Australian wine scientists are shedding scientific light on the processes underlying traditional practices of Australian Aboriginal people to produce fermented beverages. The scientists from the University of Adelaide and the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) have discovered the complex microbial communities associated with the natural fermentation of sap from the iconic Tasmanian cider gum, Eucalyptus gunnii.
The Australian Wine Research Institute Blog
eNews – September 2020
9 September 2020 >Vote now in the AWRI Board election!
Gingin Chardonnay mystery solved
New Business Development Manager
Sustainable Winegrowing Australia update
Flotation: from mining to water to the wine industry
Order the latest AWRI staff publications online
Vote now in the AWRI Board election! |
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Voting is closing soon in the AWRI Board elections, with the poll closing at 5:00 pm CST on Friday, 11 September. In this year’s election, candidates are standing in the small, medium and large levy payer categories, which means all wine grapes levy payers are eligible to vote for their preferred candidate. The voting process in online and easy to complete. Voting instructions, candidate profiles and further information are available from the AWRI website or by contacting Shiralee Dodd, the Returning Officer, at returningofficer@awri.com.au. Voting in the AWRI Board election is an excellent opportunity to contribute to the Australian grape and wine research and development agenda and ensure the AWRI is in safe hands. |
Gingin Chardonnay mystery solvedThe AWRI recently published a paper that puts to rest the mystery of the Gingin Chardonnay clone. For many years, the origin of this popular Western Australian Chardonnay clone has been hotly debated. Gingin was believed by some to be derived from the same source material as a clone known as Old Foundation Block (OF) Chardonnay, but was also commonly thought of as being the same as another clone with similar traits called Mendoza. Results from the new genomics research have revealed that all three clones have a shared heritage, in an old Californian source block at UC Davis. They are, however, quite distinct from each other. In particular, Gingin and Mendoza are as different from each other as they are from any of the other clonal selections of Chardonnay, despite their shared origins. This work has not only solved a decades-old mystery – it represents a significant leap forward for grapevine genomics and demonstrates that a great deal more is possible beyond simply confirming grape variety. The panel of clonal markers identified for Chardonnay will be useful for verification of planting material by nurseries and vineyard owners and for targeted importation of clones not currently available in Australia. The work also forms a foundation for identifying clonal markers in other grape varieties and potentially other crops. The full paper detailing these results is accessible from the AWRI library: Roach, M.J., Borneman, A.R., Schmidt, S.A. 2020. Origin of Chardonnay clones with historical significance in Australia and California. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. doi: 10.1111/ajgw.12448. |
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New Business Development Manager |
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Last month the AWRI welcomed Dr Tony Robinson into the role of Business Development Manager. Tony is well known to many in our industry from his longstanding involvement with the ASVO (including as ASVO President) and with the AWITC. Tony brings to the AWRI a wealth of commercial experience across viticulture, winemaking and wine business operations. Prior to accepting this role, he was working as Chief Operating Officer for Y-Group in WA, and before that he held the role of Grape and Wine Innovation Specialist at Treasury Wine Estates. Tony holds a PhD in Oenology from Murdoch University and a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in Horticulture and Viticulture from the Universities of Western Australia and Adelaide. More information about Tony can be found in this media release. |
Sustainable Winegrowing Australia – update on trust mark and research projects |
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The Australian grape and wine industry’s sustainability program, Sustainable Winegrowing Australia is growing strongly, with more than 100 new members having joined the program since 1 July 2020. Queries about the program are also increasing, including from other sectors interested in learning from the grape and wine industry’s experience and expertise.
The AWRI recently partnered with NAB and the Queensland University of Technology on a Food Agility Cooperative Research Centre project investigating ways of linking sustainability metrics to financial performance. An article from NAB about the economic importance of natural assets, which includes some findings from that project, is available online here. Members who have not yet submitted their membership data and workbook for 2019-20 are asked to log in to the Sustainable Winegrowing Australia website and complete their data entry as soon as possible. Data from all members is required to enable the review of the regional and national datasets and preparation of benchmarking reports. Support for members is available from the AWRI helpdesk on 08 8313 6600 or helpdesk@awri.com.au. |
Flotation: from mining to water to the wine industryFlotation is a technique that has resulted in important efficiency improvements, not just in wineries, but also in minerals processing and wastewater treatment. Flotation was used in minerals processing first, but wine industry flotation techniques have much more in common with techniques used for wastewater clarification, and it is from that sector where flotation crossed to the wine sector and took hold. Water and wine industry flotation are primarily about clarification, with the valuable product being the clarified juice or water underneath the floating solids, while in the mining sector, the valuable minerals are often collected in the floats. AWRI Senior Engineer Simon Nordestgaard recently published an article in Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower & Winemaker that includes information on the history and adoption of flotation, which can be viewed here. |
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Upcoming events and webinarsWith travel restrictions still in place across much of Australia, the AWRI events team is continuing to present a range of virtual events, including tastings. Chardonnay winemaking trial workshops have been successfully held via video conference in Stanthorpe and Mudgee in recent weeks and will continue across NSW/ACT in September. At the same time, seven new webinars have been scheduled, taking the program through until January 2021. Upcoming webinar topics include the impact of COVID-19 and other geopolitical factors on Australia’s wine exports, water addition to must and drivers of regional character in Pinot Noir. For all the details of upcoming events and webinars, visit the AWRI events calendar. |
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Order the latest AWRI staff publications onlineAccessing the latest AWRI publications is easy. Visit the AWRI Publications web page to:
The AWRI’s most recent publications are listed below. 2162 Day, M., Bindon, K., Capone, D., Kassara, S., Bilogrevic, E., Espinase Nandorfy, D., Watson, F., Francis, L., Krstic, M. Going green with whole bunches. Wine Vitic. J. 35(2): 29-30; 2020. 2163 Dry, P. Carignan. Wine Vitic. J. 35(2): p. 50; 2020. 2164 Godden, P. Ask the AWRI: Pre-fermentation skin contact. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (676): 52-53; 2020. 2165 Nordestgaard, S. Inspirations from the past and opportunities for the future. Part 1: Cross-flow filtration and flotation. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (676): 58-63; 2020. 2166 Visalakshan, R.M., González García, L.E., Benzigar, M.R., Ghazaryan, A., Simon, J., Mierczynska-Vasilev, A., Michl, T.D., Vinu, A., Mailänder, V., Morsbach, S., Landfester, K., Vasilev, K. The influence of nanoparticle shape on protein corona formation. Small 2000285; 2020. 2167 Longbottom, M. Ask the AWRI: Understanding the factors that influence grapevine yield. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (677): 34-35; 2020. 2168 Nordestgaard, S. Inspirations from the past and opportunities for the future. Part 2: In-tank fermentation monitoring and continuous processes. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (677): 50-56; 2020. 2169 Pereira-Caro, G., Gaillet, S., Mena, P., Bresciani, L., Bindon, K.A., Del Rio, D., Rouanet, J-M., Moreno-Rojas, J.M., Crozier, A. Bioavailability of red wine and grape seed proanthocyanidins in rats. Food Funct. 11: 3986-4001; 2020. 2170 Hixson, J., Bilogrevic, E., Capone, D., Nandorfy, D.E., Francis, L., Petrie, P., Solomon, M., Krstic, M. Enhancing tropical fruit flavour in Chardonnay and Shiraz through foliar nutrient sprays. Wine Vitic. J. 35(3): 30-33; 2020. 2171 Cuijvers, K., Van Den Heuvel, S., Varela, C., Rullo, M., Solomon, M., Schmidt, S., Borneman, A. Alterations in yeast species composition of uninoculated wine ferments by the addition of sulphur dioxide. Fermentation 6(2): 62; 2020. 2172 Cowey, G. Ask the AWRI: Amber wine. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (678): 49-50; 2020. 2173 Nordestgaard, S. Inspirations from the past and opportunities for the future. Part 3: Volume measurement, product movements and gas adjustment. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (678): 66-68, 70-71; 2020. 2174 Roach, M.J., Borneman, A.R., Schmidt, S.A. Origin of Chardonnay clones with historical significance in Australia and California. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. doi:10.1111/ajgw.12448: 1-5; 2020. 2175 Wu, Q., Habili, N., Constable, F., Al Rwahnih, M., Goszczynski, D.E., Wang, Y., Pagay, V. Virus pathogens in Australian vineyards with an emphasis on Shiraz disease. Viruses 12: 818; 2020. 2176 Coulter, A. Ask the AWRI: DMDC – an insurance policy. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (679): 52-53; 2020. 2177 Moate, P.J., Jacobs, J.L., Hixson, J.L., Deighton, M.H., Hannah, M.C., Morris, G.L., Ribaux, B.E., Wales, W.J., Williams, S.R.O. Effects of feeding either red or white grape marc on milk production and methane emissions from early-lactation dairy cows. Animals 10(6): 976; 2020. 2178 Szeto, C., Ristic, R., Capone, D., Puglisi, C., Pagay, V., Culbert, J., Jiang, W-W., Herderich, M., Tuke, J., Wilkinson, K. Uptake and glycosylation of smoke-derived volatile phenols by Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and their subsequent fate during winemaking. Molecules 25(16): 3720; 2020. 2179 Longo, R., Pearson, W., Merry, A., Solomon, M., Nicolotti, L., Westmore, H., Dambergs, R., Kerslake, F. Preliminary study of Australian Pinot noir wines by colour and volatile analyses, and the Pivot© Profile method using wine professionals. Foods 9(9): 1142; 2020. 2180 Dry, P. Arinto de Bucelas. Wine Vitic. J. 35(3): 59; 2020. 2181 Xing, F., Gao, D., Liu, H., Wang, H., Habili, N., Li, S. Molecular characterization and pathogenicity analysis of prunus necrotic ringspot virus iolates from China rose (Rosa chinensis Jacq.). Arch. Virol. doi:10.1007/s00705-020-04739-8: 2020. 2182 Varela, C., Bartel, C., Onetto, C., Borneman, A. Targeted gene deletion in Brettanomyces bruxellensis with an expression-free CRIPR-Cas9 system. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 104: 7105-7115: 2020. 2183 Teng, B., Petrie, P.R., Nandorfy, D.E., Smith, P., Bindon, K. Pre-fermentation water addition to high-sugar Shiraz must: effects on wine composition and sensory properties. Foods 9(9): 1193; 2020. |
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AcknowledgementsThe AWRI acknowledges support from Australia’s 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, South Australia. |
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AWRI Board election – voting clarification
31 August 2020 >
The AWRI has received queries from a number of potential voters in relation to the AWRI Board election process, some of which relate to the impacts of the recent bushfire events on many producers. For some, this year’s production may have been impacted by these extraordinary events to the extent that they will not be required to pay the Wine Grapes levy for the year ending 30 June 2020.
The AWRI Constitution provides that in order to cast a valid vote in a Board election a levy payer must declare they are a Wine Grapes Levy Payer which has submitted a return to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment in the most recent full financial year and the approximate amount of grapes crushed as declared on the levy return.
Given that the deadline for levy returns for 2019-20 is 30 September 2020, for many producers the most recent full financial year for which a levy return has been submitted is that ending 30 June 2019 (where the levy return was required to be submitted by 30 September 2019). This means that any producers who did not crush grapes in 2020 but did pay the levy for 2018-19 are still eligible to vote in this year’s election, citing the tonnage from the 2018-19 return.
Voting is now open and the ballot will close at 5:00 pm CST on Friday, 11 September 2020. Voting instructions and candidate profiles are available on the AWRI website.
For further information regarding the clarification of voting procedures, or any other queries relating to the election, please contact the Returning Officer, Shiralee Dodd at returningofficer@awri.com.au.
8 new AWRI webinars – registration is open now!
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Starting Thursday, 3 September, Dr Paul Petrie (SARDI) takes a look at a new water budgeting tool. Additional webinars will run through to January 2021 and cover the impact of COVID-19 on export markets, how and when to consider water additions to must, drivers of regionality in Pinot Noir, the origins of the Gingin Chardonnay clone, a climate outlook for the wine-grape growing industry, a review of methods for measuring Brix or Baume and new approaches for assessing and measuring Botrytis contamination.
Each webinar will include a presentation and an opportunity for audience members to ask questions. Sessions are held on Thursdays at 11:30 am in SA.
All webinars are free to attend but do require pre-registration.
The next eight webinars for the program are:
3 September 2020: Irrigation budgeting – Dr Paul Petrie (South Australian Research and Development Institute)
17 September 2020: Global impact of COVID-19 on the wine export market – Tony Battaglene (Australian Grape & Wine)
1 October 2020: Water addition to must: when to use it and how much? – Dr Keren Bindon (AWRI)
15 October 2020: Provenance of Pinot Noir – drivers of regionality – Dr Fiona Kerslake and Dr Rocco Longo (Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture)
12 November 2020: The origin of Chardonnay clones with historical significance in Australia and California – Dr Anthony Borneman (AWRI)
26 November 2020: Climate outlooks – Dr Naomi Benger (Bureau of Meteorology)
3 December 2020: Measuring Baume and Brix and understanding their relationship with final alcohol concentration – Dr Eric Wilkes (AWRI)
28 January 2021: Quantitative methods for Botrytis grey mould detection and estimation in grapes – Professor Chris Steel (National Wine and Grape Industry Centre)
See the full program here.
System requirements
You will need a computer or mobile device with an internet connection. Audio is connected over the internet using your computer or mobile device’s speakers (Voice over Internet Protocol – VOIP). Participants joining a webinar via a mobile device will need to download a free app available from iTunes or Google Play.
If you’ve missed a previous AWRI webinar, you can watch online via the AWRI’s YouTube channel.
For further information on AWRI webinars, please contact the AWRI information services team.
New Business Development Manager for the AWRI
14 August 2020 >AWRI Managing Director, Dr Mark Krstic, announced today that Dr Tony Robinson had accepted the role of Business Development Manager at the AWRI. Dr Robinson most recently held the role of Chief Operating Officer for the Y-Group Wine and Liquor Division in Western Australia and prior to that worked as Grape & Wine Innovation Specialist at Treasury Wine Estates.
DMDC – an insurance policy
13 August 2020 >Read the latest Ask the AWRI article.
Dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC) is a chemical antimicrobial additive that can be used in addition to sulfur dioxide when there is increased risk of microbiological growth in wine. Its main use has been as an insurance policy when bottling wines with residual sugar or as a control against Brettanomyces or other viable microorganisms when adequate levels of sulfur dioxide or filtration are not achievable. In this column, Adrian Coulter answers some of the questions that arise when winemakers consider using DMDC at bottling.
Amber wine
7 August 2020 >Read the latest Ask the AWRI article.
Since 2016, the AWRI has made a series of wines from single batches of grapes, changing one variable in each fermentation, with the resulting wines being presented to winemakers in workshops around Australia. In this column, Geoff Cowey explores key questions from winemakers on full skin contact in
white winemaking – that is, the production of amber wines – one of the treatments included in the 2019 Chardonnay trial.
Enhancing tropical fruit flavour in Chardonnay and Shiraz through foliar nutrient sprays
>Read the latest AWRI Report.
Research in France has shown that foliar vineyard sprays containing nitrogen and sulfur can increase the concentration of thiol compounds responsible for tropical fruit flavours in wine. A trial was conducted in a Barossa Valley vineyard to investigate this technique for Chardonnay and Shiraz under Australian growing conditions. Large chemical and sensory impacts were seen for both varieties.
Technical Review August 2020 issue available online
6 August 2020 >The August 2020 issue of Technical Review is now available online. Articles and abstracts can be viewed individually, or the full issue can be downloaded. The online format of Technical Review allows you to browse the list of the latest articles on grape and wine production by keyword, view article summaries and order journal articles from the AWRI Library.
For copyright reasons, access to abstracts is available only to Australian winemakers and grapegrowers who pay the Wine Grapes or Grape Research levies. The technical notes authored by the AWRI are, however, freely available. If you have forgotten your password for the AWRI website, please use the forgotten password link to reset your password.
Below is a snapshot of what's in this issue:
| AWRI Technical Notes | |
| AWRI publications |
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| Current literature – oenology |
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| Current literature – viticulture |
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AWRI Board nominations close 14 August 2020
>Nominations are open for three levy payer director positions on the Board of The Australian Wine Research Institute Ltd (AWRI).
The AWRI Board of Directors includes six persons who are nominated and/or elected by wine grapes levy payers for a term of three years. In accordance with the Constitution of the AWRI, three of these positions become vacant on 31 December 2020, one in each of the defined small, medium and large categories.
This is an excellent opportunity for an interested candidate to become involved in the Australian wine industry’s own R&D organisation and, in addition to their other duties and responsibilities, provide a ‘coalface’ perspective to the direction and priorities of the AWRI’s research, development, adoption and commercialisation activities.
Current levy payers are invited to nominate suitably qualified candidates for the vacant positions. Nominations must be made in writing on the official nomination form which is available from the AWRI Election of Directors page. Eligible levy payers may propose or second one nomination only.
Nominations are to be received by post to The Returning Officer, The Australian Wine Research Institute Ltd, PO Box 197, Glen Osmond SA 5064 or by email to returningofficer@awri.com.au NO LATER THAN 5 PM FRIDAY 14 AUGUST 2020. If more than one nomination is received in each category, an election in that category will be conducted during August/September 2020.
Nominees are encouraged to prepare a profile/statement, including a picture, of not more than 250 words in support of their nomination, for use in the event that an election is required. The profile/statement must also be received by the AWRI Returning Officer by the nomination deadline of 14 August 2020.
More information is available in the nomination form regarding:
the definition of small, medium and large levy payers
the method of calculation of votes in an election
the clauses of the AWRI Constitution dealing with the appointment of directors by levy payers and their term of office.
A form can also be requested by contacting Shiralee Dodd, the Returning Officer, by email at returningofficer@awri.com.au.