Balancing black pepper flavour and phenolic richness in red wine

Results from this and other rotundone-related research will be presented in AWITC workshop W30 ‘Spicing up your world: black pepper flavour in wines’ in Adelaide on Wednesday 27 July. Attendees will taste peppery varieties of wines from across the world (including France, Italy, Spain, New Zealand and Japan) and hear the latest research on practical ways to influence rotundone in the vineyard and winery.

On-vine drying with cutting of the fruit-bearing cane two to three weeks prior to harvest was found to have a limited impact on rotundone level in wine. However, when irrigation was combined with the cane-cutting technique, significant gains were seen in rotundone levels, anthocyanins and total phenolic index in wine, and in skin to juice ratio. The full paper detailing these results is accessible via the AWRI library: Geffroy, O., Siebert, T., Herderich, M., Mille, B., Serrano, E. 2016. On-vine grape drying combined with irrigation allows to produce red wines with enhanced phenolic and rotundone concentrations. Scientia Horticulturae. doi 10.1016/j.scienta.2016.05.031.

To register for the black pepper workshop, visit the AWITC registration page now or contact the conference office on info@awitc.com.au or 08 8313 6821.

New projects on digital viticulture and smoke taint

As part of the digital viticulture project the AWRI will collaborate with Accolade Wines to develop spectral methods to measure the degree of fungal rots and other contaminants in grape loads delivered to the winery and evaluate options to apply these techniques at the weighbridge in real-time.

The smoke-related project involves collaboration with Agriculture Victoria and LaTrobe University, and has aims that include:

• The development of an early warning system for smoke exposure which will enable the targeted application of protective sprays in vineyards at risk of smoke exposure.
• Determining the critical distances that reduce the risk of controlled burns to vineyards.
• The development of practical technologies and processes that prevent smoke taint compounds entering the grapes, and removing these compounds from grape must and wine.

Nominations open for AWRI Board positions

Nominations are sought for three Levy Payer-elected Director positions on the AWRI Board, which will become vacant on 31 December 2016. The AWRI’s Constitution provides that there will be not less than seven nor more than 11 Directors. Six of those directors are nominated and/or elected by organisations that pay the Wine Grapes Levy. Nominations close on Friday, 5 August 2016 at 5:00 pm.

Levy payers in the small (<2,000 tonnes), medium (2,001-50,000 tonnes) and large (50,001+ tonnes) producer categories are called on to nominate suitably qualified candidates for the vacant positions. This is an excellent opportunity to become involved in the Australian wine industry’s own R&D organisation and provide a ‘coalface’ perspective to the direction and priorities of the AWRI’s research, development, extension and commercialisation activities.

In the event that more than one nomination is received for a particular category, an election will be held. Levy payers in that particular category will have the opportunity to vote for their preferred candidate. If an election is necessary, it will be held in August/September 2016 and further information will be published at the time. Successful candidates will take office on 1 January 2017 for a term of three years.

All Wine Grapes Levy payers will be sent an explanatory letter and nomination form in the week beginning 11 July 2016. Nominations close on Friday, 5 August 2016 at 5:00 pm. Nomination forms and further information on the AWRI Board and the nomination/election process can be found on the AWRI website.

Capturing the luxury market

Speakers include:

• Goran Roos, formerly SA Thinker in Residence and Member of the Economic Development Board of South Australia
• Anne-Flore Maman, ESSEC business school – internationally acclaimed expert on luxury business strategy
• George Peepou, University of Technology – Design Innovation Research Centre
• Gjoko Muratovski, Auckland University of Technology – Head of Department Communication Design
• Gregoire Patacq, AWRI – Advanced Masters Graduate of the ESSEC business school

To register, visit the AWITC website or contact the conference office on info@awitc.com.au or 08 8313 6821.

Entwine Australia – 2016/17 membership now open

The AWRI Extension and Outreach team has almost completed its national workshop tour, ‘Opportunities in a new climate’. One of the final opportunities to attend these free workshops will be on Sunday 24 July at the 16th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (AWITC). The workshop will bring together speakers from across Australia to discuss the wine industry’s environmental credentials, how Australia fares against international competitors and will also present the new Entwine case studies. If you or anyone from your region or business is attending the AWITC and has not seen the new features of Entwine, encourage them to register for the workshop.

Optimising MLF and avoiding spoilage

Malolactic fermentation is a key step in the production of many wines, but can also be a high risk time in a wine’s life due to long periods of time with low levels of SO₂. The AWRI helpdesk has recently developed two new fact sheets that bring together information to help winemakers maximise their chances of a successful MLF and avoid spoilage. The first factsheet ‘Achieving successful malolactic fermentation’ provides practical information on how to inoculate, conduct and monitor MLF and the optimal wine conditions for a successful outcome. The second fact sheet ‘Avoiding spoilage by lactic acid bacteria’ addresses spoilage issues caused by the different types of lactic acid bacteria, with details of the sensory characters they can cause and advice on preventing this type of spoilage. For more information on successful MLF or avoiding LAB spoilage, contact the AWRI helpdesk on 08 8313 6600 or helpdesk@awri.com.au.

AWITC workshops – from vineyard management to packaging impacts

The workshops convened or co-convened by AWRI staff are:

W01 Consumer insights in China (Patricia Williamson)
W02 New degrees of freedom: red winemaking with novel maceration technologies (Simon Nordestgaard)
W05 Vineyard management to adapt to climate change (Paul Petrie)
W06 Novel yeast for new wine styles (Jenny Bellon)
W09 Entwine Australia: demonstrating the Australian wine industry’s environmental performance (Mardi Longbottom)
W11 A comprehensive review of the wine and health landscape (Creina Stockley)
W13 The impact of packaging on wine development and shelf life (Neil Scrimgeour)
W17 Recent advances in flavour research: new understanding of key volatile compounds and their sensory significance (Dimitra Capone and Leigh Francis)
W19 Oxygen and sulfur: a breath of fresh air? (Martin Day and Mark Smith)
W20 Malolactic fermentation: pushing the boundaries to improve strains, reliability and wine quality (Peter Costello)
W22 Creating product premiums using luxury and design thinking business strategies (Vince O’Brien)
W26 Grape quality: objective measures and impacts on wine style (Keren Bindon, Paul Smith and Leigh Francis)
W27 Wine clarity: managing hot and cold stability in white wines (Eric Wilkes and Jacqui McRae)
W29 An exploration of Australian and Portuguese vintage and tawny fortified wines (Peter Godden)
W30 Black pepper flavour in wines from around the world (Tracey Siebert and Mark Krstic)
W37 Lees: minimising volumes and recovering better juice and wine (Simon Nordestgaard)
W39 The changing regulatory environment of Australian wine (Creina Stockley)

What’s new in eBooks?

Ten new eBooks have recently been added to the AWRI’s collection, with topics covering social media strategies in the wine industry, sustainability, consumer preference, South African and Italian wine regions and managing quality.To keep in touch with the eBook collection and review the latest books, visit the New eBooks page on the AWRI website. Not sure how to go about reading an eBook? Check out this this webinar or contact the AWRI Information Services team (infoservices@awri.com.au).

Order the latest AWRI staff publications online

Accessing the latest AWRI publications is easy. Visit the AWRI Publications web page to:

• View the 10 most recent AWRI staff publications and order the articles online from the AWRI Library
• Search the staff publications database
• Read the full-text of ‘Technical Notes’ from Technical Review (PDF format)
• Read the full-text of ‘AWRI reports’ published in Wine & Viticulture Journal (PDF format).

A full list of AWRI publications published since the last eNews is included below:

1822 Petrie, P., Sadras, V. Quantifying the advancement and compression of vintage. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (628): 40-41; 2016.

1823 Essling, M. Ask the AWRI: Grazing sheep in vineyards. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (628): 46-47; 2016.

1824 Wilkes, E., Day, M., Herderich, M., Johnson, D. In vino veritas – investigating technologies to fight wine fraud. Wine Vitic. J. 31 (2): 36-38; 2016.

1825 Boban, M., Stockley, C., Teissedre, P.-L., Restani, P., Fradera, U., Stein-Hammer C., Ruf, J. Drinking pattern of wine and effects on human health: why should we drink moderately and with meals? Food Funct. DOI: 10.1039/C6FO00218H; 2016.

1826 Geffroy, O., Siebert, T., Herderich, M., Mille, B., Serrano, E. On-vine grape drying combined with irrigation allows to produce red wines with enhanced phenolic and rotundone concentrations. Sci. Hortic. 207: 208-217; 2016.

1827 Wilkes, E., Warner, L. Sugar analysis – too many choices? Wine Vitic. J. 31 (3): 68-72; 2016.

1828 Borneman, A., Chambers, P., Schmidt, S., Forgan, A., Kolouchova, R., Herderich, M., Johnson, D. Wine yeast: where are they from and where are we taking them? Wine Vitic. J. 31 (3): 47-49; 2016.

1829 Godden, P. Documenting 30 years of technological change in the Australian wine industry. Wine Vitic. J. 31 (3): 11-16; 2016.

1830 Dry, P. Montepulciano. Wine Vitic. J. 31 (3): p. 61; 2016.

1831 Longbottom, M. Excitement ahead of the Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference. Wine Vitic. J. 31 (3): p. 11; 2016.

1832 Wilkes, E., Day, M., Herderich, M. Johnson, D. In vino veritas – investigating technologies to fight wine fraud. Wine Vitic. J. 31 (2): 36-38; 2016.

1833 Dry, P. Assyrtiko. Wine Vitic. J. 31 (2): p. 55; 2016.

1834 Sternes, P.R., Borneman, A.R. Consensus pan-genome assembly of the specialised wine bacterium Oenococcus oeni. BMC Genom. 17 (308): 15 p.; 2016.

1835 Johnson, D. See you in July. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (629): p. 20; 2016.

1836 Coulter, A. Ask the AWRI: KHT deposits and cold stability. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (629): p. 76; 2016.

1837 Nordestgaard, S. Five-yearly AWRI Technical Survey to track changes in practices. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (629): p. 81; 2016.

Acknowledgement

The AWRI acknowledges support from Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers through their investment body, Wine Australia, with matching funds from the Australian Government. The AWRI is a member of the Wine Innovation Cluster in Adelaide, South Australia.