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The Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower and Winemaker

The Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker

May 2010 »»» subscribe

In recent years winegrapes have been frozen to preserve them to allow winemaking research to be conducted outside of vintage, but now this method is being applied commercially. Hong Kong's only winery, The 8th Estate, has been practicing the freezing of grapes prior to fermentation, prompting researchers in Australia to consider commercial application, potentially forming the basis of a new industry segment.»»»show more

This month, University of Adelaide's Vladimir Jiranek looks at the freezing of winegrapes for research purposes and the potential advantages of commercial application in Australia, including a strategy for dealing with surplus fruit. Turn to page 65 to read more.

Also this month, the Australian Wine Research Institute celebrates 55 years, with Sakkie Pretorius looking back on the history of wine research in his article titled The seven ages of wine, and making some startling predictions for its future. The AWRI team also delivers a report on salt removal using electrodialysis.

In news, Malcolm Sutton looks at the latest in the west, where a group of grapegrowers have been unsuccessful in their Supreme Court trial against the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation following prescribed burning in Warren National Park in 2004 allegedly without duty of care. Malcolm also puts the Wine Restructuring Action Agenda under the microscope after six months since its introduction, and delivers a tribute to Thomas Angove.

In viticulture, Chris Penfold delivers a report on viticulture in South Africa, Victor Sadras (et al.) looks at the interaction between background temperature and heatwaves, Matthew Bailey provides the latest update on Taltarni's insectariums, and Andrew Taylor and Trevor Wicks look at the activity of fungicides registered for controlling downy mildew. In winemaking, John Casey looks at maturation, ageing and oxidation.

This month's features include pruning solutions, post-harvest vineyard care, frost control, irrigation and IT & communications. Turn to page 42 to read Kerry Wilkinson and Cassandra Collins' article on grapevine recovery following fire damage (pruning solutions), page 45 to learn why Sarah Radford thinks the basics are still important (post-harvest vineyard care), and page 78 to read Melanie Reddaway's first article on accounting and tax issues (IT & communication s).

In closing, I would like to highlight that next month the Grapegrower & Winemaker team will be delivering an extensive preview of the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference and WineTech.

Shay Bayly
editor@grapeandwine.com.au

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Australian Viticulture

May/June 2010 »»» subscribe

Managing vineyard costs and improving business conditions

The May/June 2010 issue of Australian Viticulture, Australia's only magazine dedicated to the business of viticulture, looks at various ways that growers are managing vineyard costs.

In the vineyard machinery feature, Hobart optometrist-turned-winegrape-grower John Rees spoke to assistant editor Sonya Logan about the method he has devised to produce biodiesel made from used cooking oil. »»»show more

Still on the vineyard machinery theme, several Australian Viticulture readers shared their experiences with mechanical fruit thinning, which they say allowed for earlier ripening of grapes, higher sugar concentration, increased anthocyanin content, and reduced costs involved with the thinning treatment versus hand thinning.

Winetitles journalist Stephanie Keoghan spoke to the owners of two Australian vineyards that have taken the step of using sheep as an alternative means of managing weeds. The property owners are finding that the sheep can provide another income stream in the process.

Staying with the theme of wanting to improve business conditions in 2011 and beyond, Practical Viticulture columnist Tony Hoare reflects on the 2010 vintage, sharing his views on what needs to be taken into account on the part of both wineries and growers.

Australian Viticulture's Tasmanian correspondent Mark Smith was in the Coonawarra late last year to participate in the Coonawarra Celebrations and Barrel Series Auction. While he was there, Smith met Wynns Coonawarra Estate regional vineyard manager Allen Jenkins, who gave a tour of the vineyard and talked about the work and investment that was being undertaken to ‘renovate' another of Wynns' vineyards to ensure long-term, quality fruit production.

Mildura correspondent Terry Gange interviewed Murray Valley Winegrowers' chief executive Mike Stone shortly after his resignation from the grower body in mid-April. In the discussion, Stone said he's “leaving the post with many of the same issues on the table” as when he started nine years ago, with many issues still unresolved.

In other reports, Yalumba viticulturists Nick Dry and Dan Newson discuss their experience with Tempranillo pruning, canopy management, irrigation, ripening, harvest and clonal selection, following the ‘vineyard variety walk' held in February this year.

Pizzini Wines winemaker Joel Pizzini introduces this issue's Nebbiolo Varietal Report, giving a history of the variety in its Italian homeland and talks about how it arrived in Australia. Pizzini shares his excitement about a new Nebbiolo clone that he has trialed, saying he “expects it to produce another jump in the quality of Nebbiolo made”.

To secure your copy of the May/June 2010 Australian Viticulture and have full access to the reports mentioned, plus other practical information including the latest edition of The United Grower, featuring the most up-to-date news from Wine Grape Growers' Australia, visit www.winebiz.com.au/ausvit/ or telephone Winetitles on +618 8369 9500.

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The Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Journal

May/June 2010 »»» subscribe

Volume 25 Number 3

The Wine Industry Journal marks the mid-way point of its 25th birthday celebrations with a look at 14 top-quality Australian vintage sparkling wines. Constellation Wines Australia sparkling winemaker Ed Carr described the line-up as “faultless” during the post-tasting discussion in early June. Each wine scored a medal-worthy rating - with many ranking high silver or gold medal standard - proving Australian sparkling wines can indeed challenge their Champagne counterparts. The Journal's interview with Carr about the recent launch of the House of Arras introduces the feature. »»»show more

Former Winetitles publisher Paul Clancy has decided to step away from his involvement with the numerous industry organisations and committees with whom he has long been associated. Before his departure from that level of industry involvement, Clancy chose the Wine Industry Journal to present his thoughts on the state of the industry.

Wine processing, or crushing and pressing, is a key feature of this issue. Assistant editor Sonya Logan has compiled a series of responses from Italian and New Zealand winemakers, asking them to rate the overall performance of a continuous membrane press.

The Journal recently interviewed Simon Nordestgaard, of The University of Adelaide's School of Chemical Engineering, about a project that is nearing completion, investigating draining and pressing in white wine production. The discussion revealed that batch membrane presses are being increasingly used in white wine production for pressing, and for draining.

Industry consultant and foundation professor of oenology at Charles Sturt University, Dr Geoff Scollary, is presenting a three-part review of the status of research on grape and wine tannins in the Wine Industry Journal, starting in this issue. Funded by the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation, the series will summarise the major findings of a survey about the status of research on grape and wine tannins, including areas such as tannin biosynthesis, analytical methods for assessing tanning content and composition in grapes and wine, the role of oxygen in tannin modification, and links between tannin content and composition and sensory perception of astringency and mouthfeel in wines.

Another interesting contribution from Charles Sturt University and the associated National Wine and Grape Industry Centre in this issue is the article by Carmen Moran, Anthony Saliba and John Blackman about the customer-focussed research they recently undertook to create a product marketing plan, centred on Semillon. This variety was chosen as a result of its good performance in wine shows without commensurate consumer sales, which the researchers thought was an interesting anomaly.

Following wine historian Valmai Hankel's article in the July/August 2009 issue about Hans Irvine, she presents the first in a two-part series about James Irvine, a distant relative of Hans', and famed maker of Barossa Merlot. The second part, to be presented in the next issue, will include James' awarded winemaker daughter, Joanne Irvine.

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