The Australian Wine Research Institute

14th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference starts Sunday!
AWRI posters at the 14th AWITC – a sneak preview!
Workshop it at the 14th AWITC
Visit the AWRI at WineTech 2010 (the Australian wine industry trade exhibition) Stand 605
Find out how the AWRI can help your business (4-7 July, Adelaide Convention Centre)
Win a netbook computer – help us build a better website!
What’s in your water?
Protein haze in wine unravelled
Removing salt from wine without the hypertension
Get to know your closure
Recent AWRI publications – order now
List of AWRI posters at the 14th AWITC
Disclaimer

14th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference starts Sunday!

The Australian wine industry’s largest gathering of grape and wine industry members – held every three years starts this Sunday at the Adelaide Convention Centre (4-7 July).

Registrations are still being accepted – if you are part of the grape and wine industry this conference is for you. With so much on offer, don’t miss out on being part of this important conference. Click here to register.

AWRI posters at the 14th AWITC – a sneak preview!

Check out the list of the 64 AWRI posters to be presented at the 14th AWITC (4-7 July).

Come along to the poster area, at the Adelaide Convention Centre(map) to meet our staff and hear them discuss their latest research and how it can benefit grape and wine production.

For further information contact Eveline Bartowsky – Poster Coordinator.

Workshop it at the 14th AWITC

Get your hands dirty and get in amongst the hot topical issues to be workshopped at the 14AWITC starting this Saturday. Many AWRI staff are either running workshops at the 14AWITC or presenting in workshops (click here for workshop details). There are still some spaces available in selected workshops, which run until Thursday, 8 July. Dont miss out! Contact the conference secretariat for details.

Visit the AWRI at WineTech 2010 (the Australian wine industry trade exhibition) Stand 605

• Find out how the AWRI can help your business (4-7 July, Adelaide Convention Centre)Hear about our brand new cutting-edge analytical and diagnostic services and technologies. Get advice about effective packaging solutions and sustainable winemaking and grapegrowing. Learn how to cut your energy costs. See the valuable resources available via our website. Pick up information Fact Sheets or an information pack on our most common requests. Our staff are keen to meet you and to hear how we can deliver more to assist your business.
• Win a netbook computer – help us build a better website!We are seeking feedback on the AWRI’s website. How can we make it better for you? Fill in our questionnaire and you’ll be in with a chance to win a Toshiba NB300 netbook computer (sponsored by P.C. Computers).

  Visit us at Stand 605 at the Adelaide Convention Centre, between 4-7 July; spend a short time completing a questionnaire; and you’ll be in with a chance to win a Toshiba NB300 netbook (and then you can be connected to our website anywhere, anytime!). We look forward to seeing you there! Contact us for further information.

What’s in your water?

If you don’t think you need to check the water supplies in your winery, think again. Our winemaking team has observed a number of problems arising from the use of tainted, discoloured or contaminated water.

Plastic taints can enter water via the use of non-food grade hoses, such as ordinary garden hoses. Checking your taps in your winery could reveal sources of TCA and TBA taints. Geosmin or earthy taints can also occur through soil or other bacteria infecting water supplies. And if your water is blue, yellow or some other colour, it’s possible it has metal contamination, with the most likely source being boilers or from using brass fittings. Contact the Winemaking and Extension Services team if you want to discuss any water quality concerns.

Contact the Winemaking and Extension Services team if you want to discuss any water quality concerns.

Protein haze in wine unravelled

We now have an excellent understanding of haze protein molecular structures and properties, which allows winemakers to optimise enzyme and heat treatment as bentonite alternatives.

This enhanced understanding is thanks to the relatively recent availability of cutting edge instrumentation in Australia, like the Australian Synchrotron, and building on the wine industry’s previous investment in wine protein haze research. Read the latest on our work into wine protein haze in an article published in the March/April 2010 issue of Australian New Zealand Wine Industry Journal.

Contact the Winemaking and Extension Services team for more information.

Reference:

Marangon, M., Van Sluyter, S., Waters, E.J., Herderich, M.J., Pretorius, I.S. (2010) Recent advances help us understand protein haze more clearly. Aust. NZ Wine Ind J. 25(2) 24-27.

Removing salt from wine without the hypertension

We’ve completed a non-commercial independent assessment of Electrodialysis (ED) as a means of removing excess salt from wine.

This study (published in the Australian New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker May 2010 issue) showed that the ED treatment can have a strong effect in reducing sodium, potassium and chloride levels in wines, with corresponding reduction in salty taste. There was little, if any, undesirable effect on the sensory qualities of the treated wines.

For further information, contact the Winemaking and Extension Services team.

Reference:

Cowey, G., Travis, B., Simos, C., Francis, L. (2010) Salt removal from wine using electrodialysis. Aust. NZ. Grapegrower Winemaker, 556; 60-64.

Get to know your closure

Be part of international benchmarking trials, run by the AWRI, on wine bottle closures. The AWRI is calling for expressions of interest from wineries and closure manufacturers in two key closure benchmarking trials.

These innovative and collaborative trials are set to provide the definitive performance data that will help wineries to understand how closure performance can be managed to tailor the quality and style of wine products.

A still white wine trial initiated in 2009 is now starting to shed light on key attributes that can influence wine style and character as well as the production of oxidative and reductive characters under a range of closure products. In addition to this, the AWRI is planning a major red wine closure trial that will provide valuable insight on how closure oxygen transmission rate (OTR) drives chemical and sensory development and influences the consumer preferences for a premium Shiraz varietal.

For further information, contact our Commercial Services team or visit the AWRI Commercial Services website.

Recent AWRI publications – order now

Recent publications by AWRI staff can be requested from the John Fornachon Memorial Library. To get your copies, contact Anne, Ingrid and Sean at infoservices@awri.com.au.

Cowey, G., Travis, B., Simos, C., Francis, L. (2010) Salt removal from wine using electrodialysis. Australian & New Zealand grapegrower & winemaker (556) ; 60-64.

Stockley, C.S. Does alcohol adversely affect an adolescent’s brain? Australian & New Zealand grapegrower & winemaker (555) : 42-45 ; 2010.

Ugliano, M., Kwiatkowski, M.J., Travis, B., Francis, I.L., Waters, E.J., Herderich, M.J., Pretorius, I.S. Post-bottling management of oxygen to reduce off-flavor formation and optimize wine style. Practical winery & vineyard 30 (6) : 14-16, 18, 20-21, 49 ; 2010.

Pretorius, S. Beyond the buzz. WBM (April) : 56-58 ; 2010.

Pretorius, S. Beyond competition. WBM (May) : 34-35 ; 2010.

Marangon, M., van Sluyter, S., Waters, E.J., Herderich, M.J., Pretorius, I.S. Recent advances help us understand protein haze more clearly Australian & New Zealand wine industry journal 25 (2) : 24-27 ; 2010.

King, E.S., Kievit, R.L., Curtin, C., Swiegers, J.H., Pretorius, I.S., Bastian, S.E.P., Francis, I.L. The effect of multiple yeasts co-inoculations on Sauvignon Blanc wine aroma composition, sensory properties and consumer preference. Food chemistry 122 (3) : 616-626 ; 2010.

Kutyna, D.R., Varela, C., Henschke, P. A., Chambers, P.J., Stanley, G.A. Microbiological approaches to lowering ethanol concentration in wine. Trends in food science & technology 21 (6) : 293-302 ; 2010.

List of AWRI posters at the 14th AWITC

• Clarification and maturation

  • 5: A comparison of oak and alternative storage vessels for maturation of Pinot Noir, Robert Dambergs

• Climate change

• 11: Energy efficiency in the Australian wine sector: immediate strategies and emerging technologies, Richard Muhlack

• Fermentation

  • 18: Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes involved in membrane stability modulate accumulation of flavour compounds during fermentation, Chris Curtin
  • 20: Timing of malolactic fermentation inoculation in Shiraz grape must and wine: influence on chemical composition, Caroline Abrahamse
  • 22: Influence of yeast strain on Shiraz wine composition a multivariate approach, Helen Holt
  • 23: Real time measurement of yeast assimilable nitrogen, Daniel Cozzolino
  • 24: Regulation of sulfur metabolism during wine fermentation by nutrient supplements, Gal Winter
  • 25: Modulation of Chardonnay aroma profile: effect of nitrogen juice supplementation with amino acids, Paul Henschke
  • 26: Are yeast-derived flavour differences in young Sauvignon Blanc wines retained after a period of bottle age?, Ellena King
  • 27: Choice of yeast influences aroma profile and consumer preference of Sauvignon Blanc wines, Ellena King
  • 29: The AWRI Wine Microorganism Culture Collection (WMCC) – A valuable resource for the Australian wine industry., Jane McCarthy
  • 31: Generating wine yeasts for the production of low alcohol wines, Cristian Varela
  • 32: Influence of malolactic fermentation on the sensory and chemical properties of Cabernet Sauvignon wine, Peter Costello
  • 38: Systems Biology: a new approach to industrial yeast strain development, Cristian Varela
  • 39: The role of yeast in the generation and degradation of damascenone in wine, Natoiya Lloyd
  • 41: Yeast influence on Margaret River Chardonnay volatile aroma compound profiles, sensory attributes, and consumer preferences, Chris Curtin
  • 42: What makes wine yeast special; Comparative genomics of industrial strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Anthony Borneman

• Grape and wine aroma, flavour and colour

  • 48: Aroma composition and sensory properties of Shiraz wines as affected by nitrogen supplementation and yeast species, Maurizio Ugliano
  • 49: Do elevated levels of phenolics in white wines affect consumers preferences?, Patricia Osidacz
  • 56: Rotundone: development in the grape and extraction during fermentation, Tracey Siebert
  • 58: Impact of pre- and post-bottling oxygen exposure on the development of Shiraz wines during storage, Mariola Kwiatkowski
  • 59: Investigation of the contribution of several volatile phenols to bushfire smoke-related sensory properties in red wine, Patricia Osidacz
  • 60: Genotypic diversity in the malolactic fermentation bacterium Oenococcus oeni, Eveline Bartowsky
  • 61: Isolation of sulfite reductase variants of a commercial wine yeast with significantly reduced hydrogen sulfide production, Antonio Cordente
  • 64: Identification and characterisation of a novel flavour enhancing gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: STR3, Sylvester Holt
  • 69: In-bottle measurement of closure oxygen transmission rates, Warren Roget
  • 70: Assessing desirable levels of passion-fruit, cat pee and green flavours in Sauvignon Blanc consumer preferences and contribution of key aroma compounds, Ellena King
  • 71: Quantification of the precursors to the wine odorant 3-mercaptohexanol, Dimitra Capone
  • 72: The role of copper and glutathione addition and oxygen exposure in the evolution of key aroma compounds of Sauvignon Blanc, Maurizio Ugliano
  • 74: Aroma constituents of ultra-premium Shiraz wine, Jason Geue
  • 79: A cross-cultural study comparing Chinese and Australian red wine preferences, Patricia Osidacz
  • 81: The effect of repeated wine exposure on consumer preferences, Patricia Osidacz
  • 83: The origin of eucalyptol in Australian wines, Dimitra Capone

• Information and technology transfer

  • 103: Electronic information from The Australian Wine Research Institute, Sean Boden
  • 108: Protein stabilisation of white wines using zirconium dioxide enclosed in a metallic cage, Matteo Marangon

• Microbial spoilage

  • 115: Impact of Australian Dekkera (Brettanomyces) bruxellensis strains upon wine quality, Chris Curtin

• Phenolics in red wine

  • 126: Analysis of tannin in red wine development of a spectral calibration model for industry use, Robert Dambergs
  • 127: Transfer of a spectral calibration for wine tannin to industry laboratories, Robert Dambergs
  • 128: Vinification effects on Pinot Noir wine phenolic profiles, Robert Dambergs
  • 129: Rapid phenolic profiling and benchmarking using the AWRI Tannin Portal, Paul Smith
  • 130: Toward a model of grape skin tannin extraction during vinification, Keren Bindon
  • 131: Phenolic profiling of a 30 year vertical series of Australian Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz wines, Paul Smith
  • 132: Effect of wine age on tannin-protein interaction, Jacqui McRae
  • 133: Spectral discrimination of variety and quality with wines spanning three decades, Robert Dambergs
  • 134: The Bodum French Press – a simple, reliable, small-lot red wine fermentation method, Robert Dambergs
  • 135: The relationship between Pinot Noir wine spectral properties and wine show performance, Robert Dambergs
  • 136: The relationship between total phenolics and tannin in red wines of varying maturation, Robert Dambergs
  • 137: Vinification effects on Pinot Noir wine phenolic profiles, Robert Dambergs
  • 138: Colour and tannin compositional variation with wine allocation, Stella Kassara

• Soil and irrigation management

  • 144: In vineyard soil monitoring, Daniel Cozzolino

• Wine and grape composition and analysis

  • 164: Leaning towards continuous improvement in the laboratory, Leanne Craddock
  • 167: Regional differences in Australian Shiraz: the role of spectroscopy, Daniel Cozzolino
  • 169: Rapid and objective analysis of grape composition, Daniel Cozzolino
  • 173: Is your wine analysis data good to the last drop or is it hard to swallow?, Phil Mercurio
  • 180: Rapid and objective analysis of wine, Daniel Cozzolino
  • 181: Dissolved oxygen measurements during processing in the winery, Martin Day
  • 185: Thaumatin-like proteins or Chitinases: what is responsible for white wine haze formation?, Matteo Marangon
  • 186: Characterisation of regionality using tannin concentration profiling, Paul Smith
  • 188: VIS-NIR spectroscopy to predict selected chemical parameters in unopened bottles of Sauvignon Blanc wines, Mariola Kwiatkowski
  • 190: Rapid and accurate quantification of hydrogen sulfide during fermentation: comparison of methods for winery applications, Maurizio Ugliano
  • 191: Chardonnay grape juice composition and component influence on fermentation outcomes, Simon Schmidt

• Wine contamination

  • 202: Smoke-affected grape and wine research-3: analysis of smoke derived volatile phenols in grapes and wine, Gayle Baldock
  • 203: Smoke-affected grape and wine research-1: formation of guaiacol conjugates in berries and leaves of grapevine Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon: Investigations using deuterium labelling and HPLC-MS and MS/MS analysis, Yoji Hayasaka
  • 204: Smoke-affected grape and wine research-2: Investigation of the presence of glycoconjugated forms of smoke-derived volatile phenols in smoke-affected grapes and wine using HPLC-MS/MS, Yoji Hayasaka

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.

How to control alcohol
Register now
Understanding tannins
TPO 2 be sure 2 be sure
Who’s lurking in your winery?
Come to our Roadshows!
AWRI award winners
New Web-based Winemaking Resources
Get the facts
New research on smoke

How to control alcohol

Are you looking for the latest, tried and tested methods to keep alcohol under control? AWRI researchers have produced a new Fact Sheet for grapegrowers and winemakers to adjust alcohol concentration.

Hot summers and long hours of sunshine can make it hard for Australian grape and wine producers to keep alcohol in check. Riper fruit contains higher levels of sugar, which can lead to high levels of alcohol.

Read our Fact Sheet to find out how you can keep your wine on track and avoid the negatives of high alcohol it can affect flavour, attract higher taxes in some export markets and can have repercussions for public health.

You can also email our Winemaking and Extension Services team for more information or call 08 8313 6600.

Register now

Registrations for the 14th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (AWITC) are coming in from around the world and workshops are filling fast.

The conference will be held in Adelaide from 3-8 July 2010, with over 200 technical posters on display and a comprehensive workshop program.

The event is an ideal opportunity to meet key players in the grape and wine sector to build knowledge, share experiences, highlight business opportunities and create change.

Click here for a ‘snap shot’ of all of the conference activities, or click here for the full conference program (scroll to page 5 for full session details).

Many workshops are selling out, so register today to guarantee your spot.

For more information, email Conference Manager, Kate Beames or telephone: 08 8313 6696.

Understanding tannins

AWRI researchers have made new discoveries about the way that tannin interacts with other wine components, with repercussions for the mouth-feel of some wines.

An initial study under model wine conditions has shown that grape-derived cell wall materials have a stronger affinity for seed tannins than skin tannins of a similar size. Click here to access the paper.

The results will form the basis of research on tannin interactions with non-phenolic polymers. Experiments are underway to understand the selectivity of grape-based molecules for binding to tannins, influencing important mouth-feel attributes.

To learn more about wine tannins come along to the Managing tannins in the vineyard and winery workshop at the 14th AWITC.

TPO 2 be sure 2 be sure

Oxygen levels in wine can have a major effect on wine quality and shelf-life. To help winemakers quantify and manage total package oxygen (TPO) levels, the AWRI is offering a benchmarking service and has designed a new tool, now available on the web.

Total package oxygen consists of dissolved oxygen in the wine matrix – that many bottling facilities currently monitor – and the oxygen residing in the headspace.

The AWRI’s oxygen management benchmarking service, using the NomaSense, accurately quantifies headspace oxygen levels which are typically well in excess of dissolved oxygen levels.

A web-based tool has been developed to help bottling operations to estimate the TPO through dissolved oxygen measurements.

The AWRI has also designed a new workshop to help winemakers manage oxygen levels effectively.

The workshop is part of the AWITC program. Click here for more information.

Who’s lurking in your winery?

To winemakers, bacteria and yeast can be friends or foes. Knowing which microbes are in your winery, and how they can be managed, is critical for consistent, quality wine production and to reduce the risk of contamination and spoilage.

The AWRI Commercial Services offer a Micro ID analysis that can identify thousands of different types of microbes including bacteria, fungi (yeasts) and mould, using a bacterial library with more than 1700 species, and a fungal library with more than 1000 species.

For further information email Leanne Craddock. or call on 08 8313 6600.

Come to our Roadshows!

The AWRI is visiting the Northern Slopes zone in New England from 19 – 20 May. See our packaging workshop program or our seminar program covering a range of AWRI research topics.

To book your place, email Susan Moore from the Southern New England Vignerons Association or call on 02 6775 3793 or 0427 753 793.

Find out more about our roadshows here, check when we are visiting your region, or contact Virginia Phillips for more information.

AWRI award winners

AWRI researchers have picked up awards in Germany as well as Australia, recognising pioneering work on yeast development and regionality.

At the Intervitis Interfructa congress, held in Stuttgart in March, an AWRI-developed yeast won the Innovation Award 2010. Commercially available, the yeast Maurivin Platinum does not produce detectible hydrogen sulfide. The AWRI’s research team was Toni Garcia Cordente, Hentie Swiegers and Chris Curtin. For further information contact Winemaking and Extension Services.

The AWRI also won two awards at the 14th Australian Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference held at the National Wine Centre in Adelaide last month. Visiting scientist, Roberto Riovanto from the University of Padua, won the The Lynsey Welsh Award for innovation in NIR spectroscopy and its use as a tool to trace and authenticate Australian wines from different regions.

The AWRI’s Mariola Kwiatkowski won the Best Poster Prize at the same conference. Entitled ‘VIS-NIR spectroscopy to predict selected chemical parameters in unopened bottles of Sauvignon Blanc wines’. The poster was co-authored by Mariola Kwiatkowski, Maurizio Ugliano and Elizabeth Waters. A copy of the poster can be found here.

New Web-based Winemaking Resources

Check out the new ‘Winemaking Resources‘ section of the AWRI website. The section includes winemaking calculators, laboratory methods and fermentation information with yeast hydration and preparation; ferment graphs that allow you to plot your ferment each day; YAN and nutrient information; and methods to restart stuck fermentations.

New FAQs include Oxidative pinking, Elemental sulfur and Botrytis.

The AWRI’s Taint and Packaging Roadshow sections now link to relevant information, such as taint and fault thresholds, assessment methods, prevention and wine disposal of tainted or non-saleable wine.

If you would like particular information to be added to our website, please contact Geoff Cowey.

Get the facts

To get the facts about AWRI research and find out how the AWRI can help you, check out the Fact Sheets, also on the AWRI website.

From ‘Applications of Spectroscopy‘ to ‘Smoke taint‘ and ‘Stuck fermentation‘ to ‘Tannin‘ you’ll find user-friendly guides to AWRI research findings as well as ‘Winemaking and Extension Services‘.

If you can’t find the information you need or you have ideas for other Fact Sheets, we’d love your feedback.

New research on smoke

New research papers on smoke taint are now available from the AWRI Library. To get your copies, contact Anne, Ingrid and Sean at infoservices@awri.com.au

The papers are:

Hayasaka, Y., Dungey, K.A., Baldock, G.A., Kennison, K.R., Wilkinson, K.L. Identification of a -D-glucopyranoside precursor to guaiacol in grape juice following grapevine exposure to smoke. Analytica Chimica Acta 660, (1-2): 143-148 ; 2010.

Hayasaka, Y., Baldock, G.A., Pardon, K.H., Jeffery, D.W., Herderich, M.J. Investigation into the formation of guaiacol conjugates in berries and leaves of grapevine Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet sauvignon using stable isotope tracers combined with HPLC-MS and MS/MS analysis. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 58 (4): 2076-2081 ; 2010.

Kennison, K.R., Wilkinson, K.L., Pollnitz, A.P., Williams, H.G., Gibberd, M.R. Effect of timing and duration of grapevine exposure to smoke on the composition an sensory properties of wine. Australian journal of grape and wine research 15 (3): 228-237 ; 2009.

Stuck on sulfur?
Message in a bottle
All about salt
Tracking tropical
Green talent
London tastes Australia
New chair

Stuck on sulfur?

If you’ve sprayed your grapes with sulfur and need to harvest now within the 30 day withholding period, the AWRI has some advice to help you.

If you are concerned about the effects of sulfur on yeast and fermentation, access our eBulletin which offers easy-to-follow advice to reduce your risk of problems. Contact Marcel Essling from the AWRI’s Viticulture team on (08) 8313 6600 for more information.

Message in a bottle

Did you know that the loss of fresh fruit characters and the development of ‘reductive’ and ‘oxidised’ characters could be the result of poor management of oxygen transmission through wine bottle closures or packaging? Commercial Services can now accurately measure the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of your packaging non-destructively.

Brand new and proven to be highly reproducible, the method directly measures the real OTR of different closures and packaging solutions while they are in contact with wine. It can be used to check ‘problem’ bottles from a particular batch or weak points in bulk container packaging. Email AWRI Commercial Services or call on (08) 8313 6600 to test your closures, or access the Commercial Services Packaging solutions webpage for more information.

All about salt

Are you confused about salt? Do you know whether to measure sodium or chloride concentration? What’s the legal limit? Is there a link between high salt levels in petioles (leaf stems) and the amount that ends up in wine?

The AWRI’s salinity experts are here to help. They recommend that you measure chloride ion concentrations to stay within legal limits. The Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code has set the limit at 1000 mg/L of soluble chlorides expressed as sodium chlorides that equates to 607 mg/L of choride ion.

As for petioles – taken at flowering or veraison – there’s evidence that high salt levels might indicate more salt in your grape juice. How much, however, cannot be predicted.

To find out more about salt in winemaking contact Geoff Cowey.

Tracking tropical

What’s the link between tropical aromas in Sauvignon Blanc and the precursors (or compounds) that create them? How do they change or degrade in the vineyard, during transport and in winemaking?

The AWRI’s Aroma Chemistry team has been on a mission to find out. Their discoveries have just been published – a must-read for anyone wanting to know how tropical thiol aromas are created and how precursors change from the vineyard to the winery.

For a summary access the 2009 AWRI Annual Report, or contact the AWRI Library to request the scientific publications:

Synthesis of Wine Thiol Conjugates and Labeled Analogues: Fermentation of the Glutathione Conjugate of 3-Mercaptohexan-1-ol Yields the Corresponding Cysteine Conjugate and Free Thiol. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2010, 58: 13831389.

Analysis of Precursors to Wine Odorant 3-Mercaptohexan-1-ol Using HPLC-MS/MS: Resolution and Quantitation of Diastereomers of 3-S-Cysteinylhexan-1-ol and 3-S-Glutathionylhexan-1-ol. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2010, 58: 13901395.

To find out more contact Dimi Capone, or view the AWRI’s wine thiol precursors webpage.

Green talent

Are you committed to environmentally-friendly wine production, but don’t know where to start or what to do next? The AWRI Commercial Services has a new ‘green team’ of specialists ready to help you.

Karl Forsyth can help you to adopt a range of sustainable practices from more effective wastewater management to calculating your carbon footprint. In today’s environmentally-conscious marketplace, their expertise offers you a competitive edge.

For more information email Karl Forsyth.

London tastes Australia

The AWRI delivered a ‘taster’ of its Advanced Wine Assessment Course in London, in February, in conjunction with Wine Australia’s Annual Trade Tasting, World Class Australia Event.

Hosted by Con Simos, Group Manager, Industry Development and Support at the AWRI, the short course put 26 participants through their paces with two ‘flights’ of Riesling and Shiraz wines. Some wines were repeated to test tasters’ ability to score reliably and consistently.

The day presented a new approach to tasting Australian wine and a snapshot of the AWRI’s well-regarded four-day Advanced Wine Assessment Course. Con Simos went on to showcase the AWRI’s work on flavor including revealing black pepper and eucalyptus aromas as well as other AWRI research programs in Dublin, Ireland.

New Chair

The AWRI has announced that Mr Peter Dawson has been appointed Chair of the AWRI board.

Mr Dawson has played a pivotal role in the development of one of Australia’s largest wine companies Hardy’s – and the industry as a whole. He has served on many industry advisory committees, including the board of the AWRI for the past 10 years.

Peter brings his winemaking credentials as well as stable and visionary stewardship to the board.

Read the AWRI’s media release.