The Australian Wine Research Institute

The Australian Wine Research Institute Blog

Urgent alert – EU allergens labelling

22 May 2012 >

Contrary to previous advice, new EU rules relating to allergens labelling will apply to all wine labelled after 30 June 2012.

Wine Australia had previously been informed that 2012 and earlier vintage dated wine would be exempt from the labelling requirement regardless of when labelled, but that is no longer the EU position. Consequently, wine arriving in the EU after 30 June will only be exempt from the requirement to declare the presence of allergens if it was labelled before 30 June 2012.

For wines fined with allergenic substances, it will not be necessary to declare the presence of egg and milk allergens on the label provided the wine has tested negative for the presence of these residual allergens using a technique with a detection limit of 0.25 mg/L (ppm).

The EU is yet to publish a list indicating the languages accepted in each of the 27 member states. Wine Australia’s Export Market Guide to the EU (http://www.wineaustralia.com) includes a list of acceptable languages for the ‘contains sulphites’ statement but it may be unwise to assume member states will accept references to eggs and milk in the same language indicated in that document. Naturally the allergen indication only needs to be displayed in English if the wine is only marketed in the UK and Ireland.

Representations continue to be made to the European Commission stressing the difficulties that Australia (and other Southern Hemisphere countries) will face in complying with this requirement.

Wine Australia has no further information on this matter at this stage. Further updates will be distributed as soon as information comes to light.

On a related matter, Canada’s allergens labelling requirements will take effect for all wine entering the market after 4 August 2012.

For further information, please contact:

Jessica Pater
Compliance and Regulations Manager, Wine Australia
T +61 8 8228 2000 (direct 2057)
F +61 8 8228 2066

eNews – May 2012

8 May 2012 >

Avoid costly miscalculations

Lowering alcohol

Seminar sends smoke signals

What’s on?

Managing mint

New in-house style specification boosts Pinot G

What’s wrong with that bottle of wine?

Breathing space for allergy labelling

80 sparkling wines to taste before you die?

Feedback provides direction

CMC now approved for tartrate stabilisation – but how effective is it?

Recent literature

Avoid costly miscalculations

Do you need to be good at maths to calculate your winemaking additions correctly? Not necessarily.

The AWRI helped a winemaker recently who had made an unfortunate measurement error when adding a particular winemaking additive. The reason why winemakers don’t necessarily need to be good at maths is because there is a very useful and practical winemaking calculator available from the AWRI website, which removes the sweaty nervousness that can come when doing such calculations and additions during vintage. For the record, the AWRI Winemaking and Extension Services Team have had a fair share of these in vintage 2012.

Lowering alcohol

Various strategies in the vineyard and winery can reduce the alcohol level in your wine and keep your customers happy. An AWRI Fact Sheet summarises what can be done to lower the alcohol levels in your wine.

High alcohol levels in wine can negatively affect flavour, attract high taxes in some export markets, and, in the context of public health, are of growing concern. The AWRI has produced a fact sheet which provides practical information on a range of approaches that can be adopted by grapegrowers and winemakers to adjust alcohol concentration. The information was gathered from the collective expertise of grapegrowers, viticulturists, winemakers and scientists, and is based on experience and review of current scientific data.

This fact sheet, covers viticultural practices; fermentation and winemaking practices; and post-fermentation practices and processing technologies that can affect alcohol concentration. Additionally, sensory impacts and consumer preferences related to wines containing elevated levels of alcohol are also summarised. This document has been updated to include AWRI’s latest findings on the relationship between grape maturity, alcohol concentration and consumer preferences.

Seminar sends smoke signals

Will you have to deal with smoke taint in your grapes and wine? The big guns in smoke taint research in Australia will speak at a seminar to be held in Melbourne in June, coordinated by the Victorian node of the AWRI.

Presenters at the seminar include researchers from the AWRI; DPI Victoria, Centre of Expertise in Smoke Taint Research; Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University; The University of Adelaide, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia; and the Director – Planned Burning, DSE, Melbourne.

The seminar will be held on Wednesday, 20 June 2012 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, in the Fig Room, Ground Floor of the Mercure Melbourne Treasury Gardens (13 Spring Street, Melbourne).

Thiss event is open to all within the Australian wine industry, the research community and all those involved with controlled burn activities within public land management agencies such as DSE.

To attend please RSVP to Mark Krstic by Friday, 15 June. Also, please advise if you require parking on the day, as the AWRI is organising a special rate with a car park close to the venue. This parking fee, at the designated car park, will be refunded for those Australian wine industry members who attend this event.

What’s on?

Want to know what’s on for grape and wine industry members, but never quite sure where to look? A new website has been launched that lists seminars, workshops, roadshows, conferences, courses, etc. for grape and wine professionals held all around Australia.

Searching for events is easy. Go to the website and put in your region, or event name, or search by date, and all events that match that criteria come up. Or simply browse the entire list or events calendar.

Go to: http://www.grapeandwineevents.com.au

The website is backed by members of the National Wine Extension and Innovation Network.

For further information, contact Con Simos by email or telephone 08 8313 6600.

National Wine Extension and Innovation Network members are:

The Australian Wine Research Institute
Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia
Department of Primary Industries Victoria
Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation
National Wine and Grape Industry Centre
Primary Industries and Resources South Australia
South Australian Research and Development Institute
Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture
Wine Australia
Wine Grape Growers Australia
Winemakers Federation of Australia

Managing mint

Do your customers really love the minty, eucalyptus flavor and aroma of your red wines, or do they want to see less of it? Research from the AWRI, just published, shows that eucalyptus leaves in grape harvest bins play the largest role in giving minty/eucalypt flavour to wine.

The AWRI found that if a small quantity of eucalyptus leaves or bark were included in a ferment, a ten-fold increase in eucalyptol levels was found in the wine compared to grape berries alone. The AWRI also found that grape leaves or stems (from vines grown in close proximity to eucalyptus trees) in the tank can give rise to substantial amounts of eucalyptol. The study was done in a cool climate Shiraz vineyard close to eucalyptus trees that frequently produces wines with high eucalyptol levels. The results show that management of non-grape material in harvested fruit will allow good control of this flavour in wines.

(AWRI publication #1356 Capone, D.L., Jeffery, D.W., Sefton, M.A. 2012. Vineyard and fermentation studies to elucidate the origin of 1,8-cineole in Australian red wine. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 60 (9): 2281-2287.)

New in-house style specification boosts Pinot G

Many producers have approached the AWRI wanting to classify their Pinot Gris/Grigio (Pinot G) wine for their own internal use. Is that of interest to you?

Here’s a new option for producers interested in understanding more about the style of their Pinot G wines. If you have a Pinot G wine that you’d like classified, just for your own interest and without extending it to the labeling device, this can now be done in a simple streamlined way using the PinotG Style Spectrum concept.
This new option complements the full Pinot G service which includes the label graphic and the right to tell the world about your classification result; and this will continue to be the most popular way to access the Spectrum.

A PinotG Style Spectrum classification for internal company use only can be obtained for $290. Here’s the fine print: the classification result provided under this new option must be kept confidential for internal use only, and may not be communicated to third parties externally.

For more information about the Pinot G Style Spectrum, or to organise classification of your wine, contact Commercial Services by email, telephone on 08 8313 6600 or visit the AWRI website.

What’s wrong with that bottle of wine?

Variability of wine once it is in the bottle is frustrating and can be costly. Potential damage to your brand reputation will mean you will open and check bottled wine just to be sure. Does this sound familiar? There is now a technology that will allow bottled wines to be assessed without removing the bottle closure.

The AWRI receives a number of enquiries each year from wine producers who have issues with the variability of their products due to poor storage conditions, insufficient care taken by distributors and retailers through the supply chain and variability during bottling. Sometimes, a large proportion of bottles are unsaleable due to high sulfur dioxide (SO2) depletion, microbiological contamination, elevated colour development or oxidative sensory characteristics.

The AWRI, in conjunction with Angove Family Winemakers, has used the BevScanTM technology to screen samples of a commercial red wine that were exhibiting random patterns of oxidation during storage. The AWRI was able to identify those bottles that had acceptable development characteristics, allowing the mobilisation of stock for overseas markets.

The BevScanTM is an analytical instrument that can be used to identify spectral differences between wines, non-destructively. Wines which appear to be damaged by oxidation, accelerated development or contamination during storage and distribution can be analysed in-bottle. Using Vis-NIR spectroscopy, matrix differences in wines can be identified, categorised and quantified rapidly.

Typically, when such a problem is suspected, a number of bottles of the wine are subjected to sensory assessment and/or chemical analysis. While this approach makes it fairly simple to identify a variable oxidation problem, producers are still left with the difficult task of sorting saleable from unsaleable stock. In most cases, the expense of opening, assessing and re-sealing all bottles cannot be justified. Often, producers are forced to recall stocks of wine from overseas markets and either undertake a costly re-processing exercise or dispose of the stock entirely.

BevScanTM has been shown to be a valuable tool for screening and classifying wine stock impacted by random patterns of oxidation non-destructively. By using this tool, Angove Family Winemakers has been able to mobilise otherwise worthless stock and supply their customers with wine which tastes the way the winemaker intended.

Further information can be obtained from the Fact Sheet, or contact Neil Scrimgeour by email or telephone 08 8313 6600.

Breathing space for allergy labelling

The deadline for mandatory allergens labelling of milk and egg has been pushed back to 1 January 2013 instead of 1 July 2012.

Wine Australia was advised by industry sources that a meeting held between the European Commission and member States this week supported a proposal to extend the effective deadline for mandatory allergens labelling for milk and egg to 1 January 2013 instead of 1 July 2012. The proposal must still go through the official parliamentary processes before the proposal is officially adopted. The Australian Government is seeking urgent confirmation on this issue. Industry sources are confident that this proposal will succeed.

The UK Wine and Spirit Trade Association advised this means that southern hemisphere wines produced during the 2012 vintage and then shipped to the EU will not be subject to label change. It will also give the Commission time to publicise the decision in authorised languages for each member state prior to implementation.

Further updates will be provided as soon as possible.

80 sparkling wines to taste before you die?

Hot on the heels of two oversubscribed ‘Wines of France’ tastings, the AWRI Advanced Wine Assessment team are organising a ‘Sparkling wines from around the world’ tasting. If you want to know more about sparkling wine styles, then join the tasting.

For Australians to be internationally competitive it is important to know what the rest of the world is doing successfully and how our sparkling styles compare. Attending this session will give you the opportunity to evaluate 80 sparkling wines from around the world. The AWRI hunts high and low to get the best possible list of wines which show the diversity of this category. The majority of these wines will be sourced internationally, and the AWRI has started early with the first shipment leaving the UK last week. Two events will be scheduled: 29 and 30 November 2012 to be held in Adelaide at the AWRI. If you are interested, let the AWRI know now.
Also, if you have tried anything of interest lately and think it should be part of the tasting line-up, let the AWRI know (and where to buy).

To register your interest send an email to awac@awri.com.au, the AWRI will be taking registrations soon. Further information can be obtained from the AWRI website.

This won’t be a fizzer!

Feedback provides direction

Feedback received through an industry survey has provided valuable information to develop a new web-based tool (the Grape Portal) for analysing grapes and managing grape maturity data. Industry members provided information on typical vineyard monitoring and measurement practices for grape maturity across Australia.

Many thanks to everyone who responded to the survey. In all, an impressive 115 responses were received. Congratulations go to Greg O’Keefe from Michelini Wines in Myrtleford (Alpine Valley), who is the lucky recipient of a year’s free annual subscription to the tool for 2013.

Development work is expected to start soon. It is intended that the tool will be used to store and analyse standard grape maturity measures, but also provide practitioners with the ability to measure tannins, phenolics and colour in grapes, during ripening and harvesting periods.

This is an exciting development for grape and wine producers and will provide a second measurement tool alongside the existing Wine (Tannin) Portal. The AWRI will continue to seek contributions from industry members during development, to ensure the delivery of a practical and cost-effective tool for grape and wine producers.

CMC now approved for tartrate stabilisation – but how effective is it?

Would you like to know how it will perform with your wines and what are the practical implications? Here is your chance to be involved in a benchmarking trial to find out.

Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) has now been approved for use in winemaking in Australia. Many different forms of CMC are available in the marketplace from a range of suppliers, but there is limited objective data on the comparative performance of these products and their potential impact on winemaking operations.

AWRI Commercial Services are launching a CMC performance benchmarking trial in the second half of the year to assess the performance of CMC as a viable alternative to tartrate stabilisation.

Still wines will be treated with a range of CMC products from different suppliers to quantify their performance and determine which wine types are best suited to their application and the practical impacts of winery process such as filtration. Results will be made available to paying participants.
Wineries interested in being involved in this study should contact Eric Wilkes by email or by telephone on (08) 8313 0892 for further details.

Recent literature

John Fornachon Memorial Library at the AWRI delivers journal articles and loans books to Australian grapegrowers and winemakers. Books can be searched and requested via the Library catalogue – or you can email us with your request.

  • To order AWRI staff publications and articles from Technical Review please contact the Library
  • Articles and books on specific topics can be searched for and ordered via the Library Catalogue
  • To request a Literature search on a specific topic contact the Library via email or telephone (08) 8313 6600.

Recent AWRI staff publications

(1373) Carrau, F. M., Medina, K., Farina, L., Boido, E., Henschke, P. A., Dellacassa, E. Production of fermentation aroma compounds by Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine yeasts: effects of yeast assimilable nitrogen on two model strains. FEMS Yeast Research 8 (7): 1196–1207; 2008

(1374) Cozzolino, D., Cynkar, W.U., Shah, N., Smith, P.A. Quantitative analysis of minerals and electric conductivity of red grape homogenates by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 77 (1): 81-85; 2011.

(1375) Vilanova, M.; Siebert, T.E.; Varela, C.; Pretorius, I.S.; Henschke, P.A. Effect of ammonium nitrogen supplementation of grape juice on wine volatiles and non-volatiles composition of the aromatic grape variety Albariño. Food Chem. 133 (1): 124–131; 2012.

(1376) Abrahamse, C., Bartowsky, E. Inoculation for MLF reduces overall vinification time. Australian & New Zealand grapegrower & winemaker (578): 41-46; 2012.

(1377) O’Brien, V. Capitalising on tartrate stabilisation. Australian & New Zealand grapegrower & winemaker (577): 62-64; 2012.

(1378) Stockley, C. Rules and regulations on the move. Australian & New Zealand grapegrower & winemaker (578): p. 60; 2012

(1379) Bizaj, E., Cordente, A. G., Bellon, J. R., Raspor, P., Curtin, C. D., Pretorius, I. S. A breeding strategy to harness flavor diversity of Saccharomyces interspecific hybrids and minimize hydrogen sulfide production. FEMS Yeast Research. doi: 10.1111/j.1567-1364.2012.00797.x; 2012.

(1380) Cozzolino, D., Cynkar, W., Shah, N., Smith, P. Feasibility study on the use of attenuated total reflectance mid-infrared for analysis of compositional parameters in wine. Food research international 44 (1): 181-186; 2011.

(1381) King, E.S., Johnson, T.E., Bastian, S.E.P., Osidacz, P., Francis, I.L. Consumer liking of white wines: segmentation using self-reported wine liking and wine knowledge. International journal of wine business research: 24 (1) : 33-46.; 2012.

(1382) Capone, D.L., Jeffery, D.W., Sefton, M.A. Vineyard and fermentation studies to elucidate the origin of 1,8-cineole in Australian red wine. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 60 (9): 2281-2287; 2012.

(1383) Capone, D.L., Black, C.A., Jeffery, D.W. Effects of 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol precursor concentrations from prolonged storage of Sauvignon Blanc grapes prior to crushing and pressing. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 60 (13): 3515-3523; 2012.

(1384) Stockley, C. Is it merely a myth that alcoholic beverages such as red wine can be cardioprotective. Journal of the science of food and agriculture DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.5696: 7 p.; 2012.

(1385) Curtin, C.D., Borneman, A.R., Chambers, P.J., Pretorius, I.S. De-Novo assembly and analysis of the heterozygous triploid genome of the wine spoilage yeast Dekkera bruxellensis AWRI1499. PLoS ONE 7 (3): 1-10; 2012.

(1386) Bartowsky, E., Costello, P., Krieger-Weber, S., Markides, A., Francis, L., Travis, B. Using Malolactic Fermentation to enhance fruity characters in red wine: Sensory and chemistry. Chassagne, D; Gougeon, R.D. Wine active compounds 2011 : Proceedings of the Second Edition of the International Conference Series on wine active compounds. 111-113; 2011.

Disclaimer: The material contained in this publication is comment of a general nature only and is not and nor is it intended to be advice on any specific technical or professional matter. In that the effectiveness or accuracy of any technical or professional advice depends upon the particular circumstances of each case, neither the AWRI nor any individual author accepts any responsibility whatsoever for any acts or omissions resulting from reliance upon the content of any articles. Before acting on the basis of any material contained in this publication, we recommend that you consult appropriate technical/professional advisers.

Events website launched for the grape and wine industry

1 May 2012 >

Want to know what’s on for grape and wine industry members, but never quite sure where to look? Today a new website has been launched that lists seminars, workshops, roadshows, conferences, courses, etc. for grape and wine professionals held all around Australia.

Searching for events is easy. Go to the website and put in your region, or event name, or search by date, and all events that match that criteria come up. Or simply browse the entire list or events calendar.

Go to: http://www.grapeandwineevents.com.au

The website is backed by members of the National Wine Extension and Innovationors Network.

For further information, contact Con Simos on email: con.simos@awri.com.au or telephone 08 8313 6600.

National Wine Extension and Innovation Network members are:
The Australian Wine Research Institute
Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia
Department of Primary Industries Victoria
Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation
National Wine and Grape Industry Centre
Primary Industries and Resources South Australia
South Australian Research and Development Institute
Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture
Wine Australia
Wine Grape Growers Australia

Technical Review: April 2012 issue now available online

6 April 2012 >

The April 2012 issue of Technical Review is now available for viewing online and for downloading. Access is available only to Australian winemakers and grapegrowers who pay the Wine Grapes or Grape Research levies.

To access the issue, click here.

eNews – March 2012

6 March 2012 >

Bothersome Brett

Terroir revisited

On the wood

A question on tartaric acid use

Web-based tool to monitor grape maturity

Tell consumers about your Pinot G Style

Measure grape colour and tannin fast this vintage

Ensure your grapes and wine are smoke-free

New head for Commercial Services

International congress on wine and health: 2013

Changes to Wine Australia export requirements

Recent literature

Bothersome Brett

Are you having problems controlling Brett in the winery despite using best practice control methods? If you are using concentrations of molecular SO2 above 0.625 mg/L and you are still experiencing ‘Brett-blooms’, your wine may be affected by a sulfite-tolerant Brettanomyces strain. Send us a sample.

Your sample will form part of the AWRI’s research to develop strategies that can future-proof our industry against outbreaks of this sulfite-tolerant spoilage yeast.

If you are not routinely calculating molecular SO2 yielded after a sulfite addition, and you are Australian grape and wine sector member who pays a Wine Grapes or Grape Research Levy, don’t forget you have free access to an online molecular sulfur dioxide calculator at the practical solutions page of AWRI’s website.

To send us your sample, please contact Dr Chris Curtin for further information or to obtain a Brett barrel sampling kit.

Terroir revisited

Just love your Pinot Noir, but think it lacks just that bit of distinction? It could be the yeast you are using or perhaps you could benefit from more experimentation in the winery. Delegates of the International Cool Climate Symposium held recently in Hobart learnt some new winemaking techniques in a workshop aimed at Pinot Noir winemakers.

2011 Jimmy Watson Trophy winner, Nick Glaetzer (Frogmore Creek Wines), showed that simple wine processing methods and the use of newly developed non-conventional yeast strains can have a large impact on wine style. Nick showed that dabbling with the winemaking process can lead to interesting wines; stem and fermented skin inclusions, cold soaking and blending different varietals are all steps that the winemaker can choreograph.

The workshop showcased a new breed of hybrid wine yeasts developed at the AWRI. The faithful Pinot Noir standard yeast, RC 212, took a backseat to AWRI Fusion (a new hybrid yeast available from Mauri Yeast Australia), with Fusion winning hands-down in wine tasting preferences.

Use of the new hybrid yeasts is an easy tool for winemakers looking to ‘dial in’ innovative aromas and flavours to their wines. The non-conventional yeasts used in this workshop are available commercially:

Lallemand supply Enoferm Level 2 TD (Torulaspora delbrueckii), AWRI 1375 and AWRI 1176 (Saccharomyces bayanus)

Mauri Yeast Australia supply AWRI Fusion (Saccharomyces cerevisiae x Saccharomyces cariocanus hybrid) and AWRI 1503 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae x Saccharomyces kudriavzevii hybrid).

Contact Jenny Bellon for more information.

On the wood

Are you sure which wood is acceptable for use in winemaking in Australia? The AWRI and Wine Australia have recently received enquiries. According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and the State and Territory health commissions, acacia cannot be used for wine barrels and that FSANZ should be consulted before using any timber other than oak. FSANZ can be contacted by phone on 06 6271 2286 or by http://www.foodstandards.gov.au

A question on tartaric acid use

The AWRI was asked recently whether DL tartaric acid can be used in Australian winemaking. The interpretation of the specifications for additives in the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code now suggests that winemakers can use L tartaric acid, D tartaric acid or a racemate or enantiomer mixture for winemaking in Australia. So what do you use?

The AWRI advises winemakers to continue to use L tartaric acid for acid adjustments in winemaking in order to avoid the formation of unpredictable calcium DL tartrate crystalline deposits that are more likely to occur when using D or the racemic tartaric acid. If you have any queries, just contact the AWRI Winemaking Services team by email or by telephone on 08 8313 6600.

Web-based tool to monitor grape maturity

The AWRI is looking to develop a new web-based tool for analysing grapes and managing grape maturity data. Grape quality decisions could be made in an objective manner as this tool aims to allow users to measure tannins, phenolics and colour in grapes. It would also offer data analysis and storage functions for more typical grape maturity measures.

To make sure the final product is as relevant to industry needs as possible, we need input from you!

Please click on the link below to access our survey on your current grape analysis practices and your interest in various aspects of the product we are developing.

Responding to the survey should take less than 10 minutes of your time and all respondents who provide contact details (this is optional) will go into a draw to win a year’s subscription to the new service. We’d appreciate receiving your response by 9 March 2012.

This is an exciting development and your contribution means a more practical tool will be available to grape and wine producers.

Click here to start the survey.

Tell consumers about your Pinot G Style

Now is the time to ensure your Pinot G wine doesn’t get left on the shelf in 2012. Your customers can tell at a glance what style of wine is in the bottle by using the Pinot G Style Spectrum on your label. Whether your style is crisp and racy or luscious and powerful, consumers will instantly know what style of wine to expect, and how to find more of the styles that they like. Already used on bottles sold in Australia, USA and New Zealand, the Pinot G Style Spectrum is proving a valuable communication tool.

So, what’s the next step? To have your wine assessed on the scale and for a step-by-step guide, visit our website or contact Commercial Services on 08 8313 6600 or pinotGstylespectrum@awri.com.au.

Measure grape colour and tannin fast this vintage

Need to quickly know the colour and tannin measurements in your grapes this vintage? Now you can. Same day results for grape quality analysis means faster decision making and improving your operations.

The AWRI Commercial Services now offers a modified Somers method for determining anthocyanins and phenolics, and also includes tannins on grape samples using a standard UV-Vis spectrophotometer.

Save time and costs by combining the grape colour and tannin assay with other grape maturity analyses. Further details on the various combinations of vintage analyses available including brix or baume, pH, titratable acidity, laccase activity and yeast assimilable nitrogen can be found here.

Please contact AWRI Commercial Services for more information on the new assay, and on sampling and transportation of grapes.

Ensure your grapes and wine are smoke-free

Think your grapes have been exposed to smoke? Don’t leave it to chance – have your grapes, juice or wine samples analysed for a range of free phenols which may impact on quality.

Research at the AWRI has demonstrated that some phenolic compounds such as guaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol, cresol and syringol are responsible for off-flavours and aromas caused by exposure to smoke. The AWRI Commercial Services is able to analyse grape, juice and wine samples for a range of free phenols.

Frozen grape samples can now be transported to the AWRI without a Plant Health Certificate from those areas not affected by Phylloxera. A copy of the AWRI Grape Material Movement and Declaration Form should be completed and sent with any samples.

AWRI Commercial Services is again offering smoke taint analysis for affected grapes at a reduced rate in order to support those affected by bushfires. Please contact Randell Taylor for more information or the AWRI Commercial Services website has further details on smoke taint analysis.

New head for Commercial Services

The AWRI’s Managing Director announced today the appointment of Dr Eric Wilkes to head up the AWRI’s Commercial Services group. Eric takes over the role vacated by Dr Vince O’Brien, who has accepted the role of AWRI’s Business Development Manager.

Vince, who has done a great job developing Commercial Services over the past four years into a lean and responsive successful business, was selected from a very strong field of internal and external candidates for the Business Development Manager’s position.

Eric has had a great deal of experience in managing technical projects and analytical facilities in the wine industry, and most recently in the role of AWRI’s Research Manager – Industry Applications, and he will be a great asset to both the analytical team and the project team within the AWRI’s Commercial Services group. Eric and Vince will assume their new roles on Monday, 5 March.

International congress on wine and health: 2013

The wine and health debate has never been more intense. The Fifth International Congress of Wine and Health will be held next year, and the proceedings from the fourth congress are now available.

The aim of these triennial congresses is to showcase recent research efforts in order to increase our understanding of the biological, medical and societal effects of wine. It also aims to provide direction for new research efforts into the effects of moderate wine consumption on human health, as well as to inform public health policy. The congress topics include epidemiology, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, and nutraceutical and societal aspects. The fifth conference is to be held in Australia in 2013, hosted by the AWRI, immediately following the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference.

The proceedings from the fourth international congress, held in Friuli, Italy on 3-6 October 2010 (hosted by the University of Padova) are now available from the John Fornachon Memorial Library and from the Journal of Wine Research.

Changes to Wine Australia export requirements

Wine Australia has changed its requirement for the tasting of all wines that are exported. In the past, every consignment of wine over 100 litres exported from Australia needed to be evaluated sensorially by Wine Australia. As part of our service to our clients, the AWRI Commercial Services on-forwarded, at no charge, wine to Wine Australia for tasting.

As this requirement no longer exists, our clients now only have to send to the AWRI two bottles of each product to be exported for analytical testing instead of the four sent previously. The export approval analysis requirement still remains for all consignments of wine over 100 litres exported from Australia.

Recent literature

John Fornachon Memorial Library at the AWRI delivers journal articles and loans books to Australian grapegrowers and winemakers. Books can be searched and requested via the Library catalogue – or you can email us with your request.

  • To order AWRI staff publications and articles from Technical Review please contact the Library
  • Articles and books on specific topics can be searched for and ordered via the Library Catalogue
  • To request a Literature search on a specific topic contact the Library via email or telephone (08) 8313 6600.

Recent AWRI staff publications

Bartowsky, E., Costello, P., Krieger-Weber, S., Markides, A., Francis, I., Travis, B. Influence of MLF on the fruity characters of red wine: bringing chemistry and sensory science together. Wine & viticulture journal 26(6): 27-33; 2011.

Borneman, A.R., Desany, B.A., Riches, D., Affourtit, J.P., Forgan A.H., Pretorius I.S., Egholm, M., Chambers, P.J. The genome sequence of the wine yeast VIN7 reveals an allotriploid hybrid genome with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces kudriavzevii origins. FEMS yeast research 12(1): 88-96; 2012.

Borneman, A.R., Bartowsky, E.J. Comparative genomics in the wine bacterium Oenococcus oeni. Microbiology Australia 32 (4): 174-176; 2011.

Borneman, A.R., McCarthy, J.M., Chambers, P.J., Bartowsky, E.J. Functional divergence in the genus Oenococcus as predicted by genome sequencing. PLoS ONE 7(1); 2012.

Chambers, P. From omics to systems biology: towards a more complete description and understanding of biology. Microbiology Australia 32 (4): 174-176; 2011.

Coulter, A. Post-bottling spoilage – who invited Brett? Practical winery & vineyard 33 (1): 30-37; 2012.
Curtin, C., Borneman, A., Chambers, P.J., Pretorius, I.S. Winning at snakes and ladders. WBM (January/February), 18-25; 2012.

Dry, P. Root pruning and covercrops combine to control vigour. Australian & New Zealand grapegrower & winemaker (576): 29-30; 2012.

O’Brien, V., Johnson, D. Opportunities to improve winemaking profitability. Wine & viticulture journal 27(1): 18-21; 2012.

Parker, M., Osidacz, P., Baldock, G.A., Hayasaka, Y., Black, C.A., Pardon, K., Jeffery, D.W., Geue, J.P., Herderich, M., Francis, L. The contribution of several volatile phenols and their glycoconjugates to smoke related sensory properties of red wine. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry DOI: 10.1021/jf2040548: 2012.

Schmidt, S.A., Dillon, S., Kolouchova, R., Henschke, P.A., Borneman, A.R., Forgun, A.H., Chambers, P.J., Pretorius, I.S. Happy marriages and how to avoid getting stuck with the wrong partner. Practical winery and vineyard 33 (1): 6-7, 9-10, 12-14; 2012.

Stockley, C. More to the story of alcohol consumption and cancer. Australian & New Zealand grapegrower & winemaker (576): 45-46, 48-49; 2012.

Stockley, C. Alcohol and human health – sorting out the facts. Wine & viticulture journal27(1): 68-69; 2012.

Ting, C.S.C., Borneman, A.R., Pretorius, I.S. Wine-omics: new platforms for the improvement of yeast strains and wine quality. Benkeblia, N. Omics technologies tools for food science. Chapter 14: 339-365; 2012.

Varela, C., Schmidt, S.A., Borneman, A.R., Krömer, J.O., Khan, A., Chambers, P.J. The Australian Wine Yeast Systems Biology Consortium. Systems Biology: a new paradigm for industrial yeast strain development. Microbiology Australia 32 (4): 151-155; 2011.

Winter, G., Henschke, P.A., Higgins, V.J., Ugliano, M., Curtin, C.D. Effects of rehydration nutrients on H2S metabolism and formation of volatile sulfur compounds by the wine yeast VL3. AMB Express 1(36): 11p.; 2011.

Disclaimer: The material contained in this publication is comment of a general nature only and is not and nor is it intended to be advice on any specific technical or professional matter. In that the effectiveness or accuracy of any technical or professional advice depends upon the particular circumstances of each case, neither the AWRI nor any individual author accepts any responsibility whatsoever for any acts or omissions resulting from reliance upon the content of any articles. Before acting on the basis of any material contained in this publication, we recommend that you consult appropriate technical/professional advisers.

Late season Botrytis management options and considerations

24 February 2012 >

While many regions are now well into the thick of harvest, some regions are experiencing unfavourable late season weather conditions that are conducive to the development of botrytis.

Control options can be costly. To make an informed decision, establish whether or not disease severity is still at an acceptably low level. You will need to discuss the thresholds for crop acceptance with your grape purchaser. Typical limits are around 3% (for all diseases and moulds). If disease severity is low, hot dry weather may result in the first wave of diseased berries drying up naturally. Under cooler but dry conditions, moisture from overnight dews may promote further, but slow, disease development so practices that promote airflow and reduce humidity in the fruit zone are helpful.

There are a range of chemical options available, however spraying effectively late season is challenging because of the difficulty in obtaining good coverage of bunches and berries. There is a strong argument not to spray when botrytis is present in very tight bunches that are leaking juice from berries being pushed off the rachis (main stem) because further breakdown of this fruit is likely, with or without spraying. In this situation, hand removal of affected bunches or selective harvesting may be an option.

Chemical options:

If you are within 30 days of harvest, the chemical options for botrytis control are listed in the table below. These recommendations are for fruit destined for export wine. Agrochemicals applied to fruit destined for the domestic wine market have shorter withholding periods and these are found on the label.

Active Constituent(s) Activity group Some registered products Restrictions on use
Potassium salts of fatty acids U1 Ecoprotector Use no later than 14 days before harvest
Hydrogen peroxide + peroxyacetic acid (suppression only) M + M Peratec, Peroxy Treat Use no later than 7 days before harvest
iprodione 2 Chief Aquaflo, Corvette Flowable, Corvette Liquid, innova Iprodione 500 Aquaflo, Ippon 500 Aquaflo, Ipral 250, Iprine 250, Iprine 500, Iprodione 250, Iprodione Aquaflow 500, Iprodione Liquid 250, Rovral Aquaflo, Rovral Liquid, Subscribe, Transact Use no later than 7 days before harvest. Consult your winery/grape purchaser before spraying within 30 days of harvest

For further information on the management of Botrytis bunch rots closer to harvest please consult the Wine Australia factsheet prepared by Dr Kathy Evans and Dr Bob Emmett.

Web-based tool to monitor grape maturity available soon for grape and wine producers!

14 February 2012 >

The AWRI is looking to develop a new web-based tool for analysing grapes and managing grape maturity data. Grape quality decisions can be made in an objective manner as this tool will allow users to measure tannins, phenolics and colour in grapes. It will also offer data analysis and storage functions for more typical grape maturity measures.

To make sure the final product is as relevant to industry needs as possible, we need input from you!

Please click on the link below to access our survey on your current grape analysis practices and your interest in various aspects of the product we are developing.

Responding to the survey should take less than 10 minutes of your time and all respondents who provide contact details (this is optional) will go into a draw to win a year’s subscription to the new service. We’d appreciate receiving your response by 9 March 2012.

This is an exciting development and your contribution means a more practical tool will be available to grape and wine producers.

Click here to start the survey.

Samples required to benchmark new method to test for laccase

7 February 2012 >

Vintage 2011 will be remembered as one of the wettest on record, the conditions of which were conducive for a number of diseases during the growing season, most notably ‘Botrytis’. Winemakers contacted the AWRI’s Winemaking and Extension Services Team for technical advice and assistance on processing Botrytis-affected fruit and winemaking strategies to best manage the negative effects of laccase. One in five calls received during the 2011 vintage related to Botrytis and laccase; there was a specific requirement from winemakers relating to methods of testing and subsequent interpretation of results.

In response to the issues encountered it became obvious that there was a requirement to develop a laccase method targeted at Australian conditions. The AWRI undertook a thorough review of laccase analysis and has recently developed a new assay.

The next stage is to conduct proof of performance trials from Botrytis-affected grape and wine samples from the 2012 harvest. To benchmark and to further refine the new assay, the AWRI needs to collect as many samples as possible.

If you can supply samples and participate in this program, please contact the AWRI’s Winemaking and Extensions Services on (08) 8313-6600 or by email.

AWRI Agrochemical Update February 2012

>

Short ripening times raise the possibility of agrochemical residues if chemical withholding periods (WHP) are not met. The AWRI website has a large amount of information which may assist growers and winemakers alike with regard to potential issues. In particular, the maximum residue limits (MRL) are listed for 36 key export markets. These limits should be satisfied when the WHP recommendations in the ‘Dogbook’ are followed. If fruit is harvested earlier than expected and the recommended WHP has not been met, all is not lost.

The first step is to contact your grape purchaser or winery and let them know. It may be that the fruit is not destined for export or is going to countries that have an MRL equal to Australia’s. In this instance, the WHP you need to have met is the one on the label. To see the export market MRLs for chemicals registered in Australia, visit the AWRI website.

If the fruit is destined for a market that has a lower MRL than Australia, the only way to be sure that your wine meets the regulations is through residue testing. Testing can be done on fruit prior to harvest or post-fermentation. Post-fermentation measurements are usually (but not always) lower than that observed in the fruit. Testing grapes might be necessary as the results might influence how the fruit is managed in the winery however in many cases it is the residue in the final wine that counts and this is what is analysed.

The recommended WHPs are listed in the ‘Dogbook’ and this can be accessed on-line.

For further information on withholding periods or maximum residue limits, contact the AWRI by email or by telephone on: 08 8313 6600. The AWRI Commercial Services also offers residue testing on grapes and wine. Visit the AWRI Commercial Services website or contact the AWRI Commercial Services for further information by email or by telephone on: 08 8313 6600.