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March/April 2012 (No. Volume 27 Number 2)

Alternative Varieties

Western Australia winning with Arneis

The only Arneis awarded a gold medal at the 2011 Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show wasn’t made from grapes from the King Valley or the Adelaide Hills as in previous years, but Geographe, in Western Australia. Pippa and Mark Cumbers explain what led them to plant the variety in the region, which is otherwise known for Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz, and how they’ve managed it in the vineyard to date and their treatment of it in the winery.

Business & Marketing

How to protect your brand from being ‘ripped off’ in China

This article is based on a presentation delivered at the latest series of Wine Roadshow seminars hosted by Finlaysons entitled ‘Doing Business with China’, and offers some practical advice on how to thwart counterfeiters in China’s burgeoning wine market.

Taxes are going up: what are we going to drink in the future?

This report from UniSA wine marketing specialists Dr Armando Maria Corsi and Professor Larry Lockshin discusses how the introduction of an excise tax, according to the model proposed by the Federal Government’s Henry Wine Taxation Review, will likely reduce the consumption of wine in Australia, and modify the way alcoholic products compete with each other.

Time to move the digital conversation on

Richard Halstead, of Wine Intelligence, asks why the Internet and social media is having little impact on consumer behaviour in the wine category, particularly in Western countries.

Wine Australia’s social media success secrets

Industry analyst for Wine Australia Mark Rowley reveals his organisation’s social media strategy, and how the results of the messages communicated to consumers and stakeholders will be measured and monitored.

Events

Some highlights from the 8th International Cool Climate Symposium

Editor Sonya Logan travelled to Tasmania to attend the recent Cool Climate Symposium and highlights some of the presentations from the main program that particularly caught her attention.

Profile

Andrew Hood

While the pleasure of drinking wine has recently assumed greater importance than the making of it for Andrew Hood, he has left a legacy to the Tasmanian wine industry that will remain long after his retirement. During his recent visit to Tasmania, Matt Byrne caught up with Hood, where he reflected on his journey from cheese to wine, to elder statesman of the Apple's Isle's industry.

Regional Report

Tasmania

Matt Byrne journeyed across Bass Strait in the week before Christmas and ahead of the International Cool Climate Symposium that was held in Hobart in late January and early February, to speak with some of the key players in the Tasmanian wine industry about its aspirations, challenges and the recent purchase of Tamar Ridge by mainland-based Brown Brothers.

Richard Smart

Grapevine trunk diseases: a new global vineyard threat?

While Richard Smart has been aware of grapevine trunk diseases for some time, he says it appears that this complex of fungi and diseases has recently taken on a new dimension and gives his view on why this might be happening.

Super Wines

Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir

Tasting Notes

This issue features Pinot Noir wines priced at $50 or more.

Tony Keys

The dance of brand myth-creation

With the channel of wine retailing ever-shrinking, Tony Keys spoke to the executive brand managers and buyers of Australia’s top-level wine companies about how they perceive the impact of supermarket private labels on consumers’ perceptions of the quality of the labels they produce and market themselves.

Viticulture

Biochar in viticulture

Biochar is a stable form of carbon with potential for use in carbon sequestration and in improving soil condition. Last year, biochar was applied to several vineyards across Europe following a five-year, large-scale trial led by Hans-Peter Schmidt, of Switzerland’s Delinat Institute, on a vineyard in Valais. The latest results suggest improved grape quality. However, biochar activation and soil and climatic conditions play a major role on the effects of biochar in the soil-plant system.

Current vine planting trends in Queensland

Ursula Kennedy, of the University of Southern Queensland, reports that although expansion of vine plantings in the Sunshine State has slowed over recent times, growers and winemakers have been planting or grafting over to lesser-known varieties.

Right variety – right place – right time!

Following the recent Jimmy Watson Trophy success of a Tasmanian-grown Shiraz, Tony Hoare asks, will there be a rush to invest in the state’s Shiraz-suited vineyards? What needs to be considered before investing in a 21st century vineyard?

Seed ripening in King Valley Merlot vineyards

Erika Winter and Stephen Lowe summarise three years of seed ripening research in King Valley vineyards using fortnightly berry sensory assessment, seed water content measurements and rainfall monitoring in conjunction with hourly bunchzone temperature data from veraison to harvest, showing the interplay of temperature and rainfall on seed ripening progress.

Vineyard redevelopment – who’s doing what and why?

What impact has the industry downturn had on the amount and type of vineyard redevelopment taking place across the nation? For a snapshot, we asked three viticultural consultants based in three separate states – New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia – to comment on what their clients have been doing over recent years. And, while we had their attention, we asked them for their thoughts on grafting vs replanting.

WFA investigating Entwine extensions to give regional focus

The Entwine Australia sustainability program, developed and managed by the Winemakers' Federation of Australia, may soon include a regional component, streamlining the opportunity for regions to identify their own goals and gain environmental recognition.

Winemaking

Filtration of grape juice sediments: a new application for cross-flow filters

Researchers from the Engineering School of Enology, in Switzerland, look at the effectiveness of new cross-flow filters designedto filter juice sediments.

Impact of different closures on intrinsic sensory wine quality and consumer preferences

Researchers from the research and development department of cork producer Amorim & Irmãos and France’s Faculty of Enology highlight the role of oxygen on wine development during the post-bottling period, and the role of bottling and closure technologies in this phenomenon, and summarise a recent studies into the importance of closures on wine extrinsic attributes.

Ten years of transformation: Reflecting on the technical advances in the wine industry over the past decade

With the current challenges faced by the Australian wine industry, it is easy to lose sight of the extraordinary technical advances that have been made in the last 10 years. Since 2002, many practices have changed markedly; from a technical perspective, there has been a transformation in how we do many things, with grapegrowers and wine producers working smarter and more efficiently. This article explores some of those changes, the science and technology behind them and the technical support necessary for that practice change to have occurred. Investments made in the AWRI and other agencies by grapegrowers and winemakers via their investment agency, the GWRDC, have been instrumental in the development of these game-changing processes.