The Australian Wine Research Institute

The Australian Wine Research Institute Blog

Grapegrowers and wineries in Greater Victoria to benefit from new AWRI node

13 January 2012 >

A partnership has been established to support grapegrowers and wineries in the Greater Victoria area, announced today by The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), the Department of Primary Industries Victoria (DPI Victoria), the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (GWRDC) and Wine Victoria.

“The aim of this partnership is to keep industry members up-to-date on topical research and industry relevant outcomes,” said AWRI Managing Director, Dr Dan Johnson. “It will also form the basis for a new, Greater Victorian node of the AWRI.”

“After a recruitment process conducted by the AWRI, I am delighted that Mark Krstic has accepted the position to manage the node. Initially, his focus will be on delivering an extension and activity plan as developed in conjunction with the Victorian grape and wine sector. Key areas will include communicating with industry on smoke taint issues, climate change adaptation, improving grape and wine quality and agrochemical usage within Greater Victoria.”

Ron Harris Executive Director Farm Services Victoria said, “Grape and wine producers will benefit through increased uptake of the latest technologies and by being assisted to adopt best management and climate change adaptation practices.”

“The appointment of Mark Krstic to the role of Extension Services Manager – Victoria is a wonderful outcome for the joining of forces of Wine Victoria, DPI Vic, GWRDC and the AWRI,” said Chris Pfeiffer, President of Wine Victoria. “This gives us the opportunity of maximizing outcomes from the available resources and removing the duplication, so important in these challenging times. We look forward to Mark taking up the challenges of delivering the outcomes to Victoria’s 21 Wine Regions.”

While the node will draw directly on world-class research, development, extension and commercialisation resources from the AWRI, annual work plan and activities will be directed by an ‘Industry Steering Committee’ which includes a representative from each of Wine Victoria, DPI Victoria, the GWRDC and the AWRI.

The AWRI’s Victorian node complements its existing operations in Adelaide and nodes in Griffith and Hobart.

The partnership has been established through cooperative funding by cash and in-kind contributions from DPI Victoria, GWRDC and the AWRI.

Further information:

Rae Blair, Communications Manager, The Australian Wine Research Institute

Tel: 0417 810 737 or email: rae.blair@awri.com.au

Managing grapevines during heatwaves

9 January 2012 >

The GWRDC have released a factsheet complied by SARDI researchers Dr Peter Hayman, Dr Michael McCarthy, Dr Dane Thomas in collaboration with AWRI viticulturist Dr Mardi Longbottom.

This resource provides a meteorological explanation of heatwaves and the damage that can be caused to grapevines at critical growth stages. Most importantly it provides management strategies to protect grapevines and ‘Action guidelines for extreme heat events’ to guide growers before, during and after a bout of hot weather.

Visit http://www.gwrdc.com.au/webdata/resources/files/Manging_grapevines_during_heatwaves.pdf to access the document.

AWRI Agrochemical Update December 2011

20 December 2011 >

Phosphorous Acid

Signalling a significant step forward in the phosphorous acid (PA) story, the Winemakers Federation of Australia (WFA) received confirmation that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario will continue to allow Australia the permission for phosphorous acid treated wine for another 12 months.

Until all of Australia’s major export markets have an MRL in place for PA, this chemical remains ‘not recommended for use on grapes destined for export wines’ as stated in the AWRI’s ‘Dog book’. Growers should consult their winery or grape purchaser for permission prior to use.

For winemakers, this current news means that Canada will accept the Australian MRL of 50 mg/kg for PA for the 2012 vintage. To ensure that this MRL is not exceeded, growers are advised to apply no more than three PA sprays during the season and where three sprays are applied, to cease spraying 30 days before harvest. This recommendation is based on findings from a recent GWRDC-funded study conducted by the AWRI. In this study, the AWRI sourced fruit from the 2011 vintage where PA was known to have been used.

For more information about the grape growing or winemaking implications of using PA, please contact Marcel Essling or Con Simos on 08 8313 6600.

Powdery Mildew

Hot and sunny days have been missing this season and in regions that continue to experience mild, cloudy weather conditions, growers should be on the lookout for powdery mildew.

Symptoms are being observed in the Hunter Valley in blocks where every spray has included powdery mildew chemistry and adequate control would normally have been achieved. Liz Riley speculates that this could be due to the lack of hot weather and the reduced vapour activity of sulfur in the cooler temperatures.

Peter Magarey recommends careful monitoring inside canopies with both leaves and bunches closely inspected. Corrective action taken now is better than two weeks away because the disease will spread steadily if left uncontrolled. Coverage is critical in these conditions and growers should be using high water volumes and the appropriate chemical rate.

Botrytis

It’s well known that awful botrytis years largely come down to the weather, but there are things you can do during the year to influence how badly you are affected should conditions turn warm and wet in the lead up to harvest.

  • Manage a canopy that’s open and promote air flow. This will help foliage to dry more quickly when the rain stops and it will be easier to get spray coverage where it’s needed.
  • Minimise damage to bunches. This means managing light brown apple moth and diseases that affect berries earlier in the season.
  • Manage your yield. It’s in crowded bunches and bunch zones that disease is often found. Bigger yields also take longer to ripen and when it comes to botrytis – a week can be a long time.
  • Use the resources available. There is a lot of information out there from industry experts.

AWRI

GWRDC

Industry Support over Christmas break

The AWRI will be closed over the Christmas / New year period from 23rd Dec until 3rd January, if you should require assistance over the holiday period please contact

For winemaking technical problem solving issues

Con Simos 0448889432 or con.simos@awri.com.au

For Viticulture and agrochemical related issues

Marcel Essling 0418816311 or marcel.essling@awri.com.au

AWRI welcomes new Board members

9 December 2011 >

The Chairman of The Australian Wine Research Institute, Mr Peter Dawson, announced today the appointment of two new members to the AWRI Board. “The Board was pleased to ratify the appointments of Ms Liz Riley and Dr John Harvey as new Directors of the AWRI,” he said. In making this announcement, Mr Dawson acknowledged the contribution of, and thanked, outgoing board members, Mr Jim Lumbers and Ms Jan O’Connor.

Appointed as a ‘Special Qualifications Director’, Liz Riley brings to the Board 20 years experience in the wine industry; with six years spent in viticultural roles with Southcorp Wines and the last 11 years as a viticulture consultant. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine) from Roseworthy Agricultural College. Liz is currently also an ‘Independent Expert for the Wine Industry Code of Conduct’ for Wine Australia and is a member of the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology, the Hunter Valley Wine Industry Association and the NSW Farmers Association. The Hunter Valley Wine Industry Association named Liz their ‘Viticulturist of the Year’ this year and she was awarded the Australian Nuffield Farming Scholarship in 1997. Liz’s tenure as a Director of the AWRI commenced on 6 December.

Elected in the ‘small winemaker’ category (crushing up to 2,000 tonnes), John Harvey will commence his tenure as a Director on 1 January 2012. John is the Managing Director and owner of Bathe Wines, producing wines from the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Tasmania regions. John is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a PhD and MBA from the University of Adelaide. He was formerly the Executive Director of the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation and member of the SA Premier’s Wine Council and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Adelaide Hills Wine Region and Journal Advisory Committee of the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research.

Further information:
Rae Blair, Communication Manager, 0417 810 737 or email: rae.blair@awri.com.au

AWRI Annual Report for 2011

7 December 2011 >

Our 2011 Annual Report has been despatched today to all Australian Wine Grapes and Grape Research levy payers. Our complete annual report can be accessed from the AWRI website by clicking here. For the busy reader, we are pleased to present the highlights of our report which can be accessed from here.

Changes to Standard 4.5.1 (Wine production requirements) and 1.3.1 (Food additives)

29 November 2011 >

There have been recent changes to the Australia New Zealand’s Food Standards Code, which impact on the production of Australian wine. Australian winemakers should be aware of the following:

Changes to Standard 4.5.1 (Wine production requirements) and 1.3.1 (Food additives)

  1. The minimum alcohol content permitted for wine and sparkling wine produced in Australia has been reduced from 8% (80 mL/L) to 4.5% (45 mL/L) alcohol/volume.This amendment is relevant to wine produced in Australia only and does not apply to wine made in New Zealand or to wine imported into Australia and New Zealand.
  2. Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is now a permitted additive for wine and sparkling wine production in Standards 4.5.1 (Wine production requirements) and 1.3.1 (Food additives).Sodium CMC stabilises wine by inhibiting the formation of tartrate crystals and their subsequent precipitation. Sodium CMC is a permitted additive for wine and sparkling wine in the EU (Regulation EC 606/2009).

For further information, please contact the AWRI’s Health and Regulatory Information Manager, (Creina Stockley) or telephone: 08 8313 6600. Please visit our website for further regulatory information.

Wine Researchers Sequence ‘Brett’ Genome in world first

23 November 2011 >

Scientists at The Australian Wine Research Institute have sequenced the genome of Dekkera bruxellensis (Brettanomyces), the yeast organism commonly known as ‘Brett’, in a world first for the Australian wine industry.

The breakthrough offers Australian winemakers a competitive advantage in managing the troublesome yeast, which has the potential to spoil wine with its ‘medicinal’ and ‘metallic’ characters.

“The Australian Wine Research Institute has been working proactively for more than two decades to give Australian wine producers an upper hand against Brett,” said Professor Sakkie Pretorius, Managing Director, AWRI.

“Sequencing the Brett genome, which reveals its genetic blueprint, means the Australian wine industry can future-proof its strategy against Brett and the risk of spoilage. We’ve put science to work to build economic security for our industry.”

Brettanomyces is well known to winemakers throughout the world as a so-called ‘spoilage yeast’. In Australia, the yeast has been brought under control through hard work by winemakers using research and recommendations by the AWRI. The incidence of Brett spoilage in Australia has dropped by ninety per cent.

AWRI recommendations address oak barrel hygiene and effective sulfite use at low dosage in combination with appropriate pH management. The possibility of Brett developing sulfite resistance was one reason why the AWRI set out to crack its genetic code, using new genomics technology to identify and target Brett’s weak spots more effectively. The project was funded by the Grape and Wine Research Development Corporation (GWRDC).

“Sequencing the Brett genome means we can investigate the potential for an emergence of a ‘super’ strain that is resistant to sulfite treatment. We’ve already found the most important gene responsible for sulfite tolerance in Brett,” said Dr Chris Curtin, the lead AWRI researcher on the Brett genomics project.

“It was similar to working on a giant jigsaw puzzle, with millions of pieces, without a pattern or a picture to work from. But those long hours of painstaking work over many months delivered results. We’ve now cracked the code of ‘the enemy’ and we’re working on new weapons for winemakers to use against this spoilage yeast.”

The work is described in an industry paper published in the November/December 2011 issue of the Wine and Viticulture Journal.

The Australian Wine Research Institute, a member of the Wine Innovation Cluster in Adelaide, is supported by Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers through their investment body, the GWRDC, with matching funds from the Australian Government.

eNews – November 2011

1 November 2011 >

Yeasts, enzymes, bacteria and oak for winemakers: easy search for products

Don’t get contaminated this vintage!

Australia’s fight against acetic acid boosted by Spanish ally

Predict potential loss of colour in your red wine as it ages

Boosting the Chardonnay aroma profile with nitrogen

Keeping your cool while making the most from every last drop

Attend our seminars without leaving your desk

Wines of France

Spicy win in Italy for AWRI scientist

Recent literature

Yeasts, enzymes, bacteria and oak for winemakers: easy search for products

Want to try a new yeast, enzyme, bacteria or oak product for your wine this vintage, and not sure where to find it? Check out the AWRI’s online searchable database of winemaking products.

It’s a simple search for products available to Australian winemakers. For example, enter ‘yeast’ and your search will return the details of over 220 products and their suppliers including contact details that match your search criteria.

There are a range of products you can search for, including yeast, enzymes, bacteria and oak products. Go to our website. This database was established in response to your feedback, so keep the suggestions coming as to how we can help your business further or how we can improve this service. Please forward your feedback to us.

Don’t get contaminated this vintage!

Vintage is the riskiest period where your wine can be tainted or contaminated. Keep your wines taint free this vintage by taking simple preventative measures and precautions now.

Most vintage contaminations are due to contact of wine with refrigerant brines from cooling systems and hydraulic oil from mechanical harvesters or grape bin tippers, usually via slow leaks or burst lines. The incidence of these contaminations can be reduced by performing pre-vintage inspections and maintenance of all hoses and clamps supplying brine and machinery oils.

Most vintage taints are due to aromatic hydrocarbons that originate from particular paints, or paint thinners, used on grape bins and other transport vessels. These taints can be avoided by using food grade, two pack epoxy paints and by avoiding the use of chlorinated rubber-based paints. It is imperative that the paint be properly cured and should ideally be left seven to 12 days before the painted object is used, depending on the product specifications.

Using tainted additives has also been a prominent cause of tainted wines. You may not be aware that suppliers are not necessarily bound to provide you with taint-free additives and processing aids (more information about this can be found here)

Better to be safe than sorry, so purchase and assess your additives now before vintage to ensure you’re ready for a taint-free year.

A more extensive discussion of vintage taints and contaminations, and how to avoid them, can be found in the February 2009 issue of Technical Review (#178, pages 22–27), which can be found here.

Australia’s fight against acetic acid boosted by Spanish ally

The pungent nail polish remover smell is bad enough in the beauty salon, but it’s a travesty in wine. Australia’s fight against this enemy in wine has received a boost from visiting scientist, Dr Estibaliz Mateo from Spain.

Spanish visiting scientist, Dr Estibaliz Mateo, has used her acetic acid bacteria (AAB) expertise to help identify the Australian vineyard and winery AAB isolates with the AWRI’s Dr Eveline Bartowsky and Jane McCarthy. Esti is a researcher at Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona Spain, and spent her sabbatical at the AWRI (May-September 2011). Using classical and molecular techniques, she has studied over 600 isolates from a survey of vineyards in the Adelaide Hills region and wine isolates in the AWRI Wine microorganism culture collection. About 80 different profiles have thus far been identified. This collaboration will continue to identify the AAB isolates to species and strain level and further characterise the isolates to better understand how they survive through winemaking.

Predict potential loss of colour in your red wine as it ages

If you haven’t yet joined the growing numbers of winemakers using the AWRI’s Tannin Portal, here’s another reason to get on board. You can now predict potential colour loss of your red wine as it ages.

We’ve expanded the functionality of the AWRI Tannin Portal. Winemakers can now gain an insight into issues surrounding colour stability in red wines and ferments, by allowing measurement of free anthocyanins and pigmented tannins. These two parameters are known to relate to stabilisation of colour as red wines age. By measurement at an early stage in the wine’s life, potential colour loss issues over time can be predicted.

The AWRI Tannin Portal is a web-based tool that can be used to predict levels of tannins, phenolics and pigments in red wines and ferments. Wine producers who subscribe to the Portal are able to generate data in real-time using their own UV-Vis spectrophotometer.

The Portal now contains over 6,000 wine samples incorporating a variety of vintages, varieties and regions from various countries. Users can apply these data to benchmark the levels of tannins, phenolics and colour in their own wines.

Click here for more information on the Portal, or please contact Neil Scrimgeour, Commercial Services (telephone 08 8313 0892).

Boosting the Chardonnay aroma profile with nitrogen

Is your Chardonnay juice a little lacking in lustre? We compared moderate and high additions of inorganic (diammonium phosphate) and organic (amino acid) nitrogen supplementation of Chardonnay grape juice and found the results ranged from improved aroma intensity with ‘fruity’ attributes through to undesirable ‘solvent’ notes. Find out how nitrogen management can be a valuable tool for the winemaker.

In the comparison of inorganic (diammonium phosphate) and organic (amino acid) nitrogen supplementation of (Chardonnay) grape juice, we showed that moderate additions increased both the aroma intensity and ‘fruity’ attributes whilst reducing ‘complex’ attributes.

However, high addition of inorganic, but not organic nitrogen, produced a ‘solvent’ or ‘estery’ taint.

Nitrogen management provides an important additional tool for modulating wine flavour and style.

(AWRI publication #1300 Curtin, C.D.; Bellon, J.R.; Bartowsky, E.J.; Henschke, P.A.; Chambers, P.J.; Herderich, M.J.; Pretorius, I.S. Harnessing AWRI’s yeast and bacterial research to shape ‘Next-Gen’ Chardonnay Part 2: Influence of yeast, nutritional management and malolactic fermentation. Wine & Viticulture Journal 26(2), 15-24.)

Keeping your cool while making the most from every last drop

Feeling a little hot under the collar while spending too much on keeping cool? Could you be responsible for the nasty neighbourhood pong? Maybe it’s time to invest in understanding your refrigeration and winery wastewater processes? The AWRI is now running practical, case study orientated one day workshops which explore wastewater management, water re-use and improving winery refrigeration.

The full day program will equip people from both small to large wineries with the skills and practical know-how to implement simple changes within their winery. Participants will be guided through the recently-released GWRDC winery wastewater management and recycling project publications: Business fundamentals, Operational Guidelines and Resource Kit, available online here.

Cleaner production opportunities, best practice treatment options, problem solving and water reuse will be discussed through a series of case studies delivered by the AWRI’s Karl Forsyth.

Refrigeration can be responsible for up to 70% of winery energy consumption. How to improve winery refrigeration efficiency will be explained through a series of selective case studies.

Preview content will be available through the AWRI’s free of charge webinar (online seminar) on 6 December. Register here now. To request a workshop for your region contact rtp@awri.com.au

Attend our seminars without leaving your desk

We know what it’s like – it is sometimes too hard to get away from work to keep up with the latest developments. Here’s a way to keep up to date and you don’t have to leave your desk – and the best news is that it is free!

A weekly seminar over the web (webinar) delivered to your desktop by the experts at the AWRI. The AWRI’s webinars cover a range of winemaking, winery management and viticulture topics. Each webinar consists of a presentation followed by an interactive Q&A session. Grab your coffee and get in front of your computer each Tuesday at 11:30 am (Australia Central Summer Time) to join in.

Topics include sustainability, minty flavours in red wines, terroir and cleaner production strategies covering water reuse and winery refrigeration efficiency. Our last webinar for the year will be held on 6 December. Register now.

Wines of France

You told us you want more educational classes about international wines – so we’ve turned to France! We’ve enlisted the help of two MWs and our Advanced Wine Assessment Course team have sourced 80 bottles of French wine not found in Australia. The first one-day course has been sold out, but there are still limited places available in Day 2.

  • A comprehensive one day tasting experience to give you a valuable insight into the diverse regions and unique wine styles of France.
  • Led by two Masters of Wine professionals.
  • The tasting will include leading benchmarks, examples of wines from the lesser known appellations and wines that have never been seen before in Australia.
  • This will be a unique session brought to you from the team that stages the AWRI’s Advanced Wine Assessment Course (AWAC).
  • This program has been tailored to suit wine professionals with advanced tasting skills.
  • In total, eighty wines will be presented blind and evaluated in a wineshow style format.
  • Seats are limited so act quickly to secure your place.

Click here for more information.

Spicy win in Italy for AWRI scientist

The AWRI’s work on the spicy black pepper character in wine (rotondone), in collaboration with the University of Auckland, was presented recently at the viticulture conference GiESCO 2011 in Asti, Italy. AWRI Senior Scientist, Tracey Siebert, and the University of Auckland’s Gerard Logan were awarded the Italo Eynard Award for best paper.

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 194 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

Blair, R. After the outbreak. WBM (August): 46-47; 2011.

Capone, D.L., Pardon, K.H., Cordente, A.G., Jeffery, D.W. Identification and quantification of 3-S-Cysteinylglycinehexan-1-ol (Cysgly-3-MH) in Sauvignon blanc grape juice by HPLC-MS/MS. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. 59 (20): 11204-11210; 2011

Hayasaka, Y., Baldock, G., Parker, M., Herderich, M., Pretorius, I. Seeing through the haze: the discovery of chemical markers for smoke exposure. Wine & viticulture journal 26 (5): 26, 28-31; 2011.

Schmidt, S.A., Dillon, S., Kolouchova, R., Henschke, P.A., Borneman, A.R., Forgan, A., Chambers, P.J., Pretorius, I.S. Grape juice and wine yeast: happy marriages and how to avoid getting stuck with the wrong partner. Wine & viticulture journal 26 (5): 30-34; 2011

Robinson, E., Francis, L., Cozzolino, D. Cutting through the confusion around Pinot G. Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & winemaker (567) : 48-52, 54; 2011.

Ugliano, M., Kwiatkowski, M., Capone, D., Siebert, T., Dieval, J-B., Aagaard, O., Waters, E.J., Vidal, S. [Effect of wine composition, oxygen exposure and closure-derived oxygen on Sauvignon blanc key sulphur aroma compounds.] Effet de la composition d’un vin, de l’exposition à l’oxygène et de l’oxygène issu du bouchage sur les composés aromatiques soufrés principaux d’un Sauvignon.

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.