Best wishes for the festive season and vintage 2022
Resources on wet weather conditions
Still seeking reductive white wines
Aeration workshop recording available
Sustainable Winegrowing Australia update
Order the latest staff publications online
Have you listened to AWRI decanted? |
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The AWRI wishes everyone in the grape and wine community a safe and happy festive season, with a chance to relax and recharge before vintage 2022. We look forward to working with you next year. |
Vale Randell Taylor |
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All of us at the AWRI have been incredibly touched by the many kind messages received from across our industry since the tragic death of our friend and colleague Randell Taylor on 27 November. Randell had served the AWRI and the grape and wine industry for more than 25 years. He was known and respected for his expertise in trace analysis of wine, but is remembered most for his infectious smile, positive energy and incredible zest for life. We are devastated by his loss and will miss him enormously. An online tribute board has been created where people can share photos and memories of Randell: https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/vpiEOvWM |
Resources on wet weather conditionsThe Bureau of Meteorology declared a La Niña event on 23 November 2021, which was not a surprise to many parts of Australia already been experiencing wet and cool weather. A wide range of resources including eBulletins and webinar recordings are available to help growers and winemaking dealing with wetter conditions and the associated disease risks:
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Still seeking reductive white winesDo you have a white wine with a reductive character? The AWRI and Charles Sturt University are working on a study to better understand copper addition practices and ‘reductive’ aromas in white wine. A large number of white wines with some degree of reductive aroma are needed for analysis. The researchers leading this study would greatly appreciate if producers could provide examples of wines with sulfide-related aromas. All information regarding the wines will be treated with the utmost confidentiality and no reference to producers will be made. Only information regarding the variety, region, and vintage will be included in the study. This work ultimately aims to provide winemakers with tangible guidance on the best practice use of copper and how to prevent ‘reductive’ aroma formation in white wine. Please contact Dr Marlize Bekker (marlize.bekker@awri.com.au) if you can help or for more information. |
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AWRI decanted season 1 |
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The first season of the AWRI’s podcast wrapped up recently, with an episode featuring Matt Zadow from Yalumba’s Oxford Landing Winery. Matt shared his experiences adding oxygen to red ferments and the benefits he is seeing from this practice. This was a great follow-up to the previous episode where Dr Simon Schmidt discussed the AWRI’s research on oxygen use in winemaking. All seven episodes of season 1 are available on the major podcast apps (e.g. Apple, Spotify) and via the AWRI website. Season 2 will go to air after vintage. Subscribe to AWRI decanted in your podcast app to be notified when new episodes are available. |
Aeration workshop recording availableOn 30 November the AWRI hosted an online workshop on aeration of red ferments, the recording of which is now available on the AWRI’s YouTube channel. This workshop was designed for both winemakers who currently use aeration during fermentation and those who would like to try it next vintage. It covers the equipment needed, how to set it up and use it, as well as insights into technology for measuring oxygen during fermentation. Presenters include Luke Wilson (Yalumba Wines), Jeremy Nascimben (Calabria Wines), Prof. Roger Boulton, University of California, Davis, USA and Anthony D’Onise (Windowrie Wines). For further information or assistance with adopting aeration of red ferments, contact the AWRI helpdesk team on helpdesk@awri.com.au or 08 8313 6600. |
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Sustainable Winegrowing Australia update |
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Thanks to support from across Australia, Sustainable Winegrowing Australia is continuing to grow and now has more than 800 members in 48 wine regions. Demand for certification is also increasing with more wine labels carrying the trust mark and more signs going up around the country. If you’re certified, we’d love to receive a photo of your sign to add to our gallery. If you’re thinking of a creative way to use the trust mark, remember to check the rules and style guide and get in touch (helpdesk@awri.com.au) for assistance.
The AWRI sustainability team has been extremely busy over the past few months delivering certification training to more than 400 members of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia across 31 regions. Participants at these workshops rated the usefulness of these workshops at 98% and more than half said that they’d take the information they heard and change their practices in their vineyards and wineries. Attendance at a certification training workshop is the first step towards becoming a certified member. These workshops deliver everything needed for growers, winemakers and wine businesses to interpret and implement the program for the best outcomes at audit and ongoing program management. If you would like to participate in an upcoming certification workshop, please complete the expression of interest form here. |
Order the latest staff publications onlineAccessing the latest AWRI publications is easy. Visit the AWRI Publications web page to:
The AWRI’s most recent publications are listed below. 2261 Xing, F., Gao, D., Habili, N., Wang, H., Zhang, Z., Cao, M., Li, S. Identification and molecular characterization of a novel carlavirus infecting rose plants (Rosa chinensis Jacq.). Arch. Virol. doi: 10.1007/s00705-021-05260-2: 1-4; 2021. 2262 Longbottom, M. Ask the AWRI: Carbon accounting. Aust. N.Z. Grapegrower Winemaker (694): 44-45; 2021. |
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AcknowledgementsThe 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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