eNews welcome
No to natamycin
Copper watch
Having filtration problems?
Tracking tannin
What’s that horrible smell?
Found an amazing fermentation?
The 14th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (AWITC)
Where are you now?
Congratulations Con!
Vintage papers
eNews welcome
Welcome to our first issue of the AWRI’s e-newsletter. The purpose of the newsletter is to give you quick, easy and regular updates on our activities. We hope you find this newsletter of interest and we welcome your feedback.
No to natamycin
With many export countries clamping down on the fungicide natamycin, the AWRI Commercial Services is offering screening services and support to Australian winemakers.
Natamycin is used by food manufacturers to stop the growth of yeasts and mould. Whilst it is permitted for use in winemaking in South Africa, natamycin is not permitted as a winemaking additive in Australia.
Some export countries require residues of natamycin to register below 0.005 mg/L. To make sure your wines meet this requirement AWRI Commercial Services can help you.
For more information click here or contact Randell Taylor on 08 8313 6600.
Copper watch
This month the AWRI is advising all winemakers to check copper levels in their reds and whites to stay well within international standards.
Our Health and Regulatory Manager, Creina Stockley, reminds us that Canada has a copper limit of less than 1.0 mg/L, while the USA has a limit of 0.5 mg/L.
To find out more, read our paper, below, about copper additions and other treatments for sulfide development. You can also contact the AWRI’s Geoff Cowey for advice.
Cowey, G. Excessive copper fining of wines sealed under screwcaps – identifying and treating reductive winemaking characters. Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker. 531 : 49-56 ; 2008.
Having filtration problems?
Could your filtration problems be caused by polysaccharides? The AWRI has a test that can help you.
Our researchers found that some 2008 and 2009 reds were harder to filter due to polysaccharides. They have uploaded a polysaccharides test now available on the AWRI website.
The test is simple to use and will help you to work out whether polysaccharides are causing your filtration problems. To access the test, you’ll need a password, available here. You can also contact the AWRI’s Geoff Cowey for more information.
Tracking tannin
The AWRI’s new tannin web portal offers fast, easy analysis of tannin, total phenolics and total pigment in red wines and ferments.
This online tool allows users to enter their own UV-Vis spectral data into a web interface to instantly receive results. The results can also be benchmarked against our extensive database. To find out more, read our Factsheet.
Interested in a sneak preview? To be part of our pilot users group click here or contact Commercial Services on 08 8313 6600.
What’s that horrible smell?
Hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans can make the best wine smell and taste of rotten egg or burnt rubber. But thanks to research at the AWRI, winemakers can now access a new service to identify and quantify many of the key compounds responsible for these so-called ‘reductive’ aromas.
Created primarily by stressed yeast cells or changes in sulfur chemistry under anoxic conditions, the ‘rogue’ compounds can have a significant sensory impact even at trace levels.
For more information click here, or contact Randell Taylor from AWRI’s Commercial Services on 08 8313 6600.
You can also access these papers from the AWRI Library:
O’Brien, V. Colby, C. Wine faults caused by reductive characters: low molecular weight sulfur compounds. Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Journal 23 5 : 50, 52, 54-55 ; 2008.
O’Brien, V. Francis, I.L. Osidacz, P. Packaging choices affect consumer enjoyment of wines. Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Journal 24 5 : 48-54; 2009.
Found an amazing fermentation?
If you’ve discovered an intriguing fermentation, the AWRI can help you to repeat that fermentation by isolating the related yeast or bacteria and storing it for future use.
Maybe you’ve encountered characters you’d like to access again, or you would need support with storage of your yeasts or bacteria.
Contact the AWRI Wine Microbiology Culture Collection for more information or contact Eveline Bartowsky or Jane McCarthy on 08 8313 6600.
The 14th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (AWITC)
Online registration opens soon for the 14th AWITC, to be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre, South Australia, 3-8 July 2010.
This year’s conference promises to be an exciting and informative event with a wide range of speakers from the grape and wine sector.
Click here to access the conference program.
Click here to access the workshop program.
For more information, visit http://www.awitc.com.au/ or contact Kate Beames on 08 8313 6696 or at info@awitc.com.au
Where are you now?
If you’ve attended an AWRI Advanced Wine Assessment Course, we want to hear from you.
Since the course began in 1992, more than 800 people have attended and we want to keep our records up-to-date.
Please help us to keep your details current by clicking here. All information will remain confidential.
If you have not attended the course but would like more information or you’d like to join our mailing list, click here.
Congratulations Con!
Con Simos, the AWRI’s Group Manager Industry Development and Support, has been accepted for the 2010 Future Leaders Program, run jointly by the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation, the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia, the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation and Wine Grape Growers’ Australia.
The Future Leaders Program brings together leading lights from Australia’s grape and wine sector to develop leadership, collaboration and networking skills, passing on the knowledge of current leaders to prepare for the industry’s future.
Vintage papers
It is that time of year and vintage is back on once again. Recent papers that have been published you might find useful can be requested below.
Technical Review Issue 182 – Yeast strains available for winemaking – 2009/2010
O’Kennedy, K. Wine yeast nutrients 101. Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker (550) : 99-104 ; 2009.
O’Kennedy, K. The case for co-inoculation of wine yeasts Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Journal 23 (6) : 44; 2008.
Threlfall, R. T. Morris, J. Use of yeast supplements during wine production. Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Journal 24 (6): 32-39 ; 2009.
Rensburg, P. van Pretorius, I. S. Enzymes in winemaking: harnessing natural catalysts for efficient biotransformations – a review. South African Journal of Enology and Viticulture 21 Special issue : 52-70; 2000.
Howell, G. Preparing your wine laboratory for vintage. Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker (551) : 86-88 ; 2009
Cowey, G. Coulter, A. Holdstock, M. Brines, paints, oils and the occasional mobile phone – common vintage contaminants. Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker 541, : 60-65 ; 2009.
Cuthbert, J. Gishen, M. Day, C. Oemcke, D. Taking the sting out of spoilage Australian and New Zealand Wine Industry Journal 23 (6) : 47-50; 2008.
Please contact the AWRI Library to request any of these publications.