The Australian Wine Research Institute

The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) announced today the results of the election conducted to appoint three levy representatives to the new AWRI Board. The new appointments are effective from 1 January 2006.

Managing Director, Professor Sakkie Pretorius, said “I am pleased to announce that Robin Day and Tim James have been returned to the AWRI Board for a further three years. Robin and Tim have been extremely valuable contributors to the success of the AWRI, and I am delighted that we have been able to secure their services for a further term.”

In addition, Stephen Millar, President and CEO of Constellation Wines, the world’s largest wine company, has been elected as a new member of the AWRI’s Board.

Stephen currently serves in leadership roles in numerous industry organisations. He is an Executive Council Member, and Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA). He is also a Director of Drinkwise Australia – an Australian industry initiative to promote responsible alcohol consumption.

“Stephen brings to the AWRI Board high level corporate experience, outstanding strategic skills and a proven track record in leadership within the wine industry. I am very much looking forward to working with Stephen in the next phase of the AWRI’s growth”, said Sakkie.

The new Board comprises some of Australia’s most well respected industry members as well as a representative from The University of Adelaide. The members are:

• Jim Brayne (McWilliam’s Wines)
• Peter Dawson (Hardy Wine Company)
• Robin Day (Domain Day)
• Tim James (Wirra Wirra)
• Geoff Linton (Yalumba Wines)
• Stephen Millar (Constellation Wines)
• Sakkie Pretorius (Managing Director, AWRI, ex officio)
• Steve Tyerman (The University of Adelaide)

The AWRI Board will be supplemented with two additional Directors who will be elected by the new Board under the AWRI’s ‘Special Qualification Directors’ clause. “We expect these appointments to be made during the next few months”, said Sakkie.

Further information: Sakkie Pretorius, Managing Director tel: 08 8303 6610.

Genetically modified wine yeasts have arrived on the North American market; what does this mean for the Australian industry?

Until now, the GMO debate has largely been academic for Australian grape growers and winemakers but this is likely to change: Springer Oenologie (a division of Lesaffre Yeast Corporation) has released the first GM wine yeast, known as ML01, to the North American market.

For the time being release of ML01 to the North American market should make little or no difference to what is done in Australia; this yeast has not been approved for use in this country. Before GMOs (and GMO-derived products) can be used in food production or processing in Australia they are subjected to prescribed risk assessments and there is considerable public consultation required during this process.

In addition to this, even if a GM yeast was to get through the above approvals processes, it still would not be used to make wine in Australia; at least not at this time. The Australian wine industry’s position on the application of gene technology in grape and wine production is: .that no genetically modified organisms be used in the production of Australian wine¹. The reason for this is not that the industry is anti-GM but rather that it acknowledges the importance of safety and public acceptance before adopting any new technology in wine production. The industry takes the view that: ‘. there are potentially great benefits in employing gene technology‘ however ‘the industry is also conscious of the need for safety, openness and quality assurance in any use of gene technology‘.

In this context it is important to note that U.S. legislation does not require labeling to notify the consumer that Springer Oenologie’s ML01 yeast is a GMO. Therefore it is important for Australian winemakers to be vigilant in case some ML01 does find its way here.

Whether the Australian wine industry’s position on use of GMOs in winemaking is likely to change in the foreseeable future depends on the balance between risks and benefits associated with using such yeasts and whether local and overseas markets are seen to be ready to accept wines that have been made using GMOs.

What are the risks associated with using ML01? In terms of health risks there should be none. The two foreign genes incorporated into the wine yeast to make it MLF-competent come from organisms that are typically associated with foods and/or beverages. One comes from the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which is found in many alcoholic beverages, and the other comes from O. oeni, which is used routinely in the wine industry for MLF. A great deal of work has been done to show that the two genes are stable in their new background and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration designated it a GRAS (generally recognised as safe) organism in their response to Lesaffre’s submission to that office (although it should be pointed out that ‘GRAS’ is not recognised as a global standard).

It would seem from balancing some of the more obvious risks and benefits associated with the use of ML01, that having access to this yeast might be a good thing for Australian winemakers. However, even if ML01 was to be approved by Australian authorities for use in this country, public acceptance of GMOs in domestic and overseas markets remains a major hurdle, and until the industry can be assured of this it will toe a cautious line. Thus, for now it is important to adhere to the Australian Wine Industry’s position that no genetically modified organisms be used in the production of Australian wine.

Further information:

Dr Paul Chambers, Principal Molecular Biologist, The Australian Wine Research Institute
Telephone: 08 8303 6600; email: Paul.Chambers@awri.com.au
or
Rae Blair, Manager – Communication and Information Services, The Australian Wine Research Institute
Telephone: 08 8303 6600; email: Rae.Blair@awri.com.au

The South Australian Government has recognised the importance of the wine industry with $9.5 m in funding that will allow the development of a Wine Innovation Cluster, located on the Waite Precinct in Urrbrae. This Cluster will bring together the leading R&D groups for the wine industry, which will underpin the industry for the next phase of growth.

The purpose built state-of-the-art facility (Wine Innovation Cluster) will be a new home for The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI), will include space for Provisor Pty Ltd (the major national research facility), SARDI Viticulture staff, and grape and wine scientists of The University of Adelaide and will link to the existing CSIRO Plant Industry building. The Wine Innovation Cluster will have the following features to make it an asset for all Australian wine industry research.

• A collocated multidisciplinary research capacity to develop practical tools for whole of chain management of colour, tannin, aroma and flavour features in grapes and wine which contribute to wine quality.
• Collocation of AWRI, Provisor and UA analytical chemistry equipment with CSIRO analytical laboratories to develop a world-leading analytical chemistry cluster with a grape and wine focus.
• Strong linkages among viticultural researchers with access to shared sites.
• Development of multiple-user laboratories for grape and wine sample preparation for chemical analysis.
• Collocated fermentation laboratories with Multi-Scale fermentation capabilities.
• Space for visiting researchers to access the facilities — domestic and international.
• Joint operation and development of sensory facilities.
• A capacity to develop metabolomics for use in grape and wine research.

Collocation of these grape and wine R&D and innovation leaders will ensure national-scale, unified and collaborative direction of direct benefit to the Australian wine and grape industry.

The Australian Wine Research Institute, celebrating its 50^th Anniversary in 2005, has outgrown its existing facility with older parts of the building near to ‘falling apart’. “We welcome the State Government’s support of providing appropriate accommodation for the AWRI. This funding has secured AWRI’s presence in South Australia, and also facilitated an opportunity for closer collaboration with other wine and grape R&D providers”, said Professor Sakkie Pretorius, Managing Director of The Australian Wine Research Institute. “We have been serving the national wine industry for 50 years and these new facilities will assist Australia to maintain its wine leadership role. The Wine Innovation Cluster will be able to accommodate and attract the brightest scientists from Australia and around the world to apply their skills for Australia’s benefit.”

For further information: Sakkie Pretorius, Managing Director, or Rae Blair, Manager – Communication and Information Services, The Australian Wine Research Institute (tel: 08 8303 6610, email: Rae.Blair@awri.com.au)

Professor Peter Høj has been appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer at the Australian Research Council (ARC) effective from 1 October 2004.

Peter Høj commenced at the AWRI in November 1997, and from this time implemented a cross-disciplinary approach to strategic research and development. During his tenure, the AWRI was recognised with the receipt of the Maurice O’Shea Award in 2002 for its contribution to the Australian wine industry. Peter had a strong involvement in the establishment of the National Wine Industry Research Cluster (now known as Provisor) through the grant awarded from the Major National Research Facilities scheme, for which he was a shared recipient of the SA Great Award (2002). He was also awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003 for his service through wine research and science.

During his AWRI tenure, Peter has gained extensive experience as a member of various industry, science and research committees, including the Steering Committee for the McGauchie Review in 2003 on collaboration between universities and publicly funded research agencies, and the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council.

A full press release from the Hon Dr Brendan Nelson MP dated 22 June 2004 is attached.

Peter’s last day at the AWRI is Friday, 27 August 2004, after which he will have a good holiday.

The AWRI’s Chairman and Council have already commenced the process of filling the vacancy that Peter’s new appointment has created.