A new look and website for Sustainable Winegrowing Australia

Preparations underway for National Wine Sector Bushfire Conference

A number of AWRI staff are preparing to take part in the National Wine Sector Bushfire Conference on 25 May. Managing Director, Dr Mark Krstic will provide a national overview of the fires that occurred during the 2020 vintage and their impact. Dr Eric Wilkes will describe techniques used for testing grapes and wines for smoke and comparative results between different laboratories. Damian Espinase Nandorfy will discuss smoke taint sensory evaluation, including good practices to improve the rigour and reliability of in-the-field assessments. Dr Mango Parker will provide the latest results from her research on the impacts of early-season smoke exposure.

This free conference coordinated by Wine Australia, Australian Grape & Wine, ASVO and the AWRI. will cover bushfire preparedness, smoke effects and recovery from fire to ensure that grapegrowers, winemakers and businesses are better prepared for future bushfires. The National Wine Sector Bushfire Conference will be held at locations in Hahndorf, Sydney, Wangaratta, Stanthorpe, Hobart and South Perth. Register now: wineaustralia.com/national-wine-sector-bushfire-conference.

Water management resources

Water is a valuable and limited resource for grapegrowers. To support growers to manage their irrigation water most effectively, the AWRI has developed a new water management webpage. Visit http://www.awri.com.au/industry_support/viticulture/water-management/ to access a wide range of resources on topics including vineyard water use efficiency, water management plans, irrigation scheduling and irrigation system monitoring and maintenance. The webpage will also be updated regularly with activities and resources developed as part of an irrigation efficiency practice change project being conducted by the AWRI, in collaboration with Wine Australia and the inland irrigated wine-growing regions. For more information, contact the AWRI helpdesk on 08 8 313 6600 or helpdesk@awri.com.au.

Towards a rapid test for smoke

Grant to develop biosensor for smoke analysis

The AWRI is a partner in a collaborative project, with QUT and CSIRO, that has recently been awarded an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant to develop protein-based biosensors for phenolic glycosides. The goal is to generate selective biosensors and devise a simple portable test for smoke compounds that can be performed in the vineyard or the winery. This is the first time this type of technology will be applied to a problem in the wine industry. For more information, visit: https://www.qut.edu.au/research/article?id=174988

Order the latest 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’ and ‘Vineyards of the world columns’ published in Wine & Viticulture Journal (PDF format)
• Read the full text of ‘Ask the AWRI columns’ published in Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker

The AWRI’s most recent publications are listed below.

2214 Essling, M. Ask the AWRI: Use of elicitors in viticulture. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (686) : p. 35; 2021.

2215 Varela, C., Bartel, C., Espinase Nandorfy, D., Bilogrevic, E., Tran, T., Heinrich, A., Balzan, T., Bindon, K., Borneman, A. Volatile aroma composition and sensory profile of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon wine produced with novel Metschnikowia pulcherrima yeast starter cultures. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. doi:10.1111/ajgw.12484: 1-13; 2021.

2216 Mierczynska-Vasilev, A., Bindon, K., Gawel, R., Smith, P., Vasilev, K., Butt, H-J., Koynov, K. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to unravel the interactions between macromolecules in wine. Food Chem. 352: 129343; 2021.

2217 Scrimgeour, N., Hirlam, K., Wilkes, E., Parker, M. A burning need: developing a rapid screening method for smoke-affected grapes and wine. Wine Vitic. J. 36(2): 33-35; 2021.

2218 Roach, M., Borneman, A., Schmidt, S., Krstic, M. Applying genomics to grapevine clones. Wine Vitic. J. 36(2): 39-41; 2021.

2219 Dry, P. Blaufränkisch. Wine Vitic. J. 36(2): p. 59; 2021.

2220 Day, M.P., Espinase Nandorfy, D., Bekker, M.Z., Bindon, K.A., Solomon, M., Smith, P.A., Schmidt, S.A. Aeration of Vitis vinifera Shiraz fermentation and its effect on wine chemical composition and sensory attributes. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. doi: 10.1111/ajgw.12490; 2021.

2221 Zhou-Tsang, A., Wu, Y., Henderson, S.W., Walker, A.R., Borneman, A.R., Walker, R.R., Gilliham, M. Grapevine salt tolerance. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. 27(2): 149-168; 2021.

2222 Cowey, G. Ask the AWRI: How much sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is needed at bottling? Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (687): 76-77; 2021.

2223 Capone, D.L., Barker, A., Pearson, W., Francis, I.L. Influence of inclusion of grapevine leaves, rachis and peduncles during fermentation on the flavour and volatile composition of Vitis vinifera cv. Shiraz wine. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. doi: 10.1111/ajgw.12489; 2021.

2224 Teng, B., Hayasaka, Y., Smith, P.A., Bindon, K.A. Precipitation of tannin-anthocyanin derivatives in wine is influenced by acetaldehyde concentration and tannin molecular mass with implications for the development of nonbleachable pigments. J. Agric. Food Chem. 69(16): 4804-4815; 2021.

Acknowledgements

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.