Canada on board with phosphorous acid MRL
Positive aroma impact with DAP
Check your new wine additive
Help us to tailor the next consumer study
Pop or fizzle?
CMC now approved for tartrate stabilisation – but how effective is it?
Practical advice to reduce winery wastewater and refrigeration costs
Themed wine tastings and AWAC 2012
New Directors
Brett sequencing wins AWRI’s annual Innovation Award
Reply-paid service discontinued
Recent literature
Canada on board with phosphorous acid MRL
Australian wine exporters to Canada can breathe a bit more easily with The Liquor Control Board of Ontario continuing their permission for phosphorous acid treated wine for another 12 months.
This decision follows negotiations which considered a recent study conducted by us. For winemakers, it means that Canada will accept the Australian MRL of 50 mg/kg for phosphorous acid for the 2012 vintage. The next goal lies in achieving agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China.
Positive aroma impact with DAP
DAP added to a clarified Albariño must can have a major impact on aroma.
Albariño can be considered an aromatic variety due to the presence of monoterpenes present largely in bound (glycosides) form. Like similar varieties, such as Riesling, fermentation is required to reveal aromatic varietal potential. In this study we investigated the effect of diammonium phosphate (DAP) addition on the aromatic potential of a clarified Albariño must (sourced from Galicia, Spain), which already contained moderate yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) (250 mg/L). DAP had little effect on basic wine composition but notably influenced aromatic content. Analysis of Odour Activity Values suggests that wines made with moderate DAP supplementation exhibited the highest aromatic impact of all the dosage regimes, whereas high DAP addition (1 g/L) reduced potential aromatic impact. The addition of DAP to produce 350 mg/L YAN (0.5 g/L DAP addition) produced the highest content of varietal compounds of the wines in this trial including free monoterpenes and norisoprenoids (limonene, linalool, α-terpineol α-ionone, β-damascenone) and as well as most yeast-derived fermentation products (including esters, higher alcohols and volatile fatty acids). These results suggest that wines from aromatic varieties, such as Albariño, made with moderate nitrogen supplementation present the highest intensity of volatiles compounds known to contribute to varietal fruity and floral aroma attributes.
Check your new wine additive
Have you sourced new winery additives and want to prove the Certificate of Analysis you have received is representative and complies with the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC)? Ensure your new additives meet quality requirements for food ingredients. The AWRI Commercial Services can help you safeguard public health through the authentication of the additives.
For peace of mind contact us to test the compliance of your DAP, Ascorbic acid, Malic acid, Tartaric acid, PMS, PVPP and Potassium Carbonate both with the FCC and the Certificate of analysis received with each batch of goods received.
Help us to tailor the next consumer study
Understanding wine consumption behaviour and consumer taste preferences is a major priority for the Australian wine industry. The AWRI is currently planning the next stage of our consumer research. Are you or a colleague interested in shaping our future studies?
The projected work we’re planning will involve both the domestic and emerging markets, and will most likely include a study with wine consumers in China, investigating both sensory and non-sensory influences on consumer choices.
If you are interested in assisting with planning or would simply like to be kept informed of progress, please contact Leigh Francis or Patricia Osidacz.
Pop or fizzle?
Are you selecting the best sparkling wine closure to ensure your wines are presented to consumers in optimal condition? Not sure? Join the AWRI Commercial Services’ trial to provide you with the answers.
AWRI Commercial Services are preparing to launch the first large-scale commercial sparkling closure trial in early 2012. This will be conducted in a similar fashion to previous AWRI closure trials, evaluating the performance of a range of closures technologies on the sensory and chemical evolution of a premium sparkling wine. The trial outcomes will provide credible and independent assessment of closure performance to support your informed decision-making.
Now is your chance to influence the design of this closure trial! Let us know what six closures you would like to see evaluated, and we will include the most popular closure technologies in the trial. If you have not already provided your input and would like to do so, please contact us immediately.
Trial results will be available to trial participants through technical reports, or alternatively you can assess the results for yourself throughout the trial by attending one of the many tasting sessions.
To provide your input into this exciting trial, or for more information on the overall trial design, please visit our website or contact Warren Roget directly.
CMC now approved for tartrate stabilisation – but how effective is it?
We don’t know the answer, so we plan to undertake a benchmarking trial. Want to be involved?
Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) has now been approved for use in winemaking in Australia. Many different forms of CMC are available in the marketplace from a range of suppliers, but there is limited objective data on the comparative performance of these products and their potential impact on winemaking operations.
AWRI Commercial Services are launching a CMC performance benchmarking trial over the next few months to assess the performance of CMC as a viable alternative to tartrate stabilisation.
Still wines will be treated with a range of CMC products from different suppliers to quantify their performance and determine wine types best suited to their application . Results will be made available to paying participants.
Wineries interested in being involved in this study should contact Neil Scrimgeour, Senior Process Scientist (Commercial Services) by email or by telephone on (08) 8313 0892 for further details.
Practical advice to reduce winery wastewater and refrigeration costs
Hunter Valley winemakers were the first to benefit from a practical workshop which gave them better understanding of their winery’s refrigeration and wastewater treatment. More workshops are planned.
The first workshop was held in the Hunter Valley in early December. Twelve participants spent the day learning the fundamentals of winery refrigeration and wastewater together with practical opportunities for improvement that they could implement in their own wineries. The group was particularly interested in opportunities to reduce refrigeration requirements through the use of CMC to inhibit tartrate crystallisation and the use of flotation for juice clarification.
Participants were also guided through the recently-released GWRDC winery wastewater management and recycling project publications: Business fundamentals, Operational Guidelines and Resource Kit, available online here. Practical suggestions to reduce water consumption and pollutant load within the winery were also detailed. This included a series of videos illustrating both new technologies and techniques available for the industry which lead towards more efficient and cleaner production methods.
Participants received copies of all the presentation slides as well as reference guides on winery refrigeration and wastewater that have been produced as part of recent research on these topics.
For further information or to arrange for a similar workshop to be run in your region please contact us.
Themed wine tastings and AWAC 2012
In December we ran two full ‘Wines of France’ sessions for 30 participants from around Australia – specifically tailored to wine professionals with advanced tasting skills. Based on feedback received, we will be rolling out more events in the future. Look out for more information on our next event with the theme of sparkling wines.
Please register your interest for future themed courses by clicking here.
For those who are interested, we are also running two Advanced Wine Assessment Courses in June and November of 2012. The ballot closes on 28 February. If you are on our list and haven’t received our expression of interest email by 5 January click here.
New Directors
AWRI Chairman, Mr Peter Dawson, announced the appointment of two new Directors to the AWRI Board, Ms Liz Riley and Dr John Harvey.
Appointed as a ‘Special Qualifications Director’, Liz Riley brings to the Board 20 years experience in the wine industry; with six years spent in viticultural roles with Southcorp Wines and the last 11 years as a viticulture consultant. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine) from Roseworthy Agricultural College. Liz is currently also an ‘Independent Expert for the Wine Industry Code of Conduct’ for Wine Australia and is a member of the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology, the Hunter Valley Wine Industry Association and the NSW Farmers Association. The Hunter Valley Wine Industry Association named Liz their ‘Viticulturist of the Year’ this year and she was awarded the Australian Nuffield Farming Scholarship in 1997. Liz’s tenure as a Director of the AWRI commenced on 6 December.
Elected in the ‘small winemaker’ category (crushing up to 2,000 tonnes), John Harvey commenced his tenure as a Director on 1 January 2012. John is the Managing Director and owner of Bathe Wines, producing wines from the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Tasmania regions. John is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a PhD and MBA from the University of Adelaide. He was formerly the Executive Director of the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation and member of the SA Premier’s Wine Council and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Adelaide Hills Wine Region and Journal Advisory Committee of the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research.
Brett sequencing wins AWRI’s annual Innovation Award
Judged by an external committee comprising Peter Dawson, John Angove and Louisa Rose, the AWRI’s 2011 annual Innovation Award has been won by Dr Chris Curtin for his work on Brettanomyces.
Dr Curtin completed whole genome assembly and analysis of Dekkera bruxellensis – a world first. He conducted painstaking manual assembly due to extensive differences between copies of its DNA; his persistence at this task has revealed a triploid genome, that may have been a result of inter-specific hybridisation. Through this work, we can now uncover this yeast’s achilles heel and devise effective strategies to control this increasingly sulfite tolerant yeast.
Reply-paid service discontinued
We wish to advise that The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) no longer has a reply paid postage service.
Any goods/wine bottles/samples/etc. sent using our cancelled replied paid service, will be returned to the sender, by the post office. Please kindly ensure that all your related departments are made aware of this service cancellation.
We regret the necessity of imposing this restriction and trust that it will not cause too much of an inconvenience.
We would also like to thank you for being valued customers, and should you have any queries in relation to this alteration please feel free to contact us.
Recent literature
John Fornachon Memorial Library at the AWRI delivers journal articles and loans books to Australian grapegrowers and winemakers. Books can be searched and requested via the Library catalogue – or you can email us with your request.
- To order AWRI staff publications and articles from Technical Review 194 please contact the Library
- Articles and books on specific topics can be searched for and ordered via the Library Catalogue
- To request a Literature search on a specific topic contact the Library via email or telephone (08) 8313 6600.
Recent AWRI staff publications
AWRI. Ask the AWRI. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (574), 53; 2011.
Coulter, A. Ask the AWRI. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (575), 52-54; 2011.
Cordente, A.G., Curtin, C.D., Henschke, P.A., Chambers, P.J., Pretorius, I.S. Steering clear of sulfidic smells in the cellar. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (574), 81-87; 2011.
Curtin, C.D., Borneman, A.R., Henschke, P.A., Godden, P.W., Chambers, P.J., Pretorius, I.S. Advancing the frontline against Brett: AWRI breakthrough offers potential to transform the battle against Brett. Wine Viti J. 26(6), 18-25; 2011.
Cynkar, W., Wilkes, W. New breed of infared analysis instruments: Smaller, Cheaper and quicker technology could offer industry big time and cost savings. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (575), 64-66; 2011.
Fudge, A., Wilkinson, K.L., Ristic, R., Cozzolino, D. Classification of Smoke Tainted Wines using Mid-Infared Spectroscopy and Chemometrics. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, DOI: 10.1021/jf203849h, 30 p.; 2011.
Kutyna, D.R., Varela, C., Stanley, G.A., Borneman, A.R., Henschke, P.A., Chambers, P.J. Adaptive evolution of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to generate strains with enhanced glycerol production. Applied Genetics and Molecular Biotechnology, DOI: 10.1007/s00253-011-3622-7, 10 p.; 2011.
Morangon, M. Robinson, E.M.C., Schmidt, S., Smith, P.A., Godden, P., Waters, E.J. A promising enzyme for the stabilisation of white wines. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (573), 78-80; 2011.
Pretorius, I.S. 2011 AWRI Report. Aust. & N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (574), 92-95; 2011.
Stockley, C.S., Varela, C., Coulter, A., Dry, P.R., Francis, I.L., Muhlack, R., Pretorius, I.S. Controlling the Highs and the Lows of Alcohol in Wine. Nova Science Publishers: 48 p.; 2011.
Stockley, C. Editorial. Journal of Wine Research. 22(2), 101-103; 2011.
Stockley, C. Healthy or Harmful? The Public and Public Health Perception of Wine Versus Reality. Journal of Wine Research. 22(2), 199-203; 2011.
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.