Nominations open for AWRI Board positions
The search for robust Australian malolactic bacteria strains – 2017 vintage trials
Entwine launching 2017/18 membership
AWACs – two completed in June, one to come in November
Science week event reveals secrets of wine colour
Order the latest AWRI staff publications online
Nominations open for AWRI Board positions |
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Nominations are sought for three Levy Payer-elected Director positions on the AWRI Board, which will become available on 31 December 2017. 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. All Wine Grapes Levy payers have been sent an explanatory letter and nomination form. Nominations close on Friday, 28 July 2017 at 5:00 pm. Further information can be found on the AWRI website.
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 for an interested candidate to become involved in the Australian wine industry’s own R&D organisation and, in addition to their other duties and responsibilities, 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 2017 and further information will be published at the time. Successful candidates will take office on 1 January 2018 for a term of three years. |
The search for robust Australian malolactic bacteria strains – 2017 vintage trials |
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During vintage 2017 the malolactic fermentation (MLF) team at the AWRI conducted industry-scale trials with collaborating wineries to test the performance of several MLF strains in red, white and sparkling base wines. The strains were selected based on laboratory screening and pilot-scale testing of a large number of regional Oenococcus oeni isolates held in the AWRI Wine Microorganism Culture Collection. The industry trials are providing valuable information about bacteria strain performance under winery conditions, and will help to guide the development of the bacteria strain selection program. The AWRI is always keen to isolate strains of malolactic bacteria from Australian wines undergoing wild/natural MLF, particularly those with harsh conditions. Please contact Peter Costello (peter.costello@awri.com.au) if your winery might be able to supply any samples of natural MLF wines. |
Entwine launching 2017/18 membershipThis month Entwine membership renewals for 2017/18 opened online. All members are encouraged to log on to the Entwine registration page to submit their data and complete the renewal process. Membership fees have remained at $110 for vineyard and winery members. If you would like to become a member of Entwine, you can sign up here. You can also discover which companies are Entwine members across Australia by visiting the Entwine Australia member register. This year, new for winery members of Entwine, is an online self-assessment survey of winery practices. The survey is compulsory for Members to demonstrate their ongoing participation in an approved certification program; however, Associate and Certified members are also encouraged to work through the survey. All survey respondents will receive a full report benchmarked against other winery members, later in the year. Entwine has been embedded in the AWRI regional workshops which have been on the road in recent months. Entwine and regional datasets were recently presented in the Barossa, Langhorne Creek, Mornington Peninsula, Gippsland, Yarra Valley, Mt Barker, Pemberton, Margaret River and the Swan Valley. In addition to these, Mardi Longbottom was invited to speak to key influencers from across NSW about Entwine with a focus on the value of sustainability credentials to individual businesses, at the regional scale, and nationally. This presentation generated significant discussion especially from many in the group who had not seen the changes to Entwine in the past two years. Feedback received since the event has been very positive, with new and lapsed members signing up to the program. To find out more about what’s new with Entwine, contact the AWRI helpdesk on mailto:helpdesk@awri.com.auor 08 8313 6600. |
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Brewing analyses coming soon |
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AWRI Commercial Services is currently finalising a suite of new analytical services for the craft brewing industry. These services draw on the team’s existing expertise in beverage analysis to provide a wide range of brewing-related services including routine beer testing, microbiological testing, water analysis and hops testing. The new services will be promoted at the upcoming Australian Craft Brewing Conference in Adelaide from 25-27 July 2017. Contact Amy Rinaldo on amy.rinaldo@awri.com.au or 08 8313 6600 for more information. |
AWACs – two completed in June, one to come in NovemberTwo Advanced Wine Assessment Courses (AWACs) were held at the AWRI in June with 32 participants successfully completing the course. Over the two weeks, more than 10,000 glasses were set, poured, tasted and washed. Each participant smelled, swirled and tasted over 300 wines, with all scores and comments recorded using the AWRI’s electronic scoring software ShowRunner. The next AWAC course will be held in Adelaide from 20 to 23 November 2017. If you haven’t registered your interest and experience details now is the time to do so! Find all the course details and complete your registration of interest on the AWAC webpage or contact events@awri.com.au. |
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Science week event reveals secrets of wine colour |
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AWRI scientists are celebrating National Science Week with an event that is all about wine colour. Featuring wine tastings, stories and myth-busting, this general interest event on the evening of 15 August in Adelaide will explain why wine colour can reveal so much about a wine’s chemistry and biology. Find out why orange wine is the new rosé, how colour can make a Cabernet Sauvignon meatier than a Chardonnay and much, much more. Light refreshments will be available along with a selection of great wines to taste. More information and tickets are available here: https://www.awri.com.au/events/complete-wine-science-spectrum/ or contact Jacqui McRae on mailto:jacqui.mcrae@awri.com.auor 08 8313 6600 with any queries. |
Order the latest AWRI staff publications onlineAccessing the latest AWRI publications is easy. Visit the AWRI Publications web page to:
A list of AWRI publications published since the last eNews is included below: 1915 Williamson, P.O., Francis, L., Mueller-Loose, S., Lockshin, L. Predicting wine repurchase: a case of low-retest reliability in China. Int. J. Market Res. Doi: 10.2501/IJMR-021: 19 p.; 2017. 1916 Essling, M. Ask the AWRI: Why was there more powdery mildew than usual this season? Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (640): 30-31; 2017. 1917 Albertin, W., Avramova, M., Cibrario, A., Ballestra, P., Dols-Lafargue, M., Curtin, C., Masneuf-Pomarède, I. [Brettanomyces bruxellensis: genetic diversity and sensitivity to sulfites] Brettanomyces bruxellensis: diversité génétique et sensibilité aux sulfites. Rev. Oenol. (163): 31-33; 2017. 1918 Rinaldo, A., Wilkes, E. The dark side of wine microbiology. WBM (March/April): 56-57; 2017. 1919 Gawel, R., Smith, P.A., Cicerale, S., Keast, R. The mouthfeel of white wine. Crit.Rev. Food Sci. Nutr. doi:10.1080/10408398.2017.1346584: 1-69; 2017. |
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AcknowledgementThe 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. |
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