery’s website, travel blog, or magazine) primarily because it is their first time visiting a specific winery or destination, and they may need (more) time and information to plan. These formal sources of information can become even more important if the visitor is an international tourist. A repeat visitor, however, may rely solely on word-ofmouth recommendations from family, friends, work colleagues, or even past experiences of their own without even seeking any formal source of information (Bruwer and Thach 2013).

Past research has identified word-of-mouth as being the main tool used by visitors when deciding which wineries to visit (Bruwer and Lesschaeve 2012, Dodd 1999, Jacobsen and Munar 2012).

Individuals tend to share their past experiences informally with other individuals (e.g. family, friends, work colleagues) through word-of-mouth communication. Word-of-mouth can be positive or negative, and is known to have considerable influence over an individual when they are deciding to visit a winery (Manno et al.

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2016). Thus, managers need to be aware of the effect that wordof-mouth can have on a winery’s reputation and its likelihood of attracting future visitors.

Wine consumption habits can also have an effect on the sources of information consumers may utilise when selecting a cellar door.

For example, heavy consumption wine consumers may rely on less formal sources of information compared with moderate or light consumption wine consumers because they may be more wine knowledgeable. For any type of business, including wineries, it is important to attract new customers in order to grow and maintain their business. Reaching all potential consumers, particularly light wine consumption customers, is also necessary for cellar doors.

Therefore, it is vital to know the information sources used by new visitors and light consumption consumers when they decide to visit a winery’s cellar door. Winery (or cellar door) managers are then able to create effective marketing and communication strategies, particularly in the case of smaller wineries that may have a limited marketing budget.

Due to the array of potential information sources available, our research aims to determine the incidence of information sources used by visitors, both first-time and repeat. We surveyed 240 winery visitors at six different cellar doors throughout the McLaren Vale wine region. The survey was administered by cellar door staff after the respondents had completed their cellar door visit experience. Incentives were offered to those who participated in the research in the form of an entry in a lucky draw. The survey included a range of questions, primarily focussed on determining the sources of information each respondent had used in the decision-making process that led them to visiting a particular winery. The results collected about the incidence of information sources allowed this research to be compared among firsttime and repeat visitors, as well as those with different wine consumption habits.

Word-of-mouth was by far the most prevalent source of information used by visitors when planning to visit a winery, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 also shows that previous exposure to the winery label and previous visits to the winery or region were the next two most common sources of information that influenced a consumer’s decision to visit a cellar door. The use of formal sources of information, such as print articles or television, was utilised far less by visitors in their decision-making process.

The results display a similar picture when the information sources used are compared between first-time and repeat visitors, as shown in Figure 2. First-time and repeat visitors were both found to primarily rely on word-of-mouth information and recommendations. Wine events and conferences had a greater influence on first-time visitors’ decisions than repeat visitors.

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Figure 1: The Types of Information Sources Used by Cellar Door Visitors

Figure 1: The Types of Information Sources Used by Cellar Door Visitors

Figure 1. The types of information sources used by cellar door

Figure 2: Sources of Information Used by First-Time and Repeat Cellar Door Visitors visitors.

Repeat Cellar Door Visitors Figure 2: Sources of Information Used by First-Time and

Figure 2. Sources of information used by first-time and repeat

cellar door visitors.

However, among both types of visitors, previous exposure to the

winery’s label was a common source of information that led to a

winery visit.

To compare the information sources used by individuals with different wine consumption habits, respondents were categorised into three wine consumption categories: heavy, moderate and light. This categorisation was dependent on how often bottles of wine were purchased and consumed by an individual. Heavy consumption was categorised by those who consumed wine once a day to a few times a week, moderate as once a week to once a fortnight, and light included those who purchased wine once a month, less often, or those who did not consume wine at all.

Figure 3 illustrates the wine consumption habits and information sources used by these types of consumers. Moderate and light wine consumers were less reliant on word-of-mouth compared with heavy wine consumers. However, word-of-mouth was still the main source of communication used by both moderate and light wine consumers. Heavy and moderate wine consumers used a number of information sources when planning to visit a winery. Light wine consumers considered word-of-mouth, visitor information centres, other wineries in the region, winery brochures and local conferences as primary sources of information. As an important group of consumers to target, it is interesting to note that light wine consumers were not influenced by ‘traditional’ advertising methods (e.g. television, magazines or newspapers). However, this may be because the wineries visited do not use this type of communication or advertising.

The findings highlight the importance of word-of-mouth for winery choice. Winery and cellar door managers should be aware of how powerful word-of-mouth communication can be in influencing destination choice. This is particularly important for attracting new winery visitors who are more than likely to use a word-of-mouth recommendation when choosing to visit a winery’s cellar door. Winery and cellar door managers should V3 2N 5

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Figure 3: Wine Consumption Habits and Information Sources Used by Cellar Door Visitors

Figure 3. Wine consumption habits and information sources used by cellar door visitors.

aim to influence positive, and minimise negative word-ofmouth. Ensuring visitors have a positive experience encourages a positive recommendation when expressing their opinions to friends and family about the winery. Having a high standard of customer service and adding value to the winery visit are examples of behaviours to improve the likelihood of generating positive word-of-mouth recommendations.

Wineries should not neglect formal communication efforts, though, as these are an integral part of advertising. Participation in regional events (e.g. Sea and Vines Festival, in McLaren Vale), and having a retail presence also help create awareness in consumers’ minds which, in turn, signifies they are more likely to visit the winery’s cellar door in the future. Wineries can also benefit from forming partnerships with local tourism operators such as tourist centres, transport and tour businesses or, of course, with other wineries in the region. Recommendations from other businesses are an important and trustworthy source of information for consumers when deciding to visit a winery.

NOTE Further information and full results regarding the types of information sources visitors use can be found in the complete version of this paper which can be found in the proceedings of the 9th Academy of Wine Business Research Conference: Manno, A.; Richards, N. and Bruwer, J. (2016) Sources of information used by wine tourists prior to visiting an Australian wine region. 9th Academy Wine Business Research (AWBR) Conference, Adelaide, February 16-18:608-620.

REFERENCES Bruwer, J. and Lesschaeve, I. (2012) Sources of information used by tourists travelling to visit canadian winery tasting rooms. Tourism Planning and Development 9(3):269-289.

Bruwer, J. and Thach, L. (2013) Wine tourists’ use of sources of information when visiting a USA wine region. Journal of Vacation Marketing 19(3):221-237.

Dodd, T.H. (1999) Attracting repeat customers to wineries. International Journal of Wine Marketing 11(2):18-28.

Hall, C.M. (2007) Introduction to tourism in Australia: Development, issues and change. 5th edition, Pearson Education, New South Wales, Australia.

Jacobsen, J.K.S. and Munar, A.M. (2012) Tourist information search and destination choice in a digital age. Tourism Management Perspectives 1:39-47.

Manno, A.; Richards, N. and Bruwer, J. (2016) Sources of information used by wine tourists prior to visiting an Australian wine region. In: Proceedings 9th Academy Wine Business Research (AWBR) Conference, Adelaide, February 1618:608-620.

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Small steps to making great Chardonnay The focus of this issue’s blind tasting was Chardonnay made by producers crushing less than 500 tonnes of winegrapes a year for their own label or brand. Of the 20 wines tasted (see results on page 68), the following were judged to be the top three by the tasting panel. We thank the winemakers behind them for shedding some light on how they were produced.

Wine Unplugged winemakers Callie Jemmeson (left) and Nina Stocker.

One of the four vineyards in the Yarra Valley that provide the fruit for Wine Unplugged’s PachaMama Chardonnay.

CALLIE JEMMESON AND NINA STOCKER WINEMAKERS WINE UNPLUGGED STRATHBOGIE RANGES, VICTORIA Wine: 2016 PachaMama Yarra Valley Chardonnay (RRP$28.00/bottle)

oak was French: 20% were new puncheons while the rest were a blend of older barrels.

All the barrels were wild fermented to twothirds sugar depletion before over-seeding to ensure a strong, clean finish. The barrels were then stirred weekly for approximately four weeks, building texture into the wine.

A small amount of spontaneous malolactic fermentation occurs during this time in some parcels. The wine was racked out of barrel in December then lightly fined, filtered and bottled.

In past vintages we used a combination of wild and inoculated yeast on different parcels but have found the most interest and complexity comes from the indigenous yeast populations in the vineyards. We also started over-seeding with a strong yeast to ensure a fresh, clean flavour profile and reduce the likelihood of troublesome ferments.

Heathcote and a Pinot Gris and Riesling from Central Victoria.

The wines are predominately sold in Melbourne, Geelong and along the ‘surf coast’ with some distribution on the eastern seaboard, targeting on premise and small independent retail outlets.

MARKETING

Sidewood winemaker Darryl Catlin.

With all our wines our aim is to overdeliver while maintaining an approachable price-point. We are all about using excellent fruit to make great wines and getting them into the hands of people who can enjoy them either with delicious food or close friends and family. Our goal is to source fruit from the best wine-growing regions throughout Victoria, focussing on the varieties we think are perfectly suited to those regions. We make a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay out of the Yarra, a Shiraz from

DARRYL CATLIN, WINEMAKER; STEVE DUNDON, NATIONAL SALES MANAGER; AND MARK VELLA, VITICULTURIST SIDEWOOD ADELAIDE HILLS, SOUTH AUSTRALIA Wine: Sidewood 2015 Mappinga Chardonnay (RRP$50.00/bottle)

VITICULTURE The fruit for this wine is sourced from four growers scattered throughout the Yarra Valley. The four vineyards each provide different components to the wine with some showing more elegance and refinement and others bringing body and depth. For us, picking Chardonnay is all about maximising flavour while keeping an eye on the balance. We are lucky that the higher altitude of some of our vineyards helps retain natural acidity in the fruit, giving our wine length and drive. Our growers all aim to yield 3-3.5 tonnes per acre and show meticulous attention to detail in the management of their vineyards year round. This attention to detail ensures our job of turning their fruit into great wine is pretty straightforward.

WINEMAKING Our winemaking style is all about showcasing the incredible fruit we are lucky to receive from our growers. All the parcels were handpicked, whole bunch pressed and cold settled for 24 hours before being racked to oak, taking some of the lighter lees for texture and complexity. All of the

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VITICULTURE Fruit for the Mappinga Chardonnay is entirely sourced from company vineyards.

The main site for this Chardonnay is from

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the Mappinga Road vineyard. It is a mixture of clones, but mainly consists of 95, 76 and Mendoza. The vines vary in age from 12 to 16 years old.

The vines are trellised to a VSP system with vine and row spacings of 1.5m x 2.4m, giving 2667 vines per hectare. A mixture of spur and some cane pruning is practised.

Tight control is kept on fruit weights and this is monitored during the growing season with fruit thinning passes carried out as necessary. Shoot thinning is done early to ensure correct position and strong shoot and cane growth.

Irrigation is used to control growth and ensure it is consistent during the season.

Average yields for the Chardonnay are between 6-8 tonnes per hectare. Pruning is done by hand in the cane-pruned vines while we shred the spur-pruned vines initially, then follow up with hand pruning usually to two-bud spurs aimed at a pre-determined crop level based on bud dissection results for the coming season The soil the vines grow in varies from a medium clay loam to a free-draining shale quartz and ironstone. We tend to harvest blocks separately depending on ripening.

We have a permanent sward of rye fescue in the mid rows and regularly use sheep in the off season to reduce spraying.

We use netting and scaring to control birds.

WINEMAKING The grapes are hand-picked in the morning and transported to the winery straight away. The fruit is then put in the cool room at the winery and allowed to chill for 24-48 hours. The chilled fruit is then gently whole bunch pressed directly to barrel with full solids. This is then allowed

to warm slowly and start fermenting naturally and slowly in 100% French oak of various sizes of new and older oak. It is bottled with minimal sulfur after 10 months in oak. It is often not released for 12-18 months. This wine has been refined over its short life to become more in line with the vintage and what it offers. As the vintage evolves, the Mappinga Chardonnay is becoming more fluid to reflect the vintage and, in a way, to offer its best qualities.

Trials of new clones and crop levels and more focus on vineyard selection will see the wine evolve.

an issue for anyone who has tasted the wine but can price it out of some tenders due to being one of the highest priced Chardonnays from the Adelaide Hills.

MARKETING The Mappinga Chardonnay is one of four Chardonnays made by the winemaking team at Sidewood. Essentially our flagship Chardonnay for commercial release, the wine is sourced primarily from Burgundian clone Chardonnay vines from our Mappinga Road estate near Oakbank, from where its name is derived. The label is a painting consigned by iconic South Australian artist Thomas Gleghorn. The Sidewood Mappinga Chardonnay is marketed to our private mailing list customers, cellar door visitors and a selection of independent retailers and on-premise venues across Australia.

Roughly 20% of the wine is sold in overseas markets, including the US, UK and Canada, as well as China, South East Asia and the Pacific Islands.

The primary issue with marketing a wine of this quality can be price point in overseas markets. We have a zero compromise philosophy towards our winemaking and viticultural practices and the resulting wines need to command these ultrapremium price points. This has never been

Cooks Lot winemaker Duncan Cook.

DUNCAN COOK AND CHRIS DERREZ COOKS LOT ORANGE, NEW SOUTH WALES Wine: Cooks Lot 2015 Chardonnay (RRP$22.00/bottle)

VITICULTURE 2015 was an excellent vintage for Chardonnay in Orange. Even ripening conditions, cool nights and fair weather produced very good fruit. The grapes where sourced from a well-established vineyard in the Orange GI, which faces north and has a mean January temperature of 19.2°C. The vines are trained to a VSP and the fruit was handpicked early in the morning in March and transferred straight to the winery.

WINEMAKING The Chardonnay was destemmed then pressed and fermented to dryness with some untoasted oak in stainless steel tanks. A small portion was barrel fermented and blended to the tankfermented wine to add complexity. The wine was barrel stirred on lees for six months in 500L French puncheons and underwent partial malolactic fermentation. It was racked and aged for a further three months in French puncheons.

MARKETING Cooks Lot Chardonnay is distributed Australia wide but predominantly throughout New South Wales to a mix of restaurants, bars and retailers.

Looking across the Sidewood vineyard near Oakbank in South Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Adelaide Hills.

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How Australia’s biggest white grape is being handled by the smaller end of town

By Sonya Logan

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ustralia’s smallest wine producers were the target of the Wine & Viticulture Journal’s latest tasting.

Open to Chardonnay makers processing less than 500 tonnes of grapes a year for their own label or brand, the tasting comprised 20 wines spanning the 2016 and 2012 vintages.

Making up the tasting panel were Sidewood winemaker Darryl Catlin, Chapel Hill winemaker Bryn Richards and Associate Professor of Oenology and Sensory Studies at The University of Adelaide and wine show judge Sue Bastian.

While none of the wines were worthy of gold-medal points in the eyes of the panel judges, they were pleased none of the entries were over-oaked and deemed most quite drinkable.

Bryn Richards said although the wines were overall good, he expected to see a few more “highlights”.

“I love Chardonnay. It’s my favourite white variety. It’s my desert island wine.

A lot of the wines lacked balance. Most of the wines had interesting features and I wanted to like them but they just didn’t

The panellists for our small producer Chardonnay tasting were (from left) Darryl Catlin, winemaker for Sidewood Estate in the Adelaide Hills; Sue Bastian, Associate Professor of Oenology and Sensory Studies at The University of Adelaide; and Bryn Richards, winemaker for Chapel Hill in McLaren Vale.

have balance in the mouth,” Richards said. “And, too often I saw an edgy green acidity. But most of them were drinkable and there were a couple of really good wines in there."

Darryl Catlin proposed that having wound-back the oak influence in their Chardonnays, there was now need for producers to concentrate on bringing balance back to the varietal.

Sue Bastian said the wines in the tasting generally showed good oak integration, reflecting the movement towards that style in recent years.

“There were a couple of standout wines that showed complexity, length and creamy textural notes as well as lovely handled oak. There were a few in there that were simpler in style as well.

Some lacked fresh and tight acid. But, the good handling of oak was definitely notable across the board,” she said.

The panel agreed the top three wines of the tasting were the 2016 PachaMama Chardonnay, the 2015 Sidewood Estate Mappinga Chardonnay, and the 2015 Cook’s Lot Chardonnay.

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WINE UNPLUGGED 2016 PACHAMAMA CHARDONNAY Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$28.00/bottle Best of tasting: Pale straw in colour with a yellow rim. Nose a bit shy and restrained with hints of white stonefruit, citrus, and melon; some malolactic fermentation characters evident.

Palate is quite textural, long, and slightly creamy with fresh, zesty acidity, toasty oak and a slight butter note.

“Clean and balanced,” noted one taster. “No one flavour completed dominated the wine which was appealing.”

“It had things in good measure,” said another.

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COOKS LOT 2015 CHARDONNAY Orange, New South Wales 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$22.00/bottle Best of tasting: Pale straw in colour with flecks of yellow and green. Lovely, subtle, interesting nose of white peach, stonefruit, citrus, melon, white florals, spice, struck match and slight grassy and smoky notes. Soft and creamy palate has good weight, texture, and length with fresh, well-balanced acid; melon and tropical characters. Acid just a little hard on the back palate.

SIDEWOOD ESTATE 2015 MAPPINGA CHARDONNAY Adelaide Hills, South Australia 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$35.00/bottle Best of tasting: Pale straw in colour with green flashes.

Reasonably complex, attractive, seductive nose of citrus, Meyer lemon, lemon butter, green pineapple, spice, toast, tobacco, and subtle waffle cone and sulfide; use of classy oak evident. Rich fruits on the strong, balanced palate which shows good integration of oak and hints of cream; bitter lemon and more Meyer lemon here. Good length. “Nice fresh style with good fruit weight and complexity,” said one taster.

FINNISS RIVER WINES 2016 CHARDONNAY Currency Creek, South Australia 12.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$22.00/bottle Pale lemon yellow in colour with a gold tint. Medium intensity, varietal nose of lemon, apple, white peach, and a hint of florals.

Soft, creamy palate which has good texture and weight but is a bit closed. Acid slightly aggressive with a green edge.

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SANTOLIN WINES 2016 WILLOWLAKE VINEYARD CHARDONNAY Yarra Valley, Victoria 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$38.00/bottle Pale lemon yellow in colour with a gold rim.

Some winemaking artefact evident on the nose which has medium complexity and features grilled nuts, nougat, yellow stonefruit and some wood and funk. Citrus and tropical characters on the creamy palate but the oak is a little too dominant. Nice yeast and brioche complexity.

Zesty, pithy acidity.

RIDGEMILL ESTATE 2016 WYP CHARDONNAY Granite Belt, Queensland 13.0%v/v - screwcap RRP$35.00/bottle Pale yellow gold in colour. Ripe to overripe fruit on the nose, particularly melon and pawpaw, as well as some blackcurrant and tropical notes and hints of bacon fat and vegemite yeast; a savoury edge also apparent. Palate has characters of grilled grapefruit, icecream cone, and a touch of vanilla. A floral element also lingers on the palate. Bitter finish and overt phenolics. “Some nice barrel complexity in this wine but it doesn’t quite all come together,” noted one taster.

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TWO RIVERS WINES 2016 RESERVE CHARDONNAY Hunter Valley, New South Wales 12.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$26.00/bottle Pale yellow straw in colour with a yellow rim. Initial hit of sulfur dioxide on the nose before characters emerge of white blossom, white stonefruit, yellow peach, tropical fruits, particularly pineapple and lychee, mint, dusty oak and slight bitter lemon. Upfront lemon sherbet on the palate with some slight citrus notes; slight hole in the middle palate. A somewhat delicate, fresh, commercial style with juicy acid.

SIDEWOOD ESTATE 2016 CHARDONNAY Adelaide Hills, South Australia 12.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$22.00/bottle Pale straw with a slight green/gold tint. Some sulfide on the nose before giving way to aromas of lemon myrtle, Granny Smith apples, honeydew, hints of citrus and butterscotch, and subtle oak. Textured palate is on the citrus spectrum with some vegetal and grassy notes also apparent.

Finishes a bit short and bitter. “Not an overly complex wine but shows some promise,” noted one taster. “A bit reductive and neutral,” said another.

CHURCHVIEW ESTATE 2016 THE BARTONDALE CHARDONNAY

WINE UNPLUGGED 2016 IN DREAMS CHARDONNAY

Margaret River, Western Australia 12.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$55.00/bottle

Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$29.50/bottle

Pale to mid yellow gold with almost fluorescent highlights.

Attractive, seductive, and complex nose showing evidence of oak and winemaking influence: characters of oatmeal, nougat, ripe peach, grilled stonefruit and spice with some nuttiness and smokiness. Palate was somewhat divisive among the panellists.

One thought it had a good balance of oak and fruit with good length and texture, but thought the acid was a touch “angular” and “edgy”.

Another described the palate as “lovely, rich and creamy” with “intense fruit” and a “good balance of acid, flavour and oak”. Another said that although the palate had “multiple punches” they were “disjointed” and the acid was “a bit sour” with “drying tannins on the back palate”.

Pale yellow straw in colour. Nose somewhat closed, neutral and simple; hints of green melon, apple, lemon cordial and sherbet. Possible residual sugar on the palate which is also somewhat neutral and fruit forward with some creaminess.

Nice texture.

Phenolics a bit bitter.

A soft, simple style.

DOG RIDGE 2016 BUTTERFINGERS CHARDONNAY 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$25.00/bottle Pale yellow gold in colour with gold tints. Stonefruit, butterscotch, cheese rind, confectionery, and vanilla air freshener on the nose. Palate is quite chewy, hard and warming with bitter phenolics; malolactic fermentation evident.

Butterscotch character continues. “Creamy and textural,” noted one taster, “but a bit flabby and lacks freshness.”

NICK HASELGROVE WINES 2016 CLARENCE HILL CHARDONNAY McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$15.00/bottle Pale yellow gold in colour. Delicate nose with a clean fruit drive featuring citrus fruits, white florals, bacon fat, talc and some spice. More citrus fruit on the palate along with white nectarine.

Palate has a strong acid back bone, but the acid is a little too evident. Overall, a bit lean, green and and lacks complexity.

CONTE ESTATE 2016 PRIMROSE LANE CHARDONNAY McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.0%v/v – screwcap

RRP$25.00/bottle Bright, mid yellow gold in colour with a gold rim. One taster thought the colour was a little advanced for its age. Nose has medium to high complexity, featuring florals, cashew nuts, tobacco, lanolin, matchstick, seaweed and sulfide along with some funk.

Palate is somewhat forward, showing fresh limes, green herbs, iodine and slightly aggressive acidity.

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COOKS LOT 2015 HANDPICKED CHARDONNAY Orange, New South Wales 13.5%v/v – screwcap RRP$35.00/bottle Pale straw in appearance with yellow/gold tints.

Very fresh, creamy, pleasant nose of lemon curd, lemon balm, and spicy integrated oak. Rich, creamy palate with good strong fruit weight with a slight hole in the middle; notes of citrus, melon, tropical fruits, spice and nuts. Slightly green acid line. Good length.

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NICK HASELGROVE WINES 2015 BLACKBILLY CHARDONNAY McLaren Vale, South Australia 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$24.00/bottle Yellow gold in colour with a slight brown tint. A subdued and possibly scalped nose, which has subtle white peach, confectionery and cheese characters.

Clove and apple notes on the palate which is textured but drying and slightly oxidised with possible aldehyde influence. Lacks freshness and length.

RIDGEMILL ESTATE 2014 WYP CHARDONNAY Granite Belt, Queensland 12.8%v/v – screwcap RRP$40.00/bottle Pale mid-yellow gold in colour with green flecks. Creamy, slightly reductive nose featuring ripe fruit bowl characters, including pineapple, melon, peach, citrus, and honeydew, as well as notes of pot pourri, cheese, vanilla air freshener and subtle oak. Fruit characters starting to fade on the palate, which has a good acid balance and some creaminess.

Nice citrus and lemon rind characters on the front palate but lacks complexity in midpalate.

JB WINES 2014 CHURCH ROAD CHARDONNAY

ONE BLOCK 2014 KERSBROOK THE QUARRY HILL 2013 CHARDONNAY CHARDONNAY

Barossa Valley, South Australia 13.6%v/v – screwcap RRP$20.00/bottle

Yarra Valley, Victoria 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$33.00/bottle

Pale to mid yellow gold in colour with a slight golden rim. Aromas of honeycomb, bees wax, nougat, nuts, and exotic spices, along with some sulfide; slightly oxidised but use of very good oak evident. Palate is rich, creamy and spicy and has good texture and mouthfeel; ripe peach, caramel and yeast notes apparent.

Good length. “A lovely wine but a year ago probably would have been an even better wine, but it’s still well balanced,” noted one taster.

Mid yellow gold in colour with flashes of green. Nose is reductive but opens with air to reveal notes of lemon blossom, green herbs and Lemsip; slight VA. Creamy palate with lovely texture, weight and balance but lacks fruit; characters of lemongrass and green herbs evident. Acid a little green and sappy.

“Just over or just at its peak,” described one taster.

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Adelaide Hills, South Australia 13.0%v/v – screwap RRP$30.00/bottle Pale to mid yellow gold in colour. Palate displays characters of raisins, musk, hair oil, wet dog and oak; some sulfide also apparent.

Palate is astringent, drying, lacks fruit and is somewhat unbalanced; a mousey character also evident.

RIDGEMILL ESTATE 2012 WYP CHARDONNAY Granite Belt, Queensland 13.0%v/v – screwcap RRP$50.00/bottle Yellow gold in colour with a slightly golden rim and green flashes.

Lovely seductive nose of kaffir lime, citrus and tropical fruits, nuts, coconut and some spice; shows good use of oak. Rich, creamy and toasty palate dominated by secondary characters; mostly oak on the back palate while balance is missing from the front palate.

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Mount Benson grapegrower ready to move on, fight scale

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or many grapegrowers, there are some years in the game you just want to put behind you and move on, and 2016-17 was one of those for South Australian winegrape grower Andy Murdock.

Born and bred in the Mount Benson wine region in South Australia’s south east, Andy grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris over 60 hectares, as well as faba beans and hay crops over a similar area. The winegrapes are contracted to Treasury Wine Estates and Dorrien Estate in the Barossa Valley.

North-west wind gales coming off the ocean can be a factor in spring and last year they conspired with soaring scale infestations, enhanced by the unseasonal cool and wet conditions, to significantly restrict production.

“The winds were so strong that some of the inflorescences just got twisted off,’’ Andy said.

Sales representative with EE Muir and Sons at Penola, Ivan Bignell, said the winds and scale “hammered’’ a lot of the vines.

“On top of some hills they got smashed – there was nothing there. On some vines there were only a few grapes on a bunch.’’

Andy said scale had been around for a few years, however hot and dry springs previously had kept them in check. He said the wet conditions last season were the trigger for an infestation explosion. Frost fans also appeared to fan the scale population in those areas.

Via Ivan, Andy turned to applying the two-way systemic insecticide Movento, and while it was too late for application to the Chardonnay vines, he managed to carry out two treatments within the application window on the Shiraz vines.

Movento, from Bayer, has only been available for use in winegrapes in recent seasons for control of mealybug and suppression of scale and thrips. It can be better at controlling sucking pests hiding on covered inner leaves than other insecticides, as well as populations that may have developed resistance to existing registered products.

After leaf uptake, most systemic insecticides are mainly translocated in plants’ xylem along with water and nutrients and are transported upwards. Movento is translocated in plants’ phloem as well as xylem, resulting in transportation upwards and downwards to plant parts not contacted by the insecticide.

Ivan Bignell, sales representative with EE Muir and Sons at Penola, South Australia, with winegrape grower Andy Murdock, of Mount Benson, and Bayer commercial sales representative Darren Alexander inspecting damage from scale in Andy’s Shiraz vines.

It is also highly compatible with other products and with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) production systems, being ‘soft’ on most beneficial species when used as directed, including parasitoids, syrphid flies, lacewings, predatory midges, ladybird beetles, predatory bugs and earwigs.

Andy applied Megafol and some nitrogen via drip irrigation in an effort to boost the Chardonnay vines, but unfortunately production was still limited to about four tonnes per hectare.

They normally yield 10t/ha and in 2015-16 produced 17t/ha.

Where the Movento was applied in the Shiraz vines, they yielded 7-8 t/ha, which was closer to their average production.

The winds were also less severe in this area.

Andy said for next season he would likely apply lime sulfur and oil a couple of weeks prior to budburst and then would look to use Movento again during the application window to help continue to reduce the scale population.

“It is just suppression with Movento, but suppression is better WVJ than nothing,’’ he said.

Choose an innovative and effective product to protect your grapes against botrytis

D

epending on the grape variety and seasonal conditions, botrytis can cause a yield loss of more than 50%. Given that the over use of current treatments of established infections can cause resistant strains of the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea to develop, a new and innovative way to protect grapevines is timely and much needed.

Nufarm’s new biological fungicide for botrytis control, Botector, is different from other products as its innovative mode of action utilises two

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strains of Aureobasidium pullulans to act competitively and keep botrytis infections from forming in the first instance.

Micro-scratches on the fruit surface represent natural entrances for the botrytis pathogen. These scratches are colonised by Aureobasidium pullulans immediately after application of Botector and, given its high proliferation rate, there is no opportunity for the botrytis pathogen to form. The micro-scratch ends up completely colonised, with Botector acting as a natural shield that W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L SEPTEMBER/O C TO BER 2017

protects fruit from infection.

Botector is a biological, organic product that causes no phytotoxic reaction and has no negative influence on ripening. No pre-harvest interval is required when used as directed, and there is no negative impact on wine fermentation or wine quality. It is highly reliable and efficacious in field, and an important tool in anti-resistance management strategies.

Botector is packed as water dispersible granules (WG) in 1.2kg packages.

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A whole bunch of ideas on how to save up to 40% on energy costs

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lements has been actively involved in the wine industry for 30 years, beginning at its home in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. The company admits it doesn’t know a lot about what makes a good wine, but it knows everything about the importance of refrigeration in the process.

Several years ago Clements saw a need for specialised equipment and developed a range of brine chillers under the brand ‘Brichil.’ Its chillers have been supplied to most winegrowing regions in Australia and overseas. As the wine industry has developed, the need for engineered, project-specific fluid chillers has increased and the focus has shifted to a more price competitive unit with a quick turnaround. Clements chose the Lennox range by Heatcraft.

By partnering with Heatcraft, Clements has been able to help many wineries facing a ‘disaster vintage’ due to total refrigeration failure, turning things around by supplying a replacement chiller with minimal down time.

Some of the company’s energy efficient products and services include: • energy audits • plant re-engineering for economy, or major upgrades

Clements has partnered with Heatcraft to provide wineries with a price-competitive chiller with a quick turnaround.

• winery brine refrigeration • specialised process cooling applications • purpose-built Brichil chillers.

“Our clients have found up to 40% savings in energy costs by using our services,” a spokesperson for the company said.

Call Clements for an obligation-free chat about its many energy efficient products and services on (02) 4932 3833.

WVJ

Barossa Valley Estate gains easier repeatability for super-premium wine

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arossa Valley Estate, as part of its continual improvement program, has selected Climate Wizard Supercool for its barrel hall to gain easier control of temperature and humidity during the maturation process.

The decision-making behind BVE’s installation of Climate Wizard began with the recognition that a mechanical cooling system was required to make the process of storage easier and more repeatable.

The Barossa Valley Estate team’s comprehensive research, evaluation and assessment process saw Climate Wizard emerge as the company’s ideal solution. Its technology creates controlled, consistent and easily repeatable maturation profiles for premium winemaking outcomes - a tangible, competitive edge for winemakers in a very competitive industry.

In addition, Barossa Valley Estate recognised the potential for Climate Wizard’s effective cooling control to also lower wine loss to evaporation, or ’Angel’s share’, throughout the barrel maturation process.

Introducing cooled, fresh air throughout the wine barrel hall also reduces stale air pockets, or ‘stratification’, from occurring.

By maintaining constant temperature and humidity levels, typical stresses on barreled wine caused by topping up and frequent opening of hall doors for people and equipment, are all reduced.

Climate Wizard’s significantly lower energy usage was a factor in Barossa Valley Estate’s final decision. This benefit was seen from a real-world analysis of two Climate Wizard Supercool air-conditioners in other barrel cooling environments which showed they used only 15% of the energy of refrigerated systems.

V3 2N 5

Climate Wizard Supercool installed on the barrel hall at Barossa Valley Estate.

Seeley International founder and executive chairman Frank Seeley said, “This locally-developed and manufactured technology can operate independently or integrated with existing, conventional building management systems.

“The Australian wine industry has a global reputation for producing award-winning wines, and Seeley International is delighted that our own market-leading Climate Wizard is now very much part of that success story,” Seeley said.

For further information about Climate Wizard visit www.climatewizard.com/bve

W I N E & V I T I C ULTUR E JO UR NA L SEPTEMBER/O C TO BER 2017

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www.winetitles. com . au

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PRODUCTS N E &WSERVICES S

SST opens new manufacturing facility and innovation centre

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ith more than 70 innovative products that help control weeds, insects and fungal pests, and promote the growth of crops, vineyards and turf, SST is a key solutions provider for the agricultural and horticulture, viticulture and turf industries.

The Australian agricultural and manufacturing sector is a key market for SST, and as such the company has just commissioned a new purpose-built manufacturing facility in Dandenong South, Victoria.

In addition, the firm has opened a dedicated innovation centre at the Green Chemical Futures Building at Monash University. This partnership will provide the company with access to best-in-class research resources to perform research and development, ensuring the SST legacy of quality and innovation continues.

SST Viti-Wet Spreader Sticker is a low foaming, non-ionic surfactant suitable for use with fungicides, insecticides and herbicides. Viti-Wet

SSTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new purpose-built manufacturing facility in Dandenong South, Victoria. contains 100%w/v active ingredients and reduces the surface tension of spray droplets, causing them to spread and adhere to the target in a continuous film. This assists penetration and uptake of the spray onto waxy or hairy plant surfaces, fungous lesions,

disease infection sites and insects. VitiWet mixes easily with all types of water and will not injure tender foliage if used as directed.

For further information visit www.sstaustralia.com

WVJ

Handling nets with care

T

atura Engineering began manufacturing bird netting machines in Australia in 1997.

The current Osprey, Eagle and Falcon versions have been in production since 2006 and are well accepted by both fruit and grapegrowers who need to apply bird throw-over netting to protect their crops.

The Osprey design offers flexibility, while the budget Falcon can be upgraded to the Eagle if required due to the base frame and hydraulically-powered reels being common to both.

The Falcon has a high deploy loop which allows the net to fall down at an angle and spread out over two or four rows, making it ideal and affordable for small vineyards.

The Eagle has extra hydraulically-powered rotating arms and net-spreading support bows that keep nets clear of tractor exhausts or front masts.

A variety of net-spreading bows are available to suit two, four and six rows or total roof cover, dropping and picking nets from above the vine line.

Uneven numbered rows - one, three and five row cover - can be done with the optional slew linkage frame.

The well-proven Tatura Engineering method of gentle net gathering allows for cane removal when recovering nets.

Traditional methods of bunch rolling lock debris into nets which, when spread out the following season, can cause damage to nets.

The guide rigging used on the machines to recover nets change direction and reverse the net to bring any debris to the outside.

An optional person carrier with foot-controlled reel stop and start pedal makes the task of cleaning fast, easy and safe.

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

The Osprey bird netting machine (pictured) offers flexibility, while the budget Falcon model can be upgraded to the Eagle if required due to the base frame and hydraulically-powered reels being common to both.

When rolling up, sensitive, adjustable hydraulic control allows stalling of the reel if nets become snagged.

All versions have as standard a loading/unloading winch arm to eliminate manual lifting of rolls.

Rolls of net are easy to carry and store. A standard roll has a capacity of 6000 square metres and is equivalent to 20 metre by 300 metre roll. Option are available for bigger, heavier nets.

All these features help protect growersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; investment in nets.

For further information visit www.tateng.com or phone +61 3 5824 1998.

W I N E & V I T I C ULT UR E JO UR NA L SEPTEMBER/O C TO BER 2017

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V32N5

Realise protection from Powdery mildew.

DuPont™ Talendo® fungicide provides greater flexibility and offers you a wide range of benefits.

• Talendo® delivers long lasting protection from the damage caused by Powdery mildew • It protects against disease by preventing new infection and reducing existing spore load • Talendo® fungicide feature translaminar, vapour and local systemic activity, which means the leaves on your crop will have excellent fungicide protection • Comes in an easy to use liquid formulation making mixing and handling simple

For more information on successful fungicide programs, visit www.cropprotection.dupont.com.au

ALWAYS REFER TO LABEL BEFORE USE Copyright © 2016 E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates. All rights reserved. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™ and Talendo® are trademarks or registered trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates. Du Pont (Australia) Pty Ltd. 7 Eden Park Drive, Macquarie Park NSW 2113. ACN 000 716 469.

Melbourne

Adelaide

WA

NSW

New Zealand

EXCITING

NEW TECHNOLOGY

FROM

SMART LEES SMART LEES is a tangential cross flow unit utilising spinning ceramic discs for the filtration of Lees from Juice and wine.

It is suitable for the filtration of products with a high suspended solids including those with Bentonite. The action of the filter ensures a high quality permeate and allows for a recovery of up to 97%.

MMR PLUS – DEGASSING The Juclas MMR Plus enables the control of gases including the reduction and impregnation treatment of gases in wine… the reduction of oxygen and carbon dioxide in young wines, deoxygenation of wines prior to bottling or addition of carbon dioxide to refresh whites or roses when bottling. The MMR Plus can also be used for dealcoholisation.

For further details, contact us on: New South Wales Melbourne Adelaide Western Australia New Zealand

2/40 Bradmill Ave Rutherford 59 Banbury Rd, Reservoir 12 Hamilton Tce, Newton 5/1 Ostler Dve, Vasse 3M Henry Rose Place, Albany, Auckland

Ph. 02 4932 4511 Ph. 1300 882 850 Ph. 08 8365 0044 Ph. 08 9755 4433 Ph. 0800 699 599

E. sales@winequip.com.au www.winequip.com.au www.winequip.co.nz