The Australian Wine Research Institute

The Australian Wine Research Institute Blog

Technical Review April 2018 issue available online

24 April 2018 >

The April 2018 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
  • Ask the AWRI: wine instabilities – the solids won’t hurt you
  • Comparison of consecutive harvests versus blending treatments to produce lower alcohol wines from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes: impact on polysaccharide and tannin content and composition
  • Chemical and sensory profiling of Shiraz wines co-fermented with commercial non-Saccharomyces inocula
  • Gains in speed, labour and gas consumption for winemakers: membrane contractors for management of dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide
  • Predicting outcomes: learning about ferments from big data
  • Ask the AWRI: volatile acidity
Current literature – oenology
  • Solid solution: making a case for concrete and ceramic vessels in the winery
  • Fire recovery begins; demand for flash wine treatment strong
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae, non-Saccharomyces yeasts and lactic acid bacteria in sequential fermentations: effect of phenolics and sensory attributes of South African Syrah wines
  • Influence of sequential inoculation in the first fermentation on the foaming properties of sparkling wines
  • Microbial resources and innovation in the wine production sector
  • Chemical gradients in pilot-scale Cabernet Sauvignon fermentations and their effect on phenolic extraction
  • Oxygen and SO2 consumption rates in white and rosé wines: relationship with and effects on wine chemical composition
  • Organic wine purchase behaviour in Germany: exploring the attitude-behaviour-gap with data from a household panel
Current literature – viticulture
  • Dry matter accumulation and nitrogen and potassium partitioning in the roots and trunk of field-grown Thompson Seedless grapevines
  • Phenolic characteristics and antioxidant activity of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon wines increase with vineyard altitude in a high-altitude region
  • Does full exposure of clusters have any negative effects on Tempranillo (Vitis vinifera L.) grape quality in La Rioja, Spain? The use of severe cluster-zone leaf removal after berry set
  • Effect of different cutting heights of mechanically pruned grapevines cv. Merlot over three consecutive seasons
  • Double-pruning grapevines as a management tool to delay berry ripening and control yield
  • Crop level and harvest date impact composition of four Ontario winegrape cultivars. I. Yield, fruit, and wine composition
  • Shoot trimming effects on Pinot Noir
  • Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on Grapevine Downy and Powdery Mildew, July 17-19, 2017, Corvallis, Oregon, USA. Oregon State University
  • Managing grapevine trunk diseases with respect to etiology and epidemiology: current strategies and future prospects
  • What’s the right spray? The best spraying options for keeping fungal disease at bay
  • Water management of irrigated Cabernet Sauvignon grapevines in semi-arid areas

eNews – March 2018

19 March 2018 >

Vintage research in full swing

Cabernet winemaking trial underway

Colony picker boosts biosciences research

Latest knowledge on grape objective measures and malolactic fermentation

New method for routine sulfur dioxide analysis

Order the latest AWRI staff publications online

Acknowledgements

Vintage research in full swing
While grapes are being picked and crushed across Australia, the AWRI’s researchers are also enjoying their busiest time of the year. Vintage trials form a key part of AWRI research, as the opportunity to put theory into practice and set up the experiments that will be monitored and tasted during the rest of the year. Thanks are extended to the many industry contributors working alongside the AWRI to conduct these trials who generously provide access to experimental vineyard sites, grapes, wines and other facilities.

This year vintage trials are happening across a diverse range of areas. AWRI bioscience researchers are trialling the latest hybrid yeasts, yeast strains that produce high levels of ‘rose’ aroma compounds and new strains of malolactic bacteria. In the area of process improvement, trials are investigating effects of oxygen in red ferments and the impact of juice pasteurisation. Other researchers are assessing the effects of vineyard nutrient sprays and sun exposure on grape composition and wine flavour, mapping grape aroma compounds in cool climate Shiraz, investigating the flavour and mouth-feel consequences of whole bunch ferments, and evaluating management strategies for processing smoke-tainted grapes.

Results from these projects and others will be published as they become available; however, if you’d like to know more about any of this work, please contact the AWRI (Ella.Robinson@awri.com.au or 08 8 313 6600).

Cabernet winemaking trial underway
The first fruit has been harvested for the AWRI’s 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon winemaking trial, in which eighteen 150 kg ferments will be conducted, with a single winemaking variable being changed in each one. This trial follows on from two successful previous vintage trials with Pinot Noir and Shiraz, the wines from which have been presented in tastings across Australia. The treatments in the current trial were chosen in consultation with some of Australia’s leading Cabernet Sauvignon producers, and where possible, they have been tailored to complement previous and current AWRI research projects. The aims of the trial are to illustrate the sensory effects of applying specific techniques during winemaking, and to provide advice on the practical application of those techniques in a commercial setting. The wines made during the 2018 trial will be presented to industry in tasting workshops in 2019.

Colony picker boosts biosciences research
A new arrival in the AWRI research labs is automating the isolation of yeast and bacterial colonies collected from ferment samples. The Singer Instruments PIXL microbial colony picker can separate hundreds of individual microbial colonies from an agar plate and place them onto a fresh plate for further analysis, at up to 1,536 colonies per plate. This instrument is critical for AWRI research, including the metagenomics project that is isolating thousands of microbes from wild ferments across the country. Previously such projects called for each colony to be manually collected from agar using the tip of a sterile toothpick, a labour-intensive process that limited the scope of what could be achieved. The PIXL is the latest design of colony picker from yeast handling specialists Singer Instruments and is the first of its type to be installed in a lab anywhere in the world!

Latest knowledge on grape objective measures and malolactic fermentation

Two new fact sheets have recently been added to the AWRI website. The first, Objective measures of grape quality, summarises results of a project that investigated predicting grape grade based on chemical or spectral analyses. The second focuses on achieving successful malolactic fermentation in white and sparkling wines. This includes tips for managing challenging ferment conditions and choosing the best strain for the job. The AWRI fact sheets collection contains more than 100 fact sheets covering topics across oenology, viticulture, environment and wine and health.

New method for routine sulfur dioxide analysis

AWRI Commercial Services is now using a discrete analyser instrument for routine free and total sulfur dioxide analysis. This new instrument replaces an ageing flow injection analysis instrument and can process more than 100 samples each day, with very limited staff input. The same instrument can also be used to analyse other wine components such as glucose, fructose, malic acid and volatile acidity (as acetic acid). However, the team won’t be getting rid of the sulfur stills any time soon – the Rankine/Pocock aeration/oxidation method is still the reference method for SO2 analysis. More information about the new method and how it was developed is available in a recent article published in AWRI Technical Review.

Order the latest AWRI staff publications online

Accessing the latest AWRI publications is easy. Visit the AWRI Publications web page to:

  • View the 10 most recent AWRI staff publications and order the articles online from the AWRI Library
  • Search the staff publications database
  • Read the full-text of ‘Technical Notes’ from Technical Review (PDF format)
  • Read the full-text of ‘AWRI reports’ published in Wine & Viticulture Journal (PDF format).

A list of AWRI publications published since the last eNews is included below:
1987 Pereira-Caro, G., Ordóñez, J.L., Ludwig, I., Gaillet, S., Mena, P., Del Rio, D., Rouanet, J-M., Bindon, K.A., Moreno-Rojas, J.M., Crozier, A. Development and validation of an UHPLC-HRMS protocol for the analysis of flavan-3-ol metabolites and catabolites in urine, plasma and feces of rats fed a red wine proanthocyanidin extract. Food Chem. 252: 49-60; 2018.

1988 Schelezki, O.J., Smith, P.A., Hranilovic, A., Bindon, K.A., Jeffery, D.W. Comparison of consecutive harvests versus blending treatments to produce lower alcohol wines from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes: impact on polysaccharide and tannin content and composition. Food Chem. 244: 50-59; 2018.

1989 Stockley, C. Ask the AWRI: wine instabilities – the solids won’t hurt you. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (649): p. 66; 2018.

1990 Wilkes, E. [Is it the fault of the closure or the wine?] È colpa del tappo o del vino? OICCE Times 73 (18): 15-18; 2017.

1991 Gawel, R., Schulkin, A., Smith, P., Kassara, S., Francis, L., Herderich, M., Johnson, D. Influence of wine polysaccharides on white and red wine mouthfeel. Wine Vitic. J. 33 (1): 34-37; 2018.

1992 Dry, P. Dolcetto. Wine Vitic. J. 33 (1): p. 56; 2017.

Acknowledgements

The 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.

 

Agrochemical update – spray drift

5 March 2018 >

Off-target agrochemical exposure or ‘spray drift’ has been gaining attention recently in mainstream and social media. This agrochemical update provides a reminder of who to contact if a spray drift incident is suspected.

Reporting spray drift incidents

Agricultural chemical users have a legal obligation to ensure that the chemicals they apply stay within the target area. If a spray drift incident is suspected, it should be reported to the appropriate authority, so they can investigate the extent of the damage, advise on the possible causes and take further action. Responsibility for addressing incidents of off-target spray drift lies with each state and territory government. The table below provides phone numbers for the relevant organisation depending on your location. Further details are also provided on the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority website, but if you are in any doubt, please contact the AWRI helpdesk for assistance.

State or territory Who to contact in case of spray drift
Australian Capital Territory Environment Protection Authority – 132 281
New South Wales Environment Protection Authority – 131 555
Queensland Biosecurity Queensland – 132 523
South Australia Biosecurity SA – 1300 799 684
Tasmania AgVet Chemicals Program – 03 6777 2133
Victoria Agriculture Victoria – 136 186
Western Australia Department of Health – 08 9222 4222

Testing vines or wine for residues

Residue testing of foliage, fruit or wine may be appropriate depending on the circumstances of the spray drift incident and grape purchaser requirements. Contact the AWRI helpdesk to discuss the best options.

For further information about spray drift or any other technical matter, please contact the AWRI helpdesk on (08) 8313 6600 or email helpdesk@awri.com.au.

More imports of brown marmorated stink bug to Australia

28 February 2018 >

Additional recent pest detections

  • Two further detections of the exotic pest brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) have been reported in Horsley Park, NSW and Perth, WA.
  • Dead and live bugs were found in separate shipments of electrical components and bricks that had been imported from Italy.
  • The federal and state biosecurity agencies are working together to manage the incidents, using well established response arrangements and processes including chemical treatment and surveillance.
  • Photos and technical information about brown marmorated stink bug can be found in this Plant Health Australia fact sheet.

Impact in vineyards and wineries

  • Low numbers of brown marmorated stink bug (three per bunch) may result in physical damage to berries which predisposes them to bunch rots and yield loss.
  • Brown marmorated stink bugs have a foul smelling odour when disturbed.
  • Brown marmorated stink bugs are known to cause wine taint if they end up in ferments.

Identifying BMSB

BMSB is one of many nuisance stink bugs and is easily confused with other stink bugs, some of which are present in Australia. The appearance of BMSB changes through its lifecycle. Adult BMSBs are characterised by a 12-17 mm mottle brown coloured, shield-shaped body (see photos below).

BMSB egg mass (left) (photo: David Lance, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org), nymph (middle) (photo: Gary Bernan, Bugwood.org), adult (right) (photo: Mohammed El Damir, Bugwood.org)

A collection of nymph and adult BMSBs on a leaf (left) and feeding damage on fruit caused by BMSB (photos: Gary Bernon, Bugwood.org)

Biosecurity awareness and reporting

Importers

  • If growers or winemakers transport or receive goods from overseas, they should always keep an eye out for pests and other biosecurity risks. Pests stow away in shipping containers, on machinery, and inside cartons and packaging, including timber pallets.
  • If you find any type of live pest while unpacking or moving your goods:
    • Collect and contain a specimen.
    • Re-seal any opened boxes, re-pack the container where possible, and shut the container doors.
    • Don’t move the container, especially to an outside area.
    • Report it quickly to the See. Secure. Report. hotline on 1800 798 636 for assistance.

Vineyards / wineries

  • If growers or winemakers think they have seen BMSB (or any other exotic pest) in the vineyard or winery they should phone the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.


For further information about wine industry biosecurity arrangements, please contact Andrew Weeks, CEO Australian Vignerons on 0403 520 242.

For technical information about brown marmorated stink bug, please contact the AWRI helpdesk on 08 8313 6600.

Technical Review February 2018 issue available

14 February 2018 >

The February 2018 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
  • Resveratrol, human health and winemaking perspectives
  • ASVO announces 2017 AWAC scholarship winner and winemaker of the year finalists
  • Struck match, freshness and tropical fruit: thiols and Chardonnay flavour
  • Rapid assessment of wine yeast viability and vitality
  • Ask the AWRI: biosecurity and viticulture
  • Top tips for wine stabilisation
  • Evaluation of putative precursors of key ‘reductive’ compounds in wines post-bottling
Current literature – oenology
  • Alternative vessels to ferment and mature
  • Rethinking oak budgets: the real cost of barrels
  • Is yeast affecting the taste of your wine? Yeast breeding as a tool for wine stylistic manipulation
  • Quantitating organoleptic volatile phenols in smoke-exposed Vitis vinifera berries
  • Technical feasibility of glucose oxidase as a prefermentation treatment for lowering the alcoholic degree of red wine
  • A full factorial study on the effect of tannins, acidity, and ethanol on the temporal perception of taste and mouthfeel in red wine
  • Sensory quality of wine: quality assessment by merging ranks of an expert-consumer panel
Current literature – viticulture
  • How do herbicide drifts affect your grapevines: symptoms and vine sustainability
  • Allometric relationships for estimating vegetative and reproductive biomass in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.)
  • ABA application during flowering and fruit set reduces berry number and improves cluster uniformity
  • South America's extreme terroirs
  • Leaf removal and cluster thinning efficiencies are highly modulated by environmental conditions in cool climate viticulture
  • Fungicide resistance – where to now?
  • Growers’ grapevine Pinot Gris virus questions answered
  • Approaching a century of growing Mondeuse at Brown Brothers
  • Malbec across the Andes
  • Future opportunities of proximal near infrared spectroscopy approaches to determine the variability of vineyard water status
  • Spatial variation of winegrape yield and berry composition and their relationships to spatiotemporal distribution of soil water content

eNews – January 2018

31 January 2018 >

Grapevine virus testing and elimination

Advances in dissolved gas management

Results from AWRI Vineyard and Winery Practices Survey

Research reports available from AWRI website

Optimise ferments in vintage 2018

Events across Australia

Order the latest AWRI staff publications online

Acknowledgement

Celebrating 25 years of the Advanced Wine Assessment Course
The AWRI and the University of Adelaide recently annouced an agreement to transfer the grapevine virus testing and elimination services previously provided by Waite Diagnostics to the AWRI. The services offered, which include testing for 12 grapevine viruses and phytoplasmas, as well as other pathogens responsible for crop diseases, will continue to be provided by the same experienced personnel, including virologist Dr Nuredin Habili. Dr Habili has more than 20 years’ experience working with plant viruses and has been involved in the research and development of the services provided. In addition to identification services, elimination of deleterious viruses from grapevines using chemotherapy is also available. More detailed information and sampling requirements can be found on the virus testing page of the AWRI website. The virus testing team can be contacted on 08 8313 7426 or commercialservices@awri.com.au.

Advances in dissolved gas management

Automated dissolved gas management systems using membrane contactors for gas transfer have recently been introduced to the Australian wine industry. They potentially allow for faster and more precise dissolved gas adjustment and reduced gas consumption. AWRI Senior Engineer, Simon Nordestgaard, recently published an article in the January issue of Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker reviewing how these technologies work and comparing them with alternatives: Click here to access the article.

Results from AWRI Vineyard and Winery Practices Survey

A major survey of Australian vineyard and winery practices was conducted in late 2016. Around 690 responses were received, covering 19% of Australia’s vineyard area and 74% of tonnes processed. Thanks are extended to all producers that participated. Follow-up visits were performed during 2017 to provide context to industry trends, and a final report will be issued later this year. This is one of the most comprehensive surveys ever taken in the Australian grape and wine sector and it is intended to be repeated at regular intervals so that trends in technology adoption and practice change can be tracked over time.

Preliminary vineyard data was presented at the ASVO seminar in August where it formed the basis for a panel discussion on the take-up of technologies such as mechanised cane pruning, treatment of pruning wounds, recycle sprayers, mechanical leaf plucking, precision viticulture and destemming harvesters. Preliminary winery data was presented at the Crush Symposium in November, including information on the take-up of cross-flow filtration, flotation, and different heat and cold stabilisation techniques. Click here to access a pdf of the most recent survey presentation. For more information, contact Simon Nordestgaard on simon.nordestgaard@awri.com.au or 08 8313 6600.

Research reports available from AWRI website

In late December 2017, Wine Australia approved the AWRI’s Final Reports for projects conducted in 2013-2017. Those reports are now available for download (8 MB pdf file) from the RDE projects page on the AWRI website. That same page also provides a list of the AWRI’s current research, development and extension projects. For more information, please contact Ella Robinson on ella.robinson@awri.com.au or 08 8313 6600.

Optimise ferments in vintage 2018
The online AWRI Ferment Simulator has been updated for vintage 2018 and is available through the WineCloud. This free app uses powerful algorithms to model ferments as they progress and predict problems before they occur. A number of improvements have been made for 2018 based on user feedback, including the calculation of ferment rate and peak rate. For more information and to register for an account, visit the Ferment Simulator webpage.

Events across Australia

The AWRI is visiting 17 regions in January/February to deliver tastings and workshop events before vintage 2018 gets into full swing. The ‘Shiraz winemaking trials tasting workshop’ being presented across Australia showcases how different winemaking practices can influence final wine style. Fifteen different wines have been made from the same batch of Shiraz grapes using a range of different harvest dates and winemaking techniques. Tasting these wines is a great opportunity to explore the stylistic and compositional differences achieved when one winemaking variable is changed at a time.

In Victoria the Shiraz tasting is being combined with a ‘Pre-vintage workshop’ in three locations, which presents a range of practical tips to make the most of the upcoming vintage. In Tasmania, an ‘Addressing regional challenges’ workshop will be presented in Launceston and Hobart in mid-February. This workshop includes information on the latest technologies, analyses, process options and efficiencies to enable optimal quality grapegrowing and winemaking, with specific topics selected by the regional association.

Visit the AWRI events calendar now for a full list of upcoming events or contact the events team on events@awri.com.au or 08 8313 6600.

Order the latest AWRI staff publications online

Accessing the latest AWRI publications is easy. Visit the AWRI Publications web page to:

  • View the 10 most recent AWRI staff publications and order the articles online from the AWRI Library
  • Search the staff publications database
  • Read the full-text of ‘Technical Notes’ from Technical Review (PDF format)
  • Read the full-text of ‘AWRI reports’ published in Wine & Viticulture Journal (PDF format).

A list of AWRI publications published since the last eNews is included below:
1965 Chen, L., Capone, D.L., Jeffery, D.W. Chiral analysis of 3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol and 3-sulfanylhexan-l-ol acetate in wine by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Anal. Chim. Acta 998: 83-92; 2017.

1966 Jayokody, H., Liu, S., Whitty, M., Petrie, P. Microscope image based fully automated stomata detection and pore measurement method for grapevines. Plant Meth. 13(94): 1-12; 2017.

1967 Bekker, M.Z., Wilkes, E.N., Smith, P.A. Evaluation of putative precursors of key ‘reductive’ compounds in wines post-bottling. Food Chem. 245: 676-686; 2017.

1968 Stockley, C. Ask the AWRI: Wine – a weighty issue. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (646): p. 44; 2017.

1969 Cowey, G., Coulter, A., Wilkes, E. Top tips for wine stabilisation. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (644): p. 71; 2017.

1970 Longbottom, M. Ask the AWRI: biosecurity and viticulture. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (647): 44-45; 2017.

1971 Johnson, D. 2017 Report. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (644): 4p.; 2017.

1972 Rinaldo, A., Bartowsky, E., Amos, J., Scrimgeour, N. Rapid assessment of wine yeast variability and vitality. Wine Vitic. J. 32(6): 18-21; 2017.

1973 Capone, D., Francis, L., Williamson, P., Herderich, M., Johnson, D. Struck match, freshness and tropical fruit: thiols and Chardonnay flavour. Wine Vitic. J. 32 (5): 31-35; 2017.

1974 Dry, P. Mondeuse noire. Wine Vitic. J. 32(5): p. 57; 2017.

1975 Pearson, W. Ladder of development: How scientific principles can help you refine your business. Thought Leadership 1: 80-85; 2017.

1976 Li, S., Wilkinson, K.L., Bindon, K.A. Compositional variability in commercial tannin and mannoprotein products. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. doi: 10.5344/ajev.2017.17057: 1-25;2017

1977 Longbottom, M. ASVO announces 2017 AWAC scholarship winner and Winemaker of the Year finalists. Wine Vitic. J. 32(5): 10-11; 2017.

1978 Dry, P. Barbera. Wine Vitic. J. 32(6): p. 52; 2017.

1979 Pastor, R.P., Restani, P., Di Lorenzo, C., Orgiu, F., Teissedre, P-L., Stockley, C., Ruf, J.C. Quini, C.I., Tejedor, N.G., Gargantini, R., Aruani, C., Prieto, S., Murgo, M., Videla, R., Penissi, A., Iermoli, R.H. Resveratrol, human health and winemaking perspectives. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2017.1400517: 1-19; 2017.

1980 Sadras, V.O., Moran, M.A., Petrie, P. Resilience of grapevine yield in response to warming. OENO one 51(4): 381-386; 2017.

1981 Coulter, A. Ask the AWRI: volatile acidity. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (648): p. 16; 2018.

1982 Abbott, T., Wilkes, E. Predicting outcomes: learning about ferments from big data. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (648): 54-55; 2018.

1983 Nordestgaard, S. Gains in speed, labour and gas consumption for winemakers: membrane contractors for management of dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (648): 61-67; 2018.

1984 Stockley, S. Where’s the limit? Drinking guidelines around the globe. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (648): 58-60; 2018.

1985 Hranilovic, A., Li, S., Boss, P.K., Bindon, K., Ristic, R., Grbin, P.R., van der Westhuizen, T., Jiranek, V. Chemical and sensory profiling of Shiraz wines co-fermented with commercial non-Saccharomyces inocula. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. DOI: 10.1111/ajgw.12320: 1-15; 2017.

1986 Pereira-Caro, G., Ordóñez, J.L., Ludwig, I., Gaillet, S., Mena, P., Del Rio, D., Rouanet, J-M., Bindon, K.A., Moreno-Rojas, J.M., Crozier, A. Development and validation of an UHPLC-HRMS protocol for the analysis of flavan-3-ol metabolites and catabolites in urine, plasma and feces of rats fed a red wine proanthocyanidin extract. Food Chem. 252: 49-60; 2018.

Acknowledgement

The 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.

 

New home for grapevine virus testing

30 January 2018 >

The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) and the University of Adelaide have jointly announced that plant virus testing and elimination services formerly provided by Waite Diagnostics have been transferred to The Australian Wine Research Institute.

Christmas closure

22 December 2017 >

The AWRI will be closed over the Christmas/New Year period from 1:00pm on Friday 22 December and will re-open at 8:30am on Wednesday 27 December.

AWRI Commercial Services
The Commercial Services laboratories will be closed from 1:00pm on Friday 22 December and will re-open at 9.00am on Monday 8 January 2016.

Industry support
Telephone and email support will be available during the office closure. If you require assistance over the holiday period, please contact:

Con Simos 0448 889 432 or helpdesk@awri.com.au for winemaking technical problem solving issues.

Marcel Essling 0418 816 311 or helpdesk@awri.com.au for viticulture and agrochemical issues.

Library
The John Fornachon Memorial Library will be closed from 1:00pm on Friday 22 December and will re-open at 9.00am on Monday 8 January 2016. Access to the library’s online database will continue to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during this period via the AWRI website.

Downy mildew infections reported following wet weather

21 December 2017 >

Examples of downy mildew ‘oil spots’ on grape leaves

Recent wet weather across a number of grapegrowing regions has led to conditions that are favourable to downy mildew infection of grapevines. Infections have been reported across some regions in SA and Victoria. Growers should take action now to minimise crop damage.

  • Monitoring – growers that have experienced wet weather should be carefully monitoring vines now for any signs of downy mildew infection. These include: golden-yellow, oily spots on leaves, which are best seen on the top side of the leaves. Generally, spots first appear as circular in shape and 8–10mm in diameter. In susceptible young leaves they can quickly grow bigger, reaching 20–30 mm in diameter in 10–14 days. More information on identifying signs of downy mildew infection, including photos, can be found in this Q&A document.
  • Treating infected vines – if signs of downy mildew infection are seen, eradicant sprays should be used.
  • Using preventative sprays – if no signs of infection are seen, preventative sprays should be applied. The ‘Dog book’ provides the most up-to-date information on spray options both for prevention and eradication of downy mildew.
  • Ensuring good spray coverage – sluccess in controlling fungal diseases depends on achieving good spray coverage. The AWRI recommends that spray equipment is well calibrated, and that spray coverage is checked using tools such as water sensitive papers.
  • Following resistance management strategies – it is essential to use fungicides from different groups to avoid fungicide resistance. CropLife resistance management strategies are outlined in the ‘Dog book’ and on the CropLife website.

Additional useful resources:

For more information about managing or preventing downy mildew, please contact the AWRI helpdesk on helpdesk@awri.com.au or 08 8 313 6600.

Detection of brown marmorated stink bug highlights importance of biosecurity vigilance

14 December 2017 >

Recent pest detection

  • The exotic pest brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) was recently detected in Western Sydney. Live bugs were found in electrical equipment that had been imported from Italy. Officers from the NSW Department of Primary Industries and the Australian Government Department of Agriculture Water and Resources (DAWR) responded to the detection. The equipment and the container in which the bugs were found are under biosecurity control and will be chemically treated to eliminate the bugs.
  • Surveillance is also being conducted near the warehouse and pesticide has been used around the warehouse as a precaution; however, no brown marmorated stink bugs have been detected outside of the affected property. The Consultative Committee on Emergency Plant Pests (CCEPP) continues to meet in response to this incident. A response plan is currently being considered by the committee and will soon be provided to the National Management Group for endorsement.
  • Photos and technical information about brown marmorated stink bug can be found in this Plant Health Australia fact sheet.

Impact in vineyards and wineries

  • Low numbers of brown marmorated stink bug (three per bunch) may result in physical damage to berries which predisposes them to bunch rots and yield loss.
  • Brown marmorated stink bugs are also known to cause wine taint if they end up in ferments.

Biosecurity awareness and reporting

Importers

  • The brown marmorated stink bug is a pest that opportunistically uses cargo containers and freight vehicles to hitchhike across countries and overseas. The bug’s capability to hitchhike and fly, and feed on a wide range of plant hosts, enables it to rapidly spread into new territories.
  • Anyone who receives imported goods should be vigilant in checking for pests which can be attached to containers, within the goods of the container or to other goods such as machinery. If any bugs or other pests are seen in a container, the contents should be left inside the container with the doors closed and the container should not be moved to another location. The DAWR See. Secure. Report. hotline on 1800 798 636 should be immediately contacted for assistance with managing the issue.

Vineyards / wineries

  • If growers or winemakers think they have seen brown marmorated stink bugs (or any other exotic pest) in the vineyard or winery they should phone the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.
  • The most effective way to detect brown marmorated stink bugs is by visually inspecting host plants. They are large bugs that give off a strong and bad odour when disturbed. They can be confused with a number of other brown-coloured stinkbugs that are present in Australia. There is a comprehensive identification guide on the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources website.

For further information about wine industry biosecurity arrangements, please contact Andrew Weeks, CEO Australian Vignerons on 0403 520 242.

For technical information about brown marmorated stink bug, please contact the AWRI helpdesk on 08 8313 6600.