The Australian Wine Research Institute

The Australian Wine Research Institute Blog

Agrochemical update – Change to EU MRL for iprodione

20 June 2019 >

The European Union (EU) maximum residue limit (MRL) for the active constituent iprodione will revert from 20 mg/kg to the default 0.01 mg/kg from 31 July 2019 (COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2019/38). All wines entering the market in the EU after 31 July 2019, regardless of vintage and provenance, must not contain detectable residues of iprodione. It is recommended that all wines be analysed for residues of iprodione before shipment to the EU. Wines that are already in the EU or that arrive before 31 July 2019, are not required to meet the new MRL.

Iprodione is not recommended for use on grapes if the resultant wine is destined for the EU. Follow the recommendations in the ‘Dog book’ for export wine

For more information, please contact Marcel Essling on 08 8313 6600 or email helpdesk@awri.com.au.

Agrochemical update June 2019 – New ‘Dog book’ available

18 June 2019 >

The 2019/20 edition of Agrochemicals registered for use in Australian viticulture (the ‘Dog book‘) is now available. The updated ‘Dog book’ can be viewed via the online pdf or mobile app. A hard copy will be distributed to levy payers by mail and will also be included with the next issue of Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker.

This agrochemical update summarises the major changes compared with the previous version.

New active constituent

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) approved the use of the following active constituents or active constituent combinations in wine-grape production.

ABAMECTIN + CHLORANTRANILIPROLE

APVMA 81921

‘Voliam Targo’ is a Syngenta Australia Pty Ltd product.

‘Voliam Targo’ is registered for control of grapeleaf rust mite, grapevine moth, light brown apple moth, two spotted mite and suppression of garden weevil in grapevines. It is an activity group 6 + 28 insecticide. Follow the label directions.

Resistance management: DO NOT make more than two applications of Group 28 insecticides per season.

Recommended restriction on use (witholding period) for grapes destined for export wine: Use no later than E-L 29, berries pepper-corn size (not > 4 mm diameter).

GLYPHOSATE POTASSIUM SALT + MONOETHANOLAMINE (MEA) SALT

APVMA 86262

‘Glyphosate 550 Twin Salt’ is a Sabakem Pty Ltd product.

‘Glyphosate 550 Twin Salt’ is registered for control of weeds in grapevines and is an activity group M herbicide. Read the full label prior to use and follow the directions.

Recommended restriction on use (withholding period) for grapes destined for export wine: Contact your winery prior to the use of 'Glyphosate 550 Twin Salt'.

Active constituents removed

The following active constituent combination has been removed from the ‘Dog book’ because the product is no longer available.

GLYPHOSATE ISOPROPYLAMINE (IPA) SALT + CARFENTRAZONE ETHYL

APVMA 63810

‘Broadway’ herbicide is still registered for use with the APVMA but is no longer supplied. Growers with this product should consult their winery prior to use.
 

Changes to the product lists in the ‘Dog book’ tables.

To reduce the size of the tables and make them easier to read, a change has been made to the way products are displayed. Products with the same first name are consolidated, with varying features shown in brackets. For example, Mancozeb 750 DF, Mancozeb 750 WG and Mancozeb DF are now shown as Mancozeb (750 DF, 750 WG, DF).

For more information or to request a copy of the new ‘Dog book’, please contact Marcel Essling on 08 8313 6600 or email helpdesk@awri.com.au.

This information is provided to inform the Australian grape and wine sector and should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any product.

Saignée

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Read the latest Ask the AWRI article.

This article by Peter Godden continues a series examining treatments used in the AWRI’s winemaking treatment trials, which have been presented in tasting workshops across Australia since 2017.

Technical Review June 2019 issue available online

13 June 2019 >

The June 2019 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
  • Creating nano-engineered biomaterials with well-defined surface descriptors
  • Seventeen times with feeling
  • Latest advances in grape sorting technology
  • Ask the AWRI: leafroll viruses – what you need to know
  • Inactivating mutations in Irc7p are common in wine yeasts, attenuating carbon-sulfur beta-lyase activity and volatile sulfur compound production
  • Don’t miss the marc: phenolic‐free glycosides from white grape marc increase flavour of wine
  • Effect of passive oxygen exposure during pressing and handling on the chemical and sensory attributes of Chardonnay wine
  • Accumulation of volatile phenol glycoconjugates in grapes following grapevine exposure to smoke and potential mitigation of smoke taint by foliar application of kaolin
Current literature – oenology
  • Case studies: sanitation best practices for large wineries
  • Winemaker trial: where whole clusters are placed in fermenter determines organoleptic qualities
  • Managing wine quality using Torulaspora delbrueckii and Oenococcus oeni starters in mixed fermentations of a red Barbera wine
  • Understanding the effects of smoke taint on fruit and wine
  • Wine authentication: a fingerprinting multiclass strategy to classify red varietals through profound chemometric analysis of volatiles
  • White wine phenolics: what compounds are there and which ones cause problems?
  • Smoke taint in the bottle: how long will it last?
  • Neuromarketing meets the art of labelling. How papers and finishing on labels affect wine buying decisions
  • Does blind tasting work? Investigating the impact of training on blind tasting accuracy and wine preference
Current literature – viticulture
  • Di‐1‐p‐menthene reduces grape leaf and bunch transpiration
  • Vines and grapes put to the test with elevated temperature and CO2 exposure
  • Advancement of winegrape maturity continuing for winegrowing regions in Australia with variable evidence of compression of the harvest period
  • How is climate change affecting Australian vineyards and what are growers doing to respond?
  • On‐the‐go hyperspectral imaging for the in‐field estimation of grape berry soluble solids and anthocyanin concentration
  • What is the best time to remove leaves to minimise sunburn?
  • Delaying berry ripening of Bobal and Tempranillo grapevines by late leaf removal in a semi‐arid and temperate‐warm climate under different water regimes
  • The disease-resistant varieties
  • Turning water into wine: exploring water security perceptions and adaptation behaviour amongst conventional, organic and biodynamic grape growers
  • Irrigation strategies: maintain natural grapevine mechanisms through a drought

Vineyard and winery practices report

30 May 2019 >

The AWRI is pleased to release a major report of practices used in Australian grapegrowing and winemaking.

Based on an online survey conducted in 2016 and comprehensive follow-up visits and communications, the report provides detailed information on the viticulture and winemaking practices in-use in Australia’s grape and wine community.

On the vineyard side, the report covers practices across vineyard layout, pruning, pest and disease management, canopy management, irrigation, nutrition, vineyard floor management and harvesting. For wineries, it covers grape intake and handling, draining and pressing, juice processing, alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, maturation, fining, filtration and packaging.

The full survey report is available now for download from the AWRI website.

The information presented will allow grapegrowers and winemakers to compare their practices with national and regional results and also provides a valuable resource for grape and wine research, development and extension activities.

The report serves as a highly detailed ‘snapshot in time’ of practices in Australian viticulture and winemaking. It is intended that the survey will be repeated every five or six years, to allow the adoption of new techniques to be tracked. The next edition will likely be performed in 2022.

For more information, contact Simon Nordestgaard on helpdesk@awri.com.au or 08 8313 6600.

Post-harvest care of tired vines

14 May 2019 >

Read the latest Ask the AWRI article.

After vintage, the AWRI helpdesk often receives questions about caring for vineyards following the harvest period. Dr Mardi Longbottom outlines answers to some of those questions, particularly regarding water and nutrient demands of stressed vines.

Cleaning winery floors, tanks and hoses

1 May 2019 >

Read the latest Ask the AWRI article.

How clean does your winery have to be? Do you need to be able to eat off the floor? Will overly clean wineries prevent ‘winery terroir’, natural fermentations and only produce ‘sterile’ wines? The AWRI helpdesk is often asked about cleaning, sanitising and sterilising operations in the winery. This column, by Geoff Cowey, provides answers to some of the more common questions in this area.

Getting proactive about protein

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Read the latest AWRI Report

Heat tests and bentonite fining are common practices across the winemaking world. Recent research at the AWRI has identified a more convenient and reliable format for the heat test, which is being adopted across winery labs. Promising results are also being seen for a number of possible alternatives to bentonite for protein stabilisation.

Bright future for sustainability of Australian Wine

29 April 2019 >

Sustainability in Australian grapegrowing and wine production is going from strength to strength, with a single national sustainability program, Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, being announced.

Sustainable Winegrowing Australia provides a unified sustainability framework for all Australian grapegrowers and winemakers to demonstrate their sustainability credentials, benchmark performance and identify opportunities for improvements.

Following a global review of the sustainability landscape, the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), and McLaren Vale Grape, Wine & Tourism Association (MVGWTA), with support from Wine Australia and Australian Grape and Wine, worked together to develop this single Australian sustainability program, building on the strengths of the existing Entwine Australia and Sustainable Australia Winegrowing (SAW) programs.

A smooth transition to the program will be managed by the AWRI, with support from MVGWTA for SAW users. Members of Entwine and SAW will find the transition straightforward, as Sustainable Winegrowing Australia draws heavily on current metrics and resources in a recognisable format.

Sustainable Winegrowing Australia will formally commence on 1 July 2019. As such, 2018–19 represents the final year of operation of Entwine and SAW as standalone programs, with all users transitioning to Sustainable Winegrowing Australia on 1 July 2019.

Sustainable Winegrowing Australia will be managed day to day by the AWRI, overseen by a steering committee comprising representatives of Australian Grape & Wine, Wine Australia and the AWRI, and advised by an industry advisory group made up of program users, regional representatives and other key stakeholders.

The support of the South Australian Government through PIRSA of the SAW program and outcomes achieved to date is also gratefully acknowledged.

Frequently asked questions regarding the program changes can be accessed on the AWRI website here. For more information about Sustainable Winegrowing Australia please contact AWRI Senior Viticulturist Dr Mardi Longbottom on 08 8 313 6600 or mardi.longbottom@awri.com.au.

KEY DATES:

  • June 2019: transition of members from Entwine Australia and SAW to Sustainable Winegrowing Australia
  • 30 June: closure of Entwine Australia and SAW
  • 1 July: Sustainable Winegrowing Australia launches

Technical Review April 2019 issue available online

12 April 2019 >

The April 2019 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
  • Linking gene expression and oenological traits: comparison between Torulaspora delbrueckii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains
  • The accuracy and utility of a low cost thermal camera and smartphone-based system to assess grapevine water status
  • Competition experiments between Brettanomyces bruxellensis strains reveal specific adaptation to sulfur dioxide and complex interactions at intraspecies level
  • Ask the AWRI: will I live longer if I drink alcohol?
  • Understanding molecular SO2 calculators
  • Reducing vineyard energy use
  • Managing high Baume juice using dilution
  • Trials and tribulations of MLF: can timing of inoculations and MLF nutrients help?
Current literature – oenology
  • Floating lid tanks: understanding the gap in variable-capacity tanks
  • Low alcohol wines: blending with an early harvest or dealcoholisation of a later harvest?
  • A whole bunch of potential: the possible benefits of whole bunch fermentation
  • Role of Pediococcus in winemaking
  • Maximum residue limit of fungicides inhibits the viability and growth of desirable non‐Saccharomyces wine yeasts
  • Oak barrel tannin and toasting temperature: effects on red wine condensed tannin chemistry
  • Chardonnay ‘hazelnut’ aromas: current research review
  • How sulfur dioxide addition at crush can affect wine yeasts, bacteria and sensory attributes
  • Sulfur dioxide measurements in the winery: overestimating antimicrobial activity in red wine
Current literature – viticulture
  • Are berries suffocating to death under high temperature and water stress?
  • On‐the‐go hyperspectral imaging for the in‐field estimation of grape berry soluble solids and anthocyanin concentration
  • 2018 Vineyard survey report: labor is getting short, mechanization is increasing and there are a lot of sick vineyards out there that need replanting
  • Berry shrivel no friend of Cabernet Sauvignon wine quality
  • On rocky ground
  • The northern frontier of grapegrowing. Demark and Sweden: home to a burgeoning, cold-climate industry
  • Effect of cluster thinning Vitis vinifera cv. Pinot Noir on wine volatile and phenolic composition
  • Delaying berry ripening of Bobal and Tempranillo grapevines by late leaf removal in a semi‐arid and temperate‐warm climate under different water regimes
  • A timely reminder of best practice downy mildew management
  • Grüner the great! The Adelaide Hills area is considered to be the Grüner capital of the Southern hemisphere