Industry News

NZW Fellows Two stalwarts of the Marlborough wine industry – Dr John Forrest and Dr Rengasamy Balasubramaniam (Bala) - have been made New Zealand Winegrowers Fellows, joining Alwyn Corban in the accolade. Bala, who won the Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2018 Marlborough Wine Show, says becoming a fellow came as a total surprise. “You don’t expect any of these things and when they do come it is a very humbling.” His a 34-year career in the science and business of wine includes the development of Smartfax in 1997 (now VineFacts) and the Botrytis (Bacchus Infection) Model, and his work at Delegat for the past 20 years. When Bala shed his lab coat to move to Delegat in 2000, some people joked he was heading to the “dark side”, while Jim Delegat told him he was “joining the real world”. He had loved the applied science work, always driven by the question of “what value can you add to the end user?” But he also enjoyed transferring that knowledge to the field, while helping growers “realise the potential of their land and to grow their prosperity”, says Bala. The highlight all along has been the people he has met, he adds. “Those relationships still continue… and that is an opportunity not many people have.”

John Forrest – winemaker, Forrest Estate founder, screw cap campaigner, lighter wines researcher, Appellation Marlborough Wine deputy chair and selftitled “feather ruffler” – won the Wine Marlborough Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 Marlborough Wine Show. Becoming a fellow as well is “pleasantly surprising”, given he has challenged plenty of people and projects over the past 32 years, says John. “I may ruffle feathers, but I try to do it for the genuine good of the advancement of the industry.” He feels “privileged” to have been part of 32 of New Zealand wine’s best years, including his 15 years on the Winegrowers Research Group, during which he helped create Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand and the Bragato Conference.

Alwyn Corban, whose family has made wine in New Zealand for more than a century, established Ngatarawa vineyard and winery in 1981.

John Forrest. Photo by Jim Tannock Budrubber A simple tool could make all the difference to workers bud rubbing in vineyards, says its Marlborough inventor Martin Thompson. “The Budrubber is an alternative way for de-budding vines. It saves the back breaking work of bending up and down using the traditional method to de-bud by hand,” he says. The New Zealand-made Budrubber, available from Farmlands, is aluminium with a wooden handle, and comes in two sizes to suit older larger vine trunks, as well as younger vines.

Great Ride - GrapeRide The Whitehaven GrapeRide has a new date, which organisers hope will enable more wine industry folk to get on their bikes. The event has traditionally been held during harvest, but the new February 27 date will allow cellar and vineyard staff to jump in for the road cycle race or the mountain bike options. The event will also have a kids’ ride, with a 5km loop for under 12-year-olds. Whitehaven co-founder Sue White says the kids’ ride will run through the company’s vineyards, as well as those of Treasury Wine Estates and Nautilus. “This is a community-wide event that we support whole-heartedly, particularly because it presents kids with a very accessible opportunity to be active in a fun way,” she says. “It’s great to be in a position to help provide opportunities for the community to be involved in their kids’ activities.” graperide.co.nz

Wine Marlborough Update VANCE KERSLAKE

The Environment Court process for the Marlborough Environment Plan (MEP) appeals has been delayed, as predicted in the last update. The pre-hearing conference that was scheduled to be held on August 28 has been vacated (cancelled). We will provide an update when the pre-hearing conference is rescheduled and we know more about the appeals process. Three workshops were held with wineries to identify specific actions to assist wineries to attract, recruit and train staff for Vintage 2021. Priority actions for Wine Marlborough, New Zealand Winegrowers, training providers and wineries were identified (see pg 10). The Marlborough Labour Governance Group is working on labour issues for the Summer growing season. RSE repatriation flights remain at very low levels. The next Marlborough Winegrowers meeting with the Marlborough District Council is on November 3, 2020. If you have any issues you want us to raise with council, please email Vance Kerslake, Wine Marlborough advocacy manager, at advocacy@ winemarlborough.nz

Winery face masks Spy Valley Wines are geared up for the risk of Covid-19, with additional health and safety measures adopted over the past six months, and new Spy-branded face masks on hand. “It’s about keeping our people safe,” says managing director Amanda Johnson.

AMW’s Evolution More than a third of Marlborough wine companies are now members of Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW), according to information released at last month’s annual general meeting. Membership of the organisation, which governs a quality mark to protect the “authenticity, integrity and sustainability” of Marlborough wine, is now at 52. AMW chair Ivan Sutherland says the brand is now trademarked in all major wine consuming countries, with “very favourable support” from wine writers and the trade, “with the general comment being ‘why has it taken so long?’” Ivan says brand identity and associated collateral will be the focus over the next year, raising awareness with the trade and consumers.

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Forty Sauvignon Blanc wines have already been certified for 2020 and other varieties are to be introduced to the certification, with input from the membership. WineWorks Marlborough and Chandler Glass & Packaging have continued their sponsorship of AMW. Grape Days 2020 Tune in online for an annual research update from the Bragato Research Institute. •Tues Sept 8(11.30am–12.30pm) - managing grapevine trunk disease with Dr Eline van Zijll de Jong of Linnaeus and Dr

Mark Sosnowski of SARDI. •Tues Sept 15 (3–4pm) - an update from the Bragato

Research Institute team on our science and extension strategies, the upcoming next generation Sauvignon blanc programme and the research winery. •Wed Sept 23 (10–11.30am) - maximising on vineyard diversity – a selection of research exploring the benefits of enhancing soil health and biodiversity in your vineyard. •Tues Sept 29 (3–4.30pm) pick and mix (research in brief).

Highlights from a range of current viticulture research. nzwine.com/en/events/grape-days-2020/

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